Application.
Character: Almaz von Almadine Adamant
Series: Disgaea 3: Absense of Justice
Version: Post game, good/normal ending.
Age: 18
Gender: Male
Sexuality: Sapphire-sexual.
Appearance:
Almaz fits the description of a hero pretty well. He wears a blindingly white coat and a pair of equally white pants, plus a darker shirt underneath the coat--brown boots and fingerless gloves included! He even has the trademark red accessory of a Nippon Ichi hero in the form of his scarf. (Or maybe he looks like the kind of guy who'd be on the student council instead.)
That aside, Almaz is tall, lanky, and kind of boyish looking. His dark--almost blue--hair doesn't quite reach his shoulders, and even has a tuft on the top of his head that pointedly stands and sticks out from the rest.
His eyes? Well, they're wholly blue now.
Personality:
Almaz is not very difficult to see through, he's quite honest about he feels most of the time, even if that honesty is sometimes blatantly ignored by his friends. There's always speech and body language too! He stutters when he's flustered, nervous or scared. He can even hit the high notes when he screams! If reading his talking patterns fails, well, invading or seeing through his inner monologue isn't too uncommon. (It's sometimes the usual, cheesy sort of monologue heroes make.) Adding on to that, he's cowardly and perhaps a bit pathetic too--it's kind of easy to make him freak out at times! It's easy to make him jump. It's also easy to push him around. He's rather compliant sometimes. Kind of like a doormat!
But he's getting better about all that.
Despite the above, Almaz is a true hero at heart. Polite and a good person, he usually does have the best intentions in mind. Though he may not always be up to it, he can't ignore a person in need of help. And with the right motivation, he can work up the courage to face just about anything. (He'd really prefer not to die, however.) Although his INT stat may not be the highest, Almaz has nothing if not a load of common sense--boy's got his feet firmly planted in reality too, even if the workings of the Netherworld tend to work against that.
But don't let this fool you! Almaz just happens to be something of a closet dork too. He admires and fanboys all sorts of hero-related things, recites the Hero's Oath, and collects video games, anime, manga, etc.
Because heroes are just the coolest.
Abilities/Weaponry/Strengths:
Stubborn, stubborn, stubborn. Once Almaz sets his mind out to do something, chances are that he's gonna see it through to the end. He doesn't give up, which is pretty admirable.
He's just human in the end! ...A human RPG character, okay, alright. But aside from some special techniques, there's not a whole lot of earth-shattering, flashy abilities here. This neat spinny thing with three swords? Yes. A technique with dramatic lightning bolts in the darkness? Check. Summoning a goddess to attack enemies with lightning? ... fine. Fine. Check.
Even though he's supposed to be a sort of coward, Almaz is shockingly competant with a sword. He's also got proficiency in bows, spears, and guns, surprisingly enough! (... but somehow it feels wrong to give him a gun. Somehow.) He can also suffer a lot of abuse! Either for comedic purposes or during battle, in-game he's actually sort of a tank.
Weaknesses:
His cowardly and pathetic tendencies obviously fall under here. Depending on the circumstance, he may be more inclined to run or avoid a challenge. He's getting better about it, really he is! But Almaz is a screamer, after all.
In contrast, Almaz can also be too courageous and/or determined at times. Especially concerning Princess Sapphire--he'll quite willingly die for her. His love for the Princess lands him in troublesome situations at times! Just as well, he'll also willingly risk his life for the sake of his friends. It's not a terribly healthy thing to do, see.
As far as other weaknesses go, sometimes he's dumb about things. Sometimes he gets caught up in his own thoughts and struggles internally over what to do--but again, he's getting better!
And life just loves making a chew toy outta him. Poor guy's awfully unlucky.
History:
In a (startlingly modern) kingdom far, far away, there was a pretty pathetic guardsman. A guardsman who had a dream, but that didn't make him any less of a loser. This loser's name was Almaz, and he dreamed of being a hero! Of being able to protect a princess he held very dear. That dream would come to fruition in time, but not without some struggling.
And a lot, a lot of pain. Because it is just too fun to mess with and kick around Almaz--story of his life, really.
You see, Almaz was not very brave. Made fun of by others in the kingdom, he never fought, and only did chores. To rub salt into the wound, Almaz didn't even earn the "Hero" title he has; he gave it to himself. But he was okay with that!
