Application for soul_campaign

[atailoftwoworlds]

 

Name: Zidane Tribal (Reserved)
Age: 16
Gender: Male
Fandom: Final Fantasy IX (video game)
Timeline: Sometime after he tries to rescue Kuja after Necron is defeated and before he is reunited with Dagger.
History: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/Zidane_Tribal


Character Personality:


Zidane is probably one of the kindest people you will ever meet! He is always willing to help anyone who is in need – even if that person is somebody he does not like very much. Are you in danger? Zidane will put his own life at risk to save you. Are you feeling down? Zidane will always be there for you and while he won’t force you to tell him your problems, he will try and make you smile again, whether it involves saying a few words of encouragement, trying to distract you with fun to do (as he tried to take Dagger around town when she was feeling miserable to make her feel better, for example) or telling you not to think about it too much. As to why this boy helps people – well, there is no reason, really, beyond the fact that it doesn’t somehow feel right to abandon people. And why would he need a real reason, anyway?




Zidane is also friendly and outgoing, despite the fact that his thieving profession suggests otherwise. Unlike anti-social Final Fantasy heroes such as Cloud and Squall, Zidane enjoys hanging around with others and is not afraid to meet new people – especially women. If he spots an attractive girl, he will not stop himself from going up and flirting with her, even that girl already has a boyfriend. That said, however, Zidane is in love with Dagger and does not intend to go out with any other woman now, as he has now realised that he belongs with her. That will not stop him from using embarrassing pickup lines in order to compliment or befriend a pretty woman he meets, however.


All of this might suggest that Zidane is extremely simple-minded, shallow and stupid, which is actually far from the truth. This young thief can be surprisingly deep-thinking for his age. For most of his life, Zidane did not know where he came from or what race he was – the only thing he remembered about his birthplace was a blue light. For a long time, he longed for a real family and a home he could belong to and even once ran away from his adoptive father to find it (which ended in failure). Because of this, Zidane had a good idea how people like Vivi felt upon discovering creatures exactly like them for the first time.


None of this makes this makes Zidane a pure-hearted being, however. Being a working-class thief, he was not exactly brought up to be the best-behaved individual ever. Zidane swears occasionally, casually scratches his behind from time to time, can (and has been known to) make incredibly tactless comments (eg. being openly horrified at Regent’s appearance when he turned back into a human) and has no qualms about insulting people whom he does not get along with (such as Steiner).


Furthermore, while Zidane is perky, optimistic and generally pretty good at holding himself together when things get rough, he is not incapable of feeling sad. In fact, while this youth is very good at listening to other people’s problems, he is not so good at coming to people with his own. This is probably due to the fact that Zidane grew up as an ‘orphan’, feeling alone and out of place with everyone else in the world. Therefore, when he does become depressed, he actually becomes hugely pessimistic and either tries to avoid everyone so he can sulk alone or looks for something to distract himself from the problem (eg. when he felt that he no longer had a chance with Dagger because she was now queen, he went off to play cards in Treno instead of confronting her about his feelings). It will often take a huge lecture from somebody else to get him to pull his act together and become his bright and cheerful old self again.


That said, Zidane is slowly starting to get better at talking to his friends when it comes to personal issues, although he is still finding it very awkward (eg. he once tried to thank Dagger for helping him deal with his origins but found it very difficult to do so). There are certain issues that he is trying to work out such as how to gain the courage to finally tell Dagger how much he really cares for her. Zidane will learn in time, though. He is only sixteen, after all.


Character Abilities:
Having been raised as a thief, Zidane is able to steal things, beat up guards and take their uniforms in order to sneak into buildings. His acting background has also made him a skilled liar (he was able to trick Amarant into becoming a wanted man).


Zidane also displays very good leadership qualities (he is a Final Fantasy hero, after all). He does look on the bright side but he is not unrealistic and will try to look for any way out of a problem or a sticky situation (eg. you and your companions need to climb a huge tree but your companions don’t think they can? Why not look for a gargant to carry them up there?).


Zidane is pretty decent in hand-to-hand combat as well. While he is not a strong warrior like Steiner, he is very skilled at wielding either two knives in battle or a swallow blade, so he is quite capable of defending himself.


Supernatural-wise, Zidane has the ability to enter Trance, which he cannot activate at will. Trance only occurs when the thief has been attacked enough times or obtains an extremely strong desire to protect other people. During Trance, Zidane glows pink and his clothes disappear (being replaced by fur). Zidane also becomes much stronger physically and is able to wield various deadly attacks on various enemies which can cause a great amount of damage. He can only enter Trance for a short time though and when Trance ends, his clothes reappear and his strength returns to normal.


Finally, as he is one of Garland’s Genomes, Zidane has a long and prehensile monkey-tail. While his tail is not as articulate as his hands, he is able to use it to grab onto beams, rafters and branches in order to dodge an enemy (Zidane was canonically able to use his tail to grab onto a beam in the Cargo Ship to avoid Steiner’s wrath).




