lydyn

Maximum Comics: Dawn of Justice | REBRANDING - PLEASE STAY TUNED

Maximum Comics: Dawn of Justice | REBRANDING - PLEASE STAY TUNED

You people and sports. =/ :p

Maximum Comics: Dawn of Justice | REBRANDING - PLEASE STAY TUNED

@Gowi - I'm blaming @Ruby for me being here... she promised me the romance, so...

Edit: Done.

Hawk Girl

Shayera Sanders

Alias: Hawkgirl

Race: Thanagarian // Gender: Female
Height: 5'5" // Weight: 123 lbs
Age: 24 // Hair: Red // Eyes: Blue
Affiliations: None
Occupation: Exile

Color Code: Sheyera Sander's Speech Color.

Backstory
Shayera was like any other Thanagarian child. She was given as much of her childhood as possible before throwing her to the wolves at the age of five. Beaten down with introduction to hand-to-hand combat, it didn't seem she was very gifted. In fact, many of her peers and instructors thought her as one of the weaker ones because of her more sensitive nature. However despite her more emotional state, she found a surprising inner strength that would often shock her peers time and again, while still somehow keeping hold of a somewhat more gentle aura.

As she continue to progress into teenage years, they were given a chance to finally learn melee weaponry after mastering hand-to-hand combat as best as one could by that age. Since Shayera had been somewhat lacking in the past and despite her will to push through, no one expected her natural talent for melee combat. So when she started to exceed her peers, she got reactions that ranged from praise when it came to the instructors, but contempt and jealousy when it came to her peers. This left her feeling alone and abandoned and if it weren't enough for a teenager, the fact that she had an eye for women also painted another target on her back for being ignored and teased.

Still, she pushed onwards because she had to. For those falling behind, they were exiled outside the cities no matter how much parents, family, or friends loved them - it was law. Yet the hardest part was to come towards her late teenage years. It was called mental training where you'd be subjugated to all forms of attacks: verbal, fear, anger, sadness, suggestions, manipulation, brain-washing, and even trained mind magic wielders. It was without say that this stage is where most students would fall out, however this was also the only stage you had a second chance to pass due to it's hardship and the fact that everyone was proven skilled and ready for combat.

It was not enough to say Shayera had passed with excellence. Instead, she was often praised as one of the truly gifted in being able to keep out outside influences - passing with flying colors at every turn. By this point and with given training before the tests, she had enough will to pull through anything and create barriers as if by second nature. Though some saw this as a double-edged sword when it came to her loyalty to the Empire, the Empire still saw potential in her.

At graduation (age 20), agents practically dragged Shayera away from her parents to attend special training. This was not training however and instead to proved to be previously 'illegal' experiments performed by the very same people that banned it's use. By using the most strong-willed students, for only they'd survive such an ordeal, they attempted to infuse Nth metal with Thanagarians. They did this by the use of nanobots and liquifying the semi-sentient, magical metal and hoping that one of the student's bodies might actually accept the transfusion.

By some miracle or perhaps fate, Shayera was one of the very few select to survive the process, it having secretly killed off hundreds of students due to rejections. What the Empire refused to acknowledge though was that Shayera's strong will was a double-edged sword that turned to cut it's master. With the use of her new found powers, she forced her way to an escape pod and launched out of their reach before they knew what had happened. The utter quickness of her escape was shocking and by the time they made it to the tracking program, she had already disabled the beacons on the pod.

Eventually the pod found it's way to Earth at the year 2005 and crashed a mere forty miles off of the coast of Themyscira. The isolated nature of Diana's island and protective magic net over it kept Shayera's pod from being read across the world as a potential threat. Though the world may have been largely ignorant of the Thanagarian's arrival, the Amazons saw this intrusion of their waters as a threat, giving Hawk Girl little chance to recover from the wreckage before being attacked.

