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rocksandrobots · 3 years

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Of Rocks and Robots Ch. 43 - Finale (Pt. 5)

"Okay, what if we used some nitrocellulose and mixed it with an oxidized ethanol?" Varain asked.

Honey Lemon pursed her lips. "Uhmmm, wouldn't that just make the chimball explode?"

"Uh, yeah. That's the point."

"I don't know….It sounds kind of dangerous."

Varian and Honey Lemon hovered over the chemistry set inside Big Hero Six's new lab.

As soon as Chief Cruz and Megan had left the Lucky Cat this morning, Hiro had called everyone together to meet at their headquarters. He had to pick up a new set of armor, and he wanted to tweak everyone else's suits to help prevent Supersonic Sue from disarming them again.

While Hiro worked on that, Varian was taking this time to build himself a new arsenal of alchemical orbs with Honey Lemon's help.

"Relax," he said as he reached over to pick up a test tube full of some green liquid "I won't throw it at anybody. It's just in case those robot ninjas show up again."

"Yeah, but you don't want any fire to accidentally spread." Honey Lemon argued. "What if we made something more contained? Like, oh, like what if we compressed some air inside the chimball?" She held one of the empty shells up. "That way when you threw it and it exploded, it would only hit the target with a concussive blast. There's no chance of that catching on fire."

Varian tilted his head in thought and took the shell from her.

"Yeah, that could work; on one of them. What if there's more than one? What if they gang up on you?" He asked as he poured the green liquid into the shell, sealed it, and clipped it to his belt.

"Well then we can just use the ice bombs to freeze them all at once." She replied.

"Yeah, I guess so." Varian agreed, and pulled out the liquid nitrogen to make the ice bombs with.

As they were finishing up this task, and Varian was hooking the last of the chemical orbs to his Saporian belt, Honey Lemon said, "You know this was fun. You should help out more often. Oh, we could go on patrol together or, maybe come up with new-"

"Oh no, no, nope, I'm not a hero." Varian interrupted as he shook his head.

Honey Lemon pouted at this.

"I'm just here cause I'm worried about Hiro." Varian explained.

Honey Lemon eyes went wide as she realized what Varian was getting at. She had been there when Hiro first found out about Callaghan's role in Tadashi's death; and she had been the one to stop Baymax from attacking and killing the professor.

"I don't know what good I'm doing though." Varian went on.

"You're doing a lot of good." She assured him.

"Am I? Cause, like, I'm not one to talk about 'being the bigger the person' or how 'you need to take the high road.' Honestly I don't even agree with this whole superhero thing. I mean, yes what y'all are doing is great, and yes, I'm all for helping Abigail, but… Callaghan…"

Honey Lemon mulled over his words. "But if we don't help, who will?"

Varian threw up his hands in defeat. "Yeah, that's what Hiro said…. but you didn't see him. You didn't see how much just having that one little computer chip destroyed hurt him…. I just don't know how this is all going to play out if we keep doing this."

"Are you worried Hiro might do something he'll regret?"

"No, I'm worried about what I might do." He turned to look her dead in the eye. "I can live with regrets, but I can't live with myself if something happened to him, or you, or anyone else."

Honey Lemon shivered at those words. "So you, what? Just want us to all stop?"

"No. I don't know. I just want everyone to be safe, and happy… And that's not happening so long as we have to keep dealing with Callaghan and whoever this Bosu is."

Honey Lemon lowered her head. Usually superheroing was fun. Even the more challenging villains were just attention seekers out to beat them, as if it was all just some friendly competition. Very few of the foes they faced were actively malicious. But there were times, like now, when it became very hard to ignore how dangerous their chosen hobby could be.

Her thoughts were interrupted by Varian laying a hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, don't listen to me." He soothed. "I'm not a superhero, remember. What do I know?"

Honey Lemon gave him a small smile. "Well, maybe not, but you are a good friend, and I get it, about your concern for Hiro. It's only natural to be protective of your siblings."

"Siblings?"

Honey Lemon had to only laugh at the confused face he made. "Oh come on, you and Hiro totally act like brothers."

"No we don't….do we? I don't know how brothers act. Is it any different from just being friends?"

Honey Lemon snorted with laughter again. "Yeah, a little different. For one you usually don't wrestle for control of the tv remote with your friends, fight over who does what chores, or prank each other with megaphones."

"I thought that was just Hiro being Hiro."

"No, it's 'cause you live together, and have the same guardian. I don't know how to explain it, but it's just different with little brothers, that's all."

"But I… I don't know how to be a brother. Let alone how to be the 'older, more responsible brother'. And I doubt Hiro sees me that way, anyways. I mean, he already has Tadashi… had… I mean…."

He trailed off and Honey Lemon eyed him with worry once more.

After a few moments he whispered, "I'm not trying to replace anybody."

"Well, of course not. No one said that you were."

"Then why do I feel like I am?"

Honey Lemon blinked. What did he mean? Where had this even come from?

Before she could press further though, Hiro walked into the lab.

"Hey, we're heading out soon. You might want to start suiting up." He said.

"Okay. Just give us a minute to gather things up and we'll meet you in the briefing room." She answered.

Hiro nodded his acknowledgement and left.

"Well, looks like we'll have to save the heart to heart for later." Varian snarked as he scooped up Sirque's portal magnets and grabbed the controller he had built for them. After placing these in his pockets, he turned around and asked, "What do you think? Do I look 'heroic' enough?"

He was dressed in his full Saporian garb, complete with bandana and his usual goggles, and along with the new chimballs they'd just made, he appeared exactly the same as he did the first night he'd arrived in San Fansokyo. Well almost, he was slightly taller now, but only by a few inches.

"Hmmm… honestly Sparkles was right, you do kind of look like a bandit, or maybe even a pirate?"

Varian huffed. "See, I can't even look the part."

"Well I still think you'd make a great superhero." She encouraged as she straightened the collar of his jacket.

"Ha ha," he snorted, then more seriously said "We'll be lucky if we can even find the bad guys again. Let alone take them head on."

Honey Lemon refused to let Varian's pessimism get her down.

"Well then here's a hug for good luck." She cheered and flung her arms around him.

Varian tentatively returned the hug. "Th-thanks… I feel more lucky already."

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"So how's things going, Teach?" Sue barked as she skated into the makeshift lab.

Callaghan rolled his eyes in annoyance as he tightened the bolt on the portal.

He had been up all night assembling the frame. Somehow the pair of villains had all of the needed parts all ready to go, along with some pre-programmed software and a few prototypes to work off of.

Whoever this boss they were all working for was, they were clearly well connected and apparently had other people continuing his research in his absence. A Dr. Celine Simard had provided most of the equipment and had emailed him blueprints to her own miniature portal designs. They had only conversed briefly through a heavily monitored chat room, but it was a relief to speak to someone who wasn't as thick as a bag of bricks. Celine seemed like such a bright young woman. It was a shame she was selling out her talents to such an obviously unscrupulous organization.

Though he couldn't fully blame her reasoning… "Krei Tech, Government, the Black Market; it's all the same. They're all corrupt. Might as well go with the one who pays the highest."

"Even if they might kill you afterwards?"

"I don't look a gift horse in the mouth. If you play along nicely they won't hurt you. I would just take the money and passport if I was you."

Callaghan had stopped trying to reach out to her after that. One day this life of crime she was living was going to catch up to her, but he couldn't waste time trying to save her from herself. He had his own daughter to worry about.

"How's Abigail?" He asked as he stood up and put the wrench back inside the tool box.

Sue shrugged. "She's fine. Same as the last fifty times you've asked."

Callaghan walked over to the computer terminal, typed in some code, and read the read out that flashed up on screen.

"You never did tell me where you got my notebook." He said.

"Don't ask me. Those two boys who tried to bust you out yesterday had it. Where they got it, I don't know."

Callaghan frowned and opened his notebook again. He had discovered handwriting that wasn't his own inside, fixing his calculations and expanding upon some of his more 'out there' theories. He had assumed they were done by others in the villains' gang but apparently that wasn't the case.

He still didn't know how Hiro's little friend had come upon his research, but the kid apparently knew a thing or three about theoretical physics. The boy's new equations could potentially stabilize the portal, preventing it from breaking down.

He wouldn't need them though. Callgahn sat the notebook back down and returned to the computer terminal. He didn't want this particular portal to work.

"I'm about ready to perform the first test;" He said coolly, "turn on the power generators."

--------------------------

"Any luck?" Wasabi asked as he joined the rest of the group on top of a skyscraper.

"No." Sighed Honey Lemon.

"We must have scanned the whole city by now." Hiro said.

"What if this Bosu has the same bio-dampening tech that Momasake had?" Fred suggested. "He could have snagged it off her when she got captured, and handed it off to Sue and her grandson."

"That's possible." Gogo admitted. "Especially since they now know that we can track them."

"So what do we do now?" Honey Lemon asked.

Varian cupped his chin in thought as he walked towards the ledge of the building where Baymax stood, still scanning the city. "Baymax, are you able to scan for other things besides just bio-readings?"

"Yes. I am capable of scanning thermal, infrared, radiation-"

"Energy spikes? Like electrical surges." Varian interrupted.

Hiro walked over to join them. "What's your idea?"

"Why would this Bosu kidnap Abigail? She's not actually a scientist."

"Because she's Callaghan's daughter," Wasabi said as he pieced together what Varian was getting at, "and they'll use her to blackmail him into building them a portal."

"Exactly, and they've got to find a way to power it up. There might be unusual energy spikes once they get it up and running."

"So we, what, just wait around?" Gogo asked skeptically. "If Callaghan builds another portal and it's just as unstable as the last ones we've dealt with, then we might be too late to stop it from imploding if we wait till it's turned on."

"Yeah and who knows how much damage that'll cause." Fred agreed.

"Still it's the best idea we have right now; only we don't want to go chasing after every electrical surge in the city. We need a way to narrow the search even further." Hiro mulled over this new dilemma, then a new idea hit him. "Baymax, scan Varian."

"Wha- why?" The other boy asked in confusion as Baymax looked him up in and down.

"Scan complete." The robot said.

"I'll show you." Hiro grunted as he removed the chest plate off of Baymax's armor. "Baymax, show us Varian's readings."

The screen on the robot's chest lit up and displayed a silhouette of the time displaced teen.

"Okay, now show us his radiation levels."

The screen changed again to showcase a graph and Hiro pointed to one of the spikes that was higher than the others.

"There. See that? That's some sort of low energy electromagnetic radiation. Don't worry, it's non-ionized so it's harmless, but it's not anything that's been seen on earth. Not this earth anyways. I suspect it's from traveling through the portal unprotected, the same way astronauts risk GCR when they break through earth's atmosphere."

"Ooookaay… and outside of me apparently being a freak now, what does that have to do with anything?"

"Don't you see? If they turn on the portal it's going to emit that same form of radiation."

"Then we could track it faster and easier than we would just looking for any random energy spike." Gogo interjected.

"Yeah, but that still requires us just waiting around hoping that the bad guys do get the portal working." Wasabi said.

"Oh, they'll get it to work." Hiro said. "This isn't the first time Callagan's built a portal. The question is how long will it remain stable?"

--------------------------

Callaghan flipped a switch on the dashboard and the portal roared to life.

Sue shielded her eyes with her arm as she squinted at the glowing blue circle that hung in the air. The wind was picking up as it was being sucked into the void.

Something was wrong.

Suddenly the power shorted out and the portal shut down as sparks flew out from the sides.

"Blast it!" Callaghan yelled. "I need more power. These generators aren't enough. We'll have to connect to the grid."

"Now hold on there, sugar cakes." Sue interjected. "I thought you didn't want this thingamajig to work."

"I don't, but you've left me with no choice. Call that boss of yours. Get them on the line. I can't finish my work without a direct connection to the city power supply."

"Alright. You need more power? I'll get ya more power. Just hold on to your britches and sit tight. My… uh, associates here will keep an eye on you while I go out and fix this."

She pointed to the two ninjas who were stationed on the catwalk above them. Callgahn didn't know how many were in Sue's employ, but he had the sneaking suspicion that the abandoned factory was crawling with them.

"Okay." Challghan nodded and Sue skated away at top speed.

--------------------------

"There is a radiation spike coming from there." Baymax said as he pointed northward.

"How far out?" Asked Hiro.

"Along the river, about 20 mil--- the signal is gone."

"What do you mean gone?" Varian asked.

"There's no longer any readings."

"It must have been a failed test." Hiro said. "Let's just start following the river north. We may find something as we go."

--------------------------

Abigail paced back and forth inside her cell. Well it was actually an office with a larger window looking out onto the factory below but it might as well have been a jail cell. The ninjas threw her in here and locked the door behind them. She had tried to bust the door down, smash the handle, and crawl into the vents to escape. Nothing had worked so far.

As she nursed her arm from her latest failed escape, she saw one of her captors coming her way. It was the big bulky dude on roller skates. She banged on the window to gain his attention.

"Let me out!" She shouted.

The guy stopped, turned to look at her, pulled out two earbud headphones, and yelled, "I'm sorry, what did you say?!"

As the man leaned closer to the window and cupped his ear Abigail groaned in frustration. "I said 'let me out'!"

"Oh, sorry, no can do! Nana said you needed to stay put until your dad finished working on the portal!"

Abigail pouted and hugged her arm once more. Well, what did she think would happen?

"Do you need anything else?!" The guy shouted at her.

"No!" She stamped her foot before turning away from him to sulk as she tried to rub out the soreness in her arm.

"Hey, are you hurt?!" The guy asked, suddenly full of concern.

Abigail didn't answer. Why did he care?

However, to her surprise the guy opened the door and poked his head into the office.

"Did those robots hurt your arm?" He asked once more.

She looked back at him blankly. "Robots? Is that why those ninjas are so strong? They're robots?"

"Yeah." The large guy confirmed as if barely acknowledging how crazy that sounded. "Do you need an ice pack?"

"Sure." Abigail replied dumbfoundedly. Seriously, why was this guy being so nice?

"I'll go get you one. I'm Stu by the way." He flashed her a huge grin.

"Abigail." She replied still dumbstruck.

"Nice to meet you. I'll be right back." And with that he shut the door again and walked away.

Abigail got up and ran to the door. It was locked once more. Either the guy was smarter than he looked or it locked automatically.

Abigail bit her lip in thought. This Stu person could be her means of escape if she played her cards right.

"I'm back." Stu cheerfully said a few minutes later. "I got you an ice pack and some Tylenol."

He opened the door and handed Abigail the small little package containing the pills.

"Where'd you get this?" She asked.

"Oh, in the vending machine down the hall." He explained as he wrapped her arm in an ace bandage so as to better hold the ice pack in place. "I didn't have any money so I had to headbutt it a couple times. I got a free bag of Cheetos out of it as well."

He finished applying the bandage. "There! Man those robots are so dumb. Not to mention careless. Sorry you got hurt like that."

Abigail plastered a smile on her face. "It-it's okay…. Uhmm…I don't suppose you happen to have anything to drink these down with do you?" She said as she held up the pack of Tylenol.

"Oh sure. I'll go get you a bottle of water. Hang tight."

He left again and Abigail got to work. She removed the bandage and placed the ice pack on the floor in front of the door. Then she took the bandage and tied it between two desk chairs that were seated in the office. She placed these further out in front of the ice pack; spacing them far enough apart the rope laid taunt next to the ground right at ankle height.

Then she heard Stu's return and she jumped into the seat; placing her hands in her lap and slapping on a huge smile to look as innocent as possible as he skated in.

