#riotkings ref

[befuddled-calico-whump]

I would like to check out riot kings lore but im intimidated by such a long story i was quietly wondering if you could quick sumary it :3 kudos

I appreciate your interest! (And makes sense ahaha it's been going for over three years now)

I'll write a quick summary below and put the full plot summary and prominent characters under the cut :)

QUICK SUMMARY:

The former leader of a violent freedom fighting group is overthrown. He is abandoned in a cell, found by a young psychic and her brother, and brought into the heart of enemy territory: a ship belonging to the galaxy's military faction. He's received to mixed feelings, and forms a gradual bond with the psychic. Meanwhile, his former organization increases their activity, now led by a woman who wants to conquer the galaxy.

CHARACTERS:

Nabi - the only confirmed psychic of her generation. Still learning her powers, kindness > rules

Jin - Nabi's older brother. A seasoned soldier who's respected onboard the Inferno

Melchior - the former leader of the titular Riot Kings, betrayed by his own men before the start of the comic

Mercury - the current leader of the Riot Kings, taking the organization in a new, more "world domination" focused direction

Dr. Stevens - the Inferno's head medic. Has a grudge against the Riot Kings, but is overall a reasonable person

Captain Ramirez - head of the whole ship

Greer - Ramirez's second in command, has a strong bias against the Riot Kings

Wes - Riot King, and Melchior's former best friend

The Riot Kings - an interplanetary freedom fighting group that focuses on violent justice. Viewed as heroes by some and terrorists by others. Their reputation worsened during the Ash Wars, a conflict between the Riot Kings and the Fleet that resulted in a lot of deaths and collateral damage. This "war" wrapped up close to nine years ago, and tensions are still high

The Fleet - the galaxy's military and police force. The official hub for justice and conflict management for all occupied planets

The Inferno - a Fleet spaceship, home of most of the characters, and large enough to function as a base

PLOT:

The story begins when, while on a low-stakes training mission, Nabi and Jin stumble upon a badly injured Melchior. Despite being a criminal and one of the Fleet's most wanted enemies, Nabi advocates for him, and he's given medical treatment instead of being taken directly to the brig. Among his many injuries is a broken and infected foot, which has to be amputated.

The population of the Inferno has mixed feelings about Melchior's arrival. Some are indifferent, or curious, or even excited, but others remember the Ash Wars too strongly and take their frustrations out on him. Nabi is upset by this, and once again advocates for him to receive better treatment. Meanwhile, a group of soldiers sneak into the med bay to attack Melchior. Despite disliking everything he stands for, Jin intervenes for his sister's sake, saving him.

The next day, Melchior is interrogated by Greer. Seeing his methods are only making things worse, Nabi attempts to convince the captain to let her give it a try. As she does, the Inferno receives a transmission from Mercury, who simply greets the crew and introduces herself. With permission, Nabi shows the transmission to Melchior and asks if he knows who this woman is.

At the sight of Mercury, Melchior spirals into a flashback, revealing he was propositioned by the woman several months ago, but he turned down her request for partnership. As a result, she rallied his own men against him and took him prisoner. Nabi, unable to fully control her powers, sees every memory, and unintentionally drags Melchior along for the ride.

Nabi reports what she's learned to the captain, admitting that she accidentally accessed his memories with her powers. Captain Ramirez advises she work on training the ability. Meanwhile, the intelligence team traces the transmission to an abandoned factory. Wanting to weaken what he assumes is a Riot Kings base, Greer presses the captain to send a team in with Melchior as a guide.

As this is happening, Nabi apologizes to Melchior for going through his memories. He says he knows it was an accident, because it feels different when it's done deliberately, revealing that Mercury Swift is also a psychic.

Later, in the med bay, Melchior attempts to use a prosthetic to walk in preparation for the mission. Though initially dismissive of his struggles, Dr. Stevens softens towards Melchior when he insists he deserves the pain. Immediately afterwards, Melchior is briefed on the mission and sent with a team of scouts. Jin, acting as the team leader, briefs the group on the plan: they'll find whatever tech hub the Riot Kings are using and destroy it in order to slow whatever they have in the works.

