#i want to do another set for dawntrail | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

desertleviathan · 4 months

Text

I've included every Job I've heard people mention as speculation, no matter how unlikely I personally find it. Propaganda after the cut is all just my own feelings, and includes some very minor spoilers for recent MSQ events, Astrologian Job Quests, and the Shadowbringers patch 5.3 Dungeon:

CALCULATOR PROS: They have had some fun with Math Bosses, haven't they. It is a theme present in the game, and with precedent in earlier FF games. CONS: I can not imagine any configuration of this job that would function within the timing of FFXIV's combat. Applying simple Astrologian buffs is already tricky enough. Also, this was a real balance-demolisher in its main prior appearance.

GAMBLER PROS: FFVI has proven fertile ground for Job design concepts, between the Monk and Machinist revamps. And Setzer's armor is already in the game. CONS: Even more RNG dependent than Dancer? I don't much like the sound of that. And Astrologian has already claimed Cards as a primary tool.

GEOMANCER PROS: It canonically exists in setting. And it is on the dwindling list of Jobs in FFXI that haven't been reinterpreted in FFXIV. Probably a pretty strong contender, except... CONS: The Astrologian quests kind of ate its lunch, explicitly stating that they are heavily overlapping arts. That will be a common theme with entries on this list, Astrologian seems to be made of pieces of a ton of prior Mage jobs.

GREEN MAGE PROS: The presumptive favorite in most of the chatter I'm reading, because of a symbol on a thing in a very "we're teasing new content" feeling MSQ cutscene that matches the design of Green Mage in one of the Tactics games (I think?) CONS: Ok great but what the heck even is a Green Mage? Their whole shtick appears to be long-duration buffs and debuffs that would have been categorized as Black or White Magic in other games... and FFXIV has been very steadily removing those kinds of powers, aside from a handful of DoTs. If they crib this aesthetic, the actual mechanics will likely be something entirely unanticipated, or possibly overlapping with one of these other options, rather than a Buff/Debuff Mage. Or maybe they've just been removing long duration powers from other classes to... consolidate them? I really doubt it, but maybe.

NECROMANCER PROS: It's a solid concept, an RPG classic, and the Necromancer Boss in the Heroes' Gauntlet dungeon looks sick. Rumor has it that all the bosses in that dungeon were concepts once considered as alternate branches of base classes in the same way Arcanist splits into Scholar and Summoner, before they ditched that design. In which case it probably would have split from Thaumaturge? CONS: Rumor also has it that cultural considerations in certain key markets made this something SE didn't want to pose as a heroic archetype. Also, pet jobs. They've been pretty steadily gutting the pet mechanics of Scholar and Summoner, and I can't imagine they'd be in any hurry to add another full scale Pet Job. Maybe a Limited Job though. Also, in FFXIV the art to animate and control the dead seems to be closely related to the summoning of Voidsent, and Reaper is already doing the Demon Magic thing in a big way.

ORACLE PROS: I'm gonna be real with y'all, can't actually think of any. I see this as having zero chance. But the name keeps coming up in conversation. So maybe I'm wrong, and the apparent fan support will keep the idea afloat. CONS: Like Green Mage, it's mainly been a place to dump debuffs that originally belonged to other magic types. And the theme of prediction and prophecy has been thoroughly raided by Astrologian.

PICTOMANCER (A.K.A. Artist, Painter, Ink Mage, etc.) PROS: As I mentioned under Gambler, raiding FFVI has been a solid move, and Relm Arrowny's power set deserves a less-buggy reinterpretation. Also Ink Mages are the only common enemy in the Heroes' Gauntlet that doesn't match a job we have available. Also Yoshi P's TMNT shirt at the first fanfest may have been hinting at Leonardo's dual swords and a Ninja's scouting armor sets for Viper, but it could also have been a reference to the Renaissance Masters that the Turtles were named after. He's clever like that. CONS: The only reason this isn't my #1 guess without hesitation is that pesky Green Mage emblem. I have a theory though that Green Mage and Pictomancer might get combined and have the "green" be about painting landscapes, in which case it might also be borrowing from Geomancer turf a little. Who knows!

PUPPETMASTER PROS: Also on the short list of FFXI jobs that haven't been reinterpreted. Mammets are a big part of this setting and there would be a lot of cool aesthetics to potentially draw on. CONS: Pet jobs. I just can't see them ever doing another full Pet Job. Also the FFXI version was a blend of technology and martial arts, not a caster per se.

TIME MAGE PROS: One of the missing FF classics, with a lot more potential spells than you expect, since it also usually deals with Space Magic. CONS: Haste powers and traits became a huge balance headache in FFXI and I can't see them rushing back into that. Also, once again, Astrologian already swiped several key ideas.

#ffxiv #ff14 #final fantasy xiv #final fantasy 14 #Fanfest 2024 #Caster DPS speculation

91 notes · View notes

emcapi-gaming · 7 days

Text

Spent the evening fiddling with my mods for Ardwin to try and get her to a body type that actually comes across as, like, healthy, instead of running on nothing but stress. I partly wanted to do this because I wasn't happy with my current mod setup, but also as a character development thing for her.

Her personal timeline for MSQ, from ARR through the end of 6.0, was something along the lines of 2 years. She has not had a chance to actually, properly rest. Post-Endwalker, heading into Dawntrail, is really the first time she gets to relax for more than 5 minutes. And also deal with the unholy amount of emotional baggage she has been repressing in order to function this entire time, especially through ShB/EW, which resulted in at least 3 distinct mental breakdowns between the end of 6.0 through 6.1 (one of which was The Entire Dark Knight Questline). 6.2 onwards has very much been about recovery for her, which I think is gonna be a process that continues forward into summer vacation in Tural.

Without further ado, I give you:

Before...

...and after.

(mod list for "after" pic under cut)

Base textures: Bibo+ ("buff & smooth" texture)

Body: rue+ (buff small chest, small skullcrusher legs)

Scaling tweaks: DIY set of Customize+ scalers - if anyone's interested in a copy, let me know and I'll figure out how to export them

Smallclothes: Yet Another Sporty+

Skin details: All-Gen Body Freckles, Rough Travels (scars)

Compatibility: Atramentum Luminis

Face details: Proper Freckles (medium), Hair Defined, Everyone Bites, Eyeworks (looking forward to the graphics update when hopefully I won't need as many of these lol)

#ardwin tag #ffxiv #femroe #i'm so so so happy with how she turned out #SHE LOOKS SO GOOD SHE LOOKS SO HAPPY AND HEALTHY *wails*

40 notes · View notes

dawntrailing · 8 months

Text

dawntrailing's 5000 giveaway.

I don't actually have a lot to offer, admittedly! But I still want to give back something even if it's just through something really simple. So kindly like and/or reblog for an entry. Both like and reblogs count as separate entries. You can use giveaway or other blogs if you want. I just need to be able to talk to you straightaway if you do happen to win. So, let's move on to the prizes:

FIRST PRIZE: - 20pcs set of GPOSE. 5 unique pose and 4 unique angles. - Anything you want from my Ko-Fi link with the exception of the GPOSE item as it's already your winning prize.

