#ffxivwrite22

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #2: Bolt

FFxivWrite 2022 Prompt #2: Bolt Through the deserts of Thanalan in the cover of a sandstorm, the ragtag group of adventurers trekked from the Sleeping Sands toward the ruins of Mhach where Honour’s Lament awaited them, Victor’s aetherial shield protecting them from the grains of sand and debris swirling in the air around them. Faye felt the ground beneath her boots begin to change as they walked on, from soft and shifting sand to something more solid and… squirming, the toe of her boot kicking into something in front of her. She looked downward to see rising from the sand beneath their feet a giant, writhing mass of bodies. The animated corpses were from all different eras as evident by their decaying clothing, some fresh corpses and others long since rotted to bone. A myriad of decrepit faces stared up with wide and brilliant smiles, hands reaching upward to grasp at feet or ankles or clothing, whatever they could grip. They tugged downward, intent on burying the party with them, consuming them into the mass that flowed beneath their feet like a river. All the while, the Ashkin all silently mouthed a single word: ‘Friend.’ Faye grimaced and tugged her legs free, angrily kicking at the hands that gripped needily at her boots and ankles. "Ashkin! These certainly weren't here in my day! My word... victims of hers?" Xalredo remarked, the magicked plushie looking down at the mass of bodies swirling at their feet. As she kicked and stomped the groping hands and ever-smiling faces underfoot, Faye realized some of the fresher faces were familiar. But how? She didn’t know them. Slowly, the recognition set in… no, they weren’t her friends, or even acquaintances, most not even anyone she knew by name. They were patrons of Shroudrose Teahouse, men and women who had walked through her doors. None had visited for quite some time, and now it was glaringly obvious why. How long had the Blissweaver made the Shroudrose her nest? Suddenly, Faye remembered the woman in the whites robes and the mask… how had she not realized? She'd known the Blissweaver's presence was there that day Samara's fell to the Void's influence... but she had never considered that the Voidsent had lingered so long, making the Shroudrose her hunting ground. One might have expected a reaction of sadness, or some semblance of horror at the sight of her ill-fated patrons... she skipped straight past those, fair features twisting in annoyance and anger. "My patrons... from my teahouse..." she growled between gritted teeth. They continued to grab at that party, pulling them down with all their might. Without sounds they mouthed the words, but somehow she still understood. ‘Friend. Dance with us. Spin with us. Sleep with us. We have pillows of sand... so rest…’ But Faye didn’t feel like resting. No, she felt the fire of rage burning hotter inside her gut. Rage swelling, she placed a hand upon the hilt of her rapier that still rested at her hip, the runes upon the thin blade glowing to life. She took advantage of the lightning crackling around their sandstorm thanks to Naheal’s spell of coverage, the static electricity that charged the air around them raising the ends of her as she drew in the levin aether, the sky above their heads darkening ominously. “Oh… Oh, you fucked up now,” Victor’s words and the cackling laugh that followed reached her, but just barely, sounding so distant through the intoxication of her anger. The spell she channeled continued growing exponentially, and she realized it was just not her own aether being fed into it, icy blue eyes cutting toward Victor briefly to see the fellow mage also lent his aether to the runes upon her rapier. There was a certain spark in her expression then, the anticipation and satisfaction of the destruction she knew was sure to follow, the knowledge of the power she knew she held within her hand at that moment. She loosed the spell, directing it downward as a blinding bolt of lightning to shock the pile of writhing corpses beneath their feet, accompanied by the crackle of electricity and a deafening crack of thunder. The lightning arced from body to body, jumping from one corpse to another, shocking and jolting each of them. The Ashkin shrunk away, their smiles at last fading instead to terror, writhing and fearful. They ceased their grabbing. One’s voice rang out from somewhere in the mass of bodies. “W-Why?” he whimpered defensively. They all gazed up in shock at the hostile reception they received. Then the swelling of corpses began to retreat back into the ground, beneath the sands. “Never mind. We’ll have the rest of time…” “…To get to know each other…” @sharp-cast-sharper-words​

Wanted to a do lil piece based on a recent Discord RP for this one!

