hisui555

[hisui555]

[hisui555]

Edit : because there's another point (found on the TV Tropes "Voodoo Shark" page, comics folder) that I didn't even accounted for.

Not much of an "original plan" if it doesn't work on at least 4 different accounts... (and if the original parentage was a retcon itself : Nightcrawler's character was created and debuted in May 1975 before Mystique's character entered the scene in April 1978).

That's exactly it : a voodoo shark. Something made to explain a plot hole that tears an even bigger hole into the plot.

Thought about the "Nightcrawler's origins" 2023 retcon

Maybe I'm gonna draw the ire of many people, but my main issue here isn't the "two women as bio parents" thing, it's that it makes very few to zero sense considering who they all are : it's just to fill a 'queerness' quota and to me it's obvious the writers painted themselves in a corner in that regard.

To start with, X-Men has always been about "otherness" and naturally, tolerance : mutants are an allegory for being different in multiple ways, ranging from LGBTQ+ to disabled, passing by ethnicity, origins, gender, neurodivergences, and even those "puberty changes your body" coming-of-age stories. Queerness ain't new here : there's non-binary Morph in the 97 show now, Bobby Drake has been rewritten as gay, Mystique and Destiny are a couple since the beginning, and in-comics are together since a century. They also have children, adopted or not - Rogue and Kurt are two out of many (yeah, Mystique really knows her way around, whether it's alternate universes or not). Pretty neat ! Well, if you forget they're both kinda psychopaths using their own kids for their schemes most times (especially Mystique).

But lemme explain why the "Kurt being Destiny and Mystique's biological child with just Azazel's genes" retcon kinda falls flat, for me. Adding to it, the "Azazel is Kurt's bio father" and "Mystique is Kurt's bio mother" were ALSO retcons originally, but it makes more sense in terms of how things became to be the way they are concerning Nightcrawler, again at least to me.

First of all, while it does explain the blue fur/skin and solid yellowish eyes (Kurt gets it from Mystique), it has zero explanation on Nightcrawler's overall appearance at all - the tail ? The unique hands and feet ? The pointy ears ? The general demonic appearance ? Conveniently, Mystique in the 2023 retcon would have transformed into Azazel to conceive Kurt with Destiny... which is actually Destiny's idea. Destiny wanted a child (legit wish), Mystique obliged - and then in a move that absolutely baffles me agrees to Destiny's idea to transform into Azazel of all people, who, by all accounts, is an ex Mystique had a fling with, and has nothing to do with Destiny at all.

It's explained by Destiny having a vision of Azazel becoming problematic later and only be surpassed by a child of his own, hence the two women taking it upon themselves to make sure Kurt technically qualifies as Azazel's kid in the new retcon and raise him to oppose his 'father' later... except they 1) lose and abandon the kid later to escape and make no move of trying to get him back, flat-out asking Xavier to make them forget - pretty bad and illogical if you wanna stop a demonic conqueror, especially for people as ruthless and pragmatic as those two - and 2) Mystique can copy appearances, but not powers, so, not mutations, nor producing what they produce. Which means she kinda-sorta can't copy nor produce genetic material, aka, you know, one of the two things needed to make a baby from the male party in the whole conundrum. Also 3) they abandon Kurt because he was "too blue" and can't hide his mutations like them... y'know, the same appearance he got from the exact one they had the brilliant idea took the genetic template of... and you'd think the lady with literal precognitive powers would've seen that coming.

Which begs the question : why choose Azazel as a basis (aka the one who will make your child look like a literal demon, or a Nephayem - old mutants-looking-like-demons branch of mutants), and IF Mystique can copy and produce genetic material (or else she just would be able to copy Wolverine's whole adamantium skeleton, not just claws poking out like makeover props), why not just turn into simply a male version of herself ? Plus, the classic "oh by the way, previous how-things-went was a big fat lie" is kinda sigh-inducing - we know you have to make it gel with the previous continuity, but c'mon, that stunt has been pulled enough times already.

Secundo : it doesn't explain Kurt's powers and ties to the brimstone dimension (aka HELL), which he passes through between two Bamfs. This makes no sense if Destiny is his bio mom, and Mystique cannot carry powers over, it's a fact. Azazel, however, is either a full or partial demon with the same teleporting power hailing from Hell, or a Nephayem that got banished there by angel-looking mutants, which he claims makes for inspiration in demon and angel folklore as we know them. As in, bleeping CENTURIES ago. The fact that he's got a literal Ars Goetia name helps the thematic demon ties - Nightcrawler is always connected to Hell in one way or another. It's also one of the keystones of his character : a human man looking like a demon, often being persecuted as one, having ties to a demonic realm, yet being every bit the kind, open-minded and gentle soul he is that contrasts everything his appearance and origins bring to the table. Kurt Wagner is "don't judge a book by its cover" and "your origins don't make who you are" incarnate. This guy demonstrates at every turn that you make your own path in life, and for yourself and your loved ones. He has beef with his dad Azazel, who is villainous. He has beef with his moms, Mystique and Destiny, who are villainous and/or manipulative self-centered psychos not unwilling to use children for their own gain (case in point : Rogue). He has beef with his siblings, like with Graydon Creed, a raging jackass hellbent on destroying mutants, or Stefan, who he had to kill. His sister Rogue used to be an enemy and can still slip down the slippery slope at times because of her own trauma - but she's one of the best things that came out of the whole mess that is their tangled family tree (and it's a miracle the guy is still fucking sane). A core thing is that Nightcrawler is a child of many worlds at once, and living proof that you can live with all those differences, plus still be tolerant.

