#Ehn Harmonia

[mathemagiks]

What is your character's favourite small sweet? Think of things like the different kinds of chocolate, lemon drops, cola bottles, etc. Which is the one they'd go to before all else?

I'm not sure you'd really count these as 'small' in the traditional sense, but after some mulling it over, I can think of two Big Strong Favorites among the gaggle right off the bat:

Ehn's favorite sweets are lavender shortbread cookies, especially the ones his mom makes. He sometimes gets them in care packages she sends, and always gets real excited when they're in there. She makes little bite-sized ones, kind of like these:

Orrin's favorite small(ish) sweet is jian dui (especially the red bean kind)! They're one of the many things his stepdad taught him how to cook, and the one that he often gets homesick for. You can bet that any time he gets his hands on the proper ingredients in Eorzea, he's madly scrambling to make a batch.

[spotofmummery]

((Hanging out at Starlight with @lumei-xiv @mathemagiks and Xarale, cheering on the local Gridanian bards!)) 

[renofmanyalts]

Fact Swap! Ehn has gotten so used to the weight of the pearl earring that when he has to take it off, his ear usually raises straight up for a few moments

Oh no, that’s adorable! 

Zedyr’s earrings are simple silver wire loops -- one of the first pieces of jewelry he made as an apprentice. He more or less never takes them off, even in the bath or to sleep. (They are thinner than the ones he wears in-game.)

Bonus fact: I’ve mentioned this elsewhere, but Rhenbraen does not wear any metal next to their skin as it has a bad tendency to either corrode or cause nasty irritation. They haven’t tried again in a long time, but they explained it to themselves as probably due to corrosive materials getting caught underneath it -- or just cheap metals reacting with their sweat.

[clearsundays]

-shoves Ehn at- MY TURN

EHN HARMONIA @mathemagiks​ & SUN’LI YHUNJA have joined your party!

Starting Dungeon: “Ehn! Where’s… ah, there he is. Ahaha, Rascal looks ready to rumble! Let’s have a good time, hm?”

Assisting:

“Watch your ears!” – First Assist

“Ehn, I’m comin’ in hot!” – Second Assist

“You two’ll be safe in here. Just stick close to me, alright?” – When putting down Asylum around Ehn and Rascal

Being Assisted:

“Sorry, sorry! It’s just – Rascal looked so cute!” – First Assist

“Nice reflexes! Thanks, bud. You really saved my bacon there.” – Second Assist

“Now that is awesome! …Hey, think you could teach Kava to do that too?” –  Ehn casting Aetherpact/Rascal casting Devotion (Kava is Sun’s red panda LMAO)

Idle Dialogue:

If the party has been idle for more than a minute, Sun will kneel and start petting Rascal.

“He sure can take a lot of hits, huh? You’re an impressive little guy, aren’t you, Rascal! Aren’t youuu? Good boy!”

“Read anything interesting lately, Ehn? I tried to pick up this book on Transempirical Summoning, but most of it flew over my head… ah. Actually, you’ve probably already read it, huh?”

Unique in-combat dialogue:

“Alright there, Ehn? You’re looking a little… green. Haha! …A joke, it was a joke! C’mere, nothing a hug and some headpats won’t fix. I’ll kick those nasty gremlins in the face for you.” – When comforting Ehn with the Misery debuff

“Rascal! Shit, is this too much for him? Let me take some off your back!” – When Rascal is low HP

Witnessing KO:

“Ehn? What’re you thinking, this is no place for a– Ehn?! Hey! Talk to me, buddy!”

Reviving:

“You nearly gave me a heart attack! Stay close and take it easy; I’ll protect you.”

Being Revived:

“Urgh, my head… Thanks for the save, Ehn. I promise I’ll treat you and Rascal to your favorite food after we get outta here.”

Finishing Dungeon:

“Oh hey, look at that! Finished already. Piece of cake, huh? …Speaking of cake, I could go for some right now. Wanna drop by Zel’s and see if she’s been working her magic?”

Bonus! Combo Attack:

Starting VO: “Let’s clean this mess up, guys!”

Rascal will start to herd the enemy to a place advantageous to casters, and while Ehn uses his magicks to wear down and trap the opponent, Sun will close in with a volley of melee attacks from his staff. With a last leaping downward swing from Sun, Ehn finishes the opponent with a flashy painflare burst. 

After defeating the enemy, Sun will swing a friendly arm around Ehn’s shoulder and sing his praises. If Rascal clambers up into Ehn’s arms, Sun will try to exchange a fistbump with him. 

