Kazuki Makabe

Player Name: Steam
Personal LJ: steamrollerssol
AIM Contact: wyverncakes
Character Name: Kazuki Makabe
Source Canon: Fafner in the Azure: Dead Agressor
Community Tag: Kazuki Makabe

Notes: For the sake of the RP, it'd work to say the Neo UN forces are a part of the Federation.

Background: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fafner_in_the_Azure

Personality: So then.  Kazuki Makabe.  Son of the man who quickly becomes the head of the organization fighting against the Festum and the woman who let herself become assimilated by the monstrosities... but still finds ways to help her son out.  Oh, and he's rather anti-social.  From this description you probably can't help but think Shinji Ikari and you'd be rather surprised at how well adjusted Kazuki really is.  Yes, Kazuki is anti-social, but he does not stumble around social cues and does not struggle with any crippling dilemma about hating being alone but also being fearful of getting close to people.  Really, it's just a case he is a bit lazy when it comes to his social life.  Oh, he's fine with someone doing what they can to get to know him and if someone strikes up a conversation with him he'll be polite.  Likewise, if you drag him off to some gathering of friends he won't be dead weight and he'll contribute and be totally on board with the fun and games.  Just don't expect him to take the initiative.

Kazuki's sheltered life on Tatsumiya Island has also led him to being oblivious about a whole range of subjects, most notably the outside world.  The biggest example of this is that he has no knowledge of the destruction of Japan, and actually starts to act out against his superiors in the wake of finding out about that and how the truth'd been hid from him.  On a less serious note, he also is less-than-amazing when it comes to world geography, as seen during his foolish stumbling around when Canon mentions she's from Dublin and he asks if it's in Germany.  He's a small fish in a small pond, really.  A lot of stuff is going to surprise him or at least seem new and interesting to him even if he does know of it already.  You can bet your bottom dollar that Kazuki will need some time wrapping his head around stuff like space colonies or people living on the Moon.

Going back to that bit about Kazuki acting out against his superiors, it's not in the traditional Shinji Ikari-style.  Kazuki really isn't one for arguing when it's not really necessary; it's a waste of time since he probably won't change the minds of whoever he's talking with and he's made his mind up, so he'll just go ahead and do what he chooses to instead.  Be it saving lives of people he was ordered to leave behind, or even just flat-out committ desertion in the middle of the night, Kazuki's capable of it.  *That said*, when he's in one of these moods he's somewhat impressionable if someone he trusts well enough comes to him singing the wrong tune.  Again, this is just part of the fact Kazuki isn't that worldly of a guy, at least not at first and thus can naively fall hook, line, and sinker if the stars are aligned.

When it comes to his comrades getting in rough spots however, it's amazing how well Kazuki utilizes the philosophy of "less is more".  That isn't to say he'll drag his ass when you're feeling down and only do the minimal effort; no, he's much more likely to offer some key bit of advice and do it in a way that lets you know you matter to him.  He's even willing to abandon his anti-social tendencies if it's a matter of life or death, helping organize a group effort to save your ass.  Make no mistake, he's not someone to rant about the power of friendship in the middle of battle but his comrades are as close as can be with him, and losing them hits him hard in more subtle way.  It's also for these comrades he'll actually be willing to take charge and lead them... albeit in the way to make sure everyone's on the same page and then work from there.

His relationship to Soushi also makes up a large subplot of the show, one that is practically a romance when all is said and done.  At one point the best of childhood friends, one day Soushi seemingly went insane/possessed by a Festum and Kazuki, in a panic, had to damn near claw his eye out in the process.  After that, Kazuki and Soushi became pretty much an ex-couple, complete with awkward moments where they'd run into each other in the hall and not want to talk to each other.  In Kazuki's case, it's all about guilt, really, about doing this to his closest friend.  And this is without knowing that it eats at Soushi since his bad eye is the only reason why Soushi could not become a Fafner pilot himself and could only contribute to the fight against the Festum by using the dangerous Siegfried System.  The blow to Kazuki's morale is quite evident when he finally does discover just what Soushi has to experience.

Capabilities and Resources: Kazuki is an extremely gifted pilot, who managed to quickly grow accustomed to fighting Festum and grow to be Tatsumiya Island's number 1 ace.  A mix of level-headedness and willingness to take the initiative are the biggest factors to his survival in battle.  Other than that, he's a fairly normal kid with the exception that, because he lives with his father, he's had to do all the cooking at home and thus has grown into a gifted chef.

