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somniumoflight · 5 years

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Crossover Idea #5 - Artemis Fowl and My Hero Academia

Artemis Fowl is a Quirkless Villain in the My Hero Academia world

My sister’s a big fan of My Hero Academia, which means that although I don’t watch/read the anime/manga myself, I know at least the basics of the world it takes place in - especially the whole issue of quirks and quirkless and prejudice against the latter. Seriously, for a world of professional superheroes their society is seriously toxic to EVERYONE, but especially the quirkless. Like, seriously, it’s fucked up man. I could go into a whole rant about how toxic the society of MHA is, and I barely know a thing about it.

But that’s not the point and I’m staying up late to type this idea so let’s get to the actual point - barely thirty minutes ago I suddenly came up with an AMAZING idea for a crossover, and that idea is Artemis Fowl, heck, the entire Fowl Family, being a family of quirkless villains and masterminds in the MHA world - quirkless villains who ALWAYS WIN.

Since I don’t know enough about the MHA world to put a plot to this idea, let’s just go into bullet point details of the idea I have so far. Heck, if anybody familiar with both of these fandoms has an idea, go ahead and reblog this post with it!

So, ideas for this crossover are as follows:

As quirkless villains in the MHA world, the Fowl family would probably be seriously screwed if they were to blatantly go up against heroes and police in public during their criminal businesses like other villains seem to. Therefore, my solution - nobody knows that they’re villains. Heck, nobody even knows that they’re quirkless.

The Fowls hide in plain sight as a rich philanthropist family in Ireland who doctor the paperwork to make it seem like all their money comes from official channels somehow, and they hide their quirklessness by bribing doctors to mis-diagnose them with quirks instead of quirkless - usually mental quirks, or quirks that could be easily proven to be “real” by their own experience, such as in observation or lie-detecting.

They’ve been doing this since quirks started becoming common enough that the quirkless were the minority, to avoid persecution.

The name “Fowl” is actually the name they use as part of their villain identities, rather than their actual family names. Well, it WOULD be what they used for their villain names if they bothered announcing themselves to the world at all. Stealth villains, after all - it’s better to go completely unnoticed in a world where things like human lie detectors are a thing, rather than draw any kind of attention to yourself.

Literally the only people in the world that know that the Fowls are criminals are the Butlers, a family of bodyguards who have been in it with them up to the ears in the crime world for centuries.

Unlike the Fowls, who are all quirkless, the Butlers range anywhere from having full-on heroic quirks to being quirkless themselves. However, even the Butlers without quirks are dangerous thanks to their training, and the Fowls help those without quirks hide themselves the same way their family does, partially in thanks for their continued loyalty and to also ensure their continued loyalty.

These two families are secretly behind every single major villain-caused incident in Europe, and a good number of them throughout Asia, the least number of them being in Japan (for good reason - they’d rather not attract All Might’s attention, thank you.) Their motivations for being villains range from just liking to be bad to wanting to prove to the toxic society they live in that quirkless does not mean lower than dirt like the world wants to think.

Artemis would end up hiding behind an intelligence quirk, much to his chargain - he’s very proud of his intelligence, thank you, and does NOT like having to hide behind a false quirk label when his smarts are all him. Unfortunately, he also understands that doing so would draw the ire of the entirety of society just for existing, so he goes along with it anyway... fo a while.

After his father dies (actually dies in this universe, because hello, QUIRKS) and his mother - who actually does have a quirk and might even be as clueless about the rest of the world that her husband, son, and their bodyguards are quirkless - goes insane, Artemis basically goes “screw the rules” and makes his debut as a faceless puppetmaster, he does so as “Artemis Fowl,” and announces his identity to be quirkless to the world

He then proceeds to run metaphorical circles around the heroes of the world starting at age 12, much to the shock and irritation and possibly fury of the world at large.

As for the fairies in this crossover, they’d probably be actually better off in canon when it comes to hiding themselves - in a world where people can literally turn permanently invisible or be born with animal characteristics, tiny people with pointed ears really won’t attract much attention, so long as there’s not a whole lot of them in one area all at once.

This means that though most fairies still live underground, their exposure is far less likely - heck, LEP officers even have fake human IDs that identify them as people with a quirk that changes their appearance only, and have mesmerized people into accepting the IDs as truth, even in official statements and such.

Of course, this also means that there are a lot more fairies trying to visit the surface because it’s less risky to do so than in canon, which means the LEP have their hands even more full than they would in a world without quirks.

Holly and Artemis’s meeting would probably be a little different from canon. The idea I have is that Artemis would uncover evidence of the People from either the time pre-Quirks or from somewhere in the modern day - maybe he accidentally witnesses them or something - and then he’d seek them out, because these people are clearly not at all normal and their abilities would make them FANTASTIC assets to his criminal empire.

Basically instead of outright kidnapping a fairy for gold, Artemis would probably blackmail the fairy people into working for him as informants or spies. After making sure they won’t simply kill them - probably with one of his informants waiting out of blast range of most long-range quirks (and therefore bio-bombs) holding information on the existence of fairies to release to the public at his command in a way they can’t simply erase - the fairies grudgingly agree to work with him.

Eventually though, despite the grudgingness of their agreement, the fairies would go from “unwilling accomplices” to “in it with Artemis up in the pointy ears” because, despite the advantages quirk society gives them, the society at large is ultimately even more risky to them than even a quirkless world would be. What exactly they and Artemis would do about the whole issue is something I haven’t figured out yet, though.

And that’s it, that’s literally all of the idea for now. It’s mostly just worldbuilding stuff - I’d need to know more about MHA to make any kind of plots that go alongside the canon storyline, though I think I could probably think something up that could be reasonable for a story like this with what I know now...

#crossover ideas #artemis fowl #my hero academia #The Fowl family is a family of Quirkless villains #the fowls hide as a normal quirk-bearing family in ireland #they are stealth villains who most people never realize exist #except for Artemis #because he's #well #Artemis #he never does anything by halves #basically quirkless genius motivated by spite towards quirk society completely wrecks the egos of heroes worldwide #by announcing that he's a quirkless villain and then beating the heros or outsmarting them every single time #the fairies hide in plain sight too but are almost at more risk in this world than AF canon #which means that eventually the two team up #and become a villain team of AWESOME #fanfic ideas

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thosewickedlovelies · 3 years

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we could be Dreamers - Prologue

Pairing: Marcus Moreno x GN!Reader

Rating: T

Summary: How this world came to be

Word count: 1,671

A/N: Hiii friends 🤗 soo there’s not really a lot of plot or Marcus Moreno :( here, but consider this a prologue/worldbuilding for a Marcus Moreno x reader fic I may eventually write lol. I’m really interested in how this universe got from The Adventures of Sharkboy and Lavagirl to We Can Be Heroes, because like. Sharkboy and Lavagirl were literally just some kid’s imaginary friends that somehow magically became real, so what does that mean for the other Heroics? Where did they come from?? So I kinda wanted to write something that would make you Think :) and explore the ramifications of such a transformed universe.

Consider my previous Marcus Moreno fic a prelude to this prologue 💗

It was a little unnerving sometimes, being in a room with so much power. No matter that this particular training arena at Heroics Headquarters was at least the size of an American football field- when all of the Heroics are gathered in the same confined space, focused on a single purpose, you can feel it. Like their power prances tauntingly in the corner of your eye, slipping away when you try to look directly at it. Like it winds through the air, worming its way into your veins, so your very blood breathes at you to run, run, run.

Not all of the individual Heroics gave off such uncanny vibes; some were simply ordinary people with extraordinary abilities. Techo-No, for instance, and his gift for creating fantastical gadgets. The implications of his works relevant to the world at large could be worrying, but he had limits. He was just a man. Determined, and creative (even more so with his son throwing ideas at him), but ultimately human.

Not like those with powers who’d been Dreamed.

Take Sharkboy. The temper for which he’d been infamous in his youth had cooled, but when he snapped, he did so literally- blade-sharp teeth an audible clash when he bared them in a ringing snarl. Any water in the room would roil and froth- but the most hair-raising sight was his eyes, tinged with the unreadable, abyssal blackness of his namesake. Focused with a predator’s calculation on the object of his fury. (It made you think that, ironically, his temper had cooled too much- concentrated into something as icy and merciless as the depths of the sea. Just as well his wife was a lava goddess).

It was well-documented that Sharkboy could influence his oceanic kin, seeing as he was half-shark himself. Some marine biologists postulated- in low voices- that fluctuation in his emotions could unknowingly influence shark activity no matter how far from the sea he was. But nobody at Heroics Headquarters had ever dared suggest attempting a study.

That you knew of, anyway. You wouldn’t be surprised if there was a classified government branch somewhere which dealt solely with more insidious studies of the Heroics. Their weaknesses. Ways to defeat them.

Just in case.

Sharkboy and his emotions had stabilized as his Dreamer matured, but not all Dreamers were so invested in the well-being of their creations, or of the world they inhabited and could inadvertently affect. It was suspected that not all Dreamers knew that they had Dreamed at all, that they unintentionally brought Dreams into being far from where they were located and simply never became aware. This resulted in some Dreamed individuals being...unstable. Incomplete, really. Brought forth from a child’s mind, a young person who didn’t yet fully grasp the complexities of existing in this world, or indeed, the intricacies of what made one human at all.

Dreamers were children, more often than not. Their imaginative abilities generally far outstripped those of adults, worn down as they were with the grind of building a real life. The younger the person, the more time and creativity they maintained. The fewer methods they possessed to process their struggles which were grounded in reality, and not their imaginations.

Despite the years that have passed, nobody quite knows what happened to lead up to the Incident. How a single young boy had imagined so powerfully that it had warped reality; how his imaginings had given him the ability to design the universe at will.

The Daydreamer.

Max, as he later insisted on being called. An almost disturbingly innocuous name for a boy who had changed the world. Who had all but envisioned himself into having terrific powers- and enabled others to do the same.

In the years following the Incident, Sharkboy and Lavagirl continued to visit him in secret (Later, scientists realized that this why they recorded occasional, inexplicable disturbances in seismic and marine activity). But it wasn’t long before a larger threat to the entire Earth appeared- and so did they. To defend the place which they declared to be their new home. Though they had been willed into existence to protect Planet Drool, as Max determined to relinquish his daydreaming abilities and by extension, his dreamworld, so did the planet and its life diminish. Their presence there was no longer required, they’d explained. But earth could still benefit from their protection- especially after the reality of the threat came to light.

Someone else had Dreamed.

It wasn’t clear who, or how, or what their intentions had been. But once it had been said, everyone was forced to acknowledge the truth of it- or at least, admit that there was no other explanation. The villain’s origins were not terrestrial in any previously established sense.

Anyone who had ever met a child could have a predicted it. Too many young people ended up feeling outcast, overlooked, by both their peers and adults in their lives. It should have been obvious from the way they whispered his name. Not Max- a moniker far too average and relatable- but what they reverently regarded as his true title. The Daydreamer. A near-holy figure who had changed the game for youths everywhere. Now they had a way to combat those who plagued them. A way to create or become the superheroes who previously only existed in comic books and TV shows.

Or some did, anyway. Individuals with the strength of will and heart to Dream weren’t rare, but they weren’t quite common, either.

The only truly neutral positive of the Dreamer evolution was that governments everywhere suddenly accepted the need for increased mental health resources. Designed to increase healthy socialization for all ages and give young people ways to process and communicate their emotional needs, such programs were approved seemingly overnight in schools from elementary to university aged. “Small town life” flourished, and many city quarters and apartment buildings took to implementing “community builders” or, less charmingly, “social facilitators”- positions designed to create cohesive areas of living and minimize the kind of isolation and negative feelings that could leave someone to Dream of improving their life.

Nowadays, not all super-powered individuals were Dreamed. The second generation of Heroics was a testament to that. As if the universe itself had reckoned with the self-inception of the Dreamers, and seen fit to provide reality-warping countermeasures of its own.

Less than a year after the Incident, babies with...unique qualities began to be born. Few and far between, it seemed at first. Whispered reports swept from far corners of the globe, a phone tree branching from frantic parents to anyone who could provide even the slightest bit of reassurance. It seemed like doctors everywhere were swapping glances, no one willing to admit what was happening- until a second Villain appeared.

Every incident report said the same thing: a baby started crying, and then the hostages were saved by a power outage. A wash of sparks that darkened half the city.

Webbed with red lightning.

You sneak a look at the fully grown Heroic now, the long braids of her ponytail slipping over the shoulder of her characteristic red training outfit. Red Lightning Fury flexes her fingers as she listens to the head trainer explain today’s exercise- the usual sort of ‘heroes versus villains’ battles, with you and your fellow specialists assisting as villains- but judging by the lack of the smell of ozone, she isn’t yet using her powers. Blinding Fast, on the other hand, appears to fritz in place every few seconds, and you guess he’s running invisible laps to pass the time. It’s hard to tell if that’s what’s causing Lavagirl’s hair to tendril like neon pink smoke even though she’s standing still; usually the hypnotic heat shimmer of her lava flow causes the effect naturally.

You stretch in place while team arrangements are announced. As the majority of the Heroics filter into the stands to wait for their match, the buzzing, writhing presence of their power fades, and you can breathe more easily.

A figure flickers into being beside you, and you jump. “Jeez, Visi! How many times have I told you not to do that?”

Having anticipated your reaction from the countless previous times she’s snuck up on you anyway, Invisigirl laughs. “You think you’d be used to it by now.” Your closest Heroic friend grins at you, all pearly teeth against smooth brown skin.

And she’s right, which is why you were so disgruntled. Having been caught unawares too many times by the invisible hero’s silent movements, you had once asked her to give you lessons. Her instruction had improved your own stealth immensely, and now that you knew what kind of signs to listen for, her attempts at startling you didn’t work nearly as often as they had. But- “It’s hard to focus on anything with all of your powers clogging up the air,” you grumble. The birthed heroes understood what you meant- they felt it too, the nagging hiss of something other in the Dreamed heroes’ energy.

Across the arena, it looks like Miracle Guy and Marcus Moreno are waiting to be your opponents. Interesting. Miracle Guy, with his Dreamed up Superman-like abilities, was the only one who had a way of seeing Invisigirl. What it was precisely, you couldn’t recall. You make a mental note to ask Visi later.

Marcus, however, telekinesis aside, is clearly meant to be the counter to your strengths. The two men are discussing intently, but as if feeling your assessing stare, Marcus glances over. He lifts his eyebrows at you in playful challenge, a hint of a smile quirking his shapely lips before he’s pursing them at his duel-mate again.

Suppressing the pleased flutter down your spine, you turn your attention to the task ahead as Invisigirl dips her head toward you. Planning something clever, you realize, intrigued by the glint in her eye. “Let’s talk strategy.”

When the starting bell rings, your partner vanishes, and your smile curves as sharp and gleaming as the blade in your hand.

#marcus moreno #marcus moreno fic #wcbh fic #wcbh #we can be heroes fic #we can be heroes #pedro pascal characters #marcus moreno x reader #marcus moreno x you #let me know what you think!!!#🙈🙈🙈#and if anyone wants to help me dream up a plot for this...i have Some Thoughts

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scriptlgbt · 3 years

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in the story i’m planning, the two main characters are a brother and sister who were separated when they were very young (the brother around age ten and the sister around age six) and reunite as adults (their mid-to-late thirties). the sister is a trans woman and had not come out / realized she was trans while growing up with her brother. during their separation the brother starts wearing a mask and using only a code name at all times—because of this, she has no idea what he looks like or what his real name is and he doesn’t realize who she is even though they’ve been traveling together for months. eventually an antagonist reveals the identities and backgrounds of several main characters, including the brother, and then the sister. this is the part i’m struggling to approach—how can i properly do a reveal about the sister so that the brother knows she’s his family without framing it as blatant outing? if the villain were to say “your sister, [deadname]” and the brother expresses some confusion like “i don’t have a sister?” would it be alright for the villain to say something like “i should clarify, i am referring to the one now going by [name]” and the brother realizes who she is? i’m writing this as a cis woman and i feel like this approach is problematic but i am not sure how else to approach the reveal. if this doesn’t work do you have any advice on how else i can do it? thank you!

Your instincts that your approach is problematic are definitely right. It’s literally an outing and the trans character’s deadname is used as a weapon. These kinds of stories can sometimes work, but those kinds of stories are usually by trans authors trying to explain to an audience that it is morally wrong to out someone and use their deadname as a weapon against them. That, or it’s a trans author writing something that’s meant to be cathartic for a trans audience, or to depict the deep evilness of a specific character, or some other deeply important reason. (Mainly, those scenes and plot tools require trans authors, the majority of the time if not all, I’d say.) Explaining a trans character’s identity to an audience is just not a good enough reason to use a scene like that, in my opinion.

I’m not personally going to go so far as to say that you should never even consider the existence of a deadname for your trans characters, BUT I question the relevance, because it’s almost never actually necessary in 99.99% of the occasions most authors of trans characters seem to think. I just need people to deeply question why there is this compulsion to include something like that as some kind of go-to option. It can be avoided the vast majority of the time.

To give actual advice on trying to communicate this to the characters and the reader, we have a stealth tag that will probably help you in terms of inspiration.

Specific to a situation like this, I would probably find some ways to hint at something like this being possible earlier on. Something like pointing out coincidences that are more common when people are related (like similar stature, allergies, whatever), or mentioning a shared memory of their sibling. Or a very clear birthmark, or port wine stain, or some other thing that’s distinctive.

I also think that it might be a pretty nice subversion of common tropes like this to have the cis brother be able to immediately accept the possibility that he has no idea who the person he once knew could actually have become. Including the possibility of that person being a woman. (... Just don’t frame that as a joke.) Being open to your missing family being anybody makes a lot more sense to me than thinking you would be able to recognize the six-year-old you knew decades later.

Making it a big dramatic reveal is... dangerous and generally not okay. We’ve written on this a bit over the years but I’m struggling to remember what specific post to link that would be helpful for this. Among other reasons, avoid it because if something like that happened in real life, it would probably give a trans person some extreme trauma (to have a friend out them, let alone an enemy) and cause someone to fear for their life if not be in immediate danger. A villain respecting a character’s Actual gender does not guarantee safety if they are literally committing the act of outing someone. Outing is a dangerous act and it causes harm in itself. It’s terrifying.

