#crystarium kids

[hodinodi]

brave lil aspiring rascals 💪

[abimee]

zero and unukalhai could have to me the same type of friendship themis and tonio has where the age gap makes it so that they dont fully get each other but it would be a little weird to categorize it as a ''sibling like friendship'' because they arent that close. but i think zero could be the one unukalhai and taynor go to when they wanna experience some child-endangering fun because they missed out on having a near-death experience unrelated to being powerful mages in their YOUNG young days and they know zero can be coerced into it because shes the most ''sure. whatever'' person they know

[ambalambs]

*steeples fingers* imagine miko on the first after bringing the night back to the crystarium and telling stories to the kids while using shadow puppets

[alackofghosts]

got tagged by tumblr user @fourteenthz (loved reading about thesa, by the way <3)! thank you very much!

— B A S I C S

name: lil guy i'm very shy, don't worry about it

nicknames: none based on his name, as it's quite short already, but will also respond to a fond and/or slightly exasperated "hero"

age: 33 as of 6.55

nameday: 27th sun of the 4th umbral moon

race: rava viera

gender: cis man

orientation: gay

profession: adventurer

— P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T

hair: black, naturally wavy, very thick and soft

eyes: dark brown

skin: warm brown, freckles easily, especially his face

tattoos: none

scars: burn scar on his left shoulder from his fight with ifrit, another burn on his right thigh from nidhogg. a few other scrapes here and there. notable lack of any significant scarring from shb and beyond, because that's how i see astrologian healing working - he feels particularly strange about not having a scar from his fight with zenos in endwalker

— F A M I L Y

parents: he has not been back to his home village, for obvious reasons, so doesn't know - but assumes - his mother is still alive and well; never met his biological dad. but because he showed signs of. however the viera would call/conceptualise the inner beast, one of the women called in a favour with a wood warder who was also a warrior, to take him under his wing to train. said wood warder, however, was wholly at a loss what to do with a child, having never taken in a ward before and decided to seek out an old friend, who had since left the forest. ...long story short, he ends up being raised by an all-viera dalmascan resistance cell, who end up packing up and leaving with him in tow after almost being rooted out by garlean forces. he views most of them as Parental Figures and loves them dearly, even if some of them have scattered into the winds after he left to become an adventurer

siblings: he isn't aware of any biological siblings, but the village took a very communal approach to raising kids, so at the time he definitely felt like the other kids were his siblings, regardless of any blood relations. one of the men in the resistance cell was a 'mere' 30 or so years older than him, so he also counts more as a sibling than anything else in his eyes

grandparents: he has definitely met his maternal grandmother, but as with his mother, he's not been back home and doesn't know if she is still alive (but in all likelihood: yes)

in laws and other: THE TWINS. putting an exact name to what alisaie and alphinaud mean to him would honestly not be Good or Close Enough, but they are absolutely like family to him and a reason to keep on going. he also has a very sibling-like relationship with lyse, who is always ready and willing to match his energy, tag along for workouts and tease the hell out of him

pets: he befriends an amaro hatchling at the crystarium during shadowbringers and during a later visit, her handler notes that she's been looking glum without him around. he loves animals, but his living situation has been far too chaotic after becoming an adventurer to accommodate an animal (that isn't his chocobo, who, at least, is much easier to house) and hasn't felt particularly inclined to change that. but after endwalker, he finds himself actually wanting to change that and has the time to do it... so, with a little bit of help from feo ul, he has a little amaro friend with him now

— S K I L L S

abilities: war + drk + pld and all that that entails. skilled and formidable fighter, good at navigating/strategising through a fight on the fly, quick study (as far as fighting is concerned, anyway)

hobbies: working out (especially running and swimming), hiking, he's been learning to enjoy fishing after endwalker

— T R A I T S

most positive traits: protective, caring, insatiable lust for life

most negative traits: too willing to let other people do the talking for him, impulsive, stubborn

— L I K E S

colours: warm red, gold, the bright green of sunlight filtering through leaves

smells: fresh earth, cinnamon, a meadow in early summer, the savoury smell of the stew one of his dads used to make

textures: soft grass under bare feet, tree bark, skin on skin, the scratch of ardbert's beard

drinks: water, pineapple juice, lemonade

— O T H E R    D E T A I L S

smokes: no

drinks: only socially, and even then it's fairly rare. he did drink a little more often as a baby adventurer, mostly because he simply had more opportunities to do so: mingling was useful and it wasn't uncommon to have a rowdy bar night to celebrate a job well done. he is a bit of a lightweight and tends to withdraw when tipsy/drunk, so he actually has more fun when sober

drugs: also no (unless we're counting medicine for this. he won't be refusing painkillers if he's in pain etc.)

