Archive for November 28th, 2011
Day #27 – Austin the Architect
Austin the Architect is kicking himself for going to school for 5 ears and getting a degree in Architecture. His career experience consists of drawing countless bathrooms and parking lots. He wishes he had learned puppetry instead.
#22 – Morimo Kiel
Morimo grew up in the coastal town of Tallin, apprenticed to a fisherman and then a galley-cook and for a time, a navigator, captain, and then he was placed in the dock-crews for having to ‘dreamy and sullen an attitude’.
He spent another few years as a dock-worker, generally keeping to himself when he could avoid getting into a fist fight with some bull-headed younger man that crossed him. After a while people began to recognize him as the town’s most-level headed drunk, if only because no one paid attention to how MANY drinks he was taking, just how long he’d sit at the bar every night, talking with whatever newcomers came through town.
One night Jasmine was such a newcomer. They talked all night about the places she’d been. About the eastern Palaces of Sultans and the high perches of mountain dragonlings. But mainly they ended up talking about her work as a Collections agent, and Morimo grew even more interested.
She stayed in town several more days, and they ended up meeting up for drinks and food over and over again. When he finally helped her track down the man who had skipped out on his feudal lord, he helped her take him in without any harm to her by being a sort of bait. He spoke with the man, asking a few questions while she snuck up on him.
After that, she gave him a whole-hearted recommendation to the agency, and they began travelling together. As they left his home town, he smiled and realized that what he’d probably been wanting all that time was to travel, and better yet, to satiate his wanderlust on dry land.
Over the next few years she taught him more about swordfighting, and he taught her about ropes and knots, about simpler ways than lockpicking to deal with locks, and about food and commerce and city politics. She hadn’t been long away from her gypsy tribe when they’d met, so their constant conversations helped her loose her obvious accent as well. After a while they naturally became lovers, and the two worked out well as partners on assignment and in life, because neither of them wanted any more family than each other.
Morimo is a little taller than average, and is a very lean man. He tends to wear loose clothing, only pinned in by his sword-belt and the straps of his travelling pack, so he is often underestimated. His quiet calmness (when Jasmine hasn’t already opened him up to a long-winded debate) has won him an equal share of concerned and unimpressed looks. He takes advantage of the way people assume he’s harmless or slow, and doesn’t give them a second chance to adjust their opinion.
#28 Kiara
A volunteer for a new cyber-ware program for The Organization, Kiara wears external cybernetics that augment her speed and strength.  She can adjust the intensity of the equipment for short times, making her faster, stronger, etc.
#25 Jasper
Jasper was nothing if not righteous. How could he be anything but, having forsaken not just the things an everyday monk would be required of, but also forsaking the blind ignorant bliss that most modern man hid behind? No, he was righteous to the bone, looking, truly looking at the world as it still stood, with its dangers and pitfalls around every corner.
Its heathens, given over more and more into the hands of evil, walking blindly and willfully right into hell. He was fighting a losing battle, of that he was certain, but he would fight it nonetheless. Because it was right, because when he died he wished to be able to look his maker in the eye and tell him that, yes, he had fought with every ounce of his being against the darkest foe.
And if that fighting had resulted in death, the Holy Father would understand. He had killed little more than evil, pure and simple, releasing the souls of those touched by dark powers so that his Lord may chose their fate. And if that battle had involved the use of powers, these were sanctioned powers, made holy by the See he answered to. And if those battles ended with an increase in Jasper’s powers, well, it was only right that he should be able to absorb as much of the transgressor in question, that the evil they had participated in should be purified in the use of holy actions.
Jasper had no doubt that he did right, not even when the witches he dispatched begged him for mercy. Mercy was the Lord’s to give, and not any of Jasper’s concern. The only vice Jasper knew he had to be wary of was that of pride. But as he did the good Lord’s work, he did not doubt that he was righteous.
Days # 25, 26, 27
Thomas is officially a former soldier who frequents Madame Striker’s. Despite his missing arm he never actually left the army he now works in the intelligence department gathering secrets during his daily visits.
T’lawn Vrect is a bounty hunter. She likes killing people and figures if she’s good at it she might as well get payed. Don’t let her appearance fool you the white leather belt she wears is extremely expensive tourh hide. She’s rude, cocky and happy with her life. She’s got her own crack team to help her take heads and she’s got a reputation that spread to half the northern hemisphere, she’s even appeared on the odd talk show. She’s a crack shot, and a proficient brawler but she needs to bring a gun to the knife fight or she’ll end up with a gut full of steel. 