Think of it like having all of your clothes taken from you in front of people you do not know or trust. You had no way of fighting to keep those clothes on. You have no way to get those clothes back. You just have to live in the cold, maybe until you freeze to death.

Another thing you could try is to have a scene like that but before the villain can say anything, it’s immediately guessed by the brother that his sister is his sister, with the smallest amount of external hinting. Because other coincidences have lined up.

You don’t have to have the brother and sister sharing everything and trusting each other in order to hint at commonalities either - there’s definitely ways that things can slip up that work together to paint a picture. Like being early risers, being able to trade shoes in an emergency because they have the same size, having similar cultural backgrounds that they are both aware of even if they don’t necessarily have the same relationship with that background.

- mod nat

#mod nat #stealth #trans characters #trans #coming out: to the reader #coming out #coming out: trans #trans: coming out #Anonymous

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postmodernmulticoloredcloak · 4 years

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Voice, agency and power in the Smithsonian scene in CATWS

I wrote a post yesterday about the symbology of pictures in the Smithsonian scene of CATWS, and I mentioned a topic that now I feel like exploring more.

In yesterday’s post I argued that the scene contrasts how Peggy is seen as older (both in the 50s footage and in the parallel scene where Steve visits her in person), in color, and we actually hear her speak, both in the footage and in person; and how Bucky is seen in pictures and wordless footage, “frozen” (eh) in the 40s, and even when we meet him in person he’s literally muted and stuck in the appearance and age he had in the 40s because he was literally frozen for most of the time that has passed since then.

Then I was chatting with @winterofthedarkestlight and it occurred to me that the contrast goes beyond just Peggy and Bucky.

I once saw a video that analyzed the use of music in the MCU and it argued that the Smithsonian scene should have eliminated the museum voice that narrates Steve’s and Bucky’s story, because it adds unnecessary “noise” since it provides information that we already know from the previous Cap movie (unless they assumed that most people didn’t actually watch it). I personally agreed with that, but yesterday I realized that the unnecessary noise actually serves a function in the logic of the scene.

There are, in fact, a lot of words in the Smithsonian scene. Quotes and captions on the walls and panels, the narrating voice, Peggy’s video. A lot of people are speaking, directly or not: Peggy, the academic team that put on the exhibition and wrote the texts, the President of the US whose quote is featured at the beginning of the scene. Two figures are silent: Steve and Bucky. Steve literally starts the scene putting his finger in front of his mouth, to ask the child who recognized him not to reveal his identity. Bucky is seen first in his solo panel, then in the footage with Steve, who figuratively also “died” in the 40s (just like the Peggy Steve knew “died” and only lives in the black and white picture in Steve’s compass).

Steve and Bucky are silent while other people talk about them. Steve has lost control over his own narrative: he’s literally in disguise, pretending to be someone else, while the exhibition speaks about him in terms that are not Steve’s. “A symbol to the nation, a hero to the world--the story of Captain America is one of honor, bravery and sacrifice”... blah blah. Steve doesn’t have a voice, and doesn’t have agency over his figure and the meaning of his actions. He’s become a tool in the hands of the dominant power system, that pushes a certain kind of patriotic propaganda of heroism in the war against the Nazis... a shiny surface painted over a much darker reality. That’s why it’s so important that he gives his speech about what courage and heroism means for him over the intercom when they take the headquarters: he stops being silent, he uses his own voice and reclaims agency over his own narrative (in fact, by putting himself in the symbolical place of Pierce, who was the authority that would give the speeches in the building, and replacing that narrative).

Parallel to Steve’s runs Bucky’s narrative, of course. He’s been subjected to the same thing, except obviously in a more horrifying way. He’s been robbed of control over his narrative, stripped of agency and stripped of his own identity to the point he doesn’t know his name (similarly, Steve is called Captain Rogers or Captain America, and when Peggy says his name in the video, she corrects herself: there’s no more space for Steve to exist).

Neither Steve or Bucky, although in (apparently) very different ways (Steve, after all, is also fighting Hydra’s battles at the beginning of the movie, Steve simply doesn’t know...), are not in control of who they are and how others perceive them. (Which is also why Steve starts the movie with a “stealth suit”, monochrome and meant not to be seen, and later picks his old suit which is meant to be seen and recognized, by Bucky but also by everyone else - “if they’re shooting at you they’re bad”, he tells Sam, which also translates in “if they’re shooting at me and you, a walking flag and a giant bird, they’re easily recognizable as Hydra agents”.)

The scene in the Smithsonian, with the “twin” scene afterwards of Steve visiting Peggy, emphasize how the Steve-Peggy relationship can no longer happen (age gap aside), and possibly could not actually happen outside of the war even without Steve’s missed time. Because Peggy has a voice; she’s one of the figures who has agency, and, while she’s no longer in the business because she’s gotten too old and sick for it, she’s held power through a large portion of her life. She’s one of the speakers; she’s been one of those holding control over the narrative (of Steve, among the rest). Again, her responsibility over Hydra’s flourishing (and, more or less indirectly, over what happened to Bucky) inside of Shield through the decades should have been addressed in the third Cap movie, because it’s just something that had a lot of narrative potential. I’m not saying she should have been framed as a villain, but at least re-framed in a more critical way: Fury was not a villain in CATWS but still acknowledged he was part of the problem, and took a step back and handed the reins to Steve. The narrative never acknowledges that the original Shield founders were part of the problem, and CACW instead makes a nonsensical mess of a plot (if we can even call it a plot, because it goes nowhere and is just a pretext for Tonypain) with Howard Stark and just kills Peggy off screen and uses another woman to send through her words because women are interchangeable, so.

Anyway. CATWS suggests, at least, that Peggy is on the sides of the ones who have a voice, thus power. Steve, on the other hand, doesn’t share that experience at all (and you know what Steve thinks about shared life experience and relationships), but he instead shares Bucky’s experience of silence and loss of control over his own identity and purpose. Again, while the ways Hydra uses the two of them are very different, they’re genuinely just two sides of the same coin, because Steve starts the movie just as much as a pawn of the system, he just has the material, physical, emotional and cognitive tools (including the support of Natasha and Sam) to break out of it earlier. (Can you believe CACW doesn’t actually give Bucky a single chance to actually... face... Hydra at all. I’m not saying he should have gotten revenge because that’s not a good narrative, but he deserved to get some closure in regards of his abusers, instead of getting more abuse and just getting to suffer because of what he’s suffered before.)

I’ll finish this post here because I have accidentally entered the not-civil-war-friendly zone and we don’t need me ranting again today, but I just wanted to say how fascinating it is that such a small scene like the Smithsonian visit can hold so many layers. They just don’t make ‘em like they used to, uh.

#my mcu thoughts #catws #agency #steve #bucky #peggy #stucky #stevebucky #mcu

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yourultraarchive · 3 years

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Oh, no no it's not an issue at all! I don't mind it's alright! Focus and take care of yourself first and foremost! :>

And yes! I'll be doing her template once I actually find the time to draw her in her outfit and also for the mini scenes! Also I've actually ended up changing her name to Yaren instead since I was told by some people that Yuren sounded like another english word for something else (unfortunate :'D), I don't think that should change the kanji all that much but ahh I'm unsure.

Anyway sorry for the very long blabber, I did want to say what Yaren's quirk is! Her hero name is a WIP between Waterdog, Waterpuppy, Lottie or something else entirely.

Her quirk is called Axolotl, which gives her the humanoid appearance of an axolotl and is able to do anything an axolotl can do. Having gills to breathe underwater, but also lungs to live on land, a tail to swim really fast and also incredibly fast regeneration! She's usually better suited to fight underwater. She can heal almost any part of her body, minor cuts, severed limbs and even internal organs and brain! The latter however take days to weeks to heal, everything else can take seconds or minutes depending how much blood she's willing to lose to heal quicker.

Drawbacks however include her skin being irritable and sore if she's not in water long enough so she carries a water spray to help deal with it if it starts getting sore, she's very sensitive to toxins and pollution and if she overdoes her regeneration she'll get permanent scars on those areas and will be harder to heal properly next time. Plus if she overdoes it in any part of her body, she can lose too much blood and become paralyzed or pass out from blood loss.

Extra tid bits include how her skin is naturally a light pink but if she's in water long enough it turns darker and black like a wild axolotl which helps with camouflage and much much later probably in second year or third, she finds out her saliva or blood has regenerative abilities on others if they consume it or if it's placed on a wound!

I am so so sorry that was incredibly long, her quirk is pretty detailed as I've thought and researched about it a lot! I do have issue with trying to find a way to make her able to battle, and the only idea I got is that when she gets injured she can force her body to react to it to have an adrenaline rush which makes her strong enough for a while. That and also in water, due to her high speed and better suited environment she's able to sneakily attack enemies with quick powerful punches or kicks added to her quick swim speed! Thank you for reading and I am so sorry it's so long, please please don't rush yourself replying to this! As I said take care of yourself and thank you for your help! :D

Hi!

Sorry for the late reply again! (Life is busy.)

Yeah I didn't realize the english word thing either. But like I said in my original post, there are other readings to use, or the option of rearranging the name. ("ya", like has been mentioned before, is not a reading for that kanji, so it'd be a kirakira reading if anything. Unlike in English, changing one letter of a name to make it more unique doesn't work the same way in Japanese since it changes the meaning entirely in normal cases.) One of my previous suggestions in the first post were "Yujin/Yuzin" because the kanji for "ren" could be read that way in Japanese (as previously mentioned, "ren" is not a Japanese reading, but a Chinese one), but if you're set on using "ren" you could always rearrange it to "Renyu", or use the other readings for the "yu" kanji and make "Renie" or "Reniya" or something. Or you could still change "ren" and get "Jinie" or "Jiniya" or "Jinyu", among other things.

As for the quirk, it's already really well-thought-out and thorough! I don't know if you actually need to expand on it because that's already a lot of skills (I like the bit about the camouflage, and the later-in-school-years leaning how to heal others). I think it's a careful balance between being realistic and being overpowered (which can lead to potential mary-sue moments if you're being wary about that, but it's your character and if you have fun with it you can do whatever you want--besides, in canon Izuku's got that going on himself lol). You don't really need the bit about "when she's injured she can force her blood to give her an adrenaline rush and make her super strong", that feels like too much tbh.

I think the thing about trying to give her quirk so many applications is that you're trying to wield her powers over too many fields. You want her to be a battler but also good at sneaking/surprise attack tactics but also good at rescue (which is what I thought her powers would fit! Being good at being underwater and also healing? Rescuing people seems perfect for her!) but there IS such as thing as being spread too thin. Even in-universe or in-story or wherever you're planning to use her, if you have her try to do EVERYTHING, realistically she's going to burn out. It's good to have ambition, but even most characters in MHA don't have that many focuses.

I forget which characters canonically have certain career goals, but I know for certain there are several characters whose quirks and personalities are geared more toward being disaster/rescue heroes (like the Wild Wild Pussycats) or support heroes (like Nighteye) than toward reaction/responsive heroes (like All Might) or stealth heroes (like Eraserhead, but I think his type of hero work is also arguable and fits under multiple umbrellas). It's like in the very first arc where there's a bunch of heroes standing around not helping Bakugou when he was caught in that slimy villain because they knew their quirks weren't suited to that situation--it's not cowardly, but it's realistic, when they know their quirks can do more harm than good in certain situations, even if they wanted to help.

I think that's what applies here, with your character. Yes, I understand wanting her to be able to adapt to any situation, but I think there's a point where you have to give her a goal and set her toward it. Does she want to be on the frontline reacting to villain attacks as they come and going out to apprehend them first-hand, or does she want to pre-emptively stop villains before they can rise by doing investigation and stealth work, or does she want to use her incredibly fit biology to help others when disaster strikes and there's no villain involved at all? Sure she can have ambition like Bakugou or Izuku who want to be the best #1 hero, but even they have their focuses (both are reactive striker types!) and while Izuku is adaptive (ie. he's strategic and well-prepared for a raid strike to surprise attack the base Nighteye found, or he rescued people stuck under buildings and whatnot during that exam and had good "bedside manner" for lack of a better term when dealing with rescuees) most of his actual quirk training has gone toward being brute force and quick response toward emergencies and villainous plots.

You can have her be strong but also give her vulnerabilities and that's okay. Like giving her the regeneration powers but also making them necessary because her skin or bone structure is weak like a real axolotl's, which would make her not very suited to brute force situations but that's fine because if she were perfect for speed and stealth and also brute force then it wouldn't give room for conflict or growth in your story. Forcing her to work around her weaknesses is one of those things that could make her stronger--make her more aware of herself or her surroundings or her limits or what she's willing to sacrifice (like Izuku in the entrance exam--can she afford to break her bones if it meant saving someone?) but it doesn't make the weaknesses go away, and working past those weaknesses isn't going to invalidate that they exist. She's not going to win every time--that would be boring wouldn't it?--and you need to give her ways to lose as well as ways she can triumph.

(A good example of this, and this is the first thing that popped into my mind even though it's not MHA, is Edward Elric from FMA. He's the main character so of course he wins a lot and he's tough and cool and seems like he's so strong. But the most prominent moments in the story are when his prosthetic arm/leg don't work, or he loses them, and he still fights but he's disabled but he's fully aware of this, and having abilities to work through the fights when he's missing an arm doesn't mean he's forgotten that he's missing an arm or that he never needed it to win. It means he found a way to work around those weaknesses and still achieve his goal.)

I kinda lost track of the original question/thought here, but to round back to it--when your character is injured, the adrenaline rush to fight longer or get to safety? That should be all her, that's character traits and determination and strength of will, not part of her quirk. She doesn't need some superpowered adrenaline rush to be part of her quirk, and you don't need to make her "able to battle" if she's not suited for it, unless that's one of her goals (while foregoing the other potentials her powers have--if she's aiming to fight villains face to face, then she's probably not focused on rescuing people or rounding around for a sneak attack, and in that kind of situation she should leave that up to real rescue/response heroes while she's playing distraction and keeping the villains' focus on her!) and if being able to battle ISN'T her main focus, then in a situation where she HAS to, you can make her struggle and that just makes her all the more real and interesting. You can make her get help from her classmates, or you can make her fight and lose and realize she's not suited for battle and switch focus (if it was her original focus) or realize she needs a plan to deal with that in the future while still staying true to her actual goal (if she wanted to focus on rescue for example, and she had to fight a front-line battle and she realizes she's not great at it, then maybe her strategy can just be to run and get a strike in here or there but the ultimate goal is to wait for help and backup to arrive in that case).

That was a lot so I hope it was useful and not too rambly but remember that these are just suggestions! I was just talking ^_^;;

#leafychaotic #asks #replies #archivist #(not directed at you but) general reminder that if you like getting my help please consider donating! thanks <3

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gt-adventures · 4 years

Text

Hey Little SongBird

(SFW GT fantasy adventure short story.)

A Tale of the Mystic Woods

Staring: Yonah HaEsh the half-giant wizard. and guest-starring Ophir, the mostly human bard.

Summary: Ophir the bard needs a story to get back in the good graces of the Bards Guild and ventures into the Mystic Woods to find one. And what a story he ends up in! In the clutches of the Great and Terrible Yonah HaEsh. Can Ophir, through story, song, and dance, touch the evil “man-eating” giant’s wicked heart and avoid a terrible fate? (yes of course he can!)

Warnings: Yonah’s job is to be a villainous fairy tale giant (and wizard). That means the whole “fee fi fo fum” and threatening to eat people routine, and he’s really convincing. At no point in this story does he ever intend to follow through on the threat. ALSO Ophir tells a fairytale that ends slightly gruesomely (I actually changed it to be less so… still)

---

I hate the stereotype of bards being horny tricksters who use their voices to seduce people into infidelity. Any such stories are complete poppycock and base slander. Bards are more than pretty faces and lovely voices. We are first and foremost story tellers, entertainers! Actors and chroniclers! Often risking life and limb to get you the stories you love so much. Those fancy sword moves and fight dances you see on stage aren’t just for show.

But still. Going into the Mystic Woods in search of my next story was not a great idea. Solo’ing an adventure into such a dangerous realm was asking for death, with no one around who could tell of it. And yet. I had run out of new material and was desperate. Why didn’t I just purchase rights from another bard through the guild? You might ask. Clever, very clever, but that’s what low rankers do. The apprentices, the journeyors. Not Masters such as I. At least. Not ones who are blacklisted from the guild for not properly crediting a story. How was I to know it wasn’t public domain! It seemed pretty generic to me.

Another problem with being blacklisted? No one wants to adventure with you. Not anyone high ranking enough to help me anyways.

Regardless, to earn back my place in the guild I needed a new story, an impressive story. So I gathered my supplies and took the first teleport to the City of Luster, closest city in the Kingdom of Orr to the Mystic Woods. Sure, other cities exist at its borders, but Luster is the only one with a direct path into the Woods. A path that is safe, to a point.

It’s also a great place to get a few last minute supplies. For example, a small ukulele. My previous instrument, my precious goldenrod Oud, was repossessed by the guild. I needed something cheap and lightweight. And also I was banned from purchasing from most craftsfolk because, and I’m sure you’re tired of hearing this, im Blacklisted.

Luster is so large that I was able to find the ukulele in a pawn shop. I wasn’t after a ukulele, that’s just what was there.

Right! I was ready to go.

Whistling the first ever song I wrote, and tuning my new old ukulele, I set off down the road.

And Into the Woods.

---

Maybe I should lower my standards? Surely the guild won't be too hard on me?

Or perhaps it would just take more than a day and night in the woods to find a story.

The first day I found some gnomes preparing for a small feast of the half-moon glory. I was confident that something would happen at the party. Something had to go wrong, and maybe a hero, maybe I, would save the day! Or night, as it would be night. No such luck, it was a very nice celebration, absolutely no issues. Wasted a day!!

Not that i'm on a time limit.

The gnomes were so nice, and they made the most delightful floral scented cakes. They enjoyed my songs and tales about heroic gnomes and I left their camp with a flower crown and a sack of cakes.

I felt like today I would find a story!

Nope.