Abilities
• Enhanced Strength: As a Thanagarian, she possesses naturally higher strength than any human. Though this isn't at the level of super strength. (Note: A later ability will augment this down the list.)
• Flight: All Thanagarians are winged creatures born from the subtleties of magic. Therefore can they not only fly as you might expect, but they may also sustain flight for long periods of time without flapping their wings.
• Minor Magical Resistance: Being born from small traces of magic, Thanagarians can resist minor spells easily, but are still subject to more powerful ones like many creatures.
• Enhanced Endurance: Thanagarians can take quite a beating compared to most mortals, but a sword will still cut through their skin, it just makes a noticeably less impact.
• Enhanced Sight: Seemingly Thanagarians take on the image of hawk-people and that isn't that far-fetched as they also have the eyesight of a hawk. This is up to 8 times sharper than a human, or having 20/2.5 vision (in other words, seeing something at 20 feet that a normal human has to be 2.5 feet away to see). Though this is more of a magical nature, seeing as their pupils don't grow larger to zoom in, but is rather aided by an innate magic.
• Nth Metal Infusion: Due to Shayera's unique condition, her body has been enhanced by an infusion of Nth Metal, a magically charged native metal of Thanagar. This allows her the use of super-strength (lesser than Wonder Woman and Superman), super-endurance/invulnerability (also lesser), regeneration, and tolerance to extreme temperatures.

Skills
• Melee Combat Mastery: Trained like many Thanagarians at the age of five, she has nearly mastered all forms of melee combat to where she is comfortable with any sort of given weapon. Even if the weapon is alien to her, she can quickly understand it's shape, size, and weight effectively. She prefers, however, a mace.
• Hand-to-Hand Journeymen: By mastering melee combat, she has sacrificed part of her usual training but is never-the-less skilled with hand-to-hand combat, at least enough to hold off an attacker until she can get another weapon in her hand.
• Advanced Battlefield Knowledge: Having grown up in a combat-focused culture, she has learned and been drilled in various warfare tactics, able to think quickly on the field as well as analyze her opponents movements.
• Iron Will: Shayera was especially gifted in the arts of locking one's mind from external influences and thus has a consistent defense against any mentally-charged attacks or even subtle attempts at breaking in. Even mind magic usually has a fair bit of trouble breaking through these walls.

Weapons
• Modified Nth Mace: From Thanagarian culture, it is a basic mace that has been modified to have more weight at it's top. However from other view points, it's surface has also been lined with Nth Metal, making it stronger, lighter (only to hold, does not effect impact), almost impossible to break, and magically charged.
• Nth Dagger: A basic dagger that's been lined with Nth Metal, giving it the same qualities as above as well as making it sharper. With effort (or enough strength) you could cut through other metals like steel.
• Nth Short Sword: Same as the dagger, but with a longer reach.

Character Goals
My character goals aren't complicated as of right now, but mostly speaking, I want to explore an interesting combination of having Diana and Shayera together. Beyond that very exclusive interaction, I want to explore Shayera's exile into an alien world, her coming to terms with her new infusion, and generally trying to find her place in the world. Potentially at a later time, it would be nice to explore the Thanagarian military coming to collect their 'property' as it were and possible reactions from other heroes at this point (hopefully she'd be a somewhat welcomed member in some way). Though these goals leave a lot of opportunity to 'go with the flow,' I think exploring important questions like this will be fun.

References
• Legend by Fire
• In Murky Waters

In Murky Waters

Ayana's eyes widened a bit as her soon to be bonded practically climbed all over her kin towards her. As she came closer, the princess bit her lip and smiled, looking down at Iri with interested. Her eyes started to comb the rest of the Mer's body, finding it extremely interesting how long she was! The color and texture of her scales was somehow pleasing to her eyes too, causing her cheeks to glow slightly as she realized how she could find Iri pretty. Then she heard herself squeak softly when Iri started to circle her, feeling the tail rubbing up against her calfs and focusing right back on her future bonded when she patted her own tail.

Ayana tilted her head a little, giving a shy, but genuinely sweet smile at Iri telling her to sit. Though the next words would a bit confusing in how it was presented, she figured Iri just wanted Ayana closer so it was easier to see her. Thinking more about the idea of sitting on Iri's lap, she felt her cheeks grow a much brighter red before slowly sitting herself onto the Mer's tail. It was interesting in how it felt - cool, rough, and yet somehow it wasn't uncomfortable in the least, causing her to actually relax more - especially seeing as the offer gave her shaky legs respite.

