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A New Dawn (Ex-Papergeist) - A Worm/Naruto Crossover

Reader mode
Ill be making the edits in the morning in order to fix everything up as I just got out of a fifteen hour shift and have to turn around and be at work again in less than eight hours. Just popping in to thank you guys for your enthusiasm, and I'll spend some time tomorrow, if I get the time or get out of work earlier than I am expecting, to answer your questions or comments as best as I can.
 
...Talk about a revival! I never expected this back, yet I am very happy to see it back and you @AlSmash. This first chapter seemed to flow quite well, so I have high hopes for the rest of whatever you've got. I'm definitely interested in seeing how Konan will handle things here-on in, which considering how the first chapter went, only promises good things.
 
I shifted the old work to an Apocrypha threadmark. Hopefully I got it into order once I figured out how to manipulate it.

Anyways, I should have the response to you guys by tomorrow afternoon at the latest. I'll probably try and write the Q&A post on my phone at work, work willing that is.

I will give you guys a subject list though, based on your comments on here and SB:

Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon
Taylor choosing to work in the form of Konan
Illinois v Eckhardt (The Eckhardt Test)
Konan v Taylor (Idealism vs Cynicism)
Power Creep (Why this was an issue in the previous iteration)

If any of you have anymore, please leave something here and I'll add it onto the laundry list and fix the story up a little bit more.

Also, looking for a beta to tell me how much I suck, my previous beta is busy with life.
 
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Taylor/ Konan or Taynon?

Clones can shift their appearance being made of paper, to look differently from head to toe, hair, eyes, clothes, ect?

Can she make Artwork of Paper? Paper Screens with Ancient Seals on them?

I can picture Lung attempting to catch her, Asian appearing.

How dangerous would she be with a Printing Press?

I admit, I want to see her discover Accord's written report on how to end world hunger. Can she critique it?
 
I had two issues. The first is that you are explaining Hookwolf is retracting his blades back into himself and then bringing it out again, to cut the paper bonds. However, that is pointless and a waste of time. He creates a body for himself, in the shape of a giant wolf, completely made of blades. These are not static blades, but blades in constant movement. Or can be put into constant movement. His entire body is a giant paper shredder, in other words. If you put down that the paper bonds were somehow resisting getting cut and that he is having to force the blades making up his body to move faster, then that fixes this inconsistency.

The second issue is Armsmaster. I'm not sure why he is having issues with Taylor. The ones described do not fit in with Armsmaster's character. If it was about the damage to the status quo and the creation of a gang war, that I could understand. But the ones provided right now is something I'm having a hard time as belonging to him.

But then, these are my opinions and I could be wrong about both. But I do hope you have a much better plan, instead of the trainwreck where Danny got killed off because Armsmaster was more concerned with arresting and starting a battle in a civilian neighborhood.
 
Oh my god, not another "Arms master is OOC" argument! Please, don't.
Regarding Taynon's power creep: Konan has thirty years of experience, Taylor has fifteen. It's not quite "a drop of water in the ocean", but Taynon is likely more Konan than Taylor.

Now, who looking forward to a re-enactment of Konan's "Paper Person of God Technique"??
 
AlSmash said:
The fact that this woman was actively working to fulfill an Eckhardt test only colored his opinion towards her further in a negative light.
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...why?

He thinks badly of people who follow the laws instead of just running around stealing stuff? Well, that's one way to explain why villains get away all the time.

TerraBull said:
How dangerous would she be with a Printing Press?
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Those things are pretty big and heavy, so she'd probably be very dangerous if she started tossing it around.

...not what you mean? :p
 
Franklymydear said:
...why?

He thinks badly of people who follow the laws instead of just running around stealing stuff? Well, that's one way to explain why villains get away all the time.
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Could just be that someone with ill intent who knows exactly what lines they can and can not legally cross is so much harder to nail, and he's assuming the worst because this is Earth Bet, why wouldn't he assume the worst.
 
the paperwork is meant to make it difficult for indes so a cape who can game the system by filling said forms in correctly is obviously a wrong en as they beat an impossible task
 
Ideas for explaining Armsmaster's issues:

1. Armsmaster has a distaste for mercenary types.
2. An unknown/unpredictable element following the rules that scrupulously when nobody else can/does sets off irrational alarm bells in his mind, even as he's pleased by their willingness to play ball.
3. Armsmaster is seeing Tenshi as a rules lawyer type and is displeased by this for some reason.
4. Shard Conflict Stupidity.
 
