the heart's beat.

(rio voice) me, sitting on a throne wearing ornately engraved plate armor on my arms and legs and cloaked in fine almost translucent silks with a tiny korpokkur on my shoulder: i got lost in the fantasy of this dope outfit and forgot what i was gonna say

about.

hi! i'm jamie, and y'rio tia (aka rio) is my original ffxiv character! i created him on december 30th 2019 and have put a ton of work into his characterization and backstory over the years. i absolutely adore rio, and i hope you enjoy reading about him, too! ♡

basics.

name: y'rio tia
alias: rio
race: miqo'te; seeker of the sun
age: 25 (arr) → 28 (endwalker)
gender: male (he/him)
nameday: 19th sun of the 4th umbral moon
guardian: oschon, the wanderer

appearance.

standing at 5'2", rio is short and of small build. he has light, warm brown skin (which is very smooth, thanks to a skincare routine that he strictly adheres to) and long, pastel-pink hair that he usually wears up in a ponytail. similar to his hair, his eyes are light pink in color - and his tail is, too. as a seeker of the sun, he was born with face markings that are typical to his race.

in terms of his personal aesthetic, rio is very interested in looking fashionable and tends to value form over function. he loves lots of pink, lots of fluff, and lots of decadence. he's a performer and does a lot of moving around - therefore, he dislikes being weighed down by heavy armor. instead, he's fond of flowing fabrics and isn't shy when it comes to showing skin. he likes to look good to the point of vanity and takes personal grooming very seriously.

personality.

passionate / stubborn / optimistic / egotistical / nurturing

rio is extremely passionate about performing and enjoys the sense of freedom that performing brings - both to himself as well as to his audience. his personality is very much oriented around spreading that sense of freedom, even beyond the stage. in a manner of speaking, he views life as a stage... and himself as the star upon that stage, of course!

a very determined person, if rio is presented with a problem that grips his interest, he'll stop at nothing to solve it. and he won't settle for some lukewarm solution to it, either! he chases after outcomes that will leave him satisfied on a personal level and will stubbornly stick to his approach, even if he faces failure multiple times. he'd rather not compromise but can be convinced to... sometimes. rarely. when he absolutely must.

thanks to this stubborn streak of his, he can be very egotistical. rio has no qualms with voicing his opinions - which he admittedly values more than those of others. it can be difficult to get him to be cooperative when he's working alongside a team, but he absolutely does respect the viewpoints of those who are close to him and won't lash out as intensely with them. earning that bond with him is also fairly easy, as he is a very social person who tends to be a bit too trusting. one can easily win him over by appealing to his love of material goods (i.e. giving him presents and the like). people tease him about this all the time, but (rio voice) it is what it is.

despite it all, rio is definitely nurturing. he's not one for self-sacrifice or martyrdom in the slightest. he wants to be free and happy, and believes that most people deserve to be free and happy, too. he also believes that this is a perfectly attainable goal and doesn't care if others look down on him or call him naive because of it. his unwavering optimism is a major source of strength for him - and it can be rather infectious, too. he's very charismatic and, while still very much capable of being a total brat, his sincerity and openness about how he feels tends to win people over with time. it's refreshing in a world full of secrecy.

main jobs.

dancer: an expert in rallying people's spirits with movement, rio is a highly skilled dancer. while he places far more importance in being able to perform his dances effectively, rio has also spent countless hours researching thavnairian dance techniques. these techniques were his main focus while he was a student in old sharlayan. if he did not decide to abandon his studies as to relocate to eorzea, rio would have likely become an archon in the art.

bard: rio is a firm believer in the power of song, and his interest in performing music is essentially on-par with his love of dance. in fact, when he performs, rio typically dances while playing an instrument. his favourite instrument to play is the harp. initially, he was self-taught, but rio eventually recieved professional training. with his relocation to eorzea, he learnt how to pair his abilities with archery as to make use of his music skills in combat.

red mage: rio studied both black magic as well as white magic and had a good time with both of them. when he got the opportunity to practice red magic, it turned out that he had quite the natural affinity for it. his skills in dance help him with the quick footwork that its rapier-based attacks require. furthermore, rio also enjoys the elegant fashion style associated with the practitioners of red magic.

paladin: rio is not a fan of taking hits for others. he's not a fan of being "bait" in combat situations and he is absolutely not a fan of heavy armor. viewing it all as cumbersome, he stayed away from the more tank-based jobs for quite a while. however, he eventually realized that there is a certain flair to gladiatorial combat... and picked up the sword and shield soon after. he has received a respectable amount of training as a paladin, though he's still not quite sold on the job itself. at least he has a shield to protect him.

weaver: due to his very particular tastes, rio took a shine to making his own costumes for his performances. this, naturally, called for honing his skills as a weaver. he loves working with colourful fabrics and creating flamboyant outfits.

fisher: at first, fishing was just rio's excuse to tag along on free boat trips... but it ended up becoming a major hobby for him. he told the arcanists' guild that he was working on his casting but didn't say which kind!!

trivia.

favourites.

