#ffxiv writing aid | Explore Tumblr Posts and Blogs

canmom · 5 months

Text

mmo rp is kind of fundamentally not so different from RPing in any messaging program, something we've been doing since the days of IRC. the story you co-create is primarily driven by what's written in the text box. no matter how well made the emote animations are, they are not communicative enough to really tell a complex story, so you always fall back to prose. your character's voice will be limited to a handful of nonverbal expressions - a laugh, mm-hm, uh-huh. you are constantly having to reinterpret bits of game jank as you construct your mental version of the 'real story'. and yet

these visual aids do make a really substantial difference in how you experience it i think. to honestly a kind of surprising degree. of course having a character design on screen helps avoid writing tons of descriptive prose - but there's also a lot that can be done with simple movement through space, like a character positioning themselves besides another, retreating to sulk, getting up to dance.

like in visual novels and manga, you have essentially a set of codified, symbolic expressions - but in FFXIV, every race has its own set of very charming and polished animations for nearly every emote, which adds a huge amount of info in how you interpret that character (and slot them into the otaku database). a roegadyn will by default be loud and brash, a viera refined and dreamy, a lala mischievous and childlike. a mi'qote is a cat. since all of these are chosen by the player, they act as a strong signal of what your character's deal is - their body language comes across even if it's not like the actual scene fully acted out.

and what's fascinating to me is that even when i know what the player looks like irl, i still find myself responding to their game embodiment in how i think about them, i don't picture them irl... but also, having the embodiment helps me get into character. I have two alts, and with each one i feel drawn to a different style of roleplay. just like a list of prompts in a ttrpg sourcebook, the embodiment you've chosen gives you something to bounce off when you're improvising.

roleplaying is very similar to improv comedy, and many of the same analysis concepts - 'offers', 'yes, and' - apply. we're essentially improvising a digital puppet show. building up an RP venue and customising our model is a way of laying out props to help that process roll smoothly.

i often dream about an mmo animation system that would be less janky - more control over camera placement, better handling of interactions between player characters and characters with their environment, more ability to plan out timing and blocking and so on - essentially trending towards multiplayer source filmmaker.

the problem is that such a system would probably have way too much cognitive overhead to be usable in real time improv. i think what something like ffxiv shows is that even very simple elements - besides the emotes, your character looks towards your target and moves their lips when you talk, you can adjust their expression and there's animation hooks all over the place line chairs you can sit on - can actually be a very expressive palette and people are pretty good at filtering out the jank when they want to create a story together.

indeed, it becomes a skill - knowing what animations you have, how to reinterpret them, how to line yourself up with other players. and in the end you don't remember the time spent shuffling forwards and typing /hug again and again, or standing up and sitting down repeatedly until it lines up right. you remember the cute sight of your character sitting beside your friend, looking fondly at each other.

there's also another angle which is like... i find real life 'going out' very difficult - usually hitting a point of information overload very quickly in a pub environment, and while music is easier to manage than a wall of conversation, i never really learned how to interact with strangers at a club, concert, convention. I'm not good with alcohol. when i try to a pub, i usually end up retreating into myself and ducking out. in mmos, though... i find prose much more easy to be expressive in, and the limits of the animation system kind of level the playing field a bit in terms of The Autism when it comes to body language and the like.

still, sometimes it feels like a very sad existence - i rely on this simulacrum, pretending i am being intimate and social with people i can't touch through a computer program that draws triangles. everything in an mmo is muted, blunted by the medium - which makes it 'safe', but also tinges it with a loneliness that can't really be broken. but for now, i guess the simulacrum is all I've got, you know? and i can appreciate how it's put together, all the effort that has gone in from devs and players alike to realise this alternative channel for connection.

but yeah. i guess it comes back to this again... there's a reason my online 'face' is a low poly approximation of an animal!

#roleplaying games #that said i should totally check out vrchat again now i have the gear lol #computer games #mmorpgs #ffxiv #introspective nightposting

18 notes · View notes

irisopranta · 7 months

Text

FFXIV Write Prompt 30 Amity:

“I’m shocked that you wanted to do this Taturu.” The elezen and the lalafellin were out in the Lower La Noscea region. Taturu, feeling useless with just being the coin keeper for the Scions, thought of take up summoning as a means to help aid the group of adventurers. However, she wasn’t so sure about the whole ordeal. She had never once took up fighting in her life.

She was however grateful that her friend, the Warrior of Light was willing to take up summoning just so she would feel more confident. “Of course Iris. It shouldn’t be too hard.” The two continued their destination. Once they got there they decided to summon their carbuncles.

Taturu started to summon her’s first. She placed a bit of her aether over the geometries in the grimore. As soon as the spell was channeled, she then casted it to make a chubby and cute carbuncle appear before them. It looked at the lalafell with confusion, as though it was unsure if this was the one that summon him. His nose twitch before choosing to wondering off.

“Wait, come back here.” She called out to him. The carbuncle continued to ignore her went to sit by the bank of the river. Taturu sighed. “I…I don’t think that was supposed to happened.” Her shoulders went slumped.

Not to discourage her friend, Iris tried summoning her own carbuncle. She placed her aether over the geometries in her own grimore. She casted to produce the carbuncle. However, unlike the typical chubby and adorable carbuncle, her’s was a lanky and filled with anxiety.

“Huh?” Iris was confused why her carbuncle looks so different. “I don’t think this is quite right. Let me try that again.” She try again and again another lanky and nervous carbuncle came before the two. It was even more unusual as the previous carbuncle is still there. The two wasn’t quite sure what to make of the situation but they figure they were in over heads with this whole summoning business.

#oc: iris opranta #ffxiv #ffxiv tataru #FFxivWrite2023 #FFxivWrite #FFxivWrite2023 prompt list #ffxiv writing prompts #ffxiv writing challenge

20 notes · View notes

elfyourmother · 8 months

Note

Do you consider yourself a lore breaking, lore bending or lore adhering roleplayer? Does this adherence to lore depend on the kind of lore you're exploring with your characters; i.e. you play fast and loose with ideas xiv has yet to develop, but you tend to pay close attention to the fleshed out ideals? Is there lore you have modified that you're proud of and would share here?

I view lore as a starting point for me to jump off from and make my own. Always have.

