Steampunk Filter: Architects. ♥
Sep. 18th, 2008 10:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
momebieAll right! *slaps hands together* ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
theemdash posted blurbs on her half of the steampunk characters, so I might as well fill you in on the rest of the crew. All of my characters belong to a group called 'The Architects', which are headed by Em's character, Jon Henley. They are basically a group composed of people he knew, and people he made it a point to know because of their strategic placement within society. The Architects themselves have varying levels of knowledge of the actual Plan. I'd say that the only ones who really, truly might know all of what is happening are Tom and William. The ultimate goal of the Architects is to revamp the way things are run within society while staving off revolution. Not that that last bit is really imperative. Throw Jon lemons...
Tom Bridgeman – Tom has been friends with Jon since they were small, and they went to the same University. His father is the head of the Queen's guard and talks at home about the rumblings he hears of revolution. Tom's comfortable with the way things are, more or less, but he can concede that the way the government is run could use some changes. He's not as passionate about things as Jon and is a bit skeptical at first, but he's certain in Jon, if nothing else, and will remain loyal to him.
Edmund Wilson - Edmund is the son of new money. His family are merchants and they purchased his way into the University that Jon and Tom attended by merit of their birth. Jon had Oration with Edmund and knows that Edmund could talk his way naked into the Queen's chamber, and William was in the fencing club with him. Edmund's form in fencing is atrocious, but he gets the job done. If sometimes with a little too much zest. He's an ace in the pocket in terms of negotiations going Jon's way.
Ethan Lewis – Ethan comes from a family of lesser nobility who are no longer wealthy, but still have important contacts nonetheless. He works for the publisher in town and has influence over things printed in the newspaper, and final say over the kinds of leaflets that his press will produce. He also has direct access to large amounts of cobalt ink for purposes that are Important For Later.
William Claxton – William is my third favorite character (behind Derek and Gerard), and I promise it's not just because he's a dandy. Which he is. Man's got some capes in his closet, let me tell you. He also has a sword cane, since his fencing form is impeccable, as is the rest of him, and you never know when you'll need a blade. Especially not when you're performing clandestine operations. He's the person who will remain second most loyal to Jon, regardless of the way things go down or how many times the plan reshapes itself. His main duty is to gather information, since people don't really see him as a threat and he travels freely amongst important circles, but he's also not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Lenora Rutherford – Lenora is married to one of the undersecretaries of the Queen's cabinet. Her husband is a speech writer, and privy to important, classified information at times. It's like, Victorian PR. You have to know the shit to avoid bringing it to light. She works with William on occasion to gather information.
Nate Ayre – Nate, Nate, Nate. *tuts* Nate's family is old guard, and of very good standing with the Royal Family, which is why his management of the Opera House is seen as something of an eccentricity. His family tries about twice a week to come up with something that will steal his fancy away. These distractions include, but are not limited to, women, new jobs, new places to vacation, the army, and in one desperate attempt he remembers fondly, men. But he's come to love the Opera House and refuses to leave it. Nate and William go way back, which means that Nate knows more about Jon's plans than he should strictly be privy to. He doesn't originally feature largely in Jon's plans, but after Patrick finds the necklace it becomes rather fortuitous for Jon to have someone so close to Patrick.
Ezra Carvoso – Ezra does not feature in this novel much, if at all (Em keeps going on about two other books, so you never know) so I don't know that much about him. I do know that he is the son of a foreign ambassador and has lived in the city for close to two years, in which time he's endeared himself to Jon. He comes bearing lots of ideas for how things should be done, and is a bit resistant to some of the ways of the royal city at first.
Derek Dawes – I'm not gonna lie, Derek is my favorite. He's a bit of an ass, but it's mostly a hard candy coating over a gooey center. There are two people who crack him. One is Amelia, who has been his betrothed since they were very small. (Their parents are ambassadors to foreign countries and good friends with each other. Derek and Amelia spent a lot of time together growing up because they shared the same tutors and things when their parents were away.) The other is James, who is so entirely ridiculous to Derek as an individual that he can't believe Jon made them work together. Derek joins Jon's group because he genuinely believes that there is another way to do things. He does not agree at all with monarchy and would like to see an oligarchy formed by like minded individuals. If they happen to hold the same values that he's piece mealed together for himself from his readings, then all the better, but anywhere is a start.
