Member
WardenCelestine
TokyoPewPew
Emma
Hos
RPM
Hope Lover
BobbyJones314”Don't worry about me. I'm not dying until every goddamn person on earth knows my name.”
“I've seen that kid stare down sorcerers twice her size and power without so much as a blink. All I know is, I'm glad she's on our side.”
“I've seen that kid stare down sorcerers twice her size and power without so much as a blink. All I know is, I'm glad she's on our side.”
The Basics
Name
Dakota Anne Zahn
Nicknames
Gearhead - Used jokingly and sparingly by those who frequent her workshop or often use her services as a mechanic/handyman. Also a jab at the literal meaning of her last name, being "cog".
Dakota - Her first name is usually what she goes by.
Dakota - Her first name is usually what she goes by.
Birthday
May 7, 1998
Age
17
Gender
Female
Sexuality
Pansexual until proven otherwise
Appearance
Dakota stands about 5'5 and weighs roughly 135lbs, denser than she looks from the layer of wiry muscle that covers her body. Her build is lithe yet strong, bulkier around the arms and upper body. Her skin is light and riddled with moles. Her hair is a brassy blonde worn short, with the sides a near-shave and the top a tad longer and choppy. She's taken it upon herself to dye the tips red. Her eyes are large and flat grey.
Due to her haircut and near-flat chest, Dakota is practically androgynous at first glance; her working clothing only adds to the effect, generally consisting of work clothes such as bulky coveralls, thick work gloves, heavy boots and eye protection. While she's not working, she opts for less heavy clothing such as green cargo pants/kapris, old lace-up boots and an oversized tan jacket, once her father's. One article she never goes without is an old army-green hat with the logo of a Canadian oil company sewn onto the front.
Noticeable traits include a permanent notch in her left eyebrow and a small barcode tattooed behind her right ear. (More on these in History)
Skills
Skills/Traits
- Reverse engineering - If given a foreign object (a salvaged enemy weapon, device, etc.) Dakota can analyze its composition and determine its uses and properties.
- Boisterous - Dakota is confident and blunt, making her an excellent negotiator (she's kind of intimidating and comes across like she knows what she's talking about, even if she doesn't).
- Mechanic - Dakota works as a mechanic and weaponsmith for the Griffins, repairing equipment and weapons, engineering needed upgrades, and reverse-engineering enemy technology. It has made her an invaluable part of the Griffins.
- Capable - Dakota can do just about anything assigned to her and dutifully follows orders.
- Fighter - Dakota knows how to fight, and capably holds her own. She's often underestimated for her size, which normally works out to her advantage. Due to a history of manual labour, she's a lot stronger than she looks.
- Connected - If you need something, Dakota is your guy. She can trade or gamble for just about anything, and makes a good negotiator.
- Hard working - Dakota tends to go on days-long streaks of non-stop working, often forsaking food and sleep in favour of finishing her project.
Digging Deeper
Likes
- Working with her hands
- Figuring things out
- Solving problems
- The sound of weapons cocking
- The feeling of shooting
- All-nighters
- Winning
- Cursing
- Gambling
Dislikes
- Water
- Losing
- Being unable to figure something out
- Distractions
- Mornings
- Mentalists
- Being watched
- People who can't keep up with her
- Tough customers (people who won't haggle/negotiate)
Habits
- Picking at her fingers (her fingertips are often bloody or bandaged)
- Rubbing her tattoo
- Shaking her leg
- Pacing
Hobbies
- Tinkering
- Crafting (she likes to make things out of waste material)
- Collecting parts (she insists that one day she might need them)
- Sketching
- Gambling
Fears
- Drowning
- Losing her freedom
- Going blind
- Being controlled/influenced
- Losing her mind
- Being forgotten
Personality
The first thing one would notice about Dakota is energy. She's a firecracker in every sense of the word, and combined with her undiagnosed ADHD, she seems to practically vibrate with energy. She can't sit still and avoids sleep as much as she can, claiming it a waste of valuable time. For her, multitasking is a necessity, and organized chaos somewhat of an art.
Her temperament is similar to her overall buzzing demeanour; she doesn't half-ass anything, be it work or emotion. She feels every emotion deeply, be it bursting with joy, seething with anger, or giddy with happiness. One emotion she rarely gives into is despair, preferring to convert her sadness into anger. Often, she replaces unshed tears with angry grumblings and violent outbursts - although, the victims of these outbursts are rarely anything other than foliage. Or enemies. Or stubborn projects. More often than not, however, she channels her more negative emotions into her work, as her father taught her.
Fiercely loyal and straightforward, Dakota takes no shit. Her blood boils when people are treated unequally, and despises nothing more than being controlled or limited. She'll stand her ground against an army if she has to, and having such a hard time backing down has often become trouble for her. She's the type to rebel against the gun to her head, regardless of how much smarter it would be to cooperate.
