Character Survey
Body and Appearance
1. Describe the character's height and build. Is he heavyset, thin, short, rangy?
Athrun is of average height for his age, and he has a wiry build. He looks thin, but his muscles are better-trained than they appear.
2. How old is he?
18.
3. Describe his posture. Does he carry himself well or does he slouch?
Athrun carries himself well. Possibly because of basic training.
4. How is his health? Is he fit or out of shape? Any illnesses or conditions? Any physical disabilities?
Being a Coordinator, Athrun is extremely fit. His immune system is so potent that he's all but immune to many diseases, and he escaped the sterility that plagues the Coordinator population.
5. How does he move? Is he clumsy, graceful, tense, fluid?
Fluid.
6. How attractive is this character physically? How does he perceive himself in the mirror?
Athrun is a very good-looking guy. In canon, he attracts the attention of no less than four girls. And that's without getting into the audience.
7. Describe his complexion. Dark, light, clear, scarred?
Fair-skinned.
8. Describe his hair: color, texture, style.
Athrun has blue hair, and he wears it to chin level. I'd say it's probably moderately smooth.
9. What color are his eyes?
Green.
10. Does the character have any other noteworthy features?
The only thing I can think of is how his eyes change when he SEEDs. When that happens, his eyes take on a dull, lightless appearance, giving Athrun what looks like an empty stare.
11. What are his chief tension centers?
No idea.
12. What is the character's wardrobe like? Casual, dressy, utilitarian? Bright colors, pastels, neutrals? Is it varied, or does he have six of the same suit?
He's got a mix of casual and fancy clothes. He served as Cagalli's bodyguard for two years, so he needed clothes that would prevent him from standing out. By the same token, he needed fancy clothes because of the kinds of social events that being the bodyguard of the leader of a sovereign nation entailed. And he's got multiple sets of ZAFT red and Orb uniforms. When he's not wearing a military uniform, Athrun tends to wear dark clothes.
13. Do his clothes fit well? Does he seem comfortable in them?
Yes to both.
14. Does he dress the same on the job as he does in his free time? If not, what are the differences?
No. He dresses casually in his free time, but when on the job, he dresses to fit the occasion (if he's acting as Cagalli's bodyguard) or in military regalia.
15. You knew it was coming: Boxers, briefs or commando?
Boxers -- confirmed by canon.
Speech
1. What does this character's voice sound like? High-pitched, deep, hoarse?
In terms of pitch, his voice is a classic tenor. Not high-pitched, but not too deep. It's also got a steady flow to it.
2. How does he normally speak? Loud, soft, fast, evenly? Does he talk easily, or does he hesitate?
Athrun speaks moderately in terms of both volume and speed. Anything else depends on the situation and how much thinking he has to do. If it's a casual conversation, he talks easily, but if it's serious, he devotes more thought to what he's going to say.
3. Does the character have a distinct accent or dialect? Any individual quirks of pronunciation? Any, like, you know, verbal tics?
Athrun's father is originally from America, so I'm going to assume that Athrun has an American accent. Other than that, there's not much noteworthy about the way he talks.
4. What language/s does he speak, and with how much fluency?
Canon doesn't elaborate on this, but I believe he's fully fluent in both English and Japanese. English is the international language of commerce, and he spent two years living in a land with Japanese location names, and being a Coordinator, he picks up languages extremely quickly. He's probably also not quite conversational in some other languages, mostly Romance languages.
5. Does he switch languages or dialects in certain situations?
Probably depends on the fluency of the person he's talking to.
6. Is he a good impromptu speaker, or does he have to think about his words?
Depends on the situation. I think that, when he's giving a speech, he needs to prepare, but words come to him more easily when his mind is stimulated, like in a battle.
7. Is he eloquent or inarticulate? Under what circumstances might this change?
He's somewhere in between. He's not the best in social situations, but knows how to speak very well.
Mental and Emotional
1. How intelligent is this character? Is he book-smart or street-smart?
Being a Coordinator, Athrun has a brilliant mind. He built a fully-working robotic bird at the age of 12, and rewrote the Aegis's OS on the fly. He's definitely more booksmart than streetsmart.
2. Does he think on his feet, or does he need time to deliberate?
Athrun thinks on his feet. He had to in order to survive as long as he did. And the SEED factor allows him to complete dozens of complex calculations in the blink of an eye, so...yeah.
3. Describe the character's thought process. Is he more logical, or more intuitive? Idealistic or practical?
Athrun is logical, yet idealistic. He's a believer in the Rousseau was Right trope, and generally hopes for the best. At the same time, he keeps himself from having expectations that are too unrealistic.
