thelegion | [Video] in his cocoon stage

Entry tags:

[Video] in his cocoon stage

[A rather tired looking face rose up into a video feed, surrounded by a soft yellow mass. It looked as if his head had been shoved into a Coney Island cutout--but, the cutout was absent of anything but plush yellow fabric. He shifted slightly, sniffing with what clearly looked to be disinterest.]

It sounds like you've all had a good run, so far. Despite that, I hope no one thinks they're beyond a little tutoring and critique.

[He seemed to retreat a bit into the yellow fabric.]

My name is Aizawa Shouta and I'm a Professional Hero. If you need advice or even a good place to hone your skills while you're not currently on a mission--I'm in my biome and I've had it fitted for the sake of physical and strategic training.

[The entire time, he struggled desperately to emote and yet--nothing happened.]

Alright, that seems good enough to get the point across. Talk to me.

[--Without a hint of dramatic flair, Aizawa's feed cut.]

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

He lifted his brow in amusement at that though Jason didn't catch it with the ribbons he had around his shoulders. Aizawa looked to Jason, wryly responding:

"That's a shocker. I didn't think you'd consider that sort of approach right away," He walked up to him, pressing one hand against the elevator door to keep it open. Concerns over wasting power had been minimal. Aizawa leaned against the opening, looking up the door grate to where Jason had crawled down from.

It was a good idea, but--

"I'll give you a run-down of my appraisal in a bit, but first let me guess--you didn't see the foot posts outside of the frame of the elevator shaft?"

He could have checked out Jason's hands but it didn't seem necessary.

Jason wasn't the only hero to ever climb up an elevator shaft. Aizawa was, unfortunately, the sort of guy to make it a routine plan when chasing someone in a building.

He let out a wry grin at the praise. "Well, yeah. I saw Die Hard, y'know." And a few others, but the one big name movie would be enough.

Then again... Foot posts. Jason coughed, glancing in another direction. No, that hadn't even occurred to him. "I kinda thought I'd just be able to climb the cable. It's way too greasy for something like that, though." Never was in the movies. Go figure. "I didn't even know they put a ladder in there."

He probably should have. After all, they had to be able to get people to climb out of shafts if the elevator got stuck in an emergency, right?

"Alright," Initially, Eraserhead left it at that. It didn't seem to make sense for him to ask the young man for every single explanation to his references. Eraserhead could draw conclusions for himself to any given situation through his own experiences but he preferred to stick to boring, neutral explanations rather than draw his favorite movies into things.

Mostly because he had none. Aizawa liked cats, instead.

"The ladder isn't exposed in the middle or else it would clip the elevator, itself."

He stepped past Jason and jumped up--grabbing the top of the elevator where the lid had been exposed. He pulled himself up and then reached down with one hand so Jason could get up just a bit easier. Sometimes, he gave students breaks. This was one of them.

"While we're in here, I'll explain a few things about your idea that may not have worked out that well for you."

The bit about the ladder made sense. Jason could have just used his ring to pop up into the elevator shaft with Aizawa, but it'd feel rude. So instead he just took the man's hand and used it to help pull him up into the shaft itself.

Once up, he took a step or two back to give Aizawa some room and spread his hands. "I'm listening." It wasn't a snotty almost-acknowledgement. He meant that he had nothing to say. Aizawa had Jason's full attention for the moment.

Aizawa moved up a bit, turning over to pat the rungs of the ladder. He placed one foot up them and leaned forward, pulling himself up it with a few measured gestures. It was narrow, but he made it up. He looked down to Jason once he was at a few rungs.

"The difference between a strong foothold and a weak foothold can damn you," He explained, leaning back. Only a fraction of his foot was on a solid surface--the rung. "You lack leverage in tight spaces like this, so quick movement is going to easily escape you. If you need to get away from an opponent, barring a flight ability, running on foot between corners is your best bet. Don't aim for higher ground unless you have the right tools or the right footing."

"Just the same--I'm sure you've noticed the wiring lifting the elevators is greased, so you won't be able to hoist yourself up that way. On top of all of that--if I had ranged abilities or weaponry, you'd be completely exposed in this shaft whether or not you tried to maintain cover behind the beams," Aizawa offered a shrug as he stepped down. He wasn't a wide man but it was clear one could hit him even if he tried to center himself on the beam. "Finally, you abandoned a plan that could have worked out for you to try and mix things up against someone chasing you. Had you stuck to the streets, you would have lasted much longer. In scenarios where running is your primary option--say, to gather allies--cover is paramount but not so much cover that you pigeon-hole yourself."

