#Ava Drangahr

[wyrmwinds]

Vanilla Gpose Challenge – Landscape/Location

The fiery caverns of Sohm Al

[noctswife]

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A fancam for my own WoL, Ava Drangahr

They ain’t even looking at you, baby~

[noctsqueen]

Undefeated in summoner duels thanks to my devastating countermagic where I close the distance and spear them in the chest 14 times while they try to read a paragraph from a book the size of a briefcase. This casting shit is easy as hell.

Ava Drangahr

[wyrmwinds]

Btw there are two possibilities for what happens in the XV collab event regarding Ava.

For context, Ava was originally intended to be an expy of my FFXV self insert, who is Noct's love interest (along with Luna, though it's not necessarily a rival situation) with bits of this integrated into her previous lore. While they're two wholly separate characters now, they still share similarities such as hair/eye color, first name, and main weapon of choice.

Noctis sees Ava Drangahr and does a double take. This woman is similar enough to his girlfriend that it's uncanny, but at the same time she's very different and does not recognize him at all. He does not bring this up to her and spends the whole event confused and wonders if this a Shrek Forever After situation. Every new piece of information makes him more confused.

Ava Drangahr is mysteriously absent for the entire duration of the XV event. FFXV Ava appears alongside Noctis, and many note the similarity in appearance. Once Noctis leaves, so does FFXV Ava, and Ava Drangahr returns, completely oblivious to the amount of time that has passed. Many tabloids report on this mysterious occurrence.

Neither of these are more canon than the other because they're both very funny to me. I love making weird but ultimately inconsequential pieces of lore.

[wyrmwinds]

Vanilla Gpose Challenge -- Battle/NPC

Post-processing coloring applied via photoshop, taken in 2021 before they removed the Blood of the Dragoon aura. Extraneous trust NPCs removed by combining shots with ones with all NPCs removed. No-edit version under the cut!

[wyrmwinds]

💎 BLUE CRYSTAL

There was a vocaloid-themed art party last week, but I missed it. As a huge vocaloid fan, I wanted to make some vsynth based glams anyways. I tenatively associated Ava with Meiko before, so I put together her iconic Nostalogic/Blue Crystal outfit to the best of my ability! I also made an outfit for Sayin here~

♪ That distant song of graffiti has surely not lost its color... ♪

[wyrmwinds]

FFXIVWrite Day 8 - Shed

Warnings: Endwalker 6.0 spoilers

Pairing: None

Length: 580 words

Summary/Notes: Ava fulfills a favor she promised Vrtra following her recovery.

- x -

For one sitting before the satrap of Radz-at-Han in one of the rooms of Megadhuta, Ava was certainly underdressed. She rested upon a comfortable pillow on the floor with an apron over her clothes and all her locks pulled back in a low ponytail, ready to work.

“Mine apologies for having thee do this right after your recovery.”  Vrtra’s words rang within her head. 

“It is no fault of yours, great Vrtra,” Ava scooped out a handful of salve from the pot beside her, provided by the alchemists of Kama. “I was the one who insisted upon this in the first place. I would have been here earlier, but your chirurgeons weren’t keen on being the ones who let the savior of the star out of the infirmary early.” She chuckled, lightly smearing the substance upon his injured haunch. The wound was not as discolored as when she last saw it, some areas even beginning to scab over, indicative of the efforts of his subjects.

The process took nearly ten minutes to cover his full injury. She made small talk all the while: How his subjects are recovering from the blasphemies and paying compliments to the effectiveness of the salve. The work of her experienced hands strook the balance between efficient and soothing with nary an erratic twitch nor sudden hiss from the greatwyrm. 

The subject of conversation then turned to Wehs Loh, a dragonet she had raised back in Meracydia.

“Little Loh’s first shed was a bit of a hassle,” Ava recalls as she gently massaged the salve into his abrasion, careful to avoid disturbing the areas already well on their way to recovery. “Their body was too small for my hands to aid in the process. When I finally found a rock smooth enough not to injure them, I returned to them trying to utilize the old slats making up my home! It’s a wonder they didn’t end up with any splinters.” 

“The need to shed doth bring a sense of desperation with it.” Vrtra mused. “Though the desperation in my previous shed was panicked due to a different cause.” 

