Meda Karan

Personality
An alien to Earth, Meda is filled with endless curiosity about the new things happening around them and boundless affection for those close to them. Too naive for their own good at times, Meda endlessly searches for ways to support their new family and lacks confidence in their own abilities. They struggle to feel as though they have a place in this strange new world they've landed on. Nearly always only a few steps away from falling asleep, they are fond of cuddling and will never be seen without a blanket slung over their body.

Species Abilities

 * Gaseous body composed of nitrogen and helium which allows them to pass though most solid objects and float.
 * Bio-luminescent communication.
 * Complete absorption and breakdown of metallic compounds as a food source.
 * Two rotating 'moons' that form the core of the individual member, generating perpetual motion unless the moons are broken or somehow stopped. Meda's are nicknamed Phobos and Deimos.
 * Magic amplification that occurs when the gaseous matter of their body comes into contact with a magical object or a spell is cast through them. Amplifies the effects of the magic by around 5x.

Meda's Skills

 * Gifted in pattern recognition and spatial calculations, Meda used to help calculate the orbits of planets and comets their clan was passing in order to avoid running into obstacles on their journey. Now they use their advanced skills to clean out Lucky's casino when they visit.
 * Able to sometimes interact with ambient magic in the air while they are sleeping, resulting in them 'dream-walking' into the dreams of people around them. This ability sometimes activates when they are awake, particularly with people they interact with a lot, resulting in them getting a good sense of how the person is thinking and feeling for a brief moment.
 * Nicknamed the 'cuddle vortex', Meda's sleepiness can sometimes be contagious, resulting in issues if it spreads to large members of staff that suddenly find themselves unable to remain awake.

Before Earth
Meda is a member of a rare alien species nicknamed 'The Children of Comets', a species comprised of gas clouds with two rotating moons at their core. Moving in groups called clans, Children of Comets are born at random in the universe and must be found by a group of their species if they are to have a hope for survival. They are a nomadic species without a home-world, living their entire lives searching for children to rescue from the crushing loneliness of space.

From a young age, Meda had difficulty keeping up with those around them, slower growing and moving than other children. While their clan dutifully loved and cared for them, the obvious differences between themself and their peers left Meda with a deep-seated inferiority complex, always striving to prove that they can help their clan survive just as much as the rest of its members. They built themself a glider powered by their moons to be able to more easily keep up with the clan as it moved and devoted themself to tasks that didn't involve leaving the safety of the large group, like navigation and watching the children.

Falling Star
In an effort to keep up with the group, Meda pushed themself too far. Without the energy left to pilot their glider, they became trapped in the orbit of a nearby planet, their clan moving on without noticing they'd been lost. Falling from orbit, unable to stop themself, they crashed through the atmosphere in their glider and hurtled towards the ground. Through some strange twist of fate they landed in a mostly empty forest, falling through branches and leaves that slowed their descent until they landed on the head of one Alukah Karan.

Once recovered enough from the fall to move again, Meda set themself to the task of following their new friend around, lost in a strange world without any hope of getting back to the clan. The universe was a big place, and they'd had trouble keeping up even without the group's large head start. Alukah, for his part, took it in stride and the two developed a way of communicating through a mix of both their languages. Meda regarded him as the first member of their new clan, and the two grew close enough to be called friends, and then closer enough to be called lovers.

The Casino Era
Their new partner moved them from safe house to safe house, both of them worried what would happen if Meda's existence became public knowledge. As a mercenary, Alukah often attracted attention from the wrong people, including the CEO of Peace Co, who became determined to recruit the man as a weapon's specialist for his company. Mistaking a surveillance visit by Deino for an attack on Meda by the company, Alukah took the step of allying himself with Teddy Peace's rival, Lucky L. Life. His new job as the casino's head of security and arena champion took him away from his partner for long periods of time, and causing him to act different when he was around.

Concerned about the effects of the drug Lucky was giving him, Respawn, and unsure what else they could do, Meda attempted to follow Alukah to work one night and see if there was some way they could be of help to the person they loved. The night ended in near disaster, with Meda saved from eternal service to the Dread Ship Abigale by a lucky Blackjack hand and Alukah's contract with the doll severed.

