#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?

[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.

[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?

[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

[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

[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.

[sakuuyaan]

[plounce]

scions ranked by most likely to eat a rat

thancred (duh. eat what you can eat. just cook it to make it safer, no big, and if you can get a couple herbs to season it, even better. definitely ate a rat or two out in the dravanian hinterlands. nutkin is lucky it got away without a bite taken out of it)

estinien (doesn't see anything wrong with it. would eat it raw)

ryne (thancred tried to find them more substantial, palatable food, but sometimes when you're living on the run… rat meat. she doesn't have a ton of hangups about it - literally any food besides prison rations is novel and exciting to her - but it's not the tastiest, and anyway she's found she likes sweet foods more)

y'shtola (the night's blessed probably threw some rats in the cookpot every so often. girl's gotta eat when she's living in a benign forest cult. has not eaten rats before or since)

alisaie (extremely easily dared into almost anything including eating a rat. plus would see alphinaud being squeamish about it and make a point to go MMMMM-MM SOOOO YUMMY even if she didn't like it)

g'raha (wouldn't think to eat a rat on his own, but extremely susceptible to "if everyone else is doing it, i want to be part of the group!" or if you threatened him with "someone else will have to eat this rat if you don't!!" he'll shove the rat in his mouth so fast.)

lyse (similar to alisaie in that she's easily dared, but she has no sibling (anymore) to engage in rat-eating rivalry with)

minfilia (the sort of person to go along with a lot of stuff in the name of being friendly. if someone sincerely offered her a cooked rat she wouldn't have it in her to turn it down and would take a polite bite)

alphinaud (the little lordling does Not want to eat a rat! foul! no! but if estinien was like "hey want a bite" then it is much more likely that alphinaud will try to look cool in front of his pseudo-big-brother and sample the rat)

tataru (no no no! no, absolutely not! she will NOT be eating a rat. this is why she stays AWAY from the front. but also she could whip up something scrumptious with some rat meat if she must)

urianger (this is not one of his safe foods. he doesn't wanna. he doesn't wanna. you can't make him. he's gonna find an excuse to mysteriously vanish)

krile (if you try to make her eat a rat she's gonna disappear like the isle of val.)

[amememightywarrior]

Food in Dawntrail

Gonna go ahead and share my thoughts on it as posted on twitter, excuse the format!

I found the prevalence of food in DT's MSQ very interesting. In a lot of cultures, food and food-sharing are acts of love both familial and neighborly. It also symbolized a desire to reach out and understand one another, from xibruq pibil to tacos to ice cream to weird grapes.

Our first encounter with food in DT is when Wuk Lamat wants to give us some tacos, but then BJJ smashes them carelessly, a sign that he is rejecting sharing and love

During the lay of repast, which is ALL about food, we learn a lot about the symbolism of meals and food and culture. It's great. 

Zoraal Ja and Bakool Ja Ja are teamed up and shown to not understand or care about food and sharing despite the BLATANT emphasis on it in the trial.

More subtle stuff that isn't called out is the way food is raised - like the Crystarium, where wandering around can reveal the importance, if you wander around DT you can find an example of what's called the three sisters method of farming.

For those unfamiliar with this system, it's actually a very culturally important method of farming in the americas where 3 staple crops, maize, squash, and beans, are grown together in a harmonious fashion. and i mean TOGETHER.

The maize, which grows tall and strong, provides support for the beanstalks which curl around it and provide stabilization both physically and nutritionally. At their feet grows the ground-covering squash which shades the soil, keeping it moist and preventing weeds.

The next major time we learn of food and agriculture is in heritage found, where we see people preserving real food as an act of culture more than anything else, showing the resilience of culture and the spirit of sharing in even the most lightning riddled situations.

After that it gets interesting. The concept of food in S9 is abstracted into the absurd (the grapes??? help), but they still share the food. More than that, it's a SPECTATOR sport, seeing WoL and Wuk Lamat eat. If you've ever been to a dinner with a family of a different culture, you will know the experience of tasting a new cuisine for the first time, and people asking you what you think of it. They share their culture with you and hope you approve. It's the sharing of joy, and it's the same as when you eat in S9.

Then we're REALLY challenged. We enter living memory and find the inhabitants feasting on the mere idea of food. They share with us as well, giving us popcorn. Did you lie and say it was great? Did you speak the truth of your tastebuds and reject the popcorn?

