Algernon

Originally a child of the backstreets, like most of her peers Algernon spent much of her early life scavenging for what little food and shelter she could find among the chaos and wreckage of grevious poverty and hunger. Orphaned at an unknown age, Algernon cannot recall who her parents were, nor does she remember their faces; and it is this isolation that likely contributes to her more scrappy, self-reliant tendencies (or what remains of them). However, the most notable experience in her life came when she was given an offer from █ Corporation: to become a living test subject in exchange for a comfortable life within a nest laboratory. Like what most children in her position would do, she swiftly accepted this proposal.

What followed this was a series of waking surgeries on her brain, followed by a series of augments, eventually resulting in her final, metallic, 'ear-like' augments: she soon found out the experiments themselves were to test potential augments onto human brains which sihphoned and recycled the brain's electromagnetic waves, similar to R Corporation; but this was different in that it also enhanced the intellgence of the subject as well, creating options for both combat and corporate usage. Even beyond the education the scientists of █ Corp gave her as well as the energy proper nutrition gave her, she realized that her intelligence rapdily increased at abnormal rates. Still, for a long time, the laboratory and its tests were cold, hard, and lonely.

Here, she would meet a fellow test subject who had joined the program later than her: another backstreets child named Charlie, of who became a stalwort source of companionship in the coldness of the laboratory. The two formed what could be described as a sibling-esque relationship, both finding soldarity in their mutual situations as lab rats.

This too, could come to change as Charlie first, then Algernon realized the truth of their augmentations: namely, that the process of cycling the brain's energy was draining on the body to the point of where their lives would be cut significantly short. It was not unexpected of children from the backstreets to die young, but to suffer through years of testing, pain, and solitude just to realize you had been the result of a failure? The realization shook the two.

Charlie accepted his fate.

Algernon didn't- at least, intially. She wanted to free them both, but in the end, only one would be freed. Through luck and her own wit, Algernon finessed her way out of the laboratory, striking deals that would eventually enable her to live as a fixer- a life which would leave Charlie behind. However, the betrayal of the one person who would understand her and the growing knowledge that everything she had done, everything she was was at its core, temporary: it did not break her. But it would change her.

Even as her Manager revives her from deaths caused by physical injuries, she knows, one day, her death will be permanent. No amount of intelligence, wit, nor skill can stave off the inevitability.

Before that happens, she would, at least, free Charlie.

Algernon's personality can be described as a mix of nihilistic and analytical (but to a fault); a 'glass half empty' type of person as a result of her life events. She isn't openly (or verbally, at least) self-loathing: rather, her actions speak more as she tends to be relatively reckless in her actions in battle for the benefit of the team, willing to take on the more perilous and dangerous of tasks, as if self-punishing herself through her work. She is, however, verbally pessimistic: not the most verbal, but if asked, she can (and will) give the odds of failure she's drawn up. She's a gloomy person to be around honestly, and her attitude can be offputting (especially if you had to be stuck in a bus with her). However, she is clever- in an incredibly quiet way, and if asked, she has great potential for intellectual excercises. Underneath the leagues of her lassitude lies a rather self-sufficient person, trained by a life in the backstreets; however, she is naturally prone to be on the more melancholic side- even before everything occured in her life.

Don't pull on her augments. It's the one thing that will get her to break out of her melancholy, if only for a second to firmly tell the offender to stop.

• Her base sin affinities would be Gloom, Pride, and Envy.
• Her base E.G.O, If I Never Had Been would probably manifest as an extension of her augmentation, dealing single target gloom damage with varying effects based on heads hit or tails hit. On a tails hit, Algernon shares whatever debuffs she has applied on her with her target (eg; Algernon has 6 bleed as of using If I Never Had Been and the enemy has 2 bleed, upon use, the enemy now has 8 bleed while Algernon still has 6 bleed), and upon heads hit, Algernon transfers the debuffs placed upon her onto her target (eg; Algernon has 6 bleed before her EGO is used and the enemy has 2 bleed, after use Algernon has 0 bleed and the enemy has 8 bleed). Definitely an EGO not to be used without thinking, but it could be fun.
• Algernon would work as a strong self-buffer who is very luck based: on heads she'd buff herself without any consequences (primarily with damage up and charges, which could be saved up for a high win-rate/damage attack (think R Corp Ishmael), but with a tails, Algernon also has the possibility of debuffing or even hurting herself. Playing with that whole atrophy thing!
• I think it'd be funny if she had a gimmicky defense skill or passive in which she would take a hit for a fellow teammate- I have no idea how that'd be possible (but honestly I could see that being a thing with future IDs of the canonical sinners)
• Her passive would be Rat Race, givng her and others haste when at lower health.

(More theoretical musing and looser details here!)

Essentially, Algernon's chapter would revolve around the bough spawning at the nest she was formerly at; and her and her fellow sinners would explore the wing's laboratory (likely to find they had advanced past their initial alpha testing (who are Charlie and Algernon themselves). Algernon's chapter would be, essentially, about finding acceptance in a healthy way: her key flaw is in that while she's accepted her fate, her ways of coping with it are not healthy when she has the opprotunity and allowance to practice it in a healthier manner. Algernon is self-sacrificing and pessimistic to an unhelpful degree due to her guilt and understanding of her life- and I think at her core, she sees Charlie as a flawless, saint of an individual (and she'd eventually have to come to terms with that he, perhaps, did not accept his fate as well as she thought he did (mostly internalizing it versus taking action like she did) nor does suffering for no reason solve anything). In classic Project Moon Pain (tm) I think the final boss would be a highly augmented/distorted Charlie: in a sort of ironic twist on the original short story, the mouse outlives the man (and would be the one to place the flowers upon his grave).

Algernon's known IDs include:

• ███████ ████ █████████
• ██████ ██
• ██████ ██████████
• ██ ███████████ ███

Algernon's known E.G.Os include:

• If I Never Had Been (Personal/base, ZAYIN, Gloom) - A single target E.G.O that either shares the current buffs applied to Algernon (upon tails hit) or transfers current buffs to the target (upon heads hit).
• Solemn Lament (Funeral of Butterflies, HE, Gloom)
• Ecstasy (The Dreaming Current, WAW, Sloth)

(TBA!)

(OOU misc details!)

• Algernon is indeed based off the mouse Algernon from the story (although clearly human, female, and given a backstory that meshes in a lot of the city). Her personality/actions are a mix of both the short story and the novel; Charlie is more like his short story self while Algernon is closer to the Charlie of the novel (actively escaping the laboratory because their dislike of their treatment). I've always loved the short story, so I was incredibly happy to combine two of my interests into one /:^)
• Algernon's hair is naturally white and her eyes are naturally red. Since a lot of people of the city have funny hair colours/eye colours anyways, it isn't too crazy for someone to have/be born with both traits (additionally Ryoshu has red eyes- if hers are augmented well. I might change this haha)
• If Algernon encountered N-Corp (looking at you, Hammer & Nagel) she definitely would be on the chopping block HAHAha. This was written before I figure out her IDs but I also think it'd be funny if an Algernon who was never experimented on became a part of N Corp, especially that part of N Corp.
• Her 'ears' connect directly to her brain via surgical procedure- pull on them, and you're also yanking on her brain (bad). A short tug/yank won't actually kill her due to augments made to her skull itself, but a hard enough whack or yank will cause grevious damage at.
• Like real mice, I don't think she actually likes cheese and prefers fruits and grains. If you compared her to a mouse/called her a mouse you'd likely get a shrug out of her. Her likeness to a mouse isn't a large deal in the span of the nothingness of her life.