#WoL verse

[driselle-tempetielle]

Though Thancred maintains he had only hit Emmanellain in self-defense, Driselle found it necessary to participate.

Lucia and Artoirel had to pull them off of each other.

(They made up later. )

[sundered-souls]

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.)

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

20. Has your OC ever done something terrible and lied about it? Did they run away or blame someone else for it? How long did they maintain the lie and did the truth ever come out?

(I'd like to hear it for all but if it's too much pick ones you'd consider most juicy!)

She used to work for a criminal organization in Thavnair. Her job was to 'fix' mistakes, usually by killing the witnesses/rivals, and that's—in theory—what she did the last time she took a job for them.

The kid was barely thirteen.

She's not even sure to this day that he was truly the one she should have killed, but her boss was really nervous and kept pressuring her, and she didn't have much time to reach him before his parents would return so she did it.

And it broke her.

A few days after that, she got rid of the entire group, sent her father away on the New Continent where she knew he'd be safe, slipped away to Eorzea and tried to fly under the radar. It eventually led to her becoming the Warrior of Light, and the guilt of all she had done—but mostly this murder—explains in good part why she let the Scions and Alphinaud boss her around as much as she did. The Bloody Banquet was a wake up call in this regard, really.

That's also more or less when she cracked and spilled the beans to Haurchefant. She's still amazed to this day that he offered her protection soon after learning that, because she's not sure many others would have done. Even for her, even after all she had done for Eorzea up to that point.

Since then, she's told the truth to Inge and Estinien. The others Scions don't know for the kid, though they know about her activities prior to her adventuring career.

And no, she never blamed anyone for that but herself. It felt too much like disrespecting the memory of that kid to pretend she couldn't have acted differently.

Thanks for the ask, @confusedtia!

[wildstar25]

The 3rd Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon - or in other terms, June 3rd - marks the day a very special cat entered the world. Happy Birthday Arsay!

(Opening images in a new tab is recommended for best quality viewing, thank you!)

[gatheredfates]

"—And I am very excited to accompany the Warrior of Light on her family holiday!" "...Please don't call it that again."

(Count)Down to Dawntrail [DT].

[akirakirxaa]

𝐼𝑓 𝐼 𝑐𝑢𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢 𝑑𝑜𝑤𝑛 𝑡𝑜 𝑎 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝐼 𝑐𝑎𝑛 𝑢𝑠𝑒 𝐼 𝑓𝑒𝑎𝑟 𝑡ℎ𝑒𝑟𝑒 𝑤𝑖𝑙𝑙 𝑏𝑒 𝑛𝑜𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔 𝑔𝑜𝑜𝑑 𝑙𝑒𝑓𝑡 𝑜𝑓 𝑦𝑜𝑢

[nabaath-areng]

Without taking new screenshots, post photos of your OCs as...

Romanceable NPC

Irritable Healer: I—I can manage on my own! I'm simply not used to these shoes yet— <gasp> Hey, put me down! ( He clings around you for support, it doesn't take long before the complaints die down, and his embrace around you squeeze just a little bit tighter than is necessary, hiding his face against you to avoid eye contact. Upon closer examination, you can clearly see that his ears are getting a little red... )

Quest-giver NPC

Short Scholar: I wish I did not have to do this. Under normal circumstances, I'd actually rather die than ask a complete stranger for this manner of help... but I have no other choice. This library did not stop to consider accommodating anyone who is smaller than a damn dhalmel. So I was wondering if... could you— <groan> Urgh, could you just grab the books on the upper shelves for me?! And don't make it obvious to the other visitors that you're helping me out!

Final Boss

The Mourning Mage: Many bodies have I buried in my endless pursuit to try and save lives... Yours will be but droplets in the colossal sea of death I have weathered. I will find the means to end this needless suffering once and for all!

(Stole this from @fourfoldfires cause wanted to do it too <3)

[candlewinds]

PARK SO JIN as JU WOL Alchemy of Souls (2022) | parts 1 & 2

[sproobles]

new adventure, new bonds

[tallbluelady]

But I still haven't found what I'm looking for...

[driselle-tempetielle]

The Reunion Nobody Asked For

[sundered-souls]

Inge and Aïcha have been co-WoL from the beginning. They went through hell and back together and, while each had their own circumstances for choosing the adventurer life, they're both at peace with where it's taken them.

By Dawntrail, however, each is faced with a new challenge: peace.

For Inge, it's a new thing since even before the Calamity. She was in Carteneau. She fought in Carteneau. And she was teleported away, forgotten in a not-so-distant future, seemingly the only survivor of her band of adventurers. She didn't want to get into big events again. She didn't want to lose people again. So she focused on helping with rebuilding the Twelveswood. Helping recreating life where it had been so dramatically harmed. And then, the Plot caught up on her anyway.

Aïcha was running away. Running from people but more importantly running from herself and her guilt. She ran and ran until the Plot forced her to mingled with people for more than a superficial shared moment. And she got to do better. To be better. She's a Hero now, a far cry from the hitter she used to be. Or perhaps one that simply found a higher calling and thus a better way to use her talents.

But with peace, there's a question they have to face and it's whether or not the people they tried to be—before life began to be truly hectic and left them no time to think—are still who they want to be now.

And, ironically, Inge's found out that no. She doesn't want to settle down in and help rebuilding. The world is big and she wants to see more of it.

Aïcha discovered that her boldness also encompasses a love for the unknown. She's not just ambitious, she's also curious and too big to fit in a hole only to be forgotten. Her guilt is still there, but it doesn't weigh her down like it used to. In Fray's words—even though she's not a Dark Knight—"it weighs as it should".

And so Inge's accepted Wuk Lamat's petition for help, and Aïcha's gone on her own with Estinien, not yet aware that their path will cross again in Tural... nor that the Plot will, for the first time, ask the biggest sacrifice of all to Aïcha: staying on the sideline to protect the new life growing in her.

