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PLAYER
YOUR NAME: Glazed
18+?: Yes
CONTACT: Email: macguffinrp@gmail.com | PM | Disc: glazedmacguffin#2809
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A
RESERVATION LINK: Reserve
YOUR NAME: Glazed
18+?: Yes
CONTACT: Email: macguffinrp@gmail.com | PM | Disc: glazedmacguffin#2809
CHARACTERS IN GAME: N/A
RESERVATION LINK: Reserve
CHARACTER: CANON SECTION
NAME: Kazuhira Miller
AGE: 28
CANON: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
NAME: Kazuhira Miller
AGE: 28
CANON: Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker
CANON HISTORY: Metal Gear Wiki
CANON PERSONALITY:
Kazuhira Miller is the sort of man that is very meticulous about the image he puts forth and wants anyone to see. He stands proudly, either with military discipline while being formal or with confident ease while informal. His clothes are just the perfect amount of disheveled to look casual and comfortable, sleeves rolled up or shirt just a little undone, but also carefully arranged to make him retain an air of professionalism. It's all a very targeted effort to make everyone respect his rigorous standards and simultaneously show off how simple it is for him to meet them.
His English can range from an average East Coast casual (generic American accent) to formal, having been educated at an American Ivy League school and by an American father that he wanted to impress. His Japanese, though, is thuggish. He was raised in a low-brow slum of Yokosuka, in an area clogged with cheap shops and prostitution and frequented by the soldiers from the nearby base. When referring to Big Boss he uses tough guy terms in Japanese, same as with his mother. (Though if he talks about her in his sleep, he calls her Kaasan, the more childish name. In translations he'll call her "my mother" in English and "Mom" in his sleep.)
Generally he's a little egotistical. As mentioned before he stands tall, takes pride in his appearance, and he almost always wears a cocky expression. When he's not guilty or concerned that is, things he can hide behind his everpresent glasses (which also hide eyes that were specifically designed to be "cute"). His smiles are a little smug and he has a bit of a swagger to his walk. When out on the beach he has no shame in his physique, he'll gladly wear a pair of black bikini style briefs rather than swim trunks and even pose for a camera to show off. This is reflected in his resentment for his ruined body later in life.
Kaz suffers a unique brand of dogged determination that few can match. When his mother became ill he ran their small store all on his own when he was only ten years old. He was in his early teens when he put her in a hospital and went to America, meaning he had to learn another language fluently and very quickly to avoid the rampant discrimination of the era (not that it doesn't exist now, but at the time there were immigration laws in place that specifically targeted Asians and Hispanics, and they were in place for a very long time).
When he was in Colombia, he learned to become a drill sergeant after a very short period of time and started his own business, leading a group of rebels in Colombia and training them in guerrilla tactics. Big Boss attacked his unit, captured him as the only survivor, and strong-armed him into joining the MSF (though Kaz convinced himself that it was an equal partnership rather than something he had little control over). He wouldn't even agree to join after Big Boss threatened to have him tortured if he didn't do so. He still made the other man beat him in a number of challenges and then attempted to run off into the jungle. Even after being beaten, he said that he refused to accept that he lost.
This is a trait he never shakes. In the future he would sit for ten days without an arm and a leg without adequate medical treatment and subjected to interrogations, waiting for rescue and surviving with the confidence he would be saved. He will rebuild the start of his base on his own and claw a business out along the coast. When he trains Solid Snake, he drills the same ideas into his head. Sweat and tears results in less GAME OVERS.
Literally.
His advice in actual dialog breaks the fourth wall. When giving instructions as part of a tutorial or even as advice he'll tell people to push an action button or press down on a stick or something similar, or even to make sure you drink enough before playing a video game. Note: This is all something I rarely refer to, but will occasionally use as a joke whenever the other party seems okay with it happening.
He likes intelligent and confident partners and is usually attracted to those with an athletic physique. While his preferences are to ones that are also tidy with good hygiene he can also be susceptible to the crude, rude, careless sort. Cecile, one of the women he was especially taken with, was an ornithologist who found his love of urban life and boyish behavior annoying (she called him a "pest"). In contrast Snake often grew weary of Kaz's insistence that he behave at least somewhat responsibly or politely.
