beyond-mortal-limits

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I love you

I love you

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Shoutout to characters that are both genuinely deeply kind and also genuinely terrifying and willing to spill buckets worth of blood to get something done. And neither of these are an act, they're just both very true.

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SHE WILL FACE THE BEAST - AND SHE WILL ANNIHILATE IT. SHE WILL WIELD THE TERRIBLE BLADE OF WANT, AND THE PILLARS OF HEAVEN WILL QUAKE WITH HER COMING. AND HER NAME WILL BE...

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Big fan of sun motifs in characters not necessarily being about positivity and happiness and how they're so " bright and warm" but instead being about fucking brutal they are.

Radiant. A FORCE of nature that will turn you to ash. That warmth that burns so hot it feels like ice. Piercing yellow and red and white. A character being a Sun because you cannot challenge a Sun without burning alive or taking everything down with them if victorious.

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THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN THE SUN

6/12/25

Do you associate your wol(oc) with any celestial bodies?

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A Short Ask List About Love.

Does your OC have any difficulty distinguishing between love and lust?

Is your OC at all romantic themselves? Or is romance something they expect others to perform for their benefit?

What does your OC look for in a romantic (or perhaps purely sexual) partner? Is this always healthy?

Does your OC consider themselves to be attractive? Do they put much effort into achieving this?

Would your OC ever take advantage of someone's romantic feelings in order to manipulate them?

Has your OC ever had their heart broken? Have they ever truly recovered?

What is the most romantic gesture your OC has ever performed? Alternatively (or additionally), what romantic gesture would they most like to perform?

Does your OC pursue only monogamous relationships? Or are they open to other, more creative, options?

If your OC were ever to fill out a Dating Site (or pamphlet or newspaper) profile, then what would they include?

Does your OC have a type? Have they ever been surprised by their feelings for someone who doesn't fit this?

Has your OC ever been the object of someone's affections that they did not (or could not) reciprocate?

If your OC were in love, how might they recognise this? Or would they be too much in denial?

Has your OC ever written a love letter (or text message or whatever the case may be)? Perhaps they have even composed a love poem or song dedicated to their beloved?

If they wish to impress someone for whom they have romantic (or at least sexual) feelings, does your OC attempt to present themselves as more confident, wealthy, popular or otherwise impressive, than they truly are?

Is your OC easy to love? If not, then what are the barriers?

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Templates under the cut:

I don't know where these come from, I found them uncredited in reddit threads.

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asking "hey is it fine if I smoke in here" and before you're able to answer I've already set up a full rack of salmon over a fire in your living room

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Petra usually becomes surly and tired and lurks in bed at home groaning and moaning and coughing. Her go-to home remedy is traditional Thanalan herbal medicine teas, which are of dubious effectiveness but very comforting.

Her supernatural powers of recovery usually don't help, as the onset of a cold is slow enough that it doesn't set off self-image rejection and subsequent rewriting of reality.

5/17/25

What is your wol(oc)'s go to home remedy for a small cold?

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Character asks!

These are more focused on the background stuff rather than the usual "what would the character do in XY situation" kinds of asks. I've been looking for something like this for quite a while and in the end decided to make my own. Feel free to use, go wild, enjoy

What was the original thought that led to the creation of this character?

How long was the process before the character reached its final version? (or a version that would be clearly recognizable as the character?)

What was the first thing you decided on, the character's name, appearance, personality or their role in the story?

And reverse, which one of the four things did you struggle with the most?

How did you choose their name and why? Was it simply based on vibes or is there any specific meaning behind the name? Are the reasons behind their name different in- and out of universe?

What was the thought process behind their appearance? Did you go mostly for the aesthetic or are there other reasons they look the way they do?

What is an aspect of their appearance that you like the most?

What is the origin of their personality? And let's be honest - how much of it is projecting?

How big is their role in the story? Do they make a frequent appearance or are they a character with little "screentime" but big influence? Or are they just a favourite background guy?

What is their main character arc in the story? Where do they start and how do they develop? Do they get a happy ending or is their story a tragic one?

Is there any existing character from other media that your character resembles? Was the resemblance intentional or was it a coincidence?

Do you have a playlist for the character? What songs do you associate with them and why?

Do you have a voice claim for the character? What do you imagine the character sounds like?

Do you have any quotes tied to the character, either from the story itself or from another source that fit them?

Have you ever made a moodboard for them?

Is there any memes or running jokes associated with the character, both in- and out of universe?

Are there any motifs or symbols associated with the character? How are they represented, in their design, personality or in some other way?

Does the character have other characters connected to them? Do you have a family tree and "offscreen" connections made up for them or do they exist in a vacuum purely for the purpose of the story?

What is your general favourite thing about the character? What is your least favourite?

