welcome to @dawnslight-aegis, my ffxiv blog that is mostly dedicated to my dearest and most beloved lizard WoL, Kaede
here is a picture of her, please imagine me pulling it out of my wallet like a proud parent
anyway
I have a page for my most used tags here, Kaede's co-WoL and partner in crime can be found at @foamofthe-sea, and my fanfiction about both of them and also a couple of elf boys is primarily on AO3.
Titles: Flame Captain, Warrior of Light, Champion of Eorzea, Savior of Ishgard, Traveler, and most recently, Viscountess of House Borel
Age: 25 at ARR start, 29 at EW end
Heritage/Affliation: Hannish on her father's side, Doman on her mother's. Born in the Mor Dhonan wilds, raised in New Sharlayan (birth-10) and La Noscea (11-21). Captain in the Immortal Flames, part-time resident of Ishgard.
Combat specializations: Holy Knight (PLD variant), Dark Knight, Red Mage, Light Mage (WHM variant)
Ameliance I respect your. tastes. but I'm not entirely sure why "guy who has a bad reputation, which is deserved, and also cannot express affection when he DOES feel it" struck you as father material
I have some thoughts on this, because the way Ameliance Leveilleur talks about her husband, and her position in the household is genuinely fascinating to me, especially if we look at it in the context of Sharlayan being (as others have pointed out) a pretty patriarchal society.
As we see above, by her own account she pursued Fourchenault despite his reputation as an unpleasant man and possibly also a workaholic. Or, I submit, maybe in part because of that last one.
The Leveilleurs are the closest thing to a dynasty in Old Sharlayan--they have a long history of producing powerful mages, which Ameliance surely knew. Also, if the size of that mansion tells us anything, they are absolutely filthy rich.
While she speaks a bit self-effacingly of needing the servants' help to learn how to be a lady of the house, it is known that Ameliance also comes from a powerful and influential family, so I have my doubts that she came into the marriage as naive and unskilled as she pretends. Ameliance is adept at the social graces befitting a lady of the house, but she also seems to easily adopt a more friendly and personable manner (a skill her husband lacks). Her disarming sweetness and sense of humor put outsiders like the WoL at ease, win trust, make her appear candid and uncalculating. And it's quite possible she feels genuine affection for her cantankerous husband. That said look how organically she frames their courtship. She just happened to be captivated by the richest and most unapproachable boy in school! Naturally! It was fate, of course! And he was so flustered around her! Tee hee!
From what we see in Endwalker, she basically runs the household as well as its finances. Which, I will note, she is also disarmingly glib about. Oh, she just decided to finance the Scions because the household was packing up to go to space to escape the apocalypse anyway. Can't take it with you, you know! Certainly not because it served as opportunity to re-establish her family's influence outside the motherland after the loss of the colony, all while supporting her beloved children and the one organization with the potential to forestall said apocalypse!
Though she has also studied magic, Ameliance's real passion seems to be philanthropy, particularly in the realm of education. In Encyclopedia Eorzea v.3, it's mentioned that her family operated "private institutions of learning" in the Dravanian colony, which served as a healthy source of income. Those institutions would have closed their doors at the time of the exodus, the same year the twins were born. But the planning of the exodus began five years before that, after the Garlean invasion of Ala Mhigo. Ameliance's family might not have been ruined by this, but they would have seen the writing on the wall. Ameliance would have been around 19-20 at this time. Timeline details get fuzzy here, as we don't know precisely the typical age for Studium admission (only that the twins are atypical), or, I don't think, when Ameliance and Fourchenault were married. (Though since we've been told Elezen don't reach full physical maturity until 20+ I doubt they'd have been married before that, though you never know with rich people.)
My point is, I think you could make a case that Ameliance, the daughter of a wealthy family about to lose a significant source of their income, secured a strategic marriage to a similarly wealthy man whose family fortune was in no immediate danger of collapsing, and who was likely to spend most of his time wrapped up in his own work, leaving Ameliance maximum latitude to run the household, manage the finances, raise her children as she saw fit, and carry on her own family's legacy in supporting education at home and abroad.
