#the Sharlayan and the Garlean

[astarmaux]

Draw over Barbie meme featuring Saedre Astarmaux and Arcuris Rilanox. The characters belong to myself and my boyfriend of our FFXIV OCs. Saedre, the Sharlayan Scholar and Arcuris, the Garlean Bad Boy.

Arcuris belongs to @voidtekarc!

[sirensongsea]

i originally made this for a poll over on twitter, but this deserves to be here too.

[seaseren]

Ok I said "we infected Alphinaud with the wanderlust" but he already had it. Hos grandfather infected him. His own ambitions infected him. I don't think there was ever a future for Alphinaud where he just stays in Sharlayan.

[withheartsaligned]

"ah, the newfound hero of the bozjan resistance... you really think you can take on the reaper of the IVth imperial legion?"

[charulein]

Ngl I'm actually enjoying Endwalker??? I forgot that ffxiv could be funny?????

Also Ameliance are you free after dinner

[voidsentprinces]

Reminder: A Realm Reborn wasn't particularly about us. It was about the Eorzean Factions, it was about the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and their interactions with and thwarting Gaius and the XIVth Legion. We were just a useful champion slowly growing to fame but not truly a Warrior of Light until literally the prelude to the Castrum raiding mission.

The Parting of Glass wasn't about us either. It was, once again, about the world. And how it had begun changing after Gaius's fall and the brief period of peace away from Garlemald's Shadow. About Alphinaud beginning his arc of growth with hubris and the creation the Crystal Braves and what it might of looked like IF the Scion's good nature was lent to anyone and everyone. And thus opening itself up to the very corruption Minfilia feared to move away from the Waking Sands and to the Rising Stones in the first place.

Heavensward isn't about us. It is about Alphinaud's continue growth, learning of Ishgard's past and history. Hubris, arrogance and narrow viewing lead Alphinaud to steps of the Foundation, it has lead Estinien astray and made Ysayle believe she is a messiah incarnate. And through the journey, each of them grow as they learn the terrible truth about the Dragonsong War. Estinien in particular has his eyes opened and no longer simply seeks revenge on Nidhogg but to get to the bottom of it all. So no other shepherd's son has to live as he has. Ysayle learns she is a shade and a faux Shiva not truly Hraesvelgr's beloved or even in the same category as her. She learns swallow such delusions and embrace what Saint Shiva stood for in its entirety. Which means leaning to lay the road for peace between Ishgard and the Dragons and opening a path to this by sacrificing herself for those she loved so dearly. Alphinaud learns from all of this and more and is humbled by the duty of a knight, the fervor of a dragoon, the sacrifice of a saint, and the courage of his companions and of Sharlayan's arrogance from Master Matoya. To put others before himself and allow others to support him when he falls.

The Far Edge of Fate isn't about us. It was about how Ishgard carries on after Thordan and the Heavens Ward are shown to be the monsters they are. How the remnants of the church, the knights of Ishgard, and the civilian population react to the realization with rejection. How facing off against Nidhogg possessing Estinien, the Warriors of Darkness, and the machinations of Ilberd force Eorzea and Ishgard to look inward and know truly where they should go from there. To ignore the easier road and take the higher path no matter the strife and hardship it provides them. Because when they reach the otherside they would be better for it. Finding that courage, after five years of procrastinating and hemming and hawing, the Eorzean Alliance finally begin to mobilize to free Ala Mhigo from Garlemald and perhaps take on the Empire itself.

Stormblood isn't about us. It is about Doma and Ala Mhigo fighting for the survival of their people and cultures. Facing the parts of their society that were spurned and used as tools of hatred against their principles. That provided the necessary cracks required for Garlemald to break them down and oppress them in the first place. And how reforging under those values and those long histories of violence can make a new path and come to terms to over throw the tyrants who fed on their weakened states and make a strong unity still.

