#My WoL Adjacents

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Vierapril 2025 Day 4: Duality

(Taken from this list: https://bsky.app/profile/orionbun.bsky.social/post/3llijihrxns2c)

The Duality of Byron Attikos:

"Don't worry, sir, I'll have them back by 9."

VS

"Your child calls me 'Daddy', too."

[sae-mian]

𝕍𝕚𝕖𝕣𝕒𝕡𝕣𝕚𝕝 | 𝔻𝕒𝕪 𝟙𝟝

“Alternate Universe”

BUN(?) FACT OF THE DAY: Nira'sae alone has more alternate universes and timelines than they've had years alive. (and here are some examples, labelled below the cut)

[ofdragonsdeep]

5: Stamp

To provide with a distinctive character

Riennaut takes up the lance.

(mentions of general Gridanian racism)

Moving through Gridania was, in a word, exhausting.

Not that Riennaut was a stranger to moving through Gridania. Indeed, he had lived most of his life within the embrace of the Shroud, even if he claimed Gelmorra as his heritage before he would Gridania. He was more than used to the typical attitude.

This was different.

It had been some days since he had last heard from any of his Adventurer's Guild contacts, and longer still since they had heard from him. He had not anticipated becoming an honest-to-gods White Mage, complete with the capital letters, when he had last spoken to them, but he did not imagine they would be all that concerned so long as his healing still functioned fine enough. But Gridania at large did not approve.

He was a duskwight. Even the padjal were only tolerated as users of white magic, the idea that a duskwight might take up the staff was nonsensical. He had been accused of a great many crimes, since he had walked among the public. Theft, primarily. Blasphemy against the Elementals, which included theft. Lying, although that one wasn't new. Typical duskwight behaviour.

What was not typical was the assurances of the Padjal. Your average thief was not protected by all three Seedseers, and certainly not tolerated by the Elementals. E-Sumi-Yan had also spoken out on his behalf, though that, at least, did not surprise Riennaut.

It irked him that it was necessary at all. But it was more effort to hide the horns, and he was tired of humouring the thoughts of terrified reactionaries.

Life moved on, no matter what they thought.

---

His newfound position, as it turned out, was far from the least of his problems.

It had been a distressingly long time since he had last heard word from Ar'telan. He had, of course, heard the news of Titan's defeat, and had thus assumed that he was fine - it would have been at least mentioned if their hero had died in the act. But there was nothing. Not a word.

He was not concerned that he would need to stop adventuring, or whatever passed for helping Ar'telan with the many chores a variety of ungrateful heads of state threw at his feet, despite his status as a newly-minted padjal. A-Towa-Cant had been famous as the only travelling Padjal, and while he could not quite understand the whispers of the Elementals, they did not seem to be binding him to forest service like the more regular Padjali. What he did know, however, was that Ar'telan had been involved in research that had led to the healing arts of Nym. Indeed, Ar'telan had spoken to Riennaut a great deal about conjury, and even learned from E-Sumi-Yan in the hopes of deepening his arts. It was not, therefore, a poor plan for Riennaut to diversify his own portfolio.

As tempting as it was to leave the city to learn another trade, he did not much fancy the idea of being stranded somewhere like Thanalan should there be a development, either with his own powers or the situation that had led him to having them. The archer's guild did not much interest him, and that left him with but one option: the lance.

He received no fewer than ten suspicious glances on his walk from Stillglade Fen to the Lancer's Guild, and upon his arrival, a group of lancers were shouting down a harrowed-looking duskwight. It was not a good omen, but he doubted the archers would fare any better, so he strode past behind them and into the building.

---

He was greeted at the door by an incredibly puzzled receptionist, who was clearly unsure if he should even have been there, and was only saved from having to leave with naught for his efforts by the timely arrival of the Guildmaster.

"Ah, I've heard the stories. An adventurer, aren't you?" he greeted. "I'm Ywain, the guildmaster here."

"Charmed," Riennaut responded, and did not reach out to shake his hand. To his credit, the man seemed unperturbed by the snub. "I am an adventurer by trade, yes. You may call me Riennaut."

"An adventurer? But…" the receptionist began, but stopped when Ywain held up a hand.

"That's all the credentials he needs. Sign him up," he said. "If that is, in fact, what you're here for?"

"Yes," Riennaut replied, keeping 'against my better judgement' behind his teeth. They both heard it, though, and the receptionist looked nervous as she took his details.

An auspicious beginning, and not of the fortuitous kind, but he had weathered worse.

---

The first clash was, perhaps, inevitable.

It had been but a sennight at the guild when it happened. He was doing the same drills as all the others, despite the glances they shot his way, and the same trials that many of them undertook. It was on one such trial, a fairly by the books test of nerve in the central Shroud, that they first met.

Foulques was an angry man. Many duskwights were, if they spent too long near the heart of Gridania, but Foulques had turned it into an art form. Not a particularly engaging one, but there were points to be had for intensity.

