#arr or some shit (in character)

[fxckin-blackbeard]

|| @pyramultimuse - Killian ||

ᒥ⚓ᒧ—        Late in the night and Edward hadn't shown up in Killian's quarters as he said he would earlier that day. A surprise guest had shown up that evening, one that had captured all of Edward's attention the moment he stepped on the Queen Anne's deck. The quiet is disturbed by a sudden commotion, the loud, thunderous sound of men chanting and stomping. "Yardies! Yardies! Yardies!" Can be heard through the walls of the Jolly Roger.

"C'mon, Eddie! When'd ya become such a pussy?!" The man in tan leathers shouts up the main mast before taking a large swig of the bottle of rum in his grasp.

Edward, standing on the mainyard, traverses close to the end, hand gripped on the rope to keep his balance. Yes, he had indeed climbed all the way up the shrouds to the tops, then walked himself across the beam as far as he could. Keep clear of the deck, he reminds himself. "Shut the fuck up, Jack! Ya bastard!" Edward laughs, looking down at the dark water below of where the Queen Anne was in the port. Moonlight illuminates the water some, but certainly not enough for him to see what lays underneath the water's surface.

Calico Jack, a dear friend and old shipmate of Edward's, finishes his guzzling down of the rum and begins shouting again. "Hurry up, man!! You look like a bitch just standin' there!"

"I'm tryin' not to fuckin' hit the side of the ship, mate! Hold your God damn horses! Christ!" Edward shouts back, finally as far as he could go on the mainyard. "And stop drinkin' all the rum! Save some for me!" Not that he needed anymore, there was already slight sway to Edward's form. He was plenty plastered, it was how he managed to climb all the way up and across the yard of the Queen Anne.

"The longer you fuckin' take, the more rum I'mma drink on ya!" Calico begins to gulp down the liquid from the bottle again.

[brainrotzora]

these things are always happening to the ones i like :////////

anyways the lighting in this dungeon is so nice

didn't get any good pics bc i was too busy dungeoning but so pretty...best dungeon music so far goes to snowcloak though btw

[spadesnoir]

Oh boy people sure are divided about dawntrail msq huh

[impossible-rat-babies]

I am saying it now that I really do truly love alphinaud a great deal, and can also say in the same breath that he was an insufferable child whom I did not like

[snapscube]

are there any ways to make ffxiv level grinding easier? i'm trying conjurer at the moment and i find the level grinding to be very tedious at times

im going to assume you’re asking cause conjurer/whm isn’t ur main and u don’t have access to the MSQ experience, which would be my first suggestion for anyone looking to level up of course. just play the MSQ. but since, again, im assuming this is an alt job, here are some tips (you should be doing these anyway tbh)

1. buy a shit ton of boiled eggs cheap from any city’s food vendor and always have ur food buff on, that 3% exp bonus adds up

2. get ur hands on accessories that give u an exp buff on top of that. this includes things like the “brand new ring” or if you’ve preordered dawntrail you can use the azeyma’s earrings for an exp buff lasting all the way to 90

3. if you’re in a free company, use company actions to have “the heat of battle” running in the background as you level, which is a company-wide exp bonus. if you’re not in a free company, then by leveling up your grand company squadron (the little AI bot characters u can take into ARR dungeons) u can unlock “squadron missions”. one of these missions will reward you with a set of scrolls that give you the same exp bonus as the heat of battle, no free company needed, but it only lasts a couple hours as opposed to the heat of battle’s 12+. u can stock up as many as u want though, it just takes a bit for the bots to run the mission.

4. DO YOUR ROULETTES. the roulettes that are going to give you the absolute best bang for your buck in terms of leveling are: leveling (duh), main scenario roulette, frontline (this one is very easy to ignore but you really shouldn’t, it’s a TON of exp), and alliance raid. these should get you at least a full level or two every day at higher levels, and sometimes way more if you’re early enough. but half of them don’t unlock until 50.

5. do wondrous tails! if you’ve finished heavensward and you have idyllshire unlocked, you can also unlock wondrous tails! wondrous tails is a book with a weekly checklist of duties to take part in, and each one grants you a sticker. if you get all 9 stickers from doing any duties in the set, you can then turn the book into rewards. this is the important part: a finished wondrous tales book will give you EXACTLY HALF of the exp required for your next level up, no matter what number it is. and this exp bonus will apply to whatever job you TURN THE BOOK IN on. doesn’t matter how or as what job you did the duties themselves as, just equip the job right before you turn your book in and viola. free half a level. you do this every week, it’s very easy!

6. leveling white mage (or any healer) specifically, your main focus if you’ve run out of roulettes and are just wanting to get the absolute best exp bang for your buck in the shortest amount of time possible: do dungeons. just run your most recently available dungeons as much as possible. dungeons give a TON of exp, and healers have easily the shortest queue times of any role in the game. repeat ur most recent dungeon unless the level number ends in a 0. level 50, 60, 70, 80, and 90 dungeons give crap exp because they were designed with level caps in mind. they give other good rewards sometimes, but while you’re focused on leveling, avoid those.

i hope this was at all helpful haha. other readers feel free to post more leveling tips in the replies if i missed anything.

[shera-dnd]

I have decided against my better judgement to be weird about the Dawntrail MSQ

and we can't talk about an expansion set in the fantasy americas without talking about

COLONIALISM

oh yeah, we're going there baby

So disclaimer that I may be brazilian, but my ass is white as hell, so take everything I say with a grain of salt. Also if any native americans have made posts on this please let me know so I can boost their analysis as well

Also also I'm more than happy to delete this post if I mess up. I'm genuinely trying to make a thoughtful analysis, so if I fuck up just say the word and this thing is gone from this website

Oh also also also, Dawntrail MSQ spoilers ahead!

So FFXIV has had a... messy relationship with colonialism over the years

The fact that the major antagonists for the first half of A Realm Reborn a literally called "beast man tribes" is absolutely not a good start to this story

Add to that the fact that The Twelve (Eorzea's gods) are shown to be kind all powerful deities, while the Primals (the tribal gods) are evil spirits summoned to bring destruction to the world

and yeah no ARR is not good with that shit. It's EXTREMELY not good. If I hadn't been told it got better later on I would have dropped this shit before I got to Titan

But they have been taking steps to unfuck things. First we're shown that even the "civilized societies" (in this case the catholic elves) can summon Primals, then that Primal summoning isn't an actual native custom but was introduced by foreigners with malicious intent, and that not all "beast man" practice that

Then they changed the names of the "Beast Man Tribe Quests" to "Tribal Quests" and then finally to "Allied Society Quest"

Which would have been an empty gesture had like half of the post-Shadowbringer patches, as well a lot of Endwalker, not been about forming alliances with those people and working together with them, recognizing that they have as much right to the land and to life as any Eorzean, this all culminating on the Primals being summoned with the express purpose of helping you protect the world you all share

I guess they realized that they couldn't have their big bad for most of the game be the evil expansionist empire, if they didn't like actually reflect in their own imperialist fantasies they were propagating

Then the teaser trailer for Dawntrail drops and everyone in the fandom is like "wait... are we gonna do a colonialism?"

