#but they keep him around! because hes a wol and hes powerful! and he is actually decent to those he loves

[watanabes-cum-dump]

I didn't know you were also a ffxiv fan!! If you have any thoughts on yandere ffxiv characters, I would LOVE to hear them.

Like, zenos is obvious, but I totally have some thoughts on others 👀👀

YES YANDERES YESYESYESYESSSSSSS

Yandere Haurchefant is hopelessly devoted to you. Sure it's not super different from regular Haurchefant who is Down Bad™ for WOL but I think here it becomes more of an obsession. Is he capable of holding you down? No, you're the Warrior of Light for twelve's sake. He couldn't lock you away if he tried. His resolve? Be around you 24/7. And I MEAN 24/7 365 12 months a year. Bro worships the ground you walk on and I really do think he would have joined the Scions if you know... the Vault didn't happen. Having his devotion might be a blessing or a curse, bc he is NOT letting you out of his sight. Attachment issues fr fr. Honestly I don't think he'd do anything super insane. Like yeah he'd kill for you, but he'd do that normally. And he's not doing it just bc he wants to or whatever. If you're ever threatened or god forbid, hurt- someone is going to taste the steel of his blade. Yandere Haurchefant is just regular Haurchefant with a little added insanity and unhinged-ness. Maybe he's extra horny too, bit of a pervert that one.

Now, Yandere Aymeric is giving me many thoughts thanks to this fic called Captivate so though I am a firm subscriber to the idea that literally only Zenos might be able to lock up WOL, I can also make an exception to Aymeric because of this fic. Please read it this changed my feelings for Aymeric. Though, Aymeric locking you up would also require him to have a sadistic streak, which he doesn't really have and this fic itself also feels like an AU where Aymeric actually caved in and became a piece of shit due to his upbringing. However, my personal idea for Yandere Aymeric is that via his political power, he pushes you to be with him. Of course, he only does this if you reject his advances at first. He would 100% find a way to force you in a semi-political marriage with him. Like I said before, no one can hold WOL down, but, he can keep you on a leash. No matter how long, he can always reel you back in if he wants to. I think he would harbor a bit of guilt personally. Like, he knows it's unhealthy, he knows it's hurting you- but he just wants you so damn bad. And he tries to make it up to you with gifts and whatnot, but at the end of the day, your collar, no matter how gilded and comfortable, is still a collar. And the Lord Commander had the leash.

[dujour13]

A Health to the Company

A little follow-up on our pwotr pals discord RP. Many many thanks to @yunessa for the idea, it was super fun and helped me out of the blues.

cw: Act IV spoilers, alcohol use, angst

For context. A spatio-temporal anomaly at the Bad Luck Tavern resulted in a paradoxical meeting of a handful of Knight-Commanders from different timelines: Siavash, Yunessa (@yunessa), Katya (@three-of-crows) , Lenarius/Leonosa (@undyingembers), Raphaël (@jean-dieu)

Theoven (@offsidekineticist), Kadira (@spyridonya), and Minovae (@silversiren1101).

They gossiped about their companions, shared their hopes and fears—although mostly their angst as this period of exile in the Abyss is a low point in their careers—and bonded (and argued) over a few—or a few too many—beers.

---

“Seelah!” It’s meant to be a whisper. “Hey Seelah, wake up.”

“Hunh? What’s happening?” The paladin sits bolt upright in her bedroll and gropes about for Radiance.

“No no no, sh, it’s just me,” Siavash laughs, stumbling into a squat next to her, even in this position somehow managing to sway on his feet. “I’m uh. I could use your help.”

“Have you been drinking?”

“I’m fine.”

“Yeah… I can see that. Smell that.”

“You won’t believe who I met at the Bad Luck. It was some kind of temp—temporal thing. They were all there. They were all different! And the same!”

“Hold on. Just—sit down, will you?”

“Thanks, yeah.” He plops down heavily.

“Despite what you might think, this is not what the Inheritor lends me her power for.”

“Yes it is.”

She rolls her eyes heavenward.

He reaches out to cling to her sleeve, eyes swimming with sincerity. “Because you have a good heart. And Iomedae says to follow your heart. And your heart says you need to hit me up with some restoration before Wol—“

Too late.

“Whatcha doin’ chief?”

“I’m fine.”

The tiefling stands over them, tail twitching. Somehow, half the camp is awake now even though Siavash swears he was quiet as a mouse when he crept back into the Nexus.

He is formulating his act of contrition as his eyes travel up but he’s suddenly distracted by how cute Woljif looks in his nightshirt and forgets what he was going to say. And then Seelah’s spell takes effect and it’s like letting all the warm bathwater drain out of his mind, leaving him heavy and shivering on the cold floor of the Nexus mine.

“I thought we were on the same sleep rotation,” says Woljif.

“We are. I just went out for a bit.” Siavash uses Seelah’s shoulder to get to his feet, giving it a squeeze of thanks as he goes to wash up. A few minutes later he’s scooting his bedroll alongside Woljif’s and when he closes his eyes the floor is blessedly stationary. Again he begins formulating his apology. “I just needed some time to think. I mean, a distraction. I do my best thinking when I don’t think.”

As usual, Woljif’s mind is already ten paces ahead. He’s figured out what happened, weighed the risks considering the recent Battlebliss incident, repressed any uncomfortable memories pertaining to alcohol and Gran, and debated whether and how to scold him. “It ain’t safe. Next time take somebody with who won’t hassle you. Take Regill, he won’t talk to you.”

“Oh, yes he will,” Siavash says with feeling.

“Or me. I can keep my trap shut.”

“I don’t mind you.” His heart aches but he can’t tell him he and his shadow are the principal reason he needed the break. Before Woljif can wonder aloud why he didn’t invite him along in the first place, Siavash brushes his cheek with his knuckles and speaks low in his ear, just under his horn. “How are you holding up? Really?”

“I thought Kenabres was bad, and then I saw the Worldwound, and I thought that was bad, and now this. I think my nightmares are gonna start havin’ nightmares.” Woljif sighs, then adds in a tender, embarrassed whisper, “But havin’ you around takes the edge off.”

“Same.” Siavash kisses his shoulder. “I won’t duck out again, I promise.” Even as the words leave his lips he winces at echoes of the same words, uttered too many times in the past, and hastily adds, “I mean it.”

Woljif’s eyes look almost green in the pale light, wide open and searching the vault of the mine far above. “S’aright. You do what you gotta do, chief. Always works out in the end. Or, usually I guess.”

“Thanks for trusting me,” he murmurs, already drifting. He closes his eyes, never noticing the inky pool of darkness that settles between them.

Woljif lies utterly still until he hears the breathing at his side ease into a low rhythm. At last he relaxes just enough to allow his tail to swish beneath the blankets. He clasps his hands on his chest as if he’s praying, or dead, and stares up into the darkness knowing he won’t be getting back to sleep tonight. Waiting and dreading… and presently, like clockwork, it begins: a velvety hiss in his right ear, making him scrunch up his shoulders:

Trust no one but yourself.

A thousand thoughts crowd in in answer: but I want to – but I love him – but he’ll live up to it this time – but I don’t want to be alone.

You’re not alone. I’m here. And I won’t hurt you like everyone else has.

What are you, anyway?

Your shadow.

With a fingernail he taps the gem in the Moon of the Abyss where it’s lodged in the dip in his collarbone. You in here?

It hesitates. I’m part of you.

And that’s how come you’re lookin’ out for me huh? Vested interest?

Correct. That’s why you can trust me: I am you.

That’s a little creepy.

Next to him, Siavash sighs through his nose and shifts. Impulsively Woljif starts to reach over just so his fingertips can steal a little warmth from his skin, but as his hand passes through the shadow it feels cold and he pulls it back and tucks it into his own armpit instead.

I am part of you, and you’ve come home to me.

The Abyss? That what you mean by home?

Home and family. Your legacy, if you have the courage to take what is yours.

