Okay, so I know this is supposed to be the Month of the Squad, but...meh. Instead, let's meet the brothers I just created last night (because of my horrible, no good idea that has now spawned a fic from my awesome friend and is making me eager to write the second book).
Name: Garret Dalton
Codename: Ranger
Power: ability to shapeshift into a black Irish Wolfhound
Team Affiliation: the Alliance (when Medic's in charge, so 3rd gen Alliance)
Name: Lane Dalton
Codename: --none--
Power: sound manipulation
Team Affiliation: Alpha Corps
Side note on the team that Lane's apart of: The Alpha Corps don't stay on Earth. They're actually more space/dimension focused. They patrol/protect the area that leads to other dimensions and worlds and makes sure that no one from the other worlds gets through and no one from this world gets through to the other worlds/dimensions. Consider the team as something like Heimdallr who protects to Bifrost/Rainbow Bridge in Norse mythology. None of the Alpha Corps have codenames because, honestly, they are not people you want to mess with. They're like, ultimate people. Lots of power, trained hard-core, and almost never get down time. So, Lane's not often on-planet, but he hangs out with his brother when he is.
Garret is the older brother by five years. He's got black eyes and black hair, is slightly shaggy, and is tall (6'7). By comparison, Lane's got hazel (gold-green) eyes and light brown hair, and is 6'5. Sometimes he gets called "Garret Light" but. Okay, so I just made that up right now and it amuses me and it fits them.
Garret is really not one of the hero set. He's not overly fond of risking himself if he doesn't have to. He leaves that to his crazy younger brother. In fact, he's so anti-out there that he's a librarian. He works with old and rare books and writes a couple of papers every now and then on the books he deals with (research about those books). This is awesome because where he lives (Chryse Floating City - water) is the educational hub of the new world. There are tons upon tons of libraries and academic resources. He has a soft spot for animals and volunteers at the shelters when he can. He usually stays with the abused animals because he can be pretty soothing and makes them feel safe and protected. He keeps to himself, not really interested in dealing with the hassle of a high-maintenance partner, but is a perfect gentleman. He likes manners and etiquette and believes in treating a person right. Of course, he does have a temper (all Daltons have tempers...) but he's slow to burn and quick to cool off.
Of course, the one woman he is interested in...well. He turns into his dog form, stalks her, and gets adopted as a stray into her family. So he does have a slightly creeper-ish thing going. Of course, it works out for him in the end.
LANE. Lane, Lane, Lane. I like him. He can manipulate sound, which is slightly more complex than it sounds. He can pitch his voice at different levels to get someone to do what he wants and he can manipulate general atmospheric sound waves and make them physical and make it hurt. As I said, he's rarely on Earth because he's off being powerful and getting into fights with people. Lane's temper, unlike his brother, is slow to burn but very hard to cool off. He usually stays with Garret if he's planet-side, or he stays with his...person (I have no idea if this boy is straight, gay, bi, or likes goats) if they both have shore-leave at the same time, since they are both in the Alpha Corps. Lane likes classical or techno music, because both produce enough sound waves without voices that he can actually use them. That and he finds classical music relaxing. He enjoys tormenting his brother, which he doesn't get to do nearly enough. They're a pretty close little family, all things told, they just don't get to see each other all that often.
These guys will mostly show up in Book 2, and whatever random fic bits I write in-between working on the novel. Because whens tuck, ficbits are the best things to write in the world.
Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Navel gazing and Torch Passing
So I'm feeling a little chatty today and figured I'd actually be all thoughtful right now. Mostly this issue-thing has been banging around in my head a little bit, and it's been amplified a couple thousand times by the whole DC Comics issue with women and gender and LGBTQIA issues. As a kid, I grew up on Sword & Sorcery books, novels that prominently featured women as the heroes. Tamora Pierce, Mercedes Lackey, Sherwood Smith, Meg Cabot, the list goes on. I was rather attached to them and took comfort in the books during middle and high school when life was the worst. Now that I'm my own writer, I feel a little guilty that my main characters are both men.
I love strong female characters more than anything else in the world. I'm devouring paranormal mystery-romance novels where the woman is utterly in charge left, right, and center. But then, when it comes to my comics, I'm mostly reading male books. Oh, sure, I read Birds of Prey and adore Babs, Dinah, Helena, and Zinda, but I usually read them after I read the books that have Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in them. A lot of this is probably because I've got some messed up gender issues (I've got a pretty fluid gender thing going on, where I'm more one gender than the other depending on the cycles of...whatever is going on at that moment) and my choices in reading reflect this. As does my dress/attire and general attitude. It's interesting. You have to know me for a while to notice it, I think.
I love strong characters in general. I love women who take charge, leaving the men to scramble to keep up, but I also like the men who are flawed and struggle with things. Or are just assholes. Which is probably why I like the Batfamily so much. Yes, even Dick is an outrageous asshole sometimes. Which is why I love him the most. I have to say I was never a massive Wonder Woman fan. I actually really dislike most of the Wonder family. I like Supergirl (what little I've read of her), adore all the ladies in the Bat books, adore Jesse Quick and the other ladies that pop up in books where I follow my Titans (Jade, Grace, Anissa from Outsiders v3, most of the ladies from Titans v1) and I follow them into other books. Rose Wilson is one of my favorite women because she's the daughter of Deathstroke. She frakking ripped out of her own eye to be like Daddy and then turned on him and made something of herself. Don't get me started on the women of the Marvel U. They are fantastic and kick so much goddamn ass it's awesome (Rogue, Kate Bishop, Ms Marvel, She-Hulk, Scarlet Witch~).