(I HC that with all the fight she's done, carrying a pregnancy to term is not a given to her so she'll have to be extra careful.)

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

🔫 with their favourite weapon(s)

Gyosei, for Aicha. Her signature weapon when dancing.

Thanks for the ask, @allyennah!

[tenebriism]

Zenos: Post Return (EW and Onwards)

A battle he has sought and worked tirelessly to prepare for. A battle that is as explosive and exhausting as he has always desired. A battle he, indeed, emerges as the loser from, but no less satisfied. The Warrior of Light has defeated him yet again, and with his last breath, the crown prince could finally be at rest, once and for all, even if his body is to be left to rot at the edge of the world, forgotten.

... or not.

It's a punishment, he knows, and one he has certainly earned, but it makes it no less crushing to be traversing these lands once more. The Warrior of Light has already proven, time and time again, that he/she is STRONGER than Zenos, and having returned with but a fraction of his strength now, the prince no longer sees value in pursuing him/her. Worse so, all that he has done to match the Warrior of Light's strength, otherworldly or not, rebels against him, leaving him weakened and sick on occasion.

Headaches that feel as if his head is being split open. Inability to stand, to move. Nausea, a purge of whatever rests in his system, and if naught is there, sometimes blood. Forgetfulness, fever, body aches to a near agonizing extent... Zenos swears he suffer NOW more than he did prior, and he accepts it. He accepts it because he knows he DESERVES it, and not the sweet embrace of merciful death he'd thought he'd been gifted by his dearest friend. After all he has done, 'tis a wonder his suffering is not greater... but does he regret his actions? Nay. One should not assume him a changed man, for he still possesses a hauntingly non-existent level of care for both himself and those around him. Zenos Yae Galvus is a self aware monster through and through.

Yet, sometimes in the moments of his suffering, he wonders how it would feel to have someone care about him, when nobody has bothered to since he was but a child. He wonders if the Warrior of Light -- the only one he'd shared SOME type of connection with, despite its unconventional unhealthiness, thinks about him. Mayhap this rebirth has brought with it a glimmer of his humanity long lost to trauma and bloodthirst. A glimmer of a want for something he shan't ever have.

[gatheredfates]

Kor and Minfilia for the NPC ask game!

Have your followers send you NPCs and you describe your OC's feelings/relationship to that NPC! I was sent Minfilia three times! This ask and two from @sayonaramidnight and @hythlodaes. Frankly, I think you all just want to hurt me because I do have a lot of thoughts about Kor / Minfilia. There's a trigger warning here for suicidal ideation / planning; please proceed with caution.

Kor loved Minfilia. She never got to tell her that.

It's a guilt nestled deep in her breastbone, not as keen as her sister's but no less pronounced; it echoes in the laughter of her friends, the quiet of a late-night hour and wherever the wild roses bloom. She loved her so keenly, the first person she really opened up to after her Lily died, and she lost her just as quickly.

I've written about it before, but Kor never saw her Echo as a gift. She never wanted to be a Scion, let alone a Warrior of Light, and always viewed the responsibilities as burden she bore because Hydaelyn was absurd enough to give it a woman who wanted to die. When she met Y'shtola and the other Scions she had just backed out of trying to throw herself down down to the cliffs beneath La Noscea, and she recklessly abandoned her station under the belief she would join the crew long enough to learn as much as she could about the Echo — to undermine it — then take herself out.

In waking there was only apathy, and her nights were full of nightmares.

But Minfilia? Minfilia was good. Far kinder than Kor deserved, and she knew it. She stood in the Sands while this ratty Captain waltzed through her door, reputation preceding her — all jagged edges and gnashing teeth — and accepted her all the same. She took her hand despite knowing the wolf could bite and said to her, "I validate your anger. What happened to you wasn't fair."

Minfilia always believed in Hydaelyn's light, which was always a point of contention between them, but she never pressured Kor to do more than what she wanted. If she wanted to walk away and abandon the Scions, that was her right. If she questioned her leadership or balked against her judgement, she would allow her — but she was always patient in explaining her reasonings and reconciling Kor's anger. She was allowed to feel like the Echo was a burden, she was allowed her anger and her grief. Minfilia also had the Echo, but she was not so naïve as to think it was a gift for everyone, and she would not shackle Kor to it no matter how much the realm might need her.

Kor only knew leadership through two lenses: fear or duty. She was respected as a Captain because balanced the weights of tough and fair, yet she believed her crew only followed her because they had limited choice. Minfilia taught her that it was possible to lead through kindness.

To lead through love.

There were many nights spent in the quiet of The Solar, quiet hours in the din. With drink in hand the two women would simply talk. Of duty, yes. But also about how they felt about the world and their places in it. Minfilia would get so passionate talking about her hopes for Eorzea and it nearly made Kor believe in it too.

Because she loved her. Not like a lover, but in the way a soul reaches out to another and says 'oh, I know you'. In the way Minfilia could ask Kor to die for Eorzea and she'd answer "How? By your blade or mine?"

Yet she believed in Hydaelyn's light. That was always a point of contention between them. When she called Minfilia answered, and Kor was left behind.

She was a confidant the woman needed, taken from her all too soon. But the lessons she gave her Kor did not forget, and they were the foundational point for her loyalty to the Scions.

I love you, I love you, I love you. You deserve to love too, Kor. You deserve to know love.

[akirakirxaa]

Akira had little to no interest in getting involved in yet another country's politics. Not when she always seemed to come out suffering the most, when it always ended in her friends being put in danger.

But she couldn't risk this war mongering upstart bringing danger to her family.

So, with trepidation in her heart, she bid them farewell as she was called upon once more.