#and i have a blog for my wol that i've been on
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For the past couple days, I've been unfortunately cursed with thinking about Zenos yae Galvus. I don't even particularly like him - not that I dislike him either, Zenosfuckers you can put your scythes down - but it seems to me like a lot of the fandom either greatly misunderstands him, or doesn't even care to try to understand him, which from an objective standpoint as someone who cares deeply about writing in video games kind of pisses me off. But I'm more pissed about the fact that I'm apparently going to keep thinking about this issue until I actually write a character analysis of him.
Q: "But, what even is there to analyze with him? Isn't he all about wanting to fight the WoL and nothing else?"
Well, you wouldn't be wrong with saying that. That motivation is at the forefront of his character, and even if you look closer, everything about him comes back to either "violence" or "lack of understanding of others". But there are more meaningful sides to his deceptively simple character. That question of meaning is what I really want to look into - what does his character mean, what symbolic or thematic role does he play in this story?
Q: "Better question: why are you posting this on your art blog/Fate meta sideblog?"
Good question, with a stupid answer: I have all of 6 followers on my FF14 sideblog, and around 150 here. Let's go under the cut so they don't have to read a wall of text, unless they want to.
When you look at and compare FF14's villains, you can see a very clear change, no doubts thanks to the change in main writers. ARR Gaius and Thordan are more or less two-bit villains - Gaius's memeable iconic Praetorium speech gives us insight into how fascists try to justify themselves but little into Gaius's actual personality, while all Thordan gets as far as depth of character is an NPC in a sidequest remarking that he wasn't always a bad person and was probably doing what he thought best for his nation. Nidhogg is a little more understandable, since revenge is a relatable motivation to anyone who's been hurt by others. In Stormblood, Zenos and Yotsuyu are both presented as deserving of pity even as they do terrible things. Come Shadowbringers and Endwalker though, the story takes a greater interest on why villains like Emet-Selch and Elidibus do the things they do, and the player is allowed more options to try to understand them and see how similar they are to the WoL. Hell, Hermes and the Endsinger are barely "villains" at all, with the level of sympathy the story shows them.
What I'm getting to here is that Zenos, with half his arc in Stormblood and the rest in Endwalker, is sort of caught in the middle of this shift. He played the role of the rival character in Stormblood really well, but come Endwalker, he's standing on a stage full of heroes and villains with grand causes and deep motivations, as the guy whose sole motivation is fighting for pleasure.
It seems he's not unaware of this contrast himself - when Jullus confronts him for ruining Garlemald for no good reason, he retorts with "Would you be happier had I a good reason?" Zenos makes no attempt to justify his own actions and doesn't care that his reason seems incomprehensible and unforgivable to others. Yet in that same cutscene Alisaie hits him with the fact that if he keeps living solely for pleasure, he'll die alone. When next we see Zenos, he's alone at the Royal Menagerie waxing philosophical about what he really sought in the battle with the WoL.
See, what really motivates Zenos isn't just the thrill of battle - this guy has gotten Battle High and the joy of human connection confused. Really.
Even before he gets so perturbed by the idea of dying alone, there's other suggestions, like his proposal of friendship to the WoL when they fought in Stormblood, and then later his dying words in which he explains that he never understood others - at his core, he's just lonely. I know there's an official side story that tells it, but you don't need to know the exact details to glean that he had some sort of tragic backstory. Sad, but not a surprise, considering he's the prince of the Garlean Empire, raised to take the throne and continue the Empire's legacy of violence.
At his core, he's a very lonely person, but also a thing of violence, raised using violent methods for the purpose of causing more violence. Violence is how he lives and breathes - the only way he gets any sort of connection with others in a world of hurting and being hurt is the brief connection warriors dueling as equals can sometimes find. Don't deny that this sort of connection exists - FF14 is great at making fights that are both fun and tell a story. Hence, why he goes crazy for the WoL, but also refers to them as "friend". In their fights, he senses (or thinks he senses) similarity between him and them. Beneath all the madness is a pure, genuine joy in seeing the self reflected in the other...but he also instantly gets on the train to projection-town, population Zenos, and assumes the WoL is exactly like him, ignoring or failing to notice that they also fight for deeper meanings. The worst part is, he doesn't even notice that what he's actually seeking in fighting them is connection until Alisaie's aforementioned callout.
So he goes and angsts for a while, then turns into a dragon again and flies across the universe to help us kick the Endsinger's tail feathers, then issues his challenge for that duel he'd been longing for. But what's changed is that he starts with a question - "Such pleasures you sought for their own sake, and for no other reason, is that not so?". Dying after the duel, he's full of questions too: "Was your life a gift or a burden? Did you find fulfillment?" Alisaie's suggestion that he'd die alone actually spurred him to realize what he actually sought in the WoL, and now he's asking all these questions in an attempt to, for the first time in his life, genuinely connect with another human being.
The questions aren't important just because they're a sign of how Zenos has changed in Endwalker - they're actually the thematic heart of Endwalker! ARR may have had "Answers" as it's theme, but EW is the expac of questions. Namely the biggest question of all: What is the meaning of life? Different characters have different answers to that, leading to the grand-scale symbolic conflict being the Endsinger's despair - her belief that there is no meaning in life - versus whatever reasons the WoL chooses to live for, left, as always, up to player interpretation.
When you look deeper, Zenos isn't actually as out-of-place in the symbolic conflict as he first seems. His depressed worldview - that metaphor about drowning in a swamp again - seems to align with the Endsinger's view about life being meaningless. But he aids the WoL in defeating her. In that way he serves as part of the answer to her question about the meaning of life. He may have resented life at times, but he still found meaning in chasing pleasure. Not the strongest or most beautiful reason to deny oblivion, perhaps, but it did enable him to help the WoL triumph. I think of Zenos's philosophy as being connected to the concept of "Amor Fati"...largely because this quote explaining it sounds like something he'd say, or at least agree with on some level:
"and if our soul has trembled with happiness and sounded like a harp string just once, all eternity was needed to produce this one event—and in this single moment of affirmation all eternity was called good, redeemed, justified, and affirmed."
So he does have a meaningful role in Endwalker, as the "Amor Fati" against the Endsinger's "Memento Mori". I think that in this the story shows that his reason for living, while somewhat shallow, is not necessarily a morally wrong thing in and of itself (setting aside for a second all the people he hurt in his pursuit of that). It's just that, since it is a lonely pursuit that denies everything except for his target, it still feels empty. The core of the counterargument against the Endsinger's despair is that both pleasure and fulfillment are necessary to live a meaningful life in a meaningless universe, and that's why Zenos is here in Endwalker. Why he even exists in the story in the first place.
