Dearka "グゥレイトォ" Elthman (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
busternaut) wrote2024-09-17 01:38 pm
busternaut) wrote2024-09-17 01:38 pm
Character Info
stats
NAME: Dearka Elthman
CANON: Gundam SEED
SPECIES: Human (Coordinator)
AGE: 21
BIRTHDATE: March 29
SIGN: Aries
BLOOD TYPE: AB
HEIGHT: 5'11" / 180cm
BUILD: Obnoxiously fit
EYES: Purple
HAIR: Blonde
CANON: Gundam SEED
SPECIES: Human (Coordinator)
AGE: 21
BIRTHDATE: March 29
SIGN: Aries
BLOOD TYPE: AB
HEIGHT: 5'11" / 180cm
BUILD: Obnoxiously fit
EYES: Purple
HAIR: Blonde
personal history
BIRTHPLACE: Februarius City
HOME COUNTRY: PLANT
HOBBIES: Japanese folk dance
OCCUPATION: MS Pilot, Intelligence Agent
RANK: Lieutenant, ZAFT Intelligence Division
HOME COUNTRY: PLANT
HOBBIES: Japanese folk dance
OCCUPATION: MS Pilot, Intelligence Agent
RANK: Lieutenant, ZAFT Intelligence Division
OOC: player info
PLAYER: Possum
PRONOUNS: She/Her, They/Them
TIME ZONE: EST (GMT -5)
PLURK:![[plurk.com profile]](https://plurk.com/favicon.ico)
awkwardpossum
DISCORD: robotkibble
MUSELIST: Here
PRONOUNS: She/Her, They/Them
TIME ZONE: EST (GMT -5)
PLURK:
DISCORD: robotkibble
MUSELIST: Here
transiliencebackground
SETUP
The main conflict of Gundam SEED is one that is fought between two major factions of humanity: the Earth-dwelling "naturals", and genetically modified "coordinators" who live up in gigantic space station colonies known as PLANTs. In this anime, surprise! War is still hell! Even (or especially??) when it's fought by teens piloting super cool giant robots.
ORIGINAL SERIES
Dearka is a coordinator and a soldier of ZAFT, the military arm of his home nation of PLANT. He enlisted (roughly) at the age of 17 and performed extremely well during his academy days, ranking amongst the top students in his class and earning himself the status of an elite soldier. This was a major accomplishment that also encouraged him to become extremely cocky and insufferable. At the start of his career, he and his bestie Yzak both held intense anti-natural sentiments, and they possessed, OVERALL, hilariously rancid vibes. No surprise then, that Dearka's presence in the first half of the original anime is to mainly serve as an antagonist alongside his other comrades on the Le Creuset team. Piloting four stolen "G-Weapon" mobile suits under the command of resident char-alike Rau Le Creuset, they relentlessly pursue the Earth Alliance prototype battleship Archangel.
Around midway through the series, Dearka gets served a large helping of humble pie when he and his mobile suit are both captured by the very ship he once hunted. Without making this too long by going into a lot of unnecessary detail... His experiences as a prisoner of war kick off a gradual change of heart, as he learns more about his enemies and comes to accept that all human life is worth defending. (You will often hear me joke at this point that his heel-face turn is instigated by a cute girl trying to stab him to death, and the thing is, that's not actually incorrect.)
By the latter half of the original series, Dearka chooses on his own to assist in defending the now rogue ship Archangel, allying with a new third faction that is independent of both ZAFT and the Earth Aliances. This "three ships alliance" is dedicated to ending the war and restoring peace by stopping the extremist leadership on both sides. Although Dearka is quick to specify that he's not as selflessly committed to the cause as the likes of Athrun and Kira, he's far too disillusioned with the war and the goals of PLANT's current leadership to return to ZAFT.
During the penultimate battle of this series, Dearka and the Buster nearly go down thanks to the combined efforts of his own former commander and an Earth Alliance MS pilot. He only survives thanks to the swift actions of Yzak, who comes to his aid despite the fact that they are on opposing sides at the time.
