Tag: The White Knight

The White Knight #1 – Devotion

Content warnings for talk of police corruption, references to military service, chronic illness, hospitals, shooting (nothing graphic), blood and medical issues, prejudice against fictional people, talk of gangs, non-graphic violence, mentions of drug and alcohol addiction, misgendering (in the context of someone assuming the gender where it’s not known), mention of spiders and rats, smoking, and swearing.

Many thanks to LB Lee and KristyCat for sensitivity and beta-reading. Any mistakes are my own.

Please let me know if you see any typos or other mistakes. Thanks.


Shard City doesn’t love anybody, but I can’t help loving it. It has its bright spots but unless you stay in those small oases it turns into a very ugly place at night, The cops hardly try anymore – too many crimes, too many gangs. It’s funny how you get used to it. Used to watching out for the sun setting, for the alleys like open mouths, for the people with gleaming eyes and hidden weapons. I’m sick of it. And I mean to do something about it.

My name is Delia Tyelu. I’m the White Knight.

 

* * *

A family photo - a tall white, blond man in doing bunny ears to a shorter, chubbier white, blonde man, who is holding the hand of a short Asian woman. She has her arm around her teenage kid who has his arm around her shoulders.
Left to right: Leonard Burton, Nathan Burton, Delia Tyelu, and Joel Tyelu-Burton. Picture taken on Joel’s 19th birthday.

Read more


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


Character Writing Finale!

Let’s see if I can’t finish off these character building questions that I’ve been working on too long!

What does your character’s bed look like when he/she wakes up? Are the covers off on one side of the bed, are they all curled around a pillow, sprawled everywhere? In what position might they sleep? (TW: child neglect)

Wild Rush – the thing you need to know about Wild Rush’s sleep habits are that his parents were super neglectful. He slept in the basement on a cot from an army surplus. If he’s stressed at all or having nightmares, he’ll toss and turn winding himself in the blankets, and make himself as small as possible (but not curl up, because the cot was too narrow). If he’s relaxed or dozing, he’ll splay out which takes up most of the bed. He’s not a fun person to sleep with, is what I’m saying.

Daisy – As absolutely terrible as her dad was, he at least bought her a proper bed. She tends to curl up and snuggle with a pillow or somebody if they’re there. She gets warm and throws the blankets around and they end up in the floor by morning.

Charles – Charles runs hot, so usually just wants a sheet. Ne sleeps on neir back mostly. Ne sleeps really hard and sometimes snores.

Andre – He runs cold, but luckily he sleeps with a human furnace. He’s a side-sleeper that starts curls up and straightens out as he gets hot. He drools and snores. If he’s sleeping alone he buries himself under a pile of blankets until you can hardly see him. Half of them end up shoved to the side by morning.

Delia – she prefers just a sheet and light blanket. She often ends of sleeping on her front, especially after long days. She likes to splay out and if sharing a bed, to just barely touch each other’s legs and arms. She sleeps really hard and has a hard time waking up.

Joel – Joel buries himself under blankets and sleeps on his side with his limbs relaxed. He snores, but not that loudly, and will talk nonsense in his sleep. He’s a zombie in the mornings.

How about we finish off the Troy-Burton family?

Leonard Burton – he absolutely prefers to sleep with someone and will start as snuggling on his side of the bed and not move until morning no matter where the other person moves to and how much of the blankets they steal. If he has to sleep alone, he’s got a body pillow, but he doesn’t sleep as well and ends up wrapping himself up in the blankets.

Nathan Burton (Delia’s husband, Leonard’s brother, Joel’s dad) – he tends to splay out on his back or side and hog the covers. He moves a lot in his sleep too.

Are there any blood relatives that your character is particularly close with, besides the immediate ones? Are there any others that your character practically considers a blood relative?

Wild Rush – Nope. He hates his family with a passion and will have nothing to do with any of them. If he considered someone a blood relative, he’d loathe them.

Daisy – she never really knew any of her grandparents. Her mom was an only child and her dad’s brothers died in The War. Andre and Charles are like brothers to her.

Charles – not really. Neir extended family lives in different states and ne never saw them much. Ne thinks of Daisy as a little sister.

Andre – He’s got a whole bevy of cousins, but nobody he’s super close with. Like Charles, he thinks of Daisy as a little sister.