One day a rumor spread through the kingdom, the demon king of a nearby Netherworld was planning to kidnap princess Sapphire--and Almaz was not okay with that. He even overcame his fear to march down to the Netherworld all by himself, ready to face the overlord! Kind of.
Fortunately and unfortunately for Almaz, he didn't quite get to meet the overlord. Not immediately, at least. For right at the gates, he came across two poor demon children who were being confronted by another demon! ... Well, they really weren't being antagonized by the other demon, but that's what it looked like to Almaz at the time. Because of his misunderstanding, things didn't end well. How badly did things turn out? Well, Almaz steeled himself up to save them, made a fool of himself, had his precious title stolen, and was made the slave of one of the two younger demons--Mao.
Life's pretty unfair, isn't it? Yeah.
But hey, he gets dragged off by Mao to face off against the overlord anyway!
Except whoops, they get totally whomped.
... so. So yeah. Life sucks.
Well, Almaz still has his goals, and losing, becoming a slave or becoming a demon won't stop him! He's pretty stubborn about giving up, if nothing else.
... oh right, add on to Almaz's list of Things to Get Done: Not become a demon. (It's an unfortunate side-effect of having his title stolen, you see. From that point on he has 666 hours until the process becomes irreversable, and he's stuck as a demon forever.) Fortunately, this is where things are starting to look up! After getting thrashed, Almaz winds up pitifully revealing the truth behind his hero title. Upon hearing that it really isn't a genuine Hero title, Mao quickly gives up his dreams of dissecting Almaz to find out what makes him tick--and instead focuses on figuring out how to get rid of the title he, ugh, accepted into his heart. Ew ew ew, fake hero cooties!
So maybe things are starting to look up a little! Mao isn't going to kill Almaz, and he may just get his title back!
Unfortunately, as it turns out, getting his title back means Mao has to open his heart. Which is kind of taboo among demons! And Mao has to MEAN it too! No cheap exits here, everything has gotta unlock from the bottom on up.
Almaz's wishful thinking ends when Mao gives up after their first and only attempt at trying to pry open his heart. It can't be solved as easily as eating a dragon egg, alas.
Still, Almaz refuses to give up, and he sticks around Mao with the hope of opening up his heart. As he hangs around, he finds out that the Netherworld is really, really weird. For one thing, it's a huge school where you get rewarded for skipping class and other "bad" things. The Home Ec teacher--with his food metaphors--is both badass, incredibly manly, and a huge enigma. And the PTA sometimes resorts to kidnapping! Somewhere along the way, Almaz finds out that Mao... doesn't have any friends. (And Mao becomes Freshman student leader, which helps with that a bit!)
To make matter worse, princess Sapphire--the very same princess that Almaz adores oh-so-much--eventually transfers to the school with the intention of taking down the overlord herself. Talk about awkward, man. And in order to keep his situation on the down-low, he pleads with Mao to not reveal anything. Mao? Makes Almaz promise to be his slave forever in return.
Almaz hesitates, but goes along with it and lies. Yeah, he promises! ...He can just make a run for it once he's human again, after all. Things will fall into place.
Mao scoffs and sees right through that lie. Well, it's not like he trusts Almaz to begin with, he admits.
And yet, his heart closes just a bit more.
That moment aside, Almaz continues to tag along with Mao, and continues to learn some other things. He learns the hard way that he's been denying his own heart's feelings. He almost doesn't realize that he's starting to care about Mao.
The key part here is "almost doesn't realize". When Almaz does catch himself thinking such things, he immediately shakes them off. Why should he care about Mao's heart and why it's so closed up? Mao is a demon! He was taught that they're evil! Terrible! This is the guy who stole his title and made him his slave!
Eventually, they find a plug within Mao's heart. (... no really. Demon hearts are kinda weird.) Oh hey, this seems to be connected to the trauma that closed Mao's heart, Almaz thinks. Let's pull it out!
Well, it shockingly ends up working, as far as he can tell. So when the oppurtunity presents itself, Almaz jumps at it and takes his title out from the safe deep inside Mao's heart--ignoring whatever warning Mao's True Feelings is trying to tell him.
Well, remember that he's "learning the hard way" that he's denying his own heart?
Surprise!
Mao has now regressed mentally down to an infant-like state.
