Swerve app

[funreliablenarrator]

IN CHARACTER

Character Name: Swerve of Helex
Canon: Transformers IDW
Canon Point: The adventuring forever timeline at the very end of the series.

In-Game Tattoo Placement: Left forearm.
Current Health/Status: Good
Age: ~4-5 Million years old
Species: Cybertronian

Content Warnings: Some depression stuff and what was basically almost suicide

History:

https://tfwiki.net/wiki/2005_IDW_continuity
https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Swerve_(G1)#2005_IDW_continuity

Personality:

It is generally believed among the Lost Light that if you tell Swerve anything, there’s a good chance that every living creature in the known universe will know about it. That sort of thing happens when you have a complete inability to shut up for more than a few seconds at a time. Swerve will talk someone’s ear off about anything and everything and is immune to anyone’s attempts to shut him up. Several times throughout the series Swerve had talked himself out of a situation or managed to convince someone to do some dumb thing for him, as he’s not just a chatterbox, he has at least a little bit of charisma to get others to do things they wouldn’t otherwise do. A jokester and a prankster, Swerve isn’t the kind of person who likes the idea that people could ever perceive him as someone who likes to be serious on occasion.

The chatty and occasionally mean-spirited surface of who Swerve is stems from Swerve’s desperate need to be liked by everyone and to keep people from seeing any of who he is much deeper down. While Swerve has gotten far better about hating himself at the end of the series, there was a point where Swerve hated himself so deeply that he completely stopped caring for himself and nearly died. The reason for this is complicated, but it happened because of a combination of knowing that he is a character in a comic book due to becoming aware of the 4th wall because of an invention called the “Meta Bomb,” and because he had obsessively watched/read every piece of human media that existed on Earth around the year 2015. That in itself was a recipe of disaster and that disaster was specifically called Swearth (Swerve Earth).

So to break it down: Swerve, due to being aware that he is a character in a comic book, became hyperaware of his place in it when the plot didn’t involve him that much for a few issues. Not being a “main” character anymore threw him into a depressive episode that caused him to turn to Earth media, which he obsessively devoured. As his painfully lonely depressive episode grew worse, Swerve used a holomatter avatar to take his place as bartender at his bar while his real body rusted away in a puddle of his own fluids in his room where no one ever visited. This occurred over several months, but no one ever noticed. Through a combination of the Meta Bomb and looking in Brainstorm’s time travelling briefcase, some time and space nonsense happened and Swearth was born.

Swerve’s favourite Earth media is sitcoms, and that’s because he enjoyed the concept of a bunch of losers getting together and having fun mundane adventures in a place where everything was ideal. On Swearth, Swerve himself was split into three different humans: A religious man, a jokester, and a doctor. It took some prodding, but the Crew of the Lost Light managed to figure out that these three people were actually all three parts of Swerve himself, and managed to get them together into one whole Swerve again. Once he was whole, Swerve explained his terrible self-loathing to his friends. He explained how he felt that he hadn’t accomplished anything as a deeply religious person, or as someone who was actually a very good “skin” doctor, and how it all manifested in this sitcom world. It was the normally taciturn Cyclonus, of all people, who reassured Swerve that he did, in fact, have people who cared a lot about him and who were doing all they can to save his life. Swerve chose to believe him, and was able to tell them that there was a bullet lodged in his shoulder that was slowly killing him.

So despite what Swerve believed, he had a good many friends. In fact, most people liked him because of his cheery and jovial nature. There was Velocity who seemed to find him genuinely charming and who encouraged Swerve’s kinder and more serious nature. Cyclonus who liked and comforted him when he was scared. Skids, who considered himself to be Swerve’s best friend. Tailgate and Rewind who liked hanging out and chatting with Swerve. The list surprisingly goes on. The crew of the Lost Light matters to him a lot, because with them, he doesn’t feel quite so lonely anymore.

Swerve is, fundamentally, a good person and a good friend. At the very end, when it came down to it, Swerve was able to open the Matrix of Leadership, which could only be opened by a truly good person. It’s very hard to believe that you are a bad person in the end when an artifact created by God tells you outright that you are a good person at your core. Because despite Swerve’s boatload of flaws, he is thoughtful, kind (in his own way), always knows the fastest way to cheer someone up, and is always quick on the uptake so he knows when something’s going on with someone. So as Rodimus had said at the final moment when he needed his crew to believe in themselves to save the entire universe: “Maybe you’re not good, but you’re sure as hell good enough.” And sometimes that’s all anyone really needs to be.


Abilities/Powers/Weaknesses & Warping: 4th wall breaking: Swerve is aware that he’s a fictional character in someone else’s narrative and often does the “Previously on” parts at the front of each issues. However, he’s not like Deadpool with the ability to talk to the author or anything like that, he’s just aware of certain texts (Such as the words “To be Concluded” on the panel he is in) that normal characters can’t see. He knows that there’s an audience out there somewhere watching, and he experiences occasional existential dread over it.

