Sorry for the late reply- I was trying to get an art concept drawn for the characters, but that’s becoming increasingly more clear that it’s gonna be a while (I’m not an artist, lol)
Okay, to be entirely fair, the contrast between Elliot and Vitalia has me in a chokehold, whether they be romantic or just friends. Because man…the idea that Elliot was so obsessed with technology to enhance (not cure, per se), compared to Vitalia as a natural healer is just such an interesting concept.
I wonder, then, if Vitalia’s power was something that completely cured others (we know she healed, but in the event of a terminal disease, would her powers be able to compensate for a true form of a cure, or would it always linger despite her attempts?)
Either way, it still lends to the comparison of both of them healing in ways that never really take away the full lasting effects of something incurable
OR
as opposed, one that only enhances strengths and covers diseases/weaknesses, while the other fully heals and cures the problem.
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NESSA:
I thought about Wasp too! But I didn’t want to make her an exact copy of the character via powers even though their design is VERY similar.
Mainly, since butterflies don’t have a great deal of strength, I figure her stats for combat would be a 1 or 2, even with any meta-human strength. She would make up for it with high mobility and endurance/vigor since certain butterflies can endure harsh climates.
(The painted lady in particular, which is one of the butterflies I’ve based Nessa off of, is known to seek shelter for protection and enter states of dormant hibernation to keep energy until warmer months)
She’d be average in other stats like Charisma and Intellect, since other teammates make up for that.
I figure she’s lived so long because 1) she’s learned how to conserve her energy through times of dormant/comatose states, and 2) she’s known Vitalia for a long while- it’s one of the reasons she joined the Brave Brigade to begin with- and Vitalia has been healing her ever since.
She likely doesn’t engage much in fighting as she does recon and staking out missions. I theorize she does have gadgets on her that make up for her lack of strength, and Elliot had promised her significant improvements to give her more strength (that Robbie likely disapproves, considering none of the other members actually get any tech)
AND Yes! That is the name I have given her (for now). If you have a different idea/concept, I’d love to know!!!
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For WENDY I honestly don’t have much for her, haha. I really really like how you’ve developed her though.
In any of my concepts, I take it she’s on the younger side, a bit older than Chase. Her, Nessa, and Chase (being the younger ones of the group and the ones with high mobility) likely train the most together, and joke around about how fast one another is (Chase wins, obviously)
I don’t know yet if Elliot’s upgrades for her would be focused on her flight as a means to enhance what she’s already good at, or if he plans to “fix” what she is lacking.
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DIRK:
I don’t have much developed on him, but he is the one I’m currently drawing (lol).
Anyways, I named him “Samuel” an ode to Samuel L. Jackson– Mainly called “Sammy”, with a face claim of “Harold Perrineau”- specifically as Mark Hammond from Z-Nation (with different hair and a more y-shaped scar)
Sammy is part Scottish, as per the name of “Dirk”. He comes from a long line of a Highland Clan Warriors (haven’t given them a name yet tho) since the medieval century, each given a name under the weapon bestowed to them.
Obviously, Dirk does not have a dirk in-game- he carries something more akin to a Scythe, it seems. Which usually correlates to the Grim Reaper, though there’s isn’t much in his design to allude to this.
Even so, going off the very little we know, let’s just say his powers are in relation or similarity to the Grim Reaper, hence the weapon. In that case, we can go with something like “Elemental Disintegration and Fusion”, I.E. a “life and death contrast” as the seems to be a running (headcanon) theme with Vitalia and Nessa.
(I was going to go with a power more weapons-based, but I couldn’t really find anything that I liked. If you have any ideas that are better, please please let me know!)
Along with the theme of rebranding heroes once they joined the Brave Brigade, I imagine the media/PR for the BB tried to get him to dawn a name like “Reaper” or something adjacent/ more creative to it, but for the sake of family lineage, he doesn’t consider changing his hero name.
To me, I’m drawing Dirk/Sammy as more of a sophisticated guy. In my mind, after disbanding, he’s the only one to retire from the life of heroism and devote time to his family and community.
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SYNTH:
I’ve talked about them once (I think?) in a fic. Their name is based off of “synthesizer”, which of course is based off of the instrument. They control frequencies and have the ability to mimic sound/soundwaves, which comes in handy for gather intel or pretending to be someone else. “Soundscaping” basically.
I had a theory that they were a creation of Robbie and Elliot’s, but decided against it for no other particular reason than wanting a more unique storyline (and that they aren’t mentioned as a creation of either one, which I think would be important to the storyline in-game anyways)
There are a couple characters, like Equilibrium, that seem to be more bionic in nature. According to the wiki, Equilibrium is “entity of indeterminant species”, so not necessarily AI.
Synth also doesn’t appear to be in a similar design to them, unless, of course, Synth is like an “earlier model” to Equilibrium’s modern style.
All that said, idk if I want them to be a type of alien species or sentient AI, but I did want to develop their personality beyond being neutral.
Anyways, currently I’m considering that Vitalia and Synth were the “start” of the Brave Brigade, since in-game they say Astral “teamed up” with the BB- not “formed”.
Maybe they were already training a young Track-Star, who was underage (by a year or two) to operate as a hero, but was currently considered a trainee. Nessa was on the fence, still okay doing her own thing, and the others (Dirk, Wendy, and Astral) hadn’t joined yet.
They and Vitalia were co-leaders, basically, until Astral joined and the media designated him as the Brave Brigade’s leader. Synth and Vitalia lost most of the command after that, which Synth was rightfully upset over.
I figure Synth tries to co-leader, or take charge, every once in a while, which creates a bit of a tedious nature in group dynamics, but they never attempt to undermine Robbie’s ruling, unless, you know, it actually needs modification.
I take it they have high intellect and combat, moderate mobility, low vigor and charisma.
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All that to say, if the Z-Team is based on the nature of unpredictability, then the Brave Brigade would be the predictable.
Vitalia and Nessa resemble life and death, but generally predictable stages of development.
Dirk represents the transformation through life and death, but achieving the same result in the end.
Synth is the representation of all man in “moral” stance- not exactly neutral, but on a scale of black and white, doesn’t waver.
Robbie is the legacy of his father’s creation, more Mecha-Man than Robert Robertson the second, walking the steps of a dead man.
Elliot, obviously, strives towards predictability through advancements and reliance on understanding of human nature.
The only two I have trouble actually fitting in that mold is Chase and Wendy, so maybe not the best comparison, but I like the idea nonetheless.
