#there was some g'raha stuff

[neriyon]

Con done, now train ride home, some food and then I can go do more msq~ Not much con loot this time, just a few stickers, pins and couple of drinks.

All in all nice con! Covention center was veeery spacious and for the first time people stopping to greet friends didn't block like entire corridor or something. Also relatively cool temps, I was only dying of heat when I had my (plastic) mask on.

AMV contest was with weird rules (limited songs to choose so there were soooo many with the same finnish meme song) and in way too small room, and handfan workshop had literal hours of queues, but those are pretty much only thing I can complaim about. 4/5, would go again (and probably will, next year)

[nights-at-crystarium]

A doodle from last year I never posted before.

[wildstar25]

MiqoMarch Day 28 - Adventure

O, what great adventure awaits beyond that horizon?

[saffyink]

"We asked 100 WoLs... Name something the WoL wouldn't eat."

WoL's diehard fans, tonight on (Final) Fantasy Feud!

[alackofghosts]

shhhh

[karoiseka]

A secret rendezvous. <3

[snow-system-wol]

Finally, it's over.

S'ria insists on G'raha getting medical care after they leave Amaurot, even if he has to do it himself. (Lyna is very much in agreement.)

Ao3

S'ria's heart had been pounding since the moment the Exarch (G'raha? He could call him that now, if he wanted) had approached after the battle. Even as G'raha responded to his name with a bit of cathartic crying, S'ria wasn't really focusing as well as he'd like on the conversation. As glad as he was to simply see everyone had survived ... There was a lot else to be focusing on.

Firstly, the last echo of Ardbert's presence, proud and satisfied, before he was no longer a distinct person. Secondly, gods, everything hurt. Nearly turning into a lightwarden and still needing to fight afterwards will do that to a body. Thirdly – G'raha. What had happened there?

Though S'ria felt sympathy over Emet-Selch's last words, it had not yet slipped his mind that he was very capable of cruelty. While they all were quite low on energy, it was a relief to watch G'raha be healed enough that he would at least not drown in The Tempest. In all honesty, he was barely in the worst three for handling the swim, in the end.

He wanted to be angry, to verbally tear this man apart for trying to sacrifice himself for S'ria's sake (never again, not a second time) – but he couldn't. Not right now.

S'ria could not help but file away every visual bit of information in an involuntary log. The cuts and bruising on his face, the blood at the corner of his mouth, the heavily torn patches of fabric, the wheezy catch of air in his throat, the obvious way his legs were not really supporting his weight. It made him feel uncomfortable to dwell on, and yet, it was difficult not to.

It was a blessing, the slightly distant reverence that the people of the Crystarium still regarded their Exarch with. The swarming and bone-crushing hugs that they'd had to gently protest against with the people of Eulmore were not a problem here. The one exception was Lyna, pulling the Exarch into a hug once they were within the tower. It was not lost on S'ria or Lyna just how badly he froze in response, not quite stifling a pained hiss.

He categorically refused to be seen receiving medical treatment, despite complaints that surely he would not be judged. Lyna's jaw clenched. S'ria got the sense that if he was in any less wretched of a state, she'd probably start trying to lecture sense into him. It was very valid. Both of them were well in agreement over not wanting the Exarch to die out of stubbornness – though this seemed to not be so dire at least.

Instead, she left S'ria to accompany the Exarch the rest of the way to his private quarters, promising to meet them there with whatever curatives she could find. ("Yes, for the last time, I won't say they're for you.")

It was bizarre, for S'ria, to know how to do things that he simply did not know. At least he understood why now – but that didn't make it feel less strange to start faintly dulling G'raha's pain with a weakly channeled spell.

He didn't much like the way it made him feel dissociated, trying to directly share his body with Menphina and let her do her work, but it was worth it at times. (And got a little easier every time.) S'ria was not sure how their tenuous grasp of healing magic worked, he wasn't even sure if Menphina truly understood herself, but her assistance was appreciated.

It was probably barely helpful, just something to do while they waited for Lyna. Even still, it made G'raha look at him in awe. S'ria wanted to ask why, given that the Exarch had all but raised him from the dead in battle before and this was barely a parlour trick in comparison. He decided just to blame the reaction on adrenaline and pain delirium.

