Character Workshop - Nox
First up The Innocent.
Where are they coming from?
I'm thinking they'd hail from the late 70s, 80s. Grew up in the immediate aftermath of WWIII, perhaps some overlap, definitely before New Atlantis became a thing. That way they can really be innocent of the why and what of New Atlantis, reliant on the other PCs. They can remember some of the really, really fresh wounds without necessarily coming directly from a war zone, and view New Atlantis with wonder, a utopia to protect.
Runaway train of thought: I say that but then think: Oooh, hey, maybe they're from somewhere like New Los Angeles post-California being focibly attached by the WUC or the Dark Between Stars? Maybe they were part of a small burgeoning group of teen superheroes, and it had a Legacy character? And the Legacy's dad stopped the Long Valley Caldera supervolcano from being transformed into a weapon at the expense of his own life? But that was when they were little, before they came together as a team. Maybe it was a WUC-plot?
Back to the Innocent. I'm imagining one parent was a reporter in the old comic book heroic tradition of reporter: totally mundane, but striking into the heart of danger to get the story. The other parent, perhaps a judge or lawyer. All-American as a surge of NeoMcCarthyism swept across the nation, and Judge!Parent took part in that suspicious/close atmosphere, and maybe witnessing some of that is what caused the very idealistic Innocent to step up and try to be a free superhero, one that wasn't controlled by a government that seemed quite frankly kind of shadowy.
How did they get to New Atlantis, 2001?
A heroic accident. Maybe they were doing some teen superheroics with their team or their superhero partner. Maybe in the past they would've been "the Protege" and their mentor. Could tie into interesting things in the present day if what sent them to the future/present was a bit of Cylien tech, or even... Ooh, maybe some new supers have been disappearing. Innocent and friends wind up stumbling on the facility these supers are being kept in. Whoever's keeping them is definitely doing not-great things, trying to step up their control.
Something goes wrong during the rescue. The superteam is caught. Or the Innocent slips, after saving one of the victims. Said victim does something with their power, or a bit of tech, and sends the Innocent into the future. Maybe it's not quite so comedy of errors accident. Maybe somebody they're rescuing gets hurt really bad and gives the Innocent a Cool Item to protect/hide. Then they recklessly jump through a spell or the Delinquent of their time jerryrigs a teleporter and instead of just space they also get moved through time. Of course the teleporter is destroyed by the one use. Lots of refinement/things to think about. I do like the idea of keeping something safe, something that might be plot relevant or tie into another PC or something. I also like the idea of the Innocent being in their future because of recklessness. Maybe one of their teammates was supposed to take the thing, and the Innocent decided to save them by doing it instead?
Who is the Innocent?
An optimist and a wide-eyed idealist who tries not to be wide-eyed but the future is cool, New Atlantis is keen, etc. They try not to wear their heart too obviously on their sleeve and they try not to let impulse get the better of them, but they struggle with that. They are extremely pro-evidence and anti-censorship. The innocent is a bundle of energetic curiosity. They really believe that there's an answer to any problem and that people will come around, if given the chance. There's always a way! It can be a fun way!
Who is the Innocent's Future Self?
Open to ... suggestions, here. But my vague idea is...
Today's Self is a hero. Nobody'd (dare) say they weren't. They've got a reputation for ruthlessness: for being autocratic, manipulative, untrusting, untouchable, aloof, reserved. They're a very pragmatic hero and people are scared of what they might do. Very into censorship and hush, very Good but in that way that's kinda bad. Today's Self has had a lot of bad stuff happen and they've come out of it ready to do Tarnished if not outright Black things in the service of humanity/good. Old ideals have definitely been compromised in order to have political power which they can use to achieve their current goals. And who is the Innocent's Present Day self in New Atlantis since they didn't grow up there?
I'm actually maybe imagining a superhero who might represent American (or other Western country, or New Califa or New Pacifica or New Union of American States or something) interests on New Atlantis. Their goal is to make sure New Atlantis stays neutral/isn't a threat to the rest of the world (yeah yeah, they say they want to be a neutral island where superheroes can operate from free of nation state control but is that actually true? And if it is, is it actually good?).
What powers?
I'm still thinking. Something that's telepathy-y/mind control-y might fit both present and potential-future self.
Next up, the Doomed! But any thoughts on the Innocent-so-far, lay them on me.