Robot Name: The Mark Elf
Robot Description: The Mark Elf, like all the other Nothung models, is a fairly big improvement on the TSX models across the board.  The more effective features, like the Ruge Lance weapon, have returned because there's no reason to fix what isn't broken.  However, the hand-mounted machineguns have been removed in favor of the Razing Cutters, thin cables that can bind targets before becoming electrically charged and cutting through them.  The missile tubes have been completely removed in favor of a short-term flight system, and this new Fafner is also packing serious firepower.  The most basic of which is the Garm-44 assault rifle; it fires bullets but can make up for a lack of stopping power with quantity of shots.  In addition, there's the Gegner, a smaller beam weapon meant more for going after smaller Festum types.  And lastly, the Mark Elf comes equipped with a high-power railgun no this is NOT Astral Frontier this is completely different! which, as seen in the first episode, can one-shot a Festum if jammed in its mouth.  It's considered the most powerful of the Elf's guns and with good reason.

The Assimilation Syndrome that plagued the pilots of the TSX models has also been drastically toned down through technological and medical breakthroughs, which enabled Kazuki to use the machine for extended periods of time before symptoms began to show, and even afterwards he engaged in a number of long missions with no debilitating after-effects.  The Mark Elf is also synched to its pilot, causing them to feel the pain of their machine, but it is mitigated through two methods.  First, the piloting suits the Fafner pilots use decreases the pain felt, and the Siegfried System (operated by Soushi) also takes some more of the edge off, though at the cost of having Soushi feel that pain instead.

In addition, there is a support craft for the Mark Elf called the Lindwurm, enabling it to fly for much longer periods of time.  The Lindwurm also comes packing with missiles, a high-power laser cannon of its own, and grappling pods.

Terrain Stats:
Land: A
Air: B
Sea: B
Space: B

Upgrades: The Mark Sein
Robot Description: Hot damn... where to start with the Mark Sein?  A Salvator-model Fafner, the Mark Sein is the end result of a joint venture between the UN's top scientists along with the help from the Master-class Festum named Mjollnir, who had previously assimilated Kazuki's mother and afterwards grew sympathetic of humanity's struggles, coming to understand them.  Not "just" another Fafner, the Mark Sein is able to turn the Festum's terrifying assimilation powers against them, fusing itself (temporarily) to any compatible weapon to increase its power dramatically.  One of the first instances of this had the Mark Sein pick up a Garm-44 assault rifle and assimilate it... which somehow turned it into a high-power beam rifle that could chew through Festum much better than a normal Garm-44 could.  The Ruge Lances?  Well the Mark Sein can turn that little energy blast it normally can do (useless unless the target's already stabbed with the blade, mind you) into a wave motion cannon that can hit a tremendous distance away from Kazuki.  There's a *reason* Kazuki eventually just decides to sortie with nothing but a pair of Ruge Lances; the Mark Sein transforms them into the perfect all-purpose weapon.  That said, the Mark Sein can also affect other weaponry as well, such as the Mark Seiben's Dragon's Tooth rifle as seen in the last episode.  The machine can also fly for indefinite periods of time and can only be used by Kazuki himself.

Aside from all of these facts, the Mark Sein is still just a Fafner.  The issues with pain feedback are still present and it cannot assimilate raw materials to repair itself, unlike some other mechs.

Terrain Stats:
Land: A
Air: A
Sea: B
Space: A

Job: Pilot of a Nothung-model, and then the Salvator-model Fafner

Suggested Event List:

Event 1: Life ~ Paradise (Mission)
About as basic as a mission can get.  The White Chalice is back at Tatsumiya Island (or the island has changed locations to meet up with the fleet again for whatever reason).  A Festum is sighted and a veteran pilot of the L-Boat is shuttled to the hangars to launch in the Mark Elf... but then the Festum intercepts and kills him.  Cue Kazuki being dragged out to fight instead!  Not knowing exactly how the Festum operate he'll kinda screw up a bit, but eventually succeed with RAILGUN IN THE FACE, although in the battle the leader of Alvis ends up getting killed, causing Kazuki's father to take the reigns of the operation.  Since there's just one Festum shown, it'd probably be for the best for this to be the B plot for the mission.