mount issuance: his beloved chocobo, who he dotes on very much, especially because it was something of a dream to have when he was just a baby adventurer - he could not have afforded to buy or maintain one at the time

been arrested: he's got in trouble for those rowdy bar nights - he's not the type to start a fight, but if someone were to pick a fight with him or his friends, by gods, he will be finishing it. no serious jail time, more like being hauled off with everyone else involved to sober up until morning, though

[sealrock]

some musings of andromache's time on the first in no particular order:

like the scions, her soul got pulled by the crystal exarch during the post stormblood patches (during her confrontation with her kid, paris), and her body was left in tataru and krile's care throughout shadowbringers

she spent roughly a year on the first with no way of knowing how to get back to the source. not knowing what the crystal exarch hopes to achieve, she was initially suspicious of him and the scions and wanted nothing to do with any of them. she settled in holminster switch and found work as a hunter to keep the village protected. she ultimately failed when the surprise attack on the village went down

when paris eventually found their way to the first, they were horrified and enraged to learn that andi was there as well. there came a point where andromache tagged along with paris and the scions in their quest to save the first, but paris wasn't happy at all. the two of them cannot stay around each other for long and it makes things awkward

because her body is stuck on the source, her sword zantetsuken did not make it across the rift. this also means that she cannot summon odin via the sword, not that she could due to the overabundance of light aether in contrast of odin's dark-aspected aether. she thus found a replacement weapon to use in combat. even without odin, andromache is still an exceptional fighter

she still relies on her echo (and her blessing of light) in combat, but she doesn't absorb lightwardens like paris did

she despises emet-selch with a passion for his ascian nature. whatever questions she has regarding hector are either ignored or mocked

discovered that there's nearly a 1:1 shard of hector on the first who works for vauthry. she relives her trauma and mistakes every time the party runs into him

she met cerigg by chance at the crystarium on an errand, and the two later teamed up to hunt sin eaters around the region to keep the surrounding villages safe from sin eater attacks

her and cerigg have an odd relationship with each other: regular people see their interactions as subtle flirting but andi swears that nothing is going on between them. paris, not in their right mind towards the end of shb due to light aether poisoning, believes andi abandoned hector for another. this causes their already estranged relationship to crumble more

[toadeyes-miqote]

New Expansion, new Miqo'te guy

Looking back before Dawntrail hits. Mainly from MSQ, jobs, tribal, deliveries and long quests that I done. Someone mention hair colours meme and this happened. There's a lot of sandy hair cats.

Might have left out other male cats by accident or not having pics of them on my PC(sorry A'oba, V'mah, and U'odh's sons. Will update if found decent pics). Or somehow fuzzy memory from doing stuff after EW. Would probably do one for the ladies later. I didn't include Squadron cats

It throughly amused me that Miqo'te men have such intense energy vibes (even Hylnyan's own mate) based on the way Miqo'te men moves. Since I gotten to used to how chill and calming Hylnyan is as a cat person.

ARR

A'aba who pics I don't have. His cat boy sit/delinquent squat and his sideburns somehow always reminds me of Logan / Wolverine.

V'mah Tia for some reason I always thought he was a Lancer.

Coeurl King isn't included because Hylnyan tend to be more busy kicking his ass than taking decent photos

Other than G'raha, Nhaza'a Jaab is a recurring character for tribal stuff. Hylnyan had chased him out of Stormblood and ARR at least. and probably HW when I resub hopefully before DT

HW

I thought Heavensward had no Miqo'te men. Until they turn up in job quests post EW. Coerthas be too cold for Miqo'te? But there's a Miqo'te soldier in Haurchefant's office.

Stormblood (updated for addition of M'rahz Nuhn)

Specifically went and do M'zhet Tia's quest line because of his Nanaki / Red XIII references.

M'zhet Tia runs around in Tribal quest a lot for the sake of wooing J'olhmym. The other cute red cat

X'rhun tia's kid Arya is at Mor Dhona and Hylnyan be like if she needs help - seek out that Big Hrothgar with that Viera lady across the street there, mention Hylnyan's name if need be.

