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makeste · 4 years ago

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but I just feel too tired to be fighting

this is a follow-up post to what I said in my recap the other day about this arc being the Deku Angst arc, as opposed to the Villain Hunt arc or the Deku SIXQUIRKS Exhibition arc. I feel like the fandom discussion tends to focus on the flashier parts of the chapters -- the sexy villains and the new quirk reveals and the Shindous -- each week, and so the quieter emotional beats sometimes get overlooked, especially since the character arc here is playing out in little bits and pieces over time rather than all at once.

this has always been a very reactionary fandom, and there’s a tendency to judge the chapters week to week without ever going back to look at how they all fit into the big picture. so I figured I would try to attempt that, and basically go chapter by chapter here to look at what exactly Horikoshi is setting up and how it all fits together.

so let’s start with the end of chapter 306, which is when the arc officially kicks off. specifically with the very last page:

this is imo one of the best pages Horikoshi has ever drawn. I got the sense that this was a scene he’d had in his mind’s eye for quite a long time, and that he was excited to finally get to this part of the story. it’s extremely effective as both a chapter-ender, and an arc-opener. like, look at this:

it establishes the initial premise of the new arc -- the world is in chaos, and Deku is now seemingly on his own

it leaves the readers with a number of questions. why did Deku leave U.A.?? is he really on his own now?? why does he look so beat-up and exhausted?? what is he up to?? what is the world like now that all these villains have been unleashed and the heroes have been decimated?? and most importantly of all, what the fuck is going to happen next??

it pays homage to some of Horikoshi’s comic book influences -- Batman in particular

it dramatically hits us with that “THE FINAL ACT BEGINS” and lets us know that shit is getting real now

that’s some good shit. so much so that I think people tended to overlook the other notable thing about this page amidst all of the initial excitement and discussion and speculation about where the series was headed. and that is the fact that the final panel in this chapter is NOT the panel of Deku standing above the city. the very last panel, the one that this chapter actually ends on, is instead the close-up of Deku’s face. his face, which is covered in shadow; and his eyes, which have dark circles under them and are prominently missing the usual flecks of light that give him his signature “sunny optimistic shounen protagonist” look.

not to mention this last line here, which is a call back to the very first time we saw the 14-year-old Deku way back in chapter one.

I don’t think it’s a coincidence that Horikoshi chose to throw this reference in. nor is it a coincidence that THIS is the scene he actually chose to end the chapter on. what this does is show us the drastic shift in Deku’s emotional state of mind, and his attitude towards being a hero. he’s gone from being thrilled and excited to being jaded and exhausted. he’s matured, but at a great cost. it’s always been his dream to be a hero, but “be careful what you wish for” is a popular adage for a reason. and right now he looks the furthest thing from happy.

and this is the emotional beat that Horikoshi chooses to end the chapter on. this is the panel that closes out the War arc, and begins the final act. to me the message could not be clearer -- this arc will be about the exploration of Deku’s character, and his struggle as he tries to live up to the expectations that have been placed on him as the Last Holder of OFA and quite possibly the World’s Only Hope.

it’s a character arc that builds on a lot of the things we’ve already learned about Deku over the course of the series, such as the fact that he is reckless, and that he focuses on others often at the expense of himself. but more importantly, it’s an arc that finally expands on the dark side of what has up until now been a net positive for Deku -- the power of OFA. up until this point, despite its ups and downs, it’s been a boon for Deku overall and has allowed him to pursue his dream. but now we’re finally reaching the point where the monkey’s paw part of the OFA blessing/curse finally starts to come into play. OFA gives Deku more power than he could have ever dreamed of, but it also comes with a built-in destiny that he can’t opt out of whether he likes it or not. AFO is on the loose and out there trying to destroy the world. and now everyone has pinned their hopes on this sixteen-year-old kid, and the question of whether or not the sixteen-year-old kid is ready is apparently not one that anyone feels inclined to ask (possibly because they’re afraid that the answer might be “no”).

he doesn’t have a choice in the matter. he has to do it, because there’s no one else who can. that’s the kind of pressure that is on Deku now.

and on that note, we begin the Deku Angst arc.

chapter 307

this in hindsight was mostly just a set-up chapter to better establish the current state of the BnHA world at large (spoilers: it’s not good), while also providing an answer for one of the big initial questions of the arc -- namely, “what happened to all of those villains that AFO released from Tartarus?” these are important things to touch on, but the pacing could definitely have been better, and the bulk of the chapter was dedicated to providing fanservice to all of the Shindou fans who spammed the most recent popularity poll (which, whatever lol). anyway, so this was the sole chapter thus far with absolutely no Deku development. thankfully the arc picks up from there.

chapter 308

on to the next one! this was the one and only chapter thus far which I think actually qualifies as an “exhibition fight.” this was definitely all about showing off Deku’s current powerset, as well as introducing us to another of the SIXQUIRKS. however, there was Deku development here as well, most notably in this scene:

this is the scene that got a lot of people speculating that this arc was going to focus on Deku hunting down all of the old villains. but I think people got so caught up in that speculation that they overlooked what this scene tells us about Deku’s mindset. and yes, there is new information being revealed here, and it’s not just a rehash of the stuff we already knew. like yes, we know that Deku was shaken up by the recent encounters with Dabi and Tomura, and we know that made him start questioning why villains become villains in the first place, and all that good stuff, and that’s great. however, there are two additional important things that this scene helps establish for us.

the upcoming battle with TomurAFO is weighing heavily on Deku’s mind. this is something that will become a recurring theme in this arc. Deku is thinking about this constantly. the question of what to do when he finally encounters TomurAFO again is knocking incessantly at the back of his mind, and this won’t be the last time it comes up.

Deku is using these villain encounters as test runs. can Tomura be redeemed?? is he just being stupid and naïve?? or is this really something worth attempting?? the interesting thing about this is that Deku’s resolve to save people is usually so strong and unwavering that it’s more than enough to overcome any doubts that he might have. but this time it seems like the repeated objections posed by the Vestiges and Gran Torino have really gotten to him. it’s possible I’m just reading way too much into things, but to me it really feels like Deku’s recent attempts at Talk no Jutsu were meant to do more than just show his growing awareness that the line between heroes and villains is thinner than he once imagined. they’re also serving as trial runs for the real test, when it finally comes. if he can “save” even a villain like Muscular, there’s hope for him being able to save Tomura as well. and so that moment when Muscular rejects him out of hand is all the more disappointing to him, even if it wasn’t really unexpected. basically it wasn’t the answer that he had been hoping for.

aside from those little notes though, like I said, this was unquestionably an exhibition fight first and foremost. which is fine; we needed to establish where Deku is currently in terms of strength, and it was also just fun to see him kick some ass, ngl. in terms of story purpose this chapter was similar to 219, which showed us how Shouto and Katsuki had powered up after getting their provisional licenses. people who don’t care about those characters might argue that these fights weren’t necessary, but as someone who stans all three characters hard, I would disagree! but anyways, moving on.

chapter 309

in contrast to the previous chapter, this chapter focuses more on establishing Deku’s current mental state, as opposed to his physical state. and this is what we learn:

(1) Deku is ~technically~ being shadowed/accompanied by All Might and the Hawksquad (but in practice he’s avoiding them).

(2) it was Deku’s own decision to leave U.A., and he did it because he didn’t want anyone else getting hurt in order to protect him.

and finally, (3) Deku’s game plan is to stop Tomura and All for One before they reach full power.

this last part is very important, because it means there’s a countdown in effect. as far as Deku is concerned, there’s only a finite amount of time before TomurAFO becomes unstoppable. which means that he’s not only under “gotta get stronger” pressure, but time pressure as well. he doesn’t have the luxury of taking his time and training in safety. he’s being rushed now; this is do-or-die.

this chapter is also the first in this arc in which we get to see Deku’s expressions without the hood covering up his face, and what we see is very telling. as previously stated, the light is gone from Deku’s eyes. he keeps his expressions very neutral, and the only time we even see a hint of a smile is when he hugs his mom in the flashback, and it’s clear from the dialogue (“it’s okay, I’ll come home to you”) that he’s doing it for her sake in order to comfort her.

but aside from that, this is very much not the Deku we’ve grown accustomed to. this is the chapter that really establishes his current mental state imo. above all else, he’s afraid that more people will get hurt because of him, and so he’s distancing himself from everyone around him. and he’s also morbidly preoccupied with the inevitability of having to face TomurAFO again, and soon. the chapter ends on the flashback of Gran giving him his cape, and telling Deku that “killing can be another way to save someone.” there’s a lot on this kid’s mind, to say the least.

chapter 310

this chapter opens with a gang of civilians who are trying to open fire on a nice fox lady whose only crime was walking around in the rain at night. Deku intervenes to save her, and it’s the first time in this arc that we see anything close to the “old” Deku, who just wanted to save people with a smile.

but it’s bittersweet, because all the lady can talk about is how scared she was, and how horrible everything is right now. and so Deku, who feels responsible in a lot of ways for everything that’s happened, just feels that much more pressure to somehow make things right again.

there’s also this extra throwaway line which is especially heartbreaking:

“I can’t afford to be around anyone.” fucking ouch. just reinforcing once more how incredibly isolated Deku is right now -- not by choice, but because he feels like it’s not safe to let anyone else get close to him. and so he’s out here running around this dystopian cityscape in the middle of the night in the pouring rain all on his own, and neglecting himself to the point where All Might practically has to force a bento on him.

but does he complain? of course not. because his focus is never on himself. instead, when he settles down to eat, his thoughts immediately drift back to, guess who...

it’s that time pressure once again. “unless I draw out One for All’s full power, I can’t stop any of this.” it’s just nonstop, I have to get stronger, I’m running out of time, I have to do better, and constantly thinking about that inevitable confrontation.

Deku is a thinker, you guys. and when left to his own devices he will overthink, every time. his mind will run in endless loops while he mentally works his way through all of the possibilities. and that’s one of his greatest strengths, don’t get me wrong, but at a time like this it’s also one of his greatest weaknesses. it’s just so fucking easy for him to get stuck in his own head, in his endless rambling thoughts and analyses. and without anyone else there to help distract him, or help him focus, he’s become fixated on his mission, and it’s slowly consuming him.

this, incidentally, is also the chapter in which we finally see Two and Three’s faces, and learn why Two in particular is so reluctant to lend his power to Deku. he appears to be the lone holdout at this point, so stay tuned on that, because I don’t doubt this will wind up being crucial to Deku’s future development, however it winds up playing out.

chapter 311

this chapter flips back to the Hawksquad for the first half, so we get a brief respite from the ongoing Dekuangst. right before we switch back though, we do get confirmation of something we had pretty much already guessed:

like, that much was already apparent based on what we’d seen (the bags under his eyes; the fact that he refused to sit still in any one place for very long even at night), but it’s always nice to get the official confirmation so that people can’t dispute it lol. so yeah, Deku isn’t sleeping much. and not eating much either, if all he’s getting is the occasional bento from Dadmight. so basically not taking care of himself at all, huge shocker there. but this is something that’s important enough to the story that Horikoshi took the time to point it out in the dialogue, in addition to all of the visual clues we’d already gotten.

and just in case we needed to drive that point in any further, this chapter ends with the appearance of Lady Nagant! like yeah, no shit Deku isn’t getting much sleep, what with him having to fend off racist civilians and hired assassins every five fucking minutes. smdh. can he live??

chapter 312

so this is the chapter that properly introduces Lady Nagant, who maaaay or may not be one of the primary antagonists of this arc?? like, it’s really unclear right now tbh, but she gets hyped up by Hawks and AFO, and has a flashback and a mysterious past and a weird trump card (where did you go, Overhaul) and all that good shit, so yeah? one can hope at any rate.

but anyway. so to his credit, Deku’s first thought is to retreat, but he quickly abandons that plan once he figures out Nagant’s location. this is played off like a logical strategic decision at first, but the subsequent chapter quickly makes it clear that Deku’s decision to take the fight to Nagant is less rational than he might have you think.

chapter 313

so yeah. last but not least, the most recent chapter, in which Deku’s real reason for targeting Lady soon becomes apparent:

what’s more, it quickly becomes clear that he miscalculated and probably would have been better off following Hawks’s advice, seeing as he promptly gets himself shot, and subsequently realizes that AFO gave Nagant an extra quirk, something he hadn’t taken into account. but instead of cutting his losses and running at this point, he doubles down instead and not only breaks out Smokescreen, but also the Third’s quirk which he has never even used before.

it’s worth noting that both En and the Third start telling him to chill at this point, and warn him that what he’s attempting is too dangerous. but tbh if they were expecting him to listen, they haven’t been reading the same arc I’ve been reading. once again, Horikoshi makes it clear that Deku has one thing and one thing only on his mind right now.

of course. once again it all comes back to this. hunt down AFO. it doesn’t matter that he’s exhausted. it doesn’t matter that he’s just been shot twice. it doesn’t matter that Hawks, despite knowing what Deku was capable of with his OFA abilities, specifically warned him away from this one person only. it doesn’t matter that even the Vestiges are trying to tell him you’re going too fast and you’re trying to do too much and it’s too dangerous.

he just doesn’t care. long story short, the only thing that matters to Deku right now is tracking down and defeating TomurAFO. and as the person who knows him best once so aptly put it, “he doesn’t take himself into account.” and therein lies the major challenge of this arc.

and so this is where we’re currently at now. and this has been a very long post, but if nothing else, I hope I was able to get this one point across: there is absolutely no way that Deku will be able to defeat TomurAFO as he is now. not a chance in hell. somehow he’s managed the uncommon feat of waging a war of attrition against himself, which is really quite an accomplishment. he’s not taking care of himself, and he’s refusing to listen to sound advice from the people surrounding him, and is trying to skip ahead to the final boss battle before he’s ready, because the guilt and pressure from feeling responsible for the current situation are eating him up. the only way that the world can go back to normal is if he can defeat AFO; therefore he has to do it as soon as possible, because time is running out and everyone is counting on him. this is who Deku is. and this is what inevitably happens when his saving mentality is taken to extremes, and left unchecked.

anyway so to wrap up this post now, I do think this arc is a lot more cohesive than it’s gotten credit for thus far, and Deku is the glue holding it all together. I for one am loving the exploration of his character and all the subtle little angsty touches as we build up to the big moment, whenever it finally comes. just keep in mind though that if his decisions right now seem reckless and short-sighted, it’s because they’re supposed to seem that way, because Deku is not in a good mental state right now. the cracks are finally showing in our perfect protagonist, just like everyone has been wanting this whole time. he is just a kid. he is doing his best. he is trying far too hard to do his best, and it is hurting him so badly, but he doesn’t even realize. this arc is not an endorsement of the Angsty Nomad Hero lifestyle, lol. it’s the exact fucking opposite, and I think it’s being wildly misinterpreted with all of the emphasis on “oh look at that, he mastered another quirk with no effort”, as opposed to “oh look at that, he is shutting down emotionally and is a few more missed nights of sleep away from a complete and total breakdown.”

tl;dr the overarching storyline of this arc is all about Deku slowly falling apart due to his trauma from Jakku, and the subsequent pressure that was put on him by the Vestiges with their whole “GUESS WHAT, YOU’RE THE LAST USER OF OFA, THAT’S RIGHT, IT’S ALL ON YOU BUDDY” pep talk. and mark my words, things are not going to go according to plan. something is going to go terribly wrong here. whether it’s something happening to All Might, or AFO setting up a trap for him, either way Deku is being set up to fail in a major way. unless of course, someone (or a group of someones) manages to intervene first, and possibly stage an intervention or something. it’s what he needs right now, but idk if Horikoshi is going to make it that easy.

anyway, but in other words, the point of this arc is not to show how much stronger Deku has gotten and how he doesn’t even need his friends anymore. it’s the exact opposite -- the point of this arc is to show that Deku needs his friends now more than ever. that in spite of OFA and all of its mystical trappings and fancy SIXQUIRKS, Deku can’t do this alone. he needs his friends. that’s the core message. and right now, we are at the “I can get by on my own” part of the story. and the part we are all waiting for, but which is coming -- I guarantee it is coming, you guys -- is “the thing is, you don’t have to.”

and that shit is going to slap hard you guys. and I for one can’t wait. but until then, enjoy the angst.

#bnha 313 #midoriya izuku #bnha meta #deku meta #bnha #boku no hero academia #bnha spoilers #mha spoilers #bnha manga spoilers #makeste reads bnha #long post #like 'long' is really an understatement here lol #our little green protagonist is really going through it you guys #and I just have a lot of thoughts and feelings about it

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x-imy23 · 3 years ago

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Tim Drake is Bi

I don’t usually post my personal thoughts on this account but I really need to get this off my chest.

So...Tim Drake, the third Robin, came out as bi in Batman: Urban Legends #6 (UL). Technically, he has not assigned any labels to himself yet but both the writer and her creative team as well as DC official accounts have confirmed he’s queer.

Tim is my favorite character, I grew up reading his comics and I think him being bi fits his character very well. Personally, I've always considered him queer (like many others) and I find Tim's exploration in UL very realistic, it reminds me of my bi awakening. However, I have seen a lot of people hating on this news and being very toxic about it. This is very sad and also frustrating since most of their arguments are pretty weak in my opinion so I’m going to address the points that bother me the most.

1. Tim has only dated girls before and never showed any signs of liking boys in the 30yrs that his character has been around.

Let me make it clear: even though Tim has only dated girls in the past, it was never explicitly stated that he was straight, people just assumed and times weren't as progressive when Tim's character was created so writers wouldn't have been able to write him as queer even if they wanted to. Furthermore, as hinted before, a lot of people already believed he was queer and it can be argued that there’s a lot of subtext in previous comics making Tim a queer-coded character. His relationship with Conner (Superboy) is the most talked about in regards to the queer subtext. When Conner died, Tim took his death very hard to the point that he tried cloning him 99 times (Teen Titans Vol 3 #34). At the time, Tim had also lost his father, Bart, his girlfriend Stephanie and Bruce. Out of all of those deaths, he really seems to have taken Conner’s the hardest even over his girlfriend's. Tim even changed the colours of his costume as a tribute to Conner.