You can't scrap that part of Kurt Wagner, because you'd have to completely rework either his personality, his iconic appearance, and his iconic powers. So they went with a shaky detour trying to justify it in a way that sadly doesn't add up. A for effort though, could've certainly been worse.

Third point : X-Men also always has put a lot of emphasis that family, as long as you chose it, no matter if it's blood or not, is still legit, valid family. So what if he isn't Irene/Destiny's bio child ? Doesn't undermine the wish for family she had (and they got Rogue too) and that she legit saw him as her son. The reason Kurt cuts ties with Mystique (depending on continuity) is that she's an awful person to begin with. The reason Kurt considers Rogue his sister no ands ifs or buts is because they have the same mom, and despite Mystique being Mystique, he's absolutely elated to have Rogue. He also deeply loves the Szardos family that took him in. If absolutely wanting a biological bond between Kurt and Destiny is to make it more "real" and fill an inclusion quota, it's kinda insulting to every single adopting or adoptee character in the rest of the works - not to mention IRL ones - starting with tanking down Rogue and Kurt's relationship as "fake" siblings (unlike with Amanda, who's Kurt sister-by-adoption too but they see each other as lovers even if family the same way your spouse is, Rogue and Kurt definitively acknowledge each other as siblings). I don't think it's the writers' intention at all, but it's one of the unfortunate consequences.

Also, additional question : if Mystique and Destiny are both the bio moms, where does the "Wagner" name factor in, in all that ? Granted, if Azazel's the bio dad, that same question can be asked. Except Mystique also had a thing with the Baron Wagner at the time they all were in his mansion, since she was married to him as part of a ploy with Irene and the child was thought his illegitimate son. The Szardos finding Kurt and giving him his patronym since he technically comes from the Wagner mansion, without truly knowing what went on, can be a honest mistake indeed - Kurt Wagner grew with the patronym and it stuck. So that solves the name problem at least.

So, conclusion; where does that leave us ? Well, as I've developed here, to me it's a blatant case of "hey let's make it inclusive, but wait, shit, we can't touch the characters' appearance, powers, or personality, as they're all super-iconic as they are and the fandom will have our throats ripped". So basically, another case where making up new characters with the inclusive background you want to give them is way better than changing an established (and already very packed) one to fill a quota at risk of it making no sense anymore. Bobby Drake turning out to be gay makes sense : it explains why none of his relationships with girls worked out. Morph being non-binary in the 97 show ? Also makes sense for them, and not just in the "shapeshifter-is-automatically-genderfluid/N-B" way : they are someone non-conforming without that already, and with their own character getting fleshed out thanks to that, it became part of them ! It gives more to a character we used to see less.

I mean, introduce a new person who happens to have two bio moms, it'll be awesome ! Or take a less-developed character to give them that, heck why not ! But for fuck's sake, if you chose the latter, make it make sense.

"Azazel being the biological dad" and "Irene being one of Kurt's moms" isn't mutually exclusive, dammit. Won't make it any less queer, and it makes the situation even more interesting : who says they didn't resolved to stick it up to Azazel - because he needed Kurt for his rise to power - while wanting to raise the kid as their own ? And then sadly it didn't worked out ? And maybe they think Kurt died ? And maybe it's Irene who asks for her memory to be wiped, because the pain is too much (since she's the one who wanted a family in the first place - which means she'll also still have visions, but of someone she doesn't recognize, so not hampering her own power while still keeping Kurt in them) ? And maybe Xavier actually doesn't intervene to retrieve Kurt right away because since the boy has been found, and maybe it's less of a mess this way, chosing to simply wait and tying in to the point where Kurt joins the X-Men once grown up ? And Rogue can still be his sister later without any problems ?

Marvel retcons a lot of stuff, or pulls the "it's all a dream/alternate reality !" card in case things contradict each other. Or powers being inconsistent, and so on. I mean, practical : that way everything is canon and everyone is happy ! But with this one, well... they kinda wrote themselves in a corner, and it shows.

