First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Podcast (78)

Project: Comic (Mizfits)

Known as: Podcast

Real name: Pacey Campbell

Group affiliation: CounterAct

Physical description: Podcast is middle aged and notably overweight. He has a scraggly red beard that matches his long, scraggly hair. He wears thick glasses and is obviously profoundly nearsighted.

Personality: Podcast has never been noted for his intelligence or sparkling repartee. He’s quiet and has few friends and the cornerstone of those friendships are not conversation (they mostly drink beer and watch sports together). Occasionally they commit minor misdemeanors (and the occasional felony) together (hey, life has been unfair to them).

History: Podcast grew up in rural Oklahoma. A middling student (at best) his family was poor and was the first place the police would stop when there was a crime to solve. While both his parents had committed crimes that they got away with, they were ultimately convicted on a murder they did not commit. A young Pacey moved four houses down to a foster home and his life largely remained unchanged, although he did miss his parents (who were largely absentee). Their circumstances gave him a worldview that you might as well do crime you can get away with, since you’ll probably be put away for something you didn’t.

Still, he mostly kept his nose clean and didn’t get caught for anything (this was probably due to his natural laziness as much as anything). He worked at a local grocery store stocking shelves and so forth. He did commit minor larceny with his employer, but it was so minor the employer knew and ignored. Specifically, Podcast tended to poach items past their expiration date.

This may have created his powers (or maybe it was time spent at the dump shooting rats; or the blends of cheap alcohol he drank; or even things he did on dares), but no one knows for sure. He’s one of the members of the cast of Mizfits that did not get his powers from All Saint’s Anarchy. The strange thing is that because he spoke relatively little, and was pretty boring when he did, it took a long time to realize he had an ability.

He eventually posted a video showing him using his powers on his friends, which people ignored as a hoax (his power only works when he is in person). Counter and his gang had been watching for people with abilities and Post was dispatched to verify with Pacey. Though not actually having much potential as a member of CounterAct, Post recruited him as soon as she realized she could brand his powers as complimenting hers and her brother’s.

He doesn’t do a ton for CounterAct, though he can be useful with proper preparation (both in resisting his powers and giving him material to use).

Role in the narrative: An incompetent antagonist and possible source of comedy (his ramblings could get funny).

Abilities: When Podcast speaks, anyone who listens to him for a full minute becomes mesmerized and unable to do anything else but listen to him. This will continue as long as he keeps speaking and the listeners can hear him (note, his power only works in person – despite his name). If the listeners stop hearing him for a full 15 seconds, they are freed. This can be by someone plugging their ears or Podcast simply running out of things to say.

Probably the greatest limitations to his powers is a) it can be hard to get people to listen for a full minute and b) he quickly tends to run out of things to say. He has memorized a few long speeches but often forgets parts or gets bored himself.

Inspirations: I’ve been watching “Innocent Man” on Netflix. Another chilling docuseries about how innocent people can be sent to jail. I reflected what that might be like for the children (note those in the documentary turned out great). So it inspired this character, though the character provides little commentary on the wrongfully convicted (I might want to do something around this later). There are lots of mesmerizing type characters out there (the Ringmaster, Mesmero, etc.). A little bit of Purple Man in that his power is embedded in his voice.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Meme (77)

Project: Comic (Mizfits)

Known as: Meme

Real name: Sebastian Church

Group affiliation: CounterAct

Physical description: Meme is sixty-seven but looks older. He is very thin, nearly bald, and wrinkled.

Personality: Meme is the opposite of his sister, Post. Extremely introverted, he is exhausted being around other people. He also has social anxiety and no people skills. When left alone, however, he is a talented artist and interior designer (of course, he does interior design under a pseudonym and avoids meeting clients directly).

Meme tends to follow strong personalities and is absolutely ruled by his sister Alexandria (Post).

History: Sebastian Church (Meme), like his sister (Post), was also born to a well-to-do Manhattan family (he was actually the first born). Unlike his sister, he was very much a homebody and felt more grateful that his family had a great home than that they lived in a great city. His family, other than his sister, indulged his hermit ways. Hiring teachers to homeschool him and getting whatever, he needed delivered, his family didn’t make him a complete recluse but did enable his natural tendencies.

Of course, his little sister did not understand his liking of loneliness. Minimally she would pester him when she was bored and occasionally make him go out with her. She legitimately loves him, while he considers her a force of nature to which he has to bow. Fortunately for him, she eventually found many distractions and would only go to him to bother him on principle. When her troubles arrived, her brother was a stalwart supporter. He actually hoped it would give her a new perspective in life and she would stop valuing the regard of others so much.

