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roguelioness · 1 year

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(i'll follow-) follow you down

Fandom: FFXIV Pairing: Alyzen Kaide/Estinien Varlineau, Alyzen Kaide/Aymeric de Borel Rating: T (mild violence) Words: 1784

(read on ao3)

The woman in his arms looks so fucking fragile.

She’s so silent, so alarmingly unmoving as he strides rapidly across the battlefield. There’s fighting all around him, soldiers of the Alliance clashing with the Garleans, the loud rotors and motors of their grotesque ceruleum-fuelled warmachina vibrating the air. Smoke and dust and blood is a near-tangible thing on his tongue, sour and acrid and bitter, and there’s a piercingly high scream coming from the right, but all of Estinien’s attention is on the pale-faced, bruised and bleeding Warrior of Light.

Savior of Ishgard.

Eorzea’s Champion.

He's only ever seen her vital and vibrant, whether in joy or grief or rage or sorrow. But now she wears a new look and he finds he does not care much for the sight of it.

In his arms, she looks so… human. So mortal.

So frangible.

He should have acted sooner. He should have fought by her side, instead of watching as she parried blow after blow, as her skin turned from golden to purple-blue.

He thought she’d had it under control. And Halone’s breath, but she’d been magnificent as she danced around the battlefield, Zenos’ attacks barely touching her.

And she’d killed him. He’d seen it. He’d watched Zenos’ body slump to the ground, little better than a soggy sack of flour. He didn’t have to be a Sharlayan scholar to know that the dead weren’t meant to glow ominous red before climbing back to their feet.

Alyzen always had the worst luck.

Whatever that thing was, whatever manner of creature lived in that body, it had not startled Aly, or surprised her. No, she'd been so fucking resigned, like she'd expected it, a grim sort of desperation on her thinned mouth. Fool woman, he clenches his jaw as he carefully climbs over a twisted chunk of metal that had once been a craft, why would you attempt to fight a creature that could not be killed?

But he knows the answer, even as he rages against it. What other choice did she have? All too often, the fate of half a dozen countries rested on her shoulders, and he cannot even judge them for it, for had he not required her assistance to protect and defend the country he loves?

Why had she been alone on the battlefield? Where were the rest of her Scions, her friends? Why had they abandoned her in her time of need?

The kind of magicks it had employed… to see her in such distress, to know she was in pain and that he could do nothing– He should have intervened the moment he saw the body rise. Perhaps if he had… his gaze drops to her blood-soaked armor.

Mayhap it was his imagination, but had she stopped breathing?

Estinien dips his head closer to her face, his cheek near her nose, and a flood of relief washes over him as the warmth of her exhale fans over his skin. “Do not even think of dying,” he murmurs to her, ducking behind a rockface so that the soldiers passing overhead do not catch a glimpse of their hero so wounded. “I would be most vexed with you should you make the slightest attempt.”

The Alliance camp was easy enough to slip into without being noticed. Estinien cast his glance this way, then that, attempting to gauge the safest place to take her to. Alyzen has dire need of a chirurgeon, but were she to be seen it would cause a massive drop in morale. Search as he might, he cannot find the slightest trace of the Scions. A strange thing indeed, even more so that none of the leaders seemed unaffected by their absence.

In the midst of all this chaos, there’s only one person Estinien trusts.

He knows Aymeric well enough to instantly pick him out of the crowd. Weaving his way through a throng of bodies dashing about, his own hood pulled over his head, he makes his way towards Ishgard’s Lord Commander. Aymeric is ensconced within the tent that serves as his personal accommodations, fully busy giving out orders to Lucia, but Estinien cannot wait for him to finish– he barges into the tent, ignoring Lucia’s outraged exclamation, and pulls down his hood to reveal his face.

“She needs help,” is all he says.

Aymeric draws in a sharp, shocked breath when his gaze lands on Alyzen’s form, his features contorting with heartbreak, before he quickly gathers himself and barks out an order to Lucia to fetch a chirurgeon. Estinien ignores the woman’s departure in favor of settling Aly onto Aymeric’s bed, his fingers suddenly and unexpectedly shaky as he brushes away a blood-crusted strand of hair away from her face.

