#jophoix suinuet

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Played Jackbox games with friends where we answered the questions in-character, brought Joph and got this:

I love my friends.

[honoura]

My turn - with Hon and the duskwight siblings huhuhu

Send “My turn!” for dialogue my muse would have while in a party with yours.

Honoura Hawke and Jophoix Suinuet join your party!

“Jophoix!” - Starting line“I’m right here, yeah?” - Assisting“Sorry sorry sorry” - Being assisted“N O.” - Witnessing Jophoix KO“You had me really worried there.” - Upon Revival“Bloody glad that’s over with, you?” - Finishing line

Being the healer in the party and also a gangly sweetheart, Jophoix will have Hon on his heels for the entirety of the dungeon. Unless there’s a mechanic that demands they not overlap, she’ll keep close. Between pulls there might be idle chatter between the two; if the dungeon is somehow creepy or nerve-wracking to the young elezen, Hon will make use of several emotes like /comfort, /rally and /hug if it’s called for. Should his health get critically low, she’ll toss him a potion.

Honoura Hawke and Ojene Suinuet join your party!

“Ma’am.” - Starting line“Just doing my part.” - Assisting“Um. Thank you.” - Being assisted“Ohhhshite.” - Witnessing Ojene KO“You all right?” - Upon Revival“Better them than me.” - Witness Ojene LB“Let’s go the hells home, please.” - Finishing line

Unlike her previous dramatic velcro action with Jophoix, Hon will respectfully give Ojene the space she needs as a melee both to attack enemies and avoid aoes. There’s also less joking between the two of them compared to her and Joph. There are moments when both do reflect their personal opinions on a dungeon. Usually it’s the times they both think something is horseshit.

[jancisstuff]

The Lotus - Catching up

[dubiousduskwight]

Adventurers and Other Freaks Sign-Ups

1. The Odd Things That Happen Before Things Get Serious

Do you want antlings?! Because this is how we get antlings!

Emergency Leve Notice: An unfortunate structural flaw has led to the partial collapse of the Nanawa Mines tunnel as an Amajina steam engine and several cars worth of cargo were en route. The engine itself is currently trapped under rubble. Stone Torches and Amajina company engineers have been dispatched to ensure the tunnel is cleared and repaired to avoid interfering with delivery timetables and possibly to avoid laborer casualties, if feasible at a minimum of expense. Adventurers are requested for security duty to ensure thieving beastfolk and Lost Hope refugees don't swipe any of the cargo while the engineers complete their task.

Time: Saturday, September 8th, 7:00 PM CST

1. Anstarra Silverain

2. Cassidy Thorne 

3. Virara Wakuwa (From RPC)

4. S’imba Tia (From RPC)

5.

Will O'The Wisps

Patrols of the combined Resistance-Alliance forces have reported sightings of an aetherial and ghostlike figure in the Dimwold, "akin to ashkin" in the words of one soldier. This was treated with appropriate wonder and awe until it stabbed one Maelstrom soldier through the chest unprovoked. Commander Haelstyrmm Eynnarhmsson, one of the Maelstrom liaison's to the Alliance operations in Ala Mhigo, has requested the creature be caught or dispelled by veteran adventurers.

Time: Sunday, September 9th, 7:00 PM CST

1. Jophoix Suinuet

2. Tiergan Vashir

3. Amh Jomalah

4. Jana Ridah (From RPC)

Notes:

This story is the beginning of a potentially-long-running series of events, depending upon reception and results. Tonally, it will be pretty over-the-top and silly. Most of my plots start that way, though that tends to fall off over time as past participants can attest.

It will use the HQE dice system, a conversion of the HeroQuest tabletop RPG which can be used with in-game /random to resolve conflicts. Rules for this system can be found here: HeroQuest Eorzea

New players are welcome and encouraged. Contact me here, in-game, or through the RPC, where this sign-up sheet is cross-posted. if you would like to try the system and need help making an appropriate character sheet. You can also join the Roll Eorzea linkshell and Discord for more assistance.

[mikhasunthistle]

FLEET vs the Garleans

FLEET does an IC replaying of the MSQ, and today they were defending Castrum Oriens against the Garleans, so they needed Garleans.

G&G to the rescue! We have Garleans to spare!