Another iconic scene can be found in Graduation Day #5 (2003) where Tim and Conner are in a closet which was seen as ambiguous by many readers to the extent that even the writer Judd Winnick replied to a Tweet saying that he saw it as the opportunity for them to come out of the closet.

Even in the New 52 reboot where their past relationship was erased, there are quite a few instances that can be read through the queer subtext. Most notoriously, in the 2015 Teen Titans run in the annual #1 and Teen Titans #12. In the latter, Tim is basically having a breakdown trying to stop Conner going back to the villain Harvest. It’s very emotional.

And let’s not forget when Tim joined a pride parade in Teen Titans #24 (2015).

One of my favourite instances is the one in Batman Detective Comics #967 when Tim is the only one remembering Conner.

2. Why can’t they create new characters or use a character already established as part of the LGBT community?

I think him being a well established character and one of the Robins is a massive deal for representation. Side characters or even new ones often don't receive any spotlight or the right recognition but DC are making a stronger statement with such an important IP like Robin. Also, bi men usually get less representation compared to bi women and while DC already has bi characters like Constantite or the recently introduced Ghost Maker, it can’t be denied that they don’t have the same popularity as Robin.

Furthermore, Robin is also an already loved and well-rounded character with many stories behind him and I feel this could help readers identify with him more easily. I really think Tim is a perfect choice, not only because of the instances mentioned in the previous point, but also because he’s been seen questioning his place as well as his identity as a superhero a lot in recent comics which can also be seen as a hint foreshadowing the exploration of his sexuality.

3. This coming out is forced. They are changing a character’s sexuality to appease the Twitter crowd. Why do they have to talk about a character's sexuality?

As I established in point 1, nowhere in 32ish years was confirmed that Tim was straight. Even if readers have enjoyed Tim’s stories for decades, he's still canonically a teenager and traditionally this is the age when people start exploring their sexuality so questioning himself is not unrealistic at all. Personally, I think it was done very well in UL and I’m sure that many readers have had a similar experience. It also doesn't mean that Tim’s sexuality was "changed". Sexuality is a complex thing and people can take years to discover themselves. Tim being bi doesn't change what is great about the character nor does it erase his past relationships and experiences.

The people complaining forget that being straight is also a sexuality so why it is okay for a character to allude to a straight relationship but not to a queer one unless those people are being hyprocrits? And the hypocrisy doesn’t end there if we think about the bi women characters those same people are okay with (e.g. Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn, and Catwoman). And for straight people who say it's forced, think: how long have we had heteronormativity forced down our throat? In this particular case, you don’t have to go that far, just think about the Batman and Robin relationship. This relationship was considered queer-coded very early on when the characters where created to the point that DC intruduced the first incarnation of Batwoman as a potential love interest for Batman and later pushed for the the first Robin, Dick Grayson, to have a playboy persona on par with his father figure to try and placate conservative readers.

4. Tim Drake and Stephanie Brown. Why did they break up off panel? Why break them up at all? They only broke them up to make Tim queer.

Stephanie Brown aka Spoiler aka Robin aka Batgirl has been Tim Drake’s main love interest for many years. Many people love this relationship, me included. However, I can’t deny that there are some things that make me think that maybe they are not that good for each other like the power imbalance that comes through in some comics, especially the earlier ones. Sometimes it also feels like her character only exists to give meaning to the men around her which is sad since her character has a lot of potential but it is often left aside.

That said, Tim has not denied his love for Stephanie in UL and him being bi does not invalidate what they had in the past or can still have in the future. In regards to their break up, a lot of people feel that it was out of the blue or that there was no need for it since he’s bi. I admit that they could have handled it a little bit better BUT it’s also true that Tim’s been going through some personal discoveries. This can be very overwhelming and some people may prefer dealing with that on their own first and even turn away from the people who love you the most.

In UL #6, Tim even admits that he broke up with Stephanie for no reason but it’s also true that Tim has always put others’ needs before his own (see how he became Robin in the first place) so I don’t think it’s far-fetched that he now wants to deal with figuring himself out on his own. It was long overdue in my opinion. This doesn't mean that Tim and Stephanie’s relationship won’t be addressed later on. Let’s consider the fact that Urban Legends #6 is not the last we’ll see of Tim but this chapter of his story has just begun so there’s still a lot to be explored and even though many people considered this move by DC to be a form of money grub (let's be real, what isn't these days), it can still be good for representation if done right. We’ll just have to wait and see.

I want to end by saying that whatever your opinion is on the matter, there is no excuse for hate. You can still be respectful of other people’s opinions and if not, just move on with your life. Trust me, you’ll live longer if you don’t poison yourself with hate and there are things far more important than a comic character coming out on which you can spend your energy on.

Thank you.

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ryukyuan-sunflower · 4 years ago

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Major Symbolism in Episode 20+21 (Another MugenxFuu Post)

Episodes 20 and 21’s series of images has been going through my head a lot recently, and I think that it is about time I rant about it.

I’ve written before, how Sara is a symbol of a maternal figure for Mugen. But today, I’m gonna go into something else…

Episode 20’s series of images alludes to Mugen and Fuu not only having feelings for each other, but also the concept of marriage, parentage and the idea of being abandoned. A lot of these details bridge and connect with multiple parts of the episode.

The Sad Bride

The woman upon the boat is dressed in a traditional uchikake wedding kimono. What is happening is “Yomeiri-bune”: a traditional Japanese bridal procession on a robune rowboat.

The robune boat carries the bride’s household possessions at the front of the boat. The bride sits behind the possessions. Behind her, the bride’s two parents sit, wearing black. This boat carries the bride across the canal, to her husband. This traditional procession is still held in one place in Japan: Ibaraki during “Suigo Itako Ayame Matsuri”, or the “Iris Festival”

Here is a video of it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ApIeJ384oDo

There are some key details about the bride in the scene of Samurai Champloo. While I think it could be a tale of Sara’s life...I think this is more related to Fuu’s future.

1.The bride has no household possessions. Fuu also has no household possessions of her own. The two women are incredibly poor.

2. The bride has no parents seated behind her. Fuu also has no parents to send her off and celebrate her marriage someday, as her father abandoned her, and her mother died of illness

3. There is a willow tree to the left of the scene. This one may not be major, but willows are symbols of grief, and in Japanese culture, are thought to attract ghosts. For such a sad symbol to be shown in a composition of a marriage seems intentional.

4. The bride is not smiling. Should a bride not be smiling upon her wedding day? It is supposed to be one of the most joyous moments of a woman’s life. She must be unhappy about the arrangement. This exact composition of Fuu’s unhappy face can be seen later, where Fuu is shown in front of glittering blue water. She must contemplate which of her bodyguards she will give up. But I’ll get more into that later.

Notice also, in the composition of the scene, how Fuu is on the far left, where the bride is. Sara and Jin are standing close together, where the parents ought to be seated. Mugen however, is a far distance from them all.

Sara is clearly a maternal figure in the episode, as her entire story concerns her child. Jin also has some parallels to the Sunflower Samurai, and plays a very fatherly role for Fuu throughout the series. I wonder if this position is intentional.

At the end of the robune procession, the boat delivers the bride to her husband. When a woman is given away to her husband, she is also saying goodbye to her father and mother.

There seems to even be a symbol of this.

But it is not to say Fuu wanted to give up Jin. It is clear that after Jin leaves with Sara, how upsetting it is for Fuu. She breaks down into tears. Though, it is important to note how childish these tears are. It is a comical scene, where Mugen gets frustrated and stomps off. It is nothing like the painful moments that Fuu cries when she thinks Mugen is in danger/dying (In episodes 14, 21, 25 and 26).

This seems to be Fuu clinging childishly to the closest thing she has to a father figure (Jin), similar to how this whole journey is her trying to find her father: the last remnant of her past.

The Mother and Child

While walking, the four travelers pass a mother carrying a child. The father is nowhere in sight. Again, this is an allusion to Sara and her son. But it is noteworthy that the only character to look back at the mother and child is Fuu.

The mother has light brown hair, like Fuu. The son has black, wild and unruly hair and orange clothes. More on the orange later.

The next symbol shows how this is not only about Sara...but about Fuu contemplating a future: the fear of being abandoned by a husband and left with a child alone, the same as her mother was.

The fear of being abandoned by Mugen.

The Pinwheel

The mother and child have a yellow pinwheel.

I’ve talked in other posts how pinwheels seem to be a symbol of childhood innocence, and of rebirth. However, we have seen a pinwheel in only one other scene in the series. And it is almost the exact same color. They could have chosen any color for the pinwheel, but I cannot help but feel this color choice is deliberate. Mugen flicks the pinwheel in Episode 1, just moments before meeting Fuu for the first time.

Rather than childhood innocence, this pinwheel flick could have another meaning entirely. In Chinese culture, the flicking of a pinwheel means to “turn one’s luck around”. Why this is notable, is, in Episode 1, we find out Mugen is not Japanese at all, but Ryukyuan. The Ryukyu Kingdom was a tributary state of China, before being invaded by the Satsuma Domain. For that reason, there is a blend of both Chinese and Japanese culture in the Ryukyuan Islands.

Perhaps Mugen flicked the pinwheel, as a way to wish himself good luck in getting some food. Little did he know, this meeting would greatly change his life.

Furthermore, the pinwheels start to shift into sunflowers. Fuu’s face pans across the scene, as if a symbol that she has come to a realization, or is pondering something important.

This could be a symbol of Fuu coming to a realization of her feelings for Mugen, her fear of the future, and the fear of being abandoned by him, the same as her father abandoned her mother.

This fear and realization is reinforced throughout the rest of the episode.

The Boy with the Monkey Mask

During the festival, Sara asks Mugen and Jin to pick out a gift for her son. Mugen proceeds to grab a small child, and asks what he wants.

1. The child responds that he wants Mugen’s sword. He’s a little fighter.

2. The child is wearing a monkey mask. This is important because in the previous scene, Mugen, Fuu and Sara bathe in the hot spring. When Sara asks Fuu what Mugen looks like, she gets extremely flustered and proceeds to say: “Honestly, he’s less than human. He’s more like a monkey or a gorilla.”

However, we know Fuu is lying, because when Sara asks, “What?” Fuu sinks into the water and blows bubbles.

The fact that the line and the mask is a scene apart, seems intentional yet again.

3. The boy is wearing orange, similar to the orange of the boy on the woman’s back earlier that only Fuu looked at. Also, Fuu in her childhood, is seen wearing orange...and was abandoned by her father.

This boy is a symbol of Mugen and Fuu having a child together. To reinforce this is the thoughts going through Fuu’s head, Mugen asks Fuu what they should get for a boy. Fuu remembers Sara’s request of taking one of them with her. It is at Mugen’s words and her own thoughts, that Fuu suddenly runs away in tears.

We know that she is pondering the choice Sara gave her: Mugen or Jin. We know that she knows Mugen will willingly leave her. We also know that she chooses Mugen to stay, despite this.

And this is where we see that previously shown picture of Fuu’s sad face, emulating the face of the sad bride. Fuu is afraid Mugen will either abandon her, or will not love her.

Jin is the one to chase after Fuu and appears behind her, not Mugen. He is far more reliable, and would seem to be a better husband. Fuu could very easily marry a man someday that she does not want to be with, because Mugen is not the type to marry. But despite all of this, Fuu still chooses Mugen to stay and complete her journey.

The two episodes’ composition largely features Mugen and Fuu, while Jin plays a more minor role.

Not only does she give up Jin, but also the entire Episode 21 barely features Jin. It becomes about Mugen facing Sara twice...and it also becomes about how Fuu’s love for Mugen stops Sara from killing him,

Sara’s words to Fuu

She chooses Mugen.

Sara’s Words to Mugen

Sara tells Mugen they are alike, and mentions the closest she came to happiness was having a child. It also zooms in on Mugen’s face here.

Having a child with Fuu could be his first shot at happiness.

This dialogue completely emulates Mugen’s dialogue with another woman: Koza in Episode 14, in which she asked Mugen if he is happy now. He tells her he hasn’t thought about it. Koza then went on to say “Fuu is happy because she gets to be with you. I want to be with you, like she is.”

A Distance in Episode 20. A Closeness in Episode 21.

Throughout the episode, Mugen and Fuu are barely shown next to, or across from each other. They are always near Sara or Jin instead.

There is is a sense of a distance forming between Mugen and Fuu. But by the end of Episode 20, Fuu still chooses Mugen to stay with her. And Episode 21, they are finally close again, stuck alone together.

She throws herself on top of him to save his life and tends to his wounds which are close, intimate acts.

Other Blatant Hints

Aside from the visual symbolism in the episode, there are other clear indications of the character’s developing feelings for each other during these two Sara episodes, but not expressing them.

Fuu and Mugen see each other naked in the hot spring. This is a painfully common romantic anime trope.

Fuu gets jealous of Mugen’s attention to Sara.

Mugen gets jealous of Fuu crying over Jin and comically stomps away. He agrees to stay with Fuu, even though he clearly could’ve abandoned her, and only claimed to stay to fight Jin. Now with Jin gone, he has no excuse as to why he’s sticking around.

Fuu’s Declaration of Love

Fuu throws herself in the way of Sara’s blade, in order to save Mugen’s life. This action was committed only mere seconds after Sara’s haunting words to Mugen: “It’s as if you’ve never been loved by anyone.”

Fuu throwing herself in the way is proving Sara’s words wrong. Mugen is loved. This is why Sara gasps and stays her blade. Like her previous words, she is unable to read people’s feelings.

Throwing her own life in the way for Mugen’s life to be spared could have easily gotten her killed too. To me, this seems to be an allusion to “Shinju” or “Double Suicide”. Lovers’ suicide was surprisingly common in Japanese history, and there have been famous Tokugawa plays written about the subject such as “Love Suicide at Sonezaki” and “Love Suicide at Amijima”.

Conclusion

The symbols of a sad bride, a pinwheel, a child with a monkey mask, Fuu’s choice and Fuu’s sacrifice all allude to her feelings for Mugen, and her fear of an uncertain future with him.

Now, combine this giant list of symbols, with the numerous amounts of far more major MugenxFuu scenes, blatant dialogue, interviews of the voice actors and Shinichiro Watanabe, etc...and what you have is a canon subtle romance.

#samurai champloo #Fuugen #mugen and fuu #Mugen Samurai Champloo #fuu samurai champloo #shinichiro watanabe

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superman86to99 · 4 years ago

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Superman #84 (December 1993)

Superman takes a short Paris vacation! Like, one day short. What's the worst that could happen?

Oh, man.

So, for the past few issues, we've been hearing about children being abducted in Metropolis. Now we see that they're being kept inside a giant toy house by some creepy bald man in Quasimodo clothes who seems to be obsessed with toys -- a "Man of Toys," if you will. Side note: no wonder the children haven't been found... all the articles about them are just gibberish! (See clip below.)

The kidnapper thinks that these kids' parents don't deserve them, and that they're much better off here, in an underground hideout with a man who threatens to starve them if they don't play with him. (And I do mean literally play, with action figures and stuff.) Meanwhile, as these children cry for help, Superman is having the time of his life. While helping move a stranded ship with some huge-ass chains, Superman spots a sunken galleon with a treasure chest inside and fantasizes about keeping the booty...

...before turning it over to the authorities anyway, the big boy scout. Then, he wakes up Lois at 6 AM and tells her they should go to Paris right now, which usually means your significant other is having a mental breakdown, but in this case they can actually do it. And so, after deciding that he deserves to use his powers for fun every once in a while, Superman and Lois drop everything and fly to France with super-speed for the rest of the day/issue.

Anyway: back to the child abduction! Cat Grant and her son Adam attend a Halloween party at Adam's school, but there's a disturbed weirdo in a hideous costume lurking among the crowd. Yes, I'm talking about Jimmy Olsen in his Turtle Boy suit.

Shortly after that, a guy in a dinosaur costume (see, all the creeps are dressed as reptiles) lures Adam out of the party with the promise of "superb video games." What child could resist that? Of course, that turns out to be the kidnapper and Adam ends up in his hideout along with the rest of the missing children and, worst of all, not a single "Lextendo" console.

The kidnapper gets angry at Adam when he refers to the toys at the hideout as "old-fashioned junk" (he was REALLY looking forward to those video games), and even angrier when Adam tries to free the other kids. Adam is brave and puts up a good fight, but...

And those were Adam Morgan's final words. "Uh-oh."

Next, we have a pretty harrowing scene of Detective Turpin letting Cat know Adam’s body was found, and Jimmy and Perry White taking her to the morgue to identify the body (most people probably wouldn't bring their former boss to something like that, but Perry sadly knows more than most about losing a kid). As for Lois and Clark, they were gone so long that the Daily Planet had time to print a headline about the murders. The issue ends when the lovebirds walk into the office smiling like two people who just spent the night fooling around in Paris... only to feel like jackasses when they find out what happened.

To be continued!

Character-Watch:

And that's it for little Adam Morgan who, unlike the also tragically diseased Jerry White, didn't even get any post-death appearances. Adam went from a little kid scared of Superman, to a huge brat, to a character who was approaching likeability as of last week. That's why I hate it when DC kills off young characters like Adam or Liam Harper: in long-form storytelling, children represent potential. Look at how much Wally West or Dick Grayson evolved over the years compared to their mentors! Sure, there's a huge probability that Adam would have ended up disappearing from comics for 25 years anyway, but who knows, maybe we'd now know him as Teen Gangbuster or something. GangbusTEEN.