And she did quite well for herself, didn't she? :)
i like when they wheel estinien out to talk to dragons because the game will be like, estinien really has a way of talking with dragons! and the way he talks with dragons is like "are you a pussy or something" and then the dragon will be like "god you're such a bitch just like nidhogg" and, crucially, this works every time
estinien's character arc is letting go of his anger so he can stop being an empty suit of armor propelled by vengeance and go back to being a real person and he's by far the most chill of the recurring characters now that he's done that but one of his core tenets remains "there are things worth getting mad about and you should be getting mad about them" and it's funny every time when he comes across a dragon wallowing in defeatist self pity and has to go "god shut the fuck up and just get mad about it like a normal person"
Happy new year, I have spent the last couple weeks moving all of my 7.0+ mods to Heliosphere. Everything else is remaining on KoFi, and I'll continue to put new releases there as well (and some updates to older mods as I get to them. Some need second dye channels added, etc).
Heliosphere is really cool. It's by far the most user-friendly place to find mods these days -- imagine, a search and tagging system that actually works. So I'm glad I finally put in the time to publish a bunch of stuff there. I have over 120 mods though, there was no way everything was moving.
Anyway from now on I'll include links to both places. Here's my profile if you wanna bookmark me:
Emily | she/her | I like making vanilla mashups and the occasional port/upscale.
You'll find my most recent + new mods here, but if you li
I am pleased to announce that with the changes to glamour restrictions coming in December, I have decided to host another month of glamour prompts! Lets all go wild with cross-class fashion!
This time I took inspiration from recurring jobs in the Final Fantasy series that don't exist in XIV. You can use these prompts to cosplay a Final Fantasy character, imagine what the job would look like if imported to XIV, or just think outside the box and let your imagination run free. I've also included free days this time so you can take a break or highlight glams you love that don't fit the prompts.
The only restriction on how to use these prompts is that I ask you stick to vanilla gear items. We have so many more to choose from now after all. Non-gear mods you use to envision your character more accurately are fine. (ex. tattoos, body replacements, prosthetics, scars, etc.)
So join me in January 2026 for Glamuary! I'll be following the tag #FFXIVGlamuary.
I ran out of steam after the first two but man I really love this meme and Norvrandt deserves nothing but the best i.e. my expert tourism marketing skills
If I spend more than two minutes thinking about Endwalker and the themes of depression, suicidal ideation and hope; walking towards a new tomorrow all the while asking why, because the dark sludge of depression is drowning you and everything is pain, yet never stopping because the walk itself is proof of a spark of hope, I start crying, actually.
Paladin: The Oath of the Crown
Warrior: The Oath of the Divine Beast
Dark Knight: The Oath of Vengeance Devotion
Gunbreaker: The Cooler Oath of the Crown 😎
It probably says something about the quality and staying power of FFXIV that not only do I understand what these takes are referring to, but that I can't really argue with them either.
(don't look at the date don't look at the date don't look at the date)
Pristine white marble met the sea and spread out in every direction, as far as Kaede’s eye could see, evoking in her a sense of nostalgia even more powerful than she’d felt in the ruined remnants of the colony she’d been born into. Despite having never actually set foot on the northern island’s shores, New or Old, Sharlayan was Sharlayan, it seemed.
Lost in thought, she trailed after the Scions as they walked off their sealegs on the way to the customs official. The moment she had heard that the plan was to actually go, in person, to Old Sharlayan, Kaede had sent word to her mother — and been told, in no uncertain terms, that regardless of her undoubtedly extremely important world-saving business, she must find her younger sister. Yuriko Kazarishi had not spent fifteen years being denied entry to the motherland to waste this chance, and Kaede shuddered to think of the frosty reception that awaited her if she failed in this one thing that her mother had asked of her since becoming an adult. ‘Twas enough to overcome even her own fear that Ayame, having been all of five years old the last time they had seen each other, would not recognize her elder sister.
Having reached their destination while she was navel-gazing, the Archons among the Scions presented themselves and their entry applications, a large book glowing white when each pronounced their names. After them went the twins, and then Kaede felt a pair of eyes resting heavily on her in the pause following their acknowledgement.
Thancred’s eyebrow lifted faintly, as if to ask if she was going to get on with it already, and Kaede stifled a sigh. He knew, of course. It was his job to know things, and the full background of one of their resident godslayers likely ranked quite highly on the “necessary information” list. Undoubtedly Urianger and Y’shtola had figured it out as well, but all three of the elder Scions were thankfully gifted in the art of keeping their mouths shut. The younger, however…
She’d need to brace herself for the deluge of questions that would soon break forth from that long-maintained dam.
G’raha, as if sensing her unease, flashed her a bright smile and powered on with the introductions. “These last three are not Sharlayan natives, but you will find their credentials are in order. An application was made in advance...”