Delia – she’s got an aunt that she visits often, and then Leonard, her brother-in-law.

Mask – most of his family is in another country, but he’s close with several of his cousins and tries to spoil the younger members of the family. He’s good friends with several of his aunts and uncles too, although they don’t talk about his work much. He’s got a friend in a monastery that he’s practically brothers with, but that doesn’t approve of his work at all. He considers his lieutenants like younger family too.
What’s your character’s desk/workspace look like? Are they neat or messy?

Wild Rush – super messy. He’ll have pencils, pens, and markers everywhere and doodles in all the margins. He has a huge desk he works on and ends up with a pile of rejected ideas on the floor. He pins tons of stuff to the walls too.

Daisy – she has a smaller desk in her room for homework. She tries to keep it neat, but sprawls out when she’s working, then shoves everything inside when she’s done.

Charles – neir workspace is the kitchen. Ne’s a super neat cook, washing dishes as ne goes and such, but ends up with splatters of stuff on neir clothes and in neir hair. Which is why ne has a collection of cute aprons.

Andre – the closest thing he has to a workspace would be the bathroom when he’s primping. He makes a mess, but cleans it up when he’s done, otherwise Charles nags him.

Techrat – is super neat. Everything has a place and that’s where it stays.

Gimmick – also very neat, but will misplace stuff when he’s focused. His neatness is learned because he was a messy kid and got tired of it.

Delia – her workspaces end up a mess, but she knows where everything is. It all gets taken care of when she’s done of the day.

Joel – about the same as his mom, although he’ll often leave things out because he’s going to get back to them.

Donna Cooper – super neat. She’s got an inbox and an outbox and stuff is in one or the other or being worked on.

Harry Suchek – also very neat, although he tends toward the pile method. He’s got a clear desk by the end of the night.

Kella Aurita – she drives Sucheck (and Cooper) nuts because her desk looks like total chaos. She says she can find everything, but a lot of the time it’s after several minutes of searching. Nothing ever gets lost, but that’s because it won’t leave the desk until she’s done with it.

What might your character’s ideal romantic partner be? (TW: sex, misandry, misogynistic stereotypes, BDSM…)

I’m going to have to diversify, since most of the people I’ve been doing are or were in relationships…

Joel Burton – he says he’d like someone to spoil him at home and just relax with, but he ends up dating extroverts and going to concerts, theme parks, outdoor stuff, and other exciting events.

Jill – she wants excitement! And maybe a sugar daddy. She wants fast cars, fine dinners, dancing, and really hot sex. And he has to be smart enough to keep up with her. Which is why we know two of the people she’s dated were Gimmick and Wild Rush (and WR’s brains are only borderline good enough).

Techrat – if he were to think about a romantic (non-sexual) partner, he’d want somebody that would take care of him. Basically a mother.

Tectrix – …probably a harem of brainless beauties that he’d mostly ignore as they got up to lesbian fun… That or somebody as twisted as him.

Mick Adler – a very smart, very independent domme that would treat him harshly, take care of him after, and leave him alone when he’s working. … He may be the character with the healthiest, most reasonable idea on this list…

Describe your character’s hands. Are they small, long, calloused, smooth, stubby? (TW: weapons, violence)

Wild Rush – he has large elegant masculine hands. He’s a master at sleight-of-hand and watching him work, whether it’s lockpicking, doing card tricks, or playing with guns and knives can be mesmerizing.

Daisy – she’s got small soft hands. Everything looks big in her hands, but she can be as mesmerizing as Wild Rush when need be.

Charles – he’s got very strong hands. He keeps them soft, but everybody knows he can crush anything in them. He likes to keep his nails a little longer and will paint them sometimes, often doing Daisy’s too.

Andre – his hands are rough and calloused. He’s not as strong as Charles (not surprising), but he’s quick and nimble.

Delia – her hands are large, very strong, and tend to be rough. Her nails are always battered and short.

Mask – his hands are gnarled and stiff. He can be strong when necessary, but pays for it later.

Techrat – his hand are beat up, rough, calloused, but he has long elegant nimble fingers. His nails and cuticles are always broken and bitten.

Jill – has very feminine elegant hands, but they have a ton of scars from working with her ferrets. She forgets to use lotion, so they’re usually rough.