Really? What’s mine? Quit talkin’ in riddles and gimme some numbers.

The mansion in the rich quarter I pointed out to you, and everything it contains, and everything it represents.

But I want—that’s not all I want.

He glances over. In the dying firelight all he sees of Siavash is the faint orange outline of his mussed hair and half-elven ear and it feels like if he reached over to touch him, it would turn out to be a mirage and his hand would pass through thin air.

Get used to disappointment. You should have, by now.

But I want—

Forget him. You’ll have to someday anyway. Might as well start now.

I don’t want to! Why can’t I have it all? How come just ‘cause I’m a tiefling I always gotta go hungry?

Oh, stop whining. Yes, you’re a tiefling! Seize the Abyss within you and use it like you use magic—shape it to your own design, dominate it, direct it against your enemies and fill yourself with its power so that you become smoke and shadow, elusive and free. Reach out with both hands! Take what is yours, by right or not!

Whoa, whoa, waxin’ a touch demonic there, ain’t we?

I am part of you. I am the Abyss.

Woljif shudders and pulls the blankets up to his chin.

Use me. That’s the only way for someone like you to take what you are owed.

Someone like me.

He grits his teeth as it starts: the prickling under his collarbone where the necklace rests, rivulets of icy blue fire streaming down his arms to his fingertips, sizzling in his hands, boiling in his guts, making his hair stand on end, making him want to jump up and let loose: power.

His thrashing must have disturbed Siavash’s slumber, because he feels an arm tossed across his hitching ribs. Its warm weight soothes the energy crawling under his skin and forces him to breathe steadily.

Woljif clings to the arm and presses it harder to his chest.

I want it to be real.

Only power is real.

I want someone to really think I’m… important.

Come to me. I’ll give you something real you can hold in your hands. Something yours and no one else’s, that you are free to use as you see fit. Then you’ll be important.

The firelight dies. He can no longer make out even a dim silhouette by his side in the darkness; it’s as if he’s alone in this lifeless, cavernous Abyssal mine and if he reaches out no one will be there but his shadow, seething around him, keeping him safe—and keeping everyone away.

Maybe the Abyss is the only home someone like him can hope for.

Even before he opens his eyes Siavash reaches out for the warm body next to him and his palm slaps on cold, flat stone instead. He’s alone, he’s still in the Abyss, and he’s hung over. A dull hammer thuds behind his eyeballs. Seelah’s restoration took care of most of the consequences of his actions, but not all—probably by the paladin’s design.

Hesitantly he opens one eye and then the other, and is grateful to find that Woljif hasn’t disappeared after all. He’s kneeling over him, carefully draping a cool cloth across his forehead. “Y’aright there, chief?”

Siavash’s eyes widen as he turns to stare at him. “I had the strangest dream.”

He can’t tell anyone. They’ll all think he’s cracked once and for all. Other Knight-Commanders from different timelines? Imaginary friends?

Why does that remind him of Regill?

[theworldwalkerswols]

Alt text: Please note repeated tags and numbered tweets indicating thread progression have been omitted. 

Twitter thread by user G’raha Tia @/graha_tia on Jan 1, 2022

RADZ-AT-HAN SCENE ANALYSIS: G'RAHA TAKES CHARGE (and makes the fans collapse into a collective sobbing heap) 

G'raha's flight, fight, or freeze response is 'Assume Full Command and Take Charge of the Situation' and I think it's the most amazing thing.

The guy is surrounded by people who are literally exploding into horrifying, rampaging monsters & the leader of those people was just devoured alive in front of him, and he kicks into high gear & gains control of everybody in under twenty seconds.

It shows his leadership experience as the Exarch, and how many crises and horrors he must have endured throughout his time during the 8th Umbral Calamity and the Flood of Light on the First. Everything about the scene is so perfectly done, too.

G'raha doesn't just pull out his weapon and start screaming orders - he positions himself in the middle of the space so everyone can have a clear line of sight to him, and he to them. This not only makes it easier for everyone visually, but places him at a vulnerable yet defendable point of reference - everyone (including the Blasphemies) can get to him with relative ease and he, as both a healer and combatant, can get to them quickly if needed. He straightens his posture, pulls back his shoulders, tucks his chin a little, and starts speaking slowly from his chest and diaphragm-which drops his pitch half an octave, adding bass & power, and makes his voice carry without much effort and with absolute clarity over the shrieks of the Blasphemies and the sounds of fighting. 

His commands are simple & concise, which is vastly different from his normal talkative demeanor & shows his familiarity with similar situations - after all, it's hard for people in crisis mode to listen & process anything complicated. He's able to break things down to short, digestable phrases: "defend this point", "run here for safety", "REMAIN CALM," and makes it very easy for people both panicking & fighting for their lives to understand & follow.

He has such a strong presence that everyone around just instinctively listens - not a single person questions his authority or decisions, despite most of them having no clue who he is. He establishes himself immediately as a steady rock in the middle of the (almost literal) storm, and even the people who don't know him can feel his reliability & gravitate towards it. The entire scene is just absolutely perfect to me, from the animation & cinematography, to the superb voice acting, to the music and sound design (the cries of the Blasphemies [were] positively bone chilling)... Phenomenal, and one of my favorites from the expansion, not only because it's G'raha. 

A visceral, horrifying experience that compounded & solidified the dire nature of the situation into players' minds, and started a long chain of even more terrifying scenes of tragedy (because objectively the Palaka's Stand arc was one of the most distressing). 

But despite the fear & dread the story always reminded us that even the darkest moments had light. 

Whether it was G'raha standing tall in Radz-At-Han, the WoL & twins fighting their way to Palaka's Stand, or even dear Matsya & the teachings of his faith--it was a constant, well-executed reminder to keep the hope. 

Anyways thanks for coming to my TED talk! 

I'm so happy to have experienced such a phenomenal, thought-provoking, heartfelt story and honestly have much more to say about everything, but perhaps that'll be for another time. <3

Attached at the end of the thread is a meme image of a man sitting at a table on a campus. The sign on the table reads “ENDWALKER IS THE BEST YOU CAN’T CHANGE MY MIND”

alt text end.

--

This thread perfectly encapsulates why this moment was so powerful! It also is so COMPLICATED, character wise, because just before he takes charge, he sighs and it sounds distorted to me, like the voices of those who are beginning to succumb.

[ofdarklands]

slamming into the wall of your inbox at top fucking speed to ask you to answer "Monstrous" and "Wound" for Mitr'a thank uuuuu

monster: Is your OC monstrous in any way? Is there something that makes them monstrous? Are they aware of their own monstrosity? Do they accept it or reject it?

hmmm is being perfectly suited to your role monstrous? being a keeper man is a job and he was excellent at it, in his opinion. he's proud of it. you must survive by yourself within the powers of the shroud, being forever a useful stranger wherever you go. you carry memories and news, are both source of life and passing interest, first defense and first to fall, to be welcomed but not kept too close. integral to your society but also expendable. you need a certain way of being to thrive in this role. i tend to think life expectancy for keeper males isn't overly high

being the wol is not so different, really. he's really good at it. it's just the framework around him that is not used to it, and he forgets sometimes that everyone else hasn't caught up yet to the obvious

.

wound: How does your OC handle being wounded? Are their wounds mostly physical? Mental? Emotional? What's the worst wound your OC has ever experienced?

physical wounds are a fact of life. you do your best. you learn so you are better prepared next time. death will occur anyway. i need to actually make a general map of his scars, even if the most notorious are mostly from before hw (upgraded to whm then). definitely a big burn from ifrit in his chest. wasn't expecting the primal surprise at the time

emotional wounds... as he had a fulfilling life before arr so he's had the advantage of being very stable for the woes of the msq, but the increased closeness with people from hw on does have its effects as the story goes on... was fully willing to turn the exarch into paste about it too. lucky for him that he knew him from before!

