TigerEmperor

While not my main, one character I made, Infection Point, shares Kaleo's Way Down We Go, Rag n Bone Man's Human, and The Heavy's Short Change Hero with my first Homecoming character, Raphael Firebone. Mostly as they're good guys who, because of circumstances, have had to do bad things and know a thing or two about falling down the wrong path. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v96wkt38EU8 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=52vehHn8KfQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9u9ymiSmtXY

While going over some of the writing prompts posted by @CrystalDragon yet again and considering some of the things I posted about my own characters thus far, I got to wondering: What sort of futures do you think your characters might have? Now, this might be the future you're having them work toward, the future that might occur as a result of their efforts in spite of their intentions, if everything goes just so, or if things go completely down the porcelain throne, or really anywhere that's "later down the timestream" from where they are now. For example: One of the main futures I see for Raphael Firestar is that after heroing for a while, he also manages to get his archaeological career back on track and, much like Doc. Delilah, manages to uncover enough about a significant discovery to write a book or five about. Including a few on the life and times of Ra-Akhnaten and how said evil priest managed to possess him so that no one else can be taken advantage of without being prepared. Or giving up either aspect of his life to devote himself full time to the other, much like how Arkham Knight Batman did [just with less unveiling of public identity]. Unfortunately, though, I don't see him ever getting the girl, as it were. So much as he does try and improve on his ability to flirt and ask out the opposite gender, he'll most likely have a rather lonely life since... Well, he doesn't want to potentially ruin a love interest's with his work. The whole being possessed by an Egyptian priest thing was bad enough when it was him so... And to say nothing of having to constantly save the world, going on long digs, and the like. Ra-Akhnaten's future is pretty much decided in that he's basically banished to the spirit world after being forced out of Raphael Firestar, not able to affect the mortal world without a pretty susceptible host. For all his magical might and ghostly talents, sufficiently marshaled minds are able to keep him out. But if he ever did find a way to give himself flesh of his own again or affect the world without such "mortal inconveniences" like a physical form, he'd continue trying to reclaim his powers and find a way to rule from the shadows as a mage-king type. Raphael Firebane is even more of a Batman type in that he'd probably be dedicated to fighting crime, regardless of if it was on Primal or Praetoria. Not necessarily pro-any administration, just because someone has to be ready to fight against people trying to break the rules and do harm. If anything, after the fall of Cole, he'd probably be unwilling to see any future administrations as worth it, having all his effort turn out to be falsehoods and seeing "all the Praetors having taken advantage of Marcus's good name." Even more so in that he'd continue the fight on his own in a very "post-Jason Todd Batman" sort of way, not wanting to involve anyone in his work that didn't already have qualifications. Probably set up a bunch of investments and the like so he wouldn't have to worry about money, give a secretary type some guidelines to work with so she could manage that on the day to day and check in regularly so she didn't get any funny ideas. Carmilla de Borgia, though...? Well, her main storyline has her go from villainess because necessity to provide for herself and her girls [plus, learning powers and enjoying her new liberties, now that she's less bound by normal human standards] to heroine after a fashion. Mostly because she manages to get strong [skill and reputation and charisma-wise] enough and enough of the practical concerns together, and thinking about morals ["Can I really do the best for my converts/lovers in this hive of scum and villainy?" sort of thoughts on top of how she's best able to help gals in need]. And given that she does go after Crey Corp execs that were less than ideal, she may go from what amounts to "really cleverly but well funded halfway vampire house" to running Crey Corp herself and putting her girls in positions of authority in the company. Just with a vague Praetor Tilman-esque "Mother" vibe if you removed the psychic abuse angle. Not that she initially wanted to be called "Mother" or anything outside of intimate situations but if it makes them happy. Other possibilities include more in-fighting among the Carnival of Blood, leading to her falling in such a fight or taking over the entire show and deciding if she's happy with that or if she wanted to leverage her new authority to achieve her other goals. Feel free to let your imaginations run wild and don't be afraid of excessively bright or dark futures.

