William Archer

Archer, a.k.a. 'Patches' (nickname given by Brenden Sanderson), is an agent in the Department of Floaters. He was created by Fynn.

Appearance
Archer is 247 but appears to be in his late 30s (ah, the wonders of vampiric aging). He's tall, with pale skin and long black hair tied back in a pony tail. He only has one eye (the other having been lost in an as yet undisclosed set of circumstances), which has a yellow iris and a slit pupil. His left eye socket is covered by a black silk scarf, and there are burn scars on that side of his face. And yes, he does have fangs, although they are quite small and usually barely noticeable (though they can extend to almost 2/3 of an inch long).

His normal clothing consists of knee-high leather boots, black trousers, white shirt, black waistcoat, black frockcoat and a dark red cravat (very like his partner). Unlike Sabbat, he is never armed in the RC.

Personality
Archer is rather laid-back and studious (the two can be compatible), preferring to retreat into a book rather than get involved in an argument. However, there is a strong suspicion that this is merely a front, as he has shown himself to be possessed of a wicked sense of humour and a strange ability to deduce what will really annoy people. His age means that he tends to take an 'older brother' role, especially in his dealings with Sabbat. He and Sabbat have been friends for almost twenty years now, although this has more recently become a 'rather more than just friends' relationship. In fact, the two of them may well have gained the honour of becoming the PPC's first male gay couple.

He hasn't drunk human blood for almost half a century, as he doesn't need it to live (he can exist by supplementing his normal diet with animal blood), but he is now debating whether Sue-blood would count as animal or human (and becoming extremely confused in the process).

Archer and Sabbat have just adopted a mini-Razor named swenny tod, to which the vampire has become quite attached.

Agent History
Archer joined the PPC in March 2008, together with Agent Raphael Sabbat. He has done one MSTing (see link below), but has yet to complete a mission. However, he and his partner have already managed to get themselves in trouble during the Lockdown.

During the 2008 Mary Sue Invasion he teamed up with Brenden Sanderson and Anjilly Ka in order to find Sabbat, from whom he had become separated. He has since become quite friendly with the two agents (although he is still a little wary of Brenden).

Before the PPC
The story of how Archer and Sabbat came to the PPC, as told by Archer to Anjilly Ka and Brenden Sanderson:


 * "Um. I'm not sure where to start, really. I suppose I'd better give you a bit of an explanation about where Sabbat and I actually come from – which could take a while, unfortunately. To put it bluntly, we're both pirates... originally. I met Sabbat when he was nineteen, we sailed together for ten years, then both made a decision to give up the marauding life and settle down on land.


 * "Er, that's not to say we settled down together – that's not what I meant at all. Anyway, continuing with the story – yes, anyhow, we joined a society of magicians. Then, after about four years, a rival society sprang up, wanting to remove all the natural magic from the land by summoning a Dark God. We tried to stop them, and eventually succeeded, but the ringleader of the cult – that's what they were, really – escaped. So, obviously, we chased him. In fact, we ended up chasing him to another continent.


 * "That wasn't on the society's orders though – he'd kidnapped the wife of a friend of mine's son, and had killed Sabbat's cousin whilst making his escape, so we both had personal reasons to go after him. So, to cut a long story slightly shorter, we eventually found him, but he managed to create a portal to another dimension just when we had caught up with him. He leapt through, Sabbat followed, and I, being rather stupidly emotionally attached to him, followed him. I'm not quite sure what happened next – all I can remember is that it was very dark, and very cold. Almost like being dead, but not quite, if you understand me.


 * "So, anyway, we ended up falling out of a portal into someone's RC – I don't know where the man we were chasing went, because he certainly wasn't there with us – and being taken off to see the SO. When it had decided that we were not dangerous, well, not dangerous in a bad way, it asked us if we wanted to become agents. I liked the idea of furthering the cause of good writing, Sabbat liked the idea of getting to kill people without the threat of being hanged for it and, well, to cut a long story short, we accepted."

Spin-off
Home: RC 642 at PPC: The Lost Tales

Also formerly at A Gentleman, If Somewhat Unhinged on LiveJournal, but the journal has been deleted.

Partnered with Raphael Sabbat

 * "Lockdown"
 * 2008 Mary Sue Invasion (RP)
 * Part 1 - "Return to HQ"
 * Part 6 - "The Search for Sabbat"
 * "Legendary Badfics Really Are Bad for Your Health"
 * "Interlude" (link broken)
 * "Stuck in Medical" (alternative link), with Anjilly Ka, Brenden Sanderson, and Singsong Jacobs
 * Co-written with Anjilly.
 * "Interruptions," with Brenden Sanderson
 * Co-written with Anjilly.
 * "Glorious Twenty-Fifth Day/Towel Day Interlude" (link broken)

MSTs

 * "A Sweeney Todd MST"