#I just really like the idea of Emet-Selch looking at this VERY small shard of his friend

[hikinghydaelyn]

Last little lore nugget before I get on for the day.

I accidentally made Nanari Azem-coded through liberal use of orange vfx (a color I heavily associate with Azem for obvious reasons), so after I decided to give him the soulstone necklace (which he just kinda... found in his pocket one morning before setting out for the day), I ended up spreading that to his carbuncles as well.

Originally he had Opal and Obsidion, but I've changed Obsidion to Amethyst. So his summoned traveling companions when he's a SMN, through the unintentional use of the soulstone, are white and purple carbies. :3c

Why give him the soulstone now, you might ask? You really gonna tell me Hades didn't take one look at this traveling man, especially being so good at seeing souls, and go "Yeah, no, that's Azem..."

Tbh, I just really liked how it tied together his outfit so I'm bullshitting an excuse. xD

[ancientechos]

Sway

FFXIVwrite2020 | Masterlist

Ship: Emet-Selch x Arianna Rowen [WoL]

Expac/Verse: somewhere in the middle of ShB, no real spoilers though I guess

Words: 1808 words

Arianna is nose-deep in another fiction novel when the Ascian sees fit to interrupt her. Though, given that she hadn’t been especially listening to him very closely -- courtesy of the book, only the utterance of her name had roused her -- she’s left upturning a blank gaze to him as he stares at her expectantly, one hand out. Her eyes flicks from his face, basked in the peculiar light of the glowing -- mushroom? -- in this little corner of Il Mheg, to his gloved fingers.

“Sorry...?”

Emet-Selch clears his throat, looking vaguely irritated. “I asked if you wanted to dance.”

The surprise has her eyes widening slightly in bemusement. Not at his presence -- she’s known he was here, of course, doing his scheming or plotting or sleeping whilst she reads -- but to say that she ever expected that sort of question from him...

“You want to...dance...?” she repeats blankly, tilting her head to the side as she slowly closes her book. Though surely not because she wants to dance. She just doesn’t think she can concentrate on the words anymore after his impromptu query. Gently, she places the tome to the side, beneath the conveniently lamp-shaped and lamp-like luminescent mushroom.

“Isn’t that what you were reading about?” Emet-Selch gives a nod to her discarded book.

A mild flush rises to her cheeks as she brushes thin fingers through a few strands of wavy hair, her gaze averting. There had, indeed, been a ballroom scene within its pages; one she had been in the middle of reading, in fact. Voeburt dances truly must have been a sight to behold.

“Th-that — you’ve read this, too...?” Embarrassment fades into curiosity as Arianna glances at him out of the corner of her eye. She hadn’t expected him to read this sort of novel.

“No.” He allows a moment for this answer to sink in and smirks as the flush deepens in colour. “But I can see I’ve guessed correctly. So, I’ll ask again: would you like to dance with me, Arianna?”

Arianna rather feels as if she’s just been caught doing something she shouldn’t really be doing, though that’s ridiculous — ah, she supposes this technically counts, doesn’t it...

Though at his repeated question and his casual offer, she finds herself wondering. Would she like to dance?

Surely, the answer, normally, would be a resounding no. And yet why can she find herself feeling just a little bit curious...? She’s very curious...about how that might be like, with him, of all people. Though a part of her wonders if he’d simply step on her feet every which way and attempt to embarrass her at every turn --

Swallowing nervously, she slowly stands, very surreptitiously not looking at him as she quietly smooths the fabric of her robes. Only then does she finally, shyly look up at him.

“I-I suppose...I would not mind...”

At her assent, a grin crosses his features so large that she should probably feel concerned. But, Arianna assures herself, he has had plenty of opportunities to kill her before should he ever have felt the whim to do so...and besides, as the so-called warrior of light and darkness, it would be rather pathetic if she could not at least stall him if it came to that...

She would like to think it wouldn’t. She would not like to think about it at all.

“Excellent. Ah, but...” His tone turns thoughtful as he tilts his head to look toward the ground. “I fear we will need a change of venue. Not much place to dance here, after all.” Emet-Selch gestures toward the gently rippling stream that passes through this small cave, then his hand lifts. A void portal opens. “Do you mind? It’ll be faster than using that bird of yours.”

