The "Be My Valentione!" Creative Writing Contest (NA) - OFFICIAL ENTRY THREAD

[MiaJr]

My Dearest Alaimbert,

It is my sincerest wish that this letter finds you well and in good spirits. I must confess, I have long considered calling upon you - but am finding the nerve only now to do so. I write for two reasons. First, to wish you a most pleasant Valentione’s day. If you have not yet been able, you should visit the fortune tellers in Gridania. They tell me that honey yellow is my lucky color, thus I hope you enjoy the flowers accompanying this letter. Second, I write with an admission and a proposal of sorts.

Long have I contented myself to admiring you from a distance. Mine heart skips a beat like a giddy child with each thrust of thy mighty spear toward those who would endeavor to make of you the butt of their unceasing jests. If you but asked, I would gladly join accompany you upon the field, ‘til death or ‘til victory, two righteous backends united in glorious combat!

My spear, and my butt, are yours to command, my Lord! That is to say, yours is a cause I can truly get behind.

I beseech thee, Alaimbert, do not turn away from me. I so hate to witness your retreat, but confess that I do delight to see thy departure.

Your Most Humble Servant and Hopeful Valentione,

Oleandre Torchier, Balmung

(If chosen, I would love to receive the bluebird earrings)

[kierlia]

my dear haurchefant,

it's coming upon that time of year again to show your appreciation for your loved ones and i wanted to give your loved ones some gifts as well.

i've sent your father edmont as well as the rest of house fortemps some far eastern treats that are popular in kugane! hopefully, artoriel and emmanellain enjoy them, i even wrote a note that emmanellain is required to share his with honoroit. emmanellain has matured quite a bit..i think you would be proud.
for young francel, i had some sheet music written from some minstrels i've met in gyr abania and othard sent to him, it would be nice to see his dream of a orchestra come true.
camp dragonhead received a small care package as well. i hope corentiaux appreciates some futons and doman woven fabrics that are quite nice for keeping warm during those harsh coerthan storms. perhaps our falling snows can become a bit more cozy now.

it has been quite busy over here for the scions and i hope to come visit soon. as always, i love you and i miss you. and i thank you.

jade quarry - cactuar - mandragora choker

[Jinxey]

Dear Aymeric,

To my dearest friend, from what use to be just your secret admirer. I served you, as the Warrior of Light and we have done so much together.

I entered your land and was treated by you and your friends with such kindness, I am sorry we had to oppose the archbishop, but we did eventually end the Dragonsong.It led to the kingdom becoming a better place, while we had to stop the threat of Nidhogg and even save your best friend. We did have casualties, but I stayed by your side to help till the kingdom was back to normal.

Now I am in a new nation and only think about you every single day, having to help out a new group of friends to bring their nation back from chaos.

I decided since of the time of the year, I only want one thing and that is will you be my Valentione?

Your Warrior of Light,

Jinxey Royal
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Jinxey Royal Gilgamesh and would like Noble Barding

[SeashellKitty93]

To Haurchefant Greystone,

How long has it been since I last came to visit you? Too long, for my taste. Eorzea is truly so different now that I scarce believe you would recognize it. Much has changed, yet you and I have still stayed the same. The same two people who would enjoy a frothy mug of hot chocolate, and laugh together over the silliest of stories.

Speaking of which, I have another story for you. After the first disastrous attempt to free Ala Mhigo, the Scions and I decided to take matters to the Garlean's behinds, to the far off country of Doma. I know you would've liked to join me out on the Azim Steppe and in Doma, fighting by my side against the Garlean occupiers. It's just the kind of plan that I know you would approve of, and I think you and Lord Hien would have gotten along swimmingly.

Not long after freeing Doma, we finally freed Ala Mhigo as well. Oh, would that you could have been there to hear the people sing again. It's been quite the arduous task of getting both nations back on their feet, not unlike Ishgard. There have been struggles between the people of what to do now that they're free, and I have been doing what I can to help them.

