Note: I get into gender a bit below, a topic for which I am unqualified. Apologies if I misrepresent anything.

I really like this bit. I think its relevant that its specifically Superboy's clothes that she has to borrow.

Superboy, especially right now, has the most stereotypically male characteristics in the cast. At least he does on the surface level, but we are talking about his clothes right now, the surface level impressions of him.

He's handsome, strong, tough, angry, violent, brooding, and has a character arc focused around emulating/surpassing/earning the approval of a distant male character who he shares half his genes with. Again, Superboy is a lot more than that, but we are talking superficially here.

His clothes don't fit Amanda, in more than one way.

It's like poetry, it rhymes.

 
Rule 4 Violation: Please don't go out of your way to make jokes that makes light of transsexuals. It's not funny.
Lame, I thought that when the tag said trans character it meant Transformers (more than meets the eye!) because thats what I self identify.
 
Lame, I thought that when the tag said trans character it meant Transformers (more than meets the eye!) because thats what I self identify.
.....Can you NOT mock people like me who have to deal with Dysphoria and such crap life likes to shovel onto us?!

Anyways, I am loving this story. Also I want to hug the main character. She deserves one.
 
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Let's avoid making offensive jokes in the future, yeah?
hi this'll be a quick note
Lame, I thought that when the tag said trans character it meant Transformers (more than meets the eye!) because thats what I self identify.

Oh wow that's really not funny at all and more than a bit offensive friend.

So, take 25 and a timeout. Let's avoid the dumb jokes in the future, please?
 
That was the lamest attack helicopter meme ever.

And now back to the true purpose of this thread: blood magic, superhero action, and the liberation of Constantinople for the glory of Christendom. Deus vult and pass the athame!
 
I'm on honestly surprised it took this long to get a transphobic comment on this story. Really appreciate the community on this site.

Anyways, On to reader replies.

Can she using donors blood (from blood bank) ? Could that count as "buying ammunition budget" ?

Yes and no. Amanda can use blood that isn't her own in her spells, but not the sort of blood you could get from a blood bank. Donated blood is often spun down and has the plasma removed, plus its cold and has been separated from a living person for a significant period of time. All this changes its mystical affinities sufficiently that it's not particularly useful for most typical 'blood magic'.

What about storing her own blood for later?

Same problem, most methods of preserving blood alter its mystical affinities enough to render it fairly useless.

Also, new headcanon: Whenever Batman is needlessly dramatic, or does that stealth hi/bye thing too often, Robin commissions ever more ridiculous Bat-Brand objects. Alfred helps, because he knows Bruce takes himself too seriously.

Headcanon Accepted.

Anyways, I am loving this story. Also I want to hug the main character. She deserves one.

Glad you're enjoying the story.
 
Oh nice to see this back now to reread this since not enough fiction with a trans protagonist have been written.
 
Also, new headcanon: Whenever Batman is needlessly dramatic, or does that stealth hi/bye thing too often, Robin commissions ever more ridiculous Bat-Brand objects. Alfred helps, because he knows Bruce takes himself too seriously.

I remember one story where batgirl had bat-stickers that she could use to instantly turn any random object into bat-whatever.

"A bat-pillow? Wait, this is my pillow!"
 
Lame, I thought that when the tag said trans character it meant Transformers (more than meets the eye!) because thats what I self identify.
To quote a wiseman,A fool's mind is at the mercy of his tongue
And according to another man only two things are infinite the universe and human stupidity.
Frankly who cares what gender anyone identifies as, it doesnt change the fact your human, just be yourself and dont make the beast with two backs in the kitchen or on the table.
 
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Yes and no. Amanda can use blood that isn't her own in her spells
So... her magic would be easier to do if she were a violent serial killer? Edgy. :p

Of course, you need that kind of edgy, take no prisoners attitude if you're going to be dabbling in nation building and toppling sovereign states to affirm absolute good. So... nice choice! ;)
Same problem, most methods of preserving blood alter its mystical affinities enough to render it fairly useless.

