Winter in Los Diablos wasn’t cold enough for heavy jackets and insulated boots, but that didn’t stop Wren from wearing one of their favorite jackets– black material made for withstanding snowy winds with a hood lined with faux fur. They would like to dream of visiting the mountains somewhere in the winter, renting a log cabin, watching as the snow fell over everything. But there were too many variables, too many possibilities for them to get recognized somewhere rural, as weird as it sounded. Wren had no idea how expansive the Farm was or how much they were willing to tap into the nation’s security cameras to find them.
No. It was safer to hide in numbers where people wouldn’t care to give you a second look. Safer to hide in plain sight amongst thousands, millions of people than to live where everybody knows your name.
Plus it helped when Charge was around. Charge, who could and would turn off security cameras. Charge who gave them a mask, a task, something to make hiding feel worthwhile. A new secret to keep to cover up the old one.
But now, they weren’t together as Charge and Sidestep, but as Julia and Wren.
Going to the movies was Julia’s idea. She had seen how small Wren seemed around the holidays, how they had escaped within themself more. Smoked more, talked less. Did less. Julia had spent the holidays with her family, but when she got back, Wren wasn’t quite the same. The sarcasm and witty comments became more rare. They looked like they were watching a scene through thick glass that they wanted to take part in but couldn’t. Julia knew they had no family, but this year the holidays were even worse for Wren.
Julia thought seeing a movie would lighten Wren’s mood, get their mind off families and the holidays. They would both be spectators today.
Wren munched on their too-buttery-to-be-healthy popcorn while Julia whisper-talked at random moments through the film. It was an action film, full of wacky, nonsensical violence and a bad romance side plot.
“That’s not how that works, he should be dead by now!” Julia whisper-spoke in Wren’s ear as a man (not Boosted or Modded) survived being thrown through brick walls.
Normally, Wren would take part in the movie-criticizing with sarcastic comments but all they said was, “Shh, trying to watch,” as they munched on popcorn, eyes glued to the screen.
Julia took the hint and settled in her seat, disappointed. Were her feelings for Wren reciprocated or was it all just flirtatious jokes? Julia could feel Wren distancing themself and for once, out of all the flings she had, she worried that Wren would lose interest, find someone else.
And ever since the holidays, Julia wondered if she came off too strong by inviting Wren over to her family’s.
The romance side plot, as terrible as it was, wrapped up the movie with the protagonists tearfully kissing, both glad to find the other alive.
Julia knew how that felt all too well; she could still remember the drywall in her lungs, searching the ruined area for Wren. Please be alive, please be alive, her thoughts raced frantically as she threw plaster and boards aside the street looking for Sidestep. Who had been tossed a clean 20 feet into rubble only to be crushed by more fallen building.
At first, she only saw a leg. Then a bone jutting out from the leg, blood splattered on the ripped suit. As she dug through rubble, eyes swarming with tears, she finally found a mask. Wren. A cough let her know Wren was still kicking and Julia couldn’t help herself. She rolled up their mask gently, greeted with bloodstained lips that smirked lazily at her, and leaned in for a kiss. They tasted of metal and iron and despite it all, Wren kissed back harder.
Julia had been afraid it would be her one chance to show Wren how she felt.
A warm hand squeezed Julia’s fingers. Shaken from the flashback, she looked down. Her hand had taken Wren’s hand– her sweaty, clammy hand, now that she felt it– but they didn’t seem to mind. Even though they kept their head turned to the screen, a smile rested on their face. Small, but it was there. Butterflies crept into Julia’s stomach and swarmed her heart, making her feel giddy like a middle schooler with a crush.
She had it bad and she knew it.
As they left the movie theater, Wren loitered outside for their usual smoke.
“That had to be the worst movie we’ve ever seen, Julia,” they said through clenched teeth, lighting their cigarette.
“You seemed pretty engrossed,” Julia teased, knocking her shoulder lightly into Wren.
Wren shrugged and grinned. “What can I say, bad movies are my weakness.”
“I’m just glad to see you smiling again.”
