How am I doing? Is there anything that needs tweaking or seems OOC? Inconsistencies? Something I could just do better? Let me know!

CHARACTER NAME: The Spine
CHARACTER CANON: Steam Powered Giraffe
CONTENT WARNING: body horror?? The Spine's head and eponymous spine are detachable and can function independent of his body. Think of him as a big metal snake piloting a big metal human suit. That helps, right?

[OOC]
Backtagging: Yep.
Threadhopping: Please do!
Fourthwalling: No.
Offensive subjects: I'm not squeamish. If a topic makes me uncomfortable, I'll let you know.

[IC]
Hugging this character: Robots love hugs :>
Kissing this character: If they want to plant one on fake lips they're welcome to try it.
Flirting with this character: Go for it!
Fighting with this character: Sure. Average humans that throw a punch are likely to break their hand. The Spine won't fight back, but he might restrain them until they calm down.
Injuring this character (include limits and severity): Plotting required.
Killing this character: I'm open to it, but we'll need to talk first. There are some, ah, complexities of his operation that can result in the vaporization of nearby organic matter under certain circumstances. Also just a lot of weird reality rippling. Blue matter, man, how does it work.
Using telepathy/mind reading abilities on this character: He's a robot.

THIS POST IS ALSO AN OPT-OUT. If there is any reason you do not want to play with this character, leave a comment here. They're screened, so only you and I will know.

Applicant Info

◎ Name: Tee
◎ Journal: terribletrivium
◎ Contact: terribletrivium
◎ Current Character(s): N/A

Character Info

◎ Character's Name: The Spine
◎ Character's Canon: Steam Powered Giraffe
◎ Character's Age: 119
◎ Canon Point: Vice Quadrant
◎ Background/History: The Comic ♦ Meet the Band ♦ Canon Background & Walter Family Timeline ♦ The Cavalcadium
Vice Quadrant: Steam Powered Giraffe's involvement is small, though not insignificant. While Commander Cosmo is dealing with the astronaut and Cosmica (it's complicated), the Walter Robotics automatons learn of a different threat to Earth: a space giant from another dimension that wants to hear them play one last time (where he's from they've been either permanently mothballed or destroyed). They travel into space on board the converted satellite WINK, where they meet the giant and defeat him in an epic musical duel. Otherwise their brief adventure in space is uneventful, with the exception of witnessing a friendly pod of space whales outside their ship on the return trip. Oh, and The Spine finally beats his high score in Super Space Blaster Centi-Asteroid Invaderpedes 2.
◎ Is the character a hacker and/or do they have a sixth-sense?
No and no.
◎ Personality:

It's a weird life, or unlife, depending on how you look at it, being a member of the Walter household. In the midst of all that weirdness someone has to be normal, and that someone is The Spine. He'd be the first to tell you that he has his feet firmly planted on the ground and his head only rarely visiting the clouds, yes that is in spite of his height, thank you. If there's tech that needs installing or a rampant mustard-wielding AI that needs wrangling, The Spine is your man. Bot. Man-bot. Out of all of the Walter automatons (particularly the musical ones), it could be said that he's the most responsible, taking the role of the "big brother" on his shoulders without complaint. Indeed, there might be a hint of simulated pride on the occasions he says as much—even if he is quick to add that, being robots, they aren't really related. He isn't even the eldest, for all of his levelheaded dependability; that would be Rabbit, whose slightly cracked antics and mercurial nature tap-dance the line between amusing and exasperating. The Spine weathers the antique robot's teasing and cajoling with good grace or, if not good grace, certainly affectionate resignation. He really does love his "siblings", even when they're driving him up a wall and telling stories that simply aren't true, and that's why he takes it upon himself to keep them safe, content, and running smoothly... the latter spawning frequent arguments between himself and Rabbit due to her stubborn refusal of any and all upgrades.

As often as they bicker, The Spine and Rabbit actually have a strong bond and make a good team, both performing and in their lives outside the band. They're foils for each other in their act; The Spine plays the straight man to Rabbit's energetic, often maniacal humor. And puns. Oh, the puns. This dynamic persists offstage, with the addition of the pair of them presenting a united front on occasions when one of the Walters or their employees needs defending.

