“There is no perfection, only beautiful versions of brokenness.”
psych + crim major. academia & lit lover. asian aroace.
[ pinned || ffxiv: @xivgenesis ]
01. darkness, especially the darkness of night
02. (poetic) shadow of death
03. prison, dungeon; (by extension) gloom or darkness of the mind
— from Wikitonary
— intro ;
Hello, world! I'm Rei (or Raven in fandoms). Usually busy writing something, both academically and creatively; often goes into hermit mode if I'm too exhausted or cranky for social interactions. English is not my native language; please forgive me if I might have said something very wrong at some point.
Main blog; all follows/likes/asks will come from this account.
Personal; studyblr, academia, literature, writer things, life quotes, and stuff. Occasional two-cents and hot takes when I forgot my morning coffee.
Runs on queue, mostly; might post stuff occasionally on a whim.
Dark, mature, and sensitive themes ahoy; do not interact if you are easily triggered/offended/upset. I'm not here to babysit emotional train wrecks.
Not spoiler free; no spoiler tags to reduce unnecessary clutter.
FUB free. Askbox open, anon off; DM for mutuals only. I ignore/block people at my own discretion.
Kindly do not remove my "comments" from typography reblogs as they serve as alt text while preserving the aesthetic of the original post as much as possible. Please help to make these beautiful quotes more accessible for everyone.
— credits & terms ;
All fandom(s) belong to their respective copyright holders.
Divider :: Crescent Moon, by @/firefly-graphics.
For reblogged posts / contents by other creators
Reblog from original source, where possible.
Please respect and give proper credit to the original creators.
T&C set by the original creators, if available, will supersede mine.
Taking a leaf out of @/sasslett's book upon seeing her post here, I thought maybe I should do something similar and make an effort to share my own works.
From personal observations, the writing side of the ffxiv community has been very bleak for many years, compared to fanart and gpose; it's also often restricted to a select few writers who are more well-known, and I know of some who pretty much had given up with ffxiv and are now happier writing in other fandoms instead. I'm a writer myself too, so it was quite demoralizing at first, seeing the almost-zero interaction with my fics. It took me a long while to come to terms with it: focusing on just enjoying what I want to do and honing my own writing skill, other people's engagements and unsolicited opinions be damned. I'm currently still experiencing writing blues after a hectic, deadline-peppered June, but I've been recovering quite well and already back to work on some drafts and wips. Original works and poetry are still my main focus with the goal to get more published internationally in print, while fanfics are fun writing exercises cum hobby for me at this point.
Rambling aside, here are some fic projects I'm working on so far:
A Study in Love [ AO3 ] — Bromantics (Estinien & Yiuno), set during Valentione's Day 2026. The idea is based on a funny conversation I had with a friend on Discord, but I won't spoil much here. Just hold your chocobos for now. Title is inspired by the Sherlock Holmes novel, A Study in Scarlet, by Arthur Conan Doyle.
Sora Holmes Case Files [ Notion・AO3 ] — FFXIV & Sherlock Holmes AU. Currently on Book One, The Underworldly Trials of Adonis, primarily set in Ishgard to expand on the Brume, drawing inspirations from The Divine Comedy by Dante Alighieri.
YoRHa: Dark Aftermath [ Notion・AO3 ] — FFXIV & Drakenier AU, loosely based on the Shadowbringers alliance raid series. Currently on Book One, Sins of Origin, specifically part 2 that delves into the worldbuilding and original lore of this project.
isora;poetica. [ Notion ] — FFXIV poetry.
Upcoming fic projects:
Emmanellain's Spectacular Summer Shenanigans — shenanigans (Emm & Yiuno), set during Moonfire Faire 2022. I mentioned this fic to @/paintedscales to cheer them up, and we had a short convo about this in Discord. I have a rough draft of the fic sorta done, but I need to do proper editing (and possibly rewriting a few parts for better clarity) before I'm ready to post this publicly.
Chronogenesis — my canon divergence longfic project that expands beyond the MSQ we know with parallel narratives, featuring Sora as the Warrior of Darkness and her mysterious mentor, Yiuno, while maintaining SE's poster boy, Meteor, as the Warrior of Light. It's subdivided into three volumes: Tales of the Unknown (following the timeline in the game expansions + patches), Tales of the Future Past (Yiuno & Yiuna's origin story, including some notable incidents in previous Umbral Calamities), and Tales of the Forgotten (Ancients era until the First Final Days, also my personal take on Emet's motivation to initiate the Rejoining). Due to the sheer complexity and depth of this project, a lot of stuff are still wips. (I'm a hopeless perfectionist /cries)
Unknown Memory — canon divergence longfic sharing the same universe and continuity as Project Chronogenesis, mainly focusing on the bibliophiles (Y'shtola/Yiuno) and the bond they share that transcends time and space. Title is inspired by the Japanese light novel series, Unnamed Memory by Kuji Furumiya.