"Here ya, gooooo-woah!" He slipped on the ice pack and stumbled forward.

Abigail jumped up, grabbed the water bottle in his hand to sling him around, and with a well placed kick, Stu went rolling backwards into the tripwire. As he toppled over, Abigail sprinted out the door, locking it behind her.

"Hey! That's not very nice!" He yelled as he righted himself and ran up to the window.

Abigail paused in her getaway. "Yeah, and neither's kidnapping people and holding them hostage!"

Stu looked stunned for a moment as he thought over her words. "Yeah, okay, fair." He finally admitted as he hung his head. Then just as quickly he perked back up and smooshed his face to the glass. "Oh, but Nana's not going to like that you escaped."

"Yeah, well, Nana's just going to have to deal. Where's my dad?"

"Uh, on the first floor I think. Take the stairs down the end of the hall and then turn left."

"Thanks."

"You're welcome. Oh, but watch out for the robot ninjas!" He shouted after her as she ran away, opening the pack of pain pills as she went.

As Abigail neared the stairs she heard banging and the sound of glass cracking. She looked back and saw Stu slamming himself against the window repeatedly; and he was making a lot more headway then she had. She needed to find her dad fast.

--------------------------

Supersonic Sue was hooking up the last of the electric cables to the power lines when she spotted Big Hero Six flying towards the power plant.

"Looks like those do-gooders found our hideout. Better give them a welcoming party." She said to herself with a smile as she pulled out a remote control and pressed a button.

--------------------------

"Looks like there's a building up ahead!" Hiro shouted at his companions, who followed close behind, but stopped short when Baymax came to an abrupt halt.

From out of the woods stepped a robot ninja, who stood in their path.

"Yeeeeessssss!" Laughed Fred. "Finally I get to fight a robot ninja! My life is complete!"

"Be careful! Those things are deadly!" Varian warned.

"Oh come on. There's only one of it and seven of us. We can take...him?"

Just as Fred finished his boast another stealth robot appeared, and then another, and yet another, until the superhero team was surrounded by thirty or more of the killer androids.

"You were saying?" Wasabi snapped at Fred.

As if taking that as a cue, the robots jumped them and all hell broke loose.

Wasabi slammed the gas on his car and plowed through five of the droids, before hitting the brakes and jumping out as the robots dog piled the vehicle. He righted himself and whipped out his laser blades to start hacking away at the enforcers and the deadly shurikens they threw at him.

As he fended off the horde, Gogo skated around dodging their attacks and knocked the snipper robots out of the trees with her discs.

"Woo-hoo!" Fred shouted with glee as he bounced on top of robot after robot, just barely escaping their grasp as they lunged for him. "This is awesome! Terrifying, but awesome!"

Varian rolled his eyes at his friend's enthusiasm as he threw an ice bomb down below at the coming onslaught. He then had to grab hold of Hiro's waist as Baymax decided to do another barrel roll, knocking two more ninjas out of the trees.

When they righted again Varian's heart jumped to his throat when caught sight of Honey Lemon. She was several yards away, cut off from the rest of their friends and pinned down by one of the robotic assassins.

He shouted at her to hold on and Hiro drove Baymax towards her; only for the three of them to get jumped on by another robot. As they fought this new foe, Varian feared they wouldn't reach their friend in time.

Fortunately Honey Lemon was able to wiggle one arm free and grabbed a chimball from off her purse strap. She shoved it into her attacker's abdomen, lodging it in between some exposed gears, and with all her might she kicked the robot off her.

The android stood back up and started to stalk towards her once more, but suddenly stopped when the chimball ruptured and began to encase him in a pink crystal like substance.

Honey Lemon didn't have time to rejoice though as another ninja came up from behind to grab her arm. She threw another chimball at it and this time the robot let go and dubbed over as a shockwave from a small explosion sent the thing crumpling in on itself. Her concussive grenade had worked.

"Are you okay?" Varian shouted as they finally reached her.

"Yeah." She nodded as Hiro repelled another robot away with his electromagnets.

"I have found Supersonic Sue." Baymax calmly stated as he shot his rocket fist into the oncoming horde.

"Where?" Hiro asked, but soon saw the fading streak of dust traveling at high speed towards the abandoned building up ahead.

"We have to go after her. That building must be where they're keeping Callaghan and Abigail."

"Don't worry. I got this." Honey shouted as she ran ahead and shot down another wave of robots with her chempurse's bazooka setting.

"You three go on, we'll hold off the ninjas." Gogo spoke into the intercom before slicing off one of the androids heads with her frisby.

With that Hiro directed Baymax to follow Sue, only for them to be surrounded by a new group of ninjas lying in wait for them, just a mile down the road, even larger than the last horde.

"Where is she getting all these robots from!?" Hiro shouted in frustration.

"I have an idea!" Varian said and he pulled out the portal magnets.

Hiro saw what he was getting at. "Guys," he warned over the intercom, "Varian and I are going to use the mini-portal to break in, but be on your toes cause a new wave of robot ninjas are going to head your way soon."

"Oh you gotta be kidding me." Wasabi complained over the other end.

Varian ignored their friend's protests and typed a command into the portal's remote control. He then tossed the magnets into the air. With a flip of a switch, the magnetic balls began to link up and spin as a portal started to form in the air.

Hiro commanded Baymax to fly to it, and helped to maneuver the android to avoid the ninjas' attacks, as the robotic assassins tried to stop them from leaving.

They dodge one that tried to jump them, and Hiro kicked another off that had grabbed hold of Baymax's armor and was climbing up towards them. Meanwhile Varian threw one last alchemical orb at the swarm of robots as they flew into the portal. Hiro heard an explosion behind them, but ignored it as he focused on the upcoming confrontation ahead of them.

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"Okay Callaghan, I siphoned off electricity from the city's power grid. You should be good to go." Sue said as she entered the lab.

"Good, now just stand there and hold that lever down while I turn the machine on." Came Callaghan's terse reply.

"Why? What does the lever do?" Sue asked in suspicion.

"It keeps the fan on the turbines going and prevents the portal from overheating." Callaghan lied.

Sue raised an eyebrow at him, not fully buying it. "You want me to stand next to a giant, untested, potential death machine that may explode at any moment?"

"I assure you it works, and I thought you could order one of your 'associates' to do it, but looks like most of them have left the building save for the one you kept on lookout there."

Sue gave him a death glare.

"Or hey, don't do it and don't get the portal working. See if I care. I didn't ask to get dragged into this."

Sue finally relented at this and walked over to the base of the portal and pulled the lever down. "Like this?" she asked.

"Yeah, just like that." Callaghan said as he walked over to the computer terminal to turn it on. Then under his breath, where Sue couldn't hear, he said. "Just like that you rancid cow; stay right there and be the folly of your own demise."

But before Professor Callaghan could turn on the device and suck his hated captor into the void, another portal opened up overhead and in flew Hiro, Baymax, and Varian; knocking out the one remaining guard as they did so, who fell to the ground in a crumpled heap of frayed wires and busted gears.

"Step away from the portal, Callaghan." Hiro ordered at him.

For his part, Callaghan did as he was told and backed away, hands raised.

"Why you little scamps." Sue said. She almost sounded impressed. "You got persistence and gumption, I'll give ya that, but ain't half as clever as you think you are."

With a nod of her head another ninja jumped from the shadows above them and grabbed Varian by his jacket collar.

"Seriously, where are you getting all these robots!?" Hiro asked.

"Oh, just from an old buddy of mine." She nonchalantly said as she made her way to the door.

"Kensei?" Hiro spat as he finally threw the robot off them.

"Ah so you heard," Sue said, "and they say kids these days don't know their history. Yeah, I thought the ninja aesthetic was a little hokey myself; Kensei's gimmick was always centered around lame karate stuff, but hey, who am I to judge?"

And with that, as quick as a wink, she tossed one of the now defunct robot's weapons at them. Only instead of the usual shuriken, it was a metal ball that opened up and released a weighted net that was difficult to dodge.

As both boys struggled to pull it off, Baymax fell to the ground below under its weight and Supersonic Sue tried to make her getaway.

Only to stop when Stu burst through the door.

"Nana! I am soo, so sorry, but Abigail's escape!"

"What!?" She shouted.

With this news, Callaghan raced to the computer terminal while everyone was distracted and turned on the device.

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The ground rumbled and soon a heavy wind picked up as the unstable portal began to suck things into it.

Abigail wandered around the abandoned building utterly lost. She had deviated from Stu's directions in order to avoid running into those ninjas again. She hadn't seen any more of them around for awhile, but now she couldn't find her way back.

Suddenly the ground shook as if there was an earthquake. Abigail ran under a door frame for shelter and held on tightly.

As the tremor subsided, Abigail began to wonder if it was a natural occurrence at all.

Portals, that was what this was all about, apparently. The bad guys had wanted her father to build them one, but if he did, it could blow up in all of their faces, literally.

Then she heard yelling down the hall, as a wind picked up.

"Dad!" She shouted and knowingly ran towards the danger.

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"Are you crazy!?" Sue shouted over the howling wind.

"No, desperate!" Callaghan shouted back. "I rigged this portal to implode in on itself!"

Sue looked at him as if he'd grown two heads.

"There's children in here, ya dang fool!" Came her reply.

"I'm not a child!" Varian protested as he struggled underneath the net.

Both villains ignored him.

"Oh, says the woman who attacked them with a bunch of deadly robots!"

"Oh please, their weapons were set to stun. I wasn't going to hurt a bunch of snot nosed brats... much."

As if to counteract this statement another robot ninja jumped out at them and shot a laser out of it's wrist right at Callaghan. The professor ducked out of the way as sparks flew around him. Then the wind from the portal sucked the android right into the void.

Sue, for once, looked embarrassed at being called out in her hypocrisy.

"In my defense I don't know anything about programming robots." She said.

"Call off the bots, let everyone go, and I'll turn the portal off!" Callaghan said.

Just then the wind picked up even more, the net over the two boys flew off and Varian and Hiro would have been swept away into the nothingness had Baymax not caught them.

"Fine!" Sue relented as she pressed a button on a remote. "It's no skin off my nose if the portal doesn't get built or not."

Another robot, that had just entered from the upper level, suddenly collapsed and fell down to the floor in a heap as it was deactivated. Then it's remains along with the other destroyed robots got sucked into the portal as well.

Satisfied with her compliance Callaghan turned around to shut the terminal off, only for the computer to explode which led to the rest of the machine to catch on fire.

"Well what did you do now?!" Sue shouted.

"It wasn't me! That robot of yours must have damaged the controls!"

Just then, Abigail shoved past the doors.

"Dad!" She called to him desperately, choking back the smoke that started to fill the room, and that was when Callaghan realized how badly he had screwed up.

Sue rolled her eyes. "Oh I've had enough of this! Stu, make us an exit! I'll salvage what we can here!"

"Right Nana!" Stu saluted. Then he revved up his skates, curled up into a ball, and basted himself at the concrete wall on the opposite side of the room at top speed.

He busted through three walls before coming out the other side and Hiro could just make out the glimmer of sunlight on the other end.

While Stu was busy with that, Sue skated right up to Callaghan and slugged him in the face. The professor fell backwards, clutching his jaw.

"Dad!" Abigail shouted again and ran to his side.

Sue skated over to the desk next to where they stood, or what was left of it. After finding what she wanted she turned to leave; only stopping long enough to give the murderous professor a sneer of pure disdain before skating away in a blur after her grandson.

As soon as she was gone a squeal of metal scraping against metal was heard. One of the portal's legs collapsed under The heat of the spreading fire and the gaping maw of the void turned at an angle towards the roof. The ceiling started to cave in from under the strain.

Everyone had to dodge out of the way quickly from the falling debris. One particularly large steel beam nearly fell right on top of Callaghan and Abigail, and he had to push his daughter away quickly. She stumbled back and was almost sucked into the void again until Baymax pulled her out of the way.

As the robot and the three humans huddled behind a concrete slab, Abigail tried to break away from the android's grip.

"Dad, no!" She sobbed.

"I'm alright!" Came Callaghan's call. "I'm just trapped on the other side!"

Abigail cried with relief.

"We're coming after you." Hiro shouted back.

"No, don't! You three get out of here! Take Abigail to safety."

"But what about you?" Varian yelled.

"Don't worry about me, I'll find another way out."

Soon they saw Callaghan start to climb up a ladder to the catwalk above.

"He must be trying to go around." Hiro said. "He'll never make it that way."

As if to confirm this, more debris fell from the collapsing roof, blocking their view of the professor. Hiro came to a decision.

"Baymax, take Varian and Abigail and get out. I'm going after Callaghan."

"That's crazy!" Varian protested.

"I do not feel that is a very safe option." Baymax agreed, but Hiro was already halfway finished climbing up the other side of the concrete slab.

"Don't worry, I got my gear! Just go on! Now!"

Baymax gave in to Hiro's orders and scooped Abigail up in arms. He then took off and flew away before Varian could crawl off his back.

--------------------------

Varian casted a fearful look behind him as he watched Hiro run through the smoke. Then as they made it to the tunnel he watched in horror as the portal fell completely and the rest of the building started to come down.

"No stop!" He yelled. "We have to go after them!"

Either Baymax didn't hear him or the robot ignored his pleas; too set on following his previous commands.

As they neared the exit, Varian gathered his courage and jumped off the robot and onto the grassy ground that opened up below.

It took a moment for Baymax to realize what had happened. He turned around to see Varian running back into the burning building.

"No! Don't!" Abigail screamed after him.

"Baymax, get Abigail out of here, and have the rest of the gang fall back!" Varian yelled over his shoulder. "No telling what the range of the blast radius of the portal will be once it finally implodes in on itself!"

Then he dove out of sight into the tunnel.

--------------------------

Hiro coughed as the smoke burned his lungs and stung his eyes. He searched for a way through the flames to the back of the former power plant, where the catwalk hung over head; dodging the debris that rained down around him. Then when he was directly under the service ramp, he used his electromagnetic whips to grab hold of the catwalk and pull himself up.

No sooner did he make it to the top, then did the portal fall down completely and along with it the rest of the roof.

A large hunk of the ceiling fell right on top of the walkway, snapping the metal railing into two. Hiro held on to the side desperately as the severed catwalk now shifted as it's structural integrity was compromised. Fortunately for him he had magnetic gloves on. Callaghan wasn't so lucky.

The professor went falling over the side as the ramp broke. He only just barely managed to grab hold of the bottom railing before falling into the void below. However he wasn't safe as the wind kept trying to suck him in and shook the broken catwalk ever which way.

--------------------------

Varian pulled up his bandana over his nose to block out the smoke. He also pulled down his goggles to protect his eyes. Still there was little he could do about the insufferable heat nor the falling hunks of metal and stone.

Somehow though he managed to make his back through to the former lab. As he entered the flame filled room the first thing he did was to look up. He noticed Callaghan and Hiro hanging from the broken catwalk right away, but how was he to get them down?

He spotted a ladder near the wall and next to it a long linked chain. He ran up to it and with a few tugs he broke the chain free from the pulley hook it hung from. He quickly wrapped it around his shoulder like you would a rope and then started to climb.

--------------------------

Hiro gauged the distance between him and Callaghan. It wasn't far, he could make it…. Or miss it completely and go tumbling into the void forever.

He gulped as he dared to look below him.

Just then the wind picked up speed once more and the catwalk bent under the force of the portal's suction.

