#npc: ardbert

[ishgard]

dog - for the single word drabble prompt!

"A drabble is 100 words, a drabble is a hundred words" I chant to myself as I go over 500.

Thank you so much though!! As soon as I saw it I knew exactly what old scene to finally write that's been in my head since grinding Holminster Switch and getting the Black Hayate. 😂

"Can't imagine why you'd want to come back here already." Ardbert's voice emerged from the silence, a frown etched into his features as he surveyed the smoldering ruins of Holminster Switch. It was a town of ghosts now, naught but a few embers still glistening under the blanket of night. 

She can never quite know when her favorite ghost is going to chime in, but it is a surprise tonight. 

"I'm not sure, either." She replied, nudging over a broken piece of fence before continuing along the winding road. "There's so little civilization left here, I suppose I just..." Lips pursed, her brow furrowed as her gaze swept over the wreckage. "Wanted to get an idea of what it was like. Without all the fighting and screaming." 

Ardbert said nothing, but his silence was so heavy it could have been worth a thousand words. 

What broke the silence was not either of their voices but instead a tiny, distinct whimpering. Frowning, Ahru’s hand went for the hilt of her rapier, gaze scanning around her. 

“…Do sineaters typically make sounds like that?” She asked in a whisper. 

“Far be it from me to assume they couldn’t… But not any that I’m aware of.” 

The sound came again, this time accompanied by the shifting of shadows from beneath one of the half-toppled buildings. Her fingers gripped the handle as her eyes made out the form of-

Oh. A dog. A puppy, to be exact; black and white with the cutest ears and -less cute- a limp in its front paw. It gave a pathetic little wag of it’s tail, clearly exhausted but happy to see people. 

“Aww, you poor thing!” Ahru cooed, taking only a few steps forward before crouching down with her hands held out - she didn’t want to scare it. “Come here, sweetie.”

It’s tail wagged again and it limped forward, sniffing at her fingertips and licking them feebly. Grabbing some dried meat from her satchel she held it out to him and he ate it up eagerly, visibly perking up. 

“Can’t believe the little guy survived all that.” Ardbert mused, crouching down beside her. As calm and stoic as he acted, she was pretty sure from the smile on his face and the glint in his eye he very much wanted to scoop the creature up and give it a good thorough petting.

“You must be pretty clever, huh?” She asked to a response of eager yips. After a testing scratch behind his ears, she gingerly touched her hand to his injured leg, infusing it with healing magicks. Fortunately the wound wasn’t too bad, and within seconds he was bouncing around, yipping and wagging his tail like wild, licking at her hands. 

“Doesn’t look like he has a collar…”Ardbert murmured, clearly far more interested than she imagined he’d ever admit to. “He’ll need a name.”

Just as amusing was the fact they were, despite saying nothing of it, on the same page. Evidently being a Warrior of Light also indicated a habit of picking up strays, at least where they were concerned. Laughing she gave the dog ‘a good thorough petting’, before plucking him up into her arms. 

“I’ve got it. I’ll call you Ardbert!”

“What?”

The pup yipped and howled, wiggling in her arms as its tail practically spun in happy circles. 

“See? He likes it!”

[displaykitkats]

Some of my fave guys in level 100 crafter gear - but opted out of the giant mittens for Estinien. Should I complete this set with level 100 gatherer gear? MAYBEEeeE. See below the cut on who is wearing which gear.

Update: I posted the gatherer gear sets here. Enjoy!

Thancred - Carpenter

Estinien - Blacksmith

Ardbert - Armourer

Erenville - Goldsmith

Koana - Leatherworker

Emet-selch - Weaver

Aymeric - Alchemist

G’raha - Culinarian

[windupiceheart]

A ghost

[berryzawati]

Ardbert lives AU - part 1.

Pulled away from death's bitter embrace, a certain adventurer finds himself in a new yet strangely familiar environment...

To be continued.

