#and interact with ffxiv canon in really interesting ways!

[bananarose]

I'm excited for Dawntrail, but I'm still not done writing all my character lore, stories, and headcanons... etc. for up through Endwalker yet

Help. How do I get brain thoughts to become words?

[mimble-sparklepudding]

FFXIV Blog Positivity Ask Game.

Given that things are a bit sad and stressful at the moment, I thought it might be a good time to spread a little community positivity - and hopefully celebrate some FFXIV blogs of which people might not be aware.

Hightlight a FFXIV blog from which you are always happy to see a post.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that people might not know about, but that you would like to recommend to others.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC who has a really compelling backstory.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that often makes you laugh.

Highlight a new FFXIV blog that would you like more people to interact with.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC who is just incredibly, if not unreasonably, sexy.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who is really supportive of others in the community.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with a really original OC.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who is a really talented writer.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with some fantastic original art, whether digital or traditional.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that expands on lore in an interesting way.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that deserves more recognition by a wider audience.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who is always a joy to interact or RP with.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with some impressive gposes or screenshots.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger with whom you still can't quite believe you are actually mutuals.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which gives you "all the feels".

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC about whom you really want to learn more.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that has made you think about a character or setting in a different way.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who works hard to bring people together and promote events and activities.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with a romance or ship that you really enjoy.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that explores an existing canon character in an interesting way.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an engaging OC who is morally grey, if not outright villainous...

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who really inspires you.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which does erotica (or smut) really well.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC that you consider particularly cute or endearing.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who you consider to be especially talented at producing gifs or videos.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which has challenged you to think about an aspect of lore in a different way.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that explores difficult or complex emotions really well.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC in whom you feel particularly invested.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who should have more confidence in their skills.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with an OC who is particularly loveable or endearing.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which you recommend new community members should follow.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who is looking for more RP opportunities (and deserves them).

Highlight a FFXIV blog that does something impressive or different with a popular trope or character.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who made you feel really welcome when you first joined the community.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that you've really enjoyed seeing develop over time.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with a variety of compelling OCs - perhaps so many that you're impressed they can keep track of them all.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with a really strong and defined theme.

Highlight a FFXIV blog that is completely different to yours, whether in terms of focus or style, but you really enjoy.

Highlight a FFXIV blog with inspriring and/or impressive glamour or outfits.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who you wish posted more often.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which portrays or describes combat or warfare particularly well.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who answers OC (or other) asks with really interesting responses.

Highlight a FFXIV blog which does comedy really well.

Highlight a FFXIV blogger who has become a friend.

Remember that highlighting a particular blog as an example of one that is funny or original etc does not mean that other blogs or bloggers are not also worthy of mention. This is just about giving an example from the many blogs you no doubt follow. If you really can't choose then you could always roll a dice - or list all of the ones that qualify, but you might be there for some time...

[olderthannetfic]

Do you have any advice on getting more confident about writing "in character"? Both figuring out how to get in their headspace and not being as worried about what other people will think about your portrayal. I write for the MMO FFXIV these days and I pretty much exclusively write my character (aka my Warrior of Light or WoL) shipped with a canon character, but I find myself agonizing over whether everything he does or says actually seems like something he would do, or having trouble distinguishing between what *he* would do and what *I* would do. Other characters I might like to write my WoL interacting with I barely write at all because I can't really figure out how they "should" act to actually seem like themselves. There's a fic I've been wanting to write for a while but it feels like it *has* to be in the PoV of a character I don't know very well and I'm kind of worried about getting her "right." Do you have any tips for like... figuring that out, especially with characters quite different from yourself?

I don't know how you normally deal with non-anonymous messages, but feel free to post this publicly, I wouldn't mind if anyone else wanted to give their two cents as well.

--

I don't care whether asks are anon. People just feel safer that way and pick it for themselves. Generally, I post asks as-is unless the ask clearly tells me not to or I decide not to post it at all.

(TBH, while being anon means wank can't follow you home, it also means you don't meet people and form connections, and I think that's too bad.)

I think a lot of this is just about confidence in general, which is partly experience and partly attitude.

But I definitely have characters I've wanted to write and needed to get into the heads of before I could. Sometimes, it helps to consume media with a character like this as a POV character or one we see the inner life of often. In one case, someone gave me their one-sentence summary of a character I had trouble grasping. Hers was a highly unpopular take, but it actually unified two different and opposite fanon versions in a way that made sense to me.

Try distilling them down to their most basic interests and ethics. What's your elevator pitch for who this character is? All the complexity and nuance flows outwards from there.

[eemamminy-art]

i'm head over heels for your art and thank you for making so much wlw content 🫶 you are carrying ffxiv wlw. lesbian au estimeric means everything 2 me. they're the type of character where it's like yes this is lesbian couple and gay couple at the same time

That means a lot to me, thank you! 🥺💛 I am really trying my best!! I love the game but there isn't a lot to work with as far as wlw unless like.. you play a female character and ship wolnpc. Which.. ha funny story, I was head over heels for Merlwyb and Yugiri when I got into the game all the way back in 2013, but I was like... My femroe is a big clumsy idiot pirate swinging an axe at whatever, would either of them even like her?! 😂 She's probably Merlwyb's #1 headache every single week if I'm being honest... so wolnpc shipping for my own ocs has always been out because my ocs never have felt quite right for any npcs, which leaves me at finding crumbs for the npc/npc options!

I try to think of like, if there's a reasonable explanation for characters to ever meet and if they would have chemistry from what I know of them. Like we never see Ysayle and Heustienne interact but think how fun that would be, given that Heustienne ends up being drawn into the heretics inadvertently. Or like, Mylla and Adalberta, they both live in Ul'dah so they're probably friends!

And of course like you mentioned with my lesbian AU, I also will take ships that have more things in canon going for them and just make them into women too! I think with estimeric it's particularly easy to do since they fit so well into butch/femme dynamics, and I think it's why so many wlw enjoy the ship! Writing about them has been really personal to me so I'm glad you've enjoyed that AU, that means a lot! 🥺

I really would love to shift focus to making more wlw stuff, since I find as time goes on my interest in any other type of ship begins to wane... I still like some m/m and a handful of m/f ships but I really just like, want to focus on wlw in my work because it's really important to me! And there's just not enough of it!! 😭

[heredis-sanguinis]

𝘒𝘕𝘖𝘞𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘠𝘖𝘜𝘙 𝘗𝘈𝘙𝘛𝘕𝘌𝘙 𝘞𝘌𝘓𝘓 𝘊𝘈𝘕 𝘗𝘖𝘛𝘌𝘕𝘛𝘐𝘈𝘓𝘓𝘠 𝘔𝘈𝘒𝘌 𝘞𝘙𝘐𝘛𝘐𝘕𝘎 𝘛𝘖𝘎𝘌𝘛𝘏𝘌𝘙 𝘈 𝘓𝘖𝘛 𝘌𝘈𝘚𝘐𝘌𝘙.

Name: Cella

Pronouns: She/Her

Preference of communication: I prefer Discord. Tumblr's IM system is spotty as hell and most of the times does not update for me. Especially on mobile, which is where I'm at most of my days, because of my work schedule being all over the place. I'm willing to exchange Discord handles if people ask for it.

Name of muse(s): Active: Vladimir, Vayne (In process of re-making blog theme and sorting out archives) Inactive: Kalista, Karthus, Thresh, Illaoi, Swain, Veigar, Scarlet (LoL OC), Emperor Mateus (FFII), WoL (FFXIV OC), Erza Scarlet (Fairy Tail)

Experience / How long (Months/Years?): Oh man, I lost track of that stuff. I've been in the League rpc since before the lore reboot, back when we still had summoners and the Institute of War and the single circular-like continent. And before that I've been in other fandoms. I'd say, including ttrpg rping I've been at this game for over 20 years now (yes I am OLD) I've used Tumblr, Skype, Discord, MSN Messenger, PlayByWeb among others as mediums.

Best experience: I can go over the various specific threads and interactions that are close to my heart. But I really think that the lasting friendships I've build with past and present partners to be my best experiences. To meet so many different flavours of people, with their own lives and interests and stories, and become a part of their life (and vice versa) is what matters more to me than whatever rp-ing does.

RP pet peeves / dealbreakers: I'd like to think that I'm fairly easy-going as a writing partner. But, like anyone, I do have some lines I do not cross. Aged-up canon muses are a big no-no for me. I've had horrible and unpleasant experiences both personally and in fandoms with those. i.e. Annie is a child and someone rp-ing a young adult version of her just creeps me out, because obvious reasons are obvious. I adhere very strictly to the canon ages of canon characters, especially since Riot gave us an actual timeline to work with, or at least moderately accurately deduct dates with.

