HERE'S ANOTHER ONE. he doesn't get talked about a lot because he died pre-arr but l'vhanan nunh was TROUBLE for l'aiha when she was just getting her bearings post-amnesia-debacle. :3c he wanted l'aiha to believe his clan was her home, because he was an imperial piece of shit and preferred saving his and his blood daughters' skins by giving the empire non-blood daughters as conscripts. he sucked. l'aiha set him on fire. accidentally but still. <3
9. weirdest oc
I'M GONNA HAVE TO DROP ATLAS AGAIN.
nearly 7 foot tall moth-cat-person thing. glows. came from space. fuzzy. doesn't know what a taco is. did i mention i finally added their BODY FUZZ TO THEIR TRUE FORM!!!!!!
3. What is your OC's financial status? Are they just scraping by, making enough to live comfortably, or wealthy? Has there ever been a drastic change in their status? If so, what happened?
so, after the events of ARR, l'aiha's "net worth" could be considered very comfortable if not downright wealthy. she earns A LOT of money from people who send her "donations" and "gifts" and "gratitude" for her various deeds, and technically she could keep all of it, but she tends not to. having A LOT-LOT of money kinda freaks her out lmfao. she tends to donate almost all her own proceeds to her friend l'khilo, who runs a financial guild of sorts, the advent coalition, that seeks to reclaim lost or ill-gotten wealth and redistribute it fairly among good causes, fundraisers and charity.
some of this money goes to, for example, the scions of the seventh dawn. tataru is one of the advent coalition's co-founders and handles this portion. another portion goes to reparations and support for beast tribes in the express effort of giving them a safety net from which they don't have to rely on summoning primals for salvation. this portion is run by another co-founder, yuuna orl. the final portion is l'khilo's to run, and it focuses on providing funds for things like architectural repairs, rebalancing damaged economies, that sort of thing. and they money they receive is prioritized firstly to "who is entitled to this?" for example, when l'aiha came across the coffers of a dead, tyrannical king of ala mhigo, she forwarded that money to the coalition, and they determined, well, the money was a crazy evil king of ala mhigo's, so it should be prioritized in helping the PEOPLE of ala mhigo who were harmed by him and by circumstances after him.
so that's where most of l'aiha's money goes, regardless of if it's "lost treasure she found" or money she was directly paid by grateful individuals. she keeps enough to like, feed herself and pay for various services she'll need, like armor repair, travel expenses, etc. but that's about it. she has a LITTLE more than enough to get by, and feels weird if she has much more than that for long.
after she fled ala mhigo as a refugee, l'aiha was DIRT poor. she lived mostly off of wildlife she hunted herself, and scraped by on two jobs she was able to secure with a lot of luck (ul'dah isn't so keen on hiring refugees, you see). her finances got a little better when she made it into the arcanist's guild in limsa lominsa, but it was still not, you know, great. so this shift to "being a hero and getting showered in money for it" was jarring and, truth be told, a little insulting to her! she had experienced what it was like to work tooth and nail for enough money to fix your tent or buy new boots, so just GETTING it thrown at her all the time was. a lot, emotionally. she donated it for a couple years until l'khilo established this guild that could much more effectively donate and redistribute the money.
this, in turn, has made l'aiha better about ACCEPTING monetary donations and the like, because she knows she'll be able to make sure it gets used for a good cause. so she's not constantly refusing the generosity of people unless they're like, clearly scraping by themselves, in which she feels more compelled to have them keep the money and simply advises them to live and be happy and, when they can, help their community. she thinks fondly of the fellow ala mhigan refugees that helped shelter and feed her when she had nothing, and that's the kind of thing she hopes to encourage in others. support your neighbors, even if all you have to offer is kindness and understanding.
5. Does your OC have a signature weapon and/or attack? How long did they train to master it?
she DOES have a signature weapon!!! it's the rapier and focus seen here!
in-game it's called the "rapier of the black griffin", and in character it was awarded to l'aiha for her service with the ala mhigan resistance in stormblood. :) she was VERY dedicated to them and got this weapon as well as a griffin, and she's treasured it ever since. to her, it represents the first thing she ever really did for herself. so much of her motivation was, by extension, the scions' motivation—and while she agreed with their ideals every time, this was the first time she stepped away from them and did something 100% of her own volition. to her, this rapier represents her first steps of defining who 'l'aiha kh' is.
though the sword is tragically lost in the battle with the endsinger, tataru, known extraordinaire of 'commissioning perfect replicas of lost equipment' manages to get her an identical one, even forged by ala mhigan smiths just as the original was! it's very precious to her, and the fact that tataru told these smiths the story and they did such an incredible job recreating it makes her emotional. :') she feels very loved and it makes the sword that much more important to her.
prompts for aiha stolen from my classes :3c describe her daily routine with all five senses and/or write something beginning with the last text/message you sent someone
HELLOOOOOOOOO KIM i did write this on thursday (friday???? i forget when i asked already 😂) but then i couldnt muster proofreading it until today. this was a lot of fun thank you so so much!!!!
this takes place between patch 6.0 and 6.1, but i hope it makes enough sense to anyone who's not there! mild endwalker spoilers!
