Twenty-One: In Which There Are Memories

[myblimpisbigger]

[It's been quiet in the Wulfenbach household since the end of Mayfield's latest attempt at fucking with its citizenry. Klaus has been somewhat subdued, mostly because his attempt at turning around what he was sure was an experiment on Mayfield's part backfired spectacularly. He has learned nothing except that he's remarkably willing to do some very questionable things in the name of science -- something he already knew anyway. He feels frustrated and frankly, ashamed, and even waffles can't quite cheer him up.

Thinking that perhaps building something amusing and pointless in his workshop will help, he makes his way out to the garage. The door is open, and through it he sees... something that he doesn't normally see. By the mailbox there's a wooden crate, at least two feet tall and three feet wide. Upon further inspection, he finds that it's addressed to him.

Now, Klaus has had iffy luck at best with packages from the town, but at this point, he's far beyond caring. He grabs a hammer from his workshop and pries the crate open, only to find that it's filled completely with books. A quick glance at the title causes a momentary jolt: The Heterodyne Boys and their Pneumatic Oyster, The Heterodyne Boys and The Fifty-Foot Tall Chameleon of Muntzburg, The Heterodyne Boys and... and they're all these titles, every single one, gaudily illustrated, with bright gold typeface and the Heterodyne Boy's faces grinning up at him from each cover.

If nothing else, the illustrators could always get Bill and Barry's honest, jovial grins down perfectly.]

A; Action

[So, people of Mayfield, there is a man sitting in the driveway of 729 Anderson next to an open wooden crate full of books. He seems to have sat himself down right there to read, and likely isn't going anywhere -- you're perfectly welcome to come up and pester him, if you wish.]

B; Phone

A question, Mayfield -- what is a Hero? Is a Hero by nature nothing but an embodiment of all that is deemed 'right' and 'good' within the culture he serves, or is he perhaps something greater and more difficult to define? 

C; Phone: Waver Velvet

[Well, this is awkward. But he feels it must be done.]

Herr Velvet, I would like to discuss what happened.

If you're willing.

Comments

[B]

[gandere]

Odd question coming from you. [ Suspicious tone... ] Why are you inquiring about heroes again?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

Because it is something that has been weighing upon my mind lately, and my latest acquisition from the post office has forced the issue, as it were.

B

[riastrad-ridire.livejournal.com]

It's not as simple as all that. A hero isn't always an embodiment of all that's good in the world, though he might try to be. Even the best of heroes make mistakes and wrong turns, same as anyone else does.

So yeah, I'd say it's a little difficult to define.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

That was my thought as well, though where I come from, that is hardly considered the case. It's good to know that I'm not the only one who came to such a conclusion. Seeing the world, and furthermore, seeing people in terms of black and white is a fundamentally flawed practice.

Mart Vineyard - OC -A

[jaws5sonofjaws.livejournal.com]

[Mart was just walking down the street when he noticed Klaus and the big open crate of books.

Mart's in a particularly good mood since he got his jaws maw back.]

Hey man, what's the deal with all the books?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Klaus looks up momentarily, and then goes back to reading.]

I just received them in the mail; I should think that would be fairly obvious.

[B is for because]

[weiss-tank.livejournal.com]

A hero? Someone you look up to I guess? Story doesn't have to be true for it to be inspiring.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Have an entirely unexplained chuckle, Ken.]

Isn't that the truth...

Very well. Someone you look up to. But don't even evil men have disciples?

B

[lunawolves10th.livejournal.com]

Heroes are an outmoded concept from the times before the Dark Age of technology. They are built around the cult of individual and do not properly honor mankind's achievements as a whole.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

I knew I could expect something of that nature from you, Garviel.

[His tone is carefully neutral. The last time they talked, after all, it did not end on good terms.]

So if a hero is nothing more than the figurehead of a cult, is all the work they do worth less?

A

[ooeeooahah]

[ Ilsa is out walking again, and is stopped by the curiosity of an open crate by the mailbox at 729 Anderson. She remembers this is the neighborhood where she met the young man working on his leg in the front yard, so she is not greatly surprised to see the Kindergarten teacher on the other side of the crate. ]

[ She glances at the contents, and does not recognize any of the titles, but recognizes the type of books they are. Not surprising that the recipient sat down immediately to re-read them. ]

Package from home, sir?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[He pauses in his reading for a moment, closing the current book (The Heterodyne Boys and the Winged Serpent of Sa'taar) and marking his place with the dust jacket.]

Mm. Yes. I imagine a lot of people are receiving such packages. That tends to be the norm after a particularly grueling few days. Were you involved in that, by chance?

A )

[bitemescumbag.livejournal.com]

[Straight from grabbing a (much smaller) package out of his own mailbox, Klaus's neighbor on the 730 side of things seems to have a curiosity problem.

The problem being that his lack of manners is about to become Klaus's problem. Unless otherwise deterred, Klaus will find Yuri peering over shoulder for a short while before just up and reaching for one of the books already read.]

