Post by Seifer Almasy on Aug 23, 2012 16:25:37 GMT -5
Seifer Almasy
"Listen up! Teamwork means staying out of my way!”
Custom Title: Romantic Rebel[/color]
Age: 18 (at start of FF8)
Gender: Male
Family: Unknown; orphaned during the Sorceress War
Race: Human
Sexual Orientation: Straight
Home World: Final Fantasy VIII
Alignment: Galbadia
Job: Headmaster of Galbadia Garden
Appearance:
Seifer’s figure is tall and imposing at 6’2’’, towering over most of his peers, and projecting a powerful, often intimidating, appearance. With sharp, cold blue eyes and neatly slicked blonde hair, Seifer combines power and elegance in a package that communicates to everyone around him that he needs business. Most often, he is seen wearing a blue vest, a grey coat adorned with cross patterns, with black gloves, pants, and boots.
Personality: Seifer is arrogant to a fault, reckless, stubborn, and often highly unpredictable -- characteristics that led him to fail several SeeD exams, and led to his ultimately leaving the Garden without ever becoming one of the elite soldiers. He has an unwavering confidence in his abilities, and accepts very few people as his equals; he has a constant superiority complex and often believes himself to be the only person capable of accomplishing important goals or missions. While he puffs himself up with self compliments, he likewise denegrates those around him by talking down to them -- even his superiors, as he often took a condescending tone with his own instructor, Quistis Trepe. Despite this, though, he will show respect when it is earned, as was seen when he was the first to applaud his squadmates when they passed their SeeD exam.
More than anything, perhaps, it’s most accurate to describe Seifer as being driven by passion. Falling in love with the romantic ideal of serving as a Sorceress Knight, he pursued his dream with everything he had. When he worried that Rinoa and her SeeD mercenaries might run into trouble against the Galbadian army, he violently broke out of the Garden and nearly assassinated President Deling on live television. And, pursuing his dream (albeitin a warped way), he pledged himself to serve the Sorceress Ultimecia. When his desires burn, Seifer will stop at nothing to achieve what he pursues -- even if it requires burning bridges and busting heads.
History: (From FFWiki, with additions)
Seifer was born 18 years prior to the events of Final Fantasy VIII. He was orphaned after his parents were killed in the Sorceress War and sent to Edea's Orphanage. From a young age he bullied the other children in the orphanage, especially Zell. As he grew up, he became a student at Balamb Garden, where he studied to become a SeeD.
Seifer would later forget his past in the orphanage due to the memory loss that using Guardian Forces causes. Final Fantasy VIII Ultimania reveals that when Seifer was a child, a popular movie was released about a sorceress who stood to defend her country, and her knight who protected her. The film was Seifer's favorite, and inspired his dream to become a Sorceress Knight himself. He even copied the battle pose of the actor who played the Knight in the film.
At Balamb Garden, Seifer found friendship in Fujin and Raijin, and their posse was rarely seen apart. The friends later became the Balamb Garden Disciplinary Committee, abusing their power to give fellow students punishment and detention. Even though he forgot his past, Seifer became a rival to another student at Balamb Garden, Squall Leonhart, who had coincidentally grown up in Edea's Orphanage. Of all the students at the Garden, only Seifer and Squall chose a gunblade as their specialized weapon, and they would often duel to hone their skills.
Even though Seifer had great potential to become a SeeD, his behavior made him fail the exams needed to become one, and he was labeled a "problem child." Seifer also developed a "romantic dream" about becoming a Sorceress Knight and has borrowed several books from the Balamb Garden related to the subject. About a year before the events of Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer started a romantic relationship with Rinoa Heartilly, a girl working in a resistance group to free the occupied nation of Timber.
At the beginning of Final Fantasy VIII, Seifer and Squall are shown having a fierce duel in a rocky field near Balamb Garden. Neither one seems to be giving an inch, but Seifer casts a Fire spell during the duel, sending Squall to the ground. Seifer strikes at Squall's face, giving him a bloody scar, but as Seifer lets his guard down Squall strikes back, leaving a mirrored scar on Seifer's face.
For the SeeD field examination, Squall and Zell Dincht with Seifer as their leader, are put into one group to form a squadron of SeeD for a military operation against the Galbadian Army. Selphie Tilmitt later joins the group, but because of Seifer's disobedience during the engagement, he fails his SeeD exam once more. He grudgingly applauds Squall, Zell and Selphie, all of whom pass.
While Seifer is sent to be disciplined for his actions during the exam, Squall, Zell and Selphie are assigned a new mission, their first as SeeD mercenaries: to aid a resistance faction known as the Forest Owls in their mission to free the occupied nation of Timber. In this resistance faction, Rinoa, Seifer's former love interest, is a member.