Even if you're one of the people who deeply hates Zenos...well, you probably wouldn't have read this whole thing if you did, but I still think it's important to read into characters you dislike, because every character in a story is written for a reason. Plus, trying to understand even their worst enemies is one of the WoL's key traits as of ShB and EW. With his last breaths, Zenos was trying to understand the WoL too - carrying this understanding of him with you as we move into our next adventures is the least you can do for your "friend".
#ff14#ffxiv#zenos yae galvus#zenos viator galvus#endwalker#ffxiv meta#endwalker spoilers#meta posting on my art blog#god why did i spend my afternoon on this all this proves is that I need to be put in an English class again purely for enrichment purposes
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Fly! Ever-forward starry-eyed, to an open sky!
A warm smile paired with intense bright green eyes greet each new face with compassion and an open heart. Mere ilms away one could catch scents of flora, woods, and cut grass lingering on the Viera- a scent always true to who she is and a reflection of her passion as an Gleaner. Tall ears stand upright with confidence above a blanket of long flowing brown hair; lovingly weaved with fresh flowers and herbs.
Though her height and Viera heritage tends to make her stand out more as a denizen of Sharlayan, she is still outwardly approachable and will always see the light in others and gladly offer her assistance to those in need, stranger or not. Sometimes seen with a tome, or maybe a staff but scarcely equipped for combat. The Gleaner's pack stuffed full of tomes, vials and an array of nearly any herbal or medicinal concoction one could need.
Hello! Welcome to my main blog for my FFXIV WoL Ris Dei-ijla. You can find me logged in on Goblin (Crystal) raiding, achievement grinding, or RPing.
I am mostly going to be found logged in on my main, Ris- her carrd can be seen here if you would like to get to know her more in depth:
->⁺₊Ris' Carrd⁺₊
I also have two other OCs I've been working with that you may have come across:
Dinky Dinky ⁺₊Dinky's Blog⁺₊
Fia Etoinette ⁺₊Fia's Blog⁺₊
Feel free to ask me anything, I love getting to meet new people and gush over blorbos so the more the merrier~
Thank you so much for reading and I hope to see you around! ☾⋆⁺₊
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do u have any fic/author recs at the moment? for any of ur fandoms!
TONS, but here's a short list of authors and fics that I adore. All of the following authors are absolute inspirations to me and I thank them for putting their creations into the world, for us to read.
Just a heads up, I adore dark content so a lot of the writers and fics I will recommend will contain said content.
@seoafin writes for Jujutsu Kaisen, but they also have some writings for Trigun. Their characterizations are incredibly on point and I adore their takes on Geto and Gojo, including the dynamics between them + the protagonist of their AU ripverse.
@strawberrygodzilla has a fic about Zenos that BEATS ASS and their character voice for Zenos (and every other character including the WOL) is so clear and accurate like every time they write Zenos's dialogue I'm like... "wow, he really WOULD say that". I've teared up several times reading their fic here, at the end of all things.
@chickenparm, whose profile I religiously check on ao3 and just discovered has a blog on tumblr, writes BANGER Genshin fanfics with to die for smut. Their fics about Childe are among my favorite. Give of Yourself has stuck with me in particular.
@softagenda has been providing the Touchstarved fandom with easily some of its best fanfictions, expanding on concepts introduced in the demo and adding some of their own world building. My favorite fic of theirs is silver linings.
@ddarker-dreams just has a way of writing and worldbuilding that really takes my breath away. The amount of depth and forethought put into her Blade fic, Nexus, still stuns and awes me a month after its completion. She's written heaps for Genshin Impact and is now starting on a JJK series. She also writes a lot about Chrollo Lucifer, from HxH. I haven't watched a single episode of the show, but she has somehow made me invested in this character. Whenever I see mention of him elsewhere, I go "ah, the man ddarker-dreams writes about".
@lorelune writes for Genshin Impact, Honkai Star Rail and JJK. I love their work but their little blurbs they post every now and then also completely have my whole heart. their hybrid AU Blade fic hell is a hound without a chain has been living in my head ever since they dropped it. I adore their characterization of Blade and Jing Yuan in particular! Their Gojo fic dawn instinct hits me so hard.
@agent-cupcake writes for FFXIV AND JJK but I found them through Fire Emblem Three Houses. I've been following their work for awhile and I adore each and every piece. Their prose is beautiful and their dark content is to die for. I'm biased so my favorite piece is Asteria, but I also am continuously obsessed with Raison D'etre, Vae Victis (FFXIV), Femme Fatale and living idly and dying as if dreaming.
@hawnks is a fantastic writer who I discovered through her soulmate AU fics. coincide and the first law of motion are absolute classics, but she's been writing a soulmate series for Gojo which has been utterly fascinating for far. I would also like to thank her for introducing me and many others to Guideverse which I would love to write something on in the future!
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The Warrior of Light's Burden (FFXIV)
He seemed to appear out of nowhere. Just another bright, wide-eyed adventurer among countless others. Perhaps he went into it for wealth or fame. Maybe out of selflesness and a kind heart that wished to help others. Whatever it may have been, he never refused to help, from the very beginning, whether it was delivering letters between lovers or slaying wild beasts.
Dependable, that's what he was. So much so that they started calling him what they used to call them.
The brave souls that were lost during the Calamity. Silhouettes lost to the blinding light that covers our memories in a haze. The Warriors of Light.
But this one... this one wasn't like them.
It started out slowly, inconspicuously. His enemies seemed to get stronger, but his victories were still believable. A few Garleans here and there, some bandits and wrong-doers, and all that coupled with some particularly dangerous creatures. An adventurer of great skill, one worthy of a mention, to be sure.
And then he slew a Primal.
The people celebrated, showered him with praise and flattering words that seemed to never cease. After all, it was a miracle that he survived, much less defeated his adversary. And all this time, he simply watched with a polite smile on his face.
"I am but a humble adventurer," he insisted to those who praised the Warrior of Light, "surely you would have done the same things if you were in my shoes. I'm just a man. I just tried to help, to survive, like you."
Most believed him, and were willing to leave it at that.
But a miraculous victory turned into something terrifyingly ordinary. Primal fell after Primal, enemy after enemy, there were even rumors of him fighting beings that could not die by usual means. Blood flowed across the trail of destruction left behind by the one who yearned for peace and tranquility.
No, he was nothing like us.
