tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-79697674393147228742024-02-20T18:51:10.734-05:00The Break-Out Comic Book ExperimentObjective: To work in some capacity at a comic book company by my twenty-eighth birthdayDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.comBlogger143125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-45959979014669012972012-03-12T10:44:00.001-04:002012-03-12T10:44:00.307-04:00Destiny's Fate: Wards of Man (proposed pages)<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVwWKJUD_MvksxzLFtnJlEXOwdQf0eQ3zJYTgroExuEu9Q_Hy-Onm6U96xezbAvwCbOAzmGZGcwJzQtOItlNRAGso48UFM4IWUlIP8oHn6i8touhd6ia56lMGi3ypfad-Gt3Aw5VVtiI8/s1600/DF_1_1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJVwWKJUD_MvksxzLFtnJlEXOwdQf0eQ3zJYTgroExuEu9Q_Hy-Onm6U96xezbAvwCbOAzmGZGcwJzQtOItlNRAGso48UFM4IWUlIP8oHn6i8touhd6ia56lMGi3ypfad-Gt3Aw5VVtiI8/s320/DF_1_1.jpg" width="206" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Art (pencils, coloring, etc.) by the Famous 122476</td></tr>
</tbody></table><em>DF: Wards of Men</em> was the original concept for the comic book that Mau, Taylor, and I are now completing. WoM was supposed to be a sequel to my novel, <em>Destiny's Fate</em>, but Mau thought if we were doing a comic, we should do it from the beginning. Hence, <em>Destiny's Fate</em> (no wards). Mau hates lettering, and my boss at IC Geeks, Noel, thought it would be great to break up the work. <br />
<br />
<br />
Hence, how the DF crew came into being.<br />
<br />
Above, see the first two pages of <em>Wards of Men</em> that were completed before we placed it on the backburner. God, I love those SFXs. <br />
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- DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-5359974804613021732012-03-11T10:43:00.001-04:002012-03-11T10:44:54.780-04:00Destiny's Fate Update!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJTVxHOtupRVHTBViGr7RfthhkyffQAQpdQs_E991-rLXWROrdcAZ1yy8SQYROuWqI14KYrKk-zQxT501nmsVDM-6hEl6byhMAyuFB3Rl-QEiS8b3wIxj9jb1hKSQsYBeV5YPZMW7terq/s1600/DF_preview.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjFJTVxHOtupRVHTBViGr7RfthhkyffQAQpdQs_E991-rLXWROrdcAZ1yy8SQYROuWqI14KYrKk-zQxT501nmsVDM-6hEl6byhMAyuFB3Rl-QEiS8b3wIxj9jb1hKSQsYBeV5YPZMW7terq/s320/DF_preview.jpg" width="173" yda="true" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mau's DF preview</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Yeah...it's happening. Here's a sneak peek of <em>Destiny's Fate</em> by Mau Vargas, Taylor Esposito, and me (Dev) - Later this week, I'll try to post some colored work to give Taylor's work some air. <br />
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The art rocks on this. (I'd say the writing does, too, but I'm biased. :) )<br />
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- DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-1221518985813007262012-01-09T02:59:00.000-05:002012-01-09T02:59:27.601-05:00DESTINY'S FATE!AWESOMENESS UPDATE!<br />
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<em>Destiny's Fate</em> got a re-work. I've dropped the <em>Wards of Men</em> from the back and am going forward with the comic from the beginning. I'm seriously excited about this because I've signed Mau, 122746, to pencil and formerly of the Marvel Bullpen, Taylor Esposito, to color and letter! It's going to be legend-wait for it because it's a story about time travel-dary! The script went out to Mau this morning, and we're hoping to have the book ready for C2E2, where I'll be manning the IC Geeks Publishing booth! W00t!<br />
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I'll have updates for the project as we forge ahead! <br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-68297921111910232512012-01-01T20:41:00.001-05:002012-01-01T20:41:21.448-05:00How Do You Know 033<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgKbTItvAuPwWmiD2K12m-x9qC-1JwMpTePveY5iAwq3QJWaNPnLhCJ4NRIMgz-o9i3jE0i143KUc9Xl9Fw2618iF3I8Bw1NGeiKWs616XET_4nLq850IN58fIpWb2yn-1lahw9teWn5l/s1600/BadRobot.bmp" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" rea="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiDgKbTItvAuPwWmiD2K12m-x9qC-1JwMpTePveY5iAwq3QJWaNPnLhCJ4NRIMgz-o9i3jE0i143KUc9Xl9Fw2618iF3I8Bw1NGeiKWs616XET_4nLq850IN58fIpWb2yn-1lahw9teWn5l/s1600/BadRobot.bmp" /></a></div><br />
How do you know when you’ve read too many comics? (NEVER!)<br />
<br />
When you see Bad Robot, you automatically think of <em>Gates of Gotham</em>.Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-59994201022194145792012-01-01T20:30:00.001-05:002012-01-09T03:03:46.260-05:00"Lottery Drawing"-Two Years Later...Brian Michael Bendis likened breaking into comics to winning the lottery. He felt so strongly about this that he gave up trying (I read this on Wikipedia, so it must be true!). Of course, I’m writing about BMB, so I think it’s safe to say Bendis got all six numbers and the Mega Millions ball (after tons of hard work!). <br />
<br />
At the time I read BMB’s story, I agreed and feared the worse. No, not how many people don’t win the lottery every day but the fact that I have a better chance of being struck by lightning than breaking into comics. Moreover, it was December in New Jersey, and we really don’t have thunderstorms this time of the year. This week, I wrote a press release for IC Geeks Publishing (I’m the PR rep!) since we printed Brian Buccellato’s creator project <em>Foster</em> for the Amazing Arizona Comic Con. It was then I realized:<br />
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<strong>Experiment Status: COMPLETE.</strong> <br />
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<a name='more'></a>Just looking at that is a little overwhelming. <br />
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In the last three months, so much has happened that sometimes I can’t grasp it all. Back in September when I lost <em>The Seekers</em> contest, I was crushed. I didn’t know what to do and contemplated quitting the experiment. Then I went to NYCC and felt welcomed back into the industry by amazing creators and fans. I took Saturday courses at the Kubert School, which were taught by the legendary Brian Buniak. I was hired by IC Geeks Publishing as a Public Relations rep, and come April, I’ll be manning a booth at C2E2.<br />
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Every day, I’m meeting awesome people who work/have worked in the industry, and the truth is reinforced over and over again. To some degree there is a lottery—yes—but there’s also timing and good, old-fashioned manners. Still, the key to success is work. It’s getting up at two-thirty in the morning to write that last page or putting on the finishing touches on those pencils after midnight (and for the majority of us, getting up early and going to a normal day job afterwards). <br />
<br />
I’d like to think that what’s made this experiment a success. I’m not sitting around, waiting to be “found.” I’m out there, actively seeking a job, working, writing, talking, etc., and that’s what I will continue to do. <br />
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There will be changes to the experiment, however. For the foreseeable future, I will not be updating <em>False Dawn</em>. As much I enjoy discovering these characters and penning their travels, I’ve been told time and time again by my artist buddy Mau, by my boss Noel, and by my mom, the way to get into the industry is to publish a comic. That’s what I’m going to focus on—<em>Destiny’s Fate</em>, the Comic—so please continue to drop by and see how’s that coming! When it’s published, you’ll be the first to know! (I also will be continuing the “How Do You Know” column because that’s just fun.)<br />
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Of course, the experiment evolves. When I started this campaign, my goal was to be working for a comic book company in some capacity by my twenty-eighth birthday. CHECK! Where do I go from here? I’ve thought about changing the name of the blog, but I planned for three years. I think I’m going to keep it until I turn twenty-eight or publish DF. I guess I’m never satisfied, but then again, neither was/is Brian Michael Bendis. At least I’m in good company. <br />
<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
December 31, 2011Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-74617022842521790752011-12-31T14:42:00.001-05:002011-12-31T14:45:14.896-05:00False Dawn: Life's QuestionHappy New Year's Eve! Hope everyone has awesome plans! (Mine involve MI:4, thank you very much!) <br />
<br />
Since <em>False Dawn</em> is on the back burner for a while, I figured I'd end with this. It's my entry into an anthology. Only three stories were chosen, and mine came in sixth. I still take that as a win. I also received great feedback from a writer/artist in the industry who took the time to critique it and from one of the entrants whose story made the cut. <br />
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Hope you enjoy!<br />
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Summary: Despite living fifteen lifetimes, Lance only has one question: Why is he still here?<br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
“Life’s Question”<br />
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NOTES: Narrations are all Lance’s. I have references researched for all aspects of costumes and characters as needed. <br />
<br />
PAGE ONE<br />
1—An elderly, mocha-skinned woman with a bloody bandage wrapped about her eyes and night-colored hair draped across her shoulders kneels in a rundown stable before Lance. Her bony hands are clasped upon Lance’s face, who is also kneeling, but his arms are tied behind his back. He’s wearing the garb of a Macedonian solider. <br />
WOMAN: Take heed, Lance. <br />
WOMAN: You have lost a piece of yourself. From this point forth—you shall know only two things: LOVE and LOSS. <br />
LOCATION CAPS: ILLYRIA, 338 B.C.<br />
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2—Close-up on Lance’s horrified face as he looks straight at the camera. Behind his head and at the top of the panel, two stable boys bring forth a bucket of purple fire and a branding iron.<br />
WOMAN (off): Forever shall you walk hand-in-hand with DEATH.<br />
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3—In silhouette against the stable wall, we see Lance jerk when the branding iron touches his shoulder. Before the wall (not in silhouette), the woman is silently crying, tears dripping from under her bandages. <br />
WOMAN: In every life, you will lose the person you love most, and cursed, you shall rise again only to lose again. <br />
WOMAN (linked): Take heed, Child.<br />
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4—Lance is wincing, tears seeping through his closed eyes with the branded mark of the lion now on his shoulder. <br />
WOMAN (off): Take heed.<br />
<br />
PAGE TWO<br />
1—Extreme close-up—A broadsword blade slicing through a man’s stomach. For reference: The man’s wearing a black T-shirt, and he bleeds blue blood. <br />
NARR: I feel the slickness of a Skadioan Warrior’s blood on my blade.<br />
NARR: It looks no different than a blue slushie.<br />
LOCATION CAPS: ST. AUGUSTINE, FLORIDA, PRESENT<br />
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2—Establishing shot—Lance and the warrior are fighting in a fast food joint called Burger Castle. Lance is pulling his sword out from a Skadoian Warrior’s stomach and is wearing his usual clothing. The warrior is a Caucasian male with paler than usual skin, black hair (any style), and black eyes. He’s wearing a tight T-shirt, cargo pants, and is holding a dagger and a blaster. <br />
NARR: I was just drinking one in this FINE establishment, and man, that’s GROSS. <br />
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3—CASIA has her back to Lance. (Lance’s back is in the right hand corner of the panel, but Casia’s the focus). Her body is completely engulfed by flames (so we really just see her outline in the flames), and she’s throwing some fireballs at other Skadoian Warriors. She’s smiling like she’s loving this. <br />
NARR: Casia’s flames THREATEN my back, like they always do.<br />
CASIA: Hot buns! Watch it!<br />
NARR: I hope she’s not talking about me—<br />
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4—RAL fights warriors with his sword, much like Lance was. He’s between two warriors, and blue blood slicks his blade and splashes onto his clothing.<br />
NARR: —at least not in front of the KID. <br />
RAL: Will you two get a room?<br />
LANCE (possibly off): Mind your own business, Ral.<br />
<br />
5—Now we see Lance, Casia, and Ral fighting the warriors.<br />
NARR: The warriors came out of nowhere, probably trying to grab Ral. He’s a hybrid—half-shadow demon, half-light something or other—shaken, not stirred. <br />
NARR: So the warriors want to see the effects of such a union.<br />
NARR: And I just keep thinking—<br />
<br />
PAGE THREE<br />
1—With their backs to the reader, Lance and Addy sit at a bar in a medieval tavern, a pitcher of beer between them. Lance is dressed in a royal’s garb; Addy in a queen’s gown. Mud is splashed upon both of their clothes. If anyone else is in the bar, including the bartender, please draw them in peasant clothing. <br />
NARR: Adeline Dawson. Ral’s mom.<br />
NARR: My “mom.”<br />
LANCE: Why am I here, Addy?<br />
LOCATION CAPS: LONDON, 1402<br />
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2—Addy leans over and kisses him on top of his head.<br />
ADDY: I don’t know, my love, but I am and always will be ETERNALLY GRATEFUL.<br />
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3—A servant stands by the royal chamber door. <br />
SERVANT: Emperor Napoleon, it is time.<br />
LOCATION CAPS: WATERLOO, 1815<br />
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4—Lance stands by the windows of a king’s chambers—elegant and opulent with golden bed posts, a seating area, and large windows which overlook a garden. He’s dressed in French royal clothing. <br />
NARR: At that time, I didn’t care for much—except CONQUERING EVERYTHING—as if that would fill the sucking VOID in my LIFE.<br />
LANCE: Why am I here—<br />
<br />
5—Mid-shot of Connor, who is dressed in a dirty and tattered suit. He’s laughing.<br />
LANCE: —Connor?<br />
NARR: Connor Dawson. Ral’s uncle.<br />
NARR: My “dad.”<br />
CONNOR: To get your ASS kicked.<br />
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PAGE FOUR<br />
1—Lance, Casia, and Ral sit at a table in Burger Castle before they’re attacked. Ral is eating a burger and fries. Lance is stealing Ral’s fries and has a blue shushie in front of him. Ral looks in between and past Lance and Casia, who share a side of a table. <br />