Almaz struggles with himself, and doesn't know what he's supposed to do. He's supposed to protect princess Sapphire, he's got his title back, and now they can go back home with it! But... but can he leave Mao like this? As a result of his hesitance, Almaz gets a few good lashings--from Princess, no less--and he's finally forced to face the situation he's landed himself in. He's got back his title, but at what cost? Princess not only gives him an earful--how could he do this to a friend? (Friend? Almaz starts to consider.) Do heroes not listen to those unheard voices?--she leaves him behind angrily, ready to go fix things herself. And Mao? Is babbling as a baby would. Mao's butler has outright insulted him. They just hand out hero titles to anyone now, don't they?
He realizes how selfish he's been the entire time. Just who is the real monster here?
Finally, Almaz realizes what he's supposed to do, and heads back into Mao's heart to fix things--where Princess has been waiting for him. (Oh, she knew he'd come, really. ... if he didn't, well, she'd probably wouldn't be able stop chopping him into pieces! Ah ha ha.)
But after they force their way through the defenses of Mao's heart (with the help Mao's childhood friend and rival--Raspberyl) , before they finally put the plug back in and set everything right--Almaz hesitates, and takes a moment to stop by the safe deep in Mao's heart, where Mao's True Feelings waits.
And Almaz offers him his hero title.
Almaz has realized that... he really doesn't deserve the title. So until the day he becomes a real hero, until Mao's heart opens the proper way, it'll stay there.
So their adventure continues--and there are more shocking revelations! The Juniors and Seniors of the school are at war! The Junior leader is a charismatic demon who isn't afraid to say, gasp, the "f" word! (That word being "friends".) The students are being brainwashed! Destroying ones subconsciouses leads to ultimate power! Princess' love of adorable things makes her disregard any and all dangers! (Fortunately, Almaz steps in in time to... get pricked by a needle? Huh. That's odd and out of place. So much for all that dramatic tension. Oh. Right, where was I--) And the butler is the villain!
... wait what?
Yep, as it turns out. Geoffrey, Mao's butler, is really Super Hero Aurum who vanished 200 years ago from the Human World. The same Aurum who not only broke his promise to Mao, but also killed Mao's father. That's right, the overlord everyone's been gunning for has been dead this entire time. It's merely a ghost of sorts that's been hanging around the castle. He refuses to pass on for some reason. And Mao? Knew this. Truthfully, he's felt responsible for his father's death--which is why he wanted to defeat him with his own hands and hopefully lay him to rest properly.
Both Mao and Almaz are at a loss when Aurum reveals himself.
Almaz can't believe that it's Aurum, that the hero he looked up to could have manipulated and hurt others.
Mao? Is just completely overwhelmed by this revelation. He would never admit it, but he kind of trusted Geoffrey! For him to find out that he is who killed his father...? Mao turns his anger towards Almaz, and threatens to erase him.
... but for some reason, he can't quite do it. Mao ends up stopping short of connecting a hit. He blames it on the Hero title, but still can't forgive what's happened. He'll hurt the Super Hero--he'll destroy the Human World! Naturally, the others disapprove. There's a line, even for demons, and that's definitely crossing it! But Mao persists, and the others follow him as he travels to the Human World.
Something is off though.
As they trek towards the Human World, Almaz starts to wheeze and cough. Everyone--well, almost everyone--shows concern, but Almaz just shrugs them off. It's because he's turning into a demon, that's all! ... but the truth of the matter is, is that he's had an unremovable curse put on him. Yeaaah, remember that anticlimactic needle prick? Turns out that little poke is fatal after all.
And Almaz is fully aware of this, but he presses forward. He... probably won't be able to keep the promise he made with Princess, after all--he'll probably die because of this. But there's something he still needs to see through to the end, he has a friend that's about to do something terrible.
At the edge of the Netherworld, right before the Human World, things proceed to go a little wrong. Mao pulses with a dark energy as he is about to unleash his wrath on the world below.
Raspberyl grabs and holds him, and though Mao yells at her to let go, he calms down to an extent. But why did she stop him?! This is only fair! The Super Hero hurt him, so he'll hurt the Super Hero! It's an eye for an eye!
Almaz finally speaks up. That's not it! Mao is just running away!
Mao scoffs at Almaz. Since when did this fake hero get such a big mouth?
But Mao is shocked to see Almaz crying. Why? "Because I'm sad," Almaz answers. When you lose those important to you, when you're betrayed, when your friends don't trust you--you become sad. Doesn't Mao understand?
Of course he doesn't, Mao stammers out. He doesn't have those feelings.
