#nourval

[sezja]

I DID IT - Febuwhump 2023 Masterlist

Day 1: Rope Burn

Day 2: Flinching

Day 3: Muzzled

Day 4: Knife to the Throat

Day 5: "That's Gonna Scar"

Day 6: Secrets Revealed

Day 7: Made to Watch

Day 8: Panic

Day 9: Voice Loss

Day 10: Difficulty Breathing

Day 11: Fever

Day 12: "Can You Hear Me?"

Day 13: Forced to Hurt a Loved One

Day 14: Captivity

Day 15: Self-Sacrifice

Day 16: Semi-Conscious

Day 17: Silent Tears

Day 18: Inferno

Day 19: "You Deserve This"

Day 20: Knife Wound

Day 21: Soft Words

Day 22: Can't Scream

Day 23: "You'll Have to Go Through Me"

Day 24: Bloody Clothes

Day 25: Assumed Dead

Day 26: Forced to Choose

Day 27: Survivor's Guilt

Day 28: "You're Safe Now"

#sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #nerise the dragonrider #valan #quinfort #martiallais redlance #nourval #raicheille lhorulgois #...i think that's everyone #my writing #febuwhump2023 #I DID IIIIIT #after last year i swore i'd make my masterlist while i was writing the entries everyday #but no. once again #here we are. #and i had to scramble to put it together at the last minute again.

[velnica]

📓!

Put "📓" or some other version of a book emoji into my inbox and I'll explain the plot of a fanfiction that I haven't written but daydream about.

Since you are also a Nourval appreciator, one of my top 'begged to be written' is what I call the Nourval Redemption project. Set in the future when Sanson is a Commander and the Adders are finally ready to have a talk with Ala Mhigo about Gylbarde's journal. Nourval goes with them, still as prisoner, but at the end of the negotiation and the subsequent revelation to the public, he is released as gesture of goodwill from the Ala Mhigan.

This triggers a lot of soul searching—he's been jailed for nearly a decade by now; his family is mostly gone, his house has fallen into disrepair, his reputation basically in tatters so he has to rebuild it all back up somehow. Worse, he is placed under Sanson's surveillance and thus is indebted to the one person he's personally wronged.

But of course, Sanson won't be Sanson if he isn't trying to help, especially because an organised group of like minded racist individuals are not likely to just drop their proclivities. So Nourval has to choose, succumb to his still festering anger and go back to his old life or work with Sanson and Guydelot (begrudgingly) for his future.

#vel answers #sezja #I am irrationally in love with Nourval lol #He's got so much potential #I wanna help him a li'l #sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #guydesan #bard boys #my fic writing

[ultimablades]

I’m feeling much better today than I was yesterday. I reread my memory-loss fic before bed last night and I was like wow…this IS good, why am I beating myself up so much.

#my writing #I also killed a bunch of gamers in pvp for three hours straight yesterday which turned out to be a good way to get rid of frustration haha #everytime I reread this fic though I’m struck by a different part of it #this time I really enjoyed the part where Guydelot tells Nourval that Sanson is a firecracker and he’d be wise not to set him off #it’s teasing but also I think a very subtle threat — stop pissing off Sanson #that also acknowledges Sanson’s sometimes fiery personality #that Guydelot has been on the receiving end of and also I think he likes it #I think it’s fun I like em

[wine-dark-soup]

sanson smyth is not paid enough to deal with both guydelot AND nourval

[morocosmos]

#loveintheair Day 5 - Touch

Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Characters/Relationships: Sanson Smyth/Guydelot Thildonnet Warnings: Injury, Kidnapping, Medical Treatment Prompt List and Event by millymischief Day 1 | Day 2 | Day 3 | Day 4 | Day 5 | Day 6 | Day 7

“Easy now, Chief. This is gonna sting for a while more.” There is a tremor in Guydelot’s voice that Sanson has never heard before in the two years they’ve known one another, as the bard dabs cleansing potion on his wounds with a piece of gauze. Several bloodied pieces already lay discarded in the bin, which they'd pulled next to the couch they're sitting on in Sanson's apartment.

Bare-chested, he feels exposed in the chilly autumn air; under Guydelot’s scrutiny, whose touch is steady, but perturbingly delicate, like he’s afraid Sanson will splinter and crack into a thousand pieces. He winces, half out of pain and half out of shame as Guydelot dabs at a particularly large cut on his back. One of Nourval’s guards had slashed him with the tip of his spear, and the cut ran deeper into his skin than the rest. In the mirror — Sanson had all but insisted that Guydelot bring it here, despite his friend’s baffled protest — the wound looks angry and red, on the cusp of infection.

