Backslash

Backslash is an agent in the Video Games Division of the Department of Mary Sues. He is written by SkarmorySilver.

Appearance
Backslash was originally created as an AU version of Shulk, the protagonist of Xenoblade Chronicles, as an anthropomorphic Pokémon - specifically, an Aegislash. Upon being de-glittered, he was "de-evolved" into a Honedge, corresponding to his "wild-caught" level of 25 (Honedge evolves into Doublade at 35, and then into Aegislash via a Dusk Stone). His clothing is similar to the canon Shulk, except with the color scheme of a shiny Honedge. He wears a brown vest with elaborate olive-colored markings over a light gray, short-sleeved shirt, with matching short pants, olive straps on his legs, and similarly patterned shoes over his large feet. His eyes match the purple eye on his chest, and his hair is blond. In keeping with his Honedge roots, he has a long red scarf ending in a purple swirl design and four finger-like tassels, which he can control like an extra limb; and in keeping with his roots as a Shulk replacement, he has a replica of the Monado which he isn't afraid to use.

Powers
Due to similarities to his canon counterpart, Backslash inherits Shulk's abilities, the most notable of which is his ability to see the future in brief visions. This typically involves significant events that are likely to happen on a mission, which may or may not be preventable. The visions aren't exactly reliable, either, as acting to prevent a harmful occurrence may do him more harm than good depending on the circumstances. What they are good for, however, is anticipating an opponent's next attack and countering it accordingly, which can come in quite handy in the inevitable event of confronting the Sue of the mission.

Backslash's known moves correspond to his specials in Super Smash Bros. for the Wii U, and are translated into the Pokémon moves that correspond most closely to each of them. His attacking moves so far are Pursuit (Backslash), Aerial Ace (Air Slash), and Shadow Sneak (Vision).

The Monado Arts that Backslash has so far are the same ones that his canon duplicate uses in Smash, again translated into status moves that Honedge can learn:
 * 翔 (Jump): Magnet Rise (provides immunity to Ground-type moves).
 * 疾 (Speed): Autotomize (boosts speed).
 * 盾 (Shield): Iron Defense (boosts physical defense).
 * 斬 (Buster): Swords Dance (boosts physical attack).
 * 撃 (Smash): Power Trick (swaps physical defense for physical attack).

Personality
Backslash started out in his homefic as being more arrogant and boastful than his canon counterpart, who is generally kind and supportive. As Aegislash!Shulk, he was very headstrong and wasn't afraid to challenge other characters to fights for the smallest of reasons, often as an excuse to show off what he was capable of. This also played into favoritism from the other fighters due to being a shiny Aegislash, which was obviously treated as Speshul by the PPC - and ultimately led to his detainment. He has since mellowed out as an agent, though he still remains somewhat prideful and reluctant to accept help until the worst-case scenario.

In the words of an overused joke, Backslash is always really feeling it. Always. Of the two current residents of RC #88224646BA, Backslash is by far the more passionate and hot-headed, and is almost always the first to start raging when the badfic gets things wrong. Despite his quick temper, however, he is also highly intelligent and knows the ins and outs of almost all of the continua he is familiar with - and is not afraid to delve into those he isn't. It's sometimes surprising how quickly he can become attached to a new game, as well as how protective he can become of it once the inevitable badfic comes around.

Agent History
Backslash first came to life as a replacement of Shulk in a Smash Bros. AU fanfic, in which most of the fighters were imagined as anthropomorphic Pokémon (i.e. Pokémon gijinkas). In this case, the Shulk replacement, one of the main protagonists, was an Aegislash, a Steel/Ghost type from Pokémon X and Y. In the badfic in question, Aegislash!Shulk spent most of his screentime showing off to his fellows and receiving preferential treatment, which eventually attracted the attention of the PPC. Agent Whitney was sent into the badfic, but upon learning that she was technically unable to kill him, she had him sent to the PPC HQ and recruited instead.

Aegislash!Shulk was "devolved" into Honedge!Shulk as part of his mandatory physical and mental therapy, and upon being given agent status, he was assigned to RC #88224646BA as Whitney's trainee. Despite a near-fatal slip-up involving a murderous replacement at the end of his first mission, he nonetheless performed surprisingly well, prompting Whitney to become his mentor on a permanent basis.

Timeline
All dates are given in HQ Standard Time.


 * 2015
 * Late May
 * Discovered by Whitney and promptly sent to HQ.
 * June 1
 * Partnered with Whitney for his first recorded mission.
 * Mid-July
 * Second recorded mission.
 * August 30
 * Third recorded mission, with Sarah Katherine Squall and Cupid Carmine. (Lapis chose not to join him after he got off on the wrong foot with her.)
 * Involved in the Body Swap Incident.
 * Mid-November
 * Fourth recorded mission.
 * December 15
 * Reacts to some rather unexpected news.
 * Fifth recorded mission. This time, Lapis has no choice but to tag along, with Cupid as the chaperone.
 * 2016
 * January 1
 * Takes part in the second annual New Year's Gift Exchange.
 * February 22
 * Sixth recorded mission.
 * May 17
 * Participates in an impromptu Karaoke night.
 * May 27
 * Seventh recorded mission, with Evangeline von Lilith.

Mission Logs
Home: RC #88224646BA

Partnered with Whitney

 * Mission One: "The Green Maul" (Extended Director's Cut)
 * In which a psychotic replacement meets a sword, a fitness trainer, and his maker.
 * Original fanfic: "L is Real 2015" (Super Smash Bros.)
 * Mission Two: "Womb Raider"
 * In which a SPaG-challenged Stu and a Word Cyclone wreak havoc.
 * Original fanfic: "Tomb Raider: Lara's Friend" (Tomb Raider)
 * Interlude One: "Challenger Approaching" + Mission Three: "Witches Get Stitches", with Agents Cupid Carmine and Lapis Lazuli (DIC)
 * In which three different agents react to a rather surprising announcement.
 * In which Backslash's past misdemeanor comes back to bite him. No, not literally!
 * Original fanfic: "hybrid link" (Bayonetta X Bleach)
 * Mission Four: "Dundertale" (NSFW, MAJOR UNDERTALE SPOILERS)
 * In which the agents go underground in more ways than one.
 * Original fic deleted.
 * Mission Five: "It's Dangerous To Go Alone", with Agent Evangeline von Lilith (DMS)
 * In which two Link-loving Sues are thwarted by a pair of jerkasses doing jerkass things.
 * Original fanfic: "Memories" (The Legend of Zelda)
 * Note: Whitney does not appear in this mission, but cameos in the post-mission.
 * Mission Six: "Good Knight, and Good Luck" (Note: This mission chronologically takes place before Mission Three, but Skarm is too lazy to renumber the rest of the missions. Let's just go with the order in which the missions were published.)
 * In which lack of sleep and the Duty make lousy roommates.
 * Original fanfic: "A Meta Love Story" (Kirby)

Other Appearances

 * "The Gods Must Be Crazy", with Agents Cupid Carmine and Sarah Katherine Squall (DIC)
 * In which Cupid is forced to reevaluate his choice of friends.
 * Original fanfic: "Smite Godling Harry" and "Young Smite God Harry" (Harry Potter X SMITE X Marvel Cinematic Universe)
 * Note: Whitney does not appear in this mission.