A Requiem of Heroes wasn't about us, it was about the world facing down the barrel of war with Garlemald. And uncovering its origins, its founding father was an Ascian. How Varis is forced to face down the lie as Elidibus wears the skin of his son and the great grandfather he and other Garleans were taught was a walking god in all but name was a sham and a daemon bent on causing more pain and suffering than mankind ever deserved. How the effigies of hate and pain choose to use their fervor to help their people instead of turning against them once more. How every person can change and be given a second chance. How that second chance is what that person requires or if they are pushed the wrong direction, can caused tragedy to unfold. And lastly, it is about our companions, slowly. One by one. Being dragged to the unknown. The story slowly taking away the players on the stage until finally...

Shadowbringers was about us. It was about how we were instrumental to the world so much that it lost nearly all hope in another timeline. How a group of your fondest friends began and how your comrade's furthest decendents acting on the hope of your legend and stories. To provide a plan of action and lead to happier world. How even when everything seems lost and gone and your purpose seems to turned everything around you into twisted monstrosities. That you can bring the night and wait in comfort for a dawn to bring better days. And the tenacity of your aid providing a world on the brink, the love, the compassion, the understanding, the strength, and the will to stand up to a flood of destruction and spit fate in the eye. Even it costs them everything, they keep fighting until they can see a brighter tomorrow.

Death unto Dawn was about what the tomorrow brings. How it could be another fight but to find what is WORTH fighting for. The memories of those you fight and lived amongst, old studies and things of the past being made to provide the answer to the future, making right wrongs even against those you had wronged unfairly, and to gather together and keep each other safe. You are not alone out here. There are those who will help you along to a brighter future.

Endwalker was about you and yours. About how everyone reacts to an uncertain future in different manners. How some would make ready to flee at the approaching storm, while others would fight, and others might even push you further to the edge. But even when all is lost, call upon the memory of happier times to light the way with hearts aligned shining brilliantly against despair and finding your place amongst those memories.

Growing Light was about us teaching another to hear, feel, and think and experience the world seemingly gone. That everything needn't be give or take. It can be a charitable, warmer place if we make it. It can be kinder and even in the face of unrelenting and undying destruction. Hope will spit out a tooth and stand up once more.

I say all of this because, I've seen people mad that Dawntrail is leaning hard about being about Wuk Lamat and others. To which I say so what if Dawntrail is about Wuk Lamat and Koana? So what if its not about us? We've had four story lines about us. Now we must impart what we've learned to the future as they face similar and sometimes overwhelming odds. To stand tall against the onslaught and make their own choices, their own way to bring a smile to all they hold dear. How family needn't be blood related, they can just be a group who sit down at the table at the end of the day. And speak, laugh, cry, and love. Unto this trail to dawn we shall light way for the future of our world and everything this new dawn brings is worth it.

[uldahstreetrat]

Im trying to take note of real world influences in XIV for some projects going forward, like languages used in areas (French names in Ishgard, Roman terms in Garlemald) or like in aesthetics I suppose (like Radz-at-han in particular reminds me of Istanbul), and I'd like to hear others' thoughts about those kinds of influences that they've noticed

(little more context on things im working on under the cut)

right now this has a lot to do with things like stamps lmao I have in fact gotten kinda into stamp collecting now and I'd like to design some for XIV areas based on similar irl counterpart countries? like regular stamps and stuff like a sort of Garlean version of US postal war savings stamps? so having irl countries to reference for stamp styles would be helpful to like figure that stuff out

and honestly all of this is just part of making a physical copy of Q'ihnn's journal more complicated than it needs to be but never let it be said that I dont have a love of unnecessarily dense world building

plus by having a list of reference countries I can also build out other kinds of like, souvenirs? in the journal from the places visited across msq - a lot of things I see people keep in journals, especially travel ones, are stuff like wrappers or other packaging, pieces of maps, receipts (that's its own rabbit hole ive gone down), ticket stubs, and other various little paper things along with photos and drawings (which are much easier to manage in comparison)

cause a lot of this shit doesnt extensively exist within the game often beyond a mention in a stray line of dialogue or two so there's advantages to having irl cultural and historical reference to make something that feels real - plus im often off in lala fantasy land in my head because im stuck at home a lot, im not exactly well traveled, so im sure its easy for me to miss especially like language use in certain areas (I didnt even notice how French Ishgardian names were until someone else made a joke about it, it just doesnt occur to me)

like some of these influences are fairly obvious, right, like Doma and Kugane being Japanese inspired and Greek influence around Sharlayan (which the Greek/Roman dichotomy that Sharlayan and Garlemald have going on is its own whole thing I could go into btw they're so similar yet different in such interesting ways) - but places like Ul'dah?? not a clue. Ala Mhigo? no idea. The Crystarium and Eulmore in the first??? oh I'd put my head through a wall trying to thing of a real world counterpart for reference

granted now having said that someone is going to point out something obvious that I just entirely missed some way or another lmao but like that's why im asking, right? anyway if you have nerd ass thoughts too just hit me up

