Mimi Miney was born on the planet Earth and after the birth of her younger sister Ini she was tested to have what was predicted to soon become an above average IQ of 168, a scale of a genius level of intelligence. Due to this she was often praised by her mother and father, both who didn’t make the best living possible for both of their daughters. While she was praised Ini, the younger average sister, was berated for not being nearly as intelligent as her elder sister.

After both mother and father died in a car accident to their second job of the week, Mimi took over the role as parental figure to her sister at the age of fourteen. Though their guardian, Cousin Moe, was around he was usually busy working in cooperate America. The two sisters over this time grew close to each other. The one thing, perhaps the only thing, which Mimi never shared with Ini, was the interest in occult magic; claiming it to be just a bunch of hocus pocus lies.

Mimi quickly advanced from high school right to college at the age of sixteen, while her little sister struggled through high school at the age of fourteen. By the time Mimi was twenty-one she graduated nursing school at Ivy University and within a year was taken under the wing of private clinical surgeon Dr. Grey Turner, while Ini was studying Occult and Religious Practices at Ivy University as a sophomore. Though times were tough, as Doctor Grey happily worked Mimi to death at the hospital, all was well with the life of the two sisters. Mimi was even able to import a red sports car from the UK with the money they had to their name.

That is until an accident occurred. While taking measurements on how much medicine to give fourteen recovering patients Mimi came up with an idea. With her advance intellect and the chemicals in Dr. Grey’s private lab she could create better more efficient cures. It would be perfect. While working as a nurse she could secretly experiment to find cures for some of the most terrible diseases plaguing the world at large! She could be rich and benefit both the world and her sister’s life (Mimi got into college free of charge due to several scholarships but that didn’t mean Ini got a free ride).

Before she delivered the medicine she experimented a little and came up with a strange product. It seemed unnaturally unsafe as far as she could tell. She decided to dispose of it later—but the medicine needed to be given at a certain time or there could be complications.

Unfortunately there were some. She only realized it an hour later when Dr. Grey asked her to get his blood pressure medicine from his lab did she find the medicine that was suppose to be delivered to the fourteen patients. It was then she ran into the resting room of the patients to find everyone one of them either sputtering blood out their mouth, rapidly beating heart machines and pale bodies did she realize what happened.

She had made her first terrible mistake—one which cost fourteen people their lives.

After this mistake was discovered by Dr. Grey she was fired from the clinic, a fuming Grey angered at her ‘idiotic stupidity’. Not only that but the tabloid magazines refused to let down on the pursuit to find the truth behind the incident. Mimi never felt as broken as the day her parents died. Even her Cousin Moe, who was their legal guardian for a few years, refused to speak to her at all.

The only person who was on her side during the whole event was little sister Ini Miney.

After a dinner out on the town along with her little sister Mimi took the wheel behind her new sports car. Although she was exhausted from avoiding the paparazzi she wouldn’t allow Ini to drive, especially since she only recently obtained a permit.

Yet the exhaustion got to Mimi and she fell asleep at the wheel. She awoke soon to a car bursting in flames. She was able to escape the flames with burn marks on her face and most of her exposed skin. Yet her sister, the only emotional string holding her life together, was not as luck as her. Ini was dead—and in that moment, so was Mimi.



“Welcome to the temple, Good Miss,” a kind old voice greeted the visitor. The visitor was a young girl in her early-twenties at best, yet you couldn’t tell by her face. It was scarred with several burn marks on the sides of her face, her dark brown hair tattered and unkempt. She wore a plain pale white shirt going down to her hips, a pair of matching pants and black boots. Her hands were bare and also revealed ugly burn scars. “What is your name?”

“My name…is Ini…” the guest spoke with a dry throat.

The old woman scoffed. “Young Miss, do not lie to a Spiritualist. You are not this ‘Ini’. Speak who you truly are, or leave this place!” She boomed with furious rage, tingling in her eyes.

A small gulp was pushed down her throat lightly. “…Mimi,” she finally responded to the old woman. Why was she here anyway? It was just something written down about in one of Ini’s old books. It might not even be real. Scratch that stupid thought—it wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. “I…came here to see it.”

The old woman nodded sage like. “Yes, you talked to me on the telephone about it. I believe I have not told you my own name yet. It is Morgan Fey, head of the Branch Family of the Fey clan,” she spoke bitterly about herself. Mimi didn’t question her though. All she wanted to do is see if it was real or not. “Well, please follow—oh!” Oh? “Just wait a moment.”

Morgan ran as fast as she could in her high sandals towards a little girl in pink and lavender robes. She had a heart shaped ponytail poking above her head, light brown bangs flopping down her forehead. The girl looked like she was only seven years old. Did she live here? The two of them talked, the young girl nodded her head almost every ten seconds. Soon the little girl departed with yet another girl, a taller one with long raven hair, and Morgan came walking back to her with a sigh. “I’m so sorry for that. My daughter Pearl can be quite rambunctious. Please do not speak to her while she is here. I wish to keep her closed out from the dangers of the outside…no offense, Miss Mimi.”

