#If I was in a comic or something I'd likely avoid the powers until I do something I consider bad or have a breakdown-

[karmicrespite]

Someone self aware enough to realize that saying anything about being a "hero" comes with way too much philosophical and morality issues and decides to just not use the powers.

You discover that you have control over a certain thing, as determined by spinning this wheel. We're talking full-on magical girl/superhero/supervillain/your label of choice control.

[onceuponapuffin]

Ineffable Bureaucracy and Ineffable Husbands

So, especially in the early days after the release of S2, I saw and heard a lot of people comparing these two as if they were the same. There were fan comics and fanart and fanfiction that included dialogue that was something along the lines of "why are they so healthy after only a few years and we aren't?" or "why do THEY get a happy ending and we don't?" And I mean, I haven't seen any of that in a while so maybe people have come to this conclusion on their own, but just in case, I wanted to point out

That they are fundamentally different. They are not the same.

And the reason why comes down to this conversation from 2x3:

So, hold this conversation in your brain while we go through this.

First of all, we have our Ineffable Bureaucracy, Gabriel and Beelzebub.

So these are the ones who, figuratively speaking, were born in a castle.

Gabriel was the Supreme Archangel for however many millenia, and Beelzebub was the Grand Duke of Hell for the same, roughly speaking. They are equals in positions of power.

So, when they fall in love, you have two supernatural authorities who have lived their existences believing that they can reasonably expect to have and keep whatever they want. After all, that's exactly what their lives have been (with the one exception being Beelzebub's Fall) - they want something, they get it, they keep it, and no one tells them no.

The biggest risk is to Gabriel. If Heaven were to find out, he would Fall. I can imagine Beelzebub being a bit concerned, but "Oh no," Gabriel probably figured "I Fall to Hell, and straight into your arms!" And I could see Beelzebub with a little smirk saying "I'd look after you, babe," in response.

The only time Gabriel actually worries is when he finds out that there's another punishment that he didn't realize was a possibility.

Falling to Hell is one thing, but having his memories erased is an actual threat, and possibly the first time he's ever been told no. This is when we see him panic, and leave Heaven in a mess, storing his memories away to keep them safe from the Metatron. We find out later that he was on his way to Hell anyway and just forgot halfway there and got lost.

And so, we have two beings who were always told they were Good Enough, who approached each other knowing they were able to have whatever they wanted, and were therefore able to communicate and fall in love in a healthy way. They didn't need to tip toe or hide, because they had no reason to believe anyone would ever tell them no until someone did. Their risk, because of their positions of authority, wasn't nearly as great as Aziraphale and Crowley's risk.

So now we come to our Precious Ineffable Husbands

Crowley and Aziraphale start off in much lower positions on the Celestial Food Chain. We know that they have to be very careful about their relationship to avoid the repercussions. They can't mention The Arrangement out loud, they can't put their feelings for each other into words. It has been made clear to them that they are always being watched, and anything they have can be taken away from them on a whim.

So how can they communicate safely when they've spent millenia living on eggshells and tightropes? Of course they won't, and of course it's going to be much harder for them to believe they can once they finally are safe. I definitely believe that they will get there (for my own wellbeing I have to believe that their love is stronger than anything), but they will need to fight tooth and nail in a way that Gabriel and Beelzebub didn't. All because they aren't figures of authority.

It might honestly be another good argument for Crowley taking the Grand Duke of Hell job (even though I reeeeaaaally don't want him to). It would put them in the same position as Gabriel and Beelzebub, and might give them the footing to actually escape the system (even though I think it's more likely that they're going to dismantle and/or repair the system in s3, but that's my own opinion).

These two pairs aren't mirrors of each other. Rather, they illustrate the problems with inequity that Crowley was pointing out in Edinburgh. And if S2 showed us that, I'm hoping S3 will show us possible solutions for it.

[girlgenius1111]

no one should be alone on christmas

barca femeni x reader

changed from the request slightly because i've read a couple fics where r tries to hide that she's gonna be alone for the holidays, and thought i'd take a slightly different approach, so as not to copy anyone :) but pinky promise there is tons of angst and fluff!

cw; mention of bad relationship with parents... implied homophobia i guess? not really discussed much though. angst, fluff, :)

The look on your teammates face when you told them you didn't have any plans for the holiday were almost comical; every one of them looked completely horrified. Sure, they knew your relationship with your parents was rocky, but they hadn't realized you didn't speak, didn't see them at all. What was almost worse was that you didn't even seem to understand why they were so appalled by you spending Christmas alone.

You knew, as soon as you left the locker room after your declaration and the room erupted into loud conversations, that your teammates would begin scheming.

Your problem was that you didn't really want to celebrate Christmas. Obviously, it was a big deal back home in England, and you'd grown up celebrating it, but those weren't the happiest of memories. For the first years of your life, Christmas had been fun. As you aged, and your parents started fighting, it didn't stay fun. Your parents had gone off the rails when you were a teenager; they were incredibly religious people, and when they felt you slipping away from this, they tightened their grasp, until it was suffocating.

Maybe the holidays wouldn't be so awful if they weren't such a stark reminder of what you no longer had, of the rift between you and your parents. Christmas 2 years ago had been the worst of your life. You'd fought with your parents all day, until a screaming match left you packing your bags. They'd had too much to drink, said things about you it was clear they were always thinking, but never vocalized. When you confirmed their suspicions in a fit of anger, they became more aggravated than you'd ever seen them.

You lived with friends for a while, once being at home became unbearable, until finally you got your first contract. You lived with teammates, then, and managed to avoid all conversations about the holidays. Since the Christmas fight, you'd sworn off the day, preferring to hibernate in your house, and actively try not to think about your parents. You missed who they were, and hated who they'd become, which made for a very confusing breakdown every year.

This was your first year at Barcelona, though, and your new team was not content to let you sit alone as you normally did. Especially not when you were only 19, and especially not when a lot of them had taken to acting like concerned mothers with you.

You didn't want to celebrate though, you couldn't. In the days following your locker room chat, you noticed your teammates being slightly odd around you; they weren't very subtle, and they were clearly planning something. Whether it was a Christmas kidnapping or a team party, you weren't sure. All you knew was that you wanted no part of it.

Telling the entire team this, though, didn't seem like something you wanted to do. So instead, you went to the only people you knew had the power to stop whatever horrifying red and green themed atrocity was being planned.

You weren't used to this, really, needing to talk to your captains about anything serious. You'd decided to pull Alexia aside after practice, and tried to be as normal as possible so as not to worry anyone. It didn't seem to work.

"What's up, y/n?" Alexia asked, once you were alone in the hall.

"Could we talk once everyone's gone? I just... there's something I need to talk to you about." You internally winced at how poorly you'd phrased that. Alexia's previously relaxed face was now one of worry as she scrutinized you.

"Of course. Just me?" she asked, her voice uncharacteristically warm. She'd clearly picked up on the anxiety oozing off your body.

"Um... maybe Mapi too?" you asked. Again, your teammates weren't subtle individuals, Mapi least of all. It had become obvious that she was the instigator of whatever plan was in motion.

"Si, I'll tell her." Alexia stated, before giving you a reassuring smile and leading you into the locker room.

-----

Alexia had directed you to an empty office, shuffling in with Mapi behind you. You sat in one of the chairs facing the desk, as they both perched on the edge of the desk. You felt ridiculously like a kid in trouble at school, as your leg tapped nervously, and the girls both looked down at you. They weren't angry, though, and you weren't in trouble.

"I know you guys are planning to do something with me for Christmas," you blurted, not really sure where to start. Mapi got a sky grin on her face, but Alexia's expression remained unchanged, the unease on your face making her heart clench.

"No, what would give you that idea, pequeña?" Mapi questioned teasingly.

"Please don't. I don't like Christmas, I don't want to celebrate. I know you guys feel bad, but I really, really just prefer doing my own thing." You responded, going with the sentences you'd practiced in your head on the way to practice this morning.

Mapi's face had fallen, and you felt guilty despite knowing that you were just doing what you needed to do.

"Why don't you like Christmas?" Alexia asked, brow furrowed.

"I just don't," you replied, biting tone making Alexia and Mapi exchange looks. You weren't normally so serious, or so defensive. You were staring hard at the ground, as though you wished it would swallow you up.

Mapi extended her foot, poking it against yours softly until you rolled your eyes and looked up at her.

"Why don't you like Christmas?" They weren't letting you out of this one easily. You took a big breath, fixing your gaze back down at your feet, before you spoke.

"My parents were really difficult. Not always, but for a while. I left home on Christmas 2 years ago. I haven't seen them since. It's not a very fun day for me," you explained, working hard to keep your voice from shaking.

Alexia and Mapi were silent, and you chanced a look up at them. Both were deep in thought, frowns etched across their faces.

"It's really not a big deal. I just don't do Christmas, I don't want to do Christmas. So whatever you're plotting, please don't," you said, desperate for them to understand.

"I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be rude," you started, suddenly alarmed that you'd seem ungrateful, but you were interrupted.

"No, don't apologize. Never apologize for telling us when you don't like something we're doing," Alexia said firmly, seeming to know what to say for the first time in minutes. "If you don't want to do Christmas, we don't make you." Mapi nodded her head rapidly in agreement.

"You were supposed to spend Christmas Eve with Marta and Caro, Christmas with me, and then go to Mapi's for a couple days, but we don't have to do any of that," Alexia continued, and you felt a wave of an unknown emotion wash over you.

You'd expected they'd been planning something, but not that they'd had you delegated somewhere every day of the break. It wasn't an overall bad feeling, just one you weren't used to.

"Thank you," you stated quietly, not really sure what else to say.

"The offers stand, though, pequeña. If you change your mind," Mapi insisted. "Also, ... it's possible that I rigged the secret santa and multiple people have you, and there isn't really anything I can do about that. So you'll get your gifts but you can be alone," she continued, biting her lip. She looked worried, as if you would be mad. Alexia looked slightly annoyed that Mapi had rigged the gift exchange, but much too preoccupied with you to yell at her then.

