Difference between revisions of "Rock"

Revision as of 00:41, 26 May 2011

This character profile was last reviewed and approved by: Greens 15:48, 4 December 2010 (EST) Please notify a moderator if any major changes are made.

General Info

Let's get a few things clear off the bat: Rock is a glorified shirtless space marine with a plasma knife and the apparent knowledge to operate nearly anything that can kill a man. He likes motorcycles and the smell of gun oil. He has two known facial expressions: blank and angry. He long ago ran all outta gum.

That indulgence aside, there is a more behind the silent primate than action and violence. When he manages to get a little peace (as rare as it is), he can actually act pretty mellow, and even come off like an average guy. Well, an average enough guy, if a little uncouth and graceless. Even in day-to-day life, it almost feels like he doesn't look at people so much as he looks through them. (The crazy-not-matching-eyes thing doesn't help this.) His short fuze stays hidden most of the time, though, so it isn't like he stomps through life as a raging, red-eyed monster.

He does have a sense of humor, and he does know how to have fun. When he's set to a task, however, he becomes unwaveringly focused and doesn't tolerate unnecessary or intentional hindrance from anyone or anything. He is nothing if not a problem-solver, and it isn't uncommon for him to deem people, even the occasional ally, to be problematic. This mixture of cold objectivity and hot impulsiveness makes him seem particularly ill-suited to the kind of "heroic" causes he often gets wrapped up in, so it's natural that his goals and motivations are sometimes held suspect by allies, enemies, and authorities alike.

He is infamous more than famous; he is not popular or liked. When something really needs to get done no matter the cost or collateral damage, though, Rock's the one to call on.

Background

He keeps odd company and has unusual connections. His circle of friends includes both a Westside Island ex-con and the UF Secretary of Defense. And though he's exceptionally accomplished for his age, little is known about his past, either, beyond his short-lived career in South Island's space program. He achieved something near celebrity status for being the first astronaut of his kind (that is to say, "non-human"), but retired suddenly and without event at the peak of his popularity just weeks after his first mission. He's worked on the side as an aircraft mechanic on and off since then, though he spends a lot of time traveling for reasons unknown.

Ability Info

Both a trained soldier and a seasoned brawler, Rock's a pretty tough customer. As a physical specimen, "balanced" is the best word to describe him. A solid athlete with a good combination of speed, strength, agility, and endurance, he has no particular weakness, but nothing he's great at, either. That being said, in a world that has so many super speeders, super jumpers, super acrobats, super-strength brutes, and so on, his so-called balance ensures that he'll have an uphill battle of some sort in almost every conflict against highly specialized foes. More often than not, he has to rely on his wits to apply what physical prowess he does have to the greatest possible effect.

Considering his intuitiveness, incredible reflexes, situational awareness, and even true eidetic memory, it becomes apparent that his greatest weapon really is his mind, and not his physique. Nothing happens under the jurisdiction of any of his senses that he does not in some way take note of; moving shadows, reflections from glass, distant noises, the faintest of smells, and even the reverberations and echoes of sounds bouncing off of objects in his environment are all analyzed with scrutinizing detail at a subconscious level. This belies his ability to spread his attention across many things at once, making him both an excellent pilot and combatant, not to mention a fast learner capable of picking up and mastering new skills with relatively little instruction and practice.

It isn't without a downside, however: His enhanced awareness and low latent inhibition not only make him more sensitive to stimuli, but also pain. That being the case, he still copes exceptionally well, and has an inhumanly high tolerance for pain even by normal standards. Unfortunately, he's fabulously skilled at accidentally finding inventive new ways to get himself hurt, forever pushing these limits ever further. He's good at surviving getting hurt, though, so his misadventures have ended well enough so far. It isn't that he's bulletproof—not by a long shot, even though he acts it (and takes more than his fair share of bullets, anyway). Instead, there seems to be some sort of unnatural vitality, or maybe just dumb luck and masochism, that always sets him back on his feet and keeps him coming back for more.