All that aside, I write male characters the most. Maybe it's my multiple years in fandoms (where I almost never wrote women) or the fact that my gender identity is so fluid that I write whatever I feel comfortable with. Knowing this doesn't make me feel any less like I'm letting down the authors of my childhood. I want little girls/young women to read my books and be able to take away a sense of strength and empowerment from them. Okay, yes. Most of the women in my world are leading the charge and are kicking massive ass and being the best at what they do, but two of my three mains are male. Dean, though, I guess could count either way. He's ... Lady, my boy is a mess. Medic is definitely male, and Lea is hell on two feet (if you get on her bad side). But it still feels like I'm dealing a disservice to everything.
What I will say, though, is that my books challenge a lot of things. Dean and Medic are absolutely gay for each other. Head-over-heels in love (...75% of the time). They will, no matter what, do whatever they can to protect and support the other. I have superheroes that are blind, disabled, asexual, bisexual, celibate, transsexual, gay, lesbian... I challenge gender roles by putting the women completely in charge and having them be the ones that make the calls. That also means they screw up spectacularly, just like their male counterparts, but it's still there. I loved books where women kicked ass, but not all of them could give the full, rounded, representation of people that are out there. It is an honest worry of mine that people will look at me sideways and go "You just made character xyz that just so you could have them in the book and say you had that kind of character your book." And I'm trying, honestly, to give each of those type of characters at least ONE short story. Some characters will get more than others, but I want so desperately to pass the torch, in a sense.
Maybe I'm being stupid, or overreaching, but these things are important to me. When I was in middle school and high school we didn't have Glee or Lady Gaga telling us that it was okay to be ourselves. Certainly not in the mainstream. Sure, everyone would say that it was okay to be different and unique, but it was also the quickest way to get picked on and to have your life made a living hell. I care. A lot. I only hope that someone else can believe in my gay superheroes where the women outnumber the men and kick ass and where equality is the Golden Rule, above all else, no matter what. It's the sheep that get punished, in a way, because they can't accept themselves or their beauty, and all they want is to destroy the fact that no one is conforming to anything and that everyone is just absolutely, unapologetically, themselves.
I love strong female characters more than anything else in the world. I'm devouring paranormal mystery-romance novels where the woman is utterly in charge left, right, and center. But then, when it comes to my comics, I'm mostly reading male books. Oh, sure, I read Birds of Prey and adore Babs, Dinah, Helena, and Zinda, but I usually read them after I read the books that have Dick Grayson and Damian Wayne in them. A lot of this is probably because I've got some messed up gender issues (I've got a pretty fluid gender thing going on, where I'm more one gender than the other depending on the cycles of...whatever is going on at that moment) and my choices in reading reflect this. As does my dress/attire and general attitude. It's interesting. You have to know me for a while to notice it, I think.
I love strong characters in general. I love women who take charge, leaving the men to scramble to keep up, but I also like the men who are flawed and struggle with things. Or are just assholes. Which is probably why I like the Batfamily so much. Yes, even Dick is an outrageous asshole sometimes. Which is why I love him the most. I have to say I was never a massive Wonder Woman fan. I actually really dislike most of the Wonder family. I like Supergirl (what little I've read of her), adore all the ladies in the Bat books, adore Jesse Quick and the other ladies that pop up in books where I follow my Titans (Jade, Grace, Anissa from Outsiders v3, most of the ladies from Titans v1) and I follow them into other books. Rose Wilson is one of my favorite women because she's the daughter of Deathstroke. She frakking ripped out of her own eye to be like Daddy and then turned on him and made something of herself. Don't get me started on the women of the Marvel U. They are fantastic and kick so much goddamn ass it's awesome (Rogue, Kate Bishop, Ms Marvel, She-Hulk, Scarlet Witch~).
All that aside, I write male characters the most. Maybe it's my multiple years in fandoms (where I almost never wrote women) or the fact that my gender identity is so fluid that I write whatever I feel comfortable with. Knowing this doesn't make me feel any less like I'm letting down the authors of my childhood. I want little girls/young women to read my books and be able to take away a sense of strength and empowerment from them. Okay, yes. Most of the women in my world are leading the charge and are kicking massive ass and being the best at what they do, but two of my three mains are male. Dean, though, I guess could count either way. He's ... Lady, my boy is a mess. Medic is definitely male, and Lea is hell on two feet (if you get on her bad side). But it still feels like I'm dealing a disservice to everything.
What I will say, though, is that my books challenge a lot of things. Dean and Medic are absolutely gay for each other. Head-over-heels in love (...75% of the time). They will, no matter what, do whatever they can to protect and support the other. I have superheroes that are blind, disabled, asexual, bisexual, celibate, transsexual, gay, lesbian... I challenge gender roles by putting the women completely in charge and having them be the ones that make the calls. That also means they screw up spectacularly, just like their male counterparts, but it's still there. I loved books where women kicked ass, but not all of them could give the full, rounded, representation of people that are out there. It is an honest worry of mine that people will look at me sideways and go "You just made character xyz that just so you could have them in the book and say you had that kind of character your book." And I'm trying, honestly, to give each of those type of characters at least ONE short story. Some characters will get more than others, but I want so desperately to pass the torch, in a sense.