SECOND PRIZE: - 20pcs set of GPOSE. 5 unique pose and 4 unique angles or anything you want from my Ko-Fi link with the exception of the GPOSE item as it's already the other option you can choose.

THIRD PRIZE: - Whichever the second winner didn't pick.

I do have a set of rules. Please do follow them:

Since this is a giveaway for my followers, I do require all participants to be following me. If you're a sideblog, let me know which one is your main account. New followers are welcome to join, of course.

This giveaway is not restricted to any Data Center.

GPOSES will remain SFW. Revealing outfits are fine but please don't go overboard.

Both modded and vanilla characters are okay. Though, for the former, I will require you to have your mods and Anamnesis character file at the ready or you can send me a mare file with all your mods already enabled. I am happy to assist if you don't know how.

For vanilla characters, I will have to meet you in-game so I can grab your character appearance. You can also just send me your anamnesis file if it's more convenient.

The GPOSE prizes are intended for single characters only. I will not be making use of additional actors., whether NPC or another custom character. You can also request an NPC GPOSE set! It's not just for your own characters.

Please don't expect my prizes to be groundbreaking, so do temper your expectations. I am not the best GPOSER or graphic maker out there. You can see examples of my GPOSES, icons and my graphics by clicking the aforementioned links.

GIVEAWAY ENDS AT OCTOBER 1 (GMT8+)!

I will announce the winners here as soon as I am able and will immediately begin contacting them. Failure to respond within 48 hours means I will be well within my right to draw a different winner. Since the third winner's prize is dependent on the second's, the third winner's timer will only start as soon as I've informed them of which prize they're getting.

That's all! Thank you for supporting my silly little blog!

#txt.#thank you so much everyone

74 notes · View notes

otherworldseekers · 3 months

Text

6.55 and onward to Dawntrail!

And so Endwalker is officially at an end and the months until Dawntrail stretch out before us. It's going to be a difficult wait.

Spoilers for 6.55 msq and DT ahead.

Personally, I've been excited ever since they announced our destination for the new expansion. There's little I love more than exploring new places and getting to know new cultures and Severia is the same. The set up of "participating in a contest for the throne" I've been more or less neutral on. I knew my response would depend entirely on the characters involved so I've been eager to know more. Having now met Wuk Lamat, I can confidently say that Severia and I would do anything for her.

I know some people have worries about the so-called conflict within the Scions, but from the information that Wuk Lamat gave us I think the whole succession issue is more about competition than "conflict" except for that one mysterious contender that she says cannot win. (Can't wait to find out more.) It seems highly probably that Koana, the miqo brother she mentions who studied in Sharlayan, is another contender and is the one that Thancred and Urianger have agreed to help. That leaves two unknowns. I'm going to make a prediction that Estinien ends up in support of a third Mamool Ja contender, who is not the dangerous one. I don't know how Y'shola and G'raha are going to fit in, but I have every confidence in the writers' creativity.

I am also intrigued by the little mentions of Garlemald in this patch. Alphinaud and Alisaie want to come specifically so they can gain knowledge that will help Garlemald. The "conqueror" Wuk Lamat warns about is interested in taking advantage of Garlemald's weakness. We even get to help some Garleans kick back and relax on our Island. As someone with an interest in Garlemald (for reasons), I am hopeful that this is an indication that Garlemald's future will continue to concern us in the future and that we can do something about its current state.

It struck me, now that we have our WoL's party set up, that it is meant to call back to our initial journey to a new city in 2.0. Alisaie and Alphinaud were there then too, though we did not know them. And Erenville, who travels for a living, could be said to take the place of the merchant. I believe the reason that they had a stand alone side story for the 6.x msq rather than the pattern that we are used to, is that 7.0 is meant to feel like 2.0. It's the start of a brand new story introducing us to a brand new world where we have no connections or history or baggage and are essentially back to being just adventurers again.

While Yoshida has joked about this being the WoL's vacation, I'm hoping that the tantalizing mentions of the City of Gold will lead to some fun Indiana Jones-esque adventures. But I am definitely most excited about delving into Solution 9 and learning its mysteries.

As usual, I am always hoping and praying that Nero will become relevant in the new content again. (Come on, SE, there are a million ways you could use him and he improves every single thing he's in.) However, even if he's not, I plan to drag him into the story in my own headcanons and writings. Severia's not leaving her man behind this time, not when he would be so eager to explore a whole new potential source of technological discoveries. How exactly he'll fit in I will leave until I actually see how the story plays out.

All in all, I am very excited and looking forward to more exciting story to experience this summer!

#patch 6.55 #patch 6.55 spoilers #Dawntrail #Dawntrail spoilers

15 notes · View notes

paintedscales · 4 months

Note

Describe how they communicate

and

23. Did you tailor your OC for the other in the romance?

Hiiii, thank you so much for the ask! ; w ; Sorry it took so long for me to answer it. TT u TT / ♥

ROMANCE ASKS

Nomin and Estinien have a lot of non-verbal ways of communication, both being people that tend to do via actions versus speaking. I like to imagine that from HW all the way to EW, Estinien took notice of Nomin's tail movements and started correlating them to certain emotional responses when he's not looking at her face directly.

So whenever Estinien sees the telltale tail signs ( :) ), he can use them to approach Nomin and comfort her. Whether they're the annoyed and quick flicks to the left, the stiffened tail with stiff movements when she's angry or scared, or the confused / uncertain / apprehensive slow curls, he can typically discern her emotions and approach her to place a gentle hand on her shoulder, or hug her if she's amicable.

Otherwise, when speaking, both Estinien and Nomin are pretty blunt people who can comfortably share brutal honesty with one another without offense being taken. Despite their bluntness, they're also playful with one another, being able to tease one another and roast one another while finding amusement in themselves.

Since Nomin also knows that Estinien would rather backflip into the Rhotano Sea than be encumbered by reading most forms of writing, she makes sure he has a linkpearl on hand if he wants to keep in touch when he's off doing work in Thavnair at Vrtra's request because she does like hearing his voice (though this may be set to be rethought out pending how Dawntrail plays out and if we learn more about what Estinien gets up to outside of Radz-at-Han once we're in Tural).

As for tailoring my OC for the romance: absolutely not.

Putting the rest of the answer under a cut, because this actually got longer than I anticipated. But the sentence above is a perfect tl;dr.

I've made it no secret that I started off really despising Estinien, and I was annoyed with him throughout the DRG quests, and all of HW. I often was like, "man, if this dude dies, fucking good riddance. Fuck that guy." Even as he was laying in the sickbed and waxing poetic about his self-reflection, I was just, "GOD, CAN MY CHARACTER JUST WALK AWAY..."

Nomin wasn't tailored for Estinien in any fashion. When I made her, I made her because I wanted to have a dedicated Warrior of Light character that I wanted to go through content again with and make a story for. When I learned more about the Xaela and their tribes, and customs, I grew to love them -- especially because I LOVE seeing representation of people you don't normally see in media and video games. I'm happy for all the Mongolians that are so, so happy to see their people represented. If Square Enix makes a fantasy land with people that are representative of the Filipino people, I will genuinely LOVE that and make another dedicated WoL who represents half of my cultural roots.