Among the medicines left with them, there were salves that would help with surface level injuries better than a consumable medication. S'ria (S'ria-Menphina? It was truly disorientingly unclear at this point, that was very helpful, wasn't it?) asked if he'd like assistance with any such wounds, should he be comfortable with it. G'raha tensed, shoulders coming up protectively, and S'ria's heart was once again pounding just as much as it'd been in the ruins of Amaurot.

S'ria had been worried that his odd metabolism with the tower would be a problem, but the potions Lyna brought back seemed to work wonders. What a relief. The tension left Lyna's shoulders as G'raha finally began to breathe like a man whose ribs were not possibly broken.

After a while, she very begrudgingly left to make sure all was well elsewhere – with strict instructions to come get her if anything happened. Given that the Exarch no longer looked as though he may keel over, S'ria hoped nothing would come of that.

Inexplicably, G'raha had still said yes. S'ria turned away to give him some privacy. When he was allowed to look again, G'raha had removed the robe itself, but re-tied the outer drapings loosely at his waist, remaining more-or-less still half clothed. He sat on the edge of his bed, back mostly turned to S'ria.

It wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't great. It was mostly just mottled patches of bruises and scrapes that were the problem, aside from the gunshot wound that did not seem healed all the way to the surface.

(Gods, S'ria hoped it had been a clean shot through, he certainly wasn't about to surgically remove a bullet. The point was to heal him, not to hurt him worse.)

G'raha was anything but relaxed, even as S'ria did his best to touch gently, but it seemed to be helping. The muscles in his back were no longer quite so locked in place with discomfort. Good. The Exarch may have thought he could simply stubbornly push through any pain, but these things tended to heal slower when you couldn't even untense. There was not so much to be done for what remained of the bullet wound, aside from hoping any pain was dulled.

S'ria sat back and asked, as nonchalantly as possible, whether there were any other injuries he may need care for. G'raha flinched at the question and S'ria put the salve down next to him before it could slip from suddenly numb fingers. The was a strange ringing in his ears, he felt nauseous, his tongue felt like lead – but he had to ask, didn't he? (He would prefer not to.) His words came out far rougher than he would've liked.

"He didn't. He–", S'ria swallowed, throat feeling very dry. "Please tell me he didn't."

S'ria could tell the exact moment G'raha understood the question, because he quickly turned around to face him.

"No, no, gods no. Nothing like that, I swear it." He looked horrified, as if the possibility had never occurred to him, and S'ria immediately regretted bringing it up. G'raha paused, looking more shy than fearful, now that S'ria paid closer attention. "I am just quite capable of treating any other scrapes myself, as opposed to removing more of my clothing, that was all."

S'ria wasn't sure whether he felt more embarrassed or more angry at himself. Of course G'raha merely didn't necessarily want to strip down and make things weird. Of course it hadn't been anything like that. The Ascian wouldn't have gone that far and normal people would not have even thought about that –

S'ria nearly jumped out of his skin when G'raha placed his hand over S'ria's clenched fist. S'ria felt self conscious about how obvious his thoughts may have just been.

Once they began to talk, to reminisce in earnest, it was difficult to stop. They ended up speaking late into the night, hopefully the first of many more nights that this Shard would see.

"While I am quite alright, I do appreciate the concern. You are welcome to keep me company a while longer, if you do not require rest yet yourself."

It was nice, to actually catch up. Even if S'ria had known his identity for a while now, it was a relief to finally openly talk to each other. S'ria had not yet forgotten the need to insist he never pull a stunt like this again, especially not for him, but that could continue to wait until a later date.

[galpalaven]

If you asked him, G'raha would probably say that he's the luckiest man alive... and he's okay with that, even if it's selfish.

[crystal-verse]

this was supposed to be fancier but i got tired while drawing it

[bi-disastersoup]

Hey, so... this is Ar'lihn. I've never talked about him here before I don't think... He's half Miqo'te, half Au Ra.

And I think I'm shipping him with Lyna? Maybe?

[astrxealis]

sometimes i think about g'raha tia's little speeches where he goes on about how much he wants to go on an adventure with you and take to the skies upon the eternal wind and i fall in love with him over and over again

[astraveil]

welp, I've officially lost it.