[th1rt33n]

compilation of various drawings i've done of my haha silly wol (ref for 2nd image under cut)

[asuka-ff14ss]

[impossible-rat-babies]

love the gameplay trailer bc the lady is like: “could you have held fast that which is dear? without sacrifice?” and my brain just jump cuts to eyrie family guy death pose at the end of EW

[aoife-asturmaux]

assorted npc pics from the haunted yard!!! (and a pile of hildibrands). Impressed with the npc selection this year, though a few faves are still missing lmao... no doubt I’ll be back for more fun another time :3

shader: neneko simple & clean 2

[superlark]

Onion finished shadowbringers last night!

I think this expansion's definitely worth playing twice, I got of a lot different things out of it this time with hindsight. Playing as a different character made me pay attention to different NPCs more too. I was expecting to be like wah wah wah emet emet emet again but not really this time (lol)

Onion doesn't really like Emet and somehow I didn't really want to keep drawing comics about her hating on him so I didn't, even though me the player really likes Emet.

I paid a lot more attention to Ardbert because Ardbert ended up being way more important to Onion than he was to Zucchini. They are both WAR and both tanks! And Onion, a person who keeps her distance from other people, was unable to get rid of Ardbert because the story makes him be around the WoL all the time, and they end up being good friends in the end. It feels more like a personal friend for her and not like "the group of people that I belong to" like the Scions.

I think 5.3 is gonna be interesting because she is gonna be sooooooooooooo mad at Elidibus for taking over her friend's dead body lol

[velnica]

Midlander Hyurs who are shorter than Sanson Smyth: A post

My friend was commenting how the Bard quest NPCs are mostly Elezens so Sanson who's 5'11 always look like a short twink next to them, so I got curious and compiled this list lol.

Ardbert / Meteor / Hien / Thancred (yes Sanson is taller than Meteor but twice the twink)

Bonus: Guydelot is a complete giraffe next to Meteor lmao

Jacke / Oboro / Bartholomew / Hancock

Alberic / Ywain / Riol / Asahi

[berryzawati]

Wolbert Week Day 7: Free Day

"How are you liking my hometown, Ardbert? You adore the food? I dare say our cuisine is one of our most beloved treasures..."

[autumnslance]

FFXIV Write 2024: 2 Horizon

(Endwalker 6.0, in a specific named place on the final zone map. Uses lines of NPC & player dialogue. 350ish words.)

She had given up everyone and everything to get here—and it still wasn’t enough.

The whispers of her family, friends, allies, swirled in her head, their hopes and prayers, encouragement and urging. She couldn’t disappoint them, even as tears stung her eyes.

She had thought herself drained of tears by this point.

She could almost imagine the steady presence of Ardbert at her back, the weight of his hands on her shoulders. That part of him inside her soul kept fighting, cheering, pushing her forward.

All she could see were stars.

Broken and burning, dimming and darkened, they filled the twisted skies and far distances of space.

And above the egg loomed. Just out of reach.

No one remained but her. The others' determined hopes swirled in the air around her, formed the very ground under her feet. What she could use was their council, their ideas.

Them.

But only Meteion waited, her slim form breaking the barren line of this absolute horizon.

“Come, let me relieve you of your burden. You have suffered enough.”

Azem’s crystal was in her hand. It was all she had left. Her ancestor’s magic, and what remained of Hydaelyn’s. Yet if she used it to call her friends back, then it would undo all their progress to even reach this point and they would be further away…

“...and another who may yet have a part to play. Though that will depend on you.”

Among the many words she recalled, Hydaelyn’s in Labyrinthos came, segueing into memories of Elpis itself, that first flower leading there, to the revelations of this beginning, to Kairos…

The thing about horizons was they only seemed to be a definitive line. But in the common language, the word also meant a range of perceptions and experiences, about attaining something previously thought to be out of reach.

“I won’t forsake our cause.”

She still had the crystal. She had her experiences, her knowledge, her memories of her comrades.

“I’ll reach you! I’ll find a way!”

She was not out of options.

Light rose over that final horizon.

[fisherrprince]

for the ffxiv specbio stuff, do you headcanon the people on the First as having physically different traits from the people on the Source, or are they pretty one to one? and if so, were there any strange looks/social faux pas regarding the scions while on the First?