I know you posted this about three-fourths of a year ago but is it weird that I can see some weird AU crossover stuff that's like, Carmilla helping Tabby stop one of Marzaana's schemes for some reason or another, regardless of hero or villain status at the time. Complete with a little "catty" banter about how Carmilla's lucky to have all the power thrust upon her [she's not happy about that and is trying to make the best of it] as opposed to Marzaana 'earning' hers, how the Zane Foundation Zanes are and were better than 'some branch cousin of the Crey family' ["Hah, yeah, my family's a bunch of no-good crooks, heard THAT before."], and the like, rebuttle culminating with a dismissive "That would be almost cute if I could take you seriously." sort of thing. ...Which would fit right in with Tabby's "I'm not that awesome!" attitude. ["See?! My nemesis can't even rate in the eyes of this other tough, 'powered individual!"]

I have sort of thought that Raphael Firestar wouldn't necessarily have an outright hero-ing rival so much as someone who'd be the other side of the Batman-Superman duo: someone who's stricter or looser morals than he does but they don't really interact too much outside of larger-scale activities or crossover plots due to working in different parts of town than each other, most days. And preferring to avoid letting super-work spill over into "normal" life. But naturally, he'd also probably have some rollover from the time Ra-Akhnaten had possessed him and thus had some villain/rogue rivals and maybe even a few among the Mu Mystics working with Arachnos. His only for sure rival at the moment is his old university rival Reginald "Reggie" MacReady. They competed for test scores, research materials, books, lab time, pretty much everything. Even a seat at the union to have lunch. "Dammit, MacReady!" is now, thankfully, a much less common refrain, despite his having to catch up on archaeological practices. ...It may or may not irk him that MacReady's become a bit more respectable while his name went into the gutters but he won't let that stop him. Ra-Akhnaten, wisely, cautiously, and perhaps a little paranoid-ly, considers all magic users potential rivals. The more advanced/skilled/knowledgeable, the more of a threat and rival he considers them. But at least it keeps him a bit more on his toes so he won't complain that much. Raphael Firebane had rivals back in Praetoria from his time associating with Powers Division. To hear him tell it, comes with the territory. Especially as they were there for for a variety of reasons, such as to gain fame, to be less held back, to have the Emperor's blessing to crack down how they wished, etc. Which meant they got in each others' way a lot too. He naturally doesn't like talking about it as he ended up taking out a few who were just looking to do good because of his primary rival at the time, Blackbones, having set up the situation in an uncharacteristic fit of cunning. Even more so since he tried to focus his efforts on bringing down threats to Praetoria like the Resistance, not people who should be supporting it. Carmilla De Borgia's primary rivals are/were some of her "Sisters" in the Carnival of Blood, others who were turned and became heads of their own branches of the Carnival. This meant competing not just for converts but also territory, supplies, 'food', and the like. Which caused no end of headaches and the like as she just wanted to look after her gals and enjoy life at least a little. But these days, she's also playing for bigger stakes, using her abilities for some measure of good and to take it to the Crey Corp. execs she knows happen to be... Less than ideal people. Even if they are her extended family. If it means she'd have the ability to look after her girls and set them up well... She'll make and break as many rivals as she needs to.

I too was thinking that there are writers like Tolkien and Sanderson who actually treat magic as what it is: something that can and, to some degree or another, should have rules and limits in relation to the type of worldbuilding you're using in whatever setting you're going with. Storytelling, roleplay, either way. Magic is something that we can understand as "We don't have to explain a thing." but should, when used in constructive writing such as roleplay and creative works aimed at higher age groups, be seen through the same lens we see science: rules, laws, "this only works because of these other things being present." Does that stop magic from being powerful and theoretically limitless, though? My answer would be "No, you just have to be very careful in explaining how and why it is." An example of at least trying to seem like there are such rules and "rational understandings" of magic would be the Fate franchise [Stay Night, Zero, Grand Order, etc.], in that they have an at least somewhat defined system with rules, limitations, and, if you will, "exceptions that break the rules but here's why!" that are cumulative efforts on the part of multiple people, if not generations, or otherwise in circumstances where we are given to understand that it would have been possible to achieve that and thereby retain it as a phenomenon. Such as Schweinorg having the Second Magic [Operation of Parallel Worlds], creating it in a set of circumstances where "high sorcery" [magic that isn't as logically understood by modern conceptions and viewed through a soft worldbuilding lens] was plausible as a means to reach and comprehend what amounts to the full truth and understanding of magic as a phenomenon. But all that being said, magic should be used in the same way we would with science, as according to Sanderson's Law. Explain it in a careful, consistent way and people will go with you... But remember that others are involved and need to be considered when you're roleplaying. And make sure your editor calls you on any foibles/forgetting when you're writing novels. Sorry if this seems to be reiterating some of your main points but felt a need to agree and build on, offer another example that could be tied in, that sort of thing.

