#wyn gabs

[lookbluesoup]

Estinien's "????" face through this scene though LMFAO

[lookbluesoup]

I know shippy stuff and canon-adjacent stuff is popular and I'm certainly not dissing those. I like them too, they're a lot of fun! And AUs are great, I have so many!

But man, I wish there was more... idk, emphasis and exploration of the FFXIV lore, and those moments that have to have happened but aren't shown on screen - talked about and written about and illustrated here on tumblr.

That's usually been my favorite part of fandoms, discussing the lore with other fans in-depth and sharing theories, and seeing how everyone's characters would handle those big or quiet moments from the story itself. Exploring how a game mechanic/boss fight would feel from a story perspective, and what it would mean to the characters.

It's not entirely absent from here, but even when I make my own meta posts, even if they get lots of notes, I tend to see very little discussion added compared to what I'm used to from other fandoms. And when new patches come out, there's not a lot of deep talk about the story itself circulating. Maybe I've just been lucky in my previous spaces!

But... I want to know how the WoL and Graha bonded during the Crystal Tower raids. Did they sit around the campfire at night and talk? Did they drink and sing and laugh and argue?

What was it like, recovering from Ultima Thule? How did it feel to set out on the road again, leaving the title of Scion behind? Did they give their friends a tour of Ishgard? Did they visit Edmont? What was it like in the trenches of Ghimlyt Dark, for these characters who have never seen war before, versus the ones who have? Did the WoL help stabilize Lakeland, and tend wounded after the sin eater attacks?

I want late night study sessions with the twins, bittersweet work in the hot sun rebuilding Ala Mhigo, learning to fight on dragonback, Hraesvelgr's brood visiting Ishgard on diplomatic forways. I want snarking with Emet Selch while you help people with "side quests" in Norvrandt. I want gentle moments with Ryne on the road because if anyone understands the suffocating feeling of immense responsibility Hydaelyn and Minfilia have dropped on that child, it's the WoL.

What was it like for the WoL to fight the pirates in Sastasha? To see the women taken captive there? To see the Drowned mutilated by Leviathan's tempering? How did they handle the narrow tunnels and rickety elevators in Copperbell, and the giants angry after centuries of unjust imprisonment? Did they step in Aurum Vale's goldbile and have a shoe burnt off? Did they bring a pet korpokkur home from the Arboretum? Do they carry scars?

Do they take the manacutter out for joyrides? Did Grani recognize the color of their soul, and choose them over the tempered twist of Emet Selchs, or did Emet charge his familiar with looking after them? Have they ever been robbed in Limsa Lominsa? Did they ever buy loinfruit?

Does that goobbue sproutling grow up? The coerl kitten become a battle steed? The wolf pup a guardian? Do the sylphs play games with the WoL when they visit the Shroud? Do they carry a polished shell to remind them of their Clutchfather? Do they stop by the guild to check on the Deftarm whenever they're in Dravania?

What was it like trekking the spindly mountains of Othard, riding a Yol for the first time, seeing the endless plains of green, and the dead white of the Burn?

Do they still have nightmares about Haurchefant, or are they good dreams remembering his smile? Did he teach them to make hot chocolate? Did they stay up all night when the Scions lost their souls, waiting by the bedsides with a candle and feeling helpless?

Do they visit Amaurot, even after Emet Selch is gone? Are they still trying to remember? Did they look up at the night sky in Elpis and feel an indescribable sense of loss?

Was there ever a moment in Endwalker where they almost became a Blasphemy themselves? Did they ever answer Venat's question? Do they know that the love their friends had for them, saved them?

[la-lunaluna]

time for fic recs! (May 30th)

Hi! This post every Sunday is becoming my new ritual and I’m loving every single part of it: reading, thinking about what to write to convince you all to read, post, everything! I confess the writer’s reactions to this are priceless, it makes my day! By the way, to all writers I tag on this post: you are all amazing and I cheer for your blogs to grow every day because you deserve it! 