Most? Does that mean that there are some methods that will work? If so, will backpack mounted magical blood-tanks be in Amanda's future? Because I can see that leading to very entertaining places.
 
Does self sacrifice (blood in this context) makes the spell more powerful ? If so, then can I think it as self sacrifice = more powerful spell, but limited use and other sacrifice (enemies) are less powerful, but easily recharge as long as you bleed the enemy ?

I don't know why but I feels like this could be easily a arch nemesis material.
 
Introductions - Part 7
Episode 1 - Introductions Part 7
Gotham
August 9, 02:38



"That'll be $23.65," the taxi driver said as we pulled up to my street.


"Keep the change," I said as I pushed some of the bills Robin had given me earlier into the driver's hand, too tired to care about exactly how much I'd just paid the man.


"Have a good evening then, sir." I blinked blearily at the driver, thrown off by the sudden politeness. I must have severely misjudged how much money I gave him.


"You as well," I gravelled, my voice made almost comically deep by my enchantment. Somehow altering my voice to sound more masculine was easier to bear than just speaking with my natural voice.


Even wearing clothes that weren't mine and speaking with a false voice, I was still too paranoid to give the taxi driver my actual address. Or perhaps not paranoid enough, depending on who you ask.


Instead, I'd given him the street that my house was on, which meant that I still had a short walk before I would be home and able to slip into the blissful embrace of sleep.


I absently reached for my necklace only to remember that it had burned earlier tonight. Yesterday, technically.


It had been a gift from Mr. Blood, a mix of engraved whalebone and ivory boiled in the blood of a goat born under a crescent moon. Its value hadn't been in its aesthetic, but rather the enchantment tied to it that made other people perceive the bearer as completely average.


Ironically enough, I had rarely used it for mystical purposes; it had, however, been invaluable when I started presenting as a girl. The charm had served to smooth over a lot the man-in-a-dress comments my peers had tossed around. Not all of them, it was too subtle a working to accomplish that, but enough that it was a noticeable improvement compared to my previous life.


I'll miss that hunk of bone.


The charm was why I'd had no problem brazenly walking around with my Bloody Mary dress on earlier, and why I hadn't thought that I would need a change of clothes to return home.


Crafting another amulet to replace it would be a pain, since I wasn't at all sure if I could legally buy whalebone or ivory, but Mr. Blood wasn't the type to coddle mistakes, so I doubted I'd just be given another.


I let out a yawn as I finally reached my house. Home sweet home.


I cringed as the gate made a painfully high pitched squeak in protest of being opened.


I trudged up to the front door and pulled it open. Or at least, I tried to; in my sleep deprived state I hadn't realized that the door would be locked.


More aggravatingly, my key had been burnt to cinders, meaning I couldn't let myself in. And isn't that going to be a fun conversation, given Mrs. Green's thing about us losing keys.


Still, there should be a spare key under a rock by the door,
I remembered. I rolled over the rock in question with my foot and squinted at the dirt underneath. I don't see the key here.


I snapped my fingers and conjured a small flicker of hellfire for light, only to promptly be reminded that while pure black fire has an awesome aesthetic, it doesn't actually provide any illumination.


After fumbling around in the dirt for another minute or so, I concluded that the spare key must have been used earlier today and hadn't been replaced yet. That's my story and I'm sticking to it, I definitely didn't just miss it while fumbling around in the dark.


I stared at the door. Pound on the door until someone wakes up, or see if I can sneak in through one of the windows?


We do have a rather good home security system, this is Gotham after all, and I'd really rather not cap off my first night as a superhero by getting the police called on me
, I decided.


I quickly rapped my knuckles on the door, hoping that someone was still up and I wouldn't have to resort to using the door knocker, which would wake everybody up in the process.


My hopes were apparently not in vain: I heard a shuffle of movement from inside in response to my knocks.