Ava nodded, unsure how to phrase her next words – an uncommon & uncomfortable feeling. Would it be discourteous to offer to help him the next time he needed to shed? Considering how the topic began with Wehs Loh, who was by all accounts a child, her offer could be considered patronizing. Then again, the image of the satrap of Radz-at-Han shedding against cliffsides is a bit unbecoming…

“An experience universal among Dravanians, I’m sure. Whilst rebuilding Zenith, I did offer a helping hand to a few wyverns in exchange for their shed scales. My aid in the process made it much more pleasant than shedding alone, I’m told.”  She wraps the wound with the yalms of cloth provided to her and looks up at Vrtra. “At the risk of sounding condescending, perhaps I could offer instruction to your attendants on proper scale removal. As you need not hide your role any longer, you may as well experience the luxuries of a ruler.”

At first, Vrtra is silent, and Ava feared she had offended him. Then he laughs:

“It has been many long years since I last had aid in mine molting; thy prospect doth entice me more than I thought. Perhaps I shall entreat aid from thee again.”

Ava smiles, the weighty possibility of his ire lifted off her shoulders.

“I look forward to it, great Vrtra.”

[wyrmwinds]

⚔️ Innocence

Send in ⚔️ + a primal/trial boss to get my character’s thoughts on said boss!

Ooh, this is a fun one. On the surface, she thinks of Vauthry and thus Innocence as a petulant man-child and feels good when she cuts him down.

But she forces herself to not think about that parts of him remind her of herself. The self-justification, the desire to see those who oppose her to suffer "punishment", delighting in their pain. She tells herself that once they have suffered enough, she will forgive them, but that is a lie. She's petty and cruel and does not know the word forgiveness.

The way the light burns Vauthry but he enjoys it because it's power to carry out his will is similar to how taking on greatwyrm form hurts everywhere but she is too drunk on bloodlust to care until afterwards. ( Does how Vauthry was groomed to think everything he does is just while Ava herself has no such excuse make her worse than him? She refuses to think of it. )

My girl is so fucking hypocritical I love her.

[wyrmwinds]

*insert swords emoji here bc desktop sucks* + Susano! :D

Send in ⚔️ + a primal/trial boss to get my character’s thoughts on said boss!

Ava's always had mixed feelings about the "Kill manifestations of cultures' gods" part of being a Warrior of Light (She thinks it cruel, but after Coils she sees it as a cruel mercy so that one of their followers don't have to take up the trauma of slaying their own god), so when they enjoy the battle and take defeat in stride, it takes a weight off her shoulders and lets her do what she does best: revel in bloodshed. Given how no one expected Susano to show up, it was a welcome relief.

And so, their hearts sing in the chaos! She provided ample entertainment for the kami, their games and vigor reminding her of sparring with close partners. Overall, a thrilling experience that she got too caught up in and forgot that it was really inconvenient timing until afterwards. She'd love to do battle with him again, if not for the cost on the lands' aether.

[wyrmwinds]

GLORYBRINGER.

[wyrmwinds]

Which Greek God Would Favor You? ––  Ava Drangahr

HERA : Goddess of Marriage & the Heavens

Interesting... Hera is powerful, solemn, and spiteful; her favor is hard to win, so whatever you're doing, you're doing it damn well. you're a one-of-a-kind individual, with great kindness and respect for your fellow living creatures. that being said, you hold yourself to a high standard, and expect nothing less from those around you; you have no patience for people who fail to show the respect or compassion you expect. your vibes are intriguing and exciting to be around. stay true to yourself, and don't get wrapped up in the drama and affairs that might surround you.

I expected someone like Ares, but Hera suits her to a T. Terrifyingly spiteful, takes no shit, with a commanding aura to boot.

Quiz stolen from @arinaxiv​, anyone who sees this is free to nab it from me as well~

Tagging @blondebnuuy​ & @pandesabik14​!

[wyrmwinds]

FFXIVWrite Day 19 - Turn a Blind Eye

Warnings: Blood, descriptions of gore, mentions of fantasy racism & sexual harrassment.

Pairing: None

Length: 845 words

Summary/Notes: I wanted to write Ava carving up some Wood Wailers. Very rough, I’ll clean it up later. Mentions of the final Lancer quest, based on the postmoogle quest "The past is a story we never tell", with a canon-divergent end. Those moonkeeper girls deserve better, y’all. 

