#oc: x'khal leonhart

[joiedecombat]

#37! Would your OC ever attempt to cook a romantic meal for a partner or prospective partner? How successful and/or funny would this end up being in reality?

Since you didn't specify, IN ORDER:

Raine would try. She's not a GREAT culinarian though, and she knows her limits, so what she'd probably actually do is recruit the help of either the House Fortemps staff or House Borel's steward and housekeeper, and she'd limit her personal involvement to making a dessert or after-dinner sweet. It'd be a very nice little production and the biggest risk is that some kind of emergency will pop up to drag either her or Aymeric away in the middle of it.

X'khal would not have the first idea. Any romantic meal he's involved in would be a conspiracy between Gabrielle, Lyngsath and the staff of the Bismarck. He'd be embarrassed if he realized it was supposed to be romantic, maybe don't tell him.

Meiyi's idea of a romantic meal is "I hunted and killed this boar for us to cook while we're camping, to show how well I can provide for you since you are a hopeless nerd." Which she probably did more than once in the early days of her and Aldo's partnership. He gets to return the favor and impress all the Dotharl by hunting some huge steppe creature for a feast during the meet the fam stage of Stormblood.

...I don't really want to know what a romantic meal for Asher and Astarion would look like, do you?

[joiedecombat]

I am delighted with what the graphics update has done for Raine, especially her eyes and the gloss it's given her hair.

Meiyi and X'khal are looking pretty good, too.

I am

OBSESSED

SEND ME YOUR 7.0 WoLs!!!! I WANT TO SEE THEM!!!!

If you're withholding to prevent spoilers, DM them to me, it's fine. I just want to enjoy how GREAT everyone looks. (But if they're posts, I'll reblog!!)

[joiedecombat]

What does X'khal admire most in a person? Who has he met that has those qualities/behaviours and does he aspire to be more like them?

So there's really two answers to this. There's the one X'khal would give if you asked him, and there's the real answer.

X'khal would tell you, very honestly, that he admires professionalism - the sort of person who takes their responsibilities seriously, and who when they have a job to do will get on with it and get it done without fuss, whether or not they find it unpleasant. This is the ideal he aspires to himself, and there's a number of people he's come in contact with along his travels who, in his eyes, fit the description. Merlwyb's example is what prompted him to join the Malestrom, and he gets on quite well with Lucia in Ishgard, with whom he has a mutual respect.

The real answer, the one X'khal is not really capable of acknowledging himself, is that what he actually admires most in other people is emotional strength and resilience. The capacity to cope with loss and hardship, and to remain open and giving to other people even knowing what it's like to be hurt. Pretty much everyone he meets has more emotional resilience than X'khal, but the specific example that comes to mind here is Haurchefant... so yeah.

It's not really an example X'khal aspires to, not because he doesn't want that kind of strength, but because he's fully convinced he's not capable of it.

[joiedecombat]

🤲 for Raine!

💼 for Meiyi!

💩 for X'khal!

<3

Raine: send 🤲 for a religious headcanon

Raine was raised as a worshiper of the Twelve, sort of, but her family is not a particularly devout one and growing up in Thavnair exposed her to the faith of the manusya and other local beliefs from an early age. So she was predisposed from the start to think of different religions as all kind of coexisting alongside one another, none necessarily more valid than the other.

Then she went to Eorzea!

At this point, with all she's learned about primals, Hydaelyn, and the nature of the Twelve in particular, at this point Raine thinks of gods as, really, just extraordinarily powerful people. Their power and longevity may remove them from the necessities of day-to-day life in the world and give them a very different perspective, but they're not infallible or omnipotent. She remains respectful of the faith of others, at least so far as it doesn't involve using that faith as an excuse to do harm (Ishgard), but she's not religious herself.

Meiyi: send 💼 for a work headcanon

Meiyi is sort of kind of vaguely aware of "adventurer" being considered a profession, but if she were asked directly she really doesn't think of herself as having a Job. On the steppes, your work was whatever role in which you could best support the tribe; once she set out into the world beyond the steppe and the Dotharl, her understanding of "adventuring" really amounts to "people give me money and goods for things I was going to do anyway."

It's a pretty sweet deal as far as she's concerned. And this is why Aldo handles their finances.

X'khal: send 💩 for a ridiculous headcanon

The only thing saving X'khal from a toxic hateship with Zenos is that they're both terminal bottoms.

[joiedecombat]

For the ship meme: X'khal and Estinien

Oh gosh, that's an interesting combination to contemplate.

During/before Heavensward, there's definitely no chance of them working as a couple - they're both too damaged, and X'khal at least is aware enough of how broken he is that he shies away from intimacy with anyone who might be needing emotional support from him when he knows he can barely support himself. (I mean, he shies away from intimacy anyway, but he's especially gunshy of anyone who seems to be looking to him as a pillar of strength.)