I find strict adherence to game canon for its own sake creatively suffocating and always have, in every setting I've ever written in. It’s pretty much entirely because I grew up on DMing and writing in Forgotten Realms, which took a very DIY approach back in the day that was heavily encouraged by its creator. Everyone's Realms were equally valid, according to Word of God, and there were often intentional "blanks" left in sourcebooks for the DM to fill. These books emphasized over and over again that the DM was the ultimate authority on canon, not TPTB or the novels or anything else. That philosophy has informed my approach to worldbuilding in the transformative fandom sense for the last 30 years. That and being a queer Black femme of color who is very rarely satisfied by canon narratives rife w racially problematic tropes. I change things to make a space for myself and my characters and the stories I want to tell, by necessity. FFXIV is no different in that respect.

That said, I don't smash SE canon just to smash it either. Despite how bonkershits a lot of Gisèle's canon appears on the surface (eg. post-war Ishgard's constitutional monarchy with King Aymeric), everything I change has been carefully considered and engineered for as much internal consistency as possible. As much as I operate on Rule of Cool, I need things to make sense for me to have fun.

But I am distinctly not a roleplayer, for this and many other reasons. I'm strictly a fic writer, and I don't ever collab with people. The world Gisèle operates in is constructed entirely for her, and my own enjoyment, by design. So no one is forced to deal with my stuff if they don't like it.

That said, King Aymeric is probably the lore I’m most proud of. I wrote a ficlet for ffxivwrite last year on it here, but the cliffs notes: Aymeric invoked the ancient covenant between man and dragon when begging Hraesvelgr’s aid against Nidhogg and vowed he would restore it, but Hraes said that because that covenant was broken by an Elezen king, only an Elezen king could restore it. Hraes was wily though, it wasn’t just upholding weird draconic custom in saying that. His ulterior motive was to make Aymeric guarantee his people would be united enough not to turn on the Dravanians once Nid was handled. the end result is that Aymeric restored the Ishgardian throne (“The Azure Throne”, as a nod to Haldrath), but as a largely unifying figurehead/ceremonial position with Parliament strictly defining the role of the king. Artoirel is Lord Speaker of the House of Lords. Aymeric’s still LC of the temple knights in addition to his royal duties. He wasn’t giving that up lol.

making a constitutional monarchy plausible in the context of the story was challenging and I think I’ve done a solid job of it tbh. I wanted to lean into the Arthurian romance vibes of HW but also solve the fundamental problem I had w how it ended, which is that I don’t think it’s a terribly realistic scenario for ppl who were under a theocracy for 1000 years. Aymeric essentially having his hand forced by Hraesvelgr solves the issue of why he would restore the throne and tbh I don’t flinch from the complications of squaring that with the revelations about Ishgard’s founding, I think it only plays more into Aymeric’s ambivalence about the role he’s been thrust into.

#gatheredfates #ask bisho

20 notes · View notes

salty-dracon · 3 months

Text

Honkai Star Rail 2.0 Trailblaze Mission Liveblog

Everything I write includes four things- cool cities, found family, the most horrifying plot points I can possibly squeeze into a story, and angels with dubious intentions. Naturally, I'm PUMPED for Interstellar Fantasy Cool City Vacation with Found Family + Dubious Angels + Player Tears. Liveblog under the readmore to keep people unspoiled.

---

Foreword

This is not my first liveblog rodeo. I've liveblogged plenty of murder mystery games. But I promise to make this an entertaining experience for anyone who wants to read this.

You're probably wondering why everything I write is about killing angels. It's been a running theme in my work ever since high school, where the villain of a superhero story I wrote was a man who built himself metal wings. He was themed around control- if not by breaking bodies, by breaking minds through mind control powers. He was fucked up like that.

And I've written a lot of angels since then (a lot of them just straight up divine beings), most of which in some way have powers that are used to control others, with the protagonists fighting against them to free themselves from control. So yeah, killing angels, whether they're child-kidnapping supervillains, instigators of amatonormative authoritarianism (fellow aroaces this one's for you), or digital gods who have killed millions and would kill millions more for the sake of vengeance against everyone that hurt their human pets- it's basically standard for me at this point. No doubt whatever WIP I write next is going to involve kicking the ass of another angel.

(I didn't keep up with marketing. I have no idea what Robin and Sunday's personalities are like. Going by the trailers, Robin seems like the nice and friendly sibling and Sunday's the less nice one who has to keep her out of trouble.)

Anyway, I keep hearing theories that Firefly and/or Himeko will die, and if that happens, I'll be sad. Firefly is the closest thing Trailblazer has gotten to another girlfriend (the star rail trio are siblings, ride-or-die besties, or a polycule depending on what's funniest at the moment) and Himeko is just right up my alley being a tall, beautiful woman with red hair in a big dress and a black leather coat who beats up enemies with a CIRCULAR SAW. Still, they can't hype Firefly up as Trailblazer's closest thing to a planet BFF and not kill her, right?

Also if this happens I'll laugh, but if Welt dies. Like they're saying it's Himeko but what if.

Other theories I have, for other reasons:

Someone will attempt to steal or acquire the Astral Express, and they will succeed until a later patch.

There will be a quest involving breaking down the Family's supposed hivemind.

Social media will explode with outrage over a specific enemy that felt intentionally kept out of marketing (it's the one with the blue head sitting on a dice box, only briefly visible in certain scenes in the music video).

With Genshin being my first HYV game I was really surprised to see Tingyun die also. Unlike many other gacha games (Epic Seven comes to mind) Genshin has a really clear criteria for which characters are and aren't going to become playable, and those criteria are basically just "be alive and have a reason to aid the Traveler for the foreseeable future" to avoid plot breaking. HSR has proven that that criteria really does not apply, w/ Tingyun, canonically dead, being a potential party member, and Dan Heng having both a 3-star and 5-star version that can be in the same party if the player feels like it. (there has to be someone out there who runs "team plot breaker".)

Also, I have been spoiled on exactly ONE thing due to leaks, and I will say nothing more on that fact.

Begin Quest!

Let's get started squeeeeeee

I'm not sure whether Dan Heng just typed "..." to show that he's around, or because that's actually what he would say if they were all together and they needed to talk.

I'm having flashbacks to FFXIV Endwalker's "You may exhibit a light touch of VIOLENT AETHERIAL SICKNESS".

Oh, that's exciting. Some of the Nameless went on to live here. Tiernan the guard, Legwork the mechanic, and Razalina the surveyor.

I'm imagining the final preparation for this vacation was March zipping all over the Express gathering all of her necessary (unnecessary) things, Dan Heng diligently packing his suitcase neatly and carefully, and Trailblazer filling up a plastic bag until the other two scold them for it and tell them to at least pack a backpack or something so their stuff doesn't get thrown out with the trash. Meanwhile Himeko and Welt have had their suitcases packed for a few days already.

