Writing prompt #2: Family, the good, the bad, and the downright ugly.

[Crystal Dragon]

Everyone has family ties, whether found, or blood relations doesn't matter as they are equally valuable.

 

What kind of family does your characters have?

 

Crys started a family of her own here in Paragon after her rather rough arrival. She's now a mother of four children and the teacher / watch guardian of two teenaged human girls. 

Her mates can sometimes cause in-fighting now and then, but they are very loving to the children they all look after, and sometimes funny things just happen. Her first mate poking fun at her through Ar'kun over the loudspeaker system in the Vanguard HQ, for instance. Her family is large, loud, welcoming and loving to those she adds to the number. She's adopted at least a dozen or more regulars from the Vanguard Mothership Raids over the last couple years, simply cause she could tell they were lonely and didn't have anyone to really look out for them. (Big sister/Mom mindset in a big way.)

 

Specialist Mayday's family ties are a bit strained. Her father is a senator running for reelection after 25 years of service with the state of Rhode Island, and his influence was a pretty big reason why she doesn't raid as often as she really would like to. She's a member of The Sidekicks with her fiance', Timothy Kingsley aka Operator Kingsglaive and they've really come into their own as heroes in the make under Terran Commander's close watch and guidance. Her father isn't approving of her dating or becoming engaged at her age, she's only 18, but she and Timothy had grown up next door to one another and been in love for a couple years now. His influence on her choices is a if-y sort of balancing act. But she moved out of the senator's manor roughly a year ago and has been doing really well for herself ever since, independent of his campaigning and trying to use her to build a voter base among the heroes of Paragon City.

[Chrono-Bot]

My Outcasts in the Girls Gone Rogue Isles/I&E Services stick to the old 'the gang is your family' adage. Some of them have regrets over their past (Blazed hasn't seen her parents since she went to jail) but they're happy enough going into the future together. Hopefully out of jail now that they've moved to a more... down low activities as magical artifact middlemen with the veneer of being an actual business.

 

"White collar crime is like normal crime, except people get less mad at you."

 

[Greycat]

Family's ... interesting.

 

Cat's an only child. Mother and father still alive, but her mother had her kind of late. Whle she missed them when she moved to Paragon, they were still there... and yet she's found herself adopted into a space rabbit clan, because being an only child is a tragedy to them and they couldn't let that happen to a friend. Plus she's in that sort of extended "Might as well get used to it" watchful-type group from a certain sparkly dragon, as she's realizing.

 

Ishku saw her parents, minor magic users, murdered on her own world for their abilities. She was later brought here and given a new family she just couldn't picture herself without at this point.

 

Pri's family... well, she wasn't born into one, she was created. The clones Grace freed were an ever-shifting group, but the closest to one she's had. And now... well, we need to find out what happens.

[Coyotedancer]

There are a lot of family connections among my crew... Andris and Narada are siblings. Lasya (Ivory) and Dorian (Gentleman Spectre) are, too. Kai is, essentially, Tavaris' adopted daughter. Oreviel and Bahir are a couple, as are Olympia (Code Merlin) and Morgan (Code Mordred).

 

Most of the Nova Primeva time-travelers are the descendants of my "current era" characters or their families... Tessamun traces her ancestry back to Semnai, for instance. Jessamine Dare (Joyful Noise) is the [multi]great-granddaughter of one of Ajda Dare's (Windwhispered) named-but-unplayed NPC siblings. 

 

It's been fun building that 'family tree', even though the connections very rarely come up when I'm actually playing the gang. You could probably count on one hand the number of people who have any idea that Ivory or Dorian are related to Kai, or any of that.  

[Grey-Ghost]

5 hours ago, Greycat said:

Family's ... interesting.

 

Cat's an only child. Mother and father still alive, but her mother had her kind of late. Whle she missed them when she moved to Paragon, they were still there... and yet she's found herself adopted into a space rabbit clan, because being an only child is a tragedy to them and they couldn't let that happen to a friend. Plus she's in that sort of extended "Might as well get used to it" watchful-type group from a certain sparkly dragon, as she's realizing.

 

Ishku saw her parents, minor magic users, murdered on her own world for their abilities. She was later brought here and given a new family she just couldn't picture herself without at this point.

 

Pri's family... well, she wasn't born into one, she was created. The clones Grace freed were an ever-shifting group, but the closest to one she's had. And now... well, we need to find out what happens.

What about Misty (Rez)?

[Bushranger]

Dorothy (Electrobitionist) was one of a series of clones a supervillian made out of ego. She gets along well with the others she knows of, and basically raised her younger sister Dani.