Arianna glances between him and the portal. Making a split second decision, she gently places her hand on his.

Closing her eyes, she allows herself to be lead along through --

And when she opens them again, they are still within Il Mheg, but this time on the wide, expansive balcony of Titania’s castle. The moon gleams above them, casting them both in a silvery glow.

“You don’t think they’d care, do you? This is what this place was made for, after all...if I recall.” Emet-Selch doesn’t let go of her hand; on the contrary, he pulls her further after him as the portal shuts. Pausing beneath the moonlight, he regards her for a moment. “But I think we need a change of clothes, too. These are rather plain for a midnight dance...”

His other hand slowly lifts, forming that tell-tale finger snap motion. Before she can think it through, or really think much at all, she’s grasped at his hand in an attempt to put a stop to him. Because, really, no, she does not want either of them to be changing clothes here, magically or not --

The boldness of the action has them both still for a moment. The Ascian is, perhaps, surprised, though his gaze does little to show it; and for once Arianna has little of a flush to her, too caught up in the trepidation of the impulse to actually feel self-conscious.

And then Emet-Selch smirks, and the hyuran woman blushes as if on reflex, and almost everything returns to normal.

“Did you really think I need to snap my fingers for a bit of magic?” The laugh that leaves him is neither malevolent nor affected; it seems almost far too normal from a man like him. He’s genuinely amused and not simply sardonic. “Oh dear, that’s adorable.”

“Y-you -- “ Arianna stammers as the red creeps up her face like a mass of crawling ants. She drops his hand as if he had burnt her, though he does not let her discard the other one -- and she’s suddenly too distracted by the sensation of her very bare arms to care for the moment.

Truly -- he hadn’t had to snap his fingers -- and yet she is very much not in her robes. Instead, she’s clad in a gently flowing blue dress -- surprisingly and blessedly modest. The Ascian has also chosen to change his attire to a traditional-looking suit, complete with a rose in his lapel.

She lets out a breath she hadn’t realised she’d been holding in.

At least she looks, she supposes...passable.

“Um...ah...th-thank you...for the dress...” Her voice is somewhat subdued as her eyebrows furrow in consternation -- mostly at the relief she feels. She also finds, for some reason -- that she cannot, actually, really, look at him, for some reason. The idea is too overwhelming. somehow.

Oh, but the rose is quite pretty. Even moreso that it’s fake. How charming -- would it be naive to assume it was because of her? Probably so.

The hand that holds hers tightens in a mild squeeze. “My pleasure, my dear.” Ah, she really, really cannot look at him. Especially when, for some reason, his voice is strangely soft, and makes her unable to breathe besides, “Shall we dance?”

The only response she can manage to give to him is a faint nod. There’s another light squeeze of her hand before he carefully pulls her along with him, simply pulling her. A part of her almost wants to ask if he’s mocking her --

And then, just as she manages to crawl from that delicate mind-state, there is...music.

There is no one here to play it, neither the pixies nor any phantom Voeburtites, and yet...there is music. A curious sort, unlike anything she’s ever heard before, but strangely nostalgic at the same time. There’s a certain bite to it, but it’s soft, pleasant, she finds she quite likes it. Perhaps it’s supposed to chase away her anxiety, and perhaps it does the trick. When Emet-Selch slowly moves to hold her properly, she allows him, even touching lightly -- but cautiously -- at one of his shoulders. Though she still cannot bring herself to look past his collarbone.

Neither of them step on one another’s feet; in fact, it is perhaps a bit too natural to be dancing like this, gently swaying to the music. Apart from her inability to look him in the eye, that is. Emet-Selch is, of course, the first to break the silence.

“You know,” he says with a sigh, “I think it’s quite rude not to look at your dance partner.” She does not reply -- though her green eyes look slowly up his neck, stop at his chin, and dart down to the rose at his pocket. The Ascian sighs again, though says nothing else.