Tales and songs of his deeds became reverent whispers. No longer was he greeted as a friend, but something much greater. Excitement was replaced by elation, wariness by terror. Only the ones closest to him dared to speak to him as casually as they did, though he insisted the common man should do so as well. Those that tried to use him for their own goals could only do so by playing on his worry for the people he sacrificed so much for already.
And oh, would he sacrifice more.
Everyone loves him and fears him in equal measure. They adore seeing him yet avert their gaze. They listen to his voice but not his words. Every single day, he bleeds for them and they say it's right. Every single night, he howls in agony out of his restless sleep and they call it holy.
And the others, they call him a monster. They fear his wrath, and it makes sense- who says he won't decide to slay them too, in the name of righteousness? Who can stand against their caring, horrifying shield made of flesh and bones? Who will save them from their savior?
Who will save him?
"I'm just a man. With feelings like you. Let me rest," he says over and over, but no one hears him anymore. "I beg you."
"I beg you. Forget the Warrior of Light. Remember me."
---✧
I know I haven't posted anything about FFXIV on this blog yet, despite playing it and adoring it for a few years now. But this has been on my mind for a while, and I've also been seeing some very tasty posts about the dehumanization of the WoL lately. So I decided to write this little story thingy from the POV of an unknown observer, also focusing a bit more on how some could actually be pretty terrified of him!
Also, big thanks to @shinkimarbles who rambled on and on about this concept with me and inspired me to write this!
#i made sure to make this mostly non-specific so you guys can imagine your own wols too with this if you want to#i think about this all the time man#and i keep thinking about the people that at least partly recognized the wol's humanity#how many of them are dead now?#final fantasy xiv#final fantasy 14#ffxiv#ffxiv wol#ffxiv fanfiction#ffxiv fic
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A Starlight Introduction: Admin Prim!
Happy holidays! I'm Admin Prim (@primamchorus), organizer of the Starlight Initiative!
I've been looking more and more forward with each passing day to the start of the Weekend of Gift Giving! Especially as someone who spends a lot of time actively and passively farming stuff in-game, and, as a result, just seems to have a number of little goodies stashed away to hand out to those that would want them!
In addition, I love to craft, I could craft all day if I wanted to! So I'll be at the event, not only open for questions or concerns, but to help the rest of our lovely Little Helpers (some of who you'll get to meet through this blog over the course of time!) with getting things crafted for your enjoyment! :>
I'm also more than willing to help out with deep dungeons (I finally have a full Palace of the Dead clear under my belt, as well as eight Heaven-on-High ones!). I can also help out with things like Eureka and Bozja as well! Or maybe you just want to farm Extreme and Savage content, I can do most of those, too!
When I'm not in-game, I pursue a lot of different creative outlets. One of the bigger ones lately is that I've been writing a lot. Though, I do like to draw as well, I enjoy GPosing, and I've even been dabbling in making gifs of my characters! It's been a fun experience setting them up and getting even little scenes played out between each of my individual shot set ups!
I am also decidedly very annoying on my main blog (@paintedscales; funnily enough, I never really saw myself extending outside that bubble when I returned to social media!) about my WoL and my ship there. My WoL and the ship I have for her tickle my brain good and give me warm fuzzies, what can I say?
Thank you for taking the time to get to know me! I hope that I and the rest of our team get to see you at the Starlight Weekend of Gift Giving!
-Admin Prim
(Also: please feel free to peruse my showcase in the cut below!)
#ffxiv#starlight initiative#starlight spotlight#starlight introduction#admin: prim#primamchorus#paintedscales
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Since I have no love for my free time, I changed my url
robiin-buckley -> talesofesther
I've been wanting to do this for a while, because one; a couple of people already thought my name was Robin lol, and two; this blog will always be multifandom, so I guess I just wanted something that's mine and not tied to any fandom
All of my links (that are so so many, I'm genuinely scared) will be updated soon <3
Tagging a few friends so they know who I am lol
@abelvrla @mikavlcs @wol-fica @missmonsters2 @iamnicodemus @vorsdany @thenextdawn @lum13 @wednesdays-woes @eviekensington @i984 @chaisreading @smalls-words @indouloureux @babiestmunson @eddieandbird @corrodedcoffins @userquinn @joequinns @appocalipse @kingofscoops @ktelova @milkiane @vigilanteshit @natsfirecat @asgardwinter @messedupfan @elizabethsaige @ohmyitsfaith @abimess @alotofpockets @theperfectlovestory @wwinterwitch @incorrectlycorrectfun @unholyhelbig @nikolai-lantsovs @mophamsa @greensaplinggrace @natasharomanovf @myfavoriteficss @imagine-reblog @halleest @wandaromanova @marveloussimp
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Ask me anything about Astraea!
One thing I love doing is answering WoL questions on sites like Twt and here. It's a great warm up to get my creative writing rolling.
Thing is, I want to answer even more than what I've been finding. So this is an open invitation for anyone to send me WoL questions you would like for me to answer about my OC!
If you have one, please feel free to send it via the Ask button on my blog! But please be tasteful about them. I don't mind answering some spicy questions, but I have limits. Just fyi.
#wolqotd#wolquestion#wol qotd#wol questions#ffxiv oc#viera oc#astraeatheexile#theexiledviera#Ask Astraea Anything#astraea the exile#the exiled viera
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Something I have been considering regarding 7.0.
This is more of a personal ramble about my WoL more than anything, and won't have any bearing on what I post on this blog.
I've been leaning toward ending Etienne's story after 6.5.
This is partly because his story feels finished, and partly because I am not very excited for the story in 7.0 and beyond. I'm probably just going to make everything that happens in Dawntrail a non-canon AU for him.
Etienne's story was one that would always reach its conclusion once he found the will to live again, and he did so at the end of 6.0. Much of his internal angst rested with Hydaelyn/Venat. Plucking him from the Lifestream and compelling him to fight in her name was a source of great contention for him. From 2.0 to 5.0, Etienne thought he despised Hydaelyn because she didn't allow him to die with the rest of his clan.
In actuality—and this was something Etienne himself didn't realize until SHB—his true grievance lies in the fact that he feels like she deprived him of choice.
In 6.0 she corrected that mistake. When Etienne "died" again after fighting Zenos, Hydaelyn gave him two options: Return to Etheirys and continue living the life gifted to him, or come with her and his family to rest eternally in the Aetherial Sea. Etienne chose the former option, having finally realized that yes, after everything he had seen, after traveling across the star and finding a new family and friends and a home and something to fight for, he wanted to live. He had the strength, the need, the will to continue living.
