Heh, this was a nice surprise
In actuality, what I really need to do is write up a good amount of fiction to explain Seriphyn's character and reasoning. The only folk who do know are the people who have RP'd with him extensively, particularly close friends and romantic partners. Naturally, though, this is in the realm of the private. OOC I can't expect people to understand my mental image and creation of Seriphyn if its all in my head, and not for them to read
At the core of it, characters like Mammal, Saxon, Simon et al are far more pro-Federation than Seriphyn is. Seriphyn's daughter, Anette, who is 10, wants to be President when she grows up, and Seriphyn wants to make sure there is a Federation still standing when she is old enough.
However, it's not that basic. He lost his homeworld to the Caldari State, and his family to Sansha's Nation. In both cases, he believes that this is the consequences of a weak and spineless society, constantly worrying about their own wealth and prosperity than to have any grasp on the bigger picture.
During his marine years, Seriphyn harboured a great deal of respect for the Caldari, mostly because of their sense of duty and work ethic, compared to the selfishness of his own population. One element that both me and Seriphyn share is the apprehension of painting someone with a brush from what they say publically and immediately. While he resents the peaceful overtures of his fellow Gallentean capsuleers, he does not despise them, instead he just wishes they would have a better grasp on what "needs to be done".
Moreover, Seriphyn was a youth delinquent from a working class background, spending his years of 11 and up on a Matari enclave that was primarily Brutor on Gallente Prime. He was pulled into the Marines at around 17, and thus has had no education at a university level. Therefore, the way he seeks to acheive things is by violence and aggression, not diplomacy, as he simply has not had the intellectual training to know how to do this effectively (difference is, now he does, but he'd much rather go with what he's used to). He simply believes that the Federation will not be defended by "damn hippie peaceniks", but by men and women with guns. After all, if the Federation military wasn't at such an anaemic state prior to the invasion of Caldari Prime, there may have been a credible defence of his homeworld, and the same applies with Vevelonel, where CONCORD and the empires are being averse to warfooting because "they don't want people to panic" and worry about themselves.
Nola Doyle, actually, was the only character/player to actually "get" Seriphyn, which is very ironic since she's a Sansha loyalist
(I actually attribute it to the unsurpassed ability of Doyle to separate IC from OOC). Seriphyn is a psychologically engineered weapon of the Federation, particularly due to the efforts of his own mother, Rear Admiral Xiuying Inhonores (her characterization I take a lot from Jia-Lei Lian, in fact). Knowing that her son would not amount to anything of significance on his own, she pulled the necessary strings to shape him to become a capsuleer. First, by gruelling frontline combat as a marine, giving him the mindset of a capsuleer (she is one herself), before ultimately making him a capsuleer (he would not have done so without her working behind the scenes, as non-officers, I imagine, would rarely make it to such a status). Somewhat of a bitch, maybe, but it was motivated by love more than anything else.
The realist, pragmatist politics, though, I actually enjoy doing from an OOC perspective. Seriphyn as a character may not be a political creature, but in terms of PR and public behaviour, it is something he dabbles into and explores, seeking intellectual justifications for his actions (OOC, equally I am exploring more militarist/rightwing politics). Behind the scenes, though, Seriphyn is simply serving as a soldier of the Federation to ensure it remains for his daughter, while the Federation itself, through the actions of his mother, seek to remain ahold of him as their weapon...Seriphyn may or may not be aware of this, even if he did realize he is being used, he would not particularly care, as his own personal justifications to himself is more than enough to keep going. Besides, the more you resist, the more the grip tightens, right?
@ the others, well, if this thread does go downhill very fast, it certainly won't be by myself!
"Haters gonna hate"