Living apology
❝When they break the streak, gonna make a scene—
—We're going down for the count, over my dead body❞
Origin
A redheaded, silver-tounged entrepreneur, was on a beeline to Eorzea after sneaking onto an imports vessel as a stowaway and docking at a port in Moraby Drydocks. It didn't take long for the dishevelled Elezen to be apprehended by the Maelstrom under scrutiny for being a pirate, or even a Sharlayan spy. While in custody by the field officers, she was asked of her name, age, and business illicitly crossing into La Noscean waters. It was Cheraphine Liberte, 17 moons; no direct family, and no employer. She came here with the intention of starting a new life.She couldn't tell them a word of the life she once had, and it didn't do well to defend her case. As far as they were concerned, she was just a filthy sea dog, that had no good reason not to have an airship ticket or a form of identification on her person.Cheraphine was put on a year of community service in Limsa Lominsa to pay off her dues. Her first gig was transferring and managing cargo in Candlekeep Quay under acute supervision. She had to be adaptive in these rough conditions, and in time living in that port town, adjusted her disposition to live like a true hardened brigand. She found herself learning different trades under her proprietors, as a quick way to make cash without an academic record, and eventually paying off her detention. By age 18, Cher found success in her goal to forge a new identity, and feasibly discarded her old one.Before she was Cheraphine Liberte, she was Cheraphine Shantivana, born to a once esteemed fencing instructor of the Forum, and an Astrologian diviner hailing from Thavnair. Orphaned at a young age and raised as a disciple to a medicine peddler, Glaideyrond bin Qelim Shantivana left for Old Sharlayan on his own accord looking to learn the readings from their gods, and took up his time as a leisure fortuneteller. Between curious children and troubled bureaucrats who partaken of his services, he had a regular client, down on her luck, who came to him asking for inklings of her future. It was none other than Archon Urleanne of the Delangevre Estate. She was a prickly busybody who implored she never has time to waste, and yet she always denied Gladdy when he appointed that there were far more productive things for her than come see his parlor tricks.He had a carefree nature and wisdom that knew not to doubt the stars, his worries were as fleeting and transient as fate itself. Urleanne, in comparison, had every day feel numbered. By circumstances not publicly documented, Urleanne had been denounced of her duties at the Forum and had been transferred over as a warden at The Dark Cells. Her Hannish colleague who she spilled much of her woes to had long admitted he wasn't going to lodge in Old Sharlayan forever. It was on the night before Glaideyrond were to discharge to Hingashi, Urleanne offered him to stay the night at her mansion.The hospitality was more than he anticipated. That damned baroness had a dry way of communicating her feelings and blamed it all on obligation, and Gladdy took all her pessimism and clowned it off. You'd think they'd be fervently incompatible, but after all their times at his fortune stall, he sensed something fierce about that woman. So he let fate take it's course.He'd still claim he remembers everything in photographic detail, but some sermons aren't meant for the faint of heart. But it was also that night where he gave the Archon a private reading, entreating wistfully that he foresaw that engaging with her would bring promise to the world and live on to leave a lasting impact
on it.Glaideyrond greet the missus at the harbor, inviting her to travel with him to places beyond her homeland. An invitation that Urleanne predictably yet humorously spurns, for she was a diligent officiate who rejected the thought of leaving her post. She had him lilting for how he couldn't convince her, and his honeyed pleas were met with a steeled pane of asceticism—Some matter of "dues" that she owed. If this hard-working woman couldn't come with him, he'll just have to come back for her.The next they meet, moons had passed, and just as the wisdom of the stars poured forth from Thaliak's Ewer to him, he made the "academic assessment" to propose to her with specially comissioned bands smithed by a distinguished Hingan forgekeep. He hoped it would double as a terribly belated souvenir.From thereon Glaideyrond and Urleanne's bond led to several advantages, one being that the Delangevre Estate