THE 31 CHARACTERS 31 DAYS CHALLENGE DAY ELEVEN

Later this year, I will be starting a project tentatively called Strikeforce: Liberty on my Patreon page.  To generate characters that will interact in this project, I have taken 31 names from the Public Domain Super Hero Wiki as prompts and will create one each day for the month of May.  If you donate to RAINN here, you may ‘sponsor’ one of those names and will get a chance to put your own spin on the character, or you may give me a name of your own devising for me to make a character instead. 

You’ll notice these characters are all female, some transgendered.  I do this because I like women, and like seeing women in hero costumes.  You’ll also notice that these characters are going to be from very diverse backgrounds racially.  I do this because I like reading about characters from backgrounds other than mine own--Hell, I would find it boring to write only about white guys in late middle age.  If you find this objectionable, then this month is not for you.

I am still looking for artists who are willing to donate a little time to make a sketch--it doesn’t have to be an elaborate finished product--visualizing these guys.  I don’t want to present a parade of Hero Machine’d lookalikes.  If you’d like to participate, please DM me through Twitter (@NocturneTomDeja).

If you are a Domicile of Dread Patreon, you’ll get a short podcast discussing the creation process for each character.  If you’d like to hear these podcasts and can spare at least a dollar a month to support my efforts to Make The World Stranger, go here to sign up.

Please enjoy, and please donate.

It's tough finding appropriate graphics....

RED RUBE
Name: Becky Rodriguez
Location: St. Petersburg, Florida
Occupation: Assistant Museum Curator

Becky Rodriguez spent her childhood traveling the country with the Fantasia Family Amusements Company, a carnival in the throes of dying out.  Even when she was little, helping the rousters decorate the concession booths, the concept of a carnival was changing.  Even though her father promised she would inherit the operation, it was obvious by the time she was a teenager that there would be nothing to inherit.

But she wouldn’t let the spirit of the carnival she grew up with die.  There was still enough money made from the last few tours to send Becky to college.  When she graduated, she found a job as an assistant curator for the Museum of Circus Arts in Florida and conducted tours, sharing her extensive knowledge of the traditions of the carnival....

...because this is what the original Red Rube looks like

And something started happening.  There were these vivid dreams of the great performers of the circus training her.  There were moments where she felt like she was outside her body, which acted with reflexes she never exhibited before.  She found herself with knowledge about circuses and carnivals she didn’t have before.

And then there were the times she saw violence and crime on the news, and voices in the back of her head urged her to ‘Say The Words.’

And when she caught a group of thieves breaking into the Museum and threatening the owner, she knew the time was right to say the words.  Rebecca Rodriguez whispered ‘Hey, Rube....’

....and the Red Rube took her place, a being that seemed to have the skills of the best artists in circus history--a strongman’s strength, an acrobat’s litheness, a marksman’s eagle eye, even more fantastic abilities like breathing flame and flying through the air like she was shot from a canon.  The Red Rube made short work of the criminals and returned to the limbo from whence she came.

...and Becky knew her true purpose in life.  She would balance the forces of good and evil by keeping the Spirit of The Carnival alive.

Next: Watch out for Nocturne, or she’ll steal your heart....