Complete Control Design Notes

Thursday:
Neo Path:
The Quartet are revealed to the public as superheroes. Encore reveals its existence, as well as the existence of the possibility of more supers (they already exist, but Encore's covering them up for the moment). It establishes itself as a completely independent organization that has no ties to any one country.

The Quartet are brought in to a program run by Encore that teaches new neos everything about their powers. Professionals coach them as they reach the extents of their abilities and discover new powers. Positions in Encore are offered, though the students are hesitant. They are much more comfortable just using their powers in their everyday lives.

This season introduces loads of new neos, all over the world and each differing in experience. Much of Neo Path will follow Encore's efforts to find these people and help them control their powers. Some will join, some will run away in fear and cause harm to themselves and those around them. And during all of this, the whole world is reacting to the existence of superpowers. Some nations fear this massive new source of power, others get right to implementing elixirs into society. All of this and more will affect what the protagonists decide to do with their powers, as it becomes more and more evident just how severe this all really is.

Friday:
Neo Strike:
Several heroes, the Quartet included, have recently joined Encore's department of protection. They will undergo a training regime to prepare them for police-work, and split off into different squads. Much of this season will be of the Quartet tracking down rogue supervillains terrorizing the public. This is where they begin to develop a sense of professionalism towards their superheroics.

Hints will be dropped throughout of another group, rivalling Encore, that is planning to make an attack on the whole world at an undisclosed time in the future. The Quartet is curious, but Encore is not giving details. It all comes to a head when the group invades North America, being led by the Queen Alight. Completely outclassing every hero known in the story at this point, the Queen brutally crushes all resistance. At the end of season 3, our heroes are scattered across the planet, with no way to stop the Queen's army from settling on society.

Saturday:
Neo Eve:
The Queen Alight rules over North America. Encore is scattered. And there is no one who can come close to challenging the Queen. Nuclear threats are made, but all missiles are stopped pre-detonation. The bulk of this season is the Quartet and the rest of Encore finding each other and recovering from the Queen's assault. While the Queen seems unstoppable, Mason Smith assures everyone that if they can dismantle the rest of her regime, she will back off.

And so begins a rebellion against a mad god-queen way out of her time. People are afraid, not knowing what to do but unable to do anything other than whatever the Queen and her subjects say. Protests are made endlessly, and are stopped violently. Free nations attempt coalitions to take on the Queen, while some nations consider surrender in the wake of invasion. Across the planet, all eyes are on the one neo responsible for all of this mayhem. One human can burn the planet.

Sunday:
Neo Grasp:
The Queen Alight has dropped off the face of the earth. Millions are still reeling from her brutal regime, although Encore has stepped in full-force to assist in the recovery. The Quartet and their allies have taken more of a leadership position, as a means to reconcile the poor image that the Queen gave of exceptionally powerful neos.

But the Queen's reign was just the beginning. Cedric has stepped in to continue the global takeover, under the guise of a benevolent independent party outside of Encore. Corruption runs deep, as the Quartet discovers governments, corporations and more all answering to Cedric's group in one way or another. And Mason Smith finally makes known the existence of Ueli, the mastermind behind the Queen, Cedric, and more in a centuries-old plot to attain a new world order.

In light of all of this, our heroes will have to make their stand. Ueli's plans involve tragedies on an unprecedented scale, but defying him may mean the end of civilization as they know it.

Monday:
Neo View:
Anarchy. Every single nation's borders have been erased. Ueli's machinations, along with Encore's resistance to such, have left billions of humans with no system of government to look after them. Crime runs rampant, food runs short, and cities are wrecked. The only thing keeping the average man alive is his relatively small elixir. Encore and Heteros are quick to help. With their vast resources, they provide newly growing congregations of people with the means to rebuild towns, roads, and utility systems. Both on Earth and the Moon, the two groups establish themselves.

All that's left is to grab land. Encore reaches out to young countries-to-be via the Third Act, in an effort to unify the world against Ueli. As our heroes grow ever stronger, they come across the true players of the game: the Farmer, the Storm, and the Queen Alight. Meanwhile, the handful of new nations that span the planet have their own ideas, and they have the firepower to make themselves heard. In this season, the Third Act becomes much more informed of Encore's actions behind the scenes. There is talk of war starting, and everyone is scrambling to get in position.

Mason Smith and Ueli make their final plays before the big event, and the Third Act is not about to be left behind.

Tuesday:
Neo War:
Encore versus Heteros. Ueli and his associates are in full force now. Every neo is contributing to the war effort. Many battles are fought: telekinetics obliterate opposition, alchemists wreck resources, warpers arrange military factions, and telepaths partake in espionage and strategy. The Third Act has risen as a leader in this war, practically standing on its own alongside Encore as a nation. They may well be the deciding factor in this war.

As the end approaches, the Third Act is forced to answer: if not Ueli, then what? Where does humanity go on from here? Does someone else just take the throne? Are we to be left to our own devices? Is every man, woman and child to be entrusted with the power to tear down a city block? The past 16 years have all been for the sake of this; to guide the Third Act to make that choice.

Four neos. All exceptionally strong. All from one city.
Seems suspicious.

I'm gonna blame somebody. The Queen Alight. She had this guy run an experiment, decades ago. A way to breed the perfect neo, one with no scarring, and raise them under her rule. The experiment went about as well as could be hoped.

So let's introduce Carlos. This scientist was forced by the Queen to run this experiment. Although he was willing to do it per se, he recognized how wrong it would be to let the Queen handle them. So he set measures to keep them safe, to let them grow up healthily.

His elixir involves reshaping matter of all states (prefers metals) and shifting it between states without heating or cooling it.