It was a groundbreaking moment for him, and every story beat was leading up to this realization. It's what his character development was leading up to.
Now that Etienne has received closure with Hydaelyn and is on the road to mental recovery, his arc feels complete. I would be very satisfied if his story were to end here, so there's not much else I want to do to keep it going.
Another reason... I feel like the game has a power scaling problem. It feels a bit silly to destroy the literal embodiment of despair at the end of the universe (Meteion) as well as an Ancient on steroids (Athena), only to go back to small scale quests like exploring. I can acknowledge this is likely necessary considering it's an MMORPG and the story must go on, but I can't get over how silly it sounds when I put it to writing.
(This is also in direct conflict with how I write Etienne's personal power scaling. While Etienne is a peerless swordsman and martialist, he's quite lousy with magic. Much of his power stems from blessings he's received over the years. These include: Hydaelyn's aetherial magic, Alexander's time magic, Seiryu's right eye, Vrai's dark mark, and Selene's (Azem's) power over the stars. These blessings are symbolic for him accepting help and not pushing people away anymore. Also, I don't want him to be any more powerful than he already is.)
Maybe I'm wrong. Maybe an even larger threat than the End of Days will occur in Dawntrail and beyond. I'll definitely be around to see it, but when it comes to incorporating it into Etienne's story I'm leaning toward a solid no for now.
I'd also like to go back and brush up his story with Vrai and my other OCs. (... And I feel like Etienne has earned his happy ending at this point hehe)
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Hello, and welcome to my blog! You can call me Jess, Sass, Sasslett, whatever you'd like. I play FFXIV with my husband and I like to share my writing and gposes of our WoLs! I reblog a lot and don't tag but I also only post about XIV and the occasional random thing that resonates with me. And above all else, I'm here to have a good time, and I hope you are, too.
Our WoLs/OCs:
Varrus Varlineau
The Warrior of Light, an Ishgardian-born Elezen who fled to Gridania with what remained of his family after Nidhogg destroyed his hometown (yes, that family). Being the peaceful, charming, kind-hearted soul that he is, he couldn't help but get himself dragged into some Ascian/Primal/Scion bs, and the rest, as they say, is history.
Jess Varlineau
An orphaned Highlander woman, Jess grew up in the south Shroud working as a barmaid until a stupid, handsome Elezen strode through her doors and convinced her to move to Gridania and take up the lance. She'd always dreamed of adventure, but little did she know exactly what sorts of shenanigans her new best friend was about to drag her into.
(Yeah, spoilers, they fell in love)
You can read more about them in the canon-rewrite longfic I've been working on, slowly being posted to Ao3 here! I just love them so much.
Other relevant links:
My Ao3
My WoLs Tag
My Gpose Tag
My Writing Tag
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So a post popped onto my timeline due to the Fandaniel tag, and it reminded me that a vast swath of the fandom hates Hermes. They hate him for being depressed, for living in a society that he doesn't fit into, for being unable to conform, and for causing the Final Days (I assume). So I've decided to write it. I've decided to say why I love Hermes, and why I still love him as Amon and Fandaniel. This is going to be long, and contain personal comparisons to support why I feel such a strong attachment. Obviously this is very personal, so if you don't want brief insights into a stranger's mind, just keep on scrolling. It really is a lot to take in.
First of all, and I believe this is my first time saying it on this blog, but I'm autistic. As such, I live in a society I don't fit into. I have a lot of trouble with face to face interactions. I have a lot of difficulty maintaining eye contact and reading body cues and tone, and this has only gotten worse since the start of the pandemic due to avoiding people as much as possible to avoid getting sick. I don't see Hermes as autistic, but the fact he feels differently than those around him, the fact that he has such high empathy for the creations of Elpis, definitely causes him to be isolated. Whether they actually push him away, or he just has trouble connecting because they can't understand his point of view, it's pretty clear to me that he's quite lonely.
His short story told me that it was probably more of the second thing. They don't seem to reject him, but they can't understand his feelings, so he withdraws. When he decides to make Meteion, his fellows in Elpis apparently go to great lengths to help him create her. They want to help him, they want him to be happy. There's simply a gap they cannot bridge. Unlike in real society, those around him are compassionate toward him despite his differences.
But, through no fault of their own, this compassion also hurts him. He worries that he is an aberration. Because no one around him feels as he does, he thinks of himself as a freak, as someone different and it bothers him. He withdraws further. How often has this man removed his mask to have an earnest conversation with someone? I feel like when he's talking to the WoL it may be the first time he's done so, at least in his adult life. If he had even one friend, or person he considered a friend, might he have broken so easily? Or would that one tether have been enough to give him pause? It's hard to say, since in that moment it was so so very clear that he wasn't in his right mind. He had heard Meteion tell him horrible things, and he felt he needed to subject himself to all of it.
Yet, remember his question at the end of Ktisis Hyperboreia? Even though Meteion was telling him previously that all the Meteia found was death and murder and pain, he still asks her 'was there happiness in those distant stars? Was there a reason for living?'. He still hopes for good news. He still wants to hear that things can be okay. Meteion does not give him good news though. She tells him more of the same, more suffering, more pain and death. She snaps completely, overcome by the agonies of her sisters, and Hermes falls to despair. If this is the whole of the universe, then this must be what Etheirys also deserves and if they can prove themselves better than the whole rest of the universe, only then will they be able to survive, whether they deserve to live or not.
The fact that much of the fandom seems to hate him for this decision is troubling, to say the least. They slap the 'bad guy' tag on him without any further thought. They don't consider why he makes this decision, they don't see him as a man at the end of his rope, who sees no other choice he can make. As it turns out, he could have stopped the Meteia right then and there. His staff can apparently communicate with them, so he could probably have ordered them to return like Emet-Selch told him to. But his sympathies do not lie with mankind, not in that moment. He sees the Meteia as being the ones in the right, as of course they must be as creations that sense emotions. Even though he asked a flawed question, he isn't thinking straight. He was a man with depression, and having been pushed to the brink, he makes a decision that in the moment seems like the correct one.
