ᴀʟᴘʜɪɴᴀᴜᴅ "ʙɪᴛᴇ ᴍᴇ" ʟᴇᴠᴇɪʟʟᴇᴜʀ (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
aetherflows) wrote2019-07-20 05:28 am
aetherflows) wrote2019-07-20 05:28 am
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prismatica info.
Alphinaud Leveilleur
(Iris)
Alphinaud Leveilleur
| Age: | 18 | D.O.B: | 3/21 (Second Astral Moon, Day 20)* |
| Gender: | Male | Orientation | Pansexual |
| Species: | Elezen | Class: | Academician |
| Hair: | Silver/white | Eyes: | Blue |
| Height: | 4'8" | Build: | Skinny af |
| Origin: | Sharlayan | Residence: | Level 2 apts |
History
I'll write this out later. Here's a wiki but it does contain spoilers, so beware!
Personality
Alphinaud is one of the player character's closest, most steadfast companions throughout the main storyline of Final Fantasy XIV: ARR and its expansion, Heavensward, with smaller appearances in expansions afterward. His first conversation with the Warrior of Light immediately paints him as observant, clever, and hopeful-- but it also highlights the stark differences between himself and his sister. They part ways, with Alisaie having no patience for politics and Alphinaud all but interjecting himself into what he can-- including the Warrior of Light's affairs.
He becomes important when his link to Louisoix is revealed: his grandfather sacrificed himself to protect Eorzea during the Battle of Carteneau. Is it a wonder, then, that he holds himself to such high standards? Though he's only sixteen when he arrives, Alphinaud is eager to become a diplomat and a leader. He has a few bumps along the way but they do little to dissuade him from his dream: a united Eorzea without conflict. It seems a high bar but with his successes through the Warrior of Light and the eventual formation of the Crystal Braves, Alphinaud shines brighter than ever.
He wants to be helpful, but he also likes to show off as well. An old friend of his states that he learned how to draw so he could impress girls-- and Alphinaud is really good at it. He never does anything halfway, he goes all in with all he has, even if it's purely for attention. Judging by his skill level and the fact that he can still whip out a perfect portrait in no time flat, he is still practicing and bettering himself every day.
But it's in leadership where his failings begin to show. At first, his ego rages practically unchecked as he alienates people who would otherwise help him. He believes people openly because he's naive and sheltered, and that ends up being his undoing. It isn't entirely Alphinaud's fault that the Crystal Braves ended up being a vehicle for traitors, but it is definitely his responsibility-- a fact that hits him hard when everything goes to hell. He states that he sought the salvation of all Eorzea but it was he who needed saving.
Alphinaud is left with nothing: his reputation tarnished; forced into a snowy exile in a place he has never known; and at a loss to prove his innocence. If not for the protection and guidance of the Warrior of Light and their allies, he would have given up hope and probably never recovered. Tataru, a fellow Scion, does a lot to keep his spirits up, but it's watching how hard the Warrior of Light works-- and their allies-- that inspires him to take action. Without the Warrior's guidance, he never would have opened up or trusted anyone, not after being played like a lute by Ul'dah's evil elite.
Alphinaud refuses to sit on the sidelines after this. He insists on accompanying the adventurer since this is his mess, too-- even when it means being put in danger or shoved between a rock and a hard place. It builds character in the most literal way. He learns that people can change when Ysayle journeys with them, and he builds a strong friendship with Estinien that makes him feel like he has an older brother. These are all very positive things that build up his courage again and teach him how to be more self-reliant. He stands at the player's side not as an escort, but as someone else who fights in his own way. This is best demonstrated when he fights to clear his name in the arena alongside the Warrior of Light.
But some things cannot be changed, including the fates of close friends he can no longer reach or save. Alphinaud suffers so much loss alongside the Warrior of Light that it's no wonder he clings to them so desperately-- even sulking and pining when they're away, as Estinien points out. Still, Alphinaud won't be beaten. This fortitude serves Alphinaud later on (especially in Shadowbringers), as he refuses to give up on people he cares for, no matter the cost.
This is the culmination of Alphinaud's character arc. He has risen and fallen and risen again, known the deepest despair and the brightest, tiniest hope-- gained trust, lost it, and learned to trust once again.
It's something he has in common with his identical twin sister, Alisaie, who contrasts him in personality... though they are very, very alike in things other than method. Alisaie is the bold and emotional one who refuses flattery and searches for her own answers; she cries when their grandfather leaves and questions his decision openly when Alphinaud does not. Her journey in Heavensward showed that she had changed, too-- and the twins became more and more alike as they endured their suffering. The twins know they can depend on each other, but they're more than two halves of a whole: they are each their own people, fighting to protect Eorzea in the ways that suit them best. Alphinaud loves her so dearly that he cannot imagine a world without her; he'll go to the ends of the world if it means protecting his sister.
Alphinaud is young but he has seen his fair share of loss and hardship. A lot of it was brought on by his own foolishness, including people who died because of the traitors under his command-- a fact that he cannot and will not forget. He eventually learns to atone for his mistakes by forging forward and refusing to give up on his ideals. Watching the Warrior's steadfastness as well as that of his friends inspires him to be better in a way that the egotistical Alphinaud was not. His world is ever full of uncertainties, but he has learned the value of family both found and blood-related, and the importance of faith.
