B01 - Edward Rommel (art by Yonagoda)
Name: Rommel, Edward
Gender: Male
Age: 16
Grade: 10th
Extra Curricular Activity: Archery, Art
School: Barry Coleson High
Appearance: An average looking boy, he has auburn shaded hair that falls about his face though shades of orange, red, green, and purple are somewhat visible from dye attempts. He usually wears clothes that are large on him, and is usually always wearing his favorite jacket: a black one, that has a large ‘13’ on the back with the word ‘Unglück,’ the German word for Bad Luck. His hands and arms are usually covered by designs he drew in pen from all the random thoughts that go on in his mind. Edward has a bright shade of blue eyes, though his right is a somewhat duller shade, almost gray, as he has been completely blind in this eye since childbirth.
Biography: Edward (though he prefers people to call him by his last name, he hates his first) comes from a very lovely home. He was born to an American mother and a German father, and was raised in Germany as both his parents worked there; his mother as an English Language teacher at the local high school, and his father gave private music lessons. When he was 3 he took witness to a childhood friend of his's death when the other young child drowned. Soon after that Edward was diagnosed with autism, which is a complex developmental disability - a neurological disorder that affects the functioning of the brain. Autism impacts on the normal development of the brain in the areas of social interaction and communication skills, so he was troubled in verbal and non-verbal communication, social interactions, and even in his activities because of it. It's almost like he was trying to push away the outside world and simply live within himself. The smallest outside contact was able to upset him, though as he became older becoming a part of archery and art as well as his medicine has helped him control the disability a little better...
Edward Rommel, interpreted by JamesRenard
He was transferred to BC High at the end of his freshmen year. Though he knows English very well, he has a habit of sometimes either slipping back into German, or mixing the two languages when talking. Though he only talks when spoken too, he avoids eye contact with people, and hardly smiles. Most of this and other behaviors that set him apart from his fellow classmates is because of his autism. Most just figure him for stupid, but he isn't and gets good grades on his work. He just doesn't know how to interact with others, and finds talking to himself a bit easier.
A part of his autism is that he affected by Sensory Integration Dysfunction. Most being affected have an over-sensitivity to the senses, such as touch, movement, sights and sounds. Edward is the opposite in that he has under-sensitivity in all those, this includes pain, a prime example being when he fell down the stairs at school and busted his head open when he landed. He simply stood, and walked away as if nothing had happened...
He is a very impulsive person in nature, and usually doesn’t think things through before doing them. But he’s a nice person none-the-less, and would never think badly or do something to harm anyone, though his emotions are always on edge from the autism and the medicine he is forced to take. Edward has been known to show a completely new personality though if he doesn't take the medicine… one that isn’t as understanding and kind as Edward’s true self is.
Other: Only having a limited amount of his medicine could prove bad in the long run, as his emotions seem to go haywire when he hasn’t taken it. His under-sensitivity could prove as much of a gift as a curse, as he can’t feel the pain as much as a normal person. All his senses are also suffering this and being without good sight or hearing could make things hard on him.
Number: B01
The above biography is as written by Riserugu.
==
Designated Weapon: Pepper Spray
Conclusions: Since he has a limited amount of his medicine, he might as well be labeled as insane. It might be a blessing to have that under-sensitivity later on...although it would be scary to his opponents, for sure. (I can just see it now... Ah, zombie boy! No mere bullet takes him down!!)
Game Evaluations[]
Handled by: Riserugu
Kills: None
Killed by: Jacob Starr
Collected Weapons: Pepper Spray (Issued Weapon), Crossbow (from Garrett Langston, back to Garrett Langston)
Allies: Garrett Langston; to a lesser extent Umi Martin, Aiden Ambrose, Daisuke Andou, Adam Dodd, Alan Shinwrath, and Hawley Faust
Enemies: Jacob Starr, Uriel Hunter; to a lesser extent Gabrielle Minase
Mid-Game Evaluation: Edward's battle for survival began at the lookout point. Almost immediately after awakening from his drug-induced slumber, Edward stumbled upon Adam Dodd and Alan Shinwrath, who had also been dropped nearby. Adam suggested that the three team up and try to find a way off of the island, but Edward declined, simply saying that he was "looking for someone". Leaving the group promptly, Edward proceeded to follow the river until arriving at his next location, the waterfall.
