Gippal

name; Althea
contact; PM to journal or magicarp @plurk
other characters played; Ceodore Harvey, Penelo

character; Gippal
series; FFX-2
point in canon; End of game
age; 18
zodiac sign; Gemini
job; Cannoneer
special abilities;

history; "Whoever made this was a genius. Guess that makes me a genius too for fixin' it."
previous game history; n/a
personality; Gippal is nothing if not a loud personality. He is blatantly cocky, utterly confident in himself, his capabilities as a mechanic, and well... his good looks. He sometimes comes across as a ladies' man, although he really is more of a good-natured flirt. He knows just how to get under someone's skin and tease them, and enjoys both the process and the reaction. He loves to crack a good joke and can seem incapable of being serious. In fact, sometimes he can take the joking so far that it seems almost mean-spirited. In general though, he's an annoying yet lovable punk, capable of getting under someone's skin, and at the same time, making his victim smile or laugh. He's remarkably laid back, letting most everything roll off his back, even going so far as to prod his friends that they should take a lesson from himself and the Machine Faction.

But for all his fun-loving ways, he's got an incredibly strong work ethic. He's constantly got his fingers into a mechanical project, looking for a way to improve existing technology and how to expand it. He's also a naturally born leader, charismatic. Yet he doesn't have to be in utter control and knows the best way to get a job done is to delegate, and the best way to lead is by example. It's clear he's quite the leader with great charm, as people in his Machine Faction comment that they would rather be working on something but don't want to leave their watch and let Gippal down. He inspires others, yet isn't overbearing at all. As commendation to his style of leadership, his is the only group that doesn't fall apart at the seams when he goes on a little jaunt through Bevelle then the Farplane looking for Vegagun. Nope, everything keeps on going without him, everyone still chipping away at their own pet projects.

He's also a devoted friend, taking loyalty quite seriously, while exhibiting it for himself. Even after Nooj shoots Baralai and himself, and they all go their separate ways, he doesn't hold it against his friend and even continues to do business with him. He might be the neutral ground in the circle of friends, but he's the first to jump into the middle of a conflict and try to get everyone to take a deep breath and calm down. Which isn't to say he won't get aggressive himself if pushed (or was that some Shuyin influence hmmmm). But he's not trigger happy, despite building his own guns, and would prefer everyone "chill out" and get along. When his friends are frigging morons turning their groupies against each other, he just shrugs at them both. It's their business if they wanna pick fights, he remains loyal to both regardless.

Now getting him to be serious? To open up about what's really going on? Not happening. It's not that Gippal is a broody loner, but he doesn't care to stare down the past. He'll crack jokes and make nice, but it's a front to dodge what's really going on with him. He does have a rather deeply rooted dislike and distrust of Yevonites, and small surprise after they tried to kill him upon being "accepted" as a member of the Crimson squad. Doesn't help that he's Al Bhed and they've been at odds with the temples for ages. He chooses an abandoned temple as the HQ for his group of machinists, and it's a sure thing that it's his way of thumbing his nose at Yevonites. He's not terribly blatant about it, unless you count him commandeering a holy site to build previously heretical machina. His dislike doesn't stop him from selling machines and even weapons to New Yevon. Business, after all, is business.

He is remarkably independent as well. Obviously if he whips up a group of homeless Al Bhed and creates a group dedicated to changing everyone's minds about machines. At least twice too, he tells Yuna to back off trying to save everything. She did her thing with Sin, now it's time to let everyone else have their turn. He's already taken care of the Djose defense by the time the Gullwings show up to help, and it was done at his prerogative, and not by request of the nearby Youth League. He doesn't need the High Summoner jumping in to save the day. He'll go off and do it himself, thanks.


◊Samples
first person sample; "I think our definitions of 'not that bad' are different, missy."
third person sample;
To an outsider's perspective, the temple was a mess. Where Yevonites once bowed and prayed were tables littered entirely with bits and parts of machines, scraps of metal shoved into every corner, stacked on every flat surface available. Tools everywhere too. It was chaos, but organized chaos, since the Al Bhed moving around never seemed to have any problem finding exactly what they were looking for.

Gippal was hauled up in the Chamber of the Fayth, elbow deep in his latest project. It was nearing completion, but not quite there. An amusing burst of irony that he was building a machine in the holy of holies. Irony that wasn't too much on his mind at the moment. It was one thing to reverse engineer a machina from salvage, something else entirely to build something new after a thousand years of flying in the dark on all things mechanical that was considered heresy.

Yevonites. He shrugged off that sour thought to concentrate, although it had the unintended effect of reminding him: Baralai wanted to meet with him in Bevelle. Of all the places. Well, whatever, because this project of his was way more important than some feel good meeting his old friend had planned.

Distraction came in another form, when one of his Faction members came in, breathless from running. "Gippal! There are fiends on the Highroad."

He stood up, wiping his greasy hands on his pants, then placed his hands on his hips. "So what? There's always fiends on the Highroad." Not at all seeing what the problem was here.

Once he got the explanation that the number of fiends seemed to have multiplied in an instant, then Gippal got a little concerned. Baralai's meeting could wait. "Alright alright, chill out. Send someone to make sure none of the fiends get too close to the temple." They had too many projects on hand that could get wrecked in a fight, not to mention the civilians around looking for work. "Send a couple of the Guard Machina down the road to the Youth League too. And tell Nooj he owes me."

Boy does he ever owe me.