ayngelcat | Help ... HELP ... ! Smokey's character

OK – so I’m in the poo on rvp. A number of complaints to mods about Smokey’s character (which is said to be ‘non G1’), and a few other issues as well. The latter are quite easily fixed up. Smokey’s character isn’t. I don’t think I have, in fact, strayed too far from the G1 character – just presented, perhaps, a little more depth and darkness – but in order to prevent Smokey’s possible expulsion from the nexus *uuurrggghhh*, I would be truly appreciative if people could take the time to read the – very short – basis below for the character and comment.

I’ll probably be ducking out of this role soon anyway and hope to return as G1 Swindle and have put mods on notice of this. But in the meantime, if you could help me out here I would really, really value your views. Then try and keep everyone happy so that we all have fun.

I’m very sorry, too, if anyone’s been upset by my portrayal . It is pretty radical! But not my intention at all to cause grief - so I’ll take this opportunity to apologise as well if that is so.

Also to thank those who have liked what I’ve been doing and have been very flattering in their compliments.

G1 Smokescreen

Smokey doesn’t appear until a little later in the G1 cartoon and is, for the first part, pretty nondescript. The famous Smokey episode comes later in series 3, ("The Gambler" episode) where he reveals himself as an accomplished cheat at poker and puts the Autobots up as collateral in a bet to get them released - which he then screws up and loses, resulting in the 'bots getting drawn into a pit fight. It's OK in the end, because Devcon arrives and helps him out - but he did, I think, reveal himself as not immune to the 'darker' sides of life at all!

He's described in the bios as a "diversionary tactician," also, in some, as a liar and a cheat – a likeable one, more a kind of ‘loveable rogue’ - but a liar and cheat nonetheless - and it is said that Optimus Prime engaged him as 'the only Bot who truly can think like a con.' Hence in their diversionary planning they pick his brains to see what he thinks the Cons' next move will be. He also gets used as an informant within the Autobots - his smooth manner encourages people to "open up" and tell all, matters which he then reports to Prime.

He thus not only has a difficult task to perform, but suffers from being a bot but "not really one of them" and has a number of personal issues.

Fanfiction writers have gone a bit further, giving him liaisons with Cons, some shady wheeling and dealing, addictions, a relationship with Swindle and a very tense relationship with some of the Bots. He also has some sort of psych qualification which he acquired somewhere along the way - the reason why he can be so snooth and manipulative - without even trying - when he needs something. I always saw those works as well done and most in character, so I guess I was not averse to hauling the same concepts into rvp. Maybe that is the problem.

Smokey is actually pretty complex and stressful to play, so I’m not going to do it for too much longer. In the meantime, if I can prevent the poor guy from getting kicked out of the nexus, I feel somewhat duty bound to do so!

Cheers. Lots of love. Ayngelcat :D