He was to be disappointed. She in fact was trying to encourage him to consume social media when the All Saint’s Anarchy hit (where Boost amplified Random’s powers and reality was altered). He ended up swallowing the radioactive bee that stung his sister. Although neither got bee powers, both got social media powers. Where his sister gains power from “likes,” he became a shapeshifter based upon memes (see below).

As an artist, he is mortified that his power involves him memorizing memes (which he considers the lowest form of art). He is still manipulated by, and feels responsibility for, his sister so he is also a part of CounterAct and feels he needs to be ready.

Role in the narrative: A reluctant antagonist. He represents a class of people who try to understand memes while disliking them.

Abilities: Meme’s power is unusual and somewhat unpredictable. Like his sister, he somehow taps into the mental energy of those who consume memes, but this gets expressed in a very different way. He is basically a shapeshifter, who can “become” any meme he has studied thoroughly and memorized. If the meme is associated with an image, he will become a replica of that image (e.g., a cat meme enables him to become a cat). Furthermore, if the theme of the meme is strong enough, he can also gain additional abilities in that form. For example, if he used the meme around a clown summoning people to a storm drain, he would become the clown and have the ability to draw people to him against their better judgment. Note that he will not get all the abilities of the fictional clown, just the one tied up in the meme.

He does have a number of limitations. First, the time he can stay in the alternate form is directly proportional for how long the meme was popular. Second, he can only become each meme once. Third, he must have a good knowledge, and understanding, of the meme and its form. Finally, as mentioned above the form will only have advanced abilities if the meaning of the meme was especially strong.

Inspirations: At this point I’m riffing on social-media inspired villains (my son referred to this one as “cringy,” which I took as a compliment). I was going to stop at two, but something he said gave me an idea for “Podcast” so watch for that one tomorrow. Shapeshifters are not new (hello Beast Boy) and superheroes are fantastic meme generators.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Post (76)

Project: Comic (Mizfits)

Known as: Post

Real name: Alexandria Church

Group affiliation: CounterAct

Physical description: Post is sixty-two, thin with gray hair. She is in good shape and takes her appearance seriously.

Personality: Post is extremely extroverted. She loves parties, concerts and big events; and gets more energetic when she is around people. If she spends too much time alone, she gets very restless and eventually depressed. She is fun, and people love her parties. She is also vain and overreacts to criticism (a bit dramatic at times).

History: Alexandria Church (Post) was born to a well-to-do Manhattan family. She loved living in the city and was constantly asking to go and see things. She quickly built up a large circle of friends and rare was the weekend (or weekday night) she didn’t have plans. Attractive and charismatic, she grew into the type of socialite that made the newspapers.

Her family very much approved of her as she built an impressive network that greatly benefitted the family’s business. She did some modeling, party planning, and generally found doing whatever her impulses lead her to was quite lucrative. Unfortunately, one day a musician she was dating secretly videotaped them having sex. He shared the tape liberally and it caused quite a scandal. While the media at the time wasn’t so gauche as to cover it as a news item, it was rather well known and bootleg copies became quite popular. She became scorned (while the musician’s popularity only rose) and, being sensitive to criticism, became overwhelmed and was admitted for psychiatric treatment (leading to further scandal).

Eventually what she valued so much (fame) faded and she was able to go back into public being only occasionally recognized. Still loving to be around people, she opened a successful nightclub to give her a place where she could (mostly anonymously) still be around lots of people having fun. Happiness eluded her, however, especially as she realized she was simply born a little too early. Society’s views evolved and what caused her downfall proved to only increase the fame of her modern equivalents. Bitterly, she became obsessed with consuming social media.

She was with her brother (who would become Meme) when All Saint’s Anarchy hit (the event where Boost overloaded Random’s powers and the laws of reality were suspended). She was trying to convince him to get into social media when her tablet turned into a radioactive bee and stung her (it then flew down her brother’s throat and died). It is unclear if the bee had anything to do with it (she didn’t get bee-themed powers), but Post emerged from the event with super human abilities.

Discovering that her powers were tied to people’s positive feelings towards her, she paid for a documentarian to create a sympathetic film about her. People became interested in her story and her fame rose (many feeling like the morays of society at the time had treated her unfairly). In modern times, Post feels the line between fame and infamy are so paper-thin that she has joined Counter’s group of miscreants. She either feels Counter’s challenging of the status quo will help make her more popular or set up another redemption story for her down the road. She has sworn to herself that no one will forget her again.