[unionizedwizard]

going through endwalker MSQ on my 2d character and there's something crazy going on about corvos like

-> garleans claim to be originally from corvos (that they call locus amoenus. which is a whole thing that would deserve its own 10000 words essay but anyway) before they got "kicked out" by "the corvosi" (?). to this day they still dream of "going back" and the infamous radio song/national anthem is a reference to this project (even though corvos is currently under imperial rule...?)

-> g'raha is from corvos. his tribe has been living there for centuries after the fall of the allagan empire, in order to protect the allagan ruins and artefacts from being used by a new aggressive imperialist nation (hence the allagan eye), and was sent to sharlayan as a safety measure when garlemald invaded corvos (within his lifetime)

-> according to a researcher in meryall agronomics, labyrinthos was modelled on corvos, because its unique, favorable and varied climate was deemed ideal for experimentating on different biomes and growing/creating new types of plants (also it's clearly supposed to be italy (and rome). g'raha italian-coded confirmed)

-> according to g'raha himself (and very obviously), the crystarium and its various locally-grown crops/greenhouses meant to breed and safeguard new strains of plants (necessary endeavor for survival in a post-apocalyptic world) was directly inspired from sharlayan, including labyrinthos

-> while this was, as far as i know, not directly confirmed in canon, i'm pretty sure we can assume that labyrinthos was modelled on elpis (aka the original locus amoenus) thanks to hydaelyn's intervention & her orders to the loporrits

conclusion: ???? everyone is weirdly obsessed with the mysterious and secretive fantasy italy to the point it's literally haunting the narrativeTM and a major reason for the plot to keep moving. and so i'm pretty sure we'll have a corvos-themed expansion soon enough

[eidingate]

Roevember Day 15: Pride

Excerpt from a letter to a little sister: I admit it: in the darker nights, when we huddled beneath the tiniest outcropping while rain puddled at our feet, when our days and nights were shaken by Garlean explosions just out of view, when we lived off cold meals because a campfire would have risked the attention of a passing patrol, I imagined this place. I pictured our parents gathering up the whole crew and boarding a ship, and in the dawn's light we'd open our eyes to see the shining white city of Old Sharlayan opening up to us like an oyster shell. Our grandparents would welcome fatyr back and give us a place in their grand home. They'd send us to the Studium to study history and magic and machinery, and everyone would marvel at the things we knew, the languages we spoke, the places we had seen, and every day there would be hot food and dry socks and not a soldier's uniform in sight.  They nearly turned me away at the gates. They saw the weapon on my hip and their opinion of me was calcified before I'd even opened my mouth. I recognized the word forming in their heads, the word that they are too polite to speak aloud, the same word spat at us by Garlean lips: barbarian.  An unexpected familiarity in a place I once dreamed of calling home.  It would be so trivially easy to paint them a prettier picture. I am proud to call more than one former Sharlayan family, and I know their speech and mannerisms so well that the Forum itself would mistake me for one born and raised here. I could hide my blades behind gentle smiles and meticulous manners. I have done it so many times before.  I find I have little taste for it this time. If my presence brings discomfort to their pleasant days, all the better.

[sebille]

Everytime I'm reminded of how Zenos showed up in sharlayan I'm just like

Did he waltz into limsa lominsa and no one stopped him???? Did NO ONE see the giant schyte-wielding Garlean and thought

Huh

That's .... something.

[hazelkjt]

OC Introductory Post

Hello, and thank you for stopping by my blog! I'm Hazel and this is my main character for everything FFXIV related, from raiding to rp'ing. My pronouns are he/him, I'm an early 20's college student still trying to figure out what to do with my life, but I'm getting there!

