#by the twelve!;; ( ffxiv related )

[orangetintedglasses]

( okay but... the way he sits in this mount is literally perfect )

[ainyan]

Stop conflating love with sex.

Stop conflating love with sex.

Stop conflating love with sex.

The vast majority of love out there is in no way, shape, or form sexual. In fact, sexual love is only one type of love out of four (or seven or eight or ten, depending on what philosopher, psychologist, or florist you're talking to). There's the familial love of a parent for a child or a sibling for a sibling. There's the platonic love of a friend for a friend. There's the romantic love millions of asexual people feel for their partners, in which sex isn't even a consideration as to why they love them. There's the generalized love that one holds for the world, for mankind, for animals and plants and a thousand different hyperfixations that give you the same seratonin rush that hearing the voice of a loved one gives you. There's love for one's self.

When you conflate the concept of love with the concept of sex, you discount more than 75% of the forms of love that exist. You make love all about physical and chemical attraction, which suggests that love only exists as long as that attraction exists. Which, of course, by association sullies any other kind of love out there and gives rise to the constant incorrect beliefs that 'no, men and women can't be friends' and 'if you're not related, it's all about sex, so you're a pedo if you have a close underage friend' and 'asexual people can't have meaningful relationships because they don't have sex'.

(Spoilers for FFXIV's patch 6.3 below the cut)

There is a lot of debate out there over whether Square Enix misrepresented Menphina by making her younger-seeming than the other members of the Twelve - particularly Nophica, whose bounteous charms seem more in line with what many believe the Goddess of Love should look like. (Nophica is the goddess of fertility and growing things, folks - she looks exactly like one would expect - a fecund mother-figure.)

But to me, Menphina is the expression of Pure Love - the kind of love that doesn't hinge on attraction (physical, chemical, or otherwise), but simply on acknowledging that because something exists, it deserves to be loved.

She's a child's love for the world, in which everything is shiny and new and wonderful - yes, even those little stinging ants, or the muck on your shoe, or the monster under the bed.

She's the embodiment of how Mankind defines love - and that's why she's not some stacked, sensuous creature who brings one to climax simply by beholding her. Sexual Love is only a fraction of Actual Love, and so Sexual Love would only be a fraction of her emotional and physiological make-up. She's the love of family, of friends, of the world and of self.

She is the Joy of Love.

She's not a child. She's a grown woman who presents as young, because Love is Ageless, but is at its most pure in the eyes of Youth.

Why wouldn't Menphina be a young, bright-eyed, cheerful person with a hopelessly optimistic and positive view of the world?

That's what Love is. The ability to see past the bad and revel in the good inside.

Please stop conflating love with sex.

[oreramar]

SO

FFXIV recently released their latest alliance raids.

Spoilers May Follow.

The Twelve, gods of Eorzea, are involved, as is the revelation (predicted by some online) that these gods were once people of the world before it was sundered, specifically those who sided with the person who did the Sundering.

So on the quest leading up to the third and final raid, you can talk to the gods you've met so far.

I went through that while talking in voice chat with someone else who was also going through these little chats and we shared the lines to see if there were any differences, such as Byregot commending me (level 90 crafter) for being so devoted to crafting, and encouraging crafting to the level 1 crafter, or patron gods having an extra word or five to say to an adherant player character.

But then I got extra lines from Nymeia and Althyk referencing them having faded memories of my character being familiar, of saying something or hearing something from someone long ago.

My partner didn't get those lines.

The only difference in our experience we could think of that would relate to this was thus: I had done every single Elpis side quest. He hadn't.

We immediately started searching and we think we found the characters who were Elpis researchers once and who then became the gods. There is a longer than normal sidequest chain dealing with, ultimately, the transformation of the underwhelming "Io" into the overwhelming "Behemoth." This sidequest chain involves a sister and brother named Maira and Alkaios.

(Bonus knowledge: The lead-up to the boss fight against Nymeia and Althyk involves fighting three Io's and a Behemoth.)

What really got me in the end though, looking through the quest events, was the little tidbit of knowledge that Alkaios, the brother, is often called upon in Elpis to help deal with the corpses of concept animals by utilizing time magics.

Althyk is the god of time.

I really think we got them.

[loldragoon-ffxiv]

Obligatory Long Dawntrail Post

I wanted to wait a while to say anything and let my hype die down first, but I think it's finally time. Overall, I really liked it! Especially how it relates to my WoL, which is more what I want to focus on because the internet has had enough hot takes about Wuk Lamat. More rambling under the cut:

To get the big picture stuff out of the way, I have always felt that this game is at its best when it's leaning into its politics. I'll admit it's risky to do from a commercial standpoint in this very polarized world, and sometimes I think it misses, especially when they try to touch on something that Japan has a huge blind spot towards culturally. But many of its best story beats, in my opinion, are the political ones. I'll always remember playing patch 2.55 for the first time, and that moment of realization I had watching Nanamo and Alphinaud both face consequences for their well-intentioned idealism, that we may not solve all the worlds' problems through the power of friendship and being really good at fighting alone. Obviously, the power of friendship is a big part of the game's central ethos, but it isn't enough. It was a hint at the underlying pragmatism of the game's politics that I really wasn't expecting from an MMO, especially one that has as many cheesy hopeful feel-good moments as this one tends to. I am also a big Stormblood liker overall, as much as I acknowledge it had serious problems with the pacing and character writing. I think the comparisons to Dawntrail are fair, but I like the same things about both of them. They're both best interpreted through the lens of actual world history and current events, and I think seem more shallow on the surface than they really are if you're not paying attention to the smaller moments with minor NPCs during the "exploring the new zones" bits of MSQ. I'd argue that Dawntrail did an even better job with its political commentary than Stormblood did, and I had a feeling it would when they mentioned they were hiring sensitivity readers. I think they did a great job of addressing a lot of the things that made people uncomfy about Stormblood by having the Scions take the backseat and letting the Turali people have their own agency in the story. I have a lot more opinions on the politics in Dawntrail overall, but I think other people have mostly said everything I want to say about that already. More interestingly, I think this expansion really surprised me with how well a lot of my character decisions with Zoisite, my WoL, ended up paying off. Because I hadn't really thought of Zoisite as an OC until early Heavensward, I tried to think about her backstory through the lens of what would make her the most interesting protagonist for the themes and plotlines I thought the game was trying to set up. I decided to make her half Doman, with a foreign adventurer father, and with an older half-sister that spent most of Zoisite's life fighting against Garlemald. During the events of 1.0, while her sister was busy with the XIVth legion and Project Meteor, Zoisite ended up more of an adventurer instead, and entangled with Minfilia and the Path of the Twelve because of the Echo, which was unique to Zoisite. I wanted her to have a personal connection to the Garlemald plotline so that it felt deserved for her to be the one to "resolve" it, but explain why she was willing to go along with these other diversions during ARR and HW that weren't related to it, too. Obviously, the game itself had a similar idea with Lyse, but I thought the parallel was actually kinda nice and it was a big part of why I ate SB up as much as I did. As much as SE and the writers have no real control over this, these accidental predictions and coincidences have honestly been a big part of why I have enjoyed FFXIV as much as I have. My favorite moments in the game are when I'm wondering if the writers are reading my google docs for ideas. It makes me feel like I'm doing a good job picking up on subtext.

But aside from her backstory, I let MSQ itself determine most of Zoisite's arc, and I very rarely find myself "retconning" MSQ vs the other way around. She is just trailer WoL/Meteor in most ways, with the big exception being Feldspar's existence from the late HW patches on. Because Feldspar is my RP character and I'm mostly writing 20ish years post-MSQ, Zoisite's primary role as a character has always been Feldspar's estranged birth mother first, and MSQ WoL second. When I'm experiencing the game through Zoisite's perspective, however, I constantly have to reconcile these two roles, and it has honestly been very difficult to do that during ShB and EW. It's hard to justify the tedious fetch quests when the stakes (for her, at least) are so high. It made it very hard for her to care much about the ancients, or the people on the First, or Zenos's weird one-sided obsession with her, even when the game was trying to force her to. As much as possible, I've tried to rationalize away these character inconsistencies as an intentional distraction on her part, and that the excuse of saving the world and helping people has been keeping some of that fear and guilt about "abandoning" her son at bay for a while now.

And then Dawntrail really just came out and addressed it for me, in a way I was not expecting. It presented itself from the outset as a "vacation" from the high stakes, where Zoisite was just kinda standing in the background most of the time, along with a VERY HEAVY THEME of parental abandonment to force her to reckon with her issues. She spent all of Dawntrail wondering if Feldspar would feel the same way about her that Krile and Wuk Lamat feel about their parents, and see it as a noble sacrifice for his best interest, or if he would resent her for abandoning him without explanation like Gulool Ja and Koana do. Most importantly, it was much harder for Zoisite to pretend that she had no other choice than to give Feldspar up when she was constantly facing the reality that she could step down at this point and the world would probably keep turning without her protecting it. Unfortunately, it's too late for her to change her mind about Feldspar, both because Feldspar's narrative demands it, and also because years have passed and she can't just casually ask for him back even if she wanted to. Zoisite had no choice but to mourn and let it go, and I think watching Cahciua and Erenville's interactions in Living Memory also helped with that, because she kinda got a glimpse of the type of mother she most likely would have ended up as, and saw that motherhood might not have worked out as perfectly as she'd started fantasizing about in retrospect. Like Cahciua, she cares the most about seeing the world and helping people, and doing what's "right," and she would always struggle with putting anyone else (including her own son) ahead of that, if it came down to it. Without another parent in the picture to help, there was no route that wouldn't end with Feldspar feeling abandoned by Zoisite in some way. All-in-all, I liked how this gave me a satisfying conclusion to that arc for her, and a nice refresh for future expansions. I'd rank it on par with SB and ShB for how much I enjoyed them, with my overall ranking being something like HW > SB-ShB-DT > ARR > EW. There's also that minor detail about the Alexandrians having rock names, and Zoisite's existing backstory that her name is a family naming convention from her father's side, and that she doesn't really know where he's from. I have yet to figure out how to make that connection, but man. The possibilities.

