#a mage reborn spoilers

[zoeyslayter]

Introducing my FFXIV Character

For more information on her backstory, refer to this post!

These pics are old but here you go! She's been through a lot.

Name: Xina Modazi Race: Miqo'te, Keeper of the Moon Class: Red Mage (Main) Likes: Cactaur, tea, Fenrir (ironic isn't it), pretty women, Nanamo Ul Namo Dislikes: Estinien, having to fight Fenrir :(, the fact that Thancred gets all the pretty women Additional Notes:

Is in a polyamorous relationship with Thancred and G'raha Tia. She's okay with Thancred having relations with other women but she does get jealous. Not of the women; of him getting the women.

Since the assassination of Nanamo she has taken up Archery/Barding, Conjuring, and Lancing as well as Astrology.

Absolutely traumatized by having to fight a guy possessing Thancred's body

Also traumatized by the death of Nanamo Ul Namo

Just traumatized tm

Freezing her tail of in Ishgard.

I am at the VERY BEGINNING of Heavensward! PLEASE NO SPOILERS!

#ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #miqo'te #miqo girl #ffxiv miqo #keeper of the moon #red mage #ff14 #ffxiv screenshots #final fantasy #ffxiv oc #ffxiv spoilers #warrior of light #a realm reborn #heavensward #ffxiv thancred #g'raha tia #g'raha/wol #thancred x wol #thancred waters #nanamo ul namo #final fantasy spoilers #arr spoilers #heavensward spoilers

[icylook]

Promise

Pairing: Leon x Leri (MC)

Rating: Teen and Up; Word count: 1281; Read on AO3

Tags: Spoilers for the AMR demo; Not canon compliant; First Kiss; Developing Relationship

A Mage Reborn demo 👑✨ @mage-parivir

[Masterlist]

The flaps of his tent flutter open when Leon barges in with an apology on his lips.

“Forgive me Leri, but this cannot wait. I-” 

The words seem to leave him and Leri’s watching him freeze in place. 

Leon’s eyes rake at Leri’s back, quickly, with a hint of hunger of the one who sees something they know they shouldn’t but really wanted to.

Leri doesn’t move, elbows caught in a shirt he was in the middle of pulling on.

Leon has a very good view of markings covering his skin. 

This is why he usually bathes alone. To avoid questions he just knows are at the ready to spill from Leon’s mouth. During his adventures with the White Fangs he was able to keep them covered most of the time. Oh, his companions chanced glimpses of them on his arms and legs but not like this, not in full. It's the first for Leon.

And he stays silent.

Suspiciously silent. 

Leri swallows, throat suddenly tight. He can’t properly read the look in Leon’s eyes, that inappropriate hunger changing into something he’s not sure he likes seeing. It looks close to pity and he hates to see that.

He’d rather it to be disgust. Never pity. It’s like an insult to everything he molded himself to be.

He turns away and puts the shirt on, unhurriedly, like he’s in control. He must be in control. Ignore the open chasm in the pit of his stomach.

“Peculiar sight, isn’t it?” Leri’s lips stretch in a smile that doesn’t reach his eyes. “What do you need from me that it couldn’t wait, Your Majesty?” He aims for a light tone. “What if I was still in the bath? Completely naked.” 

That seems to shake Leon off of what mesmerized state he was in. He clears his throat, a hint of red spreading on his cheeks. 

He steps closer. “You seem to be better.”

Leon doesn’t need to name it for Leri to know what he’s talking about. 

His little fainting problem. 

He might have taken it too far this time, pushing his magic until he collapsed under the strain. He feels that every time the limit is a little bit farther, so he’s not worried. Beside the help of a healer he chugged enough potions to keep him up for next two days. 

Not that Leon needs to know that.

“Ah?” Leri shrugs. “It has been taken care of, you don’t have to worry about my performance tomorrow.”

“About that.”

Leri tenses. He just knows he won’t like what he’ll hear in a moment. Leon’s hand rubs the back of his neck, eyes glancing to the side before his shoulders seem to straighten on his next exhale.

“Tomorrow's battle. I don’t want you to take part in it.”

He stays silent. Meeting Leon’s gaze right on. Slowly, he unclenches his jaw.

“May I know the reason, Your Majesty?” 

“Leri, don’t-” Leon rakes his fingers through his hair, making golden strands stick in every direction. He recognizes the lack of playfulness in the title Leri used before, a hint of formality taking its place. “Don’t do this now.”

