FELICIANO VARGAS
Name: Feliciano Vargas
Age: Twenty
Nationality: Italian
Prisoner/Guard: Guard - although he does far more time as the cook for the guards, as well as being the camps translator
The time they've been in the camp: One year
Appearance: Feliciano is young, as far as guards go, and is a less then imposing sight. While he's 5'8", which is fairly average, he's fairly thin, and not very muscular at all. His hair is kept mostly under control, thanks to daily combing, save a single hair that refuses to stay down. While he's considered cutting it, he's opted to let it stay, for at least the time being. His Auburn hair and amber eyes make it fairly obvious that he's not German, but few prisoners have spoken to him enough to realize that he's actually Italian.
Despite Feliciano's best attempts, he's never gotten more then a few wisps of facial hair. While he blames it on his young age (because at any moment, he'll be old enough and able to grow one!), it has much more to do with him having an eternal babyface.
Personality: Feliciano is an extremely friendly sort of person, eager to make friends. He's a bit of a pest to the rest of the guards, and while he's not outright cruel or condescending to the prisoners, he mostly just ignores them. The fact that he's even still at the camp is a testament to what most of the guards think of him - that if they were ever to try and send him back to Italy, he'd probably end up dead. Even so, Feliciano isn't all bad. He adds a certain lightness when he's around, and is eager to cheer up his fellow guards. More importantly, however, he's an extremely good chef, and after putting up with bland rations, anyone who can make rations taste good is appreciated.
Otherwise, Feliciano is a coward. He doesn't do well with conflict, and is more often then not assigned to guard, say, the kitchens (which are in the middle of the camp, and thus not a legitimate escape route). The one time he was guarding during an escape, he ended up hiding, nearly letting the prisoner get away. Since then, no guard actually counts on him to guard anything. While he technically knows how to use a gun, he's barely able to hit the broad side of a barn, and the gun mostly stays at his side, never to be touched.
History: Feliciano is the youngest of the two Vargas siblings, born in Bologna, Italy shortly after the first world war finished. Coming from a decidedly middle-class family, Feliciano spent almost all his spare time working in the family restaurant. There, he became the families unofficial translator, doing all the ordering for those visiting who did not speak Italian. He picked up English, French, and a smattering of other languages despite his mediocre schooling. When the second world war was declared, Feliciano was not yet old enough for the military, and was left to stay at home as Italy prepared for war. Instead, he was given another job - to learn German to the best of his ability, and serve as a translator until he was old enough to ship out. Over the few months until his birthday, Feliciano worked on becoming fluent.
The military, however, was not what Feliciano had thought it would be. Egged on by propaganda, he was eager when he was finally shipped into France, but his nerve quickly failed when faced with the Alpine line. Given the option, Feliciano would have happily packed his bags and fled, but being a coward was not a viable option. Instead, his fluency in French sent him farther into France, now held by Germany and Italy. It was there that Feliciano's unit encountered the Maquis, and his nightmare begin. On the edge of the territory held by the Italians, a group effort was made in an attempt to clean up the Maquis du Vercors. It failed spectacularly, and the small unit was all but wiped out. The Maquis took few prisoners, and it was only Feliciano's cowardice and Italian blood that saved him from a quick death. He was kept prisoner, and used as a translator for those few other prisoners who were captured - almost all officers, and almost all used for information.
Feliciano was not with them long, however. The small group he was captured with soon headed north, eager to unite with another group of Maquis. It was not to happen, however, as the group was beset by German troops, and for the second time in under a month, Feliciano was nearly shot. This time, however, the outcome was more favorable, and despite being initially believed to be a Maquis himself, he was quick to identify himself and go from a prisoner to an ally. With none of his original unit remaining, and a small army of Maquis between him and Italy, Feliciano instead withdrew, travelling with the German soldiers as they returned to Germany. He rapidly made himself a welcome part of the group, cooking and translating as needed. When the group dissolved upon reaching Germany, he was left in an awkward position. Returning to Italy would inevitably mean a return to the front lines, and even returning him to Italy would take resources that simply weren't there. Instead, he opted to stay with the German unit who had rescued him, the majority of which were heading north to serve as guards in a prison camp. While Feliciano didn't relish the idea of being a guard, it was one of the few options that would allow him to stay out of battle.
In the year since his arrival, Feliciano has made himself at home. His abilities as a guard are only a step up from nonexistant, and he's almost always assigned to guard things that don't matter. Instead, he's taken his place as the camp cook, inventing new recipes to keep the other guards entertained. The majority of the unit that rescued him have since left, sent back to the front lines, and left him more or less on his own. While he would like to eventually return to Italy, he is in no true hurry to do so, and more then eager to stay off the front lines. While Italy as a country is well aware of where he is, he is a single low-value soldier, and not worth the cost of having him returned. Instead, he is left to stay in the camp, always the odd man out.
RP Sample: Feliciano was always finding new ways to use leftovers. Technically speaking, most people could cook when provided ingredients, but it took actual skill to take what was left and make a meal out of that. Meat, generally, was only eaten every few days, but given the leftovers, Feliciano was managing to stretch it out to almost once a day. A bowl of cold potatos sat one one side, and on the other, the scrapings of the corned beef that had been left over, mixed in with a little bit of spam. It certainly wasn't appetizing, but it was better then having no meat at all. It would look better, anyway, when it was cooked - mixed with some onions and fried slowly. It certainly wasn't the sort of recipie he'd have served in his restraunt, but it was still rather good. Given the option, he'd have happily cooked a different pasta dish every day. Rationing made that difficult, however - and more importantly, the rest of the guards did not quite share his appreciation for Pasta. Instead, it was beef hash fritters for dinner, served with whatever could be spared from the rationing.
He paused, staring at the meal as it started to fry, a little veeee escaping from his lips. He was supposed to stop that, of course, but it was habit, and only the strictest guards yelled at him for it. It simply was good, after all - but what it really needed was cheese. Cheese was so rare, though, and he had only a little bit, which he glanced at from the corner of his eye. Maybe - well, maybe he'd just put a little bit of cheese, and mix it in when it was half fried. He inched over, taking a little bit of the block of cheese before turning to the frying pan, staring down at it as he nibbled.
Thirty minutes later, the food was done, but there was certainly no cheese in it. Much to Feliciano's shock, by the time he was ready to add it, the cheese he'd taken was all gone, nibbled away to nothingness. He'd simply have to not mention it, and hope no one noticed the missing cheese.
Out of character
Name: Ress
Timezone/Country: Currently EST (Ontario, Canada), but the rest of the time PST (California, United States)
Age: Twenty-one
A little about yourself: I've been roleplaying several years, and have been eagerly looking for a WW2 site for a while. I had a fun time working out a plausible explanation for why an Italian would be at the camp, and I think I did fairly well as far as plausibility went. I'm looking forward to RPing with everyone.
Anything Else?: Purple.
