Tag: 30 characters

Day# 16 Thomas “Weeks” Kelsey

| November 19, 2010 | 0 Comments
#16 Thomas "Weeks" Kelsey, for Aedre's Firefly by Jande Rowe

#16 Thomas "Weeks" Kelsey, for Aedre's Firefly by Jande Rowe

Thomas J. Kelsey, dubbed “Weeks”, short for “Wee Kelsey”, which was what most of the other kids called him from the first day he attended Maple Public School. Snarky remarks during his first recess period about his diminutive size –about two thirds the height of the shortest of his peers– soon gave way to awe when he aptly demonstrated not only his aptitude and skill at most sports, but his well honed sportsmanship as well. He could take joke and a pounding on the sports field better than most boys twice his physical stature. He was built heavy for his height, yet he was agile, too.

He did well in his academic studies, got along well with other boys, and excelled on the sportsfield. The one thing he’s have no truck with was girls, and he held strong opinions as to their place in sports, mostly negative. Where girls were concerned he was implacable. If a girl wanted to play on his team, he would stare at them without a sound until they fled. Unless of course they fled to a teacher who forced him to comply, which he did readily, but gave no quarter to the girl, so that finally she had to give up in defeat.

Aedre, of course, didn’t know this until she smashed into his prejudice head-on. She had asked the recess teacher if she could play soccer, and he had agreed she could. Fully confident of himself and his view of the world, Weeks bested her simply by being himself. No hard feelings on his part. That’s just the way the world works. She never had a chance to even see the ball. She may as well have been invisible. For Aedre, who had hopes and dreams of a different world than the lost and lonely one in which she found herself, it was just another entry carved into her psyche on the very long list of grievances that would push her to the very edge of either going mad, or giving up completely.

Weeks didn’t know anything about Aedre of course, except what the other boys told him, that she was a cootie-bag and a witch besides, but whether or not he believed them didn’t matter. She was a girl and girls had no value in Week’s world.

Day# 15 ReldoRurr

| November 19, 2010 | 1 Comment
#15 ReldoRurr for Wheeler's Orbits by Jande Rowe

#15 ReldoRurr for Wheeler's Orbits by Jande Rowe

It Ain’t Easy Being Tween

ReldoRurr is an Adnirovjyna youngling, eldest offspring of (#12)Thaddeursus, and therefore a source of great embarrassment to his parent. At the age of dissent, rebellion, and world-weary long-suffering of elders, his passionate nature has more than once brought him before the council whom he refers to as those old fligmarrons* (*a grumpy indecisive animal so set in its ways that it will often run right into an obvious trap rather than deviate from its normal routine–needless to say, they are now a protected species on the planet Adnirovjyn).

Although his father has more sympathy for the age ReldoRurr is going through than the cub may realise, he is still an Adnirovjyna, and therefore feels the censure of his kind deeply. Thus it is his way of trying to keep ReldoRurr out of the way of others that he often gives him the task of collecting (far afield) the small tubers that sprout from the (#14)Sqorthk animal variants.

These can be plucked from the Sqorthk just after the rainy season as they pull themselves ponderously along but this has proven to have a traumatic effect on them, and so usually the younglings are sent to gather the ones that have matured and fallen off to the  ground where, if they are not scooped up will root there and grow into the Sqorthk plants far from the villages. Much more convenient to have them growing under controlled conditions in pots within the villages proper. And much better for all concerned if the wilder younglings are kept busy at a useful  tiring task far from the village.

Unfortunately, ReldoRurr finds this kind of work beneath him, even though he enjoys it, sensing that no matter how useful it is to his people, they really are trying to get rid of him, because in his own mind, he is right about them when he keeps calling them on their “Griiftakk’s Invisible Sceptre” policies** (** a fairy tale told to Adnirovjyni children about a ruler of their people who was sold by a pair of scoundrels from the south, a non-existant magical sceptre that only the most wisest rulers could see). His resentment came to fruition when he reported the existence of an alien invasion from outer space and was given extra duties as a “curb to youthful imaginings”.

