The Stormcrow, A Superhero's Tale Options

[Acadian]

A fascinating discussion of magic!

I like how Branwen explained how ‘sticks’ (wands and, I presume, staves), while not necessary in the hands of a well-skilled mage can help project or focus one’s magic. The reason that strikes close to home is that, in time, Buffy will learn to use a staff to help overcome her inability to project her healing magic beyond the reach of her hands.

You continue to superbly contrast the speaking styles of Jan and Bran to wonderful effect. Awesomesauce! Er, I mean. . . most palatable.

The latter part of this episode was a hoot as the two ladies freely moved between real world magic and RPG magic during their discussion. Given Jan’s gaming background – which we can all relate to here at Chorrol – referring to her magic as mana makes perfect sense.

[Renee]

Ah, thanks for explaining about Branwen. So she did not have all those super powers for most of her existence. I like the way she had some more ordinary jobs here and there.

[censored], I didn't know the Great Lakes had pirates! Of course it'd be possible though,

I'll have to read more Lovecraft as it gets to be summer. I have a habit of reading in my backyard as weather gets summery instead of playing videogames. Haven't read Dreams in the Witch House yet, so it'll be interesting to compare any similarities.

Have you heard of Dark Matter by Blake Crouch? There's a scientist who builds a box which I'm now realizing could be similar to the Tardis. This box can link up to any of the zillions of alternate realities which supposedly surround us.

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

"So why isn't everyone running around zapping things with wands?" January wondered.

I know the answer! Oooh ooh, Mister Kotter! It is .... Because we don't believe, or suspend out disbelief, at the very least. Branwen basically agrees a few sentences later.

Aw, Jan causes the Raven to faintly smile with her Rome comeback.

== "Did you just quote Yoda?" ... "Who?"

"Wow," January heard herself say. "That's sick!"

"It is not ill," Branwen narrowed her eyes in consternation.

Uh oh, Blood Raven's going to spend an evening rolling dice! I have a feeling Jan is going to educate her mentor just as much.

This post has been edited by Renee: Feb 26 2020, 03:35 PM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: The stick discussion is something I learned in the Wicca 101 books I read back in the 90s. All that eye of newt and tongue of bat stuff is just theater. It can help you focus, but that is because you believe it helps you focus. In the end, they are just props. The real power is always within you.

In Shadowrun things like wands and staffs can be two different magical objects: fetishes and foci. When you learn a spell you have the option of making it require a fetish to cast it. This gives you a bonus in the spell's power, or makes it cause less drain. The tradeoff is you cannot cast it without the fetish. A focus is your basic magic item. A spell focus gives you extra power for a specific class of spells, like combat or healing. A power focus gives you extra power across the board. They are really expensive.

It sounds like Buffy is learning some 2nd Era ESO magic! It is nice to have some drawbacks or counter-balances to your characters. Otherwise they can start to seem too uber and just become annoying. So needing a wand or staff or other ingredient to do something can be a good thing. It puts some real limits on them. It is something I always grapple with in this tale, because, superheros. I can keep January seeming down to earth because I can always compare her to Blood Raven. Also, her magic only works when she couches it in terms of the elements. Because that is just how she thinks. It is all in her head. Keeping Blood Raven down to earth is much more difficult. I am coming to find that her being a vampire is her biggest disadvantage, rather than greatest power.

I am basically rolling with both ideas in the Crow-verse. Most people who use wands or staffs do so because they believe they need to. Some people know they don't need them, but instead use them because they are enchanted to give them extra power. It does not even need to be a staff or wand. It could be anything, a ring, a tie-tack, a cufflink, an earring, a lucky coin, a phone, you name it.

The dialogue with Blood Raven and Jan is something, as always, I pay extra attention to. Sometimes it is just as hard keeping Jan and Avery's dialogue appropriate with modern slang as it is making Blood Raven's old fashioned.

The gaming stuff is naturally a treat to finally be able to write about.


Renee: I did not know the Lakes had pirates either! I only started researching it recently when I was working on Blood Raven's history. None of them are as impressive as Blackbeard of course. One of them was even some kind of religious cult leader whose flock lived on an island. Another one was active even into the 1900s. I may adapt the cult one to be more nefarious than in real life, and use that. They could have been a bunch of Deep Ones living in the Great Lakes.

Dreams in the Witch House is one of Lovecraft's better ones. I don't like all the Witch-bashing in it. But I do like all the mathematics that it uses to reach alternate realities instead of magic. It is an example of how his later work moved away from using magical and religious ideas, to science instead. The gods like Cthulhu were not gods at all, but alien beings from somewhere else. Medieval magic was not the way to call upon higher powers, but rather cutting edge physics was. In many ways he went from being a gothic horror writer to a science fiction writer. The HPLHS has an excellent radio drama of it here. I highly recommend it.

Jan will be teaching Blood Raven as much as she is learning. Not so much about RPGs, as I don't see Blood Raven as a gamer, but just about the modern world in general, and embracing life. While Blood Raven makes for an excellent mentor in magicing and superheroing, Jan herself in an excellent mentor for being a part of the world.






Ms Marvel Tee

Trajan's Column

The Bayeux Tapestry





Book 4.5 - Pride

"So what are comic books?" January stared out at the room filled with bright young faces. And bright bored faces. And bright runny-nosed faces. And bright, interested faces. Lots of bright, and lots of young, and lots of faces.

And she was standing in front of them all trying not to act like an idiot.

She reminded herself that this was no different from teaching martial arts classes at the dojo. Only today she was wearing leggings and a Ms. Miracle tee rather than a karategi. But Karate, Muay-Thai, and Krav Maga were all old hat to her. She never got nervous teaching them. They were as much a part of her life as breathing after all.

So were comics. She was just not used to talking about them in front of a room full of people. She yearned for the halcyon days of slugging it out with Whitewater Security.

"Well that's a dumb question right?" January went on, to a chorus of low chuckles. "We all know what comic books are. Or do we?"

She nodded to her mother across the Warren Civic Center Library's spacious conference room. The red-haired librarian tapped a key on her laptop, and the projector it was cabled up to spilled an image across the wall behind January. It showed a series of stone carvings that climbed up a wide column. Depicted on it were images of Roman legionaries battling barbarians, gathering up livestock, or just standing around talking.

"This is Trajan's column," January explained. "It was built almost 2,000 years ago by a Roman Emperor. He wanted to show off how cool he was after conquering the barbarians. Like they used to say, statues or it didn't happen."

That brought some giggles from the room, and January nodded to her mother for the next slide. This one showed a series of panels of a futuristic warrior in a space ship, accompanied by a sidekick that looked like a cross between a dinosaur and a dog. The space warrior piloted his ship through a ferocious battle, blasting alien spacecraft through panel after panel.

"This is a page from last week's issue of Jet Gladiator," she continued. "Does anyone see the similarities between the two?"

Dead silence greeted her. January's heart did not stop however. Her mother had warned her that people were often slow to speak out in groups. Sometimes they just needed a little prodding.

"Let's go back and look at the Romans," January said, and her mother backed up the presentation slide to the image showing Trajan's Column.

"Let me see, it must be the clothes right?" January said. That brought more laughter. "No, that's not it."

"They both have pictures!" a young boy cried from the back.

"Yes, they both have pictures!" January agreed. "Thank you for playing! You win a comic book. What do you like, Wolfstone the Barbarian, or our friend here Jet Gladiator?"

"Wolfstone!" came the cry.

"By the Gods of Steel!" January growled in as low a barbaric voice as she could muster. She picked up the latest issue of the half-orc barbarian's adventures and walked out to hand it to the boy, who could not have been older than nine. "Good choice my young Padawan. Maybe when you get a little older you will try reading the novels by the writer - Howard E. Roberts. They are full of action and excitement, and fearless heroes who always do what they think is right, in spite of the consequences."

Kind of like capes, except she was not nearly as fearless as the half-orc warrior. Nor was she anywhere near as heedless of the repercussions of her actions.

"So why am I bringing up this boring stuff?" January nodded to her mother, who advanced the presentation to a slide of the Bayeux Tapestry. "Because when we read comics - and I read them too - we are taking part in a very ancient tradition: using a series of pictures to tell a story."

"Some people might say that comics are just for kids." January hunched her back over, and thinned out her voice into a creaking parody of an old woman. "They think we should grow out of them when we get old and decrepit like I am."

"But the truth is we never outgrow stories, and we never should." January straightened up and let her voice go back to normal. "We think in stories. When we don't have them, we even make them up. Because we want a narrative to explain why things happen in life. Those narratives can teach us, inspire us, show us who we could be, and who we shouldn't be. They also help pass the time when the Wi-Fi is down."