Shadowbringers

Because Exarch seems like he has much stories to tell of his life

Mao-Ladd. I always thought of the "Mao" part of his name is "cat" in mandarin. And Ladd as in Lad and his name is practically Cat Boy to me.

I may or may not be missing anyone from the Crystarium staff

Of course I forgot Sai-Lewq.

Endwalker

T'laqa Tia is my fave and will always be known as Sharlayan Fishing Cat. his questline contain tidbits about aether flow and Zodiark

Do the Tiny Troll quest. It ties in with another Labyrinthos resident and gives a bit of insight on Studium

Bonus

For a mere moment I thought this was the same pic because of the crystals' placement. and stone colourings.

[snow-system-wol]

Part I of the end of 5.3 (stories before Faded Memories)

Ao3

(mild body horror / injury a la one Exarch)

S'ria never wanted to be special, not really. But he'd long since accepted that he'd become someone of note. Hells, he'd been someone of note back when he'd merely killed a few gods. Now he was something else entirely. S'ria was not even wholly sure that he was just a mortal man anymore. He'd never asked for that, though. 

So it was not jealousy or resentment that caused him to watch the activities of the newly minted “Warriors of Light” with ever-narrowing eyes. It was nothing like being upset that he was not the only one with the Echo either – he held little fondness for that “gift” at times. No, it was a number of things, really. 

Firstly, the nature of his role in all this, being firmly placed on a pedestal. Only, before it'd only really ever been kids who say they want to be like him and beg S'ria to explain how. That wasn't difficult, even if he considered himself somewhat mediocre with children compared to Menphina. As eager as they are, telling them to train hard and grow up strong – not that they need to be an adult, careful phrasing to avoid patronizing them, but that they'll need to be physically grown up to be their strongest. That was always enough to keep the dream intact while keeping them safe.

These were not children, though, and no simple excuses would get far. Since they weren't children, S'ria didn't need to sugarcoat it, but he just…couldn't bring himself to say what he was thinking.

It positively radiated some form of hypocrisy and superiority, should he do anything as blunt as insisting that they were not strong enough to partake in the trials he himself had undergone – but neither did he want these well-meaning people to die needlessly. Was it arrogant to say such a thing if it was, unfortunately, true?

(There was also the fact that doing anything to turn the people against S'ria felt like it would drive them further into Elidibus’s arms.)

That was not the only cause for concern or annoyance on S'ria's part, unfortunately. It was really everything else about the situation too, watching the Exarch try to diplomatically plead for anyone to stay, just long enough to figure out a long-term solution to keep the Crystarium functioning. It needed guards, medics, craftspeople, and more, or all of that carefully built city planning would collapse.

It bothered S'ria how short-sighted many of them were in their excitement.

S'ria was one to talk, sure, with how he'd long eschewed any attempt at normal civilian life in favor of a roaming hero's life – but that hadn't really been his choice, getting in too deep before he knew it. He just knew he was needed more elsewhere than any simple job. Arrogant as he worried that thought may be, S'ria knew it was fully accurate, just as he knew no one would ever leave him alone if he decided to try to quit. 

But these people, they were needed here, and it was so odd to hear them excitedly ramble about the good they could do elsewhere – proclaiming a willingness to look for any helpful scrap of a task, when the idea of more concretely staying to guard the city suddenly seemed too banal.

S'ria was not unkind to their faces, though. What would that accomplish?

S'ria did not realize for quite some time the full reasoning behind the majority of his resentment and frustration. It was about G'raha, really, not about himself. Of course, S'ria was free to have his own reaction to people trying to follow his path, but mostly S'ria was just angry because G'raha wasn't.

The Exarch was doing his best to gently keep essential roles filled, but he still wished those who insisted on leaving well and even encouraged S'ria to do the same. S'ria could not fathom looking the Exarch in the eyes as he tells you to please wait, that you are needed here for now, and then bluntly refusing. How could they refuse him? 

There was no such thing as a debt to one who gives aid freely with no desire for compensation, and certainly G'raha would not consider his people beholden to anything, but S'ria couldn't quite agree with that. Not when The Exarch had fully intended for his attempt at saving multiple worlds to be fatal.

For the man who spent most of his life building and governing a safe haven against the apocalypse, and gave nearly his all to avert the end… he was owed more than this.

He gave them a home and made the world safe for them. The least they could do is make sure that home remains whole and healthy, for at least longer than a moon or two after the crisis had been averted?

