#its not really a wol question

[shivasdarknight]

So these are mostly for myself, hence it being just. Wherever I was standing, but I've got some fun reference photos for Surkie and her tanking looks over msq (HVW and on). Plus, Ysayle minion being cute af as usual

(images below the cut because there's a lot)

So let's start with Heavensward.

This is when Surkie first picked up tanking and was learning how to be a Dark Knight. While not the main outfit she wore as a WoL, this ensemble she picked up to not stand out as much would just kinda become part of her usual clothing. The Dreadwyrm Claymore was her main weapon, as this was when she still had access to the weird summoned weaponry from dealing with Bahamut (lingering pact that Ammut had made, it reawakened in her). What's most notable here is the armor, which is a conjured set that she manifested to better hide herself while running around taking out Temple Knights or other jobs (and then eventually hits for Aymeric and his safety). This was not her main class at the time, but she would sometimes pull it out (with the first outfit) around the others of the og WoL crew. To everyone but them, a few of the WoL-adjacents, Sidurgu, Rielle, and Aymeric, no one had any indication that she was this new Dark Knight.

But that Kinda shifted with post-Heavensward.

This is immediately after the fight with Nidhogg. Surkie lost her ability to be a Dragoon from her injuries, but found that her conjured weaponry had warped substantially due to Nidhogg's body being composed this raw primordial power. Seeing as her conjured arsenal was based in a bond with Bahamut, it was susceptible to Nidhogg's aether and corrupted it to take after him. She has been unable to conjure those weapons since (there's one exception in enw, but otherwise she's stuck like this).

Seeing as this is when she begins to seriously take up being a tank, this becomes her public identity. This is around the time she gets the suit of black armor (the behemoth king one) that would replace her previous image as a WoL. It's often described as wraith-like, and it just kinda became synonymous with her. If you notice, she's still got the braid she adopted from Ysayle. She's still down Really bad.

Which makes post-Stormblood hurt.

This is the full adoption of Dark Knight as her identity, seeing as she got severely fucked over during Stormblood and Really can't be a Dragoon anymore. Between her injuries, past-self bullshit, Zenos bullshit, etc., it overwhelms her and in a moment of dissociation and dysphoria, the lops the braid off. ...Which sends her into a panic and keeps her from doing anything else. She gets Lyse to salvage her hair as best she can, and it's Lyse's idea to add the two braids on the side. The beads and feathers were also her idea. One braid is held together with the pale blue ribbon that Surkie got from Ysayle; the other is a red one she got from Lyse. Both are hidden by the beads, but regardless the sentiment still stands: less keeping one braid to mourn someone she can't publicly talk about, and more about those they'd lost altogether as it'd well exceeded just one person they were mourning. Kind of a physical representation of that saying in XIV of "for those we have lost; for those we can yet save".

She doesn't really change much from here during Shadowbringers, but she is affected by Shadowbringers.

Very minor change here, but her left eye (our right) becomes scarred with light aether. It also somewhat destabilizes her Horde weaponry for a while, which is a scary fucking thing for her. She's got a lot more scars under the armor, but this is when she begins to refuse to wear anything that shows off her back because of the damage from the lightwarden's aether. She also will not show off her right side (our left) because of the multilayered scar there.

Post-Shadowbringers comes with a weapon change.

Part of why she readily accepts this is because of the damage to her conjured weaponry, but the other part is it's from Altan. While Surkie was on the First, Altan was working in Bozja and on the resistance relic restoration project. But unfortunately, she gets grievously injured right before Delubrum Reginae, meaning Surkie has to step in. When she initially goes to Gangos to check on things, she's met with an unconscious Altan and it really fucks with her. More so when W'khittri and Bajsaljen give her the recreated weapons, Woeborn and Dreizack Recollection. Atlan was only able to get Dreizack to awaken, but had specifically worked to give Surkie both a weapon she could immediately use, and something to maybe help get her to work towards being a Dragoon again. ...So obviously, she adopts both weapons because her sister went out of her way to restore them and wound up losing both of her arms in the process (literal arms, like flesh and bone).

And then towards the end of 5.55, Surkie finds out she's pregnant and she sits out of things for a While. And part of this has her not taking care of herself as much because she's just trying her best to deal with Everything Else. Which is how you get her Endwalker look.

Which is mostly just. Her hair grew out severely. It's still got the two braids, it's still got the ribbons and their meaning. She's just kinda let herself go and keeps a mullet now. Not much else changed, because the significant one is actually at the very end of Endwalker, when the fight with Zenos busts her armor.

Which of course leads to:

Surkie's own aether ate away at the integrity of her original armor set and she's frankly lucky it didn't break sooner. The fight with Zenos pushed it to its limits, and the metal is completely unusable as a result of how unstable it is. This set was kind of a surprise? She went to H'naanza to see if her armor could be repaired (see something Surkie wasn't), but it was a mess and unworkable. H'naanza tells her she'll figure something out, and Surkie comes back to this set, which was a combined effort from a lot of skilled folks to give her something that could withstand her wild aether and not break down. Woeborn is stable for now, but she does end up worried that she might end up breaking it, too. And that would destroy her.

So in part to alleviate the burden of that weapon, she does get a new one forged along with some lighter traveling gear:

So this is the look Surkie's going into Dawntrail with. The other armor is obviously still something she keeps, it's just more...serious armor? This is more with traveling in mind. I need to figure out how she gets this claymore since the Manderville quests are not at all canon to her, but regardless it's a bunch of stuff meant to withstand her crazy aether while also facilitating her ability to shift into a demonic form (a form that was influenced by her original set of armor that got busted).

but yeaaaaaaaaaaaah lets see what Dawntrail brings to her growth as a tank main

[wildstar25]

I was thinking about WOL outfits and what not, so here's a question:

And to elaborate on the difference between option 1 and option 2, a brief explanation of my interpretations under the cut:

Illusion magic only masks the true appearance of an item, bending the light aether around the item to make it look different to the naked eye. No physical properties of the armour changes. It maintains its original dimensions and weight. If your WOL was wearing full plate armour then glamoured it to something more revealing, if someone tried to stab an exposed area, their knife would stop on impact of the concealed armour.

Transformation magic will fully alter the physical appearance of the armour into the applied glamour. It will take on the shape and structure of the WOL's desired form, but the properties of the materials used will be maintained. The high grade metal of the armour will be altered to a state where it was like a woven thread. The item would provide the same degree of protection as the original where it physically exists in its glamoured state. If your WOL glamoured their plate armour into a the street wear top, their actual abdomen could be pierced by weapon. Because this is magic you could fudge the physics if you so choose or say there's a secondary spell involved; but I'd imagine that if the transformation was completely lossless, your glamoured item will weight the same amount as the un-glamoured version. (Otherwise it would be more like a transmutation which is a lossy conversion and not reversible. The WOL turned their new savage tier BIS armour into a hempen camise and lost 95% of the material in the process. When they dispel the glamour they have that hempen camise's amount of the original armour piece.)

That's my take on the two options! I don't know if either of them really contradict any canon in-game explanations to the glamour system tbh. It's been so long since I picked up the intro quest and the only time I remember glamours being used as a plot device it was in the ARR Hildebrand quest line (I think the very end or within the coliseum arc, either way I'm not doing all that just to check and see that it says nothing of note)

[uldahstreetrat]

hey you! its good to see you! I have a silly little wol question for ya!

what does your wol/oc smell like?

is it a perfume or cologne? perhaps the lingering smells of a hobby or battle? perhaps a specific flower? or maybe they just really smell like that old bottle of midnight pomegranate body spray you got from bath and body works back in 2010?

[woltourney]

ROUND 3 / SIDE B / POLL 3

Stelak Ganzthuv (@drtanner) v. Lopu Rhaavuna (@mages-ballad)

Stelak Ganzthuv:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Stelak Ganzthuv (he/him)

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Roegadyn

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Gunbreaker, Bard

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Crystal/Malboro! Come say hi!

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Stelak is an amnesiac and can't remember anything about who he was before he arrived in Gridania. He woke up in the back that cart with nothing but a name, the clothes on his back and a robust set of instincts and principles, and while he has no memory of his life before then - if, indeed, he existed at all - he knows he's a whore. That's his literal job, he's a sex worker, he knows how to do that and he's very good at it. He's also picked up playing music suspiciously quickly, so there's a decent chance he might have been a bard previously, too. To Stelak's knowledge, Hydaelyn pretty much just plucked him out of the aether, or from wherever, to be Her hero, and Stelak is a little reluctant in his role but he's keenly aware that he has little choice in the matter; everything will go to shit in a big hurry if he doesn't step up when people need him to step up, and as much as he'd rather be doing other things and really doesn't enjoy the recognition or fame he gets for being the WoL, there's precious little to be done about it. He's doing his best, lmao.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "I'm gonna be honest with you, darlin'. I don't mind, I'm just here for a laugh." Stelak pauses, glancing away for a moment, considering. "… Sayin' that, though. Please. I'm very tired." His brow knots as he gives a weary smile. "It would be very nice to get a little appreciation for once."

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. Stelak is available for hire. Just sayin'. 💜

Lopu Rhaavuna:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Lopu Rhaavuna, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. IC-ly her primary jobs are Bard and Dancer. Secondary to that, Sage and Reaper. (Note from submitter: CUL and BOT)

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Mateus [Crystal]

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. I took inspiration for Lopu's character and story from the mahou shoujo genre, with the core elements being that a seemingly-average girl discovers she actually has the capability for magical powers, and uses those to help spread hope and save others. Love is a major theme for Lopu, and its what gives her the strength and motivation to do what she does. Lopu grew up in Gridania, where she left and became the Warrior of Light at age 25. She's always had a deep feeling of wanderlust within her, and the events of the MSQ are what kickstart her into being able to get out and see the world. She's lived her life knowing there had to eventually be more out there for her, and her assumptions are proven right as she takes up the title of the WoL and makes herself known. She's no doubt had her ups and downs, but never once has she regret her journey. Others may call her a hero; but even after all this time she still considers herself just an adventurer that likes to help people. In her free time, Lopu has a few hobbies she likes to indulge in! She's very big on cooking and sharing the food she makes, gardening and growing her own ingredients, hunting, training, running Treasure Maps, and of course hanging out with the Scions. Outside of saving the universe, she's a very sweet and humble woman.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Ah? Um…" Lopu takes a lock of her thick hair to twirl around and play with while she ponders the question. "I think I should win because… It would make me really happy if I did?" She laughs a little, giving a flash of fangs. "Truthfully, I can't really think of a good reason! I guess there is the fact I saved the universe, but I wouldn't want people to feel obliged to put me on a pedestal just for that." "Maybe… If I win, I'll bake a huge celebratory cake to share with everyone! That works, right? People tend to be more motivated to vote if there's food involved, yes?"

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. AS HER CREATOR I SAY VOTE FOR LOPU BECAUSE SHE IS SO CUTE AND HUGGABLE AND SILLYGIRL-CORE AND HAS THICK THIGHS AND I LIKE HER A LOT AND ALSO IF SHE WINS I WILL ACTUALLY DO A GPOSE OF HER AND THE CAKE AND EVERYONE CAN HAVE SOME!!!!! VOTE FOR LOPU #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP

[ahollowgrave]

There was a post asking RPers with moon-worshipping characters how they handle the moon's revelation, especially with Endwalker. But! I am too shy to reblog that with my actual answers so instead I will post this two page rambling under a cut. (:

Okay, so I look at it through two lenses: 1) How much does your average citizen know about the big wide star and everything our beloved Warrior of Light gets up to in saving it all the time?

There are things in the real world I don’t know and things I am shocked to find out other people don’t know!