WHATTTT. NOOOOOO. I was really excited for the whole Astral Express family to let loose together. Noooooooo. (I mean if my theory that someone will try to steal the Express is correct, at least he'll have someone to hit with a lance.)

UHHHHHH. WH. WHERE'S THE PLANET. WHY'D WE GET SCLORPED INTO ANOTHER SPACE ENTIRELY. WHY WERE THERE MONADO VISIONS

Acheron: oh god motherfucking dammit how do these fuckheads keep getting in- Come with me.

multiplayer dreaming

Acheron: This is the border between dream and reality, mind and matter...

she's so not impressed with anything the trailblazer does lol

oh look it's everyone we'll meet here.

:/ so looks like the stellaron hunters will actually be crashing the party themselves.

Listen, I don't play that many RPGmaker games or visual novels, but red text is usually a bad and/or scary thing. So am I supposed to take this as bad and/or scary?

"Have you met Acheron before?", "Would you fear losing any of the friends you've made over the course of your journey?", "If you could stay in a dream where you could experience none of this loss forever, would you?", and "If you already knew how the journey would end, in tragedy, would you still trailblaze a path?". Fuck, these questions are hitting. And we're going to witness some kind of tragedy, that much she says.

Black, white, and fleeting red. I'm pretty sure these are the colors in Acheron's splash art. I wonder what that means.

Acheron Casts The Spell: Freshly Chopped Raw Onions.

Wait, so is it a planet, like a round planet, or is it like Asgard from the MCU where it's just a flat plane?

auuuuuuuuuugh front desk troubles i hATE them

aventurine shows up, and himeko and welt just look at each other like "who's this jackass". then himeko expertly deals with the jackass in question. how much experience has she had dealing with ipc assholes if she could verbally square up with two of the stonehearts on a turn of a dime?

I think it's really funny how the marketing keeps saying "listen the IPC aren't bad guys and they aren't unreasonable, they have a reputation to uphold" as though basically the entire Belobog Topaz quest wasn't Himeko, March, and Trailblazer giving a giant middle finger to the IPC for outright lying and manipulating Bronya. And then this guy starts complaining that we wasted ten minutes of his time.

Aventurine: This is Sunday, the most handsome man in Penacony! And that's his sister Robin, the singer renowned across the universe!

Robin: Hehe he called you handsome~

Welt and Himeko: *either heterosexual judgment or just plain confusion*

If you called my OC Grey, the Angel of Illusion and main antagonist of The City of Hands, whose ability is weaving dreams, "handsome", he'd probably just try to ignore you.

Oh, interesting. I sort of assumed that Robin was part of the Family like her brother, but I guess not...

WHICH DAY WAS HE-

There's a hotel in Disney World (World? It's the one in Florida) that looks just like this hotel. But it's supposed to be the super luxury version.

My brain has to do so much of the legwork here (> <) but i'm imagining March and Trailblazer skipping off to their rooms, full of excitement, while Himeko and Welt have a quiet, ominous chat over some drinks.

"Witness the impossible in the realm of dreams, find the legacy of the Watchmaker, Father of Penacony, and thus find the answer to the question 'Why does life slumber?'."

What...? A distress call from one of the Nameless, having arrived relatively recently since both March and Dan Heng were on the Express at the time they received it. YOU KNOW WHAT THAT MEANS!!! MISSION IMPOSSIBLE ARC!!!

Based on my knowledge of Genshin, which will be a lot less useful than I hope it to be, I think most of the factions are remaining quiet because they need the help of the Nameless to clean out whatever's causing their societal issues. Plus, I'm not sure how the Annihilation Gang ties into everything. They can't be the ones who sent the invite, right?

Today I learned that Trailblazer is canonically possibly or possibly not old enough to drink! (There's rum in the Galactic Voyager!) Actually wait, I think I've had this drink before.

Himeko always just sits wherever. And she sits so RADIANTLY.

We might as well be plunging ourselves into VR heaven at this point auuuughhghg i'm so excited

We're visiting the Golden Hour first, so that means we'll be separated from the other three noooooooooo. i mean, "history and culture enjoyer", "atmosphere and people enjoyer", and "shopping enjoyer" match the other three to a tee but :(

March you're so right, this is an intergalactic live-action detective saga.

Okay, let me note this down for foreshadowing reasons. Family feuds, tragic losses, worlds torn apart, espionage situations, rivers running red with blood (acheron lol).

THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE

I don't trust you! :)

(Doesn't TB already have the Preservation's protection? Lance, forward, and all that?)

danger. danger. danger. danger. danger. danger

thabks acheron O_O

Aventurine: How did you make this friend so fast?

Trailblazer: Oh, uh... she called me funny in a dream once?

It will be really funny if Aventurine isn't actually an antagonist here (he's trying to "reclaim" something that's in Penacony, and we all know how bad that went in the case of Belobog) and Acheron is warning us for nothing.

*bass boosted* I think it's really funny how the marketing keeps saying "listen the IPC aren't bad guys"-

I can imagine myself walking into this dream pool while fully-clothed. I keep my socks on, the bottoms of my feet touch the water, my face recoils back like I ate a sour grape. Wet socks are the worst, and I have had my fair share of wet sock troubles. Even stuffed plastic bags into my shoes to avoid them.

Mikhail.

Aventurine: Hey, Ratio, where's that bust of yours?

Every single Dr. Ratio/Aventurine shipper: WRITE THAT DOWN WRITE THAT DOWN

... So his endgame is to basically bring Penacony (penal colony) back into the IPC's hands. Or something like that. How is another question entirely.

*stares at trailblazer flying through the air like a ragdoll in dream space* weeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

FUCK YEAHHHHHH MIDTOWN MANHATTAN!!! (I should go visit again one of these days...)

ehhh, she's freaking out for no reason, she'll be fine, elio never foresaw a future where she died from falling 100 stories in a dream world- SHE GOT YAMCHA'D!!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA

[scene where robin checks on trailblazer who just smashed into bare concrete] my guardian angel and her friend wondering whether they should carry my soul to the afterlife after i drank too many blue raspberry slurpees and passed out behind the 7-11 at 2am

OH THANK GOD DREAM TEXTING SERVICE.

So much of this is just like the Caligula games, I like it.

so today i learned that not only is pom-pom as old as akivili, but he put akivili to task too. also, "broke the train into two pieces"? so is there a second half of the express somewhere??? *soft gasp* can trailblazer finally stop sleeping on the couch

FIREFLY!!! GIRLFRIEND!!!

