Alien unfinished art

[gs_silva]

Some screenshots I took of the art I'm working on right now. Above is Jon Sievers and below is my main man, Maurice Arzamastsev. They're shopping in a Harley Davidson dealership. I was going to cut this scene, but it was too important for character development.

Maurice is working as Jon's aide, and he's not sure how to handle it yet. So Jon is giving him a course on The Care and Feeding of Jon. Apparently that involves manly things. Maurice is no stranger to manly things, but he's being the student here, until he has to step up and be the adult.

It's a story about power balances/imbalances within friendships.

Seriously, it really is. The two core relationships so far are inversions of power. Jon was the highly competent older brother that Ella followed around and copied, and occasionally rebelled against, but mostly stuck by. And now she's the head of their household and calling all the shots.

Maurice was always the older, wiser friend when he and Ren were childhood buddies, guiding Ren through the ups and downs of boyhood and protecting him from bullies (even though Ren has been the bigger of the two since they were 6 and 8). Maurice was even 'the smart one' in general, the first to escape their rural community and go to Big City University (in a small city, but it's just a matter of perspective). But now Ren is pre-med and Maurice crashed and burned in his freshman year.

Ella/Maurice is a power balance story too, and while Christine mostly avoids power clashes because she's so focused, she influences the conflicts going on around her.

And then we get to add Cathy!

This is all for the book, which is early in the timeline. The daily comic strip happens after the book ends.

If you have something similar going on in your creative work, please share! Or something that contrasts.

Comments

Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>>Maurice is working as Jon's aide, and he's not sure how to handle it yet. So Jon is giving him a course on The Care and Feeding of Jon.<<

Some of my characters have a book on The Care and Feeding of Supervillains. Funny title, but practical advice on how to take care of someone who likely has negative associations with any kind of help, and how to feed someone whose abilities may burn anywhere from 125% to 600% of typical calories.

>>It's a story about power balances/imbalances within friendships.<<

I love that kind of character relationship!

>>Seriously, it really is. The two core relationships so far are inversions of power. Jon was the highly competent older brother that Ella followed around and copied, and occasionally rebelled against, but mostly stuck by. And now she's the head of their household and calling all the shots.<<

If a relationship can survive changing modes like that, it's a sign of strength.

>>If you have something similar going on in your creative work, please share! Or something that contrasts.<<

One God's Story of Mid-Life Crisis
Shaeth, former God of Evil, decides to become the God of Drunks, with the help of Trobby, an experienced drunk.

Antimatter and Stalwart Stan
A young supervillain nerd and a young superhero jock figure out their relation ship using all their possible skills.

On a societal scale, "The Democratic Armada of the Caribbean" explore the relationship between organized crime Quakers and freedom-loving pirates. It's a delicate, often fractious balance but damn those two are good for each other.

dialecticdreamer is another who writes interpersonal power balances especially well.

Re: Thoughts

[gs_silva]

Ooh, I was hoping you'd show up with some interesting things, and you did! I'll try to read some or all of those tonight. You've mentioned dialecticdreamer twice now, so I guess this is my cue to check them out too.


>>If a relationship can survive changing modes like that, it's a sign of strength.<<

In a case of 'life imitates art', my mother and I now have a similar thing going on, and for the same reason - health issues. When the previously stronger person in a relationship becomes needy, there we go. Power inversion. I don't love it, but I don't hate it either, and I hope that I can convey that with Ella. She'll get some airtime soon.

I love the phrase 'care and feeding of ___,' even though I don't actually use it in my comic! It makes the whole thing sound cuter. The idea that superhumanly powerful people have special needs is much more interesting than the usual superlatively badass portrayals that I as a comic creator often have to endure from my peers. I also have peers who use a more nuanced approach, so that makes it all worthwhile.

Re: Thoughts

[ysabetwordsmith]

>> Ooh, I was hoping you'd show up with some interesting things, and you did! I'll try to read some or all of those tonight. <<

I am flattered. :D

>> You've mentioned dialecticdreamer twice now, so I guess this is my cue to check them out too.<<

The latest Magpie call just concluded, so there's new stuff from that.

>>When the previously stronger person in a relationship becomes needy, there we go. Power inversion. <<

It is awkward, especially if people haven't laid any groundwork for it, or have a difficult past. But sometimes it works out. My partner Doug and I have swapped off several times who's making more money.

>>I love the phrase 'care and feeding of ___,' even though I don't actually use it in my comic! It makes the whole thing sound cuter. <<

Agreed. Here's the poem about its development:

"The Care and Feeding of Supervillains"


>>The idea that superhumanly powerful people have special needs is much more interesting than the usual superlatively badass portrayals that I as a comic creator often have to endure from my peers. <<

Most special abilities come with their own set of pros and cons. This is easily observed in our own world, which has a host of things we usually don't think of as superpowers.

Hummingbirds -- superspeed and super-agility as species gifts, but require massive amounts of calories to fuel those.

Dogs -- super-hearing and super-smell as species gifts, but are vulnerable to loud noises, and strong odors can confuse a trail.

Some individual humans have extra-stretchy muscles and ligaments, which makes them exceptional gymnasts or contortionists, but has a higher risk of certain joint injuries because things are not anchored as securely.

In fact, one thing that has surprised me is how many superpowers are in local-Earth, people just don't think of it that way so there is no accommodation. It's not just me with my quirks.

So in Terramagne, some superpowers run partially or wholly on calories, which runs up the daily need from a little above average (like a normal person working hard) to WAY above. A working teleporter or healer can burn 12,000 calories a day. Some powers are known to go through certain nutrients faster; strongmen usually crave protein or fat, while speedsters go for sugar or fat.

Then there are the abilities with a notable risk of injury or fatality at manifestation. Teleportation seems to be the worst, because it's usually traumatic manifestation, there are lots of versions, and tiny errors can result in *splat*. Flight is another; I've got a character who injured his lungs by going too high as a toddler. With super-speed, the risk is that synthetic fibers will melt on you. And so on.

Other times, people being people, discrimination crops up. Two of the more dramatic examples appear in two of the more common and high-demand abilities. Cargo teleporters, who can haul truly huge amounts of mass but not very smoothly, are often looked down upon by the passenger teleporters with their lower mass limit but much smoother ride. Diagnostician healers are often thought of as less than those who can repair injuries or diseases. But Kraken / Thalassia and the Maldives are two places who actively recruit those disdained by others. Of which, the Maldives was the first to build a teleport hub, and then the other countries were whining about them poaching all the talent. Yeah well, when you offer citizenship, a residence, a job, and a government seat, then you can bitch.

Most people who write superpowers just don't know enough about sciences to do a really good job, which is sad, because there is so much potential for storytelling that they miss. Also they rarely think about the social implications of superpowers (or magic, or whatever other F&SF we're playing with) but that's what my audience and I love digging into.

>> I also have peers who use a more nuanced approach, so that makes it all worthwhile. <<

I've seen a handful of other superpower stories that did dig into pros and cons or implications, and it can be fascinating. Hench is a good example of someone looking at the collateral damage of so-called superheroes, and one of the extremely rare cases of examining what makes a superhero or a supervillain.

[moth2fic]

I mostly go for culture clash rather than power dynamics. In my series, Fae/human, elves/human/dragon and unicorns/human. In my fanfic, aliens/human and in one mediaeval AU, Normans/Anglo-Saxons. It always fascinates me. And yet when I'm reading I'm equally fascinated by the power dynamics.

[gs_silva]

Culture clashes are one of my favorite things to read about! Of course I have a little of that too. :)