"W-woah!" Callaghan screamed as he held on for dear life and Hiro himself gripped the railing beside him even tighter. He then threw out one of his whips to wrap around the end of the other catwalk leveling it somewhat.

"C-can you climb up?!" Hiro grunted.

Callaghan tried to, but failed. He was getting on in years and could no longer nimbly climb up the side of things like Hiro could. There was also the ever increasing pull of the portal to fight against.

"It- it's no use!" Callaghan called out. "Get out of Hiro! Save yourself! I don't want your death on my conscience as well!"

Those words hit Hiro deeper than Callaghan knew, and for a moment Hiro seriously considered following his advice and just leaving the man to his fate.

After all, there wasn't any obvious way to save him. Hiro would only be risking his life for nothing the longer he stayed. It wasn't murder just to save your own skin, not really, and well, Callaghan had brought this onto himself. All of it, the portal, his imprisonment, the fire…

Hiro gave the pathetic old man a cold glare; one that cut through even the inescapable heat of the rising flames around them.

Oh how he hated Callaghan!

He took a deep breath and retracted his magnetic whip, leaving the other side of the catwalk free to twist in the wind.

Still he didn't immediately turn to leave. Never taking his eyes off Callaghan, Hiro watched his brother's murderer flail about as he struggled to maintain his hold on the railing. Time felt like it had slowed to a crawl for Hiro as his mind was racked with indecision.

It would be so easy, he thought. So easy, and no one would blame him. His breath shallowed as he waited for the inevitable; his eyes fixated on Callaghan.

That's when Hiro noticed a foot fall behind him as the walkway shifted beneath him once more.

Varian was right behind him with a length of chain in his hands. The other boy said nothing, nor did he hand Hiro the makeshift rope.

Their eyes met and Hiro silently pleaded with him. Varian knew. Varian knew exactly what Hiro was going through. He knew the pain. He knew the desire. He knew what was happening, and he wasn't going to do anything to stop it.

It was Hiro's choice and Hiro's choice alone.

Hiro gulped once more as his heart pounded in his ears and angry tears stung his eyes.

No, Varian wouldn't judge him, but what about himself? What did he want? What was he willing to give up to get it? How could he face himself in the morning, or the next day, and everyday after that?

Hiro shook his head as everything suddenly became clear. There was no choice. Not really, as there was only ever one choice Hiro could live with.

He grabbed the chain out of Varian's hands and threw the other end to Callaghan. Once the professor had taken hold, both boys pulled him up. Then all three ran down the catwalk, slid down the ladder, and then dove through the hole in the wall.

--------------------------

As the two teens and professor ran away from the collapsing building, they heard an explosion go off behind them. Callaghan grabbed them both and pushed them to the ground; using his own body to shield them as best he could as the shockwave passed over them.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hiro could see the trees around them bending backwards till their top branches nearly touched the ground. The earth trembled beneath them and a loud noise that made his ears ring sounded around them.

Finally, once Callaghan had deemed it safe enough, Hiro sat up to view the damage. Below them was a crater where the former power plant had stood. Not a sign was left of the portal.

"There they are!" Fred shouted behind them and Hiro turned to see his friends running towards them.

Abigail was also with them.

"Dad!" She ran up to her father first and wrapped her arms around him.

Callaghan broke down crying as he returned the hug. He kissed the top of head, and held her close, before cupping her face in his hands and nuzzling her nose the way he had always done when she was young.

It was the first time he had held his little girl in over five years.

"I missed you too, Dad." Abigail said as she snuggled closer to him and wrapped him another hug.

Hiro broke away from the celebration and the cheers of congratulations from his friends, as he watched Callaghan and Abigail reunite. Instead of joining in their merriment, he went and sulked underneath a tree overlooking the spot where the power plant once stood.

They all gave him space, except for Varian who walked over to join him. The other boy didn't say anything. He just rested a hand on Hiro's shoulder and sat beside him as everyone waited for the police to arrive.

"I still hate him." Hiro whispered as tears ran down his cheeks.

"Yeah, me too." Varian agreed.

And that was all that needed to be said. Hiro didn't regret saving Callaghan, but neither could bring himself to forgive Tadashi's murderer; even after all that happened; and that was okay. One didn't need to forgive in order to do the right thing, and in a small way that brought Hiro a little peace, even if the loss still hurt.

Still he couldn't help but smile a little bit, in spite of himself, when Judy also arrived along with the police. Krei had given her a lift as soon as they'd received the text that Abigail had been rescued.

After the two girlfriends reunited, Abigail introduced her significant other to her dad, who was overjoyed at the news.

As Callaghan pulled both girls into a group hug, even Hiro had to admit they made a sweet family. Enough so, that Hiro almost felt sorry for them when Chief Cruz walked over to re-arrest the professor. Almost.

"I love you." Callaghan said as he entered the back of the police van.

"I'll see you next Tuesday; on visitor's day." Abigail sobbed. "We both will."

Callaghan tried to say something encouraging in response but the words caught in his throat as he choked on his own tears.

The police shut the door, and Abigail broke down again as she watched the police van drive away. Judy hugged her and planted a kiss on her cheek, as she wiped her tears away.

"Come on, I'll give you a ride back to your apartment." Krei gingerly stepped in and gently encouraged the two girls to follow him to the car.

"And don't worry about coming into work tomorrow. Take all the time you need." He told Judy as he opened the car door. She flung her arms around him in a grateful hug, to which Krei awkwardly returned. Judy wasn't known for being affectionate, not to him anyways.

"Uh, yeah, don't mention it." He said before breaking away and walked around into the driver's seat.

As the car drove away Cruz walked over to the superheroes. "I got a few questions for you."

"Yeah?" Hiro said as he got up walked over to the police chief.

"Do you know where Sue and her grandson are right now?"

"No."

"Do you know who was funding their portal research?"

"No."

"Then what do you know?"

"Callaghan didn't escape. Sue kidnapped him and blackmailed him." Fred offered up.

"So you said over the phone, but why?"

"Have you heard of the new crime lord running things since Di was arrested?" Gogo asked.

"Maybe. Were they behind this? Why are they after portal tech?"

Hiro shrugged, "We don't know."

"Do you know who they are?"

"Have you ever heard of an old supervillain called Kensei?"

Curz's eyes went wide at the mention of that name. "I'm going to need you to come down to the station with me."

The team of superheroes was startled by that.

"Sorry, but no, can do, officer." Hiro shook his head as Baymax flew up beside him.

"Wait! You're not under arrest; I promise, I just need more information!" Cruz pleaded as the heroes took off running, their enhanced gear allowing them to move faster than his men.

Cruz took off his hat and threw it to the ground in frustration as the last of the supers disappeared.

--------------------------

Supersonic Sue watched from above as the police departed. She had hid in the trees in order to spy on the gang of do-gooders.

"What now Nana?" Her grandson asked as they climbed down.

"Now, Stu, we go weasel some, I mean 'get paid', some money from my dear old friend, and then we high tail it out of here and laid low for awhile till this whole thing blows over."

"But we didn't get the portal, and the professor escaped?"

"Now don't you worry, none, hun. Nana's got everything under control." She said as she whipped out her cell phone.

"Hey Kensei? Yeah, got some bad news about that portal you wanted…. Now, now, don't go getting your knickers in a twist; I got something that still might interest you." Sue chuckled as she pulled out the blue notebook from her pocket.

--------------------------

Wasabi pulled up to the gas pump and got out of the car.

"Do you guys want anything while we're here?" He asked the two boys riding in the back seat.

Hiro and Varian shook their heads no, and Wasabi left to go pay for the gas.

Once they had all safely gotten away from the police, it was decided by the group of teenagers to ditch their superhero gear and ride home normally.

Fred had called Heathcliff to pick him and the girls up, while Hiro and Varian volunteered to walk back with Wasabi to his car.

Baymax was currently in the trunk and had powered down into sleep mode in order to save on energy. It wouldn't do to have a 'drunk' robot running around the cafe on low battery, when their aunt came home.

Aunt Cass had texted them not too long ago to let them know she was leaving the hotel. Apparently Tracey's car had had a flat tire and they were getting a late start.

Thus far, on the ride back, neither boy had said much to the other. Each was lost in their own thoughts as Wasabi obliviously carried on all the conversation. It was mostly about opera as he had had the radio on.

Though without Wasabi's singing to distract them, Hiro started to grow uncomfortable with the silence.

"Hey, thanks, for helping out back there." He said.

"You're welcome." Varian replied in a tired manner.

"You know, I… I don't know what I would have done had you not shown up when you did."

Varian just shrugged. "Probably just save the day, like you always do." He then turned to look at Hiro. "I knew you wouldn't go through with it."

"How? How can you be so sure?"

"Cause, you're not me." Varian said as he looked away. "I would've let him fall. No hesitation."

Hiro didn't know what to say to that.

"I told you. Unlike you, I'm not a hero." Varian admitted as he felt Hiro's eyes on him. "I honestly don't know how you do it."

Hiro mulled over these words. "I guess… because I have good friends who support me and people to look up to. Who'll stop me from going too far."

Varian gave him a disbelieving smile. "People like your big brother I guess?"

"Yeah."

Varian shook his head. "Must be nice, having people around to help you when you need them. I'm not sure it'd make a difference in my case. I don't if anyone could have talked me down; not… not after what happened."

"Well," Hiro slowly said. "You never had a brother with you."

Varian nodded but didn't look at him, so Hiro contunited.

"Yup, it's a good thing my big brother was there today to help me out."

Hiro rested his hands behind his head as he said this and tried to act nonchalant, but he peeked out of the corner of his to watch Varian's reaction.

The other boy slowly looked up as realization dawned on his face.

Hiro smiled. "Thanks for being there for me."

"An-anytime." Varian answered with his own smile.

Hiro held out his hand for a fist bump. Varian returned it, the way Hiro and Baymax had taught him to do it. Then both boys wiggled their fingers and went "babalala", imitating their robot pal.

They couldn't keep a straight face when doing so though, and broke down into giggles.

"What's so funny?" Wasabi asked cheerfully as he entered the car.

"Oh nothing." Hiro snickered.

"Hey, hey, Wasabi, how about a driving lesson?" Varian pestered.

Wasabi rolled his eyes. "After the sport's car incident?"

"Not me, Hiro."

Wasabi turned back and looked at Hiro thoughtfully. "Well, alright, get on up here."

--------------------------

Hiro was finishing tidying up his room when he heard the familiar tune of La Cucaracha blaring down from the street below.

"Hey, Varian! Aunt Cass is back!"

He called to the other teen as he ran downstairs.

"Ok, all I got left to vacuum is the bathroom rug!" He called after before switching on the machine once more. "Be down in a sec!"

"Bye Tracey, see ya later." Aunt Cass called after her friend as she entered the cafe and her friend drove away.

She dumped her bags on the floor and let out a sigh of relief.

"Wooh, vacation will wear you out." She said as she leaned against the door.

"Hi Aunt Cass." Hiro ran to give her a hug. "Did you have a nice time?"

His aunt ignored the question "Oh Hiro, how are you, sweetheart?"

"I'm fin- ... I'm doing better."

"Did you hear about Callaghan?" she asked.

"Yeah, it was on the news today. They caught him."

"Yeah, Cruz texted me about it."

She stroked her fingers through his hair and pouted. "Do you still want to talk… about… well, you know?"

Hiro seriously considered it.

"Maybe later," he said, "I talked to Varian about it earlier today and I'm feeling a lot better now."

"Really?"

Hiro nodded his head.

"Well, I'm glad you two can open up to each other like that, and be there for one another. I'm also glad you two didn't burn the house down while I was gone."

Aunt Cass laughed at her own joke and Hiro joined in, but soon he weighed in with one more question, before moving on from the whole ordeal.

"Do.. Do you still hate him? Callaghan, I mean?"

Aunt Cass looked at him thoughtfully before answering.

"Yes." She nodded. "Do you?"

"Yeah." He sniffed.

Both aunt and nephew shared a silent moment for their grief as they came to an understanding before wrapping each other in a hug once more.

That was when Varian came down the stairs to join them.

"Hey!" He greeted, before embracing Aunt Cass in his own hug.

He practically lifted her off her feet as he did so, and for the first time Aunt Cass noticed that her adopted child was now taller than herself.

"What?" He laughed as he caught her giving him a funny smile.

"Nothing, I'm just glad to be back home." She said before wrapping both teens onto a group hug. "Oooh, I missed my boys sooo much, both of you!"

"We missed you too Aunt Cass." Hiro said.

"Yeah, next time you should just take us with you." Varian joked. "That way we can skip out on chores too, am I right Hiro?"

Hiro rolled his eyes at Varain's teasing. "Yeah, anything to avoid washing your dirty socks."

Even Aunt Cass couldn't help but laugh at that.

--------------------------

"Such a happy family." A woman's voice said as she peered at the Hamadas through her crystal ball. "Pity, their time is coming to an end."

Notes:

And Finally We Are Done with the Last Chapter! Woot!

But that's not the end of the story.

Be on the look out for season two, Ghosts of of the Past, where we'll meet more characters from the Tangled series, new villains, finally learn who this mysterious Boss is, and gain a new member of the Big Hero Six team!

You can find up dates at both the Rocks and Robot's discord https://discord.gg/yfVVrXjFW8

#Hiro Hamada #Varian #tangled #big hero six #bh6 #tts #of rocks and robots

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bungoubookclub · 4 years

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BUNGOU STRAY DOGS & The Art of its Characters

SPOILERS AHEAD!!

As an artist and casual manga reader I tend to be picky with my choice of reads, though I've bent my standards every now and then, Bungou Stray Dogs is a manga that I find absolutely exceptional-- no surprise considering it's one of my favorite series. An interesting story, beautiful and striking artwork, and an amazing cast of characters.

Written by Kafka Asagiri and illustrated by the talented Harukawa35, the story follows Nakajima Atsushi, an orphan who has a life-changing encounter with a mysterious man named Dazai Osamu, and through an unforeseen turn of events, ends up becoming an agent at The Armed Detective Agency-- an organization that employs skillful individuals with supernatural abilities. From there Atsushi makes friends and foes alike, and tries to find the purpose of his life.

It's formulaic premise of "young protagonist becomes affiliated with organization and battles other organizations", reminiscent of most shounen titles, is where most of its similarities with that demographic end. Instead of expanding its world and delving into lore, the series focuses on its characters, their growth, and their relationships with the world, each other, and themselves, befitting of a seinen title. It has a unique gimmick to its characters as well--that being that their namesakes are real-world authors and literary pioneers.

Kafka's background in literature credits their adaptation of these literary figures into characters, making good use of their analytical and writing skills in interpreting the authors and their works into characters with abilities that pay homage to their namesake's famous works. Their skill as a writer is nothing to be looked over either, having written 8 novels, 2 light novels, and co-wrote one screenplay-- specifically for the series' film, "DEAD APPLE".

Its gimmick lends itself to the characters especially, often making references to the author or their works through their personality or character design, and becomes the foundation for the characters's overall story.

The character Dazai Osamu, for example, is a suicide-maniac determined to die a painless death, preferrably with a lover to accompany him to the other side. This is a direct reference to the real-life Dazai, who had attempted multiple suicides, one attempt being with his wife, however, he had survived while his wife did not. Dazai's character also meditates plenty about morals and ethics and what it truly means to be a human being, depressing over the fact that he will never probably be considered "human" by society's standards; his real-life counterpart's famous novel, No Longer Human, is a meditation on human society and what it truly means to be a human, and how to fit into the mold of what we generally deem as "human"--it also happens to be the name of Dazai's ability, which allows him to completely nullify any other ability through physical contact, rendering the once supernatural ability user into a regular human.