That brought some more laughs. January continued on with her short presentation, telling the kids an extremely short version of how modern comic books got started in America. She wrapped up with how they were evolving into the new age. From all comics being released digitally as well as on paper, to things like web comics that never had a single hardcopy ever printed.

"Almost anyone can make a comic book these days," January ended. "If you have a story to tell, and you can draw a picture, you can make your own comic. You don't have to work for a big company. You don't need a ton of money. Maybe one day, one of you will make the next Jet Gladiator. Now how about we read some comics?"

The children cheered. January suspected it was more because it was time to start passing out the comics than from her speech. But that was fine. As long as they had fun reading, that was all that really mattered. Plus she had survived it. January knew that being challenged and growing as a person was supposed to be important. But it did not come without anxiety. She was glad that being challenged was over for the day, and she could go back to being her ordinary self.

Her mother turned off the projector and came up to help pass out comics for the children to read. When they were all loaded up with books and found spots to start reading quietly, she turned to January.

"So why don't you write a comic?"

[Acadian]

Thank you for your insights on fetishes and foci. My enhanced interest is fueled by a couple things. Staves are (for the first time in Elder Scrolls history!) good weapons in ESO. Secondly, ESO NPCs often require you to help them find a focus object to help them cast a spell that is necessary to open a portal, lift a magical ward, request key information from a spirit or other such arcanery needed to progress things along.

*

Oh yes – that old Roman saying, ‘Statues or it didn’t happen.’

A fun episode!

January’s nervousness is this unfamiliar arena of rugrats who are known for being blissfully unfamiliar with tact was understandable. Preparation, perseverance and some courage served her well though. In fact, the fledgling teacher managed her class magnificently. A+ I say.


Nit? - - ’This one showed a series of panels of a futuristic warrior in {a?} space ship,’

This post has been edited by Acadian: Feb 29 2020, 09:21 PM

[Renee]

That radio drama looks intriguing. Thanks. Another 20 bucks though. I'd better finish up the Lovecraft book I already have first. Thanks, though.

Aw, well Jan is doing a good job in front of the class so far. She has them giggling at least. Yes, because the thing is when she's in front of one of her martial arts classes, she is in front of people who are there mostly specifically to learn about martial arts. But she's doing well as a comic book speaker. I am getting flashbacks to guest speakers in my own schooling.

Off-topic, but I recently learned in Japan, street cops don't have a need to carry guns, but they must know martial arts. That's so deep.

While Blood Raven makes for an excellent mentor in magicing and superheroing, Jan herself in an excellent mentor for being a part of the world.

Absolutely. Blood Raven is awesome but being more in-touch with modern civilization could help her for sure.

Nice. She's giving comic books away as rewards. That's awesome. It's also ironic. Because surely there have been zillions of classrooms ever since the 1950s in which reading a comic book in class could merit a pink slip!

Delightful chapter, hon.

[Darkness Eternal]

4.3:

Jan is such a mamma's girl. Blood Raven continues to pass on her wise words to Jan, and if there's one thing that rings true, is that people can be fickle, and circumstances can change just as fast as the weather. A lesson Jan needs to understand from the beginning. It is for sure a challenge cape-wearers must deal with.

Had she been there for their births, watched them grow, watched them die? How many identities had she been forced to juggle across that time?
This was an interesting part. As an immortal, one has to adopt an assumed identity throughout to countless years to cover their own tracks. I'd imagine as a person staying in one area for too long, people would begin to notice, and unless there is a credible explanation as to why he/she won't age, one must move on and "become someone else" per se.

The room was very appropriate! I like it.

4.4:

Forgot to point out that I like the chapter name. Very appropriate.

We continue to learn more about magic, and it is very fascinating to read. I'm learning just as much as Jan is. Magic having different names in different cultures is so true, and those names are all familiar.

"That is what most RPGs call it."
To be honest I grew up with 'mana' too. And now 'magicka'.

What I really like about Jan is despite it all, her hurts and unfortunate circumstances, and nearly giving up, she was able to withstand and stand tall. Very inspiring. And her sense of humor had me laughing my rear off.

"Ok Boomer,"
I'm dead.

[SubRosa]

Acadian: In the Mythica movies, magicians often had to use alchemical ingredients to cast spells. So you would need something like fire salts to case a fire spell. The ingredient was essentially the ammunition. That gave magic a real check, to keep it from being too uber. It is an idea I have filed away for future thought. It might be something I could used in an idea I have for a character called Artemis Argent (whom we will hear more about in the Crowverse, as she is a character January invents).

This was a nice episode in that it showed January stepping out of her comfort zone and doing something somewhat new. The confidence gained and experience will certainly help her in her future encounters with the public, both as Jan the writer and Stormcrow the cape. The final sentence by her mom will also have a significant effect on her future.

Thanks for the nit. In spite of having gone over that particular section at least a dozen times, little things like that still slip through.


Renee: The $20 is only for the cd. The mp3 version is cheaper, I think $12.50 or so. All of HPLHS's radio dramas come in multiple formats, with the mp3s being cheapest. I always buy the mp3s. I have not listened to a cd in a decade at least.

One of the ways I keep Blood Raven from seeing too uber, and hopefully just more accessible as a person, is that she is somewhat out of touch with modern times. You will see a lot of that in her interactions with January. They really do make a great pair, because they are so different in so many ways.

Oops, Jan's presentation was not in a school, but at the city library. I went back and tried to fix that up a bit to make it more clear.


Darkness Eternal: It would be difficult to be an immortal and still try to remain in the lives of your family and descendants. Because of necessity you cannot remain one place and one identity for too long. Then on top of that you have to keep finding ways to put yourself back in your descendants lives without anyone recognizing you. Talk about a serious juggling act!

The chapter title will become much more clear in today's episode.

The thing I like best about writing January is that in spite of all the trials and tribulations in her life, she still stands tall. She is an inspiration, but still has enough foibles to remain down to earth and ordinary, in her own caped way.

I am glad someone got the OK Boomer line!




Jamie McKelvie Art


Russell Dauterman Art


Star Of India restaurant

Ferndale Pride 2019 Pic 01

Ferndale Pride 2019 Pic 02

Ferndale Pride 2019 Pic 03

Ferndale Pride 2019 Pic 04

Ferndale Pride 2019 Pic 05





Book 4.6 - Pride

Her mother's question was still reverberating around January's head when she left work from the dojo the next afternoon. Of course the presentation of a comic would be totally different from writing prose. She would have to think about writing in panels and pages. But she already framed the events of her stories in her head by thinking of how they would play out in a movie. She could translate that into a graphical format with little effort, hopefully.

She would have to find a penciller, an inker, and a colorist, of course. Or one gifted artist with the time and skill to do all three. She had no idea how to find such a person. Maybe she could take an art class during the summer? She knew she was never going to be a Jamie McKelvie or Russell Dauterman. But maybe she could learn enough to draw breakdowns to pass along to the real artists. She had read that Neil Gaiman did that.

"Hello America, this is Gilda Gadlfy, bringing you all the dish on our caped and cowled friends."

January knew she should not waste her time on a trite rumor-monger like Gilda. But now that she wore a cape herself, she just could not resist hearing what was going in the superhero world. Or at least what the non-supers thought was going on. Of course it had nothing to do with wanting to hear her own name on the radio. Nope, not one bit.

"Today our friends in the Motor City are celebrating Pride Day in the suburb of Ferndale. A little birdy told this reporter that our favorite feathered heroine Stormcrow might be in attendance. Word has it that the festival committee has reached out to the Crowgirl and asked her to come up on stage. Ever since the bombshell was dropped that she is a lesbian, or isn't she, everyone has been wondering what side of the bun our favorite Detroit cape spreads her butter on. Come on girl, you can tell us. Give us all the dish!"

January shook her head. She had no idea that this would happen when she told that gas station attendant that she was gay. She had just been trying to let him down easy when he was hitting on her. Never mind that it was true.

"In other news, the trial of former Senator Wade Harding of Michigan continues into its fourth week. Michigan Attorney General Dana Essen introduced evidence that Harding allegedly laundered money from Russia into numerous real estate deals. This is in addition to the charges that the senator used his non profit organization - named Non Profit 1488 - to funnel money illegally into his political campaign. He is also charged with using the non profit's finances to buy himself a million dollar boat, which he calls the Warfighter. It appears that of the millions of dollars raised by his ComeFundMe campaign for Non Profit 1488, none of it went toward that organization's murky goals of furthering promoting economic nationalism and American sovereignty.

