dance in flames.

cherry valla. warrior of light. loved by kiki.

burning, she, in her radiant inflorescence, eclipses the resplendent light of the sun. she is a raging wildfire, an untamed tempest ravaging across land and sea with naught but fury and rage and passion running hot in her veins. she is the blood of the furies, the cut of wind sharp against skin, the sting of singing steel pressing down into flesh.

there is comfort in the violence, in the spray of blood fresh upon the softness of her cheek, in the searing pain of a fresh wound, because the fight is all she has ever known. she is a warrior, a soldier, until the bitter end. and though these paths may remain treacherous and filled with the haunts of souls long since lost, she yet remains, vicious, vengeful, filled with rage and spite.

ooc info.

writer info. kiki ( if you're used to calling me rina that's ok lol ). 28, she / her, okinawan & seasian. i typically don't reply to dms on weekdays due to work. i come home to rot and forget about my messages 😔i have a tendency to disappear for months at a time and it's not personal!! i just get depressed 😭i'm very easygoing but i'm not always the chattiest just because i'm super duper forgetful ( adhd whoopsie ) and also sooooo busy. it's never personal i swear! i get overwhelmed easily and am not the best in one-on-one convos, but i thrive in gcs / servers. i promise i'd love to plot though! my IMs are always open! if i ever don't reply for a few weeks / months, i 100% forgot so please never feel afraid to poke me!

extra.

credits. i don't think there's graphics on this carrd but the psd i use is mine... i designed this carrd! if you're a fan of my templates, i have a ko-fi shop where you can get them, as well as icon borders. i don't have comms open at the moment and probably won't for a while, but if we're friends and you catch me at a good time, i might be able to throw something your way 😌✨discord. for mutuals only! i typically don't give it out right away either. i'm just a little shy and protective of my energy and space. but if i post it openly on the dash you're more than welcome to send me a request!

  name.    cherry valla.
  age.    physically in mid-20s, slightly older (early 30s, she doesn't quite know).
  race.    viera, mixed veena & rava (veena on her mother's side, rava on her father's). cherry is meant to be thai-norwegian coded.
  birthday / nameday     25th sun of the 6th astral moon / november 24.
  astrological sign / guarding deity.     sagittarius / azeyma.
  gender.     cis female.
  pronouns.     she / her.
  sexuality.     bisexual with a preference for men, but on the aroace spectrum.
  voice claim.     alaina huffman.

  height.     5'10.5" | 179 cm..
  weight.     176 lbs | 79.8 kg.
  hair color.     bright wine-red, a deeply rich burgundy, with sunburnt orange highlights and at her ear tips.
  eye color.     she has heterochromia, with her left eye being a light sea green, and her right being a faint periwinkle.
  skin tone.     sun-kissed and warm, light tan.
  notable features.     she has a beauty mark beneath her left eye, and scars hidden across her body, some faint, some larger and deeper.

  job occupation.    from ARR to HW, she was an archer (please note: strictly an archer, never a bard). in HW, she took upon the art of being a DNC, using it as a melee + ranged hybrid.
  place of origin.     the skatay range in othard.
  home.    cherry keeps an apartment in ishgard, but roams across the world and never stays put for long.
  affiliation.     cherry's affiliation will very based on verse, but typically it's to the scions, for general verse stuff.
  family.     deceased. she lost her parents and siblings, a younger brother and younger sister, to the hungering, ravenous maws of war as it rampaged across her homeland of othard, within the skatay range, during a garlean invasion.
  marital status.     single & heavily uninterested.

  d&d alignment.     chaotic neutral.
  mbti.     ISFP.
  likes.     fighting. biting. sweets (especially cheesecake). spiced whiskey & rum. spicy foods. a nice grilled steak. shiny weapons. big swords.
  dislikes.     obnoxious people. people who can't take a hint. clingy people. people. people who can't throw a punch. mouthbreathers. people who chew loudly. people touching her. people addressing her without being addressed first. any of these things might get you punched in the face, ngl.