From the perspective of those around him who obviously aren't privy to his thoughts, of course this seems an evil act. From that perspective, of course they would hate him. But we the player have seen him struggle. So why do so many hate him for this decision when they must surely know that the circumstances that brought it about were unusual? Did they forget that not long before they were chasing Meteion because she very much did not want to give her report, knowing it would hurt Hermes? Did they forget that just before she began her report, she was expressing that she was sorry to Hermes? Did they forget that she had been fighting against the will of her sisters to give that report? She knows this man, her creator, better than anybody. She knew what this news would do to him. If anyone is the villain here, it's us for forcing her to give her report. But only Meteion must know how this is going to go, or at least she has the best guess, and we can only do as the game dictates. The ending was a foregone conclusion, and it's one we already know. But why do so many hate him when they know more about his pain than presumably anyone aside from Meteion?
But that's just Hermes. Why do the players hate Fandaniel? Because he's flamboyant? Because he's annoying? Because he's weird? Because he's an utter nihilist? Maybe it's that last one. If you don't have depression, without knowing why he feels this way in the moment it's presented, it's easy enough to go 'what the hell?' and hate him for wanting to destroy everything. But why continue to hate him afterward? With the context of Amon and the things he saw? The player knowing he suffered for five millennia (he states ten when dying as Zodiark, which I still find curious) and found nothing good. He was a man who was forced to help kill entire worlds on top of the belief he already had in Allag that it should all end simply because his Emperor willed it so.
Now, to be perfectly honest, as something of a nihilist myself, I admit I might have a leg up on understanding him here. I see the atrocities around me and think how much better it would be if humanity just stopped existing. But I also make a point of seeking proof of the opposite, just as Hermes did. Maybe Amon's problem is that, like Hermes, he was isolated. Given current evidence, it seems like Noah was his only confidant in Allag and she stated that he was dour and serious until he succeeded in bringing back Xande, and he may not have tried to gain friendships among the Ascians. With that assumption, it's hard to want to find the good in mankind. He certainly wouldn't have been encouraged to find it.
But why not hate Emet-Selch, who created the Empire that broke Amon in the first place? Who had, by his own admission, created many Empires, all of them presumably as horrible as Allag and Garlemald. Why is he so popular? Because, also by his own admission, he kept trying to find a connection to us? Because he sees what he's doing as a step toward restoring what was lost, something the player can more easily relate to? Which even the Scions admit sounds logical from a certain point of view? Do they hate Fandaniel because he has no wish for anything better, but rather an end to everything?
I like Emet-Selch, but I have no idea why others like him, only why I do. Just as I can only guess why others hate Fandaniel, Amon, and Hermes. If I was given a big red button to kill all of humanity, would I press it? The answer may surprise you. I wouldn't. I wouldn't because I have people I care about, because I own pets specifically to keep me from killing myself when my depression would otherwise overwhelm me to the point even my friends wouldn't be enough. Hermes, Amon, Fandaniel....they don't seem to have had those things. By all indications, they were very alone and while Noah seemed to have a greater insight into Amon than any of Hermes' colleagues did, even she could only tell us so much.
Hermes had Meteion, but then she brought him multitudes of misery, a whole universe of it. His only tether had told him it essentially wasn't worth it and Amon states he dreamed the memories Kairos had supposedly erased until he was given the seat and memories of Fandaniel, giving him context. But he was plagued with these dreams supposedly his whole life. He dismissed them as dreams at first, but to see such things night after night probably didn't do his mental health any good and then he finds out these aren't dreams, but memories. He knew about the true cause of the Final Days, and then he's given no reason to believe in the good of man when he's basically made to foster the opposite. Is it really any wonder he was so manic at the end? His goal was finally coming to fruition. His suffering would finally be over.
Maybe that's why so many people like Emet-Selch. He's a bastard and a mass-murderer sure, but he's been doing all of this for a cause he believes in. Twisted as it may be, it's relatable; he just wants his loved ones back. This is a story told all throughout history, of people doing whatever it took just to get their loved one (usually their lover) back. The man is a walking Greek Tragedy. Fandaniel on the other hand wants everyone, including himself, to die. Not just die, but suffer on the way. Most people won't stop to think about his reasons, even when he outright hands them to you. It really does show how experiences shape you. If you haven't experienced things in life to make you feel the way he does, it can be hard to see why he'd think this way.
When Kairos does its work and we see Hermes outside Ktisis, he's obviously still injured and no one knows why other than Hermes' 'vague memories' of what he decided he would believe had happened to Meteion. He gave himself an ending that would ensure he never looked for her, never tried to use his staff to call out to the Meteia again. He was wounded physically, but emotionally he was shattered. He calls himself a murderer in Hythlodaeus' short story, after all. he is depicted as a man who throws himself obsessively into his work to the point of self-neglect, most likely to punish himself and also to distract himself.
When the Final Days came, how did he hold it together? How did he not fall to despair to be consumed by his own aether creating a monstrosity? Did the Meteia consciously spare him? No, I don't think so. Meteion offers him oblivion before she flees. She sees this as a mercy he has denied. She loves him, she would not want him to keep suffering. In this I can't guess how he managed not to be consumed. Maybe he suspected the true cause, or at least a part of it, and as he'd said, he would be working against the Meteia. He seems to very much be a man of his word, at least. Even to his own detriment. One cannot deny one's nature.
But yes, I both understand and don't why so much of the fandom seems to hate Hermes and his reincarnation, but if you've made it this far, you definitely deserve accolades. This was a lot, but I found I could no longer leave it unsaid. It was an unpacking of myself, the character(s) and an attempt to figure out why those who dislike them do so.
Of course, there is a difference between empathy and mimicry. Most of us have a healthy separation of fiction and reality. He's just like me fr, but that doesn't mean I'd want to do what he does if I had the power to do it. He's a fictional character with fictional pain that just happens to reflect a mindset I can understand. But it seems many can't understand or relate. They just see a man with an incomprehensible viewpoint and they don't even try to understand his thinking. I think I can understand why they don't understand, but at the same time it really just proves his own point, doesn't it? No one tries to understand people who are different than them, it seems. Not if they're the majority. At least the people in Hermes' life were apparently kind in their interactions with him, misguided as he saw their attempts.
#mun rambles#Hermes FFXIV#Amon FFXIV#Fandaniel#long post#I really put my whole chest into this#sorry not sorry
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I think Naru is behind enough now that she won't really be catching up in her poll in the @woltourney so I wanna use my last little 'propaganda post' to just say thank you so much to everyone who voted for her and and this was just really fun all around.
It was a blast learning about others OC's and getting to know them, I feel like I made some really cool new friends through this process and I've enjoyed getting to toss asks at them. So I'm gonna toss a few mentions ...