Her scarred eye twitched and I huffed out an annoyed gruff. “I don’t mind—just take me that chamber so I can see the mask.”

Morgan flinched, surprised at Mimi’s attitude and sighed with a serious look in her eyes. “Fine then, just don’t touch it. It has been cursed with a spell from dark magic.”

Dark magic, huh? What a dumb joke she was playing on me. There are no such things as voodoo magic or curses for that matter. Mimi sourly thought, as Morgan started to walk inside the temple they were in front of. Why am I even here if I don’t have some belief in this though? Perhaps it was curiosity?

It was about a month after car accident. She wasn’t terribly injured by it (if you don’t count emotionally wise) but she still had these ugly burn scars on her face and hands. Not to mention some of her long light brown hair was burned off, along with the color becoming much darker. During that time she was mending back what was left of her life. She didn’t go outside but was miraculously able to get Cousin Moe to bring over several essential needs such as food and clean clothes. Of course when Mimi sent the first letter to him she wrote down that she died in the car accident and she (as Ini Miney now) survived the accident, but was currently recovering from her burn wounds. While she never left the house Moe stupidly announced it to the media at large.

For the while she had to wait until she came up with a good plan. She thought of going to a plastic surgeon but the problem was that if it was a smart one (which most surgeons were) then they could tell right away that Ini was actually Mimi. She honestly thought about giving up the charade. While looking at Ini’s room in one of her depressed moods she found an open book that Ini was reading. It described a cursed mask owned by an occult clan known as ‘The Feys’.

The Cursed Mask of Mime.

It was used many years ago as a cursed tool to fool an enemy force. When worn the mask would allow you to change your face, body, and voice to whoever you wanted, as long as you knew the full name and face of the person you wished to become. The only catch was that once the mask was put on it could never be taken off. It’s only weakness—the mask could easily possess the wearer if their will to cling on to their mortality was not strong enough.

The last time this mask was used was by a spy who attempted to steal secrets from a family clan of spirit mediums known as the Feys. He was found out by none other than the Fey clan leader, Ami Fey. After he was killed for attempting to steal a sacred magatama the mask, having no living soul to cling on to, released it’s binds from his face and was locked away by Ami Fey so that it could never be used for evil purposes again.

Its current whereabouts are unknown but there is a good chance that the mask is still locked away at Kurain Village, where it was taken off it’s last wearer thousands of years ago.

That silly little fairytale was why she was here. What a waste of time though; to think magic and spirit mediums were real. The only reason she was here was to rest Ini’s thoughts down. If this was the last thing Ini was thinking about then why not see if this mask was real or not? It was the least she could do for her past sister.

“We have arrived at the chamber, Miss Miney.”

Mimi snapped out of her thoughts at the sound of Morgan’s voice, blinking a couple times to see if she was not still imagining that she was here. Beyond where she now stood was an open chamber, at the very end holding the curse mask. Mimi took a small gulp and started to walk into the chamber...

Until she was stopped by a strong hand grasping her shoulder. “You must not touch the mask, Miss Miney. If you have read about it, which I believe without a doubt that you have, then you must know its dark magical roots. I trust you understand this.”

It was Mimi’s turn to scoff, brushing off Morgan’s hand on her shoulder. “I know what I’m doing, thank you.” She just needed to see it, for her heart to be at ease again. By the time she had reached the center of the chamber, where the mask was being held up by a metallic stand on an oak wood desk, her head peeked over her shoulder to see that Morgan Fey was no longer in front of the gates. Was she frightened off? Who cared.

Her head turned back towards the mask, her hair wisping at her burn scars. They didn't hurt anymore but looking at them-thinking about them-was painful enough. She didn't want to even believe that accident occurred. It didn't even click in her mind sometimes that Ini wasn't coming home from college for the winter break. Yet these scars were the truth. They reflected themselves anytime she stared into a mirror. It was so painful.

The oak wood desk not only held the mask on a stand but a picture frame. It was of Morgan, Pearl and a black haired girl. The same one that took Morgan's daughter away from her. They were all smiling. Like a..happy family.

"Ini and I were a happy family..." Mimi muttered to herself, biting her lip lightly as she did. "We lost our parents and had an inattentive uncle...but we were still happy. Why wasn't that enough for me?"

It wasn't your fault, it was his.

"His..fault." Mimi whispered, wondering where she got that sudden thought from. Him. Yes..Turner Grey. It was his fault wasn't it. If he didn't have to snoop around what happened then I wouldn't have gotten fired. If he didn't blame the whole thing on me then my life wouldn't have turned so chaotic. If he didn't drug me...then Ini..Ini would have been alive. In the end it was all his fault. He was happy and alive and she was battered with ugly scars on her face and heart.

