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[polariity]

Player Information
Name: James
Timezone:
Personal Journal: trilies
Players Contact/AIM/MSN/YAHOO: AIM: trilies, PLURK: trilies
Email Address: trickeryandlies@yahoo.com
Former/Other Characters in the RP: N/A
How did you hear about us?: Stupid enabling jerks on my timeline

Character Information
Name: Artollo Apemis [The Psiioniic]
Canon Origin/Series: Homestuck
Teaching Position and why it suits them: Dueling. In canon, Psiioniic was said to be the most powerful psionic mage in all of Alternia, pulled from slavery. It can only be deduced that his powers were often relied upon to keep the group safe. That was probably something he was more than eager to due as he accepted his freedom, using his powers in the way he wanted, which was defending his friends. It would be his way of proving that even a so called 'low'blood was worth something.

In HPverse, Artollo holds the same kind of view, even if this universe means it's for slightly different reasons. Growing up as a halfblood and one interested in muggle technology, he knew there would be people who would pull into question just how proficient he was with magic just because of his ancestry. Becoming good at dueling was just one way to prove that. Besides, being an avid reader, he knew that while peace was all well and great, but history showed that people of all sorts simply brought about conflict. He'll advocate getting along and singing flowers, sure, but he knows that knowing how to really use a wand will save yourself and those you care about in the end. Over the years, he's only become better with his wandwork and has even won a few dueling competitions.
Suitability: Well you hired Bro Strider.
Gender: Male
Age: 32
Out of school living location: On the outskirts of Abingdon, Oxfordshire, England. (Has a room in Sal and Di's home.) However, he can be more often than not found traveling in various places on Earth to sate his curiosity.
Blood status: Half-blood

Personality: Unfortunately, the Psiioniic is just one of many characters in the Homestuck comic which has not gotten very much screentime. Only a very brief part of his life was told, and it was only in passing by another character. What we do know for certain is that he no doubt shares a great many similarities with his descendent Sollux Captor. We know this from two sources. The canon itself states that there is supposed to be a deep connection between a troll’s ancestor and themselves. Andrew Hussie has also answered questions pertaining to the ancestors as stating that they are the troll kids except more adult. This means we are looking at a Sollux Captor based individual, only with some personality changes due to a different time period and life experiences which have happened solely to him.

Due to his bifuricated mind, the Psiioniic probably has mood swings similar to those of Sollux. It is quite possible that while during his travels with Signless, they were able to help calm down the severity of them as best they could. By now, it’s a bit more normal than not for him to be of a quick witted humor and somewhat smug. This doesn’t override his sense of caution, however. As an adult troll having grown up in Alternia and one that is lowblooded to boot, the Psiioniic has had to become very careful and even slightly paranoid when it comes to other trolls. He is not quite the idealist that Signless is and won’t believe in the kindness of people so readily on a normal day. This doesn’t mean he’ll treat everyone like Mad Eye Moody from the Harry Potter series; the Psiioniic believes in constant vigilance, yes, but not CONSTANT! VIGILANCE! For one thing, that’s a suspicious way to behave and a dead giveaway. For another, Signless tends to not like it when he’s openly hostile.

That is his high moment. His lows tend to be very much not attractive.

During the moments he swings into that area, the Psiioniic hits a period of intense self loathing. On its own, it is a horrible thing. However, the Psiioniic has had to grow up to adulthood with an entire empire constantly pressing down its own message onto his head: “LOWBLOODS ARE WEAK, PATHETIC, AND USELESS BESIDES THE FUNCTION OF A BIOLOGICAL BATTERY FOR SHIPS.” Trolls are very resilient in both body and mind. However, social brainwashing is social brainwashing, and for many years of his life, the Psiioniic no doubt has gained a very low idea of his self worth that I doubt even Signless has managed to fix completely. When he’s in his low swings, he is easy to manipulate if one knows how to fix on that area. When in his high swings, he’s probably still very sensitive to that part of himself and prone to lashing out.