became recognized as a stakeholder in expanding the Noumenon's archives of foreign trademarks and records. The Astrologian had service contracts and connections to various nations, hence his intermittent absence from springs to autumns. This extends even after Cheraphine's birth.In her youth, the Elezen was nothing if not sheltered. Her mother had raised her on strenuous curriculum to meet the regimen that the Studium expects of their most esteemed scholars. There was no denying that her idiosyncratic husband's lapses in communication weathered on Urleanne once she was rendered practically a single parent. Though she wouldn't have the luxury of seeing her father for what felt like moons on end, the time Cheraphine spent with him was cursory and bittersweet.For what he lacked in presence he made up in cognizance. Glaideyrond knew well of Cheraphine's knack for identifying the place of origin of artifacts, judging by their structure and patterns, so he would bring her worthy specimens from his travels for her to sleuth out. Becoming an archeologist spoke to her. It was through the likes of adventure books that made even historical breakthroughs feel fantastical that provoked a sense of wanderlust in her. A desire for journeys beyond this secluded island settlement.That is not in the cards for a future conducting Archon, and Urleanne Shantivana had strict ideals that her heir were expected to follow. Following orders was an effortless task for Cheraphine, but without her father around to advocate parley, this utilitarian discipline did less to strengthen her resolve in the face of logical misstep. There would be days her mother forbade her from leaving her quarters, locking her in from the outside, handing mealplates at her doorstep. Most of their day to day interactions were little more than pragmatic gestures, from fitting her daily clothes and detangling her long red hair with an indelicate touch.The only solace she had was validating her mother's agenda, and even still, the most praise she would receive from her would be when her scholarly accomplishments represented the Delangevre family. So long as Urleanne benefitted from her sire's talents, she used her as a tool and a scapegoat for whichever suited her to the Sharlayan officiates. Cheraphine knew this, for a long time, and before her graduating year, started to show resistance.What started with daydreaming during academic hours would become absences entirely. Cher hovelled in the bushes outside the campus, or would go as far as the Rostra to carry out her own preferential reading. Negligence benefit not for her stature, and when her grades began to plummet, Urleanne was quick to reinforce against her rebellious actions. Physically.She had made an attempt to come out with her mother's abuse, and in a last-ditch effort, the officer made use of her husband's network to dispatch Cheraphine to Coerthas. She intended to give up on a noncompliant successor and was to marry her into one of the High Houses of Ishgard in exchange for intel from the Ishgardian Orthodox Church. This, however, was a haphazard endeavor, and in the frenzy of the arrangement, young Cher made a getaway to a departing vessel at the harbor.She hacked off her hair. Changed her name. In the back of that boat she spent a burgeoning night alone at sea, left with her thoughts. Thinking about how much she lost. What little she had.What more could she hope to achieve, so far beyond her senses?She was tired of thinking about the what-ifs. She shut her eyes to the lull of the warding waves.
Profile
...AGE.... 29...HEIGHT.... Solid 6 fulms...RACE.... Wildwood Elezen...NAMEDAY.... 28th Sun of the 5th Astral Moon...PATRON DEITY.... Llymlaen, the Navigator...BIRTHPLACE.... Old Sharlayan...CURRENT RESIDENCE.... Limsa Lominsa...ALIGNMENT.... Chaotic Neutral - ESTJ - Sanguine...ORIENTATION.... Bisexual, Monogamous...MARITAL STATUS.... Single
...JOBS.... Scholar - Bard - Warrior - Pictomancer...LIKES.... Seafood, gardening, form-fitting though functional apparel, compassion others express for personal investments, a cold jug of dark stout ale (she is also a closet booklover who enjoys heroic epics... and sappy romance novels.~)...DISLIKES.... Cold weather, yarzons, overly baggy clothing (especially sleeves), family values, noble blood...SKILLS.... Academic prowess in archeology and Nymian arcanima, self-taught in mechanical engineering, and has a ferociously high alcohol tolerance...FOLLIES.... Masking her personality to seem more desirable, poor money management, adversity to commitment
...FEATURES....