Rache is Vrect’s go-to for any data gathering and tech. He’s pretty calm and a complete opposite to Vrect’s more crude personality, though he isn’t any less obnoxious. He’s a bit of a tech snob always up to date with implants, computers and security systems. He rarely leaves home base being much more effective as a desk monkey that a onsite hunters assistant. That and the one time he tried Vrect nearly lopped off his head… intentionally.
Day 28: The Jack of Hades
Thomas O’Bannon came to the US in 1847 following the events of The Irish Potato Famine. He was only 12 years old, and was the only survivor of his family. He grew up in the slums of The Five Points, and watched the crime and poverty that affected the neighborhood. In 1852, a 17 year old Thomas was walking home with his fiance from a local theatre, when they were attacked by thugs and his fiance killed. Thomas, not getting anywhere with corrupt police, or political authorities, decided to adopt a mask and became the first known vigilante known as THE JACK OF HADES. From 1852-1862 he patroled and made legend as a gang buster in New York City. In 1862 Thomas was drafted into the Union Army, served as an enlisted infantry man, while occasionally donning the Jack of Hades costume. In 1867 he married, then moved to San Francisco in 1872. The Jack of Hades was not seen until 1888, when Thomas’s son Jacob O’Bannon adopted the moniker. Jacob’s family left San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake and moved to Chicago. Where his son Michael became the third Jack of Hades, and did battle with the Organized crime elements there as well as being a founding member of the superhero group, the Alliance from 1920-1946 when he passed the title onto his son Richard. Richard was crippled by an thug for hire named The Hyena in 1972, and passed it to his son Edward, who moved the family to Washington DC, and took up the role there until 1990, when his son Johnathan became the last male of the family to hold the mantle. The Jack of Hades at this point was one of the few non-registered masks to still operate in light of the Metahuman prohibition Act. Being that not only does he have to fear the criminal element, but local and federal authorities as well!
#10 Marie-Lunie
From a character in Just Dance, written by Erika Holt, published in Tesseracts 15 (here’s an interview with Erika about the story)
Marie-Lunie, young orphan who has turned her talents to ghoul hunting. Using her disappeared father’s equipment (ie, red-orbed false eye, mystical ear trumpet, power needles, a talking cloak, etc) she fights the forces of the otherworld,
Thank you Erika!
#24 Marcus
Marcus had a knack for telling things. He knew when things were up, he knew when things were coming, he knew when things were… happening around the people that worked for him. Take Pierre, for instance. He knew Pierre had something going on, something floating around him, some sort of push of events coming, he could smell it, like a storm coming.
What he could never figure was if that storm would be good or bad. But he also knew that Pierre had a little something of a sense, a gift, even if he wouldn’t ever admit it. So Marcus figured he’d at least pay him a bit closer attention, figured that the man had enough self-preservation to duck and run if that coming storm was a shit storm.
And anyway, Marcus knew to trust his instincts- those he saw as an animal thing, separate form the other gifts he had. In all fairness, it was his instincts, and not those fucking sensings that had gotten him as far as he had gotten, with this club for a cover and all the classy whores and drugs the neighborhood needed for a real cash enterprise. And his instincts were pushing him like crazy to hone in on whatever Pierre was getting carried into and lay a claim, hard and fast, making sure the man didn’t for a minute forget who the boss was on this corner.
That’s all he really asked for, in the end. Nothing huge, no fucking empire spread open for a ricoh case, no fucking cartel wars, just his block. This little block, and every person on it.
#11 and #12 – Lucondis and Luana
Lucondis and Luana are the youngest members of Tempestade’s royal family. Â Being so young, they typically stay out of political affairs. Cainys is very protective of them.
#23 Zeke the Angel
Zeke the Angel. Not that anyone knew him as that, at least not most anyone save perhaps for a wet-brained little bum who gave him everything he could just for the fuck of it- not even because of what Zeke was, refusing to hear any offer Zeke had to make. It was because of that bum that Zeke could still roam the earth as more than some otherworldly vision. It was also why his current manifestation tended towards lumpy, hairy and weird-smelling.
Which was just as Zeke preferred things. He had no use for being beautiful. Once, eon ago, he found it necessary, back when he believed it was his calling to seduce as many souls into the mutually blissful relationship that symbiosis with an angel offered. Back before he started to believe in his own PR. Back before he came to the conclusion that doing some good when and where he could mattered a whole hell of a lot more than feeding off of what humans gave so freely anyway.
