Aron Royce

The Ruby of Thavnair

About

Name: Aron Royce
Age: 74 (appears to be in mid twenties)
Race: Rava Viera
Gender: Male (transgender male, he/him)
Relationship Status: Mourning
Height: 6'1"
Profession: Dancer, mercenary
Hobbies: Hunting, bartending

Aron stands taller than the average Viera man, reaching just an ilm over six fulms tall. He boasts a toned, athletic build with tanned skin marred by few scars, save for two neat scars underneath his pecs.

He's a performer at heart, a man used to putting on a smile and a show for the entertainment of others. His hygeine is near-impeccable with rarely a hair out of place, and he exudes a subtle scent of sandalwood perfume. When he performs, he's adorned in light, flowing garments adorned with gold and gems, but even offstage he has a keen sense for stylish clothes in reds, golds, browns, and blacks.

Notable mannerisms: He often picks at a tightly-braided band on his wrist. Hannish characters may recognize it as a traditional woven bracelet and protection talisman, used as a gift between lovers.

Personality

Strengths:

Outgoing - Years as a performer have eroded any fear of people Aron ever had. He has no issue approaching others, putting on a show when ne needs to be the center of attention. Because of this, he's a near-ideal distraction.

Affable - He's a master at polite and friendly words. It's questionable whether or not he actually means them, but for the most part, he's easy to get along with and can provide a good listening ear.

Confident - Bold, poised, and beautiful: during Aron's dancer training, he learned to be all of these. If he has doubts in his own abilities, he isn't one to easily express them, especially when he feels the need to be a reassuring and stable figure to someone in need.

Observant - Plenty of time spent around people developed a keen sense for subtle social cues in Aron. He's good at reading body language in particular, and his ears afford him hearing keen enough to catch sounds that most other races would miss.

Weaknesses:

Vain - Aron's appearance is extremely important in his line of work. He can spend anywhere from minutes to hours on his appearance on any given day, leaning towards the latter when he wants to make a good impression (which is most of the time). Any small mistake will leave him distraught.

Commitment Issues - He'll have a hard time settling down anywhere, or with anyone. He's very used to traveling from job to job, and even his most favored clients have failed to tie him down so far. He'll find whatever excuses he can to turn down extended commitments, or at least shift them to be able to end on his own terms.

Secretive - He may be one to try to coax secrets from others, but he keeps his own secrets under lock and key. He isn't afraid to show a little vulnerability when he can benefit from it, but it'll take time and patience for him to truly open up to another.

Overworked - Aron has a tendency to lose himself in his work and forget about his own needs, often resulting in him over-exerting himself. In the best case, he just needs a short rest. In the worst case, he injures himself and needs a few days to weeks of rest to fully recover.

OOC Info

Mateus (Crystal) - EST - 21+ - he/him - kai#0004 (Discord)

I'm a bi trans man and a recent college graduate preparing to get a job as a programmer! I enjoy writing and RPing in both FFXIV and Mass Effect. My posts are typically one to two paragraphs long, but I can generally mirror who I'm RPing with.

I'm usually available in the afternoons and evenings and can go earlier/later on weekends. Just please understand if I'm too busy with my job search to set up RP on some days.

Note: Aron experiences gender dysphoria. Even though he's transitioned to a point that he's satisfied with already, this may still come up in some RP scenes! If you're uncomfortable with this, please let me know. I'm alright with characters not fully understanding his identity as long as you avoid misgendering him or using derogatory terms when speaking about him OOCly.

Dos:

Don'ts:

Aron may be a courtesan on the side, but I'm not comfortable doing ERP without a good narrative reason. I don't want to get off or help someone else get off— I just want to tell a good story.

Romance will be hard to attain with him, as he's dealing with the fresh grief of losing his lover due to Endwalker MSQ events. I'm not averse to the idea if there's the appropriate chemistry, but it'll take a long time before he's ready to love again.

Screenshots

Hooks / Rumors

Hooks:

Rumors:

Common

Uncommon

If you have anything else in mind, please feel free to bring it up to me! I'd be glad to plot and work with you.

History

1. Misfit

(CW: Gender dysphoria)

Aron's forest name, which tribe he was born to in the Golmore, his biological family— in the greater world, these things are a mystery to all but himself. He was a kit eager to serve his tribe and the wood, but everything changed when his body began to reach maturity. Only then did he learn that he was female. Most young Viera in his tribe accepted their biological sex, but Aron felt out of place in his own body.

He knew that he was a man. He felt it every time his changing body inspired shame and disgust, and every time he looked to the rare Wood Warder with unending envy. He wanted to find a way to stop these changes, to turn him from a woman to a man, but the shamans of his tribe held none. The turmoil in his mind was too much to bear. With no solution at hand, he decided to leave the forest in search of one.

2. Mentorship

All went well, at first. As his mother taught him to, he hunted and preserved meat to keep him sated as he left the outer reaches of the Golmore. But the farther he ventured from the wood, the more he struggled to hunt in unfamiliar territory. In a matter of weeks, he began to starve in the deserts outside Dalmasca. He was unprepared, young, reckless— and he was convinced that he was going to die alone.

Only then did a traveling Garlean named Royce find him. Royce took the young Viera under his wing, treating him as his own son as he trained Aron to fight and better fend for himself in the outer world. For years, they traveled around Othard and the Near East as mercenaries.

During these travels, Aron chose his name: Aron from one of his brothers, and Royce after the man who raised him. With his forest name discarded, the only remaining fragments of his tribal life were his first name and the patterns of black paint he adorned his cheek and nose with.

3. Metamorphosis

It wasn't until years later, when Aron and his adoptive father parted ways in Thavnair, that Aron found a solution to his gender dysphoria in the form of advanced Thavnairian alchemy. He agreed to be an ambitious alchemist's test subject, throwing himself at the mercy of experimental hormone replacement treatments.

He experienced a few complications, but for the most part, his treatments went well. After years of hormone treatment and an expensive surgery to remove his breasts, Aron's outer appearance matched his inner self, allowing him to shift his focus to building a life for himself in Radz-at-han.

4. Momentum

Ever since he first arrived in Radz-at-han, he had been enchanted by the dancers, envying their deadly grace. He spent more years training under some of the city's best dancers, learning the art of the Kriegstanz for himself. Those years were long and grueling, but by the end, he was able to emulate that same deadly grace that had enraptured him so.

He worked himself to the bone, practicing, performing, and socializing until his muscles ached and his throat went hoarse. In a city full of dancers like him, however, he struggled to make ends' meet. Just as he considered returning to the life of a mercenary, Aron managed to land a performance on a busy night in Meryde's Mehrane.

The novelty of a rare Viera man, as well as his captivating movements, landed him many more performances in the city. This surge of popularity gave him the exposure he needed to showcase his skills and cement himself as a prominent figure in Thavnairian dance.

Aron did whatever he could to advance his career, including selling his own body for exorbitant prices. He kept this up for decades, funding a lavish lifestyle far removed from his origins in the Golmore.

Years later, he was highly successful and well-respected amongst Thavnair's dancers, having even performed for one of the satrap's feasts. But after Thavnair was freed from a calamity's grasp, he started to travel, taking less performance jobs to allow him time for travels to Eorzea and the Far East.

What could drive such an accomplished performer to stray away from a life of comfortable luxury?

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