Miqo'te, Keeper of the Moon
FtM [ he,his ]
(As of ARR) 32-years-old
5'2", lithe framed
Rogue (♦Ninja, ♦Dancer, ♦White Mage)
Devout follower of Menphina
Born in the Twelveswood
Settled in Ul'dah

The owner of the Dapper Than is known as a flamboyant and amiable man. An entertainer and a good listener for those at his bar that need it. The perfect sort to tend a bar if not a little shady.Another side of him: a crass man with a cruel sense of humor, a man who will do what he thinks needs to be done regardless of who stands in his way.Another: angry and brutal, a man ignited by existential dread.Masks meant to obscure himself and further his own means as much as his mirrored glasses. Though what lays at the center isn't much beyond utter exhaustion.THE DAPPER THAN
The bar of the Dapper Than is open eight hours for five suns, eleven on the other three. Food is cheap but decent. Rooms charged by the hour and discreetly packed in the back of the building.The tavern employs and caters primarily to locals in effort to create a communal hub. Of which both staff and customer are fiercely protective of to the point they may ice out newcomers if they think them a threat.A THRIFTY JACK-OF-ALL-TRADES
Moth'ir's cooking skills have been much improved by his work in the tavern but this is not the extent of his craftsmanship. His specialty is nice looking things using lower quality materials or ugly but functional items, all at a cheap cost. Perfect for someone needing to look presentable on a budget or a quick replacement you can trust to work.INFORMATION BROKER
Moth'ir uses his skills─accrued from his time in La Noscea and working in The Hole─to trade in information. What he can't snoop for himself, he'll pay for but those tidbits are few and far between.He pays particular attention to sales of curiously obtained merchandise for old associates on the off case someone manages to sneak something by the Sisters from Limsa.THE WHITE CAT
Years ago, a thief terrorized the streets of Ul'dah. Or at least those streets paved in gold.
Though the White Cat was "caught"─or at least forced into an early retirement─Moth'ir keeps his skills sharp.GOOD, RECKLESSLY
The neighborhood is protective of the Dapper Than for reasons beyond a genial environment and owner. Ul'dahn society can be prickly about how recklessly one helps one another. Especially certain powerful entities possessed of their own ego. Some of whom will gladly use violence to be rid of competition.It's no secret that Moth'ir is active within the community. Local events are often run by him. From small festivals, parties and small scale weddings. The other things─helping with bills, food and education─are kept more private. His various business dealings are not always for money but in efforts to keep these charitable dealings quiet and out of the eyes of the wrong people.

Strengths

KITTY SEE, KITTY DO
Moth'ir's schoolwork was always a bit shoddy due to his poor performance in formal learning situation. A fact he makes up for with his near preternatural ability to learn by observation and practical use.BLADEWORK
Though Moth'ir has had dealings with the Rogues Guild, his bladework is derived from generations of Karga tradition passed unto him by his mother. He's interspersed different techniques into his fighting style that he finds use for. Including things he's seen from passing gladiators and students of the pugilist guild.While fighting with his knives, Moth'ir is a deceptively inelegant and brutal combatant.OMNICRAFTER
Moth'ir has spent a large part of his free time dedicated to learning every craft he could find. From cooking to weaving to carpentry. He is a veritable wellspring of knowledge and handiwork. Though most his work has a certain scrappy quality to it due to the self taught element.He has a particular affinity toward cooking and tailoring.THE ECHO
Moth'ir is not a Warrior of Light, certainly not THE Warrior of Light, but he does possess the Echo. A secret which Moth'ir is deadly serious about keeping to himself. He has no idea what it is and doesn't care to find out. His glasses have become an integral part of not just masking his emotion but his episodes as well.His Echo comes with the ability to understand a person's intent regardless of language barrier, immunity to Primal tempering, as well as the unique ability to know what someone is craving. From tomato soup to just a hug.CONJURY
Introduced to the art formally by watching his assistant; Bukidai. Moth'ir has picked up some tips and tricks on the art of conjury. Though he's not likely to be much good with it in an actual fight.He's gotten much better with it since coming into contact with his biological sibling; Havhen whose passed on several of his birth clan's traditions on the subject to him. He is, however, much less inclined to use it now.DANCING
After watching performances of the Thavnairian dance troupe, he's picked up the art like a fish to water. There are times he may be more inclined toward dance steps than his usual daggerplay though he's latched unto the idea of combining his various practices into one and has been experimenting toward such a goal.

