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Mun
Name: Aza
Livejournal Username: azarann
E-mail: cliffstouchingthesky @ gmail . com
AIM/MSN: returnhope
Current Characters at Luceti: returninghope
Character
Name: Jade Curtiss (Dr. Jade Balfour)
Fandom: Tales of the Abyss
Gender: Male
Age: 36
Time Period: Month after Post-Game, before epilogue.
Wing Color: Blue
History: Aselia
Personality:
"I'm so good-natured and honest it almost hurts."
Jade is a character that is very hard to read. On the surface, he's always smiling, but this expression is often deceiving. He is full of snarky and sarcastic comments, even in inappropriate situations, so it is hard for others to tell when he’s being sincere, or if he’s simply toying with them for his own amusement. This is made more difficult by the fact that he does toy with people often, remarking on how ‘well everyone is getting along’ when they are in the midst of a heated argument, or commenting on how much ‘fun’ someone is having when they are feeling just the opposite. He’ll say strange and sarcastic things even in dire circumstances, which has lead Guy to comment several times that he never seems concerned about anything. Compliments given outside of very serious circumstances sound fake, despite whether or not he truly means them. He’s said before that such sincere lines, “don’t suit him,” and the other party members have agreed wholeheartedly: “For some reason when Jade says it, it just sounds wrong.”
However, as is to be expected of a high-ranking soldier, Jade does respect authority, and is polite, formal, and even charismatic when the situation calls for it. Jade can read people quite well and is not above manipulating them to achieve his ends, as witnessed when Jade receives a stone he required from Florian---by simply allowing him to have it, Jade knew Florian would feel the need to give it over to him, and acted accordingly.
Jade is a very private man concerning his emotions, and like a proper soldier, prefers to keep such things at arm’s length, or more precisely, completely under his control. The few times he has gotten downright upset, he’s managed to reel in his emotions almost immediately afterward. Jade keeps his true thoughts to himself as a general rule, and so makes a rather fantastic liar.
It is perhaps because of this ‘distance’ he takes from his emotions that it is easy for him to see through to the true intentions of others. Jade has caught on to major twists, secrets, and others’ true motives many times, often long before the rest of the members of the party. Jade picked up on a few odd comments and bits of knowledge from Guy, which lead him to research and conclude Guy’s true identity, quite a while before anyone else had noticed anything strange. He was also the only one who seemed outright suspicious of Anise, before she revealed her betrayal. There is an aspect of amusement in this from time to time as well; watching others build up their secrets can be amusing to witness, especially if done foolishly.
Still, he rarely, if ever, reveals what he knows about these secrets and people before these situations unravel. Jade likes to be absolutely sure of something before voicing his ideas or concerns, so much so that he won’t even share his guesses on a matter, despite being right about 90% of the time. This tendency is what makes his theories so reliable; Jade is a man well-founded in fact, but is not an overly skeptical person either. While discussing the possibility of ghosts, Jade explains this part of him very well: “I don't believe in them. I simply have no proof that they cannot exist. Without such proof, I can't dismiss the possibility.”
But despite his knowledge, Jade loathes giving explanations, often shoving that job unto Guy when he can. He’s remarked that he “hates teaching, he doesn’t take apprentices, he doesn’t impart knowledge.” This is probably due to the fact that Jade possesses such a strong intellect. After 35 years, it would be tiring to have to explain a great deal to both your peers and your ‘superiors’, especially as a young child. The fact that he does take the time to explain things to you can be a sign that he likes you, or at the very least feels you capable enough of understanding and being useful to him in some way.
In fact, Jade can find it awkward to be forthcoming about how he feels about others. He only outright scolds people he happens to like, and over time his teasing can become more good-natured and friendly than cruel and abrasive. It takes Jade a great deal of time to admit to Luke he thinks of him as a ‘friend’, and at one point can only manage to spit out that he finds Luke ‘okay’.
But in opposition to this ‘softer’ side, Jade’s methods can often seem underhanded and even cruel. He takes a frighteningly practical view of things, even when another’s life is in question. When Casim, an admirer of his, tried to pull off an arte out of his skill range, Jade suggested killing him when it fell apart, as it was the quickest way to take care of the situation and ensure the safety of the civilians nearby. It was also his full intention to kill Arietta when she fell unconscious, to save them the trouble of dealing with her later. His words are blunt as well, outright telling a father his son had died, when Luke was hesitating on how to say it. Jade prefers to take the quickest and easiest route to an end, even if it leads to blood on his hands. Jade has mentioned, just before the Absorption Gate, that even now he still does not fully grasp the true value of life and death, and that this is perhaps his greatest sin.
But even so, Jade is not a bad person. Once he discovered that it was completely impossible to revive his fallen teacher, he forbade the use of fomicry on living things due to the moral and ethical issues that arise with it, and is honestly and truly upset to find out others are still attempting it. Jade can find it difficult to empathize with others, but as he grows closer to the people around him, the more apparent it is that Jade can and does care.
“Sure [Jade] can be bitter, mean, nasty, sarcastic, and snide. But once in a very long while, only to those he trusts, he can actually be nice.”
Strengths:
Physical : Jade is an adept caster and a fairly decent medium-range fighter as well. Being a soldier, he’s in pretty good shape, and can easily keep up with a party less than half his age. It has been briefly mentioned that Jade easily possesses the skills necessary to be a general, and has been shown to be useful in combat even with most of his strength sealed tightly away. Extreme heat and cold appears to have little effect on him, but it’s more likely that he’s simply better at hiding his discomfort.
