Player Name: Saffy Contact:fonfabre / fonfabre on discord Invited by: I've been here! Other Characters: Aventurine, Blade, Hua Cheng, Zhongli
(CONTENT WARNINGS: implied abuse, violence, sexual assault, and slavery)
Character Name: Amal Vasiya Canon: Final Fantasy XIV (OC) Canon History: A very general overview of the expansions here, but something more personal follows!
Born in Radz-at-Han to a merchant's daughter and a very enthusiastic Hyuran adventurer, Amal was nevertheless consigned to a life of difficulties. He was abandoned soon after birth-- his father having run off, and his mother embarrassed by a child out of wedlock-- and taken in by the local orphanage. As these things go, times were incredibly difficult for the orphanage and he never quite felt like he belonged. He fell in with a crowd who didn't care about his heritage, and they taught him how to steal enough to survive, and then how to fight. His childhood thus troubled, he was caught and punished several times up through adulthood for petty theft and scamming people out of money. With every scar he earned from their ire, he got a new tattoo. The targets of his thievery were always the same: wealthy people, and those who seemingly deserved to be taken down a peg. And when he could, he gave to the other hungry kids in the slummy parts of the city he grew up in. When the Calamity hit he was seventeen and in chains, which would end up being a sort of reoccurring theme, unfortunately.
The turning point for Amal was a rough stay in a jail cell followed by a grueling couple of years on Radz-at-Han's infamous "pleasure barges". His disobedient nature refused to dim no matter how much he was punished, and he was traded between several high-profile barge owners until he was able to escape. (Triggering content follows.)The whipping scars on his back, though covered by a tree tattoo later, were difficult to miss... which was why he generally kept them covered afterward. After that experience, he decided that stealing wasn't worth nearly dying for it, and began to pursue dancing (and looking attractive) more seriously, building on the courtesan's "education" he had received while in servitude.
Radz-at-Han wasn't a terribly small port city but it was still an island, and Amal's reputation was unshakably that of a thief and ne'er-do-well by the time he hit adulthood. This penchant for trouble would earn him several misadventures in taverns during his youth and even as an adult. His passion for music and adventure and freedom only served to make him seem more like a burden than a virtuous thief, even when he had had enough and tried to earn a living the right way. He needed a new start... and Eorzea after the Calamity was a good place to do that. Despite the treatment he received from his fellows in Thavnair, a kindhearted Arkasodara helped get him onto a boat to Limsa Lominsa, a hint that perhaps things weren't as dire as he thought.
Amal wasn't looking for attachments, exactly. Living life constantly on the move made it difficult for him to make friends, let alone keep them. And it was safer that way, too, if he just helped people anonymously and vanished back into the night, as some kind of atonement for all the hurting he'd done to others over the years. That was how he made his start in Eorzea, attributing the headaches and visions and weird voices to aether sickness-- until he was told the truth and handed a destiny he didn't ask for.
Amal wasn't looking for attachments, exactly. Living life constantly on the move made it difficult for him to make friends, let alone keep them. And it was safer that way, too, if he just helped people anonymously and vanished back into the night, as some kind of atonement for all the hurting he'd done to others over the years. That was how he made his start in Eorzea, attributing the headaches and visions and weird voices to aether sickness-- until he was told the truth and handed a destiny he didn't ask for.
A REALM REBORN The mission of the Warrior of Light only convinced Amal that isolating himself was the right thing to do. And he was doing a good job of it too, just going from town to town, helping people, not staying long enough to develop feelings for anything in particular. He lived life as free as the wind-- until he was called back to the Waking Sands and found his colleagues kidnapped, missing, or slaughtered. Numb with shock, the care of the corpses was placed in his hands (quite literally), and Amal came to realize that this... was not a game. Not at all. There were lives at stake. The uneasy mantle of 'hero' didn't suit him, but there was no one else to shuffle this responsibility onto.
So it... fell to him, the reluctant ex-thief who danced with knives as much as chakrams. He played his part well enough, taking down Gaius van Baelsar and ushering in (what they thought) was a new, brighter turn for the Scions. But it became clear that things were not as simple as that, and suddenly, Amal found himself a refugee once again, outrunning a bloody name and wondering if he'd lost his only family.
HEAVENSWARD Amal's reserved nature began to crack and reveal the deep-seated bitterness beneath. Though he was "exotic" to most Eorzeans, this was only magnified in Ishgard, where he was painfully outlandish and of mixed heritage. (He found some similarities with Hilda, surprising absolutely no one.) His traveling companions, varied as they were, became his dear friends-- but none more than Haurchefant, who had taken him in before. Haurchefant and Amal had quite a lot in common, but Haurchefant had purpose. Drive. A family. He was kind and protective, and Amal fell for him so very hard.