.

Today’s stars are Din Djarin, Javi Peña, Frankie Morales, and Prince Oberyn Martell. (MARCUS PIKE IS NOT ON THIS LIST TODAY, IT’S A MIRACLE!)

. 

● this post contains fics I’ve read between May 24h and May 30th and titles were organized by alphabetical order. ●

When I write “prompt” on the names it means the author got inspired by another person to write, for example, a reader idea, or an image, or a sentence, etc. 

.

HAPPIER by @folklord​​ (Din Djarin)

We are always so used to read/watch stories with happy endings that sometimes we forgot how sad endings are as real as the happy ones, and sometimes even more real. I think that’s why stories like La La Land or Inside Llweyn Davis impact us so much, they simply show us that this is also a real possibility. Laura, in only 1k words, was able to show how Din thinks like us, how he bets he was getting a happy ending, but without remembering sad stories also exist. This impacted me and made me think about life itself, and how life is just like this, unpredictable. Thank you, Laurinha, and congratulations on your first fic on Writer Wednesday!

.

PRINCES NEVER SAY PLEASE by @starlightmornings​ (Oberyn Martell)

I simply LOVE when @autumnleaves1991-blog posts her challenges on Writer Wednesday because my dashboard gets full of new fanfics, all based on the same prompt. It’s delicious to read how each author takes the same reference to a different place, and it was thanks to this week’s prompt I found PRINCES NEVER KEEP THEIR PROMISES, with Oberyn Martell. After I figured out that fic and Princes Never Say Please (which @danniburgh​​ has recommended me this week) were connected stories! And it was DELICIOUS! There were four chapters to read, but all I wanted was to kept reading for a long time, Oberyn was so well written even I, that was just reading, felt comfortable with all the situation. Kaylie knew perfectly how to write the way Oberyn has the gift of the gab in her story, and this became everything wonderful! 

.

PROMPT REQUEST by @sugarontherims​ (Javier Peña)

This was the first time Mandy wrote something with Javier Peña and I thought it was so real! Javi can be a hard nut to crack, but if you have patience and give motives to make him trust you, soon you see he is such a sweetheart! And how Mandy did that? Putting a pregnant belly on the story, my weak point (SERIOUSLY, WANT ME TO FREAK OUT? PUT A PREGNANT READER AND WATCH ME DIE)! How could I not love? I’ve already read this cuteness three times this week and I can’t get enough!  

.

PROMPT REQUEST by @wyn-dixie​ (Frankie Morales)

One more answer to a request on my list this week. Seems like people are really having good ideas to ask for stories and they’re putting it in great hands to write them! Wyn was wonderful by describing with few words how it’s a common feeling a person feels insecure with its own body, and I think in a certain way, we all identify with that. The course of the story is sweet and made me see myself with more affection, besides obviously, made me fall in love even more (if it’s possible) with Frankie. Thanks for that, O.!

.

PROMPT REQUEST by @autumnleaves1991-blog​ (Javier Peña)

I’m saying, this week is becoming practically an ask responses to reader’s prompts special version, and I’m loving it! Autumn, besides being such a sweet person and very creative, puts everyone to move on Writer Wednesday and puts me to cry reading this one-shot! It’s not a secret for anyone that content with pregnancy makes me feel completely melted away and fell in love, but when it’s really cute and very consistent with the characters, it gets perfect! Each word Connie says here is something she could totally say on Narcos and this shows how Autumn is smart when she writes. I adored it! 

.

Consider reading and supporting fanfics. There are many writers who write to help with their personal problems and your support can make anyone’s day!

Do YOU have something to recommend to me? I’m sure you do! Comment here (or by an anon ask if you’re shy) the fic you want to spread (it can be yours)! Pedro Pascal, Oscar Isaac, and Star Wars fics are the most welcome, but be comfortable to recommend me anything! See you next Sunday! 🥰

[lookbluesoup]

Be advised that if you have accounts linked to your Discord like Spotify/Twitch/etc or card/Paypal/etc data saved for things like Nitro subscriptions, those can be compromised by this, too.