Reversed Butterfly — canon divergence erotica longfic sharing the same universe and continuity as Project Chronogenesis, set in the red light district of Kugane. Mainly focusing on the complicated relationships between the shenanigans (Emm/Yiune) and temptations (Syndrei/Yiune), intoxicated with sex, politics, greed, and more. Title is based on "Sakasama no Chou" by SNoW, the first opening song for the Jigoku Shoujo anime.
Chilling Adventures of Sora — FFXIV and Sabrina AU.
Fate/Final Fantasy — FFXIV & Fate AU. Featuring my OCs as the Masters, and selected characters from other FF titles as Servants.
(There are actually a lot more fic projects and ideas in my Notion notes, but these are some off the top of my head at the moment.)
As for non-FFXIV fic projects:
Wings of the Midnight Sun [ Notion・AO3 ] — canon divergence longfic based on the Infinite Stratos anime adaptations only.
Please, please, do your best to support ffxiv writers. Many of us are often overlooked and underappreciated; the attention or engagement level we'd receive have never been on par with artists and gposers in this fandom, and there are obvious statistics to prove that. It's a shame that a lot of really interesting ideas and reimagines of the game's story go unnoticed, especially when these wonders are best represented through the art of writing, giving readers the creative freedom of interpretations, rather than just pure images and not allowing others any room to conjure up their own imagination.
I will also reiterate that fandoms thrive on mutual engagement between fans in the community, both creators and consumers alike, much like a conversation between people in general. When this becomes one sided, eventually more people will choose to walk away and seek connections or opportunities elsewhere. It's already happening to me, where my focus is more on original works and poetry nowadays. It's going to happen to more ffxiv writers who turn to other fandoms where they are better appreciated, or they might even quit writing completely.
“Self care is not selfish or self indulgent. We cannot nurture others from a dry well. We need to take care of our own needs first, then we can give from our surplus, our abundance.”
When you're a kid you just take trees for granted. Then when you get to be an adult you realize that a fully mature tree cannot be created in an amount of time that fits in a convenient landscaping timeframe for love nor money nor all the powers of science. Then you realize that people are very very very cavalier about chopping them down
“Tropical deforestation doesn’t just affect the environment—it could directly harm human health, especially in communities least equipped to cope. Protecting tropical forests is not only vital for the planet, but also for safeguarding lives.”
— Dr. Carly Reddington, University of Leeds (from The Straits Times, Singapore)
“You know how every once in a while you do something and the little voice inside says ‘There. That’s it. That’s why you’re here’ … and you get a warm glow in your heart because you know it’s true? Do more of that.”
I think part of getting better is complete ego death. Like you’re not above setting a timer for 5 minutes and focusing on a task. You’re not above doing a very simple 3 minute workout to start. You’re not above reading for 10 minutes a day when you first get out of your reading slump, even if you used to read for hours. You’re not above starting slow and then building up to where you want to be/where you once were. What you are above is total inertia. Doing something really is better than doing nothing. Radically accept where you are, radically accept your limits, and go from there. Don’t let your ego get in the way.
Analyze your word choice and writing style to compare with famous writers.
While I am no fan of A/I due to various legal issues and blatant misuse, that's mostly limited to generative ones such as Chat GeePeeTee. This style analyzer is different; it was kinda fun to play with. Rest assured that all your writings are stored locally on your device only; the website has no access to your text!
Depending on the excerpts or chapters I use, the results were... very interesting. I'll only highlight a select few that are worth mentioning:
Ian Fleming
Best known for his James Bond series
Crisp, precise, and dynamic prose; direct, succinct, and remarkably visual narrative style
Short and punchy sentences, injecting a sense of urgency and pace
Never skimps on detail; descriptions are rich with sensory info, while dialogue is used to reveal character's traits, drive the plot forward, with a touch of British witty humor
His style reflects his background in journalism, and his experience in the navy as an intelligence officer. I worked as an intern in investigative journalism many years ago, and I guess that probably bled into my writing for mystery and thriller genres. Of course, I have read almost all of Fleming's novels (I'm not up to date with the movies, though), so I might have been influenced by the author himself too.
