Helplessness had taken hold; he hadn’t been able to help before leaving, and he couldn’t do anything to prevent his adoption. Time and lack of answers caused plenty of unspoken feelings -- bitterness and resentment towards his parents for sending him away being among them. It may have always been clear that Aston intended for Asbel to be the heir to Lhant, but this, for Hubert, was even lower than being second. Something after this brought out the motivation to never be second best again; he came to embrace his new situation and adoptive family. It helped, of course, that in spite of his own motivations and agendas, Garrett Oswell treated Hubert well. Stern, perhaps, but as one of his own and it was this sort of guidance that allowed Hubert to become a lieutenant in Strahta’s military by the age of seventeen. No longer a meek, scared boy, he became capable of not only combat with a sense of skill and finesse, but also able to command troops efficiently. It’s clear from start to finish that he’s greatly respected, not only by his subordinates, but his peers in the military as well as President Paradine, the ruler of Strahta.
His book smarts never left, but rather than fear the battlefield, he learned to become part of it, even coming up with his own, non-standard weaponry and artes to accompany it. His defenses may not be the strongest, but he makes up for it in speed and strength, where he excels greatly.
It’s not until his biological father, Aston, is slain in battle that Hubert returns to Lhant. In part, it is to aid their efforts, but there were political motivations beyond that that aided in him being brought there. But the Hubert Oswell who returns to Lhant almost seems like a shell of who he was; the same face, but a different personality. He is seemingly fearless, both on the battlefield and with his words. After bailing Asbel out and pushing back Fendel’s forces from an invasion, his words have bite. Scathing and outspoken, he appears cold not only to Asbel, but to his own mother. His duties to Lhant come as obligation from how he speaks. There is sarcasm, and a no-nonsense policy. Fully (and perhaps rightfully) believing that Asbel is not worthy or ready to be the Lord of Lhant, he challenges his older brother to a battle. Clearly overpowering him, he does exactly what one wouldn’t expect a brother to do: He exiles Asbel from Lhant and takes control of the territory. Bullshit isn’t something he tolerates, whether it’s his brother, adoptive cousin Raymond -- or even Garrett Oswell himself. He doesn’t tolerate it, and he’s not afraid to say that or turn the tables in his favor if need be.
His walls stay up, and they stay up high for as long as it’s possible. Even when it comes to family, it’s not until the situation becomes dire that he even begins to falter. With the livelihood of Lhant, Windor -- and soon enough, Strahta, all at risk, it’s only then that he lets Asbel have even a sliver of his trust. Of course, that’s the start of breaching his barriers and seeing what else he’s made of, but that doesn’t meant he allows anyone at all to be trusted easily. While Asbel slowly earns it, and both Cheria and Sophie never really have to work for it at all, there are two wild cards. Malik and Pascal are strangers to him, mysterious in their own ways and both raising flags of suspicion for him. He even goes as far as accusing Pascal of hiding her origins, though it was for naught, as she claimed that nobody had bothered to ask. It’s the sort of insolence that infuriates him, but can acknowledge at least a bit of correctness in it. It’s really not until he’s saved from danger that he begins to have a change of heart; the fact that they’d done so even after how he treated them served as something of a sign that they were worthy of his trust -- and even a bit of camaraderie.
His demeanor is generally considered to be composed and dignified in addition to being authoritative, and he does his absolute best to uphold that ruse.
But underneath all of that, the traces of young Hubert haven’t faded completely. Even with bitter feelings, cynicism, and the many other more serious sides to him -- he still cares deeply for those around him. Even though he’s not very good at expressing his various feelings, they exist. Little baby Hubert grew up to be a tsundere at his finest.
There are some things he’s decent at being overt with: Asking Cheria if anything happened between her and Asbel yet made it clear that he was aware of her feelings, and he had little shame in asking. But direct displays of care are something far more easily masked -- such as when he asked Asbel to fight him in the Strahta Desert en route to Fendel. Upon Asbel’s win, he stated it was to “test the limits” of Asbel’s power in order to protect Strahta. The ruse isn’t believed by Malik, though, and he calls out the real reason for it: To protect Asbel’s pride. Having defeated his older brother once before, it was an opportunity for Hubert to lose on purpose to even the scales between them. Roundabout is certainly the name of the game when it comes to showing how he cares, but the efforts don’t go unnoticed.
