An Ul'dahn art trader of wealth and taste.Having spent a decent amount of his life traveling the known world in search of objets d’art, Tal considers himself an expert on art... and on what people want. A savvy businessman by day and an enjoyer of culture and company at night, Tal is good for a chat or possibly a scheme if he likes the look of you (or the sound of your coin).
Ryan’to Lriapoh
Limsan crafter of high fashion, blending armor and intimate apparel.Once a simple armorcrafter, Ryan now blends a combination of weaving and metalwork to create intricate armor pieces, as well as a range of beautiful corsets and stays for discerning patrons. Dipping his toe into haute couture means he’s now having to learn to rub elbows with the upper crust. His rougher edges and gruff demeanor seem to amuse his new clientele as much as his ruggedly handsome looks.
Printmaster, reader & writer for the Ishgardian masses.Scion of a fallen Ishgardian merchant family, Pierre is a man of the Brume by choice, not by birth. Owner of a printing shop that serves high and low alike, Pierre binds and prints books for those of the High Houses while printing posters and broadsheets for the likes of Hilda’s Hounds. He also writes and reads for walk-in clients of the Brume who cannot do one or the other. Quiet and thoughtful but willing to speak his mind on his principles, Pierre is known as a forthright man with a good heart.
Name: Taliesin MiraelsinAge: 33Pronouns: he/himSexuality: pansexualGender: cis manHeight: 3’ 2”Hair: Purple with green-yellow highlightsEyes: Sky blueDescriptive Marks: Nah.Style: Classy businessman with artistic flair.Body Type: Fit popoto.Scent: Faint canvas, smoke, citrus, rich spice and black pepper.Fighting role: He would prefer not to, and often pays others very well to do any of the heavy lifting on this account. He does have some training in the sword (SAM/RDM) and a touch of arcane tutelage, but mostly he is better wielding his words rather than a weapon.Personality: Cunning and canny. Gregarious in a social situation, sometimes to the point of being a bit goofy, although he tries to play it off and then becomes a little too self-important and smarmy. Earnest about his passions and his family, usually the only times he'll show his true colors.Likes: Home, his folks, art of all kinds, being shown new forms of art, winning.Dislikes: Being outwitted, being talked down to or over, people thinking him incompetent or uninformed, his family being disrespected.Strengths: Talking, being persuasive, knowing what someone wants or likes, sensing someone's mood, judging the worth of an art piece or curio.Weaknesses: Something he wants that's rare or impossible to find, his family, beautiful or priceless art.Voice Claim: Whoever Lumull's VA turns out to be.—[[Tal is my OC Source shard of Lumull - at least until it turns out he's a shard of ours/the WoL. But if not, it's Tal, which is why he's got his hair and most of his look and some of his personality if not a ton of it.]]
Stats
Name: Ryan'to "Ryan" LriapohAge: 37Pronouns: he/himSexuality: pansexualGender: cis manHeight: 5’ 8”Hair: Blue-black with grey streaksEyes: Ocean blueDescriptive Marks: Burn/cut scars on his face, hands and arms from working in and around a forge with weapons and tools since he was young.Style: Simple but often using his own apparel creations (often wearing stays/corsets on the outsides of his clothes).Body Type: Extremely well built in the arms, shoulders and upper chest, somewhat slim waisted and well-built legs.Scent: Mineral oil, metal, vetiver, black pepper & cinnamon.Fighting role: Preferably none, but he knows how to fight dirty with fists and knives, having spent his youth surviving the streets of Limsa.Personality: Strong quiet type, speaking when necessary. He often feels somewhat uncomfortable amongst anyone he doesn't know well, especially if they "outclass" him, which is often these days. He's a fair and kind person, generally thoughtful, but a man of few words, preferring to let actions speak for him. He has a very artistic soul, and is moved by art and creativity, even if he can be seen as a rough and tumble guy.Likes: Tasty food, quiet, beautiful art, beautiful clothing and armor, acts of kindness, touch (when he truly trusts someone).Dislikes: Bad scents, animal cruelty, the poor/weak being taken advantage of, touch (when he doesn't know a person or distrusts them).Strengths: Melding textiles ahd other materials artistically, working with his hands (in multiple ways), caring for people, listening.Weaknesses: Fine textiles, sob stories, the right smile at the right moment, a heartfelt word of praise or insight.Voice Claim: Not sure yet... has a pretty deep baritone.--[[Vaguely inspired by the movie Prêt-à-Porter and the play Intimate Apparel by Lynn Nottage.]]