And another way to recognize that you've been compromised by at least some versions of this malware (there's a few different versions that go around, and they do change and evolve over time, so its not a one size fits all) is if the .exe is run, your Discord will then "crash" and ask you to log in again.

You won't be able to use the QR code to log in, it'll just be stuck "loading" forever - because they want you to type in your password and submit it, and that information will be given to the scammer who will immediately change it all and lock you out of your account.

So even if you don't use a QR code to log in, if Discord wigs out on you and suddenly won't load that QR code, be suspicious.

Also yeah these .exe files can do... a lot of stuff. They can scrape your files, install keyloggers to track your typing, steal your passwords (including some encrypted ones like those saved to Google Chrome's autofill), even make you part of a botnet. If you run a malware .exe it can kind of put whatever it wants on your pc. In some cases viruses installed like this can even use your wifi to reach out to other devices connected to your network and infect them, too. It's really really nasty stuff. Be very very careful about running programs on your computer if you cannot verify the source with ABSOLUTE 110% certainty.

Use two-factor authentication if you can and keep your passwords varied. Consider keeping your passwords written down on paper instead of saved for quick-filling and don't save card data for faster checkout or whatever. This would have saved me an awful time of it if I'd only known beforehand, that little extra effort is worth the cost.

PSA, there's a really nasty Discord scam going around rn. If one of your friends DMs you, starting off with a simple "hello" "how are you", may even joke around a little, and then starts asking you to look at a game/project they're working on, don't click the link, don't download anything. If you can reach that friend through non-Discord means, reach out and let them know they got hacked.

One of my friends said the link takes them to a very convincing video game page that has in-game screenshots and stuff, and then gives you an option to download a playtest zip file or something. That download exploits a weakness Discord apparently has for password protected zip files and steals your Discord log-in and changes your account info to the scammer's account info. Two of my friends lost their accounts. Be careful.

[lookbluesoup]

I think something that gets missed in a lot of the "good guy characters are boring" debates online is that there doesn't actually have to be a debate. There needs to be a deliberate awareness that conflict is what drives story. And the source of the conflict doesn't have to just belong to the narrative.

Good guys can be incredibly interesting and dynamic if given the chance.

I do think it's harder to write a compelling hero than it is to write a compelling bad guy (or even antihero) because... villains are usually about conflict. They create competing interests. It's usually their specific function in a story. They often surrender to their impulses, and sometimes they say what we, the audience, are thinking - because a lot of good villains are characters who took a noble idea to an ignoble extreme.

And in a sense, "good guys" can seem flat compared to the villain, depending on how the story is written. If they're just nice, polite, moral, mild-mannered. always have self-control, always know what to do, never face any serious challenges to their morality then... there's no real innate conflict. There are no questions to answer.

But in real life? It is really. really. hard. to be good. Which I think can even make the hero characters like this feel a bit threatening or disconnected from the viewer.

There is so much potential to show the hero being human in stories, that gets missed. The good guy becomes a lot more interesting when they have serious reasons to doubt themselves or their ideals - and even if they don't doubt them, then that stubbornness becomes much more narratively significant.

Or times when doing the good thing means going against what their friends or family want, what other people who claim to share their beliefs want, or what we the audience want that puts them in danger of ostracism or injury. When they choose to do something radically, dangerously, kind in a situation when we, the audience, would expect and understand them to do otherwise. When they face backlash for it. When their kindness isn't repaid. The person they want to help spits in their face, or didn't want help to begin with.

I'm not just talking about a character who sticks to their guns and stays upbeat. Those are difficult things to go through, even if you've got healthy coping mechanisms. Letting the character struggle with it, in one way or another, makes it more believable. Even if they still make the right choice in the end each time.

