Character Introductions

We have an introduce yourself thread for the authors of Naperville, but what about all of these main characters we have? They're severely underrepresented! So, here is a nice little thread for our MCs to introduce themselves. :) I'll let Fury go first.

Quote:I am a man of many names, the most important of which are Erebus and Fury. I have not been Erebus Rickett in many, many years. That is a name that I no longer deserve. That is the name of a little boy with a home and a family. I have been Fury but briefly, though it is a name that fits me better than any other I have worn. It is fitting to be known by the emotion I inspire most in myself.

I am a man of many mistakes, the most important of which is the day that I killed my best friend. That is a piece of my history that will never sit right with me. That is a day that haunts my every breath, lingering in the back of my mind like a wraith, its cold, bony hands ever on my shoulders. I cant escape it, and it knows and exploits that.

I am a murderer and the man who poisoned an entire country. I am alone. I have no home. I destroyed the only one I ever had.

I am Fury.

Okay, looks like I'm next.

Quote:Um...Hello. My name is Abigail Anne Mills. I spend most of my day on the computer (my favorite game is a MMORPG called "Day of Heroes") because I mostly can't stand the physical presence of other people.

No, that's not an exaggeration. Being touched, unless I've given permission and WANT to be touched is enough to send me into a hyperventilating, possibly violent panic attack. Bright lights, strong smells, and loud sounds overwhelm my senses. This, along with most other stressors often causing me to "melt down".

All this, however, does not mean I won't talk to you if I meet you online. I rarely leave my apartment, so there's little chance of us meeting irl, but go ahead and add AAMills to almost any IM client, and we'll see if we can be online friends.

Obviously, the username is fake (though I may create it, if anyone would be willing to use it so I could get a feel for poor Abigail).

That's a fascinating idea! ;) I'd be more than willing to help you out if you need character development that way. Could be interesting!

Same here! :D

That's awesome. I'll look into creating an account and I'll post the screen name when I do.

Any particular IM work better for you?

Okay, so, if yahoo works, the email is A_A_Mills@yahoo.com.

Military titles may change by the time I actually get around to writing, but here's my first main character:

Quote:My name is Rebecca Falconwing, Captain of the Royal Imperial Warship Brisbane. I am an officer in the Royal Imerian Airmy, and I herald from a long line of distinguised military veterans. However, all is not so rosy as it may seem. I am a woman in a man's world. I am brushed off and looked down upon by my military "equals" who act as though I, being female, am inherently weaker in constitution and feebler of mind to them. My own parents believe the same, and urge me to find a man capable of providing for me so that I may settle down. But I will not settle. I cannot settle. I have sworn an oath to protect my King and my country before all else, and I will be true to this oath. I do not care if it costs me my life or my happiness, for I fight for an idea greater than myself. Perhaps it is vain of me to think that a woman can change the course of history, but change it I shall, if only for a moment.

This is a great idea! My characters are far more loquacious than I am, and Teragus kind of got away from me. Here is part of what he had to say:

Quote:Good afternoon to you.
My name is Teragus Swansong and I build dragons.

You might suppose that I was the one that started it all, but it was the Luna project and their foolish notion that they could reinvent society into something resembling Utopia where this all began. I was only foolish enough to believe them.

Let me tell you about myself. Long ago, in another lifetime it seems, I went to Berkeley to study aeronautics. That was before the Universal Field Theory was finally solved. Too bad that instead of bringing about peace, as Dr. Einstein would have wanted, anti-gravity technology turned our world into a war zone like none we had seen before. Religious zealots, eccentric billionaires, and aspiring despots, all with their own agendas now had access to the weapons to enforce them.

It shouldn't surprise you that I took the opportunity to flee this miserable place for the sanctuary of Luna.

Pardon me, while I prepare my tea. You are staying awhile aren't you? Would you like some? They say steam makes the most potent brew. Good for the sinus passages, and they say it stimulates the synapses.
No thank you, you say? Suit yourself, then.

