The Reverend / "Father Angelo" VS Daniel, The Lab Rat
(Final round! No match-up list here)
Alright team, here's a recap: This is a contest to determine who amongst you will take the top of the leaderboard and be hired at TFI! Simply put, whoever gets the most votes wins the contest, and whoever doesn't... Well. They'll be put down swiftly and cleanly. :}
So, mann your stations, because here are your FINAL contestants! Vote for your favorite mercenary who you want to win the TF2 OC Contest! - P
WHO SHOULD TFI HIRE?
The Reverend / "Father Angelo"
Daniel, The Lab Rat
OC INFO UNDER THE CUT!
We highly encourage you to take a peek to make your decision!
The Reverend / "Father Angelo"
@coopster3d
Image credit: @/coopster3d
Ⅰ. MEET THE REVEREND – ✝
The Reverend is a religious fanatic hailing from Southern Italy, where he was raised in a commune by a group of reclusive nuns. Where, according to him, he was taught the basic necessary skills for life, which include but are not limited to: Small sword combat, butchering, and Ecclesiastical Latin. It is unknown how exactly he was ordained as his denomination remains unclear. He often fails to mention that throughout his travels, he's made some adjustments to the standard Bible, adding his own footnotes, amendments, and even on occasion, pages which he believes are the true gospel, taken from a multitude of other religions, leading to a mishmash of ideals and beliefs full of unexplained rituals. Within the team The Reverend plays a heavily supportive role, serving initially as on-base staff in the form of a “Therapist” to the Mercs, which unfortunately or not, was not clearly conveyed leading to a sacrificial killing in the Intelligence Room. Now, he is a full time member of the Mercenary team!
Ⅱ. MEET ‘FATHER ANGELO’ – ✝
The Reverend, or as he is rarely called, Father Angelo, is known to be an enigmatic figure even among bizarre groups like the Mercenaries. He's rarely seen loitering in public spaces around the base, choosing to reside in his homemade "service" room, complete with a makeshift confession booth. When prompted, he'll say he prefers the quiet as it allows him a moment of reflection. He seems well put together and always walks through the halls with an upright rigidness, always seeming to peer down at people when speaking with them. That is of course unless he is genuinely interested, in which case he'll lean forward to inquire further, often expressing himself with his hands which he kept firmly laced together just moments before.
The Reverend does not see most of his fellow men as solitary beings, in fact, most if not all of the Mercenaries are seen as a challenge to him. After all, what's more difficult than getting a group of cold-blooded murderers to repent? He's convinced himself he's already chosen for heaven, and that God put him on this earth for a reason, and the tribulations he's faced working with MANN CO. might just be that exact mission. Of course the Father isn't a stranger to violence, on the field he maintains his saintly demeanor when grouped with his colleagues, which seems to be most often given his support role. Until he's given a chance to take matters into his own hands. The Reverend is incredibly vengeful, with an excellent memory for faces, he takes the time to chase enemies who he understands are close to death, and he finishes them off himself, usually bludgeoning them to death. He doesn't enjoy the act of killing, what he takes the most pleasure in is when his team finds him knelt over the dying victim, his hands gripping theirs as he prays for their safe travel to heaven, asking them to repent in their last moments.
Ⅲ. CLASS LOADOUT – ✝
ⅰ. Primary Stock: Thurible/Censer
A golden thurible, which, when held, creates an aura around The Reverend. Teammates in range, when damaged, contribute to a shield meter. When full, the user can activate a direction shield [stylized as a building mist which hardens into a thin shield the size of three heavys stood shoulder to shoulder] that protects against projectile damage and protects The Reverend from "Hell-fire" [Pyro's flames] while active. In order to use this effectively, The Reverend has to directly put himself in front of the front line, only properly using this shield when putting himself in a direct line of fire beforehand. When not activating his shield, The Reverend uses his thurible similar to that of a flail, creating a mid ranged weapon which is used to protect himself and others in a select radius around him.
ⅱ. Secondary Stock: The “Mercy Kill” Dagger
Modeled after a sword used in early battles to put soldiers who were suffering grave injuries out of their misery in a quick and efficient way, The Reverend uses it similar to The Medic's Ubersaw. Instead of contributing to the lanterns meter, it instead contributes to its own meter, which, when full, can be used to activate The Reverend's "Dying Wish." [Inspired by Priests being seen as undertakers, guiding souls to heaven or otherwise while on their deathbed.] When used, The Reverend can target a specific teammate under half-health and for a short time grants the target guaranteed Crits, but does not heal the target, nor protect them from any damage type other than the one the target themselves is dealing. [I.e. Heavy receives a buff against bullets, Pyro-fire, and Demo- explosives]
ⅲ. Melee Stock Options: Bible/Rosary
The Reverend is against the use of guns and prefers to get up close and personal with his damage dealing. [Used as an excuse to personally "send people off" to the next life while praying for their soul.] He either uses his Bible to bludgeon his victims or, on occasion, wraps his Rosary around his knuckles to boost his hand-to-hand damage.
ⅳ. Support Slot Stock: Holy Water Mister
Modeled after a garden mister used for plants, the bottle is instead filled with Holy Water blessed by The Reverend himself. Mechanically used to rid teammates of ailments, such as Jarate, Pyro's Fire, and works to undisguise enemy Spies. [This also has an ammo limit similar to Pyro's flamethrower]
Ⅳ. FUN FACTS ! – ✝
▹The Reverend often wakes up at dawn and has a very specific morning ritual that includes tending to his small flock of chickens. ▹Despite his attempts, he is often shadowed by a murder of crows who he believes bring him bad luck, or more accurately, bring him a bad name. ▹He speaks Italian most fluently, with Ecclesiastical Latin and English following behind. He learned both during his time studying the Bible and its origins when he was younger. ▹His class emblem is known as "the all-seeing eye of god." ▹The specific translation The Reverend uses as the basis for his text is The Douay-Rheims Bible. ▹The Reverend’s full given name is Angelo Caruso, but he is rarely addressed by it, and instead was only called by his first name for most of his life. ▹When signing his name, he often uses the “o” of his name as a flourish, which leads to his signature looking closer to “Angel.” ▹The Reverend can play the tambourine very well, he enjoys tambourine dancing and encourages people to join in for the purpose of worship.
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.
Keep seeing those golden silhouettes of his late BLU comrades, must be australium that messing with his brain.