Small wonder, given he’d been dragged through dirt and mud for almost a sennight. There's a dull, haggard look to his eyes in the mirror that the fading sunlight won't reach. His captors had seen that he had not bled to death or died of thirst, but little else.

“Sorry.” Guydelot’s quiet apology takes Sanson aback; he is being far too serious about this. Where Sanson might have once appreciated the change, it feels wrong now, like the world around him has tilted.  “I’m fine. There’s no need to be so gentle,” he insists. He goes for a reassuring tone, because Matron knows how worried his friend must have been while he’d been gone. He'd thrown in a few light-hearted complaints about how much it had twisted his pride to call on Commander Vorsaile's aid on their way back to Gridania, but Sanson hasn’t missed the dark circles under his eyes, nor the way Guydelot hasn't left his side since they walked away from that dreaded clearing. 

He must've worried him half to death, and all because he’d been so stupid as to fall for Nourval’s trap without a second thought. 

There’s a hollow chuckle from Guydelot, who shakes his head. His hand, still holding the gauze, drifts down to Sanson's shoulder. “Not just that. I should’ve followed you. If I’d been there, maybe you wouldn’t’ve…” His voice breaks, just by an ilm, but it’s enough for Sanson to sit up straight as his friend leans back, eyes wide and hands held in the air. “But you’re here now, eh?” he says, a little too quickly. “No sense in mulling over the worst version of things.”

Guydelot. Sanson doesn’t know what to say, or maybe it’s that he doesn’t want to say it. Hadn’t he turned that very thought over in his head, endlessly, each and every night while he was held captive? Carried it in his chest like poison: that the last time he saw and spoke to Guydelot might have been carelessly spent, a moment of no consequence. That he'd leave him behind without ever saying the words he's wanted to say since his feelings struck like a bolt from the Destroyer himself, somewhere along the path of their friendship.

“Chief?” The concern in Guydelot’s voice snaps some sense back into him. Captivity has addled his mind; professing his feelings here would be ridiculous…wouldn’t it? 

But he remembers the pensive way Moro'a had looked at the two of them when it was all over, and the words he'd said to him in private, before the Warrior of Light was called to the Far East. Don't leave it too late.

Gods, if he’s been so obvious about it, there’s a chance others have noticed it as well. It is a terrifying precipice to stand upon. Yet Sanson had nearly lost his chance once — could he stand to lose it again? With difficulty, he finds his voice. “Guydelot.” His friend looks back at him, slightly apprehensive.

He still can't find it himself to say the exact words, but he tries. “Thank you,” he stammers out. “For…for this. For finding me.” A sudden sliver of courage bolsters him, and he takes Guydelot's free hand, hearing the bard's breath catch as he curls his fingers into his palm.

“I'm sorry for worrying you.” He swallows. “I hope this is not too forward, but I…” His momentary boldness deserts him, but their hands are already joined; mild panic seizes him. What is he doing? He is Guydelot's commanding officer, his superior — he cannot be propositioning the bard in his own home when he merely wishes to make sure that Sanson's injuries are seen to-

Except…

Guydelot is laughing. A softer variation of an all too familiar cadence, it sounds suspiciously relieved, and all too sweet to Sanson's ears. 

“And here I thought I'd have to coax it out of you in another five years.” Sanson throws him an exasperated look, to which the bard adds, “Give or take. Matron’s teats, Sanson…”

Sanson is about to object to invoking Nophica's bosom in the middle of a- a confession (that's what this is, isn't? At least take it seriously!) when Guydelot threads his fingers between his own, bringing his thoughts to a jarring stop. The bard places his remaining hand atop theirs, and the gauze tumbles to the back of the couch, forgotten.

“I’m glad you're here. So please…stay.” There's that quiver in his voice again; Sanson never wants to hear it again.

Feeling his own throat tighten, Sanson squeezes their fingers together. “I am here. For as long as you will have me,” he whispers. It's a long, long time before they let go.

