Velvet
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<infobox> <title source="name"><default>Velvet</default></title>
<image source="Image"></image> <image source="image"></image> <group><header>Basic Information</header> <label>Civilian Name</label> <label>Aliases</label> <label>Gender</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Death</label> <label>Age</label><default>Unknown</default> <label>Post-timeskip</label> <label>Ward start</label> <label>Relations</label> <label>Family</label></group> <group><header>Professional Status</header> <label>Occupation</label> <label>Classification</label> <label>Unique Features</label> <label>Alignment</label>
<label>Status</label><format><label>Location</label> <label>Teams</label> <label>Previous Team(s)</label> <label>Base of Operations</label></group> <group><header>First Appearance</header> <label>Worm Debut</label> <label>Ward Debut</label></group> </infobox> Harper,<ref name="I1ii e0" /> known publicly as Velvet, is a cervine supervillian from Alaska.
Personality
She was the leader of a loose gang of mostly highschoolers.<ref name="PRT1"/> Dan Seneca speculated that, had she not triggered, she would have been a small time dropout dealing drugs to the local high school rather than a leader.<ref>Small timers, it seems. Rather than be the small fish in a large pond, they elected to be small fish in a small pond. If they hadn’t gotten powers, Velvet might simply be a small time dropout, dealing to the local high school, Prancer a thug. Now they are leaders. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread iii p18</ref>She liked to hold on to what she had, and likes to have some place to call her own. Such as her beloved truck.<ref name="I1ii e2" />
She was polyamorous.<ref name="I1ii e1">“Can’t speak about the third-wheeling. That’s for you to figure out. But for the relationship part, it’s the simplest thing in the world, Moose,” Prancer said. “She’s my girlfriend, I’m her boyfriend. Sometimes you and she enjoy each other’s company, sometimes I enjoy someone else’s company, but that doesn’t change that it’s me and it’s her as the boyfriend and girlfriend.”
His voice had become progressively more stern as he’d talked. He paused, meeting Moose’s eyes.
[...]
“I’m going to marry that Velvet sometime soon,” Prancer said. “I’ve just got to make amends for old wrongs first. Can’t ask her to marry me when the last momentous event in our lives was me being a screwup.” - Excerpt from Interlude 1 II</ref>
Appearance
At one time, Velvet had a deer and formal-wear motif to her costume.<ref name="PRT1"/>
Later, she wore a purple, velvet-colored sleeveless top with a hood, that trailed down over her leg like a robe on one side. She wore skintight shorts underneath. She had a black mask on her upper face in a style matching Prancer's, with "truncated, forking horns" that stuck out the top of the hood and kept it from falling back.<ref name="I1ii e0">Harper was in costume, though the costume part was mostly a hooded, sleeveless top in her namesake velvet color, lopsided in how it trailed down over one leg in a robe-like aesthetic. She wore skintight shorts underneath. A black mask covered her upper face, and had truncated, forking horns that poked out through the top of the hood and kept the hood from falling back.
Linc wore a mask like Velvet’s, but his traced the area around his eye sockets and eyebrows, with the edges tracing back and into his hair, forking as they did. - Excerpt from Interlude 1 II</ref>
She has an accent which becomes thicker the softer she talks.<ref name="I1ii e4" />
Abilities and Powers
Gaseous Kinesthesia; pink spores of dust accumulate over time in her vicinity.<ref name="I1ii e3">Prancer watched as a faint speck of dust traveled across his vision, pink-tinted. He smiled.
[...]
Velvet reached out, and the menu flew from the tabletop to her hand. It was tinted red and dusty, but much of their table and glasses were, now.
[...]
“What if we overhauled the outside, got someone to give the engine a real solid lookin’-at?” Prancer asked.
“So long as it stays my truck. I don’t want you ship-of-Theseusing it.”
Prancer resisted swearing under his breath. So that tactic wouldn’t work.
There was more of the pink dust in the air, now. He gave Velvet a kiss on top of the head, then shrugged slightly. She moved her head off of his shoulder, sitting upright. - Excerpt from Interlude 1 II</ref> These serve as a vector for her power letting her exert greater strength, leverage and maneuverability of objects and persons over time.<ref name="PRT1"/>
It can also be used to jump start a truck that should have been scrapped a decade ago. Though this can take up to five minutes.<ref name="I1ii e2" />
History
Background
Harper has poor memories of her childhood and of being told to stay downstairs with the kids, away from adults, during the holidays. She disliked her cousins and was happy that they were killed during Gold Morning.<ref name="I1ii e4">“You’re dwellin’ a lot on going upstairs,” Moose observed.
“Reminds me of being a kid and being told I had to stay downstairs with my cousins and their friends during the holidays. My cousins were assholes,” Velvet said. “One good thing about Gold Morning is it took them out of the picture.”
Moose whistled.
