Condor Woodward (OctaneDoctor)

An ill-advised selfie posted to OMO

*"I take up the archetype of Scavenger, one who wastes nothing, one who finds value in that which others discard, one who gives purpose to what others consider useless. I offer this gift of value and purpose to the forgotten, the Ruined, and the Lost. I listen to voices that have been spoken over. I spin straw into steel, coax new life from the ashes. This, this is the core of my Practice. My gender is irrelevant in comparison."*

-Octane, during the Azure Dragon's trial

*"Fuck! That's my car!"*

-Octane, after their pinball machine stole their car

## Summary

A self-professed Diesel Shaman and archetypical scavenger. At home in junkyards, abandoned factories, and the Ruins. Not at home in the gender binary. Enjoys drawing, especially sketching weird Others they come across.

## Backstory

`[Redacted until I finish writing this story in which Octane's Tragic Backstory Is Revealed]`

## Practice

### Diesel Shamanism

*"Spirits of gasoline, you are my oldest friends. I call upon the algae you once were, naming my engine block your funeral pyre. Pass from this world bearing my blessing, not with peace, but with power."*

Octane's Practice leans on their good relationship with the spirits and echoes of human-created things, especially vehicles. They strengthen and maintain this relationship by reclaiming physical and metaphysical scrap and giving it new value and purpose, as well as performing funerary rites at junkyards.

More recently, thanks to their sudden access to Practitioner literature, Octane has realized that they can apply the concept of pavement markings to heraldic diagrams when they're working with car-related spirits and echoes. They have used this to start assembling more complex spirits from the spiritual scraps they scavenge.

### Sight

Octane doesn't look much different than any other Practitioner, to the Sight. One who can see connections may notice that Octane's connections subtly fill the "negative space" of the environment, subtly claiming that which is unclaimed or lacks connections. If they have their bag of Practice stuff on them, one may notice automobile parts briefly flickering into existence around them.

As a shaman, Octane's Sight focuses on spirits. All objects are covered with a thin film of iridescent oily fluid, the patterns of which indicate the nature and actions of the spirits within. The more something's spiritual composition has been altered by Practice, the more worn it will look - rusted, cracked, scarred, etc. If Octane has gained the trust of the local spirits, they will warn Octane of danger by manifesting oily black smoke around threats.

### Established Tricks

* A bag of license plates that can summon various short-lived vehicular echoes
* A minor combustion elemental bound to their motorcycle's engine
* Warrens-glamour (resembling sawdust) that they can use to turn into a literal condor
* A good relationship with the Ruins
* A technique for distilling combustion spirits into "zoom juice" that can be poured into a vehicle's gas tank for a brief physics-breaking speed boost.
* Can use their Implement to ignite combustible/explosive materials from a distance
* Three goblins (Hooptie, Fartcan, and Six-banger) to which they trade fireworks and scrap in return for favors
* ~~A living ritual bound to a pinball machine that helps them find good scrap~~ Update: Crazy Bob has escaped

### Roadkill

*"Roadkill is roughly deer-shaped, but their patchwork fur plus the flesh and bones visible beneath it look like they come from a variety of animals. One foot has claws that upon closer inspection are bird beaks. Their head is a cracked deer skull with one antler. Flies crawl and buzz around them. If you're not especially resistant to mental effects you'd probably freeze in blank panicked terror when you first see them, just for a second."*

Introduction of Roadkill

Roadkill is an Other that Octane has tamed. Their true form is a writhing ball of maggots. They can incorporate and animate the body of any animal that has died by vehicular impact, and require a steady supply of roadkill for both food and form. The first time one sees them, one is struck with a brief "deer in the headlights" effect. Octane has managed to replicate this effect with a vial of Roadkill's blood and a haunted car headlight.

## OMO History

Octane first posted on OMO after coming out as genderfluid and incidentally wrecking their carefully maintained relationship with the spirits. They offered custom sketches in return for advice or help, including The Weeping King, Shatbraggart for Glory, and Tiyo for Lady Lim.

Soon after, they performed their Implement ritual. Here's a writeup of the finale of that, featuring the Sons of Odin.

Their next major interaction with OMO was when Inkstainer posted looking for commissions so he could pay for a hotel after running away from their family, and Octane offered to host Inkstainer in the abandoned factory they call home. Their first meeting went well.

A few days later, while helping Inkstainer experiment with Yubi's tar-like essence, Octane's pinball machine stole their car. But with the help of the OMO community, the two of them got back the car and most of the tar, if not the pinball machine.

Ink and Octane later teamed up with LockBreaker to bind Glory and Silver's drug-dealing goblin-glamour-tree-child. Silver repaid Octane by teaching them how to use the warrens-glamour they had scavenged from the encounter. Octane learned more than they bargained for.

After that debacle, Octane decided to finally take Lady Lim up on her offer to take them to the Philippines to appeal the Judges there so they could regain the Practice they had before coming out as genderfluid. [MASSIVE STORY IN PROGRESS]