Later on, his ways of caring actually causes a bit of a turning point in his development. Seeing Pascal have a bit of a scuffle with her jealous older sister, he finds himself able to commiserate with her situation. For the first time since they’d met, he found himself able to actually relate to Pascal, and then used that understanding of sibling squabbles to comfort her (and become friends, though he claims he didn’t agree to that). Following that point, despite all of his frustrations with her, it’s made pretty clear that he’s begun to develop romantic feelings for her. This doesn’t become nearly as prominent until Lineage & Legacies, but the course of time shows his care coming out in different ways, despite how often he finds himself both frustrated and exasperated with Pascal’s actions. That, in conjunction with the way she saved him on Mt Zavhert seem to breach his walls at tug at his feelings a lot more than he would have expected.
He’s pretty good at denying them... for a while. Saying things that imply how absurd and ridiculous it is, the idea that he could feel that way. But eventually, he even starts replying to her using “Pascal logic,” causing even Asbel to take note that something was up. Pascal becomes a frequent reason for things pertaining to Hubert’s actions later in the story. He does protect her from danger, and even actively avoids something of a marriage arrangement because he wants to pursue her and confess his feelings. This ends up not panning out very well for him, but not for a lack of effort, that’s for certain.
Hubert does have the ability to get flustered very often, and not just when it comes to dealing with the people he cares about. Sometimes, it almost seems like he goes looking for it; many of his conversations with Malik end this way, as well as a fair amount of his interactions with Pascal. His straight-laced nature clashes with their more loose ways of conversing -- even Asbel notes in one of the victory quotes that he seems to like being flustered, a testament to how often it happens.
The reasons why -- well, they’re pretty varied. Sometimes it’s something as simple as the length of Cheria’s skirt, or the way Malik (and later, Richard) tease him about blossoming romantic feelings. But other times, it’s really about what a nerd he can be. Vehemently denying his interest in the Sunscreen Rangers (the Ephinean equivalent of sentai series) to later correcting incorrectly stated canon facts about said series, right down to which color ranger he should be (he thinks Red, though Pascal thinks that it goes to Asbel, which bothers him). He’s kind of a stickler for canon; he’s that fanboy, who overhears a conversation and has to correct everyone who doesn’t know it as well as he does.
Another thing that flusters him? “Strahtan military secrets,” the worst kind. Those are the ones that link back to his inner nerd -- the fact that his dualblades are based on comic books he and Asbel read as children. Somewhere within tending to his duties, there’s definitely a part of Hubert that likes the idea of being a big, cool, hero... Even if getting him to admit it is an impossibility to the highest degree. Since, after all -- he’s a very serious and uptight guy.
When he’s not flustered, expressing his disdain for the actions of others, or being totally serious, there are still a lot of deep-seated feelings that he has. When it comes to Aston, they seem endless. His bitterness and lack of understanding for why he was sent away to be adopted is one that haunts him well enough, so much so that when he discovers that it truly was for his own good, he doesn’t really know how to take it. Now knowing that Aston did that to prevent him and Asbel from fighting for the title of Lord, and give Hubert a chance to succeed on his own, it changes things for him a lot. ”How am I supposed to hate him now?” is the question he asks upon realizing how misplaced his sour feelings were -- though not entirely his fault, as Aston did a poor job of conveying this to start. His feelings of bitterness do end up manifesting with some guilt; he becomes very adamant about telling a sailor reluctant to return and see his father, because “once he’s gone, it’ll be too damn late.” He projects a bit of his own feelings and experiences on the man, then gets worked up in making sure to convey just pointless it is to hold a grudge, now understanding that he took it all for granted. Though normally very outspoken, his shrill approach was enough to earn him the title of “hot-blooded,” surprising his comrades and giving quite a bit of insight to how he truly feels about his father’s death.
Knowing all of that information is a good shift in perspective for Hubert, though. It further motivates him to excel at the things he was already setting out to do, and obeying the wishes of his father by succeeding in Strahta and making the life for himself that he wouldn’t have been able to by staying in Lhant.
Ultimately, though, Hubert is very much the same at his core. Even with his misgivings, or how scathing he can be at times, he is a good person. His actions always come with the best interest of those around him, even if at times his execution is unsavory or roundabout. He’s a dorky, caring guy under the guise of a Very Serious Military Man, somehow simultaneously able to embody both sides excellently.