This issue also represents a turning point for the kidnapper, who is never named or seen clearly in the story itself but I don't think I'm shocking anyone by spoiling the fact that he's Toyman (it's in the cover, for one thing). In his last two appearances before this storyline, Toyman helped Superman save some kids from Sleez and looked genuinely sad to learn about Superman's death, so this is a pretty dramatic change for the character. We'll find out why he went from big softy to child killer in Superman #85 (but don't get your hopes up).

Plotline-Watch:

The most disturbing part of the issue, all things considered, is still the part where Toyman climbs into a giant crib and hugs a huge stuffed bunny. Look at serial killer Tommy Pickles here:

Don Sparrow says: “Even with the upgrade, Toyman is still just a man in a suit, a common complaint about Superman’s rogues gallery.” Funny you should say that, because I JUST shared an old Wizard interview in our Twitter in which Dan Jurgens talks about how Doomsday came out of his frustration with the fact that most Superman villains are dudes in suits (plus other interesting tidbits from the era, like how it was actually Roger Stern’s idea to bring back Hank Henshaw, so check out that link!).

Don again: “The entire Superman storyline of this issue feels like filler. Diving for buried treasure and soaring off to Paris -- it all feels like wasted time next to the Adam storyline.” I have a theory that the entire ship sequence is there as an excuse to put Superman in those big chains and make that Spawn joke (which I didn’t get until now, since I’ve always read this issue in Spanish).

Superman says that pulling that big ship was "a little easier than expected" -- that's either another hint that there's something going on with Superman's powers since he came back, or a subtle dig at the state of American ship manufacturing.

Another adorable "window tap" scene for the books, and this is the sexiest one so far. Is it me or has Jurgens started copying more than just Teri Hatcher's hairdo from Lois & Clark? (For anyone who thinks Lois has gotten implants, I refer you to this clip.)

While in Paris, Lois asks Clark if he's ever wondered what would happen if his rocket had landed in other countries. Don: “Clark’s conversation with Lois sounds like a bunch of concepts for Elseworlds stories. We eventually would see a Russian Superman, and a British Superman, but not yet the French Superman. (Hire us, DC!)” Yep, got my French Superman pitch ready, Jim Lee. Or just let us do Russian Superman again, since Red Son wasn’t even the first time you published that idea.

Don once more: “Another thing that makes no sense about the ‘new’ Toyman is his resentment of technological toys—when in previous appearances he himself had deadly high-tech toys to vex Superman over the years.” I especially resent his hatred of video game consoles. Incidentally, I wonder what types of games are available for Adam’s beloved Lextendo. Star Lex 64? Mega Man Lex? Sonic the Hedgehog 3 & Knuckles & Lex?

No one is more upset at Lois and Clark for going AWOL than Whit. NO ONE. He's so furious that his usually grey mustache turned black.

Patreon-Watch:

As always, shout out to our patrons, Aaron, Murray Qualie, Chris “Ace” Hendrix, britneyspearsatemyshorts, Patrick D. Ryall, Samuel Doran, Bheki Latha, Mark Syp, Ryan Bush and Raphael Fischer! Last month’s exclusive Patreon article was about the recently unearthed sequel to Superman 64 for the PlayStation, featuring Metallo, Parasite, and Lois looking even hotter than in this issue:

Hot damn. Find out more at https://www.patreon.com/superman86to99!

And believe it or not, Don Sparrow has even more to say about this issue. Read his section after the jump:

Art-Watch (by @donsparrow):

I should start off my section with a big caveat: I flat out hate this issue. There were several weird decisions made in the post-Death-and-Return era (most of them along the same lines of making the Superman titles more grim-and-gritty), and this story was one of the worst of them. My theory is that, despite the praise and record-breaking sales of the Death and Return storyline, the Superman creative team felt pressure to have more extreme storylines, perhaps in response to the wildly successful Image books coming out at the time. Between this story, and the upcoming “Spilled Blood” storyline, the Super books take a hard—but temporary--turn into more violent and upsetting storytelling—even though these stories are by the same writers as the previous few years. While death has always been a part of comics, and Superman comics was no exception, there is a jarring glibness and unfeeling toward the way violence is handled in these pages that is quite different from the stories that preceded it. It’s made all the more jarring by the fact that well-established personalities suddenly veer wildly out of character, Toyman chief among them.

We start with the cover, and while it is technically well-drawn (by the familiar team of Jurgens and Breeding) it’s also a very upsetting visual. I think they should have gone with the pieta type pose with Adam and Superman, OR the scary badass bowie-knife Toyman (who apparently has a Cheshire cat smile now) but not both. But the cover is a good hint at the tonal dissonance of the comic within.

We open with a splash of the now-extreme 90s looking Toyman, with his serial killer shaved head and spooky cloak, ignoring the pleas of hungry kids he has locked up in a tiny jail cell for days at a time (if that sentence doesn’t ring alarm bells for how wrong this is for a Superman story, I don’t know what will). For much of the issue Toyman’s eyes are obscured by glare on his lenses, further de-humanizing a character who was once one of Superman’s more empathetic bad guys.

We cut to Superman tugboating a huge tanker with giant chains and it’s a cool visual (one repeated in the Batman V Superman film). It feels especially out of place to focus on, given how upsetting this issue is otherwise, but throughout the whole comic, Lois is drawn smoking hot, especially on the two page spread on pages 9-10.

The scenes depicting the actual murder, while still wildly out of place in a Superman comic, are well done, and give a real sense of darkness and menace, which I suppose is the intent. Perhaps my least favourite visual is the Big Bird stuffie, silently bearing witness to what’s about to occur.

The edges of the panels on get more slashy and off-kilter (to me, looking very much like the layouts more typically seen in Image comics of the day) and I suppose I appreciate the restraint of how little Dan Jurgens shows of the death of a child, showing only a bloody slash on a black background. This is still a pretty baroque image for a Superman comic, but certainly less violent than it could be, given what is happening.

Cat Grant’s silent horror is well staged, and powerful in its way. Lastly, Clark Kent bending in sorrow and regret is a powerful image.

While this issue is handled marginally better, and more maturely than other comics on the shelf at this time, I still believe it is one of the biggest mistakes of the era. Giving a long-established character an unceremonious death for shock value is gross on its own, but making it a child definitely crosses a line for me. Making it worse is that, while the Toyman is a criminal and a killer, he has shown in past issues (a similar kidnapping storyline involving Sleez) that he genuinely cares for the well-being of children. So for a long-time reader, this also felt like a betrayal of a long-established, fully developed character. Adding to the ugliness of this is that Adam dies heroically, trying to free the children who have been caged, unfed, for days, but even in that regard, he fails. The headline at the end of the issue confirms all the children are dead. Adam’s death did not buy the other kids enough time to get away. It was all for nothing. Had Adam died, but the other children lived, maybe this issue wouldn’t leave quite as bad a taste. [Max: It’s weird because it’s all told in a way where it’s told in a way where it would make sense, narratively and within the story universe, that the other kids survived, but then it’s almost casually revealed that nope, they died too. A scene of one of the kids relaying Adam’s heroism to Cat in a future issue would have gone a long way.]

Superman doesn’t come off well in these pages, either. It’s honestly the type of story they should just stay away from, because the more you think about all the calamity that is going on around the clock, the less defensible the whole Clark Kent persona becomes. Superman carving out time to romance his fiancée directly led to the preventable deaths of innocent children—how do you come back from that?

STRAY OBSERVATIONS:

I’m always looking for hints that perhaps Jimmy or Perry know Superman’s secret identity deep down, and Jimmy’s anger at Lois and Clark on their return to the Daily Planet offices would seem to give that theory some credence, as he’s as angry at them as if he knew Clark really were Superman. Either that, or he’s ticked that it fell to him, and none of them to escort Cat into the morgue. [Max: Has this issue finally converted you to the “Jimmy is terrible” side now, Don?]

I don’t think I’m the only one who disliked the new Toyman—SPOILERS BE HERE: years later, in Action Comics #865, Geoff Johns retconned this whole story, reverting Schott into the criminal who over-relates to kids, rather than the child-killer of this story. Apparently the infantile Schott, who speaks to “Mother” a la Norman Bates, is a robot so lifelike it fools even Superman, and the “Mother” he’s constantly replying to was the real Winslow Schott trying to recall the malfunctioning robot. [Max: That’s one Geoff Johns retcon I really didn’t mind, even if it felt kind of derivative of his similar “all the Brainiacs are robots made by the real Brainiac” reveal.]

#superman #dan jurgens #josef rubinstein #toyman #cat grant #adam morgan #dan turpin #whit #gangbusteen #super luthor fighter ii turbo championship edition

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spookyboogie3 · 4 years ago

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The trope Last Minute Hookup shouldn’t be used for LGBTQ+ relationships.

AND DEFENDING MY LAST POST ABOUT THIS.

I DO NOT hate any of these pairings. A good many of them could have been handled differently by the creators, writers, and networks. But this isnt me hating the relationships or characters or shows. Just going off about how they shouldnt have been tacked on at the end of their respective series.

As of writing this all of these shows have ended their original runs. Except for Supernatural which is on its last few episodes. And Supergirl, which announced its coming to end with season 6.

LGBTQ characters and relationships aren’t as common in the media as straight-cis characters and relationships. Sure things are improving but a lot of networks and writers still don’t fully understand why representation is important why they can’t keep using the same throwaway tropes they’ve been using for the straight-cis relationships.

You could name any piece of media and find and name one character that isn’t LGBTQ+, but you can’t do this with LGBTQ+ characters. We haven’t gotten to the point where they are as common as non-LGBTQ characters.

I have a whole paper I wrote on why asexual representation is important to have in the media and the same logic applies to any part of the LGBTQ+ or anything that falls under minority.

Back to the topic on hand. The trope of “Last Minute Hookup.”

Its exactly what it sounds like. Characters get to together at the very end of the story. These characters could have a on and off again relationship, lots of ship teasing, the classic “Will They or Wont They?” trope. What makes it different for non-LGBT characters in relationships to do this, we know what these relationships look like. Not to say the that both Non and LGBT relationship cant have similar struggles, however members of the LGBTQ+ community know how hard it is to feel like your identity and self matters and is normal.

I know that the whole “will they, wont they” thing is done for drama and networks and showrunners think if they give the fans what they want that they’ll start losing viewers and they have nothing to look forward to. Which is true to some degree. But most of this comes from the writers not knowing how to fucking write relationships.

Let’s just focus on whats it like to be in a non-straight relationship.

Heres an example: you have an action series, with 2 male leads and halfway through the show, they get together. Cool. Now you have a Battle Couple.

By making LGBTQ relationships happen at the end of a series that’s already had plenty of other non-LGBTQ relationships happen before it, it makes it look like the people in charge don’t care for it or were afraid of backlash. But it’s the end of the series so its not like they can get the show cancelled or anything. (The only people who are going to lash out at LGBT couple or characters are homophobic people, we don’t want them around any way so just make stuff super gay, so they’ll leave)

This is especially a problem when the writer and network have spent the whole series queerbaiting the audience with these characters.

Side note for anyone is doesn’t actually know what queerbaiting is:

It’s a marketing technique used in entertainment, which the writer or creators hint at but then don’t actually depict sex-same romance or LGBTQ representation. They do this to attract (bait) the LGBT/queer or straight ally audience into the show with the suggestion of representation but at the same time avoiding this as not alienate other audience members *cough* (homophobes) *cough*

Definition is from Wikipedia, not a reliable source says my highschool teachers and college professors but fuck em

The Legend of Korra is a great example of Last-Minute Hookup. Korra and Asami had VERY little ship teasing, and that was in the last 2 books/seasons. Any thing that was perceived as romantic came from the fans wearing shipping goggles. So to a lot of people just casually watching, yes this looked like it came out of nowhere. Nickelodeon had some serious balls to say how brave they were for putting 2 girls into a romantic relationship.

Theres a few problems with this.

A. It never actually aired on TV (to my knowledge). The last 2 seasons of Korra were put on Nicks website.

B. The confirmation that this Korrasami was canon had to come from the creators on twitter because of how unclear it was.

C. The show did the bare minimum when it came to hooking them up in the series. They walk off holding hands (very cute btw). They didn’t even get a kiss. Aang and Katara had a Last Minute Hookup at the end of ATLA after 3 seasons of ship tease and THEY GOT A KISS. Hell the original end of LoK*, has Korra and Mako kissing. *(the first season, they didn’t know they were getting more seasons at the time, no matter what you hear the writers say, they’re full of shit)

D. Anything continuation of Korra has come in the form of comics, which her and Asami are in a fairly well written relationship. Yes, they do kiss. Yes it would’ve been great to see this stuff happen in series.

A show that handles this a little bit better is Adventure Time. Not by much though. It implied several times that Princess Bubblegum and Marceline have history together and its shown more and more in its last few seasons that there is some ship tease happening. However its not until the finale where they kiss, and they are shown in the last minute of the show cuddling together in Marcy’s house. HBO has picked up Adventure Time and has a miniseries called Adventure Time: Distant Lands, where Bubblegum and Marceline’s past relationship is shown.

I had brought up in my original post about being upset with networks making LGBTQ+ relationships canon in the last season/episode. I originally had Catradora tagged. While Catra and Adora have history together, they did not become official couple until the end of the series.

Yes, I was wrong about the network making things canon in the last episode as they’ve always had ship tease with each other, and it probably was the writers’ intent to put them together by the end. They do technically fall under the Last-Minute Hookup, however.

I wanna talk about Once Upon a Time really quick. Fans of the show were hoping and wishing for an LGBTQ couple for the show as a lot of characters, especially Regina and Emma, have alot Ho Yay moments. The showrunners weren’t going to put those two together, for whatever reasons they may have for that (im indifferent on all the shipping going on with this show). The showrunners thought to put two characters together, and hoo boy did it not make people happy. The characters they put together are Dorothy from the Wizard of Oz and Ruby the red riding hood, which would be fine if they had properly been developed.

The entire episode they did this in was a mess. They stopped the current arc during the season 5 episode ‘Ruby Slippers,’ to go over the characters that haven’t been seen in years, Dorothy was introduced and last seen in season 3, and Ruby was introduced in season 1 and was last seen in season 5 before ‘Ruby Slippers’. The characters get together in the same episode the meet in and are never seen again. The characters barely interacted, barely got along, and showed little to no ship tease or interest in each other and BOOM they are in love and together aaaaaannnnndd they’re gone. Other than having One Million Moms, a Christian fundamentalist organization, protest against the show and want it taken off the air (yes this really happened). The fans weren’t please with this development of the characters either.

(also Mulan was right there and already knew Ruby from a previous episode, and Mulan already is established to like girls as shown by her being in love with Aurora. Don’t know why the writers didn’t just put these 2 together but whatever I guess)

So they tried again in season 7 with MadArcher. The characters of Alice, a version of Alice in Wonderland from another realm (its complicated) and Robin, the daughter of Robin Hood and the Wicked Witch (it’s also complicated). And the writers did a lot better here. Both characters were allowed to have time together and have a history together too and it was done over the whole season. Not just one episode.

Now even though the writers decided to do something different with the last season and it could be detached from the previous 6 seasons, MadArcher is not really a Last Minute Hookup per say but still falls under my thing about it being the last season so who gives a fuck if One Million Moms gets mad us and tries to get us cancelled again.

I would like to say I have never watched a single episode of Supernatural in my life. I may one day. But as of right now my knowledge of it is coming primary from what ive seen on tumblr. You know a great source for doing research and looking for reliable information among the piles of shitposting.

From what I know from fans, the writers of Supernatural have been queer baiting for years. I mean it’s the CW, I’m not that surprised. What also wouldn’t surprise me, that by the end of the series Castiel is back and he and Dean actually start and relationship or strongly hint at starting one. I actually fear for the writer lives if they threw out a confession scene after years of queerbaiting and potential ship tease (debatable) and they don’t put them together. Fans are going to be angrier than they probably ever have been with this show and the showrunners and writers really would be known for queer baiting.

From what I know about how previous shows have done and if anyone that has ever worked on this show wants to continue living, Castiel will be back from Super Hell (is that what yall are calling it?) and he will get together with Dean. And they will fall under the Last-Minute Hookup trope and my networks make LGBTQ relationships canon last season.

One last show I want to talk about is Supergirl, which in has been recently announced that the 6th season will be the last. The show started on CBS but moved to the CW after the end of season 1. So more CW bullshit. There is no confirmation about whether the CW or any of the Supergirl writers are planning to do this, its all speculation. Supergirl is more LGBTQ friendly than some other shows on the Network. One of the main characters came out a few years ago and had a girlfriend a season and has had plenty of hookups with other ladies around the Arrowverse. They even introduced a trans-woman superhero in the form of Dreamer.

Let’s talk SuperCorp. Lena Luthor was introduced in the 2nd season and has been a major character in Kara’s life ever since her introduction. Even if she isn’t involved in the plot, Kara always goes to her to talk and check in on her and worry about her. They are best friends. Since the 2 have met, there has been plenty of Les Yay going on. The writers seem to be aware of the fans wanting SuperCorp to be canon and they keep throwing in moments like Kara and Lena struggling together or Kara carrying Lena bridal style.

Why I bring this up after the announcement of Supergirl’s final season to start next year. We may get SuperCorp. Kara has a relationship with William in the show and not a single person likes this relationship. The writers may scrap it and get put Kara and Lena together for the final season. This is a big maybe though. The Supergirl writers and crew get called out a lot for queerbaiting.

Let me know if you guys have any other examples of last season/last episode LGBTQ+ hookup.

And please let me know if you see any mistakes. This was all done in one sitting so I may have some things wrong.

