Character Survey

[bymyaxe]

Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy? Jetei is very tall by normal standards, but relatively average by Xaela standards - he is approximately 6'9". He's very skinny and a bit triangular in build, having broad shoulders with a slender waist.

2. How old is he? As of the end of the events of Shadowbringers, Jetei is 24.

3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch? As is typical with Au Ra, he slouches a lot, but will carry himself properly when he feels the situation calls for it.

4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities? Jetei is very much in shape and has a lean but muscular build to prove it. ... But his eyesight is awful. No tragic accident or what have you caused it - just genetics. Without his glasses on, everything is just a smeared mess of moving colors and vague shapes. He's usually good about keeping his glasses on, even during intense fights with lots of movement, but it's caused him an awful lot of trouble when they've been knocked off or smashed. WoL Jetei can use the Echo to see outlines of people and aether-infused objects around him when in a desperate situation, but unfortunately he has absolutely no control over that and it does not always activate. Non-WoL Jetei is just SOL if he loses his glasses during a fight and has to swing wildly and hope for the best.

5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid? He moves very easily and fluidly, after years of dodging out of the way of things.

6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror? By Au Ra standards, he's closer to the pretty boy side of things. He has confidence in himself in terms of attractiveness, but doesn't go around showing off either. In at least this sense, he's relatively humble about his looks and doesn't care whether someone does or doesn't find him attractive.

7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred? Jetei has a darker complexion, tanned and almost reddish-brown skin depending on lighting. His skin is mostly clear, though he has some small scars here and there on his face that are mostly invisible. His body, especially his chest and arms, have a lot of scars.

8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style. His hair is a two-toned light and dark orange, resembling fire. He wears it parted to the right and spiked. Bangs aside, it's short.

9. What color are his eyes? Jetei's eyes are bright green.

10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features? Xaela Au Ra are covers in patches of black, dragon-esque scales, have dragon-like tails and horns, a glowing limbal rings in their eyes. Jetei is no exception to this - in fact, he has more scales around his face than the average Au Ra. His limbal rings are a brighter green than his normal eye color, has large horns that point forward in an inward curve past his face, and a long, skinny, forked tail.

11. What are his chief tension centers? Definitely his upper back. Unless I'm misunderstanding what a tension center is.

12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit? God it's all over the place I can't even. He has formal wear and outfits fitting his class, but also has sweaters and very casual things as well. He favors reds, blacks, and purples but is accepting of green too.

13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them? Yes and yes.

14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences? Not quite! He will wear more casual things if he knows he's not going to be fighting that day.

15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando? Briefs.



Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse? It's a middle-pitched sort of deal. Not too deep but not high-pitched either. I was told by friends his voice reminds them of Terry Bogard if that helps at all.

2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate? He's on the louder side, and speaks at a relaxed pace - not too fast, not too slow. He has a tendency to say whatever's on his mind, so no hesitation on his end unless he's well and truly shocked by what's happening.

3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics? He has the slightest bit of an accent from his childhood on the Azim Steppe, but it's all but drowned out by the more common Fantasy British-ness of Eorzea. No unique pronunciations on anything, no verbal tics.

4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency? Common Eorzean, though with the Echo WoL Jetei can understand any language.

5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations? For the most part, no. His old accent comes out a tad bit stronger when he's particularly pissed off, but it's not overly noticeable.

6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words? He's good at impromptu speaking, but one-liners only. He leaves the long, drawn-out political things to those around him.

7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change? Middle of the road there. He's not Captain Big Words but he sounds as if he was given an education.



Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart? Jetei is more street-smart than book-smart, but he's still fairly book-smart. As a Warrior of Light, he started out as a conjurer (and then a white mage), eventually switching to black magic when the situation he was in made him feel weak and wanting more powerful spells at his disposal. Eventually though, as he tried out different things, he found his true calling as a Warrior and has since stuck to it. As a non-WoL OC, Jetei did start out as a conjurer but had little to no talent for it. He tried black magic, but the same thing happened - little to no talent for it. He then decided magic just wasn't for him no matter how hard he tried at it and joined the marauder's guild, eventually making his way up the ranks to become a warrior.