Her eyes started to tear up lightly when she realized that there was something light in her hands. She looked down at saw that she was now holding the mask. When did that happen? What is this thing?

If he didn't do anything, then she would be alive.

"She would be alive...wouldn't she now? If he wasn't such a dumb know-it-all Ini wouldn't have to be an innocent victim. She had nothing to do with this and-"

He killed her.

"That bastard. Of course its his fault! Yes. If it wasn't for him...If it wasn't for him Ini wouldn't be DEAD!" Mimi screamed out into the emptiness, her eyes blurring up with even more tears. It hurt so much. Why did he have to do all that. Why couldn't he just leave her and her life alone!?

Perhaps he should be punished.

"But...how?" She asked the shadows, her mind drifting off from sanity. What was she going to do? She couldn't kill him, could she?

Not alone...

"Not alone...yes," she giggled insanely. "I can't do it alone. But who will help? Ini is dead. I am dead."

Put on the mask. Then you shall be helped.

"The mask...I was told that if I did-"

If you did you would be kill Turner Grey. You would make him pay for ruining your life, by ending his.

"Yes," a hushed whispered overcame her. "I could kill him. He could pay..."

He /will/ pay.

Her hands started to move without a will of their own, the back of the mask inching closer to her face. "He will pay. I will make him pay." A quick rush of wind started to surround her body, tightening around her waist and stealing her breath. As Mimi put the mask completely over her face the black clasps tightened themselves on the back of her head, a painful pinch attacking the back of her neck. What was going on? Who was she becoming?!

"Foolish little girls should not play with toys, Miss...Mime."

That was all she heard before her eyes closed and she blacked out. A world of newfound power awaited her now.

Original Name: Jake Marshall
Former Hero Name: Star Shooter
Vigilante Name: Lone Gun
Race: Human
Current Concept: Still very much a WIP. I think his original Hero outfit doesn't need to vary from his regular outfit from 1-5 too much, but he's gonna need something much more angstariffic for his Vigilante outfit.
Powers:
1. Ambidextrous sharpshooter with top-notch accuracy and split-second draw and reload times. High reflexes.
2. Resistant to small wounds, ranging from cactus needles (which he is completely immune to) to bullets (which he is very much not immune to, but he can take a few shots and still fire back).
3. Knows how to do cowboy stuff like ride a buckin' bronco or throw a lasso. Rarely useful in fights, but still pretty cool!
4. THE FINGERBANG. A secret technique which lets him shoot large shots of spirit energy from his fingertips. Useful for when he runs out of bullets (which is rare) or when he needs to cause a big kaboom (which is not as rare). But he usually reserves it for emergencies, because...
Weaknesses:
1. While the Fingerbang is his top technique, it's costly - in fact, if he goes overboard, he could theoretically kill himself with it or at least send himself into a coma, though he passes out long before he reaches that point. This is because the Fingerbang might not need bullets, but it needs ammo in the form of his own life energy. It's a source that can drain fast and recharge slowly. Any drink with quick carbohydrates will give a quick recharge, but to fully replenish, he needs plenty of food (particularly food high in carbs and proteins, like a nice salisbury steak) and sleep. It's not uncommon to see him pig out and pass out after a long, tough fight.
2. His reflexes might be some of the fastest in the west, and he can throw a decent punch, but there's a reason he would rather have a shootout at high noon than get into a fistfight at the saloon. His close-range fighting is average at best, so he usually tries to keep a distance between himself and the other side. Unfortunately for him, his running speed isn't really remarkable, either.
3. Has angst. Especially for Neil. Has fury. Especially against Kiddy Fiddler. Might seem like a cool customer, but really, he's not the most stable and rational of vigilantes.
Current Side: Neutral. Technically still Good, but he won't side with other heroes and will pick fights with them if they bug him too much.
Occupation: Vigilante and Drifter.

Background:
Since the day Jake's younger brother Neil was born, the two Marshall boys were an inseperable pair, playing cowboys and having adventures from sunrise to sunset. Even that early, Jake was able to start building a reputation for his legendary aim, even if he was only firing with slingshots and potato pellets rather than a real pistol. For years, though, life was nothing but fun and games for the Marshall boys.

However, wherever there are cowboys, there are also Indians, and it just so happens there was one who took interest in the Marshall boys for their exceptionally strong and wild cowboy spirits. The father of Ken and Sean Dingling, who were still toddlers at the time and wouldn't be trained in such arts for years, offered to teach the Marshall boys a secret style of fighting technique. The Marshall boys agreed, and between their adventures they would stop in the Dingling home for lessons in native American mystic spiritualism, meditation sessions, and even some physical training. As the boys grew into men, they could see this was not just fun and games, but turning them into true warriors.