The history of the Star is vast and dense and no one can possibly know every crumb of it. 

2) Faith requires a sort of peace in knowing you don’t and won’t know certain things. If you have all the answers to all your questions, you don’t need faith.

The asking of questions is vital, here. If you are not curious about the world around you how can you possibly come to love it and those it shelters? If you believe for a second that you have all the answers to all the questions then your curiosity dies. 

That said with Odette and her convent it really boils down to:  They don’t know!

Odette is young, she may not have been alive during Dalamud’s fall and Bahamut’s defeat. I’m not really sure because time bubbles and I’m very vague with her age because time is my mortal enemy. When the moon started its fall the convent probably took it to mean: gods mad. Who wouldn’t? Even the faithless might pray under such a thing, no?  But the convent is secluded and news is slow to reach them and what does reach them is often embellished or outdated or just untrue. They must pick through the stories they are told and find the truth of the matter - which is subjective, as well! What is true for one might not be true for another. 

It is a bit of a chore, is what I am trying to say, and unreliable narrators are aplenty.

Currently, the Convent believes that earlier scripture naming Dalamud as Menphina’s Loyal Hound were written by Spoken who were trying to make sense of the world around them. They got it wrong, but no doubt there are things we get wrong even now with all our knowledge. 

The point of their faith is not to get things 100% right all the time but rather to meet the star and her denizens with hearts full of love. They don’t allow dogs at the convent, however.

The news out of EW is another matter since it still feels very fresh and new. Odette has stepped into the role of Nun Errant and she does relay information back to her Convent, either in person or via letter. I don’t know if the news of the WoL fighting the 12 made papers and so far it seems that most of the Loporrits that stayed star-side are in Old Sharlayan to learn! A big ship did go beyond the moon but that was… beyond the moon! So, like the nuns, I don’t know! They are but Spoken creatures, they question, yes, but it is difficult for them to see the grand picture being as small as they are.  It should be noted that Odette is not the warrior of light. I try very hard for her to not know everything the warrior of light gets up to in the MSQ because she, realistically, would not know. She’s just some nun! What I CAN say is that if Odette knew everything that I, the player, know she would still worship the Moon and Menphina. Imprisoning Zodiark before more needless death, setting the Loporrits to building a fallback and escape plan, reincarnating her closest and most trusted allies to serve as deities and make sure he cannot be freed? That’s love, baby. Of course, Menphina, the deity of Love, would be the keeper of the moon and its secrets! Also, almost none of this answered the secondary questions but… This is already very long but I could go on about the dark side of the moon, what it means to love, and all that but I’ll end it with this: It is okay for your characters to be wrong and make mistakes, IC! Let them have harmlessly bad and factually untrue opinions. 

BONUS: I recall a question about how a manmade moon might effect a god or goddess who is tied to it! But -- prayer and belief is were deities get their powers.

Well, the 12 as we know them are kind of ‘manmade’ themselves. Yes, Venat sort of reincarnated her most trusted allies, however… It was shown that prayers have the power to change them! We know that this altered Halone in some ways and I believe that it altered Menphina the same. Basically: Enough of her worshippers thought Dalamud was her ‘loyal hound’ and so she got a loyal hound. So, why should the moon(s) be any different?

[archaiclumina]

@ahollowgrave kindly asked these questions in the tag of the post I made for yesterday's mayncient prompt, and I thought I would answer! (publicly for a change c':) It gets rambly tho because I am a rambler, so I have used a cut c':

The answer to the first question is, and always will be, no. One of the things that's absolutely necessarily required for Ren to figure out where one of her memory salads has come from is something tactile. This could be something that belonged to the owner of the memory which they had on them at the time of an event traumatic enough to leave the latent aetheric signature of their memory upon it. (This was the method which allowed her to recall the memory of her father's murder, which no one believes her about, of course! via his deck of sixty.)

Or it could be another item they've been in very recent contact with that has some relevance to a traumatic memory of theirs. This is how she came to know Callineaux broke his arm by jumping off a balcony because he wanted to be a Dragoon when he was a child. (They were cataloging Ishgardian reliquaries at work, and he was reminiscing about it while they were writing up the attributes of a broken lance.) Here's what Ren "remembered" after Cal handed over the lance.

It was two cups of coffee later when they got back to the broken polearm and its fragmented glaive. “I’ll write this one up just as a potential reliquary, yes?” she asked Cal, glancing up at him for just a moment as she took the haft. In the space of a breath, she remembered everything he had remembered. The grassy field, that bold yet naïve conviction. Looking over his shoulder to be sure none of the staff had seen. The way the dark silhouette had curved and cut the sunrise like a hunting hawk. The people swanning around in their summer finery. The lush gardens, all manicured. The coy smile of Seraphine, the wistful wish to impress her. The tempered argument of his young friend. The slap of his boots upon the iron railing of the balcony terrace. The swift and unavoidable rushing of the ground and the pretty picket fence, his eyes streaming water. And of course, the jolt of agony, the way it felt on impact, which she didn’t really feel, but remembered feeling all the same; like some phantom pain. All of this, and probably more, in an instant. She just knew it.

So, Ren's ability to uncover the truth about any of her past lives is limited to the off chance she encounters some rare and very old relic that belonged to one of them. As her writer, I don't intend for that to ever happen as a lot of the fun of writing her (and all the other OCs past incarnations) for me is that she doesn't understand any of it, so it all just makes her kind of weird!

However, Ren's memory salads or bad echo™ as I sometimes call it, isn't limited to items she's in contact with. The invasive memories are triggered by ambient latent aether from any source. Places, other people's presence, and also things she reads in books that she might have once experienced. These don't present themselves in the form of any visions like the WoL's echo. A big part of this is because I have aphantasia and so don't see visions in my head, and I wanted to have a go at trying to like, write what I "see" when I see things in my mind for fun. The in-character reason is because of the damage to her eye as a child. Like a person with aphantasia, Ren can only see in dreams. But she doesn't really have weird dreams! (That's Oli's domain c': ) So, her memory salads are just new words, phantom feelings and sensations in her head. They basically just become shit she knows now. This is why I make the running joke about her knowing a lot of recipes for Allagan Meatloaf and Gelmorran marinated mushrooms (against her will no less, because she can't cook them.) She has translated a lot of tomestones and old texts, and these can often trigger a memory from a person they once belonged to. Ren just has no way of ever encountering this person and figuring out "oh this is your memory!" by deductive reasoning.

In answer to the second question. Ren first "remembered" all her summons when her Mother made her look at the moon through her whacky aetherial star gazing device. But she was six, so she didn't really know what was going on. Full disclosure, she still doesn't know what's going on. However, she has recalled two of Galatea's concepts at different times since then, and these replace her fire and air egi. Cordenym she recalled again learning about the basic principles of summoning using arcanima — namely that a summon can look like whatever the summoner imagines it to look as, whereby carbuncles and fairies are simply the most commonly manifested form. So, she thinks her memory from Galatea is her own imagination! This is unlike Lunearch. She also recalled Lunearch as Dalamud was falling. This is because Galatea's past life during the time of Allag summoned Lunearch regularly. (Summoning the weird lightning lion with antlers was kinda her thing as a High Summoner.) She recently had to use Lunearch during some shenanigans with Callineaux and his gambling enemies in a RP my husband and I were doing. So, here's how she tries to explain Lunearch to people. (Credit to him for all Cal's portion of this conversation.)

She paused at his next question, setting aside the needle very slowly while she considered her reply. “Lunearch.” She said, referring to the summon by name. “Well, I…” It was such a bother to explain her summons to people, it’s why she so very rarely used them. “It’s sort of like… it’s someone else’s summon. Not mine. It uh… It was someone's who lived a long time ago… and I adapted my spell from theirs.” “Someone else's summon, then?" he mused, a hint of admiration in his voice as he adjusted the silk bottoms. They fit weirdly well considering how much shorter Zan was than him. "Impressive, to say the least. Whose summon is it then?"  “Well,” she said after swallowing her mouthful of sandwich, reaching for her glass of water again with her other free hand. “As I said, they’re not alive anymore.” She took a sip, washing down the last of the curried egg, “Unfortunately I don’t know their name, so I can’t give it to you. I only know about Lunearch's… But uh… they were Allagan.” She offered a shrug, biting into the remainder of the sandwich and polishing it off.  "Allagan…" he mused, nodding thoughtfully. "This sounds a little bit over my head.” He was unsure how she would have managed to even learn all this without knowing someone's name, but came to the conclusion it would be from a book. “Must have been an old book. You’ll have to show me some time.” Of course, he’d think she’d learned it from a book. Where else would she learn it?  She gave a pensive hum, fishing out a few of the blueberries from the near-empty cup, chewing slowly again before she answered. Pondering what her reply should be. “I can’t show it to you, I’m afraid.” Clearly amused he even wanted to see something he’d self-admittedly said was over his head. Her eyes settled on his for a long moment, lips twisting into a smirk of sorts before she eventually phrased her cryptic reply. “It’s kind of like, a secret knowledge, you see."

She is yet to recall her third summon yet, (it's name is Ignixotl, and if I am brave, I might post some excerpts of some scenes with them for some of the later prompts in mayncient! I hope to be able to do some RP around Dawntrail which will put her on the path to re/discovering her third summon x3)

I hope this lengthy explanation makes sense c': Thank you very much for asking a bit about Gal's concepts/Ren's summons! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

[gatheredfates]

Soon I say. Then immediately head over here. I have no chill today. I already lightly poked at your characters before asking.

So first question. Koret. Echo. Okay those aren't really questions but tell me about the Echo and her. How does she experience it? She sees it as a curse so I imagine it gets in the way. But what exactly does it let her do? Or do to her?

:)

Koret and the Echo have a very complicated relationship.

In truth, her feelings on the Echo depend on what verse I'm playing her in, because her WoL verse has a very circular relationship that she's only just coming to terms with, whereas her general/in-game verse doesn't have that same kind of closure.

I'll break it down into those parts but I'll pop it under a read-more, only because I tend to get carried away when talking about her.

I may drabble these at some point.

Warrior of Light

Kor, point blank, did not want to be the Warrior of Light. She made it known to the Scions very early in the piece that the only reason that she was allying with them was because her secondary option was killing herself, and she'd prefer to take out Hydaleyn before she did. She was not a kind or palatable character in early ARR.

The thing was, the Echo was nothing but a horror. Her very first manifestation of it showed her sister being murdered and thrown to the brine beneath La Noscea, and she could do absolutely nothing to stop it. She was on her ship at least two days away from port, having just had a major argument with her, and in no place to warn or protect. Her death was an inevitability she could not stop.

Kor has a complicated relationship with her sister. She was protective in the same way she could be possessive; she wanted to shelter her from everything, even at the cost of her experiences, and part of that she felt was the reason she ran into her father's arms when he promised even an ilm of protection. Kor's treatment was more akin a raw nerve — jagged edges and white-hot reactions — and, while her heart was in the right place, a creature raised on rage and trauma learns to extend the same in kind. There were times where she was not a good person, or a good sibling, and those are things she has had to reconcile in Lily's death.

That makes her angry. This anger, this hate, influenced everything she did. What was the point of The Echo if it couldn't stop the one thing she so desperately wished she could avert? She didn't want the people of Eorzea to look at her like she was a hero. If she could carve The Echo out and give it to them malignant and squirming, she would have. If they wanted to be the hero and risk life and limb, they could bloody well have it. All she was interested in was undermining whatever sick individual(s) thought she ought to be the 'chosen one'.

It didn't even occur to her that she was softening over time. Every time she did, it felt like there was another blow — another obstacle — she and the Scions needed to overcome. Rage became resignation, she told herself; even if she'd risk life and limb for them.

