Poem: "The Best of All Instructors"
Dec. 31st, 2016 03:02 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
ysabetwordsmithThis poem is from the May 3, 2016 Poetry Fishbowl. It was inspired by prompts from ![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
ng_moonmoth, book_worm5, kestrels_nest, capri0mni, and moongoddessgirl. It also fills the "Mr. Grenade and Hadyn practicing" square in my 5-1-16 card for the Finish It Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by EdorFaus and daisiesrockalot. It belongs to the Danso and Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series.
"The Best of All Instructors"
Mr. Grenade worked as a mercenary,
and he routinely took dangerous missions
in bottom-ten countries without hesitation.
Today he was terrified, and
trying not to show it.
"I don't know the first thing
about kids, Muffler," he said.
"God knows, I owe you more than
I can ever hope to repay, but ... are you
sure that this is what you want?"
"I'm sure," she said firmly.
"I don't know how to teach," he said,
"except maybe for the school of hard knocks."
The Muffler shook her head.
"The School of Hard Knocks
has a terrible curriculum, and
the tuition is way too high!"
"Then what do you expect?" he said.
"I'm a mercenary, not an instructor."
“Practice is the best of all instructors,"
she said, reaching up to pat his shoulder.
"I'm afraid that I can't give her
what she needs," he admitted.
"Oh Borys," the Muffler said gently,
"what Hadyn needs most isn't a lesson
in how to control her gift. She needs
to see that being a Self-Detonator doesn't
automatically make someone a bad person."
"I'm a supervillain," he pointed out.
"I know," said the Muffler. "I also
know why you left the military --
over a point of ethics."
"Can't argue with that one," he said.
"I should think not," she said.
"Now get your tail in that house,
my girl's chewing her nails to
the quick waiting for you."
Mr. Grenade remembered
that firm, no-nonsense voice
which had anchored him during
the most chaotic time in his life and
held him together when nothing else --
including his superpower -- could.
So he squared his shoulders
and lifted his chin and marched
into the quiet little house.
Hadyn turned out to be
an eleven-year-old girl with
wavy blonde hair that fell
just past her shoulders.
She was hiding behind
a gangly black boy who looked
ferociously protective but said,
"Good morning, Mr. Grenade," in
a carefully polite tone. "I'm Danso."
"Pleased to meet you,"
Mr. Grenade replied,
and shook hands with him.
"I'm Hadyn," the girl warbled.
Mr. Grenade remembered
how gently the Muffler had
dealt with him when he was
freaking out over his power,
so he crouched down to meet
Hadyn at her eye level.
"So you're my new camping buddy?"
he said. "We'll have a great weekend!"
"I haven't been camping much,"
she whispered, "unless you
count living on the streets."
Mr. Grenade was really glad
that the girl's asshole father
was already dead and not
currently in need of killing.
"This will be a lot more fun
than that," he promised.
"I have a tent, but I guess
you will need to pick out
your own sleeping bag."
Hadyn looked at the Muffler.
"My treat," Mr. Grenade specified.
"Okay," Hadyn said. She wouldn't
hold onto him when they walked
out to the car, but the Muffler had
warned about that -- and also
the importance of not grabbing
Hadyn, ever -- assuring him
that she wouldn't run off.
Mr. Grenade decided to trust
the girl unless she misbehaved.
She didn't. She was
almost scarily good.
At the store, Hadyn picked out
a loud pink-and-blue sleeping bag
that evidently came with a small one
to suit some traveling doll that she had.
Despite her lack of experience,
the kid had a good work ethic
and willingly pitched in to help
set up their campsite, listening
carefully as Mr. Grenade
explained what to do.
"We made a camp!" she said.
He looked at the tent and
the firepit and the larder bag
swinging neatly from its tree.
"We sure did," he said.
"Now it's time to go practice."
Her face fell. "If we have to,"
Hadyn said glumly.
"You don't like practicing?" he said.
"I don't practice," she said.
"I have a bad power. All it
ever does is hurt people."
Mr. Grenade got a sinking sense
that maybe this was even worse
than he had thought going in.
"Your power scares you?"
he asked, crouching down again.
She nodded. Her lip trembled.
He felt like a gigantic jerk
for scaring a little girl.
"Maybe it would be less scary
if I went first?" Mr. Grenade said.
"Really?" Hadyn said, tilting her head.
"I never saw anyone else do it.
They all do different things."
"Well, from what I hear, my power
works a little differently than yours,
but it's still Self-Detonation," he said.
"So let's go out to the meadow.
You can stand behind a tree,
and I'll show off for a while."
"Okay," she said, and
trotted along behind him while
they went to the practice field.
As they walked, Mr. Grenade
let the living metal seep out
to cover his skin.
"Wow," said Hadyn.
"You look like a statue."
He laughed. "I have actually
made pocket money, posing
as a living statue," he admitted.
"But I make a much better mercenary
than I do a busker, in the end."
Mr. Grenade gathered up
some cans that had tumbled
out of a toppled trash can, and
lined them up along a fallen log.
"Okay kid, get behind a tree,"
he said. "I've got enough
point control to hit those, but
I want to make sure that
you're safe, first."
Hadyn hid behind a tree,
one eye peeking out.
Mr. Grenade held out
both hands toward the cans,
and then carefully fired off
marble-sized bits of skin.
Pow! Ping! Pop!
went the metal missiles
as the metal cans flew off
of their perch on the log.
"Yay!" said Hadyn, which
was as close as she'd come
to admitting that Self-Detonation
might not be entirely awful.
"Thank you," he said with a bow.
"Now for the grand finale -- you
might want to cover your ears."
Then he centered himself,
breathed in, breathed out,
and let go of his superpower.
Metal skin exploded in all directions.
Mr. Grenade shivered in the aftermath
of the release, which always left him
a little giddy with the relief.
When he walked back to the tree,
Hadyn exclaimed, "Are you okay?
Didn't that hurt?" She looked worried,
her hand hovering over the pink expanse
of his freshly regenerated skin.
