C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T P R O P O S A LW O N D E R G I R L
G A B R I E L A R I V E R O ♦ F E M A L E ♦ 17 ♦ G U A T E M A L A
C H A R A C T E R C O N C E P T:
"What kind of power is rain?"
Many years ago, the Pantheon of Mayan Gods was alive with the same fire and power as that of the Olympians.
One such member was Chaac; the God of Rain and Thunder. During the earliest days of mankind, people starved beneath the beating heat of the sun. That was until Chaac discovered a golden boulder deep within the mountains, and after breaking it in two with his mighty axe, he found maize, the crop that would change the Mayan people forever. Chaac was worshipped for bringing Maize to the world, however this soon went to his head. He began an affair with the wife of the Sun God, Kinich Ahau, his brother. After the affair’s discovery, in an act of regret, Chaac struck the sky with his axe, releasing his tears of regret in the form of rain. Since then, Chaac turned his attention solely on helping mankind.
Even after the fall of the Mayan Civilization, the Mayan Gods lived on, watching over humanity. Despite the hardships they saw, they agreed to not get involved in the struggles of mankind. Chaac however, couldn't just sit by and do nothing. He needed a champion.
Gabriela "Gabi" Rivero Gabi was born and raised in Guatemala City to a loving mother and father. Her family were fairly well off, with her father working as a professor at the Universidad de San Carlos de Guatemala, an expert on Mayan Mythology. Gabi often found herself falling asleep to the stories of the Mayan Gods, however, as she grew older her attention turned away from the stories of old as she grew to love the new gods of the world; the Justice League.
Her whole world was shifted however as Guatemala City was devastated by a tropical storm. The sewage system had collapsed during the storm, causing a sinkhole to appear which had swallowed Gabi's entire street. She was one of the only survivors, the death of her parents leaving her alone and broken.
During the aftermath of the catastrophe, Gabi struggled to get by, moving from one odd job to another. She soon found herself roped into working odd jobs for the local gang, who had been exploiting the victims of the storm for some time. One such job had taken her out into the jungle, where they managed an illegal logging operation.
It was here that Gabi's life turned around. Voices called to her through the folliage, and after some exploration, the teenager found herself at the foot of a Mayan temple, hidden for centuries in the darkness of trees. The pure sight of it was breath-taking, compelling Gabi, lumber axe still in hand, to explore it further.
Inside was something that surprised her even further; a golden boulder. As soon as she saw it, her father's stories rushed back to her. She raised her axe above her head and with a powerful swing broke the rock in two.
She felt the power flowing through her immediately. She was stronger.
Stumbling back into camp sometime later, and contemplating what had happened to her, Gabi looking over the struggling workers around her. They were like her. Stuck in this life as a result of the actions of others. Exploited for the needs of the rich. Before she had been powerless to help herself or anyone else here in her situation, but now, she wasn't powerless any longer.
After her takedown of the gang, Gabi soon returned to Guatemala City, axe in hand, intent on helping all those that needed her. Her exploits grew larger and more influential, with the media soon dubbing her as Guatemala's very own Wonder Girl.
Gabi has been blessed by the God of Rain himself, giving her a number of abilities. These include;
Weather Manipulation:
Due to Chaac being the God of Rain, Gabi is able to manipulate the weather, calling upon rain or even thunderstorms at will.
Rain Rejuvenation:
When in contact with rainwater, Gabi finds herself rejuvenated, gaining a disproportionate amount of superhuman clarity, strength, speed, agility, and endurance.
Axe of Chaac:
Possibly one of Gabi's most useful attributes is her axe. While it had originated as a simple lumber axe, after being blessed by Chaac, the Axe now resembles that of Chaac's very own weapon. Firstly, it is one of the most powerful weapons ever made, with the ability to cut through any earthly material. The weapon can also be used to help Gabi to direct her weather manipulation, much like a wand for example. However, if someone else was to use the axe, it would function just like any other axe. This is because the axe's properties aren't confined to that specific axe, instead to Gabi herself. Upon picking up another random axe, that weapon would then become the Axe of Chaac, with the old one returning to just a regular blade.
