Ruby City Mods (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rubycitymods) wrote2012-01-13 01:45 pm
rubycitymods) wrote2012-01-13 01:45 pm
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APPLICATIONS
✗ Applications are processed weekly, every weekend. The cut-off time for the submission of applications is 11:59PST on Saturday.
✗ Before applying, please read the FAQ and Rules pages.
✗ Please submit your application with the journal you plan to use if you have one made already. If not, another journal is fine, but we prefer your intended journal so it makes for an easier time in granting access to the mod journal and the contacts page.
✗ For very long applications, we would ask you to please separate them into various comments so that they will not take up too much of the page.
✗ Please title your application as { [CANON/CANON OC/OC]CHARACTER NAME || Series Title || reserve/no reserve || X of X } in the subect header
✗ IMPORTANT: Our application form was edited on September 07, 2015. Please use the revised form.
✗ If you are looking for an example of what an application should be like, please refer to the application here for an example of a canon character application, and here for an original character application.
✗ Canon Application
✗ Canon OC Application
✗ OC Application
A note for CR AU applications
Ruby City does allow previous game history/CR to be brought over on a case by case basis. If you want to include this in your application please add additional sections for PERSONALITY DEVELOPMENT and PREVIOUS GAME HISTORY beneath the Personality and Background/History sections.
In these additional sections we would like to see a brief outline of your character's previous game history and how it potentially impacted on and altered their canon personality.
[CANON] The Spine Walter || Steam Powered Giraffe || Non-reserved || 1 of 3
Name: Kiwi
Age: 26
Personal Journal:
E-mail: dedreamweavers@gmail.com
AIM/MSN/etc: AIM: kawaiikitsuwa Plurk: Atomic_Kiwi
CHARACTER
Name: The Spine Walter
Canon: Steam Powered Giraffe
Age: 117
Timeline: A few days beyond the band's Four Points by Sheraton show.
Personality: Like the other members of the band, The Spine is an outgoing robot, always willing to talk with others, quick to smile and make jokes. However he tries to be the mature one, trying to rein in Rabbit and The Jon's antics as much as he's able. This isn't to say he doesn't have a sense of fun, and in fact when he allows himself to relax from the 'mature example' mode, he's just as ready for antics as the others. His attempts to be the boss often make him appear to be a stick in the mud, however he puts up with the ribbing, knowing that they have to be careful, walking a fine line between being considered 'charming, entertaining', and 'mechanical menaces'. It makes him work extra hard to appear normal and charming, hoping to balance out the sometimes unsettling hyperactivity of the others.
He have a playful side, though he comes across as more level-headed than the others, even if he often participates in their games, usually pretending at disapproval or being 'forced into it', though it's doubtful that anyone believes that particular charade, as he always winds up enthusiastically participating in the fun, often forgetting to pretend to grumble over his situation as he gets sucked up into what they're doing. At first glance though, he’s the ‘stick in the mud’ of the trio, and despite Rabbit’s constant teasing is content with this arrangement, as he sees it that someone has to keep a practical outlook on things. It also comes across sometimes that he has no sense of humor, on the occasions that he completely misses the joke, or takes his brother’s banter too literally, not realizing until he gets a strange reaction.
Despite his put together appearance and attitude, The Spine has his share of issues. Years of observing humans has left him with a distinct sense of separation and alienation that he desperately tries to erase through being as human as he possibly can. This was only exacerbated by the upgrades the government gave him, the observations and criticisms of every point about him as 'unnatural' and 'inhuman' while they were working making his want to fit in a near obsession. Despite what they claim, he is more human than they think, the feelings he has having long ago moved past the simple pre-programmed personality he was built with, especially when it comes to his fellow automatons. However the self-doubt they left him with hinder his realization of the emotions he does have, stunting their effects, especially those he doesn't experience as often, leaving him believing he still can't feel, though this is something he doesn't share with anyone.
Despite his somewhat stunted emotional responses, he holds a deep affection for The Jon and Rabbit, leading him to take on his 'big brother' role to try and care for them. And even if technically Rabbit was the older brother, The Spine was constantly usurping the responsibilities, and would protect them as such no matter what anyone thought about it. He has a distinct soft spot for the copper automaton, and thus indulges the excitable robot's antics with a remarkable patience, even allowing himself to be made the fool of on occasion, making it plain that the theft of Rabbit's power core in 1950 scared him more than he let on.
The Spine has quite a few fears hidden under his in-control persona, from a very basic claustrophobia from being shipped to and fro during wartime in crates, to a more abstract fear of becoming outdated. Of being replaced. Of being set aside by the robots he called his brothers in favor of another. There was also his fear of failure. Of not being good enough, especially if that meant that his brothers or one of the humans they worked with were harmed in some manner because of it. Of malfunctioning and hurting someone in the throes of it.
