Character Development: Emil

[Sunflower]

Emil Vasterstrom.  Oh, Emil.  Our favorite gasbag and clueless pretty-boy.  If he feels self-conscious, it may be because he somehow senses thousands of readers glued to the one-way glass, eagerly waiting for him to be ridiculous (or sparkly) again.

Richard Weir kicked off the Character Development series with these questions:
What developments do we see in [this] character? What life lessons does he learn? What do his actions and words tell us about his personality and past?

Oh, my, the young gentleman has a lot of life lessons to learn, starting with not being arrogant, presumptuous, and condescending.  Especially to new teammates whose skills and life experience could surpass his, even if they do come from some impoverished foreign backwater.  Or to petty functionaries with the power to confiscate his precious, precious explosives.  Or train guards who are all incredible badasses under those Jolly Coachman uniforms.  We haven't yet seen Emil defer to anyone.  So I don't have a good feeling about his interactions with Captain Eide, whose madcap expressions in preview shots imply that she won't have much patience for His Pompousness.

On the other hand, Emil is genuinely fond of his little cousins, and they of him, which is endearing.  He can't be worrying about his dignity all the time if their favorite game is "hairdresser salon."  Besides, a strong sense of noblesse oblige isn't always bad.  He went charging into the Breach because he thought Lalli needed rescuing.  And... (thinks hard)... on the Mora train he quietly fetched more sandwiches for the Hotakainens after Lalli ate the filling from his.  (OK, the plot's going to require lots more redemption for Emil.)

His motivations are pretty transparent: Money and glory.  And explosions.  Oh, and looking fabulous.  He has very little curiosity about the mission or the Silent World (despite being a self-proclaimed "brainiac").

Curiously for someone so into his own looks, he doesn't seem interested in impressing anyone else (ladies OR gentlemen).  I like to think that Emil has his life all planned out; when he's 30, he intends to find a bride of suitable breeding, wealth, and beauty, and until then devote himself to his career. 

I'll be deeply interested to see how the first troll encounter changes him.  I'd like to think he becomes a wiser and more prudent Cleanser, not deeply phobic or a total braggart about how he, personally, gave that troll its last, fatal blow.  But -- naaaah.

[Nimphy]

Honestly Emil is the character whose development is most evident to me. Not how it will happen, but that it will happen.

Maybe he'll learn some humility. Probably in a very painful manner. Involving Cap Eide and some kicks, or Mikkel(?) Medic and a saw. My mind is racing through all the possibilities, including very detailed troll-scenarios. Anyway, I could see Emil becoming slightly more somber during this adventure. Not too much, though! It wouldn't be Emil without his sparkles and arrogance.

When Emil first appeared, he was introduced as a character with a crest that every rooster out there would envy. Pretty arrogant, and very unlucky - he didn't make that first impression he wanted, nossir. But as pages went by, Emil has shown a tender side: playing with the Vasterstrom children, trying to help Lalli, showing Tuuri around. Honestly I started liking him as a character very recently.

As for his courage... there are only two ways it could end. Either he gets it in a valiant and very heroic scene after defeating a troll, or he remains the coward of the group, providing some comic relief (the contrast with his usual behavior would indeed be hilarious)

Recently he appeared to realize that the mission would not be as easy as he thought, and that it would be very dangerous and scary. His face in page 162 made it pretty evident for me, at least. I call that mini-character development.

[Fimbulvarg]

The comic and his character profile strongly suggests that he's less brainiac and very much so a pyromaniac. It will be interesting to see how he will practice his art now that his precious tools were confiscated - and whether his passion will get out of hand.

[Annie]

The fact that his family hired private tutors who obviously didn't call Emil on his academic shortcomings makes me wonder how much of his pompousness is the effect of upbringing, and how much based on innate character. I think his worst moment, IMO, was when he was being all sneeringly condescending to Tuuri about Lalli's being a mage. The fact that he has shown kindness to Lalli - and defended him from the kids and the troll - has me thinking that there's real hope for him as a character.

Of course, I expect him to be spectacularly jackassish on further occasions, as the comic value of seeing him taken down a peg is probably too good to resist.

[StellersJayC]

One thing he has learned is to always wear his bed belt!

Okay, but in all seriousness, Emil is an interesting character. Yes he's self-absorbed, rude, motivated by all the wrong reasons, a pyromaniac, and condescending, but he still manages to be nice to and protective of the children and Lalli. A lot of characters are either one or the other. It really makes you wonder why a person seemingly motivated only by money and self-image would risk losing that to protect those people. What reasons does he have to do that?"

[Sue D Nym]

I'm hoping that Emil will not lose his sense of haughtiness, only tone it down a bit. Maybe in the future, he will have the skills to back up that pride. Hopefully, he will get over his sudden shock about the troll and turn into a "Roy Mustang". Cackling, prideful, and a total pyromaniac. And still trying to communicate with Lalli, but to no avail.

[Nimphy]

I'm hoping that Emil will not lose his sense of haughtiness, only tone it down a bit. Maybe in the future, he will have the skills to back up that pride. Hopefully, he will get over his sudden shock about the troll and turn into a "Roy Mustang". Cackling, prideful, and a total pyromaniac. And still trying to communicate with Lalli, but to no avail.

I'm with you on this. And he would be totally useless in the rain, too...

[Noxyoursox]

One thing he has learned is to always wear his bed belt!