[minti-tales]

FFXIV Write, Day 12: Dowdy

The Signora was in rare form this afternoon.

The place: Minti's private residence in Ul'dah, in her bedchambers. The point of contention: What to wear for the treasure hunting expeditions happening at Gage Acquisitions later today.

Signora, the "Bella Voce" of Troia and the voidsent bound to Minti's reaper soulstone, was beyond threatening to manifest herself. This fashion emergency needed, no, demanded immediate action. Her left arm - Minti's left arm - was already sheathed in beautiful black cloth, her withered hand crooked to one side. Long clawed fingers flicked through dress after dress, pulling them out of the dresser and tossing them carelessly on the viera's - her - bed.

(Signora) No. No. Absolutely not. When in the nine Hells did you get this top?! A snowman's costume? Are we making at mummery, Minti? I refuse for us to look anything but breathtaking tonight, my dear vessel. My sweet, but very uncultured rabbit, you are in clear need of my assistance.

(Minti) It's just cracking treasure maps, Signora. Let me pick something comfortable and be done with it. What about this kimono?

Minti hovered her other, normal hand over a sky blue kimono, with little silver moons and stars stitched into the fabric. It was a gift to herself, for having gone back to learn from Master Musashi after a long time away. Judging by its age, it had to have been from the Dori Markets in Kugane, from before Minti's arrival in Ishgard.

From when she went into exile.

She liked the way the cloth felt. It was soft, and flowed just the right way in combat. Comforting, much like an embrace from an old lover.

Signora swatted Minti's hand away from it.

(Signora) When you want to play swords-woman, you can wear that. But not tonight. Comfort is not daring. It's, to be frank, dowdy. Unfashionable. It puts any good person with taste to sleep, is what I am trying so very hard to relate to you. Let me show you what I have in mind, mm?

As gently as a mother cat picks up a kitten, Signora's claw plucked a ruffled dress from a corner of the dresser. It was all whites and bold reds, with gold accents on top of leather straps and belts. Finishing the look was a tightly fitted corset, with a neckline that would make a dragoon think twice about jumping to their doom. Of course there were leather high heels, too, and bronze leg armor, because Twelve forbid the wearer injure themselves running in such an outfit.

(Signora) This is an outfit, my dear! Why, imagine the looks when we show up to the gardens. It sings to me! Put it on, put it on right now! Hurry up, we're running out of time!

(Minti) Absolutely not.

This would take a while. As the Signora would tell you, good fashion choices mean the difference between life and death. Quite literally, if you'd believe her.

[housedeaubemarle]

The Grand Hunt - Part 1: The Call

Follows after 'A House Call' but without any direct connection.

Part 2: The Tracking

Part 3: The Hunt

Part 4: The Trophy

(written, as always, with the inimitable and ever patient @escherstrange-ffxiv who has been nothing but hospitable in allowing me to use her boys for FFXIV-Regency-with-a-side-of-Downton-Abbey-related shenanigans; I am much obliged)

tw: harassment, stalking, assault, blood

~*~

It has been about a month since the grand ball of Maintigny, a much-talked-of event in which joyous merrymaking and - because this is Ishgard - gleeful scandalising had taken place. Ishgardian highborn society still reflects on that starry night with fascination if not delight, much to Lady Oisinne de Maintigny’s satisfaction. Even certain members of the High Houses have been heard to still bring that night into conversation. 

That was then. Now, it is a calm early morning in late spring, and among the correspondence delivered (with increasing regularity) to House de Losstarot is a faintly-scented notecard, bordered with handsome filigree. Directly in the centre of the card is one handwritten sentence in (perhaps vexingly) familiar cursive script and brown ink. 

‘The Dowager Viscountess Philomene de Aubemarle kindly requests the pleasure of the Lords Joshua de Losstarot and Isillud de Losstarot’s company at her home, this day at 11 o’clock.’   

There is no instruction on what to do if they are unable to give her ladyship the pleasure of their company. 

~*~

"I swear to the Twelve if it's another social…"

Isillud reads and rereads the card. "To call someone so early and at such short notice for just a social call is most unlike the dowager."

"You think it's something else?"

He pockets the card. "She has done much for us; the least we can do is be prompt."

As if on cue, the carriage stops in front of House Aubemarle, with the crow perched on Isillud's shoulder helpfully cawing to inform the siblings. Joshua shields his eyes from the glare of the morning sun while Isillud gives three solid knocks on the door.

30 seconds later, ever reliably, Marceaux stands in the doorway. Not a single eyelash bats at the appearance of the dark bird on Isillud’s shoulder.

“Good morning, my lords. My lady will receive you in her drawing room. This way please.”

He guides them to said room, different from the cream confection they’d been received in on their first visit. This one is decorated in shades of pale dusky rose and pastel pink; nothing loud or garish, but it gives the impression of more warmth than the previous drawing room. Such warmth is augmented by a low fire burning in the hearth. And there, on another sofa before yet another full tea service on a similar low table, sits the Dowager Viscountess. She’s been staring into the fire, hands folded in her lap, when Marceaux announces “Lord Joshua de Losstarot and Lord Isillud de Losstarot” as he opens the door.

She turns her head, but does not rise since she is the elder relative. The woman sitting beside her, a Duskwight with sandy brown hair tied in a bun, does stand however, in order to give a respectful curtsey to the gentlemen. She appears older than the Losstarots, but bears no resemblance to the Dowager.

“Good morning, my lords. Your punctuality is commendable indeed. Please have a seat.” There is a brief pause when she notices the crow. Then she turns to her companion, bids the lady bend closer so that she may whisper something right in her ear.

“At once, milady,” replies the woman, and disappears quickly from the room, closing the door behind her. 

Meanwhile, the Dowager herself sits forward, and begins pouring a milky beverage into the porcelain cups. It is Ishgardian tea this time, it appears.

“I am sure the invitation was an inconvenient surprise, and you have my apologies. It is frankly barbaric to send a card at seven o’ clock and expect one’s guests four hours later on the same day."

All of them step forward to take their seats, with Joshua saying, "Not at all, Viscountess. It is our pleasure to serve after the kindness you have shown us since we first met."

"Even so, I shall be direct in order to make up for such discourteous manners.”

She finishes pouring and looks up at them. 

“I would like you to hunt down some people and enact justice on behalf of House de Aubemarle.”

Joshua's gracious smile changes to confusion at the Dowager's request. The crow tilts its beady eyes curiously at the Dowager though Isillud is the least affected of the trio.

"Like vigilantes?"

The Dowager tsks. ”Not quite vigilantes, my lord. I do not wish you to make a career out of it. But time is of the essence, and I find myself in need of some resourceful young men.”

She sits back against the sofa with her cup, but doesn’t lean into the cushions. Her posture is as straight as ever.

“Last evening, just after sundown I was told, two of our housemaids were returning from running errands at the Crozier, when some men accosted them. Those brutes made them the typical perverse propositions their kind always does, and when our maids tried to flee the situation, they were grabbed and manhandled into an alley.”

The calm on her face gradually gives way to stiff anger, as she continues. 

“It is surely by the mercy of the Fury that they successfully fought off these assailants before anything worse occurred, although not without some cost. They arrived home, both terrified, one wounded. It was not without effort to even discover from them the series of events I have just told you. Such is their condition that they cannot recollect anything that may help us conclusively identify these savages. Suspicions are all we have.”

The Dowager’s grip on her teacup tightens as her anger mounts.

“Ishgard is no city for the faint hearted. It has its myriad dangers. However, no one who wears the uniform of House Aubemarle has ever had to fear for their safety or dignity, from the Pillars to the Foundation. Someone has dared to touch our people. Something must be done.”

Joshua taps his chin, eyebrows knit as the cogs turn in his head. "Possibly the first time, or they aren't the only victims… Viscountess, do you know if your servants were the first attack in the Crozier? Have there been other noble houses who have this same issue?"

“To my knowledge, we have the misfortune to be the one and only occurrence. None of my circles have mentioned such violence in any capacity. And I would have heard if there had been such incidents.” She shakes her head. “Most of our concerns for safety involve idiots duelling each other over petty concerns, and the occasional, deluded individual who imagines their thievery will go undiscovered.”

The door of the room opens quietly, admitting the woman who had left earlier. She sets a small bowl of blackberries on the table.

The Dowager glances over, then gestures at it. “For your bird, if it should care for it, Lord Isillud.”

She continues, addressing the woman who's resumed her seat beside the Dowager. “Nisette, what were the girls doing in the Crozier?”

“They had been to the locksmith, milady. Mr Ofanleitasyn had ordered a new lock and key for the back kitchen door. There was a message sent in the late afternoon to say it was ready.” Nisette herself presses her lips together in some distress, and hesitates. It is only when the Dowager nods that she continues. 

