#garlond ironworks

[havocpioneer]

"Even in wholesome celebration, I still outclass you, Garlond!" -Nero

Happy Pride!

[14kuponuts]

Without them, things can’t be done~

HES SO RIDICULOUS

KEIAN WILL DO ANYTHING

[marsaovo]

Alpha my sweet child

[wetchocobo]

cidnero (foaming at mouth)

[pommancy]

repainted alpha and nero

[garlean-empire]

[autumnslance]

Been thinking about this Stormblood exchange from the Omega quests a lot lately. AI and automation isn't new, just some tools and what they can do are new to the public. But still. The idea of a machine that can't tell fact from fiction, and so its output consists of inaccurate facsimiles, is itself not a new idea.

Transcript, bolded emphasis is mine:

NERO Halicarnassus, you say? The Queen of Dimension Castle?

CID What's this? You know of her?

NERO You mean you don't? Well, I suppose a blue-blooded brat such as you would have no interest in humble folktales. It appears a lesson is in order. Halicarnassus is a character from an ancient fable. In the tale, she is one of the chief antagonists, and as such things are wont to unfold, she meets her end at the hands of the heroes─incurably valiant youths not unlike our adventurer friend here. Literary historians have speculated that the tale could be loosely based on events which took place in the Fourth Astral Era, but little remains of that age, and there is no way to verify the claim. Indeed, most now assume the story to be a work of pure fiction.

CID …You mean to tell me that Omega is populating its grand experiment with fictional characters?

MIDGARDSORMR 'Twould seem your understanding is yet lacking. Scant grasp have I of that which men know and know not… Mark me, then. Omega hath no soul. No mind's eye in which to envision a rival. To bring forth new life, it must needs draw upon that which hath already been─its every creation being another's conception. This limitation is concealed by the breadth of its experience. It possesseth the means to retain the knowledge of entire eras─and not only of this reflection. Yet it perceiveth not this knowledge as we do. Fact…fiction…the distinction holdeth no meaning for Omega. All is equal in its eyes. If a thing is logical, it can be created.

NERO Hahaha! That such a wondrous weapon should exist! It surpasses my wildest imaginings, and they were wild indeed! But I gather not everyone shares my excitement. What's the matter, Garlond? Lost your nerve?

CID Quiet, Nero. We adults are thinking.

[sanglunaria]

Alpha and Omega can now go wherever you go, and you can take photos to show off their adventures! This polaroid-style charm has a large clear background so you can take pictures of the duo in front of whatever you want! You can find the charms on my Etsy!

[radioinactivity]

Retica— er… Garlond Ironworks are here to tell you about Retica’s prosthetics! 😅

[havocpioneer]

Circumstantial Elegance

[stephenfairbrook]

How the meeting with Kokkol Dankkol should have gone.

[otherworldseekers]

Fluffuary Day 4: Make them laugh/Being silly

A little bit of fun from recent days in the Severia x Nero timeline. 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The front door of the Garlond Ironworks closed behind Severia Zetsuen with a satisfying click. The usual noise of tools and machinery and boisterous chatter was absent as she strode down the hall toward the offices in the back. This was only natural since it was lunch time and most of the crew had left for the markets. Severia clutched a large lacquered box against her chest and smiled as she passed Jessie’s office and then Cid’s and finally arrived at Nero’s. As she opened the office door there was a loud shuffling sound and as she entered the tiny room she caught Nero awkwardly trying to duck behind his desk. 

“Shit,” he grunted as he lost his balance and toppled over with his chair. 

Severia set her box on the desk and rushed over to help him up. “What are you doing, Nero?”

“I thought you might be Jessie,” he explained. 

“I told you I would meet you here for lunch.”

“I didn’t forget. I was just distracted.” He stood up and brushed off the back of his trousers, but he was peeking out into the hall with visible trepidation. “Shall we go eat at home?”

“I brought lunch with me actually,” said Severia proudly, pointing to the box. “Don’t worry, I didn’t make it. F’lhaminn did.” Nero’s expression flickered with relief. 

“Excellent. Why don’t we go back home to eat it?”

Severia put her hands on her hips. “Nero, what have you done?”

He shrugged and gave her a sheepish grin. “I might have replaced all the sugar in the breakroom with salt.”

“What? Why?”

“Garlond will have a fresh cup of coffee as soon as he comes back from lunch.”