And memes were abound of how all those lessons from before don't apply to the "New World" of Tural

THANKFULLY the actual questline leading to Dawntrail helped to settle some of those worries

We're not going to Tural to explore a new uncharted land, but are actually being invited over by the local royalty in order to aid them with their right of succession. We get introduced to the nation of Tuliyollal and how it's a thriving land with its own culture and not just a "terra nil" waiting to be colonized

Still there are some worries that this is gonna turn out poorly and that we're just gonna end up being white saviors

But I think they managed to avoid that pretty well

For starters neither the Scions nor the Warrior of Light are the protagonists of this story. You're all simply supporting character's in Wuk Lamat's story

A story that centers her people, her culture, and her family

And it's not even one culture. They don't portray Tuliyollal as this monolithic mish mash of every single native american culture

No, the lands of Tural are in fact comprised of multiple different people's and nations, each of them with their own customs and traditions which are informed by their history and the lands they live in

In fact learning about their cultures and partaking in their customs is the whole point of the Rite of Succession. It's all set up so that the next Dawnservant would be someone who understands and respects each of the peoples that comprise Tural

(I could, and probably will, write about what Dawntrail has to say about what makes a good ruler)

And our girl, Wuk Lamat, is shown to be the rightful heir because she really goes out of her way to understand each of the nations and show her appreciation for their customs

Putting her well above her Sharlyaboo brother Koana, The King of Unresolved Daddy Issues Zoral Ja, and whatever the fuck is going on with Bakool Ja Ja

(I joke, I love my two headed traumatized dumbass)

Tho I will admit that this does end up giving the tribes a somewhat "planet of the hats" vibe. Like their named NPCs are diverse and interesting, but you can just assume that most random NPCs of any given people are gonna act according to the stereotype

Which is unfortunate, but I have hopes that with the next few patches and the addition of Dawntrail's own Allied Society Quests, we'll get to see more to them

But that... is only up to lvl95 and the end of the Yok'Tural (southern Tural) segment

because then we get to Xak'Tural (northern Tural) and holy shit does it feel like they drop the ball there

Like they really COULDN'T keep themselves from making Shaaloani a fucking Wild West map

Instead of doing anything with the actual cultures and histories of Native North American people, they just do wild fucking west

Because there's ceruleum in them thar hills! And apparently Koana turned most of the region into Sharlyaboos too

So we get a bunch of Wild West frontier towns mixed with native american tribes and mud brick cities. We have trains and guns and a sheriff and a duel at high noon, but now everyone got native american names

At least there's one group off to the northern side of the map who seems to stick to tradition and live in harmony with nature, and that group is shown respect by the other people of the region

so we at the very least avoid the "cowboys vs indians" crap, but my god does that region just feel bad compared to everything else they had done so far

Then we get to the big twist: THE CYBERPUNK PORTION OF THE GAME

because yes, we go full fucking cyberpunk

so turns out that a whole segment of Xak'Tural got colonized by the kingdom of Alexandria, including the lands of the Shetona (Erenville's people)

And I feel like this is the most poignant section of the MSQ when it comes to colonialism

Because here we have Alexandria, an empire that has reached the limit of what it can do sustain itself on its own world, and so has decided to spread out and colonize others in order to gain resources

We see the Shetona and other natives of the region being separated from their families and kept in isolation from the rest of their people

And tho Queen Sphene is shown to be a kind and caring ruler who gives people a choice when it comes to joining the empire, WELL SHE'S STILL THE QUEEN OF A FUCKING EMPIRE

Like her form of kindness and just stagnant peace is put in stark contrast with Wuk Lamat's own love for her people and more proactive pursuit of happiness and harmony

(again with the "what makes a ruler theme")

Also the people that choose to be assimilated into the Alexandrian Empire? Yeah, they're doing so because Alexandria has advanced medical technology and you can only receive their aid if you're a citizen

Not only that, but you have to be a working citizen. We see later on a character being denied medical aid, because he lost his job, thanks to the King's decision and at no fault of his own

yeah this is cyberpunk, not just sci-fi

ALSO can we talk about how the technology used for that medical aid and the little gizmo they give you to signify you're now a citizen, will literally erase the memory of the people you lost

So the Turali who are assimilated into Alexandrian culture not only lose ties to their culture and their loved ones, but are not allowed to grieve their loss, because what they once had is slowly being erased

How their choices add up to survive on their own OR be assimilated

How this all takes place IN NORTH FUCKING AMERICA!

THE CYBERPUNK CITY IS LITERALLY SET IN THIS WORLD'S EQUIVALENT TO THE UNITED STATES

So yeah, I don't think is is accidental. I genuinely thing that they're making a point about the realities of imperialism and colonialism, as well as taking some shots at the US while they're at it

Of course this part is still centered around Wuk Lamat, and instead of having a moment of "the only ones who can stop the evil white europeans are the GOOD white europeans", we have Wuk Lamat be the one to save the day, defeat Sphene, and save her people from the colonizing empire

So I would like to argue that everything that happens from lvl97 onwards is them picking up the ball again and making a real point

buuuut that comes at the cost of us being unable to engage with the native peoples of Xak'Tural outside of the context of colonialism

Which genuinely fucking sucks, and I hope it will be remedied with the post-Dawntrail patches

As well as handling the whole shared land situation they ended up with and how this might end up in a Land Back sort of movement, and oh boy can they mess shit up royally there

So in conclusion FFXIV has had a messy relationship with colonialism and imperialist fantasies and tropes, but the devs seem to be making a concerted effort to undo their mistakes and show respect in their depictions of american natives