Godly Metamorphosis:
As Gabi makes use of her Godly powers, her body gradually begins to take the form of Chaac himself, the change starting from her axe hand. So far at its worse, her metamorphosis hasn't spread no more than halfway up her arm, with her body haven't begun to be coated with dark blue scales, reminiscent of Chaac's.
Multilingual:
Gabi is able to instantly communicate in any earthly dialect.
C H A R A C T E R M O T I V A T I O N S & G O A L S:
I love mythology and dealing with Godly Pantheons, with the Percy Jackson being one of my favourite book series to this day. As such, I loved the idea of bringing an entirely new pantheon into the mix, especially given DC's connection to Greek Mythology to Wonder Woman. This idea was also influenced by the new Wonder Woman in comics, who makes use of Brazilian mythology. While that character is a bit more connected to Wonder Woman, I like however they used the same name but moved away from Greek Mythology onto another, which is what I wanted to do here.
Fundamentally, Gabi constantly strives to do good, despite the cost. She comes across as tough and aggressive, although unbeknownst to most, this is merely her attempting to disguise the pain of losing her family. This pain also comes in the form of her constantly questioning and arguing with Chaac, whom as she learns more about, becomes the source of blame for her parent's death, due to it being a storm that killed them.
What better way for her to deal with this emotional trauma than chucking her into a team of other struggling superheroes?
C H A R A C T E R N O T E S:
Gabi, despite being known as Wonder Girl, currently has no relationship with Wonder Woman herself, or really any of her mythos. However, with such a name, she bounds to receive some unwanted attention..
R E L A T I O N S H I P S:
Charity 'Cece' Charleston: Truth be told, Gabi had been very quick making up her mind about Cece, taking an immediate dislike to her as a result of her apparent search for fame and attention. She just couldn't understand why such things mattered. How was this helping people in need? Despite her reservations, Gabi did appreciate the efforts Cece seemed to make to include her with the other girls, even if what she had in mind for the most part wasn't exactly something Gabi thought of as a good time.
Conor O'Brien: Gabi had come to enjoy spending time with Conor, with his constant strive to help her, as well as her teammates, becoming something she deeply admired about him. What more, was that the joy he had as a result of her stories about Mayan culture and her pantheon always put a smile on her face. The enthusiasm he has for magic reminds her of her father's passion for mythology, so her time in Conor's library has become somewhat of a comforting experience for her.
Dandelion: Initially, Gabi found herself terrified of Dandy at first, having never encountered a being quite like them. She would've probably avoided them a bit if Julian hadn't suggested she try and teach Dandy how to communicate more effectively. The lessons went well, and it was clear to see that Dandy was able to linguistically communicate, picking up different languages with ease, but it was still tough to properly express themselves to one another. the most As such, while she may be a lot more adjusted to Dandy, there's still a part of her that's wary of them.
Eilidh Vass: Eilidh was someone that Gabi found herself quickly drawn towards after joining the team, with the smiling girl from Scotland being the kindred spirit that she didn't know she needed. It was clear from their talks that there was a shared feeling of loss between them, something that Gabi dared not prod for the time being out of fear of accidentally pushing her away, for she knew all too well how losing your family could be. She was thoughtful, and someone Gabi felt she could always turn towards if she needed advice or some words of comfort.
Unfortunately, the time they spent together could be few and far between, as a result of Eilidh's budding friendship with Cece. Gabi knew that she obviously had no right to tell someone who they should be friends with, so merely found herself growing quiet, or even excusing herself if her conversations with Eilidh were ever interrupted by her.