Even in his role as the constantly harried and exasperated straight man, The Spine isn't all frowns and corrections of falsehoods. On stage and off, he's just as capable of being ridiculous as the other robots. He simply keeps it all under his hat (his hat is full of secrets), where it remains safely bundled away until he lets his guard down and a pun or a jig slips out. He just needs a little push, sometimes, a service Rabbit and Hatchworth are only too happy to provide. It can take some coaxing, but once he's out of his stoic shell The Spine will happily chase Ice Cream Monsters through the Manor, make up lyrics to cover songs, and participate in Horse Adventures. He's even been known to rap.

When he isn't performing his duties around the Manor or on stage, The Spine can be found in the Hall of Wires--the nerve center of the Manor's electronics. Most of his time is spent connected to the Walter WiFi, where he takes a much needed break from the zaniness around him to learn about the world, write songs, and daydream. The internet may not be the best place to learn, with it's many loud opinions and specious arguments, but The Spine approaches everything with an open processor and a carefully applied logical toolkit. The only pitfalls he has thus far failed to avoid are Rickrolls and Gangnam Style.


In 1955 the government upgraded The Spine's appearance and installed adaptive programming (as well as a variety of classified and currently defunct weapons) to make him act and appear more human. This software often conflicts with the knowledge of his own creation, sometimes inducing dysphoria. It's one thing to be built in the image of man and quite another to want to be human with no hope of ever being more than the sum of one's parts. Still, he tries, attempting to fit in through observing social cues and displaying very organic gestures. An automaton does not need to sigh, nor does it need to scratch its head when confused, but he performs the actions just the same. He's often outwardly philosophical about the nature of artificial intelligence and it's many unfathomable variables--as well as the automatons' places in the world--all the while inwardly struggling with his own issues accepting his inhumanity.

Being a sentient and infinitely complex artificial intelligence has it's downsides, but it isn't all bad. The Spine can experience the full range of emotions that humans can; even he couldn't say where programmed responses end and organically developed code begins. Quick as he is to point out that his emotions are simulated, he's just as quick to add that it's a wonderful thing to be able to experience them at all. He genuinely enjoys connecting with the fans and takes every opportunity to do so, even if it means making a fool of himself to entertain them. He derives great pride and joy--or something as near joy as makes no difference--from fulfilling his purpose. The music he writes is just as much for himself as it is for the audience; it's impossible to evoke emotion without pouring a little of one's own soul into it. Or SOUL (Self Oscillating Utilitarian Lifesource), in The Spine's case. His programming dictates that he be a musician and entertainer, and there truly isn't anything in the world he would rather be.

Except, perhaps, a cowboy like in the spaghetti Westerns he likes so much.

◎ Powers/Abilities:
Being a robot has its advantages: his metal skin is difficult to pierce; he has no need to breathe or eat, which in turn makes him immune to poisons and everything but the most corrosive of chemicals; bacteria and organic viruses have no effect on him; his photo-receptors allow him to see further into the dark than standard humans and his hearing is exceptional.

Due to being made of titanium alloy, his spinal column possesses tremendous tensile strength, which allows him to lift extremely heavy objects (he threw a tank once). His spine is also resistant to high temperatures. His head and spine can disengage from his body if it becomes too damaged to function, although his mobility is limited. It's unknown how long he can be separated from his blue matter core before he's forced to power down. I personally place a hard 24 hour time limit before he has to reconnect to his core or stop functioning.

There are also a variety of weapons built into his body, the primary two being a blue matter projector array (laser) located in his mouth and a Tesla coil high voltage discharger located in his right arm. Because of the latter his right arm is insulated against electrical shock. None of his weapons are currently accessible, disabled by the Vow of Peace he and the other Walter Robotics automatons took after the Vietnam War. Malfunctions have been known to happen, although these are rare and very likely the result of tampering, rather than a failure of the Vow itself.

Back home The Spine is more or less the Walter Manor IT Guy. He performs most, if not all, of the network maintenance in the sprawling house, including upgrading his fellow robots with new and improved WiFi cards from time to time. If it comes down to it he can repair his fellow automatons well enough that they can continue to function until a blue matter certified engineer can get to them. Generally he's a useful robot to have around if something mechanical is on the fritz.... provided fixing it doesn't require fine motor skills.

