#AND ALSO like. ryne probably decided to stick around with him after he saved her

[haunted-xander]

Another thing that fucks me up about Thancred & Ryne's relationship through most of shb is that Thancred KNOWS hes messing up he KNOWS hes making tons of mistakes with how he deals with Ryne. He knows full well but doesn't do anything about it. He knows he should reassure her but he doesn't, and he probably doesn't even think he can. Because he knows it won't be completely genuine (and Thancred doesn't even know how to be genuine to begin with) and Ryne is too smart to not see that. And because Ryne already has such a low view of herself she'd never accept his words even if they WERE genuine. Because she still knows that Minfilia means more to him than she does.

And Ryne knows that he's fucking up the entire time too. She knows that he's stressed and grieving but she also thinks she knows his feelings better than she does. Ryne assumes a lot about Thancred, she fills in the blanks between everything he doesn't say or do, but she always fills them in negatively. To her, the default is ALWAYS going to be people wishing she was someone she wasn't, because that's all she's ever know (Vauthry saw her as just "the Oracle" and Ran'jit saw her as just another "Minfilia"). She knows Thancred knows she's not Minfilia, but she thinks he wishes she was (and she's not really wrong, but it's not correct either).

And Thancred is scared to say anything, because he doesn't want to decided her life for her, because he knows Ryne's life is her's to do with as she pleases, but in doing so he inadvertly pushes her towards the option no one really wants. Minfilia doesn't want to come back at Ryne's expense, Ryne doesn't want to just be "Minfilia" for eternity, and Thancred doesn't really want to lose Ryne either.

It's only as the final decision is at hand that Thancred really shows that he DOES care about her as an individual person. It's only after Ryne has already decided to take her life into her own hands that she gets to understand, just a bit, of how he really feels.

#AND ALSO like. ryne probably decided to stick around with him after he saved her #both because she feels indebted to him #and also bc she knows that while his treatment isnt ideal #its also much better than anything else shes know #ranjit kept her locked up in a cage completely by herself with maybe some books to pass the time #and hes harsh and literally does not care for her opinions or needs or anything #shes there as a memento. a memory of all the minfilias he saw die. and as a threat in need of imprisonment #ranjit never cared to teach her anything or tell her stories #but thancred did #thancred taught her how to protect and provide for herself #he told her stories about his friends and their adventures #he let her play when time allowed #he let her just #be #whenever it was possible #she probably thought this was all bc he saw her as minfilia #but she was too excited to be able to do stuff to let that stop her #if shed be just 'minfilia reborn' anyway #why not be one that at least got to have fun sometimes? #the one that could hunt and swim and cook #im so Normal about them #thancred waters #ryne waters #minfilia warde #final fantasy 14 #final fantasy xiv #ff14 #ffxiv #xander rambles #xander being insane about ryne

[katzenkrieg]

Loredump: Cam’s Thoughts on Urianger

I have a massive loredump (see link in my bio) I work on updating occasionally, recording all kinds of details on my WoL, paladin Camille Delane, and his journey to date. Just finally got Urianger’s entry updated! So if you like reading other people’s thoughts on their characters and on NPCs, here you go.

Spoilers through all of the ShB!

Urianger (canon, Scion; 29 at start, 33 before ShB time jump, 37 at end of ShB) – Up until the events that returned the Warriors of Darkness to the First, Camille had no idea what to make of Urianger. Why was Urianger even in the Scions? How did everyone else know him? Why does he talk like he does? No one bothered to explain any of this to Camille, and he mostly left Urianger alone because...that seemed to be what the Elezen wanted. He did let Urianger know everything he learned about primals in combat, but that was about it.

Following Urianger’s collusion with the Warriors of Darkness, Cam just about had had it with him. Yes, it worked out well in the end--but summoning primals and risking another Calamity without telling anyone else about what he was doing *really* seemed like a bad way to go about solving the problem. Or any problem, really. Alisaie joining the Scions saved Urianger from being cornered by an angry Warrior of Light who wanted to know what the fuck Urianger thought he’d been doing. Alisaie read the situation immediately after the final battle with the Warriors of Darkness accurately and had a number of pointed conversations with Urianger and Camille, both individually and together, that defused most of the tension between them--mostly by calling them both out on a mutual failure to communicate or trust each other. The fact that Alisaie has known Urianger since they were both very young has also helped Camille trust him more.