When moving in to enact the mission, the team is ambushed. Jin and Melchior are separated from the rest of the team and cornered by a trio of Riot Kings. Jin is wounded and falls unconscious. Though he has an opportunity to escape, Melchior saves him instead, bringing him back to the ship.

Jin is angry when he wakes, demanding to know what kind of trick Melchior is trying to pull, but the other man responds calmly. Nabi has a conversation with Melchior, and they start to open up to each other. Meanwhile, the team briefs the captain on the mission, but are interrupted by another transmission from Mercury. She tells them it was a setup; the local town near the factory was being attacked while the team was there, but the Fleet was too focused on attacking the Riot Kings to help the civilians. Mercury implies she will damage the public's trust in the Fleet in order to have the Riot Kings fill the gap, gradually gaining more control.

After the team is dismissed, Jin informs the captain that Melchior saved his life, and vouches for him to be given more trust aboard the ship. Ramirez agrees and tells Melchior that he will be welcomed as a probationary crew member. Ramirez also reaches out to Mainfleet to brief the situation, but the admiral refused to take the threat of the Riot Kings seriously. He is also shown to be skeptical about psychics.

The Inferno receives a tip about a defecting Riot King. Jin and Nabi are sent to meet with him and get information, but Nabi senses something is wrong. She offers the Riot King, Sammy, protection, and he tells them the meeting was a set up; the Inferno is in danger.

At his warning, nearby Riot Kings attack the trio, holding them at gunpoint. Meanwhile, the ship is under red alert as Riot Kings storm onboard. Dr. Stevens and Melchior bunker in the med bay with a few others, and Melchior comes face to face with Wes, who drops his weapon in shock, having thought Melchior was dead.

Meanwhile, Sammy is revealed to be an attempted deserter forced into this role by his former allies. The leader of the group, Alec, orders Jin and Nabi be taken captive, but says he'll kill Sammy, since he's outlived his usefulness. Nabi, extremely distraught at this, uses her powers to kill Alec, and in the aftermath, Jin drags her and Sammy away. Onboard the Inferno, Wes is taken prisoner.

Sammy parts ways with the other two, knowing with his past, the Fleet isn't a safe place for him. Nabi is distraught over what she's just done, and Jin tells her to keep it a secret from the Fleet, afraid her new power will be weaponized. Wanting to interrogate Wes, Greer calls Nabi in to help, knowing she can see memories.

Still wracked by guilt but wanting to help, Nabi gives it a try, pulling back when Wes becomes visibly distressed. At this, she refuses to try again, not wanting to hurt anyone else. From her brief time in Wes's head, she saw that the Riot Kings are planning something big for Freja, an outer planet. Captain Ramirez informs the admiral, once again requesting help with the threat, since a Fleet ship was just directly attacked. The admiral agrees to meet and formulate a plan, but wants more information. Greer continues the interrogation on his own, torturing Wes.

Hours later, Wes is thrown into the cell beside Melchior. He tries to reason with his former friend, but Melchior is still wounded over the betrayal, and the fact that Wes did nothing to help him. He asks Wes to help the Fleet stop whatever plans Mercury has for Freja, but he refuses out of his hatred for the Fleet. At this, Melchior is no longer willing to speak to him.

During his next interrogation, Wes is locked in a cupboard for an extended period, and manages to escape. This doesn't last long, as he is quickly apprehended by Fleet soldiers, who beat him. Nabi intervenes, and Greer takes the opportunity to coerce her into reading Wes's memories again, saying if she doesn't, he'll have no choice but to continue doing things his way. For Wes's sake, she agrees, but instead of forcing her way into his mind, she talks to him.

With Nabi proving she cares about Wes's well being and the civilians on Freja, and Wes wanting to redeem himself to Melchior, he gives her the information the Fleet needs. At the same time, Wes further humanizes the Riot Kings to Nabi, saying most of them were just impoverished kids who needed somewhere to belong, in a world where the government doesn't do second chances. Greer begrudgingly accepts that Wes is being honest about the information, but says they don't need him anymore, and that when the admiral comes for the meeting, he'll send Wes to a Mainfleet prison.