One last thing that should be mentioned is the Psiioniic’s high intelligence. Like his descendent, he is extremely clever and understands logical concepts (particularly mathematics) very easily. In fact, these things even tend to bore him at times with how ‘simple’ it seems and a part of him longs for a challenge. He’d say ‘like maybe running a ship’, except that brings to mind the Helmsman system, which is the opposite of what a free thinking troll wants.
Canon Background:
In Homestuck, Hussie only gives the readers the very bare bones of the Psiioniic's life. It goes as such:

The Psiioniic was a yellowblooded slave. At some point, he met the Signless who presumably told him of his ideals and convinced him of them. Psiioniic escaped his slavery (through means unsaid in canon) to go travel with Signless, Disciple, and Dolorosa. For an unsaid amount of time, they went about the land spreading Signless' word of an Alternia without violence and without the Hemospectrum. They kind of started a rebellion that was such a big deal, mention of Signless' name was outlawed. Each of the main four were punished, although Disciple managed to escape. Signless was killed, and the other two were sold into slavery. However, unlike Dolorosa, the Psiioniic was cast into a worse kind of slavery in that he was made a Helmsman. In Alternia, Helmstrolls are psionic trolls which are grafted into a ship and used as living batteries and computers. Psiioniic was chosen specifically by Her Imperious Condescension.

Also he is a genetic clone of Sollux Captor sent back in time because it's that kind of comic.

So that's what we definitely 100% know from text. Now, here's what we can surmise is likely through that!

As a yellowblood, Psiioniic is already pretty low on the hemospectrum of Alternia. This means, although he has super cool powers that could wreck shit up, he is thought of as a lower class citizen and less of a troll for his blood. (Yellowbloods are third lowest on the hemospectrum.) Combine this with the fact that he is a slave (probably not uncommon for lowbloods), Psiioniic's living conditions were probably not the best.

In canon, Sollux Captor is shown to live in a kind of apartment building. I imagine that Psiioniic probably had the same kind of living space. However, in the Psiioniic's time, most of the adults were not forcibly sent off planet. This means, quite possibly, that there were many more trolls living on Alternia during Psiioniic's time. In his communal hive stem, he probably had to share a block with other slaves owned by the same owner. The space would be cramped, things would probably often be broken, and shit generally sucked. to put it lightly.

In another reference with Sollux Captor, the teenage psionic hacker is once shown being able to help direct small meteors and, at the expense of his life, guide a much larger meteor like one would a spacecraft. Psiioniic is just an adult version of Sollux. This means he has had more experience with his psionics and they are quite possibly stronger as well. However, one wonders why he was not picked earlier to be a Helmsman if he was so powerful. (Doc Scratch, who doesn't outright lie, even calls him the strongest psionic mage in all of Alternia.) My theory is that he downplayed the power of his own abilities so that highbloods would not think him capable of handling the duties that came with being a Helmsman. He probably spent a great deal of his life living out this lie until he met Signless.

Regarding Signless, Psiionic's escape was probably less dramatic action hero escape while coolly walking away from explosions. That would just bring unnecessary drama and attention to the group of rebels. It was probably a silent and stealthy affair where they left during the day. While it would still bring attention (as disobeying highbloods never ends well), it would be less attention as slaves escaping probably isn't that odd because, well... being a slave sucks.

'Slave' is a rather vague term, as there are a variety of slaves for different purposes. Sex slaves, domestic slaves, slaves who work on ranches or in factories... I believe what narrows down is Psiioniic's body type. He has a rather firm chest and isn't particularly slender at all. I believe that, due to muscle, he probably was something of a more hands on worker who used his muscles a lot. This means probably more a ranch slave or one in factories. I personally go with him as a factory slave where he could use his brilliant mind to good use in putting things together. It would fit in the fact that he lives in a communal hive as he does, which would usually be found in a city like area.

Moving onto his escapades with Signless and Co!

Psiioniic had to earn the the title of 'strongest psionic mage in Alternia' somehow. Considering his (theorized) attempts to hide his psionics while in slavery, I imagine that they were gradually encouraged by two means. The first is his interaction with Signless. Considering the mutantblood is kind of a inspirational speaker of sorts, his presence probably helped assist Psiioniic in using his abilities more and more.