"Mapi," you groaned, allowing a small smile to form on your face, assuring her that you weren't mad. The gifts, you didn't mind. You could pretend they weren't Christmas related, and they'd be a good distraction.

Mapi launched into an animated story of how she managed to rig the exchange, [she'd just ended up giving more people presents to make up for all the people getting you things,]. The tricky part was, apparently, doing it behind Ingrid's back; this, you didn't doubt.

They walked you to your car, sensing that you didn't really want to talk any more about it, but leaving you with unusually tight hugs. You appreciated them a lot, even if they were too overbearing sometimes.

-----

When Mapi told you she'd messed with the Secret Santa, you assumed she meant that 2 people had you. Maybe 3. You were wrong.

First up at your apartment the first day of break, before everyone departed for their respective homes, was Ona. She'd managed to get you your favorite sweets from England, an entire box full. She stayed and chatted with you for a while, insisting that she didn't have anywhere to be until later. She was quite successful at getting your mind off things, and had you laughing with her after a bit. When she left, you made sure to tell her to thank Lucy for helping her with the gift, and she stammered out an agreement, a deep blush coating her cheeks.

Aitana showed up next, her gift amusedly from both her and Keira, as the ginger had helped her pick it out. It was a new washbag, not unlike Alexia's. They must have noticed you eyeing it appreciatively. Aitana also brought a mass amount of Christmas cookies, making you eat three before she left.

Patri and Claudia showed up next, pushing past you into your apartment as soon as you opened the door. They'd gotten you approximately 8 new games for your switch, and insisted on trying all of them with you. It left you wondering who the gift was really for, considering they often came over to play on the switch with you. Regardless, they stayed late into the evening, despite both having to get up early to head home the next morning.

Mapi and Ingrid arrived, bringing chaos with them. More Mapi than Ingrid. The Norwegian had gotten you a set of light blue ceramic mugs that matched your kitchen perfectly. You'd barely had time to admire them before Mapi was taking them out of your hands, and dragging you over to her absurdly large present. It was perfectly wrapped, like Ingrid's had been, and her cheeky smile told you that she wasn't as innocent as she'd like you to believe. You opened the box, finding it weirdly light. The inside was completely empty, and you looked at the girls in confusion. The doorbell rang then, and your confusion only grew, as Mapi had said she'd be the last to stop by.

You opened the door to reveal Alexia, holding a squirming puppy in her arms, with a bow haphazardly placed on it's head. Your jaw dropped. You'd mentioned wanting a dog a few times, but you'd wanted to wait until you settled in more.

"Is that... mine?" you asked, and all 3 girls laughed at your astonishment.

"Si!!" Mapi shouted, so overcome with excitement that she was practically bouncing up and down next to you. Alexia handed you the dog, and you noted that she was smiling wider than you'd ever seen her. Alexia and dogs.

He was a little thing, a mini long haired dachshund, light brown in color. His tail was wagging furiously, and he snuggled up to you right away, licking your face eagerly. You were completely speechless, almost moved to tears.

"Thank you," you said looking around at your teammates. You really didn't know what else to say; they'd gone so above and beyond, so out of their way to make these days slightly easier for you, to make sure you weren't alone, even if you wouldn't let them be there with you.

You handed the dog to Ingrid, before all but tackling Mapi in a hug.

"Te gusta?" she asked triumphantly, already knowing the answer. You nodded into her embrace, taking a second to pull yourself together, before hugging Alexia and Ingrid in turn. You hoped the hugs would convey what words could not.

They stayed for a bit, helping you get the dog settled, and watching him when you ran to the store to get puppy supplies. When they left, you could tell they seemed slightly sad; everything they'd done, and they still didn't feel like it was enough.

As Alexia hugged you goodbye, she spoke softly into the top of your head. "I'm around, y/n, if you're having a rough time, or you need someone to talk to. Call me, text me. Anytime. Christmas Eve, Christmas Day, I don't care."

You nodded in response, entirely sure that you wouldn't take her up on that; she'd done enough already.

-----

The days leading up were fine, fun even, especially with a puppy to take care of. You didn't think the day would hit you as hard this year, which maybe was naive. It hid you harder than it ever had. For the first time in a while, you were experiencing love and care in the way you used to from your parents. It made you miss the old versions of them. This, in turn, had you furious at them for becoming the people they'd become, so vile, so cruel. It was like there were two versions of them in your head; the smiling, blurry figures from your childhood. The angry, mean, much more vivid memories from your teenage years.

You wished that they hadn't hate a part of to the point that they might as well have just hated you as a whole. You were poisoned to them, for something you couldn't control.

You were in the midst of what was becoming your annual breakdown, this time trying to keep your sobs quiet as your puppy was passed out on the couch next to you, when your phone rang. It was Mapi calling. You picked up before you could stop yourself, desperate to hear a kind voice.

"Hola pequeña! Just wanted to check in," Mapi sang over the phone.

"Hola Mapi," you responded softly, not really sure how to disguise how upset you were, now that you'd picked up.

"Are you okay y/n?" she asked, her voice much quieter.

"Yeah. Today just isn't very much fun."

"I'm sorry, pequeña. Is there anything I can do?" she asked, and this was what broke you. She'd done so much, yet she was still so desperate to make it better. It didn't make sense to you, why this person cared more about you and your happiness than your parents had.

You tried to keep your sobs muffled, not wanting to alarm Mapi, but she could tell what was going on. She didn't seem to know what to say or what to do, and you felt embarrassment flood your body at the fact that you were openly sobbing on the phone to your older teammate. You bit your lip, hard, forcing yourself to steady your breaths so you could speak.

"Fuck, I'm sorry Mapi. I'm fine, don't worry. Enjoy your Christmas.

"No, y/n, wait,"

You hung up. You fell apart again, burying your face in the soft couch cushions. Your phone buzzed under you again and again, no doubt Mapi calling you back. Time was a blur as you cried, and you really couldn't have said how much time passed before there was a frantic knock at your door. Your puppy barked, launching himself across the room towards the door.

You knew who it was before you even got up, cursing yourself for not answering one of Mapi's calls to assure her you were really fine. You should have known she'd call Alexia panicking.

Sure enough, when you opened your door, you got a quick glimpse of her face, outfit, hair, all telling you she had left some celebration to come to you, before she was smashing into you, pulling you into her arms. You were crying again, or maybe you'd never stopped, and Alexia pulled back to look down at your face, frantically checking to see if you were physically okay. Mapi's call must have been really panicked, then, if she hadn't explained well enough what had happened on your own phone call.

"What happened?" Alexia asked. You shrugged through your tears, which seemed to be enough to convince Alexia that you hadn't broken any bones. She led you back to your couch, tucking you into her side as she called Mapi back. She spoke quietly to her teammate, letting you feel what you needed to feel, and assuring Mapi that she had you, and that you'd be alright. It was reassuring to you, too, really.

Alexia's presence was unwavering, arm wrapped tightly around your shoulders, every so often wiping tears off your face. When you were done crying, finally, she handed you your water, instructing you to drink. You did, placing the water back down on the table, and scooping up your puppy back onto your lap.

"Sorry you had to come," You rasped eventually, running your fingers through the dogs fur, soothing him as well as yourself.

"Don't be. I'm glad Mapi called me. I'm glad she called you, you shouldn't have to be alone when you're upset."

"Your family-"

"-all understood that I needed to be here," she finished, gaze fixed steadily on you.

"Thank you for coming," you said, pausing. "I'm not really used to this. All these people caring."

"Well, you better get used to it, because we all care about you, a lot. And we're always going to make sure you're okay, even when you tell us you are. You're not always very believable when you say you're fine."

Her words hit hard, and you sat in silence for a bit, until your puppy got bored, and attempted to gnaw on Alexia's hand. You both laughed, watching as he got distracted again, this time by your foot sticking out of a blanket.

"Come on, get dressed. We'll take him to go meet my family. Get some of that energy out."

Alexia presented this as a statement, but her face held a question, and you knew she would stay here with you, if that's what you wanted. You were surprised to find that it wasn't. You took her outstretched hand, and she smiled triumphantly. You smiled too. When you'd moved here, you hadn't smiled much. You found yourself smiling a lot more now; because of your teammates mostly. They had changed your life, when you hadn't realized you'd needed it to be changed. It was really amazing, what a little love could do for someone who was hurting.

-----

that was so much longer than i intended!!!! got a tad carried away. also mapi didn't tear her meniscus in this because i said so.

[lady-raziel]

Cna i... Can I ask what the beef is with M Night Shyamalan?

fair warning, this is a self-indulgently long post. but if you endure the page break, you may find the story entertaining.

a long time ago...in a small indie comic book shop in downtown Philadelphia...

picture this. it's circa 2016. my hyperfixation at the time is DC Comics-- the Flash specifically. I like the Flash, but I really like his nemesis, the Reverse Flash. This guy's gimmick is that he has the same powers as the Flash, but he's also evil because he used to be a Flash stan and his idol didn't validate their parasocial relationship when they actually met in person, and now he just wants to kill the Flash instead. It's a long story. Reverse Flash has died many times. He's also from the future, but that's not the important bit right now.

Anyway, despite being one of the Flash's main enemies, there are not that many comic book issues that feature the Reverse Flash for some reason. My main hobby at the time of this whole ordeal is to go to the local comic book shops and search through the bins of back issues to find anything with the Reverse Flash in it (bonus points if he's on the cover, but at a certain point you can't be picky). I'd been fairly successful at this, and had even been able to avoid buying too much off Ebay as I really didn't care too much about the condition or grade of the comics. The comic book shop in downtown Philly I was in on the day of the Incident was one I'd been to before, but not in a while as I went to school out in the suburbs and didn't leave that general area too much.

So. I enter this shop, and it's not too busy. That's a good thing as it's not a large space and if there were too many people it would have been very difficult to navigate around the displays of Funko Pops and tables of back issues. However, as I was soon about to find out, it doesn't matter if there's only one other person shopping at the same time as you if that person is the wrong person.

