#he's still a machinist thank you very much

[unamused-kookaburra]

My dad was made redundant at work today and he's been counting down the days to his retirement (he has a countdown on his phone) so he's as happy as can be. My mum was making fun of him for being a bum and he defended himself by showing us all his little qualification certificates saying he could get work again easily and I thought this was the perfect time to ask what his job actually was because I have no idea and can't tell anyone when they ask me

Me: what is your job btw, I've never asked

Dad: you don't know?! nearly 25 years you've been living here and you don't know?!

Me: I know you work in a shed with metal

Dad: yeah I fix shit!

Me: that's what I tell people!

Dad: I am a machinist

Mum: was a machineist

[prudentfolly]

Prudence Dubois -- [ B A S I C S ]

B A S I C S

Name: Prudence Dubois

Nicknames: No. 

Age: Late Twenties

Nameday: 32nd Sun of the Umbral Moon

Race: Hyur

Gender: Cis Female

Orientation: Bisexual

Profession: Retainer & Machinist

P H Y S I C A L     A S P E C T S

Hair: Dark brown hair is worn practically. Short with a hacked at fringe. She doesn’t do much with it, thinking of it as more of a hindrance than a tool to express herself with.

Eyes: Watchful, hooded, hawklike. Like burning coals with none of the heat.

Skin: Pale white, covered in freckles.

Tattoos/scars: No tattoos. A gnarly scar at her left collarbone, and follows through on her back. A smattering of other, less important scars. 

F A M I L Y

Parents: Her father is deceased, aided by gravity. She does not speak of nor to her mother who still lives in the Brume. Their names are unimportant.

Siblings: N/A. 

Grandparents: Long dead, likely insufferable judging by how their children turned out.  

In-laws and Other: No In-laws to speak of. She has many romantic entanglements that usually end messily. So far, her relationship with Ibant is the only one to have stuck.

She and Gerry, one of her Lady’s wards, have an on-again-off-again toxic yuri relationship that will eventually settle into a steady friendship or explode in an awesome and destructive display.

She respects and, to some degree, loves her Lady.

A’vyra is the nearest thing to a friend she has outside the House. Not that Prudence would ever utter such a thing aloud.

The rest of the House’s odd assortment of characters are kept at a distance. Prudence is fully aware of her prickly personality and the strength of her bite. These things serve her well; she will not dull them to appease others, so she does not let others in. For their own good, of course.

Pets: No. Prudence technically owns a Chocobo, a gift from her Lady, but Bird is not a pet. Bird is a stalwart companion.

S K I L L S

Abilities: Prudence is a capable young woman. A skilled machinist with a sharp eye it is rare for her to miss.  She knows her carbine better than the skin of her hands, knows the bark of it as her voice.

Her duties as a retainer have sent Prudence to the far corners of many maps. She’s resourceful for all the traveling, with a genuine willingness to embrace local customs. She can chameleon her way through social situations; smoothing the barbs of her generally terrible personality and avoiding unnecessary conflict on the road. 

Hobbies: Tinkering, fishing, painting. 

T R A I T S

Most Positive Trait: She’s so cool. 

Most Negative Trait: Everything else. 

L I K E S

Colors: Deep greens, browns and blacks and greys, a very particular shade of blue. 

Smells: Coffee, warm bread, turpentine. 

Textures: Canvas stretched taut, the cool side of the pillow, the crunch of snow beneath her boots. 

Drinks: Coffee, black. Wine, she’s not picky. 

O T H E R    D E T A I L S

Smokes: Almost constantly.

Drinks: Heavily. She’s a functioning alcoholic.

Drugs: Yes. Mostly for fun. 

Mount Issuance: Prudence is only insured because Bird was gifted to her via legal means. Is he the only thing she trusts enough to ride. Otherwise, she would be walking everywhere and hitching rides where she could.

Been Arrested: Several times! No charges seem to stick, even the most dangerous of heresy. 

][Tagged by:][ @this-is-ris @iron-sparrow @cindernet-explorer!][ Thank you all so much! ][

][ Tagging: ][ @ibant-gleacame & @cindernet-explorer (You have alts!) & You (: ][

[strwpup]

YOU 🫵 believe in the dancer emmanellain agenda

reasons why emmanellain de fortemps should transition to dancer as his primary class [several points about the implications for him and sicard at the end]

CANONICALLY emmanellain is very very good at dancing (normal) is it really that hard for him to start dancing (with blades). he would be so good at it he already knows the moves and the vibes

a lot of emmanellain's struggles come with feeling the pressure of being put into a box he does not fit! he's seen as a failure because people didn't see or didn't care about the things he is good at! the firmament quests show he IS good at making allies, he's friends with the redbills, he helped lighten the mood in broken glass! he's great in a social scene, he's perfect for lightening a mood, and i must stress he is CANONICALLY very good at dancing

he HAS grown as a knight, and i'm very proud of my cringefail baby brother, but i think it would be very healing for him to branch out from ishgard and heavy armor to pick up something more freeing (and also he should come to tural with us emmanellain dt sweep)

i could see him fitting in great with the dancer quests

please god we need more PHYSRANGED CHARACTERS in the msq,,,,, ephemie and aenor cockburne i owe you my life,,,, and they are BOTH bards,,,,,,,,, pls the archer to paladin pipeline is ruining the economy and i need dancer and machinist rep

tangentially related YOU 🫵 want emmanellain and sicard to join the b team scions it would be good enrichment for them

emmanellain in neo-ishgardian top of aiming. emmanellain in the lunar envoy aiming gear. emmanellain with the ivalice hairstyle so he still has that hair popping up but he can wear the pretty endwaker dancer relic gear bow. emmanellain happy and spinning around in thavnairian armlets. consider this

okay time to talk about sicard

CANONICALLY emmanellain steals sicard's clothes. sicard wears aiming gear. they could share aiming outfits and emmanellain could wear his boyfriend's pretty v neck into battle instead of the full coverage fortemps armor are you seeing the image

can you imagine how much worse (better) emmsic would be if they were ranged dps boyfriends

overwriting your boyfriend's tactician with shield samba in front of the whole party to prove you're more useful is a love language

sicard walking into the dungeon ready to tease emm about picking him as his dance partner only for emmanellain to dp the tank

:> what's wrong why are you making that face?

i...... i'm dps........... i thought i was dance partner >:(

dps stands for dance partner sicard i cracked the code

sicard feels slighted by this and suddenly starts eating food and using potions from his hotbar and he has the perfect opener to show off how competent he is because he thrives in competition

imagine this. post island sanctuary conversation about responsibility both of them decide to pick up Jobs [tm]. they have a break between contracts and when they meet it's clear that sicard spent some time in ishgard with ilsabard contingent friend stephanivien and got a machinist starter kit and it's clear that emmanellain went to limsa and almost ran away with a traveling dancer troupe

me and my boyfriend and his new six foot tall robot gun mermaid is this anything

thank you for coming to my ted talk vote emmanellain de fortemps for new job change into dancer

[irisopranta]

"you told me you'd tell me the truth. i'm still waiting."

"You don't need to try to poster yourself to be a fighter you know? You don't need to prove anything to my father." Stephanivien was quite confused. He thought Iris had gone insane, dressing up in a garb best described for a Dragoon in the Temple Knights than a seamstress he knows and loves. He wanted to head out to Azys Lla as it ripe with all sorts of technology left from the Allagan era. However, she overheard of his plan and offered to join him on his venture. He hates the idea that this sweet and lovely woman would be willing to put herself in danger. Unfortunately, they had already boarded his brother's airship to head there.

"Is it too much Steph? I can switch to my star globe instead if you think I might be better for me to use Astromancy." Iris oblivious to Stephanivien's concern.

"I mean...No.. But.. Like. You're just seamstress." The ship lands and the steps fold out.

"I'll explain later, this area can be a huge danger to everyone if we don't stay on high alert." She pulled out her lance to be on guard. The group left the ship to explore the ruins. The rusted gears and metal littered the ground. Stephanivien and his fellow machinist shifted through it to find anything that could be useful to them.

Iris watched over the group to make sure any beast that wished to harm the them. It seemed that the group found some interesting doohickeys and gizmos. Iris didn't fully understand them but seeing the machinist getting excited for them made her happy. That happiness soon faded. Beast closed in on them. The growls and howls that were from foul beast that sounded like they very much wanted dinner.

"Alright everyone get on the ship we are going." Aurvael called out to the group. They gathered up with whatever they can grab and ran off. As they did a dragon appeared above them. Stephanivien, ever the curious was trying to drag away a large piece of metal. The dragon was honing in on him. It dive down to strike. However it missed as it hit the ground.

Iris seeing what was happening. Was on the dragon's back, with lance skewing the dragon at the base of its neck. It flailed about to shake Iris of itself. From her experience, she leaped off before diving again into it head, killing it.

"Are you okay?" Iris extended her hand out to pick him off the ground.