[newhorizonsxiv]

FFXIVWrite22 - Cross

Wrong Time should have been surprised when the turn of the key in her shabby little apartment door locked the damn thing instead of unlocking it but she wasn’t surprised at all. No, now she was pissed off, both by the minor inconvenience and by what she knew it meant. And sure as sunrise there he bloody was, stretched out on her ratty little bed, helping himself to the last of the bread she’d managed to buy. 

“Fuck off, Wren,” she said by way of greeting, tossing a knife after the words as she bent to unbuckle her boots. The thud as the blade sank into the wood of the headboard let her know the bed was free now, though its previous occupant had made no sound in leaving it. Never did, the bastard.

“Such a sour face, Seaweed.” Soft purring in her ear for the brief moment when it was still low enough for him to reach it. He’d backed off a pace or two by the time she regained her full height, puny for a Seawolf but still towering over this stray cat she should never have fed. “Just point me at whatever bastard put you in a foul mood and I’ll gut him, free of charge.” Wren was grinning with his whole face now instead of just the usual half. He knew what was coming. All part of the game, but she wasn’t in the mood to play it today.

“Y’know where the fuckin’ mirror is doncha? Point yer own self at it. Already loaned ye the knife.” There was only one chair at the rickety little table now. She’d burned the other for firewood after Right Place had walked into the wrong one and not walked back out. She pushed it back against the wall hard enough to dent the cheap plaster and sat down so fast it made the wood creak.

Wren collected the knife from the headboard, still smiling as he returned to his languid pose on the bed, still so damn sure he was going to get what he wanted out of her tonight, same as always. He started cleaning his fingernails with it. “Aye, could do that I s’pose. Take the point, as t’were. But there must be more entertaining ways for me to serve my penance, eh, Seaweed?” His newly manicured hand dropped down and slid a small satchel out from under her bed. “Brought a whole bag full.”

“More’n one way to skin a cat? S’at what yer sayin’ Wren?” Her eyes moved from the bag back up to the cocky bastard who was already starting to show her some skin, shirt discarded as she watched. He gave her a look she knew all too well and the heat that rose in her now wasn’t annoyance. Well.. not entirely annoyance. She still hated that he always got his way, in the end.

“I look forward to learning a few new ones.” Another grin as he tossed the satchel at her, lifting his arms above his head in a lazy motion that left his wrists crossed just below that steel ring she’d affixed above the headboard. Wrong Time shook her head as she opened the bag.

Maybe this time she’d get the knots tight enough that he’d still be here in the morning.

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #7: Pawn

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #7: Pawn Every interaction was a game, and Lady Covington always intended to win. She had been a puppet on a string before, and with her every action, she ensured such a thing would never happen again. That did not mean she would not subjugate others to the same fate, however. What was a game without pawns, after all? Others might accuse her of failing to see the value of those around her, but she felt quite the contrary. Everyone had their uses, and she liked to pinpoint those. If all else failed, even someone otherwise worthless was still good for dying.

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FFxivWrite22 Entry #1: Cross

FFxivWrite 2022 Prompt #1: Cross Shadiyah could feel it still calling to her sometimes, across the threshold and the vast expanse between shards. That dark, howling emptiness. A world devoid of aether, where the strong conquered the weak, and power and survival were all that mattered. It called her home–not that the Thirteenth ever truly was her home, but it was the only place she could have any semblance of belonging. It was the place she eventually returned whether she willed it or not, when life was severed and the nothingness of nonexistence spat her out again, unwanted even by death. It was a place no one could enjoy, but she had never feared it… that is, until she met Melfice. But it wasn’t the Void itself she feared, it was the idea of ever being separated from him, should she ever be sent back there again, should she ever give in to that siren song telling her to fade it all to black. How cruel the thing she most desired and the thing she most feared were one in the same. But that was the point–embrace the inevitable before it caught her unawares. She wondered, sometimes, how many of the thoughts swirling in her head were actually hers. How many were just fragmented pieces of beings she had consumed? She didn’t remember. She didn’t know. What did it matter? Whatever she was now was all that was left of her, and she was under no illusions she was still complete. She could never be whole again. Maybe that was why she always felt the abyss in the back of her mind, calling for her to return to the silence. How long could she resist before she crossed that rift again? @shadiyah-ffxiv, @of-darkness-and-dreams

