#this is not the gpose i set out to make tonight but it is what I made so!!!

[ahollowgrave]

lays on the ground

[ffxiv-f13ndish]

Treasure in You

(( collab. drabble w/ @ro-valerius [Tofu]! [also credit to ro for gpose shots] ))

And so the world seemed to start to slow down again. After all that had happened with the pirates — and all that had happened directly after — Miyu was finally settling into what felt like some semblance of normalcy. Whatever that really meant. At the very least, they didn’t feel like they were on the brink of panicking at every given moment. Well, it was less frequent that this occurred. Time could only go on further. And with the celebratory gathering coming up, they hoped they’d be able to adjust further to this new normal. Perhaps, one thing that could kickstart that was to finally engage in prior plans. 

They came up behind Tofu as he worked at his desk, resting both hands on the sides of the back of his chair as they leaned forward to look at him from above. 

“Hey. I think you might owe me a date,” they casually greeted him with a proposition. “Come join me for a beach walk tonight? I have snacks… and plenty of firestarters… packed up.” Tofu looked up at them and tilted his head - not in confusion, but in thought.

“...I will apologize in advance. I do not know what exactly it is that people do on ‘dates’. Kore’d be your better option, if you want a good one,” he said before getting quiet and averting his gaze. “Though…if my ineptitude doesn’t bother you, I’d be more than glad to.” 

“You are perfect as you are. And I asked for you, after all,” they hummed, leaning down to playfully brush the tip of their nose against his own. “Good that you’re free. I already bought an airship ticket to get there.” Last thing they wanted to do was force Tofu through a magic portal, anyways.

“Take your time finishing up what you need to do,” Miyu hummed before skipping off to finish preparations. Tofu considered the stacks of papers in front of him, only half filled out, and groaned. There was a valiant attempt to try to bring himself to finish them, but in the end, he stacked the unfinished ones in one pile and the finished in another and got up to find where Miyu had gone.

Daen Lad grabbed him by the ear before he could make it very far, dragging him towards his room. 

“If you’re going to the beach, you can’t be going looking like that!” they exclaimed, fluttering over to his dresser and opening up drawers until they found what they were looking for, ignoring his protests. They threw his beach trunks and the light jacket he used before at him before fluttering to the shoe rack and throwing his sandals at him.

“D-daen Lad I don’t think…”

“Good, don’t think at all, just change!”

--

Miyu had planned ahead and filled a bag with various items — even if Tofu had declined, it seemed they had early intentions of taking themself to the beach alone. Most of the time Miyu spent preparing was them preparing themself. Maybe the makeup and attire was a bit flashy for a beach walk, but they needed the extra boost to mentally prepare themself. It has been awhile, anyways.

They exited their room, nearly bumping right into Tofu in the hall. They flashed him a small smile.

“Right! Ready?” they inquired as they set their bag more comfortably on their hip. They gave a quick look over and sounded a faint ‘awe.’

“Looks ready. Funny, we’re both dressed like we were at the festival,” they mumbled aloud in thought. Well, hopefully this didn’t end like the festival. 

Tofu pulled the jacket more closed as they looked him over, averting his eyes. 

“D-Daen Lad made me change…” he grumbled, hoping the still-healing arrow injury was well obscured by the jacket. He didn’t need to be fully wrapped around his torso anymore, but both injuries still had slabs of gauze taped over as they healed.

Plus, he kind of didn’t like having his chest out. Felt odd. 

“A-anyway, ready when you are?”

---

You’d think that after all the hell that has gone on out at sea, they wouldn’t want to go anywhere near a beach. By the time they arrived, the sun was barely peeking out from the ocean. The bonfire was set up first. Once the fire was going, they wandered closer to where the waves rolled along the shore.

Miyu glanced over their shoulder to Tofu and gave a small smile.

“Sorry to pull you away from work. I figured some… nice outside time was needed. I know this isn’t exactly your thing, so I appreciate you coming out,” Miyu thanked him. Tofu rotated his wrist briefly and pressed a hand to his head.

“A break was probably warranted, in any case. Besides, when was the last time we got to do anything…nice?” he said, offering a brief smile in return. He pulled his sleeve further down on his arm, trying to obscure the bandages as much as possible.

“You…deserve for good things to happen,” he murmured. 

“It really has been awhile, huh,” Miyu mumbled with a sigh. They kneeled, sinking their hand into the water. They wiggled their fingers as the sand and water washed between the digits.