Maybe I'm being stupid, or overreaching, but these things are important to me. When I was in middle school and high school we didn't have Glee or Lady Gaga telling us that it was okay to be ourselves. Certainly not in the mainstream. Sure, everyone would say that it was okay to be different and unique, but it was also the quickest way to get picked on and to have your life made a living hell. I care. A lot. I only hope that someone else can believe in my gay superheroes where the women outnumber the men and kick ass and where equality is the Golden Rule, above all else, no matter what. It's the sheep that get punished, in a way, because they can't accept themselves or their beauty, and all they want is to destroy the fact that no one is conforming to anything and that everyone is just absolutely, unapologetically, themselves.
HAH!
I have a ton of bad ideas for this novel series. I really, really do. Like, the full extent of my bad ideas are not even comprehensible.The funny thing is that I’ll bounce them off my main cheerleader/current reader and she’ll either trash them or, more often, she’ll encourage me.
And now that I’ve incorporated one specific idea into the story and into a particular character’s love life, my darling friend is cackling and saying I just made perfect fic-bait. That all the growling and attacking will be seen as unresolved sexual tension. And I D: at her. Because, argh. Goddess. That’s…not a ship I wanted to think about. Ever. Really, I don’t.Except now I can’t unsee it.
If I really stopped and thought about how much fic-bait I am inadvertently putting in my novel, I think I’d stop writing. ...of course, then there’s the stuff I’m putting in on purpose, because I know what drives fangirls/boys crazy.
And now that I’ve incorporated one specific idea into the story and into a particular character’s love life, my darling friend is cackling and saying I just made perfect fic-bait. That all the growling and attacking will be seen as unresolved sexual tension. And I D: at her. Because, argh. Goddess. That’s…not a ship I wanted to think about. Ever. Really, I don’t.
If I really stopped and thought about how much fic-bait I am inadvertently putting in my novel, I think I’d stop writing. ...of course, then there’s the stuff I’m putting in on purpose, because I know what drives fangirls/boys crazy.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Floating cities, Mu & Apolyta
Whoa. I have been SUCH a slacker. Over on Tumblr all I've been doing is reblogs about important things (a petition for DC Comics to hire more women, talking about slushpile publication in the comics industry versus standard publishing) and then lots of bemoaning over my lack of caffeine. The good news is - I have had caffeine this morning!
And, because of the caffeine (and because I am properly ashamed that I'm being completely unproductive on this blog) I figured I'd throw you guys a bone.
So, in my world there are floating cities, both in the sky and in the ocean. Obviously, since 90% of the world's land mass has kind of....gotten eaten by the oceans. :D Had to find a place to put all these people. Granted, the population of the 1960s got cut big time. Like, 2/3s of the population just DIED horribly when the world went boom. Because I'm awesome like that. Mass murder for everyone! ....okay, maybe the caffeine really hasn't hit much.
ANYWAY. Floating cities.
I saw this in the paper last summer, I think, and I loved the idea. So I kind of go off of the above picture and mesh it with other ideas about cities on the ocean. My floating cities also hook up into the transatlantic train system I've got set up. :) Now everyone is seeing where the "science" aspect of my superhero/fantasy/whatever-the-heck-this-thing-is novel. I'll probably end up making a post at some point about all the tech that goes on in my world. But, for the moment, you shall all have to be satiated with floating cities.
Now, Mu is an important city for many reasons, least in part because of the Apolyta Complexes. And here are my notes on the matter:
Apolyta Facilities include:
~5600 people in the Apolyta Complex
~6000 people in Mu besides Apolyta residents
Mu is the hub of cutting edge medical research and technology. This is where new cures are being developed and where the best of the best are. Most of the people who reside on Mu are doctors, nurses, or other medical staff and their families. There is patient housing close to the other medical facilities. Apolyta is secluded and requires different authorization codes to access it. Mu is an independent city, not run by any one nation. It does, however, allow for prison overflow to be located in the city.
Mu Station is the transatlantic train stop for the city. It is one of the least guarded places in the city.
Apolyta is where Doctor Walter Meechum operates and where Dean and his sister were taken after their mother died. There's a lot of darkness in Dean that's because of Apolyta and Meechum. Meechum himself scares the crap out of me and I try to avoid writing him. Since I'm spotlighting him September 2sd, the rest of you will find out why. I am tempted to go ahead and blow the whole thing by introducing everyone to Dean early, but we'll see. I might have to do it around the same time period as Meechum.
For the moment, content yourselves with Apolyta and consider all the ominous things that could be going on in a Behavioural Research Center (because trust me, it's not a bunch of psych majors crowding around a tank). Especially when it's funded/run by a shadow-y organization made up of very unhappy Homo sapiens.
And, because of the caffeine (and because I am properly ashamed that I'm being completely unproductive on this blog) I figured I'd throw you guys a bone.
So, in my world there are floating cities, both in the sky and in the ocean. Obviously, since 90% of the world's land mass has kind of....gotten eaten by the oceans. :D Had to find a place to put all these people. Granted, the population of the 1960s got cut big time. Like, 2/3s of the population just DIED horribly when the world went boom. Because I'm awesome like that. Mass murder for everyone! ....okay, maybe the caffeine really hasn't hit much.
