Worm Wiki
Register
Advertisement

Charley Cothran, known publicly as Auroch, is a member of the Anchorage Wards.

Personality[]

Charley is friendly, assertive, and was reasonably confident before her psychotic break. She responds well to authority and interacts well with people in positions above or below her, cape or civilian. She has issues in school work, not giving it the attention it might deserve unless it is a major assignment or final exam.[2][3] When she was removed from her leadership position in the wards she suffered a massive blow to her confidence and self assurance but seems to have recovered.[4]

Claims to be a music nerd with a liking of loud music, the type that makes bone's rattle.[5] She has recognized leadership abilities, and has a inspiring presence.[6][7]

Like other Los Angelous wards she likely had to deal with a competitive academic environment.

Relationships[]

Parents[]

She had a good relationship with her father before he died, he taught her to believe in the ideals of the Protectorate.[8][9]

Director Knox[]

Her former director in the Los Angeles protectorate department. Knox went out of her way to make sure Charley had a full mental recovery before transferring her to Anchorage.[10]

Appearance[]

Charley stands 5’11” with an above average build of 165 pounds, wears her brown hair short.[1]

As Auroch she wears a white costume and armor with a stylized bull's helmet.[11] Her costume has gone through several re-branding and redesign attempts but nothing has been satisfactory yet.

Abilities and Powers[]

Good grasp of leadership[12] as well as tactics.

Charley is capable of generating a inertia manipulating field around her that has a controlled series of effects. One permutation dampens inertia, protecting and slowing things in the area, another accelerates them to prompt faster, less controlled movement. She can affect herself independently of this general effect, with some benefits of a dampening effect to protect her alongside the benefits of an acceleration to give her speed. She can be selective in its application.[13]

Aura effect manipulates inertia in radius around herself, with positive bias for herself.[14] She was able to slow down Tanya who was rated as a Brute.

Auroch's field disrupts energy and machinery, which tends to fail or work intermittently within her field.[8] Its use visibly distorts light around it.[15] Charley is a second generation cape with her powers being derived from her fathers.

History[]

Background[]

Formerly a resident of Los Angeles with her father, until he died defending Brockton Bay. She then moved in with her mother and mother's boyfriend.

The result of this tragedy caused her confidence and judgement to rapidly degrade,[16] eventually necessitating her removal as team leader.[17]

After her recovery it was decided that she was a important enough asset to be given a second chance and was reassigned to Anchorage PRT Department.[7]

There is speculation it is related to her Agent.[10]

Trivia[]

  • The Auroch is a bovine mega-fauna from which all modern cattle descend.

References[]

  1. 1.0 1.1 ◈ AUROCH; Charley Cothran


    Classification: Brute 2, Shaker 3, Striker 2, Mover 2.
    Inertial alteration effect in an area, somewhat selective, inverse effect for self. Disrupts energy.

    Disposition: Wards
    Location: DEPT 64 (Anchorage) as of 1-1, 2012, prev. DEPT 2 (Los Angeles)
    Age: 18 Status: Part-time, grade 12 student.
    Height: 5’11” Weight: 165 lbs.
    Class S Option: YES
    Appearance: Short brown hair, above average height and build for a young woman. - PRT Files document 15-16
  2. Personality:
    Auroch is friendly, assertive, and was reasonably confident before her psychotic break. She responds well to authority and interacts well with people in positions above or below her, cape or civilian. She consistently underperforms in her day to day in school but does well on final examinations and major assignments. She has a good relationship with her parents. - PRT Files document 15-16
    • Auroch – Ward. Daughter of Chubster, who died in the Leviathan attack. Harbored some trauma from the loss, but put on a brave face to be leader of the Anchorage Wards. Had inertia reduction/amplification that was linked to damage reduction/amplification, respectively, affecting others within a bubble around her. Could also affect herself independently of that bubble. - FAQ PRT Quest
  3. Director Knox, Note:
    Removing Auroch from her leadership position was a mistake. Her confidence was already shaken, and she’s not doing well without this pillar and position in her life. I worry about the effects, but I’ve relieved her from the team entirely, until she’s completed more psych sessions and taken a vacation. I’m hoping she takes the time to tend to her civilian life and family. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p98
  4. “I’m a high school student,” Auroch says. “I go out with friends after school. I’m a big music nerd. I-”

    “Nerd?”