"I'm fine," he said. "When I blow
my metal skin like that, it just takes
a few minutes before I can do it again.
It doesn't hurt me; it feels like a release."
"Oh," she said. "You're lucky."
"Hadyn, does it hurt you when
you use your superpower?" he asked.
"It did," she said.
"I've heard that happens for
some people," he said. "Others
say that it hurt at first, but then
they learned how to do it right,
so that it doesn't hurt anymore."
Hadyn started crying.
"I don't want to do it," she said.
"I hate my superpower! I wish
that I didn't have it. I never want
to use it again. Please don't make me!"
Mr. Grenade might not know much
about kids, but knew that if they cried,
you were supposed to cuddle them
or something like that.
"Okay," he said. "Let's take a break.
How about a piggyback ride?"
Hadyn appeared to think about it
for a long minute, then held up
her arms. "Piggyback," she agreed.
To his strength, she weighed
next to nothing as he lifted her
onto his back, letting her
hang onto his shoulders.
By the time they got back
to their camp, she was laughing.
At least she wasn't terrified of him.
However, now he needed to find
some other way of convincing her
to explore her superpower.
Maybe it would help if he found
some way to make it appeal to her.
Mr. Grenade had no idea how
to do that, though, so he just
set it aside for the time being.
Instead he sent her to the pump
for water, and to the woodpile
for firewood, and then he
set about making supper.
Hadyn watched him like a hawk.
"You like cooking, huh?"
asked Mr. Grenade, seizing
the opportunity for connection.
"I like girl things," Hadyn said.
"Mom says that cooking is
a useful life skill. It's more fun
than what I learn in school, too."
Mr. Grenade wondered how
the teachers at her school
dealt with the 'difficult' kids,
especially the criers, because
he had no freaking clue.
"Have you ever learned about
campfire cooking?" he asked.
Mutely she shook her head.
"Okay, I'll show you,"
said Mr. Grenade. "It's easy."
So he told her about campfires
and what kind of wood worked
best for cooking, and how to make
a nice bed of coals in the ring.
He talked about the ingredients
that he'd packed and what they
could make with those.
He made beef stew with
dehydrated hamburger,
freeze-dried vegetables,
and gravy powder.
He baked potatoes with
slivered onions in tinfoil.
"It's good," Hadyn declared
as she licked the last of it
from her fingertips.
"Now those are things that
you can do with an ordinary fire,"
he said, "but let me show you a trick."
He stuck a marshmallow onto
the end of a collapsible fork --
without extending it -- and
held the thing over his hand.
Carefully he released his grip
on his superpower, just a little.
A line of tiny orange sparks
crawled across his palm.
The marshmallow began
to bubble and turn brown.
Deftly Mr. Grenade spun
the fork in his other hand.
When the marshmallow
was perfectly toasted,
he pinched it between
a graham cracker and
a chocolate bar, then
slid it off of the fork.
"How did you do that?"
Hadyn asked, her eyes wide.
"Superpowers," he said casually.
"Eat your dessert, kid."
She ate her dessert.
He waited.
"Can I have another?"
Hadyn asked.
"When you can make it
yourself," he said with a grin.
Hadyn looked at the bag of marshmallows.
That's when Mr. Grenade
finally began to believe that
he could actually make this work.
It took Hadyn the entire rest of the weekend
to learn enough control to cook marshmallows
without vaporizing them, and she accidentally
shot him in the crotch once -- which was no fun
even with Super-Armor -- but it was worth it
to see the triumphant smile on a tiny face
no longer shadowed by fear of her own gift.
Mr. Grenade stayed with her the whole time,
showing her how to breathe and how to stand
and helping her figure out which mental tricks
worked for her in terms of holding on or letting go.
It wasn't really the kind of thing that
you could teach in a schoolroom, with
books and desks and blackboards.
You just had to get outside
and do it, to find out
how it worked.
Having an experienced coach
helped a lot, though. Mr. Grenade
knew that Hadyn was learning this
much faster than he had.
Sometimes, he even surprised himself.
He hadn't thought he would make
a good teacher, but maybe
he had, after all.
"I think that was a success,"
he said to Hadyn as they
packed up their camp.
"What do you think?"
Hadyn smiled at him in
an impish way that made
her suntanned nose crinkle.
"When can we come again?" she said.
* * *
Notes:
Mr. Grenade (Borys Bergmann) -- He has fair skin, brown eyes, and short brown hair. He is tall and broad, with bulging muscles. His heritage is primarily central European, including German, Polish, and a little Russian. He speaks English, German, Italian, and Russian.
Mr. Grenade is a self-detonator who works as a supervillain henchman. His people skills focus on professional or casual interactions; he doesn't know much about how to handle closer relationships. Although primarily inspired by money, he is also known for a slow but serious temper, hence his tagline. Borys spends a lot of time outdoors where he enjoys hiking, camping, and various other wilderness activities. Since gaining his superpowers he has also paid attention to rocks and metals, but his knowledge there is still only average. He knows Hannah Patterson from spending a few weeks with her as part of learning how to control his superpowers.
Origin: Borys served in the military, and enemies threw a grenade into his unit. He dove on top of it, expecting to die. Instead he turned into a living grenade. He calmly walked over to the enemy position and detonated himself. But the military wanted to exploit his new superpower, so he quit and became a mercenary. Now he chooses his own missions, and only takes orders that he agrees with.
Uniform: As little as possible. Because activating his superpower ruins whatever he's wearing, Mr. Grenade dislikes wasting money on clothes. In warm climates he often wears nothing but shorts and shoes -- he doesn't even bother with socks. In colder weather, he favors cheap tracksuits in dark colors.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Unflappable, Good (+2) Iron Will, Good (+2) Mercenary Fighter, Good (+2) Outdoorsman
Poor (-2) Intimacy
Powers: Good (+2) Metal Skin (Signature Stunt: Controlled Burst), Good (+2) Regeneration, Good (+2) Super-Strength
Mr. Grenade can turn his skin to living metal, and it serves as Super-Armor. Then if he wishes, he can use Self-Detonation to produce a cloud of shrapnel from it. His Regeneration takes about five minutes before he can re-arm his Grenade Skin. During that time he is vulnerable, his soft human skin unable to turn aside attacks.
