✞ aather application

[trageteas]

HERO APPLICATION

PLAYER INFO

Name: Adeline

Age: 21

Timezone: EST

Contact: glitterbombs @ plurk; almond cookie tea @ AIM

CHARACTER INFO

Character Name: Jules de Ferrier

Canon: Kaze to Ki no Uta

Reference: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kaze_to_Ki_no_Uta is your best bet

Appearance: http://myanimelist.net/character/26426/Jules_de_Ferrier/pictures

Character Info:

While he was born into nobility, Jules has always had little to show for it in anything but name; when he was young, his father grew very sick and eventually died, leaving the rest of the family without the ability to sustain their rich lifestyles. Soon after, Jules' mother sent her children away: his older sister was married, while Jules lived with friends of the family, the Rosemarinés. His life has thus been lived in an awkward intersection between rich and poor, nobility and commoner: his manners and education reflect those of the upper class, but his friendships have always been with delinquents and the children of servants. He values his comfortable life (thanks to his patrons), but has a keen awareness of how easily he could lose it and how harsh the world can be.

At his core, Jules is driven by a desire to aid the well-being of his loved ones. As the only living man in his immediate family -- gender being a particular important factor for someone trying to live comfortably in the 1880s -- and as someone who greatly values his mother and sister as the only people he truly trusts, his most important goal is to make sure that they continue to lead happy lives. To this end, the obvious mean is money, and the obvious source for this money is through the Rosemariné family. He has a distinct manipulative streak, stating that his friendship with the Rosemariné's youngest son, Arion, is due to his intreats in maintaining good ties with his wealthy family, who also provide for his mother. This means that he's also arguably unmotivated, opting not to pursue an alternate route of employment and support even though he certainly has the talent and ability for it. Taking any kind of risk seems unfavorable to him, even when there's a possibility of eventual improvement, and he even admits this, claiming to be spending extra time at the school he has graduated from because it's easier than making his way in the world.

But while he's complacent in his own life, Jules does not hesitate to act when it comes to the good of others. Beyond it being implied that he would do anything for the sake of his family if he was forced to, he also consistently assists his underclassmen.and is sensitive to the needs of others. Throughout the story, Jules provides a sometimes hidden but ultimately valuable support system for one of its protagonists, Gilbert Cocteau, who is (to say the least) very troubled. Jules does not directly intervene in Gilbert's choices to have sex with dangerous people, drink too much, and maintain an obsession with his uncle (all due to past abuse, but that is neither here nor there), but he does on multiple occasions save him from bad situations, up to and including a suicide attempt. His method of acting here is not about taking risks, either, but is instead a way of quietly improving the lives of those around him. It doesn't stop at people he explicitly likes, though; even having developed a kind of resentment for the series' other protagonist, Serge Battour, Jules doesn't hesitate to patch him up and give him a place to sleep when he finds Serge beaten and bruised from an encounter with other students.

Ultimately, he is a person with admirable goals and values. Family is of utmost importance to him (to the point that forbidding students from being visited by their parents is the worst threat he offers), he is a devout Catholic (who, unsurprisingly, favors the Virgin Mary) and claims to dream of a world without "money, power, [and] status" even as he takes advantage of his own connections to all three of these things; alongside his lofty ideals Jules is ultimately enough of a realist to know that sometimes one must live in the world one exists in rather than the world of their ideals. Alongside this ideal is a strong belief that a desirable end sometimes justifies questionable means -- not those means that include serious harm, but this is the mindset that allows him to generally avoid a feeling of guilt for his choices to take advantage people's kindness toward him.