Now he took their happy and their love when and where he could, when it came to him freely and beyond any subtle coercion on his part. Hence the ugly and smelly. Stacking the deck against himself, and he didn’t care. He still got more than enough to get along, especially since he stayed right there in the muck and the mire, so his ugly body could process regular food too. Truth was, compared to what the average joe had to go through to get along, he had it pretty easy.
Being an expert in, well, no, let’s call it like it was, having a huge hand in creating the theological binary mindfuck that humanity would most likely never be able to extricate itself from, he could pretty safely say that he wasn’t acting out of guilt. He was an expert on guilt, and had no use for it whatsoever. That was a demon gig, pure and simple.
No, it was something bigger, what drove him. Maybe a sense of responsibility, the need to clean up at least some of the mess he had made, even if that mess going as viral as it did was not something he had imagined. Or maybe it was absolutely simple. Maybe it was just love, pure unadulterated love for every damned tom dick and harry that managed to get up in the morning and drag himself across the surface of the planet, knowing the cards were stacked against him, knowing that this pointless day might just be the last, and going about his business anyway. Who the hell couldn’t love that, anyway?
#10 – Daytus
Daytus is the second son of the king of Tempestade and a candidate for the throne. Â He spends his time teaching students to use “the Gift,” the ability to control lightning. Â He does not agree with his father’s opinions on the war, but keeps it to himself.
#9 – Helena
Helena is a senior in college studying English. Â During finals week, her town became the site of a war between two cloud cities. Â She was rescued by Cainys, but was soon taken for a spy by the king. Â Helena was then imprisoned and, with the help of Cainys, tries to find a way to escape execution.
#16 Surfin’ Ghoul
In the waning weeks of the summer of ’67 in Port Araña , Surfer extraordinaire Rick Hale was content hangin’ 10 on some totally bodacious hollows brought about by the seasonal changes in the ocean current.
One morning the conditions were perfect for some mondo waves, he grabbed his stick and paddled his way out to the big curls. Feeling confident he decided to try a new maneuver he’d be practicing all summer long, ‘The Tesani Woffie Tailslide’. He got in prime position and was huggin’ the wall when out of nowhere he got pitchpoled. His board slid out from beneath him and ended up smashing the back of his head rendering him unconscious which ultimately resulted in his drowning. The cross currents pulled his lifeless body away deep into the abyss where it encountered a rare school of ‘Reddericus Stomolophus Meleagris’, also known as ‘The Reviving Cannonball Jelly’…
On certains nights, when the moon is right, you can possibly spot the late Rick Hale pulling off some gnar moves in the moonlight.
#20 The Outsorceror
Since his childhood in Mumbai, Vinod Patel knew he had been given gifts that most mortals lacked. His affinity to the mystic arts made him different. He was clairvoyant, a remote viewer, empathic, & even able to conjure up illusions. He wanted to use these abilities for the betterment of mankind. He wanted to make a difference. That’s why he applied to the International Union of Superheroes. On the application form, Vinod very plainly put “The Magic Man” the line marked “code name,” unaware that a man in Dover, New Jersey already had laid claim to that moniker. That’s when a very insensitive processing clerk at the Union decided to take matters into his own hands. When Vinod got his official Union card, it was stamped with the name Outsorceror. He was not pleased.
He did happen to hold a day job at a call center, but that was entirely besides the point. A defamation law suit is still pending. Infuriated, he has yet to join up with the International Union of Superheroes in an official capacity, only acting as a consultant on magical matters occasionally. He’s continued to work at his day job. Scorned, he has begun to daydream about the world of supervillainy.
—-
When the 30Characters started this year, I was really digging what I saw DC Stuelpner doing with his superheroes with kind of punny names. They were awesome. I decided to give it a shot, but didn’t fair nearly as well. The two names I ended up with were rather unfortunate. This was one. The other will get posted soon. Maybe. It the guilt doesn’t stop me.
#8 – Cainys
Cainys is the third son of the king of Tempestade, a city in the clouds. Â Despite his ancestry, he is not counted as a prince due to the lack of a specific skill required of all kings. Â Instead, he is a captain in Tempestade’s military.
Days 20 and 21- Buck Bugock and the Chicken Coupe
30 Characters days #20 and 21- Buck Bugock and The chicken Coupe
Energy Affinities:
Fire (Buck), Cold (Tiffany), Electricity (Linda), and Air (Brittany)
Cartoon Chickens
Buck Bugock is the big man on the farm. He’s always trying to pull one over on poor ol’ farm cat Horatio. Buck is usually encouraged by his trio of fans- Tiffany, Linda, and Brittany. He often takes the girls out for a spin in his Chicken Coupe.