After stumbling upon the waterfall, Edward also stumbled upon the trio of Umi Martin, Aiden Ambrose, and Daisuke Andou who were its current occupants. After accidentally stepping on a twig, his position was revealed to the group and he was almost immediately held at gunpoint by Umi. After being searched and interrogated, Umi finally deemed him safe enough to rest with them. Things started to spice up around the waterfall soon after, with the appearance of Gabrielle Minase. Suddenly, Edward found himself in the middle (quite literally) of a potential firefight armed only with a can of pepper spray. In the midst of the Mexican standoff that was unfolding at the waterfall, Garrett Langston, bruised and bloodied, stumbled right into the middle of things. Running to Garrett's aide, Edward took him further down the river, leaving the trio he had just met to fend for themselves against Minase.
Heading further on down the river, Edward finally found a suitable spot to dress Garrett's wounds, and the two found themselves in a light conversation. It was at the river that Edward had his second offer of aligning to escape, this time with Garrett. Although he stated that it was a pointless move, Edward almost seemed to agree with Garrett, but inevitably changed the subject to Garrett's wounds. Unbenowst to the duo, another figure was watching in the bushes: Uriel Hunter. Garrett had attacked Uriel earlier, and he was looking for some payback. When he saw the two, he took off in search of his comrade, Jacob Starr. The duo didn't seem to pay much mind to it... that is, until Jacob came running around the corner firing shots at Edward. The shot grazed Ed's cheek, but didn't do any serious damage. Uriel reappeared shortly thereafter, launching molotov cocktails at the two. Ed and Garrett attempted to run away, all the while Jacob was raining a hail of bullets down upon them. One happened to catch Ed in the shin.
Fleeing Jacob and Uriel's onslaught, the two dashed through the bamboo coppice on their way to the school building... that is, until Edward quite literally fell into the trio of Hawley Faust, Adam Dodd, and Alan Shinwrath. Jacob and Uriel weren't far behind, and another firefight ensued amongst the group. It was at this point that Venka Rapler made her way onto the scene and stepped directly in the middle of the gunfight in an attempt to stop it. The response for her efforts was Jacob assaulting her with gunfire, and, had Edward not tackled the girl to the ground, she probably would've bit the bullet in that instant. His efforts were almost in vain, however. Hawley discharged his gun immediately thereafter, accidentally killing Venka in the process. Ed and Garrett attempted to flee during all of the chaos, and finally succeeded just as Jacob lit the entire coppice up in flames.
The duo eventually found themselves in what would prove to be Edward's last destination on the island: the woods. Upon finding the woods a safe haven, the two started to rest. Eventually, Edward began coughing, and discovered that he was bleeding internally. It was after he had fallen on the ground that Ed finally discovered that one of Jacob's stray bullets had hitten him in the chest... because of his autism, he hadn't felt a thing. Slowly drowning in his own blood, Edward's last moments were spent with the person he had spent the most time on the island with. After giving Garrett his jacket and asking him to return it to his family, Edward finally succumbed to his wounds, and his battle for survival ended on the grassy floor of the woodland area.
Post-Game Evaluation: Truly a tragic story on Mr. Rommel's part. So selfless, so caring, so compassionate. And in the end, it brought him to a quite untimely demise. After all he did for others on the island, it ended in failure. I can't help but wonder if he ever found who he was searching for on the island, though. Perhaps it was Mr. Faust? If so, Edward certainly took his leave from the other quite abruptly. Funnily enough, despite all his courageous and valiant efforts, all the people Edward attempted to save died grisly deaths thereafter. Quite a shame indeed.
Memorable Quotes: "Oh, this is wonderful..." - to himself at the waterfall
"Oh... well that's peachy." - to Umi Martin after discovering her group's weaponry at the waterfall
"Man, if you got to do one thing for me. Get off this fucking island alive... and continue making your music, hell make a song in my name, that would be nice." - To Garrett Langston in his dying moments
Other/Trivia[]
- The name Edward comes from the name of one of Riserugu's classmates in school.
- His middle name is Klaus.
- His birthday is January 2, 1990. People born on January 2 are said to be considerate, a good partner, gentle, tactful, receptive, intuitive, harmonious, agreeable, ambassdor of goodwill. Though negative qualities include suspicious, lack of confidence, timid, oversensitive, selfish, easily hurt, deceitful.
- Only character that Riserugu has handled that didn't have any siblings.
- The only one of Riserugu's characters that never used his issued weapon, Pepper Spray.
- Ed held quite an affection for jellybeans.
Threads[]
The following is a list of threads that contained Edward, in order from beginning to end.
- Starting Point for Boy #77
- Chillin' At The Waterfall
- Down By The River
- Resting & Suffering
- Breakdown
Your Thoughts[]
Whether you were a fellow handler in SOTF or just an avid reader of the site, we'd like to know what you thought about Edward Rommel. What did you like, or dislike, about the character? Let us know here!