Fortunately for ReldoRurr, his pater did accept his story, mostly from the excitement and passion with which it was delivered ((shudder)), and after the fiasco with the council, went with his cub to see with his own eyes those very strange beings, whom he later learned called themselves Wee’hlir and Hie-ke, and hailed from the stars themselves, although actually from an earth-like planet in Andromeda. It was inevitable perhaps that ReldoRurr developed a strong case of hero-worship for the hairless ones, well one of them, for the consequences of that were long remembered.

And so it was that ReldoRurr was the first person ever to lay eyes upon the magnificence that was the space entrepreneurial partnership known as Wheeler’s Orbits and the beginning of a tale so strange it is told to the children of Adnirovjyn to this very day.

~~~

Well I’ve finally reached the half-way point and what a fun ride it’s been so far! Meeting some wonderful artists and storytellers, as well as challenging myself to keep innovating and trying different styles of art, have been the highlights for me during this Challenge. I’m psyched to get the next fifteen Characters out there, as each one contributes much more than one can imagine to the ongoing stories for both Wheeler’s Orbits and Aedre’s Firefly, not to mention a few new story ideas as well.

I hope everyone else is enjoying this Challenge and the fruits of all our labours as much as I am.

#16 C’alla & Hatti, Halves of a Hole

| November 19, 2010 | 2 Comments

15 カッパの2人

C’alla and Hatti • Halves and Holes

C’alla and Hatti are actually two halves of a single Kappa entity. Whoever’s head has the bubble is he who is dominant and he who speaks; although they both like to be referred to in the plural. C’alla is shy and dark-haired, and always uses the honorific. Hatti is grey-haired, and curious about humans; They are both perverted and love hanging out in the hot springs. C’alla finds females fascinating; Hatti prefers clean males.

When they are particularly excited, they turn water red and warm. They’ve been in awkward situations where they have had to explain the reconstitution of water to peers. They enjoy getting invites to the Parade annually, though they are warned to keep their excitement in check… especially when crossing waterways like Makktanh’s island »

Ink on drawing paper.

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#19 Reverend Celia Dalton

| November 19, 2010 | 2 Comments


Reverend Dalton is the head of the Valhalla station chapel. She tries her best to keep up faith and warmth in times of war and inspire parishioners but her job is an uphill battle. The chapel itself is actually a converted storage compartment that makes a funny crackling sound near the crucifix and in times of war, much of her time is spent consoling victims of tragedy.

Not the most cheerful gig, but it’s a necessary one.

#18 Ajay McSpeedy

| November 19, 2010 | 1 Comment

Neither rain, nor sleet, nor dark of night shall keep Ajay McSpeedy from his appointed rounds!

Day# 14 Sqorthk, Animal Phase

| November 18, 2010 | 2 Comments
a Sqorthk in animal stage for Wheeler's Orbits, by Jande Rowe

a Sqorthk in animal stage for Wheeler's Orbits, by Jande Rowe

Tastes Like Chicken!

Adnirovjyna Sqorthk, Animal Phase: During the rainy season the shell becomes leathery, then soft and peels off to reveal the third phase of this fascinating creature: it is now an animal, capable of pulling itself along the ground in a kind of inch-worm motion, digging its front fin-arms into the soil an hauling itself forward, then stopping to let its long back legs catch up. then it hunches its back and repeats this activity until it is far from the plant of its origin. That is, if carnivorous predators don’t eat it first.

The animal-Squorth gives off a honey-like odour from it’s pebbly skin that carnivores find strangely attractive, and many have learned that the meat under that skin is deliciously sweet and satisfying (As Wheeler soon learns). In the animal stage the Sqorthk is easy prey. It cannot move quickly and has no natural defenses.

In the animal stage it neither eats nor drinks, its main purpose seems apparently to be to move itself as far as possible from the parent plant  so to drop its developing tubers to begin the cycle again. In this regard the Sqorthk has allies in the native peoples as they will protect them from predators, often keeping them as pets, and regularly harvesting their tubers for planting once the rainy season has passed.