"They'll sell you out," he growled. "Those horns don't make you special. They'll have done with you, and the Elementals-" He spat as he said the name "-will use you up and hang you to dry."

"A fascinating theory," Riennaut remarked. "I have some critiques." Foulques growled.

"You can critique the end of my lance," he snarled, lips turning up like a riled dog. "Keep your staff when I can see it and use a real weapon." Riennaut raised an eyebrow at the tirade, and drew his lance as requested.

"If you insist."

---

Foulques was dogged. He dragged recruits into helpless situations, and Riennaut dragged them out. It was clear there was something driving the man - some source to his rage beyond the background tarring brush all duskwights dealt with, something that led to him baiting Riennaut over and over again. Riennaut did not have time for childish shouting matches, and even less for endangering the lives of others, no matter how distasteful he found the other recruits.

Foulques was many things, but he was not, Riennaut thought, a murderer. Certainly his reckless behaviour could make one of him, but it would not be him that dealt the blow. He ranted about the treatment of their people, and acted just like everyone expected him to.

Wild. Uncivilised. Brutish. A danger to the good folks of Gridania.

He did not see the irony.

Trying to get the man to sit still for long enough did not produce results, however. Riennaut played by his rules only enough to make sure he didn't do anything stupid, but even outwardly respecting the rules o fhis ridiculous engagement did not give him opportunities for anything other than listening to a lecture. He had enough of those from the Padjals, and more coherant besides.

He went to Ywain. Stated his thoughts, and his case. That Foulques was a danger, and mostly to himself. That he wanted to prevent the inecitable self-destruction his path was taking him down. Ywain listened, to his credit. It was more than most of those at the guild did.

"…Foulques is angry, yes," he said, which was quite the understatement, but it made the point fine enough. "It is not… entirely without reason, however." Riennaut folded his arms and waited. There was a story, and Ywain knew it - Foulques was clearly a lancer with guild training. He was not leaving until he heard it. "Though you may not like the history."

"With respect, Guildmaster, every time I walk into this hall I have stepped past at least three people convinced I stole the crystal that gave me these horns, and one other convinced the Elementals are but days from striking me down for my heresy. There is little you could say that would surprise me."

Ywain sighed at that, his face falling. He was a tired man at the best of times, but the lines in his face seemed haggard now.

"There was a theft from the Guild," he said. Riennaut thought he did not need to hear the rest of the story. "Foulques was involved, aye, but so too were some other men. Not that I learned that until too late." He folded his arms. "They'd made an agreement to confess to the crime. Foulques was first. The others did not follow."

"I'm surprised he was fool enough to give them the chance," Riennaut remarked. Ywain shook his head.

"Before the incident, things were… not good, but they were better. In the wake of it, it feels like the recruits have only doubled down on the blame, despite my best efforts." There was a saddened look on his face at that, though Riennaut doubted it had ever been good enough to be notable. "I only found out after Foulques had been disciplined and ejected from the Guild, and the Wood Wailers considered the matter closed. If I'd known it would lead to this…"

"No man is perfect," Riennaut replied. "While I understand the… concern this must have caused him, and the hurt, it does not excuse his actions now." He shrugged. "I will attempt to talk him down, though I think him deaf to most reason. We shall see."

"I can only hope you are successful," Ywain said, and his tone did not bespeak confidence.

---

Their final encounter, too, seemed inevitable.

It was a foggy day in the North Shroud as Riennaut answered his challenge - his walk through the woods to the location of what Foulques doubtless intended to be a final challenge blessedly unmolested. The Elementals whispered in his mind, as they always did, and though the words were incomprehensible, there was a notable undercurrent of concern.

Foulques was angry. Seething. More rage than man, like the beasts driven to madness by the spirits. Riennaut would not have been surprised if he began frothing at the mouth.

"What makes you so special?" he demanded. "Why do you get to-"

"Get to?" Riennaut cut him off. "Do you not have eyes in your skull?" That made Foulques pause.

"They wouldn't just let-"

"I did not ask for this," Riennaut snapped. "Indeed, when I got it none where more surprised than I was. E-Sumi-Yan had to assure me three times that I would not be executed on the spot for providing the assistance he requested of me, and he has had to earn that promise since. Do you think they trust me?" He scoffed at the idea. "I am a blasphemer. A heretic. A thief and a blemish. I cannot walk two steps in the city without some slur being screamed after me, and I am chosen by the Elementals. It changes nothing, Foulques. I am not specieal."

"Then why the hell are you allowed to-"

"Because I am not stupid enough to keep friends," Riennaut said, curling his nose in distaste. "Because I have been taught the hard way that the only one I can rely on is myself. And your desperate grasping for revenge has not helped with that, by the way."

Foulques paused. Put his lance up. Scowled like the devil had crawled out of a void fissure in front of him.