He was stunned. Stephanivien wasn't quite sure what he saw. The two walked back to the airship, in silence. It flew back to Ishgard after the ordeal. Stephivien could only look on her on the flight back. She seems nonplussed with the whole situation. She was just chatting with the other machinists as though she just didn't slay a dragon like it was nothing

They arrived back to Ishgard. Stephanivien couldn't help think there is truly more to Iris. There they were standing at the airship landing.

"Well Steph that was quite the adventure but I think I'm going to head back to the fortemps manor for now." She gave him the signature smile that he grew accustom to.

"Wait." he called out to her. She stop in her tracks to turn to him. He breathed deeply before finding his next words. "You told me you'd tell me the truth. I'm still waiting." He recalled that she would explain later why she was dressed as a dragoon and was insistent that she could fight. She was able to prove her point but It was so jarring for a seamstress to be able to fight as well if not better than Lanaitte.

"Oh, did you not know?" Somewhat shocked she forgot to explain it to Stephanivien

"Know what?" He was even more confused.

"I'm the Warrior of Light."

((Thanks for the ask @briar-ffxiv))

[manias-wordcount]

Hi! Can I make a request? Machine Herald Viktor x Female!Sentinel of Light!Reader . Reader is the commander of the Piltover base of the Sentinels of Light. The action takes place during the Ruination. Thank you very much!

Ruination HCs (Viktor)

𝗔/𝗡: 𝗶 𝘁𝗼𝗼𝗸 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗹𝗶𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘁𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝘀𝘀𝘂𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗥𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘄𝗲𝗿𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗲𝗿𝗿𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘄𝗮𝘀 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝘃𝗶𝗱𝗲𝗼 𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗵𝗲𝗿 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗮𝗰𝘁𝘂𝗮𝗹 𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗥𝘂𝗶𝗻𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗕𝗹𝗲𝘀𝘀𝗲𝗱 𝗜𝘀𝗹𝗲𝘀 (𝘀𝗶𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝗮𝗹𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝘄𝗮𝘆 𝗯𝗮𝗰𝗸 𝘄𝗵𝗲𝗻 𝗟𝗢𝗟) 𝗮𝗻𝘆𝘄𝗮𝘆𝘀, 𝗶 𝗵𝗼𝗽𝗲 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝗲𝗻𝗷𝗼𝘆!

𝙒𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙩𝙤 𝙧𝙚𝙖𝙙 𝙢𝙤𝙧𝙚? ⇒ 𝙈𝙖𝙨𝙩𝙚𝙧𝙡𝙞𝙨𝙩

𝙟𝙤𝙞𝙣 𝙢𝙮 𝙙𝙞𝙨𝙘𝙤𝙧𝙙 𝙨𝙚𝙧𝙫𝙚𝙧?

You met him in the midst of battle

Of course, you had heard of Viktor before- he’s an extremely talented machinist after all

Though you never thought you would ever see him considering how dedicated he was to the people of Zaun

But to think you’d meet him as he shielded your body with his own while you were still in Piltover was a huge surprise considering all that had happened to him here

You thanked him profusely and took the time to ask him what he was doing up in Piltover and if the mist had reached Zaun yet

Viktor told you that there were traces of the mist already in the Zaun but he had sent his robot Blitzcrank to take care of that while he offered his support to the people of Piiltover

Part of him almost seemed bitter about the idea of returning to a place that wronged him and his people so much

But the other part of him that you could see seemed like he was pushing past all that to do what he thought was right for humanity

Again you thanked him profusely for the aid he offered and the two of you continued to fight side by side

It was a hard battle but at some point, the two of you were able to push back the attacking forces to the outskirts of the city where another one of your teams could handle it

Though it was evident that some of your enemies were rapidly retreating to the unsuspecting undercity

Without wasting any time, you offered your own support and your forces to lend Viktor and the people of Zaun a hand

Again, you and your team found yourselves in the heat of battle- now being led by Viktor

In your time together, you both grew to respect each other and learn that maybe not everyone from Piltover (and Zaun) were as bad as you both sort of believed

What started as an effort to support humanity itself ended in a now-growing friendship between two very different people…with the chance to become something more following close behind

[hymnofshadows-archive]

@immy-ooc @sins-of-the-sea (Yells at tumblr for not letting me tag your main blog)

'aight so, might as well do all of the Seven because I have So Many Thoughts about this.

Option A:

The Seven are Drowned. They exist solely in service to the Lord of the Whorl, Leviathan. Like any who has been claimed by primals, their loyalty to him is unwavering and knows no end. Their continued existence is only to strengthen their god and to summon him unto the world.

They work closely with the Sahagin and the Reavers - plundering supplies as they can, but naturally prioritizing capturing people to sacrifice to him and crystals with which to summon him.

Option B:

The Seven are just another pirate crew in Limsa Lominsa. On the surface, things seem perfectly legal - they have their privateering license and will gladly assure you that the wares they're trying to sell you was, in fact, stolen from a Garlean ship, thank you very much.

But any pirate crew knows how to manage their reputation, doesn't it? Keep a low profile. Stick to the code when you can so you don't draw the attention of the Rogue's Guild. You can get away with almost anything in a nation like this, can't you?

The Crew:

Captain Josep Frascona Race: Midlander Hyur Nationality: Lominsan Classes: Marauder>Warrior, Rogue>Ninja

Marauder and Rogue are both classes that start in Limsa Lominsa - both with a long history connected to piracy, making them easy choices.

Marauders have long had places on ships, their greataxes useful for both combat and felling the masts of other ships. And, as he is the Sin of Wrath... the Job upgrade into Warrior makes sense. He can have a bit of berserker rage, as a treat.

The Rogues are a covert group who serves to enforce the Pirate Code and police the city-state under cover of darkness. So Josep's canon shadowy stealth skills from his fog form can be translated into him having learned from them. I see the Ninja upgrade as something he picks up during a trip to the Far East - noticing similarities in the fighting styles and adapting it into his own.

Abena Frascona

Race: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te Nationality: Ul'dahn Classes: Musketeer (non-playable), Machinist, Alchemist

Musketeer was a planned musket-wielding class that never got added (but there's still references to it in game so it exists it just can't be you).

Machinist, added in the Heavensward expansion, however, is a gun wielding Job... and the poor guildmaster will hand out guns like candy trying to convince people they're viable weapons.

Alchemist is a crafting class... that I really don't think I have to explain, let Abena make fucked up little potions to her heart's content.

Rashid al-Qadar

Race: Hellsguard Roegadyn (listen. him big i don't make the rules) Nationality: Thavnairian Classes: Gladiator>Paladin, Arcanist>Summoner

Paladin is your classic sword/shield class. And I know this is absolutely a case of me projecting here but I feel like that suits him somehow.

I choose Arcanist because, well. His ability to summon simulacra in canon I feel translates fairly well to the summoning of carbuncles and egis.

Wang Ruixiong

Race: Raen Au Ra (he's a lizard now sorry i just like the scaley guys) Nationality: Doman Classes: Pugilist>Monk, Lancer>Dragoon

"Adept at martial arts" his bio says. Say no more! I give him the power of punch real good. Open your chakras.

Okay so Lancer is a more strenuous one and I'm putting it on the list because of one glamour item you can get: the Eastern Journey Staff. Become fantasy Sun Wukong.

Guy Duchamp

Race: Woodwight Elezen Nationality: (New) Sharlayan Classes: Thaumaturge/Black Mage, Red Mage, Weaver

GG ez, give the guy with fire powers the class/Job with fire spells. Black Mage is an obvious choice.

Red Mage, as in many Final Fantasy games, is a combination of Black and White Magics... but also they fence. He's got magic. He's got a sword. He'll do a fancy french backflip and you'll like it.

It's hard to give some of these guys crafting/gathering classes but... I dunno, maybe the fashionable man knows how to keep his clothes looking good even after so long at sea.

Phoebus Duchamp

Race: Woodwight Elezen Nationality: (New) Sharlayan Classes: Arcanist>Scholar, Carpenter, Botanist

Okay so, like Rashid, it's a case of "give the guy with summons a summoning class" but Phi goes into Scholar because he's assigned healer of the crew. And tbh I feel like nothing says Sloth quite like summoning a fairy to heal your friends instead of doing it yourself. That MP is better used elsewhere he promises.

Botanist is another easy one. Phi has gardening knowledge? He can grow and harvest plants for Gio and Abi.

Carpenter... I just picked that cause it felt the closest to sculpture to me, I mean wood carving is a thing. Plus having someone who knows how to work with wood on your Pirate crew is useful so like. Bonus points.

Giovanni Vespucci

Race: Midlander Hyur Nationality: Ishgardian Classes: Archer>Bard, Pugilist>Monk, Culinarian

Gio's good with music... so let him use the music. Inspire your allies! Buff your friends! Rain arrows on your opponents!

I've kinda been avoiding duplicate classes where I can but Rui teaching Gio is a sweet enough idea that I'll allow it. He's obviously not as high leveled in it as Rui is though.

Culinarian... listen that's the "cooking" crafting class I literally do not need to justify any further. He would weaponize his frying pan like Julyan Manderville if you commit enough food crimes though.

