Question [G2] Invictus / Tanya

From the glowy effect in the story I'm guessing she's a Pk brick.
Having an interest in superhero families I'm curious about how close she is to her mothers team. And I like how she's confident enough not to hide her hair and eyes.

Domoviye wrote: From the glowy effect in the story I'm guessing she's a Pk brick.
Having an interest in superhero families I'm curious about how close she is to her mothers team. And I like how she's confident enough not to hide her hair and eyes.

Well, you'll note that her godmother is a part of her mother's team, as well as the guy who gave her the phone as a gift, so that should probably tell you a good bit about how well and how much she interacts with them.

Tanya is the character I was least anticipating...

I felt that the interaction with the 5 year old and his mother was a waste of time and that the concern for the distraught "mutant goth" was too forced to be genuine...

I expected better from you, Neo...

(It is SO hard keeping a straight face while writing this much sarcasm...)

Posted after reading Calamari Part 2

Note to Neo: I know I already spoke with you about my observations of Tanya, so this will mostly be for the benefit of others.

Observations:
- I find myself really wondering where this story would have gone without Tanya making all the introductions...
- We learned in part 1 that Tanya is personally acquainted with a number of established super heros... quite personally considering one is her godmother (and the fact that the author intro indicated that the heroes are basically her family)... seeing how the fight went down in the early stages... how closely DOES she know these heroes?... if she knows them as personally as she appears to, would she not have learned something from them about fighting as a team and not underestimating opponents?... or does she know them more on a personal level than a 'business' level?... the teaser in the author intros seem to imply a more personal relationship, so maybe that is it?...
- I think the hotel room scene does a nice job portraying the results of the 'protection' provided to Tanya by her family... outwardly, and in group social situations, she appears quite confident... but inwardly she is full of doubt and fear... as the child of a superhero, at least in part raised by superheroes, there would be a level of isolation from her peers that, to some degree at least, prevents normal social interaction with others of her age... similar to Estelle's situation in the Fate Sucks FanFic, actually... by all appearances turning into your mom can't help with that either...

Can't wait to see more!

Responding to ShockHawk:

1) That is kind of funny to think about, huh?

2) Yes, she's well acquainted with several superheros, and yes, she thinks of most of them as family, even beyond just her godmother. But imagine for a moment you have an aunt or uncle (or any other relative for that matter) who is a cop...do they fill you in on all the details of their work? Do they train you in how to do their job when you're 14 years old? That's the kind of situation Tanya has back home. Sure, she gets to hear a lot of stories and the like, so she has a clearer perspective than most people of what superheroing is really like, but that's still a far cry from actually being trained in how to react during such a situation. Especially when her gut impulse is to help people in danger. She wasn't thinking of how to take down all of the opponents when she rushed in, the only thought in her mind was to keep others from getting hurt. This is what gave her the decisiveness to act, but it also affected her judgment and prevented her from working together with the others as well as she might have, at least at first. You'll note that when things got rough with Squiddley she DID slow down and try to think things through, even coming up with a plan of just how to make use of Glyph's trap. So she has the perspective and the personality for team fighting, but she's still just a kid and has to learn how to keep focused in the stressful situations that call for that kind of thing.

3) You hit the nail on the head with this one. The fact that Tanya knows the secret identities of not one, not two, but a whole team of superheros has had a major impact on how she grew up. She's never felt free to really get close to anyone her own age, for fear of accidentally letting secrets slip, so when it comes to close personal relationships among peers, she's rather out of her depth, even though she's good at faking it when with a group. You'll note that this is also one of the reasons she's so excited about getting to go to Whateley. She knows she doesn't have to hide anything there.

There are other factors involved in how Tanya interacts with others age, and with how she views herself, but I think that's probably enough exposition for now. I'll leave the rest for you guys to discover as you read more of her.

NeoMagus wrote: Responding to ShockHawk:

You'll note that this is also one of the reasons she's so excited about getting to go to Whateley. She knows she doesn't have to hide anything there.

.

You'll also notice Tanya is rather naiive...

Cannot be easy to be Tanya. On top of the emotional trauma of resembling a deceased parent, and the relatively isolated upbringing since said loss, she'll have a whole lot of expectations to live up to - a very high bar, all things considered - and it would be a wonder if she doesn't have something of an inferiority complex. Of particular note is during the debrief with Lillian, the criticism is likely only to reinforce that she doesn't live up to those lofty standards.

Whether there's any actual expectation from others on the part of Invictus or not, the result is pretty much the same, being quite a lot of pressure placed on her one way or another.