“What happened?” Aymeric asks, concern making his voice tremble.

“Zenos,” he says, then goes into the details of the fight he’d witnessed.

Aymeric’s breath catches in his throat. “That was not the Crown Prince that raised his blade against her,” he states quietly as he kneels by the bed, carefully undoing the straps and buckles that keep her armor together. “Zenos is dead. It is an Ascian that now wears his body.”

“She fought an ascian? What would possess you to send her out to face him alone?” Estinien’s voice vibrates with his outrage. “If the alliance does not care for her wellbeing, surely the scions would–”

“The Scions are not here, Estinien.”

“So I gather. I overheard a group of men say they were on a secret mission elsewhere. Why would they leave her to fend for herself?”

“They cannot be here,” Estinien’s never seen Aymeric look more troubled.

A short explanation later, and a fresh horror has embedded itself into his chest; he stares down at Alyzen, quiescent and motionless. “You believe there is a chance the same fate has befallen her? You think her soul has…” he cannot bring himself to say it.

“It has occurred several times,” Aymeric is grim-faced now, “and my understanding is that it affected only the Scions. Each time it has taken place, a Scion has fallen prey. Alisaie fell but a week ago.” He exhales heavily, his shoulders slumping with the motion. “Would that I could have kept her from the same fate. Halone grant me strength, the sight of her like this is once I cannot bear."

Before Estinien can respond, Lucis bursts in, a chirurgeon close at her heels. He watches silently as the medic examines Alyzen, as they tug at her eyelids and measure her pulse and clean and suture her wounds, but even he knows that her injuries, numerous as they are, could not be responsible for her insensate condition.

The chirurgeon completes his examination. “She– she appears to be asleep, my lord,” he says, a frown creasing his brow. “Her breathing is steady, and her pulse is strong. Yet–” he hesitates.

“Yet?” Aymeric crosses his arms.

“I could be mistaken, of course, but her aether– it is considerably thinned.”

Estinien narrows his eyes. “What do you mean? Speak plainly.”

He clears his throat. “It is as though her soul is barely present. It clings to her body in the barest of threads.”

There’s a clog in his throat, a rusted dagger in his chest. Estinien’s fingers twitch, as though they’re seeking out the comfort of hers; he curls them into his palm, hiding his fist behind his back.

“You are certain of this?” Aymeric asks.

“Aye.”

“It bodes well that it yet lingers,” Lucia places a hand on Aymeric’s shoulder. “The Warrior of Light is strong. She will return to us; of this I am certain.”

Aymeric exhales. “Aye,” he murmurs. “I must have faith.” His gaze meets Estinien’s, and he can see the fear lurking in those depths – not the fear of a leader on the verge of losing his best soldier, but the fear of a man who cares deeply.

Loves, even.

Estinien clenches his jaw so tight his teeth hurt. He recognizes that fear for it sits within his own ribs. The recognition of that emotion brings with it panic. Surely it cannot be. He cannot possibly– Dimly, he registers Aymeric giving orders for Alyzen to be flown to Ishgard– “immediately. Ensure that none but the Alliance leaders are aware of her condition–” but all his attention is on her.

She does look like she’s merely asleep. If it were not for the bandages and the bruises he could fool himself into believing it. But she’s not asleep. Someone, somewhere, is trying to pull her soul out of her body. Someone, somewhere is trying to turn her body into a husk. Someone, somewhere, is hurting her, and he cannot do anything about it–

“Will you accompany us?” Aymeric’s soft-spoken question rouses him out of his thoughts.

“What?”

“Will you accompany us?” Lowering his voice further, he adds, “Even if she is unaware of it now, I am certain that when she wakes she would be pleased to know you kept her company.”

Estinien hesitates. He looks at Aly, a belligerent blue bloom on her now-pale cheek, short copper hair – when had she cut it? – matted and plastered to her scalp. Of what help would he be, hovering by her bedside like an overzealous mother hen? Her foes are numerous and linger in the shadows, and his time would be better served in hunting them.