NARR: Ral, my little fourteen-year-old hybrid brother, doesn’t get a normal life with sports, homework, and of course—<br />
LOCATION CAPS: TEN MINUTES AGO, BURGER CASTLE<br />
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2—Lance looks over his shoulder at the cheerleader sitting in the booth. He smirks. <br />
NARR: —GIRLS.<br />
LANCE: You going to TALK to her or just GAWK like a nerdy high school stalker? <br />
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3—Ral ruffles his hair as Lance steals a fry, and Casia steals Lance’s slushie. <br />
RAL: Nah…I…can’t.<br />
CASIA: Why not?<br />
RAL: Because…what would I say? ‘Hi, I’m a HYBRID. What’s your deal?’<br />
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4—Lance shrugs as the shadows of the room begin to rise and form warriors. <br />
LANCE: The ‘hi’ was a good start. The rest, a little forward. I’d try the rest with, ‘Name’s Ral, and I’m going to rule the world one day.’<br />
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PAGE FIVE<br />
1—The Skadoian Warriors lunge at the group’s table. <br />
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2—Lance runs toward Philip II of Macedonia as he’s stabbed by one of his generals. The setting: Outside of an ancient gladiatorial arena, so it can simply be by huge wooden doors or just outside the arena. <br />
LANCE: NOOOO!<br />
NARR: Why am I here?<br />
LOCATION CAPS: AEGAE, 338 B.C.<br />
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3—Bergener, Lance’s knight brother, is beheaded. (This is in silhouette.) Lance is held back by French peasants. He’s about sixteen and shocked with tears in his eyes, fighting to stop his brother’s execution by the Black Prince. Setting: On a grassy and bloody battlefield. <br />
LANCE: BERGENER!<br />
NARR: WHY am I here?<br />
LOCATION: CRECY, FRANCE, 1346<br />
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PAGE SIX<br />
1—Cat, a farmer’s daughter, lays bleeding from a bullet wound. Lance holds her. Lance is about eighteen wearing a Union Army soldier’s uniform. <br />
LANCE (weary): Come on, Cat. Please…Don’t leave me, too…<br />
LOCATION CAPS: SHILOH, 1862<br />
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2—Lance grabs Ral by the torso and drags him out the blown out wall of Connor’s bar as Connor and Addy are consumed by a dark cloud. Connor’s dressed in jeans and T-shirt. Ral’s wearing the same. Lance has on a leather jacket that’s a little too big for him (It’s the one Ral now wears). Casia has on jeans and a peasant top with fire burning her hands. Addy is dressed with jeans and a tight sweater. The boys wear sneakers. The girls wear boots. <br />
NARR: WHY!<br />
LOCATION CAPS: HACKENSACK, EIGHTEEN MONTHS AGO<br />
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3—A warrior lunges for Ral, his sword pulled back and ready to slice the teen’s head off. We’re now back at Burger Castle.<br />
NARR: WHY?<br />
LOCATION CAPS: PRESENT<br />
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PAGE SEVEN<br />
1—Top half of page—Lance slices off the warrior’s arm. <br />
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2—The Skadoian Warriors slink back toward the shadows. Casia’s embers die upon her skin and clothes. (Casia is now wearing a peasant top and jeans with boots). The injured warrior forms a black bandage about his arm (by manipulating the shadows under a table and weaving them about his bleeding bicep).<br />
WARRIOR: Light does not burn shadows. Shadows CONSUME the light.<br />
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3—The final warrior slinks and disappears into a shadow. <br />
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4—Casia, Lance, and Ral assess the devastation inside Burger Castle. The owners and workers peek up from the registers and counter. <br />
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PAGE EIGHT<br />
1—Lance clasps Ral on the shoulder. <br />
LANCE: You okay?<br />
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2—Ral looks up at Lance, his eyes shining. <br />
NARR: Kid’s in shock but getting used to the whole “living-in-war-between-dimensions” thing. <br />
RAL: Thanks.<br />
<br />
3—Lance smirks. <br />
LANCE: You’re welcome. <br />
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4—Now Lance thumbs over his shoulder at the cheerleader who is huddling and shivering under a table. <br />
LANCE: So are you going to talk to her or what?<br />
TITLES<br />
<br />
THE END <br />
<br />
“Life’s Question” would be part of a series entitled <em>False Dawn</em>.<br />
<br />
RAL DAWSON is a fourteen-year-old hybrid who is half shadow demon and half light bearer. He lived a relativity normal life in Wayne, New Jersey, with his doctor mother and bar-owner uncle who, unbeknownst to him, were immortals. That was, until Skadoian Warriors came and took his mother and uncle. Now he travels with his surrogate siblings/parents Casia, a were-phoenix and Lance, a cursed immortal, who are also looking for his mom and uncle. Together, they avoid federal agents, mercenaries, and other immortals while looking for their missing family members. He has short brown hair with bangs that fall into his jade eyes and boyish face. He wears jeans, a T-shirt, and Connor’s leather jacket, which is two sizes too big for him. <br />
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LANCE EVANS has lived fourteen lifetimes since the gladiatorial games when he was the illegitimate son of Phillip II of Macedonia (Alexander the Great’s father). As a cursed immortal, he lives, dies, and lives again. Addy and Connor Dawson took him in during the eighth lifetime and gave him a family when he wouldn’t have known one. Lance has been a squire during the Middle Ages, would-be conqueror of Europe, and a Union soldier in the American Civil War. He’s really good at killing, and he’s deadly with any weapon, including a TV remote. In his first lifetime, he “let luck and chance guide” him, which led to people dying. He then was cursed by a mage to feel the pain he caused, so he loses the person he loves most in each lifetime. Addy, Connor, and Casia are immune to his curse because they are immortals and an extended mortal, respectively. Lance fears Ral is the person of his curse in this lifetime. In his current lifetime, Lance’s nineteen years old. He has abysses for eyes, black hair with blonde tips, and wears a long-sleeved T-shirt to hide his numerous tattoos from his different lifetimes. <br />
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CASIA LaCROUX is a were-phoenix, a mystical creature who can form fire and becomes all “fire-bird” on the Solstices. She has other powers like clairvoyance and flight, though she doesn’t exactly know from where her powers come or how they work. Casia doesn’t even know much about her past. Her earliest memories are in Skadoia where the warriors held her captive and experimented on her to discover the source of her flames. Addy and Connor eventually saved her from a hunting pack of Skadoian Warriors and kept her safe until her strength returned. Though 230 years old, Casia looks sixteen. She has flame-red hair, a petite form, and sea-blue eyes. She wears a peasant top, jeans, and calf-high boots. <br />
<br />
ADELINE (“ADDY”) and CONNOR DAWSON are Ral’s biological mother and uncle and Casia and Lance’s surrogate parents. They are immortal but in the traditional sense where they don’t age. They found Lance in every lifetime since his eighth and gave him a stability he wouldn’t have known with his curse, and they gave Casia a family when she wouldn’t have had one. Both are from Zenith’s Rise, a parallel, medieval-like dimension with no darkness. Connor was banished by the king to our dimension (Knightsdale) when he bought fast food to Zenith’s Rise. Adeline, the queen of Zenith’s Rise, left with her brother, who was forced to drink from the Fountain of Youth and become a “crossing guard,” a protector of the portals in and out of Zenith’s Rise. Kidnapped by warriors, Addy and Connor are currently missing, though it is believed that they are being tortured for the location of Connor’s portals. Fifteen years ago, Adeline had relations with a warrior, resulting in the birth of her son, Ral.<br />
<br />
DONNELLIE JACKSON is a preppy girl with a slut’s wardrobe and a know-it-all’s mouth. She was the Oracle of Delphi and the person who cursed Lance to be an immortal. For that, she feels some guilt, though part of her believes Lance deserved it. She’s a longtime “ally” of Casia and Lance through the lifetimes, though in this lifetime, she’s currently twenty.<br />
<br />
SKADOIAN WARRIORS are mercenaries from an all-darkness parallel dimension known as Skadoia. They seem to have two forms—a shadow one and a human-like one. They also can steal power from the shadows about them, which makes them impossibly strong at night. They can also eat fire and suck someone into their own shadow forms, holding them hostage. The warriors stole Addy and Connor Dawson from Connor’s bar, “Forever’s Run.” Ral, Casia, and Lance escaped the incident, but they are the warrior’s prey. It is believed the warriors are trying to conquer Zenith’s Rise because the River of Life (Fountain of Youth) flows from Zenith’s Rise, into Knightsdale, before reaching Skadoia polluted. <br />
<br />
Though not named specifically in the script, the warrior who attacked Ral at the end was AMARIS, one of the generals of the Skadoian Warriors and unbeknownst to Ral, his father.<br />
<br />
Though not in the short story, the SKADOIAN LORD is the ruler of Skadoia who orchestrated the kidnapping of Connor and Addy. He currently is after Ral to discover what powers he has being half shadow/half light. He also seeks Addy’s hand in marriage, which he hopes will help him conquer Zenith’s Rise. Also not in this story, LASANDRA is the executive assistant of the Skadoian Lord. She is one of the two main warriors who clash with Ral and company. She also has feelings for Connor, which he reciprocates, even though they are enemies.Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-73551232678592405432011-12-20T08:29:00.001-05:002011-12-20T08:33:25.564-05:00DF: Wards of Man Update!Mau's still hard at work at the sketches/first pages, so here's the latest he sent me. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaE3PcaYBB280Y16xHJ8yjuJB2CHXVgBiveFwTtXYUoveX9Rs4Iv1I5FmbW3Huqi917IpG044z5beUZ-s6WG-8XOUhcGJpq1vJT6dDmHHjUnUkpMsIeV21Z6Y37bL9QQ0XYhtg5xVFyLc/s1600/Sawyer+Ryder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjoaE3PcaYBB280Y16xHJ8yjuJB2CHXVgBiveFwTtXYUoveX9Rs4Iv1I5FmbW3Huqi917IpG044z5beUZ-s6WG-8XOUhcGJpq1vJT6dDmHHjUnUkpMsIeV21Z6Y37bL9QQ0XYhtg5xVFyLc/s320/Sawyer+Ryder.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Sawyer Ryder is Kainoa's uncle and the Resident Gatekeeper, a head of the Defenders. He's only the third person to run the Gatekeepers who isn't Destiny, and he takes that responsibility seriously. He's tough but compassionate, and he has a soft spot for kids who were assassins, like his nephew Kainoa and his daughter, Mattie. This picture is subject to change simply because I'm not a fan of the crew cut. However, it actually fits Sawyer, so I'll probably leave it. <br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJgh9MLw53XiK3NuiXqfiOCgQD2j8V7N_IJOGDfAfyDnLmIK-lC9im91fWijkbMgukGc4LD769QhD9cTBOaOOlKNScVo5pR5PGkYDG4Ifr4NKUJt48ra5FLmGLvkX4gJlsnLACYssxVGU/s1600/Mattie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjYJgh9MLw53XiK3NuiXqfiOCgQD2j8V7N_IJOGDfAfyDnLmIK-lC9im91fWijkbMgukGc4LD769QhD9cTBOaOOlKNScVo5pR5PGkYDG4Ifr4NKUJt48ra5FLmGLvkX4gJlsnLACYssxVGU/s320/Mattie.jpg" width="320" /></a></div><br />
Here we have Mattie, Kainoa's cousin and Sawyer's daughter. She's slightly older than Kainoa and deadlier with her katana (hence why her name was Ravage). She grew up in medieval Japan like Kainoa, but she's adapted well to modern New Jersey. She's found a love of soccer, Chez Doodles, and family, though she still misses her former partner-in-crime, Edge, who was like her twin brother. <br />
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122476 is working on the first six pages, so I'll upload those when they come through. His birthday's this week, so send him a message at @122476 or on his blogspot account, <a href="http://122476.blogspot.com/">http://122476.blogspot.com/</a>, or just give him money by buying a commission! Do me a favor. Whatever you do, call him, "Grandpa."<br />
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Thanks!<br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-12879160226202489122011-12-17T10:57:00.004-05:002011-12-31T13:41:46.524-05:00False Dawn #24: ReminiscenceIn every darkness, there's a sliver of light. <br />
<a name='more'></a><br />
<strong><em>False Dawn</em> #24: Reminiscenc</strong><br />
Plot for 20 Pages<br />
Comic Book Script<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
Note to Letterer: All narrations are Connor’s.<br />
<br />
PAGE ONE<br />
1—Extreme close-up on a Caucasian male hand holding the back of a “white”—a pale-skinned woman’s naked back. <br />
NARR: There are times I remember NOTHING, like the last two millennia have been nothing but a college student’s drunken haze. <br />
<br />
2—Close up on their naked feet, entwined in one another’s under a blanket. <br />
NARR: Then, there are times I remember EVERYTHING, like one of those people who can remember the exact date he/she first ate a bubble gum jelly bean.<br />
<br />
3—Mid-shot, bird’s eye view of the bed with Lasantra’s head upon Connor’s chest. Connor’s looking directly up at the camera, his eyes and expression troubled. Both are naked but tastefully so. Teens might read this. (Also, Connor is wearing a necklace— a sun with dragon claws for sunrays.) Setting: Connor’s apartment. It’s pretty plan with dark wood boards, a shabby bed with frayed beddings to match, a table, a black diamond hearth with a blue fire burning, and a few lanterns lighting the room burning with blue fire as well. Connor’s and Lasantra’s clothes are thrown about the room—Connor’s jeans, T-shirt, and an Indiana Jones jacket; Lasantra’s black cargo pants, skin-tight black shirt, and black boots. <br />
NARR: Then there are times like these when I WANT to remember everything.<br />
<br />
PAGE TWO<br />
1—Close-up on Lasantra as her lithe fingers draw circles on Connor’s chest.<br />
LASANTRA: I hate you. <br />
NARR: It’s times like this when I wonder…what the hell did I do WRONG in my life?<br />
<br />
2—Extreme close-up on Connor’s eyes as he looks up at the ceiling. <br />
CONNOR: Of course you do.<br />
<br />
3—Back down to Lasantra, who’s face is scrunched in fury. Her hand is now a fist. <br />
LASANTRA: You’re like a battery.<br />
CONNOR (off): You’re like an ice cube.<br />