His reputation at his school, the elite Lacombrade Academy, at which he is a former honor student and current student supervisor (a position that is fairly meaningless in name but allows him to remain there) is a surprisingly dramatic one. At 18, he spends most of his free time studying, reading for pleasure, horseback riding, taking walks in nature, and drinking entirely too much tea. While he takes his position very seriously and does on occasion firmly discipline the other students, he is quite introverted to the point that he avoids socialization that he doesn't deem desirable or necessary. To most of the other students, that translates to him being haughty due to his intelligence and association with Rosemariné, a conclusion that is not entirely untrue but very much exaggerated -- he does look down somewhat on most of them, but it is due to gossipy and troublemaking behavior more than an inherent sense of superiority. Rumours about his past are similarly not untrue but are somewhat misunderstood: at Lacombrade he befriended delinquents and seemed to be presumed the brains behind the violent group; in truth, they had a grudge against Rosemariné and he befriended them to a degree in order to establish that Rosemariné was his to torment.

Indeed, it's impossible to talk about Jules without also addressing his childhood playmate, closest friend, and the greatest joy and annoyance of his life: the aforementioned Arion Rosemariné. Without getting into great detail, they fought as children (even as Arion seemed to harbor an odd affection for Jules) and eventually grew more civil toward each other, briefly becoming roommates at their boarding school for some time and, during the time period the actual story takes place, no longer roommates but still with a reputation as a pair of haughty rich boys. This was complicated further by the fact that Jules, around the time they were fifteen, saw Rosemariné being raped by a distant relative, Auguste Beau. Perhaps surprisingly, this incident drew them closer; throughout much of the series, Rosemariné is only able to relax in Jules' company, otherwise constantly tense from stress and trauma, and only allows physical content from Jules, having developed a crippling phobia of being touched.

It's a complicated relationship in that even as Rosemariné is indisputably Jules' best friend, if only by virtue of being the his only friend, and yet neither of them seem to always like or fully trust each other. Around Gilbert, Jules freely admits that he doesn't like Rosemariné much at all, although as Gilbert and Rosemariné truly and fully despise each other it's likely exaggerated in order to win Gilbert's trust. Jules associates with Rosemariné for his money and connections; Rosemariné uses Jules as a lifeline to keep him from drowning in his own struggles with recovery, which leads to him lashing out at Jules verbally and at least once physically for lack of any healthier outlet for his anger. Much of this could probably be solved by the two of them sitting down, having a serious conversation, and finding a good therapist (which, granted, probably is not a feasible option in the 19th century), but since both of them have a tendency to avoid their problems (Jules for the sake of ease and resisting change; Rosemariné for the sake of maintaining an appearance of absolute strength). This is further complicated by the fact that Jules is in fact in love with Rosemariné, and Rosemariné is all but outright stated to return these feelings, which is probably attached to a whole lot of Catholic gay panic that is tragically underexplored due to their nature as side characters.

Jules is not the least bit happy with this relationship for a variety of reasons, and wishes he has done many things differently. Perhaps if they had gotten along better in the first place they would be truly close now; perhaps he could have reacted in a more supportive manner when Rosemariné was raped (although, being fifteen, there wasn't much he could have done); perhaps it would have been better if they'd never befriended each other at all. Jules' interest in people who remind him of Rosemariné (first Gilbert, a distant family member of Rosemariné's who is also a rape survivor, and post-series a young woman named Adelaide who he outright admits affection for due to her appearance which is similar to Rosemariné's). Ultimately, it's only when they're able to have a few years apart from each other to sort out their feelings that they are able to meet again with a suggestion of a future much healthier relationship.

70s shoujo manga, man.

Memory Loss Considerations:

Jules' tendency to seek out rich and powerful people as peers is rooted in a desire to see to his family's well-being; when he loses his memories and is no longer aware that this is necessary, he will no longer feel a need to acquaint himself with people based on who it would be most advantageous to know. The concept of actively trying to use people's kindness for the sake of himself and his loved ones will similarly not occur to him. Furthermore, he will lose his understanding of who is considered "appropriate" to publicly associate with, which will also give him more freedom in his associations. In short, he will spend time with people based completely on his personal interest and ability to get along with them, rather than who would be advantageous to be on the good side of.

Because of a lack of awareness of the troubling situations he has been in and seen, Jules will be altogether more positive and optimistic, and more driven by his core values of treating people well for its own sake. Not remembering the hardships that he has gone through, he will be less prepared for further misfortune, but also won't have to feel guilty about his past decisions. Particularly unusual for him is that he will not be troubled about the well-being of his family, Gilbert, and Rosemariné while he is gone as long as he doesn't remember them (although that concern will likely return as soon as he does).