As far as pet peeves there is actually only one I can think of right now, my muses not being taken seriously and being ridiculed and made silly or memed at. This has happened to Vlad a few times and I just hard-pull the plug on interactions if it happens. He's a 1500+ year old homicidal tactical-thinking bloodmage, who is bored out of his mind most of the time. The fact he may crack a joke or two, or act aloof at times, does not mean he will not turn your muse inside out when insulted. This does not mean, in any way, he is unavailable for more casual interactions, but there is a very fine line between casual talk dare I say banter and downright memeing on him, and pushing him around. Luckily this has not happened in a long while, but it is something I can be sensitive on.

Muse preferences fluff, angst or smut: Angst > fluff > smut; though it can change depending on vibe and muses. Smut is something I rarely post publicly or write with someone else. I become extremely self-aware of my writing and over-analyse each and every word to the point it can take literal weeks until I come up with a reply that I do not want to gouge my eyes out at. Angst works wonders for my singular brain cell that thrives on it. Fluff is something that does not often happen, especially with my selection of muses. But it can be nice every once in a while.

Plots of memes: I can work with both. I don't mind plotting at all, but I prefer to not plot every little step out of an interaction between two muses. I like to be surprised by a partner's muse's reaction or response. And it feels a lot more natural, because there is always a certain level of compromises when it comes to plotting. Memes are a perfect ice-breaker as opposed to a first-meeting interaction (because let's face it, those can be pretty boring if it falls down to 'hi my name is x, who are you?') It makes us writers think out of the box slightly to have our dumbass children play together.

Long or short replies: It depends on the setting for the interaction. But I try to at least go for several paragraphs to give my partner something to work with and also offer development for both muses and give insight into mine's thoughts and actions. I'll never expect to be matched in length and will never fault someone for this either.

Best time to write: Since I work in three different shifts, which alternates per week, my activity hours shift a lot. So my 'best time' to write also changes. It mainly depends on a mood to write, especially with a manchild like Vlad as a muse.

Are you like your muse(s)?: Somewhat? I share some interests and personality qualities with my muses, for sure. But I wouldn't say I am a lot like them per se.

Tagged by: @blackrosesmatron Tagging: Anyone that hasn't done this yet and wants to do it. Consider yourself tagged!

[oathofpromises]

GET TO KNOW YOUR ADMIN !!

name — Stella, or Stels by close friends

pronouns — She/Her or They/Them

preferred comms —I mostly start off on Tumblr, due to the fact that I have had people harass me in the past on Discord. Therefore, I will gauge and see if we click well, and if asked, I will provide my discord. This is just for my comfort. 

name of muse —I'm a multi-muse account, having muses from Ffxiv all the way to Resident Evil. For the moment, my must-active muses are my FFXIV ones, preferably Stella, Hiroto, Hikari, Y'shtola, and G'raha, with other Canon characters too, but those ones are the most loud right now. If anyone is interested in interacting, I did redo my career with all the messages I currently have motivation to write for.

experience in RP —I started RPing when I was 21, I think. It started off mainly in a different app, but due to various reasons, I stopped for a bit before coming back to Twitter. Eventually, this led me to Tumblr, where I have been writing for about 11 years now. Although I have been writing since I was really young, it was not in the RP style. I have been working on writing characters since I was really young.

best experiences — Probably the best experiences that I have had this year have been with these two sweethearts. It’s not often that you find people who actually enjoy hanging out outside of RP. They make the same effort as you to spend time together and genuinely listen to you gush about your characters. They have sincerely made my year a lot better, and I am thankful for them each and every day. The laughter we share brings a much-needed light to a challenging year. I also just feel like being able to focus more on original characters has been so much fun too. In the past, I was mainly getting requests for canon characters only, so it feels nice that people want to interact with characters that I have built so much lore into.

pet peeves / dealbreakers —I think my best pet peeve is people's vague postings. It’s one of my rules that I will soft-block or block if I see people doing this. I also do not appreciate pushing ships. Just because I have a dynamic with a close friend and you might be writing the same character doesn’t mean that you will also get the same dynamic. Each dynamic I have with other people is something I have discussed and worked on. I am a slow-burn type of person, so I want to see those characters relationships develop over time. Keep in mind that I have rules for shipping, which are on my carrd too. 

The last thing I can think of is just guilt-tripping to reply to a certain thread. Sometimes I only have inspiration for certain threads, and that shouldn’t be seen as a problem. This is a place to have fun, not a job. I’ve been made to feel bad about taking too long to reply to threads before, and honestly, being pressured to reply isn’t going to make me answer it sooner.

muse preference ( fluff, angst, smut ) —I honestly prefer fluff and angst over anything. Anyone who’s written with me for a bit knows that I love combining the two. Not all the time, of course; a balance is needed, but if I had to pick ones that are more my style and what I prefer to write, it’s those two. Emotions are honestly a huge thing that I try to focus on, and these two are perfect for conveying that. It does take me a bit to reply to more angsty threads, though, depending on the context, because it sometimes takes a lot more energy to respond to them.

plot or memes —I like either one; memes are a great way to let me know you are interested in writing with me. I do enjoy plotting, though, as certain meme starters can eventually lead to developing dynamics between muses. So if you're nervous about talking to me, send in a meme starter from those that I reblogged. Please keep in mind that some are for ship partners only, but I do reblog ones for platonics and such too.

Long or Short replies—I think by now most can see I am a fairly long-reply writer. I don’t mind shorter threads, as long as there is some effort being put in by both of us. I just have had too many experiences in the past where I will put a lot of love into a starter and the person will only reply with a few sentences, which isn’t enough to continue the thread and makes me feel like I need to be the one guiding it along.

But I don’t mind shorter threads; sometimes it’s nice to just have something short and sweet. But all I ask is that some attempt be made to return the effort of writing back.

best time to write —This varies for me, especially since I have a full-time job. I try to work on things throughout the day on my breaks, but most of the time it feels like my best writing is done at night.

are you like your muse —I feel like so many of my muses have parts of me in them. It just helps to develop a character when you know some of the things they are feeling or going through. I experienced bullying for most of my life, which allowed me to understand the challenges Stella faced for years. Stella endured the mistreatment from the tribe and the negative thoughts that can arise when people make her feel a certain way.

Stella is also very forgiving; she cares so much about others. which isn’t a bad thing, but it has led to her giving up a lot to try and be there for them. In the end, I feel like Stella has so much of my love in her as well as Hiroto. The two are honestly combining parts of myself in them a bit; they are of course their own characters, but certain things I do see connecting to them from myself.

Tagged by: @crystalmarred (Thank you hon <3)

Tagging: Anyone that would like to do this that hasn't been tagged. Just mentioned I tagged you <3

[c0rpseductor]

rambling about plans for my ffxiv fic

doing another round of reading about writing blind characters for y’shtola purposes and i feel much better about the resource i found this time compared to last time, which didn’t have a lot of highly specific day to day information and seemed to forget very often that other disabilities exist. there was a very frustrating post for me as a cane user due to injury/nerve damage where that person was listing little habits people have carrying a white cane, like tapping their fingers against it or leaning with it and saying that sighted people will never experience the feeling of having an extension of themselves like that, which. Holy shit other people use canes too! this one is good about acknowledging comorbidity and intersecting disabilities and stuff.

anyway. i think there’s really so much to unpack when it comes to making decisions about writing y’shtola’s blindness in a way that’s not totally fucking stupid, especially as a sighted person, so i’m happy to be armed with both generalized “here is why x trope is annoying” and “here is how xyz thing actually works in real life” type information. it gives me a lot of detail to think about and try to incorporate, which is important in a novelization with a tone like morningstar’s especially.

it’s frustrating that there’s not much to go off in canon, too. they do the annoying “this blind character has special powers that negate her blindness” trope, and they also don’t seem to be very consistent about how much vision she has left, if any, and kind of handwave it with aethersight because it’s treated as like…functionally identical to sightedness if not better. except for when they remember she’s blind for character moments. i feel like the bit in endwalker where she can’t see the blasphemies because they have no aether implies she’s TOTALLY blind, but the way she interacts with the murals in rak’tika suggests she has vision left, because she doesn’t ask for anyone to describe what they depict and the only distinction she gives about paints is like, that the paint is old. and i think “her aethersight can tell the difference between the aetheric makeup of paint colors and ink and paper and so on” is fucking dumb.

i can’t decide whether i’d rather have her retain some vision or be totally blind. retaining or having some vision is far more common, and there’s no reason she couldn’t. additionally, that would mean her aethersight could be an assistive technology integrated into her remaining vision rather than something that “makes up” for her blindness. that bit in endwalker Does rely on her being totally blind, but then i feel like there’s less wiggle room to write a less offensive version of the aethersight because we’re back to “it’s a replacement for vision.” i’d also been thinking that emet-selch’s soulsight is more like a separate, more conceptual sixth sense with no real mundane corollary that he simplifies to “color” bc linguistic limitation, and given aethersight is essentially the same ability, applying that to y’shtola’s experience of it might…mitigate that?