Role in the narrative: An antagonist. She was originally going to be younger but that felt like too much of a cliché (even for me who has been known to embrace cliché). Her character formed up after that (to further tweak clichés I wanted an older character who has failed to find wisdom).

Abilities: Post’s powers are at the same time strange and subtle while also being direct and destructive. Whenever someone has a positive thought or reaction to Post she gains some power (no matter the distance). The power gained from each moment of positive regard is fairly small, so she needs many, many such moments for her power level to increase to a notable degree. The positive reaction need not only be focused upon her but can also result from something she has created.

She can store up this power indefinitely and she can use it to fly and shoot beams of concussive force from her hands. While using her power, she is highly resistant to damage. If she has stored up many viral moments, she is an absolute wrecking ball of force.

There are limitations however. Once she uses up her reserves, she needs many moments of positive regard to replenish. Also, negative thoughts and reactions can weaken her. As a result, she is constantly working social and other forms of media to get positive attention (she’s gotten pretty good at it).

She will likely eventually find that hitching her wagon to Counter is a mistake and may eventually find that the negative reactions begin to outweigh the positive ones. What she will turn into when this is the case will be startling.

Inspirations: There was a comic I read once that I can’t recall the name of where people could donate small bits of their energy to a hero. Therefore, this hero had to stay popular with the people to have power. So all credit to that creator for the concept – I’ve been Googling and unable to find so far (I’ll edit to add the name of the title if I can find it). I just combined the concept with the trope that people who value popularity above all else are often evil (think Mean Girls).

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Morgan Henry (75)

Project: A short story (A Connecticut Idiot in King Arthur’s Court)

Known as: YaBouy (yes, he spells it that way)

Real name: Morgan Henry

Group affiliation: None

Physical description: Morgan is 16 and skinny. He has a long, stringy, dingy blond hair and a soul patch. He usually wears dirty cargo shorts and a band t-shirt.

Personality: Morgan (or YaBouy as he likes to be called) is chill – almost critically so (he’s been checked for a pulse on numerous occasions). He is an uninterested student and isn’t that bright but has a burning confidence despite this. On the topics of memes or Twitch videos he is an expert, and these are the only topics upon which he places any value. He plans to be a successful social media personality and he knows he will succeed as he is an interesting guy who is always right. He just hasn’t gotten around to recording nor editing anything.

History: YaBouy grew up in urban Hartford, CT; raised by a single mother. His mother works two jobs to support them and loves her son desperately. Things might be a little easier for her if YaBouy didn’t need the latest device and games, but she wants her talented boy to reach his full potential. Her biggest disappointment is that she is unable to send him to a private school, as so far, his special sort of genius doesn’t seem to align with public school curriculum.

One day YaBouy is skating home, anxious to get to his console gaming. Unfortunately, his weed dealer has ran out of patience around money owned and opts to smack YaBouy with a baseball bat. Knocked unconscious, YaBouy awakes in a field, where a man in armor (Sir Kay) rides up. He challenges YaBouy to a joust and YaBouy isn’t about to let some try-hard flex on him and agrees. YaBouy breaks his ankle trying to mount a horse, and Kay declares himself the victor.

Captured, YaBouy first assumes that this is either a bad trip or a bunch of out-of-control LARPers. Eventually he begins to suspect he has somehow traveled back in time. Fortunately, a few video games and movies have prepared him for this moment and he knows exactly what to do: use his knowledge of the future to rule over the people of this era.

At King Arthur’s court, YaBouy claims he is a wizard and that he can create wonders. As his garb and speech are so unusual (and mostly because things were a little boring at Camelot), they give him some resources to try to build things. The blacksmiths create something that roughly looked like a gun based upon YaBouy’s description and even bullets. Of course, they didn’t know what to do when he kept saying “make gunpowder for the bullets.” His descriptions of toilets showed some early promise but as he did not know what made water come out of pipes (nor what pipes were made of). Ultimately, this concept created a bit of a mess.

This continued for a while. They fabricated a skateboard based upon his description, but he was frustrated with their inability to create the right kind of wheels (“you know, little plastic ones that spin easily”). The tricks he could do were quite limited, especially given the quality of roads. By the time he was describing a helicopter and “you have to get the gas out of the ground” the amusement of creating things for the clearly crazy man had begun to wear thin.

Unfortunately, he was good for nothing else – he couldn’t fight, bake (“where’s the microwave?”), care for animals, farm, or do any other basic tasks (he couldn’t even scribe up to standards). Finally, he was put in motley and made a jester, but this was more out of pity than his abilities there (though he thought he was living the medieval version of his dream).

