Arcus Member #8: Ink
The clumsy time-traveler.

Ink is an enigma, birthed by an anomaly in the current of time. He doesn’t know his age, or name, or purpose. Dodger theorizes that Ink is a personification of the universe though he is as lost as the others when it comes to Ink’s origins. Ink has the mindset of a child, and Dodger likens this to the relatively young state of the universe. Ink was found aimlessly roaming the outer orbit of Earth by Vert who found a capricious string of thought, similar to the conscious thought of an infant. Ink has been since “adopted” by the Arcus and spends his time soaking up as much information as possible. This is unnerving to the other members, since it consists of Ink staring (All without eyes!) at them for long periods of time. For her own reasons, Carmine thinks Ink is delightful and spends hours reading the classics to him. 

Arcus Member #6: ”Orchid” Oeavhu
The electroconductive blob.

Orchid comes from GQ-84, a planet populated by flexible, shape shifting organisms. They are composed of electroconductive gelatin which makes them ideal for channeling electricity from one source – per se, an electric pole – to another – a rookie criminal. Orchid doesn’t know why he’s been displaced from GQ-84 to Earth but he suspects it has to do with his flummoxing condition: instead of conducting energy in a continuous flow, Orchid releases electricity in short, oddly timed bursts. In laymen terms, Orchid is a walking time bomb; he may suddenly crackle with enough electricity to fatally injure a human or give way to a city-sized explosion. In spite of the danger, the Arcus has adopted Orchid. With their help, Orchid has learned to control his current, within limits. (Of course, Dodger’s true intentions lie in monitoring and studying Orchid’s condition.) To ensure the others’ safety, Orchid regularly trains with Ms. Control, Russet. 

[I haven’t forgotten about these. A forewarning: this blog is going to art dump today!]

Arcus Member #5: “Dodger” Derek
The guy that doesn’t have powers

Dodger is the brains of the Arcus – the planner and organizer, gathering data and jotting down attack coordinates with practiced precision. He has no powers of his own, but it’s Dodger that his teammates look to for guidance. Dodger is connected to a telecommunications device 24 hours a day, which feeds him distress signals from over 75 police networks. A fire? No problem, Dodger’s got Russet. Sudden appearances of Medieval knights? Ink, you’re on. A bomb in a mall? Tang, go melt it. Dodger stays glued to his computer and types faster than he speaks, which is a feat in itself. His sister Russet is jealous of his tech-savvy know-how. Nevertheless even all his knowledge can’t save Dodger from a blackout. For electrical emergencies he rushes Orchid to power the Arcus base. 

Arcus Member #3: “Saffron” twins Suyin and Shuchun
One’s a flash bomb, the other’s a sonic boom. 

The Saffron’s are fraternal twins. They are sisters in the purest sense – friends, comrades and best of all, family. The twins were born with the ability to manipulate wavelengths. The older Saffron, Suyin, amplifies and concentrates sound wavelengths to create “sound lasers” as the younger Shuchun likes to put it. Sounds above 150 dB will cause pain and permanent hearing damage and Suyin aptly twists this to her advantage. Shuchun on the other hand intensifies light to create temporary flash bombs. Dodger calls the Saffrons “The Boom and the Bang” and true to their title, the twins leave their battles with passerby’s whispering about a boom of bright light and a bang of deafening noise. The Saffron’s aren’t subtle and while this is good for distracting hoards of evil tarantulas wearing frilly underwear, it makes them bad candidates for grilling the enemy. The Saffrons leave interrogation to Vert instead. 

(More to come!)

Arcus Member #1: “Carmine” Chana
She throws circular monkeys.  

Red in the Indo-Aryan community represents purity and simplicity.  Though Carmine’s battle plans are far from simple, her motive is clear: subdue and interrogate. Her discus weapon, the Chakram, originates from her Punjabi background and was passed on to her by her former grandmother. The Chakram is more than a simple artifact; it embodies the spirit of a langur monkey. Fast and mischievous, the Chakram will strike with deadly aim and pierce the hide of the living. The Chakram’s only downfall is its inability to interfere with inanimate objects. Natural elements and technology are invulnerable to Carmine’s attacks, but she can always count on Tang to take care of these. 

Arcus Member #7: “Russet” Rosaline
The muscle mimic.

Russet, Dodger’s sister, is a muscle mimic. In other words, Russet can control her muscles to copy anything that she sees. Kung-fu, Karate, Tae-kwon-do, and free running are at the forefront of Russet’s abilities. Russet doesn’t believe in human limitation and Dodger often finds her in the local gym lifting weights that are bound to give her a sprained back. Dodger has a stubborn tendency to fuss over Russet but Russet shrugs off his worries and charges head-on into a fight. Russet’s impulsive actions are balanced only by her determination and she proudly boasts a 85% success rate. Failure is failure however and Russet laments the men and women who have suffered due to her lack of foresight. She would ask Ink to reverse time, but the kid can barely tell between his feet and his hands.

After two weeks of solid homework (which isn’t work because it consists of sculpting & painting), I think I’m due some downtime. Redact is always relaxing, and backward lighting is my new favourite thing.

(On a really, really bright note, I’m drawing rooms - interiors! backgrounds! - for my ComTech summative and am super excited to share them later. Look forward to those.)

Arcus Member #4: “Vert” Veronica
The hypnotist and telepath.

Vert is a married woman though she prefers keeping this a secret. In her profession it’s difficult enough to hide her identity. She doesn’t have the time to deal with crooks coming after her family – or does she? Vert is a hypnotist and telepath. She excels in mind control and is the go-to woman for siphoning information. Despite her motherly nature, Vert avoids speaking to her teammates. Since her hypnosis results from her voice and eyes, she maintains her distance by being silent. (Rule #1: Do not use your superpowers against your allies.) In her spare time Vert writes to record the memories she’s acquired from others. She finds it cathartic to release the information in a dump of ink and paper. The papers scatter throughout her room and Vert often wakes with ink on her face. Organization is not her forte but Dodger is there to pick up after her. 

Arcus Member #2: “Tang” Thabiti
He sweats acid. 

Tang is a joker, a man with plenty of humour to spare and enough passion to devour the world. He also secretes strong organic acids – hydrochloric acid, sulfuric acid – you name it, he has it. The acid comes out from his pores by voluntary action, and Tang prefers to have them shoot out of his fingers. It makes him feel like he’s holding a water gun, only it’s filled with tank-melting, stomach-purging acid. Tang likes the sizzle of melting metal and the feel of it slipping through his hands. Pit him against a robot army and all the other teammates have to do is relax. Unfortunately he gets squeamish throwing acid on human soldiers - too much organs for one day, thank you. No matter, he can always rely on the Saffron’s to neutralize the humans.

How about a game of cards?

In my head cannon, Redact is really bad at cards and Eye doesn’t laugh at him - out loud.