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So, let me preface this by saying this this post is more of a response to the questions and comments on both SB and SV. I felt that it would be more efficient in that it may answer questions or comments that may have been asked in one, but not asked in the other, but was still in people's minds. So please, bear with me as I go through each and every one of them.


Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon:

Where Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon stems from is two things. The first strike against Taynon is the fact that she is neither Protectorate or New Wave, a Protectorate-allied group, nor has she expressed any interest in the Protectorate. In fact, this is the first time that the Protectorate has directly encountered her. This doesn't exactly paint her in a good light, especially as it becomes apparent that the only reason that she is there is in order to fulfill the Eckhardt Test and that is it.

This leads into the second, and even more egregious strike against her, which is the fact that for all intents and purposes, that Taynon's vigilantism appears to be of primarily financial intent. That the only reason she is stopping the crimes is because it benefits her primarily, with society an unintentional beneficiary. What's to stop her from deciding that she isn't making enough money and therefore its more beneficial for her to go into crime?

Then, finally, is Taynon's casual disregard for him and his questions. Taylor didn't exactly do well for herself, as she noted that she wasn't mature in how she handled Armsmaster, but she was compromised by her own knowledge (and added experiences) of the Protectorate. So, she came off as uncaring, only there for the legal matters and that was it, with a casual disregard of the Protectorate and even the established rules regarding capes.

So really, it's a mixture of Armsmaster's own worldview of order vs chaos, us vs them, and Taylor's actions leading up to and including now. This isn't just some spur of the moment thing, and going forward, it's only going to get worse, as Taylor is, by her very existence, going to be an agent of chaos because she refuses to play the game as it has been established.



Taylor choosing to work in the form of Konan:

Theatricality and deception are powerful agents. I know it's a quote from Batman Begins, but I find it exceptionally appropriate in this case. But it goes deeper than that.

Why Taylor chose the form of Konan is for a multitude of reasons, the first being that Konan, as a person, is memorable, but also untraceable. The Protectorate can spend their entire budget on facial recognition software and digging through archives and photos, and they would find nothing.

Furthermore, this plays into a deeper psychological angle. I won't go into the purpose of the mask or anything, considering its common knowledge on why capes wear masks in general. But, by operating without a mask, Taylor is pretty much advertising that she believes that she is unassailable to her enemies, that even if they discover who she is and where she lives, that it doesn't matter, because she believes she can handle them. She is throwing down an unspoken gauntlet towards her enemies, and by being so unforgettable in her looks, there is no way that the message would not be received by those savvy enough to understand.

The deeper part of it, however, is that Taylor is cheatsidoodling. How is she cheating and what does that have to do with assuming the form of Konan? It's quite simple, Taylor has all of the memories of Konan, which just so happens to include muscle memory. And which would you prefer to go out in the field with, the close combat capability of an S-Rank shinobi, or fighting with your own style you had only been working on for a month or so?



Eckhardt v Illinois (The Eckhardt Test):

I'll be honest on this front, but I created Eckhardt v Illinois as means for Taylor to acquire the monetary assets to further her goals and objectives through legal means that would explain her operations in the two weeks leading up to this chapter. There are several things that she is working on the requires money and resources that would otherwise be unattainable without pissing off the Protectorate and having them hounding her for reasons other than co-opting.

Part of the reason that Taylor is attacking 'soft' targets is for the money, but it is also training. For shinobi, it's much easier to hone their skills in taking out 'unpowered' civilians, than it is to graduating straight into attacking others who have their skillsets or something similiar.

Hookwolf was an unplanned foil to her objectives, and if it wasn't for him, she would have likely remained executing these operations while keeping relatively under the radar outside of reports and rumor on PHO. Sadly, that will have to change now, as she now has attention firmly latched upon her.



Konan v Taylor (Idealism and Agency)

I've seen a point or two about how we are not seeing a lot of of Konan's personality and belief structure so far in this first chapter, and you would honestly be right. The issue is that you have two personalities and belief structures that are conflicting, at least in my opinion/estimation.

