scarlet--wiccan

[scarlet--wiccan]

commission for @bish-0-p

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Umm, hi, may I ask why you closed the asking inbox on your comic blog?

Sometimes I get busy in real life. You can dm me if you want to chat about something, or have a quick/simple question (issue citations, etc.) but please don’t try to get around this by messaging me on my other pages and platforms. I don’t want to have to close this ask box as well, bc this is where I usually receive fundraiser requests.

I was really overwhelmed by my twitter interactions this week, and I’ve been getting a lot of tumblr asks that are, to put it bluntly, really irritating. I don’t exactly have the healthiest relationship with social media, so I just need to limit my distractions for a little while bc I have a work project that’s ramping up.

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why is the 'hide your wife, hide your kids' guy literally running Storm PR on twitter

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PLEASE I just want to read the new Scarlet Witch.....

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I just thought of something else that I've never mentioned. So, I know that when Billy is casting a spell, he's supposed to be chanting, you know, just repeating the same words over and over again. I kind of imagine it sounding more like a magical reverb effect-- layered echoes that become clearer as Billy becomes more focused.

I don't remember exactly where I got the idea, but Ariana Maher's lettering in the recent Captain Marvel illustrates it perfectly

Also I love that Billy looks about four feet tall here <3

(Sorry if you've been asked this before, couldn't find any asks through a search.) Do you have specific voices you imagine any of your fav. comic characters talking with? Either real life people's voices and/or certain cadences, lilts, pitches, etc? I feel like everyone I know who reads comics either doesn't "hear" voice when they read or has a distinct sound for diff. charas

Sorta kinda. I'm sure there's a word for this, but I'm definitely one of those people who "hears" what they're reading or writing. It's the same with my own thoughts-- it's very much a verbal internal monologue. Anyways, I don't really do character voices, but, depending on the script, I certainly pick up on tone and stuff.

I have a general sense of what I think Wanda and Pietro's accents sound like, but I don't necessarily, like, do it in my head when I'm reading. Just because I know what it sounds like doesn't mean I can put it on, myself-- I'm from a different vitsa, and a very different part of Europe-- and if I'm just reading to myself, I don't see any point in turning it into a dialect exercise. I guess I read Billy's dialogue in a really, you know, gay voice? But that's because that's how I talk, and I just filter that through any character who seems even remotely limp-wristed.

I grew up speaking French-- although I'm wildly out of practice-- so I do slip into that very easily whenever I'm reading a character that's French, Canadian, Cajun, Haitian, etc. Obviously, I know that those are not all the same thing, and they don't actually sound the same, but my brain just clicks back into that rhythm on its own. And this might surprise some people but I actually read Loki with a French accent-- "Kid Loki" was reincarnated in France, so when I read Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers I had it in my head that they sounded like my younger cousins. Now I kind of think they sound like this.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Wanda if you don't come get your man, somebody else might!

Storm (2024) #3

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What I've learned today is that if you write more than two consecutive sentences, with punctuation and vocabulary anywhere above a fifth-grade reading level (in these underfunded educational streets!), Twitter deems it a "coke rant."

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blowing up on marveltwt rn

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Eli lives in Arizona. I’ve personally decided Tommy was crashing with him for the moment. I’m 100% convinced Tommy just shows up to the homes of his friends to hang for a week because he’s bored (and/or lonely)

completely legitimate headcanon, but Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver does make it seem like that's Tommy's home, specifically. I mean, he mentions Pietro raiding "his" fridge, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I would like to get a better sense of what Tommy's living situation is, or, you know, what he's actually doing day-to-day. I actually really liked that he Oliveira had him living in the old Leonia house and part-timing as Pandemonium's caretaker in the Marvel's Voices Infinity Comic, but that was A) somewhat undermined by Pandemonium's return to overt villainy in a later comic, and B) maybe harder to reconcile in a title with Wanda as the actual lead. I understand why Orlando chose to sidestep it, but it still made me sad, and it highlighted just how badly Tommy needs some kind of clarity or consistently.

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Scarlet Witch & Quicksilver #3

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On the subject of voices/accents I think we're all missing out on the prime comedy of Tommy having a stereotypical Jersey accent: Springfield is right in the northeastern part of the state where it's especially prevalent.

As someone who grew up visiting family there- they all talk so damn fast its almost indecipherable at times. Constantly drop their r's. So many contractions. And that's without factoring in super speed. He is the most unintelligible member of the Maximoff family.

Oh, yeah, Tommy's Jersey accent is crucial. I kind of love the fact that all of the Maximoff kids grew up in different places and presumably sound really different. And they all look related, but they also have wildly different hair colors. Wanda, Tommy, and Luna together would be the peak combo.

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(Sorry if you've been asked this before, couldn't find any asks through a search.) Do you have specific voices you imagine any of your fav. comic characters talking with? Either real life people's voices and/or certain cadences, lilts, pitches, etc? I feel like everyone I know who reads comics either doesn't "hear" voice when they read or has a distinct sound for diff. charas

Sorta kinda. I'm sure there's a word for this, but I'm definitely one of those people who "hears" what they're reading or writing. It's the same with my own thoughts-- it's very much a verbal internal monologue. Anyways, I don't really do character voices, but, depending on the script, I certainly pick up on tone and stuff.

I have a general sense of what I think Wanda and Pietro's accents sound like, but I don't necessarily, like, do it in my head when I'm reading. Just because I know what it sounds like doesn't mean I can put it on, myself-- I'm from a different vitsa, and a very different part of Europe-- and if I'm just reading to myself, I don't see any point in turning it into a dialect exercise. I guess I read Billy's dialogue in a really, you know, gay voice? But that's because that's how I talk, and I just filter that through any character who seems even remotely limp-wristed.

