#aeryn stormwater

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 29: Vibrant

I have no words for this one. Just pure joy. It's what she deserves. ｡ﾟ(TヮT)ﾟ｡

[stormbabylore]

A few things of note here: Aeryn canonically can't use magic on the Source without extreme effort. She has a strong aversion to guns. She prefers to avoid being up close and personal with her enemies (when she can help it) and is disturbed by blatant carnage. And finally, she dislikes drawing attention to herself. With that in mind...

TANK

The aversion to guns, swords, and carnage entirely rules out GNB, DRK, and WAR. She only tanks at all in my unwilling WoL AU, in which she fights as a paladin. She prefers to use a bo staff, but will resort to the sword when she has no other choice. She absolutely hates it (and herself). (This is the most troubled version of Aeryn.)

Paladin: AU

Warrior

Dark Knight

Gunbreaker

HEALER

I initially wrote out healing for Aeryn altogether, as she can't use magic well enough to be of any worth in these fields. WHM and AST only happened because AUs claimed my soul. I'm sure I could also imagine AUs for SCH and SGE, but I honestly just don't think they suit her.

White Mage: AU

Scholar

Astrologian: AU

Sage

MELEE

Again, Aeryn avoids swords and close combat, where possible, ruling out MNK and SAM. Dragoon and Rogue are canon for her - but I again headcanon that she fights primarily with a bo staff as DRG and only works ROG long enough to learn some sneak-sneak and basic dagger skills for emergencies. (She never transitions to NIN, at least in my head.) I'm still undecided on RPR. It feels out of character for her, but who knows what Endwalker will bring. (¬_¬)

Monk

Dragoon: secondary main

Ninja: (as rogue) tertiary main

Samurai

Reaper: But maybe someday?

PHYS RANGED

Big nope to both MCH and DNC. Aeryn would never touch a gun, even as a last resort. (I haven't worked out the specifics, yet, but it's a lingering dislike/potential trauma from her past life.) I'm intrigued to try out dancer, but not with Aeryn. She doesn't like to be looked at as it is, and dancing would draw far too much attention.

Bard: canon main

Machinist

Dancer

MAGICAL RANGED

Definite no to RDM (re: swords). No to SMN - I think Aeryn would be against the notion of summoning smol primals/primal adjacent entities. I've gone on at length before about Aeryn's black mage AU: post-vault, she works with the thaumaturges to sever the "inexplicable power" around her soul, allowing her access to magic. As for BLU, I have no excuse. It's not canon for her. It's not even AU for her. She would not have the capability to wield those magics, and she would hate how flashy it is. I just personally think it looks cool, so I unlocked it. Don't at me. (•ᴗ•,, )

Black Mage: AU

Summoner

Red Mage

Blue Mage: mostly no but kind of yes (this is strictly for me)

Is there a class or job that is completely not canon for your WoL - either they absolutely cannot or will not take it up?

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 28: Sun or Moon

There is so much sun symbolism associated with the WoL, which does of course fit for Aeryn, actual fusion of remnant soul shard and dying star. But given the choice, she would step out of her appointed role of shining star and instead retreat, quietly orbiting those she treasures and reflecting light back to them.

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 11: Holiday

...I just wanted to show off her Halloween All Saints' Wake glam for this year again.

(Please ignore full size. I had to hyper-sharpen this. Forever weeping.)

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 24: Dress to Impress

Aeryn doesn't dress to impress—nor does she dress formally at all if she can help it! It's why Tataru takes it upon herself to see that the Warrior of Light is properly attired for all occasions. But left to her own devices, she would choose something like this: light, soft material; plain and easy to mend; flats she can run in if needed; and most definitely a pair of short slacks underneath.

If this looks familiar, it's because I made a very similar glam for a bonding ceremony I was invited to, and it's still just perfect for her.

[stormbabylore]

────⋆⋅☆⋅⋆────

...so I'll be answering all of these.

Just... not all at once.

