31 Days / 31 Characters - FLEA FLY

My apologies for the big delay between post by I was having some computer issues. Hopefully this makes up for it a little. 

My Hero Academia, the seminal Japanese Manga and Anime property that gave us the definitive Japanese take on American Style Superheroes, has some big news this year.

In My Hero Academia's Final Season - Season 8! - kicks off! While the series has been on the weak sauce side for a while, Season 8 promises to be a serious turnaround (and having read the Manga I can confirm it!). Possibly even more exciting is the news that the spin-off Manga, My Hero Academia: Vigilantes is getting animated! That series is schedule to begin in of 2025. I am a big fan of Vigilantes and I'm really looking forward to this. 

Hmm. That gives me an idea...

 

Character: Flea Fly

AKA: Shiro Rikitake, The Flea Circus Hero

Player: Not yet applicable. Tim Knight? 

System: Deadline Heroes RPG, Rommel Games/Fujimi Shobo, Kadokawa Group

 

Nature: Not yet applicable 

Gamemaster: Not yet applicable. Hopefully me.

Circa: January 5th, 2025. Not yet used.

Origins: The conspiracy corkboard of my mind put it all together: The My Hero Academia universe. Japan's Deadline Heroes RPG. Tim Knight's recent Superheroes RPG posts on Heropress. The 31 Days / 31 Characters Challenge. Tim's beloved Acrobatic Flea. Don't you see?!? It's All Connected!!!

I've reimagined Tim Knight's Acrobatic Flea as a student at U.A. High School using the very MHA supplement for Deadline Heroes 'School of Madness'. He's depicted here at the end of his first year (roughly Season 2 of a made up by me My Hero Academia Anime Spin-Off no doubt). We see him getting the hang of his 'Quirk' and pushing it further to [hopefully] uncover new aspects of it in the future [tune in for Season 3!]. 

Here is Flea Fly, the Acrobatic Flea if he were a student at U.A. High School... 

'School of Madness'

Deadline Heroes Supplement

Backstory: Shiro Rikitake, like over 80% of the rest of Humanity, possess a 'Quirk' - a superhuman ability that can defy predictable physics, biology, and indeed logic. Growing up in a small town in the Japanese countryside, Shiro could barely wait for his Quirk to manifest as he was eager to travel to the major city of Musutafu in Shizuoka Prefecture and, hopefully, gain entrance to U.A. High School. His goal, like that of so many others, was to become a Pro-Hero!

Beyond that I am not sure...I have some ideas but I would leave the details to the player (as I am prone to do), going over it with them to insure it 'lines up' with the campaign background. 

Overview: I ran a MHA themed campaign once some years back and it was really good if I do say so myself. It was set in the United States and took a look at what America's version of U.A High School might be like. Dubbed 'My Hero Academia: American Ultra', it was a super fun campaign that had a distinct beginning, middle, and end. 

So I wonder...

This version of The Acrobatic Flea is, in fact, not really The Acrobatic Flea. He is definitely the Flea reimagined as a character in a Japanese My Hero Academia series. Flea Fly is very much an Anime/Manga inspired variant, right down to his non-hero identity. 

I could see running 'My Hero Academia: UK Ultra' or something similar. What is England like in that world? If that was the campaign, I would likely make the character a bit differently; something closer to Tim's 'iconic' version . Maybe. Hard to say but interesting to think about. 

A little My Hero Academia and a little Kamen Rider.

 

The Highlights: None as of yet since this character hasn't been played. I foresee a good number of possibilities though.

Game Info:

As I don't have a fully translated edition of Deadline Heroes, the best I can do when making characters is to reverse engineer sample characters and some fan-made PCs and NPCs I've been able to check out on the Japanese TRPG 'net.

With that in mind...

Flea Fly is built as a Scion, a character type indicating a species of superbeings such as Mutants, which is what I feel best represents the Quirk-Users of MHA. 

His powers are:

Flea Agilitty: A Defensive ability representing superhuman agility and acrobatics that make it extremely difficult to hit him. 

Flying Leap: Flea Fly can leap so far and so high he appears to be flying short distances. He can easily attack opponents who are actually flying and if he leaps from the roof of a building he can cover many city blocks. 

Rapid Healing: A 'Mutant Healing Factor' pure and simple. Each time its used, roll 1D6 and the PC gets half the result back in Life Points [at the cost of 1 Sanity Point]. 

Strong Blow: A super strong punch but not Far Future GIrl strong. Spidey, not Supes. 

Notes: I really wanted to add The Acrobatic Flea's Energy Blasts but building Flea Fly as a starting character it didn't seem possible. I imagine this would be an emergent property of his developing Quirk. 

Alternate costume idea I really like. Heavier on the Kamen Rider influence.

Legacy: We shall see! I would love to 'Go Beyond Plus Ultra!' with this character. 

Whattaya think Tim? Please be kind.

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Barking Alien

Renewed Vitality

The past six weeks have been very difficult for me. I have been feeling down, anxious, and not particularly creative. The blog has suffered a little as a result. 

Simultaneously, I have become really close with my girlfriend, gotten incredible support from family, friends, my students, and I am really beginning to feel like myself again. 

Today I went to Bidewee, an animal welfare organization that, among many other good deeds, rescues dogs and cats and adopts them out to new homes. It is where I adopted my dog Delilah from, and where my family has adopted a number of other pets over the years. 

I have decided the time is right, following Delilah's passing, to consider adopting a new rescue dog. I have done inquiries at New York City's ASPCA, but on my Mom's recommendation I went to Bidewee today to refresh myself on their criteria and process for adopting. 

Two incredible things happened:

I explained my situation and that my dog, whom I adopted from them, had recently passed. They asked if I remembered her original name, the name the Bidawee folks had given her before I got her. I did, and they were able to look her up in their computer.

On the screen was the exact date of her adoption - 10 years, 5 months, and 2 days ago today - her original mislabeling as a Male dog; she had two brothers in her litter and they accidentally listed all three as Males. I'd forgotten that. - and best of all, photos of her at 4 months of age. My heart melted, I smiled, and yes, I cried a little too. Happy tears. 

Moments later a very self-assured female voice said, "I can vouch for this man. He really loves dogs." It was none other than my friend Emi, who volunteers at Bidawee working with cats. Not only was I overwhelmed by her statement, but I had forgotten how much I missed seeing her. She is a wonderful person and her being there was an added bonus on what was becoming a really good day.

The second thing that occurred today was that Tim Knight, aka The Acrobatic Flea, over at the blog HEROPRESS, posted an interview he and I had recently done. In addition, he added a little something nice in his opening introduction that was very kind of him to say. Please give it a look won't you? 

The end result is a sense of renewed vigor, a boost to the spirit, and the ego, which is sometimes just what is needed to get one out of a funk. 

I am looking forward to new ideas and a very productive March. I am excited about a new puppy in my life. I am happy to have such a fantastic girlfriend, great friends, my small yet awesome family, and this blog. 

Onward and Upward!

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Barking Alien