Perhaps he’s chosen not to speak as his next move, but to do. Tiny motes of light -- like stars plucked from the heavens -- swirl around them both, a beautiful glow to them. One floats past the hyuran woman’s eye level, and she watches it curiously. Of course, it drifts directly past his face, undoubtedly of the Ascian’s own design, and Arianna’s gaze follows it unwittingly. She’s trapped into locking gazes with him, a stuttering of air in her lungs as she very soundly refuses to think to herself that he is any adjective synonymous to handsome, because she’s uncertain of what that might mean for either of them.

Emet-Selch smirks, and oh, but he is.

“Not that hard, is it?” he asks lightly, pulling her closer. The flush renews itself to her cheeks, though she can’t bring herself to look away from him. She draws breath very, very carefully.

Maybe a distant part of her was aware she would need it, for Emet-Selch takes his cue to pull her ever closer -- pushing her into a dip as he looms above her. Though her fingers clench in the fabric at his shoulder, so secure is his hold upon her that the thought he might drop her never once crosses her mind. This is -- just -- very -- she’s --

A stray shard of starlight passes between their gazes, separating them for a moment. He is much, much too close.

“Th-they’re very -- pretty -- ” she manages to stutter, her mind desperately turning for something to say other than being ridiculous and dull.

“Are they?” His mouth curves. “I’m glad you enjoy them. I do hope you’re enjoying our dance, as well.” He pulls her up, but instead of letting her go -- the music continues, and so does their dance, albeit there’s less distance between them than before.

“I -- ” She bites her lower lip lightly, before continuing. “...Yes. I-I...am.”

“Hmm. Then we have no reason to stop, do we?”

[katzenkrieg]

Headcanon: Cam’s Physical and Mental/Aetheric Changes from pre-ARR through post-5.3

“What should I do today?” I wonder to myself. “I think I’ll stay on task and be produc--no, wait, now I’m writing a six-page overview of all the changes Cam’s experienced over the entirety of his story so far. Hm.”

Spoilers for everything through 5.3; Cam’s full lore document is here. It is currently 103 pages long. No regerts.

Physical and Mental/Aetheric Changes (A Rough Timeline):

The Battle of Carteneau begins - has first Echo flash (doesn’t remember it later)

The Battle of Carteneau ends - while knocked unconscious, has his face permanently tattooed by an experimental Garlean prisoner-of-war-marking device. The device is faulty, and also inflicts electrical damage that leaves Cam permanently mute.

The Calamity takes place and resolves - along with everyone else on the Source, Cam is assumed to have Rejoined with the shard of his shared soul that lived in whichever world was destroyed during the Calamity. The Rejoining took place across the rift/Lifestream, so no memories accompany the Rejoining, though it does increase soul density.

Regularly following the Battle of Carteneau to the present day - has Echo flashes, painful pseudo-blackouts during which he experiences the memories of others. He can’t predict when these will happen or will them to happen; though they can be useful, they’re also a serious liability, since they can (and do) occur in the middle of battle. The Echo also allows him to understand all spoken languages and to be understood when speaking (or, in his case, signing).

5 years after Carteneau, when he arrives in Gridania - first hears Hydaelyn’s voice and sees her in visions. It’s possible he’s Tempered by Hydaelyn at this time, giving him resistance to Tempering by other primals. Sporadically hears and has visions of Hydaelyn from that time to the present day.

Before the final battle with Gaius and the Ultima Weapon - receives the full Blessing of Light. Provides him with some protection against Ascian influence and allows him to summon a weapon of Light at pivotal moments, particularly when necessary to destroy Ascians.

After fighting Midgardsormr - loses the Blessing of Light, apparently due to Midgardsormr’s interference or in response to a bargain struck between Midgardsormr and Hydaelyn. His ability to hear Hydaelyn and call on the Blessing weakens; in particular, he no longer has unique protection against and the ability to destroy Ascians. He’s still able to be understood and to understand others, though, and still has Echo flashes.

Over the course of his time in Ishgard - regains the Blessing of Light.

During his final confrontations with both Thordan VII and Nidhogg - channels the power of both an eye of Nidhogg and an eye of Hraesvelgr. Doesn’t seem to be permanently influenced by either of these experiences, but it’s always possible something will show up in the future.