Konan, yes, is an idealist, she's an idealist in that she wants to create a better world and she believes that her actions, reprehensible that they may be, would lead to a better world. Now, what makes it interesting is what happens after Nagato's death with her investment into Naruto's beliefs.

Now, we can go with the entire shonen plot element of the good guy somehow converts the adversary to their way of thinking trope, but since we can't do that, I have to work out a read of the situation that could work here.

However, the read I somehow got from her was that she was more of a Lieutenant than a leader herself. Sure, she eventually ended up the de jure leader of Amegakure after Nagato's death, but in the time leading up to that, it always seemed that she deferred/supported Yahiko and Nagato, letting them dictate the direction they take, only getting worse as, in their grief at the death of Yahiko, they decided to work with Obito. This is only reinforced when she decides to throw in her lot with Naruto after Nagato told her that Naruto would fulfill their dream.

Taylor, on the other hand, is a 'survivor'. Between her mother's death, Emma's betrayal, her father's distancing, and the orchestrated campaign of bullying at the school, she had nothing in her corner as a support structure. As a result, she only came to depend upon herself, and with the addition of Konan's skills and memories, she now has the methods and means to both protect herself, but also change the dynamic that currently existed.

Now, what does this mean for Taynon in general, is that you are already seeing some of the impact. Taynon has absolutely no faith in the current system, she is perfectly aware that not only has the system has failed her, but the system is so inherently broken that Konan's memories, specifically the Akatsuki, has already burned any bridge of interest in being a part of the Protectorate.

But it goes further than that, and it was only mentioned obliquely, but Taylor is aware of who Sophia is. That's where the comment that she has no faith in the heroes either. If they would tacitly allow something like this, then it could only be worse. The system, in her estimation is completely broken.

But lo and behold, but what does Taylor have thanks to the memories of a certain paper shinobi? Nearly thirty years of being forming, being a part of, and reforming a revolutionary group that became an enemy of the world in their quest for peace. She literally has a blueprint of forming her own cape team stuck in her cranium, not just of pooling resources sort of deal, but sort of things an organization would need, like logistics, finances, resources, and even press. She has a direction to focus herself, instead of flailing about haphazardly, as what kinda happened in Worm itself until she finally became who she was.

If Taylor didn't have Konan's memories and perspective, it's likely that she would have gone villain, but here, she actually has a blueprint for agency. Where she isn't at the mercy of others dictating her actions, or forcing her into compromises that ran against everything she believed in. In a way, Taylor is in a better position, but still has that need to survive, and the only way to survive now that she is a cape, is to create her own agency, to where she can't be challenged by others.

So, yes, there is those influences of Konan driving her actions, as well as an understanding of the system. But notice also, that Taylor would have not even cared about the system as much as ensuring that she could take care of herself. Here, however, Konan's sense of making the world a better place is meshing with her own quest.

Hopefully that explains at least my read and direction of Taylor herself. Taylor is still Taylor, but there are influences in there from Konan that are directing her in a certain way, but by and far, what Konan is serving is rounding Taylor out in a way that works.



Power Creep (Why this was an issue in the previous iteration)

One of the issues I had with the previous story was that the power creep that I envisioned, that is that there wasn't so much a power creep as much as an abrupt power crescendo. Why this didn't rest well with me is that I don't like to do something without some sort of buildup or basis in why that they are taking place. Taylor going from scared, confused, and distraught, to full on Konan in the span of 2 minutes, with no training, no wherewithal, just 'memories' just doesn't feel like a realistic power creep, as much as that I was setting the stage for a series of damn power spikes that would only seem plot driven, than a natural progression.

In PAND, I hope to actually build, either by mentioning, or showing, Taylor's progression, as she gradually adds more to her arsenal as she builds her chakra pool, but also understands what makes it tick. She's already had a month's worth of work, where she had a basis of feelings and memories in that she could reverse engineer some things, but also, in the next few chapters, you will see that she has her own little niche of enjoyment as she learns her powers.

And she is still learning, I want to make this clear. She is going to keep learning, as she expands herself in ways that Konan had the opportunity to do so, but didn't.

