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~Character Information~
Fandom: Final Fantasy VIII
Name: Seifer Almasy
Age: Eighteen
Personality: Seifer, on the surface, is all attitude. Cocky, obstinate, and antagonistic, he seems to eternally wear a mocking smirk and dares the world to pick a fight, if they have the balls. He seems to be testosterone fueled and snide, quick with taunting words and insults that can cut straight to the core of someone's insecurities. Seifer knows how to wound with words well. Often times he's too big cause precision harm, but when his temper gets the better of him he can be unrelenting, finding a person's weakest points and exploiting them shamelessly. Classmates would describe him as a jerk and a bully, teachers would say he has authority issues and an impulsive streak a mile wide; a trouble-maker. All of these things are certainly true. Seifer is a button-pusher and he enjoys thoroughly goading others and extracting reaction of any sort. Attention seeker, his file might say. Seifer would tell you that he's doing others a favor by provoking them, giving them a dose of the real world, toughening them up. Justifying his actions is also not a problem that he has, but he's convicted. Seifer's attitude may be an arrogant one, and he even moves with the self-assured swagger that is unique to one who's arrogance is completely genuine in the way that he truly does believe what he's selling all of the time. In his view, the world IS a hard place, and those that don't learn to survive won't. Seifer wants to be strong, wants to leave a mark, wants to be remembered, wants to make something of himself. Better to be remembered as a bastard and an asshole than to be forgotten, after all, and Seifer has a focus that is broad and perhaps, even naive in a lot of ways. But that's Seifer beneath the surface: A dreamer and a passionate person who is at heart a strong idealist. He is a romantic in the classical sense, who wants to live with purpose and have a cause and be a hero. This is the real Seifer, and he doesn't make any effort to hide his true face from the world, frequently telling those that will listen about his "Romantic Dream." He wants to slay the dragon and save the princess and yes, be that chivalrous knight that provides support and protection for, perhaps, a sorceress, just like the figure he worshiped in that move he obsessed over as a child. To be heralded for greatness and bravery and celebrated wherever he goes? He'll take that too, especially if his name goes down in the books.
A lot of Seifer's personality comes off in the details of his life. A mercenary student, he's ambitious and power-seeking, using even the smallest amount of authority as head of the Disciplinary Committee to the nth degree. Power, like his dream, is the other driving force that makes up Seifer's motives. He is not a cruel person by nature, but he craves control to the point that he requires it, and at all possible times he is assessing even the most mundane situation in search of the most opportune way to twist it in his own favor. He tests himself as he pushes others, vindicating himself when he wins or when his target backs down and he walks away superior, feeling steps closer to being strong, to being someone that is revered. When it comes to this game, Squall is the only person that has consistently matches Seifer blow for blow. A rival that never backs down and never gives up, it's true that Squall has hard-won Seifer's grudging respect and he's possibly the only person Seifer honestly considers his equal. This of course sits unwell with Seifer, who would prefer easily to be unparalleled, and so it is that he pushes Squall harder, teases him more mercilessly, attempts to poke holes in his collected exterior and prove that that until the day that he overcomes Squall, he can at least take comfort in knowing that they are on an even playing field and that he is not second to anyone.
Something else that reflects solidly upon Seifer is his mastery of the gunblade- a weapon notoriously difficult to learn and to wield, rarely used but that fits neatly into his sense of aesthetic, something that stands in beautifully for a knight's sword. It goes to show that once he has defined a goal, Seifer can be endlessly tenacious when it comes to pursuing it. Though persistence is something of a virtue in general, it can also become a flaw when it lapses into single-minded stubbornness. In fact, Seifer is far beyond being stubborn to a fault; he's practically made it a lifestyle. He's often uncompromising and completely unreasonable and when he has set his eyes on a goal, he becomes totally blind to everything else and will set aside all other responsibilities, commitments, and even loyalties in favor of chasing his dream and his own standard of excellence. Like with those that he matches himself against, Seifer holds everyone around him to the same standards to which he holds himself. It's a tough bar to reach and, while those around him often fail to make the grade, Seifer still demands it of them anyway. For this reason, Seifer isn't exactly the most popular guy and he's not exactly surrounded by throngs of friends. He's also got a sometimes lewd sense of humor, a foul mouth, no sense of tact, and a bad attitude, so it makes sense that people aren't lined up around the block to invite him to their birthday parties. Those that do understand his drive however, and who he does deem "worthy" of his time seem to be fairly steadfast and to that select group, Seifer is actually incredibly loyal. Raijin, Fuujin, and on a different level, Squall, are included among the few. Seifer doesn't give most other people the time of day unless he has to, writing them off as frustrating, useless, or inept. A hero's path is best forged alone, after all.
As previously mentioned, Seifer has a tremendous impulsive streak as well has a fickle temper that can flare violently with seemingly little provocation. Though normally he has fairly solid control over himself, it's still not unheard of that he snap unpredictably, though it's usually a reaction stemming not from simple goading, of which he is the master, but from his sense of pride, values, or beliefs being threatened. At that point, any impetuousness is usually his eagerness to defend his code of honor (which he keeps strongly, at least as long as it parallels nicely with his own interests). His dedication to his brand of ethics is frequently masked by flippant words and a careless attitude, but Seifer never does anything with less than his all. He has a strong sense of justice, amazingly enough, and has no qualms about going above and beyond what any given situation requires, even if his actions could be considered extremist or excessive or even if they are in direct violation of orders. Because of this too, Seifer's filter sometimes fails on the rare occasion you've actually managed to upset him, and if he's not lashing out with a low blow, he's spitting out exactly what's on his mind, which often causes for some pretty immediate consequence.
Overall, Seifer is a big guy with a big sword and a hard shell. Though charismatic and actually even occasionally charming, he's difficult to be around, difficult to deal with, and difficult to get to know. He would easily rather clock you square in the jaw than "talk it out" and he's a guaranteed wild-card when thrown into any situation. However, despite all his short-comings, he's got good intentions, selfish as they tend to be, and he doesn't know the meaning of dreaming small. Hell, even if he did, he'd be incapable of fathoming why one would want to. His ultimate goal in life is truly be a big-shot hero and while his words might not always reflect this, his actions speak volumes. Seifer is a reckless guy on a mission who runs full-force towards his ambitions without a single glance behind him or a thought for the scenery flying by. He wants to overcome every obstetrical, defeat every foe, score every mark, and he claws desperately to rise to a place where he has surpassed everybody's expectations and no one will ever underestimate him again. He burns brightly but he burns at both ends, refusing to let up or slow down and often sacrificing things and people that could be good for him in favor of chasing his dreams.
Skills/Abilities: He possesses exceptional skill with a gunblade and a wide of various mercenary abilities such as situation assessment, leadership, on-the-fly problem solving, strategy and subterfuge, and a cool head in battle. He can also use para-magic (a weaker form of magic that requires excessive practice to cause an amount of damage equal to the effort put into it). He's in top athletic condition and quite strong, but not inhumanly so.
Other skills include not burning the Garden down while cooking (he's quite good, just usually too lazy), fishing like a pro, dancing (if you can convince him), cheating at board games, rocking a trench coat in summer, and generally being a menace.