Character Application Example (PCC)

5. Name of the character you're applying for:
Tempest

6. Your character's alt mode(s)
CF-18 Hornet Jet

7. Your character's function (their "job title", in other words)
Warrior

8. Your character's motto/quote (The best mottoes are not only a cool-sounding phrase, but also make a statement about a character's outlook on life. "Conquest is made of the ashes of one's enemies" is a cool-sounding phrase, for instance, but what does it really say about Starscream's worldview? By contrast, "Nothing surpasses flight - and nothing that flies can surpass me" tells you a little something about Starscream - first of all, that he loves to fly, and we can assume he's highly skilled at it, and second, that he's got, shall we say, a bit of an arrogant streak. :) Try to keep your character's motto true to this guideline. It can be tough to come up with something just right sometimes, but give it a shot.)
"Survival of the fittest; destruction of the rest."

9. Your character's profile (In broad strokes, an outline of who the character is. What are the main personality traits that make the character instantly recognizable and unique? What are their strengths and skills, and what are their hidden - and not-so-hidden - weaknesses? This should describe mental/emotional/personality traits as much as it should describe physical traits. What are their preferred weapons and/or particular contributions to their faction? When considering your character, try to avoid over-used cliche's, such as "a big powerful guy isn't going to be too bright" -- look at Megatron, for instance, he's big and powerful, and extremely bright. Try to make it a realistic individual, rather than someone who has a single one-dimensional defining character trait and no other facets. After all, you're going to be living this character's life in all its aspects, and someone who is only good at killing the enemy, isn't going to be much fun in other situations. And there will be plenty of other situations. When in doubt, refer to some of the already existing character profiles on TFDD as guidelines. Try not to exceed 15-20 lines, so that the profile does not exceed one screen in size.)
Scavenger turned pirate turned newly recruited Decepticon warrior, Tempest is one of the most vicious individuals to ever wear the Decepticon brand. Spending most of her life in an environment where simple existence meant kill or be killed, Tempest has difficulty adjusting to the more civilized and regimented environment of the Decepticon troops. Her agility, speed and cunning, combined with devastating proficiency with a pair of longblades, kept her alive in the scumpits of the universe. However, her abilities are limited to what she's managed to teach herself. She has almost no concept of teamwork, grand strategy, or goals beyond day-to-day survival. In her heart she is a lonely individual, scarred by the brutality of her past; to the observer she is suspicious and guarded, confused by simple courtesies and occasionally downright savage. She has trouble trusting others and places her own survival as paramount; however, she shows considerable potential to be a valuable part of the team if only she can learn to trust them. Tempest's outlook is the product of a lifetime of having nothing to call her own except what she's managed to steal-and a burning will to survive.

10. Your character's commander (Under whose leadership do you want this character stationed? Use +commanders for a list.)
This is a difficult call for me. Tempest's personality suggests she might mix well with Colossus, but no one really seems to be playing that group much. In all honesty I'd prefer to be stationed on Earth-the problem with that is, I don't think Megatron would have willingly taken a new soldier like Tempest on the ship with him. However I COULD see, quite easily, my first RP scenario being Tempest meeting up with and joining the Decepticons on Earth... feedback? (See IC scenario below)