January shut off the radio as a new announcer droned on about the latest political scandal, which was notable in that for once it did not involve the president.

Her phone chimed, and she looked down at the new text that had popped up.

You here yet?

She typed furiously with her thumbs, and sent Avery a reply.

Coming up to Star of India.

January lowered her phone, but did not put it back in her purse just yet. She wore a rainbow halter top that left her abs on display, along with a miniskirt that showed off her legs. A Make America Gay Again hat graced her head, with her long blond hair pulled through the back in a ponytail.

She would normally never wear anything so incredibly eye-catching. But today she looked quite tame and ordinary compared to the people who flooded the street around her. It was Pride day, and downtown Ferndale was packed to the brim with brightly colored people. There was a belly dancer, and a woman beside her who wore an exotic outfit of numerous veils all layered one over the other. Someone was dressed in a full cheetah costume, wearing a tank top over it emblazoned with a rainbow-colored housecat. Many people wore rainbow capes, or had their faces painted with bright colors. Some even wore entirely ordinary clothing, and on a day like today, they were the ones who stood out the most.

The great thing about Pridefest was that it was the only day of the year that was not about being ordinary. Well that and Halloween.

She saw a black man's head rising above the crowd, and put her phone away with a smile. She suppressed a fangirl squee as she slipped past a stormtrooper, a Princess Leia with purple hair, and a Sabine Wren with blue hair. She was just about to tap Avery on the shoulder when he turned around to face her.

For a moment she thought he had worn just ordinary clothes. Then she noted that his orange shirt said "Homo Depot", rather than the familiar logo of a certain home improvement store. She smiled, and he gathered her up in a warm hug.

"Careful, someone might think we are a straight couple," January breathed.

"This is like the only place that will never happen," Avery laughed.

"So how has your first week in the Witch House been?" Avery asked. "Seen any ghouls or goblins yet?"

He led them out into the street. Nine Mile had been blocked off at either end and now each side of the road was lined with kiosks devoted to every sort of outreach organization there was. Even an animal shelter had set up with rows of dogs and cats in little cages. All through the street between people wandered, danced, and schmoozed.

Through it all January never once felt self-conscious, or worried about someone reading her.

"Not even a kobold," January said. "The house hasn't disappeared either. We did get the electric turned up on Wednesday, and water on Thursday. So no more taking sponge baths with Aquafina. We got pellets for the wood burning stove too, it's very energy efficient."

"But you don't like, cook on it right?" Avery wondered.

"It's not that kind of stove," January said. "It's the furnace kind. It's very energy efficient, and the pellets are made from sawdust and other scrap wood that just gets thrown away otherwise."

"Sweet," Avery nodded. "You know I could probably put a nuclear reactor in. I've been working on another one this week, trying to miniaturize it."

January wondered if he meant to shrink it down small enough to be put in say, a suit of powered armor? But she did not say that out loud.

"I'm not sure what my mother would say about that," January murmured. "Besides, I thought you might want to keep that stuff on the down low, know what I mean?"

"Well she already knows I have the cold fusion in my car," Avery insisted. "Besides, we don't have to tell her it's a fusion reactor. Oh, hey, and I've got something for you."

He opened up a little paper bag that he held in one hand, and held it out so that she could see inside. January saw a baseball-sized gizmo within, with a ring and pin on one end, like on a hand grenade.

"It's my first adhesive wave emitter," Avery said proudly. "Pull that pin, and in five seconds everything nearby sticks together. The battery is limited though, so use it sparingly."

January nodded, and unobtrusively tucked the immobilizing weapon into her purse. It would have come in handy during her fights with Archie a few weeks before. Of course something like an arcane bolt spell would be nice too, if she could ever learn to cast it correctly.

"So are you meeting that fireman's sister here?" Avery teased. "You know, the one with the…"

"No I am not," January declared. "That's the last thing I need in life right now. But what about you? Are you going to hook up with someone?"

"I already did," Avery said.

"You dog you!" January laughed. "Spill already!"

"He was ok. Had these abs that were just fire." Avery gazed across the street wistfully. "But the more we talked, the more I realized that he was lame. He had never even heard of Babylon 5, and you can just forget Farscape."

"You know, if you keep your standards so high, you are going to end up like me," January observed.

"There are worse fates," Avery mused. "Besides, I'm not a monk yet!"

January stopped at the sight in the street before her. There were always plenty of sights at Pridefest. But this one hit home. It was a child around nine or ten, January guessed a boy from the bone structure of their face, but she could have been wrong. Not that it really mattered. They wore a Stormcrow costume: cape, winged helmet, crow insignia on the chest, everything. It was pretty good too. Much better than the Nightgirl costume she had worn for Halloween when she was nine.

The junior Stormcrow was walking along holding the hand of an older man, who January imagined must be their father. Beside them was a second man, also holding hands with the first adult. Husbands? Even just ten years ago, she never would have seen that. At least not without a triple murder taking place…

"You inspire people," Avery breathed quietly in her ear. She felt him lay an arm across her shoulders, and she leaned her head against his shoulder. She could not help but to smile. Maybe there was something good in the human race after all?

"Hey, have you thought any more about what the organizers said?"

"About me getting up on stage?" January broke off their contact, and shook her head. "No. I'm not going to do it. What would I say? Rah for the home team? I'm not a cheerleader. I wouldn't know what to even say, or do."

"Come on, you could do Karate demonstrations, like Elvis!" Avery laughed.

That did provoke a smile from January, along with an eye roll. "I left all my rhinestones at home."

"Seriously, you said you survived the comic thing at the library yesterday," Avery replied. "So what's a few rainbow-huggers compared to that?"

"That was different," January explained. "It was for the kids, hopefully to get them reading. This just seems… self-indulgent. Like all these Instantgram influencers and Cardassians, famous for being famous. It can't be about me. It has to be about them."

January pointed to the mini-Stormcrow tagging along with their two dads in the street ahead of them.

"I get that, and I'm the first one to be all about staying on the down low," Avery said. "But when it came out that you were a lesbian, it changed the conversation. America's first openly gay superhero. Sort of, because you have never really came out and said it directly."

"Well there was never really a good opportunity during my fights with Archie or Whitewater," January said wryly.

"I know," Avery held his hands up in self-defense. "But this, this is the opportunity. You could tell people what you are, and what you stand for."

"And give all the incels and homophobes even more to troll about on social media," January rolled her eyes.

"I know you aren't afraid of that," Avery said.

"Of course not," January said. Being insulted and threatened by bigots was just an everyday part of life after all. It was the same as having to brush her teeth and shower. "But why does it have to matter?"

"It does matter," Avery insisted. "Remember when you came out, and your parents didn't want to believe you? That's because they didn't know the first thing about trans people, or what being trans even was. This is an opportunity to get people talking, so that doesn't happen to some other kid."

January wanted to lash out and say that she shouldn't have to do outreach for people too ignorant to accept reality. Or that the onus of being the poster girl for the entire Queer community should not lie upon her shoulders. But she didn't. Instead she remembered the therapy sessions she had been forced to take after she had attempted suicide. She thought of what she had learned about communicating with people. She breathed deeply, and felt her mana wash through her like cool water.

"I know what you are saying, and I understand why you feel that way," January said. "But wearing the cape is not as easy as punching bad guys. There are moral and ethical implications to everything I do. If I stand up there, is it really about doing the right thing? Or is it about flattering my ego? When does one end and the other begin? Worse, if I do, isn't that just going to put a giant target on this festival? Not just now, but for years to come? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. So isn't it also encouraging white supremacist capes to do the same in response, and incite even more hate and fear everywhere? Now I see why Blood Raven stays in the shadows, and why the Sentinels have a PR person."

"You're right," Avery said, "you're right. It's so much simpler just sitting in my basement making gadgets. But you gotta come out of the basement sometime."

"That's why I had to learn Karate," January breathed.

Avery laughed, and just that easily the tension that had built up between them deflated like a split tire.

[Acadian]

Yay, Gilda Gadfly again!
’Of course it had nothing to do with wanting to hear her own name on the radio. Nope, not one bit.’ - -

Fun descriptions of those colorful folk at the festival.

And Avery gives her a glue grenade! That should prove useful.

"Not even a kobold," January said.’
Oh, I remember those from Baldur’s Gate.