I make my way to the back where all the big boxes of old comics are, and scan the rows alphabetically to find the 'Fs.' I see 'Firestorm,' and 'Fantastic Four,' and all the others...but there, right there, where the Flash comics should be...there's a guy. Standing there. In the way.

Now, that's alright. He just seemed to be perusing randomly and wasn't actually looking at the Flash comics specifically (my Flash comics), and I can just go look at the action figures or something until he moves to another section of the shop. No problem. I mean, it's one box of comics, Harold. How long does it take to look through it? 5 minutes? No, all I have to do is wait a little bit and then I can examine those 1980s Flash comics with my own grubby little paws.

So I do a loop of the store. I examine the Funko Pops (they all look the same), the t-shirts (only Hot Topic quality), the new comics (Superman #1? How many times are they going to reboot this thing?), and even the super expensive vintage comics up on the wall (no Reverse Flash here, and it would still be beyond my price point anyway). But when I finally make my way back to the back issues, the guy...is still there. He hasn't moved. And now he's not even pretending to look at the comics anymore.

Now, to my horror, he seems to be having a full-on conversation with one of the store employees right on top of my box of comics, and neither of them seem like they plan to end this discussion anytime soon. You may be asking at this point, "well Raz, if you wanted to look at the comics where they were standing, why didn't you just ask them to move out of the way?" You're right. I could have done that.

But problem. I have social anxiety. And sometimes it gets very bad about very small things. So while it would have been entirely reasonable to ask these two men to move their conversation elsewhere, the crippling social anxiety made it so that asking for that very small and reasonable thing would have been akin to asking these guys if they would set me on fire right here right now, please and thank you. It wasn't gonna happen. My only option was to hover uncomfortably 6 feet away, pretending to go through the back issues systematically and hope they picked up on what I was doing and moved out of the way when I got back to the 'Fs,' or give up and suffer an hour and a half on the SEPTA train back home with nothing to show for it.

now, i've never had a conversation with famous filmmaker and director M Night Shyamalan. I didn't even know what he looked like at the time, so when all this happened I thought he was just Some Guy who in his unawareness was keeping me from completing my mission. Maybe he's a really engaging conversationalist and talking with him causes you to not notice anything going on around you. That may even be the case-- as neither the Twistmaster himself or the besotted store employee seemed to notice I was there. But I WAS there. And my frantic silent social cues were being "returned to sender," unread.

Meanwhile I was enduring a level of internal turmoil on the level of a character in a Greek tragedy. This was my crucible. Surrender, or do something I was honor-bound not to do. Was this the meaning of an impossible choice?

It was only after almost 15 long, agonizing minutes and two more laps of the store on my part that finally, finally there was a breakthrough. Unaware Man (for this would be Shyamalan's superhero code name) and Employee-Bro had moved to the cash register, as the former had found something he wanted to buy. With speed rivaling the Flash himself, I descended on the fated box of comics like a plague. It seemed that the day had not been lost after all.

However, like any film from the man himself, there was to be a final twist to this tale. One last turn of the knife. You might be thinking-- "And it turned out that there weren't any comics in the box you wanted to buy after all, rendering this whole ordeal meaningless, right? Like any tragic hero you endured the terrible trials only to discover that the treasure you sought was a hollow fantasy of your own creation, and this all could have been avoided if you had not fallen prey to the follies of man?"

No. The problem was-- I did find several comics in that box that I wanted to buy. I even found one with the Reverse Flash on the cover. But now that I had found my prize, I faced a new, even greater challenge, which was somewhat an extension of the old challenge, but to the extreme.

I now had to get Employee-Bro to ring me up so I could leave this cursed place, but here's the kicker: I had to do this while he was still utterly engaged in discussion with Unaware Man and thus blind to the outside world. I had come out of the frying pan and into the fire, because now it wasn't like I could just go home and take only a feeling of defeat with me. My precious comic book finds were on the line, and what was I going to do? Just put them back in the box and leave?

Unfortunately, I was committed. I would have to stand reasonably out of the way of Unaware Man's personal space yet close enough to indicate that I was, yes, in line to check out my purchases. And goddamnit, I was going to do this until all of us died of old age or the world ended.

I kind of lost all sense of time at that point. It could have been only a few minutes. It could have been five hours. All I know is that it was long enough that I wished for the sweet release of death, because then at least I'd be able to lie down. How it eventually went down was that Employee-Bro rung up Unaware Man (because really, processing a credit card transaction and signing the receipt only can take so long), and the two continued to talk as Employee-Bro gradually gained awareness that I Was There Too, and multitasked to check out my items while remaining totally focused on his other conversation and not speaking a word to me.

And that was it. I was free, from the physical prison of the comic book store at least. But again, like a Shyamalan film, this was in reality only the end of the second act. Because as I walked through the streets of Center City Philadelphia and rested my head against the smudged window of the SEPTA train on the way home, I started to descend into the mental turmoil of the question, "wait, who was that guy? Was he like...famous, or something?"

If you've ever been to a comic con or spent enough time in a hobby shop, you know that sometimes Nerd Bros can get really deep into conversation about these sorts of things. Many of them even have lots of opinions on films, and will be happy to share them in detail unprompted. So it wasn't entirely unreasonable for me not to realize in the moment that what was happening wasn't just "Nerd Bros Being Dudes."

But the more I thought about it, the one-sided adoring dynamic between Employee Bro and Unaware Man did seem unusual. And in the bits of their conversation that I had been forced to endure, hadn't one of them mentioned something about...filming locations? What was that about? Nobody in their right mind films stuff in Philly unless they're making the 86th Rocky film or the like.

It was a Google search of "movies filming in Philadelphia" that returned several results of articles talking about how location scouting was going on in the area as part of the production of a long-awaited sequel to the 2000 film Unbreakable, a undercover superhero sleeper hit. Unbreakable, a film set in Philadelphia, written and directed by famous filmmaker M Night Shyamalan.

Shyamalan. SHYAMALAN. the man responsible for 2010's The Last Airbender. it was HIM. he was not only the man who originated the (still unbroken!) curse on the Avatar franchise, but also the man who had ruined my day. Thoughtlessly. Carelessly. Not by massacring a beloved children's television franchise, but by being unaware. Inconceivable.

This was horrific. It wasn't even like I was the Reverse Flash or any other famous superhero nemesis, who had a compelling backstory causing their undying hatred of the hero. Instead, I now had a narrative foil who barely even fit that description, because chances are he hadn't even taken notice of my existence the whole time! This was my supervillain origin story, and it was his normal day!

It was at this moment I swore an oath. I would not forget this terrible day of inconvenience that was partially caused by my own social failings. I would dedicate my life from this point forward to slightly narrowing my eyes and shaking my head disapprovingly when I saw mentions of Shyamalan or his works online. I would color any opinions I had of his films with the thought, "but remember that one time he was kind of a dick to you without even meaning it? what was up with that?"

and that is the tale of my tragic encounter with M Night Shyamalan. To this day, my only solace is that my epic origin story turned out more narratively coherent and with deeper substance than any other film made in the Unbreakable saga, including the one he was location scouting for at the time this happened. Shyamalan can write twists all he wants, but no one is better at that game than karma itself.

-END-

[crackinwise]

Look, here's why "Teen" CAN'T be Billy (and it'd make me extra pissed off if it is.) Spoilers for Agatha All Along and Marvel comics!

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Billy is a Scarlet Witch fanboy first and foremost. He's also a shameless nerd for all the Avengers, like Kamala Khan. Making his introduction be as an Agatha fanboy, even just as a con, is maddening. Why need her or help her get powers back when he'd know how dangerous she is to Wanda and himself by extension? He's already extremely strong on his own. Why nerf him?

For Billy to be here in search of Wanda, it means they would have majorly skipped his origin story. He had a new family he was born into and a team, adventures, love, all before he AND HIS BRO went to find Wanda. Hell, he thought she was dead like everyone else for a while.

Billy got Wanda back with FAMILY help. His brother Tommy. Uncle Pietro. Grandpappy Magneto. (I do understand the MCU won't let us have the last two.) A family quest to find family being turned into a Halloween Wizard Of Oz journey with an enemy would give me a migraine. They re-imagined House Of M so recognizably with Wandavision, so why would they fumble Billy's comics here?

There's no reason Billy's name or story would be forbidden to Agatha. Who would have made that spell? Why? Would she even recognize him when his last name is very different and family life has no connection to Wanda at all? I doubt he keeps blabbing to her that he's Wanda's son if he's really pretending to be Agatha's stan. (There's another theory of who Teen is that makes more sense for his name to be hidden, but his comics aren't in my wheelhouse.)

When Teen said a spell in the first episode, it was some Latin mumbling instead of his will. Billy in the comics, at least when he's still young, wills things to be in order to use his magic. He says what he wants like a mantra, out loud in plain words. I know the MCU might have nix'd this since he didn't do it in Wandavision either, but I still have hope they'll give it back. It shows how powerful he is, like his mother who could change all reality with an errant thought.

If the boyfriend calling was Teddy, that means they also skipped the couple growing closer on their team and the whole Skrull/Kree prince thing by this point in the timeline, and I'm just already so mad it's taken this long to even get one HINT of Teddy in the MCU, so if they really made his introduction be a neglected phone call I'll scream. He did stay home and worry and cover for the twins while they searched for their mom, but that's AFTER they'd established themselves as heroes and Teddy had his own family crisis. (They should have introduced him in The Marvels, I'm—)

No red in Teen's color scheme nor any resemblance to young Asgardian or Wiccan costumes. It's the weakest argument but the wardrobe dept usually gives us something. Billy had the color scheme in Wandavision and got to mimic his Wiccan costume besides (not the ugly galaxy pajamas they have him in nowadays). There's a promo poster that DOES have Teen in red with a headband, but it still seems off to me. Seems like a trick.