Their abilities work as great metaphors as well, and Francis Scott Fitzgerald, the leader of an enemy organization known as The Guild, is a good example of this. The Great Gatsby is one of the most notable works his real-life counterpart has written, the novel's themes focusing on wealth and criticising achieving "the american dream"; the character's ability, "The Great Fitzgerald", enhances his physical strength and prowess depending on the value of the items he exchanges it for, be it either cash or objects. This quite literal metaphor ties with how the character sees the value of people through their economic and social status, and becomes one of the driving forces behind his later character arc. From this we can determine a cruel and heartless man, but one who values hard work and ambition, stopping at nothing to achieve what he wants.

Aside from the characters themselves, some of their relationships and interactions are also influenced by their real-life counterpart's relations with contemporaries, as well as the time period during which they were active.

The real-life Akutagawa Ryuunosuke and Nathaniel Hawthorne, for example, have opposing views on religion, specifically Chrisitanity; Hawthorne's novel, The Scarlet Letter, deals with the themes of sin and repentance through Christian faith, while Akutagawa's "O-Gin" is a historical fiction that takes place during the edo period and reflects on the spread of Christianity to the people of Japan and how the paranoia of the government manifests, it's also noted that during his final moments while reading the Bible, he claims that he can believe in the devil, but not in the existence of a God. In the manga, during a confrontation on the port, the characters Akutagawa and Hawthorne exchange lines of dialogue, a notable taunt coming from Akutagawa, "Irmão'', being a direct reference to the ancient ministers who have introduced Christianity to edo period Japan.

The characters are intensely rich in personality and humanity, showing that not every character is strictly black or white, Dazai and Tanizaki Junichiro--another member of the Detective Agency--are great examples of this; Dazai's character is a mystery, and is, personally, very hard to break down. He is a man who has shown to have very flexible morals and ethics, but is also extremely loyal and attempts to be a goodhearted person. Relatively, Tanizaki is led to be believed that he is a docile and kind person--a running gag in the show being that he is very shy-- but is willing to commit any atrocities for the well-being of his younger sister, including murder. He puts his and his loved one's interests first, and that nearsightedness can put him and others around him in danger.

Besides the written aspect about the characters, the designs done by Harukawa35 are so beautifully crafted to convey their person through a glance. Their clothes, physical features, shapes, color palettes, even down to their silhouettes are uniquely distinct from one another and feel very personal to that character. Here are some of my favorite examples:

Atsushi's belt, which gives his silhouette a sort of "tail", referring to his ability which allows him to transform into a tiger. His purple/gold irises are striking visual cues that allude to his supernatural ability as well.

Akutagawa's billowing cloak; aside from it's practical use for his ability, it also gives him a distinctive silhouette, along with the ruffles of his shirt and the cuffs of his sleeve that contrast the sharp edges of Rashoumon.

Margaret Mitchell's outfit which, although impractical in a battle, conveys her character of a southern belle very well. Her soft, bright color palette compliments the design of her partner, Hawthorne, who mostly dons darks and greys. Similarly, the soft and round shapes abundant in her design contrasts that of Hawthorne, who is sleek, angular, and sharp by comparison.

Nakahara Chuuya's overall design, which characterizes him perfectly (accurate considering the fact that he was the most difficult character to conceptualize, according to Harukawa). The dark colors of his outfit contrast the bright orange of his hair and blue eyes, giving the idea that despite his position as an executive in the Port Mafia, his personality is as wild and stark as his features. The billowing cloak gives his silhouette a sense of dominance to make up for his small frame, broadening his shoulders and making him appear bigger. And accessories such as his hat, gloves, and choker are all very symbolic to important aspects about his story:

the hat being a gift from Arthur Rimbaud along with the chain accenting it, possibly taken from Paul Verlain;

The gloves covering his palms as he never uses his fists in battle, and only removing them when he becomes possessed by Arahabaki;

And the choker symbolises his loyalty to Mori Ougai and the Port Mafia, for which he is called a "Dog of the Mafia" by Dazai.

And speaking of designs, the various rivals and partners in the series have not only great complementing visual designs, but chemistry, story, and writing as well. Rivals/Partners such as Soukoku (Dazai and Chuuya), Shin Soukoku (Atsushi and Akutagawa), and Mori Ougai and Fukuzawa Yukichi-- the leaders of the main opposing organizations, the Port Mafia and the Detective Agency, respectively--all have amazingly distinct contrasts in terms of visual cues, my personal favorite being Shin Soukoku's black and white theme, as seen in their contrasting color palettes, outfits, and personalities.

I could go on about the Rivals' various dynamics and stories, Character analyses, and such and such, but @bsd-bibliophile has made much better analyses and are very detailed and more refined in terms of composition and content (I would not be able to touch upon Atsushi's themes of existentialism without having to delve into the author's works and the character's story, much less with any finesse, my skill level is nowhere near that standard :'))), so go check their blog out for further in-depth reading!

To wrap it up, Bungou Stray Dogs is a great manga with not only fantastic writing in its story, but in its characters as well. To be able to convey rich, layered stories through people has always been the reason I've wanted to work with Characters and more specifically, Storytelling. This series has rekindled my passion for Storytelling and has made me appreciate how important and fantastic Literature is as well (seriously, to be able to paint images in your mind and make people think and feel through words alone is a skill that I can only dream to achieve).

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calciumcryptid · 3 years

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CCBNHAVERSE | Cutlass

Cutlass, also known as Bladed Villain: Mooncutter, is a Japanese criminal and member of the League of Villains. They are one of the main field members, and serves as the replacement of Moonfish in the CalciumCryptid's rewrite of the My Hero Academia series.

During the epilogue, they are rehabilitated then joins the Oki Mariner crew under the leadership of Captain Sirius.

APPEARANCE

Cutlass is a fairly tall person who stands over most of the League of Villains in terms of height. They have immensely pale skin, and long fangs. Their facial features can not be seen due to the bandages covering their face minus a small region where their mouth is scene. The bandages cover an absolutely mauled face that was a result of being the target of a hate crime in their youth.

Cutlass in their villain uniform wears an outfit resembling a pirate's uniform. This consists of a black overcoat fastened with blades, with silver linings and others blades fastened to the coat. Underneath is a dark blue sleeveless body suit. They have knee high black boots with silver clasps and silver spikes. There are also silver chains surrounding their body, spiked to hell and back. They even have a black hat with a blue feather.

Cutlass in her civilian clothes wears a spiked black leather jacket with ripped black jeans, black combat boots, and a blue shirt with an ocean pun.

PERSONALITY

Cutlass is a person forged by battle, and has a feral adrenaline when it comes to throwing down. They greatly respects anyone who can meet her battle prowess, such as Miruko and Ojiro.

They will participate in an audible dialogue, and repeat key information to themselves to help focus. They can get distracted if they encounter skeletal structures of both humans and wildlife. Their obsession with bodily anatomy has lead them to fixate on certain opponents over others (notably Shouji Mezo due to the fact he is able to regrow his limbs).

At first it is unclear why Cutlass joined the League if Villains, only to reveal later on in an internal monologue that it was to spit back in the face of system that demonize those with villainous quirks which happened to them early on in their childhood.

ABILITIES

Swordsmanship: Cutlass is well verse in the art of the sword, and proficient in martial arts centered around the use of blades.

Physiology: Cutlass is a self-proclaimed student of the study of the human body and it's inner workings. They are fascinated by the chemistry and physics behind basic body functions, from how molecules behave in cells to how systems of organs work together.

Astronomy: Cutlass is a self-proclaimed student of the study of everything in the universe beyond Earth's atmosphere. That includes celestial objects including the Sun, the Moon, the planets, and the stars.

Oceanography: Cutlass is a self-proclaimed student of the study of the ocean which covers a wide range of topics such as marine life, marine ecosystems, ocean circulation, plate tectonics, the geology of the seafloor, and the chemical and physical properties of the ocean.

QUIRK

Blade Protrusion grants Cutlass the ability to enlarge and reshape their limbs into sharp blades. The blades can vary in both size and shape. They can manipulate the length and direction of the teeth at will. They are powerful enough to break through Shoto Todoroki's ice but can be shattered when enough force is applied.

Cutlass uses their quirk to increase their mobility and attack their targets from a distance. They will barrage their opponents with torrents of attacks to overwhelm them and break down their defenses. The blades are so fast and can stretch to incredible lengths, making them perfect for them to skewer their foes from afar.

Cutlass has experience using their quirk, and is able to use it as an extra set of limbs. Despite being practically blind due to an event in her past, Cutlass is a deadly foe due to mastery over their quirk and ability to suspend themselves in the air.

When all else fails, Cutlass will challenge their opponents to a swordfight.

STATISTICS

Power: 3/5

Speed: 5/5

Technique: 5/5

Intelligence: 4/5

Cooperativeness: 3/5

TRIVIA

Cutlass' real name is unknown, but the League of Villains don't question it because they are all hiding something.

Cutlass is actually a huge fan of Gang Orca and Selkie, and owns their merch. They are also quite fond of Shouji Mezo, Asui Tsuyu, Nejire Hadou, and Sirius.

Out of universe, Cutlass is inspired by Kaeya from Genshin Impact, Victor Zsasz from Batman, and Ocean Master from Aquaman.

Kamakiri Togaru and Cutlass have similar quirks but as far as the lore goes there is no relation between them.

Cutlass is very sapphic, and thinks Miruko is the hottest heroine around.

Cutlass' age is unknown, but they are over the age of twenty.

GALLARY

{ Left: Civilian Clothes; Right: Villain Uniform }

TAGLIST

@floof-ghostie @insomniac-jay @pizzolisnacks

#ccbnhaverse #bnha ocs

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initiumseries · 4 years

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Which parts of BTVS did you not like and how would you have changed them?

Yes! Great question.

So, if I’m being honest, most, if not all, of my issues with BTVS start after she graduates high school. I feel like the show lost the magic of the Scoobies bond and the older they got, the more distance we had from them as characters, the more OOC it felt like everyone started behaving, So, I’ll start with s4, buckle in this is gonna be long lol.

Season 4

So as usual, I like the idea of season 4. The gang has graduated, they’re growing up, and trying to find their place in such a big pond. On top of that, the Initiative is on campus (which makes sense, you can’t just blow up a high school and there are no repercussions for that, and it’s kinda cool the idea of instead of a govn’t lockdown, they infiltrate Sunnydale and are running experiments to weaponize demons. Clever, fun. I like it.), and ofc Buffy’s given up having a normal life, but now she just wants a normal relationship, and doesn’t even get that. I’m on board. Especially the idea that the gang inadvertently drifts away from each other because that’s real. That happens when you go away to college, even if you go away together. So my issues, are rooted in the details.

Maggie Walsh turned into this weird obsessive surrogate mother, who wanted to get Buffy out of the way, except the execution was so sloppy. I LIKED commanding, no nonsense, bitch monster from hell Maggie Walsh, and I would have liked to see that follow through in how she attempts to dispose of Buffy, and how she handles Riley. She becomes this soft, weirdly maternal unhinged force after trying to kill Buffy, and I don’t really understand why. I would have liked to see more of that motherly role, while still rooted in that commander in chief sort of aura she exudes when we first meet her, when it comes to Riley. I also thought her death came too soon, like they just didn’t know what to do with her after she executed her function *coughs in the Anointed One* of creating tension between Buffy and Riley (which, honestly, his being in the Initiative at all would have been enough conflict if they had leaned into that without stuffing so much stuff in there). I definitely would have had Maggie maintain that strength and authority, while softening where necessary to emotionally manipulate Riley. I’d make it really clear that Riley is deeply confused because we believe the hold she has on him, and withdrawal on the drugs would have been a nice touch, but I think it came too soon. Which leads me directly into:

Super cool. I remember when I first watched this on TV and the gang finally rebonded (after a HILARIOUS episode of them finally addressing their conflicts), they’d reached the climax with the Initiative and Adam and Buffy does a very Sailor Moon thing of all the different emotional strengths of her friends bond together to give her enough power to defeat Adam. LOVE IT.

Except what’s the point? Prof. Walsh created Adam...for what exactly? We never really get a clear, salient reason for that, bc they kill her, and Adam’s exposition is...not sufficient to explain why she had an off the books project to stitch together a...demon son. It’s weird and especially because Adam doesn’t really do all that much, it really leaves me wondering like, what was the point? For me, I feel like, instead of making Adam a spectator for a lot of the drama that takes place in s4, I would have preferred him be the driving force. behind most things.

Also: Riley’s Black friend would not have been such an angry misogynistic raging asshole because I’m tired of Black people being The Worst to make the white characters look better, more reasonable.

I would have needed a stronger explanation for Adam trying to turn Riley into...whatever that was.

Willow would have been bi and I absolutely would have, if I went in that direction, had a much more fleshed out discovery of that fact (Because in this world Seth wouldn’t have left lol). I also would have made sure Willow and the actress who played Tara would have had the chemistry they deserved.

Anya would not have stayed in Sunnydale. She would have left. She was a poor man’s Cordelia and had 0 character growth or interest.

Season 5

Again, love the ideas. Suddenly Buffy has a sister we ALL knew wasn’t there before? A God shows up? What I love(d) about Buffy is that the escalations felt so natural? Like it didn’t feel like the show was like HoW dO wE oUtDo oURsElVes aGaIN?! It felt more organic like, well, yeah, the govnt. Oh shit, a GOD? D A M N! And Glory had personality! She was crazy! And it also matches alongside Buffy’s coming to grips with her own abilities. She’s one of the oldest slayers on record at this point, watching her in s1 and in s5 you SEE, her skill level is above and beyond, and now she meets a foe that still provides such a challenge, Buffy is scared. LOVE IT.

So Spike, getting neutered, was interesting at first, but it really starts to wear out its welcome for me, about this time. My problem being, he poses so little of a threat, that all his scenes start to feel like filler and not like they’re driving the plot forward in any useful way. His obsession with Buffy becoming sexual, was INLINE for Spike, but I liked Spike because he was a DICK, he was also dangerous, and after a lot of hilarious moments in S4, watching his basically creep around Buffy’s house and try to manipulate her into spending time together (which felt soooo pathetic to me in a way I didn’t like) and like, the Buffy bot (fucking ew) all season was just, not a fun time. I think, for me, I would have had Spike maintain his dignity as a character and I absolutely would not have had him threaten Dru’s life to drive home his obsession for Buffy. Ew. Yuck. Cringe. I just think there had to be more that Spike could do this season than run around chasing Buffy’s coattails.

One again, Tara/Willow. Tara had no character development (even in an episode that was created to provide her with development? I definitely would have made use of that episode to create more ACTUAL depth for her character) so then to turn around and have her become mindless for basically the REST of the season, is just, rude lol. And because they have no chemistry and their relationship feels so...baseless, when this moment happens, I don’t feel anything. I don’t believe WIllow would be this angry, this heartbroken, this devastated that she’d take in such dark magicks and blindly go after Glory. I’d believe it if it were Oz, but Tara/Willow do not get the same level of build up and relationship establishing for me to buy this. I would have changed that.