Jan faces a dilemma. Though she does not rely on the support of ‘fans’ like an entertainer, she does rely on the support of law enforcement so how others perceive her certainly impacts her effectiveness. Another consideration is the potential risk to her secret identity; shrouding herself in mystery helps preserve not only her identity but, I should think, the safety of her family. ‘What would Blood Raven advise, and why?’ might be a relevant question for Jan to consider as the older cape certainly has much more experience on the potential ramifications of the choice Jan faces than dear Avery. Regardless, it is a thorny question and I look forward to learning how Jan resolves it.


Nit: ’January nodded, and unobtrusively tucked the immobilizing weapon in into her purse.’ - - An errant ‘in’ slipped in.

[Renee]

She would have to find a penciller, an inker, and a colorist, of course. Or one gifted artist with the time and skill to do all three. She had no idea how to find such a person.

Maybe one of her friends mentioned previously has some artistic talent? The friends who went to that concert?

Aw, it's Pridefest. We have our own version down here too, in B'more. Been over a decade since I've gone, though.

Ha! They want her to show her pride. All because she wanted the cashier she bought that soda from to stop his pursuit.

Some even wore entirely ordinary clothing, and on a day like today, they were the ones who stood out the most.

Ain't that the truth?

Avery is working on another nuclear reactor. He's so casual about it.

Aw, a mini-Stormcrow. :blush: That's sweet. That really must hit home. And I agree with her thoughts about going on stage. It's just not the right time, I'd imagine. Too early. Too much has happened. Maybe she (as Stormcrow) even needs to lie low as she's been doing, for awhile. So much has happened.

[Darkness Eternal]

4.5:

"It would be difficult to be an immortal and still try to remain in the lives of your family and descendants. Because of necessity you cannot remain one place and one identity for too long

So true. It is a constant life of moving, disguises, new identities, etc. A bit lonely I imagine.

Oh this was a short chapter but nonetheless a good one. It sure isn't easy to stand in front of a many-faced audience, but Jan did it so well in spite of her worries of making a fool of herself. I've learned something just as new as the students.


"It was built almost 2,000 years ago by a Roman Emperor. He wanted to show off how cool he was after conquering the barbarians. Like they used to say, statues or it didn't happen."
This was funny. And just randomly throwing this out there, as I'm reading this there is a series called Roman Empire playing on my television. How appropriate.

It was pretty cool to know about the origins of comic books from the past and the modern-day. I'm sure she felt great sharing this with the students, as her own life is comic-book worthy. No doubt she felt a strong connection with comics. Why doesn't she write one, indeed?

4.6:

The idea of a comic book begins to form! A comic writing super-heroine? That's pretty kickass.

Ferndale Pride certainly looks fun and vivid, just as the diverse people that make it come to life. Jan herself had quite the outfit, and the descriptions provided were great!

Sabine Wren! I spotted the Rebels fan!

"Through it all January never once felt self-conscious, or worried about someone reading her."
A liberating experience! She feels quite welcome here. No judgement at all. Just freedom of expression!

Neat little gizmo Avery's got there!

Hmm, I understood both sides of the argument here between Jan and Avery. On one side, Stormcrow can come out as the first gay transgender superhero, but as she said it, there are consequences to her every choice, and not all of them are easy. In such a delicate yet harsh world, she has to be very wise in everything she does. Equal and opposite reactions for sure!

Great chapter!

This post has been edited by Darkness Eternal: Mar 14 2020, 05:11 AM

[SubRosa]

Acadian: I am having fun with using Gilda to convey general information about the goings on in the Crowverse. She will probably appear at least once in every chapter from now on.

We will see what that glue grenade can do very soon!

I remember kobolds from the old days of playing D&D. Only half a hit die, so easy to kill in a straight up fight. But they loved traps, which made them annoying.

Blood Raven would of course advise to remain in the shadows. Of course she would also remind Jan to follow her own stars, because she cannot live Jan's life. They will have more than one talk about it in the future.

Thanks for spotting that extra 'in' that slipped in there.


Renee: One of those Knights of Nerddom might indeed be an artist! Be on the lookout for that a few chapters from now.

I have not been to Ferndale Pride in a long time too. I got my cat Freya from an animal shelter my first time there. The shelter had a kiosk at the festival, with lots of cats and dogs. I saw Freya in one and fell in love with her.

I love how casual Avery is about things like fusion reactors too! To him it is like talking about a toaster he fixed.

The mini-crow was inspired by an episode of Supergirl, where group of kids in a school talent show all did a song in supergirl outfits. Of course the real Supergirl was there in the audience, as one of her friend's daughters was in the show. It was a nice way of showing the positive impact she was having on people's lives. She gave people inspiration.


Darkness Eternal: Jan's experience talking in front of all the kids is actually going to be a major event in her life, as it has given her the confidence to be ready to speak out in public. Something we will see her doing in the future.

I loved seeing that Sabine Wren in Pridefest pics. She was my favorite character in Rebels, because she was the most interesting. Those pictures are all from the 2019 festival.

The issue of Stormcrow coming out is still not resolved in January's mind. As much as she is trying to think logically and strategically, in the end her final decision will simply be based on what she can live with, or not live with, doing.






Uniroyal Giant Tire

The Fist of Joe Louis

Deets


Downtown Ferndale - the site of Pride

January's route back to her motorcycle

Rosie O' Grady's and the side street south


The Conjurer's theme - something to listen to while you read


Book 4.7 - Pride

"So if you were a superhero, what would you call yourself?" January changed the subject. It took an effort to say "if" rather than "when".

"Me? No way am I wearing a cape." Avery shook his head. "Way too much attention, and you can keep all of these philosophical quandaries for yourself."

"But if you did," January pressed. "I know, The Big Tire, or The Fist."

"Oh Drek No!" Avery laughed. "Maybe something like Giant Sausage Man, or Mr. Beef."

"I can just see you on in the freezer aisle selling breakfast food," January teased.

"Well I was hoping Grindr, but hey, you take what you can get right?" Avery laughed.

They worked their way through the crowd, pausing at kiosks here and there, an admiring other people's cosplay outfits, or just plain wild clothes. They stopped to eat at M.C. Wiches for subs. Like all the restaurants on Nine Mile, it was so packed that they had to eat sitting on the curb outside. But January did not mind. Her Jack White sandwich was amazing, and Avery gave the thumbs up to his Big Sean Steak 'N Onion. Life was good.

They people-watched, drifted around, and listened to music at the stage. More than once young, attractive men stopped to chat up Avery. More than once deets were passed between them before moving on. January was not sure how he did it. Though she suspected that Avery was more than a little handsome, and that the libido was not an insignificant force in young males.

"If you want to, you know, spend more time with someone, that's cool," January breathed at one point.

"No way," Avery waved a hand dismissively. "We've been going to this thing for what eight years now? I remember when we used to ride our bikes to get here. This is our day. No Knights of Nerddom, no parents, just you and me sister. You know, I haven't seen you since Monday. When is the last time a week's gone by without you in the Gadget Cave?"

"That time my family went on vacation to Florida," January mused.

"Yeah," Avery sighed. "Let's face it, we're not kids anymore. We're growing up, and our lives are going to change. We aren't going to be able to spend every night hanging out in the basement and shooting the skittles together."

"So we have to hold on to whatever moments we can," January finished his thought. She held out her pinky finger. Avery wrapped his own little finger around hers.

"Friends until we die," Avery sagely intoned.

"Then our ghosts go on to scare the frak out of the living!" January laughed.

January tried not to think about what he had said. Moving out had not exactly been what she had wanted. But it was what she and her mother needed. Ever since ConFabulation, and her first night as Stormcrow, her life had been racing faster than her mind could keep up with sometimes. So much had changed. So much was still changing. She had to remind herself to stop, and appreciate what she had right now, before time marched away with it all.

She was still doing her best to just live in the moment when they came upon the animal shelter's kiosk. Her heart melted to see all those adorable cats and dogs in cages. She wished that she could take them all home. But she did not see how she could make time for a pet. And how would she take one to the vet on a motorcycle?

The afternoon was sliding into evening when January felt it, just like she had at Hart Plaza. It was a wrongness, like in a villain's lair in the old Nightman TV show from the 60s, where the picture was all slanted to one side. A less than subtle cue that you were no longer standing on stable ground. The hairs stood up on the back of her neck, and her jackfruit sandwich threatened to leap up out of her stomach.

She smelled blood again too, thick and coppery. But this was most definitely not like she felt around Blood Raven. She had been in the superheroine's presence enough now to know her magical scent. She was a vampire, and blood was an integral part of how she related to the Universe after all.

But this was different. It was not so clean and wholesome, if such words could be used to describe a vampire. Blood Raven used blood - well life really - to live, just as January breathed air and ate jackfruit sandwiches. Or just like a tree fed on sunlight and water.

