Gauge the Hyena

by Valtiel Mon May 09, 2022 5:47 pm

Name: Gauge the Hyena
Nicknames: The Cackler
Age: 26
Species: Spotted Hyena
Gender: Female
Occupation: Auto shop Mechanic, Part time vigilante.

Appearance:
Gauge stands at 4'4. She is fairly muscular and has a stout shape overall, giving her a bulkier appearance than most other mobians her size. Her fur is light brown fur with dark brown spots and matching brown highlights along the tips of her ears and hair tufts. Her eyes are a vibrant green. She has three gold earrings on her left ear. She usually carries herself in a boyish manner, being just slightly masculine and strong in her gestures and movements.

As for her attire, Gauge prefers to keep it simple and practical. She usually wears a slightly tattered white tank top, her green mechanic jumper with the sleeves tied around her waist, her work gloves, and a pair of black, steel-toed boots.

As the Cackler, Gauge conceals her face with a modified welding mask. She wears a brown leather jacket with a ballistic vest concealed beneath it and a pair of blackish blue cargo pants. The knuckles of her gloves are lined with brass with a layer of padding beneath so that she does not hurt herself when punching people. Usually she wears a different pair of steel-toed boots when fighting.

References:
(Will get a reference soon. Apparently part of the old one was traced by the commissioned artist.)

Personality traits

Likes:
- Cars! Gauge has always loved her cars, muscle cars in particular. From driving them to working on them.
- Guns! Who doesn't like shooting things in their free time? One of her favorite things to do when she isn't working on her workshop projects is to shoot things.
- Heavy machinery. She loves the sound machines make, the heavier the better. She's always excited to get the chance to work on some heavy machinery.
- Power Tools. Basic tools are nice, but power tools are a treat!
- Working out. Gauge likes to keep herself in shape and makes time each day to get a workout in.
- Chao. They are so cute!

Dislikes:
- Things of a supernatural nature. Ghosts, ghouls, things of the sort terrify her.
- Laziness. Gauge has never been a fan of people cutting corners or not getting things done.
- G.U.N. In her eyes they often go too far, and aren't much better than the Eggman Empire.
- Criminal organizations. The scum of the Earth preying upon people deserve to face justice. When the system doesn't work there's always another way.

Personality:
In public Gauge typically presents herself as sassy and upbeat, with a laid back attitude. She can be described as boyish in the way she carries herself with the occasional girly moment here and there. She's generally fun loving and just wants to have a good time. She tries her best to find comfort in the little things in life, committing herself to her work and her projects. Unfortunately for Gauge there are two sides to a coin, and a much darker side remains dormant inside her heart.

After the passing of someone important to her, Gauge realized her simple life was not enough to keep the glue together. Deep down Gauge is more troubled than she’d like to give off. An obsession with the concepts of vengeance and punishment eat her from within, eventually manifesting to the surface via her alter-ego “the Cackler.” As the Cackler her violent nature reveals itself. Despite her claiming she does what she does as the Cackler to protect people, several episodes of unnecessary collateral damage may be evidence of something else.

She can be incredibly reckless when dawning her alter ego, risking her own life and occasionally the lives of others to destroy her enemies when the heat of battle calls her. In recent days this is a behavior she’s been trying to reel in, fearing that she may stray down the path of evil if she allows herself to.

Combat traits

Standard Gear:

- The Cackler: Gauge’s pet project and vigilante namesake. A fully armored 1967 Mustang Shelby GT500. The muscle car itself was passed down to her by her father. After his death however she decided to turn his prized car into an instrument of his revenge.

- USAS-12: Gauge has gone through several shotguns during her time as the Cackler. The USAS-12 however is her favorite, and most likely the shotgun you’ll see her with in a fight.

Strengths:
- Despite not having any traditional CQB training, Gauge has a knack for improvisational combat techniques.
- Gauge knows her way around a workshop. Give her some tools and she can get work done without much help.
- Gauge knows her guns, shotguns specifically. Even knows how to manufacture her own rounds.
- She has an in-depth understanding of vehicles.
- She’s a good mechanic, but she’s an even better driver. Well, depending on who you’re asking anyways.
- Gauge is fairly strong and can lift and carry reasonably heavy objects.

Weaknesses:
- She is terrified of the supernatural. Specifically things like ghosts and spirits.
- Gauge lacks traditional combat training, leading to tactical oversights.
- Her behavior in combat scenarios can be reckless.
- She can be obsessive about her workshop projects.
- At times she can find herself getting irritated easily.

Social information

Positive relations
- Grace the Vulture:Grace and Gauge grew up together in the same, small scavenger town. They quickly became friends at school and formed a long term friendship that's lasted through the years. They don't get to spend much time together anymore, but they still talk occasionally.

Negative relations
- Ava "Thrillkill" the Viper: Gauge first encountered Ava as a fellow vigilante operating under the name of Lunar Viper. Gauge and her briefly worked together in trying to root out the scavenger gangs that ran their town of Rust. But Ava's sheer brutality and ruthlessness was something that disturbed Gauge. Or perhaps it was the joy in which she carried out her brutality. Ava was a cold blooded killer, and she killed for her own amusement. It was nothing more than an adrenaline high for her. It wasn't long before Gauge caught on to Ava's true nature. She was just as bad, if not worse than the gangs plaguing the town.

Gauge confronted Ava, who was not too thrilled with being told she had to reel it in, especially by a hyena with an itchy trigger finger. A fight broke out, but Gauge couldn't stop Ava. The Viper's teleportation powers gave her a natural advantage over Gauge and she escaped.

Since then Ava embraced her role as a "bad guy" taking on the alias Thrillkill, performing more and more dangerous stunts just to feel her adrenaline pump. As of recent Ava has teamed up with a small group of self proclaimed super villains, to which Gauge has dedicated herself to bringing and end to their reign of terror.

- Flak "Aetherbrand" the Vulture: Brother of Grace and once a close friend of Gauge's, Flak fell into a path of evil following the demise of his parental figure. Part of Gauge feels for Flak, as if she could've easily ended up just as him. The other part of her understands what he's becoming is a monster, capable of watching the world burn with a smile on his face. She wishes she could pull him out of his path of destruction, but his recent alliance with Ava and Dazzlebop give her little hope.

- Dazzlebop the Disco Dingo(Deceased): Dazzlebop is the oddest person Gauge has ever had the displeasure of meeting. He is arrogant and attention seeking, believing he should be famous for his "natural beauty and style." He always thought of himself as a cool smooth talker but he really just came off as creepy and weird. Gauge could never wrap her head around how his "disintegration disco ball" worked either. He was one third of the terrible trio; Thrillkill, Aetherbrand, and Dazzlebop. He always acted as their front-man and insisted on being the "negotiator of terms," as his natural beauty would give him some sort of advantage when dealing with people. This, of course, worked out very poorly for him when a terribly executed Bank Heist in Station Square was carried out by the three villains, resulting in Gauge killing Dazzlebop during the conflict.

History
(I will update her history once I have written it to a standard I am comfortable with.)