During his time in the First, prior to the defeat of Emet-Selch/Hades - absorbs the Light of five Lightwardens. Each absorption further disrupts his aether; to people with the ability to see aether, his looks exactly like that of a Lightwarden, even prior to his absorbing the Light of all five. Begins to experience brief painful convulsions during which he emits Light aether and has his vision blurred by Light. Following the absorption of Innocence/Vauthry’s Light energy, he loses control over the Light energy within him and becomes, for all intents and purposes, a Lightwarden in everything but appearance. 

He immediately begins to regain his voice, although it’s no longer one that’s recognizably human--it sounds almost metallic, extremely precise and clear, and seems to come from all directions at once.

Over the next few weeks, his new voice strengthens and sin eater growth forms around his throat; it replaces his damaged voice box. 

Regularly coughs up white ichor.

His hair begins to bleach to white.

His facial tattoos also begin to bleach, turning a very light gold/yellow.

His eye color begins to deepen to a truer red. 

White scar-like lines appear leading down from the sin eater growth at his throat straight down his sternum to the base of his ribcage, horizontally across the base of his ribcage, and across the top of his collarbones. These lines become more distinct over time and a recession starts to appear in the middle of each, as though the skin there is receding/pulling apart.

He begins to develop sharp downwards-pointing scale-like growth lining his throat, similar to pharyngeal teeth in some predators. 

His vision is permanently washed-out by Light and increasingly colorless. 

Any clothes he wears or objects he has on his person regularly also begin to bleach out to shades of white and gold. 

About a week into being a Lightwarden- he collapses during the Scions’ undersea search for Emet-Selch and almost loses control to the point of transforming. Fortunately, he has enough time to call on Feo Ul out of desperation; they answer and inform the Scions that Cam’s starving--he now requires living aether to survive. If he goes without living aether too long, he’ll collapse and transform; with living aether, he may be able to hold out longer against transformation. Feo Ul channels enough aether to Cam that he’s able to recover.

Following his first collapse from aether starvation - at least one aether-rich being stays near Cam (preferably touching him) at all times. Feo Ul, Midgardsormr, Shanoa, and Mochi (his Fat/ter Cat) all help by playing this roll in turns--usually by riding on his shoulder or on top of his pack. Ardbert also offers aether. At night, all of them (including Ardbert) sleep either next to him or curled up on top of him, feeding him aether throughout the night. 

By the time they reach Amaurot - even the combined efforts of the beings feeding him aether are becoming stretched, and Cam has begun to catch himself viewing living things (especially anything very small, like the tidepool invertebrates the Tempest is full of) as food/prey. 

After entering Amaurot - the nature of Amaurot and Emet-Selch’s power there prevents any of the aether-rich beings who’ve been helping Cam from entering the city; only Ardbert is able to accompany Cam into Amaurot. His time in the city is marked by increasingly desperate hunger, to the point that he *does* eat some small creatures alive (but magically stunned) to see if that helps. It does, but only a tiny amount. He tries to conceal all of this from the other Scions. (Cam’s about as sneaky as a box of rocks falling on your head, so this doesn’t work very well.)

During the confrontation with Emet-Selch - loses control entirely and collapses, coughing up ichor, and beginning his final transformation into a sin eater. Ardbert offers to Rejoin with Cam, and Cam accepts, giving them both enough aether and a strong enough Rejoined soul to channel the Light aether within them into a weapon of Light and wipe out Hades.

Immediately following Hades’ defeat - having used the weapon of Light, he appears completely purged of excess Light energy and almost all of his Lightwarden transformations have disappeared, except the mutation around his throat and his sin eater voice. His hair color and tattoos remained bleached; his eyes have returned to their normal color.

After returning to the Source (but before the other Scions are able to return) - 

His hair begins to grow back in darker, eventually darkening to his usual black with blue highlights.

His facial tattoos gradually return to black.

Over the course of several weeks, he weakens again, similarly to, though not as severely as, he weakened due to aether hunger in the First. He returns to the Source briefly to consult Y’shtola, the Exarch, and Urianger about this; they confirm that, contrary to their original impressions right after the fight with Hades, his aether is still over-aspected to Light and it seems as though he still retains some need for living aether. He’s no longer at risk of transforming into anything if he ‘goes hungry,’ but he will eventually weaken and possibly eventually fall into a coma. 

