APP FOR savetheearth

[wastingtime]

OOC Information:
Name: Mindy
Are you over 15?: Yep.
Contact: DW Message, or plurk @ artoni

IC Information:
Name: Preincarnation; Vector Prime / Reincarnation; Elian Price
Canon: Transformers; Cybertron [Galaxy Force]
Age: Preincarnation; Billions and billions of years. No, really. SINCE THE DAWN OF TIME BASICALLY. / Reincarnation; 91. Think Christopher Lee in terms of aging; he's done really, really well.
Preincarnation Appearance: Look, a robot.
Reincarnation Appearance: WELL FOR ONE HE'S HUMAN.
For two, he's now an old man who - despite his age - has aged damn well. He's nowhere near as fit as he was sixty (or even fifty) years ago, but he could pass for a man in his 60s or 50s. Who's still in good condition.

Preincarnated History:
Both the 'Cybertron comic' and 'Cybertron cartoon' will be directly relevant. It's important to note that Vector Prime is what is known in canon as a Multiversal Singularity- he exists in multiple dimensions at once, living multiple lives at once, but is still one. He may not always remember who he is, but the fact remains he's so much more than just meets the eye. (Sorry, couldn't help it.) I will be focusing on a specific incarnation of Vector, specifically that native to the Cybertron/Galaxy Force canon, as this was his original and (currently) strongest source of canon. At that point, he's aware of himself as a singularity and does cross dimensions, but makes few if any references to alternate timelines- but bear in mind that for him, it almost always begins the same way...

...

Before time began, there were Primus and Unicron, two opposing gods - one of light, one of darkness. Creation and destruction. Opposites in nearly every aspect...and, as one could easily imagine, enemies. To assist him in the fight against Unicron, Primus created a crew of thirteen robotic beings that mimicked one of Unicron's most potent abilities; the ability to change from one form to another. He called these beings Transformers, and they would be the template for an entire species.

These Original Transformers were each given significant power, and a significant duty to match; the one named Vector Prime was charged with guarding spacetime. And when another of their number abandoned Primus and became the Fallen, assisting Unicron in his attempts to consume existence - he took up sword in defense of his creator and of the multiverse. The war devastated the ranks of the Originals, with some outright being destroyed and others abandoning their functions and becoming lost to time - but it ended in light's favor. The Fallen was banished to a dimensional prison with his master. And yet despite the devastation, despite his time of mourning for the others - it wasn't long before Vector Prime returned to his duty.

Time, in a sense, lost its meaning - or at least gained a different one to Vector than it does those who experience it in straightforward years. Especially so to him, one who navigated time and space and crossed dimensions as easily as others would cross streets. He was isolated except for his lone companion, Safeguard, a minicon he picked up during his steps to worlds. Safeguard became his closest of allies, friends, partners - while Vector Prime, for the most part, did not reveal himself to mortals and preferred to work unnoticed, there were times when he needed to work with such. Indeed, if things could be handled by them if only they were nudged in the right direction - he preferred to do so. They had so much potential, all of them, such strange creatures. Some even doubted their own beginnings! And yet...they were the reason why he continued, in a sense, to ensure that time continued to flow smoothly. Strange, wonderful creatures, all of them, even those not linked to Primus.

As for Unicron...well...one could not contain a God forever. The Chaos-Bringer traveled from dimension to dimension, consuming what he could, and Vector could only trail after him at times and try to contain the damage. At times mortals could handle him, showing proof positive of their power - with the assistance of the Matrix, a relic containing a fraction of Primus's essence, they were able to banish Unicron from their homes and consider themselves safe. But when it came down to it...

Again, one could not contain a God forever. This was shown so very clearly when a Singularity manifesting as a black hole caused by one of his 'destructions' threatened to now only destroy the universe, but affect the entire multiverse as well.

Vector Prime returned to Cybertron to assist the mortals in stopping it - they could not do it alone, and neither could he. The artifacts that would assist in destroying the black hole were scattered through mortal hands, and there was simply not enough time for him to search through time to find them - and it would take much of his power, part of which was contained with reducing his own effects on the dimension to a minimum. One notes here that to use his power at any given time causes damage; while he as a general rule can contain that damage, sometimes it's more efficient to simply limit himself and thus reduce the damage/maintenance-required-to-repair. He made contact with the Autobot leader, Optimus Prime; however, through trickery of the Decepticon Leader, Megatron, he lost the greatest aid he had brought with him to locate the artifacts - a map of the universe.

And yet they - with the assistance of some other minicons Vector Prime had picked up during his travels, and some human aid - made do.

