Quina Quen

Quina Quen
No can eat until it weaker!
Age	89
Species	Qu
Sex	Neuter
Height	Tall
Weight	Heavy
Background
Series	Final Fantasy 9
Combat Styles	Gourmand
Hometown	Qu's Marsh
Group	Tantalus Theater Troupe
Occupation/Job	Traveling Gourmand
Force:	Forces of Restoration
Theme Song	https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyPM172CUAA
Quote
"I do what I want! You have problem?"
Recent Events
Searching for yummy-yummies.

A member of the strange and rarely seen Qu race, Quina was raised in a marsh a few miles from Lindblum. S/he met Zidane's group during their attempts to escape Queen Brahne's grasp, and has traveled with them ever since to experience the many exotic flavors of the world. Despite being over eighty years old, Quina has little experience with life outside of the marsh, often displaying a childlike curiosity for every new place s/he visits. Despite his/her tendency to run off at the first sight of something tasty-looking, s/he is surprisingly dependable when s/he is needed. Like all Qu, Quina's love of food extends to everything edible (and some things not), and s/he possesses the unusual ability to absorb magic through eating creatures that use it, as well as a portion of any spells cast on him/her. In this way, s/he can learn new spells to use in battle, and s/he has already built up a versatile repertoire of offensive and support magic.

History

Quina's life started in the marsh near the foot of the mountain Lindblum sits on top of, and it was there s/he spent his/her life for eighty nine years. S/he was raised by Quale, a master Gourmand who trained him/her in the Way of the Gourmand. From this training, Quina became a master chef and gained the ability to use giant forks in combat with expert skill, and possibly the knowledge of how to use the magic s/he learns from eating various creatures. Apart from this, though, Quina never learned much about the world, as s/he rarely ventured outside the marsh.

Just before Queen Brahne's declaration of war on the entirety of the Mist Continent, however, Quina visited Alexandria under Quale's persuasion to gain some outside experience. S/he pestered the chefs about their cooking, but after showing his/her skills and expert knowledge, they allowed him/her to join the crew. S/he spent approximately six months there helping prepare royal meals, and eventually became the official head chef, personally overseeing Princess Garnet's sixteenth birthday banquet. However, after the explosive escape of the Tantalus theater troupe, s/he left for Lindblum, because with Garnet gone and Brahne on the warpath s/he felt there was little reason to stay in Alexandria. S/he joined the Festival of the Hunt under the name "Strange Gourmand", but was unable to beat Zidane, Freya, or even Vivi, as s/he was too busy trying to eat the monsters released during the event rather than focusing on gaining points.

After this, Quina returned to the marsh to report his/her journey to Quale. When Zidane's group came through while on the run from Queen Brahne, Zidane ran into Quina trying and failing to catch frogs. Zidane took pity on the distressed Qu and caught one for him/her, but Quale scolded Quina for being too lazy to feed him/herself. Afterwards, Quale asked Zidane and his party to take Quina with them so that s/he could taste as many exotic foods as possible, and thus advance along the path of the Gourmand. In particular, Quale tasked Quina with catching frogs from all of the other Qu marshes of the world, which would be the key to his/her training.

Thus, Quina traveled with Zidane, Freya, and Vivi to Burmecia, where they discovered it had been destroyed by the Alexandrian forces. Despite valiant efforts from all four of them, they were eventually defeated by Beatrix, the Alexandrian general, who left them for dead. Later on, after reaching Treno, their world fell to the Heartless, leaving only a few cities behind. Quina escaped through his/her desire to taste the many foods of the world, and ended up in Alexandria. S/he has been wandering the World of Ruin ever since in search of both new foods and his/her friends.

Personality

Quina is a very simple person, with simple wants and needs. A large part of this stems from spending almost his/her entire life in a fairly secluded area with little contact with the outside world, which left him/her rather naive. S/he has a very childlike curiosity toward things s/he has never seen before, which is almost everything, and s/he has a tendency to run off and explore, usually in search of food. S/he has little interest in world events, and barely even seems to understand the severity of what's happening around him/her.