“Ah, but if Jessie happens to get back first…”

“That’s what I’m worried about.”

She laughed despite herself. “But if we leave now you won’t get to see Cid’s reaction.”

Nero raised an eyebrow and came around the desk to embrace her. “It sounds as if you have an idea, my darling.”

Severia grinned up at him. “You find us a place to hide in the breakroom. If Jessie shows up, I’ll take care of her.”

“This is why I love you,” Nero said as he took her hand and they made their way to the Ironworks breakroom. 

He shifted a large cabinet to give them just enough room to get behind it and so they sat squeezed together laughing, chatting and sharing sandwiches from Severia’s lunchbox until they began to hear sounds of the Ironworks crew returning from the break. Quickly they shuffled until they both were able to peek around the side of the cabinet for a view of the Mark XIV Thermocoil Boilmaster. 

It was Wedge who appeared in the breakroom first to get preparations started. He turned on the Boilmaster and set everyone’s favorite mugs in a row along the table. Severia noticed Nero’s mug among them. The one she had gotten him for Starlight. The one that said “I’m not arguing, I’m explaining why I’m right” in large red letters. When the coffee was ready to pour, Cid walked in. 

“Excellent timing, Chief,” said Wedge cheerfully. 

“Give me a little extra sugar today, Wedge. I really need the energy,” said Cid from beyond their sight. Nero clamped a hand over Severia’s mouth to stifle her giggle. 

“Sure thing, Chief.”

Severia and Nero watched with glee as Wedge dumped two huge spoonfuls of “sugar” into Cid’s mug and handed it over. They waited while Cid grabbed a couple of cookies and made himself comfortable at one of the tables. At last he lifted the mug to his lips. 

Liquid sprayed across the room as Cid spluttered and coughed. “Wedge! What did you do to this coffee? I’ve never had such a foul cup!” He stood up and grabbed a rag from the nearby counter and began to wipe down himself and the table. 

“Why, Chief, I didn’t do anything that I don’t normally do,” Wedge protested. “Honest.”

Cid appeared to freeze a moment in thought. “Nero. It has to be Nero.” He charged off down the hallway toward the offices shouting. “Nero, you bastard! Come out here!” When he discovered the empty office he doubled back.

Severia tumbled onto the breakroom floor from behind the cabinet, unable to contain her laughter. Nero crawled out behind her grinning. 

“Severia, you’re in on this too?” Cid cried in a betrayed tone. 

“I’m so sorry, Cid,” she wheezed between fits of giggling. “I should have stopped him.”

Cid sighed wearily. “Dammit. I can’t be mad at you.”

“It’s only salt, Garlond,” said Nero as once again brushed off his trousers. “It won’t kill you.”

“Yes, and how would you have explained it if Jessie had been the one to drink it?”

“Explain what?” Jessie’s sharp voice came from the doorway.

Nero blanched and moved to put Severia between himself and the formidable woman. 

Severia smiled winningly. “Allow me.”

[selnyam]

FFXIV Write 2023 Day 27

This one was fun to write, as I based of an absurd thing that happened to my work, final line and all.

Sole

[punningway]

Ironworks Customer Service=

[quarterdollar]

they run a building & redstone in survival channel

[ironworksjessie]

Extended Bio with Lore Book citation

Full Name:

Jessie Jaye, previously Jessica jen Tiberius

Age: 37

Race: Hyur Midlander (Garlean-born)

Alignment: Neutral Good

Jobs:

Deputy Chief of Garlond Ironworks (Business Manager, Accountant, Magitek engineer, Blacksmith, Armorer, Goldsmith, Alchemist, and Chief Cid Wrangler), Activist/Volunteer

Appearance:

Thin and unassuming in build, one would rightly deduce that she spends more time with a quill in her hand than a hammer. She thinks of it as a sign of authority, though her protective headgear signals a certain tendency to overbear and get hands-on if the situation calls for it, or if whomever assigned to the task is working too slowly for her liking. 

Nine out of ten times anyone sees her, it’s in the same old worn Ironworks engineer’s uniform. Her face is tired, her hair messily tied, and her expression probably sour, but her eyes show no weakness or weariness, and are as unrelentingly scrutinous no matter how few hours of sleep that she has or hasn’t slept.