With the meeting only a few days away, the captain asks Melchior for help with getting the admiral to take the threat seriously. Meanwhile, Jin tells Nabi about the meeting, and urges her not to tell them about her increase in power.

Aaaand now the day of the meeting has arrived, so that about brings us up to speed! This got long and may be a little out of order, but it covers the main points :D

[godlythot]

Listen to SOUL, a playlist by YOUNGMINAJ™️ on #SoundCloud

https://soundcloud.com/riotke-ha/sets/soul?ref=clipboard&p=a&c=1&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Does the fleet respect pronouns? What about for prisoners? Would scary ashbury(is that his his name is spelled?), use the right pronouns for his captives?

They do! Riot Kings is set in a far-future hypothetical version of our world, and I like to think at that point (500ish years into the future) varying genders, gender identities, sexualities, etc are pretty widespread and normalized, so no one really bats an eye

However, I am writing it through a 21st century lense, and it's not really the focus, so it might not always shine through that way

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Is he more the I just need a guy to pin the crime on or more of a I will find who did this and bring them to justice kind of guy?

Kind of a mix? He's not as driven by justice and the need to uphold the law as say, Inspector Javert from Les Miserables, but he's not purely lackadaisical about it either

If he's got say, an unsavory troublemaking suspect in his hands but no real proof, he can pin a crime on them (thus easing the public's mind) and get someone who probably commits crimes anyway off the streets. It's a win-win

That being said, if he truly believes the perpetrator is still at large, he won't just give up and pin it on someone else. That's mostly reserved for cases where the trail has absolutely gone cold.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

What are some random facts about mercury swift?

- she's a tea snob, and has the right temperature for different types of leaves memorized. she will only drink pre-bagged tea if there's no other option

- she enjoys poetry and botany books

- she was raised a wealthy orphan and was seen as a bit of a weirdo with her "old world" tastes

- she never fit in, didn't have friends growing up, and as such internalized an "it's not me, it's them" mentality from a young age

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Riot Kings Masterlist (ct'd)

Chapter 21: Change on the Rise

two-fifteen two-sixteen two-seventeen

two-eighteen two-nineteen two-twenty

two-twenty-one two-twenty-two

two-twenty-three two-twenty-four

two-twenty-five two-twenty-six

two-twenty-seven two-twenty-eight

two-twenty-nine two-thirty

two-thirty-one

Chapter 22: Rug Pull

two-thirty-two two-thirty-three two-thirty-four

two-thirty-five 235.1 two-thirty-six

two-thirty-seven two-thirty-eight

[befuddled-calico-whump]

oh the dynamic with whatever Wes thinks abt Nabi (from what you said so far he doesnt trust her and thinks she'll do whatever the fleet says) now that she explicitly said she doesn't want to hurt him, and even when she did read his mind, iirc Mel that had both Nabi and Mercury do it said it feels different if the person is not trying to make it hurt, so if Mercury has, not accidentally, done some psychic torture on Wes, he'd notice it feels different when Nabi does it and then wht will he think/feel about it

Wes has never personally had The Mercury Experience™, but if he did, he'd be aware that it's a lot worse than what Nabi's done.

Her powers are invasive, and can cause both emotional and physical distress because the person who the memories belong to are reliving them, but she's not as forceful as Mercury

It's the equivalent of being grabbed by the hand and pulled along at a sprint vs being grabbed by the ankle and dragged behind the other person while they sprint

[befuddled-calico-whump]

this is a bit of a follow-up from my question about the various roles in riot kings and cybernetics, but do you have a list(and maybe visual references) for fleet members of each color and shit? I am fully willing to dig through every panel of riot kings for references, but i thought i might ask first

Yeah! Here's a more detailed look at the uniforms in general. As for named characters in each group...