Now, before you bring out the pitchfork and torches on my ass for that statement, let me preface this with a work in progress excerpt from Awakening 1.03, which, while it may change as I improve upon it, expresses from Taylor's perspective, on why Konan, someone who could literally create paper with her chakra (likely chakra infused) did not take advantage of a powerful opportunity:

Konan, while she could do what I do, using her paper to write fuinjutsu while within herself, just never viewed it as useful. Personally, I blamed this disinterest on Nagato and his bullshit Rinnegan. What was the point of increasing your versatility when you have someone who can level enemies and cities alike with the wave of a hand.
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Honestly, I think both the role that Konan had in the organization, in regards to the day-to-day running of Amegakure, as well as serving as the core administrator and one of the intelligence specialists for Akatsuki, didn't leave her exactly a lot of time to hone her skills and expand upon herself. Hell, you could make a pretty damn fine argument that Konan's growth was relatively stagnant between the scenes we see of her in her childhood, and then during her final battle with Obito. Outside of her usage of the Paper Person of God Technique, there just wasn't anything that showed really any growth.



I hope that this answered some questions. As for the subject of transmigration/reincarnation and what is at play, well, I'd rather keep that close to my chest for now. Don't worry, I do have a plan for all of that, considering.
 
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AlSmash said:
She literally has a blueprint of forming her own cape team stuck in her cranium, not just of pooling resources sort of deal, but sort of things an organization would need, like logistics, finances, resources, and even press.
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The question is what exactly does she want to do?
Does she want to destroy the PRT/Protectorate, secede from the USA, and establish herself as god/dictator of Brockton Bay?
Does she want to create Team Awesome, capture a bunch of villains, then hand them over to the PRT?
Does she want to create a secret shadow organization that makes criminals just 'disappear'... which is the exact same as the first choice but less public?

The danger is that as inefficient as they look from the outside, it would be easy for her to end up doing the exact same things for the exact same reasons, but only at 1% of the effectiveness because she has fewer resources.
 
Blaflaix said:
The question is what exactly does she want to do?
Does she want to destroy the PRT/Protectorate, secede from the USA, and establish herself as god/dictator of Brockton Bay?
Does she want to create Team Awesome, capture a bunch of villains, then hand them over to the PRT?
Does she want to create a secret shadow organization that makes criminals just 'disappear'... which is the exact same as the first choice but less public?

The danger is that as inefficient as they look from the outside, it would be easy for her to end up doing the exact same things for the exact same reasons, but only at 1% of the effectiveness because she has fewer resources.
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I think Taynon will need to discover that answer herself. Taynon's desire to make the world a better place does not mean she will be able to. In canon, Konan's hopes to create a better world died with Yahiko's death until it was rekindled by Naruto, to the point that Konan was willing to fight Madara Uchiha (Obito), a Kage level Shinobi, in an all-out battle, in which she nearly killed (Obito) Madara.
 
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AlSmash said:
So, let me preface this by saying this this post is more of a response to the questions and comments on both SB and SV. I felt that it would be more efficient in that it may answer questions or comments that may have been asked in one, but not asked in the other, but was still in people's minds. So please, bear with me as I go through each and every one of them.


Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon:

Where Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon stems from is two things. The first strike against Taynon is the fact that she is neither Protectorate or New Wave, a Protectorate-allied group, nor has she expressed any interest in the Protectorate. In fact, this is the first time that the Protectorate has directly encountered her. This doesn't exactly paint her in a good light, especially as it becomes apparent that the only reason that she is there is in order to fulfill the Eckhardt Test and that is it.

This leads into the second, and even more egregious strike against her, which is the fact that for all intents and purposes, that Taynon's vigilantism appears to be of primarily financial intent. That the only reason she is stopping the crimes is because it benefits her primarily, with society an unintentional beneficiary. What's to stop her from deciding that she isn't making enough money and therefore its more beneficial for her to go into crime?

Then, finally, is Taynon's casual disregard for him and his questions. Taylor didn't exactly do well for herself, as she noted that she wasn't mature in how she handled Armsmaster, but she was compromised by her own knowledge (and added experiences) of the Protectorate. So, she came off as uncaring, only there for the legal matters and that was it, with a casual disregard of the Protectorate and even the established rules regarding capes.