i don't think wound is the word, but the end of shb revelations about his mythological role in the future and the past(azem) is the closest his idea of how the world should work got to outright wobbling. people should not be that loadbearing. these kinds of things should not be done for one person. they should not be done for the past. but he's also good at rolling with the blows, and also slightly distracted by feeling like absolute shit from light poisoning and spending all his energy in keeping focused in not staring at the wall listlessly so...

the final walk in ew also sucked balls but it was less immediately crushing because there was 1) hope and 2) his conviction that people choosing how they die is to be respected completely no matter what

[amoebaforce]

How would you think the scions react to learning that after the final fight against Zenos in EW, the WoL had brought him back aswell for them to keep him alive, then when they also find out the reasoning behind it being that the WoL and Zenos are dating?

anon, this was a juicy one! i was immediately intrigued, then i thought... "what if they all found out at the SAME TIME?"

so that's what i wrote! enjoy! :D

characters featured: Thancred Waters, Urianger Augerelt, Y'shtola Rhul, Estinien Wyrmblood, G'raha Tia, Alphinaud & Alisaie Leveilleur, Zenos yae Galvus tags: angst, secret relationship, mention of violence/grievous injury, Endwalker spoilers!!!, gn!WoL word count: 1408

They’d really done it. Their unhinged plan — flying to the edge of the universe, bringing hope to the wellspring of despair — actually worked. When the starship landed, the sky was blue again, the sun shining bright and hot over the white-washed walls of Sharlayan. The Scions were heroes. And as such, they should have been celebrating their triumph. Or sleeping for a week. But, of course, they were doing neither.

Instead, they were crammed seven-deep into an infirmary waiting room, staring at walls and fidgeting as they waited for the Warrior of Light to emerge from one of the sick rooms. A fairly regular occurrence for them, with one exception. It was not the Warrior convalescing; it was the disgraced prince of Garlemald himself, Zenos viator Galvus. The fact that he swallowed the Mothercrystal’s power and hunted the Warrior to the edge of the universe was dramatic enough as it was, but the fact that the Warrior brought him back afterward? 

Bizarre. That was the unspoken consensus between the Scions. Everyone seemed to be holding their breath, unwilling to assume but burning with curiosity all the same. As they pondered a day full of incomprehensible occurrences, the door to Room Two slid open, and the Warrior of Light emerged into the waiting room. Their comrade’s face was grimmer than befits a shard of Azem. The silence was a shell no one wished to break.

Finally, someone exhaled.

“Does he live?” Y’shtola asked, tone held taut. The Warrior merely nodded their head. “How severe are the injuries?”

“Fractured jaw,” the Warrior recited, eyes a little glazed. “One wrist and one leg are broken, and a few ribs, too. Internal bleeding. Bruises and cuts everywhere.”

“What happened out there?” Alphinaud exclaimed. He rose to his feet, and his sister followed, though her eyes were still cast to the floor. “I mean, we almost lost you, and then he teleported aboard, too, and–” 

“Zenos helped me,” the Warrior said suddenly. “We stopped the Song. Then we fought, and I… I couldn’t leave him there.”

Thancred and Urianger exchanged a look. The Warrior took another step into the room, not quite sure who to look at. A thousand emotions swirled through the Scions’ faces. 

“Listen,” Thancred said, “I trust your judgment. If you saw fit to bring him back, I can’t argue.”

“Neither can I,” G’raha interjected. He fidgeted slightly in his seat. “Though I admit I’m a little confused as to why.”

Alisaie crossed her arms. “Me, too,” she muttered. “He’s a real piece of work.”

“People can change,” the Warrior argued, tone verging on defensive. “Look at Yotsuyu. Look at Fordola.”

The Elezen girl twisted her lips, though she couldn’t argue the point. Her brother took a go at it, instead.

“But you just said he went up there to fight you again,” Alphinaud countered. “Clearly he has not grown out of his fascination with harming you.”

“He doesn’t want to harm me,” the Warrior said. “It… It wasn’t like that. He challenges me because I’m his only equal. The only person who could ever hope to be a match to him.”

“What are you saying, exactly?” G’raha asked, ears twitching. 

The Warrior hesitated. Cast their eyes around the room. A sea of faces stared back, all in various stages of bafflement. All faces the Warrior had come to know, love, and respect. They hung their head.

“I’m sorry,” they told the Scions. “I’ve been keeping a secret.” 

In an instant, the room went airless. 

“I beg your pardon?” Y’shtola demanded.

“What does that mean?” Alisaie shouted.

“Now, now,” Urianger said, stepping closer. “None of us have ever presumed to be privy to every facet of our comrade’s personal life. I am sure all of us have some intimate business we’d prefer not to air among ourselves. I cannot fault the Warrior for keeping their conversations with us work-related.”

“This is work-related,” Y’shtola shot back. “Zenos has been a thorn in our side for ages!”

“I know, and I’m sorry,” the Warrior said again. “But after that day in Garlemald, after Alisaie told him off, things changed. We talked. Came to understand each other.”

Thancred frowned. “Well, I guess if anyone could understand a guy like that, it might as well be you…” He trailed off, rubbing his chin.

“So you’ve been meeting with him in secret?” Alphinaud asked. The Warrior nodded.

“And what do you do on these rendezvous with the enemy?” Y’shtola pressed, even as Urianger lifted a brow at her tone.

The Warrior sighed. Memories flooded their mind. Soft nights in Ilsabard, splitting a loaf of rationed bread around the coals of a dying fire. Whispering into the crook of his neck as the sky turned pale.

“We just talked. Not about ‘work’ or anything like that — about life, and the past, and the future. He’s lonely. He wants to move on.”

“Tell that to the people left behind in the snow,” Alisaie snapped, and the Warrior winced, because she was right. 

His freedom wasn’t fair. For acts like his, there had to be consequences. They’d told Zenos as much the first time he showed up at their door. But he showed up again, and again, and the Warrior realized he had nowhere to go. No one to cling to. 

“He’ll atone,” the Warrior said, holding their chin high. “Just like the other architects of the war. I’ll make sure he does.”

“You speak as if you are his shepherd,” Y’shtola said.

When the Warrior did not deny it, the Scions went a little stiller. Another pause.

“Do you… care for him?” G’raha ventured. 

The Warrior’s composed facade cracked. 

“I do,” they confessed. Tears sprung to their eyes. “And I know Zenos has done a lot of bad, but so have I. I put down hordes of the tempered before there was treatment. They were innocent people. Victims. I held the dying in my arms as they told me their lives were less worthy than mine, like it was just that they died and I did not. And all of us who freed Doma and Ala Migho have Garlean blood on our hands. 

“Yes, our righteous cause prevailed, and we saved the star, but I find no peace in that knowledge. I find it only with him. Zenos was groomed for the purpose of destruction, just like I was. We merely served different masters. And now, we both find ourselves at the end of our tasks, with no instructions for our next move. Equally lost. Yes, he is impulsive, and aggressive, and arrogant, but the world isn’t ending anymore — there’s a tomorrow again. One where a man like him might grow and evolve. I have to give him the chance to see it.”

A stunned silence settled over the Scions. Alisaie’s brow knitted with astonishment; Y’shtola’s mouth fell into an ‘O’. The Warrior gritted their teeth, waiting for a wave of scolding, but it never came. Everyone’s faces softened, eyes glazed as if ruminating — everyone but Estinien. He hadn’t said a word in hours, but now the dragoon let out a low chuckle. A smirk graced his lips.

“Didn’t realize you had a thing for blondes,” Estinien said.

Thancred snorted, and with a series of eye rolls and giggles, the tension between the Scions loosened into something breathable. Somewhere deep in the Warrior’s chest, a knot came untied.

“Me, neither,” they replied, allowing themselves a half-smile.

Urianger stepped forward to lay a hand on their shoulder. “Tis plain to me that you have made up your mind,” he said gently. “And just as plain that you hold the prince dear to your heart.”

“Aye,” Y’shtola murmured. “I do not pretend to understand you, my friend, but… I can’t tell you who to love.”