Marz and Estinien went first, and though the elezen needed to be bailed out at the last moment by Krile from his inability to find a palatable way to say that he was currently unemployed, their admission to the city went off surprisingly smoothly, all things considered. Finally, Kaede was the last to remain.
Kaede stepped forward, eyes fixed on the lalafellin official. Tongue thick in her mouth, she marshaled all the strength at her disposal to force the words out, more clearly and confidently than she felt: “Kaede Kazarishi, birth name Kaede Nasreen Anvari, of the Dravanian colony of Sharlayan. Master goldsmith and adventurer by trade.”
Silence hung heavy in the air as several heads swiveled to fix her with looks that doubtlessly ranged from shock to confusion. For her part, Kaede stared intently at the book in front of her, the one that would shine only if her citizenry was confirmed.
After a long moment, her palms growing clammy at the delay, the book indeed glow a faint white, and the official lifted her eyes from it, her eyebrows nearly disappearing beneath her bangs. “You are indeed on the lists, though it says here that you did not join the Exodus with the rest of your family.”
“That’s correct. My mother and I were abroad at the time. My father and sister, however, should live within the city, to the best of my knowledge.”
An undignified squawk from Alisaie almost broke Kaede’s focus on the tiny woman in front of her, but she managed to keep from looking over as the official hummed and rustled through some papers. “Hmm. Yes. It seems your father has gone to great lengths to see that your citizenry status remains in good standing. Very well, you may enter, as well. I’ve amended your surname on the rolls.”
The woman looked away, adjusting her spectacles in obvious dismissal, and Kaede slowly released the breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding. One hurdle cleared, a dozen more to go.
Turning, she found the eyes of all her companions firmly fixed upon her, clearly waiting for an explanation. Kaede simply shrugged and waved a hand towards the city proper. “Shall we?”
The adults among their company — of whom only Estinien had been in the dark, and he looked as unbothered as ever — nodded and turned to leave, but Alisaie planted herself firmly in Kaede’s path, hands on her hips and glowering.
With discomfort, the raen realized that the elezen girl no longer had to tilt her head back much at all to do so.
“When, exactly, were you planning on telling us that you’re Sharlayan?”
Kaede swallowed a smile and crossed her arms, the picture of nonchalance. “Now, apparently. Though, honestly, I thought the accent would have given it away ages ago. I’ve never tried to disguise it.”
The tips of her ears turning bright pink with pique, Alisaie whirled to fix her glare on her brother. “Did you know about this?”
“I am as dumbfounded as you are, sister, I assure you. Though judging by the reactions, I take it that we are among the only ones.” Alphinaud’s tone was subtly chastising as he looked around, and was met by amusement and affected disinterest from his elders. G’raha mostly looked confused, as clearly that particular bit of information about her past had not made it into the history books he’d studied for a century, convincing himself that he’d known everything about her, while Krile mostly seemed delighted at the reveal.
When no one volunteered any further information, Alisiae flung her hands in the air and stomped away, pride undoubtedly stung at having been left out, and talk shifted to more practical planning. Most drifted away while Krile and G’raha attempted to wrangle Estinien and Marz into agreeing to being shown the sights, but Alphinaud lingered, his eyebrows knitting themselves together as he looked at her.
As always, Kaede didn’t have to wait long for him to speak. “Why didn’t you say anything, when we visited Dravania in search of Lady Matoya? Or afterwards?”
Lips pressing into a thin line, Kaede shook her head. “I had other things on my mind at the time besides ancient history. And…” she trailed off, then shook her head. “Well. Let’s just say that my relationship with my father is rather more fraught than even yours is of late. Sharlayan has not been home to me for a very long time, and I don’t expect that it ever will be again. The sooner we’re gone from here, the better.”
The young man’s face fell a bit, and Kaede felt a flash of regret for the harshness of her words. Alphinaud loved Sharlayan, holding fast to its virtues even as he had slowly shed the pretension that it had instilled in him.
“Well. If you would like to talk, or need assistance finding your family, you only need ask.”
“I know. Thank you, Alphinaud. And I’m sorry for setting Alisaie off,” she said with an unrepentant grin, as she nodded towards the girl, restless with irritation, calling for Alphinaud to hurry up. “You’d better go, or else she might forget she’s angry with me and decide you’re a more convenient target.”
Alphinaud grimaced and nodded, leaving Kaede at the mercy of Krile and G’raha, who had apparently failed to wrangle the pair of dragoons and instead set their sights firmly on Kaede herself. With a sigh, she forced a polite smile to her face and prepared to endure the enthusiastic tour of the city with as much grace as she could muster.
