Character Gallery

A collection of images of my Storium characters.

Priyanka Chopra as Akshaya Stewart

Sergeant Akshaya "Sticky" Stewart (HMS Ulysses)

Mr. Paycent opened the door to his superior’s office to find her looking out her window’s view of the Martian landscape.
“She came back, didn’t she?” she said more as a statement than a question, but remained staring out on the vast red plain.
“Yes ma’am,” Paycent answered with a weariness born of frustration and empathy. “And, begging your pardon, I can’t say I blame her.”
The superior sighed. “No pardon needed Mr. Paycent. I don’t either and would probably do the same thing in her place.”
She shook her head. “The Goddamned ironic part is that for the first time since joining MI6, I told someone the truth.”
An uncomfortable silence fell over the office. After waiting for what Mr. Paycent considered an appropriate amount of time, he spoke again.
“Any action towards Corporal Stewart?”
“No,” the superior said. “But keep tabs on her, just in case. Any progress on locating Agent Shinjo?”
“No, ma’am.”
“Bloody well what I deserve, sending in a desk jockey instead of a fully trained field operative.” She sighed. “Anything else?”
“No, ma’am.”
The superior nodded, which Mr. Paycent took as dismissal. He left, quietly closing the door.

---

From: Colonel Alton Fullbright
To: Corporal Akshaya Stewart, 44 Commando
Subject: Request for Deferred Deployment
Corporal Stewart - Your request to defer your deployment to New Brighton has been denied. I understand your current personal situation and I have spoken with the head of MI6 who assures me that everything that can be done is being done. When they locate your wife (and I believe they will) you have my personal guarantee you will be on the first ship home.
Until then, there is little that you can accomplish by remaining on Mars.
You are, therefore, ordered to report to Captain Hanley on New Brighton as per your deployment.
God save the Queen.

---

My dearest Shaya,
I wish that I could tell you what about my mission, but I have to maintain the utmost secrecy. I can only tell you that, if successful, we may be closer to ending the war than we’ve ever been. I believe it will be worth the risk.
Please know that you are always with me and that, no matter what, I will always love you. Your love will give me the strength to “keep buggering on” and the drive to return to the comfort of your arms.
Be safe and strong until then, beloved.
With all my heart and soul,
Love
Jenny

---

“She a fuckin’ ball-buster, I tell ‘ya!” Private Gillian bellowed. “Latrine duty just because she thought my gun wasn’t clean enough. Shit! It was so polished and clear you woulda thunk it was brand new!”
Gillian’s bunkmate, Lacelle, just shook his head and laughed as he continued to shine his dress shoes. “Well, that ‘Sticky’ for you. Stickler for regs.”
“Laugh all you want, but she’ll crush yours given half the chance,” Gillian said as he slammed his locker closed.
“Well, we may not have to deal with her much longer. Scuttlebutt has it that she’s gonna get another stripe and ship out on the Ulysses.”
“Well they can have her, and welcome! Fuck, I even think the Sarge is scared of her.”
“Don’t let him hear that, but you may be right.”

Asa Akira as Mayumi Hitomi

Mayumi Hitomi (Bloodlust I: First Bite)