Wren didn’t answer that; they tapped the ash off their cigarette and leaned against the wall, taking another drag.
Julia hated how Wren would use their cigarette to avoid talking sometimes, making use of their mouth to smoke as an excuse not to delve into their feelings.
The butterflies fluttered in her heart as she watched Wren tousle their light brown hair with one hand, letting the waves fall as they may. The act was meant to make their hair look even more wild but God, it made Julia melt.
“What are you staring at?” Wren teased, but this time Julia had no answer for them.
She meant to tell them her feelings, but the act of such commitment frightened her. So much could go wrong, not just between them but possibly with the Rangers as well. It’s why Julia always kept her flings short and sweet- enough to have fun with, but not enough to get attached.
Shs was getting attached.
“Um, Wren,” she played with her braid, suddenly looking bashful. “Would you like to come over sometime? My place? I think we should talk…”
Wren blinked at her, unsure of where this was going. “Uh, yeah.” Their answer was soft and they could feel their cheeks heat up. “As long as it’s nothing bad-”
“No, no,” Julia laughed. “Nothing bad. Just… talk about us?”
Wren blinked again and cocked an eyebrow. “What us?”
“You know… us.” Julia cringed at how bad she was explaining herself. She looked at Wren intensely, hoping they would pick up on it.
“Oh.” Wren took a drag and blew out the smoke away from Julia, watching as it curled it’s way down the hazy street. “I didn’t know there was an us.”
There could be, Julia wanted to say but she couldn’t get the words out. Her mouth felt dry.
“Just… come by next Saturday, ok?”
“Yeah, sure thing.” Wren tried sounding nonchalant, but heard their voice rise an octave. They coughed to cover it up.
“Great!” Julia grinned. “See you then!”
“See you,” the words came out almost a whisper. Wren stomped out the cigarette nub underneath their boots and dropped it in the trash as they walked toward their apartment, heart thumping wildly.
Neither knew what would come before that Saturday– the bodies, the stench, those stairs, that man with the cables…
Neither knew it was their one chance to say I love you.
2. what is their sexual/romantic orientation and gender?
Bi with a slight preference for men, and they are far too tired to be trifled with such things as “gender.” They use both they/them and he/him pronouns.
4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?
Their villain armor is mysterious with a cape and with telepathy + speed upgrades. I like to think that the cape is less of your classic generic superhero type cape and more along the lines of something like this:
Their every day style of dress is very much focused on what’s comfortable and what’s generally inconspicuous. They shop at a lot of thrift stores.
6. what is their mbti type?
Answered here!
8. are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others?
They’re very guarded with most people because they have a lot they’re trying to keep under wraps and also they’re afraid of getting too close to people. So I do imagine they can often be a bit calculating at times in terms of how they navigate situations. They do have a LOT of very strong emotions under the surface though, make no mistake, and they wish that they could be more open and sincere about things. It’s just....hard.
They find its far easier for them to be sincere as their puppet, though.
10. are they a leader or a follower?
They very much work alone, and I don’t think they would enjoy being put in a position that would require them to be a leader. They could handle it, I think, but they would rather not.
12. do they prefer to solve things diplomatically or through violence?
Given that they’re not much of a fighter to begin with, and as a villain they’re known mainly for being a thief, they prefer to do things non-violently whenever possible.
14. are they more daring or more cautious?
Very cautious. Mads is too full of anxiety to be able to afford making rash decisions.
16. what is their best virtue?
Also answered here!
18. what is their greatest fear?
20. how do they feel about death?
See #18. But for an actual answer, it’s complicated. They don’t want to die- does anyone, really? When you get right down to it? But it’s not always such a terrifying concept, just a complex one.
22. how do they feel about their telepathy? is it a gift? a curse?
Both, really. It’s hard for them to handle being around a lot of people for very long just with all the thoughts coming at them all the time. It’s like extrasensory overload. But telepathy has its perks. It’s useful, it allows them to do what they do, and even though their abilities make their life harder sometimes they don’t like how it feels being completely head-blind for long periods of time.
