![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
piper90 App
APPLICATION
Player Name/Handle: Korel
Plurk Handle:
Player Status: Current Player
Other characters: Peter B. Parker, Brainiac 5
Invited by: Some weirdo named Korel
Character Name: Woody
Fandom: Toy Story
Character Journal:![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
rootinest
OU, AU, CRAU, Canon OC, or OC? OU
Canon point: Toy Story 4, mid conversation with Buzz on the road trip about how hard things have gotten.
PB: Canon icons but using Jake Hyllenhaal for any humanization or holodisguises while embiggened, because of all the jokes about it are hilarious
SETTING BACKGROUND
Woody's world is almost identical to our own but for one huge difference: toys there come to life, with active lives anytime their owners aren't around. The metaphysics behind their sentience are entirely unknown to the toys themselves. It's shown that a toy a child made out of trash and craft materials could come to life like all the others, shocking even the other toys. It's possible they are tulpas of some kind, animated by the love of children, ala the Velveteen Rabbit.
In their secret culture, their existence is largely centered around trying to be owned by a child and nurturing their clueless human owners. But some toys enjoy a free existence as "lost" toys and roam the world. There are "rules" that the toys follow, some of which seem to be reflexive in nature, such as rag dolling and playing dead whenever a human is near. Their existence isn't always an easy one, as their lives are subject to the whims of people that don't even know they're alive, leaving them often in fear of being separated from friends and lovers, lost, destroyed/trashed, or abandoned (either on a whim or due to an owner growing up).
HISTORY
PERSONALITY
Loyal: Above all else, Woody is loyal to a fault, hugely caring towards his fellow toys. In the past, he did it as leader of Andy's room, presently he tries to help Dolly (the leader of Bonnie's room) by keeping Andy's former toys in check and making sure they feel supported when anxious. He's also willing to risk his safety to rescue his fellow toys from trouble, whether that's them getting yard saled or getting swept off towards a drain during a storm.
But even stronger than his loyalty to other toys is his loyalty to whatever kid currently owns him. Woody believes the most noble thing a toy can do in life is be there for a child. He understands the role toys have in nurturing their imagination and acting as comfort objects when they feel insecure. This is why even though Woody is with a new kid he still hasn't entirely gotten over Andy, as his loyalty to Andy still hasn't faded. While he's glad Andy has grown up into a happy young adult, he still regrets that he can't see anymore of his life or what he'll keep growing up into.
Obsessive: The downside to Woody being loyal to a fault is he definitely does sometimes lean hard into the "to a fault" part. He's willing to do anything for his current owner, and that sometimes means acting too impulsively to do things that would be beneficial to their happiness, in ways that harm other toys or that are damaging to his own happiness. He also sometimes gets angry at his friends if he feels they're not being loyal enough to their current owner. Woody stakes his entire identity on being a toy and serving an owner and doesn't always understand the independence and agency some other toys prefer having.
Petty: When Woody is mad or jealous he can be a petty lil' shit. It's not as bad as it once was, back when he first met Buzz and accidentally knocked him out a window while trying to get him stuck between the bed and the wall. But he definitely will go for a verbal low blow if he's angry at someone or feels they're being disloyal. He usually regrets it later, but in the moment he can be a bit of a dick.
Selfless and kind: But his petty moments are fleeting. At heart, he's very kind, and willing to self-sacrifice for both his owners and his friends. He was unable to keep all the toys in Andy's room together because so many were sold or donated, but he still tries desperately to keep together the little family of toys that remain. Sometimes this can go even too far, to where he gives up too much of himself and his happiness for the happiness of others. He's from just before a canon point that he gives his voice box to a doll who never had a child because hers was broken from the start, willing to let himself be cut open and literally give up a piece of himself to let her have a chance being as loved by a child as he was.
Timid: Woody is mostly gentle by nature, and prefers a very tame existence of loving and being loved by a kid. That means he's naturally a little timid, easily spooked by potential threats and slightly afraid of change, unfamiliar surroundings, or uncertainty. In many situations his first instinct is to muppet flail, which he's very good at doing because of his floppy arms. And he doesn't really like getting involved in fights.
Brave: But his naturally timid nature means the times he jumps into action to help another toy are that much more impressive. Woody will immediately push through any fear he has if another toy is in trouble. Sometimes this leads to him muppet flailing through the whole situation but he'll still do what needs to be done. Woody's courage isn't fearlessness, it's him pushing through fear on sheer willpower.
Impulsive: Despite mostly being timid and careful, Woody can sometimes be a little reckless and impulsive, usually if he's caught up in the emotion of the moment. When a situation is emotionally heavy somehow, he can sometimes be too reactive, letting his feelings cause him to get carried away. This is one of few situations where he leaps before he looks. This is most likely to happen when he's concerned about the happiness of his kid or being separated from them.
Self-deluding and secretive: Woody often has trouble admitting or sorting out his emotions and sometimes lives in a state of denial about truths he doesn't want to confront. He can usually wiggle his way out of this state but it takes some doing and often confrontation by his friends. Due to years of leading the room and needing to keep some anxious personalities calm, he also hides what he's feeling even if he knows it. He often presents a calm face to the rest of the group and keeps his worries more secret to avoid worrying them. Buzz tends to be the person he's most likely to open up to if he's anxious about something.
Perceptive: Woody's very good at understanding the psychology of children and how toys factor into their senses of security and creativity. He was the one that had the most faith Andy would do right by them and in the end, he did, by giving them another chance to be loved by a child. Woody read the room right there and he's reading the room right in understanding he might not be long for Bonnie's room if she keeps rejecting him. He's also emotionally intelligent enough to understand the feelings of his friends so he can try to get them to please chill since they panic a solid 40% of the time.