It's not so much the Echo does anything to her, no more so than a regular WoL. A lot of the time her visions come to her in dreams, or in strange, intangible pictures she needs to decipher, but they don't hurt her. In Stormblood, she comes to the terrible realisation she had been relying on The Echo when Zenos took her eye, and that causes her outrage all over again.

It's a Catch-22. She didn't mind The Echo when it allowed her to kill her father, but despised using its clairvoyance. It merely showed her that all her thoughts about him were right.

There's a lot in here that I could unpack that would make this already really long reply longer than it already is, but I'll cut to the chase. Elpis was eye-opening for her. Meeting Venat changed her perspective. Events within Shadowbingers had already given her a more sympathetic look towards the ancients and the cruelty of fate, but coming face to face with the person she told herself she hated... she didn't hate her. She simply could not hate her. In telling her the story of how she had come to be, she also had to tell her about her sister.

It was that horrible, gut-wrenching realisation that she needed to ask Venat to only give her The Echo on the night her sister died.

She needed to see that she died, to feel the weight of her death, before she would do anything. Where Lily alive, she wouldn't become the Warrior of Light. If she didn't see her death, there would be no rage to live for — no constant push to adventure and endure for her 'revenge'. Venat had to inflict the worst horror for the greatest kindness, and she did it knowing Kor ( or, more apt, Kore — her protégé, inheritor of her seat ) would hate her.

She did it anyway.

What's crazy about all of that is I made up the former part of Kor's story in Stormblood. Everything beyond that was just a happy accident, and it feels right for it to come full circle in that way. Fate had to play out a certain way so she and others could chart their own course. She needed to live because she deserved to live.

Minor footnotes are that I did drabble parts of it here. I'd like to revisit it at some point but... it's there.

In Game/General Verse

All the stuff surrounding Lily still applies. Kor simply never sought out the Scions. Instead, she was pulled off the brink by Crow and ushered keenly into Firelight Trading Company.

Kor... doesn't like The Echo. That's not a shock. While it gives her the future-sight to predict storms and keep her safe, it's also the little bastard who likes to give her a play-by-play of her friends and loved ones' lives.

There's a indescribable level of mortification that comes from trying to respect peoples' boundaries and their trauma, only for The Echo to conveniently say 'hehe, let's tell you anyway!' in nightmares you can't escape from. It feels invasive and spiteful to her, even if those it affects knows it's not her fault. She wouldn't want people to see into her life, so why is it fair she gets to?

Obviously, I'm very mindful of the power The Echo holds, and I'm deliberate in reinforcing that it doesn't give Kor any advantages in regular roleplay. It's just there for ~flavour~.

However, in both verses she wrecked her ship on Leviathan because she couldn't be tempered and got her just rewards from The Maelstrom. That was probably the best thing that came from it.

[ainyan]

In The Details (A Woven Souls Snippet)

In response to the WoLQotD prompt: Your WoL finds a romance novel written about them...

Thancred let himself into the house he shared with Kal’istae in Ul’dah, his boots making no sound against the tile floor. It had been several weeks since the last time he’d walked through that door, since he’d last seen his lover, and he hoped to surprise her. That she was home, he knew; he could feel her, a steady beat of a second heart within his breast, located somewhere below his feet. Depositing his bag by the bench in the foyer, he slipped down the stairs into the main part of the house, built underground to protect it from the merciless heat of the Thanalan sun.

As he alighted from the stairs, he could hear the rustling of pages and peeked around the corner of the bookcase, spying Kal’istae seated upon the floor, surrounded by piles of books. Curious, he stole closer, his gaze sliding from the Au Ra to study the tomes heaped haphazardly around her. Theft of Innocence. The Warrior and the Rogue. Gunbreaking Her Heart. 

Gods. Were those romance novels? And worse - from the titles and covers that he could see, he knew exactly who the subjects of those romance novels were.

Flattering covers, though; the vast majority featured his sharp-cut features and golden skin with barely a stitch to cover it. Some had his long hair from his time in Dravania; others featured the feathery cut he favored now. Daggers, gunblades - even the short-sword he’d favored in Ul’dah were in evidence in some form or fashion, and in one and all, Kal’istae was wrapped around him - carried in his arms, clinging to his leg, swooning against his side.

“What in the world are you reading?” he asked, the question slipping out before he could censor himself. In the next instant, he realized what a fool he’d been to think he could sneak up on her. Just as he could feel her in his breast, so could she do the same.

Without any surprise, she looked up, her expression disgruntled. “Fifty-seven,” she told him tartly.

He followed her thought without effort. “Fifty-seven? That’s a bit on the ridiculous side, isn’t it?”

Sniffing, she closed the book in her hand and offered it up to him. “These are just the ones they had at the bookstore here in Ul’dah. I haven’t even started looking anywhere else.” At his pained expression, she gave a soft laugh. “Apparently, we inspire all sorts of people to all kinds of greatness. But I do have a question for you. Page seventeen.”

Obliging her, he flipped open the book she handed up to him and leafed to the page in question. “Okay, I’ll admit, it’s fun to make you beg, but isn’t that a bit overboard?”

“Ha ha,” came Kal’istae’s sour reply. “Read the second paragraph.” As he did so, she scowled at the ground. “How does she know about that scar? That’s hardly public knowledge.”

He eyed the description of the scar in question, unconsciously shifting his hips. Closing the book, he peered at the writer’s name, and a vague memory swam to the surface. “Uhm.”

“And this one knows about the birthmark, and this one has a very accurate description of that little thing you do with your hands, you know, with the little twist…”

Thancred sighed. “Honey, I slept with a lot of women before I met you. I’m not going to apologize for my past, but it’s over now. There’s only one woman in my bed.”

She grunted and tossed aside the book she’d been leafing through. “I know, I know. And I’m not really upset, or jealous, but it… disconcerts me, having some of those secrets out there for all to read. I like having your body - and all its scars and marks and touches - all to myself.”

He absently toed through the books, studying them, then picked up one that caught his eye. Most of the covers featured him most prominently; no surprise, as the market for these books was mostly women, so it was no surprise that he was the lure to catch their eye. But this one was mostly Kali, clad in only a few silk veils that left little to the imagination. A very accurate rendering, his body noted, letting him know that it wouldn’t mind seeing the real thing. He was present, but only as a background character - in fact, he saw with some amusement, it seemed he was the damsel in distress, chained to the wall while Kal’istae fended off some equally-scantily clad female bandits.

Flipping it open, he paged through it, searching for the first of the sex scenes. Upon finding it, he read it thoughtfully, his eyebrows spearing upwards. “Kal’istae?” he asked mildly.

Looking up, she hmmed at him, her eyes landing on the book in his hands. As he glanced at her, he noted she’d flushed a dull violet. “Uh.”

“‘His strong fingers glided across her supple skin, tracing the edges of her scale as he worked his way down her sleekly-muscled back. Briefly he paused, lingering on a particular star-shaped scar that decorated her hip just below her waist.’” As he read the passage, she grew more and more violet, and finally sprang to her feet. He held the book out of her reach as she snatched at it. “Seems I’m not the only one with a few secrets not so secret any longer.”

“I was hardly a virgin when we first came together,” she retorted, snatching at the book again. He jerked it upwards and caught her about the waist, dragging her in to his side and lowering his head to nip her lower lip. “Thancred, give it over.”

Instead, he turned the book and studied the cover, eyebrows raising. “Kali,” he murmured, interest piqued. “The author’s a woman.”

She made a strangled noise. “I know,” she muttered hoarsely.

“Kali,” he said again, and laughed as she flushed even darker. “Learn something new every day.”

She squirmed out of his grasp. “It was an experiment. A pleasant one, but I discovered my tastes lay more in the masculine direction. Still,” she mused, “quite pleasant.” When his eyes lit up, she gave him a toothy grin. “Dream away, Thancred; we’re not having a threesome. And no, I won’t let you ‘just watch’.”

He reached out and caught her chin, drawing her in for a kiss. “Can’t blame a guy for hoping,” he replied, and she smirked at him, then kissed him again.

“True. Speaking of wishing,” she added, glancing around the books at her feet and stooping to scoop one up. As she leafed through it, he set aside the one in his hand and continued to study through the piles, amused. “Here. Did you really do this?”

He took the book from her hands and read the passage, humming softly. “Ah, yes. It wasn’t easy, but it was definitely worth it.” He shot her a glance, his smooth smile curling slyly at the edges. “Why? Want to give it a shot?”

She gazed up at him, her eyes wide and luminous as she nodded. “Yes, please,” came her breathless reply, then she shrieked with laughter as he tossed aside the book he’d picked up and scooped her into his arms. “Thancred!” 

“Your wish, my lady,” he murmured, carrying her through the secret door into their bedroom, “is my command.”

[zenmai--jikake--no--komoriuta]

MiqoMarch'24, Day #7: - light -

A bit of a different take on this prompt, today is all about sin eater D'nyr from the point of view of an alternate timeline where he really did become a Lightwarden!

⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀- observations log. 1/5/XX, day.?? - ……..thus the creature was bestowed the title of Forgiven Temperance by its former allies, following the meaning of self-sacrifice and asceticism; excessive restraint/repression of one’s self for others benefit. At his core, one can suppose that this was both his fatal flaw and driving virtue! The poor soul… To date, nobody knows for sure what the beast fully looks like, not even those who fled the site of its transformation at the depths of The Tempest! It has scarcely budged from its initial location a few moons ago… obvious logistical reasoning aside, only a scant few exploration teams have had the wherewithal to venture down there past the safety of the Ondo's dwellings. Reports have led us to believe that the creature is covered in sharp spines and has monstrously large "claw-hands" (as it was described), or possibly some sort of scorpion-like tail as well? Its profile is unclear and hard to make out in the murk from such a distance, but one thing is unanimously clear; all of our teams have fled after seeing what they claimed to be "horrifying gold eyes" staring back at them! Yet the beast has not once given chase upon sighting our researchers, which is just as unsettling as it is perplexing… Due to the unique constraints inherent to its location, we are at present unable to cull the Lightwarden and return the night to the region of Kholusia. Mercifully, its light has not pierced anywhere else due to the sheer distance from the water's surface acting as a convenient attenuating filter, but one could surmise that if the beast were to emerge then all of Norvrandt would be under light pall again… its effect on the populace is quite clear: residents have responded with equal levels of fear and also apathy to this situation, as while some are content to live their lives as they had been before (with the beast effectively "out of sight and out of mind" and therefore not a problem), others are starting to become fearful of the ocean entirely (a complicated notion, due to their relative proximity at all times to it)! Disquieting rumors have started to spread amongst fishermen and sailors alike, that if you venture too close to the ocean you'll be dragged under by the Lightwarden, never to be seen again… though one would hope most people would question how bogus this sounds-- if you'll excuse me interjecting my own personal opinion... at this juncture I simply cannot see the Lightwarden ascending from the briny deep just to prey on hapless passersby when it has showed absolutely no inclination towards moving from even just one single spot-- it has nonetheless had a noticeable impact on the region's imports and exports of fish, so now we must find an effective way to quell the people's terror to rectify the economic impacts alongside dealing with the creature too………..

------ (as a bonus, have the rough draft of his Lightwarden trial encounter under the cut! because I am sad it will never get to see the light of day otherwise and I was proud of the concept years ago lmao)

CONCEPT: . Overall theme is “the breaking down of appearances to reveal what was always there, but hidden away”-- stage and boss both change per phase to reflect this, going from a more idealistic “this is what the WoL as a sin-eater would look and fight like” to a “ohhh god what is that that’s not the WoL anymore” . Mechanics are based around D’nyr’s repressed feelings towards others (loneliness, anger/the need to lash out sometimes, not always saying how he feels, his dislike of others putting him on a pedestal, etc.) and the world at large (eg. the fragility of life, futility of some things, etc.) and his unfulfilled hopes and wants (to live unfettered by responsibility to the world, to settle down with a family of his own someday, etc.)