24. how do they typically come across to strangers? to friends? do they frequently use their telepathy to influence others’ perceptions of them?
Strangers don’t really pay much attention to them tbh, in part because they often subtly influence people to ignore them. Those who don’t immediately overlook them might think they’re a little weird, definitely going through some shit, and that they should probably get some rest.
26. do they have any friends? allies?
Ortega, Herald, and Mortum are technically all allies, yeah? They don’t really have many friends but they are pretty close with Moore and I’ve talked a little with @wolfsskull about Mads being friends with their oc Adriel.
30. what is their love life like?
Complicated. Very, very complicated.
32. do they favor forceful mind control or subtle manipulations?
Subtle manipulations!
34. are they nostalgic for their sidestep days or eager to move on?
Things were simpler then, but they’d rather forget the past. They never liked being in the limelight, anyway.
Griff! Thank you! :D mostly under the cut bc this got long XD
1. what is their secret identity? do they have any nicknames? what is the meaning behind them?
Pollux Bixby is his secret identity! He isn’t much used to hearing his full name, or really his first name, so it’s often like “whooooommm??” when someone says his name. He doesn’t really have a nickname, but back in his sidestep days, the group would often shorten his name and call him Lux. Lux-a-rooni was a common one for Ortega. Pollux picked his name because he’s always been very fond of space and stars. He would have been an astrophysicist if his life has been different.
2. what is their sexual/romantic orientation and gender?
Pollux is “gender is for nerds” and uses he/him pronouns. He mainly describes his sexual orientation asj ust queer. He has a hard time defining his attraction or lack there of at times, so the all encompassing nature of queer is comfy.
3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?
His villian name is Dioscuri which is a nod back to his love of the stars + a nod to his own name and his puppets name. He knows it was “””edgy””” picking something so close to his own name, but he likes it. There is a fun dualism of identity in naming himself after the twins of Greek Mythology that can be....more close to the truth than he cares to admit at times.
4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?
He chose the “mysterious” armor and it has a mirror finish all around and it’s very sleek, but there is a solidity about it, a presence to it. It’s also like with blacks and silver metal. He built it for speed and strength.
Normally, Pollux has a quirky fashion sense + layers. He likes crop tops and boxy shirts, stripped pants. Matching patterns are for other people and he has got no time to not be obnoxious. He has a big army green hoodie with an nb patch on it that he loves. He does have a shirt that says “sidestep eats ass” and “be gay, do crime”
5. what is their zodiac sign?
honestly...i unno bout him yet. I wanna say he might be a scorpio, since he does have a winter birthday.
6. what is their mbti type?
He’s an INTJ: the architect
7. what is their dnd alignment?
He is neutral evil, my fave of the evil alignments. He is more conscious of the lives of others, but not enough to change his alignment
8. Are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others?
Depends. In rebirth, he was much more calculating in his interactions with people, seeing them as pieces on a chess board and “how can i get what I need out of them?” He had a deadline to keep and he wasn’t about to get caught up in people ruining his plans. Even with the Rangers back in his life, he was still committed to moving forward in his plans, the inevitable of becoming a villain.
In retribution, he feels like he can be more sincere with people. He’s taken the step of being a villain, committed to that course of action. There is a separation between Pollux and Dioscuri, so he can be looser with who he is. He also is just....running with who he is and his actions, but he is leaning on wanting to give people the truth, to be sincere. He feels like he owes that much to folks like Ortega and Steel.
9. How honest are they?
He tries to be, but he’s def a liar by omission quite often. Telling the truth is hard, telling his big secrets is next to impossible, even with the people he loves. He knows he’s terrible keeping his big secrets and lying--esp to Ortega--but he’s not ready to get rid of his mask, have people in close. so he is a big fat liar.
10. Are they a leader or a follower?
He is a leader, albeit a terrible one. He prefers to only have to manage himself and no one else; he was content to be a vigilante and work with the Rangers, but he likes to be alone to do his work. He’s a bad team player.
