The first comm I got of Kit and her first car - circa 1976-1980. And based off the original avatar design as well.

So the genesis for Kit was after having made Jay (A Fallout character - so very heavily 1950s-1960s-coded), and Jasmine (heavily inspired by 1980s/1990s anime and retrofuturism) it occurred to me, "Haha, I oughta make a 1970s-themed character to bridge the gap between them, that'd be fun!" and then to my INTENSE HORROR the ENTIRE character concept immediately formed in my head and I was bound to create it. ;w;

Growing up in the early 2000s, I had a PS1 - and the car combat games of the 1990s, hand-me-downs from my parents, were some pretty foundational parts of my childhood, and Vigilante 8 (itself a spinoff of the legendary Interstate '76) in particular stood out to me - it had an amazing concept, destructible environments, AMAZING soundtrack, great character and vehicle design, and most importantly, sort of codified every idea I had about the '70s for the LONGEST time, so absolutely it was the very first thing that I thought of, and I realized "car combat" could be a really fun concept to gear a character around.

It also occurred to me that most of my characters are either Good, or Neutral - so I wanted to make an outright EVIL fucker this time, but with the twist that I wanted them to have bad alignment, but be "one of the good guys".

1960s and 1970s (or later period pieces) exploitation and crime cinema were absolutely another facet. I'd say one of the major inspirations was seeing "The Last Stop in Yuma County", and the couple in that gave me the idea of a copycat who wanted to be one of the big-bad outlaws she saw on the big screen - drawing from Bonnie Parker for some historical background (and it might not be obvious, but the original idea was she was trying to copy Faye Dunaways' famous take of the famous Bonnie pose from the famous film - have I said 'famous' enough?) but ends up as more of a Pat Garret - a karma Houdini who finds that she can be a brutal, violent, antisocial psycopath and indulge in her every worse instinct and be REWARDED by society for it so long as she kills the right people.

My audiophilia also played a major role in the design, as well as influences from various characters from V8 and Twisted Metal to end up with a psychotic ADHD opossum with Disco Fever who charges into battle blaring Blondie on her 8-Track player, and it is glorious.

Honestly, the setting is largely an adapted, less-outwardly goofy version of V8 and I'76's universe that veered hard into a 1970s Crimson Skies.

Kit

Name: Kit Cassidy (Alias - named after Kit Carruthers and Butch Cassidy)
CB Handle: Heartbreaker
Biological Sex: Female
Gender: Female
DOB: 1957
Species/Race: Opossum
Sexuality: Pansexual
Birthplace: Lumberton, North Carolina
Occupation: Mercenary, Bounty Hunter, Courier
Affiliation: Auto-Vigilante - Nevada aligned
Vehicle: 1970 Plymouth 'Cuda AAR

Kit grew up in Lumberton, North Carolina - losing her father, a veteran of the Korean War, in a gory motorcycle accident while still young - leaving her alone with her mother and younger sisters. From that point onward she was often left to her own devices - her mother busy working to keep a roof over their heads - or flitting between a motley assortment of paramours. The most steady of which being a drunken, abusive mechanic in which she'd engage in an on-again-off-again relationship.

Even early on it was apparent that Kit wasn’t like other kids. She seemed to thrive on conflict and chaos. Petty vandalism and roughhousing were par for the course, and she delighted in casual cruelty - but always managed to do so outside the watch of authority figures. Regardless, she still managed to gain a reputation as "the problem child". She became especially adapt at worming her way out of serious consequences of her actions - partially a testament to her manipulative skill, and partially to the misogyny endemic to the 1960s South. On top of that, she was growing up in the shadow of the violence of the Civil Rights era.

As she grew up, she spent increasingly less time in school, and more engaging in whatever forms of mischief she could involve herself in - Joyriding and arson, in particular, being favorite hobbies. The rest of the time was spent in the local grindhouse - films such as Bonnie and Clyde, Butch Cassidy and The Sundance Kid, The Wild Bunch, Get Carter, and Badlands - the latter in particular feeling like "a revelation" to her - already having an idealized and romanticized image of the outlaw.

The rest of her time she spent crashing parties - at one making the acquaintance of a small-time pusher with a fancy muscle car, and she was quick to insinuate herself into his life - finding him to be the resentful middle child of an affluent family from Charlotte, and that the car belonged to his big brother - an amateur Trans Am and stock-car racer, who let him borrow it.

It didn't take long for Kit to get to work on him - trying to tempt him to indulge with her in her fantasies of a great, bloody crime spree, to have the time of their lives and go out in a blaze of glory. She managed to talk him into it - returning home in the middle of the night to take her dead Father's hand-me-down shotgun, and leaving together in the 'Cuda.

Before embarking together on their life of crime, he makes the decision to sell off the rest of his stash for funds - leaving her in the car as he heads to the meet. After several minutes, the cops show up at the meet site - and Kit realizes it's either a sting or one hell of a coincidence. Without a moment's hesitation she immediately skips town in the car, leaving her boyfriend to his fate.

