wordsworn | #FFXIVWrite2022 30 Day Challenge

Master post for all my entries into the FFXIVWrite challenge over on twitter/tumblr!

(Anything explicit or requiring cw: will be marked as such; everything else should be SFW.)

Prompt #1: Cross | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) + G'raha Tia ✧ | ShB spoilers
[Just a snapshot of my wholesome catship LOL]

Prompt #2: Bolt | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) + Emet-Selch + Hermes (+ mention of Hythlodaeus) ✧ | EW spoilers
[Total crack, written in an hour-long flurry of feverish writing, as usual if I don't feel super inspired by the prompt things get dumb, fight me, but it's still fun/funny to ME, CATTE IS CATTE, KNOCKING THINGS OFF TABLES, SIZHU GETS THE ZOOMIES LMAO, I might want to expand this one later idk LOL]

Prompt #3: Temper | ✧ Warrior of Light + Minfilia + Thancred ✧ | EARLY ARR spoilers ~~and maybe hints at some other spoilers but nothing obvious unless you Know Things already~~
[What if Thancred hadn't been late to the fight when you faced down Ifrit for the first time? AU, written to make Phase scream. CW: Tempering, brief violence, implied impending major character death]

Prompt #4: Free Prompt - θάρρος (Thárros); Courage | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) x G'raha Tia ✧ | Spoilers up through 6.1
[More wholesome catship; on her return from another trip to Aglaia, G'raha is taken by surprise at Sizhu's attire.]

Prompt #5: Cutting Corners | ✧ Hades + Hythlodaeus (implied Hades -> Azem) ✧ | EW spoilers
[After assisting Azem with saving that island and its grapes, Hades confronts Hythlodaeus about the indisputable part he'd played in the whole fiasco--but their conversation does not go at all the way Hades had planned.]

Prompt #6: Onerous | ✧ Mikh'a Jakkya (non-WoL adventurer, WoL's twin brother) ✧ | SB spoilers
[What happened to Sizhu's twin brother when she was snatched away to the First? Mikh'a tells of it in his own words.]

Prompt #7: Pawn | ✧ Emet-Selch (Hades) -> WoL (& Azem) ✧ | ShB spoilers
[Emet-Selch always plays the long game. Musings on chess pieces and the Warrior of Light.]

Prompt #8: Tepid | ✧ Cres Shatterheart (non-WoL adventurer) ✧ | ...no spoilers really? stuff from a minor sidequest is mentioned
[The reasons vary from person to person, but most adventurers are somewhat the same, deep down. No matter how arduous or tedious, sometimes the task itself is its own reward.]

Prompt #9: Yawn | ✧ Talys Shatterheart (WoL) ✧ | EW Spoilers
[In this timeline, the WoL is a f!Viera Sharlayan scholar with zero battle experience, who is doing a Forum-funded field study about adventurers for her thesis...and who is pulled into being Very Personally Involved in everything when she realizes two facts: 1) she's actually pretty badass at this fighting stuff, and 2) somehow, the whole world needs her.]

Prompt #10: Channel | ✧ Hermes -> f(Miqo'te)!WoL ✧ | EW SPOILERS ALL THE WAY DOWN
[He wants her, even though he knows that he should not. But she’s the only one he’s ever met who truly understands how he feels...and his emotions have always proven difficult for him to tame. Why should these sorts of feelings be any different? EW spoilers, takes place during the Elpis questline. CW: depression (it's Hermes), slight dom contemplations/mild sexuality (no actual sex tho)]

Prompt #11: Free Prompt - Embrace | ✧ Hermes -> f(Miqo'te)!WoL ✧ | EW SPOILERS FOR DAYS, YO
[I enjoyed that last drabble so much, I picked up right where that one left off and did another. c:]

Prompt #12: Miss the Boat | ✧ Sarhnai Dotharl + Koharu Sumeragi (WoLs) + Scions ✧ | EW spoilers OF COURSE
[FINALLY wrote some Dargon Girls AU! In which there are TWO WoLs who are both shards of Azem, who both ended up on the Source--soul-sisters, if you will. c: Koharu is mine and Sarhnai belongs to my friend, the wonderful

incontrast. <3]

Prompt #13: Confluence | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) + Ardbert ✧ | ShB Spoilers
[Phase gave me this idea, so these feels are her fault.]

Prompt #14: Attrition | ✧ Crystal Exarch (-> WoL) ✧ | Shadowbringers Spoilers LIKE WHOA man

Prompt #15: Row | ✧ Emet-Selch (Hades) + Azem (Persephone) ✧ | All The Endwalker Spoilers

Prompt #16: Deiform | ✧ Koharu (WoL) x Hien ✧ | EW role quest spoilers
[My soft dargon-girl has dokis for Hien pretty bad, and finds a way to show him a very small bit of just how badly. I still think it's kinda "eh" but Phase likes it, so it can't be terrible.]