  personality.     quick temper (will snap in an instant), recklessness, curt brashness, and outward coldness. she often teases friends & isn't above teasing strangers. brushes everything off with attitude, mean jokes, masks things with dark humor & sarcasm, & keeps everyone at arms length as a defense mechanism.she's not openly affectionate, even with friends or loved ones. she acts indifferent / mean, but deep down she's kind, thoughtful, & expresses thoughtfulness in small actions, not verbally or in grand gestures. she's playful, teasing, bitchy, but not cruel. quick to start fights. has a terrifying resting bitch face. cherry can be nice, but she's not really friendly. at all. she's flirtatious, but it's not to be taken seriously; she just likes to get under people's skin. she is, at her core however, a deeply empathetic, kind, and caring person, but she doesn't like to show it outwardly. not because she necessarily views that itself as a weakness, but she finds vulnerability to be a weakness that can be weaponized against her, and she doesn't want harm to come to those she cares about.cherry, quite frankly, really enjoys being on the battlefield because she really loves that rush of adrenaline. she enjoys fighting more than anything. she was an archer, now a dancer, but she is pretty decent with hand - to - hand combat. usually, running around a city or something, if she’s just hanging out at a tavern or something, she probably set her bow/chakrams down and is just relaxing, but if something came up she can be quick to throw a fist.cherry doesn’t like to be idle for too long, otherwise she’ll start to get antsy and bored and honestly a little bit sad if her mind starts to wander, she still enjoys having a chance to actually relax. she's something of a vagabond at heart, with a touch of ADHD. she cannot sit still in once place for long, and moves from place to place in search of the next job or task.

  a deeper dive.     cherry suffers from borderline personality disorder, severe PTSD, chronic major depression, and ADHD. symptoms from this cocktail often manifest in her impulsivity, sudden — and occasionally explosive or violent — mood swings, hot temper, lack of self-preservation, thrill-seeking, risk-taking, reclusiveness, and vanity juxtaposed with severe plummets to her self-worth.  surface level flaws.     aggressive, adrenaline junkie, audacious, blunt, competitive, cynical, depressed, foul mouthed, guilt complex, impatient, moody, nosy, overprotective, pessimist, proud, reactive, reckless, self destructive, stubborn, temperamental, vain, withdrawn.  subtle flaws     arrogant, callous, evasive, fickle, gluttonous, grudge holding, insensitive, masochistic, melodramatic, petty, possessive, reclusive, shallow, skeptical, tactless.  virtues.     extremely intelligent, strategic in battle, observant, undyingly loyal to her friends and loved ones but also the cause she fights for, kind, compassionate, brave, honest, innovative, thoughtful (though she might show it differently), reliable, empathetic, a leader, can take charge when things get difficult, independent, trustworthy, perceptive, adventurous, courageous, attentive to a point, ambitious, resourceful, helpful.

headcanon one. cherry is banned from the gold saucer in any timeline you interact with. she got pissed off once about how a game was rigged, that she got conned out of her MGP, went behind the counter and stole prizes, almost set the place on fire, and made a run for it.
headcanon two. cherry cannot cook to save her life. she is a proud and revered huntress back home, and can track prey (person OR beast) for malms and malms, but ask her to butcher and filet one of the beasts she catches and then cook it, that's a tall order, and it's not happening. not unless you want to die.
headcanon three. cherry is a talented singer, and used to love singing in her village. now, it brings up bitter memories of the past, so she does not sing anymore, especially in front of others. spotify playlist of a blend of artists who'd be her voice claim. in an alternate and modernized universe, cherry would absolute be a goth rock artist.

