Not signed in (Sign In)
Categories
- Main Junction
- CROSSED
- London Zoo
- Freakangels
- Music
- Printheads
- Culturegasm
- Web Nuggets
- WorldWeird
- Blogs
Welcome, Guest
Vanilla is a product of Lussumo:
Documentation and Support.
-
I was trying to list out the 'Angels by talent and found I'm not clear on all the extent to which their particular powers might go and how they might take them there. That is, it's somewhat clear that Caz is an engineer. She can build, modify and elaborate on machine systems that keep Whitechapel civilized and sustainable. But how far can she take it? Obviously she's limited by material. But her abilities seem truly enhanced when she collaborates with KK. What does KK bring to the table and what *wouldn't* Caz be able to do without her? I thought KK was more of a scientist but I see her machining parts and flying her chopper and I'm not sure....
It gets harder when we talk about Angels who have less tangible skills. Sirkka for example gets people het up over whether she's using her powers *over* people to control them, or if her penchant for being charming and sexy means people come to her of their own free will. But what does it all mean? We're told she's reinventing the human relationship. She takes people and builds a harem. We see her sitting crosslegged in front of them and they listen carefully to her words. Is she teaching, yogi-like, how to reach a higher consciousness? How to have better sex? How to get along in a world where all the old rules of relationships and boundaries have been violated? What's her goal?
Miki - healer
Kait - law & order
Jack - scrounger/survivalist
...
Break it down how ever you like. Or give a short essay on possibilities of being the sort of psychonaut freak that is our beloved Arkady. Or just (please!) teach me how to tell the difference between Kirk and Karl.
I'm curious for any conversation on Freakangel abilities, unique strengths, etc. Furthermore, speculation on how these aptitudes settled on each 'Angel, where there is overlap and why there isn't more, and how it's come to work out this way is all very welcome. I mean, they seem perfectly suited to create a microcosm of society. Did someone create them for this? So... did someone anticipate a need to rebuild society? Or perhaps did they come with a kill switch so they would have to rebuild it? Or...
Dream out loud, tell me all about it. -
-
CommentAuthorPatrickBrown
- CommentTimeJul 13th 2010
I suppose we should thank our esteemed host Mr Ellis for giving us a starting point, summing up each of the angels in a word or phrase at the beginning of book 3.- Kirk - watchman
- Karl - gardener
- Arkady - neuronaut/mentalist
- Connor - recorder
- Jack - scavenger
- Caz - engineer
- Luke - pariah/bastard
- KK - scientist/steamologist
- Sirkka - mind/body/soul
- Miki - doctor
- Kaitlyn - police
-
-
Ok, so we know where to start. Now... let's speculate. }:>
What is the job description of "watchman" that makes Karl the man for the job? How does his use of the package make him so perfectly suited? Or is it solidly his personality? Did he see the need for a watchman and volunteer? Or was it something prior to the push? For example, we know Miki somehow "absorbed" everything she came to know about medicine and healing, but her method is through use of the package. Did Karl get prepped for this role in a similar fashion? Did he always have a prediliction for watching out for everyone? Which others of the 'Angels does he rely on in order to do his job? Where might the package have come in handy in developing this role?
And that's just for Karl... Any thoughts on the others? -
What is the job description of "watchman" that makes Karl the man for the job?
Kirk, not Karl. -
- CommentAuthorJenny Creed
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010 edited
I'd say Kirk is the watchman because he's watchful, patient and maintains an elevated perspective. (Or he thinks he does.) He's called the "big brother" of the clan, probably because of his calm assertiveness and stoicism. That he spends his weeks up on the tallest object in the neighborhood is pretty obvious metaphor; he likes to keep a head above everyone else and see what's going on.
His role doesn't have a lot to do with the package except maybe some level of ESP, and interestingly I don't think he ever does any purple glowy stuff except in tandem with others.
Who next. . .the trio of Mark, Luke and Arkady, or as I just thought to call them, Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman are interesting in that they're the ones committed to studying and applying their superhuman abilities. Their lives and roles are all centered around what they can do, perhaps rather than who they are - neither of them seem to have very deep personalities. Identity is a small price for power etc.