Even if G'raha hadn't wanted it, S'ria had thought the people of the Crystarium venerated The Exarch far more than such a response would suggest. 

The children were quite all right, harmless and eager and not yet ready to leave home, but if one more adult came up to ask him for tips on how to leave on their journey, S'ria was going to quite bluntly tell them to stay put.

 ----------

Of course S'ria noticed. It wasn't as though The Exarch could really hide what was happening. His eyes locked onto the Exarch's arm the moment Elidibus left, and it was awful. He had only been away for, what, a few suns since he'd last since seen the Exarch? How could things have progressed so quickly?

What was he even doing to himself during their “research”, really?

S'ria was so used to seeing the Exarch's crystalized arm, whole and clean and smooth, that he often forgot that it had once been flesh. The other side, though… some flesh still remained, so it was impossible to forget.

Patches of skin were still visible, especially on his hand and fingers, the transition between the two a raw edge on some parts and an almost necrosis-line creep on others. It had to hurt. S'ria couldn't imagine he was even able to so much as move his fingers without the fresh crystal shifting in painful ways, cutting into his fingers if he curled his hand closed.

G'raha immediately turned and tucked his arm behind his back, as if such a thing would make S'ria forget what he saw. A part of S'ria wanted to grab the Exarch and turn him – while an opposing part of S'ria was afraid to touch him at all. Instead he met the Exarch's eyes with a look that fell in-between glaring and raw concern. The Exarch relented and drew his arm back into view.

It, of course, looked no different than what S'ria had seen a moment prior. He opened his mouth and was completely at a loss for what to say about it.

The Exarch somewhat awkwardly cleared his throat, glancing at his arm as if surprised to see how it looked. “Oh, this… This is my own doing – the consequence of my recent exertions.” A strange look fell over his face, oddly exhausted. “It is the tower's way of…compensating me for the demands I have placed on it.”

“Compensating.” S'ria repeated it in a dull echo. “Is it …punishing you, for your research?”

The Exarch quickly shook his head. “Nothing so sentient, really. ‘Tis a simple trade – its power to aid you all in exchange for me giving more of my body.”

It was not the best way it could've been phrased, not with S'ria. A body wasn't just some currency to barter with. He pushed back his initial response in favor of a more gently asked question. 

“... Does it really not bother you?”

The Exarch tilted his head as if confused. “What an odd thing to ask… What bothers me is the fact that your friends are rapidly destabilizing and yet I am being forced to take a break at present. I intend to use everything at my disposal to help undo my summonings, and this is included.”

He looked far more content with his current state of affairs than he had any right to – not when S'ria had more to say about it. 

Or, at least, he thought he did, but when he went to speak, the urge to tell G'raha to stop was halted by a reminder of the very real impending death of the other Scions’ physical bodies. He remembered touching Alphinaud's physical form, cold and still and nearly bereft of breath nor heartbeat. He gritted his teeth and tried to come up with something else to say, a different protest. 

“G'raha, that's –”.

The sound of feet pounding their way up the stairs beneath them made S'ria cut off abruptly. A moment later, a rather winded Ryne appeared and frantically told them of Thancred's collapse. The Exarch locked eyes with S'ria, a pleading expression that begged S'ria not to argue with him, and all S'ria could do was sigh and hurry down the stairs after Ryne.

[vermanaward]

swtor has a lot (and i mean a lot) of issues with its writing but one thing that i always thought was very sensible was that (outside of the kotfe timeskip) time passes ingame on a 1:1 basis - ie. 1 irl year = 1 year of time passing in story. it allowed the game's storylines to maintain a sense of time passing without getting into weird date shit or just this. nebulous vague handwaving

and like. xiv is the very polar opposite of that, with yoshi p's insistence that it's a nebulous time bubble they don't want to pin down and that it all probabl happened in a year or so, not least because. with every addition to the story, the wol's No Good Very Bad Year just gets more and more jam packed. they've gone from a nothing nobody to killing gods to framed for regicide to pardoned to killing a head of state for real this time to taking upwards of two multi month ship journeys and finally to the arse end of the fucking universe and back in a single twelve calendar month period and it's like ??? when are they resting. when are they doing all these fetch quests the narrative likes to rag on us for doing. when do they shit.

and some of that i'm sure is that they don't want to deal with the twins having to grow up and change even though they get redesigns every expac anyway so they can sell new mogstation outfits so it's like ??? as much as i. very much Do Not want to have to see people making excuses to be gross about the kids people kinda. do that anyway so it's. yeah. let them actually grow up!!

like. for all that i could snark about how they are allergic to yshtola actually having character growth or change because she's the Main Waifu, she does go through the most physical changes of the scions (excepting maybe the catboy, but he's a special case).

it would just hit so much more if you went back to sid after shb to see that shit, rielle had her growth spurt in your absence. return to the crystarium and see taynor having grown up into a mage to rival nyelbert.

idk!!!