headcanon four. cherry is absolutely unhinged. there is nothing she adores more than the heat of battle and being right in the middle of it. she's something of an adrenaline junkie, and chases danger and the thrills that come out of it. she doesn't enjoy a fight unless she knows her opponent is fighting back, and fighting with their life. when cherry is in a bad way mental health-wise, she often goes out of her way to seek out dangerous jobs or situations, and it's absolutely an elaborate form of self harm because of the lack of self preservation.
headcanon five. in a similar vein, cherry does not always fight fairly, though it's not something she actively thinks about or considers "unfair." it's more so that, while she does fight in a way that is fluid and elegant, it's without form in the sense that she doesn't follow traditional methods of how her class is generally trained to fight. if she sees an opening to take an advantage, she will.
headcanon six. cherry is that strange blend of being seemingly outgoing because of her loud, explosive, larger-than-life personality, but the truth is, she's quite reserved. she's an expert at talking to people in circles to where they think they're learning anything of substance about her, but she's revealed nothing at all. she's loud because she's hot-tempered and her emotions control her, but she's actually not sociable or talkative at all. oddly enough, to the surprise of others at least, she's deeply empathetic and kind, and she doesn't show it in traditional ways. like, at all. might throw a gift in your face, or just beat someone up for you, and then say nothing about it.

headcanon seven. cherry is incredibly vain, which is another odd combination and quite a juxtaposition to her personality as a whole, considering she doesn't have any sense of self-preservation, nor any care to what people think about her. she doesn't care about other people's opinions, but she takes care of her own appearance for her own vanity. she loves getting into brawls and if she comes out looking like a mess and covered in blood, she's still going to look good. that's a good aesthetic, anyways.
headcanon eight. as a tangent to the above, while she is vain, feeding her vanity will get you nowhere. she doesn't care for compliments, and complimenting her does nothing to stroke her ego or arrogance. she already knows, and if she sees that you're trying to flatter her to get something out of her or if you think you're trying to smooth talk her to sneak something past her, it'll just piss her off, and you might get a fist to the face.
headcanon nine. don't even try hitting on her. nothing repulses her more than someone genuinely trying to pull a move on her, because she's not interested, never will be interested, might spit in your face and put you in a head lock before body slamming you. she doesn't have time for that shit.

headcanon ten. cherry is extremely resistant to most extreme temperatures, even the heat. she was born and raised in the skatay range, so she is used to colder temperatures, and thrives in places like ishgard. but upon coming to eorzea and acclimating to its climate, especially that of thanalan and certain places in la noscea, she's come to adjust. it's also just in her blood. she also doesn't dress in layers or long sleeves, typically, even in the cold.
headcanon eleven. she isn't naturally flirtatious or anything, but boy, does she have those deadly half-lidded bedroom eyes + resting bitch face. if she's ever nice to you, you're in trouble. she'll pretend to flirt to get what she wants, if she needs to, and she'll only do this if she thinks you're stupid enough to fall for it. and then maybe punch you. sucker.
headcanon twelve. cherry used to raise hell for the monetarist merchants in ul'dah, prior to becoming acquainted with the scions. she'd steal their wares, their gil, and gift them back to the lesser-off merchants simply trying to get by. that being said, you're not going to get along with her if you're a posh bastard. she might just rob you. she's got quick hands and a pretty face. good luck.

ability one. cherry's aether is aspected to fire, and she'll often use her aether in small charges to imbue her attacks with a touch of fire, especially when she is fighting in close-range combat. she will imbue her weapons themselves with traces of her aether so that the blades are hot enough to cut through a limb and cauterize the ends. most of the time, however, she'll just do enough to leave severe burns with each blow.
ability two. with ranged attacks, she does something similar. she will imbue her aether into her weapons before she throws them out, and they fly in a fireball, almost, and explode on contact.
ability three. her standard and technical steps always come with an explosion of flames in a large vicinity, save for a small ring around her.

ability four. because of her proficiency in aether manipulation, she can conjure enough fire magic to use minor spells, but certainly not even close to the degree as a true mage could, as she lacks the training. though, if she decided to learn magicks, she'd likely succeed. but alas, she cannot sit still.
ability five. cherry, as a viera, has extremely heightened senses. especially with all the jobs she constantly takes, she is always training and keeping herself sharpened and on edge so that nothing slips. if there's a bounty on your head, she'll get you.
ability six. cherry is extremely flexible and agile, due to her fighting style. she moves with graceful fluidity, and is quite slippery and evasive. she enjoys close-combat for this reason, and it keeps her arrogant, quite frankly.

aether & magic.

