Tia (Galactik Football)

Tia is another main protagonist in the animated series, Galactik Football. She is the first able to gain and master the Flux and plays as attacking midfielder (the position Rocket's father Norata used to have).

In fanfiction, she is a highly popular character and is usually paired with Rocket, who is also her boyfriend in Galactik Football.

Season 1

Unlike most of the Snow Kids, who were raised on ice-bound Akillian Tia comes from a wealthy background. The daughter of the Akillian Ambassadors to the Obia Moon, Tia's relationship with both of her parents is strained and she was raised mostly by her governess Stella. She has possessed the ability to use the Breath of Akillian since she was a little girl, but because she did not live on Akillian, and because her parents were never aware of her abilities it was not until after she had been recruited into the Snow Kids that it was learned she was the sole individual in possession Akillian's long lost Flux.

Tia chose not to ask her parents permission about the Snow Kids try-outs, knowing that they would forbid her from participating. Instead she hired a pair of actors to record a message to convince Aarch she had their permission to join the team. She arrived on Akillian on the day of the tryouts via spaceship and promptly crashed the ship, knocking herself unconscious only to be saved by Rocket who pulled her free of the wreckage before it exploded. On recovery she learned of Rocket's relationship to Aarch and convinced him to escort her to the tryouts. Tia secured her place on the team by demonstrating her ability with the Breath of Akillian, however Rocket's father Norata intervened before he too could compete for his place on the team, and it was only later intervention which brought him to join the Snow Kids.

Initially shy and secretive around her team mates Mei, D'Jok, Micro-Ice, Thran, Sinedd and Ahito and her coach Aarch, Tia only really opened up to Rocket, who was also the only member of the team to suspect her secret. Her use of the Breath established her as the main threat in the Snow Kids' early matches and she was singled out by Artegor Nexus, who hired one of the players on the Wambas team to inflict a career-ending injury on her during their friendly match. A combination of a change of heart on the part of the Wambas' player and the expertise of Dame Simbai prevented the injury from crippling Tia, however Artegor still succeeded in removing her as a threat when a tip off alerted him to Tia's true identity. He reported her to the police and she was escorted home to her parents on the Obia moon.

With the help of her governess, Stella Tia was able to elude the guards set by her parents and return to join her team for the second half of the Snow Kids-Red Tigers match, bringing hope back to the team and helping them to triumph.

As the series progresses and the Breath awakens in the other players, Tia is seen as less of an individual threat and of a target for the team's enemies. The later half of the series focuses more on her burgeoning relationship with Rocket and her attempts to reunite his estranged family.

Using a photograph stolen from Norata's home, and her parents diplomatic connections Tia is able to locate Rocket's mother Kira at Genesis Stadium. She affects a reunion between the two during Rocket's sixteenth birthday party but things do not go as planned. Rocket, who believed his mother to be long dead, is horrified both by her abandonment and his father's lies. He in turn takes his fury out on Tia, asking her to stay out of his business. However by the time the Snow Kids face the metaflux crisis and Kira and Norata reconcile, their relationship no longer seems acrimonious.

Tia and Rocket finally kiss after she learns he has convinced her own parents to come and support her and to patch up their relationship. However their relationship undergoes one further small strain as Rocket fails to know how to behave around her and consequently shuts her out. However some timely advice from Aarch helps to set Rocket back on track and at the end of the first series their relationship is solid.

She plays on the winning team in the GFC final.

Season 2

Tia and the other Snow Kids return in season 2 to defend their title as Galactik Football Champions. At the beginning of the series she and Rocket are still dating.

On an excursion to Genesis Forest in the days before the match Tia loses her footing and falls off a high ledge, forcing Rocket to use the Breath of Akillian to save her life. Afterwards, Tia destroys the photographic evidence taken by her camera, but the Flux Society still detect the unauthorized use of Flux and Adium of the Galactik Football lead is forced to suspend Rocket. After his suspension Rocket abandons Tia and the team.

Tia blames herself for Rocket's suspension. Her playing suffers as she continues to worry about him and she comes into conflict with D'Jok whom she believes is quite happy to usurp Rocket's position. She returns with her team to Akillian only to discover that Rocket has not returned home.

She spends some time with Norata and Kira when they come to Genesis Stadium to search for their son. She also defends Rocket to Adium, for saving her life. When she tries to get him to come back to the team as he will not be suspended. He refuses, leaving her in a worse state than before.

When her parents are taken captive by Technoid, she joins forces with the Pirates and Sonny Blackbones to get them back. The plan goes better than expected, despite Artie bungling the alarm system. On her return to Genesis Stadium, Aarch informs her about double training sessions and the fact he didnot approve of her leaving. He is otherwise pleased she is back.

