Gabriel Oschonsong
Sage ※ Bard ※ Therapist
+40
Ishgardian-born Wildwood
Full-time dad seneschal to Lady Yuuko & the House of Beans
About
※ B U I L D ※Name: Gabriel Oschonsong (born Lothaire)
Race: Wildwood
Gender: Male
Nameday: 25th Sun of the 3rd Umbral Moon, 1535
Age: Early 40’s
Guardian: Oschon (recently, prompting the name change)
Birthplace: Ishgard
Height: 204.4 cm (6'8")
Build: lean
Complexion: pale
Eyes: blue
Hair: chestnut brown with gold highlights and graying temples
Scarring: strange puncture wounds on his forearms, neck and spine
Tattoos: None (normally)
Other distinctive features: His eyes change color and he exhibits Duskwight features/tattoos at random
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※ L I F E ※Residence: Lavender Beds house + office apartment at The Emyreum.Family: Yuuko (adopted daughter, 19 during ARR), Estelle Flumen (estranged step-sister in Ishgard)Occupation(s): researcher (primarily aetherology and somanoutics,) affiliated with the Sharlayan ForumHobbies: bard /performance, therapy (relationships, trauma), nature walks, totally legal and most definitely safe aether experimentsAlignment: neutral good
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※ F A V O R I T E S ※Accessories: Elegant Rimless Glasses, Wayfarer’s NecklaceMount: Starlight SteedMinion: Page 63Flower: Whatever Fyrstyrm arranges at homeFoods: Archon Bread everyday if left to his own devices, Philosopher’s Sandwich, Wine-dark SoupDrinks: Hand-poured Coffee, Espresso con Panna, Spiced CiderFragrance: Cinnamon, cedarwood, old rose, petitgrain, terragon, vetiver
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※ P E R S O N A L I T Y ※Personality: Calm, warm, may seem distant but is probably just preoccupied.Social Meter: Depends on his spoons on any given day. Very low on “low aether” days. Very social and doting on better days.Close Relations:
- Fyrstyrm Rhotsyn: friend & co-parent. Retired Storm captain, now botanist & mentor
- Yuuko: Lady of the house, adopted daughter (unofficially)
- Amalthea: Dalmascan refugee, one of Gabriel's somanoutic therapy patients in Ishgard
- Goose: Friend & crewmate, resident Limsan butch
- Yuusei: the household's favorite smith, moved next door all the way from Kugane
- Yasumi: the eccentric landlady rarely seen around (but is everywhere and knows everything)
- Fourchenault Leveilleur: respected colleague & family friendMentors:
Jehantel Fointeaume (currently)
Stans Nyunkrepf Nyunkrepfsyn, and is having his retired captain buddy teach him some sailingSexuality/Romance: pan-demi, in a complicated sexual relationship that's semi-polyamorous & semi- long distance, romantically unavailable
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※ P S Y C H O L O G Y ※Dreams & Goals:- To unlock to truth of the aetherial sea (the nature of which as well as the existence of shards was confirmed by WoL et al)- Healing as much as possible of the Ishgardian post-Dragonsong war psyche- At this point in his life, much of his time is dedicated to supporting his Little Lady with her dreams to be an elegant dancer, “the most beautiful queen” as well as a fearsome warrior like her other adopted dad and mentor (to which he contributes in bandaging for the most part)Fears:- Failing to protect a loved one when they need it, but equally fears stifling them.- Possible loss of autonomy or agency, ever since the Labyrinthos incident. His friends would catch him saying things he didn’t know the meaning of. He would find himself on some rock out near the sylphlands with no memory of how he got there. Plays music he doesn’t remember composing. Things be weird sometimes.- (Later in his story when he realizes he’s living on borrowed time) that his life and time/manner of his death is tied to the fate and whims of another man in another world.- "Infusion nights" and incurring the GreenwrathStrengths:- Extremely supportive. Patient. Good listener.- Highly functional on little to no sleep.- Knows how to survive the savagery of Ishgardian bureaucracy, the horrors of Sharlayan academia as well as the (far less deadly) Coerthan wilderness.Shadows/Weaknesses:- The desire to provide a safe space for Yuuko to grow into her own can make him too overbearing and/or protective, exactly the restrictive Ishgardian upbringing he himself claims is more destructive than conducive to growth.- Having his nose in books 24/7(8?), he sometimes forgets that the present is where life actually happens and needs to be reminded, with good company, actual food and the frequent touching of grass.- Due to his chronic aether sensitivy, he never teleports via aetheryte and travels the old-fashioned way, and never too far from the Twelveswood for too long, making him a poor travel companion. He would compensate, though, by regaling you with tales and song.