He's definitely a flirt either in idle conversation or directly approach people with the intent to hook up. He did like to seduce women, especially those with boyfriends, half because he enjoyed the sex and half because he liked being argued over. Though he no longer does this because it was literally beaten out of him. He likes a little domination in his life, not just romantically but given direction by someone who can tell him what to do. Living on his own (like when he first left Japan) had him wandering aimlessly through Central America. Only in serving Big Boss or his desperate searches for revenge later in life have helped him find a place to settle, not so much physically but mentally.
He dislikes people that are obviously suspicious or he knows to be untrustworthy. As much as he is sneaky himself he dislikes them in that same way he doesn't like who he is, either. For all his smugness he does have guilt for his decisions, enough that he admitted to his subterfuge in taking advantage of Cipher and Zero's spying so that Big Boss would know. He told him what his role had been and what their position was after the fact. Later on in life he would deeply resent his choices altogether and want to take on the pain of his mistakes and the losses they led to. Currently he's still under the impression that his loyalty and service to Big Boss will make up for his trickery in pretending to play along with Zero.
He's a big joker. One moment he can genuinely be checking up on a young woman and making sure the male soldiers haven't been rude to her, the next be drunk and up on a table and mooning the entire party. He found out Big Boss's name was Naked Snake and made fun of him (caveat being if Big Boss dons his swim trunks during a mission he'll frantically yell for him to dress respectably or else he and the staff will have to get naked too). Another fussy trait is that he dislikes strong smells and disgusting food, hating when he catches Snake badly cooking or scarfing down meat that's dangerously raw, or the time they were in a cardboard box together and he gave away their position complaining about the way it smelled like onions.
Kazuhira is ambitious and an opportunist. His goals are simple: to not die a pauper, to not die in someone else's war, to create a home for soldiers and to make the world one alongside his business partner. If he earns a little money while doing it? What's the harm in that? He dwells on the fact war ruined both his father and his mother, that she grew sick and died because of the sacrifices she had to make to survive and he committed suicide because he felt like the war left him with nothing.
He's not amoral. Even in the future when he claims to care only for revenge, he's deeply concerned for the plight of war orphans and child soldiers, sobs when his brothers in arms die, becomes attached to an old scientist who fills the paternal role he always wanted. His younger self is very fixated on treating the men on the base like people. They have a cat as a mascot, play soccer/football to work out their differences, have a monthly birthday party in which everyone with birthdays that month can celebrate. He doesn't generally want civilians to be involved with their conflicts, or want injured soldiers forced out onto the battlefield.
He definitely has his amoral qualities, however. Give him a job to assign and he'll give it to Snake and will give him little direction on how it's to be conducted concerning lethality. This can mean slaughter or no kills at all, though his preference is mostly for stealth and low property damage. He compliments a job well done mostly judging for time and the number of times Snake is sighted or combat is engaged/troops are alerted in general, but will also take headshots and speed/efficiency into consideration. He loves money and will focus on sales and material acquisition more strongly than he will on the political importance of their targets. Even if it's in the interest of his soldiers as much as it is for him, and even though he picked up the knack for commerce as security during his childhood at his mother's store, the point still stands that money is a focus.
As of this point in time, he still believes that spies can be used as information contacts, and those he usually prefers to have taken alive during a mission. Even though later (the gradual shift will be just beginning at the canon point I'm taking him from), he'll just want them dead so the mistakes of the past can't repeat themselves.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Physical
As a former member of the JSDF, Miller is a trained fighter. He faced Big Boss (one of the toughest fighters in the world at his time) and held his own for some time. He knows CQC and is fast enough to disarm people.
Management
Having learned to run a business so young in life has made him develop an exceptional business sense. He maintains the books and staff management on motherbase when not interfered with by Big Boss. He conducts most of the MSFs sales and later will be able to finance the initial rebuilding of a base. He also excels at information dispatch and assisting in combat deployment.
