OOC: Character Information Part 1
→ character information
Series: Tales of Symphonia (specifically the sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World)
Name: Emil Castagnier
Age: Physically around sixteen; technically six months plus however long the game takes (mun estimates around two months, so probably about eight months total - this is her final estimation after making an actual timeline, seriously!)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Emil has blond hair and green eyes. He wears the clothes of a Knight of Ratatosk (or so Tenebrae said when he got them): a royal blue top fitting around his torso and tapering off into multiple squared tails, strapped on at the waist to at top by a belt with an orange-gold strip in the middle. His pants and boots follow a similar black-with-orange color scheme. He wears black fingerless gloves with colored cuffs that extend up the full length of his arms, and wears a black scarf of some sort around his neck. He carries his sword in its sheath on his back.
In a skit near the beginning of the game, Tenebrae mentions that the clothes are meant to convey Ratatosk’s bravery and elegance and is magicked to be wrinkle-free and resistant to water and mold (though strangely enough he didn’t mention fire).
Semi-notably, he has a small star-shaped scar on the back of his neck as duplicated from Aster's appearance.
Personality: Emil is the kindness and conscience of Ratatosk, and in contrast to Ratatosk’s personality it can show. He’s certainly not a wimp, especially when the ones he cares about are threatened, but he doesn’t like to fight others if he can avoid it (helping others is an exception to this). He’s not perfect, by any means: though he’s certainly changed from the fearful bully magnet in Luin he would still rather avoid unnecessary fights and will occasionally apologize unnecessarily and feel responsible for things others wouldn’t blame him for.
Emil has the blood of others on his hands, a fact he won’t let himself forget: he exists because Ratatosk murdered Aster and set off a whole chain of tragedies. He wants to live for the ones who didn’t have that chance as well as himself, but he holds no illusions as to how wrong killing others can be. Part of his initial decision at the game’s end to seal himself away and later Ratatosk’s reluctance to let Emil live out his life was out of a perceived atonement for the deaths he’d caused, whether or not it had been intentional.
Emil cares very much about his friends and their feelings, especially Marta. Marta in particular means a great deal to him because of their initial relationship: though Emil had been more thrown into it than anything, Marta counted on him to be the knight who would protect her when she needed him and through her and Tenebrae’s influence Emil came to compare himself to that. As they grew closer, his feelings about her changed and eventually she became one of his best sources of support, helping him come to terms with his possible identities as Aster or Ratatosk and telling him that no matter who he was or who he’d been, Emil was still himself.
Richter also means a lot to Emil: while they were technically enemies for most of the game, Emil applies this very selectively and there is a series of sidequests where he aids Richter in collecting items with the logic of "As long as it's not directly related to Ratatosk and him trying to kill Marta, I can help him." It's because of the "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality" line Richter gave him that allows Emil to find the bravery to stand up and face his fears all throughout the game, and near the end of the game he says, "Richter was the very first person who gave me courage when I was still weak." Richter's influence extends beyond that, however: it was Richter who lectured Emil on hiding inside his shell because he was afraid of his aunt and uncle, and when it looked like Richter was retreating inside his shell because Emil reminded him of his murdered friend Emil took a stand and told Richter off for doing the same. Though Richter came to consider him an enemy, Emil never held any hatred toward Richter--only guilt for murdering Aster and a desire to save Richter from a bad end.
Even apart from them, Emil has a strong sense of loyalty to his friends and values the lives of everybody. When Rilena and Decus were sucked into a portal he created Emil was the one who worried over Rilena and wanted to save her, while in contrast Ratatosk's personality was ready to give up finding somebody who didn't directly matter to him and attributed Emil's desire to find Rilena to his hopes of finding out who he was, though Marta denied this.
In general Emil is strongest when he has his friends to support him, and not just Marta. Alone he can (though not necessarily will) simmer and make decisions for the worse, like how guilt influenced his decision to trick his friends into “killing” him. He was fully willing to do it up to the point where he very convincingly choked Marta-until she figured it out and everybody convinced him not to, because there had to be another way and forcing them to kill him would only hurt his friends instead of helping them regardless of if it saved the world. Emil’s mantra and magic words of a sort is a line given to him by Richter, ironically given to him from Aster: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.” When trying to encourage his friends to be strong and face up to things he will often offer up this line, and when reminded of it by his friends it gives him strength as well.