But the dragons. I suppose that is what you came to hear about.

Dynamic-Reactor Anti-Gravity Nucleon theory, or DRAGN for those of you who enjoy acronyms, made it possible to build a transport that needs very little in the way of fuel and is independent of the forces of gravity. From there it was a simple matter, relatively, to design the wings, which are more important for steering and balance than actual lift, and to add the advanced sensory perception modules, along with the high level logic circuits. Atmy insistence,Angelo addedthe SOS enhancement module.
After Id watched my father die in his burning jet fighter, I never wanted a pilot lost in his own aircraft again.

I have heard the rumors. The colonists say the logic and perception modules give the dragons a spirit, and that dragons feel pain and fear, and that they dream at night. I don't believe it. I have torn them apart and put them together again, and found no reason to believe this causes them harm.

And yet, in the course of my quest for immortality all my moving parts, my limbs, my skin, the circuits of my neurons, and even my heart, have been replaced by mechanical parts. I can no longer distinguish where the man ends and the machine begins, and yet the part of me that senses, that fears, that loves, and creates, is still there.

You ask if I believe in God.
I find it hard to believe in God when I see the death and destruction my fellow man has wrought. I do not know if He exists. But I do know that if He does, He is angry.

Thank you for enduring my rant. I will finish my tea now.

You had me at "I build dragons."

One of my main characters is from a short story I wrote in college called The Damsel and I think the best way to introduce her is through the opening of that piece. Apologies for the length.

Quote:
Everyone thinks this job is easy, just scream and flail around, right? Wrong. It takes real talent, practice, vocal lessons, and a damned good hairdresser to be a Damsel in Distress. Not to mention you need references, and let me tell you, its not easy to get superheroes to sign to something like that. And to get an actual contract with a villain? Forget about it, its almost impossible. Thats why theres so few of us.

Thats just what it takes to get the job, the actual work is much, much harder. That one girl who always seems to unwittingly wander into traps, shes not actually that stupid and clumsy, she was hired. You have to do whatevers asked of you: lying down on train tracks, hanging suspended from the top of skyscrapers, hours tied up in a dark room, and still look great while doing it. Not to mention its probably one of the most dangerous careers out there.

So why do it, why become an official Damsel in Distress? Pretty much the same reason anyone would want to be a rock star or an actress: fortune, fame, hot guyswell, thats what the recruitment posters advertise anyway. For me its all about the excitement, really.

But truth be told? It pays the bills. Or at least, it used to. That was before Bethany St. James unwittingly wandered into one of my crime scenes, stole the spotlight, and snatched the heart of Captain Courageous. The most recognizable and admirable hero of our generation transformed into a lovesick puppy on the spot and everyone knows that Love Interest trumps Damsel in Distress. Lucky me. Villains didnt need me anymore, all they needed was Bethany St. James, and she didnt even have the common sense to charge them for her time. When Captain Courageous stopped coming after me, all the other heroes started to question if they should be either, and the villains broke their contracts.

I had to find a second job, all because some hero has a thing for pretty blondes in low-cut dresses. I work at a bank these days, at the counter where I spend my days wishing someone in a ski mask would come in with a gun and hold up the place. I realize thats not the attitude Im supposed to have, but it could be my big chance for a comeback into the business. Until then I spend my days behind the glass, my IQ dropping by the second, working one of the dullest jobs ever. Even when the Great Lois Lane wasnt jumping out of windows she at least got to be a star reporter. Of course, if I were a reporter Id have to cover all the miraculous saves of Bethany St. James and I dont think I could do that.

It used to be my name in the articles, in the captions, and even once in a headline. Ashton Monroe, saved from burning building by Poltergeist! Captain Courageous Rescues Ashton Monroe from Certain Death! I was in high demand with the villains, they had to arrange their heist schedules around my availability. A few months after the Love Interest Fiasco, my agent dropped me and I had to fend for myself, picking up small roles here and there, anything I could find.