Usually he blows off his entire skin at once, but he can use the Controlled Burst stunt to fire a small burst or single rounds at a specific target. This version reduces his Super-Armor to Average for five minutes.
Motivation: "Once you have pulled the pin from Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend."
The Muffler (Hannah Patterson) -- She has straight black hair now streaked with silver, hazel eyes blending brown and green, and tan skin. Hannah works for SPOON, raising children with superpowers who need foster or adoptive care. Her usual limit was two at a time, but she has just taken on a set of five siblings-of-choice.
Origin: Her powers grew in slowly over time. As more children began to manifest superpowers, she realized that her gifts could help them when nobody else could, so she became a foster mother.
Uniform: Street clothes. Hannah usually wears a light colored top with darker pants or skirt, and sometimes a cardigan over the top.
Qualities: Master (+6) Foster Mom, Expert (+4) Eyes in the Back of Her Head, Expert (+4) Soup Contacts, Good (+2) Crafts, Good (+2) Never Mess with the Mommy, Good (+2) Pillar of the Local Church, Good (+2) Sports Fan, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Love Life
Powers: Good (+2) Power Nullification, Average (0) Empathy
Motivation: Love makes a house a home.
Boomer (Hadyn Kennedy) -- She has wavy blond hair past her shoulders, brown eyes, and golden-fair skin. Her ability to explode and reform her body has made her anxious and skittish, because she can't control it much. She clings to Danso as a protector and an anchor. Hadyn particularly enjoys jumping rope and has taught Lakia how to do it. She is currently eleven years old.
Origin: Her superpowers manifested at ten, when her father sexually abused her. Neither he nor their house survived the incident. Hadyn fled and lived on the street alone until she met Danso.
Uniform: Street clothes. Hadyn likes girl clothes.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cute, Good (+2) Girl Stuff, Good (+2) Survivor
Poor (-2) Sexual Abuse Trauma
Powers: Average (0) Regeneration, Average (0) Self-Detonation
Motivation: Avoid conflict.
* * *
“Practice is the best of all instructors.”
-- Publilius Syrus quotes (Roman author, 1st century B.C.)
Traumatized children often suffer lasting effects. In Hadyn's case, the trauma includes sexual abuse, traumatic manifestation of Self-Detonation which destroyed both her father and their home, and homelessness. There are tips for foster parents and other caregivers of traumatized children.
See the Journey Girls Sleeping Bag set.
Camping food safety includes bearproofing your edibles. One easy method involves suspending the food in a sack slung over a tree branch.
Living Statue is a style of street performance. It is rather popular with soups who have metallic or stony looking skin. Read about how to be a living statue.
Campfire cooking relies on having appropriate ingredients. You can use dehydrated meat, freeze-dried vegetables, and other things that store well. Browse some recipes for dehydrated foods.
A telescoping marshmallow fork is a useful tool for campfire cooking.
Self-lighting charcoal is often used to burn incense. Watch a video of this in action. Some people with Self-Detonation can mimic this effect using their superpowers.
Marshmallows are among the most popular camping foods. They may be roasted in various ways.
ng_moonmoth, book_worm5, kestrels_nest, capri0mni, and moongoddessgirl. It also fills the "Mr. Grenade and Hadyn practicing" square in my 5-1-16 card for the Finish It Bingo fest. This poem has been sponsored by EdorFaus and daisiesrockalot. It belongs to the Danso and Family thread of the Polychrome Heroics series."The Best of All Instructors"
Mr. Grenade worked as a mercenary,
and he routinely took dangerous missions
in bottom-ten countries without hesitation.
Today he was terrified, and
trying not to show it.
"I don't know the first thing
about kids, Muffler," he said.
"God knows, I owe you more than
I can ever hope to repay, but ... are you
sure that this is what you want?"
"I'm sure," she said firmly.
"I don't know how to teach," he said,
"except maybe for the school of hard knocks."
The Muffler shook her head.
"The School of Hard Knocks
has a terrible curriculum, and
the tuition is way too high!"
"Then what do you expect?" he said.
"I'm a mercenary, not an instructor."
“Practice is the best of all instructors,"
she said, reaching up to pat his shoulder.
"I'm afraid that I can't give her
what she needs," he admitted.
"Oh Borys," the Muffler said gently,
"what Hadyn needs most isn't a lesson
in how to control her gift. She needs
to see that being a Self-Detonator doesn't
automatically make someone a bad person."
"I'm a supervillain," he pointed out.
"I know," said the Muffler. "I also
know why you left the military --
over a point of ethics."
"Can't argue with that one," he said.
"I should think not," she said.
"Now get your tail in that house,
my girl's chewing her nails to
the quick waiting for you."
Mr. Grenade remembered
that firm, no-nonsense voice
which had anchored him during
the most chaotic time in his life and
held him together when nothing else --
including his superpower -- could.
So he squared his shoulders
and lifted his chin and marched
into the quiet little house.
Hadyn turned out to be
an eleven-year-old girl with
wavy blonde hair that fell
just past her shoulders.
She was hiding behind
a gangly black boy who looked
ferociously protective but said,
"Good morning, Mr. Grenade," in
a carefully polite tone. "I'm Danso."
"Pleased to meet you,"
Mr. Grenade replied,
and shook hands with him.
"I'm Hadyn," the girl warbled.
Mr. Grenade remembered
how gently the Muffler had
dealt with him when he was
freaking out over his power,
so he crouched down to meet
Hadyn at her eye level.
"So you're my new camping buddy?"
he said. "We'll have a great weekend!"
"I haven't been camping much,"
she whispered, "unless you
count living on the streets."
Mr. Grenade was really glad
that the girl's asshole father
was already dead and not
currently in need of killing.
"This will be a lot more fun
than that," he promised.
"I have a tent, but I guess
you will need to pick out
your own sleeping bag."
