Player Name:

Character Name: Kumatora
Canon: MOTHER 3
Journal: kumagypsy
Activity: 1 2

Character Name: Flint
Canon: MOTHER 3
Journal: planking
Activity: 1 2

Character Name: Madame Flurrie
Canon: Paper Mario 2
Journal: lovely_wind
Activity: A post

Character Name: Skull Kid
Canon: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Journal: drawin_on_trees
Activity: 1 2

Character Name: Garrett
Canon: Thief
Journal: itsjustrats
Activity: A post

Character Name: Melia Antiqua
Canon: Xenoblade Chronicles
Journal: birdlady
Activity: 1 (there's 4 comments in here) 2 3

Player Name: Groove

Character Name: Kumatora
Canon: MOTHER 3
Journal: kumagypsy
Activity: cheater cheater pumpkin eater
Fun at the beach

Character Name: Flint
Canon: MOTHER 3
Journal: planking
Activity: chikans
Survival stories
dog time

Character Name: Madame Flurrie
Canon: Paper Mario 2
Journal: lovely_wind
Activity: Smoochpocalypse 2014 except it slipped into 2015 because I'm slow
Fun in the sun

Character Name: Skull Kid
Canon: Legend of Zelda: Majora's Mask
Journal: drawin_on_trees
Activity: Getting into trouble

Character Name: Garrett
Canon: Thief
Journal: itsjustrats
Activity: Grump on a plane
Grump in a hotel

Character Name: Melia Antiqua
Canon: Xenoblade Chronicles
Journal: birdlady
Activity: LUAU!
New Year resolutions

Out-of-Character Information

Name: Groove
Are you over 15?: sob yes
Time Zone: EST
Personal Journal: wefeelgroove
Reliable Method of Contact: plurk, e-mail, and AIM are all wefeelgroove
Other characters in the game: Kumatora/kumagypsy, Flint/planking, Flurrie/lovely_wind, Skull Kid/drawin_on_trees, Garrett/itsjustrats
Link to slot request if 6th, 7th slot: ding

Tegaki: http://tewi.us/tegaki/uentries.php?u=11403
Anything Else?: I can't stop writing novels help

In-Character Information

Name: Melia Antiqua
Game/Series: Xenoblade Chronicles
Teacher/Student/Other: Student
Canon Point: Post-game
Age: 88, but she acts and appears 15-16ish.
Grade Level/Class Taught/Job: Freshman
Dorm or Living Arrangement: Dorm plz
Personality:

It is you who will rule the High Entia, and likely be their last.

The first and most obvious thing you will notice about Melia is that she is the very definition of poised. Pompt and circumstance is a big deal in High Entia society, and the royal family must be the most regal of them all. She has been groomed since birth to one day ascend the throne as the empress of her people. She was beyond sheltered: she grew up all but hidden away from society in a garden high above the High Entia capital. She was very isolated, and outside of her own family, everyone she ever interacted with was 'below' her socially-speaking: lots of tutors, bodyguards, servants, etc. On the few occasions where she appeared in public, she had to wear a mask to hide her face (which would give away the fact that she was half-Homs), adding another layer between her and the rest of society. As a result of her upbringing, she comes off as very aloof and even snooty at first. She can't help it- it's all she's ever known.

Melia seems very much like a floofy, girly princess. Her appearance is always impeccable, which is quite a feat considering she spends a lot of time traversing snowy mountains, mechanical fortresses, and hazy jungles. She is constantly adjusting and smoothing out her clothing lest even the tiniest wrinkle appear. She is smitten with cute things- some of her post-battle dialogue includes her asking Riki if she can pet his fur and the affinity-raising items that net the most points with her tend to be flowers and animals. Even her equipment is notably girlier than everyone else's, with lots of pastel colors, flower motifs, and gilded decorations. Sometimes it's hard to believe that she is in fact the oldest of all of the main characters, even though she is still practically a child in her own society.