 

Cassie (Stellar Striker) grew up in the future with two Army moms; in the present, she's trying not to interact too much with them, not out of fear of the timeline (time doesn't work that way!) but out of awkward. However she's kind of self-adopted a couple of sisters who mean the world to her, Jean (ESPerscourge) and Quinn Doyle.

[Greycat]

2 hours ago, Grey-Ghost said:

What about Misty (Rez)?

 

She was too busy giggling at someone and insisted I ask later.

 

(Honestly, Rez is refreshingly boring, family wise. Got along with her mother and father. Sister's off in college. Works days, snuggles with boyfriend in evenings.)

Edited December 8, 2021 by Greycat

[chase]

Tabby will tell you her family's dead, curse her father out in a way that makes it clear he's still with the living, then lament how much she misses him.  Sometimes all in the same breath.

Their relationship is complicated.   For as long as she can remember, he was the stay-at-home dad living on a small disability check from a long-closed textile mill.  That plus her mom's paycheck were barely enough to let them scrape by in the large-but-increasingly-dilapidated rural farmhouse her mom inherited.  Isolated with few kids her age nearby, Tabitha's dad was her favorite playmate and she, his constant companion.  They were happy.

They hit a new level of poor after her mom passed away.  Dad mixed booze with meds to extend the pain relief, then started selling doses he could spare just to provide for the family.  As he became increasingly less sober,  his friends came by less often and shared fewer hand-me-downs from their kids with him.  The young pre-teen Tabby went from being taunted by schoolmates for wearing their cast-offs to being taunted for the ill-fitting, even older cast off mismatches of whatever she could piece together.  The humiliation she felt at school became resentment toward her dad at home and for a good half-year before "the incident" there was barely a civil word spoken between them.
 

Then the change and 4 years in juvie for Tabby.  Her "home visits" never occurred because Dad was in lockup, then rehab.  The journal entries she was required to keep were all addressed to "dad"  but were clearly toward the memory of her childhood bestie, not the man that grew to inhabit that body..   Still, things seemed promising enough with his rehab and her coundseling that during her  third year in placement,  St. Ives arranged a reconciliation meeting.   From all accounts what started with promise quickly decayed into a shouting exchange and furniture throwing before they were separated.  A "student altercation" in the dorm later that day ended Tabby's chances for a nearly release.

 

They haven't spoken since..   

Some nights when Tabby's lying alone on a rooftop in Paragon City she can be heard talking to her dad as if he was there beside her.   
Friends of her dad say they often find him spending the night on the porch, doing the same.

[Nerva]

Just about all of the Animus Arcana in Night Ward are family for Tiltowait.

Fireball is the cool uncle (heh, don't let him hear you say that!) everybody knows and gets along with.  He can be warm, but has a scathing wit when he wants to.

Trilogy's always got cool stories to tell, and if you pay attention over multiple nights, his stories can roughly be fit together, if a bit out of order.

Dispel Magic's a grumpy old sourpuss that most people can't stand, when he's not abjectly terrifying.  Tiltowait gets along with him though - he knows what it's like to be feared for what he's capable of.  He makes it a point to visit whenever he's in and around Night Ward.

Ward is constantly monitoring Tiltowait due to the danger he represents.  Tiltowait finds him a bit insufferable, even if his intentions are noble.  As Tiltowait's not an Animus directly descended from Ward's subspells, he's sorta like a grandad that's constantly poking his nose into your affairs and urging you to keep your own nose clean.

[White Cobra]

((This is a short introduction story about Lady Cobra. It touches on family relations but I guess it could have gone in "difficult situations" as well...))

 

”Ms. Chang!”

”Ms. Chang!”

An army of reporters had gathered, ready to pounce as soon as I exited the mall. How in heaven’s name had they found me here? And gotten here so fast? I guess the headscarf and sunglasses were a mistake. So much for the Lady Cobra being a mistress of disguise. The outfit probably made me stand out like a pork steak at a vegan society banquet. Someone must have called in a tip.

“Can you confirm the headline from Bangkok Post?”

“Are you the Lady Cobra?”

“How do you respond to your husband’s allegations?”

“Ex-husband…,” I mumbled wearily, mostly to myself, and tried turning my back to the barrage of questions pounding my ears and the camera flashes going off in my face and making me grateful I wore the sunglasses after all.

 

I thought I had ticked all boxes in the “reasons to despise William” compendium, but this latest betrayal - exposing my secret identity to the public - was a new low even for him. And worst of all, in spite of all the hurt he caused, he had the audacity to claim he still loved me. With eyes cast down, I hurried towards my rental car - the battalion of reporters and paparazzi in hot pursuit behind me.