The Warrior wiped their eyes with their sleeve, uttering a teary laugh. G’raha offered a handkerchief, then pulled them into an embrace.

“Whatever makes you happy,” he said, so honest that it made the Warrior cry harder.

Alphinaud smiled to himself, already making a mental checklist of all the ways he could coordinate the prince’s reparation efforts with the Ilsabard Contingent’s. If utilized correctly and led by the Warrior, he thought, Zenos might well be a boon to the reconstruction. In fairness, he didn’t have very many fans left in the area… but that was a bridge to cross later. Right now, all the Warrior should worry about was recovery. Theirs, and their love’s, too.

[surveillance-0011]

Master and Crazy Handcanons

Both:

Both are collectors, hobby-wise. They also enjoy sparring and partaking in games + competitive activities.

Born from the same source, twin brothers. Perhaps even the same person. Regardless, two halves of a whole.

It did take Crazy Hand some time to make his presence known to the smashers but Master Hand always knew him.

MH used to be rather ashamed of CH because of his role as a destructive other half, but learned to accept his presence. On the other hand, once upon a time CH was very envious of MH's ability and drive to create but learned to appreciate his own abilities.

Both are charismatic. While they present as more antagonistic, in the end it's all kayfabe and they care a lot about the smashers.

Oversee everything, basically. Doing a lot of behind the scenes work with the help of spirits, miis and other powerful beings throughout the worlds. MH does the more general stuff, and CH the dirtier work

kind of aware of the meta of everything being a video game, kind of not. Schrodingers 4th wall awareness. when it's quirky.

Both go by he/him.

rest is under the cut for length

Master Hand:

The Creator. The Ringleader. Voice of reason.

Used to play up the evil ambiguity more, but now he's more into presenting as the ultimate foe in a more benign way. Like Max Brass or some sort of top dog boxer.

Also the announcer.

Early bird, and early to go to bed. cannot stay up late to save his life. I mean he will to battle for many a kid playing under the covers

Very organized in routine and actual cleanliness. Loves his lists and itineraries and sorting cabinets. Yes, he is creative and never super-uptight, but he needs some semblance of routine.

While he tries to keep Crazy in check, he is still up for some mayhem every now and then and is totally game for dishing out beatdowns together whenever!

Very hush-hush about Master Core, hates its presence within him.

Still very guilty about not being able to prevent or do much during WOL. Subspace? Okay. That was a mess but he did what he could. With Galeem and Dharkon? He feels he should've been able to fight back and see the warning signs.

Very stern and distrusting towards Tabuu, Galeem and Dharkon. Not fond of them but is keeping them around to keep an eye on them.

Doesn't like to show weakness. He knows a lot of people rely on him and would rather die than see them feel helpless.

Great at cooking! Everything he makes is great, the smashers cannot get enough. Though a lot of the smashers can cook and do so for each other, on special occasions he will treat.

Needs more hobbies, a vacation and some therapy. please.

Crazy Hand:

A destroyer. Source of chaos. Chronically silly.

It's just... his nature. He has a lot of energy but he hasn't ever been able to make and retain something. He has, however, been able to break things down and mess them up. As mentioned above, once upon a time this was disheartening to him, but he was learned to work with it and take joy in it. That, and by being a part of Smash he has helped cultivate something beautiful in his own way. Very proud of himself!

Really plays up the supervillain sort of vibe, esp in comparison to his brother. He's like a scare actor. He tones everything down if he sees someone is actually scared.

Huge prankster

Night Owl. Keeps an eye out after dark, making sure curfews are met (for the kids mainly, gotta get their sleep) and that mischief is kept to a minimum. But he will also be a boogeyman of sorts and cause a bit of mischief, as he loves to spook those who decide to stay up late.

Gives more leeway. If you know Master Hand will say no, consider asking Crazy for what you want! He's like the cool uncle if Master Hand is more like a team dad. Gotta make up for brutality on the battlefield somehow!

Likes to collect quirky, kitschy stuff. Lots of weird collections. Rocks shaped like presidents. Beanie babies stitched together like the human centipede. WMDs. Garfield Fish Tank Owner.

Oh I bet he does keep fish also. He'd be good at it. Another thing where he can actually take care of something and not destroy it.

Don't trust him with gardening though. Or cooking.

Into horror and weirder stuff, but prefers campier stuff. Can't stomach super horrific and dramatic stuff or gory stuff.

Easily moved by movies.

If he's quiet. Assume something is wrong. He's either doing something in secrecy or really upset. Hopefully the former and he's just about to pull off some crazy prank.

Got over Subspace and WOL relatively easily compared to others but is worried about how they affected others, especially MH.

He was also still shaken up from being controlled by Dharkon

Dislikes Galeem and Tabuu, sees them as stuck-up pricks. Feels sympathy towards Dharkon as the guy is Chronically Miserable and he sees that it was acting out of misplaced rage and dispair. Doesn't make it right but CH knows what it's like to be full of the need to destroy and raise hell. This has lead to him being more forgiving and trying to befriend his former adversary

[zeledonia]

misc slightly underbaked thoughts abt DT i have rn that are probably only gonna multiply once ive had time to let everything marinate in my brain:

- I enjoyed Gulool Ja Ja's role as the "WoL of Tural" lol. It's been really entertaining to me to travel the continent and hear about all the cool and all the wacky stuff him and his scions gang were up to, seeing everyone react with a mixture of awe and 'what do you MEAN he did that', and realize that this is just. This is what the WoL must look like to everyone who wasn't around for the action. We're experiencing the impact of a character much like the WoL, but from an outside perspective this time. - I thought the parts of the story dealing with accepting loss and grief as a part of life were very heartfelt, and some of them hit very close to home. I liked how well it tied in with what Venat told her people in Endwalker, about how she believes that people must not cling to the things they have lost and instead learn to take the loss into their hearts and move forward. There's smth to be said about the parallels between the supporters of the Zodiark plan, and the system powering the Endless. Being so set on the idea of cheating death and loss by bringing back/keeping around those that have been lost, at the cost of lives that have yet to be lived fully. - This is a small-ish thing but I thought it was a neat idea that the sidequests in Living Memory unlocked as you erased the areas, and them being your chance to help people 'finish their affairs', so to speak. Y'know, it kind of reminded me of the Aitiascope in a way - souls staying behind because they have unresolved issues that prevent them from moving on, and this time you get the chance to help. - Ok this one is deeply personal but everything about the various different relationships the promises had with Gulool Ja Ja, and the elements around legacy and exploring how the person who raised you lives on in you came at a pretty vulnerable part in my life and made me think. A lot. My family unexpectedly lost my father a little less than two years ago. Needless to say we've been grappling with the hole he left behind and the footsteps he left to fill. Watching the characters ponder over things like "what part lives on in me" and "how can I carry the responsibilities that used to be his" definitely hit me in some kinda way.

[kaldwinroyalty]

Thinking about it, its kinda wild to me that. The Scions as an organization are supposed to, outside of primal slaying their main role, like, handle diplomatic relations and yet.

And yet you have basically a group of zero actual diplomats.

Like ok listen. Minfilia was the one who handled the majority of that when she was around, ARR made it clear she handled a lot of the bureacracy, but after she's out of the picture its the Scions taking on the role on a 'whichever one of us is closest to the current diplomatic meeting' basis, not a 'yeah I want and/or trained to do this'. Yeah you could say they have Alphinaud but like, huge plot point was him not getting the nuances of politics and fucking up big time, it wasn't till a lot of development did he get to where he is in Endwalker where he can pull on diplomatic relations like a pro so.