DESTINY and FREEDOM
After the first war ends, Dearka returns to PLANT to face the consequences of his actions. Having essentially defected from ZAFT, he is put through a court martial and initially risks execution for his treachery. Luckily, PLANT's new supreme chairman Gilbert Durandal makes an appeal on behalf of all the young soldiers who served in the previous war, and Dearka is given a pardon and a second chance.
Dearka had previously voiced reluctance towards the idea of rejoining ZAFT, largely because he feared a return to the status quo of following orders that would force him to kill needlessly and without question. However, after some strong encouragement from Yzak, he changes his mind and re-enlists, returning to active duty... Albeit now stripped of his prestigious red-coat status. He joins the Jule team and serves aboard the destroyer Voltaire, acting as his friend's right-hand man.
In the conclusion of Gundam SEED Destiny, Dearka has managed to raise his rank back up to the point where he is now wearing the black uniform of a ZAFT officer. He still works under Yzak, and by Gundam SEED Freedom he is serving as his deputy commander in ZAFT's intelligence division. He and Yzak both play a much more minor supporting role in both the sequel series and the movie... Though they somehow still manage to go through their fair share of additional trauma during their lessened screen-time, failing (despite their best efforts) to prevent massive tragic losses of life as war rears it's ugly head over, and over, and—
The main conflict of Gundam SEED is one that is fought between two major factions of humanity: the Earth-dwelling "naturals", and genetically modified "coordinators" who live up in gigantic space station colonies known as PLANTs. In this anime, surprise! War is still hell! Even (or especially??) when it's fought by teens piloting super cool giant robots.
ORIGINAL SERIES
Dearka is a coordinator and a soldier of ZAFT, the military arm of his home nation of PLANT. He enlisted (roughly) at the age of 17 and performed extremely well during his academy days, ranking amongst the top students in his class and earning himself the status of an elite soldier. This was a major accomplishment that also encouraged him to become extremely cocky and insufferable. At the start of his career, he and his bestie Yzak both held intense anti-natural sentiments, and they possessed, OVERALL, hilariously rancid vibes. No surprise then, that Dearka's presence in the first half of the original anime is to mainly serve as an antagonist alongside his other comrades on the Le Creuset team. Piloting four stolen "G-Weapon" mobile suits under the command of resident char-alike Rau Le Creuset, they relentlessly pursue the Earth Alliance prototype battleship Archangel.
Around midway through the series, Dearka gets served a large helping of humble pie when he and his mobile suit are both captured by the very ship he once hunted. Without making this too long by going into a lot of unnecessary detail... His experiences as a prisoner of war kick off a gradual change of heart, as he learns more about his enemies and comes to accept that all human life is worth defending. (You will often hear me joke at this point that his heel-face turn is instigated by a cute girl trying to stab him to death, and the thing is, that's not actually incorrect.)
By the latter half of the original series, Dearka chooses on his own to assist in defending the now rogue ship Archangel, allying with a new third faction that is independent of both ZAFT and the Earth Aliances. This "three ships alliance" is dedicated to ending the war and restoring peace by stopping the extremist leadership on both sides. Although Dearka is quick to specify that he's not as selflessly committed to the cause as the likes of Athrun and Kira, he's far too disillusioned with the war and the goals of PLANT's current leadership to return to ZAFT.
During the penultimate battle of this series, Dearka and the Buster nearly go down thanks to the combined efforts of his own former commander and an Earth Alliance MS pilot. He only survives thanks to the swift actions of Yzak, who comes to his aid despite the fact that they are on opposing sides at the time.
DESTINY and FREEDOM
After the first war ends, Dearka returns to PLANT to face the consequences of his actions. Having essentially defected from ZAFT, he is put through a court martial and initially risks execution for his treachery. Luckily, PLANT's new supreme chairman Gilbert Durandal makes an appeal on behalf of all the young soldiers who served in the previous war, and Dearka is given a pardon and a second chance.
Dearka had previously voiced reluctance towards the idea of rejoining ZAFT, largely because he feared a return to the status quo of following orders that would force him to kill needlessly and without question. However, after some strong encouragement from Yzak, he changes his mind and re-enlists, returning to active duty... Albeit now stripped of his prestigious red-coat status. He joins the Jule team and serves aboard the destroyer Voltaire, acting as his friend's right-hand man.