Of being seen as thing by anyone around him, something to serve a purpose and be cast aside, nothing more nothing less. This particular fear drives quite a bit of his work to fit in and behave in a more socially acceptable, ‘human’ manner, thinking that if he can play the part well enough he’ll be accepted, though ironically those that matter most already do.
As his upgrades from the government were not strictly ‘agreed to’ (Insofar as they told him they were powering him down for routine maintenance and he woke in a completely re-outfitted chassis,) he has a lingering fear that Peter I would be disappointed in him over it, not to mention the fear this kindled about the possibility of something like this happening again, of the possibility of waking up no longer as himself the next time, driving him to be very hands on with his own maintenance, and refusing to be shut down unless absolutely necessary, even with a trusted mechanic.
As calm as he is, it's hard to get him angry, though this is partly because he keeps such a tight lid on his temper, partly out of keeping up appearances, and largely out of a fear that he might say something hurtful to the others, or lash out and harm either them or humans, who he sees as terrifyingly fragile, especially after serving in multiple wars. The one thing that will definitely see his temper flare is someone harming either robot he sees as under his care, especially Rabbit, who despite being the elder robot, The Spine sees as a little brother to be fussed over, especially with how he malfunctions.
Despite all of this, The Spine remains optimistic about the world in general, viewing it through a lens of fascination that comes from watching the world change around them. He even remains hopeful about humanity, seeing the music the band performs as bringing a little joy into lives that sometimes seem bleak, and so throwing his all into each performance, delighting in the excitement he sees in the audience as they react to the music
[CANON] The Spine Walter || Steam Powered Giraffe || Non-reserved || 2 of 3
Official Backstory
Official Timeline
Official Bio
The Spine was the second musical automaton to be created by the inventor Peter Walter I in his quest to win the heart of a fellow scientist, Delilah Moreau. Sadly, it wasn't to be, the young woman succumbing to illness before the musical trio was completed. The titanium bot could only watch as the man who he knew as his father descended into a frenzied depression, throwing his efforts into the creation of the third bot. But once the three were complete, he didn't stop there, continuing to build many varied robots, even as there were rumblings of trouble in Africa.
It was with a heavy heart that he outfitted his automaton boys with weaponry, sending them into battle to rescue the Rock Candy Mines from the copper elephants. It was a three day battle, radically changing the way The Spine saw the world, seeing firsthand the horrifying effects of war, especially when forced to deal with the men controlling the copper elephants... or what was left of them anyways.
The experience left both he and his brothers so traumatized that it was many years before they were seen again, remodeled once again for their original purpose of song and entertainment, and it seemed that things would improve. However once again, they were pulled into another war, though this time working with search and rescue crews during the first world war. It was a relief that they weren't expected to fight against humans, but even still, seeing the way the opposing armies tore into each other, their fragility in comparison to the automatons startled and frightened The Spine, making him more protective of his family, especially the human members.
Sadly enough it was a short lived peace despite The Spine's wishes, and once again the trio were pulled in to fight with the Allies, occasionally together, but usually in separate divisions, during which The Spine spent some time with the Navy, though this did nothing to help his dislike of closed spaces. One of the times they were brought together to help with a bombing raid, The Spine and his brothers disobeyed orders to instead rescue Allied forces nearby, as to them? It was more important to save the soldiers they'd been sent into battle with. Looking forward to peace when finally sent home, they instead discovered that their father had died three years before they'd been sent home, and the government hadn't seen fit to tell them.
The Spine and his brothers were just tools to them after all.
The robots have another five years of relative quiet, before the Beciles once again intrude into their lives, Thaddeus's descendants assault Rabbit, stealing his core. The family is treated to a taste of what happens when Blue Matter is mishandled when they attempt to retrieve the core. They get there as Ignatius and Norman switch it on, and the ensuing explosion rips through time and space, killing two men, mutating another and injuring the two remaining men. Even when the core is retrieved, and the copper bot is repaired he carries a deep guilt about this event. While he'd always tried to be the big brother, it was here that The Spine had to really step into the role to help console his distraught brother, help the younger understand where their missing family was.
It was at that point that his insistence on being the 'stoic' brother, the one they could always rely on truly was made, a desperate attempt to offer some semblance of comfort and stability in a world that seemed to whip by them and spin the family about with each new tragedy. The role was almost upset when The Spine was commissioned by the government to come in for some routine tests and comparisons. When he'd been powered down, without his knowledge or the family's consent, he was given a total overhaul into a new chassis that made him stronger, more streamlined and 'human' in an attempt to use him as a special ops spy, thus not risking the lives of their more important human agents. However despite their constant tinkering and training, The Spine couldn't quite pass well enough to satisfy their requirements and was sent home, right into a severe family squabble.