“The others wouldn't have let Rewelle go in the first place, as no one was available to accompany her. But Rewelle insisted. She even roused Yisa earlier than usual to go with her.” 

The Dowager’s frown is disapproving, but she doesn't say anything. She turns back to her guests.

“My lords, there is a reason I do not believe this is any mere attempt at a robbery. As I said earlier, thieves who try to rob a noble house, much less servants who were not carrying anything particularly valuable, are deluded fools.

“No, this involves Rewelle, and thus suspicions, regrettably, must fall on Lord Ajax Gaussain.”

Isillud nods to his crow. "Go on, Will. Don't forget to thank the Viscountess for her hospitality." The crow glides to the bowl, cawing and bowing its head before helping itself.

Joshua has a look of distaste when he hears the name. "You think Lord Ajax fancies your servant and this is his way of intimidating her?"

The Dowager’s lip twitches slightly upwards at Joshua’s unhidden reaction. “Your brevity, Lord Joshua, is admirable though I find ‘fancy’ too agreeable a word for what is at play here.”

She lets out a breath, as if bracing herself for her own elaboration.

“He first caught sight of Rewelle late last year when he accompanied his mother here on a visit. I was preoccupied with my recovery, and so for ten days, my servants had to endure the foolish amount of bouquets and trinkets he sent to the manor’s back door in an attempt to woo her. All those ‘tributes’ were disposed of as soon as they were discovered. When a necklace arrived, they felt compelled to inform me and my daughter, despite my condition. I made Oudine bide her time while I wrote to Lady Amitte regarding the inappropriacy of her son’s behaviour. The necklace was also returned.”

(Beside her, Nisette nods silently as she keeps her head down, focusing on some stitching she has produced.)

“That woman,” says the Dowager with sharp disgust, “had the gall to say, ‘respectfully’, that her son would not ever pursue a lowborn woman, and perhaps, I had let my illness cloud my judgement. Nonetheless, as a ‘favour’ to myself and the name of Aubemarle, she would let it be known to her family, and request her son to inform his own… associates, that we would not countenance the harassment of our servants. She even sent that ridiculous necklace back. Our outrage at seeing it in this house again, I will not describe.”

The short silence which follows is filled in only by the sound of the crow’s beak clinking gently against the bowl as it picks up berries.

“For a time, it seemed Lady Amitte’s motherly advice worked. Nothing more darkened our back door, and we ensured no Gaussain ever entered our home again, no matter how many calling cards they left. Then, the shadowing began.” The Dowager takes a sip of her tea, more to calm herself than out of thirst. “Rewelle would go out into the city, and distinctly feel herself being watched. The girl thought it her own imagination, and so kept it to herself.

“Until the day he directly approached her in the Crozier.” The Dowager’s lip curls in a sneer. “I will not repeat the odious promises and reassurances he poured into her ear. Being one of her status, Rewelle could not safely deny his attention and was forced to have his company all the way to our back door.

“Mr Ofanleitasyn witnessed Lord Ajax leaving after Rewelle ran into the kitchen, frightened and upset. He himself asked to see my daughter at once and reported the entire incident.”

(Nisette has been silently glaring at her thread for a few minutes, as if the sewing had insulted her entire family line.)

“The servants were instructed not to let Rewelle run errands if possible, and if she had to, one other person was to be with her at all times. For her part, Oudine went to speak directly to Lord Tramault.”

The Dowager puts the cup down on her lap, and looks the Losstarots in the eye. She had already been angry from the moment she began her story.

The calmness of her tone doesn't match the fury burning in her dark brown eyes.

“‘Sending a lowborn woman little presents and walking her home is no crime’ was the answer given.”

Joshua looks at Isillud; the older brother notices the stare and instead turns to pet his crow, smoothing out the feathers with his fingers. 

"Indeed it is no crime, but," Joshua rises and paces the floor. "It is the inability to bow out like a gentleman after rejection that makes it twice as rude."

"She's just a conquest," Isillud adds. "Being the youngest just means he still has his mother's petticoats to cower under." A tiny smile curls at the corner of his mouth.

Joshua sticks his hands in his pockets, scowling at Isillud. "Some people just have all the luck," he mutters darkly. "That makes retribution more satisfying." 

"But all you have right now are suspicions." The bright emerald eyes of the older Losstarot look to the Dowager. "Please allow me to speak to Rewelle and her companion, Viscountess. Even if it's hired thugs, it'll be a start."

The Dowager stiffens visibly. “‘Just a conquest’ indeed. You know, your house currently possesses a most noble motto, 'May the Rood ever flourish', but perhaps ‘en toutes choses, brièveté’ would be more appropriate.”

Joshua is amused by the motto enough to grin, despite the Dowager's expression. "It would be ungracious to beat around the bush when you have spoken plain, Viscountess."

She gives him a look, then eyes Isillud warningly. “I shall not have one of this house be hunted, physically or verbally. Aubemarle has always taken care of those in our protection. I must ask for delicacy in your inquiries.”

Isillud remains serious. "If all goes to plan, she need not utter a word. I'll speak to them in your presence if it will allay your doubts." Joshua nods along with a smile that says, ‘He knows what he's doing.’

The older lady looks at each brother in turn, as if to appraise their intentions, then shakes her head. “Have a care, my lord. Such a promise, in the presence of others, will only inflame the rumours of your family's abilities.” 

The Dowager stretches her hand towards her attendant, who instantly puts away her stitching and places the Hornbill walking stick into her mistress’ hand. She gets up, prompting everyone else to stand.

“I will have them brought here. When your interview is concluded, have the goodness to stay a little longer - there are other things you ought to be apprised of before you begin any kind of search.”

Nisette curtsies, both Losstarots bow, the Dowager leaves. Only the gentle crackling of the fire, and the soft clicks of a crow’s beak fill the air upon her exit.

As soon as they are left alone Joshua flails. "Really? Here? And you call me reckless, Izzy, they're maids, the gossip will reach Ajax within two bells, no longer, and we'll lose the lead."

Isillud stares evenly at his brother. "And what was your plan?"

He hems and sputters back, "I-I don't know, use Rewelle to lure him out, make a rumour you're marrying her?"

"Ajax Gaussain has been telling every willing ear that I have bedded every man on the star, and you think he'll believe that?"

"He's not wrong!"

Isillud sticks a finger up at Joshua, "Not true, Marceaux still has his virtue intact."

"...Eventually!"

The crow caws, flapping its wings and making a clawing motion with its feet. Both brothers shout, "No!" in unison at it. 

Joshua scratches his head, "Whoever's doing this, we must lure them out of Ishgard first, there are too many eyes and wagging tongues to be subtle."

Isillud takes the liberty to settle in on the couch, sarcasm plain on his face, "I'll try."

~*~

The brothers wait - suggesting, disagreeing, re-suggesting, disagreeing again - for quite some time, before there is a polite knock on the door.

In a way, the young lords are to be pitied when expecting only two people, seven individuals instead pour through the doorway, practically filling the room. From the group, three of them come forward: two Wildwood Elezens - one wears a maid’s uniform, while the other has on a dark green gown, a chatelaine jingling softly with its accoutrements as she moves - and one Keeper Miqo’te, dwarfed by everyone in the room. 

Despite the vast difference in height, it is the Elezen maid who clings to the tiny Miqo’te girl, hand never leaving the latter’s shoulder. Her long, lustrous jet-black hair is tied back neatly, leaving two thin bangs to frame her lovely - worried - face. Her eyes are dark, with thick black lashes; below them are a shapely nose and rosy lips upon a fair, smooth complexion. If she had been highborn, the entirety of Ishgard would have fallen over themselves in their efforts to win even just a smile from her. This could not be any other than the Rewelle spoken of earlier.

Her support, Yisa, is a sight once never seen in the city, but now becoming ever so slightly more common. The first thing one is drawn to are her large, luminous eyes, their irises white like the full moon. They are well matched by her white hair, woven with faint pink-purple highlights, and two sharp furry ears that point upwards. A small braid hangs on each side of her blue-grey face. Thick white bandages are wrapped around her tiny forearms, going up past the puffy sleeves of her uniform; above her collar peeks the corner of another bandage.

The Elezen in the green gown, with honey-gold hair and pale green eyes, curtsies deeply. The retinue behind her, consisting of one Hyur woman, another Hyur man and two more Duskwight men follow suit with their silent greetings. All of them look grimly determined.

When she raises her head, the green-gowned one has a distressed expression despite her polite greetings. “Good afternoon, milords. I am Mrs Marinterre, the housekeeper. I was instructed to bring you Rewelle and Yisa.”

(Rewelle’s grip tightens. Yisa reaches up to her shoulder to pat her friend’s hand.)

“I do beg milords’ pardon for the intrusion of my other colleagues,” says Mrs Marinterre. “They are… very much concerned for Rewelle and Yisa. My lady, the Dowager Viscountess, has suggested that perhaps you might be able to put their fears to rest.”

(The Hyur footman at the back, with dark brown hair and black eyes, looks particularly unconvinced.) 

It is not done for servants to question their betters like this. In any other circumstance, this would be unheard of in such a tightly-run ship as the Aubemarle house. It would seem that they have been given special dispensation by the Dowager herself. Tellingly, Marceaux is absent - he had no say in any of this. Allay their doubts as well, not just mine, the Dowager is saying.