DNC abilities require some proficiency to manipulate aether, especially as you're sharing your own to empower comrades around you. to that vein, cherry is a master of her job & regarded as one of the best & deadliest, & is skillful manipulating her own aether, especially in imbuing her attacks with fire-aspected aether for charged attacks that burn, scorch, & scald.

physical combat.

being a battle mistress favoring ranged weapons, she has been known to infuse a little bit of aether into her attacks and charge them with the bite of fire. as a former archer, she's sent volleys of flaming arrows, and does much the same with her chakrams. when getting in close combat, she likes to heat her blades just enough to cause great discomfort or pain in her blows.

secondary skills.

it's a running gag that the only thing cherry knows how to cook are boiled eggs. she is a notoriously and comically poor cook. do not eat anything she gives you, unless you know she bought it. also, she weaponizes the eggs. good luck.

other skills.

cherry has plenty of other little talents and skills. curious about anything in particular? please feel free to ask! i could talk about her all day long. she is my darling and i have endless facts about her.

strengths.

cherry is one of the most battle-built people upon the realm. she is highly perceptive to her surroundings with excellent senses, whether it's hearing, sight, smell, or sensing motion. she's a skilled strategist, and if working with others, she'll try to follow strategy, but she usually does her own thing, as long as it's not at the expense of others. she is also highly skilled at reading people and their emotions, faces, and body language.

weaknesses.

cherry is someone who is guided by her emotions and impulsivity. she enjoys the thrills far too much, and will often dive headfirst into situations without so much as a second thought. although she can quickly think on her feet, she doesn't think beforehand, and takes unnecessary risks. part of it stems from her arrogance and confidence in her own ability (which she is extremely capable, though).

our tragic heroine's story begins in the forests of othard, as eldest of three children. both her father and mother were practiced and seasoned hunters and gatherers, and they worked together seamlessly, flawlessly, to hunt the prey that stalked the woods, perhaps even those who may have terrorized the woods, and gathered bounties of wild fruits, vegetables, and fungi.from a young age, cherry was endlessly curious and inquisitive, asking dozens of questions from morning until dawn. as long as it was safe, she accompanied her mother on hunts, but for the most part, she kept at bay and stayed by their sides for their gathering trips instead. her siblings were a pair of twins, and they were three years younger than she. from the moment she had known her mother was expecting, cherry had loved them, always at her mother’s side, hand pressed to her belly once she had grown and grown to feel her siblings kick, which delighted cherry to no end. as soon as they were born, and as they grew, she was sweet, patient, ever so doting upon them, ever so loving, though equally as mischievous as any older sibling should have been. she was fiercely protective, a trait that persisted into her older age, even as her siblings became proper hunters and gathers as well.cherry, growing up, was quite the studious child with an aching need to learn and endless curiosity for the world around her, which led to her becoming a talented, attentive, almost prodigious hunter. her aim with a spear was impeccable, for her eyes were well - trained, and, of course, as a viera, her hearing was excellent. she wasn’t a poor fisher, either, although she lacked the patience for it to continue on for long enough. when it came to fishing, there certainly was more to wish for, in terms of her skill. still, it was something she had fun doing, especially when she was with her siblings. quite often, someone was shoved into the running streams, to their dismay and to cherry’s amusement.