The studying he had to do for those classes made him pretty well-read, and he does like to read in general, but he only reads things that he feels he can benefit from - usually on fighting techniques, magic, and battle strategies. He relies on street-smarts more to get him out of bad situations and find his way around new areas safely, though some things still go over his head. tl;dr, sorta both with more of a street-smart lean.

2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate? As the Warrior of Light, he has to think on his feet whether he likes it or not. He used to be more careful but was quickly trained out of that.

3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical? Jetei wears his emotions on his sleeve in many situations, and sometimes comes across as too idealistic as a result. It really depends on how he feels about the people involved in what's going on at the time. In more political situations, or in situations he can distance himself from emotionally, he's more practical.

4. What kind of education has the character had? Jetei was given a very, very barebones education on the Azim Steppe until the age of 7, but after his tribe left the Steppe to get away from the Garlean occupation of Doma, he was taken in by and taught in Eorzea by a Doman expat that had fled long before the occupation ever happened. He received a better education from the expat. He only knows enough to get by, and was taught to read, write, and do basic mathematics as the Doman was intending to teach him how to be a merchant like she was.

5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about? Jetei is an expert in getting himself involved in things way above his head whether he means to or not. ... But really, he's very good at picking up new battle tactics and reading his enemies, as both a WoL and non-WoL. Outside of battle skills, he's surprisingly good at carpentry and can make some detailed pieces. As a non-WoL, he's interested in learning how to better cook on the field so he doesn't have to eat disgusting rations while traveling, though as a WoL he never has to care about that because everyone feeds him anyway. Both WoL and non-WoL Jetei have interests in actually learning how to be a merchant though, for whenever he does finally settle down, in honor of his foster parent.

6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert? Introvert. Jetei is perfectly fine in groups and talking to other people, but he's relatively quiet otherwise and rarely ever talks about himself. He isn't hiding anything, he just doesn't see a reason to unless otherwise asked. He prefers being alone in quiet, however, especially if he's working on something, but will seek out others to chat with casually if he starts feeling a little too cooped up.

7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven? For a Xaela auri, he's pretty chilled out - in casual circumstances, at least. Friendly, a bit loud when he's with people he knows and is comfortable with, and prone to making sarcastic quips with a teasing smirk. He's incredibly protective of his friends and gets irritated easily - especially if he feels he's being accused of something - but he doesn't get violently angry unless someone he cares for is hurt or endangered. More on the driven side than laid-back however, as he does have a tendency to overdo it and will often end up in dangerous situations as a result. He's very inclined to help those around him, not just to build his reputation (in the case of his non-WoL self mostly, his WoL self doesn't need much help there) but also because of his foster parent and the lengths she went to save him. After all, she was a merchant with a set of kitchen knives who managed to get lucky, not some well-known warrior, and she still went out of her way to save people she'd never met from a monster who could've easily killed her too. Her selfless actions instilled a lot of values in Jetei.

He does like to fight, though. The tougher the opponent, the better. He'll sometimes get a little carried away and make mistakes as a result, however. Non-WoL Jetei is more likely to get a little too enthusiastic about a fight (not to any sadistic extreme, but he does start grinning a little too much and will sometimes laugh like he's playing with the enemy rather than killing it), while WoL will only get that gungho about a fight if it isn't too serious a situation. For example, despite Zenos being one hell of a challenge for Jetei, he hates fighting him because he knows how much Zenos likes it and how garbage a person Zenos is, but enjoyed fighting Sadu because while she's kind of insane she isn't a bad person.

8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic? It ... REALLY depends. If he doesn't know what's happening around him and especially if he's by himself, he reacts with suspicion. If he has friends around him or knows the place he's going to is supposed to be safe, he's more relaxed. If he knows there's a big fight waiting for him where he's going, enthusiasm leaks into his usually pretty chill nature. He's never timid, though.