He eventually gets back to his home time. Unfortunately, he had learned very little during his time there and was largely useless to modern historians. He did finally make a YouTube channel about his experiences and was soundly ridiculed for a couple of weeks when he tried to recreate his motley.

Role in the narrative: He’s our protagonist, just not an impressive one.

Abilities: He doesn’t even play video games as well as he things he does. His natural respiration does create CO2, which is beneficial to plants.

Inspirations: To be clear, I’m not generalizing to a whole generation here. This was inspired by Twain’s “Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur’s Court.” When I read it, I was struck about how lame of a time traveler I would be. I’ve grown up in a time of modern devices and have relatively few skills and little knowledge that would be useful to per-industrial societies (I know nothing about mining or smelting; little about applied Chemistry, etc.). So where in Twain’s story his protagonist creates gunpowder and a lightning rod to blow up Merlin’s tower, it would be hard for me (nigh impossible) to approach something similar (I might be able to make gunpowder given lots of time and experimentation). I’ve wanted to do a more modern retelling for a while now and since then if anything things have gotten worse. As devices become more and more intuitive there is simply still less reason to bother to learn how they work. So I think most folks today are bright, I do think that there are a small few that are actually celebrated for not doing much.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Shortcut (74)

Project: Comic (Mizfits)

Known as: Shortcut

Real name: Jaimie Winters

Group affiliation: CounterAct

Physical description: Shortcut is young (18), petite, and is usually wearing a smile.

Personality: Shorcut is an adrenaline junky. Surfing, snowboarding, skydiving, bungee jumping, you name it. The main reason she is a “bad guy” is that the rush of crime and battle is one of the best highs she has encountered. She generally avoids harming people too much (though she won’t be overwhelmed with guilt if she does – that’s life).

History: Jaimie was an action kid that was the child of action parents. Extreme sports heroes, her parents actually made a decent living endorsing skateboards, snowboards, and the like. This allowed the family a great deal of freedom in pursuing extreme experiences.

Looking to follow in their footsteps, Jaimie began competing as a teenager (motocross). She never seriously considered college, as she only barely managed to get her high school degree (she was just too distracted). Her relationships mirrored her hobbies and she dated a string of edgy people she was never serious about.

Recently, she and her parents were extreme skiing and got caught in an avalanche. Jaimie barely escaped, and her parents were not so lucky. While many might find this a life-altering experience, for Jaimie it only fueled her extreme nature. She knew her parents lived life hard and died the way they wanted to. She missed them terribly but felt she could honor them best by continuing to push the envelope.

She was free scaling a skyscraper when All-Saints Anarchy hit (the even were Boost overloaded Random’s powers and the laws of reality were suspended). Jaimie gained the ability to create portals linking two distant locations, which saved her life when the building she was climbing turned into a pile of yak hair. She found that she could dismiss the portals at will. Anything partially through the portals when they were dismissed is instantly severed (part stays at one location, the other part stays at the other location). So far, this has not failed to neatly sever anything (including a steel beam). She gave herself the name “Shortcut” both for her ability to go to distant places while skipping the distance between and the side effect of being able to sever things.

Puzzle approached Shortcut to join the Mizfits but Shortcut turned her down. The Mizfits are about learning control and cooperation, and Puzzle’s ability focuses primarily on order. This was not appealing to Shortcut, who was more on the chaos/danger side of things. Counter’s offer (heh), however, was more appealing. The rush of committing crimes, getting shot at, etc. was just too tempting.

Shortcut is not particularly a bad person, but neither is she good. At the end of the day she is self-centered, and perhaps suicidal.

Role in the narrative: Shortcut and Swap could have some crazy battles.

Abilities: Shortcut can open round portal connecting two distant locations. She can control the size of these portals, up to a maximum of about 2’ across (enough for her to dive through fairly easily). One portal must be opened within a few feet of her, while the second can be at any location she has visited before. The portals have a direction and she can control which side is “open.”

While transportation is an obvious benefit, her powers have several non-obvious applications. For example, Shorcut has been deep-sea diving. She can open a portal to a deep-water location she has been to and create a geyser of high-pressure water at her current location. She’s also been on airplanes, so she can connect to a lower-pressure area and create an explosive decompression effect.

Inspirations: The name is a nod to the Bionic Woman. The Spider-man villain the Spot has a similar power (though his is more amped up) and lots of teleporters are around (e.g., Nightcrawler, Keith’s wolf on the new Voltron, etc.). I had an idea years ago for another “Shortcut” (a friend of mine even drew a picture of him – thanks Dan). But while reusing the power concept (which in turn isn’t that original) the character above is a new one.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Kyle Greene (73)

Project: Short story (Heartless)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Kyle Greene

Group affiliation: Techcorps

Physical description: Kyle is in his early 30ies at the start of the story. Not bad-looking, he is thin and doesn’t invest much in his appearance.