it’s one of those things where i think there’s going to be some residual ableism no matter what. :/ i want to avoid as much of it as i can, but trying to change too much about her character or removing her aethersight entirely does pretty drastically change the trajectory of the original story AND remove the few moments where it actually does have the potential to intersect with her ability in an interesting way. if i were writing a less canon-compliant fic maybe i’d remove it altogether, but this is really an adaptation to prose with changes as opposed to a totally new narrative. i don’t want to potentially fuck everything up.

i think one big consideration is going to be her relationship with books, because she’s a huge reader and scholar. braille or some equivalent Should exist in the FFXIV universe and i think y’shtola should certainly be literate in it, but i think it’s also true that she’s probably not going to be able to find braille versions of Many of her Dusty Ancient Tomes. i like the idea of a spell that reads books aloud to her in her own voice, but specifically her inside-her-head voice, because that just seems like a fun detail to add to a magic spell like that. (i saw something like that in an emetwol fic i read except it was the sighted MC listening to an enchanted book urianger gave her that read in his voice. y’shtola is not typically a character in those fics so much as a vague amorphous force of stern disapproval and/or dispenser of noncanon soulbonding exposition, but it did kind of feel like. Hey. Why were audiobooks not the blind woman’s idea)

i could probably work her sorceress staff into having a dual function as a cane, maybe by making it lighter? i think any mobility aid she uses has to be something that can be seamless in combat. if her aethersight is like residual vision or if she has some level of residual vision, then it’d probably suit her okay to transition from cane to staff, she’s gotta stay in her ley lines and she has other ways to remain in touch with her environment. a familiar is also a possibility. i think with very few exceptions (like asking someone to describe a specific sight to her), she would reject any kind of assistance from a human guide; it’s not that she’s above connections with others or interdependence, i just think she plays her emotional cards really close to the vest in the same way matoya did and doesn’t particularly like engaging in that sort of vulnerability. but just like her asking urianger to describe the sky as a moment of emotional resonance and demonstration of trust, i could see that being relevant in other ways in morningstar, like maybe her intending to lead by example for pfeil.

i think their relationship is actually far more important than i initially gave it credit for given their relationships to disability. thancred is also real life disabled in my fic in that he has no vision in one eye, but i think he just has a less intense relationship with disability compared to the two of them if that makes sense? they have different motivations for what they’re doing to themselves but pfeil and y’shtola both take inordinate risks and completely wreck their bodies as a reaction to disability. i think for y’shtola it’s more a sort of dignity of risk thing, where she’s willing to do absolutely anything to get to where she wants and doesn’t necessarily have any internalized negative impressions of her own blindness by shb — maybe part of this is her relying on a variety of assistive technologies rather than JUST residual vision and aethersight and being reckless in other ways. for pfeil it’s actively a “moral” (read: obsessive-compulsive and fawning response) thing; he thinks he’s obligated to hurt himself because his physical disabilities represent a failure to live up to the role of Warrior of Light.

that’s a big source of tension between the two of them, bc pfeil thinks she’s still operating on the internal ableism he’s operating on (and even immediately after being blinded i think hers was never so intense as pfeil’s). conversely y’shtola recognizes that the way he thinks of himself is INCREDIBLY fucked and alarming and that his relationship to risk is actively and intentionally self-destructive as opposed to incidentally like hers. y’shtola didn’t jump after the antidote with the thought of martyring herself; pfeil in her shoes would’ve considered martyring himself the only morally defensible choice, because he’s got worms.

i also think that y’shtola is a person he deeply admires and respects, even though they butt heads not infrequently given she’s a lot more pragmatic and brusque and pfeil is a very bleeding heart on his sleeve type. i mentioned earlier there’s a lot of like, “oh no y’shtola knows i’m banging emet and doesn’t approve!” in m/f emetwol and it’s usually kind of weirdly misogynistic and racist (we HAVE to shit on the WOC for not supporting this deeply white couple!), so initially i wanted to avoid pfeil asking for her take on the relationship after they’ve broken up, but i think actually that’s very in keeping with their relationship and my instinct was correct. y’shtola is more or less a member of his family whose opinion he holds in very high esteem, of course he’s going to want to process something like this with her. i don’t really want to center it on her approval because of course they both agree it was a stupid decision, more on the insight that she has into people that he doesn’t as someone with both autism and limited/stunted social experience due to the horrors.

Jesus this post is long. drives me insane that I can do this but can’t just write the next chapter already

[typhoonvash]

17, 30

melee munday | from here

17. fanon interpretations

Everyone's interpretation of their character(s) is going to be different, speak differently, and have different experiences. So, it's incredibly difficult to make a 'canon' rp blog to me no matter how strong your muse is, you know?

That aside, with so many fanon HCs that exist there'll always be people who don't agree with them. I'm not here to impress or please other people, I'm here to share my interpretation of a character I love and put my own HCs on them (some of them are fanon!). Honestly, I've avoided interacting with fandom for so long that some concepts blow right past my head (also I'm an adult, I don't really need to interact with any of the negative parts of fandom if I don't want to).

Anyway this was a long winded way of saying: interpret characters how you want, as long as it's not hurting anyone or impossible to interact with. If you do it well, people will find you interesting regardless.

12. promos (I picked a random one with a generator)

Now that I'm getting some more traction in the community I don't mind reblogging promos! I didn't see the point before because most of the people I'm mutuals with were all reblogging each others' promos, so if I reblogged them I'd really just be in the same circle. But now I think I can!

Now... as for making a promo, well, how do I put this. Graphic Design Is (Not) My Passion. In fact, I took a graphic design class in college and the professor ended up not even bothering to look at my work it was so bad. I'll stick to writing.

Admittedly, promos and carrds intimidate me... I don't know how everyone makes them so pretty and I'm too afraid to ask. Maybe when I'm more confident I'll actually look into it... especially since I'd like to make a carrd for my ffxiv oc.

Thanks for the ask~

[driftward]

Title: FFXIV Write 2022 - 23. Pitch Characters: Gage Acquisitions and Allies, Tataru Taru Rating: Teen Summary: Tataru's an enabler. Notes: This cannon is probably not canon. Note that this contains Zoissette-as-WoL, and not Zoissette-as-Gage-Acquisitions-Lawyer

Tataru only glanced up briefly from her books when she heard the door to the Rising Stones open and then close again. Visitors coming back and forth were a common thing, and she often only needed a glance to vet whosoever it was. Seeing that it was Klynt, she paid her no further mind.

"Hey, Zoey!" she heard Klynt call out. "Zoey Zo Zo. Are you around? I have a question."

She heard Zoissette respond. "I'm right here, Klynt. But make it fast, I'm just heading out."

Tataru kept an ear out. The conversations that happened in the main area were often oh-so-interesting, and Klynt could be a good source of salacious gossip.

"Okay. Okay. So, you 'member when we were dealin' with that magitek the other week and you got one of 'em workin' again and you were explaining how you did it and you said the spinny bit made the levin go?"

"...yes," said Zoissette, her tone cautious.

"Okay. Okay. And you said also, that you could make the levin go in instead, and make the engine go spinny the other way?" Klynt sounded excited about something.

"Well, depending on current direction and some... other characteristics, yes. A lot of the technology of Azys Lla depends on those currents and their action, and the Nymian scholars had writings on similar. Did you find a Garlean engine, and want to try to get it working again?"

Tataru looked up, and saw that Zoissette had put her bag down on one of the nearby tables. She was now rather more interested in the conversation, and she set her quill aside.

"No, no! I was thinking, right, you said that the source of levin the Garleans use is often something to do with, uh, the ceruleum, right, and an aetheroconverter, right?" said Klynt, and there was a sound of increased excitement in her voice.

"...yes. I am really curious as to where you're going with this," said Zoissette.

"Just stay with me, just stay with me, I have an idea. Nyx is basically a big ol' aetheroconverter, right?"

Tataru glanced up expectantly, and was rewarded to see Nyx's head swing down from the ceiling as she hung upside down, putting her head level with Klynt's.

"I heard my name," said Nyx, in her usual monotone.

"I don't understand everything about Nyx, you know that. But sure, yes, you're approximately correct, I think," said Zoissette.

"Okay. Okay. So I was thinkin', about how fast that thing could spin... and you know, when I do my dragoon things? Leaping up into the air real high and coming back down? I sometimes use levin magics to power that. So I was thinkin'... maybe if we wired it up right... we could use one of those generator thingies, except instead of making thing go spinny, we use it to pitch something. Like, -real- far, with the way they can go."

Zoissette put her hands on her hips, and then tucked her head down, tapping a finger against her lips.

"...I... am not sure. I know the basics of the electroaetherics involved, and I remember reading something about the interactions, but I think aligning everything so that the motive force is linear rather than rotational would be dependant on a different levin mechanism..."

"You are correct," said Nyx. "Though I also do not know the specifics. I believe the Ironworks engineers could perhaps help in this regard."

Tataru hummed thoughtfully to herself as she walked up to the group.

"Say, Zoissette," she said lightly. "Maybe you can pay the Ironworks a visit after you run your errands. I could go ahead if you like. I think Jessie is currently at Rhalgr's reach."

