Application.
character.
CHARACTER NAME: Rupert Giles.
SERIES: Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.
CANON POINT: Early S7, before he returns from England.
AGE: 49.
APPEARANCE: Anthony Stewart Head.
PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY: None!
PERSONALITY: When you first meet him, your impression of Giles is probably that he's middle aged, British, stuffy, intelligent, sardonic... the list goes on. He's a stickler for adhering to rules and duty; frivolous, irresponsible people are totally incomprehensible to him, and he isn't afraid to criticize them for it. His humor is very dry, mocking (including self-mocking), and wittily on point. Like any Buffy character, Giles is always ready to express with a quip.
That said, he is kind of a fuddy duddy. He dislikes technology, cites cross-referencing as a hobby, and wears a lot of tweed. He also tends to stutter when he gets flustered - pick up lines are not exactly his forté. One particular habit is cleaning his glasses when he needs a moment to collect himself from whatever unbelievable thing the gang is doing then. In short, he makes for a good librarian.
This is all concealing a past as a rebellious young 20-something during England's sexual and punk rock revolution. For Giles, this included denying his destiny as a Watcher and summoning demons with "the worst sort that would have him" instead. Once you learn about his past, you start to see his character more completely: Giles has an element to him that is pure steel, and completely unflinching. The most obvious example of this is when he kills Ben at the end of season five to prevent Glory returning, and earlier in the season when he suggests killing Dawn. He is willing to say and do the things that no one else wants to, and do them on his own, letting practicality overrule any feelings he has on the subject. Frequently he will take matters into his own hands without breathing a word of it to anyone else. We see him threaten Ethan, Spike, and other characters multiple times in the name of safety.
But he is far from heartless. In reality, Giles gets deeply attached not only to Buffy but to all of the Scoobies and his life as a whole in Sunnydale. It's for this reason that he gets fired from the Watcher's Council, so it's hard to refute. We consistently see him putting up with what he considers aggravating behaviors with pretty admirable aplomb; offering an encouraging or disparaging fatherly lecture as needed; and even hosting Thanksgiving dinner for them on one occasion. He opens his library, his home, and later his store to them with no hesitation. Awkward and reluctant as he is at showing it, Giles will say up front how much they mean to him when push comes to shove.
By the time we get to the end of the series, he's changed a fair amount, if subtly. The series starts with us seeing him as a bland Watcher, nervous and desperate to do his job right, but even back then we see hints of his true character when he offers to face the Master instead of Buffy. Again in season two, he withstands Angelus' torture. Early on, these are but glimpses: the rest of the time he maintains his reserved, socially awkward, and only occasionally snarky exterior. But at some point he starts to loosen up and wear jeans instead of tweed, and participate in the gang's conversations on a more equal level instead of as an obligatory authority figure.
Giles is honestly not comfortable with the idea of himself as a father figure, either. Several times he decides to leave without actually going through with it, saying that they (especially Buffy) don't need him anymore. He places great emphasis on how useful he is, another example of his practicality. The second Buffy does need him, though, he immediately returns, and I think this is more revealing than his desire to leave in the first place. Though he sees himself in many ways as inadequate or unwanted, his care for his Slayer supercedes everything else. Over time he found himself caring more for her than for his duty, and that is a singularly rare occurrence.
ABILITIES: He's basically a walking encyclopedia of all things demonic and magical, at least as it pertains to his world. Pretty much everything that can happen in Buffyverse does happen, so he has a frame of reference for all sorts of things, like alternate universes, doppelgangers, etc. Along with this, he knows quite a few languages -- mostly old and dusty ones that are most useful for translating occult references (Sumerian, Latin, ancient Greek, German, Gaelic, and so on).
While decent at fighting hand-to-hand and with a wide variety of weapons, Giles is more of a behind the scenes sort typically and is not a front lines fighter. His role as a fighter is more to train the Slayer, i.e. Buffy, and beyond that he gets involved in the physical violence when needs are dire. He can, on occasion, cast spells in a ritual setting with the right supplies and incantation. As this takes a lot of preparation, this is not something he typically uses in combat on the spur of the moment.
Oh, and he's an incredible singer and a decent guitarist.
POSSESSIONS: His glasses? The clothes he's wearing in his appearance link will be on his back, but aside from that and his wallet, nada.
samples.
JOURNAL ENTRY SAMPLE: [voice post]
This is-- ah. Here we are. I trust you can all hear me now? Why human beings aren't considered capable of holding their phone to their own ear any longer is beyond me. Nonetheless I believe I've figured out this... ear device.
As helpful and... and certainly informative as this guide I arrived with is, it seems to have left out some, ah, details. Namely what sort of array of demons - or monsters, if you will - are present. If we're expected to go up against such things and survive, forewarned is forearmed. So far all I've found are Lovecraftian earth worms in the sand, but if that theme runs true I imagine we have bigger problems than overzealous worms.
Additionally, I would like to inquire if anyone here is familiar with dimension-traveling magics. It has in the past been far beyond my practical scope. My experience with it is strictly limited to the academic. But it is one way to return home, and it would be daft of me not to pursue it.
... O-Oh, yes, I suppose you'd all like my name. I am Rupert Giles. Please do carry on with your daily lives now; nothing an old Englishman could say is at all relevant to any of you.
THIRD-PERSON SAMPLE: Not required~
CHARACTER NAME: Rupert Giles.