Granted, if Teen is really who most suspect to be another character close to Agatha, he doesn't have that color scheme either and I'd completely understand why...

Now stop making such smartass posts in the tag casually calling Teen "Billy" until we know. Because not only are you raising my blood pressure, but it's disrespectful to people who like to avoid untagged spoilers and you may just be setting them up for no reason. It's rude.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #329: STARTING LINE-UP

February, 1991

Captain America: "Ladies and gentlemen, the time has come to announce -- A NEW TEAM OF AVENGERS!"

I see Monica in the bottom right. The Avengers should definitely re-hire her. The way she left the team was bullshit.

I also see Black Knight. Did he ever get out of that time warp that Thor dumped him into?

Perhaps I will find out in this issue.

Last times in Avengers: Larry Hama took over writing duties and that has been a shift.

The Avengers met new hero Rage who demanded to join the team and then they picked a fight with him. But later he accidentally joined the team on an interdimensional adventure and helped out.

Rage also angered a drug dealer subordinate of Kingpin by tearing down his entire house.

Meanwhile, in the middle of dealing with a Russian man with cancer and energy powers for the US government, the Avengers were fired by the US government in order to appease the Russian government.

And apparently, the Avengers have decided to deal with that with a roster shakeup?

Everyone copes in their own way, I guess.

The Avengers have apparently coped by calling in the extended membership for a two day long meeting to quibble over revisions to the bylaws.

Not to try to get back in the good graces of the US government, what with its Henry Peter Gyriches and such. Oh, no. But Cap thinks they can get another charter.

With the United Nations.

I was vaguely aware that the Avengers got a UN charter at one point. Mostly because I was vaguely aware that the Bloodlines crossover between Avengers and X-Men kinda shat the bed for that charter, since the Avengers went into Genosha against orders.

As described by UN rep Ms Bannerjee: "If the Avengers will agree to amend their charter to allow for a truly international membership, I am empowered to offer the Avengers a new charter -- as a special unit of our peace-keeping force, assignable only to cosmic, extraterrestrial, extradimensional, occult, subterranean, sub-oceanic menaces, invasions, limited incursions, infestations and enchantments not instigated, abetted or sanctioned by a current member nation."

So. I mean. That's all comic book bullshit, which is what the Avengers mostly focused on. It's not like the Avengers ever wanted to get involved in the Falklands War.

Still, something feels wrong about the very specific laying out of jurisdiction here, where the Avengers can stop any threat to Earth, unless a UN member is behind it and then they just have to sit by.

I'd love to know if Larry Hama ever spoke at length about his plans for Avengers because this is a very fast pivot. Clearly, Hama felt a way about the way the Avengers were beholden to the US government and wanted to try a different angle for who the Avengers worked for.

Anyway, everyone in the meeting cheers their new charter.

Whether that's out of genuine enthusiasm or just wanting the meeting to be over, it is unclear.

Meanwhile, the escapees from the exile dimension are chilling on the roof of the Chapel of St. Jude the Lesser, being confused as gargoyles by tourists.

Ngh the Unspeakable is playing this interdimensional invasion thing carefully. Instead of jumping right into causing chaos, he has decided to study this new world, seek out allies, avoid the Avengers until they can destroy them.

Meanwhile, the Avengers.

God only knows if they followed up on Xa disappearing from the hospital. They're really busy with deciding a new line-up.

Which is almost the old line-up!

Captain America as the chair-being (new bylaws changed the title because of not-humans), Thor, Sersi, Vision, Quasar, Black Widow, and She-Hulk.

Also, I think is the first time Black Widow has been an Avenger. It's been awfully close a few times but something always got in the way.

This is an okay roster but when the UN rep talked about an international membership I expected more than... Black Widow. Who can't be said to be a truly international member, since she defected from Russia to the United States.

This isn't exactly the New X-Men, where Professor X scouted people from around the world. Or Justice League International, which had embassies around the world and an international membership.

But there's at least a team of reservists being set up at the same time. Back-up Avengers who fill-in for a specified member if they're unable to attend to their Avengers duties.

There's a lot going into deciding who the reservists will be. It's a very long, involved, and boring process.

Namor: "Enough of this pettifoggery! Let us vote!"

Thank you for the vocabulary word of the day, Namor.

I'm surprised that you made it through two days of bylaws quibbling without breaking something.

Meanwhile, Jarvis distributes coffee and donuts to the Avengers Support Crew, who really want to know how the meeting is going. It's a closed meeting, though, so Jarvis has as much an idea as they do, which he conveys very dryly.

John Jameson: "Are they still voting in there?" Jarvis: "If I could tell you that, they wouldn't need to have a closed meeting, now, would they, Mr. Jameson?"

Also hanging around are Rage and a mysterious man who is completely covered up in a jacket and blue mask.

Rage: "I don't know who you are, but apparently the Avengers invited the both of us to this affair and so far, all we got to do is hang out in the hall for close to two days! What do they want from us?" Mysterious guy: "Could be, Rage... that what they want from us, is something we might be lucky enough to provide."

Well, the main roster has already been chosen. So probably to be reserve Avengers?

Meanwhile, in Brooklyn, L.D. 50 is raging about Rage. Where does that guy get off interfering with a perfectly legitimate business like drug dealing?

L.D. 50: "Superheroes are supposed to battle super-villains! Now this Rage is fomenting change! As the social order disintegrates, more of these super-Pollyannas will start meddling in our business on the street level! We dealers have to act, for our survival!"

Wait until this guy hears about street-level heroes.

Anyway, Ngh the Unspeakable is eavesdropping right outside the window and decides this is a flawlessly evil guy he can work with. So he busts into L.D. 50's hideout to meet him. He even deigns to speak in the human vernacular!

Ngh the Unspeakable: "What's popping, home? Hey, you and me, we have to talk mega-deal here, comprende? I got the powers and you know the turf. I'm new in town and you got the moves. Together we can make boogie. Are we down? Can we get bad with each other, or what?" L.D. 50: "Uhh... I know my Goethe... You aren't Lucifer or any of the thousand names of ultimate evil, are you? My soul isn't in jeopardy?" Ngh the Unspeakable: "If you had one, why would I want the funky ol' thing? This is bidness! Used souls are a drug on the market!"

I love that this is what Ngh has learned by spying on humanity for a while.

The fact that he decides to speak the vernacular to put L.D. 50 at ease when L.D. 50 himself speaks in as many five dollar words as he can, is also incredibly funny.

L.D. 50 asks if Ngh can really deal with Rage and Ngh says the key is to find what he loves and attack that.

Later, the Avengers hold a press conference to announce their new roster and charter to a big crowd of journalists and anti-Avengers protestors.

Not sure what the Avengers did this time but there's people holding signs with a no symbol over the Avengers A and other signs that say "Elitist Fascists Must Disband."

Captain America: "I'm sure I speak for the others when I pledge to you that the Avengers shall continue to serve as we have always served and that we shall never forget what the words 'Avengers Assemble' stand for!" Some guy in the crowd: "It stands for fascist vigilantes!! When do we, the people, get a chance to see this new charter? What kind of deal did you make with the politicians and the plutocrats?"

Hm, I wonder if this is holdover from Acts of Vengeance. Part of Loki's big plan was to tank the reputation of superheroes in the public eye.

Anyway.

The Avengers Support Crew distributes copies of the new charter throughout the crowd and the new roster is announced as Captain America, Thor, Sersi, Quasar, She-Hulk, Vision, and Black Widow.

We already knew all that. But! Captain America also announces nearly a whole second roster of reservists!

Spider-Man, Black Knight, Falcon, Hercules, and Captain Marvel!

Nearly a whole. Because there's two additional reservists who have to do their time first as probationary Avengers.

Just as Rage is complaining that the Avengers had him hang around for two days and then invited him to a press conference and not really demonstrating any pattern recognition, Rage is announced as a probationary Avenger, if he wants it!

(They really should not have sprung this on him in front of a press conference. I know he said he wanted to be an Avenger but there's things that should be discussed privately first.)

Rage even accuses Cap of springing this on him and calls it an ambush. Although he's not super upset and he even seems happy when Cap says his Granny Staples would be proud of him.

Although, Cap assumes she's dead, which she isn't, because she was old during Rage's origin story. Which took place when he was twelve.

AND ALSO THE OTHER PROBATIONARY MEMBER IS MYSTERIOUS GUY WHO TAKES OFF HIS MASK AND REVEALS HIMSELF AS SANDMAN!

I've heard about Sandman being a reservist!

Sure, Sandman was a supervillain but he's got a presidential pardon. He can be an Avenger, on probation.

Before more things happen, I want to talk reservists.

They're not just randos. They were picked for having powers similar to the people they'd be called into replace.

So with a team of Captain America, Thor, Sersi, Quasar, She-Hulk, Vision, and Black Widow and a reserve team of Spider-Man, Black Knight, Falcon, Hercules, Captain Marvel, Rage, and Sandman who matches up to who?

Thor and Hercules seems like the obvious one. So I'm guessing that She-Hulk's understudy is Rage. Similar enough powers of punching really hard and they also vibed pretty well in that exile dimension. I'm guessing Quasar and Captain Marvel? They have similar versatility and have light-based powers. Captain America and Falcon also seems likely. They were partners for a good, long while. And hell, even if this comic doesn't know it yet, Falcon will become Captain America later.

I'm just confused with the rest. Neither Spider-Man nor Black Knight is a real replacement for Sersi and her do-anything powers. Nor for Vision. Sandman isn't either but he can at least do a lot with sand. Is he Quasar's back-up? His do-anything sand is like Quasar's energy constructs but Captain Marvel is more in Quasar's weight class. So, I dunno.

Anyway, just when Rage seems maybe happy with getting in the Avengers after all, one of the angry anti-Avengers protestors nails him with an egg and calls him an Uncle Tom.

The Avengers assume he's going to blow his top and assault the crowd, so hold him back, but he seems to just mutter "Granny Staples" to calm himself down.

