Alters: Rising
Need something to fill the void of time for a little while? Want to make me cringe at the thought of people looking at older drawings in here?Behold- this free website thing! This is a casual, fun blob of text and pictures to learn about my five main characters. Don't treat this too seriously or anything- there's nothing too heavy in terms of lore or concrete story beats, but there are a few places that offer more than what meets the eye!My favorite show is Gravity Falls (might be a bit obvious based on how I depict my characters). That cartoon is famous for having its secrets and mysteries to uncover. There's no deciphering or translating or anything crazy by any means, but you should probably click around! You never know what you might find...What is Alters: Rising? I will give you the vaguest but most clear answer I can give, because I am still working out a lot of the story (between my school life and my hobbies, I don't have as much free time as I'd like). Alters: Rising will be a story about a hodgepodge group of super-powered teens who team up to stop an evil scientist, Dr. X, from finding a way to get rid of powers permanently.Latest major update: 3/15/25
The Characters
Holly Madison Brooks
Holly is an absolute ball of energy. If she isn’t bouncing off the walls, climbing on stuff, or getting into trouble, then she’s somehow doing all three at once. Even though she’s starting sixth grade in the fall, she hasn’t jumped the gun on growing out of her “childish” traits. She loves stuffed animals, funny slap bracelets, and anything brightly colored. She explores any new environment she's thrown into, and every stranger is just a future friend (Vale wished he pretended to be deaf when he first met her, but it’s far too late for that…).As Oliver’s younger sister, she’s got a special talent of knowing just what makes him tick, but she always means it with love. Oliver does a good job of reigning her in, but she'll still do her best to get away with whatever idea her mind is set on. Her biggest accomplishment is that she tamed the racoon under the porch with Coco Puffs. It's trained to attack robbers, door-to-door salesmen, and Santa Claus. It took the family a very, very long time to realize why their packages were always placed next to the mailbox instead of by the door. Roxanne can neither confirm nor deny if she's a source of inspiration for Holly's schemes.For the rest of the group, they can’t help but enjoy her company, even if she can be a bit much. Even Vale, despite not being the most emotional person, will “tolerate” her presence (yes, that’s a compliment).Holly is a plant alter, meaning that she is biologically part plant. She not only needs food and water like a human, but she also needs some daily sun and soil. She has the ability to grow and manipulate plants around her, but she’s not that strong. The most she can do is make a single flower grow at a time (which is subsequently picked and given to whoever she’s closest to as a gift).
Holly's Scrapbook
Roxanne May Fletcher
If there’s a problem, Roxanne has (probably) prepared for it! She is a meticulous planner- she has instructions on everything between what to do when the zombie apocalypse starts and how to properly eat a Nature Valley bar without crumbs getting anywhere (no, she won't share that secret). Roxanne is also a bit conspiratorial, but that might just be because she’s skeptical about everything and always has a follow up question. Her brain churns like mad- she's constantly hungry for knowledge and dives into a new subject nearly every day- reading how-to books in her free time has made her a jack of all trades of sorts. To sum it up in a pretty corny way, she's "not like other girls."Roxanne is an instinctual leader- everything's got a place in her plans, and if everything goes to plan, there's no reason to worry. She and Oliver are childhood friends, so Oliver has grown very used to Roxanne's need to take charge. Vale doesn't care enough to be assertive other than a few rude comments here and there, but Flint? God, he's SUCH a pain for Roxanne to deal with. Just because he's a successful, empire-inheriting rock alter, that doesn't change the fact that he's the biggest blockheaded idiot Roxanne's ever met. And he won't stop acting like he knows best. But she knows better than to listen to him.Roxanne, like all the other light alters, has the ability to emit light from her skin. She specializes in headlamp (turning her forehead into a focused beam), laser pointer finger (the ability to use her pointer finger as a tiny laser), and can glow in the colors red and blue. She also has a toolbelt full of trinkets and inventions that help her be more resourceful with her limited abilities. (She also holds onto one of those orange Lego separators that come in sets. Just in case.)