    “I like music a lot. Too much, maybe. Whenever I have the free time, I try to go to concerts. Big events, lots of people dancing, music so loud you can feel it in your bones.” - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p67
  5. Director Knox, Final Note:
    Auroch and psychologists have a consensus that she’s ready to work, now, but has requested transfer. We hope she’ll find a good position elsewhere, her leadership talents and exemplary work deserve all the best. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p98
  6. 7.0 7.1 General:
    A second generation cape, Auroch was briefly a member of the Los Angeles team before the attacks in 2011 saw her father and many of her old and new teammates die. She continued her work until a sudden, unprovoked nervous breakdown. The NY office surveyed the case and decided that her leadership abilities and her defensive powers were too great an asset to give up, electing to move her to Anchorage. Thus far she has continued to show her recommended leadership abilities, and was instrumental in inviting a damaged individual to custody.

    Auroch rates well but not exceptionally in her public appearances, despite a few rebranding attempts and costume redesigns. This may be due to a lack of commanding demeanor the public has come to expect from team leaders. Nonetheless, she inspires loyalty from Wards under her, and is capable at tactically applying them, proving better than most. In the field she is a devastating and dramatic force.

    While she recuperates, Auroch will remain on the Wards team past the age of eighteen, pending reviews. As far as the public is concerned, she is still under eighteen. - PRT Files document 15-16
  7. 8.0 8.1 PRT Files
  8. “Who is the fat man?”

    “My dad.”

    “Oh. Sorry, for my calling-”

    “It’s fine. He was fat.”

    “Why am I looking at this?”

    “Keep going. You might have to go a bit. Photo… sixty or so.”

    “Oh. He is a hero?”

    “He was. He’s dead.”

    “Oh.”

    [...]

    “If they were going to force you to join? I’d never stay. I’d never let them mess up my memory of my dad, okay? I couldn’t do that. I believe in what I’m doing.”

    “Yes. And you believe I should be joining the American heroes?”

    “No. I think you should do what works best for you, and maybe that means you don’t. Maybe it means you do, because that helps you avoid jail or time in the hospital, it gives you a job and a lot of help at a time you need that help.”

    [...]

    “Can I ask? His name?”

    “Ben. He was Ben. As a superhero, he went by Chubster.”

    “Chubster?”

    “It means fat. A funny sort of fat. He was that sort of guy. To poke fun at himself. And he chose the name because he was frustrated all the good names were already taken.” - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p67
  9. 10.0 10.1 Director Knox, Note:
    My hopes for Auroch’s condition were raised considerably with my periodic visits with her over these past few months, only to be dashed. She had an outburst with no apparent cause, shouting, directing physical violence at inanimate objects, used her power in public (thankfully unobserved, as far as we can tell), and was almost entirely dissociated from reality when we approached her. I fear this is a long-delayed reaction to the death of her father and several of her friends. Our in-house psychologist expressed interest in studying her mental state, something about an agent interjection, parahuman inability to remain on standby, all garbage. His attitude about Auroch herself was cold and uncaring, all things considered. To say I’m displeased would be stating it lightly; he’s been fired and I intend to ensure he doesn’t find further employment anywhere near the PRT. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p98
  10. "The Director said enough," the taller girl beside him says. She's of a comparable height with most of the adults, dressed in white body armor with a few scant amounts of dark blue where fabric shows around joints. Her helmet is off, on the table in front of her, sporting wickedly stylized bull's horns, but she's wearing a simple mask to protect her identity all the same. Auroch. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p8
  11. "I'm just saying-"

    "The director said enough," she cuts him off. "You're being juvenile. Look around you. Dozens of adults who've worked hard to be here, and you're wasting their time."

    "If they worked hard to be here, in this frozen sh-">br>
    But Auroch is already standing up. She stands at a height equal to many of the adult men, yourself included. She takes him by the arm and lifts him out of the chair. "Come on. Go for a walk."

    "I was ordered to be here, actually."

    "If there's something Director Seneca wants you to know, I'll pass it on. If you're going to be a child, you don't get to sit at the table with the big boys. If that's alright with you, Director?"

    You offer a single nod by way of response.

    "What am I supposed to do? Hardly a good use of one of your new-"

    She shuts the door in his face.

    For a moment, you expect him to open the door and stride back into the room. When he doesn't, you let yourself relax a touch. You aren't the only one.