Also check out the video by @aretheygayvideos on this topic too.

youtube

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cheri-translates · 4 years ago

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[CN] 100 Days - Victor (Day 51 - 100)

🍒 Warning: This post contains detailed spoilers for e-mails which have not been released in English servers! 🍒

What’s the 100 Days Companionship Event?

Day 1 - 3: here

Day 4 - 30: here

Day 31 - 50: here

Day 51

Tonight, we’ll watch that musical you like. Don’t be late, and dress formally.

Day 52

I’ve seen your report. Its contents aren’t comparable to the supper takeout list from last night. Redo it.

Day 53

A pink apron? You think it suits me?

Day 54

Today, let’s visit that Internet cafe you mentioned - to take a look at what you’ve been pining after.

Day 55

The equestrian facility we went to before has recently opened again. If you’re interested, we can have a look together.

Day 56

There isn’t as disparate a connection between dreams and reality as you think. Dreaming about lions means that you shouldn’t watch animal documentaries before sleeping.

Day 57

It’s okay to use my voice as an alarm clock. But why did you set five of them?

Day 58

I saw you coughing a little during the meeting yesterday. The difference in temperature between day and night has been very large lately. If you have time, come over and have some snow pear soup.

Day 59

The black cat brooch you were wearing isn’t bad. It’s much more suitable than those incomprehensible sports shoes you’re wearing.

Day 60

You’ve been doing well recently. Do you have any plans over the weekend? Or should I plan them?

Day 61

The look you have when you crinkle your eyes to eat pudding - it’s even more Pudding than Pudding.

Day 62

The dogwood perfume sachet is already on the table. The chrysanthemum liquor needs a few more hours. There’s no need to be so impatient.

Day 63

The next time you can’t sleep, there’s no need to leave so many messages of you talking to yourself. Just call me directly.

Day 64

In this weather, don’t even think of having a cold beverage. Pick a hot beverage you want to drink, and I’ll make it for you.

Day 65

You concluded that the reason for your hair loss was work. So staying up late to use your phone is not to blame?

Day 66

If you want to eat something, just say it directly. There’s no need to post hints like “When the weather is cold, one should eat cream stew” on Moments.

Day 67

There are only two more months left to the year. Looks like the proposals you haven’t finished will be delayed till next year.

Day 68 (Halloween)

Title: Masquerade

If you want me to participate in the masquerade with you, just say so directly. There’s no need to beat around the bush. I’ve already received the entrance tickets, and will pick you up tonight.

Day 69

You were clamouring about playing the part of a Rose Witch, but you’ve become a Caught-a-Cold Witch today.

Day 70

The hoarser your voice, the more it expresses want. You have a lot of such worrying habits.

Day 71

It’s not that time doesn’t want to wait for you, but you spend too much time on useless hobbies.

Day 72

Managing your emotions is to allow yourself to mediate your emotions smoothly, not for you to hold everything in, dummy.

Day 73

That winter mountain villa you’ve been hinting at for a long time has started business. There are some themed suites - pick one.

Day 74

Someone usually doesn’t have a large appetite, but when it comes to her favourite foods, she always leaves me awed.

Day 75

Like many other things, there’s a limit to drinking. Being slightly tipsy is best. Don’t get drunk, especially if it’s you.

Day 76

There was a cat sleeping in the claw machine in the market. Even after getting the staff to open the claw machine, it still didn’t wake up. It’s just as nitwitted as you are.

Day 77

Not going to your own place, and even taking up other people’s territory… Looks like Pudding learnt it from you.

Day 78

Don’t buy too many useless items because you’re tempted. Just because there are many discounted items doesn’t mean you need them.

Day 79 (Single’s Day)

If I receive another meaningless message from you such as “Help me slash the price”, the thing that will be slashed could be the funds for your next program.

Day 80

If you have time to reminisce the past, why don’t we do the things you find worth remembering together once more?

Day 81

Refreshing the notifications for your deliveries a hundred times each day won’t make them arrive earlier. But the scheduled sumptuous meal can be brought forward by an hour.

Day 82

I don’t do meaningless hypothesis. If I had never met you? I won’t allow for such ‘if’s to happen..

Day 83

Things that I have decided upon have some leeway of changing. It depends on what you have that is worth exchanging it with.

Day 84

Chanced on the photograph you took with Pudding. Both the person and the cat haven’t changed much. It’s pretty good.

Day 85

Instead of imagining how we’d be like next year, why not spare some time to write a Year 2021 work plan to turn your ideal into reality.

Day 86

You weren’t around when I passed by your office yesterday. But the mess on your office desk surpassed my imagination.

Day 87

The coffee beans you felt were pretty good in terms of taste the last time - I’ve asked someone to bring some back again. Remember to collect it tonight.

Day 88

There’s a new special product in Souvenir today. Are you sure you’re going to keep saying that you haven’t had an appetite these two days?

Day 89

All I did was pinch the nape of your neck. Why are you staring at me like Pudding?

Day 90

It’s the first time I realised that reading comics during working hours can also be termed “gathering source material”. So is chatting with me termed “discussing a collaborative project?”

Day 91

A certain person has been signing in at increasingly later times. The closer one is to the end, the more one can’t slack off.

Day 92

Someone who has only won “one free bottle” a few times is always thinking of trying the lottery - truly indulging in the wildest fantasies.

Day 93

…I just mentioned it yesterday and you’ve won the fifth prize today. It’s truly a dummy’s luck.

Day 94

I might have believed your nonsense of being able to find inspiration while lying down, had you not fallen asleep on the sofa last night.

Day 95

If you have time to write a lengthy plan, why not put the plan to action immediately?

Day 96

Sometimes, I’d take a look at previous sign-ins and recollect the things a dummy has done.

Day 97

You’re usually too tired to even move after exercising for a while. Yet, you run faster than anyone else when collecting take-out.

Day 98

Every one of your so-called surprises tests a person’s psychological tolerance.

Day 99

There’s no need feel troubled that the signing in is about to end. As long as you want to, I can continue this childish game with you.

Day 100

It’s the last day. The next round of company doesn’t require signing in. I’ll always be here.

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aion-rsa · 3 years ago

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The He-Man Movie You Never Saw Would Have Been Like a Buddy Comedy

https://ift.tt/36Saz15

While Masters of the Universe: Revelation reignites Mattel’s toy-spawning fantasy franchise, the Kevin Smith-conceived Netflix animated series arrives in the recent wake of an ill-fated film project. Indeed, Sony/Columbia settled on up-and-coming directors Aaron Nee and Adam Nee to conjure new live-action exploits of He-Man in the land of Eternia, which progressed to pre-production and cast Noah Centineo in the starring role before the pandemic put an end to the endeavor. Interestingly, David S. Goyer, who wrote an early draft of the Masters of the Universe screenplay, reveals what would have been a rather unique dynamic at its center.

Contrasting with the potentially-controversial protagonist direction hinted in early reviews for Revelation, the driving concept for the long-planned Masters of the Universe live-action movie was to focus on the friendship between He-Man and his loyal giant green, orange-striped tiger steed, Battle Cat, as Goyer reveals to THR. Of course, most of the franchise’s various iterations present the narrative notion that Eternia’s sleepy slacker royal prince, Adam, secretly transforms into “the most powerful man in the universe” when he imbues himself with mystical energy from the Sword of Power, after which he directs said energy toward his cowardly talking pet tiger, Cringer, transforming him into the hero’s ferocious loyal steed, Battle Cat. However, Goyer reveals that—during his tenure with the script—the film would have broken precedence by putting a comically dysfunctional twist on the traditional hero/steed relationship.

“I legitimately liked the script that we did,” says Goyer. “We were going to do it as a feature at Sony. What I liked the most about it was that it was mostly about a friendship between He-Man and Battle Cat. The idea was there had always been He-Men and different recipients of the Sword of Power and that Battle Cat had always served at their side. And this was a new He-Man that Battle Cat and many people didn’t think was worthy of the sword.”

Contextually, while mainstream representations like 1983-1985 animated series He-Man and the Masters of the Universe and the 1987 Dolph Lundgren-starring Masters of the Universe movie mostly stuck to superficial backstories, the franchise’s deeper mythos—once canonically-inconsistent across the decades in its multimedia forms—has started to uniformly embrace the idea that Adam himself is merely the latest recipient of the mystical Sword of Power, which several generations earlier, was wielded by his ancestor and ancient castle namesake, King Grayskull, after which the sword—and the sublime power it yields—was passed down to various other “He-Men.” Indeed, even Revelation’s trailer showcases King Grayskull, implying continued adherence to the hand-me-down dynamic, and the possibility for time-travel-facilitated team-ups with previous versions of Eternia’s hero. Likewise, the concept was integral to Goyer’s screenplay, since Adam’s newfound role as He-Man would have come attached with an intimidating, seemingly-unattainable legacy, of which this wryer, more-critical version of Battle Cat seems acutely aware. Thus, Adam’s arc as an upstart hero would have hinged on earning the ornery Battle Cat’s stamp of approval, yielding buddy comedy style interactions.

Masters of the Universe: Revelation – Kevin Smith Brings Ultimate He-Man Story to Netflix

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“So, it was a story of the character earning the sword, but, more importantly, earning the friendship of Battle Cat, who just thought this guy [Prince Adam] was a lightweight,” explains Goyer. “I really liked it. I thought it was a fun story. There was a lot of humor in it and it creeps up on you because Battle Cat sort of grudgingly accepts him, and it’s Battle Cat’s acceptance of He-Man that gave this version of the story heart.” Goyer’s comments seem to shed light on the reasoning behind the eventual casting of Noah Centineo (pictured just below), who—hardly the WWE-level jacked giant one would envision for the role—seemed set to convey Adam’s getting-by-on-good-looks slacker personality, having come from the realm of teen comedies, notably from his role as Peter in 2018 Netflix rom-com To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before and its two sequels. Thus, it not only would have been interesting to see how a fully-transformed He-Man himself would have manifested in this live-action attempt, but how Battle Cat could have served as his shade-throwing foil.

Alex Israel

Unfortunately, fate would not favor this particular Masters of the Universe live-action reboot project, which saw several attempts—notably the Lord of the Rings/Game of Thrones-influenced version under director Jeff Wadlow. Those years saw several hints about the movie in the form of early versions of its logo and various social media-teased concept art designs, which revealed a motif that—perhaps in response to Marvel’s 2014 success with Guardians of the Galaxy—leaned into the space-esque sci-fi technology side of the franchise’s traditional amalgam with savagery and sorcery. Moreover, back in 2015, one of the project’s more enthusiastic early proponents, producer DeVon Franklin, tweeted a concept image of what the Battle Cat in question might have looked like—albeit as a CGI creation—in this particular live-action milieu. Yet, despite years of hype and even a projected, never-realized March 2021 release date, the project came to an ignominiously anti-climactic coda, notably affirmed this past April after Centineo reportedly exited the role from the COVID-stopped production.

@danmillerNY @TheOneHansen @Guardians I totally agree!!! pic.twitter.com/6g6W18D9J7

— DeVon Franklin (@DeVonFranklin) March 3, 2015

Regardless, Goyer, having made a monumental mark on the industry with The Dark Knight Trilogy amongst other heavy hitters, isn’t thinking about He-Man and Battle Cat these days, since his hands are currently tied with two lofty tasks as the credited creator of Netflix’s developing television adaptation of Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman and, more imminently, the Apple TV+ television adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s sprawling novel franchise, Foundation. However, Masters of the Universe, while still generally associated with ‘80s pop culture, has managed to exist in the periphery across the ensuing decades. Oddly enough, we’re living in a time in which the franchise permeates (not even counting Netflix’s recent animated series centered on He-Man’s estranged twin sister, She-Ra,) with two major animated series (one of which is a developing CGI series,) and several current toy lines, two of which are sold at retail stores worldwide. Thusly, Revelation could prove to be the iteration that truly brings it back to the forefront, perhaps leading to another live-action attempt—maybe by Goyer again.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

In the meantime, Masters of the Universe: Revelation will release the first part of its inaugural season on Netflix on Friday, July 23.

The post The He-Man Movie You Never Saw Would Have Been Like a Buddy Comedy appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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dawniebb · 4 years ago

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You thought this was over but it isn’t lol

Y’all thought @healing-winston-pratt and I were over but no :) and this is my turn to take the wheel again so hello :3

@novadreamer95438 Yo wanted to be tagged so here you go, we’re thrilled to have you here <3

And also @novas-tunnel-of-anxiety you also asked me to be tagged in my stuff so there you go, hon <3

Before you read this new list, you might want to check our previous content about this canon divergence:

Winston and Dawnie’s guide to ignore the canon (Tumblr hates me and won’t show the link so here we go https://dawniebb.tumblr.com/post/624197118868013056/canon-is-an-illusion)

Nova trying to find Callum while refusing to acknowledge she’s in pain

Winston is alive but life sucks (Fic edition)

Same as above but it’s a comic so it hurts more

Callum wakes up from a very violent c-section (Comic)

Thing is

We have a whole AU (well, it’s more likely just canon divergence) so let’s see how things turn out for Narcissa and Leroy uwu

You thought we forgot Leroy but we didn’t lmao and Danna needs a wife so here we goooo

So, as we already know, Narcissa is the one who put The Rejects together, and she promised them a new life.

She basically doomed herself

yikes :)

So, obviously, she now has to help them leave Gatlon. And we figured that, then, that would mean Leroy and her would travel together.

The Rejects leave through the catacombs; they probably stole some cars once they were outside the dome in order to leave the city.

Cut to Narcissa taking the passenger’s seat in Leroy’s yellow car because we say so.

The Rejects drive together until they feel the wave that drains their powers, and they have to stop to panic because they have no damn clue on what is happening.

Then the Supernova happens and they have their powers back so… They go back to their runaway before anything else happens.

They arrive to the nearest city in around four hours and stop to get supplies, but Narcissa keeps staring back at where Gatlon is supposed to be.

And Leroy tells her that, if there’s a chance Nova outsmarted Ace (and he knows his daughter her so he has faith), he’s taking the risk to going back to Gatlon.

He subtly suggests she can come too, but she says she’s still in debt with the Rejects.

But is she, though?

She has already taken them out of Gatlon and honestly, we don’t think they’ll stick together as a new gang or something.

They’re probably going to split out and take their own ways and Millie tells her so, and that’s how the two of them find themselves driving back to Gatlon like champions.

So then they enter back into Gatlon, empowered, like Dawnie when she failed Math and still went to watch Moana.

And Narcissa, bc she’s a good person and has common sense, asks Leroy if there’s anything she can do for him bc he’s a war criminal who can’t go outside that much hee hee and the one thing Leroy asks is for her to tell him where he can find Nova.

Narcissa does it, as it’s easier for her to move through the city without getting arrested af. She tells Leroy Nova is at the hospital with Winston, so Leroy waits until they’re both released to find a way to see Nova.

And he finds it. We don’t know if any of you have watched Kipo :’) (YOU SHOULD BTW BC IT’S THE BOMB) but Leroy basically pulls a Lio and leaves traces/hints for Nova to find him. Like, very specific things only she could understand bc, even if she didn’t have powers, she would still be considered a prodigy child lmao kiddo was playing with syringes without getting them in her eyes when she was 6.

Leroy waits….very patiently, btw, for a couple of days (3-4 days?) until one night he sees a tiny af silhouette walking around the place like a cat and he just knows is her.

And she is, indeed.

So when she gets closer, she hugs him. It’s a very uncomfortable hug bc Leroy is not used to touch people, and Nova isn’t either. But yeah, they have a moment :)

They talk for a while, and when Leroy asks her how she’s doing, as in where she’s living, where she’s getting money from and stuff like that, she answers that she recently rented an apartment where she’s living with Winston because he’s recovering and it’s not like Nova will be willing to leave him alone knowing he was one of the people that raised her and showed her actual love :v

Leroy starts reconsidering his plan to remain hidden once he’s made sure Nova has it together lmao.

ofc he doesn’t tell her this, and after promising (indirectly) everything will be alright and that this might not be the last time they talk, they just go into their separates ways.

Until Simon calls Nova later that night telling her Leroy is at the HQs, surrendering lmao.

And so she goes there to ask him wtf is he doing, and Leroy might not directly tell her this, but he has nothing left to lose. And if he leaves, the only thing he’ll do is separate himself from Nova, who is like...the only family he has left.

So he wants to surrender because, that way, at least, he has a chance to get a sentence that might allow him get out of jail before he dies.

Might.

The thing is that, well, we know the Renegades caused Nova to go through a lot of awful stuff. And we suppose they know that too :v so, what they do while both Nova and Leroy are in the room, is that they get to an agreement.

Like, they don’t tell them the sentence in that VERY moment, but they do talk about how Leroy was always a very...neutral entity and barely anything he did was illegal :V ...besides being an accomplice ofc

Even so, Nova is hesitant about this whole thing, but Leroy is an adult and she can’t tell him what to do, so he agrees to go into trial :v

Given the fact that he didn’t have that many aggravating crimes and, in the end, he DID switch sides in the Second Battle for Gatlon, he’s sentenced to one year in prison and community service.

What we’re trying to say is that the Council basically pulled a Cinder and spared Leroy bc he helped win the battle.

Before going to prison, Leroy reveals to Nova that, in the end, he did keep a little Agent N as a last resource (just in case, y’ know), and gives it to her. Not to use it on herself, but to use it on Winston, who is evidently miserable with his powers back :’).

So Nova does, WHICH MEANS IN THIS CANON WINSTON HAS NO POWERS. EVERYTHING GOOD. OK?

And that was the last sample of Agent N, since the rest (whatever back up the Renegades could have had in labs) was destroyed when Ace lifted the city and there is no way to replicate it without Max’s gifted blood.

Perhaps the formula and data were also destroyed.