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It always starts like the very first day: She feels the dawn's light on her face, so soft and warm, it always stirs her to consciousness. Up with the sun, they say, and that's very much L'aiha.
She doesn't linger long in bed; yawns, slips into a light robe, and begins her day. First, she cleans herself up: brushes her hair, her teeth, washes her face, and gets dressed in a light, airy outfit.
Next is the stretches: every morning she feels her body and magic has stiffened overnight, and she aims to restore the fluidity of both. Failing to do so would be detrimental for her; a disability she'll always have to maintain against. But the exercises feel good, once they stop hurting, so she doesn't mind.
Usually by the end of that, she hears her fellow bedmate stirring. Y'shtola is not quite a 'break of dawn' person, but still rises early. While L'aiha stretches, Y'shtola freshens up and heads downstairs to the kitchen.
After exercises, L'aiha showers and dresses for the day ahead. She always tries to smell nice but mild; faintly flowery, maybe fruity if she's feeling bold, but never overpowering, to make certain she can smell the breakfast and coffee as it wafts into the second floor.
Downstairs, Mr. Froddo is always there, preparing meals L'aiha doesn't ask him to. He does so anyway, just so he can put the plate in front of her as she sits down.
She sees dodo eggs and aldgoat sausage, as well as pancakes made from the latter's milk and syrup harvested from the trees of the Dravanian Hinterlands. She sees, too, Y'shtola sipping away at her coffee, already deep in the notes she sleepily wrote herself last night about whatever project she's on. Right now, it's interplanar travel.
Soon enough, they will embark back to the Great Gubal Library for another day-long excursion and study session. But before that, L'aiha savors the taste of her eggs and pancakes. The morning is often quiet, wherein neither woman speaks overmuch; an opportunity to settle into their own selves, knowing the long walk to the Library will afford many questions of 'how did you sleep?' and 'what are we looking for today?'.
L'aiha does like to join her hand with Y'shtola's though; to feel that softer yet magic-worn skin. It's not exactly like the callouses of weaving or brandishing a blade, but it nevertheless speaks to her prowess and experience as a sorceress. Y'shtola never recoils, instead interlocking their fingers as she reads, and sometimes casting a smile L'aiha's way.
L'aiha can guess the weather before she sees it. She can smell when it has rained, can feel the lacking warmth when it's cloudy, and only feels perfectly like herself when neither is the case. Only when she can taste the scent of dry, blossoming flowers does her day begin on the highest note.
They will set out soon. In the Library is air that tastes both stale with desertion and tangy with magic. It smells pungently of dust, ever making her sneeze. It looks like a crypt, no matter how much she cleans as she goes. It sounds endless, bottomless; an abyss with the best of acoustics.
And it feels familiar. The books, the devices, the sprawling halls and winding stairs. She has been here many times; some remembered, but most predating her amnesia.
Yet, despite its decrepit, abandoned state, she is comfortable here. A memory unplaced, but familiar all the same.
@kitkatkimble CRYING AT U THANK U 😭😭 i love being my friends' token american football enthusiast friend. it is a GREAT HONOR (were the teams red and dull green. i bet they were based on the timing u mentioned. those red boys are my boys and they got owned SO BADLY TODAY BUT I LOVE THEM ANYWAY)
@kitkatkimble THIS RESULTED IN PROBABLY ONE OF MY NEW FAVORITE L'AIHA HEADCANONS BLESS YOU.
in which your seeker of the sun mom friend takes it upon herself to make sure everyone goes to bed at a decent hour
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L'aiha Kh is, above all else, helpful.
She's a lot of things besides—magically skilled, smart, acrobatic, a good cook—but at the end of the day, these things seem to feed back to helpfulness.
And never is it as much so as, quite literally, at the end of the day. Because if it weren't for her, none of these crazy Scions would sleep.
"Thancred. Urianger."
"I know!" Thancred says at once, glaring across the table at Urianger from over a hand of pitifully few cards. "I know, but I'm this close to beating him. THIS close."