Since the Adnirovjyna have a strong taboo against eating the Sqorthk during their animal stage, would it be any wonder that Wheeler’s appetites could bring them to the very brink of interplanetary war? Or at least, very bad feelings?

#18 Dr. Astrid Lotus

| November 18, 2010 | 0 Comments

Oh, my.  Did I let my Famke Jaansen girl-crush seep into my character design?  Cut me some slack, guys.  It’s not like I’m without purpose here.

Dr. Astrid Lotus, unlike Dr. Artimedes, is a psychiatrist/counselor on Valhalla Station who doesn’t suck at her job. On the contrary, she’s quite good at what she does. Dr. Lotus is a kind, compassionate woman who takes the time to help her patients work through their issues, no matter how long it takes, no matter how many hard questions need to be asked, no matter how much information needs to be shared. She is much less likely to go doling out prescriptions just to get you out of her office so she can go on her next coffee break. No, Dr. Lotus wants to know all you have to share.

That she’s so good at her job makes her an even bigger puzzle to the people around her than Dr. Artimedes. What makes this woman so devoted to her job? It isn’t the money, that’s for sure. And the clientele is especially difficult. So why does she do what she does so well? Most people on Valhalla think it’s because she simply has that much passion for her work.

Or at least that’s what they hope.

Day# 13 a Sqorthk: plant stage.

| November 17, 2010 | 3 Comments
#13 a Sqorthk, by Jande Rowe

#13 a Sqorthk, by Jande Rowe

Adnirovjyni Sqorthk, Vegetable Phase: a vine-like animal that spends part of its life-cycle as a plant, used as a food source for the dominant sentient bear-like species known simply as (#12) Adnirovjyna.

During the vegetative stage, each vine becomes translucent and produces pebbled protrubances that can grow to be quite large. In the early stages these can be broken off and used as vegetables either cooked or raw, which contain starches, cellulose, vitamins and minerals conducive to the good nature and health of the indigenous sentient race of Adnirovjyn. It is a favourite item to be combined with other Adnirovjyni flora to produce a delicious frothy alcoholic beverage well loved by the native peoples which they call Frooshk.

Once the protuberances grow beyond a certain size they lose their translucence and by their own weight droop toward the ground. Here they remain inert for a period of weeks developing a hard knobbly shell –a cocoon of sorts you might say, which protects them from predators to a certain extent, though some have been known to find ingenious ways of cracking them open. It is within this shell that the plant-Sqorthk undergoes the unique transformation from plant to animal.

Next up #14 a Sqorthk in animal phase.

Enjoy!

#17 Angel

| November 17, 2010 | 0 Comments

Just call her Angel

#16 Medical Officer Ana Bastion

| November 16, 2010 | 0 Comments


Ana Bastion is the highest ranking medical officer working the swing shift in sick bay. A 30 year veteran of the medical field, she’s seen it all, but she doesn’t come off as jaded (much). Instead, she has a warm sense of humor that helps her patients along in their healing.

For those of you wondering, yes, this character is very heavily inspired by my mom. She’s earned her stripes, trust me.

#9 Ann Abbott

| November 16, 2010 | 0 Comments

19 year old Ann Abbott is a second year student at uPAST majoring in Biology.  Last semester she applied for the covet position as the Assistant to Rebecca Hannes in the Solar Lab. Thanks to her abounding enthusiasm and a 55 page paper on the effects of the Solar Cycle on the life span of the Amazonian Bot Fly she got the position.  She’s a great student, a dedicated scientist and energetic presence in the lab.

Ann hopes to one day obtain her PhD and be hired on as a staff scientist in the Solar Labs at uPAST researching how the Sun helped shape the building blocks of life on Earth.

Day# 12 – Thaddeursus

| November 16, 2010 | 1 Comment
#12 Thaddeursus, for Wheeler'e Orbits by Jande Rowe

#12 Thaddeursus, for Wheeler'e Orbits by Jande Rowe

Ah, Thaddeursus! Do bears walk in the woods? He doesn’t know because he really isn’t a bear, you see. He’s an Adnirovjyna from one of the Inner Galaxies, known on Terra One as Cassiopeia, but by the indigenous sentients, as Adnirovjyn. One would normally expect to see fulsome Greek goddesses and other females cavorting on the planet Adnirovjyn in the constellation of Cassiopeia, but no. Perversely, peaceful squat furry bear-like humanoids evolved there instead.