Besides not having the most... impressive growth spurt, Cheraphine's knack for handling heavy machinery has caught on, and she's built up some body muscle. Her lean physique has mostly accumulated in her arms and abdominals.It also seems that her ear length skipped a generation—The Ishgardians have had a field day with her mousey ears, and it's made her rather self-conscious.Her wardrobe may be most noteworthy, though less due to a consistent appearance, but more of the eccentricity to how many different outfits she has at the ready suited for specific circumstances. Even still, one persistent article will usually sneak itself onto her casual glamours, and that would be a pair of red-framed glasses.Cheraphine incorporates Limsan dialect in her speech. She borrows it to badger better with the locals, which falters into common tongue when she is under stress....PROFESSIONS....
"Handyman", she calls herself—A freelancer specializing in labor jobs and field work, oft seen slinking about Eorzea for quick ways to pick up coin. During her time in La Noscea, she's spent much of her newfound liberty as a freight handler at Mealvaan's Gate. She is also an able boatswain, mechanic and plumber.Occasionally, Cheraphine manages to get on stage gigs in taverns as a minstrel, performing folk songs on her lute.Though not acknowledged as an official guild, however, she carries the title of a posthumous Nymian marine who purifies corrupt aether sources and hunts voidsent....PERSONALITY....
On initial engagement, Cheraphine plays a coy and flippant role when she's able to distance herself between she and her peers. She flashes disingenuous smiles, quick to dismiss praise, and there's always an air of careful observance in her. There could be glimpses of deep meditation borne of her emerald eyes, as if despite her detached and meddlesome demeanor, there's a staunch interest she holds beyond her guard.On her worse judgments, she has been willing to forfeit her livelihood to prove her loyalty to her allies. People-pleasing is her greatest bane, and has difficulty speaking on her desires in place of the sakes of those she wants to support. Cheraphine seldom opens up to others outside of business arrangements, and when that happens, that nagging overachiever complex gives her difficulty transitioning the gap between formal and casual contact.When she lets her true colors shine, however, she has a strong sense of justice, and feels protective in the face of unfair treatment. Most of all, when she subscribes to a belief, she's stubborn to see it to the end. Such makes her a foolhardy tactician, as when her emotions are running high her calculations can be clouded by short temper, or her confidence can wane and find herself shutting down. She feels the need to carry grave responsibility and can never fully shake it off if her efforts end in disappointment.If she overhears something that's in her field of expertise, her inner bookworm wriggles out from the woodwork. Depending on how comfortable she is in the social setting she could vary from a smug interject to being starry-eyed and eagerly expositing. Cheraphine has a whimsical air to her, rarely seen if she can help it, and whether she is on or off-duty, she admires the boundless landforms, seascapes and skylines of wherever she ventures. Go on a journey with her, and she'll pick out all the little beauties this star has to offer....BIOGRAPHY....
Cheraphine stewn from an unsuspecting nap, one of the Yellowjackets prodding her from a slovenly display on the floor of the marketplace. She's minimal time to gather her bearings before she's off to quarreling with the customs consultants. The Elezen, sluggish on the uptake, bolsters little tolerance to the agency and silently attends to the boxes. It was while she idled at the registry, waiting for her next order, she felt guided by a foreign ambition. She inquires herself to the Arcanist's Guild, and before long comes to recognize her latent knack for mathematical theory.
The gutsy aspirant took her studies to the field, and found herself easelessly profiling the fallen bulwarks of Camp Bronze Lake. This was second nature to her, and yet she couldn't remember for the stones of her why she cared so... She rendezvous with a likeminded axehand of the Marauder's Guild, and unearthed a coffer possessing the Soul of a Scholar.The faerie sleeping within her soul crystal was an incomplete construct, who had a fragmented memory of her own—so the once freefaring arcanist had made a plight of uncovering the secrets of the nation of Nym in hopes it would restore her familiar to it's rightful state. Since then, a handyman making a paltry sum by the week also tries to balance an adventuring career, providing contemporary services within settlements, and branching out into duties all over that the common folk may find too dangerous to pursue.Along the way, Cheraphine has also made several... Self-discoveries, one such feat being the blessing of the Echo, and as of the present, finds herself saddled with complicated relationships regarding her identity. Memories that laid dormant had sprung up on her travels across Hydaelyn, as well as unresolved means for her to come to terms with them....COMBAT....