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FFxivWrite22 Entry #8: Tepid

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #8: Tepid “M’headed home, Princess.” Val leaned in close to exchange a sweet, lingering kiss with Faye before he took his leave of her. “D’ya want me t’run a bath for ya?” “That would be lovely, dearest, thank you.” The lovers ended their embrace and Val left the Hyur to her work at the teahouse. Bells passed before she made her way home, tired and ready to unwind. She slipped off her boots and gloves and made her way to the washroom where a bath was already drawn for her, dipping her fingers into the water to test just as Val appeared to lean in the doorway. “S’it hot ‘nough for ya, Princess?” Her lips pursed into a frown as she withdrew her hand, gently shaking her fingertips dry. “It’s lukewarm already.” “Oh, shit.” The Miqo’te quickly righted his posture as if he had just remembered something. “I guess it’s been a while since the last time. I forgot t’refill it again…” He made his way forward to right this egregious wrong, plunging an arm into the water to pull the at the bottom of the claw-footed tub and let the tepid water drain. “Again?” Faye questioned as the meaning of his words began to set in. “Yeah, ‘f course,” he answered simply. “Val… how many… times do you refill the bath before I get home?” she asked slowly, knowing this was a common ritual for them. He shrugged his shoulders as the water began to swirl its way down the drain and he turned toward her, his arm still dripping with water. “I dunno. At least a few. Usually more ‘n I can count.” “Val… I…” Faye’s sentence went nowhere and instead she just stared at her husband. Few could stun the woman into silence, but for Val, it was no challenge. How easily he could say something so stupid– “How else ‘m I s’posed t’keep the water hot when there’s no tellin’ how late you’ll get home?” “I… don’t know. I hadn’t really thought about it. I suppose I just thought somehow you timed it well every time.” His lips curled into that shit-eating grin of his. “C’mon, Princess. I know ‘m talented, but not even I’m that good.” Was the warmth rising to her cheeks a blush spurred by his impressive dedication or just the fury of her incredulousness? Faye hated how much she was attracted to him. @its-the-val-pal​

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FFxivWrite22 Entry #6: Onerous

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #6: Onerous “Glory be to Garlemald.” How many times had he uttered those words? He couldn’t hope to keep track, dutiful son of the Empire that he was. All he knew was that in the end, there was no glory for his land or his people. An empire founded on lies, destroyed by the same forces that created it. Death and destruction was their reward for playing the role they had been unwittingly cast. The Empire was no more, but what was left of Garlemald’s people still lived on, be it as refugees in foreign lands or survivors in their homeland. Either way, they had no home. They were the same as him now. Who would have guessed Aelius had simply been ahead of the curve in his exile? Maybe it was a mercy that his path had ensured he was not there in those final days of suffering. Of course, he’d never see it that way. As far as he was concerned, he had failed to be there to protect his people and suffer the fate he knew he deserved. He had heard rumors of what had happened, received reports from the few contacts Lucretia still held, but he could not have imagined the scale of the devastation until the rickety airship descended low enough he could see it with his own eye. As he stepped foot upon the frozen earth, the chill of Garlemald’s air cut deeper than he remembered. He chalked it up to his years away, but deep down, he knew it was more than that. He cast such thoughts aside, but others were more difficult to shake. Like the thought that Septimus was not much older than Valerius would be by now. When he looked at the boy, he saw so much of his brother–or at least, what he imagined his brother to be. Valerius was little more than a babe when Aelius had left for Eorzea. What had happened to him in Ael’s absence? Had he been passed the same mantle Aelius had borne? The heir to the Corinthius family’s legacy, the man of the household. Such responsibility thrust onto a boy so young… not that Aelius had been any older. Things were different for Valerius, however. Their father wasn’t just gone, he was dead. Their mother wasn’t just lonely, she was a widow… grieving not just the loss of her husband and the father of her children, but for all she knew, also her eldest son. And now this… the war, the capitol… what had become of their family’s home? Was their mother even still alive? Was Valerius–he couldn’t even bring himself to finish the thought. He felt his hand ball into a fist at his side. He had spent so long running away from everything. He had never intended to return to Garlemald… but now that he was here, things suddenly weren’t as simple as retrieving the Eyes of the Forgotten and ensuring their airship could carry them back to Eorzea. No, that was the last of his concerns now. He could no longer run away from the part of himself that remembered his duty to the Empire, and to his family. @aelius-ffxiv, @tough-bit-of-fluff​, @its-the-val-pal​

