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[eronan]

Prompt: Halcyon

Practiced hands ground plants in the pestle and mortar. Add one, crush two, rotate the stone till the mash smears the edges and you can smell the chlorophyll and the fragrances mix. It was a meditation that he’d lived for so long it was like his hands moved without him. Thoughts tumbled and Eronan blinked as he took in a deep breath and around him was the bustle of Rabanastre.

Ears swiveling to the sounds he remembered from years past, he looked around and realized he was staring out from a window. His window. The old apothecary down in East End where he and his family had set up shop generations ago. Something tugged at his heart as he continued to work the mortar and pestle, creating salves he’d been taught over a century prior. The smell of fragrant flowers and herbs freshly retrieved from Giza Plains as he looked to the sorted bottles and tinctures for sale. A heavy burden seemed to lift partially from his shoulders as he settled into the work of adding oil before brushing the mix from the bowl onto parchment. Deft hands worked the paste with his blend tool as he dabbed a bit more oil before he dusted aethersand into the mixture. Fold, smear, cut, fold like a dance on the parchment as the paste softened and he could scrape it up from the parchment to the tin. It was cozy. Home.

There was a sound as the door opened and closed with a trained click. A customer! Eronan turned with a bright smile and almost welcomed the other with his shop’s trademark greeting before it was cut short and died in his throat. He was back in the Siren’s Infirmary staring at a startled shipright.

All at once his heart felt heavy and exhaustion crashed his system as he tried to keep everything in place as his smile almost faltered. His eyes stung, but he was back in the present. “Ah… How can I help you?”

[eronan]

still very angry at writing-prompt-s lol. actually i'm angry at that entire circlejerk going around trying to convince everyone that the palestinians on tumblr are all bots but writing-prompt-s is someone who has a big presence on this site and who knows what kind of damage they're causing by enabling this rhetoric that real ass people trying to survive a genocide are bots trying to scam you. idk i know this isn't productive but i'm feeling really petty right now and i really wanna see them get destroyed for this. cancel writing-prompt-s we as a collective deserve a writing prompt based blog that's run by someone who actually cares about people dying

[eronan]

aetheryte stations and plazas as a transitional space. the quiet humming of the crystal. the blue light. muted goodbyes and exhilirated "good to see you again!"s. the salesmen peddling potions that they swear will make you able to teleport. the ones watching it spin as they wait for someone long past due.

how soothing wouldn't it be to sit by the aetheryte and let time pass? the air feels a little thicker right next to it, charged with ambient aether. see the ones attuning, tapping into the lifestream with furrowed brows and parted lips. feel how the city inevitably bends around it, passing around it like a river is split by a rock.

"I'll see you over there", a firm grip, a forceful smile. what one person can traverse in seconds another will journey towards for days. the novelty of an adventurer popping into existence. the horror of not all of them following along.

the inn posters and the food stalls, the helpfuls and the not so much. benches where the wood and stone have been worn smooth by decades and generations of travel.

[eronan]

having so much love in your heart is beautiful and amazing right up until you’re alone in your bedroom clutching at your chest and whimpering like a wounded dog

[eronan]

Hey hey 👋

I wanted to ask your opinion on a vague idea that semi goes against cannon. I'm writing an OC that's a Male Rava viera wood warder who encounters another wood warder, but after some time they end up forming a brotherly familiar bond that they keep secret up until the Garleans burning the golmore jungle where one of them die. I'm told very often that'd it never happen since they're so feral it'd be impossible to form any kind of bond in that way, but I just wanted to throw it out there as one of those "one in a million" chance exceptions :)

People are so weird about Viera... I really want to quickly answer this one and maybe put a few concerns to rest.

First off, Viera men aren't violent, feral loners killing everyone who steps foot into Golmore. A lot of this stems from early lore we got from the Wandering Dramaturge, who ultimately, turned out to be an incredibly unreliable narrator because once we actually met Viera, they were nothing like he told us. He's a Garlean, we probably shouldn't take him at his word over actual Viera.

So, let's get into dismantling some things:

Viera Naming Conventions - Male-specific Rava Surnames: “Male Rava inhabit the forest surrounding the village in which female members of their clan reside, forming a sort of perimeter in defense of both the wood and its people. They believe that their purpose is to maintain the natural balance of the six elements in their dual polarities─to ensure harmony between the twelve aspects that comprise our star and the heavens above. In accordance with this philosophy, each Rava surname begins with a syllable to represent either the celestial realm (Djt) or the worldly realm (Rehw), followed by a word that represents one elemental aspect within it. It is believed that those sharing a realm or an element possess a bond that grants them insight into one another’s minds, and as such are wont to join forces when the need for collaboration arises. Further rumors suggest that the Rava consider it necessary that all twelve different surnames be present among the Wood-warders’ ranks at any given time to ensure the forest’s safety and, should any be unaccounted for, will rename a member with a close affinity to said surname to fill the open spot.”

Loifa: "…I was born with a disease of the lungs. As I grew, so too did it worsen, until I had but a few moons left to live. It was then that Guildivain appeared before us. Before me and my master. With the wisdom of Sharlayan he could cure me, he said. Having believed for so long that I never had a chance, I wasn't sure how to feel, but my master was…overjoyed. And seeing that joy… For the first time I wanted to live. For him. For me." Loifa: "You know, I used to dream about the future I knew I’d never see. About overcoming my illness and protecting the forest as a Wood-warder, as is the duty of Viera men. I wanted to repay my people for not giving up on me. My tribe and my master."

