#c: sage beaufort

[wallacejwriting]

Sage Beaufort ☆ They/Them

name | Sage Beaufort age | 34 pronouns | they/them

personality | cynical, nurturing, intelligent, adaptable, mistrustful

appearance | Sage has no interest in "passing" and dresses in a way they find comfortable and practical. They keep their long hair dyed pastel colours at all times, wear goofy space and alien themed accessories, typically have 5-o'clock-shadow, and always wear a choker. Sage's vibrant purple eyes are a minor physical mutation.

metahuman power | Teleportation metahuman level | Alpha

☆ DESCRIPTION

How do you trap a teleporter? How do you trap a teleporter that can teleport over 25 miles (40km) in a single leap? You take everything they love and force it to rely on a singular geographic location: Veda. By one year, Sage has been on the Alpha list longer than anyone else currently on it. They've been an Alpha for over twenty years and with each passing year they know the higher ups of Veda are more and more concerned that Sage is going to explode, just like several Alphas before them. Sage isn't worried about that. But they are worried about what the people in charge will do in order to soothe their own doubts and anxieties. The government can't be trusted. Hell, no one in power can. Power and money destroy minds, hearts, and even souls. Veda is no different than any other part of the world, in that way. In many ways, actually, Veda is much, much worse. Because all those people, all that corruption, all those problems all exist in Veda, but amplified a thousand times over by metahuman powers and an isolated city. Sage knows Veda is fucked. Sage knows the world is fucked. Their main concern is protecting their home, their family - their wife, Ghada, and their corgi, Whiskey - and their livelihood. And until Nat Carter walked into their life, Sage hadn't cared about a new person in a while. Hadn't met anyone worth risking anything for in a long time. Damn kid just has to drag them into their mess. Doesn't matter that Sage tells Nat not to fall down the rabbit hole. Doesn't matter that Sage knows the dark side of Veda better than they should - way better than this damn kid. But does Nat listen? No. Because nothing is ever fucking easy. Damn brat. What the hell is Sage supposed to do? Leave them? No. That's not their style. They never leave anyone who asks for their help. So, how do you trap a teleporter as powerful as Sage? Easy. Be their only option.

Sage Beaufort is one of the supporting characters in The Metahuman Initiative. Learn more about them and the book they appear in, Descent, here. If you want to check out more content, try the series tag, or the first book’s tag.

#writeblr #original character #trans oc #character profile #queer oc #c: sage beaufort #the metahuman initiative #wip: descent #tmi characters

[wallacejwriting]

descent snippets; #6

From Chapter 6

So it might surprise you to know that TMI involves quite a few themes from Christianity and Catholicism, partially because Nicki is Catholic and it's fairly important to his character. This chapter is where we start to see those themes. It's not a story about religion, but Nat is from a small town and small towns do religion like no one else. So Nat's faith, especially post family-murder, is a factor to their character.

cw for: anxiety (as always), religious discussion & themes (christianity & catholicism)

As always, writing is under the cut.

#1:

There’s no way she’s going to be able to read Nat’s phone screen through the window, not with the smudges and the light. The text-to-speech icon hovers in the corner of Nat’s note app. Will it sound ridiculous? Better than nothing at all. “Looking for Sage. Am Nat.” The phone’s voice is more normal than Nat expects. Gentle, and a little more feminine than Nat likes, but nice enough. More like a voice for VC than a substitute for Nat’s own. The woman’s eyes narrow. She’s a big woman with lovely round cheeks that hold a light pink to her light brown skin. Her thick, comfortable looking arms fold across her lap. Her hair, curls that just brush her chin, tips with the motion of her head. “You’re Nat?” Some of the friendliness drops out of her voice. Nat knows hostility. They take a step back from the door.

#2:

“You know what an Alpha is?” asks Sage. Nat nods. Of course they know what an Alpha is. Especially with all the news stories in the last decade. The explosions. The deaths. The destruction. The awesome, terrifying power that, if Nat were more whimsical, they might have said could rival ancient gods. Yet Nat couldn’t say how many were alive. How many lived in the city. If any did not. Only that they exist, and they are strong, and most laws around metahumans exist because of Alphas. “Right. So, there’s seven in Veda,” says Sage. Nat sucks in a breath. Seven. Seven Alphas? Seven minor gods? That’s a pantheon. A pantheon walks in Veda. “I’m number five,” says Sage. Oh.