I had mentioned this before but I'll reiterate it here: this blog was originally just for my main FFXIV OC, Hazel Kha, but because trying to manage multiple blogs was pushing me away from doing anything with these character I'm consolidating this one to have all of my OCs on it rather than just one. Those old blogs will remain up to keep the content from disappearing but I will not be utilizing them anymore. I'm sorry if you followed me here exclusively for the Hazel stuff, she will still be the main focus of most of my posts here but there will be others posted up here and there.

I'm situated on Zalera (Crystal) and spend most of my time either raiding or taking GPose shots, but regardless I look forward to seeing everyone's creativity here on the Tumbles.

Anyways, onto the intro bits to them all below the Read More

Hazel Kha

Age: 24

Race: Xaela Au Ra

Height: 6'4"/193cm

Nameday: 25th Sun of the First Umbral Moon (February 22nd)

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Sexuality: Bisexual

A young hunter and warrior of the Kha tribe, Hazel is a proud daughter of the Azim Steppe who has always longed to see more, to do more. Through her mother's collection of foreign books and literature she came to daydream and wonder of the lands beyond the Steppe. Her desire for adventure high a fever pitch when coming into possession of a wandering samurai's soul crystal, and all the memories and knowledge it contained. She would hold on to the stone dearly for years, until one fateful day she had a chance encounter of a lifetime and through it found her way across the waters to Eorzea. After arriving she found herself under the employment of the Sharlayan scholar Nolanel Corbeaux, working as both research assistant and hired hand to help defend against threats. Not long after Hazel finds herself under the tutelage of Lia Amelune of Ishgard, retired Dragoon and head of her own noble house. Extremely curious and adventurous by nature, Hazel's love of the unknown is matched only by her competitiveness. Idealistic and prideful, Hazel takes to each new day with excitement and wonder in her eye.

Claire Ashe (Claire Bas Syndris)

Age: 29

Race: Garlean

Height: 6'2"/188cm

Nameday: 17th Sun of the Third Astral Moon (May 17th)

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Sexuality: Lesbian

A pureblooded Garlean who spent most of her childhood and teenage years living in Ala Mhigo under Garlean occupation. She grew up befriending many of the Ala Mhigan children there without her parents knowing. After her two closest friends were beaten to death in the streets, Claire revoked her family name and fled the city, no longer disillusioned by the Garlean propaganda she was fed her entire life. She traveled to Ul'dah and came into contact with the Lemures, where she was then trained by Drusilla as a Reaper. With her training and pact with the Voidsent Sidian, Claire aided in the revolution to liberate Ala Mhigo from Garlean control. She now works aboard the merchant ship The Enduring Deeds as a deckhand and the ship's main cook. She wears a bandana at all times to hide her third eye, paranoid over the general consensus most people have of Garleans. She puts up a cold and harsh exterior, which as of this point might not be as much of an act anymore, but underneath is a truly kind soul afraid of being hurt and hurting others just from existing.

Derrinall Evramont

Age: 33 (physically)

Race: Duskwight Elezen (also Ashkin/Undead)

Height: 6'7"/200.6cm

Nameday: 9th Sun of the First Astral Moon (January 9th)

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: Pansexual

Derrinall Evramont originally lived during the final years of Gelmorra. His family were that of knights, dedicated to serving the people, though unfortunately his life was not lost in service of this oath. Sickness claimed him a few years before the total fall of Gelmorra, his soul adrift yet still holding strong to his memory and sense of self for centuries...that is, until he was brought back to the star for reasons he did not know. When he awoke again he wandered the ruins of the crypt he was buried in, eventually stumbling upon two he would learn to be kindred spirits, in a way. The two strangers helped him to recover even as he kept his personal information close to his chest, eventually pointing him to work and housing in Ishgard. He found work under Lia Amelune, both as house servant and a member of the House's ranks of knights. Derrinall's previous experience as a knight of Gelmorra saw him quickly rise through the ranks to become Captain, a title he holds with pride and only the occasional harassment of the Lady he serves.

