Zᴇ

name: "Ze"
age: 27
nameday: Sixth Umbral Moon, 19th sun [12/19]
race: Keeper of the Moon
appearance:
    height: 68.2 inches (5'8")
    hair: black, straight. drawn back into a ponytail.
            tail one big long tuft of fluff. shedding implied.
    eyes: right visible, unusual white iris.
             left hidden, luminescent white, no pupil.
             [ x ]
    features: tribal markings.
                  left side of face always hidden by a black bandana
                      or his hair.
                  aether is "okay" but severely tilted towards light.
abilities:
    ➢ warrior
            to have the strength to take another step. [ ᴇᴡ / ᴅᴛ ]
        dark-knight
            to be at peace with oneself. [ ʜᴡ / sʙ / sʜʙ ]
        paladin
            to begin life anew. [ ᴀʀʀ ]

    Once youthful and impetuous, a vain would-be hero with dreams of the impossible. Now twice-bitten and made wary, he has grown resilient- a wall that will weather any storm. Having chosen pride and his sense-of-self over all else, he is outspoken and will not be cowed- for better or for worse. And though there are some parts of himself he cannot yet reconcile, there are many others he has learned to embrace throughout his journeys.

    Having learned to hold tight where he may and to let go when he must, he is fiercely devoted to his role as a protector and those whom he holds dear even though he knows he cannot save them all. It is a burden that pushes him forward just as it weighs him down. His capacity to reason has improved vastly as he's aged, even if his bleeding heart has not. He cannot help but long to save those he knows he must strike down and mourns those whom he could never have helped to begin with. And though it festers- failure and fallibility stinging sharp- he has learned to hold tight those feelings of inadequacy. To forgive.

    He can be a little cocky at times, though he readily accepts a slap back to reality. His humor often ill-befits the moment. In the midst of battle he is every bit the beast he has been claimed to be. Yet though he may throw himself into the tides of battle, he no longer allows himself to be swept away. Savage and cunning, he is the greatest force upon the field of battle and with it- the largest target.

First son and twin to a second daughter, Ze was born to a small but close community. Beneath his mother and sister's guidance, he became a skilled hunter... and a poacher at odds with Gridania's Wailers, clashing time and again in an effort to survive.

However what began as a life of unquestioning obedience detracted when- in a moment of uncertainty- his mother saved his sister and he was left to find his own way back, dodging Wailers well into the darkened gloom of the Shroud at night. Though he was welcomed with relief and warmth, leaving no question he was loved and treasured, in his heart the act was tantamount to betrayal and he couldn't help but feel the differences in their treatment from that moment on. A belief that he would never be first in her heart. (And, eventually, in no other's.) Bitterness and resentment built and festered throughout the years until one single moment of rebellion- a question voiced aloud- would his mother give him a name of his own? Would she see him independent, a person of his own like his sister- separate of their mother and capable of leading a community?

To his mother, the question- and the desire behind it- was cruel to her heart and their family. She dismissed it- and him in the process. Though he never spoke of it again, when he came of age he left the community and, in an act of hurt, spiteful pettiness, left behind both the Shroud and all that tied him to Keeper culture. Discarding his birth name and the bow with which he had learned to hunt, he traveled to Limsa Lominsa to begin life anew.

The rest, as they say, is history.

A little naive, a little foolish, a little hotheaded... early in his adventuring life he found it difficult to say no and harder yet when he began to gather fame. Ul'dah was a turning point, sowing a seed of rage that did not fully unfurl its leaves until the events following The Vault. For a time he was in a poor place- mentally and emotionally. More given to anger, rage and mercilessness. It was this way during the attack on Rhalgr's and much the same throughout the Steppe. At what point this abated few can say, save that after an impromptu visit to Gyr Abania he seemed a man renewed- still solemn in many ways but more resolved in others. Laughter returned, tentative, but there and resilient in his expressions.

Upon the First his old, bad habit returned- an inability to say no. A desire to keep pushing on and on, well past limits he knew were being sorely tested. Holding distrust in his heart in many respects but a desire to be all that was expected and more, he endured and endured... until he could not. And though all was resolved in the end, his body will bear the mark of those events until such a time none can say. Amber-hazel eyes forever altered, it is a reminder that even he, with all his fortune and blessings, is as frail and weak as was accused.

Even so, he walks onward. As for the rest, well...

backtagging: kind of a way of life tbh.
fourthwalling: your char will be labeled a nutter, but otherwise fine by me.
contact/fighting/death/etc.: generally yes. i don't really have a lot of hangups. shoot me a dm if you wanna establish cr or just go for broke and i'll adjust as need be.
relationships: long-n-short of it- yes. i am down to ship anything but the only true issue ze has is with romance/commitment/relationships due to complications stemming from his inferiority complex/imposter syndrome. for that reason he doesn't have a "default" partner, which really just means anything is possible (with a lot of work.)

however, ze has a great deal of toxic behavior that may make some people uncomfortable. sort of imagine the most paranoid, jealous, oblivious sot you possibly could and all the ways that might come out in your day-to-day interactions. the most innocuous comment being perceived as either proof positive they would pursue a better partner or that it somehow implies he is unworthy. i tend to rp ze as someone who will improve over time in matters like this but that does not mean the behavior will vanish overnight nor that it won't resurface. as this is an integral part of his character, the only ways to avoid this potentially unwanted trait are to either avoid shipping or go straight to "happily ever after" endgame. o/

tl;dr: yes.