#valras

[postcard-from-the-past]

Street scene in Valréas, Provence region of France

French vintage postcard

[unicornpicturesofficial]

L'homme et le Divin #valrasplage🌴🐉☀️💯🏄 #valras #valrasplage (à Valras-Plage, Languedoc-Roussillon, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/CjdQq-bKHOmLJYF4R13fE_XN7on8RixxyE5r-Y0/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[monstersmashorpass]

SMASH OR PASS: Valra from Roswell Conspiracies: Aliens, Myths and Legends

Note from submitter: Despite her serpentine appearance, Valra is actually a vampire (in this show vampires are a snake-like alien race)

[photos-de-france]

Valras Plage, Hérault, 1960s.

[ina-isa]

-The Crossroads-

a stone waymark used for traveling to the inter-dimensional aether; the basis for modern teleportation techniques.

[catella-ars]

Did a little species swap on some of our DnD babes.

[agence-immobiliere-abeilhan]

Appartement face à la mer Valras-plage

À vendre | Valras-plage 🌐

Dimitri Coquet vous présente au 3 ème étage d'une copropriété ,un appartement T3 de 71,69 m² habitable avec vue mer et accès privé à la plage.

✔️ Appartement

✔️ 3 pièce(s)

✔️ 71.69 m2

✔️ 371.000€ HAI

Contactez-moi pour plus d’informations sur ce bien ! ⬇️

📞 06 60 15 91 99

📩 d.coquet@proprietes-privees.com

#immobilier #appartement #mer #languedoc #herault

[sea-wolf-coast-to-coast]

FFxivWrite2021 Recap

This post is extremely overdue! I apologize! Last year was a particularly busy one for me. While y’all were exercising your creativity with the prompts each day, I was preparing for the birth of my first kiddo - a little guy who came 3 weeks early and before I had a chance to recap the challenge. Once he was here, I disappeared into first-time-parent newborn life for awhile. And now, I’m back! Thank you all for your patience and understanding as I navigated (and continue to navigate) a major life change.

Now, without further ado, let’s recap!

10,390 total entries were submitted in 2021!

This includes all entries that were submitted via the Google Form, including late entries (and excluding duplicate entries).

Which brings us to 31,556 total recorded entries since we began this challenge in 2017! 

And, we had 80 volunteer artists in 2020!! Which means that there were 80 prize-winners!

A breakdown of the stats + announcement of the Participation Prize winners are below the cut ~

Want to see all public entries? Here’s a link to the Master Spreadsheet. This omits entries that people requested to keep private between them and I.

Total Participation Year to Year:

Prompt Participation by Year:

NOTE: The big dips are Make up / Extra Credit Days. Lots of folks choose to take a break over writing Extra Credit. Legit!

Prompt Breakdown by Week:

Submissions by Day:

NOTE: Day 7 was the day before the 24-hour deadline went into effect. Hence, the big ol’ spike.

Submissions by Platform:

Participation Prize Winners

Winners were selected via a random raffle dice roll made by each of the artists and span all online writing platforms, including Tumblr, Ao3, Google Docs, and others (like Twitter). This writing challenge is not a contest - no one’s work was being judged for length, skill, etc. The prizes are based on participation only!

Prizes are a simple black & white portrait of the winner’s character. Most are shoulder up but the artists are free to take liberties if they’d like. Prizes are not commissioned work, so ultimately it’s the artist’s choice for what they’d like to do for the piece. Some artists (not all) accept commissions and might be open to colorizing a prize piece, after it’s been posted, at their normal rates.

All of 2021′s winners have been contacted, and most prizes have been completed. As always, there are a few whose artists needed to drop out for personal reasons, and that’s ok! In those cases, the winners will be carried over into 2022′s pool of winners where another artist will pick up their prize and complete it. That being said, if you were a 2021 winner and you haven’t seen a completed prize yet, please feel free to reach out to me! 