E'venna Zekiel

Age: 22

Race: Seeker of the Sun Miqo'te

Height: 5'4"/162cm

Nameday: 3rd Sun of the Sixth Astral Moon (November 3rd)

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Sexuality: Straight

E'venna Zekiel is the eldest daughter of five children. After her father was tempered by Ifrit and subsequently killed, she took it upon herself to help her mother care for her younger siblings, specifically her triplet younger sisters. It wasn't an easy road to get where she and her family are now, especially in a place such as Ul'dah. E'venna began her "career" in back alley fights, as she had always been scrappy in a brawl. After getting into an impromptu fight outside the Pugilist's Guild she was offered membership, and upon joining took it upon herself to partake in Coliseum matches. The shine of her golden hair is matched only by her bright smile and optimistic personality. Combined with her unorthodox and playful fighting style in matches and soon E'venna had earned her the nickname "The Dancing Coeurl" from dedicated fans of her's. Her tournament winnings are a major boon to the family, with it they are able to put the three youngest through a formal education. Her family members almost all strongly disapprove of E'venna's line of work she can't imagine herself doing anything but. She's found her place, and that's in the ring.

Exploding Goldfish

Age: 36

Race: Hellsguard Roegadyn

Height: 7'2"/218cm

Nameday: 30th Sun of the Third Umbral Moon (June 28th)

Gender: Male (He/Him)

Sexuality: AroAce

Exploding Goldfish, simply known as "Fish" by most everyone, was born to a family of miners in Uldah. Throughout his life he was surrounded by heavy machinery, sparking a lifelong love of machines and inventing. His youth was spent learning everything he could about technology. His studies eventually paid off and he scored the job of his dreams working as part of Garlond Ironworks...for a while. An accident during a project cost Fish partial vision in his left eye and his position in the company. Scarred and humiliated, he drifted for months before finally finding secure work and pay at Wolves' Den Pier. Fish spent his time maintaining the machines used in "Rival Wings" competitions, and when he wasn't working on repairs he was drowning his self-pity in alcohol. It wasn't all for nothing, however. While at Wolves' Den, Fish chanced upon meeting a scrawny Viera living under the pier; Qara Wen. It took some coaxing but eventually Fish was able to befriend him, and over time that friendship evolved into brotherhood. And so when Fish was recruited to join the merchant ship The Enduring Deeds, his one request was that Qara be welcomed aboard as well.

Perseverance "Percy" Kha

Age: 9

Race: Midlander Hyur

Height: 4'0"/122cm

Nameday: 3rd Sun of the Second Astral Moon (March 3rd)

Gender: Female (She/Her)

A certain time, and a certain place...where a certain young spark was chosen to light the way. It is in this reality that a young girl lost everything. Her family was killed, and even her memory of them were taken from her. She was rescued from the same fate as her mother and father by the Warrior of Light, Hazel Kha. With no one else left alive to raise the child Hazel became Percy's guardian, and slowly accepted her place as the child's new mother figure. Hazel has been slowly acclimating the young girl to her new life, hoping to be able to deliver the childhood she deserves. Perseverance has grown to love reading, a pastime brought about by Hazel's own love of literature. Thanks to her favorite genre being heroic fantasy and also viewing her new mother as a larger than life hero, Percy has become fascinated with the idea of being a hero herself once she grows older. She is soft spoken, quiet, and quite blunt when she does speak, but Percy does have a good heart. What the future holds for her only time will tell, but thanks to the love of her new family, Perseverance's future is shining bright.

Lanwa Carmine

Age: 19

Race: Hhetsarro Miqo’te

Height: 5'0"/152.5cm

Nameday: 2nd Sun of the Sixth Umbral Moon (December 2nd)

Gender: Female (She/Her)

Sexuality: Polyamorous Pansexual

Growing up in the lap of luxury, Lanwa had always just wanted excitement in her life. Her childhood was one of privilege and excess, but it wasn’t ever enough to satisfy her. Quite the rebellious child growing up, Lanwa joined a street gang when she was 15. There she caused a commotion for the people around, but it wasn’t quite what she felt she wanted in life. Eventually this led to her leaving the gang and taking a chance as an Air-Wheeler Racer, joining the pro circuit at only 17 summers old. Lanwa quickly became a top contender in the races, earning the nickname “The Crimson Chaser” thanks to her red bike and racing suit. Prideful, competitive, and narcissistic, Lanwa relishes in her newfound fame and fans, alongside the thrill the life-threatening races provide her. But even after finding where she wished to go in her life, there remains a slight sense of something still missing in her life…something she can’t quite explain…

[astarmaux]

If anyone can help see you through this, then let it be me. ...let it be me.