Having heard of this, Seifer breaks out of the discipline room, injuring many people in the process, and embarks to assist them by holding the President of Galbadia hostage during a broadcast from the Timber TV Station. Backed into a corner and watched on by Squall, Zell, Selphie and Quistis Trepe; who had been sent to retrieve him, Seifer attempts to retreat and is saved by Ultimecia who appears in the body of Edea Kramer. Appealing to Seifer's darker side, Ultimecia successfully convinces him to follow her. Seifer is officially announced executed by the Galbadian government and a saddened Rinoa reveals her past with Seifer to Squall.
Seifer is believed dead until he shows up in Deling City, standing at the side of Ultimecia having become the sorceress's protective Knight. Squall, with their new ally, Irvine Kinneas, had been assigned to assassinate the sorceress by shooting her, but Irvine, remembering his past at the orphanage (he had not forgotten his memories due to the fact he had never used Guardian Forces, though at the time he was unaware of Ultimecia's possession of Edea), refuses to shoot Edea and disguises it as merely nerves.
Squall convinces Irvine to shoot, but Ultimecia blocks the shot with a spell. Squall is forced to break into the sorceress's parade and fight her one-on-one; Seifer stops him and, claiming his new status as hero and Knight of the sorceress, fights Squall. After Seifer's defeat, Squall fights Ultimecia, but is defeated when Ultimecia casts Edea's Limit Break, Ice Strike, which pierces Squall's shoulder.
When Squall comes to in Galbadia's D-District Prison he is quickly transported to the torture room by none other than Seifer who tortures Squall for the truth about SeeD. Squall, who does not understand the question, only further enrages Seifer who turns the electrical torture instrument to full, which leaves Squall unconscious and incapacitated. While Squall later escapes with his friends, Seifer, now head of the Galbadian Army, invades and takes over control of Galbadia Garden under Ultimecia's orders. Enabling the Garden to be airborne he embarks on the search for a girl named Ellone whom his sorceress wishes to find. Eventually, whether the encounter was accidental during the search or intentional is unknown, he manages to intercept a similarly airborne Balamb Garden over the Centra continent near the ruins of Edea's Orphanage.
With Seifer as commanding officer the Galbadia Garden launches a full assault on Balamb Garden. The Balamb students and SeeDs turn the battle and make their way inside Galbadia Garden, where Squall and his party encounter Seifer. He is defeated once again, and is left unconscious and disgraced on the floor. Despite Seifer's determined efforts Squall's party defeats Ultimecia within Edea's body, which results in Ultimecia leaving Edea's body to possess Rinoa's body and ordering Seifer to raise the Lunatic Pandora from the sea.
Under the orders of Ultimecia, Seifer embarks on a new quest to resurrect the Esthar weapon Lunatic Pandora from the depths of the ocean. Restoring the device to active status he directs the pillar to be placed upon Tears' Point, starting the Lunar Cry and bringing into motion Ultimecia's plan for time compression. Squall and his party move to prevent this, invading the construct with an Estharian airship and battling their way deeper into the Lunatic Pandora. The many toils had begun to take their toll on Seifer, as his hair is unkempt and his coat is blackened and falling apart. Fujin and Raijin, who up until now had followed Seifer loyally, beg him to stop following this path and go back to being their friend.
Seifer claims it is too late to go back, and wishes them a good life, before he fights Squall one last time. During this fight, if the player has obtained Odin, Seifer manages to bisect him when he is summoned in battle, and Gilgamesh takes his place, and knocks Seifer down. Despite his defeat, Seifer manages to capture Rinoa and offer her to Ultimecia in the body of her new host, Sorceress Adel, whom she had just resurrected.
After Ultimecia is bested inside Adel's body by Squall's group, she casts time compression, allowing Squall to reach her era. After Squall and his party reach the future era and defeat Ultimecia, Seifer is seen in the ending as an entirely different person. He is fishing together with Fujin and Raijin, and smiles toward Balamb Garden as it flies by through the sky.
Following the defeat of Ultimecia, Seifer fled to the Galbadian continent, as his pride would not allow him to submit to Squall's leadership. For a time, he lived on his own in Galbadia hiring his services out as a mercenary, but ultimately found that career unfulfilling and unambitious.
The opening of the portals by the fal'Cie gave him an unique opportunity, however. Playing off of the people's fear about otherworldly invasions, Seifer rallied the national morale of Galbadia, leading to a coup that overthrew the existing regime and restored Galbadia's sovereignty, and began the process of rebuilding the G-Army's military strength, as well. Taking personal responsibility for the development of Galbadia's restored army, Seifer was named the Headmaster of the repaired and reopened Galbadia Gaden, where he assembled a new class of students in order to train them to serve as the world's defenders against the fal'Cie.