fjola-miret-njer

xivchaele

eikwoods

cheetah-smith-ffxiv

saesama

TristanLoupmont

three-fulm-thaumaturd

PlatyPaints

ffxivaltaholic

pocket-panda

way-to-the-future

Kyorgra

avablackstone

crossmusings

renzu-valra

Falindae

zoomizoomi

Sectanza

AppleCube

house-vexile

opheliaglorfindal

Houserosaire

katalinhunter

afreesworn

hyphen-yaeger

idyllshires

KA_Crittenden

mathemagiks

thecat-inthehat

NekoNomicon

faelune-home

Vegaether

lissette_txt

jlsigman

fantasy-of-iolite

ravencrossffxiv

efrmellifer

blacksnakeofkugane

Lacroix

Lokus

juntei

boricha

WriterRaven

whispersafterdusk

Rosh/Imadyn

brightrind

michikodhol

kewlthulhu

Jorshamo

Soparia

Deiicide

erickgage

sambadechocobo

snowbird-down

yokasaris

heartlyght

SableKitten

Caffeinated Mess

peachyraye

astraut

fair-fae

delightfulvoidstudent

biff-adventurer

ffxiv-swarm

emberfall

windupnamazu

tonburberryXIV

yaianse

storytellerarin

desert_ghosts

Vee

sonderwrit

blaze_eyes

ayakamizu_ffxiv

tae-ffxiv

reikomizuno

Meghan

theredshirtwholived

carbillya

eiricat

Congrats, winners! 

We’ll see you next September for FFxivWrite2022

Rules & Info || Prompt List || #FFxivWrite2021 || kofi

[postcard-from-the-past]

Beach scene in Valras, Languedoc region of southern France

French vintage postcard

[ofdragonsdeep]

4: Off the Hook

A reflection on promises kept, after the portal to the Thirteenth is destroyed.

The sound of the ocean swell and the hum of alchemical equipment were the only sounds to be heard near the Great Work. Ar’telan, stood out on the beach away from the alchemists at work, considered it a pleasant change from the background roar of the Final Days, or the horrible hum that had beset his ears before they had destroyed the Tower of Zot.

He came out here fairly often, these days. There was a market for some of the fish that were found where the ocean really set in, fish that would be hard to catch without the Kojin’s blessing, and the island itself was the closest place he had to his old home. Not just the climate, warm and welcoming, but Vrtra sitting as mediator. It was a far cry from Eorzea, bereft of draconic influence save for the wound of Ishgard that was still barely healed, and he knew that his people trusted Thavnair. He wondered if they knew why, if Vrtra’s presence had been a secret even from those of Tiamat’s brood, but dwelling on it for too long only made him miss his home all the more.

So often are you beset by longing.

Ar’telan sighed. He did not often hold the Reaper’s scythe, but the bond in his head resonated all the same, despite its freshness. Rubicante was a far more chatty tenant than Lily or his carbuncle had proven to be.

A similarity we share, he signed, though he knew he had but to think it for his words to carry to the voidsent. He felt uneasy in it, in even holding a pact like the lemures did when Zero was still so raw from the chains of her own binding. She had not said anything, not yet. He had not mentioned it, but she had to know, he thought.

I had not expected to see it in a mortal creature.

Ar’telan had not asked him about Azdaja, though surely the Archfiend knew more of her than any of Vrtra’s rescue party did. They had achieved their strength through her aether, and Ar’telan could feel the traces of the draconic in every void-infused swing of his blade. Did she sleep? Did she suffer? Had her timeless nature infused any of those strange immortals-but-not, trapped in their endless cycle of death and rebirth?

Did she, too, miss home?

I get that a lot, Ar’telan replied. The broad strokes of his feelings were likely felt through their bond, as he felt the edges of Rubicante’s most fervent emotions, but they still had the most of their secrets. He had considered asking Drusilla if this was normal, but thought he already knew the answer. Zero had been all but subsumed by Zenos while in his ‘service’, and while Drusilla’s Avatar had sacrificed itself to save her, none of the other lemures had spoken much of knowing their voidsent. 

Ar’telan was in many ways a walking sin, these days.

It is strange to me, how deeply you care. For a people not your own, and a pain you have no cause to bear. I saw the strength of your convictions, but not the depth of them, on the mount. 

Ar’telan shrugged at that, sinking down into a sitting position on the warm sand. His tail carved an arc through the loose grains, and in the distance the Valras shuffled and bellowed. He remembered helping a little boy escort a nanka to the water, before everything had turned to fire and brimstone. He hoped the boy had survived it all.

