Synodiporia App- AU Duo Maxwell

[maxwells_demon]

P L A Y E R;
NAME: Impy
AGE: 29
PLAYER JOURNAL: impiousimp
TIMEZONE:
CONTACT: (e-mail, aim, plurk, pm; whichever is comfortable for you to give to us)
OTHER CHARACTERS PLAYED: (only applicable if you already play in the game)

C H A R A C T E R;
NAME: Duo Maxwell
CANON: Gundam Wing
POINT IN CANON: AU, diverging from episode 7 and 8.
AGE: 17
APPEARANCE: Standing at 5’7, he weighs in just over 130 lbs. Despite a slight frame, he is in good physical condition. His most distinguishing feature is his long choppy bangs in the front and the braided hair trailing down to his waist in the back.
CANON HISTORY: http://gundam.wikia.com/wiki/Duo_Maxwell#History
CANON PERSONALITY: At his core, Duo is easygoing, friendly and confident. He is generally optimistic but with a healthy amount of pragmatism and a little cynicism to round it off. He's talkative and gregarious, which has been known to grate the nerves of those around him from time to time, but that rarely deters him. Due to his wise cracking and joking nature, others tend to underestimate him. Over the years, he's become jaded and prone to darker humor which is something he doesn't seem to mind at all. His friends who know him best know that any stupid remark is a fool's act he puts on for others rather than his own naivete or stupidity. He's smart, but he doesn't always believe that. He has a low self esteem about his own abilities and intelligence despite his bravado. Over the last few years he has improved his opinion of himself and began to take his job and himself more seriously. He's also mellowed out as he grew older, less prone to high energy outbursts though when he does have the energy he makes the best out of it.

When he sees people in pain, he wants to do something to fix it but he may not be able to do it directly. He'll work his tail off however he can to fix the problem if that's what it takes. Alleviating the suffering of his fellow colonists was one of the many reasons he agreed to get involved with Operation Meteor until he found out what it's real purpose was. Likewise, it was that which caused him to reject Operation:M and plot to destroy both his mobile suit and himself to prevent a massacre. He is willing to die for his cause if he has to, though that willingness does not mean he has a death wish. It's his desire to keep the colonies out of harm's way that drives him to fight as he does. He won't allow them to get involved in a war if he doesn't have to.

Compared to his fellow gundam pilots, Duo is by far the most relatable and grounded in reality. Where for Heero, the mission comes first and he’s willing to shoot down a civilian shuttle to maintain the mission’s secrecy, Duo will find a way to save the shuttle and carry out his mission. Still, he honors his mission parameters with ruthless efficiency but he will put the same amount of value on the sanctity of innocent life at the same level as his mission. There is no need for meaningless deaths, especially on his own hands.

Duo is a forward thinking person, and dwelling on his past is just asking for trouble so he tries to keep himself in high spirits. He never likes to feel like the earth is shattering around him and the sense of hopelessness frustrates him, so he does what he can to ignore those feeling and put on an act for those around him. Rather than slipping into despair, he buries himself in work or finds an outlet, be it people or physical activity. He actively surrounds himself with companions to distract himself from whatever is getting to him. There are times that his usual defenses fail him, so he puts on that smile of is to fool others into thinking he's alright, and sometimes it's even enough to fool himself. Still, there are times when he needs to be alone, to think. Sometimes it’s to pull himself down to earth, or think about where he’s at, who he’s with and what that means, and sometimes that means the only person he has to talk to is his gundam.

War takes a toll on the hearts and minds of the soldiers and Duo knows that. He's seen so many people change over the years, as well as himself. In the battlefield he's focused and dedicated, yet always the energetic snarker inside of battle as out. The gundam pilots are known for their ruthless efficiency in combat and he is no exception as he defeats his enemies quickly and without hesitation. He's a verbal fighter, taunting or mocking his enemies while egging himself on. Meanwhile, is temper is a slow burn, letting him maintain face for as long as possible, if constantly provoked it builds to an inferno. He's prone to being a bit moody so he tends to avoid situations that will bring him there. He also tends to avoid direct physical confrontation for the same reason. That said, it's never a good idea to pick a fight with someone who calls themselves 'The God of Death'.

He's never been much for lying, nor has he ever been very comfortable in it. This stems from all the lies he's endured over his childhood from adults, and he abhors it. He'd prefer the truth, rather than being caught in a lie, or resort to his usual tactic is of evasion instead. It's a lot easier in a war where all you have to do is keep your mouth shut, people usually don't know what he knows unless they ask him directly. He'll only lie indirectly and only if he has to in order to maintain undercover situations which are situations that rarely fall on his lap, fortunately.