Hadyn looked at the Muffler.
"My treat," Mr. Grenade specified.
"Okay," Hadyn said. She wouldn't
hold onto him when they walked
out to the car, but the Muffler had
warned about that -- and also
the importance of not grabbing
Hadyn, ever -- assuring him
that she wouldn't run off.
Mr. Grenade decided to trust
the girl unless she misbehaved.
She didn't. She was
almost scarily good.
At the store, Hadyn picked out
a loud pink-and-blue sleeping bag
that evidently came with a small one
to suit some traveling doll that she had.
Despite her lack of experience,
the kid had a good work ethic
and willingly pitched in to help
set up their campsite, listening
carefully as Mr. Grenade
explained what to do.
"We made a camp!" she said.
He looked at the tent and
the firepit and the larder bag
swinging neatly from its tree.
"We sure did," he said.
"Now it's time to go practice."
Her face fell. "If we have to,"
Hadyn said glumly.
"You don't like practicing?" he said.
"I don't practice," she said.
"I have a bad power. All it
ever does is hurt people."
Mr. Grenade got a sinking sense
that maybe this was even worse
than he had thought going in.
"Your power scares you?"
he asked, crouching down again.
She nodded. Her lip trembled.
He felt like a gigantic jerk
for scaring a little girl.
"Maybe it would be less scary
if I went first?" Mr. Grenade said.
"Really?" Hadyn said, tilting her head.
"I never saw anyone else do it.
They all do different things."
"Well, from what I hear, my power
works a little differently than yours,
but it's still Self-Detonation," he said.
"So let's go out to the meadow.
You can stand behind a tree,
and I'll show off for a while."
"Okay," she said, and
trotted along behind him while
they went to the practice field.
As they walked, Mr. Grenade
let the living metal seep out
to cover his skin.
"Wow," said Hadyn.
"You look like a statue."
He laughed. "I have actually
made pocket money, posing
as a living statue," he admitted.
"But I make a much better mercenary
than I do a busker, in the end."
Mr. Grenade gathered up
some cans that had tumbled
out of a toppled trash can, and
lined them up along a fallen log.
"Okay kid, get behind a tree,"
he said. "I've got enough
point control to hit those, but
I want to make sure that
you're safe, first."
Hadyn hid behind a tree,
one eye peeking out.
Mr. Grenade held out
both hands toward the cans,
and then carefully fired off
marble-sized bits of skin.
Pow! Ping! Pop!
went the metal missiles
as the metal cans flew off
of their perch on the log.
"Yay!" said Hadyn, which
was as close as she'd come
to admitting that Self-Detonation
might not be entirely awful.
"Thank you," he said with a bow.
"Now for the grand finale -- you
might want to cover your ears."
Then he centered himself,
breathed in, breathed out,
and let go of his superpower.
Metal skin exploded in all directions.
Mr. Grenade shivered in the aftermath
of the release, which always left him
a little giddy with the relief.
When he walked back to the tree,
Hadyn exclaimed, "Are you okay?
Didn't that hurt?" She looked worried,
her hand hovering over the pink expanse
of his freshly regenerated skin.
"I'm fine," he said. "When I blow
my metal skin like that, it just takes
a few minutes before I can do it again.
It doesn't hurt me; it feels like a release."
"Oh," she said. "You're lucky."
"Hadyn, does it hurt you when
you use your superpower?" he asked.
"It did," she said.
"I've heard that happens for
some people," he said. "Others
say that it hurt at first, but then
they learned how to do it right,
so that it doesn't hurt anymore."
Hadyn started crying.
"I don't want to do it," she said.
"I hate my superpower! I wish
that I didn't have it. I never want
to use it again. Please don't make me!"
Mr. Grenade might not know much
about kids, but knew that if they cried,
you were supposed to cuddle them
or something like that.
"Okay," he said. "Let's take a break.
How about a piggyback ride?"
Hadyn appeared to think about it
for a long minute, then held up
her arms. "Piggyback," she agreed.
To his strength, she weighed
next to nothing as he lifted her
onto his back, letting her
hang onto his shoulders.
By the time they got back
to their camp, she was laughing.
At least she wasn't terrified of him.
However, now he needed to find
some other way of convincing her
to explore her superpower.
Maybe it would help if he found
some way to make it appeal to her.
Mr. Grenade had no idea how
to do that, though, so he just
set it aside for the time being.
Instead he sent her to the pump
for water, and to the woodpile
for firewood, and then he
set about making supper.
Hadyn watched him like a hawk.
"You like cooking, huh?"
asked Mr. Grenade, seizing
the opportunity for connection.
"I like girl things," Hadyn said.
"Mom says that cooking is
a useful life skill. It's more fun
than what I learn in school, too."
Mr. Grenade wondered how
the teachers at her school
dealt with the 'difficult' kids,
especially the criers, because
he had no freaking clue.
"Have you ever learned about
campfire cooking?" he asked.
Mutely she shook her head.
"Okay, I'll show you,"
said Mr. Grenade. "It's easy."
So he told her about campfires
and what kind of wood worked
best for cooking, and how to make
a nice bed of coals in the ring.
He talked about the ingredients
that he'd packed and what they
could make with those.
He made beef stew with
dehydrated hamburger,
freeze-dried vegetables,
and gravy powder.
He baked potatoes with
slivered onions in tinfoil.
"It's good," Hadyn declared
as she licked the last of it
from her fingertips.
"Now those are things that
you can do with an ordinary fire,"
he said, "but let me show you a trick."
He stuck a marshmallow onto
the end of a collapsible fork --
without extending it -- and
held the thing over his hand.
Carefully he released his grip
on his superpower, just a little.
A line of tiny orange sparks
crawled across his palm.
The marshmallow began
to bubble and turn brown.
Deftly Mr. Grenade spun
the fork in his other hand.
When the marshmallow
was perfectly toasted,
he pinched it between
a graham cracker and
a chocolate bar, then
slid it off of the fork.
"How did you do that?"