In the Losstarots’ case, they hadn’t known what to expect, but it certainly is not this. Isillud's eyes widen, his jaw slacks as he takes in the features of each and every servant. Joshua's mouth opens but no sound comes out, making him look like a goldfish with each false start. "Uhh…" 

But Isillud has not spent the last 5 years wandering the world in vain; he may still be adjusting to the inner workings of Ishgard's high society but he knows people, and people always need something to believe in.

You wish to make a show of this? So be it.

The painfully thin Elezen exhales, back straight, legs crossed. "Before I begin, I simply ask my captive audience that what will soon transpire does not leave the room." He puts a finger to his lips. "Ishgard is never ready for some secrets." Once he has the room's (silent, doubtful, confused) consensus, he removes his gloves with his teeth, because he knows he's absurdly beautiful when he does it. 

Joshua cringes at the scene, covering his face with his eyes while facing the door. He mentally calculates how long it will take the room to realise his disappearance; before he even begins the crow perches on his shoulder, claws digging through his jacket.

If Izzy stays, so do you, it says.

Isillud extends his hand to the crowd: a slender hand but with its fair share of cuts and creases, the sign of a life that hasn't been without its obstacles yet soft and graceful as a noble's hand should. He slowly sweeps his hand across the servants.

It stops in front of Yisa, not Rewelle.

"Perhaps, Miss Yisa, if you went first, you could assure Miss Rewelle of my intentions?" He drops his voice, soft and low as if he was coaxing a man to his bed. "You only need to hold my hand."

~*~

Tiny Yisa looks up at the very tall noble with his hand outstretched towards her. Well, all of them are tall, noble or not. But he seems taller, and from the way his green eyes glow (not even a Keeper’s eyes glow like that), and his voice calls like a turtledove to its mate… more curious than any other Ishgardian she’s met.

Her large eyes take him in, disconcertingly direct. Ishgardian servants don't look their masters so rudely in the face. But what she sees makes her blink slowly, consideringly. An ear flicks.

Then she turns from Isillud to look up at Mrs Marinterre and the rest of the staff. “He will help. There will be more danger if you all stay.”

“Yisa…” says the Hyur woman at the back, brow wrinkling in deep concern. 

The Miqo'te nods encouragingly. “Go. It will be fine.”

Mrs Marinterre looks at her thoughtfully, then at Rewelle. The black haired maid draws in a deep breath. “Please,” she says softly.

The housekeeper nods decisively, then curtsies towards the Losstarots. She turns around and begins gently shooing everyone out.

“But-!” 

“Come on, Lamb,” says one of the Elezen footmen, pushing his Hyur friend to the door. He stops to glance at the scene before him, the light gleaming on his glasses, before sweeping his still-protesting colleague out. Mrs Marinterre closes the door firmly.

In the much emptier room, Yisa looks back at Isillud. “I do not know your secrets, my lord, but I think you should love them better. Do you still wish me to go first?”

Neither brother knows what to say at this Keeper's ability to clear the room, in spite of the Dowager’s permissions, to boot.

Though Joshua looks at his brother for guidance, Isillud simply looks at the young woman in front of him, taken aback by her kindness. His hand falters as he says, "...thank you." Yet he still extends it to her. "Only if you wish it, otherwise it's best to proceed to Rewelle's."

Yisa nods, then very gently takes Rewelle’s hand from her shoulder. She squeezes it reassuringly.

“I am still here. I am well,” she says. “Be brave. Tell him what happened.”

Rewelle takes in yet another deep breath, then releases it. “Alright.”

Like an officiant at a wedding, Yisa softly places Rewelle’s hand into Isillud’s, then rests her own atop her friend’s. After an instant, she removes it. 

“I woke Yisa up earlier than she needed to,” begins the maid hesitantly. “I wanted her to go with me to the locksmith’s since everyone else was so busy. With my lady Viscount out of the city, we wanted to make the house ready for her return. The others didn’t wish me to go, but…” 

Rewelle’s worried brow now takes on a defiant turn. The delicate air of her previous expression disappears. “I didn’t want to be some… some bird in a cage. I didn’t want his lordship to win. So I insisted I go. Yisa was very kind to agree to come. Lamb kept arguing with me, kept saying to leave it to the next morning, but I wouldn’t listen.

“We got to the locksmith’s well enough. I even taught Yisa one of our children’s rhymes on the way. We said hello, and collected Mr Ofanleitasyn’s parcel. It was a small thing - just a lock and a key, wrapped in paper - so I slipped it into my pocket. The sun was going down, I remember.

“Then…” She pauses, swallows, continues. “Then, halfway on our walk back, Yisa said she could feel something strange.” Rewelle glances at the Miqo’te who nods solemnly, eyes still bright and gleaming. “She gets these… notions, when things aren’t right. When someone doesn’t mean well. So I said, hold my hand, and we’ll walk as quick as we can.

“Then two men. Two Elezens because they were too tall to be anything else. They stepped out right in front of us, blocking our way. Said… said nasty things about us.” Rewelle’s hand begins to tremble as her breathing picks up. “I told them to leave us alone, that we were from the Aubemarle house. They laughed. They laughed. Said that we could have been from Durendaire and it wouldn’t have mattered one whit.

“Then one of them said they knew the Viscount was away. That the old lady Aubemarle was just… was just…” She instinctively grips Isillud’s hand tighter, to try and stop shaking. Tears of anger pool in her eyes. “Was an old baggage with no power to protect us.”

Yisa reaches out to take her other hand, holding it tightly.

Rewelle, a little bolstered now, exhales. She continues. “Yisa told me there was another one of them behind us. So I told them they were rotten scum and their mothers would die of shame if they smelled their stench, and while they laughed, I threw the parcel at one of their heads.”

A very small, grim smile peeks out - the first time she’s done so since she entered the room. “I think I managed to get one of them, because one said something about their ‘bleedin’ eye’. While they did that, we ran sideways. I felt the one at the back lunge for us but we were too quick. At least… for a moment, we were too quick.”

The smile vanishes. “They grabbed us from behind. Called us all sorts of names. Dragged us into an alley… there was… a knife. Maybe two. They pointed it at us, said that if we didn’t want to be cut to ribbons and thrown out of the city into the abyss, we’d come along quiet-like.

“The knife frightened me. Greatly. I couldn’t move when I saw the blade. So I just kept quiet and nodded. But Yisa…” She looks at her friend, and tears roll down her cheeks. She sniffles, trying to breathe through the memory, but keeps going. 

“She leapt right at them, my lord. Like some sort of fearsome beast, screeching and yowling. She’s so small but so lightning fast, they couldn’t get at her properly. I don’t know how she did it, but she got all three men. She got them so fast in the dark.

“Yisa was the one who dragged me out. Told me to run and not stop. And we did. We ran all the way to the back door. I didn’t know…” Rewelle shakes her head. “I didn’t know Yisa had been so hurt until we reached home, and I saw all her blood on the floor.”

Rewelle stops; she raises her head to look up at Isillud, wordlessly pleading for him to say it is enough.

~*~

Isillud's eyes are shut tight, losing himself in the depths of her memory. Her narration fades into background noise as he retraces Rewelle's footsteps around Ishgard, looking up at the men who accosted them. 

A ruby clasp in one ear, too luxurious for a thug. 

He stares at the blade through her eyes, pointed at her neck: Small enough to be missed when one's frozen in fear yet large enough to show off. 

Show the mark to Joshua, he has an eye for brands. 

The thugs themselves have faces far too common in Ishgard, right down to the eye colour, but the clasp is as good a clue as any. His head bows lower as the memory goes on, fingers slowly wrapping around Rewelle's hand. 

Watch, don't look away as Ishgard did when your house fell.

The pool of blood jolts Isillud; he pulls away as if her touch is fire, his breath hitches from the rough return to reality and his eyes snap open at Rewelle's tear-streaked face silently pleading  to him. He looks at his bare hand, then slowly to her. It is hard to smile, not after what he has seen; he simply bows from his seat till his forehead touches his knees. "Thank you Miss Rewelle, you have been extremely helpful." He nods to Yisa, a silent cue that he's done.

Joshua - leaning against the couch the entire time - looks expectantly at Isillud. "There are things I'll need to show you when we get home," Isillud says, "I think you'll be able to recognize some if not all of them."

Rewelle, very surprised by the reaction but relieved that whatever strange thing the milord had been doing is over, steps back. She would have fallen if not for the steady hand of Yisa, who is staring at the lord, bent over double on the sofa. The other highborn, the younger one, seems at a loss for what to do himself apart from respond to his brother in the affirmative.

She looks back at Rewelle. “Are you alright?”

The Elezen hasn’t stopped shivering, but still answers, “Y, yes. I’m… fine. I will be.”

“Good. You will be.” Yisa pats her hand reassuringly and finally lets go. “Please will you go and find Mrs Marinterre? Tell her milord is finished here.” 

“Yisa?”

The Miqo’te smiles at last. “I will join you very shortly.” 

Rewelle nods. She curtsies to both the lords, murmurs a thank you and a good afternoon, and leaves quietly.

Yisa watches her go, then kneels in front of Isillud. The noble’s breathing is laboured, and she can see that he shakes. 

So in her calm, even voice, she asks very gently, like someone trying to lead an injured animal out from wherever it has curled itself up in: “Milord, I know this is not done in Ishgard. But I am not Ishgardian. Would you let me ask Menphina for her blessing for your trials?” 