Urianger and Cam didn’t really have much to do with one another during the fight to free Doma and Ala Mhigo--aside from Urianger handing Cam a stick and being like, “This’ll only work if you have no idea what it is. You’re good at not having any idea what anything is.” At least Urianger was being direct about keeping secrets that time, and everything worked out well and without any Calamity-inducing surprises in Cam and Lyse’s fight with Fordola, so Cam didn’t hold the “hey, ignorance is your gift” thing against Urianger. Too much.

Meeting Urianger again in the First was something of a shock. Cam had never really thought of Urianger as an actual *person,* with his own life and interests; in Il Mheg, Urianger seemed to have found a place where he felt comfortable and engaged enough with his surroundings to actually *not keep secrets* and live a full life. At first, Cam was more than happy to help the pixies pull pranks on Urianger (like making his books into living, biting creatures…), but as time went on and Cam saw more and more of Urianger’s relationships with Ryne and Thancred, with the pixies and other fae, and with the First as a whole, he began to stop resenting him and seeing him as a mystery and a cypher, a symbol of the Sharlayan Scions’ pretentiousness, secretiveness, and exclusionary, gatekeeping ‘white tower’-ness. Urianger’s obvious feelings of duty to the First and to Ryne and Minfilia, and his, to Cam, fairly goofy interest in fairy tales and fairy-tale-type magic, in particular, threw Cam’s perception of Urianger off-balance and made him rethink his feelings toward the Elezen.

After overhearing Urianger’s very honest, open, supportive, and generally incredibly emotionally respectful and perceptive talk with Ryne, encouraging her to believe in and have faith in herself and admitting his own past mistakes, Cam finally had to sit down with himself and admit that Urianger had become the Scion he most trusted to deal with complicated emotions and relationships among the Scions. In fact, Urianger playing moderator between Cam and Thancred probably saved the group from dissolving into useless fighting and finger-pointing many times. 

Of cross, Cam also had to deal with the fact that Urianger was, despite these apparent changes, *still* keeping secrets from him--not telling Cam that he was undergoing obvious Light corruption, for instance. And then, finally, revealing that he had, in fact, decided to accept G’raha Tia’s desire to sacrifice himself to save Cam and go right along with it and not question it through the entire time the Scions had been in the First…

Though he *was* understandably angry about this last set of facts, when it finally came to light, Cam also had a lot of other things to think about at the time (for instance, being a Lightwarden in all but physical form…) *and* he had more insight into what seems to make Urianger tick, to explain Urianger’s actions. Cam sees Urianger now as someone whose primary weakness is the same love of lore and fairy stories that is his strength--Urianger will cast himself as tragic lead or the tragic lead’s secret accomplice in any interesting story that comes along, and it’s up to Cam and the other Scions to keep alert to that impulse and check it constantly. As the Light is finally banished from the First, Cam’s resigned to it being his business, in the future, to push into Urianger’s private life *and* to drag Urianger out into the larger world regularly, just to make absolutely sure Urianger’s not wrapping himself up in another self-isolating unnecessary tragic narrative. Cam’s incredibly grateful that Y’shtola’s also decided this is her job and that Urianger has Thancred, Ryne, and Gaia to impose social life on him now.

Cam’s certain Thancred and Urianger are a couple these days. He has no idea when or how that happened (beyond knowing it’s new to their time in the First), and he hasn’t asked about it yet. He’s not sure he wants to know…

Cam considers Urianger one of Ryne’s primary parents. Thancred, of course, is also one of Ryne’s primary parents, but Urianger’s done a much better job in the role than Thancred, really, to date.

If the Scions in the First ever get back to the Source, Cam may just drag Urianger off to get blessed by the kojins’ kami, because honestly, *swimming is not that bad,* Urianger. Who makes deals with the fuath just to avoid learning to swim?

Cam goes through Urianger’s stuff whenever he can, surreptitiously, and isn’t above also asking pixies, including Feo Ul, to look through Urianger’s stuff/keep an eye on him. He’s not going to let Urianger surprise him with some ridiculous secret tragic plot again.

