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redqueenmiku · 18 days ago

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My Story is 15 Years Old...

It's an incredibly surreal feeling. It doesn't even feel like it's been 10 years, much less 15.

If you've been following me, though, you should know about Diametrics by now. It's been my precious baby for basically as long as I've had a presence on the internet (and then some).

The massive hiatus I took from 2022 to 2024 has meant that I haven't had time to talk much about it, even since my return as I've been playing catch-up with posting. Since the retrospectives I did for the 10th and 11th anniversaries, though, a lot has changed, and I feel like I want to lay down the details of Diametrics' quickly-evolving plot as it exists now, simply because it's currently in a state that I'm happy with sharing.

So my friends, let's begin.

I feel like this current stage of Diametrics that I'm in right now is a very turbulent stage. A lot of changes are happening really quickly as I not only try to pin down a solid direction and plot for the series, but also further flesh out the characters, figure out which ones contribute what to the plot, and also redesign them. The image I posted for this year's anniversary only features Jake and Dnias--the series' two leads--for exactly the latter reason. Almost the entire cast is in the redesign workshop, with Jake and Dnias being the ones that made it out first. The changes on them are minimal (especially where Jake is concerned), but they'll become more apparent once more current images of them go up (though they'll probably be fairly old by then...I'm doing a good job of catching up, but there's still a a lot to go, haha)

The state that Diametrics was in when I talked about it in the 10th anniversary retrospective was almost the exact same as when I created the image for the ninth anniversary. That image, though, is no longer a proper representation of the series in almost any form, nor is the information I presented in the retrospectives. That iteration at that point, despite already being a few years old, was still very much in its infancy and there were still a lot of ideas left to be sorted through, elaborated on, and pared down.

Even still, there are a lot of things I could say in this breakdown that are still subject to change as more and more is figured out down the line. If there's one thing I've learned with this story, it's that I'll never be able to confidently say that something is "set in stone" or "final". This, however, is a state of the story that I'm proud of in the moment, so that's why I feel comfortable sharing what I have.

Let's start from the beginning.

Jake--real name Jake Sharpe, "hero" name Jake Speed--is a 16-year-old high school student with the power of super speed. He lives with his father and his sister in an apartment in the heart of the mega-city/nation of Illia. His father runs a flourishing arcade business but, as a result, he's barely there for his kids. While he works, they're allowed to hang out at the arcade megaplex he owns, but otherwise he's nearly completely absent from their lives. Jake resents his father for this neglect, but has his own lofty ambitions he's sure will take him far away from his father's legacy.

At the point the story begins, Jake's high school is on the cusp of summer vacation. With this summer vacation, Jake already has one particular goal in mind. From childhood, he's always dreamed of becoming a superhero and joining the prestigious Wonder Corps.

Illia's continued peace relies on a very clear dichotomy between its superheroes and its supervillains. The Wonder Corps is not only the premiere superhero organization in Illia, it's also the only superhero organization. As such, the Wonder Corps essentially serve as the governing body of Illia, both its law and its sword to maintain that law. Superhero activity outside of the Wonder Corps is strictly illegal to the point of it being treated as villainy itself.

For Jake, joining the Wonder Corps is the thing that's going to change his entire life. He can help people. He can use his powers for good. He can be a hero.

Not everything can be that simple, however. Despite his years of practice just for this moment, Jake fails the Wonder Corps' rigorous examination. He's devastated, his dreams thrown that much farther out of his reach. They called him immature...unprepared...an ill fit for the Wonder Corps...

He failed.

As he exits the Wonder Corps headquarters, his doubts swirl through his mind. Just then, however, he's bumped into by a distraught young Esper, a humanoid race with cat-like features that mostly congregate on the other side of the city. When Jake asks what's wrong, the Esper hastily introduces himself as Reath, a blacksmith's apprentice. His master was recently kidnapped, so he sought help from the Wonder Corps. Their progress on the search however has been nearly zero, so Reath has come back to beg for their help once more.

This is when Jake gets an idea...a very bad idea...

He lies to Reath, telling him that he's actually a brand-new member of the Wonder Corps and he can help find Reath's master. Jake's hope is that he can do so well in this mission that the Wonder Corps can overlook his illegal activity and realize that he is, in fact, ready to become a hero. Reath, believing Jake's lie, thanks him profusely. With that, Jake drags Reath off to find his best friends: Rose, a fairy girl he goes to school with, and Mandi, a strong-arm at her father's casino that Jake met through both their fathers' collaboration.

This is where Jake's story begins, but his isn't the only story to be told.

Deep in the underbelly of society, a young boy hides away from the world. His memories are clouded by amnesia. All he has is his name and some vague sense of something...or someone...pursuing him.

This boy's name is Dnias and he leads a very strange existence as he tries to figure out who he is. All he knows is that he isn't normal, and not just because of his ability to manifest lightning. His mind is only kept clear by a special kind of stone called fuchsialite, which he steals from jewelry stores in the dead of night, grinds down, and consumes. After some time of this, fuchsialite crystals began to grow on his hands and chest. Grinding them down and polishing them, then consuming the remnants with whatever else he's managed to steal has become a daily lifestyle for him. It's all he knows.