Someone must care. And if I have been given the power to change things, it might as well be me. 

Lily alighted upon his head with a glimmer of aether, making his ears twitch in response to her flickering wings. 

And when you are too tired to fight, and it is brought to your doorstep regardless?

The pain in Rubicante’s voice was raw, despite how long ago the Flood had consumed his home. Had time truly had meaning, in that dark-steeped abyss? Had they known for how long they had stayed mired in the hubris of so few, that had damned so many?

Ar’telan wondered if it was better to be damned or to be subsumed, when no solution beckoned on the horizon.

I will answer until I no longer can, he said. So many times he had been asked when he hadn’t the strength to answer, and it wore heavy on the soul. But he had sworn, long ago, before the reasons behind it all had been made clear, that he would bear it. If only to save the one who would have to bear it after him even a moment of the pain.

I am glad that, when the moment comes, it will not continue regardless.

A funny way to say you’re happy I can die, Ar’telan replied, a small smile tugging at the edge of his face. 

It comes for both of us, now.

I suppose it does, Ar’telan agreed, casting his eyes out over the sea. The sun was tilting towards the horizon, but there were many more hours in the day left yet. A strange gift for me to promise your people, too. A fitting payment for what your kind did to mine, once.

A moment of silence met the proclamation. Of course Rubicante had been alive, or what passed for it, during Allag’s war on Meracydia, but if he recalled it - if he had even been involved - was impossible to say. He had not even been Rubicante, Archfiend of Fire, then. Azdaja had flown against the voidsent horde until the very final moment, before the quakes had torn Allag’s power from the land and swallowed the armies that fought tooth and nail for the land they stood on. Meracydia’s dragons still sang of it, every note tinged with mourning. The Calamity had not discriminated, after all.

We shall see if it is your side that keeps their promise yet, mortal.

I can still answer. We shall. A half of it lingered unsaid in the back of his mind - that if they restored the Void, or at least provided some measure of relief to even a part of it, that Rubicante would be free. His people would no longer be trapped in a cycle of torment, and his self-imposed duty would be done. But the world would ask more of Ar’telan - if nothing else had stuck through the Final Days, that had made itself so painfully clear. He would not keep Rubicante on a leash the way that Zenos had thought to use Zero. Would the Archfiend want to continue to lend his strength, fragile though their temporary alliance was?

One lapse in judgement, and Rubicante had sworn to his nature, after all. And Ar’telan would be just another voidsent puppet. It was the nature of the dance.

He would ask when the day came, when they could stand witness to their success, and not a moment before.

The proof of it is yet to be seen. For either of our sides.

With that, at least, he could hardly argue.

[trink-or-treat]

debriefing and press conference live from...flounder heights!

The usually quiet apartment complex wasn’t used for such events; but the quiet feel of the place was the calming contrast compared to the hyperactive, overwhelming feeling of Wahoo World.

The three organizers didn’t want to run the risk of having the debrief ruined by a wayward Booyah Bomb throw - Inkling kids had a lot of energy but getting accidentally splatted wouldn’t be amusing.

MEDIA: Alright, a good day to everyone. The press conference’s about to start. There will be a moment for public questions for the organisers here - Mister Patrick Adarna, Mister Sebastien Valravn and Mister Jeff Mayura. 

MEDIA: Thanks for holding this press conference. The first question we got is from Inkopolis News - what motivated you into running this event.

Adarna: *laughter* That’s a very good question. I think that it’s mostly nostalgia, trying to catch the same feeling that we had while we were young. Having a carefree period where you don’t have to go and worry about having to pay bills, about work, and whatever else.

For a couple nights, we wanted people to go...carpe diem. Is that how it’s said? That’s how it’s said, right?

But yeah. The ability to just go and seize the moment, to enjoy the good times while they’re here, to just get away from the stress. That was the main motivator for us.  

MEDIA: I see. Would you like to expand on why you’ve specifically chosen the Splatoween weekend to hold the event.

Mayura: Um...when rumor had it that there would not be a Splatfest around Splatoween, we felt like that was...a gap to go and fill in.

Couple years ago, there was some kind of carnival party held here and we felt like they did a lot of interesting stuff, but that we could go and improve some things. Having a shorter, but more focused event, was in my eyes, a good idea. We didn’t want the celebration to lose steam halfway.