<br />
4—Now Lasantra is up, her faces inches from Connor’s. She’s smiling seductively. <br />
LASANTRA: You’ve melted this ice cube.<br />
<br />
5—They kiss passionately, eyes closed, romantic-style. <br />
<br />
PAGE THREE<br />
1—She pulls away, heading toward the edge of the bed. <br />
LASANTRA: Even after this…I won’t help you.<br />
<br />
2—Connor grabs his shirt off the night-stand. <br />
CONNOR: I know.<br />
<br />
3—They sit with their backs to each other on the bed, Connor pulling up his pants, Lasantra pulling on her shirt. Camera positioned to the left side of the Connor, so we see Lasantra’s back but Connor’s front. <br />
LASANTRA: So don’t ask.<br />
CONNOR: I’m not.<br />
LASANTRA (linked): Good.<br />
<br />
4—Now dressed in her warrior gear, Lasantra’s standing in the doorframe. She has her back to the camera, her head dipped in resignation. <br />
LASANTRA: Connor…he will KILL you…if you go see him.<br />
<br />
5—Connor has his back to her as well, pulling on a dark, leather bomber jacket. <br />
CONNOR: I have to do this. Bergener has my sister, is after my nephew, my son and daughter. What do you expect me to do? HUNT them down and HAND them over to the Skadoian Lord? I’m not like you. <br />
<br />
PAGE FOUR<br />
1—Connor glares at her as he tugs off his necklace—a sun with dragon claws for sunrays. His eyes are narrowed. <br />
CONNOR: I’m not a pawn.<br />
<br />
2—Lasantra smiles saucily again. <br />
LASANTRA: You’re MY pawn.<br />
<br />
3—In Connor’s hand grows his sword (from his necklace).<br />
CONNOR: You REALLY want to get on my BAD side, don’t you?<br />
<br />
4—Leaning against the doorway, Lasantra averts her eyes, her arms crossed in defiance. Her face is uneasy.<br />
LASANTRA: He spends most of his day down in the LAB with Kalidas. If you’re going to find him in the castle, it’s going to be there.<br />
<br />
5—Lasantra’s turns to leave again. Camera’s positioned in front of her. Over her shoulder, Connor reaches for her. <br />
CONNOR: Lasantra. <br />
<br />
PAGE FIVE<br />
1—Similar panel. Connor is no longer reaching her, his hands (and sword) to his sides, his face troubled as he looks away. <br />
CONNOR: Thank you.<br />
<br />
2—Lasantra walks out the door. <br />
LASANTRA: Connor...if you get him to listen, tell him this. Lance—he’s MINE.<br />
<br />
3—Bottom tier, establishing shot, bird’s eye view—Camera’s positioned over the city. It’s night (always is in Skadoia). The medieval city appears to be in the left hand side of the panel. Houses and stores are still made of hay, mud, and wood siding, and they hunch together before the looming castle with its ashlar curtain wall and keep. The city is illuminated by only lamplight with blue fire. (See below for references.)<br />
NARR: I don’t tell Lasantra the TRUTH. <br />
NARR: Lance was never HERS, despite her connection to him. <br />
NARR: But she gave me what I needed to know. <br />
<br />
PAGE SIX<br />
1—Close-up on sneakers as they run down a cobblestone street. <br />
NARR: Of course, she could have been lying.<br />
<br />
2—Full tier shot of a Skadoian street with medieval houses and store fronts. It’s empty this time of the night, but Connor’s in the right side of the panel as he ducks into an alley. He’s dressed in sneakers, jeans, and an Indiana Jones jacket. <br />
NARR: She does that every now and then, but this time she brought up Lance. For her to even say his name…<br />
<br />
3—Connor stays in the shadows, his back pressed against the building’s edge. Even in the darkness, his blonde hair and blue eyes glow. <br />
NARR: …yeah, she’s crazy, and I’m out of place. <br />
OFF: Ready? <br />
<br />
4—Connor is in the foreground, and we follow his gaze toward Skadoians—woman, men, boys, and girls. Pale skin tones. Ice colored eyes. The teens have brown hair. The adults all have black tinted with ice blue. They are dressed in different outfits—some in jeans, T-shirt—casual wear from our dimension; others in tunics, pants, and boots. Some are armed with swords and knives, others with guns. <br />
NARR: Not all Skadoians want this war—<br />
NARR: —but they won’t run, not like DURANT. <br />
NARR: They chose ME to be their LEADER.<br />
<br />
5—Close-up on Connor as he smiles easily. He’s a little nervous, but he HAS to do this. <br />
NARR: An outsider. The enemy. <br />
CONNOR: Totally NOT ready, but if we’re going to do it…<br />
OFF: Good luck, then. <br />
<br />
PAGE SEVEN<br />
1—Connor runs down the alley. Camera positioned in front of him. He’s determined, his face tense. In his hand is his sword. <br />
NARR: I can’t help but think I won’t see some of those warriors alive again, and what makes them less important than my children?<br />
<br />
2—Now we’re looking at Connor from behind, and we see the outer curtain wall surrounding the palace rise into the sky at the end of the alley. <br />
NARR: I know the answer, but still…<br />
<br />
3—In a vertical panel, Connor jumps up on the wall of the alley on the right hand side, then jumps onto the wall of the left, before propelling himself over the curtain wall. <br />
<br />
4—Connor lands in the middle of the bustling yard, the curtain wall behind him, the keep in front of him. Small huts line the curtain wall—the kitchen, the blacksmith, the stables. The warriors are hard at work here, some carrying food, others helping horses. Lance has shocked them all, and they’re all looking at him as he crouches upon the ground, holding his sword. <br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHT<br />
1—Small cell, left hand top of page. A girl with long red braid points at Connor, shocked and scared. <br />
GIRL (yells): INTRUDER! A BEARER!<br />
<br />
2—An explosion of blue and white fire hits the curtain wall behind the crouching Connor. <br />
<br />
3—As the warriors head toward the crumbling wall, Connor dashes toward the keep’s entrance, which has the stereotypical gate ready to drop at any moment. Just beyond the gate is the ashlar hallway in, which has a few steps, then a long hallway. <br />
<br />
4—Connor stops just inside, glaring at someone we can’t see. <br />
CONNOR: You?! What—<br />
<br />
PAGE NINE<br />
1—Lasantra stands on the top of the stairs, her eyes narrowed. <br />
LASANTRA: Now? You’re going to do it TODAY?<br />
<br />
2—Connor smirks. <br />
CONNOR: When will you have me to it? After he’s DEAD?<br />
<br />
3—Lasantra rolls her eyes, obviously annoyed. <br />
LASANTRA: Come on. You’re most likely get LOST.<br />
NARR: I probably would. <br />
<br />
4—They come to the grand staircase (from FD#13) of the keep. It’s marble and turns upward and downward. Candleholders, a blaze with blue-lit torches, light the hallway. Greeting Connor and Lasantra is a pack of ashlings, all with blonde hair and ice eyes. <br />
ASHLING: MISTRESS?<br />
<br />
5—Shot of Connor, as if we’re the ashlings seeing him. He’s calm but wary. <br />
<br />
6—The ashlings pull their swords and guns, ready to fight. <br />
<br />
PAGE TEN<br />
1—Lasantra lunges for them, her sword already swiping. Connor’s uneasy. <br />
LASANTRA: GO! I’ll hold them off!<br />
<br />
2—Connor runs down the staircase toward the basement, determined once more. <br />
NARR: I briefly wonder why she does but decide not to peruse the thought. <br />
NARR: It doesn’t matter why she’s SIDING with ME, just that she is. <br />
<br />
3—The dungeon-like door opens a crack. <br />
NARR: With the warning horns still shaking the foundation, I’m not surprised he’s coming to help. <br />
<br />
4—Aramis’s flying back through the doorway after Connor hits him with a flying kick. <br />
NARR: ARAMIS is the Skadoia’s second-in-command. <br />
<br />
PAGE ELEVEN<br />
1—Aramis tumbles down the stairs into the cavern-lab from FD#13.<br />
<br />
2—Growling on all fours, Aramis looks up as a sword edge taps his chin. <br />
<br />
3—Connor smiles from behind the blade. Camera positioned like we’re Aramis looking up at Connor. <br />
CONNOR: Hello, Aramis. I would have made an appointment, but your secretary wouldn’t give me one.<br />
<br />
4—A staff knocks away Connor’s blade, sending him stumbling a few feet back.<br />
<br />
5—Connor smirks, his sword up to parry. <br />
CONNOR: Ah, well, if it isn’t the GREASE MONKEY who thinks he’s a DOCTOR.<br />
<br />
PAGE TWELVE<br />
1—Kalidas’s eyes narrow. He, too, is holding up his staff to fight. Behind him, we get a glimpse at his lab. It’s mad scientist-like with blue lightning flickering over machines, some mainframes, even a med table. <br />
KALIDAS: What do you want, DAWSON?<br />
<br />
2—Aramis stands now, pulling his blaster to bear. <br />
CONNOR (off): What I want? Your third-in-command, Aramis, but I’ll settle for my sister back. And you can make that happen, can’t you?<br />
ARAMIS: Settle? No one should ever SETTLE for Addy.<br />
<br />
3—Connor ducks his head slightly, his eyes intense, his grin evil, as he slashes with his sword. <br />
NARR: Exactly. <br />
CONNOR: Yet you’ll let her?<br />
<br />
4—Aramis now has his side to Connor, as if having evaded an attack but is kneeling the passing Connor in the stomach. <br />
ARAMIS: She deserves what she has.<br />
<br />
5—Connor coughs, holding his stomach. He’s about ready to collapse on the ground. <br />
CONNOR: She deserves to be a slave to YOUR lord?<br />
<br />
PAGE THIRTEEN<br />
1—A tentacle grabs Connor’s wrist. He’s shocked and a little disturbed. <br />
<br />
2—He’s pulled within inches of Aramis, their faces almost touching. Aramis is calm but annoyed, speaking fact. Connor is pissed. <br />
ARAMIS: She deserves a KING.<br />
CONNOR: She deserves to be HAPPY.<br />
<br />
3— A zap of blue lightning sizzles across Connor’s chest; he flinches in pain.<br />
CONNOR: Ugh!<br />
<br />
4—Kalidas stands just beyond his smoking staff, glaring at the camera. <br />
KALIDAS: No one could make her happy…except Durant.<br />
<br />
5—Close-up on Connor’s face. He’s tense from pain, eyes wide and mouth slightly open. <br />
<br />
PAGE FOURTEEN<br />
1—Aramis extracts his tentacle-lance from Connor’s torso as Aramis’s hand holds Connor throat to keep him up. <br />
ARAMIS: You have no conception of what you demand. <br />
<br />
2—Aramis dumps Connor to the floor. <br />
<br />
3—Connor, wheezing and cough, presses down on his bleeding side. <br />
CONNOR: Durant…let her go. You…you were first…in a millennium…to make her love again…<br />
<br />
4—Aramis has his back to Connor, whose hands now glow with white fire. Aramis doesn’t look at Connor. His own hands form fists.<br />
ARAMIS: It matters little. <br />
<br />
5—The white fire continues to burn on Connor’s hands as he pressed them to his bleeding wound. He cringes, in obvious agony. <br />
<br />
6—Then, he sighs, sweat dribbling from his face. He’s still cringing but he can now talk.<br />
CONNOR (weak): Today…do you know what it is…?<br />
<br />
PAGE FIFTEEN<br />
1—Aramis doesn’t turn from the lab but stops.<br />
<br />
2—Sweat beads on Connor’s face as he growls, his eyes narrowed. His wound now has stopped bleeding, though it still looks painful and red. <br />
NARR: Don’t pass out from the pain. Don’t pass out from the pain.<br />
CONNOR: Today’s your SON’S birthday, Aramis. He turns fifteen today. <br />
CONNOR (linked): WITHOUT his father. WITHOUT his mother. <br />
CONNOR (linked): WITHOUT the crazed lab tech whose idea it was to set up a Riser with a Warrior.<br />
<br />
3—Connor gathers his legs underneath him in an attempt to get up. He’s cringing. This is not easy.<br />
NARR: Do NOT pass out from the pain.<br />
CONNOR: I know you, Aramis. <br />
CONNOR (painful): Agh! <br />
CONNOR: I know you don’t want this.<br />
<br />
4—Aramis begins to walk away again. All we see his back. <br />
ARAMIS: You know NOTHING.<br />
<br />
PAGE SIXTEEN<br />
1—Connor is now on his feet, albeit unsteadily. <br />
CONNOR: I know this. At night, my sister talks in her sleep. She used not to call for Durant. She used to call for YOU.<br />
<br />
2—Connor’s now has his back to the Aramis as well. Kalidas is between them, staring at Connor to make sure he’s leaving. <br />
CONNOR: I also know Ral’s half light and half dark. Funny that doesn’t know his light powers when he raised by his mother. Could it be his FATHER spent more time with him than we thought?<br />
<br />
3—Connor now half-turns, like he’s had an afterthought. <br />
CONNOR: Oh, and Aramis? Tell Bergener—Lance is Lasantra’s.<br />
<br />
4—Back in the small apartment where Connor lives, Connor’s laying on the bed (we only see from his mid-chest up). He’s face up, staring at someone off panel. <br />
LOCATION CAPS: LATER<br />
LASANTRA (off): You did NOTHING.<br />
CONNOR: I tried something.<br />
<br />
PAGE SEVENTEEN<br />
1—Lasantra’s straddling Connor, both fully clothed, though she begins to unbutton his bloody and torn shirt. Connor’s looking at her like a lovesick puppy. Lasantra’s looking at him with a mixture of exasperation and love. <br />
LASANTRA: He won’t help you.<br />
CONNOR: HIS help I don’t need.<br />
<br />
2—Extreme close-up on Lasantra’s hands as she touches Connor’s wound. <br />
<br />
LASANTRA: I don’t need you. I USE you.<br />
<br />
3—Connor, now holding Lasantra’s wrist, tugs her forward. <br />
<br />
4—He’s now on her top of her, a loving smile creeping onto his face. <br />
CONNOR: Good to know.<br />
LASANTRA: …you’re ruining it.<br />
CONNOR (linked): I know.<br />
LASANTRA: Why?<br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHTEEN<br />
1—Connor’s face is buried in her hair. <br />
NARR: The smell of burn wood and Antifreeze floods me. <br />
CONNOR: Because I love you.<br />
<br />
2—Close-up on Connor’s wound as Lasantra, under him, punches upward, hitting the wound. <br />
CONNOR: Urk!<br />
<br />
3—Camera positioned as if it’s from the POV of someone walking into the queen’s chambers. An elegant bed with a blue and silver canopy/curtains takes up most of the room, while carved dressers and a black hearth ablaze with blue fire sit on the left hand side of the room. On the bed sits Addy in a simple but royal nightgown. She’s staring into space with her eyes tinted blue. <br />
NARR: I had hoped that Aramis entered the queen’s chambers to see my sister’s current condition. <br />
<br />
PAGE NINETEEN<br />
1—From the side of Addy, we see Aramis as he kneels before her, a sad, almost painful expression on his face. This is the woman he loved. <br />
NARR: I hoped sadness reigned in his eyes when she didn’t see him.<br />
<br />
2—Extreme close-up on Aramis’s hand as he cradles her cheek like a lover. <br />
NARR: She didn’t know him. <br />
<br />
3—Aramis leans in. <br />
<br />
NARR: What I do know is that he took my advice. <br />
<br />