[joiedecombat]

How many siblings does Raine have, are they older or younger and how close is she with them? Do they keep in regular contact?

Truthfully, though I've known for a long while that Raine has siblings, I've only put any real thought into one of them. This ask gave me the push I needed to solidify my idea of her family a little more, so thank you for that!

For a while I actually assumed Raine was the youngest child, but on further contemplation I don't think that's the case. She is the only girl, and between that and being very young when her family fled to Thavnair, she still kind of occupies the role of the "baby of the bunch" despite not actually being the youngest.

Her older brother, Bennet D'arcy, is the one I've actually thought about before now.

Ben is the oldest, and he and Raine have had some rough times with one another while they were growing up. He was old enough that he actually remembers leaving Werlyt for Radz-at-Han, and the experience impacted him more than it did Raine. As the oldest, he feels the weight of family expectations and responsibility for his siblings pretty heavily. In contrast, Raine was more sheltered and their father (the stricter disciplinarian of their parents) took a somewhat softer hand with her, a fact Ben couldn't help but be aware of.

BASICALLY, Ben and Artoirel de Fortemps would have a lot to talk about. He's a serious sort, if not honestly a bit stuffy, but good-hearted.

They've mostly gotten over their sibling strife now that they're adults, though, and have a pretty good relationship. Ben worries a lot about Raine now that she's out in the world doing dangerous things. I have vague plans for Ben to have actually set out in search of Raine not long after she left for Eorzea, only to end up on his own adventures after somehow ending up in Ul'dah. In contrast to his sister, he's much more magically-oriented, though he'll eventually pick up the Machinist job [insert "I'm a healer, but..." meme here]. I'll get around to playing him one day.

I do not have appearances or even names yet for Raine's younger brothers, but I do know they're twins - the D'arcy family ended up having quite a bit in common with the Leveilleurs, I might as well run with it - and maybe a year to three years younger than she is. One of them is an alchemist with the Great Work, the other serves in Radz-at-Han's Radiant Guard, and they're both (if you ask their siblings) terrible scamps. They enabled Raine in a lot of mischief when they were kids and gave poor Ben headaches.

Raine keeps in contact with all her family via letters, but circumstances mean she's not always the most reliable correspondent and she definitely leaves out the scariest bits when she tells them what she's been up to. She eventually caught up with her whole family (except Ben, off having his own problems) when the Scions traveled to Radz-at-Han during the events of Endwalker; they were among the citizens who evacuated when the Final Days descended, traveling first to Old Sharlayan and eventually to Ishgard by the invitation of House Fortemps. I assume there was a good bit of amusing off-screen drama involved.

[xiv-wolfram]

Do you have any other OCs besides Wolfram? If so can you tell us about them?

Thanks for the ask! ❤

I have a few, but they're not well developed by comparison. The furthest along would be my first FFXIV character Ali. I really need to GPose her more cuz uwu. She's a 25yo half Sea Wolf half Highlander summoner. Heres some stuff I wrote about her a while ago:

Ali was born in the city of Limsa Lominsa, roughly 25 years ago. She takes after her Roegadyn mother, following in her footsteps to join the Arcanist's guild. Much of her time is spent tracing arcane geometries or studying any information on magitek she is able to procure.

Her love of learning is a compulsion. If she doesn't have a goal she's working towards or a new hobby to try out she gets incredibly restless. No matter the amount of knowledge gained she is never truly at peace. Due to this she may get swept up in the pursuit without considering the long term effect of her discoveries.

After learning everything the Arcanist Guild had to offer, Ali has decided to set out as an Adventurer. Her goal - to travel around Eorzea seeking knowledge from everyone and every monster she encounters. Recently she started training with the Machinist's guild in Ishgard.

I've also been thinking of an AU, where Wolfram was a woman instead (Ada, just cuz I need more girls to GPose). Same personality and overwhelming guilt for what happened to her family. Very similar story except that Raubahn doesn't reject her when she confesses her past because she doesn't get as defensive and blame everyone else. He helps her discover the truth and by the time ARR starts they've been together the whole time. She also didn't train as a conjurer and met X'Rhun earlier so she's an even stronger RDM than Wolf but not as good a healer. ARR is the same, however at the Bloody Banquet Raubahn is killed. She breaks free and gets the other Scions out. Instead of the saving Raubahn from Illberd arc, its basically her tracking him down and taking brutal revenge. Then on to HW stuff. Ada mourns while still fulfilling her WoL duties until she and Ysayle become close friends. Ysayle teaches her how to summon a primal ( which takes the form of the minotaur from Ala Mhigan legend 😢). When the Garlean airship attacks she transforms and fights alongside Ysayle. With the extra help Ysayle lives. Ilberd is dead so no Shinryu, no false flag wall bullshit, no Omega. She kinda just decides she's gonna pop off and liberate Ala Mhigo herself because it would be the best way to honor Raubahn. The Scions back her and they convince the governments to assist. Ysayle joins the Scions. SB is much the same except that Pipin takes a lot of his fathers responsibilities. In ShB she spent even longer on the first. Her and Ysayle start a relationship. EW is the same. <- And that's about all I'll write cuz Wolfbahn has 4 expansions worth of content to go which will take me at least until the next XPac. I may have to do some Ada and Adasayle GPoses at some point though. I'm starting to get bored of just my guys. Need variety! 😂

[snow-system-wol]

S'ria and G'raha are allowed one night after a very long day to try to recover -- and S'ria ends up taking the chance to talk through a bit of it, particularly about Quintus.

Ao3

(tw for discussion of suicide -- alea iacta est aftermath)

As much as S'ria did want the refugees to be moved to camp as soon as possible, he was deeply grateful that he could finally end this day early. It was already late at night, even colder, and with little visibility – trekking with these weak and injured individuals should wait until the sun rose again. They were at least able to leave enough ceruleum to keep the heaters running at full blast again, some food, and could begin administering preliminary medical aid immediately.

S'ria being able to just teleport immediately back to Camp Broken Glass and rest was a blessing, though it was unfortunate the aetheryte would not work to transport the people here without attunement first. He'd return in the morning, of course, to see to their safety.

It'd just been… far too long of a day since arriving at Camp Broken Glass, and he was just hoping to fall into some citizen's abandoned bed and pray that his bones hurt less in the morning.

G'raha had expressed some sort of very soft-hearted guilt at the idea that those had been people's homes – S'ria could understand the sympathy, but it wasn't as though they were doing anything worse than taking shelter (and even doing some repairs.) Should these villagers return safely someday, they would find their homes intact and none the worse for someone having slept there.

S'ria's anticipation towards having a half decent bed instead of sleeping mere ilms above frozen ground was dwarfed by the relief upon an Ishgardian machinist happily informing him that heating in at least half the buildings had been restored. S'ria was not a religious man, but he wanted to thank at least some higher power for that mercy.

G'raha hovered nervously near him as he got food and began to wind down for the night, as outside began to fully empty except for the night watch, and S'ria began to wonder what additional thing may be occupying him. S'ria finally placed it as “uncertainty” and smiled at how simple and mundane of an issue that was compared to everything else today.

“That sleeping arrangement from the tents is still an option, if that's what you're dwelling on.”

G'raha startled. “Wicked white, was it that obvious? I – with the heaters working, I did not wish to assume...”

“The heating will keep me from freezing, but all things considered, I'd like to be warm.” 

G'raha finally relaxed his shoulders. “Full glad am I to donate my services as a space heater, then.”

Huddling by the fire was so cozy that S'ria almost didn't want to brave the cold journey to travel inside and wait for the room to warm up. Still, it was necessary.

The building they'd been directed to was a tiny two-room place, with a warm fire burning in the hearth – as well as two twins flopped across a couch and one Thancred occupying the floor. S'ria had more than a light enough step to sneak past, but G'raha luckily managed to avoid disturbing them as well.

The bedroom was (predictably but unfortunately) barely warmed by the fire in the other room. S'ria turned on the ceruleum heater in there immediately, huddling on the floor by it and waiting for the warmth to begin radiating. G'raha sat down next to him, weathering the short wait together.

“I am sorry. While none of it has been firsthand from your mouth, all I've heard sounds as though today has been… very unkind to you.”

S'ria made a noncommittal noise of acknowledgement and leaned into G'raha's shoulder, sitting in silence for some time longer. 

Eventually S'ria turned towards him, cupping his face in gloved hands. He tried not to let his body's shivering shake G'raha as well.

“Is it okay for me to…? I-I don't want it to go anywhere, though.”

G'raha closed his eyes in an affectionate blink. “‘Tis always okay – and it does not have to.”

S'ria relaxed and leaned to kiss him, G'raha's lips feeling just slightly warmer than his own. S'ria had always thought he ran a bit cooler than the average person, but it was nice to have proof. It was a pleasant enough way to occupy himself while he waited for the heater to fully kick on, the layers they both still wore a comfortable barrier for S'ria. A part of him worried about this, kissing G'raha somewhat less than chastely with the intent to crawl into bed together after – but he did trust G'raha.