9. Is he more likely to act, or to react? More likely to react than act, but it again depends on the situation. WoL Jetei is more likely to react to things thanks to who knows how many fights where observing for a bit longer was important before jumping in however, but non-WoL Jetei has a bit more impatience and a tendency to jump in before anyone else around him can.

10. Which is his default: fight or flight? Fight is absolutely his default.

11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? He'll make puns from time to time, and some light sarcastic humor. The occasional prank, though it's usually done as a favor to someone else. He's more likely to do the former two in terms of humor, and will usually smirk afterward.

12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them? Some minor PTSD for the WoL, though not to any sort of crippling amount. It's more that drinks from strangers are usually denied, and his protectiveness for the more fragile members of his group are heightened when entering a dangerous place. He won't stop said fragile members, as he doesn't want to mess with their confidence, however he is far more likely to take a blow for them because he'll be watching them more closely. He also gets distracted by shiny objects and will often jump from one thing to another over and over, but that's not a mental disorder and is instead just him being overeager and a tad dim from time to time.

Non-WoL Jetei is also "a tad dim", but he doesn't share the WoL's experiences and has nothing that could be considered PTSD or minor ADHD - or any disorders whatsoever.

13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person? The moment Itoko saved his life and when she passed away, for both the WoL and non-WoL. For the WoL specifically, his decision to join the scions, Hauchefant's death, the fake "assassination" of Nanamo, his choice to remain silent about his time as a child on the Steppe when traveling there with Lyse and the others, and Emet-Selch's defeat. Itoko showed him what it means to be a hero to someone, and what "going out of your way" should be in his eyes. Her passing away forced him to make a decision about what to do with his life, and was the moment he really became an adult. His decision to join the scions drove it home to him that he could actually make a difference. Hauchefant was the first Ishgardean elezen to look at him as a friend, not some disaster to be feared and executed, and his death left him on a very important crossroads - go from merely being distrustful of Ishgardeans to outright despising them, or keep a healthy amount of distrust but do not damn the whole region and race just because of the truly vile ones - and he chose the latter. Nanamo's "death" forced him to actually think to some extent before blindly trusting everyone who gives him a smile instead of a startled glance, and while he does sometimes still get tricked, he's grown less dense about these things than before. Choosing to stay silent about his time as a Steppe auri taught him, as someone who had a tendency to be open about himself to a fair extent, that some things were best left for other days - after all, he didn't want anyone to rely on his distant memories, nor did he want anyone to try to help him "find his tribe" or anyone who might remember them. He wanted them to focus on their task and not him. Finally, Emet-Selch's death ... the Ascian infuriated him, though part of it was because he understood now why he was doing what he was. It was his death that granted him the maturity to respect someone from a group he'd seen only as evil - not sympathize, or anywhere near agree, but respect their determination and drive for sticking to their goal for so long, despite all the pain they've gone through.

14. What does he fear? Losing more of his friends. Especially the other scions. Non-WoL is afraid of the same thing, minus the scion part. They have both lost many people in their lives, some more hard-hitting than others, and he's afraid of losing more. ... Or worse, growing used to loss.

15. What are his hopes or aspirations? WoL Jetei is just going wherever the wind blows him and doesn't have any real hopes or aspirations. He just wants to see as many new things and meet as many interesting new people as he can, while keeping people safe with his unique level of power, maybe settle down as a merchant some day if things somehow even stop being crazy. Non-WoL Jetei does want to become a merchant some day, likely open a furniture store since carpentry seems to be his thing more than anything else.

16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him? Neither really care who finds out what about them, though there are some minor things they'd like to keep in the dark. WoL Jetei might not want people to know about some of his dimmer moments, like the times he's been tricked into things or set off alarms on accident. Non-WoL Jetei would prefer no one know about his attempts at both white and black magic, as he'd tried his best but just did not have a talent for it.



Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents. Jetei was an only child, and his parents were ... relatively tough on him. Not abusive, but they had it trained in him that he was going to be another warrior for the tribe at a very early age. His father would be quiet and somewhat cold, but his mother was more open and kind with him. It wasn't very long before they left that his father showed some signs of warming up to him more, but Jetei doesn't remember much about either of them anymore. He got separated from them when they and their tribe ended up in the Coerthas Western Highlands while trying to escape the Garleans, and while Jetei wasn't present to witness it, he knows they died to panicked Ishgardean knights who'd mistook them for heretics.

2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like? No siblings. His tribe had a rule about only having one child per couple to reduce the chances of warrior women being pregnant during the naadam.

3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand? His tribe being the way they are means he has no other blood relatives.

4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them? Yes - Itoko Hakubi, the Hyuran Doman merchant who stumbled across him and saved him from a monster near the entrance to the Dravanian Forelands. She was not trained as a fighter, but having grabbed a set of kitchen knives she meant to sell in Ishgard, she managed to get lucky and hit the monster in a weak spot. He admired her greatly, and took on her last name, and was completely okay with being trained as a merchant, even learning carpentry so he'd have a marketable skill ... But unfortunately, she was carrying a chronic disease that would occasionally leave her bedridden and having difficulty breathing. As he didn't feel skilled enough to take on her role just yet, he started considering becoming an adventurer to build up enough funds, and then not just open a place but also pay for a good doctor who could find out what was leaving Itoko so sick.

Unfortunately, while they were on their way to Gridania, Itoko could not continue their journey and passed away. Jetei was left to sell the rest of her wares (which he unfortunately undersold a lot of, as he wasn't quite up to snuff just yet) and used them to get the rest of the way to New Gridania. He tried to become a conjurer in her memory, but it unfortunately just did not work out at all for the non-WoL Jetei. The WoL Jetei succeeded all the way into becoming a white mage, but didn't like how passive being a healer felt to him, and knew Itoko wouldn't want him to force himself to be something he wasn't.

5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet? Both the non-WoL and WoL Jetei have a lot of friends thanks to being rather charismatic, but no one they could really point to as a "best friend". The closest to that that WoL Jetei has is the Crystal Exarch after everything that happened in Shadowbringers, though it's a very tight race between him and the scions and a fair few others. Non-WoL Jetei has some close ties in the adventurer's guild, but they don't know much about him as a person.

6. Does he have other close friends? The scions (including Estinien), Ardbert, Aymeric, Lyse, lord knows who else for the WoL Jetei. Non-WoL has a bunch of adventurer friends.

7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people? For someone as quiet as he can be sometimes, he makes friends very easily.

8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends? Friends, as he has no more family.

9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once? Single and too dumb to mingle. Jetei in both versions of himself does have interests in people he feels he can very closely trust, but misses signs from others so badly that they might as well not try at all. He will also sometimes accidentally come off as flirtatious without even meaning to, but that's a side-effect of him being rather direct and open sometimes.

10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse? Nope.

11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest? He doesn't really have any, honestly? He thought Lyse was very pretty, Sadu was also very pretty but also kind of crazy in a way that he's still not sure if he liked or not, he was tempted to call Magnai his nhaama as a joke but wasn't sure how that would end, Hauchefaunt made him Confused In Ways He Still Hasn't Had The Time To Unpack, Aymeric was also very pretty but he might have still been coming down from Haucefant-Based Puzzlement, and he's not sure if he has feelings for the Exarch or just wants to wrap him in bubble wrap for the foreseeable future, but no one really makes him doki doki in an obvious way if you get my drift. Non-WoL has made the occasional second-look but nothing solid.

12. What does he look for in a romantic partner? Loyalty, a willingness to travel, and understanding that he will not settle down until he is good and ready. He'd also prefer the person be strong enough to fend for themselves, so he doesn't feel the need to worry over them constantly. That goes for both the WoL and non-WoL.

13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any? Nope. Non-WoL wants one once he settles down from adventuring, WoL isn't sure it'd be a good idea due to his status as the Warrior of Light.