Almaz persists. He understands that Mao hates humans--he used to hate demons too! But no, not anymore. He likes demons, he likes his friends. It doesn't matter if you're human or demon, he knows that now. He learned that because of Mao. He believes in Mao! Doesn't Mao believe in him?
But Almaz starts to succumb to the curse. He clutches at his chest, as Princess hurries to his side. I'm sorry, he tells her. Almaz didn't want her to worry about him. In the end, he failed to become a real hero. In the end, he couldn't keep his promise to her.
You're most important to me, Almaz confesses.
Sapphire's voice starts to crack, she knows. She tries to plead with him.
But, Almaz continues. He couldn't leave Mao alone. Perhaps he's heard it all along--Mao's unspoken words, his cry for help. He wanted to become a hero...
... but he wanted to become Mao's friend, before that.
Almaz finally falls to the curse.
The next we see of Almaz, he's in a void. Ah, he died, didn't he? Momentarily, he wonders if he's in heaven or hell--and when Mao appears, he panics, because then there's no way he's in Heaven.
But it's Mao's True Feelings, and he proceeds to put Almaz's worries to rest, he's in neither. And he continues... to thank Almaz. Because of him, he was able to find his own courage, he was able to believe in others. (At this point, Almaz is wondering if he's dreaming.) Finally, Mao's True Feelings asks Almaz to hold out his hand, so that he may return the courage he borrowed from him.
Almaz finally gets his Hero title back.
And by the power of Fuzzy Video Game Logic, there's a flash of light and Almaz is alive and human again. Almaz's final words, his death, finally reached through to Mao--who quickly denies that he opened his heart.
So begins the final chapter! With Mao on the right path and his emotions finally straightened out, it's time to settle things properly. It's time to face Aurum who is waitiing at the starting point of everything, at the Overlord's castle.
Eventually, after some difficult battles, everyone finally gets their happy endings. (Except Aurum.) Life even decides to let up on kicking Almaz around, and he gets Sapphire's hand in marriage!
Sure, the ceremony happens in the Human World, but they don't stick around there for long. Princess declares that their honeymoon be in the Netherworld!
From that point on, Almaz will never make it past the holding hands stage, if even to that.
And as things turn out, it seems like they're gonna be stuck in the Netherworld forever. Especially with all the things that are happening, people appearing, items being stolen all around the school... but that's fine. Almaz has another promise to keep, after all.
"Forever" is a lot shorter than he remembers, however, as Almaz winds up in Paixao.
Sample LJ post:
Is it really necessary to have one of these? I mean, I don't mind! I just feel I was kind of pressured into getting one. ... and I feel a little weirded out too. My hero's intuition is just- It's like a journal, right? Something like that? I've never kept one before, so...
It wouldn't hurt to start though!
I.
I hope it won't, at least.
(... I give up. Maybe Princess was right, I'm just being paranoid...)
Sample RP post:
Almaz hesitantly walked towards the infirmary. Oh, he could feel that familiar, nervous pounding in his ears already. It wasn't that they were bad at their job, definitely not. He wouldn't be here if they were! (Or, arguably, he still would be, since the school was very violent and there seemed to be very few other places to get medical help.)
It was more like the nurses seemed to enjoy their job a little too much.
Well, Almaz thought. I guess they could just really have a passion for it--but isn't that too much antiseptic?! She's definitely smiling at his pain!
He cringed sympathetically as the cleric pressed a new antiseptic-soaked cottonball firmly into the warrior's wound. She was smiling sweetly all the while, and mumuring words Almaz couldn't make out. But the nurse couldn't have been saying something comforting, if the patient's pale face was any indication. In it for helping people or not, these nurses definitely had a passion for... something. Which somehow made the wait to be seen all that much more agonizing. (Almaz idly thought back to his first time he came here. He quite vocal about it towards Mao, he remembered. "W-WHY IS THERE AN AXE HANGING ON THE WALL!?")
Fidgeting in his seat, Almaz was suddenly very glad that he only had a few scrapes and cuts that needed to be tended to. It would be cheap and quick, and he could get back to the rest of the group. Still, that didn't keep him from not having to swallow down the lump in his throat when the nurses urged him over.
Almaz made a point to not comment--not even under his breath--on how they asked him if he was 'that lame hero who hangs around Mao'. Just how long were these names going to stick with him? "Ah ha... yes, that would be me."