#aymeric is gonna FREAK OUT | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

manylivesmanyworlds · 3 years

Text

Haurchefant and Ysayle Should Not Have Died

Out of consideration for those who haven’t gotten that far into the game, I’m putting my... essay? Analysis? Ramble? Under a read more. This post isn’t especially lengthy, so you needn’t worry about getting bored or cross-eyed.

I feel the need to preface this by saying that, no, this is not merely a player’s bitter ramblings about being pissed at the deaths of my waifu and husbando. This is me saying that the deaths of these two characters make no sense to the narrative and don’t really serve a purpose aside from providing extra angst to an already heavy plot.

I feel like most people will be reading this post for Haurchefant, so I’ll start with him.

How does Haurchefant die?

The answer to this is simple: By taking a hit meant for the WoL. If you want a more specific answer, after the player completes The Vault, WoL and co. arrive just as the Archbishop is about to leave. Haurchefant and the WoL chase after him, but Haurchefant sees Ser Zephirin about to toss a magic spear towards his friend and, well... you know the rest. The Silver Fuller’s shield shatters, he takes a fatal wound, and he dies in your arms.

How could we have avoided this?

Again, a simple answer: Don’t chase after the Archbishop. He was literally stepping onto his little airship at the far end of a rather lengthy bridge once WoL and co. arrived at the other end. I doubt that they would have made it in time even if Zephirin didn’t take his shot. Haurchefant and the WoL were actually sprinting after the Heaven’s Ward and had only managed get to the middle before the smiley elf man gets speared. The Archbishop had gotten onto the airship at that point and only stayed to watch the soap opera unfold.

I’d like to point out that it’s actually Haurchefant that thinks of chasing the Archbishop first. He gives a confident little nod to the WoL that seems to spur them on and has them both taking off. All that needs to be done is for the WoL to stay put and the let the Archbishop go. Haurchefant trusts them enough to follow their lead, and I believe he’d understand the reasons.

Why does Haurchefant die in the first place and why is it pointless?

It seems to be that the primary reason for killing off Haurchefant is to provide motivation to the WoL, and by extension the player, for taking down the Heaven’s Ward. The problem with this is that we were already motivated by virtue of not wanting the Archbishop to take over the freaking world and kill our friends. By the time we get to the Vault we’ve come to befriend Aymeric, the Fortemps family, Francel, Hilda, and various class NPCs. We’ve come to think of Ishgard as a home, and that should serve as motivation enough for us. Plus, taking down Primals is literally our job; that’s motivation enough.

Haurchefant’s death serves as shock value and nothing more. If the writers wanted his death to have a real impact, then they should have waited for Stormblood to roll around and have Zenos kill him; this would not only have raised the stakes and displayed Zenos’ deadliness, but it also would have created a genuine, very personal rivalry between him and the WoL rather than the obsessive fanboy we get in canon. Though this also brings up the point of how this would have happened, since Zenos seems perfectly content with staying in Doma and Haurchefant wouldn’t be keen on leaving his post at Camp Dragonhead.

I’m gonna move on to Ysayle now because this section is getting long.

How does Ysayle die?

By making a last stand against the Garleans so that they don’t blow up the heroes as they’re reaching Azys Lla. The reason why she dies here is because, as a pseudo-Primal, much of her power comes from the faith of her followers, and since she’s revealed to them that she isn’t actually Saint Shiva, many of them have lost faith. Thus, she has lost power. There’s also the fact that she only has the Crystal of Light Hydaelyn gave her, but I assume she would need many more crystals if she was to have a fighting chance at making it out alive.

And, you know, Hraesvelgr fucks off back to his tower and makes no attempt to help her whatsoever aside from giving her a pair of dragonet cheerleaders.

How could we have avoided this?

Ysayle’s shock and heartbreak over the revelation that she isn’t Saint Shiva is palpable enough that the rest of the party feels the need to leave her at the spire (I forget its name) so that she can recover and think it over.

...And nobody thinks to check on her. The story just kinda forgets about her until her death. I think she’s mentioned a few times, but not once is anyone like “Hey, maybe we should talk to Ysayle? Maybe get her opinion on this or see how she’s doing?”

The best way I can think of preventing her death is to have the WoL visit her at the spire thingy, give her a pep talk, and convince her that she can atone for her actions by moving forward and help fight the good fight. This would allow for her to return to the main party and talk out a plan that doesn’t involve her dying -- they could instead provide her with a decent supply of crystals and allow her to act as support fire.

Why does Ysayle die in the first place and why is it pointless?

Ysayle’s death is supposed to be her climactic act of redemption. Using her power as “Shiva” to save the heroes instead of standing in their way and taking more lives. It’s meant to be the emphatic end of her character arc.

I disagree.

I’m fairly certain that Ysayle was killed off because whoever was writing that part of the MSQ felt like that there wasn’t much more they could do with her. I feel that this is patently false; they could have made it so that Ysayle actually survives the end of HW and, after coming to terms with everything that’s happened, eventually joins the Scions and gains a new purpose where she can use her knowledge of her time as Shiva to aid them in their endeavors, among other things. This would also put a lot of Ishgardians at ease. Not only would this give her greater responsibilities, if she somehow stepped out of line then the Scions, a group of people that has proven themselves trustworthy and competent, would be able to deal with her.

Conclusion

So... yeah. This ended up being more a collection of jumbled thoughts, but I hope it gets the point across. Feel free to scream and shout headcanons with me.

#FFXIV #heavensward spoilers #hw spoilers #ffxiv spoilers

1 note · View note

lunarosewood23 · 3 years

Note

6.What’s your favourite piece of dialogue you wrote this year?

Oh gosh, there a lot of dialogue I both wrote and helped with. Let’s see...

Probably gonna go under a cut bc of either spoilers, dirty jokes, possibly NSFW dialogue (I’m just covering my bases here.)