I played a generic NPC Garlean, a reaper pilot.  Our initial forces snuck in to attack under the cover of the night’s darkness, and the reapers entered once the fighting had already started.

All through the town, fights were going on. It was so cool! So many little fights going on at once, then people would attack others around them. It felt like what a real battle of this kind must have felt like.

My first target, while the reaper was still able to fly, was Maelstrom private Honoura Hawke  ( @honhonoura ).  Here she is killing Garlean Albrecht Beringer.

Once the machine was shot out from under me, I had to fight on the ground.  My first target was the healer, Jophoix Suinuet (because you always take out the healer first in PVP~). But Charging Thunder ( @thungerstorm ), the big woman with the bigger axe, was having none of that.

My NPC tried to run, but she hit him from the back, and after that it was a quick (but painful) end for Mikkaus oen Sunthistleus.

A big thanks to everyone who came! 

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I’m having fun with GShade.

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Character Astrology Charts

I saw @tiergan-vashir post character astrology things, and I was immediately reminded of how I worked out a huge freaking astrology chart ages ago LIKE A NERD, but I don’t think I’ve ever shared it with Tumblr. THEREFORE--

Ojene Suinuet

Scorpio Sun | Capricorn Moon | Scorpio Rising

Jophoix Suinuet

Aries Sun | Cancer Moon | Sagittarius Rising

Full details follow! Descriptions from Cafeastrology.

Ojene Suinuet

Scorpio Sun (Who you are)

Scorpios are known for their intensity. They are determined folk that absolutely throw themselves into whatever they do -- but getting them to commit to something is rarely an easy task. In fact, it's better not to even try to "get them" to do anything. Solar Scorpios absolutely have their own mind. And, their primary motivation is unlikely to be prestige (like their Capricorn friends), or even authority (Leos can have that, too)--it's realpower. Their power can absolutely be of the "behind the scenes" variety, just as long as they have it.

To others, Scorpios seem to have plenty of willpower. They probably do. Scorpios do know what they want, and they won't go out and grab it at the wrong moment. They simply sit back, watch (quite expertly), and then get it only when the moment is just right. This apparent patience is simply their powerful skills at strategy at work.

Scorpio isn't afraid of getting their hands (their bodies, their minds) dirty. The darker side of life intrigues them, and they're always ready to investigate.

Scorpios simply never give up. They have tremendous staying power. They're not in the slightest intimidated by anybody or anything. Confrontations are not a problem. In fact, talk to any Scorpio about their lives, and you'll probably be in awe at all they've gone through. Trauma seems to follow them wherever they go. When Scorpio learns optimism, instead of expecting the worst, they'll find that they possess amazing regenerative powers -- the power to heal, create, and transform.  

Capricorn Moon  (Your Inner Self. Your base Reactions, Instincts, and Emotions.)

Being useful and productive are basic needs for Lunar Capricorns. Because they generally keep their emotions under check, Moon in Capricorn people come across as competent people.

However turbulent their emotions may be under the surface, Lunar Capricorns keep cool-headed—and they come across as steady and reliable people.

This position of the Moon suggests a desire for clear boundaries and realistic goals. Not much for taking risks in life, Lunar Capricorns look for safety and security in most everything they do. Most of them respect authority and tradition, and many are planning well ahead of the rest of us. You likely won't have to remind them to protect their interests, plan for old age, or keep fall-back money in their bank accounts. These things come naturally to them.

Calm, cool, and collected—these words sum up Moon in Capricorn natives well. Messy emotions and "leaky" souls are a bit frightening for most with this position of the Moon. Truth is, they can have plenty of mood swings and some dark emotions now and again. Lunar Capricorns are often quite hard on themselves, and would benefit from letting their guard down once in a while. They quickly garner reputations of being mountains of strength, and they easily hide their sensitivity behind a sarcastic manner.

You may have read that Moon in Capricorn natives are a bit cold and calculating. The fact is, they are unlikely to be any less emotional than the other 11 sign positions of the Moon—they simply aren't comfortable "letting go" when it comes to emotions. They keep their emotions under control. Wherever Capricorn is found in the chart, there is a desire for structure and control. Capricorn is the sign of organization and efficient management; so, when the Moon is found in the sign, the world of emotions are well-managed and handled in an efficient and practical manner.