When Endwalker started and we got to fucking customs, his reaction to being asked what his current occupation was...that was the "FUCK!" moment for me. Because I LOVE when powerful men show dumbass himbo mcbuffoonisms to the audience -- that makes them 10000% more endearing to me. (No, his admission of 'swinging a lance with nary a thought in my head' quote wasn't enough at the time because he still never really outwardly showed that kind of silliness in a way that was visible to me.)

#questions and answers #user: crowdsourcedloner #thank you ♥#ffxiv #ffxiv oc #oc: nomin tal kheeriin #estinien varlineau #cinnamon ship

8 notes · View notes

rivenroad · 7 months

Text

Post-6.5 thoughts

on MSQ/Myths/Endwalker in general.

While there have been things I liked in this patch and the recent MSQ arc in general, it's a shame that my ultimate feeling upon the end of it is "glad that's over so we can move on"... I like Zero a lot and the stuff with Ryne in this patch but that's about all really. I don't hate it or think it's terrible but I just didn't really care much for any of it either.

Not sure if I like the conclusion of this part of Zero's arc, perhaps because of my lack of interest in the overall story I didn't feel much about it. I loved her and the way things developed with her in previous patches but here I was kinda just like... "oh, okay". It just didn't really feel very impactful for something that should really have been a big deal. I don't think this will be the last we see of her, but even so...

I think the way I would have liked for this to be handled is for it to be a prologue to an expansion that was very similar to Shadowbringers in concept, where we visit the Thirteenth in a more major way, restoring various areas of it. Given the status of the place, that is, much further gone than the First was, it might be difficult to pull this off with how the game presently works... I think to do it effectively they'd need something along the lines of how they've already handled changing environments based on quest progression, but it would need to be much more drastic than just changing weather effects and the occasional structure. I have hopes that it's possible in future for them to do something like that, especially with the upcoming graphics update, but now is probably not the time.

So I guess what I saying is that I feel as though this arc would be a nice build-up to a Void-themed expansion but it's not. It's a somewhat uninteresting story arc to me which ends in a predictable and not particularly exciting way and just has a vague promise of future content... It could come around to being amazing eventually, like how I simply didn't care about the Warriors of Darkness arc before Shadowbringers, thought it was awkwardly placed and uninteresting, and look how that turned out. lol.

I don't want to place too much expectation on it, though... It's hard not to with something I'm so invested in, but Endwalker in general has disappointed me a lot by not doing things how I would have liked them. I didn't like how most of the 6.0 MSQ was handled, I think it was a poor decision to cram it into a single expansion instead of allowing it the time and space that was originally planned for it. I did enjoy Elpis and Pandaemonium as they are, but if it were my choice, I would have preferred that the details of Ancients were still largely left a mystery.

I suppose the Void thing feels a bit like the Ancient situation right now. They elaborated on a lot of mysteries of the place, but currently, in a rather unsatisfying way that doesn't go far enough and sort of leaves me feeling like I wish they hadn't done it and just waited until they could execute it better with more time and resources.

This also applies to Myths of the Realm, really... I don't hate it, I like Deryk, I like the designs of the Twelve and enjoyed seeing and interacting with them to a degree... but ultimately it felt like a miss for me and I sort of wish they hadn't done it. The conclusion was underwhelming, I'm still not totally sure how I feel about the decisions made there but right now I can't say I'm a fan. I need more time to consider my feelings there, but, well... it's another part of Endwalker that just doesn't quite hit the mark for me, and it's a shame to look back on this expansion and feel so much dissatisfaction.

However, the positive side of this is that I'm very much intrigued to see where things go from here. A totally new setting and story for Dawntrail has a lot of potential, and I'll try not to get too caught up in my own hopes and expectations... but even when I do, there's a good side to that as well - inspiration. Everything that I wish for in FFXIV (or any other story) that doesn't happen is something I can make happen myself, in my own stories and creative endeavours.

10 notes · View notes

shivasdarknight · 6 months

Text

so yeah, i havent watched either dawntrail trailer 🤷

idk im finding it kinda hard to get excited about it at the constant reminders that they fridged one of their best and relevant characters back in azys lla, the clumsy handling of the void, the rancidly misogynistic shit in pandae, the solely white examples for the new lighting engine, the telling lack of info regarding femhroths that just screams disinterest because women, how absolutely terrible this could go because No i Do Not want road to el dorado references because idc if you guys are endeared to it that shit was racist

like on a more serious note, how am i supposed to get excited about an expansion where our summer vacation is getting mixed in with a different nation's political affairs when we're mostly fantasy europeans (excluding the variable of the wol but even then most are white eorzeans) and tural is fantasy mesoamerica. how am i supposed to be excited about this touristy angle when tourism is a major facet of colonization, especially when it regards the cultures that this region is based in. so framing you getting mixed up in yet another rite of succession from a culture you - in all likelihood - are not affiliated with as a summer vacation is just. it's deeply uncomfortable and it's hard to feel excited about this - especially with their history, continued bullshit, and refusal to remove egregious stuff like the "new world" set or the far northern attire.

idk. i wanna be wrong, but it's hard to be excited when the continuation of stuff they're Saying they'll address is right in front of us. the au ra showcased were pasty with blond hair and im p sure blue eyes and it was raen, not xaela - are they really that allergic to anything darker than a light tan? locations gorgeous, but I still see gifs everywhere of meteor fighting that mamool'ja leader - what happened to portraying them as people and not as monsters to take down? i only know that mamool ja's station because i know who the mamool ja are and the significance of large, two-headed ones. to most, that looks like a run of the mill dungeon boss since there Is a mamool ja boss, and the framing is similar to any number of inhuman adversaries shown in previous trailers. but if they're doing better about cultural sensitivity, then why did they make a member of their indigenous stand-in group be the big enemy for meteor to showcase Viper combat against? i really hope that - contextually - it's not something bad, but out of context it really just looks like taking down a big reptile monster which isnt great when that's your indigenous stand-in that's been portrayed like SHIT since ARR and hasn't had the same redeeming grace as the majority tribes - because where the amalj'aa are characterized by military strength and the noble savage trope, the mamool ja are portrayed as spineless mercenaries and sexual creeps. if we're in the mamool ja reframing expac, why does the trailer showcase that.

god dammit. i want to be wrong!!! i want to be overreacting because this would suck if true but their history doesnt give much confidence that they'll do better, and their current actions - the tourism angle, the lack of info with femhroths, the lighting engine - arent much to be confident about either!!

i wanna be wrong so fucking badly but i dont trust this team as far as i can throw them.

#original #ffxiv #final fantasy xiv #i havent trusted them since hvw tbh.#hard to get excited when your investment died stupidly in hvw and then just was never mentioned again while men w less screen time sure #got mentioned and memorialized n whatever #kinda hard to not see this as another chance to just yknow. bury the fact they fucked up severely with ysayle with the horrible sexist #excuse and then just act like nothing happened #but zenos can come back to life because fake echo and she cant despite real echo?#fuck off #im enjoying my fanfics more rn idk #i dont want this to be ffxiv colonizer expac 2.#but it's looking like it

7 notes · View notes

la-scree · 9 months

Text

Dawntrail First Thoughts

Now that I've let the news of Dawntrail set in and seeing a lot of various opinions on it, I'm going to remain Cautiously Optimistic. While I wish we were going to keep up with the 13th and maybe go to Mercydia, I have been seeing so many different thoughts about where we're going to go next.

