Seis Kusanagi

Player name: gundamoutlaw
English language proficiency: Native Speaker
Character number: 1
Faction: Earth Federation Forces (Londo Bell)
Have you read the site rules?: Yes

Full name: Seis Kusanagi
Alias/Title: Katana
Age: 17 (born: 10/6 UC 0079)
Gender: Male
Race: Newtype
Place of Origin: Side 3, Zum City
Citizenship: Earth Federation, Moon


Height: 5’9” (175.26cm)
Weight: 130 lbs. (58.97kg)
Body Type: Thin and athletic with only a small degree of visible muscle despite years of physical training.
Eye Color: Very light brown, sometimes appearing red or even almost pink in some types of lighting
Hair Color: Naturally a strawberry blond, dyed a very light purple
Hair Style: Long and shaggy style which reaches a little over halfway down his back. Normally kept pulled back in some form of ponytail (either high/topknot style or traditional) as part of a vain attempt to keep it from falling into his eyes and for lack of anything better to do with it.
Identifying Marks: Purple hair, androgynous appearance
Handiness: Right-handed, trained to be semi-ambidextrous


Combat Preference: To put it simply, Seis is an instinctual dogfighter. Flying almost entirely by the seat of his pants, he has developed very little in the way of long range strategic thinking, and prefers to engage his opponents in close quarters contests of aerobatic skill in order to attain the perfect angle for attack. Because of this he is primarily a close to mid-range combatant, primarily utilizing basic line of sight weapons such as the basic beam rifle or beam saber as opposed to the heavier long range payloads. While this combat style does work with the basic MS utilized by the Federation Mobile Suit Corps., its applications are somewhat limited by the restrictions imposed by their designs, and almost entirely useless outside of a null-g environment. It is only behind the controls of a high-performance or variable frame design that this technique can truly shine, as those classifications are usually the only machines designed to handle the strains inherent in a normal dogfight.

Close Combat :: 70%
Mid-Ranged Combat :: 75%
Long-Ranged :: 40%

Personality:
On the surface Seis comes across as cocky and unfocused, usually spending his time cracking jokes or making sarcastic remarks as he makes his way through any given situation. On the inside however he is a deeply caring and complex individual, albeit somewhat insecure. He cares very much for those who he considers friends and loved ones, holding them in the deepest regard and and will go to great lengths to help them out whenever possible, including listening to their problems in an effort to bring out the best in them. This same trait does not hold true in reverse however, as he is usually unable to share any of his problems with others. Preferring instead to keep his own issues internalized and work through them on his own. This tendency tends to worry those who know him well, as they're afraid that one day his bottled up issues might come to the surface and become his undoing in some fashion. In these troubled times however, such a compassionate personality doesn't really fit in and can often be exploited by those with less then noble ideals. Thus he has taken to hiding his true nature from those outside of his small circle of friends and trying to do what he can behind the scenes as he hides behind his cockier half.

He tends to try and be the comedian of any group he is in, using his natural flair for drama and style to craft a joker/flyboy persona in an attempt to keep troubling situations from getting overly gloomy with sarcasm and variable qualities of jokes. This is especially true in situations where he feels nervous or threatened, as humor is his default coping mechanism under stressful conditions. A fast-moving, fast-talking individual with a vast appreciation for the finer things in life, he's developed a talent for story telling and improvising that sometimes seems unrivaled amongst his peers. He is not afraid to speak his mind if he feels that what he has to say needs to be heard, regardless of who he may be talking to. This has had the unfortunate side effect of putting him at odds with a couple of his less then open-minded superiors on more then a handful of occasions. As one would expect from someone like this, he typically makes things up as he goes along, preferring to fly by the seat of his pants instead of making up a set plan. He seems to know things intuitively, without being able to pinpoint why, and without detailed knowledge of the subject at hand. In spite of that set back however he is usually right, and most of the time knows it. Consequently, he puts a tremendous amount of faith into his instincts and intuitions. This is because he views himself as someone practical, having no use for structure and routine as it only slows things down. He loves to "go with the flow", trusting in his ability to improvise his way through any situation presented to him. It is for this reason that he learns best via "hands-on" experience, rather than by studying from a book or in a classroom. Unfortunately this way of life can sometimes unintentionally be hurtful to others, as he can be unaware of the effect his honest words and friendly teasing may have on others. He is quick to make amends however should his words harm someone whom he cares about, or were taken out of context to hurt others.

