~Tomlin, Guardian Cat~
Name: Tomlin
Nicknames: Tom, Major Tom, that mangy furball
Breed: Ginger-and-white shorthair
Attached to: Unknown.
Alignment: Senshi
Blood Type: Er. He hasn’t stopped to check. (B)
Fav. Food: Unattended.
Hated Food: He’s not that fussy, and will eat very nearly anything, however he does have a problem with things that look and smell like food but aren't. Bubblegum and fancy soap are prime offenders. He also avoids eating live creatures, no matter how hungry he is.
Hobbies:
Street entertainment – Parades, protests, buskers, fights - if it happens in the street, he's all for it. Even street crime, so long as it’s not hurting anybody. He’s got a particular fascination with the colour and music of large-scale parades and lightshows, and can never pass up a musical number. The bigger the spectacle, the happier he’ll be. He’ll be out and about and underfoot, taking part in the event, climbing things (and people) to get a better view. All your open-air concerts are belong to him.
Cat-fighting – Tomlin prides himself on being a capable fighter, and would like to be known as the cat most likely to drag his senshi out of danger by her hair if necessary. He sees himself as defender and mighty hunter, and is willing to take on opponents much larger than he is, often stepping in to protect others (whether they appreciate it or not), but he doesn’t fight to harm his opponent so much as to make them surrender or leave the area. He’ll flee himself if things aren’t going his way. His hunting is strictly catch-and-release. His style is equal parts bravado, evasion and well-placed claws. Ultimately though, while he’s got the skills, it’s mostly for show. When the scrap becomes a real fight, he’ll be in trouble.
Travelling – This cat is never where you left him. He’s incurably given to roam, and the way he tells it, he’s been around the world and isn't above telling some crazy travelling stories. He likes to go places and see new things, (and maybe brag about it to people who haven’t been). He has no fear of vehicles and is happy to hitch a ride so long as he can get off when he wants to. He also considers unattended cars as a warm and convenient place to nap. Due to recent unplanned outings, he’s unlikely to try and leave Destiny City any time soon. He just hates staying in one place, it makes him feel trapped.
Virtues:
Heart of Plush – (soft-hearted, generous) Tomlin would like the world to believe he’s a hardened street punk, but it doesn’t take much to melt away his tough-guy façade and reveal his marshmallow centre. He’s a pushover. He cares very deeply about the people around him, senshi or nega, human or animal. He hates to see anyone in distress, for any reason, and will go out of his way to help – it’s a tough world, and any strength he has, he’ll lend out. He'll fight all comers for the rotten fish-head he's scavenged, then surrender it at the last minute to someone making kitten eyes. They don't even have to be convincing kitten eyes. He’ll pick a fight with a regular cat to give a mouse time to escape. (His feline street cred sucks.) He can be found shadowing children through his alleyways to make sure they get home safe, or watching over passed-out junkies, ready to call for medical assistance. (Payphones are difficult for cats, he’s learned it’s easier to nick a cellphone to dial on). He just can't walk on by knowing that people are suffering.
Carved in Amber – (resilient, optimistic) Tomlin is a total sap, but he’s a tough sap. He has an inner resilience, a degree of optimism that has survived everything the streets can throw at him. It takes a lot to get him down, to break his optimism and faith in the world. He can take a beating and still come up smiling - and believing in the beater's inner goodness. It's like all the bad things that happen don't stack, and he shakes them off one by one, and doesn't let himself be dragged down by them. This is how he's survived on the street with his heart still intact, without resorting to apathy or self-interest, or fantasy like other people around him. He's a realist, but he won't let it overwhelm him.
Can’t Take the Sky From Me – (ascetic, minimalist) Tomlin is used to getting by on the bare minimum, and doesn’t have much, want much or need much. He rejoices in the non-material things, simple pleasures: the sky, a belly rub, the company of friends. The glass is never half-empty – even one drop left is enough to make him happy. Anything above survival rations is a feast. He’ll be pleasantly surprised if given something, but he doesn’t expect it, and will neither covet nor hoard possessions. He doesn’t set much stock by ‘stuff’. If you need it, it’s yours.
