#FFxivWrite2024

[kidstorybd24]

"It was affection that held us together."

zoom in for better detail (tumblr likes to butcher my quality lmao)

[sea-wolf-coast-to-coast]

FFxiv 30 Day Writing Challenge SEPTEMBER 1st - 30th, 2024

Welcome to YEAR 8 of our annual FFxiv 30 Day Writing Challenge, folks!

Last year we had 7,935 total entries! Which brings us to a total of 50,656 unique written entries over the last 7 years. That is just incredible! And something that I think that we should be super proud of as a creative fan community.

Whether you're new to the FFxivWrite community or a 7-year writing challenge veteran, if you'd like to give perfectionism in your creative writing process a swift kick in the butt, then this challenge was designed for you!

More info is below the cut~

Here’s the gist:

Runs from September 1st - 30th, 2024. During that timeframe:

Visit sea-wolf-coast-to-coast​ once a day at 12:00pm (noon) PDT for the prompt of the day. Convert to your timezone accordingly. All prompts will be one word or brief phrase that you can interpret however you please.

You have 24 hours to write something for that prompt.

Submit the link to your entry post via this Google Form: https://forms.gle/jDWjFKfmeaGnH3PL9

There are no length or skill requirements (short & sweet is fine!).

There will be no 24-hour deadlines for the first week, September 1st - 7th. The deadline will go into effect on September 8th at 11:59am PDT.

Makeup/extra credit days every Sunday.

Every entry posted within its 24-hour deadline will count toward a participation prize raffle at the end.

You can join any time with any prompt #! There’s no need for latecomers to start with prompt #1. Picking up with the most recent prompt is A OK.

If you’re an artist and you would like to volunteer to do a simple black & white illustration as a participation prize at the end of this challenge, you can volunteer here!

RULES & MORE INFO can be found here: https://ffxiv-write.carrd.co/

(( banner art - by @dantinmikannes ))

Rules & Info || Prompt List || #FFxivWrite2024 || kofi

[mimble-sparklepudding]

10. Stable.

My chocobo got loose from her stable,

And to catch her I was quite unable,

For in spite of my labours,

She broke into the neighbours'

And ate all the fruit off their table.

[dennydraws]

FFxivWrite2024 Participation Prize for @briar-ffxiv ~ I hope I did your bean justice :> He was really sweet to draw!!! And congratulations for tackling the challenge too!! \o/

Big thanks to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for organizing the event once more! Looking forward to next year too!

[windupiceheart]

FFxivWrite2024 Participation Prize

Thank you @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for hosting as always!

[cosmicseashanty]

Context is here... something silly for a friend. Thanks FFxivWrite for your boundless inspiration

[keicordelle]

FFXIV Write Day 5: Stamp

[Stained parchment, crumpled and worn, rendered nearly illegible by age. Found behind untouched crates in a storage room in the Waking Sands.]

Seventh day of the Sixth Astral Moon, year 0 of the Seventh Astral Era Dear Mr. Tragbharsyn and Mrs. Uwilsyngwyn Dear Wilfsunn and Bloewyda Bloewyda and Wilfsunn, I know not how I might Moenbryda is I regret to inform you I cannot express my sorrow that The words to express such a It is with great sorrow that I must inform you of Moenbryda I have failed to protect Moenbryda was struck down while trying to preserve Moenbryda has valiantly given her life You would have been proud of her How could one possibly express the sorrow of losing From distant shores did she come, and to distant shores I wish it had been otherwise I was not strong enough to save Her bravery has saved I cannot begin to I wish, as I am certain you do, that I had been the She was I cannot

7.11.0 Bloewyda, Wilfsunn, I'm sorry.

[makiokuta]

A makeup prize for FFXIV Write of @eva-cybele ( @dawnslight-aegis )'s beautiful Au ra, Kaede.

Thank you to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast all your hard work on this event!

[dicenete]

FFxivWrite2024 Participation Prize

A participation prize for Ossan of Jin, reading after all the hard work ^^ It is always nice to draw FFXIV OCs too ^^ @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast

Ko-Fi || Blue Sky || Cara || Ko-Fi Commission Info

[adeat]

FFxivWrite2024 Participation Prize

Winner’s pic for selnyam on her character, Flidais Oakclamber!

As always, thanks to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for organizing this wonderful event.

[cataoshi]

FFxivWrite2024 Participation Prize for @alicetsukagamimateus ♥

@sea-wolf-coast-to-coast

[sea-wolf-coast-to-coast]

I'd love to see a follow-up after the event is over of people sharing their favorite piece from the event. We just wrote for thirty days! What are we proudest of making?

