A Song of Boundless Joy

One may believe that such things are beyond us. Tell me, weary soul,
why have you given up?

Introduction

A man sits, lute in hand, sonorous voice weaving verse just below the chatter of the late evening crowd. Steady, it holds a warmth and heart to it absent from most minstrels, telling tales of all sorts, and it fades into the background, lost in a hundred voices. Some say they can tell when a singer's performance is one of obligation; there is a smile missing from the tone, but this one is happy. He is so very, quietly happy.

And in the next day that same man dances, he stands upon the tables with fiddle in hand, the click of his heels serving as percussion and the claps of the crowd as his beat. He is successful, his crowd is joyful! Coins are tossed and drinks are poured. His singing is hoarse from hours and backed by tuneless chorus of the crowd, but enthusiasm is its own form of composition.

And the next! He is showing off for a friend in their private home, and now his notes are taking every skillful trill and leap possible, pure and crisp notes. His friend watches with lips parted and eyes wide, what skill! What beauty! And he takes their hand and they dance in the living room, that skillful manner rising to laughter, some would call that a fall or failure—never him.

A thousand songs are sung. Songs of loss, of faith, of rage, of humor. Undercutting them all is the song of the man himself:

A song of boundless joy.

Dossier

HISTORY:
Not one much to tell, he would say. He's had hard times before, but what is there to speak of? Everyone has suffered, everyone has had their trials. He's had happy times, too. Triumphs. These, he thinks, are much nicer to think about than comparing whoever has had it worse, so he does: his history begins in Gridania, until he spent several good years in Limsa Lominsa. Now, he is trying his hand at being a wandering bard, with stops in the New World, Thavnair, and all sorts of places. Lately, he has obtained a temporary sponsor in Ishgard, with whom he has arranged a deal to entertain her until she grows bored, for a high weekly salary and a large boon to take him on his next journey once she is finished. He seems quite happy with the whole thing.

MANNERISMS:
Perhaps as expected from a bard, Seren is prone to musicality in all things, with a light and bouncy gait and a tendency to hum whatever tune is on his mind. He is very much an enthusiastic individual, especially about matters that bring happiness to the common folk such as holidays, parades, parties, et cetera—but can also be drawn in towards some slightly higher tastes, being quite the enjoyer of fashion. Aside from such joys, Seren is also somewhat distractible, and easily drawn into passionate discussion about just about anything, from matters of politics and philosophy to what might be the best name for a hypothetical fictional mouse.

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OOC

Hello there! My name is Cannibal. Before we get into rules and details, I must first preface with this: I have had some very unfortunate experiences with ingame roleplay, and have been left with horrendous anxiety and frequent panic attacks as a result. As such, I am mostly available on discord, and tend to avoid ingame roleplay in group settings, though I'm very much happy to interact when I'm on (or when I am requested specifically), especially one on one. Just know that I may have to step away frequently.

Rules

- I am an adult and will only interact with other adults aged 21+. This goes for both SFW and NSFW content.- No OOC bigotry will be tolerated. I am happy to educate, mistakes are one thing, but if you are a bigoted person, I will not interact with you. Period.- IC bigotry must be discussed OOC with me. I am very much a believer that IC beliefs are separate from OOC beliefs, but I also must be cautious. In addition, my characters will not take well to IC bigotry, and will react accordingly, with consequences discussed OOC ranging from arguments to violence. If we cannot agree on a consequence that you are comfortable with and that my characters would be satisfied with, my characters will walk away.- On a related point, if my character is mad at or uncomfortable with your character, it does not mean that I, OOC, am mad at or uncomfortable with you, OOC. If your character is argumentative, rude, et cetera, I don't mind that, but please expect IC consequences for IC words and actions. If having my character mad at your character is stressful or uncomfortable for you, I can leave the interaction, but I will not have them tolerate things they would not normally tolerate.- I may have to go afk at any time, suddenly and without warning. When this happens, I will post something like "((afk brb))". I may even have to leave entirely, and of course, I will give some indication if I do. Please do not take offence. Please do not take it as my character ignoring what is happening in front of them. I do not want my OOC emergencies to affect my IC interactions. If the wait goes long, you are welcome to have your character walk away. We can discuss OOC what the interaction might have entailed, or even continue it at a later date.- During IC conflicts such as arguments and other such tense moments, I get very anxious, due to past experience with others having IC feelings bleed into their OOC feelings, resulting in either resentment towards me, or them believing I held resentment towards them. Due to this, I have a strict rule for conflicts with me: We must have a conversation OOC during the IC conflict, so that I can read your OOC tone. It can just be light chatter, talking about the interaction. I don't want you to reassure me constantly; that's a ridiculous expectation. I just want to be sure that the person I am interacting with is having a good time. So long as that is happening, I will have a very good time as well!- Lastly, if my character form an in-depth dynamic IC with your character, such as a close friendship or romantic relationship, I will want your discord. It is generally better for me to write these deep dynamics in a place I am more comfortable and will be able to write frequently, and ingame is not it. In fact, I am unlikely to accept any romance ingame, as I do not want to tie another person's character into a relationship when I know I will be unavailable most of the time. If I do plot a relationship with you, please know that my character would be meeting yours more frequently than I am OOC able to do. Please imagine more IC quality time together that's simply... behind the scenes! They would not be an absent or neglectful partner. "Long time no see" is 100% fine for characters that aren't close, but I'll feel guilty and bad if I get hit with an "I missed you" from an IC loved one of my character implying my character just left them alone for that long.

Preferences

I am a mostly lore abiding fellow, but I approach lore with the idea of "how can I make this idea work", not "ew, that person seems totally out of place"! Unusual, immortal, cool and crazy characters are super, super welcome! All that matters to me is that these characters are coming from a place of love and passion for this setting, or at least your character and the story you want to tell with them and with their interactions.I am happy to write flirtation, whether sexual or romantic, and plot out all sorts of dynamics. However, I will never write anything sexually explicit ingame. I'd prefer we keep that, as well as romance, to discord. However, I can still be persuaded to ship ingame... I may be weak, haha.

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Bonds

Seren may already have a wealthy sponsor, but he also has leave to wander and provide his services elsewhere when not required. He will generally state that this policy was made in order to better find inspiration for new pieces, and to better practice old ones. As such, he has struck a deal with a man whom he greatly supports the endeavors of, and is therefore the bard and occasional bartender for The Saint's Rest.

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Rumors

- Though the man is sometimes dressed in finery, apparently, he is not nobility—in fact, he is not from Ishgard at all! His lack of a pillars accent makes this clear; he sounds, instead, Gridanian.- On much the same note, Seren is still learning his Ishgardian etiquette and dance. As of now, he is much more familiar with Gridanian, Gelmorran, and Lominsan styles.- Apparently, his sponsor is a historian, and rather poor with proper etiquette herself, though without any such excuse as Seren has. She simply, in her words, cannot be bothered with it all, and thus has a bit of a reputation as an eccentric.

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