4—Aramis kisses Addy passionately, though she doesn’t return it, her eyes open with a sparkle of blue still. (Aramis’s eyes are closed.)<br />
<br />
PAGE TWENTY<br />
1—Close-up on Addy’s eyes, now wide and shocked. They’re still blue.<br />
<br />
2—Same as panel one but her eyes are now green. <br />
<br />
3—Addy kisses back passionately as well, his hand and claiming his face for herself. <br />
<br />
PAGE TWENTY<br />
1—Addy pulls away, smiling down at Aramis. <br />
ADDY: Hello, Aramis.<br />
ADDY: Hello…my queen.<br />
NARR: Because that’s what Addy told me.<br />
TITLES<br />
<br />
The End<br />
<br />
References: <br />
<a href="http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/towns/townint7.html">http://www.the-orb.net/encyclop/culture/towns/townint7.html</a> <br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.federicovasco.com/en/en-us/tourism/barcelonasurroundings/medievaltowns.aspx">http://www.federicovasco.com/en/en-us/tourism/barcelonasurroundings/medievaltowns.aspx</a><br />
<br />
<a href="http://www.procedural.com/cityengine/examples/medieval-town.html">http://www.procedural.com/cityengine/examples/medieval-town.html</a>Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-26816704148572321772011-12-15T12:00:00.002-05:002011-12-15T12:00:00.943-05:00Kickstarting Journeymen!Since becoming IC Geeks' PR rep, I've also been taking over duties of the Tumblr site and Twitter feeds, and I'll soon be taking over the Facebook account. Check it out and see the awesome new talent that will "breaking in" next year. <br />
<br />
Also, help others' dreams come true. IC Geeks is kickstarting <em>Journeymen, a Masterwork</em>. It's a quarterly anthology dedicated to helping good talent become published. Click on the link, and see what you can do to help!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://icgeeks-publishing.tumblr.com/post/14260451981/the-journey-continues-ic-geeks-publishing-is">http://icgeeks-publishing.tumblr.com/post/14260451981/the-journey-continues-ic-geeks-publishing-is</a><br />
<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
P.S. Also, don't forget to follow me for up-to-the-second...okay, probably hour...information about IC Geeks Publishing as well as my own writing. <br />
<br />
@Icgeekspublishingpr and @DevinLMichaelsDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-9281117674774613982011-12-09T07:56:00.002-05:002011-12-09T07:59:18.502-05:00Update!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8xomSuq85Zv2hkfKA7W8GIp2a0ILqRUTPKFU5UWXBFoJ9WJhViH7qeRROhC3IgQwVepzJOQB1DS-BbHrgy_ay491nasXs2c1EUQt4MCWhzAWwWxufEldQ5w67CHEk3gAMftfD3BxhANP_/s1600/Logo2.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" mda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj8xomSuq85Zv2hkfKA7W8GIp2a0ILqRUTPKFU5UWXBFoJ9WJhViH7qeRROhC3IgQwVepzJOQB1DS-BbHrgy_ay491nasXs2c1EUQt4MCWhzAWwWxufEldQ5w67CHEk3gAMftfD3BxhANP_/s1600/Logo2.png" /></a></div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;"><br />
</div><div style="border-bottom: medium none; border-left: medium none; border-right: medium none; border-top: medium none;">Thank you to all who went to my Tumblr account and became followers. I am the new PR rep for IC Geeks Publishing. I cannot thank you enough for helping to make a dream come true! To follow my updates for the company, feel free to follow the company’s tumblr and tweets at http://icgeeks-publishing.tumblr.com and @icgeekspublishingpr. I run both.</div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br />
</div>\Because of this new position, there will probably be fewer posts HERE, but I ensure you the Experiment isn’t over yet. (I have to keep my “day” job.) <em>False Dawn</em> #24 (end second year!) will be up next week, and I also have some pretty pictures Mau drew for <em>DF: Wards of Man</em> to post this weekend. <br />
<br />
Time to make good on promises - The MMPR comic will be given to one random follower, but I have to dig it out of storage first (i.e. my bins in my bedroom), so I will send that later this month. Also, I've already worked on SOD, which will now be finished, as well as some TC work for a few followers. Those will be up as time allows. I'm hoping for the first TC story and chapter seven of SOD up by the end of the year. <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading, and I hope you stick around. It’s finally getting interesting. <br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-79386966962246044732011-11-29T20:59:00.001-05:002011-11-29T22:34:08.099-05:00Seven More!Hey guys! <br />
<br />
I just need seven more followers! Please help me to achieve my dream of becoming a member of the comic book community! <br />
<br />
I'll become PR rep of IC Geeks Publishing if I can have forty followers on Tumblr by 11:59 tonight. <br />
<br />
We have three hours! We can do it! <br />
<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
<a href="http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com/"><span style="font-size: large;">http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com</span></a>Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-85062827171885614342011-11-29T07:55:00.001-05:002011-11-29T07:55:37.977-05:00BREAKIN' IN!Dreams Can Come True—and yes, it’s up to you! <br />
<br />
It’s been a long two years for the Experiment and my attempt to break into the comic industry. It comes down this. I have a chance to become the public relations representative for IC Geek Publishing. It’s a new comic publishing/distribution company that has one focus—helping creators break in. Its retailer initiative is revolutionary and the people dedicated to its success extraordinary. (Check out http://www.icgeeks.com for more info!)<br />
<br />
I want to be a part of this company. <br />
<br />
All I need is forty followers by 11:59 midnight TONIGHT!<br />
<br />
Currently, I have nineteen!<br />
<br />
FOLLOW ME, and together, we can make dreams come true—yours and mine!<br />
<br />
<a href="http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com/"><span style="font-size: x-large;">http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com</span></a><span style="font-size: x-large;"> </span>Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-350252359059612582011-11-23T07:50:00.002-05:002011-11-23T08:41:48.568-05:00More Character Studies for DF: Wards of Man<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD0qkT4xdqPS_BIZLR6sObhI22CIKgmwB5ViQPqVLJlDx2o_9qYmz-Ex2k2r6gO7mE_Ne5_pt5uz4RTfQI1NYKYrApDWY0m1A4Yyb1Y7vcUYBBi_My9s2WuaQreav4G-hKkXGMtVnKnos/s1600/edge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgbD0qkT4xdqPS_BIZLR6sObhI22CIKgmwB5ViQPqVLJlDx2o_9qYmz-Ex2k2r6gO7mE_Ne5_pt5uz4RTfQI1NYKYrApDWY0m1A4Yyb1Y7vcUYBBi_My9s2WuaQreav4G-hKkXGMtVnKnos/s320/edge.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Edge by 122476</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">It's almost American Thanksgiving, and since the Christmas carols are already on Lite FM, Mau figured he'd just add to the season with these presents. Dude rocks like that. Meet Edge, THE bad boy of the <em>Destiny's Fate</em> series. Determination versus Destiny? Free will versus Fate? I cannot wait to see the fights Mau's going to draw with Edge and Kainoa. </span><br />
<br />
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgzmwCNlt7axVrfnoovjRVA63XojjDygm2ADwihkfluZ2MjqZzwXDRtPLovdJWx6-iKfTF2-k1gnC-V2zxuxxUI3DIXk49tY4KqJOOmfBL_cxqQF1pXop6QT7BFatoFO1r46JA0wYXruy/s1600/Rena+Ryder.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhlgzmwCNlt7axVrfnoovjRVA63XojjDygm2ADwihkfluZ2MjqZzwXDRtPLovdJWx6-iKfTF2-k1gnC-V2zxuxxUI3DIXk49tY4KqJOOmfBL_cxqQF1pXop6QT7BFatoFO1r46JA0wYXruy/s320/Rena+Ryder.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Rena Ryder by 122476</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">And here we have Kainoa's coffee-addict mom, Rena. She cannot just cook a mean banana pancake and teach a wild lessons in history at NYU; she can also kill you where you stand if you threaten her family. Yeah, just try her.</span><br />
<br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">I’ve also seen the preliminary sketches of the first five pages of the issue one. Damn. Mau leaves me speechless every time I look at his work. I’m seriously proud of how this is coming together. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">More to come! </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;"><br />
</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Times, "Times New Roman", serif;">Dev</span>Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-17881614652193528102011-11-22T12:00:00.000-05:002011-11-22T12:00:01.198-05:00How Do You Know 032How do you know when you've read too many comics? (NEVER!)<br />
<br />
When you wonder why Robin, Aqualad, and Kid Flash are above suspicion. <br />
<br />
There’s a traitor in the midst of the Team on <em>Young Justice</em>, causing for much speculation among the fandom. Many have believed, as do I, that Artemis is too obvious. I’ve heard M’gann or Superboy could be the traitor subconsciously, but I say it’s Robin. <br />
<br />
*insert your laughter here* <br />
<br />
Done yet? I’ll wait…okay.<br />
<br />
In “Bereft,” the Bialyan military was ordered to shoot to kill the other members of the Team while Robin was to be taken alive.<br />
<br />
In “Alpha Man,” Robin’s only defense for not being the mole was that he and KF have “known each other forever.” Uh, so…?<br />
<br />
It is also Robin in that episode who needs to know why Kaldur kept the mole a secret—perhaps to make sure Kaldur doesn’t know he’s the mole?<br />
<br />
Most recently in “Secrets,” Robin has an awkward expression on his face after Aqualad says there can’t be a mole, and next month in <em>Young Justice</em> #11, Robin will take the spotlight-right before the final episodes this season.<br />
<br />
Of course, the biggest detractor from this is: everyone in the cave has a secret. Artemis’s dad and sister are the Team’s enemies. Miss Martian is a white Martian. Superboy was created by the enemy (whether he knows it or not). Robin keeps his real identity a secret. KF keeps his affection toward Artemis a secret. What’s Kaldur hiding?<br />
<br />
In any case, the traitor will be known soon, and even if it's Robin, I doubt it's he's actually evil. The more pertinent question this week is: is Tygra?<br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-73679131866692328582011-11-16T20:00:00.001-05:002011-11-18T04:16:30.461-05:00False Dawn #23: Domestic Dispute<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGRrYtCFUH1j_Ic48ggaDIGe4TrV5G9ywSF0rTa6t_dA0SX6mm9HKHmyfae2fmsRXarTdD9nAiYACR9RxgzrAobB3NXxmXvUYbqui1_5LNqFnv2xuJdcDw7Jy6YdE5J2kxHWIyi8GT-SW/s1600/green+frapped.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdGRrYtCFUH1j_Ic48ggaDIGe4TrV5G9ywSF0rTa6t_dA0SX6mm9HKHmyfae2fmsRXarTdD9nAiYACR9RxgzrAobB3NXxmXvUYbqui1_5LNqFnv2xuJdcDw7Jy6YdE5J2kxHWIyi8GT-SW/s320/green+frapped.jpg" width="207" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lance and Krisk by 122476</td></tr>
</tbody></table><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"></div><br />
<strong><em>False Dawn #</em>23: "Life or Something Called It"</strong><br />
<strong>Part Four of Four: Domestic Dispute</strong><br />
Comic Book Script—Plot for 20 Pages<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
The <em>False Dawn/Destiny's Fate</em> crossover finale, and it's the cursed immortal versus the former assassin!<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>Note to Letterer: All narrations are Ral’s. <br />
<br />
PAGE ONE<br />
1—Close-up on Krisk, who’s struggling against the muscular arm wrapped about his neck.<br />
NARR: I am sooo out of the loop here.<br />
<br />
2—Mid-shot—Lance pointing a gun at the camera. <br />
LANCE: Ral, get over here.<br />
<br />
PAGE TWO<br />
1—Ral blinks as he stand just out of the barrel’s range. The barrel is pointed to his right (our left) at Kainoa, who has his hands up slightly in a surrender position, but he’s surprised. Behind him are Rena and Artemis, who are not happy with a gun trained on their son. <br />
RAL: Dude, what are you doing? These people helped SAVE me from those government WHACKOS.<br />
LANCE: You know WHY they saved you?<br />
RAL: Does it matter?<br />
<br />
2—Close-up on Lance, who’s pissed.<br />
LANCE: Because they want to EXPERIMENT on you, Ral! Your parents are IMMORTAL. You don’t think Defenders of freakin’ TIME wouldn’t want to know what makes Addy and Connor and maybe even you TICK?<br />
<br />
3—Ral looks back at Rena and Artemis as Rena steps forward. He’s not quite sure what to do here. The Ryders have been good to them, so he’s not sure if to believe Lance or not. Rena simply wants no one hurt, especially her babies. <br />
RENA: Josh, honey, I know Lysander—<br />
<br />
4—Lance cuts her off and squeezes Krisk just a little harder.<br />
LANCE: Lysander? Try your SON, Mrs. Ryder. <br />
LANCE (linked): Your own kid TORTURED me to find out why I’m immortal, so don’t stand there and tell me you don’t want to do the SAME THING to Ral.<br />
<br />
5—Ral looks at Kainoa, now almost desperate. How could he trust these people?<br />
RAL: Lysander? Torture? What…What is going on here? How do you guys even KNOW each other?<br />
<br />
PAGE THREE<br />
1—Casia comes forward, her hand out to Ral. <br />
CASIA: Now’s not the time, Ral. Let’s get out of here why we can.<br />
OFF: Sorry, that’s not possible.<br />
<br />
2—Behind Lance and Krisk now stands Sawyer, blocking the exit doorway. He’s not formidable. He’s more sad than angry.<br />
SAWYER: Hello, Joshua. It’s been a couple of years.<br />
LANCE: GATEKEEPER. Move or the kid—<br />
SAWYER: Y’know, your parents used to ask me what they could do to REACH you. Just how could they<br />
get their son back on the straight and narrow. Y’know what I used to tell them?<br />
LANCE: Let him watch Showgirls?<br />
<br />
3—Close-up on Sawyer’s concerned face. He really thinks he can change this troubled kid into a good soldier. <br />
SAWYER: I told them to let me TRAIN you, let you become a DEFENDER. It would give you an out—<br />
<br />
4—Kainoa disappears in a flash of blue light. <br />
<br />
5—Lance smirks and jerks Krisk toward Ral again. Krisk is struggling, but it’s no use.<br />
LANCE: Well, looks like the assassin RAN AWAY. I’m only going to this once. Move or I will start shooting, KID FIRST.<br />
KRISK: Nhgh!<br />
<br />
6—Rena comes closer, standing in front of Ral. <br />
RENA: Josh, PLEASE. Stop this. Whatever happened to you, we can help.<br />
LANCE: Help?<br />
NARR: The air’s…different. I can’t explain it, but it shifts and energizes. <br />
LANCE: You can’t even help your son. He was gone how MANY years? How dare you think you can ‘help’ me?<br />
<br />