Okay *cracks knuckles*

1: ”From “Herald at the Cross’ Road” have this charming bit from Aymeric, who blessed my headspace for a little bit:

"How kind of you to bring this. I do admit, I've scarcely a moment to eat recently, and it has been far too long since I have had this my lady. My thanks." - Aymeric to Auriella

I love this so much bc I HEARD his voice, as in his effing voice actor’s voice in my head when this popped in and I wanted to scream in delight.

2: From FFXIVWrite2020 entry #7, a naughty joke from a much older Haurchefant.

“Had you told me my dear wife, I would’ve let you take me on the counter, or if you still would like you can take me over the desk.”

Haurchefant even in your 90s and being unable to act on your horny on main energy, you still know exactly how to make your wife laugh. It’s so freaking cute too... X3

3: From FFXIVWrite2020 entry #9, Rukia dialogue!

“Well damn, you’re packing heat.”

“No shite.”

“I had meant the glock but I deserved that.” - Rukia and Mingxia. Rukia finding a handgun under her dress.

Rukia punning kills me and it’s wonderful.

4: From “So Fated a Wartable Ships Them”, Foulques dialogue bc Ming and I agree that he is a shit and both he and Rukia come up with bad nicknames for everyone:

“Lost your legs there, princess? Or perhaps you are in want of a third to stand on?” - Foulques to Raven, when she trips on the wartable.

The relationship Raven and Foulques has is full of snark and stupid remarks that often end up with them starting imprompto sparring matches, but at the end of the day they respect each other and have each others’ backs.

5: I’m gonna cheat here a little, but I can’t decide on specific dialogue for this. It’s FFXIVWrite2020 entry #12. From the anger of the GC leaders just dancing around the subject of whether they want to help Ishgard, to the stubborn determination Raven has when storming off, to the despair and shame she feels later when Serella and Mingxia find her and offer her comfort.

6: Every single moment Raven and Haurchefant have being vulnerable and feeling safe in each others’ presence, but one of the most noteable is from FFXIVWrite2020 #15:

“Wait, I…” She starts before taking a deep breath and sighing. “I will admit, I haven’t slept very well here since the night I fell asleep with you by the hearth. I…might I ask to stay? I feel so safe with you…” She confessed, biting her lip in fear that she had overstepped.

Several emotions flickered across his face, too fast for her to tell what they were before the softest of smiles graced his lips, though he was a bit slow to reply because she let go of him.

“I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have imposed, after you helped so much already-”

“It’s alright.” He soothed taking her hand. “I would greatly enjoy it if you did. I…I feel safe with you too.”

GOD YOU HAVE NO IDEA HOW MUCH I WANTED TO SAY EFF MY PLANS AND LET THEM KISS RIGHT HERE GAHHHHH THESE DORKS!!!!

7: Now for a bit of hurty for you from FFXIVWrite2020 #25

“You’d come to hate your body too if you were told you were ugly for being as tall as you were, and being told that no man would want a woman taller than him, even in jest. It fucking hurts and eventually you grow to hate yourself for something you can’t change.” - Raven to Rukia

This kills me bc Raven is a gorgeous 6′10 lady who is strong, powerful, and honestly has the biggest heart out of all my girls and she deserves to be loved height and all. And Haurchefant loves her for who she is, in fact I think I wrote a followup to this prompt where he shows her exactly what he thinks of her. It’ll take time for her to believe it, but we all know that Haurchefant is patient with those he loves, he’ll wait as long as it takes for her to see what he sees.

8: Another one I have to cheat a little on, but I really love Edmont’s dialogue in FFXIVWrite2020 #29. He was a struggle to write, seeing as I often get the man we meet in 3.0 with the sweet old man I write him being in the far off future. He’s a good man who loves his children but wasn’t allowed to show it to one of them (bc of his bitch of a first wife). While he made mistakes and screwed up a lot, he did his best and I like to believe that he wanted to try to mend the relationship between him and Haurchefant, but with how closed off he is to his father, Edmont I imagine sometimes feels like he’s grasping at straws or constantly struggling to hold onto a rope bridge. I have a fic in the works where Raven tells him about the things his son says about him and is touched by it and it opens up some dialogue between them.

9: From FFXIVWrite2020 #30, Emet-Selch’s dialogue makes me grin so much

“Call it an attempt to educate you mortals about what we once were.” He replied simply, before staring up at the grand aetheryte. “The curator, her name was Hestia.”

Raven blinked, something about that name seemed to resonate with her as she listened. “The creator and curator of sanctuaries, her barriers unmatched, and those that were by her hearth were well kept, fed and safe.”

“But the hearth wasn’t a place, was it?”

“You’re starting to understand aren’t you hero? Correct. The people closest to her carried a piece of her barrier creation magic, one that acted as a shield, for she wished for the people she loved to return.” He explained, and soon she saw a wisp of aether, and two Amaroutine shades stood before them. “And there was none she wished for more to return to her than her husband, Eros.” - Emet-Selch telling the story of the Curator and the Soul-Binder.

I love how ES talks sometimes, and with Raven, he remembers her unsundered self as the younger surrogate sister who just wanted to protect those she loved, which is why she was so against the plan to summon Zodiark, because to sacrifice half their population, half of their countrymen, was madness.

10: Okay last one, and I gotta cheat and put these two together, but in my defense, they happen one after the other. From “Wanna Ride” and “At the Wings”.

“Wanna Ride”: “Please don’t, not yet. I’m not bored, I’m just…content. I’m with you, high in the air with such a beautiful view, and for a few bells I feel at peace, and while going off the cliff frightened me a little, I knew I’d be safe with you.” - Haurchefant to Raven on their flying motorcycle not-date. Again, I wanted to say fuck my plans and let Raven bring her bike down so he could kiss her but gfdi I already rewrote their first kiss I’m not doing it again, and honestly I feel like he’s still trying to work through his own insecurities before he feels like he can properly ask to court her.

“At the Wings”: I don’t have any specific dialogue here, but the way the four of them talk together is a treat and how Corentiaux, Yaelle and Coronette see how he acts with Raven, safe and happy and vulnerable, they support him with everything they have and wanna see him be happy. Plus this was the first time writing with Coronette and I love her.