In this forest of wonder and magic and monsters and secrets, I ran into nothing. I even played music to attract trouble but Nooooooooo, guess even the beasts of the woods knew I was blacklisted!

It was late afternoon when I found some interesting deer tracks and decided to follow.

Bards aren’t known for our stealth but I’m going to tell you a secret. What’s the guild gonna do! Blacklist me?

Anyways the secret is: certain Bards learn to play notes and pitches that cancel out our footsteps and create silence.

I followed the prints to find a small herd of very interesting deer!

They had really interesting patterns, each one slightly different but only if you looked closely. That meant I needed a closer look.

So focused on the deer I didn’t watch my feet and I tripped. The deer ran off.

“HEY!” a shrill voice called from somewhere in the trees, “What did you do that for?”

No idea who was yelling at me but I was taking no chances, and like the deer I bolted. But not fast enough, not nimble enough.

An arrow shot by my leg and stuck in the ground. I stopped. And stood perfectly still.

“idiot.” the voice was now right behind me!

I turned. And looked down. It was an elf! With plum purple skin and dark green hair.

And they were laughing.

Then another elf fell from the trees to land silently next to the first. This one had dark green skin and straw yellow hair. Their long ears were standing straight up reaching higher than my eyes.

They were laughing too.

“What’s so funny?”

“You responded to ‘idiot’!” Said the purple one.

Ugh. Elves!!

Then they got suddenly more serious.

“Can’t believe it! We’ve been hunting those deer for days and you happen to trip when we got them in our sights!”

“I’m, sorry?”

The second elf elbowed the first, “he couldn’t have known we were there, Damian! Not his fault!” She spoke in elvish but I’m fluent.

The first elf, Damian, looked up and half groaned half sighed, “and I suppose, Bridget, that I should apologize to the human for almost shooting him?”

I don’t know why I spoke up but I did.

“It was an impressive warning shot!”

Damian’s ears stood up again then folded back and a little red flush appeared on the purple cheeks. As did on Bridget’s but for a different reason.

“Yes. Warning shot,” they said.

This time I managed to keep my mouth shut. Not a smart idea to quip about an elve’s bunting prowess. I still wasn’t happy to learn they were trying to shoot me!

“You’re an adventurer?” Asked Bridget.

“A bard!” I said.

“Need a place to stay tonight?”

The shadows were lengthening, I hadn’t noticed. And then my stomach growled.

“I sure do. But are you sure? I mean I did scare the deer-“

Damian shouldered their bow and nodded, “It wouldn’t be very elven to leave a stranger in the woods.”

Even not hunting they moved so silently I couldn’t take my eyes off them as I followed them to their village. We stopped by the temple, as it is the respectful thing to do when entering the village. It was set up for fall, done up in browns and oranges and paper chains. On the altar was a single brown leaf. The first one seen by a member of the village.

I’m not elvish but I still prayed to Autumn for my hometown to have a bountiful harvest.

I sat on the floor in the common dining hall as my new… friends, sat on stools made of tree stumps. They may not have caught any deer but there was some sort of roasted meat concoction wrapped in sugary leaves, crystallized to give it crunch, making a sweet and savory combination I’d never experienced before. The same sugar crispy leaves were used to scoop a sort of nut and vegetable curry. Delightful! I could write a song just about the food.

I of course told them why I was in the woods, since they were curious.

And they told everyone how I tripped and fell, exaggerating it greatly. All the elves laughed but knowing elves I was better off. They enjoyed slapstick comedy. The fact that I was able to laugh at myself seemed to gain me favor.

One elf, with lighter green skin and dark brown hair laughed like the rest and yet, their eyes were deep in thought. They were a strange one, I think. Even by elf standards they had a strange name.

Jacuzzi? Who names themselves jacuzzi?

Then they spoke.

“So, you need a story?” They asked. I nodded.

“I think I can help you,” they said, “at the very least point you in the right direction.”

At their words a lot of the company got quiet.

“If you’re that desperate, there’s,” they paused, as if they were still considering whether or not to tell me, “A wizard. If you encounter him, you’re sure to get a proper story.”

I couldn’t think why this made the elf act so strange, plenty of mages made it their job to participate in tales. Though. With wizards they were usually evil, if not a member of an adventuring party. Nonetheless! A story about a wizard sounded fantastic.

“Where does-“ I stopped myself from finishing that stupid sentence. Nowhere in the Mystic Woods stayed put so asking for directions was complete folly.

“What’s the best way to, uh, find him?”

Jacuzzi shrugged “The birds have the most up to date information. But you’ll know it’s his place when you find the tower in the garden.”

Lots of wizards had towers, few had gardens. That was more of a witch thing.

“He’ll be there? Tonight”

“Probably, he can't- well he’ll be there. If not tonight then by the morning. Don’t mess with his things.”

“Why-”

“He considers it extremely rude- You don't want to be rude”

Sound advice.

“Hold on tonight?” Damian re-entered the conversation. “Are you mad? Traveling the forest at night is dangerous! Especially alone.”

“So? I’m trying to get into trouble. Doesn’t make a difference if I find it at the tower or on my way.”

My confidence wasn’t entirely fake. I had a good meal, I wasn’t tired. I could knock this out by morning!

“Thank you, for everything.”

I swear I heard giggling as I departed. If these elves were pulling one over on me well! I don’t know what I would do but I’ll think of something. I had a wizard to find.

It wasn’t long before I realized why I should have waited for morning.

No! Birds!

From Who could I ask directions? The sun was about to set. It was only early autumn, the days were still a decent length, but it would be dark real soon. No birds, no people.

Wait. I spoke too soon. There were footsteps. It was a slim chance but maybe they could help me.

“Young man, what are you doing? Don’t you know it’s dangerous to be out at night alone?”

The voice had a deep and soft quality that wasn’t human. But they were speaking Orriandish. Really folks, dont meet strangers in the forest that you can’t see. They’re usually evil witches or sorcerers or cyclops ogres. Yeah, one-eyed ogres are skilled talkers, luring people to them. It was only after I answered I realized this could be an ogre.

“Aren’t you out alone too?”

“Why yes-” the voice was closer and then I saw them.

Thankfully it wasn’t and ogre. But it was a witch, and a dwarf one. Uncommon. Probably not evil. It did explain why they were confidently out at night. Dwarves had pretty amazing night vision. They had the traditional black robe and hat, and a cat sat down beside them. It was a really large cat, which was amusing next to the short witch. Their long braided beard was decorated with trinkets, which was a quaint look I must admit.

“But I live here.”

I stood up straight, which I guess was a bit rude.

“How do you know I don’t?” I stammered, “I could!”

The dwarf stroked their beard, “I guess it’s possible, do you?”

I sighed and slouched, “No…”

“But I am looking for trouble.” I explained my story and the dwarf listened, smiling kindly.

“So the elves told me I would be guaranteed a story if I found this wizard who has a tower and a garden-”

The witch’s eyebrows raised.

“- you know this wizard?”

The cat mrowed loudly, his tail swishing on the forest floor a bit faster.

“I do indeed,” there was an extreme fondness in their voice.

“And you know where he is?”

The witch laughed, “I’d say this was coincidence, but in these parts there are too many of those to be truly coincidental. I do in fact know the currently location, and it’s close by.”

“Really!” I almost danced with excitement.

Unlike the elves the dwarf had no hesitations. They pointed me in the right direction, and informed me of a few roadblocks and landmarks.

“Thanks so much!” I waved back at them and didn’t look where I was going and almost tripped.

Almost.

“And light your lantern!”

Oh right, duh!

Finding the tower was easy with the witch’s directions. They’d even told me the thorns were fake and the vines safe to climb up. That should have raised red flags, or some color, but I was so focused on achieving my goal.

Now, we bards aren’t really known for our… physical abilities beyond dance. We can fight sure, but a fifty-foot climb is gonna leave most bards gasping for breath. I'm proud to say I was merely on the cusp of wheezing, though I was having difficulty standing.

I needed to rest. So I lay on the windowsill.

Which I failed to notice stretched so that I could more than easily lie down. The cool night air and stone felt so nice. I looked into the tower.

And my heart stopped.

I’d gotten a brief glimpse before nearly passing out, but it was different now.

Exactly the same.

But.

Bigger.

You might know, my readers, that wizards are all human. All of them. Non-humans aren’t allowed to attend the academy. I’m sure those like I, being a quarter fairy, might be let in, but... This- this giant sized workshop didn’t make any sense. A giant could not be a wizard no way. Why would the elves say this was a wizard’s tower? Did they not understand the difference between wizard, witch, and sorcerer?

But the dwarf witch, they had to know! They had not corrected me. Plus, the workshop did have a very wizard feel to it.

What was going on here?

I needed a moment to process so I rolled over to look outside. Looking inside made my head hurt.

But a Giant Wizard. If that were real, what a story! If it were fake, then well, a giant mage is still exciting. I looked once more into the room. Three desks, one for material prepping and alchemy, one that looked like the main workbench, and one… like a spare workbench? It was not very organized compared to the other. And shelves full of things I could not identify.

And on the floor, an open trap door with stairs leading down. Down to where the wizard must be.

I was thankful I had noticed the shift in scale, or I surely would have fallen 15 feet onto the floor. Instead I got out my grappling hook and rope and rappelled down. With a flick, the hook dislodged. This place was large, I would need it again.

I could have spent hours in this room, just taking in the immense magical collection, but that wasn’t why I was there. And I heard noises from down the stairs. Water? Clinking metal? I took each stair one at a time, slowly making my way deeper into the tower.

Either the kitchen just happened to be one floor down or this stairwell was enchanted to take you to the floor you were thinking about. For just as I reached the landing I saw the massive doorframe that led into what was clearly a kitchen and small dining room. Small for the giant, who was at the sink washing pots, pans, and other things.

He certainly looked like a wizard! A tall wide brimmed hat with a curling point, and robes that matched the garish colors and patterns. He had a neatly trimmed goatee and mutton chops, and long curly black hair tied behind his back. On his handsomely large nose rested thick square spectacles. Not only was he tall, he was just plain large.

I know I talked about the false stereotypes of bards, but we weren't the only profession with them. People tended to think of Wizards as more delicate, as they spent all their time studying, never going out, forgetting meals. But this, man, for he looked more human than giant except for being over 20ft tall, well the only word for it was burly.

I’d never imagined a wizard who, if you removed his wizard robes, put him in a flannel shirt and handed him an axe would be a picture perfect lumberjack. Now such a wizard was right before my very eyes.

Suddenly I was not so confident. I should have lost my nerve back at the window, when I saw the scale of the workshop. But it just didn’t hit me until I saw the giant. I’ve seen giants before, they are actually larger than this person, that made him seem more dangerous.

Oh.

Oh no.

This wasn’t just any wizard, or any giant.

This one was evil.

Maybe I could just leave! Yeah. I would just get the fuck out of here. I was not prepared to handle an evil giant wizard.

I made my decision a bit too late. The giant stopped cleaning a plate to look up and sniff the air.

Shit.

It was futile to run, but it was my only option. I didn’t even make it up two stairs before the giant roared with delight.

“FEE FI FO FUM!”

No no no! Not that!

“I SMELL THE BLOOD OF THE HUMAN KIND!”

Well technically I was quarter fairy but-

“BE THEY ALIVE OR BE THEY DEAD, I’LL GRIND THEIR BONES TO MAKE MY BREAD.”

Yeah… I should not have come here. Evil giants tend to eat people. I’d had a small hope that this smaller giant, who was very likely a proper wizard, wouldn’t. Also the line about grinding my bones to make bread? I’m no alchemist but I dont think powdered bones make for a good flour, and wouldn’t even be enough to make bread for a giant if it were! As far as I knew giants didn’t bother with such things and just gobbled people up.

Which didn’t bode well for me as this giant made it stairwell in a few seconds and scooped me up in one hand, holding me up to his face.

“How convenient, a tasty little thief” he smiled, revealing very giant-like fangs. His breath was horrible. “I was just thinking I needed some dessert.”

“Please! Mister Wizard, I did not steal anything, I am no thief! I’m a bard!”

The giant raised his eyebrows, but did not set me down, instead he turned and walked back into the kitchen.

“A bard?” he asked, “what’s your name?”

“Ophir Shel Peh!” I said.

“Not Jack then?” The giant tapped his chin, and his eyes found my ukulele. “Hm. Yes I would say you probably are a bard! I don’t get many of those.”

He sat at the personal dining table. And set me in front of him, putting his elbows on the table, and his chin over intertwined fingers. It was silent except for his breathing, and my heart in my ears. Every breath he took blew around me, and it was just a little warmer than I expected. He didn’t say anything for a long time and I started shaking, adding my rattling bones to the noise.

“Why are you here?” he asked before I fainted (I had… somehow forgot about breathing).

“Adventuring!” I couldn’t say ‘for a story’! THAT’S CHEATING. But perhaps... Ah I can’t lie to you reader. I wish I could say I was perspicacious enough to consider this giant was a professional fairytale villain. But I had no idea. I was damn lucky he was though. And he’s really good. I understand why His Mystical Majesty hired him.

Let’s get back to me being a complete dumbass shall we?

The giant’s face hardened and I worried I’d fucked up.

“Adventuring?” he asked rhetorically, but I nodded, then he looked a little morose.

“Shame, I was thinking of letting you go-”

He was!?

“-But I guess I have to eat you after all.”

He didn't sound at all troubled by it. I mean, he had threatened to do so. I backed up and he smiled, knowing he could snatch me up no matter what. I think he could tell I was going to ask why, even just to stall.

“It’s nothing personal, I don’t like intruders on my good days. But I can’t have you out there talking about me, spreading the word of a merciful giant. You’ll only get more people killed. ”

That was a lot to process but I got the gist.

“I won't talk!”

He stood up and slammed his palms on the table so hard I finally fell down.

“You’re a bard, it’s your job!”

Unfortunately he was right.

Then he looked a bit surprised by something, narrowing his eyes at me.

“I suppose,” he said, “your job also involves performing?”

I nodded.

“I don’t get to go out much,” he said, though I wasn’t sure that the entire truth “If you give me a good show, I might consider it payment for what would have been an extra special treat. I can smell the fairy blood on you.”

I tried not to make a face. My fairy blood made me smell better? Great. And there was always a chance he was lying, just to get a show and his dessert. Evil giants might be fairly honorable, but evil wizards were notoriously dishonest. So I had no idea with this evil giant wizard.

“Wh-what do you want me to do?” I asked.

He sat back down, perfectly copying his original pose.

“Tell me a story,” he said. “And perhaps I will not eat you.”

Great. Legally there weren’t many stories I could tell. You might be asking, ‘Ophir! You’re about to die, what do you care?’ Well if I live and I'm found out, I’ll be expelled from the guild for life. I’m already in hot water.

That… and the only stories I could think of were ones with evil wizards or giants, who ended up dead. Curse my stupid brain. But I couldn’t refuse, he would eat me! Guess I had no other choice.

[(adapted from a real tale)

The story of Maestro Lattantio and His Apprentice Dionigi.

It was an old tale, from the long dead kingdom of Italy, so anyone could tell it. A wild tale of a wizard and his apprentice battling it out in ways only two mages would. Wanting to be free of his abusive master, Diogini kept turning into things, animals, creatures, to escape.

But Lattantio would transform into the exact creature or monster or animated object needed to re-capture Diogini. Eventually Diogini turned into a fish and swam down a river. Lattantio declared that he was through with these games and would kill him. Lattantio turned into a kingfisher hawk, intending to snatch him out of the water, but Diogini jumped into a basket carried by a handmaiden for the princess. The handmaiden had been doing laundry, so being a fish wouldn’t do. He turned himself into a beautiful ruby ring. The princess found it in her pocket and he became her new favorite piece of jewelry.

Then one day, the King became ill, and Lattantio was called in to cure him. He did of course, and in payment, asked for the princess’s ruby ring, for he could tell it was Diogini. But he could come back tomorrow for the payment

That night, when the princess took off the ring, Diogini transformed back into a man. He apologized for his ruse, and explained that the wizard Lattantio was his enemy, and would do anything to get him back into his clutches. The princess, who at first was horrified, saw that Diogini meant her no harm, and he was as handsome a man as he was beautiful a ring. She asked how she could help.

The next day, when Lattantio returned, the princess stepped forward and held out the ring. Then dropped it to the floor. It turned into a mouse, so of course, Lattantio turned into a cat. The princess whistled to one of the palace dogs, which leapt at the cat, breaking its neck.

Diogini quickly returned to human form and separated the dog from the cat’s corpse, tossing it into the fire. The only way to be sure the evil was truly destroyed.

Impressed by Diogini’s skill and at the behest of the princess, the King was happy to make Diogini the court wizard, and his son.

]

I concluded the story, and looked at the giant, distressed to find he looked unimpressed.

“That was,” he waved his hand in a dismissal manner, “diverting, but I could just have easily read that story.”

WHAT! I’d done voices! I was dramatic and expressive! How dare he say reading it from a book could be the same! But I couldn’t be angry because I was scared.

“Though I suppose it was decent,” he continued, “just not enough to keep you alive.”

Crap.

“Dance for me,” he said, “and perhaps I will not eat you.”

It took me a few seconds to notice he wasn’t eating me, but instead was giving me another chance. But… Dance!? On this table? With my leather boots on? And my thick pants? And no music!? This was not good.

“S-sure” I said, I was still shaking badly.

Since there was no music I thought perhaps, something that conveyed real meaning through motion. I could hear the song in my head at least, so I wouldn’t falter or look like I was making shit up.

I leapt and gestured, and waggled my body in the most embarrassing ways.

“What is this crap?” said the giant after I had danced for only a minute.

“Interpretive dance, mister giant,” I said, freezing in a most uncomfortable pose.

“You’d better pick something else,” he said. “And give it some more personality”

All I knew was he had given me a second chance. Ok. So I didn’t have music, but maybe something rhythmic would be better. I didn’t have the right shoes but my footsteps were still very audible.

So I went into a new dance. Hopping and stomping and tapping my feet. Then I started singing. I had been so stupid that I forgot I could do both at the same time. I basically re-invented a few ritual dances from my hometown, used to bless the beginning of each month. If I lived through this I would go home and teach everyone.