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Klaus actually doesn't particularly mind. He's been working with the Mayfield kindergartners for nearly a year now and is thus used to people grabbing things without asking.]

Ah. The Heterodyne Boys and Dr. Mongfish's Beautiful (But Very Evil) Daughters. One of the earlier and more... er... heavyhanded books, if you couldn't tell by the title.

I don't believe we've met?

[B]

[tiktoktibenoch.livejournal.com]

From what I've always read, a hero is someone who fights for a greater good, not with himself in mind, but for the lives or safety of other people or things.

At least, that's what I've always seen it as... why do you ask, Klaus?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Oh. It's. Um. Ples.

This is now a whole different level of awkward.]

I... ask because I recently received some very... personal accounts of heroes I have known and with whom, for a time, I was associated. Never grouped with, you understand. I never bore that title and I don't believe I ever will.

[A pause.]

Are you... how are you feeling?

C; phone

[velvet-cake.livejournal.com]

[Waver did not expect to get a call from the man who had put an axe in his head. Murder did not, in general, merit a follow-up call.]

There doesn't seem to be much to discuss.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Oh come on, it was a great first date, don't be so frigid.

I mean. Yeah, okay, Waver is probably fairly justified in his reaction. Axes through faces do not usually bros make.]

I believe I should at least be allowed a chance at an explanation. We are next-door neighbors and therefore will interact at some point in the future. I would like to be able to do so without a cloud hanging over us. Or at least, a relatively smaller cloud than there currently is.

A

[warriorscoffee.livejournal.com]

Oh, great. Just what this place needed.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

Yes, I agree, a mouthy Skiffandrian Princess is just what Mayfield needed.

[He loves you, daughter. Even if you're just like your mother and therefore impossible to deal with.]

Not a fan of literature, I assume?

A, sort of

[worstvikingever]

[Hiccup has been up in his room since the event. He doesn't even know how to start coping with everything that happened. The only words he managed to mumble out were a request to Klaus to write a note to the school saying he was out sick so he could just

sit in his room

and stare at the wall.

But it's a nice day outside so he managed to bring himself to open the window. Klaus is out there on the sidewalk reading something, but Hiccup can't bring himself to care what. He'll just be lying on the bed staring at the ceiling, thanks.

...If Astrid were here, she'd probably literally knock some sense into him. But she's gone. And that just makes it that much worse.]

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

[Klaus couldn't really say no when Hiccup asked him to write the note to Mayfield's High School. Hiccup had perhaps been through more during the last event than anyone in the house, after all, and though neither of them has exactly broached the subject of what happened at Makeout Point beyond some vague confirmations and a whole lot of awkward, he's gathered enough to know that Hiccup has ever right to feel terrible.

Still, the little viking has to leave his room sometime, and he did always like a good story. Klaus has a plan. He stands beneath the window and calls up:]

Hiccup?

B: Standard Drone filters etc.

[haveaplan.livejournal.com]

Depends on wot koind 'f 'ero you mean. Th' ones on th' ground doing th' real work often die young because they're too 'ung up on their ideals t' think about things loike 'ow even their closest friends moight stab them in th' back. Th' ones that make a name for themselves tend t' be wankers 'oo aren't good for anything except looking good t' th' public.

...don't think we've ever met or talked before, boi th' way, and if we 'ave, I apologoize. Things 'ave been a bit 'ectic of late.

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

Things have been a bit hectic since I arrived. And I admit, I find your take on this intriguing. And, sadly, quite applicable. My friends...

[A pause. A cough.]

The only true heroes, where I come from, have been missing for nearly twenty years. Likely murdered or imprisoned by someone very close to them. That is the problem with being a hero, I've found: one thinks the best of everyone until it's far too late.

B.

[aliensinyour.livejournal.com]

What makes you ask this question?

[myblimpisbigger.livejournal.com]

I have just received in the mail accounts of heroes from my own reality. Said reality has very... strange views on what a hero should and should not be, to the point where they are almost a separate breed. I was curious as to whether this holds true across other realities, not to put too fine a point on it.

[And he just... wants an excuse to talk about his old friends, in an impersonal and therefore not terribly sappy way.]

b

[rapier-ex.livejournal.com]

It's... definitely the second one, that I've found. A hero can't really be defined by a certain set of standards. It's really subjective.

A.

[madeofstoic.livejournal.com]

[ Hey what's this? Those books look slighty familiar! But not really, from a distance. He's just passing through, so he's just standing on the sidewalk in front of you, Klaus. ]

Got somethin' outta all that, Sir?

[putmeinstitches.livejournal.com]

A hero?

Heh.

The only thing that makes you a hero is how other people see you. You could be the most despicable being ever to live, but if you can hide it behind boasts and tricks...so long as you're not discovered, you're a hero to everyone around you.

A

[forgottenshiki.livejournal.com]

That's a lot of books you have there.