The technique was one which could force one's own spirit out of the body in the form of a weapon, and while it burned up their energy quickly, it was worth the cost. Jake's, naturally, took the form of a Spirit Gun, and for immature reasons he decided to call it a Fingerbang; it would be his shame years later, since the name stuck permanently. (For simplicity's sake, I'll assume Neil had a Spirit Sword, but more creative ideas are welcomed and encouraged.)

With their new techniques, the Marshall boys ended their childhood adventures and began having real adventures fighting local crime and looking into dangerous mysteries. Their fame grew, and they were able to befriend other heroes - most notably, Bruce Goodman, Angel Starr, and Lana Skye. After working together with these three individuals more and more, the Marshall Brothers put forth the idea that the five of them join forces. A crime-fighting superhero team was formed, taking on the symbol of a five-pointed star, and for years villains were helpless against them.

However, this changed very quickly in a battle against a villain by the name of the Kiddy Fiddler, staged in the middle of a city before a courthouse. The man proved to be a challenge even for the five of them together, and just when the battle was already looking bad, he seized a weak Neil in his tentacles. Jake wasted no time and fired off a Fingerbang, aiming for the Fiddler's head.

That was the first shot with his Spirit Gun Jake ever missed. Kiddy Fiddler dodged in time, and then threw Neil into the large statue of Lady Justice before the courthouse. The younger Marshall was impaled on her sword. (Symbolic, much?) Claiming this as a victory, Kiddy Fiddler fled the fight, leaving the four to recover.

Jake was permanently scarred. He blamed himself for being unable to save Neil, and disbanded the remaining four, saying he would never work with anyone again; he would never have the weight of another death on his hands, nor would anyone have his should he ever fail. He pushed away all his friends, burning all his bridges until the only trusted companions he had left were cactii. The cowboy became a vigilante; the Star Shooter became the Lone Gun. The fates of his former teammates were likewise bad - Bruce was killed while challenging Kiddy Fiddler a second time, while Angel fell and became a full-fledged villain. And as for Lana... Jake isn't sure what's become of her.

Present Smako time: As a drifter and vigilante, he keeps far more to himself than the heroes, and rather than actively seeking out and fighting danger, he keeps watch for anyone starting trouble around him - villain and hero alike - and tries to sneak up on them, shoot them down, and disappear. It is difficult to be friends with him... or to talk with him... or even track him down, though there's a few bars where people have claimed to have sighted him, a shadow of the legend he once was. However, his legend still exists, and if any shota sharpshooters want to learn the cowboy's secret Fingerbang technique, they're going to have to find him and get past his emotional barriers first.

Original Name: Angel Starr
Former Hero Name: Angel Eyes, then Star Eyes
Villain Name: The Queen (though called Fallen Angel by those who knew her when she was a hero... hey, one can't change teams and flip sides without picking up a lot of names for yourself. Really, unless her backstory is involved, just call her The Queen.)
Race: Human
Current Concept: Even more WIP than Jake's. I'm thinking all-white when she's Star Eyes, and a more half-and-half outfit when she's become The Queen. Like Two-Face, or Cruella de Vil's hair.
Powers:
1. Her strongest powers come from her eyes: formerly, both were blessed, able to see in darkness, through illusions, discern ghosts and even having moments of prophecy. However...
2. Her right eye has since been cursed. Rather than seeing things, if one looks directly into her Evil Eye, she can hypnotise or paralyze them. With a power enhancement, she might be able to use it to turn people into stone.
3. Some training in martial combat. Her best abilities are her speed and jumping, and rather than beat up her opponents she prefers to restrain them.
4. Cooks delicious food. (What? It's a power.) Able to hide drugs and poisons in her food to get what she wants... assuming she can get her target to eat it without being suspicious.
5. Seduces men. (What? It's a power.) Not to the point of being irresistable, but she practically has her own harem of men, particularly weak-minded ones. Uses these charms and a little hypnotism to gather information.
Weaknesses:
1. Since her eyes are parallel opposites in nature, she can only use one at a time or their powers will start to cancel out. She covers the other with her hair as a no-extra-thought-necessary way to 'turn it off', though this has the downside of making it painfully obvious which one she's using.
2. By the way, remember the story of the Medusa? Yeah, she's had more than a few problems with mirrors, since looking directly at a clear reflection with her cursed eye causes her major head pains, the worst case being a seizure. You'll notice she works hard to minimize the number of reflective surfaces around her.
3. She's a lot more skilled when it comes to manipulation and indirect confrontation than combat. Her fighting is passable but not very super at all.
Current Side: Evil, with some Neutral tendancies. But there might still be Good in her... somewhere...
Occupation: Chef and Socialite.

Background:
Angel was born with blessed eyes. When she was a child, it was thought she was a psychic, since she could function perfectly even while blinded, stayed away from graveyards in fear of the ghosts and dark auras, and even accurately predicted the future. But, as she grew older and was able to tell others what it was she could see, it became clear that this was not because of a sixth sense, but what she literally saw with her eyes.