He also possesses a bit of a competitive streak, using others as a comparative benchmark for which to gauge his skills and then setting his goals to surpass them. While this trait allowed him to quickly rise through the ranks and emerge near the top of his class at the academy, it can also be exploited as a weakness and has been known on occasion to cause him to push himself past his limits and into some really dangerous situations. He also possesses a very strong distaste for the odds, a trait which has gotten him into trouble on more then one occasion due to his reckless and daredevil-esque nature. These traits are compounded by his incredibly lax view on the rules and regulations he's supposed to live by. To him "The Book" is just a set of guidelines for behavior, rather than official mandates set in stone. If he has decided that something needs to be done, then he asserts himself with a "do it and get on with it" attitude that takes precedence over the rules. He is strongly guided by his own belief in what's right and what's wrong, and will doggedly stick to his principles regardless of what his superiors might think or do about it. He is guided by his heart, not the Rules of the Establishment. Unyieldingly following the mandates of his own integrity to the bitter end in the pursuit of what he feels is right.

One of his more unusual characteristics is the way in which he expresses anger. In keeping with his internalizing nature, he has a habit of turning his anger and frustration inward, becoming quieter and more level sounding as the feelings increase. This has led to several interesting situations, especially during the troubled period of his school career, in which the person who was causing him frustration (usually a bully of some sort) failed to realize that they were doing so and continued to egg him on thinking that he was backing down due to his seemingly docile temperament. As a result they were greatly surprised when he would finally lash out and defend himself or whoever it was that he had stepped in to help. This trait does have its darker side however, as all that internalizing can lead to an impressive build-up of frustration. And as with most build-ups, it must be vented somehow or else it will cause damage to the vessel containing it. This means that when Seis does finally snap and lash out at an aggressor, he does it in a particularly swift and brutal fashion. It is this tendency combined with the pig headed and elitist attitude of one of his peers which led to a small incident during the last part of his training. Aside from that though, there haven't been any real problems with his temper since his enlisting in the military.

Having been raised in a world devastated by the war, he is no stranger to conflict. The social problems he experienced during his primary school period have cultivated within Seis a strong dislike for bullies and other people who abuse their power. In addition he also displays the stereotype teenage dislike for elitist personalities and authority figures, finding that most are drunk with power and will abuse it at any given opportunity. He also finds himself somewhat easily annoyed by people who insist on constantly correcting him for no apparent reason.These reasons are a good part of why he has developed the habit of sticking up for the little guy and trying to protect those around him from abuse. It was this trait that eventually led him to enlist in the Federation forces as a mobile suit pilot, hoping to find himself on the front lines and become the sword that defended his home should the worst happen and the current peaceful state of things collapse.

Since enlisting in the military however, he has come to discover that he feels most at home in the cockpit of a mobile suit, the panoramically displaying command sphere becoming like a second womb for him and a source of comfort. One of his few sources of solace is taking is taking to the skies, be they terrestrial or celestial, and soaring about with speed and agility beyond that of ordinary men. It is for this reason that he was drawn towards a specialization in variable frame designs, as they are far more conducive to his preferred style of piloting then traditional suits, and typically afford him far more maneuverability as well. Nothing pleases him more then flitting about amongst the clouds, and when he can't legitimately get that feeling in the air, he is forced to seek similar thrills on the ground via his motorcycle. A stereotype true, but one he embraces fully due to his unusual personality.

