Clive Rosfield (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rosarianoath) wrote2023-09-14 12:10 am
rosarianoath) wrote2023-09-14 12:10 am
Entry tags:
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neonrequiem
OOC:
Player Handle: Jenn
Contact: victoryfanfare on plurk
Pronouns: She/her
Invite/Current Player: link to invite
Other Characters: n/a
IC:
Character Name: Clive Rosfield
Age: 33
Canon: Final Fantasy XVI (16)
Canon Point: During the final battle at the end of the game. He assumes he has died during the final strike, failing in his mission.
CRAU: n/a
History: Clive @ the Final Fantasy wiki.
Personality:
Clive Rosfield was born the first child of the Duke of Rosaria. Princely and privileged as the titles conferred upon him at birth may be, his childhood was not so charmed. The local deity, the Phoenix, overlooked him, instead determining his sickly younger brother, Joshua, as successor to the throne. The consequence of being passed over by the Phoenix was twofold First, Clive was relegated to service to his brother — as the Phoenix’s shield, he would be expected to turn over his life as soon as necessary. While Clive took this duty seriously, it instilled in him the belief that his life had minimal meaning beyond that singular purpose. Second, it meant the petty nobility of Rosaria deemed Clive the product of his father’s indiscretion. His mother, appearing incapable of producing a strong and healthy heir, made it clear to her eldest every single day that he was an unwanted failure. When the duchy was invaded and annexed by an opposing state, and Joshua and the Duke killed, her final act towards Clive was to sell him into slavery. He would labour, heartbroken, for thirteen years.
Clive has learned, in the many years since, that he has to make something of himself on his own terms. Liberated in his late twenties by the man who would become his mentor, near suicidal with anger, he poured himself into vengeance, only to discover he could serve and protect more than just one boy –– he could pour his heart and strength into righting the wrongs of the world. As an adult, he’s found himself a future as an outlaw, a Robin Hood leading a community of freedmen and allies in revolution. Together they free enslaved people, encourage rebellions, and try to make a life worth living. His vision is powerful, immense beyond what he imagined himself for the entirety of his life: he looks upon a bitter, violent and cruel world and sees the opportunity to remake it, even when most are so demoralized they cannot imagine a world without the gross injustices plaguing it.
He's also unpopular for this. To the vast majority of the population, "Cid the Outlaw" is a threat. He intends to destroy the source of all magic, even if it means plunging Valisthea into decades, if not hundreds of years, of turmoil –– nations will fall, countless populations will die or have to flee starvation and ruin, and no one will really understand why it had to happen. This is a land so reliant on magic that no one has bothered to invent a simple firestarter in thousands of years, and Clive would sooner see the world reborn than languish in injustice.
But he makes for an odd leader at times: he’s not ambitious in making choices, nor creative in his problem solving. He is responsible and committed to his duties, but often needs to be told where to go and what to do — he is functionally a weapon, and a very good one, but he can’t look at the complexities of a political situation without turning away, as it would require him to interrogate his own place in the world. He’s content to be its hero, its protector, but he can’t bear to do more than acknowledge the cruelties inflicted on him, lest he crumble under the weight of his personal anguishes. He can barely stomach that he's played party to cruelties inflicted on others. And despite everywhere he's been and what he's seen, he is still naïve to the world and an outsider to how the average person lives, often quietly uncomfortable in social situations outside his people.
But what he lacks in charisma, he makes up for with unyielding amounts of hope. He clings to any good he can see in someone. This can be a tremendous boon, as his love for his friends and family is deep, and he approaches strangers with kindness and good faith. It also unfortunately reinforces a strong resistance to personal change. In many ways, he’s still the same as he was at fifteen: striving for approval, measuring his self-worth by what others think of him, bearing the full weight of criticism until he either snaps or simply collapses under the weight of it. He clings to his memory of his father not as a warmonger or a sycophant to his wife's abuse of their children, but as a caring man who aspired to end slavery despite never enacting that goal. He is polite and compassionate towards the prince of the nation that held him as a slave for thirteen years. He is helpful and sometimes even obedient to people who are nasty and cruel to his face –– even people who consider him subhuman. His lover, Jill, pleads with him: he's spent his whole life trying to save everyone else, but never once has he considered saving himself. He still doesn't. He protects himself by avoiding truths, both about himself and the world, and his loved ones often find it easier to clear a path for him than ask him to consider his own needs.
