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GENERAL
[Name:] Quercus Alba
[Age:] 72....??
[Gender:] Male
[Marital Status:] Has a wife back in Cohdopia who is now trying to divorce him.
[Sexuality:] In his younger days Quercus was an unbreakable stallion who enjoyed men and women and tossed them away like toys. But like a lot of things, he's mostly lost interest by now (so he claims).
[Occupation:] Former Ambassador of Allebhast, and before that, Cohdopia. Currently incarcerated.
[Ladder Preference:] He prefers the strewn bodies of his rivals...!
CONNECTIONS
[Family:] The Alba House has been at the top (or near top) of Cohdopian society for generations, producing politicians, generals, diplomats, but no nice people. Quercus therefore has many distant relatives in various professions, but no immediate siblings. His parents are long since deceased.
Lippia Alba - Quercus wife, whom he married after his time as a soldier. Though not technically an arranged marriage, both knew exactly what they wanted from each other: status, and kids. And that they got. Being proud, beautiful, and socially connected on her own right, Lippia was everything a man like Quercus required of a wife (especially when she stayed behind in Cohdopia when he was made ambassador). However, she's almost as manipulative and backstabbing as he is. They've both had their affairs, and now that Quecus has fallen from grace she's doing everything she can to "preserve the noble Alba legacy" aka is doing legal gymnastics trying to save as many of his assets for herself and the kids and throwing him under the bus in the process.
Salix, Sinapis, Morus, and Rosa Alba - Quercus's children (three male, one female). Due to their familial connections they are each high on the social ladder, and are grown with their own families and possible criminal affiliations. Ever since they achieved success of their own Querqus doesn't care to get involved with them much, unless there's some gain for himself. He was particularly fond of Sinapis, the most distinguished of his children in the military, who is now on the run from Interpol for a laundry list of crimes. Like father like son!
(c wut i did thar?)
[Friends:] [Accomplices:]
Manny Coachen - For many years Manny was Quercus' number one man when it came to his criminal activities. Like many of his closer allies Quercus recruited Manny when he was barely out of his teens, promising him a life of privilege, and molded him into a cunning and ruthless ally. However, Quercus never fully trusted him (nothing personal--he doesn't trust anyone). When he ordered Manny to kill Cece for attempting to reveal his secrets, he was pleased that Manny followed through, but infuriated by his recklessness in allowing himself to be video taped. It put Quercus in a position to rely on Amano for help, and soured their relationship. When a few years later a member of the embassy staff threatened to expose Quercus, he again blamed Manny for being careless.
After Cohdopia was split and Colias appeared at the embassy, Quercus had Manny go to work for him as a means of keeping the new "pest" in check and remaining in control of the embassy printing presses. He soon realized that not only was this entirely unnecessary, but a grave mistake: with just that much extra freedom, Manny started carrying out operations behind Quercus' back. Realizing this, Quercus resolved himself to the fact that he would simply have to kill Manny, and waited for the right opportunity.
Now that Manny is dead, Quercus reflects on him as a disappointment. They achieved a lot over the years, and could have done more. However, had Quercus gotten away with Manny's murder, he's sure he would have had no problem acquiring a replacement.
Shih-na aka Calisto Yew - Quercus' favorite agent, by far. Not only is she one of the most skilled he's ever worked with, she just gets it: whether their actions were illegal or immoral didn't matter, it was just all part of the game. He sees her as a younger, slightly more attractive version of himself, making her way through the world without any emotional hindrances, seeking only power and amusement. He never "trusted" her exactly, but he knew that as long as he kept her busy she wouldn't stab him in the back, and so he entrusted her with some of his most sensitive and difficult assignments. If only she had shown up before Manny, he might have made her his right hand woman.
Oh, and she's hot. He's thought about it. You know what I mean.
Ernest Amano - A long time ally of Quercus and his organization. Some twenty years ago Quercus's syndicate had a hand in destroying one of Amano's rival companies, and enlisted Amano to help in his smuggling operations. They had a perfect relationship of "I tell you what to do and you do it, and we both profit" up until KG-8, when Amano helped Quercus out of a tough spot by sacrificing one of his own agents to the cops. Rather than being grateful, Quercus resented the sudden shift of power between them. Knowing that Amano's wayward agent had the evidence that could incriminate him, Quercus has kept up a careful balance between them ever since, and would have taken him out if there had been a safe way of doing so.
Jacques Portsman and Cammy Meele - Two of Quercus' more noteworthy accomplices. Though he had little direct contact with them, they did their jobs admirably...to a point. Like so many others, just pawns to him.
[Enemies:]
Miles Edgeworth - The man who ruined him. Outwardly he pretends that he doesn't take it personally--all things end someday. Of course, that's not really the case: he hates Edgeworth, more for interrupting his games than simply exposing him, and if he had the chance to ruin him, he'd do it for spite. Preferably in a way so that only he and Edgeworth would ever know it was him.
Those Meddling Kids...! *fistshake* - All those ridiculous characters flapping around Edgeworth during the embassy incident. He especially dislikes Shi-Long Lang and Franziska von Karma for standing up to him, after he had already pegged them as incompetent. And their little dog, too...!