Despite having a general dislike of violence, he is more then willing to go that route to solve a problem if he believes that its justified, and to that end has made sure that he is more then proficient in numerous ways of defending himself. This has gotten him into trouble several times in the past, but has not deterred him from his wish to do what he can to improve the current state of things. A trait which has been attributed to his late grandfather and one that his mother sometimes wishes that he hadn't inherited quite so strongly. All of this training has granted him new insights however, as like many martial artists, he has come to hold the belief that to know one fully, you must fight them one-on-one. His years of study in the fields of martial arts and the various philosophies behind them have allowed him to look past their inherent brutality and see what lies beneath. To him combat is not only for self-defense, but can also be a form of self-expression, a means of communication similar to dance or art. This is obviously not to say that he is some sort of warmonger or brute given his views of conflict, quite the opposite in fact, as he is one of the most gentle people you could possibly hope to meet. Its just that he has come to realize that sometimes engaging a person in battle is sometimes the only means to truly understand someone. A pure form of expression where words are swept away, allowing for action to reveal the true nature of the people involved. He also is able to use this as a way to help him read the feelings and emotions of others, using combat maneuvers and body language as a way of bringing out their true self and learn whether it is possible to save them from themselves or not. In his mind, combat between two skilled opponents is capable of saying more than several hours worth of talking. To him there is a certain purity in the way various techniques come together as they are used in battle, almost as if it were more like a dance instead of a fight to what could possibly be their death.

It is all of these factors which have earned him the callsign “Katana.” His unusual temper which has been described as being cool as steel, and is partnered with a stubborn will which is just as strong. His finely honed and potentially deadly combat skills, including years of training with the weapon from which the nickname is derived, which he won't hesitate to employ at a moments notice should he feel that they are warranted. The speed with which he acts seeming lightning fast to some, and the lack of hesitation or regret making his resolve just as devastating. And finally his theoretically razor sharp wit, which in reality has been known to fall short or more then one occasion but never fails to draw a laugh from his peers, even if they are just laughing at his failed attempt at humor.


Family:

- Elpeo Ple :: Genetic Donor :: Deceased :: Neo Zeon MS Pilot
- Rosa Kusanagi :: Mother :: 39 years old :: Photo Journalist
- Nobuyuki Kusanagi :: Father :: 42 years old :: Anaheim - Regional Director of Technical Operations & Head Researcher
- Saito Kusanagi :: Paternal Uncle :: 48 years old :: Medical Doctor, Newtype Researcher
- Setsuna Kusanagi :: Twin Sister :: 17 years old :: College Student, Human & Colonial Rights Activist, Orphanage Volunteer
- Li Kusanagi :: Brother :: 15 years old :: High School Student

Biography:
Seis was raised as the son of Rosa and Nobuyuki Kusanagi, a colony born photojournalist and mobile suit technician formerly native to the Japanese islands of East Asia. Prior to the outbreak of the One Year War, Nobuyuki worked as one of several service techs aboard one of the recently commissioned Gwazine class battleships, pulling front line duty against the Federation space forces formerly responsible for sponsoring the settlements out in space. Initially he found this a rather dull assignment, the unwitting Federation forces in the area lacking the strength to overcome the current armament levels of the newly established Principality of Zeon and thus resulting in a sort of stalemate. His boredom was to be short lived however as he was soon to meet the light of his life in the form of a small time journalist then going by the name of Rosa Arnaud.

Rosa had been sent from the neutral colony of Side 6 to put a face on the brewing conflict by taking pictures and collecting the various stories of the valiant men and women who had volunteered to help the colonies of Side 3 defend their newly declared autonomy from their homeworld. He immediately became infatuated with the young woman, finding the spirit and passion she brought to her work truly intoxicating. She seemed to have an almost uncanny ability to capture the spirit of any given moment on film, allowing people viewing the image to truly feel the emotions behind the picture and receive a sense of what it was like aboard one of the ships that was currently engaged in a cold war with their former home. The two of them spent a large amount of time together, swapping stories about home and life aboard ship, and eventually this constant back and forth exchange led to something deeper. Which in turn resulted in a single night of passion which would have lasting repercussions down the road.

