Apps: Carl Clover
This is for Somarium; divided into threads for relevancy and convenience of the reader.
ALSO, TO PEOPLE READING THIS APP: I ask that you please be aware that the general gist of his back story is unknown; only certain bits are given, so even the wiki is just extensive guesswork. So... some of this is speculation, on my part, regarding his past/his ( Read more... )
ALSO, TO PEOPLE READING THIS APP: I ask that you please be aware that the general gist of his back story is unknown; only certain bits are given, so even the wiki is just extensive guesswork. So... some of this is speculation, on my part, regarding his past/his ( Read more... )
The Military Academy was, coincidentally, sponsored by the Novus Orbis Librarium Armagus, otherwise generally known as the NOL for short. Of course, being an intelligent young boy, he was rather quick to rise to the top of his class. He enjoyed reading and learning as much as he did mechanical things, sweets (especially cookies! Even better if they were baked by Ada), and his other various hobbies involving tinkering and mechanics. Of course, he was by no means a physical fighter or fit for being a soldier such as Jin Kisaragi, so perhaps his goals were more educational, or simply looking for a political position. Whatever it was he wanted to be, he enjoyed his time in the Academy very much. Aside from reading, Carl very much enjoyed learning the violin, as previously mentioned, and it is more than likely that it was not forced upon him and that he did, in fact, choose to learn it himself; such an instrument that would be difficult for others came quite easily to a gifted young mind such as himself. He, like many Austrians, was likely quite prideful of his country of origin, but never much ventured outside it, until he was sent to the aforementioned NOL-sponsored and ran Military Academy (which is not given a name).
This all said, he was still quite shy in school around others (if his interactions with his upperclassmen, Jin, Noel, Tsubaki, and Makoto are any indication), and easily embarrassed into being rather quiet. Though he was an otherwise polite, content little boy, apparently well-known by his seniors for his smarts; possibly even skipping grades. Unlike many, it's doubtful that he got into the Academy singularly for his family's name; he likely got in more because of his high intelligence. But, of course, living as he did had some draw-backs, naturally: although he was smart, his upbringing was a sheltered one, and he was a bit of a sister's boy, as he clung to his sister Ada quite often, and she took care of him, going so far as to even baby him, most likely. Presumably, his mother had died while he was young, or left. That is left unknown. To some speculation, one can assume Carl learned how to live and take care of himself when Ada was NOT around, for the most part, while he was in school.
These were days of contentment for the young child.
His friends were the books and his upperclassmen (Noel and co., as previously mentioned), and he likely got along well with the teachers, even if he didn't speak up much. His grades were near perfect, and he was always seen carrying a book larger than he himself was, ever the inquisitive type, and always ready and eager to learn more. He enjoyed every minute of his time at the Academy; those were warm, kind days. One could easily imagine the long afternoons in an armchair reading about far-off places and imaginary worlds, biographies about amazing people, the Six Heroes (whom every child should know, of course!), and learning how one would go about standard military procedure as well as the basics of a regular education.
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...But days that good, for anyone, as Noel notes in her storyline, would never last.
... Could never last.
Now, while he learned he COULD live by 'himself,' or without his big sister, he still missed her. Eventually, it only served to make him wish to be near his sister more often... and what was to come would completely cement his fear of losing Ada, and make him a complete co-dependent on her.
Not long before Carl had gotten used to Academy life, the Ikarugan Civil war broke out. At the time, he was studying to likely become an officer himself (or perhaps part of the NOL's Information depart, which consists of covert spy operations), and by the time Noel Vermillion was ready to graduate several years later (albeit six months early), Carl had dropped out, despite his top-class grades, genius mind, and ability to analyze things from a perspective that any Military organization would find useful. Why? ... Well, in order to make this make sense, one must first understand the back story behind it, after all.
(Now, while I'm only covering Carl's history here next, the ACTUAL history to the entire setting itself I summarized (relevant to Carl to a small extent) here, should you be so inclined to read it. Otherwise, the BB wiki link SHOULD work for that, too; hell, if you're already reading all this, I MEAN. SHEESH. WHY THE HELL NOT.)
Back to the important part at hand, then. So, one might think that Carl, a seemingly sheltered, happy, innocent boy, would have been persuaded by his father, Relius, or his sister, Ada, to stay, right? ... This, however, was not the case. In fact, it's the exact opposite of what truly happens. So why does Carl disappear and suddenly and inexplicably reappear claiming to be a vigilante? His father, plain and simple...