It is not, as that traitorous little voice in the back of his head whispers, because he cannot bear to see her like this.

“Nay,” he shrugs, a pang of guilt pricking him at the split-second expression of disappointment that flickers over Aymeric’s face. “I would be of little help in an infirmary, Aymeric.”

“I suppose I should not be surprised,” Aymeric sighs. “Though you can be assured that she would be most disappointed at your absence.”

“Aymeric.” His tone, subdued as it is, gets the Lord Commander’s attention. Whatever Aymeric sees on his face is enough to have his own expression soften.

“I will see to her care, Estinien. Have no doubt that she will be tended to by Ishgard’s finest chirurgeons.” He reaches out and grips his shoulder. The weight of his palm is welcome; it steadies that shaky, wobbly part of him that worries and fears for Alyzen. “Do you have any message you wish for me to disclose once she regains consciousness?”

“Tell her–” he pauses. His throat is clogged with an emotion he refuses to acknowledge. “Tell her she is not alone.” With that, he turns on his heel and walks away, forcing himself to ignore the part of him that yearns to return to her side.

He cannot remain, not while there are still those who desire her demise.

#ffxiv #ffxiv fic #estinien varlineau #aymeric de borel #warrior of light #alyzen kaide #stormblood spoilers #listen 4.56 caught me by the throat #and i blame kary for this <3 #never tried writing from esti's pov so... dumping this and running away #roguelioness writes

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atobibas · 1 month

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Who appears most in The Ballad of John D. Rockerduck?

As always I only counted panels, so the page number is just the average calculated from the percentage.

And there'll obviously be spoilers for the story, if you haven't read it please do so, it's fantastic!

Quackmore - 2 (panels) / 0.38 (pages) / 0.61% (of the story)

Howard Rockerduck - 15 / 2.87 / 4.56%

Scrooge - 60 / 11.48 / 18.24%

Jeeves - 121 / 23.17 / 36.78%

John D. Rockerduck - 203 / 38.87 / 61.70%

(Thoughts and additional stats below!)

So Egmont lists this one as a co-lead between Scrooge and Rockerduck, and I think we can all agree that that is silly, right? I mean Scrooge does technically appear more than Rockerduck in the final quarter, but that doesn't really make the difference at all. The story is entirely about Rockerduck, his name is in the title and all. He is very clearly a singular protagonist, and if you were to give him a co-lead it would be Jeeves and not Scrooge. And even the final moment we get with Scrooge is actually about Rockerduck. This is clearly Egmont adding Scrooge to the list because they don't want a villain to be the main character.

Anyways, let's look at the entrance and exit stats!

John D. Rockerduck - 1 (0.30%) / 329 (100%)

Howard Rockerduck - 6 (1.82%) / 328 (99.70%)

Jeeves - 25 (7.60%) / 315 (95.74%)

Scrooge - 35 (10.64%) / 328 (99.70%)

Quackmore - 58 (17.63%) / 85 (25.84%)

I don't think I need to do a ranking this time, as I think what it would be is sort of obvious!

#disney comics #john d rockerduck #scrooge mcduck #marco nucci #giorgio cavazzano #atobibas big counting project #big scooge

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theimperialnuisance · 2 years

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FFXIV Write 2022 //ffxivwrite info//prompt list//character info//master post//

Prompt one: Cross /adjective annoyed/ Words: 775 Characters: Syren Ligeia, Aymeric de Borel, mention of Estinien Varlineau CW: None Spoilers for 4.56. Mentions of Estinien x wol

((Late to the party as usual but hey! I'm only 3 days behind and still have a chance to catch up! I thought I'd start off with Syren this time, a dark knight Viera wol who is in a completely separate universe from Kien's. (worry not, he's still my main <3) This prompt was too good to not feature him first! I hope you enjoy!))

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The wood-beamed ceiling blurred into view as Syren was pulled from the depths of slumber. He let out a low groan, his fingers curling on the soft bedsheets as he tried to make sense of how he got into a bed when the last thing he could recall was the cloaked figure reaching out to him.