Isillud busies himself by putting on his gloves, clasping his hands together in an effort to stop the shaking. He ponders over Yisa's offer, looking over her features for… what, he does not know. Her offer is plain yet he knows many would politely decline for the Fury's blessing is more than sufficient. Men have triumphed over dragons with it alone, after all.

And yet he remembers when he knew the Fury was no longer enough.

He smiles gently, nodding once. "That is very kind of you, thank you."

Yisa stands, raises one small hand as if in benediction. She shuts her own eyes now, and begins to murmur. 

It is not in Common nor Ishgardian, but something else entirely - the sounds wash over each other, syllable upon syllable brushing each other gently, like the susurration of long grass swept by wind under the pale light of a full moon. It is calming, and soft, and somehow, strangely cooling, even in the warm drawing room.

There may, or may not, be a faint, thin layer of frost surrounding Joshua, Will and Isillud as Yisa prays. It disappears as soon as one blinks.

The blessing is not long. She ends with ‘Menphina’, then reopens her eyes. Their luminosity seems to have increased as she smiles. “You too are kind, milord, to accept a servant’s small prayer, and not to Halone the Fury at that.”

“The Fury is one of the Twelve. She would not begrudge a prayer from her kin.” It is curious how the chill in his hands is not like the Ishgardian cold, but a soothing breeze to calm his heart.

A touch of approval appears in Yisa's expression. “Menphina the Lover sees fit to bless you, for you love. Too hard sometimes, She says, but you love, all the same.” She steps back, and curtsies. “Thank you both, milords. May your hunt be courageous, your prey worthy.”

"Thank you," Isillud says quietly as she leaves, her white tail brushing the door before it closes.

The crow appears to examine itself, poking its head beneath its wings and waddling in a circle shaking imaginary frost off its tail. Joshua, however, experiences none of it, instead his mind drifts to Zeir. Is she well? Has she returned to the Shroud?  He bites his lower lip. Will I ever have the chance to make up for what I did?

"Joshua."

The boy snaps back to reality. Isillud straightens his coat, standing by his side. "Let us say our farewells to the Dowager and be on our way. We have tough work ahead."

~*~

Against expectation, the lords Losstarot needn’t leave the room to find her ladyship. The Dowager herself comes in not long after Yisa’s departure - no doubt informed by the able Mrs Marinterre that the lords have completed their questioning - and unlike earlier, quite alone. Her walking stick is an able assistant as she moves into the room, quicker than people usually imagine. 

She takes her place in a chair this time, holding onto her cane. There is no preamble whatsoever, no reference to, much less apology for, the peculiar ill-discipline of her staff, and absolutely, no mention of Yisa’s oddness.

“So gentlemen, do you believe the noble name of Gaussain has been dragged into this sordid affair, or is it merely the ramblings of an old woman?”

"There seem to be clues pointing to it - a ruby earring and a blade. For a thug to brazenly wear a ruby in Ishgard knowing the implications means they must know the Gaussains in some form," Isillud explains. "Do you know if they have any such associations, or employ a certain group of people?"

Despite herself, and the fact that the young lord has brought up rubies - something the Gaussains have worked for years to be associated with - the Dowager raises an eyebrow. “You flatter me by thinking one of my age would be privy to the activities and agendas of men three times younger than myself.”

Seeing Joshua begin to open his mouth, she waves a dismissive hand - a little jest, in the only way the Dowager knows how.  

She looks away to stare at the fire, consulting memories of conversations and gossip that might be of use. 

At last, she says. “I have only little pieces of knowledge, my lord. I beg your indulgence if these are irrelevant to your efforts.

“First: House Gaussain, you may know, trades in bladed and edged weapons, but I do not place confidence in that regard. Their reach is long established, and far - most in the Pillars, and perhaps even the Brume, could have a Gaussain dagger. I have heard they were recently trying to reach some form of understanding with House Haillenarte regarding firearms, but that might be unimportant. 

“Second: among Lord Tramault’s favourite subjects is his family’s rubies. Oudine had been at a meeting once where he claimed their exclusivity and rarity were unmatched in this city. That their quality and cut could only be found in a place that knew gemstones just as Ishgard knew ice and snow.” Her voice flattens when she adds, “Lord Tramault’s love of the irritatingly dramatic is second only to his love of deriding Ishgard.”

She huffs, then continues. “And third: Lady Hailleone was lamenting how her younger grandsons had been frequenting a most unsuitable establishment. It was not enough that the place exposed her darlings to unsavoury dealings, but to be situated within sight of St Reymanaud's Cathedral was practically blasphemy.”

The Dowager looks up at them expectantly. “Those grandsons of hers are frequently seen in Lord Ajax's company. I shouldn't doubt that two noblemen of your stature will be able to locate the place, and persuade people to talk.”

Then her brows furrow in an actual confused expression. “Thugs wearing rubies in the Pillars? How stupid could they be?”

Joshua files the information in his head for further use, especially of House Gaussain's arms dealings. "The lure of luxury is often irresistible, Viscountess. Give a man or woman a free bauble and if it matches their eyes they'll wear it for life." He snorts derisively at his own opinion, one seemingly learned from experience. “Also, why does Lord Tramault still stay in Ishgard if he hates it so much? A man of his wealth could easily settle well in Ul'dah."

Isillud's ears have perked at the mention of grandsons. "An unsuitable establishment, you say? Tell me more."

While Joshua rolls his eyes, the Dowager holds back a remark - not a thing she's accustomed to, so it annoys her somewhat - about how Isillud seems rather too eager to keep the rumours regarding him much too alive. They are here to do her a favour, and what is more, have clearly accomplished more in one hour than she could have done in a day. So she should at least try to be as helpful as she can bring herself to be.

She replies to Joshua instead. “Spoken like one older than his years.” She shifts her weight, leaning a little bit more on her cane. “There has been a House Gaussain in Ishgard for as long as memory holds. I can only assume that for all his contempt, the respect and regard given to a house that has withstood so much is still an incentive to stay.”

Then she eyes Isillud, whose own green eyes have sparked a little more awake, still inexplicably waiting for her to come back to his question. 

“Young man, I have a feeling you can tell me far more about unsuitability. I ask you to remember your health at the very least. I do not know where this place is; perhaps one of my servants might have an idea. If my son were here, no doubt he’d be able to even tell you the number of bricks used to build it.”

She pauses a moment, then evidently reaches some decision within herself, because her indignation has not left her body nor her mind. It hasn’t left since she was told what had happened the night before.

“Let me be blunt, my lords. I myself am mother to a rascal and a wretch, so I am peculiarly not unaware ofcertain liberties men will take. However, there are rakes, and there are degenerates.” 

She glares at the fire as she speaks, perhaps a habit when there is no justifiable target to direct her anger towards. “Remont does not press attention on maids who do not desire it. He has flaws aplenty - the stubborn and deliberate inability to accept a refusal is not among them. Ajax, on the other hand, has no such honour. I am sure you have heard any amount of gossip regarding his… proclivities. No doubt the side effects of his selfishness, left to their own devices without succour or recourse, are pitter pattering around the Brume. But he is ever shielded, for he is a Gaussain.”

She is a little too far from the hearth for the firelight to fall on her face, but it does not appear necessary. Fury is what lights her eyes, as it had done earlier.

“I have played this game too long not to predict the outcome if I did what I ought. Whether it is I or Oudine who speaks, the High Houses will not be of help, not for the likes of a lowborn servant or a foreign Miqo’te. They will be of even less help if House Gaussain is involved.

“If you manage to find evidence, make it ironclad, unless you wish to see exactly how unforgiving Lord Tramault is when it comes to what he would call slander. Even if his youngest is an acknowledged libertine, Rewelle remains physically unharmed. There will not be a case to make in his eyes; there will be reprisals. One false step, and both Aubemarle and Losstarot will pay dearly.”

She looks up at the Losstarots finally, stern and determined. 

“But some devil drew blades on unarmed, untrained girls. He cannot be allowed to escape unscathed.”

Joshua puffs his chest at the Dowager's praise, recognition he has long sought to hear. Returning to Ishgard had indeed been the right choice.

"Ajax may be well-protected, Viscountess, but whether all his hirelings are is another matter," is Isillud’s comment.

Joshua looks at his brother. "You suggest a warning?"

"Provided we find the right men." Isillud pats his crow’s head, which it uses to nuzzle his hand. "We're looking for someone who has a scratched eye and a ruby earring."

"Doubtful Ajax will have them remove it, and it's probably a very loyal one." Joshua ponders briefly. "So they must come to us."

It is hard to tell whether Isillud is smiling at his crow or because he has a plan. "A shame we are very decent, lawful, upstanding young men."

Joshua seems to agree. "We'll talk to your servants about the place, the sooner we begin the less people will notice." He bows and turns on his heel to the door.

Isillud follows after taking a few seconds to reassure the Dowager. "We shall see that justice is served. Fury keep you, Viscountess."

“And the same to you both,” says the Dowager, inclining her head. The rage has simmered down palpably. She is the Dowager Viscountess again, at home in her drawing room without care. “I shall await news, good or otherwise.”

She waits an extra minute after they leave. Only then does she allow herself to sigh out loud, looking up at the ceiling. 

“Vouloix my love, put in a word with the Fury if you please. Your daughter has already been through much - surely you'll not see her house endure any more trouble.”

She pauses as if awaiting an answer, but of course, none arrives.