CANON POWERS
Other than being sentient because god knows how or why, Woody has no powers. His state of being does confer a few benefits humans don't have though, like not needing to eat, drink, or breathe (toys seem to be able to do it because dialogue references breathing but don't seem to actually need it). However, toys are shown as getting tired and needing to sleep as they complain about walking long distances in canon and Woody has been shown fighting off exhaustion. (Also, somehow he's ticklish and can also smell things??)
He's immune to toxic gases or poisons as long as they're not something that'd melt or disintegrate him. Toys can also get seriously damaged and survive. They seem to be able to feel pain but Woody's arm getting ripped off, for instance, wasn't something that could kill him and could get sewn back on. When it was mildly torn, it did seem to hurt and limited movement of his arm, though.
POWER SELECTION
I'll be going with noospheric powers.
Size-changing: This power is drawn from Woody's desire to be more a part of the lives of his human charges. Woody can grow in size for a limited amount of time. He can be human sized for 10-40 minutes, depending on his levels of concentration, and whether he's going for someone 6' or a 4' shrimp. His max size is 40 feet tall (which proportionally makes him as big to humans as they usually are to him) and can sustain that for 2-5 minutes.
However, he has to rest between each use of this power. He can go human-sized a few times a day if he rests a few minutes to a few hours in between (with more time required the bigger he went), but he can only go big-huge if he hasn't used this power yet that day, and can't use his powers again for at least a day after.
While in a large form the greater mass does make him stronger, ala most sizechangers in comics, but because his natural form is kind of plush and huggable he will always be weaker than a human at that size that has actual bones. Even at his 40' max height, he can't pick up a car. He tops out around 200-300 pounds, which some humans can bench normal size. He has to get extra big just to manage what a normal-sized human can do.
You've got a friend in me: Drawn from his friendship with Buzz. He has a mental connection with Buzz that makes it easy to find him almost anywhere he is. If Buzz needs rescue, Woody has improved luck in getting to him so he can rescue him. Woody can't do anything he wouldn't normally be able to do but he has good luck in sneaking around and not being seen, getting into places, etc. This can be useful if they're trying to find some hidden base because they can get Buzz purposefully captured and Woody will be able to find it.
There's a snake in your boots: Based off one of his voicebox phrases. He can make illusions of snakes crawl around people, usually from their shoes. In a touch of comedy, if the person isn't wearing anything on their feet, they hallucinate some random cowboy boots, too.
Magic lasso: Woody is able to summon golden magic lassos that are proportional to whatever size he is at that time. The lassos are able to make whoever they touch weaker and lighter so Woody has more of a chance of taking down people bigger and stronger than him while toy-sized. He can summon multiple lassos so that he can tied someone up and summon a new one to use. They last as long as Woody wants them to, so some can last as long as a normal rope, or he can will them away from a distance after he's left the area they're in.
The lassos are not completely unbreakable but are very tough. How strong they are often depends on how much will Woody puts in them in the moment he makes them.
ABILITIES
Woody's entire frame of reference in interacting with the world is very small but he still has some useful skills that the group can lean on.
Stealth: Like most toys he's very good at sneaking around without being seen, and that includes a good sense of when to use tactics like diversions. His size especially helps.
Planning capers: Woody is very good at planning little toy sneakyplots and even orchestrated a toy-sized prison break. While he'd have to get used to bigger scenarios with bigger people, he'll actually have good insight on how to get in and out of places unseen and have some good ideas to contribute to capers and schemes. When it comes to stuff like escaping captivity, he's only used to working at a smaller scale, not lower stakes. He will be shockingly good at multi-part schemes once he learns to work at the right scale.
Interpersonal skills: As the former leader of Andy's room, Woody is used to being a calming presence and mediating interpersonal conflicts. He's very good at talking people into doing the right thing or doing the best thing for themselves. In TS1 he talks Buzz into realizing that being a toy and being there for a kid is a noble calling. In TS2 he talks Jessie into becoming one of Andy's toys despite her fear of being abandoned again. In TS3 he talks Big Baby into turning against Lotso. Though he's just before that canon point, in TS4 he talks Forky into understanding that being a toy can be a positive thing, talks Bo Peep into helping him rescue Forky, and then convinces Gabby Gabby to try to bond with a different child after being rejected by the the little girl she was hoping to become owned by.
Rope tricks: Woody is good at using his pull string like a lasso and has done some pretty wild stuff with it, albeit on a tiny scale. He's also been able to demonstrate some improvised skill with similar things like electrical cords. This skill will translate well when using his magic lassos. He's going to practice and get extra good with them.
Good with children: Normally he takes a passive role as a toy but in circumstances where he'll be able to talk to children he'll be excellent at keeping them entertained (provided a talking toy doesn't scare them too much). He understands what makes kids tick, what makes them feel secure, what keeps them entertained, and knows just about every kid's game known to man. If in a situation where it felt like he could talk to them, he'd be a world class babysitter, able to pull out all the stops in different games and play pretend time.
SETTING/SUITABILITY
Please answer all of the following. Keep in mind that if a character is not suited to a stressful intrigue and action setting, or if a character is aged 11-15, you will have to work extra hard to justify how they can function in the game as an equal (or learn how to quickly).
➤ How do you expect your character to respond to the setting? Even if they plan to rebel in the long term, will they be able to at least obey enough to not get shocked to death?
Woody will be very thrown by the setting because holy shit this is so far outside his usual frame of reference. But once he gets past his anxiety over speaking with humans (and humanish people), he'll be a good team player. He's used to going on rescue missions or doing jail breaks or whatever with his friends. Usually, he's the one that plans them, but he'll be able to follow other people's lead.
