User Profile

Appearance:
Balthier has light brown hair spiked up stylishly to create quite a 'cool' look. Sideburns trail down the side of his face a bit, proving to all who may have doubted that sideburns CAN, in fact, look good- when worn correctly, of course, as Balthier would assure any admirers. The trendy look that he keeps is also furthered by his numerous earrings and the subtle, mischevious grin commonly found playing on his lips. And somehow his eyes always manage to look vastly exciting and yet arrogantly bored with everything else going on around him at the same time. His clothes are elaborate, high quality and nicely fitted, betraying him to be a person of wealth along with all the pricey-looking rings he sports upon his fingers. Balthier stands calm and collected most all of the time despite any surrounding panic, and rare is the occasion when someone will find this classy sky pirate visibly worked up.

Personality:
Balthier is kind, loves to help others, and has a huge conscience- though he'd prefer if you'd keep all of that quiet, please. Such traits might not seem very fitting for a sky pirate... but they seem to work, strangely enough. The more characteristic traits (and the ones he wouldn't mind sharing) are his wittiness and confidence. Despite all other accomplishments, Balthier never feels so good about himself as when he has silenced someone with a clever quip. If he has a good retort, he finds it hard to keep himself from delivering- no matter who the recipient. He's also chronically laidback. This can be good for keeping his head on straight in a panicked situation, but serves to make him quite a procrastinator on the negative side. He loves being the center of attention when the spotlight happens to shine his way, but has too much pride to ever really seek that position out. In his mind he's always the lead anyway, whether or not all of those inconsequential 'supporting characters' realize it or not. Balthier's confidence in himself keeps him grounded, and so although he may brag he feels no obligation to prove himself to anyone. His freedom, after all, is something he prizes more than life itself.

Abilities/Weaponry:
outstanding social skills, extensive firearm training, and a knack for getting out of the trouble he often finds himself in. He's also quite talented at airship piloting and the basics of repair.
Weaknesses:
cocky and overconfident, often finds himself pulled into other peoples' problems unwillingly, tremendous sense of guilt, a nasty lazy streak that rarely surfaces but always seems to surface at the exact wrong moments

History:
(written to contain as few spoilers as possible- mild spoilers ahead!)
Balthier grew up in Archadia, having quite a privledged childhood. But when he turned ten years old, his mother died and things took a drastic turn for the worse. His father, who had always spent large amounts of time at work, spent even more and more time there as he hid from the tragedy. But instead of this lasting a normal mourning period, he became honestly obsessed with his work and Balthier saw less and less of him- although he was bought more and more. But as much as Balthier had admired his father, this was not nearly enough.

One thing that Balthier did take a liking to during this part of his life was the freedom. Strict rules were established, but Balthier quickly learned that they were rarely enforced and that there was a world of difference between breaking the rules and being punished for breaking them. By the time he had reached twelve, his father had not only given up but had almost completely lost interest. Balthier sensed this and strived harder than ever to do something to impress his father; he dabbled unsuccessfully in a few instruments and had tried his hand a few times at writing before he discovered the theater, a realm in which he truly excelled. But even when he excitedly informed his father for the first time that he had been cast in his first leading role, the man hardly seemed to care.

Balthier, feeling helpless, could hardly imagine what else to try. He stayed in the theater for many years and during this time grew more and more resentful of his father. But his desire to please the man had only slightly waned. At seventeen, a friend of Balthier's father had offered Balthier training to be a Judge, and the teen accepted at once. He worked hard, doing his best to ignore the nagging sensation in the back of his head that screamed for the freedoms he was giving up due to this training. But Balthier ignored them for just long enough to officially become a Judge and present his father with the news. Now THIS was SURELY enough to impress him!

But by this point Balthier's father had become dangerously obsessed with his work and barely congratulated his son on the accomplishment. Floored, bitter, and deeply let down, it only took Balthier about half a month to decide that he hated this new life as a Judge. Combine that with having to watch his father become destructively consumed by his work, and it amounts to too much for Balthier to handle. And so he quit- or, more precisely, ran away.

It has been just long enough since Balthier left home for the man to really have begun succeeding in his new profession of choice- sky pirate. And not only has he had time to make a good bit of money (and amass a good bit of money on his head as well), but to settle into his rather new airship named The Strahl. He has also managed to secure a steadfast and loyal partner, Fran, who has quite quickly become indispensable to him both emotionally and mechanically. He trusts her not only with his ship but with his life.