In the conclusion of Gundam SEED Destiny, Dearka has managed to raise his rank back up to the point where he is now wearing the black uniform of a ZAFT officer. He still works under Yzak, and by Gundam SEED Freedom he is serving as his deputy commander in ZAFT's intelligence division. He and Yzak both play a much more minor supporting role in both the sequel series and the movie... Though they somehow still manage to go through their fair share of additional trauma during their lessened screen-time, failing (despite their best efforts) to prevent massive tragic losses of life as war rears it's ugly head over, and over, and—
personal details
⧗ PERSONALITY:
If I had to narrow him down to a single pithy trope, I'd say he hews closest to the Deadpan Snarker archetype. Dearka has an outwardly casual and irreverent attitude that he basically never drops, not even in formal military settings. He deflects and defuses using humor and sarcasm, and overall possesses a rather laid-back temperament that stands in stark contrast to his uptight and hot-headed partner Yzak.
As previously mentioned, his vibes were a LOT more rancid in his younger years. In the original series he held a strong sense of superiority over naturals, and took every available opportunity to mock and dehumanize them in conversation. He held no compunction about destroying as many of the Earth Alliance's forces as he could manage either, and occasionally even took glee in doing so. It wasn't until life smacked him with the right circumstances to prompt an attitude adjustment that he started to calm down and realize what a dick he was being. Past experiences have turned him into a surprisingly thoughtful person, who both understands how to function within a team and put greater goals ahead of his own self-interests, while also remaining vigilant and critical of authority. It is also just pretty telling of the kind of man he is at heart, that he has witnessed incredible violence in war many times over, but still somehow managed to grow his sense of empathy instead of becoming hardened and jaded.
That said: on a more micro, interpersonal level... He does still have a kind of baseline smugness about him that rubs some people the wrong way. And even though he has mostly moved on from his edge-lord tendencies, he's still not entirely above trolling and pushing people's buttons for his own amusement.
A random bit of personal interpretation I employ, as far as his work ethic and such are concerned, is that he's the kind of person who is just irritatingly good at most shit without really trying. Placing fourth in his class at ZAFT academy is no mean feat, but he manages it seemingly without being very competitive or intense about it, content to be among the best without needing to BE The Best.
⧗ FAMILY:
FATHER: Tad Elthman. A first generation coordinator who holds specializations in basic medicine, clinical medicine, biochemistry, molecular biology, and applied bioengineering. He was also the representative for Februarius City on the PLANT supreme council during the first war. Canon gives us very little info about him, with the sparse details we do have being relegated to the Gundam SEED novelizations and other supplemental material. His relationship with Dearka seems to be somewhat strained and complicated; we know that he strongly opposed Dearka's choice to join the military, not out of parental concern but because he considered Dearka to be "unsuitable". Given Tad's extensive background in medicine and his numerous specializations when compared to Dearka's.... Gestures at him, I tend to headcanon that Tad considered him too lazy and irresponsible to do well in ZAFT, possibly out of frustration that his rebellious and stubborn son had no interest in academics.
It seems he does still care about Dearka deep down, though. After Dearka is declared MIA, Tad changes his radical far-right and anti-natural leanings to a more moderate position, apparently out of grief and a growing distaste for war.
MOTHER: ?????? We know literally nothing about Dearka's mother, she's not mentioned even once afaik. However, if the other mothers of the le creuset boys are anything to go by, she probably looks exactly like Dearka but like. Older. And female.
Since canon gives us literally nothing about her, I assume she's still kicking around somewhere, and just isn't a huge part of Dearka's life for whatever reason.