20. How do they feel about death?
Deep down in the places that Pollux doesn't want to talk about and recognize, he wants to die. Living is hard, living is pain. Is he even really living, or has he just convinced himself he is a living thing, worthy of life? He’s delusional thinking he can be a living thing. But he isn't going to make a plan, or take his own life. He’ll keep living, mainly spitefully, but if someone could kill him/put him in a position where he can’t fight back and he’s staring death in the face...he’ll take it.
21. What is their philosophy?
He’s got a pretty standard set of morals he abides behind, but he doesn’t hold people to it. He knows people won’t; expecting perfection is asking for the impossible. Other than that, he doesn’t really have a philosophy beyond life sucks with good bits in there, and then you die.
22. How do they feel about their telepathy? is it a gift? a curse?
A gift. Pollux wouldn’t really know what to do with his life if he was permanently without his telepathy. He relies on it so much to do heavy lifting in his life, so without it he would be a disaster. His deficiencies are so strong when he can’t see what is going on inside the heads of others. He is still very good at reading faces, but he is off his game when he can’t see the heads of others.
He doesn’t feel off when it comes to dealing with Ortega since he can’t see what is going on in his head, but it’s still the comfy of having known someone for years. Being seen at the best of the best, and at the worst of the worst.
23. how do they feel about possessing people?
Just a part of his life, part of building his plans, living his life. He doesn’t take pleasure it in, it’s just part of his life. He’s mainly disconcerted by getting his head mixed up in others, not knowing where he is and they are, like with Castor. He feels too fragile, like he’ll shatter in the face of someone much more real than him--much more human. Feeling like a person is like possessing someone, but he’s possessing himself.
24. How do they typically come across to strangers? to friends? do they frequently use their telepathy to influence others’ perceptions of them?
He uses his telepathy a lot to make it so people don’t see him, or just see a plain person, no one of consequence. They just see another face in the crowd. It keeps him safe, keeps him away from the mass amounts of people.
Around friends, he is much less guarded and lets them see him. Often it’s too much work to have up all the shields, especially when he can't read all of his friends like Ortega and what not. He’s much more his caustic, cynical and sarcastic self around his friends. A big angry jerk, but he’s got his heart of gold moments.
25. do they prefer to be alone or with other people?
He prefers to be alone, being an introvert on top of how silence can be....just really, really nice. He likes being able to indulge in the quiet of no other minds around, at least until the anxiety of it just hits him and he panics. He likes the quiet of nobody, but gets anxious quick.
Jasper had to admit, he liked every other part of the whole “dating Herald” thing. It was only the attempted kidnappings by villains that started to grate on his nerves.
None of them knew that they were dealing with a telepath, which usually made the escape a lot easier. Most villains who tried to hurt Herald through Jasper were easily talked down and dismissed. The tiniest amount of psychic suggestion was all it took for them to release him and never look back.
When a heavily shielded villain who didn’t at all register on Jasper’s radar got the drop on him, well, at least he’d have an interesting afternoon.
“If your precious Herald wants you back, then he can fight me himself!” The man who identified himself as Shadowstorm roared.
As far as Jasper could tell, his powers had nothing to do with either Shadows or Storms. Pity. Jasper liked fighting idiots who thought a little rain could stop a man-contained hurricane.
“Cool.” Jasper said with a shrug. “He’s busy right now though, so, can like a just take a nap? You’ve kinda interrupted my me time, and—“
“Silence, fool!” Yelled Shadowstorm. “Or I shall rip you to shreds and present your head to Herald!”
Jasper couldn’t help but snort. “Kay, Stormy. I’m just gonna lay down here. Don’t do anything drastic while I snooze.”
Jasper threw up a peace sign and then stepped backwards and let himself free fall down, off of the roof of the fucking building Shadowstorm was trying to hold him hostage on.
“He’s busy” hadn’t quite been a lie— Jasper knew Herald was busy because he heard him, down below, signing autographs for a gathered crowd. His thoughts were always so loud, so vibrant in Jasper’s mind that he could sense Herald from a block away, or ten stories up.
