Post by nwreck on Oct 25, 2009 20:44:06 GMT -5
The inspiration for N-Wreck?
"Hey wouldn't it be funny if...?" - Generally heralds something BAD in my case. The results either ends up racially insensitive, completely misses the mark or is so out there that nobody gets the reference.
When I'm fortunate, all three happen and I get a character. In this case, it's an ebonics-speaking homosexual teen ninja with strange ninjutsu magic/martial arts. The homosexual part came from Quick, actually, because at first I toyed with the idea and thought it'd dilute the character somewhat. Then he said something in chat and committed to making him gay. Rather than dilute the character, it just enhances it even more, pushing through the limits of "acceptable" right into "zomg what?"
Much like most of my characters, he was built to be completely over-the-top and because of the fact that we're in a superhero world, it works. Generally, if you can't resume a character in 2-3 words, it falls apart. In this case, it allows me even more opportunities : He's a gay teen American-Japanese ninja who speaks like he's a gangsta.
It's actually his backstory and powers that are more inspired from the group I joined. The truth behind him is that he simply cannot leave his mentors - they're disembodied and they're the ones who teach him his tricks. Without them, he simply can't advance. The rebellion comes from his father, who disapproved of their family tradition that he shamed it by not becoming a ninja. He picked up the mantle, and is applying his skills at becoming a hero. Whereas some members of the Prodigy seceded from their mentor, he's different in that his mentors are always with him and he seceded from what prevented his becoming a hero. Exploring that seemed fun.
As for the powers, when I learned that Champions lore stated that everything works because of the ambient magic and that there's been times where the magic was strong, while others had times where it was weak. I figured I'd play on this a little by having his ancestors teach him ninja tricks that are supposed to be properly prepared, but due to the strong magic in the air, they simply work well.
For example, Pyre, in the times of his clan, had the ninja toss inflammable liquid all around him and muster a LOT of energy just to spark a flame, due to the weakness of the ambient magic. N-Wreck does not have that limitation - he just sets stuff on fire. The Ice Wall trick was actually a string of blades that were set up to fly upwards when a string was pulled, but when he first tried it, he was in Canada and hadn't properly prepared it, so ice flew out. His ancestors don't understand why this is happening, but learn to accept it. The same with the breathing techniques they taught him - they're supposed to help him recover when winded... not outright heal him (regen). That last part is also why he didn't get checked up after the Hangin' Judge rocked him upside the head... and also why a certain incident involving Quick happened because he knows Quick doesn't have that kind of "power".
"Hey wouldn't it be funny if...?" - Generally heralds something BAD in my case. The results either ends up racially insensitive, completely misses the mark or is so out there that nobody gets the reference.
When I'm fortunate, all three happen and I get a character. In this case, it's an ebonics-speaking homosexual teen ninja with strange ninjutsu magic/martial arts. The homosexual part came from Quick, actually, because at first I toyed with the idea and thought it'd dilute the character somewhat. Then he said something in chat and committed to making him gay. Rather than dilute the character, it just enhances it even more, pushing through the limits of "acceptable" right into "zomg what?"
Much like most of my characters, he was built to be completely over-the-top and because of the fact that we're in a superhero world, it works. Generally, if you can't resume a character in 2-3 words, it falls apart. In this case, it allows me even more opportunities : He's a gay teen American-Japanese ninja who speaks like he's a gangsta.
It's actually his backstory and powers that are more inspired from the group I joined. The truth behind him is that he simply cannot leave his mentors - they're disembodied and they're the ones who teach him his tricks. Without them, he simply can't advance. The rebellion comes from his father, who disapproved of their family tradition that he shamed it by not becoming a ninja. He picked up the mantle, and is applying his skills at becoming a hero. Whereas some members of the Prodigy seceded from their mentor, he's different in that his mentors are always with him and he seceded from what prevented his becoming a hero. Exploring that seemed fun.
As for the powers, when I learned that Champions lore stated that everything works because of the ambient magic and that there's been times where the magic was strong, while others had times where it was weak. I figured I'd play on this a little by having his ancestors teach him ninja tricks that are supposed to be properly prepared, but due to the strong magic in the air, they simply work well.
For example, Pyre, in the times of his clan, had the ninja toss inflammable liquid all around him and muster a LOT of energy just to spark a flame, due to the weakness of the ambient magic. N-Wreck does not have that limitation - he just sets stuff on fire. The Ice Wall trick was actually a string of blades that were set up to fly upwards when a string was pulled, but when he first tried it, he was in Canada and hadn't properly prepared it, so ice flew out. His ancestors don't understand why this is happening, but learn to accept it. The same with the breathing techniques they taught him - they're supposed to help him recover when winded... not outright heal him (regen). That last part is also why he didn't get checked up after the Hangin' Judge rocked him upside the head... and also why a certain incident involving Quick happened because he knows Quick doesn't have that kind of "power".