@boileddogchicken I really loved getting to know br'sh during this tournament and not only is br'sh super cute and cool, brsh's mun is super sweet and incredibly funny and a delight to have on the timeline
@lookbluesoup im so glad I found your blog, I believe I wasn't following you prior to the tournament and the past few weeks I've enjoyed learning about your OCs and getting to send u asks !! You're a real delight to see on the timeline
@trans-estinien we've been moots a while but it was really great seeing you post eluetherios art for this tourney and I wanted to mention that!!!! I loved seeing it
There are so many more friends and people to mention, but I will resist from tagging so many people (mostly BC I get nervous of bothering ppl)
There are so many people who posted so many amazing things about their OCs and I was just really glad to get to see people's passion for their characters come out, see people sharing about their characters !!!!!!! So thank u woltourney for this nice little place where people came together to ramble and scream happily about their OCs!!!
I got to post a lot about Naru and it made me very happy and reminded me about how much I love sharing about her on tumblr especially, so this tourney has helped me feel comfortable just.. lore dumping sometimes lol
And to @isayoldbean here's an early congrats!!! Beef seems so cool and I've really enjoyed reading about her. I believe you posted about a possible beef/minfilia fic and I really hope I manage to catch that and read it!
Thanks for the tourney and let's keep being insane about our wols!!!!
#woltourney#sorry im losing but im like emotional in a positive way#i looked through lots of the propaganda posts from the rounds again and i smiled#also dont worry if the vote miraculously changed after this post?? i would drop out#this isnt a last ditch effort at votes i genuinely am very happy about the woltourney experience#i liked getting to learn so much about peoples characters
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『 ↳✧･ﾟMaster Post;
|♡Last Update May 2024♡|
This entire blog runs on a queue, so there is no queue tag! This blog serves as a source of aesthetic posts for my personal writing about my OCs in FFXIV. Its secondary purpose is to promote and uplift other members of the community!
I enjoy reblogging the content of other XIV creators and players with supportive tags. I pay strangers compliments because kindness is free! And because I know I find sharing my own creations scary and hard! I just like to be a hype man for other community members! If you find this irritating or bothersome, please just go ahead and block me, no worries! c:
Most of my time on tumblr is spent browsing tags for the latest content or blog diving for very old aesthetic content! I like to think of my tumblr like my virtual neighbourhood, my mutuals here are my FFXIV neighbours and I like to try check in with them! Once a week I go through a random selection of my mutuals' blogs and try check for content I missed to interact with in some way like; reblog screens or writing, send an ask, signal boost something, or leave a friendly comment. When it comes to reblogs I literally just throw in a random date and time and schedule things to my queue!!
Obvs what that means is that this blog runs all the time. If you send me a message, and I don't respond, please don't worry! I'll always try to get back to you when time allows! ♡
I've made this master post to help people find some relevant stuff amongst all the trees! (literally I guess because I reblog a lot of trees c': )
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🗝Character Info
🗝Carrd
🗝 Tags
🗝 About
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┊ ┊ ┊ ┊ ˚✩ ⋆｡˚ ✩
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Character Info
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Ren
A Sharlayan trained arcanist and Studium graduate with a deep love for Hydaelyn's history and languages and a very tepid interest in the politics and bureaucracy of her homeland. Currently living as an expatriate in Eorzea, working as an archivist sorting out her uncle's private library located in Ul'dah. Ren enjoys a strong cup of dirty chai, long walks at midnight, stimulating intellectual conversations, papercrafts, weaving, old jewelry, and finger sandwiches. She dislikes her mother, politics and people who bend the spine of books.
Oli
A rather introverted, albeit well-traveled, herbalist and alchemist. A half-Hyur, originally from the South Shroud. Excellent with plants, with a sharp right hook when startled. Currently makes her living taking on odd alchemy jobs and running errands for her rich Sharlayan friends. Oli enjoys aromatic tea with a slice of Hannish lemon, sun showers, making perfume, talking to plants and baking pies with berries. She dislikes people who walk very slowly, jokes about her ears and impractical hats.
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Carrd
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Tags
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#totw — thematic aesthetics for Ren and Oli
#cargo — aesthetic inspiration for current writing I'm working on involving additional characters/RPs I'm involved in with others
#asks and answers — OC asks and my answers, also some of the WoL/OC QotD posts by others that I've answered
#tag game — piccrew memes, uquiz and other such tag related shenanigans
#lorebending — a large portion of the writing I do share to tumblr and my thoughts around my creative process tend to have this tag! It also collects lorebending and AU thoughts of others which I enjoy and find interesting. It is not a complete collection of the writing I've shared because I've been very indecisive about coming up with a tag for my own writing c': But, for very curious folks you can refer to this post to see the Blorbettes and their various incarnations throughout Eorzea's timestream, any writing related to their backstory I share always includes the relevant character names, so those are searchable. (I am not linking them all here in the interest of space c': )
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About
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Reiterating: This blog is purely aesthetics for my original writing set in the XIV universe and occasionally some RP related stuff. It also reblogs content created by others in the community.
I go by Elu most of the time in online spaces. I am in my late-thirties, happily married to this ⋆˙⟡♡ rad dude ♡⟡⋆˙ and the proud co-owner of a menagerie of cats. This blog collects inspo material for my original writing about my OCs on the Crystal DC, plus where I post screenshots I take of them, and very occasionally I might post some personal writing too (but not very often tbh c': )
I am WCIF friendly for pretty much all of my mods I use except for the ones I cobble together myself (e.g. Oli's tattoos which are obviously not available because they're my frankenstein creation and I am not a modder c': )
I am open to some forms of RP and more information about the kind of RP i participate in is available in the info section of my carrd linked above.
However, some things worth mentioning:
I don't do any RP here on my tumblr.
I only RP in-game at events and venues for the purpose of connecting and meeting new people (especially those who might like to RP with me outside of the game.) I don't participate in in-game RP regularly because I'm unable to commit to long term in-game plots of any kind due to my timezone. As I'm located outside of North America, I am only available to RP on weekends in-game and prefer to set up in-game RP with folks ahead of time.
I ship my OCs with my husband's OCs so they're unavailable for romance-style RP.
I prefer not to interact with minors.
I do tend to curate my online spaces very closely. If things someone posts cause me anxiety I am likely to block that person. It's not meant to be an offense, but I value my mental health and time away from work-related stress. Tumblr, writing and casual RP are relaxing hobbies for me and I don't want them to turn stressful. So, if you have been blocked by me, for whatever reason, please don't try and circumvent it.