He blinked a few times in effort to rid the haziness in his mind and the uneasy feeling that he had forgotten something else. Suddenly, an image of Zenos’s blade about to cut him down flashed through his mind and he bolted upright with a gasp, his memories just before he collapsed rushing back to him.

“Syren!” The Viera turned at the sound of his name, instantly recognizing Emmanellain’s page Honoroit who startled backwards a bit. His head spinning, Syren could feel the tension drain from him and he slumped forward with a breath. “I’ll go get Aymeric!” The young Elezen quickly took off out of the room, allowing Syren to calm his nerves down in peace. He knew he wasn’t in any immediate danger so it didn’t take long for his heartrate to slow down and his breathing to even out. He slowly straightened up and stretched his sore muscles, leaning carefully against the pillows as the door creaked open again and Aymeric jogged into view.

“You’re awake!” He beamed, his expression of worry washing over with relief. “Thank heavens.” He turned to Honoroit and nodded his thanks before striding into the room and closing the door. “For a moment, we had feared you’d suffer the same fate as the rest of the Scions after that battle…it’s a relief to see you conscious.” He sat down in the chair next to Syren’s bed and leaned forward. “How are you feeling?”

Syren reached a hand to his head, pressing it firmly to ease the his throbbing temple–now that the adrenalyn wore off, a headache emerged in full swing. “Like hell,” he grounded out. “but I’ll survive.” He looked up to meet Aymeric’s gaze. “What happened? Where is Zenos?”

“I see you recall that much at least,” Aymeric began as he leaned back and clasped his hands in his lap. “It is said that you faltered in the midst of your duel and the crown prince seized the opportunity to deliver a mortal blow–however, before his blade could find its mark, he was distracted by the arrival of a second adversary who bore you away from the battlefield and into the hands of our Chirugeons.”

Syren raised a skeptical eyebrow at Aymeric who looked far too amused to say, “Lest you wonder, he left before you woke. As is his wont.”

Estinien. He should’ve known. A twinge of annoyance flashed across the Viera’s face as he felt his blood begin to boil. Hadn’t it been not even a full moon ago they had promised to start over and keep things open and honest? Why in the hells would he rescue him and leave without so much bothering to see if he was alright?

Syren lowered his gaze to his lap, his hands curling in on the fabric of the bedsheets as he tried to keep his cool. “That bastard,” he muttered. “After everything we talked about, and he’s still avoiding me?”

Without missing a beat, Aymeric replied, “You know as well as I do that Estinien is never one for emotional farewells, or greetings for that matter.” His tone carried a hint of amusement but that went unnoticed by the Viera as the scowl only became more prominent on his face.

“Not if I can help it.” Syren growled. He shoved the covers off and swung his legs over the bed. “How long ago was I brought here?”

“Not even a full two bells.” Aymeric replied as he watched Syren wobble to his feet.

“Good,” Syren huffed. “He couldn’t have gotten too far then.” He hastily pulled on his boots and marched for the door, not bothering to grab a jacket or his blade, his focus on one thing alone and that one thing was to find Estinien and give him a piece of his mind. All else could wait.

Aymeric watched him silently all the while, an eyebrow arched in amusement as he knew all too well there was no sense in trying to stop the Viera once he made up his mind.

Just as Syren turned the doorknob and made way out of the room, he could just barely catch Aymeric’s careful but still amused parting words. “Don’t be too cross with him now.” Syren let out a tsk noise as the door closed behind him.

“No promises.”

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samuelhowitt · 1 year

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Changing Things Up - Final Fantasy XIV: Stormblood

This article contains spoilers for all the Final Fantasy XIV content up to Patch 4.56 For a while I have not managed to keep a consistent position on whether I can consider Final Fantasy XIV one singular experience, or to consider the expansions separately. My experience with the second expansion Stormblood has been evidence for the latter, since it has such different ideas on what kind of…

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#ffxiv #Final Fantasy #Final Fantasy MMO #jrpg #naoki yoshida #square enix #stormblood #yoshi p

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rec-review8890 · 2 years

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Heartsong - Book Review

Title: Heartsong

Author: TJ Klune

Online Rating: 4.56/5

Personal Rating: 5/5

Warning(s): Sexual Content, Murder, Blood, M/M, Violence, and Gore.