#kae scribbles #loveintheair xiv 2024 #sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #i squint every time i look at this but i'm releasing it now...to the world.... #every now and then i'm obsessed with the idea of bard boys only getting together after sanson's kidnapping #sometimes because of sanson's kidnapping

[charmwitch]

nourval

#sorry I'm like this #final fantasy xiv #ff14 #fanart

[semi-imaginary-place]

ffxiv more job quests

ast: its purple hair and pronouns time aka my favorite quest line.

there's no other writing like the ast writing in the game, it's snappy and witty.

its been mentioned a few times but hydaelyn isn't a planet but a star itself so the parallels between astology and geomancy are even stronger both are star divination its just which stars they are looking at.

swallow's compass! hey kyokuho i know the spirits of this place actually.

im on the fox's side here, let the city be destroyed.

pretty good. I still liked the 30-50 and 50-60 ones better best quests in the game really followed by dark 50-60, these ast 60-70 i think are more like 5th place.

brd: nourval sus

question is why did he need an adder escort in the first place.

oh hey moral quandary time. the truth would only hurt the delicate political situation. If the tome is surrendered 1. it gets shoved into an archive or destroyed for being politically inconvenient. 2. it gets used to exploit ala mhigo who is already in a weakened position. 3. as with nourval diplomacy breaks down entirely. So that's from the perspective of looking to the future, but looking to the past justice was never received for Vainchelon, if ala mhigo intends to revive itself that include the weight of its past crimes. My suggestion would be holding off on revealing it for a could years but then using the reveal as a moment of pagenty to strengthen gridanian and ala mhigan ties as a way to demonstrate that ala mhigo has changed and seeks friendship not murder.

mch: muscadain is being oddly cooperative given how antagonistic he was at the beginning, what happened to him?

oh wait. he doesn't mean sister symbolically he means literally.

smn: not sure why y'mitra didn't permanently relocate to mor dhona, widergelt did.

gridania is an even more odd base given that this storyline has ties to the flames but not the adders.

we have robot summoners!

I rather like that in the end it was sari's past ideals that defeated his future cynicism. just conceptually summoner is among my favorites for the stormblood job quests, its up there along side monk dark knight and astrologian. younger sari's way of doing things was represented by prin in fostering new summoners to take on primals when they were ready while older sari would kill the strongest summoner to feed his machine since he didn't trust any person to do it.

#ffxiv #ffxiv 4.x #ffxiv smn

[sangrefae]

FFXIV WRITE 2023: DAY THREE [FREE DAY - RUMINATE]

link to the ao3 post for my entries | day one | day two | day four

ruminate [verb] - Psychology. to obsessively revisit the same thought or theme over and over again. - wol & guydelot, sanson mentioned. set during the stormblood bard questline. 667 words.

They wanted me. 

The words repeat in Elinor's brain like a prayer. They're the only thing he can consciously think of as life continues on around him, as he and Guydelot rush to Gridania with bloodied journal in hand. 

They wanted me, not him. The letter was meant for me. 

Elinor's pretty sure it's the only thing keeping him sane, if by a slim margin. The only thing that inspires the slightest bit of hope, that stalls the growing dread in his stomach that threatens to overwhelm him completely. 

It's managed to keep the usual all-encompassing numbness at bay, as well; something he's surprised that he's shocked by.  He can't remember the last time panic hasn't been replaced by the static-y itch of apathy, pushing his conscious self back until he has no other choice than to watch his own actions as if behind a screen, a passive audience to his own life. Now, for the first time in an eternity, every time the words repeat he feels... Alive. Present. The fear threatens to swallow him whole, but there's a giddy sort of thrill in being able to feel it at all. 

He doesn't let himself consider why this time is different. 

They wanted me. A lofty goal, to be sure--Elinor isn't in the fittest shape, still recovering from Prince Zenos' attempt to flay him alive, but any plan to kidnap one of the Warriors of Light for ransom is ambitious indeed. Though, such a ransom would be infinitely more valuable; a fact that Elinor shoves aside every time it tries to surface, like a fisherman trying desperately to drown his own catch. 

Sanson is a low-ranking captain, particularly infamous for his stubborn will to prove the power of bardic songs—an especially niche and... unpopular stance—to the Adders. The decision to keep him as Nourval's gambling piece nearly guarantees that the higher-ups will let him be killed in exchange for the group's silence. Guydelot said as such as soon as he'd shown the journal to Elinor, voice steadily raising in pitch and panic as his own point sank in further. 

And yet. They wanted me. 

Deep inside, Elinor knows that Sanson is still alive for a reason. Hope burns a hole in his chest, forcing him to focus on it and nothing else. 