During the year Leroy is locked, the Council (mostly Simon and Hugh) provide Winston and Nova with stuff they need to live lmao. Like, a small house :) bc they can :)

Once Leroy is out, he starts living with them. Like a family. Bc we say so :)

As for Narcissa, once she’s back at Gatlon, she stays with Danna for a while (omg there was only one bed) before getting a job in a library, y’know :) and moving to an apartment.

Now, Nova DOES forgive the Renegades. Because, honestly, guys, a big part of the hatred she showed towards them was bc they promised they would come and then they didn’t.

But turns out they did lmao.

During the Battle, Nova learned that Georgia Rawles died on her way to save her family.

AND IDC WHAT ANYONE SAYS, DYING WASN’T GEORGIA’S FAULT :’)

But anyway, this leads Nova to kinda… consider getting along with the Renegades, because in the end they DID try. Like, she forgives all of the “Bc you promised you would save me” stuff, but she remains firm on the fact that their system can suck it bc it’s horrible

So said system changes for good, and Nova herself helps the Council establish more laws in order to make this less of a dictatorship lol.

She even pressures them into making the recruitment process more moderated; now, before attending the trials, aspirants must go through an interview that is, basically, like a job interview to make sure they’re qualified to have a position as important as a Renegade (y’know, Nova wants the Council to s t o p hiring people like Team Frostbitch) and if they don’t pass that interview, they can’t go to the trials; they also have to go through a training process even AFTER they’ve been chosen by a team.

We could talk about all the legal reforms we like to think they made more in depth, but for now, our job here is done :)

*Insert happy ending*

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mobius-prime · 4 years ago

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269. Sonic Universe #2

The Shadow Saga (Part 2 of 4): Time & Again

Writer: Ian Flynn Pencils: Tracy Yardley! Colors: Jason Jensen

So, do you remember how way back when we got the single-issue incomplete "adaption" of Sonic Adventure 2, I mentioned that the events of the incident would be clarified by Ian Flynn in a later issue? Well, this is the one! Interspersed within the events of the modern story are flashbacks to what happened during Sonic Adventure 2, heavily modified to fit within the comic's world. However, I've elected to tackle the modern half of the story first, and explore Sonic Adventure 2 afterward, mostly because though Ian seems to be trying to draw parallels between the latter story and the former, they don't really… work all that well, nowhere near the level that they did in the first arc of KtE anyway.

The modern story opens with Shadow approaching the Freedom Fighters' camp not far from the Eggdome in the middle of the night, waking Sonic up to invite him along to a little bonus mission.

I mean, while I can understand wanting to invite Sonic on a mission against Eggman, 1. he's already on one, and 2. you'd think Shadow would realize he'd need some sleep before the final battle against his arch-nemesis. What, you can't handle this alone, Shadow? Well, as it turns out he's not actually alone, as Sonic reaches the rendezvous point first (zooming off ahead of Shadow, of course), and finds Rouge waiting for him. Apparently, Eggman's been working on a sneaky plan to turn a telescope in the city into a massive laser capable of wiping the Freedom Fighters' little camp off the map, shield or no… as well as half of the rest of the city. Sonic thinks this is overkill even for someone like Eggman, but as Shadow catches up he explains that GUN doesn't quite think so.

To be fair, Sonic, you haven't been seeing the behind-the-scenes insane ramblings of his that Snively's been subject to recently. They break into the laser control room, and Sonic and Shadow deal with the smaller security lasers while Rouge hacks into the control system, trying to disable the thing. The cannon is already moving into position to fire, and worse still, the console then fries itself, Rouge having accidentally triggered a self-destruct command. Sonic and Shadow try to destroy the cannon directly, but no amount of spindashing or Chaos Spear-ing will pierce its armor, so Rouge suggests going for the bolts holding it in place, hoping it might throw off the shot.

Brilliant job, guys! Shadow, seeing no other choice, removes his inhibitor rings and climbs onto the top of the cannon just as it begins to fire. He uses all of his power to force the shot to misfire outwards instead of straight ahead, wrecking the barrel but saving the Freedom Fighters. This is really the only place where the parallels Ian tries to draw make sense, as then we see a flashback of him using his power a year ago to force the ARK back into orbit, and subsequently falling back into the atmosphere.

Aww, look at 'em! As the sun begins to rise, the three walk back towards the camp, and Sonic asks if they want in on the invasion. Shadow refuses, saying that he believes this is Sonic's fight considering how long he's been fighting against Eggman. As Sonic leaves, Rouge smirks at Shadow, and remarks on how far their relationship has come from before. Shadow, of course, has to defend his ego and insists he merely respects Sonic, to which Rouge teases him even more about how of course he can't admit he's made a friend.

Now, time to take a look at what their relationship used to be like, in the very-condensed Adaption 2.0 of Sonic Adventure 2! Instead of following exactly how it's portrayed in this issue, I'm just going to explain how exactly everything went down starting from the beginning, relying on context clues from this issue and previous ones. In case you've forgotten, during the events of the incident, both Tails and Knuckles were otherwise occupied, Amy was chilling in Mercia with Rob, and basically no one was even aware of where Sonic was at the time, as he was apprehended while sneaking back into Knothole while he was still supposed to be confined there. StH#98 covered what happened leading up to his arrest and subsequent breakout, but naturally, after the GUN truck chase he was rearrested and taken to Prison Island. Meanwhile, of course, Shadow had been released from his pod by Eggman, stolen a Chaos Emerald from Station Square, and presumably explained how the ARK's Eclipse Cannon worked to Eggman. Like in the game, Rouge also showed up at this point to offer her support in procuring more Chaos Emeralds - though as you might remember, at this point in the comic's history the emeralds still hadn't been combined into their distinct seven forms yet, so the Eclipse Cannon only required seven random emeralds to fire. Conspicuously missing is the entire plot point about Rouge stealing the Master Emerald from Knuckles, and the both of them subsequently searching for its shattered remnants all over the world, but if we're being quite honest the entire story still makes perfect sense without Knuckles and the Master Emerald, which I suppose is lucky for Ian trying to make sense out of all of this.

The point at which this issue actually starts recapping prior events begins on Prison Island after Sonic had broken out of prison once again - without the help of Amy or anyone else, mind you, since once again, they were all elsewhere at time. Really, this version of events is so stripped-down precisely because half of the game cast is missing, which is why the events of the game were able to fit into a single day despite several days passing in the game itself. Sonic and Shadow had their famous "faker" exchange in the forest and began fighting each other, with Rouge's voice coming over Shadow's communicator and informing them she'd found the remaining six Chaos Emeralds they'd need. At that point, Eggman reminded Shadow the whole island was about to blow, and at the same time Rouge called for help as she'd found herself stuck inside the vault. When Sonic heard Eggman tell Shadow to leave her and that they'd come back later to "dig the emeralds out of the ashes," he was outraged and offered Shadow a truce so they could rescue Rouge together. Shadow accepted, and they raced back to the facility as the timer counted down, with Shadow Chaos Control-ing them off the island and into the desert just before the place exploded.

See, while I understand where Ian is going with this, I really don't like his rewrite of Shadow's motivations here. For those not familiar, in the game, Shadow makes the decision to go back for Rouge entirely on his own, because the thought of her dying alone in the facility made him flash back to Maria's death. Later on, when she tries to talk to him about how he saved her, he avoids her questions, giving a similar excuse to this one, but with it being pretty obvious that that's not the case, as he hasn't stopped thinking about Maria since the mission. Here, Ian makes it seem like Shadow actually didn't care and indeed was only after the Chaos Emeralds, and he only went to the trouble of rescuing her thanks to Sonic's suggestion. However, I understand why this was kind of necessary - with his main allies elsewhere, Sonic needed someone to ally with for the next part of the plot. He ended up teaming up with Rouge, who was quite offended at Shadow's attitude, to break into the pyramid containing Eggman's base, and she piloted the space shuttle within up to the ARK. As I've pointed out before, at no point in the comic is it even slightly hinted that Eggman broke the moon in half as he does in the game - the only indication we have of such an event would be in StH#197, when Sonic recognizes Mobius from orbit by its half-destroyed moon, but in all fairness, the issue doesn't actually state the reason why the moon is broken. Remember, it's canon that Mobius has one hundred moons - that wasn't even retconned! Ian just made up a story behind it and put it in the Complete Sonic Comic Encyclopedia afterwards, but with one hundred whole-ass moons, it's entirely probable that at least one got bodied at some point in the planet's history, and Sonic just happened to recognize that particular one as he was reentering the planet's atmosphere. But anyway, once Sonic and Rouge made it up to the ARK, Sonic and Shadow quickly got into a fight on the catwalks outside the station, presumably while Eggman slotted the emeralds into their positions in the cannon.

*sigh* One of the biggest problems I have with the preboot is its handling of Shadow's entire story. I don't think Shadow ever got an actual chance to shine from his initial appearance until StH#171, when he had his whole "This is who I am" moment after exploring Gerald's digital diary. Everything about him, his entire backstory, was horribly neglected compared to his actually very rich and deep character arc from the games. This, above, is exactly what I'm talking about. In the game, it's implied that Shadow actually wins his final fight against Sonic (though Sonic obviously doesn't die from it), and then once the Eclipse Cannon is up and running, he moves into one of the ARK's observation rooms to quietly reflect on the past and watch the station crash into the planet. He doesn't snap out of it until Amy enters the room and her subsequent words trigger a flashback of Maria's real final wish. Furthermore, he's the only person in the cast who doesn't actually see the video of Gerald's execution or read his final diary entry. In other words, in the game, he comes back to his right mind organically, by remembering what his purpose is, while in the comic he apparently just got to watch a video telling him outright why he's wrong without him actually having to do the thinking that brings him back to reality. Seeing as Shadow is my favorite character in the entire franchise, this brushing-aside of one of the most important moments in his character arc irks me a little. But then again, I will still acknowledge that Ian wasn't really left a lot to work with here, and if anything the fault lies more with Karl Bollers and Kenders carelessly brushing past Sonic Adventure 2 in favor of their ongoing story about Robotropolis getting nuked or whatever.

Anyway, in the end, Shadow and Sonic went to the ARK's internal chamber that housed the Biolizard, and when it fused with the ARK to bring it crashing down to earth anyway, he and Sonic went Super and defeated it out in space, just like in the game. The game actually doesn't give a very clear reason why Shadow fell from orbit while Sonic was fine, but in the comic, it's shown that the act of teleporting the ARK back into orbit exhausted all his energy, resulting in the loss of his Super form early. As one of the above images shows, Sonic actually reached for him but was unable to catch him in time, hence his remark of not wanting to go through that again (even though realistically a fall from a five-story cannon is hardly going to do the same damage to Shadow as a fall from orbit). And that's it! As I said, the comic's adaption is incredibly stripped-down from the events of the game, but with so much of the cast missing, it kind of had to be. While I don't agree with all of Ian's decisions on how to adapt the circumstances while still retaining the basic gist of the story, I understand his ultimate conclusions, and in the end, they do work pretty well given how different the history of the world is in the comics versus the game. And despite Shadow not having a clear history with Rouge in the comics as he does in the games, Ian's finally saw fit to bring them together as a team in this issue, and they remain as such for the rest of the comic, including through the reboot.

But - hey, speaking of which, remember another adaption that was missing a few key plot points? Say… the first Sonic Adventure? Remember how the conclusion of Gamma's entire character arc was totally forgotten about and ignored? That would seem to imply that he's still out there somewhere… I wonder what he's up to nowadays. And for that matter, with the entirety of Sonic Heroes missing from the comics' timeline, where the heck is Omega in all this? Does he even exist? Gee, I wonder if we'll ever get to see these two important robot characters in the comic - like, say, next issue?

#nala reads archie sonic preboot #archie sonic #archie sonic preboot #sonic the hedgehog #su 2 #writer: ian flynn #pencils: tracy yardley #colors: jason jensen

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cinderella1181 · 5 years ago

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Battle Cries Chapter 1

TITLE: Battle Cries

CHAPTER NUMBER: Chapter 1 /?

AUTHOR: Cinderella1181

WHICH Henry/CHARACTER: AU Henry Cavill /Juniper Denholm

GENRE: Romance/Comedy

Previous Chapter: Prologue

FIC SUMMARY: Henry Cavill is the fourth son of the Lord and Lady of St. Helier. He is also now 37 still living at home and has no plans to move out. His father, recently retired, is forcing Henry to live on his own. Set up nicely, by his parents Henry has to find his place in the world and find real love for the first time with a girl he didn’t necessarily think he would even like.

RATING: M (sex, language)

WARNINGS: So lets just say there is a blanket warning for language in this.....

AUTHORS NOTES: Thank you all so much for making my return so awesome! I am so glad to be here and am really feeling this. Leave me the love, I am a comment and reblog whore.

Six Months Later

The bells tinkled over the door of the comic book shop. “Welcome in,” Henry called, hunched over the latest figure that he was painting. “Let me just…”

“You know I don’t pay you to paint WoW figures on the clock,” a voice said, a hint of sarcasm in his tone.

“You’re right, you don’t pay me. Remember? I work here basically for my pull list and first shot at new collectables,” Henry replied, not even looking up from what he was doing. “And I will have you know, this is a War Hammer figure, not a World of Warcraft one. And you own a comic book store.”

“Hen, the fact of the matter is, someone could come in here and steal precious merchandise,” the voice countered.

“Kal, show him why not…” Henry said quietly.

Kal got up and trotted around, jumping on the dark haired man. He laughed. “Okay, fine, I get it. Security system and all.”

Henry looked up at Joey as he scratched the dog, who in turn was trying to lick his face. “Kal lets no person he does not know go without knowing who he is. You know that,” Henry replied. “You’re late, too.”

“Again, my store.” Joey replied and headed further in. “I can be late if I want to be and, besides, Madeleine had her friend over, and they were having me paint bloody signs all morning.” He walked to the back of Dandy Lion Comics to lay his things down. “They are going to some feminist rally or some sort. I don’t know. I tuned out when they started talking about the vagina hats.”

Henry looked at him and shook his head. “Did they put them on?”

“I don’t know, I finally got away,” Joey said, coming to sit on the stool next to him. With Henry sitting on the chair and Joey on the stool they were almost the same height. He shook his head. “I love her, so much, so very much, but if I ever agree to date a feminist again…”

Henry laughed. “Let’s be real, you’ll never be in another relationship. She has you wrapped around her little finger and you know it.”

Joey put his hand on his friend's shoulder. “You know it.” He sighed. “Okay, go take your giant dog with you. I will see you tomorrow night for D and D, right?”

Henry began to clean up his mess and nodded. “You will. Since it’s at my house this month. Please tell me you did not invite Duncan.”

“You know I had to. But I think I made it seem very un-fun.” Joey grinned. “So maybe he won’t clog your loo again?”

Henry put all of the parts away and stood up to his full height. “I hope not. It cost a ridiculous amount of money to get the loo fixed.” He shook his head. “I’ll see you later, man.” He headed towards the front door. “Send my love to Madeleine.”

“I will,” Joey said.

Henry clipped the end of Kal’s leash to his harness and started out the door, walking down the block toward his house.

Henry had spent the last six months learning to live on his own. He had hated every moment of it in the beginning. He hated being alone and not knowing anyone. He had drowned his sorrows in the pub most nights. After a month, the singer from the pub band came up to him, threw an arm around him and told him he was going to be his friend because seeing him sit in the same corner night after night was depressing the fuck out of him.

Little did he know, two days later he would be walking into the comic book shop with him and creating his pull list. Henry smiled at the thought of Joey and how he had met him.

Kal stopped to smell some flowers and hiked his leg to let everyone know he had been there. Henry rolled his eyes and continued to walk on. He finally got to the small mews house that his parents had purchased him. He opened the door, walked in, dropping Kal’s leash and headed up to get his jogging clothes on.

London had been explored by the pounding of his feet on the pavement. He and Kal would go for miles and saw many new sights and places. Some, he had stopped to take in, mostly the parks, and others he had noted and returned later. His parents made sure that he had a comfortable existence and once he had told them he had a job and a friend, they had stopped calling him every day.

He smiled to himself. He now realized that his parents had probably done the best thing they could for him. They had forced him to be independent when they thought that he couldn’t be. He was doing it, and thriving. Even if the circumstances were a little out of the ordinary. He pulled his joggers on, his tank and his trainers. He headed back down the stairs to find Kal sitting at the door, big fluffy tail wagging. “You ready boy? How about Buckingham today?” He took up his leash and headed back out the door, starting his day.

###

Juniper Imogene Denholm stood at the edge of the crowd. She held her sign high, yelling at the top of her lungs. She knew the crowd behind her had some force, but this is what she loved, what she lived for.

Justice.

She looked next to her at Madeleine, who was flipping off the men as they went into the building. “You’re afraid of vaginas!” she screamed at the top of her lungs. Juniper put her hand up and high fived her friend.

“Keep your politics out of my pussy!!” Juniper screamed. The crowd behind her cheered. Yes, they were going to make change, she could just feel it. Even more so once the van from the BBC showed up.

Almost immediately, the police showed up. Juniper looked at the officers who were starting to disperse the far end of the crowd. She looked at Madeleine. “Isn’t this typical?” She shook her head. “Want to get arrested?”

Madeleine laughed. “As tempting as that sounds, not today. Come on, let's get going, back to protest another day. I would much rather leave and come back tomorrow and do it all over again.”

Juniper sighed. “I suppose you’re right.” She lowered her sign and she began to calmly walk away with the others, back towards where they had parked the car. “We were just starting to get into the feeling of it all.”

Madeleine smiled. “I know. But remember the journey of a thousand miles starts with a single step and tomorrow is another day.” She smiled. “Do you want to come over tomorrow night and have girls night?”