Zoissette looked down at Tataru, and tapped her lips thoughtfully with a finger. "...that could be a big help, Tataru, thanks."

Tataru flashed a smile up at Zoissette. "Speak nothing of it. Leave it to me!"

She headed back to her desk, and picked up a few things that she thought she would need while she heard the trio continue to consider their plans. She left a note on her desk that she would be out for a bit, and then, with a brief hum of concentration, she teleported out.

-*-

Tataru sat on a crate nearby while the engineers hashed it out. She had gotten there, and managed to convince Jessie to let go of Cid and Nero for a bit, and all of them were now arguing over the specifics of the plan. She wasn't following much of it, but she did overhear enough. Cid thought the idea was interesting enough. Nero thought it would be a waste of time, or at least, he did until Cid made an off-hand comment that it probably wouldn't be of much interest to him anyway, and they'd taken to arguing over the merits of the project. Klynt was negotiating with Jessie, while Zoissette was taking notes, and Nyx was...

Well, Nyx was just standing there, silently, observing. Tataru walked over to her.

"Say, Miss Blackmoon, I'm wondering if you can think of anything they might need."

Nyx turned her stare down to Tataru. "If I understand the line of research they are interested in, then there may be records at Azys Lla they may find useful. I can provide you an index if you are interested."

"Ah," said Tataru, holding a hand to her chin thoughtfully. "Not sure what I'd do with that."

"I believe Wedge can help you execute the search query," said Nyx.

"Oh! Well, that would be helpful. Thank you, Miss Blackmoon."

"You are welcome, Taru. Here."

Tataru gave Nyx a curtsy, while Nyx handed her a small black item that looked to be part of a tomestone.

"Miss Blackmoon, please let the others know I went to go take care of some things, but not to wait up for me, okay?" said Tataru.

"Acknowledged, Taru," said Nyx, and Tataru disappeared in another teleport.

-*-

The group had moved on to Azys Lla, to find Biggs and Wedge waiting for them. Tataru found herself once more sitting nearby, kicking her feet over the edge of a platform. The group shifted from having spirited discussions to vanishing elsewhere in Azys Lla for a bit to either find something or another or go look up some more information from one of the many floating devices that, apparently, were laden with data.

Knowing well the dangers of the place, Tataru was reluctant to move too far from the platform. Wedge, however, hovered nearby, and she decided to entertain the both of them with some conversation.

"How do you think it's coming along?" she asked.

"W-well, Nero thinks Klynt's idea is doable," he said. "The problem is, though, that Zoissette's our only scholar, you know, versed in Nymian mathematics, and she's too busy to focus her full attention here. Also, Cid thinks we could use another specialist or two. He said, uhm, someone familiar with Allagan spell work, and, uhm, another arcanist."

"Hmn," said Tataru thoughtfully. "Any other difficulties, you think?"

"Well! A great many, but those are the big ones we'll have a problem with. Everything else, Biggs and I can overcome. The chief'll work us like dogs, and we'll howl!" he said, jumping and flexing.

Tataru giggled at him. "Well. It sounds like you lot are going to be busy for a while, then. I'd better let you get to it."

"U-u-uhm. Sure. Talk to you later, Tataru!" he said.

She smiled and waved at him, and a moment later, she was gone in a flicker of teleportation magics.

-*-

Erick was standing in the lobby of Gage Acquisitions when Tataru stopped in, looking over some paperwork. He glanced over at her.

"Tataru. It's a bit early for Triple Triad night."

"Hello, Erick! Nice to see you too, but I'm not here for that," said Tataru.

Erick lowered his papers, and looked at Tataru over the top of them.

"I was wondering if I could hire away a couple of your contractors," said Tataru. "Let me think. Oh, it was Ryssthota Sundstyrwyn and Apple Silverberg, I believe."

"Dark's in charge of personnel," said Erick.

"I'm willing to offer twenty percent over their usual rates," said Tataru with a smile.

"Yeah, and I only get a percentage cut of that. It's not worth annoying her over."

"Hmn. Well, tell you what, Erick, I'll make you a deal. You remember that contract that Gage Acquisitions was bidding for in Old Sharlayan, to help out the Studium researchers?"

Erick glowered at her. "The one that Zoissette undercut us on? Yeah, I remember. I swear, she has no respect for proper business. Maybe next time she'd like to pay them for the privilege instead."

"Well, you know how she is, if there's work she thinks she'll like or she thinks will help people, but that's neither here nor there. I'm willing to sell you the contract for as long as you're willing to let me hire those two I asked after. Zoissette's been letting me do the books for her, see if there's anything the Scions could do to get a fair shake, and I must say, the residuals have been -very- lucrative..."

Tataru gave him her best smile, her hands behind her back.

"Done deal," said Erick, and the two shook on it.

-*-

Tataru carefully made her way around the tables in the Rising Stones. The first prototype of their device, whatever it was, had been tested, and apparently the results were promising, but they were hoping to scale up further. Cid and Nero were having a merry discussion about where they would test next. Zoissette was looking thoughtful while Ryssthota was giving her ideas for the elemental conversion work they would need to do.

She stopped by to give Apple and Klynt some juice. Klynt, she had gone out of her way to get pineapple juice for, knowing the Roegadyn's proclivities for food and drink that sometimes bit back. Of all the groups in the room, theirs looked the most down.

"Something the matter?" asked Tataru.

Apple sighed, and Klynt just shook her head. "Apple's egis are givin' us power. Something-something Garuda windy static somethin', I don't know the details, but she can't do it fast -enough-. We need somethin' she can charge up and then that we can discharge real fast-like. I know some alchemical jars that can do th' job as fast as Nero likes, but he's complainin' about capacity, and Ryssthota was worried 'bout throughput."

Klynt let her head sink into her hands. "An' I'm good at mixin' 'em and makin' 'em, but I'm no potion-formula-smith."

Tataru tapped a finger thoughtfully against her chin, and nodded. "Well, wait just right here for a bell, would you? I think I need to make a social call."

Apple smiled at her while Klynt just gave a tired thumbs up. "Ain' goin' anywhere," said Klynt.

-*-

Tataru had returned from Thavnair, with Nidhana in tow. The Arkasodara was a bit large for the Rising Stones, and had given the low doorway a bit of a look, but had otherwise taken to the new environment with remarkable grace. She was now listening to Klynt and Apple explain the woes they were having, and growing rather animated as she got more excited about the possibilities.

Satisfied, Tataru almost returned to her desk, when she overheard what had started as a polite enough - for them, anyway - discussion between Cid and Nero grow heated.

"No, we will not be putting this on the Excelsior. The aetheric ram damn near took the top mast clean off when we deployed it, this will almost certainly tear her apart."

"Well you protested when I suggested we simply butt the full sized variant up against one of the nearby hills. Please, Cid, I am already trying to be reasonable, letting you scale it down despite what we should be capable of doing."

"We can't just go around and try to explain to the locals, excuse me, hello, can we risk putting a hole in your backyard, please and thank you."

Nero waved a finger in the air. "It's not like we would be -inconveniencing- the locals, we certainly wouldn't do the testing anywhere near them. It's just a little risk of damage to a rock nobody's going to care about. That's the problem with you, Cid, science often demands sacrifices, and you're too much of a coward to make them."

Cid stepped forward and looked like he was on the verge of taking a swing at Nero when Tataru stepped in.

"Have you two considered testing from a boat?" she asked.

Cid stepped back and looked thoughtful. "Well... a boat might work," he conceded.

"If we could get ahold of a particularly large one," said Nero, "we could consider the full size model once more."

"Yes, yes, fine. If we could get ahold of a large enough ship, we could go with the design you proposed," said Cid. "But wheresoever would we find such a thing? Nobody's going to just hand us a ship."

"Well, we could do as I said, scale it down, and use your already existing airship," said Nero.

The two fell back into arguing, and Tataru walked away, thoughtful.

-*-

"Say, Admiral," said Tataru pleasantly over tea. "I was wondering, whatever happened to the Whorleater?"

Admiral Merlwyb snorted as she looked out over the railing from the Bismarck. "We just finished building another of the wretched things just to be ready in case that terrible monster strikes again, but the original's been taking up space in drydock ever since her last sortie. It's seaworthy enough, but I don't know what to do with it. I dare not let it be taken out again, not when we have a better platform built for the purpose. And taking it apart seems like a waste. We're not getting those hulls back, after all."

Merlwyb sipped her own tea, and looked over at Tataru. "Why do you ask?"

Tataru just smiled.

-*-

Tataru was handling paperwork when she overheard Ryssthota and Zoissette talking about the material science problems the group had run into. Apparently, one of the prototypes had basically vaporized itself. Ryssthota was lamenting the superior metallurgy of the Garleans, and how difficult it was to get ahold of the stuff. Zoissette seemed to be trying to figure out, that even if they had managed to get ahold of some, how to make sure it would be of a sort to survive the stresses it would be placed under.