Zero proper diplomats for a good chunk of the MSQ

Cause Y'shtola is a magic scholar who constantly toes the line of "maybe casting dangerous magic isn't a bad idea", and is only not permanently living alone in a cave because thats a slippery slope to being like Matoya

Thancred is a goddamn spy, the guy behind the scenes, and once he's out of his flirting stage he's rather blunt and short tempered when dealing with people being slightly annoying

Alisae basically dragged her feet to joining the Scions at all and voices several times diplomacy not being her cup of tea

Urinager doth verily speaketh like so

Estinien gives me a heart attack each time he turns to an ancient dragon and goes "bitch"

I suppose Tataru and Krile I'd trust, but Tataru is much more in the mercantile world and Krile has had other things to deal with instead of working out relations between city states

So until G'raha showed up, it really was just Alphinaud with a shaky dream, AND EVEN THEN. Mister Crystal "stop trying to make me king" Exarch only pulls out his commanding tone when he really has to, otherwise he's content letting others handle it. This super powerful group is coasting through their peace keeping job with luck, very specific and relevant knowledge, and the ability to go "we can ask the WOL, a practical walking nuke, to kill that for us"

[miss-tc-nova]

Bear Hugging WoL - Scions

I very much approve of this @melodymeddler​. Thank you for asking :3

~~~~~

Scions with a WoL who Gives Bear Hugs

Alisaie

Alisaie will gripe, groan, and maybe even resist when she sees you’ve returned. She’d rather die than admit she enjoys your hugs. But when she’s there, there’s no fighting; she just leans in as she grumbles.

“For Twelve’s sake! No! Noooooo! Get away from me! N-Stop! Ugh! Fine!”

 Alphinaud

Little Alphy is the most bashful when it comes to hugs. He gets all blushy and tries circumventing them with a handshake or “welcome back.” Never works. But even he knows that once you’ve got your arms around him, there’s no use resisting.

“Welcome back. How was your adventure? Oh, no. I’m fine, really. Wait. Hold on—nope. We’re doing this. Aha. Welcome back. I’m glad you’re safe.”

 Estinien

Actually, this guy is the most bashful when it comes to hugs. He will straight up curse when he sees you walk in. Might even draw his lance to keep you at bay. But if you catch him and manage to hold on for a few seconds, he’ll give. He won’t hug back, but his will to escape will die partially because he actually loves it but take that secret to his grave.

“Oh hells. No! Stay back! I’m warning you! I won’t—No! Get off! Uuuuuuugh!”

 G’raha

G’raha is wholeheartedly excited when you return. He wastes no time in setting his work aside to greet you. He revels in the tight embrace, happily rubbing a cheek against you and his tail swaying happily you know, like a cat. He’d probably purr if he could.

“You’re here! Welcome back! Ahaha! Aye, it’s good to see you again.”

 Krile

Sweet Krile enjoys your returns. She’s simply accepted that you’re a hugger and will return the gesture happily. No muss no fuss here.

“Welcome back. How was your trip? Did you enjoy it? I’d love to hear about it.”

 Lyse

Lyse gets herself all riled up when she notices you return. The girl will actively stand and run at you, unless inappropriate in which case she will power walk to greet you. She absolutely loves your hugs.

“There you are! Our grand Warrior of Light! Bring it in! There we go!”

 Tataru

Another casual enjoyer of hugs. She’ll excuse herself from her conversation and head towards you with a little pep in her step. Once she reaches you, she’ll hold out her arms, expecting her hug.

“Excuse me just a moment. There you are. Did you enjoy your trip? You’ll have to tell me all about it. But first, my hug!”

 Thancred

Thancred enjoys a hearty hug. He’ll try not to show his eagerness and patiently wait for you to come to him, but once that happens, it’s arms out and hug time. Will still mock you over it though.

“You’re back? Oh very well. What a needy person you are. Ah, wait, no. Come back here. Give me my hug, dammit.”

 Urianger

This man is probably the most difficult to get a hug on. The instant he has an inkling that a hug is coming, he mysteriously slips away. However, poor Urianger is only graceful enough to pull this off about 15% of the time. The rest the time, he actually manages to draw more attention to himself. And once caught, he suffers the consequences of his ineptitude.

“Ah, w-well met, friend. Aye, ‘tis good to see you as well. Your travels were well then? Please unhand me.”

 Y’shtola

The prickly mage heaves a great sigh whenever you return. While she may long to continue her studies or the tasks at hand, she knows if she doesn’t put them down willingly to embrace you, you will get in her way and may even disturb her work. Would also purr if she could.

*Sigh* “Very well. Come. Let us get this over with. Excuse me? Get over here. I will not have you sulking over a simple hug. There. Welcome back, Warrior.”

 ~Overall~

Overall, your hugs really aren’t a bad thing to the Scions. They all enjoy them in varying amounts, whether or not they admit it. In fact, it’s become such a staple in their lives that at least once or twice, they’ve thought back to your embrace in times they’ve struggled. It’s a motivator—to keep pressing on until they see you again and suffer your hug once more.

[rainofaugustsith]

Who is a shard?

Just for fun, I keep a running list of everyone I think may be sundered in FFXIV. Best guesses right now.

Warrior of Light (S) - Ardbert (F) - Zero (13th) OR Warrior of Light (S) - Ardbert (F) - Golbez 1.0 (13th) 

OR BOTH 

If the Warrior of Light IS a Golbez, I believe it's the one who was in the memoria crystal and became Zeromus. 

- In the First, the Warrior of Light barely escapes succumbing to the Light and becoming a Lightwarden. - In the 13th Golbez 1.0 succumbs to the Darkness and does become a voidsent. We have a parallel there. 

Golbez is also recognised by passerby in much the same way as the Warrior of Light on the Source. In the Lunar Subterrane dungeon, passerby seem to recognize the Warrior of Light as Golbez. 

However: 

- The Warrior of Light's personal crystal from Hydaelyn resonates with Zero.  - Zero has an extraordinary trust of the Warrior of Light.  - Zero's dialogue in the last sequence is very Warrior of Light-esque.  - Zero as a reaper avatar did not voluntarily work with Zenos. If she shares a soul with the Warrior of Light, it would explain why Zenos wanted her. He's obsessed with the WoL, after all. 

- Zero was thrown into the rift to avoid being killed, exactly like the Warrior of Light before ARR. 

During the final dialogue between Zero and Golbez 2.0, the Warrior of Light is not seen, and there seems to be an Echo flicker. Zero also finds the strength to regain her form as a paladin. It could possibly be because the Warrior of Light lent her strength to Zero and briefly merged with her. 

I feel like there's a possibility an Azem shard from another reflection somehow ended up being filtered to the 13th - perhaps as an attempt by Hydaelyn to give them help and avoid destruction. Hydaelyn would have been at her most powerful and we know that even after Shadowbringers she has enough power to bring Minfilia and Emet-Selch's souls back to the aetherial sea on the Source. So this would have been simple for her when the 13th was going downhill.  The names Zero and Zeromus are very similar and we know SQEnix doesn't choose names randomly, so maybe this is meant to pull the player toward realizing both are Azem shards.

Minfilia (S) - Ryne (F) - Golbez 2.0/Durante (13th)

Minfilia and Durante both have the same braids on the sides of their heads - just opposite- the same hair color and the same eyes. -

In Shadowbringers, Minfilia refers to the WoL as her "dearest friend" and is very affectionate toward her even after they've just met in ARR.

If your WoL has carried over from 1.0, Minfilia remembers the WoL clearly when nobody else, including those with the Echo like Papalymo, does not.

Minfilia, as Antecedent of the Scions, is also really successful at bringing together a lot of disparate recruits.

In addition, while Minfilia in the Source is not a fighter, she does stop the entire Flood of Light on the First with the Warriors of Darkness' help. Also, her numerous incarnations in the First all are documented to have fought very successfully against Sin Eaters. 

Minfilia in the First stops the Flood of Light. Her shard in the 13th causes the Flood of Darkness. It really makes sense and brings things full circle. 

Yotsuyu (S) - Barbariccia (13th)

Zenos (S) - Vauthry (F) - Cagnazzo (13th)

Cagnazzo is depicted as being someone who gets off on fighting, believes in no one, and is searching for the perfect fight to fulfill him. That forms the core of his identity. I don't think they could make this any clearer. 

- Vauthry was turned into a monster by his parents and Emet-Selch; Zenos was turned into a monster by his father and Emet-Selch. 