"They deserve it."

"Yes, I'm sure those helpless recruits you tried to feed to raptors were personally involved in your struggles."

"They were all complicit. All of them! Even the Guildmaster teaches of courage, and he didn't even have the stones to-"

"Foulques." Riennaut held up his hand. "You have treated me with nothing less than disdain, but I will offer you this regardless. Gridania is a poor fit for you - yes, you were guilty of the crime, but not alone. There is no work for you here, and no redemption, and so you have flung yourself into this mess in some vain hope of feeling… what, fulfilment? Reparation? It matters not." He shrugged. "I may have a Padjal's horns, but I am an adventurer by trade. For reasons that may be obvious to you, I prefer to spend my time outside of Gridania. So. My terms. I will duel you, and I will win, and you will join my adventuring party."

"And what if I win, you arrogant sack of bird shite?" Foulques replied, which was incredibly rich coming from him. Another shrug.

"Then you can do whatever it is you were planning to doKill me, and add murder to your growing list of felonies? Stage a righteous assault on the lancer's guild?" He took his lance from his back. "I do not intend to lose, so I had not paid it much thought." Foulques growled.

"Then you can shove it up your elemental-blessed backside," he said. Riennaut rolled his eyes.

"I'm sure."

It was not a quick fight, and it was not pretty.

Rage made of Foulques a man far stronger than most would be. He was rash, and reckless, and threw everything he had into the fray - and he would pay for it in the aftermath, though Riennaut had no time to think of it. The fog had made the ground slippery, and it soon churned into mud under their feet. But Riennaut had not spent the month training to lose to an angry whelp of a man.

Foulques hit the floor, lance clattering from his hands. He slid through the mud, up against the face of the cliff, and spat out a tooth.

"I will remind you of my terms," Riennaut said, the tip of his lance against Foulques' throat. "Come with me, or prove them right. The choice is yours."

"Fuck your choices," Foulques said, and kicked him in the shins. Riennaut saw him stagger backwards, scrabbling in the dirt for his lance - and the cliff rise to meet him.

"No!" he exclaimed, lurching forward, but he was but a second too late.

He would not even be given a grave. Marked a remorseless criminal, vilified by the Gridanians with nothing to stand against it, another notch on the tally chart of useless, criminal duskwights.

The earth moved.

There was a sound like cracking, snapping twigs, and the trees bent to meet Foulques' fall. The edge he had fallen from collapsed beneath him, and the earth reformed to shield him from the chasm below. With a yelp, the duskwight found himself enmeshed - a leafy net to catch him, and not the cold, unfeeling ground.

"What in the hells?" he managed. There was terror on his face, a hypocritical mask of the bravado-led villain he had tried so hard to play. He knew he had made a mistake. He knew death would have, should have been the answer. But it was not.

There were whispers in Riennaut's head. Soft, insensible, gentle. The spirit of A-Towa, resting inside the crystal that hung from his staff, seemed to chuckle.

Your worry. They felt it. Sometimes they answer.

Riennaut huffed, walking fowards towards his downed opponent.

"My terms," he repeated, holding out a hand. "Though if you wish to traipse home through the mud on your own, you are welcome to refuse me a third time."

"Fuck you," Foulques spat. "I thought you didn't have friends?" Riennaut shrugged.

"I have associates," he responded, "and acquaintances. You are welcome to pick which."

Foulques hesitated just long enough to hear the branch of the tree crack beneath his weight. He threw out his hand, not in thoughtful acceptance but in desperation, and let Riennaut pull him back onto solid ground.

"I shall consider that a yes," Riennaut remarked. Foulques glowered in response. "Now, if you don't mind, I've an appointment in Coerthas. You are welcome to come along."

Surely he couldn't meet worse, after all.

[heirbane]

Love imagining that in both my WOL ship and in an Estinien ship, Gaius is, in fact, not the space heater in bed: they are.

(Gaius absolutely snores and sleeps deeper than he has in decades when he gets to share a bed with either one of them. Their pure radiating warmth reminds him of times curled aside a ceruleum heater.)

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Y'dehlya's main color family is purple, fuchsia being her favorite. She also has red and blue on the side, red for her hair and blue for her mantle as an Azure Dragoon. Purple in general serves as the eventual middle ground by the start of Stormblood, symbolizing her progress in reclaiming aspects of her pre-Calamity personality as she puts the mantle to the side. Although, she did have a falling-out with fuchsia after Eulmore and didn't start wearing it again until roughly halfway through Endwalker. On top of all this, her Ancient self's eyes were fuchsia.

U'reksh's main color family is red, more darker than lighter; his distinction from G'raha and Alisaie. He did dye parts of his hair a dark-ish red before ARR. Gold is another main one for aesthetic reasons. There's no big reason behind why red, aside from it's a bold and hot color, like U'reksh himself.

