. ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ . {WIP Series Introduction} - The District's Very Own . ݁₊ ⊹ . ݁˖ .
⊹ ࣪ ˖ "Finally, The District actually has our very own heroes!"
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Genre: Urban Fiction, Speculative Fiction/Superhero Fiction
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Setting: Washington, D.C., 2014 [1st Novel] - 2034 [Last Novel]
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Target Audience: New Adult [16-29]
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Status: Planning & Plotting
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Themes: The bonds of friendship, black girlhood/coming-of-age/adulthood, corruption & power (both in the figurative sense and literal powers), sins of the father (and mother, and more), classism and elitism in American and Black society, the negative impacts of policing, government distrust
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Tropes: Beauty, Brains, and Brawn, Family of Choice, Death by Origin Story, Fruedian Trio, Kid Hero/Kid Hero All Grown Up, Fallen Hero, Police are Useless...and Corrupt, Puberty Superpowers, Rogues Gallery, Secret Identity, Self-Made Powers-ish, Super Supremacist, Fantastic Racism and the Real Kind, Super Registration Act, Hero Secret Service, La Résistance, Late Stage Superheroism, Government Agency of Fiction/Super Team , Wake Up, Go to School, Save The World, Heroic Fatigue, Crimefighting with Cash, Dating Catwoman
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Content Warnings: Death, violence, classism, racism, homophobia, transphobia, SA (mentioned)
Pinterest | Song Playlist [in progress] | Tag: #wip: tdvo
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Summary:
Kamari and Jasper are from two different walks of life. Kamari, born and raised in the Anacostia neighborhood of Washington, D.C., grew up in a working-class family with her grandparents, mother, and baby cousin. Her father has been in jail for as long as she can remember, and she often has been bullied because of it from peers and even the cops who circle around her neighborhood. Due to this she's grown a headstrong and fiery personality to buck at the world that wants her to hang her head low. Jasper, on the other hand, lived in the cradle of wealth in the quiet Cleveland Park neighborhood of Washington. Her mother a CEO and her father a professor, they were strict and had high expectations for her to follow in their esteemed footsteps. Were strict. That was until a home robbery gone wrong left her orphaned under the care of her (admittedly, way less strict) Godmother. When Jasper is forced to transfer high schools due to an "accidental" pummeling of one of her bullies who dared to mention her parents' death, they both only know of the other through mutual friends. That's until they bump into each other one night and realize they're both vigilante heroes. Powered people only make up 25% of the U.S. population, very few of them are chosen by the Department of Powered Activities and Welfare (DPAW) to become heroes across the country, of those few, about 100 work in DC, mainly downtown, leaving a lot of the city to depend on no one but corrupt and discriminatory cops. Jasper and Kamari come together in realization that they have a similar goal, to protect the sides of the city that DPAW fails to, while not causing the same level of harm as the cops. Though they at first focus on trying to stop petty crimes and violence between warring powered gangs, they soon realize the real viliains are those promising to help their city.
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Character Summaries
Jasper "Trifecta" Terrell [February 16th 2000] - #tdvo: jasper
Up until her parent's death, Jasper has lived a life straight out of "Our Kind of People". Her parent's made sure she was a well-mannered girl of the upper-class, Lord knows black girls who aren't well-mannered are treated terribly. Currently, Jasper lives with her Godmother in a condo close to downtown. She's a quiet girl, but just as headstrong as Kamari and a bit stubborn as well. Though she has her moments of self-centeredness, she's spoiled sweet without a doubt, kind to all of her friends regardless of their social status. Jasper has never particularly had a lot of friends in school, especially when she went to private schools, but is doing a lot better at her new public school situation. She thinks part of the reason for that is skipping three grades, now only two, because she took the year after her parents' death off. Additionally, though she's quiet once she opens up, she's quite the hoot! She's very unintentionally funny and a snarky young lady. At first she's against cursing, but with being around Kamari so much she becomes a bit of a sailor mouth. Jasper has weak powers that she amplifies using a technological super suit, but includes the psychic ability to create items for a limited amount of time, super strength, and super intelligence. She also believes she has super beauty, but that's technically not a power.