Also I'm gonna say thank God we got a name for the place, Tural, so I won't be saying New World anymore. At first I was very much going 'oh god they're gonna fuck this up' because if anyone has played the Blue Mage quests even a little, it's Not Good. But after hearing people seeing various items and styles and landmarks and names and going 'oh wow that's my culture in there!', that's how I got to my thoughts now. Just do not fuck up this thing where people can see their culture and shit on it please, SE.

(Also listen to folks from those cultures and be aware that they are not a monolith)

However, I'm not fond of the story beats they did discuss like us helping with a succession rite and the rumors of a city of gold; that first one gives me Steppe vibes and it sounds very 'Foreigner Solves The Problems of the Natives that they can solve on their own'. The city one might be a fake where there is no gold and they instead talk about Azem or something along those lines.

Don't know, we got a year until then.

I have another concern but it might be small: I wish we were traveling with other people. Erenville and Krile excluded but the Scions are technically disbanded and suddenly this? I've been traveling with most of these guys since ARR and I personally want some variety.

But yeah. Please do not fuck this up, SE.

#ffxiv #dawntrail #lita has thoughts

13 notes · View notes

linc-karo-27 · 4 months

Text

6.55 MSQ and a theory for Dawntrails and Beyond

Happy Patch day all! (as I write this) I saw the MSQ and it tells me we need another one of these posts. Spoilers under the cut.

Though before that - confirmation Jonathan is back and has been G'raha all cycle, he clearly is very rusty on that though (though his "real" accent has been a bit wobbly recently/soften back to pre bridgerton i noticed the other day), though many have been - and this is the main point of the post.

and no, I am still team "they will recast when they have to, the dubs dont affect the story", the French had a few "actor A/ Actor B" for characters - the English just was lucky we did not get any recast

Right: lets get on with it

So Square/CBU3 really did that did they? G'raha back in the patch for him to turn round at the end to allow Krile to come, he is staying back (WHICH I PREDICTED ON TWITTER FOR 7.0 BUT NOT LIKE THIS). Though it was clear when Wuk told us she wanted help, he didn't want to be a part of it. Also only twins outside of the Baldesion Trio shown. Wonder why?

But yeah. im open to chat about this with people.

This leads onto my theory Re: late 7.0 and beyond, this swap kinda confirms to me what 7.x is gonna be: Corvos, or at least the build up to that. To do that you'd have to remove G'raha from our party to allow him to off screen decide to do that (and both the Endwalker short story and then his reaction to Wuk's plans shows me he isn't keen on reliving the Empire's messing in his homeland or even the state of the world after the eighth.

My theory is late 7.0 or 7.1 G'raha linkpearls us to come talk to him "as something happened" and he tells us he's thinking of using the students resources to help sort out or help the left overs of the Empire. Thancred and/or Urianger comment on this as a "oh yeah it's a mess right?" (See back to 6.1) and then it's set up that we see the plot of everyone talking to leaders/making plans in the patches OR we get to 8.0 for us to go. Basically he's coming back in 7.x to set that up, and likely in Dawntrails plays the Tataru job of contacting us now and then.

The reason this all feels weird is simple: Square/CBU3 are shite at working out how we are dealing with adding new people + scion rotation + keeping it not feel rushed. Saw it with Zero, she clearly is popping up again in 8.0 or something - but to introduce her and spend the whole patch cycle with her to dump her felt cruel. I HOPE 7.0 fixes this and explains more about how going forward they do this, its just the "too many characters" hasn't happened yet because we haven't had a real story end until 6.0 (and they blue balled the scions leaving in 6.1)

Also the dub had no effect on it/this isn't to introduce a recast. This is my copium leave be on that 🤣 I'll still have my Krile and Erenville though so I'll be happy still with DT don't worry.

#ffxiv #ffxiv patch 6.55 #ffxiv spoilers #patch 6.55 spoilers #dawntrail spoilers #ffxiv dawntrail #but yeah #this is story driven and not square using it to cover a va missing #because side will just remove Jonny without any build up because its still the dub #though copium said this predates everything and was planned to allow us to have Krile

2 notes · View notes

coldshrugs · 4 months

Note

5 and 11 for the fanfic asks friend :D

thank you, owen 💗 !!

5. Which WIP is first on your list to complete this year? Will you post a snippet?

oh it is extremely high on my to-do list that i finish misery AU before dawntrail drops.

i do not want to be writing this when i'm trying to enjoy so much canon newness. and it's not something i want to necessarily come back to either? it's fun because it's SO off-base for how i imagine these characters, but i still get to ask "okay well. they're doing this anyway, so now what?"

11. Would you like to try any new fanfic genres or tropes this year?

hmmm, i don't really think about tropes when i write tbh. i'm writing the AU right now, and that's very new for me. i don't really enjoy AUs because, for me, setting and plot inform so much about a character that when they're displaced they become something else. but i'm having a lot of fun with this specific pairing so i'm giving it a try!

snippet from misery AU as requested in #5:

Another sound under all the rest. A voice he would know anywhere. Io's soft song comes from the far end of the stalls, lark that she is, but he's never heard her with this confidence, in the dark when she assumes she's alone. She draws out a note, and then her voice quivers, but it is controlled, intentional. Her pitch drops, just barely, into something full and aching. It caves his chest. A full-body blow like he's never felt before. Estinien swallows. He cannot see her yet, and she must not sense him. He could leave–on the chocobo he came for, set for the snow-covered countryside where he might clear his head, or back to his chambers, to restless sleep where he will question, once more, why he cannot grasp the one thing he wants. The song ends with her quiet giggle, and the thought of running dies at the sound.

#asks #fanfic goals

2 notes · View notes

faelune-home · 7 months

Text

FFXIVWrite 2023 #30: Amity

(A/n: And after hoping yesterday that the final prompt could let me kinda cap off Yuri's saga with her meeting the twins, it was indeed a perfect prompt. Admittedly this piece starts more heavily on Fhara's pov just so I could showcase their longstanding and close friendship as a trio, but it sort of transitions back into Yuri's pov and thoughts on them both by the end.

So she finally got to meet most of the Scions, even if not all opinions have been made clear (especially on Estinien, for all he was featured here too), but it gives me more to work with another day, a lot of possible set up for Dawntrail where she could maybe join them. I'm glad I got to give Yuri's story as much focus as I did, especially when I thought I'd probably only do a few pieces for her.

Thank you to everyone that read this month, I hope you all enjoyed. Many pieces more npc focused than wol focused but I've given Fhara a lot of love in previous years, this year could be her break. I'll hopefully be getting these works on Ao3 soon, especially after I didn't manage with last year's stuff. But those will go up as well.

Word count: 2219)

“Cease your pacing, you know they’ll arrive soon and in good health. There hasn’t been any other word to say they’d be held up or require assistance,” Estinien scoffed, shaking his head as he watched Fhara pace back and forth by the aetheryte, ears pinned back and tail swishing.