Peaceful being the key description of these beings, they will do almost anything to keep things tranquil, and therefore are high strung and nervous most of the time, worrying about whether their actions or the actions of others are going to disturb anyone’s peace.

Thaddeursus, who prefers to be called Thadd, in case it upsets anyone to have to pronounce his full name, is typical of his species with one exception: he was the unfortunate victim of an accident that changed not only his own life and lifestyle, but those of many of his acquaintances in the small village of Cleoptas Woods, as well. This of course does nothing to reduce the agitation he normally feels. In fact it somewhat increases it. But the whole thing is so inherently fascinating that he can’t help himself.

Of course, since all Adnirovjyna have to restrain their overweening curiosity in order to maintain a civilized society, he grew up knowing that it is very wrong to spy on others even if they have very little fur, are tall and thin and strangely coloured. After all, they have two arms, two legs, walk upright and use tools and language (if mostly unintelligible), as well as drink frothy amber liquids and eat highly spiced foods like any normal sentient being. One of them is almost the same shape as an Adnirovjyna, though the other’s shape resembles the more vine-like Sqorthk (a food animal that spends part of its life cycle as a vegetable, during which it is harvested by the Adnirovjyna, who are predominantly vegetarian, but, you know, accidents happen!)

Adnirovjyna tend to be modest, retiring people to whom privacy is paramount, which also increases the tensions caused by their native curiosity. So when Thadd suddenly became somewhat famous by being the first to contact an alien race (though truth be told, they had contacted him by landing their rustbucket of a ship-shuttle in his dreak-pond!) he was since embarrased constantly by the recurrence of the breaking of the twin taboos of notoriety and overzealous curiosity. It was enough to give him  a slight twitch.

But to his shame, his own curiosity was in full roar. These beings did the strangest things, drawing the eyes and ears of all to them, almost as if they relished the attention. But they did have interesting items to trade and that was what had given Thadd all this uncomfortable fame. Oh well, he thought, I guess I shall simply have to grin and bear it until they leave again and things can go back to normal.

But, will they? One whirlwind visit from Wheeler and Ikey could change a whole stable sentient species forever, doncha think?

#13 Hibikuu, She Whose Breath Consumes

| November 16, 2010 | 2 Comments

13 右女

Hibikuu • She Whose Breath Consumes; The Little Death

In many ways the sister-self-half of Augon, Hibikuu is only humanoid for the upper half of her body until her waist; the rest of her is red fire. Her ember is also, like Augon’s, on her chest, although hers is dead centre, whereas Augon’s is off-center to the left. Her hair smoulders and ends in a fel and nebulous cloud of smoke and flame, which she shapes to her will. Hibikuu rarely speaks, but gestures; her seemingly deformed hands draw her words where a mouth would say it outright.


Hibikuu comes for the lovelorn, those who die jealous, those who die lustful and those who die drugged. She points the way to the Parade, and is patient while her wards do away with their human layer once and for all; by her very nature, those she picks tend to hold on a little more tenaciously to life than usual. She is invoked by succubi, and the first flame she strikes in a living person is when they experience their first (not necessarily physical) orgasm.

Ink on white paper.

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#12 Augon O’Roshy

| November 16, 2010 | 2 Comments

12 後男

Augon O’Roshy • The Burning Beneath

Augon O’Roshy comes for those who die “burned out”, who die being hunted, who die of gunshot wounds and on the run. He points the way to the Parade to those who die fighting, whether literally or figuratively. His left side is entirely of flames when he travels the World Layers, and his ember is where the human heart is anatomically situated. Augon is covered in stitches and cauterization, as are those he leads to the Parade; marked by the passion that eventually consumes them.