[mythandral]

19. reassuring touches

Once again I am turning nice prompts into angst. Sorry 😅

It was nearing midnight when Thancred returned to the Crystarium. The bright light cast few shadows as he weaved his way to the Pendants, the manager of the suites greeting him with a small wave as he approached the desk. 

Chipper as always, even though…

Thancred let out a sigh. Before he could get too distracted by his thoughts, the manager gestured towards one of the rooms. 

"You're here to see your friend, I take it?" The elf's brow furrowed in concern. "He's not left that room in a while - you should check that he's alright."

Thancred choked back a bitter laugh and nodded instead, before entering the door in front of him.

He found Myth sat on the bed staring down at his feet, face half obscured by loose hair, and Thancred's heart sank in his chest. 

When did it get this bad? 

Myth looked wretched. His breathing came in wracking gasps, short and sharp, and pearly tears trailed down his face like quicksilver. Thancred had not seen the elezen cry before, as closed-off as he was about such things, but now he made no attempt to hide it. 

He failed to acknowledge the hyur at all, in fact, seeming near catatonic bar the shallow rise and fall of his chest. It was no surprise - Thancred doubted he'd slept for some time, his pain and fear of turning preventing any rest - but to see his usually so alert friend so still unnerved him greatly. What had Urianger said again, about light being the element of stasis? 

Thancred couldn't leave him like this. Myth had often reminded him of how he used to be, all bravado and wit and deflection, and he had been determined to see past it, to hear his silent calls for help where no one had heard his. It was too late for that now, but at least he could make sure that Myth was not alone. Thancred took a seat next to him. Myth did not react. 

All the platitudes Thancred could think to say were less than worthless. He wished nothing more than to promise that it would be alright, that they would struggle through, but it would be no vow - just a bold-faced lie. It wasn't going to be OK, not after the Exarch's one plan had fallen through. Not for Myth, not for him, and not for the entirety of the godsdamned shard. 

At least Thancred did not fear what it spelt for him. One less soul a burden meant little, but it did mean he could be here without the weight of his own fate clouding his mind. In the absence of words, he placed a reassuring hand on the other man's shoulder. 

Ever so slightly Myth leant into the touch and Thancred breathed a sigh of relief. He did not turn to face the hyur, but Thancred still saw him close his eyes, try to deepen his breaths and, just a little, it appeared to be helping.

They sat there in silence for a while, Thancred rubbing Myth's shoulder gently with his thumb, still turning words around in his head. Another few minutes later, he settled on a thought that would not leave him. It wouldn't make it better, and it didn't convey the half of all he wished to say, but at the very least it was true.

"No matter what happens- I'm proud of you, kid."

[sayonaramidnight]

Tinies stuff I keep rotating in my mind and wishing to happen somehow:

Helvi and Urianger discussing the important topic of where baby carbuncles come from;

and then Helvi’s memory loss and maybe Moenbryda’s death;

Yda rescuing Helvi from Papalymo’s lectures on magic by dragging her away and running all over the Vesper Bay together;

Helvi, Arianna, Tataru and Emmanellain shopping in Ishgard;

Helvi inviting more and more friends for dinner at her uncle’s restaurant, auntie not being inquisitive At All;

Helvi’s DRK training;

Arianna and her squadron, especially that one girl who’s totally not a spy;

F’lhaminn trying to figure out the nature of Helvi’s relationship with the RDM fam;

the library dates - or at leat the Great Gubal Library date;

more of Arianna’s involvement in the Omega quests;

Helvi telling the Crystarium kids a story of an Old And Lonely Being Who Did Not Understand Humans, Emet-Selch listening from a distance;

Arianna and Nero’s community service in the Sylphlands;

Helvi’s old and new memories from Thavnair;

Arianna and her gang flying all over the world, curing the Tempered and being dorks;

what happened to Helvi’s mum? and Arianna’s parents, maybe?

flashbacks from when the Tinies were still a trio;

some shippy silliness?

a lot of friendshippy silliness!