I'm writing fanfic, making fanart, I've made a whole-ass playlist???

THEY'VE BECOME MY INSPIRATION

[nights-at-crystarium]

Hey I don’t know if it reaches the target people and I certainly don’t intend to sound intimidating, but I’d ask every other WoL haver to never use my work to insert your WoL in Vivi’s place. I don’t mean physically editing my work, that’s obviously a no-no, but even seeing my wolgraha tagged as “him & my WoL” rubs me the wrong way. I work hard to bring my WoL to life and I’d appreciate if people didn’t erase his presence from my ship art, thank you.

[wtf-amiru]

WIP Tag Game

Make a new post and post your latest line from your WIP & tag as many people as there are words.

I also do not have a WIP, haven't written in a hot minute and the last one i worked on was a full ass paragraph of a run on sentence so i hit the rest of my wips (i never finish them \o/) for one that at least had a coherent last sentence lmao

{A'miru lifts her head to scowl indignantly at G'raha, "No one said you could stop purring cat boy," she smiles, "least of all to dunk on my seating habits."}

I AM NOT TAGGING 30 PEOPLE I'M SO SORRY FLOR AND AMON, IT'S JUST NOT HAPPENING

[hallowed-nebulae]

Oh wow okay I was NOT expecting how many notes that dumb meme would get

Uhhh anyways if you're here from that FFXIV g'raha tia syndrome meme I made just know, I'm consuming FFXIV as fast as I can bc I wanna be able to make art and dip my toes in the fandom and stuff, so it'll prolly be a hot minute before I make any serious content. Due to having free trial I've been watching a let's play to get caught up on story stuff; currently I just finished Heavensward so it might be a hot minute till I finish the series

Also I'm chronically ill and disabled so like, be patient with me I do not always have spoons

[neriyon]

30 WoL Think Thonkers (part 1)

From this prompt list! I'm planning on answering all of these, and to start with here are the first 6 questions (from the "Warm up" category). It got pretty long right from the first question, so hiding it under read more~

I. Where is your Warrior of Light from? What was their home like growing up and what set them out on their journey?

Hawu'li is from The Black Shroud - more specifically from around South Shroud. Somewhere relatively close to the Buscarron's place (he used to hang out around his tavern as a kid), but outside the playable map area. His home was just some small clearing in the woods, with a few simple small houses, some sheds and tons of kids running around.

Hawu'li's immediate family consisted of his mother, Hawu (the matriarch of the family), her two younger sisters (Khona & Masha), and all their collective kids/grandkids: Hawu'li's siblings (2 brothers, 7 sisters), his cousins (Khona's and Masha's kids) and a couple of toddlers from the oldest kids. They are a very traditional keeper family - matriarch strictly keeps her family in line, the only males around are children or visiting, and the family is mostly self sufficent. What they can't make themselves is usually brought as a gift (from suitors or children visiting their mothers) or traded from travelling merchants in exchange for meat they hunted. All of the kids were taught basics of carpentry, letherwork, cooking and botany, but good hunters were treated with the highest respect.

Hawu'li was always very small and scrawny kid, lot more interested in reading books than sparring with his sisters outside. He learned crafting somewhat easily, but for some reason when it came to wielding a spear or a bow he would keep blundering even the easiest of basics. As a kid most adults just found it funny, thinking he'd outgrow it soon enough.

Years went on, but Hawu'li did not grow big like most assumed, nor did he figure out hunting. His sisters found him pretty useful for babysitting while they were out hunting, but Hawu'li himself grew more and more ashamed with each passing year. His mother's strong disaproval didn't help. What keeper couldn't hunt their own food?

Then one year, one of his older cousins, while visiting her home after few years of studying, thought of teaching him some very basic spells. Surprising even himself, Hawu'li learned these spells very quickly. She encouraged him to go to Gridania to learn more, winning the first hesitant boy over with tales of conjurers helping the townspeople and travelers alike.

2. What city-state did your Wol start in? How did they feel about it then, and how do they feel about it now?

And then he left to Ul'dah inste-- no, just joking. He did set out to Gridania, managed to get into conjurers' guild and started studying.

