History.
He didn't remember a lot. The move; the migration to Derse, it passed as a blur. He cried, he thought. He remembered crying. He didn't remember why, though, and that always felt wrong. Like he'd forgotten something important, as if a significant piece of his life had been lost to the void. He hated that.

His carapace guardian was maternal, at least. A rather well-to-do owner of a liquor store, she didn't have much of a need for the monthly stipend, spending the extra cash on food and clothing for her young charge. He remembered that. He remembered it through the haze of withdrawal he'd gone through, going through the earlier part of his life in a sort of shocked state. He didn't react to most things, and introversion eventually became the norm. His guardian gave up eventually, leaving the odd, quiet troll to his own devices during the day. Leaving him alone.

He didn't interact with other trolls. Deep down, he knew he should; that these were the critical sweeps of his life, where he'd form alliances and rivalries that would last until his dying day. He just couldn't do it. Others became a mystery to him. Companionship turned into a foreign concept. Others just didn't make sense. There was no uniformity. Interactions changed by the person, by the minute, by the situation. Not like machines. No, with a machine, it was simple. A cog pushes a gear, winding a spring, freeing a hammer, hitting a pin; it was the same each time, every time. Easy to fix. Simple to understand. Uniform.

His natural prowess with machines and the inner workings of mechanisms attracted the attention of the Derse military. He was offered a career as a military engineer at an early age. The only other option available at the time was an apprenticeship at a clock makers, and he rejected the idea of a work area requiring interaction with customers. He accepted the offer and immediately became property of the Fifth Dersite Mechanized Division. He began training.

It was a bizarre experience. He excelled in Military History, and soon furthered his studies on his own, scrounging as much knowledge of the past as he could. He learned of the hemospectrum and clung to the idea, in no small part due to his already high-hued blood. The structure of military life appealed to him. Things were uniform, pristine. There was an order to be followed, a chain of command to be respected. Degrees of freedom were removed and variables were eliminated. Interactions were simplified. It was bliss.

He was eventually assigned to an engineers workshop at the military base. It was a dusty, dirty room with a scent of oil and metal that scorched ones sinuses, filled with junk and scraps, the only window overlooking the local graveyard. He loved it. It was quiet; it was solitude. Work orders were slipped in through the door and projects were lifted in through the loading bay. He completed requisitions with speed and precision, his projects ranging from the cafeteria stove to Tempest-Class War Blimps. Seated at his work bench, he would gaze out the window on slow days, watching the world outside churn and try to decipher a pattern in the madness. Then he saw her.

A young, ram-headed girl, perusing the tombstones as if at the supermarket. A rust-blood, he came to learn. The lowest peg on the ladder, filth, worthless, peasant garbage. She was gorgeous. He couldn't help but watch, though try as he might. Despite his social ineptitude, he knew it always made everyone uncomfortable whenever he would just stand there. And watch. Luckily she never noticed her admirer from afar. Not that it mattered anyways; their love could never be, history told him. Their blood colors did not mix, nor did his lack of social prowess permit him to woe this siren in the manner she so richly deserved. So, she never learned of her stalker, watching from the window high above. And he was content to leave it that way, to leave her his Machiavellian love.

Nepeta Leijon.

He didn't quite know how to react to her, at first. She'd boldly strolled up to him out of the blue one day, proclaiming their friendship. He'd turned her down, of course. He didn't want anything to do with the quirky little troll, one who talked as though she couldn't stop, who always looked so at ease with others. She grated. She irritated. She persisted. Little by little he conceded ground, finding it easier to let her follow him than to fight her every intrusion into his life. He wouldn't be able to point to the exact moment they became moirails. It was a gradual change, and if he were to be honest with himself it was not one he disapproved of.

Dirk Strider.

Unbeknownst to him, the Queens pet had expressed an interest in mechanics. He was put through the Engineers Academy, skating through with relative ease. His first work order, an upgrade of the antiqued Dersite flying machines, was to be a collaborative effort between him and the highest skilled engineer at the workshop. Equius did not approve.

He did his utmost to minimize interaction with the Prince, overly aware of how much higher he ranked above him. The Prince did less so, needling him with questions about the various mechanisms and techniques Equius used. He begrudgingly answered each question, eyes lowered and head bowed, doing his best to reply in as few words as possible. Eventually the questions became less and less work-centric, concerning his interests and the side projects he was involved in. He didn't catch himself contributing to the conversation until it was too late; he had stopped working, lounging against the decrepit machinery, speaking starry-eyed of the girl he watched from his window every day. He was mortified.

Flailing, he steered the conversation away, delving into politics and the hemospectrum, topics he was sure the Prince would have opinions about. He was right, and to his surprise they had a remarkably intelligent conversation about equality. By the time the work order was finished, he'd once again made a friend.

Then the coup d'état happened.

He remembered that night, when Dirk had come pounding on his door, his eyes wide behind his pointy shades. He'd let him in without hesitation. The situation was explained, and against his better judgement Equius allowed him to stay the night. He watched from the window as the kingdom tore itself apart. The castle burned. They couldn't stay there.

