Aden Dellebecque

Aden Dellebecque
Gender	Male
Race	Miqo'te
Clan	Seeker of the Sun
Citizenship	Gridania
Age	19
Marital Status	Single
Occupation	Apprentice lancer/odd jobs
Height/Weight	5’6”/139
Orientation	Homosexual

Appearance

Sleek and muscular, Aden’s been fit all his life from growing up working on the farm, but training with the lance has begun to really hone his form.

His eyes are mismatched, one emerald green and the other almost a honey color, but it doesn’t seem to have any impact on his vision.

His hair is not quite so perfectly coifed as the character model, but rather looks slightly tousled--the careless look many try to achieve with great effort, as if he rolled out of bed and it all simply fell into the right place. In Aden’s case, for once it’s infuriatingly true--he doesn’t put any effort into it. It just happens.

In addition to the scar on his left cheek he has a few under his clothes: one on his right shoulder, and one on the lower left side of his chest between two ribs, both linear and fairly ugly; with a third across the upper portion of his stomach, just above his ribcage, wider but less severe. The tip of his right ear has been nicked.

Personality

Aden is quiet and serious, and content to be ignored in social situations. He’s polite to a fault, behavior and sometimes speech often stiff and formal save for a few colloquialisms. He shies away from casual touch from strangers or acquaintances. In short, he’s awkward, clearly falling back on formally taught social behavior.

Repeated exposure is the surest way to get through to the person beneath that stilted exterior. Aden is still growing as a person, very aware of his own failings and somewhat insecure and prone to a little melancholy, but overall hopeful. He genuinely enjoys the success of others, and frequently downplays his own, owing to the fact that he expects more of himself. He’s rarely satisfied with his own efforts in anything. He still remains quiet even once an individual breaches his formal exterior--he feels he has little to offer of genuine interest.

Aden is incredibly uncomfortable with attention, sometimes even from people he trusts or knows well. This is another reason he downplays his achievements. When in a situation where he feels he is receiving undue attention (being called up in front of a gathering, someone paying even merely polite compliments, etc) he will seek ways to extricate himself from the situation.

He seems to be utterly unaware of his looks, and in particular is both confused and slightly put-off when complimented on them in any way. It’s completely alien to him, as if someone is speaking in a foreign language.

All of this said, if he’s operating in a field he’s familiar with, Aden is confident. At least until someone draws attention to good performance.

He handles criticism well and will readily agree, whether he feels it's justified or not.

Biography

The Bloody Belles

Nadine Dellebecque, Arild Brewster, and C'Shala Taran were members of an all-female adventuring company, working equal parts as mercenaries, treasure hunters and problem solvers. Over the years Arild and Nadine grew very close, and after Arild was grievously injured in a fight Nadine turned all her savings towards buying a farm in the Twelveswood where they could comfortably retire. C'Shala continued adventuring, but extracted an oath from her dear friends--she had always wanted children, and if she happened to have any and something unfortunate happened, Nadine and Arild would take them in. C'Shala left the company after an argument with their leader, struck out on her own and fell out of contact. The last letter she sent to Arild indicated she was considering a contract in Ishgard for something shady she would not otherwise detail.

The Stray

A stranger brought Aden, no older than four, to the Dellebecque farm with a letter. Nadine and Arild assumed the worst. They took Aden in and raised him as their own, cherishing in him the memory of their dearest friend. He was an insatiably curious and observant child with an appetite for stories of adventure--which Nadine and Arild fed with tales from their own time in the sun. Nadine schooled him in self-defense, and as he showed aptitude indulged him in combat training as if he were her own apprentice. Much of Aden's training from his youth focused on speed, strength, and defense, in keeping with his mothers' desire to steer him away from adventuring.

Flights of Fancy

As soon as they were able Nadine and Arild converted the farm into a chocobo farm, as Arild always had an enduring love of the birds. This included an egg that Nadine would not reveal the origin of, though Arild long suspected it acquired from a prime Ishgardian stable and smuggled via old adventuring contacts. The birds became the household's primary focus, and the farm flourished--in no small part because of the wild rumors surrounding that supposedly smuggled bird.

