OOC:
Name: Xander
Are you over 16?: Yes
Personal LJ:
der_glitzkriegEmail: evilkimba (at) gmail (dot) com
Timezone: Currently CDT, CST otherwise
Other contact: AIM -- der glitzkrieg
Characters already in the game: n/a
How did you find us?: I used to play here.
IC:
Character name: RED Pyro
Fandom: Team Fortress 2
Timeline: During the RED/BLU war.
Age: Unknown, probably late 20s, early 30s.
~*Magical*~ abilities and strengths: Does the ability to survive in an asbestos-lined suit count as a magical power?
How would they use their abilities?: To light things on fire and not be lit on fire. He has a deep personal love of lighting things on fire.
Appearance: The Pyro is short (compared to the other members of his team, only the Engineer is shorter) and stocky (okay, let's be honest: kinda fat). Within the
Pyro suit, he's a faceless horror. Out of the suit, he's still kind of horrible to look at due to extensive burn scarring (partially burned on the right half of his face, badly scarred hands, chest, upper back, right leg). In spite of this, he still manages to have a full head of short, fluffy red hair and long sideburns.
Background/Personality: Almost all of this is headcanon. There is very little in the way of canon information for any TF2 class. The first paragraph is all that's known canonly. His personality is also based heavily off of his in-game actions and various play styles.
Only two things are known for sure about the mysterious Pyro: he sets things on fire and he doesn't speak. Some believe his occasional rasping wheeze may be an attempt to communicate through a mouth obstructed by a filter and attached to lungs ravaged by constant exposure to his asbestos-lined suit. Either way, he's a fearsome, inscrutable, on-fire Frankenstein of a man.
The "accident" occurred when he was about five years old. He'd always had a bad and unnatural fascination with fire. By that age, he'd already started quite a few accidental grass fires and never gained a natural fear of it. There was a night when his parents went to bed and he was left to his own devices. He had "borrowed" his father's lighter and was playing with it in his room. It burnt his fingertips and he dropped it while it was still lit,. The fire spread quickly and uncontrollably. Michael, as he was known then, was the only one too survive, but was badly burned as a result. He nearly died from the severity and was left permanently scarred.
He had no family to take him in; they knew of his pyromania and didn't want to risk a repeat of what occurred. He was put into an orphanage where he was quickly outcast for how he looked. Michael hated the other kids and frequently acted out in violent ways from their bullying. The one person that was nice to him was the kitchen cook who taught young Michael how to cook. He enjoyed it and kept it up, but it didn't stop his firestarting. He became known as the only person who managed to burn an entire breakfast -- including the cornflakes.
He was in and out of foster care for his uncontrollable and sometimes violent behaviour. He became known as unadoptable and was reaching the age where he would no longer be under state care.
At 16, he was pretty much put out on his own. He was homeless for awhile, though he made some money busking with fire tricks and silly hats. Through his somewhat ridiculous work, he drew the attention of a carnival seeking workers for their sideshow. Since Pyro had talent with fire and already looked the part of a carnie, he figured it wouldn't be too bad of an idea. It wasn't and it worked out to his advantage. He fit in with the rest of the sideshow freaks surprisingly well, becoming friends with people for the first time since his accident. They bonded over a mutual love of silly hats.
He thrived there as the firebreather as well as becoming the cook for the sideshow. He became less known as Michael and more known as Pyro. He designed and built his own flamethrower during that time, perfecting it as he went along. He spent somewhere around ten years as in that "family" of freaks. When he was offered a job with RED, it was a difficult choice, but he decided indulging his violent urges was better than carnie work. Plus RED would provide him with all of the silly hats he could ever want.
Regardless of his violent urges, he's a somewhat carefree and silly person. He wears strange and silly hats over his gasmask (including googly eyes), makes exaggerated gestures even when not in his suit (thumbs up when thanking people, hand motions when giving directions, etc.), and tends to just not care what anyone thinks of him. He plays air guitar with his axes, makes a hadoken with any of his secondary weapons, and even shakes his ass while "directing".
He does have a deep love of burning things and tends to try and light things on fire (in Meet the Medic, Pyro's trying to light his Highlights magazine on fire in the waiting room) when bored. He also enjoys causing chaos, usually by rushing in with his flamethrower blazing.
Why should that character be in this game: For OCs only.
Why do you want to continue their history here: For characters from other games only.
For applicants considering an alternate version of a character already in game, please use this as your chance to explain the key differences between your character and the one already in play:
Have you read up on how the game works?: Plugin is called the FlamingFerret. People can get money by mooching, working, or stealing.
1st person sample: (Sample video post, since Pyro doesn't talk much, if at all.)
[This is a Pyro with a rubber glove on his head. He waits against the wall of an alley that leads into a crowded walkway. The walkway is next to a drop off above a pool. Pyro is armed with his flamethrower. He looks to whoever's holding his guide for him, nods enthusiastically, then gives a thumbs up. He waves one arm towards the walkway and takes off running. Without warning, he begins to use compressed air bursts to push people into the pool. Think of it as a quick diving lesson.
Muffled laughter comes from Pyro. Regardless of the consequences, he triumphantly raises his flamethrower over his head and laughs. He peels up the bottom of his mask and grins for the camera.]
Now that's a real prank.
3rd person sample: RED and BLU finally nuked each other. The reality of his world being gone finally settled in. No more chasing spies; no more protecting an engineer's nest; no more burning people and getting paid for it. Pyro sighed heavily and pressed his forehead against one of the viewing ports. A twinkling star in the distance caught his eye. If there was one thing that could calm him down, it was fire -- even if that fire happened to be light years away and would burn out long before he could see it himself.
People assumed (wrongly) that fire would bring back negative memories for him. Quite the opposite -- fire was one of the few good things in his life, regardless of the fact its what scarred him so badly. It brought back memories of the good times he had at the carnival -- entertaining crowds and his friends. They were gone now, too...That thought didn't get very far as his mind wandered to other things.
Fire let him protect the Engineer's gear from marauding Spies. He quite liked chasing them down and burning them to a crisp. Fire also let him cause complete and utter chaos against the BLUs -- sending them running for cover and slowing their advance. He worked best with fire.
Fire kept his cigarettes lit. All in all, aside from one very unfortunate incident, Pyro and fire were good friends. Still watching the cosmic inferno blaze before him, the spectacle reflecting on the goggles of his mask, Pyro sighed.
"Hudda..."
Questions?: Nope.
Did you put your characters name and fandom in the subject: Yes.