Intelligence
Miller can fluently speak English and Spanish, though his native language is Japanese. He is well read in war tactics, principles, particular military structures for each country, and nuclear regulations as of 1984. He's a huge fan of individuals like Che Guevara (who he saw Big Boss as resembling when he was younger) and citing his book "Guerrilla Warfare", T.E. Lawrence, Mao Zedong, General Sandino, and Kusunoki Masashige. He's also well-versed in survival tactics, able to make use of rudimentary items to solve complex situations. Think MacGuyver levels of improvisation.
Trainer
Miller's form of training is ruthless but efficient. He was known as "Master Miller" when he ran drills in Colombia, is trusted with the task of driving every MSF department to improvement, and even going so far as being the "Hellmaster" when he trains agents of Foxhound (including Solid Snake).
CANON PERSONALITY:
"Sorry Snake, I can't see anything in front of me."
"Of course you can't! You're wearing sunglasses inside a dark cardboard box."
Kazuhira Miller is the sort of man that is very meticulous about the image he puts forth and wants anyone to see. He stands proudly, either with military discipline while being formal or with confident ease while informal. His clothes are just the perfect amount of disheveled to look casual and comfortable, sleeves rolled up or shirt just a little undone, but also carefully arranged to make him retain an air of professionalism. It's all a very targeted effort to make everyone respect his rigorous standards and simultaneously show off how simple it is for him to meet them.
His English can range from an average East Coast casual (generic American accent) to formal, having been educated at an American Ivy League school and by an American father that he wanted to impress. His Japanese, though, is thuggish. He was raised in a low-brow slum of Yokosuka, in an area clogged with cheap shops and prostitution and frequented by the soldiers from the nearby base. When referring to Big Boss he uses tough guy terms in Japanese, same as with his mother. (Though if he talks about her in his sleep, he calls her Kaasan, the more childish name. In translations he'll call her "my mother" in English and "Mom" in his sleep.)
Generally he's a little egotistical. As mentioned before he stands tall, takes pride in his appearance, and he almost always wears a cocky expression. When he's not guilty or concerned that is, things he can hide behind his everpresent glasses (which also hide eyes that were specifically designed to be "cute"). His smiles are a little smug and he has a bit of a swagger to his walk. When out on the beach he has no shame in his physique, he'll gladly wear a pair of black bikini style briefs rather than swim trunks and even pose for a camera to show off. This is reflected in his resentment for his ruined body later in life.
"Not to brag or anything, but I'd kick ass at whatever job you gave me. Put me in the area you want to focus on developing most. I'll take real good care of the staff there."
Kaz suffers a unique brand of dogged determination that few can match. When his mother became ill he ran their small store all on his own when he was only ten years old. He was in his early teens when he put her in a hospital and went to America, meaning he had to learn another language fluently and very quickly to avoid the rampant discrimination of the era (not that it doesn't exist now, but at the time there were immigration laws in place that specifically targeted Asians and Hispanics, and they were in place for a very long time).
When he was in Colombia, he learned to become a drill sergeant after a very short period of time and started his own business, leading a group of rebels in Colombia and training them in guerrilla tactics. Big Boss attacked his unit, captured him as the only survivor, and strong-armed him into joining the MSF (though Kaz convinced himself that it was an equal partnership rather than something he had little control over). He wouldn't even agree to join after Big Boss threatened to have him tortured if he didn't do so. He still made the other man beat him in a number of challenges and then attempted to run off into the jungle. Even after being beaten, he said that he refused to accept that he lost.
This is a trait he never shakes. In the future he would sit for ten days without an arm and a leg without adequate medical treatment and subjected to interrogations, waiting for rescue and surviving with the confidence he would be saved. He will rebuild the start of his base on his own and claw a business out along the coast. When he trains Solid Snake, he drills the same ideas into his head. Sweat and tears results in less GAME OVERS.
Literally.
His advice in actual dialog breaks the fourth wall. When giving instructions as part of a tutorial or even as advice he'll tell people to push an action button or press down on a stick or something similar, or even to make sure you drink enough before playing a video game. Note: This is all something I rarely refer to, but will occasionally use as a joke whenever the other party seems okay with it happening.
"Hey, Snake. I heard they gave you your old code name because you used to run around with your shirt off. Is that true?"