(this one npc has darker skin than most of the genshin sumeru characters and yes i'm still mad about that)

Thanks, Dad- i mean, man. stranger. with dad vibes

Fun fact about me: The cheat code to designing a male character I will find super cool no matter what atrocities they commit is: brown or red hair, a formal suit, caring dad vibes, and severe mental health issues for which they have very harmful coping strategies. This rarely but sometimes applies to female characters too (makima chainsawman, and a character from a game where the antagonist's file says he likes fireworks). This also applies to Welt. Yes, I do sometimes spend my days wishing I had a better father, how did you know?

Maybe Mikhail is Firefly's brother or something? And she's a local from the Iris family...

this is gorgeous...

going on dates with my girlfriend :)

girlfriend activities :)

girlfriend simulator :)

syrupism??? just sounds like an offshoot of american consumerism to me. like my dad's friend who has a $2m collection of coca cola memorabilia. which is simultaneously the coolest and most cringe thing i've ever heard

can't wait to tell march (my girlfriend) that i have another girlfriend in another server instance

If we go on enough dates with girlfriend we get to hear her tragic backstory.

O_O we're being followed??? *long sigh* okay who is it? rude gambler boy? benedict cumberbatch's sherlock? dad 2? that angel everyone keeps turning into a creepy monster in fanart? a t rex chef?

strong build? silent steps? oh motherfucker it's S A M P O K O S K I

... that is not sampo koski. he always introduces himself with his full name.

oh and he does know who march is, and while march is also my girlfriend, that's not march.

the pepeshi are just moogles. or lalafell.

UM. UM!!!

sampo. sampo what the hell are you doing. is this going to lead us to tatalov

i KNEW IT

i swear some of these trashcan lines were ripped straight from "dog of wisdom"

eris's apple- er, trash can

THERE HE IS! GIANT SAMPO

this is so stupid LOL

i mean i did have a feeling that firefly was lying, i just couldn't figure out how or why. as for how the trash can dream is supposed to symbolize penacony, i'm not sure either.

oh noooooooo i hate walking talking cartoon characters. especially ones that sound like mickey mouse

"innocence kindness, and honesty of a child"? dude, trailblazer murdered cocolia. they have the option to lie all the time. anyway, misha.

no no no no no. i want girlfriend time.

... wait. boss stone. stonehearts? that would make them the ipc, or an expy of them.

a traumatized galactic hero, a bellboy, and a pair of lesbians wake up in a dream world together

DATE DATE DATE DATE DATE

sparkle and aventurine. i guess they have a reason to hate each other

sigonia and avgin. ????

it took me way too long to figure out that "chicken wing boy" was sunday

this entire border section is like a scene 3/4ths of the way through a teenage coming of age movie

MONUMENT VALLEYYYYYYY (you should play it)

the last time i had this much fun with an ingame girlfriend was with kasumi from persona 5 royal. i know a lot of people don't like her because she gets in the way of akeshu action but i couldn't stop smiling every time she appeared on screen, and that's how i feel with firefly. like god, she's just adorable. she's just a treat. ingame protagonist, you'd better treat her well.

firefly is a stowaway suffering from entropy loss syndrome- basically, her perception and actions are slowing down and she's slowly dying on the inside and it's affecting her mentally too. a lot like something from zero escape. she has a dream, and penacony lets her realize it. and she wants to find the watchmaker's legacy.

SELFIE! SELFIE WITH GIRLFRIEND! AAAAAAA

Okay, March found Ratio in the shopping district, Welt's had some weird things happen himself, and it's back to reality for us.

fuck off sampo, i'm going to have an angsty goodbye scene with my girlfriend

yeah i knew you were sparkle. cool transition though

we've entered salvador dali street

"the real dreamscape"... i really have no inkling as to what it might be

OH. Origami bird. That's one of Clockie's friends, and if I'm right that "Boss Stone" is meant to be an expy of the IPC, then that means that the watchmaker themselves lost Mikhail.

THIS SI FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINETHIS IS FINE

THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE THIS IS FINE

such a cool monster design

hi black swan

MOM DAD BESTIE I MISSED YOUUUUUU

Huh. Black Swan wants to ally with the Trailblazers. In exchange, she wishes to experience memories. The dreamscape is collapsing, potentially exposing a lot of danger as well as the Watchmaker's Legacy. The person who sent the Watchmaker's invite is likely behind the collapse as well. The various factions on board- the Trailblazers, IPC, Family, Masked Fools, the Stellaron Hunters, the Galaxy Rangers, the Garden of Recollection- one of them is the culprit. The IPC is the most obvious, but... where is the Annihilation Gang in all of this?

Okay. Stellaron Hunter Sam is the one Welt saw suspiciously wandering around.

Acheron!!!

Acheron is so angry all of the time. I love her.

FIREFLY!!! At least she's okay! For now!

There she is! Hug girlfrie- OH NO

FIREFLY!!! FIREFLY!!! OH NO OH NO OH NO

OH MY GOD SHE'S DEAD

D,:

Moving on...

Let's see, someone killed a lot of monsters in one strike with a blade slash, and that blade was superheated.

Firefly was betrayed by a companion after tracking down some information about the Watchmaker. That companion, probably Sam since I know he's a boss fight.

oh my god that's a boss fight that's a boss fight

DID ACHERON JUST THROW HER FUCKING KATANA AT HIM-

you, you CAPITALISTIC BITCH

actually, if aventurine was the one behind firefly's murder, which he very well could be- no, no, i'm just not going to entertain that rn

BLACK SWAN WAS THE BETRAYER?! HOLY FUCK

or, they were both trying to save the trailblazer?

Acheron's an Emanator of Nihility? Who gives a shit? I'm friends with an Emanator. Her name's Herta. She has puppets.

wHAT. Do you mean. Ifrit is dead.

... Listen, I thought it was lowkey insane that they'd drop a character design as awesome as Dubra's and then drop absolutely nothing else. I began joking in chat about how badly they'd animate Ifrit's skull. But if he was never actually meant to be an ingame character in the first place, that's crazy.

I mean like, realistically I don't trust any of these people. I really don't trust the IPC since they have a vested interest in reclaiming Penacony. But Acheron stealing her invitation is interesting, since I thought she was the most trustworthy.

Yeah, thanks for putting it mildly, Black Swan. Everyone could be lying. It could be you. It could be me. It could be Mom. It could be Dad. It could NEVER be Bestie.

Okay. Let's go. Let's see the "truth" behind Penacony.

OH NO. OUT OF ALL OF THE PEOPLE TO DIE, I DID NOT EXPECT HER!!!