They still fuck up

boy do they

but they're at least trying, and I'd say Dawntrail so far has been quite well executed

so yeah, look forward to more insane rambles like this one I guess

[plounce]

replaying ARR has made me really desperately curious to know how much got changed/added in translation/localization... because i know some crazy stuff was done - for example, the original english text for the moenbryda minion had the implication that urianger made the minion as a sex toy (???!!!!!), and luckily this was later fixed to be closer to the actual japanese text. but that is such a dramatic example of a translation choice made in very poor taste. there's of course the infamous hien dialogue where he calls yotsuyu's trafficker a good guy in english. one thing in ARR that stunned me is in the part where you're gearing up to rescue the scions from castrum centri, and the guy helping you REALLY hates the garleans - and eventually it's revealed that he's from ala mhigo, and he and his family were put into labor camps, and his mother & sister were made to be comfort women for imperial soldiers! holy shit! that's fucking horrible! gaius was the viceroy of ala mhigo and set up its occupational government - did gaius condone that? with the context of the actual historical japanese empire's atrocities, that makes the sorrow of werlyt storyline really, deeply suspect! but also - i don't know if that's the original intended text, or something that the english version added to make the garlean empire look bad that then came back to bite it in the ass later on (from my first 2 examples, one could surmise that the english translation has a tendency to introduce weird sex stuff that wasn't in the original japanese text - but it also desexualized certain things, such as haurchefant). and i don't know what other translations/localizations added, subtracted, or changed. especially because there's sooooo much text in this game. but also translations/localizations have lives and characters of their own - they are not inherently inferior versions of the text. i don't have a thesis statement here, im just thinking out loud. such is blogging

[regretevator-confessions]

i feel like maybe people take this fandom a bit too seriously. and like i get it!! im autistic and i sometimes assign morality to interests because im kind of obsessed with media analysis and subtext which can include a lot of themes and messages (sometimes harmful, sometimes good, mostly unintentional) but like. guys. it’s a silly roblox game. MOSTLY. there arr some more serious aspects but its mainly filled with whimsy. it literally has memes littered throughout the game. including characters based off of memes. a lot of things are meant to be taken as jokes and while it’s completely fine to take things passed off as jokes and make/headcanon them as actually serious parts of a character, its not productive to go into a moral panic about some of this shit. and thats not to say there isn’t like, problems about infantilism/demonization and other problems towards multiple characters. but a majority of people are going haha silly roblox character. wouldn’t it be cute if this silly roblox character dated this other silly roblox character. back when i was in the hlvrai fandom this was also sort of an issue because it was just. a silly jokey series made by friends to be funny. (even though there were unique problems that also existed in that fandom that needed to be adressed. )a lot of people dont really think that hard about shipping, they just pair up characters for fun. like i’m not proship. i hate ships that are clearly abusive or pedophillic or whatever, but most regretevator characters are just silly guys or joke characters. as far as i can tell there’s not really any canonically abusive characters? there’s certainly mean and evil ones, but yall have got to learn the difference between a ship that’s clearly romanticizing abuse and a what is basically a kismessitude. i dont even really like any ships besides spive tbh but i need to stress that some of yall need to block people who ship things that make you personally uncomfortable. a good majority of people won’t listen to you about why it sucks/why you think it sucks. they’ll just keep shipping it. the block button is so sexy you guys. dont waste your energy yelling at people who wont listen 90% of the time. you could be petting a cat instead. or donating to people in need. or telling your friends you love them. or making a chocolate cake. or making fanart.

.

[aangelinakii]

WHAT MUSIC THEY WOULD LISTEN TO.

characters written about in this piece : bruce wayne, dick grayson, jason todd, tim drake, damian wayne, barbara gordon, duke thomas, stephanie brown, cassandra cain

not proofread !

note : if you actually went and read through all of this i will actually smooch you

BRUCE WAYNE

bruce isn't an average music enjoyer, so he doesn't really have many preferences to what he listens to. all i know is that he doesn't like music that is too upbeat, like many pop songs.

perhaps in his angsty emo the batman 2022 phase, he would listen to metal, heavy guitars and drums, similar to jason. but as he develops as a philanthropist and vigilante, he would sway towards classical music without words. it helps him concentrate in many situations, and different artists or albums can convey so many different emotions in their music.

this music often plays within his office at wayne enterprises, the batcave whilst he's researching on the computer, or even just throughout the manor whilst he's doing bruce wayne shit.

songs i think he would like :

jazz suite no. 2: vi. waltz 2, dmitri shostakovich

12 études op.25: no. 11 in a minor "winter wind", frédéric chopin

vi. lacrimosa dies illa, slovak philharmonic

tango - bof "kuduz", goran bregović

le cygne (arr. for harp and cello), camille saint-saëns

le nozze di figaro k.492: overture, wolfgang amadeus mozart

DICK GRAYSON

i can see dick as someone who incorporates music a lot into his every day life; playing something on his alexa as he cooks dinner, listening to something in airpods as he walks around gotham during the day, hums or whistles a tune as he surveys the streets of blüdhaven at night. i don't think he would have taken up learning any instruments, but he's a very musical person, knows how to hold a rhythm as well.

he's into more modern music, very much frank ocean. he likes chill music with a good beat and maybe some good vocals. as long as the song overall sounds good, he doesn't really pay attention to lyrics. if a song he likes has weird lyrics, he'll only notice it one random day as he's singing along, and begin to overthink them in the shower and wonder why they were written in the first place.

songs i think he would like :

swim good, frank ocean

she, tyler the creator & frank ocean

novacane, frank ocean

dance now, joey valence & brae

wet dreamz, j cole

mysëlf, yeat

JASON TODD

i actually have a jason playlist here !

i think jason enjoys darker sounding music, but it can go one of two ways; either loud guitar, or absolutely gut wrenching vocals. i'm talking lyrics mixed with the perfect pleading voice to make you feel just numb inside.

jason has experienced a lot of loss and trauma in his life, so sometimes he may feel numb and just need to amp it up with a loud deftones song, or he is feeling too much, and needs a mellow, yet depressing mitski song to bring him back down. granted, neither are the happiest options, but it's what works for him.

songs i think he would like :

xerces, deftones

danger, south arcade

i don't smoke, mitski

come home to god, amaarae

smoke sprite, so!yoon!

dagger, slowdive

TIM DRAKE

LMAO i think this guy would be such a closeted theatre kid. he's watched all the heathers slime videos and watched hamilton and newsies on disney plus. he loves it, it just evokes an entirely different feeling. he would never tell anybody about this side though, which is why these playlists are kept privateee on his spotify.

so when he's with other people he shows that he listens to more mainstream artists, but likes an experimental sound, so maybe some tyler here and some carti there, but they aren't his go-to artists.