So really, it's a mixture of Armsmaster's own worldview of order vs chaos, us vs them, and Taylor's actions leading up to and including now. This isn't just some spur of the moment thing, and going forward, it's only going to get worse, as Taylor is, by her very existence, going to be an agent of chaos because she refuses to play the game as it has been established.



Taylor choosing to work in the form of Konan:

Theatricality and deception are powerful agents. I know it's a quote from Batman Begins, but I find it exceptionally appropriate in this case. But it goes deeper than that.

Why Taylor chose the form of Konan is for a multitude of reasons, the first being that Konan, as a person, is memorable, but also untraceable. The Protectorate can spend their entire budget on facial recognition software and digging through archives and photos, and they would find nothing.

Furthermore, this plays into a deeper psychological angle. I won't go into the purpose of the mask or anything, considering its common knowledge on why capes wear masks in general. But, by operating without a mask, Taylor is pretty much advertising that she believes that she is unassailable to her enemies, that even if they discover who she is and where she lives, that it doesn't matter, because she believes she can handle them. She is throwing down an unspoken gauntlet towards her enemies, and by being so unforgettable in her looks, there is no way that the message would not be received by those savvy enough to understand.

The deeper part of it, however, is that Taylor is cheatsidoodling. How is she cheating and what does that have to do with assuming the form of Konan? It's quite simple, Taylor has all of the memories of Konan, which just so happens to include muscle memory. And which would you prefer to go out in the field with, the close combat capability of an S-Rank shinobi, or fighting with your own style you had only been working on for a month or so?



Eckhardt v Illinois (The Eckhardt Test):

I'll be honest on this front, but I created Eckhardt v Illinois as means for Taylor to acquire the monetary assets to further her goals and objectives through legal means that would explain her operations in the two weeks leading up to this chapter. There are several things that she is working on the requires money and resources that would otherwise be unattainable without pissing off the Protectorate and having them hounding her for reasons other than co-opting.

Part of the reason that Taylor is attacking 'soft' targets is for the money, but it is also training. For shinobi, it's much easier to hone their skills in taking out 'unpowered' civilians, than it is to graduating straight into attacking others who have their skillsets or something similiar.

Hookwolf was an unplanned foil to her objectives, and if it wasn't for him, she would have likely remained executing these operations while keeping relatively under the radar outside of reports and rumor on PHO. Sadly, that will have to change now, as she now has attention firmly latched upon her.



Konan v Taylor (Idealism and Agency)

I've seen a point or two about how we are not seeing a lot of of Konan's personality and belief structure so far in this first chapter, and you would honestly be right. The issue is that you have two personalities and belief structures that are conflicting, at least in my opinion/estimation.

Konan, yes, is an idealist, she's an idealist in that she wants to create a better world and she believes that her actions, reprehensible that they may be, would lead to a better world. Now, what makes it interesting is what happens after Nagato's death with her investment into Naruto's beliefs.

Now, we can go with the entire shonen plot element of the good guy somehow converts the adversary to their way of thinking trope, but since we can't do that, I have to work out a read of the situation that could work here.

However, the read I somehow got from her was that she was more of a Lieutenant than a leader herself. Sure, she eventually ended up the de jure leader of Amegakure after Nagato's death, but in the time leading up to that, it always seemed that she deferred/supported Yahiko and Nagato, letting them dictate the direction they take, only getting worse as, in their grief at the death of Yahiko, they decided to work with Obito. This is only reinforced when she decides to throw in her lot with Naruto after Nagato told her that Naruto would fulfill their dream.

Taylor, on the other hand, is a 'survivor'. Between her mother's death, Emma's betrayal, her father's distancing, and the orchestrated campaign of bullying at the school, she had nothing in her corner as a support structure. As a result, she only came to depend upon herself, and with the addition of Konan's skills and memories, she now has the methods and means to both protect herself, but also change the dynamic that currently existed.

Now, what does this mean for Taynon in general, is that you are already seeing some of the impact. Taynon has absolutely no faith in the current system, she is perfectly aware that not only has the system has failed her, but the system is so inherently broken that Konan's memories, specifically the Akatsuki, has already burned any bridge of interest in being a part of the Protectorate.