Weaknesses

TREES NEVER SEEM ANY SMALLER
Moth'ir has a certain aversion to wooded areas, the more trees the worse it is. He takes particular care to avoid these areas if he can manage it to the point of inanity. If he is pressed into a situation it's necessary, he'll become unusually irritable and jumpy at best. If his mental state is already troubled he may border violent and unusually paranoid. Sometimes even getting caught in flashbacks to a particularly traumatic experience.ONCE BITTEN, TWICE SHY
Well aware of the consequences of his actions should anybody discover the full nature of his dealings, Moth'ir trusts in virtually no one. Paranoid, he'll overly plan for situations which may or may not come to pass and manipulate people and events to ensure the safety of his operations.His own personality is buried under various persona that can be invoked at will. While he, himself, is a caring man dedicated to the cause of helping others, it can be hard to find that side to him through intentionally hostile and obnoxious behavior. Any who wish to peel back his various layers are better served in not trying at all as the act itself can lock someone out forever.EAT THE RICH
The rich and powerful won't find much company in Moth'ir. To say he dislikes them is to downplay his passionate and all consuming hatred. His usually cheery mask is prone to cracking with increasingly back handed comments and seething remarks.Money always corrupts and accumulating wealth is inherently evil in his mind. So it is that even if he is more understanding of those who rise into wealth from humbler beginnings, he will still distance himself from them. Watching people fall to avarice isn't something he can stomach.A CANDLE BURNING AT BOTH ENDS
A business owner, craftsman, community director, information broker, saboteur, spy and occasional thief and adventurer. The man left himself very little room for R&R, often spending days with only a few naps. Without the ability to rely on anyone due to the aforementioned trust issues, the man was moving himself into a nervous breakdown.The inevitable came to pass when a particular health issue skewed his body's hormones and dredged up old hurts that had never healed. Driven to seek out his brother in the Twelveswood who'd send him off to an associate physician of the mind.Moth'ir has regained stability though he's left his businesses to his protege and retreated away from Ul'dah to raise his daughter.

"Popped straight out of the earth like one of those Mandragora"

Woodwailers found the small child known as Khro wandering the woods, hoarse from screaming and clutching a crude knife. Though not unsympathetic, they were not delicate with him before contacting Moth Karga. A local woman known for being a "decent" Keeper and her care for orphaned Miqo'te children. It was her who deduced the child's clan by the color of his odd eye and tried to return him only to be met by rejection. Despite the obvious resemblance, his birth mother refused to acknowledge or look at her child.His actual memories of the time are at best hazy and more often painful to the point of invoking tears or panic attacks so he avoids thinking about them. Queries on his time before Moth Karga are instead met with outlandish tales of coming from nowhere at all.

Nine Orphans of Moth Karga

Moth Karga were an imperious woman with a storied reputation. Not all of which was flattering. After she retired from adventuring, she turned her attention to raising her newly orphaned nephew and the children that joined him. To support her growing number of dependents, she traveled between the Twelveswood and La Noscea, serving as a respected consultant and strategist. Those who tried to take advantage of the aging woman and her children quickly discovered that she was still uncanny with her knives. Responsibility, planning, and dagger play were all among the things she tried to pass on to her children. None of whom were more studious than the would-be-Moth'ir.None of whom were more devastated by her sudden illness.Despite her children's desperate scramble to scrape up enough gil to cover costs, they were unable to accumulate enough to find a physician able to cure Moth. Nor was it enough to ship her body back home. Luckily, a family friend and pirate offered to give her a burial by sea and refused payment. Watching the ship leave harbor, Moth'ir became distinctly aware that the money was likely not enough to support him and his siblings either.While they continued their work to scrape up what money they could, Moth'ir turned to avenues he hadn't dared to for fear Moth's admonishment. Diving into La Noscea's muddy waters is where he sharpened his more dubious skills and garnered a better understanding of crime and it's relation to communities. Together, the children managed to make enough to move the family back to their home in the Twelveswood. Though future costs were ever on Moth'ir's mind and pushed him to move to the supposed coin capital of Eorzea and the one place he'd been forbidden to go.

Stray Cat in the big city of Ul'dah

It was by careful manipulation, skill, pure luck and a complete absence of dignity that Moth'ir managed to fare better than other hopefuls of Ul'dah. Stability came in the form of a tavern owner offering a job and cheap room for anyone who could prove reliable. Which Moth'ir accomplished by not having responsibilities nor minding living in a glorified closet.The tavern, it's odd hours, and odder after-hours business helped Moth'ir sharpen his skills and gain contacts both reputable and not. This alone allowed Moth'ir to raise enough money to be sure his family would be taken care of. Which did little to ease his mind in concerns of the inequities that plagued Ul'dah and the desert around it.Taking matters into his own hands, Moth'ir dawned a mask and began carrying out various thefts across the city. Many of the things he stole were simple misdirection, high profile items placed somewhere else to mock while he fenced smaller innocuous things to discretely drop money into smaller communities. His new identity became known as the "White Cat," a villain to the upper eschelons of society and a small hero among the poor.He would have kept this charade up for longer but things took a turn. Children were held hostage, a Miqo'te died, the Blades took credit and Moth'ir wasn't left any choice but to hang up the cowl and live with it.