songs i think he would like :

boyfriend, tyler the creator

flex, playboi carti

non-stop, broadway cast of hamilton

once upon a december, broadway cast of anastasia

meet the plastics, broadway cast of mean girls

miso, edv & bigbabygucci

DAMIAN WAYNE

this little shit only exclusively listens to either classical music (aww look at him taking after his own papa) or the heaviest, scariest rock metal you've ever heard. bonus points if it's metal with classical undertones !!! he loves that shit, not that he would show it.

when he does his homework or falls asleep, he listens to heavyyy heavy metal. when he's eating a sandwich in the kitchen, or training in the batcave he'll be listening to classical music. see? it's not exactly linear.

songs i think he would like :

carnival of the animals: aquarium, camille saint-saëns

romeo and juliet op.64 - act 1: balcony scene - romeo's variation - love dance, sergei prokofiev

the isle of the dead op.29, sergei rachmaninoff

immortal rites, morbid angel

them bones, alice in chains

BARBARA GORDON

barbara is a woman on the quieter side, despite herself. i feel towards others she is more outgoing and reliable, but when she's with herself, she likes to wind down and just sit with her thoughts. she likes jazz, slow and soft, and the type of music you would find in music from the 50s and 60s. there's something wistful about it that she just loves.

this type of music can help her concentrate. she listens to music whilst reading, or whilst sitting behind the computer as oracle during less high-tension moments.

songs i think she would like :

the shadows of paris, elsie bianchi trio

piano and strings, henry mancini

a night to remember, beabadoobee & laufey

la javanaise, serge gainsbourg

jane b, jane birkin

my favourite game, the cardigans

DUKE THOMAS

we can all agree that duke is one of the more positive members in the family, trying his best to keep his optimistic outlook despite the rest of the world, and the rest of gotham especially. he likes songs with meaning, although hidden behind a happy instrumental and youthful vocals, but he also enjoys just plain old happy-go-lucky sounding songs.

i also think he's a very musical person, always got headphones on. he probably gets that one notification at least once a week telling him his volume is too high in his ears.

he loves to dance, so songs that he can get lost in and have a little jam sesh in his bedroom are a must!!!

songs i think he would like :

useless, omar apollo

the magic number, de la soul

batshit, dominic fike

breadwinner, floyd fuji & topaz jones

the violence, childish gambino

smokin out the window, silk sonic

STEPHANIE BROWN

as for stephanie, this girl listens to EVERYTHING. she listens to kpop, shoegaze, indie, rnb, 2010s pop, jazz likeeeee she will literally listen to anything. she doesn't have playlists she just fr adds every song she likes to "liked songs" and listens to it on shuffle, and whatever comes up she listens to without an issue. almost never skips songs because she's so open to anything and everything.

like one minute she could be listening to her fav red velvet album, and then the next min she's on the verge of tears listening to phillipa soo sing burn on the hamilton soundtrack.

songs i think she would like :

so good, red velvet

cola head, willow kayne

if you want to, beabadoobee

call me maybe, carly rae jepsen

xxl, young posse

unchained memory, cafuné

CASSANDRA CAIN

following her quieter nature, i can't see cass listening to anything too upbeat or loud. she'll like a softer instrumental but with an emotional vocal line, almost as if getting to express the things she may not be fully able to towards her family and friends.

may enjoy a good old shoegaze or indie song here and there, especially if she's feeling more emotional, as she feels the sound of the song encapsulates her emotions.

songs i think she would like :

only, lee hi

chocolate and mint, duster

slow burn, infinity song

gaia, lexie liu

emo song, beabadoobee

chaos angel, maya hawke

[ilikecutecat]

How I think the ARR boys would react if you throw a cake at them

before we start, i haven't read much about the lore/ i forget most of them now. So some characters might be off character sorry.

reader/mc is gender neutral

Koga Kitamikado

Uh pretty good 6/10 Definitely would say he enjoys the fun and challenge (?) 100% would laugh at it. -1000000 points if you throw a peach cake at him

Kuya

Ehh… 5/10 This could end in 2 ways Bro definitely fly up if you throw it or he not was enough ( idk if he have a fast reflex) The second outcome and the more likely. Wouldn't even care. He definitely would like the cream of his face then just fall asleep -1 point cuz koga won't like the floor/ bed dirty

Aoi

-10/10 Mad as hell, you might get the silent treatment Definitely made you clean up or help you clean up a bit. +1 if he like you he will try to be kindish more and won't yell at you that much Keyword: try

Ginnojo

4/10 Might be confused about what u doing I say depends on your relationship, if you 2 close he might laugh it off (?) if not uh yeah. Might blushes if you clean up his face ( if you a woman ) i say he would

( Idk how to write him)

Yura

100/10 Would very like it His brother don't so mins 10 points Yura would say something like: " this cake is yummy or thou art a teaseing woman or something" ( I'm not good with old language ) 100% would like the cream. All the cream of his face. Might ask for some more.

Toichiro Yuri

-1/10 not good. Mad definitely mad. But I think he might smile and laugh at it. Not sure if he think this might be childish but ehhh.. maybe. Gonna be a little shit about it. +5 point if you help him pranks koga with peach. 100% would get revenge on you. Watch your back.

Shizuki

0/10 yeh Might swap the tochiro point and shizuki point together idk.

Toichiro could like bring him booze and lock him and you togethers He either have a good reflex and freeze the cake before it gets to him. Or he fail. Would say he pretty disappointed and will told you that you are imatured (?)

-100000 points if you tell that he fail to kagemaru.

Kuro

10000000/10 I love him Would laugh at it like koga ( love his silly smile ) 100% would lick the cream and taste it. 99% put some creams on your face as revenge. 1% stand for he no wanna hurt your pretty face <3 Enjoy the fun and might make a cake war with everyone ( Good luck ) He could like make a cake theme circus like some of the event and invite you guys in. +100000000000 point cuz he is kuro and I love him part

Oji

7/10

"Young people/ youngster these days… " Or "I'm too old for this" He definitely said something related to that. You can't change my mind, I will take it down with my grave. +1 point if you help clean the mess and his mess. He would rewards you with the Rice Omelet. if not i will say poor Aoi...

he might escape the cake war if he ran out and smoke before it stared.

Gaku

2/10 no. Really don't. More no if you throw one at his brother. Even if yura like it. He doesn't tho. -2 point if the cake is sweet. Unless yura calm him down he will be hella mad. Don't tell toichiro about this.

