#gransonwol

Her love for Ardbert was doomed due to the fact that he was already dead and not from the Source. Ardbert fell in love with Layla during Shadowbringers too but denied his feelings for her until the very end.

Layla felt like Ardbert was truly her soulmate and often wonders if she would feel similar about the other Azem shards. By then, Layla overcame her timidly and often persued Ardbert romantically and Ardbert was often unsure how to react to her advances - all the while he slowly fell for her. Also I constantly think of newlywed AUs for them lmfao

Layla and Leofard are friends with benefits but on a non-sexual level, they enjoy each other's company a lot. Leofard understands that Layla comes from a very different background and starts to banter with her accordingly. I call their dynamics charming rogue x graceful, courtly fighter.

Layla may act as if Leofard's teasing bothered her a little but deep down she appreciates him as a dear, dear companion. Someone who understands that the world is vast and that there is still so much for them to discover...

When it comes to non-canon ships, I'm afraid this is where my brainrot truly shines. I ship my wol with so many npcs, I sometimes even forget which minor msq/general npc I ship my wol with. It do be like that. Though these days I often think of job/role quest npcs.

As someone who ADORES job quest npcs, I was extremely sad that the stopped doing them in Shadowbringers.

Some of my favorites include:

Gransonwol. They're both tanks and they both lost a loved one. In my mind, Layla and Granson lick each other's wounds and get closer in the progress. Their personalities don't clash at all and they go well together.

But Granson is from the First and Layla is from the Source. Not only are they griefing but it is hard to deal with physical distance. This often leads to conflicts between them. Will they be able to overcome this? Who knows...

Oborowol. The first thing I think when I think of Layla and Oboro was how when she became a ninja, Oboro asked her to teach him about the culture of Eorzea. But Layla is not a native of Eorzea either! I think this may have lead to funny moments to them, Layla loves helping people, so she often answered all the question.

The second thing is:

Oboro's Zadnor field note gave me a lot inspiration. Layla may be experienced in all things romance but she can get pretty bashful and lets her partner lead. Oboro however is not really experienced, so she waits a long time for him to make a move on her. So, here's a rare case of Layla often taking charge in the relationship. Oboro is often thankful but eventually overcomes his own shyness, methinks.

Widargeltwol. Probably the ship that is connected to Layla's lore the most, even more than her canonical ships. Layla is half Ala Mhigan and her Ala Mhigan mother is one of the last surviving monks. This had a huge impact on Layla growing up. Growing up her mother strictly trained her to become a monk but Layla could not open a chakra despite her apititude for fighting and her strong body.

It wasn't until she met Widargelt during the first monk job quest that she opened her first chakra. Widargelt realized her potential and made plans to use her for his revenge against the Garleans (as shown during the ARR MNK job quests). I love this because during A Realm Reborn, Layla felt connected to the Ala Mhigans and started to see herself as an Ala Mhigan more and more.

So, queue in the angst when during the level 50 quest, Widargelt tried to kill her. Layla quickly became fond of Widargelt, so her heart broke after this but during the Heavensward quests they've mended their relationship fast. Even in the canonical timeline in which they don't end up together, Layla sees Widargelt as one of the most precious person she has met during her journey.

It is worth noting that Layla has kept her mother's identity hidden but after the events of the last ARR MNK quests, Layla confessed to Widargelt and Erik that her mother was a monk as well. They were the first people, Layla has told about her mother.