Edgar Allan Poe
Pioneer of the detective fiction genre, major contributor to the science fiction genre, best known for his narrative poetry, "The Raven"
A mix of meticulous craftsmanship and psychological complexity, making his works enduringly fascinating and profoundly unsettling
Immersive and haunting quality of his narratives; very careful choice of words, emphasis on atmosphere, and keen use of rhythm
Complex sentence structure, featuring liberal use of punctuation that help build suspense and emphasize thematic concerns, while also shaping the rhythm of his prose
Rich (and sometimes archaic) vocabulary; serves to elevate the tone of his stories, lending a certain gravitas and formality à la the Gothic tradition
Explores complex psychological states and unreliable narrators, blurring the lines between reality and madness; reflects his themes of order and chaos, mirroring the internal struggles of his characters
It's truly a great honor to see his name appearing in some of the excerpts I used for the analysis, but also equally interesting to note that, while those works were originally inspired by Arthur Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes stories that I adore so much, somehow I ended up writing stuff that were closer to Poe's style. Many of my works contain dark and disturbing themes, and I do love exploring the human mind and emotions in fictions (while also making good use of what I've learned in psychology and criminology). "The Raven" is one of the poems that got me into poetry writing, which also has a strong influence on my poetry style.
Mary Shelly
Best known for her Gothic novel, Frankenstein
Blending Gothic and Romantic elements, characterized by eloquent prose, complex sentences, and rich descriptive detail
Intricately layered, employing a story-within-a-story framework; challenging the reader's perspective and inviting deeper inquiry into the ethical and philosophical questions she poses
Adept at using a mix of long, elaborately constructed sentences and shorter, more impactful ones to build tension and emphasize key plot moments; variation enhances the rhythm of her prose, and skillfully manages the reader’s engagement and emotional response
Rich (at times, archaic) vocabulary, chosen for their connotative power
Use of literary devices such as foreshadowing, metaphor, and irony contribute to a style that is both intellectually rigorous and deeply expressive
This is both a delightful and surprising result, because I was half-expecting either one of the Bronte sisters to pop up when I tried the analyzer with my more, ahem, "flowery" prose. I had read Wuthering Heights (which I still don't enjoy even now, it's just not my cup of tea), and Jane Eyre for language classes back in my high school days. Admittedly, I do prefer to put more emphasis on the philosophical aspects and compel readers to think deeper about the conflict, rather than just the dramatic and send readers straight on an emotional roller coaster ride. Perhaps it's a reflection of how I perceive the world around me and the various issues plaguing the current society; it's also important to stay rational and objective when working on academic writing.
Link to the analysis site can be found at the top of this post. Give it a try, and you might be surprised at some of the results (like I did)! I've also included links to full description of each author featured on this list, in case you're interested to read more (the bullet lists are a summary of key points taken from those pages).
NOTE: I decided against mentioning any contemporary authors of the modern era due to many of them being involved in various controversies. Owing to this month being a fairly sensitive one to certain groups of people (and I've already seen first-hand how crazy things can escalate in one of the fandoms I'm in), I prefer to avoid unnecessary discourses that have nothing to do with this post, which is supposed to be something fun. I do not welcome unsolicited politics in my personal spaces.
In this 8th anthology from the FromOneLine community, 57 authors and artists come together to celebrate cats and explore the opening line ‘I
In this 8th anthology from the #FromOneLine community, 57 authors and artists come together to celebrate cats and explore the opening line, “If I were a cat…”
This anthology is raising funds for Ziggy, who has cerebellar hypoplasia, and his feline friends, most of whom are blind.
The purrrfect anthology for that special cat-lover in your life! Or treat yourself (like a cat would).
I’m one of the 57 authors featured in this international publication—and for a good cause, too! Disability in animals is just as important as those in human beings. Your support is greatly appreciated to help Ziggy and other cats in need. 🐱
Samples of my own submission for the anthology are available on my portfolio here. You are highly encouraged to purchase the book to support other contributing authors in this publication.
For more information, please visit the links below:
it’s the way miss americana was framed as this massive, tearful political awakening where she finally broke her silence because she couldn’t bear to be on the wrong side of history... only for her to pivot entirely in every aspect of her life + releasing 47 vinyl variants of the same album to block independent artists + dating problematic men while the world burns. the documentary was nothing more than a marketing campaign to rebrand her as an underdog. she literally told us she’s a mastermind, why are people still shocked when the math adds up to pure capitalism? and before anyone tries to yell misogyny: it is entirely possible to think the media historically mistreated her and think her current corporate greed is indefensible. both can be true. equality doesn't mean women get a free pass to operate like a multinational conglomerate without criticism. she explicitly capitalized on a faux-feminist, politically active rebrand in miss americana to gain cultural favor. weaponizing feminism as a shield against legitimate critique—like her silence on human rights issues or her massive carbon footprint—actually degrades the movement. you can love her music and still recognize that billionaire status requires exploitation, regardless of gender.