Unfortunately, L.D. 50 and Ngh the Unspeakable are watching the press conference and Ngh is really good at reading lips. So he figures out what Rage is saying and that it must be the name of a loved one. And L.D. is going to use his contacts to hunt down a granny named Staples.

Just when Rage has calmed himself down, the lady calls him a stooge of the slavemongers and that's a bit more than Rage is willing to take. He marches down into the crowd and snatches away her protest sign.

Some white lady: "That's right! Come on down and beat me up! That's all you superhero types know about, ignorance and violence! Are you happy to be among your elitist pig friends, so you can be bullies together?" Rage: "Who's the bully here? Who thew the egg? Who is the arrested development adolescent who thinks her own narrow views are the center of the universe?" Some white lady: "See? He's attacking me! He's a brutal fascist just like his friends!" Rage: "These aren't my friends! I don't particularly like them and for the most part, they aren't really crazy about me, either! It has to do with cultural differences and generations of hate and misunderstanding! Understanding doesn't come from outside agitation. Change has to come from within. If the Avengers want to give me the chance to change them, then I don't care what their motivations are." Captain America: "Your methods scare the geewilikers out of me, Rage... But I can't disagree with what's in your heart."

What methods? Yeah, he snatched away and broke a protest sign. But he called out a jerk, much like how many other Avengers would. His rhetoric wasn't even extreme.

Anyway.

A giant glowing snake, a glowing one-eyed pyramid (Bill?), and a glowing person with two giant heads peeking over their shoulders show up looking for the Avengers.

Identifying themselves as the Tetrarchs of Entropy: Hafga of the Coils of Infinity, Yod of the All-Seeing Eye, Vug the Burning, and Heml of the Myriad Visages.

The Tetrarchs of Entropy declare the Avengers guilty of helping Ngh escape from the dimension of exile. The punishment: the pyramid stare-a-ports them to a forever sentence in the dimension of exile.

Well, that's not fair. Some of the people getting punished weren't even involved. Like Quasar and Vision! And Black Widow just became an Avenger five minutes ago!

The reservists assemble with the West Coast team and charge at the Tetrarchs... and bounce off a force field.

Then the big, glowy doofuses fuck off, presumably to go fail to track down Ngh.

Elsewhere, the Dimension of Exile! The Avengers are trapped! No, really!

They could come and go previously because Thor had Mjolnir. But the Tetrarchs have trapped not only Mjolnir but also Sersi in crystal so the Avengers can't break themselves out of jail.

Also, meanwhile, Ngh the Unspeakable and also Xa and a third guy have tracked down Granny Staples.

She confuses him for the devil and threatens to kick his ass if he doesn't fuck off.

Bad things are probably about to happen but you gotta admire the gusto.

Next week, back over to Avengers West Coast for Ultron and Grim Reaper plots. And next next week, back to this to see if this devil man is going to fight an old lady.

Follow @essential-avengers because you might as well. And if you're doing that, why not like, reblog, and comment on this post?

[morocosmos]

Writer Interview Game

Tagged by @arcaneoddity, tyyyy 💜

When did you start writing?

I noodled at an unfinished story or two when i was a kid (i drew comics a lot more tbh), the first fanfic i wrote was when i was 13 (it is consigned to ff.net, never to be perceived again). i started developing my writing during secondary school, we had to for english class but i genuinely enjoyed those assignments so much that it didn't feel like schoolwork lmao, it was smth of an outlet. i did write a couple of fics for other fandoms between 2016 and mid 2020, but in late 2020 FFXIV revived my desire to create, while @stellarfatalism and @lemoncakedesign's fics inspired me to actually start writing.

Are there different themes or genres you enjoy reading than what you write?

I read a much wider variety of smut than what i could be convinced to write. other than that i think they mostly overlap.

Is there a writer you want to emulate or get compared to often?

@haillenarte, @rabbitprint and @sezja's fics have stuck with me the most in terms of "god i want to be able to write characters like this"....i've never been compared to another writer before, never even considered it and idk how i'd feel.

Can you tell me a bit about your writing space?

I was writing on openoffice at first, but their software has a tendency to crash when you press two keys too fast, for example when you. try to save your work. moved to gdocs to avoid that and so that i could continue working on fic on my phone, but i also use the notes app on there, mainly to get down ideas that i don't want running away or to write more freely. it's easier to be experimental and loose when i'm writing in notes, idk, whereas i prefer sitting at the desk and working on my computer when it's a longer fic or a more """important""" piece.

What’s your most effective way to muster up a muse?

I've let it happen when it happens, for the most part. i was forcing myself to power through job around the time i really grew into writing, so i needed it to be a space where i wouldn't do it if i didn't want to. my feelings about that are more mixed now, because i'm a slow writer to begin with, and i can't help but wonder if more people would read my stuff if i updated more consistently. but i digress - the only time i've had to bring the muse in myself was for to sail your seas, and that was because there was accountability and a deadline. so i guess my most effective tricks are ADHD hacks and brainworms.

Are there any recurring themes in your writing? Do they surprise you?

Until recently i didn't approach fic writing with themes in mind, when i get an idea it's usually about throwing a character at something and seeing what happens. that something tends to be another character, sometimes it's more existential like touch starvation. that said, i do have a WIP where i sat down and thought about what i want the themes to be before i know how it's going to pan out, but it's baby's first attempt so i don't have an answer to this question yet, really.

What is your reason for writing?

Processing things i know and exploring things i don't. when i got back into writing in 2020 it was extremely cathartic, i've burnt out on several creative pursuits over the years and having that spark come alive was, and is still very precious to me. i spent two years writing simply because i had ideas and a vice-grip compulsion to write them out. now that that's slowed down, i've started to think more about craft, and how i might try to hone that when i'm lowkey afraid of this stage of learning, and there's no formal institution to kick my ass into it. but in some ways, i think i write because i can't afford not to.

What do you feel is your greatest strength as a writer?

I've been told by a friend that i'm good at continuity, which is nice considering it lines up with the obsessive approach i take towards trying to tie plot/character threads together lol. personally, i still consider descriptive writing to be my greatest strength. it's what i keep going back to, maybe because it was the first thing i discovered i was good at that wasn't influenced by someone else's decision.

How do you feel about your own writing?

I miss the honeymoon period when i thought my writing was the hottest shit LOL. that tapered off towards the end of 2022, but it's not like i think my writing is bad now, just that over time i became more aware of my shortcomings, and how much knowledge and experience i lack. i did have to fight a little to keep my relationship with writing from souring last year, but in hindsight it was more about frustration that i didn't have the energy to write (work burnout wooo) than a problem with writing itself. after a year plus of stalling and big fic projects i just want to have fun again, be a bit silly.

[riddlerosehearts]

got myself thinking about my own personal experiences with frozen, and why the first movie means enough to me to be my favorite of all time, and thought i might as well just go ahead and post about it in case there's anyone who wants to read it. although i'm not great with words, so this post will probably be too long and feel too silly and over the top, and i should also warn that this is a lot of very personal information, but:

i saw frozen in theaters on its opening weekend in 2013. i hadn't listened to any of the songs in advance at all--i've avoided listening to the soundtracks for new disney movies prior to seeing them in theaters ever since i saw princess and the frog in 2009, because i feel like i enjoy my first experience with the movie and the music more that way. although i may have already overheard snippets of let it go back then just because it was so popular. i honestly don't remember too clearly because my strongest memory by far of hearing let it go for the first time is being absolutely blown away by it in the theater.

so. i've had depression and social anxiety since i was a kid, and, although i didn't know this until several years after frozen was released, i'm autistic as well. so dealing with all of these things at once, combined with the fact that i had no idea i was autistic, made me think i just couldn't ever fit in with anyone because i was weird and there was something wrong with me. for most of my life i never had any friends and i thought i had to hide from people as much as possible. which i do think is at least a little justified by the fact that the whole time i was in school from fifth grade through tenth grade--after tenth grade my parents finally pulled me out of public school and i was homeschooled, something i'd honesty been begging them to do--i was bullied and betrayed by friends in various ways because i was weird and didn't fit in. i won't go into details, but the fact that i knew while still in public school that i was bisexual also played into this.

so seeing elsa's parents hide her from the world because she had something that made her different from others, seeing her be taught to "conceal, don't feel" and called a monster, just hit me very hard when i first saw the movie. i interpreted her as having developed depression and anxiety like i did (and now, ever since 2016 when i discovered that i was autistic, i've also liked to headcanon her as such) and just felt so incredibly happy to see her proudly proclaim that she wasn't going to hold back and hide who she was anymore, letting herself freely use her powers, and decide that even if she had to be alone, at least she was free.

and then, seeing how anna fought so hard to get elsa to come home and make sure she knew that she didn't have to be alone and that she wasn't unloved, and seeing the people of arendelle accept her wholeheartedly as she created an ice skating rink at the end, gave me so much hope for myself. as did reading the "sisterhood is the strongest magic" books and other things like the various frozen comics, and watching frozen fever and olaf's frozen adventure, and seeing that elsa truly was accepted by her people, that she was capable and loved as queen and had a home, that anna and kristoff and all the people of arendelle appreciated her as she was, would be there when she felt anxious or needed a shoulder to cry on, and didn't at all believe that her powers made her weird and out of place with them. all of this just gave me so, so much comfort throughout the years and still does all of this time later.

i know a lot of people are sick of frozen and find it to be overhyped, and everyone certainly has the right to their opinion! but elsa is basically tied with one other fictional character as my favorite of all time, i love anna and kristoff and yes, even olaf, very dearly, and i do believe that the movie deserves all of the love it gets. i find it so beautiful that people can read elsa's powers and her story as an allegory for so many different things and connect with her and find comfort in her in so many different ways. i can hardly believe that it's been over 10 years since the movie came out, over 10 years since i saw elsa transform her stuffy coronation gown into that beautiful flowing ice dress and sing about finally letting herself be who she really was. maybe loving frozen even half as much as i do is "cringy", but this is my own personal tumblr blog and i will be as cringy as i want! and besides, the cold never bothered me anyway. i'm sorry, i couldn't resist saying that.