(And besides, should that trust ever be shattered, Thancred was a light sleeper.)

S'ria pulled away and the room was finally warm. He stripped out of his boots and coat and crawled into the bed. The sheets were still cold, but that should hopefully pass quickly. He zoned out for a short while until his reverie was broken by the feel of the bed dipping under G'raha's weight. There was a very brief moment of panic at that sensation. Pulling G'raha against his chest, though, reminding his senses that none of the scents are right for whatever was scaring him – S'ria was able to get past the worst of that feeling.

S'ria was very exhausted, the fear he'd just felt was mostly abated, and the warmth of molding himself to G'raha's back was settling in… and yet, sleep felt malms away. His heartbeat just wouldn't quite settle – not pounding but never reaching calm – and he wondered if G'raha could feel it against his spine. Despite just finally getting warm, he had the twitchiest impulse to go run laps around camp before trying to lie down again. He made an effort to stay still for a while, before G'raha spoke up.

“You are…still awake. Is there aught that I can do?”

S'ria flinched as if he'd been caught. “Am I keeping you up? My mind is just a bit busy.”

“I would not be surprised, today seemed painful for you.”

S'ria chuckled humorlessly. “You'd think it'd be one of the worse things eating at me but, no – it's about Quintus… I want to feel glad that he's dead, but I don't.”

“If you feel the urge to mourn him or simply just do not rejoice in his death – there is nothing wrong with that.”

S'ria stilled and then slowly shook his head, ruffling the back of G'raha's hair with the movement. “That's…not the way I mean it. I fear I may be a much worse person than you are assuming.”

“I very highly doubt any of your thoughts will lead me to that conclusion – but you may speak, if you'd like me to confirm or deny that judgment?”

S'ria's arms tightened around G'raha's chest. He was silent in hesitation for a while, but once the words began to flow, they did so unimpeded.

“I'm not upset that Quintus committed suicide, I'm angry at him for why he did. The things Garlean soldiers do, once the dust has settled and the adrenaline and powertrip is still in their system – that is indignity and humiliation, not whatever he was experiencing.”

S'ria made a conscious effort to relax instead of squeezing G'raha too hard and continued.

“And to receive the barest hint of that which he's inflicted, a far kinder truce than they've ever offered, that's too much? His damn pride couldn't take even that? He spoke of collaring me and dared to make this about dignity?” The words were spat out and S'ria could feel a brief anger ripple through G'raha's frame as S'ria mentioned the collars. It made him feel just the tiniest bit validated. “I need to live with my shame, have remained alive despite the constant memories and reminders and fear, and then–then he thinks it's all well and good to die at the first hint of – !”

S'ria made an uncomfortable wheezy exhale, drastically lowering his voice before he could wake someone. “See? It's bad.”

G'raha brought his arms up to lay his hands over S'ria's, taking some time to consider his response.

“None of that makes you a bad person. It is unfair, all of it – and your thoughts alone can hardly do any harm just from thinking them either.” He gently squeezed S'ria's hands and added, quietly, “and I'm very glad that you're still alive.”

Whatever response G'raha might have received died under the weight of that near-desperate addition. S'ria curled more closely around G'raha's back, shifting to press his face into his neck. The first hitching sob was muffled into fabric, as were the next few, but it was impossible to mistake the sound for anything else.

S'ria wanted to be doing almost anything except starting to cry while cuddled up against G'raha. If he drew away, though, G'raha could look at him in the dim lighting, and that would be too much. If he stayed like this, hiding his face, maybe they could both pretend it wasn't happening.

The worst part was that it felt good despite it all. Much-needed, if nothing else. The bitterness and anger quickly burned off of him for at least a time. Nearly the same moment the tears finally tapered off, S'ria fell into a restful and dreamless sleep.

[futuresuntocrystal]

First of all, thank you sm for posting this!! I love the question and... I'm dumping all my OCs on here, as well as my main WoL, so...

To anyone who reads this, I hope you enjoy??

>Rhela [ WoL ]

Conjury was an easy enough start. During the days before and up to the Calamity, Rhela actually started their days as an assistant to chirurgeons! After a...mysterious five-year break, they returned to Gridania to work on their budding magical abilities.

This would be the way of things for a long time; dabbling a little in other classes, but hardly being very devoted to them. Rhela's preference was to support with healing, and being a White Mage was incredibly suited to their talents and abilities...or so they preferred to believe. (It was comfortable. Why change?)

...Funny enough, meeting Zenos is what changed that rigid way of thinking. Eventually moving deeper into Dark Knight. Learning the ways of the Rogues. Utilizing the skills of Archery, the physical might of Dragoons (recently inducted, even!) and even- as of very recently- trying their hand at being a Machinist.

That being said, however... The only classes that combat their comfort in the backseat of healing is gathering. Botany and mining quickly became a loved "activity," of sorts, for Rhela. The only one they struggle with is fishing... Though working alongside the Ixal have gently encouraged that along.

As for crafting, she also delves more into that by the day! Honing skills all around... Mostly to see what feels best, but also genuinely proud of what typically ends up leaving her hands, whether fresh from the cooking pan or carefully fitted as a leatherworker.

>Ajisai

Her magical abilities seemed to have come with the whitening of her hair. Originally, it frightened her...but after escaping from the pressure of her parents, instead seeking to regain some control over her life... It became an instrument for the better, under the tutelage of the Arcanists' Guild.

She's most comfortable as a Summoner, but has also- occasionally- taken up Scholar and Astrologian. They all channel her innate, and growing, magical abilities well. And it's always nice to walk around somewhere with a friend. (In terms of SMN & SCH, at least!)

As of recently, she's been trying Samurai- a class from her homeland- and Dancer, as well. The former as a continued effort to reclaim something she feels has been lost for a long time... Dancer has been more a way to destress, by comparison. However, the combat side quickly appealed to her, as well; now, it's decently common to see her wielding it or Summoner!

Crafting... She's primarily a Weaver; pushed onto her from family. It was seen as a "ladylike" thing to do and encouraged to the point of annoyance. Ajisai still picks up the needle now and then- it's good for taking her mind off of things- but she isn't thrilled with it. (Being a culinarian is much the same; seen as something a good bride should learn, and so she was forced into it. It's good food! She's proud! But it's also been an annoyance.)

These days, she's getting more into botany and mining, as well. Mostly in an attempt to be further self-sufficient.

>I'karus

"Unclassed" beforehand, I'karus would later pick gladiator as his path in life... At the time, it just seemed like it would've been a better move than living life how he had before. (In retrospect, a part of him wonders what on Hydaelyn he was thinking, back then!)

Now he's a Paladin, however, and proudly carries the mantle. To be a protector is a vast opposite compared to how he used to be; it brings him great pride.

(...Though a part of him picked up on being a rogue on the side. Not fully to serve the needs of Limsa...but unable to let go of the idea that his past may one day come to haunt him. Best to have an edge on that, in I'karus' opinion!)

>Kinara

Dancer! It best supported her way of life, and still does. As well... Some conjury on the side. Not super into dedicating her life to that kind of thing, but it helps look after friends in need.

(Crafts only slightly on the side; just enough to look after her own clothes!)

>Alexios

Bard! It fits his desire of being seen and putting on performances. At that point, the music is just a bonus... A lovely one that she puts her heart and soul into each night, when she practices.

They also are a rogue on the side, however... Not that anyone would know, or expect this of them. A jovial nature that easily hides the expert handling of their trademark blades...and you best believe what he can do with daggers just hints at what he can do with a bow and arrow.

>Valmir

Archer. Does a bit of barding on the side- mostly for self-amusement, as he's chronically awkward- but largely prefers the distance benefits that come with attacking from afar.

Is a botanist on the side, and tends to indulge when not doing other work for Gridania (or any other Twelveswood settlement). Gathering is their comfort zone, though is slowly taking up crafting to start being self-sufficient again.

>U'zahra

Back among the tribe, U'zahra used to be a pugilist and archer. An incident with the Amalj'aa (specifically those of Zahar'ak) destroyed said bow...but didn't stop her from trying to come back stronger.

Trained up to a Monk, and learned the secrets of Black Mages, as well. (Forbidden arts who?) Found comfort in Dancer, as well; the movements adjusted to her dances of the U Tribe, giving extra spice to the way she moves...and making this class and Monk her favorites. Conjury and being a Black Mage... The power is good; summoning energy, less so.

Also a fair crafting fiend, though perhaps best at cooking, weaving, and metalwork, like goldsmithing. Gathering is her second home, given how the U Tribe lives. (Perhaps second only to her hunting abilities!)

>Sinmara

A Dragoon, like her father and parent before her! (Though, one of many...) Being biologically a dragon to a Miqo/Elezen pair is an odd existence, but so is picking up the class that once slaughtered her kind...and was originally made during a time of friendship, between dragons and Ishgardians.

Sinmara considers it- much like the changed ways between her parents- as a "right the wrongs" kind of situation; preferring to think of it in a hopeful and good light.

