Category: 2011
Day 28: “Freedom” Flare
Character #28, “Freedom” Flare. She gave herself that name.
“Freedom” used to be a teenage girl who considered herself nothing special. She was always very annoyed with injustices she’d see on the news. One day, she kind of got… really mad. On the news was a case of a man put to death, unjustified. This drove her to such a passion to right people’s wrongs that it awoke an energy inside her that’d been passed down from generation to generation, waiting to wake up. This was the Light Flare. It transformed the girl into a being, solely composed of spirit light. It took a long time for the girl to experiment with her powers, and she figured out she could swap between this new form and her human form. Over time, she found out the light form could skate around as if the Earth’s surface were a slick skating rink. She discovered the other light dimensions, which she could skate right up onto, like gravity alterings. After discovering her light form didn’t need to breathe and could explore the ocean depths and the expanses of space, she finally made a large decision, the decision to stay in light form forever. She doesn’t yet regret it, she loves feeling so free.
After her big decision, she renamed herself “Freedom”, because she could go wherever she wanted now. Her movement includes skating around with those tiny feet, like the world’s an ice skating rink. She is just pure light, she needs not to eat, sleep or even breathe.
She has a big thing for justice, and will go around like a super hero, rebuking those who “commit injustices”.
Around the world somewhere, there is one who contains the Dark Flare. When it will awake, no one knows…
#7: Magic Student
This is not a prompt from the story generator, but I just realized I hadn’t drawn any dudes up until the jerkface comedian, so maybe I could balance it out a bit.
I like this design, but it’s dawned on me that the dudes I like to draw tend to dress like college professors from 50+ years ago. I guess I project my own interests on my female characters too, but somehow it’s more noticeable on the male characters I draw. I should probably work on that.
#28: The Boy in the Wood
This is the boy who lives in the wood.
When he was a child, he was very, very good.
But then came the day he fell under the spell.
He listened to trees and their victim he fell.
Deserted his body, he took greener form.
His friends found his corpse and they bore him home.
He moves ever slower, his aura engorging
on mulch down below, it’s power absorbing.
#6: Opinionated Comic
I played around with a story generator and played off some of the prompt phrases for characters, and I was too lazy to come up with decent names for them.
This guy’s kind of a big jerkface.
#5: Focused Queen
Only two days of November left? TOO BAD STILL DRAWING
I picked up a bunch of minimal character descriptions from this story generator, and this is meant to be a “focused queen”. I’m afraid I don’t have much of a background for her, but I did like drawing that ceremonial uniform.
#29: Padma
Padma is a cheerful little panda who lives in the bamboo forest with her little panda friends. Gosh, I’m not very good at this character description thing. A little late in the game to be admitting that, huh?
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.
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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.
#30Characters Chatter…