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Personality: Kaz is, at his very core, a half-Japanese-half-American punk from post-WWII Yokosuka that never truly belonged to either culture, and will do anything to build and protect someplace he can finally call "home".
Too bad he put all his hopes and dreams into building that home, it got blown sky-high after a few months, he lost two of his limbs, and was only able to hold himself together with Captain Ahab levels of obsessive, bloodthirsty vengeance against the people who took that home from him. Then, he killed that guy (yeah, singular, long story), got betrayed by the person he trusted the most, and has channeled all his hatred into making sure his former friend/partner bites the dust. He's doing about as well as you'd expect, and in any other story, he'd probably be a villein.
But despite a character development trajectory that goes from 'well-read, charismatic fuckboy with big dreams' to 'Byronic hero' (and past this canonpoint, to 'amused Yoda that does a great job covering up his issues'), Kaz has three major traits that have always defined him and always will-- his mixed-race status, his loyalty, and his pride.
As you'd expect, growing up as a mixed-race in postwar Japan had an enormous impact on Kaz. Born the bastard son of an American soldier and a Japanese prostitute, he was unfortunate enough to turn out looking distinctly American and as a result, earn pretty much every type of social ridicule possible. Being that Japan is a collectivistic culture that emphasizes group conformity, this was intensely painful for him, and he turned to idolizing the Americans on the nearby military base, declaring himself one of them instead. Eventually, he got to America, and found he didn't fit in there, either, since he'd been raised in a Japanese culture. Being too Japanese for America and too American for Japan, Kaz has never really belonged anywhere at all, and that has always been an intense driving force on him. It's even worse now that he did know what it was like to have a home with MSF (which specifically exists outside nations and ideologies), and that's been ripped away from him. He's tried to rebuild with Diamond Dogs, but is ironically too paranoid of losing that home again to ever stop jumping at shadows and let himself connect with the people there. Effectively, he's no longer a member of the family like he wants to be, he's the family's frothing-at-the-mouth guard dog that bites everything that's not its family, including people trying to help them. And a good chunk of the family is scared of him and/or regard him with a healthy amount of wariness, which is alluded to multiple times in base conversations.
This makes it all the worse that socially speaking, Kaz is incredibly extroverted at heart. He likes people, is naturally empathetic, is good with names and faces, and previously, could be found at the center of any party, probably drunk and mooning someone (the mooning is canon and you can take that to the bank). Unfortunately, because of his trauma, he's so hostile and generally incapable of forming human bonds at this point that it's hard for him to interact with anyone in a genuine way, so he's now a closed-off, miserable extrovert. Though, the flip side of his charisma is that he is, and always has been, an excellent liar and manipulator, and that's a skill he's kept honed.
Second point. Kaz is an incredibly loyal person, once you manage to get it. Because of the aforementioned manipulative tendencies, he can end up treating people as tools, but once you actually reach him, he will die for you, kill for you, chase you halfway across the world, wait nine years while you're in a coma so he can protect you when you wake up, and lose two limbs making himself a distraction while you can escape. He is, to put it mildly, very emotionally intense in the way he bonds to people. God help anyone who tries to hurt someone he cares about at this point, he's liable to track them down and torture them for revenge.
Finally. Kaz is a proud moutherfucker, and he's full of grit and tenacity. 'I'll never lose again, we'll never lose again', is not only a statement about postwar Japan, it's a sort of personal mantra for him. As a testament to this, when meeting Big Boss, who almost everyone is immediately drawn to and inclined to follow even when they're on opposite sides, he uses a dirty trick to try and kill them both instead of admitting defeat (because pride, in Kaz's case, does not mean honor, but the willingness to do anything to win). After being captured, he refuses to join MSF even under threat of torture and death, ends up in a frankly childish competition with Boss where if he wins a single challenge he'll be free to go, drags this on all day even after he loses challenge after challenge, and then conducts the escape attempt that he's been planning this entire time. Only when Boss reveals he's talked all of Kaz's own soldiers into changing sides and the two of them end up in danger during the following chase/fight does he finally give up. And even then he proposes it as a partnership, not a loss. So, it's not an understatement to say that if Kaz met Death himself, he'd spit in his face and try to kill him, because damn if he isn't going down without a fight, even in an unwinnable situation. His ability to dig in his heels and stand his ground no matter what is probably both his most admirable and most frustrating trait.