Abilities:
Physical combat is the name of Hubert’s game on the battlefield, his abilities (artes) are plentiful. Many of his artes revolve around basic strike techniques with his dualblades, though his weapon is incredibly non-standard. It’s also capable of being split into dual-pistols, as well as something of a bow in certain cases.
Though he’s able to switch with relative ease, switching between blades and pistols does leave his defenses down. Still, he’s very versatile, with a wide range of artes that can easily combat most of his enemies from both close and long ranges. In addition to this, he also does have two healing spells -- Healing Wind (a single target regenerative spell), and Antidote (which cures status ailments). A full listing of his many artes can be found here, for reference.
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
Hubert Oswell | Tales of Graces | Reserved
His book smarts never left, but rather than fear the battlefield, he learned to become part of it, even coming up with his own, non-standard weaponry and artes to accompany it. His defenses may not be the strongest, but he makes up for it in speed and strength, where he excels greatly.
It’s not until his biological father, Aston, is slain in battle that Hubert returns to Lhant. In part, it is to aid their efforts, but there were political motivations beyond that that aided in him being brought there. But the Hubert Oswell who returns to Lhant almost seems like a shell of who he was; the same face, but a different personality. He is seemingly fearless, both on the battlefield and with his words. After bailing Asbel out and pushing back Fendel’s forces from an invasion, his words have bite. Scathing and outspoken, he appears cold not only to Asbel, but to his own mother. His duties to Lhant come as obligation from how he speaks. There is sarcasm, and a no-nonsense policy. Fully (and perhaps rightfully) believing that Asbel is not worthy or ready to be the Lord of Lhant, he challenges his older brother to a battle. Clearly overpowering him, he does exactly what one wouldn’t expect a brother to do: He exiles Asbel from Lhant and takes control of the territory. Bullshit isn’t something he tolerates, whether it’s his brother, adoptive cousin Raymond -- or even Garrett Oswell himself. He doesn’t tolerate it, and he’s not afraid to say that or turn the tables in his favor if need be.
His walls stay up, and they stay up high for as long as it’s possible. Even when it comes to family, it’s not until the situation becomes dire that he even begins to falter. With the livelihood of Lhant, Windor -- and soon enough, Strahta, all at risk, it’s only then that he lets Asbel have even a sliver of his trust. Of course, that’s the start of breaching his barriers and seeing what else he’s made of, but that doesn’t meant he allows anyone at all to be trusted easily. While Asbel slowly earns it, and both Cheria and Sophie never really have to work for it at all, there are two wild cards. Malik and Pascal are strangers to him, mysterious in their own ways and both raising flags of suspicion for him. He even goes as far as accusing Pascal of hiding her origins, though it was for naught, as she claimed that nobody had bothered to ask. It’s the sort of insolence that infuriates him, but can acknowledge at least a bit of correctness in it. It’s really not until he’s saved from danger that he begins to have a change of heart; the fact that they’d done so even after how he treated them served as something of a sign that they were worthy of his trust -- and even a bit of camaraderie.
His demeanor is generally considered to be composed and dignified in addition to being authoritative, and he does his absolute best to uphold that ruse.
But underneath all of that, the traces of young Hubert haven’t faded completely. Even with bitter feelings, cynicism, and the many other more serious sides to him -- he still cares deeply for those around him. Even though he’s not very good at expressing his various feelings, they exist. Little baby Hubert grew up to be a tsundere at his finest.
There are some things he’s decent at being overt with: Asking Cheria if anything happened between her and Asbel yet made it clear that he was aware of her feelings, and he had little shame in asking. But direct displays of care are something far more easily masked -- such as when he asked Asbel to fight him in the Strahta Desert en route to Fendel. Upon Asbel’s win, he stated it was to “test the limits” of Asbel’s power in order to protect Strahta. The ruse isn’t believed by Malik, though, and he calls out the real reason for it: To protect Asbel’s pride. Having defeated his older brother once before, it was an opportunity for Hubert to lose on purpose to even the scales between them. Roundabout is certainly the name of the game when it comes to showing how he cares, but the efforts don’t go unnoticed.
