#ca:original

01. BASICS

NAME: Sebastian “Bas” Reyes TITLE: The Timebomb DATE OF BIRTH: May 4th, 1994 ( Twenty-four years old ) PLACE OF BIRTH: Austin, TX PREFERRED PRONOUNS: He/Him SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Pansexual & Panromantic OCCUPATION: Undergraduate student FIELD OF STUDY: Mathematics + Computer Science

02. PERSONALITY

MBTI: ESFP POSITIVE TRAITS: Outgoing, Creative, Persuasive & observant NEGATIVE TRAITS: Intense, Ostentatious, Outspoken & Rowdy

03. BIOGRAPHY

Sebastian Reyes learned when he was young that everyone was out there for themselves and that he too must watch out only for himself. Outspoken, rebellious, and sneaky, Bas was the walking and talking definition of trouble. He hated any kind of authority and walked to the beat of his own drum. Whenever he entered a room, chaos ensued. He was unpredictable and had his own moral code that he followed. His parents struggled to restrain him, especially when they were trying to take care of his four other siblings. In an attempt to take care of him without “neglecting him,” they sent him to boarding school in San Francisco. There, he was still just as much of a trouble maker. 

Bas eventually moved on from random chaos and rebellion to putting his brain to good use when a teacher tried to get him to straighten out. He started picking up books and doing his own research. He discovered a knack for coding and mathematics. That was when he started going down a very different path. While he was researching computer science and the law, he came across a software programmer who soon became his inspiration. Sebastian hacked into websites, emails, and other systems, exposing dark secrets from companies and politicians anonymously under the pseudonym, El Cucuy.

Everything escalated after that. Sebastian began posting and releasing previously out of reach information like textbooks and research papers for free online for students. He released federal documents to the public to show people how they were tricked by their own local government and gathered secret files from companies that took advantage of their clients and customers. He started transferring money from big companies and banks into other people’s checking accounts to help pay their debts. He created free apps for people that ranged from being able to download textbooks and research papers to monitoring cop activity. He even created viruses to infect other systems of larger companies.

Eventually, the authorities caught up to Sebastian and his crew of hacktivists and he was arrested. He pleaded guilty to everything he was charged with and was sent to prison. However, after a few months into his sentence, a lawyer and government official approached him with a deal. He could continue with his jail sentence, or he could put his skills to use. Sebastian proposed another deal instead to give him more time to figure out a plan. He proposed they send him to college instead to get his degree before making his decision. With that, they allowed him to apply to a few colleges and he was accepted into a few. 

Bas was dropped off at Turing Academy, but was placed under high surveillance. He could only be on a computer for school work, activity that would be monitored closely. Additionally, he was given an ankle monitor and was allowed to go only on the campus and within a one mile radius of the campus. He was able to attend school based on a scholarship, with his acceptance being a “publicity stunt” of sorts in an attempt to expand their reach to potential students. While Bas is biding his time, he yearns for some kind of freedom away from prying eyes and ankle monitors. 

04. FAMILY

Adrián Reyes: Father (estranged)

Laila Khoury-Reyes: Mother (estranged)

Gabriela Romano (née Reyes): Older sister (estranged)

Vincent Reyes: Younger brother (estranged)

Rodrigo Reyes: Younger brother (estranged)

Diego Reyes: Youngest brother (estranged)

05. CONNECTIONS

The Anarchist: Former childhood friend

The Pretender: Hang out at the same bar

The Hacker: At odds with

01. BASICS

NAME: Piper “Jack” Vargas-Jackson TITLE: The Maverick DATE OF BIRTH: August 5th, 1998 ( Twenty-one years old ) PLACE OF BIRTH: New York, NY PREFERRED PRONOUNS: They/Them and She/Her SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Pansexual OCCUPATION: Undergraduate student, Actor FIELD OF STUDY: Biology + Chemistry

