Post-Veil Chronicler

"I orginally wanted to give Izuku a suite of vigors that were completely different to the quirks of MHA so no 'shock jockey' no 'incinerate' no 'winter blast'. But as a testament to the sheer variety of quirks I quickly realized that it was harder to do than I thought. I mean 'Return to Sender' is like Fatgum's quirk but without the fat, so instead I just decided to go with powers that I felt fit the tone of the story and still were cool. Vigors aren't quirks, they aren't meant to be cartoony heroic powers, they are literal drugs that you can become addicted to. So they make you feel powerful, they writhe and churn just beneath your skin, some even go so far as to horrifically change your appearance. A quirk might make you feel like a hero, but a vigor makes you feel like a methhead in a dark parking lot and brother, that homeless man just took the catalytic converter you were eyeing." taken from my notes of chapter 17

I feel that Bioshock explicitly supports such an interpretation. In Rapture you are constantly injecting yourself with stuff, in Columbia Booker can have some adverse reactions to unlocking new vigors. From pulsating orbs of flesh in Raptures 'Hypnotize big daddy' to the trypophobia triggering 'Insect Swarm'. From Columbia's 'Devil's kiss' burning you to the bone, to 'undertow' gouging holes through your arms. Powers in bioshock are pure body horror, you are not a hero, you are a freak of nature. Hell, despite Infinite's more clean aesthetic you are still huffing bath salts to recharge your powers.

For me The Saga of Tanya the Evil, or Youjo Senki; is a good story that centers around one of the most compelling characters in fiction (In my humble opinion). Tanya Von Degurechaff is the kind of person that upon meeting capital G God, tells them they are running reality inefficiently if they have time to complain to some random atheist. Upon getting rightly screwed over, Tanya doubles down, because it is better to be dead and right, than alive having conceded a point. They believe themselves to be highly rational and yet they constantly make judgements and decisions based on their own emotions. Thus, based on the original paradigm, they are a character that is fun to put into different situations. But that is because they are incredibly compelling.

On the other end of the spectrum, is My Hero Academia, or Boku no Hero Academia; a really compelling world full of history, characters, and stories; and yet the source material fails to take advantage of its own richness. When I read MHA fanfics, I don’t do it for the characters, I do it to see how the author takes the world and interprets it. I feel that this goes so far that it is usually the case that a fic that keeps it pretty close to canon usually fails to catch my attention. And I don’t mean following the same story beats, because there are some great fics that do, but they don’t go beyond that. What did the characters feel, how are the story beats affecting the world around them, how are the story beats from the source material informed by the history of the world. Even when I read some good character analysis of MHA characters, instead of feeling interested in consuming the source material, my thoughts immediately go to wanting to go look for a fic that focuses on that character.

I’m not even saying one is better than the other, it’s just that I feel pushed towards reading fics of each for different reasons.

And then there is Kusuriya no Hitorigoto, the Apothecary Diaries; it rests in the middle of the spectrum. The characters are compelling enough that I want to read about them specifically, but not to the point that I can’t stand reading them acting out of character. And the world is compelling enough that I want to read more stories happening in it, but not enough that it overshadows the characters.

The first idea was to reference an item from the story, a necklace with crystal beads, and given that I had already planned for this to be a series, I though of starting with one crystal and add more as the series progresses.

The next idea was for a minimalist image showing a landscape and the protagonist Ashild.

The Powers that Be told me to not use these and actually work with a graphic designer, luckily for me my mother is one. Using the previous cover, some royalty free images, and the character sketch I had made for Ashild she made the final cover.

As an extra, on her own time my mother made a watercolor version of the final cover. (And yes, I have it hung in my room)

She is a member of the imp species, born in the world of Sablujo and raised by the monks of the Order of Mana. She is considered a prodigy at magic, and mature beyond her years, but what most don’t know is the truth hiding beneath the surface.

Originally Hank McMahan, a tired thirty-something office worker, he was dragged to the world of Sablujo by the whims of a stranger. Reborn as a different species and gender altogether they must now come to terms with their new reality. Even if the gender thing was easier to accept than she expected.

Unfortunately, she wasn’t dragged alone, now she must grow stronger and prepare so that she can set off and look for her friends., wherever they may have ended up.

But Hank was a human office worker, has Ashild changed too much? Will her friends who she saw as brothers accept her just like that?

Well that, is a story for another day.

For anyone interested “New World, New Me” the first book of the series “Road-trip to another World” is already available on Kindle and KindleUnlimited

New World, New Me: Road-trip to Another World Book 1 https://a.co/d/0djpHMcI