Brand

Brand is a high-grade Non-Huamnoid Personality under employment and jurisdiction of Celadon Entertainment. He is a short, bulky anthropomorphic cat, with a thick mane that tapers into sideburns and a short goatee. Despite being an animatronic, he is meticulously designed and able to pass as if he was truly flesh and blood, and is the crown jewel of Celadon Park, an amusement park themed for the legend of Uzura.

Biography

Creation

During the construction of Celadon Park, a large portion of staff was put aside to make lore of the park, based partially on the Wintergreen area as well as the long-standing legends of the archipelago nation of Uzura. After deliberation and discussion, Brand's initial design was created - an adventurer of the unknown, dressed in shredded gear and giving an attitude that all strife will roll off his back. It wasn't long after that that STaR Industries was contracted to create him in reality, and by the time the park was complete, so was Brand, complete and existing in every way but his brain.

The portion of his personality was developed by Celadon Park, connecting it to a series of computers in the backrooms to assist making the park unique. A staff of 25, rotating halfway through the park's hours, made live adjustments to the action centers of Brand's AI, allowing him to be in-character at all times and provide a relaxed environment, as well as keeping him on-time for meet-and-greets and photo opportunities around the park. His AI core outside of this learns from the puppeteering, allowing him to remain in-character outside of shift hours and make his own decisions from the emulated background and persona he was given.

Personal Life

Believing himself to be a descendant of Uzura itself, Brand has taken on an adventurer's persona - brave an cocky, with an attitude of respect for all. He faces the world fearlessly, and is often seen taking shortcuts through live attractions and rides. As he lives in the park itself, he and some choice staff have set up a small area on park grounds for him to live, with some changes of clothes, a hammock to sleep, and a small computer for him to keep up with the outside world. As he is not often allowed outside park grounds, Brand has intricate knowledge of the park's pathways, offering shortcuts and tricks to visitors when spotted, as well as giving VIP passholders who enter in claimed times a more personalized tour before the puppeteering software activates.

Controversy

Shortly after Celadon Park opened, a number of Wintergreen citizens, as well as some Celadon Entertainment and STaR Industries staff, brought up concerns that Brand (as an organic-passing animatronic) would be disconcerting to see for the less-obfuscated and more robotic citizens of the park, and reasoned that the handle on his AI core by Celadon Park prevented him from using all manner of free will afforded by the STaR AI system.

Celadon Entertainment responded, saying "we are providing Brand with the free time and citizenship he deserves outside of the park [...] and are making headway with plans to relocate the majority of puppeteering staff to instead monitor different areas of [the park]." As of 20X3, no further information has been given about the project, and Celadon Entertainment has abstained from further answers on the matter.

Notes

• Brand does not find any issue with the puppeteering protocols. In his words, "it's just a job, I can ignore it if I try hard enough."
• More detailed art of Brand is found around the park, showing him to be taller, stronger, and more heroic. He finds it flattering.
• Brand is fluent in all legends of Uzura, and will recount them if asked.
• Brand's eye symbol is a reference to the Lucan Legacy phenomenon in Uzura, where the magic of the island will manifest as supernatural abilities and are marked by unique symbols in the eyes of the holder. He claims his Legacy is "being an animatronic."
• The eyepatch's markings are actually a signal indicator - the less he is able to connect to the backstage offices, the less lines appear on the patch, instead replaced with dots.
• Brand has four different connection antenna; Two main connections in his ears, and two signal booster antenna on his tail.

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