“I can. Where is Joey going to be?” Juniper asked, pulling her hydro-flask from her shoulder bag and opening the lid. “Some comic book thing?”

“It’s Dungeons and Dragons night with the mates.” She smiled. “But they’re at Hen’s house this month, so our flat is open. Could be fun, like a good old fashioned sleepover. I can even send him with a bag and he can crash over there.”

She smiled and took a drink. “I think that is a good idea, but I am working the mid shift at the clinic, so I won’t be around until about seven.”

“That works perfectly,” Madeleine said. “The boys don’t even start playing until half past seven, so Joey will be heading over earlier.” She grinned. “You should come the next time the boys play at the house. It’s quite funny.”

“Funny?” Juniper said. “How can a bunch of men playing a fantasy game be funny?”

“Because at least three of them are still virgins. I wear a low cut top and they just squirm and it’s great fun.” Madeleine smiled. “They are great guys and take the teasing well. But two girls, and especially one they don’t know, my god, I could maybe get them out of my house before two am.”

Juniper laughed, unlocking the car once they were close. “I will think about it.” She opened the door, putting the signs in the back. She pulled her crocheted hat off her head, her brown hair tumbling down. She smiled and ran her hand through it.

“Will you also think about what we spoke of earlier. Let me set you up with Hen,” Madeleine said as she got into the car. “Joey and I have to go to the banquet, and it would be fun to have some people about our own age there.”

“You know I am not looking for anything right now,” Juniper said. “I am still in my healing cycle.”

“I know, just as friends. Nothing more. “ Madeleine smiled. “Just think about it.”

“I will, but I can’t promise.” She slid into the driver's seat. “I am just not sure I am ready to even go out with someone as friends, let alone someone I have never met.”

“I am sure you have seen Hen at the pub. He’s a large dark haired fellow,” Madeleine replied. “He is at the pub most nights with us.”

“Does he stay late?” she asked.

“Well, yes, and I suppose most nights he comes after the first set.” Madeline sighed. “You may not have seen him actually then. I promise you, minus the fact that he looks intimidating, I promise you he is very, very sweet and nothing like Rivers.”

“Let me think. Come on, I hear a soy milk latte calling my name,” Juniper replied as she pulled the car away.

#Fic:Battle Cries #Henry Cavill #henry cavill fic #henry cavill fanfic #henry cavill au #cinderella1181

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hellzyeahwebwielingessays · 5 years ago

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The Not-So-Amazing Mary Jane Part 2: No. Prizes vs. Craftsmanship

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In Part 1 I said:

…there are definitely ways for us to explain MJ’s actions in-universe. But that doesn’t mitigate problems in the writing craftsmanship of AMJ. And depending upon how the story plays out whether those explanations stand up to scrutiny is up in the air.

But that’s a subject for the next instalment.

Welcome to the next instalment.

Here I’m going to quickly lay down two examples of what I am talking about to provide some context regarding how I’m critiquing the series.

Essentially this all boils down to distinguishing good writing craftsmanship from individual readers reconciling a character’s actions (in this case Mary Jane’s) ourselves from an in-universe perspective.

In other words it’s about recognizing that just because there is a plausible explanation to be had in a story the writing is still flawed for not providing that explanation or creating the need for an explanation in the first place.

A really clear example can be found in the classic ASM v2 #50. In this issue Peter and Mary Jane reconcile after being separated for a long time. During their reconciliation Mary Jane claims that the reason she left was because she felt that she was unable to help Peter in his life as Spider-Man.*

Regardless of how that line does or doesn’t make sense in the context of the issue itself, it does absolutely contradict the reason(s) MJ gives for leaving Peter in the abominable ASM Annual 2001. In that story MJ’s reasons are poorly communicated but they never even hint that she feels unable to help him.

Readers can easily reconcile these discrepancies by arguing Mary Jane’s original given reasons were misguided or dishonest due to her then recent experiences.

In the annual MJ had very recently been freed from being a prisoner for six months with little human contact, having developed PTSD and a level of claustrophobia as a result. As such her head was realistically going to be all over the place thus it’s not unreasonable for her to misinterpret things and then act upon the basis of those misinterpretations. She may well have retroactively realized/believe that the real reason she left Peter was for entirely different reasons.

However that was obviously not the intention of the authors. The reality is J. Michael Straczynski either forgot or simply outright ignored what Howard Mackie wrote. I’m not going to rake him over the coals for that given how awful the annual was but technically it was still a faux pas as far as the writing is concerned. Or, if we were to be generous, it was a retcon.

Let’s look at another example, this time from Peter’s POV. In ASM #182-183 Marv Wolfman had Peter propose to Mary Jane and get casually rejected by him. Putting aside how OOC this was on MJ’s part (until retcons sorted that out), Peter himself took the news far more casually than you’d imagine.

In the very next issue (set the very same day as the rejection) his mind began drifting towards Betty Brant as a potential romantic partner that very same day.

Given how long he and MJ had been together and how their relationship had really been forged in fire by that point, Peter taking the break up as well as he did was highly out of character. But we can reconcile that by arguing that, within the same story arc, Aunt May had major health scare that was partially Peter’s fault.

Realistically it’d not be unbelievable for Peter’s mind to be on Aunt May and/or messed up in general. As a result MJ’s rejection wasn’t going to hit him quite as hard at that very moment Similarly his gravitation towards Betty Brant could have been coming from a place of emotional vulnerability, something Betty was also feeling at the time.

The real life reason though was Marv Wolfman was just writing Peter and MJ badly because he had a reductive and old fashioned perception of their characters and relationship. The craftsmanship was lacking even if it’s not irreconcilable by utilizing context and continuity present within the story.

The issue though is that Straczynski and Wolfman themselves should’ve put that work in and/or not have made those mistakes in the first place. Similarly AMJ #1 (unless it’s setting up for a rug pull) represents Williams not putting the work in/making mistakes.

MJ’s actions could be explained any number of ways, but the underlying issue is that the comic book itself doesn’t provide those explanations.

And of course any explanations given or No. Prize attempts can still crumble under scrutiny.

Moving on, a lot of what we are going to talk about hinges upon Mysterio and his history. As such it’s important we explore that topic to properly contextualize our analysis of the story. But that’s for next time.

*It should be noted that this specific dialogue, in my observations, only exists in trade releases of the story. Regardless of the source, every scan I’ve seen of the original issue omits it. For the sake of argument though I am treating it as canonical.

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#amazing mary jane #Spider-Man #mjwatsonedit #MJ Watson #mary jane watson #Mary Jane Watson Parker #Peter Parker #Marv Wolfman #betty brant #j. michael straczynski #Howard Mackie

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winter-fairy-seed · 4 years ago

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Blood Blossom

A small tale for my buddies.

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Red Flower - Prologue

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There was a large gray facility building that bore a hole on one side with what seemed to be the remains of a semi-truck. This is the place your team discovered a few days ago on a clean water search, and promised to return to to search for resources once you’re more prepared. The hole, which seemed to come from an explosion, allowed the grass to meet the cemented floors that were now hidden by crisp white snow. It gave your team the reassurance of an emergency exit if anything dangerous lurked inside. You waited patiently by the hole, slightly shivering, staring into the distance of snowy hills. You wore leather pants with a red hooded faux fur jacket, only carrying a small duffle bag on your shoulder and brown leather fanny pack on your hip. You and your team had just finished the final wave of a resource sweep, and were now packing everything up. You were a herbalist and a medic, so you didn’t have much to pack and were never as successful on your resource hauls as the mechanics and scrap collectors.

“___”, a voice called from a few feet away, “are you all packed up?”

It was your teammate Aiden, who wore a brown fleece jacket with a fluffy hood and a nice pair of leather gloves. He was the “blacksmith and armourer” of your group, repairing and handling all of your weaponry and protective chainmail. You looked down lifting your hand over both bags and gave your teammate a warm smile and a nod. He walked closer leaning forward to pull the duffle bag over your head and around his own shoulders. You jerked your eyes up and slightly pouted.

“I could’ve carried it….but thank you…” You sulked only for a second but felt thankful for the gesture.

You recently injured your shoulder in the forest on the day of your luckiest find. It was about a week ago when your team stumbled upon an old camp that had an old greenhouse full of hanging herbs and cabbage.

There was no sign of recent human life but there were signs of panic, like old papers scorched, too damaged to read, scattered all over the tents floor with random items thrown across the ground. There was an old weathered bookcase, empty, and a small wooden foot table that sat in the middle of the camp. That was the least of your worries as you found yourself practically bolting to the greenhouse. The herbs were up pretty high, out of reach of the scurrying animals on and under the ground, and the cabbages were underneath plastic wrapping that was staked into the dirt and soil. Collecting the cabbages was easy, but getting to the herbs seemed nearly impossible on your own. Aiden was too busy salvaging what he claimed to be “parts of high grade weaponry”, and Rojsa, a girl with short brown hair who had been close friends with Aiden before this apocalypse, was completely out of the question. So, while The Watch searched the perimeter, and the scribes and linguists did their best to decipher what was on the damaged papers, you were busy dragging the small foot table all the way to the greenhouse, getting a few questioning stares from your teammates and The Watch.

When you reached the greenhouse you pulled the table as closely under the herbs as you could get. You shook the table a few times, testing its balance. It seemed...sturdy enough? You placed your bags one either side of the table, hoping it would even out the weight, then climbed up. You reached as high as you could and managed to get two hanging baskets of what seemed to be Serpyllifolia. You joyfully, but carefully brought them down, setting them aside the table. You quickly crawled back up the table, feeling more confident than before and reached for the two highest hanging ones that looked like Mint. Mint is something you haven’t come across as much as you’d liked or expected. You had to hop a bit to get it, but it wasn’t a problem for you who now day-dreamed about days full of patients with no fevers or hot breath. As your fingers latched onto the plant, your left leg went a little too far (given your weren’t paying as much attention) and caused the table to falter and fly on its side. It didn't take long for the small greenhouse to come crashing down as the pots hook pulled the tough wire that held everything up. Aiden and a few other of your teammates from The Watch rushed over immediately, expecting the worst, only to find you huddled up happily with the pot of mint and a sheepish smile on your face. It quickly turned into a wince as your adrenalin subsided and you felt a surge of pain in your right shoulder where you had cushioned a pot’s fall.

Since then Aiden has been extra careful and watchful, not trusting your mischievous antics. It made you feel like a child, but you couldn’t lie about how safe you felt with a pair of eyes watching your back.

----------

It seemed that the team had just about finished packing and was moving along as Rojsa stepped quietly behind Aiden and held onto the sleeve of his jacket. You turned around, and just like that you all made your way back out into the cold.

For safety, there are 4 people in The Watch that are sent with each group when going on recourse sweeps, so there are two in the front, and two in the back. They keep a close eye out on your surroundings as the navigation team of cartographers backtrack and find the safest way back home. You’ve walked for what felt like 30 minutes before you all took a water break and to rest and warm up your cold feet. There were two people of The Watch that stayed and watched while the other two took others to use the bathroom. It was strange at first, with The Watch, but they respectfully gave you your privacy while making sure the coast was clear so you learned to accept and respect.

You couldn’t help but drift your eyes across the landscape, softly blowing warm air onto your hands and rubbing them together. From a distance, your eyes caught onto something dark and green with a hint of bright red. You took a few steps forward, leaning your body as though it would help you see clearer.

“___” Aiden's voice rang and your eyes snapped towards him, “I’m going to the bathroom. Try not to get into any trouble... please...”

He jerked his eyebrow at you and you huffed shaking your head, unable to respond. He would’ve stayed until you responded if it wasn’t for the fact he had to pee really bad, so he squinted his eyes and walked off pointing his finger at you as a comical warning. You stuck out your tongue and smiled. As he disappeared through the crowd of people, your eyes slowly shifted back to the bright red that shined in the distance. Feeling appropriately guilty, you shifted your gaze to the two Watchers and slowly crept away. Your blood rushed, as you felt terrible for having already caused trouble in the past yet embarking on a new potential disaster. A small argument broke out about water distribution (nothing crazy, but nobody wants to draw too much attention so out in the open) so you took advantage of the distraction and managed to get away unnoticed.

Your eyes never left the red glow, only breaking when you felt a root grab onto your shoe under the thick snow. You stumbled forward a bit at the small incline, rolling twice. You landed perfectly on your bum and laughed slightly to yourself before wincing at your stressed shoulder. You shook your head, reminded yourself of how dangerous this could potentially be and became cautious once again. You got up, dusted yourself off, and continued. The red glow became brighter as you got closer, the detail of the flower more visible than before. It has the shape of a lily with small deep speckles. It was covered slightly by fallen snow and surrounded by what looked to be a patch of ivy. You scanned your surroundings carefully , making sure not to get too distracted.

The Flower had large red petals that swirled counterclockwise, with a honeycombed middle. The white of the snow made it look like a drop of blood on a white canvas. You reached into the bag on your hip and pulled out some elastic bandage in which you wrapped your hand and arms comfortably. You carefully stood over the flower and reached out. It was more tangled into the ivy than you initially expected and struggled a bit. You suddenly heard a twig snap and the gentle thud of falling snow and immediately froze in your tracks. You listened keenly for any other signs but the forest lay dead quiet once more. Now, with your blood pressure rising and heart pounding, you slowly stepped back strengthening your stance in the deep snow, ears still keen. You wondered if it had been one of the watchers taking someone to the bathroom and felt embarrassed and nervous until you heard snow crunch as if someone was walking from your far left. It fell silent again and you turned immediately, backtracking through your previous footsteps. You looked back at the flower, wondering only for a second if you should stay. “Maybe I can stick my hand through and run....the cuts and rash are worth it...” you thought, also pondering if you had stocked up on oats and honey before the winter started. “What could be out here?? A bear?? Maybe an Elk??” you thought to yourself. It was still dead silent and your anxiety worsened. You decided you’d save yourself first and try to convince someone to let you bring troops from The Watch with you to come back for it. Though, you feared they’d say no given you don’t know what plant specie it is, nor a better description that won't make it sound like “a pretty flower”. If it’s not essential, you’re sure they’d refuse. You’d definitely ask, perhaps leaving the “there may or may not be a bear lurking around the area” part out. You continued to tiptoe towards the rest stop at a faster pace. It felt like there were eyes on you, but you think that’s the fear talking. You stopped in your tracks and thought to yourself “I shouldn’t lead whatever that is back to camp…so how do I.....” while checking behind you for any signs of life. You steadied your breathing and carefully pulled the small map that the cartographers gave everyone when trailing new grounds. You cursed yourself for not marking down where you had gone since stopping to rest. You heard another twig snap, eyes shooting up behind you as your eyes almost missed a shadowed figure in the distance. It didn’t look like a bear… nor human… You shivered at the thought and turned to the map once more and hastily looked towards your footsteps. You marked them with uncertainty on the map then began to walk diagonal to them, being extra careful walking up the slope. You created a zigzag trail and re-met your old footsteps after 45 seconds of walking (you counted). The red of the flower, now out of your line of sight, faded from your mind as you turned around again, looking at your trail of frenzy footprints and thin trees. You hadn’t heard any more branches and didn’t hear any footsteps that weren’t your own, so you continued the normal trail and arrived at the rest stop successfully.

You looked around at the familiar faces and didn’t spot the curly head of Aiden and sighed out in relief. You turned back towards the deeply forested area and watched closely down your trail. You only blinked ever so often from the wind, when in the distance you caught a glimpse of a small antler. Your breath hitched a bit, but you felt relief that you didn’t trail a hungry creature to the rest stop.

“Hey! C’mon, everyones moving!” A watcher shouts for you and you snap back into reality. Aiden is quick to follow up shortly after, bombarding you with complaints that he couldn’t find you until now and you continued back to the safe zone with the rest of the group.

-----------------

You’ve arrived back at camp, located in an abandoned neighborhood covered in foliage and barricaded with walls and fences crafted by the builders and architects. The one who crafted a levering door, used by The Watch to keep lookout, was actually a good friend of yours, Ilora. After being taken in by The Watch when they found your stranded, you met Ilora briefly as they took you on what felt like an open house tour of the community, as well as a job interview as they assigned you a role based on your skills.

You walked beside Aiden and Rojsa, following the rest of the group into the Centre where you organized and recorded your findings with the rest of the community. It was also a good place for trading and checking up people with your fellow medics to make sure no new sicknesses or fevers have occurred.

You finally made it to your room, trying your hardest not to flop down in your bed and sleep then and there. You removed your winter-wear and under armor, and rushed to the bathroom where you flipped a golden hourglass and ran a hot water bath. You didn’t turn off the water until the last drop of sand reached the bottom. This was how your community utilized the hot water system, and you thought it cute that everyone had matching hourglasses in their bathrooms. You stripped yourself of dirty clothes, throwing them in a small basket beside the tub, and softly stepped in, breathing out as the hot water cupped your skin. You sighed a sweet relief and fully relaxed your muscles. You reached to your left and grabbed a small jar of pink petals off or a small stool, opening it and sprinkling just a few in the soapy water. You placed the jar back on the stool and leaned back once more, humming to yourself as you played with the petals. You closed your eyes, and the first think that greeted you was the glow of the twisted red flower. You imagined what it would feel like to touch the petals, how soft they would be. You imagined if it could heal, or if maybe it tasted good like water lilies? Your thoughts drifted from the red hues to the black shadowy figure that seemed to lurk in the distance. You began to fabricate the curve of the antler, and how you assumed it was a branch at first sight. You wondered of the loud snapping of branches and your eyes shot back open as the sounds reverberated in your mind, bringing back the shivers you felt in that moment. You closed your eyes for one more second and breathed out a long sigh before finally washing up and getting out.