But what she felt now was not about life at all. It stank of cruelty. It stank of horror, and corruption. It felt like the universe was being thrown upside down, torn up, and perverted in some very basic, and very terrifying way.

To his credit, Avery automatically noticed the shift in her demeanor. "Oh snap!" he breathed. His phone was in his hand, and he took a moment to scan its screen. "Time to go to work. I've got nothing so far. I'll get to the Geo and set up on a real computer."

"I'll get back in touch once I suit up," January nodded.

They split up. Avery headed north through one of the alleys between the buildings on Nine Mile. January imagined that he must have parked in the big lot north of all the businesses. She headed east along Nine Mile, weaving through festival-goers like a running back. With one hand she absentmindedly grabbed her raven banner pendant, and thumbed on the video camouflage unit concealed inside. That would hide her from cameras.

She reached Woodward, but the light was not with her, and a wall of cars whizzed past. She could feel that wrongness growing in the air, sickening her stomach. There was no time to waste.

She leapt out into traffic, racing between cars. Horns blared at her. She laid one hand on the hood of an approaching Ford, and used it to spring board herself over the car. Her feet hit pavement beyond, and she leapt again. In an instant she sprang past an oncoming truck, coming just inches from its massive grille.

She could have simply leaped over the entire south-bound side of the avenue. But that would have been too blatant, even with her video camouflage. She tried to make sure everything she did was plausible for a mundane person. Lucky perhaps, but realistic.

Then she was in the grassy, open space between the north and south bound sides of the split roadway. She darted across to the north bound side, and once again dove through traffic. She jinked between a Chevy and a Dodge - she found the latter to be aptly named, given the circumstances. Then she was on the sidewalk, and tore her way along Nine Mile Road to the stares of people all around. She ignored them, and raced past the businesses on the corner of the two streets. She ducked into the first alley on her right, and followed it around a corner to the parking lot where she had left her motorcycle.

She unlocked the fake gas tank bump, and pulled out the pack she kept stowed there, in case of emergencies. She slapped the container shut again, and raced back into the alley that she had come from. After a pair of glances to either side to confirm that no one could see her, she leapt straight up and onto the roof of one of the buildings facing Woodward. She could see that the sky had now turned slate gray with clouds.

Fire give me passion and energy. Transform me in the night sky.

She was in her armor, and her clothes were tucked away in the backpack. She hid it behind an air conditioning unit. She paused to turn off her video camo to spare the battery. Then she raced for Woodward. She did not pause when she ran out of rooftop. Instead she leaped into the sky and soared out above the busy boulevard. She triggered her wings at the top of her arc, and glided gently across the twin roadways.

She stared down at the gaggle of people packed into the main festival grounds, in the closed off area of Nine Mile directly west of Woodward. She did not see anything out of the ordinary there. Nor did she see anything on top of the buildings to either side of the road, or in the parking lots beyond them. She banked to the left, and glided south.

There was a much larger parking lot there cut in half by a pair of buildings in the middle of them. The eastern lot was taken up by more of the festival, including a kid's area with a rock climbing wall just behind the Post Office. The western lot was packed to the brim with parked cars. But she did not see anything untoward in either area.

"I'm online now Stormcrow," Gadget's voice came into her ear. "Not seeing anything yet. No alarms, no 911 calls."

January banked back to the right once more. Part of her brain noted that at one time, the motion would have sent her spilling earthward. Now it came as natural as walking. Thank goodness, because she could not afford to give all of her attention to the mechanics of flight right now. Not with that sense of wrongness gnawing at her guts, and threatening to send the world topsy-turvy.

She sailed back over Nine Mile, the main artery of the festival. She still saw nothing. Numerous flashes of light blossomed in the street below, and January realized that people were taking pictures of her with their phones, or held them aloft to record videos. She ignored them, and soared across the row of buildings north of the road, then above the parking lot beyond. She recognized Gadget's yellow Geo Storm down there. He must have arrived early to find such a good spot.

That sense of wrongness was fading now. January frowned. Whatever it was, she was going to miss it again, as she had the night of the fire. Something terrible was happening. She knew it. She just could not tell exactly what, or where, it was.

She turned back to the festival grounds. She was rapidly running out of altitude now. She saw the band shell ahead, with its high metal awning that shaded the stage, and the array of lights that hung from the scaffolding. She aimed for that, and picked up speed as she nosed down toward it. Before she could hit it face first, she rolled back, and feathered out her wings flat to her angle of descent. They caught the air like a parachute, and put the brakes on her dive. Then she trigged off the wings, and transformed them back into an ordinary cape.

She dropped lightly to the top of the steel superstructure. Now people were cheering and calling out her name. The band had even stopped and were calling on her to join them on the stage below. January briefly considered trying to get on the PA and asking people to evacuate. But she had no idea if that was even necessary yet. She did know that every moment she wasted, something was dying.

That certainty drove home deep into her gut. Someone or something was dying, right now. It was not an ordinary death either. Not a farmer chopping off a chicken's head, or a person going quietly in their sleep, or slipping and cracking their skull in the bathtub. This was something extraordinarily bad. Something magically bad. Otherwise how could it affect her so?

She felt the first drop of rain strike her winged helmet, and then another drop onto her hand. A crow called out somewhere nearby.

She raced along the top of the scaffolding, turning her head this way and that to search for any sign of the danger. But still, nothing looked out of the ordinary. Certainly nothing appeared dangerous. She did see the crow that was calling to her, on the far side of the street.

She followed it, and leaped off the band stand and onto the line of buildings that lined the south side of Nine Mile. The crow took flight, winging its way westward. She sprang after it, leaping from one close-packed roof to the next. Most did not have an alley or even crack between buildings. Finally she came to the end of the line at Rosie O'Grady's. The Irish pub stood at the corner of Nine Mile and a side street that headed south. This second street also marked off the western edge of the parking lot behind the businesses on the south side of Nine Mile. Beyond stretched a sea of suburban homes nestled beneath the green tops of trees.

"Oh frak!" January groaned as she turned on her video.

"What the frell is that?" Gadget responded.

It scuttled out from the subdivision and onto the southbound side street. It had to stand over six feet tall at the head, and its giant, distended abdomen rose several feet higher than that, capped with a wicked-looking stinger. Its eight legs propelled it along the concrete with frightening speed. Its head, which was packed into its thorax without the need for a neck, bore eight glowing green eyes. A pair of giant, thick fangs big enough to be called mandibles hung down from its horrid face. Blood and gore splashed its black hide, underscoring its malevolent appearance.

By now the feeling of mystical wrongness had subsided. Whatever it was that January had felt was over now. This new monster however, set her mundane senses on edge nearly as much as whatever had disturbed her magical intuition. Spiders were not supposed to be bigger than an SUV!

Thankfully the side street was closed off for the festival, so there were no cars to run afoul of the monstrosity. But there were people in the parking lot adjacent to the road. January saw them scurry for cover behind cars, or just race away as fast as their feet could carry them. The movement instantly drew the attention of the spider, and its eight eyes alit upon the juicy morsels in rainbow-colored attire.

January could not let that thing reach any of them. She instantly leapt into the sky, and triggered her wings. She only needed seconds. But they had already slipped away.

A man who looked suspiciously like Freddie Mercury stepped out of a pick-up truck and drew the largest revolver January had ever seen. Thunder roared, and for once January was not the cause. The revolver bucked in the dark-haired man's hand as he leveled it at the giant spider. Again and again it roared, until the hammer was clicking on empty chambers.

"He missed," January hissed.

"No, he hit," Gadget said in her ear. "Look behind the spider. All those bullets went home in that fence, and into the house past it."

January saw that her partner was right, as usual. The wooden fence behind the spider had been turned into Swiss cheese by the massive handgun, and several holes were plain in the windows of the house beyond.

"They passed right through it like it wasn't even there," January said. "Maybe it's an illusion?"

She was going to find out quickly. Freddie Mercury backed away from the monster, which now charged him with terrifying speed. The gunman tripped in a pothole - there were Michigan's roads for you - and fell flat on his back. The spider loomed over him a moment later, gigantic fangs poised to rip him in half.

January got there first. She clicked off her wings and landed with her feet straddling Freddie Mercury's torso. She caught up both of spider's massive fangs as they drove down at his chest. Now at her chest, since she had interposed herself between them. It was like grabbing a pair of fence posts, being driven by a truck.

Earth give me the strength of the mountain.

