syca's sketches

Finally getting around to answering this, oops. I'll stick with the three main ones I've played so far.

[ - ship asks - ]

8 - are they naturally compatible or do they make an effort to try and understand the other

At first, they absolutely were not. They do not become romantic quickly in any sense, it takes them a year or two at the very least. It took them time and effort to grow into not only their relationship, but also into entirely new people in a way.

Their very first interaction was Killian "borrowing" Ledo's tools to try fixing something incredibly minor for their ship's quartermaster while Ledo was focused on other repairs. When she found him, not only was she furious by that time, but he responded to her reprimanding with a bit of sass. Technically not a good move on his part, as even by that point she was a higher rank than him, but in his defense he thought they were just the ship's tools, not her own personal ones. So they were not off to a good start from the get go. Fortunately, Killian felt bad about it later on and brought her his ration of rum that evening to smooth things over, and things got significantly better from there.

While there were definitely moments early in their relationship that pointed to them having some natural compatibility, it still took a significant time for them to really find it. Ledo had to go through a lot of growth as she was experiencing a lot of realities of the world for the first time during those first few years with the navy, and Killian ended up being a major part of that growth. With his help, she was able to connect better with the crews and other regular sailors (as well as learn to relax and not be so serious all of the time), while she in return was able to give him the tools to help him advance his own career by helping him to learn the expectations of other officers. Both of them grew from who they were when they first met, and it was during this growth that their compatibility really started to show. No doubt that was part of the catalyst that would eventually spur on the romantic feelings they began to develop for one another.

There is definitely a few things they clash on, but at this point they're in position where they recognize the differences for what they are and know that they have to talk it out and work with those differences instead of fighting each other, and they know each other well enough to understand the decisions the other is making so that's definitely helpful for the future.

16 - how accepted is their relationship by their community and loved ones

AHAHA. Aha. Yeah, let's just say it's complicated.

While it helps that Ledo is not from a super, major, influential noble house, it still would not stop people from looking at them strangely. People already looked at Ledo oddly because she was not really interested with any of the people her great-aunt tried to hook her up with early on, and even more so when she made it known that she was focusing on her career first and foremost once it was apparent that she was accepting her role as the heir to her house. If it came out that she was planning on marrying someone without any house connections at all, even if he did have a full officer's commission by that point, there would absolutely be all kinds of rumors and talk running amok. Ledo's prepared for it at this point, and was why she was adamant that she get as high of a rank as she could by the time she was ready to make things official. It would at least make people think twice before fanning the flames too much. And if the admiralty put up a fuss about them potentially compromising their work, well at that point Ledo could probably take a job at the shipyards heading up projects while keeping her rank, and that was going to be the long-term plan anyway.

On a positive note, the people who do care to Ledo and Killian and actually are aware of their relationship accept them. Other friends among the sailors for one, especially ones they would go out to taverns with while in port, absolutely caught on when things started getting serious and were very vocal (mostly to Killian) about their support. The housekeeper that basically became a second mom to Ledo after she moved in with her uncle Halthor also specifically became their biggest supporter (she definitely caught Killian one morning before he could sneak out, oops). And even once Halthor caught on to what was happening and confronted Ledo about it was supportive after he saw how earnest she was regarding her feelings and plans for everything, only giving her a warning that she would have to be the one to deal with the rest of the family if they did not approve.

45 - how are they different when they are with each other than when they are with everyone else

Killian's easy because he's not too different around others as he is with Ledo. He's a bit more charismatic than she is, better at talking to people all around, and he's more of a go-with-the-flow personality than her. Sure, he's serious when he's on duty and is respectful of other officers, but when off duty and around friends he's much more relaxed. If anything, when he's alone with her, he gets to be a bit more soft and even sentimental with her than he does when he's around the other sailors. He came from a rough background where he had to be street smart and keep his wits about him, and a lot of that he brought into his work in the navy as well. Being around Ledo lets him relax in a different way and really drop his guard because he knows he can trust her at this point, and he appreciates that more than anything some days.

Ledo, on the other hand, is significantly different around him than she is around others, and that's mostly because of the expectations put on her. When she's in any kind of naval setting, even when off duty, she's expected to be responsible and collected. She has to pay much more attention to her public image. She was trained from a much younger age that she has to be respectful and follow proper etiquette. It's exhausting. So when she gets to be alone with Killian, all the walls get to drop. She laughs openly. They crack jokes. Etiquette gets thrown out the window for what feels right in the moment. She treasures those moments. She becomes affectionate, bold, sometimes even acting on whims and impulses. And he never bats an eye, enjoying every moment of it, which just encourages her to keep going.