The Church
Now dying from an illness known only as The Rot and devoid of the healing benefits of Respawn, Alukah decided to create a place for himself to die and moved him and Meda to an abandoned church in a small town. Meda took up residence in a hollow statue alcove while their partner set about recruiting mercenaries to work for him, masquerading as a pastor by day and the weapon's-loving, violent mercenary he'd always been by night. As his condition continued to deteriorate, Meda was forced to face the idea that their only clan member was dying, and that he seemed disinclined to do anything about it.

Teddy Peace had never given up on recruiting Alukah as his weapon though, and as the man visited the church over and over to recruit him, he managed to talk the mercenary into signing on with his company in exchange for healing. As Alukah prepared to leave once more, finding Meda a safe bunker to live in while he was gone and warning that they could not follow him under any circumstances, the wisp gave him something of their self to take with him in the hopes that it would help their dying love. Pulling Phobos from its orbit, they gave what was essentially half their life to him, hoping that it could somehow be used to heal him.

Alone Again
Now missing their clan and a moon, Meda took to wandering the planet, carefully remaining concealed from prying eyes and seeing the sights of the world that they'd never gotten to see. While stowing away aboard a research vessel that happened to belong to PISTIL in an attempt to see the Northern Lights, they were discovered by the crew on board and forced to kill all six in self-defense. After this incident, they returned to the bunker and secluded themself, ignorant of the fact that The Hound had sworn revenge on them for the killing of his members.

At odd intervals their clan member would return briefly, looking and acting much different than when he'd first left. After being transformed into the robot Bloodletter, Alukah would occasionally 'glitch', coming to find Meda and spend time with him without Peace Co.'s knowledge. This came to a head when his servers glitched hard enough for Alukah to accidentally bring Meda to near discovery by Teddy Peace, resulting in Meda's hurried flight and them accidentally cracking their remaining moon during the escape. Curling up to sleep in the bunker to heal themself, Meda mourned for their partner who seemed to be a completely different person.

After Bloodletter
After the events of The Specimens' escape, a newly returned Alukah came to fetch Meda from the bunker, waking them from a two-year slumber. He seemed himself again and explained everything that had been going on while they were asleep, promising to use his new inter-dimensional traveling to show them everything about their new home that he'd never been able to. The pair spent ten years together roaming across universes, renewing their love for each other once more and marrying in the process. At journey's end, Alukah took Meda with him when he went back to Peace Co., only a week having passed in HomeBase's universe since the fall.

Uneasy at first with being around the man who hurt their partner so deeply, Meda gradually grew comfortable within the company's halls, residing with their partner at the top of the building so that their room can have a skylight. Now sheltered from much of the threat of discovery due to Peace Co's vast reach, they began to branch out on their own, finding a place in the world that wasn't just at Alukah's side. Meda desperately wanted to be helpful for their clan member, unable to shake the feeling that they owed him for the years he'd spent diligently protecting them.

The Present Moment
Meda at the present moment has a larger social circle than at any point the past, joining a book club with Ellie Chloros and Duarte Peynado, and interacting with the various Alukah's that appeared during the universal collapse. Casey Lafretti attempted to use them to steal information from Peace Co, pretending to join the book club, but ending up attempting to kidnap them instead. While this was thwarted by Alukah and Teddy, the experience has taught them to be at least a little more conscious about the people they interact with and the trust they're willing to give at.

Much of their time is spent with Teddy, as Meda wished to learn magic from him in order to help heal Spades while the man is trapped in their universe. While this turned out to not be possible, it resulted in the discovery of their magic amplification abilities, which in turn helped finally push Teddy's RESPAWN system to full functionality. The two of them are now working together to hone Meda's abilities, and while they are aware of the man's selfish motives for helping them, they're much less afraid of him now than they used to be.