Blue/Special Duty: Jin and Nabi lol

Red/Special Missions: August and Dani

Yellow/Engineering: Commander Kita

Teal/Medical: Doc (Naomi Stevens), Luka, and Benjamin

Purple: Nadia (and Grace, who hasn't had an actual scene yet lol)

Orange/Personnel: no named characters yet 😔✌️

Green/Soldiers: basically every background Fleet character, as well as Greer, Captain, the Admiral, Logan, Sophie, Kit, and Nico

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Random question that will definitely not lead to fanart:

I want to work on various designs for cybernetics and the riot kings crew are a good vessel for that, if you feel like answering, is anyone trained for/assigned to various tasks within the fleet? And if so, who is assigned to what?(i.e special ops, med tech, riot control, etc) or if theyre not, what would they be best suited for? Here's a bit of an example of what I mean, a character of mine was trained to be a sniper so his cybernetics are optimized for stability, flexibility, and accuracy(his hands can't shake, all of his joints have 360 degree rotation, artificial eyes that can zoom a fair amount, his cybernetic limbs have artificial nerves to mimic touch)

As an example for a Riot kings character: Nabi is a psychic, she's also a civilian and not particularly suited to combat, so i feel like her augmentations would be designed to mimic normal flesh and would probably be minimal so she wouldn't have to undergo a lot of surgery. For their usage: they'd probably be focused on protecting her, like tougher skin and like, taser fingers. Or maybe theyd be better for helping her focus on her psychic abilities, like being able to temporarily turn off her hearing/sight/other senses to reduce distraction when using her abilities.

oooooh! I haven't delved too deep in cybernetics myself, but your ideas sound super cool and creative!

to answer your question, there are specialized duties within the Fleet, usually separated visually by uniform color:

Green: foot soldiers/guards/undesignated. The most common troops, will also do miscellaneous jobs not covered by the other categories. Leadership also wears green.

Blue: special duty (like instructors or prison guards). Jin's current uniform is also blue, but his special duty is Nabi Guard (his blue is to match her sweater)

Purple: intel, aka the guys who collect data, monitor satellites/surveillance drones, and compile reports. Mainfleet also employs interrogators under "intel" (for the sake of never having to admit they employ interrogators. It's just "intelligence collection", nothing to worry about.)

Red: special missions. Can qualify as spec ops, but are generally just soldiers with unique skills that may qualify them for solo/minimally manned missions.

Orange: personnel/admin. These guys handle paperwork, pay, facilities, food... everything required to keep the Fleet running smoothly.

Yellow: engineering. Mechanics, armament, repairs, construction, and more. Commander Kita is the only engineer I've drawn so far I think. She's the officer in charge of that sector on the Inferno.

Teal: medical! ship's surgeons, emergency med techs, and nurses are common on most ships. Dentists, optometrists, and other specialists are available on Mainfleet-side and at established bases. Field and combat medics will also wear teal to distinguish themselves from combatants.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Happy STS!

How do your characters relate to the social norms of the culture(s) in which they live? Do they fit seamlessly into high society? Are they part of an economically struggling class? Are they outcasts, or misfits, or do they shift between different ‘versions’ of themselves to match the people around them?

How do your characters feel about their places within or outside of society? Are they satisfied with how others view them? Do they hide parts of themselves to seem more acceptable, or for some other reason? Do they resent the norms imposed upon them, or long to fit into social roles from which they’re excluded? Do they just not care that much?

-verkja

oh this is very nice and in-depth, I love it! (this is gonna get long)

Riot Kings

Jin and Nabi had to flee a warzone with their mother when they were very young, so in the early years, they struggled with the change and weren't very well-off or stable financially. By the time Jin joined the Fleet, their mother had a stable job, and Jin brought in more income, so Eunji (and Nabi) were able to live comfortably (though you know Eunji would rather have her son at home than money)

Within the Fleet, Jin fits in very well. Nabi's personality doesn't fit very well with the soldiers, so she's a bit of an oddball, but she's a very well-liked oddball. Jin is generally satisfied with his place and image, but also feels a pressure to do well and exceed expectations. Nabi, on the other hand, doesn't really think about how she's perceived very often. She's more focused on the feelings of those around her than what they actually think of her.