Hadyn asked, her eyes wide.
"Superpowers," he said casually.
"Eat your dessert, kid."
She ate her dessert.
He waited.
"Can I have another?"
Hadyn asked.
"When you can make it
yourself," he said with a grin.
Hadyn looked at the bag of marshmallows.
That's when Mr. Grenade
finally began to believe that
he could actually make this work.
It took Hadyn the entire rest of the weekend
to learn enough control to cook marshmallows
without vaporizing them, and she accidentally
shot him in the crotch once -- which was no fun
even with Super-Armor -- but it was worth it
to see the triumphant smile on a tiny face
no longer shadowed by fear of her own gift.
Mr. Grenade stayed with her the whole time,
showing her how to breathe and how to stand
and helping her figure out which mental tricks
worked for her in terms of holding on or letting go.
It wasn't really the kind of thing that
you could teach in a schoolroom, with
books and desks and blackboards.
You just had to get outside
and do it, to find out
how it worked.
Having an experienced coach
helped a lot, though. Mr. Grenade
knew that Hadyn was learning this
much faster than he had.
Sometimes, he even surprised himself.
He hadn't thought he would make
a good teacher, but maybe
he had, after all.
"I think that was a success,"
he said to Hadyn as they
packed up their camp.
"What do you think?"
Hadyn smiled at him in
an impish way that made
her suntanned nose crinkle.
"When can we come again?" she said.
* * *
Notes:
Mr. Grenade (Borys Bergmann) -- He has fair skin, brown eyes, and short brown hair. He is tall and broad, with bulging muscles. His heritage is primarily central European, including German, Polish, and a little Russian. He speaks English, German, Italian, and Russian.
Mr. Grenade is a self-detonator who works as a supervillain henchman. His people skills focus on professional or casual interactions; he doesn't know much about how to handle closer relationships. Although primarily inspired by money, he is also known for a slow but serious temper, hence his tagline. Borys spends a lot of time outdoors where he enjoys hiking, camping, and various other wilderness activities. Since gaining his superpowers he has also paid attention to rocks and metals, but his knowledge there is still only average. He knows Hannah Patterson from spending a few weeks with her as part of learning how to control his superpowers.
Origin: Borys served in the military, and enemies threw a grenade into his unit. He dove on top of it, expecting to die. Instead he turned into a living grenade. He calmly walked over to the enemy position and detonated himself. But the military wanted to exploit his new superpower, so he quit and became a mercenary. Now he chooses his own missions, and only takes orders that he agrees with.
Uniform: As little as possible. Because activating his superpower ruins whatever he's wearing, Mr. Grenade dislikes wasting money on clothes. In warm climates he often wears nothing but shorts and shoes -- he doesn't even bother with socks. In colder weather, he favors cheap tracksuits in dark colors.
Qualities: Expert (+4) Unflappable, Good (+2) Iron Will, Good (+2) Mercenary Fighter, Good (+2) Outdoorsman
Poor (-2) Intimacy
Powers: Good (+2) Metal Skin (Signature Stunt: Controlled Burst), Good (+2) Regeneration, Good (+2) Super-Strength
Mr. Grenade can turn his skin to living metal, and it serves as Super-Armor. Then if he wishes, he can use Self-Detonation to produce a cloud of shrapnel from it. His Regeneration takes about five minutes before he can re-arm his Grenade Skin. During that time he is vulnerable, his soft human skin unable to turn aside attacks.
Usually he blows off his entire skin at once, but he can use the Controlled Burst stunt to fire a small burst or single rounds at a specific target. This version reduces his Super-Armor to Average for five minutes.
Motivation: "Once you have pulled the pin from Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend."
The Muffler (Hannah Patterson) -- She has straight black hair now streaked with silver, hazel eyes blending brown and green, and tan skin. Hannah works for SPOON, raising children with superpowers who need foster or adoptive care. Her usual limit was two at a time, but she has just taken on a set of five siblings-of-choice.
Origin: Her powers grew in slowly over time. As more children began to manifest superpowers, she realized that her gifts could help them when nobody else could, so she became a foster mother.
Uniform: Street clothes. Hannah usually wears a light colored top with darker pants or skirt, and sometimes a cardigan over the top.
Qualities: Master (+6) Foster Mom, Expert (+4) Eyes in the Back of Her Head, Expert (+4) Soup Contacts, Good (+2) Crafts, Good (+2) Never Mess with the Mommy, Good (+2) Pillar of the Local Church, Good (+2) Sports Fan, Good (+2) Stamina
Poor (-2) Love Life
Powers: Good (+2) Power Nullification, Average (0) Empathy
Motivation: Love makes a house a home.
Boomer (Hadyn Kennedy) -- She has wavy blond hair past her shoulders, brown eyes, and golden-fair skin. Her ability to explode and reform her body has made her anxious and skittish, because she can't control it much. She clings to Danso as a protector and an anchor. Hadyn particularly enjoys jumping rope and has taught Lakia how to do it. She is currently eleven years old.
Origin: Her superpowers manifested at ten, when her father sexually abused her. Neither he nor their house survived the incident. Hadyn fled and lived on the street alone until she met Danso.
Uniform: Street clothes. Hadyn likes girl clothes.
Qualities: Good (+2) Cute, Good (+2) Girl Stuff, Good (+2) Survivor
Poor (-2) Sexual Abuse Trauma
Powers: Average (0) Regeneration, Average (0) Self-Detonation
Motivation: Avoid conflict.
* * *
“Practice is the best of all instructors.”
-- Publilius Syrus quotes (Roman author, 1st century B.C.)
Traumatized children often suffer lasting effects. In Hadyn's case, the trauma includes sexual abuse, traumatic manifestation of Self-Detonation which destroyed both her father and their home, and homelessness. There are tips for foster parents and other caregivers of traumatized children.
See the Journey Girls Sleeping Bag set.
Camping food safety includes bearproofing your edibles. One easy method involves suspending the food in a sack slung over a tree branch.