He likes intelligent and confident partners and is usually attracted to those with an athletic physique. While his preferences are to ones that are also tidy with good hygiene he can also be susceptible to the crude, rude, careless sort. Cecile, one of the women he was especially taken with, was an ornithologist who found his love of urban life and boyish behavior annoying (she called him a "pest"). In contrast Snake often grew weary of Kaz's insistence that he behave at least somewhat responsibly or politely.
He's definitely a flirt either in idle conversation or directly approach people with the intent to hook up. He did like to seduce women, especially those with boyfriends, half because he enjoyed the sex and half because he liked being argued over. Though he no longer does this because it was literally beaten out of him. He likes a little domination in his life, not just romantically but given direction by someone who can tell him what to do. Living on his own (like when he first left Japan) had him wandering aimlessly through Central America. Only in serving Big Boss or his desperate searches for revenge later in life have helped him find a place to settle, not so much physically but mentally.
He dislikes people that are obviously suspicious or he knows to be untrustworthy. As much as he is sneaky himself he dislikes them in that same way he doesn't like who he is, either. For all his smugness he does have guilt for his decisions, enough that he admitted to his subterfuge in taking advantage of Cipher and Zero's spying so that Big Boss would know. He told him what his role had been and what their position was after the fact. Later on in life he would deeply resent his choices altogether and want to take on the pain of his mistakes and the losses they led to. Currently he's still under the impression that his loyalty and service to Big Boss will make up for his trickery in pretending to play along with Zero.
He's a big joker. One moment he can genuinely be checking up on a young woman and making sure the male soldiers haven't been rude to her, the next be drunk and up on a table and mooning the entire party. He found out Big Boss's name was Naked Snake and made fun of him (caveat being if Big Boss dons his swim trunks during a mission he'll frantically yell for him to dress respectably or else he and the staff will have to get naked too). Another fussy trait is that he dislikes strong smells and disgusting food, hating when he catches Snake badly cooking or scarfing down meat that's dangerously raw, or the time they were in a cardboard box together and he gave away their position complaining about the way it smelled like onions.
"We know only how to fight... but we refuse to live our lives at the whim of the state. The MSF seal is patterned after Pangaea, the supercontinent from 250 million years ago. Back then, the whole world was one landmass. One world. No gaps, no rifts."
Kazuhira is ambitious and an opportunist. His goals are simple: to not die a pauper, to not die in someone else's war, to create a home for soldiers and to make the world one alongside his business partner. If he earns a little money while doing it? What's the harm in that? He dwells on the fact war ruined both his father and his mother, that she grew sick and died because of the sacrifices she had to make to survive and he committed suicide because he felt like the war left him with nothing.
He's not amoral. Even in the future when he claims to care only for revenge, he's deeply concerned for the plight of war orphans and child soldiers, sobs when his brothers in arms die, becomes attached to an old scientist who fills the paternal role he always wanted. His younger self is very fixated on treating the men on the base like people. They have a cat as a mascot, play soccer/football to work out their differences, have a monthly birthday party in which everyone with birthdays that month can celebrate. He doesn't generally want civilians to be involved with their conflicts, or want injured soldiers forced out onto the battlefield.
"We have to be strong, strong enough to defend ourselves. We need money, too - money to train soldiers to fight. The way I see it, we make MSF into something along the lines of a new kind of business. A contractor providing the full range of military services."
He definitely has his amoral qualities, however. Give him a job to assign and he'll give it to Snake and will give him little direction on how it's to be conducted concerning lethality. This can mean slaughter or no kills at all, though his preference is mostly for stealth and low property damage. He compliments a job well done mostly judging for time and the number of times Snake is sighted or combat is engaged/troops are alerted in general, but will also take headshots and speed/efficiency into consideration. He loves money and will focus on sales and material acquisition more strongly than he will on the political importance of their targets. Even if it's in the interest of his soldiers as much as it is for him, and even though he picked up the knack for commerce as security during his childhood at his mother's store, the point still stands that money is a focus.