PHASE 1: . Certain mechanics grant a stacking buff to the boss (Fervent Denial), which is necessary to progress the fight! These mechanics have an interrupt bar and represent the feelings and things that D’nyr has repressed-- if the cast is interrupted, the buff will not be given, increasing the flat % of damage taken from the ultimate attack at the end of the next phase [it's calculated based on the damage dealt to the boss in the first phase (% thresholds that indicate how much it weakens the overall ult damage by), as well as the actual phase progress bar (below 80% is no extra damage, at 80-90% it is +3% extra damage, 90-99% an 5% extra damage, and 100% a flat wipe)] . In a meta sense, the only way to put him down for good is to damage him when he is at his most vulnerable (ie, his final form), and the only way to get him to show that is to let him go berserk and not deny him the things he’s been disallowing himself all this time-- as D’nyr at his core would never allow himself these actions, it causes a “breakdown” of the mask (literally, the bosses’ one too [he has a blank slate mask with a golden kintsugi X like D'nyr's scar, for context]) and internal walls holding him back, fracturing his perceived sense of self and causing him to shift into a form that represents all of these denied things, which is what truly needs to be destroyed/purified! . Normal mode has 7 chances to grant Fervent Denial giving some leeway for mistakes (the buff stacks cap at 5 however, so it is not possible to get 7 stacks despite there being opportunities to do so), but Extreme only has the exact 5 chances needed to progress! If players have not let the boss reach at least 5 stacks by the time the hard-enrage longcast goes out, the party will wipe. . Fervent Denial also slightly increases damage dealt by the boss, so he will gradually hit harder and harder over time, plateauing right before the phase change. . After the boss uses its phase-shift move (what would normally be the yet-unnamed hard-enrage longcast), the stacking buff will disappear and the boss will become untargetable, beginning the DPS check phase.

DPS CHECK: . Unfinished from here on out-- but basically beating up… some kind of add, and while you do that the boss' mask slowly cracks with bright light before shattering into his second form and unleashing his ultimate attack (he becomes more agitated and spiny-looking but I never finished designing any of his forms so just imagine the possibilitiiiiies)

PHASE 2 & 3: . To be continued……. or not! maybe someday :')

[morgana96]

What Went Wrong with the Lancer Quests?

(Warning: Lancer Class Quests, Rogue Class Quests, and other Minor ARR Spoilers Under the Cut)

When I first started Final Fantasy XIV, I already knew I’d be maining Dragoon. Estinien is my favorite character and the one who drew me to the game in the first place, so my interest in the job was well cemented before I even picked it up. And while I like to play all the other jobs as well, Dragoon has remained my favorite to this day, and the one I play on the most often.

Which is why it’s quite ironic that I think the Lancer quests are some of the worst in the entire game.

It didn’t really hit me how bad the questline was back when I did it as a sprout, especially since it was my first one. But several years and many job quests later, Lancer stands out as tragically inadequate, even compared to some of the other class quests from A Realm Reborn.

Based on what I've seen from other players, I'm hardly alone in this opinion. But rather than just complain about it, I want to take a close look at the questline. It’s a good opportunity discuss the story’s key issues, as well as suggest new ideas for a potential rewrite.

To prepare for this, I’ve recently replayed the questline so that I can give an accurate and proper review. I doubt anyone who actually writes for this game will ever see this. But I'd still like to put my thoughts out there, especially since it can lead to good discussion about how the game could be improved overall.

Problem #1: The Plot Puts Too Much Focus on the Wrong Things

Writing a good story requires an understanding of balance. Characters, plots, and themes need to work together in order to create a strong narrative, because when even one of these elements is lacking, the entire story gets dragged down. This is exactly the situation I think is plaguing the Lancer quests; instead of a balanced narrative, it throws way too much focus on its attempted theme, neglecting the characters, pacing, and plot and leading to an ineffective story overall.

The main theme the story tries to convey is the idea of courage vs recklessness; in their training, lancers are encouraged to harness their sense of courage in order to face dangerous foes, while not slipping into reckless behavior that could end up getting themselves or others hurt/killed.

Now this in itself isn't a terrible lesson or anything. The problem is that the Lancer quests put way too much of the narrative focus on it. Everything the characters do and say feels like it revolves around this attempted theme, leaving them feeling like broken records instead of engaging and enjoyable characters. The WoL also spends most of the storyline having to complete various “tests of courage”, both those assigned by Ywain and those that Foulques forces them to join him in. It starts to feel repetitive rather quickly, especially when that’s all that’s being offered in terms of “plot”. And because the plot and characters are so underdeveloped, the theme being pushed so desperately just comes off as an annoying hindrance by the end.

The finale only emphasizes the problem, as the truth behind Foulques’ actions is revealed with barely six minutes left in the story. Many years ago, he was a lancer in the guild, and participated in robbing the guild with several friends and compatriots. But when he felt guilty and tried own up to it, the other accomplices framed him as the sole criminal, resulting in Foulques being subjected to anti-Duskwight prejudice and eventually imprisoned, while the others faced no consequences.

This sudden revelation leaves the player with unanswered questions and unresolved issues. Who and where are Foulques' ex-friends and co-conspirators? Are they still out there continuing to profit from their clear corruption/prejudice? Why isn’t there a more significant reaction from the guild to the truth behind this scandal being revealed? Why was such a significant plot point introduced with barely any time left in the story? And why did Foulques spend six quests throwing the Warrior of Light and others into random peril instead of, you know, actually trying to get revenge on those who horribly wronged him?

In my opinion, the story needs less repetitive theme pushing and more focus on the past guild robbery and those involved. Instead of random lancers-in-training, Foulques’ main targets should have been his former co-conspirators (perhaps going as far as to kill them one by one), and the WoL would have had to work with Ywain to discover the motive behind the attacks. This would be a much more engaging plot to watch unfold throughout several quests, and it would add some much needed intrigue and character growth in a nearly lifeless narrative.

The theme of “courage vs recklessness” can also still fit into a rewrite. Foulques would probably still judge the entire guild as “cowards” due to the cowardly actions of his former friends. He might also consider his recklessly vengeful actions “true courage”, regardless of whether innocents were caught in the crossfire or not. Meanwhile, Ywain could take the satisfying step of righting the Lancer’s Guild’s past failures; by finally holding the other conspirators accountable - and acknowledging that the guild must do better from now on - it would drive home that having the courage to admit to mistakes is just as important as courage in battle.

Problem #2: Foulques is a Poorly Written Character

I’ve actually seen a lot of players talk about Foulques over the years. For a minor character introduced so early on, he has quite the cult following, and I think it’s safe to say that I’m not alone in thinking this character deserved better.

To be honest, I don’t really like canon Foulques. But the reason I dislike him is mainly because whoever wrote him did a pretty horrendous job. He had potential to be an interesting and complex villain, as his justifiable anger about the wrongs committed against him could have warped and twisted his moral code. But instead, he spends the quests acting like a presumptuous jerk who thinks hazing lancer recruits will prove he’s the pinnacle of “true courage”.

The backstory they created for Foulques is honestly one of the most sympathetic in the game. But again, it isn’t even revealed until the back end of the final level 30 quest. Until that moment, you get ZERO explanation as to why Foulques is doing what he’s doing. No clues, no subtext, no steady and satisfying reveal - only a rushed exposition dump that feels disconnected from the character’s personality up until then.

You can’t just drop a complex and nuanced backstory at the last second and call that good writing. The upbringing and backstory of a character is integral to the character’s overall personality, much like how it is for real people who grow up and experience different circumstances. Yet somehow, Foulques’ backstory feels like an afterthought, dropped at the last second instead of integrated naturally.

Again, the best way to remedy this is to refocus Foulques’ motivations and actions. Adding the other co-conspirators as secondary antagonists would allow them to become the main targets of Foulques’ rage. Meanwhile, the background characters in the lancer’s guild could be collateral caught in the crossfire of his goals.

Furthermore, featuring these false friends as characters would be a good chance to show the consequences of not punishing them. Based on how they treated Foulques, there’s a good chance several - if not all of them - went on to continue their corruption in other ways, especially if they felt confident that they could keep getting away with it. If these further misdeeds were to be revealed, it would further show that the Lancer’s Guild’s actions failed not only Foulques, but the later victims of the co-conspirators.

Problem #3: Ywain is Underutilized

Ywain’s probably not someone brought up often when it comes to people’s favorite NPCs. In fact, I’ve seen certain players actively hate him because they consider him complacent in what happened to Foulques.

But honestly, I think Ywain is as much a victim of the story's bad writing as Foulques is. It’s not like he knew about all of this and was conspiring to hide the truth from the WoL/others or something. He finds out about Foulques' history in the literal final moments of the story, and because that history was thrown in so haphazardly late, his reaction is haphazardly rushed and poorly written in turn.

Overall, I think the biggest problem with Ywain is that he feels like he’s hardly participating in the story at all. Technically, he is the other main character in the WoL’s journey to become a lancer, and should be an important part of the plot. But instead, Ywain is a largely inactive presence; he spends most of the questline standing in a single spot of the guild and telling the WoL to go off on their own somewhere. He’s stationary both physically and in terms of development, which I think was a huge error in judgement on the part of the original writer.

I can’t help but compare this characterization issue with one of my favorite class quests: Rogue. Jacke, V’kebbe, and Perimu don’t have the issue Ywain does. They join you on various Rogue’s Guild missions, fight with you through several instances, and regularly banter with you and each other so you get a good idea of who they each are. Hell, these three even continue to help the WoL long after they graduate from Rogue, becoming allies with the Doman Ninjas and providing them with intel and extra manpower when needed.

The Rogue Quests did a much better job of utilizing their NPCs than what we see here. It’s practically impossible to become invested in a character that feels so removed from the plot itself. It’s no wonder Ywain gets forgotten - and even hated - when the lancer story gives him literally nothing to grow on. Instead of letting him be an actual character, the narrative regulates him to a one-dimensional mouthpiece used to assign the next set of tasks.

My frustration with the in-game writing only grew when I learned Ywain’s backstory from the lore book. Back when he was still a Wood Wailer, he and Landenel (the Wailer Captain at Camp Tranquil who was in Company of Heroes) were very close friends. At some point, a lack of judgement led to Landenel making a serious mistake - one that would have gotten him in a lot of trouble, and would have been exacerbated by the undeserved disdain Landenel often faced as the son of a known criminal. But wanting to protect his friend from unfair treatment, Ywain took the blame for everything and was kicked out of the Wood Wailers, though his name was later cleared and he was given the guildmaster position.

Ywain essentially did for Landenel what the co-conspirators refused to do for Foulques. This could have been an excellent way to give the two a comparable history, and if anyone would be insulted by the betrayal Foulques faced, you’d think it would be Ywain. But once again, this all goes to waste because the Lancer Quests never bring up Ywain’s history. I can’t understand how such relevant information ended up being ignored and left out, especially since it could have helped flesh Ywain out and allowed him to understand Foulques a little bit better.

