Using conjury to overcome blindness

[Koro Dotharl]

Greetings.

 

Like the title says, I am considering to face this challenge but I have a doubt about how my character would adapt to this disability.

 

I know that conjurers have a deep bond with the elements (and nature in general), they feel their presence beyond what the five senses offer in exchange of the conjurer's aid. Thus I was thinking about my toon orientating herself by sensing the energy of the elements to detect obstacles, water to drink and the placement of people trough the wind they move around them, with little use for the other senses other than hearing.

 

I feel that this would be useless in cities because nature withdraw from those heavily colonized places In which men defy the elements (with the exception of Gridania and surroundings?), returning her to darkness.

 

Naturally, this doesn't make my character able to run around and 1v1 gladiators. Rather, she would be able to walk with little hassle and follow people around without needing others to slow down (thus making the RP less frustrating for others, that's the idea).

 

Mind she is not directly talking with the elements, just sensing their presence around her, humbly "observing" for guidance while hearing the occasional plea for purification like other conjurers does (because as far as I'm aware, direct constant communication with them is a very rare gift that I'm not gonna claim).

 

And for last, she would be able to summon the elements in combat like other people do but that's not something she would do often considering she wouldn't be able to see who she is shooting at! Rather, she would heal the injured.

 

Would you enjoy to RP with this character and if not is it because this idea is not within the boundaries of lore?

 

I seek and welcome your feedback!

[Kellach Woods]

The amount of stuff you can do with Aether is absolutely astounding. I personally like the idea, but I am far from a lorebuff.

 

Also, Gridania. I guess Neyra can craft a good tale from your experience, but that's it for my roster ^^;

[DreamedReality]

I actually just made a blind char. Perhaps we can RP  sometime and they can lament their 'disability' together.

 

But I did something similar. Only instead of elemental forces helping and guiding her (even indirectly) she senses the aether in living things or things with high concentrations of aether in them. Like materia and such things. She still uses a cane to move around for those pesky barrel/crates/doors/walls/etc that might be left in a pathway.

 

As for lore viability... don't see why not, for the whole elemental aspect. But I'm  not an expert on lore of the elementals. Just know what I've seen other pull off in the game.

 

For instance I know a char (not blind) who did have a friend wind spirit. Used the garuda egi to represent the spirit. And he still ended up with plenty of RP for having such a 'rare gift'. Not all might accept it but it -could- be done if it's something you'd like and it doesn't sound like you're the type to overpower it.

[Antain]

I actually just made a blind char. Perhaps we can RP  sometime and they can lament their 'disability' together.

 

And then I can get on my alt and we'll have a disability party!

 

(He's mute.)

[xelliexell]

Ooooh! My main (Maia) is a blind conjurer, in fact! Although, to be clear, her ability with conjury is still very modest. Primarily, I just RP her as a regular blind individual.

 

I used some of the videos from Tommy Edison on YouTube to educate me on the mannerisms and practical limitations of being blind. He has a short series where he talks about the different aspects of being blind, and I found them fairly useful in gaining that perspective. These may be useful to you as well, particularly for those moments when she may not be as "aetherically connected."

 

I know of another blind character who utilizes aether to 'see' in the way you describe, so I don't think that using this sense is too lore-breaking.

 

The only thing I typically lament in choosing to play a blind character is that, when interacting with others, I cannot respond to their lovingly crafted emotes.

 

So if someone says "Yeah, Maia," and then emotes a defeated shrug, followed by a morose shuffle of their foot, I am not privy to the information beyond the words. This has been the biggest challenge for me, because I have to personally determine, without metagaming, what she would reasonably take away from each interaction with not being able to read non-verbal cues. This leads her to think that things are fine when they're actually not, very often. Obvious emotes like drinking tea or laughing are easy enough to deduce, but a lot of the emotion that's conveyed through emotes (other than vocal) is lost. I hope that explanation makes sense, haha.

 

Either way, good luck! Feel free to let me know if you have any further questions (not that I'm an expert - I've just been playing this character for six months pretty solidly.)

[Koro Dotharl]

I thank you all for the feedback and I'm glad to know I'm not breaking anything! I really think i will do this now and shall write up the rest of the backstory, perhaps our characters could meet indeed.

 

Also thank you Maia for that youtube channel (and your experience), it gave me some facts to apply in my RP.

 

(He's mute.)

 

That would be a fun first meeting!

[Nebbs]

Just one thing I would say, RP the character not the disability. Too often I have seen blind/deaf/amnesia characters be defined by the disability and it soon gets tired.