(idk what else)

Nachi

8/10 meow I'm not sure if he like cake or not but it's you… Soo I suppose he doesn't mind much? You better apologize with sardines. Many many many many sardines Don't tell anyone tho. Who does not want to be the "butt of everyone's joke" Get it? :3

Kagemaru

Oh dear… You have guts 5/10 I say it's a 50/50 thing. In his profile he does like the strong.. idk if being bold like that is considered strong but.. you do you. Um would ask a fight about it. Idk if geisha allowed to make new ideas in the way to "seduce" customer but would add cake fight for the fun of it. Like tochiro+10 points if you do it to shizuki.

Well he have 2 persona before the event and after so… ( Spoiler)

Aki ( before the event)

6/10 Say something like "a-ah! Oh it's you! Haha.. I never knew.! Don't do it again pls.. I hate being scared (?" Uh yeah idk if he does say something like that I forgot but close to it. Would be shy about it tho

All now for the evi one.

Akiyasu Kurahashi

0/10 yeah I think it kinda self explain. But would ignore it. Or like uh used some onmyoij art to make it miss or something. But imagine if it does hit him. Wouldn't care. Would get annoyed tho.

Tatsuomi Oyama

6/10 if you are like futuba not so bad. But even if you are not. I say he still haddle it well. Not gonna yell or be mad he would be like normal. +1 point if you give him some apologize gift like nachi.

Yakumo Koizumi

8/10 "My doll you are so interesting…" Something like that. Not so sure if he hate cake or sweet or anything like that but yeah. I say he wouldn't mind cuz it's.. you after all. Maybe tiny bit minded that he have to change his clothes ( does he hate being dirty?? Idk) Make him high cuz he like you better then anyone. If it's something else? Oh they be dead.

Kyonosuke Aizen

?/10 idk tbh but -1 point cuz his name is long as hell and I have a difficult time writing it. I say he have good reflex and dodge it.

might called you childish Yeah. Sorry. Idk tbh. But would say he haddle it calm and collected. (maybe)

Mototaka Saotome 

8/10 would only work if you see the reader as futaba or you see him as your father yourself. Cuz he best dad. But would like some father and daughter/son( if you oc is a boy) moment I don't think he would be mad at you. If you look at how he gone to business so much he would think it nice to got some moment like mentioned above.

[nights-at-crystarium]

January 9 is Vivi’s birthday \;w;/ The date’s cheeky, it’s when I reached ShB on him ingame. A year ago. JUST A YEAR. No other oc of mine had such an intense development process. I wanted to try writing a disaster, and, well....

Lemme have today as an excuse to ramble about his influences. Of course I didn’t merely lump these together, I kept realizing the likeness as time went on.

The concentration of unhinged blondies and literal idols is past the critical level, take cover, it’s gonna blow.

Spoiler warning for everything.

Anarchy Panty

Because his full name’s Vivien Fucksalot Rell x’D A good number of their tropes match perfectly.

This speech could as well be copypasted into his final battle with Emet:

Panty: You're right, I'm just a little bitch and I'm proud of it. But guess what, douchebag? That's not the point. News flash, I don't need special fucking powers to beat the shit out of you. You know why? Because I'm a bitch who doesn't give a fuck. You and your half-dead face can preach about hymens and demons and other weird words that supposedly mean shit, but that doesn't change the fact that if any of you fuckers get in my way, I'm gonna kick some twisted-ass ass. You hear me dick? I'm a hot bitch angel named Panty. And no matter what anyone says, I DO WHAT I FUCKING WANT!

Princess Ai

An edgy fashion icon that I'm still in love with. Brainstorming the visual styles for Vivi, I simply decided to indulge as hard as I can.

Howl

Howl gets his redemption arc, Vivi, uh.... Surprise, the entire ShB part of Fragments is his redemption arc of sorts. But he exists outside ShB as well. He’s not meant to be a goody two shoes. But hey, his drama queen moments are entertaining to watch.

Raha has a lot of Howl in his character too. With Vivi, he’s basically this, except he doesn’t swallow him.. Okay he does but in a different way *kicked*

Arataka Reigen

Because I’m physically incapable of writing a classic hero.

Vivi has a complicated relationship with his career and a pragmatic approach to most things in life. He also prefers words to violence, will fight only if that fails.

When confidence and persuasion carry so hard you don’t really need anything else. Vivi firmly believes in everything he says and does. He doesn’t derive any fucked up joy from being right, but he knows as a fact that he IS right.

Sakuma Ryuichi

Duality my beloved \o/ And dorkiness. Other than that, Ryuichi doesn’t have as much influence on his character, but the visuals?

I mean I literally use this shirt and necklace as an easter egg/homage. Gravitation triggered my queer awakening in the faraway 2006, might as well give it the acknowledgement it deserves.

And, lastly, the he.

What else do you expect from a character tailored for a ship \o/

Short. Sassy. Dorky. Gremlin. All of their direct likeness stems from ARR, while the more subtle parallels and extreme opposite values form later.

If Raha’s eccentric, Vivi takes that just a tad bit further, simply because he’s always been allowed to.

What Raha keeps repressed, buried deep down, Vivi embraces in full. He’s an unruly, effervescent spark of life, he’s meant to be Raha’s “manic pixie dream boy” according to tvtropes, to slowly lure him out of his shell and teach him confidence, the joy of living, and find a way to stop him from killing himself over and over again.

Words of praise and affirmation have no effect on them. Both are competent in some field, but never brag about it. While Raha has a severe imposter syndrome, Vivi knows he’s cool as a fact, which still doesn't mean he loves or values himself as he should. He just acknowledges and uses his status for his own benefit as openly as the world keeps using himself.

Destiny (affectionate) and destiny (derogatory).

Raha’s The Adult (tm) Vivi needs to stay somewhat stable. This’s the reason they don’t quite get along in ARR yet, Raha must go through that century of suffering that, despite all common sense, refines him into something delightful, Vivi must go through HW-SB to realize his priorities in life and frankly get fucked up enough to form a perfect chemistry with Exarch.

Raha has a moral compass that he may adjust at will, Vivi has none at all. How much more questionable would they be if they weren’t cute and charismatic :’D

They’re feisty and competitive towards each other, Raha especially so. Vivi has a red cloth effect on him. Forever wrestling for that imaginary control (yep, in bed too). On the emotional side, it’s forever “you matter, I don’t”. They’re mirrors of each other, reflecting some parts as they are, twisting others in most peculiar ways.

Vivi literally wouldn’t exist without Raha, both ic and ooc. So I daresay Raha has the most influence on his character, at the same time he’s his own guy enough to stay interesting. I’m so proud of him. I’m holding him by the scruff and helplessly shaking him in the air.