Tataru decided to allow herself another small trip, this time to Ala Mhigo.

-*-

"Say, Raubahn," said Tataru casually during a lull in the conversation. "Whatever happened with that big old cannon the Garleans left behind during the war?"

Raubahn snorted. "That monstrosity in Castrum Abania? It's been a bit of a sore spot for a while now. It's useless to us. There's been some half hearted attempts to restore it, but It only had enough range to terrorize our countrymen. It's useless to us as a weapon, and it's become a symbol of everything we've hated during the occupation aside. And when you look at all the damage it's sustained, to say nothing of the Garleans trashing anything of value on their way out. Well. It's an oversized pile of expensive scrap metal. We're salvaging what we can, but we can't sell the stuff, not really, and the larger parts are proving difficult to move.

"Why do you ask, lass?"

"Well, I was just wondering, do you think I could arrange to take some of it? I've got a project in mind that I think it would be just about perfect for."

Raubahn snorted. "I'll have to talk to the assembly, but given what you and yours have done for us? I'm certain the answer will be yes. And as far as I'm concerned, you can take whatever you can carry out of here."

"Much obliged, General," said Tataru. "And thank you for the tea."

-*-

"Say, Jessie," said Tataru pleasantly. "Do you think I could borrow that big ol' airship platform that the Ironworks was using over in Werlyt?"

"If I say yes, do I get my engineers back sooner?" asked Jessie somewhat peevishly. "When you said you had a project for them, I didn't expect you to keep them for damn near a season. We've got work that needs doing around here."

"Of course! This will help them get their work done faster, I promise. I just need to borrow the airship to nip off to Gyr Abania and pick up some parts for them that they'll need, and I'll bring it right back, don't you worry!"

"If you say so," said Jessie, with a sigh. "I really hope this will all be worth it, whatever it is you're all working on over there."

Tataru looked thoughtful for a moment as she mulled over Jessie's words.

"You know what, I think they're actually just about at the point where they could use some project management, and maybe you should come with me," she said at last. "They probably could use an adult in the room and some hand holding to finish this out. Oh, and I'd better get Y'shtola too, she's good at reigning in Zoissette, and someone should be keeping an eye on the magic side of the shop while you handle the mechanical side."

Jessie looked archly at Tataru. "...I don't know what it is you're working on over there, but it sounds like I'd better find out for myself."

Tataru smiled up at Jessie. "Great! Meet me at the airship dock, then, and we can get going!"

Tataru headed off, and Jessie just put her hands on her hips and sighed.

-*-

The Rising Stones was fair buzzing, and Tataru was as well, as she rushed back and forth, double checking the numbers and figures as asked, making sure food and drink were available, and otherwise going about the business of taking care of her people.

She had been right, of course, about the project management bit. Jessie was now reigning in some of Cid and Nero's worse tendencies, while making sure Biggs and Wedge were both working hard and getting adequate rest. Y'shtola had agreed to return, and her aetheric expertise was helping Zoissette, Ryssthota, and Apple finish their work, as well as keeping them relatively focused and on task as needed. And Nidhana had proved to be a delight, as she was already used to being in charge of a project. She had brought several other experts from Radz-at-han, and she and Klynt were getting along like a house on fire, and as near as Tataru could tell, were making great progress.

She'd had to hop out and ask for just a few more favors, of course. A trip to Ishgard had gotten some spare parts that had been slated for Dragonkillers, but were now being put to better use here. A visit with Hien, and now some of Doma's best and brightest were lending their expertise to building materials. A brief stop by Ul'dah had secured the work of goldsmiths for some of the more fine-tuned fiddly bits that had been asked for. Even Old Sharlayan had caught wind of the project, and their Gleaners were helping take over sourcing for materials.

And now she had the interest of practically every leader of any standing in Eorzea and abroad. Funding had come in, as all were interested in the project.

Tataru found herself considering, just once, if maybe she should be more careful about who and what she enabled.

Then she pushed the thought out of her mind, at the sheer joy of seeing everyone working together, on things that they loved, with people that they cared about.

She took a deep breath in, and sighed a happy sigh.

"Dare great things, my friends," she said to herself.

-*-

It was night time, and the Whorleater floated, low in the water, heavy with the equipment that had been loaded upon it. It looked faintly ridiculous, thought Tataru as she wandered around its spaces. But she thought it was beautiful at the same time, knowing as she did what had gone into it.

The ship was abuzz with conversation as she walked through it. She walked past pipes and scaffolds, ladders and tanks, and wonders both magical and technological.

Magitek.

And it was magical technology.

She did not understand any of it, but she was in awe of its splendor, and she smiled as she ran her hand over metal surfaces and delighted in seeing her hair stand on end as she stood close to enchanted materials.

Whatever it was they had been working on, it was ready, and she could hear as the ship's oddball crew called out to one another.

"Steady, steady!" said Cid's voice. "We only get the one shot, so make sure it counts."

"Make sure to secure those connections," said Nero to Biggs and Wedge. "If you two make so much as a single mistake, we'll all be seeing the other side of the lifestream."

Tataru quickly ducked below decks. She could see a facsimile of Garuda hovering down low in the ship's belly. There was a faint green sphere around her, her arms and legs all tucked in, her head buried in her chest as her wings were wrapped around her, while Apple stood nearby, monitoring her.

"Aetheric recombination coming up to intermediate at one decade per second," Apple called out. "Garuda's doing okay so far. She's excited, I think. Zoissette, are those wards ready?"

"The wards are holding steady," called back Zoissette, who was sitting at some kind of console that was mounted on a walkway above Garuda. "As soon as you enter the power range, I will align aetheric lines one through four to power them."

"Everything appears to be in order," said Y'shtola, who was standing nearby, hands out as she traced something in the air only she could see. "I can see the flows of aether, and they are holding steady. Ryssthota, is the conversion process ready?"

Ryssthota was not very far away, just a little below and in front of where Garuda sat. Behind her, Nyx was suspended in some kind of harness that had a lot of cables leading to and from it. She turned and gave a thumbs-up from where she was standing.

"Everything's hooked up and ready to go. Once the aetheric recombination begins in earnest and the wards are secure, I can start the elemental conversion over for the levin that we'll need," Ryssthota turned to look at several meters. "For now, the connections to those capacitive jars that Klynt and Nidhana made look good. I think we're ready."

"I am online," said Nyx suddenly, her eyes opening, but for once, she was not staring at anybody, just staring off into nowhere. "Interface secure and systems are ready. I am ready to begin the Whorleater pre operational sequence."

Tataru hummed thoughtfully to herself, and pulled herself back up topside, to see Jessing watching her.

"You should take the airship over to the observation barge," said Jessie. "It's about to get pretty loud over here."

Tataru nodded, and she headed for one of the two small airships that were docked on either side of the Whorleater. As she took off, she could hear more shouting back and forth as the engineers and scientists made ready for their grand experiment.

-*-

The observation barge was abuzz with conversation. Practically everyone who was anyone in the Eorzean Alliance, and others aide, was present, but Tataru found herself milling around and feeling a bit listless for all that. She had done what she could, and she had helped as she was able, but it was all a bit out of her hands, now.

So she sat on the deck, humming thoughtfully to herself, just watching the Whorleater as it sat in the night water. She could see the stars sparkle every so slightly in the waves, and she could see the Whorleater lit up like a festival, with lights of all colors, casting shadows that played along its complicated assemblies. From here she could see the two large, very long and narrow metal pieces that took up much of its midsection, sticking out the front of the ship quite a lot. Rails, she thought she remembered them being called. She could see the large cylinder, off-center on the ship's far side, extending up into the sky. Aetheric recombination complex, that part was, and that's where all the very complicated magical components sat. It connected forward into a boxy shape that was attached to one of the large rails. That was the main conversion engine, turning magical energies into levin power. And then there was the sphere that butted up against the back of the rails, and in fact, was one of the large parts that touched both rails, the cylinder, and even part of the boxy shape. Main engineering, and that was where the crew would be at when it all came together at last.

"I sure do hope this was worth all the fuss," Tataru heard Admiral Merlwyb say from her side. She looked up at the woman, and saw that though she had her arms crossed, she was still leaning forward in interest ever so slightly.

"Even if it doesn't work as a whole," said Maxima from behind her, "What they've accomplished so far is nothing sort of incredible. Have you seen how much power that thing creates? You could power half of the capital with it alone. It could practically replace ceruleum overnight."

Kan-E-Senna nearby shook her head. "Or not. The aetheric corruption that bleeds off that thing is still a matter of concern."

"Well, they've got it under control for their test, at least," said Raubahn, leaning back in his seat and crossing his arms. "I say we give them enough faith for their little demonstration tonight. We owe them at least that much."

Aymeric nearby made an agreeable noise. "I have faith enough, to be sure, and am excited to see if it's even half of what was promised."

Tataru looked out over the water and saw a green flash as the wards around the engineering section came up to full power.

"Hold on, it's starting," she said. She was excited. And, if she were honest, a little scared.