Using her own innate aether, Cheraphine casts spells by drawing in arcane geometries from her codex using aetherically conductive ink. Once she's obtained the knowledge to recreate these graphs, or acquires a tome with the graphs already in print, she can command a precise effect to be executed, such as closing a wound, or igniting ambient aether in a swath of fire. Over the course of her adventures, she's inherited the artifact codexes that once belonged to her mentor.These geometries served as military tactics for the royal marines, and Cheraphine adopts these disciplines in a defensive and strategic combat style. She is outspoken when announcing her point of attack, keeping a watchful eye on her surroundings, and often the first to call the shots on a team. Her faerie possesses independent will and autonomy, providing restorative magicks.Unlike her father, her weakest subject was astromancy. Cheraphine struggles in attuning and binding her aether on a large scale. She's dabbled in the teachings and tried to attune to the heavens to sate curiosity, yet found herself prematurely exhausted—perhaps over psychological restraints.
TRIVIA
She once saved a fledgling griffin hatchling from an Alpha Endymion attack. After nursing it back to health, she attempted to release it back into the skies of Abalathia's Spine. The hatchling, despite this, chose not to stray far from her.
Though most of her labor is learnt by the books, there came a time during her duties with The Holy See of Ishgard where she stepped foot in the Skysteel Manufactory. As poetic irony, the sire of House Haillenarte turned out to become an amicable friend and a valuable ally; One who Cheraphine could highly recommend, and with all due respect, "couldn't possibly handle a man like him."
She's a far cry from a fair maiden, but she's a lover of fashion. She couldn't be damned to do anything beyond comb out her bedhead in the mornings, but give her a special occasion or a mandatory dress code and she'll feel entitled to show off. Putting together a uniform is her favorite part of getting a gig, and the leading cause to the hole in her gil pouch.
Speaking of emptying her wallet, if only the same could be said for her pockets. Cheraphine holds onto so much junk from Navigator-knows-where and she doesn't like to talk about it until it impedes her. One time she and the band of misfits from her free company went to a hunter's lodge, and were offered complimentary drinks to get them to stop bickering. Unfortunately, she had to part with her precious mob meat and primal totems and scatter them all over the floor before she could consider her hands free.
If it weren't for the blessing of the Ruby Sea, Cher would likely drown herself in submersible waters. Despite living in seaside residency all her life, the most she can confidently manage is a doggy-paddle.
Her appetite splits into two categories: an unexplainable fervor for nutritious cuisine, and an uncontrollable sweet tooth. Many of her favorite meals are types of stews or salads which use fish, lentils and beans. Her love language for desserts is certainly more universal, all things considered. Rolanberry cheesecake is a guilty pleasure of hers.
She had two roommates—one might aptly call freeloaders—a Rava Viera and Sea Wolf Roegadyn from her free company. They both promised to pay her rent but have yet to turn up with their spoils. They have since been effectively evicted under scrutiny that they would "welcome an axe to the jugular" if she risked any more of her onion crops withering outside of her supervision.
HOOKS
- INTIMACY IS OPTIONAL, BUSINESS IS BUSINESS -
{SCH} The true role of a Scholar, one that Cheraphine has determined takes higher priority than the daily grind, is finding a means to cure the afflicted within the confines of The Wanderer's Palace. She and her faerie, Campanula, work to keep their fates confidential, unknowing if word got out would endanger the tonberries further. If by happenstance your character finds her on duty, they'll come to learn that being a marine means more than toting a book around in grad clothes.
{SCH} Got some ruins that need investigating? An artifact that needs identifying... or plundering? Being a healer doesn't imply having no taste for adventure. Cheraphine could brush your character up on some history, or even volunteer to be neck-deep in the remains of a long-forgotten civilization.