[fxckin-blackbeard]

@pyramultimuse (from Killian) He decided to grow his hair and beard out. So many others always teased him as being such a clean cut pirate. He liked how he looked but when Edward suggested that he'd look good with a beard and longer hair, Killian decided to grow it out for him. Two months was enough time to get his hair shoulder length, surprisingly it had a bit of a curl to the locks. His facial hair he kept neat and styled it where the longer parts were above and below his lip like a goatee and the rest of bis face a bit shorter. He did keep it very neat, shaving the stray hairs from his cheeks and neck for his comfort. He couldn't wait to see Edward again, would the other captain even recognize him?

|| @pyramultimuse - Killian ||

ᒥ☠ᒧ—        He sat on the stairs to the quarter deck, waiting not so patiently for the Jolly to make anchorage next to the Queen Anne. Only a few minutes before the man on the tops called out the spotted sails on the horizon, and when Edward had a glance through the spy glass, he immediately recognized the vessel as Captain Hook's Jolly Roger. He raised his blacks as an invitation for the other pirating ship to approach.

Once the Jolly was mere meters away, Edward stood at the rail, readying the gang plank for the other caption to come aboard the once-French frigate. Gang plank in place, he took in Killian's appearance and began to laugh. Not because it looked bad, it was very, very attractive to him, but the change was vastly different than Killian's clean-shaven, sharp and short appearance. "Oy, ya gonna be contending for the title of infamous bearded pirate, huh? Captian Brownbeard, ya have permission ta come aboard the Queen Anne's Revenge!" He jokes, a big, goofy grin under his own beard.

It was hard for him to not recognize the other, thanks to that shiny, silver hook strapped to his left wrist. However, the change in hairstyle was different, again not a bad different, but just different. "Been slackin' on a hair cut or what, mate?"

[senespera-ffxiv]

also this is the only time I'm gonna post twice in a row but I finished up my thoughts about dawntrail in my media list so I'm posting them here completely unedited

//spoilers for like all of dawntrail

a more detailed rating is that this is like a 4.7/5. It’s a solid story, if a bit boring and cliche for some of the first half. I do enjoy how clear-cut the story is in terms of thematic content, though, and how through and through it is an exploration of differing cultures and the ways in which you can understand them

The second half was also an interesting continuation of said exploration as it gives you a culture that is in direct opposition to you with ways that are so alien, and yet continues to ask that you understand them while also criticizing the more inhumane effects of those cultural practices

making it about me again but it’s basically just my stance about criticizing China. A lot of the criticism becomes extremely sinophobic because it simply rejects the culture without first trying to understand it. It’s a bit easier for me since I’m deeply steeped in said culture, but I do think it’s possible for someone who isn’t Chinese to criticize China in a non-sinophobic way

Idk just a lot of the way Wuk Lamat and the others handled their reactions to Alexandria felt like a good way to do that to me

Like it’s nowhere close to being as insanely character-driven as shadowbringers and endwalker, nor is it as interestingly politically technical as heavensward, stormblood, and certain parts of endwalker, but it’s still definitely Good. Just not as good in comparison to the rest (and even then I’d rank it above Stormblood lmao I didn’t have any moments where I was actively annoyed at the characters for losing brain cells and shit jksdlfhskldjf)

My ranking for the expacs would be something like this

Shadowbringers > Endwalker > Heavensward ≥ Dawntrail > Stormblood > ARR

Gameplay-wise, though, oh my God this Fucks. This Fucks So Hard. Way better than Endwalker.

I imagine this is kind of what it felt like to play this game back in Stormblood and early Shadowbringers where things were much more complex and messy on the player side, except this time the complex and messy stuff has bled into the normal content boss design and I am enjoying it so goddamn much

(disclaimer: I started playing at the very tail end of shadowbringers so while I still remember some shit like old monk back when it had positionals on all of its buttons, I am mostly A Young'un. I did not have to experience the dreaded TP management, nor have I gone through all the stages of grief with Summoner getting reworked every fucking expansion lmao)

Part of the reason why I love doing EX trials is because at that difficulty level they aren’t afraid to do some just batshit things that would cause you to lose it in normal content

and now it’s bled into normal content hell yes

For reference my two favorite EX mechanics so far are the Biting Halberd combo from Zurvan EX (death puddle under boss → giant cone → baited aoes → tank cleave) and the add phase from Hydaelyn EX (both tanks get an add and have to pull them away from the glowing crystals while party dps’s them, rotate once the glowing crystals are dead)

Like obviously I’m biased cuz I’m a tank and those are largely tank mechanics (cuz yes if you forget to move properly in the Zurvan one as MT you just kill your entire party so I kinda count that as a tank mechanic) but more importantly I like them because of how dynamic the movement is.

And they’re dynamic in different ways, like Zurvan’s is extremely rigid. You will dance in this specific manner (back → tank right, everyone else left) or else you die. Hydaelyn on the other hand can be a bit looser and you have at least a bit of room to do different strategies (ideally it’s a “everyone focus down one crystal at a time” situation but the like three-five times I’ve done the fight the positioning has always been very loose as long as none of the glowing crystals are getting tethered).

And a bunch of fights in Dawntrail are doing stuff like this that feels like a dance

Like the first example I can think of is Ar1/R1/whatever we’re calling it when the boss flings out a sequence of like 8 aoes across tiles before hitting you with an uppercut that sends you flying into the air and in order to not die from said uppercut you need to position yourself so that you land on an uncracked tile

The second iteration of this where it’s the clone that does the uppercut and the main boss is hitting you with line stacks is my favorite because that’s where the amount of stuff you do starts to offset how slow the actual mechanic is to make it feel like you’re in a time-sensitive dance and if you step wrong you’ll fuck things up

Another good example is the final boss The Queen Eternal which just. aughhhh I love that boss. There’s so many fun ideas being thrown around in there lol. You can really tell that Zeromus from the Endwalker patches was intended to be a test run for some of the mechanics in this fight because both occasionally devolve into randomized Chaos as you try your best to just Not Get Hit by aoes can you tell I loved the mechanic when she deploys her drones lmao

LIke okay last thing to yell about but Absolute Authority is literally just a mini Relativity mechanic from E12S/Big Bang from Zeromus but more chaotic and I absolutely loved it

Plus the more chaotic nature of the mechanics in this fight serve a bit of a narrative purpose, especially when you consider how desperate Sphene is at this point in time

Like she doesn’t give a shit about keeping up appearances she will kill you as best as she can, “random bullshit go” included

And both of those mechanics also force you to do more dynamic movement, only now it's typically erratic and panicked compared to the more methodical and freeform dances of Zurvan and Hydaelyn EX respectively

We need more insane shit in the gameplay of the normal mode stuff keep doing it Yoshi-P

[gonkaccino]

Hit the end of Dawntrail, and while I wait for the 24 minute queue for the final trial, I figure it's close enough for me to give a final opinion on the expac. No spoilers, just vague gestures towards obvious developments.