Conversations on the observation barge came to a stop, and everyone gathered near the railing, to see what would happen next.

Silence did not quite come to the water, but it did grow quiet. And after a bit, all Tataru could hear was the breathing of those around her, and the humming of the Whorleater over the water, as the ship sat, seeming to do nothing in the black pitch of night.

The night stretched on, and the passengers began to look at one another, uncertain.

Finally, Admiral Merlwyb was the one to break the silence. "Do you think they-"

She never finished her sentence.

Night became day in the waters off of Vylbrand.

A lance of purest light snapped into existence coming from between the rails of the Whorleater, and the ship was shoved back and away. Tataru watched in amazement, as the water curved under what seemed to be a beam of energy, as as the air above the water erupted into what seemed to be a gout of flame. Its target, another ship that had been moved into position just for this demonstration, seemed to fold in half around its midsection where the beam hit it, and the beam just blew through, its light disappearing over the horizon and heading out into the void.

"My gods!" someone gasped. Tataru wasn't sure who.

And then the sound reached them. The humming that had been present seemed to suddenly increase into intensity until it flipped onto itself in an instant and turned into a roar that echoed through the bay.

The light faded. The remains of the ship that had been hit burned merrily, their light flickering over the water. Tataru blinked, and rubbed her eyes, and looked.

The Whorleater remained. It was not where it had been, but it was still float, and it appeared to be sound. She thought she could see faint smoke coming off of its rails, but she was not certain if what she saw was real, or if it was an afterimage from that broiling light.

The observation barge was silent once more. Some people had fled to go under decks, but many more had stayed, and were now gripping the rails, looking out over the water, watching silently for any sign of life.

The silence stretched somewhat longer than the previous one had, and yet no one dared utter a sound.

And then, the Whorleater launched a single green flare.

All clear, was what that particular color meant. Mission success.

The observation barge erupted into cheers, and Tataru almost collapsed with relief.

-*-

The atmosphere back in the Rising Stones was jubilant.

Tataru sat behind her desk, smiling to herself, as she just scribbled away at her paperwork.

The test had been a success, apparently. Not without its shortcomings, but a success nonetheless. There had been problems. Apparently, the aetheric corruption was a bigger deal than had been anticipated, and if it had not been for the many people present who had Hydaelyn's blessing, the results could have been disastrous. In Apple's words, "We almost created something like tempering, but worse." And Nidhana's levin jars had held out long enough for the firing to happen, but then had promptly cracked and leaked out, spraying their contents all around the ship. "A small problem," she had said with a smile, but which everyone agreed had been less than ideal. And the rails had been half-vaporized by the firing. And Nyx had seemed almost dead for a full several minutes after the test firing, which is what took them so long to send up the green flare. Even once she had 'woken up', she had apparently been in verbal only mode for many bells, and she had to be carried off the ship.

But Zoissette had been pleased that her math had worked out, and Ryssthota had been very excited about how the aetherconverter had worked, and everyone agreed that though it was unlikely they would be making another test project like this one anytime soon, the research data and opportunities that had come out of this one could keep them all busy for moons, if not summers, to come.

All in all, not bad for a season's work, thought Tataru to herself. It was certainly not the unmitigated success the aetheric ram had been back during the Dragonsong war, but neither was it the almost completely existential failure of G'raha's grand work between the First and the Source, so.

Tataru glanced up as a paper was put down in front of her, and saw Zoissette standing there, smiling at her.

"What's this?" said Tataru, picking up the paper and peering at it.

"Just need you to sign at the bottom," said Zoissette.

"Whatever for?" asked Tataru.

Zoissette turned and looked at the many excited conversations happening in the Rising Stones. "I used to be a bookkeep myself, you know," she said, quietly. "I know what it's like to be overlooked, to have your work taken for granted. To have the people around you be appreciative, but not not really understand just how much of what they do relies upon on what you do."

Zoissette turned back to Tataru. "So I think I'd like to put your name on our research papers. Document your contributions, so to speak, and make sure your name is in a journal or two. Or three. This wouldn't have happened without you."

Tataru smiled. "Oh, pish posh," she said. "You lot did all the hard work."

"And none of it would have been possible, without you doing the logistics," said Zoissette.

"Well... I don't know what to say," said Tataru.

"Say 'you're welcome, Zoissette'," said Zoissette.

Tataru looked down at the paper, and she felt tears begin to well up, just a little bit.

"Oh, I suppose," she said.

And then she signed.

[cinnabun-faerie]

Okay but what about canon female characters in FFXIV being nervous about liking a f!WoL who ends up singing girls/girls/boys and they're like 😳😯

F!WoL sings girls/girls/boys

A/N: The song by Panic! at the Disco? I hope you don't mind that I only chose a few of the characters.

Song: girls/girls/boys - Panic! at the Disco

Warning: If you have not completed anything past A Realm Reborn, please don't read any further

AU: WoL gets Isekai’d into their fav game, FFXIV & now they actually live out the story with many changes!

Context: The ladies are romantically interested in the WoL, albeit nervous about it. And then out of the blue, the WoL sings this song to express their feelings for them.

Lyna

Ever since you had met in the First, she would have fallen for you hard. It was very obvious to the Exarch of course. The whole thing had made her nervous as she felt emotionally vulnerable. She had always thought of herself to be strong and always had her guard up. But yet, her you come, breaking down every wall. So whenever she'd see you interacting with the Exarch, she would feel as if her heart was going to burst. And brick by brick, she'd start to build her wall back up.

When she hears you singing this on your walk together, she smiles. You did have a lovely voice. The words of the song wouldn't fully register until you held her hand. She'd look up at you, to see your pink cheeks.

Minfilia

Your friendship meant more to her than anything else. That would include the romantic feelings she's been harbouring for quite a while now. But with your glances and touches, it truly confuses her. She wanted to tell you, but something always seemed to stop her. Maybe it was how you acted with Thancred. It might just be that you were interested in him.

One day when she thought that she was alone in the Waking Sands, she would hear singing. It was most enchanting. If she were to be honest, it was as if a siren was drawing her in closer to her demise. Her feet taking her towards the Solar where she would finding you reading and singing to yourself. And the message of your song would click. Girls love girls? Perhaps-

"I've been waiting for you. I have sung this song especially for you."

"Does the meaning hold true?"

"For me it does. And I've come to express it to you. There is a girl who is in love with you, Minfilia. If it wasn't obvious by now, that girl is me."

Y'shtola

Honestly at first Y'shtola would be really nervous, but she would accept it if you didn't like her. She would let it go for a while, pushing back her feelings. Your friendship was more important than feelings, especially if you didn't feel the same. Perhaps she was mistaken that you might have an inkling of interest for her as you were often with Urianger. The two of you were close, she wasn't jealous. She just wished that it could be her with you instead.

When you had encountered her in the First, you were happy to see her. But she had Runar by her side. That was great and all but you felt competitive. You wanted her and you could see that he did as well. But you weren't going to lose. And on one afternoon, she heard you singing. She would make her way towards you, focusing on your voices and the words that seemed to flow from your lips. As your gaze met hers, you pointed to yourself and then her as you sang the last lines of the song.

"Girls love girls and boys And never did I think that I Would be caught in the way you got me But girls love girls and boys And love is not a choice"

Ysayle

With how you interact with Estinien, she would think that you were interested in him. It would hurt because she liked you. She might even admit that she's never felt this way towards anyone before. To protect her heart, she would distance herself from you. This did not sit well with you. So, when you were on your next adventure with Estinien & Ysayle, you burst into song.

"What is the meaning of this, Y/N?"

"Is it not obvious what she is trying to say?"

"I didn't ask you, Estinien."

"Stop it you two. Ysayle, I wanted to express to you that I like girls, but also boys. But there's one girl that I like. It's you."

[msviolacea]

I am vaguely sleep deprived, because my cat is an asshole, and avoiding a ton of chaos in my work email for a few minutes, so it’s time to ramble about a fandom thing that baffles me forever, because that’s totally a good use of my Monday morning.

It’s understandable and even fun to get attached to minor characters, or to the idea of characters that haven’t even been built up yet. But why don’t people understand that when you do that, it’s you having headcanons and not a referendum on How Canon Should Be?

Current examples: I’ve been watching Genshin Impact fandom more closely the last week or so, the Harbingers teaser really delighted me, and I’m super excited about the coming lore drops in Sumeru. But I have Questions, such as why there was still a whole subreddit dedicated to maining a character who died in canon nearly a year ago? Yes, time is weird in this game, I won’t be surprised if people get resurrected at some point, but y’all, she was literally VAPORIZED. The time to let go of the idea that she’d eventually be playable has long since passed, why are we wailing and mourning now?

And last night, I was watching a stream where several people were stating “character X and character Y are lovers” as if it was immutable fact. Y’all, character X and character Y have only been seen for like five seconds apiece, in a teaser released last week, they didn’t interact in any way other than being part of the same faction - I’m all for a crack ship, but why, WHY are we stating this clear headcanon as fact in a conversation about lore and future playability? And you know that the people who are currently saying this in a serious way are going to be big mad two years from now when nothing has been said to confirm their totally nonexistent canon ship. 