"... it's.. um, nice to meet you Iri.." she spoke shyly, though her obvious interest in examining the Mer was not the least bit slowed down by her own bashful nature. Instead, she kept looking into Iri's eyes for a moment before slowly, hesitately looking at her hand while she felt the scales of the woman's tail. She bit her lip and blushed again, giving Iri a sweet smile. There was one thing she did enjoy about Iri already - her forwardness - and she was more than content to let her continue being forward.

Her father watched most of the exchange, smiling at his daughter, knowing that she might find this arrangement agreeable. After all, if anyone knew Ayana right now, it was him and just the notion of someone being so interested and forward was a big deal to her - not to much the exotic nature of the Mers. He turned his attention to the Hafsa and clasped his hands together gently. "M'lady... I thought on the ceremonies and traditions of your people and mine and came up with an idea." Keltin had been an unusual ruler, but everyone loved his straight-forward causal manner when appraoching people, even though many of the other kingdoms could not comprehend his distaste for politics. "When they are speaking their intentions to one another... we can have everyone gather around and do the handfasting for our part - I'm sure you remember the symbolism. Otherwise, after this it is customary for the bride... well, my daughter in this case... to be under your care. You can then continue along your ceremonies as you see fit. Does that sound reasonable?" he asked, though quickly interjected. "Of course if you need anything from us for either of their comfort... please let us know. I hope in the days to come we can become more familiar with each other.." Unclasping his hands, he gave another smile, though it was mixed with happiness and sadness, knowing one of his daughters wouldn't be filling up the hallways of the castle anymore. He knew she needed this though, he'd just miss her.

The Crystal Engines

No worries hun!~ I think it was perfectly fine and fits Serendi's personality. I am glad you decided to have her pause though, hehe. Hopefully you'll like Eva's cutely nervous reply. ^.-

The Crystal Engines

Eva slowly walked towards her room as the dragoness made her way down towards her own, though she kept an interested gaze on the black woman. Noting how tall she was, the shape of her tail and wings, the way she walked and fiddled gracefully with her fingers as she approached the door. She was quite fascinated and focused, so when she saw Serendi snap her attention to her, she almost jumped. She didn't expect the half-breed to even notice her, but now she was pausing at her door saying hello. At first Eva just stared at her then after a moment, she shook herself from the surprise and replied with a shy, "hello." She could feel her cheeks suddenly growing warm, sure she was blushing as she nervously turned to her own door and fumbled for her key.

Finally with a steady hand, she slipped the key inside the lock and looked over at Serendi again, unable to stop her curiousity. The dragoness was still watching her, causing her to smile bashfully before biting her lip softly. She wasn't entirely sure where the courage had come from, but she had felt a sudden need to introduce herself and say something, as if not would mean she'd never get the chance again. "Um.. I'm Eva.. I guess we're the only two women on here, huh?" Again, she paused, wondering what had gotten into herself, but it was too late to turn back now.

She slowly turned the key and let the door crack up slightly before letting her hand find her other wrist as she tried to find more words. "I, uh.. heard some of the men.. talking about pirate attacks, so.." She shrugged, sighing slightly. "Just.. so you know. I know it's not the best introduction..." Rubbing her wrist nervously, she half-turned towards her room and gave another sweet smile. "Sorry - I'm probably keeping you. So, I'll just.." she finished saying, nodding slightly to her own room. She stood for a moment longer, curious and somehow wanting the half-dragon to respond in some way - hopefully in a friendly way.

In Murky Waters

His majesty just chuckled at this display, giving the mother and daughter a warm smile, making it obvious he hadn't been offended in the least. "Yes, of course," he then quickly agreed and twisted his torso so that he could see his daughter's head poking out of the carriage. Lifting a hand, he waved her over, signaling for her to let herself out and come join them. He then stepped aside while keeping his front to the Mers, giving a sign of respect by not turning his back but also allowing Ayana room to approach and feel included.