As for Kouh'to, it was initially darker blues, but green got added to his main colors thanks to the Summoner gears. He doesn't mind green, but his own preference is blue.

the vibes are rancid tonight, so if you shall indulge a little wol question,,,,

what color do you associate most with your wol/oc!

is it their hair color? their eyes? a color they wear often? does it hold some personal meaning in their story? (bonus points if you also include their favorite color, regardless if it's the same or different) <3

[livingshadowss]

.

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Vierapril 2025 Day 27: Fix

(List: https://bsky.app/profile/quad-weave.etheirys.social/post/3ljobqrgfbc2a)

"You don't have to be so low to the ground, Alphinaud. And, be careful to not overextend your arms too much as you direct your nouliths." "Duly noted. Thank you for your advice, Byron." "Anytime."

From one Sage to another.

[nshi-ao3]

ngl im wondering do you think wol renny boy can fly with arsene wings like in super smash? Or is he just a flightless bird? Bc if it stated in the fic then i probably forgot about it… any who hope you have a wonderful day or weekend(?) imma just snack on my bagel bites :3c

Oh! Yes, if a Primal / Primal-adjacent thing that Joker has absorbed and turned into a Persona has wings, Joker can... kinddaaaaa use them to fly. But not very well haha! Closer to something like a Dragoon jump and hovering / gliding. He's done it a few of times, usually with Garuda but at least once with Arsène too (so not too different to smash bros haha)! But it's very tiring since it involves a rapidly exhausting a fair chunk of aether to pull off.

And thank you!! :D Do enjoy your snacks! :V

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Aw, feel better!

For the most simple answer, the only thing Kouh'to really knows about Kastor is what Y'dehlya and U'reksh told him: A younger Ancient who often worked in Poeiten Oikos. He was known to Venat, Persephone, and Ares, but less so Hades and Hyth, and that he was often in the company of Polydeukes, his twin sister. He doesn't know about how Kastor lost her to Zodiark after an argument over whether the Convocation was in the right, but it does explain Kouh'to's own protectiveness of Y'dehlya.

As for the WoLs themselves:

Both U'reksh and Y'dehlya have been gradually learning more and more about Ares and Persephone through the memory shards and also actually meeting them when they went back in time. They met the Azems right after the Ktisis Hyperboreia incident, both fully expecting to pay their mentor a casual visit, not discuss the End of the World and what happened after in their Shards' time. But the experience was an eye-opener for the WoLs, finally learning that the Azems are the reason why they've been as driven as they have been so far.

To U'reksh, Ares is honestly the coolest person he's ever met and wants to learn everything about him and from him. Yes, even his backstory in relation to Pandaemonium. It just explains so much more about why Ares is as emotional and big-hearted he is about certain subjects and U'reksh inheriting that. Ares, in turn, has treated U'reksh like the son he never had.

Y'dehlya finds Persephone interesting, especially in how much carried over into her during the Sundering. Their dynamic is more distant than U'reksh and Ares. As sociable and personable as Y'dehlya is, she finds herself having genuine difficulty talking with Persephone. Her Ancient self is the one making all the moves and calling all the shots, running just about everyone else in circles, winding them up, and wrapping them around her finger. She finds herself craving her past self's approval, another very new and strange feeling, but as it was pointed out to her in Ultima Thule, she already has it, noted by the sustained manifestation of a mini version of Persephone's battle form over her own clothes.

Probably the most awkward thing the WoLs have learned about their past selves was the fact that Ares and Persephone used to be lovers in a polycule with Emet-Selch and Hythlodaeus, as not only do Y'dehlya and U'reksh not feel that way towards each other, but also have their own romantic partners.

A WoL question for the day, since I'm home sick and feeling awful:

How much does your WoL know about their Azem (or their ancient if they weren't Azem)? Have they unlocked the memories in the memory shard? How do they feel about their past self? Gimme your lore.

[elliewiltarwyn]

infopost

hello! this is a sideblog for my three FFXIV Warriors of Light OCs, as seen above, so i can put them in a jar and shake them a lot, watch them rotate in a microwave, and other such things we do with our blorbos.

i do some gposing, rant about my girls, and reblog everything from others' gposes and gushing about their WoLs to shitposts and dumb jokes about this award-winning mmo with a free trial up to level 70 including the first two award-winning expansions and no restrictions on playtime.

my likes and follows come from my main blog @wildknightblaze which is just my normal life shit, you don't have to follow that one lol

blog tags include:

#my ocs: ellie wiltarwyn, #my ocs: mia longhart, #my ocs: lilyana tsuki - main focus tags for each of my three wols, if someone wants to look at a specific one.