“I know, but I’m just-” She paused her march, biting her lip, “It’s been so long and I know they’ve been busy, and I didn’t want to show up while they were working, and you know if I did and just offered to help, Alisaie would insist against it–”

“I’m not surprised. As helpful as the extra hands would no doubt be with their work, you already overwork yourself to degrees I didn’t even see in the Temple Knights,” Estinien said, cutting her off from her clearly nervous chattering. She pouted at this, cheeks puffed.

“Well…! I just want to see them again, it's been so long!” she repeated, unable to counter his argument. Her ear suddenly perked up at the sound of teleportation behind her, spinning sharp on her heel back to the aetheryte. They weren’t in front of them, but teleportation could drop someone anywhere around the crystal so…

Alisaie came into view from the other side first, looking around as though to find them. And as soon as her eye caught them, her face broke out into a grin, only bested by Fhara’s own, her tail curling.

“It’s been too long!” Alisaie exclaimed, grunting with the effort as Fhara raced over and grabbed her into a hug with enough force to lift the smaller girl from the ground.

“So we keep hearing,” Estinien mumbled, though it wasn’t picked up by the others, nor was there any frustration in his words as he joined them, Alphinaud already in the middle of another exuberant embrace as well.

“You can’t have missed us that badly, it’s only been a few months,” Alphinaud said, heaving slightly as he was replaced on the ground again. Fhara looked noticeably sheepish even as she insisted, “Only a little, but we weren’t waiting here long.”

“She was near forming a trench by your aetheryte with her pacing, even after you sent us word that you were on the way,” Estinien said, the corner of his lips curling into a smirk as Fhara whipped around to face her, eyes wide with mock betrayal. Both twins were biting back giggles, making her turn her pouting face to them again.

“Well, the concern is appreciated,” Alisaie smiled, “I still wouldn’t want you coming to visit, knowing your bad habit to help anyone that so much as asks for it. We’ve been handling matters just fine.”

“If anything, things seem to be winding down lately,” Alphinaud added, “We’ve been able to pass over social and political matters to the Garleans, most necessary measures have been taken care of, resources and tradelines are in order, re-construction is at a steady pace. Lucia and Maxima wish to stay and watch matters further before returning to their own posts, but they’ll most likely be independent within the next moon or so.”

“Jullus keeps insisting we’re free to visit even once everything has settled and the contingent has moved out. I’m beginning to think he might miss us, though never as strongly as a certain someone,” Alisaie said, chuckling slightly as Fhara huffed and folded her arms, tail lashing at the teasing jab.

“What do you plan to do once matters are resolved then?” Estinien asked. The twins shared a look.

“Truthfully, we aren’t certain yet. We haven’t heard anything that would require assistance, but no doubt something would come up soon enough,” Alphinaud said, “I was thinking of checking in on Krile and seeing if the Students needed any extra hands myself.”

“You don’t need to rush right into something else,” Fhara insisted, concerned, “Feel free to rest up for a spell, maybe check in on your parents.”

“Oh you’re one to talk about resting up and not rushing!” Alisaie griped, hands on hips. Fhara at least had to good graces to look flustered about the hypocrisy callout, ears flattening. Estinien thankfully came to her rescue, speaking up as he picked up the twins' packs.

“Come now, we can move this elsewhere and save taking up space by the aetheryte,” he said.

“Aye. Let’s move to the Annex, check on Krile and G’raha. From my last letter with Krile, they actually have a new member assisting them lately.”

“Oh, so your spot might already be taken then,” Alisaie hummed at her brother, making him roll his eyes. He didn’t respond, leading the way down the side path to their location.

“Oh, I’ve met her. She’s a little quiet but she’s a good worker! Helps them get through a lot of the paperwork built up in the office,” Fhara said, bouncing ahead. “I took her down to Labyrinthos to see if any researchers needed any extra hands, and we had to help clear out a morbal outbreak. She was pretty good, though a bit untrained in real combat. The worst that happened was a bit of bad timing and she left covered with a bit of morbal breath.”

“Oh, I wouldn’t wish that on anyone,” Alisaie grimaced, “Has she picked up any more training?”

“Not as far as I know. I can’t really help her with the training, it's all arcanima and I’m no good with that. And I don’t know if Krile was going to get her in touch with a teacher for it.” Fhara’s eye was already trained on Alphinaud, who looked like he was contemplating over the tale.

“Far be it from me to impose when I’ve never met her, but mayhap I could offer some advice or watch her as she trains? I’m not sure what her original training is, but many of the basic principles of arcanima are the same even with the differences of schools and styles.”

“Maybe I could be a sparring partner for her?” Alisaie also offered, “Practical experience can help, and at least with another person you’re not like to end up smelling like a stagnant swamp.” Fhara’s back pressed against the door of the Annex, pushing it open for the others the step in after her.

“I think that’d be great! I think she’s trying to act all independent and not asking other people, but maybe if Krile or G’raha offer it as a suggestion as well, she’ll be open to trying it?”

“What about us?” The group - other than Estinien, not caught up in the conversation and thus aware of who was standing in the lobby as they entered - jumped, surprised to see G’raha standing, evidently paused mid conversation with the raen woman next to him, holding a bundle of papers.

“Ah, well, we were talking about Yuri actually. I was telling them she was your new recruit,” Fhara said, gesturing to the woman for the newcomers’ benefit. Yuri seemed to shuffle awkwardly under the attention, dropping into a deep bow as her greeting rather than verbalise it.

“I was also saying you have experience with arcane magicks, and I was asking Alphinaud if he wanted to offer any help to give you some more experience in combat. And Alisaie offered to be a sparring partner as well,” Fhara continued, each twin nodding at her mention. Yuri’s eyes narrowed, wariness already showing in her tense shoulders. She glanced between Fhara and the pair, and then to Estinien, who seemed more keen to be on his way to the quarters than make introductions. He was already pushing through the door, disappearing with the bags.

“Of course, it would only be if you were open to the idea. Far be it for me to impose, especially when I don’t know your own skillset or training,” Alphinaud assured.

“And we don’t know how busy the Students keep you with your work, and we’re only here for a brief respite,” Alisaie added, “Only a week or so, catching up with friends and family.”

“Well, we could ease her work to give her the time while you’re here,” G’raha said, already giving Yuri an encouraging look against her guarded expression. “I think it’d be a wonderful experience. Alphinaud and Alisaie would be excellent teachers, and better suited for your field than Fhara. No offence, of course,” he added toward the woman.

“No no, I agree. Magic and enchantments have never been my strong suit other than a few healing spells,” she agreed with a wry smile and a flicked ear.

“Dare I say you could start now even? If you two don’t have any plans already?” G’raha asked the twins. He also added to Yuri, “I can take over your work for now. We were going to the same place anyway.”

“We could very much start now, our first order of business was just checking in on yourself and Krile, and we didn’t have anything else except dinner later tonight at home,” Alphinaud said, with Alisaie jumping in, “Mother insists you all join us by the way, if no-one’s busy by the 8th bell. I’m sure father would like it to be a family affair, but mother wishes to catch up with everyone.”

“Krile should be back by then,” he nodded, once again turning to Yuri with a supportive smile.