ANYWAY. Floating cities.
Now, Mu is an important city for many reasons, least in part because of the Apolyta Complexes. And here are my notes on the matter:
APOLYTA || MU
Apolyta Facilities include:
- Apolyta Center for Behavioural Research (staff: 300; patients: ~600)
- Apolyta National Prison (inmates: 3000)
- Helicon Lee Aployta Group Home (~1500 children)
~5600 people in the Apolyta Complex
~6000 people in Mu besides Apolyta residents
Mu is the hub of cutting edge medical research and technology. This is where new cures are being developed and where the best of the best are. Most of the people who reside on Mu are doctors, nurses, or other medical staff and their families. There is patient housing close to the other medical facilities. Apolyta is secluded and requires different authorization codes to access it. Mu is an independent city, not run by any one nation. It does, however, allow for prison overflow to be located in the city.
Mu Station is the transatlantic train stop for the city. It is one of the least guarded places in the city.
Apolyta is where Doctor Walter Meechum operates and where Dean and his sister were taken after their mother died. There's a lot of darkness in Dean that's because of Apolyta and Meechum. Meechum himself scares the crap out of me and I try to avoid writing him. Since I'm spotlighting him September 2sd, the rest of you will find out why. I am tempted to go ahead and blow the whole thing by introducing everyone to Dean early, but we'll see. I might have to do it around the same time period as Meechum.
For the moment, content yourselves with Apolyta and consider all the ominous things that could be going on in a Behavioural Research Center (because trust me, it's not a bunch of psych majors crowding around a tank). Especially when it's funded/run by a shadow-y organization made up of very unhappy Homo sapiens.
Friday, July 22, 2011
RIP: Lian Harper
Not doing a spotlight today. Instead, today is a day of mourning.
DC Comics just officially killed any and all hope of getting Lian Harper back in a comic book.
From here:
On Arsenal and Lian Harper: Because they want to return characters to younger incarnations, Arsenal is now too young to have had children, so Lian Harper no longer exists. He will also have two arms and likely won't be known for abusing heroin.
This is after they killed her last year, on panel, getting crushed to death, screaming for her daddy to save her. Which he couldn't. Because DC had just ripped off one of his arms. All in the name of giving Roy Harper angst.
I disapprove of this practice, of doing whatever in the name of character angst. I very much disapprove of killing Lian (again).
I may be accused of torturing a character just for the sake of character angst, but I don't. There is a purpose to a lot of what I do. Yeah, sure, I vivisect characters and kill their sisters and torture them however I can, but most of it is because it furthers the story. What they did with Lian ended up in one of the WORST comic stories in 2010.
So, today, because I just heard the news and am utterly crushed, mourn Lian with me. One of the youngest women to be thrown in the refrigerator.
DC Comics just officially killed any and all hope of getting Lian Harper back in a comic book.
From here:
On Arsenal and Lian Harper: Because they want to return characters to younger incarnations, Arsenal is now too young to have had children, so Lian Harper no longer exists. He will also have two arms and likely won't be known for abusing heroin.
This is after they killed her last year, on panel, getting crushed to death, screaming for her daddy to save her. Which he couldn't. Because DC had just ripped off one of his arms. All in the name of giving Roy Harper angst.
I disapprove of this practice, of doing whatever in the name of character angst. I very much disapprove of killing Lian (again).
I may be accused of torturing a character just for the sake of character angst, but I don't. There is a purpose to a lot of what I do. Yeah, sure, I vivisect characters and kill their sisters and torture them however I can, but most of it is because it furthers the story. What they did with Lian ended up in one of the WORST comic stories in 2010.
So, today, because I just heard the news and am utterly crushed, mourn Lian with me. One of the youngest women to be thrown in the refrigerator.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Spotlight Friday: Graham Parker, aka Medic (pt 2)
Tempted to say "Spotlight Saturday" but this is probably the only time this is going to happen. Unless I turn to panhandling or something.
Medic (con't):
The area where Medic grew up had another kid, Lea Woods, and her brother who often watched over the Parker kids and Lea at the same time. Medic and Lea had a pretty tight friendship back in the day, but then Medic joined the Squad (age 12) and Troy lost his mind (age 13) and things just kind of died off like they do. When Dean popped back in and started causing problems, Medic reached out to Lea to have someone who wasn't on the Squad to talk to. Medic was roughly 16/17 when he yanked on that friendship and clung to Lea.
Medic, in terms of relationships, is pretty bisexual. He used to date fellow teammate Lindee Rogers and, as is kind of obvious from the bits I've posted on, is head-over-heels in love with Dean (who is oblivious). There are other relationships, or attempts at them over the years, but those two are like magnets - they keep getting pulled back together.
Medic is a natural leader. He really is. Dump him in a situation and he usually assesses what's going on and then takes control. Which is why, really, it's interesting to see him dumped on the Alliance after "the Incident" and see him try and work as a supporting member and not the leader that he is. He's done it before while on the Squad (because Alena scared the crap out of him) but the current Alliance is such a disaster that it doesn't take long before Medic throws up his hands and demands the right to take over. And then he boots off a good percentage of the current Alliance team. Karma's team has stuck pretty closely tonineeight team members, but Medic's....keeps growing. He's got....twenty-one different members (not counting reserves) aside from himself. And I'm pretty sure that's going to keep getting bigger. One thing you can definitely say about Medic is that he has balls.