All in all: the trials and dungeons are incredible, fantastic music, but the story? The quests? Hit or miss, and unlike FF16, the highs are nowhere near high enough to compensate for how low the lows are. I'd rank it below Stormblood, equal to ARR.

See, every expac has pacing issues at some point of the story. All of them. Even ShB and EW had bits where they forced the story to a crawl for a little while to set up the next high. The difference is that the next high was so high that you could forget how much padding you just participated in. FF16, for example, would show you the coolest fucking thing you've ever seen in your life, a solid 30 straight minutes of the hypest shit in the world, then follow it up with "please help me get some eggs!" or something completely pointless, and I'd do it with a smile because I knew that as soon as I hit that next eikon fight, I'd be going bananas once again over how unbelievably COOL it was. As soon as the padding got to the point where it was dragging the game down, they'd throw something else at me to wake me up and remind me why I'm still playing.

Dawntrail doesn't do that. You get a few seconds, maybe a few minutes of something cool, then a few hours of boring padding. Talk to farmers about how they grow their crops! Chase down a bracelet! Be careful not to do anything exciting, Warrior of Light, we can't have you causing trouble! Oh, you want your beloved scions to participate in the plot? Those guys who've been here since you arrived in Tural? Get fucked loser! We aren't even going to replace them with a new party of people you could grow attached to, that would require more work creating new trust NPCs. No, your good buddies are here to stand in the background and contribute absolutely nothing to the plot. Enjoy!

Up until around level 97, I had no problems with Wuk Lamat being the main character of the expac. That was approximately the point where I realized that being the main character meant no one else was allowed to participate in the plot -- not Erenville, not Krile, not the Warrior of Light. This is her story, start to finish, fuck you if you expected any character development for any other member of the party.

It COULD have worked if the story wasn't so drawn out at every single step. Unfortunately, that's not what they wanted to do.

[dainesanddaffodils]

Y’all uh. holy fucking shit I’ve finished Endwalker! So here we have the last (pre-Dawntrial) breakdown of Cimorene’s feelings on her friends and comrades!

Thoughts post-ARR | Thoughts post-Heavensward | Thoughts post-Stormblood | Thoughts post-Shadowbringers

And now, without further ado, Cimorene Greystone’s post-Endwalker relationship vibes!!

Estinien - after some awkward dancing around it - that everyone picked up on - they’re finally officially lovers (after he came to her room. you know the moment.) Cimorene truly loves everything about this ridiculous man, trusts and understands and respects him and knows he feels the same - but also neither is really used to a Conventional Courtship so currently things are a little touch-and-go as they figure out where they want to go moving forward

Alphinaud - her dearest and most beloved baby brother now and always. There is nothing more to say; he means everything to her.

Alisaie - her dearest and darlingest baby sister now and always. Deserves the fucking world and also A Break.

Thancred - the work friend to real friend pipeline kicked into high gear this expansion, though admittedly for a minute it was much more on his side than hers (and took her off guard when she realized how close he considered them). Now he’s a bestie and she cares deeply for him.

Urianger - you did it buddy! you got Cimorene to care about you! Maybe if, as you yourself point out, you’d talked to her before now it would have been sooner! Nonetheless better late than never and she looks upon you - and your relationship with Thancred - with fondness.

Y'shtola - bestie now and always. Cimorene loved getting to spend more time with her while dealing with the Thirteenth. She thinks her world-hopping ambitions are a bit Insane, but like, affectionately - and also if anyone could pull it off, it's her. She can't wait to see where she goes, figuratively and literally.

Krile - That's! Cimorene's! mom! She loves her very much and she is thrilled beyond words that she's going to be on their next adventure, properly. It's what she fucking deserves! (but also nothing is allowed to hurt her or Cimorene will riot)

G'raha - is a lot more chill with him now that he, himself, is a little more chill around her. I'd still say she considers him like a close work friend, but like, she's open to that growing down the line

Tataru - absolute fucking queen who 100% deserves her own trade empire. Cimorene has her back for anything she needs going forward

Vrtra - Cimorene loves him so so so much. Her strong attachment to Midgardsormr means that she met Vrtra and felt immediately protective of him (and he, in turn, of her). Conversely, however, she never feels… at ease around Varshahn because he constantly gives her Uncanny Valley Heebie-Jeebies, even though she knows it’s Vrtra. In spite of this she still cares deeply and would do anything for him.

Matsya - BEST BOYYYYYYYY full stop lmao

Nidhana - Cimorene is like, ever so slightly intimidated by her and her scientific enthusiasm but like, also not in a bad way. Cimorene's just not science-minded at all so half of the things she says go very much over her head. But she's so sweet that it doesn't really matter in the end

Hythlodaeus - i the player love him. Cimorene loves him. Cimorene’s Azem loved him. Most beloved of characters of all time methinks

Hades - Cimorene’s Azem’s relationship with him is that one post that’s like “ships that appear unhealthy but when you consider the two people involved this is actually the healthiest thing for them” and that colors a lot of how Cimorene interacts with him. Like this constant “fuck you” said with unbearable levels of affection.

Venat - Cimorene never, uh, fully trusted Hydaelyn and she feels really bad about that now lmao Venat is so good and Cimorene now holds her in such high esteem like. This woman is Everything.

Hermes - She feels bad for him... like, she does, really. But also. Your hubris, man. Your hubris. She watches him unintentionally orchestrate his and his world's downfall with such precision and is helpless to stop him and so it's never hate. it's not even pity. It's just a sad, tired resignation.

Meteion - baby girl you never asked for this. you just wanted flowers and candy apples and were instead given this man's depression and existential dread and an insane amount of unstable untested power. this wasn't your fault. like... it was, but Cimorene never blames her.

Themis - *DISTRESSED SOBBING*

Zenos - no amount of philosophical posturing is going to convince Cimorene that you have anything whatsoever in common - or even make you interesting to her. she does not think about you at all. leave her alone.

Zero - took all of 5 seconds for Cimorene to say 'this is my sibling now.' She's very protective of her but also is always worried she'll say the wrong thing while teaching her the World - and is glad others have also hopped in to help in that regard. Is so proud of her growth and her heart. Wants only good things for her now and always

… and that’s all she wrote!! This is kinda insane to think about really

See you all in Dawntrail!!