Now wrapped in soft wraps, you head towards your bag where you open everything up to sprawl it across your desk. You had already organized your supplies back at your office, so all you found were your pens and journals and the marked map. You had a mossy brown journal that you’ve used to record the geology of certain areas and the important plants that reside there, but it could not be seen in the mess. You become a bit nervous and looked towards your bed not remembering if you threw it there, yet nothing can be seen. You conclude that you’ve left it in your office and throw on a quick sweater and some sweat pants and fluffy boots. You grab a small tote bag that was hanging from the coat hanger and rush out towards your greenhouse.

Your office, a humbled log house, and your family sized greenhouse are located on higher grounds, close to the farmland. It has a beautiful view of the community. Next to it stands a patch of forestry where you collect wild herbs that originally grew there, sectioned off from the rest of the forest for safety and checked daily for maintenance. This was actually in ruins when you first arrived, but has long been renovated and fixed up after you convinced the architects and builders that it was the perfect spot for a herbalist and medic.

You held a lantern, glowing a warm orange, as you stepped quickly through the cold. On any other night you’d look towards the farmlands and sigh with serenity, but on this particular night, your eyes were trained towards the forest. You knew that your portion had been sectioned off and that it's highly unlikely even a bear could break through the wall and fencing, but you couldn’t help but wonder.

You scrambled through your supplies and even checked in the greenhouse. Maybe you were recording data and forgot to take it back? Still, nothing. Like a morning bell, the sound of soft footsteps could be heard outside. You stopped scrambling and listened carefully. You began to feel a bit shocked, as the footsteps were coming from the small patch of forest. “Is there another medic? Why this late?” you thought to yourself, trying your best to deflect the thought of the shadowy figure you saw in the snowy haze before.

You decided to sit still and stay low to the ground. You weren’t particularly terrified because your office door did lock, and it was locked. Your greenhouse is connected to your office through a built passageway, which you luckily obtained through the argument of “keeping out small animals” and putting the lives of people who need medical attention at stake.

The footsteps were slow and careful, with a strange pattern to them that you couldn't make out yet. They continued towards your office until they became a bit faint, then came to a complete stop. You stayed curled over, listening closely. It seemed as though whatever was out there didn’t realize you were inside, and you wanted to keep it that way. You heard a small thud and you could hear the footsteps returning the direction they came, but this time they moved with more haste. The sound of crunching snow disappeared into the distance of your forested area.

A few more moments had passed and the silence continued, making you feel safe enough to slowly lift your body. You sighed a bit at the ache of your bones, having been in the same position for so long in a cold room. You peeked out through the window where you heard the steps and saw a line of small tracks that looked like...hooves? With your eyebrows burrowed you stepped back and grabbed your lantern and tote and turned towards the front door. “The journal can wait” you thought to yourself, scurrying to unlock the door and return to your room. As it whipped open, your body forgot the cold as you nearly tripped on a small black sack placed by the door. You shook your head and blinked a few times. You checked your surroundings, noting the deer tracks stopped just a few feet from the small wooden step in front of the door. You looked back towards the patch of forest, but nothing could be seen in the deep night. You decided questions could wait and lifted the sack, rushing back to your room.

Once returned to your room you placed your boots on a small rack by the door and rushed to your desk with an empty tote and a sack in hand. You carefully placed the black bag and plopped into the chair looking at it with ambivalence. You rubbed your warm feet together and clumsily unwrapped the velvet string. Your heart began to race when your eyes fell upon a mossy brown journal, that now wore small water stains. You quickly pulled it out, checking front to back and opening it up to make sure the information wasn’t ruined from the water damage. Looking at the crisp cream pages and stroking the thick texture caused a sigh of relief. Now, less afraid, you grabbed the sack and flipped it upside down to make sure nothing else was in it but nothing more fell out. You decided to lift the bag over your head wanting to figure out the black fabric material. As it blocked the light, like falling snow, a red flower fluttered down onto your cheek. You flinched slightly in shock fearing this was a trap and that it was a poisonous bug, but came to realize from the delicate touch it was the soft petals of a flower. The flower, now lying softly on your desk, looked deep and bold in the faint light of the lanterns in the room. You felt as if you were in a fever dream. You delicately pressed your fingertips onto the small stem of the flower, some of the roots still attached, and lifted it closer to your face. You were completely and utterly encapsulated by its beauty and the subtle smells of honey and rust. You quickly opened up your mossy journal and sketched the image of the flower the best you could. You were in your own little world now, thinking and pondering the red flowers qualities and how it could be perceived and used. You tapped inside its honeycomb center and found a pocket of seeds in which you wrapped warmly and tucked away in a tiny fabric bag. You pulled out your map and began writing down what happened and what you saw and discovered. You wrote and wrote without realizing you were drifting off. The sound of small bells and the faint image of a small antler were your last fabricated thought before drifting off to a deep sleep........

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yumeka36 · 5 years ago

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Frozen 2: the crossroads of a fandom

This post has been several days in the making but I felt it’s something I had to write now that the supposed final trailer for Frozen 2 has been released and, as stated in my previous post, we’re less than a week away from spoiler-filled merchandise becoming readily available. I’m of course beyond excited that we’ve made it this far after years of waiting…but at the same time, I’m apprehensive on a personal level because Frozen is not like any of the major fandoms I’ve been into. I apologize in advance for the length of this post – I just wanted to get all my thoughts out there so thanks for bearing with me!

While I’ve been a part of many fandoms throughout my life (mostly games and anime), there’s only been a handful that I’d say have been major ones – as in, they lasted for many years, a day never went by where I didn’t think of them, and they made up the majority of what I spent my time and money on. But thinking back, every major fandom I’ve been into was for a series. Probably my biggest three fandoms besides Frozen are/were Pokemon (game series), Inuyasha (anime and manga series), and Haruhi Suzumiya (anime and light novel series). Leaving Pokemon aside for the moment because I’m still very much into it, I was obsessed with Inuyasha during my high school and early college years (around 2003 to 2007) and Haruhi for some years after (around 2007 to 2013). I’d say a big part of the reason I was into them for so long (besides adoring the characters, story, and writing of course) is precisely because they were series: their stories were ongoing for the many years I was into them so I always had new content to look forward to and could indulge in thoughts of “I would love to see this scenario play out in future stories, maybe it will in the next chapter/novel release!”

So why am I not nearly as into them as I used to be? Inuyasha simply finished its story, with the manga finally ending in 2008 (and unfortunately the last year or so of chapters wasn’t all that great in my opinion), and Haruhi’s creator pretty much just abandoned the series, releasing a great 12th novel in 2011 and then never releasing another one since, leaving the series without a proper conclusion. So the reason I eventually left these fandoms is simple: there was no new content to look forward to and thus no hope that any story scenarios I wanted to see will eventually play out in future releases.

On the other hand, why have I been part of the Pokemon fandom for so long, never leaving it since I played the first games in 1999? Again, the answer is simple: Pokemon is a franchise that shows no signs of ever ending – in fact, its become the highest grossing media franchise, so of course Nintendo, The Pokemon Company, and others who profit from it will never let it end. There will always be new games, new anime episodes and movies, new merchandise, and new gimmicks like Pokemon GO. It also helps that the games, anime, comics, etc., are only loosely connected to one another so it doesn’t involve a single narrative that will eventually have to end – each new game takes place in the same world but with a different story and characters, which I suppose has its advantages in terms of freshness and longevity over franchises that involve the same characters and plot dependent on the mind and motivation of a single author (like many manga and books series).

So why is Frozen so different from these other fandoms of mine? Firstly, as I mentioned before, it’s not a series and so doesn’t guarantee new content will be released at set intervals: it was originally just a single movie in Disney’s canon of (mostly) standalone stories. Probably the main reason I’ve been into it for so long despite this is because we did, eventually, get new content that continued the canon story (not just a spin-off like that lame Lego cartoon or a retelling of the original story like the Broadway show). In 2015 we got Frozen Fever, in 2017 we got Olaf’s Frozen Adventure, and of course, we got hints of a full-fledged sequel in 2015-2016 before the date was officially announced in 2017. But the difference is that none of this content was ever certain. Unlike a manga series that guarantees a new chapter every week or month, or a book or game series that gets a new release every 2-3 years, new content for Frozen was really just random and up to Disney as to whether they wanted to give it special treatment for being their highest grossing animated film. Thankfully for us fans they did, with an animated short every 2 years and now an official sequel. To be honest, the hope of a sequel is a big part of what’s kept me into Frozen for so many years despite there being such limited content (the original movie plus the shorts is only, like, 2 and a half hours of content!) The shorts helped but I knew they wouldn’t give me the kind of dramatic stories I wanted to see play out in the franchise. Before we knew of any content beyond the original movie, I wrote a post in 2014 about why I wanted to see a Frozen sequel so badly. And here we are, nearly 6 years later and that hope is finally becoming reality…

…I’ve been looking forward to it more than anything for so long, but now that we’re so close, I’m kinda sad and worried. After years of pondering and daydreaming about what Frozen 2 would be like and whether it would give me what I want to see with the characters I love, what if it ends up not being everything I hoped for? What if this movie that’s been on my mind everyday for years just doesn’t leave me satisfied in the end? Again, if this was a series we’re talking about, I’d just say “okay, so the most recent manga chapter, game release, etc, wasn’t very good, we’ll see what the next one brings!” But there is no “next one” for Frozen. Well, I can’t say for sure there won’t ever be a Frozen 3 or more animated shorts, but from the information I’ve heard/read, it really seems like Disney planned this as a closing point for the story that, as of now, has no plans to be opened again. My fear isn’t that I won’t like Frozen 2 – I’m 95% certain I’ll love it – but will it give me what I want to see in the story and characters to the extent that I won’t feel a constant yearning for more should it be the last canon installment for the franchise. I’m sure we’ll see a live-action remake somewhere down the line or other things Disney likes to do to revive their popular franchises here and there, but as far as continuing the canon story through animated shorts and sequels, that’s completely uncertain. And before anyone tells me “that’s what fanfiction is for,” I personally never had much interest. I’ve always strictly been into canon material and I don’t like stories that I feel are out-of-character, with scenarios that would definitely never happen in the official franchise, which is what a lot of fanfiction caters to. I’m sure there are fics out there that I’d like, but I don’t have the time and motivation to try and find them among many others I probably won’t care for. Also, another reason I love Frozen is the animated movie medium itself – near life-like animation, music, voice acting, colors, etc. – so going from that to just reading the stories is too much of a difference to satisfy me.

I know it’s silly of me to fret about this as only one of two possibilities will happen, neither of which are terrible: 1) we never get more canon Frozen movies, so regardless of whether I end up being satisfied with Frozen 2 or not, the lack of new content to look forward to causes me to lose interest and eventually move onto other fandoms, or 2) Disney does announce Frozen 3 and/or more canon animated shorts so that hope keeps my Frozen obsession going indefinitely! (as a side note, Disney seems to be creating more canon TV series for its movies like Tangled and Big Hero 6, but personally I’m not too keen on a TV series for Frozen – I can’t speak for Big Hero 6 but I’ve watched all of Tangled the Series and think it’s good, but it just doesn’t have the high-standards and consistent writing quality and characterization that a full-length animated film has, and I wouldn’t want anything but the best for Frozen!)

Well, whatever happens in the years to come, I’m sure I’ll still love Frozen even if it doesn’t stay among my top fandoms. Every anime, game, movie, etc., I’ve been a fan of has served its purpose in my life, inspiring my thoughts, leading me to great friends, enhancing my appreciation for creative stories, and bringing me many hours of joy, and Frozen will be no different, whether my obsession ends soon after Frozen 2 or continues on into the unknown (see what I did there :P)

*Crossposted from my main blog, Yume Dimension*

#disney frozen #frozen #frozen 2

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racefortheironthrone · 5 years ago

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Thoughts on Powers of X #4

Into the home stretch:

Good Times At Bar Sinister:

In retrospect, this may be the weakest issue of HoX/PoX and the closest that the miniseries come to a filler issue. Partly that’s to do with its role in the overall story: this is a denoument issue after the fireworks of the last two issues, and it’s also there to make sure that House of #5′s big reveal/undoing of the climax wasn’t literally the next week’s issue. On the other hand, it’s also probably the funniest issue in the miniseries, so I’d still call it a pretty good comic.

In this first segment, Magneto and Charles track down Mister Sinister on his ominous red crystal island, which continues the motif of ominous towers. When this is happening isn’t clear. We’re still in X^0, but Charles’ flying chair makes its first (only?) appearance suggests that it’s been a while. I really hope Powers of X #6 gives us a better Life 10 timeline, because some of these ordering questions are confusing.

The Guard Sinister sets the tone right off the bat - as we might expect from someone whose morality was shaped by Victorian England, Sinister is perfectly comfortable with being the “yes we have much” and telling the have nots to go away; but at the same time, being very into Aesthetics (note the first of many punctation for emphasis) and style, so that we’re not so much dealing with a guard as a club bouncer grading their outfits.

The clash with Xavier’s grey businessman’s suit and politesse and the vibe at Bar Sinister is immediately apparent, although Magneto’s similarly aggressive Aesthetic is clearly close enough to get them into the club even if Magneto wasn’t up for hurling Sinisters into rocks for being rude to his boyfriend who he kind of crippled although not in the 616 Charles.

Inside the club, the vibe is a weird blend of Edwardian-by-way-of-Lewis-Carroll and the fantasy medievalism of Melniboné. As we are introduced to Sinister the Capeless, I have to say that I find the version of Mister Sinister we get here really interesting, because what’s happening is a shift from glam to camp that’s been there from Kieron Gillen’s run and which has cropped up in Hickman’s earlier work. None of the Aesthetics have changed at all, it’s just that we’ve subtracted the self-seriousness that was sometimes there with the OG Sinister and added a sense of knowing humor to the whole affair. Doesn’t make it any less terrifying when Sinister the Capeless turns on a dime from “I. Love. That. Cape” to Red Queen murderousness - clearly we’re dealing with someone who is both highly powerful, highly intelligent, but also totally nonsensical.

Incidentally, as lines that would work great as t-shirt slogans go, “I can’t be shamed into changing who I am” has got to be up there. Also, very thematically appropriate for HoX/PoX as a whole.

At long last, Xavier and Magneto finally get to the reason why they’ve come to the Bar Sinister: they want Mister Sinister to build “a comprehensive database of mutant DNA” that is “safe. secure.redundant.” More than anything else, this feels like the (necessary?) evil of the founding of Krakoa. Other villainous mutants can be dealt with on the basis of ideology or self-interest or just dealt with, as we saw in House of X #6, but Mister Sinister is really the only one who has made himself indispensable to the broader mission.

However, this is all being done with the foreknowledge that Mister Sinister betrayed the mutant cause in Moira’s most recent life, so I don’t think this is being done out of typical Xavierian hubris.

The reaction is rather surprising: Capeless Sinister refuses out of aesthetic objections to the inclusion of “that aberrant gene” in his collection, which is not consistent with his previous characterization (although given the “they’re all crazy clones” thing, there’s an explanation right there), but is in keeping with Victorian eugenics. (I like Magneto’s very carefully worded lie about the future.)

And then finally we get the Mister Sinister we all know and love, complete with ribbon cape and everything, but him showing up blowing off another Sinister’s head with a handgun is weirdly jarring, like a sudden intrusion from some violent cartoon universe. On the other hand, “my mutant power is overthrowing tyrants and being absolutely fabulous” feels way more like the Sinister we know, and suggests that the hatchet is not buried with Apocalypse)

I like that Magneto is kind of into all of this, because for all that he can be Serious Business sometimes, he’s also someone who’s deeply into his own Aesthetic of overthrowing governments while being fashion-forward.

So here’s the thing about Xavier mind-controlling Sinister into forgetting why he’s doing all of this: I don’t think this is the whole of the plan to deal with Sinister’s sudden but inevitable betrayal. I think part of the point is to maintain quality control over the database, given the whole business with the deliberately-engineered quality control failures in LIfe 9. But I feel like Moira would insist on more redundancy than just relying on one psychic whammy sticking.

Red Diamond Blind Items Infographic:

Speaking of comedy...this definitely is the funniest infographic we’ve gotten throughout the series. A bunch of these went way over my head, lots of them ended up as dropped plot threads which we’ll have to wait for Dawn of X to see if they get followed up on, but they were all entertaining.

Sinister Secret #1: this one is kind of vague, and I’m 99% certain it’s just a gossip columnist being catty about shoes. Incidentally, Louis XIV loved red heels so much that he decreed no one other than him could wear them.

Sinister Secret #2: in addition to being a clue about the Resurrection Machine bringing back all kinds of dead mutants, I like how this one continues one of the best elements of Grant Morrison’s run - the idea that mutants start developing a distinct culture - but now with a twist that it’s going to be happening even more that Krakoa is giving that culture a safe space to flourish.

Sinister Secret #3: Especially what with all the hints about Inferno throughout HoX/PoX, this is definitely about Madelyn Pryor. Dunno what she left behind, but it could well be some sort of resurrection failsafe.

Sinister Secret #4: no idea what this refers to.

Revealed! Of all the X-genes out there for Sinister to use, why John Proudstar? It doesn’t fit with the powers he’s displayed in previous runs, and the only thing I could think of is that Proudstar is the first of the All-New X-Men to die (making it easier to get samples).

Sinister Secret #5: especially in the wake of House of X #6, this suggests that Scott and Jean are in a poly relationship/open marriage of some sort with Logan and/or Emma, and that the new mutant culture is developing its own values on sexuality and family structure, what with the First Law.

Sinister Secret #6: the HoXPoxToX on this issue gives the relevant citation, but I didn’t read the book so I don’t know which of the samples Ernst stole were supposedly destroyed.