She loved law and mysteries, and thus trained to become a detective. However, with her exceptional powers, she was pulled towards a greater destiny. She became a legend among the law force, investigating cases with her powers by the codename of Angel Eyes, and even restraining many criminals single-handedly. Through this work she crossed paths with the Marshall Brothers, and they invited her to take on the title of a hero, joining their team along with Lana Skye and Bruce Goodman. She was the most reluctant of the five to join, not as certain about her place on the team as the others.

And, as it turned out, these fears were not unfounded. As a proud woman and an extraordinary detective, Angel had enjoyed a life as a queen of law enforcement, the absolute best at what she did and highly praised for it. On the team with the Marshall Brothers as Star Eyes, she had dropped down to being their sidekick, doing most of the legwork of investigation and gathering information but being dead weight in most of their confrontations with villains. She became closest to the other woman on the team, Lana, but even Lana wasn't able to console Angel's discomfort with ultimately being backup to the male leaders of the team.

After the death of Neil Marshall, however, Jake decided to break up the team; Angel was the first and the most glad to leave them, ditching the others as quickly as possible. She planned to return to her life before the Marshall Brothers, as the queen she had once been.

Her plans changed again shortly after. As a hero and an 'angel', her reputation had gained her attention from the worst sorts, and as soon as she was on her own, she was attacked by a demon. She was able to drive him off, but not before getting one of her blessed eyes scratched by his claws. It took time for the eye to heal, and by the time it did, it had changed completely. Rather than a blessed eye, it was a cursed eye - an Evil Eye. When men gazed into it, they froze in fright or bent to her will.

And as her sight powers corrupted, so did her morals. With her new power, she could control people as she pleased. Rather than return to the law, she took up work in a restaurant where she could listen to the pulse of society and slip her poisons down its gullet.

Present Smako time: Angel's been working her way up in society, though she's far from her ultimate goal, which is to have her own underground empire. She mostly works for herself, and her only real 'partners' are the men she keeps in her harem, but if there's money or power in it for her (and an opportunity to backstab the other person), she sometimes strikes deals with other corrupt individuals.

Original Name: Wesley Stickler
Former Hero Name: NA
Villain Name: NA
Race: Human
Current Concept:
Powers: INTELLIGENCE?!

Weaknesses:
1. PANTIES.
2. Grammatical, spelling, punctuation errors.
3. Henshin scenes.

Occupation: Narrator, obligatory expository figure.

Background: Wesley Sticker is, by all accounts, top scholar at Ivy U. However, between hitting the books he is trying to unravel the divine mysteries of the universe, right down to Trucy's magical panties. However, some mysteries are not meant to be solved...

After graduating from the university, Stickler believed his intelligence and ability to absorb even the slightest bit of information would grant him many employers at his feet. However, the real world was not quite the idillic gem he had in mind. Struggling to find a job [and pay student loans], he begrudgingly accepts a job at a fast food restaraunt. Needless to say, this was hard to swallow, especially with the backwards lingo of the local clientele. Continually scolded for correcting the customers, often rephrasing their requests for the sake of his sanity, he was undeterred.However, his theories of how the meat was actually made, and relaying this information to customers was detrimental to the business, and he was let go. He has not held a job since then.


Present Smako time: However, Stickler has found a welcome position-- as the local doormat. The narrator, he is forever interrupted, whether it be by an explosion, projectile object, or even another character; smiling through his tears, as he finally gets to shine in the 'limelight' he so deserves.
He is acknowledged only by two characters- The Eccentrist and Moonlight Angel; the former for battles of wits and sometimes snarky banter, the latter for pity and the sake of making someone else happy.
He is also cleverly disguised/hidden in the henshin scenes; for UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF THE TRANSFORMING GIRLS. This ends many a time in Stickler being flung through the sky, beaten to a pulp, or the camera suddenly fading to black.

Stickler is very pleased with his position.

When he reveals himself to Phoenix Wright, he HAS to say this.

Not one to contentedly sit around the lab filing evidence and such, Ema uses her scientific gadgets to fight evil on her own terms. Note to self: Villains are weak against starlight!

My idea for the Fey branch family is to have Dahlia and Iris as Morgan Fey's henchgirls. Dahlia is the one with all the brains, naturally, and all the evul. However, towards the end of their story, they betray Morgan and foil her plans to collect the magatama. Iris duels her mother but is rendered defenseless, until Dahlia arrives in the nick of time to take the blow for her. Keep in mind that up to their betrayal, the heroes had tried many times to defeat Dahlia, but it would be her love for her sister that would end up both saving and destroying her.

It's an all-star rush to battle! Note that some heroes without concrete designs/approved story arcs have been left out. Also, Makoto herself is the only one who seems to be cowed by the situation at hand...