[myreia]

It has been an age since I’ve done one of these! So I’m just making up my own thing.

This is the first year I’ve written fanfic since 2019. It’s been really nice returning to something fun and low stakes that doesn’t have the same pressures as my original fiction. Writing for myself is something I lost over the last few years and it’s been so nice getting that back. There’s something really powerful about having your own little blorbo just for yourself and pursuing the things that speak to you.

All of my fanfic this year was FFXIV related and it was so nice sinking into a new world and rummaging around. I love that I get to know Aureia better the more I write her, and her journey is very near and dear to my heart. I haven’t finished anywhere near to all the stories I want to write about her, but she is very clear in my head Aureia’s been through hell, but she’s also my favourite blorbo so I’m not going to apologize for making her suffer.

Overview

Fandoms: 1

Total Fics: 10

Fics Published: 9

Fics Unpublished: 1

Words: 103,788

Highlights

✦ Divergence of the Heart

Rating: Explicit

This is probably my favourite fic I’ve written this year, if not my favourite fic I’ve ever written. I started it in February of this year and finished it in December. It was the multipart that just kept growing. It was supposed to be two chapters, then three, then four, then five, then seven—by the time I wrapped everything up the way I wanted to, it had landed on eleven.

Aureia’s relationships with Aymeric and Thancred have eaten away at my brain for most of this year. It wasn’t supposed to happen like this, but one of Thancred’s lines in the Heavensward patches fuelled and idea and now I’m here all these months later fully invested in a love triangle that has been way too much fun to write. This fic was an opportunity to explore asexuality in a particular light, so there’s a lot of myself in here. The writing in later chapters is some of the most vulnerable I’ve allowed myself to be lately and I’m very proud of how everything has come together.

I also think “No Greater Calamity Than the WoL’s Love Life” is an excellent use of the AO3 tags and I endeavour to use it more.

✦ Bound by Faith

Rating: Explicit

I love this fic with all my heart. It’s my second favourite thing I’ve written this year and would have been my favourite if I hadn’t finished Divergence of the Heart. I am very enamoured with late game Aureia and Thancred—how much they’ve been through and how many times their relationship has been reset. I like writing them as a little older, a little more mature, a little more grounded. They’ve both been through shit and come out stronger for it, and I needed the get the moment where they are finally together out of my system.

Also writing Thancred and Urianger banter is extremely fun and one of the most enjoyable things about putting this fic together.

✦ To Ash and Ember

Rating: Mature

Listen. I had an unexplainable feral compulsion to write Aureia’s fight with Lahabrea. It wasn’t going to leave me alone until I did. I think this fic set the tone for so much of her characterization and development; this moment—both in the fic and in-game—was character defining and it’s where everything came together.

✦ A Question of Desire

Rating: Explicit

This started as a prompt and then turned into my first FFXIV smut fic. It had been a while since I had written erotica, and it was nice to visit that kind of scene with Aureia and Aymeric. Their dynamic is very soft and sweet (especially in the time period of the late Heavensward patches), and I’m very pleased with how the second part came out—especially with the hint that not everything is all right with their relationship. There are cracks, they just can’t see it yet.

✦ Bitter Frost

Rating: Teen

The transition from ARR into Heavensward is one of the most powerful moments in FFXIV for me, partially due to the attachment Aureia (and me) had to Ul’dah. This fic was a scene in my head almost immediately after playing it. I wanted to spend some time when she was at an absolute low, and develop a bit of her relationship with Alphinaud—and experiment with some ways that black mages may attempt to fend off the cold, because why not. Let a magic girl be magic.

✦ Far from Happenstance

Rating: General

I like this one! I think it was fun revisiting the very early moments of the Ul’dah questlines from Aureia’s perspective. I had a better handle on her voice here; I hadn’t entirely figured out her backstory at this point (she was keeping it a secret from me), but she started to feel like a fully-fleshed out person here.

✦ Sand and Stone

Rating: General

This was my first FFXIV fic! I wrote it shortly after finishing base ARR and I was madly rotating the final fight with Lahabrea in my head (I’ve been ruined by the Worst Ascian since that cutscene and it doesn’t even make sense!! Am I mad (affectionately) about this? YES, OF COURSE I AM. Could have chosen literally any other villain but no, this is where I had to peak.).

This fic established some repeat themes for Aureia, namely her close association with fire and the burns on her back, as well as her close friendship with Thancred and his nickname for her (Aureia was not a fleshed out character until she was Aur, nicknames really do something for me, apparently).  

✦ Untitled Post 5.3. Fic

I haven’t published this one yet since I ran out of time to finish it (trying to finish another multipart in the last two weeks of December was not something I needed to add to my plate). But I am excited to work on fics set after Aureia and Thancred get married and dig a little bit deeper into how their relationship changes through marriage. There are still difficulties to be overcome, ways that they test and support each other. I really enjoy writing established relationships, so it’s fun to poke at the evolution of everything that has come before.

A little excerpt since it's not finished yet:

“No,” he murmurs. “I know what you’re doing—and I love you for it, never think that I don’t—but no. In this case… it does not help.” She nods, swallowing the lump in her throat, and exhales a shaky breath. A dozen thoughts rest on the tip of her tongue, a dozen questions she wishes to ask, but she holds herself back. It’s not what he needs right now. “One hundred and eleven,” Thancred says. “That is how many steps it takes to climb the battlements.” She presses her lips together and turns her back on the aetheryte plaza, leaning against the parapet as she gives him her full attention. He glances at her, staring at her through the curtain of hair, and his throat bobs. “I never knew that until today,” he continues. “In all our years here, all the times I have walked these battlements, not once did it occur to me to count the bloody steps. Not once did I imagine a future where it would be a near impossibility to reach them.” His gaze flickers to the aetheryte. “Not my first time being a fool, I suppose. I took my aether for granted once too.” “It’s not an impossibility,” she says firmly. “You dragged yourself up here—” “And I can barely stand. All my efforts and I have nothing to show for it save the reminder that I am…” He trails off, tempering his frustration before he says something he regrets out of spite. “Krile will give me a tongue-lashing for this, I know it. She will say I am pushing too hard. That I am being unkind to myself.” “And maybe you are.” “How can I not? If I must be sequestered off in a dark room and sit on my hands while the others return to their regular duties I will—well. I will…” “What?” He makes a face. “I would say ‘eat Urianger’s hood’, but he’s not exceptionally fond of those anymore, now is he?”