It made losing Haurchefant all the more painful. As Amal was drawn deeper into the war, he no longer attempted to mask any disdain he had for the upper class. This earned him more than a little trouble with the knights under Thordan's command, something only exacerbated as the man's ambitions came to light. By the end of the Dragonsong War, Amal had lost that little spark of optimism, or at least buried it beneath his grief. He existed only to do what needed to be done, and his victories-- though important-- felt incredibly hollow. More and more he was convinced he was the wrong man for the job, that if he had been stronger or perhaps someone else entirely, Haurchefant wouldn't have died. And this guilt would follow him into the next adventure, and the one after that, while he pushed through it for the sake of the Scions.
STORMBLOOD Amal played the role of hero but his spirit wasn't in it. The conflict against Garlemald hit a fever pitch and he was everyone's ace up their sleeve, fighting for independence for two countries he had no ties to as a diplomatic favor. Of course he felt for the subjugated, and of course he didn't support Garlemald in the slightest, but to him it became less about the Resistance and more about taking out his anger and frustration on imperial forces as he cursed his powerlessness. More blood was spilled, and in the end he was even denied the chance to put Zenos' reign to an end, as the prince took his own life. Naturally that wasn't meant to last, though, and he would end up facing down Zenos again and nearly losing to the Ascian possessing his body, as his friends fell unconscious and were spirited to another realm.
SHADOWBRINGERS That other realm held a familiar voice, the tone of a friend. He heeded the siren's call as he had no other choice at that point and discovered more about the workings of the reflections, the truths hidden from him by Hydaelyn, and how much he hated self-sacrifice. G'raha Tia had taken everything Amal had started and turned it into something beautiful and hopeful and everlasting, had saved these people had given his bitter journey meaning, and only then did Amal finally begin to realize he wasn't alone. No one else was going to do this hero stuff for him. He wasn't destined to be here, though-- he was doing this by his own volition, now. And so, he made a promise he intended to keep: a promise to take his old friend G'raha on a new adventure when they returned home.
Naturally, they only got a brief reprieve before Zenos and his pet cackling robed wizard started bringing about the apocalypse, so this adventure would have to be postponed.
ENDWALKER After establishing Sharlayan as the base of operations, the Scions decided to split their forces and sent Thancred, Urianger, the WoL, and Estinien to Thavnair. Amal was reluctant to return to Radz-at-Han because of his outstanding criminal record and the bounty on his head. While he got a few searching looks from the guards, no one actually arrested him (mysterious)... The Scions were able to thwart Fandaniel's activities and save the kidnapped citizens. After this, they were granted an audience with the true leader of Thavnair, Vrtra the Dragon. Amal did not expect that the king was a freaking dragon and was stunned. He inquired about his record, and Vrtra went on about how people had been falling through the cracks for some time and Amal had obviously proven himself, though Vrtra warned him that should he return to that life of crime, there would be consequences. Amal acknowledged this and instead pledged that he wanted to help others in his situation.
The meeting was cut short by the end of the world, however. Amal raced across Ilsabard, trying to save Garlemald to no avail. Then, later, he returned to Thavnair only to see the land beset upon by horrid beasts devouring aether and souls. Among the victims were people in the village he'd learned how to fish from. Tragic. This was a very low point for Amal, and he almost gave up hope. Thankfully his friends were there to help him process the trauma, which saw him breaking down for a while. Then Zenos led him on a chase to the moon, where Fandaniel went crazy and sacrificed himself to revive Zodiark (incomplete as he might be).
Searching for answers led Amal to travel to the First and then back in time. He met the woman who would become Hydaelyn and learned about the plight of the Ancients, as well as the cause of the End of Days. They fought Hydaelyn to prove they could handle the true threat, and then Venat died.
Together he and his crew set out to the end of the universe in a cool ship, but then everyone sacrificed themselves to make a path for Amal to walk up to the Big Nihility Boss. It was very sad. Amal defeated her and then fought Zenos in a duel for the ages, reaper against reaper. Victory was costly as he was run through and nearly died, except his friends teleported him back to safety and healed him in time. Whew!
DAWNTRAIL Amal was asked by a friend and local hot bunny man Erenville to meet Wuk Lamat, a princess who hailed from across the sea. Very exciting. They got along like oil and fire. Though not keen to involve himself in politics he really liked Wuk Lamat so he accepted her offer, and thus became her bodyguard for the Rite of Succession. He did all of this as a paladin also to prove that he could learn how to protect people. When things turned bad and Alexandria invaded, he stayed by her side, and helped her against Queen Sphene. Then, deciding he loved how spicy the food was, he decided to hang around a little while and see if G'raha might join him. Yay.