Hey. Hey what the fuck. What the fuck is happening what. WHAT

oh he is NOT happy about someone disguising herself as his sister

the people here are way too horny for sunday

he's pulling out the capitalized pronouns. in christianity those are the big guns.

Final Thoughts

they told me i wouldn't be ready, and i wasn't. i wasn't even ready for how not ready i was

Also my favorite kind of Big Reveal is when you know something big is going to happen, because it's being foreshadowed (Firefly death) but that completely keeps your mind off the true reveal (Robin death) until it's time, and then the true reveal hits you like an avalanche.

You really can't trust anyone in this hotel. I have a vague idea of who's allied with who, but what they want? I have no clue.

My head hurts.

#honkai star rail #honkai star rail spoilers #liveblog

7 notes · View notes

paintedscales · 8 months

Text

FFXIV Write 2023 :: Day 15

Prompt :: Portentous Characters :: Nomin tal Kheeriin, Estinien [Wyrmblood], Alberic Bale, Nidhogg, Alphinaud Leveilleur, Aymeric de Borel Warnings :: Dragoon Lv50 Quest Spoilers, Heavensward 3.3 Spoilers, Possession, Major Character Death (...? Idk, I asked my partner what he thought because I sat here for a good moment squinting at the implications of the material in question, and he was like, "shrug? technically?") Word Count :: 1,461

FFXIV Write 2023 Master List

“O mighty Nidhogg! Lord of Dragons!”

Nomin watched as Estinien slowly rose to his feet from his battered state after their battle with one another. Her hands trembled with fatigue around the lance she had taken from Alberic after the fight -- for Estinien had prevented her from having any opportunity past her first arrow to use her bow. She wondered what he had been doing as he raised his hands skyward.

Alberic had lurched forward, his hand outstretched and his face contorted to desperation. He was too late, though.

“Grant unto me thy blood, that I might be granted the claws and fangs wherewith to rend thine enemies!”

Nomin felt her yelp of surprise that caught in her throat as the sky above violently ripped open in a swirl of purple, pink, and black. She barely had time to process it as a dark beam shot down and engulfed Estinien, and then bathed the immediate area in a flood of white powder as the loose snow dispersed around them.

When the area cleared, Nomin had found herself in front of Alberic protectively. She had not remembered moving to place herself between them, but he had been at the forefront of her mind given Estinien’s earlier statement. His intent to cut Alberic down for defiling any trust that he had prior. However, as Nomin stood between the two, she felt a tug of surprise from Estinien.

“...Nomin!? Th-This is impossible! It cannot be!”

Without feeling as if she were in control, Nomin had leapt and struck at the ground. White aether shimmered and burst forth, and when it faded, Estinien had been nowhere to have been seen. All that was left were Nomin and Alberic both looking where he had last been standing. They both looked around, expecting Estinien to be somewhere, but their eyes caught neither hide nor hair of him.

“Forgive me, Estinien… I have failed you once again…” Alberic was heard saying. It was as if he expected the Coerthan wind to carry his apology to wherever Estinien disappeared to.

Turning toward Alberic, Nomin’s expression of concern and disappointment caused him to walk forward and offer a reassurance: “I am fine, Nomin. Somewhat shaken, but otherwise whole of body…”

Alberic’s brow knit together as he recollected the immediate past. He sighed, breath clouding and disappearing into the air. The sadness in his eyes told a myriad of stories and emotions that Nomin could only guess were swirling within him.

“... I can only hope that this meeting -- this conflict -- is not some sign of something portentous on the horizon.” Alberic said, gazing up to the sky above them where they witnessed the dark aether coalesce. “I have much to reflect upon, Nomin. Let us return to the Observatorium.”

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Before Alphinaud and Nomin, Estinien had been transformed back into himself, his form kneeling and panting. He was still being used as a vessel by Nidhogg, the wyrm struggling to keep control with everything he had. The battle against Nidhogg had been arduous and fraught with great danger. However, Nomin had held firm with the aid of stalwart allies to the Scions and Ishgard to weaken the great wyrm that he was rendered back to the form of Estinien.

“Estinien!” Alphinaud called out. He had rushed forward a little ways, though not past Nomin, who was still poised for battle, her arrow drawn back and pointed at the possessed dragoon.

“Is this…to be…mine end?” Nidhogg’s worn, yet furious voice echoed within their minds. He forced Estinien’s body to stand back up in sheer defiance to the idea. “Nay… I will not allow it… I am of the first brood… I am vengeance incarnate… I am Nidhogg!”

Nomin clenched her jaw. Those were words that had resonated with her in some way, some fashion.

Obsessed…

Nomin saw herself in Estinien’s position. Saw herself being used and tormented. Saw herself being used as a weapon of hatred.

“Thou shalt die by my hand!” Nidhogg shouted through Estinien, raising the lance still within his grasp. He readied himself to lunge forward, or throw the lance forward, but was stopped. The red lines of corruption faded as Estinien fought for control.

“This is not your hand, wyrm!”

Whatever control Nidhogg still had forced Estinien’s hand open and thrust it at his throat. Nomin watched with some form of steeled resolve that hid her horror. She could only imagine the turmoil and conflict being waged within Estinien and Nidhogg was forcing him to choke himself.

She had no idea what to do. Should she have shot her arrow that was trained upon his form? End him?

Nomin gave the barest glance in Alphinaud’s direction.

‘No… I can’t. I can’t do that do him… Not after everything.’

Estinien’s desperate scream as he coughed up blood made Nomin’s blood run cold to match the air around her. She felt as a statue holding a bow and arrow -- poised, but unable to feel herself have control to let loose the arrow if the moment called for it. She was shocked.

“Thou…wilt…obey!” Nidhogg’s voice carried both in the air and within their minds.

Estinien -- whatever part of him was in control -- turned his gaze upward. He looked directly at Nomin. He saw her there: his only hope for salvation.

“I would ask one last favor of you, Warrior of Light… Finish me -- now, while I have the beast subdued!” Estinien begged.

‘I̸ ̶c̵a̴n̷'̷t̸ ̶d̴o̴ ̵t̷h̶a̶t̵ ̶t̴o̶ ̷h̸i̶m̸.̵ ̴N̷o̵t̶ ̴a̶f̴t̴e̴r̸ ̸e̶v̴e̷r̵y̵t̴h̵i̴n̸g̵!̵'' Nomin desperately thought, regaining control over her limbs. She threw her bow and arrow down to the ground and charged forward in a sprint, resolve ever guiding her forward. Alphinaud had picked up on the intent and ran as fast as he could behind her.