If Thancred and Ardbert hadn’t been around, there’s a chance Cam would have gotten together with Urianger, or at least tried to, while they were in the First. He was lonely! In any AU where Cam ends up the Faery King, Urianger and Cam *definitely* get together, because Urianger is very clearly fascinated by the fae and also very clearly into seeing himself as responsible for his friends’ weird, life-altering choices.

He won’t admit it, but prior to events in the First, Cam was actually jealous of Urianger’s closeness to Alisaie sometimes. Especially when Urianger gave her that really cool, extremely appropriate for her pink crystal sword and Cam was like WHY DIDN’T HE THINK OF THAT. Urianger doesn’t even fight using a sword! How could Cam not have thought to give her a sword? He beat himself up over that one for a while.

#headcanon #ffxiv #ff14 #camilledelane #lore #lore dump #urianger #urianger augurelt #warrior of light #wol #shadowbringers spoilers #spoilers

[catleha]

POST - SHB TEXTS; 1 / ?? (minor) canon divergence.

While I like to stick to canon as close as possible in regard to Y’shtola’s arc there are several petite changes I would like to make on this blog. Especially post - Rak’tika, I will go mainly hc- based / canon-divergent to a certain degree. Needless to say, it was very disappointing to see Y’shtola’s entire involvement being narrowed down to a few one-liners & occasional quest giving. 

The list below contains some changes to Y’shtola’s arc before & after leaving the Greatwood to join the Warrior of Light in their endeavors.   -- more will probably follow in the future once I re-watched the entire msq.

     1. Her relationship to Runar & the rest of the Night’s Blessed is strictly platonic / a motherly kind of love; up until her involvement with the Warrior of Light, Y’shtola spent her time (around one and a half year) in the company of the Night’s Blessed. She learned their customs, their rituals & adapted their lifestyle to eventually become their sage. -- she serves as a bearer wisdom & as their leader whenever one is required. Other than that she dedicated most of her time to a) the defense of Slitherbough / the forest, b) her studies & c) meditation. 

    In regards to her status as sage / “mother”: Y’shtola is the hero of the Great Fire, their savior, their caretaker, their guiding light. Nothing, I repeat, nothing hints at a romantic relationship to any of the Night’s Blessed what so ever. -- on the contrary, Y’shtola’s final scene (in which she reveals her true name to Runar & the rest) reminds one on a mother gathering her children; period.

    2. Urianger helps her back on her feet post - lifestream retrieval; the Runar hug thing does never happen. The Warrior of Light stops Runar from rushing towards Y’shtola, while Urianger helps her back on her feet / serves as a prop (I cannot believe that @scionsect​ & I fixed this terrible scene). Her connection to Urianger is furthermore significantly stronger than SE dared to show. I will elude on that in a detailed character relationship post in the future. DISCLAIMER: not only was Runar’s approach cringy & simply inconsiderate of Y’shtola’s status as a blind person (never touch blind people without their permission it’s simply disrespectful) , their “romance” was also terribly developed. -- I have nothing against Runar as a character; I simply refuse to support shoehorned romantic sub-plots / the “strong dude, weak damsel” trope.

     3. The second “Flow” cast messed up Y’shtola’s aether; while the consequences of the second “flow” cast are by no means as severe as the first one, they still had an effect on her soul / being in general. Ever since the loss of her eyesight, Y’shtola has been constantly connected to the lifestream in order to both, see & access deeper layers of magic & understanding of the planet. -- over time, Y’shtola also became more sensible to change in the planet / aether itself, resulting in her being able to comprehend / see into the past in a pretty peculiar manner (read: whenever she dwells in a city or place that holds the lingering aether of a passed away soul, she is able to access said souls’s memories / history via meditation or focus). 

    Ever since arriving on the First, said “memories” have long become more tangible, common &, to a certain degree, overwhelming due to the shard’s aether supersaturation. While living in Rak’tika, she is able to access the swamp akin to Toph Beifong in LoK; she is connected to the Greatwood’s very Fauna & feels every twitch / every pulse of the beings living within. -- the second flow cast messed with an already sensible balance between her own entity / soul & the aether around her. She can no longer 100% distinguish between the memories of others & her own, leading to periods of oversensitiveness & fatigue that leave her vulnerable. In moments like these she seeks utter solitude, trying her utmost to calm herself -- Y’shtola’s identity is becoming more & more vapid. 