In general, his motives tend towards revenge, and pulling strings to advance his own situation-- as mentioned, he has a very unfortunate manipulative streak, and this is nicely covered in his earlier canonpoints by the fact that he's manipulating things in favor of MSF instead of himself (however, he still doesn't tell anyone what he's doing, which throws it back in the 'seriously questionable' category). However, in the absence of anything from home in-game, and because he will immediately recognize that either the many-worlds interpretation is true or he's finally cracked, he's probably going to be motivated primarily by his competitive nature in the absence of any other obvious direction. He's gonna be the very best, like no one ever was.
(I could go on, because Kaz is a really complicated person-- howhe was a dreamer/idealist and that's been totally crushed, his conflict between being a logical, detached problem-solver and being an inherently emotional person, how even at his worst he's taking into accounts the human considerations of his men because he does care and look after his own, the double-edged sword that is his ruthless ambition, his political opinions and worldview --but this seems like enough.)
PROS Trilingual. Speaks and writes fluent Japanese, English, and Spanish. Intelligent / Well-Read. As the main Exposition Fairy in Peace Walker and one of two Exposition Fairies in MGSV, Kaz is an incredibly smart individual. Over the course of the series, he displays extensive knowledge in history, literature, politics, business, military strategy, wilderness survival, and various sciences, including one point where he appears to solve a chemistry problem in his head. A lot of tapes consist of him speculating wildly to himself while Boss/Venom just sort of listens. It's vaguely implied that he reads and lends people books. But judging by all the things he knows, he reads a lot. Adaptable / Quick Learner. His stats in both games show that he's skilled at a wide range of tasks and will excel at almost any duty he's assigned, including medicine (he is, apparently, a fantastic medic, although this is never actually talked about) and cooking (which is later made a joke of). His only bad stat is engineering, which he's still fair at. He actually says himself that he'll "kick ass" at whatever he's told to do.
Diligent: If you ask him to do something, it will be done to the nines, with every tiny detail accounted for and then some.
Loyal: If you somehow work your way past all his garbage and become someone he can trust, he will follow you to the ends of the earth and... probably attach to you kind of unhealthily at this point, to be honest.
Leader. Although he's not the sort of person who naturally draws in followers, he makes up for that in sheer competence. He is good at taking care of people and telling them what to do. (Limited) Kindness. Previously, Kaz used to be the unambiguously human voice, repeatedly advocating for peace, mercy, justice, and not doing any more damage than they had to as an organization. Those days are gone, but even now he's still the only one that repeatedly speaks out against child soldiers and tries to ensure the welfare of the children instead, despite claiming to hate children, and he argues for taking prisoners alive whenever possible. So long as Cipher's/Boss' blood isn't in the water, he doesn't want to cause any more harm than necessary. There is a good person down there, if you can find it. Music. Kaz displays the ability to play guitar, write lyrics, and compose songs, even if they're peppy j-pop love songs from the point of view of teenage girls (though he originally composed the slower guitar version), that ended up being sung by a not!teenage girl because he can't sing for shit. Except he composed the lyrics in Japanese. Whoops, sorry Paz. Military-related skills: He can punch things and shoot things, and even does it really well when all his limbs are intact. He can also fly a helicopter, which is pretty cool but will sadly probably never be relevant.