In an improved version of the Lancer Quests, Ywain needs the narrative room to develop. He needs to be more involved in the plot and the tasks set for the WoL, so that the player can actually get to know him instead of just going to him briefly for their next assignment. He and the WoL should learn about Foulques history at an earlier point in the questline, and given his history with Landenel, it would make sense for him to be sympathetic. Ywain doesn’t necessarily need to agree with Foulques’ methods or means of revenge. But creating a common ground between them would greatly improve the nuance of both characters.

~~~

Thank you so much for taking the time to read! I plan to post my rewrite ideas sometime in the near future, but until then, I’d love to hear other people’s thoughts about this questline and its storytelling.

If you enjoyed my writing, please consider sharing and leaving feedback!

[shivasdarknight]

ask 2 of 3

12. How has their job affected whatever headcanon version is of the MSQ if any? 

{original question collection post - curious about anything else?}

Quite a lot, actually! Especially with regards to public image and how playing specific roles led to certain things happening.

For reference, here's what the four are classed as:

Surkukteni: LNC>DRG - ROG (ARR, only actual class as ROG isn't used seriously); DRG - RDM (post ARR); DRG - DRK/MCH/AST/RDM (HVW, DRG is still main class while the others are still being learned/use sparingly); DRG > DRK - MCH/RDM/DRG/AST (post HVW-SHB, DRK becomes main class); DRK - MCH/RDM/DRG/AST/WAR (post SHB, WAR is from Ardbert); DRK + RPR - MCH/RDM/DRG/AST/WAR/MNK (ENW, other things are mixed in); DRK+RPR+MNK+DRG - MCH/RDM/AST/WAR (post ENW)

Gwendoline: CNJ>WHM* - THM>BLM/ACN>SMN/SCH (ARR, only plays role of WHM and rest are...curiosities); WHM* - BLM/SMN/SCH (post ARR, other jobs see use but still WHM main); WHM*+MCH - BLM/SMN/SCH (HVW, basically just carries a gun on her now); WHM*+MCH+BLM+SMN - SCH (STB-post ENW, she's now figured out how to multi class and has become obnoxious about it)

*SHE'S A NECROMANCER.

Teodore: BLM - WHM/SCH/SMN/SGE (ARR-HVW, needs...a lot of explanation); BLM+SCH - SMN/SGE/WHM (post HVW-SHB); BLM+SCH+WHM - SMN/SGE (post SBH-post ENW)

Seraphin: GLD > PLD* (ARR, has been a GLD for a while); PLD* - RDM (post ARR, very serious about this); PLD* - RDM/MNK (HVW-post HVW, actively working on the latter); PLD*+RDM - MNK (STB-post ENW, MNK is more of an outlet than anything)

*He was not trained by the Sultansworn and is more of a rogue PLD, more below

The in depth stuff is below :3c

So each WoL has gone through ig a redefining of what each of their roles mean to them and the party, especially as they grow as adventurers and are confronted with things that don't particularly mesh with their preconceptions - with the exception of Teodore, but there's a reason there. Surkukteni sees the most change, Seraphin Teodore honestly sees the least out of them despite Seraphin only maining two classes - but Seraphin's two classes matter a Lot to him.

Let's start with Surkukteni.

The entire reason why she started with LNC was because it was what her captain Kitase was familiar with, and thus she was taught it. So she does not go to Ywain with no experience and instead comes in with naginata experience. Between her bullheadedness and leftover training from a former Doman soldier (plus her siding with Foulques), it makes early ARR!Surkie very prone to resisting teaching from Eorzeans. She picks up ROG more as a side gig than anything (which many of the skills from that will become useful), but her being an obnoxious 20something is what gets her thrown into Coerthas. Ywain sent two potential candidates to Alberic when the request was put through: Lillith (the genuine one, because he wasn't aware this was a way to shove accountability onto a foreigner) and Surkukteni (who he wanted to see broken by the much more rigid training structure of the Dragoons). This leads to confusion as to who the Eye picked between the two, but unfortunately for Ywain, the better candidate was Surkukteni - entirely because. I mean she's fucking based on Vergil Sparda while Lillith is a goody-two-shoes butch who just wants to find his dad (because ofc he does, he was a Lone Wanderer with the highest possible good karma originally); of course Surkie's the better candidate. So this bleeds into the public image of the Warrior of Light as "the Azure Dragoon Cloaked in Ivory," in part because she shifted from the "obnoxious greaser/biker in all black leather" to the white uraeus overcoat she began to favor in part because it made it easier to jump people from above (same logic as to why so many birds and fish have darker backs but lighter bellies), but also because she's an edgy bitch it's just flipped for her (she was a Borlaaq who are devoted to Nhaama and have the dark color scheme of black/purple/blue+some reds, and was raised in Hingashi by a Doman; she views dark colors as the more virtuous stuff because of Nhaama, but because of that same belief + Doman and Hingan ones, white is more associated with death. She's conscious of how Nhaama's colors are used, so she's openly edgy with both but Eorzeans didn't get the white association so it peters off eventually). So DRG became Surkukteni's identity as a Warrior of Light, and it influenced initial stuff with Ishgard more favorably...at first. It was at first, it doesn't really last because this is while Surkukeni's still under the hyur glamour and only Alberic (and Estinien, actually) know that she's an au ra.

During post-ARR, Surkukteni (and Seraphin) meet X'rhun - and because he's met prior to Stormblood, his offer to train them is more based in what he sees immediately. Yeah, he knows that the two are Warriors of Light, but he's more interested in their character and how they respond immediately. While Surkukteni is at her most obnoxious and sardonic, he extends the offer to her and this matters a lot because it's him extending her a courtesy she's never gotten before. She's outwardly auri at this point, but she's more surprised he's willing to work with her given her extremely volatile and powerful aether. She was rejected from every guild on the grounds of her being a liability to herself and those around her, so having someone be willing to slow down and work with her based on her needs? Yeah, it catches her off guard and it allows her to begin to learn magic through red magic. This is her first teacher since Kitase to actually care to teach her from the get go (Alberic doesn't count, it took a while for the priority to shift) and she ends up very close to the guy just because he took the time to meet her where she was at and help her grow into her style of red magic (which leans more into her Dominants (ice/levin/water) than the standard stuff). This nets her an ally in the Crimson Duelists, and becomes important down the line.

DRK becomes the most important aspect of Surkie's classes even if it's not her main one in HVW. She gets through the intro stuff very quickly, but the important impact is the fact that she's taken to getting rid of Temple Knights since nothing seems to come of their horrific acts against Brumites. That opening scene gets amplified as yeah remember the skills from ROG? They apply here now plus the little caveat that DRK is yes Dark Knight, but she's more of a Demon Knight. Surkukteni has a voidsent pact at this point with a Hellhound by the name of Sétanta, and in combination with her hyur glamour from ARR, the rumors of a "heretic in indiscernible armor that's as likely to maim you by sword as they are to maim you by devil" begin to circulate like wildfire and this gets back to Surkie through Aymeric. She was doing odd jobs in a sense for Aymeric with Estinien while her allies were caught up and not allowed in (gee it's like one of them was caught in the act of working with necromancy or something), so she does a lot of random stuff around Central and Western Coerthas along with the Sea of Clouds. It's during one of the meetings where they're going over recent heretical activity and attacks that Aymeric lets slip that there's been an increase of Temple Knight deaths from within the city. Estinien, to no one's surprise, is pretty pissed about it and assumes that some heretic must have slipped past their grasp - but he's mostly worried about how this is going to reflect onto Aymeric. So he's not catching onto what Aymeric sees, and that's the fact that Surkie keeps coming into meetings with injuries that don't line up with how easy these jobs were - and how much it isn't like her to be getting into petty fights (this was the only thing he misread about the situation - that was her excuse because she's picked so many fucking fights). What led him to this assumption was: the fact that the blood that he saw on her was weirdly dark, much like the fouled blood rumored of Dark Knights; she was seen more around Sidurgu; and she's the only one he knows of with a glamour that can mask traits like horns and tails. So after the meeting talking about the new Dark Knight, he asks her to deliver a letter to someone working on the Dark Knight case, which is so fucking obviously bait. Surkie tries to not fall for the bait, but it gets at her anyways and she opens up the letter to find a list of names and an already signed envelope addressed to Aymeric, so clearly meant for return. Against her better judgement, she investigates the names and finds them all to be Temple Knights? And each has done something pretty reprehensible, but she's pretty sure this must be some trap. But again, against her better judgement she hunts them all down because she doesn't want to allow them the free reign they already have since someone down the line of command is openly covering for them and against Aymeric's orders - which is almost definitely motivated by who he is. She delivers a "letter from Camp Cloudtop", and is handed one that's "for Falcon's Nest". She's well and truly been found out, but this goes on back and forth through HVW until she gets a letter asking her to come to his home in civilian clothing so they may discuss a more sensitive job in person. AND SHE STILL DOES IT, she still shows up and this is when they're finally on an upfront basis of what these jobs are and who's who and it's also where he admits to the fact that he's trans and these next names were extremely sensitive because they were people who were onto him and they needed differing levels of dealing with. So while HVW is going on, Surkie's got this whole fucking side job where she's acting as Aymeric's hitman and getting that much closer with him - and part of what let him know what was up was because Sidurgu's his ex, so he was already familiar with this. So when she's finally working with her allies again and they start seeing the DRK stuff slip in, they're all extremely confused because Surkie just seemingly pulled this out of her ass.

HVW is where it really gets messy. As the other Azure Dragoon, Surkukteni initially gets a few more privileges in regards to Ishgard than the others - to where she's the only one of the group who's initially allowed into the city (along with Alphinaud and Tataru, since they were vulnerable). She's still there on the graces of House Fortemps, but most of this is carried on her title. HOWEVER. This immediately backfires with the heresy charges and the trial by combat, in which she is now landed with Significantly more charges than the others - including those who are still trapped in Camp Dragonhead - by virtue of the fact that they were expecting a Highlander and they got an a 6'1" auri bitch. Instead of seeing it for what it was, they saw it as her revealing her heretical nature to get access to one of the most vaunted positions within the military and to destroy it from the inside out. Because of fucking course. Obviously, she wins but this haunts her during the limbo of trying to get her party into the city (because even the others like W'khittri and her siblings are stuck). She's trusted by the likes of Aymeric, Lucia, Estinien, and Handeloup since they know better, but the general populace just saw her for what happened in the trial by combat - so all of that capital she could've used as the Azure Dragoon doesn't work as well because they see her as the assumed-heretic Azure Dragoon. So it's during this limbo that she goes and tries to find things to occupy herself with and it results in being dragged off the street by Jannequinard and being taught astromancy. She tries to argue that it won't work, but he won't hear it and she learns anyways - mostly from Leveva, but y'know. Yes, the tarot and star stuff becomes a way for her to connect with an aspect of her home culture, but mostly she connects with this due to the secret fate stuff going on. This - however - isn't really applicable to HVW's story; instead, it's the gd butterfly wing flap turned into a hurricane that bites them in the ass in post SHB. What does matter is when she went to go investigate a body in the Brume and wound up with a lot of trauma.