I grew up speaking French-- although I'm wildly out of practice-- so I do slip into that very easily whenever I'm reading a character that's French, Canadian, Cajun, Haitian, etc. Obviously, I know that those are not all the same thing, and they don't actually sound the same, but my brain just clicks back into that rhythm on its own. And this might surprise some people but I actually read Loki with a French accent-- "Kid Loki" was reincarnated in France, so when I read Journey into Mystery and Young Avengers I had it in my head that they sounded like my younger cousins. Now I kind of think they sound like this.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Genuine question for people who complain every time Scarlet Witch refers to Billy as a Maximoff-- not that it's his name, specifically, just acknowledging that he's a part of that family/identifies as "a Maximoff"/is generally grouped under that name:

Do you y'all not have relatives?

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Minorly annoyed that Billy uses the word warlock here as the masculine equivalent to witch as if he hasn't previously used 'witch' as gender neutral AND talked about warlock being a pejorative term for magic users that he personally does not like using... 'wiccan' would be the masculine term for a witch, that's why... he calls himself Wiccan...

Where are you getting the idea that "wiccan" is a masculine term for "witch"? That's not how we use it in the present day, nor is that the reason given in the comic.

Historically, my understanding is that "wiccan"-- or something like it, as these are all anglicizations-- was used either as a verb, meaning "to practice [witchcraft]," or as a plural form of the singular nouns "wicce" (feminine) and "wiċċa" (masculine.) "Warlock," from the Old English "wǣrloga," does in fact translate to "breaker of oaths," as stated in Young Avengers #10, and was taken more broadly to mean "traitor," "betrayer," or "deceiver." The term came to be used as a substitute for "witch" in an explicitly Christian context-- it was used to describe those who'd broken their Christian vows by making deals with devil. It has been used popularly as a masculine alternative for the conventionally feminine "witch" since the 20th century, which is probably more recently than a lot of people realize.

So, for several reasons, the "witch/warlock" gender dichotomy is not historically accurate, and culturally speaking, it's not always appropriate. Pop culture tends to default to this language, and I'd like to move away from that-- and if I were writing a book with multiple Jewish and Romani witch characters, this is exactly the sort of thing I would want to be mindful about. Representation is about more than giving a character brown skin and cramming in a bunch of little cultural/linguistic tidbits. Sensitivity is just as important.

Billy's feelings about "warlock" are inconsistent-- in Young Avengers #7, he actually chooses it over "witch," but three issues later, in #10, he rejects "warlock" and insists on being called a "witch." If you ask me, I think Heinberg himself was just figuring things out as he went along, and I genuinely don't think he knew anything about Wicca when he decided to call the character that. In hindsight, it gives the impression that Billy himself was doing research off-page and changed his mind about "warlock" after learning the etymology. But I do think it's noteworthy that Billy, having negotiated this aspect of his identity twice on-page, lands on the conventionally feminine option of "witch"-- it compliments a lot of the other choices Heinberg made and paints a very specific portrait of what kind of young, gay kid Billy represents.

[scarlet--wiccan]

Amka Aliyak aka Snowguard drawn by the wonderful George Kambadais (@georgekamdabais on twitter)

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I know you don't like talking about Ultimate Universe Wanda, but what do you think about her doing math to perform probability hex?

It's not a terrible idea, although the execution leaves something to be desired. In general, I appreciate any attempt to show Wanda's thought process, make her skills feel earned, and give her a way to engage directly with whatever matter/forces/energy she's manipulating. It's been implied, usually in passing, that having a better understanding of physics helps her visualize and focus her powers, or at least gives her a better sense of what to do with them. I can see how mathematically puzzling things out would work the same way.

The thing about probability, though, is that it's not materially real. It's theoretical. I'm not saying math is fake, or whatever, but things like "probably" and "luck" powers don't always hold up under scrutiny. I haven't read enough to speak on Domino or Black Cat, but this is part of why I think Wanda's powers just work better when you use magical language instead of actually trying make sense of the math or science. Besides that, magic is a huge part of what makes Wanda who she is, a being a witch is a really important part of her personal identity. I don't like when adaptations, or alternate continuities, take those things away from her.

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Not sure how canon Allan Heinberg's original concept is with regard to ages- but according to that, Kate and the twins are supposed to be the same age, and all three are younger than Teddy.

I know Teddy was said to be 16 in the first series and Billy and Tommy are 16 (10th grade, iirc?) in Children's Crusade- I'm assuming Tommy telling Pietro he's 15 is a misprint- but I don't think Kate's age was actually stated until volume 2. She's got her driver's license in Fraction's series, though, so she's at least 17.

Teddy might be in the grade above them? I think? He and Billy are in the same class in The Last Annihilation but that doesn't really mean anything, and he's on varsity basketball/football, which are usually upperclassmen only.

Nothing in the Young Avengers pitch document is canon. It's fun to look at some of the early concepts behind the series, but if it's not in the actual comic, it is not canon. It drives me a little crazy that people still cite this document as if it is has any bearing on the actual series, much less how these characters are written and drawn in the present day.

I just got done telling you that the actual canon text clearly says that Teddy, Eli, Billy, and Tommy are all the same age-- or at least, that they are all stated to be sixteen years old at around the same time. I don't see any point in speculating beyond that. Character ages are ultimately immaterial. Providing concrete numbers can be useful in a cast of mostly children and teenagers, especially if you do intend to let them age progressively, but they don't really matter. I think you can take it as read that most of these characters are roughly the same age/were in the same year at school, with the exception of Kate and Cassie, and leave it at that.