Seifer's Garden is rigid, militaristic, and ruthless, often putting students in legitimate danger in order to sharpen their skills to a razor's edge or, as he puts it, "Weed out the wimps in the process." He has now come to stand as a mirrored reflection of Squall once again, as each man now leads his respective Garden, and the possibility of conflict between the two remains a real one...
Abilities:
- Gunblade Specialist: Seifer is a rare expert with a Gunblade, a heavy and deadly weapon that requires significant skill and care to wield effectively. His personally customized weapon, Hyperion, is a lighter, slimmer model than Squall’s Revolver, and he wields with in a one-handed fighting style with deadly precision.
- Para-Magic: Like many soldiers and Garden students, Seifer is able to draw and use magic, and specializes in the use of Fire-based spells.
- Physical Conditioning: Seifer spent his youth training at Balamb Garden, hoping to join the ranks of the elite mercenaries of SeeD. Although he never actually became a SeeD due to his reckless and impulsive character, he still bears the fruit of years of intense training. Wielding a heavy weapon like a Gunblade takes strength, and the physical training regimen of the Garden is intense; as a result, Seifer is in top physical shape, whether it be in strength, speed, or endurance.
- Educated for Battle: Seifer knows his way around a battlefield. His instruction at the Garden included not just physical training, but coursework on battlefield theories, combat procedures, and tactical thinking. In addition to studying these things, he has demonstrated his ability to lead military operations, serving as a squad leader in his SeeD exam, as well as orchestrating the (ultimately unsuccessful) invasion of Balamb Garden using Galbadian forces. When a battle’s on, Seifer is a useful guy to have around.
- Twisted Charisma: A personality like Seifer’s is extremely polarizing. Some people will resent his arrogance and demeaning attitude, and end up thoroughly hating him. And yet, even those who resent him still often have a sort of begrudging respect for him (such as Zell, for example.) Others see his headstrong ambition as visionary, and find themselves inspired to be near him and follow him (such as Fujin and Raijin, or Rinoa’s attraction to him). Although not everyone will want to be by his side, for the right personality type, Seifer can be an inspiring leader.
Summons: N/A
Magic: Para-Magic, mainly Fire spells
Strengths:
- Ambition: What Seifer wants, he pursues, and he pursues it hard. Ever after the realization of his "romantic dream," Seifer has the willpower and the drive to make sacrifices, pull strings, and cut through any opposition to fulfilling his dreams.
- Courage: Perhaps a result of his overwhelming ego, Seifer believes himself to be nigh on invincible, and as a result, fears very little. He will rarely back down from a challenge, and will often throw himself headlong into a battle simply for the fun of watching his enemies scatter. Intimidation and fear tactics wont' get very far with a man like Seifer.
- Cunning: Seifer is a schemer, and he knows how to get into positions of power. He managed to secure himself as the leader of Balamb Garden's 'Disciplinary Committee," served as Sorceress Ultimecia's Knight (although through some coercion and trickery), and brought the whole of Galbadia's military strength under his control -- twice. Just when it seems like he's down, Seifer shows up with a new ace up his sleeve to try to best his enemies.
Weaknesses:
- Arrogance: The flipside of Seifer's ambition is his absolute inability to believe himself incapable of fulfilling those ambitions. In Seifer's mind, he is the great paragon of excellence, and everyone else around him are the mere mortals who try (and often fail) to match him. Seifer can very rarely accept genuine help, and often has difficulty delegating tasks to others because he rarely believes anyone capable of achieving what he can.
- Impulsiveness: More than any, it was Seifer's impulsive nature that arguably was the main reason he consistently failed his SeeD exams. When ordered to hold his position, Seifer grew impetuous and charged into battle against the Galbadian Army during its invasion of Dollet, resulting in some dramatic battles, but ultimately his denial from becoming a SeeD. When emotions are running high and he gets hot-headed, Seifer becomes dangerously and often recklessly aggressive.
- Passion: Passion, as many have learned over the years, can be good and bad. In Seifer's case, his passion can sometimes cloud his better judgement. His burning desire to realize his "romantic dream" and serve as a Sorceress Knight blinded him to Ultimecia's obvious manipulation and evil ends, and led to him being deceived into serving her with nearly blind loyalty. Sometimes when a cool head is required, Seifer responds by chasing impulsively after his dreams, and it can (and does) land him in trouble.
Weapon: Hyperion (Gunblade)
Crushes: Rinoa
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