OOC: Application: The Wake RP
Character Information
Character Name: Ratchet
Fandom: Transformers Animated
Source: http://tfwiki.net/wiki/Ratchet_(Animated)
Character History: Ratchet joined the space bridge repair crews not long after the Great war ended. Incidents with Decepticons like Oil Slick earlier in his field tech career taunt him caution, but it was the run-in with Lockdown while trying to save an intelligence officer named Arcee that really strained Ratchet emotionally. When both he and Arcee were taken prisoner by the bounty hunter, a fight for Ratchet's EMP generator with Lockdown caused the device to overload and go off. Arcee took the brunt of the pulse, her memory core wiped. And even though she had requested that such action be taken against her so that the valuable access codes she carried would not fall into Decepticon hands, Ratchet could not help but feel as though he could have done more to save her. As the only one immune to EMP, he was forced to go on with feelings of regret and guilt that that would later cause him to leave Cybertron in the hopes that he could leave such painful memories behind. Eventually he was assigned to work under a bot named Optimus Prime, an apparent Autobot Academy washout. The two developed a mutual respect for one another over time and Ratchet took on the role of unofficial advisor to the crew leader. Medic, engineer, advisor and drill sergeant or sorts, he had his work cut out for him on a team made up of much younger Autobots.
After the incident with Megatron and the Decepticon flagship Nemesis, and following the crash to Earth, Ratchet became part of the first Earth detachment Autobot crew along with Prime and the rest. Together, they survived a number of run-ins with human villains and Decepticons alike over several months, working to protect the city of Detroit, Michigan, the All Spark and their new human allies. At one point during this time period, Lockdown reappeared and took Optimus Prime prisoner for a Decepticon bounty. This forced Ratchet to not only face his past, but to give the bounty hunter a sound thrashing in order to save his crew leader. And like the rest of his team, Ratchet survived the first encounter and battle with a newly revived Megatron, though the medic lost a good portion of his right arm to Blitzwing at the time (which was later repaired by Sari and her Key). In that fight, the All Spark was shattered, blown apart by an overload forced upon Megatron by Optimus Prime with Sari's Key.
The final battle took place months later. Having built a space bridge of their own on Earth, the Decepticons were preparing to return to Cybertron with plans to take over once and for all. With the Elite Guard distracted by Decepticon uprisings on the edges of Autobot territory, only Optimus' team and their allies stood between Megatron and victory. In a "no holds barred" battle, Ratchet and Sari used the All Spark shards to reactivate the spark within the crashed Autobot shuttle, bringing Omega Supreme online. Omega trashed more than half the Decepticon forces outside their own lair and then made the choice to sacrifice himself when the space bridge went haywire during the fight inside. By that time, the bridge had already claimed two of the Starscream clones, Blurr, Starscream and Megatron. Ratchet and Sari were forcibly ejected before the bridge took Omega and blew itself out, leaving the medic to mourn the loss of yet another old friend.
Character Personality: During his time on Earth, Ratchet managed to become a bit less of a grouch thanks to the influence of his team mates and their human allies. You could call him an "old, soft touch", but only if you wanted to be snarked at for your trouble. Despite the progress he's made, however, Ratchet is still determined much of the time to keep his compassion for others under wraps; he has a reputation to maintain and part of him still fears being too open to emotional damage. Just don't let the bad bedside manner fool you too much... When it comes to protecting life, Ratchet is about as fierce as they come.
Wise and war seasoned, Ratchet is the tough old codger you can turn to when you need advice in the field. He was also the most promising medical mind on Cybertron prior to his run-in with Lockdown and while he's suffered emotional damages as a result of that incident, he is still an incredibly skilled physician and engineer. Give him enough wire and spare parts, and he can "MacGuyver" together anything from personal force field generators to grenades. Though for as wise as he can be, Ratchet can be just as stubborn and set in his ways. It takes him longer to adapt to new situations and when faced with something he doesn't understand, his first reaction is often to get cranky about it.
Ratchet's exact age is not given in canon, but he has been online since the Great War and is thus in excess of several million years in age.
Appearance: Having the alternate mode of an emergency rescue vehicle, Ratchet is primarily red and white in color with black accents/trim. His optics are typical Autobot blue and he stands roughly twenty feet in height when in robot mode. Time and countless battles have not been particularly kind to the medic; his gray faceplate is rough with scarring and the right point of the red chevron on his helm is broken off. His Autobot insignia is centered on his hood.
Because of his function and design, Ratchet has a number of onboard scanners and built in tools that can be used to repair damaged Cybertronians or broken mechanical things in general.
Powers: Ratchet's favored tools and weapons are a pair of magnetic clamps that extend from both forearms that allow him to pull, push, lift and even shape just about any metal object. Both can also act as a pair of pinchers. He has magnets on the soles of his feet, as well. Ratchet also has use of an EMP generator, built into his left arm. It is technically a medical tool used to keep others from feeling pain while he operates, but it can also be used as a weapon to slow down or even put down enemies. He just hesitates to use it much due to what the tool was used for in the past, as well as due to what such a device is capable of causing. Using it as a weapon is a last resort. Ratchet, himself, is immune to EMP bursts.
Samples
First person: I'm getting really tired of being told I need to work on my people skills. What's to work on? And since when do I owe half my patients the luxury of a kind word and a smile, anyway? If youngsters can't keep themselves out of trouble, can't listen to good advice and can't keep from getting smashed up, they deserve a good reprimand.
Maybe I'd be more of a "people person" if I were in a better mood more often. And maybe that'll happen when youngsters stop being so foolhardy. ...which, let's face it, is never.
Third Person: Ratchet pauses in his work at the bench in medbay to rub absently at the war wound on his lower left arm. Every so often, he'll get a twinge out of it. Oh, it is never enough to pull him from a stasis nap or bug him if he is working or otherwise distracted, but whenever his gaze falls on the empty socket he'll feel it. Others would probably say it was all in his processors and memory banks, since aside from the slightly ragged edges 'round where the generator had been forcibly disconnected, there are no bad breaks or frazzled wires.
He's taken it off and on a number of times. Even loaned it to Prowl once. In a way, the old medic feels more assured and whole with the generator hooked up and folded down beneath his paneling, yet its presence always reminds him of what the piece of equipment did so long ago.
No, correct that. What Lockdown had done.
He sighs heavily through his vents and walks to the tool cabinet where the EMP generator rests on a shelf. Taking it out, he holds it in his right hand a nanoklik or two, feeling the weight of it before hooking it back into his other arm. Despite all that had gone wrong with it that orbital cycle so many vorns ago, he can't help but remember all the good he's done with it as well.
Arcee would want him to be as good to his other patients as he tried to be to her. He doesn't always know what to say these days, he's so bitter, but...
Well, at least surgery without pain is something.
Retracting the tool, Ratchet turns and goes back to work.