As a special note: Jade uses the Contamination Effect to keep a spear hidden within his arm at all times, so he is never without a weapon. He also tends to use this arm to block, and the spear vanishes when he does so, which probably means the spear offers his right arm extra reinforcement.
Mental: Considering that he invented fomicry, and actually implemented a (somewhat) working method at the age of nine, Jade is a fonic genius. He can memorize and commit things to memory quickly, and is quick to pick up new bits of knowledge. He’s authored more than several books, and is shown to have extensive knowledge of sciences even outside of his ‘specialty’. Of course, this is mostly Auldrant science, so its relevance will be case by case.
Emotional: Jade exercises extensive control over his emotions. Even when he’s upset, he keeps a firm head on his shoulders, almost always managing to step back and consider the next logical step. Even though he may not necessarily empathize with others, he does recognize the best way to proceed with people, and can be a wonderful manipulator. He’s also a brilliant liar, managing to keep an unwavering face while uttering even the most ridiculous statements.
Weaknesses:
Physical: Although Jade is by no means frail (despite what he may claim) he isn’t as young as he used to be. He relies more on his mind and artes than brute strength, so in hand to hand, he is at a slight disadvantage. He prefers to strike from a distance, or to get up close, strike and dash away.
Mental:Jade may be smart, but he doesn’t in fact know everything. He is however, an intensely curious individual, often leading him to get carried away with things like mixing dangerous medicines, and in the past has tried dangerous artes to see how they would result. He’s even considered testing such things on the other party members (Whether or not he was actually serious about this remains to be seen). His aversion to long, drawn-out explanations has also lead to unnecessary trouble. Jade seems as if he’s had to practice being patient with others, and strongly dislikes people who make mistakes and refuse to learn ‘or even to think’.
Emotional: Jade finds it hard to emphasize with others, often leading him to seem inconsiderate, cruel, and detached. When he scolds and teases, it isn’t unfounded, but the blunt manner in which he states his feelings can be hurtful and insensitive. It takes a long, long while for him to trust, or even begin to consider others as ‘close’. He admits he still has trouble deciphering the values of life and death, a subject he has managed to make progress on. He stills feels extreme guilt for the death of his Professor and for the mere existence of fomicry itself. Fomicry is something he has admitted he would like to take back if he could. As its creator, he considers it his personal responsibility, and thus all the problems that have arisen for it are by extension, somewhat his fault.
Samples
First Person:
My, my. This was certainly a rather unexpected development, to say the least. It seems I must have been quite careless to have allowed myself to be captured in a manner as disgraceful as this. Though I must admit, I don’t exactly recall being dressed in a bathrobe last I checked. I must be getting on in years. They do say that the mind is the first to go... [Sigh.]
Ah well, such matters can be attended to later, I suppose. But more importantly---
[The tone of Jade’s voice changes drastically, even though his smile remains firmly in place, there is an edge there that wasn’t present before.] I would like to know of any information you’ve gathered about this place that perhaps wouldn’t have been... prudent to display publicly. More specifically, I’m interested in the motives of our captors. I’m afraid I very much dislike being left out of the loop. It’s a rather frustrating experience.
Third Person: (Samples must be 300 words or above. Remember to write using proper grammar, verb tenses, and paragraphs.)
Upon first waking, Jade had dared be optimistic enough to hope that this was simply some kind of a joke. An endeavor by the Emperor perhaps, as some sort of an attempt to have him ‘lighten up’--an enforced break or some other such nonsense. This idea however, was sharply short-lived. Jade reached out and pushed his glasses back securely to their usual place on his face. Whoever had been responsible for depositing him here had at least been kind enough to leave him these, as well as a rather familiar cushy bathrobe.
However, if these clothes were meant to have him believe he was in for a relaxing spa vacation, he certainly was not buying it. No, the sore raised flesh on the nape of his neck would’ve been enough to warn against that. He knew the heavy groggy feeling that persisted in his limbs better than most; he'd seen it's effects in plenty of other’s before. He had the remains of a sedative running through his system.
Far more troubling were his new extra appendages. They felt tender, and simply... wrong in comparison to his other limbs. He ignored the clothing for now, instead turning to the book that had been placed alongside the clothing provided to him. The cover was printed neatly with his name, however, that language wasn’t in Ispanian, ancient or otherwise, but a completely foreign tongue. Yet curiously, it was perfectly understandable to him. He flipped through the journal’s pages. Obviously this was not a 'normal' book, contained within the pages were recordings, voices, videos, and most conveniently of all, the guide. "... this is a different world than the one you know....you are unfortunately trapped here." Jade went over the terms of his imprisonment slowly, committing the more vital information to memory. He was disgusted to find that even here, there were those attempting to thwart death: "Even if you pass away in this world, by some means you will find yourselves resurrected. Revival is not usually intact..." And also failing apparently, to some vague extent.
Jade snapped the journal shut and changed into the clothes provided to him. They were familiar at least, his, and until he further understood the situation he found himself in, it was perhaps better to play along with his captor's games. Jade paused for a moment to consult the journal for a map of some sort, and turned in the direction most likely containing civilization. "Malnosso, hmm?"