4. What kind of education has the character had?
Athrun left school at the age of 15 in order to join ZAFT. Since the original Coordinator, George Glenn, obtained his doctorate prior to his eighteenth birthday, I'd say that Athrun was either nearing his bachelor's or just beginning his master's program.
5. What are his areas of expertise? What, if anything, is he interested in learning more about?
Physics is Athrun's strongest field, followed by computer science. He seemed to be headed down the path to becoming a mechanical engineer before the Bloody Valentine Incident.
6. Is he an introvert or an extrovert?
Somewhere in between. He's not great with other people, but he wants to have friends.
7. Describe the character's temperament. Is he even-tempered or does he have mood swings? Cheerful or melancholy? Laid-back or driven?
For the most part Athrun is level-headed and logical. Few things will cause him to lose his cool, especially after the battle where Athrun self-destructed the Aegis in an attempt to kill Kira and destroy the Strike. He's got a serious disposition, and is driven to achieve his goals.
8. How does he respond to new people or situations? Is he suspicious, relaxed, timid, enthusiastic?
He's a bit cautious. Athrun likes to have information when he encounters new situations, and he's a bit hesitant when dealing with new people. It's possible to relieve him of that, though.
9. Is he more likely to act, or to react?
When it comes to the big picture, he's more likely to react. He doesn't go pursuing battles except for the time when he led his own team. But in a smaller scale, he's more likely to act.
10. Which is his default: fight or flight?
Again, somewhere in between. He hates fighting, but will fight to protect his values. And if he knows he's outclassed, he'll withdraw.
11. Describe the character's sense of humor. Does he appreciate jokes? Puns? Gallows humor? Bathroom humor? Pranks? Just typical jokes. Nothing too morbid or immature. Though he rarely makes jokes himself.
12. Does the character have any diagnosable mental disorders? If yes, how does he deal with them?
Nope.
13. What moments in this character's life have defined him as a person?
The Bloody Valentine Tragedy proved to Athrun that sometimes you had to fight to protect what you cared about. His confrontation with Cagalli after they both thought he killed Kira opened his eyes to the senselessness of revenge. And his confrontation with Lacus taught him that he needed to look for a reason to fight by himself.
14. What does he fear?
Losing the people he cares about and letting the world succumb to hatred.
15. What are his hopes or aspirations?
Athrun just wants to bring peace back to the world.
16. What is something he doesn't want anyone to find out about him?
Here, he wants to avoid people finding out he's a Coordinator. These are people who grew up in worlds where genetic engineering isn't possible yet, so he's worried about these people resenting him if they find out the truth.
Relationships
1. Describe this character's relationship with his parents.
Oh geez. Well, we never see the kind of relationship Athrun had with his mother, because she was killed almost a year before the series begins, but it's implied that he loved her very much. As for his father... Well, again, we didn't see the kind of relationship they had before the war, because it changed drastically during the war. As the war raged on, Patrick Zala became more and more virulent in his insistence that Coordinators were a new species and that Naturals were obsolete and thus should be removed that he and Athrun parted ways. They never saw eye to eye, even when Patrick died -- his last request was that they fire GENESIS at Earth, which would have caused a holocaust to envelop the planet.
2. Does the character have any siblings? What is/was their relationship like?
Athrun is an only child.
3. Are there other blood relatives to whom he is close? Are there ones he can't stand?
As far as we know, Athrun has no other living blood relatives.
4. Are there other, unrelated people whom he considers part of his family? What are his relationships with them?
The main people are Kira, Lacus, and Cagalli. Kira and Lacus are like the brother and sister that Athrun never had, and he'd trust them with his life. Cagalli...is a little trickier. From the end of SEED to the beginning of SEED Destiny, they'd been dating, but circumstance forced them to break up, and we never see them get back together. It's hard to say at this point. There's also Meyrin, who he sees like a little sister, and Shinn, who, despite their differences, Athrun trusts to help ZAFT get on the right track again.
5. Who is/was the character's best friend? How did they meet?
Athrun's best friend is Kira Yamato. They met at a preparatory school in Copernicus City when they were children, and became friends there.
6. Does he have other close friends?
Lacus, Cagalli, and Meyrin.
7. Does he make friends easily, or does he have trouble getting along with people?
Somewhere in between. He's not a people person, but he's also likeable.
8. Which does he consider more important: family or friends?
Friends. They are his family now.
9. Is the character single, married, divorced, widowed? Has he been married more than once?
Single.
10. Is he currently in a romantic relationship with someone other than a spouse?
No.