Personality: Kyle (with heart) is high-strung and anxious. He is overly hard on himself when he makes mistakes and is afraid of letting others down. He takes criticism too hard and perseverates on problems. That being said, he is a good and kind person.

Kyle (without heart) is confident, cool, and collected. He is also ruthless and uncaring.

History: Kyle has always been anxious. A fearful child, Kyle was an easy target for bullies. He was however easy to please, which made him a fine student beloved by adults. Also beloved by his close friends as he grew, he was unlucky in love mostly due to a notable lack of confidence on his part.

Outstanding in Computer Science in college, upon graduation he was snapped up by Techcorps. To say he was an exemplary employee would be an understatement. He was the one everyone could count on to deliver. No work/life balance at all, he worked long hours and weekends. As he moved from project to project, Techcorps and his managers made it clear that every project was urgent. As a result, he felt stress constantly and berated himself for any mistakes he made (they were all minor).

Despite his focus on career, his advancement was limited. Not assertive, managers and colleagues were happy enough to take credit for his work. Additionally, it was better for his department that his salary stayed contained (not to mention that some advised him to not seek a raise, as a higher salary made him more open to being laid off). Finally, the technical staff such as himself had limited advancement in general. The modern-day “factory workers” the MBAs and business-types held the most powerful (and lucrative) positions in the company.

All this implies that Kyle thought about his career, though he rarely had time for that. So, focused on the next project, problem, or ask, Kyle barely had time to ponder his own happiness. One night, when working late again, the stress and anxiety threatened to overwhelm him. He made a sort of wish – that he could just turn off his feelings for a while. On impulse, he put his hand on his chest and his fingers melted ghost-like. Reaching into his chest, he pulled out a wispy, bright light – his heart. Not the one made of meat, but his spiritual heart. He felt immediately better and put it in a drawer to finish his work. He replaced it when done, went home, and fell asleep.

The next day he assumed it was all a strange dream from overwork. Until the next time his anxiety got the better of him and he found he could do it again. Without his heart he was able to work faster and more efficiently. He also saw the world more clearly and realized things he would need to do to advance himself. On the other hand, the world was more muted without his heart – the lows were not low, but the highs weren’t that high, either.

Kyle sought the right balance for when to be heartless and when to have his heart. He started to rise in the company quickly when heartless but then would feel guilt for some of what he had done after he restored his heart. He began to wonder if life just wouldn’t be easier if he never put his heart back and began to spend more and more time without it. He did notice that his heart had begun to glow less brightly and ideally wondered what would happen to him if it went out.

Then one day his heart got stolen and everything changed.

Role in the narrative: He’s our protagonist. It’s a story around how modern corporations can sometimes take advantage of great people. It’s also about how we all blunt our feelings to get through this thing called life (to quote the purple one). It will have something of a positive ending – a metaphor for how we sometimes need someone to steal our heart when we aren’t so good at taking care of it ourselves.

Abilities: Very bright, fantastic coder.

Inspirations: This would be a very “Twilight Zone” sort of story. In my experience, smart, competent but risk-adverse people are the bulwark of most major companies.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Ethan Barton (72)

Project: Nighttime soap (War of Joy)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Ethan James Barton

Group affiliation: Cooper family/Spring Toys

Physical description: Ethan does not stand out in a crowd. Average height and weight, his brown hair is cut short and neat. His suits are fine but tend towards unassuming blues and grays. About Clive’s age, Ethan wears wire-rim glasses and has an unremarkable face.

Personality: Just like his appearance, Ethan has a personality that causes him to fade into the background (especially around an attention-stealer like his constant companion, Clive). Quiet and precise, he seems like the note-taker in most meetings. This is something he has deliberately cultivated. In reality, he is the sharpest business mind of our whole cast. Clive has charisma, but not much else going for him when running a company. The best maneuvers Spring Toys does are all from Ethan, though he’ll never take credit. He’s the snake in the grass that you discover too late has fangs.

History: Gabriel sensed that his son Clive, while the golden child, was destined to be more figurehead than leader. He very deliberately hired and groomed what he thought would be Clive’s ideal number two: Ethan Barton. Academically gifted, Barton came with a tremendous reassume but a quiet, unassuming nature. Gabriel thought he had found an ideal person to run the company without trying to take it from Clive.