Amelia Spencer – Amelia is betrothed to Derek, but she's no one's blushing bride. They've tried being together, but can't work it out even though they love each other in numerous ways and have since established an open relationship. Largely this means that Amelia sleeps with Nate and Derek sleeps with no one. More important to the actual story (and not just the nonsense in my head) Amelia convinced Derek to let her join the organization after she worked out exactly why he was spending all of his free time dressed in raggy clothes and going to student rallies. Amelia has been sort of a break out for the group. Unlike Lenora she's not afraid to use her body to get what she wants, and she is also willing to get her hands dirty with the men. She takes everything Jon throws at her with a grain of salt, and sometimes sends it back in ways no one else but Tom would dare to. Amelia feels the cause is important, but her real loyalty lies with Derek.
James Urie – James is the only member of the Architects who does not come from a noble family. He comes from a small town on the outskirts of the kingdom and the rumblings of revolt have reached even there. He does not want a revolution, and as his father is magistrate they argue about this regularly until he leaves. Once in the city he finds a job with the telegraph office, which makes him valuable to Jon as someone who can manipulate the second most popular form of communication. If the story is Patrick's, then the folly is James'. It's his loss of his necklace (important within the group of Architects for communication) which sets everything in motion. By the end of the novel he and Derek will have some important decisions to make about the state of everything.
(Some of this is subject to change. We had discussed one of them being Minister of Transportation, but I can't remember which. *hides*)
Ah, no eccentric machinists here. I apologize if my characters are not as exciting as Em's at a glance, but I promise they're interesting in vastly different ways. Also, a bit odd. Heh. *pets William* Since Em did it I'm going to go ahead and open the floor for prompts. If you feel like you want to know more about any of them, toss me a prompt or two. I tend to write random snippets about them from time to time to learn more about them anyway.
And now, dying. God I'm exhausted. I am SO GLAD tomorrow is Friday. >.>
theemdash posted blurbs on her half of the steampunk characters, so I might as well fill you in on the rest of the crew. All of my characters belong to a group called 'The Architects', which are headed by Em's character, Jon Henley. They are basically a group composed of people he knew, and people he made it a point to know because of their strategic placement within society. The Architects themselves have varying levels of knowledge of the actual Plan. I'd say that the only ones who really, truly might know all of what is happening are Tom and William. The ultimate goal of the Architects is to revamp the way things are run within society while staving off revolution. Not that that last bit is really imperative. Throw Jon lemons... Tom Bridgeman – Tom has been friends with Jon since they were small, and they went to the same University. His father is the head of the Queen's guard and talks at home about the rumblings he hears of revolution. Tom's comfortable with the way things are, more or less, but he can concede that the way the government is run could use some changes. He's not as passionate about things as Jon and is a bit skeptical at first, but he's certain in Jon, if nothing else, and will remain loyal to him.
Edmund Wilson - Edmund is the son of new money. His family are merchants and they purchased his way into the University that Jon and Tom attended by merit of their birth. Jon had Oration with Edmund and knows that Edmund could talk his way naked into the Queen's chamber, and William was in the fencing club with him. Edmund's form in fencing is atrocious, but he gets the job done. If sometimes with a little too much zest. He's an ace in the pocket in terms of negotiations going Jon's way.
Ethan Lewis – Ethan comes from a family of lesser nobility who are no longer wealthy, but still have important contacts nonetheless. He works for the publisher in town and has influence over things printed in the newspaper, and final say over the kinds of leaflets that his press will produce. He also has direct access to large amounts of cobalt ink for purposes that are Important For Later.
William Claxton – William is my third favorite character (behind Derek and Gerard), and I promise it's not just because he's a dandy. Which he is. Man's got some capes in his closet, let me tell you. He also has a sword cane, since his fencing form is impeccable, as is the rest of him, and you never know when you'll need a blade. Especially not when you're performing clandestine operations. He's the person who will remain second most loyal to Jon, regardless of the way things go down or how many times the plan reshapes itself. His main duty is to gather information, since people don't really see him as a threat and he travels freely amongst important circles, but he's also not afraid to get his hands dirty.