for as long as anyone had known, cherry had been beautiful. she was always an adorable child, and she was an ever blossoming flower, growing more beautiful with each day that passed. she was someone to be envied, for her talent in hunting, for her strength, for her kindness, and for her beauty.as the years passed, the stability of life surrounding othard faltered. the era of peace was no more. war plagued their lands, battles growing closer and closer to their homelands by the day, until one day, it was upon them (click for lore short story).following the loss of her family and destruction of her village, cherry fled from the only place she has ever known or called home. she rid herself of the blood and ash upon her hands, of the name she's carried for all her life, and tried to become born anew in the only way she knew how. it did naught to drown the memories that came to haunt her each night, or even during the silent spells of rising dawns the the gentle breezes that made sweetened, but painfully false, promises of peace.she eventually flees to yanxia, and begins to slowly, but with decided confidence and conviction, pick up the pieces. a part of her swore revenge upon the garleans who tore her life asunder, though whether it was to accept the imperial rule under the guise of submission in order to rise through their ranks to destroy them from within, or become a part of something greater on the opposition, she doesn't yet know.no matter, cherry begins her training in the eastern seas to become one of the fiercest warriors ever to grace this star.

cherry spent quite some time in yanxia, and kugane specifically, and while there, encountered much trouble with the sekiseigumi on countless occasions. from being caught trying to stowaway onto ships without proper papers or credentials to publicly causing scenes and picking fights with the sekiseigumi themselves, she has been nothing short of a menacing handful, and was certainly a few more incidents short of being placed on a wanted poster with a bounty.given that she is a refugee from her own home and has abruptly taken a new name, as most viera do upon leaving their villages behind, her only qualms is leaving a paper trail behind to put name to face in the event garleans do come looking for her.eventually, cherry does finally manage to bribe a ship captain after taking enough odd jobs and mercenary hunts in yanxia to set sail to eorzean shores. she doesn't know if life beyond the seas would fare better at all, but it's the farthest she can get from the remnants of bitter ashes and acrid memories of the soil she still treads. though thousands of malms apart, othard as a whole is a painful reminder of the life she lost, of the life she would never get back.after the loss of her family and destruction of her home and its claim underneath garlean conquests, cherry changes dramatically as a person. she has always been somewhat harsh, blunt, and incredibly sarcastic, but everything is now cut with a bitter edge, sharper with a poisonous sting.

she is guarded, flinching at any attempt at touch, going on the defensive at every movement towards her. she is always on edge, ready to leap into action and fight far before she is ready to flee. one wrong look at her, and she may just pick a fight herself. there is a well of rage churning within her heart, and she lashes out in seeking out brawls with anyone willing, or stupid enough to taunt her.people have tended to underestimate her, thinking she is simply a pretty face, and far too quiet sitting in the corner of a tavern. there is much fight in her, and she is quick, reactive. cherry spends much of her time in thanalan until she ventures to la noscea, then the shroud.it's difficult, at first. as different as it is from home, something about it still casts a familiar feeling, with how the trees tower above the lands and how flush the environment is with foliage and creatures that dwell within them. gridania is not as welcoming to her, however, as ul'dah and limsa lominsa had been. its people are prideful, and she feels a stiffness about them. regardless, she pushes to join the archer's guild to offer her service, seeing as she is a skilled archer.as the moons passed, she grows more comfortable in the new life she's created for herself. cherry is constantly moving, constantly accepting job after job, because if she allows herself even a moment of reprieve, every memory she's been running from will come to claim her into their endless abyss. and so, she trudges onward, steadfast, jaded and cold.eventually, the scions discover her possession of the echo. she refuses to aid them at first, but after running into them on several overlapping jobs, she becomes a begrudging ally.

the conflict within eorzea has, unfortunately, decided to affect cherry, too, due to her new association with the scions of the seventh dawn. she's begrudgingly become part of their organization at this point, and heeds their call and joins them on each mission as assigned. in between her own jobs, however, she's spent time traveling the world, even returning to yanxia, and journeys to thavnair. thavnair isn't quite home, but it's where her father often remained. there, she learns the art of dance, and picks this up easily due to it already being similar to her own fighting style without a bow and arrow, though her marksman ability certainly helps.but, when the scions call, she runs back to where home is now: eorzea. her initial refusal to join them stems from how comfortable she has grown being alone, especially after losing everything she held dear. she grew accustomed to it, but upon seeing the laughter and smiles upon their faces, even in spite of the hardship that trailed after their feet, touched something in her heart. her own silence wasn't quite silence, either. she could never relaxed, always had to fill that silence with something, to busy her hands and busy her mind, lest she fall victim to the endless turmoil plaguing her mind and what abyss it threatens to send her into.there is always chatter, some level of noise, amongst the scions, and it remains like buzzing in the background of her mind that keeps her afloat. still, she kept her distance from them, continuing to refuse to engage with them more than was necessary for the missions. she feared getting close to anyone, feared the chance of learning to care for more people in the event that she would eventually lose them. she could not endure that anguish again,

