go on, let it fall [1]
[jullus pyr norbanus/Warrior of Light/Alphinaud Leveilleur]
[~5550 words]
Jullus meets the Warriors of Light.
Not that he knew that, then; perhaps, if he had, this would have ended so much differently.
---
wallacepolsom

oozey mess
let's talk about Bridgerton tea, my ask is open
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AnasAbdin
will byers stan first human second

pixel skylines

祝日 / Permanent Vacation
Acquired Stardust
noise dept.

izzy's playlists!
Monterey Bay Aquarium
sheepfilms

JVL
we're not kids anymore.
$LAYYYTER
hello vonnie
cherry valley forever

ellievsbear

JBB: An Artblog!

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@witchfall
go on, let it fall [1]
[jullus pyr norbanus/Warrior of Light/Alphinaud Leveilleur]
[~5550 words]
Jullus meets the Warriors of Light.
Not that he knew that, then; perhaps, if he had, this would have ended so much differently.
---
You know, ive been thinking about it more, and I really like the comparison Halmarut is drawing between the wol and Zenos (he is your mirror, after all.)
Zenos was so good at combat, so physically strong, he could do whatever he wanted. No individual or political entity could stop him. He could win a war for Garlemald, or kill its emperor unopposed. He had the power to determine the fate of the entire world. To destroy it, or save it, depending on if he felt like it.
The warrior of light is the same. Are you sure your motivations are pure and altruistic? Do you know youre doing the 'right thing?' Or are you just chasing what makes you feel good... doing whatever you want because nobody can stop you... just like he did?
Halmarut knows she cant stop you. If every other Ascian failed, what hope does a sundered one + a dozen randoms from other worlds have. Idk if she really believes she can reason with you. You are supposed to represent the best of mankind, the beings she loves and admires, but you are always outside it. Above it. Something else. Does she see you as one of the humans she loves, or some godlike being who will determine mankinds fate, where all she can do is pray to it to make the right choice. Idk, I find her really interesting.
And I like that even if Zenos isnt here physically, he is still here in what he represents. The wol thinks about him a lot, and the game doesnt dictate what you are thinking about in your own head, which makes me wonder what it is. Are you worried you will become like him? Resentful that even in death you cant escape him? Do you miss him, and long for the friendship or love you could have had, if only he could see reason? Are you doing the same thing to Halmarut? Is the fact that you couldnt save him representative of the fact that you cant save every reflection? That even the two of you, so powerful as to kill gods and change fate, cant escape things like death or being wrong?
its almost uncanny how accurate this is
I'll always pray for your safe return.
a morning cat
bringer of darkness
btw roleplaying various characters with your friends is the singular most healing thing in the world. playing with toys for adults
But watch out
watch out
wip wednesday
god bless the patient @thepapernautilus, upon whose notifications I now bequeath this beast I have been working on. Thank you for tagging me!!!
Below is a very WIP take on my Eiraverse FFXIV fic, which will be snippets of the game through the lens mostly of wolardbert and wolexarch. Mwah.
"Stop," he says, looming down at her. Mist blurs her vision and his skin. "What are you talking about?" She blinks at him, trying to remember to breathe through her nose. Everything smells like muck. "Surely I do not need to explain sex to you." "What?" A strange beat passes. Like he still doesn't believe it. "No, I—I don't even know you. What are you…" His face is so red she can see it in the dim cloudlight and amid the distant glow of yellow lanterns. She gazes at him, hard and flinty. She makes herself such, so that his judgment or his hatred might bounce away from her like so much else. So he's a romantic? He somehow has kept that indulgence amid the loss of his world, has he? Meanwhile, she loses two lovers and decides she has no choice but to be beyond it. How…humiliating. The expression on his face suddenly turns scorching. "Are you hoping I'll hurt you?" She glares up at him, her heart pounding in her ears as if caught in a lie, and she yanks her arm out of his grip. "Excuse me?" He lets her go, but his lip curls in a way she finds unnecessary. "I wouldn't do that." "What? Debase yourself with me?" He reels back slightly. "Hey—" "We were both sad creatures drinking alone in a quiet, horrible pub," she hisses at him, temper rearing its ugly head. "That you followed me out is your choice, not mine." "Yes, you're right. Sorry." She pauses. He rubs the back of his neck, sighing heatedly. He closes his eyes, looking askance — all signs of weakness her pride doesn't allow anymore. "Are you really that lonely?" he asks. Eira, as a rule, does not enjoy cussing. She considers telling him to go fuck himself for how plainly he lays it out. "That you would ask me, I mean! Hells, woman. Come on." Arbert leans toward her slightly — something foolhardy in his amusement, a charm that once again compels her to keep looking. "To make fun of me? There's a lot of jokes on the table." Ice fills Eira's chest when she realizes exactly how he is looking at her: like a wounded animal. "Perhaps that would be pleasing, yes." Then he