Last Thursday:
Emily Durnin is the Warper of the Quartet. She can open rifts in space to teleport volumes of matter instantaneously, as well as temporarily open up portals to send things through. As her powers develop, she gains access to minor time travel and alternate dimensions that she can use to augment reality around (leading to effects like energy loss and changing fundamental constants).

This is the mild-mannered one. Her idea of a day off is sitting down with a good book. When there's a scuffle between friends, she's the one to resolve things. Her mother's a chemist, her father's an accountant, and her two younger brothers are in high school. Her home life is rather idyllic. During the first season, she is going to university for psychology.

Emily hates her powers. She doesn't want anything to do with superheroes or supervillains, partially because her powers in particular freak her out. Her character arc over the course of the show will be about her adaptation to new scenarios. Given her powers, she's bound to get stuck in an unfamiliar place then and again. The isolation she feels when her powers first manifest evolves into an independence as her elixir's uniquity gradually shows itself.

Last Friday:
Olivia Eichel is an alchemist and thermokinetic. By adding energy to a system, she can start up any chemical reaction. This extends to organic substances, which means she can regenerate and shapeshift herself and others. She can shoot flames in a variety of shapes, directions, sizes and intensities. Later, she gains electrokinesis.

Olivia is quirky. She does what she feels like doing. She's very open, and likes other people to be so as well. She doesn't have a long-term plan for herself, but every possibility looks good to her. She is very lax about her life.

When her powers manifest, Olivia takes it pretty well. She's scared, but also very curious. As villains come after her again and again, she displays her natural leadership skills and level-headedness in the face of immediate danger. Those skills get called upon more and more as the big threats make the stage. For Olivia, the next 16 years are about her rise to leadership of the Third Act. Something that at first Olivia just shrugs off gradually becomes something she has to- and will - take very seriously.

Last Saturday:
Powerset idea: a girl who can regenerate and manipulate her body mass, but only in the form of a humanoid sea creature. The new tissue has scales, fins and gills, among other things. The sea-creature effect can be worn off after an hour or so.

Last Sunday:
Powerset idea: a person who can open a door to an alternate dimension habited by various demonic species. The demons vary in size (from baseballs to skyscrapers), shape (humanoid to eldritch) and texture (plain skin to scales and horns). But all of the demons can shoot fire, and a few have other powers.

This guy's gonna be a hero, by the way.

Last Monday:
So far, when it came to heroes, I've only really discussed a few heroes, the Quartet. Thing is, I plan to have more main characters right from the get-go. The Quartet are just the ones who stick around for the whole show. One may drop out, another's elixir may close early, and a few will probably die. Tis no fun if all of the main characters make it through without any losses.

Last Tuesday:
This is one of the new main characters I've come up with. Her name is Yvonne. She's the one with photokinesis (before Alex gets it) and electrokinesis (before Olivia gets it). I'm thinking she'll be around the longest of the non-Quartet heroes, until around season 5.

Wednesday:
Quartet character designs!
Alex - short, straight blonde hair. Hazel eyes. Caucasian. Tall?
Olivia - long brown hair, green eyes, tan skin.
Emily - redhead, wavy hair, blue eyes, caucasian.
Isaac - black, with short curly hair, brown eyes.

Thursday:
Those with scarred elixirs have limited powers, but they learn and get stronger faster than those with "healthy" elixirs. This is because there is less to "learn" about the elixir.

This is something the main characters struggle with. They keep facing neos who have better grasps on their powers.

Last Friday:
Using an elixir's power depends on knowing two data: location and what is there. To use your powers, you need to have a clear picture of where you're hitting and what is there to be affected. This means you can't set a tree in China on fire when you live in Canada, and you can't move anything inside a house unless you've already been in there.

Last Saturday:
Mason Smith likes to sail. It's a hobby of his.

Last Sunday:
Character ideas. Pair of pranksters. One can teleport, the other can make matter vibrate. Introduce them in season 2.

Last Monday:
Neo Birth is all about the mystery of superpowers. So at first, aside from the Quartet, I don't want to actually reveal any other neos. They will be represented by "phenomenon" that begin occurring around Ontario. Molten craters, floating chunks of concrete, piles of dirt heaped around the ocean. Indicators of neos with out-of-control powers.

Tuesday:
Let's make Yvonne one of the neos that Daniel rounds up in season 1. It would be a different point of view and make for a sympathetic opponent where there would otherwise be a flat character.

Wednesday:
Ji-hu is sent by Encore to scout out the neos opening in Toronto. So his powers should revolve around stealth and reconnaissance. Flight, invisibility, and he can open up portals to view targets.

Thursday:
This idea is less about Neo and more of a community thing. I was thinking of making a public domain character. I would gather a group of writers from various works - TV shows, games, books, etc. We would design a character that we would all use. The character would have the same personality, same appearance, and same backstory in every universe. What would change is what happens to the character in every story. One universe has the character raising kids in a suburbia, another has them rebelling against a global tyrant. It's more of an experiment than anything.

Friday:
I was thinking of cannibalizing that chemistry show I had in mind and just using the idea for Neo. Like, Olivia would be O, and other characters that interact with her would be based on the other elements. A group of friends based on H, C, N and B, perhaps an antagonist based off of F.

Saturday:
Powerset idea: a neo who can move around bacteria and only bacteria. Gather them together, push them out, migrate them from one town to another.

Question is, do I go the obvious route and make them a villain? Make them a very well-intentioned and very unfortunate anti-hero? Maybe I can make them zig-zag between the two.

man cephalo you put a lot of work into this. very impressive.