Except that he's afraid of things. Really kind of small things (that I more or less share with him). I know I wrote it somewhere, but I can't find it now, though. If I remember correctly, he's scared of spiders and snakes. He also really dislikes germs, which is kind of standard practice for a healer. But that is not why he almost never takes his gloves or costume off.
Oh! I forgot to mention that. Along with only going by his codename, the boy practically lives in his costume. The mask is a fifty-fifty shot of being on or off, depending on his mood (or how much in the way the silly thing is). Now, since the codename thing is really just Medic's way of not looking weak, one would assume the same of the costume thing. Not so. Honestly? He just likes it. It fits better than his actual clothes and it's very comfortable. Also, it marks him as a healer, which is something he can never get away from, so why shouldn't he make sure that everyone knows about it? It makes perfectly logic sense to him.
I think the last thing I could say on the topic of Medic is a little about Dean, who really starts as an obsession of Medic's (he wants to know who the hell this idiot is!!) and turns into his best friend and then his lover/partner. Yeah, they eventually end up as married as they possibly can without taking the plunge (because Dean refuses). They have a pretty tumultuous relationship, but they're both okay with that. Medic is the closest person, the most precious thing in Dean's entire life. Dean is, likewise, a very close person, and one of the more precious things in Medic's life. Medic has had more, is frankly spoiled in some senses, but Dean has only ever had nothing. They're a good fit, together, and because of who they are, how the Gods willed them to be, they're one coin, but two different sides, almost. They will always be there for each other, even when theyshould hate each other, because that's who they are.
Medic (con't):
The area where Medic grew up had another kid, Lea Woods, and her brother who often watched over the Parker kids and Lea at the same time. Medic and Lea had a pretty tight friendship back in the day, but then Medic joined the Squad (age 12) and Troy lost his mind (age 13) and things just kind of died off like they do. When Dean popped back in and started causing problems, Medic reached out to Lea to have someone who wasn't on the Squad to talk to. Medic was roughly 16/17 when he yanked on that friendship and clung to Lea.
Medic, in terms of relationships, is pretty bisexual. He used to date fellow teammate Lindee Rogers and, as is kind of obvious from the bits I've posted on, is head-over-heels in love with Dean (
Medic is a natural leader. He really is. Dump him in a situation and he usually assesses what's going on and then takes control. Which is why, really, it's interesting to see him dumped on the Alliance after "the Incident" and see him try and work as a supporting member and not the leader that he is. He's done it before while on the Squad (because Alena scared the crap out of him) but the current Alliance is such a disaster that it doesn't take long before Medic throws up his hands and demands the right to take over. And then he boots off a good percentage of the current Alliance team. Karma's team has stuck pretty closely to
Except that he's afraid of things. Really kind of small things (that I more or less share with him). I know I wrote it somewhere, but I can't find it now, though. If I remember correctly, he's scared of spiders and snakes. He also really dislikes germs, which is kind of standard practice for a healer. But that is not why he almost never takes his gloves or costume off.
Oh! I forgot to mention that. Along with only going by his codename, the boy practically lives in his costume. The mask is a fifty-fifty shot of being on or off, depending on his mood (or how much in the way the silly thing is). Now, since the codename thing is really just Medic's way of not looking weak, one would assume the same of the costume thing. Not so. Honestly? He just likes it. It fits better than his actual clothes and it's very comfortable. Also, it marks him as a healer, which is something he can never get away from, so why shouldn't he make sure that everyone knows about it? It makes perfectly logic sense to him.
I think the last thing I could say on the topic of Medic is a little about Dean, who really starts as an obsession of Medic's (he wants to know who the hell this idiot is!!) and turns into his best friend and then his lover/partner. Yeah, they eventually end up as married as they possibly can without taking the plunge (because Dean refuses). They have a pretty tumultuous relationship, but they're both okay with that. Medic is the closest person, the most precious thing in Dean's entire life. Dean is, likewise, a very close person, and one of the more precious things in Medic's life. Medic has had more, is frankly spoiled in some senses, but Dean has only ever had nothing. They're a good fit, together, and because of who they are, how the Gods willed them to be, they're one coin, but two different sides, almost. They will always be there for each other, even when they
Friday, July 15, 2011
Spotlight Friday: Graham Parker, aka Medic (pt 1)
Because while he's not my baby, he is definitely my darling. Dean is the baby. Medic is the darling. I love them both to a ridiculous level, which....well. Doesn't really show sometimes. ;)
And, because I honestly can't concentrate, or think of much to tell, here's part 1. I'll get part 2 up ... when I have a brain. In the mean time, have some cold hard facts about Medic:
Name: Graham Riley Parker
Codename: Medic
Power: healing, eventual energy blasts
Team Affiliation: Squad, later Alliance
Graham does not go by Graham. He goes by Medic. That is THE most important thing to know about this boy. He heavily dislikes being called Graham (which is why Dean calls him Graham 90% of the time). The way he was raised probably has a lot to do with why he only goes by Medic, since his mother only goes by her codename and his dad's best friend (Scry) mostly only goes by his codename too. Okay, most of the adults who he spent the majority of his life with only go by their codenames. He was raised with the expectation that he was going to be on the Alliance and that he had to follow certain rules. To him, that meant codenames only. Going by your real name meant that you were weak and vulnerable to attacks, that people you cared about could die. Attacks like that haven't happened in years, since a couple years after the Restructuring, but some heroes still have that fear.