[motheatenscarf]

Okay, I was told again and again by people that Shadowbringers was really good, but uhhh, I was not expecting them to mean by this big a degree of basic visual storytelling.

Only a few hours in but I'm really digging this expansion so far.

I love how little preamble there is to getting the story going, just, hey, we found the beacon that was set up at the end of Stormblood, so let's GO TO SPACE.

Or, well, dimensional travel to an alternate version of this world in its shattered reflection, but that's less fun to say.

I love little nods to mirrored endings or just slightly off beginnings, so the merchant who took you into Ul'dah (or any of your starting cities, I suppose) with the twins also being the one to spirit you out at the end of ARR just before Heavensward was a nice touch that I liked. And now with Shadowbringers, you meeting this world's version of that identical merchant, but an old man, on the road to the Crystarium is great. Immediately killing him off off-screen was also effective to show the threat of the Sin-Eaters in an impactful way without forcing the player to feel helpless or stupid by watching and doing nothing as cutscenes happen beyond their control.

I've also noticed the camera is a lot less static, just in general. And my god, the Crystarium is the most beautiful post-apocalyptic city I've ever seen. Don't trust the Exarch, he may mean well, but he kidnapped the Scions and has DOOMED my children to live on this planet forever as wandering spirits?

I also love them bringing back the Warrior of Darkness, he said his name, I forget it, spending a century as an incorporeal shade unable to be seen or heard or understood is a brutal fate. Their arcs were all rushed and poorly executed before, easily the weakest element of Heavensward, so if they can take the time to examine this character's plight and his regrets by there only being ONE of him and giving him the fucking time and space to address that shit, I'll welcome it.

I'm also worried he's what will happen to the Scions if they stay here too long. If the Exarch only needed my help and had fucking said the words, "Please help me," this woulda gone a lot easier. As is though, Talia is very bitter because as far as she's concerned, he at best kidnapped her friends and at worst has murdered them if they can't go home to their own bodies. I don't know how they're "physically tangible spirits," but they've done a good job explaining or hand-waving my biggest questions regarding the usual MMO utilities here on The First, so I'll trust them to explain it at some point. I'm just glad we're giving "Eldritch Horror Hydalen" the attention it deserves because yeah, a Calamity of Light was just kinda thrown out there like so much lore and left hanging.

Anyway, very promising so far, my only concern/complaint is that it's forcing me to CHOOSE which of my kids I'm gonna go find first, which is tantamount to asking me to pick a favorite, and like all mothers put in this kind of choice, I will languish forever in shame at knowing I picked one over the other 😔

[brineffxiv]

This guy's so pale he looks like he could be a sin eater himself.

What.

I'm sorry, this story is horrible. What the hell. Eulmore stole a succession of kids with special powers and forced them to fight sin eaters until they died. Looks like that city was rotten even before Vauthry took over. Intriguing art style they chose to depict it in. Not what I usually associate with Final Fantasy. But I think it works. The garish colors and textures contrasting with the cute linework really drive home the horror and inappropriateness of the situation. It looks like what you'd imagine one of these girls might draw in art therapy.

That's a damn brave thing the people of the Crystarium are doing. Not all heroes have big fancy titles like me.

[elliewiltarwyn]

FFXIV Write 2023 | Prompt #18: A Fish Out of Water

another one i'm really struggling with, posting it just to post something by this point :V

-926 words

---

The city is gorgeous, really, shining bright and surrounded by cool blue sea with beautiful marble architecture stretching all the way up the island to the foot of the mountain. It gives Ellie the creeps. 

She sits upon a bench on the edge of the aetheryte plaza, watching the citizenry pass her by, scholars and merchants and even the occasional adventurer—how they had managed to get past the customs officer with a stern eye, Ellie had no idea. She holds the sandwich she took out from the Last Stand in a loose grip; it’s cold by now, working through it as slowly as she had been, but it’s still far tastier than that bite of Archon loaf Krile had offered her a few moons ago. She just can’t bring herself to focus on it; her mind is a whirlwind of uncertain emotion.