They wanted me, not him. 

Beside him, Guydelot frets in silence. It's the most worked up Elinor's ever seen him, moreso than when he'd debated on whether or not to reveal himself in the Sea of Clouds. He'd been near hysterical when the journal was found, eyes rimmed in red alongside his usual black and voice cracking on every word. 

"How can you be so godsdamned calm all the time?!" His half-shouted words from earlier ring through Elinor's mind again, making the viera wince. Guydelot hadn't meant it in an accusatory way, or at least he hoped he hadn't, but the question still sends a bolt of pure guilt rocket through him every time he reflects on it, as well as his response. 

"One of us has to be the rational man so we don't get Sanson killed," he'd responded tightly, quickly continuing in an attempt to soften his barbed words, "I'm just as scared as you are, but being scared isn't going to help with anything right now." 

Guydelot had taken his words in stride, at least, taking a moment to breathe and calm himself before following Elinor to the Wall. Anxiety still scratches at the back of Elinor's mind, though, for the sole reason that the bard hasn't said anything to him since. 

He wants to say something. He needs to say something. He needs to apologize. For what? He isn't sure. He'd said what he had to, snapping Guydelot out of his panicked haze. Nothing more to it. 

In the end, he finds himself too cowardly to do much more than wrap his tail around Guydelot's calf, leaning his weight against the elezen's side in a pitiful impression of an embrace. 

#ffxiv write 2023 #ffxivwrite2023 #ffxiv writing #elinor sumarlioi #sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #cave scribbles #ffxiv #final fantasy 14 #today is a free day #so i decided to clean up this snippet i cut from the confession fic but liked enough to keep

[windupsanson]

∇ -. old age/aging headcanon (Let me enjoy how you see Guydelot and Sanson older together! :D )

Hi, thank you for sending this, I’m late here and trying to distract myself so not the best but let’s see what I can do ^^

Will be reblogging to right blog so sorry people seeing it double.

For this one I’m going stay more in canon and with Guydelot and Sanson together as a monogamous couple instead of my normal au and wol ot3.

I like to believe they will live together for life but probably won’t make any serious commitment to it for a long time, more like settling into a routine with both wondering how long it will last but both also realizing that they are happier like that but too stubborn to admit it.

The fact they work together and have different priorities will add conflicts to them, maybe they will need some time apart to realize they are really best combined.

Guydelot will probably have a bigger shock since he likes keeping himself a free soul not bound by others and responsibilities whether work or relationships, he takes things seriously of course but he seems to put great value on his freedom. I’m inspired by others who wrote this but I can imagine Guydelot leaving to learn more about the world and even music and Sanson staying behind in Gridania, maybe they will agree that is a distant relationship for a travel or maybe they will consider breaking up thinking it’s for the best but neither will actually try other relationships and Sanson will focus on his duties which I sort of see and hope will give him more authority and a better position, perhaps first like Vorsaile and I hope later more since I just can’t give up on Adders reform. He will probably be a worse workaholic during Guydelot absence. Guydelot will try to forget his work, focusing on meeting new places and musics, he will probably have a voice in the back of his head telling him to learn stuff too and not just waste away his time, he will sing to others and enjoy being carefree while being more nostalgic without admitting why at first.

Eventually Guydelot will return to Gridania only to find Sanson still doing much the same things and worry like he always does if he is getting enough rest and going home, they will talk with friendliness but hurt feelings especially Sanson insecurities about Guydelot leaving even if he told himself several times that he was fine with it and understood it was just like Guydelot to do this and good for his bard skills he probably learned a lot and Guydelot will try to just joke and maybe they will even start bickering like before but it will be heavy for awhile, eventually they will fight over it, stop talking to each other and avoid one another until Guydelot decides to use his music to help people and Sanson will obviously support that and they will talk again, Sanson will loose his temper and say what he actually thinks about Guydelot leaving and how he hoped what they had mattered more and Guydelot will loose his temper and argue that he also thought that it mattered more and Sanson could have told him not to go or even go with him. Communication skills are never this pair strong skills of course, it’s going to be a big argument but both can finally stop assuming everything, stop pretending, finally just talk and decide that they are going to just stay together because that’s the happiest they have been.

Eventually they will notice how ridiculous they are both being and just accept they are in love with one another and that things were better when they were together and so they will return to the same routine but having learned more.