Living Statue is a style of street performance. It is rather popular with soups who have metallic or stony looking skin. Read about how to be a living statue.
Campfire cooking relies on having appropriate ingredients. You can use dehydrated meat, freeze-dried vegetables, and other things that store well. Browse some recipes for dehydrated foods.
A telescoping marshmallow fork is a useful tool for campfire cooking.
Self-lighting charcoal is often used to burn incense. Watch a video of this in action. Some people with Self-Detonation can mimic this effect using their superpowers.
Marshmallows are among the most popular camping foods. They may be roasted in various ways.
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
dawww
Date: 2016-12-31 04:14 pm (UTC)Re: dawww
Date: 2017-01-01 06:49 am (UTC)Thank you. :D
>> He was so nervous! <<
Yep. Mr. Grenade understands combat; it rarely fazes him. He does not understand people nearly as well, and they are more inclined to make him anxious.
>> The dynamic here sort of reminded me of Sully and Boo, but better because Mr. Grenade worked the problem a lot faster than Sully did and he got a GOOD outcome! *clappyhands* *purrrrrr* <<
:D I am flattered by the comparison to a favorite movie.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 04:23 pm (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 07:52 pm (UTC)Mr. Grenade is one of the rare people who had no legal recourse other than supervillainy. The military had no "change of circumstance" clause to release someone with new superpowers. This is stupid and dangerous, but they can't bring themselves to give up that power. ("Boromir! Give the Ring back to Frodo.") And then they want to use those superpowers according to military interest, without regard for the owner. So Mr. Grenade could either stay and be used as a human weapon against his will, which in his eyes and those of his victims would make him a supervillain; or he could break the law and leave, becoming a legal criminal but preserving his own ethics. He left.
Humanity makes a lot of its own problems.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 08:22 pm (UTC)Sooth.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 06:35 pm (UTC)(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 06:59 pm (UTC)I remember self-lighting charcoal. So that's why it stunk! I could never place that smell because where I used things that go boom and where I used things that smelt pretty were always entirely separate (not being Asatru and all)...
I've been known to use a culinary torch to roast marshmallows... or a gas stove.. gotta be careful with that latter b/c if it drips, you've got a (literal) hot mess...
But yeah. "You teach best that which you most need to know" (Richard Bach).. and, also, incentives *work*... :D
Thoughts
Date: 2017-01-01 06:40 am (UTC):D I am especially fond of the strawberry marshmallows.
>> I remember self-lighting charcoal. So that's why it stunk! I could never place that smell because where I used things that go boom and where I used things that smelt pretty were always entirely separate (not being Asatru and all)...<<
Yeah, there's the dusty black charcoal smell and then the funky gray gunpowder smell.
>> I've been known to use a culinary torch to roast marshmallows...<<
Good idea.
>> or a gas stove.. gotta be careful with that latter b/c if it drips, you've got a (literal) hot mess... <<
Not so good idea.
>> But yeah. "You teach best that which you most need to know" (Richard Bach).. and, also, incentives *work*... :D <<
Sooth. Mr. Grenade has his perks.
Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 07:54 pm (UTC)A very, very satisfying tale!
Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 08:22 pm (UTC)By this point, she's had several months of healthy family life and good therapy. That's not enough to erase her very natural fear of her superpower, but is enough to get her over the hump where she can be coaxed into practicing it in a safe location with someone she can't easily hurt. Yay, progress!
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 08:02 pm (UTC)Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 08:32 pm (UTC)I'm happy to hear that.
>> I loved the skittishness they both had around each other and how they gradually got more comfortable with one another <<
One thing I wanted to challenge with this poem is the disturbing and widespread assumption that an adult is a threat to a child. If that's your base assumption, your society is fucked up beyond repair. So here is a supervillain taking a molestation survivor on a camping trip, alone, because this is exactly the kind of occasion that requires privacy in order to work at all. With a "chaperone" Hadyn would feel less safe and wouldn't touch her talent at all. Mr. Grenade has a matching power that makes him safe, even in case of misfires. He not only doesn't think of her as a sex object, if anyone else did, he would take care of the problem personally so that Hadyn didn't have to this time.
>> and that smile from Hadyn was absolutely precious. <3 <<
;) Like your icon says.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 09:02 pm (UTC)Indeed. Her smile was very much a girl-shaped sun. ^_^ Hopefully learning more about her superpowers and dealing with what happened will make it appear more often.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 09:11 pm (UTC)Those things are also true. But Mr. Grenade looks like the kind of guy that people in L-America wouldn't allow around children. Hannah, who raises children as a dayjob, knows to look deeper.
>> Indeed. Her smile was very much a girl-shaped sun. ^_^ Hopefully learning more about her superpowers and dealing with what happened will make it appear more often. <<
I think so.
Hadyn doesn't have the kind of superpower that lends itself well to a lot of positive applications, and her personality doesn't fit most of them. She may choose to keep it contained most of the time, or only use tiny parts like roasting a marshmallow, and that's okay. What matters is that she gets comfortable enough to learn that kind of control, and feel okay with herself, not be miserable.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 09:21 pm (UTC)Re: Yay!
Date: 2016-12-31 09:39 pm (UTC)Yes.
>> She's very vocal here about not wanting it, after all. Most of her feelings come from (or seem to come from) the trauma of how her powers manifested, <<
This is most of the problem, right. Traumatic manifestation sucks. Beyond that, however, Self-Detonation is a violent and scary power. Hadyn doesn't like such things. Her superpower fit the need she had in the moment of manifestation, but does not fit her personality in general. That happens sometimes.
The traumatic issues can be worked through in therapy. Hadyn has a great therapist whom she likes and trusts. They've made considerable progress already.
The personality mismatch requires subtly different handling, and most of it just comes down to the fact that a superpower is not an obligation. It's just a thing you can do. It doesn't define your personality, ethics, career, or anything else about you. If you don't want to use it, then you don't have to. You just need to understand it well enough that it doesn't make trouble on its own.
>> but what if, after healing from that, she still decides she just doesn't want superpowers? (Or at least not the ones she has.) <<
Well, there are other options, and Hadyn has far more access to those than some other people do.