[Yaaris]

Just one thing I would say, RP the character not the disability. Too often I have seen blind/deaf/amnesia characters be defined by the disability and it soon gets tired.

 

This so much

[Kinono]

Just one thing I would say, RP the character not the disability. Too often I have seen blind/deaf/amnesia characters be defined by the disability and it soon gets tired.

 

Hehe, that was my first worry when I read the title. A good example of respect, both in real-life and during OoC communication during roleplay is to use what's called "people first" language when talking about a disability. Nothing against you, OP, as I'm certainly not going to assume you won't treat the character respectfully, but saying "blind character" as opposed to "character who is blind" tends to relay, even subconsciously, that this character is defined by their blindness, rather than being a character who just simply possesses the trait of blindness. Something to keep in mind!

[Antain]

The only thing I typically lament in choosing to play a blind character is that, when interacting with others, I cannot respond to their lovingly crafted emotes.

 

This was the hardest part of RPing a mute character and a blind character together. It was interesting, but required a lot of brainpower They did eventually come up with an arrangement so the blind character could "see" written words Remy created, though I'm not entirely sure it's lore-safe, but has been hinted in story-mode that it might be possible.

 

 

(He's mute.)

 

That would be a fun first meeting!

 

You would think so! I would still like to try at some point if you're up for it

 

Just one thing I would say, RP the character not the disability. Too often I have seen blind/deaf/amnesia characters be defined by the disability and it soon gets tired.

 

So much this. I have seen this done wrong on many occasions and had to remove myself from RP with people who have done this. Just as Maia said, being unable to respond to emotes is a detriment when going up against someone who can't speak, but keep in mind what you can hear within that emote. Shuffling of feet, clinking of armor, tapping on a table. There's still so much in the surrounding that a character can react to and still not be defined by their disability. I've RPed on Remy with another blind character once and didn't even know it until he tried to communicate using hand gestures. Obviously, it didn't go over well, but it was still fun.

 

Just... One thing that bothered me on multiple occasions was a character shouting at Remy, "I can't see that frown on your face. I'm blind!" or "Can you write in Braille instead?" I know the second one shouldn't bother me, but as someone who takes lore a bit seriously, does this type of writing even exist (especially since there is a lack of a man named Braille)? But that's discussion for another thread.

 

Point is, as Nebbs says, be careful not to let being blind define the character. It's easy to fall into and I would love to be a part of your discovery. As long as this wall of text doesn't deter you. >_>;

[xelliexell]

Nothing against you, OP, as I'm certainly not going to assume you won't treat the character respectfully, but saying "blind character" as opposed to "character who is blind" tends to relay, even subconsciously, that this character is defined by their blindness, rather than being a character who just simply possesses the trait of blindness. Something to keep in mind!

 

I actually hadn't realized that the wording in describing a character could hold that sort of connotation, so that is good to know.

 

Oftentimes, I don't tell people up front that Maia happens to be blind, and I let them figure it out through subtle descriptions. This is another challenge, since I don't tend to use overt mentions of blindness in RPing as her. She doesn't really ask for any special treatment, and doesn't call any particular attention to it. I think I messed up about twice in emoting that she looks 'at' a person as opposed to 'toward' a person, but I corrected it with our friend the * immediately after. I wonder if there aren't people who have come to the Host Club as Guests who have both entered and left without ever figuring it out, haha (since she pretty much just stands in one place and talks during business hours.)

 

This was the hardest part of RPing a mute character and a blind character together. It was interesting, but required a lot of brainpower They did eventually come up with an arrangement so the blind character could "see" written words Remy created, though I'm not entirely sure it's lore-safe, but has been hinted in story-mode that it might be possible.

 

One of the Hosts at Rendezvous was mute, and it was definitely interesting to interact with him. But, Maia spent about five years in Limsa, and during that time she was fortunate enough to learn Morse code (or whatever Eorzean equivalent exists) from one of the sailors there. So, she taught the mute character Morse code, and that was how they communicated. It was kind of funny, since everyone else just saw him ringing a bell and then Maia would respond like "Ah, yes, that is an excellent point, Mr. Hideki...!"

 

I guess that beats playing out the most awkward game of charades ever.

[Koro Dotharl]

I didn't expected so many answers, which is a welcome surprise.

 

However I apologize for the title and the wording I used which seems to have ringed some bells I didn't meant to touch. But rest assured that I am not RPing blindness, but a character with a past, dignity and opinions who happen to have it.