Lenora Rutherford – Lenora is married to one of the undersecretaries of the Queen's cabinet. Her husband is a speech writer, and privy to important, classified information at times. It's like, Victorian PR. You have to know the shit to avoid bringing it to light. She works with William on occasion to gather information.
Nate Ayre – Nate, Nate, Nate. *tuts* Nate's family is old guard, and of very good standing with the Royal Family, which is why his management of the Opera House is seen as something of an eccentricity. His family tries about twice a week to come up with something that will steal his fancy away. These distractions include, but are not limited to, women, new jobs, new places to vacation, the army, and in one desperate attempt he remembers fondly, men. But he's come to love the Opera House and refuses to leave it. Nate and William go way back, which means that Nate knows more about Jon's plans than he should strictly be privy to. He doesn't originally feature largely in Jon's plans, but after Patrick finds the necklace it becomes rather fortuitous for Jon to have someone so close to Patrick.
Ezra Carvoso – Ezra does not feature in this novel much, if at all (Em keeps going on about two other books, so you never know) so I don't know that much about him. I do know that he is the son of a foreign ambassador and has lived in the city for close to two years, in which time he's endeared himself to Jon. He comes bearing lots of ideas for how things should be done, and is a bit resistant to some of the ways of the royal city at first.
Derek Dawes – I'm not gonna lie, Derek is my favorite. He's a bit of an ass, but it's mostly a hard candy coating over a gooey center. There are two people who crack him. One is Amelia, who has been his betrothed since they were very small. (Their parents are ambassadors to foreign countries and good friends with each other. Derek and Amelia spent a lot of time together growing up because they shared the same tutors and things when their parents were away.) The other is James, who is so entirely ridiculous to Derek as an individual that he can't believe Jon made them work together. Derek joins Jon's group because he genuinely believes that there is another way to do things. He does not agree at all with monarchy and would like to see an oligarchy formed by like minded individuals. If they happen to hold the same values that he's piece mealed together for himself from his readings, then all the better, but anywhere is a start.
Amelia Spencer – Amelia is betrothed to Derek, but she's no one's blushing bride. They've tried being together, but can't work it out even though they love each other in numerous ways and have since established an open relationship. Largely this means that Amelia sleeps with Nate and Derek sleeps with no one. More important to the actual story (and not just the nonsense in my head) Amelia convinced Derek to let her join the organization after she worked out exactly why he was spending all of his free time dressed in raggy clothes and going to student rallies. Amelia has been sort of a break out for the group. Unlike Lenora she's not afraid to use her body to get what she wants, and she is also willing to get her hands dirty with the men. She takes everything Jon throws at her with a grain of salt, and sometimes sends it back in ways no one else but Tom would dare to. Amelia feels the cause is important, but her real loyalty lies with Derek.
James Urie – James is the only member of the Architects who does not come from a noble family. He comes from a small town on the outskirts of the kingdom and the rumblings of revolt have reached even there. He does not want a revolution, and as his father is magistrate they argue about this regularly until he leaves. Once in the city he finds a job with the telegraph office, which makes him valuable to Jon as someone who can manipulate the second most popular form of communication. If the story is Patrick's, then the folly is James'. It's his loss of his necklace (important within the group of Architects for communication) which sets everything in motion. By the end of the novel he and Derek will have some important decisions to make about the state of everything.
(Some of this is subject to change. We had discussed one of them being Minister of Transportation, but I can't remember which. *hides*)
Ah, no eccentric machinists here. I apologize if my characters are not as exciting as Em's at a glance, but I promise they're interesting in vastly different ways. Also, a bit odd. Heh. *pets William* Since Em did it I'm going to go ahead and open the floor for prompts. If you feel like you want to know more about any of them, toss me a prompt or two. I tend to write random snippets about them from time to time to learn more about them anyway.
And now, dying. God I'm exhausted. I am SO GLAD tomorrow is Friday. >.>
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
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Date: 2008-09-19 02:56 am (UTC)I R SO ~TIRED~
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Date: 2008-09-19 02:57 am (UTC)ME TOO OH GOD. *collapses*
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Date: 2008-09-19 10:54 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 01:29 pm (UTC)i'd love to be able to read your list of characters, too.
can i friend?
