Zuzunzo Papanzo

Zuzunzo Papanzo
The Loyal Blade
"Is it really for the best?"
OOC Character Information
Main Job(s):	• Ninja
Main Tradeskill:	• Carpenter
Preferred Role:	DPS
Server:	Balmung
Status
Alignment:	Neutral
Reputation:	Local
Occupation:	• Hired Muscle/Security
Education:	Tutored
Marital Status:	Single
Sexuality:	Bi-Curious
Guardian:	Halone, the Fury
Free Company
The Sultana's Gambit <Jewel>
Items Carried
See: Current Inventory
Characteristics
Race:	Lalafell
Clan:	Dunsefolk
Age:	24
Height:	3 fulm, 1 ilm
Weight:	~About 60 ponze unarmored, up to 90 ponze in full kit.
Eyes:	Peach
Hair:	Celeste Green
Complexion:	Fair with the barest tan, sparse light brown freckles.
Physical Build:	Small, fit, with a little pudge.
Notable Features:	No notable features.

Attributes
	Strength	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		P.Defense	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Dexterity	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		M.Defense	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Martial Prowess	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Intelligence	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █
	Magic Affinity	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █		Luck	█ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █ █

Character

General

A former Brass Blade. Zuzu's an idealistic soldier at heart, known to most as a brave and accomplished sellsword, even despite his race's small stature. Above all else, he is strong-willed and fiercely loyal to his friends and loved ones. He treats his peers with respect, his work with vigor, and his training with passion.

A little shy when meeting new people, he'll often adopt a fairly polite demeanor, a habit taught to him in his youth for use in social gatherings with nobles and his family's business partners. With a little time, this facade will quickly give way to the almost boyish soul underneath. He's quick with a lame jape and is always happy to forge new friendships.

Appearance

Zuzu's skin is surprisingly fair despite his time spent out in the desert sun, a sparse amount of freckles decorate his cheeks and nose. His face is round and topped with a head of celeste green hair that appears well kept, albeit a bit shaggy. His long ears protrude horizontally outward on either side, ending in brown tipped points. Thin brows angle slightly inward above his peach-hued irises, giving him a resting "slightly annoyed" expression.

Standing just a bit over 3 fulms tall, Zuzu's a little taller than your average lalafell. He has a fairly small build and aside from some healthy pudge, he's in excellent shape.

Nowadays Zuzu's rarely seen donning much armor, often preferring mobility and evasiveness to defense. He dresses mostly in cloths and leathers with minimal metal plating, if any at all. Even when his sword isn't at hand he's nearly never unarmed, almost always concealing knives on his person.

History

Zuzunzo Papanzo was a merchant's son, his father Vavanzi Nananzi worked as a weapon merchant, boasting a contract to equip the entirety of the Brass Blades in Ul'dah and strong connections with the Syndicate that controlled them. Vavanzi met Zuzu's mother Reremi Remi through a business deal, Remi's nobleman father offering her hand in marriage in exchange for a more favorable contract. This union first bore Zuzu's eldest sister Luluru Luru, who would later shirk her duties to take over the family business in favor of enlisting with the Immortal Flames, ending in her disownment.

Zuzu was the second born, but the only son. After Luru left, her duties became his though he openly idolized her, much to his father's dismay. His childhood was spent with tutors and nurses, his mother was quite the lush, his only quality time with her being when she would drag him and his baby sister out to parade around parties and other high-class social gatherings. Just as Zuzu looked up to his elder sister, she too, quickly grew a fondness for him, seeing much of herself in the kind, idealistic young lalafell. Luru frequently visited Zuzu, sneaking him out of whatever lessons he was being subjected to in favor of listening to her proudly recite grand stories of her time in the Flames. Eventually, Zuzu even talked her into teaching him how to wield a sword, though it was only the basics, his knack for swordplay was already apparent at this point.

Years passed and Zuzu, like his elder sister, grew dissatisfied with the idea of taking over for his father. The now fourteen-year-old dreamed of valiantly fighting for his nation as she does, of course when Vavanzi caught wind of this notion he came down harder on Zuzu. Further restricting his sister Luru's access to her little brother in an effort to prevent her "corrupting" influence. This would prove to have an unwanted effect, being the push Zuzu needed to finally make the decision to flee. The young lalafell sought refuge in the Gladiator's Guild with the help of some of Luru's friends, where he would train for the next few years in the hopes of joining the Grand Company to which Luru belonged.