THIS IS REALLY INTERESTING ACTUALLY I think… that the species are all the same, mostly, but since they evolved/grew/colonized in/from different environments, there are definitely differences because of that. Like, say, dwarves not having any of the lalafells’ adaptations to sand, and instead having darkvision in their mining environments and more of a mole snout than a slit snout. Maybe being fuzzier overall. Or elves not having that split between duskwight (colorful, variant cave animal) and wildwood (forest animal). Heck there’s not a lot of elves at all, are there? Was their homeland just so concentrated that most of them were wiped? Another hard thing about this is the complete lack of knowledge we have of the regions before the Flood outside of Norvrandt! Or maybe just knowledge I have. Lol. I don’t have encyclopedia eorzea 2 or 3 just the first one… if anyone can hook me up with a First Lore Historian. I’d love to learn. Or with 50 bucks so I can grab the encyclopedia

And then, even, after the Flood, a lot of culture broke down in favor of communication and survival, so people just souped together. In short… ok. I think the First had a very fairytale vibe, so their designs should reflect that. I know drahn and galdjent have like a kingdom thing going on. There’s probably WAY less sea imagery and ocean features on roe in the first. More puppies than sea puppies, vaguely. More mountainy? Drahn I think are much more draconic than most Auri people, think fairytale dragon guys. They have the kind of customs that fairytale dragons and fae have, too, so it’s historically easy to say something odd to them and vice versa. Giants and dragons! I haven’t met a single elf except Ardbert’s friend. That’s an exaggeration but like no important npcs were elves. They seem very isolationist to me, very used to solo travel. Humes seem to have been mostly in kingdoms as well, like Ishgard, but less Catholic. They’re probably the most same. Garleans as a race of people do not exist on the First which is interesting. Ronso seem much more family-oriented, work-oriented, still cowboys, but very similar. I think the coeurl type hrothgar would be replaced with something else. Viis we know a lot about! They seem to be very similar as well, though I think just for fun for me, they’re Bigger. Like, taller, they’re isolated in a warm forest with plenty of prey and big magic energy. Viis big. Mystel I don’t know about, but they don’t SEEM to be desert cats, so I actually think. They don’t have undereye markings. Some of them have fold ears or domestic triangle cat ears rather than wild cat features. Familiar-like, not a lion pride — so they don’t have the same family structure miqote do either, it’s more like wolves where location and family are top tier. And Dwarves for sure have more mole than mouse features - thick claws on their toes and fingers, a little snoot, and very reflective eyes that are a bit sensitive to light. 

As for social faux pas… I think that Miqote, to show they’re unserious or apologetic, bunt or touch the other cat, lay down or sit next to them, put their tail on the other’s tail, something physical — and Mystel will lick their lips and look away and NOT touch, because further touching is To Fight. Ari FOR SURE tried to lean on and got smacked by Kai-Shirr and then smacked him back in betrayal. It took Alphy intervention to fix that. It is also way more common for humes to grumble and growl than it is for hyur (that’s bad manners. Imagine you bumped into someone at the store and they growled at you), so there was one point where Ryne actually (quietly like a kid swearing for the first time) grrrd at a monster and thancred had a whole 20 minutes of thinking to himself wether or not this was OK feral child behavior to let her keep doing or if he should tell her not to or. Or what. What do here. Is this OK. And lastly..,,, lalafellin alcohol is pretty strong, but their beer and mead taste great so it’s a popular party drink. dwarven alcohol is INCREDIBLY strong, it contains an ingredient mildly toxic to every other race except mord. You are SUPPOSED to, however you decide to do it, last a number of mugs (if you’re a bigger race, dilute the thing with soda or juice, you might get teased but it’s what you do). Some people were not aware of this and passed out after one mug, and got pitiful beards drawn on them (Urianger’s wispy stubble was quite silly to the rest of the party)

I’d love to compile more abt the First just in general. maybe my ideas would change with more info … anyways! Thank u for letting me drop a very large text bubble :]

[sealrock]