He will also have forgotten many of the social norms associated with his country, religion, and time period, making him less uptight and not determined to continue to meet these norms. Most notably, this includes his Catholic faith, leaving him without a support system but also unable to miss it. I intend for it to take a while before he remembers any of that, in order to see how he will develop in a non-religious setting. Issues of internalized homophobia also come up fairly often in Kaze to Ki no Uta, and while it's never directly addressed how Jules feels about his sexuality (he's all but explicitly stated to be bisexual) it's hard to imagine him not being uncomfortable with it in a canon setting; without homophobic social norms he will probably be very comfortable with that part of himself. The way he treats women, which is intended to be chivalrous but is not free from sexism, is also reflective of his time. In Aather he will lack any expectations for people to fit into gender roles and gender will not play into how he treats people.

Finally, a loss of scholarly knowledge and the awareness that he ever even had such knowledge will leave him with less of a sense of being considered more intelligent than most people, although his preference for intellectual persist will persist as it is not tied to his memory or his ability but is an inherent trait.

Skills:

Would not be affected by power capping. He doesn't fight, he's smart but it's in the normal range of human intelligence, and he certainly doesn't have any supernatural powers. Wow, boring.

His mundane skills include:

• Not only the ability to make tea efficiently but also an absurd amount of unnecessary tea knowledge.
• Intimate knowledge of the Bible and other Catholic doctrine.
• Fluency in French (native speaker) and Latin.
• A whole lot of other standard 19th century scholarly knowledge about language, history, geography, etc.
• Horseback riding.
• Whittling.

Team Considerations:

Being on a team in Aather will likely prove to be an issue for Jules -- while he has no issues interacting with people and working together with them, he's inclined to avoid it unless it's completely necessary. Left to his own devices even in a setting like this one, he's likely to avoid assigning himself any kind of responsibility and find reasons to bide his time until he's able to go home. He finds many people, not to mention the presence of most of humanity as a whole, irritating at best and infuriating at worst, because so many of them are immoral or idiotic or just plain wrong, and they are free to do whatever they do but they should do it away from him.

In a team context, he might grow to have a fondness for the group and thus support a cause for the team's benefit; it isn't that he's a misanthrope but rather someone who is used to being disappointed and annoyed by underclassmen and drunken idiotic family friends. Among people he truly liked and cared about, though, he might have a very different reaction. He has a tendency to downright mother people that he's truly fond of and seem to need it (such as, in canon, younger students who are being or have been hurt) and that could easily be activated in an Aather team context.

On the other hand, being in a team that was an unpleasant experience for him would lead to him becoming increasingly withdrawn, believing that they were not worth his time or effort even when it came to survival situations. This would be the most likely result on a team full of people who had nothing to offer to him and to whom he could offer nothing -- warriors, thugs, anybody who would mutually be willing to cut him off.

Team Placement Request:

With the above in mind, I would like Jules to be on a team that would serve as a motivation to act and allow him to grow to care for them. Ideally that would involve a team that made an effort to include their members whether they liked it or not, that would be accepting of his comparatively old-fashioned nature (particularly when he got some memories back) even if they didn't always like it, and had room for people more suited for intellectual and tactical matters. Younger characters that would awaken his instinct to care for people would also be a plus!

WRITING SAMPLE

Introduce yourself in a few sentences.

My name is Jules de Ferrier, and I work as the student supervisor at Lacombrade Academy. I was born in Honfleur, in Normandy, although I rarely get a chance to go back these days. I'm not sure what you'd be interested in knowing about before that, people talk about me often enough that you're probably familiar with the rumors. Most of them are lies, of course, but yes, I was an honor student and remain under the care of the Rosemariné family -- and anything you've been told about Arion and I is most certainly a lie. We're friends, and there's nothing complicated about it.

"The suffering of a few is okay if it benefits a great many." Do you agree with this sentiment? Why or why not?