Miscellanea

Rock's duffel bag

Rock sometimes uses a duffel bag while traveling to help keep track of important things and tote weapons inconspicuously. Most of what he uses is scavenged or otherwise improvised, so the contents often change.

Current contents:
The current contents of Rock's bag are a special loadout for a space-bound mission in the current storyline, and do not reflect what he would normally carry. See here for a rough sketch of his current appearance, sans helmet.

• Canteen and one ration
• Handheld plasma cutter / welder
• Gas cartridges
• Electrical tool kit (soldering iron, wire cutter, adjustable wrench, etc.)
• Wireless transmitter/receiver, compatible with Tau
• Crowbar
• Roll of duct tape

Trivia

• Closest friends: Jam, Ace, and Rekk
• Favorite color: Red, although you wouldn't know it with how few red things he owns.
• Favorite food: Almost anything spicy (satay, paella, etc.), though he's really not that picky about what he eats, as long as it isn't junk.
• Likes: Motorcycles, robots (he gets along remarkably well with AIs), high places, jumping from high places, swimming, flying, music, and sleeping (which he usually doesn't get to do enough of)
• Dislikes: Shirts. ... Besides that, he doesn't tend to like law enforcement, politicians, or driving (cars or trucks)
• Pet peeves: People who throw around their authority, power-hungry people, and kids who go around "adventuring" for the Chaos Emeralds. Also, being offered bananas, for obvious reasons. (He's actually mildly allergic.)
• Birthday: June 1st
• Birthplace: South Island
• Home: With his parents in Spring City. He bought a place of his own in the foothills of Pumpkin Hill, but he spends little time there (for obvious reasons—talk about a lemon).
• Character theme: Foo Fighters - Monkey Wrench
• "Boss" theme: Independence for Violence (Y3OST)
• Other trivia:
  • Despite having one pink eye and one blue eye, there's nothing special about Rock's eyesight. Both see normally. They're weird to look at, though, so it could make him more intimidating (if only on account of the fact that he looks a little crazy).
  • His tail is prehensile, but he doesn't like using it for mundane tasks. He thinks it's uncivilized (which may seem odd, considering how he's so readily uncivilized in many other ways).
  • Rock showers often. He has stark white fur. This is kind of a necessity, lest he start to look like old gym socks.
  • He received considerable education while in the space program, specializing in electrical engineering and propulsion. He's no mechanical genius, but he does excel in the field since he can work from even complex schematics purely by memory.
  • Rock left the military after finishing his contract. His rank was First Lieutenant (1stLt). Though he is officially (at least on the books) now an inactive reserve, he's apparently still active in some uncertain capacity as an asset to national security, answering to the office of the UF secretary of defense. Details of his precise role are classified, though he has left an unsubtle scorched-earth trail in the wake of his operations. Some members of the media derisively refer to him as the SecDef's "blunt instrument" due to his part in the recent incident at GUN's Empire City facility. (Whether or not this relationship will continue is uncertain, in light of the stink surrounding the disaster.)
  • He's been in and out of the sport of boxing. He started while in the military, and recently competed in Vince's tournament in Grand Metropolis. He was still in the running for the title before the city was flooded and the event postponed.
  • Though he's impressively fit and strong, it doesn't come all that naturally to him. He works and exercises religiously to maintain his level of conditioning.
  • Rock once traveled all the way to Angel Island just so he could jump off of it. He did so without a parachute. He is now ineligible for any form of health insurance coverage.
  • Rock once had a little too much to drink and picked a fight with the Spring City Conquistadors baseball team for fun. The whole team. (He won.)
  • Rock once had a little too much to drink and picked a fight with the Central City Killer Bees hockey team for fun. (He spent a week in the hospital.)
  • Rock once had a little too much to drink and picked a fight with the Emerald Town police department. (He received two cans of pepper spray, twelve taser darts, and five hundred hours of community service.)
  • Rock doesn't really drink anymore.

Beyond the Profile

Played By

Forum username: psikeout

Credits

Character image by and property of Mie
Rock the Monkey character, concept, and profile property of spindash.net
Only for use on spindash.net

Notes