The conversations about the Harbingers also reminded me of someone I interacted with for a little bit in FFXIV fandom, who was so attached to their favorite character and really, genuinely upset that canon wasn’t giving that character more to do or that people still had negative opinions of the character. I was silently like, my friend, your blorbo was one of the main villains of the game for a large chunk of time! The canon narrative is doing interesting things in having them switch sides, and I’m enjoying it a lot personally, but can you really not step out of your own head far enough to see that people are going to have mixed feelings about them still, given how much time we all spent watching them do really shitty things? Or that the game writers are never going to make them one of the main heroes of the story - the fact that you got a side character redemption arc is pretty much a miracle in a lot of ways. Just because you’ve adopted them as your blorbo doesn’t mean canon has to adopt them as a Main Character. 

Basically, my question is, why don’t people understand the ways story works, or the difference between something you wish for REALLY hard and something that’s statistically likely? And I know there isn’t a good answer, people just let their emotions get the better of them all the time, but man is this one of my biggest irrational annoyances in any fandom. Canons have plenty of ways to make us sad or mad in genuine ways. All I ask is that you have a basic understanding of how stories work, especially in large-scale media, and have expectations that vaguely match. Why is this so hard?

[autumnslance]

Character meme: Thancred

Give me a character and I’ll break them down:

This got long cuz I tend to ramble about this dude.

How I feel about this character:

This utter absolute godsdamned bastard of a man. How dare he.

When I really got into FFXIV finally (after only dabbling for a bit), the age gap of his listed 32 and my RL age at the time put the same distance as me and my own younger brother, and that is where Thancred fits. I was FINE with him as a total bro, as the local disaster, similar to a younger sibling I am both fond of and exasperated by. He has a lot of backstory, character development, and changes, even before Shadowbringers really brings his various issues and working through them to the foreground. I love snarky, sarcastic characters, using that to cover their pain and issues. Highly competent but still so full of doubts. Acting out middle child of the core Scions family (now the elder brother figure with Papalymo gone and his own sense of responsibility kicking in in healthier ways).

There's a lot there, and he hits a lot of character tropes I like as a writer and reader both. So for 2 full playthroughs, he was a colleague, a companion, a pal, a bro.

Now. Now when I make a fic writing WoL based off the lady midlander CGI model, now when I decide to make an ace WoL who won't get shipped with anyone cuz we so rarely see that, now when I decide to roll Aeryn through the MSQ and got to meeting the Scions and Ifrit's quest...

Sigh. Here we are, 3+ years and counting, and "Shippy Nonsense" has completely taken over my FFXIV posting and it's all that Damn Rogue's fault. I blame his bonus to sneak attack vs a WoL's smallclothes. I know he took that feat.

He’s still my bro that I am going to tease affectionately while my character swoons, but I am going to be amusedly grumbly about it forever.

(Also I still think his ARR model is Generic Anime Protag #3547 and isn’t all that visually interesting. I like bits and pieces of the HW mountain hobo look. I think his ShB model is better at showing his experience and personality, but still wish there were some adjustments.)

All the people I ship romantically with this character

Fellow Wolcred ships. I love you all. Also it just makes “sense” to me to ship WoL with a Scion over most other NPCs, and Thancred is definitely the default nice handsome male romance option like what one gets at the beginning of a Bioware game (looking at you, Carth, Kaiden, Alistair...). I just. y’know. Thought OC/NPC shipping was for other people, not me.

I have a soft spot for occasional Y'shtola/Thancred and Urianger/Thancred. I feel like he’s a person who’d only open to true romantic relationships with people he’s known and trusted for awhile, because of his own doubts and issues.

He’s totally a Bi disaster though; a lean toward women, perhaps, but certain dudes’ll turn his head.

My non-romantic OTP for this character

Thancred & Minfilia for the found family brother-sister trope.

Thancred & Ryne for the same, with father-daughter flavor instead.

Thancred & Urianger for the best bros back and forth.

Thancred & Y'shtola for the best bros in a different way. I also include here occasional side-along headcanons for a FWB situation for them, safe comfort and release--especially after the Lifestream--but without romance; their love is platonic.

(I can’t quite see Urianger doing a casual FWB in the same way tho, he doesn’t strike me as the type; it’s all or nothing there.)

My unpopular opinion about this character

How I see the "temporary eye injury." How he likely wasn't as much of a slut as assumed--while he got plenty, he also used the flirting as a cover a lot (esp given how he drops the flirty demeanor entirely post-Antitower). How he likely wasn't as much of a drunkard in ARR patches as assumed, either; getting blackout drunk makes little sense when the issue was loss of control thanks to possession.

I also think many of the people who think it would have been “fitting” (or just wished for) him to die at the Trolley RP Duty in ShB missed some of the point of Shadowbringers’ overarching themes. ShB could certainly be dark at times, but overall was a story of hope and the differences between remembering the past versus being held captive by it, and the bonds between people. If it were a more tragic story with more pessimistic themes, then yes; Thancred dying then to protect Ryne with their issues unresolved would have been (heartbreaking but) fitting. However, that’s not the story being told; it’s him using that battle as catharsis to beat at his own issues and realize he really had repeated his original mistakes. To make his peace with Minfilia’s loss and then, in the end, work things through with Ryne and be the man he should have been for her.

Ryne gets the fairy tale ending of having her parental figure that she feared resented her tell her he was sorry and fix himself for her.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

We should have seen more of his and Minfilia’s found family relationship in game. There wasn’t a lot of room for it in 2.0, it could have been in the 2.x patches a bit more, but a lot about their relationship is described after she’s already gone.

Ran’jit was Thancred’s kill. There is no way that was originally written with the General porting out last second just for the WoL to suddenly be able to defeat his plot armor. The Trolley RP Duty has the foil character set up, the “last special bullet,” and the player is controlling Thancred at the time. It makes no narrative sense and stinks of executive meddling out of some fear the players would feel cheated by not having it be WoL who defeats Ran’jit, but it’s a serious misstep in the story. We could have, should have, fought suped-up Jongleurs as the speed bump boss to Vauthry, as those characters also were woefully underused.

I’m also hoping for more personal Scion history as we get to Old Sharlayan; while most of the older Scions are from or were educated in the Dravanian Colony, being around the culture and people again shall surely give us more information as to their academic backgrounds.

And we all always need more nutkin interactions and shenanigans.

[archvillain]

Low hanging fruit! Low hanging fruit! Mayuri Kurotsuchi, Vexen Kingdomhearts and/or Fray FFXIV 👀

let's GET those fruits... with bonus fray! this is a long one haha

mayuri kurotsuchi is like crack cocaine to me

they are so cool looking!: i think this opinion is generally shared by mayuri likers everywhere. this guy is so fashion

everyone but me is wrong about them <3: reading mayuri fic is like drinking toxic slutch. i get irrationally angry when people make him a shrinking violet... there's a lot of weird takes in the world about this guy! the amount of fix-it-fic like "mayuri is a good father and cares about things" is enough to blow your liver clean out of your body... but even the more "on-canon" interps can be out of left field for me. it's like we're all taking different 5-second clips of this guy to expand on. never rp your blorbos, it makes it personal

wasted potential: i think mayuri would've been an excellent continuing villain. he's got his most punch right in the start, and then as he becomes the clown king of kubo's dreams, his edge softens up. i packbonded with him INSTANTLY when he just pulled a wallet-sized pic of this dude's DEAD GRANDPA out... like he just keeps that shit ON him like CONDOMS!!!

they're like a blorbo to me/im mentally ill about them: :0)

i like them enough to project my own issues onto them: TRANS MAYURI TRANS MAYURI TRANS MAYURI. what could be more trans than painting yourself head to toe in drag and having marilyn manson in a little red dress as your theme song

wow! they are a horrible person: this is such a non-take that i forgot to include it the first time and had to edit it back in -_-

didnt get enough screen time: this is a problem for me and me alone but i started watching bleach FOR mayuri at some point and boy was i disappointed when he stopped showing up. and like no interactions with kisuke after it's revealed they knew each other... for shame

they've never done anything wrong in their life <33: mayuri has never done an action i would not GO TO COURT to defend. permissible action only here, boys. this one's certifiable. jokes aside, i feel like even his scenery chewing is exciting and warranted... never did i ever go "damn this bitch annoying, get off the screen" im obsessed.