But this is also where her connection with being a Dragoon was shattered, as she began to view it as something frankly horrific because of what her role was in the Dragonsong War, how close she got to Ysayle, and then everything at the end. The shift to DRK was already happening since Seraphin was injured pretty badly and needed to back off but also because Surkie was disgusted by what she had done to get there. The hard shift came when Nidhogg - with Gae Bolg - injured her so severely that she couldn't keep up with it. She tried one last time at Rhalgr's Reach, but by then that was that. She gave up the lance in favor of a claymore because she was too physically injured to keep up and Zenos had shattered the spear tied to her identity. Sure, she kept up with the other classes and being a RDM gave her some advantage with the Resistance and working with X'rhun advanced some of her other studies, but at this point that image of the Azure Dragoon Cloaked in Ivory was gone. Unable to continue in that class and having it thoroughly ruined by its history, she fell hard into DRK and found that her shit mood only helped fuel it (NOT A GOOD THING). Her inability to continue as a DRG was something that wound up coloring how she interacted with Estinien during the Steppe stuff for drg70, especially since the final nail was Zenos' fault. RDM70 gave her the three scars over one eye, her work with X'rhun and the side trip to the Steppe wound up with this spur the moment idea that WORKS and that's sending the teenaged Borlaaqi with the potential for red magic to be trained by him, which built interest and thus more people getting involved in the revival in Ala Mhigo but also it fostered good relations between the two groups, some of the Borlaaqi stayed as Crimson Duelists, while others took the magic back to the Steppe to work with it further. So now there's just a bunch of deadly teenagers with foreign magic that are gonna be so obnoxious during the Naadam.

It's more that the lack of being a DRG is what impacts Surkie through everything. She didn't get the chance to redefine it in the way Estinien managed to since she's unable to keep up. She leaned further and further into DRK, especially as breakdown after breakdown and pain over seeming to lose Ysayle gave her a fragile yet extremely potent form of power through the class itself. And through SHB, this was how Norvrandt was introduced to their Warrior of Darkness, which fit all too well and kinda had her spiralling. Dark Knight has resulted in Esteem acting as someone who can talk for her and talk her through stuff, Esteem is now actively recognized by the Scions and people she works with. Esteem is as apart of MSQ as much as regularly recurring non-Scion npcs tbh.

Post SHB is where AST comes back to bite Surkie in the ass because Werlyt and Zadnor are heralded by the addition of a new party member: Krystsyng. Who they are quick to discover (thanks to Teodore) is an agent of the Forum sent to hunt down Leveva and her pupil. And Krystsyng figured out Surkie quick, and so there is a running plot up until half way through Endwalker of trying to deal with the fact that the Forum didn't let up like they said they would, and Krystsyng would see Surkie dead. ...Until she's called off and now she's just this menacing neutral figure that is way too friendly with them, but that's for post ENW.

.............surkies class situation is messy anyways

MNK is tacked on as something for Surkie's recovery period between 5.55 and 6.0, since this is when she has the twins. She picks it up to stay active early on, but W'khittri helps her get more into it post-delivery to help her get back up on her feet and maybe help her get back into DRG. It's a bonding activity between Surkie and her sister's girlfriend, and while she doesn't fully class as it, fundamentals are now incorporated into her other classes. This is also when she summons Diarmuid Ua Duibhne as her Reaper contract. This part is crucial because of how it ties back to Donovich, Saoirse, and even Ammut. Diarmuid is 13th Estinien, aka Donovich; Donovich was the younger brother of Cylva, and a close companion to Saoirse; Saoirse is 13th Surkie who is now the Morrigna; Ammut (Surkie's previous life) was executed by Amon with Diarmuid, and now Surkie is using Diarmuid as her voidsent. Beyond it affecting her combat, she has now thrown herself into a further chaotic situation with Fandaniel and Tiamat, and it makes Fandaniel more of an antagonist than Zenos just by the virtue of her being Ammut and seeming to just drag up everyone from that past. Diarmuid is equally as much of an involved character as Esteem, and if she hadn't summoned him she might have just died in the void. He fused with her to get her back to the Ragnarok in time (not the canon stuff by any means) and so now RPR has evolved in a sense because she's now half Voidsent. She's got a deeper connection with 6.X, she has more direct info about the turf wars, she's now a direct target because of who she fused with (ty Saoirse, you're so fkn helpful), all of the trial fights have been 1v1s because of RPR stuff, and in order to even have that contract to begin with Surkie had to swear to work on restoring the 13th, which was already in the plans. She does start to get DRG back, and putting an end to Zenos does help her start to work through things, but what really marks her shift in attitude is that her relationship with being a Dark Knight has finally and firmly reoriented itself away from trauma and more towards keeping her loved ones safe. Because she went from "messy relationship with friends/co-workers she's sure would abandon her + messy sibling relationship = feels alone constantly" to "she suddenly has a lot of romantic partners, three of which are her fiances, and also she's a parent now??" very quickly. And it forced her to reconcile quickly so she could be more self sustainable and get her priorities straight.

so like the gist of it is that the DRG>DRK pipeline was Surkie learning that her original goals were very off (she sought power; she needed agency) and the way it affects msq is that it's the tangible mark of her growth as a person and how she's really grown for the better. Her classes are more of how she's viewed, but some - like RDM, AST, MNK and DRK - have led her to forge deeper bonds and allegiances with others as well as create powerful enemies that won't leave her alone lmao

More than anything, her spells allow her to not only gain a better understanding of people and how the world works - driving her through her own curiosity - but it also backfires in that she's constantly getting into hot water over the legality of her studies. And she wouldn't want it any other way because she loathes the fact that stuff (like phytomancy) is illegal for deeply petty reasons. It allows her to shift into working with the alchemists of Radz-at-Han, it gives her a place at the Great Work, and she's one of the people who helped develop a vessel for Venat after Endwalker to keep her around. She wants to keep challenging what people understand and think of magic while simultaneously redefining stuff that has been scorned. Her classes are her story, and they both help and hurt msq because she's stubborn and she's the fucking necromancer.

Onto Gwendoline.

Gwendoline's relationship with classes and MSQ is interesting because her entire reason for hiring Surkukteni in the first place was a scapegoat and alibi should she get caught in her studies. She's a very skilled CNJ and ALC from the get-go, but she prioritizes necromancy, some aspects of voidsent summoning, and eventually white magic, black magic and other banned magicks. She has a very antagonistic relationship with magical law, will not shut up about it, and will not stop breaking said law because she has a personal vendetta against it for very valid reasons. Part of what allowed her to become a skilled CNJ was the fact that she is a chirurgeon for a medical underground in Gridania that takes in people that are shunned by the Guild and any healers. This means poachers, outcasts, and most notably (and importantly) refugees. She knows from intimate experience with various magicks and these groups that most of the arbitrary bans are hurting more than helping and she refuses to fall in line with them. Her entire interaction with MSQ is causing problems with her classes to challenge their very bans because she's VERY cocky and she would love to try and see someone stop her.

She views necromancy as an extension of her conjury, especially since it's helped her expand her abilities in ways that include stasis and other forms of preservation to keep someone at the state they're in so that they don't run out of time. Over the course of ARR, she picked up what magicks she could for the sake of learning, and wound up falling deeply into black magic and summoning to a degree, but mostly to see how she could implement them into her already expansive abilities.

Yeah she's a lot like Y'shtola in this regard it's no wonder they're together. It also makes it very obvious as to why she works so well with Teodore, later Katsuro, and then later also gets with Nidhana: she values intellectual curiosity and this is how she navigates her own jobs. They're useful tools, but she sees them as something for her to tinker with and expand beyond what the nations allow. It's through this that she revives phytomancy to a degree (which is something I came up with; it's a nymian attempt at replicating white magic that has vestigial spells in arcanima through bio and all the other spells) because it's through phytomancy that they bring back the "graft" spell to aid in Surkukteni's recovery from Nidhogg, then implement it on a wider scale since its use as temporary flesh could save a lot of lives that current healing magic can't address.

Teodore's main proficiency is Black Magic, and a lot of his studies are looking into the classical spells of Mhachi mages and trying to figure out if they've documented everything that was available. While he was in Sharlayan, he used to cycle through jobstones due to the fact that each one held various experiences and often very different spells depending on the original user and what point in the 5th era they were from. This work has manifested in what was originally a very middling stone from the 5th era that wasn't anything special being used as his stone and a culmination of his research. So while it wasn't really anything better than a paper weight, it now contains a plethora of spells from across the reign of Mhach that range from "vestigial black magic in thaumaturgy" to "spells that were likely only used by the likes of Shatotto or other mages of legend or infamy". His goal through ARR - and this influences where they go and what they're involved in - is to create stones that act as an entire database of Black Magic, which is then applied to all of his other stones - with WHM and SCH having fairly high priorities. He maintains SMN as a way to see if he can manifest egis separate from the usual affair - especially with that known limit of 3 egis + demi- summons - which again leads the group down some weird diversions into what primals he wants to seek out. SGE is the only one that's not for research purposes as that's actually his stone. It's what he learned prior to getting into magical history, preservation, and experimentation. Like Gwen, he inherently challenges the idea of why these things are banned...but unlike Gwen, he's not keen on breaking the law that lets him have this power because he genuinely cares about preservation! It's just he can't do that preservation if everything is dead!! So yes, Sharlayan comes up quite a lot because he's in a lot of shit - politically and academically - for getting involved in Eorzea's business. His ability to be in Eorzea as a Black Mage is tied together, and he ends up developing more spells as time goes on just by virtue of that adventuring. So yeah he's another problem in that he's using illegal magicks like Gwen, but he's also breaking Sharlayan law like Surkie and that has consequences later into the story.

Teodore is a lot like Gwendoline in the regard that his magic directly correlates with his story. He's the only one of the group who openly wields 3rd and 5th era magic without being apart of the guilds initially. The reason being is that he's a fairly renowned experimental magician - a sage in the classic FF sense and not the XIV sense - and has all of these jobstones on loan from the Forum for his research on the condition he doesn't meddle in local politics.

That condition was long broken and he hasn't obeyed it since the fight with Ifrit.

And finally, onto Seraphin.

What's funny about Seraphin is that his main class doesn't have as much impact on story as his side class ends up having. Seraphin is a gladiator to make money for his family; he is also one of the best on the Bloodsands as of ARR, but he doesn't enjoy it which is what leads to the bodyguard work and why he and Teodore got caught in the Ifrit bullshit when they weren't involved with MSQ prior to it. If anything, Seraphin didn't want to be involved in MSQ because he was still a gladiator and he still needed to support his family first and foremost. But as he was exposed to the Scions and the state of things outside of it, his goals started to get lofty - especially with regards to the liberation of Ala Mhigo and getting his family back to their homeland. Which is why even if he is a canon Paladin, he is not a sultansworn. One of the problems through ARR is how the party deals with Ul'dah and its governing bodies, and beyond what I already said about Little Ala Mhigo and the Amalj'aa in that other answer, a sticking point is the fact that Seraphin is hired to take down a rogue Paladin, but ends up joining him instead. This is someone who's well versed in the old practices and is more in line of the morality of what Paladin should be, instead of just a cop for the Sultana and Syndicate. Seraphin holds an illegal jobstone, and this is frequently used against him as they try to work with the Grand Companies - and he doesn't like any of this! He tries to keep his head down to not draw attention by the Brass Blades or Immortal Flames, yet now he's embroiled in this nonsense because he wanted to do the right thing. It means that every interaction with Ul'dah is made significantly harder because an Ala Mhigan Duskwight refugee is embarrassing the Sultansworn through outperforming them, is working with someone who broke from them to begin with, and is aiding the local tribes. Frankly, they don't even need to do the false regicide plot (even though they do) because they were already building a case against Seraphin prior to being named Warrior of Light. Branching out and learning from Ishgardian Paladins (another state institution, he doesn't stick around with them) and even from Skuld (who is a ~120yo Sharlayan Paladin trying to get that part of herself back) lets him figure himself out and what Paladin means to him, and it sort of ends up a blend of Cloud's initial energy in ff7 to something more like Cecil after he ditched the dark knight stuff and became a paladin in ff4. It's not state affiliated, it's entirely morality driven, and it's the other side of the coin to Surkie as a Dark Knight because it's doing the right thing For The Sake of doing the right thing on a very wide scale vs doing the right thing to protect those closest to you. Like Surkie, this becomes tied to his identity; and like Surkie, he suffers a grievous wound that makes it difficult to keep up (Fenrir mauled his leg in Snowcloak) so he shifts to two things to help with recovery.