Outside, Marceaux is ready and waiting. His expression is far less poker faced than before, replaced instead with some concern, and mostly eagerness to help. It is also his way of apology for the previous rudeness of his subordinates, despite the Dowager's sanctioning their actions.

He bows to the brothers. “Milady the Viscountess has instructed us all to be at my lordships’ service. If there is anything any of us may assist with, I beg milords to allow us to do so.”

Isillud Losstarot demonstrates that he CAN have restraint, surprisingly, when he speaks to Marceaux. "Firstly, I hear the Gaussains place much pride in their rubies. Please send a sample to the house - preferably with some eclairs." And with a straight face too. "Secondly, include the address of the place Lady Hailleone's grandsons frequent, I suspect we may find our culprits there if not the Brume."

He bows politely to the older man. "I shall inform you anon if we require a third request. We thank you for your assistance."

The Losstarots make their due exit, climbing into their carriage. Joshua waits for it to move before he speaks. "You're trying to throw spies off with the eclairs, but you won't survive a bar fight."

"Neither can you," Isillud retorts. 

"Hmph." The youth sulks, watching House Aubemarle shrink in the distance.

Isillud steeples his fingers, watching his brother through them. "We're going to tell them a story instead."

"Puh-lease," Joshua snorts. "Everyone knows how close we are with the Viscountess."

"Which makes a betrayal even more irresistible, doesn't it?"

Joshua whips back to his brother. The initial reaction is of shock and horror. It freezes, then softens. "Ah."

Isillud's eyes seem luminous in the darkened carriage without the sun shining in from its curtained windows. "Stay home and wait for the package; be ready to receive my call."

"I thought you'd send me to the Brume."

"No, it's better if we look even more fractured than we already are."

"I beg of you, don't suck cocks until it's done."

"No guarantees."

~*~

Barely an hour later, a snow white Chocobo arrives at the front of the house of the Losstarots. Its tall rider alights swiftly, secures the bird to a post and walks up to the door. A box wrapped in plain brown paper hangs from a handle made of securely-tied twine in his hand.    

Two polite knocks elicit the presence of good Ser Drouhont at the door. With a quick smile, the blonde rider of the Chocobo presents the Dowager Viscountess’ compliments to the lords Losstarot, with a token. A sense of deja vu hangs in the air as the parcel is delivered.

The rider bows, bids Ser Drouhont a good afternoon and as quickly as he arrived, goes on his way.

Within the privacy of the house, when the paper is inevitably cut away, and the twine kept safely, half a dozen golden-brown muffins greet the eye. They're still warm and emit a pleasant aroma of honey and vanilla.

Tucked between the muffins on the left is a tiny thing wrapped in white crepe: a thinly wrought necklace. Nothing any highborn Ishgardian would bother with, but the very slim chain isn't remarkable. It is the simple, rather small teardrop of a pendant, gleaming a clear blood red under the light, that explains its inclusion in the box. 

Meanwhile, a twice-folded piece of paper sits atop the muffins on the right, bearing a message in unfamiliar handwriting:

‘Eclairs would take too long, so Mr Ofanleitasyn asks pardon for only being able to make honey muffins. Her ladyship warns that the jewel on the necklace is suspected to be Gaussain since it was the one given to Rewelle, but it is not certain. Her ladyship - in her words - has never been tempting enough to receive as precious a gift as a Gaussain ruby. 

Lady Hailleone de Chaunollet had been rather misdirected, perhaps deliberately. Find Journey’s End, a merchant of potions towards the back of the Crozier. Give the proprietor 3000 gil, and ask for a bottle of Lovers Meeting. They will grant you access to the bar beneath.

Good hunting to you all.’

-

To be continued

[capriccio-ffxiv]

24. what's your wol's relationship with food? do they skip meals or do they eat at specific times religiously? is food important to them, or is it just a means to an end to keep their body going? does food mean something cultural or personal to them?

AW LAWDY

Illyria: Honestly the fastest way to bring her back from "Feo Ul Just Put Me In the Sauce" land would be to do something food related. Nobody in her family is a culinarian but she still grew up helping her dad cook and just. Look, in Gridania, if you're 1/4 Duskwright and your dad is 1/2 Duskie and 1/2 Ishgardian and your *mom* is an outlander, look. LOOK.

I have a lot of Thoughts about Duskwright culture and cuisine, and how North Shroud culture interacts with Ishgardian refugees, and how that would interact with a born and bred Lominsan pirate given Limsa Lominsa's thing about Food.

This is based on my IRL relationship with my dad, and, like, look, I found Dad's First Cookbook, and it's literally a Dungeon Meshi style guide to Don't Die or Let the 10ish Twelve Year Olds at Summer Camp Under your Wing Die in the Fucking Canadian Woods.

Illyria is Dungeon Meshi Senshi here, if Senshi were also Gordon Ramsey, and also 7'4".

Also she makes these killer ginger-lemon cookies. To die for.

Ryuu: Right up until she got Isekai'd to the First, Ryuu thought of food as I Eat This for Sustenance. She got grabbed at the same time as Thancred though, and spending 5 years in the literal post-and-also-pre-apocalypse *really* changes your opinions on food. She's nowhere near Illyria's level of culinary skills, but she's a much, MUCH better cook than she used to be (much to Kian's surprise). But even before that? She grew up poor as dirt in Bittermill, then slightly-less-poor in Limsa Lominsa, then literally homeless in Ul'dah. She is very much of the "it got calories and won't poison me? I'll eat it." In the First, though, she's 35-ish and going "... I am too old to just shove shit in my mouth and expect it to work out, I need to actually think about what I'm eating, especially since unlike Ul'dah, I *can't* just steal what I need."

This is btw the big difference between an Ul'dah orphan and even Average Crystarium Citizen (TM) -- an Ul'dah orphan, if they're dewey eyed and winsome or swift and daring, can, ahem, procure everything they need. Even if it's hard, even if it sucks. Average Crystarium Citizen (tm) may be eating three meals a day and still malnourished because the Light leeched every damn scrap of nutrient beyond raw calories out of a thing.

Seshat: her literal main classes are actually CUL, ALC, BSM, ARM, GSM, MCH. In that specific order. Seshat is More than Senshi. Seshat is speaking to you about your gut microbiome. Literally in the fic I'm writing right now with @selene-ffxiv, Seshat is building a specialized preserving and canning device in the field from spare parts so they can preserve scavened fruit as jam. Seshat is Dungeon Meshi meets Edgar FFVI.

Hyperion: He loves plants and plant breeding and studying insects; once he and Selene petitioned for stewardship of their own land (nobody owns anything in Ancient society, but they can petition for temporary stewardship until they return to the Star, as per my headcanon), he grows. So. Many. Things. So unlike many Ancients, he and Selene actually *grow* what they eat. Mealtime for them is an intimate ritual, since they don't get to see each other often. ... I literally remember the last meal we wrote for them, it was salmon with pasta in cream sauce.

I am the target audience for Dungeon Meshi actually in that I think food should nourish the whole of the self (mind, body, soul) by way of feeding the body, fueling the mind, and connecting to community/culture.

I AM WORKING ON THAT OTHER ASK BUT I HAVE THREE WOLS AND AN ANCIENT AND YOU ASKED THREE QUESTIONS.....

[sasslett]

Get to know me!

tagged by @elveny, let's see if I can get this done before I have to get out of bed (someone play me the world's smallest violin)

Share your wallpaper: So my PC is set to cycle through my XIV screenshot folder as its wallpaper, so here's my Chromebook (where I do all my writing) and my phone (where I do all my blogging) wallpapers instead!

A lovely comm from thetictactician on Twitter on my Chromebook!

and this amazing comm on my phone from Hollycircling on Twitter, I can't believe she indulged me and went this fucking hard but she did this. In a week.

The last song you listened to: Warrior by Beth Crowley (this is such a Jess song tbh)

Currently Reading:  Ok... so... I actually haven't read any sort of published novel since... 2011, with A Storm of Crows I think? So I used to read a shit ton, but it was 11th grade and my friends were like 'You're still reading kids books? Read something for grown ups instead' (I was rereading Percy Jackson at the time, my beloved). So I gave it a try with a 'grown up' fantasy series and... fuck GoT it was awful and I decided if that's what adult literature was like, I didn't want any part of it. So I quit reading entirely.

Last Movie: Bullet Train, months ago. I don't like watching movies - I'm huge into the behind the scenes stuff, cinematography, lighting, direction, costume design etc etc so it makes it hard to watch movies when my brain won't stop analyzing and criticizing everything (honestly modern cinema is so full of people just 'sending it' for the next big paycheck, the heart is just gone). But my husband insisted I watch this one and you know what? It was actually really well made, I was impressed.

Craving: More time. More time to finish these cosplays (Twelve have mercy the con is in a week and a half), more time to write, more time to decompress. Also craving a Chromebook/laptop/portable writing device that doesn't freeze when I type more than 5 letters in a row...

What are you wearing right now: My nightgown! (still in bed) It's got penguins on it and it's fucking adorable.

How tall are you: 5'5, idk what that is in the rest of the world. Americans, y'know.

Piercings: None, but I bought some super cute Ascian earrings last year and I've been really tempted to get my earlobes pierced.

Tattoos: None, not my thing but totally cool for everyone else!

Glasses? Contacts?: Lasik! Totally worth if you can do it.

