Service Announcement

That's right, folks! As the moderator of this writing project it is my sad duty to announce to you that due to a variety of factors, in posting here every week we have nearly used up the buffer of episodes available to be posted. Once this buffer runs out, there's nothing to post, and the creation of new episodes is currently not quite as fast as one per week.

Our plan is to still have some sort of update here every week, but it's not always going to be a new episode. We have a few ideas, which should be entertaining. It's possible that after a while we'll run out of ideas, but I guess we can burn that bridge after we cross it.

For this week, I'd like to try and help out with an issue that was brought to my attention by one of our faithful readers. It seems that because of the scattered nature of the plot sequence (which I may talk about in a future post) it can be difficult for readers to keep track of the various plot threads, or even the various characters. We the authors have detailed profiles on all the characters (at least, all the ones with profiles) which may be displayed here in subsequent posts, but right now I thought I'd just give a list of the main characters (in reverse alphabetical order) with brief descriptions:

Sarah Marshall -- A child who was raised in the lab of the Dr. Gordon. She has unknown physical and mental enhancements, and known training in martial arts and other forms of combat. She recently escaped from the lab. Maybe she and Acidity should start a club.

Nightrider -- Known only by her Q-Lab codename, this mysterious woman was recently promoted to a high-ranking position in the lab, after arranging a coup and getting rid of her boss. She has not, I repeat, has NOT been infested with alien life forms. Nor is she one-quarter Elf. Honestly.

Marla Stewart -- No connection to the famous interior decorator. Really. She is the owner of Acid Resort, where Acidity was spawned. She is also working on becoming the female equivalent of Mr. Incredible. So far she's got super strength, hyper-sensitivity to fluorescent light, and the inability to touch gold without going limp. She doesn't really think of herself as a hero at this point, but she would be happy to rid the world of Acidity.

Marcia Silverberg -- A history major at Mammoth State University who works for Pettigrew/Onion, and is one of the few people who knows his true identity. Their relationship has changes somewhat since she got caught in an explosion in the Chemistry building and developed superpowers. She now has her own alter-identity: M'Jenta, a flashy villainess who can transform into pure energy and throw plasma balls. She is also the only super-being besides Darth Onion to have a costume. As M'Jenta, she has established herself as a rival of Onion who has grudgingly agreed to a cease-fire. She has the advantage, though, in that she knows his secret identity and he does not know hers.

Luke Lake -- A seventeen-year-old skater punk who broke his leg then got kidnapped by Dr. Gordon. The good news is we probably won't have any skatboarding episodes for a while.

James Faulkner -- He has not been called by his given name since the first episode in which he appeared, when he was transformed into the evil monster Acidity. Covered in green scar tissue, he has a face that even a mother couldn't love. He continually secretes highly corrosive acid from various glands on his body, and has to sleep in acidic water at night. He reacts badly to substances with high pH. By injecting people via a spine-like appendage on his arm, he can turn them into nearly-mindless minions, who obey his bidding provided he continues to give them regular injections. He has recently developed the ability to telepathically broadcast his thoughts, particularly to his minions. He really, really doesn't like Marla Stewart, partly because she owns the resort with the acid pools in which he'd like to still be living.

Frank Evans, PI -- This unscrupulous detective makes his living off the shadier element of Daze Springs. He currently has a working relationship with Acidity; he provides information in exchange for not being turned into a zombie.

Dr. Gerald Pettigrew -- A mild mannered history professor by day and an evil overlord by night, Gerald Pettigrew aka Darth Onion has been a part of the story nearly as long as Dennis Brown. His powers include the ability to shoot lightning from his hand like a Sith Lord, the ability to temporarily magnetize anything (or anyone) just by touching it, and the ability to instantly make people cry (hence the name). His weaknesses include rap music and cats. His costume includes a black cape, a Darth Vader mask, and a voice synthesizer that makes him sound like James Earl Jones. He currently rules over roughly half the gangs in Mammoth City, and as Gerald Pettigrew he is preparing to run for Mayor on a platform of promising to end gang violence. He is the mortal enemy of Dennis Brown.

Dennis Brown -- Dennis has been a main character ever since Episode I (and I'm not talking about the Phantom Menace). He is a geeky computer science major who just finished his freshman year at Mammoth State University. He has the powers of passive telepathy and shapeshifting, and is paralyzed if he hears the howl of a wolf. Just before the end of the spring semester he discovered that Professor Pettigrew, who he was working for as a T.A., was really Darth Onion, Dark Lord of the Juvenile Delinquents. Since that discovery he's done a lot of running and hiding, but with his recently acquired shapeshifting ability he may be able to fight back a bit more.

Damien Valiant -- A young employee at Elfaeren Base. His life was forever changed when he came into contact with a Cleaning Rag of Doom, transforming him into a superhero known as The Flying Squirrel. Around the same time, he was used by Q-Lab as an unwitting test-subject for the experimenatl (and possibly extraterrestrial) Queen Device. His powers now include flight and the ability to generate personal energy shields. His one weakness is an allergy to pine scent. For possibly nefarious reasons known only to Q-Lab, he has recently been made the nemesis of M'Jenta.

Carry Hobson -- Carry has been a recurring character since very early in the story, but was only recently promoted to main character status and given a full profile. She is Dennis Brown's girlfriend, and provides him with regular advice and support. She is also of African-American ancestry, a fact which has not to my knowledge been made clear in any episode.

Abby Gillis -- Abby hasn't been featured in many episodes, but she's already had a run-in with Acidity. She works at D.S. Scientific Studies Lab, which once held Acidity captive, and has recently been promoted to a position within the lab that allows her access to its deepest secrets. She has also been appointed as Marla Stewart's contact within the D.S.S.S.L.