@voidtekarc

[sirensongsea]

had this guy's design appear in a dream last december and he's been collecting dust in anam ever since. no name, but he's a garlean defector who now lives in sharlayan. big ol' academia nerd.

[mist-touchedxiv]

Rating: 18+

Name: Loksen Tyr

Race: Viera | Veena

Patron Deity: Oschon

Hometown: Skatay Range | Kópavogur

Age: 75+

Height: 6'1"

Weight: 198 lb

Hair: Black with unusual natural blue streaks

Eyes: Aether blue

Gender: Male (he/him)

Orientation: Heterosexual

Marital Status: Single

Occupation: Formerly Wood-warder, slave

Currently Adventurer

Job: SAM/ARC

Favorite Color: Blue

Smoking: Yes, occasionally. Prefers using a kiseru. Blends own tobacco, typically with vanilla. The smell of smoked tobacco can help dull his already potent Vieran sense of smell if he feels overwhelmed

Drinking: Yes. Loves Vieran aquavit and Mjød, but hasn't encountered either in years. Due to spending time in Hingashi enjoys sake and often carries a flask, which he has been known to use as a weapon

Diet: Omnivore

Hobbies: Whittling, archery, drinking and eating, traveling, fishing, mahjong, reading Vieran poetry, camping

Personality: Reserved, almost aloof. Intense. Helpful. Honorable. His noble heart and wanderlust belies a quiet guilt.

Distinguishing Features: Vieran male. Lotta blue. Speaks Eorzean with a noticeable but pleasant accent akin to Finnish. Faded scars across his back and torso. Brand on the back of neck to identify him as a Garlean prisoner, usually covered by hair.

Löksen was a typical Wood-warder many years ago, until the day the Garlean empire attacked Dalmasca. During a periodic visit to his home village, hearing disturbing rumors that Garlemald had set eyes on Dalmasca. Having proven to be a great archer, the leaders urged him and a small group of other Wood-warders to make a trip to Dalmasca to convince the Viera living in the city to come home.

Ultimately, they failed. Having scarcely arrived in the foreign city, it was overrun by Garlean forces and the other men were killed in the ensuing battles and Löksen taken prisoner for several years. During his imprisonment at a Garlean labor camp, Löksen was a target of fascination and sometimes ridicule as a rare male of an already elusive people. His Wood-warder background prepared him for the harsh conditions of the camp and helped him survive. His time in the camp also introduced him to a variety of people and cultures that he never would have encountered otherwise. Imprisoned Sharlayan scholars taught him the Eorzean language, an old Hingan woman taught him the way of the samurai, a pair of Lalafell smugglers regaled him with stories of Ul'dah, among others.

Eventually, the camp was inadvertently liberated by Bahamut's rampage and during the chaos, Löksen fought and killed the Garlean officer who had served as a tormentor and overseer and took their gunblade as a trophy that he carries with him.

Now he wanders Etheirys partly as an adventurer inspired by the stories of his fellow inmates about the diverse lands they came from, but also to try to escape a sense of guilt for failing his people in Dalmasca and trying to seek solace.

RP Hooks

Hey there, mun here. I'm pretty flexible on how to start interactions. I'm completely open to discussing things or just go with the flow, provided you start of course.

I designed Loksen to essentially be a support character. He's not a WoL, he's not blessed with Echo. Honestly, my goal with him is to bring texture and enhance YOUR story. I suppose I'm more focused on being a character than a protag, I guess.

He's got his own little stories, but I'm here to make friends and try my hand at a creative outlet that I haven't done in several years.

Anyways, here's some possibilities!

Yojimbo: A wandering warrior of no small skill. Something need doing? Body? Guarded. Bounties? Hunted. Monsters? Slain. Need a courier because you can't deliver through regular services? He's got legs.

