Application
Character you're applying for: Edgar Roni Figaro
Series: Final Fantasy VI
Series' Medium: Video game
Character's role in their canon: He's one of the main cast, and is the third recruitable character you get in the game. He's a king, rebel, machinist, and skirt-chaser.
Character's age: 27
Character's gender: Male
Character’s “Real Name”: Edward March
How long have you roleplayed your character, if at all?: I've never roleplayed this character.
Where have you roleplayed in general and/or with this specific character?: I'm currently at Damned as the Scarecrow of Oz and Leonard Shelby (that guy with the memory problem).
Have you played the game/watched the movie or anime/read the book or comic, etc. that your character hails from?: Yes, I've played the original SNES version of the game numerous times, as well as the port on PlayStation. It's one of my favorite games, and I still hold that it's the best of the numbered Final Fantasy games. <3
Edit: And I've now played the GBA retranslation of the game! Save for a few spell names (because Fire 2 just sounds lame) I'll be mostly playing from the SNES version, as it's the one with which I'm the most familiar. Edgar doesn't have any huge characterization changes, anyway.
Please give us a detailed personal history of your character:
Born as the older of twins, Edgar and his brother, Sabin, were raised as Figaro royalty, living in a castle which could submerge itself beneath the sand. Their mother died in childbirth; their father's death came at the hands of the Gestahlian Empire, who poisoned the king. His dying wish was that his sons rule the kingdom together. Unfortunately, the people didn't want two kings and became obsessed with which of the children would be the next ruler. It seemed no one cared about the death of the twins' father- this reaction enraged Sabin, who tried to convince Edgar to run away with him. Knowing abandoning the kingdom would not only leave their home to the corrupted politicians, but also go against their father's last request, Edgar proposed a coin toss: heads, Sabin would leave Edgar behind to watch the kingdom; tails, Sabin would remain while Edgar traded royalty for freedom. The coin landed on heads- it was a special coin featuring Sabin's face on one side and Edgar's on the other. Edgar ascended to the throne and Sabin left the kingdom and his obligations, not knowing he'd been tricked with a two-faced coin.
In the public eye, Edgar officially allied the kingdom of Figaro with the Gestahlian Empire; in secret, the people were aids to a rebellion movement, the Returners. The secret support went well until the day the Returners' contact to Figaro, a thief named Locke Cole, brought a girl named Terra Branford to the castle. This girl was a gem in the Empire's forces, a magician they'd enslaved since childhood- needless to say, they came looking for her. When Kefka Palazzo, one of Emperor Gestahl's generals, arrived at Figaro Castle with Magitek troops, Edgar feigned ignorance; however, Kefka was not so easily fooled, and set the castle ablaze to flush her out. He was surprised in the end when the castle's machinery came to life, compacting the castle's towers and sinking the whole building into the ground, leaving him and his troops in the sand. Edgar, Locke, and Terra escaped by riding chocobos, easily outrunning Kefka's armor-clad troops.
The trio fled to a mountain pass which would lead them to the town of South Figaro and eventually to the hideout of the rebellion. While scaling the mountains, the group faced a martial artist, but were saved when Sabin appeared to aid them. The brothers reunited, the group continued their journey to the Returners' hideout. Once there, they met with Banon, a leader in the movement. He joined the party to travel the Lethe River to the frozen city of Narshe, where they hoped to meet with the elder of the town and convince him to join the rebellion. The negotiations did not go well.
While the party was in Narshe, Kefka arrived with a small army and invaded in order to claim a frozen Esper for the Empire. Edgar defended the Esper alongside the Returners. After the battle, Terra reacted to the Esper, awakening her Esper blood and causing her to transform and fly to whereabouts unknown. The party set out to search for her.
They eventually found the girl atop a tower in the seedy town of Zozo, where she was being cared for by an Esper named Ramuh. He informed them that she needed to see her father in order to recover- he was also an Esper, and was held captive with others of his kind in the Imperial capital of Vector. The city, located on an entirely different continent, would take an airship to reach quickly- the only person in the world who owned one was Setzer Gabbiani, a notorious gambler. Thankfully, the gambler showed up at a nearby opera house, crashing the performance and kidnapping Celes, one of the party members. Once aboard, she snuck her teammates in and confronted Setzer. Unwilling to help when asked, Celes proposed a gamble: they would toss a coin- if it landed on heads, Setzer would loan the group the use of his airship; tails, and Celes would marry Setzer. Celes borrowed a coin- the two-headed coin- from Edgar to guarantee her vicory. Setzer, being a good sport, laughed off the deception and allowed them to use his aircraft.
The group made their way to the Imperial capital and rescued the Espers- unfortunately, Terra's father had
already transformed into a Magicite shard. Despite his change, Terra regained her control once he was brought to her, and she rejoined the group.