I always keep your words close to my heart. I fight for those we've lost, and those who we can yet save. You've always been by my side though, haven't you? It's what I love about you best, though I never got to say it. But I'll keep my head high for you, and a smile on my face. It's what best suits a hero, no?

I'll be home to Ishgard soon, Frenchie.

With love,
Xehra Pferin

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Xehra Pferin of Faerie, and if I'm chosen I'd love the Bluebird Earring!

[mintfinity]

Dearest Raubahn,

I pray this letter finds you safe and well, and in good spirits.

Forgive me for taking so long to write again. My condition necessitates finding a discreet individual to whom I can dictate, and my own scant ability with words leaves me at a loss. My thin prose and Tataru's penmanship must suffice.

To say "I miss you" never seems enough. Does the Sagolii miss the gentle touch of the rain as dearly as I miss you? Do the highlands of Coerthas long for the sun's warmth as I long for the sound of your voice? How long since the last rainfall? How long since we last spoke? I lose count of the days. Often, they seem endless.

How I yearn for a chance to rest, to remain at your side... but I cannot. So long as primals threaten the realm, so long as the Empire's shadow looms, so long as there is suffering, I cannot forsake the path before me. Perhaps someday the work will be done. Perhaps someday I can lay down my sword. Until then, my heart remains in Ala Mhigo. The path may demand my blade and my blood, but my heart... my heart I give to you. It is a broken thing, beloved, but I know you will keep it well.

I do not know whether to beg forgiveness for my selfish desires, or for how rarely and briefly we are together. For both? Please, forgive me. Whatever others may believe of me, I am merely a man, and a foolish one at that. But I am your fool.

Always and forever yours,
Asher


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Letter written by Asher Leoni on Exodus.
If I am selected as a winner, I would like the Noble Barding.

[SyncNight]

Lahabrea,

To call you a “nemesis” now, in hindsight, would be naïve, I think. Though… I suppose you would find me daft – just another fool – for writing this small bit of sentiment, mourning a loss that was never even mine to mourn. Certainly, if it had been myself in your shoes, you would be celebrating the defeat of just another thorn in your side. Though you may never see it, people tell me this is a good method of coping with ones’ feelings of loss. Of despair. Of anguish.

Even now, I question my thoughts and their origins. Surely, the Warrior of Light has no place regretting what became of you, an enemy who sought destruction of all I stand for and hold otherwise dear. That does not prevent me from feeling sorrow for you, though. To have been smote down by a being who thought himself worthy of being a god… Perhaps it was irony, rewarding your actions and goals with a punishment in kind. But who am I to talk? People revere me as a hero. They sing songs of praise, and truly, there are days where it is far too heavy a load for my shoulders to bear – but I must, for the sake of others. For those who cannot. For those who could not.

How the times have changed since Toto-Rak…

I almost miss when you were the strongest foe I had to face. I almost long for the dance we stepped around one another, when days were easy and there was not so much I was expected to live up to in this world.

Even if I am the only one to say it to you, I miss you, and on this Valentione’s Day, my thoughts are of you.

Sincerely,
Sync Night

(Sync Night; Sargatanas; Ahirman Choker)

[vannevar]

Thancred,

Haurchefant calls this place the ‘Falling Snows.’ It is a clever joke, but I cannot laugh at it: the wounds are too fresh.

Alphinaud and Tataru are with me. Their presence is a balm for my pain, but not for your absence. All I can think is that your blood stains the stones. That I will never see Ul’dah again. That they will give me a new epithet: X’shasi Thronesbane, who slew the Sultana. That they will drag your name through the mud after my own while I cower behind the shield of Ishgard.

I want to go home. I want to go wherever you have gone.

If you were to join me here, you would bring my courage with you. It was you, after all, who marked me out. Who knew me for what I was: Warrior of Light, you called me. You set me on this path, beside me all the while. I do not know how to walk it without you.