Unpopular opinion, but I also would have made Dawn less of an UTTERLY irritating, shrill, whiny, screaming white tween. I get it, she was supposed to be the baby. But I get nothing from watching a white girl who is mostly just bored and irritated with her life, start shoplifting from her sister’s friends and in general, because she’s kinda sad sometimes. Get a grip. The only time I feel bad for her is when she finds out she’s not real. Actual problems. Wicked, I’m on board. But I think I would have just made her less fucking annoying and whiny and a lot more sympathetic. She still could have been frustrating and bratty, but in a way that was a bit more likeable, so that in those moments where she’s *genuinely* struggling, you feel for her on a broader scope. I would not have made her do all of those incredibly infuriating, incredibly stupid things, like running away in the middle of a dangerous situation. Because it ends up reading to me, like Buffy’s anger, frustration and criticisms of Dawn aren’t her being too hard on her as the eldest, as the Slayer, but accurate because Dawn is a horrendous nightmare of a new human being with no real redeeming qualities. Definitely a better ways to execute that.

Also, I feel like this season is where the Scoobies drift again, but this time we aren’t really addressing it? Buffy’s dealing with Joyce getting sick, Riley being a POS, Spike stalking her, and she never leans on Willow for any of it. They never even really talk about any of the things going on. It’s such a missed opportunity to lean back into the core gang navigating growing up together. Willow is now basically the guardian of her new partner, and again, we don’t really see WIllow lean on Buffy at all. And Giles is preparing to leave, which, to me, felt organic. He felt like Buffy had outgrown him, but I think he was also trying to rediscover himself, but is pulled back into being a Watcher and he seems both grateful and disappointed. I would have liked to, I donno, make that a little clearer. Also what is Xander doing at this point? He’s outgrown his usefulness as well, so he kinda just becomes a hanger’s on. If Xander doesn’t just leave Sunnydale after s3 or 4. He needs to do *something*, he should have been reintegrated into the group in a new way if it wasn’t through school.

Season 6

This is so hard. I feel like this season is just, SO dark, SO heavy, and absent the levity that had been established up til s4. But it’s also really earned. Buffy is going through it. The layers are wonderful. I LOVE IT. But I also needed like...emotional breaks? And this is also kinda where I needed the scoobies to feel like scoobies, and trying to figure out how to help their friend. Xander and Willow have been friends their entire lives, and season 3 really fleshes out that emotional shorthand they have, but it’s so quickly abandoned in s4 and onward. Suddenly Willow/Xander feel like strangers with Anya and Tara between them. I feel like there should have been more moments of Xander and Willow just..being, and struggling with Buffy’s loss together in a way that only the two of them really understand because like Buffy said Xander has a piece of her that Oz, and so then Tara, can’t reach. That should be a constant thoroughline. Xander should have been the first person to see something wasn’t quite right with Willow and the magic.

Giles should have left earlier to give more time between him leaving and Buffy coming back. I like the idea of Giles beginning to build a life for himself in England and literally dropping everything once he found out Buffy was back. I emotionally hate the conflict of Willow threatening Giles, but I like it as a character development issue, and Giles definitely should have side eyed Willow, maybe even brought up his concerns later with Xander.

I think I also would have had Spike leave Sunnydale and come back when Buffy does. I didn’t need a reformed Spike, and it would have been interesting to see him ingratiate himself with the group now that Buffy is back, and he’s the only one who sees how much pain she’s in.

I HATED Warren and the group. The disgustingly overwhelming and unchecked misogyny and Warren was INSANELY unlikeable. I don’t need to like him, but I needed some catharsis way before we got it. He was HORRENDOUS.

Even in death, Tara is bland.

Willow’s magic addiction legit comes out of nowhere. I needed more organic build up than Amy, who has been a rat for like 3 years, suddenly being like “hey I know this guys who can give us magic drugs!”

The chasm between Willow and Buffy this season would have hit if they hadn’t been distant since s3.

I think we needed the seeds for Dark!Willow planted a lot earlier like I described.

Also a lot more evidence that Willow was running away from her nerdy past because when it comes up here, it’s completely left field.

This would have hit harder if they still felt close.

Season 7

Fuck man, the whole thing was awful. But I ESPECIALLY would have thrown out that left field retcon of Buffy having been in an asylum. I lost sleep over that shit lol.

But I would have totally rewritten season 7. If Spike’s involvement was necessary (it wasn’t), then I absolutely would not have had her defend him against Wood and Giles. I would have had her treat him extremely coolly. Like a tool they require. There would have been *some* level of redemption for him that was believable within the confines of his character, but not so much that we forget he’s an assaulter.

The Potentials would have been WAY fucking less horrendously annoying and I really would have leaned into conflict avoidance with the scoobies that reaches a peak when Xander loses his eye. Giles and Buffy would have renegotiated their adult parent/child relationship in a far healthier way and we would have had a lot more interiority with Buffy like we’ve had, pretty much since the show’s inception.

Angel would have been there when Buffy was isolated and alone, not Spike. Because #bangel4lyfe lmao. They still woulda kissed as a “greeting” lol. Buffy would not have told Spike she loved him, or that she ever loved him. She woulda told that dude thank you and dipped out of the cave lol.

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theanalyzersfanfics · 4 years

Text

My Land Before Time Headcanons, future edition

Now here are more of my headcanons about The Land Before Time, mostly about the characters’ future. There are a few that don’t exactly fit the future part but I feel there’s enough wiggle room to add them anyway.

- Hyp’s group does stop bullying Littlefoot and the others after that last episode of the TV series. The two groups do eventually come to get along, though they mightn’t always hang out and Hyp’s group being mischievous teenage boys does still lead to some natural conflict. Though initially resentful, Hyp comes to embrace his small size and likes to annoy his larger dino pals by just randomly hitching a ride on them. I can see he and Cera particularly become friends, exchanging snark and some roughhousing in their older years, sharing the same snark and bout to cause mischief.

- Shorty and Spike eventually become friends, due to being adopted brothers and sharing some liking for mischief.

- Speaking of Spike and Cera, I could see them coming closer during in their time in the mud pools, with Spike showing Cera it’s okay to relax and again that shared inkling for mischief.

- Littlefoot and the others come to learn the sharptooth language, Mo’s language, and even the sand creeper/crab language, which is useful in picking up information and listening in on foes on their adventures. The Great Valley sometimes gets annoyed when the gang start speaking in other languages right in front of others, believing the gang are insulting them or plotting something. Which they sometimes are.

- Spike might never became fully verbal when he grows up but he does come to learn a kind of spiketail sign language, which Littlefoot and the others learn and add to their language repertoire.

- The gang do meet Mo often and in later meetings, are able to get the jump on him by spraying water into his face first.

- When Grandpa and Grandma Longneck pass away, it has been agreed that Littlefoot would be looked after by his friends’ parents until he is old enough or Bron comes along. Speaking of Bron, though Littlefoot might come along with his father for trips or adventures, he will ultimately stay in the Great Valley, the place he considers home.

- Though his grumpiness would never go away, Mr. Threehorn would eventually mellow out in his older years.

- Littlefoot might become a prominent voice in the Great Valley gatherings, though not really an out and out leader.

- Shorty will mellow out and shift away from his insecurities when he grows up, though he will always tease and mess with Littlefoot, especially with their height (Shorty’s kind, Brachiosaurus, grow taller than Littlefoot’s Apatosaurus, and come on, you can’t tell me Shorty wouldn’t use that as teasing ammunition).

- When Bron retires or passes away, leadership of his herd won’t be passed to Littlefoot or Shorty but some other person he or the herd deem competent. The herd’s interests are greater than someone’s son needing to earn the mantle of leader and I don’t want Littlefoot and Shorty to deal with that monarchic-esque way of organizing anyway.

- Pterano does come to mature from his toxic behavior and return to the Great Valley after his exile, though never stays, having made some friends in the Mysterious Beyond (One of which I imagine might be Doc, who he met during his exile). He does visit often though.

- Chomper and Ruby do come to leave the Great Valley. This is not my definitive headcanon, but one interesting idea I have that as an adult, Chomper still has to kill leaf eaters to survive, but he has gained a reputation as a nice sharptooth, so some leaf eaters near death do go to him and talk things out with him before he kills them. He remains in frequent contact with Ruby, who can meet with Littlefoot and the others often. Once or twice a year, the gang meet up with Chomper and Ruby on neutral grounds to catch up and exchange information.

- Not all of the gang will choose to couple up and/or have children. Of the ones who might have a family are Cera and Ali (Don’t @ me, they had nice chemistry in movie 4), who might adopt children, and maybe Spike and Tippy.

- Littlefoot is eager and happy to play with his friends’ kids and the Great Valley’s in general and he is known as fun and responsible adult.

- Littlefoot and the others continue to have adventures, and so have friends and allies over a large part of the world, and they do touch back on those connections when needed.

- Littlefoot and the others will live adventurous, sometimes difficult but ultimately long and happy lives. That is what I want after all their tragedies and heartaches, for them to be happy.

#the land before time #land before time #some death mentions

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dc-earth53 · 4 years

Photo

The Flash (Barry Allen)

Age at death: 33

Occupation: Forensic scientist, adventurer

Marital status: Married

Known relatives: Henry Allen (father), Nora Thompson Allen (mother), Malcolm Thawne (brother), Don Allen (son), Dawn Allen (daughter), Bart Allen (grandson), Jenni Ognats (granddaughter), Iris West Allen (wife), Rudolph West (brother-in-law), Mary West (sister-in-law), Wally West (nephew).

Group affiliation: Formerly Justice League of America, Central City Police Department.

Base of operations: Central City, Missouri

Height: 5’11”

Weight: 179 lbs.

History:

44 years ago: Barry is born to Henry and Nora Allen in Fallville, Iowa, separated at birth from his twin brother, who was thought stillborn.

37 years ago: Barry first reads of the adventures of Jay Garrick, the Golden Age Flash.

28 years ago: In high school, Barry begins developing a penchant for chronic lateness that would plague him for the rest of his life.

22 years ago: Barry graduates from Sun City University with a major in organic chemistry and a minor in criminology. While a student, he helps the police apprehend a bank robber, and is offered a job at the Central City Police Department.

20 years ago:

Barry meets reporter Iris West, and the two begin dating.

The very same night, Barry is struck by lightning while working on an experiment, the combination of the electrical shock and the chemicals granting him superhuman speed. Inspired by his idol, Jay Garrick, he put on a costume and began fighting crime, calling himself the Flash.

19 years ago:

Barry becomes a charter member of the Justice League of America after helping to fend off an alien invasion.

Barry first fights Captain Cold, the Mirror Master, Weather Wizard, and the Trickster, who would later ally with other Flash villains as the Rogues.

18 years ago: Barry befriends Iris’s 13-year-old nephew, Wally West, who gains super-speed in a similar accident to Barry’s and becomes his crime-fighting partner, Kid Flash.

17 years ago: Barry meets Jay Garrick, and the two work together to free Central City’s sister town, Keystone City. from the suspended animation it was placed into by the Thinker, the Wizard, and the Shade.

Barry proposes to Iris and the two are married.

14 years ago:

Iris is abducted into the timestream by Eobard Thawne, the Reverse-Flash, eventually arriving in the 30th century. Thinking her dead, Barry snaps Thawne’s neck.

Barry is placed on trial for murder, and found guilty in a kangaroo court, brainwashed by his foe Abra Kadabra, disguised as Thawne. Barry exposes Kadabra with the aid of the Rogues and chases him back to the 30th century, where he is reunited with Iris.

13 years ago: Barry settles down with Iris in the 30th century, and Iris gives birth to twins, Don and Dawn.

11 years ago: Barry joins Earth’s heroes in the fight against the Anti-Monitor, and dies destroying his anti-matter cannon, saving the universe and becoming one with the Speed Force.

Commentary:

I had a big long thing here, but I lost it, so I’ll try to sum it up briefly here. Wally West is my favorite Flash, but that’s not at Barry’s expense. He remains dead in this timeline due to the importance of legacy and moving forward here, but leaves big shoes to fill, and is remembered fondly by all of his colleagues.

Barry isn’t driven by tragedy here, but simply by his nature as a good person - no dead moms here! He’s a little bit nerdy, but otherwise a fairly average Midwestern guy who has earned the respect of the Rogues through his genial nature.

Programming note: I’m going to start doing two profiles per day in lieu of the in-universe written data entries, as I have over a thousand characters to get through. Next will be Captain Boomerang I, then Aquaman as originally scheduled.

#dc #dc comics #earth 53 #the flash #flash #barry allen #profile

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mobius-prime · 4 years

Text

192. Sonic the Hedgehog #124

Sonic Adventure 2.5: Λlphλ

Writer: Karl Bollers Pencils: J. Axer and Steven Butler Colors: Jason Jensen

All right everyone, we've finally made it to the "Endgame" of the fourth era! While it's not quite as epic and game-changing, this story, spanning this issue and the next, alters the setting and the plot quite a bit, and also sees the return of Shadow the Hedgehog, whom we only got to see a quick cameo of back in Sonic Adventure 2. Also, amusingly, the word "Alpha" in the title is actually spelled with the Greek letter Lambda, not the actual letter Alpha. I know it's for the Aesthetic™ and all, but it's still funny. But anyway, let's jump in and see what this era's finale has in store for us!

So first, we learn the story of how Shadow survived his fall from orbit. Turns out, he didn't actually fall at all! Before he entered the atmosphere, he was caught in a beam from an alien spaceship, and brought aboard.

Well now, isn't this interesting! These are the same aliens that transformed Eggman and Snively back to their organic forms a few issues ago. It seems they're quite interested in meddling in the affairs of the planet, for whatever reason, and now they're using Shadow as a method of escaping from a second spaceship full of different aliens who appear to be quite aggressive. Shadow tries to fight back against them, but the ship hits him with an energy beam, and he begins to lose consciousness once again, falling back towards the atmosphere just as before. Meanwhile back in Knothole, Sonic wakes up, seemingly excited about something big today. He races to Knothole Castle where he kisses Sally hello, the two now openly dating now that they've admitted their true feelings for each other. She asks him if he's ready to "pop the question," to which he says he… is… wait, what question is this, Sally?! You can't mean…

At the same time, in Station Square, the president finds himself contacted by Eggman, who tries to make him a deal to become allies in exchange for advanced technology and protection. Of course, he's trying to propose an alliance to the same people who literally nuked his city because they didn't like him, so this goes about as well as you expect. Naturally, Eggman doesn't like this response one bit.

Rouge swoops in to save the president and his driver as the car careens into a river, but just as they think they've escaped danger, the entire false sky above the city shatters under the attack from a mysterious foe… But before we find out who has done this, it's time to find out what question Sonic is supposed to be asking.

…okay, honestly, this is just bizarre to me. I get that absolute monarchies tend to want to marry their heirs off young to secure alliances, but really? These two haven't even properly dated yet, beyond a little these past months (as at least a couple months are implied to have passed since Sally's kidnapping), and now at the age of sixteen they're planning a future wedding? This entire bit seems so weirdly out of character for both Sally and Sonic, if you ask me. The comic has flirted with the idea of marriage between the two in the past, but that was mostly during the earlier issues when each story was only focused on being silly and telling a funny, self-contained story. Obviously, these two have had a deep crush on each other for years now, and have a lot of chemistry in their own way, but a de facto engagement between the two of them is just strange. Sally is much more pragmatic than that, having broken off a potential relationship once before in favor of focusing on her official duties, and as for Sonic, we've been directly shown before that he's flighty, afraid of commitment, and generally prefers casual friendships to heavily romantic relationships. Now, this might make more sense if you instead view it as an announcement of convenience, a plot concocted by the both of them to get Sally's parents off her back about being married off to a "suitable partner" as the future ruler of the kingdom. If it were portrayed this way, then maybe I could give this a pass. But we're given no such inkling that it's anything other than exactly what it appears to be. And that, to me, makes this plot point a completely bizarre departure from the usual attitudes of both these characters to romance and relationships. Even weirder, as we'll see, this doesn't even affect the plot of the comic at all in future issues - while there's a reference to it here and there, it's nothing plot-important and could have easily been written out without much trouble.