#oc loreposting, #ask games, and #tag games for the sort of character-building stuff i usually get from prompts or friends' questions

#ffxiv gpose - not a blog-specific tag, but it's what i put on all of my gposes

#my fanfiction - not quite as much use as gpose, but i do occasionally write stuff and put this on it! includes ao3 works, whatever spontaneous writing inspiration i get, and FFXIV Write entries

#ellie's ramblings - whatever other ffxiv-related musings i might have about playing the game or the story or anything else

re: spoilers, i tend to stick to the unofficial two-week embargo after patch releases and will tag them with "#[expansion name] spoilers" and "#patch [Y.X] spoilers" for some time afterwards. i do still tend to yap about stuff in the current state of the game untagged, so use discretion if you wish to remain spoiler-free.

I also play the game's savage raids with my static as they come out, and stream our progress on my Twitch channel. currently we raid on Sunday and Tuesday evenings, usually from 9:30 PM-12:00AM US Eastern time, so if you're free then and are interested in watching a bunch of nerds get blown up in the Arcadion championship, feel free to swing by. :3

as for the WoLs themselves:

Elilgeim "Ellie" Wiltarwyn

The most well-known of the trio of Warriors of Light, Elilgeim grew up in Limsa Lominsa with lofty dreams of higher education and bettering the world, only to be rejected by the Studium and lose both her parents in the same day. She ran away from home and weathered the Sixth Umbral Calamity on the streets of Ul'dah, eventually making her way to Gridania to start over as a novice conjurer and rebuild her life. Fast-forward six years and she's the strongest member of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn, dubbed Ellie by her co-Warrior of Light Mia and having taken the vanguard as a dark knight and multiple styles of melee combat in order to save the star and its shards from varying threats on numerous occasions. Even after achieving such victories, she's not about to let her thirst for adventure go unsatisfied. Yet for all that fame, she tries to keep a low profile and only truly relaxes in good company, where a seemingly grouchy and cold exterior gives way to a self-confident, easily amused, and deeply caring inner self.

She may care a little too obviously, though; tales abound of her doomed romances with multiple notable women of historical import to these worldly conflicts. While some range from truth-adjacent to flat-out fanciful faerie tales, only her closest friends know she's happily married to her co-Warriors of Light after far too many years of mutual pining.

-----

Mia Longhart

As far as anyone could tell, Mia sprang fully-formed into existence as a member of Ul'dah's Gladiators' Guild, earning her keep on the bloodsands and eventually becoming the first swordswoman to claim the mantle of free paladin in decades. It's only deep into the battle against the XIVth Legion of Garlemald that it comes out that she too is Garlean, born and raised Maia jen Asina, having fled the empire after growing discontent with its colonialist ambitions. No one doubts her commitment to the fight against the Empire, however, which she drives forward with a levelheaded temperament, endless kindness to her peers and allies, and an incorruptible moral compass. Events in the First and a reckoning with the origin of her soul and its relation to the Ascian Emet-Selch shake her to her core, but with the support of her friends and the love of her co-Warriors of Light, she forges on, willing to shoulder burdens so her friends don't have to - which is how she ends up forming a pact with the voidsent whose strength Ellie used to fell Zenos viator Galvus. Coming to grips with the complicated tapestry of her homeland's history, she takes up the art of the reaper and the scythe that killed Zenos to prepare for any future battles she must fight.

-----

Lilyana Tsuki

Born L'ilyana Shuru, she left home after traumatic events and escaped to Vylbrand, where she took a job waitressing at the Bismarck for some time before falling in with Limsa Lominsa's secret Rogues' Guild. After saving the Mizzenmast from destruction with them, she is recruited into the Scions alongside Elilgeim and Mia as another one blessed with the Echo, fighting by their side to become one of the three Warriors of Light. She has a bright and cheery air and is always smiling, supportive, and enthusiastic, managing to charm even the cold-shouldered Elilgeim, but the trauma of the past weighs heavy on her heart, crippling her with a lack of self-esteem and a deep-seated belief that she will never be good or worthy enough. It's not till she admits what and who is important to her that she is able to stand on her own two feet and reach out to take what she wants. Though she is a master of stealth and by far the most agile and light-footed of the Warriors of Light, when she finds happiness she feels motivated to express her creative side and takes up the art of pictomancy alongside her friend Krile.

[wolpromptaday]

In reference to this mornings prompt.

Writing like all art, is a form of therapy. While this was not intended specifically to reference 9/11 I didn’t hesitate in posting it today for my own reasons.

There are people out there like me who lost people on 9/11, not just in the USA but all around the world in the other attacks. I lost friends from FFXI in the Twin Towers and I’m close enough to DC that the smoke from the pentagon reached my home. For that much, 9/11 has been a rough day for me personally since a decade before the attacks. Some of us have continued losing people for years after in adjacent military campaigns. Some of us know people who were on one or all of the ground zeros. Some of us have never been allowed or able to process our emotions.

If the prompt does what it’s supposed to and makes people think then it’s served its purpose. Perhaps it gives people the space to grieve, releases a long held anger, or lets them cope with their feelings in other ways. Art is therapy.