Sinister Secret #7: this is a pretty clear reference to the whole messy continuity business about there being a third Summers brother, but also a nice hint that Sinister is completely full of shit and so these blind items have to be taken with a whole salt lick. (Incidentally, we’ve seen Vulkan showing up in promotional materials for Dawn of X, so that’s probably the Summers in question, which means we can finally stop talking about dumb theories about it being random male X-Men).

Sinister Secret #8: again with the pretender talk, but the real clue here is that Apocalypse’s major motivation is getting his original Horsemen back, which is significant for the next section.

Sinister Secret #9: especially with the reveal that Synch has been resurrected, this is pretty clearly referring to him and Jubilee, who are now at very different places in their lives post-resurrection.

Revealed! As I’ve talked about before, Inferno is a running theme in HoX/PoX, and to be honest, if the new status quo of X-Men is going to involve any nostalgia riffs, it’s a good choice because it hasn’t been over-done as much as Days of Future Past, and ties in well with issues of clones, demons, and Sinister.

Sinister Secret #10: as I suggested above, the fact that Xavier saw all kinds of Sinisters running around suggests that he wasn’t relying on that tactic alone to safeguard his mutant future.

Linguistic Anthropology with Doug Ramsey:

So let’s talk about pith helmets - on the one hand, this is a callback to Cassandra Nova, but it’s an inversion: where Nova donned the helmet to show a Trask the instrument of mutant genocide, Xavier is wearing it to show a mutant a crucial part of the plan to reverse the Genoshan genocide. On the other, it’s a deliberately colonialist fashion statement: namely, that as with earlier attempts at establishing a mutant nation - San Marco, Genosha, Utopia, etc. - the mutant homeland is not unoccupied land and mutants are thus not entirely innocent of this particular sin of nation-states, whatever Magneto might say. Not the first and last time that nationalist projects have made this mistake.

Charles talks a good game about moving from adversary to ally with the land, but as we’ll see in just a bit he doesn’t understand Krakoa as much as he thinks he does, which undercuts his good intentions.

Doug introduces the techno-organic virus to Krakoa,which is significant both for the whole issue of biological vs. mechanical transhumanism and singularity, the potential threat from the Phalanx in X^3, but also is a sign that introducing new species to a habitat (something that’s happened quite often in the history of settler colonialism) is an easy overlooked problem.

I love the idea that the difference between telepathy and hyperlingualism is the difference between pidgin and anthropological thick description. Xavier might be able to hear anyone’s thoughts, but that doesn’t necessarily means that he understands said thoughts.

By contrast, Doug’s greater understanding means that he learns Krakoa’s origin myth, and is thematically appropriate for this series it’s a story of unity and division. The linkage between demonic incursions and Arakko/No-Place suggests Inferno, even as the Twilight Sword points to Surtur and Walt Simonson’s run on Thor. The key thing here, however, is that Apocalypse is portrayed as a tragic hero, sacrificing his original horsemen to seal away the demonic invasion and dividing the land - as Apocalypse wants to bring the OG Horsemen back more than anything, this would suggest that seal will be rebroken, causing a lot of chaos, but ultimately leading to the reunion of a sundered land.

As a reward for his insight, Doug is one of the few people who learn the whole plan, which places his “hopey-changey” comments from the very first issue in a different light.

Current Krakoan Systems Infographic:

I’m going to be brief here, because we already saw these systems in action last issue.

Here, the first thing I want to emphasize is how crucial Doug is to the founding of Krakoa - every single other system relies on his interface system. At the same time, we also learn that Forge is running the Krakoan skunkworks system which creates the biomachinery that all of Krakoa will run on as well. In other words, one founder creates the software and one founder creates the hardware. It’s yet another example of the Krakoan emphasis on accomplishing greater things through cooperation and creativity (and how very much this is a story about nationalism and not cults of personality).

We Hope for Ascension:

I gotta say, I’m with a lot of other people who don’t get why this particular X^3 plot was chosen. It’s harder to grasp and the characters don’t have anywhere as near as much to connect with as X^2. That being said, I have some guesses, which will probably all be proven wrong tomorrow!

As I discussed the last time we saw the post-humans, the difference between conversion and ascension are much less clear than they first appeared...unless (unless...) we’re talking about the whole issue of the philosophy of identity. As the Elder points out, if your culture already has the idea of a self and a seer-self who’s already uploaded into a machine, are you really dying if your body dies? As I’ll get into way more in House of X #5, the argument that the post-resurrection mutants are clones and not the “real McCoys” rests on a particularly strong case of continuity of consciousness that I don’t think holds up to scrutiny.

At the same time, I do think we see here some signs of cultural weakness among the post-humans: they can’t tolerate the idea of being just short of the next step of consciousness/intelligence and are willing to do anything to achieve the goal of achieving the next schematic stage in machine consciousness development, because “isn’t that what’s next.” Except the problem is that it’s a rigged game - there’s always another level, always another Phalanx using you as a Technarch patsy, and it’s not clear from the outset whether these higher stages are all they’re cracked up to be.

Incidentally, I totally misinterpreted what happened here. Initially, I thought that the “seer-self”/recognition sequence thing suggested a way around losing “ sovereignty “ by introducing a memetic virus, given the way that the Phalanx undergo a sudden physical transformation. This doesn’t seem to be the case based on Powers of X #5.

How are the Phalanx not an empire? All they do is expand, consume resources, and either wipe out or “elevate” other cultures on the basis of their own ideas of cultural worthiness. That is the very definition of imperialism!

And here we see the bedrock incompatibility of biological and mechanical transhumanism/singularity.

#xmen #xmen meta #powers of x #hoxpox

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x5red · 6 years ago

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Sixty fun & fascinating facts about the classic Supergirl (1 / 4)

Great guns! How time flies!

May 2019 will mark sixty years since the pages of Action Comics #252 carried its landmark tale: a crashed rocket ship in a Midvale field, and emerging from within, an enthusiastic young teenager who was destined to become one of Earth’s fiercest champions. That teenager was, of course, Kara Zor-El -- otherwise known as Supergirl..!

To celebrate the classic Kara Zor-El’s sixtieth anniversary, compiled below is part one of a series outlining sixty surprising or unusual facts about the original intrepid Argo City teen who leapt from that crumpled Midvale rocket ship. Covering her original Silver and Bronze Age incarnation, in comics and on screen, each factoid is calculated to intrigue and delight -- hopefully even seasoned Kara fans will find a few morsels of trivia that had previously escaped their attention.

Enjoy...

1. She wasn’t originally known as Kara Zor-El when she debuted in comics.

What’s in a name? Well not a lot, it seems, if you happen to be Kryptionian..!

Although everyone knows Supergirl’s real name is Kara Zor-El, the Maid of Might herself didn’t deem it worthy of a mention until Action Comics #288 (May 1962), three years after her introduction, when she innocently referenced her full moniker during a dream sequence. After that readers would need to wait another fifteen years(!) before she’d mention it again in Superman Family #177 (June 1976). Outside of these rare instances Kara was usually known as Kara of Argo City, or in very early comics simply just as Kara, her birthplace itself not having acquired a name until Action Comics #280 (Sep 1961).

2. 1984′s Supergirl wasn’t actually the first movie headlined by a superhero female.

Many movie buffs will list 1984′s Supergirl as the breakthrough release that finally saw women headline a movie in the superhero genre, but this is far from the truth.

Supergirl’s record is true, but only in the English-speaking world: there had already been numerous superhero movies in non-English markets centred around super-powered female crime fighters, most notably in the Philippines. The most popular Filipino superheroine, Darna, had already racked up no less than eleven movies by 1980, plus one guest appearance in another hero’s movie.

3. She once fell madly in love with a woman.

As incredible as it seems today, the straight-laced DC Comics of the 1960s once okayed a story in which the Maid of Might fell head-over-heels in love with a woman. It happened in Adventure Comics #384 (Sept 1969), and, as you might expect, the story had a few twists and turns before the true nature of Kara’s romance was revealed.

The short version is this: Kara uses computer dating to select a match suitable for a superwoman. The computer picks Volar, a male superhero from the deeply misogynistic planet of Torma (second planet of Star-Sun 447B, in case you want to pay a visit.) Kara travels to Torma and is smitten by Volar, but he seems reluctant to reciprocate her affections. Eventually the plot reveals its twist: due to Torma’s notorious chauvinism, Volar is actually a superheroine forced to masquerade as a superhero. ”I’m heading back to Earth – where I belong!”, exclaims a disappointed Girl of Steel, “I found out Volar was no hit – but a real miss!” (Ho ho!)

4. She’s a self-professed fan of Jazz.

Growing up in both Argo City and Midvale, Kara was probably exposed to a wide range of different musical styles -- but at the end of a long day saving the world, what kind of sounds did she like to relax to? The pages of Daring New Adventures of Supergirl #7 (May 1983) dropped readers a hint when Kara expressed a strong affinity towards Jazz music. Indeed in a later issue of that same series, it is while attending a free Jazz concert with friends in Chicago’s Grant Park that Kara first tangled with the super-villain Reactron (making his comicbook debut.)

5. She once packed in her superhero career to become a socialite and style-icon in Paris.

The mid-60s was an interesting time for DC Comics; a tipping point between the juvenile gimmick-driven hangover of the Golden Age, and the more mature storytelling style of the upcoming Bronze Age, as one generation of artists and writers slowly gave way to the next. Brave and the Bold #63 (Dec 1965) fell squarely into the former category with its outlandish story, Revolt of the Super-Chicks.

The tale begins with a restless Kara feeling unappreciated: the public see her as just a hero in a gaudy costume, ignoring the sophisticated woman inside. Much to the chagrin of Kal-El, Kara abandons her superhero-ing career and heads to the bright lights of Paris to live it up. Kal sends Wonder Woman to Paris to talk some sense into Kara (the first time the pair had shared an adventure, by the way), but Diana is likewise wooed by the socialite lifestyle and joins Kara in her nocturnal revelry. If it hadn’t been for the intervention of the villain Multi-Face, the pair might have still been in Paris now.

6. Producer Ilya Salkind regretted Helen Slater’s casting as Supergirl.

When Ilya Salkind took on the task of co-producing Superman-related movies in the mid 1970s, he’d argued against the wishes of both Warner Bros. and his producer father, Alexander, by suggesting that the title role not go to a Hollywood A-lister. Ilya followed exactly the same logic when it came time to cast 1984′s Supergirl, championing an unknown actor called Helen Slater over more bankable names such as Brooke Shields (favoured by his father.)

In an interview in 2000, however, Ilya seemed to have some regrets, telling Scott Michael Bosco on behalf of Digital Cinema, “[...] frankly, with hindsight I regret it. Brooke Shields would have – not made it a better movie, but perhaps a more commercial one. This I’m convinced. I think there would have been more men seeing the movie.” Commenting on how Slater’s screen presence was more Katherine Hepburn than Sophia Loren, Salkind noted, “What happened, I think, is that we lost a lot of the audience, the male audience. I think it was also because the girl was a little unattainable.”

7. One of her most iconic costumes was originally designed by a fan.

Supergirl has had a number of crime-fighting outfits over the decades, but two particularly stand out as being iconic: Helen Slater’s 1984 movie costume (plus its imitators, such as the post-Crisis Matrix costume and Melissa Benoist’s tv costume), and the 1970s hotpants outfit.

The Girl of Steel’s hotpants attire was a racy number that screamed 70s sexploitation at a volume only Kryptonian lungs could achieve: short shorts, a plunging V neckline, billowing sleeves, and a neck choker, all in the customary red, sky blue, and yellow. The design wasn’t something dreamt up by one of DC’s staff of artists, however. but taken from a sketch submitted by reader John Sposato of Edison, New Jersey. DC had used several fan submitted costume ideas during the early 1970s -- each outfit typically receiving one or two story outings -- but John’s submission was obviously so liked by DC artists that it eventually became her permanent costume for most of the 1970s.

8. She turned Streaky into a Super Cat by accident.

DC in the Silver Age prided itself on being a family-friendly brand, free from the squalor and depravity that had once graced the pages of some of its competitors, causing moral crusaders (armed with books written by Dr. Fredric Wertham) to brand the medium as a threat to the youth of America. Without the use of excessive violence to bring thrills and drama to its superhero comics, DC relied on gimmicks such as Kryptonite. Consequently, by the Silver Age, the stuff was everywhere(!)

With her keen practical mind, Kara decided (much to the condescending amusement of her cousin) to develop an alchemy that would neutralise the harmful effects of this ever burgeoning supply of Kryptonite (Action Comics #261, Feb 1960.) She failed, naturally, but the discarded end-product, labelled X-Kryptonite, ended up accidentally giving a local stray alley-cat super powers. And so Streaky the Super Cat was born -- entirely by accident..!

9. Lena Luthor wasn’t the only female Luthor family member giving her trouble.

The Luthor family has a long history of causing trouble for the Girl of Steel. Not only did Supergirl struggle to keep her secret identity from the telepathic Lena (Thorul) Luthor -- Lex’s little sister -- but Adventure Comics #397 (Sept 1970) saw the introduction of Lex’s scheming niece, Nasthalthia. Nasty, as she was known, joined Stanhope College with a determination to help Uncle Lex flush out which of Stanhope’s students was secretly Supergirl. Suspecting Linda Danvers from the start, Nasty even followed Linda when she graduated and moved to San Francisco to become a TV camerawoman. The pair would play a dangerous cat-and-mouse game throughout many early 1970s Supergirl tales, but Nasty never quite got the proof she needed to unmask the Maid of Might.

10. She was married when she died in Crisis on Infinite Earths.

A story published in Superman Vol. 1 #415 (Jan 1986) saw the Fortress of Solitude infiltrated by a mysterious visitor from a distant planet. Intent on stealing a memento of the recently deceased Kara, the handsome green-skinned thief named Salkor is quickly apprehended by Superman.

Salkor explains how he had found Supergirl drifting unconscious in space some two years previous. He had cured her of Kryptonite sickness, but she had been left with severe amnesia. In the days that followed Salkor and Kara drew close and entered into a quickie marriage, but not long after the marriage he awoke to find Kara missing -- her memory had presumably returned. Over the next two years Salkor slowly traced his bride back to Earth, but tragically he arrived just as news of her death was broadcast around the world.

11. Her creation was part of a strategy to boost DC’s flagging superhero comic sales.

Supergirl wasn’t created on a mere creative whim; the impetus behind her introduction was likely a long-term sales strategy DC Comics had been following since the mid-1950s. According to Gerard Jones in his book Men of Tomorrow, DC knew that the demographics for the Superman radio and television shows revealed a sizeable share of young girl audience members, and that market research showed that girls read their brother’s Superman and Batman comics (second hand!) DC therefore set out to entice young girls into buying their own superhero comics by introducing titles like Superman’s Girlfriend, Lois Lane, and characters like Batwoman and Supergirl. Although some superheroines have been accused of being nothing more than eye-candy for the young male audience, Supergirl was introduced squarely to inspire young girls.

12. She could read your mind.

In Adventure Comics #397 (Sept 1970) Supergirl investigates a mystery girl found in a coma on the Stanhope College campus. As the anonymous patient lies motionless in a hospital bed, the Girl of Steel conveniently remembers that she has the ability to perform Vulcan mind-melds: ”I'll try to delve into her subconscious -- maybe I can learn something”. The trick reveals that the mystery girl was the victim of a black magic cult, causing Supergirl to infiltrate the group undercover (literally!) Strangely, although the Girl of Steel can read other people’s minds, she seemed very poor at reading her own, as she promptly forgets all about her mind-reading abilities after that single issue.

13. She always knew how to be popular.

When Kara from Argo City first landed on Earth, she took it upon herself to pick her own secret identity name. “While you were gone”, she tells her cousin, “I used my super-hearing and heard many Earth girls’ names! I thought of a good one for myself.” The name she chose, of course, was Linda.

It isn’t perhaps a surprise that her super-hearing fixated on that particular name, given that according to names registered with US Social Security, Linda was one of the most popular girls’ names in the 1950s, beginning the decade in the top slot, but dropping two places to third by the time Kara arrived on Earth in 1959. (Kara, by the way, was 935th on the girls list at the time that Ms. Zor-El crashed her rocket ship in Midvale.)

14. Her first appearance on television was in a 1962 comedy sketch, played by Carol Burnett.

In 1962 the Garry Moore Show featured a seven minute sketch lampooning the popular George Reeves Superman TV show -- the comedy gimmick being that instead of the Man of Steel, the sketch’s evildoers were pitted against the Maid of Might, played by comedian Carol Burnett. (A similar spoof by Lucille Ball a few years earlier doesn’t count, btw, as Lucy was playing Superman, not Supergirl.)

The madcap plot sees Carol dashing to and fro, frantically switching back and forth between her everyday clothes and her hero costume, while performing an array of ridiculous feats of strength. It is debatable whether this truly qualifies as a genuine Supergirl appearance, given the obvious Reeves inspiration, but Burnett’s 1962 version does use the Supergirl name and a reasonable facsimile of her 60s costume.

15. Her first proper appearance on television was in an advert, selling underwear!

Even if the 1962 Carol Burnett sketch is ruled out as not being canonical Kara, Supergirl’s late-70s underwear commercial qualifies without a shadow of a doubt. The short advert, for the kids brand Underroos, sees Supergirl, Spider-Woman, Wonder Woman, and even Batgirl, all extolling the virtues of wearing superheroine themed undergarments. Dating from sometime around 1978, the ad seems to be the first authorised on-screen appearance of Supergirl, meaning that the ad’s opening line, “Now Supergirl is on Underoos”, is the first spoken line uttered by any actress playing the Girl of Steel. (It is unknown who the lucky voice artist was.)

That’s all for part one -- hope you enjoyed it..! Check out part two (soon) for another fifteen fascinating factoids.

#supergirl #superhero #comics #dc #dccomics #superheroine #karazorel #kara zor-el #silver age #bronze age #streaky #superman #luthor

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