“Well… I’d say that happened the moment you entered my life,” Miyu said as they stood up straight once more. They brushed their hand against their dress to dry it off, then clapped their hands together to get rid of the sand.

“Ah…” Tofu stared deeply into the fire, and though he tried to keep a neutral expression, his eyes betrayed his thoughts. Every single thing that had gone wrong because of him, everything that had been his fault… Because he wasn’t observant enough, fast enough, strong enough. His hands clenched in his lap as his brow furrowed. 

“I’ve caused…so much grief…” he said, his voice barely a whisper.

Miyu frowned. They sat down beside him on the blanket they had set out, then rested both hands atop of Tofu’s own clenched ones. They lifted one hand and leaned their cheek against it.

“There is a lot to grieve for, but not by your doing. Even when there is so much to grieve, my heart hasn’t broken yet,” they said as they craned their head one way, and they rested two of his fingers at the pulse beneath their jaw. “Because you bring so much for a heart to beat for.”

Tofu’s face flushed as he looked at them before averting his eyes. He could only hope they could not feel his own pulse. They were supposed to be there for a good time, yet he struggled to get his mind to let go of his faults and fears. Instead, he defaulted to his usual response when he was too flustered to think, but wanted to assure them that he had heard them.

“R-right…” he murmured. 

In the flickering firelight, they could just barely make the flush that collected in Tofu’s cheeks. 

“Of course I’m right. I chose you,” Miyu agreed, turning their head to give the back of his hand a peck. As they released his hand again, they turned their attention back to their bag. Miyu hummed faintly to themself as they set out an array of finger sandwiches, meat and vegetable skewers, cherries, and two cups. 

Miyu took out a wine bottle and poured themself a serving. Then, they took out another bottle – this time water – and poured it for Tofu.

“I know you don’t drink, so…” They glanced up at Tofu and flashed a cheeky grin. “Don’t worry, you won’t have to carry me back home.”

“Ah, yeah I just…prefer to be ready in case something happens. Can’t do that impaired, I think,” Tofu mumbled sheepishly. He couldn’t meet their eyes, instead focusing on their hands. He reached out and brushed his thumb against the ring he had given them some time back. 

“I think…he would have liked you. Would be glad that I met you,” he whispered.

It was now Miyu’s turn to turn red in the face. A blush bloomed across their face, though there was a bittersweet pang they felt in their heart as they recalled memories of Tofu’s past.

“You think so, huh? I’ve never exactly been the first choice for taking home to meet the family,” Miyu said with a sheepish chuckle. “...Thank you. I’m really glad I met you.” 

Miyu peered down at the ring they had won in a silly little staring contest, a fond smile crossing their features. “I’ll always treasure this gift, just as much as I treasure you.”

“Anyone would be impressed by the one who made a person out of a weapon,” Tofu said softly, pulling his hand back and holding both hands palm up in front of him, taking in the barely visible scars once more, though with only the light of the fire, finding them fell more to habit than sight. “You truly are brilliant enough to fit in amongst the stars, quite why you decided to instead use your radiance to guide a monster out of the dark is beyond me but… I’m glad we met. I’m glad you’re here.”

“Darling Tofu, your humanity has always been there. And frankly, I find it to be quite beautiful,” Miyu insisted. “You’re skilled with weapons, but you’ve always been more than that. So much more.”

A faint ‘oh’ sounded from them when they caught a glint of the firelight shimmer in the ring that they had given Tofu, which it appeared that he still wore. They wrapped their hand around his again and drew it close, this time to inspect the ring.

“You still wear yours! Hm… I think you deserve a better one than this one sometime,” they remark with a soft smile. “Someone who also shines as bright as you do deserves a ring that compliments that.”

“This one is perfect, because it came from you,” Tofu objected, a light frown across his features at the way Miyu spoke of the ring. 

“You do make a good point there, but…” Miyu began, only to trail off at the sight of a sudden divebomb.

From behind them came a fluttering of feathers, followed closely by a soft *thud* as Joy did as close to a tackle as a bird could do against Tofu’s head before nestling on his shoulder against his neck.

“Joy, you’re going to give us both a concussion doing that…” Tofu grumbled, rubbing his head where the bird had collided. 

“Awe… adorable,” Miyu cooed as the little bird cuddled up to Tofu’s neck. “Maybe that’s just his way of giving you a smooch. I know I would do the same – head bashing aside,” Miyu giggled, discreetly wiping their eyes with the other hand, as they still had one grasping at Tofu’s. 

