It's like walking with the wounded

Hi guys.

I don't know if anybody wondered what happened to me, or where I might have gone, or even remembers me after, like, six months, but I would love to be back in this game.

I idled out early sometime in the fall (around October, I think?) and I am really sorry for not dropping outright. I knew my interest was waning; a lot was going on at my job and I was starting up the crazy baby-sitting in full swing again. In short, real life was getting a bit hectic and/or depressing, and I kind of dropped away without so much as a good-bye -- I feel bad for it.

In any case, I would love to be back with you guys! I was talking with a friend earlier about a bunch of robot-stuff and it made me nostalgic for Wasp and the fun I had with him here.

I still think a lot about this game; there were some fabulous players in it and I don't recall any major drama in the time I was here. I made a lot of great friends who shared my love of all things cartoon, and loved talking with the muns I had a good relationship with.

But on top of that, this game gave me a chance to work with Wasp, a character I'd wanted to RP for some time. I brought him in kind of scared and underappreciated, fresh from the trauma of being hunted by the Elite Guard. He was scared, unhinged, and without a friend in the world -- And I was blown away by the response he recieved when he arrived in the City. Over his time here -a course of about seven months or so- he grew so much, without losing the things that made him, well, him. He learned the value of friendship and teamwork. He learned -slowly- how to trust again and started thinking once more of himself as an Autobot, if only in the vaguest of terms. He displayed compassion and fairness, forgiveness and wisdom. He experienced pain and heartbreak and loss, all the while his friends stood by his side.

I'd like him to have that again. I'd like the chance to continue exploring him; for him to have new growth and adventures; to make new friends and reacquaint with old. I'd like to see him continue to grow and change and come into his own, while still remaining the grumpy, jaded little thing he always was.

And I'd love -though Wasp says no to this- to do that with you guys, again <3

( And if that's not heartfelt enough, have a new writing sample, too. )

I've had this song stuck in my head since the cosmic rust event began. I need to post it here, just for a reference.

Mun Name: Buggy
Journal: fly_buggy_fly
Contact Info: AIM: OnaDayofSnow
Other Characters: Slouchy

Name: Wasp
From: Transformers: Animated
Appearance: Wasp, pre-incarceration
Wasp, post-incarceration
Age: Fairly young, as robots go. Probably somewhere in the teenage category.
Gender: Male

Personality: Wasp, though an Autobot, is a bit of a jerk. He’s of the opinion that his exhaust don’t stink and that he’s got it going on. For a good guy, his personality leaves a lot to be desired – he’s not above taunting and name calling, nor does he take issue with ragging on his fellow Autobots for things they can’t help. He brags about his own skills. He pulls cruel pranks, like removing his fellow trainees’ limbs. Basically it all boils down to Wasp believing if he makes others look bad, he’ll look awesome in comparison.

Except for the part where he actually is pretty awesome. It’s not all just bragging; Wasp actually is a skilled fighter who displayed a lot of promise at boot camp. He knows how to properly utilize his stingers as well as how to speak to his commanding officers in a way that keeps him in their favor – he’s an excellent schmoozer.

Or he was, at least. After being falsely accused and jailed for being a traitor to the Autobot cause, Wasp was left something of a broken, shattered mech, with quirky speech patterns and a drive for revenge against the ‘bot who ruined his life: Bumblebee. At this point, the word that would best describe him is “eccentric,” given his unpredictable behavior in regards to exacting his ill-planned revenge.

In his damaged mind, Wasp is doing a lot of second-guessing. Despite how little he thought it out, his plans to get revenge were working, until he started to doubt his own abilities to pull the plan off. He’d gone from completely awesome to completely batty, though some shreds of pride and give-as-good-as-you-get were still buried somewhere beneath the drive for vengeance. A lot of his odd behavior is caused by his blind rage towards Bumblebee.

What it all boils down to is the fact that the once-proud, feisty mech had become a broken, scared, tired little creature.

My my, how the mighty had fallen…

Backstory: Wasp was once on the fast-track to success. He was attending Autobot boot camp under the instruction of the illustrious Sentinel Minor, who took a shine to him and his ability to effectively carry out orders.

Unfortunately for Wasp, he was in the same training unit as Bumblebee, a loud-mouthed buffoon who seemed intent on making the rest of the unit miserable by screwing up every other second.

Even more unfortunately for Wasp, Bumblebee’s screw-ups were the result of believing there was a traitor in their midst – and that the traitor was none other than Wasp.

And the most unfortunate thing of all? The real traitor, Longarm, planted evidence framing Wasp, which resulted in his arrest and incarceration in the Cybertron Stockade.

Years later, Wasp manages to escape the stockade, only to be pursued by the Elite Guard forces. He manages to make his way to Earth, determined to find Bumblebee and exact revenge on him for wrecking his life. How he managed to track down Bumblebee is a bit of a mystery, but he was on the right track, tracing the other Autobot all the way to Detroit, where he launches an ambush, disguising himself as Bumblebee and Bumblebee as him – A clever plot, one may think.