Afterwards Kazuki'll get to take Ryo's place on the White Chalice, no doubt with NOBODY comparing him to that awesome anemic.

Event 2: Seperation ~ Assimilation (Mission)
The discovery of devestated island half-hidden by a barely-functioning Welle Shield leads to Kazuki and a few more people scouting it out to see what the deal with it is.  It's deserted, of course, but then Festum show up and shit hits the fan, especially when the damage to the island ends up freeing Idun, a Master-class Festum who's in a league all of his very own.  Eventually someone (possibly Soushi if Cubey gets around to apping him) is able to help set up the island's Fenrir System, causing it to explode spectacularly and cover the PC's retreat.

Event 3: Old & New ~ The Neo UN Force (Log)
While out on patrol, Kazuki gets best by a Festum.  Apparantly he's having an off day because he needs Canon to Dynamic Entry and kill it for him... right before she turns on him and wrecks the Mark Elf and capture him.

In the aftermath of this log, the UN/Federation/whatever forces seize control of Tatsumiya Island but assure us this changes nothing and it'll still be "business as usual".  In the meantime, the island is going to be taken into Federation territory.

Event 4: Friends ~ Welcome Home (mission)
With Tatsumiya Island now stationed at the Federation's anti-Festum base, Kazuki pretty much spends his days as a lab rat... up until the Festum attack.  Why's the White Chalice there?  Maybe they were begged and pleaded by the Federation... they could definitely use the help at any rate.  The big threat for this mission is the Coagyula-type Festum, a Festum that just assimilates everything it touches and can only be harmed by damage to its eyes.  Kazuki's let out of his cell by his Festum-ized mother and the he ends up finding his spiffy new Fafner, the Mark Sein.  Cue him sortying and asskicking, and the day is saved!

Event 5: Survival ~ Decay (mission)
Set right after Event 4.  Canon is found on Tatsumiya Island after the battle, with her hand on the detonator to a bomb meant to destroy the island if push comes to shove.  Kazuki eventually convinces her there's no need to do this and she defects to the White Chalice.

Event 6: Pillage ~ Decoy (mission)
The Festum attack the White Chalice, and this time they pull no punches.  Soushi gets trapped in the Siegfried System by a shitton of Festum, prompting Kazuki to try to save him and Idun makes his return, using the Mark Nicht and being a stupidly broken villain who keeps recovering from any damage.  Canon has her stint of trying to destroy the Mark Nicht and fails to destroy it completely, and Soushi is stolen away by the Festum ultimately.  Kazuki flies into a rage and'll try to destroy the Mark Nicht too, but Canon already damaged it and it retreats.  So yeah, shit hits the fan.

After this, Kazuki can no longer use the Siegfried System in battles, which makes things that much harder for him since Soushi won't be around to take the edge off of the pain he feels in battle.

Preface for next event: the Federation's since been able to mass-produce their own Fafner-type machines with an imitaion Siegfried System.  With this, they're planning on launching an attack on the Festum stronghold in the North Pole and are even willing to invite the White Chalice to participate in the operation, providing Kazuki and Canon the means to use said imitation system.

Event 7: Azure ~ The Sky (mission and TV finale)
The big, climactic finale!  Festum, Festum EVERYWHERE!  But Kazuki's not gonna give up because he wants to save Soushi, and he and Canon fight tooth and nail along with everyone else.  At some point the group gets separated onto two groups, Kazuki in one and Canon in the other, with Canon's being the one that gets attacked by the Mark Nicht and Idun.  Kazuki and his side eventually fight their way through obstacles of their own (maybe Master-class Festum?) and eventually find and save Soushi.  Afterwards the two groups reunite, and ultimately Kazuki beats the Mark Nicht by speaking to it, letting Idun try to assimilate him, and then turning around and assimilating the Mark Nicht instead, destroying it and killing Idun.  Afterwards, they find and rescue Soushi and Kazuki and Canon stop the Festum's last-ditch attempt at victory together by snipe-shotting their central hivemind.  However, Soushi seemingly dies, joining with the Festum, and as such the victory over the Festum is not an absolute one.

It is important to note that during this final mission, the Festum display the capacity of feeling pain due to Soushi's influence on them.

Movie missions will come later

Sample Post: http://testrun-box.livejournal.com/275707.html