X'issi Sunde
| X'issi Sunde | |
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| Gender | Female |
| Race | Miqo'te |
| Clan | Seeker of the Sun - Lynx Tribe |
| Citizenship | Vylbrand |
| Age | 25 |
| Marital Status | Open Relationship |
| Occupation | Shop Owner, Dancer |
| Height/Weight | 4'9"ft / 102 lbs |
| Orientation | Pansexual |
| Relatives |
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X'issi Sunde (pronounced/she·ee·see sünde/) (Born: 1st Sun 3rd Astral Moon (May 1st) is a fun loving lynx tribe girl native to Vylbrand. Her whole life has been either in or out of the water. In fact, water is a very sacred element to her. She’s a calm surfer girl, who is fun loving, caring, and nurturing. She’s grounded, sensible, and often inspires hope and faith in her family and friends.
Issi is often considered ‘the mediator’ among her closest friends. Her mental stability and deep rooted calm energy is peaceful in nature and often acts to bring people together when there is something driving them apart.
Issi also acts as some what of a water priestess to her tribe. They worship Llymlaen primarily and send gifts out to sea with leis of flowers lead by a dancing girl (a priestess) from shore to surf. This bounty is often a prayer for the tribe itself, an offering for a good bounty of fish for their anglers, or a prayer for their pregnant mothers to have a safe birth, even a prayer that the Nunh may favor a woman from their small settlement. But at the head of these prayers in recent years has always been X'issi, leading her people into the surf, singing their song, and praying to Llymlaen. It’s quite a gift.
Contents
Basic Info
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Current Plot
With Kade's recent disappearance, X'issi has found herself a bit lost. Home doesn't really seem like home any more and she finds herself unwilling to remain and suffer through the pain of losing him again. So she skipped the first ferry out of town across the sea to Ul'dah. It was a spontaneous venture, but here she's determined to carve her own path into the world. To form her own story, free of her past, and hopefully to see lots of new and exciting things and make lots of friends.
As it stands she's well on her way already. She's made contact with Syrena Kalihd over an amusing exchange while bathing in the Goblet's warm waters. There she also met Orpheus Arkouda, both of which were generous to offer X'issi a home. Issi has currently taken residence with her fellow lynx-tribe member, Syrena, in the Sanctum's Song where she will soon become employed.
(... Backstory RP currently in progress, will update as it continues.)
Tribe Lore
- About X'issi’s Tribe and Dance:
- The strongest form of self expression within X'issi’s small ocean side tribe, is song and dance. Almost all members of the tribe, regardless of gender, dance in their own ways. Those who do not dance, however, play drums or other instruments and chant/sing for those who do. Tribe dancing consists mostly of hand and hip movements that closely resemble both Hawaiian and Tahitian dancing in our world, for example Hula. Dancers use elaborate body motion to tell great stories about the twelve and of their tribe’s history. Rolling hand and hip movements express stories about nature like the sway of the palms and the roll of the ocean waves.
- Women of the tribe often take woven baskets and hike into the inland jungle to gather local materials like fronds, coconuts, reeds, brightly colored flowers, and hemp. They use these materials to create costumes and accessories for their dances. While gathering the women often sing and chant together in unison to ask Oschron to keep them safe as they gather.
- Elaborate Leis and other flower based accessories are often strung together with shells and fronds for each member of the tribe to wear during important ceremonies such as prayer, visiting Nuhns, and offerings to the Twelve, namely Llymlaen who is the tribe’s patron deity. Leis worn during performances are considered sacred, are never to be worn again, and are afterwards cast into the surf with prayers and offerings to Llymlaen for bountiful fishing trips and calm seas.
- Among the tribe females danced topless, save for intricate leis and wrapped pareos about their hips. However, when visiting a neighboring tribe or if a tribe was visiting they would adorn their bosom in a beautifully beaded cloth wrap.
- Dances among the tribe could be performed spontaneously for daily amusement and for family events with no particular ceremony. X'issi often danced to her Father playing the Ukulele as a small cub growing up when she wasn’t being taught to dance by the tribe matrons. However, dance used for worship and to honor visiting Nunhs are very serious affairs.
- About Mating Rituals and Relationships:
- The lot of her tribe is made up of free spirited free thinkers. So love is not something that is strictly monogamous among them. As such it is not uncommon for a Miqo’te (male or female) to take more than one mate within X’issi’s tribe. What may be odd about her tribe however, is that same sex mates occur quite frequently. There is usually at least a male female coupling, but along with that the male might seek another male mate or vise versa.
- While a portion of the tribe is of course made up from the Nuhn’s offspring, tias still mate and have families of their own as well. The cubs often don’t grow up to be the fiercest warriors or hunters of the tribe, but they usually excel in other proficiencies. For example, Issi’s father, a Tia, has been an Angler for their tribe his entire life. His mate, her mother, was a dancer for her entire life as well.
- X'issi & Dancing
- X’issi has been dancing among her tribe quite literally before she could walk. Cubs are often taught to dance before they can fully stand, often mimicking the dances of their sitting parents. So dancing has been a part of her life for longer than she can remember.