L'aiha looks over the table, where a great many of Urianger's astrologian cards have been repurposed for some game or another, along with a helping of various snacks in place of gil. She smiles, crossing her arms.
"You have reconnaissance first thing in the morning," she reminds.
"The lady is correct," Urianger points out. "Thee would best concede while thee still has't snacks to thy name."
"Just thirty seconds," Thancred says, settling in with a glare at Urianger. "Bole."
"Nay, wend and fish."
Thancred groans, and pushes a pile of things across the table. Urianger smiles.
"Doth thou has't the Arrow?"
"Bloody seven hells!" Thancred barks, throwing down the card in question and standing from the table. "If L'aiha wasn't right here, I'd rematch you—with Triad cards. I swear you're cheating with that astrologian deck."
"Thee needeth not beest a sore loser," Urianger says.
"Fuck you," Thancred says, then turns to pat L'aiha's shoulder. "Thanks, goodnight."
"Aye, my thanks for bringing a swift end to our contest," Urianger says, collecting his bounty.
L'aiha smiles, recognizing their feud for the theatrical jest that it is. "Get some sleep, Go Fish champion."
Urianger bows his head, following Thancred into the hallway where the Scions' chambers reside. Satisfied, L'aiha moves on to her next step in her nightly routine.
"Tataru!" she calls, leaning over the secretary's ever cluttered desk in search of her.
"I'm here!" answers the small, busy voice. L'aiha looks up, surprised, and then can't help a small laugh finding the lalafell high up on a bookshelf ladder with a stack of ledgers in her arms. "I know, I know, I'm late to bed, but this paperwork just can't wait—"
"Oh, can't it?" L'aiha says.
"No, I mean it this time!"
"And were I to take a look, this would not be something that would set back your wakefulness tomorrow?"
"Um, well..." Tataru sighs and then laughs. "Fine, you've made your point! Just—let me put it on my desk for first thing tomorrow."
"A sound idea," L'aiha says as Tataru scurries down the ladder and hefts the ledgers atop the rest of the mess. "Goodnight, Tataru."
"Goodnight, L'aiha!" she chimes back, and disappears down the same hall Thancred and Urianger had.
Next stop: the Solar, where a great many of the Scions' sensitive texts laid safely away from clients' eyes. L'aiha pokes her head into the room, and at once finds what she seeks, a head of red hair buried in a stack of books.
"G'raha," she calls.
"Oh!" He startles, sitting up straight and looking frantically for a clock. "It can't be that late already—?"
"So it is. Are you almost done?"
"Er, well..." Even after he pushes aside what L'aiha can guess are the books he's finished, the stack that remains is still staggering. "It surely won't take much longer, and—"
"G'raha, that stack of books is taller than I am."
"I-I am a very fast reader!"
L'aiha levels him with a doubting look. His ears flatten, and he laughs shyly as he shuts the current tome.
"Oh, fine, you have the right of it," he sighs, setting his studies aside. "Thanks."
L'aiha smiles. "It's my pleasure. Sleep well."
Estinien is by far the hardest to find, and being such a new addition to the Scions, L'aiha is still learning the ins and outs of his activities. But suffice to say, she can reliably find him out in the fields just beyond the Toll's walls, training as always.
"Sir Estinien!" she calls from the hill, wrapping her coat tightly around herself. "It's getting late!"
She can't see well in the darkness, but Estinien's shock of white hair often gives him away amidst Mor Dhona's dark foliage and trees. She sees his lance glint in the moonlight as he strikes a target dummy, the sound of wood and fabric straining hard enough to tell her he'd done a number on it already.
Her keen ears pick up his dismissive grunt. "Night training is valuable to me," he calls back. "You must be at your best, even in debilitating conditions such as darkness."
"That's all well and good," L'aiha says, "but the sun set four hours ago. Surely you've gotten enough training in for tonight?"
He becomes harder to see when he stops moving, but L'aiha continues to track him by that bright white hair. He stands still, silent for a long moment.
"Of course," she adds, "if you'd prefer I put Krile on the linkpearl..."
Estinien grunts again, turning to walk up the hill. "You're a damned pain, Kh."
"You're welcome," L'aiha says. "Goodnight."
"Hrmph."
L'aiha follows him inside, shedding her coat once more. This time, she makes for the halls, stopping at one door labeled with a sign that just reads, in Alphinaud's handwriting, "Beware of Red Mage". She knocks.
"Ugh, Aiha!" whines Alisaie's voice. "Not yet!"
