fandomhigh | Supervillainy and You! Friday, Period 1

"Branding! That's where a villain can really make themselves super," Fred said. Class was in the Danger Shop, and there was a collection of outfits and weapons available on racks and tables behind Fred. "And there are layers to it. Like me. Believe it or not, I didn't pick the name 'Boomerang.' I played pro baseball here in the States and I was a really good pitcher. But some weirdos in robes recruited me and decided that being awesome at throwing stuff meant that should be my thing. And hey, I'm Australian, so of course they give me boomerangs. And the costume was covered in them. And they named me that." Was there an eyeroll? Yes, there was!

"And you know what? I made it work for me," Fred bragged. "Most villain ranking lists have me as the number two mercenary tagged in the 'throwing stuff' category. The only guy better than me is named Bullseye, and guess what? That's the power of branding. He was paralyzed and didn't have the use of four senses and he was still number one because if he wasn't, he probably would've killed the people who made the list somehow. Then he went blind too. He got better, and that's what they were counting on. You wouldn't believe the number of people who didn't hire me to assassinate someone because they knew Bullseye would get better eventually. Anyway, that guy's insane, so I've got that on him. He's got more skill and better branding, but I'm not literally nuts." He just killed people for money or revenge or because they were in a fight together. Legitimate, non-crazy reasons!

"On the other hand, I know this one guy, the Trapster. Super generic, sure. The name makes sense, though, since his whole thing is this adhesive he made that he can shoot with a gun to trap people. Pretty on the nose, but who am I to judge?" Fred asked, sounding bored. "But! When he started, his name was Paste Pot Pete! I heard that early on he'd get away with some crimes because superheroes were having laughing fits when they heard his name. And sure, that's effective for a couple weeks, but SO SAD. But his dumb glue crap is legit. And since he changed the name, he's become a staple in a group called the Frightful Four. You don't get to join that with a dumb name like Paste-Pot Pete." That was factually wrong. He was still PPP when the Frightful Four started. If Fred knew this, he was choosing to lie about it.

"So here's what you're gonna do today. You picked a name last week. Extend that branding like me and Bullseye. Either go all out, or be the best in the world at whatever your name suggests. Or be like old Paste Pot Pete and Paste Pot Punt," Fred instructed. "Pick a new name and figure out how to brand yourself better now that you've had a week after your complete lack of trying. And just being honest, but that's most of you."

"End of class, show off what you do with your fancy branding, whether that's dressing the part, doing something cool, or something else entirely. Maybe rob a bank and come back with proof! Probably not that, but maybe some of you are go-getters." They weren't.

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Expressing your personal brand!

Edited 2016-05-20 12:17 (UTC)

Peridot

Velma Martinez

Isabela

FN-2187

Rey

About Boomerang, Bullseye, and PASTE. POT. PETE.

If you asked Peridot, her name was better than... basically all of those. She crossed her arms over her chest as she listened, looking fairly skeptical.

She'd give it a try, but considering she only learned what 'pants' were the other day, re-branding was going to be something of a work in progress.

Velma was all too familiar with branding. That was marketing most potent tool: the brand. Velveteen had been a goldmine for them; a superhero whose powers had been manipulating toys? Her action figures had practically flown off the shelves. It was the one arena where she'd ever outperformed Sparkle Bright, Action Dude, and the others.

Rebranding was a lot harder, unless Marketing was making sure everyone thought of you as a villain. Liberty Bell had done it when she walked away, taking on the persona of Dead Ringer and entering into a deal with Hot Topic, but she was one of the very few. The best at branding was the Princess, but then, she wasn't truly independent. She had the power of Disney behind her and no one, not even The Super Patriots, Inc could touch The Mouse when it came to branding.

...A paste pot had to be something different than what Rey was thinking it was.

There are costuming choices and weapons to help you express your brand through your visual look. Pick your style! Help each other with your choices! Ask Fred for help, maybe? But let's face it, he'll just throw a Boomerang wildly and choose whatever it hits.

Peridot squinted a little at the choices that were set out before her. She was clearly going for green, here. Maybe with a diamond motif. But the diamonds had to be in yellow...

It was a very specific sort of re-branding that wasn't any different from the old branding at all.

Velma decided not to go with Velveteen for this class. If she was a supervillain, she'd be about the control or whatever, right? Dubbing herself Puppet Master, she went for the classics: black leather and bullet-proof synthetic stockings. Or nylons, since it didn't look like there was anything like that in the wardrobe here.

Show off your look! And explain if you decided to pick a new name because last week was uninspired for most of you. RANDOM STRINGS OF NUMBERS ARE NOT A SUPERVILLAIN NAME. Unless they were some kind of pun, at least.

Excuse you, Fred. It was random strings of numbers and letters.

"I'm still Peridot," Peridot said, sounding unimpressed. "Because, unsurprisingly, I am still a Peridot."

This was not likely to change.

"But I added a hat."

It was a party hat. It was in yellow-green. It basically just sat on top of and looked just like her hair, but slightly pointier.

"Honestly, that was better than I expected," Fred said. "As you might be able to tell, I support headgear as the iconic symbol of a costume, and I've definitely seen way worse." He wore a regular boomerang on a cowl for so long. At least the boomerang on his face now had a visor and served as a face guard for when someone punched him.

"Good job." Relative to expectations.

"I'm Puppet Master," Velma said, sounding distinctly unenthused. She raised her hands, which had thin wires attached to the wrists to dangle down. They could serve as garrotes if she needed, she guessed. "Mess with me and I'll send my legion of creepy dolls after you."

"... Do you actually have a legion of creepy dolls at your command?" Don't joke about that, Velma. That could cause nightmares. Not for Fred bye wasn't scared of dolls. Maybe ventriloquist dummies. But those weren't technically dolls!

"I could," Velma said with a shrug. "I mean, I don't have a bunch of dolls just hanging around my dorm or anything. But if I wanted to..." She shrugged. "I'm an animus. With a specialty in toys."

Which included creepy dolls and ventriloquist dummies!

But only good questions, please.

Yay, I woke up! I was so tired I thought sleeping for a full day might be a good idea.

Supervillainy and You! Friday, Period 1

Sign In

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Listen to the Lecture

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Express Your Brand

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Explain Your Choices

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Talk to Fred

OOC