The Imperial army had overwhelmed the forces of the Shogunate, signally the end of an era. As with most violent changes, little care or consideration was given to the treatment of those on the losing side. As Mayumi, handmaiden to the Shogun’s wife, sat with her mistress, the fear of what would become of them grew. Mayumi also feared for her secret love; the lover who came to her every full moon to make love to her and to take what she needed, which was always given freely. Tonight, however, was not a full moon and she feared she would never see her pale lover again.
Heavy footsteps marched up the stairs and within moments a small group of samurai, the last of the Shogun’s loyal men, entered. The lead man dropped to his knees and bowed.
The Shogun’s wife stood, a fearful look at what she assumed would be grim news.
“My husband?”
“The Shogun lives, but he must soon surrender to the Emperor’s forces. We have come to take you to safety.”
“Prepare my things,” she directed to her handmaidens.
The lead samurai stood.
“There is no time. The Emperor’s army is following and will be here any moment. We only have one available horse. You must go alone.”
The handmaidens all wailed and cried except for Mayumi, she only looked to the window in desperation.
The samurai guards took the Shogun’s wife by the arms and hurried her out of the room.
The women continued to cry and scream, pleading to be taken with their mistress. Just before leaving, the last samurai turned, gritting his teeth as he tossed his wakizashi to the floor he turned his back and left to follow his men and their charge.
The handmaidens stared at the small sword; the samurai’s meaning very clear to each of them, but no one moved to take the sword first. Perhaps they hoped some form of salvation would keep them from what surely waited for them at the hands of the Emperor’s men.
Mayumi went to the window and peered out at the gibbous moon. Her love would not come. The risk was too great and Mayumi was nothing more than a pleasant night’s diversion.
She wiped a tear from her eye and looked back at the other handmaidens and then to the sharp blade. No, her end would not come on the point of a steel blade. She envisioned herself at the top of the castle, bereft of her robes or any other clothing. She would stare at the moon, spread her arms and whisper a fond farewell to the mysterious lover who gave her so much joy before leaping into the sky and flying to her end.
With purpose, Mayumi stood and left the room and mounted the stairs that would take her to the highest tower, the one nearest the courtyard, and with a beautiful view of the sky.
At the top of the tower Mayumi removed her kimono, folding it carefully and placing it on the stone floor. She repeated the act until she stood, nude and shivering in the cold moonlight. The sounds of battle grew closer and closer, the Imperial forces driving the meager army of the Shogun back to the castle. Nothing would be able to stop them.
Mayumi stepped up onto the wall, surprising herself at how calm she was, and looked up at the moon.
“My love?”
The voice startled her, but she knew it within an instant, and she stepped off the battlement to behold her pale lover wearing her familiar red robes waving softly in the cold breeze.
“You came!” Mayumi ran into the arms of her beloved. She was cold, but in her love’s embrace she warmed and she wept.
“Of course,” the pale beauty replied. “I could not let the savage men of the Emperor take you from me.”
They stood embracing for only a moment.
“We must hurry,” the woman in red said, as she gathered up Mayumi’s kimono and placed it back on her.
The next two hours were a blur as Mayumi’s lover made their way from the castle, avoiding both the Shogun’s men and the Emperor’s army. On more than one instance, she was certain they would be spotted but the soldiers paid no attention to them. The way was rough where sometime the snow was knee-deep in places and the fear of capture was ever-present. Mayumi did not mind as long as she was with her love.
Eventually, they stopped at a small house in the forest and the woman in red brought Mayumi inside. She stoked the small stove and set a teapot to boil before wrapping Mayumi in a thick blanket. Soon, the tea was ready and the two women enjoyed a cup.
“Why did you think I would not come for you?”
Mayumi looked down into her cup, shame reddening her face.
“I thought I was only an occasional diversion for you,” she spoke softly.
The woman in red took both of Mayumi’s hands in hers.
“If you knew how much I yearned for the full moon when I could be with my beautiful Mayumi again. How often I almost came to you when it would not have been safe. If my heart still possessed a beat, it would be only for you.”
“Then, why tonight?”
The mystery woman took Mayumi’s cheek in her palm and stared directly into her eyes.
“I could not bear the thought of you being taken away from me,” she said as she leaned in to passionately kiss Mayumi. Mayumi returned the kiss with feelings she thought once that she should never have. Not for another woman; not for a woman like her lover in red.
They stopped for a moment, leaning against the other’s forehead.
“You know what I am?”
Mayumi nodded.
“I want to ask you something and I want you to think very carefully before you answer.
“I can make you like me, if you want. It will change you forever, but we can be together always.”
She held Mayumi’s head in her hands to see her deep brown eyes.
“Do you want me to do this?”
Mayumi took the woman’s hand and kissed the palm before cradling in in the crook of her neck.
“With all my heart. I never want to be parted from you again.”
“There is a price. You will need to feed, like I have fed on you. You will die, but not forever. You will wake into a new life; a life where you will never know death’s touch, where we will never be parted.”
“Whatever the price is, I’ll gladly pay it even if it meant one more hour with you. I love you.”
The pale woman smiled, her sharp fangs showing but Mayumi was not afraid. She drew the blanket off Mayumi’s freely offered neck and planted soft kisses drawing moans from the beautiful former handmaiden.
“It will be as the times before, but this time I must take much more from you. You will feel as though you were passing out, but you must stay awake until you drink of my blood. I will bite you once more and take all of what is left of your life. You will wake again in three nights. I will never be far from you in that time and you must do exactly as I tell you.”
Mayumi nodded.
“This can never be undone. You must be certain.”
Mayumi answered by pulling her face to her neck.
“Please tell me your name.”
“Aiko. My name is Aiko,” she responded as she opened her mouth and gently bit Mayumi as she had done so many times before.
Mayumi moaned loudly, crying out in pure ecstasy as Aiko drank deeply. It was different than before. More blissful, more urgent. She came again and again before she sensed darkness about to take her.
Aiko withdrew her fangs, letting the wound continue to bleed instead of closing it as she had in the past. She opened her robe to expose her breast and drew a sharp fingernail across it just above the nipple. The wound seeped blood and Aiko brought Mayumi’s mouth to it.
“Drink, my love, drink of me and become one with me.”
Aiko screamed in pleasure as Mayumi drew her nipple into her mouth and drank the offered blood. She came, barely able to hold Mayumi’s head to her breast. A moment later she laid Mayumi down on the floor, her lover barely conscious but smiling even as a small trickle of Aiko’s blood ran from the corner of her mouth. She nodded in answer to Aiko’s unasked question and Aiko quickly fell to her neck, biting one final time and drinking the last of her love’s blood.
“I love you, Aiko,” Mayumi weakly managed before passing forever into her new life.