Woody will also understand how shady Jorgmund is and be patient and sneaky in his dealings with them. He's willing to be daring but he's naturally a little cautious, so he'll lean into that, especially since this scenario is so...big. He'll realize he needs to follow the lead of other people since he's so far outside his comfort zone and living in Big People's world. If people want him to get into places, he'll be a great choice for sneaking around, able to get in vents they can't fit in.
➤ What do you hope to do with your character long-term?
Woody tends to accept not having a lot of control over his own existence and I'd like to have him develop more of a sense of agency and personhood. He's from before the main events of the fourth movie and I'd like to play with him growing to the point he eventually found himself in, where he was willing to strike out and be a lost toy, and see the world.
➤ Does your character currently have skills that would allow them to adapt, survive, and do the heroic things being asked of them? If your character doesn't, do you think they'd have the capacity to learn quickly?
I'll be giving him enough powers to be able to be useful. He might need the occasional ride on someone's shoulder, but can at least contribute to a fight. He'll also be ridiculously useful at sneaking around and stealing things, listening to people, planting recording devices etc. If it's a situation where someone has to sneak through an area and steal a key, he's your tiny dude.
Also, he'll be good for going into areas that'd kill a human because of toxic gas, radiation, etc.
➤ If they're not used to cooperating with others, what makes you think they'll be able to adapt to cooperating with the group?
He'll struggle a little with accepting help or cooperating with humans because he's got a lot of instinctual avoidance of interacting with them, but he'll learn to overcome that in time. He just has to learn to slot them into a "very large toy" mental slot. It'll make him a little anxious at first because they are sooo much bigger. Toys sometimes have to fear harm from humans but it's rarely out of overt malice with the knowledge they're sentient. Even Sid, who mutilated his toys, thought they weren't alive.
While a part of him will like being able to finally talk to them, the idea of humans knowing he's alive will also scare him a little.
➤ Will your character have long-term plans to rebel against Jorgmund? If so, how? Will they betray the other PCs and cooperate with Jorgmund? If so, how do you plan to handle the negative CR that might arise?
He'll be extremely loyal to the group. Woody's biggest character trait is loyalty. He'll mostly be useful for sneaking and stealing purposes, and will be willing to volunteer for very dangerous stuff in that regard. He'll definitely try to contribute to the group's freedom however he can.
SAMPLES
Network Sample
Links to RP samples at other games are not accepted, you must use this network prompt, but you may use samples at other games to supplement your samples. Since the test drives rarely use network format, you cannot use a test drive thread for the network sample, only the prose sample. You can choose from the following three options.
I.
[The chair is too small for any of the straps or clamps to work on Woody so they've zip-tied him to some of the holes in the metal, arms stretched up over his head, one zip tie at each wrist, one at each ankle, one at his waist, the last around his neck. There's a little cuff around his chest with a sensor and something that looks...conductive. It's ironically a situation not at all alien to him, given how most toys come packaged - and how much kids love having their toys captured or tormented by villains in pretend games. What's new is being menaced by real villains instead of imaginary villains like evil Dr. Pork Chop. Kids love a good interrogation scene because they love a heroic escape or heroic rescue by a friend, so he's faced this a lot...but this isn't pretend.]
[This is terrifying. This is an actual real place, with actual real menacing people. People that thought he was worth picking up from...wherever he just was, unconscious. People that seem to think he's something that needs to be tied down, which implies they know that he can move in the first place. Had someone seen them, earlier, when he and Buzz were seemingly alone, their escape attempt interrupted?]
["There's no point in pretending you don't move. Our agents found you out in the field in a pool of reality-altering matter. And our scans revealed some interesting potential consciousness. So when we left you alone in that room before, there was a hidden camera. We saw you moving. Between that and our scans, we know you have a consciousness and ability for locomotion."]
[At first Woody doesn't respond, just sits there in passive mode with a vacant grin locked into place. "A warning shock please, use setting 5. He doesn't have nerves, so we'll have to use a more noospheric approach. We need to test what we'll work for his implantation anyway. His situation is...unique. That means the collar system will be need a particularly unique approach, even compared to the robots." "Oh, that's why we're doing this before implantation?" "Yes. Let's test a few frequencies and signal strengths."]
[There's a crackle of noospheric potential in the air, but he still doesn't move. "Increase the settings." He still doesn't move. "Another increase."]
[This is not the same as Sid burning a hole in his head with a magnifying glass. With that, he'd been able to bear it without breaking, but it hadn't been easy. This is worse. The greater extremes come only when you're really wrecked: ripped, torn apart, set on fire. That means he's not used to any extremes - he's never been, for example, shredded by a pet. He always thought losing his arm had been the thing that hurt the most, but this...]
[Still, even though it hurts worse than anything he's ever faced he still bottles it in at first. Toys let themselves be destroyed before revealing the truth. They know the horror that might come if they're found to be alive, especially if it's only when they're screaming as they're destroyed. Strange instinct drives them to stay silent and play dead, one they don't question because of how important it is they follow that instinct. So if they get ripped apart they still do it in silence.]
[But his captors keep ratcheting up the power to whatever's at his chest, well past what might make a human react, well past a tolerance level that would leave most sentients screaming, well past the kind of pain from a shredding death a toy might bear without breaking the rules as they're destroyed. That means that even though he tries to keep quiet, tries to properly rag doll, he can only carry it so far before he breaks.]
[He finally moves, thrashing, letting out the loud scream that's built up. His interrogator signals for them to stop and he sits there, shaking, trying to recover from his shock - and terror - at humans knowing he's alive and knowing how to hurt him that badly in a way that should be impossible. He stares at them suspiciously, breathing in sharp, shuddering breaths, not because he needs to breathe but because toys do breathe (in some unknown way, even though they don't need to) sometimes when they're emotional. Instinct. Like blinking, also when they don't need to. Is it because kids imagine them as alive and that comes with it?]