Last drink: Choccy milk (I am an adult)

Last show: Last narrative-focused show? Uhhhhhh.... I watched the first season of The Walking Dead in 2012 and I legit can't think of anything more recent. I just don't enjoy watching things much, I'd rather be doing something, and I'm such a snob when it comes to screenwriting/characters that most things just don't appeal to me. Other than that the last non-scripted show I watched was Restaurant: Impossible.

Last thing you ate: An oatmeal chocolate chip cookie my sister made last night.

Favourite colour: Wine/burgundy! That deep, dark, blood red with just a hint of purple (in case you couldn't tell since it's the color my WoL wears in every outfit)

Current obsession: FFXIV lol

Unrelated Obsession: Unrelated? I'd say writing but that's kind of related... So, horses? I mean that's just always my obsession.

Any pets: Uh... yeah. I myself have two horses. And then... we have a shit ton of cats. So in 2020 strays kept showing up at our house and then they'd have babies, eventually we managed to catch them all and get them fixed and now some of them have chosen to move in. Shelters are full all across the state, rescues and fosters are full. So now we have... 10 cats that live inside (it's a large house) and then another six/seven that are still feral outside but fixed at least. Nothing much we can do about it, but keeping them inside keeps them safe and saves the wildlife outside, too.

Do you have a crush on anyone: An eternal crush on my husband. He's just amazing. Soft. Adorable. Handsome. Perfect. Goofy. Gorgeous. Smart. Creative. Loving. So many more words. 12 years together in May!

Favourite fictional character: Assuming player characters/WoLs don't count, Elena Fisher from Uncharted. She was the first female character I encountered who was just... normal. Not a token female, not sexualized eye candy, not walking boobs without a personality, she was... a real person, a real character in her own right, whose gender didn't change who she was. And I fell in love with that back in 2007 (I was in middle school then, so it was kind of a big deal for me). She only got better as the years went by, I still love her.

The last place you traveled: Depends on your definition of 'travel'. On a literal sense probably Portland, but since both that and Seattle are practically in my backyard I don't really count those. Other than that, Philadelphia I think, for a wedding.

TAGGING! Oh so many people should do this. Off the top of my head, if you'd like to... @ainyan, @mimble-sparklepudding, @boggleoflight, @tallbluelady, @humblemooncat, @dragoon-mid-jump, @otherworldseekers, @aethericfist and now I'm out of time and have to get ready for work so anyone else who sees this! Sorry I was tagging in a hurry, I know a lot of you are character/RP blogs so feel free to ignore.

[asleepinawell]

random ideas for new ffxiv jobs in the future (with the understanding that I don't know shit about classic ff classes which they seem to favor so oh well this is just for fun)

necromancer - healer. give me a goth healer thanks. I did a whole post about how it could work

druid - shapeshifter with nature magic. I want something like that cool roots growing spell titania does and also to turn into a kitty. fungi infection dots. halmarut lore!!!!!

beast master - actually is from ff someone just told me about it. whips!!! (we should probably not be given whips 😔) and pets

storm mage - we don't use water and wind magic much so it would be cool to see that expanded on with some lightning thrown in as well. maybe a weather mage in general. give your enemies peeling sun burn

ocean mage or healer - similar idea but focused on the power of the ocean and sea creatures. kraken attack. (we should probably not be given tentacles either 😔)

channeler - invokes the power of the twelve. can call on different gods for different things

ranger - I think square said they weren't doing any more multi jobs from the same base class so this is unlikely but it'd split off of archer and be a pet class (another thing they don't like doing). possibly use a different type of bow or could even share

thief/trickster - another split off a base class. alternate route for rogue. more physical and less elemental. debuff management my beloathed

holy/light dps - think a rogue/paladin hybrid. there was an avenger class in d&d 4e that would be close. melee with light spells. some utility healing or protection. would be excellent for soloing. amdapor origins

geomancer - I think they're fucked after hydaelyn is gone but if not! role quests could be finding a new source of geomancy or something

warlock - reaper almost has this vibe. I'm not sure what else you could make a pact with though just think we deserve magical sugarbabies. maybe the loporrit style of "safe" primal for patrons

magitek related - we've got mch already which partly pulls from cid and therefore garlemald but I was thinking something more firmly garlean with mechs. probably tricky to pull off well

alchemists - we got alchemists in thavnair. might be a way to turn it into a job with some chemist thrown in (edit: op forgot that crafting jobs are a thing that exists but maintains that this would still be a banging combat class basis)

misdirection tank class - a tank who relies more on enemy debuffs. confusion, slow, blind, etc. would be tricky to do

dynamis class - ????? (would need to start post-ew)

some of these are far-fetched but it's fun to imagine how they'd work

(also not really covered here but I'd love to see stuff from a wider range of real cultures but only if it's handled well...like I don't feel comfortable tossing out random ideas for those myself without looking into them more but would love to hear ideas)

[rainbowbarnacle]

Ooooh I got tagged! :D

Relation Status: In a LDR with the wonderful @mercurialmalcontent. <3

Favorite Color: ALL OF THEM. But lately I've been wearing lots of purples and oranges and yellows.

Sweet/Spicy/Savory: Sweets: chocolate, red bean paste, apple-based pastries, and anything with poppyseeds. Spicy: I like it! Spicy coconut soups and eggs with hot sauce and spicyhot v8 juice and warming extra-gingery chais. Savory: yes pleeease, I am particularly fond of miso soup, lox, peppered beef jerky, and anything with mushrooms in it for savory things.

Three ships:

oh gooood just three?

Karlach and Astarion from Baldur's Gate 3. I'm digging the dynamic of Touch Starved Tiefling and Touched Out Vampire Figure Stuff Out Together. There is something so lovely about someone just flat out, unquestionably ADORING someone who has spent 200 years spouting so much automatic false praise at people that any compliment directed at him sounds like a lie. I don't care if they're friends or lovers or married, all of it is good, just please let these two hang out, they are hilarious and wonderful together.

Roland Deschain and Cuthbert Allgood and Alain Johns from the Dark Tower. Friends, lovers, both, everything rocks. They are traumatized cowboys who grew up in a constantly changing eldritch hellscape together and they can still joke around and they know each other so perfectly and I love them. Could they just all travel to New York so I can watch them lose their minds the first time they eat at a buffet restaurant, thankee-sai.

Ryne and Gaia from FFXIV. These two have been through so much horror and I just want them to be happy together. At first glance it's Hopelessly Cheerful Optimist beaming happy rays at the Snooty Goth Who's Learning To Smile Sometimes, but occasionally you get little scenes where Gaia perks Ryne up like high quality coffee. <3

First ever ship:

I dunno, I didn't really come up with ships on my own for a really long time--I just kinda went with what was there. I remember eventually learning how to do otherwise, I just don't remember who it was.

Last Song:

Last Film: I thiiiink it was One Piece Film: Red? Either way, WHAT A WILD RIDE, I think it might be my favorite One Piece film. A pop diva with creation magic covers up MASSIVE TRAUMA with glittery rainbow everythings, WHOO <3 Also, a banging soundtrack.

Last thing I Googled: The One Piece Film: Red trailer

Currently Reading: NOTHING. :O But that's only because I just finished editing someone's novel and my brain needs a rest.

Currently Watching: Rurouni Kenshin! I'm digging it a lot so far--I can tell the current voice actor admires the voice actor from the original series a lot. <3

Currently Consuming: Nothing yet. I drank all the cold brew coffee and now I have no cold brew coffee. :(

Currently Craving: Coffee. And these chickpea burrito things I found on sale, I should have bought twelve more.

Currently Working On: That Thing I did for Nano, a FFXIV fic and a Baldur's Gate fic

Current Obsession(s): Baldur's Gate 3, FFXIV, One Piece, that book I edited a few days ago (IT'S REALLY GOOD)

Aaaand all done, phew! Thank you for tagging me, that was fun! I tag: anybody else who wants to.

[aotopmha]

FFXIV 6.5 MSQ and Alliance Raid thoughts:

Spoilers:

First, the Alliance Raid.

I really like how 14 in general handles the topic of religion.

So many stories just shit on it, basically.

I have zero attachment to religion in any form, but I do think it's an extremely important part of human history and culture that is much more interesting when tackled with nuance and empathy.

So to have a story, both, criticise and point out the good in it is so refreshing.

To not have all the godly figures be evil alone is refreshing.

I think the second wing was the strongest in that sense.

This wing simply brought all of the introduced ideas together.

I'm super uneasy with the trope of 'chosing death', but I'm at least happy the story didn't keep this the sole perspective. Oschon truly wanted to stay, so he did.

Thematically it all goes back to the idea introduced in the course of the entire raid story: religion is really just people enouraging people because the idea of deities alone is what gives them the power to inspire and encourage.

All scriptures were written by people.

So the power of the twelve, born of prayer, serving as further strength to nurture the planet, is only fitting.

But just like Pandemonium, this chunk of story left us with a few little plot threads to later return to, like Oschon now being a normal traveler, the perception theory in relation to the gods in Eorzea AND outside or even the Watcher being the 13th god. There is stuff to come back to here.

Oschon/Deryk staying as a normal being really surprised me and the Watcher not getting much more elaboration in particular surprised me.

MSQ:

It's super jarring to go back to this kind of simpler writing about The Power of Friendship we got back in A Realm Reborn, and honestly, there were points where it really got me annoyed this patch.

Golbez' redemption sequence in particular was the most cheese I've seen in a while. I felt it last patch, but it got too much to me here.