Prompt #17: Novel | ✧ Koharu (WoL) x Hien (continued from previous prompt) ✧ | Spoilers for a Stormblood Dungeon, I Guess?
[Continued from the previous drabble, very short but my head is killing me, so. This will do. :c]

Prompt #18: Free Prompt - Fruit | ✧ Hermes -> f(Miqo'te)!WoL ✧ | Endwalker Spoilers OBVIOUSLY
[I wanted to keep writing more for that same Hermes idea...and it's a free prompt, so I did.]

Prompt #19: Turn a Blind Eye | ✧ Elidibus (Themis) + Azem ✧ | All The Spoilers, Especially for Pandæmonium
[Themis is concerned about Azem's censure, only to find that he needn't be. Pandæmonium spoilers, plus a hint of my own predictions about where that questline might go...]

Prompt #20: Anon | ✧ Aymeric x/+ unnamed F!WoL ✧ | ARR Spoilers, oh noes
[...Yeah, I hate this one. But, sucky prompt, sucky drabble. Only makes sense.]

Prompt #21: Solution | ✧ Talys Shatterheart (WoL) ✧ | No Spoilers, Lots of Anti-Garlean Feels

Prompt #22: Veracity | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) + Emet-Selch (Hades) ✧ | ShB & EW Spoilers
[I don't much like this one either, but it's there.]

Prompt #23: Pitch | ✧ Fandaniel (+ hints of current one-sided and possible future-life Fandaniel/WoL) ✧ | Endwalker Spoilers FOREVER
[Get ready for a feels-punch, that is all]

Prompt #24: Vicissitudes | ✧ Thancred + Urianger + CATBABIES ✧ | No Spoilers, Just Headcanons
[This is really bad and really dumb, but these two catbabies are headcanon for me now...]

Prompt #25: Free Prompt - Halcyon | ✧ Hermes -> f(Miqo'te)!WoL ✧ | Endwalker Spoilers
[Con't from the previous free prompt~]

Prompt #26: Break A Leg | ✧ Koharu Sumeragi (WoL) + Sarhnai Dotharl (WoL) vs Zenos yae Galvus ✧ | SB spoilers
[COLLAB WITH PHASE \o/]

Prompt #27: Hail | ✧ Koharu Sumeragi (WoL) + Sarhnai Dotharl (WoL) ✧ | SB spoilers
[Con't from yesterday's. Koharu has a mad, and Zenos is 100% it.]

Prompt #28: Vainglory | ✧ Emet-Selch (Hades) i.e. "Solus zos Galvus" ✧ | All Spoilers, All The Time
[PHASE AND I PLAY CATCH WITH THE GARLEAN HATE BALL AGAIN. Uhhhh, I mean...Emet musings RE: building the ~~stupid bull$h!t that is the~~ Garlean Empire.]

Prompt #29: Fuse | ✧ Hythlodaeus (-> Azem) ✧ | Endwalker Spoilers
[Mehhhh this one is so unfocused...but oh well, it's done. Might revisit and turn it into something else later.]

Prompt #30: Sojourn | ✧ Sizhu Jakkya (WoL) + Venat ✧ | Endwalker Spoilers ;_;
[A good place to end. :c]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

“I have gathered you here today not to speak of the future, but to reflect on the past. To pay respects to loved ones fallen on the field of battle. In honor of their sacrifices, these sons and daughters of Doma shall be given a place here, at the Swallow's Compass. Though they no longer walk with us in life, they walk with us in spirit. Pray never forget their bravery, that the memories of their legacy give you comfort and strength...”

It is a good speech, Koharu thinks, and Lord Hien is delivering it well. Yet, as he delves into the list of names and the stories that go along with them, the Warrior of Light finds her mind wandering. So many lives cut short, with so much potential yet in them. What sorts of unspoken dreams did those people have, things that will not be remembered, because they were held close to their hearts and never shared?

As she watches the ruler of Doma continue to read the tribute to the lost, she feels that familiar flame of pride and happiness in her chest, so hot and bright that she’s almost surprised that it isn’t visible to the entire crowd. And yet, as she listens to Hien’s voice, how steady and clear it is, that strong, masculine tenor with its slight rasp and rumble...that heat shifts somewhere decidedly lower.

It isn’t right, she knows, to feel this way during so serious and sorrowful a ceremony--it isn’t right to feel this way here, in the Swallow’s Compass, a royal mausoleum of all places.

...She isn’t certain what Sarhnai would say about it, if she were here, if Koharu admitted how she felt. It would likely either be something along the lines of so? Why are you telling ME this? Although...there is also a chance, perhaps a much higher chance, that her soul-sister would flash her that fierce, familiar grin full of bright, sharp teeth and say so what? Their bodies may rest here, but they are merely dust. The souls of the dead themselves are gone, reborn, and even if they weren’t, why would they care what you do here? Go, sister, and claim what is yours.

Those words, imaginary as the conversation they’re from is, still bring a slight flush to the au ra girl’s delicately pale skin, and she shakes her head at herself and forces her attention back to Lord Hien’s eulogy just in time to hear the end of it:

“...Let your hearts swell not with sorrow, but with joy for their memory. Know that proof of their mark left on this world shall remain here, enshrined within the Swallow's Compass for all eternity. Let us still our voices, and in silence pray for their souls. That they may share in the peace we have found.”