I really don't enjoy interacting with 'diskhorse' of any sort here, be it fandom, political, cultural, or any sort of subject that is causing heated debate amongst people. There may be times I make an exception to this and something related to human rights may be posted to this blog, but it will be very rare. Please don't assume my lack of engagement with these subjects means I am uninformed about them, or my lack of comment about X means I support Y. It simply causes me a lot of anxiety to engage with those discussions in an online setting and if I have made an exception it is because I have decided the issue being discussed is an issue I can contribute something of value to besides my personal opinion and deserves reach beyond my personal circles.
Lastly, if you're a bigot of any sort, we just can't be friends. I don't want to list the whole sordid table of bigotry here, but regardless of my dislike for online political discussions I very firmly believe in personal freedoms, personal autonomy and personal respect. I don't want to associate with people whose values are focused on impeding other peoples rights to those three things.
I think that's just about everything that needs to be here for now!
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@sliceofaether / sliceofaether.tumblr.com
I have no idea how active I'll be on it but I have a Final Fantasy 14 themed blog I want to play around in.
I've been playing FF14 since 2013 and though it's been a big part of my life for the past decade, I haven't done much with it when it comes to creativity. And that's pretty sad x'D
It has mostly been (private) birthday/Christmas/Valentine drawings for my boyfriend who adores my female WoL, be it her Miqo'te or Viera form.
I'd like to change that, slowly, be it with art, screenshots or gpose shenanigans. No promises but hey, who knows! I just want to continue giving love to a franchise that has given me a lot of joy (and plenty of tears because Yoshi-P is brutal! Love the man and his storytelling but damn him xD) over these past years.
#final fantasy 14#final fantasy xiv#the blog name and url are a play on 'slice of life'#another blog x'D i have far too many#my two animal-eared children are happy to see you#miqo'te#viera#ffxiv gpose
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SO I have not been on Tumblr in a very long time and I honestly have no idea how to even go about participating it again other than sharing my writing, or mindlessly reblogging TMA or Silt Verses content like an absolute goon.
But then, aha, a thought occurreth to me; y'all like lesbians, and I THINK some of you like Final Fantasy 14. and I happen to have just the character to shove down everyone's throat:
This is Hel Aevilok, my Viera Astrologian/Reaper WoL. She is was a teacher in Sharlayan, and she is a bitchy ass goth about it.
and this, despite LOOKING like Hel, is not, in fact Hel. this is Hel's Voidsent, Carnivale, and she is a freak
and together they are to most gay freakshow Eorzea has ever seen and I love them dearly, please for the love of Hydaelyn LOOK AT THEM
I will bombarding my blog with all the Gposes I've made, so if you enjoy these freaks, ask questions about them, because god do I have a lot of information I know about them that I've never written down, but I know it intimately.
#I am very unhealthy about them both#I have a whole backstory written in my head#final fantasy xiv#ffxiv viera#ffxiv gpose
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Twenty Questions for Fic Writers
I've been tagged by @pewterkat ! Thank you for tagging me! :D
How many works do you have on Ao3?
Currently at 23! 22 for Final Fantasy XIV and 1 original work.
What's your total Ao3 word count?
182,581 at the moment! But I have thousands upon thousands more in WIPs that I should probably post at some point. lol
What fandoms do you write for?
Mostly Final Fantasy XIV for the WoL x G'raha ship, but I'd love to publish some Karlach/Tav fics at some point for Baldur's Gate 3. (I have a high elf wizard that's in love with her.)
What are your top 5 fics by Kudos?
1. Heat - a heat fic. Pure smut. Very horny.
2. Delights - a collection of short kink fics. Also very horny.
3. Fantasies - a visual novel about sexual fantasies.
4. Here at Memory's End - the first wolgraha fic I've ever written. Slowburn love story from ARR to the end of Endwalker.
5. Reflections - A collection of shorter fics that fit in with Aedric & G'raha's story, as well as other MSQ characters. (Some of my best prose is in here, in my opinion!)
Do you reply to comments?
I do! Sometimes it takes me several days/weeks/months, but I always try to. Sometimes social batteries are low and it takes me a bit, but I read and appreciate every single one, and go back and read comments all the time to feel loved.
What's the fic you wrote with the angstiest ending?
My Lightwarden AU, Unrequited. It's a bad end to Shadowbringers in which Aedric turns into a Lightwarden. It's angsty, but also supreme monsterfucker. I went full-blast monsterfucker on this one. Still a favorite to this day.
What's the fic you wrote with the happiest ending?
Hm. Most of them? lol. I am a romance/fluff/erotica writer. They all have happy endings.
Do you get hate on fics?
Not really on fics themselves, but on social media. I just block though. *shrugs*
Do you write smut? If so, what kind?
Oh honey.
Yes. (That's an understatement.)
I seem to specialize in "soft nerds who are into BDSM/kink". I love soft service dom/sub who learns to let go and enjoy. I love the desperately horny. I love the enthusiastic consent. I love soul mates who fuck each other as if every breath, every touch, every movement of body against body is proof that they are here. That they are together. That they are loved and safe.
One of my favorite fics I've ever written is Verdancy, an introduction of sorts of Aedric & G'raha's dom/sub BDSM journey.
Though the most on-brand quintessential Aedric & G'raha smut is definitely Bibliophilia, in which the two nerds fuck in a library.
Do you write crossovers? What's the craziest one you've ever written?
I do not write crossovers, but I wouldn't be opposed to it! I'm not sure which crossover though lol
Have you ever had a fic stolen?
Not to my knowledge.
Have you ever had a fic translated?
Not to my knowledge, but I'd be 100% okay with it if I'm asked first!
Have you ever co-written a fic before?
In a way? I have a small WIP with my friend (he doesn't have an XIV Tumblr, but he's on AO3 as Indasha) in which our two WoLs and G'raha are bound together as the three Fates. So a bit of a poly ship. (Gee, Aedric, how come you get two catboys? lol) My friends and I had a vaguely Greek Gods AU. If people want, I can post snippets and screenshots from it? Just send me an ask if interested, I guess haha
What's your all-time favorite ship?
Seeing as how this is my XIV/writing blog, it's very obviously WoL x G'raha Tia. 🥺 They mean so much to me.
What's a WIP you want to finish, but doubt you ever will?
I intend to finish every single of my WIPs, and I never consider them abandoned. Ever. Instead, I'll give a preview of what I'm currently working on, when I have time to write lately:
- Vampire AU (we all know this lol)
- A fic about shibari/bondage called Vermilion. G'raha ties Aedric up. G'raha POV.
- His Inflorescence, part 2. I'm over halfway done.
What are your writing strengths?