And he was right. What he didn’t anticipate is that Ethan would take the company from him. Whispering in Clive’s ear, it was Ethan who masterminded the ouster of Gabriel. Not that anyone realized this – even Clive. Such is Clive’s ego that he conveniently forgets the source of “his” brilliant ideas. Which suits Ethan fine. He prefers to work things from the background and have a shield/fall guy if necessary. Ethan is the most dangerous of people: ability without ego.

And thus, everyone underestimates them. In truth, it would be hard to OVERestimate him, given he is only merely two steps ahead of everyone else on a bad day.

Some secrets and points of drama we may or may not encounter:

• Ethan might apply to Joy for a job.
• Maybe Ethan is secretly an investigator for the FBI and has been using his business connections for years to bring people down.
• Maybe Ethan will embezzle and ruin the company (this point and the one above are not mutually exclusive).
• If we need to go extreme and wackado, Ethan is our best candidate to secretly be a demon.

Role in the narrative: Ethan is critical as I have characterized Clive as incompetent yet arrogant. He almost needs his opposite number working for him to make the success of Spring Toys plausible (without Ethan, Joy would have taken down Clive long ago).

Abilities: Super-smart and has no life outside of business.

Inspirations: An evil Lucius Fox and a bit of Owen from Gargoyles.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Stephano and Gabriel (71)

Project: Nighttime soap (War of Joy)

Known as: No nicknames

Real name: Stephano Lake, Gabriel Cooper

Group affiliation: Lake family/Dulac toys; Cooper family/Spring Toys, respectively

Physical description: Both Stephano and Gabriel are now elderly gentlemen. Stephano seems to be trapped in the 60ies/70ies a little in his fashion choices, while Gabriel wears suits. They are both handsome and have a charismatic presence.

Personality: When they were younger, they were somewhat opposites. Stephano was creative and idealistic while Gabriel was calculating and pragmatic. They were both dreamers and visionaries, however, and were fast friends (feeling their differences complimented one another). They were interlocked in that Stephano was one of the few people who saw goodness in Gabriel, while Gabriel was one of the few people Stephano ever allowed to see his darker side. Their falling out occurred in part because their business heightened their differences (many an argument was over Stephano’s instinct to create something great and Gabriel’s instinct to succeed at business; this is somewhat mirrored in Joy and Melody in present day).

Time has taken some of the edges off their conflict and reduced the extremes of their personalities. Both have regrets, and both wonder why things that once seemed so urgent and important now don’t seem to matter so much. Stephano is still close with his family, while Gabriel is not (he’s somewhat disgusted by them). Their current dynamic is a hard one to classify. Each still carries at least some anger towards the other and both have a knack for getting under each other’s skin. At the same time, they both have tremendous affection towards one another that neither can admit. They are simultaneously each other’s worst enemy and best friend.

History: We’ve touched upon Stephano’s and Gabriel’s shared history in entries for other characters (the founding of the company and eventual rivalry between their companies). Going back further, the two met in college. On the surface, they should have never been friends. Stephano was an odd-duck artist and Gabriel was the athlete golden boy on campus. They took an introductory philosophy course together and their voices were the dominant debaters in the class. Their friendship formed here – each enjoyed being challenged by the other and found the other more interesting than most people they knew.

Beyond that, they had admiration for each other. Not that Stephano would ever admit it (he wore his outcast status like a badge of honor), but he admired and was a little jealous of Gabriel’s confidence, easy way with people, and success. Meanwhile Gabriel secretly thought Stephano’s ability to create beautiful things was the closest thing to magic that he had ever experienced. It was Gabriel that hatched the plan for them to go into business together, while Stephano pushed them towards toys. Their ending up in West Spring, IN was just happenstance (it had an inexpensive factory that met their needs and the right workforce).

The early years of the company were the happiest of their lives (though Stephano would tell you it was the birth of his children). They worked long hours but loved the work. They both thrilled at creating something from nothing and enjoyed how the community embraced them as job producers. The two of them were a well-oiled machine, their strengths and weaknesses interlocking perfectly.

Cracks eventually started to form. Both of them started families. Gabriel thought that Stephano spent too much time away from work, while also feeling judged by Stephano in that Gabriel neglected his (Gabriel’s) own family. Stephano thought Gabriel was making the wrong deals and was turning too often to sacrificing quality for profit. Egos also became a factor, as rather than seeing themselves as a partnership each started to develop feelings that HE was really the true driving force behind their success.