colour: pink
season: summer
meal: battered fish
dessert: rolanberry cheesecake
drink: rum punch
flower: hibiscus

likes.

singing, dancing, music, sunshine, fashion, alcohol, korpokkur

dislikes.

being criticized, rain, uncleanliness, heavy armor, pessimism

miscellaneous.

prior to the exodus, rio loved spending time in saint mocianne's arboretum. he has vague memories of it during its prime, but his fondness for korpokkur likely has roots in his childhood days spent wandering around in there. nowadays, he collects different types of korpokkur and keeps them as pets. two are big enough for him to ride as mounts.he typically ignores his tribal name (y'rio) entirely and prefers being referred to as 'rio.' there's no deep reason to this; he just likes how 'rio' sounds. this tends to offend more traditional seekers of the sun, but rio doesn't particularly care. if someone he is friends with uses his tribal name, he'll be quick to ask them to swap to his given name. similarly, rio's stage name is simply 'rio.'rio was an absolutely terrible cook before he arrived in eorzea, largely due to the bland, nutrients-focused nature of sharlayan cuisine. his taste in cuisine has since become far more refined, and his cooking abilities have improved, too. rio loves desserts in particular and has a major sweet tooth. rolanberry cheesecake is a favourite meal of his, but, desserts aside, he is also very fond of the battered fish served at the bismark in limsa lominsa.his favorite seasonal event is the moonfire faire. if he has to do virtually any work while it's ongoing, he gets very short-tempered. like, moreso than usual.

background.

THE BEGINNING
y'rio tia was born into the y tribe of sunseeker miqo'te in year 1553 of the sixth astral era. he spent his early childhood a region of eorzea known as dravania. a neighboring nation of scholars - sharlayan - maintained a research colony here. this colony was prominent enough to be considered something akin to an eorzean city-state in its own right. as such, the y tribe was essentially integrated into the sharlayan population.

when eorzea's conflict with the garlean empire was reaching a boiling point due to failed negotiations and the fall of ala mhigo, the sharlayans decided to abandon their colony in dravania as to not allow their knowledge to fall into the hands of the empire. this decision resulted in an exodus, and the members of the y tribe - including rio - ended up moving to old sharlayan, an island located to the north of eorzea.

TIME IN OLD SHARLAYAN
growing up in old sharlayan, rio had a true penchant for getting into trouble. despite his natural academic intelligence, he would ditch his classes constantly, often running off on small adventures of his own. it was on one such excursion that he encountered a travelling performance troupe - and their production left him starry-eyed. completely certain that he found his life's purpose, rio demanded to be added to the troupe's ranks... and was immediately laughed at and turned down. while this was due to his young age, complete lack of experience with music and dance, and the absurdity of his determination to join them, rio still took it as a personal insult. he made a promise to himself to surpass them as a performer.

due to rio's melodramatic personality, this dream was initially not taken seriously by others both within and outside of his tribe. they only began to see his passion was genuine when he began teaching himself how to play the harp and putting on his own shows. this passion only intensified with time, as rio began studying the performing arts formally as a means of getting access to resources he wouldn't be able to find on his own. many remarked that he had finally begun to show the archetypal sharlayan thirst for knowledge in regards to his pursuit of the arts, though he severely lacked the conventional discipline that they valued amongst their renown scholars.

while he was certainly a handful, rio was relatively well-liked due to his charismatic personality. he maintained a particularly close friendship with his sister, y'shtola (whom he refers to as 'shtola'), though their paths would converge and diverge throughout the years. rio was also acquainted with louisoix, who was somewhat of a fatherly figure to him. in fact, louisoix would often help rio avoid the ire of highly traditional sharlayans who were disgruntled by the young miqo'te's conduct. he was sympathetic to the way rio wished to stray from the norms of sharlayan society and offered his support whenever rio sought it out.

THE SEVENTH UMBRAL CALAMITY
despite his ties to y'shtola and louisoix, rio didn't join the circle of knowing and didn't travel back to eorzea to offer direct help during the garlean invasion. he made his thoughts on it all being 'a complete lost cause' very well-known. (in hindsight, too well-known.) however, he cared for them on a personal level, so he aided them with various tasks whenever possible.

A REALM REBORN
rio would only return to eorzea after the calamity, during the seventh umbral era. if asked as to why, he simply states that it was because he "sensed opportunity" - though there's a very obvious hidden depth to this answer, shrouded away in thick layers of guilt and regret.

buying passage to limsa lominsa, rio reunited with y'shtola and began to make a living as an adventurer, prioritizing the refinement of his performing skills. he hoped that he could make a proper name for himself & spread hope and high spirits to his audiences around the realm.

for better or for worse, his goal of becoming a star performer is ultimately eclipsed by events far greater than he could have ever imagined.

inspiration.

aesthetic: pinterest board / toyhouse profile

music:
y'rio's character playlisty'rio's vgm playlisty'rio & g'raha's playlist

references.

the full-sized image can be found here.
rio's main #looks for his storyline can be found here.

demeanor.

very expressive! up-front with his emotions; wears his heart on his sleeve.typically has a playful and mischievous sort of vibe.