Random Outguard Facts 01 (Patreon)

Some random facts about the Outguard, one of the two superhero teams Kaede is a member of. Also, is it weird that everyone calls Batman a loner when he has started more teams than anyone else, and calls Superman sociable when the only team he has ever really founded or been a part of is the Justice League and maybe the Legion of Superheroes?

Helm of the Mysterious Heroine

A plain black baseball cap. There are many like it, but this one is Corona's. Only a close examination will reveal that it is actually a baseball cap-shaped hardhat. The smell of lightning is deeply ingrained into the material.

The power of Crystalborne comes not from the soul, but from microscopic venecite-like crystals within their nervous systems, bones, brain matter, and other parts of their physiology. Are they even wizards or magical girls (or boys) when the power they wield arises not from the darkness of their soul?

Provides a degree of protection from physical headshots.

Staff of the Mortal

A simple metal pole of hand-forged steel, made from common rebar and shaped by hand. Its twisted form looks like a gnarled tree branch, and handholds had been worn into the metal.

​The ancient scholars wielded their scroll rods in defense against bandits and recusants, for the stick is one of the most ancient weapons of mankind, and it is a strange weapon indeed that does not mirror its form in some capacity. 

​To be born into a new life with memories of another is less common than one would think. Most claims of someone doing so can be regarded as factually wrong. And very silly. 

​Farming Skill: Thresh The Grain

Several high-speed swings that break through armor but does surprisingly little damage to the flesh beneath. Separates the grain from the chaff, and is the final step of harvesting. Oh, and it would really hurt if someone were hit by this, but a responsible farmer would never do such a thing. That would be wrong. And very mean.

Rakka, the Fallen FlowersA strange weapon borne from the imaginings of Bloody Mary of the Outguard. A weapon with blades on both ends forged in her own Flame, imbued with strength by the emerald venecite of a terrifying friend, it can bifurcate into two and looks like something out of a videogame.

The sword does not burn even in Bloody Mary's own fire, and demands great dexterity to wield. It is always at her side like a faithful, unfaltering friend that followed her from another life to reunite with her other after so long, never to part again. 

Black Raincoat

An elegant raincoat of black leather, with a deep hood to keep water off the wearer's face. It is a remnant of a devoured world, sacrificed to the Void by order of the witch seeking the secrets of the source of all magic. 

​The Destroyer of Seven Worlds had only wished to save the Silent Shadow. The worlds had fallen to the Void by her hand, freely and of her own will to please the one who claimed to know how the Shadow might be saved. It was only when the seventh world fell did the guilt surpass her desperation, and she turned her blade against the witch. 

Worst isekai adventure ever. 

Shield of Poise

The massive shield that the Symbol of Fear known as Poise wields in battle. A manifestation of his subconscious desires for a tool that will aid in his purpose, the shield is subtly different every time it is manifested.

A great and sturdy shield made with a heart's screaming terror and shaped by a hero's courage. Its strength is said proportionate to the willpower of the user. So long as the heart can rise above the world that tries to drown it, so long as the knight is filled with fear, this shield too shall never crumble. What is courage without fear to overcome? 

He may look like a gallant knight, but within his armor, the screaming never stops.

Nightmare SetGreaves, gauntlets, and armor of the Nightmare. Surprisingly light.

A modern and sturdy armor made with the help of a loving father, a fond grandfather, three siblings who think this superhero thing is a stupid idea, and a step-grandmother who you realized when you were thirteen shouldn't really be there since grandpa and grandma are still married, and that's when you learned to not think about what your grandparents did in their spare time. The Kevlar is the best money can buy, the plate armor was hammered into shape by hand over family weekends so as not to leave a paper trail, all of it tailored for a gymnast's frame. 

It was supposed to be a simple investigation, just following the money. Things have come a long way since then. 

Its weight was specifically calibrated to not impede stamina regeneration

LyricaI am ancient. Once I was one of many, the weapon of a common soldier. I have fought in battles beyond counting even for me, and have lost enough wielders to break the hearts of an army. I have fought for causes that no longer matter, nations that had long since become dust. I have been held in the hands of the guilty and the great, the ancient and the young, the wise and the foolish, the noble and the vile. 

I don't want to fight anymore, but I can't stop. I can't lose another wielder. Each time one dies, I tell myself they will be the last. That the loneliness, the emptiness and the pain will be my final companions. 

​I am a liar, held in the hands of a child. She is not the first. She will not be the last. She opens herself to me, and I can pretend that this one... this one will not die in battle. That she can set me aside and grow old in peace.