January focused all of her power on that image, of a mountain standing tall. She became that mountain: immovable, impervious, inviolate. Her feet became part of the concrete below her, and part of the soil and rock beneath that. A freight train of slavering horror barreled into her, threatening to crush her beneath its noxious bulk. But she was adamant.

"Not one step farther!" she growled through gritted teeth.

[Acadian]

Jan and Avery are wise to savor their times and memories together at this annual event.

Uh-oh, the scent of bad blood is in the air – neat how attuned Jan is becoming to Blood Raven that she knows this is not the scent of her fellow superhero.

You really injected a sense of speed and urgency into Jan’s sprint for the Stormcycle and her armor.

Stormcrow’s flying ability has gradually become second nature to her! You 'showed' this incrementally over many episodes and it is a big milestone for her.

Ugh-Yikes! A spider the size of an SUV!

Strength of the Earth, don’t fail her now!

How suddenly Jan and Avery’s day turned into a job for a superhero!


Nits:
’Before she could hit it face first, she rolled back, and feathered out her wings flat to her angle of descent.’ - - I’m sure you’re describing a flare here but it seems like something Is missing in your wording during the last part of this sentence. Feathered out her wings flat to stop her rate of descent (or rate of closure) perhaps?
’Then she trigged off the wings, …’ - - triggered?

[Darkness Eternal]

Seeing the friendship between Avery and Jan grow stronger is great! He's a true ride-or-die friend, always with her, even in the smallest moments when he focuses on their time together instead of the number of men wanting to chat up Mr.Beef. He's just the kind of person Jan needs in her life. A true friend who understands things she does, despite sometimes having different views on certain things. While Blood Raven serves as the mentor, Avery is that life-long ally/partner/best friend. She is very fortunate, one might even say blessed.

It stank of cruelty. It stank of horror, and corruption. It felt like the universe was being thrown upside down, torn up, and perverted in some very basic, and very terrifying way. This was such a chilling description!

Stormcrow is back at it again, and while she's not facing robotic menaces . . . she's up against a fiendish spider. If I had a severe case of arachnophobia, I would shut down my laptop right now. I instantly pictured those frostbite spiders from Skyrim, or LOTR's Shelob(more appropriate because of the stinger).

Both an exciting and terrifying stand-off between hero and creature! I'm excited to see how Storm and Gadget are going to kick this spider's abdomen!

[Renee]

I really need to check out Supergirl. My daughter has watched a couple episodes, and now that she's forced to stay home for the next week and a half (maybe seven more weeks) she's probably catching up on other episodes. But i myself need to check it out too. I was wondering if you'd approve of this show, you would know if it's done "right" or too cheesy or whatever.

I think that's so neat that everything up there is Eight Mile, Nine Mile, and so on. I have no idea what this means, but I am guessing eight or nine miles outside of downtown? All I know is that movie with Eminem.

What are deets? Digits? As in phone numbers?

I have a feeling she can adopt as many pets as she wants now, especially cats. Doesn't Raven's house have tons of room? There ya go, hon!

I'll get to the Geo and set up on a real computer."

She did know that every moment she wasted, something was dying.

Uh oh. What? What could it be? Oh no, a giant spider! Frak. How is she going to get out of this one?

[SubRosa]

Acadian: That was a nice Stand By Me moment with the pinky swear. At least I think I stole the idea from there... Seriously though, Jan and Avery's relationship is changing due to the reality of growing up, jobs, significant others, capes, they all push and pull in different directions.

Jan has not finished improving her flying abilities. Chapter 5 will see a dramatic evolution in that regard.


Darkness Eternal: Jan and Avery are definitely ride or die friends. They literally knew each other since they infants, as the lived just two houses apart.

The spider that was summoned is not a 'normal' being from Earth, which is I went so much into the sense of wrongness and of reality being turned upside down. It is a monster from Outside, in the full Lovecraftian sense of the word. We will be getting into more of that later.

I have more than a small case of aracnaphobia, which goes back to an incident in my childhood where a spider featured only tangentially. Basically I was about 3 or 4 years old (it was before I went to kindergarten), and my brother and I were scared by a spider. My father proceeded to beat the crap out of us, because we were scared by a spider. I really should not blame the spider for that. He was just chilling, doing spider things. But they still creep me out to this day. However, I have been making an effort to dial my phobia back. So now when I see a spider I don't kill it. It is also why I made this particular monster a spider, instead of a list of other creatures of folklore that I have.


Renee: The Mile Road system is one of Detroit's unique features. They run east to west, at one mile intervals. Technically it starts in the heart of Downtown at Campus Martius. But the mile numbers don't start showing up on road signs until about 5 Mile. Each Mile road has a regular name too, sometimes more than one. 16 Mile is also Metro Parkway (it goes straight into the Metro Beach State Park at its eastern end), and it is Big Beaver. 15 Mile is also Maple, and so on. 20 Mile is also Hall Road, or M-53 (state highway). No ever calls it 20 Mile. Most people usually say M-53, and only occasionally Hall Road. 8 Mile is the northern border of the city of Detroit proper, and the suburbs to the North. So it is a major dividing line in the Metro Area.

"Deets" are details. Your daughter would know. It is phone numbers, email addresses, social media IDs, anything specific really.

She does have room in the Witch House for critters. But she is not really in a good position to take care of them. Especially since she cannot take them to the vet on a motorcycle.






Dvergr

Since Avery and his Gadgets figure so highly in this episode, listen to his theme while you read = The Score - Unstoppable



Book 4.8 - Pride

The giant spider's eight eyes locked on January's. They were not the comforting emerald of trees and grass. These were the sickly green of toxic waste and radiation. There was a coldness there, an utter alienness that chilled January to the bone, and set the hairs on her neck standing on end. Worse of all, there was an intelligence within those fiery depths, calculating like a homicidal computer. It gazed into her, just as she gazed into it.

"They are the Creatures of the Abyss, things best left to the darkness, lest they rise up and engulf you."

Blood Raven's words from the previous weekend rose unbidden in her mind. Somehow January knew that this was one of those creatures from the Abyss. It was a thing that had no place within the sunlit realm of Earth.

The monster reared up on all eight of its massive legs. It tried to pull back from January. But her feet did not move from the street. She held it there, pinned in place. Then it rocked forward, trying to throw her back. Again, she did not move. She was adamantine.

It reared again, but this time it was not to escape. Instead it drew up high enough that it could whip its abdomen forward, underneath its thorax. January saw the great spike of its stinger just a moment before it could strike her.

"Now water can flow, or it can crash."

January heard Bruce Lee's words in her head. She became water. She flowed out of the way, and the stinger passed harmlessly by. Moving like lightning, the monster stung again, and again, and every time January slipped aside. It was as if reality itself bent to accommodate her will.

"I have had enough of you," January growled. Putting all of her will into the strength of her arms, she pulled the two giant fangs apart, baring the monster's wide face before her. She let go of the Earth, and leapt up high, still holding the fangs in either hand. When she was even with the spider's head, she kicked out with all of her might, and pulled back with her arms.

Her feet sank into multiple eyes, and she heard something crack and tear under her fingers. She pulled hard, and groaned, then finally screamed with effort. She felt something snap, once, twice, and then she was flying through the air with the giant spider's fangs in her hands, completely shorn from its face.

It stumbled back, nearly losing its balance on its eight legs. She heard something, not in her ears, but in her mind. It was a terrific disturbance in the magic around her. It was a reverberation, a shout, a scream. It was pain. It was the spider's pain, reaching out into the world of magic and spirit.

January did not waste any time. She dropped the two gooey fangs and leaned down to gather up Freddie Mercury. Once she had tight hold of him, she leapt back across the parking lot, over numerous cars, and into the bed of a pickup truck.

"Well, I guess it's not an illusion," she heard Gadget note dryly.

She looked back at the spider, and her stomach sank when she saw that it had both of its fangs back. A glance down showed no sign of the pair she had ripped from its face. So she imagined it had somehow reattached them, and healed them. It no longer screamed in the spirit world either. Instead it leveled those eight burning eyes upon January, and came at her with a vengeance.

January pulled out the adhesive bomb that Gadget had given her just a few hours before. She prayed to Freyja that he had the same skill as the dvergr who had forged Mjölnir, among other marvels. She pulled the pin and threw it at the monster's feet.

A blue haze sprang out along the ground in a circle around the grenade. The faint light spread through everything it touched, including the eight legs of the spider. The monster stopped for the briefest of moments, as if it had struck a brick wall.

She saw those emerald eyes turn down to the emitter of the adhesive wave that held it in place. Then it did something that made January blink in disbelief. Its body seemed to wink from the physical world, like a ghost giving up its shell. Yet January could still see it with her eyes, like a ghost. It struck out with one leg, and pierced the adhesive grenade with its spiked tip.

