To most people, Ravnur is a pillar of calm. His surprisingly deep baritone voice comes across as gentle but self-assured. Much older than he looks, he tires of social mores easily— he knows what he wants and how he wants it, and can be brutally honest at times. He takes his oath to protect seriously, whether he's wielding a guillotine or nouliths, and will help where he can. Only those closest to him will ever see a carefree smile— behind the night-toned eyes and stoic face, there is an ever-present melancholia and a violent past that he will not broach.
Robyn smiled up at her sister. Careful to not disturb the sleeping woman in her lap, she reached out to take the proffered cup.
"It's surprisingly flavorful, and does quite the good job at warming you up…or at least warming me up. You seem plenty cozy over here."
Robyn chuckled, "Well, join us, then. The company would be welcome."
"I take it she's not one for talking in her sleep, is she?" Osk laughed as she settled in next to her sister, thankful for the warmth of the nearby fire.
"Only when she's working through a particularly difficult problem," Robyn joked back.
They sat in companionable silence for a while, drinking their soup and watching the bustle of activity around them. After the excitement of the last few days, a moment of rest was a blessing, and they could see that many shared the same thought throughout the camp.
"Are you alright?" Osk's voice was hushed, like she was afraid to disturb what peace they had found. "I know it hasn't been easy and you've taken the brunt of it."
Robyn took a moment to respond. "I don't know how I expected people to react to us being here…to me being here. Perhaps I thought they would be more openly hostile, want to attack me directly. At least then I would know how to respond. For so many to just…give up. To just wait to freeze or starve or… with us here reaching out our hands to help."
"Hope is a powerful thing. It keeps people going far longer than they reasonably should and helps them overcome unimaginable odds. But when it is lost, when hope dies it is neigh impossible to get it back. And without it...the fear is paralyzing."
"It almost sounds like you are speaking from experience."
Osk shook her head, "I've always had too many relying on me to be able to give into despair."
Robyn humphed in agreement.
Bumping her shoulder against Robyn's, she continued, "Whatever happens, promise me you will never lose your hope. That you will find a way forward."
"Don't worry, I have all the motivation I need right here." She bumped Osk's shoulder back and looked down an Y'shtola. "With you both here, there is nothing I can't get through."
A moment worth remembering, indeed 😉
As for me, another year has come and gone and I couldn't be more grateful for all of you. You truly bring so much joy into my life. Thank you for indulging me and my stories, and thank you for sharing your creativity and love. 💙
and a bonus shot, so you can better see shtola holding on to robyn's leg 😄 cuties
Ravnur values his privacy, whether it's physical or emotional, and it's hard to fully get to know the deeper parts of him. Given the option, he'll happily spend his free time in quiet, earthen surroundings in solitude. The solitary lifestyle required of Wood-Warders aligned with him, but as the Warrior of Light, it's a constant struggle to balance what he needs with what others need of him.
Though Ravnur doesn't travel with small creatures, sometimes a little pink silkie can be seen sitting on his shoulder armour in safer areas. He finds it amusing that the tiny familiar wants to clean everything (less so when it tries to shove soapy suds into his neck armour…) and enjoys the sight of it floating about.
Is it companion the creature seeks? Or is it the joy of removing the scent of his sweat from metal and skin? He can't say, just that it shows up whenever it feels like.
Some nights, he's grateful for how much quicker the time passes when it helps him clean his armour. To keep them both occupied during this long task, he'll sometimes talk to it softly in a language that's seldom heard on this side of the world. In response, he will get a series of squeaks and chitters. They pretend to understand one another.
They say adversity builds character, but all it did for me was toss me into the nearest sludge-filled gutter for two months. Light's at the end of the tunnel, so I've clawed my way out covered in gunk (we call that "Venat Style" around here) to slap myself back onto the dash.
Consider this an open invite to send me things I've missed! I'll be snuffling around enjoying all of the beautiful work and refilling my queue in the meantime (❁´◡`❁)
thing i noticed while looking at characters which may already be common knowledge but it's the first time i've noticed it: most of the scion outfits directly designed by tataru have little red gem accents. here are some examples:
alphinaud's heavensward and stormblood outfit has these lapel things and these glove things
y'shtola's heavensward and stormblood outfit has this gem on the collar
alisaie's heavensward and stormblood outfit has this red pin on the lapel and a red gem accent on the belt
lyse's early stormblood outfit has a smaller red gem on the blue gem necklace
and g'raha's outfit has smaller red gems on his big necklace.
i think these might be in reference to the post-arr quest Ancient Ways, Timeless Wants, where Tataru gets a bunch of "blood pearls" with the intention to make everyone charms with them. they're red pearls! these accents don't really look to be made of pearl, but... idk, it feels like a reference.
anyway, the outfits which were explicitly designed by Tataru (not counting the ones that were constructed by her but designed by someone else, like the stuff Y'shtola, Urianger, and Thancred have been wearing since Shadowbringers) that do not have these accents are pretty much just the ones intended for the WoL — neither the Scion Adventurer attire, the Scion Traveler attire, nor the Wayfarer's attire have red gem accents — but when presenting the WoL the Scion Adventurer set, Tataru does mention sewing the blood pearl charm into the lining, so it is explicitly in there, for the Adventurer attire at least.
anyway, ramble over. everyone thank tataru for all her hard work