[bamboorocket]

What’s this? A cosplay progress post? Sonic’s finally doing another cosplay?

Yep! I have no idea what con or when I plan to finish it, but I’m going to shoot for cosplaying my main summoner in FFXIV, and I decided to start with that ridiculous earring I keep putting on him.

Look at this precious nerd.

I don't plan to keep the clouds made of paper; I have it on there to see what size I need to make the final set. I'm excited though to have a long term project again!

[thevoilinauttheory]

Aren’t We All Running? by 65daysofstatic

[Instrumental]

( For @mathemagiks‘s Ehn Harmonia! I try to stray from instrumentals as much as possible, simply because I don’t want to look lazy. But I thought this song seemed to fit perfectly for Ehn’s anxious behavior and personality. I will certainly edit this upon request, but I figured I’d put it out here for now! 65daysofstatic has to be one of my favorite bands for frantic, yet somehow soothing, songs. This song, for me, however, seems to embody the spirit of a studious ball of social anxiety with just how wild and precise it is. I hope you enjoy the song - and please let me know if you would prefer a song with lyrics! I will gladly find another for you, it’s no problem at all! Thank you so much for your patience and participation! )

[moon-spite-ffxiv]

The basics:

NAME: Rapha’li Narahl

AGE: 21 SPECIES: Miqo’te - Moon Keeper GENDER: Male ORIENTATION: Homosexual INTERESTS: Arcanima, gross combinations of foods that don’t go together, physics  PROFESSION: Arcanist/Scholar, pocket-heals-for-hire BODY TYPE: Slim, kind of soft EYES: Pale lavender, usually behind glasses HAIR: Navy blue, curly but cropped short, perpetually tousled SKIN: Paaaaaale. HEIGHT: 5′ 1″ WEIGHT: Abominably heavy for the look of him COMPANIONS: His roommate Ehn Harmonia, Ehn’s carbuncle Rascal, his obsessions/compulsions ANTAGONISTS: Most of the Arcanist’s Guild, even if they don’t know it yet COLORS: Navy blue, lilac, moon-white SMELLS: Books, beer, more beer, too much aetherial ink FRUITS: ...those little red cherries on top of a cocktail count, right? DRINKS: Booze of any and all kinds, coffee, the two of those things in combination ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES? Yes / No / Occasionally SMOKES?  Yes / No / Occasionally DRINKS?  Yes / No / Occasionally / Isn’t this the same as the first question DRUGS?  Yes / No / Occasionally (but only stimulants) DRIVERS LICENSE? He shouldn’t be trusted to care for a goldfish, nevermind a chocobo

[an-artist-complex]

inkTober - Day 17 Ehhhhhh, today’s prompt was “Graceful” and the first thing that came to mind was my character, Harmonia. Not too happy with how this one came out, especially the background, but ehn, it’s fine.

Previous inkTober drawings I’ve done Ask me about commissions~!

[mathemagiks]

What would your OC risk for their closest friend? Would they be willing to put themselves in mortal danger? To risk their social standing or reputation?

I've jokingly said that making friends with Ehn is sort of a "You have befriended Ehn/Ehn will now die for you" deal, but in all seriousness, he more like that than he cares to admit.

Ehn takes the bonds he makes with people pretty seriously, especially when the friend in question is close enough to feel like family. If someone he's close to is in peril, and risking mortal danger is the only way to get them out of it, then he'll take up his grimoire and plunge himself into the fray.

Granted he might have a massive freakout about it first, and probably will still be at least a little terrified the whole way, but he'd be first to tell you that you don't just say no to that sort of thing. At least, he wouldn't.

[mathemagiks]

Was there something in the MSQ or even a side-questline, that inspired you to create them? Perhaps meeting the Sylphs or the Namazu? Or visiting the Unsundered World? Or even something to do with crafting or gathering?

While not the reason for his initial creation, the Summoner questline as a whole is what I ended up building the bulk of Ehn's character concept around.

Summoner just in general is some of the biggest Bamboo Bait to bait. Unusual medium for casting magic? Check (bonus points for using a book). Using something rather scientific (in this case, math) to cast magic? Check. Calling familiars? Check

A tie to gods and myths? Check. Plus taking the fully intriguing concept of how XIV presents gods, which are "something you believe in strongly enough that it comes into being", and taking it a step further into "You've tangled with the gods, and they've left their mark. Here is what you can do with it."

Add on top of it ties to the "Ancient Mysterious People That Built A Big Ass Technological Empire But Oops They're Now Long Gone And We Can Only Research What They Left Behind" and how can you expect me to resist taking a chance to have one of the beans full on plunge into exploring it?