["There we are. No more pretend games." Woody has a million questions but he says the most important one first, the one he's been anxious about since Buzz was taken somewhere else.]
Where's Buzz? Where's my friend? ["We'll let you see your friend again later, I promise. Alive, if you're wondering about that."] What do you want from me? What is this place?
["That was quite the daring escape you both almost had. We think you'll be useful to our organization. But first, a few questions. We have an interview process before doing intake for New Hires."]
[Woody squints, mouthing 'interview process,' mystified.] You have a what now?
"If you were a kitchen appliance, which kitchen appliance would you be and why?"
[Woody stares at the interrogator in slack-jawed incomprehension for a moment. And then he flails as best as he can while strapped down. It'd be an impressive little muppet flail if his noodle arms were free.]
What! Does that! Have to do! With anything right now?!
[He gets a shock for his trouble. "Answer the question please."]
zzbnas guh. [He tries to steady himself after the verbal keyboard smash and glares.] How are you even doing that?
["Answer the question please."]
I don't know, an oven? ["Why?" Because it's something that can make a kid warm and happy.] Warms a kitchen up on a rainy day, makes cookies, makes it homey.
[A tech at a monitor nods and Woody wonders what they're even reading, seeing as he's fairly sure lie detectors detect pulses or something. (According to TV, at least). Which he does not have. On account of not having a heart. What he doesn't know is his utter lack of humanity has made them get creative here and that what's being used to sense this is accurate - maybe more accurate than their other lie detectors they use - but would possibly kill something organic, whoops.]
"You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what color would you be and why?"
Something in one of the yellows. [He waves one hand vaguely, where it's pinned above his head.] Maybe between neon carrot and sunglow? [You learn a lot of crayon colors in his profession. He has Opinions, actually, lots of toys do, the way humans have opinions on art.] A color that makes you think of the prairie.
[ Plus he's got yellow in his pattern. Sticking to theme, so sue him. He does genuinely like cowboy things. That answer passes muster.]
"If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?"
Not here. [True, but not accurate enough. A zap.] With my friends.
[Still only partially true. A zap. There's still someplace he wants to be most.]
With my owner. ["Wrong." A particularly long zap this time.]
[After thrashing from the zap, Woody cringes because it's something he's tried to let go. He's tried to move on. He's tried, but it feels like it'll always be true. It'll always be where he wants to be most, even if it's not where he's needed the most anymore.]
With my old owner. If I could be anywhere... [he hangs his head, little rag doll limbs going limp] that's where I'd want to be.
[The tech at the monitor nods. Woody glares again, angry that someone made him have to think about that, hurt him enough to make him admit it when he's been trying to move on. He struggles hard - and futilely - against the straps.]
Now for the love of all things Mattel, will somebody please just tell me what is going on?! [He gestures with both hands as much as he can with them pinned over his head.] Who are you, where am I, where's my friend, how did we get here, and how are you hurting me this much when I don't even have nerves?!
Prose Sample
A pregame PSL wth Buzz, where Woody is contending with his future because his current owner, Bonnie, doesn't really want him.
ADDITIONAL INFO
The only actual accessory he has is his little cowboy hat, which he'll try to earn back from Jorgmund.
FINAL QUESTIONS
The players won't know what the mods are doing with these questions until sometime later.
➤ Will your character suspect some kind of guiding intelligence has brought them to the game? Or will they think it was random or done by Jorgmund?
Woody will think it's random because toys lives are kind of at the whims of random chance a lot. How they even achieve consciousness is random and wild, as proven by the fact a toy made from a spork gained sentience.
➤ If they think it was something other than Jorgmund, like God or some other force of fate, what character traits do they think of that intelligence as having? Is it cruel or kind? Capriciously punishing them or doing it for good reason?
N/A since he thinks it's totally freak chance.
Player Name/Handle: Korel
Plurk Handle:
Player Status: Current Player
Other characters: Peter B. Parker, Brainiac 5
Invited by: Some weirdo named Korel
Character Name: Woody
Fandom: Toy Story
Character Journal:
rootinestOU, AU, CRAU, Canon OC, or OC? OU
Canon point: Toy Story 4, mid conversation with Buzz on the road trip about how hard things have gotten.
PB: Canon icons but using Jake Hyllenhaal for any humanization or holodisguises while embiggened, because of all the jokes about it are hilarious
SETTING BACKGROUND
Woody's world is almost identical to our own but for one huge difference: toys there come to life, with active lives anytime their owners aren't around. The metaphysics behind their sentience are entirely unknown to the toys themselves. It's shown that a toy a child made out of trash and craft materials could come to life like all the others, shocking even the other toys. It's possible they are tulpas of some kind, animated by the love of children, ala the Velveteen Rabbit.
In their secret culture, their existence is largely centered around trying to be owned by a child and nurturing their clueless human owners. But some toys enjoy a free existence as "lost" toys and roam the world. There are "rules" that the toys follow, some of which seem to be reflexive in nature, such as rag dolling and playing dead whenever a human is near. Their existence isn't always an easy one, as their lives are subject to the whims of people that don't even know they're alive, leaving them often in fear of being separated from friends and lovers, lost, destroyed/trashed, or abandoned (either on a whim or due to an owner growing up).
HISTORY
- Woody was made in the late fifties, before the Howdy Doody style show he was based on went off the air due to a rise in interest in space from Sputnik's launch. His relative rarity suggests not many Woody dolls were made.
- He came into the possession of someone in the Davis family, as Andy's mother called him "an old family toy" at one point. Possibly Andy's father or grandfather?
- In these early days, Woody met Slinky Dog and they became best friends.