All that being said, if someone is enjoying a character who's just... good. Who doesn't face any serious conflicts in their story, who always wins and gets to go home happy at the end of the day? Maybe it's that person's real life that has the conflict, the stress, the unresolved questions and tension. Maybe that good guy is the balance to the villains running rampart in their real life day to day, and they need to see that character win, over and over, to balance it out and keep hoping.

We live in a world today where there's... a LOT of conflict. Every day. Everywhere. News spits it in our faces because bad news sells better. Work can be hard to do and hard to find. Family can be difficult to deal with. Health can be stressful.

So I don't think it's wrong for some people to want to read "simple" stories where the good guys can just be good, because stories are humanity's mythology. It's our escape. It's how we give context to our lives. We need "good guys" just like we need "bad guys."

[lookbluesoup]

Nahte was never really given an opportunity to be blind to Eorzea's problems. He was born to a Moonkeeper clan deep in the Shroud, beyond easy reach of the Wood Wailers - and grew up knowing that to Gridania, he and his family were considered Poachers for living outside the city's laws. It was not safe for him to venture beyond the dark of the canopy, though he'd do it anyway.

More than that - he was mixed blood. His father was a Sunseeker, and Nahte was the product of a failed attempt at a cross-cultural partnership which fell apart in his infancy. He grew up trying to be a man in the Moonkeeper way, but it never quite fit him, and as much as he loved his clan, he knew something was missing.

From the day he was born, Nahte's life was divided into Dark and Light, caught between both, never quite feeling at home in either, and thinking it was some internal Lack on his part that made him an outsider.

Then Hydaelyn, in all her Light, spoke to him. And for most of ARR, Nahte was a true believer. Her champion. Her crusader. The Scions became his family. It was hard work with difficult people; deep down he still felt an outsider. But the Mothercrystal had chosen him, and that had to mean something.

Nahte sang and played and laughed and loved. He was young, free, with the whole world before him and a divinity guiding his steps.

But folks started dying. Hydaelyn started sacrificing people. He realized she was keeping secrets. Twisting truths. The Eorzean Alliance could not let go of their political scheming and many of the people he'd considered colleagues were all too happy to use him as a weapon to sweep aside whatever inconvenienced them. Nahte realized he and his loved ones were disposable.

He was angry. He'd never really been angry like this before.

And that trust never really recovered. From Heavensward on, he was learning to rely on himself and his small circle of closest friends. Hydaelyn was an ally, at times, but he stopped venerating her. His faith in all the pantheon dwindled to almost nothing. Nahte became increasingly withdrawn and broody. He didn't sing, anymore. He was suspicious and hurting and he had no answers.

Ishgard became home.

The love and sincerity he found there saved his life, in more ways than one. Nahte learned to love himself.

And it got better. Not easier. But people were helping him carry those burdens. Nahte no longer allowed himself to be used and discarded in silence - he found his voice. Even though he still didn't have answers, he felt his own convictions and had the courage to follow them and forgive himself.

By Shadowbringers, Emet-Selch's revelations made too much sense to be entirely false. It solidified Nahte's mistrust for Hydaelyn, but throughout all the stress and horrors of their time on the First, Nahte was actually at his most stable internally. He'd embraced his inner Darkness.

He knew what he believed in - or rather, who. Love kept him strong. And it wasn't the same blind, naive love that he held in his youth. He'd been through horrors and knew the price of opening one's heart. Knew doing so was worth the risk. It was an older, wiser love. Impossible to kill.

His songs had never been more beautiful. He even brought a certain lurking Ascian to tears one night, who hovered in the dark out of sight of Nahte's campfire.

And by Endwalker - though it was the most difficult trial Nahte ever faced, and his faith was tested like never before - he'd learned that he didn't need to be Dark or Light, he could be both. Being born between worlds was not a mistake or a flaw, he was always exactly who and what he needed to be, and he didn't have to be afraid.