Personality:

Jessie is so willing to take charge in difficult situations, one might be led to believe that she actually enjoys it. One would be a fool to believe it, sure, but that’s not her problem (Unless the fool in question is a Garlond Ironworks employee.) Though she tries to keep her work centered on management, where it is most sorely needed, when she does work with the machines, one might call her engineering work “genius.” She would call it a bothersome distraction from the many more important tasks that require her limited attention.

A more astute eye might see a driven yet embittered workaholic who puts more on her plate than she can handle as a matter of course. Then again, there’s simply no one she trusts enough to whom she can reliably delegate. But as it stands, she is something like a support pillar in the tower of the Ironworks: silently bearing the enormous burdens of management and refugee rescue while remaining in the background, almost entirely uncredited, and even at times vilified. This woman is the most overworked, underpaid, and underappreciated woman in Eorzea. Now… why was it that she wanted to leave the Empire? For a “better life”? Hah. How amusing in retrospect.

I imagine you’ll want to know who she is outside of work. That’s a good question that many employees wonder, and that she herself cannot satisfactorily answer. Jessie’s gut reaction would quickly brush it off by saying, “I am no one outside of this place. I am my work.” But hints of a real person can still be found in the few places she chooses to put her passions. It is because of her efforts than Garlond Ironworks is such a well-known brand, both for its technological work and its charitable efforts.

The closest thing she has to a hobby is a very secret interest in fashion and glamour — she is the little-known designer of the Ironworks gear set, after all. Though she herself would simply consider it another form of armor craft and deny making any visits to the Weavers Guild or parcels from one Redolent Rose are anything but work-related. She is just so unused to not just having a hobby, but practicing any manner of self-care, or self-love for that matter.

Biography:

“A Hyur born in the imperial capital Garlemald, Jessie always disliked her parents’ patriotism, and eventually rebelled. She joined a group dedicated to resisting the Empire, where she met Biggs and Wedge and aided in their defection. After making contact with Cid and establishing an arrangement whereby those fleeing Garlemald could find a safe haven in Eorzea, she herself left her homeland for the succor of the south. She has worked for Garlond Ironworks since, and acted as its leader during Cid’s absences. Jessie pays great attention to the company’s bottom line so as to ensure that the Ironworks survives as a sanctuary for others fleeing the Empire’s tyrannical grip. The tricenarian contributes to the Ironworks’ operations by acting as a peddler of their many and myriad wares, including those small-scale models which Biggs crafts in his free time.” - Encyclopaedia Eorzea Vol 1

In summary, a desire for freedom, along with a headstrong resistance to any and all stifling of that freedom, has driven her life choices and life course so far.

Jessie was born (with the name Jessica, though those that value their lives should never address her as such) to two parents that she genuinely loved, and way, way deep down, will always love. Seeing them in poverty, seeing life be so unfair to them and never give them the boons they rightfully deserve, yet so blithely contented and obsequiously devoted to the Empire, was the most painful experience of her life thus far. She believes that by living a better life outside of the Empire, she is doing the best and only kindness she possibly can do. If she can help others live a better life too as well, all the better way to thank them for their hard work and sacrifice, even if such thanks can never be stated, and neither will ever know what ever became of the missing portion of their family and their heart. Even if, as good Garleans, she has undoubtedly been erased entirely from their lives, and they undoubtedly curse any mention of her traitor name with brimstone and bile. It’s what they know, what they were taught. If they could speak from the heart, they would still speak of a beloved red-haired daughter. At least that’s what she tells herself.

“Jessica” did not attend the Magitek Academy, due to her family’s lowered status from not being ethnic Garleans. “Jen” is the highest attainable title in Garlean society for engineers who are not part of the military. That word alone could serve as a name, for how much it defines the entire life — nay, the entire destiny — of a Garlean citizen.

All her hard work, and all their slavish patriotism, for a life of paltry scraps and leftovers from their betters? As the Eorzeans might say, “Fuck that shit.” She got out of the Empire by methods she has yet to divulge, for fear the spread of such knowledge could endanger current or future refugees.

In fact, probably the main reason she perpetually has so much work on her plate is because of the work she assigns herself: liaison, social worker, and sole support network for countless Garlean-Eorzean refugees who are referred her way, or who seek her out. Some of whom will go on to become Ironworks employees, some of whom have never seen the inside of a cerulean engine and never will, but will remember and benefit from her kindness for ever and always. A pro bono endeavor, as the Garleans would say, if they didn’t believe such endeavors futile and foolish. But her secretly kind heart just cannot help but help.