- At some point, he came into the possession of Andy Davis and Woody went pretty ride or die for the kid, becoming very dedicated to watching over him as he grew up. Woody became Andy's favorite toy and Andy projected a lot of fatherly traits onto him, possibly due to his father being out of the picture or dead. Andy wrote his name on his foot with marker, a huge badge of pride for Woody.
- As one of the oldest toys in Andy's room, and the favorite, Woody became the room's leader, helping keep things running smoothly.
- On one of Andy's birthdays he got a Buzz Lightyear action figure, one of the most popular toys that year and Buzz temporarily became Andy's new favorite, making Woody extremely jealous. While trying to knock Buzz into a crack between the bed and the wall so Woody would be taken on a birthday trip to Pizza Planet, Woody accidentally knocked Buzz out of the window. The other toys thought he'd tried to murder him and tried to toss Woody out the window as well but were stopped by Andy.
- Through a series of misadventures that included a fist fight at a gas station, Woody and Buzz wound up in the hands of Andy's next door neighbor Sid, who liked to mutilate toys. Buzz saw a toy commercial and finally realized he wasn't a real space ranger but Woody convinced him that being a toy and being there for a child was a noble calling.
- Buzz rescued Woody and after Sid was set to blow Buzz up with a firework, Woody rescued Buzz by terrorizing Sid with some of Sid's toys. They got back to Andy just in time to avoid being left behind by the Davis' move.
- Woody and Buzz, now besties, were treated more like equals.
- Woody had a crisis of faith after Andy accidentally ripped his arm and left him behind instead of taking him to cowboy camp.
- After Woody was stolen by a toy collector, Buzz now took it on himself to lead the others to rescue him.
- Woody found out he was a valuable collectible from Woody's Roundup and met other toys from it: Jessie, Bullseye, and Stinky Pete. Woody was tempted by the prospect of living forever in a museum but decided he wanted to see Andy grow up. Pete turned out to be a villain who refused to let Woody go back to Andy, and the other toys had to save Woody from being flown to Japan. Woody saved Jessie from the plane and they took Jessie and Bullseye back to Andy, who fixed his beloved toy's arm.
- The group spent many good years with Andy, though many of their toy friends were donated or thrifted, including Woody's girlfriend Bo Peep. Eventually it became clear that Andy wasn't going to play with them anymore. Woody reassured the others that if Andy had kept them that long, he'd keep them safe in the attic and maybe pass them down to his kids someday.
- After a misunderstanding where the group thought Andy had thrown them away (when he'd indeed wanted to put them in attic before college), they tried to start a new life at Sunnyside Day Care but quickly learned there was an abusive hierarchy run by Lotso Huggin Bear.
- Refusing to abandon Andy, Woody tried to leave and was taken home by one of the preschoolers, Bonnie. He learned from Bonnie's toys of Lotso's evil and went back and busted his friends out of the clink but during the escape Lotso pulled Woody into a dumpster and he and his friends all got taken to the dump where they almost died in the incinerator before being saved at the last minute.
- At Woody's suggestion on a post it, Andy donated his toys to Bonnie.
- Woody had a short time of enjoying being Bonnie's toy but she's losing interest in him. After watching Bonnie build a toy out of crafts and trash at kindergarten and seeing it come to life, Woody is trying to keep said toy, a spork called Forky, from throwing himself out since Bonnie is currently obsessed with Forky and relying on him to emotionally get through kindergarten. Woody's starting to feel a little lost and unhappy, as it's clear Bonnie doesn't love him back.
PERSONALITY
Loyal: Above all else, Woody is loyal to a fault, hugely caring towards his fellow toys. In the past, he did it as leader of Andy's room, presently he tries to help Dolly (the leader of Bonnie's room) by keeping Andy's former toys in check and making sure they feel supported when anxious. He's also willing to risk his safety to rescue his fellow toys from trouble, whether that's them getting yard saled or getting swept off towards a drain during a storm.
But even stronger than his loyalty to other toys is his loyalty to whatever kid currently owns him. Woody believes the most noble thing a toy can do in life is be there for a child. He understands the role toys have in nurturing their imagination and acting as comfort objects when they feel insecure. This is why even though Woody is with a new kid he still hasn't entirely gotten over Andy, as his loyalty to Andy still hasn't faded. While he's glad Andy has grown up into a happy young adult, he still regrets that he can't see anymore of his life or what he'll keep growing up into.
Obsessive: The downside to Woody being loyal to a fault is he definitely does sometimes lean hard into the "to a fault" part. He's willing to do anything for his current owner, and that sometimes means acting too impulsively to do things that would be beneficial to their happiness, in ways that harm other toys or that are damaging to his own happiness. He also sometimes gets angry at his friends if he feels they're not being loyal enough to their current owner. Woody stakes his entire identity on being a toy and serving an owner and doesn't always understand the independence and agency some other toys prefer having.
Petty: When Woody is mad or jealous he can be a petty lil' shit. It's not as bad as it once was, back when he first met Buzz and accidentally knocked him out a window while trying to get him stuck between the bed and the wall. But he definitely will go for a verbal low blow if he's angry at someone or feels they're being disloyal. He usually regrets it later, but in the moment he can be a bit of a dick.
Selfless and kind: But his petty moments are fleeting. At heart, he's very kind, and willing to self-sacrifice for both his owners and his friends. He was unable to keep all the toys in Andy's room together because so many were sold or donated, but he still tries desperately to keep together the little family of toys that remain. Sometimes this can go even too far, to where he gives up too much of himself and his happiness for the happiness of others. He's from just before a canon point that he gives his voice box to a doll who never had a child because hers was broken from the start, willing to let himself be cut open and literally give up a piece of himself to let her have a chance being as loved by a child as he was.