[ - ship asks - ]

More for these two! 7 and 13 answered here!

3 - is their relationship related in any form to their individual character arcs

I really do think they did end up integral to their individual arcs! For Ori, Ranna was a big part of her confirming the identity of her celestial guide that led her to the group in the first place as Sharaea. She was able to find out more and more about herself as time went on because of Ranna's research and knowledge. And even beyond that, Ranna was someone Ori was able to look at as a bit of model of what confidence could look like, and accepting yourself as you are. Post-campaign, she is still using Ranna as a guiding light in that way, until she finally does feel like she has the confidence and acceptance she's always wanted.

Meanwhile for Ranna, I think Ori not only became someone she could admire, but someone who enjoyed her company and could call a true friend (alongside Riven as well, I'd say). Ori was her protector when things got dangerous, and was someone she was to trust in when she realized she had reached her limit right at the end while her hopes of seeing the fight to the bitter end were dashed due to the potential dangers. And beyond the campaign, Ori was the one who stood by her when she saw her family again for the first time in a long time, and I like to believe helped Ranna restore some of her own confidence in a new way.

There is no way I can see these two being the same as they are without each other at this point, and that is what I think is the core of how devoted they are to one another. They are the embodiment of fates intertwining, fortunately for the better.

26 - what is the definitive moment of their relationship and what's their most romantic moment ever

I love so many of their interactions, both early on and later when they do start to become romantic, but I think the biggest relationship-defining moment is their talk after the fight with Cobalt. With Ranna patched up after the fight, realizing how close she had come to death twice since making it to the mountain, and Ori trying so hard to gently convince her that she needed to stay behind where it was safe because she couldn't bear the thought of something happening to Ranna. Ori immediately giving in to her own emotions while comforting Ranna was something that felt so new to her at the time, she'd been trying so hard during most of their journey to seem calm and collected, but that was the big breaking point. And the moment that turned the fight with the Prince following that from a "I have to do this because I must be destined for this" to "I will do this to protect both my people and especially for her" instead.

Their "most romantic" moment is a harder one to pin down. Not because of the lack of options, as there are definitely plenty to choose from at this point between the bits and pieces of writing we've done, but I don't have an absolute favorite yet. I still want to see the seaside confession written out (we should absolutely do that after this btw), I also like to imagine various points where things start to get more serious between them and things really start to feel romantic (please consider a moonlit stroll and swim around the small waterfall close to the sun soul monastery during the fall where the leaves are turning gold and red and the fireflies are dancing around them)... but for some reason, I keep thinking back to this bit that you wrote where Ranna was tending to a sick Oriana for Whumptober. While I know this was written before there was really an inkling that they would be this devoted couple, I really do think this is such a core memory that was the first real spark of "oh there's something there" in my own mind.

36 -do they believe they are worthy of the other's love or not and why is that

I definitely don't think either of them do, at least at the start before they settle into things.

Ranna I believe very clearly thinks Ori should be with someone "better" in a general sense or that she is too much for someone like Ori. That much was clear from some of the writing we've done: Ranna is pining but thinks there would be no reason for Ori to find anything attractive about her, whether it be from looks or personality.

Meanwhile, Ori thinks she carries too much baggage and it wouldn't be fair to make Ranna have to deal with that. The fact that her own powers can be volatile if she's put in a bad position only adds to that. Any time she accidentally burns Ranna while in a fight or even just trying to protect her brings Ori so much shame. Not to mention, Ranna's from nobility and Ori's just the weird half-elf from a working class family that has no business inserting herself in Ranna's life. Ori got swept up in this big, crazy, world-saving adventure because she got some celestial "blessing" that led her to it without really understanding things. Ranna was all for it early in the adventure, being the kind of bard that loves grand, heroic stories and studying histories, but Ori fully expected her to wash her hands of the group and continue on with her life after the fact.

:3

[ - ship asks - For my Oriana and @editoress's Ranna ]

Finally made something I was happy with featuring my bardlock changeling (not his "natural" appearance but his preferred appearance). To keep this brief, he was made for an "intermission" in our main story for our dnd campaign, where we were all playing as basically an "evil" party hired by the big crime boss in the setting. Those sessions have now officially concluded and he's pissed because he's now unemployed after their boss got potentially yeeted off of this plane :)

"the combat is primarily pvp and it will eventually become a mmo with a player-based economy"

Me: (╥‿╥)