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Date: 2008-09-19 01:35 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 01:44 pm (UTC)i love tqp. it's a really wonderful site. i haven't posted there in a while because, even though i have a languishing wip (trio), bandom has rather swallowed me whole, co-inciding with terrible writer's block. (chicken/egg? who knows)
anyway. thanks for friending back. any friend of kl's and all that.
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Date: 2008-09-19 02:56 am (UTC)Fridays are goooooood. *tucks you in*
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Date: 2008-09-19 02:58 am (UTC)As soon as I am un-zombified. I'll let you know if Em and I are steampunking tomorrow night. If not I can be free to bug you.
*snuggles close and passes out*
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Date: 2008-09-19 10:57 am (UTC)OH FUCK. We need to name shit. Can we name shit today? Like the council/ministry/whatever and decide if this is set in a real country or a totally fictional one? I'd like to get those two things done. And I'd like to try out city names again, though I love the idea of calling it "the Royal City" sometimes....
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Date: 2008-09-19 11:31 am (UTC)Aw. I was really looking forward to finding out what else was on there besides 'Nine in the Afternoon' to squee over. ;)
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Date: 2008-09-19 12:05 pm (UTC)Also Jess is planning to come over Sunday so we can rock the fuck out then.
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Date: 2008-09-19 12:24 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 03:42 am (UTC)I want to see some of this ridiculousness in action! :D
(& *bounces* these are good summaries!)
also? Forgot to make my fic post public. I'll post it at my fic journal tomorrow when I'm not so sleepy.
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Date: 2008-09-19 12:26 pm (UTC)And James just is. He's optimistic, even though he's poor, and he's forgetful and clumsy, hence the losing of things, and Derek really doesn't know what to do with him. He's a terrible sort of candidate for a secret organization.
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Date: 2008-09-19 01:54 pm (UTC)aww, i heart him already ♥
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Date: 2008-09-19 12:52 pm (UTC)Two prompt bunnies jumped up and bit me on the ass reading this (KL- you're paying for the rabies shot, btw):
#1
Edmund could talk his way naked into the Queen's chamber.
Oh, you KNOW I'm going to ask about that one!!!!
#2
These distractions include, but are not limited to, women, new jobs, new places to vacation, the army, and in one desperate attempt he remembers fondly, men.
Now gee, why does that one sound like an interesting story, hmm.... :D
Hearts and hugs to you. Happy Friday!
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Date: 2008-09-19 01:20 pm (UTC)And Nate likes odd things. Everyone knows. ;)
OMG! FRIDAY!!
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Date: 2008-09-19 01:27 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 01:28 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2008-09-19 05:33 pm (UTC)All the descriptions of the characters above rock. I love them, especially the opera house guy (for some reason).
Now...all this is your work and emdash's, right? Are you two writing a fic together--I mean, okay see...this IS all your work, not fanfic stuff, right? No? Yes? Hello? And this is aimed toward publication...for real? Right? yes? writing together...which is awesome, have done it and with two minds that work well together it is amazing. I am assuming that emdash is very much like you. :)
Okay enough questions. I just need to clarify things here. LOL.
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Date: 2008-09-19 05:47 pm (UTC)Nate is going to be a LOT of fun. I don't know how much use I'll get out of him in this story, but I love him as a character since he is wildly eccentric with a wonky moral compass. ♥
And yes, this is all ours. It started out that I was going to write this epic fic, and then when Em saw this post (http://katilara.livejournal.com/471052.html) she decided that she liked the world too much and that it needed to be real, so she came on board to straighten me out, and other things. We are writing this for hopeful publication, so fingers crossed. And Em is quite a lot like me, but she's also different in the ways that are helpful to the project. I'm an idea person, she's a detail person. I'm scattered, she keeps things organized. Like that. The descriptions for her characters were posted to her journal, but I'll steal them and put them here in the next comment for you, to fill out the picture.