She is the next to face him in the sphere after Warren. D'Jok was originally meant to go against him after Warren's defeat but Tia at the last moment steps in instead claiming that she was the only one that could stop him. In the Sphere, Rocket doesn't go easy on her. He actually caused her to be sent flying several times. It is only when she is lying on the floor that he realises who it is hes battling. He promises to quit but Tia insists on beating him fair and square. From that the score goes to 3:0 to Rocket to 3:4 to Tia. She then announces that she is not taking Rocket's place and is quitting from Netherball.

In the final match against the Xenons, Tia is the first to pose any threat to Luur. When the ball is passed back out from Yuki, she immeadiately uses the Breath to jump considerably high and perform her signature scissor kick, when Luur unashamedly tackles hard enough for her to be unable to move. While she is taken off and replaced by Mark, the video ref does nothing to punish Luur for his brutal attack. Whether it be because he was the only one against the Snow Kids, a bug in the works or some other event. She re-joins the team for the penalty shootouts with Ahito.

Personality

Tia's tomboyish and secretive nature is what singled her out from the others. She isn't the only female on the team, and is portrayed as the opposite towards flirty and confident Mei.Despite their being another girl on the team, Tia stayed in the companionship of the males instead and gets along well with all of them, with Sinedd as the exception, of course.

Tia is the first player on the team to gain control and master the Powerful Breath, Akillian's own Flux during training sessions.

She is almost always seen with her video camera during the series, one of her most valuable items. Tia is constantly video-taping her surroundings whenever they arrive on a foreign planet and at one point, with the help of Micro-Ice makes a mock-documentary of the Snow Kids with Micro-Ice as the presenter. She has also been seen during the time when the Snow Kids first arrive on the Wambas' home-planet, outside alone video-taping the scenery until she was interrupted by Rocket.Everybody enjoys participating in another one of Tia's home-made documentaries and she is rarely seen going anywhere without it. In the beginning, of the series, Tia's secretive and singled nature impression is getting deeper, by her constant camera recording, and a short conversation with her teammate Mei (the other female player on the team) about a media event on the team, where Tia says that she prefer to be behind the camera.

Family & Friends

Tia and her parents are estranged, them being too busy to have time for her. She barely sees them at home, and although she knows her parents can't give up their job for the sake of her emotions, she is hurt when they didn't tell her that they were staying in Genesis Stadium, especially since she had been playing there for the last few weeks.

Tia and Mei both disliked each other, behaving somewhat hostile to the other despite being the only girls on the team. At one point during the middle of the series Tia admits her jealousy towards Mei's femininity, soon after changing into a dress to impress Rocket after an argument. Soon after this, Mei sees Tia in a different light and tells her that she is free to wear any of her clothes if she wants, one of the first signs of their growing friendship. Nearing the end of the series when both characters undergo individual stressful situations, Mei and Tia spend more time talking together in their bedroom than ever, although it is mostly Mei who offers the advice and reassurance.

When Tia discovered that Rocket was Aarch's nephew, she promised not to tell the rest of the team. And in turn, Rocket kept Tia's running away secret too. Starting off as friends, Rocket soon grows somewhat more concerned about her wellbeing when Tia is injured and soon after arrested. When Tia was taken back home, he was the only one who seemed genuinely worried about how she was doing now, and had asked her room-mate whether she had heard any news from her. Tia's desire to "only make Rocket happy" drives her to go as far as tracking down his mother for him on his birthday, although Rocket's reaction is far from gratitude as he tells her to "stop meddling in his family affairs". When Rocket's parents choose to get together once again, Tia and Rocket's friendship is back on track. When she kisses him however, Rocket avoids her the next day leaving Tia depressed and confused. Later Aarch confronted them as they were not speaking on the field. Having been turned down for good by the love of his life, Aarch gives Rocket a good piece of advice by telling him that keeping his emotions inside isn't a good idea. Rocket takes up on this advice and sneaks into the girls bedroom just when they go to bed. Before Tia can ask what he's doing here, Rocket silences her with a kiss. Meanwhile, Mei didn't notice anything and just wishes Tia "sweet dreams". After watching Rocket sneak out of the room, Tia lays back in bed and answers "I believe I already had one...".

Tia's not afraid to show her feelings for Rocket in public. On more than one occasion, Tia has shown a protective side of herself, instructing the other players to give Rocket space when he badly injured his leg after a match. Although it doesn't stop her from denying it to the rest of the team, this having been proved when Tia was organising Rocket's birthday party and Thran questioning their growing relationship. Tia gets hurt in the wambas football match.

Fanfiction

Tia's portrayal in Fanfiction stems from her role in Galactik Football. She is usually paired with Rocket who is her actual boyfriend.

ee also

*Galactik Football