7—In a flash of blue, Kainoa appears behind Lance, kicking him down. <br />
<br />
PAGE FIVE<br />
1—Kainoa grabs Krisk, a hand upon the boy’s head. He’s glaring at Lance, who is off-panel. <br />
KAINOA: Go to Mom.<br />
<br />
2—Lance then fires at Kainoa, who lunges at him. <br />
<br />
3—Casia burns a line of fire behind Kainoa, blocking his parents and Krisk from helping. <br />
<br />
4—Donnellie fires one shot, knocking a blaster from Sawyer’s.<br />
DONNELLIE: Don’t worry. This will be all over soon.<br />
SAWYER: Yeah, before or after your PSYCHOTIC friend kills my nephew?<br />
DONNELLIE: And to think, at one time, it was the other way around.<br />
<br />
PAGE SIX<br />
1—Lance blocks Kainoa’s kick, though he has to drop the gun to do so.<br />
NARR: This is NOT good.<br />
<br />
2—Lance then falls to the floor to kick out Kainoa’s legs. <br />
NARR: A former ASSASSIN fighting a cursed IMMORTAL.<br />
<br />
3—Kainoa jumps over the attack.<br />
NARR: That has to be a first. <br />
<br />
4—Lance lunges elbow-out, hitting Kainoa across the cheek.<br />
NARR: I wonder if that’s something Guinness deals with, or do I just call the National Guard?<br />
<br />
PAGE SEVEN<br />
1—Kainoa wipes the blood from his chin. <br />
KAINOA: You’re…better than I thought—or remember.<br />
<br />
2—Close-up on Lance’s malicious smirk. <br />
LANCE: If there was one thing Darwin got right, it was SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.<br />
<br />
3—Donnielle and Casia stand next to each, watching the fight, almost amused. <br />
DONNELLIE: I’m not one to say, ‘I told you so’—<br />
CASIA: Yes, you are.<br />
DONNELLIE: Then I told him so.<br />
<br />
4—Rena returns with a fire extinguisher to stop Casia’s flames and instead blows it at the two. Artemis deals with the fire by smothering it with a blanket. <br />
RENA: Joshua, sweetie. Please! I don’t know why you came back, but fighting Kainoa isn’t going to get you what you want.<br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHT<br />
1—Lance stops fighting to look over his shoulder at Rena, though his fists are still raised. <br />
LANCE: And YOU know what I WANT?<br />
<br />
2—Ral picks up Kainoa’s fallen blaster off the ground. <br />
LANCE: (off) Please. You can’t even COMPREHEND what I AM, let alone what I want out of life. If you VALUE your own, I suggest you keep out of this.<br />
<br />
3—His face embittered like a mad man, Lance turns and strikes, but we can’t see who he hits—<br />
<br />
4—until Ral thumps to the ground.<br />
<br />
PAGE NINE<br />
1—Ral looks up, cradling his bloody and now enlarged cheek. <br />
NARR: Lance…hit me?<br />
<br />
2—Lance takes a step forward, remorse in his eyes and on his face. <br />
LANCE: Ral, I—<br />
<br />
3—With angry tears in his eyes, Ral lifts Kainoa’s blaster and fires a single shot at Lance. <br />
<br />
4—Lance is thrown back past Donnellie, Casia, and Sawyer. <br />
<br />
5—Lance crashes into the base of the stairs in the hallway.<br />
<br />
6—Ral stands, still holding his cheek. <br />
RAL: What…What are you doing! Kaiona and his family just SAVED me from these government WACKOS, and you come in here, guns and fire blazing? What’s WRONG with you?<br />
<br />
PAGE TEN<br />
1— Lance sits at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, his elbows on his knees, his eyes blazing directly into Ral’s. <br />
<br />
2—Extreme close-up on Ral’s eyes. He glares back.<br />
<br />
3—Behind Ral, Rena and Artemis clamor to save their living room from the devouring flames.<br />
<br />
4—A hand drops down in front of Lance’s face, offering to help him up. <br />
<br />
PAGE ELEVEN<br />
1—From Lance’s POV, we’re looking up at Sawyer. <br />
SAWYER: We…We didn’t understand back then. We still don’t completely, but we’re TRYING.<br />
<br />
2—Lance looks away, a little pissed and dejected. <br />
<br />
3—Lance looks back and takes the hand. <br />
<br />
4—Lance crosses the room to take Ral’s chin and cheek in his own hands. <br />
LANCE: Hey…let me see.<br />
<br />
PAGE TWELVE<br />
1—Lance looks past Ral at Artemis. <br />
LANCE: Hey, Mr. Ryder? You got some ice?<br />
ARTEMIS: Sure.<br />
<br />
PAGE THIRTEEN<br />
1—Ral tries hard not to cry—because, hey, crying is not cool at fourteen—so, Lance ruffles his hair. <br />
LANCE: Hey. No need to be BIG and BAD, okay? Did I ever tell you I lived at the beach?<br />
LANCE (linked): I used to get up earlier in the morning and boogie board. Once, this hurricane wasn’t far off shore, and my mortal parents told me not to go out. I didn’t listen, and I held my board pretty well until the last possible moment. An effing wave torn it apart, and my face broke my fall—and my fall broke my face. <br />
LANCE (after thought): I cried for, like, a week.<br />
RAL: You….you never cry…<br />
<br />
2—Lance shrugs with a tiny grin.<br />
LANCE: When you live FOURTEEN lifetimes, you tend to remember the bad pretty well, so whatever you come across in the present—paper cuts, gunshot wounds, heck Gigli—it just doesn’t seem worth the tears. <br />
LANCE: At the time, though, I knew nothing other my parents grounding me because they thought I was getting tattoos behind their back.<br />
<br />
3—Ral hugs Lance, who’s a little put off. <br />
RAL: I missed you.<br />
<br />
4—Lance finally hugs back. <br />
LANCE: I missed you, too, kid, though really, just because Casia doesn’t eat anything meat, which means we stop at tofu places. EW.<br />
<br />
5—Ral hugs Casia, his head snuggling under her chin. <br />
CASIA: Hey, Ral. Have you grown?<br />
NARR: Casia’s warm, like an iPhone when it’s working.<br />
<br />
6—A dark-skinned, feminine hand grabs one of Ral’s.<br />
<br />
PAGE THIRTEEN<br />
1—Ral is still wrapped about Casia as Donnellie runs her lithe fingers across the crooks of his palm. <br />
DONNELLIE: Let’s see what you’re—<br />
<br />
2—Lance lunges as Casia snatches Ral’s hand away. <br />
LANCE and CASIA: NO!<br />
SAWYER (off): So…Josh.<br />
<br />
3— Lance stares at Rena, Artemis, and Sawyer. Artemis is pressing an icepack against Ral’s cheek, while Rena’s hands cover her mouth. Sawyer crosses his arms, listening intently. Lance stuffs his hands in his pockets, shifting nervously.<br />
LANCE: Call me ‘Lance.’ It’s the name I’ve used since my FIRST lifetime.<br />
RENA: Then…Then it’s true? You’re really…<br />
<br />
4—Lance shrugs; Donnellie smirks. <br />
LANCE: A CURSED IMMORTAL who lives, dies, and lives again—oh, and loses the person he loves most in every lifetime. That’s my life…<br />
LANCE (linked, small balloon): …or something called it. <br />
DONNELLIE: Not really.<br />
LANCE (linked): No one asked you.<br />
DONNELLIE (linked): I make it my business not to be asked.<br />
LANCE (linked): Of course you do.<br />
DONNELLIE (linked): Hey, YOU keep calling.<br />
<br />
5—Lance glares at her before walking up to Kainoa and puts out a hand. Kainoa blinks at it.<br />
LANCE: Did you really save my little brother? Then I owe you.<br />
<br />
PAGE FOURTEEN<br />
1—Kainoa accepts the hand. <br />
KAINOA: I think it was a mutual saving, so let’s call us even?<br />
<br />
2—Lance turns toward Sawyer, who has his arms crossed. <br />
LANCE: Please…don’t tell my parents. They…They think I’m this THUG, and it’s better that way. It doesn’t let them have GUILT over….not getting it. I was never THEIRS, not really, so it’s better I’m gone.<br />
<br />
3—Sawyer uncrosses his arms. This is not how it was supposed to go.<br />
SAWYER: Why don’t you STAY? Maybe we can find why this happens. I’m not saying EXPERIMENT. I just—<br />
<br />
4—Lance meets gazes with Donnellie. <br />
<br />
5—Lance’s eyes droop; Donnellie looks away. <br />
LANCE: I know why this happens, and maybe I even deserve it, but there’s no reason why I should ENDANGER you and yours, Mr. Ryder.<br />
<br />
PAGE FIFTEEN<br />
1—Artemis stands by Kainoa; Rena has a hand upon Krisk’s head. Lance is just shrugging again.<br />
ARTEMIS: Where will you go?<br />
LANCE: Ral’s parents are TRAPPED in another DIMENSION. We have to find them.<br />
RENA: We’ll help you.<br />
LANCE: You’ve done enough. <br />
<br />
2— Donnellie kneels before Krisk, urging his hand from his pocket and opening his palm. Lance and Casia lunge, covering Krisk’s hand.<br />
LANCE: Thank…NO!<br />
<br />
3—Bright white light explodes from Donnellie’s eyes. <br />
<br />
PAGE SIXTEEN<br />
1—Donnellie hovers about a foot off the ground, her eyes white with strains of white energy floating about her. Ral, Lance, and Casia are on one side, the Ryder family on the other.<br />
DONNELLIE (trance-like): The world you know will come to end. The paths you took will somehow bend.<br />
CASIA: Does she normally rhyme?<br />
LANCE: Not…that I know of...<br />
DONNELLIE: Five powers must unite; a demon from your past you all must fight.<br />
RAL: This, from a PALM READING?<br />
CASIA: You should see what she does with CRYSTAL BALLS. <br />
DONNELLIE: Despite what you think, it comes down to this. All that you love, you will come to miss. The only way to win, is to lose, but with Hope by your side, that’s just a ruse.<br />
<br />
PAGE SEVENTEEN<br />
1—Donnellie collapses into Lance’s arms, unconscious. Ral’s over Lance’s shoulder. <br />
RAL: That’s…weird.<br />
<br />
2—Lance whirls toward the Defenders. <br />
LANCE: Yes but accurate when she’s like that.<br />
LANCE (linked): Take heed. Whatever she said, she got from Krisk’s hand. What she says will come to pass.<br />
<br />
3—Sawyer nods. <br />
SAWYER: We’ll be ready.<br />
<br />
4—Lance, Ral, and Casia gather about the table of a fast food joint. Ral’s munching on a cheeseburger with fries. Lance has a slushie. <br />
LOCATION CAPS: LATER<br />
RAL: So Donnellie doesn’t eat meat, either?<br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHTEEN<br />
1—Casia shrugs and steals Lance’s shake as Lance eats fries from Ral’s wrapper. <br />
CASIA: Oh, she eats meat. She just refuses to call this ‘meat.’<br />
<br />
2—Ral looks down at his burger. <br />
NARR: Agh, I’m really going to have to bite the bullet here. He’s going to make me, isn’t he? <br />
RAL: I’m…I’m sorry I shot you, Lance.<br />
<br />
3—Lance blinks, looking genuinely confused. <br />
LANCE: What?<br />
RAL: I…I shot you. With the taser. I’m…I’m sorry.<br />
<br />
4—Lance swipes with his hand. <br />
LANCE: Please. It was a taser. That doesn’t count. I’ve been shot a lot worse, and I hit YOU. It’s fine.<br />
RAL: But—<br />
<br />
5—Lance’s face is serious now, his eyes distant. <br />
LANCE: Look, I get…CRAZY…sometimes, thinking about my parents from this lifetime. Other than your mom and uncle, they were the best parents I’ve had, and I let them down. Not all of it was my fault, but in their eyes, it was. <br />
LANCE (linked): And that HURT. <br />
LANCE (linked): But what happened back there wasn’t your fault, and I can’t really blame much on Kainoa because a lot wasn’t his, either. And what he did to me, I’ve done to more than one person.<br />
<br />
6—Ral focuses on something between Lance and Casia. <br />
NARR: Wow. <br />
<br />
PAGE NINETEEN<br />
1—Lance glances over his shoulder at the cheerleader in the booth behind him and smirks. <br />
LANCE: You going to talk to her or just gawk like a nerdy high school stalker?<br />
<br />
2—In the middle of the Ryder living room, Brandon and Mary Sterling wear old, tattered peasant garb while strapping on Anchrons. Sawyer stands behind them. <br />
LOCATION CAPS: LATER, LATER<br />
SAWYER: Are you sure about this?<br />
MARY: We have no choice, Sawyer. I don’t care what Josh—or—LANCE—says, he’s still OUR son. I’m going to find a CURE to this CURSE and bring him HOME.<br />
<br />
3—The three turn toward the new voice. <br />
KAINOA (off): He’ll be back.<br />
<br />
4—Kainoa leans against the door, an icepack against his face. <br />
KAINOA: I know you believe you can change the past, but it won’t work. And he’ll be back.<br />
<br />
5—Close up on Brandon.<br />
BRANDON: How do you know?<br />
<br />
PAGE TWENTY<br />
1—Kainoa heads back into the kitchen. <br />
KAINOA: He’s an immortal who lives and dies, and he doesn’t want to defeat TIME? It’s his GREATEST enemy. Trust me.<br />
<br />
2—Kainoa looks down at his suddenly glowing blue hands. <br />
LANCE: He’ll be back to save us…or destroy us.<br />
TITLES<br />
<br />
THE END<br />
<br />
A/N: This story leads into the one that I submitted to Journeymen. I’ll let you know if it gets published. This also takes place right before Destiny’s Fate: Wards of Man miniseries. First look at the series is up!Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-37278685050723806932011-11-16T19:59:00.000-05:002011-11-16T19:59:00.353-05:00False Dawn #23: Short Story Edition<strong><em>False Dawn</em> #23: "Life or Something Like It"</strong><br />
<strong>Part Four of Four: Domestic Dispute</strong><br />
Short Story Format<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
I am sooo out of the loop here. I’m also not in the suffocating headlock that Lance entraps Kaiona’s little brother, Krisk, so I should take that as a good sign. <br />
<br />
“Ral, get over here,” Lance demands, even as Krisk struggles.<br />
<br />
I blink at the gun trained upon Kainoa. “Dude, what are you doing? These people saved me from those government WHACKOS.”<br />
<br />
“You know WHY they saved you?”<br />
<br />
“Does it matter?”<br />
<br />
“Because they want to EXPERIMENT on you, Ral! Your parents are immortal. You don’t think Defenders of freakin’ TIME wouldn’t want to know what makes Addy and Connor and maybe even you tick?”<br />
<br />
I look back at Rena and Artemis. “Josh, honey,” Rena pleads. “I know Lysander—”<br />
<br />
“Lysander?” He motions toward Kainoa. “Try your son, Mrs. Ryder. Your own kid tortured me to find out why I’m immortal, so don’t stand there and tell me you don’t want to do the same thing to Ral.”<br />
<br />
“Lysander? Torture?” I glance back at Kainoa, who averts his shameful eyes. “What…What is going on here? How do you guys even KNOW each other?”<br />
<br />
Casia comes forward, her hand out to me. “Now’s not the time, Ral. Let’s get out of here while we can.”<br />
<br />
“Sorry, that’s not possible.” Behind Lance and Krisk now stands Sawyer, blocking our exit. “Hello, Joshua. It’s been a couple of years.”<br />
<br />
“Gatekeeper,” Lance clips. “Move or the kid—”<br />
<br />
“Y’know, your parents used to ask me what they could do to reach you.” He crosses his arms like an authority figure. I hate when adults do that. “Just how could they get their son back on the straight and narrow? Y’know what I used to tell them?”<br />
<br />
“Let him watch <em>Showgirls</em>?”<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>“I told them to let me train you, let you become a Defender. It would give you an out—”<br />