14. Does he have any rivals or enemies? The Garleans, and that goes for both. He doesn't really have any rivals, or people he sees as rivals, though he has been seen as rivals for others. WoL Jetei also has Zenos but he'd really prefer not to think about him thank you.

15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale? He's a pretty solid 3 but doesn't fully understand that.

16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him? It would be nice some day yes. However it's pretty low on his priority list at the moment, moreso for the WoL Jetei than the non-WoL.

17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits? He admires strength, beat the shit out of him, idfk.



Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type? Sagittarius. A love of wandering, "wild" and independent, honest, impatient and careless, caring ... Yep, this one fits.

2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life? He does believe in the Twelve, but he wouldn't consider himself religious.

3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it? Be good to others. You can't save someone if you never try. These personal codes came from Itoko Hakubi's selflessness. His own life and the lives of others would have to be in danger in order for him to compromise it, as he does know he how important he is as a WoL, and as a non-WoL he knows he can't throw away the life Itoko risked her own to save.

4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent? He has curiosity for most beliefs different from his, but if those beliefs would hurt others, then he's pretty intolerant about them.

5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them? Hot damn does the boy not like Ishgardeans. He's learned that, just like any other group, there are good and bad people in it - after all, he does like Aymeric, Estinien, the Fortemps family, Hilda and Ysayle - but wandering Ishgard alone makes him uncomfortable and he can't stand the on-sight judgment he gets from those in Ishgard who aren't familiar with him. Non-WoL Jetei just straight-up avoids the region if he can, going in and out as quickly as possible if he has no other choice. They're pretty well-founded, as while he did not see his tribe massacred by Ishgardean knights, he didn't ever see them again and did hear a lot of yelling as he and the teenager who grabbed him ran off to escape. WoL Jetei is of the opinion that he will assume the Ishgardean in front of him is going to judge him based on his features and be an asshole unless they prove otherwise.



Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt? WoL Jetei lives comfortably! Even when he's strapped for gil, someone always takes care of him. Sometimes to a ridiculous extent (hello there Crystal Exarch). Non-WoL Jetei's finances are a rollercoaster, as he will sometimes overspend for new gear and then be forced to live cheaply until he can find work again.

2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him? WoL Jetei is practically a celebrity, both on Hydalean and Norvrandt. Non-WoL Jetei is well-known in some mercenary circles, but is far from a household name.

3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others? Non-WoL lives on the road, not having a house for himself at the moment and not intending to get one until he decides to hang up his axe for good. WoL Jetei mostly lives on the road as well, but knows he has a home with the Fortemps family in Ishgard (despite not liking the city, being in the Fortemps house does make him feel "safe" thanks to the warm treatment from Edmont and his sons) and a home of sorts in the Pendants thanks to the exarch financing it for him.

4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on? Weapons and armor. Lots of it.

5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else? Jetei's an adventurer! He's very good at it, and enjoys it quite a bit. He gets to help people, just like Itoko did for him, and he gets to beat the shit out of some crazy strong things, so he's happy.

6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time? He enjoys carpentry mostly, but has also gotten used to some amount of goldsmithing. It's not something he specializes in, and he only is good enough to recreate his glasses whenever they break during fights, but it's a decent hobby. He also enjoys reading things he feels are useful to him (with the occasional fantasy story, provided there's a lot of action in it), and mining occasionally.

7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods? He's constantly eating out as he has little choice most times, but he can cook ... kind of. It's edible, it's just not pretty. He only drinks with close friends, and never accepts drinks from strangers. No food allergies and he'll generally eat whatever is in front of him, though he prefers fish, vegetables, and fruits over poultry and red meats.



Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:

1. Color? Red
2. Smell? Burning firewood
3. Time of day? D-dusk??? I don't know
4. Season? Fall
5. Book? Yes
6. Music? Sure
7. Place? Okay
8. Substance? The fuck
9. Plant? Fire lily
10. Animal? Komodo dragon



END
{{ Get the HTML here so you can do it yourself. }}