Character Weaknesses: While Zidane is a perfectly capable fighter, he is not that physically strong like Steiner or other Final Fantasy heroes like Squall and Cloud, since he is supposed to be of the ‘thief’ profession and has no magic ability whatsoever. Therefore, he can only do limited damage with normal physical attacks, which is especially inconvenient if you are trying to fight against an enemy who is highly resistant to physical damage.


Additionally, while Zidane does sometimes think before he acts, he does like to show off and therefore is not above doing incredibly reckless things like body-slamming into a magic barrier or pulling a huge stunt in order to save someone, the latter which can potentially put his life in serious danger (eg. he was almost killed when he pulled a stunt in order to save Dagger from Alexandria’s destruction and was lucky enough to get away with being unconscious from his injuries for a few days).


Zidane’s adoration for women can be a weakness. A beautiful woman he meets in the street can distract him from what he is supposed to be doing. His obsession with girls also might leave him vulnerable to manipulation – Zidane is not stupid but any evil woman who happens to be pretty but also extremely good at hiding her dark and sinister nature could very well trick him.










[ SOUL CAMPAIGN SECTION ]


What are the abilities that your character will retain in Soul Campaign?


- Zidane will still be able to steal, beat up guards and lie his way out of situations. He is a thief, after all.
- Zidane will still be a decent fighter and be able to use two daggers/knives in combat if he finds them in Death City. Although he won’t be able to enter Trance anymore, this gives him some ability to defend himself if his Meister is not with him.
- Zidane will keep his tail and it will still be prehensile.






What are the weaknesses that your character will lose or gain in Soul Campaign?


- Zidane may or may not become more open about himself, depending on how he interacts with people and how the plot progresses in Soul Campaign. Events that occur in the plot may make him clam up more or persuade him to make more close friends and open up more. If Zidane clams up more, it will be a weakness as it will cause problems for and frustrate his friends.
- In the game, it is suggested in canon that if someone goes through some sort of particularly horrible trauma, they will not be able to enter Trance (which happened to Dagger after her mother was killed and her city was destroyed). Therefore, if either Zidane or his Meister somehow enter a state of extreme depression, they will not be able to activate Grand Lethal and Zidane will only be able to be used as an average weapon.
- Needless to say, Zidane will not be able to enter Trance. He will only be able to use one of his Trance abilities as a weapon when certain requirements explained below are fulfilled. He will still be a reasonably capable fighter but that is all he will be when he is not in Weapon form.


Please give us a brief explanation on why you think your character is appropriate for the game's setting. As I explained earlier in the application, Zidane is the type of person who never abandons people in danger. Friend or stranger or even enemy, he will save that person’s life. Therefore, in the game, Zidane will be a valuable asset to the game as he would be devoted not only to helping and protecting his Meister (should they get along well enough) but other people as well.


Additionally, while he won’t be particularly happy about being forced into another world when he was trying to go home, Zidane will be willing to investigate more about what is going on in the Soul Eater World, help stop the witches and get everyone home- he is, after all, not the only person who is stuck here and. Zidane would feel incredibly guilty if he returned home to Gaia without helping the others first.






[ WEAPON ONLY SECTION ]


Why your character should be a Weapon: Zidane is devoted to protecting his friends and helping them when they are in trouble. He is the type of person who would happily put his own life at risk, if it means getting his friend out of it so it would only be fitting that he would be a weapon in order to take damage for his Meister.




What is your character's Weapon form?: Zidane’s Weapon takes the form of a swallow blade (or thief sword, as it is known in Final fantasy IX). It’s a weapon that has two blades on either side but has a handle in the centre so someone can wield it with one hand. Zidane can wield a variety of swallow blades in the game and his ultimate weapon is a swallow blade. Zidane’s particular swallow blade takes the form of the Rune Tooth in Final Fantasy IX (seen here: http://finalfantasy.wikia.com/wiki/List_of_Final_Fantasy_IX_Weapons#Thief_Swords).


Zidane’s Weapon has one ability. This ability can only be activated once Zidane and his Meister have a huge trust in each other and once they do learn it, they can only activate it if either Weapon or Meister suddenly possesses an extreme burst of anger or a particularly strong desire to protect someone. If successful, a series of pink rays of light will shoot out of both Weapon and Meister, all which cause great damage to up to seven opponents (of the Meister’s choosing) who happen to be within fifteen feet away from Zidane’s Meister. This ability can only be used once per battle though as it drains a lot out of both Zidane’s soul strength and his Meister’s physical strength so it should be used wisely.


Additionally, as explained in the Weaknesses section, Grand Lethal cannot be activated if either Zidane or his Meister is in complete emotional turmoil.






[ SOUL INFORMATION ]


Soul Description: Energetic, independent, mischievous, kind, optimistic, self-sacrificing.


Soul Appearance: Zidane’s soul is a goldish yellow colour to reflect his happy personality. It has his long hair tied up in a ponytail and its facial expression is a mischievous but good-natured grin!