Timid: Woody is mostly gentle by nature, and prefers a very tame existence of loving and being loved by a kid. That means he's naturally a little timid, easily spooked by potential threats and slightly afraid of change, unfamiliar surroundings, or uncertainty. In many situations his first instinct is to muppet flail, which he's very good at doing because of his floppy arms. And he doesn't really like getting involved in fights.
Brave: But his naturally timid nature means the times he jumps into action to help another toy are that much more impressive. Woody will immediately push through any fear he has if another toy is in trouble. Sometimes this leads to him muppet flailing through the whole situation but he'll still do what needs to be done. Woody's courage isn't fearlessness, it's him pushing through fear on sheer willpower.
Impulsive: Despite mostly being timid and careful, Woody can sometimes be a little reckless and impulsive, usually if he's caught up in the emotion of the moment. When a situation is emotionally heavy somehow, he can sometimes be too reactive, letting his feelings cause him to get carried away. This is one of few situations where he leaps before he looks. This is most likely to happen when he's concerned about the happiness of his kid or being separated from them.
Self-deluding and secretive: Woody often has trouble admitting or sorting out his emotions and sometimes lives in a state of denial about truths he doesn't want to confront. He can usually wiggle his way out of this state but it takes some doing and often confrontation by his friends. Due to years of leading the room and needing to keep some anxious personalities calm, he also hides what he's feeling even if he knows it. He often presents a calm face to the rest of the group and keeps his worries more secret to avoid worrying them. Buzz tends to be the person he's most likely to open up to if he's anxious about something.
Perceptive: Woody's very good at understanding the psychology of children and how toys factor into their senses of security and creativity. He was the one that had the most faith Andy would do right by them and in the end, he did, by giving them another chance to be loved by a child. Woody read the room right there and he's reading the room right in understanding he might not be long for Bonnie's room if she keeps rejecting him. He's also emotionally intelligent enough to understand the feelings of his friends so he can try to get them to please chill since they panic a solid 40% of the time.
CANON POWERS
Other than being sentient because god knows how or why, Woody has no powers. His state of being does confer a few benefits humans don't have though, like not needing to eat, drink, or breathe (toys seem to be able to do it because dialogue references breathing but don't seem to actually need it). However, toys are shown as getting tired and needing to sleep as they complain about walking long distances in canon and Woody has been shown fighting off exhaustion. (Also, somehow he's ticklish and can also smell things??)
He's immune to toxic gases or poisons as long as they're not something that'd melt or disintegrate him. Toys can also get seriously damaged and survive. They seem to be able to feel pain but Woody's arm getting ripped off, for instance, wasn't something that could kill him and could get sewn back on. When it was mildly torn, it did seem to hurt and limited movement of his arm, though.
POWER SELECTION
I'll be going with noospheric powers.
Size-changing: This power is drawn from Woody's desire to be more a part of the lives of his human charges. Woody can grow in size for a limited amount of time. He can be human sized for 10-40 minutes, depending on his levels of concentration, and whether he's going for someone 6' or a 4' shrimp. His max size is 40 feet tall (which proportionally makes him as big to humans as they usually are to him) and can sustain that for 2-5 minutes.
However, he has to rest between each use of this power. He can go human-sized a few times a day if he rests a few minutes to a few hours in between (with more time required the bigger he went), but he can only go big-huge if he hasn't used this power yet that day, and can't use his powers again for at least a day after.
While in a large form the greater mass does make him stronger, ala most sizechangers in comics, but because his natural form is kind of plush and huggable he will always be weaker than a human at that size that has actual bones. Even at his 40' max height, he can't pick up a car. He tops out around 200-300 pounds, which some humans can bench normal size. He has to get extra big just to manage what a normal-sized human can do.
You've got a friend in me: Drawn from his friendship with Buzz. He has a mental connection with Buzz that makes it easy to find him almost anywhere he is. If Buzz needs rescue, Woody has improved luck in getting to him so he can rescue him. Woody can't do anything he wouldn't normally be able to do but he has good luck in sneaking around and not being seen, getting into places, etc. This can be useful if they're trying to find some hidden base because they can get Buzz purposefully captured and Woody will be able to find it.
There's a snake in your boots: Based off one of his voicebox phrases. He can make illusions of snakes crawl around people, usually from their shoes. In a touch of comedy, if the person isn't wearing anything on their feet, they hallucinate some random cowboy boots, too.
Magic lasso: Woody is able to summon golden magic lassos that are proportional to whatever size he is at that time. The lassos are able to make whoever they touch weaker and lighter so Woody has more of a chance of taking down people bigger and stronger than him while toy-sized. He can summon multiple lassos so that he can tied someone up and summon a new one to use. They last as long as Woody wants them to, so some can last as long as a normal rope, or he can will them away from a distance after he's left the area they're in.
The lassos are not completely unbreakable but are very tough. How strong they are often depends on how much will Woody puts in them in the moment he makes them.
ABILITIES
Woody's entire frame of reference in interacting with the world is very small but he still has some useful skills that the group can lean on.
Stealth: Like most toys he's very good at sneaking around without being seen, and that includes a good sense of when to use tactics like diversions. His size especially helps.
Planning capers: Woody is very good at planning little toy sneakyplots and even orchestrated a toy-sized prison break. While he'd have to get used to bigger scenarios with bigger people, he'll actually have good insight on how to get in and out of places unseen and have some good ideas to contribute to capers and schemes. When it comes to stuff like escaping captivity, he's only used to working at a smaller scale, not lower stakes. He will be shockingly good at multi-part schemes once he learns to work at the right scale.