He and Rabbit fought bitterly over the new chassis, the copper bot insisting it was a betrayal of their dead creator, that The Spine was just trying to be something he wasn't. It was something that drove a wedge between the two for years, stubbornness on both sides fueling the disagreement further, and it might have continued on for years more if not for the death of yet another human member of their family. It put ice on the argument, and while the two might never have resolved the issue, both were quite willing to push it aside in favor of pulling the family back together again, as well as helping the young Peter Walter V settle into the family home.
Despite protests from the Walter family, the government once again pulls the automatons into war, this time to support ground troops in Vietnam. Sadly, the entire thing turns disastrous, in the midst of battle the three are taken down, and by the time any other support comes to the area, the bots were gone. The three bots were dragged to a facility deep in enemy territory, where as scientific curiosities they were studied, and brought online so that the Vietnamese could try to extract information from them, in tactics that wound up amounting to torture. Once the scientists had gotten what they needed, the bots were forced offline again, and wouldn't be found until eight years after they went missing, when retreating american troops came across the storage facility they were being kept at, and the government arranged for them to be sent home, where they were repaired and brought back online.
In light of such a horrible experience, The Spine asked the Walter Mechanic, Michael Reed Sr to put a lock on the programming he needed to use his weaponry, and he as well as his brothers took a vow of peace, determined never to participate in war again.
Luckily it seemed the government was content to leave the trio be, and they resumed their performing in relative peace. Over the years, the Steam Man Band was forgotten, and after a few false starts, and a misadvised attempt at being a boy band, The Spine and his brothers started to perform in a park near their home under the name 'Steam Powered Giraffe'. It was this that started to garner them attention again, and they started releasing albums, going on to do proper shows as their popularity was increasing.
It was only the year before that The Jon left them to go back to Kazooland to adventure, and check on Biscuit Town, where he was a mayor. The bot Hatchworth was upgraded to be able to take his place in the band, a change that The Spine is still uncertain about. He loves the youngest brother that now performs with him, and enjoys having someone about that appreciates his humor and intelligence, but he still deeply misses the brassy bot that always smiled and enjoyed hula-hooping, and when things are quiet, plans to organize a trip to Kazooland to see how he's doing.
And while he claims to not know anything about it, he remembers quite well the malfunction the three bots had just recently suffered on stage, the flashbacks to the terrifying Three Day War at the beginning of their lives, and is honestly worried, as he seems to be having more of those little flashbacks lately.
[CANON] The Spine Walter || Steam Powered Giraffe || Non-reserved || 3 of 3
While his robotic body is very strong and capable, The Spine is susceptible to extreme temperatures, heat causing brownouts and blackouts of systems, while cold freezes the fluids in his lines, the water in his boiler as well as extinguishing the flame there if cold enough. While he is more water-resistant than his brothers due to his upgrades, this extends more towards rain, or briefly being submerged so long as the water doesn't reach past his waist. Otherwise there is a very real chance of electrocution, as well as his boiler’s fire going out. If he’s overheating, sudden cold could cause cracking of plating or his ‘skeleton’, so he does his best to dress for the elements.
His chassis can take quite a beating, being made of a titanium skeleton and plating, though slim weapons can get into the gaps with skillful application, causing damage to more delicate internals. His spine is much less sturdy, the plating being thinner, with more delicate parts, so he does his best not to be caught out in the open without his full chassis.
Abilities: The Spine, being a musical automaton is skilled with singing, as well as a multitude of musical instruments. This also allows him to pick up new instruments remarkably quickly, and the same dexterity that allows him to manipulate stringed instruments leaves him well-equipped towards learning other skills that require a steady delicate hand, such as mechanical repairs for his siblings and himself, as well as mainframe maintanance, as his room in the Walter Manor is the Hall where the servers for the Walter Wifi are stored, as well as the main hub for the various systems needed for life in the strange home, among them the security systems.
While he doesn't have conscious access to these at this point, due to restrictive programming he requested Peter implement, he still carries the weaponry his frame was upgraded with for the war, including his blue matter ray projector arrays which for lack of a better term fire ‘lasers’, and a Tesla coil high voltage discharger, allowing him to shoot short bursts of electricity, either in a single direction or as a radius effect.
If he were able to access his weaponry, it would still be a rather dangerous thing for him; the ray projector drawing power straight from his core, meaning he had to use it sparingly; and the discharger holds a risk of system blackouts, as each use degrades the safety measures built into place to protect him, after which the charge begins to damage his systems, which would shut him down after extensive continued discharge.