Leri tilts his chin up. “Do what?” He can’t help himself asking, silently hoping to steer the conversation where he’ll come out on top. Knowing Leon though, it may be a challenge. He opens his mouth to tease him further, to make him change his mind. He doesn’t have a chance because Leon beats him with what he says next.

“Watching you being on the verge of death every time, I… I just,” he shakes his head, like he’s clearing his mind of unwanted memory. “I see how much it costs you.”

“I have to give something to get something. It is what it is.” 

He stays his ground when Leon stops just before him. “No. It’s more than that. Don’t think me blind.”

Leri blinks, watching the emotion play in those emerald eyes. “Is it fair, though?” 

A wrinkle appears between Leon’s brow as he continues speaking. “You want me to stay and watch you risk your life on a battlefield from afar. Without intervening.”

“You need more rest.” Leon’s answer wafts over his face. He shifts closer. Leri dares to reach for his hand, his fingers brushing Leon’s own. 

“What I need, is to stay beside you.”

From this close he can see the pulse on Leon’s neck speed up. Their fingers intertwine and he lets himself be pulled until his body gently collides with Leon’s. 

“I can order you to stay back in the camp.” Leon speaks straight to his ear and a pleasant shiver runs down his spine.

“Will you order me to?” He asks softly, his own breath hitching when a warm mouth brushes his temple. He feels his heartbeat going faster, because he knows what it is about. They talked about it, those feelings that have grown between them, slowly but surely. And it was it, only them acknowledging that they care about each other. It was a realization and Leri felt both lighter and afraid because of it. 

They talked with stifled words but not with their bodies, not like now. Leri can feel it, the same realization when Leon puts his hand over his jaw. It shakes a little and Leri’s lips part as he waits for something to happen.

Something he’s been waiting to happen for some time.

He sees the same want and hesitation on Leon’s face and meets him half-way. Leaning in until their breaths mingle in the lightest of kisses. His fingers curl in Leon’s tunic, pulling him in as he tastes him once, twice then pulls back to lick his lips just to let Leon kiss him again with more force. He sighs when a hand cups the back of his neck, tangling in his hair, bringing him closer.

He’s giving as much as he’s getting. It’s not enough, it’s too much. There’s no finesse in it, no calculated movement, just raw passion and warmth. 

They step back, resting their foreheads together. Breathing the same air, their mouths reddened and tender. 

“Will you order me to stay?” Leri doesn’t recognize his voice when he repeats the question.

Leon shudders, hiding his face in Leri’s neck.

“If I have to.” His arms wrap around Leri as he doesn’t want to let him go, but he doesn’t move. Exhaustion, in a sudden wave coming out of nowhere makes him lean further into the embrace. He stays quiet, listening to the muffled noises outside his tent. Feeling the shift of Leon’s muscles under his hands. Hearing the lightest plea in his voice that makes his throat tighten.

“Don’t make me order you. Please.”

The words sting his skin just as Leon’s mouth does, peppering his neck with light kisses, down to his collarbones. 

He sighs, tilting his head up, closing his eyes. A knot in his chest keeps loosening under Leon’s careful touch. 

Maybe.

Maybe he can trust Leon to stay safe.

Maybe it won’t turn against him. 

Maybe he won’t see him bleed because he wasn’t there to unleash his vengeful spirits upon whoever dared to creep close to his lover. 

“I’ll stand by.”

Leon raises his head. “You will?” 

A hint of wonder in his voice makes Leri smile. He leans to leave a soft kiss against those tempting lips.

“Yes.”

He seals the promise with one more peck against a pliant mouth under his own, swallowing silent thank you with his tongue finding his way into Leon’s mouth.

He’ll stand by.

But he’ll stay vigilant.

And there will be no mercy for anyone who makes Leon bleed, for as long as he breathes.

#amr #A Mage Reborn #oc leri #icy is writing #i'm back with a story of my fave pairing!! #it's a first kiss story xD #promise in the kiss yeah #i have a parallel story with leri and *spoilers* yu #bc he'll have something with yu #well in my wips he already does *wink wink* #it's angsty and delicious #the whole relationship #but i'll wait a bit to see how yu handles feels in the story to do them justice #i hope #aah and timeline for this - before one of many battles during war #half a year or so before the final battle bc i hc leri and leon started their relationship much sooner than in canon

[patternsofmysoul]

My mage in A Mage Reborn, Genie Altalune! Out of The White Fangs, she's closest to Saine (perhaps because he reminds her of someone dear she's lost...). Also on an identity level, she relates the most to him as well, they understand each other best.