At the carriage, Ayana nearly ducked her head back in when she realized she wasn't in trouble, but rather she was being beckoned over. She slowly moved over to the small door and took in a deep breath, trying to calm her nerves and keep her mind calm, even though it was only partially effective. Ayana gently pushed the door open, treating it like it could snap at any moment before stepping down and closing it just as softly, her eyes drawing across the beach until she focused on the group of Mers. 'Here goes,' she thought to herself, biting her lower lip.

The princess made her way over at a decent, but very deliberate pace as to keep herself from fumbling or going too fast. As she pushed past the crowd of servants, she could hear the small whispers of both curiosity and excitement with dabs of fear. She wasn't entirely sure what to feel herself, but she knew fear wasn't among one of them. Instead it was some cocktail of anxious, nervous, excitement, and shyness. She had never felt so intense in her entire life and it was causing her body to tremble a little with all the adrenaline. Finally, she made it and stepped a few feet next to her father, giving him a nervous smile while trying to figure out who her bonded would be.

Finally, the king smiled and motioned to Ayana, standing just a little taller in pride. "This is my daughter, Ayana - the princess." Giving only a moment for it to sink in, he then gently motioned towards Iri with a reassuring look in his eyes. "Ayana.. this is Iri." Not entirely sure how to address Iri, he simply left it at that, letting his daughter focus her gaze on the woman.

At first, Ayana smiled shyly, biting her lip once more as she tried to figure out the defining features that made Iri a female, but in truth just knowing was enough for the moment. "H-hello.." She replied, lifting her hand into a nervous wave towards Iri, her gaze starting to bounce from the ground to her future bounded. She could feel her legs trembling beneath her, trying to muster all of her will into keeping them still, even though they refused to obey. In an attempt to gain some control over her body, she moved her hands behind her back and clasped them together tightly, almost making her knuckles white from the strain. At that moment, Ayana wasn't sure what else to say or to do and simply waited for Iri or someone to react in some way.

In Murky Waters

"Princess Ayana.." came the calming but professional voice of a royal guard. Normally, one would respond civilly with a polite smile, but Ayana instead gave the guard a glare from over her book. The princess was sitting in her desk chair, wearing a non-traitional, short, pink dress that was still meant for weddings, trying to bury her nose in a book to forget her impending doom. It had been working until her name was called and all the fear and frustration flared up again into anger, but the guard didn't seem phased by it. He was wearing functional, but ceremonial white armor that had golden spirals and the king's crest of a lion stamped to the front, his open-face helm under his arm. "His Majesty is requesting your presence in the courtyard." It was simple as that before the guard showed himself out and was gone, leaving Ayana alone for a few moments.

Slowly, she put the book down and closed it slowly, letting out a long, frustrated sigh. She was scared and angry that not only was she going to be with a man, but also of another species. She certainly wasn't racist, she knew that, so deep down it was mostly just being upset at having to be with a man for the rest of her days. Ayana felt hurt that her father knew she couldn't stand men that way and yet saw it fit to force it on her anyways - she would never be happy. The princess had let the king know, very vocally, of her disapproval before storming out of his room and to hers and they hadn't spoken since. Combing her hair backwards with her hands, Ayana began to prepare herself that she would have to face her father now.. and in only a couple short hours.. see the man that would be a part of her life from here 'til death.

Down below and several moments later, the chatter from the guards quickly settled as they all saw the sight of the princess pushing open the castle doors open. Brown hair and blue eyes gave the sight of a pink wedding dress slight pause, but it somehow suited her, as if her entire personality was somehow wrapped into the unusual tailoring. Ayana was sure at least a couple of them wished they had been the man she would marry, but it didn't matter at all, because no man would ever get her into bed - that thought alone caused her to shiver in discomfort. Biting her lower lip, she gently climbed into the carriage, the door being opened and closed by guards, and saw her father. He seemed infuriatingly happy as she sat down on the red-cushioned benches, just giving her a proud look as if there was nothing wrong. "Ready dove?" he asked.

The question alone caused her to huff and wiggle herself deeper into the bench, as if it was somehow hide her away from all of this. She only nodded silently and turned her gaze to the window, determined not to make eye contact with the king. After how everyone treated her, it seemed he wasn't all that different after all. The carriage jolted slightly as the horses in front began to stride forward down the path to the beach nearby, with all the knights and guards beginning to ride along, the chatter of marriage gossip slowly working it's way back up in volume.