and so, when she met haurchefant greystone, cherry knew that she was absolutely fucked. typically, cherry would have hated someone like him. well, perhaps hate isn't the correct word, but he's someone who she would stop at nothing to keep at arms length, because his kindness is infectious. he is warmth embodied into a living being , and extended a kindness she'd never experienced before, welcoming her and the scions into his home where she's seen nothing but trepidation, fear, and an undue caution that served no one.were his energy any higher than it was, she wouldn't have been able to stand him, but perhaps he could read people as well as she could, too, for somehow, he always knew what to say to her, knew what to say to soothe the wars raging within her mind. haurchefant taught cherry how to begin opening up to others, and it is in this arc that she comes to fully accept the scions for who, and what, they are.she does not grow softer by any means, no, but she learns to laugh with them, and learns to find comfort in their companionship. she learns that fighting to protect them is as important as the oath she swore upon herself when she left her homeland: cherry had sworn to grow strong, strong enough to never allow herself to fall into a position where she is not capable of defending herself and those around her. she cannot bring her family, nor the others, back, but perhaps she can one day get her revenge, or prevent similar massacres from falling upon other unsuspecting innocents ever again.still, she does not express this openly, nor does she express her concerns or care openly. so when haurchefant dies, she is reminded yet again of that same pain she felt when she lost her family. she feels that same helplessness, that same anger and rage and hurt. after this, cherry returns to gridania and attempts to learn conjury, but does not pursue it further, only learning the basics.

coming soon.

coming soon.

coming soon.

coming soon.

coming soon.

coming soon.

girl i havent even finished the damn expansion this shit ain't coming any time soon i can promise u that

don't look at me

non-wol AU. instead of turning tail and running from the skatay range, cherry becomes a viceroy in the imperial garlean empire. have you caught her in the midst of traitorous acts? she'll shush you to not rat her out, especially if she's on your side. are you an enemy? she'll cut your throat for your silence. she still has the echo. this can also segue into being a wol-verse, but crafted so that it doesn't have to. not my preference, lowkey, but it's herehook two. cherry is always traveling. your character could run into her literally anywhere. in a busy market street, a tavern or bar, or in the middle of battle, etc! anything is on the table, basically.hook three. cherry has an enormous sweet tooth, and just enjoys food in general. run into her at a food stall or restaurant, or offer to buy her something for her battle services.hook four. do you recognize her as the warrior of light / scion / garlean viceroy? are you a fan? an enemy?hook five. it's easy enough to ask the warrior of light for a favor. task her, and she will oblige.hook six. MUSICVERSE! cherry is a vocalist... no band rn... just a solo artist / jack of all trades musician, favoring the guitar...

hook eight. are you a wanted criminal? perhaps she's chasing your bounty.hook nine. she loves to spar and fight. hell, she'll pick a fight in a tavern if someone angers her, such as if she catches someone harassing another patron, or if they start harassing her. pick a fight with her, or compliment how she handles the situation and her strength.hook ten. she'll often frequent any tavern or bar, either quietly minding her business and resting after a long day, or perhaps she's loud and drunk. either way, approach her. you could recognize her as the warrior of light, dancer, depends on the au! or simply just . . . hit on her. no promises it'll end favorably.hook eleven. basically, anything is possible. if you want to plot an interaction, message me any time!!!!!hook twelve. some plots are verse / alternate universe dependent. just shoot me a /tell with whatever you're interested in and we can plot about it!

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