Nabi hides absolutely nothing. Her heart is on her sleeve. Jin will go out of his way to bury any uncertainty or fear, trying to fit the image of a confident leader.

Melchior's parents also immigrated to avoid conflict, and had a cozy, if frugal lifestyle. Mel was orphaned while still in elementary school, and ended up running errands for Skadi gangs at a very young age. Because of this, he's very familiar with societal/class gaps, and sought out the Riot Kings because he wanted to combat the unfairness.

To society as a whole, he's an outcast. While he fits in better with the Riot Kings, he still distanced himself from them on a personal level, mostly to make it easier to live up to the image the world and his men had of him. Now that he's with the Fleet, he's an outcast on all sides. He doesn't resent others' image of him so much as wish people would listen to reason and see things from his perspective. He does, however, resent the perspective the Riot Kings have of him since being tortured by Mercury, since many see him as a weakling and a coward at worst, or pity him at best.

When he led the Riot Kings, Melchior was careful to hide any perceived weakness, and always had a facade of confidence that bordered on cockiness; a fearless leader who was always one step ahead. By the time he's with the Fleet, he's just emotionally and physically exhausted (and trying to survive in a new environment), and doesn't bother with that particular mask unless it's necessary.

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Can you tell me a little more about asbury please? He seems interesting, plus it’s strange to imagine Greer dating anyone except advanced interrogation techniques (he calls em torture for short)

well you see, Arturo Asbury is actually Mr. Advanced Interrogation Techniques

He and Greer were in the Fleet Officer Academy together and were fast friends. Greer went into infantry/law enforcement and is now second in command of an expeditionary ship. Asbury, meanwhile, is a high ranking correctional officer and is viewed as an expert in "intelligence collection". His job mostly revolves around getting official confessions out of prisoners.

He and Greer aren't together per se but there's definitely something there. If they were ever stationed together, they'd probably escalate things romantically

[befuddled-calico-whump]

🛰 Satellite - Do you have a character who is very dependent on another character? Is it healthy or unhealthy?

Honestly I don't have a ton of focus on that sort of thing, but I have some that fit

Cerus is currently very emotionally dependant on Tansy, in the sense that they're the only person he thinks gives a damn about whether he lives or dies. It doesn't manifest in a direct 'please never leave me' way, more in a begrudging 'i can't let anything bad happen to you and I feel unsafe when you're gone'. Unhealthy, but not extreme and kinda justified

Nabi and Jin are dependant on each other in a sibling way. (It was a lot more prevalent when they were younger). Nowadays they each have their own people they'll go to in order to vent or celebrate, but sometimes they see something they need to show the other because its an inside joke/problem only they understand

Lex tells himself he's not dependant on anyone, but he becomes extremely dependent on the rogue team. Similar to Cerus, he needs them to feel safe, and reasons that because he didn't kill them and suffered for it, they at least owe him a head start. Not healthy lol

[befuddled-calico-whump]

Riot Kings cover art after working on this project for 4+ years

[befuddled-calico-whump]

congratulations Wes, you're the first RK character to get a proper ref

[befuddled-calico-whump]

do you have a ref sheet of what all the main riot kings characters look like?

I don't, but I really, really should 😅😅

usually I just reference previous pages to get a character's look right. I do have a palette page though!

[befuddled-calico-whump]

kinda random but

wes’s hair is kinda symbolic of his status as a riot-king, right? cause in the “wes has a bad day” sidearc, they profile him as a riot king bc of his hair

anyways, how would he react to having his hair cut off? (or dyed/altered, I suppose) while that would ruin all the fun that comes with hair grabs, i feel like that would add in some fun emotional whump

ohoho yes I love asks like these

YES he's very attached to his hair, to the point that even after he's arrested for it, he doesn't change the style. Red is pretty widely known as the Riot Kings' color, and if you asked Wes to describe himself he'd pretty much just say "I'm a Riot King" followed by "I hate the Fleet".

He also joined at 15, and it was the first time since he was very young that he felt safe and like he was part of a community, so that also plays into his dedication.

I also plan on him having his head forcibly shaved after the ever-distant Time Skip, so that'll be fun :)