But it goes further than that, and it was only mentioned obliquely, but Taylor is aware of who Sophia is. That's where the comment that she has no faith in the heroes either. If they would tacitly allow something like this, then it could only be worse. The system, in her estimation is completely broken.

But lo and behold, but what does Taylor have thanks to the memories of a certain paper shinobi? Nearly thirty years of being forming, being a part of, and reforming a revolutionary group that became an enemy of the world in their quest for peace. She literally has a blueprint of forming her own cape team stuck in her cranium, not just of pooling resources sort of deal, but sort of things an organization would need, like logistics, finances, resources, and even press. She has a direction to focus herself, instead of flailing about haphazardly, as what kinda happened in Worm itself until she finally became who she was.

If Taylor didn't have Konan's memories and perspective, it's likely that she would have gone villain, but here, she actually has a blueprint for agency. Where she isn't at the mercy of others dictating her actions, or forcing her into compromises that ran against everything she believed in. In a way, Taylor is in a better position, but still has that need to survive, and the only way to survive now that she is a cape, is to create her own agency, to where she can't be challenged by others.

So, yes, there is those influences of Konan driving her actions, as well as an understanding of the system. But notice also, that Taylor would have not even cared about the system as much as ensuring that she could take care of herself. Here, however, Konan's sense of making the world a better place is meshing with her own quest.

Hopefully that explains at least my read and direction of Taylor herself. Taylor is still Taylor, but there are influences in there from Konan that are directing her in a certain way, but by and far, what Konan is serving is rounding Taylor out in a way that works.



Power Creep (Why this was an issue in the previous iteration)

One of the issues I had with the previous story was that the power creep that I envisioned, that is that there wasn't so much a power creep as much as an abrupt power crescendo. Why this didn't rest well with me is that I don't like to do something without some sort of buildup or basis in why that they are taking place. Taylor going from scared, confused, and distraught, to full on Konan in the span of 2 minutes, with no training, no wherewithal, just 'memories' just doesn't feel like a realistic power creep, as much as that I was setting the stage for a series of damn power spikes that would only seem plot driven, than a natural progression.

In PAND, I hope to actually build, either by mentioning, or showing, Taylor's progression, as she gradually adds more to her arsenal as she builds her chakra pool, but also understands what makes it tick. She's already had a month's worth of work, where she had a basis of feelings and memories in that she could reverse engineer some things, but also, in the next few chapters, you will see that she has her own little niche of enjoyment as she learns her powers.

And she is still learning, I want to make this clear. She is going to keep learning, as she expands herself in ways that Konan had the opportunity to do so, but didn't.

Now, before you bring out the pitchfork and torches on my ass for that statement, let me preface this with a work in progress excerpt from Awakening 1.03, which, while it may change as I improve upon it, expresses from Taylor's perspective, on why Konan, someone who could literally create paper with her chakra (likely chakra infused) did not take advantage of a powerful opportunity:



Honestly, I think both the role that Konan had in the organization, in regards to the day-to-day running of Amegakure, as well as serving as the core administrator and one of the intelligence specialists for Akatsuki, didn't leave her exactly a lot of time to hone her skills and expand upon herself. Hell, you could make a pretty damn fine argument that Konan's growth was relatively stagnant between the scenes we see of her in her childhood, and then during her final battle with Obito. Outside of her usage of the Paper Person of God Technique, there just wasn't anything that showed really any growth.



I hope that this answered some questions. As for the subject of transmigration/reincarnation and what is at play, well, I'd rather keep that close to my chest for now. Don't worry, I do have a plan for all of that, considering.
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Readings this makes me want to get back into fabfiction and continue my Orochimaru SI. Because we would be recruiting Konan as a student and teaching her the Hiraishin and the Flame Sealing Method (which stops Amaterasu). Glad to see that someone else clicked onto this fact...
 
AlSmash said:
Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon
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Great, wonderful explanation as to why Armsmaster was having such a negative view towards Taylor. Now add that into your first chapter because I didn't get any of your explanation in story.

And all you have to do is add them in. Add in a line where Armsmaster is getting suspicious about her for those reasons you stated. How they add up, one by one, to the point where he is having those negative thoughts.

Because right now, in story, I got none of this wonderful explanation.