I think if everything goes peacefully one day Guydelot will be smart enough to finish plans I headcanon he considered because of the Nourval situation, he almost lost Sanson once and now after being apart again and having a serious fight after breaking up that will give him courage and he will ask for a more serious commitment, he won’t make it sound like a big deal just a practical thing for the situation, they decided to stay together forever after fighting right? So why not just confirm with a marriage/eternal bonding? It’s also totally possible this never happens but I just want them to be something official.

Sanson will always be connected to the bards of Gridania even when he stops going to battle fields and Guydelot experience will make them work together again, although Sanson will have other responsibilities too he will make sure to stay connected to the bards and being the one who started the first unit there won’t be any issues, he will have more of an office job at first but he is not someone to be content with that and likes seeing things for himself, not trusting the Adders company has become a habit, Guydelot opinions always being valid will keep them more combined than both thought they would be at work, they will eventually have to make rules to separate work from home and decide to forbid the topic off duty, a real challenge for Sanson.

At least until we can get Serpent Marshal Smyth in place.

During their time off they will be the kind of couple who enjoy doing their own things but together, exchanging comments but not minding the quietness either. Being more a couple to show their feelings in small ways, leading a more quiet life with the years, still arguing over little things but smiling at each other at the end.

Happy that as soldiers they have so much time to enjoy each other’s company when they know how easily that could have changed and almost did.

#Sanson #Guydelot #behold an ask #guydelot thildonnet #sanson smyth #bard otp

[lesenbyan]

[Image ID: two screenshots from FFXIV of a Roegadyn woman (Hopeful Dawn) with medium brown skin and long, dark dusty brown hair with purple ends. Her hair is parted her right with her bangs swept across her forehead and held in place by a clip behind her left ear. In both images she's flexing her arms in from of her. She's wearing a dark purple shrug and string bikini top with lavender bikini bottoms, gold bracelets, and dark purple wedge heeled sandals.

In the first image the camera is zoomed out to see her whole figure standing on a beach at night with fireworks going off above a lighthouse in the background on the right. The second image is zoomed in, cutting her off below the knee but still capturing the fireworks behind her. Up close you can see her muscle definition and some light colored embroidery on her shrug. /end ID]

Images that make Nourval blush

#Hopeful Dawn; #jay plays ffxiv; #moonfire 2022; #ffxiv;

[weatheredfailnot]

would like to see some of the boys from the brd job quests for the bingo!

Everything under the read more :D

Guydelot

I don't have much to say here. He's just so good. "I refuse to teach my students how to be bards because they'll never be as good as me or the WOL" The audacity?????

Sanson

Beast unleashed because he's a captain and I really think the fact that he and Guydelot managed to get bards into the Ilsabard Contingent says a lot about him. Also!! I love how he keeps a small notebook on him and how he's always writing in it between quests

Jehantel (deserves to be included)

I've seen a number of people complain about how early BRD quests are boring before Guydelot and Sanson show up and it breaks my heart. I don't think there's anything better than the WOL showing up to this retired veteran bard's camp in the middle of the woods and going on journeys of remembrance with him. Jehantel is such a genuine and kind character and he stands out to me as a job mentor

Bonus: Nourval

It wasn't until recently that I realized that I played through the Stormblood BRD questline and barely understood what happened because I played through it too fast. I've read some Nourval-focused fics and analyses and I'm really considering doing a New Game+ of it again now

#Asks

[sezja]

Febuwhump Day 19: "You Deserve This" Fandom: Final Fantasy XIV Characters/Ship: Nourval, Sanson Smyth/Guydelot Thildonnet Triggers/Content warnings: n/a

Part One, Part Two, Part Three, Part Four, Part Five, Part Six

Nourval waits, his heart pounding.

In less than a bell, he'll be a free man - albeit only for a while. Only long enough to do what must be done. Then it's back to this cell, with the world none the wiser... if he does as Sanson asks, and returns to his prison as he's bid.

He stares at his hands in the dying light spilling in through his window. Sunset. Nearly time. They'll want the cover of darkness - much relies on no one looking too closely. Secrets, more secrets. Nourval chuckles humorlessly to himself, thinking on it. The many secrets he'd learned, growing up at his uncle's knee, both strict and passionate in turn; the man truly believed all he spoke of, and hearing him, Nourval had taken it all deeply to heart. Vainchelon's murder at the hands of Ala Mhigans. Gridania, driven to seek aid from "lesser" nations as a result.