IM SORRY THAT BUTTERFLIES ARE USED FOR TARGET PRACTICE IN THE WORLD OF GYAKUTEN SAIBAN

Working out concepts for Angel Starr. There are a number of keywords to go with her: queen, duality, hypnosis, mind, elegance, power, sex, deception. The first sketch by Pie was made using references from queen's dresses. The second concept by MSOB was made using a "snakeskin" theme. The third one took more of a formal, conservative clothing scheme to it.

Okay. So. Hairaiser's character is really in beginning stages at best right now. Same could be said for many of the characters, but I'm not taking on this sort of character development for any other existing characters 'til I've got his worked out first. Special treatment from his fangirl and all. But - I'm not straying off subject this early, not me! - the sum of his character, currently, is that he is a villain and that his hair is a weapon. To be specific, a weapon that shapeshifts.

Ah, lots of work to be done here. Major blanks need to be filled; I particularly note the origin of his powers and his motive for crime. But first, just some thoughts on his general fighting abilities, while I have it in mind. (There's also the question of upgraded versions, which I'll be getting to much later.)

I think it's safe to assume at this point that he's an offensive powerhouse? There's no question his attacks have been shown to be big long stabby stabby things of death, which makes sense. I mean, he's a shark, and given his personality, and his breakdown animation - yeah, this is a man who targets his prey and goes straight in for the kill. And given the length of his hair, and the idea of him being able to launch it as a projectile, he's pretty much set for his attacks both in close range and long range. So then there's the matter of defense, and I think both for practicality and for balance, this is probably not gonna be as much of a strong suit for him. Also, most pictures drawn so far show him fighting at somewhat of a range, rather than up close and personal; it makes the most sense in design, 'cause why put your body in danger when you can fight from that sort of distance without any problems?

But then, there's already been designs for him that work with him covering part or all of himself with hair as armor, almost to the point of looking like some sort of dark tentacle thing. It makes sense and it doesn't... might as well boost defenses somehow, but would even the most durable and stabby stabby of hair be a great armor? Not unless you get some weaving going on to give it some structure, and I dunno if he's really into dreads. However, I do think it can work with his character, looked at another way: given that it's basically just a part of his weapon, and drawing inspiration from the idea of shark skin (which is covered in tiny, sharp, tooth-like scales), I had the thought that maybe rather than giving him protection like regular armor, it protects him in that he uses it to hurt people and things which contact his body in attacking him. Kind of like Rough Skin, as a reference for the Pokémon dorks in the audience. Does that make any sense?

Mm. In that same general area (and because I always love a dynamic character much more than a static one, more sides and definition means more interest), there's the question of if there's going to be any other shark influences in how he acts and fights. Because, well, sharks are damn cool and some of the best predators out there, so they're a very good source of inspiration. And they're a major part of his character design, pretty much as important as music (except Rocktra's got music powers pretty well covered, I think) For example, as far as senses go, sharks have a very fine-tuned sense of smell, particularly for blood... they also have excellent hearing, and a sort of sixth sense which allows them to detect electric fields around other living things (it's really cool - I suggest to anyone remotely interested in science stuff to read the wiki article on it or any other source on electroreception)... as far as their sight goes, they tend to hide their eyes in attacking, and some have nocturnal vision; overall, they're more based on their other senses. So, while I don't think it'd be fair for Daryan to have extreme electroreception detection powers on top of his hair powers, it might make sense for his senses to be much sharper than average, making him harder to sneak up on and giving him a small advantage in settings where it's harder to see everything, like dark battlefields or ones that at least have heavy shadows. On a different note entirely, the personality of sharks could play into how his role and motive develops - because they're such dangerous predators, we've come to think of them as mindless, bloodthirsty killers, but research has shown they're actually much more intelligent and social than we give them credit for. To me at least, that suggests the idea of him having the image of your typical sadistic, bloodthirsty bastard villain most of the time, but slowly revealing he has a greater purpose and more calculated actions than just "kill kill kill".

Now that motive's come up, I'll backtrack to those blanks which haven't been filled. Backstory and motive. Always tricky, since the two are what make him who he is and thus are so often woven together. And... well, there's so many possibilities, if one's just trying to pull ideas out of thin air. Mm, where to start with these?

I browsed through the old paintchat archives and found a very silly idea with some awesome and amusing images to accompany them for the origin of his powers. On one hand, I love it because I cracked up so hard when I saw it, but on the other - well, if I'm treating this like serious business (and given how much I'm writing here, it's safe to say I am), then there's no way I can support any origins like the Spiderman origin of total BS. Nevermind one that goes as far as to have radioactive sharks. That somehow bites his hair and nothing else. And the rest of him is somehow perfectly okay. So, hmm. What are other options?