Amal Vasiya (OC) | Final Fantasy XIV | Ronin AU 1/2
Contact:
Invited by: I've been here!
Other Characters: Aventurine, Blade, Hua Cheng, Zhongli
(CONTENT WARNINGS: implied abuse, violence, sexual assault, and slavery)
Character Name: Amal Vasiya
Canon: Final Fantasy XIV (OC)
Canon History: A very general overview of the expansions here, but something more personal follows!
Born in Radz-at-Han to a merchant's daughter and a very enthusiastic Hyuran adventurer, Amal was nevertheless consigned to a life of difficulties. He was abandoned soon after birth-- his father having run off, and his mother embarrassed by a child out of wedlock-- and taken in by the local orphanage. As these things go, times were incredibly difficult for the orphanage and he never quite felt like he belonged. He fell in with a crowd who didn't care about his heritage, and they taught him how to steal enough to survive, and then how to fight. His childhood thus troubled, he was caught and punished several times up through adulthood for petty theft and scamming people out of money. With every scar he earned from their ire, he got a new tattoo. The targets of his thievery were always the same: wealthy people, and those who seemingly deserved to be taken down a peg. And when he could, he gave to the other hungry kids in the slummy parts of the city he grew up in. When the Calamity hit he was seventeen and in chains, which would end up being a sort of reoccurring theme, unfortunately.
The turning point for Amal was a rough stay in a jail cell followed by a grueling couple of years on Radz-at-Han's infamous "pleasure barges". His disobedient nature refused to dim no matter how much he was punished, and he was traded between several high-profile barge owners until he was able to escape. (Triggering content follows.) The whipping scars on his back, though covered by a tree tattoo later, were difficult to miss... which was why he generally kept them covered afterward. After that experience, he decided that stealing wasn't worth nearly dying for it, and began to pursue dancing (and looking attractive) more seriously, building on the courtesan's "education" he had received while in servitude.
Radz-at-Han wasn't a terribly small port city but it was still an island, and Amal's reputation was unshakably that of a thief and ne'er-do-well by the time he hit adulthood. This penchant for trouble would earn him several misadventures in taverns during his youth and even as an adult. His passion for music and adventure and freedom only served to make him seem more like a burden than a virtuous thief, even when he had had enough and tried to earn a living the right way. He needed a new start... and Eorzea after the Calamity was a good place to do that. Despite the treatment he received from his fellows in Thavnair, a kindhearted Arkasodara helped get him onto a boat to Limsa Lominsa, a hint that perhaps things weren't as dire as he thought.
Amal wasn't looking for attachments, exactly. Living life constantly on the move made it difficult for him to make friends, let alone keep them. And it was safer that way, too, if he just helped people anonymously and vanished back into the night, as some kind of atonement for all the hurting he'd done to others over the years. That was how he made his start in Eorzea, attributing the headaches and visions and weird voices to aether sickness-- until he was told the truth and handed a destiny he didn't ask for.
Amal wasn't looking for attachments, exactly. Living life constantly on the move made it difficult for him to make friends, let alone keep them. And it was safer that way, too, if he just helped people anonymously and vanished back into the night, as some kind of atonement for all the hurting he'd done to others over the years. That was how he made his start in Eorzea, attributing the headaches and visions and weird voices to aether sickness-- until he was told the truth and handed a destiny he didn't ask for.
A REALM REBORN
The mission of the Warrior of Light only convinced Amal that isolating himself was the right thing to do. And he was doing a good job of it too, just going from town to town, helping people, not staying long enough to develop feelings for anything in particular. He lived life as free as the wind-- until he was called back to the Waking Sands and found his colleagues kidnapped, missing, or slaughtered. Numb with shock, the care of the corpses was placed in his hands (quite literally), and Amal came to realize that this... was not a game. Not at all. There were lives at stake. The uneasy mantle of 'hero' didn't suit him, but there was no one else to shuffle this responsibility onto.
So it... fell to him, the reluctant ex-thief who danced with knives as much as chakrams. He played his part well enough, taking down Gaius van Baelsar and ushering in (what they thought) was a new, brighter turn for the Scions. But it became clear that things were not as simple as that, and suddenly, Amal found himself a refugee once again, outrunning a bloody name and wondering if he'd lost his only family.
HEAVENSWARD
Amal's reserved nature began to crack and reveal the deep-seated bitterness beneath. Though he was "exotic" to most Eorzeans, this was only magnified in Ishgard, where he was painfully outlandish and of mixed heritage. (He found some similarities with Hilda, surprising absolutely no one.) His traveling companions, varied as they were, became his dear friends-- but none more than Haurchefant, who had taken him in before. Haurchefant and Amal had quite a lot in common, but Haurchefant had purpose. Drive. A family. He was kind and protective, and Amal fell for him so very hard.