11. What is your character's background and history? Give as much detail as possible to explain how they came to this particular point in their lives at which you want them to be introduced on TFDD. This is information that the character profile for the most part may not cover - information that other characters may perhaps learn about in the course of RP as they interact with your character. If this is a newly-created character who would have no history yet, give an overview of the TP in which you'd like to see them introduced.
Tempest believes herself to be the last survivor of the small pacifistic Cybertronian colony of Kilair. When her homeworld was attacked by raiders shortly after Tempest was built, the young robot suddenly found herself alone and unarmed in a hostile universe, with only one choice before her: to live or to die. Life was a harsh and painful choice, but it was the path she chose. Her early life was one of brutality and deprivation in the scum pits of the galaxy, but Tempest survived, eventually becoming the leader of a small pack of pirates. Unfortunately for her, as her group became more and more feared among the traders of the universe, it attracted the attention of law enforcement officials who dedicated themselves to eradicating the pirate menace. (I would suspect Tempest has had a few run-ins with Defcon...) The rest of the pack was imprisoned or killed; Tempest alone escaped thanks to the sacrifice of her second-in-command, Harrier. Once again alone, Tempest stumbles across the Decepticons almost entirely by chance.
Tempest is actually built according to Decepticon specifications, a Seeker Model 2B, but her colony was a mix of Autobots and Decepticons who'd turned their back on Cybertron and its wars in favour of starting anew on an uninhabited world. Oddly enough, rather than hating the raiders for what they did, Tempest believes they were right to attack and destroy her colony. She thinks that, because the Kilairians had no weapons or military training, that they in effect were "asking" to be attacked-and the raiders, who fought for their plunder, earned it by dint of superior force. The lesson she learned from the attack is to always be the hunter rather than the hunted.
Tempest's philosophy of life has been very much shaped by her experiences. She neither gives mercy to others nor expects any for herself. She believes that existence itself is a war and that everyone else is against her. The more frightened she is, the more aggressive she will get. She doesn't care about personal advancement for the sake of ego or acclaim; she wishes only to increase her viability to survive so that no one else can force pain or degradation upon her. In her heart she believes that all life is worthless, including her own. In her more introspective moments, she will wonder what she is living for. The best answer she can give herself is spite-it's the only way she has to lash back at the universe that has hurt her so badly. She places little value on her own emotions and she cannot understand why anyone else would bother going out of their way to help her, even for such minor things as a kind word. Under the vicious exterior is a lost and lonely spirit looking for an escape from its pain. The only humanizing factor in her early life was Harier, perhaps the only individual she ever really considered a friend-and he's dead now. If she's not snarling her motto of defiance-"Survival of the fittest; destruction of the rest"-in her quiet moments, she has another motto-"In the end you are always alone."

12. What is it about this particular character that appeals to you?
Out of all my fanfic characters, Tempest is the one I find most fascinating to write. My original plan was to create a "foil" for Autobot Stormrave (who wasn't intentionally a Mary Sue of me; my friend created an Autobot based on me and then when I joined her RP/fanfic circle, it kind of went from there). Before long that "foil" took on a very rich life of her own.
Stormrave and Tempest both came from a planet in ruins. Stormrave fled and was taken in by the Autobots. Tempest, injured, was left behind...and had to learn survival, and fast. When I really started thinking about the effect of this experience on the character, I had to change my original preconceptions. What does it take to survive on your own in a hostile world? What does it do to your outlook when everyone you meet treats you with, at best, indifference, and at worst, as a target? Exactly how much brutality has Tempest seen, and is there ever really a recovery from experiences like that?
Tempest's world view is a product of growing up with the feeling that there is no one you can count on. In her heart she feels a lot of pain, but she doesn't really understand why. She's buried her emotions so long that they confuse and frighten her. There's much about herself that she doesn't understand, such as the urge for companionship (she doesn't know the word for this feeling is "lonely".)
I think there's a lot of room for this character to develop and grow. Hopefully someone's going to be willing to make the effort to get through her shell. Someone else is bound to be ICly annoyed at her seeming selfishness. I just keep finding new facets of this character, and I honestly think Tempest is one of the most complex individuals I've ever created.
No matter what happens, no matter how overwhelming the odds, this character flatly refuses to lie down and die. Love her or hate her, there's something to be said for that.