Despite managing to take Bumblebee’s place and fool the other Autobots by accessing Bumblebee’s memory files, Wasp panics at the thought of screwing up and being discovered, which leads Prime’s team and the Elite Guard to realize which of them is the real Bumblebee and which is Wasp. After threatening Bumblebee one final time, Wasp managed to flee the Autobot’s base and in to the night…

Where he was continued to be pursued, and found himself running scared. He didn’t want to go back to jail and he certainly didn’t want to listen to anything Prime’s team and Bumblebee had to say.

While on the run, Wasp was snatched from the ground by the Dinobot Swoop and taken to a mysterious island in Lake Erie…

[And this is where I’ll be stopping, since Wasp is still going to be Wasp and not Waspinator.]

Moral Standing: Autobot, with a penchant for jerkitude, though in the end, he’s hovering somewhere between good and bad.
Dreams: GETTING REVENGE ON BUMBLEBOT
Fears: Going back to the stockade
Extra: Once he was locked up, Wasp’s physical appearance was slightly altered – his paint job became darker shades of green and his optics changed from blue to purple, signifying his lack of ties to one particular faction – though he still identifies as an Autobot.

His speech patterns are something akin to broken English and he refers to himself in third person. Talking properly is incredibly hard for him, as he proved in “Where Is Thy Sting?”

Wasp enjoys playing video games, though he kind of sucks at them and throws the controllers around when he loses.

Wasp does not understand why the Autobots are still chasing him even after they tell him they know he’s not a traitor. He seems to have forgotten the part where he, ya know, tried to kill Bumblebee.

Samples: Autoboot Camp parts 1 and 2
Where is Thy Sting? parts 1 and 2
Predacons Rising parts 1 and 2

Writing Sample: [Here are two samples of things I’ve written about Wasp. The first is from an app for a game I never wound up apping at:]

Altruism was hardly one of Wasp’s strong suits, whether you were looking at his life before or after his incarceration. He had always looked out for number one - himself. That had been his motivation during his stint at boot camp and it had been the law of the proverbial jungle in the stockade. If he didn’t take care of himself, who would? If he didn’t keep up that attitude now, people would probably just walk all over him. And if he hadn’t relied on his wit and arrogance, he would probably be offline instead of merely broken.

He didn’t concern himself over others very often. In fact, he hardly did it at all. And he didn’t act in the name of justice, because justice didn’t exist in the real world, just in made up fantasy stories for the young. Autobots weren’t really heroes and he wasn’t really an Autobot any more, anyway, but…

Some part of him that he had buried under years of misfortune, torment and pain -the part of him that was inherently Autobot and, therefore, inherently good- wouldn’t let him sit idly by when others were being pushed around by those in command. He didn’t like that part of himself; every one should have to suffer the way he had suffered. He didn’t like it, but it was there. And it always would be.

It was the one part of his fractured mind he just couldn’t make himself part with.

[The second is an excerpt from a fanfic:]

Incidentally, the first thought that crossed Wasp's mind wasn't one of terror. Though he knew being found by a Decepticon was bad news, the only thing that his addled processor could come up with was "that is the oddest looking Decepticon I've ever seen."

The other mech was slender, with a streamlined body and a gleaming paintjob. He was nowhere near as bulky as the typical Decepticon, nor as tall. He was clearly a flier, but something about the shape of his wings suggested that his alt mode was not typical of the average Cybertronian.

Despite himself, Wasp was intrigued.

Time seemed to slow to a crawl as he gaped up at the terrifyingly unique form of the Decepticon towering over him.

The red mech shifted suddenly, and reality came crashing back. With it came the very real possibility that this Decepticon would trash him, just because. Wasp leapt to his feet, stingers already charging, and plowed into the larger Transformer before he even knew what was happening.

The Decepticon fell backwards, flailing and pinned between a boulder and the smaller form of Wasp. He let out an outraged screech, clawed hands rising and wrapping around Wasp's throat. He easily pried the Autobot off and shook him, holding him so his feet were dangling inches above the ground. Wasp's feet flailed uselessly, trying to find purchase on a surface they could no longer reach.

"I meant it." The Decpeticon hissed, shrill voice dropping to a deadly whisper, "I need some one to do some repairs on my ship…I would have given you a ride in return for that." His optics narrowed, a hateful expression crossing his face, "But what use do I have for Autobot scum who shoots first and asks questions later?"

Wasp glared at him, going limp and dangling submissively in his grasp. "Let Wasp go." He strained to make the sentence come out right, but it didn't quite work and he cringed a little, twittering and waiting for the laughter that usually accompanied any words that came out of his vocal processor.

It never came.

Instead, the Decepticon actually listened, dropping him in a heap on the ground. Wasp looked back up at him, wary, and pushed himself up, taking a step back.

"If Decpeticon take Wasp to Earth…Wasp do whatever he say." He offered slowly.

The grin that split the Decepticon's face at that was one of the most chilling things Wasp had ever seen.