In everyday life Emil can still be a little timid with strangers, and even with friends he can’t seem to defend his dignity properly as Tenebrae has made several jokes and remarks at his and/or others’ expense (e.g., telling Raine that Emil had been able to tell Colette meant her when talking of a “ruin maniac” because she was crazy or translating Emil accidentally calling Sheena “Mom” into Emil ogling her chest). He can still be dragged around to do what others want, too, as long as it doesn’t violate his own moral code. If he gets fed up with things, though, he will stand up for himself, like he once did with Marta when in Iselia--though as in that situation, not always with the clearest of heads.
He also has his not-so-bright moments. Sometimes he'll take jokes literally and make...not-so-great ones of his own, like joking that if he and Sheena were going to be giving up Regal as a "gift" they ought to tie a bow on him. (Later he retracts that in a skit conversation with Regal, but adds, "Maybe roses clenched between your teeth instead?")
Particulars:
Combat: Emil’s experience in his journey along with Ratatosk’s natural power has made him excellent with a sword. While he doesn’t have quite the same strength or all the same abilities that Ratatosk did (e.g., Emil can’t use the Ain Soph Aur technique) he’s capable of holding his own against experts. Some of his techniques are associated with elemental magic such as fire or light.
Monsters: As a part of Ratatosk Emil still has a connection with monsters and may be able to sense when they’re around.
Pacts: Emil is able to make pacts with monsters and have them help in battle, though without a Katz Guild around keeping the monsters is a more demanding task.
It may be possible that Emil has other abilities related to Ratatosk (he is part of the spirit who could rewrite natural laws, albeit one very much under his domain), though most anything else is probably conjecture outside of canon.
Cooking: Emil has cooked frequently since becoming a Knight of Ratatosk and starting his journey with Marta and Tenebrae, since he has to help keep multiple people and a number of monsters fed and healthy. It’s mentioned in skits that he likes to add an element of presentation to his cooking, such as carving apples into the shape of rabbits or sculpting turtles out of pumpkin.
Sorcerer's Ring: A ring with magical power worn on Emil's right hand that typically allows him to shoot small bursts of fire, though using special devices the fire can be changed to other things (ice, light, water, etc.).
Possessions: His sword and a pack containing various items such as healing gels for battle.
Random/Misc: Emil can put on a rather convincing impression of Ratatosk, difference in voice and mannerisms and all sans the change in eye color.
Series: Tales of Symphonia (specifically the sequel, Tales of Symphonia: Dawn of the New World)
Name: Emil Castagnier
Age: Physically around sixteen; technically six months plus however long the game takes (mun estimates around two months, so probably about eight months total - this is her final estimation after making an actual timeline, seriously!)
Gender: Male
Appearance: Emil has blond hair and green eyes. He wears the clothes of a Knight of Ratatosk (or so Tenebrae said when he got them): a royal blue top fitting around his torso and tapering off into multiple squared tails, strapped on at the waist to at top by a belt with an orange-gold strip in the middle. His pants and boots follow a similar black-with-orange color scheme. He wears black fingerless gloves with colored cuffs that extend up the full length of his arms, and wears a black scarf of some sort around his neck. He carries his sword in its sheath on his back.
In a skit near the beginning of the game, Tenebrae mentions that the clothes are meant to convey Ratatosk’s bravery and elegance and is magicked to be wrinkle-free and resistant to water and mold (though strangely enough he didn’t mention fire).
Semi-notably, he has a small star-shaped scar on the back of his neck as duplicated from Aster's appearance.
Personality: Emil is the kindness and conscience of Ratatosk, and in contrast to Ratatosk’s personality it can show. He’s certainly not a wimp, especially when the ones he cares about are threatened, but he doesn’t like to fight others if he can avoid it (helping others is an exception to this). He’s not perfect, by any means: though he’s certainly changed from the fearful bully magnet in Luin he would still rather avoid unnecessary fights and will occasionally apologize unnecessarily and feel responsible for things others wouldn’t blame him for.
Emil has the blood of others on his hands, a fact he won’t let himself forget: he exists because Ratatosk murdered Aster and set off a whole chain of tragedies. He wants to live for the ones who didn’t have that chance as well as himself, but he holds no illusions as to how wrong killing others can be. Part of his initial decision at the game’s end to seal himself away and later Ratatosk’s reluctance to let Emil live out his life was out of a perceived atonement for the deaths he’d caused, whether or not it had been intentional.
Emil cares very much about his friends and their feelings, especially Marta. Marta in particular means a great deal to him because of their initial relationship: though Emil had been more thrown into it than anything, Marta counted on him to be the knight who would protect her when she needed him and through her and Tenebrae’s influence Emil came to compare himself to that. As they grew closer, his feelings about her changed and eventually she became one of his best sources of support, helping him come to terms with his possible identities as Aster or Ratatosk and telling him that no matter who he was or who he’d been, Emil was still himself.