There isn’t a random draw bot that pulls from a list. I write these prompts for the month ahead of time, meaning I have a list that I make at the beginning of the month and post from each day. I purposely put that one down for today and I won’t apologize for the timing. Yes it’s difficult but it stirs up the emotions needed to be an effective writer.

Yes, sometimes art offends people and sometimes it draws upon strong feelings. In the end you have to realize how much media nods back through history. Take Star Wars for example, the galactic empire was based on Nazi Germany. We turn a blind eye to this because of how popular the saga is. In a few weeks the world will celebrate Halloween and play a song that talks about a massacre in Ireland simply because the song is titled “Zombie”. Never mind that it’s about the events of April 24-29, 1916. It has nothing to do with Halloween. But people continue to turn a blind eye to its true meaning.

The purpose of artists is to make people uncomfortable.

I understand that you and maybe others have a problem with that prompt being on 9/11 but it wouldn’t have an impact on Christmas or New Year’s or any other plain day. For that much it could have been posted on December 7th, or August 6th and no one would have said anything. Because no one really remembers what happened on those days.

I chose a day where the entire contemporary world saw evil and learned the definition of tragedy. Much like the survivors of the previously mentioned dates. Today is a day that has living people who remember what that feels like, the emotions are still raw. Not just in the USA but people who survived attacks all around the world on 9/11/2001. It is far more impactful than any random day. (Though most if not all of the people who have had issue with the prompt were not alive yet or too young to remember the events of September 11, 2001.)

I hope in the end that you are able to respond with an open mind. Tragedy surrounds us every day. You can let it hinder you, allow yourself to be blind to it, or expand your mind and do something that contradicts the intended outcome. Someone wanted the world to fear them. Will you let him win? The world was attacked that day, how do you cope in parallel to your WOL/D?

You do not have the right to not be offended. These prompts are meant to make you hear, feel, think. Our emotions are what make us who we are. If this is something that haunts you and makes you emotional, then I only succeed in our goal.

You’re welcome.

- Griever Worship

[dragoon-mid-jump]

Both Rhikta siblings carry the scent of salty sea air and spray with them no matter where they've been or what they've been doing, even subtly; an undertone.

Y'dehlya also carries the scent of fragrant flowers even after only a year/year and a half in Gridania, roses most prominently if she's wearing perfume. Slightly of gunsmoke if she's just been in GNB mode.

Kouh'to also smells of the forest, but less floral and more tree-like, thanks to his research's main base of operations. He also will smell of certain things that invoke whichever Primal he's currently channeling/has just channeled. A deeper scent of the ocean and of rain with Leviathan. Burning and smoke with Ifrit. Specifically lotuses with Lakshmi. Crisp winter's air with Shiva. Etc.

U'reksh meanwhile smells more earthy, arid, and clean. His desert birthplace clings to him. He also smells like burning campfire, gunsmoke, and metal at times.

WoL/FFXIV OC question!

What does your WoL/OC smell like, and why? Do they smell like roses and morning dew, or is their scent more earthy and grounded? Or perhaps they smell like salt and sea from years of fishing and sailing?

[mimble-sparklepudding]

Hey! With people sending in suggested ships both cursed and sincere I wanted to stick my oar in with how 👀I've been at the idea of a Humble/Aymeric ship on that sincere end of things. Especially when I saw your musings on the kinds of ship tropes you were potentially intrigued about, all of which I think would lend themselves excellently to a ship with those two;

Friends to Lovers - there's a lot of canon support for Aymeric coming to consider our characters a good friend if Humble's adventures map onto those of the MSQ, but even if they don't I feel very strongly that Humble is the kind of person Aymeric would love to be friends (and then potentially more >:3) with.

Secret Relationship - care/concern around political implications given Aymeric's (and potentially Humble's - I realise I'm not sure whether you consider him to be The WoL or not in your stories!) position in the public eye and how gossipy and judgemental Ishgard can be, as well as it maybe just being nice to have a secret thing that's just theirs on their own terms and they don't have to worry about how they're coming across or what other people think.

Dude in Distress - Again, if canon MSQ is being followed the WoL canonically busts this guy out of jail and then he helps the WoL out when they're in trouble at Ghimlyt. And there's loads of other points in the story where the two are on the battlefield together and could come to each other's rescue, and many other plot points that could easily be nudged in that kind of direction whether MSQ relevant or adjacent or not.

I told myself I wasn't going to write an essay here lmao XD But as always, I'm just really curious and excited to see your own continuing musings around all this, and what ends up feeling right and fun for you! <3

Wow thank you for all the thought you put into this @orime-stories.

Aymeric is definitely a potential ship for Humble that would work well I think - they are both noble, self-sacrificing and somewhat repressed. There are are some interesting contrasts, with Aymeric being fully aware of social mores and Humble... being not so aware. Plus Aymeric's confident oratory and Humble's tendancy to leave his actions to do the talking would make an interesting contrast.