The giant Watched me carefully from behind those huge glasses. Judge, jury and executioner.

Finally I was sore and out of breath, jumped up to land with a mighty THUNK, ending the performance.

The giant looked a bit sorry now. Why would he look sorry!?

“That was very impressive, and your singing was a nice touch, but I think such things would best be done with a group. Alone it was underwhelming.”

What did he know! I’d danced my freaking ass off! I sat down and tried not to cry as I regained my strength. Why weren’t my best efforts good enough!? I was a Master bard. But I was at the mercy of the most subjective critic. I had to change tactics. Impressing him wasn’t going to cut it.

“Well, since it’s getting late,” he reached out a hand.

“Wait!” I shouted, nearly breaking my voice which would have been a death sentence.

The giant’s hand paused, “That was so bold I’m inclined to do so, but not for long.”

“You, liked my singing?” I asked.

The hand retreated. “You could say that.” Then he caught on. “Fine. One last chance.”

He leaned back, crossed his arms, and cleared his throat.

“Sing for me, little bard, and perhaps, I will consider not eating you.”

I scrambled to my ukulele. It was so old it was already out of tune, so I hurriedly tuned it, under the piercing gaze of the giant.

“Your voice isn’t magical is it?” Asked the giant as I tuned the ukulele.

I smiled “No, it is. My fey ancestry. Never really tested its power. Mostly I’ve transfixed crowds or made them cry with the opening notes. I’ve also played monsters to sleep.”

He leaned forward as I realized my mistake and quickly added “but that doesn’t work if you know about it! Which you now do!”

Thankfully he believed me. I was telling the truth, but there was no reason for him to trust me.

“Well, just make it a nice song. I’ve got sensitive ears.”

Oh fantastic. That meant he could probably tell if I went out of key. I had a moment’s thought to play something screeching and horrible, to make him bleed from his ears, giving me a chance to get away, or at least cause him pain before he ended my life. No. My first choice of song was probably the best one.

I sat down criss cross apple sauce, but back very straight. And I strummed the opening cords.

[

In the quiet mystic morning When the sun’s just graced the land O’er the horizon, lies a story And it begs to take my hand

Now that summer’s ceased its gleaming And the harvest’s past its prime In adventure I’ve found meaning But I’ll be homeward bound in time

Bind me not, to the pasture Chain me not to the town Set me free to find my calling And I’ll return to you somehow

As the first instrumental break started I turned my attention to the giant. His face was as stoney as ever. I wasn’t hitting my mark. So I continued.

If you find it’s me you’re missing And you’re hoping I’ll return To your thoughts I’ll soon be listing On the road I’ll stop and turn

The old strings were threatening to cut into my fingers but I just used the pain to fuel my voice, powering it with agony and sorrow. I saw the giant’s brows raise as my human sized voice grew to fill the giant room.

For the wind has set me racing As my journey now begins To leave the path I’ll be retracing When I’m homeward bound again

Bind me not, to the pasture Chain me not to the town Set me free to find my calling And I’ll return to you somehow

The second, and last, instrumental break. I had started crying at the chorus and couldn’t see the giant through my tears. My last performance, and it was for my murderer.

And still my song rang out.

In the quiet Mystic morning When the moon has gone to bed When adventure’s lost its meaning…

I’ll be homeward bound

Again

My ears were ringing from the sheer volume, I was clutching the Ukulele so hard it threatened to crack. I was numb from all my efforts. Now would be a great time for him to eat me, maybe I would feel no pain.

Then, as my ears and eyes cleared up, I saw.

The giant's eyes, red. Shiny trails of tears down his cheeks. His arms were still crossed but he looked like he was almost strangling himself. Still, I did not let myself feel any hope.

“Dammit,” he hissed and sniffed, “I should eat you for making me cry.”

No. No no no no no.

“But I won’t” he sniffed again and got out a handkerchief, “You’ve more than earned your life.”

I collapsed and started crying harder. I had done it. By the gods. I had fucking done it. I let myself melt into the table, half passing out. I didn’t want to feel or think for an entire week. I guess because he wasn’t going to kill me, the giant let me lay there.

When I finally sat up he was making tea! I very much wanted to get the fuck out of there but the tea smelled amazing, almost magical.

He noticed me moving.

“I find tea helps after a harrowing adventure,” he said cheerfully.

His demeanor was entirely different. His face was softer, his voice was higher, his dark brown eyes colder, but considering they had been blazing before, it was a friendly warmth now.

That really had been an adventure hadn’t it. One that really made use of my skill set. One that was perfect to turn into a story. It had great pacing too, with just a bit of tweaking. I’d already started writing out the flowery prose and accompanying staging in my head. My interpretive dance was going to be way better in the retelling, but don’t say anything to the guild alright? Everyone embellished.

I had to scramble away as he set the table, which meant setting down a smaller table and chair for me, and then bringing over his own cup and the teapot. He touched the sides of the pot that must be hot enough to scald skin from bone like it was nothing, pouring out near boiling tea. I watched mesmerized as he used a bit of magic to pour the tea into my teacup.

“Let it cool,” he said, as he took a drink of his own tea, “I’m not normally a fan of sweetened tea, but I thought a little extra honey would do your throat some good.”

I gingerly stood up and got into the chair. It was normal sized of course, since he was giant. But here I felt like a doll that some demonic girl had set up for a tea party.

“Thanks,” I said, and indeed my throat felt raw. I couldn’t wait to drink the tea, but it was still too hot.

“I should be thanking you,” said the giant, smiling and showing off his fangs, but it no longer felt so threatening, “That was quite a show! You must be a really high ranking bard.”

My face turned very red, “I- well I’m on probation,” I admitted, “blacklisted. So really, thanks for-”

I saw his eyes glitter, literally.

“You- you never meant to eat me did you?”

He grinned even wider, “No, but I trust you won't include that in your tale.”

I shook my head.

“I very much enjoy playing the big bad giant,” he mused, “But I have other work; I can’t have adventurers showing up all the time.”

Now I was curious, “If I may ask, what else do you do then?”

There was a short pause as he considered whether or not to tell me. I wondered if it was a grand secret.

“I’m a royal wizard,” he finally said, and there was a massive amount of pride underneath his tone. And resentment. That was concerning.

My jaw dropped, “You- A Royal Wizard?”

This might be the most interesting person I’d ever met. How did a giant, or giant-esq thing become a royal wizard!? How did a royal wizard end up running an evil tower?

“You already got one tale, but if you’re not inclined to leave so soon, I can give you another.”

I definitely knew where this was going and I definitely wanted this tale.

“But on one condition,” he said. “You cannot tell it until either I or the Mystic King is dead.”

“Are- you dying?” I asked.

He laughed, “No, but I am still a villain. I try to keep a fairly low profile, but any day a slayer could show up and succeed in killing me.”

That made sense, but now that I was not mortally terrified of him, I saw that this man was much younger than I’d previously thought. He looked barely 24, a young man, and he had to worry about slayers! It also meant it couldn’t have been in this job for that long, being evil must really suit him.

“Hopefully it won’t be for years, which will give you time to make this tale as grand as possible,” he continued.

He drank more of his tea.

“I’m not great story teller,” he started off, “but I suppose the tale of how a foolish half-giant with dreams of becoming a wizard, and ending up a prisoner in the woods, might be a good one.”

Prisoner? Even more layers. Yes. This should be a good one indeed.

Though he was right. Gods, wizards! They have no concept of narrative flow! They don’t leave out details!

And yet. It was riveting. Yonah HaEsh, for that was his name which I finally learned, was half giant, half FireWitch. His father, the FireWitch, got interested in magic, but he wanted more structured study, beyond what witches can do. So he disguised himself as human to attend school. He was found out eventually, expelled and arrested for infiltrating the kingdom as a dangerous magical monster. He was almost executed before he was offered a job here in the tower! And amazingly, the Grand Master of the school had taken pity on him and allowed him to continue his studies here and graduate, earning the right to call himself a wizard.

I had forgotten about my tea by the end and it had gone cold. That was an easy fix apparently: he pinched the cup between his thumb and pointer finger. A few seconds later it was steaming again.

I finally took a sip, it was incredible. I made a mental note to write a poem or a song about it. But I had other things to think about, to talk about.

“It’s a great story,” I said, with a cockiness I should have tried to keep in check, “but it needs a lot of work. It’s a good thing I’ve got a lot of time. I’ll need to go out and interview people.”

I stood up, “Which means, I need to hear it again.”

Yonah raised an eyebrow, “Oh?”

“I should have been taking notes,” I said, “I need more specific dates and times and names! Oh and if you can tell me how your parents met, that would make for a great prologue.”

He stood up too, clearing away his and my tea settings. But he didn’t clean them, just put them aside.

“In that case,” he said, returning and offering his hand palm up, “We should take this upstairs.”

I still hesitated a bit, but I sat on his hand and was transferred to his shoulder. I’d never been on a giant’s shoulder before. I was tempted to touch his curly hair, since mountain giants don’t have hair, I thought it amazing that this half-giant had such thick silky locks. I settled to lean a bit towards his head for steadiness. Yonah didn’t say anything as he regathered the teapot and cups, and even got a few pieces of berry-nut bread and goat cheese. Then headed up to the workshop.

Once again, he had a human sized desk that he set on his much larger one, and human sized pens (really nice ones), and a few human sized notebooks. Though I guess, since he can reduce to human size whenever he wanted (that was part of his “disguise”), and had many human friends, it made sense.

“We can go in order,” I said, “But I think I want to start on what you got up to in school. We want people to really get attached to you and your friends so that they are on your side by the trial.”

Yonah liked that idea. I think he wanted this story to show him in a positive light, even if he was officially evil.

We worked through the night. And my second cup of tea got cold.

[FIN]

[PLEASE REBLOG and/or tell me what you think in an ask/message!]

FOR REFERENCE, HERE’S HOW THE SONG SOUNDS: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VooU55wzSEc

Liked this Mystic Woods story? I have more!

For GT ONLY stories: gt-adventures.tumblr.com/tagged/mystic+woods+story

[I have to mention, that I have many more Mystic Woods stories, however those contain safe/soft non-sexual v/o/r/e... But lucky for you! i have filed them them separately! and (when needed) Every story comes with detailed content warnings!]

For ALL mystic woods stories:

vo/re-scientist/tumblr.com/tagged/mystic+woods+story (take out the “/” in vo/re)

[one or two of my GT-ONLY stories are on my not so secret vo/re blog but from now on I’m posting the GT-ONLY ones here! hurray!]

#gianttiny #g/t writing #g/t talk #giant/tiny #g/t #male giant

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megaguardain · 4 years

Photo

Support me!: Patreon - Kofi

May have forgotten to post this since the derecho hitting my town...Whoops.

Name: Bruce Wayne

Nickname/Alias’: Batman

Titles: CEO of Wayne Enterprises

Species: Human

Ethnicity: Caucasian

Eye Color: Blue

Hair Color: Black

Height: 5’ 8” (formerly), 6’ 0” (currently)

Weight: 195 lbs

Gender: Male

Orientation: Heterosexual

Birthday: April 17th, 1914

Timeline

1914- Bruce Wayne is born to Martha and Thomas Wayne.

1923- Thomas and Martha Wayne are killed by Joe Chill in a mugging, leaving Bruce an orphan.

1928- Bruce Wayne graduates high school early.

1931- Bruce Wayne graduates college at 17 and leaves Gotham.

1938- Bruce Wayne secretly returns to Gotham and begins operating as a vigilante. After being injured by criminals, he debates letting himself bleed out before a bat crashes into his study. Bruce decides to live, and become a bat to scare criminals.

1939- Batman investigates Apex Chemical during a murder investigation. During the investigation, Alfred Stryker falls into a vat of chemicals and is believed dead First public sighting of Batman

1940- Batman encounters Hugo Strange’s Monster Men and kills them. He realizes that they were innocent people Strange experimented on. Batman vows to never kill again and to never use firearms unless neccessary. Batman aids other heroes in retrieving the Spear of Destiny from Hitler. He joins the Justice Society of America. Bruce Wayne adopts Dick Grayson after his parents are killed. Bruce trains Dick to help him get justice for his parents. First public sighting of Robin

1941- Bruce Wayne and Julie Madison break up when Julie becomes fed up with Bruce’s playboy persona. Batman and Robin arrest Oswald Cobblepot, exposing his crimes as the Penguin. First public sighting of the Penguin

1942- District Attorney Harvey Dent has half his face scarred by an assassination attempt. He is driven insane by his reflection. First public sighting of Two-Face.

1944- Harvey Dent accidentally kills his fiance. He surrenders himself and is treated for his insanity, and plastic surgery is used to heal his face.

1947- Dick Grayson, now an adult, leaves the Robin role and Bruce Wayne after an argument.

1951- Due to the American Government thinking the JSA were secretly communists, they disband.

1952- First public sighting of the second Two-Face (George Blake)

1955- Bruce Wayne marries Selina Kyle in a private ceremony.

1957- Helena Wayne is born to Selina Kyle-Wayne and Bruce Wayne.

1960- Batman aids other heroes in repelling the Appellaxian invasion. He does not join their Justice League.

1961- Batman uncovers evidence that leads to Bill Jensen’s arrest.

1967- Alfred Pennyworth passes away. James Gordon retires as Police Commissioner, his son Tony Gordon, takes over. Barbara Gordon saves Bruce Wayne from being kidnapped by Killer Moth First public sighting of the first Batgirl

1969- The Joker announces his retirement to Batman by robbing several banks and disappearing.

1970- Batman responds to a burglary in ACE Chemicals. A man in a red hood falls into a vat of chemicals and is presumed dead.

1971- Helena Wayne is kidnapped by the League of Assassins Batman rescues Helena from the League after refusing to become their next leader.

1972- Against her parents wishes, Helena Wayne becomes the new Robin. First public sighting of Robin II

1977- Helena Wayne, becoming argumentative with her parents, abandons the Robin role and becomes the Huntress First public sighting of the Huntress

1979- Bill Jensen is released from prison and is granted power by the sorcerer Soul Thief, under orders from a mysterious court, and used his new power to attack Gotham as revenge against Batman. Batman is killed by Bill Jensen’s overloading power.

2010- The Blackest Night falls from the sky.

Powers and Abilities

Peak Physical Conditioning: Bruce Wayne has trained his body to the limit of human condition. He is as skilled or better than Olympic level athletes and soldiers.

Acrobatics: Bruce is one of the best athletes in the world from his training.

Genius Level Intellect: Bruce Wayne is an incredibly intelligent person. He’s travelled the world and acquired knowledge in medicine, deductive reasoning, military tactics and many more areas of study in order to fight crime in Gotham.

Engineering: Bruce Wayne is a skilled engineer, able to build or disassemble complex machinery even if it’s not his own design.

Investigation: Bruce Wayne is the World’s Greatest Detective for a reason. He is able to notice tiny details that other investigators overlook or miss, and can accurately deduce scenarios whether it’s a murder or a villain’s scheme.

Driving: Bruce Wayne is a skilled driver, able to remain in control of a vehicle moving at high speeds and under attack.

Piloting: Bruce Wayne is a skilled pilot. Able to fly planes and helicopters while under attack.

Weaponry: Bruce Wayne has been taught and mastered many different weapons from swords, staves, escrima sticks, knives, archery, thrown weapons and even firearms.

Martial Arts: Bruce Wayne is a skilled martial artist. He has mastered boxing, jujutsu, taekwondo, ninjutsu and has even developed his own martial art called Bam Pow.

Stealth: Bruce Wayne heavily relies on stealth while crime fighting. He is able to sneak around most people and even some superhumans. He is notable for leaving in the middle of conversations without being noticed.

Intimidation: Bruce Wayne is skilled at intimidating people to get information out of them. His reputation proceeds him in the criminal underworld after years of crime fighting that some people do not need to be prompted by him to give him information.

Escapology: Bruce Wayne has studied how to escape from restraints and various traps he might be locked in.

Equipment

Batsuit: Bruce Wayne created the original Batsuit. Originally made of simple cloth and leather, Bruce added metal pieces of armor underneath the suit to protect him from gunfire and blades. Bruce continued to make improvements to the suit.

Utility Belt: Bruce has a utility belt with the Batsuit that houses all sorts of gadgets and weaponry for him to use in crimefighting.

Batvehicles: Bruce Wayne first created the armada of bat-themed vehicles he and the members of the Batfamily use to fight crime in Gotham and around the world.

Pistol (formerly): Bruce Wayne used to carry a pistol with him as the Batman. Since his encounter with the Monster Men in 1940, he has very rarely used it or any other firearm.

Black Lantern Ring (formerly): The Host must Rise from the Grave for the Blackest Night. This has earned them a Black Lantern Ring:

Reanimation: Black Lantern Rings reanimate their Hosts corpses. They are able to access the Host’s memories and powers they had at the time of death, though the soul of the Host is no longer part of their body.

Black Energy Constructs: Hosts of a Black Lantern Ring can create energy constructs by willing them into existence. Constructs can be manipulated to allow certain people or objects to pass through them, become transparent or opaque, or radiate certain wavelengths like Kryptonite.

Kryptonite Generation: Black Lanterns can have their constructs generate Black Kryptonite if they know the proper wavelength.

Energy Blasts: A Black Lantern Ring can fire blasts of energy. The energy are typically lasers or plasma in nature. The Energy blasts can be attuned to different wavelengths.

Phasing: A Host can phasing through objects they normally cannot pass through, this takes considerable effort and energy from the Ring’s battery.

Universal Translator: Black Lantern Rings will automatically translate spoken word into language the User can understand and translate the words of the User.

Energy Absorption: The Black Lantern Ring can absorb a variety of energies; from technological, magical and alien.

Wormhole Generation: The Black Lantern Ring can allow the Host to enter hyperspace to travel great distances in little time, this takes concentration to maintain the wormhole and emerge unscathed. If multiple Hosts use the same wormhole it becomes easier to maintain.

Regeneration: Black Lantern Rings can completely regenerate their Host so long as the Ring is intact.

Emotional Spectrum Reading: Black Lanterns, being technically reanimated corpses, cannot ‘see’ in a traditional sense. Instead they can see the current emotion Subjects are feeling as colors. Subjects feeling multiple emotions appear as multiple colors. Black Lanterns cannot see those who don’t experience emotions.