And despite his appearance –– tall, intimidating, with a near-permanent furrow to his brow –– he does wear his heart on his sleeve. He's a sentimental man, kneeling with the dying to listen to their last wishes as easily as he stops to help a child look for a lost "pet". (Don't ask why that's in quotation marks.) He's prone to tears when emotional, and earnest to the point of being a poor liar. His dramatic streak is subtle, at first glance, but this is a man who can recite and perform scenes from stage-plays from memory, laments over having disturbed a wild bird's nest, and avoids swearing in the presence of women. He is competitive in battle, and impossible to keep in one place for too long. He’s a bleeding heart for children and young soldiers, fast at home with fellow soldiers, and looser with praise than he thinks. He has a supportive word for anyone who needs one. Despite all that he's seen and known, he clings to a fairytale that goodness can prevail alongside power. The world hasn't made him bitter, and that matters to him deeply.
When he's not traveling the world, slaying tyrants and destroying the powers-that-be, he likes reading fairytales and history books, hunting rare beasts, collecting music, and playing with his direwolf, Torgal.
Abilities: Firstly, he was trained since childhood for war. He is very, very good at combat, specifically in the use of a longsword. That said, he's far from untouchable. Sometimes you're too slow, sometimes you misjudge, sometimes the other guy is just better. He's got the scars to prove it.
Second, Clive is a Dominant. This is the in-universe term for a person who is the current host to one of the world's gods. Dominants can wield the god's power at will, often in a semi-transformed state, but they can also transform entirely into the god's natural form. Clive is specifically the Dominant of Ifrit, a hellfire demon. He will not transform into Ifrit outside of extremely niche, life-or-death scenarios. This is perhaps a good thing: aside from not leveling your city, mortal bodies were not made to channel a god's full power, so overuse will kill the host.
Third, Clive was born to be Mythos –– a human vessel for the fantasy anti-Christ, essentially. This allows him to take power from others, specifically from other vessels for gods. So if you're not also a god vessel: you're safe! On Clive's part, he can wield fire, air, lightning, earth, ice, light and dark. This is strictly elemental magic, and aside from the odd party trick like lighting candles, he doesn't tend to use his magicks for anything outside of combat. Using magick comes at a physical cost to its user, so he limits it where possible.
Inventory: Clive comes with two swords, a suit of leather armour, a black cloak, an earring, and a belt pouch containing a pressed daisy and a red velvet handkerchief. He wasn't expecting to end up anywhere where he'd need things :(
Eternal Reward: I'm sorry about how fucking insane this sounds but he wants magic to no longer exist, as that will end slavery.
Goals/Ideas: God I love this question.
I would love to dig my greedy little claws into and write:
Samples: Like 30 tags on the TDM.
Secret Code Phrase: All glory to the Neon Hypnotoad!
Player Handle: Jenn
Contact: victoryfanfare on plurk
Pronouns: She/her
Invite/Current Player: link to invite
Other Characters: n/a
IC:
Character Name: Clive Rosfield
Age: 33
Canon: Final Fantasy XVI (16)
Canon Point: During the final battle at the end of the game. He assumes he has died during the final strike, failing in his mission.
CRAU: n/a
History: Clive @ the Final Fantasy wiki.