I agree with the ideas behind this. Especially in that supers come from a variety of background and that the writing, the portrayal of that concept in the situation of a super [hero or villain or neither], is the big thing. And can be tricky. Look at Superman: Alien who could dominate everybody just because his body reacts to our sun differently... But is trying to work within the moral, legal, and other philosophical constraints of the United States. Will he have to break a law to get the bad guy off the streets? Will he finally have to kill someone and avoid becoming his Justice Lord counterpart? But a well written character, such as one who could be the sum total of the solution but is part of the solution [see Superman collaborating with another JLA character], is more than their concept. And as another example to go with Bleu's, my villain Ra-Akhnaten was a powerful priest back in Egypt but, because of being bound in an artifact for thousands of years, he has to slowly rebuild his knowledge/energies into the body he's possessing so he can be better than before. And to ensure he's got control of the host body, he has to wear a suit of armor that, in turn, limits his output a fair bit in return. So he theoretically *could* fry a passerby like an egg on the sidewalk, depending on where in his storyline he is, but wouldn't be able to right away near the beginning or necessarily interested later on ["What would that get me? Would it prove that I'm worth worshiping? No. It would make people want to kill me."]. Similarly, a villain I created recently, Infection Point, has to limit himself in a similar suit of armor because he is literally radioactive. If he steps out, he'd essentially poison everyone within the immediate area. And has to be in the Rogue Isles because he's better able to get parts and lots of quick money there for parts, medicine for his mom, etc. He doesn't WANT to do bad but it's the only way for him to handle things. He has to cooperate with other villains to get to his goals. Also, yes, I agree 100% that game level should not equate to RP power level. It doesn't accurately represent where the character is at in their story or if the person is able to write a character. And as such, it should be treated as just a game mechanic, not the measure of your writing and creativity.

Just wanting to build off this a little and mention that while the opening post does bring up a good point about being able to reflect your roleplay with what you can do in-game and the like, I think that we do need to bring up that that is not always inherently the case. More specifically, yes, when engaging in roleplay while in the game, you may want to emote, demonstrate, or be able to play out the scene without relying on text alone to sell it, to be able to engage with it. But when roleplaying, you do not inherently have to rely on level or in-game mechanics to be able to do something within the roleplay story's narrative. Even with the game's customization, emotes, and the like. It is optimal when you can but that does not preclude you from narratively doing something else. For example, if I were roleplaying as Carmilla De Borgia, I have her set as a Fiery Melee/Regen Brute but in a roleplay narrative, I would need to do more than say that as a vampire, her biology enables greater strength, healing, and the like. If she needs to heal quickly while the move and/or hasn't fed recently, she may need to drink the blood of a passerby, one of the people she's fighting, that sort of thing. But I do not know off the top of my head at this particular moment if there is an emote or animation existing in-game that would reflect her biting and drinking from someone. It would just have to occur as a narrative event, even though she's not at an out of character level that would necessarily reflect it. Further, her biology may enable her to handle greater temperatures for longer than an otherwise 'normal' metahuman, such as an untrained version of Raphael Firestar. Meaning that she may be able to inherently have the "empower" ability from the Fiery Melee powerset on as a given. But what I mostly wanted to drive at was establishing how closely tied to game mechanics you want the roleplay to be. Does your story depend on everyone basically starting as literally barely trained heroes/villains? Or would the story have a little flex and budge to it [IE, you could say your character can conjure a Greater Fire Sword-esque attack and sustain it despite not having it on your bar due to being levels 1-4]? Going further in the vein of Bleu's example, Raphael Firebane has been training for years to be able to take his revenge against the Resistance. Not only does he have a noteworthy amount of physical and mental ability as a result, he would likely have already been working on using abilities that we do not see until later levels in spite of being, according to game mechanics, level one at a specific point. And while a slightly chilly room would be no big deal to him, it'd be more of a problem if someone were to mindtrick him into thinking he was in ice age conditions. Now, I do think that ideally, you'd want to be able to reflect what your character can do by doing similar through the game's mechanics. But if you're in a roleplay that isn't bound too close to the mechanics, you're not going to be as strictly limited to what you can do. And, honestly? If you're roleplaying, you should not be limited by the game mechanics. So long as you don't get too crazy with it and actually work out with your group what's okay and what's not. Some RNG may apply, just don't let the game's limitations prohibit your imagination if you can describe and justify what you're doing. Establish and intimate/foreshadow and you can more believably do so... Within the cooperative narrative you're helping shape.