CONS Paranoid: After his betrayal by Huey, Kaz was already extremely paranoid. After his betrayal by Boss, this is going to get infinitesimally worse. Emotionally Volatile: Kaz's moods flip on a dime, and rarely to anything nice. Good luck. Cruel: Despite his previously mentioned inherently kind nature, Kaz has sacrificed a lot of his morals to keep going, and will do things like sending his people out on assassinations, or willfully engaging in torture. Don't get on his bad side, or he will literally bend your legs back until they break (hi, Huey). Violent. Kaz has been solving his problems with his fists/gun for a long time. This tendency is unlikely to stop anytime soon. Manipulative: He will use you, he'll use your dog, he'll use your mom if it gets him any further on whatever righteous crusade he's put himself on. He'll even get some totally innocent kid to murder his own father for the sake of personal vengeance. Although, to be entirely fair, said father was a nutcase who was trying to put the world in a state of perpetual war, but that wasn't why Kaz was doing it. Obsessive: If you haven't gotten that Kaz has some crazy levels of tunnel vision going on at this point re: his vengeance, I don't know what to tell you.
Despite that truly horrific list of traits, Kaz is capable of having a normal, if guarded and cynical, conversation. He's at least functional in an everyday capacity, even if he scares the people around him with his... everything.
It's also worth mentioning that Kaz is disabled-- he's missing almost all of his right arm, half of his left leg, and Word of God (or more accurately, Word of an Archangel That God Has Yet to Deny) has confirmed that the opaque quality in his eyes is photophobia. Being particularly sensitive to bright light isn't that bad and more or less just renders his sunglasses medical, so I'm going to leave it as is. And because the arm and leg and their accompanying phantom pain are an important part of his character, he's not going to be healed, and is instead going to receive some very nice prosthetics. He's going to be pissed about this, because he refused the opportunity for very nice, lifelike prosthetics in canon to wallow in his pain like an idiot. Unfortunately, he's going to have to deal with them if he ever wants to leave New Bark Town, because his cane is going to be gone.
Pokémon Information Affiliation: Trainer! Ace trainer, specifically. Starter: Houndour ("Havoc"). For three reasons: the mutt's awful, it's a dog of war (Caesar reference, ha ha), and as a stealth tribute to the people back home, who are also dogs of war. If it is okay with the mods, I'm going to have the thing be pretty much entirely feral and bite the shit out of Kaz and anyone else in its way (and yes, I'll obviously consult players before it bites anyone else). Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples RP Sample:This thread is a good one if you don't mind vague shipping implications, this is more gen but less impressive.
Victory Road Sample:
{ VIDEO }
[a man in his mid-thirties comes onto the feed. his bag is open next to him with the contents ruffled through, and there's an open Pokéball on the ground. the lower left sleeve of his trenchcoat is also leaking blood from what looks like puncture marks (a bite wound?) and is slightly singed, but he doesn't appear to be paying it much mind.]
I read the handbook, but there's one thing I'm not getting. These creatures-- Pokémon --are they pets, or are they weapons? The information here contradicts itself. It says here that friendship is an important part of raising the things, but as far as I'm aware, you don't usually make nice with animals you're teaching to cockfight.
And what kind of anarchistic society is this that the person with the strongest Pokemon wins every possible interpersonal conflict? All right, so it's not that different from most third-world countries, or your average political standoff, but seeing that kind of thing on an individual, culturally-encouraged level is a little disturbing. [he lets out a snort of disapproval.] 'Might makes right', I guess.
{ TEXT, LOCKED TO SELF AT 30% }
LOVE DETERRENCE
[the clumsy, highly experimental nature of the lock makes it fairly obvious that this is someone trying to work out how to filter and hack.]
Welcome to the Wonderful World of Pokemon! Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted... [○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must! [○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: # thru G, H thru O, or P thru Z. [○] Join the following communities: victory_road, the_plateau, and ohmyarceus. Only Team Rocket personnel should join silph_co, but we ask that all Victory Road members subscribe to it. Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places. [○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted. [○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms! [○] You can also find our mod plurk at victoryroad; if you have a Plurk, we suggest you become a fan!
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
indigo_league) wrote2016-05-03 09:48 pm
APPLICATIONS!
no subject
Name: Chris
E-mail: wildwolf_407@yahoo.com
Preferred Contact: PM
Timezone: Eastern
Current Characters in Victory Road: none
Character
Name: Kazuhira Miller ("Kaz")
Series: Metal Gear
Timeline: After the True Ending of MGSV
Canon Resource Links: More information that you will ever want, probably.