Anti-Saint as Ryoko Jones

Ryoko Jones (Base Raiders: Post Super Adventures Rise and Base Raiders Adventures)

Life before Ragnarok: Ryoko spent the year before Ragnarok in an apprenticeship with the powerful sorceress known as Mistress Arcana. Ryoko and Arcana had become much closer than master and apprentice; they became lovers. Ryoko eventually became capable of accompanying Arcana on some of her less dangerous missions.

Origin Story: Ryoko Jones had overcome many harsh challenges in her life, not the least of which was being disowned by her parents when she came out as a lesbian in high school. Fortunately, her high school girlfriend’s family was much more accepting and opened their home to Ryoko. Able to finish high school with a near perfect GPA, she qualified for a scholarship to the university where she studied history, art and literature.

Halfway into her sophomore year, Ryoko began having strange dreams that became more and more vivid as they became more and more terrifying. The university counselors and doctors were perplexed and could find no cause for the nightmares and no treatment seemed effective. Ryoko was near mental collapse. Her grades suffered, she became more and more reclusive. Then, one day, an envelope appeared in her mailbox. No return address but sealed with a strange symbol in wax. Inside was a simple business card for a curio shop in the downtown area and a note on the back that read ‘7:30 PM. Come alone.’ At first she thought this was someone’s idea of a joke but somewhere deep in her mind she knew she would keep the appointment.

The curio shop turned out to be the sanctuary of the mystic super heroine Mistress Arcana. Arcana explained to Ryoko that the “dreams” she was having were actually visions of mystical realms and that she was seeing them because of her connection with the mystical energies of the universe. Arcana offered to teach Ryoko about her mystic connection and how to control it. Ryoko agreed and became Arcana’s apprentice.

Ryoko learned a great deal about magic in the following year. She and Arcana would spend most waking hours delving into the mysteries of the multiverse. It wasn’t long, however, before their teacher/pupil relationship grew into something more. She and Arcana fell in love.

Ryoko eventually learned enough magic to accompany Arcana on some of her adventures. She was a great help to the sorceress and Ryoko learned much about the practical application of magic.

On one mission, however, Arcana underestimated the strength of a group of undead creatures that had been attacking a village in Eastern Europe. She did not realize until it was too late that the army of the undead had been created by a powerful vampire. During the battle with the vampire, Ryoko was bitten and nearly drained of all her blood. Arcana managed to destroy the vampire before he could finish Ryoko and turn her into a vampire. Arcana rushed Ryoko back to the sanctuary where Arcana cast a spell that was the first step in ridding Ryoko of the disease that would turn her into an unholy creature who would feast on the blood of the living. The spell placed Ryoko into a deep sleep where she would be safe until Arcana could cast the spells necessary to completely cleanse Ryoko of vampirism.

Then Ragnarok happened.

Weeks after the heroes (including Arcana) disappeared, Ryoko woke to the devastating news that her mentor and lover were gone.

Things got worse when Ryoko discovered that, while she had not completely succumbed to the curse of the vampire, she was far from cured. Thanks to Arcana’s spell, sunlight did not cause Ryoko to burn and her thirst was reduced dramatically so that she could subsist on smaller quantities of human blood. Her senses were also heightened and she was now stronger than the average human. She healed at an accelerated rate. However, this all came at a heavy price.

Ryoko was no longer as strongly connected to the mystical energies of the universe. The connection was there but seemed to be dulled now. Also, under certain circumstances she could be taken over by blood lust where she would do anything it took to get blood.

Joining the Base Raider Movement: Ryoko knew that magic and super technology would bring the downfall of the human race. Ryoko joined the movement to keep the most powerful items out of the hands of the ignorant.

Darkest Moment: Shortly after awakening, Ryoko tried to reconcile with her parents. Unfortunately, they began to argue becoming more and more heated until bloodlust took Ryoko over and she killed both of them.

Status: Considers herself a hero, but tends to be viewed with prejudice and fear.



Unknown as Candy Secret

Candy Secret (World of Champions)

When Candice’s family was killed in a senseless car crash, Candice was placed in foster home after foster home. Not being able to rely on anyone, she learned to rely on herself but not always with the best results.

During her teens she ran with a neighborhood gang that was, secretly, run by VIPER. Candice’s talents and skills soon came to their attention and she was recruited into a local nest. She found an aptitude for Intelligence work and was quickly trained in infiltration and espionage. Candice thought she had, at last, found someplace where she belonged. Mission after mission she proved her capabilities even with the odd “wet” work, but that all came to an end during an infiltration mission into an UNTIL base. Everything went south and when Candice tried to escape, the VIPER extraction unit left her behind to be captured.