I love the moonlit scene on the clifftop where the mc comforts Saine because that was lowkey the moment that cemented the book for me as AWESOME and made Saine my favourite character amongst the trio (LITTLE BROTHER VIBES)

She might have attachment issues...

For her Magical Abilities stats, she's a Spiritism kind of fella and absolutely sucks at Alchemy. I'm surprised she didn't blow up the house when helping Ilya that one time.

#a mage reborn #aroace #saine #ilya #leon #HECKYEA #ilovethisgame #lookingforwardtobook2! #ihopetheauthordoesn'tfeeldiscouragedbythewars #illsupportwtvreleaseslet'sgooo #amagereborn #if: a mage reborn #AMR #spoiler #interactive fiction

[starryflyingplatypus]

*THIS ART AND THE DESCRIPTION AND EVERYTHING ELSE HAS SWEET, SWEET SPOILERS*

This is a rough portrayal of how I imagined the Yotai Festival scene played in my run of the demo.

Damn, I was NOT expecting the mage to find Saine there. And they have to interact with each other without knowing they are reunited, uuuuurhrhrjragrhgh, my heart </3

The game is an interactive fiction: A Mage Reborn by @mage-parivir.

#a mage reborn #spoilers for the book 2 demo #that festival in yotai #portrayal of that scene #basically #i didn't add much detail because i couldn't remember from the top of my head the details about architecture #but i was more focused on the characters interaction #I COULDN'T BELIEVE IT WAS HIM IN THAT ROOF GUYS #OMG #I like to imagine that she instantly recognized him because of his eyes #and then in my mind that song started playing #I know those eyes/this man is dead #sheesh #I HAVE SO MANY FEELS ABOUT THIS SCENE

[vncdraws]

Been playing A Mage Reborn by @mage-parivir lately.

Brainrot ensues.

#comic #A mage reborn #fan art #spoilers #mage-parivir

[thisghosts-obsessions-again]

I was feeling wistful last night, until I read Leon's POV in book two's latest demo and... To learn the mage was his first and only love with such intensity hurt my heart so bad. Man is ready to face his lover's assumed revenge just to feel his lover's body next to him. 😭

Meanwhile, here I am pushing the childhood friend soulmates agenda because I want to see how the lover and the childhood friend will react to each other 🙃

#personal rant #spoiler #interactive fiction #wip if #if: a mage reborn #my leithe is more emotionally vulnerable with eli #but she more secretive with the pain of her past with leon 😭 #wdym you never asked her of her time working at the end 😩

[y-rhywbeth2]

I said I was done, but this still is on my mind and I lied.

Here's me bashing the mish mash of conflicting lore together in speculation on how Bhaalspawn work for my own "fuck you collective of official gibberish, this is my take on it" canon (again, BG2 spoilers):

I have settled on extraplanar outsider rather than native (despite the majority being born to humanoid parents). As outsiders their bodies and souls and intrinsically tied together in a way humanoids' aren't. If they die outside of the plane of Gehenna then their body dissolves and they return to that plane; if they die on the plane the rules are that "To die in this place is to cease to exist," as Irenicus helpfully put it. He's still around afterwards, so I assume he's referring to Charname (Gorion's Ward) specifically. Should the soul somehow depart to the Lower Planes without the living body, the body might follow it there (I think the body dies? I was never terribly clear on the exact details of what happened in that part of BG2...)

When Sarevok died, his body and soul dissolved and returned to the Throne of Blood, where he/his independent part of Bhaal's essence was absorbed into the "pool" of collected Bhaalspawn souls/essence. "Echoes" of dead Bhaalspawns' personalities exist within Bhaal/the collective, much as the mortal mage Midnight is an echo within the goddess Mystra, and sometimes they can be separated back into independent beings if a portion of Bhaal's essence is granted to that echo allowing them to reform a physical body and live again.

Sarevok was able to reform because he was given a fragment of Bhaal's essence (independent from the whole) - not enough to restore him to true demigodhood, but enough to materialise a physical body.

(There is... an interesting way to interpret the Dark Urge's creation here, where they're one of the original Bhaalspawn reborn - although it's not one I personally plan to use. Also the fact that they're apparently born from Bhaal's dead physical body, not the pool of essence, implies something strange happened, regardless.)