However, Quina is very loyal to his/her friends, and will come to their aid when s/he is needed. Considering his/her secluded lifestyle until recently, this might simply be because s/he has never had friends before, and wants to keep the ones s/he has now. S/he will often try to cheer people up when they seem to be feeling down, but his/her ways of doing so are pretty much limited to food, whether by sharing a local delicacy or cooking something up him/herself.

Speaking of which, the most obvious thing people might notice is Quina's near-obsession with food. S/he is always looking for new delicacies to try in every place s/he visits, and has no issue with eating random monsters in the field, even Heartless. This is just as much part of his/her training in the Way of the Gourmand as it is simple gluttony, and is a common aspect among his/her species. In fact, s/he sometimes passes down food-based nuggets of wisdom learned from his/her training. For instance, one of his/her favorites is that cooking for friends is the core of a love for food.

Aside from his/her indulgent nature, this reflects his/her generous side as well. Quina often does what s/he wants when s/he wants, but also believes that others should be able to do the same, and as such is happy to cook for anyone who's hungry. S/he is eager to help people who ask or just look like they need it, and will refuse to give up until the job is done or s/he is just too exhausted to continue. On the other hand, s/he doesn't understand the concept of currency, and has more than once been accused of thievery when s/he ate something without paying. At the very least, s/he has started to learn about haggling, but still doesn't quite understand the purpose behind it.

Quina takes delight in the small things in life, and s/he takes setbacks in stride, quickly recovering with the same giant grin on his/her face. His/her imagination is exceptionally strong, able to experience imaginary events with all of his/her senses. Though s/he doesn't know it yet, this is the key to mastering the Way of the Gourmand. S/he has great respect for elders of any species, though that respect may wane if s/he finds out that they're chronologically younger than him/her.

Aside from his/her naivete, Quina's biggest personality flaw is his/her recklessness, which also stems from his/her childlike mindset. S/he often doesn't realize just how dangerous the world can be, and thus will dive (sometimes literally) into any situation without bothering to think first. This can be because s/he thinks there's food available (even if there is none), or if s/he thinks she can help someone with a problem (even if s/he only makes it worse). S/he is also terrified of heights, and would rather brave the explosive power of an Eidolon than board an airship.

Also, Quina has no problem wearing feminine clothing or accessories, which only confuses the issue of his/her gender further.

Abilities

Quina is a Blue Mage in archetype, having above average magical abilities and average physical abilities, but not really standing out statistically in anything. S/he is, however, the slowest of Zidane's group, even moreso than Steiner or Vivi. What s/he really shines in is his/her sheer versatility, having some of the most powerful or just plain useful defensive, offensive, and support spells available. Frog Drop, despite its inherently silly nature, is deceptively powerful and can easily break through an enemy's defenses. S/he tends to have a heavier focus on weakening enemies than supporting his/her allies. His/her weapon of choice is giant forks, which have the potential to be either devastating or completely useless.

Quina, like all of his/her race, is capable of absorbing a portion of any magic used on him/her. This makes him/her nearly ideal for fighting mages, as s/he takes little damage from their spells compared to others. Oddly enough, despite not understanding the value of money, s/he has an uncanny knack for finding it just laying around.

Finally, the big one. Quina does not learn spells by being hit by them, like most Blue Mages, but rather by eating enemies who have them and absorbing the magic that way.

Oh wait, there's still the matter of Trance. In times when Quina experiences a surge of powerful emotions, s/he will undergo a transformation into a more powerful, armored form. Aside from increased physical strength, s/he gains the ability to summon a giant pot of boiling water out of nowhere and cook his/her opponents for both extra damage and easier magic absorption. But, due to his/her rather passive personality, s/he doesn't attain this form as often as the rest of Zidane's group.

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