"So, essentially, do your best to keep the advantage I give you during runs like these. Mixing it up can be helpful but only once you've assessed the strengths and weaknesses. With a power like yours--you don't want to leave things to chance."

Jason wasn't exactly fat, but he definitely had more bulk than Aizawa. Aizawa was more willowy, while Jason... wasn't.

He nodded during the lecture, scowling slightly to himself as he thought on the things being said. Every now and then, he'd make a noncommittal noise to show he was still listening. It was a lesson Jason was still having to learn here. After just about a year of having powers and learning to fight in a certain way with them, then getting a different package entirely... He was used to being able to handle any range or height difference in a fight.

He hadn't mentioned the enhancements given if he targeted himself or someone without powers earlier, and he kept that up now. It'd feel too much like he was arguing that they'd change things, but in this situation? They really wouldn't. Aizawa was right. Which wasn't surprising, given that he professed to being a 'pro hero'.

As Aizawa wrapped up, he nodded again. "I understand. Trying to be too clever can backfire pretty spectacularly. And keep more thought on my surroundings." Especially since his new powers left him much more vulnerable. He still wasn't thinking of them, and himself, in the same way Aizawa was, as a support entity. Jason had a hard time seeing himself as not being in the thick of things.

Aizawa nodded. Jason didn't look particularly pleased with the theory presented but he seemed to accept it for what it was. That was good. Plenty of heroes felt insulted when they had their quirks laid out on the table an examined. 'Generic strategy' was something they hated to stoop to, insisting they could get by on their superlative moves. Trademarks made a lot of heroes famous but to Aizawa--trademarks were only a way to bridge the gap between amateurs and professionals.

Professional heroes had longevity. Even the greatest of heroes could be glass cannons. Exposed to the worst of situations the only thing a hero could consider 'their own' was their ability to adapt when in the worst possible scenario. Aizawa considered failure in any venture and always focused on risk assessment and calculative thinking. It wasn't often that he invested in 'grand plans' or cunning moves. He aimed for practicality, quick victories and showed no hesitation to enact brutality. As far as heroes went, Eraserhead was one of the few that made most villains cringe in fear.

"I'll give you one more thing to think about before I'll set you up for exercises, today," Dropping back into the elevator, Aizawa waited for Jason to drop down after him. He stood by the door. "In a peaceful setting, a Grand Master will always defeat a novice. With guns to their heads, the only one who wins is the one with the greater resolve and initiative. No matter what grand plan someone comes up with--rest assured, it can fall apart. Pry hard enough and you can undo the worst of schemes."

Their approach to heroism was rather different, but their situations at home were rather different as well. Jason never considered failure. It wasn't an option for him. If he failed, it meant that people, maybe even his teammates, were getting hurt. Or worse. His team often didn't have the luxury of taking a step back and calculating. The best they could do was stop the first advance, figure things out after that encounter, and then end things decisively and permanently.

It wasn't something he'd likely ever bring up casually.

He'd been handling things differently because this was just training. But this echoed what the old Legionnaires had been saying, and Jason had long since realized that his experience was different enough that it would be suicidally stupid to ignore people whose experiences were better suited to these situations.

Jason paused at the elevator's hatch, listening to Aizawa's lecture, then dropped down with a thump. He straightened from his crouch and nodded. "There's always a way out, huh? Good to think on." But maybe not that applicable to every situation.

"Good," Aizawa nodded and began to walk down the hall, back to the lobby. He reached into his hip satchel for a stop-watch, which he adjusted a few times. He pointed to the door and lifted his chin to show Jason a little bit of a smile.

"I'm going to give you two hours to find two black cats. One has a white patch on its right front paw and a pink nose and the other has white fur without any trace of black on it. Bring them to me in that time."

That was where it started. Seemingly easy-sounding requests. Little did Jason know--Aizawa requested a hell of a lot of goddamn cats for his site.

Flat | Top-Level Comments Only

[Video] in his cocoon stage

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject

no subject