Nomin slid to a halt onto her knees next to Estinien and forcefully grabbed the Eye that was embedded within his right arm while Alphinaud grabbed the Eye within Estinien’s left shoulder. As Nomin dug her fingers and nails deep into the socket and the Eye itself, corrupted aether spilled forth in a burst, crackling the air around them.

“You waste your time. Kill me! It is the only way! Ending Nidhogg…will be my final duty…” Estinien reiterated his desperate plea to be killed.

“Shut…up!” Nomin yelled at him. “The only one to die to day is…Nidhogg!”

“You can’t die like this! I won’t let you!” Alphinaud cried above the crackle and thrum of corrupted aether.

The Eyes flashed gold before another burst of scorching, electrifying aether seared up both Nomin and Alphinaud’s hands and arms. Both gasped and screamed in pain, but their holds remained firm upon the Eyes. They were both resolved to remove them with all the power they had. Even with as hard as Nidhogg continued to fight them in what way he could.

Only a few moments longer of enduring the pain, the burn, surely they would have prised the Eyes free. However, a soothing feeling washed over both Nomin and Alphinaud. Familiar hands had placed themselves upon their own. When they looked, the visages of both Haurchefant and Ysayle greeted them. Warm, familiar, and both offering a peaceful smile that instilled a brimming sense of hope.

It was this that allowed both Nomin and Alphinaud to finally succeed -- to finally rip the accursed Eyes from Estinien. His mouth fell open as his screams of pain filled the air. So harrowing were they that Nomin still heard him ringing within her horns even after Nidhogg’s soul had been separated from Estinien’s body and soared ever heavensward.

“Undone by mortal will. Whither now…?” were Nidhogg’s last heard words before his form dispersed and faded.

Haurchefant and Ysayle had left back to the star, and Alphinaud had toppled over onto his back, Eye within his grasp. As for Estinien, he laid unconscious on the stone. Nomin looked at the Eye within her hand. Her gloves and half of her sleeves had burned away, and she could feel the stinging burn that ran from the palms of her hands all the way up to the bends of her elbows, wanting desperately for relief. Alphinaud, too, had suffered in much the same fashion.

Both of them had looked from Nidhogg’s Eyes to Estinien’s form. Both of them worried in some way that he had perished even with the efforts they expended to keep him alive.

“The Eyes! Cast them into the abyss!”

Collecting themselves after Aymeric’s voice had cut through the air, both Nomin and Alphinaud sprinted for one of the sides of the Steps of Faith before they both threw the Eyes out as far as they could.

The red orbs flew through the air before they plummeted down into the dark fog that roiled below, hopefully never to be seen again.

#ffxivwrite2023 #ffxiv #ffxiv writing #my writing #ffxiv oc #oc: nomin tal kheeriin #estinien wyrmblood #alberic bale #alphinaud leveilleur #nidhogg #aymeric de borel #tw: possession #begging for death #hw spoilers #arr dragoon quest spoilers

16 notes · View notes

scrollsfromarebornrealm · 7 months

Text

FFXIV Write 2023: On Our Fates Alight (masterpost)

The tale of a Dominant of Light and her beloved sworn-brothers, each also yoked to an Eikon...

(FFXIV-FFXVI AU. Various components of XVI pulled into XIV, and me playing fast and loose with the timeline. Some prompts were generally G-rated, but others had warning for violence and sexual content. I'll note those in brackets next to the link so you can avoid them. G-rated ones will be non-bracketed)

---------

Envoy: The Scions of the Seventh Dawn learn that Gaius van Baelsar has a secret--and has banished his third-in-command from the Eorzean campaign.

Bark: Garleans are not welcome in Coerthas. So is the will of the Silver Fuller.

Reconnaissance: Estinien Varlienau, Dominant of Nidhogg, runs afoul of the newest solider in the campaign against the Garlean incursion into Coerthas--a goose-sized Valefor.

Off The Hook (blood, violence, gore): Odin's Dominant, Sebastian Astralyas, learns that the Sharlayan Forum is actively seeking Riven.

Barbarous: Riven DeGlass, Dominant of Valefor--has a run in with her grandfather's not-so-sane wanna-be-girlfriend.

Ring (blood, violence, gore): Reinhardt Sauveterre, Dominant of Zurvan, is very well suited to his Eikon. As the Brothers of the True Faith spill innocent blood within the halls of the Vault, they realize they've invoked the wrath of an ancient god.

Noisome: At a party that introduces the Crystal Braves to the now-hurting Scions of the Seventh Dawn, Mathye Bishop, Second Dominant of Halone, realizes the glittering affair is nothing more than a trap for the unclaimed Valefor.

Shed: Emma DeGlass, Riven's mother, takes the boat to Eorzea to find her daughter...leaving a man she attempted to kill behind in her wake.

Fair: Riven and the others find themselves needing to pay the Ruby Tithe, but it's not as simple as they would like it to be.

Purge: In the aftermath of his revenge, Sebastian falls ill from the relief of no longer carrying a heavy weight on his soul. He finds comfort in his nurses-his three new brothers and baby sister.

Once Bitten, Twice Shy: The Eorzean Alliance wants to parlay with Ilberd Feare, who is now known as the Silver Griffin. There's just one problem...trying to convince the Scions' Dominants to let bygones by bygones.

Dowdy (sexual content): Riven, Estinien, the aftermath of Shinryu's defeat at Ala Mhigo, and a very large bathing pool.

Check (blood): Valefor flies to Ishgard's aid during the Steps of Faith.

Clear: Emma, a sleeping chibi-Valefor, and a pile of Riven's childhood plushies.

Portentous: Astrid DeGlass, and the first time Valefor awakens within Riven.

Jerk: Captain Carvallain Durendaire feels honorbound to warn his ship's current guests about the dangers Dominants face in Hingashi.

Save The Queen: Misija has bitten off far more than she can chew with Save the Queen--the Eikon itself and the five Dominants that are now hunting her down.

A Fish Out Of Water: Sebastian and Mathye give off murder vibes at a Ishgardian gathering. Augustine would just like someone to behave.

Weal: The final moments of Lacelle Gyllcen, Sebastian's ex-lover and the one who locked him away in Sharlayan experimental facility for a decade.

Hamper: Five Dominants on the First can surely put a crimp in Vauthry's plans...but the corrupted Light itself is an anti-Eikon weapon.

Grave: In the aftermath of the battle with Elidibus, Riven is uneasy about the revelations in Amarout.

Fulsome (sexual content): Sebastian gets broadsided by a question from Riven.

Suit: When he first Primed, Augustine Bishop didn't care what toes he stepped on and who he insulted...as long as he could cut himself free from his blood family.