Funny that both of the boys as they grow into their power seem to decide they're entitled to abuse regular people for their own purposes, while the girl prefers to play with children. But anyway, their collective role in my opinion is to push the limits, to try to be more and better, much like the human race has produced genius in small quantities to take great big risky leaps forward. One full quarter of the Angels is genius in this definition, but that only makes sense when you consider they're effectively immortal.
Caz, now, you might be tempted to call a genius, but she doesn't make intuitive leaps, nor is she very creative. She slowly and methodically applies her accumulated knowledge to build practical, necessary things. Like many present day engineers, she has an utterly pragmatic nature; she practically has to be coaxed into getting drunk and having some fun. Probably the dire necessity of her work in the postapocalyptic world has given her a sense of responsibility that makes it hard to relax or separate herself from her function as builder.
She does seem to enjoy working with her body, judging by her build and how little we see her use the power that would make all sorts of construction and heavy lifting infinitely easier. In fact, she seems to use the package exclusively to obtain and store knowledge.We can easily imagine how her childhood was affected by her outlandish appearance in a small town and how that might make her disdainful of the package on some level.
More to come as ideas may occur to me. -
-
CommentAuthorDoctor_Six
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
Mark - Leader? -
-
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
@Jenny Creed
Wrong metaphor. Connor is Dream, Arkady is Delirium, Sirkka is Desire, KK is Death, Mark is Destruction...
If you MUST use a comparison, this is the one to use. -
- CommentAuthorJenny Creed
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
No, see, Markaduke are "The big three". They're the ones who make FA into a superhero comic, to some extent, since they think they are superheroes. And they're a bit like DC's big three big hitters, in a sad, twisted, flawed, human way.
This post has been brought to you by the Markaduke conglomerate. -
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
Maybe, but you're limiting the theme by focusing only on those three. You could say all twelve are the teenage X-MEN on the run, shunned from society, and if you re-read Book Four, you'll see that ALL of them thought of themselves as superpowered, and ALL of them spoke of wanting to hit back in a big way.
I would say FA is a subtle subversion of the superhero comic. Mark and Luke aren't exactly sacrificial! -
- CommentAuthorJenny Creed
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010 edited
Destiny - Kirk & Kait
Death - Caz & Miki
Dream - Connor & Karl
Destruction - Mark & Jack
Desire - Sirkka & KK
Despair - Luke (He's an ugly monkey to have on your back alright)
Delirium - Arkady
Happy now? :P
(Whoa I only now realized they all have a hard K or two in their names. K for cuckoo I suppose?) -
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
Just like the Endless start with D. It works. Now do ALICE IN WONDERLAND. Karl as the Mad Hatter... -
- CommentAuthorJenny Creed
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010 edited
Don't think I know that many characters in Alice. Arkady is the Cheshire cat, obviously. The Red Queen could be either Kait or Jack. The Carpenter and the Walrus are Karl and Kirk at a wild stab. Luke strikes me as a Mad Hatter, or at least a mad man in need of a hat. Alice would have to be Connor. And that's all I've got. -
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
No, Alice is Alice. -
- CommentAuthorJenny Creed
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010 edited
Aah, that's some Resident Evil-quality so-obvious-you-don't-notice-it subtlety there.
@Artenshiur: Oh yes, that slipped my mind. -
-
CommentAuthorArtenshiur
- CommentTimeJul 14th 2010
[Kirk's] role doesn't have a lot to do with the package except maybe some level of ESP, and interestingly I don't think he ever does any purple glowy stuff except in tandem with others.
Except that just this past episode we've been reminded of his preferred use of the package: "pulling a Kirk" is not eating or drinking for weeks on end. He also skips the sleeping bit. -
-
I think all of them are cautious with The Package to a certain degree (except maybe Arkady) - once burned, twice shy. All of them feel varying degrees of guilt, and were affected in different ways by what they did.
Kait, who was obsessed with crime solving and detective shows as a child was most upset by the lawlessness they unleashed.
Connor, with his self-esteem issues and easily bruised feelings as a child is sensitive to other people's feelings and perceptions.
Kirk, who is "everyone's big brother," watches over everyone from the best vantage point.
I think that the more we learn about their past lives, the more their current roles in the community will make sense.