{BRD} Before arcanima brought her back to her roots, Cheraphine's early years in Eorzea was being under the tutelage of Jehantel of the Gods' Quiver. Between now and the last ten summers, Cheraphine moonlights as a performer at local taverns. Perhaps your character meets her during one of those nights, or an opportunity springs where she'll play them a song or two.
{MCH} When she's not making an audience of voidsent nor merry men, her specialty is toying with machinery. If your ships or weapons need a fine tuning, a little ironworking and elbow grease will make it right as rain.
{MISC.} Picking up leves is one way to stave off boredom, or a means of testing her patience. If it so happens your character gets caught in the crossfire, just watch for stray arrows, or the earth rending beneath their feet.
{MISC.} A handyman can't be picky on how she can make back her bank! Need her to fill as a barsmaid? Do merc work? Make her sweat over a hobby she's never done?! She asked for it, and Twelve forfend, she will come out on top or eat shite for it! Ask her about various commissions, and she'll determine whether or not she'll push herself to take the plunge.
(No, she will decisively not come home with you for the night, even if you pay her.)
- THE SPICY SHIT -
Cheraphine has never been a fan of aristocracy or royalty, and sticks up her nose at those who wave their caste like a banner. Most noblemen of Ishgard, high-ranking Garleans, and poindexters of Old Sharlayan will make themselves quick onto her hitlist if they're vocal about their status.
Cheraphine has long, long buried her past on the reclusive island nation she grew up on. So long as she breathes, wrestling her childhood out of her is a foolish man's prerogative. Until your character gets real chummy with her and she can find solace in them without her bravado, they'll likely receive radio silence, or a twisted tall tale. There ARE some ways, however, to expediate the details...
If perchance, your character is Studium alumni, or are also Sharlayan native, Cheraphine may take suspicion of them. Behind the mask she puts up, she can't help but probe for details over what brings them to Eorzea. Though stated earlier, she can't stand an egoist—so holding her patience banks entirely on how highly they hold their status, ESPECIALLY if they're an official.The East Aldenard Trade Company, as she's learned, is who her estranged father associates with for work. Henceforth, if it happens to be that your character has ties to it, or are also attempting to investigate their local affairs, there's an Elezen who'd be asking a couple questions.
As for what became of the Delangevre Estate? Though the building still stands in Journey's End, with their only performing shareholder behind bars, the rights to their publications have dissolved and forfeit proprietorship to the Noumenon. Cheraphine couldn't begin to fathom what her mother may have kept from her, but to find out for herself, perhaps with a companion, is not a foreign suggestion.
- NAH TOO HOT FOR THE FIRST DATE DAWG, GIMME' THE ICEBREAKERS -
Cheraphine might be caught up on some reading or studying while out and about. Getting this workaholic's attention may reward your character with learning something new.
Your character has a whole story to tell, and surely their own aspirations. Cheraphine is nothing if not a good listener, and has a soft side for those with dreams. Why, she might even know some associates to serve as a springboard.
Cheraphine constantly tries to carry the weight of responsibility on her own shoulders, and sometimes, reassurance and a guiding hand is what she needs to reach out to others.
QUASO! I've been in roleplaying circles all over the web in the last 12 years, but I really wanna' dip my toes into the FFXIV community. My home world is Aether@Adamantoise, but I bumble about to the other data centers for RP frequently.My timezone is EST (UTC-5). Don't be shy to shoot me a /tell if you're interested in throwing yourself at my shithead of an Elezen. You're free to engage in-character if I've got the RP tag on; I'll say I'm fine with walk-ups, but you get bonus points if you wanna plan out a specific scenario ahead of time!General RP ettiquette applies, and I'm always entitled to decline the offer if I'm not feeling it or something comes up.My comfort zone is single to multi-para, as long as you have the patience for longer responses. I like to adjust to my partner's preferred writing length, though, so gimme a heads up so I don't overwhelm you! I'm also willing to give out my Discord for better communication.Both mun and muse are above the age of 18, and I'm comfortable with NSFW scenarios and flings, but admittingly I'm in this for story-driven narrative. If you're lookin' to get your rocks off, I'm gonna' prefer our characters have some chemistry first.