Forbidden: Forced to treaty with the Eorzean Alliance, Gaius van Baelsar reaps the consequences of nearly killing Riven in his attempt to separate Valefor from her.

Call It A Day: While spying for the Scions in Sharalayan, Riven is able to venture deeper into Labyrinthos...and finds something quite strange.

Last: Even with the Dragonsong War concluded, Ishgard still is not at peace. For the civil strife to finally stop--Halone's Dominants must leave the city.

Sole: Fourchenault is not pleased with his current actions...even if they are for the good of his home, and Sharlayan's plans for the star.

Blunt (violence, blood): Forum Member Sevestre Albright imprisoned and tortured Riven after her first Priming as Valefor. Now she's finally able to have her own vengeance.

Contravention: A facility named Site Sixteen within Labyrinthos was responsible for the pain, suffering, and deaths of many Dominants--it's last victims being Sebastian Astralyas and Riven DeGlass. With word having gotten out of this gross abuse of power to the Sharlayan citizenry, Foruchenault Leveilleur is charged with finding and bringing home Sebastian and Riven--so that they may testify in a court of justice.

Amity: Three Scions watch over five Dominants who have found something rare and precious among their kind--friendship.

(I also wanna thank @erickgage @driftward @matrixdragon @autumnslance @saesama and @chysgoda for ideas and bouncy-off boards during all of this!)

#ffxiv #ffxiv write 2023 #on our fates alight #ffxiv-ffxvi au (the other one)#i'm probably gonna write out some more of this still have a few scenes in my head #*bow* thank you for reading!

13 notes · View notes

whenyoujustwannawrite · 5 months

Text

Commissions for Aid

Hello! It's been a while. I hope you're having a good day.

I'm grateful that you are still following me and like my poetry. Possibly, hopefully, you would like more of it.

I'm opening up TWO POETRY COMMISSION SLOTS for a donation of $5 or up (or the equivalent) to The Palestine Children's Relief Fund under whatever project of their you see fit. You can commission a poem with any prompt you would like to give me- the weather, a story, an anniversary, a love letter- and I will write a poem for you in my style. Go nuts.

To get a taste of how I write, please check @whenyoujustwannawrite

Slot 1: OPEN

Slot 2: OPEN

I am also opening up TWO CHARACTER SKETCH COMMISSION SLOTS for the same, a donation of $5+ to The Palestine Children's Relief Fund. These will be bust sketches with lineart and minimal coloring. You can commission your OCs, any book characters, your FFXIV personas, etc. I won't be drawing gore, mecha, real people, or nsfw. If you want to request a fullbody commission, please message me, and maybe we can work something out.

Slot 1: OPEN

Slot 2: OPEN

This is how we can go about it:

1] Please send me a direct message requesting a commission with the details of what you would like me to draw or write for you. Do not make a donation yet.

2] Once I confirm that I've booked the slot for you and accepted the request, please make the donation and send me a screenshot as proof of your payment.

3] I'll begin working on the commission!

It's horrible to see scores of civilians being killed blatantly, and a whole country's history and lineage be wiped. I do believe that how we respond today will set the tone for how we handle violence or hate in the future. Empathy is necessary, remembering is necessary, aid is necessary,

#free palestine #commissions open

12 notes · View notes

autumnslance · 7 months

Text

FFXIV Write 2023 Day 19: Weal

Vrtra looked at his golems, seeming for all the world like two brothers of differing ages sleeping on paired chaise lounges. The elder form was a boon for aiding his friends in combat in places it would be detrimental to show his true self, but for the day’s work, he still preferred the younger form, keeping the combat golem preserved for when it was truly needed.

And so Varshahn opened his eyes and sat up, not even sparing a glance at his greater self as the wyrm curled up, apparently napping, but Vrtra’s remaining eye watched all through his vessel.

The standard round of early morning meetings with ministers was done for the day; that he had taken to doing in his true form, though any individual meetings not done immediately after were better handled by Varshahn. Sometimes, appearing to them as a Raen youth was less intimidating, and they were more willing to honestly speak their minds, particularly when they disagreed with him.

Regrettable and frustrating, but he understood. His true self was rather intimidating to mortals, particularly when the conversations grew heated. Having his ministers’ opposing ideas and counterpoints were too valuable to fret over it.

But today there were no urgent meetings or ruffled feathers to soothe, and so he stepped out into the muggy late morning air and took in a deep breath, the scents of flowers—species of jasmine, geranium, and orchids tended by the gardeners—meeting his artificial nose.

What wonders in themselves, and what a wonder that this form could enjoy them in this way, and up close!

He greeted members of the Radiant Host, and was hailed in return, as he made his way from Meghaduta and into the city. At the hamsa farms, he inquired with the various keepers about the animals’ health, their feed supplies, prices for market and also for foreign trade, spending a good hour inquiring about the birds.

Once satisfied, he ambled over to the silks district. Ruveydah Fibers may have been one of the largest businesses, but it was not the only one, and Varshahn spent two hours speaking to a conglomerate of smaller businesses, sipping amra lassi to put them at ease, and discussing the uptick in trade now that the Final Days were behind them. They celebrated the good fortune of one of their number, who had recently made a lucrative deal with East Aldenard, joking that their comrade would soon be invited to sit with the larger companies.

Varshahn smiled to see how they laughed together, genuinely pleased for their fellow, the tensions of those dark days lifted and now experiencing pleasure in their successes as they rebuilt.

He meandered past the airship port, but had no need to check with the skymaster today, though watching the bustle of activity, of a ship preparing to leave while another arrived, carrying foreign visitors and returning locals, made him hum with joy as he passed through Alzadaal’s Peace.

He paused at his old friend’s memorial, as he often did, leaving a flower and a prayer, the list of names on his lips ever longer, all the past sons and daughters of Alzadaal still sharp pains of loss to his dragon heart. “Our nation thrives,” he whispered to their memories. “The darkness has passed; our people are safe. Thank you, my dear friends, and pray watch over us as we continue to enjoy this gift of life we have been given.”

By yet more dear friends, who even now aided him in his own personal matters—it was turning into a much larger and more dangerous endeavor than expected, but he had hope, finally, where before he had none, and so had only focused on his children and their prosperity.

The fruits of his centuries of labor blossomed around him, a hum of color and light and sweet scents and happy sounds, only requiring nudging here and there to remain on a steady course. And freeing him to pursue his heart’s desire, finally.