13. How do you perceive this character's role within the faction? What's unique about this character - that is, what do they contribute that nobody else can do quite the same way? How does this character interact with those above, below, and of the same rank as themselves? Ideally you've given a very general outline of this in the character profile already, but here we're looking for more detail.
Tempest's role in the faction is apt to be a problematic one. Her skill in hand-to-hand combat is unquestioned, but she's going to need some lessons in the use of a gun and bombs-not to mention a little civilizing. How she reacts to subordinates, peers and superiors is really going to depend on whether or not they can get her to give them a chance to earn her trust.
Subordinates: If she doesn't know them well, they're pieces in a battle plan-nothing more. And before you consider me a secret Autobot thinker ;), realize Tempest considers HERSELF nothing more than a piece in a battle plan. Still, she's not one to throw away lives needlessly-that'll both reflect badly on her, and leave her with a shortage of troops. Subordinates will respect her abilities, but probably have mixed feelings about her as a leader.
Peers: Tempest tends to view her peers as competition. She hates to be beaten-at anything-and may not always hide it well. This doesn't mean she won't ever be civil to anyone-but her trust has to be earned.
Superiors: Tempest would never think of challenging a superior that is a more capable survivor than she. (Ie, she's not about to be challenging her leaders any time in the near future-she won't pick a fight she doesn't think she can win, and right now she's got some serious strikes against her.) On the whole she obeys orders because she believes that the leaders quite literally hold her life in their hands. Tempest wants to impress her superiors because she secretly craves approval (though she doesn't realize it herself), but not so much that she'll obey blindly. She will disobey orders if she believes obeying them puts her survival at risk and she can't see any direct personal gain from obeying. Showing her the least bit of gratitude or approval will both flatter her and confuse the hell out of her. Anyone who she DOES come to trust: She'll kill for you. She'll be immediately defensive of you and willing to gut anyone she perceives as threatening you. If you don't want other team members gutted, you'd better keep an optic on her. ;) Whether she'd go so far as to risk DYING for you is something else again...but if you can win her loyalty, she'll stay with you. Granted, you're also going to have a heck of a time trying to civilize her.
Unique abilities: If she decides she's willing to do something, she'll go out and do it...no matter what that takes. She's very much a perfectionist, believing that if something isn't done right the first time, it's almost as bad as failure. Still, she's exceedingly persistent, refusing to give up until her task is done. She's very fast in jet mode, cunning at a tactical level, and actually enjoys hand-to-hand combat. She's honest to a fault-seeing no reason to bother lying about anything, no matter how harsh the truth may be, and not particularily caring what most others think of her.

14. What do you perceive as this character's goals in life, both on a personal level and as regards the cause they're fighting for? Why does this individual risk themselves for this particular cause? Again, mention of this could have been touched upon in the profile, but expand upon it in more detail here.
Tempest's goal in life is quite simple-to go on living. That's it. That's really about all she understands. She goes along with the other Decepticons because she believes that her odds for survival are better with the group than on her own, but that's about the only concept she's got of a "greater vision." If you want any more than that, you'll have to teach her :)
Tempest's belief in "survival of the fittest" demands that she continue to prove herself worthy of continued survival, usually by fighting. She has a bad habit of not asking for repairs because she believes all her wounds are "punishment" for not being fast enough/strong enough/cunning enough/etc. Why, in her heart, does she go on living? Because all her life, it seemed to her as if the universe were out to kill her. The only way she has to strike back is to deny it its goal-to keep on living.

15. Give an example of an IC situation that you can see this character taking part in and contributing to.
(CharStaff Note: The following is a rather longer and more detailed scenario than what we would expect from most apps. You don't have to write a whole fanfic - though if you want to, feel free, of course. :) )

Possible IC Situation: Arrival of Tempest

THUNDERCRACKER is stationed guard patrol over the canyon-floor energon dump, in an attempt to discover the individual(s) responsible for recently noticed thievery. Thundercracker sighs, very bored with this job, and starts cleaning his laser, not really paying much attention.

TEMPEST slips out of the shadow of the nearby canyon wall and darts up onto a rock, surveying the canyon below. She notes Thundercracker's presence and slowly makes her way around the fuel dump, keeping to the darkness, hoping to grab and be gone before Thundercracker notices her.

SKYWARP suddenly warps in overhead.

TEMPEST ducks, hoping she hasn't been seen.

SKYWARP lands and transforms.

SKYWARP: Who's your little friend?

THUNDERCRACKER: What?

SKYWARP: I thought I saw...

SKYWARP powers up his guns.

SKYWARP: There's someone on the other side of the dump. Some guard you are.

THUNDERCRACKER hurriedly reattaches his gun and powers up.

TEMPEST grabs a few energon cubes, shoves them into her storage compartment, and prepares to run.

SKYWARP steps in front of Tempest's line of travel.

SKYWARP: And just who do you think you are? Little thief.

THUNDERCRACKER: Those cubes belong to Megatron.

TEMPEST: Prove it.

TEMPEST draws her longblades.

TEMPEST: I say these cubes belong to whoever can take them.

SKYWARP starts laughing.

SKYWARP: You're going to fight four lasers with two swords, little one?

TEMPEST snarls and lashes out, deadly serious.

SKYWARP ducks the longblade. Suddenly angry, he fires off a salvo at Tempest. TEMPEST blocks with the sword, sending the blast bouncing off the blade.