Umbrakinesis: Black Lanterns are able to manipulate darkness by generating depleted protons.

Emotion Spectrum Nullification: Black Lanterns can nullify and deplete the energy of other Lantern Rings by manipulating darkness.

Death Charging: Death is their emotion. Instead of normal Power Batteries, Black Lanterns share a collective charge amongst their rings. They increase the charge by killing sentient beings and devouring their hearts. Those who are killed by Black Lanterns are recruited into the Corps to spread Death.

Death Infection: Black Lanterns can infect Subjects, slowly turning the Subject into another Black Lantern.

Peaceful Death Weakness: Those who experienced a peaceful or content death are unable to Rise and become a Black Lantern.

White Light Weakness: Life is the antithesis of Death. Black Lanterns are vulnerable to destruction by White Lanterns, or by two Users of different Lantern Rings.

Earth-96 Story

Batman needs no introduction. Everyone knows who he is and what he does and why. So why am I making this? Because my interpretation is a bit different. The most notable difference is Batman used to kill.

While that’s seems almost sacrilegious, it fits well with his early adventures in comics. He literally throws a man into acid and says it’s a fitting fate for him and he hangs a monster man from the Batplane until he dies. With that second example however, it was an innocent man who wasn’t in control of himself. This will give rise to Batman’s famous “No Killing” and “No Guns” rules.

And, like 99% of the characters in this Universe, there must come an end. I personally like the death of the original Golden Age Batman. A man named Bill Jensen is imprison for a crime he thinks he didn’t commit, so he plots revenge against Batman and Bruce Wayne (who becomes the police commissioner on Earth-Two). He is even granted powers by a sorcerer, which overload when he discovers that Bruce and Batman are the same person, killing them both.

I also wanted to connect Bruce’s death to hold more meaning. Bill Jensen was just some rando, even in the comics. He didn’t exist until the story where he killed Batman. So, who sent the sorcerer to give Bill powers? That’s a story for another time...

#dc comics #earth 96 #earth-96 #my art #my writing #bruce wayne #batman

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thebibliomancer · 4 years

Text

Essential Avengers: Avengers #205: Shadow of the Claw!

March, 1981

"... And the CLAW shall inherit the Earth!” isn’t even what the villain plan is, come on, cover copy person.

Yellow Claw was going to have a bunch of kids, make them fight to the death, and then the super child was going to inherit the Earth.

The actual cover is neat though. I like how all the red draws attention to the center where red is not.

Yes, I am good at talk about art.

Anyway, last time on Avengers: a woman named Shu Han who had been brought to Yellow Claw’s island to be one of Yellow Claw’s many wives (despite being a genius physicist athlete and could honestly be a superhero in her own right with those skills) sent out a distress signal which was eventually received by the Avengers. A lot of goofy stuff happened, Vision got captured like a dingus, Wasp did none things, a cyborg slime kraken was fought, and eventually Yellow Claw was like ‘whaaaat Shu Han doesn’t love me? Fine, begone!’ and told the Avengers to gtfo his island so he can start living his harem anime protagonist self-insert fic and also take over the world.

Which brings us to now.

After his dingus-like capture, Vision needs to be recharged because photons are his sweet calories and he never diets.

In fact, weirdly, he’s hungrier than usual this time. Sixty-seven whole additional solar units more than usual hungrier.

I don’t know how much a solar unit is. Even as a ballpark. But Iron Man finds it noteworthy so I’m noting it.

Meanwhile, in the only one person sitting room, Wasp retcons some actual actions into the last issue so that her entire screentime wasn’t pointless.

Maybe I should learn to be more patient on multiple part stories.

No. No, its the comic writers who are wrong.

Anyway, while Wasp was spying on Yellow Claw, she noticed some weird equipment in the research lab, including a lot of tubes filled with odd, sparkly mist.

Unfortunately, that’s all she managed to see before Yellow Claw told the Avengers to gtfo his island.

Which leaves them without much they can do about Yellow Claw.

Sure, they suspect he’s up to something. Hell, Iron Man would even admit that they know he’s up to something.

But being able to prove it is a different matter. And since Yellow Claw’s island is in disputed waters, moving without proving could lead to political fallout.

Captain America: “Iron Man is right. If we had proof that the Yellow Claw poses a global threat, international law would allow us to investigate. But as it is, we don’t have a single, tangible clue to--”

And then Jarvis walks in and tells them that the Yellow Claw’s top assistant, Dr. William Liu, is here to speak with them.

The timing this man has. Outstanding.

They scan the man to make sure he’s not walking in with a bunch of laser guns stuffed down his pants and then let him in.

And Dr. Liu pleads for the Avengers to help him. Cap asks why they should help or even trust one of Yellow Claw’s men.

Dr. Liu: “I could no longer live with the horrible nature of the master’s plan! That is why I secretly left the island, hoping that my absence would go unnoticed until I could reach you, and tell you of-- AAAGGHH!”

He doesn’t get to finish his warning because his crotch suddenly explodes.

I don’t know how else to describe it.

Apparently Yellow Claw rigged his assistant to explode in case of treachery or just for funsies. A barely alive, crotch exploded apparently a cyborg all along Dr. Liu realizes that Yellow Claw must have remotely activated his destruct code.

He gives the Avengers some coordinates in Australia and begs them to stop Yellow Claw.

Dr. Liu: “... Y-you must stop... the Claw! Y-you’re the only hope for... the children...!”

And then he dies. And based on panels, it seems like his chest exploded more than his crotch. His pants are intact.

This was the proof the Avengers needed to act, so as soon as Dr. Liu’s body is carried away by ambulance, the Avengers prepare to leave.

But Jarvis finds a note on Vision’s door begging leave from the mission.

Vision: “I regret that I have not yet recuperated to the point where I may participate in Avengers’ activities. Please understand. I do not wish to be disturbed.”

What an oddly formal ‘I’m sick, don’t come in’ letter to pin to your door.

Iron Man is perplexed since he oversaw Vision’s recharge himself and the solar gas tank should be full. But Scarlet Witch says that Vision has his reasons to do things and they should just carry on without him.

So off they go in the Quinjet.

But as soon as they take off, Vision goes to take the second Quinjet.

Why, he’s not sick in his room at all!

Hours later, the Avengers arrive in Australia, of course passing over a kangaroo, or else how would we know its Australia?

And at the coordinates poor exploded Dr. Liu gave them, they find a cave. And in the cave they find a secret base where that sparkle gas Wasp saw being loaded onto three missiles.

Y’know. I think I gave Vision too much shit last time for his stealth fail. Because the Avengers as a whole get spotted while they’re scoping out the missile cave.

Black Panther needs to give them all some refresher learning.

MEANWHILE, though. Back at Yellow Claw’s island, Vision ditches his Quinjet and intangibles into Yellow Claw’s base.

When he reaches Yellow Claw’s throne slash harem room where Yellow Claw welcomes him back and asks him how the hell he discovered he had been tampered with.

Vision explains: 1) that he required extra power to recharge, 2) that he detected ultra-wave radiation being emitted from Dr. Liu when he blew up, 3) detected the same radiation from his own bad self. Thus he deduced that he had been altered to be an unwitting mole through which the Yellow Claw could spy on the Avengers and that the alteration was what was draining extra power.

Also why Vision ditched the Avengers and came here instead.

And it was all a very smart move up until it was a dumb one.

Yellow Claw was prepared that Vision might figure things out and show up again so the doorway had a Vision trapping trap installed in it and now Vision is trapped in the Vision trapping trap.

After all his ‘I’ve come alone to defeat you’ bravado, Vision can now only defiantly claim “the other Avengers will turn your dreams into dust!”

You Tried, Vision. You Tried.

But Yellow Claw isn’t done having been one step ahead of things yet.

See, he let Dr. Liu escape and warn the Avengers because based on the broken into vent he knew that Wasp had been in his base and probably saw enough to suspect something was up. The coordinates Dr. Liu gave the Avengers was a trap!

A trap of three strong mooks with really dumb names.

Bludgeoner, Transformer, and Compressor.

Guarantee these guys won’t be recurring.

Anyway. Iron Man and Jocasta repulsor and eyeeeeee beam at the three so Transformer can readily demonstrate why his name when he absorbs the energy and blasts it back at them.

And Bludgeoner and his big hammer hands bludgeon Wonder Man and Captain America.

And Compressor, why if you guessed that his big ol cheese grater hands compress the air between them to put the squeeze on anyone stuck between, ... wow. That’s a really good guess.

You’re good at comic books, friend!

Scarlet Witch uses a hex bolt to drop a stalactite on Compressor to free Beast but the fly swatter hands man crushes the rock and shoots the shrapnel back at Scarlet Witch.

And Wasp is as useless as she often is. Sigh.

Iron Man tries to swing behind Compressor and repulsor him but Compressor blasts air and sends Iron Man SKRRUURRUNCH into the cave dirt, carving up a furrow.

Sure, this has been only two pages but this is a bad showing against three dinguses with dumb names. I mean for crying out loud, a man named Compressor just bodied a guy called Iron Man.

Back at the Claw Cave... no, wait, that’s confusing. The Avengers are fighting in a cave. The Claw Condo? Back at the Claw Condo, Yellow Claw tells Vision that hey his friends are going to die gruesome and frankly embarrassing deaths but maybe Vision could eke out a little win for himself.

Claw has long platonically admired his construction and capabilities and with Dr. Liu exploded, he does need a new second-in-command.

To sweeten the pot, he’ll even explain his villainous plot because I’m sure we’ve all been wondering about that.

Yellow Claw: “You see, my line was created to rule this planet -- though mankind has stupidly resisted that inevitability. But now, despite the chemical concoctions that prolong my existence, I grow old. My years are numbered. And that is why I selected these women, exemplary in both body and mind, to assure a form of immortality.

For each shall bear me a son, and in time those sons shall fight each other to the death! The survivor, the fittest, shall then fulfill my fate by becoming supreme ruler of the Earth!

Though I swear, he’ll not be subjected to the same obstinacy, to the blind sense of human freedom that has frustrated me for these many decades!

For within those cryogenic storage banks is genetic material gathered from the world’s most physically and mentally perfect humans! And from that matter, my heir will create a new order, a new population, all raised to obey by a single edit: unswerving reverence to my son!”

Vision: There is a flaw to your logic, Claw. You seem to forget that there are already several billion people on this planet -- people who will never serve the likes of you.

Yellow Claw: Ah, once more you underestimate me. For at this very moment, the missiles at my Australian launch base are being readied for take-off. Once in orbit around the Earth, they will dock with my private spacecraft.

Then at my command, they will release a specially formulated vapor, one which will permeat the entire planetary atmosphere, rendering everyone on the globe -- except for those here in my closed-environment sanctuary -- irrevocably sterile!

With no children being born, the Earth will be barren in the space of a few generations -- barren save for the followers of the new Yellow Claw!”

Okay, so, credit where it’s due.

That’s a VERY evil plan.

Sterilize planet, replace humanity with genetically servile slave race, make babies fight to the death for the right to rule that whole shebang.

In terms of a dick move that's a major league one.

So when Yellow Claw asks if Vision will become his new number Liu, Vision answers: “Perhaps, miscreant. Perhaps I will join you... in hell!”

Yellow Claw isn’t too bothered by the refusal and even decides to let Vision have a front row seat to his plan being fulfilled.

And I don’t mean tying him to the front of one of the missiles.

I mean, Yellow Claw’s throne room launches from his base as a hot rod pink spaceship, sold separately.

Back at the Avengers fight, Wasp does a thing.

Honestly, its a pleasant surprise.

Her powerset of ‘be small, shoot tiny lasers’ not being much of a help, she thinks outside the box. She scoops some dirt from the cave floor and jams it into Bludgeoner’s arm joints to slow him down.

And then Wonder Man clocks him in the face. Who bludgeons the bludgeoners indeed.

It does go to show that a ‘useless’ power like Wasp’s can actually be very useful if you write her smart. A superhero team should be more than just big punches, more than just spectacular powers. Wasp has great combo potential for playing things strategic and that should be something the Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are too.

Beast realizes that Wasp had a really good idea. The Avengers outnumber these three jokers so why not gang up on them with teamwork? Besides, they’re not working together in any way so the Avengers might as well.

So Beast grabs Transformer’s shield arm to leave him open for Jocasta to OPTIC BLAST!

And Cap throws his mighty shield to know Compressor’s arms apart so Iron Man can kick him in the face.

Which is impressive since Iron Man was flat on his ass in the immediately previous panel.

Apparently this was a gaffe caused by the pages being edited separately and the error not being caught before the book went to print.

As far as things go, not the worst error! I didn’t even notice it until it was pointed out.

Anyway, in a fit of pique from his dumb name dudes losing the fight, Yellow Claw kliks a button. The goons join hands or whatever weapon they have passing for hands and then they blow up.

Yellow Claw: “It is done. It cost the lives of three worthy operatives but at last -- the Avengers are dead!”

Ah, villains. Always ready to flip the board if they start losing.

And with the Avengers totally dead for realsies no foolin’ Yellow Claw is free to launch his missiles full of sterility vapors.

Actually, he could do that by remote so I don’t know why he had to wait for the Avengers to be explode. He could have just launched the missiles while they were busy fighting.

Anyway.

With the Avengers dead I guess the book will be about- can’t think of a good one for that recurring goof. So yeah, the Avengers aren’t dead.

Scarlet Witch used her powers to shield the team just in the nick of time.

Captain America: “Thanks, Wanda. If you hadn’t cast that protective hex sphere around us just in time...!”

Scarlet Witch: “Don’t mention it, captain. I rather enjoy being alive myself!”

Although, I didn’t know she could just shield people with her powers like that. Unless she altered the probability that explosions hurt so that they didn’t. Yes, that sounds plausible.

The two flying members of the team, Iron Man and Wonder Man fly out of the cave after the missiles, still determined to save the days as heroes often do.

The missiles launch into orbit and then something really goofy happens.

I’ve been saying missiles because the comic has been saying missiles and I guess they are technically missiles. But if I asked you to imagine a supervillain launching some missiles full of a chemical weapon, would you imagine this?

When the missiles launch into orbit they link up with Yellow Claw’s hot rod pink spaceship.

When I first saw this, I thought: is he going to launch them again from his spaceship? A bit of an unnecessary additional step.

But no. That is not what is going on here.

The man is just super committed to his iconography. The missiles join the spaceship and then bend to make it clear its supposed to resemble a claw.

That’s the kind of goofy nonsense I’m here for.

Iron Man and Wonder Man show up, to Yellow Claw’s alarm, and try to attack the hot pink spaceship but bounce off uselessly. The thing is protected by a strong force field.

Yellow Claw probably goes ‘phew’ internally and gets on with his evil plan.

With the missiles bent, as missiles are known to do??, to resemble claws, they can begin to spray the sterility gas into the atmosphere.

Yellow Claw: “Soon, it will be over! When enough vapors are released to mingle with the entire atmosphere -- the shadow of the Claw shall cover the Earth!”

And with things looking grim, Vision decides that things are down to him. I mean he did go off alone and is now stuck inside the enemy’s spaceship. He’s in a good position to mess things up.

So stuck suspended in a trap, he increases his density and mass to his limit and beyond! One ton, two, further!

The energy bubble holding him gives way to his weight, allowing him to make contact with the deck of the ship. Adding his weight to that of the ship and throwing it out of orbit.

The ship will crash into Earth and at this point, it can’t be stopped.

Yellow Claw is fairly pissed.

He smashes the device holding Vision captive and then starts trying to kill him with his bare hands.

And he’s capable of hitting Vision when he’s intangible because he studied Vision while he was a prisoner, the first time he was a prisoner. And created circuity to his metal sleeves that lets him tangible the intangible.

And thus he tries to strangle Vision.

I’m not sure he needs to breathe. Probably why Yellow Claw is punching him instead in later panels.

Vision points out that this fight is fairly pointless and that Yellow Claw could be using this time to escape but Yellow Claw is determined that he get something accomplished today.

And then the ship crashes into the ocean.

A short time skip later and the Avengers have parked the Quinjet on the ocean (it buoyant) and are searching for the Vision.

How did they know the Vision was here? Didn’t they think he was recuperating back at the mansion?

Apparently another gaffe but one that could be handwaved. Earlier in the issue when the three dumbnames appeared, Yellow Claw appeared on a monitor to taunt the Avengers and Vision was visible behind him. Captain America even appears to be pointing at Vision like ‘hey I know that guy from work.’

So conceivably they knew he was with Yellow Claw when his ship crashed.

Iron Man gives up on searching the ocean, not being able to find the Vision in the water but Vision just peaces in from the sky. He intangible’d out the ship just before the crash. He’s totally fine.

Scarlet Witch: “I am glad that you are safe, my husband. And I’m glad that the danger has ended.”

Vision: “No, my love. Though it is true that the Yellow Claw is dead, that he will no longer plague us with his particular form of madness -- there are too many others like him, others who would rise to power by crushing the freedom that is every being’s birthright.

And as long as any of them remain unchallenged -- the danger will never end.”

With that, Vision sort of stares out across the ocean moodily. Because a true Avengers story ends with someone staring at something moodily.

And I dunno! Maybe it was the extended break from doing this liveblog but this two-parter wasn’t as bad as I dreaded.

Supposedly, part of the impetus of the story was to do a last hurrah story for Yellow Claw and then shove him under some furniture because his yellow peril character concept was growing increasingly awkward.

After one more story in Marvel Fanfare with Cap, Yellow Claw was shelved for nearly three decades.

And man launches sterility gas missiles into space to form a giant claw to make it so that his successor can repopulate the Earth with a new, freedom hating breed of humanity is pretty great as far as comic book nonsense goes.

Although, in retrospect, I’m realizing that this was basically the same plan the Sentinels that kidnapped Scarlet Witch had.

Sterilize the planet with Wanda’s magical uterus and then replace humanity with a genetically engineered kind that could not mutate.

Comic books are weird.

Next time: Human Torch guest stars. Everything is on fire.

Follow @essential-avengers or like or reblog or send me questions or tell me I’m doing an okay job or do nothing. There are many choices available. But I would appreciate feedback.