[mathemagiks]

To what extent does their appearance in game match your vision of them creatively? Are there things you wish you could change about them in this regard? Or possibly do, if you knew of a way to do so...

I did my best to try and get close when making all of the beans as alts in-game, but honestly if I had my druthers, all of their in-game models would have so many little tweaks and adjustments to match how I see them (especially since I'm awful at getting mods to work and they give me more headaches than I find worth wrestling with them for).

I got a little wordy in this and scrounged my travel laptop for some old doodles and pictures, so this is going under a cut for length.

For Ehn, I tend to picture him much lankier than the miqo'te in game; he's long limbed and gangly, and still gets mistaken for a teenager at a distance. He cuts no real imposing figure physically! I also tend to draw his ponytail a little scruffier, and the side-hair thingies longer in homage to his namesake. Kinda like this:

Orrin is pretty much accurate, but did you know that in character creator there's no option for actual red red as a hair color option? I managed to get the idea across with how highlights play with is particular hairstyle, but it still bugs me in certain lights how it still looks... well, pink.

Band... By now I've sort of resigned myself to her just having that horn style, but if I had my way, she'd have had the wing-like horns when I made her (I tried making the face they're linked to work, but it just didn't give that sharp, stern look that I felt was key to the Banadei Experience TM). If SE ever disconnects the horns from the faces, you bet I'm finding an in-character way to change them for her. But for now, pointy horns she keeps. Beyond that, she's a lot less.... curvy, I guess, from the raen models. Still feminine at a glance, but just more... average looking I guess? There's a word for this but it escapes me right now. I also like to think her scales have more of a coppery flash than the in-game gold one for Raen, and her limbal rings are more metallic than they are glow-y. She also has much bigger scale patches on her arms and legs than the dainty ones the in-game model has, as well as a large patch between her shoulders and down her sides (like the male models have. As to why the girls don't get them too I have no idea).

Not many differences on Scrap, really, besides him being kinda scrawny for a lalafell. The most I tend to deviate when I doodle him is more in the clothes than the rest of his features, namely his collar and sleeves and drawing his hat a little smaller but tbh that's just me thinking it looks better that way in my particular art style. (He's on the right in this picture, natch)

Uroko is, like, the one bean I made in CC first before building the character behind him so honestly, he's spot on as far as things go. Like Band, though, I picture him with more scales on his arms, legs, and torso than the in-game model gives him, but less "bigger patches" and more like the large patches being flanked by spots of smaller patches, like dappled sunlight.

[mathemagiks]

Character Themes - Ehn!

So @mimble-sparklepudding challenged a few people with the following question:

What instrumental track would play in the background of your character's story during their most meaningful moments?

And it took me a hot minute to try and pick something that would strike the ‘meaningful’ mark because meaningful could have... so many contexts. Would you want a meaningful moment of quiet conversation and revelations of past secrets? A meaningful moment of bucking up and fully embracing fate and his place in it? I went through, like, five different options trying to nail one overall ‘meaningful’ song to sum it all up, lest you get linked an entire playlist.

But in the end? I think this one--with how it’s melancholy, but hopeful; starting soft and eventually swelling into something grand--gets the closest overall to what I imagine a good Ehn theme for those meaningful moments would be:

I have no idea who to tag so uh... take this as an opportunity to talk musically about your FFXIV blorbos.

[mathemagiks]

@mimble-sparklepudding So funny story... Ehn's aether actually isn't capable of healing magic. At best, any healing spell he would manage to get working would go off and heal for 0 HP. Most of the time it just doesn’t work out at all, and no result is visible.

His other spells hit like a goddamn truck, tho.

[mathemagiks]

Rumor - Ehn once, due to some calculation changes, accidentally summoned an egi only one ilm tall. They say it's still sneaking around to this day...

"You know, now that I'm thinking about it, I don't think I've ever actually experimented with the size variable in my egi diagrams before. Now I'm curious...

[mathemagiks]

I heard a rumour that Ehn is extremely ticklish. I can't exactly remember the context where this was alleged to have become apparent, but it's what I heard...

"...........................

"Y... you're not planning to test this theory are you?"

[mathemagiks]

I once saw Ehn drop some food onto the floor, watched Rascal run over and attempt to nibble it, then picked it back up and ate it himself!

"H-hey! It was still good! Rascal's not exactly drooly, y'know, being an aetheric creature and all... a-and he's basically a part of me anyway, so it's not like it's gross...?"