smiles. A little mocking…but also, strangely gentle. "Would it? Be pleasing?" She never should have entertained her heart's curiosity in the familiar tapestry of his memory. She rarely receives such texture in another's remembrance through the Echo — something bone-deep, a recognition she'd never before witnessed, not even in her own mother's gaze. What a foolish endeavor. "Do you not feel it?" she whispers, dark. "The desire to feel anything at all, other than your own crushing failures?" He leans in, blue eyes seething. "You lost the match, I recall." "You lost your entire world." They both stand here, wavering horribly as they lean in and in and in. "Which is worse?" she asks, her eyes stinging, unable to stop herself. "Watching an entire world die, or watching the light leave the eyes of the only people who ever understood you?" A muscle in his jaw twitches. And then, something in the world snaps. His arms go around her waist and he picks her up, lifts her so that she is at eye level with him — a bizarrely intimate hold, chest to chest, their noses nearly touching. "You know the answer to that," he whispers over her mouth. "I saw it."
yayyyy
tagging @almandine-s, @vaniccio, @viiioca, @dyscomancer and whoever else would like to do it!!
the urge to write is like a cat meowing for dear life for someone to open the goddamn door, who then shows utter disinterest in said open door
« Mild winter » 「 FINAL FANTASY XIV 」
shoutout to Krile for annihilating Raha with one line of dialogue
wol back from the First: Krile hi... so there's this G'raha Tia, you know him, right? he traveled through time and space to save our worlds and uhhhh he wanted to save me too... by sacrificing himself...
Krile: ah that dramatic dweeb, yeah nvm this's not the first time and probably not the last either
I feel it would be good to have a word that's like not ragebait but shamebait, where you can read a post and just go 'ah, this person just wants me to feel ashamed of myself and is not engaging with the issue in a constructive or useful way. I do not have to participate in this actually' and like. move on with your day
Some doodles from today, nothing crazy cuz im sick still <\3 mixture of the twins and my ocs :))
I think that when you're overstimulated you should appear kind of grayed out and no one should be able to interact with you like a locked character in a video game
Merchant's Tale from FFXIV, Part 1
Credit where credit is due. FFXIV's latest Variant Dungeon, Merchant's Tale, came out this week in Patch 7.45. There's been a lot of well-deserved criticism levied towards it already, because some of the most prominently marketed aspects of this new release - the gear, some of the bosses, etc. -- have been Orientalist caricatures that are demeaning, racist, and frankly rather disappointing. It's obvious why this is (sex sells and Disney's Aladdin sells; hence the "exotic" belly dancer gear, the blue genie of the lamp, the flying carpets, etc.), and I won't rehash those points here because that isn't the focus of this post.
The point is this: there's been some actual research & work that's gone into Merchant's Tale, and those facets should be recognized and praised and discussed, even as we are justly and rightfully denouncing the aforementioned Orientalism. I'm an Iranian-American; I may not be the best person to speak on this on account of how I am diaspora, but my grasp of Farsi/Persian and my cultural upbringing gives me enough background to recognize the work that Creative Unit 3 did put into this latest release. It's my personal belief that we should be encouraging more and better representation, not less and worse, and until matters & industries & reach improve enough that we can enjoy homegrown representation developed in the countries best suited to represent themselves, we ought to give companies feedback to encourage them to do better (hire natives and first language speakers, do their research, understand what not to do, etc.) rather than to become entirely avoidant ("why bother with representing this culture when we'll only get slammed for it") or, worse, to start disregarding our feedback entirely in favor of what sells best. There's enough good representation in Merchant's Tale that it's worth not losing sight of it, and I'm going to be covering all of those things in this post.
Be warned: spoilers await you.
Finally, before we start: please pray for the people of Iran.
Merchant's Tale from FFXIV, Part 2
More Farsi, coming through!
cat boy of the year!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Yknow I was just thinking; you got bit by the exarch bug so bad that it spawned an entirely new OC to handle the literary runoff that occurred post infection. You simped for crystaltwink so hard that you underwent fandom parthenogenesis
I HAVE BECOME GOD
(no but it's true lol idk what it is...time passing? A new angle? Being less afraid of what people think of my writing or takes or angles? The Chronicles of Light Vol 2 short story certainly sped matters along in the background...that they made canon something that I would have pegged as too sad for fanfiction. His arm ached so much it made him bedridden for weeks! He shattered it to bits and painstakingly enchanted it to move! And when asked...he says...yes, it was a bit of a challenge. And he smiles.)
(I am obsessed with the idea of him being unhinged even without feelings for the wol hanging over him. He really is that guy. The soil is fertile...)