Personality: Kaz is, at his very core, a half-Japanese-half-American punk from post-WWII Yokosuka that never truly belonged to either culture, and will do anything to build and protect someplace he can finally call "home".
Too bad he put all his hopes and dreams into building that home, it got blown sky-high after a few months, he lost two of his limbs, and was only able to hold himself together with Captain Ahab levels of obsessive, bloodthirsty vengeance against the people who took that home from him. Then, he killed that guy (yeah, singular, long story), got betrayed by the person he trusted the most, and has channeled all his hatred into making sure his former friend/partner bites the dust. He's doing about as well as you'd expect, and in any other story, he'd probably be a villein.
But despite a character development trajectory that goes from 'well-read, charismatic fuckboy with big dreams' to 'Byronic hero' (and past this canonpoint, to 'amused Yoda that does a great job covering up his issues'), Kaz has three major traits that have always defined him and always will-- his mixed-race status, his loyalty, and his pride.
As you'd expect, growing up as a mixed-race in postwar Japan had an enormous impact on Kaz. Born the bastard son of an American soldier and a Japanese prostitute, he was unfortunate enough to turn out looking distinctly American and as a result, earn pretty much every type of social ridicule possible. Being that Japan is a collectivistic culture that emphasizes group conformity, this was intensely painful for him, and he turned to idolizing the Americans on the nearby military base, declaring himself one of them instead. Eventually, he got to America, and found he didn't fit in there, either, since he'd been raised in a Japanese culture. Being too Japanese for America and too American for Japan, Kaz has never really belonged anywhere at all, and that has always been an intense driving force on him. It's even worse now that he did know what it was like to have a home with MSF (which specifically exists outside nations and ideologies), and that's been ripped away from him. He's tried to rebuild with Diamond Dogs, but is ironically too paranoid of losing that home again to ever stop jumping at shadows and let himself connect with the people there. Effectively, he's no longer a member of the family like he wants to be, he's the family's frothing-at-the-mouth guard dog that bites everything that's not its family, including people trying to help them. And a good chunk of the family is scared of him and/or regard him with a healthy amount of wariness, which is alluded to multiple times in base conversations.
This makes it all the worse that socially speaking, Kaz is incredibly extroverted at heart. He likes people, is naturally empathetic, is good with names and faces, and previously, could be found at the center of any party, probably drunk and mooning someone (the mooning is canon and you can take that to the bank). Unfortunately, because of his trauma, he's so hostile and generally incapable of forming human bonds at this point that it's hard for him to interact with anyone in a genuine way, so he's now a closed-off, miserable extrovert. Though, the flip side of his charisma is that he is, and always has been, an excellent liar and manipulator, and that's a skill he's kept honed.
Second point. Kaz is an incredibly loyal person, once you manage to get it. Because of the aforementioned manipulative tendencies, he can end up treating people as tools, but once you actually reach him, he will die for you, kill for you, chase you halfway across the world, wait nine years while you're in a coma so he can protect you when you wake up, and lose two limbs making himself a distraction while you can escape. He is, to put it mildly, very emotionally intense in the way he bonds to people. God help anyone who tries to hurt someone he cares about at this point, he's liable to track them down and torture them for revenge.
Finally. Kaz is a proud moutherfucker, and he's full of grit and tenacity. 'I'll never lose again, we'll never lose again', is not only a statement about postwar Japan, it's a sort of personal mantra for him. As a testament to this, when meeting Big Boss, who almost everyone is immediately drawn to and inclined to follow even when they're on opposite sides, he uses a dirty trick to try and kill them both instead of admitting defeat (because pride, in Kaz's case, does not mean honor, but the willingness to do anything to win). After being captured, he refuses to join MSF even under threat of torture and death, ends up in a frankly childish competition with Boss where if he wins a single challenge he'll be free to go, drags this on all day even after he loses challenge after challenge, and then conducts the escape attempt that he's been planning this entire time. Only when Boss reveals he's talked all of Kaz's own soldiers into changing sides and the two of them end up in danger during the following chase/fight does he finally give up. And even then he proposes it as a partnership, not a loss. So, it's not an understatement to say that if Kaz met Death himself, he'd spit in his face and try to kill him, because damn if he isn't going down without a fight, even in an unwinnable situation. His ability to dig in his heels and stand his ground no matter what is probably both his most admirable and most frustrating trait.