AlSmash said:
Honestly, he did not approve of this parahuman whatsoever. Both her vigilantism, but also her lack of adherence to the rules and standards that made a cape what they were. As far as he was concerned, this cape needed to be brought into line, before they made things worse, either for themselves, or the rightful authorities.
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AlSmash said:
The fact that this woman was actively working to fulfill an Eckhardt test only colored his opinion towards her further in a negative light. Yet, he had orders to attempt to recruit her,
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See, we are just getting half the explanation you just provided in your quote. You really need to put the other half of the explanation because just on these two paragraphs, Armsmaster is acting negatively for no understandable reason.
 
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AlSmash said:
So, let me preface this by saying this this post is more of a response to the questions and comments on both SB and SV. I felt that it would be more efficient in that it may answer questions or comments that may have been asked in one, but not asked in the other, but was still in people's minds. So please, bear with me as I go through each and every one of them.
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Could you please put this post in the "Informational" threadmarks? Thanks in advance.
 
AlSmash said:
Armsmaster's animosity towards Taynon:
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I'm not entirely satisfied with this reasoning.
Several of the reasons you list are post-meeting her, now, this is fine, but on the chapter Armsmaster's opinion and attitude seemed to stay constant from the start, whereas showing a bad personal impression would have been better served with a more ambivalent or tentative opinion prior to the meeting and going downhill from there.

The reasons pre-meeting seem to be all tied up with "not protectorate", but, a whole lot of capes weren't for a chunk of their careers before joining. New triggers being what they are, those that join up right from the start rather than after being confronted by the realities of the cape scene are likely a rarity, similarly, new vigilantes would be very likely prone to sometimes use too much force from time to time, either due taking out their frustrations of their likely crappy life on their foes, or merely due to inexperience in subduing people.

Now, the way she goes out of her way to cross all her t's and dot her i's is likely an oddity, but one that could hint that the cape prepared herself as best as she could, is taking heroing seriously, and is someone that tends towards being meticulous. These aren't traits that Armsmaster wouldn't appreciate, particularly if he managed to get her to join, leading to a less negative pre-meeting opinion of her, and perhaps a bit of ambition of the perks of recruiting someone who would likely do their jobs right without him needing to intervene.

Something else that could have made it into the chapter is that while for most capes being maskless is likely unusual and all around ill-advised, it shouldn't be too uncommon for those with physical mutations to do it if they just can't pass as unpowered anymore. Since Konan has orange eyes, it wouldn't be unreasonable for Armsmaster (and others) to assume that the reason she goes maskless is because of that and not as a statement, heck, they may even think her blue hair is a dye to create some distance with her previous identity.
Now, that's not to say that someone with such mutations can't wear a crappy mask as a fig leaf of protection for their old identity and family, but understanding that such would actually be (minimally) respected requires an understanding of the cape culture many new trigger may not have.
 
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AlSmash said:
Taynon's vigilantism appears to be of primarily financial intent.
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Except...
AlSmash said:
In fact, this is the first time that the Protectorate has directly encountered her. This doesn't exactly paint her in a good light, especially as it becomes apparent that the only reason that she is there is in order to fulfill the Eckhardt Test
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How can he assume her actions are motivated by a desire to take money if this is the first time she's done it?

AlSmash said:
The Protectorate can spend their entire budget on facial recognition software and digging through archives and photos, and they would find nothing.
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Well, not exactly. If they blew their budget on something like this, they'd probably find a couple of people who were at least close matches to Taylor's identity, they'd just be the wrong people. They're find nothing worthwhile.

AlSmash said:
But, by operating without a mask, Taylor is pretty much advertising that
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Maybe I'm just genre savvy, but this sort of thing always screams Changer or Stranger to me. Not "I'm strong enough I don't have to care." but "Good luck, you have no idea what I look like."
 
Franklymydear said:
Maybe I'm just genre savvy, but this sort of thing always screams Changer or Stranger to me. Not "I'm strong enough I don't have to care." but "Good luck, you have no idea what I look like."
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Going around without a mask is like going around with the cape name of "Tailor".

Many people will say "couldn't be, too obvious", but you're not going to get every single person saying that. She'd better be that Changer/Stranger since *someone* is always going to check.
 
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