Your presence would be enough. You always were enough, Thancred. Before you worked yourself half to death and they yoked you with a Crystal of Darkness—before that, and after. If you were here I would tell you so. And I would tell you other things, which have gone too long unsaid between us.

The gods have not lately been kind, but if they are merciful they will hear this, my only prayer: let Thancred come back to me.

If I am to walk in the snow, at least I will leave footprints. Follow them until you find me.

I miss you.
Shasi

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If chosen, please award my prize, the Noble Barding, to Mitsuko Ashikaga of Mateus.

[Terinati]

Dearest Zhloe,
It has been many months since I began delivering supplies to the orphanage… and though we have grown close, I have not dared speak of the depth of my feelings for you. I could not risk the work we do for them together, should my feelings be disastrously unrequited.
Yet these feelings cannot go unspoken; like a child pulling painfully on one’s tail, my adoration for you tugs at my heart-strings each time we speak, prodding me to give them voice.
Your bright smile, your generous heart, your innocent optimism – these are but a few of the things that I think of when I close my eyes and think of you on the days when I’m not making a delivery. If I try really hard, I can almost convince myself that I’m in your company!
Even amongst the colorful denizens of Idyllshire, you are special, singular – like that one crooked tooth that brightens the whole smile with character.
While others’ quirks and charms grow tiresome with time, week after week I find yours only more adorable, continually sweeter with each passing day, like a mysteriously-aging bowl of pineapple pudding.
Though you have welcomed me into the family – which I treasure so – the arms I yearn to embrace me are not Menphina’s. My love is as a child with no home; I only hope that your heart has room for one more orphan.
Rest assured I remain ever dedicated to you AND to the orphanage. If you wish to discover me, you may know me by the heartfelt care I put into making the orphans’ gifts, and by the look in my eyes when I present them to you.
Ever in adoration and dedication,
Your Secret Admirerer
PS. Don’t forget to feed the children!

Tatsu Maru, Faerie, Noble Barding

[Brownleaves]

Dearest Urianger,

As Valentione's Day approaches, I couldn't help but notice that you don't seem to do much in the way of celebrating, which I find a shame, considering your fondness for poetry. And so, I thought I might write this piece about you, to inspire you to find your muse (or, at least, to amuse you):

Every curl of thy lip and raise of thy brow
That my wandering eye doth regard
Delivereth me away from the now,
Unto a place only the mind doth guard.
Thy words, though ardent and articulate
Become lost amid such a lovely sight;
A vision so charming and consummate,
That thy whole visage doth seem alight.
And when the time for speaking doth close,
And the moment of response is nigh,
I reflect upon thy masterful prose,
And fail to stifle my bashful sigh.
For while my eyes hath wandered away,
Mine ears hath also gone astray.

Happy Valentione's Day, Urianger!

Awaiting Your Most Eloquent Reply,

- Beetle Brownleaf

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Entry by Beetle Brownleaf of Faerie. If selected, I would like the Mandragora Choker. Thank you very much for this opportunity.

[Azuru]

Dearest Alisae Leveilleur,

Ever do I toil in the wake of your intrepid brother and his misadventures - as he doggy paddles his way through a sea of self-important politics and dark portence.

Truthfully, I suppress a desperate longing for our days spent in silent companionship, and for those calm quiet nights spent beside the campfire. I must confess that I reel at your subtle brilliance of wit, and the quality of your candor - you are growing to be a woman of distinction.

Still, as fate would have it, we are drawn ever into new conflict, and must delay those fleeting moments of sweet companionship. Perhaps someday we will be allowed the time together - to pass our days as friends, I yearn for a life of simplicity devoid of strife.

Though it might come on the heels of battle, this is the true victory of my heart.

Forever true, your Valentione

Azuru Mitsuki

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Azuru Mitsuki from Excalibur. Noble Barding