Pages: 464

Summary: All Robbie Fontaine ever wanted was a place to belong. After the death of his mother, he bounces around from pack to pack, forming temporary bonds to keep from turning feral. It’s enough—until he receives a summons from the wolf stronghold in Caswell, Maine. Life as the trusted second to Michelle Hughes—the Alpha of all—and the cherished friend of a gentle old witch teaches Robbie what it means to be pack, to have a home. But when a mission from Michelle sends Robbie into the field, he finds himself questioning where he belongs and everything he’s been told. Whispers of traitorous wolves and wild magic abound—but who are the traitors and who the betrayed? More than anything, Robbie hungers for answers, because one of those alleged traitors is Kelly Bennett—the wolf who may be his mate. The truth has a way of coming out. And when it does, everything will shatter.

!Spoilers!

Review: Okay. Wow. I don’t know how to feel. To many emotions of happiness, relief, grief, anger, sadness, and joy are swimming in my mind right now and I don’t know how to stop it from swirling. Not only is this series my favorite book series I’ve ever read, but the fact I was legit CRYING shocked me because I didn’t realize I was doing it! This book is not necessarily the “ending,” but it’s the ending to something that was brewing for awhile. I’m trying not to put spoilers, but it’s hard for me to do so and explain how amazing this book is. Everything I loved about this book is so important!

I have to say one thing, that wasn’t that much of a shocker - who am I kidding it was a TOTAL shocker - that Kelly was asexual. Robbie didn’t give a fuck and neither did I because he’s no matter what one of my favorite characters (And we don’t judge here) but Robbie being so deeply in love with him and caring about him even if he didn’t..... never mind.

After reading Joe’s and Ox’s, then Gordo and Marks, stories, I wasn’t sure if this book could top it. I was greatly mistaken... I admit with a big ass heart-throb too. This book was better then perfection, it was everything! Never ONCE did I see a problem with this book.

I’m still shocked at how amazing, and how breathless this book has made me. I remember not thinking this book was going to be good for some reason when I first opened it years ago, but every time I read it I loved every flip of the page. The way the author portrays Robbie and Kelly’s feelings makes me feel every emotion. When they cried, I cried. When they were laughing, I was laughing. I couldn’t help it. These two characters are just so contagious with their feelings, and I loved them being together so much. I liked their coupling more then Mark and Gordo and I LOVED that coupling!

I also loved how this book had the other two books kinda bleed into them. Like, even though we knew everything that happened, it was almost like reading the story again through new eyes. I love this story, and everything the author has put into it. I can’t wait to re-read the final installment already. 5 stars because it clearly descended it!

Negatives: This needs to be a movie. Like yesterday! Heck! Three years ago would have been nice even!

The only thing I can say that could be considered a negative (more like a side note, really) I don’t know what it was with my second read, but I really just wanted to skip the formalities and get to the part where Robbie and Kelly were reunited already. I’m not sure if this could be considered a negative, but I put it here just in case some people are more into the nitty gritty types of books.

。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。。・°°・°°・。

|| Account Directory || Book 1 Review || Book 2 Review || Book 4 Review ||

#heartsong #tj klune #heartsong review #heartsong book review #heartsong tj klune #book review #5 stars #second read #book 3 of 4 #book 3 #love is love #m/m #wolf x wolf #wolf x human #robbie #kelly #Bennett pack #wolfsong series

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karoiseka · 4 years

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#10 Avail

((I went for pain this time... Spoilers through 4.56 Gods, I think it’s cause I’ve been talking about re-living this part again soon by re-playing 4.0 with my hubby, but... I guess I wanted to bring myself to that pain once more just a little faster. To be honest though, this is where I started to really feel for Karo as KARO and not just my avatar in game. Here is where she made herself known as my muse and started to scream her pain at me. Heh. Another 2am posting.. oops.))