“Go on. Consider it a break as well, you’ve been busy all morning,” he insisted. Reluctantly, Yuri finally handed over the papers, and G’raha was off in a flash, disappearing through the door to the main hall. Alisaie was already beginning some small stretches with her arms, warming up for a possible bout.

“I could go and fetch Estinien as well if we want,” she asked, “Give me someone to warm up with while you two go over theory or some such.”

“Nah, you stretch here, I’ll go get him,” Fhara offered, already disappearing before any protest could be said. The two shared a look Yuri couldn’t decipher, then made her the door, Alisaie pushed out into the brisk air, while Alphinaud gestured for Yuri to take the lead.

The sun had broken through the clouds, a pleasant warmth against the chill breeze. Alisaie was continuing her warm up on the grass patch while Alphinaud had moved to the side of the building to collect a pair of training dummies, dragging them into place. Yuri stood watching them both, uncertain of what to say. Only one thing seemed to come to mind.

“Fhara’s spoken about you both. You come up the most in her stories actually,” she said, hoping it’d be an icebreaker. Both of them wore knowing smiles, maybe even some warmth mixed in those similar expressions.

“Only good things I should hope?” Alisaie asked, curling her legs up against her chest. She seemed to already know the answer.

“She has the highest praise for you both,” Yuri replied. Fhara’s fondness for them shone through in many of their discussions, even if it came at the expense of the other Scions getting minimal mention.

“I can only hope we live up to such lofty expectations then,” Alphinaud said. He continued to shift the dummy into position, checking it over, while Alisaie pulled out her weapon, looking it over and testing it with a few small sparks of a spell cast with the focus.

In a way, they were already living up to Fhara’s descriptions with this whole affair by Yuri’s estimate; compassionate and willing to help, though it wasn’t at her own request. She wouldn’t deny the aid was helpful though, and she was curious to know what these young ones had by way of experience to teach. Tales of one’s efforts were one thing, practical evidence was another.

“We haven’t started yet?” Yuri turned, noting Fhara’s arrival with the other elezen man.

“Still setting up and warming up,” Alisaie grunted through a leg stretch, pressing down on her knee low to the ground, “And waiting for Estinien to be dragged out to join us.”

“I was hardly avoiding you, unless you wished for your bags to be left unattended,” he said, already unsheathing the large jagged lance from his back and giving it a swing. The whoosh cut through the air and made Yuri take an involuntary step back, keeping her distance.

“The gesture is appreciated, Estinien, really. And I’ll take it you’re ready to begin?” Alphinaud asked, while Alisaie turned her weapon on the man.

“You and me together while Alphinaud takes up teaching duty with Yuri?” she smirked, “And don’t go easy on me.”

“Aye, if it’ll keep you appeased.” Fhara had already taken up the mediator’s spot, arms already waving to begin, and the two set off, the clash of steel ringing against the walls.

“Hopefully they’ll have the good sense to mind their step and we won’t have to worry about them encroaching.” Alphinaud nodded at Yuri’s tome, a serious look crossing his expression and a studious tone to his word as he stated, “Let us begin then. I would like to know how you’ve trained and your education if it’s alright, to evaluate how we move forward on this.”

Aye, they were every bit as reckless and dedicated as Fhara had said. Yuri still wasn’t certain where she would stand with them, but for now, she could handle this much.

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #alisaie leveilleur #alphinaud leveilleur #estinien wyrmblood #g'raha tia #fufu's writing #fhara laali #my wol #keeper of the moon miqo'te #yuri sakuraba #raen au ra

3 notes · View notes

foxpunk · 3 months

Text

hmmm okay i have to say i both agree and disagree with this post about the writer for dawntrail and the werlyt questline

like, i agree with the assessment of the original post that "ew that writer redeemed gaius" is simply untrue and not necessarily a basis for saying he'd handle dawntrail with the mindset of "colonizer sympathizing" or anything

....however i will say that OTHER stuff in the werlyt questline aside from gaius himself indicate that dawntrail--an expansion that i am ALREADY LOOKING AT WITH TREPIDATION AS A LATINO--is just...not gonna be handled well. (there's also PLENTY in the other expacs and questlines that make me feel this way but thats about different writers and is for a different post)

just to give one example, the main gripe i have about the werlyt questline is the premise itself. the story and character beats are 99% fantastic. the premise of "orphaned children get indoctrinated into joining the invading army" is a realistic and grim premise that would have served as an EXTREMELY solid foundation for the entirety of the questline to rest upon and examine. it would have fully backed up everything the post is saying...IF we were, yknow, ever actually Shown the indoctrination part. "why do you want to See that happening" some may ask and i counter with "i dont but thats how making a story is. showing has more weight than telling."

here are some things we are Told by characters in the werlyt questline: gaius adopted these kids, and his beliefs (at the time) got instilled in them, a few scenes of them in the army interacting mostly neutrally with gaius as their superior officer

here are some things we are Shown actually happening: a flashback of the kids gleefully discussing joining the army that--VERY RECENTLY, violently, and traumatically--orphaned them because it Might make gaius proud, gaius telling them to Not do that and trying to actively stop them from doing that, a ton of horrible abuse they all go through under someone else's command, and all of them dying anyways

can you see the issue here. showing does more than telling. when your premise is, allegedly, built on "orphaned children get indoctrinated into joining the invading army" proper time and weight needs to be put into establishing the indoctrination bit, or that weight has to settle into the rest of it which only leaves you with "orphaned children (gLEEFULLY?!) join the invading army" which is batshit insane without further context. regardless of what you Wanted to set up and what your Intentions for the story were, you're left with the horribly paced complete disconnect between being Told these kids were violently orphaned by an expanding imperial force and then Shown them sitting around smiling wanting to join said imperial force. and when another major point is supposed to be "gaius is reaping what he sowed" and you rush through and don't actually SHOW him sowing, then the reaping part is gonna seem more skewed on average to your audience. because the amount of weight you are putting into these narrative points is skewed.

even if they were working with constraints for how much content you can put into one side questline and what major beats needed to be in there, it's still horrible choice of focus. dark as it may be, rather than being Shown the scene of them happily discussing joining the army and Told that gaius and some other horrible shit were a factor in that decision, i would've rather just been Told that they gladly joined of their own "free will" and Shown why that is. actually Show us a scene where gaius probably doesnt even consider what he's doing as indoctrination. after all, at the time he believed he was fully in the right. that he was saving and protecting the people he was invading.

show is the sowing so the reaping hits harder. cause like. if you had literally just changed that one aspect of Where they chose to show and tell it would've really elevated the werlyt questline from "has good story beats and Potential to be good" to "has well done story and character beats and is actually good"

#this isnt super coherent or concise or anything its 430am and im not making this for people to reblog or take seriously #im thinking out loud #anyways #tldr i agree that the intent is supposed to be this is gaius reaping what he sowed #and the implication is supposed to be that his beliefs were deeply impressed upon these kids #but intentions and implications do not mean the story was actually set up well to convey this #''gaius's actions had horrible consequences but we're not gonna show you his actual actions only how fucked up he is about the consies''#like. thats simplifying it sure but its true and conveys well how skewed the weight of the narrative is.#its not about what gaius does or that the consequences arent enough its that we are not...shown the actually weighty part #and it makes the kids seem like poorly written misconstrued facades of what orphaned victims of imperialism actually are #ky speaks

0 notes

zeledonia · 3 months

Text

Seen one or two posts about it now (w their own valid opinions on it), but I wanna say - the sudden and fast paced quest structure to set up up Dawntrail worked really well for me! Personally, I enjoyed how it was completely sprung upon my character. Playing the .55 patch MSQ made me practically feel like Wuk was dragging me along by the arms in a hurry, and... I think that fits her character so far!