Naming conventions says directly that Viera men will form bonds and collaborate with others sharing their name. And Loifa from the Sage quests directly challenges a few popular notions about Viera: 1) that they lack community, 2) that outsiders are killed on sight by Wood-warders when we ourselves have been to the very heart of Golmore, and 3) that Viera are exiled and cannot return if they step a toe beyond the borders of their wood. Which is something also challenged by Fran multiple times during the Ivalice questline itself.

So you should absolutely play a Viera who has bonds and attachments to others, brotherly, platonically, romantically, or otherwise. Because it's not just lore compliant - it's more importantly just better storytelling and less dehumanizing than playing into harmful tropes that treat tribal peoples like they're "feral" animals. (Hell! Even animals form bonds with others.)

If you'd like to learn more about what Viera lore we do have, I have a post here about them! Bear in mind, this post has lore from the Wandering Dramaturge and Jenomis, but that doesn't mean it shouldn't be taken with a grain of salt when confronted by actual Viera who offer us their own firsthand accounts. At the end of the day, no culture - even a fictional one - is a monolith.

Hope this helps!

[eronan]

[eronan]

⚜️Golden Dust Star⚜️

[eronan]

Brass astrolabe, Morocco, circa 1700

from The Khalili Collections

[eronan]

character inspo meme!

send 🎧 (or “music”) + a character name to find out what songs/style of songs inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send ✏️ (or “write”) + a character name to find out what writings (poetry, books, authors, styles, etc.) inspire receiver’s writing of character!

send 💬 (or “tropes”) + a character name to find out what tropes inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 🎨 (or “drawing”) + a character name to find out what drawings/paintings inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 📺 (or “viewing”) + a character name to find out what tv shows/plays/etc inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 🎮 (or “gaming”) + a character name to find out what video or board games inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 📚 (or “stories”) + a character name to find out what tales or folklore inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 🌳 (or “environment”) + a character name to find out what areas/settings inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 🐻 (or “creature”) + a character name to find out what animals or creatures inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 👤 (or “people”) + a character name to find out what other characters inspire receiver’s writing of that character!

send 🎖 (or “bingo!”) + a character name for receiver to list off any random thing that inspires their writing of that character!

[eronan]

⭐️⚜️Golden Stars Time ⚜️⭐️

[eronan]

💜Stars Life 💜

[eronan]

You know, when I see fictional characters who repress all their emotions, they're usually aloof and very blunt about keeping people at a distance, sometimes to an edgy degree—but what I don't see nearly enough are the emotionally repressed characters who are just…mellow.

Think about it. In real life, the person that's bottling up all their emotions is not the one that's brooding in the corner and snaps at you for trying to befriend them. More often than not, it's that friendly person in your circle who makes easy conversation with you, laughs with you, and listens and gives advice whenever you're upset. But you never see them upset, in fact they seem to have endless patience for you and everything around them—and so you call them their friend, you trust them. And only after months of telling them all your secrets do you realize…

…they've never actually told you anything about themselves.

[eronan]

Send me   “ Playlist! “    and I’ll give you a list of three songs I associate with our muses’ relationship!

[eronan]

[eronan]

Just an RP Pro Tip from someone who has either been an officer of or leading RP guilds/groups for the past 10+ years:o

“IC does not equal OOC” does NOT translate to “OOC feelings don’t matter.”

It also does not mean if someone is upset about something that’s going on in an RP OOC that they “need to grow a spine.”

OOC feelings absolutely do matter when you are playing with other people and not just writing your own stories. Other players are not your NPCs. They are people who are going to have–I know this sounds weird–actual feelings about the things that go on during RP.

OOC feelings about what’s going on during a plot arc, RP session, etc…absolutely do matter, and if you’re leading an event, are a guild officer, or a guild leader, it’s absolutely part of your responsibility to make sure everyone involved in the RP that’s happening is having a good time OOC.

That doesn’t mean nothing bad can happen to characters IC, it means part of the responsibility of leading events or plot arcs is to make sure your players are having fun OOC regardless of what is going on IC.

If your players end up in situations where they feel their character can’t do anything right, can’t ‘advance’, can’t ever succeed no matter what they do, or is always getting in trouble even when they’re trying to avoid it (and that is not part of what they want to be happening), your players are not going to enjoy the RP.

YOU might be enjoying it, especially if your character is one in a position of power, but if all you ever focus on is whether the people in control of the situation are having fun you’re going to find that you run out of people to play with after awhile and will get a reputation you might not necessarily want. Yes, this applies even in settings where there are strict social rules/norms or strict hierarchies of power.

Yes, this means your military leader, high ranking Sith, pact commander, squad leader, or whatever a ‘high rank’ is in the game you’re playing can’t just walk all over players who have characters of a lower rank unless that’s the scenario that’s been agreed upon and, even if that is the agreed upon scenario, you still do regular check-ins with those players to make sure they’re still having a good time.

If they’re not, that’s when you pause the RP and figure out what can be tweaked so everyone involved is having a good time and enjoying the RP OOC. It is not appropriate for you to ever brush aside one of your players saying they’re not enjoying the RP scenario with, “It’s lore/canon, keep IC and OOC separate.”

Doing that means you’re doing a very poor job at event/scenario leading.

[eronan]

The Ridorana Lighthouse

[eronan]

Lighthouse of Heroes