Following her stint aboard his ship, Nobuyuki did his best to stay in touch with Rosa. And after almost four months of trading messages and video calls she finally came forward and told him the truth, that she was pregnant with his child and that she was going to keep it. To her surprise Nobuyuki was overjoyed by the news, promising to stand by her in this no matter what and pledging himself to her as soon as his current tour of duty ended. As a result of this the two of them were wed on September 15, UC 0078, a little over a year before the birth of their twin babies Seis and Setsuna. The healthy twin siblings were delivered by the noted physician and their uncle: Saito Kusanagi in the Zeon capitol on October 6th of UC 0079, but all was not what it had seemed with the birth. As unbeknowst to the Kusanagi family, Saito had modified one of the embryos early in the pregnancy in an attempt to overwrite its genetic makeup with that of another subject he’d been working with for the then named Flanagan Institute. Having stolen a small sample of the original subject’s DNA, he hoped to secretly create a clone of said specimen for his own observation and research outside of the controlled laboratory environment. The idea being that if he could document the triggers for awakening a Newtype, then he would be one step closer to figuring out how to give their natural evolution a helping hand. His attempt at cloning was a success too... at least partially. While the embryo had accepted the new genetic material, it had blended it with the preexisting DNA instead of doing a complete overwrite as he’d initially hoped. The result was what could at best be called a pseudo-copy, having the genetic markers of three separate parents and was even a different gender from the original. Though oddly enough there was still a certain resemblance to donor of the sample he’d stolen. Whether the experiment would still yield the desired results in light of this development though remained to be seen.

Unfortunately for all parties involved, the early years of Rosa and Nobuyuki’s marriage would come during the time of the infamous One Year War. A period in history that wouldn't allow either one of them to be at home much due to their career choices and personal convictions. As a result, and despite Saito’s protests, they were forced to leave the twins with their maternal grandparents on Side 6 for a significant portion of the conflict. Wishing to put them as far out of harm’s way as possible by stashing them away in neutral territory until war’s end. They failed to realize though that this arrangement would also have the added benefit of sparing the infants the potentially disreputable machinations of Nobuyuki’s elder brother during their absence. It was also during this period that Rosa would cover what was possibly one of the most important and controversial stories of her career, becoming her claim to fame in the journalistic community and earning her several awards several years after the fact.

Late in 0079 both Rosa and her husband were assigned to the region of Southeast Asia, a somewhat quiet but still active warzone despite the fact that most of the local Federation forces had been stalemated, and the native resistance groups in the area were not proving enough of a threat to actually damage the mobile weapons that they had been assigned to the area. This left a lot of time for Nobuyuki to explore the region and become acquainted with the local culture. As time progressed he became intimately familiar with the area, and it was because of this that he was eventually assigned to serve as a military aid to his wife once she was transferred in from the colonies to take pictures of the various towns in the area and convey similar tales as the ones she had been tasked to collect when he had first met her. She seemed to have a particular interest in the guerrilla cells who were troubling the Zeon forces, and somehow managed to ingratiate herself enough to their patrons to receive an invite to their impoverished jungle home. This development did nothing to win her any favor with the military however, as once the pictures she had taken of the event leaked out onto the news nets it was only a matter of time before they brought her in for questioning. Knowing that Rosa wasn't about to give up her sources or out the members of the resistance, Nobuyuki went against his better judgment and came to her defense. Risking his career by going against the wishes of his superior, he was able to drag out the preceding long enough for them to come to the attention of the head of the occupation forces. Finding the case of particular interest the commander had the two of them sent to speak to him personally for debriefing. It didn't take him long to sort through the various levels of red tape and political spin and get to the root of the problem, where upon he claimed that despite the issue having military ramifications it still came down to freedom of speech and since he was a firm believer in such things had the case thrown out. He also noted that in all likelihood the guerrillas in question had already moved their base of operations following Rosa's visit and thus had probably rendered the whole thing moot anyway.