- x -

It had all been going smoothly, up until they’d run into a Wailer checkpoint. Urha was more at large than Ava had expected, it seems.

     “You there! I name you as one of the Coeurlclaws ─ Balsam Rose, also known as Blood Rose, also known as the Thornless, also known as Lady Touch-Me-Not—”

    “No! I'm not those things, I swear it!” Urha fervently denies the charges. “I just wanted to see my sister, I just need to go home!”

    “Just like a Keeper. Come quietly or this'll go worse for you.” The taller of the two, a dark-haired wildwood, orders. Then, with a grin: “We're gentlemen here, compared to some of the lads you could've met. A pretty thing like you, I could —”

    The audacity of this man. With a flourish of her spear, Ava knocks both the wailers to the floor. A satisfying crack reaches her ears as its shaft cleanly hits the hyuran one’s shin.  

    “If you’re to act like a swine, I’ll butcher you like one.” She snarls before kicking the wildwood one down, planting her foot firmly on his chest as she stabs at his face. He lets out an anguished scream, intensified when she drives the blade of her weapon into him once again. And again. Over and over again until her hands were coated in slick crimson, his face mangled to the point that not even his mother could recognize him. She can feel him struggle and squeal beneath her but she stands her ground, digging her heel deeper into him. He calls out to his midlander companion with all his might, but he is too busy licking his wounds and limping away. For all their bluster, Wailers are simply self-serving cowards playing protector, aren’t they.

    She drags the blade of her spear down his neck, down to his chest, raw anger in her eyes as she shifts her weight down on it until it breaks through his armor and ribcage with a satisfying shank. Viscera spills from his wounded torso, glistening in the afternoon sun — akin to cracking open a runny melon. The man screams again, wheezing out insults as she twists her glaive deeper into him, only for them to quiet down into a wheeze — she must have punctured his lung. Still, he continues his barrage of insults, calling her a bitch, a whore, and when she doesn’t respond, he curses Urha and her sister as well. She understands it now, the gratifaction Foulques gained from seeing all those wailers strewn about by his hand. She had never killed someone with such ruthless savagery before, but she figured that if she were to start with anyone, this man deserved it — a vile man who would force himself onto women whose plight the people of Gridania would ignore. Scum like this didn’t deserve to live. 

    By now there’s no point in her continuing this brutality; he can’t fight back, even if he mustered up every onze of strength within him. Ava doesn’t care. The thick, coppery smell in the air and webs of ruby red splattered against her flesh seems to only empower her more, in fact. She stares coldly down at the blood dribbling down his mouth. About that promise to butcher him…

    Sweet Mauh shrieks in horror as she carves his limbs from his body, hacking the blade of her polearm back and forth like a saw. The poor man lacks the ability to even shout now, only able to wheeze unintelligible cries. His ample blood nourishes the weeds around them, stark crimson against muddy green. At least he’s of more use in death than he was in life, Ava thinks. 

    “The other one, he’s getting away!” Urha exclaims as Ava is making her way through the bone of his right shoulder. Only that brings Ava out of her violent trance. She turns and sees that he’s managed to crawl a good twenty or so yalms away, even with his twisted ankle and likely shattered leg. Ava yanks the elezen up by the hair so he can hear her.

    “I’ll get back to you later.” she hisses, then kicks him to the side. Before she sprints to catch up with his friend, she turns to the two Keeper sisters.

    “Go, I’ll be sure to see that his partner can speak none of this.” she urges. Urha nods and pulls her frozen sister away and out of her stupor. The two flee the shroud, never looking back.

    The hyuran wailer isn’t so lucky, his escape hindered when Ava presses him flat on the floor and treats him to a mouthful of dirt. 

    “A twisted leg wasn’t enough to stop you, hm? Seems like I’ll have to keep you from turning tail and squealing to the Adders about this some other way…”

- x - 

    Ava never heard from those girls again. She hopes they’re doing well. She can’t say the same for those damned wailers. If they know what’s best for them, they’ll stay where they belong — In a sad little creek, carved into unrecognizable chunks & staining the water red.

[wyrmwinds]

Ava falling for Foulques with the initial interest being his interest in her skills (which she had felt were unjustly ignored) and her chasing after Ysayle to find afters following her broken state after having to kill Bahamut vs Adra's various romantic and sexual entanglements because vi is hopelessly empty inside and wants to fill virself with the love of others because she can't love herself. Ava really is Adra's shard.