Where Heero is the perfect soldier, Duo is the perfect survivor. He will act in ways that will ensure the best possible scenario for his own survival and the survival of those around him. If that's not possible, he may be willing to sacrifice himself for the good of those he's protecting, though he's in no hurry to die. He's very pragmatic when it comes to living and tries not to collect too many things that will just weigh him down. Things he needs will always come before things he wants, and things he wants he'll give away once he moves on. He does carry a certain amount of guilt for his being able to survive where people he knew and loved have died and that weighs heavy on his conscious. Emotionally, he holds people at an arm's length to avoid the agony of loss that will almost certainly follow him if he gets too close. He has trouble with commitment and will probably avoid romantic relationships at first unless he's won over. That won't stop him from playfully flirting, however.

At the point of his departure from his world, he's got a lot to deal with. Fair to say, the two years of war, and a losing one at that has caused him to become fairly jaded. If nothing else he's aware of his negative feelings towards the situation, considering how grim the situation looks as a whole. The hard truth is that the mission comes first, and his feelings don't really factor into it. Having a leadership position thrust upon him is also a source for stress in his life. He never really counted on having people look to him for instruction, but things didn't really pan out the way they intended either. He takes his position reluctantly, hoping they can come to a resolution relatively quickly so they resolve the other grievances they had before things went to hell.



POINT OF DEPARTURE: During and post episodes 7 and 8.

Operation Meteor is initiated and a colony is dropped to Earth a mere month after the gundams go to Earth. What's more is that instead of the 'no-name' character who steals the name of Trowa Barton, the real Trowa descends to Earth in an attempt to bring the gundam pilots together under him. He confronted them all at New Edwards, and demanded that they all fall inline under him for their invasion of Earth. The other four rejected this and retaliated, forcing Trowa to make a hasty retreat and leaving the remaining Gundam (save for Wufei who left to assassinate Trieze) to wonder just Trowa's plan was.

It wasn't a week until the colony dropped. L5 A0206, home of Wufei's clan and his home. The gundam pilots themselves were informed by their respective contacts in space, and they in turn warned their allies and rushed to return to space to try and stop the catastrophe from happening. While they were en route, the Bartons initiated the drop, abruptly and unannounced to the civilians on board. Only few managed to escape. Once in space, the gundams were met with heavy resistance by Trowa and his small gang of space leos who fended off the ill-equipped Gundams until the colony entered the atmosphere. With their job done, they left the gundams in the colony's wake. The four pilots watched in horror was the massive structure fell to the Earth below.

Following the disaster, the Colonies were met with mass immigration and overcrowding. Dekim Barton made his official statement, laying blame on the so called “Colony liberation organization” while making empty promises of security. According to the Bartons, it was the gundams who were to blame for this mess and that they would be happy to take in any of Earth's soldiers to help fight this menace. The Gundams in the meantime, made an effort to better prepare for the battles ahead, upgrading their mobile suits for space combat. At first, their battle effectiveness was poor, it improved overtime, but they could not stop the political upheaval that had begun.

Over the course of a year, Barton assumes a totalitarian control over the populous though he does begin construction projects on new colonies; homes for his unfortunate displaced subjects. Resources are deliberately withheld and replaced with artificial alternatives to save costs on poorer colonies, where as the colonies which can afford resources are given whatever they are willing to shell out for. Soon later, Relena Peacecraft was also captured by the Bartons and soon later, implemented as regent to Dekim's successor Mariemeia, who was yet too young to rule.

The gundams are pushed back consistently, but also manage to hold their own for another yaer before they finally begin to falter. Heero and Quatre were captured, with Quatre being used as a negotiation tool against his father to gain control of Winner Corp. Eventually Zayeed was killed himself and the company was monopolized by the Bartons with Quatre being placed in as CEO and figurehead. At this time, Duo fought to defend the colony from raids as well as dealing with the fact that being a Sweeper was criminalized by the establishment knowing that Duo and his handler G were members. As a cover he assumed the role of a student for a short time but soon was forced to drop the act to rejoin his allies in battle for the long term.

He and Wufei were the last of the Gundam pilots still free and both managed to hold their own for several months. By then it was AC 197 and the war had been going on for nearly two years by that spring. There was a price on their heads, given the fact that both of them were technically traitors and nether had any inherent value to the Bartons aside from possessing the gundams. The two boys worked side by side with the small army comprised of OZ and Alliance soldiers for several months, and the two established a fairly close friendship. While their alliance with OZ was a big part of their overall success in evading execution or capture, it didn't take long til at least one of them got themselves into some trouble.

For the time before his arrival in Syno, Duo had been tasked with defensive battles along side OZ and the maganaks, basically as a squad captain, a role he assumed reluctantly but it was necessary. In off hours, his role was to keep an eye out for anything of interest or of use, as well as to hone his skills. Never know something might happen.