First off, there's the Maybelline method: Maybe he's born with it. Powers from birth, though probably ones that get stronger as he gets older (and his hair gets longer). I think this is what most if not all of the X-Men use, and it shows up in some other places as well, like with Superman; I believe it comes up a lot in SMako as Power Perfect style things. It could work, but... well, there's some issues that come up. It might not take much suspension of disbelief to accept that Angel Starr was born with a blessing on one eye and a curse on the other, but it takes quite a bit to accept that Daryan could just control his hair and turn it into different things from birth. Which is why for any outlandish powers, there's usually a explanation for this explanation, like the Random Uber Mutations like in the X-Men, or being from another race entirely for Superman. We could do the same here but my only ideas for it seem only slightly less silly than the radioactive shark thing (Daryan Crescend, the last surviving member of the Pompadourian Shark Men, living in secret amongst human society?). Konrad/Rocktra would have to be a consideration for everything, too, since the two should absolutely have a connection in their storylines - if Daryan can control his Hairaiser powers from birth, would he think to hide them from birth as well? If not... well, that would lead for a high opportunity for Konrad to know about Daryan's powers long before Daryan becomes a villain, and that'd significantly affect the storyline there... hrmm. Point is, overall, this route could work, but it's an odd fit at best right now.

So assuming he gets the powers post-birth, there's the question of deliberate versus accidental. Deliberate could be either his own choice or someone giving the powers to him without his knowledge. But for both, you gotta ask why. And in this case in particular, you gotta ask why hair powers. They actually did a version of this for Millia Rage, where she learned it as one of several fighting styles in an assassin's syndicate. But short of ripping that off deliberately, I can't see this at all. And then there's accidental... the good ol' radioactive shark route. Except without the radioactive shark itself. I gave this one a lot of thought, and if this were the case, the best fit would be him trying something out very exotic and powerful as a hair product (extract of Borginian cocoon?) and finding the results were very, very different from what he expected. That seems like the best idea so far, but I'm still iffy about it.

... I'll get back to that cocoon in a minute, because as quite a few of you already know, I had a strange idea centered around it.

Besides origin, there's also motive, and I do want to think carefully about that. Again, shark behavior; the appearance of "kill kill kill", hiding intelligence and sophistication in technique. Works with his character, too - comes across as just a rogue at first, then you learn he's a detective, then you learn the whole plot thing. The guy's got layers, man. On the other hand, I don't think it should be a particularly noble goal he's hiding, like trying to save a kid from an illness, because otherwise... well, it'd push him into the Neutral zone, and I'd like to see him as a villain from his entrance up 'til his last appearance. Even with that in consideration, this is a section that definitely needs more creative juice flowing into it, 'cause right now I'm not feeling much of anything.

... man, I'm good at rambling. Well, I've written a lot, I've eaten up a lot of the night, and my computer is trying to force me to restart it, so I'll get to the thing I did have an interesting idea about. I'm not sure if it's good or bad, yet, even after talking about it in the chat and getting feedback. But it's interesting for sure.

So, going through the cap history, I noticed a theme. From the first SMako picture (here) to the day Hairaiser was created (here) to even some more recent ideas (here), everyone seems to love upgrading Daryan, changing his size and form somehow. Well, playing around with the idea, I had the thought of some way unique to his character that he could temporarily boost his powers for big fights. And I began to consider the Borginian cocoon, which in the game itself is pretty special, if not superpowered - healing a major illness or creating a deadly poison? Add in a little magic to the universe, and why can't it be a temporary power enhancer? I'm not sure how it would be used, but I don't think it should be ingested, because...

Well, the idea I was playing with was that, while the cocoon could give a quick boost to natural powers (I'm not sure exactly how to decide who could get affected and who couldn't, but I think technological enhancements like Hobocop's would be out of the question), Hairaiser in particular would have a fondness for using them, obviously. Which, unfortunately, is easy to compare to a drug addiction or confidence issues. That's one thing that makes it hard for me to commit to this idea. Drug addiction jokes would be amusing, but treated too symbolically and seriously and this whole concept could seem like a very preachy metaphor.

Downside would be that it would be very flammable. Oh man. Whether we use this cocoon idea or not, I'm pretty sure fire is a major weakness of Hairaiser's. WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS USE FIRE.

The other thing that bothered me was figuring out just how he'd be able to get the cocoons. Because they're not exactly just scattered all over your backyard; they're probably rare things, ones you really have to hunt down to get. And even with the proposal of him having extra keen senses, I'm not sure I could see Daryan spending hours searching for little cocoons in the wilderness when they're probably going to be burninated before his next fight is over.

There was the idea of him getting them through the black market, but... that one bugs me, personally. It seems to parallel a drug addiction too closely, again. And it seems unlikely he'd be getting them more than other characters if they could all be hoarded off the black market. And it really, really muddles his goal... he'd have to put a lot of resources into buying one, and then use it for his evil scemes, which... um, might net him as much resources as he needs to get a new cocoon, if he's lucky. I do not see the profit there. Seems better if it's something that's not quite as costly to him.