1 note · View note

kivaember · 5 years

Text

Mor Dhona 99 Ch. 5

So, since tumblr is doing the whole ‘not showing links in the tab’ i’ll be posting my fic chapters wholesale on here. If you want to read on AO3 to leave a kudos or comment there, just follow the link to my AO3 profile on my tumblr, and you’ll find the fic updated there!

But anyways, enjoy the fic!

Title: Mor Dhona 99 Fic Summary: A series of oneshots following a new arrival to Eorzea's Public Relations and Animal Control Unit: Aza Lynel, renowned for outstanding service on keeping the peace on the Azim Steppes. He's dealt with monster nests, squabbling tribes and sharing the same house as his sister. Now, he's been transferred to the big city in Mor Dhona - with the realisation that werewolves have it a little more difficult here, than out on the Steppes back home... Chapter Title: The Wolfsbane Case Part 1 Chapter Summary: Aza and Estinien get called up to a farm called the Fogfens on a missing person case that just so happens to be a werewolf who didn’t come home after the full moon. It results in a whole can of dirty worms being dug up...

Estinien being visibly excited was the creepiest thing Aza had ever witnessed.

It didn’t help that they were both crammed in a police car, bouncing and bumping along a narrow, neglected country road towards one of the farms lay on the outskirts of the Gridanian border. Aza actually had to wear his uniform, rather than his biking leathers, and it made him feel deeply uncomfortable and exposed. It was nothing but cheap synthetic cotton, not thick, sturdy leather. A massive oversight on the uniform of a unit that regularly apprehended or fought dangerous monsters and magical creatures.

“I hate that you’re smiling,” Aza said when their vehicle squeaked through a near ninety-degree bend, the scratching of low hanging branches scraping across the roof making him cringe, “It’s freaking me out.”

“We’re finally doing something fun,” Estinien said, checking his sat nav to make sure they were still on the right route, “An actual investigation with promise of an arrest at the end.”

“You arrested someone two days ago,” Aza grumbled, “A shoplifter.”

“Yes, because that was incredibly exciting,” Estinien scoffed, “A bewildered Sylph that didn’t understand the concept of money. Technically, they traded vegetables for their items anyway, so it wasn’t even thieving.”

Right. The ‘Beast Tribes’, as they were derogatorily known as, still lived separate from Eorzean society. Occasionally you had a handful that lived in places like Limsa Lominsa, or Mor Dhona, but in the rest of the city states they were very unwelcome. Aza thought it a shame. They were interesting and knew very obscure and odd magics that most modern mages and witches had forgotten.

“What happened with that anyways?” Aza asked curiously. It was one of the rare times their role as Animal Control/Public Relations overlapped with the Constabulary, and the law tended to get very fuzzy and complicated when misunderstandings with Beast Tribes happened.

“The Adders stuck their noses into it, and I let them have it,” Estinien said, “What do I care about some Sylph? They didn’t harm anyone, so the Adders bailed them.”

Aza leaned back in his seat with a wry huff. He could always count of Estinien being equally dismissive of everyone, no matter their race, species or magical creature status. He didn’t know if that was a good or a bad thing, considering Estinien’s job, but it was pleasantly refreshing at times.

“This might not have an arrest,” Aza warned, grunting when their car drove into a ford – there was a concrete bridge, but the waters had swelled enough to come rushing over the surface by a few ilms. White, foamy water splashed everywhere, “It might just be a waste of time.”

“Missing Persons are never a waste of time.”

Aza sighed, but slouched further in his seat. Truth be told, he wasn’t looking forward to this assignment for multiple reasons.

It was a simple one on the surface: it was two days after the last full moon of this month – something Aza was still feeling in his aching joints and stiff muscles – and the owner of Fogfens Farm, Blysslona Doesraelwyn, had filed a Missing Persons report for her son, Alyrloef, who was also a werewolf. Her son was reasonably mild-mannered during full moon, albeit not in full grasp of his mental faculties, but he was registered as a low threat to livestock and people if stumbled across in wolf-form, meaning he wasn’t required to be sedated or restrained. Blysslona, therefore, allowed Alyrloef to roam about her private lands, helping keep lookout for any feral werewolves that might try to steal livestock. He was normally gone for the full three days but came crawling back after the last full moon… except this time.

Aza, personally, had a bad feeling about it. Werewolves were unfailingly loyal, especially with those they deemed family, so it wasn’t as if Alyrloef would just fuck off for no good reason. The monster populations out in the sticks like this were dangerously high too, so it was highly likely that Alyrloef was dead. Killed by a monster, or a feral werewolf, a hunter or even another farmer by accident. It made his stomach knot up painfully at thinking of finding a corpse and having to present it to the poor boy’s mother.

“You’ve been in a right snit since Aymeric gave us this job,” Estinien finally asked when the silence turned a bit awkward between them, “What’s wrong?”

“Do you actually care?”

“I care if you’re going to be sulky for the whole bloody day.”

Aza groaned, but muttered, “He’s probably gonna be dead.”

“Rather pessimistic,” Estinien drawled, but he didn’t disagree, “Then we’ll offer closure to her. Either way, some sort of foul play has happened, and someone is at fault for it. It’s more exciting than chasing off ogres from Saint Coinach’s Find for the thirtieth fucking time.”

“Exciting’s not the word I’d use…” Aza sighed, but he said no more on the matter. This was why he preferred simple animal control than dealing with people. In fact, this wasn’t even his gig, but Aymeric thought Aza’s werewolf nature would make finding another werewolf easier – which was true, but still.

The bad feeling persisted.

---

Blysslona was a tall, stocky Roegadyn woman in her late forties. Her skin was a pale blue, dusted with navy freckles, and her hair was a thick, dark brown that she had scraped into a tight, no-nonsense bun. She looked rather weathered for her age, probably from working under the sun for hours on end, but her face was warm and welcoming enough when they turned up on her doorstep just before noon.