Yatagarasu - Obnoxious little upstarts. It was bad enough to have the cops on him, especially cops outside the law, but having them poke fun at him by twisting his clever raven cards was inexcusable...!
When KG-8 occurred Quercus knew there was evidence against him, and sent Calisto in to keep tabs on the proceedings. How lucky for him that her act was so convincing, that Badd and Byrne invited her into their group. Through Calisto Quercus was able to follow their activities and stay one step ahead, and with the exception of their gimmick-stealing antics, he viewed them as a charming diversion. However, when Bryne snuck into the embassy itself, the game suddenly became no longer fun and Quercus decided to put and end to it. The fact that one part of Yatagarasu survived long enough to finally present the damning evidence irritates him to no end.
[Other:]
Colias Palaeno - When Colias first came to the embassy Quercus was concerned that he might prove a worth opponent, someone that would make doing business at the embassy more difficult for him. He was relieved when this turned out not to be the case at all. Colias's generous and naïve nature makes him something of a small dog in Quercus' eyes: a casual, relatively inoffensive nuisance. He can't even think ill of him for being helplessly dependant on others because it was just so damn convenient for him. With Colias in charge of the embassy he's looking forward to the day that the rest of it goes down in flames. How amusing that would be.
Damon Gant - Dear Mr. Gant, I know you always hoped to catch me yourself, seeing as I was carrying out massive criminal operations under your very nose, but couldn't because of my super special extraterritorial rights. But now the game is over, and since it wasn't you that won, I declare that you lose and I win, so there.
CHARACTER
[General personality:] At his heart, he is a man who puts stock and has faith in nothing but himself. He is arrogant, selfish, untrusting and untrustworthy, and unceasingly stubborn. To him, all of life is nothing but a game that he is playing, and everyone merely pieces on the board. And he has a lot of pieces: his power (both in status and his age-defying physical prowess) grants him enough charisma to draw people of all ages and backgrounds to him. He is especially good at attracting impressionable young men and women, by expressing an interest in them and their talents. This interest is sometimes genuine, in so much as he finds amusement in "mentoring" people with potential, and taking credit for their success once they have it. There's a certain thrill in being able to control a person so completely that they will do anything you say, even at the cost of their conscience, and it's one he's had many times in his years as a "criminal mastermind." In fact, one might say that's why he fell into crime in the first place.
Quercus' most irritating trait is also the one he considers his most favorable: he never gives up, ever. Even when proven wrong, he won't admit defeat and simply say that he never cared in the first place. Determined to win at all costs, he's prone to change his definition of "winning" to suit the situation, so that even actions most would deem cheating, cowardly, or even ridiculous become inexplicably acceptable to him. He's the one in control, after all--why shouldn't he change the rules? Anyone who knows his true nature most likely finds him infuriating, but those people are few, because he has no trouble changing his mannerisms to suit his needs as well. In this sense he has no concept of personal dignity whatsoever, while at the same time being the most vain and self-important person on the planet. Whatever the offense is, if he's the one doing it, it must be okay.
Quercus' weaknesses are of arrogance and oversight. He sees everyone beneath him as inferior, and so never expects them to ever come close to defeating him. He does not understand the merits of friendship and trust and therefore has many swords at his back. He's also not nearly as charming as he thinks he is--and boy does he think he's charming.
[Appearance:] As he appears in AAI, though since being convicted of just about every crime Cohdopia has a law for, he has been stripped of his medals, for which he is still very, very bitter.
[Background:] Quercus was raised in a strict, militaristic household, and though he learned discipline at a very young age he certainly didn't learn morality. Going from his family's manor to private military schools to the military itself taught him to rely on nothing but his own power and will, and that there was no merit in making personal connections if not to eventually exploit them. His competitive spirit propelled him to the top of his class and his platoon, reaffirming these beliefs. As he rose from foot soldier to military hero, he learned the subtle art of controlling people through false respect, skills which boosted him from combat and into a political career. He married Lippia, from another prominent family, and had just as many kids as suited him.
Like so many villains in the making, the prestige that came with his successes in Cohdopia only wet his appetite, and he soon realized how small his own nation was in the grand scope of things. He turned to crime, getting his hands on priceless artifacts from other lands, finding ways to get global conglomerates in his debt, an eventually turned to forging outright. A close call with the law in Cohdopia forced him to examine a new strategy, and with the help of his many connections he got himself named Ambassador to America. With a whole new sandbox to enjoy, Quercus' greed increased exponentially.
However, being in America also posed its own set of problems. He soon discovered that most Americans didn't even know Cohdopia existed, much less cared about his medals. Over time he adopted what he believed to be a more fitting persona: a humble and self-depreciating old man. Being a kindly old ambassador to a country no one cared about was the perfect hiding spot for him, and for a long time, business sure was good.
AND THEN THOSE MEDDLING KIDS....!!
PLANS
Gotta catch up with my smuggle-peeps! Let's all have lunch!
COMMENTS
Got any comments? Well TALK TO THE HAND my extraterritorial rights exclude me from your petty criticisms!!
Just kidding, I love comments~