Following the conclusion of the war, the Nobuyuki and Rosa returned home to Side 3 with their children and began attempts at reclaiming the happy home life they had almost lost. Nobuyuki even went as far as requesting a transfer out of shipboard service and into one of the colony based service stations. The new peace was short lived though, and seemingly in no time at all the colonies once again found themselves preparing to cross swords with the military of their terrestrial home. This time however the Kusanagis wanted nothing to do with the conflict, deciding instead to take a job offer Nobuyuki had received from Anaheim Electronics and immigrate to the moon shortly after the outbreak of Operation Stardust in order to prevent their young children from getting caught in the crossfire or coming into harm's way as had happened previously. With his previous service record and years of hands on experience Nobuyuki was effectively a shoe-in for the position as a part of Anaheim's Research and Development division, and would eventually become the head of one of the individualized departments, in addition to becoming the local lab facility’s Director of Technical Operations. Meanwhile Rosa decided to do her duty as a journalist and travel the Earth sphere following the newest outbreak of hostilities and put a face on the innocent victims created in the wake of Operation Stardust and later on the Gryps Conflict. This decision seemed to come as a contradiction with some of her reasoning behind the move to the lunar cities, but after viewing some of the early footage from the newest Zeon uprisings she found that she just couldn't sit idly by after all. Saito would also join them a year later, being one of the few Zeon researchers to have not fled to Axis following the conclusion of the war, and as a result receiving a research grant under the Federation’s science commission to continue his research on Newtypes under the government’s supervision.

But while Rosa was off gallivanting about the solar system, things were getting pretty tense at home. The newly founded Titans task force were grilling Nobuyuki and his family pretty hard due to his former Zeon roots, her brother-in-law seemed to have taken a peculiar interest in her children in the wake of receiving a classified job with the Federation’s scientific branch, and on top of that her eldest son was having a hard time with the transition into his new life on the lunar surface. Then, on March 24th of UC 0088, her worst fears came to to life as one of the numerous ongoing conflicts once again found its way to the city where her family was currently residing. While this was a traumatizing and sobering experience for the elder Kusanagis seeing as they’d believed that they were safe on the moon, it was a truly formative one for the then 11 year old Seis, as it was the first time he’d personally seen mobile suits in action. That moment, watching Task Force Alpha engaging the New Desides in battle outside the atmospheric dome as he was rushed to the shelters would forever be burned into his memory, and would plant the seed that would eventually drive him into Federal service.

In spite of all this excitement though, adjusting to his new life on the moon proved to be harder than expected for Seis. As the raised tensions between the Earth Federation and the colonies caused an undercurrent of mistrust to creep into people’s lives and a rise in anti-spacenoid sentiments. Although most of the moon's citizenry were more than willing to accept the colonials who lived among them, they themselves not viewing themselves as spacenoids as they didn't hail from the colonies, there was a small group who blamed all spacenoids for the colony drops during the One Year War, Operation Stardust, and later on the First Neo Zeon War, and who’s prejudices were picked up on by their children. As the only colony born spacenoid in his class and a native of the former Principality to boot, the rise in tensions had a snowball effect with Seis’ tendency to speak honestly and the hazing he was already receiving due to his less then masculine appearance, causing him to make a few enemies at the private school he was attending who harassed him almost constantly. Most of these incidents took place off school grounds due to the constant surveillance of the faculty and as such went unreported and unpunished.

By the time he reached high school the anti-spacenoid sentiments had eased somewhat and thus been removed from the equation temporarily, but his record of disorderly conduct continued as he took on a new challenge: preventing the bullying of others. After his experiences earlier in life he couldn’t stand by and watch other people getting pushed around by those who were stronger than they were and thus began to slide back into his old patterns of conflict. Both his parents and sister decided that they had seen enough and concluded that the problem Seis faced was a lack of focus and discipline in his life and decided to take steps to try and help him stop getting into trouble. Under order from his parents Seis began to look into the various club activities offered at his school and after careful consideration decided to try and get in touch with his family’s ancestral history by joining the anime/manga and kendo clubs respectively. In addition to this he wished to ensure that he was capable of protecting himself when unarmed and thus began studying various forms of martial arts at the numerous dojos around town, namely the Korean art of Hapkido, the Japanese form known as Battōjutsu, and the Chinese style of Bāguàzhǎng. His sister’s idea was a bit more subtle, she asked him to help her with her volunteer work down at one of the religious orphanages located near the edge of the city in the hopes that spending time there helping to care for the children would give him some happiness and a place to get away from the harsh world he had created for himself at school. All of these ideas helped Seis learn the confidence and discipline necessary to handle a situation calmly and guide him off the troubled path he had been on while refocusing his energies onto something less self-destructive. As a result his grades improved and he found other means of protecting others that stopped getting him into trouble at school.