Interpersonal skills: As the former leader of Andy's room, Woody is used to being a calming presence and mediating interpersonal conflicts. He's very good at talking people into doing the right thing or doing the best thing for themselves. In TS1 he talks Buzz into realizing that being a toy and being there for a kid is a noble calling. In TS2 he talks Jessie into becoming one of Andy's toys despite her fear of being abandoned again. In TS3 he talks Big Baby into turning against Lotso. Though he's just before that canon point, in TS4 he talks Forky into understanding that being a toy can be a positive thing, talks Bo Peep into helping him rescue Forky, and then convinces Gabby Gabby to try to bond with a different child after being rejected by the the little girl she was hoping to become owned by.
Rope tricks: Woody is good at using his pull string like a lasso and has done some pretty wild stuff with it, albeit on a tiny scale. He's also been able to demonstrate some improvised skill with similar things like electrical cords. This skill will translate well when using his magic lassos. He's going to practice and get extra good with them.
Good with children: Normally he takes a passive role as a toy but in circumstances where he'll be able to talk to children he'll be excellent at keeping them entertained (provided a talking toy doesn't scare them too much). He understands what makes kids tick, what makes them feel secure, what keeps them entertained, and knows just about every kid's game known to man. If in a situation where it felt like he could talk to them, he'd be a world class babysitter, able to pull out all the stops in different games and play pretend time.
SETTING/SUITABILITY
Please answer all of the following. Keep in mind that if a character is not suited to a stressful intrigue and action setting, or if a character is aged 11-15, you will have to work extra hard to justify how they can function in the game as an equal (or learn how to quickly).
➤ How do you expect your character to respond to the setting? Even if they plan to rebel in the long term, will they be able to at least obey enough to not get shocked to death?
Woody will be very thrown by the setting because holy shit this is so far outside his usual frame of reference. But once he gets past his anxiety over speaking with humans (and humanish people), he'll be a good team player. He's used to going on rescue missions or doing jail breaks or whatever with his friends. Usually, he's the one that plans them, but he'll be able to follow other people's lead.
Woody will also understand how shady Jorgmund is and be patient and sneaky in his dealings with them. He's willing to be daring but he's naturally a little cautious, so he'll lean into that, especially since this scenario is so...big. He'll realize he needs to follow the lead of other people since he's so far outside his comfort zone and living in Big People's world. If people want him to get into places, he'll be a great choice for sneaking around, able to get in vents they can't fit in.
➤ What do you hope to do with your character long-term?
Woody tends to accept not having a lot of control over his own existence and I'd like to have him develop more of a sense of agency and personhood. He's from before the main events of the fourth movie and I'd like to play with him growing to the point he eventually found himself in, where he was willing to strike out and be a lost toy, and see the world.
➤ Does your character currently have skills that would allow them to adapt, survive, and do the heroic things being asked of them? If your character doesn't, do you think they'd have the capacity to learn quickly?
I'll be giving him enough powers to be able to be useful. He might need the occasional ride on someone's shoulder, but can at least contribute to a fight. He'll also be ridiculously useful at sneaking around and stealing things, listening to people, planting recording devices etc. If it's a situation where someone has to sneak through an area and steal a key, he's your tiny dude.
Also, he'll be good for going into areas that'd kill a human because of toxic gas, radiation, etc.
➤ If they're not used to cooperating with others, what makes you think they'll be able to adapt to cooperating with the group?
He'll struggle a little with accepting help or cooperating with humans because he's got a lot of instinctual avoidance of interacting with them, but he'll learn to overcome that in time. He just has to learn to slot them into a "very large toy" mental slot. It'll make him a little anxious at first because they are sooo much bigger. Toys sometimes have to fear harm from humans but it's rarely out of overt malice with the knowledge they're sentient. Even Sid, who mutilated his toys, thought they weren't alive.
While a part of him will like being able to finally talk to them, the idea of humans knowing he's alive will also scare him a little.
➤ Will your character have long-term plans to rebel against Jorgmund? If so, how? Will they betray the other PCs and cooperate with Jorgmund? If so, how do you plan to handle the negative CR that might arise?
He'll be extremely loyal to the group. Woody's biggest character trait is loyalty. He'll mostly be useful for sneaking and stealing purposes, and will be willing to volunteer for very dangerous stuff in that regard. He'll definitely try to contribute to the group's freedom however he can.
SAMPLES
Network Sample
Links to RP samples at other games are not accepted, you must use this network prompt, but you may use samples at other games to supplement your samples. Since the test drives rarely use network format, you cannot use a test drive thread for the network sample, only the prose sample. You can choose from the following three options.
I.
[The chair is too small for any of the straps or clamps to work on Woody so they've zip-tied him to some of the holes in the metal, arms stretched up over his head, one zip tie at each wrist, one at each ankle, one at his waist, the last around his neck. There's a little cuff around his chest with a sensor and something that looks...conductive. It's ironically a situation not at all alien to him, given how most toys come packaged - and how much kids love having their toys captured or tormented by villains in pretend games. What's new is being menaced by real villains instead of imaginary villains like evil Dr. Pork Chop. Kids love a good interrogation scene because they love a heroic escape or heroic rescue by a friend, so he's faced this a lot...but this isn't pretend.]
[This is terrifying. This is an actual real place, with actual real menacing people. People that thought he was worth picking up from...wherever he just was, unconscious. People that seem to think he's something that needs to be tied down, which implies they know that he can move in the first place. Had someone seen them, earlier, when he and Buzz were seemingly alone, their escape attempt interrupted?]
["There's no point in pretending you don't move. Our agents found you out in the field in a pool of reality-altering matter. And our scans revealed some interesting potential consciousness. So when we left you alone in that room before, there was a hidden camera. We saw you moving. Between that and our scans, we know you have a consciousness and ability for locomotion."]