Bonus question: share any additional thoughts, art, favourite scenes, anything you've been waiting for a chance to ramble about

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@ladyofvoss asks on discord: "who was your WoL’s most toxic relationship/friendship?"

I'll be torn to pieces by wild dogs for retreading this take but it's gotta be Petra and Minfillia.

For Petra, 2.0 and especially 2.x was a really nasty period of her needs being ignored because The Big Strong Juggernaut Godkiller would of course be fine no matter what they threw at her. Even though her Echo let her shrug off almost any mortal injury, it didn't stop it from being excruciatingly painful every time. Many people (the Scions especially) conflated "Petra's alive" with "Petra's fine" - and her crippling anxiety issues, nonverbosity, and reluctance to externalise her feelings meant that nobody was prompted to think otherwise.

It was also a really nasty form of financial abuse, as Petra was promised a fat paycheck to pay rent with that never materialised because "oh we're really short on cash", "sorry Petra but nobody is funding us", and "we don't have any money again it's all going to the Braves". Petra was unintentionally bullied and guilt-tripped into working for scraps and flophouse accommodation because Nobody Else Can Save Everyone.

The best most fucked-up part is that of course nobody in the scions did it deliberately, they just assumed things were fine because nobody told them otherwise. It got so bad that eventually Petra had an aether-fuelled stress-induced psychotic breakdown shortly after arriving in Ishgard, in the form of DRK 30-50.

This was Petra's big inflection point where she realised that this was eating her alive, and that she needed to make herself heard or the wants and needs of everyone else would slowly and agonisingly crush her into a convenient little ball.

The way I write it, Fray is the tattered dregs of 8/14ths of Azem's personality and memories that were jolted into activity by the extreme stress of the Bloody Banquet and the move to Ishgard - an arrogant, entitled, selfish, controlling voice, dismissive of the sundered world and its' people. A force of uncontrolled id, given form and voice inside Petra's head by her huge eightfold aether pool:

Petra had to learn to make herself heard over others by making herself heard over Fray and what he represented, but also to respect and accept what he represented - desires, needs, and an inner voice that had been repressed for so long that it made itself heard. Major arcana VIII, Strength, is therefore a big symbolic keystone for Petra - Fray is the beast, muzzled without killing it, controlled without crushing it.

Petra is nonverbal, so "make herself heard" is deliciously metaphorical too. At no point is Petra "making herself heard" forced as a literal action. Petra is still nonverbal, and this exists alongside her character development. Externalising her feelings and making herself heard does not have to mean speech and talking - it means communication, acknowledging her needs, and asserting herself when required.

Post-DRK 50, Petra is a lot better about setting and enforcing boundaries - she demands the scions take her seriously by reframing her relationship with them in the form of a fair and equitable work contract similar to those she worked under as a freelance mercenary prior to 2.0: rates of pay, time off, what is and isn't a reasonable task, what assistance Petra is entitled to, what services Petra is agreeing to deliver, etc.

By this point (what's left of) the Scions have understood just how badly they've been fucking Petra over, and Tataru accepts the new reframing without hesitation. Tataru is easily the Scion that Petra gets on the best with, and she's from Ul'Dah too - this contract format is extremely familliar to her and it's a moment of communication between the two through their shared culture and mutual respect. "I respect you enough to demand our relationship be formalised on paper" is very Ul'Dahn.

Others from different cultures are scratching their heads a little but they understand enough to know that this is Petra setting boundaries for herself and definining something to avoid a repeat of the Scions' exploitation, unintentional as it was.

This has paid dividends during Stormblood, as Petra has been able to extract an exceptional price from the Eorzean Alliance for being deployed to Ala Mhigo and Doma in the middle of a war. High hazard pay, travel and equipment reimbursement, assistance from support personnel, access to Alliance intel, etc. have all contributed to a much healthier mindset and stress levels when on the job, even when Petra was almost killed during the Garlean assault on Rhalgar's Reach.

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One must never underestimate an opponent who does not fear death. An enemy who values your death more than their own life is unpredictable - you cannot assume that there is anything they wouldn't dare to do. Risk a blow to distract you, run right into your sword in order to get their own into you, tackle you off a cliff to throw you both into your deaths. An enemy that does not seek to survive is ruthless, they will think in ways so alien to you, that you cannot anticipate what they might do. The best defense you can have is to never make enemies like this.

The same fear and respect should also apply to clowns. They do not fear shame or mockery, they have no honour to lose by becoming laughingstock. A clown will not hesitate to look ridiculous, if tackling you makes you both look stupid. A clown does not fear losing their dignity for as long as they can take yours down with them.

Do not make enemies with clowns.

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Don’t mess with Hilda Of the Hounds

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KILL YOU

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How does your wol(oc) react to being flirted with?