At the heart of Lunar Capricorns is a powerful need to feel worthwhile in the real world. There's a basic need for respectability and a big attachment to the world of the senses. Lunar Capricorns put a lot of value in all things tangible and real. And, perhaps more than anything, they need to be respected by others in order to feel secure.

Scorpio Rising (How You Are to the World. Natural defenses and how you cope with day-to-day issues)

Scorpio Ascendant people have a lot of presence. There is something about them that tells the world that they are not to be pushed around. Their manner commands respect, and in some cases, fear. Scorpio rising people can be quiet or loud, but they always seem powerful and determined.

You either love or hate Scorpio rising people— they are rarely people who go through life unnoticed. In fact, some of them are confused when faced with the fact that they get such strong reactions from others. They seem to look right through people, seeing through superficiality. This can be quite intimidating to some, and intriguing to others. Scorpio rising people, in their dealings with others, look for answers by reading between the lines. Surface details are discarded when they are getting a feel for people and situations around them.

Scorpio rising people value their privacy so much, it can border on paranoia. They have a strong need to control their environment and are experts at strategy. Rarely people who will blow their chances with impatience, they plan out their moves carefully and deliberately, relying on their awesome ability to feel out others and situations.

Scorpio rising natives are drawn to down-to-earth, natural partners. Reliability in their partner is very important. They generally look for complete commitment and have little patience with flighty partners

Jophoix Suinuet

Aries Sun (Who you are)

Aries is the first sign of the zodiac, and Aries natives are the first to start—and the first to finish—whatever they set out to do. Aries is an active, energetic sign. People with Sun in Aries are direct, straightforward, and uncomplicated. They expect the same from others, and are baffled when they don’t always get it.

The body comes first with Aries. Sun in Aries people are natural athletes. At the very least, their natural inclination is to use their bodies to get things done. They’re not given to long, drawn-out emotional moments; nor are they big on planning ahead. Instead, they live their lives simply. What is happening right now is most important to Aries. Impatience is a definite vice, and innovation is a huge strength. Aries loves to start anything new, and they have trouble sitting still. They are pioneers in whatever they do, and there is a very basic quality of bravery in these people that is unmistakable! Aries generally knows what they want, and they know the quickest route to getting it. They take shortcuts if they must, but generally everything is aboveboard. Underhanded just isn’t their style. Some Aries people are bold, but even the quieter ones are brave and even plucky in their own way. Independence is their birthright. Nothing gets them going more than a fresh slate, the promise of a new day, and a brand new start.

Aries enjoys a challenge, and Aries Suns are happiest when their lives are moving forward and active. There’s a childlike quality to all Aries Sun people, and it’s often quite charming.

Cancer Moon  (Your Inner Self. Your base Reactions, Instincts, and Emotions.)

This is the most subjective position of the Moon. The Moon is “at home” in the sign of Cancer, as the Moon is the natural ruler of the sign.

Moon in Cancer natives have a large potential to be able to get in touch with the feelings and moods of others. Often, they are quite wrapped up in themselves. Their memories of the past are outstanding, especially for all things emotional. Moon in Cancer people are rarely detached——they cling to things, their home, and people they care for. They seek out security and familiarity in all they do. They look for peace and quiet. Their attachment to all that is safe means they are a little leery of change.

These peace-loving souls dislike superficiality in all of its forms. They are devoted and accommodating. The insecure ones accumulate things in an attempt to feel secure.

Because of their strong attachment to, and memory of, the past, others may complain that Moon in Cancer natives tend to whip a dead horse. They may dwell on hurts long after everyone else has moved on. When they feel they have been taken for granted (which may be often!), they don’t always confront others directly. This is when they can use roundabout ways to get your attention. In fact, these natives, when they are insecure, can become quite manipulative. They can also be victims of habit.

These people can have a hard time compartmentalizing their lives, simply because their watery Moon tends to know no boundaries. Sometimes, as a result, they may act irrationally.

One of the most delightful characteristics of Moon in Cancer people is their loony sense of humor. These people can be extraordinarily funny. Their moodiness can baffle others, but their unique outlook on life is something most people can appreciate.

When treated with tenderness and understanding, Moon in Cancer natives return the favor with warmth and protection. Give them security, and you’ll take the crabbiness out of the Crab, at least for awhile.

These people are wonderfully dependable overall, despite their occasional mood swings. Make a friend of Moon in Cancer, and you will be taken care of for life.