MEDIA: You said that you didn’t want to lose steam, yet the event has been longer than a Splatfest - lasting almost a week. Were there any challenges for you? 

Mayura: Financing? *laughter*

Adarna: Oh god, yeah. Financing.

First of all, when we were planning the event, we were unanimously against charging for entrance - a lot of people in the Greater Inkopolis Area are living on tight budgets.

Like I said earlier, we wanted to have people let go of their worries, and making a popular event expensive to attend would go against what we’re standing for.

Valravn: Selling the event to advertisers was rather rough - some came naturally to us, like OCVO since Pat’s their morningman and all, but we had no major star power, no idols like Off The Hook or the Squid Sisters as spokepersons.

I think it was mentioned during the congeniality ceremony, but business people really didn’t believe in our project. We really did do wonders with almost no external backing, and I’m glad that we proved them wrong.

Aside from that, I think I was really scared that people would just lose interest halfway through the event. When we were deciding how long the event would be, the guys wanted something longer, while I wanted to just keep it to one night, maybe two. I’m glad they didn’t listen to me *laughter*

MEDIA: Rather than relying on idols, you had a mascot of sorts for the events, the Lord of Splatoween, who had that idea?

Valravn: I think it’s kinda unfair to refer to the Lord of Splatoween as a mascot - they’re an entity of their own. They got involved in the event because we asked them, but we really have nothing to do with all of this. 

Adarna: To make a long story short, the Lord of Splatoween has been hanging around Wahoo World for a long time. We’re not going to say what we had to do to convince the Lord to help us - we’re allowed our little secrets -  but they were hard negociations.

We’re insanely grateful to have had this opportunity to collaborate with them. And don’t worry - I’m 100% sure that you haven’t seen the last of them.

MEDIA: Now, a question from INK.TV - what were the attendance numbers. Did you reach your goal for the events?

Valravn: We’re still doing preliminary calculations about the exact numbers, but I’d say that they’re higher than what we were expecting. While we did have the backing of OCVO FM, thanks to our connections, most of the marketing relied on mouth-to-ear communications. People heard about the event, told their friends and the circle widened.

Mayura: Um, in the later days, we noticed a lot more...celebrities liveblogging and posting pictures from the event, and that’s how we knew we had it. That we managed to...catch lightning in a bottle. We’re extremely grateful for all these...um...influencers for the help.

MEDIA: At the start of the event, you said that you were not charging for entry, but were gathering voluntary contributions. Are these contributions going to fund future events? Like next year’s Splatoween event?

Mayura: Um, it’s true that we did gather close to half a million gold in voluntary contributions during the event, but let us be clear - all profits are going to go to Greater Inkopolis Area charities. That’s what we’ve stated at the start of the event, and we’re not changing our mind on this. We’re not gonna profit off voluntary contributions.

Right now, we’ve been in contact with several charities and groups and we’re looking to distribute the funding ethically. We’ll keep you updated on this.

Adarna: As for a Splatoween 2023 event, we can’t confirm it *yet*. We did go and say “See you next year” when we were closing, so we’re hoping to come back; but we’re not counting our pigeons until they’ve hatched.

Mayura: Mostly depends on what Splatfest organization has in mind - I don’t think they’d skip two years in a row.

Adarna: No matter what, I think that we’re gonna come back in some shape or form. We’re not the kind of guys that just go and give up!

MEDIA: Question from Inkopolis News once more, what was your favorite thing about the event?

Adarna: That might be a cliche answer, but I really liked the masked ball. Was impressive to see the efforts people put in their costumes this year. There was a lot of individuality, a lot of passion. Way to go.

Valravn: Agreeing with Patrick there, but I have a soft spot for both award ceremonies we had. We had something special going on with the congeniality award - because we wanted to nominate someone that encapsulated the spirit of our event and I feel like we nailed it with our choice.

Today’s ceremony was a little more light-hearted because we wanted to honor as much people as we could.

Adarna: Fun story - a couple people came to me when I was working as morning man after the ceremony to tell me that it was a shame I didn’t get any award for my OCVO broadcasting for the event. On one tentacle, I was super honored that people appreciated what I’ve done, but I couldn’t exactly tell them “Yeah, I’m on the organization committee, that would be weird to just award myself the prize.”