Sadly, if there's one thing my guys don't tend to do, it's "let someone get away." It's mostly a mentality thing: like Crys was mentioning, some do legitimately want to change and the Zig can only hold so many at any given time. Especially with the amount of times villain groups take a spin at the place to try and bust out new recruits and a flawed justice system. So most often, Raphael Firestar and Firebane will take them in in a different way. Not into their homes or anything, just finding a different sort of punishment for their crimes. Since they do have to be punished somehow, provided they actually did do something illegal. And if they prove they aren't interested in reforming or being part of society legally... The resources are needed elsewhere. If they can help bring down an even bigger bunch, their turn can wait a while. Ra-Akhnaten wouldn't let anyone go unless it wasn't part of his plan in some way and/or had a way to track them down later. He's got bigger things to do than worry about making sure every single person who crosses paths with him ends up in a particular way. Now, Carmilla? She's of a similar sort of mentality as the guys mentioned above when it comes to criminals, heroes, etc. But when it comes to potential converts for the Carnival... She has let a few go. Each for a "good reason", such as her coven having enough for the moment, their having a loving family, clearly going through enough with their normal life... Once or twice [maybe a few times more than she'd admit], because they looked like an old girlfriend of hers. Other times, that hasn't stopped her but... Well, you know. While she has turned a few who were going through a rough time in life, such as bullies, abusive families, etc., she always gave those more of a choice once they got even: they can stay with her, be turned back if she can find a way to undo the process safely, or pass on. She's just sad that those that passed on chose to since she would have tried to care for them too.

As is normal with characters like mine... They're either alive or dead. Very dead. Raphael Firestar? His parents are fine, far as he knows. They just are reluctant to talk to him since the whole "possessed by an evil priest" fiasco and seeing their son having to be arrested, committing crimes, etc. They still think he's a good kid, really smart, etc., just still... You know. Worried. He'll get around to making a family one day if he can get himself to talk to the girl he's interested in the most or finds someone he just clicks with. Ra-Akhnaten's family is definitely dead since.... Well, few thousand years old spirit and all means any relations are so distant, they aren't his family anymore. Add in that he's technically a bad guy, he certainly isn't doing the holidays with them. Raphael Firebane? Again, parents dead. It was just him and his parents before then. Now, he's working on getting his goals accomplished and sorting himself out before working on his family issues. Especially with the transition to Paragon and his loyalties to Praetoria. Carmilla? Her blood family isn't strictly her family anymore due to the transition to vampire but it's not like she and the Count & Countess were that close. Cousins at most, really. Her parents haven't been around in ages. If they are alive... Well, they might not like what she's become, especially as they had hopes of her finding a boyfriend from a "good family", which she is in no way interested in, then or now. So it's just her and her girls in the Carnival of Blood. At least with them, she can feel somewhat at home and open about who and what she is, due to them caring about her and she them.

Carmilla's easy to imagine in that one of her absolute favorite firsts, one that still warms her heart, is her first kiss. It was with an old friend of hers, a pretty but goth girl named Mina. Mina had just won some competition, she doesn't really remember what, but as they were heading back, she remembers taking Mina's hand and kissing the girl on the lips. In more than a friendly way. It... Didn't go over that well but they got talking about it when they were older and agreed that if neither of them were seeing anyone seriously by a certain point, they'd go on a date and see how it went. That hasn't happened because of being turned but... Carmilla does hope to at least see her again. Raphael Firestar when he finally finished his dissertation on using propellants in a sandstone and/or dust-covered environment and why they need to be kept to a specific level of pressure, if present at all. While not a common first, he managed to defend it well when even he thought he was being too over-prepared. Little did he know that it would lead to some of the best and worst parts of his life, and one of his other favorite firsts: finally being able to muster up the nerve to clearly ask a girl out. Ra-Akhnaten's favorite first is probably a bit odd but... First time he had a pear after taking over Raphael's body. Much like Hector Barbarossa in Pirates of the Caribbean: Curse of the Black Pearl, he had a hankering for, among other things, fresh fruit and being able to taste it, actually *feel* it in his mouth as he ate. Raphael Firebane's favorite first from Praetoria was probably being able to drive in Nova Praetoria. While not that big a deal, just being able to take the time to get around without relying on his powers or having to worry about "Is X group causing trouble?" was pleasant. On Primal Earth? First time he came across Mexican food. Burritos in particular. While they likely exist still in Praetoria, they just don't make them with the same kick.