Round 1: apple strudel and baklava:

1. apple strudel - who was your muse's first crush? do they still have feelings for that person? ─☆─ Ywain. I've gone on pretty incessantly before about how he initially stood out to her as someone who felt "different," though she didn't then understand how or why. Maybe if the story had allowed her more time to just exist in Gridania before pulling her away, she might have sorted out those budding feelings and grown them into something she understood - but I rather think her discontent over her lost memories, paired with the Echo, would have prevented that. She needed the developmental change and emotional maturation that came from her adventures to figure out how to care about anyone that much. She still has a very nostalgic fondness for Ywain, but time and distance and the growth of her heart as she journeyed through the story have changed her enough that it would now be more of a deep respect and innocent gratitude for someone whose patience and gentle support allowed her the space to become who she was learning to be during those formative early days in her new life. 2. baklava - does your muse believe in true love? soulmates? ─☆─ She very much believes in love and the notion that certain people are just meant to find and influence each other, but not so much in the stereotypical soulmate way - and not until she unlocks some semblance of comprehension regarding what love even means to her. Though she has felt love, Aeryn doesn't really sort out what the sensation even is and the myriad ways it can manifest until very late in Stormblood, at the earliest. Realistically, I think much of Shadowbringers is her coming to terms with and accepting just how much she loves the people in her life and how fiercely strong and gut-wrenchingly weak that can make her feel. And by that point in the story, the importance of and craving for her anonymity is slowly becoming much clearer to her. So in a way, she doesn't quite sort out how she feels about love until she also begins to consider her own mental and emotional independence - her freedom to choose. As such, she absolutely believes in loving, fully and deeply, and she has accepted that she loves in a unique way that bypasses certain typical expressions of affection. But she doesn't necessarily believe in the notion of people being destined to be together. Sure, people might be destined to meet by nature of their souls, who they once were, and who they might grow to be. But ultimately she feels that souls being drawn together can only take you so far, and at some point you must choose who you will and won't trust with your heart. She knows she chose Urianger, somewhere along the path to understanding herself and her heart (and regardless of the fact that fate had thrown many others into her path that she might have connected with because of the complicated entanglement of souls and destiny) - and she is very content in her choice. So the short of it is that yes, she knows and has seen that souls can be drawn to and find one another - and even that such a spiritual connection might influence her heart in very powerful ways. But she ultimately comes to the conclusion that the truest love she feels is defined by her choices more than anything else.

˚˖𓍢ִ໋🌷͙֒✧˚.🎀༘⋆ love headcanons !

--

apple strudel - who was your muse's first crush? do they still have feelings for that person?

baklava - does your muse believe in true love? soulmates?

cannoli - how does your muse express love? how do they act when in love that differs from how they act around others normally?

chouquette - does your muse believe they deserve to be loved? why or why not?

croissant - what is your muse's ideal date?

eclair - do they want to one day be married?

inipit - what qualities do they seek in a partner? describe physical qualities and personality traits?

lattice pie - what kinds of gifts do they like to give to/receive from their partner?

macaron - what do they do after having a fight with their partner?

makmur - what role does forgiveness play?

mille-feuille - do they believe friends can become lovers? if so, when does love transcend from platonic to romantic? if not, why?

pan dulce - do they have an "i can fix them" complex? or are they one that needs to be fixed? if neither, how do they feel about the idea?

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 31: Spooky or Supernatural

...alksdjflajksdf. (° - º ς)

Anyway, so I have the hots for a completely OOC AU evil version of my character, now. Aeryn as Ascian, maybe? (♡⌄♡) This might officially be my favorite set.

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 12: Spring

She looks like a little spring nymph, and I am. So very obsessed.

(,,> ᴗ <,,)♡

[stormbabylore]

...can I start on day two?

Glamtober day two: Autumn!

(I probably won't end up doing all of these, but trying sounds like fun!)