During this time Luluru Luru achieved the rank of Flame Captain, even leading a squadron of her own. This afforded her a front-row seat to the intensifying conflict with the Garlean Empire and the possibly grim outcome it might result in. When Zuzu finally tried to join the Flames at seventeen, Luru used whatever favors or influence she could muster to secretly block his application. Luluru knew that Zuzu was motivated and sufficiently skilled but still couldn't bring herself to allow him to face the dangers that lurked just over the horizon.

Zuzu was frustrated, his pride took a blow being denied from the same Grand Company that his elder sister was able to join when she was but two years younger than he was now. He sought purpose, a way to fight for his home, to use his skills to benefit his nation. The Brass Blades seemed like an obvious second choice for the young lalafell, his privileged position growing up afforded him only positive experiences with the force despite the rumors of abuse and corruption within their ranks. Of course, he was accepted, proving more competent than many of the other enlistees and having familial connections with their benefactors.

Not even a year after Zuzunzo Papanzo enlisted with the Brass Blades, the calamity struck, shaking the three great nations to their core and causing the death of his elder sister alongside many of her comrades. The influx of refugees stressed Ul'dah's social and economic infrastructure, all of which Zuzu witnessed first hand. The corruption of his peers only grew more apparent to him in their mistreatment of the displaced peoples of Eorzea and beyond. It was an affront to his sister's sacrifice, the state his home nation was in, the selfishness and greed that thrived in the misfortune of others. For the next few years, Zuzu would become increasingly outspoken about the state of things, oftentimes actively reporting any cases of abused authority or brutality that he encountered. Eventually even serving as an inside informant to the Scions of the Second Dawn.

Zuzunzo's actions didn't go unnoticed by the Syndicate, while he alone didn't really hinder their goals, he and his self-righteousness was still a nuisance that they'd rather be rid of. The only problem being Vavanzi, Zuzu's father, whom despite feeling betrayed by his progeny, still didn't wish them come to harm, actively using his influence to prevent any action from being taken against his son. While this struggle went on, Mememo Memo, Zuzu's baby sister, approached the Syndicate with a deal. Familial neglect and emotional abuse had seared away whatever connection she once had with her parents and siblings. The deal was thusly, she would assist in assassinating Vavanzi and prove to be a more pliable business partner in his place, in exchange all they must do is offer her an exclusive contract and pin the murder onto her brother Zuzu.

The plan went off without a hitch, Vavanzi was found with Zuzunzo's sword driven through his gut, and his blood speckled onto Zuzu's uniform. Zuzu was forced to flee, finding himself shunned and hunted by the very people he once saw as comrades. Since then, the lalafellen swordsman has sought refuge within the seedy underbelly of Ul'dah, being forced to comprimise his values in order to get by. What does the future hold for Zuzu, and will he ever be able to clear his name? Only time will tell.

Combat

General

Zuzu was initially trained as a swordsman in the Ul'dahn Gladiator's Guild along with several supplementary lessons in swordplay from his older sister Luru. While he never compared to the sheer strength or endurance of his larger peers, he adapted, opting to instead take advantage of his small stature and nimble body to outmaneuver his opponents. It would be years later until an unassuming Doman refugee saw Zuzu's potential after he stood up against a few of his fellow Brass Blades who had taken to extorting her and her kin. The mysterious woman took Zuzu under her wing, teaching him the principles of Ninjutsu and knifeplay. He took to her tutelage well, though she vanished before he could complete his training. Despite this Zuzu nearly mastered all of what she had taught him, supplementing what formal training he was still missing with his own self-taught style.

This somewhat strange combination of teachings means that the core of Zuzu's combat style revolves around mobility and the ability to strike quickly from a multitude of angles, all while taking advantage of his opponent's momentary blind spots. While he's fairly competent with a few basic ninjutsu, he prefers not to attack with them directly, instead, utilizing such techniques as a distraction or to throw off an enemy's guard.

Tendencies

Likes

• Honing his skills
• Feeling useful
• Sunny weather
• Spending time with his comrades
• Going on patrol
• Baked sweets
• Spiced rum

Dislikes

• Dishonesty
• Most of his family
• Being the center of attention
• Huge Hornets and insects of similar size (Result of trauma leftover from a near death experience in early childhood)
• Being away from home for too long

Hobbies/Talents

• Swordplay/Knifeplay
• Acrobatics
• A fairly decent singer, though he's too embarrassed to ever perform when not alone or sufficiently intoxicated.
• Carpentry/Woodcarving