Myrtle Morpho - Flapper girl illusionist & ju-jutsu specialist

[ryanwhitten]

Will be thinking about this more and maybe updating this post with more ideas as I come up with them. I think it has some strong and unique inspirations but need to flesh out the kit.

With the 1920s style of everything I think a femme fatale flapper girl with beautiful butterfly wings would be so cool. The idea of a kit that could be as useful on stage as on a battlefield sounds fun. With teachings in ju-jutsu as forms of self defense (Approved by president Roosevelt himself, links below). So here are my basic ideas for Myrtle Morpho the Broadway butterfly.

I could see the character sort of going two ways. Either focusing on stage presence and grand illusion or focusing on a the martial techniques of ju-jutsu which I was inspired by an article that recounts President Roosevelt's approval of the techniques and describes various self-defense maneuvers women can use in different scenarios. (Article below). Or perhaps a mix of both.

kit ideas:

An auto attack of butterfly's being casted from her cigarette holder like a wand.

Perhaps she has an illusionist's/femme fatale charming spell that compels the target to walk towards her

To combo with this I was thinking she may have sort of stunning, or forced movement ju-jutsu throw. I think some of these could work

1. Seoi Nage (Shoulder Throw):
   • In this throw, the defender turns their back to the attacker, placing their hip below the attacker's center of gravity, and then throws the attacker over their shoulder, sending them behind.
2. Ushiro Goshi (Rear Hip Throw):
   • This technique involves the defender stepping backward while lifting the attacker with their hip, then throwing them over their back.
3. Ushiro Gake (Rear Hook):
   • The defender hooks one of the attacker's legs from behind and uses their body weight to pull the attacker backward, causing them to fall.
4. Ura Nage (Rear Throw):
   • The defender grabs the attacker from behind and throws them backward over their own shoulder or hip.
5. Tai Otoshi (Body Drop):
   • This involves the defender turning and using their body weight and leverage to throw the attacker behind them by tripping them over an extended leg.
6. Sumi Gaeshi (Corner Reversal):
   • The defender falls backward while pulling the attacker over their shoulder or hip, throwing them behind.

She could instead focus on the self defense side of this martial art (The Roosevelt article talks about this being primarily self defense so the character could be about countering attacks as opposed to initiating them)

1. Straight-arming a man's eyes to fend off an attack.
2. Using leverage and pressure to incapacitate an assailant attempting to grab or flirt.
3. Techniques for dealing with grabs around the waist or throat, focusing on breaking free and counter-attacking.
4. Defenses against surprise attacks from behind, utilizing balance and leverage to throw the assailant.
5. Strategies for dealing with intruders in the home, including finger holds and head twisting to subdue and remove an attacker.

Flutter: perhaps she uses her butterfly wings to dash ahead in any direction, even directly up in the air

Ult: an entrancing Charleston flapper dance

To be honest I am still sort of torn on to either focus on the martial prowess, or performance, or femme fatale, or some combination. So sorry for the lack of clarity.

Inspirations:
Myrtle Wilson from the great Gatsby


The real life Dot King aka the broadway butterfly

Death of a Flapper: The Dot King Scandal

PART ONE: Just the Facts Her body was found in a small, but stylish two-room apartment in 57th Street, on the Ides of March, 1923. It was o...

brookspeters.blogspot.com

Ju-jutsu stuff

InYo: Training the Helpless Flapper to Fight Her Own Battles

Journal of Combative Sport: Yamashita goes to Washington

 

[ryanwhitten]

Alright here is a more fleshed out version of a more ju jitsu focused brawler version of myrtle. This one steps away from the illusionist vibe. She would wear a combination of flapper girl apparel and a gi. I think sporting a typical flapper girl hat called a Cloche with a head band tied around it instead of the usual adornment would be wonderful (Still thinking on numerical specifics/bonues on abilities and levels)



Now there is an issue with ju jitsu and deploying its techniques in the game. How would there possibly be animations for every single model being put in an armbar? It would be crazy, it would surpass rubick levels of having to add more every update. Soooooo what if she performs the abilities on thin air as a sort of magical somatic gesture to cast the spell which in turn applies the effect? Just an idea.

Abilities:

1st ability - Drop Split into Leg Sweep -

• Dropping into a flapper girl split she dramatically drops to the ground
• From the split position, she sweeps her leg to knock the opponent’s feet out from under them. Stunning them and leaving them vulnerable to take more attacks at increased damage

2nd Ability - Uraken Uchi:

• A backfist strike, punching straight out and strong arming the competition

3rd Ability - Charleston kick

• Myrtle performs the classic Charleston kick, dramatically increasing her move speed
• Maybe gives evasion?

Ult - Charleston

• A taste of her full performance, dancing the traditional Charleston by a master martial artist. Each kick, each arm thrown back, every move in actuality a flurry of powerful strikes reducing the damage taken while using that damage against the enemy. As Myrtle absorbs damage she sends it right back even stronger in an aoe.
  
  Passive - Self Defense. With her deep understanding of martial arts and their use case of self defense her parry is far above the rift raft of the streets. When she successfully lands a parry perhaps their is increased stun duration or damage on the next ability she uses.