I'm not sure where Bhaalspawn stand when it comes to souls; judging by Bhaal complaining that Charname is "strange amongst their kin" because their soul has independence, they're not supposed to have one inherently separate from Bhaal's essence, that independence is just a quirk (Charname was explicitly a special prophecy child, they're the exception to the rules). Bhaalspawn can have the divine essence/their soul extracted from them and still physically exist, although it will eventually kill them. Their bodies are also considered part of Bhaal, he is described as existing in "the very fibre of their being[s]." Even after supposedly ceasing to be Bhaal's children, both Sarevok and Durge are explicitly stated to still carry Bhaal's essence in their bodies and will pass it on to any offspring they have. As 5e lore has retconned the possibility of having Bhaal's essence totally cleansed from a Bhaalspawn, rendering them pure mortal, I am rolling with that one and ignoring the mortal ending (I always go for the god endings anyway). Bhaalspawn remain what they are always. As I like them.

It does seem like their body, soul and Bhaal's essence are one big chunk, instead of the usual division of body and soul seen in full mortals. As he says: "he is [them]"; their "whole being is borrowed"; etc.

Which leaves the question of "Withers what the fuck did you do. What are you planning??" in regards to Durge being resurrected. I have no idea, but I didn't play the special snowflake demigod to have my special snowflake status stripped from me, so I'm clinging to "Durge is still a quasi-deity, and you cannot pry that from my cold, dead hands." Larian can even release a DLC or BG4 that tells me otherwise; I will ignore it.

"BG3-" Larian has left out, changed or ignored/forgotten a load of stuff about how Bhaalspawn work in their story (which is their right, it's DM fiat). There should be no "Little Brother Toop's" corpse on display on the hall of wonders because he shouldn't have a corpse. I'm blaming the tadpole, ignoring it and moving on.

Imoen is disqualified as an aberration; her thing is purely game mechanics not matching the lore that was established before they retconned her into a Bhaalspawn. Doesn't count.

We are not in Larian's house for this interpretation, just as they are not in Bioware's; we are in mine now and I'm ill and grumpy.

#But what about- #nO #babbling #nausea induced delerium? #ranting? #lore speculation #headcanoning. #/durge

[raxistaicho]

Rejecting what you are, or, all dragons are the same!

So one of the biggest marks of criticism Crimson Flower tends to catch from Edelgard detractors (aside from the usual nonsense about wars of conquest, imperialism, or secret police) is that it involves Byleth rejecting their “Nabatean heritage” in favor of only embracing their human side. We’ll set aside Byleth’s dichotomy is not human vs dragon but mortal vs god. 

It was only natural then that those same types would laud Engage for having Alear be quite happy to be a dragon - which they are.

Except it’s not that simple.

Spoilers for Fire Emblem Engage under the cut.

So to say that Alear is happy to be a dragon - and thus arguing that Alear is a refutation of Crimson Flower Byleth rejecting their “Nabatean heritage” - acts as though all dragons are the same, which is a stance you could only really reach from being unfamiliar with the earlier games. In Archanea there were multiple dragon tribes, the most famous of which being the Divine and Earth Dragons. Engage follows from this trend. Whereas Awakening had “Fell Dragon” being a title Grima held, “Fell Dragon” in Engage is the name of a tribe that Sombron and all of his children fall under.

With Lumera and Alear it’s used interchangeably - partly because they’re the only ones left - but they’re not the Divine Dragon but a Divine Dragon: Lumera had others of her kind that were wiped out by Sombron during the war a millenia ago. Going further, Zephia is explicitly a Mage Dragon - the first time we’ve seen them in a mainline non-remake game since Mystery of the Emblem Book 2, in fact!

For Alear specifically, they’re a dragon and happy to be so, but they’re very much not happy to be a Fell Dragon. In fact, Alear’s Fell Dragon heritage brings them such grief and personal turmoil that their last wish when they nearly die before falling into their thousand-year sleep is to be reborn as a Divine Dragon, like Lumera. Alear’s ultimate form purges all physical traces of their Fell Dragon heritage, making them look entirely like Lumera - a Divine Dragon. Veyle likewise rejects her origin and wishes to be more like a pseudo Divine Dragon Alear.

So yes, while Alear is happy to be a dragon, to argue that Alear’s tale in Fire Emblem Engage is very much one of emphatically rejecting their birth heritage in favor of embracing a life of their own choosing - not unlike what Byleth does in Crimson Flower.

#fire emblem engage #Fire Emblem Three Houses #Edelgard discourse #edelgard positive #Fire Emblem Engage Spoilers

[stormbabylore]

Look at her precious little shocked Pikachu face. ♡(◕‿◕๑)

I finally finished my first HW relic grind, and the plot for this really tugged hard on a key thread of Aeryn's backstory. I need to muse about it... So it's oc lore dump time! \o/

Spoilers for the HW relic weapon story, but that's it!