Kurt Wagner is a man of many contradictions and impossibilities, managing to balance them all with an all-encompassing piratey smile. But making him the bio son of Destiny doesn't add anything : worse, it removes, since it directly contradicts many aspects and themes X-Men works with - that family doesn't care about nor needs blood, that even the ones with the worst origins can be the kindest people, that even a root-rotten tree can bear beautiful fruits even if some are bruised, and that even villains can feel the joy of being granted a child despite the odds, and feel unbearable pain losing said child.

X-Men is about humans, and humanity. Not quotas or checklists.

[hisui555]

Both in illustrated and written stories (comics reuniting both in a unique way), letting a fact simply be there without dragging attention to it at all (no mysterious close-up on a detail, no wait-for-it beat, no extra lingering on a character's reaction of What They May Or May Not Know, etc) will allow an actual double-take once people get the context and revelation.

It's a real "[hits forehead] oh duh !!" moment and it's awesome.

You can hide a fucking dragon in the middle of a castle's landscape that way and nobody would get it until the right moment.

"So that tower had the usual array of giant, stony sculptures - gargoyles, dragon, monsters, hellish bats, snake demons."

No 'as if about to spring to life', no 'hey I wrote dragon as singular', no 'see, I separated dragon from snake demons to boot', the casual description IS the hint. And then a character goes "by the way, we have a dragon on the loose, it's hiding in the castle, waiting to strike", which wait, wasn't a dragon mentionned befoooooOOOOH shit.

It's a sort of reverse Elephant-in-the-room situation : usually everyone knows it's there but makes effort not to acknowledge it (and the problem it represents) nor wants to fix that. With the Hidden In Plain Sight/delayed decoding, nobody clocks in the dragon in the castle because it's so big and obvious it automatically slips the weirdness censor until the story brings active, pointed attention to it.

oh i never know how to explain this properly but i looooooooooooooooove when a story just absolutely TELLS you something and it’s so obvious it goes right by you. like the equivalent of hiding in plain sight. i’m thinking in the original cut(?) of alien where they showed the full xenomorph, crouched and ready to pounce, but because we’ve never seen it before, we can’t tell what it is and interpret it as part of the spaceship. or it’s a detail that seems so out of place or wildly insane that you automatically ignore it and assume you misinterpreted until that exact detail comes back in a big way? (like when noah the raven boy flat out tells everyone he’s a ghost and they take it as a joke, so the reader does too) is there a tvtropes name for this i’m obsessed with it

[hisui555]

☝️

[hisui555]

Some new tote designs🌱 Store

The last spooky cat design is apparently cursed. Previous batch had the wrong handle colour, and this batch, the swirly cat image has been printed upside down.😭😭😭😭😭😭😭 The other side is still fine though, and I've put it up at a discount. ToT

[hisui555]

The United States — ALL of it

[hisui555]

I CRY FROM PAIN

Talking about this isn't easy, but it's necessary. The lack of sanitary pads has forced me to use unsafe alternatives, causing severe infections and serious health issues in my uterus. The pain and daily suffering are unbearable.

Please help in any way possible ⬇️⬇️My campaign is verified.

Or

@brokenbackmountain @anyonghalimaw @zigcarnivorous @aleciosun @fluoresensitivearchived @khizuo @schoolhater @timogsilangan @appsa @buttercuparry @sayruq @malcriada @palestinegenocide @sar-soor @akajustmerry @annoyingloudmicrowavecultist @tortiefrancis @feluka @flower-tea-fairies @tsaricides @riding-with-the-wild-hunt @visenyasdragon @belleandsaintsebastian @ear-motif @kordeliiius @brutaliakent @raelyn-dreams @troythecatfish @theropoda @tamarrud @4ft10tvlandfangirl @queerstudiesnatural @northgazaupdates2 @skatezophrenic @awetistic-things @camgirlpanopticon @baby-girl-aaron-dessner @nabulsi @sygutka @junglejim4322 @heritageposts @chososhairbrush @palistani @dlxxv-vetted-donations @imjustheretotrytohelp @mnty-bubblegmyum

[hisui555]

“Because people have begun to lose their hopes and forget their dreams. So, the Nothing grows stronger.”

The Neverending Story (1984)

[hisui555]

Reblogging for the comments and tacking on mine : if "the unborn baby has rights too", hope you give them to the born child that develops from there too.

And if that child is a girl, hope that you'll give her the same rights than the fetus - y'know, the day she might end in the exact same position of having to choose between an abortion or not. In most countries, women, girls or anyone aligning with the female gender identity, have less rights than literal clumps of cells or guns.

The only time abortion isn't justified is when it's forced on someone able to go through pregnancy healthily AND who doesn't want an abortion.

As long as abortion is a choice, it will always be ethical and justified. So yeah, it really is just a woman's body if she doesn't want to be pregnant. That's the very definition of bodily autonomy : you chose for your own body, especially what happens inside it.