Medic also just doesn't like looking weak. (Yes, he's a fool. But he's a cute one.)
Medic has light gold eyes, light brown hair, is about 6 feet tall, and was born on March 21, 2017. Which makes him a Aries! He is pretty much a very accurate Aries too. And I'm not going to spout horoscope data at you, you can Google that yourself. ;) In terms of the Celtic tree astrology, Medic is an Alder tree. Which is also pretty much Medic. His personal gods are Asclepius and Apollo, mostly meaning he has shrines to both in the infirmary's little grotto at the Squad's Compound (and then a tiny little later tucked away in the real infirmary when he goes Alliance). Medic also has a tattoo on his hip, which he gets ... after the Massacre (lalalaaaaaa, not telling~~).
He had a very close relationship with his father, and even after Troy lost his shields, Medic continued to be the only one to visit the nursing home (for lack of a better word) and see his father. He's relatively close to his sister, Cassandra/Casey, but he's off with the Squad (living there) and she's at the stately Parker mansion on some random floating city I've yet to decide on, and they don't see each other that often. Medic has the least to do with his mother, Mimic, who really didn't want children in the first place. But we'll get to her eventually. Next month. Or the month after. Whenever it is that my friend has marked off as couple's month. Medic and Casey were raised by their dad, except when there was a mission, and then they were left to the tender mercies of nannies and household staff. All in all, the kids turned out pretty good. Interesting family dynamic, especially when it comes to Mimic and Medic interacting, but not much else. Not a lot of warmth or love or affection after Troy went to pieces.
Friday, July 8, 2011
Hm...
Just a bit of interest, but out of all the people on teams and who are "heroes" 46 are female and 39 are male. The best part? All of it is entirely based on chance. There's this awesome thing online called "Virtual D&D Dice" and I just pick which will be which (odds for boys, evens for girls, or vice versa) and let fate decide. I do it in batches, randomly.
I come up with teams first, then powers, then codenames (if I can think of any. Oof. codenames are the WORST!), and then I chose names. And then (depending upon how productive I'm feeling), I give out eye color, hair, height, and any other distinctive things.
Mostly I think this is a random bit of curiosity considering all the current rage over DC's universe reboot and lack of females and queer characters. Most of my characters are bisexual or straight up gay, and I have a couple of asexuals thrown in there as well. As for persons of color, well. I can think of a couple that are, but I'm still pounding out my characters past what was mentioned above. A lot of that work is being done through the Spotlight Fridays (because I'm a clever writer and it makes me do stuff). Granted, these are books and not comic books so there is very little that will make their skin tone obvious. Maybe it's because I'm female (and disabled) that makes the ratio of boys to girls as heroes amusing to me, but as a writer I think it's important to have people that everyone can identify with.
I come up with teams first, then powers, then codenames (if I can think of any. Oof. codenames are the WORST!), and then I chose names. And then (depending upon how productive I'm feeling), I give out eye color, hair, height, and any other distinctive things.
Mostly I think this is a random bit of curiosity considering all the current rage over DC's universe reboot and lack of females and queer characters. Most of my characters are bisexual or straight up gay, and I have a couple of asexuals thrown in there as well. As for persons of color, well. I can think of a couple that are, but I'm still pounding out my characters past what was mentioned above. A lot of that work is being done through the Spotlight Fridays (because I'm a clever writer and it makes me do stuff). Granted, these are books and not comic books so there is very little that will make their skin tone obvious. Maybe it's because I'm female (and disabled) that makes the ratio of boys to girls as heroes amusing to me, but as a writer I think it's important to have people that everyone can identify with.
Spotlight Friday: Alena Kaffee
Oof! Is it really Friday already? Where has the week gone? I've been insanely busy this week, and hopefully it evens out soon. I could use a good, solid 48 hours of sleep, I think. Doubtful my kitten will let me, but it is still a nice thought.
So, anyway. Spotlight time. But, well. See, my friend made me up this nice spreadsheet with dates and who to spotlight and all, and for today she told me to spotlight Alena Kaffee, Saber. Except there's a TINY problem with that - I haven't actually written her yet. Okay, that's true with most of my characters, because I've mostly been focusing on Dean and Medic and the people immediately close to them. I have some stuff about Alena, but not a lot. Which, well. Whatever. Here's what I have (and watch me make 90% of this up as I go along!):
Name: Alena Kaffee
Codename: Saber
Power: magic sword; increased resistance to everything
Team Affiliation: Squad; Nysa Protection Squad
Alena used to lead the Squad before Medic did. She was born in 2013 and left the Squad roughly when she was 18 or 19. Before she joined the Squad (roughly at age 13), she was raised by the Cabal's Weapons Master, Erik Evans. Erik found her wandering around Nysa (where she's from originally) and trying to beg for food when she was about three-ish. She has next to no memory from before Erik finding her. He was already a member of the Cabal when he took her in, but he mostly just ignored the group unless there were some really attractive assassination requests/people he wanted dead. Erik is mostly the Cabal's hit man. Alena was raised with the idea that it's all right (omg, I just typed alright. WTF, self? D:) to use lethal force if it becomes necessary.