YES, I love this idea! Now that the challenge's 24-hour deadlines are officially closed:

Writers, what were your proudest moments in FFxivWrite this year?

[mimble-sparklepudding]

FFXIVwrite2024 Appreciation Post!

Having just recovered from my efforts at completing FFXIVwrite20224 (organised by the inestimable @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast) I thought it might be a good idea to celebrate just some of the excellent writing produced by the FFXIV Community for the event!

Saturnine by @naejlas-axe. A great piece of writing about an OC doing a piece of writing - it's very meta! Plus I suggested the word for it!

Taken by @kannedia. Semi-platonic piratical parleying. I learned that QPR does not always mean the football team!

Bar by @lilbittymonster. Featuring the Chais, who are some of my favourite characters. This one's on the Archive of Our Own site, but it still counts I think.

Two Heads Are Better Than One by @musesofawolf. Fun with Thancred! Definitely a blog you should be following.

Steer by @johnnylandslide. Alisaie takes a driving lesson with a bit of a FFXV crossover.

Perpetuity by @hares-and-hounds. A brief reflective piece. I enjoyed how the entries tracked the character's story at different ages.

Reticent by @starrysnowdrop. A certain Astrologian has an accurate prediction of future events. Hali is always a joy!

Third-Rate by @elliewiltarwyn. A great scene set at the end of ARR/beginning of Heavensward. Plus extra credit to the writer for producing so much work whilst very poorly.

On Cloud Nine by @autumnslance. A unique perspective on events from an unexpected source.

Zip by @ainyan. A short, but sweet little piece that I really liked. Romantic and just a little bit suggestive.

Stamp by @astrology-bf. A little piece of erotic writing about... well erotic writing of a slightly different kind.

Horizon by @otherworldseekers. A particularly nice piece that takes the prompt and does something unexpectedly romantic with it!

Cellar (free day) by @houserosaire. I really enjoyed this piece. Two refined Ishgardian gentleman have a meaningful exchange in a wine cellar.

Shade by @umbralaether. A wistful, but intriguing piece that I enjoyed very much.

Hackneyed by @irisopranta. A piece of fanfiction about fictional fanfiction. I laughed a lot!

Obviously this is just a small selection of writing from a small selection of writers, but definitely worth checking out. I will post a masterlist of my nonsense FFXIVwrite2024 pieces at some point, but I can't promise it will approach the quality of any of these examples!

[myreia]

Sketches of Times Lost

Day 01: Steer

ryne x gaia. minor shadowbringers patch & eden raid spoilers. written for ffxivwrites 2024. 943 words. ao3 link.

“Not like that—”

“Then like what? I did it the way you said!”

“You didn’t! You must put your paddle on the other side—”

“What other side? I put it where you told me—”

“The left side!”

“I put it on the left side!”

Voices ring out across the Source, breaking the sleepy Lakeland day. A sturdy little fisher boat bobs haphazardly in its waters. It streams away from the shore, pushed to and fro by the wind despite the best efforts of its occupants.

“You’re not listening to me.”

“I am listening to you, Ryne!”

“If I am steering from the right side, you must paddle on the left—”

“Ugh…” Wood clatters against wood. “…every time… why must you be like this—”

“Gaia, we’re going in circles!”

“I know—ah!”

Splash. With a sad, despairing sound, the paddle hits the water. Ryne jolts upright in her seat and leans over the side, the boat wobbling precariously with her movement. Gaia yelps, her hands flying out to seize the gunwales, frozen in fear as Ryne slides her paddle over the edge. She presses her lips together, brow furrowed with concentration, and attempts to fish the other out.

A few prods later and she has only achieved the opposite.

“Ah!” The boat rocks as Ryne pulls back, red-cheeked and spluttering. “I can’t get to it.”

Gaia sighs, her hands still holding the gunwales in a death-grip, and carefully peers over the side. “Goodbye, you useless old thing,” she drawls, deadpan. “I knew I should never have brought you.”

The paddle floats away, uncaring, and vanishes into the lake.

The girls fall silent. Small waves lap against the boat, calmly, quietly, the only sound for malms save for the wind and the occasional bird call above. The sun beats down, its rays sparkling across the surface of the water. There was a time in her life when she never knew water could be like this—bright and clear, shimmering like the crystals of the Crystal Tower and brimming with life. She can still taste the putrid scents of her childhood, the stink of stagnant water and rotting fish. The green, stinking waters around Eulmore were where one went to drown. If they were lucky.

Ryne sighs and crosses one leg over the other. “All right,” she says, glancing over the side of the boat. The wind is pushing them in circles and they are moving further and further from Sullen by the minute. At this rate, they might as well be pushed clear into the Isle of Ken. Perhaps they could ask Bismarck for another favour. “I admit… perhaps we… made a mistake.”