A realization came to Tofu. His face warmed again as he reached over with his free hand, tilting their face to look at him and briefly brushing his lips against theirs. 

“There. A proper one, this time. No blood involved,” he murmured. 

Maybe Tofu wasn’t coughing up blood, but all the blood in their body rushed to their face.

“I… um...” Miyu began, but trailed off as they sheepishly glanced down. They touched their fingertips to their lips and flashed a little smile. “I… hope you know I didn’t not mind.. I mean, did not mind.”

Tofu looked at them with a tilt of his head, his expression one of curiosity and oblivion. As they fumbled with their words, his confusion deepened. They were usually so coy and confident, even with Kore, from what he could tell. He settled his hand on their forehead.

“Are you…alright?” he asked, his voice full of concern. 

Tofu’s concerned actions only flustered the miqo’te further. If it weren’t for the fact that it was cold out, they might just rival the fire with the way their face burned up. And in regards to being cold, they shivered and scooted closer.

“I’m fine, darling. Didn’t think you’d make someone blush before?” Miyu explained with a chuckle, despite their slight embarrassment.

“T-that’s not… I just mean that you seem more…comfortable? When it comes to interactions with Kore. Did I…do something incorrectly?” he asked softly. “I’m sorry, I’m not…very good at this.”

“Not at all incorrect!” they quickly spoke up. Miyu’s lips formed into a pout. “You.. you’re perfect.”

Their eyes lowered, Miyu now fidgeting with the ring on Tofu’s finger. 

“I guess... I was flattered. An honor to receive such a treat when it's rare to come by, at least from you,” Miyu awkwardly explained with a nervous chuckle. “And I mean, plus there was the fact that I was… worried that I was doing too much to overwhelm you. Especially early on, when I knew I had feelings for you, I tried to be discreet. And then I tried to catch your eye, but I wasn’t sure if I would even be capable. I know my actions can be a lot, maybe even confusing. So to get that affirmation… it's nice.”

Tofu was quiet for a long moment, taking in their words and processing them. Joy pecked lightly at his jaw, eliciting a small ‘h-hey!” and a gentle nudge to make him stop. He turned his gaze to Miyu, a soft, contemplative expression on his face. 

“I…wouldn’t call it an honour,” he said with an awkward chuckle. “I definitely had a hard time understanding what your intentions were early on. It was…new, having someone care about me that wasn’t family. I didn’t know what you expected, what you had hoped to gain from it. But it became clear that you didn’t care for the sake of gain, you just… did. I… couldn’t tell you when you started to matter to me, because it caught me by surprise, too. That someone had managed to get through the walls I built…”

He was quiet for another short moment, his next words coming out in a near whisper. “I just knew I wanted you to feel safe. Every time you looked to the entrance with such fear…” 

“Absolutely fair, I didn’t have a full understanding at first – I mean, wasn’t looking for anything but then... I started to see you. And you were strength… warmth… safety,” they said as they idly traced the rough lines of his knuckles. “I think honored is the perfect word to use. You and Kore have brought me something special, something I want to treasure in my life and keep.”

Tofu looked away, another touch of warmth colouring his cheeks. The words ‘I started to see you’ played over and over in his head, an echo of assurance that…he was a person. Right…?

“I am…glad. To bring you safety, to be your strength,” he murmured. 

Miyu smiled and scooted in closer.

“Claiming this shoulder, pardon me, Joy,” they said as they rested their head against his shoulder. “Well, I’m glad you let me be a part of your life.”

Miyu turned their head, resting their chin on his shoulder as they stared up at him. They were quiet for a long while, ruminating over their thoughts, or perhaps just silently admiring him.

“I… I love you, Tofu,” they said after a long moment. 

Tofu’s face further warmed, the thoughts that had been swirling in his head came to an abrupt halt, and his breath caught in his chest. A familiar panic bubbled in him, but he took a deep breath and centered himself. He wanted to say the words back, because he did, but it scared him. 

“I-I… You will always be my most precious treasure. You and Kore,” he stammered.

Even when they didn’t get the same exact words back, the message came across well enough. Their eyes softened, tail giving an excited flick behind them. Miyu parted their lips to speak, but paused when a glimmer in the water caught their eye.

“And that makes you a precious treasure too. One second, something shiny over there,” Miyu said, giving his cheek a peck before they stood up and skipped over to the water.