The voice clamored in her head, both alarming and comforting--demanding attention at the cost of all around her. The seat at the council melted away, darkness surrounding her-head pounding with the strain of a pulling sensation. Nothing but the pain, nothing but confusion--why… WHY only her--again? Karo shook her head as she was ejected from that darkness to find that her fellow scions had suffered the same echoing voice and pain in their own heads--one that couldn’t be heard by the rest of the council that was looking at the four of them in worry. Karo looked to her left--Alisaie and Y’shtola were back to their senses, eyes wide--Thancred… collapsed. Kan-E-Senna was at his side calling for Healers immediately, Karo frozen in distress and horror. The room almost faded from view again as she gasped for air, realizing that she had stopped breathing momentarily from the shock. This wasn’t the battlefield, this wasn’t even out in the open world, this was the secured council that she herself had checked for unwelcome visitors--surrounded by friends. Taking another gasping breath she let the world spin around her as she watched a piece of her heart be taken away unmoving.

The stone walls of the Rising Stones, cool in the lower level welcomed the distraught trio back--Uriangier waiting for them as soon as they entered. The journey back had been uncharacteristically silent, the Bard not even so much as humming a tune, and Alisaie lost in thoughts. Even Y’shtola had only tried to spark a conversation once or twice, only to get single word answers or merely a head nod or shake in reply. Luckily, Uriangier wanted to talk and the two scholars immediately started to talk about what had happened to them, in addition to the concerns of the aether thinning. Agreeing to head back to Ala Mhigo again they were stopped in their tracks as the Elezan cried out in pain and exclaimed about this voice speaking to him once more. Moments later, Y’shtola mimicked his shout, pulling the last two into the event once more. Karo barely could hear his voice, yet again repeating the desire for her alone to throw wide the gates--whatever THAT meant. She came back to her senses to Alisaie’s broken cries--both their companions lay on the floor unconscious in the same manner as Thancred had fallen. Two more pieces of her heart sank into the abyss as she helped get them to the Dawn’s Respite and they called in more help.

There had been one more moment of disorientation--that voice once more calling to her as she pushed it away. What did he want with her? And why only her? Alisaie still stood by her side as they strode into the Burn flanking Lord Hien. The barrier went up without a hitch and along came the next unwelcome surprise. The voice had claimed another much to their frantic dismay--Alphinaud lay in the strangers arms just as unresponsive as the others. Her heart now cracked, she was amazed that no one could see it bleeding as she stood thunderstruck under the clear azure skies. Revelations about the man who returned him kept the numbness close--the Bard was unsure if she could take much more to her now fragile being.

A familiar face to help them with the puzzle laid out before them, the maidens once again calling upon the crone to guide them. The path cut, the souls missing, but a tendril of hope still remained--if only they could keep it alive.

Don’t you dare leave me alone--the words seared themselves into the Warrior of Light’s mind as they were wracked with pain once more. Neither paying attention to the intrusive voice, they reached for each other to no avail in a final bid to stop the inevitable. Alisaie fell, Karo diving to catch her, curling around the younger girl--she finally cracked, her heart turning to ice as warmth fell away. A flood of tears poured from the tumultuous ocean that glared at her friends--for whom could she trust now not to disappear? Whom would she mourn next? Alisaie may have been the one to beg her not to leave her alone, but here the Bard stood alone instead--her closest and dearest friends’ souls scattered to the Gods knew where. Slowly gathering to her feet, her soul-sister in her arms, a growl slipped from her lips as Hien made a move to take her burden from her. She didn’t let another soul relieve her--couldn’t leave the girl’s side until absolutely needed. I don’t know who you are…. But there will needs be a reckoning when I find you-- The Warrior of Light knew her duty--but her heart was missing.

#ffxiv #FFXIVWrite2020 #karoiseka #Scions of the Seventh Dawn #4.56 spoilers #oh my dears #i love them all so much #sorry for the pain #feelings #My writing #Um #seriously don't know why I decided to do this to myself and others tonight.

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