Valravn: He’s absolutely that vain, we just stopped him, by the way.

Mayura: *chuckling* Seriously, going back to the question here, I really had strong feelings during the balloon launch. It was something spectacular to behold, and personally, I felt really invested in it.

I lost someone really dear to me a couple years ago, and I felt that this entire ceremony was allowing me to let go off my grief. Sending something beautiful into the sky was a way to remember the person I’ve lost, without it being mournful, without it being sad.

MEDIA: Opposite question : is there anything that you would actually improve about the event?

Valravn: Early in the event, we were asked what someone should do if they wanted to go on ride that didn’t allow children on them, and I was a little baffled about what to answer. 

I’m a parent myself and there is absolutely no way I’m leaving my kids unattended if I can avoid it, but I realized that we really didn’t have much in the way of options in the case an emergency had to happen. Thankfully, we managed to organize something, but I’m extremely disappointed that we needed to be asked about it to figure that out.

A couple days ago, just after the ball started, I also noticed that we didn’t have a lot of events targeted towards children - we had a couple rides and games, but I felt that, as far as family events go, we could have done that way better.

MEDIA:  Finally, before we move onto your fan’s questions, anything you guys want to add?

Mayura: I think we all agree that our attendants were amazing. Seriously, we’re so proud of their involvement during the event, they were everywhere. No major incident happened and we’re just...so happy that it was the success it was. I’m...um, really hoping to come back next year. Like we said earlier, it’s all up in the air. We need all the stars to align, so cross your fingers!

Valravn: Seconding what Jeff said concerning the crowd - people go and say that Inklings and Octolings are impulsive and destructive but from what I’ve seen this weekend, everyone was on their best behavior.

Adarna: Aside from a couple Burst Bombs incidents...

Valravn: Aside from a couple Burst Bombs incidents indeed.

MEDIA: Well, there you have it. The organisation committee will answer your questions in the next few minutes, so do not be shy!

[alexdelargettt]

Flash Micro réaliste 🧑‍🎨 Réalisés au @troisiemeart #tattoo #tatouage #tat #tatoo #tattooed #tattooist #art #artist #realism #realistic #micro #microrealism #microrealismetattoo #france #france🇫🇷 #sud #suddelafrance #montpellier #beziers #narbonne #serignan #valras #plage (à Sérignan, Languedoc-Roussillon, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cp5gsC6Dp01/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

[ina-isa]

An Approximate Model of the World

[catella-ars]

Preliminary sketches for an ongoing project to MILF/DILF-ify the DnD crew.

@espressoth @carbonatedcacti @pickledfiction @gay-space-rain

[esleep]

Heldi Grimtusk was orphaned at age 10 and taken in by her music teacher, a kind-hearted local bard. Kitna the Silvertongued taught Heldi everything she knew.

The young half-orc's talent got her noticed as she began performing publicly, and soon she had become a renowned bard in her own right, honing her skills to a keen magical edge. However, this also drew attention from undesired sources.

Valras was an archfey who experimented in necromancy and other shadowy magics. He sought to open a gate to the Shadowfell and harness further power for himself through that connection, however his efforts resulted in his being trapped in the Plane of Shadow altogether, unable to return to the Feywild. However he was still able to traverse the Prime Material Plane in shadow, and did so restlessly for well over a century, searching for an echo of the beauty of his home. In one of his nocturnal wanderings, he found Heldi performing in a crowded tavern, and decided he needed to have her for himself. He asked her to marry him and she refused. Enraged, he used a combination of trickery and magical influence to force her into a bargain, and then he took her away to the Shadowfell. This tore her away from Kitna, who had become like a mother to her. Heldi eventually managed to free herself from his influence and file for divorce...after bearing two of his children and spending over 20 years under his control. She discovered on her return to the material plane that Kitna had been dead for many years, and her own reputation as a musician had been mostly forgotten.

As a parting gift and condition of their divorce, Valras gifted her a beautiful greatsword. However, this was a trap which bound her into an unwilling pact, with Valras himself as her patron. Now, her greatest wish is to free herself from the final chain that binds her to the corrupt archfey she so loathes, and free her children from his clutches if they wish to leave their father’s domain.