Deflated, Kit heads Northbound, ending up in New York, where she spends a few years - making ends meet with various odd jobs while living out of her new car. She finds a particular proclivity hustling in underground races - finding that her 'Cuda could be a nasty surprise in a street fight to a big block. She is also thought to have taken the odd job for the underworld from time to time...

It was also in New York that Kit was introduced to the nascent Disco and club scene of the mid 1970s - becoming a frequent member of several of the underground clubs of the period - finding it a perfect outlet for her energy, and was equally happy to immerse herself in the decadent party culture that was blossoming around it.

The Auto Wars

By 1975, America was under siege; already small, roving bands of marauders in armed cars began to strike at the United States’ energy and industrial infrastructure across the Southwest, and even terrorize rural communities. The bandits were surprisingly - and suspiciously - well-equipped, and the last thing the country was prepared to deal with. Dubbed “Creepers”, these raiders could hit, fade, and reappear in an entirely different location long before Federal, and sometimes even state, officials realized what had happened and could even consider mounting an effective response. In affected areas, already-frayed trust in the government and authorities plummeted. Some locals decided to fight fire with fire, modifying their own vehicles to defend their communities, while some more zealous individuals, each for their own reasons, devoted themselves to hunting down the Creepers and facing them head on. This was the dawn of the Auto Vigilante. Veterans would utilize their own service weapons, military museums, gun shops, even arms storage depots would be broken into, and sympathetic servicemen would conveniently ‘lose’ arms shipments, making it all the more difficult for the Feds to identify the source of the original armaments. The country’s economy, already frail from the aftermath of the ‘73 Energy Crisis and Stagflation, struggled further under the strain. However, beyond increased fuel and goods shortages, the beginning of the Auto Wars was little more than a morbid curiosity for most Americans, insulated from their direct reach. However, at the same time, many domestic terrorist and militia groups saw what was happening in the Southwest, and began to mimic the Creepers pattern in their own turf.

The situation came to a climax on July 4th, 1976; during celebration of the United States Bicentennial, a nuclear device was detonated in DC, at the height of the evening’s festivities, the fireworks display. The device was theorized to have been smuggled into the city in a tractor trailer. The festivities had provided the perfect opportunity; the city had been full to bursting, with hundreds of thousands making the pilgrimage to celebrate the two-hundredth anniversary of the nation’s founding, and it was impossible to keep track of all the vehicles pouring into the city, let alone search them all. The bomb detonated close to the national mall - the immediate casualties were in the six digits, and in an instant almost the entire Federal government had been wiped out. The event had been broadcast across the nation - millions watched as the live feed suddenly cut. Within the hour footage and images started to flood the airwaves of a mushroom cloud rising menacingly over the Potomac, to the shock and horror of the world.

The accusations began almost immediately - and everyone looked to the usual suspects. The Soviet Union seemed almost as shocked as the West, and even more horrified, if that was possible. They had been preparing for the possibility of a war with China, and scarcely had the appetite for a nuclear exchange with NATO, and condemned the attack in the strongest possible terms. The Arab States, too, were viewed with suspicion, due to the lingering mutual animosity over the petroleum embargo and American support of Israel, but denied any complicity in the attack. Even more alarmingly, it didn’t take long to be determined that the fission materials used in the device had come from within the United States. The possibility that the work had been the work of domestic terrorists only clouded the issue further, as everyone has a favorite theory - The SLA, the Panthers, the NOI, the Klan, the Creepers… But already the country was beginning to collapse. Even before the attack the country had been on the brink - the economy in shambles, divided politically, with violent terrorism on the rise. The country was still just recovering from the disaster that was Vietnam, and the successive scandals of the Pentagon Papers leak and Watergate had eroded trust in the government to dangerously low levels. Now, beset by motorized bandits and with the Federal Government decimated, a frustrated Texas announced its secession from the Union. This kicked off a chain of similar announcements all across the Southwest - and eventually the entire country. As chaos reigned, Soldiers were confined to barracks, military units would find themselves "nationalized" by various states, National Guard and police units mobilized, and supply lines cut as state borders transitioned into national boundaries. The chaos only fueled the existing unrest - emboldened, many more flocked to the gangs, or Creeper cells - many new ones effectively forming overnight, especially as food and fuel began to grow scarce in many areas, between highway depredation and paranoiac politicking between now-competing states. In response, Auto-Vigilantism also experienced a similar boom, with many states, especially in the Southwest, not just tolerating Vigilantes, but even implicitly condoning and supporting them as they didn’t have the official resources to deal with the Creepers and other armed groups on their own.