“You found the place alright, then,” Blysslona said, letting them inside her modest homestead. It was an old building, probably listed, with stone walls and a still thatched roof, held with a very thin metal mesh. It was warm inside though, a wood burner installed in the open fireplace of the living room practically spewing heat throughout the small cottage. Aza and Estinien were bustled onto the squashy sofa, and Blysslona excused herself to grab some tea for them, despite their protests. She was like a tornado of aggressive politeness, and all they could do was be helplessly swept up in it.

“Alyrloef is in a lot of these photos,” Estinien commented as they heard Blysslona bustle loudly in presumably the kitchen. He tilted his head to one large photograph, framed and fitted above the fireplace – a large, strapping Roegadyn lad with a strong resemblance to Blysslona in a Maelstrom uniform, with his name and date of service etched at the bottom. Five years in the Limsan Lominsan navy, left sometime last year.

“His scent is everywhere,” Aza agreed. The lingering smell of a foreign werewolf itched his senses, but he easily ignored it. Clearly, on the surface at least, Alyrloef lived here comfortably with his mother, though he was curious why he had left the Maelstrom to move in with his mother on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Vylbrand was far from here too, so odd…

“Here we are,” Blysslona said, marching in with a tray of teacups and a plate of biscuits. She set them on the coffee table before them and eased into an armchair opposite them. She was smiling, but Aza could see a tightness about her mouth, dark smudges under her eyes that spoke of restless sleep. She smelled stressed too, even though she put up a brave face about it.

“Thank you,” Aza said, because Estinien couldn’t be trusted to be polite. There a brief pause where they took their respective tea cups and tried to figure out a tactful way to begin the not-interrogation. Blysslona was the last person to see Alyrloef, so…

“So,” Blysslona broke the silence, “I guess you’ll be wanting to ask questions?”

Aza felt deeply relieved at her breaking the ice, and Estinien took lead in the conversation from here.

“We’ve read the details in the missing person report you submitted,” Estinien said, “But it’s best we go over the information with you, to ensure everything is correct, or if you have remembered something since then…”

Aza leaned back in his seat, observing as Estinien mildly grilled Blysslona. When did you last see your son? How was he during that time? Has he ever expressed interest in travelling? Was he happy here? Did he have any known enemies? Any disputes or disagreements with anyone? Anyone threaten him recently? Neighbouring farmers knew to recognise him in wolf form? Etcetera, etcetera.

Nothing new was shed. Blysslona said she last saw him before the first full moon and knew she wouldn’t see him until the end of the last one so hadn’t been worried about his disappearance initially. She didn’t know where he went during the days, but over the past year he always came back, so she never thought much about it. Alyrloef was friendly, well known to her fellow farmers and appreciated, as he guarded the livestock here from monsters and feral werewolves during the full moon. He was happy here, ever since quitting the Limsan navy, and had expressed interest in inheriting the farm when Blysslona got too old to mange it herself.

Aza mulled over this.

“Did he ever say why he quit the navy?” he asked curiously, something about that nagging him.

Blysslona looked surprised at the question, “Oh, well, he said it weren’t for him. They’re very accepting of werewolves in Vylbrand, but even then, they don’t have many career options because of the full moon, you see. So, he quit and came back here.”

Interesting. The Limsan Navy was very progressive and open to working around the lunar cycle for werewolves, provided they were controllable and mild like Alyrloef were. He might not have had a clear shot at, say, an admiralty like a normal person would have, but he still had a good chance of at least commanding a ship if he excelled in his job – with some limitations to ensure safety, of course.

“One more thing,” he continued, “The three days he’s gone for the full moon, you genuinely don’t know where he goes?”

“No clue,” Blysslona insisted, “I thought he just went and slept in the woods somewhere, like wolves do.”

Unlikely. Any werewolf during the days of their full moon wouldn’t pass up a chance to crawl into a warm, comfortable bed and be fussed over by family. You felt ill, achy and rotten when you shifted back during the day, the body strained and burnt out from the effort of shifting forms in such an unnatural way. Alyrloef had to go somewhere to wait out the days, because lying out in the woods in a weakened state would just make him monster food.

But that begged the question: why did he go elsewhere, and why didn’t he tell his mother? It was a mystery that piqued his interest.

“We’ll look at his room – if you don’t mind,” Estinien added belatedly, “See if we can turn up any clues there. We will then examine the immediate surroundings. Depending on what we find, we might have to bring up a full search team up here.”

“Knock yourself out,” Blysslona said, “So long as you find my boy, I don’t care if you rip up the floorboards and turn everything out of my house for clues.”

So, with that strong approval, Estinien and Aza took their tea and wandered over to Alyrloef’s room. It was small, large enough for a bed, wardrobe and two dressers. The curtains were open, letting them see the small garden brimming with all kinds of herbs and flowers. There were Limsan Navy paraphernalia hanging on walls, odd, foreign knickknacks on his shelves and dresser tops… it smelled very lived in, even if the man hadn’t visited it in almost a week. Nothing stood out as suspicious, and if anything, looked as if Alyrloef had fully intended to come back.

“What’re you thinking?” Estinien asked him where they stared at his room for a good, long moment, as if expecting Alyrloef to leap out from under the bed.

Aza didn’t immediately reply, because he could smell… something sharp. It almost stung his nose, and he turned, slowly, towards the bedside dresser with a frown. Setting his tea aside on the dresser, and ignoring Estinien’s inquiring noise, he pulled the drawer open – sitting at the bottom of it, wrapped up in thing clingfilm, were the purple flowers of aconitum.

Or, better known as wolfsbane.

“Oh, hello…” Aza mumbled, studying the plant for a long moment before gingerly picking it up by the clingfilm, taking care not to touch it. He’d rather not be rushed to hospital today, “Why does he have this?”

“Wolfsbane?” Estinien loomed over his shoulder to get a good look, “Self-medicating, perhaps?”