The food in living memory is tasteless to us, the only real ones in the place. But the act of sharing, that was the real important part. And so perhaps if WoL lied, it was not to spare feelings, but to show that yes, they were sharing in joy and culture.

Thus introduced, we are hit with that ice cream. We know it tastes of nothing, but we give it to Krile and her parents to share. Krile knows it doesn't taste like anything, and she struggles. But G'raha zips in with his own, to make her laugh and help her understand the joy.

The way each character reacts to food within DT is symbolic and shows a bit of their own perspectives. Someone who's very out on the edges, Estinien, is also someone who has embraced food very heavily after being freed from Nidhogg. He runs around eating everything in sight now.

And of course we also have the cornservant, who wants to feed everyone. I haven't actually done that quest line yet but I can already tell you what's at the heart of it XD

A lot of this we all know, I'm just calling it out specifically because it was beautifully done in DT.

Oh, before I forget: Otis and Gulool Ja

Otis, despite being, er...mechanical, has been feeding Gulool Ja. It is a familial act, feeding and helping this child grow despite zero relation.

is it just another fetch quest? Another shared meal of many shared meals in the field? Or is it asking us to look at this meal in the context of all that came before it?

What does it mean to love and care for one another? Otis shows it by being there and feeding Gulool Ja.

It contrasts with two other parties: Cahciuna's group, and Zoraal Ja.

Zoraal Ja does nothing. He does not feed his child. Abandoned him outright. ZJ rejects family, love, and sharing.

Cahciuna's group is trying really hard to take care of him, and he does allow it because they keep finding and taking him home. But why does he run away to eat with Otis? Cahciuna's response to realizing he WANTS to leave is to allow it instead of insisting.

I find that rather mysterious but I think it shows Gulool Ja prefers organic sharing, not S9 where everything is simply handed to him. Hopefully we see more of him in the future so we can learn wtf is up with this little blue-scaled cutie.

Food takes a background role in a lot of stories but DT took it, explained it, and then challenged our understanding by taking away the most talked about component, stripping away flavor to ask us what the point of food-sharing really is and how it reflects ourselves & our culture.

We've seen a lot of these themes before - ARR used to have a whole thing about feeding the soldiers before the assault on the garlean strongholds, SHB had the infamous rhon ron food stand scene, etc

we just got it called out repeatedly and the concept gently deconstructed for us in DT. 

So. what does the act of food-sharing mean to you? What does it mean to your WoL? How did you see the Lay of Repast? What did you think of the popcorn?

[estinininininen]

i think the scions tell estinien about stuff that happened on the first, and about the crystal exarch, namely that he is a very impressive and powerful leader with a huge variety of skills and that although only the warrior of light really recognized who the crystal exarch really was at first, it's clear to estinien all the rest of the front-liner scions adore the exarch too and trust and admire him.

unfortunately because of botched introductions it just takes estinien half way through endwalker to fully realize that that's g'raha tia, the min height miqo'te twink fanboy that's been trying for moons now to convince either estinien or the wol (or both) to plow him upside the garden path already

some random guy hanging out with alphinaud alisae: "estinien wyrmblood! the azure dragoon!! he who felled the dark worm nidhogg!!! to think that i would be in the presence of a living legend-"

estinien: ok warrior where are the cameras

cut to three months later, as he's leaning against a wall and hearing the wol describe going back to the first and then to elpis, and the new earth-shattering revelations housed therein

estinien, thinking to himself: holy shit the crystal exarch is g'raha tia

[ma1dmer]

Final Fantasy - G'raha Tia NSFW

sweating, c-catboys

A = Aftercare (What they’re like after sex): he is trying really hard to stay awake, because he wants to spend as much time as possible with you, to hear you talk and help you get comfortable, but he is practically falling asleep on you because hs is so comfortable and content

B = Body part (Their favourite body part of theirs and also their partner’s): stomach, its an odd little thing to be fascinated with but he loves your stomach, he splays his fingers right below your navel and presses down when he is inside you to feel you clench around him ,or on his way down between your thighs he can’t help but press kisses all the way down the length of your torso

C = Cum (Anything to do with cum basically… I’m a disgusting person): he is ashamed to admit how much he enjoys the idea of breeding, not the idea of a child, but this sort of complete trust and sort of ownership in the moment 

D = Dirty Secret (Pretty self explanatory, a dirty secret of theirs): we all know what i am gonna say and its ,drum roll please, HEAT!