SIBLINGS: There is zero canon evidence for Dearka having any siblings at all, but I did joke with friends once that he has one older sister, purely because he gives me problematic youngest child energy... So now it's kind of a low-key headcanon. This very likely will not EVER come up in threads bc I hate extrapolating canon OCs that are close to major characters just, out of thin air, but I like to imagine she became a doctor like dad wantedUNLIKE CERTAIN UNGRATEFUL SONS
⧗ ABILITIES:
As a coordinator, Dearka's got that Turbo DNA which puts his physical and mental capabilities on a completely different level from those of a "natural" human. Coordinators think faster, move faster, learn faster, retain information better, hit harder and can be hit harder than a normal human can. They still have to put in the work to train and learn things the same as anyone else does, but it takes less time due to their increased mental acuity. They're also virtually immune to most diseases, and very rarely ever pick up things like cold or flu.
In addition to his baseline coordie abilities, Dearka is also a highly trained soldier who is proficient in many different kinds of combat related skills. These include firearms use, hand to hand combat, explosives, computer programming (you should see how fast a coordinator can re-program a mobile suit, it's stupid), piloting, and stealth operations & infiltration.
If I had to narrow him down to a single pithy trope, I'd say he hews closest to the Deadpan Snarker archetype. Dearka has an outwardly casual and irreverent attitude that he basically never drops, not even in formal military settings. He deflects and defuses using humor and sarcasm, and overall possesses a rather laid-back temperament that stands in stark contrast to his uptight and hot-headed partner Yzak.
As previously mentioned, his vibes were a LOT more rancid in his younger years. In the original series he held a strong sense of superiority over naturals, and took every available opportunity to mock and dehumanize them in conversation. He held no compunction about destroying as many of the Earth Alliance's forces as he could manage either, and occasionally even took glee in doing so. It wasn't until life smacked him with the right circumstances to prompt an attitude adjustment that he started to calm down and realize what a dick he was being. Past experiences have turned him into a surprisingly thoughtful person, who both understands how to function within a team and put greater goals ahead of his own self-interests, while also remaining vigilant and critical of authority. It is also just pretty telling of the kind of man he is at heart, that he has witnessed incredible violence in war many times over, but still somehow managed to grow his sense of empathy instead of becoming hardened and jaded.
That said: on a more micro, interpersonal level... He does still have a kind of baseline smugness about him that rubs some people the wrong way. And even though he has mostly moved on from his edge-lord tendencies, he's still not entirely above trolling and pushing people's buttons for his own amusement.
A random bit of personal interpretation I employ, as far as his work ethic and such are concerned, is that he's the kind of person who is just irritatingly good at most shit without really trying. Placing fourth in his class at ZAFT academy is no mean feat, but he manages it seemingly without being very competitive or intense about it, content to be among the best without needing to BE The Best.
⧗ FAMILY:
FATHER: Tad Elthman. A first generation coordinator who holds specializations in basic medicine, clinical medicine, biochemistry, molecular biology, and applied bioengineering. He was also the representative for Februarius City on the PLANT supreme council during the first war. Canon gives us very little info about him, with the sparse details we do have being relegated to the Gundam SEED novelizations and other supplemental material. His relationship with Dearka seems to be somewhat strained and complicated; we know that he strongly opposed Dearka's choice to join the military, not out of parental concern but because he considered Dearka to be "unsuitable". Given Tad's extensive background in medicine and his numerous specializations when compared to Dearka's.... Gestures at him, I tend to headcanon that Tad considered him too lazy and irresponsible to do well in ZAFT, possibly out of frustration that his rebellious and stubborn son had no interest in academics.
It seems he does still care about Dearka deep down, though. After Dearka is declared MIA, Tad changes his radical far-right and anti-natural leanings to a more moderate position, apparently out of grief and a growing distaste for war.
MOTHER: ?????? We know literally nothing about Dearka's mother, she's not mentioned even once afaik. However, if the other mothers of the le creuset boys are anything to go by, she probably looks exactly like Dearka but like. Older. And female.
Since canon gives us literally nothing about her, I assume she's still kicking around somewhere, and just isn't a huge part of Dearka's life for whatever reason.