I didn't rly experience the speed at which we went from "goodbye void" to "let's go to Tural" as a pacing problem - I think it's very in line with the character who gets us there. I don't think a longer build-up and more suspense would have really worked in her favor. I feel like it would have given us -and potentially our character- more time to make up our minds, when the hasty nature of the request appears to be an intentional conflict being set up. I like it especially in comparison to the seemingly much more planned out set-up that Urianger and Thancred were teased to have gotten in previous patches. (At least if I'm guessing correctly that they are going to be aiding Wuk's brother, who we already know had established connections in Sharlayan.) My at-a-glance impression of Wuk Lamat so far is that she has all the good intentions but none of the experience and potentially barely a plan. This whirlwind of a character rushed in and was like "yo hello wanna help me get on the throne?" We are supposed to acknowledge that she seems woefully unprepared for half the responsibility that would come with it.

She's a big presence in the room, she's loud and hasty and bouncy... and everyone notices that it's going to cause issues. Erenville having to remind her to act appropriately and getting annoyed by her antics. You and G'raha noticing that she was a lot more affected by the boss fight than she pretends to have been. Your convo with G'raha about whether you think accepting her offer is the right thing to do.

How is she gonna be an effective ruler if she can't behave with dignity, hides her weakness instead of reflecting on it, and has no better argument to sell you beyond "well one of the other three eligible guys really sucks"? She's annoying her childhood friend with her attitude, an oversized parrot makes fun of her while she tries to kill it (a battle experience that left her trembling afterwards), she's so committed to appearing strong and confident that she keeps having to hide that something was too much for her (the fight AND the spicy food), and everyone is like "hmm. Are we really gonna help the first person who asks us to help her become ruler of a country??",

I like it. I think there are a lot of fun details in these quests. Right now, it feels to me like Wuk will have some variant of coming-of-age arc! The speed at which it all happens just perfectly underlines the absurdity of Wuk's idea of... travelling to another continent and simply asking the strongest hero she could find if they want to pick sides in a political conflict. tl;dr I greatly enjoyed being dragged along at high velocity and steamrolled into going to Tural haha. I think it did Wuk Lamat's character setup a favor.

#that doesnt mean I think anyone who felt otherwise is wrong ofc lol #the posts I read made good points about it

1 note · View note

faelune-home · 7 months

Text

FFXIVWrite 2023 #7: Noisome

(A/n: Hooooo boi this is a long one. I wanted to do a catch up prompt to make up for how much I've missed this month, and after struggling with a different prompt, I looked at this one. And it's now turned into another entry in Yuri's little settling in saga. This time, furthering her relationship with Fhara my main wol after they met for the first time last time, and maybe setting up for her getting to travel later and being a potential Scion or Scion adjacent person in my lore writings with Dawntrail owo

Word count: 2319)

Yuri feared the unbearable stench would never leave, that she would never be able to wash it out of her hair, her clothes, that it would linger on her skin for moons to follow. Her mind was hazy with the sheer nausea, and she was unsteady on her feet, so much so her escort had insisted she settle down near one of the forest mist sprayers until she could regather her bearings, as well as the hope that the fine mist spray could clear away some of the smell. It wasn’t the same as a proper bath, but on short notice, it would do.

Her first mission outside of idle errands and deliveries, beyond the city on the surface, and she’d been sent down to the underground facility of Labyrinthos. It wasn’t actually for Student duties, but instead a chance to stretch her legs in a new environment, maybe even test her skills in combat for the first time should any specimen culls or riotous fauna put downs be needed. Unfortunately for her, the latter is exactly what happened.

She hadn’t been alone for it of course; she was overseen by the miqo’te friend Krile had introduced her to, Fhara. One of those former Scions, come all the way from Eorzea. So far, their interactions had mostly amounted to Fhara chattering into overdrive while Yuri just nodded along, no chance to speak for herself but more than happy to let Fhara do all the talking anyway.

The point stayed true on their descent into Labyrinthos, Fhara happily jabbering away to the lift attendant - who seemed to recognise her and responded fondly - and then again to the gleaners and scientists dotted around the opening plaza where they alighted. Again, Fhara seemed a familiar face to them, and the conversation was warm as she joined them, Yuri left off to the side. It’s fine. It’s fine. She didn’t need to talk anyway. It let her admire the sight of the vast cavern, terraformed into a brilliant forest stretching around the entire ring.

For the first time since her arrival in the city, she definitely felt impressed at Sharlayan ingenuity, knowing the warmth on her cheeks and the breeze through her hair was wholly artificial, yet felt so real. Such a blend of magicks and science…

“Help! Help!” A holler broke the serenity, jolting Yuri from her idling and stopping the conversation behind her.

“The morbols were being cordoned off and one of the seedlings taken for inspection. The mother just lashed out and broke from her restraints,” The scientist cried, doubling over from his mad dash to safety, “They’ve all run amok now down near the Archeion, there’s still a gleaner and a researcher down there with her.” Concerned mumbling started, but Fhara broke through it before the mood could worsen.

“This’ll be our job then, Yuri!” Fhara said, waving her over and already unsheathing her weapons from her belt, “Everyone else, stay here but keep any arrivals informed if they need to move to the Archeion.” Without waiting for a response, she darted off, Yuri racing to keep up from the sudden race.

“You handle the seedlings, I’ll distract Sammy. Keep an eye out for the gleaner and researcher, see if you can get them out of there,” Fhara shouted over her shoulder. Yuri was still fumbling with her tome, leafing through the pages to her carbuncle summoning sigil while trying to keep up with the other woman.

“R-right, I’ll try,” she managed to respond. As they turned the corner of the path and the trees thinned out, the first signs of the outbreak started to show; little sprout-like seedlings crawled along the path, purplish drool dribbling from their mouths, leaving grotesque puddles along their wake. Further down, a large overgrown plant-like thing stood, vine-limbs twitching along the ground like it was searching for something. A loud cry for help echoed in the air.

“I’m going in, good luck!” It was the last thing Fhara said before she darted ahead suddenly, a wispy trail of pinkish aether in her wake. A few more darts and she was deep in the thick of the seedling throngs, and the last thing Yuri saw was a burst of aether clearing a swathe from around the miqo’te, and the viney creature turning to face her with a roar.

She’d been left alone, but it wasn’t safe for her, the seedlings already having noticed her in the wake of the other’s departure. Summoning forth a basic emerald carbuncle, Yuri commanded her summon to rush into the small cluster advancing on her, while she flipped to another page for her crowd control spells.