“My body, my choice” only makes sense when someone else’s life isn’t at stake.

[hisui555]

Page 576 animated by me!! (2025)

That’s all the old fanart I got LMAO I will cook more when I have the time 🙂‍↔️

[hisui555]

Grandmas FTW ✨

[hisui555]

[hisui555]

Object Head Zine 2025, Fantasy and Magic Preorders are now Open! Preorders will last until April 22nd, 11:59pm PST.

Thank you all for your patience, I hope you're as excited as I am for the 2025 Object Head Zine preorders! Click on the link in this paragraph to go to the Kofi where this is hosted. We got:

A book that's 164 pages long filled with comics, illustrations, and work-in-progress sketches. Features a painted edge and embossed cover!

3 vinyl stickers (1 glow in the dark, 2 holo) [1000 Dead Draculas, CHRISQI, and Bunnii]

A 25-piece bag of wax seal stickers (5 different designs) [Dr. Jingles, Solaire, Izu/Potentialforart, nauma, and Juliette GMM López]

A metal bookmark featuring the zine mascots with a gold tassel [Izu/Potentialforart]

2 lenticular bookmarks [Blacklimes and Guillermo Saavedra]

3 acrylic charms (1 gold flake, 2 holo) [Jeong/dunesand, planetsandmagic, and Tien]

3 heat sensitive prints (use a hairdryer or a hot surface for best effect!) [Yulia "Mikh-na" Abdulkhakova, cowsaresushi, and R-GIE]

5 Holographic prints [Kai_QS, koloquials, siins, Corruptimles, and SkyShard]

A cute 1.5" purple chrome enamel pin! [hello*today]

Our wonderful artists are:

Izu/Potentialforart, Kimberly Wang, Louise Kay Uy | Kalkie, Jeong/dunesand, theholeyness, Blacklimes, Autumn Haynes, hello*today, Juliette GMM López, Betney, Hal (Cacoethic) + Len (Critterature), KIDSID, Vetiverfox, Caitlin Ono, Inktrashing, nauma, Pastachyan, Kosse, CORVIDAY, krispy, JOU, PigDemonArt, CHRISQI, R-GIE, Kai_QS, SkyShard, Feefal, Bunnii, 1000 Dead Draculas, Nisnow, Derek Hetrick, Madame RinRin, Rainboopz, koloquials, Kaz Fantone, Andrea C./punkoz, Iris, Andrhomeda, Skylar Valencia, Den_Ai_D, TK Pinkerton, Guillermo Saavedra, Nighto, June Flores, Sarah Skrutskie, bluequills, april, Nikru, corruptimles, Jara Draws, ZOOT, siins, Nullcasting, Dr.Jingles, Solaire, arcadechan, planetsandmagic, Poofylion, cowsaresushi, AKIRATA, Tien, Mangozic, Mina Martinez, Lemonjuiceday, Jackarais, K_Duffles, Yulia "Mikh-na" Abdulkhakova, Winiberto J. Garcia + Tango, Jenny Park, cosmicloak

[hisui555]

preview of the art page I did for the 2025 Object Head Zine: Magic and Fantasy! ^^ pre-orders start March 22nd at @objectheadzine

[hisui555]

why be radically exclusionary abt queerness when you could be radically inclusionary instead. let's inflate the numbers. let's become the majority. the sky's the limit

[hisui555]

[hisui555]

As someone with dyspraxia (DCD) that had to sweat blood and tears to get a driving license I was forced into (stayed 2 whole years in driving school because I didn't knew I had a psychomotor/coordination disability at the time and literally found out BECAUSE of how wrong it went during driving lessons), trust me, I'm very aware.

Being dyspraxic means I can't tell left from right, which makes me "directions tone deaf" to a degree. I also have trouble with propriosception (aka "where my body finds itself in space so that I won't bonk against everything on the way") which translates as Where The Fuck Am I On The Road Exactly in a car - still the proper lane alright, but am I leaning too left or too right ?

My motor skills are wonky at best. One wrong move, and we're all done for : everyone in my car, everyone around my car.

Forget the pain, forget the headache, forget the stress, forget the exhaustion - I can't afford to relax any attention spent on countering my own brain-to-nerves hiccups on top of Usual Stuff That's Going On When Driving.

I can drive. But every minute of it I'm aware that I'm driving a ton-heavy car-sized bullet that can turn into a potential coffin real quick, and it goes double for me since my disability makes it even harder to drive safely.

And it absolutely smokes me how careless a good majority people are with that.

idk. too many people drive like they don’t realize (or care) that they could die and/or kill someone. as a result of the way they are driving. sorry if i sound lame or ancient i just feel insane witnessing the lack of concern on a regular basis. The vehicle you are in is thousands of pounds going many miles an hour. do you know this