02. PERSONALITY

MBTI: ISTJ POSITIVE TRAITS: Balanced, Dedicated, Resourceful & Direct NEGATIVE TRAITS: Self-critical, Opportunistic, Reserved & Strong-willed

03. BIOGRAPHY

Jack was born via surrogacy to Mila Vargas and Amelia Jackson in Manhattan. Shortly after they were born, their mothers divorced and eventually moved on with new wives, creating one large blended family. Jack loved having their four mothers around with so much positive, supportive, and feminist energy, but as an only child, they felt trapped at times and stifled because of the many different personalities that surrounded her. All of their mothers got along well enough, but Jack found it hard to find a place to call their own, be independent, and have their opinions be heard.

Part of the reason she felt so smothered was because Mila and Monica wanted Jack to become a model and actor. When they were young, they were taken from audition to set to audition to set. They were homeschooled and went to acting and modeling classes when they weren’t at auditions or on a set. They were on children’s shows, in magazines, and even starred in a movie. Jack was admittedly a natural and was very talented, but their heart wasn’t entirely in being an actor. While they enjoyed it at times, they couldn’t be a regular kid and they hated having to fit the perfect image what of they should look like caked in make-up and shoved into garish clothing.

Unfortunately, as Jack’s popularity grew, Mila and Monica became more like “mom-agers” than moms and Jack found solace with Amelia and Sarah. Mila and Monica became more demanding and more opinionated about what Jack could and could not do. When Jack asked for some time off, Mila and Monica begrudgingly agreed and they went to stay with Amelia and Sarah. During their time with them, they fell in love with biology and chemistry after going to Amelia and Sarah’s places of work. They wanted more in life than being a pretty face and took the opportunity away from their other mothers to study biology and chemistry. Shortly after they completed high school, they publicly announced that they would take a break from acting much to Mila and Monica’s chagrin.

Jack applied to Turing Academy, a smaller college in Boston, which seemed like the perfect place from prying eyes. In a school full of people focused on their studies, surely there wouldn’t be many, if any, students trying to catch a selfie or autograph. Jack pursued both biology and chemistry, but hasn’t quite figured out where to go from there whether it’s forensics, neuroscience, becoming a doctor, or looking into something else like genetics. Jack isn’t even sure if they want to completely give up acting since they still love film and acting as an art form as long as Mila and Monica are nowhere to be seen.

Somewhere along the way in Jack’s first year, they met an artist, an astronomer, and a writer and became friends with them. And somewhere along that path, Jack discovered the wonders of The Grid. They fell in love with the Grid and everything that came with it. The friends, the powers, the ability to be anyone without prying eyes or overbearing mothers. It was freedom, joy, excitement, and independence. Jack stuck with the group throughout the first semester that they all discovered the Grid. However, Jack took a leave of absence to take care of their mental health for one semester, then did study abroad for another semester as well as the summer session. They’ve just recently returned to Turing for the fall semester, but everything has changed immensely since they were last there.  

04. FAMILY

Mila Vargas-Almodovar: Mother

Monica Almodovar: Step-mother

Amelia Jackson: Mother

Sarah Schmidt: Step-mother

05. CONNECTIONS

The Pretender: Friend

The Artist: Friendly acquaintance

The Loner: Becoming friends

06. AVATAR

AVATAR’S FACECLAIM: Alita (Alita: Battle Angel) SPECIAL SKILLS/POWERS: Healing (Jack can heal other avatars), Enhanced Durability (Jack can withstand more attacks than some of the others in the group) & Energy Absorption (Jack can absorb different kinds of energy from attacks or kinetic energy from hits and redistribute it for their own use) . WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS: Extent of their healing depends on their own energy level and they cannot heal their own avatar. Their enhanced durability can be weakened with the number of attacks and lower energy levels. Lower energy levels makes it harder to absorb energy. Energy absorbed can be difficult to control if they’re overwhelmed by large amounts of it.