A gentle psychic suggestion for Herald to look up and put out his arms was enough for him to surge up and catch Jasper before he’d gotten even halfway down.
“Hey cutie, come here often?” Jasper asked, offering a grin.
“Jasper, what the fuck?”
“There’s a guy on the roof who wants to fight you, so I jumped off because I figured his issues weren’t my problem.”
“... Jesus Christ, Jasper. What if I hadn’t noticed? What if I wasn’t around?”
“I would’ve just beat the shit out of him and left.” Jasper answered in all honesty.
Herald let out a long suffering sigh, shaking his head. “You said he was up on the roof?”
“Yeah.”
“Well... might as well show you how good your coaching has been.” Herald relented, shooting them upwards to face down Shadowstorm.
(Micro prompts, where I will most certainly forget the micro part)
Ho ho ho ho ho, okay. I had to do a few things just to double-check, but here we go!
5. What is their zodiac sign? Leo! They were, um, born on 24 July 1988.
6. What is their mbti type? This:
7. What is their dnd alignment? So I went through just to double-check but:
8. Are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others?
They tend to be more sincere when it comes to interacting with others; they can be incredibly emotional and forget to distance themselves when necessary.
13. Do they want to be well-known, or do they prefer to be more obscure?
This one’s tricky. Auburn as themself doesn’t want to be noticed, ever. They’d rather stay just under the radar where they can get away with sh*t. But as Phobia, all bets are off. I think it’s having that power finally, knowing they don’t have to be afraid of what might come because they can handle anything.
19. What scarred them the most about the Heartbreak Incident?
They’re an outsider, plain and simple. They fooled themselves into thinking they had friends they could depend on, maybe even someone who cared for them in a more romantic way. But then when they needed them the most, no one was there to save them.
3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?
prometheus, after the titan who defied the gods to help mankind. he’s hoping to live up to his namesake there and serve as a guiding figure to the citizens of los diablos. he wants to show everyone the truth and help usher in a new era of prosperity.
prometheus also means “forethought” which is a rather fitting name for a telepath.
4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?
functional, no cape. i haven’t figured out a detailed design yet, but probably mostly black with some red/orange accents that look like lava.
his typical dress is similarly nondescript. soft band tees, jeans, a good jacket, just a regular guy on the street.
10. are they a leader or a follower?
both? he prefers to play support, but he’ll step up and take the lead if there’s no one around worth following. he’s very firm in his ideals, so better to strike out on his own than work for someone who doesn’t share his values. he’s extremely charismatic, too, and his magnetic personality makes him a... more attractive leader than perhaps he’d bargained for.
1. what is their secret identity? do they have any nicknames? what is the meaning behind them?
His secret identity is Colten Remington! For the most part they don’t really have any nicknames, but sometimes are called Colt. There’s no true meaning behind it other than he saw the name somewhere and that’s what’s stuck.
2. what is their sexual/romantic orientation and gender?
Bisexual, and he’s a trans man!
3. what is their villain name? why did they choose it?
Colten’s villain name is Mummer! He picked it as it played well into what he does with telepathy, as a mummer is a masked person in a play and while working with his puppet is sometimes feels a lot like a play to Colten.
4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress?
I’m still playing around with just what his villain armor looks like so sadly I don’t have a definite answer for that yet (and because i still need to buy the game as i wait for a refund to stop pending :’)) As for his everyday dress it’s the most drab hoodie and jeans ever with a hat and sunglasses. Looks a lot like he raided a thrift store garbage can, and the jeans are only optional half the time.
5. what is their zodiac sign?
Aquarius!
6. what is their mbti type?
The best one for him would be INTP!
7. what is their dnd alignment?
I’m not comepletely sure which one Colten would be, but he would ride the line between chaotic neutral and neutral evil.
8. are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others?
Colten is way more calculating. For the most part he doesn’t really like interacting face to face and will think a way to end a conversation as soon as possible. He’s a lot more sincere while interacting through his puppet.