Pretty much all of mine have come pretty close to death at some point or another. Most of them a lot in the early days. Raphael Firestar definitely felt like it was the end when Ra-Akhnaten took him over and has, as a result, nearly died or experienced mental/personality death from being suppressed so much for so long by said evil priest. His body is the one that has to deal with the wounds and the act of possession still left him rather shaken, even after having been free of it a while and done some good, met people, had fun, etc. Trauma takes time to heal and having to live with the possession and the sheer malevolent glee Ra-Akhnaten took in tormenting some of those he killed, the crimes his body was involved in committing... He's still trying to reconcile all of it and legitimately accept that it wasn't him, even though he does still get the odd glare from other "heroic" types. Ra-Akhnaten never had it pretty either. Not just because of having his soul torn from his body at the moment of physical death at the hands of actually devout priests and warriors in service to the pharaoh. He came close a few times because of rituals going wrong and sending pain through him like an electric current down a river. And in some of the scraps he got into as a kid. The son of a priest versus a soldier's son was never going to be weighted that heavily in his favor as, for all his cleverness, he still nearly took a few too many punches to the face and gut. Raphael Firebane was severely maimed as a child by a bunch of Resistance as he was watching his parents be killed for, albeit tacitly, supporting Cole's regime and contributing to improving life in Praetoria. He may have been seen to but the scarring hasn't faded. And after all this time, he can't even remember his parents' faces. Just the anger and hot, searing, raw hate pounding in his body. You can't completely get over something like that. And Carmilla de Borgia? Well, she did technically die in that most consider vampires to be the living dead. And she can still remember the heated, heaving pleasure coursing through her at first, slowly replaced by cold, gnawing hunger and sadness. A little guilt over not being able to do what she had wanted to with her life. It's been a bit motivating but mostly sad. So... It's complicated. And a very close, though somewhat pleasurable, encounter with death.

If by embarrassing, you mean feeling shame and contrition or guilt or similar, yes, Raphael Firestar definitely feels embarrassed by his having been... Possessed. But more generally, he'd be embarrassed by a few of the times he tried to flirt with girls before his possession. And the time he spent on his highschool martial arts team. Though if you were to ask him, they had it coming. Being stuck in an amulet for thousands of years definitely was embarrassing for Ra-Akhnaten as... Well, not only did it imply he was careless, it also implied he was weak and stupid. And he doesn't abide such notions. One doesn't get to be a priest, let alone able to do what he did undercover for so long, without being really smart. Though there was the time that one merchant spilled tea all over his robes. He's still not sure that was an accident. Raphael Firebane doesn't exactly have an embarrassing moment so much as "I may have gone a bit overboard. But those Destroyers/Syndicate/Resistance/insert other criminal faction here deserved something for their crimes, yes?" And Carmilla de Borgia? Well, first few times she kissed girls she was interested in as a teenager, worrying about how to break the news to her parents, and her "sadly impressive" collection of adult magazines. After she was turned for the Carnival of Blood? Much less shame, way more pleasure. She doesn't worry about it as much anymore besides "Yes, I was a bit of a mess back then, wasn't I?"

As someone who's in library sciences in real life, I can definitely appreciate this bit as that is one big reason people go into it: quiet, not getting into trouble easy, etc. Not to mention, the irony and the like that I could practically hear off it. Yeah, he's gonna find a lot of things and she did try to warn him. But as to my characters... Well, If you count filching twenties from your mom's purse so you could buy that new game or action figure or a few bucks' worth of pop with your friends, Raphael Firestar did that a little. Parents revealed they were wise to him doing it and punished him after explaining that so long as he asked or explained what he planned to do with it, they were likely to say yes. Raphael Firebane, though, wouldn't exactly say he committed crimes against people, more that after he started training and doing his research on the Resistance and other groups, he "got creative" and did a couple B&Es, some minor assault, all in disguise before he fully got his act together. Being driven by a burning hate and need to get even didn't help. Carmilla didn't exactly do anything strictly against any laws or technicalities, far as the record says. Being a Crey had its advantages to help cover up her having taken a few things without paying or having something in her car that she didn't strictly know was there. Not that she really acted out as family images and all. She was too busy struggling to deal with her family forcing their expectations on her and her budding sexuality to really engage in more than one or two indiscretions. Ra-Akhnaten didn't get into much more than a few rougher than they ought to have been altercations with boys his age. Which quickly came to a stop because he was a priest's son and going into the priesthood himself, and he'd been caught playing with "street rat" type kids and the soldiers' sons instead of sticking to his studies. And the fights came about because he took exception to the way they were talking about his mother. He may have grown up to be an evil spirit that commits crimes but nobody insults his mother without paying for it. Not even his father...