[At first Woody doesn't respond, just sits there in passive mode with a vacant grin locked into place. "A warning shock please, use setting 5. He doesn't have nerves, so we'll have to use a more noospheric approach. We need to test what we'll work for his implantation anyway. His situation is...unique. That means the collar system will be need a particularly unique approach, even compared to the robots." "Oh, that's why we're doing this before implantation?" "Yes. Let's test a few frequencies and signal strengths."]
[There's a crackle of noospheric potential in the air, but he still doesn't move. "Increase the settings." He still doesn't move. "Another increase."]
[This is not the same as Sid burning a hole in his head with a magnifying glass. With that, he'd been able to bear it without breaking, but it hadn't been easy. This is worse. The greater extremes come only when you're really wrecked: ripped, torn apart, set on fire. That means he's not used to any extremes - he's never been, for example, shredded by a pet. He always thought losing his arm had been the thing that hurt the most, but this...]
[Still, even though it hurts worse than anything he's ever faced he still bottles it in at first. Toys let themselves be destroyed before revealing the truth. They know the horror that might come if they're found to be alive, especially if it's only when they're screaming as they're destroyed. Strange instinct drives them to stay silent and play dead, one they don't question because of how important it is they follow that instinct. So if they get ripped apart they still do it in silence.]
[But his captors keep ratcheting up the power to whatever's at his chest, well past what might make a human react, well past a tolerance level that would leave most sentients screaming, well past the kind of pain from a shredding death a toy might bear without breaking the rules as they're destroyed. That means that even though he tries to keep quiet, tries to properly rag doll, he can only carry it so far before he breaks.]
[He finally moves, thrashing, letting out the loud scream that's built up. His interrogator signals for them to stop and he sits there, shaking, trying to recover from his shock - and terror - at humans knowing he's alive and knowing how to hurt him that badly in a way that should be impossible. He stares at them suspiciously, breathing in sharp, shuddering breaths, not because he needs to breathe but because toys do breathe (in some unknown way, even though they don't need to) sometimes when they're emotional. Instinct. Like blinking, also when they don't need to. Is it because kids imagine them as alive and that comes with it?]
["There we are. No more pretend games." Woody has a million questions but he says the most important one first, the one he's been anxious about since Buzz was taken somewhere else.]
Where's Buzz? Where's my friend? ["We'll let you see your friend again later, I promise. Alive, if you're wondering about that."] What do you want from me? What is this place?
["That was quite the daring escape you both almost had. We think you'll be useful to our organization. But first, a few questions. We have an interview process before doing intake for New Hires."]
[Woody squints, mouthing 'interview process,' mystified.] You have a what now?
"If you were a kitchen appliance, which kitchen appliance would you be and why?"
[Woody stares at the interrogator in slack-jawed incomprehension for a moment. And then he flails as best as he can while strapped down. It'd be an impressive little muppet flail if his noodle arms were free.]
What! Does that! Have to do! With anything right now?!
[He gets a shock for his trouble. "Answer the question please."]
zzbnas guh. [He tries to steady himself after the verbal keyboard smash and glares.] How are you even doing that?
["Answer the question please."]
I don't know, an oven? ["Why?" Because it's something that can make a kid warm and happy.] Warms a kitchen up on a rainy day, makes cookies, makes it homey.
[A tech at a monitor nods and Woody wonders what they're even reading, seeing as he's fairly sure lie detectors detect pulses or something. (According to TV, at least). Which he does not have. On account of not having a heart. What he doesn't know is his utter lack of humanity has made them get creative here and that what's being used to sense this is accurate - maybe more accurate than their other lie detectors they use - but would possibly kill something organic, whoops.]
"You’re a new addition to the crayon box, what color would you be and why?"
Something in one of the yellows. [He waves one hand vaguely, where it's pinned above his head.] Maybe between neon carrot and sunglow? [You learn a lot of crayon colors in his profession. He has Opinions, actually, lots of toys do, the way humans have opinions on art.] A color that makes you think of the prairie.
[ Plus he's got yellow in his pattern. Sticking to theme, so sue him. He does genuinely like cowboy things. That answer passes muster.]
"If you could be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be?"
Not here. [True, but not accurate enough. A zap.] With my friends.
[Still only partially true. A zap. There's still someplace he wants to be most.]
With my owner. ["Wrong." A particularly long zap this time.]
[After thrashing from the zap, Woody cringes because it's something he's tried to let go. He's tried to move on. He's tried, but it feels like it'll always be true. It'll always be where he wants to be most, even if it's not where he's needed the most anymore.]
With my old owner. If I could be anywhere... [he hangs his head, little rag doll limbs going limp] that's where I'd want to be.
[The tech at the monitor nods. Woody glares again, angry that someone made him have to think about that, hurt him enough to make him admit it when he's been trying to move on. He struggles hard - and futilely - against the straps.]
Now for the love of all things Mattel, will somebody please just tell me what is going on?! [He gestures with both hands as much as he can with them pinned over his head.] Who are you, where am I, where's my friend, how did we get here, and how are you hurting me this much when I don't even have nerves?!
Prose Sample
A pregame PSL wth Buzz, where Woody is contending with his future because his current owner, Bonnie, doesn't really want him.
ADDITIONAL INFO
The only actual accessory he has is his little cowboy hat, which he'll try to earn back from Jorgmund.
FINAL QUESTIONS
The players won't know what the mods are doing with these questions until sometime later.
➤ Will your character suspect some kind of guiding intelligence has brought them to the game? Or will they think it was random or done by Jorgmund?
Woody will think it's random because toys lives are kind of at the whims of random chance a lot. How they even achieve consciousness is random and wild, as proven by the fact a toy made from a spork gained sentience.
➤ If they think it was something other than Jorgmund, like God or some other force of fate, what character traits do they think of that intelligence as having? Is it cruel or kind? Capriciously punishing them or doing it for good reason?
N/A since he thinks it's totally freak chance.