After a successful joint attack on Vector from the Returners and the Espers, Emperor Gestahl seemingly surrendered, summoning the Returners to a banquet to prove his change of heart. He proposed Terra try to negotiate peace with the Espers, and she agreed. Edgar, still suspcious of Gestahl's motivations, opted to stay behind as Terra traveled to the Espers' homeland. While in Vector, he used his smarmy charms to convince one of the Imperial maids into revealing the true plot: Gestahl wanted Terra to lure out the Espers so he could capture them as he had done before. The party raced to the Land of the Espers to stop her, but they arrived too late- Kefka had crashed the negotiations, revealing the deception of the Emperor. They succeeded in gaining more Magicite from the enraged Espers,which they used to turn the Espers' homeland into a floating continent. They sought three statues of the Warring Triad, gods of all the magic of the world, on the continent and gain control of the world through them. These statues were in a delicate balance, guarded by the Espers for over a thousand years.
Knowing the Emperor had to be stopped, the party boarded he airship and made their way to the Floating Continent for a desperate assault. After scaling the imposing terrain and fighting a beast known as the Atma Weapon, they were faced with Gestahl, Kefka, and the Warring Triad. After several tense words and betrayal by Kefka, the statues were pushed out of their alignment, causing the power of the gods to go haywire. The Continent began to fall apart as the world below was destroyed. The party made it to the airship, only to have it torn apart beneath them by the cosmic forces which changed the world.
It's at this point there's a year-long gap in the game- when the story picks up again, Edgar is disguised as a thief and trying to break into Figaro, which is submerged. Since I'm taking him before the story picks up again, I'm assuming he's still trying to find out what happened not only to his comrades, but to his kingdom after the end of the world.
Please give us a detailed description of your character's personality:
Edgar is far from corrupted nobility, and always puts his family, friends, and his people before himself. While he never forgot the murder of his father, he knew he couldn't abandon the people of Figaro and leave them to the wolves. His sense of responsibility and duty toward his people was a factor in his deception during the coin toss that set his brother free; another factor was his desire to get closer to the Empire and work against them. Others who would run the kingdom might have caved at the Empire's demands; Edgar played another game of deceit by using his left hand to shake with the Empire while supplying the Returners with his right.
This isn't to say that he doesn't have some insecurities as a leader- some time after his reunion with Sabin, the brothers visit Figaro castle together, and he muses on whether or not their father would be proud of his actions as a leader. He wants what is best for his people- despite his experience in politics and fighting, he is still a young leader. He thankfully has cleverness and creativity on his side- such traits aid his machinist skills, allowing him to design tools and machines.
Another important aspect of Edgar's personality is his persistent flirting. According to several people throughout the game, he's an accomplished ladies' man. Every time a lady is introduced into the party, he wastes no time setting his moves on her (not that this gets him anywhere with any of them). His 'skills' actually come to some use when he convinces an Imperial maid to divulge the Emperor's plot to him. Sabin calls it a "bad habit" at one point, but Edgar doesn't seem to be particularly ashamed of his ways. He takes it with a sense of light-heartedness that is required of a wily charmer.
Please give us a detailed physical description of your character: Edgar is fairly tall at six feet. He's both fair-skinned and fair-headed with blond hair. His hair is long and hangs to the middle of his back in a ponytail, which he likes to keep tied with two ribbons. His eyes are a royal blue. He's got a fairly muscular build in the artwork for the game, which probably helps with his swordsmanship.
What point in time are you taking your character from when he/she appears at Landel's?: I'd like to take him from that year-long gap in the storyline, after the cataclysm and the flying continent falls but before the story picks up in the World of Ruin- somewhere in that neighborhood.
What kinds of magical/special/crazy powers does your character have, if any?: He's able to use magic in the game, but he's fairly lousy at it, so I'd rather he not have any magic at all (maybe he forgot it or some such excuse) while at Landel's.
If present, how do you plan to tweak those powers to make him/her appropriately hindered in the setting of Landel's?: Not applicable.
Does your character have any other non-magical skills or abilities that we should know about?: Edgar is some sort of a mechanical genius, and has a hobby of inventing new 'tools' to perform certain tasks, from blinding enemies to drilling through their armor. As the kingdom is known for its machines, it's no surprise they are lead by a master machinist.
How about improbable appendages?: None.
Please give us an idea of where you'd like to take your character within the scope of the Landel's Damned RP: He's the type who will not only look for alliances, but will hunt for items and figure out how he can use them. He's a diplomat and a machinist- he'll want to make friends (or possibly just some allies through whom he can learn about his enemies) and tinker with whatever he can get his hands on. His radio will probably be nothing more than a pile of wires, knobs, and plastic by the end of his first Dinner shift.
Aside from taking apart and reconstructing anything even vaguely mechanical, he will definitely be trying to make nice with the fairer sex at the institute. Let's hope he never meets up with one of the lovelier monsters- it might not end well for him.