(As for appearance, you can see all the scars he collected here!)

How has your WoL changed from ARR to Endwalker? Personality, looks, etc?

[lookbluesoup]

Love having a cat that is just always down to cuddle.

If I have to go lay down bc I’m in pain or dizzy, she’ll give me a happy little chirp and beebop over to the bed or couch or floor or wherever, smush herself as close as she can possibly get against me, and purr until she falls asleep

Good for my soul. Makes chronic pain that much easier to bear, having a little creature that loves me

[lookbluesoup]

There were a lot of great moments in my first BG3 playthrough but arguably one of the best was when Raphael tried to cast his uber murder deathbeam fire lazer on us using all 4 soul charges while in rage form.

And Gale just. Counterspelled.

[lookbluesoup]

Personal story time!!

There was a post going around tumblr a few years ago where this trans person told a story about how they finally got their grandad to understand transness by asking him how HE knew HE was a man.

And the grandad thought about it and came back and essentially said something like 'you're right I don't know how to explain it but even if you took away my body I'd still be a man I just know it inside myself.'

Now I had known ABOUT trans at the time but like, in that vague nonspecific way. Yeah it exists! No I don't get it! Sometimes not getting it caused me stress!

But the post seemed to be something that really resonated with a lot of people. I was flabberghasted. I didn't understand the grandad in the story, either. I felt even more confused.

I messaged a trans friend very nervously to ask them if they could help me understand if this was really a common shared experience, just knowing inside somehow that you're he or her or whatever else.

Well yes! That's how he knew he was trans! He felt his gender INSIDE

Me: "... But I don't... have an internal sense of gender. At all."

I gendered myself based on my bits because that was kind of the only indicator I had to go by, personally. If I'd been born amab I'd probably just call myself a guy. If I was a bodyless blob floating in space I probably wouldn't call myself anything. I think of myself as a soul with a physical form but the form is just a vessel.

There's things about being a girl that I like and there's male-centric stuff I really vibe with. But I don't usually even think of them as "girl stuff" or "guy stuff" when I think of them in relation to who I am and what I like. There's also stereotypes to both that irritate me and I just ignore in my personal approach to life.

idk man! I'm just me! Gender doesn't really play a part in how I see myself as an individual, I don't really care about how I present to others, and now you're telling me that's not actually a typical experience for cis people either??

My guy was like 'you, uh, might want to poke around at the different gender identities out there and just see if one of those feels better to you'

Anyway that's how I found out I was Agender.

Sometimes a guy wants to jump on the bandwagon.

[lookbluesoup]

With Goose at the vet today and super stressed about it 😩 She’s been unwell the past couple weeks and they’re trying to figure out why.

I’m hoping it’s something simple but she’s about the age now that Bonkers was when he got a very bad infection he couldn’t beat and had to be put to sleep. Even though she’s not looking nearly as bad as him, it’s nerve wracking.

Pls send prayers and good thoughts 💜

[lookbluesoup]

A few decades ago this would be the equivalent of taking the phone off the hook while you watched TV and relaxed in the evening, or had other friends visiting who you were focusing your energy on.

Which would be totally reasonable, everyone's entitled to personal time that they spend the way they want. If you called and they didn't answer, you could leave a message and wait until they had time/energy to focus on you properly. It would be rude to have company over who came to socialize, and spend an hour on the phone talking to someone else who could have left a message and been called back later.

The internet and smart devices have centralized almost all our methods of communication and entertainment, and made it all but impossible to do one activity without all the others sending pings and notifications to you AND other people in the same spaces, instantly.

It's robbed us of privacy and demands we swap focus immediately the moment something happens somewhere else. It's like being in a "room" full of everyone we know when several of those people might be trying to have a conversation with us at the same time, maybe while we're trying to watch a show or read a book or work... which would be exhausting especially for introverts, and isn't generally healthy.