If we're comparing them to other canons, though, my first thought was the twelve major Greek gods:
Aphrodite - Goddess of love, romance, and beauty. - SIRKKA (Her idea of what love is may be a little different from the norm, but I think she fits best here)
Apollo - Beautiful god of the sun, light, medicine, and music. - MIKI (Healer, tries to bring enlightenment to the others)
Ares - Dark god of war - MARK (wants minions and control of others to use as pawns or slaves)
Artemis - Independent goddess of the hunt, - KAIT (lives apart from the others, constantly looking for possible trouble, real or imagined)
Athena - goddess of wisdom, war, and crafts - KK (A genius with steam, appears to enjoy a good fight, builds amazing things)
Demeter - Goddess of agriculture - KARL (This one is rather obvious)
Hephaestus - god of fire and the forge. - CAZ (Genius at building and inventing)
Hera - protector of marriage - KIRK (protector of everyone in Whitechapel, from above)
Hermes - The speedy messenger of the gods, god of business. - ARKADY (teleports and keeps tabs on the others)
Hestia - Calm goddess of home and homelife, - CONNOR (peace-loving, understanding, accepting)
Poseidon - God of the sea, horses, and of earthquakes. - JACK (Spends time on his boat, has a tumultuous personality, moody as the sea)
Zeus - god of the sky, symbolized by the thunderbolt. - LUKE (disconnected with the real world, lives on his high horse, constantly threatening to strike the others down) -
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeJul 16th 2010 edited
Wow, I almost perfectly agree. I would change Kirk to Zeus and call Luke Dionysus.
EDIT TO ADD: And now... the Zodiac!
ARIES -- Mark (A born leader, first to control others)
TAURUS -- Sirkka (Cautious but persistent)
GEMINI -- Arkady (Quick-witted, with two personalities)
CANCER -- Caz (Most supportive of others)
LEO -- Kirk (Gives too much, gets upset when others don't)
VIRGO -- KK (Insert joke here)
LIBRA -- Luke (Thinks WAY too much)
SCORPIO -- Kait (Cool on surface, fire underneath)
SAGITTARIUS -- Karl (Extremely confident and capable)
CAPRICORN -- Miki (VERY down-to-earth and matter-of-fact)
AQUARIUS -- Jack (just doesn't want to be like others)
PISCES -- Connor (Most empathetic to others) -
@AisforAmy - cool! Though I would switch Kait and KK. Kait is much more of a war and tactics goddess. KK would have been able to hunt and move around quickly in her chopper, also vicious to anyone who bugs her about her sex life (not perfectly parallel to chaste Artemis, but I'm sure she'd blind any peeping Toms).
Care to speculate how these roles came about, though? When we take classics courses on the Greek pantheon we're told - or at least I was - that the event or force was viewed as interacting with the world like a person and from there given a personality and a name. So you hear about volcanos and you think of the force of an eruption, give it a personality and call it Haphaestus. Now, in 'Angels analysis do you figure there were these roles before the kids went through whatever they went through and became FreakAngels? Or did the kids pick them out for themselves? And wherever roles interact is that a design in the intention behind FreakAngels or, if their roles are the accidental wiring of their individual personalities, are they aware of how they can help each other out.
And to the technical analysis, i'm still wondering how their individual roles are aided by the package. We see how Kait performs her policing - she knows when people are lying, she can anticipate attacks, etc. But how does it help Jack scrounge whatever is missing? And so on... -
I think that some of them had the rudimentary wiring for their current roles in them as children, and that some of them just fell into the roles that needed to be filled because they found they had an aptitude for it.
It's easy to believe that Karl may have been raised by parents into gardening, since he seems to prefer his plants to other people, apparently thought television was a waste of time and brainspace, and prefers the calmer, slower pace of the world they created.
Kait has already been shown as a child, trying to use her abilities to investigate the death of a bird, and admittedly loved all of the detective and cop shows she watched. It seems that she would naturally use that, being in her comfort zone, and 'live the dream,' so to speak.
Jack seems more streetwise than book learned. There was a hint that he had problems with his father, which, since all of them seem to have been betrayed by their parents to some degree, might be more trouble than the average teen. All he wants is a monogamous relationship and a less complicated life. For him to isolate himself on his boat seems like a good way to avoid the reality that is his relationship with a woman who can't give him what he wants more from her. He makes himself useful to salve his guilt a bit, but for the most part, he seems to be in avoidance mode.