the Dapper Than

Moth'ir's boss sold him the tavern after the Calamity. Some quick cash so he could move in with his daughter to help tend her farm after the disaster made a mess of it. It wasn't a terribly good time to be a small business in Ul'dah but Moth'ir scraped by. While his boss had had a hands off approach to the more nefarious dealings in the backrooms of his tavern, Moth'ir took hold of it and pulled it into a shape he was more comfortable with. He replaced old things with new and repaired what had been damaged. By the end of it, the place had a new name and a new operating style which suited Moth'ir and the neighborhood.Unable to continue his dealings as the "White Cat" he turned to other venues to continue his charitable work.

Baby Blues

When Thancred woke up from his Exarch induced coma, he went to the Dapper Than to find his "friend" only to be redirected to the Karga's family home in the twelveswood to only be turned back around to Mor Dhona with a newborn in hand and a wet nurse in tow. Arriving to the clinic Thancred had overlooked he finally found Moth'ir worse for wear under the care of his biological sibling; Havhen. With some gentle coaxing and support, Moth'ir pulled himself back into a shape resembling his old self and finally named his daughter: Moth Karga II.
Who would later be given the monicker "Marmot" for her rodent like penchant for getting into trouble.Signing the bar and business over to his apprentice officially, Moth'ir is content with following after Thancred. If at a distance for the sake of their daughter.

the Karga Clan

Keepers usually stick to small communities of two or three families─composed of a mother and her children─hunting together. But the Karga family was small and in danger of dying out entirely by the time Moth was born. Down to five sisters, they broke from tradition and became a band of adventurers. Their reputation extended beyond the Twelveswood to as far as La Noscea as friends of guards and pirates alike.Moth didn't start gathering her boys until the incident that left her and her nephew the only living Karga. Though each of her boys were allowed to keep their old names if they wished and a few did, they all still consider themselves her children. None of which were more fond than Moth'ir who in turn was her chosen successor as far as family affairs were concerned.Though Moth'ir is still infinitely fond of his siblings─going so far as to dirty himself so he can accrue enough money to make sure they're taken care of─he does not have a relationship with most of them.(MOTH'A) ASHE'A "ASHES" KARGA
Moth's first charge, nephew and sole remaining Karga by blood. He became an adventurer like his mother but returned home after becoming blinded. He spends his time advocating for Keepers accross the Twelveswood. Though he technically lives with Moth'wo and periodically has been in proximity of Moth'ir, they are not on speaking terms.MOTH'TO "SNAKE" KARGA
One of Moth'ir's brothers who disappeared into the woods as is traditional of Keepers. Most of Moth'ir's coin to Moth'to is a reward for any news of him. There has been none for several years.MOTH'LI "CRYBABY" KARGA
A botanist in Gridania. She didn't come out until after their mother died and decided to keep her name as homage to the woman. An idealistic and forgiving soul, she desperately wishes for an amicable reunion of her brothers. Though she lives near Moth'wo, she is notoriously hard to find due to an airheaded and carefree attitude so she often misses Moth'ir's infrequent visits to the Shroud.MOTH'SAE "CROSSES" KARGA
Another brother who scampered off to the woods. Unlike Moth'to, Moth'sae has been seen somewhat recently.MOTH'RA "FIVES" KARGA
A particularly sullen boy who signed up for the Adders and hasn't talked to any of his siblings since.U'LETH MOTH'WO "SUNNY" KARGA
A Seeker of the Sun whom Moth employed to help care for her children because she thought he was far too young to be wandering on his own. Though he never officially accepted her offer to become part of the family he did begin to refer to himself as Moth'wo at some point and that was that. One of the eldest left after she died, he took up the responsibility of caring for his siblings along with Moth'ir though he's the one that stayed with them.After the lot of them scattered, he took up healing in memory of Moth. He's the only Karga child to be in somewhat regular contact with Moth'ir and the only one who knows the full reasons behind his departure. He maintains Moth Karga's home and cares for Moth'ir when he returns which is usually only ever when he requires medical attention.(MOTH'YA) NAI'A "NATE" ODULA
A boy that was left in Moth's care by a friend "temporarily" though it became clear the boy was abandoned likely due to his mixed heritage. In an ill advised attempt to reconnect with his clan he's taken a trade near their hunting grounds. Things are reportedly going better than expected. He sends letters to Moth'wo, Ashe'a and Moth'li.MOTH'ZI KARGA
The youngest, Moth'zi's only impression of Moth was her sudden and traumatic death. Moth'ir and Moth'wo took notice of his intelligence at a young age and secured a higher education at the cost of shipping him off to Old Shalrayan. A large portion of Moth'ir's funds went toward Moth'zi's room and board. He used to send Moth'ir letters but they are becoming less frequent.------------------------------------------HAVHEN
One of the few of their clan's children to be raised to adulthood. Their traditions were taught specifically to them to succeed in a leadership role of the clan but, still resentful of the children they watched be "lost" when they were growing up, they abandoned them and chose a solo path under their new name "Havhen."Thinking of their own lost sibling, Havhen opened a clinic to care for those without a home in the twelveswood. They took a particular interest in the mental health of those who'd come to him and began studying the topic, corresponding with some of the greater minds in the field. But the clinic came to an end when Woodwailers came and broke it up under thin pretenses to hide their hatred of the "Keeper".Immediatly jumping on the chance to escape woodwailers forever after, Havhen reopened their clinic in Mor Dhona where they hope to treat patient's condition rather than consign them.Their first patient so happened to reunite them with their lost sibling: Moth'ir. Who had survived their mother's abandonment but was suffering from postpartum depression compounded by the related gender dysphoria.
Moth'ir is.... less than enthused by being in contact with someone of his old family but is tolerating Havhen due to their help.
And free babysitting.