Roxanne's Gallery
Oliver Patrick Ferguson
Oliver has a soft heart that beats a million times a minute. He easily gets anxious (there’s typically something to stress about in his mind), but baking is one of his favorite forms of stress relief (Roxanne has gone as far as to document and correlate baked goods with whatever is bothering him; she looks forward to when a history exam is coming up- she gets mint chocolate chip cookies).Oliver is a psycalter (psychological alter), and his powers are a bit complicated- they’re dependent on his feelings. His emotions will manifest into physical things, and it's signified by his blonde hair changing color. Only if his emotions are really high that his powers become involuntary, but he's slow to anger, and he gets along with pretty much everyone.Happy: Oliver feels like he is “walking on air”. It’s similar to flying, but imagine he can just step on air as if there was a ground to stand on.Sad: He melts. He’s a somewhat slime-esque material, meaning he can’t get flushed down the toilet and he can’t be separated. His clothes also melt with him, so there’s no issue there.Scared: A protective bubble appears around Oliver if he’s scared or startled. If Oliver is filled with dread, small bubbles will float around him.Disgust: When Oliver is disgusted by something, itAnger: Anger causes Oliver to becomeWe don't need to talk about those...Love: When Oliver is in love (specifically romantic), he floats in the air like a cartoon character. (I know he's already a comic character, so I know it's redundant to say a cartoon character would float like a cartoon character. Just roll with the metaphor, okay?)Oliver likes doodling, cooking (although his favorite food is a good peanut-butter and jelly sandwich, board games, hiking, and gardening. He’s a mediator in most arguments and is great at emotional support, but he’s not the best at dancing, rollerblading, public speaking, or sports. It might just be easier to say that anything that involves a bit of hand-eye coordination would be a challenge. However, if you asked him, one of his favorite things he did was read stories to Holly when she was little. He loves his sister more than anything in the world.
Oliver's Memories
Flint Cashel Chasey
Flint Cashel Chasey is one of the most powerful rock alters in history. He’s also the richest. And prettiest. And he's single, ladies! Don't concern yourself over the dozens of magazines that keep track of all of the girls Flint has been seen in public with- he loves you! Yes, you specifically!Eugh! Woah- where did that come from? This isn't a relationship status post! Uh… anyway…Flint is set to inherit one of the most prestigious and richest family empires in America- the Chasey family empire, to be exact. Ever since the platinum rush of 1845, the Chasey family was a force to be reckoned with. They are the founders of powerhouse companies like Chasey Oil, Chasey Steel, and Chasey Jewelers, just to name the obvious ones. By some estimates, over half of all construction west of the Mississippi was either built by Chasey labor or built with Chasey materials. They had single handedly turned a dusty little town in Nevada into the gambling capital of the world, and made railway tunnels through the mountains that could rival the great architects of Rome.The modern-day Chasey family has done nothing but become bigger and better than the generations before. Flint is the proud son of Cyrus and Amber Chasey, all of his older siblings are successful in their own, less than Flint way, and Flint himself lives a perfect life- because he's perfect.Flint is full of himself. He feels entitled to pretty much everything (given the family empire and all), but he’s also charismatic and witty. While he can also be incredibly stupid, the things that he’s learned from his family's relationships and how they run their companies has helped him get this far in life, so he's not that far gone. But Flint knows better- no, he knows he's best. He looks at everyone else in the group as poor, defenseless people who need his help. Why else would he ever so generously volunteer himself to join the gang?Flint, due to equal parts his incredible personality and his lineage, has one of the most powerful rock alter abilities known to man. Flint is able to manipulate both rocks and gems with ease- the only caveat being that he has to hold a piece of it in his hand.When he's not practicing, performing, or studying his rock abilities, Flint can be found at nearly every Chasey function, from his mother's business meetings to his father's fancy parties. He can do it all- a Chasey never does anything halfway. He also has brand deals, sponsorships, and many, many fans. Out of all of the women in Flint's life, his fans are dead set on shipping Flint with Kelly Heartstone, a rock alter from an equally pretentious (and nearly as rich) family. However, Flint doesn't seem to be as on board with the idea of dating Kelly as she is with dating him.Flint has a seven step night care routine (not to be confused with his twelve step morning care routine) and his own line of skin and hair care products, which he advertises frequently. In fact, if you use promo code FLINT25, you get 25% off your purchase!But wait… there's more!