#Avengers #the Vision #Yellow Claw #essential marvel liveblogging #essential avengers #Wasp #Jocasta #Beast #Wonder Man #Captain America #Iron Man

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lobster-mobster-aq · 4 years

Text

Defining the Shadows of Darkness

As the sun set, I could feel Dark Shadow become anxious within my chest. A heavy feeling, a slow crush of will as the darkness inside of me grew.

I crouched low to the ground, cutting a glance to Koda and Ashido behind me. Ashido’s brightly patterned costume did not suit this training and like a thick paste I could feel the encroaching dread spreading through me extremities. This was going to be bloody.

“Come on Tokoyami,” Ashido whined. “How are we supposed to be the bad guys if all we do is sulk in an ally?!”

“To win in this we must become one with the darkness,” I replied. The words sent a small thrill through my whole body. Dark Shadow shivered within me in delight.

“Phht,” Ashido intoned waving a dismissive hand. “Let’s get into some trouble. What do you say Koda? Let’s run around and act like hooligans!” She punched and kicked the air to emphasize.

Koda mumbled something. I couldn’t hear him, but I doubt that he agreed with Ashido.

The training exercise was a simple one. It took place in one of the mock cities. Each session had two groups of three. One group the heroes, one the villains. The heroes had to catch the villains by spotting them and shining a flashlight on them. There was one more element to this training exercise to make it unique.

It took place in the depth of the night.

Well that was a little dramatic, even for me. It was only about 8:00 pm. Heroes patrolled at night as well as the day and this exercise was supposed to help us learn the basics of doing so.

We were only three minutes into a, at most, twenty-minute exercise, and Ashido was already causing problems. I had nothing against her, but she was so bright and…un-dark. She could never understand the weight that consumed someone such as me. She only saw a world of swirling colors and adventure.

Then, a presence. “Shhh,” I said through my beak.

“I’m going to assume that means let’s make some noise!” Ashido crowed, framing her mouth with her hands.

“They are near by,” I informed quietly.

“How can you even tell that?” Ashido said with a smirk. She placed her hands on her hips and leaned forward, wiggling her eyebrows. She really should have worn something other than her hero costume. Its bright colors would be very easy to see in the dark.

I tilted my head and closed my eyes briefly. “There is a light traveling nearer us. Not far. In hearing range.”

“You can sense light?” Ashido asked in some surprise.

I opened my eyes and stood up. “Not really, but Dark Shadow can sense the lack of darkness.”

“Just kind of seems like a different way of saying the same thing to me,” Ashido said with a shrug of her shoulders.

“We should go,” I said quietly.

For the next for minutes we evaded the hero team, which consisted of Kirishima, Hagakure, Midoriya. I wasn’t too worried about Kirishima and Midoriya actually. Both of them were low on stealth but Hagakure would be able to sneak up on us.

All we had to do was avoid being seen by them for twenty minutes. That’s what I kept telling myself. Just remain hidden, remain one with the darkness around me. I could do that.

We kept to the edge of the buildings, to the shadows of the shadows. Seven minutes, we were seven minutes into the exercise. We could do this, only thirteen more minutes to go….

Dark Shadow lurched inside of me. A sudden light source. Near by!

I grabbed Koda by the arm and Ashido by the collar of her rather over dramatic fur lined crop jacket and pulled them back into the ally.

“Hey what…” Ashido began.

I covered her mouth with my hand and Dark Shadow burst from my chest. He swept himself over us, blanketing us with a swath of darkness.

Hopefully, Dark Shadow’s black form disappeared into the shadowed ally, and who ever was looking into the ally wouldn’t notice the bulging form.

“Oh, drat it,” Hagakure, snapped.

“What is it?” I could hear Midoriya call over a distance.

“I could have sworn I heard them in this ally, but they weren’t in there,” Hagakure replied, her voice drifting away.

With a sigh I let go of Ashido.

“She was staring right at us!” Ashido exclaimed.

I winced, hoping the others had gone away far enough that they couldn’t hear her.

“That was a really cool trick!” Ashido continued.

“Oh, uh, thanks,” I said.

Ashido leaned against the wall. “You know, you’re probably right about the strategy. We could probably just hang out here the entire time and be perfectly safe.” She let out a peeved huff of air.

Koda was petting Dark Shadow. I opened my mouth to tell him to stop, Dark Shadow did not like to be pet. But it seemed that Koda was an exception.

“Good shadow of the night,” Koda said quietly, patting Dark Shadow on the head.

Dark Shadow liked it, so I couldn’t quite understand why Koda’s attention bothered me so much.

“You know Tokoyami,” Koda began, his voice soft yet somehow still straining, “Dark Shadow has always felt strange.”

“What do you mean?” I asked.

Koda shook his head. “Oh, I didn’t mean to imply anything or, oh. I just. He’s just…always felt like a different person you know. I can talk to him. I just always thought that was strange since he was your quirk, and not a separate person.”

“You talk to Dark Shadow?” I asked in surprise. I could feel a vague sense of guilt coming from Dark Shadow.

“Oh, I uh…you didn’t know?” Koda muttered.

I slit my eyes and looked away, trying to hide my embarrassment. I don’t see how I could have missed it. Dark Shadow was always right there. I tried to recall moments where Koda had interacted with Dark Shadow before.

“Don’t you know everything that Dark Shadow knows?” Ashido asked.

I shook my head. “Not necessarily. We do share a bond…but we each have our own minds. Specific facts don’t always translate, we usually have to deliberately impart those. I do generally have a fairly good grasp on what he’s feeling, as I feel it too, but as to specifics I don’t know unless Dark Shadow tells me.”

“Can’t you just tell him to tell you everything?”

“I don’t control him,” I said, regretting the sharpness in my tone the moment the words were out of my mouth. There was no taking it back though. “He can resist me, and I can resist him. We truly are two separate minds living in one body. Controlling Dark Shadow isn’t a matter of learning physical control, it’s more like learning to become stronger willed and a better negotiator. We’re two wills helping and fighting each other.”

“Your quirk is kind of a strange one,” Ashido said, tapping her chin. “There are some pretty weird quirks in the world but yours is the only one I know of that’s all spiritual and stuff.”

I could feel Dark Shadow writhe under the attention. He stayed out to hide us, but I could tell he wanted nothing more than to hide away into my body again.

“I suppose Dark Shadow has never fit in with the other quirks of this world,” I said. “I never quite understood it either, the darkness that exists inside of me.”

“How did he show up?” Ashido asked. “Like I was always pink, but I couldn’t squirt acid until I was three.”

I pressed my hand to my chest, right underneath where Dark Shadow trailed from my body. “I have never known a moment without Dark Shadow. My parents even have a couple of ultrasounds that show Dark Shadow being in the womb with me.”

“Wow, really?”

“Yes.”

“I wonder what that would be like,” Ashido said, narrowing her eyes and poking at Dark Shadow, who grumbled threateningly. “To always have another consciences inside of you.”

When I was a very small child, I hadn’t really think of Dark Shadow as being strange. He just was. He was shy and didn’t like to come out around people, so he had never come out for anyone to comment on. I couldn’t recall if at the time I thought everyone had a shy being living inside of them, or if I even bothered to think about it. All I knew was that it was the only thing I had ever known, so why question it? To always have him there, to feel what he felt, to sense his growing hunger for darkness as the sun set, to see his drifting mind when the sun rose. To live without it would have felt strange.

I remembered the day I first realized that it wasn’t normal, that this thing inside of me was something strange, even in this world of quirks and superpowers.

I couldn’t have been more than four or five. It was night and I had been instructed by my parents to go to sleep over an hour ago. I never didn’t fall asleep until much later. Night was the only time that Dark Shadow liked to be active. Even though it would have been hard to deal with his emotions 24/7, I did miss him when he was less active during the day.

We spoke in a language only we had. The two of us had been speaking it ever since the beginning of us, it felt like. Small gestures and quiet noises that to most people would have been nonsense. We also talked about our day, and sometimes we would play. Dark Shadow felt alive running around and living in the night. And so did I.

It was one such night, I don’t even recall what Dark Shadow and I were doing. Perhaps we were playing too loudly so Father came in to tell me to go back to sleep. Perhaps we were just talking quietly, and he opened the door the way parents do to admire their sleeping children. My memory isn’t clear until I saw Father, the door to my room still slowly creaking open. The bright light of the hallway cast sharp shadows on his frightened face.

”Fumi…” he said, reaching out hand and taking an instinctive step back. “Who…are you okay?”

“Of course I’m fine,” I remember saying. My father had already charged into the room and scooped me up before I had finished my sentence. I was scared now. What was this. Why was he clutching me to his chest, why was he spinning around? Why was his heart beating so fast I could feel it thrumming through his chest? I felt a terrified sob choke my throat.

“What are you?” my father’s voice came out, harsh and sharp. Firm…but scared.

That’s when I felt it. It was like something ripping through my soul. Like drowning and being lit on fire. Fear and hate and loathing and joy and rapture and anger flooding into my body.

Dark Shadow.

I had never called him anything before. This other inside of me. I just excepted its existence. I still hadn’t named him.

I AM DARK SHADOW, he said again, screaming the words in my mind, his form bulging and growing to fill every corner of the room.

My father pressed me closer to himself but that only made me more terrified. But also…also…

Dark Shadow ripped me from my father’s hands.

AND HE IS MINE! Dark Shadow screamed. I screamed too. The anger. It felt…the terror…

I relished it.

The joy that came from the darkness. The ecstasy of loosing myself to it. I don’t believe I will ever be able to fully explain it.

We rampaged. We dug ourselves with delight into destroying the room. We screamed and we laughed at their terrified faces. At their desperate attempts to separate us.

Still, in the back of my mind.

Mother…Father.

They begged so, risking their lives to try to reach me.

A part of me wanted nothing more than to peal away from Dark Shadow, to be separate from his raging lust of destruction. I wept even as a reveled, to see their sobbing faces.

I don’t remember much. I suppose things couldn’t have escalated too far. The only property damage done to my room was a couple of punches in the walls. The only thing I remember clearly about that night was the way it felt. My parents have related the story. I guess they just eventually thought to turn the light on, and Dark Shadow disappeared inside of me again. They tell me I feel asleep soon after.

Since then I’ve also slept with a nightlight. Dark Shadow doesn’t like it, and we’ve mostly come to terms with each other, but a part of me still feel wrong about that night.

“We should try to capture one of them,” Ashido said.

“What would be the point in that?” I asked.

“More points! Duh.”

“We don’t need to risk it.”

Ashido rolled her eyes. “Of course we don’t need to. And we don’t need to dress in flamboyant costumes and have catchphrases, but being a hero is about saving people flashily. You know there’s always extra credit if we get into our roles.”

“That generally doesn’t translate into better grades.”

“Better grades. Better grades?!” Ashido stood up and slammed her fist into her open palm. “This is about more than better grades! This is about style, about branding, about living with conviction!” She strutted about, throwing herself into the words, grabbing at anything. “About learning to control your fears by embracing them! About learning to fight villains by learning to think like them. It’s about embracing the darkness inside of you to better control it!”

I sighed, dusting off my legs while I stood up. “Are you trying to convince me or Dark Shadow?”

“Well you were a dud, so I thought I’d give Dark Shadow a shot,” Ashido said with a cheesy grin. “Did it work?”

I could feel Dark Shadow shake with excitement. “What do you want to do?”

Ashido punched the air. “Let’s capture and kill the heroes!”

Of course she was speaking figuratively (I think), which is what I told Dark Shadow, who seemed a little too sincerely on board with murdering our friends. The plan was a simple one, we didn’t really have the time to concoct a complicated one.

I watched our momentary enemies from above, gliding on Dark Shadow’s wings. The heroes had a fairly good strategy. They were close enough they could hear each other by raising their voices only a little, but far away enough it didn’t look like they were together if you saw them from the ground. Or at least Kirishima and Midoriya were. There was no telling where Hagakure was, which was probably the point. By now Midoriya was the only one with an on flashlight. Hagakure kept hers hidden, for reasons we had already witnessed, and Kirishima had accidently broken his when he was startled by a cat.

I landed on one of the buildings, watching Kirishima look down an ally.

The previously mentioned cat walked up to me and looked at me expectantly.

“Tell Koda that Kirishima took the bate and went down the street we wanted him to,” I said, scratching the cat under the chin. Dark Shadow grumbled jealously. “Also lead Midoriya more south. Where he is right now, he’d be able to get to Kirishima took quickly.” I accompanied this with pointing at Midoriya and then pointing south. Koda had explained the animals didn’t understand our words, but the cat would relate how I had pointed.

Kirishima continued heading north west while Midoriya began to go south.

A different cat returned. So far, I think all the cats that Koda had been using were different cats. I had no idea why we had so many stray cats at our school. They all looked far too taken care of to be mere strays. Almost like someone must have been leaving food out for them.

The cat used its tail to point and pulled at my pant leg.

That was the signal to follow it. Kirishima had gotten to the ambush point and Koda was letting me know to follow the cat so I could meet up with him. Dark Shadow surrounded me again and we followed the cat, gliding where it leapt and bounded.

“You’re quirk really is useful,” I said as I stepped onto the ground next to Koda.

Koda was petting the cat gently. “It’s not as cool as yours though,” Koda said softly.

“Cool?”

Koda blushed. “Well I just…I’m just a friendly animal guy. You…you get to do all the darkness stuff and I, I’m sorry I know it must be hard sharing your body but…it’s useful and cool. I’m just useful.”

Useful and cool, I thought to myself.

“Animals are cool,” I said awkwardly.

“Animals are great,” Koda said with a smile, waving goodbye to the cat. “But I can’t fly with my quirk. I’ve tried. Even the biggest birds working together can’t do it. Anyway, you should go back to scouting.” Koda sighed. “I told Mr. Peanut here to tell you to stay, not to follow. Cat’s can be so contrary sometimes.”

I nodded and took to the air once more. I became one with Dark Shadow and one with the darkness. It being night I could do it with ease, like breathing. Alone with Dark Shadow, nothing but black air all around me, Dark Shadow enveloping me, I lost myself. I thought again about my quirk. I recalled a night after I had been teased about my bird head. My beak made eating noodles hard and other students always mocked me for it. I wanted to cry that night. Dark Shadow had waited patiently. And when I was done, he had shown me how to make sorrow something to delight in, how important sadness was to the human soul. I remembered him telling me to cry, to not be afraid of the darker emotions, to not hide them and be ashamed, but to feel them and relish them no matter what.

I watched Ashido effortlessly corner Kirishima. The cats also helped.

There were a lot of things about my quirk that were hard. But in the end, I was glad.

Useful and cool.

I found it odd how good those words felt. I could even feel Dark Shadow rumble with pleasure at the phrase. Dark Shadow told me Koda was always saying nice things like that to him. Apparently, he and Koda already had quite the friendship.

Still not sure how that happened without my noticing.

But still, Dark Shadow was a part of me.

And I was a part of Dark Shadow.

There was no separating us and I wouldn’t want it. He was my worst enemy and my best friend. We were opposed, but we were also one. It was the way things were meant to be, and it is what felt right.

Ashido had Kirishima tied up and gave a thumbs up to the cats. She was doing a dance and I couldn’t help but smile.

Then…

Light. The sparkle of blue lightning.

It leapt behind Ashido.

Midoriya.

He had turned his flashlight off and had snuck up on Ashido.

I cursed and swooped down to join the fight. All Midoriya had to do was turn on his flashlight and we would loose. We only had a couple of minutes left. We didn’t have to escape, just stall him.

I landed. Dark Shadow reached out and smacked Midoriya’s flashlight from his hand. Ashido was on the ground, twitching from a punch. She pushed herself up.

Midoriya darted for the flashlight but Dark Shadow smashed it. Now we would win, as long as Hagakure didn’t show up.

Midoriya, being Midoriya, fought on. His power leapt and danced over his flesh, the sparks of light twisting and pulsing. He aimed a punch at Dark Shadow, who easily dissolved and shifted.

Midoriya punched the wall instead. It burst apart.

I stepped back, asking Dark Shadow to shield Ashido from the debris. He swooped to protect her, but she was already up and darting away from the falling rubble.

I should have told him to protect me.

A chunk of wall hit me in the head. Sparks burst in my mind and things blurred and shifted. Everything became vague and distant as I shut my eyes for just a blink.

When I opened my eyes again, I had obviously been out for more than a blink.

Dark Shadow was rampaging, screaming and destroying everything around him. He was filled with rage. Rage at my pain, rage at Midoriya for ruining our perfect plan, rage at the world in general. He blossomed in the darkness and the brief seconds I had been unconscious he had let him take full control.

My head still pounded. The world still spun around too quickly.

Ashido and Midoriya were dodging Dark Shadow’s thrashing limbs.

Please, I begged. Stop.

RAGE. HATE. POWER. HUNGER.

You’re going to hurt them.

But my pleas didn’t make it through Dark Shadow’s torrent of emotions.

“If only I hadn’t dropped and broken my flashlight,” Kirishima bemoaned, darting from one of Dark Shadow’s contorting limbs. He still had his hands tied behind his back.

“Get out of the way!” Aizawa yelled, leaping onto the scene. His scarf warped and twisted, pulling and tossing the others out of danger as he leaped into the fray. Dark Shadow reached for Aizawa, his many limbs merging towards my teacher.

Aizawa dodged Dark Shadow. His scarf took advantage of a rail and he leapt backwards, pulling himself towards a wall and then keeping his feet planted on it by pulling the scarf taut. The pressure kept him in place as he snapped open his eyes wide. They turned dark red, his hair defied gravity and thrashed.

I fell to the ground. My head still rang, but I felt calmer. Or…

It was strange. I almost felt empty. Like I couldn’t feel at all.

The first thing I became aware of outside of my own numbness was the yelling. No words. Just an inarticulate scream of rage.

I gingerly pushed myself up to my feet, holding my hand to the sore spot on my head. There was a person in front of me. They were the one screaming. Their throat was already horse and strained. They rolled and thrashed; their voice now not only angry but scared. So scared. It was unsettling. Where this child, teenager really, about my age, had even come…

I moved my head to look at Aizawa, his eyes trained on the thrashing, screaming person in front of me. His eyes not only wide with his quirk use, but shock as well.