Later in the story, after Estinien has experienced some personal growth and become steadier and healthier within himself... that could work. Especially as, even though their damage is not the same, they're alike enough to understand one another in ways most people can't. Neither of them is especially burdened by an expectation of normal social interactions, which I think makes it easier for them to be around one another. And, having had his own trial by fire and come out the better after a period of healing, Estinien could provide X'khal with the support that he needs.

The main obstacle here is either one of them actually recognizing the feelings enough to make the first move. X'khal won't, and Estinien is... still Estinien. Theirs may ultimately be a case of "it could be requited if only they weren't both complete idiots about emotions." 😂

[joiedecombat]

Raine: Blue, blue, blue

X'khal: black and gunmetal

Meiyi: plum purple, metallic red

What colour or colours are your WoL's theme?

[joiedecombat]

A little question about your WoLs: if they canonically do any crafting or gathering job, which one? Are they good in it? Do they treat it more like work or a hobby?

Oho, well.

All three of my characters do at least a bit of everything, but for different reasons and with different areas of focus.

Raine likes learning things! When the opportunity to pick up a new skill presents itself, she'll rarely pass it by. For the most part she treats it all as a series of hobbies, ways to pass the time and occupy herself when she's not busy with Scion / Warrior of Light business.

Her main focus in crafting is weaving, goldsmithing, and alchemy. She already had a decent amount of skill at sewing before she came to Eorzea, and it proved handy to cultivate further. She likes being able to create pretty things - nice clothes, jewelry and ornaments. She originally picked up alchemy mostly to make custom orchestrion rolls for Artoirel, and she also uses it to make perfumes and fragrant incenses.

She's only very recently started to learn much about fishing - simply a lack of interest, for the most part. And despite what the Culinarian quests claim, she's not a very skilled cook, for the most part sticking to the most simple recipes and not inclined to experiment.

For X'khal it's always about practicality. Cultivating the ability to find food and supplies out in the field was necessary as a guerrilla soldier who could never be guaranteed ready access to markets or the money to spend in them. Being able to maintain his equipment, likewise. He's not a specialist at anything but he's a pretty good hand at smithing/armorcraft, leatherwork, and very basic cooking and alchemy - enough to cover a few reliably nourishing meals and remedies.

His only actual hobby is fishing. It's a solitary activity that requires quiet, and enough focus to keep his mind occupied, with the bonus of being a good way to feed himself in most places with access to a body of water.

As for Meiyi, she just wants to be good at everything. Much as with X'khal, some amount of survival skill was necessary growing up on the steppes; Aldo is better at most crafting skills and makes her jewelry (particularly her horn decorations), but she's no slouch with weaving or leatherwork and a pretty quick study at everything else she bothers to try to learn (which is most everything).

She still doesn't quite get trees, though. Anything involving woodcraft is still pretty new to her, trees and wood resources being quite rare on the steppe.

[joiedecombat]

What titles do Raine and X’khal use? How did they get them and why are they important to them?

There are two answers to this question - the meta answer, and the in-universe canon answer.

Meta first!

For a long time, Raine used the title of the Silver Fuller, inherited from Haurchefant after the events at the Vault. That didn't change until midway through Endwalker; since then, she's used Shepherd to the Stars. This is a title she originally earned during Shadowbringers, but which took on additional meaning for her after she traveled to Elpis.

Herein I commit the chronicle of the traveler. Shepherd to the stars in the dark. Though the world be sundered and our souls set adrift, where you walk, my dearest friend, fate shall surely follow.

These words came from Hades, spoken to and about his friend and lover, Hero, who held the seat of Azem and of whose soul Raine is a reborn fragment. The events of Endwalker gave Raine a very potent appreciation for what that meant.

As for X'khal... currently he uses The End of Ascalon, and before that, Unbeliever. Both of these titles came from his interactions with Archbishop Thordan in Heavensward - the latter from their first confrontation, and the former from their last one in which X'khal killed Thordan and the Heavens' Ward. GOOD TIMES. Needless to say, those events had an impact on X'khal he has yet to overcome.

But this is strictly meta. Raine hasn't confided in many people about her connection to Azem and everything that comes with that. She could use Haurchefant's title formally, I don't think anyone would object, but I don't think she's really comfortable with doing so - certainly not long term.

As far as titles she actually uses - or more often are simply applied to her - in her in-universe canon, there are a few. Warrior of Light, Azure Dragoon, Champion of Eorzea, Sister of Ash, sylph-friend, honorary Knight of House Fortemps, Warrior of Darkness. These are all titles she's known by, earned via her actions and accomplishments. She's not the only Azure Dragoon, of course (hi Estinien!) or even the only Warrior of Light; there are others who received Hydaelyn's blessing and earned acclaim with their own exploits around Eorzea.