Around Alena's 12th birthday, she and Erik starting fighting and disagreeing on a lot. Alena saw the Squad and the Alliance as a necessity, while Erik saw them as something to be taken out. (Note: The Cabal has changed their mind on this and has long since decided that Alena was right. It doesn't mean she and Erik are on speaking terms, though.) Eventually they both got sick of the fighting. Alena packed up her kit, her sword, and made enough of a ruckus on Argyre to attract the attention of the then Squad. She demanded a place on the Squad in exchange for information and the idea of them being able to "redeem" her. They, of course, let her on the team and she eventually took over. When she got old enough, she took an offer from Nysa and joined their police force/protection team. She is now very happily helping people there, even if her team is usually called out to help retrieve kittens up in trees and lost bicycles.
Alena is also responsible for bringing Avila onto the team, as well as Lindee Rogers. And, yes, Alena used to date Lindee. Alena thinks Avila is absolutely delicious to look at, but treats her more like the little sister she never had. She is fiercely protective of her and often stays in touch. I would not want to get on Alena's bad side; she is very scary and has no problems maiming people.
Alena's sword, which is magical, was given to her by Erik.She calls the sword Bessie. No, there really isn't a reason behind that name; Alena just likes it. Magic sword as in it augments Alena's strength and gives her a modicum of protection and some self-healing. It's pretty. And well taken care of. And sharp. And it has an attitude problem. And it really doesn't like being called Bessie.
So, anyway. Spotlight time. But, well. See, my friend made me up this nice spreadsheet with dates and who to spotlight and all, and for today she told me to spotlight Alena Kaffee, Saber. Except there's a TINY problem with that - I haven't actually written her yet. Okay, that's true with most of my characters, because I've mostly been focusing on Dean and Medic and the people immediately close to them. I have some stuff about Alena, but not a lot. Which, well. Whatever. Here's what I have (and watch me make 90% of this up as I go along!):
Name: Alena Kaffee
Codename: Saber
Power: magic sword; increased resistance to everything
Team Affiliation: Squad; Nysa Protection Squad
Alena used to lead the Squad before Medic did. She was born in 2013 and left the Squad roughly when she was 18 or 19. Before she joined the Squad (roughly at age 13), she was raised by the Cabal's Weapons Master, Erik Evans. Erik found her wandering around Nysa (where she's from originally) and trying to beg for food when she was about three-ish. She has next to no memory from before Erik finding her. He was already a member of the Cabal when he took her in, but he mostly just ignored the group unless there were some really attractive assassination requests/people he wanted dead. Erik is mostly the Cabal's hit man. Alena was raised with the idea that it's all right (
Around Alena's 12th birthday, she and Erik starting fighting and disagreeing on a lot. Alena saw the Squad and the Alliance as a necessity, while Erik saw them as something to be taken out. (Note: The Cabal has changed their mind on this and has long since decided that Alena was right. It doesn't mean she and Erik are on speaking terms, though.) Eventually they both got sick of the fighting. Alena packed up her kit, her sword, and made enough of a ruckus on Argyre to attract the attention of the then Squad. She demanded a place on the Squad in exchange for information and the idea of them being able to "redeem" her. They, of course, let her on the team and she eventually took over. When she got old enough, she took an offer from Nysa and joined their police force/protection team. She is now very happily helping people there, even if her team is usually called out to help retrieve kittens up in trees and lost bicycles.
Alena is also responsible for bringing Avila onto the team, as well as Lindee Rogers. And, yes, Alena used to date Lindee. Alena thinks Avila is absolutely delicious to look at, but treats her more like the little sister she never had. She is fiercely protective of her and often stays in touch. I would not want to get on Alena's bad side; she is very scary and has no problems maiming people.
Alena's sword, which is magical, was given to her by Erik.She calls the sword Bessie. No, there really isn't a reason behind that name; Alena just likes it. Magic sword as in it augments Alena's strength and gives her a modicum of protection and some self-healing. It's pretty. And well taken care of. And sharp. And it has an attitude problem. And it really doesn't like being called Bessie.
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
Map!
Okay, so I feel a little bit like a child, but there's not a lot I can do to make my own map (trust me, you don't want to see my sad attempt at drawing a map. Though I might not have a choice soon :x). I've decided to share my sad excuse for a world map of my world, circa the Restructuring, which is roughly mid-to-late 1960s. Authorly hand-wavey explanation of time and space, insert Doctor Who quote.
Anyway. The red is all the land that no longer exists because of what happened. Mass natural disasters. This is TECHNICALLY based off science. Technically. I went by the tectonic plates and the volcano locations and other flaws in the Earth. And, voila~
Anyway. The red is all the land that no longer exists because of what happened. Mass natural disasters. This is TECHNICALLY based off science. Technically. I went by the tectonic plates and the volcano locations and other flaws in the Earth. And, voila~
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
I call this being undercaffeinated
Most of the time I really don't have an issue with writing. If something blocks me, I switch to something else in the story and keep going. One problem I'm running into is that I can't move on from the point I'm at without actually writing what I need to write.