01. BASICS

NAME: Shadia Abassi TITLE: The Daredevil DATE OF BIRTH: January 1st, 1996 ( Twenty-two years old ) PLACE OF BIRTH: Los Angeles, CA PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Pansexual & Panromantic OCCUPATION: Graduate student, Bike courier FIELD OF STUDY: Mechanical Engineering

02. PERSONALITY

MBTI: ENTJ POSITIVE TRAITS: Adventurous, Confident, Innovative & Perceptive NEGATIVE TRAITS: Demanding, Self-Destructive, Crafty & Impulsive

03. BIOGRAPHY

Shadia from the start was always a curious case. Insanely intelligent and always craving an adrenaline rush, many wondered how she functioned. A child prodigy, Shadia skipped several grades, finished school through homeschooling, and graduated early. She started college at the age of fourteen and expressed an interest in engineering, physics, and mathematics. She was sure to be a genius to go down in history books for discovering something extraordinary. She was a wizard at puzzles and games. She liked winning and she liked feeling her heart flutter. She liked the feeling of being alive.

Her desires to feel something escalated and she did more and more risky things when she’d sneak out in the middle of the night. Her favorite activities? Street racing and cliff jumping. They provided a rush that she couldn’t feel during anything else and nothing could get her to stop. It was an addiction. Even when her parents caught her, they couldn’t stop her. She always found a way. Sometimes, books were just too boring and slow for her brilliant mind. She had to be active and she had to feel her heart pounding inside her chest.

After she graduated from college at seventeen with degrees in engineering and physics, Shadia started to lose her grip on things. When she was with her family, celebrating her graduation, they were in a car accident. Shadia was the sole survivor and she was left on her own. After months in a coma, she finally woke up and had months of therapy and recovery. During her recovery, Shadia turned eighteen and was able to access the funds her parents and brothers left behind, a small fortune. Shadia kept quiet for a long time as she tried to figure out her next move. She called it her dark year and hardly spoke to anyone about her personal life. Everyone knew Shadia only by her reputations: a washed up prodigy, coma girl, the daredevil, anything but girl with dead parents. She sold her family home and lived in her car for a time working odd jobs and street racing for extra cash as she traveled aimlessly.

She was eventually picked up by a cop, the same cop who was a first responder to the accident that killed her family. Officer Zachariah St. Crow took her in, becoming a father figure, hoping to set her straight. He helped her get back on her feet by giving her a place to stay and giving her something to eat every day. She liked the feeling of belonging somewhere again and decided to go back to school. Wither Zachariah’s help, Shadia located Turing Academy in Boston and applied. There was no surprise when she got in. After that, she packed her bags and left to go across the country.

At the age of twenty-two, Shadia is finishing her Master’s Degree. She didn’t think she’d stay to do a PhD, but after learning about The Grid, she couldn’t leave. How could she? The Grid was exactly what she wanted all her life. She wanted to be free and have a rush of adrenaline at every turn and that was exactly what she got. It was a place she could forget about everything and it didn’have the same risks as real life. At least, that’s how it seems for now. The best part? She had a new group of friends, something she didn’have before. As a child prodigy, she had been alienated from her classmates and even her own family because of her own hedonistic habits. But at Turing and in The Grid, she belonged somewhere with people who had something in common.  

04. FAMILY

Farhad Abassi: Father (deceased)

Jasmine Abassi: Mother (deceased)

Vahid Abassi: Older brother (deceased)

Basir Abassi: Older brother (deceased)

Zachariah St. Crow: “Adoptive” father

05. CONNECTIONS

The Genius: At odds with

The Hacker: Friend

The Escapist: Drinking buddy

06. AVATAR

AVATAR’S FACECLAIM: Tasya Teles (Echo) SPECIAL SKILLS/POWERS: Shapeshifting (she can shapeshift into any person, which can help with stealth missions), Size Manipulation (she can grow or shrink in size to fit into places or crush enemies) & Freezing (she can freeze time or specific aspects in the Grid like enemies or weapons or vehicles).   WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS: Shadia can shapeshift only into humanoid avatars and programs and cannot always replicate voices. With decreased energy, it is more difficult to shift. Her glamour also has a time limit of a few minutes before she goes back to her normal avatar. Growing or shrinking in size can sap Shadia’s energy and she’ll need to replenish her energy levels if she wants to continue it. Freezing things takes energy and does not last long. The size or strength of what is frozen depends on the amount of time the freezing lasts. Some things are resistant to her freezing ability.