This lifestyle, however, is what brings him into contact with one Anteus Lefawn, encountering each other in a dark shopping mall in the dead of night. Anteus is initially cold but, as Dnias pesters him and inadvertently starts spilling his story, Anteus starts to warm up to the stranger tailing him. As they talk more, Anteus is surprised to find that Dnias knows basically nothing about the world...or himself.

Anteus, reluctantly, knows what he has to do...what he wants to do. With an outstretched hand, Anteus invites Dnias to come back with him to the Rosethorn League.

The opposite side of the coin to the Wonder Corps is Illia's various sanctioned Villain Leagues. These were formed as an effort to keep villainous activity in Illia under control. Villains registered with a League are granted certain protections from Wonder Corps interference but, as a caveat, their association with a League is to be disclosed in all dealings with the general public. This creates accountability and allows activity to be tracked back to specific individuals, but also creates discrimination that League members cannot escape.

The Rosethorn League is one of the most prestigious Leagues in Illia. It was founded by Anteus' mother, Anita Lefawn, and was revered for its acceptance of anyone that needed shelter from the extreme nature of the Wonder Corps' regime. It was a League for villains, but it was also a League for the people.

One fateful incident, though, shook relations between the Rosethorn League and the Wonder Corps to their absolute limit--the day the Wonder Corps crossed the line, as it were. The incident led to the death of Anita Lefawn, throwing the Rosethorn League into chaos and leaving her biological son, Anteus, and her adopted daughter, Primrose, to pick up the pieces. Anteus decided, however, that he not only couldn't, but also didn't want to bear the responsibility of leading the Rosethorn League, so he became increasingly absent, leaving for sometimes weeks at a time without a trace. This is the situation Anteus is in when he meets Dnias.

Anteus can't completely escape what his mother left behind, however. He bears a pendant that she passed on to him, which he keeps close not just because it's one of the last remnants he has of her, but also because of the power it grants him, once granted to her. This is due to the entity that resides within the pendant: an ancient fairy king simply known as the Red King. Red was a trusted confidant of Anita's, but when it comes to Anteus, their relations are much more sour. Anteus refuses to treat Red amicably, keeping Red at arm's length emotionally and treating him more as a tool than a living being. In turn, Red thinks of Anteus as a spoiled brat, only granting Anteus anything because he's the son of the woman that he, secretly, once loved.

Returning to the present, Anteus brings Dnias back with him to the Rosethorn League's headquarters--a massive building filled with an entire host of colorful characters. There, Dnias continues his research on, well, himself.

Then, one fateful day, Anteus crosses paths with Jake. Anteus is taken aback, the resemblance between Jake and Dnias not only striking, but uncanny. In all but the slightest of details, they may as well be the same person. Anteus reports this back to Dnias...and the rest is history.

Eventually, Jake and Dnias will finally cross paths and their entire lives will change with that encounter as they uncover a mystery that will shake the entire city of Illia to its core. The Wonder Corps...the Rosethorn League...the mysterious shadows lurking in the darkness beyond them both...

This is the story of Diametrics.

There's a lot more I could talk about. There's Rose and her fairy ribbon, which lets her summon any item she ties it to at will, only limited by her magic and the amount of ribbon she has. There's Mandi, with her super strength and ties to the Villain Leagues through her father's shady casino (including Anteus). There's Naomi, who works alongside Jake's father and provides Jake and friends with valuable technology for their endeavors. There's Parellus, the mysterious individual that looks just like Anteus--a strange individual of few words, but two very sharp swords, looking to drag Dnias back to who-knows-where with him. There's the entire second story starring the villainous group known as the Ravens looking to take over the Rosethorn League, causing Anteus to have to confront every bit of baggage his mother left behind for him. There's the fact that Jake, in trying to form a hero group for himself, actually has to form a Villain League to front it or the Wonder Corps will have his head, this League being the Lightning League.

Diametrics has been an extremely complicated affair to straighten out, but something I've been having so much fun with. Sure, I've had to cut a lot of fat. Some characters I thought were major fixtures in the beginning have either taken a backseat (Emilio and the Ravens, for example), or have been completely axed (most notably Yang, yeah, that guy's gone now).

I've gained so much since then, though, just through fleshing out the characters that are still around. I've grown so close to these crazy kids--even more so than I ever have--and it's been a wonderful experience. I can't wait to show you how things develop from here, and even more of how things have developed up to this point as I catch up to myself again.

For those of you that have been around since Diametrics dropped or even been around since the days of LS1, I thank you so much for sticking around. For those of you that have just gotten here and read this far, I thank you too for showing interest. I hope to someday release this tale in a full and complete form so all of you can experience the full scope of this world and these characters.

In short, thank you. Look out for more in the future.

#Diametrics #Jake Speed #Rose Montoya #Mandi Aldez #Reath Spawson #Dnias Speed #Anteus Lefawn #Red King #Parellus Lefawn #Naomi Elson #my writing #i love this project so much it's so fun to talk about #even if i have to avoid mentioning spoilers haha #sghakghssgh my babies <3

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