StarFall: Silver Arrow #4: "The Difference Made"

[Phantasm]

On Dec 13, 4:58 pm, Andrew Perron <pwer... at gmail.com> wrote:

>> I just have to make one phone call, and you'll fall right into the
>> trap I've laid. I know Sun Li won't approve of my new identity - she
>> doesn't like the capes and cloaks that have appeared the last few
>> years - but she'll forgive me once I... once I kill you.
>> Thank you, Hugh, for letting me discover my *true* self.
>
>Hmmmm.  This doesn't quite work.  Oh, it certainly explains *how* Jade
>made the slide over to the dark side - but not *why*.  Why does she
>want to stay in the underworld? (And it definitely seems to be because
>she wants to, not because she has to.) I get that she's put on a
>persona, and has progressively become emotionally deadened by the
>effort of maintaining it - but Becoming the Mask isn't the same thing
>as "discover[ing] my *true* self" and taking up a post as the hero's
>archnemesis.  That said, it doesn't feel like an unrealistic change -
>just one that skipped a step or two.

Looking over it, I agree.  There is definitely a step missing, but I
really can't see what the step is just yet.  She's probably so lost in
the criminal persona she's created that she can't see the step
herself. So, when viewing things from the inside (so to speak), it's
harder for me to see it.

I wrestled with what name to give her, and just kept coming back to
"White Crane".  It makes sense given her background - and nicely
inverts the trope as well.  You know the trope: the archer hero with a
martial artist girlfriend with a bird theme.  Green Arrow/Black
Canary. Hawkeye/Mockingbird. Golden Archer (later Black Archer)/Lady
Lark.  Red Arrow (formerly Speedy and Arsenal)/Hawkgirl.


>> Still, there's
>> something different in the world since the Quake. What would have had
>> people sending for the men in white coats is now considered
>> commonplace, even acceptable.
>
>I like this.  I'm not even sure why.

Maybe it's because it helps explain *why* the spandex set gets away
with wearing the spandex? ;)


> So Gatos del Rio was the "right" name, then?

Yes.  "Los Gatos del Rio" is the gang; "El Gato Negro", or the Black
Cat, is their leader (incidentally, "La Tigra" is his second-in-
command).  Sorry for the confusion.

> Overall, a good attempt to get into the characters' heads.

Thanks.  Incidentally, the third segment - Hugh's - was the hardest to
write because it  was harder for me to get into his head.  He's not as
messed up in the head as the other two. It's funny; he's that rarity
among the spandex set: a mentally healthy individual.

> Andrew "NO .SIG MAN" "Juan" Perron, ziptrap!

Phantasm (no .sig as yet)