What are some personal goals your character has?:

Jessie would say that the Ironworks’ goals are her goals and vice versa; yet, many of the ideas the company currently espouses and propagates, including working extensively with Garlean refugees, came from the Deputy Chief herself. She is not doing herself or the world any favors by burying her own wants, needs, and individuality. Meeting new people like adventurers who live such unburdened lives should help open her up.

Now that the Garlean Empire as we know it has fallen, one would think the refugee leader in her would have more to say about the issue. But aside from matters regarding the unprecedented influx of new hires, she has been outwardly surprisingly quiet, at times even acting like business as usual, as if the biggest historical event in history didn’t just happen right in front of their faces. Inwardly, she prefers it that way, and has not yet made the effort to sort through her emotions about post-imperial Garlemald, or even the possibility of a reunion with her family. Very nice people who mean we’ll have told her she can’t do this forever. She has now accepted this as a challenge.

Are there any specific plots you would like to happen with this character?:

(( Workplace shenanigans, office humor, is what I want the most. As for serious stuff, there is a lot of possibility in the unpacking of the post-imperial Garlean world. ))

Extra headcanons (At least three please!):

Jessie makes a somewhat annoyingly large effort to not forget to read, write and speak her native Garlean language (analogous to real world Latin, using the Latin alphabet rather than the Eorzean script). Famously, all her own personal notes, tomes, and parchments are written in Garlean, making it difficult for conniving employees to mess with said notes, whether for selfish, prankish, or malicious reasons. This also has the advantage of subtly putting more pressure on The Chief to address her memos rather than delegate them to a junior engineer - what boss would be so rude as to remind another hire of their mutual homeland (if they can read it at all). Or at least, that’s how he took it, nice guy that he is. In any case, Cid has also chosen to follow Jessie’s lead when it comes time to have another one of their heated arguments — what better way to spare others even a small portion of the bad vibes coming from the other side of that conference chamber door than to argue in a language they won’t understand?

As if she didn’t have enough to nag people about, a personal peeve of Jessie’s is poor grammar, and won’t hesitate to correct others on their sentence structure, verb tense, dangling prepositions, you name it. But not if she’s in a good mood at work. Which isn’t often.

Jessie is shockingly close friends with Rowena. Yes, the Rowena. Shocking because a woman of her caliber in the business and adventuring communities shouldn’t have any friends that are not also enemies. But Jessie accidentally made it on to her good side over a business deal and many drinks in Revenant’s Toll. They didn’t mean to connect, really, but perhaps their similarities as lonely women with all-consuming jobs and painfully unforgettable pasts made it inevitable.  The mogul might be a good friend and enjoyable companion, but she is also a bad influence, luring Jessie into such vices as drinking, smoking, and :gasp: capitalism.

As for current events regarding the Final Days: During the time of the latest apocalypse scare, Jessie has her nose to the grindstone trying to support the endeavors of Chief Cid supporting the Sharlayans supporting the Scions supporting the Warrior of Light. But she’s used to being an unsung hero. When the situation seemed especially grim after the appearance of the blasphemies, her stone cold countenance did not melt, and her slave-driving work schedule did not relent, prompting much resentment among some engineers, and respect for her steadfast strength in others. Really, she was scared shitless like everyone else, but like every other time, she just hid it better with a wrench in hand and a stiff upper lip. A job well done was the best chance they could give the world at survival, and they all knew that, so the atmosphere of anything has benefitted from her strong leadership at HQ, whilst the Chief got to build a godsdamned spacecraft. Lucky bastard. You should have seen her eyes sparkle when she looked upon that spacecraft, though.

Jessie’s humorously exaggerated workaholic lifestyle is humorously based on the culture of the modern tech bro / brogrammer ((sorry, men, but they deserve it lololol)), especially the Silicon Valley area. Think “I sleep it my office for four hours a night, I drink Soylent for three meals a day, and I’m damn proud of it.” Like the brogrammer, she believes she is doing what in her world is a very important mission to change the world. Also like the brogrammer, she too lives in a fictional world. 

As for living space, Jessie lives alone in various side rooms of the Garlond Ironworks workshops in Mor Dhona, Rhalgr’s Reach, and most recently, a small outpost in Labyrinthos, which allows access to the city of Old Sharlayan. She drives her own personal Manacutter dubbed the Lady Liberty.