“Hmm…” Aza set the plant down on the dresser and dug into the drawer again. He found two more clingfilmed bunches of wolfsbane, as well as a large pot of activated charcoal. Aza wasn’t confused as to how he got these – farmers used activated charcoal as pesticides and disinfectant, and wolfsbane grew thick and fast around the Fogfens due to its proximity to the Tangle, a wet marshland where most of the moisture drained into. It would be easy enough for Alyrloef to gather these, but why?

Wolfsbane was poisonous to everyone, full stop. Normal people would die without medical intervention if they ingested it, but the effect was a little different with werewolves. If applied correctly, wolfsbane could actually delay the transformation, or ensure the wolf was so sluggish and weak that they weren’t a threat to anyone. The sedatives the government issued contained wolfsbane, for example. It was like, a medically approved poisoning that left you with a thumping headache and weeklong diarrhoea but was reasonably safe.

However, you had to fit a specific criterion to be freely given those sedatives and purchasing them outright was obscenely expensive – more expensive than a farmer can afford anyways. So, you ended up with some who wanted the safety of a sedative, but too poor to pay for pills, self-medicating instead. Sometimes it worked, sometimes the werewolf died, but also…

“He doesn’t need to self-medicate,” Aza said slowly, “His file says his wolf form is calm enough without needing sedatives.”

“But maybe he thinks he needs them.”

Aza bit his thumbnail, thinking. Yeah, probably. Something could have happened that made him doubt his control, but surely Blysslona would have mentioned it? Or… maybe not. Eorzea was very strict on werewolves that ‘acted out’, which was… understandable, considering they were superhumanly strong and could easily kill or infect a man with a single bite. Any sign of a violent temperament in wolf form would have their freedoms restricted in a heartbeat to ensure public safety.

It was chafing, but Aza understood such caution. It didn’t mean he liked it.

“Let’s take a look outside,” Estinien said, nudging his shoulder, “Come on, K-9.”

“Go fuck yourself,” Aza huffed, but he obediently followed him out of the bedroom, leaving the wolfsbane behind.

---

Outside was thick with the stink of farm, and it took Aza a good hour before he found Alyrloef’s scent on the very outskirt of a pasture, on an animal trail leading into one of the thick woods that surrounded Fogfens Farm.

“We can follow it for a bit now,” Aza said as they dithered on the edge of the woods, “The scent is a few days old, so I don’t want to leave it any longer before it vanishes completely. It’s meant to rain tonight, after all.”

Estinien said nothing for a moment, clearly thinking it over. The Fogfens had a high density of dangerous monsters – wildlife kept at bay only by the electric fences and ‘anti-monster crystals’ that marked out the inhabited boundaries of the farms. Aza was confident he could deal with anything out here, even in Miqo’te form, but Estinien was a little squishier and lightly armed.

“We’ll follow it for a bit,” Estinien decided, patting his hip to ensure his firearm was there, “I’m not geared up for a proper fight, though, so we’ll… ugh, be cautious.”

Aza coughed over a laugh at Estinien’s open disdain, and they trudged into the wood along the animal path. Alyrloef’s scent was faint, masked by rotting vegetation and blooming flowers, but Aza kept on it, noting that the woods got quieter and quieter the deeper they went, until it became ominously still and silent.

So, Aza stopped.

“Something wrong?” Estinien immediately asked, looking a bit tense himself. He must have picked up on the unnatural silence too.

“Yes,” Aza said slowly, staring at a fallen long lying next to the narrow path. The trees crowded in thick, its dark green canopy sheltering them from the afternoon sun, as stinging nettles and stubborn ferns overgrew the animal trail at their feet. The overhead leaves cast everything into a dark shadow, making it difficult to see more than ten fulms into the woods – which was fine, Aza wasn’t afraid of dark woods, but the silence…

The hairs on the back of his neck prickled, and a primal instinct reared its head and growled.

“It’s very quiet,” Aza murmured, turning his head this way and that, his nostrils flaring as he took in the surrounding smells. Wet, earthy, rotting… a very faint undercurrent of decay. He assumed it was vegetation, but- no, there was something wrong with it. The silence was downright oppressive now – blanketing everything until his ears almost rang with it. No birdsong, no chattering animal calls, no distant howls of monsters. Nothing.

Alyrloef’s scent was still here, though. Faint.

Aza turned away.

“Let’s go back,” he said in a no-nonsense tone, “Now.”

For once, Estinien decided not to be contrary. He took one look at whatever expression Aza was making and nodded sharply, one hand lingering on his firearm as they quickly backtracked. As they walked, life returned to the woods the further away they went from that dead spot, tentative at first, then more natural. It was warmer too, and Aza belatedly realised that it had been freezing in that too quiet place, biting cold and intensely pressured.

Neither of them spoke until they were on the outskirts of the wood, able to see Blysslona’s cottage with smoke coming out of its chimney, and then lingered on the boundary, warily eyeing the woods behind them with open caution now.

“That was fucked up,” Estinien said mildly, his mouth pinched as he stared back into the trees with his shoulders tensed, “What the hell was that?”

“No idea, but I didn’t like it,” Aza muttered, rubbing his cold hands together, “Alyrloef’s scent led there, though, to… whatever that dead spot was.”

“Okay,” Estinien pinched the bridge of his nose, took in a breath, and let it out, “Shit. This is going to involve Voidsent, isn’t it?”

Aza didn’t say anything. The hairs on the back of his neck were still prickling, like they brought back whatever had been in the dead spot with them. He looked about them, keenly feeling the aether about him, but it was brimming with life and was untouched and pristine. They must’ve caught the attention of what was whatever in those woods though.

“Are there any stories about the Fogfens?” Aza finally asked, “Horror stories or anything?”

“Just the usual rubbish,” Estinien replied, “There are one or two horror films based on the Fogfens, about some crazed slasher running around terrorising university students camping in there, or something.”

Aza gave Estinien an odd look, wondering why the hell students would go camping in a monster-infested wood. Eorzeans were so weird.