[stormbabylore]

The grainiest of screenshots, but Iiiiii don't care. -`♡´-

Anyway: they're both! \o/

It starts off very platonic, such that even their more friendly interactions with each other would barely be notable to those less familiar with their demeanor (both hers and his). But that friendly affection and the more innocent gestures that go along with it become more meaningful the closer they get, until those expressions begin to mean a little more. So although how they express their affection doesn't change much from point A to point B, what might once have been more platonic becomes quite romantic in a way that's unique to them. Those outside their inner circle might not notice any partiality at all. But pay attention long enough to these two dweebs and how they are (and aren't) comfortable interacting with others, and eventually you'd realize there was a very soft and unique sort of intimacy between them.

3/5/24

What is your wol(oc)'s ship dynamic like? platonic or romantic

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 19: Magic

I haven't played BLU in a zillion years, to the degree that I gave up her old plate for it to make something else. So I used today's prompt as inspiration to rebuild and tweak her old BLU glam!

Aeryn doesn't even look like herself with that monocle... o.O; But I couldn't find a headpiece I liked for this. May I please have more hair accessories? Pleading.

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 03: Match Your Mount (v.2)

I loved this so much I ended up with more pictures.

Tataru insisted Aeryn change into the new gear she acquired for her before heading out on a quick chocobo ride. Aeryn didn't put two and two together until she saw Bubbles and realized exactly what Tataru had schemed.

(ꈍᴗꈍ)♡

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 07: Winter

Aeryn would not have encountered snow (or at least wouldn't remember if she'd encountered snow) prior to her time in Coerthas. I still haven't decided who taught her to snowball fight.

[stormbabylore]

Snagged a couple quick photos of the holiday glam I put together for Aeryn. Very much stolen from my glamtober outfit for "Winter."

(☆ᴗ☆) She's waiting for snow.

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 1-ish: On the Road

I'm being a tiny bit sneaky for the last night of October and cycling back to the Day 1 challenge I missed! Lots of rambling about this one (along with some Endwalker spoilers) behind the cut!

I hadn't started Endwalker, yet, when the Dawntrail benchmark dropped, and in fact had been willfully putting it off to enjoy at a later time. But I was incredibly disillusioned by how different Aeryn looked in the benchmark, so much so I became determined to both start and finish Endwalker before the graphic update changed her. My playthrough left me feeling consistently morose, not only because of the story's sad and difficult themes, but also because I was bitter about my self-inflicted compulsion to rush through something I'd previously been anticipating. But Aeryn still looked "wrong" to me even in the second benchmark, so much so I felt certain I wouldn't want to continue playing her—that Endwalker and whatever finale it offered would be the swan song for my beloved first MMO character.

Then I reached that final meeting with Emet-Selch. His parting words to the WoL, challenging them to explore everything the wide world has to offer, really sucker-punched me in the feels. It was so exquisitely bittersweet that he, of all people (who in my lore was responsible for both Aeryn's death and the destruction of her star), should be the one to offer her a reason to live on after everything. I thought, "Okay. Okay, her story can end without ending. She just goes off to explore the world, not as an adventurer or a Warrior of Light, but as herself, having finally accepted her own distinct individuality independent of any history or past she's spent the entire game seeking."

(I got pretty emotional about it, haha.)

It's part of the reason that now, even though I am slowly becoming more accustomed to her new appearance, I'm still not sure if I'll venture into post-Endwalker or Dawntrail content with Aeryn. (Don't at me about picto.) But that's all beside the point, because all of this was just preamble to say:

I tweaked her long-time botanist glam to inspire this look representing the moment she steps out the door, as herself and nothing more, to go and see the world with eyes looking forward instead of back.

(╥_╥)♡

[stormbabylore]

Glamtober | Day 25: Borrowed Clothes

Nothing special, this—I've used the prompt as another opportunity to walk down memory lane, back to the first time Aeryn borrows clothes for a mission. Although, technically speaking, her starter gear could be considered borrowed clothes, this is the first time she knowingly puts on a false identity as someone who as of yet had no identity of her own. (╥‸╥) She would have been so tremendously uncomfortable throughout the duration of this mission with Thancred (who she found quite intimidating at this point), and all the more so because she'd be struggling with a massive bout of imposter syndrome.