Abilities
As an Arcanist, Alphinaud is a small, fragile spellcaster-- or he ought to be, considering gameplay/story segregation-- but he is part of the Scions of the Seventh Dawn and ends up fighting alongside the Warrior of Light on several occasions and is able to keep up. Though he lacks the experience his world-saving grandfather had, he has no shortage of talent. Arcanists master the flow of aether (magical energy) in themselves and control it in others. This means they can debilitate an enemy with poisons and sickness and slow them down, as well as destroy them with damaging shadow and arcane magic. Arcanists can branch off into two jobs at level 30: Summoner, a damage dealing job, and Scholar, a healing-focused one. In Shadowbringers he has canonically become a Scholar-adjacent class called "Academician", though he's seen healing the injured in Stormblood's story several times. His spells are adjacent enough-- though, unlike a true Scholar, Alphinaud has access to the level 2 dps caster limit break for some reason. Blame it on his aetherology degree.
Arcanists use magical books called codexes or grimoires to focus and channel their spells. Alphinaud's is incomplete. His twin's grimoire contains the missing piece of the puzzle, so they have to cooperate to unlock the knowledge held within, as they eventually do in the Coils raid. Considering they are both ridiculous prodigies who went to college at eleven, this did not slow them down.
Arcanist is a pet class, which means it relies on summonable creatures to do the bulk of one's damage/healing. The pet that this base class uses is the summon Carbuncle, which uses elementally-augmented spells to damage enemies and reflect attacks. Carbuncles are summoned by attuning oneself with aether and focusing it through a gemstone as well as combining it with one's life force. This indicates that Alphinaud carries around gemstones on his person as focii for his summon spells, and it also means he could summon a Carbuncle if given a sufficient gemstone of a different order.
Though Carbuncles do not speak, they are used to perform tasks for their summoners (like sniffing out contraband) and can exist fairly far from their summoner's range. They are also said to have personalities of their own, though how much of this is the life energy of its summoner is up for debate.
Carbuncles are as varied as the gemstones used to summon them. Alphinaud invented a couple of unique variants of Carbuncle that players cannot attain normally: Ruby, Obsidian/Onyx, and Moonstone. Emerald, Topaz, Amber, and Diamond carbuncles are also in the game, though only the first two are accessible to players. Different Carbuncles have different roles and uses based on their composition.
Alphinaud's main Carbuncles are as follows:
INVENTORY:
* this is headcanon
Moon Traits
Any general information about how your character's moon changes would go here.
Physical Changes
Traits:- Physical Feature: Description of said change
- Physical Feature: Description of said change
Psychological Changes
Traits:- Mental Change: Description of said change
- Mental Change: Description of said change
Code by Yuff
no subject
--
New Canon Point ▶ Shadowbringers MSQ 5.0, the end of the most recent XIV expansion!
There are some vague spoilers for the MSQ below.
At this canon point, Alphinaud, like his sister, has spent a year in the world of the First after being kidnapped by some short guy with a big stick. His 'real' body is chilling on Hydaelyn, while his soul has gained some physical form in the First from the summoning. However, he can still bleed, hurt, die, etc. so it's kind of debatable how much that matters or what it even means. I won't be changing up anything about how I play him as far as that goes, but just in case there's some future event where soul-seeing becomes relevant, I thought I'd include it.
Alphinaud's skills haven't changed from what I apped him with, save for the change from 'arcanist' to 'academician'-- which was mentioned on my app. Because, again, that's all that changed (lol).
The First is a world on the edge of calamity that, in one particular future, led to the destruction of Hydaelyn. A hundred years ago in its reckoning, a flood of Light-- yes, the stuff that's supposed to be good and nice-- literally scoured the land clean like a white canvas, spared only due to the efforts of the former Scion leader Minfilia. The scourge of Light also gave birth to monsters called Sin Eaters who feed on aether. Sometimes this means eating people whole, and sometimes this means corrupting them until they hatch into twisted angelic monsters like them. It's really, really gruesome and Dark Souls esque because Shadowbringers goes HARD.
Alphinaud has spent this past year on the First doing what he does best: information gathering. He has studied the politics and customs of the First so he could find a potential way into a cloistered city of fat rich people and try to understand what the hell is going on in there and what it's like. Seeing as the ruler of the city claims to control Sin Eaters, it's very relevant to learning how best to save the First. This work gives him some real connections with people and a sense of belonging and purpose.
Alphinaud is shown to care very deeply about the state of things in this world even though it's not his own. He feels a sense of responsibility toward the tyrant of Eulmore because his attitude was similar to the one he himself had when he was younger, and he attempts to change his mind and talk him down without fighting first. Later on, when the city is thrown into chaos, Alphinaud finds his resolve yet again to step in and help guide them to recovery without hurting these people. He opens up a bit of himself to teach them about the value of forgiveness and moving forward to atone, too.
Essentially, his solo work in the First has reinforced what it is he feels he must do, to work to better the world in his own way and not just blindly follow in his grandfather's footsteps. He's becoming a proper leader this time. He still has his moments of self-doubt, but it's clear from how he acts and when he speaks that he's learning to take the initiative and follow the WoL's example. The groundwork for all of this was set in Heavensward and slowly built upon after, until he departed to become an emissary to enemy land in Stormblood 4.3.
He becomes closer to the other Scions and to his sister as well, unquestionably supporting Alisaie when she needs it and staying calm in dire situations, and finally expressing what it is that makes them all so strong in the face of hopelessness and adversity: "We define our worth, not the circumstances of our creation."
→ I technically apped him with open inventory slots, so I guess I'll have him receive his new outfit.