01. BASICS

NAME: Javier Silva Leal TITLE: The Pretender DATE OF BIRTH: January 10th, 1993  ( Twenty-five years old ) PLACE OF BIRTH: Mexico City, Mexico PREFERRED PRONOUNS: He/Him SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Bisexual & Biromantic OCCUPATION: Graduate student FIELD OF STUDY: Literature and Creative Writing 

02. PERSONALITY

MBTI: ISTJ POSITIVE TRAITS: Orderly, Dutiful, Loyal & Polite NEGATIVE TRAITS: Stubborn, Secretive, Cynical & Aggressive

03. BIOGRAPHY

Javier Silva Leal was the firstborn in his family, and as such, things would always be different for him than they were for the two siblings that followed after him. It shouldn’t have mattered that much that he was the first and the he was a boy, but somehow it did, as if only he could be the sole heir to carry out his family’s legacy like in older times. Right from infancy his parents expected so much of him and the concepts of being well behaved, responsible and accomplished became close friends of his. Mom and dad’s word was law, and it was easy to order him around, to tell him what he had to do and how to do it. Little Javier was uncomplicated at that age and he always complied, content to see his parents smile and be proud of him when he did things right.

As he grew older he noticed his parents were never as strict or demanding towards Ricardo and even less with Naty, the youngest one. No, it was Javier the one who had to maintain his excellent grades. It was Javier the one who had to stay in the track team because he was so good at running, and he would surely win another medal in the upcoming competition. It was Javier the one who had to stay in piano lessons because how would he quit after all the years he’d already invested in that? It was Javier who had to stay in English and French classes because he was naturally talented with languages, and his mother said one day it would surely come in handy to know those languages. It was up to Javier to be the perfect son.

It was suffocating, even though there was no malice in his parents’ pressure and expectations. More than a son, at times it felt like he was a possession to parade around and to brag about. But he had a house, a family that cared for him, the benefit of a good education and everything he could want. Guilt often ate at him for having the audacity to claim it all forfeit only for some abstract notion he had of not truly having a life. Javier never talked about it with anyone except with his brother, who on the other hand had grown up overshadowed by his older brother up on his high pedestal. The two brothers never resented each other for their circumstances, if anything the found comfort and understanding in one another. Ricardo often told him that Javier had two faces: the one he showed to the whole world which had been crafted with the help of their parents, and the other one was the real Javier, the one only Ricardo knew.

When the time to enter university came he took the opportunity to study abroad and left Mexico to attend Columbia University, enrolling in their writing program. It took a while to convince his parents that writing could be a serious career path and they were finally swayed, in only by the trust that their son’s work could one day join the rich legacy of Mexican authors that shaped their country’s literature, like Juan Rulfo or Carlos Fuentes did. So even his love for writing began to be measured by more grand expectations.

After graduating he wasn’t ready to go back to his country, so he was quick to look for graduate programs and found a perfect fit in Turing Academy. His grades and extracurriculars gained him acceptance into the prestigious academy right away and Javier left New York for Boston two years ago. He’s enjoyed his time at Turing and has even made a few friends, though he has a way of staying on the surface without others really noticing he’s showing only that one face his brother spoke about, not the true one, because of course, they don’t know that side of him exists at all.

As of late, Javier has been questioning if pursuing writing is something he truly wants for him or if it’s something that he’s only continued doing because of his parents. At least he has been able to keep those doubts at the back of his mind whenever he is inside The Grid. In that virtual reality there are no expectations to meet, not pressure to do or be anything other than what he wants to be. There he feels like he is truly himself. He feels at home.

