“Very well, we will begin by introducing your characters,” announced the Wizard, who was wearing a tee-shirt that explained, ‘Because I’m The Game Master!’ “It’s time to reveal your origin stories; how you discovered your powers and who you were before you… you…” He paused at their looks of blank alarm. He sighed. “So– You’ve got nothing, haven’t you?” Somehow he didn’t sound that surprised, nor really disappointed, oddly enough.
“Uhm, no,” Shinji confessed, “no, not really. Well, Shove is a ordinary, everday guy who gained amazing ability, –ah– somehow, then reluctantly realised the responsibility that power requires. Er… That’s about it.”
“All right,” the Game Master agreed. “Now, that’s a good start actually, but you’ll need flesh out a background for that concept a bit more.” He paused to consider, then smiled an almost sinister smile. “Very well, we’ll make the origin part of the adventure.”
“We’ll begin with ‘Shove’, in civilian identity, waiting at… oh, the train station. He’s just arrived in the big city.” He pulled out a miniature and placed it on the battlemap.
Shinji leaned close. The figure was a fairly generic hero figurine in a white body suit. There was something familiar about the design of the suit. He leaned closer for a better look, and his vision blurred. As it did so, strangely the battlemap seemed to take on features of a train platform, luggage trolleys, seats, ticket office, …
“… ‘Shove’ is waiting to be picked up,” the Game Master’s voice droned on. “Of course, his name isn’t Shove yet, it’s… it’s … …”
“Shinji Ikari! Paging Mister Shinji Ikari! Please to come to the ticket counter.”
Shinji pulled himself upright with a start, embarrased at having almost fallen asleep while… waiting at the train station for his ride?
Of course he was, he realised a moment latter. He’d just arrived in Tokyo IV to stay with his father after the… accident. He looked down at his clothes, and felt a moment disorientation at the sight of perfectly ordinary traveling clothes. Why had he half expected to be wearing a white plugsuit, and what the heck was a plug suit anyway? He picked up his bags and headed to the counter where a woman was holding up a sign with his name and waving. With a feeling of déjà vu, he looked at the familiar woman he’d never seen before.
A breif exchange of introductions latter, he was loading his bags into the boot of Miss Misato Katsuragi’s car, which was soon hurtling along the road without great concern for traffic regulations. Shinji found himself mentally chanting a mantra. ‘…I mustn’t reveal my power! I mustn’t reveal my power! I mustn’t…’
The temptation to reach out and shove the car to a standstill was high. If the city hadn’t come under attack he might very well have chosen survival over secrecy. The oddest thing was, having the city come under attack at that point seemed familiar. Strange, but almost half expected.
Of course, it just presented the same dilemna anew.
(Posted Thu, 31 May 2007 11:19)
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らんま1/2 © Rumiko Takahashi
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