ABILITIES:
Gundam Pilot: Proficient in several different types of machine operations ranging from aircrafts to motor vehicles to mechanized war machines. He is the most skilled of all the pilots at high speed maneuvering and split second decision making.
Stealth Ops: He is trained in state of the art cloaking and stealth technology thanks to his gundam pilots, but he's also a stealth specialist on foot as well. Due to his childhood on the streets he's also a quick and agile runner. His steps are nearly silent and very skilled at keeping himself hidden if he doesn't want to be seen.
Communications: Of all his fellow gundam pilots he is the most skilled at hacking and cracking or establishing communication lines. He's also good at bugging enemy communications as needed.
Hand to Hand Combat: Duo is not the best at hand to hand, and any seasoned martial artist would be able to take him out in a fair fight, but Duo doesn't play really play fair in a real fight. He doesn't have to. He fights like a wolf; attacking his opponents weakest points, bringing the pain, and getting out of there as fast as he can. Even so his skills have been honed over the two years at war with the Barton Foundation, so he may not be a pro fighter, but he can still mix it up impressively.
Firearms: Duo is trained in handguns and a variety of higher caliber guns and his aim is very accurate and precise. Given his quick thinking skills he can fairly quickly line up a target and fire on fast moving targets. His skills in a mobile suits are nearly as good, but he specializes more in melee than firearms while in a MS. He will however favor a firearm over a beam weapon when he's in any MS other than his own Deathscythe.
Mechanical engineering and salvaging: As a sweeper he's trained to be a mechanic, and he has to be to maintain his gundam. He's also a considerable programmer given his hacking skills, so he's able to pull together broken code with relative ease. He also enjoys tinkering with machines, especially his motorbike.

His use is varied, he can be anything from tech support to a sniper or scout. He's skilled and flexible enough to roll with the punches.
INVENTORY; A custom built hand gun, a few micro grenades, and a lock picking kit hidden on him.
ANYTHING ELSE WE SHOULD KNOW? God of death, baby.

S A M P L E S;
PROSE SAMPLE:
http://sweven.dreamwidth.org/21758.html?thread=1646078#cmt1646078
http://singularityrpg.dreamwidth.org/639346.html?thread=70484850#cmt70484850




ACTIONSPAM SAMPLE:
[Taken from Prompt 14 in the last test drive and basically thrusting Duo right out of his element.]


Rush hour traffic, end of the school day, and Duo Maxwell was out leaning against a table pretending to be a normal joe at a cafe. It worked for him, at least in principal since it was far easier to hide in plain sight than to run around in army fatigues like you might see a stray OZ soldier doing. Had to keep an eye out for those, Duo figured. Keep their noses out of trouble. For all the trouble OZ had caused, he wasn't about to let one get killed meaninglessly when they had a war to fight together.

It probably shouldn't have amused Duo as much as it did, in the most hideously ironic way possible, that he was now fighting along side his enemy. It really wasn't funny either. Probably meant he was going nuts. Heh.

He sipped his mug, and downed the rest of the beverage before delivering it to the counter. Nobody used cardboard coffee mugs unless they were taking it to go. Had to preserve resources after all. So he flopped into one of the lounge seats, closing his eyes and letting his mind wander for a few minutes.

After what seemed like a short moment, his watch beeper went off and he jolted out of his sleep. A friend of his from the school, Marlene, glanced over at him.

"Have a good nap, Maxwell?"

Duo rubbed his eyes and groaned. How long was he out? He turned his eyes to his watch, then up at Marlene. He's supposed to make a check on a few Barton stooges in the bar next door. Only reason he even stopped over here.

"Heh. Yeah. Man. Sleepin' away my study time. Figures!" He pushed himself out of the butt trap chair and stretched.

"Guess I gotta get go'in. Good luck on the test tomorrow."

"You've got a lot of confidence for a guy who hasn't cracked a book open all semester!"

"Hey! I'm relying on luck myself!" Duo said jovially, as he turned towards the back door. Now, down to business. He pulled his cap onto his head to make a decent disguise, his braid already tucked behind him in his jacket.

He had figured his 'bad boy slacker' act tended to work pretty well. He was just cool enough to pull off the former, and legitimately ambivalent towards his course work, but he constantly handed in homework, but late. It was an afterthought to him. As for his company? There was nothing more he'd rather do than hang out here with them, and this pretty girl sitting in the corner who's eyes he'd met a few times. It'd be great just to be a normal highschool kid and not have to worry about it.

But that wasn't in the cards, and he had work to do. For them.

Upon exiting into what Duo thought was a back alley, he turned wide eyed to what appeared to be...

A saloon. With cowboys.

“The hell?” Okay. What. The. Fuck? He turns heel, opening the door and peering inside. Some strange mix of old wood brooms and a somewhat high tech vacuum. One of these things is not like the other.

He closed and opened the door again just to check, people giving him the strangest of looks, but went about their business. Meanwhile, Duo found himself pressed against the wall, just praying to whatever gods there might be, please let this be a dream.

Too bad his prayers never seem to get an answer.