Richter also means a lot to Emil: while they were technically enemies for most of the game, Emil applies this very selectively and there is a series of sidequests where he aids Richter in collecting items with the logic of "As long as it's not directly related to Ratatosk and him trying to kill Marta, I can help him." It's because of the "Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality" line Richter gave him that allows Emil to find the bravery to stand up and face his fears all throughout the game, and near the end of the game he says, "Richter was the very first person who gave me courage when I was still weak." Richter's influence extends beyond that, however: it was Richter who lectured Emil on hiding inside his shell because he was afraid of his aunt and uncle, and when it looked like Richter was retreating inside his shell because Emil reminded him of his murdered friend Emil took a stand and told Richter off for doing the same. Though Richter came to consider him an enemy, Emil never held any hatred toward Richter--only guilt for murdering Aster and a desire to save Richter from a bad end.
Even apart from them, Emil has a strong sense of loyalty to his friends and values the lives of everybody. When Rilena and Decus were sucked into a portal he created Emil was the one who worried over Rilena and wanted to save her, while in contrast Ratatosk's personality was ready to give up finding somebody who didn't directly matter to him and attributed Emil's desire to find Rilena to his hopes of finding out who he was, though Marta denied this.
In general Emil is strongest when he has his friends to support him, and not just Marta. Alone he can (though not necessarily will) simmer and make decisions for the worse, like how guilt influenced his decision to trick his friends into “killing” him. He was fully willing to do it up to the point where he very convincingly choked Marta-until she figured it out and everybody convinced him not to, because there had to be another way and forcing them to kill him would only hurt his friends instead of helping them regardless of if it saved the world. Emil’s mantra and magic words of a sort is a line given to him by Richter, ironically given to him from Aster: “Courage is the magic that turns dreams into reality.” When trying to encourage his friends to be strong and face up to things he will often offer up this line, and when reminded of it by his friends it gives him strength as well.
In everyday life Emil can still be a little timid with strangers, and even with friends he can’t seem to defend his dignity properly as Tenebrae has made several jokes and remarks at his and/or others’ expense (e.g., telling Raine that Emil had been able to tell Colette meant her when talking of a “ruin maniac” because she was crazy or translating Emil accidentally calling Sheena “Mom” into Emil ogling her chest). He can still be dragged around to do what others want, too, as long as it doesn’t violate his own moral code. If he gets fed up with things, though, he will stand up for himself, like he once did with Marta when in Iselia--though as in that situation, not always with the clearest of heads.
He also has his not-so-bright moments. Sometimes he'll take jokes literally and make...not-so-great ones of his own, like joking that if he and Sheena were going to be giving up Regal as a "gift" they ought to tie a bow on him. (Later he retracts that in a skit conversation with Regal, but adds, "Maybe roses clenched between your teeth instead?")
Particulars:
Combat: Emil’s experience in his journey along with Ratatosk’s natural power has made him excellent with a sword. While he doesn’t have quite the same strength or all the same abilities that Ratatosk did (e.g., Emil can’t use the Ain Soph Aur technique) he’s capable of holding his own against experts. Some of his techniques are associated with elemental magic such as fire or light.
Monsters: As a part of Ratatosk Emil still has a connection with monsters and may be able to sense when they’re around.
Pacts: Emil is able to make pacts with monsters and have them help in battle, though without a Katz Guild around keeping the monsters is a more demanding task.
It may be possible that Emil has other abilities related to Ratatosk (he is part of the spirit who could rewrite natural laws, albeit one very much under his domain), though most anything else is probably conjecture outside of canon.
Cooking: Emil has cooked frequently since becoming a Knight of Ratatosk and starting his journey with Marta and Tenebrae, since he has to help keep multiple people and a number of monsters fed and healthy. It’s mentioned in skits that he likes to add an element of presentation to his cooking, such as carving apples into the shape of rabbits or sculpting turtles out of pumpkin.
Sorcerer's Ring: A ring with magical power worn on Emil's right hand that typically allows him to shoot small bursts of fire, though using special devices the fire can be changed to other things (ice, light, water, etc.).
Possessions: His sword and a pack containing various items such as healing gels for battle.
Random/Misc: Emil can put on a rather convincing impression of Ratatosk, difference in voice and mannerisms and all sans the change in eye color.