In the midst of their search, Vector would travel to another dimension to confer with a close mortal ally on the search's progress. Alpha Trion was invaluable in offering advice and assistance, in addition to taking notes. However, during one such visit the Unicronians known as Ramjet and Nemesis Prime attacked, severely damaging Alpha Trion and all but destroying the pandimensional supercomputer Vector Sigma. They then went on to attempt to destroy Primus himself, who slept at the heart of (all) Cybertron(s), using a perverse reflection of what was used to cripple Unicron himself - the Dead Matrix. Only through the assistance of Sentinel Maximus, the combined powers of another Optimus Prime and his brother Ultra Magnus, and the unique mech known as Skyfall - actually a fragment of another Original, Nexus Prime, but that's a story in its own - were they able to stop them. (To say nothing of the assistance of Over-Run, a minicon who was assisting in keeping Vector Sigma intact). Nonetheless, the battle took a great toll upon Vector Prime, who learned news that confirmed his greatest fears;

The Unicron Singularity was having a larger effect than he first thought. Past, present, and future were unraveling. Timespace was thinning, and unless the he and the others were able to destroy the Singularity, then all of his efforts, through all of his long years, everything...existence itself could cease to exist. It had become so bad that he could no longer sense the future, or at least its presence. It was blocked to him, as if it was not even there in the first place.

Unable to maintain his form in both this and the dimension the search was going on in without allowing paradox, he collapsed back into the latter with renewed determination, even if he was still weak. (He didn't need to limit himself half as much; his power had been that drained.) Grimly, he helped the Autobots search for the Cyber Key artifacts and the Omega Lock, and they were finally able to revive Primus's consciousness within the planet Cybertron - though the God was not at his full power, he was able to advise them on the next step of their journey. Following an unspoken rule, neither Vector nor Primus acknowledged the specifics of their link publicly. It was easier to work with mortals when they considered you at least somewhat close to their own level, rather than so many steps above it. Certainly, Vector had already introduced himself as a messenger from the edge of time, but to mention that he was also an Original would take time they didn't have to explain.

Their continued search took them to another dimension to find the final Cyberkey, but the Decepticons were able to snatch it before they were - and then leave the Autobot stranded, unable to return to their home dimension until a year had passed. But by their calculations, they didn't have a year. And so Vector Prime made the decision to use his power to turn back time - and ultimately kill himself in the process to contain it. Though the Autobots and their allies argued, it was eventually realized that there was no other way. Vector Prime was prepared to give his life, and assured them that since he had existed outside of time for most of his life - he would always exist there. His spirit would always be with them.

He was not speaking metaphorically.

Depending on the nature of the multiverse singularity or in fact the dimension traveler, one can 'seed' themselves in multiple dimensions at once - whether by spending time in reverse/slow-time dimensions or other means. Vector Prime, as a being whose very nature requires him to understand spacetime to specifics that can cause insanity in lesser beings, did this on a daily basis. In other terms - it is very, very hard to truly kill him. What is more common/likely is for the physical manifest for that dimension to be destroyed, whereas he in himself can still affect things - however great or slight.

This was how he was able to return 'in spirit' and encourage Optimus Prime to accomplish his tasks. This was how, when Megatron-turned-Galvatron was ready to kill Optimus, Vector was able to intervene and offer the greatest aid he could - the loan of Rhisling itself. This was also how when, all tasks completed and the Singularity contained - he was able to give Optimus a final smile of farewell.

(This was also how he was able to keep tabs on Galvatron in a post-death state. The Decepticon was most reluctant to return to the Allspark from which he was born.)

Mission complete, Vector Prime returned to...his standard distance from the species at large. Stopping one item from swallowing the (uni/multi)verse didn't keep others from threatening it. He had just as much if not more work to do...he turned his optics towards other dimension clusters, ensuring that all was well.


Reincarnated History: Born November 29th 1921, Elian came in to a family that took the saying 'be fruitful and multiply' to an extreme - they ended up with thirteen children, though some were adopted. Elian was somewhere in the middle agewise, and even as a child, was very close to his family; very keen to do anything he could to possibly help. As the Great Depression set in, this turned out to be a very useful trait. His optimism and idealism all but held the entire family together of its own accord, and though he was only so much a leader, he was able to find things that another brother could lead them in doing. He looked forwards to going to college, eventually, though he wasn't quite certain what he wanted to do.

Then came the war.

At first, Elian, like so many others, was certain that it wouldn't last but was certainly willing to do anything he could to help. He wasn't the only brother who ended up going in to the army, but all told, he was probably the one most affected by its violence. For an idealist who had always thought the best in his brother men, seeing nothing but the good in people, the sudden shift hit him hard. And seeing what his brothers turned in to...