An hour passed on by before Ayana finally looked at her father, who seemed to be looking out the window himself in thought, however as if sensing her movement he returned the gaze only a second later. "What is it, dove?" he asked calmly, gently, though he had to admit he was slightly amused by the misunderstanding.

"I told you..." she started with a flare of anger, though it was calm enough not to be seen as disrespect among all the subjects - if they could even hear them at all. "You know.. you know I don't want to be with a man. I-..." She looked out the window again, balling up her fist in a mixture of anger and depression. Her sharp gaze snapped back to her father. "I don't know why you're doing this."

King Keltin shifted back against the carriage uncomfortably and pursed his lips in thought. As much fun as the surprise would be, he could see how much it was actually upsetting her. It wasn't wise to keep her in the dark if this was that kind of stress it was causing her, so taking a slow inward breath, he explained. "People can't just take things all the time without.. something happening in return. Knowing that we have neighbors means it's not only rude, but nearly an act of war to encroach on their seas - even if it's just for fish or exploring other lands. This is to bring our people's together with love and understanding..." He paused, seeing that Ayana had turned her eyes back to the window in irritation - he knew she didn't want to hear that, but it was just as important as what she needed to hear. "... and you never gave me a chance to reply yesterday. Despite all your assumptions and fears, dove.. you are marrying a woman."

The release of tension was almost so great that one could feel the air get lighter, his daughter slowly looking over to him in confusion, but with a relief that made the older man grin. "W-what?... r-really?" she stammered in almost ecstatic surprise. The king only nodded gently. Before he knew it, she had jumped across the way and was hugging him tightly around the shoulders in silence. Giving one last squeeze, she moved back to sit next to her father as her mind worked furiously to imagine the new scenario. "Oh... I'm so sorry father.." she gently apologized, getting a gentle pat on her hand in response. As her eyes went up to his, she gave him a small smile. "Is it okay I'm a tad nervous, now?" They both shared a happy chuckle.

The next hour was Ayana sitting quietly as butterflies over took her stomach, leaving her biting her lip often in a flurry of nervousness and daydreams and curiosities. She wasn't sure how it'd work between two different species, though she wasn't so put off by the idea as she was genuinely interested, having daydreams of getting to know one another, getting to touch and explore her partner's skin, and simply wondering how it might feel. The princess kept many thoughts in her head to make the hour pass by quickly, such as where they'd live, how she'd be received, and the such. All she really knew was just like any other marriage, Ayana would be left in the care of the other's family, but this was special. Though official planning for a unique home hadn't been fully fleshed out, they had brought with them the very best camping gear they could muster to set up a semi-permanent residence for the princess until something could be worked out between both Humans and Mers.

The carriage came to a slow stop just as Ayana was thinking of being inside her little tent and whether her partner would stay after or go back to her clan and leave her alone. The full stop caused all those thoughts to suddenly wash away though as her nervousness was literally embedded into every single nerve ending, causing her to tense up as the king got out. It was customary for the king to greet them first before the princess was presented, but she had no clue how any of this was going to work - her father had kept her mostly in the dark..

Outside, the knights and guards slowed their horses and eventually dismounted, mostly in an ordered fashion befitting a ceremony. Some of the squires began to tie up the horses to a nearby tree while servants came out of the second carriage to begin setting up the nearby tent site, others gathering around the front to be told what to do with the ceremony preparations. Anyone who wasn't busy was curiously staring at the regal looking band of sea creatures and whispering among themselves. Eventually the king approached and gave a polite, gentle bow to signal respect before offering a friendly smile. "Welcome honored guests..." The king continued a short greeting and approached the elder to begin finalizing how the day might plan out. Meanwhile, in the distance, Ayana decided to poke her head out - despite traditions - and looked over the group of Mers, biting her lower lip as she wondered who she was to marry or bond to.

The Crystal Engines

That's okay. Real life > Role-play. Do your thing. ^.^

The Crystal Engines

I think editing my post might be best to get things moving, so you can go right into having them meet in the hallways. Just give me a few. :p