Gaia snorts. “A mistake? I thought you said you knew how to handle a thing like this.”

“I do! Or… in theory, I do. I haven’t… actually. Done this before.”

Gaia glances over her shoulder, her dark brows drawn together. She would look angrily ferocious if not for the way her lips were moving as if she is about to laugh. “Surprising. You don’t say.”

A small laugh bursts out of her and Ryne slaps a hand to her mouth. Flashing her a grin, Gaia twists around in her seat and stretches out, fluffing out her hair behind her as she settles in to bask. She closes her eyes and throws one leg over her knee, her foot bouncing back and forth. The polished stiletto heel she insisted on wearing glints in the sun.

Ryne smiles, soft and quiet, and looks away. “Regardless,” she says, dipping a hand into the lake, letting the cool waters flow through her fingers. “This is nice, isn’t it? The sun is out, there’s a nice breeze, we have food and water…”

“Spinning in the middle of the lake doesn’t sound very nice to me,” Gaia says. Despite her irritable tone, she is already deeply relaxed. “I’d have rather stayed indoors.”

Ryne raises her eyes, staring across the lake to Sullen’s docks. Villagers mill to and fro, some fishing, others swimming, and moreso out to the enjoy the nice day. Their bright clothing makes them visible even from this distance. Would any notice if she stood up and waved her arms?

A pang squeezes her heart. “Did you know Urianger tried to walk on water once?” she blurts out.

Gaia yawns. “Where?”

“There. Stepped right off the dock.”

Gaia’s eyes open. Slowly, she pushes herself up and twists around, following Ryne’s gaze to the distant shore. “I’ll believe it when I see it,” she declares.

Ryne makes a face. “You don’t believe me—?”

The boat rocks. A warm hand slips into hers. A familiar weight presses into her as Gaia rests her head on her shoulder.

“You miss them a lot today,” she says quietly. No judgement, just simple acknowledgement.

“I miss them everyday.”

“I know.”

“I don’t know when Aureia will be back. I don’t know if Thancred has gone and done something stupid. I don’t know what books Urianger is reading, what theories Y’shtola is pursuing, if Alphinaud and Alisaie are…” She lets out a soft breath. “I’m sorry. I wanted today to be nice.”

“You’re here. How could it not be?”

Sullen fades into the distance.  

“Gaia?” Ryne asks, her voice barely more than a whisper. “Do you think this will ever end? Feeling like this? Feeling like I’m grieving the worst before I know it’s happened? I’m so worried about them, some days I can barely breath.”

“I don’t know the answer to that.” Her hand squeezes hers. “I don’t think anyone knows. But I do know what it is like to feel alone and…”

“And?”

“You’re not, Ryne. You are never alone.”

[pitchbog]

A makeup prize for @freelance7 - the warrior of light, Rev! Happy to be able to draw such a cool cat~ Thanks to @sea-wolf-coast-to-coast for organizing everything!!

[ahollowgrave]

Horizon (noun):  1. The apparent intersection of the earth and sky as seen by an observer. 2. The limit or edge of the observable universe. 3. The range of one's knowledge, experience, or interest. A nun. A river. A journey. Who can say?

You tip over the edge of one world and into another.

Sometimes it feels like falling from a cliff, plunging into the hungry maw of the ocean. Sometimes it feels like a river rises around you. Water bubbling over your feet, tugging insistently upon the hem of your dress, flowing over the top of your head. This time it feels like ice cracking beneath your bare feet. A sudden, sharp fear driven like a spike at the base of your skull.

You cannot say for certain what this place is. Words have never been your strong suit and even less so the educated ones a proper scholar might use. You’ve a guess, of course, but it is something you’ve always kept close. This is where you do your work. It is not a difficult leap. 

The water is frigid and pitch-black. You feel hands ghosting over your body, your hair, your face. Thumbs brush your closed eyelids. You see. The currents of the water around you are suddenly illuminated; faint blue, glowing dim against the swallowing darkness around you. They should be brighter. They should be moving with great joy. Yet when you reach for those currents they react slowly and hang limply; dying. They flicker when you reach too far and your cry of anguish escapes your throat in bubbles. Dread spirals out from that point of fear; tendrils wrapping slimy feelers around your spine, your ribs, pulling itself into the hollow of your chest to feast and grow. In that cold, in that dark, among dying, twinkling lights it is easy to curl around it. To see the dread as certainty. As always, you are saved from yourself. The feeling of hands come once more. Impressions of fingers pulling at your limbs, unfolding them, drawing your head up and directing your gaze -- West.