Specifically, one of my main characters is throwing an epic hissy fit and refusing to cooperate. Her name is Lea. She's fantastic and kick ass, but really doesn't want to make things easier on me. And, to top it off, I've more or less traumatized Medic into not wanting to talk to me. Poor boy. It gets better, I promise!
So, yes. I am blocked. And I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a couple weeks. And I'm undercaffeinated. So I figured I'd make noise about being blocked here. And it is just making noise, it's not whining. Really. I swear.
...okay, it's mostly whining. :)
Specifically, one of my main characters is throwing an epic hissy fit and refusing to cooperate. Her name is Lea. She's fantastic and kick ass, but really doesn't want to make things easier on me. And, to top it off, I've more or less traumatized Medic into not wanting to talk to me. Poor boy. It gets better, I promise!
So, yes. I am blocked. And I haven't had a decent night's sleep in a couple weeks. And I'm undercaffeinated. So I figured I'd make noise about being blocked here. And it is just making noise, it's not whining. Really. I swear.
...okay, it's mostly whining. :)
Friday, July 1, 2011
Spotlight Friday: Avila Jones
So, June was the Alliance Month. July is Squad Month. All that really means is that I'll be talking about the Squad's members for the 5 Fridays of July. Today we have a very interesting member of the Squad: Avila.
Name: Avila Jones
Codename: Dart
Power: None; Homo sapien
Team Affiliation: The Squad
Avila is a Homo sapien, which is very, very rare. I think I mentioned it previously, but only something like 15% of the population of earth are sapiens. Evolution has kicked their ass. They no longer have control of the world, which makes many of them unhappy. There are a couple of sapiens in the world who hate this and who focus on being terrorists - killing as many Homo superum as they can. Sometimes other sapiens get caught in the crossfire, but these people don't really care. They're terrorists, what do you expect?
Avila, however, is not like that. She was pretty unassuming and happy to keep her nose clean and her head down until she met Saber, the previous leader of the Squad before Medic. Avila is a very skilled archer, having won lots of awards for it, beating out even some superum who have things like perfect eyesight and the ability to never miss. Saber and Avila lived in the same neighbourhood, and were friends when children. Saber, after a couple of bad choices, ended up on the Squad and promptly dragged Avila (kicking and screaming) onto it. Of course, she hasn't left since, even after Saber has.
Avila was born sometime in 2018 (which would make her 17 in 2035), is 5 foot 2, and has brown hair and blue eyes. She doesn't live with the Squad all the time and attends school with those who are not on the Squad. Her parents are as supportive as they can be, but they are very uneasy about her being on the Squad. Her mother is a superum with the ability to turn intangible. Her father is, like Avila, a sapien. They live on one of the five floating cities that make up America. She and Saber had some sort of relationship, more along the lines of sisters than lovers, but you never really know. No, not even I know. Saber is scary, and she has a very pointy sword. Avila gets along wonderfully with Dean, being the level-headed and calm person that Dean needs, while also not putting any demands on him. He also thoroughly enjoys harassing her over her crush on (and then subsequent relationship with) Simon Draper, a fellow teammate (who....will be spotlighted at...some point.).
Avila's not really much into the superhero game. She likes helping people, but she's not sure she wants to do it forever. She plans on going to college and studying to be something helpful. But that's the future, and you never know what's going to happen when you're on the Squad.
Name: Avila Jones
Codename: Dart
Power: None; Homo sapien
Team Affiliation: The Squad
Avila is a Homo sapien, which is very, very rare. I think I mentioned it previously, but only something like 15% of the population of earth are sapiens. Evolution has kicked their ass. They no longer have control of the world, which makes many of them unhappy. There are a couple of sapiens in the world who hate this and who focus on being terrorists - killing as many Homo superum as they can. Sometimes other sapiens get caught in the crossfire, but these people don't really care. They're terrorists, what do you expect?
Avila, however, is not like that. She was pretty unassuming and happy to keep her nose clean and her head down until she met Saber, the previous leader of the Squad before Medic. Avila is a very skilled archer, having won lots of awards for it, beating out even some superum who have things like perfect eyesight and the ability to never miss. Saber and Avila lived in the same neighbourhood, and were friends when children. Saber, after a couple of bad choices, ended up on the Squad and promptly dragged Avila (kicking and screaming) onto it. Of course, she hasn't left since, even after Saber has.
Avila was born sometime in 2018 (which would make her 17 in 2035), is 5 foot 2, and has brown hair and blue eyes. She doesn't live with the Squad all the time and attends school with those who are not on the Squad. Her parents are as supportive as they can be, but they are very uneasy about her being on the Squad. Her mother is a superum with the ability to turn intangible. Her father is, like Avila, a sapien. They live on one of the five floating cities that make up America. She and Saber had some sort of relationship, more along the lines of sisters than lovers, but you never really know. No, not even I know. Saber is scary, and she has a very pointy sword. Avila gets along wonderfully with Dean, being the level-headed and calm person that Dean needs, while also not putting any demands on him. He also thoroughly enjoys harassing her over her crush on (and then subsequent relationship with) Simon Draper, a fellow teammate (who....will be spotlighted at...some point.).
Avila's not really much into the superhero game. She likes helping people, but she's not sure she wants to do it forever. She plans on going to college and studying to be something helpful. But that's the future, and you never know what's going to happen when you're on the Squad.
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