...They're not sure what to do about crafting or gathering; for now, leaving it in the hands of their renny. Perhaps...one day, though? They may try botany and fishing.

(To explain the lore chaos: fanchild between my WoL, Rhela, and Estinien. Nidhogg is technically True Father to Sinmara, as his spirit influenced her development. Biologically, she is primarily a dragon, with Miqo'te [Keeper] and [Ishgardian] Elezen influences.)

>Circe

All-Rounder is the simplest way to put Circe's situation!! One would typically see them as a [White Mage], but has also run through [Dark Knight], [Dancer], and [Dragoon].

...Has asked for [Black Mage] training from Hades. Has been regretting it. He regrets agreeing, mostly for watching them sulk over the simplest thing(s). (Hythlodaeus just enjoys the show.)

Does botany on the side! Menace of a crafter, though...can't do anything with them, aside from displays or selling them as art pieces. (Can't be too individualistic in Etheirys, after all!)

>Moriri

A Dragoon, and that's the end of it. Almost considered doing gladiator or pugilist things in her youth, but being introduced properly to what a Dragoon could do... She was quick to learn the lance, and quicker accepted to their ranks during the Dragonsong War.

She's basically retired now, but will drag her spear back out if need be.

Otherwise, crafting and gathering is her day job, and how time gets filled. You'll likely find her gathering somewhere, out and about, crafting within Ishgard...or relaxing in Ishgard. (At least, post-Dragonsong War. Due to the chaos, she's been living in the Twelveswood, at present.)

>Altan

Warrior main, through and through. Proud of it, too...and won't admit he geared for it solely in a silent attempt to upstage that one kid from the Oronir. 👀

Really, Altan just likes the heavy-hitting jobs. Tanks are his zone, as well as classes like Dragoon and Monk.

...Isn't too fond of or great at most crafting or gathering things, but does love mining. It puts his strength to use.

>Rheza

Another all-rounder, but White Mage preferred type. Rheza- unlike the others- had to learn multiple classes to get the best of all of them... Though apparently these days, one doesn't need to do so. Eh, hasn't stopped them from freshening up old memories and doing their best to keep in tip-top shape.

...Crafting and gathering has been fun, though. Now that there's more free time to spare, Rheza fills the quieter moments with doing either of those. Definitely prefers carpentry and weaving, though. Along with botany... Honestly, Gridanian bias. The forest remains their home.

@unboundhavenn did a wolqotd and I wanted to answer it in long form

"why did your WOL/OC take up this or that discipline? not limited to combat classes, but crafting/gathering ones too.

Why Do They Do The Things They Do?"

[beingatoaster]

okay so i know Zero things about it, but: genshin impact blorbos?

THANK YOU because this is absolutely my hyperfixation right now (also I will simply use your not-knowing as an excuse to yell more/link pictures >>)

blorbo (favorite character, character I think about the most)

Jean Gunnhildr, Acting Grand Master of the Knights of Favonius, a kind-but-strong blonde knight with a strong sense of duty and honor, and also, between her powerset (healer/hitter) and background lore (the Knights of Favonius are the military branch of a religious org), technically a paladin! It's as if miHoYo designed this character explicitly for me. I love her. She works way too hard and badly needs so many naps.

scrunkly (my “baby”, character that gives me cuteness aggression, character that is So Shaped)

Razor, an abandoned child adopted by an ancient wolf-spirit and raised by wolves, with some later contributions by Jean's boss and her girlfriend the Favonius Librarian. Classic 'feral child does not speak good and has simple wisdom' but he actually has so much tragedy in his backstory and I love him a lot.

scrimblo bimblo (underrated/underappreciated fave)

Amber, an incredibly sweet and energetic young archer who has the misfortune to be the weakest of your free starter characters and also your first tutorial explainer, but who is a very good kid and was one of the starring characters of the manga, which is how I was lured into the game in the first place, so a lot of people go "annoying starter character" but when I first met her in game I was like "a friend! a friend has appeared! :D"

...cutting below this because there are spoilers and also I got rambly

glup shitto (obscure fave, character that can appear in the background for 0.2 seconds and I won’t shut up about it for a week)

...aside from, uh, also Amber? Several, really, especially as the plot moves away from the Knights of Favonius which are my always faves (you know me. give me a religious-oriented knightly order and I am stuck there), but probably Cloud Retainer, who has gotten more plot-relevant recently but is still an NPC. She is a powerful bird-spirit who thinks of herself as a machinist/inventor (actual results are... mixed... *stares at the cooking pot thing*) and also adopts children at the drop of a hat.

poor little meow meow (“problematic”/unpopular/controversial/otherwise pathetic fave)

Dottore, currently only mentioned in-game and only appearing in the manga, who runs terrible experiments on children, among many other evil deeds. He's one of the bad-guy group and absolutely the one I am most excited to see in-game, please give him to me miHoYo, I love him and I want to wreck his shit so bad.

horse plinko (character I would torment for fun, for whatever reason)

either Childe (another of the bad-guy group but also a friendly guy who happened to stab you in the back, loves fighting and in fact game-mechanics-wise you noncanonically fight him weekly which the fandom has a LOT of fun with) or Diluc (a rich dude who plays Batman on the regular, is your ally but also tortures enemies in front of you what the hell, honestly i think he's fascinating but also he attempted to murder his baby brother who's a second-level blorbo for me so I kind of want to dangle him over the plinko fire until he sorts out his many, many issues and admits that torture is wrong)

eeby deeby (character I would send to superhell)

Ei, a.k.a. Baal, a.k.a. the Raiden Shogun (but that also appears to be how they refer to the magic robot she made to imitate her and store her consciousness while she meditates on the astral plane after having dissolved her body, and I very badly want to free the magic robot). Honestly her whole character + arc was done bad by the writers and most of my issues with her can be laid at their door, but from a Watsonian perspective, she decided to steal everyone in her nation's magic (which are supposedly solidified hopes and dreams) and sat in her mindpalace not giving a fuck while her decisions catapulted her nation into disastrous civil war.

I literally do not care how much trauma led up to that set of decisions, I cannot abide leaders who let their own bullshit fuck up their people and do not, like, at least look at the situation and acknowledge they did wrong? The narrative (again, victim of the writing, but she exists within this narrative) never even has her acknowledge she fucked up in any way. Jean Gunnhildr would not allow her own trauma to shatter the nation she cares for, and she's not even a god!

[scullyva]

DARCY TELL US ABOUT AOEDE....

!!! Thank you for asking!!!

Aoede is my Warrior of Light in Final Fantasy 14!! She's on Ultros in Primal. The main classes I play are paladin and machinist, although I'm also leveling up the other tank classes

I'll put info about her below but here's her adventurer plate portrait and a drawing I did of her with her the hairstyle she had in stormblood (I have not yet learned to gpose. but one day I will. then I will take Good Photos)

So! Aoede! To be honest, her name comes from me trying to make my character before my friend logged off for the night and I chose it without looking at the lore for miqo'te, but I've managed to work it into her backstory. I haven't really settled everything in her backstory yet as I'm still working through endwalker, but I'm slowly figuring things out. I've never actually explained one of my character's backstories before, so I apologize if it's a bit awkward;;

Aoede is a 26-year-old (24 at the start of ARR, I figure the story probably takes place over 2 to 3 years) adventurer hailing from Sharlyan; she's an archon with her archon tattoos located between her shoulder blades. She's half-seeker and half-keeper and does have fangs (even though I don't know how to mod and can't add them in the game); her family is originally from Ilsabard and they sent Aoede to Sharlyan so she wouldn't be forced to fight for Garlemald. She writes letters to them regularly, and for most of the story, I figured they were going to be fine because I wasn't really planning for her to have a tragic backstory but. I've gotten to a certain part in endwalker and I really don't think they had a radio. So they might not be okay.

She takes her last name "Labelle" from her guardian in Sharlyan, a middle-aged man named Pascal Labelle, who became a friend of her family when he worked as a gleaner before he became an archon (he's another oc of mine! he's just a nice dude). Pascal basically raised her for a good portion of her life and they have a father-daughter relationship, so she decided to primarily use his family name. Her full last name is Aoede Labelle-Lhellhethi, or Aoede Labelle for short. Her field of study is horticulture, with a specific emphasis on farming in unideal environments, such as places with poor soil or that are constantly snowing.

She took up the sword so she could protect herself while traveling, she never really learned how to use magic so instead focused on swordplay and eventually learning how to use a gun.

Generally speaking, she's a very kind-hearted person who trusts others too easily. She'll go along with almost anything if she thinks the person suggesting it has good intentions, which is sort of how she became a scion. She's naturally a very quiet person with an intense gaze and when she does speak she normally shares her opinion without thinking of the consequences. Aoede also rushes into things head first; she's the kind of person who tries to help others even when it costs her dearly. She becomes much more cautious and to a degree pessimistic after the events of ARR, but her mental health improves slowly throughout the other expansions, even though it does get worse for a while after several events. Out of the scions, she gets along best with Minfilia, G'raha, Krile, Alphinaud, and Alisae. She gets along well with the others, but she doesn't really mesh well with Thancred at times (she just doesn't know how to talk to him and he doesn't really talk to her much, they don't dislike each other).