Augon is obsessive-compulsive. When he meets a soul that has shed its human layer, he makes sure he sees it himself before he points the soul to the Parade. He is often the most excitable, especially when Ghost Month comes along, and sometimes borders on being annoying to the Junior Executive » for “going the extra mile”. Because he enjoys tattoos, he often sees Toushou-Xhiblins » when the latter is not very busy. He is “what is behind” or “beneath”; he is keenly felt when one feels being pursued, or is in pursuit, of something.

Ink on white paper.

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#15 Girl In Leather Jacket

| November 15, 2010 | 4 Comments

Girl In Leather Jacket

#14 The Kid

| November 14, 2010 | 0 Comments

Meet The Kid
Don’t get on his bad side. He packs a punch… POW! POW!

#11 Santelmo

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

11 前男

Santelmo • The Light That Does Not Go Out

The Four Fires are essentially like the Four Snows except in essence. Santelmo comes to those who die hoping, who die struggling, who die defiant, he comes for the drowned who try to swim to the surface or who are lost in a storm. In place of fuda which allow the aspects to travel the World Layers, the Four Fires carry lanterns, and instead of the Snows’ twin horns, they have embers. Santelmo’s ember is where anatomically a human’s mouth would be and every breath makes it glow.

He is apparently the most ubiquitous, and even those who have yet to shed claim to see him on stormy evenings strolling through the fog. Santelmo enjoys the company of Munjeiou » and both often trade stories about certain Walkers who have at some point encountered them both. While the Four Snows have dominion over a fixed direction, the Four Fires are more locational in dominion. In this case, his is the ‘front’.

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Donald Vice

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

Donald is one third of the Time Freaks; criminals who escaped from a maximum security prison using a makeshift time machine constructed from an old bathtub.

Doublecat

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

Two heads. Two brains. Half the common sense. Cunning Clive Mewson thought about little but food. His appetite was matched only by the genius of his brother, Garth. Following a nasty accident involving a trampoline, three clothelines and a sausage sandwich, Garth and Clive were left in a critical condition. Their solution was to fuse themselves together in order to use the unbroken parts from each of them to build a new working body. Unfortunately Clive’s appetite now dominates their gestalt self, making Doublecat the food-snaffling genius he is.

Howard

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

Hello. I’m Howard. I don’t play nice.

George Edward Hanson

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

George Hanson was a system administrator responsible for the network of the University of Dundee before the Final War. Now he’s responsible for keeping the power running at the border shelter, otherwise the Others could get in.

#13 Trey Zantha

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments


Behind every screaming meathead, there is an exasperated family member wondering how the hell they’re related to him.

Trey Zantha is Lt. Leon Zantha’s younger brother and a signals analysis engineer on Valhalla Station. In stark contrast to Leon, Trey is the skinny intellectual of the family, having a master’s in signals intelligence under his belt.

He’s the sort of guy who, at first glance, appears to have his life together. He’s smart, well-educated, knows how to dress himself, and has a good paying job. He’s the guy your mom points at when she spots you loafing on the couch and says “Why can’t you be more like him?” However, beneath the surface he’s actually quite an unlucky bastard, hence his position day 13.

His job is a depressing step downward from his previous experiences. His former employer used to have him writing signals intelligence algorithms for CIA technology, but due to gross mismanagement, the company shut its doors and left Trey broke and desperate. Now he’s reduced to looking at graphs and going “look, there’s a spike!” and noting as such. Furthermore, he’s got chronic health problems that seem to be getting worse and a personal relationship he’s trying to keep secret or else he’ll get fried by both his job AND his brother.

In spite of all that, there are people who care. Even if he is a hard luck case beneath the surface, he’s still got family.
Broooooos
Awwww.

#10 Munjieou

| November 13, 2010 | 0 Comments

10 西男

Munjieou • The Rime Who is Inevitable