If someone wants to scroll tumblr or is talking in one group chat but not responding somewhere else right away, I try to cut them some slack. Just because a message can be received instantly doesn't mean the person is in a place to respond to it instantly

Someone not responding to you right away does not mean that you’re not important to them. I know it can be hard, but other people are allowed to be busy, or even just not have the energy to respond to you. This doesn’t mean they don’t care about you.

[lookbluesoup]

Nahte'to Vhia has a very good relationship with his mother, Adleh Vhia. He grew up deep in the Shroud, so far out even Wood Wailers rarely tread there, and was raised by a mess of cousins, aunts, and sisters, in addition to his mom. She expected him to wander as he grew older, as that's the way of male Keepers of the Moon, and is actually quite proud of all her son has accomplished. Sure, she worries, but she knows he can handle himself - he's a Vhia, after all! When he can, he will come back to visit them and has introduced most of his partners to her.

Nahte does not remember much of his father. C'ato was a Seeker of the Sun, and he and Adleh tried to make a cross-culture relationship work. They had several children, and Nahte's name breaks Moonkeeper convention for males specifically because C'ato wanted his sons to have more definitive names than just "first son of Adleh" and "second son of Adleh." Ultimately, however, C'ato was a bit too possessive and short-tempered, and did not well handle the fact that Moonkeeper females were allowed to sleep with any man they wanted at their leisure, that trying to force them into monogamy was seen as an affront. Adleh finally had enough and chased him off while Nahte was still very young.

This was sometimes difficult for Nahte growing up, feeling like there was an entire second half of his heritage he knew very little about. I'm not sure where C'ato is now, or if he's even still alive, though he would probably also be proud of his son.

Question of the Day [WoLs]

Since it seemed to have meet some success, I add another to the list. This time about a subject I don’t often see talked about when it comes to WoLs specifically:

What are their relationship with their parents? Are they still alive? How do their parents live with the risk their child has taken to help people/save the world?

[lookbluesoup]

I have felt absolutely sick with nerves the past couple days. Haven't been able to distract myself very well. Pain issues. A lot of doctor's visits. Some family trouble. Just too much going on really.

Can folks recommend or share some of their favorite fluff fics or art/gposes/etc?

Romantic or platonic. Any ship/friendship. I'd like something soft to chew on

[lookbluesoup]

Do people ship Azem/Venat much?

I see tons of Azem paired with Emet Selch, Hythlodaeus, Elidibus, and even know about some Hermes and a Lahabrea... but I'm not sure I've ever seen one with Venat.

It seems like lots of potential there, they were obviously very close if Azem took over her seat.

And a similar possible dramatic fallout to an Emet or Elidibus ship (or any Convocation member), since Azem wouldn't join Venat in summoning Hydaelyn either, even when asked.

There's all the potential narrative drama it adds to the MSQ. We know Emet never got over the loss of Azem, but did Venat? Would seeing Azem's shards struggle and suffer and die over and over make it harder for her if the two had been lovers, instead of friends?

Plus uncomfortably familiar almost-not-quite-memories for the WoL, any time they speak with Hydaelyn.

idk, aside from the narrative potential - she's pretty, she's spunky, she's a rebel. As popular a character as she is, it occurs to me I just personally haven't seen shippy stuff with her, yet. I'd have expected it to cross my dash at least now and then!

[lookbluesoup]

Here is my really sloppy MS Paint Hotbar Guide lol

I'm still moving sets of things around to try to find a system that flows naturally, but I like having them grouped into these sets because it helps me prioritize what "type" of heal I want to do next a little faster. And since the button icons kind of blend together for me I rely a lot on muscle memory hahahah

Hopefully it helps a little!

Anyone know of a decent guide to SCH? Level 90, preferably with an example hotbar? Because my SMN-main ass never touched it the entire time it levelled and now I want to actually try out healing but I'm overwhelmed by all this stuff I've never seen before.