- In recent years she has become one of the leading female dancers of her tribe. While she’s not the best, she’s still quite good and an apprentice to one of the elder matrons.
- She has a strong passion for being able to express herself and her stories through the dances her tribe has taught her. She very much views dance as a sacred art of expression, honor, and religious prayer to the Twelve.
- As such she is very adamant about sharing dance with others. So she’ll happily dance on the beach with tourists, teach them about her culture and tribe, and share with them her life experiences. However, she turns down all tips or form of payment for her time spent with them.
- While she believes that its perfectly fine for professional dancers to make coin for their profession, she feels she is committing a religious sin to accept payment for prayer and ceremony. I think a part of her feels that Llymlaen herself will set a mighty tempest upon her village should she commit such actions against her tribe’s sacred beliefs.
Employment
- Currently in Ul'dah: With X'issi moving away from Vylbrand to take up residence in Ul'dah and start a new life for herself after A'kade's recent disappearance she was invited to live at the Sanctum's Song after meeting Syrena Kalihd while bathing in the near by fountains. Originally she was paying for her residence by doing odd jobs (tending the bar, cleaning up) about the inn in exchange for board. However, recently thanks to Syrena, X'issi has taken up instruction to become one of Ul'dah's dancing girls in line to join up with Syrena's troupe.
- Note: Dance related to Ul'dah's dancing girls is completely separate from any sort of tribe dancing X'issi does. Tribal dancing is incredibly sacred to her, and would never be performed in the streets of Ul'dah for an audience. X'issi's tribal dancing is a form of prayer, expression, and is extremely sacred to her. Dancing in Ul'dah is learning a pre-set routine, a series of movements to perform, in sync with other girls. They are two completely different ideals.
- Past Employment (Vylbrand): In the past when X'issi was still living in Vylbrand she owned a Seaside Surf Shop which she retailed her handcrafted boards and surf wax at. To keep up rent on the Shack she would also work part time as a Surf/Swim instructor (in the early mornings), and also as a Bartender in Costa del Sol for Gegeruju. When Gegeruju begun seeking new forms of dance to interest his tourists in Costa del Sol he stumbled on to X'issi's tribe and their dances. To her dismay he managed to corner her into a very unfortunate situation. Either she danced to keep her Surf Shack, or she lost her Shack and her bartending job. Dancing came with perks however, allowing her time off from bar tending, having rent solidly paid on her shack, and in the end she reluctantly took the job dancing in Costa del Sol, even though it went against her beliefs. Its not something she's proud of.
Animals & Pets
- Thunk, a baby raptor chick. The two have been adventuring in La Noscea for years now. Issi found his egg abandoned. It’d floated down the river near Raincatcher Gully, and she’d noticed it washed up and slightly cracked among the rocks. Quick to move the tiny thing she’d brought it out into the sun to warm snuggled against her bosom where almost immediately after the egg had hatched and a wee baby raptor sat derpishly honking up at her. Almost instantly she’d become a mother.
- The derp turned out to have a slight mental condition, so in order for Issi to continue to care for him a small enchantment was placed upon the babe so that he would not age into an overgrown and potentially dangerous derp.
- He managed to earn his name, as most animals in Issi’s life do, by the way he often runs into walls. He tends to tilt his head back, tongue lolling out the side of his mouth, as he runs around… which results in him not being able to see where he’s going. Hence the name “Thunk.” To this day she devotes time and care to him on a daily basis. He’s one of the biggest joys in her life and she would be heartbroken without him.
Miscellaneous
X'issi’s tribe uses a combination of finely ground white sea shells and bones to create a soft paste like paint used on the body to show which branch of the tribe they belong to, what their life task within the tribe is, and who their parents are (and sometimes too their position in the tribe). Only holy people of the tribe are allowed to paint their face. Thus X’issi who is a water dancer and would lead their prayers was painted in this fashion to show that status within her tribe. Paint is applied every two to three days in the morning and washed away that same evening. A day’s hard work in the sun causes the lines of the paint to eventually tan into the skin so long as it is frequently maintained.
Above is the tanned version of X'issi’s full tribal paints. She would have worn them in this fashion while she still lived with them in Vylbrand. Today, in Ul'dah she still paints herself regularly though not quite this elaborately since she no longer serves as her tribe’s priestess. The mark on her bicep is still maintained, as is the mark on her neck. However the chin area has faded now, though there is still some very light spotting from where she used to paint beneath her eyes.
I should probably mention that the lightness above her eyes is not cosmetic and is actually merely the coloring of her flesh. Her lips are also nude in this artwork for reference sake, since she often goes without any sort of makeup.
Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard)
◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear)
◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard)
◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the character's of other players)
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Gallery
Footnotes
- X'issi's voice is inspired by (coming soon)
- Theme Song: "Fantasy" - Alina Baraz & Galimatias
- Website: FFXIV/Personal Tumblr Artist Website
- Template by Bancroft Gairn