Personality:
Clive Rosfield was born the first child of the Duke of Rosaria. Princely and privileged as the titles conferred upon him at birth may be, his childhood was not so charmed. The local deity, the Phoenix, overlooked him, instead determining his sickly younger brother, Joshua, as successor to the throne. The consequence of being passed over by the Phoenix was twofold First, Clive was relegated to service to his brother — as the Phoenix’s shield, he would be expected to turn over his life as soon as necessary. While Clive took this duty seriously, it instilled in him the belief that his life had minimal meaning beyond that singular purpose. Second, it meant the petty nobility of Rosaria deemed Clive the product of his father’s indiscretion. His mother, appearing incapable of producing a strong and healthy heir, made it clear to her eldest every single day that he was an unwanted failure. When the duchy was invaded and annexed by an opposing state, and Joshua and the Duke killed, her final act towards Clive was to sell him into slavery. He would labour, heartbroken, for thirteen years.
Clive has learned, in the many years since, that he has to make something of himself on his own terms. Liberated in his late twenties by the man who would become his mentor, near suicidal with anger, he poured himself into vengeance, only to discover he could serve and protect more than just one boy –– he could pour his heart and strength into righting the wrongs of the world. As an adult, he’s found himself a future as an outlaw, a Robin Hood leading a community of freedmen and allies in revolution. Together they free enslaved people, encourage rebellions, and try to make a life worth living. His vision is powerful, immense beyond what he imagined himself for the entirety of his life: he looks upon a bitter, violent and cruel world and sees the opportunity to remake it, even when most are so demoralized they cannot imagine a world without the gross injustices plaguing it.
He's also unpopular for this. To the vast majority of the population, "Cid the Outlaw" is a threat. He intends to destroy the source of all magic, even if it means plunging Valisthea into decades, if not hundreds of years, of turmoil –– nations will fall, countless populations will die or have to flee starvation and ruin, and no one will really understand why it had to happen. This is a land so reliant on magic that no one has bothered to invent a simple firestarter in thousands of years, and Clive would sooner see the world reborn than languish in injustice.
But he makes for an odd leader at times: he’s not ambitious in making choices, nor creative in his problem solving. He is responsible and committed to his duties, but often needs to be told where to go and what to do — he is functionally a weapon, and a very good one, but he can’t look at the complexities of a political situation without turning away, as it would require him to interrogate his own place in the world. He’s content to be its hero, its protector, but he can’t bear to do more than acknowledge the cruelties inflicted on him, lest he crumble under the weight of his personal anguishes. He can barely stomach that he's played party to cruelties inflicted on others. And despite everywhere he's been and what he's seen, he is still naïve to the world and an outsider to how the average person lives, often quietly uncomfortable in social situations outside his people.
But what he lacks in charisma, he makes up for with unyielding amounts of hope. He clings to any good he can see in someone. This can be a tremendous boon, as his love for his friends and family is deep, and he approaches strangers with kindness and good faith. It also unfortunately reinforces a strong resistance to personal change. In many ways, he’s still the same as he was at fifteen: striving for approval, measuring his self-worth by what others think of him, bearing the full weight of criticism until he either snaps or simply collapses under the weight of it. He clings to his memory of his father not as a warmonger or a sycophant to his wife's abuse of their children, but as a caring man who aspired to end slavery despite never enacting that goal. He is polite and compassionate towards the prince of the nation that held him as a slave for thirteen years. He is helpful and sometimes even obedient to people who are nasty and cruel to his face –– even people who consider him subhuman. His lover, Jill, pleads with him: he's spent his whole life trying to save everyone else, but never once has he considered saving himself. He still doesn't. He protects himself by avoiding truths, both about himself and the world, and his loved ones often find it easier to clear a path for him than ask him to consider his own needs.
And despite his appearance –– tall, intimidating, with a near-permanent furrow to his brow –– he does wear his heart on his sleeve. He's a sentimental man, kneeling with the dying to listen to their last wishes as easily as he stops to help a child look for a lost "pet". (Don't ask why that's in quotation marks.) He's prone to tears when emotional, and earnest to the point of being a poor liar. His dramatic streak is subtle, at first glance, but this is a man who can recite and perform scenes from stage-plays from memory, laments over having disturbed a wild bird's nest, and avoids swearing in the presence of women. He is competitive in battle, and impossible to keep in one place for too long. He’s a bleeding heart for children and young soldiers, fast at home with fellow soldiers, and looser with praise than he thinks. He has a supportive word for anyone who needs one. Despite all that he's seen and known, he clings to a fairytale that goodness can prevail alongside power. The world hasn't made him bitter, and that matters to him deeply.