If there's an epithet that's hers alone, something that will be passed down in history as associated with her name... well, there are two. In Ishgard, she's Raine of the Silver Lining. Elsewhere across the world, she's Raine of the First Light. The significance is the same for both: she's a hope bringer, the gleam of sunlight breaking through the clouds or the first rays of dawn after a long night.

(Of the Silver Lining is of course an in-game title, and one you get well before Of the Silver Fuller, but for Raine I like to imagine that it came into use as an adaptation of Haurchefant's knightly epithet once Raine declined to take it up in full.)

As for X'khal, he resists public attention enough that he hasn't really picked up anything beyond the general title of "Warrior of Light." Yet, anyway. That will no doubt change eventually; perhaps I'll revisit the subject at a later. It is worth noting that "Leonhart" is not a family name, though - he's a Seeker of the Sun, albeit with no ties to the X clan beyond the prefix. He picked it up during his time with the Bozjan resistance for his apparent lack of fear, which was honestly more a disregard for his own survival because turns out being a child soldier kind of fucks you up.

[joiedecombat]

Are either Raine or X’khal musically gifted? Can they sing / play any instruments / write songs?

Raine plays the piano and the harp, and can sing. More ladylike skills her parents saw to it she learned when she was younger. She doesn't stay in the best of practice, though, so her abilities tend to be fairly middling.

Learning that Artoirel has an interest in music has inspired her to practice with a little more regularity, and Edmont has seen to it that she has instruments at Fortemps Manor. She has no ability for composition herself, though she can and does use her alchemy skills to make orchestrion rolls of Artoirel's compositions.

X'khal... has perfect pitch, and that's all. Just enough to make it extra annoying for him when people are out of tune. He's never had the opportunity nor the inclination to learn any musical skills, and that's not likely to change unless someone sells him on the idea of it having a tactical purpose.

[joiedecombat]

Health ask meme: stress

I already answered for Raine, so this time I'll talk about X'khal!

Long story short: your boy doesn't handle stress very well. On the other hand, "not well" is relative since X'khal is pretty much a constant seething ball of anxiety and insecurity.

X'khal internalizes everything. He's almost always mentally dissecting recent events and his actions and decisions in them, anticipating what might be coming next, and worrying over how the people around him are perceiving him. It doesn't take a lot to send him into a spiral of negative thinking that will only end when he's tired enough to sleep or something else demands his attention.

That being the case, it's not easy for other people to tell when X'khal is stressed - if only because he always seems, if not stressed, then definitely not happy. He's never one who shares his thoughts and feelings easily, so it takes someone who's already learned to read his moods to tell when they've taken a darker turn than normal.

Ultimately, X'khal is a nuclear stress meltdown just waiting to happen... but so far he's managed to maintain, albeit hanging onto it by his fingernails.

[joiedecombat]

Raine: Dragoon, Red Mage, Dancer, Samurai, very reluctantly Paladin

X'khal: Gunbreaker

Meiyi: Warrior, Monk, Black Mage, Dancer, all of them because she wants to be the best at everything

(white mage is semi canon for Meiyi because she's so hilariously unsuited for it - and I am Very Bad At It - but she somehow gained the trust of a unicorn while she goes around beating things to death with her staff)

What classes do you consider canon for your WoL?

[joiedecombat]

I finally leveled my catboy Squall knockoff far enough to unlock Gunbreaker for him and I am

so happy

Anyway, meet X'khal Leonhart, very reluctant Warrior of Light. I am permanently delighted that, entirely by accident, I managed to give him a face that is almost completely incapable of looking happy--even in cutscenes where he's supposed to be smiling.

[joiedecombat]

Words of affirmation, Quality time, Physical touch, Acts of service or Receiving gifts - what are Raine and Aymerics main love languages.

Actually, same question for X’khal too.

Raine: Quality time.

Perhaps that's odd, when she's the one who's so often gone... but precisely because she's away so much of the time, she's also the one who makes sure to make time for those she treasures the most. She's the one who nudges Aymeric into taking vacations when they can manage to pry him out of the grip of his responsibilities long enough, ensuring that the two of them get time to themselves without duty getting in the way. When they can't, she makes sure to accommodate his schedule while she's in Ishgard, knowing that what free time he has is precious.

Even her habit of writing to Aymeric in her journal for him to read later on might count in a way - perhaps that's more on the line of words of affirmation, but often as not the particular words aren't really as important as the way it allows her to make him a part of her journey, sharing it with him in a way that he'd otherwise be unable to. Despite how much else may be occupying her attention, she makes sure to devote that time to him.

Aymeric: Acts of service.