NeoMagus wrote: 2) Yes, she's well acquainted with several superheros, and yes, she thinks of most of them as family, even beyond just her godmother. But imagine for a moment you have an aunt or uncle (or any other relative for that matter) who is a cop...do they fill you in on all the details of their work? Do they train you in how to do their job when you're 14 years old? That's the kind of situation Tanya has back home.

Wouldn't that training make sense, given that mutants' children are more likely to Activate themselves, and possibly immediately acquire powers that would have made that training useful? Like in Crimson Comet's case? The '20-year-old' 13-year-old Poesie?

In addition to the general danger in being the child of mutants.

... Those don't really feel like a persuasive arguments for some reason...

Also, The Braeburn Report isn't fully accurate, and its fate other than it was in Dr. Amazing's hands, last we saw of it.

Malady wrote:

NeoMagus wrote: 2) Yes, she's well acquainted with several superheros, and yes, she thinks of most of them as family, even beyond just her godmother. But imagine for a moment you have an aunt or uncle (or any other relative for that matter) who is a cop...do they fill you in on all the details of their work? Do they train you in how to do their job when you're 14 years old? That's the kind of situation Tanya has back home.

Wouldn't that training make sense, given that mutants' children are more likely to Activate themselves, and possibly immediately acquire powers that would have made that training useful? Like in Crimson Comet's case? The '20-year-old' 13-year-old Poesie?

In addition to the general danger in being the child of mutants.

... Those don't really feel like a persuasive arguments for some reason...

Also, The Braeburn Report isn't fully accurate, and its fate other than it was in Dr. Amazing's hands, last we saw of it.

CeeCee had the physical body of a 20 something, but her powers were still developing, as was her mind.

While they may have given her some "training." Things like signs to look out for, when to call the cops, best places to run away. They couldn't give her combat training, as they would have no idea what sort of mutant she would be. Look at some of the mutants that are related, very few of them have even similar powers (Kayda and Danny being exceptions and they were possibly manipulated).

Valentine wrote:

Malady wrote:

NeoMagus wrote: 2) Yes, she's well acquainted with several superheros, and yes, she thinks of most of them as family, even beyond just her godmother. But imagine for a moment you have an aunt or uncle (or any other relative for that matter) who is a cop...do they fill you in on all the details of their work? Do they train you in how to do their job when you're 14 years old? That's the kind of situation Tanya has back home.

Wouldn't that training make sense, given that mutants' children are more likely to Activate themselves, and possibly immediately acquire powers that would have made that training useful? Like in Crimson Comet's case? The '20-year-old' 13-year-old Poesie?

In addition to the general danger in being the child of mutants.

... Those don't really feel like a persuasive arguments for some reason...

Also, The Braeburn Report isn't fully accurate, and its fate other than it was in Dr. Amazing's hands, last we saw of it.

CeeCee had the physical body of a 20 something, but her powers were still developing, as was her mind.

While they may have given her some "training." Things like signs to look out for, when to call the cops, best places to run away. They couldn't give her combat training, as they would have no idea what sort of mutant she would be. Look at some of the mutants that are related, very few of them have even similar powers (Kayda and Danny being exceptions and they were possibly manipulated).

With super hero kids, do we even know if they want to be superheroes? Tanya seems unsure, forcing her into team combat training seems to be shoving the kid into a job they may not even want. And putting them in team tactics too soon risks causing serious injury as they're developing.
Self defense training, both how to run away and how to fight back if forced to, seems to be the better choice. It will be useful throughout their life, isn't forcing the child into something they may not want, and is less likely to result in serious injuries.
Combine it with exercises on how to figure out a situation quickly, map out the best escape routes, most likely dangers, and how to use common sense, and you'll be giving your child a serious advantage most regular adults lack.

As Tanya's intro in the Announcement post states, she's got a lot more on her plate than just resembling her mother and being brought up in the company of her mum's super team - she's also got the same powerset, which brings a whole new bunch of questions:

G2 Announcement wrote: Who are you, really ­ your own self, or just your mother's replacement? Are you intended to follow your own path, or to pick up the fight where your mom left off? Did your 'family' protect you too much ­ shielding you from the realities of the world and leaving you naive, idealistic, and all too trusting? Maybe your mom's alma mater, Whateley Academy, can help you sort out these questions...or maybe it's just a hidden trap, intent on making you lose yourself to a destiny that was never meant to be yours.

So it's fairly safe to say she has issues, which won't be resolved immediately. It's likely a combination of her experiences at Whateley plus regular counselling sessions should eventually help her answer those questions - and feel confident enough in four years' time to pave her own course through life, regardless of the wishes of others (some of whom would probably very much like her to pick up her mum's legacy).