Being raised by a former member of Zeon’s mobile suit service corps. and current head of one of Anaheim Electronics’ R&D departments had given Seis an overly developed interest in mobile suit technology. An interest that had only been further fanned by the battle he had witnessed as a child, and as a result it was no surprise to anyone when he decided that he was going to enlist in the military in order to join the Federation Space Forces as a mobile suit pilot after graduating from school. To that end he put in an application to be transferred to a specialized preparatory school known as the École du Ciel Training Institute, which was located in Montréal, Canada. His uncle executing a beautifully choreographed blitz of behind the scenes influence in order to guarantee his acceptance into the institution. Once there, he showed great potential for being a natural MS pilot. His years of physical training, natural reflexes, and a strongly developed sense of three dimensional spatial awareness due to his years in space, allowing him to rapidly soar through the cadet rankings. These results seemed to please his uncle, as they justified his faith in the boy and were the first step towards the results he was hoping for in his study.

This continued for four years, Seis spending most of that time in intense study in order to graduate with honors from the institute and earn his desired role in the Federation forces. The work was hard, and the environment made tense by the fallout from the Second Neo Zeon War in conjunction with his heritage. It was beginning to seem like someone was trying to halt his progress in life, as every time things started to calm down and people were willing to put the whole Zeon thing behind them somewhat, some idiot would come out of the heavens waving the fancy heraldry and proclaiming that they were the next coming of the former Principality. As a result anti-spacenoid prejudice would skyrocket and he would again find himself at odds with just about everyone he met. He may have been proud of his family’s history and where he came from, not to mention an open supporter of equal rights for the colonies, but he was beginning to develop a serious dislike for all of the hidebound glory hounds who couldn’t let the One Year War stay in the past where it belonged. In his mind they were doing more harm for their cause then good, and in some cases seemed to have forgotten what they were fighting for entirely and were just focusing on revenge. This was especially true of the so-called “Red Comet,” as his repeated attempts to bombard the Earth with debris from orbit in order to drive civilization into space was a far cry from the man he’d heard stories about growing up. In the end though he was able to work through all of the hurdles that were being tossed up into his path, and was able to graduate as the second highest ranked cadet in his year.

He would have graduated at the top of his class were it not for an unfortunate incident during the final months of his training where he and his fellow team mates were dropped onto a small island off of the coast of Africa for war games. After disagreeing with his commanding officer on her choice of tactics he got into a physical altercation with her second in command: Nathan Lazenby. The latter becoming involved due to his strong prejudices and belief that Seis held a lack of respect for the chain of command. The disagreement was really just an excuse to take aggressive measures for what he believed to be legitimate action, as Lazenby had been one of the people who had been giving him a hard time since enrolling at the Institute. The fight ended with the officer in question being hospitalized with broken bones, and even though Lazenby had attacked first, his parents were highly enough placed in the Federation aristocracy to arrange things so that Seis was the one to take the blame for the affair. Receiving a demerit on his record for assaulting a superior officer despite only having defended himself from Lazenby’s unprovoked assault.

Since graduating from the training center and receiving his commission, in addition to permission to transfer into the Londo Bell task force, he has seen little in the way of action aside from chasing the odd pirate due to the current peaceful state of things in the aftermath of Char's Rebellion. He has spent most of his time flying the usual combat air patrols as he waits for a posting with an active combat mobile suit division in order to prove his skills against a non-simulated enemy and prove that he deserves the respect of his peers. He also hopes to use such a posting as a means to overcome the black mark on his record that he wrongfully earned as a result of his fight with Lazenby. In addition to this, he still bears the stigma of being a former Zeon citizen, but doesn't allow the flack he catches for this to affect his performance. Instead he uses it to fuel his natural drive, proving his worth and loyalty to the Federation through his actions on their behalf. This has earned him a small amount of admiration from several of his more open minded teammates and helped him start overcoming the various barriers that life has put in his path.