SIBLINGS: There is zero canon evidence for Dearka having any siblings at all, but I did joke with friends once that he has one older sister, purely because he gives me problematic youngest child energy... So now it's kind of a low-key headcanon. This very likely will not EVER come up in threads bc I hate extrapolating canon OCs that are close to major characters just, out of thin air, but I like to imagine she became a doctor like dad wanted
⧗ ABILITIES:
As a coordinator, Dearka's got that Turbo DNA which puts his physical and mental capabilities on a completely different level from those of a "natural" human. Coordinators think faster, move faster, learn faster, retain information better, hit harder and can be hit harder than a normal human can. They still have to put in the work to train and learn things the same as anyone else does, but it takes less time due to their increased mental acuity. They're also virtually immune to most diseases, and very rarely ever pick up things like cold or flu.
In addition to his baseline coordie abilities, Dearka is also a highly trained soldier who is proficient in many different kinds of combat related skills. These include firearms use, hand to hand combat, explosives, computer programming (you should see how fast a coordinator can re-program a mobile suit, it's stupid), piloting, and stealth operations & infiltration.
mobile suits
I know whenever I tag an unfamiliar character from a mecha anime, the first thing I want to know is what their big crazy robot looks like. So. Self-indulgent section that will hopefully benefit the freaks out there like me.
⧗ GAT-X103 Buster Gundam:
A prototype artillery unit created by the Earth Forces and stolen by ZAFT, this is Dearka's primary MS for the entirety of the original series. Though it's cannons allegedly pack the same punch as a full-sized battleship, it's primarily built for providing support fire from afar and has little in the way of means for close-quarters combat. The guns on it's back can dismount and be combined into different modes of firearm, from an armor piercing shotgun to a long distance high power sniper rifle.
⧗ ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior:
The mass produced model of MS used by Dearka at the start of Gundam SEED Destiny. In the original run of the show he piloted a regular green model, but in the HD Remaster it's changed to sport a custom black paint job with red and yellow accents.
⧗ ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom:
Piloted by Dearka in the latter half of Gundam SEED Destiny, it's implied in supplemental materials that this is actually Yzak's old unit handed down after he upgraded to piloting a GOUF instead. Naturally it's been repainted to suit Dearka's aesthetic instead.
⧗ ZGMF-103HD Lightning Buster Gundam:
A revitalized and reborn version of the Buster that makes it's debut in the movie Gundam SEED Freedom. It's literally the original Buster but with a lot of fancy (mostly non-specific) upgrades slapped on by Yzak's mom and Nicol's dad in their spare time. The most notable upgrades are it's nuclear engine and revamped cockpit that matches the ones found on the mass produced ZAKU warrior models. Dearka is kind of weirdly fond and nostalgic about it.
⧗ GAT-X103 Buster Gundam:
A prototype artillery unit created by the Earth Forces and stolen by ZAFT, this is Dearka's primary MS for the entirety of the original series. Though it's cannons allegedly pack the same punch as a full-sized battleship, it's primarily built for providing support fire from afar and has little in the way of means for close-quarters combat. The guns on it's back can dismount and be combined into different modes of firearm, from an armor piercing shotgun to a long distance high power sniper rifle.
⧗ ZGMF-1000/A1 Gunner ZAKU Warrior:
The mass produced model of MS used by Dearka at the start of Gundam SEED Destiny. In the original run of the show he piloted a regular green model, but in the HD Remaster it's changed to sport a custom black paint job with red and yellow accents.
⧗ ZGMF-1001/M Blaze ZAKU Phantom:
Piloted by Dearka in the latter half of Gundam SEED Destiny, it's implied in supplemental materials that this is actually Yzak's old unit handed down after he upgraded to piloting a GOUF instead. Naturally it's been repainted to suit Dearka's aesthetic instead.
⧗ ZGMF-103HD Lightning Buster Gundam:
A revitalized and reborn version of the Buster that makes it's debut in the movie Gundam SEED Freedom. It's literally the original Buster but with a lot of fancy (mostly non-specific) upgrades slapped on by Yzak's mom and Nicol's dad in their spare time. The most notable upgrades are it's nuclear engine and revamped cockpit that matches the ones found on the mass produced ZAKU warrior models. Dearka is kind of weirdly fond and nostalgic about it.