When it was over, Elian all but withdrew from the world. Shellshock, some called it. He didn't know, he didn't care, he just went through life like someone half-dead. It wasn't until one of his sisters had asked him to help look after her children that he began to be pulled out of his daze, eventually pursuing schooling towards and then a profession in primary education. He served as a teacher up to and through the 60s, though he did participate heavily in the 'hippie' movement. In fact, it was during that phase, specifically while experimenting with some drugs ("I was higher than a satellite," he'd later inform anyone who asked) and talking with some others regarding the nature of the world that he had a sort of mental block-shift-twist. Once again, he went back to school, but this time pursuing an interest in Quantum Theory.

Eventually, he began to teach that as his profession, while pursuing some research on the side. He would continue to do this even as he earned tenure, helped write a textbook, kept in touch with maybe one or two of his surviving family members, and, in short, watched the world change around him. At this point Elian is a respected teacher at his college, a respected expert in his chosen field, and, ultimately, quite ready to take a sabbatical.

Which leads him to Locke City. He's visiting another professor to discuss some material, though as he understands it, he has a grandniece* in the city as well. He hasn't spoken with her in a few years, but they're on friendly terms.

*Discussed with Starscream-mun, both players agree. If she drops/another Starscream apps, then obviously the connection won't be the same with that new Starscream, if present at all.


First Echo: Despite the 'hint' in the background that he saw something during the 60s, that wasn't an actual Echo. That was a drug trip that triggered an interest in his next stages of life. It wasn't until a year or two ago, while making some calculations, while drifting through some notes on theories on traveling through the fourth dimension, while listening to some students' voices on the local radio. The phone rang, and he picked it up-

-but instead of hearing another professor's voice on the other end, he heard a series of beeps, and what was more, he understood them to mean that there'd been nothing found underwater there, no signs to Atlantis. He heard himself saying 'thank you, Safeguard' before he could think of it, and it resulted in a good few moments of confusion between him and the professor who'd called.

(In short - this.)

Preincarnation Personality:
First and foremost - Vector Prime is not old. He is ancient. He is from a time before time began, and it shows in his manner. He speaks slowly, using some words that have fallen out of use, and he is unfamiliar with much modern slang. While he has inserted himself into the timestream from time to time and has gotten somewhat 'up to date' - bear in mind that what is current in one dimension may be another's past. Or future.

This gives him a rather different mindset than most; to him, the manyworld theory is not theory. It is reality. And while he sticks to the specific part of the Multiverse that the Transformers exist in, he knows full well there are more out there. He knows that sometimes dimensions cross. He knows what happens when they cross, he knows what must be done to keep them from damaging eachother - or themselves. He knows that sometimes...you have to remove a reality to save the rest.

The needs of the many outweigh the needs of the few. While he does everything in his power to save those few, sometimes they cannot be saved. But they can be mourned - and remembered, if only by him. Sometimes...reality is a bitch.

But for all of reality's dark parts, he is enchanted by the beings who exist in only one. He honestly loves life and its forms, and lets it remind him just why he keeps to his task - ultimately, the strange creatures are the reason he is so fierce in the fulfillment of his function. It is so that they will have worlds to exist in. If they never know his existence - he is perfectly fine with such, and in fact prefers it. Better they focus on their own lives, and have the opportunity to dream, than fret about whether or not he's able to defend them or not.

Now, sometimes, these beings can be...difficult. A prime example would be the Decepticons he fought against in the Cybertron/Galaxy Force series. They can be...greedy. Selfish. Wrathful. Full of vice. But at the same time, despite how much they may annoy him at times, despite how frustrated he may get with them - ultimately, it is their decision to act that way. They must reap their own consequences. Primus bestowed upon them - and him - free will, and their choices are their own to make. He cannot make them for them. They make war on their own terms, and though it is a pity that they fight amongst themselves...

At the same time, it is for this reason that he prefers to see the mortals accomplish whatever they can without his help, whether direct or indirect. If he believes that someone can do something on their own - he'll let them. He'll let them fall or succeed on their own. If they ask for his help he'll give his advice, and if they truly need assistance he will be there to give it - but he would much rather see them succeed or fail on their own terms. If he's there and it's something small and subtle he can do he'll probably do it, and if he's working with a group they have his sword in their defense, and yet...they have so much potential, so much power in their own selves - they can take on the Chaos Bringer himself and win. If that isn't impressive, then Vector Prime doesn't know what is. It is life at its best.