A quick tl;dr of Aeryn's story, pertinent to black mage:

Aeryn's soul is fused with the remnant magic of the star from her past life. It functions a bit like a shell, "protecting" her, but also blocking her access to the magic of the Source. This prevents her from doing most types of magic without significant effort.

In canon, Aeryn just lives like this, unable to do magic except in extreme circumstances. But in black mage AU, she works with the thaumaturges to disentangle her soul and the "foreign" magic (they none of them realize what it is), enabling her to both access and better utilize magic on the Source.

The disentangled star magic does not disperse. It lingers, greatly enhancing her newfound magical abilities, but also overwhelming her natural senses - especially her sight. Despite this, she takes to magic use with inexplicable ease and turns almost exclusively to magical combat.

Aeryn later channels most of the lingering star magic away during the finale of the StB class quest. The yellow in her hair fades as a result, and she is able to see without magical obstruction once again.

I thought that would be the end of it - that Aeryn-as-Black-Mage would no longer have her connection to her past life or her star following Stormblood. But rolling through the HW relic quests and awakening a new being connected to the WoL through their aether/soul/weapon got me thinking:

What if, in Aeryn's case, the soul she helps give voice and form to is what little remains of her star? (✧_✧)

The connection the anima feels towards the WoL and its desperation to get stronger so it can help/impress/protect them is very reminiscent of the headcanon I have about Aeryn's past connection with her home star and how it "saved" her in its/their last moments. Other than the timeline itself (and the suggestion that other warriors with similar experiences might likewise be able to connect with anima), nothing in the relic quest lore really breaks that theory.

And I'm casually obsessed.

Probably going to shirk the timeline and work this into Aeryn's black mage story, some time following Stormblood. Perhaps she needs a new weapon at that time. (The Stormblood class quest could feasibly have destroyed her existing weapon. Yeah, going with that.) I just love the circular notion of this: Aeryn's star dying in such a way that she was able to be "reborn," but then in turn being "reborn" itself in the form of an anima so that the two can learn, grow, and travel on together.

;-; Yes, this makes my heart is happy. I shall accept this headcanon. It shall be mine.

#aeryn stormwater #ffxiv #ffxiv oc #ffxiv wol #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv glamour #final fantasy 14 #relic weapon #ffxiv screenies #ffxiv screenshots #black mage relic weapon #black mage glam #black mage au #ffxiv black mage #hw spoilers #heavensward spoilers #relic weapon spoilers #stormblood #anima weapons

[bnuuywol]

Heyo! This isn’t solely a FFXIV blog but seeing as its my current hyperfixation I figure I should have a little intro about my WoL.  And a lil warning, there is NSFW content (about Wolcred in particular) and content from the most recent patches on this blog. Both will be tagged accordingly (namely #shadowbringers spoilers, #endwalker spoilers, and #nsfw warning), as well as all content warnings in fics.

All fics will be found in this tag :)

Enjoy my sweet bunny boy!

&. BASICS

Full Name: Phoenyx Eldritch

Nicknames: Nyx (only by Thancred)

Age: 27 (24 at the start of A Realm Reborn)

Sexuality: Homosexual, solely attracted to MSQ punchingbags

Date of Birth: 24th Sun of the 4th Astral Moon

Place of Birth: Akusos (Veena village at the base of the Skatay Range), Othard

Gender & Species: Male (FTM Trans) Viera

Current Location: Ul’dah

&. MORE BASIC INFO

Languages: Vieran, Common

Religion: Undefined, vaguely resonates with Eorzea’s Rhalgr

Education: No formal education

Occupation: Black Mage, Dark Knight, Scion of the Seventh Dawn

Drinks, Smokes, & Drugs: Drinks occasionally, doesn't smoke or do drugs (please lord keep this man away from drugs, he has way too much trauma)

&. PERSONALITY

Likes: Stars, rain, folklore, danger, music, sunsets, exploring new places, discovering new things

Dislikes: Snow, bees, moogles, liars, attention, large crowds

Bad Habits: Doesn't sleep enough, forgets to eat, curses like a sailor, cannot sit still

Secret Talent: He actually has perfect pitch but doesn't have any musical jobs or hobbies (will probably be a shit to Bards given the chance)

Hobbies: Sketching with charcoal, whittling, knife throwing

Fears: Not being able to protect his loved ones, losing control over himself, making a mistake that ends the world

Five Positive Traits: Kind, selfless, loyal, resilient, adventurous

Five Negative Traits: Stubborn, harsh, ruthless, sarcastic, impulsive

Other Mentionable Details: My man for sure has Fantasy ADHD, probably has an adrenaline addiction, has a very strong Vieran (Icelandic) accent

&. APPEARANCE

Tattoos: N/A

Piercings: Ears

Scars: His entire upper body (chest, arms, back) is scattered with scars of varying depth and size from the plethora of battles he’s been through

&. FAMILY INFORMATION

Parent Names: Kir (father) and Rael (mother)

Parent Relationship: Orphaned at age three

Sibling Names: Alphinaud and Alisaie

Sibling Relationship: They’re not actually related but from the moment these two met him they became attached to him at the hip. He’s the loving, protective big brother they never had.