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Relius Clover, for reasons unknown, took his own daughter, killed her (presumably), and used her soul (or perhaps body, as well) to create the Armagus weapon know as Deus Ex Machina Nox Nyctores: Nirvana. Or recreate, as it is hinted at perhaps more than one of this particular Nox has existed (or exists) before. Whatever or whomever it was created for, the only thing that is truly known is that because of this is highly likely the reason Carl dropped out of the Academy, and completely lost his marbles. Official art shows his sister, Ada Clover, being half-mechanical and half human still; it's extremely likely that Relius, as a scientist and alchemist, used her body and soul to create Nirvana. Carl himself in-game hints that "father turned you [Ada] into this," in fact, and the crack on the puppet's face is only further proof of it, as is the fact it sacrifices itself for Carl in one of his story mode endings. Regardless of whether or not this is really true, Carl believes it to be with his entire being, suggesting he may have even seen the event take place, which could account for his fractured mind.
Worse still, for whatever reason he may have had, be it for Sector Seven or his own gain, or for Terumi, the man behind the time loop and most of the events in the game, Relius Clover would later be the man confirmed to have not only used his daughter to create the Deus Machina he would call Nirvana, but he is also confirmed to have created many, if not all, of the replicas of Saya (sister to both Ragna and Jin, which is far more complicated and I will not get into, since it isn't relevant to Carl's back story; you can read the wiki for that), so it can be presumed that he may have even had a hand in the Black Beast appearing in the first place. After all... Relius was a genius Alchemist known as the "Puppeteer". Many theories are that he may have even been one of the "Six Heroes".
You see, up until then, he had been a kind boy with a well-off education, family, and happily balanced view of the world and his life... but his father's sudden betrayal (and subsequent disappearance) constituted by a lack of anyone else to help him--his father worked in secret for Sector Seven, and they may not have even known that the child existed, nor would they likely have cared--meant Carl was now alone in the world, for the most part. Of course, "Ada" was still alive... but unable to do almost ANYTHING on her own anymore. Either way, because of Ada becoming Nirvana, or Carl losing her and only having the marionette with an extreme likeness to his sister, it became, quite literally, the only thing he had left in the world. Everything likely lost meaning to him, and it ruined his fragile, young mind. Rachel remarks that "he could have been a bright star," or something to the like, had the world let him. But his own fractured mind and weakness of heart will not allow Carl to ever be able to reach the potential he may have had.
By sheer dumb luck or self-invention, Carl procured or created a pair of glasses (the ones he now wears, to this day) that also allow him to, while helping his eyesight at the same time, communicate with non-living objects, including his now-inhuman sister... as well as mailboxes. ... And lamp posts. ... Yeah.
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After all of this, eventually, in some way, Carl subsequently learns of a man named Ragna the Bloodedge, also known as the Grim Reaper, who has led countless rebellions against the NOL, and apparently killed innocents. The bounty placed on his head is higher than any before it, but money is not Carl's true motivation: one way or another, he learns of the Azure Grimoire, a powerful magical relic supposedly carried by Ragna, that can amplify powers and do much more. He isn't entirely clear on what to do or how to find him for a long time, most likely. So quietly, Carl slides into life as a vigilante after dropping off the face of the NOL's Academy (leaving all the friends he probably had, including Noel, Tsubaki, and others behind, caring now only for restoring his sister), working for the Librarium to capture (read: sadistically kill, and generally maim) wanted people, regardless of whether or not they deserve it. He hones his fighting skills, and his mastery over puppetry and the use of seithr and alchemy to become powerful, despite his age. Though his sister may be dead, she is now a Nox Nyctores class weapon, and fights by Carl's side. He learns how to control her directly.
Although many believe he is insane, in reality, the fact is, Nirvana is more than likely truly Ada Clover. After a few years, the Ikarugan civil war has ended and the 13th Hierarchical city, now called Kagutsuchi, replaces it. He learns during his travels that Ragna is supposedly going there. Believing the Azure Grimoire will restore his sister from her current marionette-like state, he sets out to Kagutsuchi after him.
Imperative to note is that a time loop occurs canonically in this game; by the end of the year 2199, on December 31st (the current year in the world of BlazBlue: Calamity Trigger), the Black Beast is created by humanity itself, sent back in time, and then attempted to be destroyed. The resulting causes an unstable shift in time, reversing things back to a certain point, and the loop continues. Of those who are aware of this fact, Carl is not one of them. Nor is he aware that, in almost every loop, he is likely to die himself, searching in vain to pry Ragna's Azure Grimoire fragment from him, or V -13-. Carl isn't aware that he's truly relevant to the main plot of the game; that he is one of the many 'pawns' in Terumi's little game of time and tweaking to get what he wants. More, he is one of the poor, unaware chess pieces stuck in it, searching in vain for a way to fix his sister... and he will meet this goal with nothing less than sadistic glee, now.
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