Androgyne/Personality

Personality
History · Powers · Equipment · Associates · Notes

-- Keirsey Temperament Website - Portrait of the Guardian Protector

-- TypeLogic.com - ISFJ Profile

-- PersonalityPage.com - Portrait of an ISFJ

Ani is almost unfailingly patient, polite, and well-mannered to everyone e meets, until e feels e has been slighted or disrespected in some way, or unless e is distracted by more pressing concerns. Even at that point, e merely becomes cool, unresponsive and abrupt in eir dealings with those who either offend em or simply do not warrant eir attention at the moment. In eir youth Ani developed a positively acidic tongue as a means of defending emself from the verbal attacks and persecution of eir crueler classmates. With the discovery of eir abilities and the sense of security bestowed by the knowledge that e had the power to destroy eir tormentors at any time, this barb in eir personality eventually withdrew. Nowadays, it only resurfaces if the right buttons are pressed.

In eir teenage years, Ani drifted from clique to clique with chameleonic ease, keeping intact friendships in each as e moved along. In the Rogue Isles, the Androgyne became a more solitary, introverted individual, having few dealings with other villains or Arachnos operatives. With the friendships e has forged among the Reciprocators and Misfits since eir return to Paragon City, e is once again the playful social butterfly. E delights especially in drawing others out of their shells and nosing into goings-on in everyone's life to find out in what ways e can help the people e cares about.

Villainy

In the early days of the Androgyne's career as a villain under Arachnos guidance, e was typified by a quiet and reserved efficiency. Unsure of what e could do with eir life now that it had been somewhat returned to em, e took time to acclimate to eir newfound freedom and spent most of that period unthinkingly carrying out the tasks Arachnos asked of em. Having grown up poor in Kings Row, the decay and despair of most of the Etoiles was not as hard for em to get used to as it is for some, and in fact some elements reminded em enough of home that e was comfortable.

As Ani's familiarity and comfort level grew along with eir skill, e became brasher and more confident, as showy and dramatic as e was relentless and ruthless. Ani's particular role was best described as assassin, dispatched frequently to eliminate Arachnos enemies that had especially offended eir superiors and whom they wished to leave no question about the deaths of. To be marked for death at the Androgyne's hand was to be left marked in death as a warning to any co-conspirators that this was what awaited them.

Early in eir career as the Androgyne, Ani was deeply unsettled by the effect eir powers had on those e was sent to eliminate. Seeing eir own visage crudely reproduced on the agonized faces of the dead proved more than a little disturbing. It is something e eventually became desensitized to, however, and indeed since the Second Rikti War began it is even something e takes pride in. E takes a special delight in prying loose the helmets of defeated Rikti leaders to examine eir handiwork; even since eir reform, e continues to refer to the process of eir radioactive corruption by a simple euphemism: "I'll make them beautiful."

Ani's acceptance of eir power, eir mastery and control over it, gradually shifted from mere pride to a sense of supremacy.^[1] Ani is never unaware, even as e uses eir powers with a lighter touch as a crime-fighter, of the power e possesses and the threat e represents. While e has often expressed admiration for those whose skills are the result of intellect or commitment, e also looks slightly down upon them -- not necessarily regarding them as inferior, but certainly not regarding them as eir equal. Ani has rejected Arachnos' grand but vague whisperings of "Destiny", but e has not entirely silenced eir own.

Heroism

Ani's work with the Vanguard saw eir understanding of eir role in the world shift drastically. As e came to the realization that e could control the lethality of eir power, the Androgyne began to consider other possibilities for eir life than being a tool of Arachnos. As Ani mastered eir radiation to the point that e could wield it non-fatally, eir mind opened to the idea that e could actually use eir powers for more than slaughter.

When e first contacted the Herald's Advocacy program to discuss defection, eir primary motivation was to free emself of Arachnos' influence and find some measure of freedom to finally pursue eir own life. Becoming a hero was only a means to an end, an excuse to return to eir home in Paragon City and try to shed the guilt and stigma of eir early atrocities. It was also an exercise in arrogance, a lark and an attempt to prove that e could do anything e wanted.

Joining the Reciprocators changed a lot of that. E joined them expecting to have to deal with disgust and distrust, only to be met instead with respect, given a fair chance to prove eir good intentions, and offered a level of friendship and support e had never known in the Isles. Through the troubles and triumphs e faced as a Reciprocator, the Androgyne's values have seen a drastic shift away from the selfish, detached arrogance that typified eir villainy. E has family again, people e loves and would die or kill for (if they'd let em get away with it).

Since returning from a relapse into eir old ways that threatened to unhinge eir mind, eir commitment to being a hero has become truer than ever. It's no longer something e does just because e's legally required, or even just because it's what eir friends do; it matters to em. E likes the feeling of doing right and protecting those who can't do the miraculous things e can, not just out of eir own drive for vengeance against the Rikti but from anyone who would strip others of the life and freedom and second (and third and fourth) chances e's experienced.

Gender Identity & Sexuality

Ani's parents raised em without encouragement in either direction to adopt a more masculine or feminine identity or appearance, speaking with em frankly from a young age about eir physical differences from the norm and giving em the freedom to explore what e wanted to be. Ultimately it would prove that Ani delighted in eir uniqueness above either of the typical gender roles, and to this day e enjoys the freedom e has to flow between the extremes as suits eir mood.

Ani is physically asexual, incapable of sexual arousal or orgasm, but nevertheless enjoys playing at being a sexual being. While e cannot derive personal physical satisfaction from sex acts, e is open to indulging in them for the benefit of someone e loves, and in fact takes great delight in pleasuring someone that e cares about. E is also at times a shameless flirt, though the enjoyment e finds in this is often due more to others' discomfort with eir appearance than any actual pursuit of romance.

Gender and usual standards of male and female attractiveness don't enter Ani's consideration much, and e could be considered bisexual in terms of eir openness to relationships. While e can appreciate others' looks from an aesthetic standpoint, whether e is "attracted" to someone is entirely a matter of rapport and trust, helped along by the attention and interest they show in em and most especially the potential and power e sees in a person. The closest Ani knows to sexual arousal is the high e gets from narrowly surviving and conquering the most dangerous combat situations. This along with eir innate desire to be needed and helpful leaves em most drawn to people who wield potentially devastating power but may lack the confidence on their own to make the most of it.

Ani considers emself borderline polyamorous, since eir introduction to the concept in a past relationship, and fairly openly holds strong feelings for several of eir close friends. Though eir upbringing and personal value system steer em towards monogamy,^[2] e is aware that e presents somewhat of a challenge to someone who delights in pleasuring another as e does. As such, e does not attach special importance to a partner's sexual exclusivity so long as they are open and forthright with em about their activities -- it's the demonstrations of love, attention, and feeling of being needed and wanted that appeals to Ani in a relationship.

Formspring.me

Blame Aglow. Ani diddles around on Formspring as a timewaster, and maintains a public profile there for the opportunity to babble about emself and nose into the opinions and interactions of other supers. Feel free to ask Ani anything in-character.

Last Updated: 4/23/2019