The righteous fury he'd felt; the anger, the hatred!

In its place now sits confusion, and a sense of loss - the loss of an identity he'd carried his entire life. What, then, is his future? He'd been prepared all his life to lead Gridania into a war a century in the making; a war to avenge his ancestor, slain by treachery and cowardice. What becomes of him, in the absence of that war?

And what becomes of him if he becomes a kinslayer, cutting down the very man who taught him all he knows?

He could turn on Sanson, he supposes.

It might very well get him back in his family's good graces, if he kills off two of the men responsible for finding and concealing the truth of Vainchelon's murder. If he can aid his uncle in making it look as though the Ala Mhigans slew them - for that must be Astarnaix's plan - then surely, he'll be welcomed back with open arms and accolades: his family's golden boy once more. Vainchelon reborn, here to once more lead Gridania into a golden age, independent of its ties to the Alliance, and... and...

I can't do it. I cannot do it.

It's a question of honor - Vainchelon's, Landrenel's. His own. Aye, and his family's, too, though they won't thank him for it. They weren't there that day, when that damnable bard sang the song writ in stone upon Vainchelon's grave; when the old man stepped forward to tell him of Landrenel's latter days. They weren't there when, suddenly, a great deal of Nourval's life began to make a horrible kind of sense, pieces sliding into place.

If he has a chance to... to do what Vainchelon himself might have done, to stand up against a great injustice... and perhaps reclaim some of his own lost honor in the bargain-

"Nourval!" Sanson.

It's time.

He lifts his head, rising from his seat on the bed. Sanson, yes - and another Wildwood man, in a Serpent Commander's uniform. "You convinced him, I see."

Vorsaile Heuloix gives him a nod of acknowledgment. "He was quite persuasive... and is quite convinced of your merit, might I add."

"We haven't much time." Sanson kneels before the lock, fiddling with a ring of keys. "The guard will grow suspicious if we take long."

Vorsaile, ludicrous though it seems, begins to strip off his uniform. "I fear you may find my clothes a poor fit," he says, by way of apology. "You've a few ilms on me, unless I miss my guess."

"I expect I'll do well enough." He begins undressing - far less work than getting in and out of one of those overcoats, but then, the bulky nature of the overcoat is much to their benefit tonight.

Sanson gets the door open at last, and the two elezen exchange clothes, dressing hastily in the unfamiliar garments. Sanson keeps his gaze fixed in the direction of the guardroom, though whether it's to grant them some semblance of privacy or simply out of practicality (someone must keep watch), Nourval doesn't know. The tension in Sanson's every movement speaks to his anxiety; and how not? Even now, as they carry out this desperate plan, it may all be too late.

"The guard thinks we need to search your cell for hidden evidence," Sanson explains, while they dress. "It took a good deal of convincing for him to agree to let us do so unaccompanied."

"I'll owe the fellow a bribe somewhere down the road, like as not," Vorsaile says cheerfully, now fully garbed in prisoner's drab garments - he turns his attention to helpfully assisting Nourval with the many buckles and clasps on his coat. "There you are, keep your hat on and your head down, and no one's the wiser."

People see what they want to see, he thinks, doing as instructed. He affixes the Serpent Commander's lance securely to the harness at his back, wishing he had more time to familiarize himself with the new weapon; he can only pray his skills haven't gone to rust.

"We must be going," Sanson says, closing the heavy cell door... but leaving it unlocked, the better to allow Nourval to return to his cell at the end of the night's doings.

Nourval takes a deep breath. "Thank you for-"

"Don't," Sanson says, shaking his head. "Prove to me... prove to me you deserve this chance, and that will be thanks enough. Provided I don't lose my rank after all is said and done, anything that lies within my power to grant is yours. Only..." He blinks quickly, swallows hard, turns away. Begins walking. "Only help me save him. That is the only thing that matters."

Commander Heuloix pats Nourval's shoulder through the bars. "He means it, you know."

"I know." He shrugs the man's hand away, and hurries after Sanson, keeping his head down, hiding his face as best he can in the heavy overcoat.

#sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #nourval #my writing #febuwhump #febuwhumpday19 #febuwhump2023 #this one's scraping in well after my bedtime but

[velnica]

Lighter (Nourval/Guydelot) 🔥

"Give me some of that light, would you?" Guydelot grabbed Nourval's arm none too gently.

Nourval continued taking a drag on his cigarette, seemingly unpertrubed. "Hmph, has anyone ever told you 'no' before?"