“She’s wearing the purple cloak, that’s a sign of royalty, don’t you know?” Prancer plucked at Velvet’s hood. Velvet batted his hand away. “And royalty doesn’t not go upstairs. Royalty doesn’t show mercy.”
[...]
“I went to prison for you,” she said, again. “That counts for a lot.”
“‘Course. How does that connect, though?”
“Just sayin’,” she said, her accent thicker as her voice became softer. “You said things would be different.” - Excerpt from Interlude 1 II</ref>
She is a small-time drug dealer originating from Washington. She moved to Alaska after larger gangs forced her out and then met with her future partner, Prancer, in Anchorage. Together, they moved to Fairbanks.<ref name="PRT1">Small-time dealer from Washington, moved to Alaska after larger gangs forced her out. Met with partner Prancer in Anchorage and then moved to Fairbanks. Activity is so low-level that she might not even be on the radar if her powers weren’t a consideration. A known drug trafficker, her ‘gang’ consists predominantly of high school students. Possibly consorting with said students? Gaseous telekinetic/forcefield spores accumulate over time in her vicinity, allowing greater strength, leverage and maneuverability of objects and persons over time.
Deer & formalwear motif to costume. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread ii p13</ref>
She and Prancer operated primary as drug dealers at first, with their powers as a sideline. In a possible timeline, they began escalating somewhat, partying harder and drawing teenagers into it.<ref name="PRT2">“Horizon, please tell us about Fairbanks.”
“Hm,” she says, “Okay. From a strategic, cape-based perspective, there aren’t many capes there. Velvet and Prancer are drug dealers with powers as almost a secondary concern. I didn’t run into them, but I heard about them. Capes have a way of getting weird if they’re too isolated.”
[...]
“They’re escalating. They used to deal drugs and party on the side, sometimes pushing limits. Now they’re partying and testing limits, and dealing drugs on the side. When I say testing limits, I mean just in terms of the level of disruption they’re causing, and who’s getting involved. Teenagers ending up in the hospital with alcohol poisoning, Teens boasting to classmates that they’ve slept with Prancer.” - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread iii p18</ref><ref name="I1ii e2">“It’s the whole thing. Get powers as a kid, sixteen years old, make friends with the right people, start dealing. It’s an elevation in status, y’know? I was the guy who the cool kids in high school went to for product. Had money, had girls throwing themselves at me, I was invited to all the parties, and I meet Velvet there. One of many girls in one of many cities. But she gets powers and comes back to me, wants in, wants out of her house, especially. I oblige, and she doesn’t make me regret it.”
Moose nodded.
“Years pass, we find our fit. She’s got more financial sense, I’ve got the salesmanship. Most capes, there’s going to be conflict. She’s got her thing, you know how her power works. She hangs around somewhere, and this dust collects, and she can telekinetically control stuff, more dust there is on it. It’s how she gets that fucking truck going again, when it refuses to move. She makes us sit there for five minutes and then gives it another try, and it works, and she’ll fiddle with it later and get it tuned up just enough it starts going.”
“She must care an awful lot about it,” Moose observed.
“She does. But that’s her whole psychology. She wants to settle in, wants to have a place she can call hers, whether it’s that truck cab or, I don’t know, going upstairs. I get restless. The mover thing. That causes friction. But we work despite it. We’re as soulmate as you can get when you’ve got… whatever these things are giving us our powers. Parasites. You had the visions when we were on the battlefield, that day.”
“Sure,” Moose said.
“As yin-yang soulmate as you can get with these things screwing up the fit,” Prancer said. “But we got comfortable. I graduate school, barely, she graduates a year after me, we keep up the routine. Some wheeling, mostly dealing. The parties every weekend, tooth and nail fights because we’re both the type to flirt with others, before we realized we were fine just not worrying about it. Couple more years pass, I’m twenty-one, she’s twenty, still in the routine.”
“A rut?” Moose asked.
“Just the way things were. Somewhere along the line, you know, I’m twenty-seven, she’s twenty-six, and I’m still boning boys and girls from high school. Still partying.” - Excerpt from Interlude 1 II</ref>
Gold Morning
Served jail time instead of implicitly taking a plea deal against Prancer. Was released to fight during Gold Morning.<ref name="I1ii">Interlude 1 II</ref>
Early-Ward
Presently, her, Prancer, and Moose are on a team traveling in her beloved truck looking for opportunities for work and teammates.
She settled into her role as the co-leader of the Hollow Point villains.<ref>Shade 4.5</ref>
Post-Fallen fall
She was later confirmed to have died.<ref>Heavens 12.4</ref>
Chapter Appearances
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Trivia
- Antler velvet is an organ unique to deer and other cervine relatives.
Fanart Gallery
-
Velvet sketch by terriblydrawnparahumans on Tumblr -
Alternate Velvet design by lonsheep on Reddit
References
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