No big surprise there, when he demonstrates just about every time he's on screen that service to others and to the public good motivates pretty much his whole life. It shows in his relationship with Raine as well; she's not the only reason he's invested so fully to Ishgard's contribution to the Eorzean Alliance, or even the main reason, but that doesn't mean she's not in his mind whenever it comes time to make decisions about how much Ishgard will commit to the Alliance's cause. When the Scions happen to need transportation back to the Rising Stones, he's ready and willing to provide. When they need ceruleum fuel for their latest effort, he opens Ishgard's resources to them and provides them with an airship to transport it. He personally brings Raine back to Ishgard after Ghimlyt and stays on hand until she wakes to make sure she's filled in on everything that happened (and ohhh, I have so many thoughts about that incident).

In smaller ways, too, he looks to make sure Raine has support, that she knows she doesn't have to take on everything herself, that she takes the time to consider what she wants and not just what her duty may be. There are a lot of things he can't do for her, but whenever there's opportunity, he's quick to take it.

Both of them: Touch.

[pose by Sneef]

Neither of them are very tactile people by nature, so the importance touch holds in their interactions with one another is all the more significant. Little brushes of their fingers, kisses on the hand, a caress of the cheek. Aymeric's hand at the small of Raine's back; Raine leaning on his arm, or even (in private) sitting on his lap.

To an outside observer it may not seem like much - they're certainly not given to dramatic public displays of physical affection, reserving their cuddliest behavior for when it's just the two of them - but for two people as used to restraint as they both are, it's a sign of considerable intimacy between them that they can touch one another so freely. Aymeric in particular, I think, is maybe a bit touch-starved; Ishgardian culture isn't very demonstrative, and he hasn't had all that many people in his life to show him such affection.

As for X'khal, well...

X'khal is complicated, because not only is he actively resisting forming emotional connections with other people, he has a lot of difficulty understanding and expressing his own feelings. He managed to open up to Haurchefant somewhat, but then the Vault happened so he's still not in great shape as he prepares to head into Stormblood.

So X'khal shows his caring only reluctantly and through many layers of defense mechanisms. Acts of service come automatically to him, but he's already a person who tends to do whatever's asked of him no matter how little he wants to do it; the only difference between the people he cares for and anyone else is how much more aware he is of them.

Actually no, as I write this I realize what it comes down to: X'khal's love language is worry.

And possibly also vengeance.

[joiedecombat]

Oh I like this game! AAAA so many to choose from, let's see.. 💖 + 🌦️ for both Raine and X'khal please.

💖 - in their favourite outfit(s)

For Raine it's a tough call! She has a lot of clothes for someone who leads a largely itinerant lifestyle. 😂

But here's at least one enduring favorite: a deceptively simple far eastern gown and slippers, paired with a complicated arrangement of silver rings and a hydrangea hairpin. It's elegant and feminine, but not too showy to wear casually.

For X'khal, meanwhile: his gunbreaker gear. Durable, practical, and protective. He's had to do some patching, but this remains the gear he feels the most comfortable in.

🌦️ - in their favourite kind of weather

Raine: a sunny day, clear and balmy, especially in the morning when the air still holds the dawn's freshness and everything is full of promise.

X'khal: a thunderstorm, wind and lightning. He feels at home in the violence of it, his inner turmoils temporarily reflected in the world around him. Driving rain is even better if he doesn't have to be out in it, but he doesn't care that much for getting drenched if he doesn't have to.

These were fun, even if I did have to spend a while chasing down lighting! 😂

[joiedecombat]

Gunbreaker skills photoshoot ft. X'khal Leonhart.

I was low-key worried that I'd unlock GNB and then hate it, but luckily for me it's a lot of fun! And now X'khal is level 70 before ever starting Heavensward whoops.

[joiedecombat]

Where were Raine and X’khal when the Seventh Umbral Calamity happened? Did they lose anyone and/or have specific fears born from it?

This one is easy, though unfortunately as answers go it's a little boring.

Raine was safe in Radz-at-Han, and still in something like her mid-teens. It was a frightening time - I imagine most people can't see a moon fall out of the sky and be unmoved by the experience - but they were much less impacted by it than Eorzea and the satrap managed to keep things reasonably calm.

So the Calamity didn't have a life-altering impact on Raine the way it would have if she'd grown up in or nearer to Eorzea. She had intermittent nightmares about Dalamud falling, but got over them in time.

X'khal was in Gyr Abania, a soldier with a resistance camp and also in his teens. He and everyone around him was very much on edge throughout the experience, and they had a rougher time of it than Thavnair did, but still not as bad as people in lands closer to ground zero of Dalamud's impact and Bahamut's rampage.

The Bozja Incident which preceded the Calamity affected X'khal more personally, since that was when he was orphaned. He doesn't really have a lot of clear memories of that, though, since he was quite young and it was pretty traumatic - the experience has a lot to do with his unwillingness to get attached to people.