[traincat]

I know you haven't been following Zeb Wells run because you love yourself and you are a beautiful human being, but I know you saw that leak.

And sis, fuck it, just let Miles be Amazing Spider-Man. This whole Peter Parker thing? Tank that shit. Years ago, you suggested this and I, an avid Miles Morales fan, disagreed, but now...Norman Osborn is the good guy and genius now, Ned Leeds is happily married to the woman he abused with a kid, and apparently someone cloned Gwen Stacy to sleep with her best friend's father in a some twisted bed trick and I AM SO FUCKING DONE!

No, I am sick of the misogyny of these past three writers. I was sick when you had "Superior" Spock beat down Felicia Hardy and it being touted as "cool" and how awesome Otto was while he objectified and leered at Mary Jane in Peter's body or used Peter's memories with Mary Jane as his own porn take. I was sick of Cindy Moon being used as a glorified Axe Commercial power fantasy of Peter being oh so irresistible that she can't keep her hands off of him and some twisted Asian fetish! I am sick of a writer stating MJ has no real value as a love interest to Peter because she doesn't care about real things! I am sick of the background routine violence of different variances of sexual assault such as Michelle Rodriguez getting assaulted by Chameleon because she thought it was Peter, Anna Marie getting assaulted by SpOck because she thought it was Peter and after the fact still fancying the guy who tricked her, Betty Brant getting impregnated by the clone of her abusive husband because what is the point of being a woman in Spider-Man if you aren't sleeping with Peter and not married?

You kill Kamala Khan? Sure, it's to bring her back as a mutant but you do it in Peter's book? Yes, Kamala Khan, famously known as Spider-Man character, dies in a plotline that had nothing to do with her. Peter has no connection to her. And you fridged her? For Peter's angst?! While you have MJ and FUCKING Paul eloping in the background!? I am over this shit. Bring on Miles.

I was actually going to wait until "the most shocking issue ever" was released to catch up on Wells' run and then I saw the leaked spoilers and then Marvel confirmed the leaked spoilers and then there was no avoiding the leaked spoilers. And like to be completely fair I did not see this ending coming. I don't think even the most out there comic bookies had "Kamala Khan dies in a Spider-Man book" on the odds. It's just a completely ludicrous choice on every level, unless your only marketing strategy is to cause outrage.

It's sort of weird because up until this point I think my biggest complaint about this run wasn't unique to it specifically -- my complaints were things that the Spencer and Slott runs had also done, and to a lesser extent, mostly because of time restraints, the various short-lived Spider-Man tie-ins and events. (Beyond was a mess, and while Wells was leading it, there's multiple people to blame there.) It's all well and good that people are saying it took too long to reveal the bad guy of this storyline, because it did, but compared to the seventy issues it took them to reveal Kindred's identity, this has been fast-paced for modern Peter Spider-Man comics (which is a problem in and of itself). Like if I had to pick one Wells-specific complaint before this point, I'd have to say that the way he withholds information doesn't actually serve his storytelling -- it makes readers frustrated, not intrigued, to be confronted by things like Paul and MJ's mystery kids. It's similar to how there was obviously something wrong with Ben Reilly in Beyond, but the story took far too long to reveal what it was. I think the flash forward in Amazing Spider-Man and questions like "what did Peter do" hurt it far more than it helped to build up any sort of reader curiosity. It doesn't help that those storylines ultimately don't lead anywhere, it's just red herrings and desperate scrambling all the way down, but this time with Wells bringing up a storyline I best remember as "pretty boring" that he wrote in 2008. I genuinely don't believe anyone out there was asking for a The Last Nameless Day sequel. (Does anyone even remember The Last Nameless Day.)

And the "shocking ending" they've been teasing this entire time is killing Kamala Khan in a totally unrelated superhero's book with no catharsis and no meaning for the actual character, and framing Peter front and center on the cover of her announced memorial issue. It's deeply tasteless, stupid, and offensive, even more so because we know she'll almost definitely be brought back in a few months in time for the release of The Marvels movie. I had been kind of side-eyeing this run having Kamala intern for Norman Osborn, because she's a top ten character I want Norman to stay away from, and that they did that with the intent most likely of killing her off all along is just so tasteless. And you're right, the misogyny in the recent years has gotten really out of control, even as they try to spackle over it with girl powers moments you can crop down to a single panel, recirculate around social media, and feel good about devoid of context. There's been a lot of fridgings (Mattie Franklin, Ashley Kafka, Marla Jameson) but they were all of Spider-Man characters. If Marvel has a headlinining, incredibly popular, marginalized teen girl character, and they're going to kill her off for shock value or to reset her powers in keeping with the movies or whatever, they should at least have the grace to do it in her own book and not in a highly criticized Spider-Man run. It's clear these problems are going way higher on the Marvel ladder.

I would rather they kill Peter 100%! And this has nothing to do with the "twist ending" because it definitely wouldn't fix that, but I really do think at this point that the only way to fix a lot of the damage that's been done to Peter Spider-Man on such a deep level is to kill him for a few years. Like at least five. It'll give some purpose to the endless amounts of spinoff books (who was asking for a Red Goblin Normie Osborn spinoff) and provide enough time for things to settle enough for a soft reset.

[kilowogcore]

Back to the Silver Age: Wally West's Origins

With all the excitement goin' on in The Flash ongoin' series, I figgured I'd go back an' read The Flash #110 from January, 1960, which wuz the first appearance of Wally West, my favorite Flash!

Unlike Barry Allen, who's a cop an' kinda self-obsessed, Wally wuz always about helpin' others an' connections with family an' friends.

We first get introduced ta' him as the head of a local Flash fan club. Back in' the olden days before the internet kids had ta' get together in a physical location ta' do things like play Dungeons an' Dragons.

Before even Dungeons an' Dragons, though, they got together an' formed fan clubs fer celebrities! Nowadays a lotta our knowledge a' fandom an' the activities of these celebrities come from the efforts of these fan clubs, not ta' mention they provided lotsa young Boomers ta' scream their heads off fer people like Elvis Presley in a way that puts the most ardent Belieber or Swiftie ta' shame!

Seriously, go look at video a' live concerts from the 60s, an' remember that next time any Boomer complains 'bout "kids these days." They were way, way weirder an' less socially balanced than us.

Anyway, Wally's a Flash fan, so Barry secretly becomes the Flash ta' shake his hand, a nice thing ta' do fer the kid!

Then, as a treat, Flash shows Wally the exact set-up a' chemicals that gave him his powers! Y'know, as ya' do.

An' then he puts Wally right where he wuz standin' when the accident happens! Which seems, um, irresponsible? Like where are ya' goin' with this Barry, what if--

Oh, a freak lightning bolt out of a clear blue sky just hit Wally. Huh. I feel like this wuz predictable an' coulda been avoided by, y'know, not posing a child near dangerous chemicals.

Anyway, Wally's Kid Flash now. Barry gets him a little costume (a duplicate of Barry's, he wouldn't get the iconic yellow costume 'til later), an' like any responsible adult of 1960 tells Wally ta' stay put an' not use his phenomenal new powers until he gets back from work. Then Barry wanders off ta' go, I dunno, it's 1960, I assume as a cop in the midwest he's pointing hoses at civil rights leaders or something.

I know, I know, he's not a beat cop, he's in the forensics lab. So he'd only be supportin' the cops who hold the hoses, but c'mon, comedic license!

Anyway, Wally is of course not goin' ta' stay put, an' since he's a true hero he immediately goes off ta' help people! A disgruntled former employee let a bunch of animals out of their cages at the zoo. This bein' a 1960s zoo that wuz probably the best thing fer those animals, but ya' can't have half-starved lions an' bears roamin' the street, so Kid Flash deals with the cleanup real quick.

Barry, lookin' on, reflects how wonderful it is that he's not alone, an' that he now has someone else with his powers. Which, again, adds the whole unnecessarily detailed re-creation of his accident a rather sinister bent. Did Barry do all this deliberately?

(Spoiler, it would later come out that Barry caused the lightnin' bolt that gave him his powers, an' in Mark Waid's run it's speculated that Barry's subconscious desire caused the lightnin' bolt that gave Wally powers. So yes, Barry did all this, though perhaps not consciously.)

Honestly, fer such an important story, it's kinda by the numbers. There ain't much character development, stuff just kinda happens. But it wuz the first sidekick creation of a major hero in the Silver Age, an' it wuz chock full of the comic book super-science that DC editor Julius Schwartz loved so much. An' important piece a' comics history!

An' Wally is still my favorite Flash. Even if he's been sinisterly isolated an' maybe possessed by Reverse Flash? I dunno, I look forward ta' Simon Spurrier's next issue!

[kitkatt0430]

Congrats for managing to finish The Flash! You're braver than any U.S marine, tbh. I left it when I could, lmao. It's been. . . wild seeing how it played out. Okay, here's a fun question: top 10 missed opportunities they failed to take. And which of those you wish to explore in fic? I'm sorry if this is a lot but yeah.

P.S: Eddie is genuinely back and alive??? No B.S?? I am shookth.

Thank you. I get most of my courage from my dog, who lets me rant to her about poor plotting when I watch Flash episodes as long as I give her scritches and encourage her vendetta with the squirrels. :D

Hmmm, Top Ten Missed Opportunities...

In no particular order

1.) Not bringing Harry back in S5. He still had a lot more story to tell and exploring how he learns to live with his new disabilities would have been better than what we got with Sherloque. I mean, the new Wells always winds up growing on me because Tom always had a lot of fun bringing the Wells variants to life, but Harry leaving the Team was very abrupt and his story wasn't done. And now it'll always be this big question mark hanging over the character.

This is definitely something I'd be interested in exploring in fic. I've done so already to very small degrees, but it's definitely something I want to take a deeper look at eventually.