That said, as much as he honestly loves them - he feels separated from them. He is not one of them. He is more mortal than a God, true, but he is not as mortal as a true mortal. He can be killed - but he can also survive death. He feels this isolation acutely, and while he has made allies, he has made few true friends. One of the few would be Safeguard, his minicon-partner - and he no longer has Safeguard by his side. His presence will be sorely missed. He can't not miss him.

But he still persists. There are very, very few things that can make Vector Prime doubt himself; doubt only has so much use. What is more important is to pick yourself up after your failures, accept them, and continue forwards with the resolve not to make the same mistakes again. Indeed, on one occasion he actually literally punched some sense into another mech for letting his doubt and guilt cripple him. ("THAT'S IT, I'VE HEARD ENOUGH." *WHAM* *CUE SPEECH*) He'll tolerate brief moments of doubt, even in himself, but ultimately; one must overcome that doubt. If people need punches in the face to get over it, so be it. If they need tough love, so be it. If they need a less forceful response, he can work with that too. Whatever gets them back in the game.

As for himself, well, his game is relatively simple - to fulfill his function(s). To safeguard space and time. To raise sword in defense of Primus and Primus's creations. And finally...to thwart Unicron and his followers whenever possible. Whether this be direct combat, subverting their plans in a more subtle manner or through other means. Let it be said that with precious few exceptions, Unicronians are the beings that will strain Vector's temper to and past his limit. In a sense Vector Prime was created to fight them. And while he certainly has free will - much like the Fallen who joined Unicron rather than fight against him - it goes without saying that the Chaosbringer's methods are almost always the greater of two evils. And they are evils Vector Prime will not tolerate.


Any Differences:
First off, Elian is nowhere near as disconnected from the world as Vector is/was. While he does feel separate, it's mostly due to simply how old he is as opposed to having spent years apart from it. There's plenty of things about the modern world he simply doesn't understand, but ultimately he's comfortable in it, and comfortable around people. Especially children. In short, he's far more social, and far more able to socialize. He's still not a social butterfly, though.

At least he can laugh at himself, now. He's got a sense of humor. He smiles. He's not exactly a stick in the mud. He enjoys lighthearted teasing, mocking his own age, and terrible puns. The worse, the better. Laughter is a way he keeps himself optimistic, and keeps his mind off that period just after his youth when everything came crashing down.

The thing is, when he makes fun of himself, hypes himself as an old man who doesn't understand certain things - he tends to get a bit more leeway, as long as he doesn't overdo it. But it tends to make people a tad more forgiving of what social gaffs he makes (especially if he apologizes, and if nothing else Elian is /sincere/) and allows himself to watch and learn. In more ways than one.

While he's still willing to stand up for others - and won't hesitate to give someone a light swat across the back of the head - Elian has a strong dislike for violence. His hobby in fencing is purely for sport, and while he can appreciate things like scripted combat...actual, meant-to-hurt fights make him uncomfortable. Movies with strong violence make him uncomfortable. Call it memories of the War, but he will up and leave if something like that is prominent and he has the option to. If it's news, he'll change the channel. He fares somewhat better reading it as opposed to watching it, but the fact remains that he's just a tad...well. Squeamish.

Though born in to a religious family, at this point, Elian is a Deist; he believes in a God and follows his own views, but he's not altogether certain about the way most treat religion in general. This both parallels and differs from his devotion to Primus in canon; Elian isn't about to die for what he believes in (not without a good reason), but he does believe. This belief nonetheless does not shape his every waking moment.

He's also a lot less willing to make sacrifices. Quite frankly, you shouldn't have to. Cutting off a piece to save the whole may be good in theory, but when it comes to people, you save all you can. Period. You do not leave others behind. You do not ask them to do anything you aren't yourself willing to do, and even then, you do it first.

Other than that, the core values are the same; believes in himself as a guide rather than a true force (at least at this point; he's 90 years old for crying out loud, not much he can do now), believes in the ability (and ultimate good) of others, is a tad gullible/naive, will push through the worst of times...because of the fact that he's nowhere near as ancient, some traits may be somewhat less, but they're still there.


Abilities: VECTOR PRIME'S FULL POWER WOULD PROBABLY BE A GAME-BREAKER. I'm saying that right out and right now; even allowing that he's old and that his systems have wound down, it's a lot. I never intend for him to fully grasp it, except maybe at game-end. That's a big 'maybe', though. I'm perfectly content playing him powered-down, whether or not he's aware of himself or not.

That said.

In the canon we're drawing him from, he displays the ability to, well, transform. In to a spacejet. He's a robot, after all. He could fly and navigate through space without issue, in either spacejet or robot form. He also had the ability to cut wormholes - spacebridges - and to travel through them, and/or hold them open for others to travel. His most potent ability was the ability to navigate through, and actually manipulate time itself- though using it too much could kill him.