As I said before, I think that the more we learn about their pasts, the more their current roles will make sense. -
- CommentAuthorlongtimelurker
- CommentTimeNov 2nd 2010
I came across these physical Zodiac descriptions and I just HAD to add them. Tell me they don’t read like they came straight out of Paul’s notebook!
MARK
Aries are believed to have a strong, athletic, well-proportioned body. They also can have an elongated face with a well-rounded and broad forehead. The chin is also prominent. Many females will have definitive jaw lines and accentuated cheekbones. Males will possess a dominant Adam's apple. Both will have strong eyebrows that knit together as well as clear and penetrating eyes. There is a ruddy cast to the complexion and the noses of both sexes are high-bridged and straight.
Aries long face is enhanced by the high back sweeping eyebrows, the wide set eyes (which tilt up on the outer sides), the prominent snout and the large upper lip plate. Needless to say, they mimic the qualities of a rambunctious ram. With the sizzling fire, this charging ram seems ever more pushy than the other cardinal signs.
SIRKKA
Individuals born under the sign of Taurus will tend to have long faces, a well defined jawline, small ears, a large and dimpled chin, sometimes prominent foreheads, a pointy or short and turned-up nose, large and expressive eyes that offer a steady gaze, opaque, clear, light skin, often beautiful fair complexion, full and well-shaped lips, small and even teeth, and fine, often straight hair. Many astrologers believe Taurus to be very good looking individuals. They are thought to usually be above average height and the women often possess a voluptuous figure, a swan neck and Grecian nose. Some of the women are pure Aphrodites. They are beautifully proportioned, and extremely graceful in their movements and exude airs of deep sensuality, amazing drawing powers, and tremendous magnetism.
ARKADY
Many believe that physically, individuals born with an ascendant of Gemini tend to have a straight and narrow nose, long limbs, a well-proportioned chin, high cheekbones, pointy features, a wide mouth and long fingers. They are very lean and tend to be somewhat tall and lanky. Gemini eyes are like two beams of light which express a rather electrical quality as they dart from one object to another.
The styles are different, but both are Gemini. Every Gemini has "twin" facial features which throws their face "off kilter". There seems to be two lower and upper lips, and a double layer of eyelids! The extra folds above the eyelids produces "two blinks", instead of one. Note how the long, thin nose and the pointed chin skew off in opposite directions.
CAZ
Some astrologers choose to associate Cancer's physical characteristics with being average or below average height, having an athletic body and short legs. Their athletic build allows for strong, confident people. They see Cancers as usually having brown hair, a well-defined face, a tan complexion, a prominent forehead, penetrating eyes of green or blue, a shortish nose that curves straight or slightly up, and a full mouth with full lips and a wide smile, as well as long arms and fingers resting on defined hands. In essence, the upper body is proportionally well balanced in proportion to the lower, which may make for a rather smooth-going, attractive athletic appearance.
Cancers beam when the full moon reflects from their rounded "lunar temples". Watch for the full deep eyes, the high forehead, the wide eyebrow plate and the small recessed jaw.
KIRK
Some think of Leos as being usually averaged height tall yet some short, with high cheek bones, full lips, trim athletic legs, strong physical features, well-defined appendages (hands, feet, etc.), and large, deep eyes. Leos also tend to have very soft skin and thick hair that shines in the sun. It is said they tend to keep their heads held high and look down their noses at others.
Watch for the lion's mane, the bushy eyebrows, the feline eyes, the broad and stubby nose, the jowly cheeks and the barrel-chested torso.
KK
Some think that physically, individuals born under the sign of Virgo tend to have a graceful figure, a roundish head, delicately-shaped lips, large and clear eyes, small, symmetrical, and refined features, a high forehead, and thin eyebrows. Also, they are thought to usually be of slightly above average height.
Virgos show a nervous, analytical nature. They seem to worry over the smallest details. Positively, they constantly serve others as they attempt to keep everything pure, natural, clean and healthy. The off-set squinted eyes, the split at the end of the nose and the gap in the frontal teeth accentuate Virgo's mutable look. Also look for the "chipmunk cheek pouches" and the long twisted jaw.