Also he’s a transforming robot who can turn into a car.

Inventory: Maybe a bottle of Nightmare Fuel (robot booze)

Writing Samples:

Sample 1:

“Okay, so consider this!” Swerve says to the unwitting other person in this conversation. They’re at a bar. His bar to be specific. Swerve is holding this person’s drink hostage because he wants to get his conversation starter in before his customer has a chance to flee. “Time travel is nonsense, right? Like when we did it, it basically meant we were doing what we were meant to always do because everything is predetermined. That means that everything matters but also doesn’t matter!”

The person at the bar doesn’t care about this and asks politely for their drink. Swerve puts the glass down within their reach, but picks it back up again and starts gesturing wildly.

“But! We managed to create an entirely new universe out of the little nonsense changes we made while we were meddling with time! So, while everything is predetermined, we also somehow managed to make an entire new existence! And it was a terrible existence! Somehow it was worse than our actual existence! Like, what’s the point? If you’re going to make an entirely new timeline, why did it have to be a worse version of our timeline? Why can’t good things happen when you mess with time and space? Honestly.”

Swerve finally puts the glass down and his customer is quick to grab it before Swerve takes it hostage again.

“I guess it’s kinda our fault for wanting to have adventures so much. We’re a meddling bunch and if there’s even a shadow of a chance of getting ourselves involved in a mess that has nothing to do with us, we jump at the chance. Because that’s who we are, right? Adventurers. A group of weird misfits who don’t fit in anywhere else in the galaxy, but we sure fit in together here.”

His customer mutters in agreement. Swerve pushes on.

“Like just last week! We showed up on a planet filled with creatures we’ve never even seen before, and somehow got involved in choosing their next monarch. We knew nothing about their culture or people, so we just chose whichever guy gave us the shiniest rocks and went on our way. How is that place going? Who knows! Stuff sort of stops existing once we’re done with it. I mean, unless something plot important happened while we were there, and we’ll end up seeing it again later down the line. That’s just storytelling for you.”

Sample 2:

Ten shots.

No kill.

“C’mon Swerve! I could hit that target with no hands AND no eyes!” Someone shouts at him from across the battlefield. It is probably Rodimus. Swerve sulks as he takes careful aim and fires again. Miss.

Well, it’s not his fault that Brainstorm didn’t have time to make him another gun made for his little hands! Nor is it his fault that he broke the last one after using it to play grenade tag with!

Because it was Roller’s fault for stepping on it with his big heavy feet.

Aim. Shoot. Miss.

Swerve convinces himself that that last shot was a little bit closer than all the other shots had been.

Tailgate and Rewind are both beside him, shooting and punching away the attacking rock monsters with enthusiasm that comes from being crazy enough to enjoy being in fights like this. It’s because of them that Swerve is able to just stand there taking pot-shots at a rock monster who isn’t even really part of the fight. It’s just digging gormlessly into the ground, looking for rocks to eat. Swerve has chosen to shoot at this one because there’s very little danger of actually hitting someone by accident, and because the monster is standing perfectly still.

He’d been firing at this one for about ten minutes and hasn’t even come close to hitting it.

“Hey Brainstorm.” Says Swerve into his comm to the jet who isn’t even on the battlefield. “What’s the ETA on “My Second Blaster?” It’s a lot less humiliating to have than than not being able to hit a target at all.”

“I think at this point you’re on “My Fifth Blaster.”” Brainstorm replies with his usual mad scientist cheer. “I’ve added some things to it, so you should be getting it soon.”

“How soon?”

“Look up!”

Swerve looks up. And immediately does a tactical somersault backwards to be avoid being impaled by a weapon’s pod. As he watches, the pod opens up revealing a glowing “My Fifth Blaster (Big Grip for Little Hands)” appeared, accompanied by angelic singing.

“Tacky.” He says into the comms as he removes the gun from the pod. The glow immediately shuts off and the angelic singing stops.

Brainstorm doesn’t even dignify Swerve’s criticism with a response.

OUT OF CHARACTER

Player Name: Lady
Player Age: 30
Player Contact: Lady47

Other Characters In Game: n/a
In-Game Tag If Accepted: Swerve : Lady
Permissions for Character:

https://funreliablenarrator.dreamwidth.org/421.html

Are you comfortable with prominent elements of fourth-walling?:

It’d be hilarious to play Swerve if I wasn’t.

What themes of horror/psychological thrillers do you enjoy the most?:

Parasite horror is always fun to play with. Just the idea of something that’s in your body, causing you harm, that you can’t do anything about. It brings the feeling of pure helplessness and fear, which leads a you to a desperate bid to rid yourself of the parasite before your body melts or bursts open as the parasites go to find a new host. It’s not a very popular kind of horror story, weirdly enough.

Is there anything in particular you absolutely need specific content warnings for?:

Sexual stuff of any sort.

Additional Information:

Even though Swerve’s natural size is likely within the limits of the game, I’d like to shrink him down to like 5 feet bc I think that’ll be cute.