Kit watched all of this unfold in New York with a degree of fascination - already the city had been starting to feel the strain, even early on scattered riots breaking out under the tension. Meanwhile, it was beginning to dawn on her that this was just what she had been waiting for her entire life. The chance to indulge herself as she wanted, the rules be damned. Though the more she considered it, an even more inspired idea started to form; why be a crook, when she could be a Vigilante? She could have all the thrills and all the excitement and all the sheer violence she craved - but instead of being hunted for it, she’d be lauded. Rewarded. Even idolized. And so she hit the highways…

Personality

Kit is generally concerned with one thing and one thing only, at all times - her own self-gratification. Even from an early age she had a complete and total lack of empathy - the people around her were little more than toys - extras in the movie that is her life. If she places any value on another person, it is only for what they can offer her, or how amusing they might be at a particular moment. She despises tedium - she requires constant stimulation, or else she’ll go mad. That tends to be the main driving force for her - the search for her next thrill. She’s a certified adrenaline junkie - someone who gets off on danger. She also has quite a sadistic streak to her. In spite of this, she learned early on how to manipulate people to get what she wants. She can even be charming at times, in her own abrasive way.

She’s well-versed in popular media - She rabidly consumed TV and film in her youth - the most favorite of the latter usually crime films, violent westerns, or monster and horror films. Some of these would help form large parts of her identity as she matured - A natural-born copycat, she wanted to not only emulate the greatest outlaws of lore, but surpass them.

She’s something of an audiophile - music has always been a pleasure of hers. Mostly anything with a decent tempo that can catch and manage to keep her attention. Growing up Rock and Roll was popular, and something she is still fond of - mostly in its more aggressive forms. On arriving in New York after fleeing the South, her musical horizons broadened dramatically. Funk would become another favorite, but her big love would be the early disco scene - the driving four-to-the-floor beat, infectious rhythm, and high energy being a natural fit for her - as well as the depraved party atmosphere coalescing around it.

Kit's 1970 AAR 'Cuda

While not as popular or beloved as legends such as the Mustang, Camaro, Charger, or Firebird, Chrysler’s E-body cars - the third-generation Plymouth Barracuda and new first-generation Dodge Challenger - would become some of the most venerable cars of the 1970s, as well as the Auto Wars. These vehicles were produced in the tens of thousands, and were still common choices for combatants. While all makes and models could be spotted, the 1970 Trans-Am homologation models of both vehicles - the 1970 AAR ‘Cuda and Challenger T/A - would become some of the most coveted cars by combatants. The ‘Cuda in particular - it would become famously associated with such Vigilante legends as Vixen, and later her brother Swinger, and while more famously associated with the Shelby Cobra Daytona and later the Mercedes-Benz C111, it’s even said that Vigilante-turned-starlet Hollywood did a stint in a ‘71 ‘Cuda.

Unlike many of the Hemi-equipped road boats of the day - only good for going one direction really fast - these vehicles were made for the rigors of open-road racing. With specially-tuned Rallye suspensions, staggered tires, a heavy-duty transmission, side-mounted exhaust, and, last but not least, the 340 Six Barrel engine - a small-block V8 with big aspirations. These vehicles were made with at least the intention of being able to competently corner.

Made in low numbers - less than 3,000 AAR ‘Cudas were produced - these were coveted racers in their day, labeled “giant killers” due to their surprising performance and exceptional power-to-weight ratio. While some other cars might go off the block faster, or have a higher ceiling, these were often viewed as the dogfighters of the Auto Wars - able to effectively challenge and out-turn big-block monsters as well as outrun sedans and econoboxes, making it a disproportionately popular choice for Auto-Vigilantes and Creepers alike.

M1919 .30 caliber machine gun

While many slugthrowers are used in the Auto Wars, the M1919 series are ubiquitous - one of the most common choices of Vigilantes and Creepers alike, for their extremely-high production numbers, decent power, ammo capacity, and plentiful ammunition.

Most sought-after is the M37 variant - designed for the United State's Army's motor pool, the M37 is capable of being easily converted to feed from either the left or right - making it extremely useful for mounting onto vehicles.

Fire-Rite Rockets

Despite the trade name, Fire-Rites are generally just U.S. air force rockets - usually Hydras or FFARs - 'requisitioned' from the military proper, chopped down, and slapped onto an automobile. High damage, and -relatively- plentiful, but heavy and have low ammunition counts.

Aim Nein Heaters

An exercise in wishful thinking, these are largely just AIM-9 Sidewinders - usually E models - minimally modified, and bolted in racks into a Vigilante or Creeper's car. This goes about as well as you expect - the infrared seeker head has a hard time locking onto and tracking automobiles instead of the aircraft it was intended to fight, is easily spoofed, and have a hard time maneuvering in order to track targets - generally turning at all is enough to defeat one of these. Hence the epithet "Aim Nein" - you have about as much chance hitting with one of these as you do with a spitball. In spite of this, they have their uses - Cars don't exactly have access to radar systems, and the speed and close range of automotive combat often defeats traditional ATGM options, like wire-guided or radio-controlled missiles (outside of specialized snipers), leaving Infrared solutions - despite their problems - as one of the better options on the battlefield for the average auto warrior. They can be useful in a chase, and in the event they do hit, they are like a torpedo - they can obliterate a target. On top of that, many have found another use for them - the "Afterburner Rocket" - activating an Aim Nein's rocket motor without arming the warhead or jettisoning the weapon for a brief speed boost. It's extremely dangerous, extremely insane, and therefore extremely beloved by veteran Auto-Vigilantes and Creepers.

Commission by  Renneon!