It boggles her mind, truly, to be sitting here, the city she had dreamed of since she was a kid… in this capacity. As one of Eorzea’s vaunted Warriors of Light, a Scion of the Seventh Dawn with several acts of political diplomacy under her belt, and not just another one of those students laughing gaily as they stride past her seat to take their leisure in the markets. Try as she might, she can no longer imagine that alternate universe wherein she achieved her childhood dreams and studied at the most prestigious academy on Hydaelyn. She grimaces down at the half-eaten sandwich in her hand.

“What kind of sandwich is that?”

Ellie jumps as Lily slides into view from behind the bench, beaming down at her. “Last Stand, at the very least—that bread doesn’t look like Archon loaf.”

“Gods, no.” Ellie blanches, and Lily giggles in amusement. “No, this is uh, hamsa, I think it was? Struck me as interesting—that they’re importing it all the way from Thavnair.”

“You came to Sharlayan to get a taste of Thavnair? Seems a little circuitous.”

Ellie rolls her eyes, but can’t help but chuckle; Lily continues to beam as she plops herself on the bench next to her. “I don’t know if I can count on Mia or Thancred or any of them to bring us back some good eats. They sounded like they’re going to be busy.”

“That’d be a real disappointment. I’ve heard really good things about Thavnairian cuisine.”

Ellie nods and takes another chomp; she wipes her mouth, smacking her lips as her mouth reels from the spicy sauce. “How’re you finding Sharlayan?”

The grin fades from Lily’s face, and Ellie blinks in shock. “It… I don’t know. It’s nice, sure. Very pretty. Picturesque, even.” She inhales through her teeth and looks nervously around, as if she’s afraid someone’s going to leap out at her. “But…”

“...You know you don’t have to hold back on my account. Or anyone else’s.” Ellie leans back against the bench and gives Lily a pat, which she sighs and leans into for a moment. “None of the Archons are particularly fond of matters as they stand.”

“Raha does,” Lily mumbles. “He’s loving being back.”

“It’s also been over a hundred years for him. His glasses are particularly rose-tinted.”

She giggles and lies her ears flat against her head. “Okay, fair.” Her good humor vanishes quickly, though, and her tail flicks back and forth anxiously. “It’s just… as beautiful as it is, it also feels sterile, you know? Sanitized, even.” Her gaze tracks up to the Rostra, looming over the city more ominously, somehow, than the Crystal Tower had for the Crystarium. “Like the pristine imagery comes at a price that they’re sweeping under the rug.”

“...I don’t know how much they’re trying to hide it.” The look on Fourchenault’s face as he, before Alliance leadership, disowned his children still ignites rage within Ellie’s stomach. “But I completely get what you mean.” She sweeps her gaze across the aetheryte plaza, taking into consideration more than just the appearances of the people walking by, but their attitudes; even among the adventurers who presumably aren’t native to the city of scholars, there’s an air of distrust and reticence hanging over everyone that makes her wonder if there’s any sort of unity or solidarity here… or if everyone is just looking out for themselves. “It feels really uncomfortably sanitized, to a level of refusing to face the crises that will come home to roost sooner or later. After everything we’ve been through… we’re real fish out of water here.”

Lily gives her a funny look. “That’s kind of sad, given your childhood dream.”

Ellie chuckles. “Maybe.” She musses Lily’s hair again, and Lily emanates a short purr as her ears twitch happily; she closes her eyes and leans into the motion, letting herself regain the beam she had initially greeted Ellie with. “But it’s probably for the better that I didn’t immerse myself in an isolationist, conservative society when I was at a young, impressionable age.”

“You think so?” Lily smirks mischievously. “The Scions provide plenty of counterexamples, I should think.”

“True. Guess I can’t really account for how I would have turned out.” She sighs, stuffs the rest of her sandwich in her mouth, and continues to itch at a spot behind Lily’s ear, smiling when she gets the purr going once more. “But I’m pretty good with how I am today.”

“Yeah.” And without much warning or preamble, Lily leans into Ellie’s side; the roegadyn woman blinks in mild shock, but lets her arm fall around her best friend’s shoulders as her ears twitch in contentment. “I am too.”

[myrfing]

the only timeline in which gourd settles down enough to purposefully have kids is if he “””moves””” to norvrandt to be with lyna it’s just the both of them do not think about it. he’d probably be sticking more to the home to do childcare cus her crystarium duties in that bizarro timeline but that kinda changes their dynamic in a way that isn’t really why I like them as a pair. in either case I don’t really think having kids is a part of lyna having a long full life in the restored world and that’s what I’d like gourd to remind her of. i’d like her to survey the world and rebuild with gourd and I’d like her to love someone she doesn’t have to worry about losing and who’ll walk home with her after a long day. i just tried to imagine lynagourdlets and confused myself but i do think they have the potential to spawn the world’s fluffiest wildest haired child with a very serious demeanor in their early years at least. worlds most stoic family vulnerable to electrostatic spotted shopping at musica universalis

[yamiunicorn]

rahrah, waking up in the crystarium: WHERE'S MY HUSBAND? WHERE ARE MY KIDS?!