She was almost disappointed at how easily they fell, even knowing they were practically babies for their species and that she had to hold back any fatal blows. Given the panic the scientists seemed to have, she expected more of a challenge, especially for their numbers. Was the mother really the only true danger? Was Fhara really okay to handle it on her own then? She wavered on the thought…

Yes, Fhara probably could handle it on her own, she had more experience than Yuri and she’d been the one to come up with the plan in the first place. If she didn’t think she could handle it, then surely she would’ve called for further help. But at the same time, Yuri could still see the mother writhing and flailing in the distance, only the wispy aether trails indicating that Fhara was still there fighting as well.

She wrestled with her mind, wondering what to do. The artificial sun was beginning to set, it was getting late soon, and maybe the fight was close to ending. Or maybe it wasn’t, how could she know from this far. When did her feet start moving on her own?

As she approached the small research hub, she saw a nervous crowd gathered near one of the gates. Two individuals were huddled on the ground, healers hovering near them, while gleaners kept darting from the safety of the hub to the path, collecting the fallen creatures.

“There’s more like that behind me!” she called, making the collectors jump clear of her way, both from her sudden cry and her thundering footsteps as she raced past. She kept going, she had no time to reply if anyone else called after her. Her trusty carbuncle kept pace beside her.

“Fhara, I’m here!” Yuri shouted, and the monster was already turning even before Fhara responded. And when she did, it was with wide eyed panic.

“Wait, Yuri stop-” The warning was too late. With a mighty roar, and vines crashing against the ground and making her unsteady with the shaking, the morbol’s mouth opened and a wave over mist spewed forth. She barely had time to react, for the moment it had her, Yuri’s eyes rolled back and she collapsed to the ground, numb and unconscious.

The first thing she’d done when she felt herself come to was retch, curled up into the grass next to the mist sprayer she’d been propped up against. Her lunch painted the ground, and the smell of it mixed with the lingering stench only made her throw up more, until she could only taste bile in her throat. Yuri tried to crawl backwards, needing to put distance from her expelled stomach and her nose lest she heave any more. But the clinging miasma baked into her clothes made her head spin. She wasn’t getting away from this for a long while.

She also wasn’t going to live down how she humiliated herself in front of a lot of people. She could barely remember what had happened, but she knew she wanted to curl up into the nearest burrow and refuse to leave, she could make her own way back to the Annex in the cover of nightfall when no-one could see her or smell her, and hopefully Krile or G’raha would be asleep or elsewhere and they wouldn’t have to ask.

Oh but knowing Fhara was a friend of theirs and was out supervising her, she’d probably already updated them hadn’t she? Oh no oh no oh no…

“You’re awake! Thank the Twelve you don’t look any worse for wear.” Yuri lifted her heavy head, her vision still blurred at the edges but able to see the relieved face of Fhara.

“I lost my lunch,” Yuri responded as though to challenge the notion. Fhara’s ears flattened, sympathy in her smile.

“That would be expected. We can get you something else to eat when we get back up to the surface,” she offered.

“I need a bath more than food right now,” Yuri grumbled, though her stomach seemed to twist as she spoke. Was it threatening to expel more bile, or was it begging for food at the mention of it? She couldn’t be certain.

“We’ll get you both.” Fhara sat on the ground with her, despite the obvious twitch in her nose.

“You did good. The researchers said none of the seedlings had to be given any serious treatment. Every single one was accounted for.” Yuri scowled at Fhara’s praise.

“Yes, I could handle the weeds but not the biggest threat.” Fhara’s ears twitched.

“They could still be dangerous in large numbers. The poison they let out compared to their mother might not be as potent, but in larger doses, like if they all work together, it's a different story." Then she smiled, tail curling behind her.

“But you shouldn’t worry about falling to Sammy. You’ve never fought one of those before have you? At least I only remember similar creatures showing up in the Steppe miles and miles away from where you’re from. So you couldn’t know how to handle it. But you’re lucky she was a lot weaker from our fight, her own poison was weaker when it hit you. Only some light paralysis and nausea.” Fhara’s praise and reassurance didn’t land the way she hoped, as Yuri curled up into herself, legs pulled into her chest.

“How can you say I did well when I ignored your order? I should’ve stayed where I was, maybe even told the gleaners back at the main plaza to collect the fallen seedlings, or even stayed at the other place to check on everyone there.” Each word sounded angrier as she went, getting more upset at herself for her recklessness. She buried her head into her arms, heels digging into the ground beneath her, feeling the dirt shift.

A hand rested on her own, making Yuri peek out at Fhara, who continued to offer a reassuring smile.

“You were worried about me, weren’t you?” Yuri didn’t answer, but she did look away.

“I can’t be mad at that. It’s always easy to think of what you could’ve done or should’ve done after it's finished. But getting worked up over it doesn’t help you or anyone else. You still did your job well, and you were willing to help me. We both came out without any bad scrapes, and the men we rescued are already patched up and back to work. It all worked out. Not perfectly, but well enough.”

“You…” Yuri paused, surprised by the gentle analysis from Fhara, her kindness in excusing Yuri's errors and looking at the outcome positively. “You are too kind.”

Fhara smiled a toothy grin, showing off those sharp teeth. “I don’t really like being nitpicky or overly serious. There’s plenty of other people in the world for that. And hey, you still got a chance to try some real combat. That’s valuable experience!” A purr rumbled through her words as she praised Yuri. It was enough for her to finally relax her stance and offer a small smile back.

“We should head back now. Do you think you could stand?” Fhara asked, getting to her feet and offering a hand. Yuri only stumbled slightly, Fhara already on grasping her tightly by the shoulder until Yuri straightened up. Her vision spun briefly, then steadied.

“I…I could manage, I think.”

“We can take it slow then. Tell you what, I’ll message Krile over my linkpearl, and she can have some dishes from the Last Stand ready for us when we get back. Save you scaring away Dickon’s customers.” Fhara grinned again at her tease, making Yuri flush at the mental image.

“That…that’d be appreciated.” They started off in comfortable silence, stopping only briefly at the Archeion as Fhara updated some concerned folk about Yuri’s status. Apparently they’d been quite worried for her when they saw her collapse suddenly.

The lights along the path flickered on, nighttime stars twinkling on the overhead dome. The chirping of nighttime creatures echoed from the ferns around them. It truly felt so realistic in this man made forest.

“When we get there,” Fhara spoke up, catching Yuri’s attention again, “I can have Krile share stories with you about some of G’raha’s little messes. Cos he’s always had a problem with sticking his nose where it shouldn’t be, and getting stung for it.” She giggled.

“Really? I wouldn’t imagine seeing him now.”

“I wouldn’t be surprised if he’s trying to be a good mentor for you since you’re here,'' Fhara smirked, “But he can be awful about it. Way back when, with stories Krile could tell you, and a few I have as well.” Despite Fhara’s words to leave it for their return to the Annex, she already launched into stories of the archon’s foolhardiness, and even those of some of her other Scion companions, leaving Yuri both amused and marvelled by their many adventures and mess-ups.

In some ways, despite how she felt about her actions today, the stories and the gestures did placate her. And also left her wishing she could see as much of the world as they did. Maybe she could ask Krile, or maybe Fhara could offer her the chance some day…

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2023 #fufu's writing #yuri sakuraba #fhara laali #my wol #raen au ra #keeper of the moon miqo'te

3 notes · View notes