L'aiha lets herself in, where Alisaie and her twin have congregated on the latter's bed, Alphinaud's hands full of yet more research and Alisaie's with a rapier and polishing cloth.
"We're investigating a promising lead as to the towers!" Alphinaud says. "Surely sleep can wait a bit longer—"
"Knowing the two of you, it'll be a long wait." L'aiha playfully plucks the book out of Alphinaud's hands, and shoos Alisaie to her own bed. "Tomorrow. Tis better to look at your findings with fresh eyes at least once."
Alphinaud doesn't fight her, instead smiling fondly as he pulls himself under the covers. Alisaie is less graceful in her surrender, rolling her eyes and flopping her head down on her pillow.
"You're not our mother, you know," she sulks, as L'aiha pulls the girl's blanket over her.
"No, I'm not, but your grandfather imparted many a parental impulse in me."
Alisaie huffs, but doesn't argue further. L'aiha knows deep down they both appreciate being looked after, even if only a fragment of Louisoix yet lives on within her.
She turns to Alphinaud next, tucking him in the way he likes. The boy blushes, turning his eyes to the wall. "Y-you don't have to do that."
"I like to, so long as it's still okay with you," L'aiha softly says. "You're both growing so fast, but you needn't give up on all your childhood comforts just yet."
"You truly do sound like our grandfather at times," Alphinaud laughs shyly.
"He still worries for you both, you know. I can feel it."
Alphinaud smiles, and settles in for sleep. L'aiha pinches out the lights on their desk, and heads for the door.
"Aiha," calls Alisaie, surprisingly small.
L'aiha stops in the threshold, using the hallway light to spot the girl staring back at her. "Yes?"
"Is he still proud of us?" she asks, barely only a mumble.
L'aiha closes her eyes for a moment, seeking that little bit of Louisoix that yet burns in her heart. She smiles. "Forever and always."
The weight of her sincerity reassures Alisaie, who hunkers down for the night. "Goodnight, Aiha."
"Goodnight, Aiha," Alphinaud echoes his twin, his eyes already closed with fatigue.
"Goodnight," L'aiha says, and gently closes the door.
She sighs, the satisfied sort that comes after a job well done. There's only one stubborn soul left to persuade.
L'aiha heads further up the hallway. This time she doesn't knock, but quietly opens the door so as to not startle the occupant within.
Y'shtola sits at her desk, as expected, so engrossed in her work she doesn't seem to hear L'aiha arrive. Yet L'aiha approaches knowing that's not the case.
"Shtola," she coos. "It's late."
"Forgive me," Y'shtola responds, not taking her eyes off her books, even as she reads with her fingertips on the braille words. "I'm afraid I'll be late to bed."
"But Shtola," L'aiha teases still, draping her arms across the sorceress's turned away shoulders; Y'shtola places a free hand on her elbow in response. "I'm tired."
"I shant stop you from sleeping," Y'shtola laughs sweetly.
"But I want to go to sleep next to you."
"Is here in the room not close enough?"
"No!" L'aiha laughs. She peers at her lover's project. "What are you reading?"
"Passage of the rift," Y'shtola says.
L'aiha frowns, and gently bumps her temple against Y'shtola's. "You were serious about finding a way back then?"
"To the First, yes," Y'shtola says. "But to the other Reflections as well. The knowledge we could glean—of the Ascians, of Hydaelyn and Zodiark and the lost era where all was as one—is far too valuable to let slip through our fingers."
"Perhaps it can slip a little," L'aiha says. "Just for tonight?"
Y'shtola sighs with laughter. "Have you sent everyone else to bed?"
"I always come to you last," L'aiha says. "So you can read a bit longer."
"How thoughtful. Tell me, what makes me so important to your nightly ritual—and how could it be so when we have only recently begun sharing a bed?"
L'aiha blushes a little, tucking her nose against her arms. "Do you want the truth?"
"Always."
"I..." She sighs. "I did not realize how easy it is to stave off my nightmares, when we're together."
The answer surprises Y'shtola. They share a silence for a moment, before the sorcerer gently unwinds L'aiha's arms from around her, kissing one of her hands before standing.
"Well then," Y'shtola says, smiling coyly. "I suppose there is nothing for it. The chance to protect my loved ones trumps even the most engaging research."
L'aiha laughs, surprised, as Y'shtola guides her by the hand toward the bed. "I won't stop you if you really insist."
"Nonsense," Y'shtola says, teasing in how suddenly she's changed her tune. "How will I ever be able to focus, knowing you need me?"