- Vauthry controls those in and around Eulmore by feeding them meol, which when activated turns them into his unwilling servants. Zenos controls those in and around Garlemald with his towers, which when activated temper anyone who isn't protected and turn them into his unwilling servants.  - Both the towers and the meol are made with body parts of the dead.

Both think of absolutely nothing but their own gratification and see those around them as mere tools to be exploited. 

Hautdlong (S) - Traynor (F) - Rubicante (13th) OR  ???? - (S) - Nyelbert (F) - Rubicante (13th) Hautdlong (S) - Traynor (F) - Unukalhai (13th/F)

Rubicante is a noble mage who watches his friend die and mourns for him forever. That's the story of Traynor and Nyelbert exactly. Traynor and Unukalhai are obviously kindred spirits - when U. comes to the First, Traynor comments that he can work with U. like he's known him forever. As though he's Nyelbert's shard.

Urianger (S) - Cyella (13/F)

Both are Elezen with grey hair and questionable pasts. - Cyella betrays her friends to try to save her world, but make amends and saves them in the end by rescuing their bodies from possession as the Cardinal Virtues.   - Urianger betrays his friends to try to save his world, but makes amends and saves them from being defeated by the Warriors.  - In the scenes where the Warriors of Darkness fight the Scions, Urianger appears as the sixth "Warrior," in the spot Cylva occupies with the WoD on the First. 

Haurchefant (S) - Ser Tolas (F) Both are noble Elezen knights who are fast friends with the Warrior of Light/Darkness. Tolas is more contemplative, perhaps, but he also gets the Warrior of Darkness to go sit in the spa with him after just meeting them, as though they're really comfortable and get along well.

Lalai (S) - Lamitt (F)

The most obvious of the parallel souls they show with the Warriors of Darkness. - They look almost identical  - Both leave their homes in search of forbidden knowledge and have to more or less teach themselves - Both are seen as pariahs by their peers - Both are possessed - Lamitt's body by the Cardinal Virtue (evil); Lalai's body by Shatotto (good).  - Both have a very significant unmasking scene - Lamitt has an unrequited crush on someone.  - Someone has an unrequited crush on Lalai.  - Lalai: black mage - Lamitt: white mage - Lamitt: cast out and finds found family - Lalai: accepted and finds found family

Solkzagyl (S) - Branden (F) Leih Aliapoh (S) - Renda-Rae (F)

Gerold (S) - Grenold (F) Rowena (S) - Mowen (F) Drusilla (S) - Lorathia (F)

[storytellers-and-co]

Ya boys about to hit Shadowbringers

I got through Stormblood post-game last night and BOY what a ride it was!? I could barely put the game down, even when I was trying to pace myself so I don't leave certain friends too far behind. Adding spoilery stuff below the cut, because I know one of 'em reads this blog (I just need to gush a little while things are still fresh in my mind)

Okay so. All the revelations of Garlemald and how, WHY it was created? I loved that, it so easily explained why a whole ass country has been the default 'evil conquerors' for so long without any real challenge or change until now. Because the real man behind the whole thing is STILL AT IT. Change don't happen if the original reason, the original driving force is still kicking about.

Also I wanna kick Solus. I wanna kick Solus so hard. Props for the animators, writer and Rene Zagger, it's on sight now old man, I'm coming for your kneecaps!

Speaking of voice actors, Luke Allen-Gale! Hot damn did he do a good job as Zenos (and the possessed Zenos)! I have complicated feelings about Zenos, ngl - He's one of those characters that I know cannot be saved, fixed, or redeemed, but I can also see why he's such a popular character? Personally it's the voice and certain lines that did it for me. Got some shivers out of certain line-deliveries.

He's actually a character that makes me kinda sad - it's a reminder that there is some characters that are doomed by the canon, they'll never be good people, and yet you can see a glimmer, a potential of what-ifs, could-have-beens and all that. A road that was there but refused by the character because that's just not who they are.

Also Varis is also on the kick on the face list. Black Rose is bad. Stop it.

AND NOW ON THE LATEST THING that actually got two of my friends laughing: The final fight against Zenos-Zombie! Zenbie? Zomnos? The- the dead body possessed by the Ascian who I keep calling Ildi because names hard. Ildinos.

So the final fight against him. One, I absolutely loved being Hien for a moment, he quickly became one of my faves through the Stormblood (he's such a fun, up-beat character that takes the life by stride while also not being a pushover, and that's such a good quality to have!).

Two.... GOD DAMMIT WHOEVER YOU ARE, COULDN'T YOU HAD PICKED A BETTER TIME FOR YOUR BLOODY HOUSECALL, YOU NEARLY COST ME MY HEAD! If it wasn't for our local stray cat of a dragoon, we would've lost then and there and you would've lost your chance to have the WoL helping out on the count of NOT HAVING A HEAD, pick your times better oui raatmacc raqan! (This is a joke I know he couldn't have known I was locked in a death-match. I hope.)

Now if ya wondering why I am not more outraged about the fact they've effectively kidnapped my friends, I uh. I actually felt a huge surge of sympathy at the start for the character. idk something about the voice painted a picture of someone desperate and... sad? Upset? Distressed? Something like that just got my empathy flaring up. So while I am mad that I keep getting these calls and everyone around me is panicking in fear, I also want to get to the bottom of this because apparently my empathy levels are far too fucking high.

(Yes I am the type of person who wants to help everyone in any of the games I play in. It's my ultimate power fantasy, being able to help and comfort folks without my actual personality coming in the way)

I think that's all for me now folks, I am taking a small break before heading to Shadowbringers - I have few alts that need to catch up to HW at the very least, and a laundry-list of things for my main to go through. Like all the gathering side-quests, Eureka, unlocking all the primal fights and fixing my glamors etc. We're also trying to get a house for Storytellers, so i gotta help gather some extra funds + items.

[watanabes-cum-dump]

Guess who finished Stromblood ✨

Anyways, I love me some characters with beautiful dead blue eyes~

Also some feelings abt Zenos under the cut bc I do be having ideas

He's honestly very interesting to me, and I find him very unique among villains. Like he doesn't hate WoL, in fact he calls us his "first friend." He fights for his own pleasure, which is really cool to see amongst the sea of villains fighting for vengeance or for what they perceive as right- but not Zenos. He fights to feel something. Zenos fights to feel the high of battle. He really is a monster. I do kinda think it's his dad's fault because he shows no remorse for his son's death and states that a monster is not fit for the throne and honestly that solidified him for me. A villain living and fighting for nothing but the thrill of battle is just super poetic for me. We are his friend, his equal, and his greatest rival because we are the only one who can compare. Eikon slayer, hero of Eorzea; the Warrior of Light is the only one who can give him that thrill.

Makes me wonder how he developed this thrill for battle. Throwing himself into increasingly dangerous situations to feel the rush of adrenaline from a good hunt. He's what, 26? Has he been this way since he was a kid? Or was it something he fostered as he got older and served in the Garlean army?

Anyways now onto the shippy stuff-

I'm gonna say it right now, but Elysia is one order away from being a bloodthirsty murderer. Killing gods has given her something of an ego- and honestly if it weren't for the Scions and the Alliance puppeting her around she'd be little more than a monster herself. She's vain, prideful, and a little selfish at times. She has little left to live for, and not much to return to.

So in a way, her and Zenos are similar. They both have major daddy issues lmao, but that aside, Elysia also seeks an equal. Eikons are all the same when they die, and no mortal has every really measured up to her.

Also while drawing this, I realized Zenos has little demon wings on his armor that contract Elysia's angel theming perfectly. Hehehehe it's just soooo juicy. Esp because Elysia isn't exactly an angel herself- she's kind of a piece of shit but she often tries to hide it behind her charms. So I think it would lead to this interesting dynamic of Zenos wanting to see her truly unleash that beast and be the rampaging piece of shit she is and Elysia trying to keep that side of her under wraps because he doesn't deserve the satisfaction of seeing her true self.

I can see the twisted potential of them being together- Zenos utterly obsessed with finding his equal and Elysia being more than happy to have yet another man wrapped around her finger. Reasoning be damned, she just likes the attention and appreciates the fight. They would be... an interesting power couple.