“Are they based on true stories?”

“They’re based on some idiot getting eaten by a roaming Behemoth or feral werewolves because they thought it’d be a brilliant idea to hike through the woods without even a firearm,” Estinien said shortly, “Happens every year.”

“I see,” Aza frowned, wondering if it really was death by wildlife, or death by Voidsent that made it look like wildlife, “I’m gonna call Aym, see what he has to say about this.”

“Oh, it’s Aym now, is it?” Estinien mocked lightly, but he trudged after Aza as they made their way back to Blysslona’s cottage.

As they walked, Aza mulled over everything. First was Alyrloef and his suspicious circumstances. A werewolf that was low-threat, self-medicating himself with wolfsbane in a dangerous manner, and who also vanished for the entirety of the full moon without telling anyone where he’d be. Then there was the dead spot in the woods, that just made his skin crawl remembering it, and Alyrloef’s scent leading straight to it. If he was in werewolf form, he couldn’t have just bumbled into it. Instincts were sharp then, overwhelming, and everything about that dead spot screamed wrong. No self-respecting werewolf would willingly walk into it.

…

Unless that wolf was very sick, poisoned in fact, and their senses dulled and sluggish…

It was as if Aza had the pieces in his hands, but they wouldn’t fully connect as he tried to understand this whole situation. There were too many questions – why was Alyrloef self-medicating? Where the fuck did he go on full moons? What the hell was that dead spot? Had it always been there? And if it was a Voidsent…

Fuck. He really hoped it wasn’t a Voidsent.

They both piled into their car parked outside Blysslona’s cottage when they reached it, and Estinien turned the heater on full blast when they got in. It helped banish the unnatural chill that lingered over them from their, in retrospect, ill-advised romp through the clearly haunted woods.

“I bet the farm woman knows about it,” Estinien said abruptly as Aza activated his linkpearl.

“What, the haunted woods?” Aza muttered, half-listening as he connected a call to Aymeric.

“If this was a horror film,” Estinien said, “She would be involved in some way. The killer, or the Voidsent herself, or something.”

Aza rolled his eyes and didn’t bother dignifying that with a response.

“… Aymeric de Borel speaking.”

“Hey, Aym, it’s me,” Aza greeted, “You got a free moment?”

“Not really, but I’ll take any excuse to procrastinate from my castle of paperwork,” Aymeric said dryly, “Do you need something?”

“Kinda. Some spooky shit is happening up here, and…”

Aza relayed everything he and Estinien had learned and experienced, with Estinien occasionally interjecting a comment here and there. By then the car had became sweltering, so Aza flicked off the heater and cranked the window, the noise of livestock filtering through the gap. Overhead, dark, greyish clouds started to gather.

“I see…” Aymeric sounded troubled, “Voidsent require a specialist to deal with. They don’t fall under Public Relations or Animal Control for a lot of reasons.”

“We’ll have to call in the Thaumaturges,” Estinien grumbled, sounding beyond sour about this, “To examine the dead spot, at least. We can’t fully investigate Alyrloef’s disappearance until we’re sure that a Voidsent won’t try to crawl up our asses during it.”

“Thaumaturges?” Aza parroted, “Who’re they?”

“The creepy Lalafels on floor five that take Goth way too far.”

Oh. Them.

“I’ll lodge a request for Cocobuki to go up to Fogfens at the earliest opportunity,” Aymeric said, “Though, that might take a few days to process…”

Which didn’t bode well for Alyrloef’s already dangerously slim chances of being found alive or sound of mind, “Isn’t there an emergency Voidsent response team or something?”

“The Thaumaturges are already stretched thin themselves,” Aymeric sighed, “Considering this Voidsent is dwelling deep in the woods that has no civilian foot traffic, they would deem it low priority.”

“And the missing person?” Estinien asked mildly.

“Has been missing for several days already,” Aymeric sounded almost apologetic now, “You know how they would view it.”

Aza frowned but said nothing, an almost tense silence falling between them. Yeah, no doubt the Thaumaturges would go in under the assumption that they would be searching for a corpse, rather than a living person, and bodies could keep for a bit. It was a very bitter pill to swallow, and despite Aza understanding the reasoning of it all… he wasn’t happy with it.

“Guess it’s back to base,” Estinien said, sounding very put-out that the day had ended on an anti-climactic note, “Can’t do anything until Cocobuki gets his ass out here to take a look.”

“Right,” Aza mumbled.

“I’ll try to inject some urgency into the request,” Aymeric said quietly, “Cocobuki owes me a favour, so we’ll see how it goes.”

“Thanks, Aym,” Aza said, and after a round of goodbyes disconnected the call. He slumped in his seat, pinching the bridge of his nose. That bad feeling was still lingering but, there was nothing he could do now, was there? If this was back home, on the Steppe, a whole bunch of him and his mates would already be charging into the woods to beat the shit out of the Voidsent, but Eorzea was so tangled up in procedure and red tape that it throttled any attempt to do good.

If Aza hadn’t been a werewolf, he might’ve tried to be a loose cannon, do his own thing like Estinien did from time to time. But he was a werewolf, and that meant try as he might, he had to stick with procedure no matter how stifling. Aymeric and Estinien could only protect him so much, and that was when he stayed in his lane.

“I’ll tell the farm woman we have to bring in a specialised team,” Estinien cut into the silence. His voice was gruff, but the offer was oddly kind, “You can drive back.”

“Oh, yay,” Aza said dully, but was internally relieved. He didn’t want to go to Blysslona and break the news that her son might potentially most definitely be dead or in the thrall of a Voidsent. He was a bit of a coward like that, “Fine. Hurry back.”

Estinien grunted but shoved his way out of the vehicle. Aza clambered over the gearbox to sit in the driver’s side, and muttered as he had to adjust the seat so his feet could even reach the pedals. He technically knew how to drive a vehicle, but last time he did was for his driving test last year, in preparation for this job in Eorzea, but, eh, it’ll be fine, he’s sure.

