Ffxiv Graphic Resources My Dividers.

ffxiv graphic resources — my dividers.

— readme. Request; closed. Please credit me and like/reblog this post if you use. Do not edit and/or claim as your own. Do not remove or change the copyright tag. FFXIV © Square Enix. All Rights Reserved.

— changelog. [2024.05.13] Masterlist created.

shadowbringers

endwalker

palace of the dead

yorha: dark apocalypse

𝓐 L L   A T   O N C E

where you stand — yiuno.

Original template by @mimble-sparklepudding. Further edits by me for clarity.

PLACE IN SOCIETY.

FINANCIAL — wealthy / moderate / poor / in poverty

MEDICAL — fit / moderate / sickly / disabled / disadvantaged / deceased

CLASS OR CASTE — upper / lower / middle / working / unsure

EDUCATION — qualified / unqualified / studying

FAMILY.

MARITAL STATUS — happily married / married but unhappy / engaged / partnered / divorced / widow or widower / separated / single / it’s complicated

CHILDREN — has children / no children / wants children / adopted children

FAMILY — close / distant / none / are deceased / it’s complicated

AFFILIATION — orphaned / adopted / disowned / raised by both parents / raised by single parent / other

TRAITS & TENDENCIES.

disorganized / in between / organized

close-minded / in between / open-minded

cautious / in between / reckless

patient / in between / impatient

outspoken / in between / reserved

leader / in between / follower

sympathetic / in between / apathetic

optimistic / in between / pessimistic

hardworking / in between / lazy

cultured / in between / uncultured

loyal / in between / disloyal

faithful / in between / unfaithful

SEXUALITY & ROMANTIC INCLINATION.

SEXUALITY — heterosexual / homosexual / bisexual / pansexual / omnisexual / demisexual / asexual

SEXUALLY — sexually adventurous / sex experienced / naive / inexperienced / curious / uninterested

SEX — sex repulsed / sex neutral / sex favorable

ROMANCE — romance repulsed / romance neutral / romance favorable

ABILITIES.

COMBAT SKILLS — excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

LITERACY SKILLS — excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

ARTISTIC SKILLS — excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

TECHNICAL SKILLS — excellent / good / moderate / poor / none

Little OC Creation Ask List

I am trying to help a friend with their creative block around creating a FFXIV OC. So I thought I might try putting together a quick Ask List on the topic and maybe they would find people's responses helpful. Also it might be interesting to learn about how people approach the creative process!

How did you decide on the sex and/or gender of your OC? Was it important that it was the same as yours? Or the same as what you personally find attractive? Or did it not make much difference either way?

To what degree is your OC a self-insert? Are they in any way an aspirational version of yourself? Or perhaps a way to explore feelings and behaviours you suppress in yourself?

Is it important to you that you "like" your OC (as in consider them likeable)? Or is it more important to create a distinctive character, even if they are unpleasant or evil?

Do what degree did you intend your OC to be canon-compliant? Did you end up sticking to this or did you veer off into unforeseen territory over time?

How important is it to you that your OC is attractive? Does that mean attractive to you personally (sexually or just for purposes of playing dress-up!)? Or do you aim to make an OC over which others will inevitably thirst?

To what degree do you use the OC creation process as a way of exploring your own strengths and flaws?

Is your OC based upon another character or person? Or aspects of several? Is this just in terms of their appearance? Or also their personality?

Do you create the OC first and then the backstory? Or do you have a backstory lined up and then create an OC that will fit this?

Have you ever retconned your OC's story or situation? What inspired this? Did you just fancy a change? Or were you bored with them as they were? Or did you regret your decisions on first creating them?

To what extent does your OC function as a mouthpiece for your own views when it comes to describing their opinions or reactions? Do you quite like exploring how someone with very different values to your own might respond to a situation?

What is your main focus when creating an OC - making a character for yourself and your own enjoyment? Or do you try to create a character that will be popular with others or attract a lot of attention?

How much importance do you attach to humour when creating a character? Are there inevitably comic elements? Or are you more focused upon angst or drama?

Does your OC need to be believable (within the context of the fictional world in which you place them)? Or are you more interested in pushing the boundaries of what you can invent?

How do you want other people to view or react to your OC?

Is there anything you regret about how you designed your OC or their backstory?

Do you have the same OC (broadly speaking) across multiple fandoms or settings?

Did you design your OC with a specific aspect of RP in mind? Such as shipping, NSFW things, attending in-game social events, hosting events or entertaining others?

Has anyone ever reacted badly to your OC? Why was this?

Do you want other people to become invested in your OC? What would this look like ideally?

Is it important to ensure your OC has flaws or negative traits? Or do you try to make an idealised character as far as possible?

Do you want or enjoy your OC having in-game interactions with other people's characters? Or do you prefer to keep things more distant (like Ask Games on Tumblr!)? Or is your OC private and just for you?