Children: Ryne (kinda got reverse adopted by her when she realized him and Thancred were a thing)

Pets: Zephyr and Ember (his chocobos)

#ffxiv #ffxiv wol #warrior of light #wol oc #final fantasy xiv #ffxiv rp #ffxiv oc #phoenyx eldritch #intro post

[myreia]

The Warrior of Light is many things. Former Garlean operative, mage, healer and protector, inheritor of both Hyur and Elezen heritage. Her journey is a long one, but even during trials by fire and the deepest depths of despair, there is always hope.

This is a gpose and ficlet collection I did for Febhyurary 2024. Since this became a little snapshot of Aureia’s journey from A Realm Reborn to Endwalker, I reorganized them in chronological order and put them on AO3.

This series is not spoiler free and contains spoilers for everything up to the end of 6.0.

Tumblr version here! ✨

#i probably don't need to share this here but since formatting it took all afternoon i will #i am feeling especially chaotic today for some reason #okay we're done byyyyeeeee #ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy 14 #ffxiv fic #ffxiv fanfiction #wolcred #aureia malathar #oc tag #writing tag

[zoeyslayter]

Since the "assassination" of Nanamo Ul Namo, Xina took to donning a mask to try to conceal her identity. Of course, for the most part it didn't help. Now she simply wears it as an accessory, enjoying the mystique it holds amongst people who don't know her or that she's the Warrior of Light.

Messing with Estinien when she's training in her Dragoon skills also brings her great joy.

#ffxiv spoilers #ffxiv oc #ff14 #heavensward #heavensward spoilers #a realm reborn #arr spoilers #a realm reborn spoilers #estinien wyrmblood #nanamo ul namo #black mage #ffxiv dragoon #ffxiv miqo #ffxiv screenshots #ffxiv #ffxiv black mage #ffxiv blm #dragoon #ff14 screenshot #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #miqo'te #miqo girl #xina modazi

[fandomfiish]

A Mage Reborn book 1 spoilers!!!! Me wanting to draw some A mage reborn stuff Mind: "Try to make a 'I'll never smile again' animatic where it starts with the MC while burning smiling at Leon then transition to the night of their first kiss to destroy yourself and the Sun Prince lovers" Me: "What the fuck."

#a mage reborn #leon de param

[nulltune]

just finished playing a mage reborn (it's an interactive fantasy novel AND IT'S REALLY NEAT) (i am also not so subtly tagging ren and esther here hehe @zorkaya @bitterseadrop cuz their posting abt it got me interested in da first place 🫶💖)

AND OFC I MADE MY MC HAKUNO 🥺🥺 sometimes i wanted to pull my hair out choosing the decisions that would be ic for her (she was Extremely stubborn in not wanting anyone to die even when it came to the detriment of herself and i was frikkin WORRIEDD) (she was completely earnest and honest while i was like 🤠 having a lying liar lynn who lies moment-) (she was so patient and understanding with everyone........ meanwhile i wanted 2 whoop some asses so bad 😭💀)

ok im just rambling sgcksb BUT YEAH IT WAS RLLY NEAT 🫶 im not gonna talk spoilers but ALSO IT HAS LEFT ME IN SHAMBLES WTF WHEN IS BOOK 2 COMING OUT?????

#&&. out of #tbd. #also i am So Weak for f.antasy stuff so i just -clutches my chest- #ALSO I AM SO WEAK 4 ANGST EVEN THO IT BREAKS MY HEART HUHUU #literally just planned to read one chapter tbh but i ended up finishing the whole thing in one sitting 🥹 #NO REGRETS THO !!!

[thesecondbatgirl]

Why you should play the critically acclaimed MMORPG Final Fantasy XIV, part whatever

Previously, two impassioned “BUT IT'S SO GOOD” posts with very little details. (Part 1, Part 2)

Okay, so, I have previously talked about the themes and the tropes and just that the game is super fun (and did you know you can play the base game + first expansion for free? Because you can) but this time I’m going to try to give a little bit more detail. I’m *mostly* only going to cover characters from A Realm Reborn (shortened to ARR or 2.0) but probably spoilers for later expansions will show up.