MNK and RDM mean a lot to Seraphin due to their connections back to Ala Mhigo, but RDM means the most to Seraphin. MNK is an outlet for him that he initially picked up from W'khittri (like Surkie) but continued to train in it with the likes of Widargelt and Lyse as something to keep his mind off of the stress of Stormblood and potentially losing his homeland to the Garleans again since shit was looking bad. He doesn't really use it in serious combat and just handles it as a social thing - not that it doesn't help with the others, he just doesn't main class it like W'khittri.

RDM is the one that has a lot of importance due to the fact that he grew up on stories of the Crimson Duelists and really admired them, and now he's working directly with X'rhun. Where Surkie goes off to utilize that to learn how to better manage her aether while making connections elsewhere, Seraphin is the one to work directly with X'rhun to build the Crimson Duelists back up with members of the Resistance and help train them. He does this, in part, through the Doman half of Stormblood since he's in Gyr Abania then, but building up a new faction of Crimson Duelists is something he works on while X'rhun continues to travel to see if he can help others. This means there's a fair group by Endwalker to help with things, and this means he has an outlet during post Endwalker and something to occupy himself after the "disbanding" of the Scions. When I said that this has the most story impact, I mean it in the sense that the most changes because now there is a fairly strong revival of the Crimson Duelists compared to the handful of practitioners as seen in canon. PLD has a lot of consequences early on, but it's more personal stuff for Seraphin; RDM, however, now has an entirely new dynamic and function within MSQ because he is one of the people working to revive the spellcraft. He's also the only one of the group who's not immediately torn into by Sharlayan, and frankly they want to see if he or X'rhun would be down to help archive what they know of the magic and what Seraphin (and Surkie, tbh) have developed beyond its standard teachings. There are way more Red Mages in this version of MSQ - and a VERY diverse group of them, btw - than in canon as Seraphin doesn't want to let this die. This is a part of his identity and it's a facet of reclaiming part of what Garlemald destroyed by working on this facet of restoration.

And that's.

That's a lot but that's it! :D

god help me.

[woltourney]

ROUND 4 / SIDE B / POLL 2

Lopu Rhaavuna (@mages-ballad) v. Naru (@blucifer08)

Lopu Rhaavuna:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Lopu Rhaavuna, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Keeper of the Moon Miqo'te

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. IC-ly her primary jobs are Bard and Dancer. Secondary to that, Sage and Reaper. (Note from submitter: CUL and BOT)

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. Mateus [Crystal]

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. I took inspiration for Lopu's character and story from the mahou shoujo genre, with the core elements being that a seemingly-average girl discovers she actually has the capability for magical powers, and uses those to help spread hope and save others. Love is a major theme for Lopu, and its what gives her the strength and motivation to do what she does. Lopu grew up in Gridania, where she left and became the Warrior of Light at age 25. She's always had a deep feeling of wanderlust within her, and the events of the MSQ are what kickstart her into being able to get out and see the world. She's lived her life knowing there had to eventually be more out there for her, and her assumptions are proven right as she takes up the title of the WoL and makes herself known. She's no doubt had her ups and downs, but never once has she regret her journey. Others may call her a hero; but even after all this time she still considers herself just an adventurer that likes to help people. In her free time, Lopu has a few hobbies she likes to indulge in! She's very big on cooking and sharing the food she makes, gardening and growing her own ingredients, hunting, training, running Treasure Maps, and of course hanging out with the Scions. Outside of saving the universe, she's a very sweet and humble woman.

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Ah? Um…" Lopu takes a lock of her thick hair to twirl around and play with while she ponders the question. "I think I should win because… It would make me really happy if I did?" She laughs a little, giving a flash of fangs. "Truthfully, I can't really think of a good reason! I guess there is the fact I saved the universe, but I wouldn't want people to feel obliged to put me on a pedestal just for that." "Maybe… If I win, I'll bake a huge celebratory cake to share with everyone! That works, right? People tend to be more motivated to vote if there's food involved, yes?"

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. AS HER CREATOR I SAY VOTE FOR LOPU BECAUSE SHE IS SO CUTE AND HUGGABLE AND SILLYGIRL-CORE AND HAS THICK THIGHS AND I LIKE HER A LOT AND ALSO IF SHE WINS I WILL ACTUALLY DO A GPOSE OF HER AND THE CAKE AND EVERYONE CAN HAVE SOME!!!!! VOTE FOR LOPU #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP #LOPUSWEEP

Naru:

q. What is your WoL name and pronouns? a. Naru, she/her

q. What is your WoL's species? a. Xaela

q. What is your WoL's class? Or classes? a. Reaper

q. What data centre/server are you on, if you want people to find you? a. N/A

q. Tell us a bit about your WoL! a. Naru became a hero in search of a missing piece of herself! She never felt satisfied in her home of the Steppe. She was an orphan, and although she had an adopted family, she sought out more from beyond the Steppe. She enjoys helping, but I don't think she likes the word 'hero.' In her free time she paints environmental paintings, tries out her bartender friend's drink combinations, and sunbathing :)

q. Why should YOU win? (Answer IC!) a. "Ah… I'm not too sure. I suppose I'll win if fate chooses me. I'll accept failure, no matter how bitter… Though I don't see it as likely."

q. Anything else you wanna add? a. In my canon, she got fully turned into a sin eater and she uses light instead of void powers as a reaper :)

[neighawolf]

Character Development Questions

Saw some questions, I reblogged the OG post. (by wisteria-lodge) So here's some Rornir lore!! 10 questions!

What is the character’s go-to drink order? Usually he doesn't order out, too much fake stuff or over priced and under filled (more ice and air than drink) but if he does, Its Green Tea. It varies by season. Spring and Winter its a Green Tea with one spoonful of cane sugar. That's it. Summer is a blended/smoothie style Green Tea with no whip. and Autumn is either an Iced Green tea or a Green Tea latter, both with soy milk and powdered matcha. Maybe some whip as a lil treat.

What is their grooming routine? He showers every day or as much as possible when doing WoL stuff. At home its every day. Bathing is kind of a ritual and self care. Its aftercare for him and personal time for reflecting. Cleansing of body, mind and soul. So he bathes everyday. He doesn't wash his hair every day, though. It can dry out from over washing and he's very particular about his hair and fluffy bits (like ears). He can easily spend an hour brushing his hair (or attempting to tame it, unsuccessfully). Twice a day he brushes his teeth and washes his face with a particular toner and moisturizer afterwards. He shaves as he needs to, as he (and his hubby) prefer his smooth face, with the exception of his little cheek fluffs. 2-3 times a week he does cuticle and nail care for hands and feet. and 2-3 a month has a spa/massage retreat day to work out the rest of his needs. This is, of course, assuming he isn't in the middle of stopping the end of creation...again.

What was their most expensive purchase/where does their disposable income go? He's not really a materialistic person and doesn't keep much money on him. He's fairly humble in terms of money. The most expensive "purchase" was buying shares into a theatre in Kugane under Garlean occupation. He bought well over half, making him majority shareholder and subsequently owner/patron of that theatre. He paid everyone's wages and kept all currently employed cast and staff. He still owns that and often partakes in some of the shows as guest roles. Most of his extra money goes to art venues. When he travels he donates to local museums or small art studios, funds art troupes for less fortunate places or buys supplies and costumes or instrument repairs. He'll buy art pieces from small artists and pay to put them up in museums that wouldn't normally buy them. He''ll even pay to refloor old dance studios and new shoes for dancers. He's a patron of the arts, and finds so much culture to be learned, so much of his extra money is given to the arts. Anything extra he just buys nice things for his friends or husband.

Do they have any scars or tattoos? He has the normal wear and tear, in terms of scars, expected of someone in his line of work. Bumps and scrapes, bruises, cuts, some small scars from stabs, shootings, near death etc. The expected usual. His tattoos however are far more significant. There are only a handful of people aware that he even has any. Including his husband Urianger, his best friend Alex, his husband's best friend and best friend's husband Thancred, Y'sthola because of her aether sight and a few members of his family clan including his uncle. The Tattoo is a full double sleeve tattoo that includes his chest and back and part of his lower right leg. An oni face mask with ribbons and "red threads of fate" being cut from it. Cherry blossom branches extend over each shoulder and down his arms. Each full blossom is a life he took, and each half blossom is a life he assisted in or almost took. tiny singular red strands connect from the blossoms, around the tree branches and weave into a larger thread that leads to the oni mask. He keeps this tattoo covered up now with a glamour prism, but Y'sthola can see it because of her aether sight. She's never mentioned it to him. Only those closest to him have seen and know the burden it weighs on him.

What was the last time they cried, and under what circumstances? The literal most recent would be yesterday (Nov 22) as it was in fact his first anniversary with his husband Urianger. There were definitely some good tears. So happy you start crying, kind. Lots of love, surprises, happy, friends. It was a good day. Unknown to Urianger though, Rornir left in the middle of the night to go have a hard cry. His best friend even expected it and stayed up. When she got the call she was at his house in minutes. Rornir's biggest fear is outliving everyone he loves. Which he will, because viera life spans. So he was in a major conflict about being happy he made a year with Urianger and it was the best year ever, but also that's one year closer to losing Uri. The life span difference is so hard for him, and he is beginning to realise why viera don't bond outside of other viera. How many more years until Uri is gone and he's still young by viera standards? How many perfect nights until he's alone? To live a hundred perfect years then be alone for another 500. He knows he shouldn't think like that, but its really hard, especially when its such important moments like anniversaries or birthdays. His bestie calmed him down and he went back to bed, burying his face in Urianger. If Uri knew, he didn't say anything. 

Are they an oldest, middle, youngest or only child? He's an only child. Never knew any other sibling. He has no cousins or nieces either. To his knowledge, the only other surviving family member is his shitty uncle. What he doesn't know is that his mother had a sister who has been keeping an eye on him since he left Doma to start the events of ARR, and has been supplying resources and supplies to Tataru the whole time. So Tataru is the only other person who knows Rornir has at least one other family member.

Describe the shoes they’re wearing. Rornir has like...5 pairs. Inside house slippers, Outside house slippers, good soled boots for hiking, marching, treking, combat shoes (as he's a dancer, they're comfy and supportive but not restricting allowing protection in a fight but comfort to move over a variety of surfaces), and a pair of outdoor sandals, for just casual comfort outdoorsy stuff. Any other pair of shoes he either borrows from Thancred (Best friend's husband and husband's best friend) or his bestie buys some and he wears like...once.

Describe the place where they sleep. His home was hand built by several of his friends. Most of the hard work and structural work was done by his friend and fellow WoL Bastian. Interior decor and arrangement by his bestie, and miscellaneous bits donated or provided by others of the scions and his own adventuring group. A lot of care and respect was put into making his current home, with many suggestions and input coming from Lord Hien, an honoured ally and long time friend. The home was built in traditional, ancient, Othardian/Hingan style with hand woven tatami reed mats and wood stacked and cut using traditional tools. Holy relics and family armor were provided by locals eager to support the Warrior of Light from their homeland. All of this was done at the request of Urianger. Their bedroom specifically has a magically enchanted star box, moon and star lights and a stained glass window. So they sky is always near by. Its very cozy, tradtional, and homey and its his favourite place in the world.