Buck is a laid-back, confident rooster about town. Tiffany is something of a cool-dispositioned diva. Linda is easily excited, sometimes boisterous, and completely addicted to texting and updating her status. Brittany is, like, totally a two dimensional valley girl.
Buck and his Pullets occupy the same world as Power Platypus. I could have counted the girls as three seperate characters, but I felt that would be cheating the 30 characters project.
#28 – Jennifer
Jennifer was the leader of a small group of rebels who often caused trouble in the city, hoping to further their own selfish goals at the expense of others. Â And then she met a rival in the form of Sandy, whose mission was to apprehend her in the first place. Â When they met, a battle occurred, and Jennifer nearly defeated Sandy, but Sandy managed to defeat her and she eventually found herself in a prison.
From that day forward, Jennifer vowed to ensure the defeat of Sandy. Â However, Drew and her army started to attack, and Jennifer is left with no choice but to team up with the very warrior she is trying to defeat.
#29 Inventor-Assassin Celyn ‘Earl Grey Slasher’ Thomas
With so many choice dictators, exiled warlords and rebels floating about, Inventor-Assasin Celyn ‘Earl Grey Slasher’ Thomas is busier than ever if you can afford his extortionate rates and eccentric demands…
(number 15 in the ‘Extremely cute (and very evil) dictators of a fractured future Earth’ Series.
#28 Simon Carran
Name: Simon Carran
Birthday: April 25
Guardian: Mum
Location: Waterford, Ireland
Handlename:telepathicUnderdog
Typing style: Capitalises the beginning of sentences but tends not to use ending punctuation when a return will suffice
He also abuses the Common Capital when he wants to emphasise the importance of things
Fetch Modus: BLARNEY
Items are stored in a cloud server which other players may access if they have a complimentary Fetch Modus. When items are uploaded to the cloud, they are assigned a new, more glamourous appearance as a form of security. To download an item, you must know what it looked like without the Glamour. There are actually hundreds of items in the cloud (and don’t ask what that is, silly boy) which cannot be retrieved because their true appearance has been forgotten.
 Kind Abstratus: SPEARKIND
Starts off with an ACTUAL SPEAR belonging to his MOTHER. At some point, he switches it (but does not get rid of it) for the LÚIN CELTCHAIR, a fiery spear which he can equip without burning himself somehow. Later on, he equips another spear, the BONE OF COINCHENN, and the status of his previous two are unknown.
Title: The Heir of Mind
Kernelsprite:
Tier 1: Beatrix the Cuddly Toy Rabbit (pre-entry)
Tier 2: The Ashes of Aidan Carran (post-entry)
Effect: rabbit ears (coming out of bear ears); very soft, cuddly fur; stitching
Dream: Prospit
Planet: The Land of Luminescence and Perfume
Consorts: Mathematically-inclined, pink sheep
Associated Element: Aether
Associated Item: Oil
Denizen: Mnenosyne
Abilities:
An understanding of others and their motivations in order to manipulate them. Increased empathy. Inherits some abilities of the Seer class, namely being able to see some but not all possible outcomes of actions and utilize a MAGIC CUE BALL (which no one can figure out how they actually got here).
Biography:
Simon lives with his mother in a small flat in Waterford, Ireland. She’s a little odd, what with her INFINITELY LARGE COLLECTION OF SPEARS and KNOWLEDGE ON HOW TO USE THEM, but he loves her, regardless. It’s just. A little embarrassing to go out in public with her. (The other strange thing about his mother is her first son, who died around the same time Simon was born; she never speaks about him so he really has no idea what he was like).
He is interested in BOTANY, but so far has yet to grow anything and keep it alive. He can only ever keep PUMPKIN PLANTS from withering away, but they tend to vanish on him suddenly. His wardrobe seems to consist of EYE-SEARINGLY AWFUL FAIR ISLAND SWEATERS which are much too big for him, but he does not think so. They are WONDERFULLY WARM SWEATERS WITH CATCHY PATTERNS, you foreigners have no taste whatsoever. He is also fairly decent at BAKING and COOKING, but this is out of SELF-DEFENCE rather than genuine interest. The potato is the most versatile foodstuff that anyone had ever gazed upon and thought “Can I eat this?”