(A quick note: Each expansion has the base (x.0) and then 5 patches of content, and they get shortened to those. So ARR runs through 2.0 and 2.55 since the .5 patch is always divided into two. Also, 1.0 no longer exists because it was so awful they literally dropped a moon on it.)

Summary: It is five years after the invading Garlean Empire dropped a moon on us. Except the moon was actually a technological prison created by an ancient civilization that contained a fucking dragon. It was defeated at a great cost, which will be recapped after you start the game. You can watch the super awesome cinematic here!

You arrive in the city of your choice (forest city, pirate city, desert capitalist city, your choice of which does not actually matter other than you get different introductory quest lines so basically pick whatever class you want to start with and/or whichever city you think sounds cool as you can be all the classes eventually) in which you, the adventurer, turn out to be super competent and do a great service to your starting city. Oh, and you are having visions of a giant crystal.

Shockingly, it turns out that you have a power called The Echo which basically means you can get visions of past stuff which is very useful for exposition, and also you are completely immune to tempering (brainwashing) by the primals (gods) of the various beast tribes. Which is good, because the fact that the primals will basically turn anyone who tries to fight them into their worshippers, and their very existence harms the land, so really only people with the Echo can fight them.

Due to your awesomeness, you get recruited to a super secret organization, the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, whose goal is to fight Primals and stop the Garlean Empire. And fight the Ascians, quasi-immortal beings who are secretly manipulating everything so that they can free their God.

And then shit gets real.

For the record, that only explains the first like, 20 levels. There is just SO MUCH to the game, and trying to explain it would be like attempting to sum up some epic fantasy novel series with 15 books and multiple tie-ins.

Short version of where the story goes:

ARR (2.0-2.55, levels 1-50): You become the Warrior of Light and fight Garleans and Primals

Heavensward (3.0-3.55): Time to stop a thousand year war between man and dragons and deal with a corrupt church Stormblood (4.0-4.55): Imperialism is bad, the game. Let’s go free some colonies.

Shadowbringers (5.0-5.55): We’re going to an alternate world to try and stop a disaster and find out the true history of the Ascians

Endwalker (6.0-currently 6.3 as of 1/10/2023): It’s the end of the world as we know it, and I think that hope can triumph over despair

So now that you know the story, let’s talk about the characters! There are loads and loads of characters, and covering all of them would be pretty much impossible, so have the major characters from ARR. I’m not going to give major spoilers for ARR itself, but I am definitely going to reference ends of character arcs because talking about them otherwise is difficult when they get so much character growth. Also I am stealing all these images from (mostly) the ffxiv wiki

You: The Warrior of Light. (usually abbreviated to WoL) Choose between 8 races, and play as many classes as you want Currently there are 19 fighting classes (20 if you count blue mage, which is a limited job that can’t be used in regular content), 3 gathering classes, and 8 crafting classes. The WoL doesn’t get a lot of options for dialogue until 3.0, but the ability to customize is great, and there’s a very strong RP community. Also I absolutely joke that this game is basically my WoL’s harem and I stand by it. (Pictured, all of your character options, female and male.)

The Scions: Super secret team of nerds who left their homeland because they wanted to try and make the world better. (it’s complicated.)

Minfilia: Leader of the Scions. Has shitty voice acting, but is basically team mom. She gives you your assignments and has a very strong connection to the mothercrystal you keep seeing.

Thancred: This is Thancred. You hang out with him if you start in Ul’dah, the desert city. He’s a flirt, former thief, but eventually ends up trying to raise a teenage girl with his boyfriend. He also has a compulsive saving people thing.

Y’shtola: If you start in Limsa Lominsa, the pirate city, you get to hang out with her. Her hobbies include attempting complicated spells, being smarter than you, calling people out on their bullshit and delivering the best insult in the game. Also she does a Sailor Moon thing. (Okay, I was going to only put in the ARR outfits but frankly her Shadowbringers outfit is great so I’m showing it off.)

Yda and Papalymo: She’s a ditz who punches things, he’s sarcastic and sets shit on fire. Together, they hang out in Gridania, the forest city.

Urianger: Speaks in thees and thous and poetry. Was totally in a kinky relationship with a woman who could break him. Gets a massive glowup in Shadowbringers.

Tataru Taru: The Scion’s secretary, who is possibly going to take over the world eventually, and makes excellent outfits.

