#the grenadier

What's your favorite excerpt from this WIP so far?

Here's a little piece from an early chapter I drafted when I was first starting to get used to the siblings' character voices. Enjoy!

Who is your main cast? Describe as many of your OCs as you can cram into one post.

Character intros are a little bit hard for me, but here goes nothing: Introducing the Banta siblings!

Don't let their size fool you, Ty is the older of the two at 23 years old. They're also the more "responsible" one (according to them, at least) and are in charge of their shop, the Manifold's finances. They're also bad with emotions and change. Like, really bad. They might be constantly tired, but since the incident at the parade, their stress levels have shot through the roof. Normally, their world is the simple and familiar checks on a budget list paired with a handful of candies stolen straight from their sister's stash, and they like it that way. Shame some things just don't last forever.

Likes: anything salty, loud alternative music, puzzle games, spaceship schematics, their sister, beating their sister in games

Dislikes: loud noises, when the internet doesn't have an answer for that very specific question you tried to search

Tina, on the other hand, is louder, brasher, and all around better at everything (again, according to her). Now 20 years old, she's been working in the shop for a good five years and acts as chief mechanic for anyone who wants to bring in their little gadgets for her to take a look at. Taking things apart, finding out how they work - that's just how she operates. On her off days you can find her chasing any and all distractions, ranging from indulging in her sweet tooth to winning more than a few screen games, nagging her sibling to join all the while. They really do need to take a break every now and then. Just because they're trapped doesn't mean the world has to end... right?

Likes: anything sweet (but mostly chocolate), girls, the smile on a customer's face after a job well done, the occasional spirit, her sibling

Dislikes: people who say they're fine when they're not really fine, this whole situation the planet's in right now, losing to her sibling at games

Both siblings are Filipino and queer (agender aroace; lesbian respectively)!

Then, there's the Grenadier.

Gideon, to those who know him off the show, which is basically nobody. For someone who's a galaxy-wide TV personality, he hasn't actually gotten close to any of his competitors. The Competitor life is a lot less glamourous than he imagined, but he's here now, and his PR coach says he's doing fine, so he's probably doing fine. A 25 year old killer-for-fun, his trademark tricks in the Contest include explosions of any shape and size, and magnitude. Apparently that also applies to people exploding at him whenever he encroaches on their territory. Whoops. He'll be fine, probably.

Likes: physical contact, sleeping in, the massive subsidies winning a Contest match gives, the beach, his rocket launcher

Dislikes: the fact that murder is in his job description, bugs, the glaring, unforgiving gaze of the cameras, being bored, thunderstorms

Gideon is black and bisexual!

Built in 1720, the Grenadier, Belgrave Square was originally used as an officer’s mess for the Foot Guards regiment. It became a pub in 1818, and it is rumoured that the Duke of Wellington used to pop in for refreshments.

The new 4×4 hoping to out-Land Rover the Defender

THE NEW Defender is a proper Land Rover. Or is it?

Apologies if this sounds almost exactly like the opening to last week’s Life On Cars column, but it turns out that barely a week after it was announced that some blokes who met up in their local pub have announced their own equally no-frills off-roader. In fact, they’re so proud of their beverage-based flash of inspiration that they’ve…

"The Grenadier" by Arghoslent