9. how honest are they?
He’s honest to a point. He will actually tell the truth, but he’ll tell it from another perspective. He does have a deadline he needs to meet and his boss will certainly be mad, since it’s his deadline and he himself will get mad if it’s not met.
10. are they a leader or a follower?
He’s more of a leader than he would really want to be. He’s voice is loud and is demands to be heard when he does happen to bark orders at someone. He won’t admit it does give him a hint of satisfaction.
11. are they more self-serving or more focused on others’ needs?
He is incredibly self serving. The only time he really does think about other’s needs in heavy situations is if they can meet his needs.
12. do they prefer to solve things diplomatically or through violence?
Colten isn’t afraid to use violence to solve things, as sometimes it solves problems better than words.
13. do they want to be well-known, or do they prefer to remain obscure?
He’s currently at 100% obscurity. He prefers it much as it allows him some more time to slip under the radar, but the idea of being well known does creep up on him sometimes.
14. are they more daring or more cautious?
Colten is much more daring than cautious. He does approach some situations cautiously, but once he deems he can do it all caution is thrown to the wind and he gets to be much more daring.
15. what is their greatest flaw?
For the most part it’s how incredibly foolhardy he is. It’s lead him into bad situations he almost wasn’t able to walk away from, and it will continue to lead him into more. It’s only a matter of time until it leads him into a dead end.
1. what is their secret identity? do they have any nicknames? what is the meaning behind them? - they’re really not much of a nickname person, and also the name arden doesn’t really lend itself to being nicknamed, but i do firmly believe that ortega called them “babe” once 7 years ago and they haven’t stopped thinking about it since
2. what is their sexual/romantic orientation and gender? - bisexual and nonbinary!! he mostly uses he/they pronouns but they don’t really consider any pronouns Incorrect when referring to them
3. what is their villain name? how did they choose it? - bedlam!! honestly i found it bc i was looking for virtue names for dnd tieflings dfkjfdk but the definition of the word is “a scene of uproar and confusion” and i think that’s the most accurate way arden knows how to describe what he’s been feeling after the heartbreak, and what they want to incite in others when carrying out their plan
4. what does their villain armor look like? what is their typical style of dress? - ok listen i’m gay i don’t know what armor looks like but they did choose the mysterious design for their armor in-game jfddfj as for typical style of dress i imagine at all times theyre wearing like a long-sleeved bodystocking and leggings and then just throwing oversized t-shirts and sweatshirts and mom jeans or skirts over
5. what is their zodiac sign? - obviously they don’t know their birthday but like their personality most closely aligns with like a stereotypical pisces. no one knows why they decided to be a villain they are soft and not cut out for this life
6. what is their mbti type? - back when they were still sidestep and playing the hero game i would say infj. now, post-heartbreak incident, they’re more istj, but i would still say infj is like. their True Self
7. what is their dnd alignment? - this is gonna sound weird for a villain but chaotic good fjkddfjk like theyre really trying to do good, at least as far as they see it, but they’ll do so by pretty much any means, since they no longer believe lawfulness to be an effective way to make change
8. are they more calculating or more sincere in their interactions with others? - sincere!! like honestly he doesnt Wanna Be Doing This fkjdfdjk it’s just the only way he can really think of to get the results he’s after. he’ll take any chance to not play the villain that he can get, even if he likes to pretend that’s not true
9. how honest are they? - as honest as possible, most of the time. they crave normalcy and comfort, and when nostalgia is involved (i.e. talking to ortega, steel, etc.) they can’t really help themselves
10. are they a leader or a follower? - they want to be a leader but they’re a follower
13. do they want to be well-known, or do they prefer to remain obscure? - they wanna remain as obscure as they can while still accomplishing their goals
22. how do they feel about their telepathy? is it a gift? a curse? - i don’t actually think it’s something they think about that much, kind of in the way that you don’t think about the fact that you have legs until you twist your ankle and cant stand on it properly. like it’s frustrating and disorienting when it’s gone but when it’s there it’s just like any other part of their body