As of this point in time, he still believes that spies can be used as information contacts, and those he usually prefers to have taken alive during a mission. Even though later (the gradual shift will be just beginning at the canon point I'm taking him from), he'll just want them dead so the mistakes of the past can't repeat themselves.
SKILLS/ABILITIES:
Physical
Management
Intelligence
Trainer
CHARACTER: AU SECTION
AU NAME: Kazuhira Miller
AU AGE: 28
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: None.
AU NAME: Kazuhira Miller
AU AGE: 28
PHYSICAL DIFFERENCES: None.
AU HISTORY:
Kaz's life began when his young mother met a visiting soldier in Yokosuka, Japan. She was still a Kōkōsei, too young to make logical decisions for herself, and instantly enamored with this stranger as she imagined him like the heroes of the American movies that she was a fan of. Even though he was already three times her age he took advantage of her idolization. Lonely, far from his wife, and with a son older than her, he indulged in something that he shouldn't have, then left the country to enjoy his retirement. He threw some money at her (not knowing that she was pregnant) in his last "kind" effort to give her a start on life, but gave her no easy way to contact him.
Only it turned out that she was pregnant. Her family kicked her out upon learning of this, realizing that she'd not only gone behind their back to try and hide she was with child but also she had hid a considerable amount of money from them. She gave them most of it, ashamed of herself for keeping a secret, which left her with the bare basics to start with and the arduous task of raising a child on her own. She was rarely home when she worked, leaving her son to tend the house on his own (his first taste of responsibility), and even though she loved him he was frequently told by her that he needed to hurry and grow up. On harsher days she would outright say that she didn't like kids, something he took to heart. He had every intention to be as responsible as any adult in order to make his mother proud and take some weight off of her.
Kids were never easy on Kaz. The ones in Japan constantly teased him for looking like a foreigner and made fun of him for his blond hair and blue eyes. Traits that would later be attractive on him, but on his younger self they just made him look like a weird hafu kid. He learned to speak English on his own, hoping that he'd get to meet his father one day, but he didn't exactly know it well.
Between Kaz having no father to help support her, his obvious difficulties engaging with other children, and her being unable to care for him alone as she grew more ill with some unknown disease (a form of with early onset dementia that was never properly diagnosed) she decided to move to the United States and beg his father to take care of Kazuhira. When he came to the US with her he was made fun of by American kids for having difficulty with the language. He had hoped he would fit in when he moved, but he found that he couldn't settle into either place.
When they arrived it turned out that his father had been divorced. Another soldier had told Mr. Miller's wife that he had cheated on her and abandoned a pregnant teenage girl in Japan, and that rightfully made her furious. Rather than take responsibility he blamed the poor new mother for ruining his life, acting as if she was some sort of seductress and refused to speak with her. This was very upsetting for Kaz because he wanted to actually get to know his father; after all, he'd been labelled half and half long enough that he wanted to find some place between the two of them to belong. The wish lingered and he made a few attempts to connect, but he found himself busy with his responsibilities at home.
While his mother's condition continued to deteriorate she recieved a small amount of monetary compensation from their father, guaranteeing her silence so that she wouldn't further ruin his "good" name. It wasn't much, and with her mental state a ten-year-old Kaz had to take over his mother's bank account. He paid the bills and managed the money she recieved, making sure they had utilities and food on the table at the most manageable prices he could find. Give him coupons? Give him any donation or expense leniency services? And he'd push them both through all their difficulties.
Kaz's elder brother and his father's legitimate son had left home because he was angry at their father for what he'd done to their family with his philandering. News came that he had died of a drug overdose (though the stories were incredibly sketchy, the elder Miller had accepted them as true). Kazuhira happened to look more like his father than he did his mother, complete with the exact same blond hair and blue eyes, so he decided to invest in the boy's future now that he'd lost his first child. He wanted to have a legacy and Kaz wanted to have a father. It gave him a place in the world, and made him feel like he wasn't just the force that destroyed the lives of the two people that made him. He wanted that particular brand of "normal" parental love.
Kazuhira's father wasn't able to act as an involved father (he hadn't even done that with his other son), but he used the money he'd saved to send Kazuhira to a good college and make sure he was well educated. He claimed Kazuhira Miller as his son, finally, after all those years.