His experience was pretty mixed: Gridania is not really know for being nice to outsiders, let alone someone from a family proud of their hunting traditions. But for every rude person, there seemed to be a nice one too. Mother Miounne helped him greatly during the first few months, and after settling in the Stillglade Fane he did quickly befriend most of his fellow students.

Now, after all his travels, he still feels that Gridania is his "home" as much as his family's home is. Both have some bad memories, but also lots of good ones, and he'd rather see both prosper.

3. How do they feel about being Hydaelyn's chosen?

Tough one… uhhhh Hawu'li is generally of the mind that the title of Warrior of Light is a positive thing. Maybe because he doesn't need to carry it alone - the overwhelming expectations and responsibilities are split over the three of them carrying mantle together. Being Hydaelyn's chosen has led to him seeing the world a lot more, meeting various people he'd never have met otherwise, and having the power to actually change things. On some nights the weight of lost friends feels very heavy, but overall he is glad for the things he's gained from being chosen.

4. What do they do in their down time? Do they have any hobbies outside of Primal-slaying and world-saving? Are these lifelong hobbies or recent interests?

Hawu'li's absolute favorite way to pass time is to just spend it with those dear to him, but he does really enjoy cooking and reading! Or just going for walks or shopping trips with his loved ones. Lately he's been learning more weaver stuff, mostly how to make little knitted shirts for plushies (and Carby).

5. How do they feel now that “it’s all over” (the story of Hydaelyn and Zodiark)? What do they plan to do next? Or is their story finished - and if you’re retiring them, what does retirement look like for them? Do you have someone else taking the stage going forward?

Story is very much not over for Hawu'li! He can't really think about retiring (like, ever) since it would mean leaving his biggest calling (helping others), but I did plan that he has some tiny vacation between 6.55 stuff and the next expansion. Nothing that big, just spending extra time with his partners and friends, having fun and enjoying not being in a hurry for once. Maybe finally visiting his family?

I've spoken about this before, but his co-WoLs (my friends' ocs) are indeed retiring, and when I can figure out how to work them into the MSQ nicely he'll actually get 1-2 new companions (aside from Scions) for his trip to Tural. So now instead of a cat and two elves we'll have 1-2 cats and a bunny, haha. (Einn and maaaybe N'jinh when I finish his rework)

6. Who was their Azem? What were they like, and were they different from your WoL? Who were their family, friends? Or, if you don’t care for the Azem angle or went in your own direction for their past self, how so? How does your WoL feel about their Ancient identity?

Hawu'li's Azem was named Eleos. The two are rather similar in personality, but with Eleos being a bit more… intense? I often like to describe Eleos as "Hawu'li but turned up to 11". Biggest differences are probably that Eleos is very much not afraid to hit things (thanks Venat), and is in general a lot braver than Hawu'li is, but also more prone to mood swings (Hawu'li is a lot more patient). He's also somewhat of a gremlin, getting in the nerves of his poor coworkers constantly lol.

Eleos was the only kid of a researcher and a farmer in some more secluded corner of Etheirys. Venat also counts as his family - as a kid Eleos hugely idolized Venat for saving his hometown from monsters, but later on during his apparenticeship their relationship turns more familial.

Uhhhh as for other relationships: adult Eleos was dating Hyth and Hades, was generally friendly with other Convocation members (Lahabrea might've felt otherwise lol), treated Elidibus as a younger brother he never had aaaaand had a bestie called Skeiron (Einn's ancient). Lots of other friends too since I specifically wanted every single one of my ocs' ancients to know each other in some way haha, so I'm not listing all of them here.

Hawu'li isn't really sure what to think about the whole Azem thing. It's not like he has any memories of the past, and while he finds it fascinating to learn more about what his soul did in the past he is very much aware that he's his own person.

As a fun little bonus I'll mention that they have actually met! In my version of MSQ events Eleos' consciousness still kinda hangs around in his shards, just kinda looking after his "kids" (spectating everything while sitting on a couch with Ardbert lol). In that Ultima Thule cutscene he actually makes himself properly know for the first time, and kinda just manifests alongside Hyth and Hades to properly say goodbye (and sorry) to them. He also offers some words for Hawu'li, and then kinda retreats back into some corner of Hawu'li's soul.