1) She could keep the superpower but rarely if ever use it. This is the safest option, and by far the most common. Crickets outnumber active soups.
2) She could stay around Hannah or someone else with a neutralizing field. This option is most used by people who cannot control their superpowers, if they know someone who can help.
3) She could pursue actual removal. This is the riskiest option, because even when carefully done, sometimes it has undesirable side effects. Frex, it might not be possible to remove only the Self-Detonation without also removing the Regeneration, and cutting out the latter could damage her ordinary healing processes. Danso has Superpower Manipulation; it is something he could do. It's something he may well learn to do for the sake of helping people with superdisempowers. But I don't think it's something Hadyn would ask of him.
What matters is that, as you said, if Hadyn persists in saying she doesn't want her superpowers, then people will take that seriously and discuss options. Hannah takes a very dim view of SPOON's tendency to push people toward superheroism. Hadyn doesn't really have the personality for that -- although she might do well in hero support running a capery shop or whatever.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-02 04:34 pm (UTC)It sounds like something he'd offer if he had the thought he could do it and that it would help, but as we've both said: what matters is that whatever her feelings on her superpowers are she's taken seriously and she's presented with options she can decide on. And to be presented with them either when it's clear her feelings aren't going to change no matter what or when she's reached a point where she can make an informed decision, whichever happens first. (And even then the ethical people who could remove her superpowers would likely have a lot of safeguards to make sure it's what she wants.)
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-03 03:03 am (UTC)That seems like Danso, yes.
>> but as we've both said: what matters is that whatever her feelings on her superpowers are she's taken seriously and she's presented with options she can decide on. <<
Agreed. It's something to explore as she learns about her superpowers. If she feels like she's just saddled with them whether she wants any or not, then she's more likely to balk. Present it as an option and she'll probably explore multiple choices to see which she likes better.
>> And to be presented with them either when it's clear her feelings aren't going to change no matter what or when she's reached a point where she can make an informed decision, whichever happens first. <<
"I've known her since she was ten, and now she's eightteen. If she hasn't changed her mind in eight years, I don't think she's going to."
>> (And even then the ethical people who could remove her superpowers would likely have a lot of safeguards to make sure it's what she wants.) <<
That's an interesting point of ethics. If you don't check at all, then you run into problems like Cassandra had, where her parents violated her body autonomy by paying someone to hack off what they didn't like. This can kill people. But if you put too many barriers, it turns into the problem transfolk have where nobody will help them because they haven't "proven themselves enough." 0_o Which also kills people.
Happily T-America has options we don't: in addition to the usual interview, they could also use a telepath or empath to confirm intent. Not everyone's comfortable with that, but for anyone who is, it sure saves time and it's very solid.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-03 05:51 pm (UTC)Yes. Choosing what option she thinks is best will make it easier to deal with any less-than-ideal aspects of that choice too.
. But if you put too many barriers, it turns into the problem transfolk have where nobody will help them because they haven't "proven themselves enough." 0_o
Yeah, no. You definitely don't want to have too many barriers. That is a spectacularly bad idea. Sorry that wasn't clear from what I said earlier. ^_^; I was more thinking that, at the moment, Hadyn's judgement isn't as clear as it could be and "I don't want superpowers at all" may not be what she actually wants long-term. Any barriers would (should?) be more about making sure that what people want is based on making an informed decision, and any barriers should be ones that are a) easy to get past because they're not intended to keep people from the care they need, b) tailored to the individual. If that makes sense. Certainly not any of that "I say you've not proven yourself enough and I'm the doctor, so I know best" nonsense. Ugh.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-03 07:05 pm (UTC)I think this will help deal with the current challenges too, by showing that none of it has to be permanent -- that Hadyn can make changes if she doesn't like things.
>>Yeah, no. You definitely don't want to have too many barriers. That is a spectacularly bad idea. Sorry that wasn't clear from what I said earlier. ^_^; <<
No problem.
>>I was more thinking that, at the moment, Hadyn's judgement isn't as clear as it could be and "I don't want superpowers at all" may not be what she actually wants long-term.<<
That's true.
>> Any barriers would (should?) be more about making sure that what people want is based on making an informed decision, and any barriers should be ones that are a) easy to get past because they're not intended to keep people from the care they need, b) tailored to the individual. If that makes sense. Certainly not any of that "I say you've not proven yourself enough and I'm the doctor, so I know best" nonsense. Ugh.<<
Yeah, that violates the "do no harm" principle.
Among the more graphic examples is this poor sod who hacked off his own hand because doctors refused to help him. Not to mention the countless people who don't want their reproductive parts -- especially women whose parts hurt them often -- but can't get help because doctors consider their own wishes more important than the patient's.
Hence the It's Your Body Shop.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-30 03:30 am (UTC)It's hard for me to imagine having superpowers but then mostly ignoring them.
... on the other hand when I think about it, being this severely disabled is kind of like being a non-powered person living in a world of soups. I am surrounded always by people who could do things that basically seem like superpowers to me - they can sit in chairs and do cooking and walk to the letterbox and stand up as long as they want and drive cars and chase kids around and go shopping ... and I want those superpowers a lot, so I guess that would severely warp my perspective.
Re: Yay!
Date: 2017-01-30 04:08 am (UTC)As best I can tell, crickets outnumber active soups about two to one. That's an average. The number of crickets approaches totality in bottom-ten countries where it can get people killed on sight.
It is lower in the Maldives, which actively recruits soups, partly because taking the deal for expedited immigration requires revealing your power(s) and explaining how this will be of use to the country. They started out asking for people with things like Water Powers or Earth Powers that would obviously help keep the country's nose above the waves, but quickly realized that many other gifts such as healing and teleporting are also immensely useful. And the President's favorite isn't any of those: Chops just makes seals that can't be counterfeited. Now the Maldives has the world's only uncounterfeitable currency and Presidential documents.