<br />
I see it a second before it happens, like seriously a second. Kainoa reaches for his aura, his eyes burning a malicious blue. <br />
<br />
“LANCE!”<br />
<br />
Kainoa disappears. I thought he was going to reappear, but he doesn’t. And Lance smirks. <br />
<br />
“Well, looks like the assassin RAN AWAY.” He pivots, keeping his eyes and gun on Sawyer. “I’m only going to this once. Move or I will start shooting, kid first.”<br />
<br />
“Nhgh!” Krisk struggles, but it doesn’t do him any good. Lance has a death grip, and trust me, I know there’s no getting out of one.<br />
<br />
“Josh, please,” Rena begs. “Stop this. Whatever happened to you, we can help.”<br />
<br />
“Help?”<br />
<br />
The air’s…different. I can’t explain it, but it shifts and energizes. <br />
<br />
“You can’t even help your son. He was gone how many years? How dare you think you can ‘help’ me?”<br />
<br />
In a burst of blue, Kainoa appears right behind Lance, snatching Krisk and kicking Lance in the back. To my brother’s credit, he rolls with the hit, lands on his knees, and fires three shots with his blaster. Kainoa ducks two, but the third hits him in the shoulder, knocking him against the bookcase and sending knickknacks and his own blaster to the floor. <br />
<br />
He growls and lowers Krisk. “Go by Mom.”<br />
<br />
Then, he lunges. <br />
<br />
Artemis takes a step forward, but Casia burns a line of flames across the floor, separating Kainoa and Lance from the Defenders. When Sawyer pulls his gun, Donnellie shoots one laser blaser, knocking it from his hands. <br />
<br />
“Don’t worry. This will be all over soon,” she says. <br />
<br />
“Yeah, before or after your psychotic friend kills my nephew?”<br />
<br />
“And to think, at one time, it was the other way around.”<br />
<br />
Lance blocks Kainoa’s kick, then falls to the floor to kick out Kainoa’s legs. The blue-haired teen jumps over the attack and lunges elbow-out, which Lance grabs and uses to fling over Kainoa’s shoulder. <br />
<br />
“You’re…better than I thought,” Kainoa huffs in between punches. <br />
<br />
Lance blocks, snorting. “If there was one thing Darwin got right, it was SURVIVAL OF THE FITTEST.”<br />
<br />
Donnielle shakes her head. “I’m not one to say, ‘I told you so’—”<br />
<br />
Casia glares. “Uh, yes, you are.”<br />
<br />
“Then I told him so.”<br />
<br />
Rena returns with a fire extinguisher to stop Casia’s flames and instead blows it at the two.“Joshua, sweetie. Please. I don’t know why you came back, but fighting Kainoa isn’t going to get you what you want.” <br />
<br />
“And you know what I want?” he laughs. “Please. You can’t even comprehend what I am, let alone what I want out of life. If you value your own, I suggest you keep out of this.”<br />
<br />
Whirling, Lance strikes. <br />
<br />
“Stop!”<br />
<br />
I don’t remember the hit. I remember the look in Lance’s eyes as he struck—the hatred, the anger, the fear. Then my face and ass hurt. On the ground, I cradle my jaw, hoping all my teeth are still there, and I look up at a blurry Lance through my tears. <br />
<br />
He hit me. <br />
<br />
Lance leans back on his heel, taking a deep breath. “Ral, I—”<br />
<br />
I lift Kainoa’s blaster, firing a single shot. Lance is thrown back, flying past Donnellie, Casia, and Sawyer and into the base of the stairs. <br />
<br />
I tasered my brother who can kill me with a flick—not kidding. “What…What are you doing! Kaiona and his family saved me, and you come in here, guns and fire blazing? What’s up with that?”<br />
<br />
Lance sits at the bottom of the stairs for a moment, his elbows on his knees, his eyes blazing directly into mine. Behind me, Rena and Artemis clamor to save their living room from the devouring flames, which, admittedly, are starting to burn my eyes. <br />
<br />
After what seems like an eternity, Sawyer walks up to Lance and puts out a hand. “We…We didn’t understand back then. We still don’t completely, but we’re TRYING.”<br />
<br />
Lance eyes the hand warily before taking it and allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. He comes forward, taking my chin and cheek in his gentle hands. “Hey…let me see.” He hisses at the blood and swelling, then looks up at someone behind me. “Hey, Mr. Ryder? You got some ice?”<br />
<br />
“Sure.”<br />
<br />
Boots click away, but Lance steals my attention with a hand through my hair. I try to hold back the tears, but it just makes cough as my cheek gets bigger and bigger under my hand. <br />
<br />
“Hey,” he calls. “No need to be big and bad, okay? Did I ever tell you I lived at the beach?”<br />
<br />
I think I shake my head. Right now, I’m not quite sure of anything. <br />
<br />
“I used to get up earlier in the morning and boogie board. Once, this hurricane wasn’t far off shore, and my mortal parents told me not to go out. I didn’t listen, and I held my board pretty well until the last possible moment. An effing wave tore it apart. My face broke my fall, and my fall broke my face. I cried for, like, a week.”<br />
<br />
I glance up. “You…” Ow. “….you never cry…”<br />
<br />
He smiles and shrugs. “When you live fourteen lifetimes, you tend to remember the bad pretty well, so then whatever you come across in the present—paper cuts, gunshot wounds, heck <em>Gigli</em>—it just doesn’t seem worth the tears. At the time, though, I knew nothing other my parents grounding me because they thought I was getting tattoos behind their back.”<br />
<br />
I snort, then whine at the subsequent throbbing. God, he hits hard. <br />
<br />
I press my good cheek against his chest and wrap my arms around his torso. “I missed you.”<br />
<br />
It takes a few seconds, but he returns it. “I missed you, too, kid, though really, just because Casia doesn’t eat anything meat, which means we stop at tofu places. Ew.”<br />
<br />
When Casia comes forward, I can’t help but lunge into her arms. She’s warm, like an iPhone when it’s working, and I snuggle under her chin. <br />
<br />
“Hey, Ral. Have you grown?”<br />
<br />
A hand grabs mine and pries from Casia’s torso, and Donnellie runs her lithe fingers across the crooks of my palm. <br />
<br />
“Let’s see what you’re—”<br />
<br />
Casia tugs my hand away as she and Lance yell, “NO!”<br />
<br />
“So…Josh,” I hear. <br />
<br />
When I turn, Lance stares at Rena, Artemis, and Sawyer. He stuffs his hands in his pockets, shifting nervously. “Call me ‘Lance.’ It’s the name I’ve used since my first lifetime.”<br />
<br />
Rena’s hands cover her mouth. “Then…Then it’s true? You’re really…”<br />
<br />
“A cursed immortal who lives, dies, and lives again—oh, and loses the person he loves most in every lifetime. That’s my life…or something called it.”<br />
<br />
“Not really,” Donnellie interjects. <br />
<br />
Lance narrows his eyes. “No one asked you.”<br />
<br />
“I make it my business to not be asked.”<br />
<br />
“Of course you do.”<br />
<br />
“Hey, you keep calling.”<br />
<br />
Lance glares at her before walking up to Kainoa. I feel the adults tense, but Lance just puts out a hand. “Did you really save my little brother? I owe you.”<br />
<br />
Kainoa shrugs and accepts it. “I think it was a mutual saving, so let’s call us even?”<br />
<br />
He sighs, then looks directly at Sawyer. “Please…don’t tell my parents. They…They think I’m this heartless thug, and it’s better that way. It doesn’t let them have guilt over….not getting it. I was never theirs, not really, so it’s better I’m gone.”<br />
<br />
Sawyer uncrosses his arms. “Why don’t you stay? Maybe we can find why this happens. I’m not saying EXPERIMENT. I just—”<br />
<br />
Lance meets gazes with Donnellie for just a second before she looks away. “I know why this happens, and maybe I even deserve it, but there’s no reason why I should endanger you and yours, Mr. Ryder.”<br />
<br />
“Where will you go?” Artemis asks. <br />
<br />
“Ral’s parents are still trapped in another dimension. We have to find them.”<br />
<br />
Rena puts a hand on Lance’s forearm. “We’ll help you.”<br />
<br />
He smiles. “You’ve done enough. Thank…”<br />
<br />
Donnellie kneels before Krisk, urging his hand from his pocket and opening his palm. Lance and Casia lunge, covering Krisk’s hand. Still bright white light explodes from Donnellie’s eyes, and she hovers about a foot off the ground. <br />
<br />
“The world you know will come to end. The paths you took will somehow bend.”<br />
<br />
Casia narrows her eyes at Lance. “Does she normally rhyme?”<br />
<br />
“Not…that I know of...”<br />
<br />
“Five powers must unite; a demon from your past you all must fight.”<br />
<br />
“This, from a palm reading?” I ask. <br />
<br />
Casia smirks. “You should see what she does with crystal balls.”<br />
<br />
“Despite what you think, it comes down to this. All that you love, you will come to miss. The only way to win, is to lose, but with hope by your side, that’s just a ruse.”<br />
<br />
She collapsed into Lance’s arms, unconscious.<br />
<br />
“That’s…weird,” I mutter.<br />
<br />
“Yes, but accurate when she’s like that.” Lance whirls to the Defenders, his eyes hard. “Take heed. Whatever she said, she got from Krisk’s hand. What she says will come to pass.”<br />
<br />
Sawyer nods. “We’ll be ready.”<br />
<br />
LATER<br />
<br />
“So Donnellie doesn’t eat meat, either?” I ask, munching down on a cheeseburger in Burger Castle.<br />
<br />
Casia shrugs. “Oh, she eats meat. She just refuses to call this ‘meat.’”<br />
<br />
Lance steals a French fry off of my plate. <br />
<br />
Agh, I’m really going to have to bite the bullet here. He’s going to make me, isn’t he? “I’m…I’m sorry I shot you, Lance.”<br />
<br />
He blinks, looking genuinely confused. “What?”<br />
<br />
“I…I shot you. With the taser. I’m…I’m sorry.”<br />
<br />
Lance shrugs. “Please. It was a taser. That doesn’t count. I’ve been shot a lot worse, and I hit you. It’s fine.”<br />
<br />
“But—”<br />
<br />
“Look,” and now he’s all serious. “I get…CRAZY…sometimes, thinking about my parents from this lifetime. Other than your mom and uncle, they were the best parents I’ve had, and I let them down. Not all of it was my fault, but in their eyes, it was. And that HURT. But what happened back there wasn’t your fault, and I can’t really blame much on Kainoa because a lot wasn’t his, either. And what he did to me, I’ve done to more than one person.”<br />
<br />
Wow. What’s…Something past Lance and Casia catches my attention, but I quickly look away when Lance glances over his shoulder at the cheerleader in the booth behind him. I can hear the smile in his voice. <br />
<br />
“You going to talk to her or just gawk like a nerdy high school stalker?”<br />
<br />
LATER, LATER<br />
<br />
“Are you sure about this?” Sawyer asks.<br />
<br />
Standing in the middle of the living room in old, tattered, peasant garb, Mary and Brandon Sterling strap on their Anchrons. <br />
<br />
“We have no choice, Sawyer. I don’t care what Josh—or—LANCE—says, he’s still OUR son,” Mary replies. “I’m going to find a cure to this curse and bring him home.”<br />
<br />
“He’ll be back,” a new voice calls from the kitchen doorway. <br />
<br />
The three turn to see Kainoa, leaning heavily on the wall, an icepack to his face. <br />
<br />
“I know you believe you can change the past, but it won’t work. And he’ll be back.”<br />
<br />
“How do you know?” Brandon demands. <br />
<br />
Kainoa shrugs. “He’s an immortal who lives and dies, and he doesn’t want to defeat time? It’s his greatest enemy. Trust me.”<br />
<br />
Kainoa looks down at his suddenly glowing blue hands. “He’ll be back…to save or destroy us all.”<br />
<br />
The EndDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-31378946115187171722011-11-16T07:54:00.002-05:002011-11-16T08:04:07.255-05:00FIRST LOOK AT WARDS OF MAN!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzr_CQf2QSc_mlj-IjWpAH5FOL6jRYkAWs3bEHcSoMG6GAjKPMULqrsDjVJF2qjDFWz06JMgEuYZYxRnY1bYYFvMqM2KTH2H5W5b3JixcZNfBZJ4AfivWydfRU_uHgMC9t6_y654b8IRIS/s1600/Kainoa_Wards.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" hda="true" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzr_CQf2QSc_mlj-IjWpAH5FOL6jRYkAWs3bEHcSoMG6GAjKPMULqrsDjVJF2qjDFWz06JMgEuYZYxRnY1bYYFvMqM2KTH2H5W5b3JixcZNfBZJ4AfivWydfRU_uHgMC9t6_y654b8IRIS/s320/Kainoa_Wards.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kainoa Ryder by 122476</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
Anyone else think it feels like Christmas when his/her artist buddy sends sketches? Seriously! <br />
<br />
This is a character study of the protagionist of <em>Destiny's Fate: Wards of Man</em>, Kainoa Ryder! 122476 rocked this! He even added the cut-off gloves to the Defenders' wear, which is just soooo badass Kainoa. <br />
<br />
And in case you didn't notice, 122476 is a Bills' fan, and he wants you to billieve. Just you. If I do it, apparently the team loses. Go figure.<br />
<br />
More to come!<br />
<br />
D to the L to the M<br />
<br />
P.S. The fantasy novel, <em>Destiny's Fate,</em> still for sale on Kindle!Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-7438150690806100732011-11-11T20:56:00.004-05:002011-11-11T20:57:50.696-05:00Dare to DreamEvery day I set a goal for myself. Yesterday, it was to balance on a deserted street's curb and walk like a gymnast on a balance beam for a block. <br />
<br />
GOAL ACHIEVED!<br />
<br />
Two days ago, it was to complete the four new contracts placed on the escalation list in a single work day. <br />
<br />
GOAL ACHIEVED!<br />
<br />
Today, it was to submit a resume to DC Comics for a position in editorial.<br />
<br />
GOAL ACHIEVED!<br />
<br />
I'll keep you posted. <br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-61414426713950706252011-11-11T04:42:00.002-05:002011-11-11T07:56:46.643-05:00How Do You Know and Updates!<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDksbCyHApiTjdQtVtm6Y9AKtZJG3MRTJNjziUMTBfwSxxliRlEq1UfXnVUlcV21HPeWcm_vGLLESmP0QGODlVngXR0n6TJ3PMqtNzz6AB5HYk9lGUBpg-Ucbh4eW3FaMEPZdAeXQrUEU/s1600/tumblr_lkz8fxfcQj1qfdxjfo1_500.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="199" nda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnDksbCyHApiTjdQtVtm6Y9AKtZJG3MRTJNjziUMTBfwSxxliRlEq1UfXnVUlcV21HPeWcm_vGLLESmP0QGODlVngXR0n6TJ3PMqtNzz6AB5HYk9lGUBpg-Ucbh4eW3FaMEPZdAeXQrUEU/s320/tumblr_lkz8fxfcQj1qfdxjfo1_500.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">From <em>Young Avengers</em> #3 by Heinberg and Cheung</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
How do you know when you’ve read too many comics?<br />
<br />
When you hear the U.S. Senate panel passes repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act, and you can only think—yay, Wiccan and Hulkling!<br />
<br />