Okay, but in all seriousness, Emil is an interesting character. Yes he's self-absorbed, rude, motivated by all the wrong reasons, a pyromaniac, and condescending, but he still manages to be nice to and protective of the children and Lalli. A lot of characters are either one or the other. It really makes you wonder why a person seemingly motivated only by money and self-image would risk losing that to protect those people. What reasons does he have to do that?"

I think Emil is arrogant primarily because he is naive. He's not a bad person, he simply isn't aware of other people's problems (or that his own problems can be kind of petty in comparison). I feel like getting to know the other characters' backgrounds will wake him up to the harsh reality of the world he lives in--but I think it will also take time for him to start catching his own mistakes and actually losing some of the arrogance.

[Fimbulvarg]

It's clear that he does have the ability to change if he wants to or has to. In the flashbacks he seems to be quite pudgy and evidently used to a comfortable lifestyle. Even though he seems to retain his superiority complex from those times he's clearly salvaged his physical fitness. In fact he seems to be more fit than his two current companions.

[noako]

I quite like Emil and I'm not sure where his hate comes from.
He's an idiot. A huge dork. But that's what makes him feel real. He's greedy, but who isn't? It's no wonder he doesn't believe in Lalli's abilities to cast magic, because he has never seen any magic in his life.

I have always liked snob characters and his pyromancy tendencies bring in an interesting flavor.

It's so obvious he just want to fit in but doesn't know how. But he seems to be very protective and kind, even if a bit jerk.
He's going to have hard times ahead but I'm sure he's going to learn ~~the value of friendship~~ during their journey.

[Annie]

I quite like Emil and I'm not sure where his hate comes from.

I absolutely adore him. I think the hate comes from his air of entitlement and the fact that some of his behavior is insufferable in a way that is very hard to put up with in real life. I think if that's all there was to him, I'd get tired of him relatively quickly. What I like about him is that there's definitely a compassionate streak under that self-absorption. It makes me wonder how much of his less appealing qualities are thanks to his upbringing.

It'll be fun to see what happens to him once he gets a few doses of reality and is forced to grow up a bit. I suspect that if we'd met Emil prior to his 2 years with the army, he would have been TRULY insufferable.

[StellersJayC]

I quite like Emil and I'm not sure where his hate comes from.

I absolutely adore him. I think the hate comes from his air of entitlement and the fact that some of his behavior is insufferable in a way that is very hard to put up with in real life. I think if that's all there was to him, I'd get tired of him relatively quickly. What I like about him is that there's definitely a compassionate streak under that self-absorption. It makes me wonder how much of his less appealing qualities are thanks to his upbringing.

It'll be fun to see what happens to him once he gets a few doses of reality and is forced to grow up a bit. I suspect that if we'd met Emil prior to his 2 years with the army, he would have been TRULY insufferable.

Thank you so much for knowing how to use your words. I like Emil too. The reason I literally listed his faults is because I was trying to figure out why do like him. (That's my thought process - making lists.)

[BrainBlow]

Okay, but in all seriousness, Emil is an interesting character. Yes he's self-absorbed, rude, motivated by all the wrong reasons, a pyromaniac, and condescending, but he still manages to be nice to and protective of the children and Lalli. A lot of characters are either one or the other. It really makes you wonder why a person seemingly motivated only by money and self-image would risk losing that to protect those people. What reasons does he have to do that?"

Personally I think he simply subscribes to old fashioned chivalrous principles, which includes standing up for and protecting those "weaker" than oneself.
Of course, actually putting his money where is mouth is in this regard as we've seen him do means he's clearly a good person regardless.

[RaeSeddon]

The one thing I've always wondered about is yes, Emil has a great relationship with his younger cousins, but his relationship with Torbjorn and Siv must be really interesting, since from all I can tell they're the ones responsible for bankrupting the family financing this little venture-- or at the very least bankrupting him by defunding his fancy, private education.

So think about it from Emil's point of view: you're happy, you're going to a good a school that's far enough from home that you get to visit your sweet, hardworking aunt and uncle and their children pretty regularly. Time comes to cut a check for your next semester and....it bounces. There's a moment of terror and confusion as you explain to the college that there's probably been a mistake at the bank. You visit said sweet, hardworking aunt and uncle only to see your parents there too. They tell you there is no more money. No more fancy. private education.  You are forced to (horror of horrors) attempt a public education. It...doesn't work out.

Emil was driven to the military. This was not something he chose and it struck me as utterly fascinating that Torbjorn waited until right before they left to tell Emil about the money-making end of the venture. The reason he jumps at it isn't as simple as wanting to regain what he lost, it represents why it was all taken from him in the first place.  Emil is the victim of his aunt and uncle's disillusionment, and I think that's important to keep in mind when not just looking at him, but Torbjorn and Siv as well.

[Sue D Nym]

Emil was driven to the military. This was not something he chose and it struck me as utterly fascinating that Torbjorn waited until right before they left to tell Emil about the money-making end of the venture. The reason he jumps at it isn't as simple as wanting to regain what he lost, it represents why it was all taken from him in the first place.  Emil is the victimof his aunt and uncle's disillusionment, and I think that's important to keep in mind when not just looking at him, but Torbjorn and Siv as well.

That is a very good point and one that I did not consider. It is certainly true that it would be startling to grow up with wealth only for it to disappear one day. Everyone acts strangely when they are out of their element. For Emil, his comfort zone is wealth. It is more than just a matter of pride or greed, it's a matter of lifestyle. He's trying to restore not just his own wealth, but also the wealth of his family.