Feo Ul, Midgardsormr, Shanoa, and Mochi all again take up the responsibility of making sure to feed him enough aether that the aether hunger doesn’t affect him; this is much, much easier than before, and he really only needs a small aether infusion each day. The cats, in particular, are around him enough anyway that he rarely notices any deprivation. 

Krile also suggests he and Cid (or other researchers/scientists) find a way to cultivate an extremely aether-rich phytoplankton that’s native to oceans in the Source and make sure Cam keeps several vials of water infused with them on his person at all times, on the off-chance he’s isolated somewhere where Feo Ul, Midgardsormr, Shanao, and Mochi aren’t able to reach him. The idea is a successful one, and he carries this solution with him, in magical suspension so the phytoplankton stay alive, at all times.

His voice remains inhuman and disturbing, and the sin eater growth around his throat proves to be permanent.

Cid adapts an ancient Allagan caster’s torque so that it modifies Cam’s voice into something comfortably human. Cam starts wearing the torque at all times.

Cam has continuous (often several times a day) painful Echo-like flashes from Ardbert’s memories. He assumes (correctly) that this is a result of Rejoining with Ardbert, and just accepts that they’re a handicap he has to deal with and that they may never go away (though he’s concerned that they may mean Ardbert’s soul hasn’t completely Rejoined with his and is in pain).

He has night terrors and intense nightmares, most of them containing flashbacks of either Ardbert’s traumatic memories (particularly his own suicide and that of his friends’ and his time spent alone as a lost spirit) or the moments Cam came closest to transforming into a Lightwarden.

He discovers he can now fight using the great axe and a marauder/warrior style, despite never having trained with/in these.

He finds that he’s more apt to speak (though he still usually signs out of habit and preference, especially before Cid develops the torque that modifies his voice); Ardbert had no experience ever being unable to speak, and this affects Cam’s own tendencies. 

He’s now amazingly good with animals. He was never bad with them before, but he’s incredibly good with riding animals and sometimes even wild animals now, and can calm them remarkably effectively and quickly. This is, again, based on Ardbert’s own talents and life experiences.

After defeating Elidibus and being exposed to Azem’s memory stone:

The painful Echo flashes of Ardbert’s memories disappear, and Cam and Ardbert finally integrate completely. Memories from part of his soul’s time as Ardbert are all there for Cam to access, but they’re comfortably distant and don’t conflict with or disrupt his memories of his life as just Cam or his life after Rejoining; they usually come up to the surface when he needs them or when he runs into something in particular that reminds him of something specific from that time (sense memories, in particular, will trigger for him now and then). He’s able to navigate the First as though he’s lived there for years, and knows a lot more than people who don’t know about his Rejoining think could be possible about the world before the flood of Light.

His night terrors and nightmares become less frequent and severe, though they don’t entirely go away.

He remembers anything that involved Cam and Ardbert being in the same place at the same time from both sides, which *can* be a bit disorienting. One reliable way to make Cam blush is to ask about what that’s like and how much he remembers in that way--since he and Ardbert had developed a sexual/romantic relationship as time went on in the First (which obviously required quite a bit of creativity), he has some two-perspective memories that he’s never going to describe to anyone, thanks.

People ask if it feels like he’s two people or if Ardbert’s still there within him as a separate entity. Cam has yet to successfully explain to anyone, but to him it feels like he’s just always been one person--just occasionally that one person was in two places at once. He also thinks this should feel weird, and like it somehow invalidates his being Cam or Ardbert’s being Ardbert, but it doesn’t. It just feels natural.

Cam’s aether’s settled even more into a proper stable integrated state, more so than it’s ever been post-Lightwarden and post-Rejoining. It’s also more intense and slightly denser, even considering his Rejoining. Y’shtola and Urianger have concluded this, and the complete integration of Ardbert’s soul and memories, must be a result of Cam’s experience with Azem’s memory stone.

He still retains some aether hunger, but it’s extremely slight and even the normal level of exposure to arcanic or aether-rich entities that comes from going about an average day means he rarely even notices it.