But his father's guilt over his marriage never ebbed (if one translates guilt as remarkable bouts of self-pity). So when Kazuhira chose to tend to his deteriorating mother rather than continue to stay with his father, his old man committed suicide. Whether it was due to the pain of his losses or a punishment for abandoning him, Kaz was never sure. But it was something else that he blamed himself for, sure that he'd abandoned someone and they suffered for it.
Miller decided to join an accounting firm so that he could care for his mother like a good filial son. But once he saw there was no chance for advancement because no one took him seriously, he moved with her to a region of the city more populated by Japanese immigrants or second generation Japanese-Americans (also it was somewhere where he could find a nurse that spoke her native language as her memory is nearly gone at this point) and opened his own private business, Miller's Maxi-Finances. He continues to live there, attempts to be a dutiful to his mother, but also is a terrible person about romantic partners and on weekends drinks until he's forgotten his troubles and tries to fill a hotel bed with someone nice looking. At least in this particular part of town he's chosen he finds that he usually fits in.
AU PERSONALITY:
He's mostly the same. The major differences are that since his mother is still alive, rather than prioritizing someone else's dream he dedicates himself to taking care of her. His energy is mostly spent on making sure she's comfortable, though at this point she's completely forgotten he's an adult and has no idea who he is. She's constantly searching for her child "Kazu".
Miller never mentions her to anyone if he can help it (except for any nurses that he hires, and then he might ask them not to mention that she's his mother because he doesn't want it to be exploited). He's still boisterous and loud but less likely to conspire against someone. His ambition is slightly tempered by the fact that he doesn't want to leave his mother behind, and most of his goals are related to making both their lives more comfortable (which still involves money, but not enough for him to act duplicitous in acquiring).
He's not in love with anyone and he's under the impression that he can't actually be. Other than a few crushes, the most extreme of his attractions is "fond booty call", nothing even remotely serious. He's also not suspicious enough to worry about many people lying or tricking him, and he's not gotten wrapped up (to his knowledge) with any disreputable characters. Many of these things stand to change to be more in line with his canon personality, as the potential is there but circumstances aren't currently conducive. Should his mother die, he get recruited by someone with more questionable ambitions, or he get wrapped up in the wrong type of woman/man, or any combination of the above he could make some very bad decisions.
Kaz's life began when his young mother met a visiting soldier in Yokosuka, Japan. She was still a Kōkōsei, too young to make logical decisions for herself, and instantly enamored with this stranger as she imagined him like the heroes of the American movies that she was a fan of. Even though he was already three times her age he took advantage of her idolization. Lonely, far from his wife, and with a son older than her, he indulged in something that he shouldn't have, then left the country to enjoy his retirement. He threw some money at her (not knowing that she was pregnant) in his last "kind" effort to give her a start on life, but gave her no easy way to contact him.
Only it turned out that she was pregnant. Her family kicked her out upon learning of this, realizing that she'd not only gone behind their back to try and hide she was with child but also she had hid a considerable amount of money from them. She gave them most of it, ashamed of herself for keeping a secret, which left her with the bare basics to start with and the arduous task of raising a child on her own. She was rarely home when she worked, leaving her son to tend the house on his own (his first taste of responsibility), and even though she loved him he was frequently told by her that he needed to hurry and grow up. On harsher days she would outright say that she didn't like kids, something he took to heart. He had every intention to be as responsible as any adult in order to make his mother proud and take some weight off of her.
Kids were never easy on Kaz. The ones in Japan constantly teased him for looking like a foreigner and made fun of him for his blond hair and blue eyes. Traits that would later be attractive on him, but on his younger self they just made him look like a weird hafu kid. He learned to speak English on his own, hoping that he'd get to meet his father one day, but he didn't exactly know it well.
Between Kaz having no father to help support her, his obvious difficulties engaging with other children, and her being unable to care for him alone as she grew more ill with some unknown disease (a form of with early onset dementia that was never properly diagnosed) she decided to move to the United States and beg his father to take care of Kazuhira. When he came to the US with her he was made fun of by American kids for having difficulty with the language. He had hoped he would fit in when he moved, but he found that he couldn't settle into either place.