Animal-lover: He will pet the animals.

Tarzan Boy: You can take the Wood-warder out of the woods, but you can't take the warder out... of... the... Well, Loksen prefers to be out in nature when he gets the chance and he can be a bit wild. Maybe you encounter him out in the Shroud climbing amongst the trees and foraging for food.

"Where'd You Get That?!": As a samurai, Loksen carries an extremely unusual blade: the gunblade of a Primus Ordinarius of exquisite craftsmanship. Sure to draw the attention of any Garleans affiliated character. It has been modified to be suited for fighting in the manner of the legendary Hingashi warrior tradition.

About the RPer

Cishet • M • 30+ • North America Central Time Zone • Weird, but well-meaning

[sealrock]

Then vs Now: Meet the Parents Edition

jan 2022 on top vs dec 2024 on bottom

got tagged for this again, this time by @l3ylines. ty for the tag! :D

what it says on the tin: the very first incarnations of elaine (previously known as andromache) and hector vs their current forms! I had vague ideas of who they were (uptight city girl meets strange backwoods boy, bi4bi m/f until I hit the trans beam on them both a year later) and their impact to percy's story, and their lore has been changed more times than I could possibly count. up until recently, elaine's previous form's lore was somewhat consistent—ul'dahn rich girl who wanted to be an adventurer that vanished during the battle of carteneau, but hector has been through at least 7 different revisions: he was first a gridanian conjurer, a garlean soldier who went AWOL, a wildling, an amnesiac witch, a garlean again that was part of a supersolider experiment, a garlean yet again who bonded with an ascian as his reaper avatar, the human form of an ascian split in two, to what he is now: a sharlayan gleaner under possession of an ascian. at one point both were WoLs who were teleported to the First by hydaelyn after the 7UC, their memories wiped and all knowledge of percy forgotten needless to say, I love torturing hector it's almost concerning. but above all, these two were always meant to be a tragic couple like their iliad counterparts, except in reverse: elaine is always chasing after hector in order to save him, going back to their days in the world unsundered where she risked everything to go into the underworld to bring him back to life.

not tagging anyone else, so consider this an open tag :)

[myreia]

AO3 Year End Roundup 2024

Thank you for the tags, @anneapocalypse & @lilbittymonster!

Tagging: I'm not sure who has done this since I'm a little late to the party, but throwing tags the way of @thevikingwoman, @roguelioness, @galadae, @galadrieljones, @astrology-bf and @syrcus! 💕

—Words posted: 133,357

—Additional Words Written: A little over 30,704 from two long fics I started but then got distracted by other things. Hopefully I will be getting back to them this year!

—Grand total of words: 164,061

—Fandoms: FFXIV

Technically Dragon Age as well, but since these were reposts of fics from 2018/2019 I deleted a few years back, I’m not going to count them.

—Works: 10 (technically 39 but anthology publishing, y’know 😂)

—Highest Kudos: Since I posted my ffxivwrite fics as an anthology, I’ll count the next highest. Desiderium was published in August and is part of my (super belated) Wolcred week series. It’s currently sitting at 39.   

—Highest Hit One-shot: Most of my fics this year were multiparts, so this one goes to Anthesis (post-Endwalker Wolcred smut wooo). It’s currently sitting at 311.

—New Things I Tried: I wrote a bunch from different character POV’s! While I always enjoy writing from Aur’s POV, it is a lot of fun to explore different viewpoints and visit different characters’ perspectives. The whole structure of my (unfinished) wolcred week series is based on doing one fic from Thancred’s POV followed by one from Aur’s. I also touched on Alisaie, Fordola, Minfilia, Ryne, Rielle, Sidurgu, Aymeric, uh… so many. I was experimenting a lot with ffxivwrites, which was fun!

I am also being more adventurous with how I am incorporating sex scenes into my work. Apparently I did not one but two strip teases, one for Aureia and one for her Azem so. Hm. Maybe they are more alike than Aureia believes lmao. Also shout-out to Thancred’s moment of disassociation in Surrogate. I think I’m just being more adventurous in my approach to sexual situations in fic.