 

“Will you go on being the Lady Cobra?”

 

“Will you stop wearing your mask?”

 

“Are you worried your enemies will come after you now?”

 

Yes of course I was worried. What kind of stupid question was that? And I was fearful not just for myself but also for any other poor soul named Emily Chang out there. What if Ngo Damh or some other enemy wanted to get back at me but googled up someone else with the same name by mistake? I would never be able to forgive myself. Or William. Increasing my pace, I tried to focus on the rhythmic clicking of heels against pavement. I could see the sky-blue Volvo now. Just a few seconds more.

 

“And what about your family? Are they in danger too? Why does your mother refuse to comment?”

 

“And what about your daughter?”

 

“Do you think Jessica is still alive?”

 

I staggered as if taking a sucker punch to the soul. Jessica. How dare they ask about her? The world started closing in on me, making it difficult to breathe.

 

Somehow I got moving again, fingers fumbling for car keys. Then finally I was inside the rental. Instinct took over. Seatbelt, brake pedal, start engine, reverse, drive off. I had no conscious mind doing this. All I could think about was to keep the swarm of eagerly prying cameras deprived of any chance to snap a picture of the Mistress of the Martial Arts with tears rolling down her cheeks.

[Ruin Mage]

On 12/6/2021 at 4:11 PM, CrystalDragon said:

What kind of family does your characters have?

Corrigan is a half-fae Prince. Though I haven't fleshed out the lore for that, he's...a Princeling of a Court of Solomon. Long story short he's got royal parents.

However, the more important family comes from the mortal world - in which the game takes place. All of Corrigan's family at this point is his children that he's had over the many many long years. Not all of them have had the luck of having his immortality - so that's become a bit of a stinger. However, one of his most recent children is the half-fae daughter Emily. Corrigan has not been the best father in the past - long story there - but Emily is a big reason he fights. She is a big reason he protects the world, and he has met her time-jumped version. That's been a doozy. Daughter is now older in some weird mystical time-jumbo way? Whew.

[Itsyagirl]

Both of LGBT Plus Ultra's parents are cops; her childhood was defined by absence, arguments, and reflected stress. As an only child often left to her own devices (and often having to find her own safe places out of the home) she spent a lot of time roaming Skyway City, finding her own fun.

 

It was when she came out to her parents at the age of 15 that things really went wrong. After the yelling stopped, they gave her an ultimatum: never talk about this stupid "lesbian" idea again, or get out of their house.

 

She spent a full year bottling up her identity... then came her first kiss, her first real happiness, and the first expression of her powers. Once that rainbow energy had erupted forth, she knew there was no going back. That night, she packed her bags and left, never to return. 

 

Her parents still live in Skyway somewhere, but they haven't spoken since that day. Sometimes she can't help but wonder what they're up to. Would they still hate her if she came back? Would they be proud of who she grew up to be? 

 

Then she remembers everything she would have to sacrifice to earn their approval, and the yearning passes.

[TigerEmperor]

As is normal with characters like mine... They're either alive or dead. Very dead.

 

Raphael Firestar? His parents are fine, far as he knows. They just are reluctant to talk to him since the whole "possessed by an evil priest" fiasco and seeing their son having to be arrested, committing crimes, etc. They still think he's a good kid, really smart, etc., just still... You know. Worried. He'll get around to making a family one day if he can get himself to talk to the girl he's interested in the most or finds someone he just clicks with.

 

Ra-Akhnaten's family is definitely dead since.... Well, few thousand years old spirit and all means any relations are so distant, they aren't his family anymore. Add in that he's technically a bad guy, he certainly isn't doing the holidays with them.

 

Raphael Firebane? Again, parents dead. It was just him and his parents before then. Now, he's working on getting his goals accomplished and sorting himself out before working on his family issues. Especially with the transition to Paragon and his loyalties to Praetoria.

 

Carmilla? Her blood family isn't strictly her family anymore due to the transition to vampire but it's not like she and the Count & Countess were that close. Cousins at most, really. Her parents haven't been around in ages. If they are alive... Well, they might not like what she's become, especially as they had hopes of her finding a boyfriend from a "good family", which she is in no way interested in, then or now. So it's just her and her girls in the Carnival of Blood. At least with them, she can feel somewhat at home and open about who and what she is, due to them caring about her and she them.

[sh1zuchan]

My characters have family situations all over the place.