Alphinaud Leveilleur: Ok, so listen, every time I play ARR I spend half of it yelling at Alphinaud to shut the fuck up. Because he has such a great character arc! He starts off as this super entitled 16 year old who thinks that he’s smarter than everyone and that politics is just a game he’s playing. He truly wants to make the world better, he’s just very very full of himself.

He gets *so much better* He gets his break the haughty moment and learns and grows, and gathers a lot of firewood, and learns and grows and also is absolutely dating a super surly dragoon, and I love him.

Alisaie Leveilleur: Alphinaud’s twin sister who mostly doesn’t show up until post 2.0. Her hobbies include dunking on her brother, threatening people with a sword, and generally being awesome. She also has a super strong moral compass and cares a lot for individuals over ideals.

(These are their Endwalker outfits, Alisaie is in red, Alphinaud in blue.)

Allies:

Kan-E-Senna: Gridania’s leader. Older than she looks, has a connection to the Elementals (forest spirits)

Merlwyb Bloefhiswyn: Limsa’s leader and former Pirate Queen. Very pragmatic. Will absolutely shoot you.

Raubahn Aldynn: Refugee turned gladiator turned leader of Ul’Dah’s army. One of the richest people in Ul’Dah. Incredibly loyal to the Sultana. 

Nanamo Ul Namo: The Sultana. Thinks capitalism is stupid. Wants to serve her people. Occasionally hides in pots, according to Raubahn.

Haurchefant Greystone: THE BEST BOY. Will make you hot chocolate. Absolutely wants to fuck you.

Cid: Engineer and last minute rescuer. Is supposed to be 30, so I guess he just went silver fox early or something. Has his own airship.

The villains: (Gaius in black, Nero in Red. Livia is in white, and the dude with the shields doesn’t actually matter.)

Gaius van Baelsar: The Big Bad (of ARR.) Wants to know if you believe in Eorzea. Actually gets a redemption arc eventually to rival Zuko from ATLA.

Nero tol Scaeva: Cid’s ex-boyfriend who will literally give an entire speech about their rivalry and how one day he will best him. It’s *great*

Livia: Deserved a better story arc. Luckily, her sister is awesome.

That is… just a sampling of characters. Each class gets its own storyline, so there are characters there! And so many sidequests! I didn’t even talk about Detective Hildibrand!

But hopefully, this has convinced you to try, or at least made you slightly more interested. You can find the free trial here: https://freetrial.finalfantasyxiv.com/na/

#Final Fantasy XIV #Final Fantasy 14 #ff14 #ffxiv #truly tempered by YoshiP

[jocula-trixie]

hmmm. wol loredump time. tried my best to keep it spoiler-free, though there are some for a realm reborn and the dark knight questline!

trixie was adopted by a hyur couple in limsa lominsa, which is why she doesn't have a typical seeker of the sun name. her last name, rosethorn, is a combination of her dads' last names; rosewood and thorne

she got into trouble a Lot growing up, but nothing that she couldn't weasel her way out of... until she managed to get on the bad side of a member of the kraken's arms, that is. fearing for her safety, trixie stowed away on a boat bound for thanalan, where she laid low for a few years, still making sure to write back to her dads every now and then. once she joined with the scions and had to travel back to limsa, she worked her way into the rogue's guild to make sure she was safe within the city again

it took trixie a while to settle on a discipline; while she had dipped her toes into the ways of a gladiator, rogue, archer, and even red mage, it took until nanamo's attempted assassination and her escape to ishgard for her to find her true calling as a dark knight

understandably, trixie's guilt at being unable to protect her friends, and her anger at the injustice they had to deal with fueled her. these same emotions would lead to her taking up the sword and shield again while on the first, and after returning to the source, she would find herself learning to become a reaper

instead of taking a voidsent into her service, however, trixie instead channeled fray's essence to achieve similar means, combining the fighting styles of dark knights and reapers into her own unique style

outside of combat, trixie is an aspiring culinarian, especially after having to force down sharlyan cuisine. whenever she has downtime, she can be found studying under dickon at the last stand. her favorite meals to make and eat are, perhaps a bit stereotypically, seafood dishes

and of course, trixie has a relationship going on with y'shtola. what started as a small crush when they first met turned into her being utterly infatuated with her. while she was content to keep her feelings a secret and focus on more pressing matters, the multiple near death experiences both of them had forced her to ask her out first, out of a fear that one of them would perish. luckily for trixie, y'shtola shared her feelings, and they've been in (what they believe to be) a secretive relationship for some time now. they're bad at hiding it, though, and all the other scions are well aware that they're dating :3