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Date: 2008-09-19 06:03 pm (UTC)Yeah--still smiling. Gotta love this crazy combo. Not you and your writing partner, but the cyberpunk with a Victorian edge. LOL. Crazy.
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Date: 2008-09-19 06:07 pm (UTC)YAY C! You always fussed at me to write something, and now I SO TOTALLY AM. Woo!
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Date: 2008-09-19 06:17 pm (UTC)In any case--crazy IS good...yeah. I like it.
Who is your favorite current published steampunk author?
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Date: 2008-09-19 06:24 pm (UTC)Em's Characters of Steampunk Awesome.
Date: 2008-09-19 05:55 pm (UTC)The Opera House
Unwitting players who get sucked into a world of intrigue and revolution
Patrick Cartwright is the main character of this steampunk installment (I keep insisting to KL that we have enough world and ideas for a trilogy). He is the conductor of the orchestra at the Opera House. Fairly reserved, Patrick isn't someone who's seen many challenges. He's good at what he does, is recognized for his talents, and really has no aspirations to exceed his station. For the most part his status is quo, which is why finding an odd necklace is probably the worst thing that's ever happened to him.
Palmer Blackwood is an attention whore. He's the star at the Opera House and acts every bit the primo uomo. While that could easily be completely obnoxious, he's ridiculously charming and very easily distracted (he likely has ADD). He found his way to Gerard's machine shop one time and since then has been completely enamored with clockwork (he also has a habit of breaking things while visiting Gerard).
The Machinists
Gerard and his clockwork-machine-making employees
Gerard Price (my favorite character—oh my god, he’s going to die, isn’t he?) is a machinist and invents, builds, and repairs clockwork machines. He's more than a little paranoid (healthy, he'd say), and quite protective of his friends. Eccentric to most (oh so very), Gerard ticks away to his own clockwork rhythm. (As mentioned previously, I used a cyperpunk version of Gerard for my J/D ficathon entry The Advantages of Mind Reading (http://what-works.livejournal.com/36990.html). The Gerard there is definitely post-steampunk.)
Simon Asher lives with Gerard and kind of works in his shop but not really. He doesn't really have a head for machines, but helps out where he can. Asher has a mysterious illness (ooooh, *waves hands of mystery*) that keeps him close to home most of the time. He's very friendly and a sickeningly good listener and giggles. Oh yes, he giggles. He's probably also ticklish with insides made of wriggling puppies. (In our dark and misanthropic steampunk world, Asher is our little ray of sunshine.)
There are two other people who work for Gerard: Victoria Beckett, his little protégée, and Mason Thurman who is a forger or something (haven't figured this out yet), basically he helps Gerard make specialty parts. Victoria and Mason won’t be featured much in this installment, but are definitely important to Gerard’s life.
The Architects
A secret group of upper-class youths who see the corruption in their world and want to revolutionize the government
There are 11 Architects total, all of whom were approved to join this organization by Jon Henley, the only Architect for whom I am responsible.
Jon Henley is the leader of the Architects. He's still a bit of a mystery to us, but Jon is an idealist and he has a vision. He’s very good a manipulating people and positioning himself to be in the right place at the right time. He's not afraid to get a little dirty while achieving his goals, but he'd rather other people get dirty while he benefits.
Jon is a crafty fucker and I’ve had a lot of trouble nailing him. KL wrote him awhile ago and came pretty close to nailing him but something was off; I don't know what, I just I know it was off. Like I said: crafty. fucker.
While not directly an Architect, the remaining character I control is tied to the Architects fairly closely.
Dr. Jacob Price works for the Architects as their physician. He’s deep in the shit in some ways, but far removed from it in others. And by his surname, yes, he is related to Gerard. I know a few things about his past, but largely they’re unimportant to the story.
Re: Em's Characters of Steampunk Awesome.
Date: 2008-09-19 06:19 pm (UTC)You two can do this. I know it. I can SEE it...it is all right there. Yup.
Go forward! Or should I say...steam ahead!
(groan)
Re: Em's Characters of Steampunk Awesome.
Date: 2008-09-19 06:31 pm (UTC)ETA - I'm constructing a response to your e-mail withe links and things, but I need to get some work out of the way really quick. Will get back to you soonish though!