Sagittarius Rising (How You Are to the World. Natural defenses and how you cope with day-to-day issues)

The world is filled with adventure, new things to experience, and, most of all, hope, with this Ascendant. There is an unmistakable faith and enthusiasm with Sagittarius rising people. Grand schemes, big promises, and a willingness to explore and experiment are themes, although follow-through is not a strong characteristic of Sagittarius.

These individuals are somewhat restless and often active people. They always seem to be looking for something that is just out of grasp — and many do this their entire lives. They can be quite direct at times, yet they are likable enough to forgive for their faux-pas. Most have a lot to say and offer. Their insights and opinions are usually interesting and exciting, although sometimes lacking in details.

Sagittarius rising people have opinions about everything, and they just love telling others exactly what they are. Not all people with this position are outgoing folk, but they all have a way of moving about that at least exudes a certain level of confidence. Some might even call them naive or overly optimistic. Even the quiet ones don’t shrink from life and from experience.

One of the most obvious and endearing traits of Sagittarius rising is their willingness to keep up a sense of humor. Even when they’re feeling low, they manage to find humor in life and have fun with whatever they do have. The placement of Sagittarius’ ruling planet, Jupiter, will give more clues to how they go about expressing themselves. Jupiter in Capricorn, for example, might give a more sarcastic approach, but underneath there lies an unmistakable hope and spirit for living.

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FFXIV Write 2018: #5 - Show of Hands

Time: Almost two weeks after the end of 4.0 MSQ Place: Ala Mhigo

The soldiers may have laid down their arms and cast themselves into gleeful libations to celebrate their newfound rest, but the medic’s work was never done. It was away from the hard labor in the spans of tents erected for that very purpose that Jophoix snatched a brief repose. Up a tower he slunk, passing a few raucous Highlanders who pranced down the stairs with a spring to their step he hadn’t felt in moons, until he emerged yalms above on the battlement tops overlooking the great expanse that was the Lochs.

He shoved his hands into his pockets as he went, the evening breeze trussing through the tangled locks of jet-black hair that drizzled across his ears, no destination in mind but a single oasis of solitude to catch his breath.

Ala Mhigo was so expansive this hardly seemed a challenging feat. And the Maelstrom soldiers who knew who he was, the ones he’d struggled alongside at the heart of the war, were more than occupied as they prepared themselves for the voyage home across the sparkling sea where they belonged. Too preoccupied to find their ways up here- or so Jophoix had otherwise thought.

But there she was, on the opposite side of the wall. She wasn’t in her Maelstrom reds. In fact, she barely cut an imposing figure at all, sitting there in her white undershirt and half a uniform. Her head was turned toward the horizon, one arm dangled over an upraised knee, and her back against a rise of stone. His sister, in this wholly unlikely place, away from the people with whom she served.

Jophoix stopped short. The desire for solitude danced a struggle in his head, but in the end the ache for contact won out.

She didn’t react as he approached, but he suspected she knew his presence long before he became aware of hers. That was after all how things usually went.

He stopped but a few fulms away, and at last Ojene looked up.

“I wasn’t looking for you,” he blurted- and as she quirked an angular brow he hastily burrowed further into the sentence. “I was- er- I really wasn’t! I was just- nice night for a walk- how are you doing up here anyway?”

A peculiar sort of look flattened in her face, and Joph’s stomach clenched. But before he could plunge his foot deeper down his throat, she scooted to the side- making room. She patted the stone.

Frozen there for a full half-second, at last he caught up to this turn of events and he scrambled forward to claim the spot. He dropped to her side with a sharp puff of breath- but she’d already turned her head to stare across the Lochs once more.

“Er-” He could already feel the heat trickling through his cheeks. “What are you doing up here?” he repeated- but phrased a little more coherently.

She didn’t respond, but despite the fact they’d had such sparse contact outside of the last couple years- and even then, it was briefer than he’d like!- he knew to clamp his mouth shut and wait. She had a way of filling the space once it was laid, but only on her own time. In her own way. And so it was a full few seconds later that she finally looked back and met his eye.

“I could ask the same of you,” she said. “Not looking for me, I presume?”

“I swear, I simply- it seemed a nice night for a walk! I wanted a walk. I didn’t expect to find you. Er…” One hand flitted to the back of his neck. “You’re not down with the rest… getting ready to go?”

