THE MIMI✧VERSE

✧ Background

Mimi Iriq grew up as part of the Iriq tribe in the The Steppe. Her tribe often was focused on raising the abandoned children from the various tribes of the land, so from early on she's always been an older sister and surrogate mother to many. Someone who would go clean up a cut on your leg after you fell, help you finish your chores before supper, feed the littlest Auri at table before filling her own plate, and sing you lullabies til your eyes were too heavy to remain open. She's always wanted to take care of those she cared for, but she was also young and wanted to help people beyond the confines of her tribe. However, especially with Garlean occupation right outside their territories, it was very taboo to leave The Steppe. Her mother especially didn't like these ideas, claiming that she was shirking her duties and being selfish. The Steppe was separate from the rest of the world, and she was told to accept it. Mimi, while afraid of upsetting her mother, still continued to push her luck and eventually would sneak out of The Steppe on her own. She'd venture out to outside villages and work as a healer. It was hard work, but she loved it. Unfortunately, she couldn't outsmart her mother for long and she quickly discovered Mimi disobeying her orders. And because Mimi acted on her selfish desires, she was disowned by not only her mother but her tribe. Her family told her to leave and never return. She would leave the Steppe soon after as she didn't really want to attempt to find a place with another tribe. No one would want to take in an exile. So she left. She'd spend her time wandering in small villages as a healer and eventually her wandering would bring her to Eorzea.

✧ Background

Mimi grew up with and among the scholars and Archons of Sharlayan. Her parents were well known researchers who often traveled to lands far away. Sadly, their priority was always the pursuit of knowledge, so (intentionally or not) they often neglected Mimi as a child. Going off on expeditions and trips without a word, leaving a young Mimi to figure out how to care for herself. If it wasn't in a thesis paper or some kind of unknown specimen, they weren't interested. She would quickly learn to not rely on them for anything. They would later mysteriously disappear before she even became 7. Most people assume they left her behind and went off on a long expedition. Personally, she didn't really care anymore and stopped asking about them. When they didn't return, she was left in the care of retired Miqo'te scholars. She would see these people as her parents, even taking on their name to further distance herself from her birth parents. She would attend the Studium, and instead of finding fascination in research like her parents, she found interests in the arts such as dancing, music, literature, art, etc. She'd focus her interests there rather than the more "practical" studies. She would become a very graceful and elegant woman with a disdain for scholars as she believes there's only room for one thing in their hearts. Despite this, she was known in Sharlayan as a beautiful and charming young woman. She chose to leave Sharlayan later on because she didn't see herself having a future there. She had no interest in becoming a scholar or taking on the task of becoming an archon. That and her interests weren't always interests of her homeland. So after a tearful goodbye to her parents, she set off to Eorzea, a land not too far away.

✧ Background

This feral cat lived most, if not all, of her life in the forests of Gridania with her mother and her hunter sisters. However, a string of unfortunate events lead to her entire tribe being killed. Clashes with Gridanians, the Ixali, and the Garlean Empire. One by one, they all fell until she was the last. Believing she was a curse and bad luck, she outcasted herself and vowed to survive on her own until the gods of the underworld dragged her down into the abyss. She distanced herself from society and the world. That is until she encountered K'rhid Tia, the head of the Archanists' guild in Limsa Lominsa. It was a chance encounter, but she seemingly kept running into him and he wouldn't leave her alone. Because of how he treated her akin to a daughter and gave her hope, something she didn't have for a long time, she found herself wanting more. Wanting something more than to die. So he invited her to come to Limsa Lominsa and learn from him. He would help her get access to the airship and enrolled her in the Archanists' guild, where they would look after her after he went off again on his travels. Despite this, he was her idol and she found herself caring for someone again. She would attempt to shed her rough and gruff attitude, and try to turn over a new leaf (such as abandoning her hunting/robbing skills in favor of magic arts like him). As she grew older, she would keep in touch with K'rhid Tia and grow into her own person.

✧ Background

A man who never really felt he had a home. For as long as he can remember, he's been a Garlean conscript. He was stolen away from his family relatively young, and forced into labor camps. He was taken so young that he can no longer remember his mother's face or where his village originally was. It's all the blur, laced with screams and blood. The work was hard and grueling, with no breaks lest you'd be beaten or left to starve for disobedience. Min had gotten his fair share of discipline from his overseer, and he learned to keep his head down and keep quiet. Once of age, he was removed from the labor force and made a solider, trained by rouge ninja of Doma who sold their secrets to the Empire. Once trained he'd carry out secret missions, infiltration, and assassinations for the Empire. And as much as he didn't wish to acknowledge it, he was good at his job. The more kills he got for the empire, the more warped his mental health became. The guilt was eating him alive. He knew the Empire wasn't good. He knew he was the bad guy. But He didn't know how to run away. He couldn't run away. The Garleans would kill him if he tried. So he kept his head down and kept at it. Even when the water couldn't wash the blood off his hands, he kept moving forward. And in a way, it was thanks to Zenos that he was finally able to run away and defect. He had thought he'd seen the true horrors of war. But that was nothing compared to the decimation left in the wake of Zenos yae Galvus. It shook him to his core. And when he made eye contact with him, he knew he had to run. So in the heat of a battle between the Doman Liberation Front and the Empire, he ran. He ran and hid out until he could find a way to escape Doma. He would later board a refugee ship to Eorzea and try to turn over a new leaf. He had an incredibly hard time adjusting, as fighting and killing is all he's ever been good at and his past haunts him daily. But at least now he can say he fights for a good reason.

✧ Background

Momo lived her early life exploring Reunion within The Steppe. She always had her head in the clouds, and her lack of spoken work makes her airheaded tendencies even worse. When she was young, she had wandered Reunion alone, and ended up digging through barrels of goods she wasn't meant to trifle through. She wasn't careful and fell in, and the barrel of goods was carried away in a caravan. The good were carried out of The Steppe and across the sea to Doma, unknowingly taking a small stowaway with them. Momo cannot remember how long she was stuck inside. Qestir are not meant to speak, and thus she sat patiently, waiting to be released. When the lid of the barrel finally opened, she made eye contact with a young boy. That boy she would later know as Hien Rijin. Hien had helped her out of the barrel and from there her life turned upside down. With her lack of speech, as well as no knowledge of where she really came from via maps, she was taken in by the Domans. More specifically, the workers within the Rijin house. She would later become Hien's personal maid, as they seemed to have bonded throughout the chaos of her arrival. She'd follow Hien around relentlessly, to the point that they had to be dragged apart half the time. While there was a distinct line between commoner and royalty, the two couldn't help the magnetic pull they had. She became close with his family, especially Gosetsu. As the years went on, they'd remain close. Even with the Garlean threat looming over them, they were close. Until they weren't. Hien began to go to the battlefield to rebel against Garlean rule. He had begun to see the horrors of war, and Momo couldn't stand the idea. She would beg and plead with him to stay by her side, but he'd turn away from her gaze and leave, telling her to not worry. The last time she saw him was after another argument for him to stay and then he left. Lord Kaien was killed. And Hien was presumed dead as he seemingly disappeared. As the Empire began to fully seize control, Gotsetsu and Yuigiri sent her away, fearing she'd rush to into danger to try and find Hien. And so she sailed toward Eorzea, alone and heartbroken.