04. FAMILY

Marco Antonio Silva: Father

Carolina Silva (née Leal): Mother

Ricardo Silva: Younger brother

Natalia Silva: Younger sister 

05. CONNECTIONS

The Leader: Friend

The Hacker: At odds with

The Gregarious: Becoming friends

06. AVATAR

AVATAR’S FACECLAIM: Michael Fassbender (Aguilar de Nerha) SPECIAL SKILLS/POWERS: Intangibility, Enhanced agility & Alchemic combat (he is able to transform matter around him for combat purposes, creating obstacles for his opponents or even weapons for himself). WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS: His intangibility does not work by default, he has to be focused for that skill to work, so if he gets attacked by surprise and is not in his intangible state, he will be harmed. Also, his intangibility is rendered useless when he loses a life, he must have all 3 of his lives to be able to use that skill. His alchemic combat skill is ruled by balance: he can only use the matter that is at his disposal (and it must be solid or liquid, he cannot transform air or sheer energy into solids).

01. BASICS

NAME: Zara Mayfield TITLE: The Escapist DATE OF BIRTH: October 31st, 1993 ( Twenty-four years old ) PLACE OF BIRTH: Manhattan, NY PREFERRED PRONOUNS: She/Her SEXUAL & ROMANTIC ORIENTATION: Pansexual & Panromantic OCCUPATION: Undergraduate student FIELD OF STUDY: Music and Composition

02. PERSONALITY

MBTI: ESTP POSITIVE TRAITS: Independent, Creative, Freethinking & Courageous NEGATIVE TRAITS: Reactive, Impatient, Resentful & Unstable

03. BIOGRAPHY

Zara was born to the Fosters, a family of prestigious government officials who had grown up knowing nothing but wealth and fame. Benjamin, and his father before him and so on, had always held a spot in politics in the state of New York, whether it be governor, mayor or even state representatives. Whatever the role, the Fosters stepped up to the plate and had done so for many, many years. Jasmine, Zara’s mother, came from wealth of her own, being the daughter of well known congressman and previous Boston Mayor, Jefferson Mayfield. The congressman was more than thrilled when his only daughter married Governor Ben Foster, starting a rather large family of her own. Their marriage, the kids, activities they participated in; it was all looked at. Sonya, their first born, was a clever, talented writer with a flair for politics, their only son Heath a baseball champion, their second daughter Zara a skillful musician, and their last child Bethany wanted to help people in any way that she could possibly think of. For a while, it seemed the family was untouchable when it came to scandals or secrets, for they had none. The Fosters were a perfect, wholesome, American family; until they weren’t anymore.

It was hard to be the ‘first’ at anything in a family who had been doing the same thing for so, so long. But Ben managed to be the first to crash and burn under the weight of secrets he, his employees and even his wife had attempted to cover up. As it turned out, the Fosters did have secrets and scandals, and a young thirteen year-old Zara would be the first to discover her parent’s dirty little secret. Walking into her father’s office one Friday afternoon, Zara found her father and his secretary exchanging more than just a few words on top of his desk. Almost immediately, Zara went to her mother, angered by her father’s betrayal and lies, but Jasmine wouldn’t listen. In fact, she yelled at her daughter, telling her she had no idea what she was talking about, and she should forget what she saw. She couldn’t. Instead, she told Sonya, whom she trusted would talk some sense into their mother.

Sonya, angered by her father’s affair, and her mother’s persistence to keep it a secret, leaked the story to the New York Times, the very paper she’d been interning with for a year. Upon leaking the story to the New York Times, an onslaught of women began coming forward, claiming to be other mistresses to Governor Foster. It was like they’d opened a floodgate of secrets that just kept coming, completely burying the Foster family and tarnishing the name the once beloved family had held. Their father not only lost his position as Governor, but he lost his family as well. After the affairs had been outed, Jasmine’s father, Congressman Mayfield, made his daughter divorce Ben, and change her and her children’s last names so they would no longer be associated with such a disgraceful name.