How do you feel about others making art of your OC or writing about them? Do you feel like you need to vet their creative process? Or does anything go?

Was there a location in-game that inspired your OC (like Ishgard or Hingashi etc.)?

Was there something in the MSQ or even a side-questline, that inspired you to create them? Perhaps meeting the Sylphs or the Namazu? Or visiting the Unsundered World? Or even something to do with crafting or gathering?

To what extent does their appearance in game match your vision of them creatively? Are there things you wish you could change about them in this regard? Or possibly do, if you knew of a way to do so...

Do you have a voice claim for your OC? Did you have this before you did anything else? Or did you decide on it later?

Which OCs that are not yours do you most admire? What is it about that character that you find impressive or engaging?

To what extent have other people's OC influenced your own? Perhaps in the sense of inspiring your ideas? Or giving you "permission" to create a character you might not otherwise have done? Perhaps a lore-breaking one, or an overtly sexy one, or a self-insert, or a villainous one etc?

What do you try to avoid when creating an OC? Are these things you dislike in other people's OCs? Or purely your own personal preference?

What is your favourite thing about your OC or OCs? Is there something about them of which you are particularly proud?

To what extent does it matter that you are being "original" when you create an OC? Or is it OK to base them on an existing character or celebrity, so long as you enjoy it?

If you're stuck for ideas when creating an OC, what do you do to inspire yourself? (if you never have this problem, then what would you advise to someone that did!)

Is there an OC you would love to create in-game, but currently you are unable to do so, perhaps because that race is not playable or that sex is unavailable (hello female Hrothgar)?

How many OCs do you currently have? If you have multiple OCs then how different are they from each other? How often do you create new ones?

What things do you most want to see in someone's OC? Or what do you always find the most interesting? Or stimulating, if you're in that sort of mood?

It is difficult to believe that Ardyn was ever a true hero, even in his glory days. While it is a sure thing that he was seen as a savior at the time, curing people of the new Starscourge by taking it within himself, everything about him has always been theatrics and grandeur. In the artworks of him riding on his black chocobo down the streets, his body language screams that he is eating up all the praise, that this is what he lives and thrives on. The way he talks about the past is dripping with the venomous green of jealousy, and all of his revenge motives are rooted in it.

He believed that he alone deserved to ascend for his deeds and sacrifices, and he plays the part of the victim who got chased out. The problem, however, is that he never made sacrifices. Everything he did was for his own gain. He wanted the glory, wanted to be worshipped. His goal had never been the salvation of humanity, it was godhood. Even had he not been tainted with Starscourge, he could never have ascended as the King of Light. The Crystal lacked the power to purge the Starscourge for 2000 years, so it begs the question, how could it ever have been Ardyn?

 The answer is simple: Ardyn was never the King of Light. His words are lies twisted by his own self-importance and greed. He claims to have been pushed aside and hidden away by a jealous Izunia, by one “not yet Chosen by the Crystal.” However, it is clear that he himself had never been Chosen, else things would have been far different. He appointed himself to that role because he felt he was the only one who deserved it, and by holding himself in too high of esteem, he was set up for his fall.

He had always been selfish, and when he didn’t get what he felt was owed to him, he set out to destroy it in its entirety. Moreover, he plans his revenge in a way to lift himself up ever further, even beyond his coveted godhood. Had his revenge been born of grief and rage at being denied ascension after his sacrifices, his methods would have been more simple. He could have easily just killed off all of his kin. The Astrals slept, and so had he killed all of the Lucis Caelum and Nox Fleuret bloodline, he would have won.

That wasn’t what he wanted. He was after the recognition, to be seen as a god. Because he was denied ascension as one of Light, he chose to become one of Darkness. That is why he sends Noctis on the path to reach the Crystal, while making sure he suffers every step of the way. He wants Noctis to become the most powerful that he can and to have no reason to hold back, so that he may tear apart the Astrals’ Chosen King in all of his glory, all to prove himself better.

This is made clear as Noctis defeats him, and the only thing Ardyn is concerned with is if he’ll be erased from history again.

Everything that Ardyn says and does is very deliberately engineered. He twists and manipulates with words and magic to further his goals while painting himself as victim. But he is the one who chose to spread the Starscourge. He chose to take control of his darkness, he chose to terrorize and kill much of humanity to reach fame however he could.

He used the Empire as breeding grounds for his weapons, never once caring about the casualties left in his wake. His goals were always the only thing that mattered to him. Were he truly a selfless hero, if he was ever the victim he claims to be, he never would have done all that he did. He would have continued using his magic to heal people even though it meant taking in more of the darkness that cost him his ascension. He would never have given the Empire access to the Magitek technology. He would never have orchestrated everything to make Noctis suffer in his journey.

The taint of the Starscourge cannot be the primary cause of his character. The Starscourge creates rage, and Ardyn’s anger is far too carefully controlled. He has his wits perfectly in order. He has not been turned by the Darkness, he controls it. He always has, and that is why he has never been worthy.