The grenade shattered, and the blue adhesive wave blinked from existence.

Now January realized that it had somehow made its form intangible, all in an instant. For further proof of this ability, it charged straight through the cars that lined the edge of the lot as it made a bee line for January.

"That is so not fair," January heard herself murmur.

"Drek!" Gadget snarled in her ear. "Left front pocket on your belt, let's give all those eyes something to look at."

January reached down into her utility belt, and drew forth another grenade. This one had a sunburst painted upon it. She pulled the pin and tossed it in front of the oncoming train of horror. January turned her head away and screwed her eyes shut just in time. The world turned bright white, even behind her closed eyelids. The blaze of light strobed on and off several times before it finally abated for good. Even though she had not been looking, spots still danced in front of her eyes.

She turned back in time to see that the spider had come to a stop. It turned this way and that, and did appear to be blinded, at least for a moment. January took advantage of that, and leaped forward. Her feet hit the monster's back hard. Its exoskeleton was as tough as steel, and covered with short, bristly hairs that set her teeth on edge. January took two steps along its abdomen, then leaped into the air again as it thrashed around and tried to swat her from the sky.

She landed back in the street behind it, away from the parking lot and the people there. It immediately turned to glare at her.

She held one hand out, and contemptuously curled her fingers inward, beckoning the spider toward her.

"Valhalla awaits," she growled through gritted teeth.

It took the bait, and ignored the hundreds of people in the lot and the thousands further away on Nine Mile. It leveled those eight eyes upon her and charged. January leaped back to the far sidewalk, drawing it out of the lot and back out into the empty street.

"Left rear pocket," Gadget's voice said calmly in her ear.

Following his direction, January withdrew another grenade. This one had a symbol like a pool of spilled liquid emblazoned upon it. She tossed it out into the street, and it erupted into a slick of grease that instantly spread across the road. The eight legs of the spider hit the frictionless surface, and went skittering madly in all directions. It would have been hilarious, if the thing had not been the size of an elephant.

It only lasted an instant however. The thing did its spirit shift, pulling itself from the physical to the mystical. Its legs found purchase on whatever the intangible equivalent of earth was, and came forward once more.

"Right rear pocket" Gadget said calmly.

January produced another grenade. She smiled when she saw the symbol of a flame etched on its surface. She tossed it beneath the monster, and it erupted into a fountain of fire. The grease immediately caught flame as well, doubling the intensity of the inferno that roared to life. The heat beat at January's face like a physical thing, and for a moment she was back inside the Flying Dutchman, racing against the flames to save as many lives as she could.

She blinked that memory away, and once again heard that screaming in the spirit realm. It was louder this time. Its shock waves were deeper and more powerful, as they disrupted the peace of the mystic realm. January really needed a name to call it. The Astral Realm perhaps? It was hard to concentrate with the screaming. But she gritted her teeth, and refused to allow herself to feel an ounce of sympathy for the creature.

It was not an animal. It was not of this Earth. It was an abomination, in the really old school, pre-Medieval sense of the word. January had not forgotten the blood and gore she had seen sprayed across its body when it had first appeared in the street. Someone had died under that thing's fangs, maybe more than one somebody.

That ended now.

The screaming stopped, but the flames still blazed merrily away, engulfing the street in a red-orange inferno. January did not like how close it was starting to spread toward the trees on either side of the road. She wondered how she was going to put this out, and thought about her new friends from Detroit Engine 66. They would be quite welcome about now.

"Right front pocket," Gadget said. January smiled when she saw what this present was. She tossed the grenade into the blaze, and was rewarded with an eruption of fire suppressing foam that completely smothered the blaze. White flecks of the stuff rose up into the sky, and began to fall down like snow.

"Have I told you how awesome you are lately Gadget?" January wondered.

"Not in at least six days," he remarked casually.

"Remind me to-"

January's words died like ashes in her throat. Something was moving in the cloud of fire retardant. Not just something, but a giant something, with eight legs. The massive spider boiled forth an instant later. It bore not even the tiniest singe, nor a single bruise, even after all it had been through.

"Son of a-" Gadget swore. "I'm out of clever tricks, time to do that hero drokk."

[Acadian]

Wow, that spider thing is an incredibly resilient foe! So not fair is right!

Thank the Nine for Gadget’s intimate familiarity with Stormcrow’s pockets and his calm, timely instructions.

’She pulled the pin and tossed it in front of the oncoming train of horror.’ - - A wonderful description!

You weave flashes of Stormcrow’s thoughts into the actions wonderfully – very effect while not losing a whit of this scene’s fast tempo.

I was as excited at Stormcrow at the success of her Gadget-inspired grenadiering. . . until. . . uh oh.


Nits:
- - ’January head {heard} Bruce Lee's words in her head.’
- - ’Once she had tight hold of him, she leapt back across the parking lot, over cars numerous cars, and into the bed of a pickup truck.’ - - Not positive this is a nit but the first use of ‘cars’ seems perhaps unintentional here?

[Renee]

From the previous chapter, I meant to say it's too bad Freddy Mercury apparently isn't going to see the Killer Queen in action.

I am at work, and we have muzak playing, so unfortunately I can't listen to the superhero music you posted as I type this, not without turning my laptop's volume too high! EDIT: I tried again today. Yes, the music does make the fight scene come across like something in an actual movie.

Ah no, this thing has a stinger? Oh gosh, she's actually crushing the spider's exoskeleton parts slowly, just like somebody would crush a real spider with their shoe.

Where is Blood Raven? I have a feeling she's nearby, hence that coppery smell from previous chapter.

"Left rear pocket," Gadget's voice said calmly in her ear.

Awesomesauce! as Jan would say.*

.

Crap. That damn spider comes right back. See, I wonder what the heck? There's something in the story so far which is triggering a memory. I can't remember what it is, though. Maybe Blood Raven might know.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 24 2020, 07:44 PM

[Darkness Eternal]

Heh, I use to be deathly afraid of spiders as well until I moved to Brazil. I kept tarantulas found my backyard in an old glass tank I was given. I learned to respect them, but they can be intimidating sometimes.

Appropriate song for this chapter!

The eight-legged freakish foe exuded some otherworldly menace for sure. That was a pretty chilling description of it, and size aside, this creature did not act on pure instinct but also cunning. Random thought but its origins from the Abyss reminded me of It that came to earth to feed on the fears of people.

The battle had me on the edge of my seat, and that was such a nasty but fearless move on her part, ripping away the spider's fangs . . . until it grew back and managed to survive that grenade.

Formidable indeed. Maybe toughest opponent yet. Despite Gadget's gear, which was very useful, the Astral Arachnid is still back for more.

Jan was just getting started, I'm sure

[SubRosa]

Acadian: The spider is very not fair. It is based on a "real" creature from Native American mythology, which has also turned up in a few TV shows. So folks might be able to guess what it is. It will be named in a few more episodes.

This episode was really Gadget's moment to shine, with all the new doohickeys he created to give January a ranged element. But this is a seriously dangerous opponent, so it won't be done in so easily. Not by January or Avery.


Renee: Freddie can still hook up with the Fat Bottomed Girls at the festival afterward though...

It has more than just a stinger, as we will see in this episode. The spider is full of some really serious powers. January probably won't face a more dangerous single opponent again until Chapter 6.

That coppery smell was not Blood Raven that January sensed. She noted at the time that it was different from Blood Raven's magical aura. Rather January could feel that it was someone being murdered in a really horrific and magical way. We will get to exaclty what in several more episodes.

Blood Raven will know exactly what that memory was that is being triggered. Or you could look back to episode 3.15...


Darkness Eternal: You hit the spider's origins right on the nail. It is not from this Earth, or even this Universe. It is a fully Lovecraftian Other, from a reality of darkness and horror. As you said: The Abyss.

January is just getting started. This will be a long battle, and will take several more episodes before it is finally vanquished. As I mentioned to Renee, it is the most dangerous thing January has ever faced, or will again for a while.





January's Fight Music

The Battlefield near Pridefest

The house shot up by Freddie Mercury

Old Futhark



Book 4.9 - Pride

Then the horror was on top of January, fangs slashing down at her head. As before, she reached out and grabbed them. She stopped them in mid-blow, and held the massive beast there. It crowded in on her, trying to bring its main legs to bear. One of them went spearing down into the pavement beside her, cracking the blacktop apart. Then came another, and another.