Name: Pierre Émile d’AmboiseAge: 32Pronouns: he/himSexuality: demisexual panromanticGender: cis manHeight: 6’ 3”Hair: Ink purple with deep purple highlightsEyes: emerald greenDescriptive Marks: Ink-stains on his fingers, most daysStyle: Slightly dingy upper-middle class. Sleeves often having slight, unnoticed ink stains, clothes of a finer make but older and worn, having been bought numerous years earlier.Body Type: Slim and a bit curvy in the chest.Scent: Ink (chemical) and parchment, paper and woody tones, peatFighting role: Screaming for help. No, really. He's likely had no training whatsoever in how to defend himself, other than yelling for assistance. He might carry a small cosh in his pocket, or clutch his keys in his fist, just to make himself feel better.Personality: Kind and a bit shy, but honestly wanting to help people with their problems (like reading and writing for those unable to). He loves to read. Really takes pride and enjoyment in making the printing machines work as well and as fast as possible, as learning to understand and tend to them has been a challenge for him. Doesn't think of himself very much, often worrying too much about others and their problems. He's not innocent, though that might be a mistaken assumption someone could make about him, he's just got a lot of hope that people can be better and just need help sometimes.Likes: Books, the written word, paper, his machines, seeing the good in people, hoping for a better future for IshgardDislikes: Seeing people hurt, someone taking advantage of a weaker/innocent person, purposeful cruelty, snobbishnessStrengths: A strong and kind heart, the will to help in the face of despair and despondence, care for and a cast iron belief in his fellow man, trust, empathy.Weaknesses: Soup, a kind smile, well-written words, trust, empathy.Voice Claim: Unsure yet, something in the tenor/high bari range.
Taliesin is the only child of a wealthy Ul’dahn art trader couple. He spent a decent portion of his childhood traveling the world with his parents to places as far flung as Othard and Old Sharlayan, but he knows the streets of Ul’dah like the back of his hand. His parents are warm and intelligent people who've been involved with growing the family business since they, too, were in their youths.He began helping out with the family business as soon as he started showing interest in his teens, and took to it like an otter to water, inheriting his father’s sense for coin and his mother’s sense for fine objects and historical value. While his parents still helm the business, Tal is now the main dealer, traveling all over to scout and find new objects to buy, and looking for buyers for obtained valuables.Sharp and sly, Tal’s not one to shy from a slightly dicey situation if it means a good payday. He can be quite the slippery fish, hard to pin down and even more difficult to fool. At this point, if he hasn’t seen it all, he’s definitely seen quite a lot, so he’s not easy to pull one over on.Socially, he’s good fun, fast to laugh or tell a tall tale, and flirtatious as the day is long. His charm is a large part of why he’s such a successful art dealer, after all. He has a sincere passion for art, which also helps, and will happily talk paintings, sculpture, even song, theatre and the written word with anyone. Art makes the world beautiful and bearable. He cannot create himself, and is in awe of artists, easily enamored of well-skilled creators.
Background
Second son and perpetual utter disappointment to his father - his only living relative after his mother, brother and sisters were killed in the Imperial advance on Cartineau - Ryan’to left his family behind to find his fortune when he was still a teen. He made his way to Limsa Lominsa and found his way working odd jobs while learning to tinker. Someone in the Blacksmith and Armorer’s guild noticed he had a way with his hands, especially when it came to finer details, and he realized he didn’t have to just rely on his wits and fists to survive.Now he’s a journeyman who first became known for making surprisingly delicate yet sturdy armor. In the last few years, he started experimenting with combining a style of weaving and some leather working skills in with his usual kit. After a particular return customer made a request for some more intimate apparel - stays with a layer of armor built in - Ryan’to became inspired and began to experiment in making corsets and stays of multiple sorts… and is now developing a name for himself for making protective and stylish waistguards and corsets/stays for all manner of bodies after his work caught the eye of several well-to-do Ul’dahn merchants.He’s found that he’s become increasingly intrigued by mixing different mediums: metal and lace, leather and ribbon. Somehow he’s feeling his way forward as more of a haute couture artisan rather than just a simple armorer, thrust into a world he never expected to have to navigate. The art and fashion parts come easily, honestly, textiles, metal and bodies are all things he understands well. It’s dealing with the people that wear his items that is the sticking point…
Pierre is the second son of a once-prosperous merchant. He attended the Scholasticate and had private tutors until his mid-teens, when he was pulled out due to family financial issues that soon became too big to ignore. Their father was accused of fraud due to complications within his trading company, and eventually the pressure of the situation led to him committing suicide. Pierre’s brother - at the time only just newly become a barrister - was forced to become the head of the family at a very young age, attempting to quickly make something of himself so as to care for their mother and sister, and Pierre did his best to pitch in.Pierre is an erstwhile writer and editor, and runs a printing shop at the edge of the Brume where he also provides services to folk who can’t read or write and need a scribe or reader to help them. These days, Hilda’s watch tend to employ his shop quite a bit for notices and posters, as well as the Ironworks and several other newer businesses, so he’s starting to see an upturn in his finances.However, Pierre is always looking for patrons and financers, as he is wanting to get past broadsheet printing and break into book binding and printing. Whenever he can, he reaches out to writers - largely from the Scholasticate, but often from the upper crust. Most recently, he's been incredibly successful in securing the rights to publish the retired head of House Fortemps' book on the end fo the Dragonsong War, Heavensward, rocketing his shop into a surprising amount of demand. Indeed, he's been struggling to keep the book in print.He has a rare soft spot for the lower classes, partly due to his workplace, but also to a lost friend from his childhood, and goes out of his way to try and help needy people if he can. He will even help with things like legal issues, being a go-between for the lower to upper classes - his brother being a barrister - if it is in his power. The other members of his family are rather disappointed at how, even with his recent uptick in income, he cannot seem to hold on to money, preferring to use it to benefit either his growing shop or his community.