It made losing Haurchefant all the more painful. As Amal was drawn deeper into the war, he no longer attempted to mask any disdain he had for the upper class. This earned him more than a little trouble with the knights under Thordan's command, something only exacerbated as the man's ambitions came to light. By the end of the Dragonsong War, Amal had lost that little spark of optimism, or at least buried it beneath his grief. He existed only to do what needed to be done, and his victories-- though important-- felt incredibly hollow. More and more he was convinced he was the wrong man for the job, that if he had been stronger or perhaps someone else entirely, Haurchefant wouldn't have died. And this guilt would follow him into the next adventure, and the one after that, while he pushed through it for the sake of the Scions.
STORMBLOOD
Amal played the role of hero but his spirit wasn't in it. The conflict against Garlemald hit a fever pitch and he was everyone's ace up their sleeve, fighting for independence for two countries he had no ties to as a diplomatic favor. Of course he felt for the subjugated, and of course he didn't support Garlemald in the slightest, but to him it became less about the Resistance and more about taking out his anger and frustration on imperial forces as he cursed his powerlessness. More blood was spilled, and in the end he was even denied the chance to put Zenos' reign to an end, as the prince took his own life. Naturally that wasn't meant to last, though, and he would end up facing down Zenos again and nearly losing to the Ascian possessing his body, as his friends fell unconscious and were spirited to another realm.
SHADOWBRINGERS
That other realm held a familiar voice, the tone of a friend. He heeded the siren's call as he had no other choice at that point and discovered more about the workings of the reflections, the truths hidden from him by Hydaelyn, and how much he hated self-sacrifice. G'raha Tia had taken everything Amal had started and turned it into something beautiful and hopeful and everlasting, had saved these people had given his bitter journey meaning, and only then did Amal finally begin to realize he wasn't alone. No one else was going to do this hero stuff for him. He wasn't destined to be here, though-- he was doing this by his own volition, now. And so, he made a promise he intended to keep: a promise to take his old friend G'raha on a new adventure when they returned home.
Naturally, they only got a brief reprieve before Zenos and his pet cackling robed wizard started bringing about the apocalypse, so this adventure would have to be postponed.
ENDWALKER
After establishing Sharlayan as the base of operations, the Scions decided to split their forces and sent Thancred, Urianger, the WoL, and Estinien to Thavnair. Amal was reluctant to return to Radz-at-Han because of his outstanding criminal record and the bounty on his head. While he got a few searching looks from the guards, no one actually arrested him (mysterious)... The Scions were able to thwart Fandaniel's activities and save the kidnapped citizens. After this, they were granted an audience with the true leader of Thavnair, Vrtra the Dragon. Amal did not expect that the king was a freaking dragon and was stunned. He inquired about his record, and Vrtra went on about how people had been falling through the cracks for some time and Amal had obviously proven himself, though Vrtra warned him that should he return to that life of crime, there would be consequences. Amal acknowledged this and instead pledged that he wanted to help others in his situation.
The meeting was cut short by the end of the world, however. Amal raced across Ilsabard, trying to save Garlemald to no avail. Then, later, he returned to Thavnair only to see the land beset upon by horrid beasts devouring aether and souls. Among the victims were people in the village he'd learned how to fish from. Tragic. This was a very low point for Amal, and he almost gave up hope. Thankfully his friends were there to help him process the trauma, which saw him breaking down for a while. Then Zenos led him on a chase to the moon, where Fandaniel went crazy and sacrificed himself to revive Zodiark (incomplete as he might be).
Searching for answers led Amal to travel to the First and then back in time. He met the woman who would become Hydaelyn and learned about the plight of the Ancients, as well as the cause of the End of Days. They fought Hydaelyn to prove they could handle the true threat, and then Venat died.
Together he and his crew set out to the end of the universe in a cool ship, but then everyone sacrificed themselves to make a path for Amal to walk up to the Big Nihility Boss. It was very sad. Amal defeated her and then fought Zenos in a duel for the ages, reaper against reaper. Victory was costly as he was run through and nearly died, except his friends teleported him back to safety and healed him in time. Whew!
DAWNTRAIL
Amal was asked by a friend and local hot bunny man Erenville to meet Wuk Lamat, a princess who hailed from across the sea. Very exciting. They got along like oil and fire. Though not keen to involve himself in politics he really liked Wuk Lamat so he accepted her offer, and thus became her bodyguard for the Rite of Succession. He did all of this as a paladin also to prove that he could learn how to protect people. When things turned bad and Alexandria invaded, he stayed by her side, and helped her against Queen Sphene. Then, deciding he loved how spicy the food was, he decided to hang around a little while and see if G'raha might join him. Yay.