Anyway, Sonic runs out to investigate the boom only to find Shadow lying in a crater outside the castle. Man, lucky for him that he just so happened to land here instead of literally anywhere else, huh? Sonic approaches him and Shadow lashes out in confusion, knocking Sonic aside, before coming to and apologizing. All this does is rile Sonic up and he tries to attack Shadow in retaliation. Really, Sonic? You thought Shadow was freaking dead, and the moment you see him again you try to punch his lights out? Sally, luckily, steps in to reprimand him for his behavior, and Nicole contacts her, telling her there's an emergency message for them back at the castle. The Freedom Fighters, along with Shadow, follow her back in, where both Eggman and Rouge contact the royal family simultaneously, each claiming their cities have been attacked by an overwhelmingly strong foe. Shadow confirms that this is likely an attack from the same vessel he had just been fighting, but then… something happens. A telepathic message spreads out across the globe, echoing in the minds of every single sentient being on the planet, demanding the attention of the "inhabitants of planet Earth…"

Well, this is bad. And now, they're back to finish what they started… Eggman panics and tries to immediately get King Max to agree to an alliance of convenience, but Max cuts him off without another word, justifying his actions to his shocked onlookers as making sure Eggman is good and ready to accept a truce on his terms by making him sweat a bit first. Sonic expresses confusion that the aliens seem to be confusing Mobius with another planet called Earth, but they get a call from Angel Island at that moment where Locke offers his assistance. Of course the Freedom Fighters ask about Knuckles, and he sorrowfully informs them that he's dead. They're shocked and saddened, but don't have time to mourn, as they have to prove the Xorda wrong about their planet. Sally begins some research into the history of the planet, but Hope unexpectedly steps forward, offering her own insight into how the Xorda ended up here in the first place.

Oh boy, Shadow, I sense we're going to have some emotional turmoil over Hope in our future. Also, I just wanna note that this issue claims that the Xorda were last here three thousand years ago, but future issues retcon this into twelve thousand years. Anyway, Sally soon discovers something shocking in her research… Mobius and Earth are, in fact, the same planet!

This. Is. It! This is the big reveal that I've been so carefully dancing around for almost two hundred issues! I have been meticulously wording every reference to Mobius being an "Earth-like planet" to be spoiler-free but also totally accurate in the light of this reveal. Yes, ladies, gents and enbies, the Archie Sonic preboot takes place twelve thousand years into our own future. The first Xorda invasion was, in fact, the first recorded Day of Fury, which is why it's recorded as having wiped out nearly all life on the planet. And this is also the origin of the split between five fingered humans, and four fingered Overlanders. The humans survived underground, unaffected by the gene bombs dropped by the Xorda, while the Overlanders are the result of, essentially, re-evolved humans that were affected by the gene bombs. And as for Mobians? Well, we are talking about a weapon called a gene bomb, so Mobians obviously came about through severe mutations caused by said bombs, eventually becoming the dominant species of the planet! This is why the planet's continents look very similar to those of Earth, with the differences easily explained by not only twelve thousand years of continental drift, but the massive geographical alterations that such a dramatic cataclysm would have caused on the planet. All those old references to previous Earth civilizations exist because those things actually happened, even if the people making said references no longer know what the Confederate States were, or who the Aborigines were. I know this reveal wasn't particularly liked by a lot of readers, and certainly without the context of the previous two hundred issues it sounds downright absurd (hell, even with the context it kind of does), but in the end my personal opinion is that this was a bit of a masterstroke on Karl's part. It's a great way to tie a lot of old plot threads together and develop a more cohesive and solid history for Mobius as a planet, and ultimately provides us with a more clear timeline of events for the various races and civilizations of the world. And it's all thanks to a species of creepy vengeful Mother Brain octopus alien things deciding to commit genocide!

Afterlife (Part Four)

Writer: Ken Penders Pencils: Art Mawhinney Colors: J. Jensen

So, Kenders. With the big milestone issue fast approaching, is there anything you wanna add in this next installment of Afterlife? Like, perhaps, finally addressing what exactly is supposed to, y'know, happen in the afterlife? Knuckles certainly wants to know, having spent the last two issues doing nothing but reliving his entire previous life verbatim. Aurora explains that though he feels it's unfair that he died, it was unavoidable, as he simply came into his power too quickly and couldn't temper it or learn to control it quickly enough to pull off his saving-Dimitri stunt without essentially going supernova.

This part actually does interest me, because Knuckles' reaction implies that until now, the fact of his death hasn't fully sunken in. He seems to be under the impression that he can come back from it and just resume his life where he left off, instead of traveling onward into the next phase of life. Aurora apologizes and explains that everyone only gets one chance at life, and beckons him toward the mystical portal to the Chaos Force. Knuckles requests only one more thing, to become his normal red self once more, and when Aurora gently corrects him that he doesn't need her help for that, he finds himself instantly back to his old color scheme with a mere thought, which raises the minor question of whether he would have been able to revert back to red all along, or whether it's due to the malleable nature of existence in the afterlife that he's able to do so now. Regardless, the reign of Green Knuckles over the comic's B-stories has finally ended, and Rad Red steps into the portal, ready to claim his destiny. And thus, we get ready to say goodbye to our favorite echidna once and for all, as he takes his place amongst the… wait, hang on a second…

Good old Athair! I missed you, buddy. Aurora tries to argue that Knuckles should still advance forward into the Chaos Force, but Athair merely frowns and crosses his arms, leaving the ending of this story ambiguous… and ripe for a true conclusion next issue, as we hit another major milestone in the history of the comic!

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #sth 124 #writer: karl bollers #writer: ken penders #pencils: jeff axer #pencils: steven butler #pencils: art mawhinney #colors: jason jensen

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sitched-a · 4 years

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HOW TO INTERACT WITH KIM POSSIBLE ( A PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET )

so, you want to write your muse against kim, but you have no idea what to do? have no fear! plotting can be pretty daunting—I know I always blank on ideas the second I go to approach someone about something, or I’m always afraid I’ll suggest something that’s overdone or that the mun isn’t particularly interested in. hence, this guide! keep in mind everything here is just a suggestion, so if you have ideas that don’t really fit what I’ve put in this guide, that is fine! throw them my way! and happy plotting!

MEET KIM POSSIBLE ( aka a really quick character cheat sheet )

she’s a teenager. in her main verse, I play her anywhere from 14 to 18 years old ( or her freshman through senior year of high school ); she really is your basic, average girl, deep down—she’s preoccupied with school, cheerleading, boys, et cetera, and she likes to spend time with her friends, be it grabbing some snackage at bueno nacho, or hanging around the middleton mall.

she’s also a vigilante. an internationally ( and in season 4, inter-galactically ) known vigilante, or, as she’s more commonly referred to, “teen hero.” unique to most hero stories, everyone knows her identity because she’s never bothered concealing it. she’s been all over the world multiple times and has met several people throughout her missions and travels.

she’s very involved. captain of the cheer squad? check. member of the varsity swim team? check. academic tutor, chair of the dance committee, yearbook committee, and founding member of the middleton environmental club? check, check, check, and check. on top of all of the above she volunteers at the middleton hospital with the sunshine spreaders, works alongside local food banks and outreach shelters, and still finds time to get her homework done and maintain a social life.

PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS ( aka a starting point for fleshing out dynamics )

be a classmate. middleton is the ‘suburban’ part of a larger city made up of three sub-cities ( middleton, upperton, and lowerton ) and middleton high school has roughly 1,000 students at any given time; suffice to say kim has a lot of classmates around her, some she gets along with, some she doesn’t; because she’s so involved, she knows a lot of people—make your muse one of them!

be someone she’s helped. sis has been all around the world fifty times over and she’s helped countless people, directly or indirectly. a running gag in the show is when she gets a ride to a mission, thanks the person for the lift, and is met with “it’s the least I could do after you saved my [x] from [y]!”; she has a strict policy about not charging money for missions and only asks that she get a ride from point A to point B if it’s something a contact can accommodate. likewise, she likes to stay in contact with the people she’s helped, making sure they’re doing well and just keeping that friendship alive and fresh.

be involved in a club/organization with kim. I listed most of them above but needless to say, kim has a wide interest in activities and clubs at middleton; pretty much the only thing she’s not involved in is the more artistic departments ( she’d be a bitchin’ stage manager though, i’m js ); maybe your muse is on the cheer squad or swim team with kim, maybe she tutors them in chemistry, maybe they’re a fellow tutor and on the slow days they just chill in the library together—the possibilities are endless.

be one of her colleagues. this works best with adult muses or other heroes; while kim’s world-saving�� operation is entirely nonprofit and not really a job so much as technically a hobby, she has many professional connections within the heroism business, including peace-keeping organizations like global justice ( basically the kp equivalent of SHIELD ). if your muse has the powers/skills, partner them up with kim for a mission ( bonus points if they’re as much of a control freak as she is—it might not end well but it’ll be hilarious ).

reside in middleton in some capacity. middleton’s a pretty large city that, again, makes up one third of a large metropolitan area. kim somehow knows pretty much everyone; she frequents the middleton mall, the multiplex, middleton mini-golf, and of course, bueno nacho the most. maybe your muse works there, maybe they also hang around those places a lot, maybe they both end up seeing the same ansel elgort movie 15 times—who’s to say.

be a villain. if your muse is naturally an antagonist and isn’t already a supervillain, this is the perfect opportunity for you to explore that! and if your muse is already a supervillain, now’s the perfect opportunity for them to gain another nemesis—kim’s plucky, wholesome, and has a mean right hook and a tenacity to do good recklessly. do with that what you will!

THINGS I WANT TO EXPLORE ( aka a living document of my wishlist tag )

kim’s flaws. world-famous heroes, they’re just like us! seriously though; kim is prone to jealousy at times when she feels like someone might have a leg-up on her in something she’s deemed “the best” at; it can get ugly, and I like exploring how kim’s jealous tendencies can negatively impact things around her if she lets those emotions get too out of hand. she’ll resent your muse at first, but that leaves plenty of opportunity for growth!

kim working with the enemy. my favorite episodes of kim possible are the ones where she ends up working with / helping her foes because they’re the ones who desperately need it / she needs them to set things right. this can be on a small scale with school rivals or on a large scale with whole supervillains—the limit does not exist!

kim getting framed for a crime. it happened in the show with camille leon but I really love the idea of someone kim’s put behind bars breaking out and framing kim for all the crimes they start committing, and kim having to work double to find out who’s doing this and to prove her innocence.

more to be added as ideas come to me

THINGS I’M NOT INTERESTED IN ( aka…… it’s pretty self-explanatory )

to be added as needed!

FINAL THOUGHTS

this has been sitting in my drafts for over two months now and I’m FINALLY getting around to posting it, please just plot with me thank you.

#i. i have to earn it / wishlist.#wishlist.

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sitched · 4 years

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HOW TO INTERACT WITH KIM POSSIBLE ( A PLOTTING CHEAT-SHEET )

MEET KIM POSSIBLE ( aka a really quick character cheat sheet )

PRE-ESTABLISHED RELATIONSHIPS ( aka a starting point for fleshing out dynamics )

be one of her colleagues. this works best with adult muses or other heroes; while kim’s world-saving operation is entirely nonprofit and not really a job so much as technically a hobby, she has many professional connections within the heroism business, including peace-keeping organizations like global justice ( basically the kp equivalent of SHIELD ). if your muse has the powers/skills, partner them up with kim for a mission ( bonus points if they’re as much of a control freak as she is—it might not end well but it’ll be hilarious ).

THINGS I WANT TO EXPLORE ( aka a living document of my wishlist tag )

more to be added as ideas come to me

THINGS I’M NOT INTERESTED IN ( aka…… it’s pretty self-explanatory )

to be added as needed!

FINAL THOUGHTS

this has been sitting in my drafts for over two months now and I’m FINALLY getting around to posting it, please just plot with me thank you.

#` * ♡. I HAVE TO EARN IT‚ WISHLIST .#i just copy+pasted from my old blog buuuut #long post /

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serenagaywaterford · 5 years

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'#i am so upset at tht about this lol #(mostly cos yeah reality is that. but i'm watchign fiction dudes. gimme some character journeys. gimme development. gimme hope. #this flatline they have serena on just isn't good storytelling. straight up.)' -- i agree. & the idea i hate the most is that moss & the tht crew might have had a boner over whitford joining them & decided to give him what could have been serena's arc. the architect of the damn colonies can turn out decent but serena can't. GOT IT

“the architect of the damn colonies can turn out decent but serena can’t. GOT IT”

this is probably what drives me the most mad about the choices they made for characters in s3. lawrence literally–unequivocally and by his own admission as well as multiple other characters–created THE FUCKING COLONIES: prison labour camps where ONLY women go to suffer excruciating pain and rot from disease and DIE. he also, unarguably and explicitly, created THE ENTIRE ECONOMIC SYSTEM on which gilead relies on for its propagation and survival.

without HIM, gilead would NOT exist. and this isn’t a little thing. it’s like, it literally would have fallen apart without his massive contribution. (sure, maybe they would have found another genius economist with a penchant for brutal misogyny but as it stands, they didn’t have one. and HE STILL helps gilead survive.)

but uwu, he makes jokes and doesn’t do the ceremony and loves his wife so WHAT A GREAT GUY! LET’S GIVE HIM A RELUCTANT REDEMPTION ARC!!!!

i fucking loathe him. and he was shown multiple times even in s3 what he thinks of ALL women, and that isn’t fucking much. he’s gross. “i love my wife” YEAH sure buddy. fuck you. if you truly loved her, you wouldn’t have created an entire system where she gets fucked right over to the point she kills herself. cool beans, dude.

s3 was all about lawrence and june being reluctant allies and her working her dumbass moves on him, and that bullshit handholding at the funeral FOR THE WIFE THAT JUNE BASICALLY KILLED??? please just let me vomit in my mouth a bit.

he is not a good guy. he is not a nice guy. he does not like women. he does not care about them. he’s a pathetic little misogynist that she looks out for himself. but omg look how conflicted he is about the ceremony!!! UWU PRECIOUS BEAN, TOO PURE FOR THIS HORRIBLE WORLD!!

it’s like fandom/the showrunners are just salivating over male characters to woobiefy.

meanwhile MEANWHILE there’s a female character, the second most developed character on the entire show with the second most amount of screentime (prior to mid s3 anyway) and already a foil to june and “villain”esque character theoretically capable of change, but hey, no. let’s ignore the entire trajectory serena was on for the latter half of s2. let’s even ignore early s3 and all that set up. let’s just FUCKING FLATLINE her and make her 100% obsessed with a baby. it’s not like that storyline was already wrapped up in s2 and she’d moved on by early s3.

all so june could have some ~exciting plot of winning over lawrence and oooooh look it’s bradley whitford. what a great guy. he’s so funnieeeee and nice.