He glanced out of the window, his ear twitching when a few fat drops of water started hitting the windscreen. Here came the rain, and with it, the disappearance of Alyrloef’s scent.

Aza could still vaguely see the treeline of the woods from the car – nothing more than a dark, looming shape beyond the farm’s fence. It looked innocuous, but now that his instincts were attuned to it, there was a pulse of threat emanating from it, something that made him tighten his fingers on the steering wheel and his inner wolf bare its fangs.

Yet, for a moment – his gaze sharpened when he saw sudden movement at the treeline, too big to be a deer. It looked like, was that a werewol-

He almost leapt right out of his seat when the passenger door was wrenched open, and Estinien tumbled back in cussing and blinding. Aza looked away, to see his co-worker get hilariously stuck when he tried to wedge his legs under the dashboard but couldn’t because Aza had the seat draw up close to it.

“What the- you damn midget,” Estinien hissed, contorting into a weird posture as he tried to grab the seat adjuster.

“Heh,” Aza shamelessly sniggered at him, not moving to help in the slightest, “Looking a bit uncomfortable there, Esty.”

“Fuck you.”

Leaving Estinien be as the man finally managed to wrench his seat back enough to properly sit in it, and finally close the door against the wind, Aza glanced back over towards the treeline. The thing he thought he saw was no longer there, and it was just a simple, dark woods once more.

Aza shook it off and turned the engine on.

“Back to base?” he asked lightly.

“Back home, more like,” Estinien grumbled, buckling his seatbelt and leaning back, “Wake me up when we get there.”

“Aye, aye,” Aza muttered, but he put the car in reverse and started the slow, shaky journey back home.

---

And from the dark treeline, nestling in the cold shadows of its low hanging leaves, a large wolf watched them go.

#ffxiv #fanfic #warrior of light #estinien wyrmblood #aymeric de borel #original characters #mystery fic #modern fantasy au #ao3 link on my tumblr profile if you wanna read on there

4 notes · View notes

sebastard69 · 2 years

Text

Post-Heavensward Thoughts

Just started the pre-Stormblood patches, so here's an update on how this game is making me feel, in no particular order.

Under the cut for spoilers!!

- Aymeric and Estinien are boyfriends, and I'm going to kick Estinien's ass for leaving without saying goodbye

- FINAL STEPS OF FAITH HAD ME CRYING AAAAAA??? ESTINIEN TRYING TO KILL HIMSELF?? YSAYLE'S GHOST?? HAURCHEFANT'S GHOST?? FUCKING END ME THAT SHIT HURTED. A+ fucking writing though god fucking damn was it good. And the song that played during the battle and the cutscene??? Immaculate.

- I'm glad Hraesvelgr isn't dead, I was worried for a second that he was after the fight with Nidhogg

- I'm not sure how I feel about Krile? Like I like her but also she just kinda... rubs me the wrong way? Idk the whole scene where she was giving Thancred shit for NOT flirting kinda irked me

- So Minfilia isn't dead, but she is? But she isn't. But... she is? I understand that Hydaelyn like... brought Minfilia to Her side in the aetherial sea, but I don't know that I know what that means. I know that Ryne exists later and Thancred called her Minfilia in the Shadowbringers trailer, so Ryne is Minfilia? Or Minfilia is Ryne? Yknow I should probably let that shit unfold in its own time.

- There is something FISHY going on with the WoL, right? I mean first in ARR, we find out that the Echo gives you the ability to possess other bodies and thus extend your life, similar to Ascians - which is a whole thing on its own tbh - but then Fantasy Pope got all freaked out after I curb stomped his ass and was like "what the fuck ARE you??" and I'm like.... I don't fuckin know Thordan, what AM i? there's some weird connection between the WoL and the Ascians. is it because of what the Word said when i was in the aetherial sea? the stuff about Dark and Light existing as one, and Zodiark and all that? HMMMMMMM

- GOD i hate emmanellain lmao he's so annoying and i find it absolutely hilarious that thancred punched him out after stopping me from doing the exact same thing. eat shit emmanellain!

- Alphinaud once again continues to be my favorite. It's cute how much he likes Estinien. Yet another reason to kick Estinien's ass for leaving without saying anything!

- ALISAIEEEE Q~Q i know she's gonna be ok but GOD

- what exactly is up with the warrior of darkness, what's his plan? i'm about to unlock xelphatol so i'm sure i'll know more soon but that shit stinks to high heaven, especially since urianger is either involved or knows what's happening

#ffxiv #ffxiv heavensward #heavensward #ffxiv spoilers #heavensward spoilers

0 notes

kivaember · 5 years

Note

God looking over that ask meme I kinda wanna know them all about Aza

Ask and ye shall receive!

Σ(ﾟДﾟ；): Have they ever sprained or broken their leg before? How about their arm? What was the story behind it?

Aza has, like, broken almost every bone in his body at this point. It’s mostly due to his reckless attitude when it comes to fighting or from dumb shenanigans when he was drunk.

╰(*´︶`*)╯: Do they appreciate hugs? Would they prefer to give hugs or receive hugs? What kind of hugs do they like to receive and/or give?

Aza is VERY against people intruding on his personal space - especially to give hugs. The only people he tolerates them from can be counted on one hand, and for him to enjoy them, most of the time it has to be something he instigates or clearly wants. He just isn’t a huggy person in general :\

ಠಿ_ಠ: Do they look up or down when they are trying to recollect something?

Down! He tends to scowl and glare at the ground, which always makes people think he’s pissed off about something (he isn’t, he’s just thinking really hard…)

ヽ( ´O｀): What is their body language like when sleepy?

Droopy ears, half-closed eyes, moves very slowly and stretches a lot. Sometimes rubs his eyes a lot.

(Дﾟ≡ﾟДﾟ): When they are surprised by somebody do they physically jump? Scream?