“No.” She shifted her legs, pulling them crossed before her, her hands poised on her ankles. “I’ve already done everything I need to do.”

There was something about the way she said it that rivuleted goosebumps down his arms. “Er, you don’t- mean to stay, do you?”

“What?” Abruptly she swiveled his way, upper body twisting to face him in full. A quizzical smile jaunted across her face- and she burst into a loud bark of laughter that rocketed off the stony walls. “Gods, no. I have absolutely no intention or desire to stay. What- do you?”

He hesitated- and abruptly all Ojene’s jocularity slipped away, replaced by a discerning frown. “Joph,” she said lowly.

“Look, I just-” his hands flopped forward, “it’s not a plan, just a thought. This place needs a lot of help. You’ve said it yourself. And if I stuck around, I could do a lot of good. A lot more good than I’ve already done.”

She pinched the bridge of her nose between thumb and forefinger, and she swung toward the battlements, opposite shoulder thunking against the wall behind them as she faced away, bathed by the panorama of Gyr Abania beyond.

Again, though an unpleasantness itched through the pit of his gut and his fingers twirled madly above his lap, Joph clamped his jaw shut and allowed the space.

“...We are very different people, you and I,” she said at last. “But no matter how unalike I think we are, in some ways we are very much the same.” With a resigned laugh, she cast a palm towards the heavens before her hand dropped limp to her leg. “We care.”

“Er-” the anxious gyrations of his hands stopped short, only to resume a second later. “Well… of course we do. Who wouldn’t?”

“More than you’d think. But it’s not enough for us to simply care about something, is it? We see something… and then we have to do something. There is no standing at the sides. No matter what, we have to act.”

A twitch sprung through his shoulders, jerking them toward his ears. “Well, yes- isn’t that what you told me to do?” Over her shoulder she glanced at him, and he jabbed a finger her way. “You said that silence wouldn’t save you. Or us. Or anyone! The Garleans wouldn’t care who we were. They’d run us over all the same, so what choice did we have except to fight?”

“Yes, well-” Ojene kneaded knuckles into her temple. “Though I still question the choices you made after that conversation of ours I am… proud of the man you’ve become.”

Oh. He seized in place, all fidgeting arresting on the dot. There was no hiding the way his cheeks burned with a brilliant fury, a heat that spread to the tips of his ears. “You-” he squeaked. “You are?”

“Of course.” And she cut a gentle smile. “Not many people would have done what you’ve done. And you’re right. You did do a lot of good.”

“So-” he perked up. “You’re saying that I should do it? I should stay?”

“I’m not saying that.” She propped an elbow into the crenellation behind her head and leaned hard into her hand. Somehow the solemnity she regarded him with threw more unease into his gut than a frown. “Fuck, Joph, I can’t tell you what to do. I can only tell you how I feel, and how long I’ve longed to quit from this place.”

“You…” his eyelids fluttered. “What, really?”

“Of course I have. Ever since I came. I never wanted this sort of life. But I’d laid down roots in another land and then abruptly had them ripped away. Whereas you- you’re young. Far younger than I when I first arrived. Even so,” she breathed, “this is not the sort of commitment you make lightly.”

“I’m not taking it lightly.”

“Well…” Her chest heaved with a hefty breath, one that chuffed sharply from her nose. “Well, good.”

Into another silence they lapsed, this one weightier than the last. At first Joph bound his hands anxiously together with the desire to fill it, but in time the pressure waned. And after a long struggle of deliberation, he scooted closer to her side until together their shoulders brushed. She glanced back, but only briefly, and a slight smile softened the lines of her face. Maybe his sister and he would never be on even terms, what with their three decades of years apart- but perhaps, he suspected, this was a decent start.

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♡ ♡ One for each Suinuet.

Being comfortable with anger and conflict with the people you care about goes a long way with Ojene. As much as part of her enjoys having power over people, in her personal relationships she craves equality. She’s also going to fight you. Inevitably. But once the conflict finds resolution, she’s more than happy to let it go. Under normal circumstances, she’s unlikely to hold a grudge. 

Being on the same page as her on those topics is significant to her. It helps her relax- because she knows she can be more fully herself.