2.) Leonard Snart leading the Rogues. There was the build up and no payoff, thanks to the Legends stealing Len and then killing him off. Leonard Snart and his Rogues are a big deal in the comics, so not having that group come together as a legitimate threat to Barry in the show is always going to be a big disappointment. It meant no more Lisa Snart too, which was really unfortunate.

Guess I'm just gonna have to keep writing my 'Rogues as a dysfunctional found family' fics and imagining what could have been.

3.) Failing to give Cisco a proper send off. After promising an interesting plot for Cisco before S7 began, the build up for him leaving was basically a series of background events in other people's stories. His final episode, though very fun, felt very much like they'd forgotten Carlos was leaving the show until the last minute and had to scramble to send off Cisco.

I've kind of written around the issue, but for me the fix fic is Cisco not leaving at all. So I don't think a proper send off story is in the works for me to write.

4.) Making Frost a lesbian. After failing to keep Hartley in the pilot and having a queer character on the main cast from the start, they should have had an openly queer character on the show at some point. Frost would have been a great choice for this and it would have avoided the relationship with Mark Blaine who was a character that never should have joined the main cast. Allegra being queer would have been lovely too. Or Chester. Just... someone ought to have been out.

Of course they're all queer characters when I write them, so... :D

5.) Never fixing the STAR Labs building. It's a little thing, but restoring the building would have been a great metaphor for the team pulling back together after a time of upheaval. Or perhaps showing the differences in the timeline after Flashpoint.

I did address this point. With squirrels. :D

6.) Taking away Cisco's powers instead of developing them further. Cisco's powers in the comics are truly phenomenal and watching Cisco grow from fearing them to enjoying them on screen was lovely. The abrupt one-eighty on his feelings towards his powers in S5 looks far too much like a bad reaction to breaking up with Cynthia and reeks of the show runners not knowing how to handle writing Vibe. After all that build up for Cisco as Vibe, throwing it down the drain was a massively wasted opportunity.

Giving Cisco back his powers or having him never ditch them at all is definitely something I feature in my fanfics with Cisco that take place in S5 or afterwards.

7.) Not making Hartley more like his comics self. They had every opportunity to grow his character, especially when they reintroduced him post Crisis. And they never did despite clearly being aware the comics character is a much beloved one.

Hartley fix-its are definitely a favorite flavor of my fanfic writing, however. And my fanfic reading. :D

8.) Wally 'graduating' from Kid Flash to Flash. Wally is one of the more popular Flashes in the comics and he deserved to have that acknowledged on the show.

This is something I'll get around to writing fix-its for eventually. I still can't believe the show ended and Wally is still just Kid Flash with the yellow and red suit.

9.) Not having children as metas. We got Frankie, but that's basically it. (Jax was a high school student in 2013, but had graduated by the time he showed up in S2.) The accelerator had to have affected children. Teens sneaking out at night, late night school events like band concerts, younger siblings at football games, etc...

I'm not great at writing kids, but addressing the lack of children as metas is something I want to write. Such as my much younger Joss Jackam that I want to return to at some point. (Also because that version of Mark Mardon is adorable too.)

10.) Only having Flashpoint as a single episode. Flashpoint was a big deal in the comics and would have been a lot more impactful if it had been a longer arc.

Personally, I think the resolution to Flashpoint should have been tied into Nora's death coming full circle for Barry. Though I did think the episode where that night did come full circle was well done. But eventually I will wind up writing my own version of both Flashpoint and how Barry came to tell his S1 self not to stop Eobard from murdering Nora.

And, yup, Eddie's alive again in canon. He's been thoroughly mind screwed by the Negative Speed Force and is still it's Avatar, but destroying the N!SF's crystal and actively choosing not to hate Barry - to set aside his resentment over the life he didn't get to have - seems to have had a profound affect on the interior of the N!SF. Hopefully Eddie's innate good nature will have prove to cause a permanent change to the N!SF itself, making them allies for Team Flash in the future. Though, as Eddie noted, he's not always going to agree with Barry or want to do things Barry's way, so... it's an interesting place to leave him even if I disagree with how he got there.

[lesbianmarrow]

Since you have read weapon X-Men, did it also seem to you like it went out of its way to tell the reader that the lady wolverine didn't know a version of jean? It came up multiple times in a way that felt intentional but also like, weird? I can't figure out if I'm just giving a bad faith reading by thinking it's just a big no homo thing or if it's supposed to be like setting something up for later (obviously can't confirm this until more issues come out). You always have good insight into comics and gays and comics gays so I thought I'd see if you had any thoughts

i actually didnt read it LOL i just saw the preview pages online. the writer, christos gage, has written a number of queer characters in his marvel work (he created stryker in avengers academy and established that julie power was into girls, and he also wrote the annihilation: quasar miniseries which had a strong focus on moondragon and phyla's relationship) so i doubt he would go out of his way to "no homo" a character like that. i was also disappointed when i saw that jane howlett never met a version of jean, but now that you mention it i do kind of wonder if it's setup for something later......there's an interview with christos gage where he says that jane has been trying to avoid getting married and has succeeded only bc she's very wealthy, which of course is reasonable for any woman to try to do but also makes me wonder hmmmm could she be a lesbian........but i know that's probably pretty unlikely, in part bc if she was a lesbian then that probably wouldve been announced when her character debut was announced, unless it was a big plot twist........sorry i'm just rambling lol in conclusion i would say with this particular writer i wouldn't expect a desire to reinforce every character's heterosexuality so that emphasis you noticed is likely for some other reason but i guess we will see!

[lastoneout]

Got asked if I had any tips for new artists during my stream today and I figured I'd put them here too:

Draw, seriously, just do it. This is the hardest part and also the most crucial. Just run at it screaming and refuse to back down. You just gotta do it.

Always do your wrist/arm/shoulder stretches before drawing and make sure to take breaks to stretch/re-center yourself if you've been going for a few hours or more! (Here's the stretches I do, and they help with gaming and writing and desk work too, they're just a good idea all around!)

Try to draw less from the wrist and more from the shoulder(move your arm more and your wrist less basically). That and stretches will help you avoid carpal tunnel which is never fun.

Consistency is only something you need to worry about if you're like, working in the industry/doing some types of commissions(like an twitch emote bundle or a comic book). If you're just starting out or only drawing for yourself it literally doesn't matter. Like, I don't think I've ever drawn a character exactly the same way twice, it's fine.

Don't do warm up drawings, do warm up scribbles. Doodles circles and squares and lines and swirls until you feel nice and lose, then start actually drawing.

If you're between 50-90% done with something and you REALLLY start to hate it, keep going. You just gotta power through, cuz chances are it's perfectly fine(or even really good) and your monkey brain is being a jackass coward chugging that impostor syndrome juice.

If you finish and you still hate it put it away until tomorrow or the day after and then look again. Never EVER trust your negative opinions about your art(or anything) if it's after like 8pm.

Re: the above points, as an exampke last night I HATED my new pngtuber model that I'd spent literally all day on. Went to bed and in the morning was like "oh this is good actually". Trust me, tired burnt out you is not a good judge of quality, especially the quality of something you've been staring at for like 4-5 hours.

If, after all that, you still hate it, that's okay too. It's a bummer, but don't try to force yourself to like something just cuz you spent a lot of time on it. Chalk it up to experience and move on to the next thing!

Do everything in your power to not compare yourself to others. It won't get you anywhere. Instead learn to look at other people's art and find what you like about it and try to break it down or do it that way yourself. Dont fully copy/trace ofc, but really think about how something looks and see if you can figure out why you like it and/or how it's done.

OH MY GOD USE REFERENCES. Anyone who says not to use references is talking out of their ass. You think figure drawing classes are bad?? That artists draw from life just for shits and giggles?? No, its because you need to know what shit looks like to draw it!!! USE REFERENCES!!!

Same with youtube tutorials, especially for learning to use digital art programs. Do take everything with a grain of salt ofc(we've all seen the "masculine vs feminine eyes" shit or the trash trend of "I fix my viewer's bad art uwu" ignore that crap) but you can learn all kinds of shit for free on youtube.

If you can feel yourself burning out fucking stop drawing a take a break. Even if you're in the middle of something, or part of you wants to keep drawing. Burn outs suck and it's gonna take a lot longer to get over it if you push yourself until you crash instead of just acknowledging that you're hitting your limit and stopping for a few days. The art will be there when you get back, your health should always come first!

If someone tells you thick line art or anime style or whatever is bad, ignore them. All art is subjective. Draw what you want how you want. Even if it's all thick line art or you stick to sketches or only do anime stuff or chibis or humans or furries or goddamn stick figures just draw literally whatever. If this is just a hobby for you there's no reason to push yourself. Draw what makes you happy, fuck everyone else.

Anyway that's all I've got for now, might add more tomorrow when I'm less tired(and I encourage additions for other artists as I'm self taught and had to learn most of this the hard way and thus I'm sure I've missed stuff) but yeah, just draw my dudes, this is supposed to be fun. You deserve to have fun.

[thewertsearch]

Asks Compilation 23/10

Done and done. I'm surprised I didn't already have a tag for them, to be honest!

Oh, fun! I always wonder if people are reading for the first time along with me. I'm sure you've overtaken me already by now!

I don't think I'd have as much fun with the blog if it was less blind. Even the knowledge that the trolls existed was enough to heavily influence my theories.

Aren't they thirteen?

Granted, we don't know if trolls mature at the same rate as humans, but they certainly seem to be in that age range to me.

Nepeta, resident matchmaker, seems unsure about the current status of the Sollux/Aradia relationship, but she'd definitely drawn a heart there before. Plus, Aradia immediately identified the '8oyfriend' as Sollux, so there is something going on with them.

If it does, and he did, then that's pretty clever - but unfortunately for him, it's probably futile. There are surely a million other ways she could manipulate his desires.

I know Homestuck is controversial, but I always had the vague idea that, like Undertale, its reputation had a lot more to do with the fandom than the property itself.