vexen is kind of a complicated one for me but i love him dearly

everyone but me is wrong about them/nothing i like about them is technically canon/they are a horrible person: SINCE i have been a vexen stan since i was a fucking baby, what he means to me is a little all over the place... times were different when chain of memories was the only canon data. i had interpreted him as this kind of researcher who had gone to the edge & beyond, risking the lives of everyone around him as he and his fellow researchers INTENTIONALLY took their own lives for the sake of the darkness machine by throwing themselves into it. this was a bomb ass interp! this was how the research logs of COM/1 made it sound!! i was obsessed!!!!... this was before ddd & 3 revealed Other Things To Be True. :/ honestly, i prefer the original interp. i think it makes him way more interesting than what he is in canon: a flaky masterless coward who believes strongly in almost nothing but his work, and even then, can you really say you believe in your work THAT strongly if you have to be forced to throw your heart away???

wasted potential/didn't get enough screen time: see above! SEE ABOVE! but also, i just think most of the org has wasted potential. i go between "let them die" and "give them their own stories" on the daily

they're like a blorbo to me: squeakietoywheeze.mp3 in spite of all that i still love him, i want to brush his hair like a my little pony doll

they got done DIRTY by fans: you could not pay me to read vexen fic <- this is a lie, i read omegaverse vexen fic to my loving husband on the regular. but forreal, interps of vexen range from chucklefucks going "let him die in a fire for the sin of being ugly" to the wildest shit on this green earth. i know he's kind of a blank slate as far as characterization goes but BLEASE

if they were real i would marry them/im mentally ill about them/i want to carry them in a handbag like a tiny dog: AGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH let fray propose to me in game let me marry him im going to KISS that CORPSE im fishing him out of the river to put him in a wedding dress!!!!!

they work better as part of a dynamic: wol/fray MAKES IT. AUGH. fray by himself is wonderful, but fray as a snark machine sexy ghost is (chef's kiss)

they've never done anything wrong in their life: the murders were justified, actually!

i don't really have much to say about them: it's pure love no hot takes for me. i love this guy. i haven't finished his story yet, also! which makes it hard to have srs opinions

[rosafulmen-a]

calledbeyond // Roast me, I guess :' )

My Opinion on;

Character in general: SIRRIS IS A REALLY CUTE CATTE. From an aesthetic standpoint I LOVE the green theme you have going for her and I think her overall look and glamours are super pretty. I haven’t really had a huge chance to read a lot of your writing for her outside of what we’ve done ( which has been little because... I’m the worst ), but I think she’s an interesting, compelling character with a lot of nuance that’s born both from the complexity of the FFXIV storyline, but also from you as her writer. I’ve seen a lot of the headcanons you’ve written for her in passing and I can tell that she is a character you’ve tended to and put lots of time into making her original and well-rounded. She’s lovely! How they play them: I think it’s hard to ‘rate’ an OC because they’re someone’s original character, but... case in point to what I said above. I think you’re a phenomenal writer with a firm grasp of your character’s voice and that shines in all the interactions you have with her.  The Mun: P.H... your absolute PATIENCE with me is beyond measure. I know I have not been the best when it comes to consistency, and a lot of that has to do with the fact I became uncomfortable with the FFXIV RPC when we met. Which, I have to stress, is not anyone’s fault or caused by any one thing, but I appreciate how you continue to follow me even if it’s no longer on G’raha or my other XIV canons. It’s just a simple kindness that goes a long way to me, honestly. I hope you get the same enjoyment out of my current roster as you did when we met. ♥

Do I:

RP with them: Not as much as I should. Want to RP with them: Yes, of course!

What is my;

Overall Opinion: I think you’re an absolute gem of a human being and a fab writer. I’m very happy you stuck around!!

[ungrateful-cyborg-moved]

Things I like RP partners to know

I like to be called: Skaar or any of my characters’ name.

One Several things you should know about me:

Well, I think I’m fairly chill and patient with people overall. I understand that real life comes first and I know what having health issues is like since I have a bunch myself so no pressure from me to be quick to reply or anything like that. I also don’t expect anyone to be perfect. The only thing I really care about in that regard is OOC communication: I don’t like being left in the dark, especially since I struggle with social cues and social interactions in general.

I would also ask you to come to me with at least a basic idea for a first thread because I’ve had too many people contacting me and making me do all the work (and then our first scene, if it started at all, inevitably never reaches its conclusion). I have a limited stock of spoons I’d rather not waste on carrying characters interactions alone. You can totally come say hello without intent to RP with me, however! I’ll happily do things with you in game (though I’m mainly playing SOLO lately).

Beyond that, hm... I like a measure of realism in what I write. As fun as being cheesy and tropey can be, I find RP more impactful and interesting when actions have consequences, be them social, physical and/or psychological. That being said, it doesn’t have to be serious or sad consequences! It’s all really dependent on what’s going on in a scene.

One thing you should know about my muse(s):

I try to make them as human and realistic as I can, which means that all of them have their contradictions, things they do and say that conflicts with something else they may have done or said before. They’re also all stubborn to some degree and unwilling to compromise about certain things. Some lack the confidence to say it right away, others could learn to shut up and be more patient and willing to give others a chance, but regardless of how fast it comes, there will be conflict and disagreement at some point between them and my partners’ characters. Which is great imo but doesn't necessarily mean I agree with them on everything, even though I usually understand why they do what they do.

I say “usually” because sometimes they’ll just do things and I’ll be like “wtf just happened?”, but well, that’s what makes roleplaying fun.

First language: French

Highlight: I only have this blog since my OOC blog is more or less dead now and I cannot express how deeply I dislike Twitter and other social media.

Age range: under 13  |  14–17 | 18–22 | 23–25 | 26–29 | 30+ | 70+

Am I okay with NSFW? yes | no | some nsfw (of the non-sexual variety)

My favorite/most common thing to rp is: angst | fluff | smut | crack | action | plots | AUs | violence | slice of life | performances

For the most part, it’s a matter of “everything has consequences”. I don’t do angst for the sake of it and I’m not into torture porn either, but a lot of my muses live dangerous lives and have to deal with various traumas, which means that angst and dark subjects are regularly on the menu. I don’t write abusive relationships and sex scenes however, and I’ll most likely refuse to actively write torture on either side.

As for fluff, crack and slice of life... As fun as light scenes can be from time to time, it just doesn’t hold my attention for long, and humor at the expense of realism simply doesn’t interest me. Which isn’t to say that all my threads are extra serious, though. There’s a lot of humor in what I write, it’s just not my focus.

Canon character friendly: yes | no | depends

I don’t play a game as driven by the story as FFXIV is to ignore the MSQ so canon characters are absolutely welcome! I use NPCs regularly in my threads and in a few of my muses’ backstory anyways.

That being said, anything too impactful will be treated like an AU/its own verse as will any rp with WoLs or lore-breaking canon characters.

RP blog: does contain ooc posts | doesn’t contain ooc posts | occasionally contains ooc

OOC content on this blog is 95% FFXIV related, 5% blog management related. I don’t really like talking about my personal life online and I despise callouts so sundered-souls is drama free and I intend to keep it that way.

Tagged by: @flood-of-shadow​, @under-the-blood-moonlight​ & @luck-and-larceny​ (ty!!) Tagging: I’ve barely been on Tumblr those last two... three weeks so I don’t know who did it and didn’t beside maybe 5 people and that includes the three that tagged me x) Feel free to do it if you wanna say something to your partners/potential partners though!

[whitherliliesbloom]

emet-selch for the character meme if u're still doing it?

[send me a character - closed!]

Won’t be accepting anymore because I have.. a lot of asks and it’s a little too overwhelming for me now akjfnakf Thank you guys so much!

Favorite thing about them

He has a lot of depth, I will give him that. After a series of really bland and kind of..bad villains in ffxiv, it was refreshing to see a villain who actually had a very good and well written motivation for his actions. I also really liked how he was a lot more neutral towards the scions which gave us a lot of opportunities to interact and talk with him.. which wasn’t something we really got with previous villains. Him being a constant presence in the MSQ made the confrontation with him a lot more dramatic and emotional. 

ALSO HIS APPEARANCE IN THAT 5.3 TRIAL. I don’t like him that much but it still??? MADE ME EMOTIONAL AND HYPED??? IS THAT WEIRD??

Least favorite thing about them

That being said I still absolutely hate how they wrote him post-innocence. He just became a huge asshole for no reason and completely destroyed any interest and sympathy I had that was building up for him. Having a sad backstory doesn’t give you a free pass to tell people that their lives are literally worthless, sorry. 

Favorite line

I guess there’s “Remember that we once lived”.

brOTP

Uhh.. Hythlodaeus?

OTP

Maybe some good wol ships but other than that none

nOTP

Emet and Illya

Random Headcanon

I don’t know... I imagine he plays the babysitter for a lot of the amaurotines for his time. But I think that’s kind of a well accepted headcanon in the fandom by now? At least in illya’s canon where she’s azem, Chloris often found amusement in his annoyance. Not in a malicious way, but she does find his stickler attitude next to Hythlodaeus’ more laidback, friendly personality funny.

Unpopular Opinion

If it wasn’t already obvious my feelings on emet-selch isn’t entirely positive.. which in itself is a huge unpopular opinion already.

Song I associate with them

Favorite picture of them

I really really like this fanmade portrait of him!!