Jophoix on the other hand prefers a less… fiery mode of conflict resolution. He likes a person who can have a genuine heart to heart about what’s bothering them. Preferably without raising their voice. Though if he gets to the shouting point and someone else shouts back- that’s all right. As long as it can be talked out afterward, he can accept it.

Because unlike Ojene, if not- he will hold on to a grudge like no one’s business.

(And this is all Reason #4354 why the siblings have trouble getting along)

@honhonoura

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Liberty or Death - #1

(Previously: here)

Ojene’s scrawl was crisp, neat, and it burned a hole in Jophoix’s skin the moment he’d assimilated the words.

Like a fresh new scar squeezed between his thumbs, it throbbed as his sister drew the water for the tea kettle. A keening pain that dredged deep into his gut as he rounded the little partition in her kitchen to help with the tray, persisting as they sat on the red couches clustered around the sitting table, saucers clutched tightly in hand. It threatened to scald his fingers, but he cupped the bottom of the flower-patterned porcelain, and a few jittery thoughts fixated on the tongues of steam that effervesced up to his nose. Blood currant. The smell of home.

At least, the home he’d left two years ago.

It wasn’t like his sister to avoid his eyes, but avoid them Ojene did as she pushed the plate of biscuits his way.

It was just as unusual for Jophoix to leave them be. On a normal day he would have stuffed the crisp little wafers into his mouth with the gusto one might expect of a starving man- but right now the plate, stacked with two neat circles of Limsan confectionery, held no interest. And so it sat alone. Abandoned. Jophoix hunched over his tea.

“Um-” he attempted.

But Ojene abruptly cut him off. “I’m glad you came.” She trailed one thumb against the curve of her belly, taut beneath the breathy flow of her robe. How many moons had it been? Seven? Eight? It was eight, wasn’t it, and he’d had plans for the scant few weeks she had to go until this strange new child of hers burst into the world. Plans- the sort that died in the back of his throat, for now he knew naught of what was to come.

Ojene’s thumb glided over the blue flower spotted against the side of her pale white teacup. “I imagine you have something to say.”

“Why,” Joph whispered. “Why are they sending you? You could stay home… couldn’t you?”

“I could,” she said just as softly. “But I volunteered to go.”

“I-” His fingers wrapped tight around the circumference of his cup, and his heart fluttered like the irregular flap of a butterfly dashed away in the wind. “...I don’t understand.”

“Jophoix.” At last, Ojene looked up. Her eyes were serious, but somehow that intense light they normally cast was tempered into something else. Something pained. “I know I haven’t been… completely honest with you in the past. You’ve rankled about that. And I’m sorry. I wish I had something grand to tell you. But I could have spoken of it, years ago, and I never did.” A tight breath hisses between her teeth. “I got so used to never telling anyone anything. It was for their safety, at first. My safety, too. Now, though… now everything’s changing. Because I’m going back.”

To Gyr Abania. Deeper into his skin, Ojene’s letter burned.

“I knew you were there,” Joph blurted. “I was told that much.”

“Yes,” Ojene said faintly. Her posture drew together with the stiff-backed solemnity of a statue on a wall, one hand fully propped over her stomach. “I was there at the Fall.” At his blank stare, she frowned. “The Fall of Ala Mhigo.”

Like a hand abruptly squeezed around his windpipe, Jophoix let out a strangled squeak. He shot up, just as straight as she, tea sloshing dangerously close to the gold-capped rim. “The fall? Of there? You?”

“Yes. And I stayed there, for a good long while.” Her thumb and forefinger flitted to the bridge of her nose. “I should… let me start from the beginning.”

And to Joph’s amazement, she talked. A story, drawn out of her like a string unraveling from its spindle, spreading out onto the open floor. He didn’t dare say a word. Nay, he barely breathed. For before him bequeathed a gift he never thought possible, one he didn’t dare interrupt- the long explanation of truth.

It was a tale of war, of suffering. Of separation. Fear. Futility. Ojene stared off into the shine of her polished marble floor, the faint lines etched into her face flickering now and again. A deepening tapestry that, Jophoix felt if he could only read it would have told him much. Her feelings, her memories laid on display in a way her words would never tell. But it was a language he didn’t know, the little spurts of an emotional reality he barely new. Even so- the longer she went, the more the wound her letter ripped began to change. It hewed a cavity in his chest that thrummed with a hollow ache, drawing a hint of moisture to the corners of his eyes.