It was time to be like water. Hanging on to its fangs at first, January did a back flip up into the air. She let go at the top of her arc, and spun out over the spider's thorax. She came down on top of its back a moment later, and punched with the force of a hurricane. The monster's back plate shattered like balsa wood struck by a missile. Her fist plunged deeply into its soft, gooey innards. A blue liquid, like blood, splashed over January, and the street all around. She grabbed hold of something solid within the creature, and ripped with all her might. She was rewarded with a jagged slab of spider meat, that she hurled to the pavement.

She heard that scream in the astral again, and forced herself to ignore it. Then she felt the monster rear up. Too late she saw its abdomen come racing toward her, and she could not slip aside before it connected. It hit her like a truck, and the next thing January knew, she was hurtling through the air.

She felt bricks shatter under her back. Then a room spun around her. She got hold of her flight, and managed to skid to a halt in a crouch, both feet and one hand on the floor. The world swam for a moment, but she blinked it back to stability. It was no different from leaping from the uneven bars. Except for the spider and building of course...

January realized that she was in the pub at the corner of Nine Mile and the side street headed south. A long red bar ran at an oblique to her left, and a bright red wall was covered in posters behind that. To her right a line of booths lined the other wall. All around her were thick, heavy wooden tables. TV sets hung along the tops of the walls. She noticed them cut away from various sporting events to show the street outside, and the giant spider that advanced upon the back of the pub.

The bar was packed of course. It was a miracle that she had not splattered someone on her way in. As it was, she had knocked two tables over, and cracked a third one in half. Everyone drew away from her as she rose to her feet. A glance down showed that she was a fearsome sight, covered in blue spider innards and red brick dust.

"Anyone not keeping up on current events, better head on out the front," January said quietly. Then she focused her eyes on the giant hole she had punched in the wall beside the back door. Through it she could see all eight green eyes of the spider burning down upon her.

She did not bother using the door on her way out. She leaped through the same hole she had made coming in, and was in the back lot in less than a second. Her feet barely touched the concrete before she lifted herself in the air once more, and cocked a fist behind her head for a killing blow at its face.

It spat a blob of grey-white gooey material from its abdomen. January was in mid-leap. She could not dodge away like before. It struck her full in the chest, hitting her with the force of a thousand Louisville sluggers. It actually stopped her forward momentum, and threw her back to the pavement.

She tried to rise to her feet, but found that her legs were bound up in the sticky, goopy mess. So too were her arms. She pushed and pulled at the webs that entangled her with all of her might. But they were like rubbery glue. They bent with her motions, not rigid enough to ever break. It was like trying to snap a wet noodle with a blade of grass. All she could do was writhe and wriggle.

The spider came walking up to her, eight legs clicking on the concrete of the street. It took its time, clearly savoring the moment. Those eight eyes mocked January, and she somehow knew that this had not been an accident. It had set her up to make that leap, and was waiting with the webbing. Waiting for just the time when her feet were no longer on the ground, and she could not dodge. She had been out-thought, and now she was going to die.

The rain pelted her, and lightning scattered across the sky overhead. At least it would be out here, in the elements.

But January still had one last card to play. She remembered that arcane bolt that Blood Raven had been trying to teach her all week. She had yet to master it. This would certainly be a good time. January reached down and tapped into the torrent of mana that now stewed within her. She raised it up, and once again witnessed the elements flash and roar across the sky.

She laughed, and let the mana slip down for a moment. The lightning! She had been such an idiot. People said that she was the Weather Witch of Warren. Why had she believed them? It wasn't the weather that she affected, it was the elements!

She used Air to fly. She used Earth to stand adamant in the face of overwhelming force. She used Fire to transform into her armor. She used Water to dodge attacks. Everything she did magically, was all about using one or more of those forces and what they symbolized.

The spider paused in its advance, seemingly hesitant at January's mad display of bravado. She took advantage of that to begin to chant in Old Norse. Golden light sprang up around her, and formed into a string of Old Futhark runes. They formed a circle at her feet, and slowly rose up into the air around her. She felt her consciousness shift, and the energies of the astral swirl all around her.

"Vindr, leggjmikr þinn leiptr!" she cried in the Old Norse tongue. She hoped she got it right, and was calling upon Air for lightning. Otherwise she was going to wind up really embarrassed.

The sky lit up with a blinding crack of electricity. It drove down straight into both January and the spider, which now loomed over her. The world turned to fire, light, and deafening thunder. Her hair stood on end, as the elemental force ravened with calamitous delight. It chewed up concrete and sent the ragged fragments hurling up into the sky. It blazed through exoskeleton and flesh, and filled the world with the stench of ozone.

Then came another lightning strike, and another. By the fourth one January had climbed to her feet. The webbing that had encased her had long since been incinerated in the electrical storm. Her heart raced. No, it sang, as the thunder blasted overhead. She felt herself washed in arcing power. It dancing down her arms, leaped across her fingertips, and glowed in her retinas. She was fire, she was air, she was the storm!

She was completely unscathed by the electrical holocaust.

"Holy spit January, did you just do that?" Gadget's voice brought her back down to earth. "Good thing I hardened all the circuitry in the suit after you fought Archie…"

January clamped down on the flow of mana within her, and the storm quieted to a mere shower of steady rain. She found herself standing within a crater blasted through the concrete and steel rebar of the road, and down into the earth beneath. Deep down in the center of that pit lay a blackened and burnt husk, with eight broken legs pointed skyward.

"Blood Raven was right," January heard herself murmur. "I can't do it her way. I have to find my own magic."

"Speaking of that, she's on the way," Gadget said. "But maybe I should call her back and tell her not to bother?"

"No, she needs to see this." January climbed up from the pit, and stood up at the edge. Electricity still danced between her fingertips, and played about the ends of her hairs. She held onto that, just in case she might need to use it. There was still the matter of who, or what, had summoned the monstrous spider.

She saw that a crowd had gathered, but far away. Some were clustered up at Nine Mile, peering beyond the corner of Rosie O'Grady's pub. Others were sprinkled through the far end of the parking lot, way to the east. All eyes were upon her, and many hands held up phones.

A news van was parked down the opposite end of the side street that she was on, in the suburbs to the south of the festival. One of the crew had a camera trained upon her. Another had a pack of electronic equipment slung under her arm, connected to a pair of headphones that she wore. Finally a blonde stood to one side and spoke into a microphone.

Did everyone have to take videos of everything? Did life even exist before there were pictures to prove that it had happened?

She turned from the cameras and went back to work. Her eyes fell upon the broken fence, and the bullet holes in the house adjacent to the street. She walked purposely toward the white, two-story abode, and waved to a trio of police officers who raced down the street from the festival with pistols drawn.

Like most Queer folk, the sight of three cops with guns drawn would have once made January fear for her life. But that time had long since passed. Being shot was the least of her worries these days. She waved them toward her, then gestured to the bullet-ridden home.

"We need to search that house, and the others around it," she called out to them. "There might be wounded inside."

Or dead. January did not say the last. She did not think she had to. Freddie Mercury had meant the best when he emptied his gun into the spider. He never could have imagined that his bullets would pass right through it, and into the house behind the monster. That was the problem with weapons of all kinds. Even with her martial arts training. They had a tendency to do things their owners never intended.

Discipline, self-control, January thought to herself. She had to keep a lid on herself, so she never did that. She ran over her elemental mantra in her head. She calmed her beating heart, soothed the blood that pounded in her veins, and washed her mind clean with mana.

[Renee]

Heh, I use to be deathly afraid of spiders as well until I moved to Brazil. I kept tarantulas found my backyard in an old glass tank I was given. I learned to respect them, but they can be intimidating sometimes.

Spiders have never bothered me, even as a kid, even those huge garden spiders with psychedelic coloring. Now centipedes on the other hand..... I literally just got the crawlies linking that picture up.

Renee: Freddie can still hook up with the Fat Bottomed Girls at the festival afterward though...

Har har.

Good, so in Chapter 3 there is a reference to Boris the Indestructible Spider, eh? Sweet.

The music fits perfectly. Gosh, she's really tearing into that thing this time!

That is awesome when she has that moment. She realizes it's not the weather, it's the elements. Wow. She just made a Storm Call. There's a shout in Skyrim called Storm Call (or Call Storm). Also, druids in the old tabelgames could do this.

Did everyone have to take videos of everything?

I know Jan, right? Even you as a millennial gets this.

I'd say the fault is not with Freddy Mercury, even if he did hit someone else. He only had split seconds to react to something nobody has ever seen before, here in Detroit.

This post has been edited by Renee: Mar 28 2020, 05:53 PM