So, I’d like honest opinions, even if that opinion is “probably not”: Do people here feel there’d be general interest in reading the story of Leo and his family, along with some original supporting cast in a different environment? Enough interest to justify writing and serializing such stories? If so, what kinds of angles or themes do people feel would be strongest and most interesting, or are most curious about?
I feel like there’s an opportunity to do a Nemesis-style series of stories, but there’s plenty of other ways to spend my copious free time too. So any input is welcome.
I think you’ve got some great material there. I can’t say that I have a good sense of what there is “general interest,” but I’d be interested in reading more.
Bill, I don’t think there’s been a short story or other piece of writing you’ve posted on the forums that I didn’t like, so if it means more stories to read, I’m down. I’m not familiar with what you mean by “a Nemesis-style series of stories” but I’m interested.
I’m not familiar with what you mean by “a Nemesis-style series of stories” but I’m interested.
I might not be fully familiar either, but in this case it means “stories where the mundane/non-super elements of the characters’ lives is significant and intersects or interacts with their superhero/supervillain activities”. For example, imagine a speedster character who operates by controlling the vibration of air around them, but is blind. They can navigate easily enough via echolocation etc., but the need to rely on sound rather than light to “see” limits their effective speed to under Mach 1 - they can’t go faster, or they’re effectively blind again. I probably wouldn’t hit the gender-issues button quite as hard as Dreadnought does.
I think you’ve got plenty of interesting to talk about regarding “what is human?” that is unique enough to warrant going over that material. There’s a bit of a cheat through the Heart Factory … but even that then extends the question? Where would Summer draw the line on humanity? We’ve agreed there’s a difference between Summer and a Chin Spider-bot … but what’s the bright line (or even justification around the gray line) that divides them? Why would Alycia feel different between shutting down (or reprogramming) Summer from doing the same about Travelycia? Or should she? (The insights around having meat-human brains reprogrammed and re-reprogrammed, as we’ve had with both Jason and Alycia, inform this, as do some of the things around Leo’s past – those elements or ones based on them ought to be a part of this.) But I think you have plenty you can work with.
I’m assembling a supporting cast for this thing, deliberately filling niches (either from this game, or things I think would complement these characters). So aside from the speedster mentioned earlier (covering conventional superpowers), I think Armiger would be a good import (covering the sphere of magic), and someone who can sort of fill in for the Alycia role: the daughter of a Killgrave-style psychic manipulator, who inherited his power but with one quirk. It’s always on: anything she says dominates the minds of those around her. Consequently, out of respect for her teammates and people around her, she uses sign language, writing, texting, and so on to communicate, rather than speaking.