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #5: Cutting Corners

FFxivWrite 2022 Prompt #5: Cutting Corners “Yeah, yeah, of courrrse it’s the good stuff. Best fogweed you’ll find in Thanalan,” C’therin announced proudly, hands upon her hips as the finely dressed, young Lalafell held the bundle of herbs in his tiny hands, inspecting it closely. “Mmm… I don’t know. Why does it all look different?” the skeptical nobleman asked. “Oh, duh, it’s a blend. Different strrrains. That’s how ya make sure ya get the best high,” the Miqo’te stated with pure confidence, matter of fact. “And it’s safe…?” he questioned cautiously. “‘Courrrse it is!” she asserted cheerily. “Safety is our top priorrrity.” She bent forward to bring herself closer to eye level with the diminutive man, her lips slowly curling into a toothy grin, a flash of white standing in contrast to her sun-tanned, dirt-smudged skin. “Do I look like the kinda perrrson ya can’t trust?” She did look entirely untrustworthy… but that was exactly the sort of person you could depend on for your drug purchases, right? Or so thought the young man barely out of his teenage years as he complied and slipped his free hand onto his pocket, retrieving a sack full of entirely too much gil and handing it over to Therin. “Okay, okay, here… and you… won’t tell anyone, right?” Her too-wide grin did not falter and she pledged, “M’lips are sealed.” She’d already turned her attention away from the small man, opening the sack of gil and beginning to pull the coins from it one by one, counting her profits. “Right, right, ummm. Pleasure doing business with you, then, uh… Ma’am?” He bent into a stiff and formal bow, lingering awkwardly for a moment before his gaze darted this way and that for any witnesses, and then he hurried off as fast as his little legs would take him. No sooner than he had disappeared, an Ala Mhigan woman dressed in ragged clothes rounded the corner of Pearl Lane, casually approaching the familiar Miqo’te. “Runnin’ drugs now, Kitty?” she offered in way of greeting. C’therin scoffed. “Ya really think I’d sell my own fogweed? I snatched some herrrbs an’ shit from the Quicksand’s kitchen,” she explained, quickly shoving the purse of gil into her pocket for safekeeping. “Rich kids ‘round here ain’t know any better.” @kitty-ffxiv​

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FFxivWrite22 Entry #4: Raiding

FFxivWrite 2022 Prompt #4: (you pick!)

Proto-carbuncle Please don’t devour me, it hurts Ouch owie ow why

Because Sunday is raid day, I dedicate today’s freebie to proggers.

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite Entry #17: Novel

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #17: Novel X’unmei knew there was a wide world outside of her tribe, even outside the Twelveswood. She’d never found the chance to explore much of it, though, and she was not confident she ever would. However, she’d found another escape, a way to catch just a glimpse of it. She slinked away from town, slipping the paperback book into her jacket. Her tribe would be angry if they knew she had spent gil on another book… but that was fine. They didn’t need to know. It was for her, for those moments she could slip away for some quiet time for herself, to get lost in tales about a world full of action, and romance, and passion, and adventure… how she dreamed she could live in that same world, the world of adventurers and handsome knights and brave princesses. And most always a happy ending. Sometimes when she read those precious stories, she would close her eyes and pretend she was there… but the time always came much too soon for her to reopen her eyes, and she would be returned to cold reality. @which-can-eternal-lie​

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #10: Channel

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #10: Channel There was a disconnect now when she reached out to the Elementals and the land around her to channel her conjury, a block. It was a momentary resistance, a reluctance to lend her their power that made her have to pull just a little bit harder, and there was no wondering why. It was an inconvenience to Faye, but it was one she could work around. She simply counted her blessings the Twelveswood had not given even harsher consequences from her meddling with forces forbidden. All in all, it was a small price to pay for the power she had received, light and dark both in her hands, coursing through her very veins. Such things could never come freely.

