Dakota Unit 1762 Ferrence

Dakota Unit 1762 Ferrence

Physical Description

General Physical Condition

Dakota is an American M26 Pershing tank with a primarily olive drab paint job, but with earthy brown accents. Along with an optical replacement and a few irreparable scuffs here and there, he looks like a quite average tank under the huge amount of equipment he's always lugging around.

Identifying Characteristics

Some of the most notable features of this tank are probably his paint job and optical coloration, with his paint being a primarily olive drab color with accents of a mute, earthy brown in some places, (though that could just be dirt and rust accumulation, who knows). His optics are a fairly uncommon shade of blue, being a vivid royal blue with the exception of his left dominant optic, which due to injury in the war, had to be replaced and is now a pale mint green. He also has an oddly large pair of antennae, but this isn't without good reason. During his humble beginnings in the American west as a rancher, the region he lived in was still extremely rural- not that it still isn't now, but internet connection was terrible. So what better way to get reception than bigger antennae? Exactly. Along with all these more noticeable characteristics, he also sports the same branding mark used on his horses on each side of his turret, simply standing for "Dakota Ferrence"

Physical quirks

He has a bit of an RBF if you'd call it that, and most of the time looks like he's concerned or irritated about something when he's actually perfectly fine. It seems to put a lot of people who aren't familiar with him on edge, but he doesn't do it intentionally.

Apparel & Accessories

This is a tank that would rather be caught dead than unprepared, always wearing a pair of utility arms and often dragging an extra set in tow, carrying around whatever he needs for a day out at his stables, be it grooming supplies, or an extra blanket for that one horse that likes tearing theirs up. He even regularly totes around a case of water bottles- not for him, obviously, but for his human coworkers and employees.

Mental characteristics

Personal history

Just as all American and European MAI like him, Dakota was activated in a warehouse on the cold night of December 31st, 1979, and just like all MAI, he fought through the remaining years of the Third World War. Though he didn't achieve anything remarkable during this time, he has the kill tallies to show that he did his job. These though, are naturally something he takes no interest in, rather, during his deployment in the East, he developed an innate fondness for the livestock, especially the horses, and after returning to the united states, he sought out a way to bring some home with him. Around 1996, he was able to purchase a respectably sized group of pure blood Lusitanos, and these are the horses that are the original descendants of his current horses almost 62 years later. Along with the Lusitano horses, he also started a steer ranch in the late 2020s and began growing his own crops to supply for them.

Gender Identity

Heavily male leaning behavior-wise, but could care less about what he's seen as.

Sexuality

Primarily biromantic

Mental Trauma

Unfortunately, at least a minor case of ASFD seems to be a package deal with just about any MAI you meet, and Dakota only contributes to the trend. He's dealt with his traumas and unfavorable memories of his early life well enough that it's hard to tell he's even been diagnosed with it, but some days he acts as if on a hair-trigger; easily discomforted and irritated, perhaps unintentionally pushy at times, and he can sometimes be caught staring off into space or mumbling past conversations under his breath as he works to distract himself from them. In the event he ever has a particularly rough day with the condition, he has a weighted blanket and a beeper he carries around to occupy his nerves and other senses if ever needed.

Personality Characteristics

Motivation

Really, all Dakota wishes to do is be content with his horses and be remembered through them after he's gone, and with the amount of media they've been featured in, it seems the latter is already set to be achieved.

Virtues & Personality perks

On the outside, Dakota tends to come off as a pretty stoic individual, but once you get through the harder outside shell of his personality, he's really a big softie. You could catch him in one moment saying he doesn't give a shit about something, then in the next when he thinks no one is looking, it suddenly becomes something he's passionate about or defensive of. He's like one of those dads that say he "never wants a dog" and they're "just useless fleabags," or something along those lines, then the moment you take one home, it's his dog now. They suddenly do everything together and he treats them like royalty.

Hygiene

On an average day, he starts out clean and progressively gets filthy; it's kinda hard to stay tidy when you work on... a ranch. He used to actually try and keep himself presentable 24/7, but over time came to the conclusion that it just wasn't worth it, and this means for most of the day, he's caked with about an inch of dried mud and other random debris he'd accumulated just from doing his job. Of course, he cleans up when he's getting ready to call it a night, but it's pretty rare to catch him 100% clean.

Social

Religious Views

Primarily atheist, but finds comfort in the concept of a higher power and the afterlife.

Social Aptitude

He isn't one to go out of his way to talk to/interact with people, but doesn't at all object if someone else starts the conversation. There's an air of social awkwardness with small talk, but you can easily put him into a two-hour-long speech kind of mood once you get into a topic he's interested in. As a friend, he's the level-headed, no-nonsense guy of the group, and isn't one to tolerate much to any infighting. If any two friends get into a scuff, he's the most likely candidate to come over and smack their heads together and make them think it over.

Speech

Being raised in the American west, as his speech patterns developed, he gained the regional accent along with it. If he ever so pleased, he could drop it like he never had it, but like most LAI, he just prefers to keep it for preference's sake and sticking to his roots.

Wealth & Financial state

Though he rakes in well over a million dollars a year with his horses, he barely uses any of the money for himself, and either puts it back into the stable or the community, being an avid donator to charities, hospitals and other similar organizations.

Alignment

Lawful Good

Species

Livastian MAI

Ethnicity

Tanks, TDs and SPGs

Age

79

Life

1995 2391 396 years old

Circumstances of Birth

Activated to fight in the third world war

Circumstances of Death

core decay

Current Residence

Sussex, Wyoming

Eyes

A vivid royal blue, but his one replaced eye is a pale mint green.

Height

9'2"/2.78m

Weight

46 short tons

Known Languages

English, Spanish, Portuguese, German