 

Point is, as Nebbs says, be careful not to let being blind define the character. It's easy to fall into and I would love to be a part of your discovery. As long as this wall of text doesn't deter you. >_>;

It didn't, don't worry! And my concern were more on the lore side of sight trough conjury rather than the blindness that makes it necessary, which I'm sure wont ruin my char's personality. And I return the desire to RP together!

 

You would think so! I would still like to try at some point if you're up for it

Totally am

 

 

Also i edited the title so that it is straightforward to the subject and more sensitive towards the theme

[Dat Oni]

There is nothing in the Lore suggesting "Aethervision".

 

There is also nothing against it.

 

Go for it.

[Ciel]

Hmmm there are so many IFs involved in something like this.  I would think it's unlikely but not impossible and might also depend on the degree and severity of the situation which lead to blindness.

 

*Is the blindness biological?  Meaning, have they been blind since birth?  If so, then it probably wouldn't work to cure the blindness because the body isn't "programmed" to see.  They might use aether in another way to compensate, or use their other senses.

 

*Is the blindness the result of an injury?  Did said injury badly damage or cause them to lose one or both eyes?  In this case, probably not.  That would be like using conjury to re-attach a severed limb.  The odds of the repair taking would likely be slim to none unless, in the case of a limb, significant manual repair is done first to reattach it, in which case there are still no guarantees.  And if the eye is completely detached and lost somewhere on the battlefield, conjury won't re-grow it.

 

*Is the blindness the result of illness or other trauma?  If they've had vision up until the point of illness or injury, and if treated quickly, their vision might be saved. If not by conjury then by alchemy or some combination of the two.

[Koro Dotharl]

Hmmm there are so many IFs involved in something like this.  I would think it's unlikely but not impossible and might also depend on the degree and severity of the situation which lead to blindness.

She lost her sight In battle. An explosion got her unprepared and the shards hit her face quite bad, including the eyes. This happened on the open sea and it took a couple of days to sail back to where she could be treated properly, so it wasn't a prompt intervention, which i presumed would greatly lower the chances to fully restore her even trough magic. Hence resorting to aether-vision/getting clues from the presence of the elements. But the eyes are still there.

[Ciel]

Hmmm there are so many IFs involved in something like this.  I would think it's unlikely but not impossible and might also depend on the degree and severity of the situation which lead to blindness.

She lost her sight In battle. An explosion got her unprepared and the shards hit her face quite bad, including the eyes. This happened on the open sea and it took a couple of days to sail back to where she could be treated properly, so it wasn't a prompt intervention, which i presumed would greatly lower the chances to fully restore her even trough magic. Hence resorting to aether-vision/getting clues from the presence of the elements. But the eyes are still there.

 

That sounds like a scenario where it could possibly work.

[Ilwe'ran]

Ilwe was for a really long time blind of an eye (the right one). Even though it can seem to not be the same as he could see with the left, it indeed pushed me to think how someone who cannot see what is happening on his right side would react. That and the fact I'm studying neuropsychology and I loved the course we had on how the brain reacts and "recovers" from losing one sense by increasing the sensitivity of the others.

 

So in his case, no aether vision or things of that sort, but he stopped using a bow as unable to aim and learned back how to use a sword after many years not touching one. To compensate his disability, he learned how to listen better, to smells things around him, to feel the movement of the air, etc.

The fact he was so sensitive lead him to avoid crowded places with a lot of people talking at the same time, he couldn't stand flowers, perfumes, etc. Going in a tavern was for him a nightmare because of the smell, the sounds etc. And he tended to move and change side when people were close to his bad eyes.

All that was emoted discretly so many people didn't knew for long that he was, in fact, blind of his right eye.

 

That was my non aether relying little view about being blind, what said Vaughn talked to me as it's totaly how I was rping this !

[LiadansWhisper]

Hmmm there are so many IFs involved in something like this.  I would think it's unlikely but not impossible and might also depend on the degree and severity of the situation which lead to blindness.

She lost her sight In battle. An explosion got her unprepared and the shards hit her face quite bad, including the eyes. This happened on the open sea and it took a couple of days to sail back to where she could be treated properly, so it wasn't a prompt intervention, which i presumed would greatly lower the chances to fully restore her even trough magic. Hence resorting to aether-vision/getting clues from the presence of the elements. But the eyes are still there.

 

If she continues to heavily rely on conjury to "see," it's quite possible that over time the nerve connections and receptors and whatnot may actually regenerate, given that they're being bathed in restorative energy on a constant basis.