Fellow Oschon/Deryk enjoyer!! Oschon's been Yohji's patron god since he was like 14 and he's somewhere in his 30s now, how could i RESIST the prospect of shipping him with his patron god's mortal avatar??

also you're gonna make me sob emoji again if you keep saying nice things about my lil guys

hehehe yes. deryk ticked all my boxes in being a male middie with face 6 (I'm totally not biased for them) and the fact oschon shares ardbert's voice in the eng dub made me wanna shake him like a fish in a bag. with love of course. it's even funnier for my main wol paris; they're a disaster lesbian and was completely devastated to learn that their cousin evander got the hot goddess patron deity (llymlaen). if only they were born a week earlier. I only picked oschon because green is my favorite color, and astrology memes because paris is a gemini if you convert the eorzean calendar to ours

but aw that's so cute, little yohji!! 🥺🥺 and yes your lil guys are so varied, I'm in awe at how you can keep up with them all as someone with a plethora of npc ocs!

[catvids]

ultimately, the most compelling aspect of ffxiv to me is its thesis of friendship and cooperation, as cheesy as it sounds. even from the very beginning, the wol is never alone in anything. they always have someone holding their hand. even from the very first scene, they are unknowingly sitting in a cart with two of their future dearest friends. and venat/hydaelyn holds their hand all throughout arr as they stumble their way into achieving acclaim and finding friends and allies in the scions. and every single expansion afterwards is a waxing and waning of them gaining and losing -- but mostly gaining -- allies and friends all throughout their journey. they Always have at least one person there to support them. even when they are accused of regicide and forced to flee north into the frozen fields of coerthas as a fugitive, their few remaining allies are dejected but still beside them, and haurchefant welcomes them with a warm hearth and open arms. even when they awaken in the crystarium after failing to contain the last lightwarden and are shamefully skirting around those who once praised them as a hero, ardbert and feo ul are there to embolden them once again. even when the last of their friends sacrifice themselves to provide them with a path forward up into the endsingers oblivion, and they walk those last few steps alone, they are not truly alone at all, but rather, bolstered by the hopes and dreams and faith of their friends, without whom they would never have made it this far in the first place. even venat (and i could talk about her place in this aspect of the narrative all day), as she stumbles through the darkness after sundering the world, does not have nothing: she loves etheirys and its people, deeply and truly, and that love carries her steps ever onwards.

therefore, i personally disagree with the interpretation that people are "too" nice to the wol, or that they take up too much space in the narrative. i dont disagree with every criticism of this nature; for example, npcs can indeed be overly ass-kissy towards the wol, constantly praising their strength and abilities to a degree that just reads as ego stroking the player. however, generally speaking, i think the fact that people are mostly pretty kind to the wol is a narrative choice that works and makes sense for this kind of story. because ffxiv is, at its core, a tale about the power of friendship and kindness and compassion, and with its generally uplifting and optimistic tone, i think it would create some serious tonal dissonance if the protagonists allies Werent generally fairly kind to them. the wol and their journey absolutely doesnt need to be the main focal point -- they can work well in any role, from the main character to a member of the supporting cast -- but at the very least, i dont personally think that ffxivs thesis of love and cooperation would hit in quite the same way if i wasnt experiencing it from the viewpoint of a character who is often surrounded by people who love them and care for them, whom they love and care for in return

[plounce]

was thinking about how in ffxiv relationships between characters are usually left pretty ambiguous to leave room for player interpretation and wolshipping, so here are the actual confirmed textual romances in ffxiv that i can think of:

rhoswen and carvellain

lamitt -> ardbert

mide and her dude

the lala girl from the missing member and that catboy from the culinarian quest

curious gorge and dorgono

the kugane girl -> the guildmaster in the stb smith quest

mitron and loghrif

the wanderer's palace gay couple

lahabrea and athena

fourchenault and ameliance

granson and his lady

wedge -> tataru

wilfsun and bloewyda

rowena and gerolt

tam-tara deepcroft npcs

dulia-chai and chai-nuzz

alka zolka and setoto

endwalker btn/min npcs

that's what i got off the top and middle of my head