He is not a fan of LITERATURE of any sort and is Perpetually Annoyed with most cinema and animation from anywhere. He does like a few things, like CRANE BOY (the Japanese animated series of a possibly not-Japanese boy, he never quite understood how genetics work in fiction and suspects that neither do writers), which is how he met his closest friends. He does get on quite well with people outside of the Internet and is friends with most of his classmates, but there are just some things he will never tell them that his four friends from the internet already know. Like his dead brother, and the night that his brother’s father showed up and take his ashes from Mum.
He is the THIRD PLAYER to play SBURB. He entered the Medium accidentally when he broke the CRUXITE KNOT while trying to undo it.
#19 TheBinMan.EXE
Though growing increasingly more & more obsolete as time goes on, TheBinMan.EXE is a good tool to have. A limited edition construct developed by German Digital Artist & Programmer M3nsch3nfr3ss3r, the first 500 downloads received BinMan as freeware.
BinMan is programmed to remember every bit of data that comes across your machine, especially the data you trash, & act as a quick index to it. He does this securely, only granting you the ability to recall it. The data somehow incorporates itself up into BinMan’s programming without ever actually taking up more storage space than the BinMan.EXE’s standard thirteen gigs. In that regard, BinMan is among one of the first “thinking” AI constructs with its own progressive memory evolution.
The only downside is that he’s absolutely horrifying to look at it. That’s becausenM3nsch3nfr3ss3r, a fan of body horror films & industrial music based the look of BinMan off the idea of discarded items & their anachronistic need. That’s why there are elements of late model combustion engines & spoiled stem cell biomass making his head.
—-
Just wanted to go off on a little twisted tangent. Originally, I started this without a plan thinking I would turn it into some generic video game baddie, like a licker from Resident Evil. But the more & more I messed with it, I thought about what a weird contrast it’d be to put him in a suit & tie. Then I thought that’d be a pretty cool idea for a digital avatar, eventually bringing me to daemon construct program. Spent too much time on the head so really rushed the body just to be done on it. Another one I wish I could spend time on, making sure it got the attention it deserved.
In other news, hey, I listen to podcasts a lot & I found it weird that of the about ten or so I listen to, almost everyone got going onto a conversation about the singularity recently. And mostly, those were comedy podcasts. Guys, what the hell? Creepy. I think that might’ve influenced where I went with this guy ultimately.
Day 28: The Moose Rider
Not much is known about the Moose Rider. It is said that his moose is mechanical, but no one has gotten close enough to him to know for sure. One day he appeared in Floom, and within a year had begun riding around on the moose with his longbow. Where he is from, what is name is, no one can say, or those who can won’t.
#7 – Pazuzu
Pazuzu is a Sumerian demon known for his tendency to ward off other demons and a fondess for women. Â He often appears in the form of a hawk or a dog. Â Pazuzu owes Zagam a favor for reasons he’d rather not discuss.
#6 – Mal
Mal is Shae’s loyal dog. Â He was a stray she picked up years ago when he protected her from a mugger. Â Since then, Mal has stayed by her side, often protecting her from potential danger.
#18 Quozark the Unflinching
Bow down to Quozark, for he is the Unflinching One.
Nothing shocks Quozark for he sees all & knows most. He comes from the 43rd dimension. How is that even possible you ask? Quozark’s only response will probably involve him commanding you to pleasure him in a lewd & untoward way. And if you knew anything about his physiology, the very idea of the mechanics involved would mortify you.
—-
Drawn entirely on a whim in about twenty minutes. Proud of the outcome, though not entirely sure as of why. He wasn’t made with the intention of being a part of it, but a while ago I had this kind of comedy idea involving aliens from different races disguising themselves as humans while scouting out for their respective invasion forces. Problem is they were each so equally unaware of what actual humans were like, they had no idea & ended up all roommating together. Hijinks ensue. While Quozark is clearly not people-shaped, I think I could pretty easily incorporate him into that somehow.
#28 Barbara
Baa Baa black sheep
Have you any wool?
Yes ma’am, yes ma’am,
Three bags full.
Three for the master,
none for the dame,
And none for the little boy
Who lives down the lane.
The connotation around the “black sheep” was never a negative thing before Barbara took over. Determined to be the most unique girl in the land, she decided she would steal all the black sheep and be the sole being to fashion a black wool wig. The sheep have even begun to learn her name in fear to warn others of her arrival. Hence that is why today we hear sheep call out ” baa..baa..” in spirit of the past dealings with Barbara.
#30Characters Chatter…