I think my strengths are showing moments of intimacy and vulnerability. People have told me I'm good at combining the horny with the soft, too.
What are your writing weaknesses?
Writing scenes with more than two characters lol
Also, dialog. I always feel like I'm horrible at it.
Thoughts on writing dialogue in another language for a fic?
I speak French, but don't know where that would ever come up in my fics? (Maybe Ishgardian curse words lol)
First fandom you wrote for?
Oh boy. When I was 17 years old, I wrote two fanfics for Axis Powers Hetalia. I liked Sweden/Finland. I'm no longer in that fandom, but they're still a very cute ship to me, even after 13 years.
Favorite fic you've ever written?
While I love most of my fics, Hunger, my Vampire AU, is my favorite of all time for many reasons. It's the first fic in which I wrote an original plot that's not influenced by canon events at all. It's going to be the length of a novel, when finished, most likely. Once it's done, I may stick it back into the writing soup and let it simmer and see if an original novel comes out of it. Who knows.
If you read this far, consider yourself tagged! :D Especially if we are mutuals.
#hoo boy this took me 2 hours to write somehow XD#this was very fun#thank you so much for the tag!!#tag game#writing#fic writing#fanfiction#ffxiv fanfiction
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WoL verse
The more I think about it, the more I think this blog will be strictly for my WoL verse.
The main reason for that being that my main RP verse is a canon-divergent AU with my friends and we advance the story rather slowly, and the other rp threads I have are in yet another verse. And, tbh, as far as rp goes, I don't care too much in the end if everything links nicely together or not.
But admittedly, my WoL verse has changed a lot between what I had in mind primarily with Aïcha and what I have in mind now and I'm thinking about putting it in fic form. Or—knowing myself because I have too few spoons and not enough hours in a day anyway between life, work and school—some sort of detailed plan for a fic that'd work as a first draft and... nothing following after that.
So why not just share what I have for now?
I'll start with the prelude in this post because this is important foundation for what's to come, and I'm not sure what people know (or don't) about how Inge and Aïcha started. Plus there are certain things I've never discussed in detail before.
Fair warning: while the plan is to follow the MSQ closely, there will be changes. But aside from one character mentioned below, I have no intention to bring back to life dead characters. And among those who do come back in the official story, two will remain dead no matter what the MSQ says.
Prior to ARR
Under the cut 'cause it's a bit long.
The prelude (Inge)
In the equivalent of 1.0 to the Calamity, Inge was one of the adventurers that ended up being dubbed as the "Warriors of Light" at Carteneau. Whether or not I'll follow strictly what I know of that part for the story, I'm not sure, but the point is that she's a forgotten hero that got teleported into the future by Louisoix and, upon arrival in the middle of the Shroud, realized that 1/ nobody knew her anymore, 2/ she had no fucking idea where the rest of her team was or even if they were still alive.
After some time looking for them, she opted for helping rebuilding since the world didn't seem to need any more heroes (and the trauma of losing everyone was, well, quite heavy). She ingrained herself in Gridania's life pretty fast and was tasked, two to three years before ARR, to accompany a small group of scientists to explore the Western Shroud and give upon return a detailed account of the state it was in.
Among those were:
Griveroix, a cartographer that hailed from La Noscea with his young and far more enthusiastic apprentice, A'idan;
Wolfe, who needs a name change, an agronomist from Sharlayan working on his Archon mark;
after some shenanigans, an actually alive Foulques because in this verse the lancer story happens before ARR and involves another character of mine. He's not a scientist but he'll serve as an adventurer for protection;
Inge herself, of course, healer and alchemist here to make sure everyone comes back in one piece.
There'll probably be a few more people, whether named or not, we'll see as the inspiration strikes.
The Foulques situation
While on their way to the Western part of the Shroud, they'll be attacked by a group of Duskwights who initially wants to bargain either their life or their (very expensive) instruments against Foulques' life, which they told them had been arrested by Gridanians.
Inge'll manage to convince them to let her go and bring him back peacefully, and she'll arrive just in time during his fight against Alakja (the OC mentioned above) to cast a levitation spell and save the Duskwight from a certain death. (Much to Alakja's and his wife's relief, as neither of them wanted him dead.)
Keeping her promise, she'll bring back Foulques to his family and manage to get the expedition back on track... only for him to join them, while refusing to state exactly why. Cue some drama because Griveroix is a coward, A'idan an enthusiastic puppy and Wolfe paranoid, but eventually they'll settle on letting him join the expedition unofficially.
And that's how it goes for Inge until she's back in Gridania at the beginning of ARR, and soon after learns by Mother Miounne that a promising adventurer needs help exploring the Tam-tara Deepcroft.
An adventurer that you might have recognized as Aïcha.
The Prelude (Aïcha)
Aïcha's mother was not cut to be a mother, and to her credit she realized it soon enough to not make Aïcha's life hell. Instead, she just... left. So Aïcha's early life is simply her father and her in Radz-at-Han, living in relative poverty despite her father securing an extremely sought after and expensive dancing tutelage for his talented daughter.
While she didn't grow up wondering where the money for this came—her father had always been a proud and hard-working man after all—she got the answer nonetheless as she reached her eighteen birthday, when the debts her father had contracted had become so big that he couldn't pay them back and loan sharks came to their house to make it clear that he didn't exactly have a choice.
Worried for his life more than for herself, Aïcha decided to sacrifice her bright artistic future to save the life of the only family she had, and thus joined The Guild. Think of it a bit like John Wick's Continental, except they pretended to be an adventurers guild.
As we know, dancing in FFXIV isn't just about artistry: it's also about kicking asses. And Aïcha, perhaps tragically, was both excellent and willing at this. Over the months, she only got deeper and deeper to take the most lucrative contracts, switching dancing for a gun to avoid sullying her art further, until she got in so far that she couldn't see any other path for herself than crime.
Eventually she killed a kid that had simply been at the wrong place at the wrong time and saw too much, but that broke her. She sent her father to hide in Tural, turned against her old employer and faked her death before fucking off to Eorzea, where she attempted to start a new life as a gladiator.
She did always love the attention after all, and surely no one would look for her there.
It became apparent rather quickly how corrupt the whole system was, however, and while she could ill-afford to make a mess in her new home, she opted for becoming an actual adventurer this time. Which is how she finally joined the Adventurers Guild in Ul'dah and started this new chapter in her story: for money and redemption.
(In this order.)
#WoL verse#the prelude#also literally all of my OCs make an appearance in the WoL verse#some more often than others
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