Empathy, it was. For all the things he never knew.

Over thirty years sat between his sister and he. Thirty years, but he’d never known enough to understand- not where she’d been. What she believed. Nor who she was.

And so, when she was done, Joph rolled his teacup between his hands, the amber-red liquid untouched. Long cold. He unglued his tongue from the roof of his mouth.

“Yes… all right.” And he scruffed a hand through his disheveled black hair. “How long will you stay?”

Ojene’s face was taut, lined with exhaustion- as if the force of telling had ripped all the energy from her heart. “Don’t know. The plan is a mere three weeks, and then I’ll go back to the Shroud. Lest this child end up born in a warzone.”

“I see,” Joph murmured. But- after a pause, he perked. “That means I can still be there!”

And his sister cracked a smile.

Yes, Jophoix didn’t know a whole lot of things. All his fancy schooling aside, he’d faced so little of the world. But he could be there for this. It was a halting thing, leaden with the twitch that bent his fingers into a reticent curl- but slowly, jerkingly, he reached for her hand.

When Ojene took it, he didn’t know what to say.

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FFXIV Writing Challenge: Entry #15 - Doppelganger

You look-”

Just like her, I know, Jophoix wanted to say, but he pressed his smile and grit his teeth. If only he’d realized he’d be seen on the beach he would have found another place to go. But it was too late, he’d been waylaid, the redclad soldier that stopped him eager to talk. At least, about this. The eyes fixed on him were cautious, laden with their impressions of someone else.

“Is she… your…”

“Sister,” he cut in. “Yes.”

“Really?”

And he did not like the curious light that lit up in the soldier’s eye. But in truth, there was nothing he could do.

However they saw her, he would be judged. Whatever they imagined, in him they would see. He had no control, no veritable say, so as usual he waited for the moment to pass.

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Joph B6 and/or Ojene B3

This just in: Local nerd boy has no idea why he keeps getting hit on by random people, because he doesn’t understand what a fucking adorable nerd he is.

Shark mom will still eat your face though.

@lyndztanica

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FFXIV Writing Challenge: Entry #5 - Prank

The first thing Ceolwynn saw when she opened the door was a lot of rope and way too much skin.

There was a screech, a flurry, an arm thrown across her face- and a hastily babbled no, no, no, wait!

It was only in the furthest reaches of the threshold, with her eyes buried as securely into her sleeve as she could possibly muster, that Ceolwynn paused. It took a moment to find the words.

“What?” she snapped, a strangled groan.

“Okay first off,” Jophoix said brightly, “it’s not what you think.”

In every passing second she could hear the damn twine creak.

“Oh, really,” she intoned.

“Secondly-” was he really continuing? “I really need some help.”

A sudden heat spread up her neck and into her cheeks, and in her head a few functions utterly ceased, poofing into paralyzed confusion.

“You’re naked.”

“I’m not naked!” he spluttered. Indignant! As if she even had the gall! “I’m shirtless! There’s a palpable difference. C’mon, you don’t have to help, just… get Joha or something. And fast, because I’d really like down from here.”

With an abrupt clear of her throat, Ceolwynn flung her arm from her face, tugging the hem of her tunic down with swift flick of her wrist, straightening herself as if preparing for the ball. “No, no- I can help.”

Still… she couldn’t quite bring herself to look his way. As she crept into the dormitory room, she did her best to take full account of the situation, but the best she could do was peer out of the edges of her periphery, as if she was trying to pull together the pieces of a shredded map without truly seeing the whole.

“Why are you even asking for Joha?” she muttered. “Wouldn’t she have been involved in… in….”

“No,” he growled, the exasperation of the long-suffering. “No, this was… supposed to be a prank.”

It was only then that Ceolwynn dared to look.

He was right- he wasn’t naked. Still dressed in baggy sleep pants. Ceolwynn wasn’t sure if that was a disappointment or not, but even so it was a small relief. And the rope, which in her first panicked glimpses had seemed the sorts of trusses she’d only witnessed in some of her elder sister’s more questionable books, was now all too obviously a tangled mess in which he was trapped, arms pinned at awkward jaunty angles, the end tied far too securely to the metal sconce protruding from the ceiling.

She gawked.

“How in the bloody world did you manage this?”

