Cob the Red Bodatom

Cob is an interesting character to me at least to me because he is the product of another story. I had story in mind ten years ago, and I never forget sitting down in that Guangzhou Cafe with my old compact computer and writing my first story. I realized at about twenty pages in that I was not skilled enough to write that story yet. So I thought why not start before that story? What would the antagonist look like for this story? I had several in mind, but one stood out like a beacon beyond the rest. A red warrior riding a giant dinosaur like beast. Those beasts would be come the Tharrack, and that warrior was Cob.

Cob surprised me as a character because how I saw him was this gruff warrior of incredible strength, and the more I got into his character the more I realized there was so much more to him, he has a sensitivity to him that surprised me. That's the beauty of writing, because these characters take on a life of there own they have there own reasons for being and there own challenges.

Cob is essentially a war god that never wanted to be a war god. I think at best he would have preferred never to come to the world of Orcus. Cob at his core is almost peace loving, and only wishes to see those he cares for prosper, but in a world where prospering often as not comes at the cost of the lives of others Cob finds himself continuously damaged not only physically but mentally.

I bring up masculinity with Cob because for me he is masculinity incarnate, if you want to look at it deeper as an archetypal character; he is bright red, the color of mars, or Aries, god of war and masculine movement. So he does represent masculine energy in a time where I think that media does need more representation of masculine energy that has not been neutered. He is unapologetically powerful and uses his force, not always in the best way, but in the way he thinks is right. But I do my best not to tread into the realm of 'toxic masculinity' if I can steal a pop culture term because I think in large part the reason we have this current overindulgence of 'girl boss' archetypes is because females have been sort of put to the way side, and they wouldn't speak out so much if they did not truly feel this way.

But I am looking forward to the eventual return to an equilibrium.