Koharu closes her eyes and bows her head, saying a silent prayer for Lord Hien’s parents, for while she had never met them, it’s clear that they are much beloved by their son even now. She slips in a quick prayer for that son as well, asking for happiness, for peace, for favor in the eyes of his people.

So focused is she on that prayer that she loses track of the time, and her eyes only come open at a soft, brief touch on her shoulder...and she can’t help drawing in a quick, quiet breath on finding none other than Hien himself standing there, smiling down at her in his usual warm, friendly manner.

“Please forgive me for disturbing you, Koharu-san, but the hour has grown late, and the ceremony is over.”

Blinking in startlement, Koharu sweeps a look around the room, shocked to find herself alone with Hien, the sky outside a rosy peach fading down into rich indigo, with deep cobalt clouds tinted with gold sweeping across it in thin patches. The candles have mostly burned down, and the large room is growing dim; a breeze whispers across her skin, chilly but not quite cold, though she gives a shiver in response anyway.

At that, Hien’s smile immediately shifts into concern, expressive hazel eyes studying her slight figure, though not quite in the way she really wants them to.

So far just about everything that has passed between them has been very proper, nearly courtly--he is not shy about holding her hand, regardless of where they are and what company they might be in; when they believe they are alone, he places gentle kisses on her knuckles and the back of her hand, on her cheek or her forehead. When they are in private, closed off to any watchful eyes, that is the only time he’s kissed her, and while there was always passion behind it, a heavy sort of meaning and serious intent in the pressure of his lips moving against her own, he had never pressed things any further. Those large hands had always rested respectfully on her slim waist, or else cupped and cradled her face, never seeking to wander, and while it had been flattering to know that he treasured her so, that he thought so highly of her and had no desire to simply use her...it was also a little frustrating.

She wanted him to explore, to touch her, and she wanted to do the same in return-

“Koharu-san? Is something amiss?”

“No, my lord, nothing,” she manages to say, but though she struggles to hold his gaze, she soon looks down and away, increasingly ashamed of her thoughts. There is a place and a time for such things, she tells herself sternly, and it is not here and now.

He tilts his head, still eyeing her consideringly.

“You seem...cold. The night air here does have teeth, and as I said before, the hour is growing late. Shall we head back to the Kienkan? I shall make certain they stoke the fires in the baths-”

“No--th-that is--I...I want-” She takes a deep, shuddering breath, marshaling herself before continuing, her voice quiet but steady as she reaches out to boldly slip her hand into his, “...I want to stay by your side for a while longer. If you don’t mind, of course.”

This isn’t the first time she’s taken his hand, but as he always has before, Hien brightens slightly when she does, his smile growing wider and softer, his whole body seeming to relax as he lets down his defenses.

“Do I mind? On the contrary, nothing would give me more pleasure.”

It’s an unfortunate choice of words, at least for Koharu, but they are spoken lightly, without any hint of flirtation or innuendo; instead, he really seems to mean them, and quite genuinely at that. The gentle squeeze he gives her hand only underlines his honesty, and she can’t help but smile up at him, squeezing back lightly in response.

Another time, she tells herself with an inward sigh as together, hand in hand, they make their way slowly through the mountainous mausoleum. Since they are alone, she allows herself to be a little more clingy and forward, reaching across herself to wrap her other arm around his, pulling it tight against her. That heat from before still lingers low in her belly, stoked by the warm press of his skin against her own, and she can’t help the feeling of wanting to be closer to him, to all but worship him--a feeling that even being here, in this sacred place dedicated to his honorable ancestors, does nothing to relieve.

...In fact, if anything, it only makes the impulse stronger. Koharu isn’t certain if she’s truly ashamed of that feeling, though she thinks she should be.

But as they continue to make their meandering way through the still half-ruined vaults and passageways, the little au ra lets her head come to rest against his upper arm, sometimes even briefly closing her eyes and trusting in him to guide her along; and she finds that she is both happy and content, for just being with him at all is wonderful.

It is very nearly startling when Hien speaks, an even rougher than usual edge to his voice, no doubt thanks to the lengthy silence they had shared.

“As you no doubt remember, Kisei-san said that only the kami are deserving of our adoration.”

Koharu finds that they have drifted to a stop in one of the empty hallways on one of the lower levels, and she looks up at Doma’s leader inquisitively. Hien angles a reassuring smile down at her and continues:

“I myself take issue with such claims, for I find there are many who I believe deserving of my admiration, and no little gratitude as well.”

The hand she isn’t holding comes up as he turns to face her directly, brushing an errant strand of pale blue hair back out of her face before tenderly caressing her cheek.

“Chief among them being yourself, of course.”

His hand shifts, his fingers lightly catching her chin, tipping her face upwards towards his, a question in his eyes--one that she answers immediately by going up on her toes to kiss him soundly.

Edited 2022-11-19 20:44 (UTC)