SERIES: Buffy: the Vampire Slayer.
CANON POINT: Early S7, before he returns from England.
AGE: 49.
APPEARANCE: Anthony Stewart Head.
PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY: None!
PERSONALITY: When you first meet him, your impression of Giles is probably that he's middle aged, British, stuffy, intelligent, sardonic... the list goes on. He's a stickler for adhering to rules and duty; frivolous, irresponsible people are totally incomprehensible to him, and he isn't afraid to criticize them for it. His humor is very dry, mocking (including self-mocking), and wittily on point. Like any Buffy character, Giles is always ready to express with a quip.
That said, he is kind of a fuddy duddy. He dislikes technology, cites cross-referencing as a hobby, and wears a lot of tweed. He also tends to stutter when he gets flustered - pick up lines are not exactly his forté. One particular habit is cleaning his glasses when he needs a moment to collect himself from whatever unbelievable thing the gang is doing then. In short, he makes for a good librarian.
This is all concealing a past as a rebellious young 20-something during England's sexual and punk rock revolution. For Giles, this included denying his destiny as a Watcher and summoning demons with "the worst sort that would have him" instead. Once you learn about his past, you start to see his character more completely: Giles has an element to him that is pure steel, and completely unflinching. The most obvious example of this is when he kills Ben at the end of season five to prevent Glory returning, and earlier in the season when he suggests killing Dawn. He is willing to say and do the things that no one else wants to, and do them on his own, letting practicality overrule any feelings he has on the subject. Frequently he will take matters into his own hands without breathing a word of it to anyone else. We see him threaten Ethan, Spike, and other characters multiple times in the name of safety.
But he is far from heartless. In reality, Giles gets deeply attached not only to Buffy but to all of the Scoobies and his life as a whole in Sunnydale. It's for this reason that he gets fired from the Watcher's Council, so it's hard to refute. We consistently see him putting up with what he considers aggravating behaviors with pretty admirable aplomb; offering an encouraging or disparaging fatherly lecture as needed; and even hosting Thanksgiving dinner for them on one occasion. He opens his library, his home, and later his store to them with no hesitation. Awkward and reluctant as he is at showing it, Giles will say up front how much they mean to him when push comes to shove.
By the time we get to the end of the series, he's changed a fair amount, if subtly. The series starts with us seeing him as a bland Watcher, nervous and desperate to do his job right, but even back then we see hints of his true character when he offers to face the Master instead of Buffy. Again in season two, he withstands Angelus' torture. Early on, these are but glimpses: the rest of the time he maintains his reserved, socially awkward, and only occasionally snarky exterior. But at some point he starts to loosen up and wear jeans instead of tweed, and participate in the gang's conversations on a more equal level instead of as an obligatory authority figure.
Giles is honestly not comfortable with the idea of himself as a father figure, either. Several times he decides to leave without actually going through with it, saying that they (especially Buffy) don't need him anymore. He places great emphasis on how useful he is, another example of his practicality. The second Buffy does need him, though, he immediately returns, and I think this is more revealing than his desire to leave in the first place. Though he sees himself in many ways as inadequate or unwanted, his care for his Slayer supercedes everything else. Over time he found himself caring more for her than for his duty, and that is a singularly rare occurrence.
ABILITIES: He's basically a walking encyclopedia of all things demonic and magical, at least as it pertains to his world. Pretty much everything that can happen in Buffyverse does happen, so he has a frame of reference for all sorts of things, like alternate universes, doppelgangers, etc. Along with this, he knows quite a few languages -- mostly old and dusty ones that are most useful for translating occult references (Sumerian, Latin, ancient Greek, German, Gaelic, and so on).
While decent at fighting hand-to-hand and with a wide variety of weapons, Giles is more of a behind the scenes sort typically and is not a front lines fighter. His role as a fighter is more to train the Slayer, i.e. Buffy, and beyond that he gets involved in the physical violence when needs are dire. He can, on occasion, cast spells in a ritual setting with the right supplies and incantation. As this takes a lot of preparation, this is not something he typically uses in combat on the spur of the moment.
Oh, and he's an incredible singer and a decent guitarist.
POSSESSIONS: His glasses? The clothes he's wearing in his appearance link will be on his back, but aside from that and his wallet, nada.
samples.
JOURNAL ENTRY SAMPLE: [voice post]
This is-- ah. Here we are. I trust you can all hear me now? Why human beings aren't considered capable of holding their phone to their own ear any longer is beyond me. Nonetheless I believe I've figured out this... ear device.
As helpful and... and certainly informative as this guide I arrived with is, it seems to have left out some, ah, details. Namely what sort of array of demons - or monsters, if you will - are present. If we're expected to go up against such things and survive, forewarned is forearmed. So far all I've found are Lovecraftian earth worms in the sand, but if that theme runs true I imagine we have bigger problems than overzealous worms.
Additionally, I would like to inquire if anyone here is familiar with dimension-traveling magics. It has in the past been far beyond my practical scope. My experience with it is strictly limited to the academic. But it is one way to return home, and it would be daft of me not to pursue it.
... O-Oh, yes, I suppose you'd all like my name. I am Rupert Giles. Please do carry on with your daily lives now; nothing an old Englishman could say is at all relevant to any of you.
THIRD-PERSON SAMPLE: Not required~