#3:

“You haven’t been around a lot of powers before, have you?” asks Sage. Nat tilts their head back to stare up at Sage. They’re staring up at the sky, lavender hair askew and some of it sticking to their face. Nat manages an, “Uh-uh,” and shakes their head. Sage smiles down at them. It’s smaller than before, and it makes their face softer. “It’ll pass, y’know,” says Sage. “Not the power changes, those are forever, but the fear that comes from it.” Sage lifts a hand and stares at it, flexing it. Their hands are broad and calloused. They wear a wedding band. Their nails look nicer than Liesel’s. “Our powers are a part of us, like a muscle. The more you use them, the easier it gets.” Sage shrugs. “The less you fear.” Nat shrugs. It’s different for them, than it is for Sage. Sage’s powers are probably way beyond anything Nat could ever be. They can’t imagine what it’s like to be that strong. To be so powerful than less than two dozen people in history stand beside you. To be a part of humanity that most fear or hate or live in awe of. They shiver. They wouldn’t wish it on anyone. They don’t know what they’d do, if they were that strong.

#4:

So what if the city swallows people? So what if Sage thinks Nat can’t handle it? Who do they think they are, anyway? …Other than one of the most powerful metas in the whole damn world. Someone whose power Nat had only just glimpsed back on that rooftop. Nat stumbles. There’s a window open at this house and despite the late hour Nat can feel a television on inside. The smell of lemonade wafts from nearby. Nat waves the smell away and pushes past the house with their head down. The city seems emptier than before. Darker, too, despite the lights. Nat turns toward the brightest source of light without lifting their head. They can feel it, more than anything else. A streetlamp that glows a little brighter than the rest. A pair of lights on the gate of a stone building. Nat stares up at the building, wind blowing at their hair. A large, stained glass mural depicts an angel coming down from heaven. Probably to warn someone of an incoming disaster. Where was Nat’s warning?

#5:

Why are they here? They lift their head and glare at the mural. Sure, maybe this is a place to rest, and maybe the humming isn’t so bad, here, but it’s just another reminder of everything that’s gone. Everything that’s lost and never coming back. And even if it wasn’t, why would Nat want to spend their time somewhere they didn’t belong? God isn’t real. If he was, Nat’s family would be alive, Nat would be in Heron, and no one in this fucking city would know their name. “Some God,” mutters Nat. “’Tis now the very witching time of night, when graveyards yawn and Hell itself breathes out contagion to this world.” Nat startles. There’s a man, standing in the aisle. The man’s voice is warm and steady, low but not nearly a whisper. Hamlet. Nat licks their lips. “Hamlet.” He startles, staring at them, and Nat flushes both from his eyes and their own hoarse voice. They spoke to someone. They haven’t spoken to anyone since… Bile brushes the back of their tongue and Nat swallows. They touches their fingertips to their lips, focusing on the present. They spoke. The words didn’t hurt. Their throat feels good. Normal, even. Maybe things aren’t as terrible as they think. If they can get their voice back… “My apologies,” says the man, his voice low and tinged with a softness Nat can’t place. He speaks with a light English accent that Nat couldn’t place if you paid them. That lilt, as much as his words, brings them back to present. “Hello.” He nods his head to them. Nat nods theirs in return. “Hello.”

#6:

“Is…” Nat hesitates. “Is there anything you wouldn’t do for your family? Y’know, to prove that you love them?” asks Nat. They look at Nicki. Something Nat can’t name passes over his face, gone half a second later. “No. Nothing.” His voice in low and wispy, his expression faraway. Nat swallows. The words build and build, bubbling up in their throat until they can’t stop them from tumbling out. “What if someone hurt them? What if you lost them? What would you do?” Go to the police. Run away. Grieve and move on. The same things everyone else has been telling Nat this whole time. “I’d go after them,” says Nicki. Nat’s head snaps to one side to stare at Nicki. He watches them with a quiet, firm expression. “You would?” asks Nat. He nods. “I’d tear them apart.” He looks to the cross. “A sin is a sin is a sin, or so we are told. If you can ask forgiveness for one or the other without difference, then why not choose the one you really want to pursue?” He shrugs and meets Nat’s eyes. Nat holds their breath. They cannot look away. “Go big or go home.”

#writeblr #snippets #my writing #creative writing #amwriting #the metahuman initiative #wip: descent #snippet: descent #c: nat carter #c: sage beaufort #c: nicki stavos

[wallacejwriting]

The Alphas of Veda

In Veda, the top one hundred Betas and all Alphas are kept on a power ranking list. This is done for a lot of reasons, but the one most people care about is the online shows that broadcast the updated list changes. The hosts of these shows often show off public ability showcases the Betas and Alphas have done, events involving them recently, and all sorts of other BS.

Think of it like celebrity culture, but with superpowers.

The Alpha list only has seven people on it, at the start of Descent. It contains only the Alphas who are both currently alive and currently residing in the city.

There have been other Alphas in the city. Three of them have died before the story begins and one is currently not in the city. Thus, there are four Alphas in the history of Veda left off this list.

The first Alpha in the world, Gertrude Grey, was marked as an Alpha in 1994 and held the position as number one Alpha from the list's conception in 2011 to her death in 2034.

The list, ranked from most powerful to least powerful, in accordance to R scores, is as follows.

#1: Fiyero Monasterio

He/Him, 26. Pyrokinesis. Joined list in 2034.