We get trust speeches on the First, Thirteenth AND The Source.

But on the other hand, I also appreciate this patch series just essentially being a simple, fun adventure hanging out with the Scions.

I like that actual Golbez is implied to be an Azem shard. I like that the dragons finally get something good happen to them.

I like that Zero's character arc pays off.

It's (too) simple power of friendship at points, but I think it is still earned and standing on the back of a decade of theme, character and world building (except Golbez, him being an FF4 reference still needed more other backing for it to feel natural).

And once more, we have a bunch of plot threads to work with for later.

Zero and Golbez working to restore the Thirteenth, Ryne and Gaia working to restore the First. The gradual progress on Shard travel. Azdaja rescued and both Vrtra and them calling out (to presumably) other dragons.

And of course the old letter addressed to Galuf Krile found and Erenville and the visitor he brought with him.

This material bridging Endwalker to Dawntrail set up a lot of stuff, which could lead to other, bigger stuff in the nearer future and later future.

I feel it deeply that it'll be made much stronger by context.

But I do have more than enough power of friendship in my system, where I hope Dawntrail is the trek up in complexity and tension and 6.55 will be the start of that.

[orangetintedglasses]

( maybe I know more about how ShB goes than I should

maybe I am Already Thinking About Spoiler-y Things )

[ainyan]

Get to Know Me!

Share your wallpaper

My wallpaper switches between a bunch of XIV screenshots, but here's what's displaying currently on my main work monitor (out of 4):

The last song you listened to: Pilgrimage, from the Endwalker patch 6.1 Soundtrack (from Aglaia). 

Currently reading: On my phone: Wolf-Speaker, by Tamora Pierce. On my computer: Emliy Wilde's Encyclopedia of Faeries, by Heather Fawcett. On my iPad: The Legend of Huma, by Richard A. Knaak.

Last Movie: The last movie I watched was Spider-Man: No Way Home. I, uh... don't watch a lot of movies. >.>

Craving: Honestly? I'm craving salmon, but it's too expensive right now. :(

What are you wearing right now? I'm at work, so a pair of loose capris, a turquoise blouse, my N7 Elite hoodie, my Sith lanyard with all my video game pins, and a pair of comfy sandals.

How tall are you: 5'1" on a good day.

Piercings: Three in my ears, but I'm hoping to get several more this summer (depending on circumstances).

Tattoos: None.

Glasses? Contacts? Glasses. I can't wear contacts.

Last drink: Water!

Last show: Abbott Elementary (I'm several weeks behind, don't spoil me)

Last thing you ate: A SweeTart heart <3

Favorite color: I prefer jewel tones, so emerald, sapphire, amethyst. I'm a huge, huge fan of peacock colors.

Current obsession: FFXIV, natch

Unrelated obsession: Destiny 2

Any pets: Three! Two cats, Momo (one orange braincell) and Byakko (grey tiger tabby), and a dog, Inari (my Askii - half-Husky, a quarter Akita, a quarter mix).

Do you have a crush on anyone? Besides my husband of sixteen years and my partner of twelve? A few video game characters. Other than that, not really. I'm pretty poly-saturated right now and haven't even been looking.

Favorite fictional character: I mean, Thancred. Theron. But if you're looking for someone not video game related, probably Thrawn or Corran Horn. General Leia. Mirax Terrik. I'm pretty simple; I like spies, pilots, and strong-willed women.

The last place you traveled: Raleigh, North Carolina.

Tagged by: @sasslett

Tagging: @eorzeashan, @thelealinhypehouse, @sayonaramidnight, @starrysnowdrop, @irisopranta, @lilbittymonster, @lilvulpix-alex, and anyone else who would like to share! I know this is more OOC than fanfiction, so don't feel compelled to share if you don't want to <3

[miqo-tales]

Time for some wild mass guessing

Just some random thoughts on where some current FFXIV storylines will go.

MSQ

I'm still hoping that we find out that Golbez is one of our shards.

Also it's FFIV, I'm expecting to see Zemus/Zeromus.

If so, expect an "I am the HATRED" line.

If nothing else, I really hope Golbez doesn't end up being Zero's father.

Myths of the Realm

Still thinking Deryk will be revealed to be Oschon. At the least some aspect of him or something.

I have a suspicion that what's going to happen is that after the Twelve are done testing the WoL, they're going to ask us to join them.

Since the monument says there's a thirteenth, if the WoL joins, they will be the Fourteenth.

Pandaemonium

I suppose that unmarked crystal is going to end up being Athena's.

Assuming so, I wonder if the bosses we fight in P9-12 will be monsters related to Athena in mythology. Like a medusa.

Beyond that, I dunno. I still suspect it will turn out that the Lahabrea we dealt with in the MSQ was either Erichthonios or Hephaistos.

Cause the Lahabrea in Pandaemonium is, due to his own actions, fairly emotionless. The Lahabrea in MSQ... not so much.

[illegiblewords]

FFXIV Lore Resources

Hey dudes! Lately I’ve been reaching out a bit to some FFXIV players who expressed interest in getting a hold of lore resources. I mentioned to them I’d try to set up a post making the most helpful ones I’ve encountered readily available, and this?

It’s that post.

MIRKEMENAGERIE: Easily one of (if not the) most complete and comprehensive collections of lore I’ve encountered online. Includes quotes from NPCs in-game, Encyclopedia Eorzea I and II, item references, and more. The Twelve posts and location lore are some of my favorites but really all of this is fantastic. Very accessible.

HARMONEA: Has assembled a HUGE collection of lets plays on youtube that are organized and well-paced, showing everything from MSQ to Ascian-lore specifically to Job quests and beyond. This has been truly helpful whenever I want to check a reference but don’t necessarily have time to New Game + or check the Unending Journey in-game. It’s easy to jump around to find exactly the scenes you’re looking for, and compare moments from different points during the game.

GARLAND TOOLS DATABASE: Sometimes I need lore details from specific quests, that aren’t in cutscenes or easily found in a video. Garland Tools helps with tracking down quotes, character information, and much more. Also contains data around NPC designs. Doesn’t have cutscene quotes, but does have enough info to find what cutscenes you’ll likely need to watch. Whether on youtube or in the Unending Journey, it gets much easier spotting references.

TALES FROM THE CALAMITY, TALES FROM THE DRAGONSONG WAR, TALES FROM THE STORM, CHRONICLES OF LIGHT: THE HUNT BEGINS, TALES FROM THE SHADOWS, TALES FROM THE TWILIGHT: These are official FFXIV short stories associated with A Realm Reborn, Heavensward, Stormblood, and Shadowbringers respectively. The story from Chronicles of Light is also canon but insanely difficult to locate, contains details surrounding Zenos’s backstory and psychology. These absolutely carry lore details! You don’t need them to understand and enjoy the game, but they give added information and context.

ALL FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X MAIN SCENARIO CUTSCENES: I have not gone through all of this yet but you can bet your ass I have it saved.

FINAL FANTASY XIV 1.X LETS PLAY: Likewise haven’t gone through all of this yet but if you want really detailed 1.0 lore info, this has it.

OZMA’S ASCIAN REFERENCE PILE: Contains both concrete known information, game data, and speculation by Ozma as a longstanding Ascian fan. 1.0 WHITE MAGE QUESTLINE: This isn’t 100% canon anymore, but I’m including it because it actually shows the Elementals in voiced roles and that is a huge deal. Worth noting this youtuber has other 1.0 videos documented too.

BOTANICA EORZEA: This contains all lore surrounding the plants of Eorzea, organized and accessible.

MINERICA EORZEA: Sent by @firecattebird, A fully searchable, organized, and accessible doc containing all the lore I could find in-game about the things we pull from mining nodes.

LODESTONE SONG LYRICS COMPILATION: There are often other places you can google around for official song lyrics and I usually use those, but if you want everything in one place this is your spot!

ETHYS ASHER: Has some really good coverage of the niche parts of Eorzea’s history and solid discussion/speculation surrounding various lore elements. I haven’t gotten to investigate deeply but did enjoy his coverage around Belah’dia and the Great Wyrms.

Lastly, while not lore related I do want to share a particularly fun resource with the people who might be peeking over.

EORZEA COLLECTION: A lot of players in FFXIV are  heavily invested in the design components of the game, and this is a hub for that. Whether you’re looking for something in the vein of Dark Souls, something outrageously silly, something cute, something majestic, etc. you can basically find all kinds of tones/experiments here. You can restrict what you see by job, race, gender, etc. and order according to recency or loves. It’s also somewhere you can see how gear looks with different characters, dyes, and combinations. Very organized and can be a useful resource for farming.

[seascrapes]

[ Name Playlist: Tal Brook ]

Trouble is a Friend - Lenka Angel - Within Temptation Love’s Just a Feeling - Lindsey Stirling feat. Rooty Bells of Freedom - Bon Jovi Runnin’ - Adam Lambert On the Inside - Daughtry Orchard of Mines - Globus Kings Horses (All the) - Karmina

Tagged by: @adanceofblades @qarajin-borlaaq <3!

Tagging: @ffxivakyi @bonawoy @keltgeim @vane-ffxiv @solaire-and-magia​ @degeneratemagicalcatgirl​

[I told myself no instrumental pieces this time as I used quite a few in the last music tag >_> and yeah I cheated with the K a little but I don’t actually have many songs that start with K... plus I adore that song for Tal. If you only listen to one, listen to that one all the way through]