He hid the Prince beneath his guardians liquor store, stowing him in the basement as the new Queen scoured the kingdom for the missing noble. Unable to visit regularly lest he draw attention, he returned to his normal life at the workshop, once again rejoining the uniformity of his every day life.

It was nightmarish.

-----

Currently, Equius supports Dirk. He disagrees that outright rebellion is the best way to reestablish the throne, but recognizes Dirks cause. He will follow Dirk to the ends of the earth.

Appearance.
Equius is somewhat taller than the average human, 6' 5" or so and more sinewy than muscular. He doesn't make much of an effort to groom himself, and is often streaked with grease and dirt. He doesn't find a lot of time to cut his hair, keeping it roughly chopped to shoulder length and in a pony (ha) tail when he's working since getting your hair caught in a gear assembly hurts. His hands, fingertips, and forearms are often nicked, burned or bruised, since he can be a tad careless when working with dangerous machinery. To be perfectly honest, he's lucky he hasn't lost a finger at this point.

He will avoid interaction with people he doesn't know, but is fiercely loyal to the few friends he does have. He will avoid eye contact when talking, especially if you are higher ranking than him (blood or caste). He has a healthy respect for authority, making his relationship with Dirk rather awkward, especially since Dirk is technically no longer considered authority.

Role Play Sample.
Equius flipped the lid on his visor, the last remaining weld fading from red to gray. The sparks that had landed on his horse leather apron had long since cooled, though the scent of ozone still lingered. He ran a bare thumb along the welded line, checking for imperfections. He ignored the barest sting of the heated metal, focused on his handiwork. Nodding carefully, he turned to the Prince, similarly adorned.

"My lord, I do believe we are complete." He stood, ducking under a turbine as he returned the arc welder to the tool bench. "This machine is repaired one hundred percent."

"Great. Thought we'd never get done." The Prince shed his gloves, rubbing his bare hands together for the first time in hours. "I'm starving. You eaten yet?"

"Yes, my lord." They stood there awkwardly a moment longer, the invitation sailing over his head. Dirk nodded, lingering. "Well...alright then."

Equius watched him step from the workshop, leaving his apron and tool belt behind. The silence of the room pressed in on him, held at bay only by the gentle sound of his shallow breathing. Slowly, he walked over to his work bench, retrieving his journal. He cracked the notebook open and turned to the current date, glancing out the window to see if that mysterious girl had returned to the grave yard. No luck.

He sat, fishing out lead-stick to write with.

I made a friend today.

He glanced once again, more from habit than any thing else. He scratched at an unfinished doodle of a horse in the corner, the markings fresh on the page.

I wonder if he likes hoof-beasts.

OOC
Uh, hey. I'm kinda new to the rp scene, but it's a lot of fun! I hope this is okay, I based most of the history with Dirk and Nepeta off of what they've already wrote. On other stuff, my username is evictedSaint. I'm a college student, 20 years old, and male. I'm studying to be an engineer, and I enjoy writing and art as a hobby. So...yeah. If I'm being noob-ish, please let me know.

Welcome, it's so great to have you! I really loved your writing, oh my god. I think you captured Equius perfectly!

I'd love to see your art sometime! We have a few threads for art up right now
I hope your sheet gets in, can't wait to rp ;D

Oh my we finally have an Equius! Your portrayed him amazingly! I am just stunned.

Welcome aboard!

I'll have to agree with Aradia and Dove, I love the way you portrayed Equius. I so enjoyed reading your sheet.

I hope we can roleplay together soon!

Character sheet accepted! Have fun.

Oh your Equius was brilliant! You got him down brilliantly, and I can't WAIT to see him in action and rp with you!

And congrats on being accepted, it's a good day for us newbies, right?

Oh wow, you did such a good job at capturing Equius's personality! I absolutely love your headcanon!

Welcome on the forum and have fun!

Oh my god I'm so happy you gave Equius some depth and strayed a little from the usual "creepy stalker" thing. Your character sheet is incredible! Welcome on the forum, mr. Zahhak.

Wow. You're an excellent writer. I loved how your headcanon was so...gripping and entertaining. I'm glad we finally have an Equius!

To be quite frank I am flabbergasted.

I am ecstatic to have such a creative roleplayer as our Equius! Your idea of his personality is greatly refreshing and I'm so glad you steered away from the "creepy" idea. I hope we can have a fantastic time roleplaying! :33

Hello, Equius. Welcome to the Skaian Wars.

That said, this was a refreshingly beautiful take on your character. His past is well written, not dry at all, and I love how fluidly you write.

I look forward to RPing with you!

-MN

Just got around to reading the whole thing.

That's a surprisingly realistic and insightful re-imagining of a character I considered to be uninteresting and two dimensional. Well written too. Very nice job.

Quote :

I made a friend today.

He glanced once again, more from habit than any thing else. He scratched at an unfinished doodle of a horse in the corner, the markings fresh on the page.

I wonder if he likes hoof-beasts.

I'm crying, help! XD That was the literally the perfect ending to this.

You did a fabulous job on this! I really love how you fleshed out a history to explain just why and how Equius acts, especially so in regards to his introversion. You've made him just so endearingly awkward and it's wonderful~! I love the way your writing flows and really gives such insight into the character!

Looking forward to seeing you around!