DrIceforge

The First Officers

@ikarusriver

Image credit: @/ikarusriver

“ANCHORS AWEIGH!” ✯ ‘Ohhh man. We’ve got too many crates of ammo to send off to our bases overseas! What are we gonna do? Our teams will never get their equipment in time and our schedule will be thrown to the wolves!’ — This dilemma is one of many that have left Admin team squandering for solutions. But just as strain began to boil over, the sound of a ship horn blared through the air… MEET THE FIRST OFFICERS! Too much cargo to transport in one trip? Multiple teams having to move bases? What about that New Zealand cache of Australium? Whaddya say to doing that all in one journey at sea? Regardless of whether you love or hate the ocean, SAY NO LESS! Grab your anti-seasickness medicine and embark across the seven seas with Mann Co’s trustiest, most seasoned sailors!!

MEET YOUR CREW—❗️╮ Two polarizing sides to the same coin, you have Jovane and Gómez. Prepare for a smooth journey with Jovane as a reliable and weathered seaman, the BLU first officer. With a sturdy sense of problem solving and a sound head on his shoulders, Jovane is bound to keep any and all passengers & cargo safe and sound. And then, there is Gómez. Gómez is a man known for luck over reason. With a miraculous streak for near-death mishaps, The RED First Officer gets the job done … at a cost. See, the two first officers are a foil. What Jovane gives up for the fun factor of a nautical adventure is made up in his reliability, and Gómez is the opposite. A bombastic, fun loving party animal who hardly knows what he is doing! Jovane doesn’t seem to greatly enjoy the fact that Gómez takes his position so NOT seriously, but Gómez believes them to be best friends. He has no idea that he is so unsafe on the water because he is having a good time, and it is a MIRACLE the team and their cargo caches do not sink to the sea floor. TLDR, One weighs risk versus reward, and the other thinks the risk IS the reward.

SPARK NOTES— ‼️╮

Both men, while different, share a common denominator for sharing a love for their teams. While both see their teams as almost familial, they differ in how this leads them to interact with their comrades.

Gómez is a friend of the world. He befriends and acts buddy-buddy with everyone in the most free spirited of ways, prioritizing fun and cool hangouts with the team over more serious moments and addressing challenges. (I don’t think he knows how to do that). In comparison, Jovane handles his team more tenderly, yet with a stonier demeanor derived from a prioritization of their safety and their wellness on and off the battlefield, lending him to a more mature role on the base for BLU team.

Gómez in particular was meant to use the same fisherman’s anchor that Jovane wields, but wasn’t strong enough to sling it properly. Instead, he uses the smaller (and lighter) danforth anchor—altering his battle style into something more aggressive. He doesn’t mind this and frankly enjoys the more chaotic means of fighting, though he has kept his original anchor for memory’s sake.

The two have named their anchors after battles a-many have brought them to find an attachment to said steely counterparts. Jovane has named his anchor Ave, Gómez .. named his .. he forgets often. Right now he’s chosen to call this beauty the “flaming deathbringer.” He thinks it’s cool. He also wishes his anchor came with fire.

Jovane was the original of the two, and he takes his job with pride. A retired vet of Brazils navy, he’s learnt regiment and carries a readiness for any and all ship protocol. Comparatively, Gómez found his position through luck and good will with his crew—preventing his previous crews ship from sinking on numerous occasions without realizing it was he himself who had done it. His obliviousness leaves Jovane endlessly frustrated and confused.

Both have various Swallow tattoos, Jovane more than Gómez. Gómez, however, is more heavily tatted, including a drunkenly done “HOLD TSAF” (hold fast) written incorrectly on his knuckles by a crewmate while at sea. He’s yet to notice the ‘fast’ is backwards.

Jovane’s surname “De Lima” was picked specifically for the end compound, ‘Lima.’ And THIS was chosen because of the alphabetical phonetic for L being Lima; we were covering alphabet phonetics in the unit we were studying at the time during my time in maritime academy, which drove me to a corny inclusion of what I’d learnt LOL.

Daniel, The Lab Rat

@yarshurdee

Image credit: @/yarshurdee

Have you heard the news? Gray Mann, the third Mann sibling, is hiding something in his laboratory, and it's not a robot! Something worse? Should the TFI prepare for another strike?!

Daniel couldn't have imagined such an outcome when he signed a contract with Mann Co. for the position of BLU pyroman, but fate had other plans. Desertion! Betrayal! A pawn in someone else's grand plan to destroy Saxton Hale! A victim of the conflict between rival organizations—Mann Co. and Gray Gravel Company —he managed to escape from the BLU base, which was blown up leaving no one alive, only because he was the one who pulled the lever that night under pressure and manipulation. Even the spy, who had been pretending to be a loyal friend all this time while working for Gray Mann, did not live to see the triumph.

Following the destruction of the BLU Team, Daniel was captured by the Classics and taken to Gray Gravel Company in 1971, where he was interrogated at length about Saxton Hale and the Administrator. He never revealed any information, but his mental health and any common sense were deep fried under red-hot metal. In the timeline when Gray went out to negotiate with Hale, Daniel was dragged into a series of experiments with australium as a disposable material — a LAB RAT, all for the sake of studying the element and ways to maintain Gray's life extending machine.

Now liquid australium flows through his veins, as he is under surveillance, undergoing surgeries and experiments — thanks to which Gray's machine is also improving, prolonging his life. Thank you, Daniel! Gray Mann Co — freshly rebranded Mann Co which was overtaken by Gray — will remember your deeds forever. After all, Gray Mann plans to live for several more centuries. And Dan lives like this - day after day, gray walls, experiments, robots, and completely boring conversations with the RED Medic, who ended up here voluntarily - the madman! But Dan is not discouraged, because he is also here voluntarily too, right? He also hates Mann Co. Of course, they abandoned him! They left him here and are in no hurry to rescue him! And besides, no one actually died! They just left! They left to live a new life and abandoned him here! But that's okay. Daniel wipes the trails of liquid gold dripping from his nose and smiles. Gray needs him, and that's what matters.

Genetically improved human: his spinal cord has been replaced with an analog synthetic prosthesis that runs on australium and australizes cells. This gives him increased regeneration and physical strength.

Non-violent, quite friendly towards the Classics, deeply respects Gray.

Before tortures he was meek and quiet, now he is blunt, excitable, and cocky.