"Why, are you gonna be the first?"

"No."

#I was overcome by a weakness #and made this #I need to lie down #they look so hot ungh #Nourval had no business looking this handsome #smoking continues to be one of those things #that are sexy in fiction #but not IRL #cw: smoking #nourval lhorulgois #guydelot thildonnet #whatever their ship name is lol #technically it's a triad so... #ffxiv #ffxiv gpose #my gposes

[ultimablades]

Sanson got taken out by Nourval so easily because he’s a lancer and yet he was wearing [checks Garland Tools] a monk/samurai top, replica striking gloves, healer pants, and crafting thighboots. He said fashion over stats baby!!

#and then he got his ass beat #meanwhile Guydelot is actually in all aiming gear #Sanson carefully buying Guydelot’s gear making sure they were the best stat wise in his budget #and then just buying himself an outfit that made him look hot #one brain cell #sanson smyth #guydelot thildonnet #bard boys

[weatheredpileoftomes]

orders

For FFxivWrite2022 Day 12, “miss the boat”. Frydlona, early post-Stormblood, ~550 words. Bard jobquest spoilers through 70; mention of canon-typical racism.

Farewell, Gridania.

“Lieutenant Merlgeimwyn, won’t you reconsider? Our command will take your loss most poorly.” Vorsaile Heuloix looks almost more alarmed than Frydlona has ever seen him. It isn’t helping his case. If the Order of the Twin Adder had wanted her to stay, they should have thought about it, oh, two days sooner.

Frydlona had stopped believing in the goodness of Gridanians not long after she arrived, seeing—and hearing—what Leih had to live with. The other Keepers of the Moon, too, and such Duskwights as entered the city. It had been ugly, shocking in a place as green and peaceful as Gridania, but in the end…which of the cities didn’t have such ugliness?

She had stopped believing in the goodness of Gridania when Kan-E-Senna turned and walked out of Nanamo’s banquet hall, leaving Frydlona kneeling, chained, in a pool of Raubahn’s blood.

And yet—she had lived here, and it had been beautiful. It still is beautiful, a brighter and more vibrant green than any emerald. She had had to be a member of a Grand Company, and the Order of the Twin Adder oversaw her home.

They’d never given her an order she couldn’t live with. She’d never even heard about them giving orders she wouldn’t have been able to live with, if they’d been made to her instead of someone else—not to say those orders were never made, but if they were they were secret, kept from her. To be sure, the individual members are no better than other Gridanians, but they’re also no worse that Frydlona has been able to tell. They’re people, all in all.

Their highest-ranking officers telling her to leave Sanson to die? That order coming from so high up that it couldn’t be appealed, only snuck around?

Nourval’s plan had been a cruel one, and she agrees they shouldn’t have gone along with it, but Sanson Smyth deserved better than to be a sacrifice to principle. He would have deserved better in any case, but his own commanders deciding that he could die, as the easiest way of easing tensions between Gridania and Ala Mhigo… Her mother would never have stood for it.

“The Flame General has told me he would like my transfer, sir,” Frydlona says politely to Heuloix. “I served under him while we fought to liberate Ala Mhigo, and he would like the sultana to have a few more reliable people in the Flames to call on at need.”

Technically, it’s all true. She’d been glad to work with Raubahn during the final push across Gyr Abania—she’d liked him already, and during the war she’d learned he was a good commander as well. She’s more sure of him than of Heuloix: she doesn’t think he would ever give her an order she needed to refuse.

Which is why she’d asked him, as soon as Sanson was back safe and her report was made, if he would accept her transfer.

Heuloix sighs. “Well. I suppose he does outrank me. Very well then, Lieutenant. Matron ward your steps.”

Frydlona salutes him—the crossed-arm nod of the Twin Adder, for the last time—and turns and walks away.

#ffxivwrite #ffxivwrite2022 #my fic #my fic: frydlona #my fic: frydlona: gen #my fic: 3.x #frydlona merlgeimwyn

[morocosmos]

Quick it's 2am time to blab about the angsty but eventually happier new AU i started cooking about 3 weeks ago

So what if sanson didn't make it out of being nourval's hostage (which i have written before bc i am terrible) and in the messy aftermath guydelot got gacha-ed to the first because he was on moro'a's mind so much

#should i continue to cook #i hesitate to make it a ship thing because it seems...too automatic #but at the same time i can see it happening slowly