In general, his motives tend towards revenge, and pulling strings to advance his own situation-- as mentioned, he has a very unfortunate manipulative streak, and this is nicely covered in his earlier canonpoints by the fact that he's manipulating things in favor of MSF instead of himself (however, he still doesn't tell anyone what he's doing, which throws it back in the 'seriously questionable' category). However, in the absence of anything from home in-game, and because he will immediately recognize that either the many-worlds interpretation is true or he's finally cracked, he's probably going to be motivated primarily by his competitive nature in the absence of any other obvious direction. He's gonna be the very best, like no one ever was.
(I could go on, because Kaz is a really complicated person-- how he was a dreamer/idealist and that's been totally crushed, his conflict between being a logical, detached problem-solver and being an inherently emotional person, how even at his worst he's taking into accounts the human considerations of his men because he does care and look after his own, the double-edged sword that is his ruthless ambition, his political opinions and worldview --but this seems like enough.)
PROS
Trilingual. Speaks and writes fluent Japanese, English, and Spanish.
Intelligent / Well-Read. As the main Exposition Fairy in Peace Walker and one of two Exposition Fairies in MGSV, Kaz is an incredibly smart individual. Over the course of the series, he displays extensive knowledge in history, literature, politics, business, military strategy, wilderness survival, and various sciences, including one point where he appears to solve a chemistry problem in his head. A lot of tapes consist of him speculating wildly to himself while Boss/Venom just sort of listens. It's vaguely implied that he reads and lends people books. But judging by all the things he knows, he reads a lot.
Adaptable / Quick Learner. His stats in both games show that he's skilled at a wide range of tasks and will excel at almost any duty he's assigned, including medicine (he is, apparently, a fantastic medic, although this is never actually talked about) and cooking (which is later made a joke of). His only bad stat is engineering, which he's still fair at. He actually says himself that he'll "kick ass" at whatever he's told to do.
(Limited) Kindness. Previously, Kaz used to be the unambiguously human voice, repeatedly advocating for peace, mercy, justice, and not doing any more damage than they had to as an organization. Those days are gone, but even now he's still the only one that repeatedly speaks out against child soldiers and tries to ensure the welfare of the children instead, despite claiming to hate children, and he argues for taking prisoners alive whenever possible. So long as Cipher's/Boss' blood isn't in the water, he doesn't want to cause any more harm than necessary. There is a good person down there, if you can find it.
Music. Kaz displays the ability to play guitar, write lyrics, and compose songs, even if they're peppy j-pop love songs from the point of view of teenage girls (though he originally composed the slower guitar version), that ended up being sung by a not!teenage girl because he can't sing for shit. Except he composed the lyrics in Japanese. Whoops, sorry Paz.
Military-related skills: He can punch things and shoot things, and even does it really well when all his limbs are intact. He can also fly a helicopter, which is pretty cool but will sadly probably never be relevant.
CONS
Paranoid: After his betrayal by Huey, Kaz was already extremely paranoid. After his betrayal by Boss, this is going to get infinitesimally worse.
Emotionally Volatile: Kaz's moods flip on a dime, and rarely to anything nice. Good luck.
Cruel: Despite his previously mentioned inherently kind nature, Kaz has sacrificed a lot of his morals to keep going, and will do things like sending his people out on assassinations, or willfully engaging in torture. Don't get on his bad side, or he will literally bend your legs back until they break (hi, Huey).
Violent. Kaz has been solving his problems with his fists/gun for a long time. This tendency is unlikely to stop anytime soon.