Joph managed a sheepish grin. “Well, uh, you see- I was trying to find the next suitable prank and I came across this most wondrous book of traps and snares. And I thought for sure I understood this one, I did! And the first time I set it up it worked just fine, but-”

Her hand flew to her temple. “You’ve been doing what?”

“Okay, okay- in my defense, this is all Raufant’s fault.”

She gave him a look.

“No, really, it all started when he put a spider in my bed, and-”

For a man trussed up by his own accidental design, he sure did talk fast. Though perhaps that was a product of circumstance- the faster he told the story, the faster she’d let him down, no? And as he talked she scanned the ropes, probing for some manner of approach, only halfway listening to his rushing words. A spider, his roommate, a bucket- strewn papers? Ruined clothing? Fruit peels? Glitter? An escalating war to which there was no end, the devious machinations which led at last to here.

When at last he was done, Ceolwynn simply smiled. “That sounds like a problem.”

“Yes, well, it was all in great fun, but-”

It wasn’t a nice smile. “Maybe you should learn a lesson.”

A beat of silence passed between them.

“Ceolwynn-”

“I could just leave.”

“Ceolwynn-”

“Maybe then you’d learn.”

“Ceolwynn!”

“It’d be really easy.”

The rope creaked. Through panic-wide eyes, Jophoix stared.

“What do you want?” he blurted.

“Bribery? Why, Jophoix, I’m surprised in-”

“No, seriously, what do you want? I can’t stay up here forever! Or even another minute! I need- I need-”

Against his bonds he began to thrash- and a flutter of apprehension danced in Ceolwynn’s heart. The strain in his neck, the curl of his fingers, the tell-tale signs that this was going to hurt. She flung out a hand, just barely to his wrist, and at once he stilled.

“Nothing, nothing. I’ll get you down.”

There was some things you never spoke about, and this story, Ceolwynn reflected, was one of them. It was probably better that way.

[ @tres-tchotchke-chic for mention]

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FFXIV Writing Challenge - Entry #12: Caste

“Don’t take advice from Raufant,” Ceolwynn clipped. “He always acts like he’s above everything when he’s really not.”

A clinging quiet encased them within its halls, a softness to accompany the feathered snowflakes that plopped wetly onto every ilm of unwisely exposed skin. Jophoix was used to snow. Maybe not this cold, which even now struck deep to permeate his bones, but here in Ishgard everything was a little different. For as the sky melted into a blanket of white-grey clouds, it tossed the stony world around him into a stark greyish monochrome.

Against it, Ceolwynn with her thick green cloak stood out as they walked slowly up the massive curve of a stone-cut bridge. The puff of her breath blew back into her ruddy cheeks.

There were many questions he could choose to ask after the thought she had just expressed. But, as he shoved his hands deeper into the warm refuge of his pockets, he rolled his lips over his teeth and chose, “How do you follow?”

“He is from no noble house. He’ll go galavanting after his master’s footsteps and paint the portraits of the well-to-do. He has the room to act like he doesn’t care about politics, because he won’t be mired in it all. But no matter what he says he still has to care. He’ll want a House to sponsor him if he can find it, and to gain that he’ll need to keep some modicum of social grace.”

“Are pranks included in that, d’you think?”

Over her shoulder, Ceolwynn shot a murderous glare. And she kept it, second by second, until at last Jophoix averted his eyes to his feet.

“What I’m trying to say,” she said calmly, “is that if you want success in Ishgard, you have to care about the affairs of nobles. That’s simply how it is.”

Joph grunted. “That sounds utterly exhausting.”

“It is. From time to time. But it can be fun, too. Think of it… like one of your pranks, I suppose. You’re trying to catch someone by surprise, are you not? Get the better of them?”

“I suppose…”

“Well, it’s very much the same. Just, instead of asinine jokes at someone’s expense, you’re maneuvering your way to fame and fortune.”

With a laugh, Joph shook his head- from his hair shivered the crest of white that had slowly settled atop the strands. “Sometimes, Ceolwynn, I don’t understand you at all.”

“Yes. And that’s why if you played the game with me, I’d win.”

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Things I did not expect from running my alts through the halloween event: turning Joph into Teen Wolf.

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B1 or B4 for Joph! BREAK MUH HEART OJ.

JUST REMEMBER YOU ASKED FOR THIS.

@tiergan-vashir