it really does feel like they aborted serena’s arc for the sake of inserting whitford into what should have been serena’s journey of gradually coming to terms with her involvement in gilead, her own overwhelming guilt about her involvement (which i would like to point out is LESS than lawrence’s contributions. just so we’re all on the same page). and i know miller has said he “doesn’t believe in redemption arcs” (bullshit. that’s pure bullshit. they exist whether you believe in them or not, for one thing.) but lawrence’s character has been doing EXACTLY that. and all the fandom is frothing about how amazing he is blah blah blah. fucking miss me with that. i will NEVER root for a man who has done that to women and is a KEY player in gilead. he didn’t just help invent it, he CURRENTLY still sustains it. he seemed to have little concern for ANYBODY even at the beginning of s3. yet still he’s a hero. (at least the character is like “oooh i’m not a hero” which kinda sounded totally insincere to me. the same way people throw pity parties for themselves.)

but god forbid a problematic female character portrayed by a fantastic (but lesser known) actress gets the same generosity. and what’s even crazier is that the audience was generally in favor and excited about serena joining june in the resistance prior to s3, and even in the beginning episodes of s3. based on social media anyway.

but no……….

i just….

it infuriates me how they chose to give what could have been a decent character arc for serena to lawrence instead (and to take that from yvonne and hand it over to whitford cos he’s just so great. rolling my eyes so hard.). and everyone is just like “yasss king! we love you!! what great guy for saving those kids!!! yay redemption for lawrence! i love brad whitford so amazing give him an emmy!!!”

i get they need to keep serena around and in some sort of conflict for june.

actually no. i don’t get it. i don’t think it’s necessary at this point to have a female adversary of that degree for june. i think she could easily be a complicated/conflicted ally, or at least not a direct enemy of june’s. the SYSTEM is evil enough and produces enough conflict on its own. june no longer needs the personification of it and neither do we. just… ugh. stagnating the MOST complex character on the show (fight me. serena as a character was more complex and dynamic than june.) for the sake of throwing her in some stupid sideplot that had nothing to do with the protagonist, and made her entire story arc stall into a dead stop was a dumbass fucking move. the whole fred thing dragged her the fuck down cos there was zero acknowledgement or exploration of the actual dynamic of the domestic abuse cycle which was PLAINLY visible in early s3. instead it was just NICHOLEEEEEE!!!!! GIVE ME BABBY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! MUST HAVE BABBY!!!!!!!!!! every single character motivation serena had in s3 was a fucking sexist trope about women and baby fever. (not that they wrote june much better but this rant is about the shit they pulled with serena.)

there is no depth to any conflict anymore. and what drives me even crazier is that the few scenes with june and serena are still 100 times more interesting because of the pre-existing chemistry and dynamic they still have. but instead we’ve just got the same fucking scene of june/lawrence over and over for 8 episodes. “ooh is he a friend or foe? oh i will manipulate him! he is an ally! oh maybe he’s a foe, or friend, or foe, or friend?! who cares!! look how he lubs childrens! uwu!!”

they seem absolutely intent on keeping serena a villain, to the point of total irrationality. and the only way to do that is strip her character of any nuance and give her a singular and stupid motivation and pair that with a really boring and flat subplot. cos, organically, the character WOULD develop and learn and change, but since they’re fucking obsessed with not giving her anything even resembling “redemption” for some bullshit reason, they’ve thrown her entire narrative arc under the bus and just left her there.

and people wonder why i have no interest in s4. it’s cos of this shit. why the fuck would i be interested in watching yet another season of serena doing fuck all? (ooh a trial? BORING and guaranteed to make no rational sense. back to gilead? what for?! they’re never going to let her change/grow anyway!)… and june being painted as some saint and saviour, despite being not that much better anymore. and Lawrence being lauded as a goddamn hero for doing the very fucking bare minimum for no real discernible reason we’ve seen other than june’s oh so amazing ~wiles. like please.

i can’t stand june anymore. i fucking loathe lawrence (to me, he’s just nick 2.0). i don’t care about fred. moira and emily who? and am butthurt about what they’ve done to serena’s character journey (and can’t see that changing if miller, moss, & co. are so itnent on keeping her “evil”). so s4 doesn’t seem that fun to me.

and the fact everyone seems to have a hard on for whitford, including cast and crew just makes me angry. sure, give this dude all the good shit. take it away from the amazing female actors and just give it to him. why not? THT is male-run anyway and IT SHOWS. he should have been a minor character, not the focus next to june. (don’t even get me started on how fiennes gets second billing in the credits before yvonne cos i am so livid every single time i see taht.)

whatever, THT. whatever. bye. ugh.

wow anyway that was a rant i didn’t expect to make. thanks anon for drawing that out. i think i’ve been sitting on it a while lol.

i have a lot of rage.

#the misogyny is wild #it's like fandom just replaced their desperation to woobiefy nick with lawrence instead #super that's awesome i'm glad that's how this show thinks it should tell a story about women's oppression #just ignore half the women and make them evil!!!#give none of them except the ''crazy'' one any sympathetic storyline #yeah cool #how feminist #Anonymous

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tgunn64 · 5 years

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Favorite Villains - La Squadra di Esecuzione (Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure)

Part 5 of Jojo’s Bizarre Adventure, Vento Auero, takes us to 2001 Italy, where a civil gang war between stand users creates a vaccum of power in the Venetian mafia. From this description alone, you may be able to guess this is my favorite Jojo season yet--with my love of Italian culture and organized crime stories allowing this to cater perfectly to me. It also features La Squadra di Esecuzione (Italian for 'The Hitman Team'), who may be my favorite villainous force in Jojo yet. La Squadra isn’t actually the big bad--they’re the starters our heroes face on their way, and yet the way they are motivated and weaved into the narrative make them feel like organic parts of the conflict rather than mere stepping stones. The revolting assassins are a seven course meal consisting of Formaggio, Illuso, Pesci, Prosciutto, Melone, Ghiaccio, and Risotto.

What really struck me about La Squadra was their chemistry as a team. While they fight the heroes individually, we see a good deal of their inner workings in scenes exclusive to the anime that add a lot to their characters--most notably a sequence in which their conflict with the Boss of the Passione mafia is laid out. In charge of the dirty work of assassinations, la Squadra is mistreated by the higher ups of the mafia chain and paid the least of any branch. Sick of doing the hardest work for the least money, they conspired to overthrow the mysterious boss of the gang by discovering his identity, which no one has managed to uncover. The mere notion of doing so reached the boss, who retaliated by killing two of their men, Sorbet and Gelato. La Squadra is in the middle of a meeting wondering where their missing men are, when they receive a delivery of 36 packages. They unwrap them in a chilling scene where they discover each one contains a chunk of Gelato’s corpse, cut into 36 piece and encased in formaldehyde. La Squadra’s reaction is one of terror that truly humanizes them--they were fighting an injustice inflicted upon them and they are immediately silence. One can’t blame them for revolting, but they are swiftly made an example of.

Their dreams were crushed, that is, until word got out that the boss had an estranged daughter that the heroes were protecting for him (the heroes and la Squadra both unaware that the boss only wanted his daughter protected so he could personally kill her). Realizing the potential for a weak spot and ransom, La Squadra declares their goal to usurp the boss by taking his daughter, putting them at odds with Jojo and his new mafia family. One by one, La Squadra steps up to try and kidnap the boss’ daughter from her protectors, starting with Formaggio. Formaggio, being the first to fight, is also the shortest lived of La Squadra, but this actually benefits his character in the precedent he sets. He tracks down the youngest and most naive of the hero team, Narancia, and engages him with his stand, Little Feet. Despite being mocked by his peers, Formaggio is determined to prove that his stand, which can shrink objects as long as he can will it, isn’t as useless as it sounds. He and Narancia have a chaotic and bloody battle, and the way he ruthlessly pursues this young kid sets the standard for the story--these are gangsters and they’ll fight tooth and nail for power within the same organization. Narancia, his hand forced, goes from an unassuming kid that can barely read to just as much a violent mafia enforcer when he needs to defend himself, and it’s this flip in perspective that makes their battle so memorable. Cars are wrecked and blood is spilled as Formaggio tries to shrink Narancia and feed him to rats as well as throw shrunk down pieces of furniture from his pocket before expanding them in mid air.

A stand that can reduce objects’ size is much more suited to killing than one may realize--we see an assassination courtesy of Formaggio in a restaurant where he shrinks down a car and drops it into the drink of a politician the team’s been hired to kill. The politician unwittingly swallows the car, cuing Formaggio to release his powers, expanding the car inside his target and tearing him apart from the inside. I love Araki’s talent for coming up with idiosyncratic and unique powers that feel more like creative and intelligent phenomenon than mere “this guy gets fire powers and this guy gets shrinking powers”, and Formaggio is just one exception among the deadly hitmen lurking within La Squadra. Next on the list is IIluso, and to be blunt he’s the one I have the least to say about. He has very little personality to speak of outside of being a sort of indiscreet jerk even among his peers (quicker than anyone to call Formaggio’s stand useless and to air Sorbet and Gelato’s dirty laundry that they were an item). Even his stand, Man in the Mirror, I just feel is a poor man’s version of the part three villain Centerfold and his stand, Hanged Man. It also sucks that the good guy he fights is Fugo, who ends up written out of the story halfway through so he basically helps to introduce a stand that battles once and never shows up again.....Eeeeh, moving on.

The only two who cooperate at once are Prosciutto and Pesci, the duo of mentor and rookie gangsters. The composed and experienced Prosciutto gives lessons on the art of crime and assassination to the nervous Pesci, who at the start of the series has never even killed. Even though they aren’t my personal favorites, I think the short arc Prosciutto and Pesci go through in their chunk of episodes is the most dynamic of the bunch. The first lesson Prosciutto gives Pesci is to act instead of talk, and to have the confidence that he has already killed his foe rather than to be planning to. The unsure Pesci is eager to impress his mentor, who he calls a brother, a term of endearment in the mafia--but he’s easily scared and doesn’t have the constitution that’s expected of him. It doesn’t help that his Stand, Beach Boy, a fishing pole with a line that can go through solid objects, is easy to fumble and not as efficient as Prosciutto’s Grateful Dead, which rapidly ages his targets. But we see an interesting turn occur. Bruno confronts the duo as they ransack the train in search of the Boss’ daughter. With his brother by his side, Pesci actually manages to hold his own with Bruno a fair deal. Beach Boy turns out to be a perfect counter to Bruno’s Sticky Fingers, and Prosciutto is highly complimentary of his protege for the first time. The battle continues as Prosciutto tells Pesci to keep watch at the front of the train, Beach Boy’s line extended while he finishes Bruno off. Things don’t go that way though, and Bruno throws Prosciutto off the train and beneath the tracks. Pesci senses something is off...and sees the aging effects of the Grateful Dead wearing off the train’s passengers. His teacher had died just as he earned his approval.

And in a complete turn, Pesci’s fears disappear as his resolve hardens to fulfill his mission and kill the man that killed his ‘brother’. An angered train passenger calls Pesci ‘mammoni’ (Italian for Mama’s Boy, and the insult the other Squadra members would throw at Pesci) and Pesci takes his first life by killing him on the spot before stopping the train and challenging Bruno to a final duel of honor. I was sincerely rooting for Pesci at this point--he didn’t have good intentions but I was genuinely pretty sad that Bruno ultimately slayed him as well. I kind of really love that a stand as seemingly goofy as Beach Boy proved extremely deadly as he threw the line into Bruno’s chest and tied it around his heart, nearly killing him in a moment that had me on the edge of my seat.

This brings us to La Squadra’s resident freakshow, Melone. Melone is nearly the gang’s mad scientist type, the weirdo everyone lets lick his lips in the corner but they keep around for his brilliance. As if his habit of eyeing potential victims wasn’t enough, his stand is probably the most disturbing in the team--the laptop shaped Babyface. Before he gets his turn to fight, we constantly see Melone people watching and ogling pretty women. It’s hard to imagine this vile gangster having a nice idea of what he wants to do with these women, but when you grow to understand how Babyface works, you realize just how terrifying he is. By attaining the blood of a strong Stand user (in this case, Bruno, which he finds after his fight with Pesci) in the laptop, he can find a victim (preferably to Melone, a beautiful woman) whose body can be combined with the blood to create a living homunculus. The Homunculus has unlimited potential, and Melone can use Babyface to educate him in ways of assassination. I really love the imagery of Melone gently teaching his homunculus like it’s a little child, but precisely what he’s teaching him is torture and murder. It perfectly encompasses his depravity despite fancying himself a savante of sorts. Like most children, Melone finds that his Homunculus is too hot blooded to take orders for long, which proves his undoing. Unable to cooperate, the rapidly pubescent Homunculus fails to cooperate with his ‘father’, and both fall to Jojo’s might. Leaving just one member of la Squadra besides the BIG man himself.

Ghiaccio, my favorite member of la Squadra. From the moment I saw him at the first meeting between the disgruntled assassins, something about such a sleek design offset by such a garish face and the shouting vocal chords of Nobuhiko Okamoto (Bakugo in My Hero Academia) really drew me in. Temperamental and incredibly vocal, Ghiaccio isn’t afraid to say what everyone else is thinking. He calls the check they get from the boss chump change and asserts that la Squadra deserves better. He’s kinda the foundation of the mentality that way--even if everyone else was just too subtle to say so. That’s FAR from the only thing he’s mad about it though. Ghiaccio takes great pride in his Italian blood and detests anyone that would use the American pronunciation of ‘Venice’ for the city of Venezia. He damages his own damn car worked up over mere turns of phrase, a very different personality from the cool headed Prosciutto, intelligent Melone, or bewildered Pesci. Ghiaccio seems bullheaded and brash, but you’re not brash if you can back it up. Ghiaccio takes on both Guido Mista and Jojo with his deadly stand, White Album, which lowers temperatures around him to below sub-zero, to the point that an armor of ice forms around him. Remember how I said the huge strength of Jojo’s is that no one is ever JUST the ice guy or so on? Ghiaccio perfectly encompasses that. He isn’t a cryomancer per se, he just makes things SUPER cold, and has mastered his own ability. He chases the heroes in their car by forming ice skates out of his armor and freezing the road as he travels. Guido, with his sharp shooting Six Pistol stand, finds himself useless because White Album literally freezes the air around Ghiaccio, creating translucent shields that reflect projectile attacks, a tactic Ghiaccio calls “Gently Weeps”.

Ghiaccio may be a tantrum throwing psycho, but his conviction and overall moxie more than provides context to supply his attitude. His final confrontation is fucking BRUTAL. Guido fires away at Ghiaccio, who continually shields himself, not hurt or penetrated, but pushed backwards, into a spike on a light post. The spike barely penetrates the back of Ghiaccio’s neck, while Guido keeps shooting. Every bullet fires back INTO GUIDO, but with every push he shoves Ghiaccio further into the spike. The two literally have a game of chicken for who bleeds out first. But Ghiaccio reveals he’s won because HE HAS FROZEN HIS OWN SPURTING BLOOD, WHICH IS SUPPORTING HIS NECK FROM BEING SKEWERED ANY FURTHER. He outlasts Guido and for all intents and purposes, would have won, had Jojo not revealed himself to have survived his own encounter before he returned to finish the job. Ghiaccio talks of conviction and resolve, and you can’t fault him considering he kept fighting far past the point most would call death. It’s hard to look down on his temper when he’s as goddam hardcore as he is. I also think it's really cool how he counter's Jojo's Golden Experience, which creates life, by creating an inhospitably cold environment around him--I would've loved to see more of him as a foil.