Manipulative: He will use you, he'll use your dog, he'll use your mom if it gets him any further on whatever righteous crusade he's put himself on. He'll even get some totally innocent kid to murder his own father for the sake of personal vengeance. Although, to be entirely fair, said father was a nutcase who was trying to put the world in a state of perpetual war, but that wasn't why Kaz was doing it.
Obsessive: If you haven't gotten that Kaz has some crazy levels of tunnel vision going on at this point re: his vengeance, I don't know what to tell you.
Despite that truly horrific list of traits, Kaz is capable of having a normal, if guarded and cynical, conversation. He's at least functional in an everyday capacity, even if he scares the people around him with his... everything.
It's also worth mentioning that Kaz is disabled-- he's missing almost all of his right arm, half of his left leg, and Word of God (or more accurately, Word of an Archangel That God Has Yet to Deny) has confirmed that the opaque quality in his eyes is photophobia. Being particularly sensitive to bright light isn't that bad and more or less just renders his sunglasses medical, so I'm going to leave it as is. And because the arm and leg and their accompanying phantom pain are an important part of his character, he's not going to be healed, and is instead going to receive some very nice prosthetics. He's going to be pissed about this, because he refused the opportunity for very nice, lifelike prosthetics in canon to wallow in his pain like an idiot. Unfortunately, he's going to have to deal with them if he ever wants to leave New Bark Town, because his cane is going to be gone.
Pokémon Information
Affiliation: Trainer! Ace trainer, specifically.
Starter: Houndour ("Havoc"). For three reasons: the mutt's awful, it's a dog of war (Caesar reference, ha ha), and as a stealth tribute to the people back home, who are also dogs of war. If it is okay with the mods, I'm going to have the thing be pretty much entirely feral and bite the shit out of Kaz and anyone else in its way (and yes, I'll obviously consult players before it bites anyone else).
Password: Atomic Fireball
Samples
RP Sample: This thread is a good one if you don't mind vague shipping implications, this is more gen but less impressive.
Victory Road Sample:
{ VIDEO }
[a man in his mid-thirties comes onto the feed. his bag is open next to him with the contents ruffled through, and there's an open Pokéball on the ground. the lower left sleeve of his trenchcoat is also leaking blood from what looks like puncture marks (a bite wound?) and is slightly singed, but he doesn't appear to be paying it much mind.]
I read the handbook, but there's one thing I'm not getting. These creatures-- Pokémon --are they pets, or are they weapons? The information here contradicts itself. It says here that friendship is an important part of raising the things, but as far as I'm aware, you don't usually make nice with animals you're teaching to cockfight.
And what kind of anarchistic society is this that the person with the strongest Pokemon wins every possible interpersonal conflict? All right, so it's not that different from most third-world countries, or your average political standoff, but seeing that kind of thing on an individual, culturally-encouraged level is a little disturbing. [he lets out a snort of disapproval.] 'Might makes right', I guess.
{ TEXT, LOCKED TO SELF AT 30% }
LOVE DETERRENCE[the clumsy, highly experimental nature of the lock makes it fairly obvious that this is someone trying to work out how to filter and hack.]
no subject
Congratulations, you have a fun and exciting adventure awaiting you.
Now that you've been accepted...
[○] Respond to this with your character's journal. This is a must!
[○] Comment in the Taken Characters post, alphabetized by series: # thru G, H thru O, or P thru Z.
[○] Join the following communities:
Note! You will not be accepted to the main or logs community until you've commented in the aforementioned places.
[○] If you're still on the reserved list, please let us know that they've been accepted.
[○] Please make sure to check out the Calendar for the weather and upcoming plots and swarms!
[○] You can also find our mod plurk at
We'd also like to take this moment to inform you of the Eastern Kanto Ferry! For only P2000, you can take a three day, all-inclusive ferry ride from New Bark Town to Pallet Town and begin a new pokémon journey in the Kanto region! Otherwise, feel free to start in Johto!
Thank you! See you in the Pokémon world!
no subject