Even with their last name changed people still remembered the faces of the family with one of the biggest scandals New York had seen in a very long time. Though she tried, Zara never could quite forgive either her mother or father for the lies, watching idly by her siblings sides as the two fought over custody and drank their way through hearings. In the end, Ben became a useless alcoholic with no prospects, paying child support every month that he could hardly afford, and Jasmine won the children but not their faith. Sonya became the most bitter, still exceeding at everything she set out to do and gaining a position as a journalist at the New York Times for the very story she leaked about her own family. She even married and had a kid, much to Zara’s dismay. She’d once looked up to her sister for guidance, but found instead her own taste for bitterness and resentment. It grew easier and easier to blame her failures on her mother, her father or even Sonya. Zara remained close only to Heath and Beth, who had always been a little more forgiving and hopeful than the likes of Sonya or herself.

It wasn’t until she was eighteen years old that Zara came across boxes of her father’s things; journals, poetry, trophies, and other belongings from his younger years. Through this box of memorabilia, she realized her father had had other aspirations, other hobbies, and other dreams that didn’t involve politics. Some had even said when she was much younger that she had gotten her rebellious, independent, free spirited nature from her father, who had apparently never wished to be anything more than a musician. In a way, her connection to music kept her close to her father, even if she had blamed him for years. She, out of all the siblings, had always been the most like him. Sleeping around, failing classes, not trying hard enough, drinking, a passion for music… Zara began to fear that she, like her father, would end up living a life she didn’t want to live. This thought only pushed Zara to rebel more and to focus solely on her DJing career rather than attending college or getting a ‘real job’ as her mother liked to put it.

After years and years of sleeping around on friend’s couches, drinking, and getting into one too many fights at bars, Zara’s mother had had enough. Turing Academy was a last resort of sorts, seeing as she’d narrowly flunked out of college and drank her way through life thus far. Pulling some strings with the headmistress, who happened to be an old family friend of the Mayfields, Zara was granted admissions into the academy, upon the condition that she went to drug and alcohol counseling as well as kept at least a 2.0 GPA. She was told it was either this or some mental institution, and so she decided studying music at Turing Academy would be the lesser of two evils. Zara never liked school and while she could easily make friends, she didn’t much like keeping any around and couldn’t offer much moral support or advice when they asked for it. But she did find that for some reason she liked Turing Academy and she liked studying music. Perhaps at first Zara had come here because her mother had told her to, but now she actually didn’t mind it, and rather enjoyed it. Finding out about The Grid from mutual friends of several members already in the little ‘group’ was the first time she felt like it didn’t matter who she was or what her last name was. There wasn’t politics, heavy family expectations, strong consequences or the story of her father’s downfall. In The Grid, she was just Zara, and often, she finds it is the only place she can truly escape and be who she wants to be.

04. FAMILY

Benjamin Foster: Father (estranged)

Jasmine Mayfield: Mother (estranged)

Sonya Stevens (née Mayfield): Older sister (estranged)

Heath Mayfield: Older brother

Bethany Mayfield: Younger sister

04. FAMILY

The Artist: Friend

The Hacker: Becoming friends, live in the same apartment building

The Phoenix: Acquaintance, live in the same apartment building

06. AVATAR

AVATAR’S FACECLAIM: Alycia Debnam-Carey (Commander Lexa) SPECIAL SKILLS/POWERS: Swordsmanship (sword fighting and wielding, main source of fighting, has a sword that was presented with the avatar), Telekinesis (can move objects or people with a flick of the wrist and the mind) & Temporal rewind. WEAKNESSES/LIMITATIONS: When losing a life, Zara’s telekinesis is weakened, and becomes fickle. She can only turn back time once every time she enters The Grid and must have all of her lives intact, otherwise she can’t use that skill. She can rewind no more than three minutes.