The powers that directly interacted with the fabric of spacetime were done with the assistance of Rhisling - a tool as much as a sword, it was a claymore almost as unique as he was. Able to cut through time and space, able to heal any damage it inflicts, suffice it to say it was the stuff of legends.

In terms of what I expect him to eventually obtain...

Elian will slowly but surely - in the fashion of our other current reincarnated Transformers - shift in to a Pretender, his body becoming a sort of hybrid between organic and synthetic. It will not be quick, and it will not be painless. The end result will leave him with an organic outer 'shell' which houses a robotic body powered by a 'spark', an electronic manifestation of a soul if you will. He'll be able to shift between the two, and a third, vaguely jet-like form as well.

He'll be able to fly (and hover) in any form. He won't be the fastest - but he will be able to fly. He will also be able to leave atmosphere and continue to function- vacuum and Zero-G will be no trouble for him.

At some point, he'll obtain Rhisling - as a claymore. (Considering he's only taking fencing classes and knows how to use a rapier, that'll be fun. Another Echo may remind him how.) Eventually another Echo will allow it to cut through time/space and allow him to spacebridge, but he'll have to know where he's going before he goes there. He'll never be able to go outright to another dimension, but from Locke City to Tokyo and back? Sure. (With respects to the game setting; I imagine that he won't unlock this for some time, and if he does, it'll mainly be used directly /in the city/ if it's able to take him elsewhere at all.)

It goes without saying that he'll find himself navigating a hell of a lot easier- understanding where he is in relative to timespace, etc, etc. Innate GPS, man. Never lost. Ever. Works with an internal clock, too.

Because of how tricky time travel can be in games, and because how stressful it could be for him canonwise, if/when he does get the ability he'll only have about a five-minute window that he can change. He'll be able to send himself back (or a small group, depending; either way, some deja vu for those immediately around him is likely) to try a 'do-over', but the stress will be enough to make him pass out. Easily.

To help account for this, though, he'll eventually develop the equivalent of his 'temporal mechanics analyzer' - essentially, a deep understanding of cause/effect. To the point of predicting how things will react. Think of it as the equivalent of knowing how the ball will rebound off the wall, knowing from a glance at an angle/speed of a pitch where to move to catch, understanding exactly how much force is needed to trigger the switch...even if he hasn't yet trained his body to do that exact amount. In our context, it will also assist in how much time it will take for A to cross B, and therefore how much time he has to help or hinder it. Note that all of this will be nigh-instantaneous.


Roleplay Sample - Third Person:
When he'd petitioned for a sabbatical, some of his peers (or as close to them as he had) thought he was crazy. Or, perhaps, preparing to leave in a decidedly final way. Nobody had outright said anything, but Elian wasn't a fool; though the first overly-warm well-wish had been surprising, when more and more had come...

After a while, he'd stop trying to convince them otherwise, just smiling and accepting their company. And then it was time to pack and to go because he'd been approved, and he'd gotten a few calls from students (and fellow professors!) confused as to where he was because he was always in his office, was he all right? Endearing, if morbidly amusing. He'd left the sign right on the door, but had to call another to ask them to staple the blasted thing - after laminating it. And gluing it. Because nobody would seem to see it otherwise, even if it'd been outlined in highlight...

Elian shook his head, pulling his thoughts back from the past to the present as he waited for his luggage to come down the carousel. From there a taxi to the motel, from there a call to the Professor to confirm their meeting the next day...

Why did it feel like he was missing something? Elian reviewed everything again, from start to finish, and could find nothing. Not even in his notepad, worn and near the time of replacement. In fact, as he turned the pages...there were so few left, he may as well pick one up. If he remembered correctly, the motel should be just near a store where he could purchase one...

An hour later, he was settling down, the new paper gazing up at him and waiting to be broken in. But as he touched the pencil to the sheet, he paused, that thought of something missing pressing at him again. Elian pressed his lips together in a frown, bringing the pencil back up and tapping it against his mouth.

Something important.

Something he needed to do.

Thank you, Safeguard.

When he touched the pencil back down, the first to come out of its tip were numbers.



Roleplay Sample - Network:
You know, when I bought a new notebook, I wasn't aware that it could do this. Come to think of it, I'm not sure I heard anything about this in the news. Did I happen to get the notePad, or whatever it's called nowadays?

It's quite interesting, if nothing else. I've only had it about half a day and already I'm enchanted, though I remain baffled as to why it was only a dollar.

My name is Elian, by the way. Does anyone know if there's a manual I could study up on to understand what, exactly, is going on?