Plus I do have a bit of a thing for the chivalrous knight and rugged barbarian pairing - as it's rich in romantic (and, ahem, erotic) potential.

I think you're right that Friends to Lovers would work for Humble and Aymeric - or at least slightly reserved acquaintances to friends to (eventually) lovers. They are both quite romantic I suspect, or at least Humble would try to be.

Secret Relationship would also have potential, as I suspect the various gossiping aristocrats (and the tavern rumourmongers of The Brume) would assume that Aymeric would be entering into a politically convenient marriage with a noble lady... A romantic entanglement with an hulking bearded Hellsguard would probably upset quite a lot of people. To say nothing of the diplomatic implications of the leader of one Eorzean city-state being in a partnership with the Warrior of Light. So I can imagine a lot of repressed passions until the doors were firmly shut on the outside world.

And yes definitely they could take turns being the Dude in Distress for shipping purposes, although strong as Aymeric is, he might struggle to carry Humble in his arms for any distance.

Plus being apart for extended periods of time would give Humble plenty of opportunity to practice his letter writing, which hopefully Aymeric would be able to decipher given sufficient time...

Thank you so much for the suggestion!

[thelittlestancient]

give me your thoughts on wol!elidibus. like, say he's not Zodiark's heart; maybe Emet is instead? he can be still one of the unsundered or a sundered reincarnation who gets his memories back or whatever, i'm intrigued by what you might come up with....and i don't think this is one we've talked about already

Oh wow, I have so many thoughts about Elidibus as WoL-adjacent or WoL/Azem companion, but I haven't really thought about this one in depth, and the reason why will be my first point! I usually let Loghrif be the Heart of Zodiark, here.

In spite of his earnestness, he's not actually that good at being Azem, and Elidibus' Seat gifts lend themselves to a very different style of WoL than canon affords us. He yearns for it, but he's no adventurer really: he'd be better suited to be a travelling magistrate.

That doesn't stop him from taking up the blade, the axe, the staff, the cane, the bow. He leaves the imprint of his knowledge on every job stone, and imbues his fighting styles with the memories of his Convocation brethren. Lahabrea, the Summoner. Emet-Selch, the Dark Knight. Nabriales, the Viper. Loghrif, the White Mage. Hythlodaeus, the Bard. Azem, the seeker of the new, the Machinist.

(The Heart forgets, but Elidibus remembers. There is none of Hades' mournful, yearning sentiment here: the memories of Elidibus are reflections in colorless pure crystal. What was and what will be are indistinct from each other. Elidibus lies between at what is, in his own mind less a hero than an arbiter of fate.)

The Black Shroud is a strange place for the Warrior of Light to make his home, but he swears the woods sing to him, and it's far enough out from the bustle of the city that the emotions of others encroach little on his mind, leaving him free to contemplate the state of the star when he is not otherwise required, a pale, white-robed figure standing alone in the misty forest, where even the sylphs do not go.

Above all, the Warrior of Light is hope, and hope is not merely what Elidibus knows how to be.

It is what he is.

Thanks for the ask! I prefer to think of him here as Zodiark's Chosen, rather than Hydaelyn's. Maybe a role-swap of Ascians and Scions? I read a wonderfully delicious AU of that once...

[alicesadventuresinffxiv]

My FFxivWrite2024 Entries

This is the first time I’ve done the FFxivWrite challenge - or indeed, any writing challenge for that matter! And when I began, I was torn between doing completely new and self-contained stories or writing scenes from the middle of the elaborate AU timelines I already had in my head.

So in the end, I went with a mix of both kinds of story. 

For explanations on the various (Fordola-centric) AUs I write, including a list of the To Catch a Falling Star scenes in chronological order, see this post here!

And for a list of all entries I did for this year’s challenge, see below! 

TL;DR: Lots of Fordola/Lyse, with a scattering of other NPC/NPC ships too. I’ve made it my goal to write each of the top 10 F/F NPC pairings at least once, plus some even rarer ones besides!

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Week 1

1. Who wants to steer the Reaper? (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse, M'naago)

M’naago begrudgingly goes hunting with the Skulls, only to discover she has more in common with Fordola than she thought.

2. Narrow Horizons (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse)

Fordola struggles to tempt Lyse with freedoms she already has.

3. Visitors to the Tempest (Canon-adjacent, Ryne/Gaia)

The illusory Hythlodaeus welcomes Ryne and Gaia to Amaurot.

4. Uncharacteristically Reticent (8th Umbral Calamity, Fordola/Lyse)

Lyse can’t quite hide how much Fordola’s execution has been affecting her.

5. Stamps from across the Star (Canon-adjacent, Arenvald/Alphinaud)

Arenvald reflects on his collection of letters - most of which are from Alphinaud.