"Shtola—"
"It simply will not do. After what lengths you go through to keep the rest of us on a functional schedule, it seems only fair that someone make sure you sleep soundly as well."
L'aiha giggles again, climbing into bed as bidden. Y'shtola flicks her wrist, and the torchlights around the room go out with a brush of magical wind. Her arm then descends to wrap around L'aiha, pulling the mage close to her.
"Goodnight, Aiha."
L'aiha smiles warmly, and surrenders to Y'shtola's safe embrace.
YES ABSOLUTELY. l'aiha has a great many layers of secrecy and trust to her, so getting close to HER can be a long process, but she's EXTREMELY amiable to others. it's VERY hard to make her disregard a person out of hand; she's extremely sympathetic to others' situations, to the point of often sympathizing even with the villains she's faced over the years. she's just NOT a hateful person, and she sees a lot of wonderful things and mourns how those things may've been lost due to circumstances or the simple failure of choosing to do good
even the briefest of acquaintances tend to mean a lot to her, and she'll be ride or die for you before the day's out. she just values and appreciates people A LOT
F1. what do they always carry?
as of the current point in ffxiv's story, l'aiha ALWAYS has
azem's memory crystal (rly lore-heavy spoilery thing i'm not gonna try to summarize here LOL)
a promise wristlet (gridanian equivalent to an engagement ring; she's had it since before she lost all her memories, and she doesn't even know what it IS, but she can guess it must have been special to her once)
aetherometer (a goggles-like device that allows one to see magical currents and get scientific-type readings/values from them. she's an aetherologist, so being able to scan the ambient aether around her is pretty important!)
various well-used and well-kept notebooks (contains aetherology and arcanima equations, like, the completely incomprehensible kind that only means anything to you if you're WAY more advanced in math than i am LOL. she's the kind of person who wakes up out of a dead sleep to solve an equation that's been driving her insane for 3 months)
B5. what's your favorite headcanon you have for your oc?
she's EASILY my most thoroughly designed oc since raein, like, i practically have her entire life mapped out from her early childhood to now. so uh, u can imagine there's A LOT of little things i've put into her that i'm kind of obsessed with FHKDHJKDLGHDL
i often come back to the fact she's a partially awakened ascian though—she has a LOT more abilities than the average sundered, unawakened soul does, but she's also got a lot LESS than a fully-fledged ascian. some of her ascian traits include the (automatic/impulsive) ability to soul-hop into a new (dead) body when her current one dies, magically alter it to her appearance, and basically resurrect herself; her silhouette doesn't cast a shadow, and she often tries to minimize how noticeable this is by wearing a lot of glowing bits and bobs to make people thing there's just too much light on her to really see a shadow; and, at least before an accident she had, a startlingly advanced grasp on summoning!
now that she has azem's crystal, it's only a matter of time before she accidentally fully awakens herself. it's stressing her out! like, YEAH, she wants her memories back, but not from an ANCIENT LIFE IN A WORLD THAT NO LONGER EXISTS. she means the ones she lost THIS century!!!! fuck!!!!
i haven’t kept up with wow lore since 2kleg so the like. factual content of your commentary is incomprehensible to me, but the emotional core? the ‘what the fuck’ yet unsurprised resignation about terrible narrative decisions, mingled with frustration over stymied potential that culminates in just stealing the good stuff for yourself and fucking off? that’s the true wowcraft fandom experience babey
IT REALLY IS MY LAST VESTIGES OF WOW ARE IN AN RP THREAD IVE BEEN PLAYING WITH A FRIEND IN FOR LIKE SIX YEARS LMFAO. i still have a lot of fondness for the setting and the stories me and my friends made, so.... it's a little harder these days bc i know i don't have the passion anymore to sift through the patches for stuff, but the rp is still fun and it's, in it's own way, slowly helping to have one REALLY POSITIVE WOW OUTLET.
for as sporadically pissy as i get it really is still a lot of mourning and figuring out how to navigate my existence post-wow. that sounds so dramatic lol but i've been playing since i was 10! it's a weird, tangled thing to remove from myself. it kind of feels like a harsh breakup with a long-time friend and now i'm trying to throw out all the stuff they'd given me over the years; some of it i don't think i ever can, so it becomes a matter of recontextualizing it to preserve the happiness it still brings me.
it's a VERY VERY WEIRD TIME FOR ME and finding out exactly HOW insidious blizz management has been for years has added this SCALDING POT OF ANGER TO AN ALREADY UNPLEASANT TIME. i'm definitely a little ball of confused and sad anger BJCKCJGIFJVKH.