An event (see below) lead to a falling out and a battle for the company. Ultimately, Gabriel won control of Spring Toys (unsurprisingly; he was better suited to such conflicts). Stephano’s reputation did help him find financial backing for his own toy company (Dulac). Both stayed in West Spring, as each saw it as a key point in their conflict (who was the true hero of West Spring?). What followed was years of professional and personal conflict which was passed on to the next generation.

Eventually Gabriel and Stephano got out of their respective businesses. For Stephano, he realized that running the business took him away from the creative aspects he enjoyed more. He also realized that his daughter, Joy, was a better business person than him and she would need to take over things for Dulac to continue. Meanwhile, Clive manipulated things to oust Gabriel as he thought it was his destiny (in reality, Ethan did the key manipulating; Clive had the ego but not the talent). Gabriel and his son are unsurprisingly estranged.

Now both men are more reflective about their lives and seeking a bit of what they lost. Strangely, this has resulted in them meeting each other weekly (or more often). Each had missed talking with their favorite debater. So, they play games (usually, and perhaps too predictably, chess). Each episode will end with the two of them playing and having a discussion. Sometimes they will discuss what is going on in their children’s lives, giving perspectives on the conflict. Other times they will relive their younger years (revealing secrets to the viewer). Are they friends? Enemies? Why do they keep interacting? Probably Stephano and Gabriel would be the ones least able to answer those questions for you.

Some secrets and points of drama we may or may not encounter:

• We’ll learn what really caused the original falling out between the friends. It won’t be business nor greed but rather a mutual sense of betrayal (love affairs will be involved). Ego was certainly a contributing factor (who was the “genius” behind Spring Toys).
• I think maybe the above will be affairs with each other’s wives; though I have to think more about those characters (the wives) first.
• I’m toying (see the pun?) with the idea that Spring Toys manufactured a dangerous toy and were sued and that this was a big factor in the break (Stephano would be horrified and take an “I told you so” approach; while Gabriel would be defensive and overcompensate for the guilt he felt).
• Maybe someday they will start a business together again (something small/on-line). This might be the end of the series.

Role in the narrative: They are a framing device. Plus, they give perspective on the conflict of the younger generation (in the final analysis, is it all worth it?). Additionally, I can use them to reveal old secrets to the viewer. Finally, I want to show how people can evolve over time.

Abilities: Both are still intelligent and have more wisdom than they did in their earlier years. Stephano is still very creative, and Gabriel still has a mind for business (not that they get called upon).

Inspirations: This one is an out and out trope: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/SmartPeoplePlayChess

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Char Cooper (70)

Project: Nighttime soap (War of Joy)

Known as: Char

Real name: Charlette Christine Cooper

Group affiliation: Cooper family

Physical description: Seventeen-year-old Char has a certain Goth vibe about her. She usually wears dark clothes and her short, spikey hair is died black. Her accessories are usually exotic and they invite questions from anyone who is interested (and she has stories for each). However, she’ll often work in one bright color (e.g., a clip-in in her hair, a scarf).

Personality: Char is very quiet and detached. She is a nihilist by nature, although she holds a few hopes that keep it from overwhelming her. On the balance being pessimistic, she is not a risk taker and tends to put minimal effort into most endeavors.

There are a few of exceptions to this. One, she is a poet and works very hard on that (including reading lots of other poets, getting feedback from her online group of like-minded poets, and composing constantly). Two, Chase and her are extremely close and he is a rare person that mostly doesn’t disappoint her (and for whom she would do almost anything). Three, Mandy Lake and their secret relationship is a bright spot of happiness in her life.

History: Char is Chase’s twin and Liz’s other child. While she was a bright and cheerful child, with puberty came borderline depression and pessimism. This seems to be a mix of a change in hormones and a better understanding of her mother and their family dynamics. From her mother she learned that life doesn’t always work out the way you hoped. From her uncle she learned that there is no strict justice in the world and the bad experience as much rewards in life (actually, more) than the good.

Her worldview is therefore that what she does matters relatively little; the world will hand her what it hands her. At least, consciously this is her worldview – there is still a bit of that happy child within her and when she is writing her poetry or with Mandy she can’t help but feel some hope. Given this is so rarely seen, however, she is generally viewed as grumpy and uninvolved (making her popular with neither students nor teachers). As a consequence, she spends much of her time alone (except the time she spends with Chase and Mandy; of course, she doesn’t spend time with both of them at once).