So. Six really good trash boys fall, and all that’s left is the head of the snake, Risotto Nero, the towering boss of the Hitmen who is ready to open a can on those that made fools of his brothers. Risotto is a reasonable boss, he encouraged teamwork (quelling conflict between Illuso and Formaggio), but not to the point of romanticism (encouraging that everyone forget Sorbet and Gelato and move forward.) Despite this, in battle Risotto is anything but soft. Metallica is a microscopic stand that lives within Risotto’s blood stream. The deadly hitman can manifest metal in any shape he desires by focusing on the iron in his target’s blood. Meaning just by using his stand and focusing really hard, he can put nails in your hands, razor blades in your head, and needles in your mouth. Fighting Risotto isn’t a matter of combat, it’s one of torture, befitting to his nature as mafia enforcer. We see him squeezing info from an informant by continually creating and driving nails into his hand--and that’s really what he boils down to. He isn’t the kind to dazzle you with strategy or prove his superiority with incredible skill, he’ll overwhelm you with the most morbid pain he can imagine, and more or less with a mere thought, because it’s his job to kill, extort, and push his victims to their limit until they talk.

And such a dreadful foe doesn’t find himself engaging Jojo, Bruno, or Guido….but Doppio, the meek messenger boy of Passione whose only stand ability is to see ten seconds into the future. Risotto personally bullies the weaker foe and experiences little resistance, laying on excruciating punishment, demanding info on the Boss and his daughter. True to his nature as a mafioso, Risotto declares he’ll torment Doppio as long as it takes, as the sheer pressure forces Doppio to release a latent ability...King Crimson, the stand of the mysterious boss. An ecstatic Risotto realizes Doppio isn’t just the right hand of the boss, he IS Diavolo, the boss, hiding in plain sight. Risotto is about to achieve his dreams by killing the boss..who erases time and saves himself, making way for intervention by Narancia, who riddles Risotto with Aerosmith’s bullets to save who he assumes is the innocent Doppio, who manages to protect his identity for a bit longer. And I think this final end to La Squadra speaks to the tragedy of the team and of the narrative of Jojo Part 5 as a whole. It’s a story of a civil gang war--no one was born evil, they simply picked their sides, and at a certain point, they all had the same enemy in the form of Diavolo. Had no one been deceived by Diavolo’s enigma, Bruno and Risotto’s teams could have cooperated. However, Bruno was serving the boss while Risotto was fighting him, and when paradigms shifted, they were still in the wrong place, destroying each other in the name of an erroneous conflict. Though that may sound like a waste, there is nothing more romantically mafia-esque than dying for your chosen side out of conviction and loyalty. To do so defines being a gangster. You're not expendable if you fought for your brothers. The teachings of Prosciutto, cunning of Illuso, conviction of Ghiaccio, efforts of Pesci, intelligence of Melone, resolve of Formaggio, and capo honor of Risotto all could’ve been assets in another life, but the crossing bullets of a gang war scattered them, and if nothing else, made them insanely memorable villains.

#tommy's favorite villains #Jojo s Bizarre Adventure #la squadra #la squadra di esecuzione #ghaccio #pesci #prosciutto #melone #formaggio #illuso #risotto nero

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thisiswhatwereupagainst · 5 years

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Another array of my fave minor Marvel characters, mainly mutant/X-Men related! Info beneath the cut on each:

Lifeguard - Born in Australia, Heather Cameron and her brother Davis grew up with no idea that their biological father, whom they never knew, had been crime lord Miles Warbeck. Heather did, however, know she was a mutant with the ability to rapidly evolve whatever traits were needed (wings, gills, bulletproof skin, etc) to save herself or another person. She embraced these abilities, and used them in her job as a lifeguard. When her brother and her became targets in a gang war due to the power vacuum left after their bio-father’s death, they joined the X-Men for their own safety, and Heather’s old job became her new codename. The identity of her father, she could take in stride, but not so much the identity of her mother. On a mission in space, Heather began mutating further, showing the traits of an atavistic Shi’ar Royal, suggesting her mother was one (most likely the evil Deathbird). Her mindset changed as well, and she was horrified to find she viewed everyone around her as prey now. Her brother Davis, aka Slipstream, did not undergo such changes himself, and rejected Heather for hers, stating that “that THING is not my sister!” He has not been seen since, but Lifeguard has continued to work with the X-Men off-panel as a member of X-Corps. Monet St. Croix - Intelligent, beautiful, and rich, Monet Yvette Clarisse Maria Therese St. Croix has been described as “perfect” by many, a sentiment that she openly and wholeheartedly agrees with. The daughter of an ambassador from Monaco, this spoiled and haughty but still heroic mutant boasts an array of powers including flight, super-strength, and limited telepathy. Her siblings (a villainous vampire-like older brother named Marius and two younger twin sisters, Nicole and Claudette) are mutants as well, and all the siblings can merge with each other to form various combinations. Monet got her start as a teenager in Generation X, where she used the codename “M” but she went simply by her civilian name as an adult when she served in X-Corps, X-Factor, and the X-Men. Monsoon - Aloba Dastoor is a mutant from Mumbai who can control the weather like the much more well-known Storm. He was the younger brother of Radha “Haven” Dastoor, a saintly philanthropist who helped the poor and needy as well as being a supporter of mutant rights. When his beloved sister gained extraordinary superpowers of her own and began a crusade to destroy the world and bring the Mahapralaya (a sort of Hindu apocalypse), Monsoon at first followed her, blinded by his idolization. Unbeknownst to him, Haven had been possessed by a demon that had given her these powers and was making her act this way. Despite his love and reverence for her, Monsoon eventually had to accept she was doing evil, and, believing she had gone mad and must be stopped, betrayed her to X-Factor and the government. Haven disowned him as a result, and they do not seem to have gotten the chance to reconcile before her untimely demise by the demon that had warped her so. Monsoon’s whereabouts since are unknown, but he is listed as one of the mutants to have lost his powers on M-Day. Astarte - Astarte is one of the Eternals, immortal and extremely powerful beings that were engineered from early humans by the Celestials. Astarte boasted the immense and myriad powers common to all her species, as well as the individual ability to influence and control men. She was a member of The Damocles Foundation, an organization of Eternals, Deviants, and humans who were tired of the constant battles between the various offshoots of Homo sapiens. They desired to work together for peace, and to this end attempted to create a race of super-beings which could control the Earth, and thus put an end to all warfare. These experiments caused the death of an entire town of children, and brought them into conflict with X-Force. Firewall - The child of a Cambodian woman and an American man of Vietnamese heritage, she has been called both Theary (a Cambodian name) and Min Li Ng (a Vietnamese name) as a civilian. Either way, she is an angry young woman whose temper matches her pyrokinetic powers. She originally believed that her abilities came from accidental exposure to an experimental napalm during the Vietnam War, but she later learned that she was in fact the product of a Cambodian cult that had practiced thousands of years of selective breeding to produce super-powered children. She was originally a member of Force of Nature, a team of four supervillains, each with a power relating to one of the four classical elements, who worked for an eco-terrorist organization. After the truth of her origin was revealed to her, she joined the other children of the cult in The Folding Circle. As a member of Force of Nature, she went by Firewall as a codename, and her Cambodian name as a civilian. After she joined The Folding Circle, she began using the codename Silk Fever, and went by her Vietnamese name as a civilian. Kleinstock - There were originally three Kleinstock brothers, Eric and Harlan and Sven. They were identical triplets from Switzerland, and all of them were mutants, members of the Acolytes (successors to the Brotherhood, first led by Fabian Cortez then by Exodus and Magneto), and absolute assholes, bullies, and idiots. While some mutant supremacists have been noble or sympathetic, the Kleinstocks were simply aggressive, none-too-bright psychopaths who enjoyed killing anyone that was weaker than themselves, including human children and hospital patients. Eric was killed by a shotgun blast in their first mission, and ever since then, Harlan and Sven have merged their bodies together, so that one brother protrudes from the other’s back. Their powers include super-strength in their merged form and the ability to fire plasma blasts. Benazir Kaur - Benazir Kaur could induce or accelerate disease in others, such as making Gambit begin dying immediately of rapid-onset lung cancer the moment she touched him. However, the effects reversed when she was knocked unconscious. Benazir was the White Queen in Shinobi Shaw’s Inner Circle, and while no one can ever truly replace Emma Frost, Benazir sadly never even got much of a chance to try, as she only appeared in one issue, the 1994 X-Men Annual. It’s hard to glean much personality from this sole appearance, but she seems to have penchant for red dresses and playing chess. Red Lotus - Paul Hark is a Chinese Australian mutant with enhanced strength, speed, and agility. He is also the grandson of Father Gow, who ran the Chinese Triad in Sydney. When Gow was murdered, Red Lotus sought revenge against Gambit, who had been framed for the crime, but then allied with him and the X-Men when the real orchestrators were revealed to be a fellow member of the Triad as well as Sebastian Shaw. He attempted to attack (and presumably kill) Sebastian Shaw for this, but later worked with him to infiltrate and shut down a mutant slave ring. He seemed to have some romantic chemistry with Rachel Summers, who saved him from being nearly killed by Selene, but has not been seen since. Gaea - Gaea is an Elder God, one of the first deities to appear on Earth, and it is Earth itself that she represents and embodies. Every earth goddess in every pantheon of gods in the Marvel universe is actually Gaea in disguise, and she is the true biological mother of Thor, whom she conceived with Odin in her guise as Jord, the Norse earth goddess. It was Gaea who favored small mammals over dinosaurs, eventually leading them to evolve in her image as humans, and who allowed the Celestials to experiment on early humans to create the Eternals, the Deviants, and perhaps even plant the potential to become mutants thousands of years later. Though is an immensely powerful being, she rarely interferes directly with any mortal affairs, and in fact is more often in need of rescuing from even greater forces. Gaia - Not to be confused with Gaea, Gaia is a teenage girl from another dimension who is actually thousands of years old, most of which she spent chained to a machine called the Universal Amalgamator at the end of Time, a device that would be used to merge all sentient consciousnesses into one being. Gaia was apparently the safeguard that was supposed to prevent the Amalgamator from being activated by malicious people. When the villainous M-Plate (the fusion of Monet and her brother Marius) traveled to her dimension and attempted to use the Amalgamator, Generation X followed and destroyed the machine. This freed Gaia, who escaped with them back to Earth 616, and became one of their team. While her name would suggest earth-based powers, Gaia’s abilities are actually telepathy, empathy, telekinesis, and reality-warping that allows her to conjure objects from nothing, even making a house and car for herself. Since she had spent centuries chained to one duty, Gaia decided she didn’t want to spend her newfound freedom shackled to another, and left Generation X to live her own life on Earth as a normal person instead of a superhero. Chimera - Chimera is a pirate who comes from an unknown dimension. It is not known if she has any other name, nor exactly WHAT she is, besides that Wolverine says she doesn’t smell quite human. Whatever she is, she demonstrates an ability to generate ectoplasmic bursts that take the form of dragons, which attack foes both physically and psychically. Desiring to plunder the space-time continuum, Chimera came to Earth 616 when she was hired as a mercenary by a villain named Genesis, who wished for her to kill Wolverine. To this end, she worked with the Dark Riders, though of course they did not succeed. She later formed an alliance with Emplate (Monet’s brother again) when when he accidentally opened a portal, summoning her. However she later tried to leave his side, and he incinerated her, seemingly killing her. However, she turned up again, working for Madelyne Pryor’s Sister of Mutants for unknown motives, then turned up as a member (seemingly against her will) of the Marauders. In her early appearances, Chimera has a strange habit of using her hand as a sort of sock puppet that she talks with, often pronouncing her “r” as a “w” in a cutesy way when she does so. This has led to speculation that she’s insane, but I think it’s just a quirk. Black Swan - Princess Yabbat Ummon Turu is from another dimension, and, as a character deeply tied to the Incursion event, is extremely difficult to explain. Long story short, her world and family were destroyed, and she was the only survivor as a child due to being rescued by the Black Swans, who raised her to be one of them and to serve Rabum Alal, the Great Destroyer, who is actually Dr. Doom. As an adult, Black Swan began searching for a refuge where she could regrow her loved ones, killing Earths along the way until she arrived at Earth 616, where she was captured by the Illuminati. She told them about the Incursions, and how the only way to save their own Earth was to destroy another, which she encouraged them to do. Black Swan possess telepathy, flight force fields, super-strength, optic blasts, and a liking for French fries. Lorelei - One of the lesser known members of the Brotherhood of Mutants, Lorelei possessed the ability to hypnotize men with her voice. Despite her alliance, Lorelei is not actually a mutant at all, but one of the Savage Land Mutates, native people of the Savage Land (a sort of “land that time forgot” in Marvel comics canon) whom Magneto artificially mutated using a machine. Lorelei was apparently his favorite of the bunch, as he brought her back with him from the Savage Land to serve in his Brotherhood, though she seems to have returned back to her homeland offscreen. This is good for her, since she seems to be quite innocent and simple-minded, and had little idea of what was going on, why she was fighting, and even what her powers were (”Can Lorelei stop making strange noise now?” she asked Magneto once) Zaladane - The sorceress Zaladane is a far less innocent resident of the Savage Land than Lorelei. And unlike Lorelei, she claims she is not a native at all, but the long-lost sister of Polaris! Zaladane kidnapped Polaris and used a machine to transfer her magnetic powers to herself. She used these abilities to conquer the Savage Land, then did the same to Magneto so that she could take over the world next. Of course, her plan was thwarted, and the magnetic powers returned to their rightful owners…and the first thing Magneto did with them was slaughter her. But what of her claims that her name wasn’t Zaladane, but Zala Dane? Could she really be the sister to Lorna Dane? Retcons made to Lorna’s backstory later would make this impossible, but at the time this story was written, Dr. Moira MacTaggert confirmed that the power transferral device that Zala used could only be used between genetic relatives, so who knows! Minxi - This Inhuman lass was the daughter of common criminals, but a good girl herself. Minxi was the handmaiden of Queen Medusa, and stuck by her side when she had to flee to Earth to have her son Ahura, whom the Genetic Council had wanted to terminate for fear of what powers (and what madness) he might have inherited from his father’s side. Minxi’s power to temporarily take on the physical traits of any animal she touched was useless in the Inhuman city of Attilan, where there were no animals, but it proved to be useful on Earth so that she could catch food for Medusa and the others who had come with her. However, Minxi also took on the mental traits of the animals as well, often leaving her horrified by her feral actions when she returned to her right mind. Minxi might seem a little vapid when it comes to Captain America (”The one with the hair…and the eyes…”) but she had the good sense to point out that pure intentions and a good heart don’t negate the consequences of unwise actions. Despite her low birth, Minxi was romantically pursued by two of the Inhuman Royal Family, Karnak and Gorgon, though it is unknown if anything came of either man’s interest in her. Auran - Auran was an Inhuman cop who gave her life in the line of duty to save her partner. She was also a single mother of twin girls, who sought to resurrect her with the powers of another Inhuman, Reader. They succeeded, but what came back wasn’t actually Auran—it was everyone’s memories of who Auran was. Some of these memories contradicted each other (some people liked her, some thought she was a jerk, some misunderstood how her powers worked, etc) and it thrust the new “Auran” into conflicted madness. After her mind was healed by a telepathic Inhuman, the new Auran set out on her own to come to terms with her new existence as a living memory. Her Inhuman abilities are a pair of large, rabbit-like ears that allow her to choose any word and hear it wherever it is spoken, no matter how far away.

#marvel #marvel comics #marvel fanart #x men #xmen

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