Apparently, I post How-Do-You-Knows and updates recently. <br />
<br />
<strong>What’s up, down the pike!</strong><br />
<br />
I’ve put in an eight-page story (“Life’s Question”) to an anthology, so I should here back on that before the new year. If it’s accepted, it’ll be drawn and published in <em>Journeymen</em> by ICG Publishing. If not, then I’ll probably get 122476 to draw it next year. He was supposed to draw this one, but I didn’t find out the contest until the last moment. He was kind enough to switch projects for me. Oh, and what’s his new project? Thanks for asking!<br />
<br />
122476 is working on <em>The Wards of Man</em>, the sequel to my novel <em>Destiny’s Fate</em> (Told ya I’d get a better title). The Council of Order doesn’t approve of Kainoa’s decision to bring back Draven, the previous Destiny, and now they want to choose a new bearer of the time-altering power—Edge. Will Kainoa concede to his maniac older brother, or will he fight to death to keep that power that has been the Starbucks’s since time immortal? <br />
<br />
122476 has currently agreed on the first six/nine pages of the first issue, so if nothing else, those will be uploaded here once they’re done. If there’s another enough interest, the entire five-book miniseries might reach fruition. We’ll see! <br />
<br />
<em>False Dawn</em> #23 will be posted within in the next week, with the cover by—you guessed it! 122476! I do have Addy and Connor’s profile with art by Emily L’Orange to be posted soon, and Wolfram has also offered to do another piece for me. Both of those should be up sometime this month. <br />
<br />
Thanks for reading!<br />
<br />
Devin Leigh MichaelsDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-86797696450851210452011-10-28T04:13:00.004-04:002011-10-28T04:22:32.237-04:00Comic!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidadfAYb5768P-E3SFuGncxiZ4ojNsf-lSWQSN_Ed689xHklspc9gch-YgxVF_J6llvdsOpDRr1YvSHHGlRl7UZpZBhzV12GSFVoL7pQhht8nYCv_NtVldip3dHPbqe2caHLMmqcFOBj9m/s1600/ForeversPrison.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="400" ida="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEidadfAYb5768P-E3SFuGncxiZ4ojNsf-lSWQSN_Ed689xHklspc9gch-YgxVF_J6llvdsOpDRr1YvSHHGlRl7UZpZBhzV12GSFVoL7pQhht8nYCv_NtVldip3dHPbqe2caHLMmqcFOBj9m/s400/ForeversPrison.png" width="266" /></a></div><br />
If you click on it, it will enlargen.<br />
<br />
Shannon of Breakaway totally rocked this! The prompt was a one-page comic with a death being shown or insinuated in the last panel. I thought it came out well. <br />
<br />
On a side but related note, 122476 and I spoke, and he's going to draw "Life's Question." Sweet. Cannot wait to see how that comes out.<br />
<br />
Thanks!<br />
<br />
DevDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-63292539582145331342011-10-21T08:12:00.001-04:002011-10-21T08:13:04.120-04:00How Do You Know 31 and Mini-Update<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHolqUIFcNHkuI-yGM4eMP87vOj7epuCkHyJE81HjXAGd1Ty-N792JdBqsdDternBZGJMKAWoOhEKaHu82drKt4_XWCOk3sVvJHB42liaEn-PjOFC2QpithVpJ-v_9PN0ILLiC7RpcBuTd/s1600/Red_Hood_and_The_Outlaws_Vol_1-3_Cover-1_Teaser.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" rda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjHolqUIFcNHkuI-yGM4eMP87vOj7epuCkHyJE81HjXAGd1Ty-N792JdBqsdDternBZGJMKAWoOhEKaHu82drKt4_XWCOk3sVvJHB42liaEn-PjOFC2QpithVpJ-v_9PN0ILLiC7RpcBuTd/s320/Red_Hood_and_The_Outlaws_Vol_1-3_Cover-1_Teaser.jpg" width="210" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">RH&O3 cover by superstar Kenneth Rocafort</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
How do you know when you’ve read too many comics? (NEVER!)<br />
<br />
When you believe <em>Red Hood and the Outlaws</em> should consist of Red Hood, Red Arrow (not Arsenal), Red Robin, Red Star, the (but only if he goes by Scarlet Speedster), Scarlet Spider, Scarlet Witch, and Speed (because I like the character!). <br />
<br />
<strong>Mini-Update!</strong><br />
I’m currently in talks with 122476 to do a short comic—six pages—featuring the cast of <em>False Dawn</em> entitled “Life’s Question.” If it doesn’t pan out, I’ll be posting the story along with a cover, probably drawn by 122476. If it does (yay!), I'll update you as the story progresses.<br />
<br />
Also on the front burner is the sequel to my novel <em>Destiny’s Fate</em>. (FIND IT ON AMAZON!) I’m working on a five-book outline to do this sequel in comic form, not as a novel, which will not take longer in writing but definitely will take longer to produce. If all goes well, I’m looking to have it out late next year in comic book stores and potentially available online. I’ll keep you updated on the progress. Working title? <br />
<br />
Sparklure Legacy: The Gathering<br />
<br />
Yeah…I’ll get something less clichéd as the story develops. <br />
<br />
Thanks!<br />
<br />
Devin Leigh MichaelsDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-45991222803415287322011-10-18T18:00:00.004-04:002011-10-20T04:06:48.294-04:00NYCC ROCKED!-Just sayin'.<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyMi-d1DOGROoTTa3ZIZp0pXx99G_PkbGdOWQ5l252rs_KNsq9gM7SBIIhTjJn_55dKw54XKUC90uXExaKSlsyLRK-3_zdTta2gSYSoj4mllBnaKwyPN2hfkvoMw5RbNFCMizLuFpVjvq/s1600/tumblr_lt985tMOPx1qkdwfyo1_500.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgzyMi-d1DOGROoTTa3ZIZp0pXx99G_PkbGdOWQ5l252rs_KNsq9gM7SBIIhTjJn_55dKw54XKUC90uXExaKSlsyLRK-3_zdTta2gSYSoj4mllBnaKwyPN2hfkvoMw5RbNFCMizLuFpVjvq/s320/tumblr_lt985tMOPx1qkdwfyo1_500.png" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Shot of the Javis Center Lobby from the top of the stairs by Me</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
My first comic convention was NYCC 2008. My sister nudged me in the side the whole Bat Panel, whispering, “Ask a question. Ask a question!”<br />
<br />
I was nervous just sitting in a crowded room with Tony Daniel, Mike Marts, Ian Sattler, Peter Tomasi, Dustin Nguyen, and Greg Rucka. These were superstars, my Matt Damons and George Cooneys. I ended up leaving a little disappointed. I didn’t speak to one of them. I didn’t know what to say other than, “Oh my God! You’re—”<br />
<br />
Flash forward three years and eight months later, my sister is out of the room, getting a Vitamin Water, and I’m one of the few fans left in the panel after questions start. My question is number two. <br />
<br />
In the months prior to NYCC, I gained and lost some confidence. While I had lost The Seekers contest, I had been tweeting Kyle Higgins, J.T. Krul, Mike McKeon, Rich Ginter, Jeff Suter, Mikel Janin, Scott Tuft, Rickey Purdin, Patrick Zircher, Ryan Parrott, Owen Wiseman, and Mark Doyle and tons more. On top of that, I’ve even been FOLLOWED by some of the aforementioned. This time, when I went to NYCC, I felt confident (but still nervous) introducing myself because even though these creators didn’t know me, they knew my name. And that, my friends, was KEWL (NJ accent cool).<br />
<br />
I spoke with Fabian Nicieza, Mikel Janin, Mike McKeon, J.T. Krul, Jim Cheung, Ivan Brandon (again!), Kyle Higgins, and Bobbie Chase. Many were kind enough to discuss their careers, even my own, and give insight into the industry. Each one was professional and kind. I cannot express how grateful I am for their generosity. <br />
<br />
For the last however many years, I’ve been trying my best to break-in to the industry, and normally when I leave these conventions, I feel depressed, even demoralized, because I’m no closer to my dream. This time, I was jumping up and down like a fangirl. I couldn’t believe what I’d learned, how my idols had encouraged me not to give up and to continue working and improving and striving. On the train ride home, I was already mapping out a <em>Destiny’s Fate’s</em> miniseries in my notebook while <em>Red Hood and the Outlaws</em> was up on my iPad. <br />
<br />
Where I thought <em>The Seekers</em> might be an end to my career, where I thought just perhaps the comic book industry was kicking me out, NYCC invited me back in. <br />
<br />
Thanks.<br />
<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
October 17, 2011Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-43126365040848152632011-10-18T12:00:00.000-04:002011-10-18T12:00:04.631-04:00How Do You Know 030<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8ochulRk32SXdtx260WxZAa0BrkckiKWNgkSyqc1wj8FbOwrplRj2vKAWH6-AmenlMEKbgpc4vQNcvxDf8uJmTpVPWRmS_rodUbnfNXMWCkYq9a_wlN437enhbDxXlHi51Bwy87Y8AaF/s1600/Red%252520Hood1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="316" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEht8ochulRk32SXdtx260WxZAa0BrkckiKWNgkSyqc1wj8FbOwrplRj2vKAWH6-AmenlMEKbgpc4vQNcvxDf8uJmTpVPWRmS_rodUbnfNXMWCkYq9a_wlN437enhbDxXlHi51Bwy87Y8AaF/s320/Red%252520Hood1.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Jason Todd by Jason Haun (in <em>Red Hood: LD,</em> written by Judd Winick)</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
How do you know when you’ve read too many comics? (Never!)<br />
<br />
<br />
When you realize Jason Todd actually has a superpower - the ability to never have hat hair after taking off his helmet.Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-33909891270143218722011-10-14T04:17:00.000-04:002011-10-14T04:17:47.247-04:00NEW YORK, HERE I COME!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHrYFrZaM6fjjqAvcVwCnDUBV3O2D2HRj4SMhZZcwk3_mutPC2qpQEJKGAjJG-JK3AsAse-VbbazKLkj0LAG_hAl3rd5cMLAsYYp0JH0NY76Ji3aOQOKAy4ViCNk6F2omycuyJSSLgrH_/s1600/tumblr_lt1qw2AqNy1qkdwfyo1_400.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiQHrYFrZaM6fjjqAvcVwCnDUBV3O2D2HRj4SMhZZcwk3_mutPC2qpQEJKGAjJG-JK3AsAse-VbbazKLkj0LAG_hAl3rd5cMLAsYYp0JH0NY76Ji3aOQOKAy4ViCNk6F2omycuyJSSLgrH_/s1600/tumblr_lt1qw2AqNy1qkdwfyo1_400.jpg" /></a></div><br />
It comes around once a year (and when it switched from February to October, once every nineteen months!). <br />
<br />
It's NYCC, baby!<br />
<br />
And of course, you know I HAD to buy the four-day pass. Joining me - like at all cons - is my non-geek sister, Marie, and I hope you'll join us as we struggle against the villainy of lines, the destruction of crowds, and the depression of cancellations - as well as enjoy the awesome company of the industry's finest. <br />
<br />
For up-to-second updates of my infiltration of the industry, check out my Twitter account - @DevinLMichaels - or my Tumblr account - <a href="http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com/">http://break-outcbe.tumblr.com/</a>.<br />
<br />
I'll have a full recap back here early next week.<br />
<br />
Hope to see you there!<br />
<br />
Devin Leigh MichaelsDevin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7969767439314722874.post-49253433904951640382011-10-14T03:57:00.003-04:002011-11-16T19:26:39.328-05:00False Dawn #22: Comic Book Script<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DInN0CBEy0BInZFNMvS4rwKPIMkeSUhfTuNQ-o0tz1WNY6ycpdw0RKu09BDnDLjS288KDoPD2mliOr9LgINAFlgaBBQ2ZFIjLnV_ux4W2gz5uO_cQeJe-YAGaHmRUVqICmmuhPXfianw/s1600/kainoa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" oda="true" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg8DInN0CBEy0BInZFNMvS4rwKPIMkeSUhfTuNQ-o0tz1WNY6ycpdw0RKu09BDnDLjS288KDoPD2mliOr9LgINAFlgaBBQ2ZFIjLnV_ux4W2gz5uO_cQeJe-YAGaHmRUVqICmmuhPXfianw/s320/kainoa.jpg" width="198" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Kainoa Ryder by Emily L'Orange</td></tr>
</tbody></table><br />
<br />
<strong><em>False Dawn</em> #22: “Life or Something Called It”</strong><br />
<strong>Part Three of Four: Normalcy or Lack of It</strong><br />
Comic Book Script—Plot for 20 Pages<br />
Devin Leigh Michaels<br />
<br />
As the Ryders try to help Ral find his family, they find a piece of lost history as well—and it doesn’t bode well for Ral and Co.<br />
<br />
<a name='more'></a>PAGE ONE<br />
1—Extreme lose-up on Ral’s face. His nose is red from the coldness of the air. <br />
NARR: The chill of my runny nose awakes me, and I wish I’d slept with a ski mask on.<br />
NARR: Why would Kainoa’s family ever put down the A/C so low?<br />
LOCATION CAPS: SKADIOA<br />
<br />
2—Ral now sits up with an afghan over his shoulders on a fluffy but worn couch in the middle of an apartment. Camera’s positioned over his shoulders, so we see his back but are focused on the room. A blue fire devours the blackened wood in the hearth. Over the flames is a kettle, like how people used to cook in the olden days. To the left is a kitchen area, not modern but elaborate with knives, pans, pots, a small bar, and black diamond countertops. Just behind the kitchen is a thick, wooden dungeon door, and to the immediate left is another, more inviting door with a stained glass window of a dragon breathing fire. For future reference—there’s a window directly behind Ral and the couch. Note: Ral’s a slightly too big for his T-shirt and snap-away pants.<br />
NARR: Ooookay…I am not in New Jersey anymore. <br />
<br />
3—Ral brings his jeaned legs up to his chest, wrapping the afghan about his bent knees. Please show he’s wearing socks, no shoes. <br />
NARR: So…where am I? Looks like Skadoia, but—<br />
SFX: WAAAANNNN—<br />
<br />
PAGE TWO<br />
1—Half-page—In front the open dungeon door smiles Kalidas. He’s smirking at the camera like that older brother who liked to pick on you but still loved you. He wears his mechanic suit minus the doctor’s jacket with a bookbag thrown over his shoulders. <br />
KADIAS: Well, if it isn’t the HYBRID. What brings you to our little BLACK HOLE?<br />
TITLES<br />
<br />
2—Ral averts his eyes, ashamed and obviously uncomfortable. <br />
RAL: I…uh…I don’t know.<br />
<br />
3—KALIDAS enters the living room with two cups, and Ral holds his legs closer to his chest.<br />
KADIAS: Of course you don’t.<br />
<br />
4— Kalidas offers a cup, and Ral refuses to take it. <br />
<br />
PAGE THREE<br />
1— Kalidas takes a long sip. <br />
KALIDAS: Oh, for crying out loud…<br />
<br />
2—He then hands Ral the cup, who takes it hesitantly. <br />
NARR: Ew. Kalidas spit. <br />
KALIDAS: So you missed me.<br />
<br />
3—He plops back in a chair, one leg hitched over an arm. <br />
KALIDAS: I don’t know if I should feel FLATTERED or VIOLATED. You didn’t call first.<br />
KALIDAS(linked): So…What’s been up with you? Using your powers to SNEAK into GOVERNMENT facilities? SCARE teenage girls? Perhaps make a MOVIE CAREER?<br />
<br />
4—Ral rubs the back of his head. <br />
RAL: I, uh…<br />
<br />
5—A blast of blue flames puffs outside the window behind Ral, like a dragon’s spitting fire into the sky.<br />
<br />
PAGE FOUR<br />
1—Kalidas curses as he stands as Ral turns toward the window.<br />
KALIDAS (soft): Shit.<br />
KALIDAS: You better go, kid. Apparently, my to-do just list got LONGER.<br />