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #9: Yawn

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #9: Yawn The sunlight filtered in through the curtains, bathing her in a golden glow that warmed her skin. As she slowly drifted to consciousness, distantly X’unmei became aware of the muffled chirping of birds outside. It was another beautiful day in the Twelveswood. With a yawn and a stretch, she slowly rolled over in the blankets, finding her face planted into Vallois’s back. So he was still asleep, she realized, snuggling closer against the tall Elezen who took up a comically larger portion of the bed than the small Miqo’te beside him. Well, it would be a shame to wake him. What better way to enjoy such a perfect morning than to sleep in a little longer? Yes, just a few more minutes… And so, Mei easily drifted back into a peaceful slumber… for a few more bells. @which-can-eternal-lie​, @its-the-val-pal​

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FFxivWrite22 Entry #12: Miss the Boat

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #12: Miss the Boat The pair never had much money, but X’unmei and Cyrus had scraped up what little gil they had for a trip to Costa Del Sol, their first romantic getaway together and a much needed break from the exhaustion and monotony of their daily lives. But the best laid plans often went awry. Of course, they were already running late, and now they were hopelessly lost and… oh, Twelve, what time was it? They rushed through the port, weaving between the crowds of people, searching for the correct dock. “There it is!” Mei exclaimed, excitedly pointing a finger toward their ship she glimpsed in the distance at a nearby pier. As they hurried toward it, the ropes were untied and… off the ship drifted into the ocean. “It’s… leaving.” “Waaaaaiiiiiiit!” the Miqo’te wailed desperately as she still continued forward, clutching their tickets tightly in one hand and waving them through the air above her head. Her cry was in vain, of course. No one heard it, and no one would have stopped the boat, even if they had. Her shoulders slumped, defeated. “What do we do now…?” “I don’t suppose you want to swim there?” @which-can-eternal-lie​, @its-the-val-pal​

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #19: Turn a Blind Eye

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #19: Turn a Blind Eye A stabbing. A brawl. A mugging. A pickpocket. It didn’t matter. In Pearl Lane, all crimes were equal… at least, in the sense that they all went equally ignored by the Brass Blades. Mind you, it wasn’t because they were absent. Almost always they were there, patrolling, sometimes throwing their weight around in meaningless gestures of posturing. It seemed most were too lazy to deal with actual problems, however. Sometimes they would deem fit to step in… but all it took was the sparkle of some gil to convince them to turn their eyes away. But Faye saw… she saw most things when she was in the Lane, watching, and she stored that information away in her mind. One never knew when such things could prove useful.

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #14: Attrition

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #14: Attrition Patience is key Children of man are endurance predators A foe that can’t be defeated head on Can be chipped away Worn and broken down Piece by piece ‘Til nothing is left A war of attrition

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #13: Confluence

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #13: Confluence X’unmei sat upon the riverbank at the convergence of two streams, her fishing rod in hand. Fishing wasn’t her favorite activity, but when she was tasked to procure food for her tribe, it was at least better than hunting. She did have to admit it was relaxing, and peaceful, and… perhaps a little boring. How long had she been sitting here and had not a single bite? She leaned back against the tree trunk behind her, closing her eyes for a moment, just to rest them. She could hear the wind rustling the leaves and the gentle trickle of water, accompanied by the distant songs of insects and frogs. She could feel the soft breeze and the warm sunshine against her skin… and suddenly, she could feel the fishing pole slipping from her grasp. Mismatched eyes shot open just in time to see the fishing line taut and the pole being dragged across the ground away from her and toward the water. “No!” she gasped, lunging forward with an arm outstretched, but it was too late. The fishing pole was dragged into the water, pulled deeper and deeper into the murky depths below. She deflated. Well, the tribe wasn’t going to be happy about this… @which-can-eternal-lie​

[fair-fae]

FFxivWrite22 Entry #18: Extremes

FFxivWrite 2022 FFxivWrite22 Masterpost Prompt #18: (you pick!) Barbariccia Arena of hair; it’s gross Just let me clear it