Also, they were kind of on the run from the Empire and no doubt had to deal with many of Alternia's terrifying fauna while running, so using those eye blasty powers would be really helpful please?

Once he got more used to using his powers openly, Psiioniic was probably the main defender/fighter of the group. Due to his bountiful experience in being cautious and paranoid (as living in an Alternian city while hiding a powerful mutation is bound to grant), he also probably was one to judge who was safe and who would get them all killed.

Eventually, however, everyone in the rebellion was captured. How Psiioniic acts as a Helmsman varies from person to person. However, I prefer the 'One of Our Submarines' approach (a fic on archiveofourown) in that while Psiioniic acts the docile and broken Helmsman, he is a ghost in the system who keeps his true personality and memories stored away in secret so that they aren't stolen from him.

Psiioniic possesses the same abilities as Sollux Captor, being his genetic clone, and these include telekinesis, lasers from the eyes and hands, seeing horrible futures, and being badgered by the voices of the dead.

Background (AU!Canon; HP): (Pooting)
Artollo Apemis was born to the muggle Hartley Apemis and muggleborn Witch Mavis Sauveterre-Apemis. From the start, it was fairly apparent to both parents that their child possessed some magical talent. Perhaps the fact that whenever they left him alone in his crib, they would return to his toys having multiplied into matching pairs. Taking care of a baby was difficult enough, but adding in magic made it just a bit tougher. Luckily, Hartley was a rather determined fellow, for all his skittishness at each new revelation of magic, and Mavis was quite the clever, loving mother.

For most of his childhood, Artollo grew up in Montpellier, France. It was a peculiar lifestyle, in a way, although perhaps not quite as uncommon as some witches and wizards might believe, as he held one foot in the magical world and one in the muggle world where technology thrived. Even as a young child, he found a strong interest in both. To his eyes, both were more or less the same thing. The mystery of the television (and soon the computer) was just as fascinating as the mystery of his mother charming the kitchen to make dinner. As he got older, much of his time was spent both pouring over the various books on magic his mother possessed while also running off with his father to either the city or the nearby coast of the Mediterranean. This was all an early sign of his curiosity, his hunger for knowledge. The speed at which he picked up things was almost alarming for his parents before his father eagerly encouraged it.

Around the time he was eight, Artollo's family decided to move to Hartley's homecountry of England because of a job offer. It was a strange thing for Artollo, but he quickly adapted. Life in Derby was rather nice. Both of his parents took an interest in growing plants for apothecaries as a side job, yet Artollo couldn't find much interest in it. During this time, he attended Muggle school (as he had in France) but often find himself growing frustrated with what he found to be a slow pace. The local libraries were quite often raided of books of all kinds. This occasionally had him bullied, but the many strange occurrences that happened to him as a result of his magical nature managed to let him have the alone time he desired, although it did start a rumor of what a strange boy he was.

It should be noted that when he was around the age of 10, there was an accident in front of school which he witnessed and that left one person dead. While the school and his parents did provide suitable help with the event, the incident did lead to Artollo being able to see Thestrals.

Come his eleventh year, it was no surprise to his family when the letter for Hogwarts arrived. His mother fussed briefly, wondering if perhaps going back to her homecountry to arrange for him to go to the school there was too late, but she eventually calmed down. The family quickly journeyed to Diagon Alley to get all the necessary supplies. This included a thirteen inch sycamore wand, an unyielding piece of work with a phoenix feather core.

Journeying on his own, away from his family, was a strange experience for Artollo, and at least half the train ride was spent in a corner thinking of how everything could go wrong horribly. The other half was where he burst like a firework, and he made quite a few friends and more than a few enemies with his quick wit and sharp, unforgiving honesty. Things only became a bit more amusing when he was placed beneath the Sorting Hat. The very first to go up to the Hat was also the one to start a hatstall.

Artollo's problem, it turned out, was that he was a jack of all trades in terms of what House would suit or challenge him best. Boldness was in no short supply, but neither was wit, and his ambition to become better- better than the purebloods who had mocked him on the train for his muggle blood, for one thing. But after quite a bit of arguing between wizard and hat- which involved more than a few choice French swears- and they realized that one house was exactly what he needed. His passion that could arise for working hard, the patience he could get, and the fact that Artollo viewed every other trait of every other house worthless without someone or something worth using them for...