The door opened a crack and one of the Powell sisters peered out. Elize and Ellen Powell were a pair of identical twins who had been shown the Parent Trap at a formative age, and took a perverse sort of glee at being mistaken for each other.


"Hey El, I maybe kinda sorta lost my key," I said, carefully using a nickname that could apply to either sister.


"Who the fuck- Amanda, is that you? You look like …" A boy. I finished mentally.


"Those of us in the superhero business call it a disguise, ever heard of it?" I tried to inject levity into my voice, but with the way El blanched I must not have managed to keep the bitterness out of my tone.


"I don't think going to one training session makes you a superhero, you have to like save the city or something first," El said while opening the door and letting me inside.


"No way, I fought bonafide ninjas and saved a damsel in distress tonight, I'm totally a superhero."


"Sure you did, that's totally a first day on the job sort of thing."


"I'm serious, I fought three ninjas tonight!" I protested, before flopping face first onto the sofa.


"And the damsel?"


"She was technically an overworked and cranky scientist but she still counts," I mumbled through the couch cushions.


"And while you were saving this cranky scientist you just somehow lost your house key?"


"I didn't lose my key, I just sortofsetmyselfonfire."


El cackled. "Wow, that's the first thing you said tonight that actually sounds like something you would do," she got out between peals of laughter.


I ineffectually tried to make her stop laughing by throwing a cushion at her. Unfortunately, since I hadn't actually looked where I was throwing the pillow, all it managed to do was make her laugh harder when it missed her completely.


"I can see how you managed to beat those ninjas, between your throwing skills and setting yourself on fire you must be a dangerous foe indeed."


"I can curse you, you know. Make all your hair fall out or something."


"I'm sure you can," she said without a trace of sincerity.


With a mumbled incantation and a sliver of power the pillow I'd thrown earlier rose into the air behind El.


This time I actually pushed myself up from the sweet embrace of the couch and aimed. The pillow made a soft whump sound as it hit the back of her head.


El gave me an incredibly betrayed look. "Real mature."


"You know me, a bastion of sage wisdom and maturity," I said, punctuating my statement by sticking my tongue out at El before flopping back down onto the couch


"Oh Wise One, please teach me your mystical ways."


"Learning magic is nowhere near as fun as you'd imagine."


"How did you get into magic anyways? You're even more of a goody-two shoes than Ellen is, the most adventurous thing you do is trawl through weird book shops looking for obscure books," Elise asked, seeming to have abandoned her teasing in favor of genuine curiosity.


I hesitated, trying to find a way to explain the thought process that had led me to where I am now.


"Have you ever known me to ask for permission?"


Caught off guard by the seeming non-sequitur, Elize paused for a moment.


"Not really, I mean you usually just say what your going to do and then you go do it. But it's not like you ever do things that really need permission."


"Do you know why the Justice League only answers to the UN Security Council? Power. The Justice League is powerful enough that no one country could hope to impose its laws and customs upon the League," I explained. "The simple truth of the world is that those with power are granted exception to the rules governing society.


"It's why we don't laugh at Superman for wearing his underwear on the outside. It's why a man in clown makeup can make an entire city quake in fear. It's why Luthor is sipping champagne and eating caviar rather than rotting in jail.


"All my life, I've been bound by what society expects: wear this not that, play sports and don't learn to dance, you're too young to know that, you can't start HRT until you're an adult. Society told me who I had to be and brooked no argument to the contrary.


"So, I sought power enough to break free from the yoke of society. That's why I started studying magic, Elize. I want to be powerful enough that the only rules I have to be concerned with are my own."


"Fuck, that's," Elize shook her head, "that's fucked up."

I flinched as if I'd been slapped. I'd bared a part of myself, I'd kept under lock and key for so many years. I hadn't been hoping for Elize to accept all that I was with open arms, but I'd at least hoped for some sympathy or at least anything but outright rejection. It was an important reminder that being strong didn't mean you couldn't be hurt.