(OOC: I'm not really sure how MUSH combat works, and I'm going to skip most of the battle scene here, since it's the situation I'm aiming at showing...)

As SKYWARP and TEMPEST duel, THUNDERCRACKER notices that although neither robot has done much damage to the other beyond a few dents and singes, the smaller yellow female has a plate crudely welded to her arm that has slipped off during battle, and she's sparking quite badly. TEMPEST dodges SKYWARP and, in the moment's respite, looks at THUNDERCRACKER challengingly.

TEMPEST: Come on, what are you waiting for?

THUNDERCRACKER hangs back. SKYWARP and TEMPEST go at it again. The wound in Tempest's arm is growing worse, hampering her movements with her sword. Finally, she tries to flee, but Skywarp won't have it...he clips her in the back of the knee and sends her sprawling.

SKYWARP holds his gun under her chin and notices the crude Decepticon logos painted-not branded, just painted-onto her wings.

SKYWARP: You call yourself a Decepticon, eh? Some Decepticon... Any last words?

TEMPEST glares up at him defiantly, snarling, but says nothing.

THUNDERCRACKER: Actually I have some last words for her...what in the Pit possessed you to take us on yourself, injured like that?

TEMPEST says tersely, We're in a desert in the middle of nowhere and there isn't exactly a lot of fuel to be had here.

SKYWARP: Thunder, she's a lousy little thief.

THUNDERCRACKER: But how'd she get here to Earth? Look at her, she looks like slag. And we ARE in the middle of nowhere.

SKYWARP: Autobot spy?

THUNDERCRACKER: The Autobots aren't in the habit of sending out half-dead operatives.

TEMPEST staggers slowly to her feet, still glaring at them. Now that she's still, they can see her armour is badly dented and she's showing the signs of fuel deprivation.

THUNDERCRACKER: I say we take her back to base and let Megatron decide what to do with her.

SKYWARP: Megatron doesn't want to be bothered with riffraff.

THUNDERCRACKER: She made her way out here, didn't she? She held her own against you, even in that condition.

SKYWARP: Shut up...

TEMPEST smirks a little, but when she sees the others noticing her, she wipes the smirk off her face and tries to pretend she hadn't done it.

16. What are your character's stats? (Most stats range from 1-10, with some varying a little. There are no arbitrary stat-limits on TFDD, but please make sure the character's stats make sense and are nicely balanced for that particular character and their function. Does it really make sense for a medic to be toting a small armory of firepower, for instance? Well, maybe or maybe not - it depends on the rest of the profile. :) Remember, we're not looking for cliche's, we're looking for realistic characters, and there's a whole variety of possibilities for them. But keep certain logical trade-offs in mind. Is it possible for a character to both be immensely strong and immensely agile? Unlikely. Above all, make sure that there are good and realistic reasons for the character to have these particular stats. Remember that everybody has certain strengths, and certain weaknesses.)
STRENGTH: 4
ENDURANCE: 9
AGILITY: 9
INTELLIGENCE: 8
COURAGE: 7
CHARISMA: 3
SHARPSHOOTING: 2
HAND-TO-HAND: 9
TECH SKILL: 1
RANK: 2
VELOCITY: 2200 mph atmospheric
SIZE 1: 33' high (robot mode)
SIZE 2: 56' long, 40'5" wingspan


17. What are your character's weapons in each mode? (Each character will automatically be given a number of free low-level attacks: punch and kick or bite and claw, grasp, ram; laser and/or blade where appropriate. Additional weapons are up to you to name and select a damage level. See News WeaponsGuide for examples. List your weapons by mode, and try not to exceed a total of about 5 non-free attacks.)
Weapons, Robot mode: Two vibro swords customized into longblades (roughly 15' long each).
Jet mode: When she first shows up on the Decepticons' doorstep, nothing. (Where would she get them?) She's capable of carrying bombs and air-to-air missiles though.
Regarding weapons: though she's equipped to carry bombs and missiles, she has had to steal them, and once they're used up, she has to wait for the opportunity to steal more. Similarily, she can't attach arm-mounted weapons into her system by herself, even if she were to steal some, so although she very much wants a pair of plasma rifles or scattershot guns-or one of each-she hasn't got any yet.
She would very much like to carry twin scattershot guns or plasma guns, for use in both robot and jet modes, (the standard Seeker "arm lasers" from the show). Before long I hope that Tempest will have guns and missiles, but to start out with, she doesn't.