    "My apologies, Director," Auroch says. "He's mine to look after, and I should have put an end to that sooner."

    Whether it was intentional or not, and you have reason to suspect it was, she had deftly and calmly taken the fault of that little episode onto herself, sparing you any hit to your reputation and standing.

    "Not at all. Thank you, Auroch," you say. You add, "I think he may be a bit of a challenge to all of us."

    There are one or two quiet chuckles from around the room.

    Auroch retakes her seat.

    "My bad," Roulette murmurs to her teammate.

    Auroch shakes her head, reaching over to pat the younger girl on the shoulder. Idly, she spins her helmet around so it faces her. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p8
  12. Powers:
    Auroch generates an effect around her that either dampens inertia, protecting and slowing things in the area, or accelerating them to prompt faster, less controlled movement. Can affect herself independently of the general effect, with some benefits of a dampening effect alongside the benefits of acceleration, justifying her Brute, Striker and Mover classifications. Machinery tends to fail or work intermittently within the field. - PRT Files document 15-16
  13. Charley Cothran Auroch Aura effect manipulates inertia in radius around herself, with positive bias for herself. Wards Brute 2 Shaker 3 Striker 2 Mover 2 - parahumanList, bolded edit by Wildbow.
  14. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p79
  15. Director Knox, Note:
    Auroch appears withdrawn, and alternates recklessly between shunning her duties entirely and throwing herself into them. She is clearly attempting to find a means of coping, but more troubling is her rejection of outside aid. Her confidence is failing her, and her ability to lead has been clearly compromised, as she is accepting advice and counsel from teammates who are not qualified to give it. I’ve had a discussion with her, and I’ve mandated psychological counseling.- Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p98
  16. Director Knox, Note:
    Auroch’s grades are slipping, necessitating that I send staff to the school, and oversight is starting to take note. Psych sessions are not helping as much as I hoped. We had an incident with a patrol, where Auroch second guessed her initial orders and agreed to move forward with an aggressive play as Flambé was arguing for. To say this is an error in judgement is putting it lightly; Flambé’s reckless tendencies and peculiar mental state are so well known that even the nine year old on our team would ignore his advice. Nobody was hurt, but I’ve suspended Auroch from her position as leader of the second LA Wards’ team. - Department Sixty Four, PRT Quest thread i p98

Site Navigation[]

The Wards
Anchorage AurochFeintRouletteVellum
Austin Hoyden
Baltimore Houndstooth • Avenguard • Avian • Stungun • Keychain • Blush • 10-59 • Pigeonhole • Optics 
Boston HunchReynardRoulette Weld 
Brockton Bay Aegis BatteryBrowbeat ChariotClockblocker CrucibleFlechette Gallant Glory Girl Kid Win Shadow Stalker ToggleTriumphVistaWeld
Chicago AnnexBearachCuffGarnettGolemGraceRaymancer RompTectonWantonWeaver 
Houston Gentle Giant ChroniclerYoung Buck
Los Angeles ArbiterAuroch • Flambé • LeisterVantage
New York Flechette Jouster • Shelter
Raleigh Cask 
San Diego Gully Scapegoat
San Francisco Trapper 
Texas Chronicler • Intrepid • Strapping Lad • Young Buck
Unknown Location Eviction • Fisherboy • Greenhorn • Hype • Sunflower
Inaugural Wards Team Chevalier Miss Militia Mouse Protector Reed 
PRT Department #02: Los Angeles
Director Knox
Leaders AlexandriaRime
Members ArbiterUsher
Team Captain VantageAuroch
Members ArbiterFlambéLeister
PRT Department #64: Anchorage
Director Dan Seneca
Staff Walsh (Deputy Director) • Cpt. McKay (PRT Tactical & Operations) • Wedge (PR and Liaison) • Harrigan (Accounting) • Dr. Rowland (Testing, Research, Analysis) • Ingram (Informations) • John Saito (Headquarters)
PRT Squad One Lt. Leatham (Squad Leader) • Sq. Crigler (Foam) • Sq. Beebe • Sq. Gilliam • Sq. Young
PRT Squad Two Lt. Burns (Squad Leader) • Sq. Holquin (Foam) • Sq. Anderson • Sq. Armstrong • Sq. Rollins
Leader Horizon
Members CaskLightslingerRailSnaptrap
Team Captains Auroch
Members FeintRouletteVellum
Advertisement