When they arrived it turned out that his father had been divorced. Another soldier had told Mr. Miller's wife that he had cheated on her and abandoned a pregnant teenage girl in Japan, and that rightfully made her furious. Rather than take responsibility he blamed the poor new mother for ruining his life, acting as if she was some sort of seductress and refused to speak with her. This was very upsetting for Kaz because he wanted to actually get to know his father; after all, he'd been labelled half and half long enough that he wanted to find some place between the two of them to belong. The wish lingered and he made a few attempts to connect, but he found himself busy with his responsibilities at home.
While his mother's condition continued to deteriorate she recieved a small amount of monetary compensation from their father, guaranteeing her silence so that she wouldn't further ruin his "good" name. It wasn't much, and with her mental state a ten-year-old Kaz had to take over his mother's bank account. He paid the bills and managed the money she recieved, making sure they had utilities and food on the table at the most manageable prices he could find. Give him coupons? Give him any donation or expense leniency services? And he'd push them both through all their difficulties.
Kaz's elder brother and his father's legitimate son had left home because he was angry at their father for what he'd done to their family with his philandering. News came that he had died of a drug overdose (though the stories were incredibly sketchy, the elder Miller had accepted them as true). Kazuhira happened to look more like his father than he did his mother, complete with the exact same blond hair and blue eyes, so he decided to invest in the boy's future now that he'd lost his first child. He wanted to have a legacy and Kaz wanted to have a father. It gave him a place in the world, and made him feel like he wasn't just the force that destroyed the lives of the two people that made him. He wanted that particular brand of "normal" parental love.
Kazuhira's father wasn't able to act as an involved father (he hadn't even done that with his other son), but he used the money he'd saved to send Kazuhira to a good college and make sure he was well educated. He claimed Kazuhira Miller as his son, finally, after all those years.
But his father's guilt over his marriage never ebbed (if one translates guilt as remarkable bouts of self-pity). So when Kazuhira chose to tend to his deteriorating mother rather than continue to stay with his father, his old man committed suicide. Whether it was due to the pain of his losses or a punishment for abandoning him, Kaz was never sure. But it was something else that he blamed himself for, sure that he'd abandoned someone and they suffered for it.
Miller decided to join an accounting firm so that he could care for his mother like a good filial son. But once he saw there was no chance for advancement because no one took him seriously, he moved with her to a region of the city more populated by Japanese immigrants or second generation Japanese-Americans (also it was somewhere where he could find a nurse that spoke her native language as her memory is nearly gone at this point) and opened his own private business, Miller's Maxi-Finances. He continues to live there, attempts to be a dutiful to his mother, but also is a terrible person about romantic partners and on weekends drinks until he's forgotten his troubles and tries to fill a hotel bed with someone nice looking. At least in this particular part of town he's chosen he finds that he usually fits in.
AU PERSONALITY:
He's mostly the same. The major differences are that since his mother is still alive, rather than prioritizing someone else's dream he dedicates himself to taking care of her. His energy is mostly spent on making sure she's comfortable, though at this point she's completely forgotten he's an adult and has no idea who he is. She's constantly searching for her child "Kazu".
Miller never mentions her to anyone if he can help it (except for any nurses that he hires, and then he might ask them not to mention that she's his mother because he doesn't want it to be exploited). He's still boisterous and loud but less likely to conspire against someone. His ambition is slightly tempered by the fact that he doesn't want to leave his mother behind, and most of his goals are related to making both their lives more comfortable (which still involves money, but not enough for him to act duplicitous in acquiring).
He's not in love with anyone and he's under the impression that he can't actually be. Other than a few crushes, the most extreme of his attractions is "fond booty call", nothing even remotely serious. He's also not suspicious enough to worry about many people lying or tricking him, and he's not gotten wrapped up (to his knowledge) with any disreputable characters. Many of these things stand to change to be more in line with his canon personality, as the potential is there but circumstances aren't currently conducive. Should his mother die, he get recruited by someone with more questionable ambitions, or he get wrapped up in the wrong type of woman/man, or any combination of the above he could make some very bad decisions.