>> It's hard for me to imagine having superpowers but then mostly ignoring them. <<
Some additional considerations:
* Not all superpowers are glamorous or even tolerable. The mainstream comics show almost all powers that are useful and exciting. Only on rare occasions have I seen exceptions; the X-Men variations tend to be good at showing some innocuous powers that don't really do anything.
* There are drawbacks. Some hurt to use. Some are dangerous. Some people never develop much control, although most can with coaching. If your superpower runs on calories, your baseline is probably twice normal and under heavy use could be four times normal. Imagine quadrupling your food budget. How much would that quash your desire, or if not desire, choice to use?
* Just being known as a soup is risky in many areas. Most people want to fit in. Using any visible power makes that difficult or impossible.
* Some people's beliefs prohibit them from using superpowers.
* While powers match personality more often than not, they don't always. Some people have powers that are scary or just don't appeal to them. Just because you can heal injuries doesn't necessarily mean you want to do that for a living -- and if people know you have a high-demand ability, they'll pester you to use it.
* Not all superpowers are obvious. A Kauai is a person with superpowers who doesn't realize it, named after the island's silent crickets. A sizable portion of the crickets are people with Super-Immunity, which is among the subtlest abilities. Most people who have it don't know it, since the only way to be sure is to ask someone who can read superpowers.
>> ... on the other hand when I think about it, being this severely disabled is kind of like being a non-powered person living in a world of soups. <<
That is going to happen in Terramagne eventually, and it's going to happen with Super-Immunity first because that one consistently breeds true.
>> I am surrounded always by people who could do things that basically seem like superpowers to me - they can sit in chairs and do cooking and walk to the letterbox and stand up as long as they want and drive cars and chase kids around and go shopping ... and I want those superpowers a lot, so I guess that would severely warp my perspective. <<
I think it's a very astute perspective, actually.
However, think of the other disabled people you know. Do you know anyone who has incorporated their disability into their identity so much that they don't want a cure, maybe even get aggressive about programs that want to cure everyone? For me, my eyeglasses are part of my face. If I could have perfect vision, I'd gladly take it -- but I am aware that I'd have to go find glasses with plain lenses.
Some people are like that about superpowers, it clashes with their self-image. Faramundo is having that problem even worse than Hadyn, and he's not being sensible about it.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 08:59 pm (UTC)Thank you!
Date: 2016-12-31 09:17 pm (UTC)Yay! :D It really grew out of his tagline: "Once you have pulled the pin from Mr. Grenade, he is no longer your friend."
>> I hope we see more of him.<<
I have one more poem written about him, which has been sponsored and will appear when I have time to post it, "On the Axle of Mindless Aggression."
Feel free to request more during any relevant prompt call.
(no subject)
Date: 2016-12-31 10:10 pm (UTC)It's also funny/sad that he is so physically courageous but quails at the thought of any sort of emotional connection. Hayden may be as good for him as he is for her.
I'm not going to go into a full rant here, but part of the reason we're so inclined to view adults (and especially adult men) as a threat to children is that as a society, we still haven't come to terms with the idea of women and children being people. Children are just property that's a little better protected, that's all. Men, being real people, are privileged to treat non-people as legitimate prey for their own desires.
Thoughts
Date: 2017-01-01 07:30 am (UTC)\o/
>> Scary things become much less scary when you feel as if you have some control over them. Right now she's terrified that she'll go off without warning and hurt someone, and Mr. Grenade is doing the equivalent of giving her a pin that she can remove or not as she chooses. <<
Sooth. Plus all her memories about the superpower are awful, and that never helps. Having happier memories will start the idea that maybe this power could be used for something positive.
>> It's also funny/sad that he is so physically courageous but quails at the thought of any sort of emotional connection. <<
Yep. Mr. Grenade is formidable in a fight, so he feels confident about that. His people skills are nowhere near that good, so he frets.
>>Hayden may be as good for him as he is for her.<<
She really is. Hadyn understands people better than Mr. Grenade.
>> I'm not going to go into a full rant here, but part of the reason we're so inclined to view adults (and especially adult men) as a threat to children is that as a society, we still haven't come to terms with the idea of women and children being people. <<
Sadly so.
>> Children are just property that's a little better protected, that's all. Men, being real people, are privileged to treat non-people as legitimate prey for their own desires.<<
Which is bad for both children and men. >_<
I like writing about scenarios that demonstrate the negative consequences of treating people as property, and the positive consequences of treating people well.
quality private instruction
Date: 2016-12-31 10:43 pm (UTC)>> "When you can make it yourself," he said with a grin.
I love this! He answered the exact question she asked, "can I?", rather than what she probably thought she was asking, "may I?". :-)
>> I have one more poem written about him, which has been sponsored and will appear when I have time to post it, "On the Axle of Mindless Aggression." <<
Yaaaay! The title does get me wondering whether it's his origin story...
>> it just comes down to the fact that a superpower is not an obligation. It's just a thing you can do. It doesn't define your personality, ethics, career, or anything else about you. If you don't want to use it, then you don't have to. You just need to understand it well enough that it doesn't make trouble on its own. <<
You know this. Your readers know this. Some folks (*cough* Granny Whammy, certain military organizations *cough*) would disagree with the penultimate sentence, above. Fortunately, "you don't have to" is a valid choice which is usually widely respected.
Re: quality private instruction
Date: 2017-01-01 04:59 am (UTC)It's actually the same answer to both questions. She is able to, and is permitted to, have another marshmallow when she discovers how to melt it herself with her superpower.
>> Yaaaay! The title does get me wondering whether it's his origin story... <<
No, I haven't written that yet. This one is Mr. Grenade and Dvorak getting hired to bust up a supervillain base.
>> You know this. Your readers know this. Some folks (*cough* Granny Whammy, certain military organizations *cough*) would disagree with the penultimate sentence, above. Fortunately, "you don't have to" is a valid choice which is usually widely respected.<<
Sometimes I write counterpoints, but most of the time I write my beliefs. Be the change you want to see in the world.
(no subject)
Date: 2017-01-01 08:32 am (UTC)