The Storm

As he grew the family saw in Aden a blooming wanderlust, and fearful of their ability to keep up with him as they aged his mothers tightened their leash. He begged for leave to take up the lance--for his favorite figures in tales of great battles and distant places were always the lancers and dragoons--but they denied him time and time again. Finally they left to attend a retirement party for an old companion, and in their absence the farm's prize bird escaped. Aden went after it out in the wilderness, and ran afoul of Ixali. He nearly bested them, and didn't shirk from bloodshed, but ultimately survived only by the aid of a pair of Quivermen patrolling in the woods.

Gridania to Current

Aden's mothers could no longer deny him his dearest wish after the Quivermen regaled them with the story of Aden's fight, understanding they could send him for training or lose him to inexperience in a future incident. He took up with the Lancers' Guild for training, and threw himself at it wholeheartedly--much to frustration of his trainers, who saw in him great potential but had difficulty addressing the hodgepodge of styles he'd learned from Nadine. He was bounced between several individual trainers, until by chance encountering Flynt Knoltros. Whatever it is Flynt saw in him Aden isn't quite certain, but he's now studying under this master lancer--and pursuing the more specialized techniques Flynt has to teach.

The Letter

Nadine and Arild destroyed the letter after reading it. It confirms that Aden is in fact C'Shala's son, and offered some vague clues to her fate. It was not signed, but Nadine and Arild strongly believe the letter was written by Aden's father. They have never discussed the existence of the letter with Aden, but it's contents led them to try and push Aden away from an adventuring life. They privately fear that if he gains any degree of skill or notoriety he will be dragged into the conflict that presumably killed his mother and drove his father to entrust a third party with his transit to the Twelveswood.

Miscellaneous

Likes ■ Chocobos ■ Books, especially travelogues ■ The high that sets in when combat drags on a little too long, just at the edge of fatigue...

Dislikes ■ Vagueness ■ Flirting ■ Being under any kind of attention ■ Large crowds/being alone with strangers

Other ■ Favorite Weather: Light fog ■ Favorite Smell: A hemlock grove after rain ■ Favorite Drink: Cider (non-alcoholic) ■ Favorite Food: Anything new ■ Favorite Color: Ink Blue

RUMORS Some of these rumors are untrue or are greatly exaggerated. Please feel free to add your own rumors under PC! ◢ Common Rumors (Easily overheard) ■ “That kid glued to Flynt’s tail? Doesn’t seem to talk much. Won’t look you in the eye or say nothin’ unless you talk to him first.” ■ “See more of him around Ul’dah than in Gridania nowadays.” ◢ Moderate Rumors (Moderately difficult to overhear) ■ “Nadine’s boy? He doesn’t seem like much but if he’s anything like her, he could lay you out if he wanted to.” ■ “I hear he had a rough time with the Wailers, getting passed around from trainer to trainer. It’s a wonder anybody else picked him up.” ◢ Rare Rumors (Very difficult or rarely overheard) ■ “His mother was a right scoundrel, and one day that’s gonna come knockin’.” ■ "Bears a close resemblance to a fellow I met up north.... Never did get the man's name or what he was doing there." ◢ PC Rumors (Rumors from the characters of other players) ■ ■ ■ ■

APTITUDES ■ Fast reaction time ■ Quick learner ■ Experienced chocobo rider/handler ■ Above average strength Footnotes There’s a fairly large amount of writing featuring Aden here: Aden’s Story Aden's awkwardness and eagerness to leave social situations is not to be interpreted as a lack of desire on my part to play through them. Social RP is great, just keep in mind that awkwardcat is awkward, and if given a chance to flee he will. I am seeking: sparring partners, distant relatives (including through his adoptive parents), and anyone willing to take the time to befriend Aden. I am not currently seeking romantic connections with this character, but should any develop organically I will not take steps to prevent them. Many of Aden's personality issues stem from growing up in relative isolation and with no regular contact with age cohorts. Template by Bancroft Gairn