Random piece of writing in my head

[indiana_j]

Okay people, time for some hard truths.

Being snatched out of mid-air by a flying superhero might look sexy and romantic from the ground but the reality is that it's not either of those. Consider it like a math problem, if you would.

If Speeding Superhero is going x miles an hour and Falling Victim are going y, what is z?

For those playing at home, z is generally 'Ow, ow, I just coughed up my spleen'. Some superheroes are better suited to mid-air rescue - I can, for example, simply grab you via TK and lower you to the ground. Mercury Lass is, uh, kind of squishy. Shade can pull you through to the Shadow Lands - through your own shadow. You get the picture.

But Titan is nothing but solid mass of invincible superhero going God only knows how fast so when he catches you, you better believe you're going to be walking funny tomorrow.

Generally, though, I have to admit that it is better than hitting the ground.

Also, it was my good fortune that I had regained enough of my senses to wrap myself back in some of my shielding so it didn't, quite, feel like my spine was about to go flying ahead of my body when Titan stopped my free fall. Over the rush of the wind, the pounding in my head and the faint buzzing noise of the contraptions that I'd run into, I could hear off and on cheering from the rooftop he'd just been standing on.

I could just imagine what we must have looked like (and will probably get proof of that tomorrow through the web and celebrity magazine): me being carried around in that classic superhero carries female around, what with me cradled in his arms and all. Except I wasn't some Girl Friday luckless enough to be kidnapped by Random Villain of the week.

I was a superhero, too, damn it! And I was going to get out of his arms and fly around on my own power and kick those things asses ...

As soon as I stopped wanting to vomit down Titan's shoulder and back.

Goddamn but I hate sonic powered anything.

(This superhero story, really a romance, has been in my head for years. But reading Soon I Will Be Invincible really brought it back to the forefront. I probably won't get a whole lot written but I need to work on something, at least.)

Comments

[kkglinka.livejournal.com]

I'm thinking that some of the more experienced superheroes might realize that they need to match speeds, then accelerate/decelerate/change vector gradually to compensate for the G forces, but yes. I've always winced at those scenes because a sudden stop is a sudden stop and a sudden stop followed immediate by a sudden change in direction is even worse.

[indiana-j.livejournal.com]

That's pretty much what I'm thinking, too. But in certain cases, like the one above (though you can't tell but needless to say, her falling was a surprise to everyone - including her ;) ), there's not much time to do anything but speed up in order to get there in time. It's why I always cringed during the Transformer movies when they're plucked out of mid-air by a fast moving giant made out of metal and none of their squishy, vital parts have been injured.

[resplendissante.livejournal.com]

You know, you always say you're a certain level of writer and you have no interest in getting 'better', but Jen, this is good. Strong voice, funny, unique. I think you need to readjust how you think of yourself.

[indiana-j.livejournal.com]

That really means a lot, thank you. :D

And I was actually thinking the same thing this morning. My big problems really are in the making myself write area and planning it out enough that I don't just stare at a Word document until I give up and go play Facebook games. And also tenses - I always bounce between tenses. But that's what an editor is for, I guess. ;)

I think I might actually made an honest go of this one. At the very least, I want to write this year and I haven't, not outside XP, anyway.

[seraangel.livejournal.com]

I've always enjoyed your writing. You've got a writing voice that feels professional and makes me want to read more. It helps also that the stuff you write tends to be in the genres I read as well but it's because of how good a writer you are that I keep reading.

It's a major talent, mate. Not everybody has the ability to suck a reader in and leave them wanting to know what happens next. You most definitely have that, and I'd love to see more of this work.

[jim-smith.livejournal.com]

The writing is good but I need to deconstruct your deconstruction a little.

Let's assume that a superhero flying at top speed to grab some person (falling otherwise) causes an impact consistent with the laws of physics, causing discomfort or injury to the person. Fair enough.

That said, wouldn't the hero figure out really really quickly that this isn't working? I mean, in a world with real superheroes, this would become an issue, and a public one. Even a newbie hero is going to hear people complaining about this and either a) use his Macguffin Meteor or whatever to bend the laws of physics or b) save people some other way or c) be all "you're alive, quit whining."

It's kind of a pet peeve of mine in superhero parodies/deconstructions that "everybody" knows the little annoying things about superheroes, but the superheroes themselves are oblivious blockheads. For example: In The Incredibles, Edna has to tell Mr. Incredible about all the heroes whose capes got them killed, even though Mr. Incredible presumably went to those guys' funerals and Edna's been doing his tailoring for decades. So he has to be an idiot for a minute, so they can make the joke work.

I guess it works if Titan really is so dense he doesn't realize what he's doing, kind of like a superhero Zapp Branagan. But bear that in mind before you have any other characters taking him seriously. If he's notorious for this thing, and he's still letting women vomit down his back, he's gotta be the laughingstock of wherever it is his secret identity works with his cape hanging out of his shirt.

[indiana-j.livejournal.com]

That was a long, disjointed response. Let's simplify that. XD Basically, you've got really good points - we're just running up against the problem with posting small snippets out of a much larger scene.

The protagonist is actually another superhero who just got jumped and had to be rescued by Titan, who'd been out enjoying a party when he spotted it going down. Captain had just been kind of annoyed at the mob of screaming women a few moments before.

And the vomiting thing was more because her brains are still scrambled from the attack than the actual rescue.

But you do have really good points and that's something I'm going to have to keep in mind. And, careful Jim, you just might end up on my go to list if I do actually start to write this thing. ;)