The terrifying right hand of Thad Fabulon and the boogeyman of the Chorus. The third Alpha to ever be granted the rank of #1 Metahuman in Veda and the only person to ever regain that rank after losing it. Fiyero is a tattooed, smokey man who answers to Fabulon for reasons unknown. He is known for fighting in underground fighting rings, for which he is infamous for his prowess and efficiency, and he uses a cane for reasons unknown to the public.

There is quite a bit of controversy over having the #1 position filled by such a dangerous and notorious criminal, but as he is noticeably above the others, the position is officially his.

#2: Guy Carnell

He/Him, 25. Gravity Alteration. Joined list in 2036.

A pompous social media influencer who primarily uses his powers to pick up hot women and get ads and sponsorships on his online accounts. Guy takes the celebrity aspect of Meta culture very seriously and considers himself the "first professional Metahuman influencer". In interviews, he tends to come off as shallow but well-meaning and very charismatic.

As the most powerful Metahuman who regularly makes public appearances, Guy functionally acts as the #1 Meta of Veda, unofficially, something he takes massive pride in.

#3: Hani Qadir

She/Her, 31. Plant Communion & Control. Joined list in 2032.

A PhD holding botanist trying to solve hunger and drought problems throughout the world. Considered one of the most benevolent and powerful Metas to ever live. Hani has spent years working toward healing the damage made by global warming to plant life and food security, as well as helping nature thrive in a changing world.

Hani comes off as a saint on television, always well-spoken, always polite, always sweet, but her friends will tell you she has the sharpest, driest wit you'll ever find. Hani keeps quiet about it, though she is often seen giggling behind a hand in interviews.

#4: June Holiday

She/Her, 15. Vector Manipulation. Joined list in 2037.

The youngest Alpha to ever be recorded, as she was ranked as such at age thirteen. June is a dorky, energetic teenage girl who wants nothing more than to be the best twin sister to her brother, Jonas, and the best girlfriend to her girlfriend, Simone, as she can be.

June is considered, by the government (Veda, Canada, UN) and by the culture of the city to be the perfect Alpha Metahuman. She exists entirely without trauma, something thought impossible of Alphas, and her powers are by far the most stable and most capable of growth. While June manages to balance this pressure most of the time, she is terrified of messing up and causing more people to hate Alphas.

#5: Sage Beaufort

They/Them, 34. Teleportation. Joined list in 2028.

The owner of a pizzeria, Sage does their best to avoid the spotlight and celebrity life that being an Alpha brings. However, Sage has never been able to stay away from people in need, and so whenever Riko calls, asking for search and rescue help, Sage gears up and heads out. It's a unique situation, as heroes are illegal, and Sage had to be authorized to work with the firefighters on a volunteer firefighter basis.

You won't find anyone more jaded by the Alpha list and Alpha hate-love culture of Veda than Sage. Sage lacks the charisma to make themself seem less scary than their powers make them look, and mostly just scowls when on camera or in public. They're a hard worker, and they want to help, but Sage has no love for Veda and stays only because it's easier than trying to run.

#6: Riko Yamamoto

She/Her, 32. Durable Constructs. Joined list in 2029.

A firefighter and a trans woman who is considered one of the closest things to a modern day superhero the world allows. Riko utilizes her ability in her work to help her firehouse be one of the most effective in the city. She and her wife are quite happy together.

Riko has been on the list for ten years and has remained near the bottom the entire time.

As she puts it, however, being on the bottom of the Alpha list still puts you at the top of the food chain and in the public eye. Riko is a working class woman with a crude sense of humour and a deep love of bar games, cheesy poetry, and making people laugh.

#7: Thad Fabulon

He/Him, 29. Psychic Puppetry & Hub Connection. Joined list in 2037.

The most famous Alpha of Veda is Thad Fabulon, who is also the only unofficial Alpha. Technically, Thad's abilities have never been recorded at Alpha levels, but they also haven't been recorded in over a decade. Based on prior knowledge of his abilities, and subsequent showcases of greater power, he is assumed an Alpha. Though it could be argued he's also in this list for safety reasons. After all, when a man like this runs a cult, you take notice.

Thad Fabulon is the founder and leader of the Chorus, an infamous cult of Metas and non-Metas alike who live and work in Veda. Thad strives to connect people, to bring people together, and to remove the burden of overwhelming pain and struggle from everyone who lets him. Or so he says, anyway. Mostly, Thad is publicly known for staying in the background, allowing his Muses to do his work for him, and making spectacles of how little the police can do to stop him.

He's a dangerous man and it was his act of pulling Fiyero Monasterio into his cult, and thus under his incredible psychic power, that cemented his status on the Alpha list.

#writeblr #worldbuilding #original characters #wips #amwriting #the metahuman initiative #wip: descent #c: thad fabulon #c: riko yamamoto #c: sage beaufort #c: june holiday #c: hani qadir #c: guy carnell #c: fiyero monasterio