Later on, his ways of caring actually causes a bit of a turning point in his development. Seeing Pascal have a bit of a scuffle with her jealous older sister, he finds himself able to commiserate with her situation. For the first time since they’d met, he found himself able to actually relate to Pascal, and then used that understanding of sibling squabbles to comfort her (and become friends, though he claims he didn’t agree to that). Following that point, despite all of his frustrations with her, it’s made pretty clear that he’s begun to develop romantic feelings for her. This doesn’t become nearly as prominent until Lineage & Legacies, but the course of time shows his care coming out in different ways, despite how often he finds himself both frustrated and exasperated with Pascal’s actions. That, in conjunction with the way she saved him on Mt Zavhert seem to breach his walls at tug at his feelings a lot more than he would have expected.
He’s pretty good at denying them... for a while. Saying things that imply how absurd and ridiculous it is, the idea that he could feel that way. But eventually, he even starts replying to her using “Pascal logic,” causing even Asbel to take note that something was up. Pascal becomes a frequent reason for things pertaining to Hubert’s actions later in the story. He does protect her from danger, and even actively avoids something of a marriage arrangement because he wants to pursue her and confess his feelings. This ends up not panning out very well for him, but not for a lack of effort, that’s for certain.
Hubert does have the ability to get flustered very often, and not just when it comes to dealing with the people he cares about. Sometimes, it almost seems like he goes looking for it; many of his conversations with Malik end this way, as well as a fair amount of his interactions with Pascal. His straight-laced nature clashes with their more loose ways of conversing -- even Asbel notes in one of the victory quotes that he seems to like being flustered, a testament to how often it happens.
The reasons why -- well, they’re pretty varied. Sometimes it’s something as simple as the length of Cheria’s skirt, or the way Malik (and later, Richard) tease him about blossoming romantic feelings. But other times, it’s really about what a nerd he can be. Vehemently denying his interest in the Sunscreen Rangers (the Ephinean equivalent of sentai series) to later correcting incorrectly stated canon facts about said series, right down to which color ranger he should be (he thinks Red, though Pascal thinks that it goes to Asbel, which bothers him). He’s kind of a stickler for canon; he’s that fanboy, who overhears a conversation and has to correct everyone who doesn’t know it as well as he does.
Another thing that flusters him? “Strahtan military secrets,” the worst kind. Those are the ones that link back to his inner nerd -- the fact that his dualblades are based on comic books he and Asbel read as children. Somewhere within tending to his duties, there’s definitely a part of Hubert that likes the idea of being a big, cool, hero... Even if getting him to admit it is an impossibility to the highest degree. Since, after all -- he’s a very serious and uptight guy.
When he’s not flustered, expressing his disdain for the actions of others, or being totally serious, there are still a lot of deep-seated feelings that he has. When it comes to Aston, they seem endless. His bitterness and lack of understanding for why he was sent away to be adopted is one that haunts him well enough, so much so that when he discovers that it truly was for his own good, he doesn’t really know how to take it. Now knowing that Aston did that to prevent him and Asbel from fighting for the title of Lord, and give Hubert a chance to succeed on his own, it changes things for him a lot. ”How am I supposed to hate him now?” is the question he asks upon realizing how misplaced his sour feelings were -- though not entirely his fault, as Aston did a poor job of conveying this to start. His feelings of bitterness do end up manifesting with some guilt; he becomes very adamant about telling a sailor reluctant to return and see his father, because “once he’s gone, it’ll be too damn late.” He projects a bit of his own feelings and experiences on the man, then gets worked up in making sure to convey just pointless it is to hold a grudge, now understanding that he took it all for granted. Though normally very outspoken, his shrill approach was enough to earn him the title of “hot-blooded,” surprising his comrades and giving quite a bit of insight to how he truly feels about his father’s death.
Knowing all of that information is a good shift in perspective for Hubert, though. It further motivates him to excel at the things he was already setting out to do, and obeying the wishes of his father by succeeding in Strahta and making the life for himself that he wouldn’t have been able to by staying in Lhant.
Ultimately, though, Hubert is very much the same at his core. Even with his misgivings, or how scathing he can be at times, he is a good person. His actions always come with the best interest of those around him, even if at times his execution is unsavory or roundabout. He’s a dorky, caring guy under the guise of a Very Serious Military Man, somehow simultaneously able to embody both sides excellently.
Abilities:
Though he’s able to switch with relative ease, switching between blades and pistols does leave his defenses down. Still, he’s very versatile, with a wide range of artes that can easily combat most of his enemies from both close and long ranges. In addition to this, he also does have two healing spells -- Healing Wind (a single target regenerative spell), and Antidote (which cures status ailments). A full listing of his many artes can be found here, for reference.