There's a good bit more but this has already gotten pretty long! I don't think I explained her personality as well as I would have liked, but it's fine. Thank you for asking about her, I love her dearly and one day I hope I can commission some artwork of her.

also I have another ffxiv oc named Deimne Vervloet, his backstory is very very much a work in progress. the only thing I can say for certain is that he's a viera

[wri0thesley]

Nat .. there are truly no words to describe how beautiful the machinist and the faerie was to read!! it's a masterpiece .. I felt like I was there while reading it, and there were definitely a few tears here and there - you've done such an amazing job! Reader & Gojo's first encounter was literally magical, you conveyed so well that sense of mystery surrounding him and his connection to nature; their separation was heart-breaking, but their final reunion was like taking a deep breath after holding it for a long time. And the characterisation is on point, not only on Gojo's side (reader's situation felt .. sigh, relatable - it's not your fault of course, you just described a situation that can unfortunately be a reality, sometimes - and you did perfectly). Thank you so much for taking the time to work on this gem & for sharing it with us !! you are an amazing writer <3<3

anon my beloved i'm very glad that you enjoyed it!!! <3

i think aus are super interesting to consider but i'm always very wary of taking them too far away from the canon; if by putting them in such a different universe with their backstory so altered, are they still likely to be the same character that we're familiar with in canon? i translated gojo's incredible powers and carrying his family name and the burden that's on him in canon to making him fae royalty in this au if only so he feels some fraction of the same burden. gojo bears his huge responsibility in canon and perhaps is afraid of being feared and perhaps also would like someone who doesn't know what he is and merely treats him as a friend, and that's echoed (i hope) by his station in that fic and i hope it comes across!!! <3

[thebmatt]

FFXIV Write Day 1

Foster – “encourage or promote the development of (something, typically something regarded as good)”

“I still cannot believe you built a bloody airship! I mean, I’ve done maintenance work on them under Cid or Stephanivien’s tutelage, but you BUILT one, from practically nothing!”

Tataru looked up from the pile of paperwork she was dealing with and grinned at Franks. “What, you didn’t think little old me could do it all by myself? No, wait, that’s not it, is it?? You’re JEALOUS!”

Franks threw down the cloth he’d been using to clean his gun and tools only moments before. “Of COURSE, I’m jealous! You know how many times I’ve tried to make time with either one of them to learn more about magitek engineering? I’ve lost count, because every time, without fail, either I have to cancel because the star’s in peril again or one of them has some company emergency or other to deal with! And now here you are, buildin’ an entire AIRSHIP! Hells yes I’m jealous!”

Tataru spasmed as she tried to hold back her mirth, covering her mouth, but there was no hiding the look in her eyes. First a few giggles escaped her, growing more numerous and loud, until she released peals of laughter, falling over in her chair. Franks eventually joined in, the pair enjoying a simple moment together.

Eventually Tataru managed to get herself under control. “Well, hopefully one day, this will all be in our pasts and you can spend the rest of your days building and maintaining magitek, if you wish. Think you’ll open up Cid’s first competition? Or maybe work for him? Wait, can you stand to be around Nero that much?”

Franks chuckled as he resumed cleaning a wrench.”Honestly, once you recognize and accept that his boundless arrogance is an attempt to mask both his profound fear at having to essentially restart his life in a formerly-hostile land AND trying to sort out exactly how he feels about Cid, he’s really not that bad. But while working at the Ironworks would certainly be enjoyable, I think my place is in Ishgard, in the Machinists guild. I want to be at the forefront of that discipline, both training new recruits and helpin’ Stephanivien come up with new tools for them to use. I foresee workin’ closely with the Ironworks to make that happen, though, so it’s really the best o’ both worlds.”

Tataru nodded. “I don’t know what the Scions will do once this is all over. I don’t even know if there’s really a place for us once the world is saved, if such a thing is even possible. But I might quite like working for Cid, I think. There’s a lot of upsides. Good pay, constantly getting to learn, don’t have to leave Mor Dhona…”

“Not to mention being in constant proximity to a certain Lalafell engineer…” Franks added, smirking as he looked over in her direction.

Tataru flushed and quickly looked away from his knowing gaze. “Y-yes, I suppose being near my good friend Wedge would be a nice perk!”

“Uh huh” Franks replied, not at all sounding like he was buying that description for one second. He finished wiping down the last piece of his aetherotransformer, and with practiced ease, began reassembling the components. With a final click, the device came together and lit up from within. Giving it a final examination, he returned it to its place at his hip and began reassembling his gun. “So…this next question might seem cruel, and if it’s hurtful please tell me so I can apologize, but I’m curious. You’re clearly a good engineer, which means math isn’t a problem for you. So why have you had such a problem with arcanima?”

Tataru had returned her attention to her paperwork, but the question stopped her mid-sentence. She looked back at Franks, her expression one of sad acceptance. “Thank you for saying it like…. that”

“Tataru, I’m so…”

“No no, it’s not bad. It’s nothing I haven’t asked myself and wrestled with, but I came to an answer a while ago.” She picked up a small clock that adorned her desk. “When I’m building, anything from constructing an airship to something simple like sawing wood…the math is there, a physical object in front of me. When I can see, can feel, the results right then, it all makes sense in my head. But with Arcanima….it was all in my head for me to unravel before it would manifest the magic. That’s harder for me. Not impossible, I don’t think I could have manifested a carbuncle or a Ruin spell otherwise, but I was a lot less confident, doubly so when I had to fight with it. I think that confidence, or lack thereof, is why my carbuncle didn’t do what I want.”

Franks nodded. “That absolutely is understandable. Everyone learns differently after all.”

Tataru’s smile brightened. “And really, I’m somewhat glad it didn’t work out! I wouldn’t have been able to find my talents as a crafter and intelligence gatherer for the Scions if I hadn’t accepted defeat with a grimoire!”

Franks laughed. “Absolutely true. I’ve no idea what would have become of the Scions if you hadn’t! We probably would still be wondering how we’d pay for the fare to Kugane! Definitely wouldn’t be eating as well, that’s for sure!”

She had to laugh at that. “Oh, I get it, I’m just your bank lender and chef, is that it?”

“In all seriousness, do you still wish you could join us in the field? Fight alongside everyone?”

She paused, a thoughtful expression crossing her face. “I won’t deny the idea doesn’t STILL have some appeal, but I know I’m way more valuable to the Scions in my current role. I do wish I had a more reliable way of defending myself, especially should the Garlands attempt another Waking Sands massacre, though. I suppose I’ll just have to hope the people of Revenant’s Toll are more capable of defending us than the citizens of Vesper Bay were.”

Franks looked back down to his gun, nodding. “Mmm, makes sense. Even if you aren’t in enemy territory, as it were, traveling around isn’t always safe. We might just have to….” he stopped, nearly dropping the assembled firearm.

“Have to what, Franks?”

“I can’t believe I never thought of this. How did it not occur to me?”. Franks stood up, slinging his weapon across his band into the holster that held it in place. He looked to Tataru with an almost manic gleam in his eye. “Go get something warm to wear, Tataru! We got someplace to be!”

Tataru looked confused “W-where??”

Franks grinned. “Ishgard!”

A bell later, the air around the Ishgardian aetheryte gave a slight pop as it was suddenly displaced by the appearing forms of Franks and Fearless. Both shivered, if only briefly, before their bodies re-acclimated to the colder temperatures that they had grown used to those many moons they’d spent in the city.

Both were quickly recognized by practically everyone they passed by, and while Franks had little hope of recognizing most of the people who spoke to them, Tataru seemed to know everyone, able to call them by name and ask personal questions that she’d had to have learned about on those random evenings in the Forgotten Knight. More than once, she was able to recognize fully helmed Temple Knights by voice alone. Franks, for his part, hurried them both along, seemingly eager to reach their destination.

“So where ARE we going, exactly?” Tataru asked in between a conversation with one of Hilda’s people in the City Watch and a noblewoman of a minor house. Franks didn’t reply aside from a grin on his face until a few minutes later when he stopped in front of a building and pointed. “There!”

Tataru bid one more person farewell and stopped to take in where the pair had arrived at. Sounds of rhythmic thumping filled the air, which smelled of flame and metal and soot. She looked up at the building. “Skysteel Manufactory? What are we doing here?”

“You’ll see!” Franks called back, already having made his way to the corner where one needed to turn to enter the Manufactory’s font door. Tataru squeaked and started after him as quick as her smaller legs could carry her. By the time she rounded the corner, Franks had already thrown open the wooden doors of the entrance and strode in.

“Franks, my old friend!” a voice cried out from within. Tataru quickly ran to catch up, and as she entered the door, the eyes of an Elezen man quickly jumped to her. “And mistress Tataru! What a surprise!”

“Good to see you too, Lord Stephanivien!” she replied, smiling.