The UNTIL officer that took charge of her case soon came to realize how talented she was and what a great asset she could be working against VIPER. Candice jumped at the chance to get back at VIPER for abandoning her.

UNTIL honed her training to a razor’s edge and more, and gave her a second chance. She has not let them down.

 

Chris Evans as Captain America I

Captain America I (Avengers: Shadow War #1, #2, and #3)

Labeled as 4F by the Army, young Steve Rogers was still determined to do his part in the war effort. He volunteered for an experiment designed to create an army of super soldiers. The process worked, but the scientist who created the serum was killed shortly after the experiment. Steve became the red, white and blue hero Captain America.
The serum had other properties that Steve found out as time went on. Specifically, Steve’s aging was slowed to about 1/6th normal. It also turns out that the serum’s effects could be passed down to any children he might have (Captain America II).
Reclaiming the mantle of Captain America, Steve leads the new Avengers in their fight against threats to the entire planet.

David L. Ross as Lt. Carl Osiris Vincent

Lt. Carl Osiris Vincent (Star Trek: Under a Blue Sun)

Character created and background written by refiningfusion.

Lieutenant (Junior Grade) Carl Osiris Vincent grew up on a backwards colony world named Setary IV. Infighting among the original colonists caused many dialects to develop, which made verbal flexibility a valuable trait.
The frontier life left Carl with little patience for extraneous rules and regulations. Being too rigid on Setary IV usually meant a quick and painful death or months of misery.
The more Federation civilization learns about the universe, the more questions arise about the nature of physics, how life originally arose, why consciousness exists and what purpose it all has. Carl seeks to understand these through meditation and contemplation.



Myrna Loy as Princess Volani

Princess Volani (The Return of Rocket GR-28)

Princess Volari, Keeper of the Sacred Rings of Venus, never wanted anything to do with Earthmen. After all, how could anyone born on such a backward and barbaric world compare with even the lowest born of Venus? Growing up as the only child of the Venusian Regent, Volani was introduced to the power and responsibility of ruling from when she learned to speak. Her beauty was unrivaled by any Venusian female, and she became extremely popular with all Venusians.
When Volani came of age, she took on the mantle that every first-born Princess of Venus had for centuries. She became the Keeper of the Sacred Rings of Venus; a set of 7 magnificently crafted rings that legend says have nearly-mystical abilities and will save Venus from destruction at her most dire hour. Recently, however, the space pirate Moreau attacked the rocket bringing Volani and the rings to the capitol city of Venus for a very sacred ceremony. Moreau was driven off, but not before he stole the seven rings. When the report of Moreau’s death arrived on Venus, the Regent hoped the ordeal was over. Unfortunately, the rings were not on Moreau or in any of his belongings. Suspecting Moreau sold the rings to another party, Volani’s mother tasked her to find the rings and bring them back to Venus before the news of their theft destabilizes the Venusian monarchy.
When word that Rocket GR-28 was setting out to explore the Solar System again, she used her political connections with the Earth government to secure a spot for her on that rocket to locate whomever bought the rings from Moreau and get them back.


Lt. Miranda Kago

Lt. Miranda Kago (Star Trek Andromeda)

When Ensign Kago was recruited for a top secret mission by Starfleet, she jumped at the chance. However, when she returned alone, she had been changed. She never talked about it and withdrew into herself. When she heard about the Andromeda mission, she volunteered without hesitation in hopes of finding peace.

Unknown as Zulaikha Al Kahtani

Zulaikha Al Kahtani (Steampunk HQ)

When you are the 5th born daughter of the Sultan, you’re rarely much more than the symbol of your father’s virility, to be married off to whomever he’s trying to form a profitable alliance with. As Zulaikha Al Kahtani watched her sisters married off one by one as her brothers became more prominent in the Sultan’s court, she vowed that she would decide her own course in life and not an outdated patriarchal system.
She studied just as many hours a day as she practiced combat arts. Her studies included esoteric matters as well as practical ones and she discovered lost texts that referred to many different worlds and the evils that dwelt in them. She also discovered that these evils would, at times, enter the world to cause death and destruction. In a moment, she saw her course and took action.
Late one night, she stole her father’s treasured ancient scimitar made from an unknown metal. She also took a chest full of jewels and a small selection of books and set out into the world to keep these otherworldly creatures from their dread agenda.
Of course, her father was furious and sent his men to capture Zulaikha and bring her back to be punished and then married off to the man he had promised her to.
Zulaikha has fought her was across Asia just a few step ahead of her father’s men. She has no intention of returning to her previous life and every intention of continuing her fight against the powers of unreason.