But at the same time, I did say that they were similiar and in some fucked up way I think they would find comfort in each other. Now they definitely operate under the "I can make him/her worse" logic but it's comfort nonetheless and anything is better than whatever the hell Zenos was raised in so yeah. If they were to be more genuine though, I don't think I see them being in love with each other. I think Zenos would confuse all the adrenaline for affection in the above toxic scenario, but I cannot see him actually being in love with her lmao. I think Zenos x WoL kinda needs a morally sound WoL to be a somewhat functional relationship and Elysia is... definitely NOT that girl lmao.

I think they would be great friends actually. They kind of balance each other out. Zenos "hehehehehe violence, carnage bloooodddd" and Elysia being all "okay yes but let's be subtle about it." Also I think more than anything, Zenos needs a friend to get his shit together like love will NOT fix that man. Not that they would try to fix each other, and that's the beauty of a friendship. They're both just kind of existing and understanding each other.

My fix for this is the Eorzea Academy AU where Zenos is still yk crazy and whatnot but Elysia is his keeper lmao. Like "Sorry abt my dog" and it's Zenos bullying the freshmen or smth lol.

[pettyeti]

Something I have been considering regarding 7.0.

This is more of a personal ramble about my WoL more than anything, and won't have any bearing on what I post on this blog.

I've been leaning toward ending Etienne's story after 6.5.

This is partly because his story feels finished, and partly because I am not very excited for the story in 7.0 and beyond. I'm probably just going to make everything that happens in Dawntrail a non-canon AU for him.

Etienne's story was one that would always reach its conclusion once he found the will to live again, and he did so at the end of 6.0. Much of his internal angst rested with Hydaelyn/Venat. Plucking him from the Lifestream and compelling him to fight in her name was a source of great contention for him. From 2.0 to 5.0, Etienne thought he despised Hydaelyn because she didn't allow him to die with the rest of his clan.

In actuality—and this was something Etienne himself didn't realize until SHB—his true grievance lies in the fact that he feels like she deprived him of choice.

In 6.0 she corrected that mistake. When Etienne "died" again after fighting Zenos, Hydaelyn gave him two options: Return to Etheirys and continue living the life gifted to him, or come with her and his family to rest eternally in the Aetherial Sea. Etienne chose the former option, having finally realized that yes, after everything he had seen, after traveling across the star and finding a new family and friends and a home and something to fight for, he wanted to live. He had the strength, the need, the will to continue living.

It was a groundbreaking moment for him, and every story beat was leading up to this realization. It's what his character development was leading up to.

Now that Etienne has received closure with Hydaelyn and is on the road to mental recovery, his arc feels complete. I would be very satisfied if his story were to end here, so there's not much else I want to do to keep it going.

Another reason... I feel like the game has a power scaling problem. It feels a bit silly to destroy the literal embodiment of despair at the end of the universe (Meteion) as well as an Ancient on steroids (Athena), only to go back to small scale quests like exploring. I can acknowledge this is likely necessary considering it's an MMORPG and the story must go on, but I can't get over how silly it sounds when I put it to writing.

(This is also in direct conflict with how I write Etienne's personal power scaling. While Etienne is a peerless swordsman and martialist, he's quite lousy with magic. Much of his power stems from blessings he's received over the years. These include: Hydaelyn's aetherial magic, Alexander's time magic, Seiryu's right eye, Vrai's dark mark, and Selene's (Azem's) power over the stars. These blessings are symbolic for him accepting help and not pushing people away anymore. Also, I don't want him to be any more powerful than he already is.)

Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe an even larger threat than the End of Days will occur in Dawntrail and beyond. I'll definitely be around to see it, but when it comes to incorporating it into Etienne's story I'm leaning toward a solid no for now.

I'd also like to go back and brush up his story with Vrai and my other OCs. (... And I feel like Etienne has earned his happy ending at this point hehe)

[velnica]

Lv. 58 — A Saint of Song (part 1)

Here we go again! Timeline wise, Ysayle has quelled the brief unrest, but here is a time stretch between apprising Edmont and Aymeric and the latter running off to confront Thordan. This one happens in that stretch.

Oh Sanson if only you knew that Guydelot has been keeping an eye on you this entire time...

I can't believe he's agreeing with Guydelot. The Sanson from two quests ago would have baulked at the possibility lol.

He looks so excited uttering this line but I didn't catch his animation in time RIP.

It's still 50/50 to me whether the Twelveswood Moogles reveal themselves to Sanson because they could sense that he believes in song, or whether he pestered them enough because he believed in song and they gave up hiding. I think the latter is funnier, and that the Moogles were pleasantly surprised that Sanson chased them down because he fervently believes in the power of song that they resolved to help him from that point on.

These elusive denizens of the Black Shroud are skilled in the manipulation of aether, their arcane arts allowing them to remain undetected by all but the most determined or gifted of seekers. In the course of recent events, Eorzeans have also become aware of a second moogle clan dwelling in the Churning Mists of Dravania. — Encyclopædia Eorzea vol 1, page 256

The way he looks so dejected here yet still holding out hope for Guydelot to return... And he knows that Guydelot now also believes in the Ballad so he's keeping that little fact close to him as comfort.

If Guydelot runs away to conceal his feelings, Sanson just keeps advancing, because stopping might mean having to confront the fact that Guydelot isn't there.

In my headcanon I think he does at least say his goodbye to Sylviel at this point, but of course he doesn't linger long. The only way to go from here is onward, else he would be failing the Adders, failing Guydelot and also failing himself.

SURPRISE!!! (not really, this man is kinda Tsundere at this point that he HAS to stay around lol)

Oh babyboy don't worry, big sis is here to knock some sense into your head.

Sylviel absolutely and totally knows what's happening here.

LMAO the way Guydelot petulantly turns around; cheeks aflame, no doubt.

Love it when WoL has been through some fantastical journeys that not even contemporary scholar actually knows what's happening lol. We making history!

I am curious how many times has Guydelot needled Sylviel about his meetings with Sanson by this point, because Sylviel's chastise has this fond exasperation laced through it. He's probably shaking his head at these two youngins who just refuse to confront their feelings head on.

Reminder that Guydelot is canonically a 22 year old country boy; he may have a swagger about him, but he's inexperienced though he might not want to admit it some days. Guydelot eschews formal authority, but he is not above asking for a trusted friend's counsel. I'm sure he's asked Jehantel for many pointers too!

Fjora doesn't like mincing her words, it's what's worked for her and by the Woods she will make it work for this boy.

Stubborn, stubborn little brother...

OC note: Fjora really does latch onto Guydelot because she can see in him something of Cora. Except for the fact that Guydelot is endlessly stubborn while Cora is more go with the flow kind of person.

A towering edifice, creatures beyond the dream of a Gridanian country boy and still Sanson is stuck in his books... But for a different reason this time 🥺

The complete change of reason here to record what he sees is so... IS SO...

THEY BELONG TOGETHER YOUR HONOUR!

It's not enough that Sanson trusts Guydelot's skill, here he practically admits that he wants to hear Guydelot write a song about Anyx Trine is just... my heart...

And now he lets you lead! He's realised that he needs to take a step back, to listen to those who have better ideas about what to do next instead of strong-arming his way into getting information. And guess what, it's working wonders.

Speaking of going up to Sohm Al, it is a goddamn dangerous climb, despite Tioman being gone. I can just imagine Guydelot sticking real close by—to Fjora's exasperation—so that he can safely follow them. And I think I've written this in Breathe In, but I can also see him pause at moments to play his harp, out of earshot, to soothe the dying dragons in Mourn.