That is not to say that Melia is a delicate, fragile porcelain doll. She may be a pretty princess, but she is not one to be trifled with. She has been trained to fight and to harness her natural ability to control ether (the Xeno-word for "magic") in addition to being groomed as the future empress of the High Entia. In fact, the first time she is seen in-game, she is battling a dangerous monster that's been terrorizing the local Nopon along with her four bodyguards... and she is the only one who survives. Later, it's her ether-channeling powers that allow Shulk and Co. to defeat the very same monster. She keeps up perfectly well with the other members of the party, all of whom are military-trained and have seen combat before. Not bad for a girl who grew up in the lap of luxury. In game terms, she is the physically weakest character: she has the lowest HP and physical attack power, and folds like a lawn chair the minute she takes a hit. However, her ether abilities more than make up for it. She can buff, debuff, and cast utterly devastating magical attacks (her Lightning elemental can be made into one of the most powerful attacks in the game, even), plus she is incredibly versatile in chain attacks due to her special ability, so she can allow for huge amounts of damage very easily. On top of all that, her status as a glass cannon is easily negated by the fact that half of the other characters can act as a tank and keep enemies off her while she brings the pain.

So yeah, don't mess with Melia. She'll set you on fire.

Having spent all of her life locked in a garden has given her a huge disadvantage when it comes to actually talking to people and being social. She never really had any friends until she joined Shulk and pals on their adventure, and her interactions with them are stilted and awkward at first. Things get even more confounding for her when she develops a crush on Shulk, her very first crush in fact. All of these hormones feelings were confusing to her, as they were never part of her rigorous studies and training. You don't need puppy love to run an empire! Being casual takes a huge deal of effort because she always defaults to princess mode when interacting with anyone. When talking to NPCs as Melia, Sharla sometimes interrupts and has to remind her that she doesn't have to be super professional all the time. Whenever this happens, it spurs Melia into being overly casual in an attempt to make up for forgetting, which just results in her coming off as hilariously forced. But hey, she tried, give her a gold star.

Even in battle, her banter tends to be more formal than everyone else. While the others yell "Yeah, we did it!" and "Whoohoo!", she ends a chain attack with "Bravo! Oh, bravo!". You almost expect her to do a golf clap when the party defeats a monster.

You don't have the faintest idea why Melia's been fighting! Succeeding the imperial line aint' all about blood. It's about takin' on the will to do whatever it takes for your land, for your people, when the time comes.

Despite being a princess in a JRPG, Melia couldn't be further from the rebellious princess trope. She is incredibly dutiful to her family and her people. Fate of the world lies in getting the Monado powered up? Okay, just wait until I undergo a lengthy ritual to prove my worth as the crown princess of the empire first! Melia has spent her entire life putting the needs of others before herself. She represses all of her feelings, and keeping up appearances is practically a defense mechanism for her. Since she's still young, though, she's not perfect at hiding her feelings, and when she's especially under stress she can be read like a book. She says she wants to support Shulk in his quest to avenge (and later rescue) Fiora, but it's painfully clear that it breaks her heart to see him talk about this other girl, especially when it goes against everything she's ever been taught to even consider telling him her true feelings. There is a scene on the Fallen Arm where she, Dunban and Riki are walking along the beach, when Riki all of a sudden announces that he is tired and hungry and demands they stop for the night. Dunban assumes that Riki is being Riki, and asks Melia if she is feeling okay. She insists that she isn't tired at all, but Riki persists and they make camp anyway. Cut to the three of them gathered around a campfire... and Melia is fast asleep. Riki confides that was pretending to be tired, because he could see that it was Melia who was having trouble keeping up, but he and Dunban both knew that she would never admit to being exhausted. It's a shining example of how she is self-sacrificing to a fault and how transparent she can be when she's letting it get to her.

She may try to deny it, but she is very much a teenage girl with teenage issues and teenage limits. This causes her a great deal of insecurity and anxiety, as she believes any crack in her perfect, royal facade makes her a burden to others, and shouldering others with her problems when she's the one who's supposed to be taking care of their problems is the absolute worst thing she could ever do.

This is my responsibility. Father entrusted me with the empire and its people. What I believe in is the will of those struggling to survive. I have to fight if I am to convey this to the next generation.

Her pursuit of her own ideal is what drives her. She wants to take care of people, and to be a good ruler. Even though it can cause her heartbreak, it also brings out the best in her. Her ability to shove her worries and fears aside allows her to be smart and focused when it really counts, such as when her quick thinking breaks Shulk out of a deadly stalemate with Metal Face. Out of all the protagonists in Xenoblade, Melia gets the shortest ends of all the sticks. By the end of the game, she loses her family, her empire is in shambles, and she doesn't get the guy, but she still smiles. The fact that she can even come out of all of this without being irrevocably broken is a testament to her determination.