Western Munjieou (pronounced “Mun-YEOH) loves to watch the sun set on his realm, and despite his sluggish appeal, is the busiest of the Four Snows. He is responsible for punctually tucking in all the days between September and January early, to meet the solstice requirements. His left eye is indicative of this, and is frozen and grey for the rest of the year otherwise. He is a giant, nearly ten meteres tall, and is often mistaken for a small hill in the mist.

Munjeiou, like his sibling-aspects has two horns as well, but wears giant fuda as a sash. He is permanently covered in hoarfrost and his hands continue into large lumps of perpetually shapechanging ice blocks. He points the way to the Parade to those who die disappointed, remorseful, to those who are crushed under heavy things, and those who die thirsty in the desert. Munjieou very much looks forward to the Parade every year, as seeing new Walkers makes him feel nostalgic and proud of his job.

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Inspired by the traditional Japanese mountain ogre » the Oni, and the frost giants of Norse mythology. Also Thrall, because he is made of awesome bananas.

The Enforcer

| November 13, 2010 | 4 Comments

Don’t mess with THE ENFORCER

#12 Lady Gunn

| November 12, 2010 | 0 Comments

Lady Gunn is a character from my own character creations to make a web comic.

#12 Squadron Leader Leon Zantha

| November 12, 2010 | 2 Comments

The bro of bro-ness
Leon is the Odin Squadron 4 leader and the male counterpart to Priss (although spiritually, he’s more like the male Casey). He’s your quintessential meat head. Whether it’s going all out in a battle, hitting the bars, hitting on girls, or eating a really big steak, Leon is all about it. To call him a jock is an understatement.

As far as assets goes, he’s a very enthusiastic fighter and he’ll always have his bros’ backs. However, he’s not too bright and has all the social graces to fill a thimble. His track record with women seems to be much better in his head than in reality because he has an incredible knack for aggravating most women he meets. And even to the people he cares about the most, he can be highly overprotective.  He has good intentions that usually seem to go awry.

Overall, Leon isn’t a bad guy. He’s just kind of a gorilla.

#09 Toushou-Xhiblins

| November 11, 2010 | 2 Comments

09 東男

Toushou-Xhiblins • Of Teeth

Toushou’s presence is heralded by the gnashing sounds of his lamprey teeth, which form at the point where his human hands are supposed to be; they are actually feelers, like tentacles. His horns are a thick, bony cover which start from his spine and end in an elegant, curling point. His dominion is the east, and is known as He Of Teeth, sometimes The Ice That Gnaws; he points the way to the Parade to those who die of frostbite, shock, or dejection. His fuda is a blindfold around eyes which are also lamprey mouths.

Toushou is Kooriyh’s » favourite companion among the Snows, and he is always level-headed and practical; he sometimes appears to his wards just before they decide to shed, giving advice and helping them weigh their decisions properly. He wears his cape one-sided, leaving his right side exposed. Tou is also somewhat of a tattoo artist as well, his mouth-hands making good, accurate work. He prefers stalactites and icicles as his form.

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AMAR JATAR

| November 11, 2010 | 3 Comments

AMAR JATAR

is a witch doctor from India.

#10 Stabby Abby

| November 10, 2010 | 2 Comments

#9 The Lizard King

| November 10, 2010 | 4 Comments

#8 Hyomiyaku

| November 9, 2010 | 4 Comments

08 北女

Hyomiyaku • Northern chill

Hyomiyaku’s dominion is the north, which makes her the oldest of the Four Snows. She is the aspect that “follows the frightened,” and is points the way to those who die of dread, and suicides.She is a very nimble creature, rather lighthearted despite the nature of her ‘job’, and wraps fuda » around the twin onyx horns she shares with the other Snows. Instead of merely pointing the way to the Parade, she often walks alongside her charges, engaging them in conversation, joking with them, teasing them.

She is also very particular about footwear (a fact that the Parade organisers appreciate and share) and changes from her elevated geta to random period-inspired shoes depending on her mood. While Kooriyh tends to favour a watery element to her, Hyomiyaku prefers vapour.

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for Mia »

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