E = Experience (How experienced are they? Do they know what they’re doing?): he has been alive for very very long, and he definitely has some experience, nothing brag worthy but its there, on top of that he is a quick study, his eyes and ears keen to whatever makes you twitch or gasp just right

F = Favourite Position (This goes without saying. Will probably include a visual): anything where you can both be close, sort of in a cuddling position , he wants to be close to you, his tail wrapped around your thigh or hip

G = Goofy (Are they more serious in the moment, or are they humorous, etc): generally more light-hearted, wants you to be comfortable likes to feel you squeeze around him when he makes you laugh and just your joy is enough to send him over the edge if he is honest

H = Hair (How well groomed are they, does the carpet match the drapes, etc.): he has a happy trail that leads from his toned stomach down to his crotch and he generally tries to keep things trimmed as much as he can if he has the time to remember

I = Intimacy (How are they during the moment, romantic aspect…): very romantic in the moment, he'll stare deep in your eyes lips parted in awe as he drives into you, foreheads touching , mumbling about how gorgeous or beautiful you are, how much he adores you everything he feels ,he wears it all on his sleeve for you

J = Jack Off (Masturbation headcanon): a big fan of mutual masturbation ,whether you are watching each other or helping each other get off, he loves it, he loves touching you and loves your touch on him

K = Kink (One or more of their kinks): praise, body worship etc

L = Location (Favourite places to do the do): he can be convinced into doing stuff in some pretty wild places, you just need the right wording and about 20 minutes of looking around to make sure no one is gonna be bothering you

M = Motivation (What turns them on, gets them going): he has some very sensitive parts on his body , they are not that hard to find when you know where they are, and even centuries later he still flinches surprised and flustered when you brush your lips or fingers against them

N = NO (Something they wouldn’t do, turn offs): cause you physical harm, he just can't bring himself to do so ,even if you assure him that that's what you want he can't imagine himself being the reason you are in pain

O = Oral (Preference in giving or receiving, skill, etc): loves giving, could spend hours not thinking for once, relaxing between your thighs tail swishing languidly as he simply works you with his tongue

P = Pace (Are they fast and rough? Slow and sensual? etc.): depends he is generally not rough, but he has his days where he simply wants to have you while you are both sleepy ,all soft ,in each other's embrace and there are days you can barely manage to get each other's clothes off before he is in you, mostly in his ,days 👀

Q = Quickie (Their opinions on quickies rather than proper sex, how often, etc.): he loves the idea of them, but finds it so hard to untangle himself from you after, that it aches

R = Risk (Are they game to experiment, do they take risks, etc.): depends on what you ask of him, he might consider it but if it's something too extreme or something he deems dangerous for either of you, he'll kiss you and apologise but refuse and explain why, maybe suggest some alternative

S = Stamina (How many rounds can they go for, how long do they last…): so much pent up energy to spend on someone, but he does need breaks in between

T = Toy (Do they own toys? Do they use them? On a partner or themselves?): he gets so flustered at how much he loves the idea of toys, wether using them on you, himself or bringing them out to spice up your bedroom activities ,he has so many ideas he wants to share with you, sometimes he is more confident ,sometimes less so, but he really loves them

U = Unfair (how much they like to tease): he is very playful but you wouldn’t exactly call him a tease, he is easy to fluster and its very difficult for him to deny you , he likes to tease you with his words though, the things he can say in the throes of pleasure would make anyone blush, even himself when he isn't quite so,,,,busy

V = Volume (How loud they are, what sounds they make): he whines and whimpers a lot, you’d almost think you are hurting him but its just his sounds of pleasure, he also can’t help but profess his love to you a thousand times, prayers to every god for blessing him with you and how lucky he is to know you

W = Wild Card (Get a random headcanon for the character of your choice): definitely a switch, anything you want he'll do it, he wants to please you so badly and it shows, you want him to be more in charge he'll pounce on any chance to do so, you want to take control from him, watch him drop to his knees immediately for you

X = X-Ray (Let’s see what’s going on in those pants, picture or words): average size a bit on the thicker side,,,,,,knot?

Y = Yearning (How high is their sex drive?): he is full of yearning, and its all plain on his face for all to see, the flush of his cheeks or the nervous twitch of his ears and tail, his thoughts so often seem to return to you, distracting him from his tasks 

Z = ZZZ (… how quickly they fall asleep afterwards): he’ll try to return to his work, he only needs to be told once by you to rest and he is melting in your arms, he is a heavy sleeper once he falls asleep though