Aza squeaks or yelps, and his tail fluffs right up as he physically jumps away from what startled him. Sometimes he goes straight for his sword, or he’ll throw his hands up like he’s gonna start getting into a fistfight lol Aza’s first instinct is always to fight whatever scares him

(⸝⸝⸝ ̑ ̑⸝⸝⸝): Does their face get red after they drink?

He does get a bit flushed yup!

(„ᵕᴗᵕ„): Does their face turn red when embarrassed? If so, how else do they react when embarrassed? (I.E. Shifting of weight upon foot, etc.)

Aza turns bright red when embarrassed, and he tends to look down at his feet and fidget. Sometimes he’ll pinch or rub behind his ear in a self-soothing gesture, or cover his mouth.

( ๑‾̀◡‾́)σ»: Do they have a sensitive spot/s?

YES. Behind his ears and at the base of his tail are his very sensitive spots - he tends to melt or get really horny if they’re stimulated. Otherwise he’s kind of ticklish on the bottom of his feet?

(〇o〇；): What is their body language like when they are stressed? Do they try and hide the fact that they are stressed? How do they recover from said stress?

It goes two ways, depending on what exactly is stressing him. If he’s anxious!stressed, he’ll always try to keep himself curled in and tucked close. His ears will be flat, his tail will be tucked between his legs, and he will avoid contact with people. Sometimes he might pick at his wrists and accidentally leave scratches on his skin. In this state he tends to go hide up in a tree or lie amongst a flock of sheep or something to chill out.

If he’s angry stressed, then he bristles. His fur will be fluffed out and his tail will lash about. He will growl or snarl a lot, baring his sharp canines and he will make sharp, cutting gestures with his hand. He’ll look like he’s a split second away from punching someone and in this state he tends to go and hunt monsters or whatever to cool down.

ಠ-ಠ: Do they like it when people touch their hair?

Only people he trusts. He’s twitchy if people tend to have their hands anywhere near his face or neck in general due to… past experiences.

(ﾉ≧ڡ≦): Do they like to show affection by physically teasing? (I.E: Shoulder punches, etc.)

Yes! While he’s not a huggy person, he did adopt Bluebird’s style of affection showing, which tends to involve shoulder punches, hip bumping, friendly elbows to the ribs, etc. Quick, physical touches that don’t involve trapping someone between your arms, lol

♪⁽⁽٩( ᐖ )۶⁾⁾ ₍₍٩( ᐛ )۶₎₎♪: How are they like when they dance? Are they stiff? Fluid? A good dancer? Do they prefer to dance with a lot of others, with one other person, or alone?

He’s… horrible. He’s an awful dancer. He’s too ‘stompy’ and he moves far too stiffly. Good footwork when sword fighting, not so much with dancing (he’ll step on your feet).

ง ( ⌓̈ )ง: Are they physically strong when it comes to fights?

He is ridiculously strong! Despite his small size he’s dense with muscle and a pint-sized powerhouse, and it’s easy enough for him to throw even a Roegadyn over his shoulder with little to no issues.

(´∀｀): Do they laugh when they get nervous?

Depends on what he’s nervous about. If it’s with friends or about a minor/mundane thing, he does get giggly. If it’s with something serious or something that also causes him anxiety, he gets faintly nauseous and quiet.

ಥoಥ: How are they like when they cry? Do they just stream tears nonstop? Does their nose get clogged to the point that it’s hard to breathe? Is it easy for them to speak when they are sobbing? Do they hiccup when they cry?

He has two ways that he cries! His most common is what Bluebird dubs his ‘pretty crying’. It’s silent, he doesn’t smudge his eyeliner, and the only sign that he is crying are tear-tracks on his cheeks and slightly unsteady breathing. This is mostly because growing up he had to master the art of crying unseen and unheard, so it’s an automatic response for him to force it down as much as possible and to hide it as much as possible. Bluebird absolutely hates it.

When he’s not forcing himself to be quiet, he fucking bawls, like he sounds like he’s gonna hyperventilate levels of sobbing. He has to be pretty fucking upset for this though, where he can’t force himself to be quiet and it all just explodes out of him like a big volcanic explosion of sadness. These massive crying fits always make him feel better though, even if physically he gets a headache, sore eyes and stuffy nose from it.

ಸヮಸ: Do they lean back or forward when they laugh hard? Do they snort? Slap their knee? Do that seal-esque clap? Do they often laugh to the point that you can’t hear their laugh anymore?

Aza just fucking cackles. Like straight up howls until he gives himself the hiccups, which end up sounding like kitten-like squeaks :3

「(°ヘ°): How does one calm them down when they are freaking out? Do they prefer physical comfort, or would they rather be left alone?

When Aza freaks out, it’s best he’s given space until he indicates he wants physical contact. Normally he’ll cram himself into a corner, or under something, something that gives him some kind of comfort, and it’s best for a person he trusts just to kind of… not leave him alone, but linger just out of arm’s reach. Ready and waiting to help him when he finally asks for it. He definitely does not want people touching him when he freaks out, because it makes him panic and lash out without thinking.

⊙.☉: Does their voice get an octave higher when they lie? Does it crack?

Aza put in a lot of ‘ums’ and ‘uhs’ when he’s lying, and he shuffles his feet and scratches at his neck. This is if he’s lying through his teeth, but lying through omission he can do without batting an eyelash.

( ˘͈ ᵕ ˘͈♡): Does having somebody stroke their head make them feel relaxed?

Again, only with people he trusts. If it is someone he trusts, he just purrs at having his head stroked.

(ꈍᴗꈍ)ε｀*): Do they prefer kisses on the cheek? Forehead? What about neck kisses?

If it’s Aymeric kissing him, he prefers all three! Neck kisses if they’re going to be doing sexy stuff are his favourite, though.

(-.-): How should one wake them up? Do they get out of bed easily?

Aza tends to try and stay in bed if someone tries waking him up. His sleeping schedule is so fucked up, that most of the time he’s awake by dawn anyways, but if it’s the rare time where he’s still sleeping by dawn? Yeah, no, he’s staying in bed, thank you very much.

#aza lynel

2 notes · View notes