No.

No that wasn’t…

Aizawa blinked.

The person in front of me burst into shadow and tossed themselves into me. I stumbled back with the force.

Dark Shadow had been with me from the womb.

Not a quirk.

A twin.

A horrifying dread crept over, more ominous and overpowering than anything I had ever felt before in my life.

“My quirk,” I spoke, the words thick and heavy, “is just bird head.”

#my hero academia #mha #boko no hero academia #bnho #tokoyami fukimage #my first and likely only fanfiction #koda doesn't get enough love #that's why I chose him to be in this #bananafana fiction #shout out to bones-and-branmuffins.tumblr.com for drawing the comic bit for me #it was just supposed to be a quick couple paragraph joke and then it just kind of got out of hand

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jeanvaljean24601 · 4 years

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Watch Dogs: Legion Hands-On — A World Worth Exploring

Watch Dogs: Legion follows the series’ established hack-heavy formula, but the new recruitment system adds a refreshing layer of intrigue underneath your run of the mill missions. All of which still have the fun of outsmarting enemies or finding the right angle to solve a puzzle, download a key/file, or wreak havoc from afar. But the most appealing part of Watch Dogs: Legion is finding and recruiting new people. From potential new weapons to lovable characters with fascinating backgrounds and recruitment missions, you have nothing to lose and everything to gain by expanding DedSec.

Watch Dogs Legion’s Degrees of Dystopian.Set in near-future London, the bombings DedSec was framed for have led to an authoritarian state in which Albion - a private military corporation - has taken over policing while an intelligence community, led by Signal Intelligence Response Service (SIRS), spies on London’s citizens. In an attempt to clear DedSec, you’re tasked with finding out who is responsible for the London bombings. Villains include Nigel Cass, CEO of Albion, and Mary Kelly, leader of an organized crime syndicate in London. x96 tv box

In keeping with the series norms, Watch Dogs: Legion operates in the extremes of tech-gone-too-far and corporations-up-to-no-good. It’s what I expect, but as an exaggeration of where society could head, some storylines are more believable and intriguing than others. An Albion security guard making a janky deal to get medicine felt like a natural extension of the current ways governments fail their people, but an evil CEO shooting someone with a room full of high-powered witnesses felt more cartoonishly evil than cleverly dystopian.

Making every character playable is a narrative risk, but it’s one Watch Dogs: Legion seems to pull off based on what I’ve played so far. Those who felt Marcus Holloway’s cutscene persona didn’t match his mid-mission murders may have a hard time buying into the idea of convincing anyone on the street to join what’s publicly viewed as a terrorist organization — favors aside.

The script differences highlight each character as a unique individual rather than a generic stand-in. From the reserved yet no-nonsense attitude of the old lady I added to my team to my recently recruited Albion guard frantically chatting while she drives through London as if to say “Oh my god; I can’t believe I’m actually doing this.”

And at the end of the day, there’s nothing wrong with things being a bit video game-y if the ends justify the means, and in Watch Dogs: Legion they seem to do just that. Playing as anyone goes as narratively smoothly as it can, given the gameplay, and the experience of recruiting randos makes for a joyous open-world experience. android tv box

While there are plenty of new elements to Watch Dogs: Legion, such as ridable cargo drones, the fundamentals are still present. Take over cameras to redirect power, download data, or interact with nearby objects to create distractions or explosions. Distract enemies by sending something to their phones. Or go straight into combat, which leans even more heavily on player choice with enemies only using melee attacks against you until you pull out your gun and decide it’s time for a firefight. This is particularly convenient for those looking to stealth and hack their way through encounters.

My demo dropped me to the midpoint of the game where missions were a routine to-do list of heading from location to location, hacking drones to scope out the area, and then hacking cameras to download access keys or cause mayhem. At this point in the game the ability to cloak enemy bodies was available, allowing for a more aggressive playstyle, with stealth easier to pull off without alerting foes. London’s various buildings, tourist spots, and construction sites made for a fun playground to strategize my way through each gig.

The loop may be familiar, but that doesn’t make it any less fun. As usual, I found that causing destruction without getting my hands dirty was far more amusing than doing stealth takedowns of less than intelligent A.I who have dull walking patterns and are easily lured or distracted. Seeing how many enemies I can kill by stringing hacks to set off carefully timed explosions before I even step foot in a building never ceased to satisfy. If I was spotted, I found it easier to lean on whatever guns I had available than to bother regaining my cover or fighting hand to hand.

Fast travel still exists and some characters even have their own vehicles (often equipped with useful tech), but otherwise there’s good old-fashioned carjacking. A clever, futuristic touch is the option to steal a self-driving car (just look for the icon on the windshield). No driver or passenger punching required!

Driving still feels arcade-y at heart but some vehicles control better than others. The narrower and more roundabout-filled London streets make for a slower, more challenging drive than speeding down San Francisco. Of course, there isn’t much of an immediate penalty for running over lampposts or even pedestrians.

However, upon closer examination you’ll notice that running over someone makes them like you less. Good luck recruiting the person you just hospitalized (still possible! But an awkward icebreaker once they recover). Albion may come after you if they see you commit a crime, but losing them isn’t too difficult as long as you put enough distance between the two of you. Some nice touches include the fact that they can follow you into buildings — your safe house is inaccessible when you’re under pursuit — and if you’re cornered, an electrical device can latch onto your car, rendering it undrivable.

Making Your Team is a Dream.By far, Watch Dogs: Legion’s biggest and most impressive differentiator is the ability to play as anyone. Though getting complete intel on a person (down to their schedule) requires you to upgrade the DeepProfiler by using Tech Points you find hidden in the world. Getting to know them will tip you off to what they’re looking for and unlock their recruitment missions to turn an initial No into a Yes. x96 tv box

The borough uprising system lets you take on missions to empower a borough and give them a more positive outlook on DedSec. Some recruitments will be mandatory as part of the campaign, such as an Albion guard, but you mostly have free reign. If you just want to get the best of the best, DedSec will mark a few people of interest on your map who have been predetermined as good recruits, such as a Drone Expert and Bee Keeper. But you’re also free to recruit whoever is roaming around London.

The first person who caught my eye was an adorable old lady who was looking for some Darts competition. To recruit her, the first step was to go to the pub and play her in Darts, which is one of the most appealing mini-game side quests I’ve ever had the option to do. Hell yes, I want to play this old lady in Darts to get her to join DeadSec! Winning led to her recruitment mission of investigating how her job replaced the 300 workers who were laid off.

I could see this recruitment loop getting stale over time but, during my brief session, I adored every moment of it because I was doing it for my new recruit and my reward was having her there for the rest of my adventure - despite the fact that the mission itself was nothing special.

Unfortunately, she was arrested shortly after being recruited. Despite previous plans for mandatory permadeath, no one dies in Watch Dogs: Legion unless you opt-in to play with permadeath on. Instead, they just get arrested or hospitalized and locked by a timer. You can go to the police station and potentially get them out early but the easier solution is to just switch to a different operative. Having certain operatives on your team such as Albion guards, police officers, or EMTs will decrease your time in jail or the hospital.

A Dynamic and Diverse Group.Each character has their own loadouts, perks, professions, personalities, and backgrounds. Weapons and tools are shared across your team and can be swapped, but there are some gadgets and guns that are locked to certain types of recruits.

Uniform Access allows for certain characters to enter restricted areas more easily. So walking into a construction site as a construction worker means I can more freely walk through the area and it takes longer for enemies to detect my presence. However, they can still realize I don’t belong there so it’s not an instant win.

My assassin had a slew of powerful guns at her disposal but the graffiti artist had a paintball gun and would spray folks in the face after executing a takedown. Even across folks from the same background there’s some level of variation. android tv box

For instance, one construction worker will have a different set of tools than another.There were some rough edges in the build I played. When characters are defeated the animation looks a bit goofy, and there are some questionable drivers. But some of these may be cleared up by launch. Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my time with Watch Dogs: Legion and grew attached to the different characters, their arsenals, and their sparkling personalities. The lack of a primary main character doesn’t detract from the story. Instead, it incentivizes exploring and immersing myself in a world I otherwise may have ignored in favor of mainlining the story.

Watch Dogs: Legion’s gameplay follows the established formula of hacking devices to accomplish your task at hand with the option to go in guns blazing - though it’s the less enticing route when you have plenty of gadgets at hand and drones overhead.

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angstytieflingbard · 5 years

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What do you think Link would be like in the BNHA world? Because while he was a hero in Hyrule, I don't think he'd be able to get away with half the crap he does on a regular basis in the BNHA world.

Hm, this is a really interesting question! I think it depends mainly on whether or not he can remember his past incarnations.

This is a bit of a long one, fair warning, so the theory and stuff is under the cut!

In the games, generally Link shows little to no awareness of his past incarnations (partially as a favor to the player, particularly new players who wouldn’t be able to just jump in knowing what was happening like veteran players, or like Link himself might be able to) so if we go by the assumption that that trend continues, he’d absolutely join U.A and become a hero.

Link is, while a chaotic goblin child, also generally very eager to please and help people in authority figures (Impa, King Rhoam, Sahasralas, King Dorephan, etc.) mostly because in almost every iteration he’s either born into a military role or joins voluntarily. In Skyward Sword, he was the top of his class in the knight academy on Skyloft, in Hyrule Warriors he starts the game as a recruit in the army and within a few battles is leading an entire third of the Hyrule military by himself, just because Impa told him to, and of course in BOTW he’s a knight of Hyrule (the fact that Link, androgynous klepto goblin extraordinaire, has definitely been referred to as Ser Link of Hyrule is wild, I should also mention). These positions are difficult to achieve, and you absolutely have to have a deep respect for authority to get there.

So, if Link doesn’t remember his past reincarnations, then he’d take to U.A and hero society like a fish to water, guided only by intuition and his profound desire to help and please people. However, I do think some of his more... chaotic tendencies, for lack of a better term, would get in trouble. I had like an entire paragraph of how he would fare in 1-A, but it was really convoluted and weird so instead I’m gonna bullet point some of the highlights of this before I move onto the other theory:

He’s reckless, even more so than Midoriya or Bakugo sometimes, with a complete lack of regard for his own well being, something which absolutely grinds Aizawa’s gears.

He gets along surprisingly well with Iida! Both of them have that deep respect for authority that I mentioned earlier.

However, Link’s tendency for sticky fingers and complete obliviousness to the concept of privacy and appropriateness cranks his anxiety up to an eleven sometimes.

The boys in 1-A (excluding Iida who I’ve already mentioned) are terrified of him, both for his power in androgyny (he may go by he/him, but don’t be fooled, he’s never met gender in his life, and he loves how swishy the girls’ skirts are) and for how much of an absolute powerhouse he is in combat.

Link is supposedly untrained in combat, but his ability to pick up any weapon that has ever existed and use it with the comfort and skill of someone who’s trained with it their whole lives is objectively terrifiying.

The girls adore him. He’s down to earth and honestly really fun, if strange as all hell. It also helps that during the combat simulations on the second day of school he punted Mineta into a brick wall so hard it cracked. (Kaminari immediately vows to give up on his playboy ways the moment Link turns away from where he’d punted the grape and raises an eyebrow at him, as though challenging him to make a similar comment.)

Momo and Tsu in particular take to him, liking his quiet, deceptively observant demeanor. Momo learns more about medieval/feudal weaponry for him and eventually helps him make something he insists on calling a paraglider, and the three of them end up becoming a team on their own, each using their abilities as well as the creations they designed together (with the help of Mei, of course, who is fascinated by Link and his wack equipment ideas) to unleash devastating attacks on their opponents in team battles.

On a completely separate note, I think he’d actually have a couple different hero costumes, to the surprise and delight of Mei, who made a point to be the one working with him on his equipment. Similar to BOTW, and even OOT to an extent, he has outfits for different purposes, though they stick to a similar color/theme across them, a mix of sky blue and forest green with the tri-force design incorporated somewhere (though he has no explanation for why he’s drawn to that symbol, he makes sure it’s always included).

As a final couple of points, I would like to return to his complete lack of awareness when it comes to most social faux pas. He is chaos incarnate, and he has absolutely no time to deal with whether something is considered appropriate.

It’s even worse when they get to the dorms. The day they move in he ends up showing up a bit late, carrying an extra suitcase of random junk he absolutely could not bear to leave at home (there’s no way he’s not still a packrat), and the group sitting in the living room all watch as he catches sight of a potted plant in the corner, drops his suitcase, and lunges for it.

They remove the other potted plants from the common areas after that incident.

Now, the other possibility. If Link does remember his incarnations, I don’t think he’d be able to bring himself to become a hero, at least not in the typical sense. He’d see the corruption in the hero system, particularly how heroes like endeavor treat not only their fans, but their families (I refuse to believe there’s not some circles of people somewhere on the internet who haven’t realized something is wrong with the man and investigated him in some way. And if they do exist, Link’s seen them, the evidence of corruption all the way to the highest levels of hero society only cementing his distaste for them).

I think he becomes a vigilante, doing his best to track down Ganon and Zelda in whatever forms and roles they’ve taken in this new cycle, while still helping people wherever he can. He almost becomes spider-man like in his reputation, the media and hero society calling him a glorified villain, while civilians hail him as one of the few true heroes left in the world. Link refuses to hide his face or identity, showing the world exactly who he is at the expense of his own safety. As a vigilante, I think his costume would be something like the sheikah/stealth set, though with the Hyrulian royal crest instead of the sheikah’s crest, and eventually the symbol starts popping up around the city, hidden in plain site in the decor, or in the shadier parts of town outright painted on doors and windows of shops and homes, signals to show both support for the masked hero, and the offer of a safe place to rest during the day.

It’s difficult for Link, forced to cloak himself in the shadow, ignoring every part of him that wants to trust those who’re supposed to help in the fight against evil. But every time he looks at endeavor he remembers a life when he was called the hero of time, and the shadowy king with fiery hair who poisoned his people and flooded Hyrule with monsters and malice, and it steels his resolve to continue. Well, that and the knowledge that the law would be less than forgiving of his more... odd habits.

Anyway, this is all just sort of rambled off the top of my head, but I think I explained what I thought decently well. Thank you so much for the ask, this was a really fun concept! I’d love to do more on it if anyone would be interested in that. And I’m sorry it was so ridiculously long, I really got into this one lol. Have a good day anon!

#anon asks #breath of the wild #botw #link #bnha #boku no hero academia #mha #my hero academia #req #requests #legend of zelda #loz #fanfiction #skyward sword #hyrule warriors #ocarina of time

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betsynagler · 5 years

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The Four (Thousand, New) Questions

When I was growing up, I didn't really have to think too much about what it meant to be a Jewish American. A large part of that was living in New Jersey, where being a member of the tribe isn’t exactly an anomaly. In Newark, pretty much all of my friends were Jewish or Black, until I spent 2nd grade in Catholic School. You’d think that might make it weird, but even then, it wasn’t. All my new friends just had Irish and Italian names, and I got to sit in the back during mass and read, which is the dream of every second grader. And when we moved to the suburbs, things became, if anything, more Jewy. We joined Temple Israel and actually tried going to services every once in a while, and I went to Hebrew school on Saturdays. At my suburban public grade school, I learned the term “Jappy” something my friends and I called other girls that we considered spoiled, regardless of whether or not they were Jewish, and in junior high, the school bus that came from the most wealthy, Jewish neighborhood in town was sometimes referred to as “The Jew Canoe.” Who did we learn these terms from? Other Jews. We were the ones trading in the laughable stereotypes, because that’s American Jewish culture all over: we joke because we can. It’s never been in doubt in my lifetime that we belong here, to the degree that we are comfortable poking fun at ourselves, enough that while we are very aware that we aren’t and will never be the majority — and if you forget that, you always have the 30 to 60 days of Christmas to remind you — we are perfectly okay with that; and enough to feel safe in the knowledge that the past is the past, because in the Tri-State Area in the 1970s and 80s, anti-Semitism was about as real to me as Star Wars: something that existed long, long ago, in a galaxy far, far away. The same thing with Nazis. Nazis were the movie villains nobody got upset about. Nobody ever said, “Why do the Nazis always have to be the bad guys?” Why? Because they were the bad guys.

That doesn’t mean that my Jewish identity was 100% uncomplicated, mostly because I was raised to figure stuff out for myself. Mine were the kind of parents who took us to fancy restaurants and said, “Want to order the escargot? Have at it!”, perhaps not realizing that they’d end up with a seven-year-old who liked to try every appetizer on the menu but had a stomach the size of a golfball – which led to my parents gaining weight in the 70s, which led to their joining the exercise craze in the 80s...See how history happens? Being able to make my own decisions meant I could quit Hebrew school after one year (I was already a well-practiced quitter of stuff I didn't like, such as wearing dresses and learning the violin). I felt a little guilty about it, so I was definitely Jewish in that way, but one of the reasons I couldn’t get behind religious school was the fact that Judaism was supposedly my religion, but – go figure – our family was not religious. My parents don’t agree on which type of not-religious they are, since my mother describes herself as an atheist and my father calls himself an agnostic, but that’s only if you push them, since neither of them cares enough about it either way. They still identify as Jewish, and therein lay the confusion for me: Judaism is kind of an ethnic identity as well as a religion, but in a weird way, because you can convert to it, which you can’t do with, say, Slavic, and because it’s not one where we all come from one specific place, since Jews were basically driven out of everywhere. Sure, my family were all driven out of one country, Poland, but that didn’t exactly make them feel Polish. No, we were definitely Jews, just the secular kind, which is actually a thing — although I didn’t know anyone else like that in high school, the result being that in my group of friends, a mix of Jews and non-Jews, I was in my own category of Jewish, But Doesn’t Know When Any of the Holidays Are.