Some secrets and points of drama we may or may not encounter:

• Someday she’ll likely find out that Chase is also in a relationship with Mandy. This will either crush her (fulfilling her belief’s on life’s unfairness) or open her up to sharing (Chase is after all her favorite person; and given she doesn’t have high expectations for her life in general she is open to settling). Chase will be less likely to embrace the latter.
• Let’s not forget, either Chase or Char is a serial killer. (I’m struggling mightily with this; it goes against my “most people are redeemable” worldview. I feel like I have to set such rules to keep me from making everyone a goody-good, but neither Chase nor Char feel like serial killers to me at the moment. We’ll see what happens).
• Char will apparently attempt suicide. She’ll have taken too many drugs after a night of drinking too much. She won’t remember the details and will even suspect herself of trying suicide. In reality, she’ll have been poisoned by someone who wanted to kill Liz instead. This brush with death, and really reflecting on whether she would commit suicide, will cause a change in her worldview (for the better).
• It’s possible that Char started the fire that Melody will be accused of.

Role in the narrative: A morose teenager can be pretty handy. Also a cliché – but let’s face it, a cliché for a reason.

Abilities: She is a talented poet and she is quite smart. Her detachment and refusal to try hard at most things limits how many skills she has.

Inspirations: I had to do some searching to find where Char came from. Lydia from Beetlejuice is likely an influence/inspiration.

First time at this blog? Check out Home for details on the project and the Character Index for more of an overview of the characters.

Mandy Lake (69)

Project: Nighttime soap (War of Joy)

Known as: Mandy

Real name: Amanda Roldan Lake

Group affiliation: Lake family

Physical description: Seventeen-year-old Mandy is a striking young woman who carries herself confidently. She has shoulder-length blond hair and blue eyes.

Personality: Usually, Mandy is quietly confident. She seems to have inherited her father’s even-keeled nature but not his artistic emotional excesses. She is popular at school and a good student. She can be counted on to keep her cool and more than a few fellow students seek her advice.

Unfortunately, she also has a dark side. While calm, she has a certain emotional detachment. Secretly she enjoys stirring the pot and has a number of alternate social identities to reveal secrets and start conflicts between her fellow students. She can be quite devious when she feels threatened – not that you’d be able to tell (she is too careful to maintain her crafted public face).  Nothing so dramatic a split personality, but she does tend to dissociate her social media identities from her core identity, and the harm she does seems surreal to her. It’s as if she’d directing an on-line play while living her real life separately. More bored and immature than evil, she will be challenged if she ever has a moment where her underhandedness is uncovered, or if she really impacts someone she cares about.

History: Amanda is Joy and Thomas’ second child, born some years after her sister Melody. Despite being the baby of the family, she feels a bit ignored as her sister tended to be more of a dramatic-attention getter. It is likely her dynamic with her sister that caused her secret life as a button-pusher. She secretly admires and is intimidated by her sister and it helped her address her insecurities that she could manipulate her sister into having emotional reactions (which in turn made her less intimidating). She found that she could do this with many people which further helped address her sublimated feelings of insecurity.

It is important to her to be liked, so it would be a big life-changing shock if some of her under handedness was uncovered. Thomas would be surprised and extremely disappointed, for example, which would give Mandy a very new perspective (she is very tight with her father). How much of her deviousness is a teenager still developing empathy vs. a real problem remains to be seen.

She and Chase are seeing each other (he is very smitten with her; and she might be with him). They are keeping it a secret due to the tensions between their families. At least, he is keeping it a secret for that reason. She has another reason to keep it secret – she is also seeing Chase’s sister Char (who is also very smitten – and again, the feeling might be mutual). This is not a case of Mandy manipulating people; she feels drawn to both of them and isn’t at all sure how to handle it.

Some secrets and points of drama we may or may not encounter:

• Given that Mandy herself has some secrets, she might get out maneuvered by another person who likes to stir up trouble anonymously on social media.
• Mandy’s “play” might have major real-world consequences (perhaps contributing to a suicide). This will be a wake-up call that her games aren’t so innocent.
• The Char/Chase situation is a bubbling cauldron. Whether the discovery would split the twins or lead to some sort of understood sharing is yet to be seen (I think Char could handle the latter; I’m less sure about Chase).
• Mandy will still mess with her sister but when Melody is suspected of arson, they will close ranks.

Role in the narrative: Mandy started out as another goody-good in my head, but dramas need, well, drama. Most people are fairly dysfunctional in their teenage years and exhibit cruelty and insecurities that will be unrecognizable as adults. I’m hoping Mandy can be basically a good person who has some lessons to learn.

Abilities: Good student, plays social media like a violin…and plays the violin like a violin, as it turns out.

Inspirations: Various 90210 characters have had Mandy moments (e.g., Kelly Taylor had moments of being mean but turned out to be a good egg).