They stepped into the water, not seeming to care as they wet their dress, while searching for what caught their eye. A faint gasp escaped them before they ducked down to grab something at their feet, managing to wrap their fingers around it just before the wave that washed over them pulled it away. 

Tofu tilted his head at their sudden interest in whatever it was they had found in the water, watching with curious eyes as they scooped something up. 

“What…did you find?” he asked.

Miyu spat out ocean water as they stood up straight. They squinted down into their hand to ensure they had grabbed the object their keen eyes had spotted. Miyu gave a chirp of delight and hastily trudged out of the water.

“Sea glass! It was glowy, for some reason,” they hummed, taking a seat beside Tofu again. They lifted the smooth treasure up to peer at it with the light of the fire. It was red, and looked to be in the shape of a… heart? Diamond? Well, it was really up to interpretation.

Miyu shivered as the cold air washed over them, but an excited smile remained prominent.

“Here, yours,” Miyu said, holding it out for Tofu to take. Tofu smiled and shook his head.

“You found it, it's yours,” he said, shrugging off his jacket and draping it over their shoulders - forgetting what it was for in the face of their shivering.

Miyu gave a little pout when Tofu declined the sea glass. They were about to attempt to hand it back to him once more by tucking it into his hand, but paused as an idea came to mind. Their pout disappeared, and they smiled once more. Without saying another word about it, they tucked the sea glass into their bag. Their hand freed up, they occupied it once more with a clasp at Tofu’s hand. 

It was a cold night, but all they could feel was a comforting warmth.

[aethernoise]

how did you like the ghimlyt dark?! i was watching videos and it looks so fun! - hien anon

Hi I love it, thanks for asking. Lots of rambling below.

Wowowow! The atmosphere and design of this dungeon is excellent. The constant movement of light and figures in the sky above, the smoke and embers, the music having a sort of martial medley of all of the major expansion themes? Way to set the damn scene. Even the jagged shape of the actual map adds something. I was actually impressed by how disoriented I was in several areas, even after running it several times I’d find myself making a wrong turn and missing the path forward. There are multiple instances of climbing a hill and descending into an open area full of fighting–the first of which you actually jump off of a ledge into, if I remember correctly–and it just promotes a surge of adrenaline that makes me hurry my ass ahead of the tank into the fray, surrounded by fighting NPC bodies that just for an instant make me lose my own group until I turn the camera around to find them. Running through the glowing blue puddles of ceruleum—and finding that yes, you can /splash in it— in narrow little canyons built of melted hulks of wrecked magitek that are continually falling down around you? A great visual contrast with the smoke and fire, and created a kind of sick cramped feeling in the midst of the openness. Garleans are falling from the sky with parachutes all over, and sometimes new enemies will spawn once the way is open for you to continue, even though they’re untargetable. I’ve seen a few DRKs try to Unleash on them out of habit, it’s great.

It is as I had hoped, and your companions do accompany you throughout the dungeon, leaving at various points to rejoin in a larger group closer to the end. And they’re useful! They do damage! They avoid AOEs successfully for the most part, but seem to take very little damage. However, in a few instances it seems like their HP can get pretty low, which makes me wonder if a. it’s possible for them to be KO’d, and b. if your timing affects them somehow. Regardless It’s like you just happened to walk into a clutch moment, and NOT one purely triggered by your presence, which is refreshing! We spent plenty of time on our first run shaming the nameless soldiers on both sides for doing very little more than auto-attacking, but the named NPCs are pretty well behaved (ok except in one of my runs tonight Aymeric did FOLLOW me with his AOE marker and walk away without taking a scratch, meanwhile I got hit by both, THANKS DEAR). Sadly there’s no new voiced battle dialogue (I am not 100% sure on Pipin though tbh), but the existing stuff is all great so I’m not complaining. 

One of the coolest parts is definitely the point where one of your NPC buddies will say something epic and tear-jerking before using a Limit Break. Lyse dedicates her special Final Heaven to Papalymo, while Hien* similarly says “this is for you, old friend.” Yugiri also has a chance to LB here, though I have not seen it yet so I don’t know what she says.

*I have another (smaller) post brewing about Hien’s lb specifically so PLFTI

The boss mechanics are pretty fun and managable, except for the first guy’s rudeness to BLMs and Julia’s chain reaction explosions… I still need to get the hang of that one. Otherwise I find the dungeon really fun overall and I’m so thankful for another chance to fight alongside the other characters…. it will be a great dungeon to unsync and gpose in an expansion later >.>