His voice, even without the torque, still sounds recognizably inhuman but also less alien. He’s comfortable using his voice unmodified now in certain situations (especially if he needs projection or needs to be heard through a lot of other noise/chaos). The sin eater growth hasn’t changed.

He’s grown several inches. Fortunately, this growth spurt stopped after a few months and doesn’t show any signs of returning. It does mean he went without any clothes or armor that fit properly for a while :| Again, everyone assumes this was a result of exposure to Azem’s memory stone. Cam’s just grateful he hasn’t ended up 15 feet tall…

His hair started to grow in a different color again--this time yellow and orange. At this point, Cam’s just like, “oh, fuck it, who cares anymore” about changing coloration occasionally. This is likely another result of exposure to Azem’s memory stone; Cam’s body seems to have shifted slightly to reflect some of what the Scions assume was Azem’s appearance.

His facial tattoos have also lightened back to light gold/yellow, though they’ll shift rather startlingly to an intense light blue from time to time--sometimes quickly and briefly and sometimes fading into the color and back over the course of days. Nero’s posited that it’s related to aether conditions, either externally or internally, or possibly due to the interplay of both external and internal conditions, but, as usual, no one’s letting him test this theory out by exposing Cam to aetherical extremes. No fun.

After having it pointed out to him that tattoos aren’t *actually* part of someone’s living body and they really shouldn’t be able to change with him like that, Cam’s grudgingly accepted that they’re probably part of him and not just ink scarring his skin any longer. Urianger has also untactfully pointed out that they look remarkably like Ascian projection markings or possibly Amaurotine mask markings, and Cam gave him enough of a look that Urianger shut up. 

Cam can call up a glamour to make both his hair and facial tattoos appear their original colors if he wants to; he can’t do much about the height change, though.

Cam’s sure he’s not Azem, despite the physical changes; the memory stone gave him some general vague feelings about Azem’s existence and nature, but nothing specific. Overall, what he felt from it was rock-solid reassurance that no matter what changed in the future, his life was his own and not Azem’s and that he could be absolutely confident in that. It also seems to have, as mentioned above, strengthened his aetherical integration and smoothed over all of the cracks both becoming a Lightwarden and Rejoining left in his aether and identity.

Experientially, Cam is now the second oldest Scion, behind G’raha Tia. Ardbert was likely in his 20s and Cam is 35 at the end of Shadowbringers; Ardbert also spent a century as a wandering ghost. This brings Cam up to around 160 years old -- 60 if you don’t count Ardbert’s time after death. Thancred is very pleased not to have to deal with being the ‘old man’ of the Scions any longer, now that Cam and G’raha have taken that title and run off with it by centuries. Cid now occasionally emphasizes the ‘old’ when he calls Cam ‘old friend,’ if he really wants to give Cam shit.

[ishgard]

emet & exarch >:3c

AAAA GOOD YES. I’mma just… put it under a cut cuz it got a bit l o n g. 

First impression

When we first saw Solus? As he is up there? ”It’s Ardyn.” Pretty much. I won’t count the first time we saw him in a casket cuz that just amounted to ‘he dead’… which was WRONG.

Impression now

“It’s Ardyn.” Okay, not really, I think they’ve got a lot of similarities, but gosh, I could not have been prepared for what SHB did with him. I’m… still not okay. Just looking at that gif and I’m emotionally compromised all over again. Him and Ardyn share a top spot for Final Fantasy antagonist - possibly just most media in general, really. Anyway, I adore him, the tragedy of it all, and for me personally I suspect he’s going to be The Bar that all other antagonists fall woefully short of.

Favorite moment

…..Oh… oh that’s… That might be the toughest question honestly? I mean. Just one? Impossible. I loved every time he’d answer our questions, I loved when he fucking peaced out on us in Rak’tika and everything when he came and saved Y’shtola and oh absolutely yes the scene at Bottom Rung was So Good. The scene after Innocence? The talk with Hythlodaeus? The ENTIRETY of the everything leading up to and following the final confrontation? Augh. A U G H. …I’ve put myself in a state again.