11. Who was his first crush? Who is his latest?
Athrun's first crush was Lacus, and in fact the two were engaged until a video cam caught Lacus leading Kira to the Freedom and letting him steal it -- then Patrick terminated the engagement. The last crush he had was on Cagalli -- he even gave her a ring before they had to go their separate ways. His other romantic interests include Lunamaria (until she got together with Shinn), Meer (until she died), and Meyrin.
12. What does he look for in a romantic partner?
Athrun likes a girl with a strong will, who knows what she wants and can find a way to do it. He has an appreciation for feminine actions and dress, but as shown by his relationship with Cagalli, they aren't a must. And finally, he'd do well with a girl who would let him smother her with gentlemanly affection.
13. Does the character have children? Grandchildren? If yes, how does he relate to them? If no, does he want any?
He does not, but I believe he eventually wants to start a family of his own.
14. Does he have any rivals or enemies?
Kira was his rival throughout most of SEED, and Shinn was his rival in the latter portion of SEED Destiny. Aside from that, he didn't really have any mortal enemies.
15. What is the character's sexual orientation? Where does he fall on the Kinsey scale?
Athrun rates a 1 on the Kinsey scale. He's definitely heterosexual, but some of his dialogue is filled with Ho Yay and/or Foe Yay, mainly when talking to Kira.
16. How does he feel about sex? How important is it to him?
Athrun is a prude. I doubt he'll have sex until his wedding night.
17. What are his turn-ons? Turn-offs? Weird bedroom habits?
Can't really say for any of these except for one turn-off -- women being too aggressive in their pursuit of him.
Beliefs
1. Do you know your character's astrological (zodiac of choice) sign? How well does he fit type?
Athrun's a Scorpio, and I'm not even going to bother with his Chinese zodiac sign since Gundam SEED doesn't run on the Anno Domini calendar and we don't know when it ended. He's got some androgynous and introverted traits, but they're far from dominant. He has several traits commonly considered masculine, such as his drive, and he doesn't have too much trouble making friends.
2. Is this character religious, spiritual, both, or neither? How important are these elements in his life?
It never really comes up. So it's not really important to him.
3. Does this character have a personal code of morals or ethics? If so, how did that begin? What would it take to compromise it?
He does. I don't know for sure when it began, but it first showed itself clearly when Athrun left ZAFT to join the Three Ships Alliance. And I'm not sure he would compromise it.
4. How does he regard beliefs that differ from his? Is he tolerant, intolerant, curious, indifferent?
Again, it never really comes up, but I imagine he's curious.
5. What prejudices does he hold? Are they irrational or does he have a good reason for them?
Currently, none.
Daily Life
1. What is the character's financial situation? Is he rich, poor, comfortable, in debt?
Rich. His father was a member of the PLANT Supreme Council and was Chairman for the latter part of the First Bloody Valentine War, and though they had a falling out, I doubt Patrick ever got about to updating his will to write Athrun out of it. So when Patrick died, Athrun inherited the family fortune. He was also Cagalli's bodyguard and is currently an admiral in the Orb military, so he gets a handsome salary.
2. What is his social status? Has this changed over time, and if so, how has the change affected him?
Currently he's a high-ranking military officer. This has changed, as he was originally a politician's son, then a ZAFT red, then a defector, then a bodyguard, then went back to not only being a ZAFT red but being a member of FAITH.
3. Where does he live? House, apartment, trailer? Is his home his castle or just a place to crash? What condition is it in? Does he share it with others?
We don't know anything about Athrun's home.
4. Besides the basic necessities, what does he spend his money on?
It's never brought up.
5. What does he do for a living? Is he good at it? Does he enjoy it, or would he rather be doing something else?
He's an admiral in the Orb military. He's good at it, and he has a soldier's mentality, but he only does it because he feels it's his duty. Otherwise, he hates war.
6. What are his interests or hobbies? How does he spend his free time?
Athrun is really into engineering and robotics. He built a robotic bird for Kira, and Lacus's trademark Haro swarm are all of Athrun's creations, as well. Other than that, we don't know much about how he spends his free time.
7. What are his eating habits? Does he skip meals, eat out, drink alcohol, avoid certain foods?
I think he eats a mostly balanced diet when he's not living on pilot's rations. He probably also has a taste for fancier food due to his upbringing. He doesn't drink alcohol, because he's still underage.
Associations
Which of the following do you associate with the character, or which is his favorite:
1. Color? Blue
2. Smell? Can't think of anything.
3. Time of day? Morning
4. Season? Spring
5. Book? Classic sci-fi literature.
6. Music? Lacus's songs.
7. Place? Orb
8. Substance? This is so broad that I can't come up with anything.
9. Plant? Rose
10. Animal? Any mammal you could keep as a pet.
END
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