[autumnslance]

(@driftward) Let's see. Let's Get ((REAL)) fic writer asks, for.. ✨, 💫,🎀,🎀,🎀,💌

*screeches*

Someday I am making a prompt list and there'll be no numbers or letters or symbols, just the questions so folks who aren't menaces have to put the full text in the Ask.

Anyroad. Scheduling maintenance on our local bot later. For now:

✨What's a fic you've posted you wish you could breathe life into again and have people talking about it? (or simply a fic you wish got more credit)

Fics like "When Everything Changes" and "Where the Skies Are Safe" are works I'm quite fond of, but are hard to sell to fandom readers either here or on Ao3; they're from the perspective of my OCs as small children, and very few people want to read kid fic.

But a chunk of my literature studies were in YA and Kid Lit, as I originally was dual-majoring an Education degree, and I've always found getting into a child's (or pet's) mindsets and perspectives to be an interesting exercise as a writer, and finding what new info it can reveal that an adult POV won't notice or would see differently.

💫what is your favorite kind of comment/feedback?

Any and all of them, but incoherent screeching is always fun, as are rambles about what someone liked, maybe even the why if they can articulate it (if not, that's cool, just copy-pastes of favorite lines with keysmash responses are great too).

🎀give yourself a compliment about your own writing

x3?!

FINE.

-I am a decent mimic; I can copy a style and voice patterns pretty well, enough to make what I'm writing read or "sound" like the style I'm playing in. The attempt in many of my works to feel like quest text or the official stories on the Lodestone is intentional, and I feel good when I get comments on it cuz that's the goal.

-I can drop some evocative, pithy lines to make one giggle and/or break one's heart.

-My constant replaying and revisiting the text, and talking to/reading about others' canon-centric takes on characters and situations, means my NPC characterizations tend to be good. Which is good practice for making my own OCs distinct people that fit into the world well.

💌share something with us about an up-and-coming work (WIP) that has you excited!

(Again, with the caveat I've been in a bit of a slump break since BSotP, here's a bit of more the Thancred in the First fic I don't...think? I've shared? If I have, what of it! Below the cut cuz someone asked multiple questions so this got long.)

“So can you build it?” Thancred asked.

The blacksmith looked over his crude drawings and the schematics pulled from the Tower’s archives, as well as the detailed descriptions Thancred had painstakingly written with Gridick’s aid. “I think so; enough to get a prototype working, and then we can go from there.”

Thancred nodded. “Do let me know,” he said, offering his coins for the initial deposit.

It had been several months since that first disastrous patrol. Thancred had been on a few other patrols since, as well as forays into the forest on his own. The more common wildlife wasn’t much of a problem, but the sin eaters, when stumbled across, left him feeling as if his simple blades were no longer adequate.

So he had delved into the Tower’s archives, seeking out weapon schematics. The Exarch couldn’t say which time period the Tower had come from when summoned to the First, but Thancred figured it had to be later than his own, since the Tower was still in Mor Dhona from his perspective.

Days of searching had found not only equivalent Allagan plans, but also a few Garlean and even proper Bozjan examples for the sort of gunblade he wanted. The weapon would still allow him his speed and dexterity, but also was far more defensive, for himself and others.

The only trouble was going to be the cartridges, as Thancred could not imbue them himself. That was a bridge to cross later; for now, he would see if the Mean’s artisans could even create a workable gunblade.

He made his way across the Crystarium toward the markets before returning to his apartment. He wanted to stop by the city’s single barber.

Thancred still wasn’t the best at shaving daily; his schedule was still too easily thrown off, he was often in the field, and frankly it wasn’t much of a concern. His hair was getting far too long and ragged, though, enough that something had to be done.

In another moon, he would count a year on the First, though the mirror still showed only a day had passed on the Source, which was the smallest of comforts. He helped the Exarch search the Tower’s archives as the man tried various spells and counter-effects to send Thancred’s soul back to his body, but to no avail.