What is their favorite holiday? His favourite holiday is Heavensturn. Its essentially the Lunar New Year. Rornir comes from a very traditional heritage where lunar cycles are everything. Everything is done in accordance to the lunar cycle, not so much the conventional method of time keeping. So the new year festivities are incredibly important to him. They're also super fun!

What objects do they always carry around with them? He isn't super materialistic, so doesn't keep much. The only thing really is a bracelet made from thread used in his hand fasting ceremony.

[warlordfelwinter]

7, 11, 33, 60 & 78 for fiver!

[wol asks]

7. What song would you associate with your OC/WoL?

Blood Upon the Snow by Hozier and Bear McCreary

11. Describe the relationship between your OC/WoL and their significant other.

They are in a constant contest to see who can kill themself for the other lmao. I'm not going to go into it too much cause there's a lot of shb ew spoilers involved in it but they just keep trading whose turn it is to sacrifice themself. It's usually G'raha attempting it. But more seriously they are each others comfort. Both of them have been through some wild, traumatic shit and they are each others safe space. Immensely protective of each other. G'raha is the first person Fiver let his walls down around, the first person he felt completely at ease around in Eorzea. Fiver is G'raha's inspiration and his hero, but he's also one of the ones who first treated Fiver as more of a person than a weapon, so all that gushing praise doesn't bother Fiver. He knows its coming from a place of really seeing him.

33. What would your OC/WoL's limit-break call-out phrase be?

NEEDLESTORM uhhh... man this one is so hard. Fiver gets so laser focused in combat I'm not sure he talks a lot. Probably something simple and boring like "stay down"

60. Where is the most unusual place they've fallen asleep?

Great question... he's napped in so many bonkers places... other planets, the moon, a spaceship...

78. If your OC/WoL came with a warning label, what would it say?

Stay out of kicking range, or Bite Hazard

[rigil-kentauris]

URIANGER: 2,4, 7 OR 8 (whichever you prefer), 15-16-OR-17 (again, preference), 20, 23

RUBS MY GREEDY LITTLE HANDS TOGETHER HELL YEAH

urianger my beloved

okay let me go dig up my questions

2. Favorite canon thing about this character?

I LOVE HIS THEE AND THOU-ING. I especially love the fact that. There's no reasons like culturally for him to be like this, most sharlayans talk normally, if not a touch more formally. he made himself like this. i adore it.

i forget here it is (if its an npc who says it or if its a lorebook thing) but i like the part where the lore says hes Like This because of all those damn prophecy tomes he was on as a little kid. so i just imagine tiny little urianger looking at Ye Old Prophies and COMMITTING. he is precious to me

Small thing: I also love his stupid two sets of goggles when in his Potato Sack era.

4. If you could put this character in any other media, be it a book, a movie, anything, what would you put them in?

hmm... i feel like if i just sent him off on his own, he would wilt a bit. i would want to put him in something that gave him a fun, relaxing time, and think if thats to be accomplished I would have to send some of his People with him. he's been alone an awful lot and i see those as times that have also been or ended Bad. i think that might be something he dwells on.

OH I KNOW. okay weird one. but. BUT. hear me out. i would send him to Roller Coaster Tycoon. I know that's just technically just like a theme park but when i build them they are the BEST POSSIBLE THEME PARKS IN THE WORLD. if he could bring than, ryne, and gaia along, i just know he'd be really fulfilled by having a Fun Family Trip. i kind of see him as the guy who happily holds the bags and waits at the end of the ride. and i KNOW gaias got bags. also i feel like he is taking pictures and making the kids wear silly Park Gear. they go to some of the slow like Sitting and or Show type rides for him.

also if he was in RCT i could pick him up and Dangle him. not like malevolently but with the same emotion as I would have if I was Rotating Him

also also i have. forgotten everything ive ever read played or watched so im sure i have a better answer rolling around in there but alas.

7/8. What’s something the fandom does when it comes to this character that you like/despise?

I don't actually know much about the fandom takes on Urianger. Most of what I see is people analyzing his actions w/ The Warriors of Darkness and in Shadowbringers, and I haven't seen it be unfair yet. I think, though, I am not deep in the Fandom.

OH you know what I do hate. Every now and again people will mishear a bit about 1.0, and start popping off about how ~~~~~~secretly~~~~ Urianger is ACTUALLY a millennial old WISE and SCHEMING IMMORTAL WIZARD~~~~~~. I cannot blame anyone for thinking that, but it drives me off the wall. hes a 29 year old weird PhD haver who went around at aetherytes and chanting his insane End Of The World prophecies, he wears EITHER potato sack OR a backless dress and the only thing he knows how to do other than is eat hot chip be bisexual and tell the most insane lies possible. actually come to think of it i feel like HE was the one who started the insane lie ' is ACTUALLY a millennial old WISE and SCHEMING IMMORTAL WIZARD' so. either that or it was a general team effort. im getting into the weeds here so i digress.

urianger is so weird. i love him.

15. What’s your favorite ship for this character? (Doesn’t matter if it’s canon or not.)

I'm on that Urianger/Than ship if the bit about the theme park didn't give me away lol. I also like Uri/Moen but if I had to pick one it would be Uri/Than. Uri/Moen makes me sad to think about...

16/17. What’s your least favorite ship for this character?

Lol I havehit up the archive for this one. I'm genuinely not sure what the most popular ships are for Uri outside of Thancred. My guess is Uri/WoL, then Moen. But lets see.

lmao i opened the ffxiv tag and the first fic is an Uri/Than fic ive been reading which YIPPE! its updated!

okay im back its all than/uri and some uri/WoL. there are other ships but i got to the point where there were so few it would feel like kicking a life-raft to mention them.

20. Which other character is the ideal best friend for this character, the amount of screentime they share doesn’t matter?

I thought about this long and hard. I went at it from every logical angle. I took apart his characteristics, history, things he's done and to who. Interests, likes dislikes. I thought HARD.

I could NOT shake my immediate and initial thought of Estinien. I haven't got a stick to shake at my pile of evidence I just feel this in my heart.

I guess I was very impacted by uh... when was it. The Scions were in the Rising Stones, and Uri was mentioning he was going to get some books or something to try and share with Estinien to get to know him. It was the most endearing shit I have ever seen and it cut me to the bone. I think probably that attempt did not work but I do not care. GO FOR IT URIANGER! i also, i suppose, wonder how many friends Uri has every actively tried to make himself. like in childhood it seemed more like moenbryda Selected him, and that not many other kids liked him. his complicated history with the scions is complicated, but i think obviously he has to put in active effort to maintain those relationships (ESPECIALLY SINCE HE LOVE HOT CHIP LIES), but a lot of his character development w/ the scions seems more akin to 'hey this is the guy on our team we've known each other for like a decade so we are friends now' and less akin to 'hi my name is urianger can i show you some cool books'

its just intriguing to me why he did that. i hope so much it works out.

also come to think of it i dont know how many friends ESTINIEN have sought out of his own volition. he actively avoids aymeric half the time. orn kahi appears to have also gone the moenbryda route of Mine Now. tataru and krile had to actively hunt and Blackmail him into the scions. certainly i would call him friends with us now, and he cares a lot about alphinaud, but as far as Who Reached Out To Who, i think he is actually in the same boat as uri. huh.

vrtra, i think, is it. though i haven't had enough review time to say who lead that one.

now i want to see uri and estinien sitting silently in a room doing their own separate silent tasks (uri is reading a Tome, estinien is Caring For Weapons) SPECIFICALLY so i can caption it 'tag two blokes who do fuck all'. maybe its alisaie sneaking a bad blurry picture over her shoulder with her front camera and sending it to alphinaud.

23. Favorite picture of this character?

oh man i dont know. theres so much good ingame content and there SO MUCH GOOD ART and i do not have ANY of it tagged by character. let me go look.

OH NO I KNOW this is my favorite image of urianger of all time i want to cry every time i look at it. the fucking. expressions. i cant possibly describe in words how MUCH i feel when viewing this image. im going to pop.

[myrfing]

6.4 msq spoiler thread

YES! YES....ZERO GOURD FEAST BEASTS

i need this buff PERMANENTLY

EW

ESTINIEN

MAN WHAT

HURLING

DIDNT NEED TO SEE THAT

ZERO LMFAOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

yshtola is so good at indirectly cheering people up in that shrewd old lady way. not that she's old just well matoya

I like how they put pen and paper in estinien's room like he's literate

dragons are always wanting to pop out their eyeballs

erenville are you...? the golled more...? can i go with you..

can we kiss

god he appeared on screen and SORRY vrtra but i need him to continue and tell me about his life and I need to go with him

now they're blueballing us about a mysterious letter

i like how zero's just been there like well I guess you know everybody on earth then

margrat. i need more of her bizarre behaviors

i forgort

thancred calling it "social struggles" YOU GUYS ARE MAKING THIS AWKWARD FOR ZEROOOO

these drake ass polar bears

the aetherfont is sooo gorgeous also I forgot my codex broke and nearly let thancred die. long time since ive healed a trust party as well but we go slow smell the ice bears

oh my god :U

thancred: just stick stay close to this one

gourd: slowly turning head with his o_o frontal bird face

they just let thancred tag along just beacause. not to be mean but we could also just meet new people

U Guys Are Leaving Gourd OUt of the Conversation Hinting At Something Happening To Come What The Hell So He Doesn't Get Alone Time And You Guys Are Getting Jobs Without Him Anyway

zero voice Idgaf about that

can the garleans get over their magic fear already you live in a world where there are glowing horses

damn that's crazy

msq is always very strangely gentle and thorough relative to others when it comes to dealing with garlean trauma or maybe thats just my hater lens. anyway the whole they are bigoted and small minded because they'd been hurt stuff is getting old and it's kind of crazy how this hurt people hurt people stuff is the limit here

trust me i dont really want 2

a weird bit about the whole garlemald thing is the bizarre angelic benevolence of the ilsabard contingent. not ONE person has been like you know you guys spent the past half century fucking up the entire world and you still demand respect for your gay ass tower because the imperial family sat their asses in it. anyway i have problems with the whole we're actually a totally 100% saintlike patience goodhearted pure intentioned foreign aid group thing We Have To Save The People Of Garlemald on the side of the alliance since the start but whatever

warmachina.

i dont want the thank you from this man LMFAO

zerooo 8[ also so much of what zero recounts explains. Cylva.

aw that's true jullus

LMFAOOOOO THEYRE MAKING THE WOL THINK OF ZENOS BECAUSE OF THIS CONVO? gourd did NOT trust that man unless you mean trust him to be awful. and what did zenos trust in the wol that he'd fight him eventually? I GUESS? MAYBE THEY MEANT HE WANTED TO TRUST US BUT I ALSO DO NOT CARE?

we're not friends just because someone calls you their friend 29083902 times 💀 i think that dude barely had a concept of gourd as a human being with his own life

an act of trade also can be an act of charity. THIS IS WHAT I MEAN THEIR POLITICAL WRITING IS SOMETIMES SO.....garlemald is still absolutely at the alliance's mercy + they still obviously believe in right by might re: that one line from the old dudes so there's no reason for them to not be cognizant of the fact we can just take by force and doesn't handle the hanging But Why Aren't They? question at all. this was a pity deal and everyone's like friendship and hope <3. im not saying goodwill and sincerity cannot exist between groups but this requires a sense of solidarity that we do NOT have with garlemald considering we still have to step entirely around the subject of their imperial affairs

you see as a nation they're not equals. they're the languishing half dead scattering remnant of an empire that built its wealth and prosperity for a time on war, theft, and enslavement of the rest of the world and radz and the alliance absolutely could just turn the tables and invade and probably just wipe out everyone here without breaking a sweat. of course that's abhorrent but it's crazy that THIS particular pain even the mere thought of it is made to not exist while the garleans get to be complicated about it. they want to keep their national name and pride with none of the consequences and we don't even demand that as if a nation is sacred and untouchable even after everything. I don't get it bro

i like the way varshahn says wyrm

THE LITTLE SQUICH SOUND WHEN I TAKE HER EYE?

glitter guy....