Artollo Apemis found himself in Hufflepuff and never regretted it since.

Part of the reason, admittedly, was because he met two wonderful friends who he came to know as Sal and Di. They become a tightknit group, and it wasn't unusual for Art and Di to sneak in their Gryfinndor friend to their homeroom. They stayed with him through thick and thin, from his experiment being the Hufflepuff Seeker to his much longer stint in the Dueling Club to his struggles in Herbology and Divination.

Besides his friends, Art was found a brilliant student who devoured almost everything that his classes could give him. Along with that, however, he also had energy to spare in which to mouth off at anyone who caught his bad side. This earned him more than a couple of detentions, but somehow he managed. He did well with most of his classes, showing a particular talent in Charms, Arithmancy, and Defense Against the Dark Arts. The worst he ever got was during a few months of rebellion against Herbology of all things, but that was eventually conquered as well. Strangely enough, he was also rather talented in Diviniation- ironic considering his blatant distaste for the practice. Despite his disbelief in such a 'hoaxy' area of magic, he would show signs of being a Seer throughout the years, well into adulthood.

After graduating from Hogwarts, Artollo went traveling around Europe with his two best friends. During that time, there were more than a couple... shenanigans between the three of them, and it was with a bit of surprise that Di became pregnant. She and Sal seemed more than happy to settle down and raise a family. Artollo, ever, was less ready. His curiosity and energy still wanted him to explore the world more. So away he went.

That is how it has been for most of his adult life. Curious to know more about just about everything, Artollo has traveled across the world and made quite a few acquaintances along the way, both in the wizarding world and the muggle world. As a halfblood raised by both parents, Artollo never wanted to leave one or the other behind; in his view, both are just as important as the other, no matter how much trouble each one brings the other.

In the muggle world, he has chatted up college students while taking apart computers, argued with would-be muggers in the middle of a would-be mugging, and hiked alongside old married couples through tropical forests while arguing philosophy. In the magical world, he's swapped riddles with sphinxes, asked for gambling tips from Goblins (which were then promptly ignored), and learned new spells from witches and wizards from all over. If occasionally he's butted heads with the ministry regarding his occasional duels, well, they've all been soothed out. He knows how to work the system, when he cares to.

Artollo's biggest passions, however, have always been magical duels and mixing his two worlds together. While Artollo is the proud winner of more than a couple of competitions, his real pride is his advancements in mixing magic and technology together. He is a firm believer that it is time for the magical world to stop staying stuck in the 16th century and actually try to learn from their muggle counterparts, who aren't as useless as so many seem to think. However, others reactions to his ideas are often mixed, and Artollo has given up trying to educate people, becoming fairly secretive in his rather bizarre experiments.

Despite his wanderlust and eccentric nature, however, Artollo has always had a home he could go back to: the place where Sal and Di settled down. He has his own little room in their home, even if it is filled with a variety of objects both muggle and magical and apparently a place where cats go to get lost. (They always reappear, however. Eventually.) Artollo always bounces back, with no apparent schedule to it, and he never stays too long, but it's a nice place of rest and happiness in all of his motion. The eye of the storm where he can just breathe. More than once he's come home with an odd trinket as a gift, or a strange bit of magic lingering about him. (Sal and Di never did forgive him for the heart attack he gave them when he came home with one eye all blue and the other all red, and it's a strange, shallow thing he's neglected to change out of a fondness for his new ocular appearance.)

For the most part, he's ignored the subtle suggestions from both family and friends that maybe he should find a steady career, maybe settle down a little. However, recently, owls from Brazil have come by Hogwarts, both for his friends Sal and Di, and, surprisingly, for the Headmaster of Hogwarts. For whatever reason, Artollo is curious to know if a teaching position is available, preferably for a Dueling class.

(If that reason involves wanting to test his techmagic in Hogwarts' confines, well, shut up.)

(clover)
RP Samples:
-In the Dressing Room
-During the 4th Wall
-And a very special 4th Wall thread with Karkat