I am also much more grounded as a primarily longfic/multipart writer. This started last year with Divergence of the Heart, but most of my previous fanfics (especially in my Dragon Age era) were one shots or one shot collections. I’m really happy flitting about with novella-length stuff, it sits in a good place for me.

—Fic I Spent the Most Time On: Desiderium, since it had a lot of different threads to pull on. I also spent a lot of time on a post-5.3 untitled ShB fic that has some of my favourite Wolcred moments in it to date, so I’m excited to return to it once I finish the series I’m currently working on.

—Fic I Spent the Least Time On Steer took no time at all, it just came and went like that. Which I suppose is the purpose of the exercise!

—Favourite Thing I Wrote A scene in the aforementioned post-5.3 untitled ShB fic which I can’t really say much about other than I am excited to share it whenever the whole fic is ready! From the published stuff:

I love Aureia and Yda’s dynamic in Castaway and Yda being the one to break through some of her walls in ARR

Aureia and Thancred’s balance between hope and concern when they first arrive in Old Sharlayan in Desiderium

the aftermath of Aureia’s red magic experiments to slow her light sickness in The Heart’s a Withered Fortress

Aureia and Sidurgu slowly growing closer and closer together, as seen from Rielle’s POV in Stable

Sally, a Rielle character study that made my heart hurt

Stamp, a Fordola character study

—Favorite Thing I Read: Eleos [General, rated Mature, 4,018 words] by @astrology-bf. It is an absolutely fascinating look at the WoL from the perspective of a Garlean soldier, and it raises many excellent questions about the nature of war, loyalty, purpose and mercy. Marius and Ifan’s conversation is such a fascinating moment, and I’ve been thinking about it since I read it on tumblr.  

—Something I Finished: Four out seven Wolcred week fics done! Maybe I’ll finish the series before the next wolcred week comes around ahahaha.

—Miscellaneous Highlights: I think ffxivwrites was a highlight for me. Since my fanfic preferences have turned towards multiparts it was nice to challenge myself to keeping things contained. I re-learned how to write one shots and I think I went in new directions I didn’t necessarily expect if I had had time to think and structure things out!

Another highlight are the two gift fics I wrote this past year which are very precious to me. Familiar Shores (WoL x Tansui) for @thevikingwoman and Seasons Passing (WoL x Y’mhitra, WoL x Aymeric, WoL x Yugiri, and WoL x Erenville) for @lilas! I adore both their WoLs, and it was so much fun writing them and exploring their relationships.

—Writing Goals for 2025: Finish the wolcred week series before June! The next three entries are all going to be some form of multipart, but I am excited for them since they explore much more than just Aureia and Thancred’s relationship, but their relationship within the context of other relationships and friendships. I am a bit nervous about what I have cooked up for Fic #6 since it is going in A Direction that may not be very popular, but it is very true to Aureia and I am excited about it nonetheless.

Other than that, I want to return to my two unfinished longfics, and then see where things take me. I have so many ideas, and I’m really enjoying fleshing out Aureia’s series and hitting all the different moments that are important to her from ARR-ENW. And I’m sure whenever I do get around to playing Dawntrail, I’ll have more ideas to add to the list!

Aaand maybe I will publish my 100th AO3 fic this year, who knows. 😈

—Final Thoughts: 2024 was such a fun year for fan fic writing. Since I write for a living, I’ve struggled for the past several years finding a balance between time for professional writing and hobby writing, and I think I finally found that balance. FFXIV is such a fun sandbox to play in, I’ll have many stories to tell and many ideas to dig into for a while.

I think sometimes I worry about not really being able to participate in the tumblr fandom properly because I'm unsubbed for an unknown amount of time (which means I’m missing out on the newest content, gposing, and everything that’s only possible with a regular sub). The nature of an MMO kind of leaves you with the feeling that you're not present if you're not continually active in game, but I don’t think this is really true. I can still do my thing and write and make stuff and be invested in the game and my character without playing regularly. There’s more than enough story for me to chew on from the stuff I have played, and with video game fandoms I enjoy taking a step back from the game and going on to play other things while I let the story and characters sit with me.

I’ve taken up digital art recently and I have some ideas for comics when I get more experience under my belt, so that’s something to look forward to, too!