Mick Adler – he’s got stubby fingers that are often rough from working. He likes to get manicures and will even get his nails painted, but he’s got tough calluses from working in his lab.

Stuart Ashbow – he has beautiful hands, with a wedding ring tattooed on one finger. It’s garland of rose branches with a small rose where the diamond would be. He gets manicures often (sometimes him and Mick go together and maybe drag Delia along) and takes good care of his nails and hands.

Swordcat – has fuzzy, super strong, clawed hands. They’re big (… I’m noticing some author appeal here… ) and with thick fingers and knuckles.


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


Shard-verse – Nathan Burton

Here’s Nathan Burton, Delia Troy’s (aka the White Knight) husband. This replaces the previous design, although he doesn’t usually run around shirtless.

Nathan Burton - a tall white man with dark hair tied back in a loose ponytail, dark body hair, and wire frame glasses. He's at a bathroom sink gesturing to somebody out of view. He's in dress pants and shirtless.

The pic came out a little darker than I wanted, but I don’t really feel like putting in more hours adjusting it, doing test renders, and then waiting an hour+ for the final render. His hair is dark brown, not black, as are his pants.


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


Shard-verse – Deputy Chief Donna Cooper

Shard City is a big place, so she’s not in charge of the whole police force. She’s the person Delia (as the White Knight) interacts with the most, and the boss of the three police officers I’ll be using the most.

She’s very tall, white, far-sighted, trans, bisexual, and disabled.

Donna Cooper, a tall tanned older white woman with shoulder length brown hair. She's missing her right arm and wears glasses. She's walking in a park and looking up, covering her eyes from the sun.
Yes, she is missing an arm.

She generally doesn’t wear a prosthetic unless she’s going to be working in the field or doing target practice. She was born with about six inches to her right arm and while the prosthetic is really good, it feels weird to her.


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


Character Writing #10

10) Can you define a turning point (or more than one) in your character’s life?

(TW: character death,

Delia – when she met Mick Adler (leading to the creation of Future-Tech), when her husband died (the final straw to becoming the White Knight)

Wild Rush – when he got the only birthday present he ever got from his parents (fourth grade, a book of magic tricks and a deck of cards), when during a break-in he got sprayed with chemicals (leading to the grey skin and ending the headaches he got from his powers), when he met Daisy.

Daisy – when her mom died (leading to her dad abusing to her), when she met Wild Rush (leading to her powers expressing themselves and her being happy).

Andre – moving out on his own (he was a spoiled kid and having to take care of himself was a huge shock), joining a gang as a kid (his family is rather straight-laced, but Andre was a rebel and stubborn).

Charles – getting into a fight in junior high (ne was a big kid, but quiet. Got noticed by some people that ended up leading nem into crime)

… trying to think of a character with some non-obvious ones…

Sergeant Kella Aurita – getting arrested for shoplifting as a kid (got chewed out by parents to no end, including a trip to tour the police station. Got talked to by an understanding officer who ended up mentoring her a little bit and is why she joined the police academy)


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


Character Writing #9

#23 Is your character superstitious?

Wild Rush – he has a vague sense of things being lucky or unlucky or a bad idea, but nothing set in stone. He’d say it’s just hunches.

Daisy – not at all, but she can get hunches too

Andre – a little bit, just standard stuff like not walking under ladders, avoiding 13s.

Charles – ne’d say he’s not, but ne’s got a bunch of folk beliefs

Delia – more spiritual than religious. Believes in spirits in all living things, so we need to be respectful, especially old things

Silver Dollar – ooooohhhh, yeah. Exceedingly, about tons of things.


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi


White Knight Art

Finished the reference sheet for White Knight. Yeah, Delia Troy Burton is under there. Also, my first image for the OCTP meme. Next is them holding hands.

I need to do a whole bunch of designs for Wild Rush’s clothes, because otherwise they all end up looking like this. (He wears solely shades of yellow, black, and red, but I could get a lot more patterns and such in there.)

And you get to see the White Knight logo. Like most comic book logos, the color changes to match the cover.

White-Knight-v4
The White Knight, reference sheet

WR&D
Wild Rush and Deuce of Hearts

 


Enjoy this post? Support me on Patreon or Ko-fi