"It's so fucked up you look at the world that way, and it's even more fucked up that the world hurt you until you did."

As she finished speaking Elize looked back to me and studied my face. What she was looking for and what she found I don't know, but it seemed to appease her.

She stepped forward and wrapped me in a hug. I hugged her back and if there were tears in my eyes nobody would ever know.

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

I am happy to announce that with this chapter the first Episode of Witchcraft concludes. Tune in next week for the first part of the Old Blood Stains.
 
Wait.. that's your motivation? How the everliving hell didn't Jason Blood throw your ass on the street the moment he pinged on it? Or at least, make sure to fix that before getting into any serious magical knowledge? Because it's just plain irresponsible to mix that mentality and teaching the kind of edgy, demoney magical knowledge your character has demonstrated so far.

And added to that, why the hell haven't either you or Jason just solved your body problems via magic rather than throwing a rug over it with illusions?
 
"It's so fucked up you look at the world that way, and it's even more fucked up that the world hurt you until you did."
I really love this part. Go for compassion, and I look forward to learning more about Amanda's housemates.

Wait.. that's your motivation? How the everliving hell didn't Jason Blood throw your ass on the street the moment he pinged on it? Or at least, make sure to fix that before getting into any serious magical knowledge? Because it's just plain irresponsible to mix that mentality and teaching the kind of edgy, demoney magical knowledge your character has demonstrated so far.

And added to that, why the hell haven't either you or Jason just solved your body problems via magic rather than throwing a rug over it with illusions?
How would he necessarily know to throw her out, who said he hasn't been trying to fix it*, and when has ignoring a problem ever been a good answer to it?

*For that matter, who's to say this isn't Amanda's mindset after 2-3 years of fixing it, and she used to be worse?

As for solving the problems with magic, my general assumption is that if no one's solved a problem via easily available magic, then there isn't an easy way to solve it with magic.

Consider: if a Make Me Mundane charm necklace needed whalebone and ivory boiled in the blood of a goat born on a new moon, how insanely complicated do you think a Change This Person's Body To X spell would be, permanent or temporary?
 
And added to that, why the hell haven't either you or Jason just solved your body problems via magic rather than throwing a rug over it with illusions?

That is something I've been thinking about a bit. I'd think that there would be magics in DC that would allow for permanent body alteration. Or hell, even technology. I do recognize it's not necessarily possible that she'd actually get access to such tech or power before she even joined the League, but I do wonder if that would be something that might come up later. Maybe some modification to the Atlantean spell that changed them all to be able to survive underwater?

I know it's not relevant to/part of the story, but something like the Singing-Magic the elves of the Inheritance Cycle use to make themselves animal-like would be able to reshape her into a form more...agreeable with her mental state. I don't know if the Fey exists in DC, but that sort of thing would probably be within their wheelhouse.

Idk, just musing.
 
Wait.. that's your motivation? How the everliving hell didn't Jason Blood throw your ass on the street the moment he pinged on it? Or at least, make sure to fix that before getting into any serious magical knowledge? Because it's just plain irresponsible to mix that mentality and teaching the kind of edgy, demoney magical knowledge your character has demonstrated so far.
And added to that, why the hell haven't either you or Jason just solved your body problems via magic rather than throwing a rug over it with illusions?
That is something I've been thinking about a bit. I'd think that there would be magics in DC that would allow for permanent body alteration. Or hell, even technology. I do recognize it's not necessarily possible that she'd actually get access to such tech or power before she even joined the League, but I do wonder if that would be something that might come up later. Maybe some modification to the Atlantean spell that changed them all to be able to survive underwater?
INHO her PoV is signaling "Future Lord of Chaos" pretty hard, if that wasn't intentional than I dunno but that's what it looks like to me.
 
How would he necessarily know to throw her out, who said he hasn't been trying to fix it*, and when has ignoring a problem ever been a good answer to it?