     4. Her conflict with Thancred has actual gravitas; Thancred & her argue whilst both stay in the Greatwood, causing Y’shtola to confess her resentment towards the other & a refusal to talk to him until he has sorted his “issues” out (shoutout to @hisburden​). Their conflict worsens upon the arrival of “Ryne” due to Thancred’s depression & agony which the finite death of Minfilia prompted. They have their final discussion post their fight against the third lightwarden in the well, ending with Y’shtola & Thancred agreeing on a truce. -- their relationship is no longer as “cordial" as it has been before.

   5. Urianger’s betrayal causes a rift between them; whilst Urianger becomes her most trusted & dearest friend upon arriving in the First, his betrayal in lieu of the Crystal Exarch’s true purpose leaves a deep mark. Upon returning to the Crystarium, she confronts Urianger in her grief & anger. Unlike her conflict with Thancred however, this argument leads to tears & a temporary reconciliation; mainly due to both being emotionally & mentally exhausted / fearing for the WOL’s very life. -- Y’shtola still retreats to spend time in solitude not approaching Urianger or anyone else until they leave to confront Emet-Selch. After the defeat of Hades, she approaches Urianger to further solve their conflict (tag along for pain featuring your local goth cat & @scionsect​).

  6. The “Hydaelyn is a primal” twist leaves a deep mark; she openly searches Emet-Selch out several times during her stay in the Crystarium. She is conflicted & stands between “two chairs” -- albeit being a true believer of Hydaelyn’s ways she cannot deny that doubt has festered & sprawled where once was fierce dedication.

   7. She has issues with immediately accepting “Ryne”; similar to Alisaie, Y’shtola struggles to fully embrace what Minifilia has become. Despite a positive attitude, she still has her doubts & indulges in slight mistrust. This strains their relationship until Y’shtola decides to aid her in her power struggles. -- in lieu of the event of Amh Araeng, Y'shtola willingly distances herself from the group due to feeling misplaced & quite frankly, lost.

   8. Y’shtola teaches “Ryne” / Minifilia to use her powers; instead of being written off as insignificant (as further above stated above), Y’shtola plays a huge part in helping a struggling Minfilia how to harness her aetherical powers & abilities by teaching her how to use them properly (shoutout to @hyethla​ for not only being my exclusive Minfilia but also the inspiration for their beautiful but tragic dynamic). Similar to Thancred, she first struggled to accept her presence but made her peace by confessing her guilt during and earlier visit in Ill Mheg (hence why she gives Thancred a lot of ‘shit’ later). Even later upon chasing down the last remaining lightwardens, she plays a pivotal role in saving the Warrior of Light alongside “Ryne”. -- she also taught her how to read, write & comprehend the workings of the lifestream before the arrival of the WOL. Their relationship is, in fact (at least until “Ryne” surfaces) a close one.

   9. Alisaie, Alphinaud & Yshtola’s Amh Araeng arc will be discussed in detail; needless to say, I will write a long post about their endeavors & relationship development in Amh Araeng in the future. -- not only did they fight the Eulmorian army, but also discussed the future of the scions, the WOL, Minifilia, etc. 

   10. Y’shtola suffers greatly under mental strain of both, her powers & the second flow cast; instead of brushing literally everything we learned about her struggles aside like SHB & SB kinda did, I will dedicate a lot of time & attention to her mental & physical struggles (growing “blinder”, losing herself, burning her body’s life energy, etc) & explain what role her job change  plays in this very regard. -- an example for her struggles is Y’shtola’s wanning lifeforce. She burns herself up to both, see & further access necessary powers. Doing so for three years resulted in the waning of her aether powers to a certain degree & a rapid, mental aging through burning her energy. I will elude on this in the future -- while physically young, Y’shtola has the soul of an almost 50 year old woman.

#[[ a long overdue post #I certain forgot sth but #well. This is the general framework on which I will base my hcs on. Most of this prob isn't even that divergent & more of an indepth #explanation of certain stuff that SE did not care to further develop #BUT WELL. It was about time I posted this ]] #✦ › 𝐀𝐑𝐂𝐇𝐎𝐍'𝐒 𝐃𝐄𝐂𝐑𝐄𝐄. :: psa.