Story Arc
Common Themes:
Slice of life, parenting, friendship, terminal illness, multiple personalities, academia, druidry, healing from trauma, somatic (somanoutic!) therapyContent Warning Throughout Gabriel's Story:
PTSD, cult abuse, dubious consent, grief, depression, nihilism
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Story Arc (Spoilers up to Endwalker):Prior to ARR: Gabriel Lothaire was born in Ishgard, studied (and later taught) at the scholasticate, and had gone on to study aetherology in Old Sharlayan, where he was recruited as part of a research team, at the recommendation of colleague Fourchenault Leveilleur, to observe aetherological phenomena more closely than had ever been possible. At the time, much less was known about its nature, and their ignorance led to a major incident in which several staff members were exposed to lethal concentrations of primordial aether, leading to some deaths, some cases of acute aether sickness and, in rarer cases, chronic symptoms of aether “poisoning” the nature of which had neither been disclosed to the public nor observed in-depth.As far as he could glean from what little was discovered, Gabriel had a sort of terminal aether sickness and his days were numbered. As time went on, however, his symptoms only seemed to confuse him further. He was allowed to remain in Old Sharlayan with all of the library’s knowledge at his disposal to learn more about the aetherial sea, as long as it all remained classified. Additionally, he was allowed early retirement wherever he saw fit.Gabriel’s initial intention was indeed to spend the remainder of his life researching, more intent now than ever to uncover the mysteries of this primordial world between worlds. However, he found himself making other major life decisions he would never have considered.Where he had a purely academic interest in aetherology and somanoutics, he found himself drawn to the tangible experience of it, drawn to how it manifests in nature and in the souls of people around him. Rather than a theoretical knowledge of aether, he felt an irrepressible urge to experience it in all its physical and psychological manifestations. He found himself writing and playing music at riverbanks, harmonizing with the rustling of the trees in the Twelveswood, where he made his home. He looked up from his books to the night sky and slept under the stars. He decided to turn his Emypreum office into a walk-in consultation service, where he helped the youth of Ishgard find more freedom in life than was afforded by the rigors of their society, going as far as to abandon his Ishgardian given surname and adopting his own– Oschonsong. He co-parented his best friend’s adopted daughter with the intention of leaving her equipped with her own adamant will and intuition, supported by the distilled wisdom the natural world, that it would guide her when he no longer could.However, it’s been a decade and that day is still yet to come. With the breakthrough in aetherial research contributed largely by the WoL’s journey, many of Gabriel’s theories were confirmed about there being multiple worlds in this vast sea. Additionally, to his bewilderment, streams of the same souls were shared in many of these worlds!Over time, it became unmistakably clear to Gabriel, that on the day of the Labyrinthos incident all those years ago, his own aether came to converge with that of his reflection in the First, and so did their corporeal manifestations seem to cross and overlap, to varying degrees of stability on any given day, and both souls would share both bodies. He hadn’t known at the time, but the overexposure to aether that should by all rights have killed him immediately was only mitigated by the fact that his reflection, a druid elf who had a powerful bond to the elements, was driven by his own self-preservation instinct to save both souls from (dis)integrating back into the aetherial sea. His very lifeforce, in fact, has been sustaining that of Gabriel’s for years.He did not know a thing about this elf who saved his life and shared in his aether. He did find out over time, for better or worse, that he was a very different man, with very different inclinations, allegiances, prejudices, sexual orientations, and philosophies, and if Gabriel was to maintain a peaceful coexistence with this wild soul inside, he would have to undergo a life-long integration practice, learn to accommodate opposites, quite literally at times, and accept the myriad changes in his life, some of which are subtle yet permanent, some sudden and temporary as whim, while some still are strong enough to influence the physical world.Could he possibly divulge to his colleagues or friends that he “hears” aether in the air, or explain why his placid blue eyes would sometimes change to a piercing violet? Or why he would utter seemingly meaningless words that have no occurrence in any historical texts? Or why he managed, despite his chronic aether sickness, to excel at manipulating nouliths and administer little-known healing techniques that seemed to incorporate elements from the incorporeal as well as the natural world? He was not inclined to turn himself into his lab’s own research subject, and as such, the only person privy to his secret is his life-long friend and fellow parent, and only because it was the least he owed him for all the concern he caused. Not to mention, the roegadyn needed an explanation as to why his old thespian friend had the occasional all-consuming desire to be railed by him under the stars (not that he minded, so much as deserved to know that he was part of what was essentially a two-body ménage à trois.)All things considered, Gabriel is grateful enough to have been given a longer life than he’d had any hope for, albeit a good deal more unpredictable and uncontrollable than he would have liked. Once he made sure his elven “soulmate” bore no ill-intention toward him or his loved ones nor was he a disruptive influence on his Little Lady first and foremost, and clients second, he has grown increasingly open to the healing experience of the integration of two very far-flung souls.How does the mysterious elf feel about it? Well, he has proven time and again to possess the power to manipulate not only his own aether but that of his soul stream’s, which implies he also has the power to draw it all to himself. The fact that he had kept Gabriel alive all this time reassures him that this may not be his intention, at the very least. Further attempts at “channeling” have served only to shed light on the elf’s mannerisms and inclinations moreso than intention, but the research continues.
Where Can I Find That Mod?
※ h a i r ※Wolf - vanilla mashup by wolfred. (with DT, the top part now looks a little less defined and blurrier than the lower part. May bother you.)Lost Ark Assassin by Westlaketea (works fine for DT on penumbra, except for a few tiny spots)Elezen Beard (stubble) by Alds (not DT compatible yet)
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※ b o d y ※The Body SE by Tsar (updated link for DT compatibility)TBSE-X (non-IVCS, muscular veiny texture) by Raykie (updated link for DT compatibility)
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※ g e a r ※Fitzwilliam Top by ElegyWorks