*For that matter, who's to say this isn't Amanda's mindset after 2-3 years of fixing it, and she used to be worse?
One of the first things any sensible practitioner should do before teaching an apprentice anything, let alone anything remotely dangerous, is to figure out their mentality and motivations. Being a few hairs short of DMC's Vergil is a pretty big red flag, and it's a bit difficult for a teenager to lie convincingly to a multi-centenarian with access to magic.

If he's been working on those issues, then he's been pretty irresponsible in teaching what has been shown so far. You don't teach a walking ticking bomb how to weaponize their blood and summon hellfire, that's walking a weee too close to demon summoning for anyone's peace of mind.

If he was going to teach while working on said issues, I'd have expected illusions and self-alteration to be a lot higher on the list than hellfire.

Which segues into the second issue.

As for solving the problems with magic, my general assumption is that if no one's solved a problem via easily available magic, then there isn't an easy way to solve it with magic.

Consider: if a Make Me Mundane charm necklace needed whalebone and ivory boiled in the blood of a goat born on a new moon, how insanely complicated do you think a Change This Person's Body To X spell would be, permanent or temporary?
Issue is, magic is stupid powerful in YJ, and Blood is unlikely to be a slouch in it. Leaving him unable to help would be odd, making him unwilling to do so would be worse.

Demons were already a thing in YJ given pacts with them are the source of Faust's power, and gee, here is a teenager, with a thirst for power, mad at the world, with this one wish their master can't or won't give them. Oh, and enough mystic arts knowledge to be dangerous and call for their 'help', as well as an inclination towards the edgier side of magical powers.

INHO her PoV is signaling "Future Lord of Chaos" pretty hard, if that wasn't intentional than I dunno but that's what it looks like to me.
Honestly, it was signaling demon bait to me. Like, you could drop them in Constantine's series without any alterations and I'd expect the usual result, which is why having her as the apprentice of Jason Blood of all people is such an immersion break for me.
 
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"Do you know why the Justice League only answers to the UN Security Council? Power. The Justice League is powerful enough that no one country could hope to impose its laws and customs upon the League," I explained. "The simple truth of the world is that those with power are granted exception to the rules governing society.
That's both accurate, and something that no one in universe or IRL will ever want to admit is true.

Because it's not right. Many of us can feel it in our bones. The world shouldn't work that way. But it does. Power talks. Political, economic, military. Power.

Everything else? Strictly second string, at best.

I hate it. It's terrible and ugly. That doesn't make it untrue.
Consider: if a Make Me Mundane charm necklace needed whalebone and ivory boiled in the blood of a goat born on a new moon, how insanely complicated do you think a Change This Person's Body To X spell would be, permanent or temporary?
Magic runs even more on narrativium than most things. The more you want something, the harder it is to get. When you do get it though, you're more likely to not lose it. Anything magical she did that was quick and easy would be as lasting as Ben Grimm's many "cures" for looking like a big rock guy.
 
Great as usual.
I think that magic to physically change her body would be possible to get, but it's probably not that easy to learn.

Of course, she's the teammate of Kaldur and Mgann.... if both of them are told/learn of her situation they might be able to ask around their homes...


I'm imagining how she would react if/when she finds out that her goal is so close and that people are actively helping her reach it
 
If he was going to teach while working on said issues, I'd have expected illusions and self-alteration to be a lot higher on the list than hellfire.
I think you missed something fairly important.

She's not angry.

She's not looking to flip the world on its head out of revenge for how it's treated her. She reads far more as being resigned with an old bitterness that's lost its edge.

She's also right. She's objectively right. That kind of thing adds a lot of weight to be treated with a light hand for those issues.

And she'd actually be more likely to make a mess of things with Self-Alteration and Illusions rather than Hellfire. The former two bring her in spiting distance of what she really wants but would likely either require her to experiment and push on her own or be a lie to herself and the world around her.

There's also something to be said for giving her some real power and seeing what she does with it before she gets to destroying cities levels.

She decided to go and be a Hero.
 
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