“Whatever brings Ishgard’s savior, and most importantly my best machinist, and the Scion’s….erm…what IS your official role within the Scions of the Seventh Dawn these days, milady? If half of what Franks tells me is true, “secretary” would seem a woefully inadequate title! Perhaps ‘the very hull on which the entire ship is built’? No? Too long?”

Tataru giggled. “Oh no, milord, ‘secretary’ is just fine. I like it, makes people underestimate me! And that’s how I get em!”

“Who’s come calling, milord?” came a voice from the upper levels of the Manufactory. A woman’s head peaked over the railing, her blond ponytails dangling from the sides of her head. “I thought I heard….TATARU!” With that, she bolted for the stairs that led to the entryway, sliding down the rails. Tataru ran for the woman and lept right into her arms, hugging.

“What’re ye doin here, girl? I thought you were busy keepin’ them Scions from fallin apart!”

“I don’t know, rightly! Franks dragged me….” Tataru trailed off as she noticed that Joye’s braids had somehow completely undone themselves, and her hair was a wild mess. “Are you ever going to tell me how you do that??”

“Dunno what yer on about! FRANKS!” she turned and yelled at the man who’d been quietly conversing with Stephanivien. “Why you dragged this poor lass all the way out into the cold arse o’ this time o’ night without tellin’ her what’s goin on?”

Franks smiled, leaning away from Stephanivien, and crossed his arms. “Well, Joye, I’d like to introduce you to someone that, well, you don’t really need introduction to! That lady you’re hugging is Tataru Taru, Scion of the Seventh Dawn, the glue and rivets that keep the very organization held together, and-“

“We know who she is, ye daft sod!” Joy interrupted, setting Tataru back on the ground. “Ya literally just watched us have a mini-reunion!”

“-AND, assuming she’s amenable, the newest member of the Machinist’s guild!” Franks continued, as though he hadn’t been interrupted.

THAT got everyone’s attention. Both Joye’s and Tataru’s jaws dropped. Stephanivien simply smiled.

“Wait…this is your solution to me wanting to increase my martial skillset?” Tataru asked.

Franks threw his arms out, gesturing around to the manufactory around them. “It’s a perfect idea! Think about it! You’re already proficient with magitek, you’ve certainly proven that by now! You already know what I’m guessing is about 80% of the members already! You don’t need any extensive training in magic or heavy melee arms, all you really need to learn is how to shoot! I don’t doubt you can get the hang of that, especially with Joye teaching you!”

Joye looked down at Tataru. “Aye….aye I can! Tataru, this’ll be great!”

Tataru still appeared in shock. “But…I don’t…I don’t have a gun! And I bet they don’t keep ones sized for Lalafell around!”

Stephanivien knelt down to face her. “As it turns out, my dear, we actually made a custom one for a colleague of ours from Garlond Ironworks. He frequently comes to collaborate with our fair guild and commissioned a carbine with which to recreationally shoot. He keeps it here, as well. I believe you are acquainted with one Wedge? His weapon should suffice for you to practice with until we can build a custom one for you. I daresay he will not object either, would you not agree?” He winked almost conspiratorially.

“I know where it is! Come on Tataru, let’s go blast some training dummies!” Joye practically dragged Tataru behind her as she ran outside. Tataru didn’t require TOO much prompting, however, as pretty soon, she was running full steam out the door behind Joye under her own power.

Stephanivien turned to Franks. “Seems you have a knack for fostering talent in people, my friend. I heard of the fortune that befell the Baroness de Jervaint, and now you’ve added a new member to our guild’s ranks as well! I know you must wear any number of metaphorical hats, but I am quite glad the Machinist’s goggles are among them!”

Franks smiled. Whatever the future held, he was glad to keep building towards making it better.

[feuglace]

@ferrumumbra​ said:   Attacks from beastly dragons were not uncommon given the state of the war but a full assault in the city (regardless of how mercifully brief it had been-) were near unheard of. A desperate attack had took place: dragons breaking through wards and into the lower segments of the city to bring death and havoc: stone becoming fractured in assault, walls and debris tumbling to the lower levels with terrible speed and weight.   By the time all had ceased much of the lower city was smothered in rubble from broken buildings, some stood aflame - some folk were screaming, others lay deceased among the corpses of dragons they had been attempting to slay but only moments before. A perfect example of the woes of war.   Auri had been in the Brume when the attack came to be, finding himself caught in the middle of panic did he slip beneath the stature of wooden steps in the hopes of finding refuge and the next he knew was that all went black.   Rubble from above had tumbled and struck the wooden steps, taking out a large portion of wooden scaffolding holding up the outer wall of the Brume. The wretch lay unconscious for a short while, only coming to when the pained and panicked shouts from company roused his mind- one fellow near to him lay trapped near entirely beneath rubble, another attempting to kick their way through the piled stone to make a way out of the fractured pocket the three found themselves within.   Pain made itself apparent - the bleeding wound on the back of Auri's head naught short of vulgar, his right arm trapped beneath weighty stone once belonging to a building high above. The three worked together as best as they were able to free themselves and soon enough could the wretch breathe in cold air riddled with ash from fires.   The flicker of flames were mirrored in the fear of his eyes, heart racing fiercely as he partially buckled over. Pain throughout his person from being partially crushed and smothered in wooden splinters was near too much, a piece of scrap material used as a terrible makeshift sling for his broken arm.   Desperately did he want to get away from raging flames and thus did he stumble his way through stone and debris alike in order to reach steps upward, focusing on keeping his breathing as even as he was able while eyes continued to blur. Away from the fire. He needed to get away from the fire.   Staggered steps finally bought him near the Manufactory, unable to see any familiar face lingering nearby though the building appeared to be relatively unscathed. Panic roused within Auri's chest, an uncharacteristic wave of emotions claiming every thought.   Trembling from the pain, he continued to walk, eyes searching through his surroundings until a particular blonde figure came into view and relief struck worse than the stone had. Boots quickened and once close enough did he throw his uninjured arm around Stephanivien's neck, holding as tightly as he could as he wobbled upon feet.   Being half starved and weak on a daily basis was one thing, to throw in the hideousness of injury was something else entirely - the wretch ought to have perished given his terrible condition in the first place. But he found strength. He continued.   "Y' alive-" He breathed, the relief clear in the rasp of his voice. "Y' alive..."

-----

  There had been no warning, not even the Astrologians capable of predicting the unprecedented attack to the city. The wards were thought to be strong but all too soon were they proven wrong, beasts hurling themselves through and into the lower portions of the city. The very initial bang was quickly noted by Stephanivien even before the fire came, his ears twitching and the man swiftly launching himself over his workbench with little care to grab one of many carbines from a table. He fiddled with the device at his hip before checking the gun to be certain it worked at all. His eyes flicked up, hand lifted.

  “Machinists, to the front! We ought not leave the knights without back-up!” he shouted, stepping around the counter and making his way to the door. Nothing could make such an uncanny sound but a beast with the weight of a dragon, all within the city knew this above all else.

  Stephanivien trotted out the door. As if in an instant he walked into hell itself, flames leaping and licking up wooden platforms and rubble seen tumbling below. The attack was focused on the weakest section of the city in particular, though much of Foundation was scattered with rushing men and women and broken structure. Dragons dropped from the sky onto stone below, some left to terrorize the skies and light further aflame and crash through stone to use the very city against itself.

  Without any further hesitation Stephan leapt down from the platform the Manufactory stood upon and out into the worst of the fighting, waving a hand for those behind to follow. Though the machinists were few compared to the knights themselves they had prepared just as heartily for the possibility of attack. Carbine was lifted and pointed at a small dragon that leapt towards a knight already preoccupied with a far larger beast, pulling the trigger. The aether-infused shot hit the beast in the head and sent it tumbling back to the ground where it lay dead. It had been some time since Stephanivien had seen combat, yet he still managed to react swift and with deadly precision; shot after shot threw down beasts, impact sending smaller creatures into piles of rubble and spilling blood upon stone.

  In the end, the city repelled the attack though not without significant injury and loss of life. The final beast to remain was soon cut down, and as the screeches of dragons and flapping of wings died down Stephanivien finally lowered his gun and became fully aware of what chaos had truly ensued. His eyes lifted, head turning to look upon the damage - more building torn asunder and thrown to stone below, bodies of man, woman and dragon littered in a mess across Foundation. Blood drained through gaps in stone, forming deep red rivulets of despair and loss, even the rubble taking life and snuffing it below heavy weight. Stephanivien bowed his head, his breathing laboured and not at all from fatigue alone. It was always the same story, the same bloodshed. Friends, family, lovers, all dead so very fast and no amount of man-power stopped it. Stephanivien put away his gun and began a rather solemn walk back to the Manufactory, his head lifted if only to look for those he knew - were they safe? Did they make it through the chaos, did his machinists survive? He hoped so... perhaps he ought do a headcount when all had calmed and most would be returned. There was still potential one could be trapped beneath rubble even for such attack was unpredictable and-

  His rushing thoughts halted as he felt an arm swiftly wrap tight around him, the body colliding drawing a gasp from Stephanivien in shock of being so quickly embraced. He blinked, eyes lowering to the man who held on to him so tightly and, upon registering who it was, quickly wrapped arms around Auri in turn with a surprisingly desperate embrace of his own. He lowered his head to Auri’s shoulder, his breath quivering as he attempted to hold back all the relief and upset that washed over his person. Usually he would be one to smile, to greet with joy and welcome air and yet now there was naught an ilm of silver lining to grasp at. People were dead, more were injured, many would now fall into the Brume to be forgotten by the Holy See like all the rest. The city was falling apart, their numbers cut significantly already for those within its walls.