The only other idea... um... well, I'm reluctant to mention it again, but I guess I should, since I already did throw it out there as a possibility. The only other idea I had thus far was to ask the Boriginian moths that made said cocoons. Except Daryan has no ability to speak to moths. So who does? Well... in the PW-verse... nobody. The only one who closely interacted with insects was Dahlia, who set butterflies on fire. But... well, there's also original characters, and it's no secret that I'm extremely fond of insects, to the point that I sometimes draw my own character with the giant insect wings of a fairy on her back (as well as some other connections to insects, particularly moths - if anyone wants me to elaborate, talk to me privately, because it's all too much of a tangent to talk about here). I had the thought of getting her involved as a villain with a sort of Aquaman-ish power to talk to insects, probably something else on top of that because, standalone, Aquaman powers are some of the lamest out of all superheroes... but, well, I dunno. As much as I love working with OCs, I've backread enough to be downright terrified to suggest this, what with all the OC problems and drama that have turned up in this project in the past. And I really wouldn't want Pie to just follow Daryan around like a lost puppy, so I'd have to work out a whole different story for her and all that, while there's already so many existing characters that seem like they could use more love, and what seems like a sincere need for more villains to balance the scales and... yeah, Bee wasn't fond of this idea at all, and wants me to focus my energy on other things in the project... and I guess I can see why. So... well, I won't discard this thought completely, but I'm far, far from committing to it at this point.

It's an annoying question, probably the thing that bugs me most about this idea: what ways are there to find wild cocoons...? And yet it feels like the most inspired thing I've come up with so far, so I'd really like to explore it more...

...

All right. I think that's all that I've gone through so far. I've still got my work cut out for me, especially since I really do overthink these things like you wouldn't believe. The proof is in the wall of text above.

EDIT: Actually, I forgot one specific thought I had regarding the cocoon idea, and how it'd play into the last fight the heroes have with him. Basically, taking an idea from that DARYATHAN picture... stacking the power of some number of cocoons (I say five or seven 'cause odd numbers are awesome), his hair goes out of control, basically turning into a giant monster with a mind of its own. Somewhere inside it, a weak or perhaps even unconscious Daryan is at the heart, completely buried and trapped in his own hair. Hopefully the hair would be able to taken down without killing him, though - I'd rather see a better end than him just dying and giving characters like Rocktra unnecessary angst.

Also - noting the colors in that picture and a general frustration towards how his black, black hair makes him look a lot like the black, black nailpolish (I think a remedy for this in general would be making thorough use of the white tips, especially for any sharp points) - for that fight at least, maybe Makoto could give him a quick splash of some color so everyone can see what they're fighting better? ... a quick recolor techinque... mm, I could come up with some much less serious uses for that, but I won't...

I was thinking that, possibly, Daryan has the hair powers from birth and was always sort of earmarked as potentially super. However, when he grows up, he decides to become a villain (because, honestly, he IS an übermensch of sorts). Unfortunately, due to his power, the authorities and such are powerless to stop him, and he goes on leading a relatively normal life. At some point in his young life, he becomes close friends with Konrad Gavin, possibly one of the few people with whom he has an amiable relationship, and although Konrad does conflict with him sometimes, it rarely comes to blows (for obvious reasons). They start a band together, with Konrad as frontman since Daryan wants to "do him a favor" and help raise him up to the rock star glory he's dreamed of.

Naturally, since Konrad's day job is that of a prosecutor, his reputation is constantly brought into question due to his friendship with Daryan, but he always stands by his friend (and the one guy who backs him up in other endeavors, too). Secretly, Konrad wants to find a way to end Daryan's villainy. And then Konrad gains the power to become Rocktra...

Rocktra is a sensation. She has a squeaky-clean image, rocks harder than any mortal, and takes the media spotlight like Konrad had always dreamed, without being weighed down by anyone else. In fact, Rocktra becomes a bigger hit than Konrad and Daryan's band, and while Konrad doesn't seem to mind, Daryan is peeved that he and his friend aren't getting the attention they so richly deserve (especially being robbed by a "copycat fangirl," as Konrad airily describes her). Then it hits a little close to home: Daryan goes out to fight Rocktra, and Rocktra fights back... and wins. From here on, it's a struggle for Konrad to keep his secret identity secret, dodging Daryan's angry streak and finding opportunities to become Rocktra in order to put a stop to his nefarious activities.

Eventually, Daryan discovers Rocktra's true identity, and he absolutely flips out. In a climactic battle, Rocktra is beaten down to the point where she reverts to an unpowered Konrad, and Daryan takes this opportunity to monologue, accusing Konrad of betraying their friendship, and for being the one thing a rock star should never be: a phony. Konrad gets up and says something along the lines of, "Thank you for being an honest man, Daryan. I'd feel bad about fighting you if I thought you weren't really a bad person."

Ignore her wonky proportions I did this in like two seconds. :D