Flaws:
Sympathy for the Devil – (soft-hearted, too forgiving) Tomlin tends to believe the best of everyone, even in the face of compelling evidence. He wants to believe the ‘bad guys’ can be rehabilitated, and that deep down, their starseeds still shine. It’s not their fault they’ve done bad things. He can come off as a bit gullible, an easy mark who will believe any half-decent excuse and forgive any transgression. Which is not to say his catfighting abilties are in vain. Faced with obvious hostility, he has no trouble going on the defensive (and may even attack if someone else is threatened), but at the opponent's first sign of weakness, remorse, humanity, he’ll back right off. He’ll be deeply upset when faced with someone willing to fight to the death. Nobody deserves that.
Rebel, Rebel – (anti-authority, argumentative) Tomlin is very resistant to authority, and doesn’t like to be told what to do. He needs to believe he's in control of the situation, and that what he does is his own idea. He may lash out at anyone he feels threatens his autonomy, or people he feels are inherently 'authority figures' - cops and animal control are his least favourite uniforms. He’ll argue or try to undermine an order, even if it’s not directed at him. (Even when it’s his senshi giving the order. He’s the guardian, why aren’t you listening to him?) He may try and encourage enemies to buck their orders too (and accidentally bring a Captain’s wrath down on himself). He especially doesn’t like being ordered to do something he was already planning to do or suggest – he’ll be in a huff for weeks. He can come across as contrary - one moment helping someone out and then the next doing a complete one-eighty if he felt they started to boss him around - but his trigger is quite obvious. He'll react to the order itself, rather than the person (unless they have a history of handing out orders). Sadly, all this open rebellion is not as strong a defence as he might hope - his soft heart can still be manipulated by anyone who asks rather than orders.
Sorry, was that yours? – (careless of possessions) As a cat with no great attachment to objects, Tomlin doesn’t have a strong grasp of ownership, or any kind of sentimentality over objects. It’s just stuff, you use it, eat it, and move on. Consequently, he tends to give away things that aren’t his to give, eat things that aren’t for him, use antique furniture as a scratching post and yesterday’s t-shirts as a litterbox. He doesn’t understand why this upsets people. He is a little more considerate of things that are actually being worn – he considers them part of the skin, and regularly forgets that human accessories come off. But those same special accessories, when taken off and placed carefully on a bedside table, are suddenly just stuff like every other thing, and he’ll treat them as such.
Challenge: It's dangerous to go alone.PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION : CAT FORM
Face/Ears: Alleycat face, large eyes, slightly battered-looking ears.
Body: Just the scrawny side of fit, like he’s spent too much time fighting for his food and not enough time eating it.
Fur: Short ginger-orange fur (maybe with a faint tabby pattern), a white triangular blaze down the centre of his face and onto his chest. Maybe some smaller white patches on his feet as well. A copper-coloured star.
Eyes: Coppery yellow, or whatever looks best? I’m not sure.
Accessories: Not sure. (Not a collar, though.)
PHYSICAL DESCRIPTION : HUMAN FORM
Eyes: As above. Whatever looks best.
Hair: Bright ginger like his fur. A long plait at the back. Long bangs hanging on both sides of his face from a centre part at his forehead, creating a triangle of skin that mimics his cat-form blaze.
Face: A sharp-looking face with pointed chin and large eyes. Fairly pale skin
Clothes: A ragged blue coat with the sleeves torn off, no buttons, just flapping loose like an overly long vest. A white shirt, brown pants, ankle greaves.
Lots of copper jewellery: wrist bracers, an armband on one arm, some kind of manly pendant (with moon-court/senshi symbols if possible?)
(Tomlin's face blaze is like this, but he's much more orange than this kitty. He's dominantly ginger with only small amounts of white.)