While his core rests in his frame, The Spine’s namesake is broader and segmented like a snake’s body, allowing him to exit his body, allowing him access to smaller areas in need of repair, or to hide and spy more effectively. His spine is equipped with a battery that’s charged when he docks in his chassis, and when fully charged allows him to be out of it for four days without damage. After this he falls into a ‘ power-save mode’ like a coma, the only activity a small distress ping on nearby wireless signals. He can survive like this another three days before the battery fails, and he’s off-lined, effectively dead; at any point before this placing him back into his chassis stops the process. At night, he prefers to leave his chassis to power down when possible, as it extends the life of the parts when they aren't being used day and night; part of the reason he’s in so much better shape than either of his brothers.
In more mundane abilities, The Spine still retains much of the medical training he and his brothers had received while doing search and rescue, not enough to do anything complicated, but he can provide basic first aid, as well as some emergency field dressing for injuries. And due to wanting to use him as a special operative in place of the more vulnerable humans, The Spine was taught a variety of languages, though he only retains fluent skills in a few, such as french, chinese, and russian, though there are numerous other languages where he's conversational, or where he can understand the written language.
First Person:
Just push this button here and… how do I even…?
[The voice on the line is smooth and deep, putting one in mind of old television announcers, though this is marred by a brief crackle of static as he lets out a startled breath of steam noticing that the phone is indeed working.]
Oookay guys. Thanks for telling me it was hide and seek time.
Again…
For the fifth time today.
[A beat longer, the only sound on his end the click of gears and a faint hiss of hydraulics as he shifts his stance, the silence almost awkward.]
You do realize we’ve got a show in fifteen minutes, right? I mean this is kinda cutting it close even for you The Jon.
...Rabbit? The Jon? [A moment’s silence longer before there’s the beeping of another button being pressed, the voice dropping to a grouchy mutter.]
Is this thing even working? Give me a rotary phone any day…
Third Person:
“Mew?”
The Spine stopped dead in his tracks when he heard that little sound, just barely audible over the usual hum of machinery in the Hall of Wires, green optics brightening in confusion as he looked over his shoulder. He almost wanted to say it was QWERTY, being his usual silly self, but the system seemed to be in recharge mode, for once still and silent. He almost chalked it up to imagination, but he heard it again, a thin plaintive mewl, and this time he saw something incredibly tiny shift over by the grates. Letting out a small sound of surprise, the tall automaton moved closer, optics widening as he saw a small tortie-marked kitten, struggling to free it’s front paw from a gap in the grating. When his shadow fell over it, the kitten puffed up, straggly tail bottle-brushed as it hissed in warning.
“…Hey there… it’s okay…” He murmured in that soothing baritone as he knelt, studying the trapped paw. It seemed that the kitten had just twisted itself around when that leg had slipped through, and if he were to adjust it, he could free it easily. “Not gonna hurt a cute little thing like you.”
Carefully, he reached out with one hand, not reacting at all when the kitten swiped at him with a free paw, tiny needle-point claws scratching harmlessly over the silver finish. He had to be so careful, this was a delicate little thing, more so than any human child who’d ever asked him for a hug, with even a wrong twitch he could harm it beyond repair. Spreading his fingers slightly, he scooped them under the rounded belly and lifted the little kitten, in the same movement turning it slowly, so the sides of it’s trapped paw were no longer pinned in the narrow slat of the grating. When it felt it’s paw freed, the young kitten snatched it back up, and started frantically grooming the limb as if to make sure it was okay. The Spine just sat back, the little warm furry bundle carefully cupped in his hand, watching with no small amount of curiosity. He could feel the warmth of it’s body, his hands designed with a great deal more sensitivity than the rest of him, the small tremors of it’s heartbeat a rapid flutter against his palm.
“There, see? All better.” He informed the kitten, lifting his free hand, using two fingers to gingerly stroke it’s back, ready to snatch his fingers away the instant he heard any sound of discomfort or pain. He was so scared to hurt the little kitten by accident… but he wanted so badly to hold and pet it. He just had to be careful, mindful. The kitten didn’t seem to mind, back pressing into the smooth fingertips, a small almost tinny purr emitting from the warm body that was now starting to settle against the cool metal of his palm, the kitten closing it’s eyes to thin blue slits as it started to relax under the attention.
The Spine didn’t move other than to stroke the kitten further, as if afraid to disturb it’s rest, and a small warm smile crossed his lips as he wondered if Mr. Reed would know what to feed it.
[ACCEPTED]
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Mod Note: In your writing sample, The Spine seems to have been given a phone. Please be aware that the communicators in Ruby City are actually designed to resemble a pocket watch. Thank you, and have fun!