When he's not traveling the world, slaying tyrants and destroying the powers-that-be, he likes reading fairytales and history books, hunting rare beasts, collecting music, and playing with his direwolf, Torgal.
Abilities: Firstly, he was trained since childhood for war. He is very, very good at combat, specifically in the use of a longsword. That said, he's far from untouchable. Sometimes you're too slow, sometimes you misjudge, sometimes the other guy is just better. He's got the scars to prove it.
Second, Clive is a Dominant. This is the in-universe term for a person who is the current host to one of the world's gods. Dominants can wield the god's power at will, often in a semi-transformed state, but they can also transform entirely into the god's natural form. Clive is specifically the Dominant of Ifrit, a hellfire demon. He will not transform into Ifrit outside of extremely niche, life-or-death scenarios. This is perhaps a good thing: aside from not leveling your city, mortal bodies were not made to channel a god's full power, so overuse will kill the host.
Third, Clive was born to be Mythos –– a human vessel for the fantasy anti-Christ, essentially. This allows him to take power from others, specifically from other vessels for gods. So if you're not also a god vessel: you're safe! On Clive's part, he can wield fire, air, lightning, earth, ice, light and dark. This is strictly elemental magic, and aside from the odd party trick like lighting candles, he doesn't tend to use his magicks for anything outside of combat. Using magick comes at a physical cost to its user, so he limits it where possible.
Inventory: Clive comes with two swords, a suit of leather armour, a black cloak, an earring, and a belt pouch containing a pressed daisy and a red velvet handkerchief. He wasn't expecting to end up anywhere where he'd need things :(
Eternal Reward: I'm sorry about how fucking insane this sounds but he wants magic to no longer exist, as that will end slavery.
Goals/Ideas: God I love this question.
I would love to dig my greedy little claws into and write:
- Okay, above I said Clive is an extremely hopeful person. And it's true! But at this canon point, he's taken a huge emotional blow and now believes it has all been for nothing, and he's going to take that like a cinderblock to the teeth. I would love for him to be a little lost and unruly for a bit.
- Clive reckoning with the death that he's been pretty cavalier about most of his life. He's always seen his life as something to lay down as-needed –– note his title is shield, not knight –– and he's generally happy to do so, of course, but without purpose, death is just an exit from a meaningless life. I'd really love to explore what happens when Clive assumes he has died attempting to accomplish his goals, and has to wrestle with his grief to find meaning in limbo. (The game's timeskips gleefully breeze right past years of grief, so this is familiar but largely unexplored territory!)
- Relationship drama. My friend will be apping Jill and we'd love to dig into how dysfunctional their relationship is, removed from the context of their world. Clive loves her, but he's also not fully emotionally open with her, and would be extremely likely to break it off with her for her own good. Ideally this is a yearlong (or longer) arc where they get to know each other again on new ground and maybe get back together again (or maybe don't!!) but RP is an adventure and we'll see where that goes! (We are also hoping to keep them apart for the first few weeks, so they can establish some CR independently before reunited; I'm thinking handwaving they came in on different trains/orientation sessions, but if the Modly Ones have some mechanism we can play with, that's fun too!)
- I'd like for Clive to tangle with having relatively "normal" life. I'm not a huge slice-of-life writer, generally, but I think he's a very particular character where there's some meaty stuff to be found in the small moments, like learning to have fun, learning to relax, learning to stay in one place for a while. He's never known anything but struggle, and while I certainly don't want him to be bored, I think it could slowly infuse him with hope for the future to get to see how easy life COULD be.
Samples: Like 30 tags on the TDM.
Secret Code Phrase: All glory to the Neon Hypnotoad!