 

Cryo Cat was conceived in a test tube and birthed in a cloning tank. He also never had anyone he could call a parental figure in the lab where he grew up.

 

Charlie the Dynamo was sent to an orphanage after he lost his parents at a young age.

 

Spark of Inspiration was raised by his yiayia (Greek for grandma) after his parents disappeared. He loves her and understands that she cares about him deeply, but she has a habit of meddling that he can't stand. He came out as gay to her in a fit of rage when he got sick of her trying to play matchmaker for him (He thought she'd be mad when his secret got out, but she just started trying to match him with guys instead). She doesn't approve of him being a hero and has told him many times, "Your yiayia will never forgive you if you die first."

 

 

Dr. Altair despises his parents. If you mention them to him, he will look at you like you just peed in his cereal. He was raised by mad scientists who wanted a perfect little successor. It's not worth going into any detail about what they did to him. The only important thing is that he was more than happy to report their criminal activities to the police, sabotage their lab, and run away when he had the chance.

 

The thing Dr. Altair really resents is that he inherited his father's cryokinetic powers. He only uses them at all because he has to. Even now he refers to them as "his powers", always pronouncing "his" with disgust. He tried suppressing them before, but they started leaking out in explosive ways. His low point was when he stayed at his now ex-boyfriend's apartment and destroyed all the plumbing in the building in his sleep.

[DoctorNorth]

Malik - Family

 

Doctor North reviews a yellow notepad held gingerly in his pale white hand. 

"We talked last time about hobbies," the Doctor notes as he adjusts his glasses and looks down at his patient. 

 

"I put an ad in the Paragon Times like we talked about Doc. No answer yet, but it felt good to do that. Thought you'd be pleased by that," Malik responds. He grins a little revealing massive bovine teeth and a shiny brass ring along his bullish nostrils.

 

"Today, I want to talk about...family," the Doctor adds calmly. "Let's take this topic slowly."

 

Mallik shifts uncomfortably, his black fur bristling and standing firm at the awkwardness of the question. "Family? I told you Doc, I was in and out of juvenile most of my days. My Mom was a working girl, you know, hanging out the docks and servicing the low level grunts of Arachnos. I never knew my Dad, could have been any number of my Mom's clients. Probably some fascist jerk wad with robot spider arms attached to his back."

 

Doctor North jots this down speedily gliding his pen across the legal pad, "Yes, yes, so tragic. So no contact with your Mother then since the incident?"

 

Malik nods "no" and hangs his bull head to the ground, the sharp horns now dangling in front of the Doctor's glasses. "I wouldn't even know where to find her Doc."

 

"Friends then? Friends you might consider extended family?" The question is asked hastily in an attempt to get assuage Malik's sadness.

 

Malik lifts his head. "Well you...I guess. You took me in, gave me a job...I mean....I think my family is...you...Doc," Malik offers the response reluctantly, as if posed more like a question than a definitive answer. 

 

"I'm flattered you think of me this way Malik, but I'm your doctor first and fore. I am glad you are settling into self-sufficiency and acceptance and I shall continue to support you as long as you continue these sessions," the Doctor looks deeply into Malik's eyes as he says this to accentuate his sincerity. 

 

Malik nods, "Maybe I should find out what happened to Mom...."

Doctor North smiles gently again, "Yet another excellent session," he thinks to himself. "Malik is making fine progress indeed."

 

 

 

[Rahabina]

Most of my characters are sister fairies

[WhiteNightingale]

Haley Hadron and Gold Meteor are part of the same family via Gold's daughter. They're basically Fantastic Four (eleven... big family), but worked all the intra-family drama over during the shutdown (in CO).

 

Sparkz lives with her boyfriend while she's doing college, but the Burnells are a big, tight family (all electric mutants on mother's side). Family reunions are a blast (pun intended).

 

Becky, Yoctosecond, and Undine Princess' families are both on different cities since they're here specifically for school.

 

Stormcrow has no living relatives. Her household is her family.

 

Blazing Dragon's family is back in Seoul, and she sees them twice a year, where she gets berated for not following traditional family values and doing some job without future then getting a husband.

 

Prowling Ocelot's VG is her family. She's the family cat.

 

Jaguar Moth's whole family was vaporized during the battle of the magisterium. Once she fulfills her end of her magical girl contract (bring back all the Praetorian souls that spilled into Primal Earth), she and her family will be allowed to skip the nigh-eternal waiting line for processing into the afterlife. Meanwhile, though, her VG is a home away from home.

 

Mink's mom is her family, and she checks up on her often enough that the only reason she bothered moving out was not endangering her. Her uncle joins them for all special dates.