Flint's Perfect Presence for Your Viewing Pleasure (You're Welcome)
Vale Hector Smith
Vale is a bit of a recluse- it’s been him and his grandma for most of his life, but he doesn't mind. After breezing through high school and getting a few certifications, Vale now works in IT for ConneXions out of his small apartment. He likes the quiet, simple life he has.Vale keeping to himself isn't just because he's an introvert. He's a huge germaphobe- you won't find him touching anything, and he's always wearing long sleeves and gloves. When he's not working, Vale likes to play video games (especially racing games), work out, and watch nature documentaries. He's not a chef by any means (and not even "self-proclaimed"), but he does make a mean bowl of delicious ramen and chicken adobo (but only when his grandma isn't watching intensely and judging his work).You won't see him express much other than a swear word here and there, but when he does talk, he gets his point across as bluntly as possible. He doesn't find any of the others to be friends (or even just acquaintances), but Holly's persistence to become friends with him has broken through his cold exterior ever so slightly.Unlike the others, Vale is a normal human being, or "unaltered," as it’s commonly referred to as. Even though he grew out of his emo phase years ago (he still listens to the same bands, and he will tell you his emo phase "aged like fine wine"), he recently got into dying and styling his hair himself. It took a couple of looks for him to find his favorite, and now he can comfortably maintain his black and purple hair, keeping it fresh and bright every day.
Vale's Pictures
What the heck are alters?
Ah yes- powers. Definitely the most organized and well thought out portion of my story.Alters are a subsection of the human race who have special powers. It's currently unknown (cough cough I haven't figured it out yet cough nor it might not ever matter cough) how exactly these powers came to be, but there are several things known about them.Plant Alters are biologically tied to nature and plants, powers ranging from being able to change the colors of plants to being able to absorb oneself into the plants around them. Because of their biological plant side, they are easy to notice with their green skin. However, plant alters having children is incredibly difficult. Plant alters can have children with people who are unaltered (born without any abilities), creating what is known as "half plants," people with plant qualities but not fully biologically plant themselves.Light Alters all share the same ability- being able to emit light from their skin. From there, these alters can specialize their abilities into different skills, like changing colors, focusing the light from different areas (like the palm or the forehead), and much more. They are also not sensitive to light, meaning they can do something as extreme as staring at the sun without going blind. Because of everyone having the same ability, light alter culture tends to emphasize personal achievement and hard work, most notably in one of the biggest celebrations a light alter could have- earning their Spark. This is a party thrown by a light alter's community after that light alter achieves something huge in their life. This can range from getting their PhD to becoming a mother.Rock Alters say that they single-handedly built society, having abilities pertained to minerals, gems, and the Earth. They lead many of the world's advancements- most notably the monumental cities they tend to live in. Several of America's richest families are rock alters, including the Chasey Family. These alters can have abilities like levitating rocks, gem senses, and rock strength. All rock alters have a heightened sense of seismic activity, meaning they can sense vibrations of sound and movement more than a normal human, but this power is stronger in some more than others.Weather Alters don't really have much control over their abilities, some weather alters are stuck with a cloud hovering over them their whole life. They also can't change anything that normal weather does- they can't make it rain, or make it stop, things like that. They can participate with the weather, like having the ability to change the direction the rain falls (like sideways), spin as fast as a tornado, or create a thunder with their mouth.Psycalters are the rarest type of Alters, with their abilities having the most variety. Research hadn't been common when it comes to psycalters due to how rare they are, but much of the research we know is thanks to the efforts from Dr. X. What is widely understood is that the only connection among these Alters are that their powers are linked to their psychological state, whether that be emotions, thinking, language processing, and so on. However, due to their rarity, there's no way of charting or pinpointing powers coherently.