Raphael Firestar and Ra-Akhnaten are pretty straightforward: they're basically inspired by Daniel Jackson and the Goa'uld from Stargate and the SG1 TV series. Just with some more superhero elements thrown in and more "mystic hero" vibes. Archaeologist on an expedition, gets possessed by a foreign entity that takes control of his body and finds a way to cement its control for a time, only to be driven out with concerted internal and external influences. As well as the fact that unlike Daniel, Raphael did not get the girl yet. He could... If he didn't flub asking her out that easy. Raphael Firebane is more straightup Batman/Punisher/Ghost Rider in that he's got the same basic backstory idea: loses family at an early enough age, nearly dies himself, barely makes it out, devotes self to purging that sort of behavior from his world. If you're one of those who hurt him, he'll want payback. If you're affiliated with the same cause, you'll get beaten down before you do to someone what was done to him. Assuming it hadn't happened already. Carmilla de Borgia is basically a direct reference to the legend of Carmilla, the vampiress who drank young womens' blood to stay youthful, and other vampire tropes. Like blooding young women to make them into new companions and part of her coven, which is basically a fusion of the Carnival of Shadows and vampire tropes. She's also a reference to the Borgia family, known for members like Lucrecia Borgia who married and poisoned multiple men at the behest of her brother, by being related to the Countess Crey as much as her "bloodsucker mistress of the night" vibe. The rest of mine so far are basically playing around with basic ideas and tropes. Such as "What if Batman + Cowboy?" = Heavybarrel, a dual gun scrapper.

If I had to say, one thing that all my characters have in common would be that they're... Struggling. Struggling to relate/connect with others properly, dealing with new concepts [or timeframes/worlds], past injuries, coming to terms with who they are... Things like that. Including and especially trying to fit back in with society in some way, even though they know that society wasn't really built for people like them. Raphael Firestar? Painfully shy [though jacked] nerd before being taken over by an evil priest and, after breaking free, having to reintegrate with lawful society and show that he didn't change, it was the ghost controlling him that made him do all those bad things. Although with more confidence to some degree or another. Still can't quite... Talk to the girl of his dreams outside of a professional context but he wants to. Just communicating with others is tricky enough without saying something that someone will inevitably misunderstand or take the wrong way. Ra-Akhnaten? Ancient Egyptian priest trying to understand this modern world, even though he has his host's memories and understandings to call on. Everything's changed over several thousand years, ya know? Just like Rome wasn't built in a day, he has to try and figure it out and adapt. Even if it means revealing you don't understand the function or mechanics of, say, a rubber duck or how to use a VCR/DVD player without help. Raphael Firebane (Praetoria)? Having to deal with having seen his parents killed and being personally wounded by the Resistance and barely escaping with his life. Having to slowly unpack bits and pieces of the trauma and associated complexes, guilt, grief, regrets, etc. is a lot. Especially when you're just trying to help keep a nation together under the one person who seems capable of leading it, from your point of view. Carmilla de Borgia? Again, having to relate to others and accept her new vampiric self as part of the Carnival of Blood. Including that it means the constant temptation to do to others what was done to her. She'll do correctly by the women she turns, even though it comes across as just trying to wash away her own guilt over satisfying her new basic needs, but it isn't easy with the desire to do more. To take more. To dominate and satisfy other primal needs with her converts. Same as with Firestar, if she went hero side again, she'd have to prove she was good, truly and genuinely reformed, victim of her circumstances trying to move beyond them, etc. And having to find new ways to relate and connect. But other than that and the angsty, 90s hero/antihero style backstory, not sure. As a person on the Autism Spectrum, I can guarantee that communicating, letting go of things that happened to you, and trying to understand new things are even more difficult than usual. Not to mention having to learn to be okay with the problems that come with being who you are. You can limit their influence to agree... But they're still there and aren't going away. Ever. And that's okay. Just makes you more interesting.