[wyrmwinds]

Test gif using old footage bc I wanted to try a social media-themed layout... But I don't know what to use it for

[wyrmwinds]

Outer science appearing on the do you like this vocaloid song poll a few months ago made me think about the Eyes of Wrath AU again so here's some ramblings

Warnings: HW spoilers, Coils of Bahamut spoilers, mentions of torture

Ava and Nidhogg mesh extremely well, even more so than est*nien and Nidhogg. Their goals and thoughts align to the point that it can be difficult for Nidhogg to tell which thoughts are his and which thoughts are Ava's. This, along with how Nidhogg isn't possessing her but rather working in tandem, is how Ava is able to maintain hold over their body if she so chooses.

Even outside of "Foulques dies" routes, Eyes of Wrath has the potential to happen because the reason why Ava's mental state is so tattered is because of Coils of Bahamut. She's Going Through It after having to kill her god. She had to face the truth and kill Bahamut, meanwhile the Ishgardian clergy is aware of their sins but gladly continue their war against Ishgard. How is this right? That's why Fetters of Lament (The conversation with Tiamat) is the crossroads which determines whether Ava chooses to take Nidhogg's eyes and continue his vengeance or not. Does she listen to Tiamat's words and not let grief take hold of her? Or does seeing her other god doomed to an eternity of sorrow push her over the edge?

Thordan is kept alive -- albeit barely. He's alive purely out of sadism and to fulfill their desire for revenge. Nidhogg wants him to suffer for eternity just as he has while Ava takes pleasure in his terror and despair.

I know it would be hotter if Aymeric were kept alive instead of Thordan but Aymeric is just too noble. He would accept his fate for the sake of Ishgard, he would try to reason with her and could not hate Ava outright. He's no fun as a captive. He's removed just enough from the legacy of bloodshed.

Eyes of Wrath Ava has some weird psychosexual shit going on, which is one of the differences between her and Nidhogg's thoughts. Nidhogg hates it so much, they will be terrorizing Ishgard and then suddenly he finds that their body is saying some absolutely obscene. The Belial-Beelzebub dynamic.

By the way, 'Sormr is... relatively fine with this all. In his internal conflict over his duty to Hydaelyn vs his ties to his children, he has basically outsourced his power and his choice to Ava. He doesn't directly involve himself in the Dragonsong war as a combatant, but granting his gift to Ava is what has made her able to do all this "fuse with Nidhogg take on a semi-draconic form" stuff.

[wyrmwinds]

Making a hypothetical Ava kit if she was a collab character in GBF to tempt it into actually happening (or at least I can find an artist taking commissions who can draw in the Granblue style and also dragons)

She's likely overpowered but tbh most collab characters are stronger than they need be. Extra info below cut!

She's meant to be an attack-focus character with a ramp-up time for nukes, intended for longer battles. I juggled making the skills more accurate to canon/xiv gameplay and what's expected of a character's kit, and decided to go more with the latter. Dragonfire Dive was initially her lvl 1 attack skill, and I wanted each Gaze of the First Brood level to give her a new buff respective to each of the Greatwyrms, but that tends to only be given to characters using Elemental Crests, and those are max out at 5. I intended to give her lower charge bar gain to offset those buffs.

The effects in her unique effects are as follows:

Akh Scorh: -20% ATK & DEF, damage taken is supplemented. Dragonstorms: All foes' and allies' DEF is lowered. Allies' skill DMG cap is boosted. (Duration is indefinite)

I didn't want to outright kill her after Midgardsormr Trance ended, but I wanted the negative effects of the trance to be reflected in gameplay, thus the HP loss over time (It'd be around 5% per turn, I think). I think people could take advantage of this by shielding her to avoid taking more damage and switching her out with Nighthound or something to bypass the two-turn Weakened. Alternatively people could just let her die to activate skills for Fraux and Icarus and such, although it'd be a long wait ww.

She'd likely synergize well with Shiva as she provides Fire ATK up and he provides Dodge/Tank and counter for her Midgardsormr state, or those with switch-in skills for the reasons above.

I kind of want to make alternate versions too, maybe summer or tank alts. Coming up with how to translate the Dragon Sight/Nascent Flash targeted buffs could be fun!