Friends and Charges

THANCRED "THANNY" WATERS
Childhood friends from Thancred's days before Louisoix. They reunited by chance after he came to Ul'dah. Quickly falling into various unintended adventures─including one particularly bloody event─the two have had a strange "friendship." Though their public interactions seem to be largely Moth'ir antagonizing or teasing him, Moth'ir does care deeply for Thancred. He apprises the man of any information that seems pertinent for his investigations and keeps a room ready for him should he (and one of his flirtations) have need of it. Mostly free of charge. The Dapper Than is named for him after all. He's also the only one whom Moth'ir can comfortably let his guard down around that isn't blood related.He's the only one who owns a spare key to the tavern outside those who reside there.BUKIDAI "BOOKER" IRIQ
A Xaela man whom Moth'ir chanced across after he was unceremoniously abandoned in Ul'dah by his lover, broke, homeless and completely clueless to anything Eorzea. Moth'ir took the man in, gave him a job at the bar, a place to stay and started to teach him about the ups and downs of Ul'dah.Much of which has horrified Bukidai unspeakably. Along with Moth'ir's less agreeable parts of his personality and business, Bukidai's main goal has been to return to the Steppes. But when given the chance he decided to stay and become Moth'ir's apprentice instead.By virtue of living and working closely with him, Bukidai has accidentally glimpsed Moth'ir's truer self. Though he doesn't understand him as a person at all, Bukidai has come to fervently believe in Moth'ir.IBUKI "SCRIBBLES" BUNJI & THE BURN "KID"
A pair Moth'ir and Bukidai picked up from Kugane on their failed attempt to send Iriq back home to the Steppes. Ibuki invited herself to Eorzea and The Burn is never far behind her. Moth'ir thinks Ibuki has spunk but The Burn has a good habit of pissing him off. (The Burn has a good habit of pissing everyone off.)Together with Bukidai, they've jokenly been referred to as Moth'ir's "kids." Though he's unable to trust them completely, when push comes to shove, it's these three that he leave his work to when he's needed elsewhere.MOTH "MARMOT" KARGA the II
Nothing about Moth II was or is simple. An unexpected arrival, whose term incited anxiety in an already overly paranoid man and gross amounts of dysphoria which fed into one another. Whose other father failed to show up in a timely manner so they could talk about her at all. Who spent much of her first years screaming over migraines no one knew she had due to her uneven eyesight. Whose indelicate tongue and moodiness spun gorgeous songs but continuously broke hearts, including her own.There are few people whom Moth'ir could have loved more than his daughter and all her trouble. Though he'd like it if she'd call him "Dad" or "Father" or anything other than his name.URIANGER "URI-RANGER" AUGURLET
Moth'ir encouraged Thancred to pursue Urianger despite their relationship. Monogamy isn't exactly a prevailing value of Miqo'te culture. Moth'ir has since made sure to befriend and enforce Urianger as apart of their family.LUZ "HOPS" WATERS
A viera orphan who tried passing themself off as one of the Loporrits and consequently picked up by Urianger and Thancred. Happily adopted by them and Moth'ir. They prefer to call Thancred and Urianger "Dad" and "Papa" while Moth'ir is still only "Moth'ir". Despite that, Luz is far more taken to quietly learning crafting from him than by following after their sister.