As he ambled toward the aetheryte plaza, he was distracted by the sounds of children, shrieking and laughing. He stopped as he always did to watch them. A mixture of Hyur, Auri, and Arkasodara children played a chaotic kickball game of some kind, the participants young enough that the rules constantly shifted and points were arbitrary, each little victory in itself a won game.

One Raen boy kicked hard and the ball went wide. Varshahn leaped to the side and caught it, grinning as the children cheered. Some paused, recognizing him and staring wide-eyed, but one young Hyur girl came running over, her brown hair falling out of her braids.

“Good catch!”

“Thank you,” he said, offering her the ball.

“Do you want to play, too?” she asked, not yet taking it.

“Tuli, that’s the satrap!” One of the Arkasodara children hissed.

“So? He’s played with us before!”

“Indeed, though it has been some time,” Varshahn said. “But since I have no other pressing business today…” he dropped the ball and kicked it into the fray, the children shouting in joy and chasing after.

Which team he was on seemed to shift at their whims, and they were delighted to find him jokingly bemoaning still being the slowest runner in this form—with some confidently saying the alchemists could fix that, leading to a rousing discussion of some things he was certain were not plausible even for alchemy, but he wouldn’t put it past Nidhana and her peers to consider or even attempt if they heard the children’s ideas.

Varshahn was not blind to the difficulties and darker spots of his island, that not all experienced prosperity, or happiness, nor even wished well for others, their pain and selfishness causing strife. Struggle was an inevitable part of life—even he had his share. But the faith and determination of his people despite their troubles filled his ancient heart, reminding him why he continued on this path.

So he played with the children, watching and listening, and learning about them, the future caretakers of his beloved Radz-at-Han, to help and guide them as needed, dreaming of the ways they would continue to work together to keep their home a happy one.

#final fantasy xiv #ffxivwrite2023 #Lyn Writing #Endwalker #Vrtra #Varshahn #Radz-at-Han #Thavnair #look I just love Thavnair and Vrtra they're my new favorites

27 notes · View notes

fair-fae · 1 year

Text

For anyone who hasn't pieced it together, I just wanna take a moment to say that my RP partner of the past 10+ years, Val, has decided to stop playing FFXIV and maybe MMO's in general. It's been a long time coming and there are no hard feelings about that, even if on my end it is sad and not what I'd hoped. For a few years now, we've been trying to work things out, but it's just not happening and it isn't fair to the both of us when one of us is much more involved and invested in the game and the community than the other. It's a mutual decision in that I did request if he can't be active in game anymore, I would like to move on with Faye and some of my other characters. Otherwise, we would love to still be writing and RPing with each other, and maybe we will find a way to in some other capacity outside of FFXIV. I don't have any plans to write his characters out of my characters' backstories. A couple of my alts I might say are still with his characters, even if it's all off screen. He's still one of my best friends, and none of that has changed. I'm just starting a new chapter in FFXIV RP, and he's moving onto other hobbies, and hopefully it will be better for the both of us in the long run once we get through the pain of ripping off the band-aid.

#ooc

46 notes · View notes

latikaa-renaz · 7 months

Text

FFXIV Writes; Day 25

cw: medical procedure, eye injury mentioned. Set during the Siren's Specter Campaign

characters: Latika'a, Sloane, mentions of Erlanis

The amount of slowly escalated fighting, genuine to the point of nearly reaching physical blows, that had gone into getting the consent he needed was intense. Careful suggestions, pointed comments, and genuine concern had all soured with time; each word said turning spiteful and angry with the hurt pride and fear coming from every side. Even a brief period of screaming when Latika’a had snapped, pushed too far from their situation and Sloane’s stubborn nature striking words like the bullets he shot against every one of Latika’as attempts to convince the man to let him aid. Had it not been for the terse snapped words Erlanis gave then, it would have drawn even more Voidsent to them than was already being sporadically fought off.

“Fine. Just get it over with, but know if you fuck up…” The words he’d been *needing*, been *waiting* so impatiently for, that Lati would have given up on if this weren’t such a drastic situation. When Sloane finally gave in after another fitful attempt at rest for the three, the bells of moving and scavenging what they could with less and less results wore them down hard… Lati nearly dropped the makeshift bag of lichen and seaweed he’d been trying to clean. The few measly fish they’d managed to gather had already been cleaned and ready to cook as much as possible- the skins stripped down to act as bandaging under the strips of cloth already gathered. “Yes, I get it, you-” Deep breaths were taken, teeth audibly grinding.

“I get it, I do. I won’t mess this up, now lay down and let me work.” The tension does not dissipate, while Lati turns their hiding spot into an emergency operation zone. Strain and stress fill both Sloane and Lati’s faces as the ultimate creativity and supply use has to come into play. One does not have the tools of the trade needed, and the other struggling past deep rooted fears and thoughts that while Lati does not know… he can empathize with. It’s why he’s let the man go so long without either forcing the procedure or leaving Sloane to die.

He gets it, so much more than Sloane thinks he does. He understands the glimpses of someone else that come in the moments of giving silent company when another nightmare of past traumas lurk up from Lati’s mind, when rough words come out in demands for Lati to take care of himself, when Erlanis is showing his insane amount of skills in fights and there is finally a working balance between them all. Sloane is an asshole, and sometimes so unpleasant when their conversations aren’t superficial flirtations… yet Latika’a grasps what understanding he can.

So he works with precision, with what speed he can- shaping tools from the very earth around them and turning them sterile with his ingenuity and precise spellwork. He cycles the work of slicing mangled flesh out with continuous waves of healing to keep the agony at bay. The wrapped leather torn from his own clothing can only do so much to cushion Sloane’s gritted teeth when the pain flows, the lichen being used as a sponge only holds so much blood that flows from the eye cavity being emptied. It is not an easy procedure in comparison to many- but he takes the route where as much as possible *can* be saved.

He takes the route of a future prosthetic being possible, even if it means having to fashion a grotesque and slapdash version of the clean dressings he’d normally use. Fingers stained and slick with the eye’s fluid and the body’s blood work through the disgusting sensations. It’s draining, both on his mind for how it screams at the many risks taken and the lack of what he desperately wants in hand compared to the pale imitations he uses despite how his heart screams that he cannot let crew fall. He cannot let the stubborn ass of a man succumb to the infection that awaits, when a future of painful but necessary adjustments and *living* is in sight.

The moment he’s done, when he can be grudgingly satisfied that the burn of tense muscles have signaled a job well done… what water they have will be split between himself, and the panting Sloane that he eases into sitting.

It was messy, but it was done. They can call it a day.

#ffxivwrite2023 #steelgrin sirens #specter campaign writings

8 notes · View notes