6. Those Fleeting Halcyon Moments (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse and Fordola/Yda (one-sided))

As Lyse and Fordola lie awake, Fordola reminisces about her feelings for Yda.

7. For a Morsel of Acceptance (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse, Charlet)

Lyse goes grocery shopping and discovers that being accepted as a Skull has some downsides besides the obvious.

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Week 2

8. Wicked Hearts Aligned (The Empire won :(, Yotsuyu/Fordola)

After the Ala Mhigan and Doman revolutions both fail, Yotsuyu receives a new bodyguard.

9. Field Notes on Misija, Part III [Lend an Ear] (WoL was out fishing, Fordola & Misija)

Field Note style "transcript" of Fordola visiting Misija in her cell.

10. A Stable to Hubris (Canon-adjacent, Sadu/Cirina)

Cirina and Sadu investigate Magnai’s mysterious new “horse.“

11. Surrogate Hero (Canon-adjacent, Alisaie/Tesleen)

Alisaie and Tesleen during a brief, peaceful moment of rest.

12. Take our quarry alive! (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse)

After being taken prisoner at the attack on Rhalgr’s Reach, Lyse attempts to escape.

13. Butterflies atop the Butte (Canon-adjacent, Lyse/M'naago)

M’naago takes Lyse to explore a hidden forest.

14. A Telling Emotion (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse)

Lyse is jealous of Fordola's new gunblade, though not in the way Fordola expects.

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Week 3

15. A Nostalgic Adventure (WoL!Fordola AU, Krile)

Krile finds a strange crystal in Galuf’s office.

16. Third-rate Azem (WoL!Fordola AU, Krile & Fordola)

After defeating Elidibus and returning from the First, Fordola has some pointed questions for Krile about their shared abilities.

17. Sally forth, to endings unwritten (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse)

Lyse makes her own choice as she and Fordola flee the Resonatorium.

18. Not hackneyed if it's from you (Canon-adjacent, Krile/Tataru)

Five times Tataru designed a Pictomancer outfit for Krile.

19. The Girl Whose Hand Was Taken (Fairytale AU, Yotsuyu/Yugiri)

Yugiri encounters a young Yotsuyu, in the style of a creepy fairytale poem. Or possibly a dark folk ballad.

20. Aftermath of a Duel (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse)

Specula Imperatoris falls and Lyse becomes a commander… but not the way it happens in canon.

[Dawntrail spoilers!] Bonus snippet: Lyse about to duel Wuk Lamat

21. A Different Shade (Canon-adjacent, Y'shtola/Zero)

Y’shtola and Zero hanging out and having a very definitely academic conversation.

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Week 4

22. Of Parents, and of Family (Canon-adjacent, Krile & Wuk Lamat)

[Dawntrail spoilers!] Krile and Wuk Lamat discuss some feelings about being adopted.

23. Walking on cloud nine, trying not to look down (Canon-adjacent, Athena/Hegemone)

One possible (and very lesbian) explanation for why Hegemone kicked off the whole Pandaemonium plot.

24. Plans Hatched Behind Bars (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse, Conrad)

A lucky chance affords Lyse and Conrad another opening to escape - at the cost of Fordola’s life. Lyse comes up with a different idea instead.

25. Innocence in Perpetuity (Canon-adjacent, Wuk Lamat/Sphene)

[Dawntrail spoilers!] Having burned her bridges with the real thing, the Endless Sphene contents herself with simulations of how her relationship with Lamaty’i might have gone differently.

26. Zipping around the Hinterlands (Canon-adjacent, Lyse/Y'shtola)

Before the colony is abandoned, a very young Lyse and Y’shtola get up to trouble in Sharlayan.

27. Falling through memory, hand in hand (WoL!Fordola AU, Fordola/Lyse)

After Elidibus’s starshower awakens Lyse to the Echo, Fordola starts behaving strangely around her.

28. Deleterious Relations (TCaFS AU, Fordola/Lyse, Anamika)

Just when things seem to be going right for Lyse and Fordola, everything suddenly goes very, very wrong. Or: Lyse fails to prevent a primal summoning.

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Two More Days!

29. Changing Tack (Canon-adjacent, Merlwyb/Kan-E)

When the Admiral receives a message from the Elder Seedseer taking her to task for her reckless actions, she knows how to read between the lines.

30. Two heads (at each other's throats) are better than one (insufferably self-absorbed) (WoL was out fishing, Fordola/Yugiri(?))

Yugiri and Fordola get off on the wrong foot, and now it’s Lucia’s headache to deal with.

[snow-points]

i really don’t know why writing for Yana (my WOL) is so hard for me. like i simply cannot think through ideas for her.

she is just a funny rude scottish-adjacent catgirl who drinks all your pepsi and calls you a bitch

maybe once i go through Shadowbringers i’ll have more ideas. from what friends have said it seems like SHB is traumatizing for WOLs. yana could use a bit of trauma