That isn't the sort of question one can answer in such broad strokes, is it? The nature of the suffering matters, as do the benefits and the manner in which it's carried out. Of course, I would never choose to make anybody suffer for my own sake, but it would be a lie if I said I couldn't imagine a situation were some people could make sacrifices for the greater good. The rich among us, for instance -- they might consider it suffering to assist the poor, but that's a far different situation than forcing people to go into war for the greater good.

Although in a better world, we wouldn't have to ask ourselves that question at all. We're all capable of helping each other without forcing anybody to suffer.

What event from your past has impacted you the most? Please describe.

Anybody in a situation like mine would say the same thing: my father's death. That just about speaks for itself, but it was the first time that I realized Mother couldn't fix everything. I'd rather not describe it in any more detail than that, I'm sure you understand.

What are three things you're good at, as well as three things you're not so good at?

My talents? I'm good with schoolwork and learning, which I doubt I need to elaborate on, I'm good with horses, and I've got a talent for influencing people. Nothing particularly spectacular, but despite what you may have heard I've never claimed to be a spectacular person.

…I don't see any point in dwelling on my weaknesses, but I'm not very good at making coffee and I've a habit of speaking at too much length at times.

If you could change one thing about yourself, what would it be?

I have confidence in the person that I already am, so I wouldn't change myself to become somebody different. Rather, I would help myself to be a stronger person, better at fulfilling the duties I'm meant to fulfill. There are factors that… distract me, many of them having to do with my personal failures as much as they do the failures of others. Of course, that isn't something that comes by a magical change but by effort and prayer.

Do you believe in soulmates or love at first sight?

Yes, to both. I know that God has a plan for each of us, and I find the thought of a future planned without a person you're meant to be with hard to comprehend. That doesn't mean that all of us have soulmates, or that all of us will ever find them, but it's a possibility that can't be ignored. Of course, one can also mistake someone for his soulmate and only later realize it isn't meant to be, but that's another topic entirely.

As for love at a glance, I don't doubt the possibility. But although the initial spark can happen in an instant, love is ultimately found and deepened in a long, sustained relationship. Where things begin are rarely where they end.

"Killing criminals is okay if they've committed a grave crime." Do you agree with this? Why or why not?

Certainly not, and it shouldn't even be a debate. "Thou shall not kill," for a start -- the fifth commandment, and God makes no exceptions for any of His children, no matter the errors they commit. Beyond that, it's a crude act, one that no good human should be willing to carry out. And the death penalty kills not only the criminal, but also a part of the people who loved him. He might leave parents behind, a wife, children. They've lost not only his love but his support as well, and no woman or child should ever be forced to go on without the head of their household. It's terrible enough to lose someone like that by chance, but by the choice of the government? Monstrous.

Rather, criminals who commit the worst crimes should be encouraged to change. Not in order to lessen their sentences, when it comes to crimes such as rape and murder, but allowed to become better people within their confinement. It's a rare man who cannot be forgiven if he's only willing to try.

Do you consider yourself a strong person? Why or why not?

There are many kinds of strength, and I possess some of them. Physical strength, certainly not -- and what would the point be? -- but mental, emotional, certainly. I don't intend to brag about that, but since you asked…

Why? Because I've learned how to put together what's broken -- people, relationships, parts of myself. The ability to heal is more powerful than the ability to resist harm.

If you met a stranger, and were allowed to ask one single question in order to get to know them better, what question would you ask? And, if somebody asked you this question, how would you answer?

I'm not sure I would. Is there a point in speaking to a stranger when one is only allowed to ask one thing?

Forced to choose, I might ask about their relationship with their mother. It's a bit personal, perhaps, but it's all theoretical anyway. And you can tell a lot about a person baed on what their mother thinks of them, it's a unique kind of insight based on a deeply personal relationship.

I have nothing but good things to say about my closeness to my own mother, but I won't bore you with the details.

Free section: (Please put something which you think symbolizes you or is otherwise important to you.)

That isn't a question, you know.