Backstory:
I didn't have to write a novel this time THANK GOD Also spoilers spoilers spoilers everywhere I apologize.

ANYWAY, after the events of the game, everyone left on Bionis relocates to a lovely little beachside city, where they all live in peace and harmony. Shulk shares the wisdom that Alvis left with him with his friends, that this new world without gods was boundless, and full of many different forms of life, and it was his hope that they would all live together. Although the new settlement was still undergoing construction, curiosity soon got the better of people, and it wasn't long until scouting groups were sent out across the newly created sea in search of this new life.

They returned quicker than anyone expected, and with wondrous news: There was something beyond the ocean that surrounded them. A new world, teeming with life. They had found a huge city that acted as a sort of crossroads between countless civilizations. It was nothing less than what Alvis had promised them. It was decided unanimously that a group would be sent to this place as ambassadors, to extend the olive branch and explore even farther than anyone could have imagined.

Everyone was surprised when Melia volunteered to be the first ambassador to the new city, but for her, it was a simple decision. Peace and harmony and happiness reigned in the former Bionis, and although she couldn't say she was unhappy, she felt oddly unfulfilled compared to her friends. Her family was gone, her kingdom was no more, and the boy she loved loved another. What else did she have here? She had the gift the Monado had given everyone: the promise of a new future. And she could see that plainly, her future lay in the worlds beyond. Perhaps there, in her future, she would find happiness.

Anything Else?:

-She's bringing a small entourage of High Entia guards with her. I won't be NPCing them directly but I will probably mention them hanging around the school grounds/the city and trying to look as inconspicuous as people with crazy-huge wings and ridiculous JRPG armor can be.
-The people on Bionis/Mechonis have lots of interesting names for different species so Melia will most likely refer to humans/humanoids as Homs, or something deer-like as an Eks. So a not-quite-language barrier almost?
-Melia is the closest thing to the game's black mage, but she works a little differently from a traditional RPG spellcaster in that she casts buffs/debuffs to start and then can use the same spell to actually cause damage or heal or whatever.
-SHE GOT WINGS GROWING OUT OF HER HEAD HOLY CRAP
-In a game full of British accents, she out-Britishes everyone. She is so British, in fact, that she's one of the Doctor's companions! But no really, Reyn even describes her as sounding posh in-game.
-Pastel princess panties

In-Character 1st person sample:
Have a dear_mun post!

In-Character 3rd person sample:

She scrutinized her reflection in the window, and frowned. She reached down and smoothed out her dress again, even though it was, to the untrained eye, impeccable as usual. Not a single hair or feather was out of place on her head. And yet, she had to check, just in case.

Melia had little else to do until they arrived.

The voyage would not take long, but the minutes stretched on and on the more she anticipated their arrival. Looking beyond her own face in the window, she saw that outside, the once endless sea had given way to land at... some point when she hadn't been paying attention. It was such an odd sight, land simply appearing out of the empty waters. But if the scouts were correct, that was hardly the only strange thing she would encounter. It was exciting, and frightening.

She was told there was an institute of learning in Final Destination, and she agreed to enroll as a student upon arrival. There she could gain the knowledge the people of Bionis craved about the world they had just learned existed, but she also had another reason for becoming a simple student. It was a new start. There, perhaps, her lack of knowledge could be passed off as simple curiosity. What good student doesn't ask millions of questions?

Because it was true: there was much she was unsure about. That had been true since the moment she met Shulk. Things had been simpler when her entire world existed under the protective dome of Alcamoth. To think that now she had an endless universe at her fingertips and she might never understand all of it. Cluelessness was unbecoming of an empress, even an empress without an empire

"My lady..."

Melia let out a short gasp and turned to see one of her bodyguards in the doorway.

"Ah, hello." She said, and smiled to hide her surprise. "My apologies. I let my mind wander."

"We have arrived and are about to land. Your presence is requested at the bridge." The guard bowed deeply and excused himself.

She didn't follow him immediately. She had to wait for the fluttering in her chest to subside. Here goes nothing.