Kamari "Techniq" Pope [July 30th 1998] - #tdvo: kamari
Kamari has a passion for defying stereotypes and shutting everybody up. She doesn't care if people (bougie girls at school, police officers, teachers) perceive her as angry and ghetto because of her tough exterior; if anything, she'll wear it as a badge of honor. Because she's also intelligent, talented, and the prettiest girl you'll ever see! Back in her middle school days, she was an amazing gymnast, karate queen, ballet dancer, and a fantastic cookie seller with the Girl Scouts. Her mom kept her busy in activities to ensure she didn't hang out with the wrong crowd, and she might be a Black-Belt, Olympian, Prima Ballerina, Senior Scout right now if all that weird anxiety didn't come out of nowhere. Whatever, right? Nowadays, she just takes part in the college-prep program to keep her mind busy and not thinking about everything she's ever done wrong and why she is so bad at things and everybody hates her and she's ugly and unworthy of anyone's friendship and will end up in jail like dad. Ahaha. Where did that come from? She never knows. Maybe it's just the stress of being a girl in the city, or some type of mental health problem, or just the stress that's piled up from having a dad in prison. Whatever it is, Kamari tries her best to ignore it. She also tries to ignore the fact that she doesn't have crushes on the guys at school like all her friends do. But that's a topic for another day. Much like her personality, her powers are all heated up. She's able to manipulate heat and create sparks of heat, which look like fireworks. She also has enhanced durability and flexibility.
Hiyabel Asefe [November 12th 1999] - #tdvo: hiyabel
Hiyabel doesn't have powers, but she is a necessary part of Jasper and Kamari's vigilanteism. She's always looking out and doing the dirty work when no one else can, and she can hit a bad guy with a hard bat to the head. That's thanks to being Softball Captain. Hiyabel is a second-generation Ethiopian immigrant who lives in NE DC. Her parents aren't too strict on her as long as she brings back good grades, which she always does, that's how she got into Frederick Douglas Prepratory Academy, DC's premier public magnet school, in the first place. That's probably why she can sneak out at night to help the girls when she needs to. Hiyabel is adventurous, fun-loving, and an idealist always seeing the best in situations and in people. She's also extremely outgoing and can befriend even the most quiet of introverts (Jasper) with just enough prying. She hopes to become a journalist one day and get paid to yap.
Claire Blanchett [October 20th 1972] - #tdvo: claire
Ms. Blanchett is Jasper's Godmother, her late mother Juniper's best friend, and Juniper's (only) line sister. A lawyer who works between NYC and DC, Claire is always on the run and always on the go, which is probably what led to her husband handing her divorce papers. Claire doesn't mind, though, especially since that loser didn't sign a prenup and she made way less money. Claire spent most of the time between her divorce and Juniper's murder traveling the world and dating loose men. However, when the time came, Claire became almost instantly a surrogate mother to Jasper. Additionally, Claire is Kamari's mentor in the college prep program!
Krystal Pope [October 20th 1979] - #tdvo: krystal
The mother of Kamari, Krystal is a CNA with a strong passion for taking care of her children (which, at the moment, also includes her baby cousin Ciara, who's mother just didn't feel fit to take care of a child. She lives with Kamari, Ciara, and her parents in a townhouse in the Anacostia neighborhood of DC. Though gentler than Kamari now, she remembers being just as on fire back in her day, though her powers are the ability to create multiple versions of herself. Great for taking care of multiple kids and aging parents!
⊹ ࣪ ˖ Inspirations: TDVO isn't a parody, but there are some very obvious inspirations for the characters and storylines. Specifically, a lot of inspiration from the X-Men, Iron Man, Spiderman, Batman, and Superman! This is more of a homage to the superhero genre that I've loved since childhood, infusing it with the culture that grew me and that I love as well. I always used to ask, with how important DC is, why isn't there any DC heroes? I mean, besides that one Eddie Murphy movie back in the day, and I guess all the recent Marvel movies in DC. But I mean real heroes who grew up in the culture and are influenced by it, like Daredevil or Spiderman to NYC?
I hope to not only create a fun superhero story, but showcase the beauty (and struggles) of DC and African-American culture through this story. :)
⊹ ࣪ ˖"We gotta be the heroes we needed."