Also Fjora would have to have introduced Sanson to Vidofnir in Anyx Trine too. Imagine, meeting dragons! But Guydelot isn't there to share his awe. Oh well, Sanson will just have to record everything in great details so that Guydelot feels like he was there too.

Reminder that the Churning Mists is way up there around that giant floating rock. Moghome is attached to it but the rest of the area (Zenith, etc) are floating islands.

Ugh, the pining...

It's not IF, but WHEN. He is sad that the bard doesn't get to see this view first hand but by the Matron he will try his best to let Guydelot experience it in however small way he could. He's recording this all down specifically for that reason and that reason only; Sanson wants desperately for Guydelot to be here.

For the love of the Matron, Guydelot, JUST TALK TO HIM

You stubborn, pining fools... the both of you...

You're absolutely right, Sanson.

[Continued in Part 2]

[semi-imaginary-place]

red mage: so basically arya should be a thaumaturge or black mage. she's really really good at the destructive magic and terrible at the restorative magics. why find equilibrium when you can min max and be a nuke.

have you heard of ... blue? or perhaps... green?

I really like x'rhun, great character

given x'rhun's history in the ala mhigo im disappointed the 60-70 storyline isn't going there, ah well time to see what idyllshire has in store.

I was just thinking at the end of the level 60 quest if X'ruhn is in his 40s then lambert probably is too and arya looks to be a teenager, wouldn't it be be messed up is she was his daughter or something. the only reason i didn't quite believe it is because lambert said he's been in a magical coma for many years.

fake memories? artificial humans? many possibilities.

i think its pretty interesting that despite its reputation it is not black magic that is the successor to void magic, it is red magic. and this is despite both black and void magic originating from mhach.

irony that the swashbuckling aesthetic class ends up being the demon summoning dark magic storyline.

wait that coffin is why witchdrop is haunted??

hey i happen to know a certain kitty cat that is a mhach specialist. too bad the questlines can't be interdependent.

hmm even the red mage writers get conjury and white magic mixed up

sorry arya but the 50=60 stuff was far more interesting than the 60-70 stuff

dragoon! ... orn khai just ate like 300 times his body mass in flesh

ninja: ok so we got a bunch of hingashi pretending to be from doma to smuggle a scroll out of garlemarld? I'm just waiting for karasu to be involved somehow. wait wasn't the house of sticks dude murdered like at level 20? there's karasu!

2nd? 3rd? time the game has said the doman rebellion was 1 year ago. the other time I remember off the top my head was right after doma castle when you talk to the blacksmith.

I feel so sorry for Akagi. we sent him on a goose chase to the literal opposite side of the planet.

Why is Karasu so focused on Oboro. he cares more about messing with him than literally anything else.

hey if zakuro is a mercenary we could buy out her contract.

oh that's interesting. yomei and all the shinobi we have met implied that ninja are from yanxia. but hanzo is saying that its from hingashi. then again all the shinobi we talked to were domans talking about their specific ancestral villages.

I totally do not remember who master sasuke is. and i don't think karasu is dead (again). oh master sasuke is the founder of oboro's village

whm: castrum oriens is an odd name given how it means east but is situated in the WESTERN part of the garlean empire

huh you can tell who is a padjal at birth. i remember reading in encyclopaedia eorzea or something that children only find out they're a padjal when the horn start growing in at like 10-15.

uh sylphie aren't you like 14. letting at 14 year old run the show and keep secrets from the conjurers guild while void sent are running around sounds like a recipe for disaster.

why not relocate both gatty and sanche to gridania. sanche would get better medical treatment, gatty would remain with her mother, there would be more conjurers on hand to deal with voidsent incidents, and there would be padjal on hand to tutor gatty.

the writers did this to keep sylphie's importance to the plot but this is a massive plot hole that e-sumi is having sylphie be gatty's teacher. first because as e-sumi himself said sylphie is still learning as an acolyte herself, she might have powerful instinctual magic but her learned knowledge isn't that good. second she wouldn't know white magic or padjal specific stuff. this is such a bad decision. also sylphie is still a kid has shown to be overwhelmed by the scale of this problem and having to take care of and be responsible for another kid. i guess the excuse is that it's technically the wol who's suppose to be doing the teaching but we all know that the player isn't going to be doing anything.

uh she jsut summoned a voidsent you sure she doing need more training its been like a couple months at most

[charbunnies]

HBD GRIMSLEYYYYYY 🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉🎉 u can use this ask to talk about ur blorbo of ur choosing if u want. I HOPE TODAYS GOOD TO U

TY VIXEN MY BELOVED!!! <3 i hope it's good to me too, we're watching advent children w/ my mom and that will be. An Experience

Anyway! i believe i shall talk about my current on-the-mind meowmeow, mr. vincent fowler who is living in my mind rent free because he's my focus for miqomarch. here he is!

i originally made him because i wanted a character in xiv to sexualize (sorry) because my main wol is a BABY teenager. and i wanted to play with mods. but then i got attached and now vincent makes me feel shrimp emotions

he's got like. four different verses but the main one i focus on is wol!vincent because Ough. he's a sharlayan moonkeeper miqo who had a special interest in primals as a kid and got scolded, put down and bullied for it for his entire childhood and he has a bit of a complex about it. when the sharlayan exodus happened (when vincent was 12), he broke into the great gubal library and stole a bunch of books on primals and ran off into dravania/coerthas in the middle of winter :^)

he got picked up by a young estinien and accidentally weaseled his way into becoming estinien's adopted younger brother. estinien renamed him to keep him from standing out as much around ishgardians so he just white-ified his name (vincent was originally named vincen'to fawhra. and estinien went "hhmmm how about vincent fowler". really creative estinien thanks). and then vincent joined the dragoons and, at 17, accidentally became the second azure dragoon. which he did not want! he became a dragoon as a cover for studying summoning/primals and then he got too good at it. so he wasn't exactly thrilled and got shoved into a position of power WHICH LED TO:

he got sent off to fight garuda alone when the ixal summoned her because the ishgardians wanted him dead, and because vincent's azem was the one who created her and risked a lot to save her from being destroyed as a creation, she recognized his soul and let him kill her to spare him. and because of the way smn works (yknow, have to have killed the primal to summon it!) suddenly vincent found himself able to just. summon her. he can't summon any of the other primals it's just her. they're best friends but they act like they hate each other and they make me cry so so much (it's the red-string-of-fate i-can't-let-you-go-even-though-i-can't-remember-why AGONY)

also he was childhood friends with g'raha and y'shtola but obviously lost contact when he ran away. g'raha had a kid crush on him that he never really got rid of and long story short, they end up together after shb but not without like, a LOT of agony

guys who make me really, really insane. vinraha my friends my meowmeows. i don't want to talk too much about their stuff because that's like. this reply is getting so fucking long but just know that they make me feel like screaming

but yeah. he's a weird drg/smn/drk combo where a lot of his attacks/abilities utilize garuda in some way. i call him a windcaller :)

UHHHH other than that, he's pretty and a little bit of a whore and extremely loyal to a fault and he puts on a scary face until you talk to him for like 5 minutes and realize he's actually very sweet. he gives good hugs and has wide shoulders and he's beefy and i want to kiss him on the face.

OH AND LAST THING: he and sidurgu had/have a weird relationship where they had a one night stand one time and sid thinks about it all the time and vincent never thinks about it at all. sid is still hopelessly in love with him despite the fact that it's been years. rielle likes vincent more than sid and also bullies sid about still being Like That with vincent. they permanently have weird sexual tension and also vaguely don't get along and it is so fucking funny to me. sid sees vincent showing raha around ishgard and vincent's making cat kissy eyes at raha and sid's like Oh. God Dammit. i think it's funny when grown ass men are weird like this.

anyway that is all <3 hope you enjoyed my ted talk and ty again for letting me talk about my blorbo