As an entertainer The Spine is skilled in playing a variety of instruments, singing, and mime.
◎ Weapons & Other Special Inventory:
♦blue matter projector array
♦Tesla coil high voltage discharger
♦one astronaut helmet. The visor is shattered. It's also been vandalized: across the back is written "spinǝ iz a dumminz" in permanent marker, punctuated with a frowny face.

CEREALIA-Specific

◎ Element: Earth - as a rule The Spine is well-grounded, serious, and realistic. His perception of reality just happens to be a few steps to the left of normal; this is what happens when you deal with a possessed chair and a cat the size of a small building every day.
◎ Sense: Hearing - The best way to tell if Rabbit is trying to pull a prank on him is to listen for the creaks, rattles, and barely contained snickering approaching from behind. He also relies on it to harmonize during performances.
◎ Seven Character Traits:
(charismatic, dependable, tolerant) | (pedantic, inflexible, reclusive) + rational

Samples

◎ First-Person Sample:
Here we go again. And again.
◎ Third-Person Sample:
The Space Giant hadn't seemed all that bad, really. He was just a fan. Admittedly, one of the tempestuous ones—entitled and delusional, if he was being uncharitable. The Spine was always inclined to be charitable towards fans, and so tempestuous the Giant would remain, at least in his mind.

Victorious, they had all piled back aboard WINK. Rabbit had bounced away to do... whatever it was Rabbit did when she was by herself. Come up with new and interesting ways to make The Spine miserable, most likely. Hatchworth had cited being “sleepy” and powered down in a corner. For his part, The Spine took the opportunity to catch up on his gaming. But the return trip to Earth was long, and The Spine could play only so much Super Space Blaster Centi-Asteroid Invaderpedes 2. Eventually he set his phone aside, lifting his photo-receptors toward the ceiling.

"Hey, WINK?"

YES, THE SPINE?

"What's it like, bein' a satellite?"

LONELY.

"Huh. I always thought it would be nice to travel through space." So far this trip through the cosmos had been anything but restful. He frowned contemplatively and picked a tattered square of hot pink confetti from his plating.

"You know. Peaceful. Just you and the stars." No cracked automatons with the attention span of a gnat deciding that their favorite game was Let's Annoy The Spine.

IT IS ALSO LONELY.

The Spine fell silent. He realized that he had no true concept of loneliness. Oh, he'd certainly had his moments where it felt as if it was just him against the world, but he was never really alone. One of his very first memories was of Rabbit's face pressed close to his, her photo-receptors staring at him intently (she'd had a different body then, one that was new enough not to rattle and stutter). Then she'd flicked his forehead and gamboled away, laughing. Thus the course of their century plus association was set. Not long after had come The Jon, and Hatchworth, and soon enough the twins, Peter A Walter the Second and Peter A Walter the Third. Slowly, the Manor was filled to the brim with people and sentient machines.

And, of course, the Grand Master had always been there, until one day he wasn't, and the automatons that he had built were passed down to his sons, and their sons, on down the line to Peter A Walter the Sixth.

He loved them all, in as much as he was capable of love, for whatever simulated love was worth. He would not call them his family, because beings classified as heavy machinery do not have families, but they were as close to it as made no difference. There was no such thing as loneliness in Walter Manor.

He watched the starlight, a billion billion bright points warped by the curved edges of the window.

"WINK?"

YES, THE SPINE.

"I'm glad we got to your planet in time."

WINK hesitated. The silence felt hopeful, somehow.

ME TOO.
◎ Is your character retaining any previous game memories?
Nope.

The Spine is, at heart, an automaton that prefers simplicity over the ornate designs that were so pervasive in the 1800s and early 1900s. When picking out the trappings of his room he chose functional furniture that could bear his weight. In addition to the bed, his room contains bookshelves and a large, comfortable chair.  An assortment of ropes are looped from the ceiling that he can often be found resting in when he isn't in his chassis.  

Feel free to visit, but please, knock first. This means you, Rabbit.