NARR: If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that came from an exhale of a dragon or something<br />
<br />
2— Kalidas turns back as Ral calls him. <br />
RAL: … Kalidas?<br />
NARR: Why’d I do that?<br />
KALIDAS: Yeah, Hybrid?<br />
<br />
3—Ral twiddles with the edge of his cup. <br />
RAL: Why…Why did I come to you? You—You—<br />
NARR: —used to torture me. MAIM. MARK.<br />
<br />
4— Kalidas puts a hand on Ral’s shoulder. <br />
KALIDAS: Because I’ll do this.<br />
RAL (puzzled): Do—<br />
<br />
5—The door flies open, and Amaris—the Skadoian Lord’s second-in-command (from FD#13)—rushes in. <br />
AMARIS: Kalidas, our lord says he will force you to watch Jersey Shore if you keep him wait—<br />
<br />
PAGE FIVE<br />
1—Amaris’s widened and shocked eyes meet Ral’s eyes, which are widened and shocked as well.<br />
RAL: Kalidas — <br />
<br />
2— Kalidas backhands the camera. <br />
<br />
3—Ral awakens drenched in sweat with twisted blankets choking him. He’s in a living room on a relatively new couch, but this room is more traditional with a love seat and an area rug on hardwood floors. Behind him is a bookcase overflowing with books, pictures, and papers. If possible, there is also a fireplace with a mantle and pictures. The sunlight breaks through the curtains just enough to shine on Ral.<br />
RAL: AH!<br />
LOCATION CAPS: RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY<br />
<br />
4—Ral stands and rakes a hand through his hair. <br />
NARR: I really miss Lance and Casia.<br />
OFF: What do you mean BUCKY wasn’t BLOWN UP!<br />
<br />
5—Ral opens the the kitchen door. <br />
NARR: The world smells of bananas. It’s been a while since I’ve had one, but you never really forget the smell, kinda like BURNT PIZZA or LANCE’S SNEAKERS.<br />
<br />
PAGE SIX and SEVEN<br />
1—Half-page spread across both pages—The whole family gathers about the kitchen table—Kainoa, his little brother KRISK on his lap, his cousin Mattie, his parents—Rena and Artemis—and his uncle, Sawyer. (see FD#19 and FD#21 for description of everyone but Krisk) Krisk is ten with short blonde hair and green eyes, who looks very similarly to Rena. He’s currently wearing a T-shirt and jeans and sits on his brother lap, so there’s an empty seat next to Kainoa.<br />
NARR: Everyone seems to go about their daily routine like yesterday never happened.<br />
BALLOON1: —don’t get me started on cheeseburgers and waffles—<br />
BALLOON2: I like the GAP!<br />
BALLOON 3: CHECK PLEASE!<br />
BALLOON 4: NBA lock-out? Ah, who cares? Thank God the NFL—<br />
BALLOON 6: You want some more syrup, kiddo? <br />
<br />
BALLOON 5: —sass me back. You know you’re not supposed to be out that—<br />
<br />
Across the bottom of the two pages<br />
2—Ral steps inside. <br />
RAL: Who says ‘sass’ anymore?<br />
<br />
3—Entire table glares at him. <br />
NARR: No…not at all intimidating.<br />
<br />
4—Rena walks up to Ral and guides him toward the table. <br />
RENA: You like banana pancakes? Oh, what am I saying? Everyone loves banana pancakes.<br />
NARR: Rena’s Kainoa’s mother. <br />
NARR: My mom used to make apple. Rena reminds me a lot of her. <br />
<br />
5—Ral takes the empty seat next to Kainoa and digs in. Mattie laughs from across the seat.<br />
MATTIE: HA! <br />
<br />
6—Ral wipes his full mouth on his sleeve.<br />
RAL: What?<br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHT<br />
1—Mattie smiles.<br />
MATTIE: You in an eating contest or something?<br />
<br />
2—Sawyer elbows her; Artemis’s on Mattie’s left, Ral’s right, waving a fork. <br />
SAWYER: Don’t listen to Mattie. Put humus in front of her and watch out! You might LOSE a HAND.<br />
MATTE: DAD!<br />
ARTEMIS: Oh, please. Mattie’s not half as bad as Kainoa and sushi. <br />
<br />
3—Kainoa rolls his eyes as Krisk tugs on Ral’s sleeves. <br />
KAINOA: How’d this become about ME?<br />
KRISK: Who’s Kalidas?<br />
<br />
4—Ral blinks; Krisk eats some of Kainoa’s pancakes. <br />
RAL: …uh, what? How do you—<br />
KRISK: You talk in your sleep.<br />
<br />
PAGE NINE<br />
1—Ral shrugs; Mattie and Artemis are also in the panel. <br />
RAL: Just some guy I knew from when I was a kid.<br />
ARTEMIS: You’re still a kid. <br />
RAL (linked): Well, from when I was a kid-kid.<br />
MATTIE: Is that a baby goat?<br />
<br />
2—Mattie looks back at her father’s glare. Rena wipes her mouth with a napkin. <br />
MATTIE: What?<br />
RENA: So tell us, Ral. Where are you from?<br />
<br />
3—Ral stops eating in mid-bite. <br />
RAL: Wayne…uh, New Jersey.<br />
NARR: Why does this seem like an interrogation? <br />
<br />
4—Kainoa slaps him on the shoulder. <br />
KAINOA: Dude, we’re in Ridgewood.<br />
RAL: No shit?<br />
<br />
5—Another table glare. <br />
<br />
PAGE TEN<br />
1—Ral smiles sheepishly. Kainoa leans over to whisper, a hand up to cover his mouth from Rena. <br />
RAL: Uh…sorry? You don’t swear…I take it.<br />
KAINOA: Not in front of the KID in front of my MOM.<br />
<br />
2—Rena slaps him on the back of the head and takes his empty plate. <br />
RENA: And now you would be getting two weeks not helping at the headquarters—<br />
KAINOA: Oh, shoot. Just my luck.<br />
RENA:—but since you were held captive, I’ll commute it to time-served.<br />
<br />
3—Kainoa mouths toward Ral. <br />
NARR: Kainoa mouths, “Damn.”<br />
<br />
4—Rena still smacks him again. <br />
RENA: So, Ral, where are your parents? Are they home? Where can we drop you off?<br />
<br />
5—Ral shrugs. <br />
RAL: Um…I, uh, I don’t know.<br />
ARTEMIS: You don’t know?<br />
<br />
PAGE ELEVEN<br />
1—Ral plays with his fork in the syrup. <br />
RAL: I DREAMWALK, kinda like Jayden did, and…<br />
<br />
2—Kainoa looks at Mattie uneasily as the rest of the family looks uncomfortable as well.<br />
NARR: At the mention of Jayden, my mouth dries. Jayden’s DEAD.<br />
NARR: I mean, even if he and Rio weren’t among those collected by the Defenders, Sierra ran him through with my sword. <br />
NARR: There’s no way he could’ve survived that…right?<br />
<br />
3—Sawyer hands his plate to Rena; Kainoa shrugs; Kainoa hands Krisk to Artemis. <br />
SAWYER: So you can find your parents that way?<br />
RAL: Maybe…but it’s no worries. If you wouldn’t mind just dropping me at a transit station, I can—<br />
RENA: We’re NOT doing that. Kainoa, maybe you can follow his parents’ WORLDLINES and see where they are?<br />
KAINOA: And maybe while I’m at it, I can end HUNGER and grant WORLD PEACE.<br />
<br />
4—Rena slaps him across the back of the head again.<br />
<br />
5— Ral edges toward the door. <br />
RAL: Nah, it’s cool. Really. My parents find me, or I find them. It’s not a—<br />
<br />
PAGE TWELVE<br />
1—Ral turns into the living room, where Kainoa stands, blue hair and all. It’s like he just appeared there. <br />
RAL: —problem?<br />
KAINOA: Abusive childhood, huh? Those are NEVER fun.<br />
<br />
2—Ral shoves Kainoa’s shoulder as he storms for the door. <br />
RAL: Leave me alone.<br />
<br />
3—Extreme close-up on Kainoa’s face, head tilted down, eyes not showing. His hair’s black again. <br />
KAINOA: I was TORTURED and made into an ASSASSIN by my grandfather. <br />
<br />
PAGE THIRTEEN<br />
1—Close-up on Ral’s face. He’s not really sure what to do here, shocked, horrified, and demoralized all at once. <br />
KAINOA (off): Rena and Artemis are my ADOPTIVE parents. My biological dad was KILLED by my grandfather, and Leilani, my birth mom, was afraid my grandfather would KIDNAP me and USE me for his own purposes, so she gave me to Rena and Artemis. <br />
KAINOA (linked, off): Eventually, my grandfather did get me, and I’ve only been back with my mom and dad two years now.<br />
RAL: For his own purposes…? <br />
RAL (linked): Your powers.<br />
<br />
2—Kainoa’s shoved his hands in his pockets, leaning against the couch, still not looking at Ral. <br />
KAINOA: I’m literally DESTINY, and the mantle’s passed down through my biological family. When a kid gets all the POWER, the parent LOSES it. My grandfather doesn’t have any left, so…it’s just me.<br />
<br />
3—Kainoa now looks directly at Ral, determined and hardened. <br />
KAINOA: Look, I’m not saying I’ll understand everything that’s happened in your life, but I can try. And my parents have dealt with weird stuff since I was born. Trust me. Whatever happened or is happening to you, they can handle it.<br />
<br />
4—Now Ral looks away, rubbing a hand up his forearm nervously. <br />
NARR: Y’know, when you fight to the death with someone, you tend to trust ‘im, for better or worse. <br />
RAL: My mom is an IMMORTAL queen who was kidnapped and forced to marry this shadow lord who rules a dimension of darkness. My uncle’s trying to save her in the dimension, while my older brother and sister—a CURSED IMMORTAL and WERE-PHOENIX—try to figure out how to do that from here.<br />
<br />
5—Kainoa just stares at Ral, not judging. <br />
<br />
6—Same shot, Kainoa yelling. <br />
KAINOA: MOM!<br />
<br />
PAGE FOURTEEN<br />
1—Close-up red flames laced with blue. (It’s a burning carcass.)<br />
LOCATION CAPS: ZENITH’S RISE<br />
<br />
2—Now a man kneels over a burning carcass, his face rising from the body like he just finished eating. He has sharp claws for hands, steel, sharp features, and long, shaggy black hair. His mouth and teeth are bloody. He’s wearing a trench coat and medieval attire. For reference, he and the carcass are on a plateau in the middle of a snowy mountain range. <br />
<br />
3—The man wipes the blood from his chin on his trench coat sleeve.<br />
MAN: Tastes just like chicken. <br />
<br />
4—He leaps from the plateau, leaving the burning body for the vultures. <br />
<br />
PAGE FIFTEEN<br />
1—Rena, Artemis, Kainoa, and Ral stand in Kainoa’s living room. Kainoa’s wearing a dark black T-shirt and cargo pants with military boots. Ral is dressed similarly but with an overtop that tucks into his cargo pants. Rena wears a sweater, cargo pants, and girl-ier boots, while Artemis wears exactly what Ral’s wearing. On each of their left breasts is the insignia of the Defenders. Kainoa and his parents wear a blaster strapped to their legs (left leg for Kainoa, right for parents). Kainoa also has a knife strapped to his right shoulder. The parents have a silver manacle on their left wrists with a black screen on it. <br />
KAINOA (excited): You ready?<br />
RAL: Sure. <br />
NARR: NOT. <br />
LOCATION CAPS: RIDGEWOOD, NEW JERSEY<br />
<br />
2—Kainoa crosses his arms. He’s trying to act like an authority figure. <br />
KAINOA: Okay, so I’m going to follow YOUR worldline back in time just enough to find your brother and sister, then follow THEIR worldlines to the future to find out where they are now. Sound cool?<br />
RAL (off): Sure.<br />
NARR: NOT.<br />
<br />
3—Rena clasps both of us on the shoulder. <br />
RENA: We’ll be right behind you, boys.<br />
RAL: If I had a nickel for every weird thing that’s happened to me in the last year or so—<br />
<br />
Next two panels are side-by-side.<br />
4—Close-up on Kainoa’s face—black hair, green eyes. <br />
KAINOA: Please.<br />
<br />
5—Same picture, blue hair, blue eyes. <br />
KAINOA: Like anyone is really NORMAL.<br />
<br />
PAGE SIXTEEN<br />
1—Kainoa grabs Ral’s shoulder; the background is now a bright yellow. <br />
NARR: Kainoa tugs, but I feel nothing, not really, but I see EVERYTHING. <br />
<br />
2—Now about Kainoa and Ral is a faded background of their fight in Project: Avatar, where Jayden is stabbed with Ral’s sword. Ral bows his head. <br />
NARR: My life literarily flashes before my eyes—backwards. Project: Avatar. Rio. Jayden.<br />
KAINOA: It’s not your fault.<br />
RAL: How can you say that? It was my—<br />
KAINOA (linked): Take responsibility for what you can control. Jayden was KILLED by a PSYCHO. You can’t control a PSYCHO.<br />
<br />
3—Ral raises his head to study Kainoa’s face. The background is now the atrium at Project: Avatar. <br />
RAL: Sounds like you speak from experience.<br />
<br />
4—Kainoa’s not meeting Ral’s eyes again. <br />
KAINOA: Like I said, I WAS the psycho. Once. Not so long ago, either, but I’m not now, and…<br />
<br />
PAGE SEVENTEEN<br />
1—The background is no longer faded as the two now stand in a hospital room. Before them lays Ral, unconscious in a bed with tubes in his mouth and nose. <br />
KAINOA: You don’t look so good. <br />
<br />
2—Kainoa pushes Ral down on the side of the bed as a defibrillator flies over head. <br />
KAINOA: DOWN!<br />
<br />
3—Before the bed stands Casia, completely engulfed in fire with Lance who holds his sword. Skylar presses her back against the hallway wall, with just the side of her in view, while Towne uses his telekinetic powers to throw a bedpan at Casia. <br />
TOWNE: Throwing a temper tantrum isn’t helping your situation. Give us the boy.<br />
<br />
4—Casia ducks the bedpan and throws a flare. <br />
CASIA: Sorry. He’s not your TYPE!<br />
<br />
PAGE EIGHTEEN<br />
1—Kainoa grabs Ral’s wrist and thumbs toward Lance and Casia. <br />
KAINOA: Is that—Is that your brother and sister?<br />
RAL: Yeah, Casia and Lance. <br />
KAINOA: Seriously. THAT’s your brother?<br />
<br />
2—Close-up on Kainoa’s distraught face. He doesn’t want this to be Ral’s brother. <br />
RAL (off): Kainoa—?<br />
KAINOA: Tell me that’s NOT your brother!<br />
<br />
3—Ral ducks a machine. <br />
RAL: I can’t!<br />
<br />
4—Towne lifts a few tanks with his telekinetic powers—one must be labeled oxygen. Lance touches Casia on her flaming shoulder with his blade. <br />
LANCE: That’s OXYGEN! You know—you, fire, it—BOOM!<br />
SFX: THUMP! THUMP! THUMP!<br />
<br />
5—Bright, search lights blind Kainoa and Ral from the window behind them. <br />
<br />
PAGE NINETEEN<br />
1—From outside the window with the searchlights, we see Kainoa and Ral crouching by the bed, Ral with a hand up to shield his eyes, Kainoa just squinting. <br />
KAINOA: Time to go?<br />
<br />
2—Kainoa reaches for Ral. <br />
RAL: YOU tell ME!<br />
<br />
3—The two fall to the hard wood floors of Kainoa’s living room. <br />
Ral: AGH!<br />
KAINOA: UH!<br />
<br />
4—From Ral’s POV, we look up at Rena and Artemis, who’re looking down at us. <br />
ARTEMIS: What happened?<br />
<br />
5—Kainoa stands, pleading. <br />
KAINOA: Ral’s brother—He’s—<br />
LANCE (off): Hello, Defenders. <br />
<br />
PAGE TWENTY<br />
1—Lance stands just in the opening of the living room, holding a blaster toward the camera. In his left hand he holds Krisk whose squirming in the headlock. Behind him stands Casia with red fire crackling upon her scepter, and Donnielle, who holds a Defender’s blaster. <br />
KAINOA (off): Joshua Sterling. <br />
LANCE: I think you have something I want. <br />
<br />
TO BE CONTINUED…Devin Leigh Michaelshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06821963139069590522noreply@blogger.com0