What kind of psychological effect do you see Landel's Institute having on your character?: Edgar will take the setting seriously, and probably suspect he's been taken captive by some agent of Kefka for a while. He's not likely to have his world changed by seeing monsters- he's fought plenty in the past, and Kefka was quite a monster himself. The end of the world, the loss of his friends, and the unknown fate of his kingdom definitely caused him some grief- being trapped in an institute with monsters probably won't weigh on his mind as much as those issues. What will trouble him is once he's made some friends: despite his tendency to flirt and love of machines, he was a king first and foremost, and as such had a strong sense of justice, of right and wrong. He'll definitely feel it's his duty to protect those who cannot protect themselves. Realizing he can't protect everyone will wear on him.
Given that this RP takes place in an unsettling and outright horrific environment, how do you justify your character as being appropriate in both body and mind for this kind of setting?: Edgar is definitely appropriate in body. He's been in many physically-demanding fights against monsters of every sort, from magicians to Magitek armor to dragons to giant octopus monsters. He's skilled with a sword and enjoys inventing new weapons to further protect himself and his friends.
In mind, he's capable of handling some of the less pleasant aspects of Landel's institute. He's had his father murdered and his remaining familial relationship torn apart, his castle burned, his friends turn into monsters and fly away, and has slain his share of demons himself. His mind is no stranger to the battlefield- he knows the risks involved with putting one's self in the line of fire, and he's not afraid to do what must be done for the sake of his people.
Third-Person Sample:
Three minutes after midnight, and the king of Figaro was still awake, still tinkering with his new toy. He had hoped he could reconfigure his autocrossbow to fire larger bolts, but then had another idea: make another sort of launcher that could hurl explosive smokebombs. The gas would not only blind the monsters, but leave them gasping for air. The premise was practical, the design clever, but he was still not finished. He would not be satisfied until he'd given it a test- just one test, and then he could sleep. He yawned loudly and rubbed one of his eyes, using the same hand to brush the hair from his face.
One of his lovelier maids entered the room, bearing a tray and some warm drink. It steamed as she placed the tray on his desk, careful not to disturb the delicate instruments he used for his constructions. He leaned backward and tried to catch her eye, but she purposefully avoided his gaze. She thought she could be coy; the young king had other plans.
"Don't you know better than to disturb me at night?" Edgar said, still watching her as she crossed the room to his unmade bed. As usual, he'd awakened during the night with an idea for some new gadget, and he couldn't be jiggered to compose his sheets. "I could have been asleep, after all, and what good would I be if I didn't have a good night's rest?"
"I knew you weren't asleep, m'lord," she answered plainly, feeling his eyes still on her. "The light in your tower is quite bright. If you wanted a good night's rest, you'd best ignore those creative notions and simply return to bed."
Edgar smiled as he turned his face from her. She had a cheeky attitude, but that wouldn't deter him. Working harder toward a goal simply made the reward more satisfying. He took a long drink from the goblet she'd brought him, deciding to change tactics. "I suppose you know what's best for me. I do stay up quite late on many nights, working away on my tools. There's nothing wrong with trying to make them more efficient, correct?"
"'Tis a pursuit best saved for the daytime, when there is more light and you are more rested, I would think," she answered. She was both cheeky and experienced, and knew better than to give him any leeway. His tactic would need to change again, it seemed.
The sound of sheets flapping in the air as she thrust them over the bed was coupled with the cold sound of a metal hitting the stone floor. Both parties were surprised as a coin bounced across the stones a couple of times, landing near the maid's feet. She knelt and retrieved the piece, examining it- it was the king's two-sided coin: the one he always made sure to have on his person, the one that featured not only his visage, but also that of his estranged brother, Prince Sabin. People made sure not to mention the Prince to his twin- the loss hurt their monarch more than he let on.
She let go a short sigh and brought the coin to its master. He accepted it with an open palm, fingering it as one would a cherished trinket. To him, that coin was beyond priceless, a memento of the blood he and his twin shared, of their brotherly bond- a bond he wasn't sure existed anymore. The maid quietly finished her work as the king stared into the lamp-light, no doubt reminiscing about his brother. She made her way to the door, trying not to disturb him.
"Same time tomorrow, then?" he called after her, his eyes moving from the lamp to her form in the open doorway.
"Only if you feel the need to do some late-night inventing again, m'lord," she answered as she closed the door.
First-Person Sample:
Entry One, Day X:
It appears I have not only been kidnapped and taken to someplace unknown, but that this place has no sense of fashion. I've been removed from the inn where I remember going to sleep and placed in a drab room, and dressed in garments even more dull than the room itself. I cannot imagine I was recognized! This world has been so scarred- I'm not even sure Figaro exists anymore.
It seems the world is more changed than I first imagined. Every day I find some new reason this world is beyond saving. I can only hope my friends and my people are safe. If only I could reach them! I'm sure they are safe- the chancellor is smart. Surely he did what was best in my stead.
I will hold onto the thin hope that there are lovely ladyfolk here, wherever here may be. Investigation may be a good pursuit.