  A soft sob broke from the blonde, his body shaking gently from the very effort it took to utter such a sound and not merely wail in despair.

  “You’re okay, thank Halone,” he wept, tightening arms around Auri. He had much to do, yet all he wanted to do instead was curl up and cry. He was supposed to be a leader, supposed to hold his tongue and be strong for those who followed him but he couldn’t - it wasn’t in the cards.

  Eventually Stephanivien loosened his grip on the other, pulling back enough to get a good look at the man as he blinked away his own tears. His brows furrowed, frown etched upon his face as he took in the blood trickling down the back of Auri’s neck and the makeshift sling holding his arm - obviously broken and no doubt needing immediate attention - to his body. He rested his hands upon Auri’s shoulders with a gentle touch.

  “Auri, we need to get you to a chirurgeon, you’re hurt.”

[biot08]

FFXIV Character Sheet

with love given to @bluespiritfire (original here!)

Name: Zoissette Vauban / Zo

Age: High 30s

Pronouns: She/her

Birthdate: I forget, but it’s on her in-game paper doll

~~PLACE OF ORIGIN~~ Race: Ishgardian Wildwood Elezen Hometown/city: Ishgard Current residence/popular haunt: Work for the Maelstrom, so has barracks space in Limsa Lominsa. Works for Gage Acquisitions, so sometimes crashes on the couch at their HQ in the Goblet. Her parents still live in Ishgard, and so she can also couch-crash there

~~APPEARANCE~~ Eyes: Brown Hair: Black with purple highlights Hair type: Straight and thinnish Hair style: Short undercut Body type: Athletic, the wiry kind; muscles of steel cable Height: Tall Skin: Light brown Facial features: Nothing notable Body features: Shortish ears for an Elezen

Favourite/commonly used clothes: That beautiful skirt and jacket combo that Tataru made for her when she is being casual. The heavier dark jacket and sabatons that Tataru made when she has serious business knight work to do.

~~SKILLS~~ DoL/DoH Dabbles in the entire list of DoL/DoH skills for self-sustainability purposes, but has no real talent for any of it

~~COMBAT~~ Main discipline Gladiator/Paladin (she will never refer to herself as a Paladin; her training is that of an Ishgardian knight); her other main discipline is arcanist/scholar

Secondary/Tertiary/Extra Classes Red mage and machinist (in-game, she also has NIN, but that’s more because I like the class and less because it’s appropriate for the character)

Fighting style She shifts between hard-and fast and defensive/protective as a knight. She appears reckless to the inexperienced, but she very much knows what she is doing. As a scholar, she is tactical, and very wait-watch-and-see.

Any difficulties with magical/physical disciplines? Red mage is the only magical discipline she is extremely good at, because it relies heavily on her physicality (channeling with precise rapier work) and on her personal mana pool. She is awful at drawing in external aether. Her magics as a scholar also lean heavily on her ability to work with the summoned fairy construct to do the bulk of the aether work while she performs the necessary manipulations and calculations. As a result, she was merely a middling arcanist, but is a very good scholar.

~~PERSONALITY TRAITS~~ Analytical, cunning, curious. She can be impulsive, but it is not because she is not considering the consequences, but often because she is very interested in what they will actually be. She is very self-assured in general.

~~LIKES~~ Environment: A warm home with a warm fire. She does find Ul’dah’s dry environment endearing after the snowscapes of Coerthas post-calamity. She tolerates Limsa. Weather: Warm days Flavours: Nuts greens meats and fruits Textures: Cotton or wool Favourite Dish: Meat pot pies of any sort. They can be well made, and that’s great. Or the can be mediocre, but easily portable and reheatable on the front lines, and that’s also great. Favourite Colour: Purple Favourite Sound: The utter silence of the soundscape during a lull on the front of the dragonsong war provides her with strong mixed feelings that have turned nostalgic. The way snow dampens sound and makes for a particular kind of quiet night is eerie, but dragons tend to be very loud; as a result, the eerieness was overridden by the knowledge of a promise of a good night’s rest Favourite Smell: Hot meat pie straight out of the hearth Favourite Place: The little fort outpost she was ‘in charge’ of and responsible for for a great deal of her adult life. She can’t go back, but she has fond memories of the place Favourite Holiday: The new ones they’re inventing celebrating the  end of the dragonsong war and the beginning of a new promise of peace

~~DISLIKES~~ Environment: Snowy environs. She’s had enough of that for several lifetimes. Weather: Snoooooow Flavours: Gamey. You get a lot of gamey meat on the front. Textures: Weirdly, finds silk to be entirely too slippery Least Favourite Dish: Ishgardian knight hardtack. It’ll feed you, but you’ll regret it the entire time. Least Favourite Colour: White, though she has no strong opinion here Least Favourite Sound: Bells. Too many alarm bells in her life. Least Favourite Smell: No strong opinions here Least Favourite Place: Coerthas. Even though her most favourite place is there Least Favourite Holiday: Doesn’t really have one, though she ignores several; this is less dislike and more apathy

~~HOBBIES~~ Reads voraciously, both for research and as a hobby. Finds working out invigorating. Does not skip leg day. Never saw a mountain that didn’t need someone to at least attempt to scale it. Pretty fond of fucking around (and often finds out, which is also fun)

~~RELATIONSHIPS~~ Parents/Legal Guardian/Parental Figure: Mother and father. While no longer Ishgardian nobility, the Inquisition merely stripped them of house titles and colours, but did not excommunicate them. They live in the repaired parts of Ishgard now, as commoners Siblings: Second oldest of seven Children: Nope Romantic: Single, about to be complicated (for tax and guild fee purposes) Friends: Picks up acquaintances easily enough, thanks to an easy going personality and willingness to just generally roll with things. Has few truly close friends, though, due to having a tendency to keep a bit of a distance. Loyal for life once past that point, though. Rivals/Enemies: No rivals, but there are definitely people among the noble families of Ishgard who she would count as enemies. Not enough to truly go after or do anything about, but people who she is, at best, cold towards if she ever has to interact with them. She gets on well with Alphinaud, as the two complement each other, his diplomacy making up for her lack of it, and her foresight making up for his frequent naivete. She snarks with Y’shtola and the two often banter like old maids. She merely has a working relationship with Thancred, but it’s not cold; it’s just not a close friendship, either. Tataru finds her vexing. Estinien and her have a deeply shared understanding that comes from both being front line participants in the dragonsong war. Krile and her do not understand one another, and tend to settle for just being cordial. She finds Urianger likeable, and gently needles him at times, and doesn’t always realise when he’s doing it back.

Any special gestures of affection they have with people in their life? She will, without fail, ask Lennier if he’s been working out, and will swoon when he performs physical feats (squats, pushups, etcetera) nearby.

~~HAVE DEALT WITH/IS DEALING WITH~~ Definitely has some PTSD. Also, her entire family has gone from lesser nobility to commoners with a status that, until recently, left a bad mark on their name (their status as a minor house was lost when the inquisition found evidence that some members of the family, cousins in relation to Zoissette, were hertetics). She keenly feels the disruption of life in Ishgard due to the end of the dragonsong war, but does not quite know how or what to feel about it.

How are they dealing with the most prominent of the above? How does it affect their in day-to-day life, if at all? She sleeps lightly and poorly and generally pretends she doesn’t have a problem

~~ODDS AND ENDS~~ Notable Weapons Not really. Any sword is still a chunk of metal made with lethal intent

Notable Mounts An Ishgardian raised Chocobo, of course, for the most part. If she is travelling into danger, the Magitek armor, while defanged, is still a walking tank. If she has to fly somewhere, the manacutter from the Ironworks is just plain fun to fly

Notable Minion/s She has come to value Midgardsomr’s council and will travel with him as he is willing

Keepsakes/Mementos ... the Fortemps Shield.

Chronic Illnesses or Disabilities None

Education Level The same schooling most Ishgaridan noble family knights get to enjoy. She did a lot of self-study, because she found it interesting, but it was also part of a continuous bid to try to be accepted in the astrologian guild; however, due to House politics, she was never accepted. Fortunately, when she left home due to the situation after the inquisition investigation, the Limsa Lominsan arcanists were more than happy to take her on and guide her studies further. Generally her studies started with things she thought would be helpful for the war effort; history, strategy, logistics, and tactics. Since then she has dabbled in any of  dozen different subjects, learning few of them deeply, but being at least conversational in a great many of them

Habits I should probably come up with some!