Hana Hazzard: When Gabi was first told that there was a Green Lantern on the team, the last person she expected to be wielding the green power ring was someone like Hana. As a fan of Justice League growing up she had expected someone a bit more "proper". The more she got to know Hana though, the more she liked her. Sure she could be a bit rough around the edges, but she had passion, and Gabi couldn't help but appreciate her "take no shit" attitude. Despite their short time together, Gabi already considered the two friends. It also helped that Hana was someone she could rag on Cece with. She was starting to like the piercings too
Hayden Hayes: Hayden is one of Gabi's favourite people within the team, reminding her of one of many children she looked after back in Guatemala. Seeing them around the Penthouse gives her mixed feelings though. On one hand, seeing them always puts a smile on Gabi's face, however, on the other hand, she is not comfortable at all with the potentiality of going out into the field with someone so young. This has led to the occasional argument with Julian, one of which she fears Hayden may have overheard.
Johnny Dash: Gabi admires Johnny greatly, agreeing deeply with his mantra of always fighting for the little guy. She enjoys talking to him and knew that he was the kind of hero that she wanted to be. That said, despite his friendliness and charismatic nature, something about the way he acted whenever she was with him always struck her as if something was wrong. As if she was bothering him. She tries her best to shake away the thought and not let it affect her, but she knows that one day she's going to have to find out what she's done to upset the guy.
Johnny Renault: There wasn't much that Gabi had to say about Johnny if she had to be honest. He seemed like an alright guy but given their differences, both in regard to their interests, and their "abilities", they just hadn't made much effort getting to know one another so far. Hopefully, that would change going forward.
Julian Luthor: Gabi initially didn't think much of the mysterious Virdeus when he appeared in Guatemala attempting to recruit her, turning his offer down. She had explained that there was no way she could leave the city and abandon all of the people there that needed her. She assumed that once he left that would be the end of it, but mere days after his visit, construction firms around the city announced plans for various reconstruction projects around the areas worst affected by the storm. Once Gabi discovered that Julian had used his Luthor name and his stolen fortune to twist enough arms to begin these rehousing schemes, she couldn't think of a better way of saying thank you than accepting her previous offer.
Kevin Vanhagen: Gabi hasn't grown that close to Kevin outside of training. Truth be told, she was initially attracted to the guy, but while he can put up a good fight, his loud and overly confident personality isn't quite to Gabi's taste. That said, she's not actively rude to the guy and enjoys the playful taunting when the discussion turns to their small rivalry of the elements. After all, she can sympathize with Kevin, as from everything she has heard, growing up in Gotham was no picnic. However, sometimes she feels that he's in this life for the wrong reasons, which doesn't sit right with her.
Red Morrow: The base of Gabi's relationship with Red began through their training against one another, and was initially little more than that. She simply figured that they didn't have much in common, but the more they talked, the more Gabi grew a fondness for the gentle giant. Much like herself, he was trying to better himself to help those around him, and there was no quality in a person that she admired more. She enjoys sharing information about her culture with him, although has come to worry that due to Red's difficulties in distinguishing between story, myth, and history, she may be doing nothing more than confusing the man.
Selene Windle: While their initial encounter had been slightly rocky, for reasons Gabi still isn't entirely aware of, there's now no one else that Gabi would rather train with. The two quickly bonded over their mutual interests, with the hours the two have spent together discussing the myths of their various pantheons having helped reignite the old wonder she used to feel hearing the same kind of stories from her father. She has to hold her tongue however during this time, as any mention of her idol, Wonder Woman, strangely seems to sour the mood.
Varo Yelkian: Initially, Gabi had been very hesitant of Varo upon first joining the team, which some may say was understandable given that he was the first alien that she had ever met. That opinion didn't stay for long, however, as she joined the numerous other teammates bombarding him with questions about his life amongst the stars. She loved hearing about all the different myths and legends of his people. The thing she admires most about him was how he had decided to stay here, away from his people, to help others. It was something she could relate to a lot.
Vincent Jacobs: It's very safe to say that Gabi isn't Vincent's biggest fan. If the constant jokes and taunts weren't enough, the misuse of his abilities, as well as his reluctance to even be there with them all, really drives her up the wall. So far, bar the occasional retort, she's stayed quiet, but if push comes to shove, Gabi is certainly ready to shove back.
Sep