Goal
Meda has never quite been able to shake the unwavering devotion they have to those they call clan. While their definition of the word has expanded, their commitment to caring for and helping those whom it applies to remains as strong as ever. At the end of the day, Meda wants to be with their clan and Alukah always, and remains unable to shake the voice in their mind that tells them they have to be useful in order to be loved.

The Alukahs

 * Alukah Karan - Their wonderful partner and the first person they ever met in this new world. Meda is completely devoted to him, and would gladly give up the other half of their life as well if it meant he'd always be safe and happy.
 * Spades Karan - He reminds them so much of the past that at times Meda has trouble remembering he is separate from the person they knew, however small the difference. They sometimes feel that he's a second chance for them to help Alukah at a time when they were unable to.
 * Velvel Tyndall - While he made them uneasy at first, Meda has developed a theory that all Alukahs love them, and that all versions of themself love Alukah. This has carried them through their interactions with Velvel and allowed them to treat him as mostly just another version of their beloved partner.

Peace Co Affiliated

 * Teddy Peace - Being around Teddy took a while for them to get used to, but it's hard to really be afraid of the man when you watch your partner chase him around his own building with a knife every week. They will never fully trust him, but his turtlenecks make great nap spots.
 * Veronica "Ronnie" Lamdge - Ronnie has only interacted with them a few times, seemingly preferring Velvel or Teddy's company when she's at the office, but Meda thinks she's one of the prettiest women they've ever seen.
 * Lane Johanson - He seems nice but they've only interacted once or twice, and Ronnie always seems to get mad about it.

Peace Co Defectors

 * Deino - Meda joined Peace Co. after Deino left, so their only brief interaction with him was when he was spying on Alukah for Teddy and nearly exposed them. They can't say they're a fan.
 * Franklin Gospel Truth - Meda's caught glimpses of Truth when the man teleports into the building occasionally, but he always seems far more excited to see them than he should be. It's confusing.
 * Chad Arezzo - Who?
 * Velour Sunrise - They've seen her in Teddy's dreams of her and wish she would teach them how to do their makeup like her.

The Dread Ship Abigale

 * Lucky L. Life - Lucky's fine enough as long as they aren't coming into the casino to win too often. Their fear of him has faded over time, as their trust in Alukah's ability to keep them safe grew.
 * Clear - She's intimidating and she won't smile back at them, no matter how much they try.

Peacock Events

 * Hera "Peacock" Choloros - Hera's always been nice enough to them, though they get the feeling that something about their very existence makes her a bit exasperated sometimes. They think she could stand to take a nap every once in a while and would be happy to facilitate that if she'd let them.
 * Ellie Chloros - Their best friend on Earth, always happy to interact with them, explain things they don't understand, and treat them like anyone else. Meda adores Ellie and looks forward to seeing her every week.
 * Ghost - They aren't sure who that is.
 * Puck - He's always been perfectly polite to them, and they remember him from when he used to be part of Alukah's congregation. They see him every week too during Book Club!

CD

 * TJ - TJ is a great nap buddy and Meda looks forward to when he comes over to Peace Co, since it means they'll get some of the best sleep of their life!
 * Camilla - She's always so busy with the kids that Meda's afraid to go near her in case they accidentally hurt one. Human babies are fragile.
 * Damian - His fur is as soft as their favorite blanket.

Pistil

 * Cedric "The Hound" Lafretti - Despite the man's grudge against them, Meda doesn't know he exists.

Other Villains

 * Casey "KC" Lafretti - Casey masqueraded as their friend in an attempt to manipulate them, steal secrets from Peace Co, and ultimately turn them into a walking piece of her art. They miss her though.
 * Lillian Lightbox - The owner of their favorite theme park, once they got around to enjoying one. She seems just a bit off...

O.R.D.E.R.

 * Duarte Peynado - The third member of their Book Club. Meda worries about him, given his high likelihood of charging into a burning building or some other crazy stunt. He's good at making them laugh.

Unaffiliated

 * The Specimens - They think they saw a few of them in their dreams, but it's always hard to remember what happens in dreams when you wake up...