When I went to college on the West Coast, where I was meeting new people all the time, it was common for people tell me I didn’t “look Jewish,” which seemed to just fit right in with every other confusing part of my Jewish identity. You might think that, as a stealth Jew, I’d finally be privy to negativity about us, but that never happened. That was around the time of the rise of the religious right, and there were a lot of born-again Christians at Stanford, my freshman dorm was full of them. But while they may have believed I was going to hell, most of them still seemed happy to hang with me while we were alive – one of them even took me out for fro yo once (that’s short for “frozen yogurt,” and eating it together at Stanford in 1987 was called “dating”). If anything, being Jewish around them was an advantage, because they never tried to rebirth me the way they did other Christians, like my poor freshman roommate – I would come back to our room to find her surrounded by a group of them, looking uncomfortable, like she was getting hit on by Jesus. Mind you, I know now that my school was a liberal bubble inside the liberal bubble that was Northern California, and that protected me from a lot of things. But while we were definitely dealing with racism and sexism on campus at the time, anti-Semitism? That just wasn’t a thing.

Neither was being a Jewish person who didn’t support Israel. I didn’t know all that much about Israel growing up. I knew that it was the Jewish state, where I had once had some relatives, and that my cousins and eventually my brother — who finished Hebrew school — went to visit because they felt like it was an important way to learn about who they were. I didn’t. But when, in college, I had my first conversation with someone who’d lived in Israel about the way that Israelis felt this constant existential threat to their existence that justified their defensive posture when it came to negotiating peace with the Palestinians, even though they clearly had vast military superiority, I didn’t necessarily agree, but I got it. I understood why Israelis felt that, in a visceral, six-million-dead-just-because-they-were-like-you way that I think most non-Jews can’t.

That was probably as much of a surprise to me as it was to anyone: that, on some level, in spite of not looking Jewish, or being able to speak Hebrew, or knowing what Sukkot was (if it wasn’t about eating or presents, it didn’t make it into the Nagler Canon of Holidays), I actually still somehow just was Jewish. And that part of my identity might never have really sunk in if I hadn’t become a New Yorker. Moving here didn’t just mean that I discovered Zabars, or that I was a bagel snob, or that I would be able to have lox at catering pretty much every day (and occasionally take some home if it was really good), although those things did indeed happen. New York was able to absorb and assimilate Jewish culture in a way that allowed it to flourish as one distinct flavor of the whole that is this city of many flavors. New York is a Jewish city – in same way that it’s also Italian, Irish, African-American, Puerto Rican, Chinese, Russian, Indian, Dominican, Pakistani, Caribbean, Mexican, and the list goes on depending on who’s arrived recently and who’s coming next. And so, from the way I relate to food, to my sense of humor, to my analytical and intellectual side, to how forthright/tactless I can be, to my overall worldview: living here enabled me to recognize that I just wouldn’t be this way if I weren’t Jewish.

Everything feels different in 2019 in so many, surreal ways, but what exactly it means to be Jewish in America is definitely a big one. I’ve felt some vulnerability and uncertainty as a woman for most of my life, as you do, but I’ve never felt that way about being a Jew until now. To the point that I can’t call myself “a Jew” any more, because suddenly, that’s an epithet. How the hell did that happen? When did we allow them to take that word away? Then there’s the realization of, Wait, we can’t make those jokes any more because there are people who actually still think that shit about us? And they’re telling other people? Fucking internet. Add to that the fault lines within the American Jewish community over Israel and the ground really starts to feel like it’s swaying under your feet. How much we should continue to support this country that seems increasingly unrecognizable to me, that is so racked by fear and sectarianism that it appears to have given up on peace and democracy, that votes for a leader who has demonstrated time and again that he is both racist and corrupt? Well, now that I’ve put it like that, okay, maybe this is something that Israel and the United States have in common right now, but that doesn’t make it any better for those of use who are trying to stay on the sane side of it all. I’m lucky that most of my family is in agreement with me on these issues, but my mother has some cousins with whom she is close that she had to ask to stop sending her political emails, because their conservative views about Israel seemed to have somehow spread to abortion and immigration, despite that fact that they live in San Francisco. Jewish Trump supporters? From the Bay Area? What the hell is the going on?! Come on, this can’t be us. When an audience at the Republican Jewish Coalition cheers when Trump says “Our country’s full. You can’t come in,” don’t they hear the eerie echos of what the American government said to the boats full of Jews they sent back to be slaughtered in the holocaust? Don’t they know that we are supposed to be sharp, and educated, and fucking liberals? Oh, wait, is “liberal” now a bad word not just among conservatives but for some on the left too, as in the “liberal elite who control everything” that they’re always talking about? But, double wait, wasn’t that just another way anti-Semites used to say “the Jews” without saying “the Jews”? But triple wait, aren’t Bernie Sanders and Glenn Greenwald Jewish? WHAT THE FUCK IS GOING ON?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!?!

Of course, this about when all of your older Jewish relatives shake their heads at all of this and say, “See? This is exactly the shit always happens to us. Somehow, when things go bad in the world, and people start believing crazy conspiracy shit, that always turns back on the Jews.” I never believed that before, so to see it sort of happening right before my eyes is really something. But at the same time, I’m sure as hell not going to let that make me just silo up. Yeah, there are the swastikas, and the Tree of Life synagogue shooting, and “Jews will not replace us,” but can we honestly say we have it worse than everyone else who’s under attack in this country right now? What’s the point of joining a grievance competition that just gives the people who are trying to divide the left exactly what they want? It’s how, when the new questions that confuse and divide us just keep coming — What do we say or not say about Ilhan Omar? What about the schism in the Women’s March? What about the Senate bill that would allow state and local governments to withhold contracts from those who boycott Israel that Chuck Schumer supported? — they just get us to go after each other.

Let’s not do that. Sure, maybe this is just another case of me getting older and less able to accept how the world is changing — sort of a, “Damn Nazis, get off my lawn!” type of thing – and maybe I should just go along with this new normal. But that's one thing I know is definitely not me. MoTs like to talk shit out, sometimes too much, but eh. Let’s bring that tradition of analysis and argument — and I mean the kind where you’re forthright and emotional, but you still know how to listen — to bear on the questions we’re having both on the left and in the Jewish community about how we move forward, instead of fleeing back into our fears from the past.

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some-mad-lunge · 6 years

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Thank God - Ringo Edition

AU - Easy never stops Ringo from getting on that train. Why? Because my imagination will not stop where Ringsy is concerned. _____________________________

It had been over six weeks since Ringo had left Cologne on a train bound out of Easy’s life. No one mentioned Ringo in Easy’s company after that day, not even Tobias.

There was a fragility to Easy now that Tobias had never seen in his friend but he figured with time he’d would be back to normal but so far Tobias had been wrong, very very wrong.

Easy went to work at the kiosk, he’d go out with his camera for hours, he hadn’t stepped foot in WG and he avoided the apartment like it housed the plague. He didn’t laugh. He didn’t cry. He just sat there. No one even knew if he was listening half the time when they spoke to him. He just had this far away look in his eye. He spent most of his time in his room, the only companion he seemed to enjoy was Stinker, who seemed to know what Easy needed. Tobias would have believed Easy didn’t even know how to use his voice anymore if he hadn’t heard the low rumbles of his conversations with the dog from the other side of Easy’s bedroom door.

The only person who had heard from Ringo was Paco. He brought him up once when Easy, who had insisted he wasn’t hungry because apparently he survived on oxygen alone now, went and hid in his room from his roommate and declined dinner. Tobias had had enough and went to WG to get some re-enforcements.

“I don’t know what to do anymore, how do I fix him?”

Eli just looked sad and Saskia looked like she wanted to say something but was biting her lip.

“I heard from Ringo yesterday.”

Tobias whirled around and arched an eyebrow at Paco.

“He’s still my friend Tobias, not to mention your brother.”

Tobias huffed at that, like he needed reminding.

“He’s coming back to town this weekend. I convinced him to meet me for a beer. He sounds almost worse than Easy. It’s like neither of them know how to exist anymore.”

“Ringo deserves it, Easy doesn’t.”

“Enough!”

Everyone turned to look at Saskia, who suddenly had wild eyes and a snarl on her face as she glared at Tobias.

“You Tobias, more than anyone, should know how this feels for both of them”

“Me, what does it have to do with me?”

“Ever since Kay-C left to go be Hauke’s fake fiancée you’ve been just as bad, but it’s almost like Easy and Ringo aren’t allowed to be heartbroken but you are. You don’t get a say in that.”

Tobias didn’t know how to handle Saskia like this, who was this bossy, annoying woman?

“It’s different.”

Saskia couldn’t keep her disgust for Tobias from her voice.

“It’s love Tobias, it’s different and the same for everybody. If you care for Easy like you say you do you would want him to have whatever makes him happy. If Ringo makes him happy you should be helping him get back to him. You changed, is it so hard to believe Ringo could too?”

Tobias looked around the room, looking for support from Paco and Elli, and found none.

“She’s right Tobias, they love each other.”

Ellie looked at Paco with glowing eyes, Paco just smiled back at her and then turned to Tobias.

“We should help them Tobias. We stick our noses in anyway, why not use it to help?”

Tobias couldn’t believe what he was hearing, his friends were insane and he told them so.

“You’re all crazy. They just need time and they’ll see how much better off they are. Trust me.”

He stormed out and headed back to his apartment. It was just another relationship, Easy would move on, and Paco was no doubt wrong and Ringo probably already had.

He made his way inside and headed for Easy’s door. He was about to knock when he heard it. Easy, crying. No not just crying but sobbing, deep shuddering sobs that sent shivers down Tobias’s back, and he could hear Stinker whining, no doubt the dog trying to comfort his friend. Tobias leaned his head against the closed door.

Fuck, he thought, fuck, fuck, FUCK.

He turned around and headed back to WG, stormed in, slammed the door behind him and looked right at Saskia.

“Okay, this is what we’re going to do.”

Ringo didn’t know how Paco had been able to convince him to spend his first night back in Cologne at his old apartment. He should have got a hotel, but six weeks of living on his sister’s couch with no income didn’t mean he had money to throw around. He was only back because Kira had kicked him out anyway. She’d had enough of his wallowing.

She’d been supportive at first, listening to him unload his broken heart, listened to his regrets. She’d understood, she’d been compassionate but firm, hell she’d bought him ice cream, stating that it’s what every broken heart needed.

But as time wore on and Ringo wasn’t getting over it Kira got more and more frustrated with her brother.

“This isn’t you Ringo. You fight for what you want or you move on, you can’t stay in this limbo forever. Maybe you need to accept that you’ll never be over Easy, not really, but God brother get your ass off my couch.”

And so Ringo realized this ache, this emptiness wasn’t going to go away, it was a part of him now. But the rest of him needed a job, and a place to live and to get up every morning, even if the day ahead would be void of any real happiness. It’s what people did, or at least he assumed what people did, he’d never been like most people anyway.

And if he had to look at pictures of him and Easy on his phone before he went to sleep every night, before he could even attempt to sleep, then he would live with it.

And if he had to wake every morning reaching for someone who wasn’t there, and fight back the tears that came up, well then so be it. So when he’d texted Paco he was coming back to town, was going to find another flat share and a new place to work, so that he could avoid his walking heartache at all costs Paco pounced. First he convinced him to meet for a drink. Then a few days later he said Easy was going out of town for a weekend visiting some uncle that Ringo didn’t even know he had. He could stay in his old room, at least for a few nights until he found somewhere else. Before Easy came back.

Clearly a glutton for punishment Ringo agreed, because if he couldn’t have Easy anymore than maybe he could relive the memories where he’d once been allowed to.

The heaviness multiplied the moment the building came into view. It was worse when he was in the elevator. Even alone his reflex was to reach out to grasp Easy’s hand in the tiny space and he cursed himself when he realized what he’d done.

He walked into WG and was greeted by hugs from Elli and Saskia and the smile from Paco.

“We missed you Ringo, nothing has been the same without you.”

Saskia’s words surprised him, she’d never been overly interested in Ringo before.

“Go put your stuff in your room man, we’re going to go grab some dinner to bring back. You’re probably tired from the journey, go get settled.”

Paco half smiled at him and they all shuffled out the door.

Then here he was, standing alone in the apartment like the last six weeks hadn’t happened. Like he had any right to be there. Like he had any right to the memories he’d made with Easy in these walls. He carried his stuff up to his old room but other than placing the bags down in the doorway he couldn’t bring himself to step inside. There were memories and dreams held in that room too raw to face right now, in the light of day. He needed the cover of darkness before he was in the bed where he last held Easy because he knew it was going to hurt.

But he would do it, he had no other choice and he deserved all the pain it would bring him, every damn bit of it.

God he wanted a beer. *** Easy was sitting on the couch looking out the window, Stinker curled on his lap. Tobias was watching his phone intently. He wanted to pretend to be stealth but honestly he could run around the apartment naked and Easy wouldn’t notice. In fact he had.

Then Tobias saw his phone light up and a two word text from Saskia, “Go time.”

“Oh my God Easy, we have to get to Elli and Paco’s!”

Tobias jumped out of his chair and grabbed Easy by the arm.

“What the hell, why?”

“Elli said Paco fell in the shower and he can’t get up and he’s too heavy for her.”

Tobias felt a little bad for the lie but as a group they knew Easy would over come anything if meant helping someone he cared about, they knew only an emergency would get him through the door to WG.

And they were right. Easy pushed himself off the couch, causing Stinker to yip and jump to the floor. Easy was out the door and Tobias was right behind him.

He watched Easy barrel into WG and then stop dead in his tracks.

Tobias looked over Easy’s head, made eye contact with his wide eyed brother who stood motionless in the kitchen, nodded his head and shut the door in his own face.

*** They just stared at each other and Easy didn’t dare move a muscle. He looks the same. How can he look the same? Hadn’t it been a million years since he’d seen that face?

“Easy.”

Ringo says his name with such reverence and sincerity that Easy has to close his eyes. He has to savour the moment, it’s the first time he’s felt whole in weeks.

When he opens them again he half expects to wake up or snap out of the hallucination. But Ringo is still there. Flesh and blood and heat and every piece of Easy is alive and warm again. He forgot what that felt like, to be warm.

*** He looked thinner and his eyes looked hollow and Ringo ached to touch him. To soothe and hold him and banish anything in the world that would dare haunt Easy Winter.

But Ringo knew he was the villain in this story and he’d live with that and pay for that for the rest of his life.

“I’m sorry, you weren’t supposed to be here. I never would have come had I known.”

He turned toward the stairs, he had to get away before he was on his knees, begging Easy for just another chance to love him again, to be the hero of Easy’s story. To reclaim the only good and real thing he’d ever held in his hands.

“I’ll grab my stuff and be gone in 5 minutes.”

“You won’t be gone.”

Easy’s voice caused Ringo to turn and he realized Easy was somehow standing right behind him.

Easy took Ringo’s hand and placed it on his chest, pushing his palm over his heart, into his heart, with a firm hand.

“You’ll always be right here, right where you’ve always been. My heart won’t let me let you go.”

Ringo closed his eyes, as the tears started. Because he could feel the skin of Easy’s hand against his and it was too much and not enough. It would never be enough.

“Look at me Ringo, please.”

Blue eyes looked into hazel, and it was like no time or distance had ever come between them. Like the last six weeks didn’t happen. And Ringo felt the facade he was always barely holding together start to crack

“Tell me Ringo. Tell me you’ve been miserable too. Tell me that the you don’t want me to be happy without you. Tell me you don’t know how to be happy without me.”

An almost bitter laugh escaped Ringo’s lips as he pulled his hand away from Easy’s grasp.

“Miserable?! Miserable would be a God send. I have been in hell without you Easy. A hell I built for myself. To not see you or touch you or laugh with you. To not be able to spend every second showing you how much I love you. And to know that you are out in the world but not in MY world. Knowing that nothing I do will ever be enough and to know that you hate me. To think that some other man could…”

His voice cracked as he choked back a sob. He was trying to stop himself from shaking. The pain he felt, the rage he felt at himself, it was all bubbling up and he couldn’t keep it down. He needed to lock it down because if he fell apart he knew he’d never be able to put himself back together.

**** “Say it again.”

Easy was surprised by the conviction in his own voice. But he knew, he finally knew, he just needed to hear it again.

Ringo looked at him confused. Yet what he saw in Easy’s face, the light and the truth and all that was Easy was radiating at him. The rage ceased and a hope that Ringo only allowed himself to feel late at night when he dreamed started to swell in his chest.

One more time. He would try one more time. Hell he’d tried until his dying day. If Easy needed that Ringo would give it to him, even if it tore his heart to shreds every time Easy walked away. He would always give Easy every piece of himself that he could.

He stepped closer, unsure at first but then placed his hands on Easy’s shoulders. To hold him in place, to anchor himself. He gazed into Easy’s wet eyes and the softness that lived in them.

“I love you Easy. I will do anything if you’d let me…”

But his words were cut off when Easy launched himself into Ringo’s arms and claimed his lips in a kiss that caused his knees to buckle. It tasted of salt and forgiveness and love and Ringo wanted to weep with happiness.

Easy kept leading him back, stroking his chest, his tongue sweeping into his mouth and Ringo was thankful when Easy pushed him down on the couch before his knees gave out.

Then Easy was in his lap, straddling his hips, he cradled Ringo’s head in his hands as he pressed kisses all over his face.

“I love you so much.” Easy whispered as his lips moved over Ringo’s face. “Never leave me again, I can’t breath without you.”

“Easy I know I don’t deserve your forgiveness but…”

Easy cut him off with another kiss. He didn’t want to hear it, didn’t need to hear it. He needed to feel it, he needed Ringo to make him whole again.

“Shhh. Just love me. Let me love you. It’s all I need.”

Ringo pulled back, his head was spinning, his heart was bursting, and he needed to see Easy’s face, because he needed to know he meant it. Ringo needed to know he had Easy back, that he could stay here, that he could finally stay in the only place he’d ever felt like he belonged.

He cupped Easy’s face and gazed into his eyes, because every question Ringo ever had was always answered when he looked into his Easy’s eyes.

They just looked at each other, taking in dimples and cheekbones and making sure nothing had changed. That time hadn’t erased anything. That they were still real.

Then Easy covered Ringo’s hands with his own and a smile seemed to light his eyes. Ringo felt blinded by it and then he knew what Easy was trying to tell him, felt it to the marrow of his bones.

“Thank God.” was the last thing Ringo said before he claimed Easy’s lips again and came home.

#ringsy #Easy x Ringo #Easy Winter #ringo beckmann #ringo x easy #fan fic

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