Idea for a story

I had an idea I was working on where the WoL holds onto a piece of the auracite and begins having dreams and visions of communicating with him; just a small piece of him that remains much like a shattered version of himself. There’s so many other things though… plenty with Persephone, and the other members of the Convocation. The idea of a shattered Hades ‘reincarnation’ even many years down the line from where we are now in the story seems interesting too - not necessarily as someone inherently important to MSQ, but someone experiencing the world as it is now and learning to fall in love with it. Ahhhhh….

Unpopular opinion

-looks into the camera like i’m on the office- ….Favorite characters aren’t a political opinion. But no, really, I think there’s a pretty clear divide on whether folks wanna see him come back in some capacity or another. Me? I don’t hate Zenos, but if I had a choice, I’d trade that return for a return of Emet-selch in a heartbeat ngl. idk if I want him to be an outright ally in his return, but I think it could be very interesting if he has a hand in our victory in whatever comes next (defeating Zenodiark? Overcoming Elidibus? I had a vague idea of us moving towards untempering plots and all, and us actually untempering Eli somehow) Overall, if Ishikawa is in charge, I have a lot of faith in her doing such a plotline justice. 

Favorite relationship

I love whatever relationship it is he has with the WoL. I try to steer away from “their relationship with the WoL” for this one as much as possible, but that one in particular, and in this case especially, was just… it was so good imo, and so deeply intriguing. Whether he comes back or not, I really hope we at least get a chance to somehow glean more into what came before. Really kick us while we’re down and show us what we lost.

Favorite headcanon

Shoebill. :| Okay, that’s more of a conspiracy theory, but it gives me hope. Favorite HC is probably… WoL as Persephone. A bit less of a HC for HIM, but deeply related. I have a headcanon that his empress was actually the Source’s shard of Persephone before they died and were ultimately reborn as the current WoL. 

First impression

G’raha: “Who the fuck is this little shit?”

Crystal Exarch voice in WoL’s head: “Who the FUCK is this little shit?”

…So it goes.

Impression now

G’raha then: ; ^ ; I love.

Crystal Exarch now: ; A ; I LOVE!

But yeah, there are obvious… ‘differences’, all things considered, between the two, so I’ll keep this primarily to the Exarch, and good god do I adore him. I will rewind a bit to say that while I did love G’raha a lot! he was by no means a super big all-star fav of mine. But once we’d gotten that first art of the Crystal Exarch and there were the details that the Crystal Tower would be important to SHB story, the dots were pretty solidly connected in my head and I couldn’t wait to see what happened. Needless to say, I was not let down one bit. He’s just such a good boy and seeing how much he loves and cares for you is so moving - oh look, I’m crying again.

Favorite moment

R o u g h. Two that come to mind though are, well, the whole instance with him in Kholusia with that one dwarf whose name presently escapes me, and the scene with him on the cliff top which I’m just gonna smoosh together cuz the other one, probably obviously, is the one after Innocence which… -gesticulates dramatically- E M O T I O N S. MY INSPIRATION!!! ; A;

Idea for a story

My idea is mostly this: Ahru and the Exarch curl up together and take a long-needed and much-deserved cat nap. That’s it. Might not be a long or riveting story, might be more of a snapshot than anything else, but that’s it, and it’s important to me. Also just going on adventures together in general.

Unpopular opinion

D: ..I don’t think I have one? I don’t think this is an unpopular opinion per se, more just personal thoughts, but as much as I love the ExarchxWoL ship, I can’t quite wrap my head around it for an Ahru ship (and I’ve shipped her with just about everyone at some point or another.) which is awful cuz gosh he loves WoL so much. ; - ; 

Favorite relationship

That said! I do love ExarchxWoL SO MUCH, like Emet, the way it was portrayed especially in Shadowbringers was so good. His interactions with everyone were fairly interesting though, and his relationship with Lyna and the people of the Crystarium were also very moving and sweet.

Favorite headcanon

Oh here’s one maybe? I don’t see him as being quite so… shy and passive? as I think he’s often portrayed. I think once he’s found some self-assurance he doesn’t lack for confidence and is apt to playful teasing. (side note: I’m thinking mostly along the lines of a close/romantic WoL-based relationship).

(Send me a character)