18. What are your character's special abilities? (All characters will have flight in robot mode unless there's a specific reason for them not to, and in alt mode if it's clearly an aerial form. Other abilities, if needed, can be selected from the News Abilities list. Try not to exceed 3 abilities total, in addition to flight.)
Tempest's only special abilities are flight and a rough grasp of spaceship piloting. (IE: She can fly a ship and land it if she has to, but she's not particularily good at it.) Her knowledge of spaceship piloting came from her days as a pirate, though usually she had a subordinate doing the flying; she learned by watching. Cast out on her own early on, no one has ever given her any abilities beyond the usual factory specifications.

19. Explain why you chose this particular mix of stats, weapons, and abilities. Explain how it merges into the character as a whole and how everything balances against each other. In particular, if you have very high or very low stats in a particular area, are they compensated somehow in another area? (Or to put it another way, if a character is noticeably excellent in a particular thing, what are they noticeably not excellent at as a consequence? And how do the chosen stats/weapons/abilities reflect this?) If you chose a particular type of ability to go with your character's function, do the character's other abilities and weapons make sense in light of that?
Coming from the scum pits of the galaxy, Tempest has to have good hand-to-hand fighting skills-if she didn't, she'd be dead by now. She's survived this long on the basis of cunning, ruthlessness, speed and sheer willpower. She relies on her agility to make up for her smaller size, so she can either dodge a stronger opponent or run away from him. It's remarkable that she's alive at all, and so I believe high stats in these areas are justifiable.
Her sharpshooting is poor because she's only fired a gun a handful of times in her life, when she could steal a charged hand-held weapon. With no formal education, she has no tech skills beyond the basics of field repair that she managed to figure out herself. As a new recruit to the Decepticons, Tempest's rank is 2 instead of 1 based on her prior reputation as a pirate. Her charisma level is 3 because, although she's obviously a capable warrior, anyone who's aware that her primary concern is herself will be unlikely to place much trust in her to show any concern for their well-being. Certain individuals are put off by her bluntess and sheer savagery-she's really the next thing to feral.
Courage was a difficult stat for me to figure out. If she believes her own survival or advancement is at stake, she will face any odds-but for an abstract goal that doesn't seem to provide material benefits for her personally, she's disinclined to take any risk at all. Depending on the circumstances, she's faced overwhelming odds at 10 for her own survival-but to carry out an abstract goal, you're looking more like a 3. So I weighed the difference ;)
As far as intelligence goes: She's really quite bright. Her abilities, however, are badly restricted by the fact that she's had no formal training. Again, justification for the 8 is, she had to figure out most of her own tactics as she went and none of those tactics have killed her yet ;) Strategy-the grand plan, the broad means of going about an end (as opposed to tactics-how to achieve one limited objective) escapes her because she's never had the chance to think much about the future-her present was always too uncertain. She'd pick up quite a lot if someone took the time to teach her.

20. What types of actions would you consider unacceptably twinkish for your character? What would you do if another character acted toward you in a manner that you consider twinkish? (see News Twink if you are unfamiliar with the term)
Tempest would very rarely put herself in danger to save a comrade, unless that individual were a close friend of hers. She considers orders carefully before she decides whether or not to obey them-usually she does, but not unquestioningly. She's also not in the least inclined towards romantic relationships-her mind doesn't even work that way, she's still struggling with the concept of "friendship," and certain events in her past disincline her to have any interest in romance/sex-so any type of romantic advance on Tempest's part is twinking the character out of recognition. As a new recruit to the Decepticons, no one is going to have any prior memory of Tempest serving with a Decepticon unit. Some characters may have had past run-ins with her back when she was a pirate, though.
If someone twinks my character, I will state politely but firmly OOC that such an action is inappropriate for my character, and if applicable suggest an alternate action that would fit her better. IC I will try to guide my character's responses away from the "twinking action". I hereby promise to give the other player the benefit of the doubt (as I am certain to make a few mistakes myself). If problems persist, I will avoid my automatic response to tear the twinker's throat out ;) and contact the game's moderator or administrator (or MUSH equivalent).
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