Her temperament is similar to her overall buzzing demeanour; she doesn't half-ass anything, be it work or emotion. She feels every emotion deeply, be it bursting with joy, seething with anger, or giddy with happiness. One emotion she rarely gives into is despair, preferring to convert her sadness into anger. Often, she replaces unshed tears with angry grumblings and violent outbursts - although, the victims of these outbursts are rarely anything other than foliage. Or enemies. Or stubborn projects. More often than not, however, she channels her more negative emotions into her work, as her father taught her.
Fiercely loyal and straightforward, Dakota takes no shit. Her blood boils when people are treated unequally, and despises nothing more than being controlled or limited. She'll stand her ground against an army if she has to, and having such a hard time backing down has often become trouble for her. She's the type to rebel against the gun to her head, regardless of how much smarter it would be to cooperate.
History
Contrary to Canada's pre-SWO reputation as a more socialist and inclusive country, the implementation of the SWO changed the country in droves. With the help of a proxy ruler installed by Lucille Laurent (a hateful, spiteful woman by the name of Stephenie Harp, who takes all of Laurent's orders to the extreme) Canada became even more segregated than the US in many ways. There normal humans, called Mundanes, were entirely segregated from the sorcerer community. They were moved to exclusively Mundane towns situated around factories and power plants which they were then forced to operate. Mundanes born in Canada were (and still are) marked with a permanent notch in the left eyebrow, so that their identity as Mundanes would be obvious if they were to venture into sorcerer-only areas. Mundanes assigned to factories (many often born into them and working as soon as they were capable enough to hold a mop) were tattooed with barcodes, which could be scanned for factory assignment and position.
Mundane neighbourhoods suffer frequent losses of commodities such as electricity and clean water, tightly patrolled by police and held under a strict 10pm curfew. Mundane workers often receive little to no pay and poor treatment. It isn't rare for injuries and death to occur on factory grounds, and many establishments are outfitted with suicide preventative measures.
Mundane neighbourhoods suffer frequent losses of commodities such as electricity and clean water, tightly patrolled by police and held under a strict 10pm curfew. Mundane workers often receive little to no pay and poor treatment. It isn't rare for injuries and death to occur on factory grounds, and many establishments are outfitted with suicide preventative measures.
TL;DR Canada sucks now. :(
Dakota was born in Newfoundland, situated in a town built around an oil refinery. Her father was a mechanic for the refinery, one of many charged with the nigh-impossible task of keeping the old machinery in working order. Her mother died in childbirth. Luckily, after her mother's death, Dakota's father did not become distant, but instead embraced her and adored her, both as a beloved child and a living remnant of his wife. From the time Dakota was first able to wield a wrench, she was working with her father. She was one of many child workers, popular with the mechanics for their ability to fit into small spaces and for running tools and equipment back and forth. This was when Dakota began wearing her hair short, having learned the hard way that long hair and active machinery don't mix.
In their precious spare time, Dakota and her father worked on small inventions; tiny robots, low energy lights, often little commodities to make life in the Mundane ghettos a little more fun for a child. This tradition continued on throughout Dakota's adolescent years, but as she got older, Dakota became increasingly aware of some of her father's other habits.
In order to maintain a better quality of life for his daughter, Dakota's father had been systematically stealing from the refinery and selling the stolen items on the black market; it was never much, just some parts here, some crude oil byproduct there (used in homemade ammunition by small rebellion forces), occasionally even housing smuggled goods for a profit. He never wanted to get Dakota involved, but she had no love for their 'employers' and insisted on helping whether he liked it or not.
Eventually, the company got wise to the small yet steady losses and, although they were stealing what was already trash, had Dakota's father arrested. They would have taken Dakota as well, but her father insisted she had nothing to do with it. The last she saw of her father was him being hauled away in a police van, and to this day, she doesn't know what became of him.
After the loss of her father, Dakota fled the refinery, took her father's savings and bribed an oil rig shuttle boat for passage into Maine. From there, now a wanted escapee, she bribed and snuck her way to the west coast, hoping that the rumours that flew about Griffins and revolution were true. She was fifteen when she ended up in the Redwoods, and since has proven herself a valuable member of the Griffins for her mechanical skills and knack for smuggling, trading, and negotiating.
Other Stuff
Dakota is somewhat hard of hearing due to her many long hours of enduring loud noise. As such, she's often the loudest in the camp and it takes a few tries to get her attention. The best approach to getting her attention is to make yourself visible to avoid startling her.
Dakota also speaks sign language, as did many factory workers, out of convenience and necessity. Signing was easier than speaking in factories where they could barely hear each other over the noise.
Dakota also speaks sign language, as did many factory workers, out of convenience and necessity. Signing was easier than speaking in factories where they could barely hear each other over the noise.
Theme Song
Lone Digger - Caravan Palace
Let's end your time to lay low
Your knees are bending, so
It's time to get up and let go
Let's end your time to lay low
Your knees are bending, so
It's time to get up and let go