I'm surprised there's that many people who say the comic is bad. The comic is great. Even if, worst-case-scenario, it jumps the shark on the very next page, there's still so much to love.

I guess this is a good explanation for why his name is so close to Lord British - thus, their similar invincibility schticks really are coincidental.

The former works well - although, I've just noticed on reread that he hasn't actually referred to himself as a doctor. He's just 'Doc'.

That said, I have reason to believe that he is, in fact, a real doctor.

Maybe he really is a gambling man.

Well, Terezi is referencing his comic before Earth even exists...

So it's like the SBaHJifier gag, but for the whole comic?

That sounds ambitious, but interesting, especially if it's doing everything you say it is. Any fanwork that people think was written by Hussie must be something special.

It's fun, getting both of these messages in the same week. Glad you're enjoying it!

Yeah, I didn't consider Equius as an option, back when Aradia was talking about this. I don't think I'd have picked him at the time, though.

Both Equius and Vriska convinced themselves that they had an arrangement with Aradia.

In retrospect, her own statement - which came after the two above - was, indeed, deliberately vague. It's supposed to make you wonder which of the two options she was talking about. As far as I can tell, there was no reason to assume it couldn't be Vriska - she'd even told Karkat that she was going to be the 'real leader', so we knew she was planning a power grab.

Anyway, I defaulted to her, since she'd talked about her co-leader arrangement only a couple of pages beforehand. I don't think I even remembered Equius was an option until he spoke to her later. Can't catch 'em all!

Pop! Team! Nepic!

Thank you! Yeah, Vriska's attitude is completely understandable at this point. Would she really have survived if she wasn't cruel?

I was skeptical about that line initially - but Vriska honestly doesn't seem to be much of a liar, so I think part of her really did see Aradia as a friend.

I personally doubt Aradia ever felt anything positive towards Vriska - she's a blue-blood, after all, a hateful sn0b - but that doesn't stop them being friends. After all, the same could be said about Karkat, towards Gamzee. Trolls just seem to see friendships differently.

I try to avoid queueing stuff - gotta put the live in 'liveblog', after all!

There are occasional exceptions, though. For example, if I answer a lot of (non-compiled) asks at once, and don't want to fill up people's dashboards, I might queue them to space them out a little - but never more than an hour or so in advance.

Really, the answer to your question is 'neither', since I don't have a schedule. Lately, I've been posting about four days a week, and each liveblog session will last for two to four posts - but that's all subject to change, depending on my mood, my energy levels, random life stuff and, frankly, the phase of the moon. Properly scheduling this blog has proved impossible, so I'm just embracing it at this point.

If there's one thing that Aradia and Vriska can agree on, it's that an Equius-made arm is good for only one thing - rippin' out hearts!

Sorry - no breaks longer than a week? Since Act 1?

I suppose if your website pays your rent, you don't really need a day job - but still, I'm surprised that no life stuff got in the way in all that time. Hell, it's already happened to me - and this comic is surely way easier to analyze than it is to write!

Well, I'm only on 2300 now, so I haven't seen much!

I'm just curious as to why he's seeking out Karkat, specifically. Jack seems to work independently, not taking orders from his Queen - so what's motivating him, this early in the game?

No reason it can't be both, right? This is probably one of the most emotionally intense things to happen to her since her death, and it just so happens to coincide with her 'resurrection'. Frankly, I'd have been more surprised if she didn't lose her shit.

Also - damn, I didn't notice he was mirroring her '0k' catchphrase. No, Equius. No one was 0k with that.

Welcome! You can thank a few of my readers for helping me optimize my tagging system, too. I think it was @krixwell who first suggested I add a tag which included asks!

[kitausuret]

I posted 1,934 times in 2022

That's 1,142 more posts than 2021!

196 posts created (10%)

1,738 posts reblogged (90%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@oliveroctavius

@brw

@seek--rest

@reaperlight

@kitausuret

I tagged 1,835 of my posts in 2022

Only 5% of my posts had no tags

#flash thompson - 246 posts

#venom - 244 posts

#peter parker - 199 posts

#eddie brock - 154 posts

#harry osborn - 134 posts

#asked and answered - 99 posts

#mj watson - 83 posts

#wanda maximoff - 71 posts

#symbiot3 - 56 posts

#felicia hardy - 31 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#'yeah hating things is sexy & cool but you take it too far. why are you spending so much time angry on the internet please just smoke weed'

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

Andrea Benton and April Parker, AKA Mania and Mayhem! Commission by the incredible Fiti on Twitter! All of his commission and portfolio information is right here.

They are hanging out and having a great time together. 💕 They are siblings, of a sort!

(posted with permission from the artist)

73 notes - Posted April 27, 2022

#4

616!Eddie Brock should not be allowed on Twitter because he'd see something like "would love to see more mlm romance in media 😔" and he would immediately launch into a 12-tweet-long thread about how we should NOT be romanticizing multilevel marketing schemes and how they are a way for the rich to get richer and how instead we should boost stories about small business owners and on and on

until approximately one hour later he quote-tweets himself saying "I have been informed that 'MLM' is a more versatile acronym than I originally thought. My apologies for the misunderstanding and let me also clarify my unwavering support for the queer community of this city.

"However, if you would like more information on multilevel marketing and pyramid schemes and how to avoid them, please see the sources below: (links)"

84 notes - Posted March 25, 2022

#3

still thinking about the fact that one of my mutuals didn't even technically tag me in a thing about Spider-Man 3, she just did a casual little "@ kita" without making it a real "@" and somehow I still managed to come across it in my massive dashboard. the universe is conspiring against me. she knew that somehow I'd see it. she manipulated the energies of reality and so now here we are and against all good reason I want to rewatch SM3 and by that I mean suffer.

94 notes - Posted June 2, 2022

#2

Behold, the power of Peter's one pair of non-white underwear:

Amazing Spider-Man #298

See the full post

120 notes - Posted September 27, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

I think my favorite kind of comics-based fanfics are the ones where you can tell the writer went into it with at least 200 issues of whatever they're writing behind them because they have a lot of good characterization and reference to multiple events in canon and tons of knowledge

but they have very obviously cherry picked what they did and didn't like to create the story THEY want to see the whole time I'm reading with tears streaming down my face yelling "yes.... YES!!!" because they're so galaxy brained for that

215 notes - Posted May 14, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[klm-zoflorr]

Why It Is Bad That We Never See Mai or Ty Lee in the Comics Deal With Their Imperialist Past

How come we never see Mai or Ty Lee deal with their imperialist past in the comics? For yeah comics!Azula is a horrible person and it is implied that Azula was never friends with Mai & Ty Lee, who where coerced subjects trying to keep their mad sovereigns (Azulon, Ozai, & Azula) happy. But I find it odd that neither no one in-universe or the narrative challenges them for their past. Like Zuko, Iroh, Piandao, Jeong Jeong, and Chey all had to confront their imperialist past before redeeming themselves despite having as good an argument, if not better, that they were being coerced or faced life threatening consequences if they didn’t comply. So what makes Mai or Ty Lee different any different? And before people say they went to prison, it was for committing treason against the Fire Nation/attacking their Princess; not for realizing the error of their ways and wanting to change.

Though in Ty Lee’s case she did say she did join the Kyoshi Warriors in order to fix a broken world in the Sisters comic so maybe Ty Lee did confront her past. But I wish we saw her time in prison so we saw her change considering she enthusiastically fought against the Kyoshi Warriors & The Gaang and mocked the Kyoshi Warriors’ style, not knowing or caring for the reason behind their makeup or dress.

However comics!Mai really hasn’t really done anything…in fact she kept from Zuko and The Gaang the fact that her father was leading the New Ozai Society until Zuko almost got killed (and was only saved by PIS and a last minute unexpected heel-face turn) and The Fire Warriors were able to kidnap around a dozen kids, including Mai’s own brother and Azula/Zuko’s half sister. And even more galling, when confronted for her treason, she has the gall tell an understandably angry Zuko that he of all people should understand how hard it is to betray your father. As if there wasn’t a difference between betraying the all powerful ruler of your country who has a cult of personality, has burned you before, can quickly fire off lethal amounts of lighting on command, and has said before he wanted to kill you versus betraying your mentally and physically weak father who rejected being integrated into the new government and seeks to put someone back in power who would likely kill you for committing treason against him.

On a sidenote, isn’t crazy that Zuko then quickly apologized and the story never brought up the topic of Mai’s treason ever again?

But getting back on track, are we being unreasonable in asking that Mai and Ty Lee confront their past or if they already did, that we actually see it on page/screen? Especially since the message sent by them not doing so is that if you turn at almost the last point possible, the people you have wronged repeatedly and the world community will instantly forgive you despite constantly engaging in imperialism (ex. fighting against the rebels in Omashu, jailing and impersonating The Kyoshi Warriors), let alone helping commit one of the biggest acts of imperialism in history (helping Azula take over Ba Sing Se)?

Also on a sidenote, I do have an on-going series where I post my thoughts on the Avatar series (this is where this post came from) so feel free to read the rest of them and comment on them.

-----------

I absolutely agree, Anon. I also think Avatar does have a huge problem with putting people into "boxes", like the Good Guys: Zuko, Aang, Katara, Iroh, Ty Lee, Mai, Ursa, even Azulon somehow who can NEVER do or ever did anything wrong (even tho anyone with even a piece of a critical mind knows they did and are flawed human beings) and the Bad Guys: Azula, Zhao, Ozai who are entirely bad and never did anything right and are basically souless emotionless demons.

"it is implied that Azula was never friends with Mai & Ty Lee"

Tbh I feel like this point was a retcon. In the show we see Azula genuinely likes them (hugging Ty Lee, apologising to her, setting Mai up with Zuko, playing with them as kids, being genuinely hurt when they betray her) and I'd be strongly tempted to say they did too. That might just be my interpretation but I feel like Mai really was awfully bored in Omashu and she was happy Azula came to give her something to do. Same for Ty Lee, she looked happy when Azula came at the circus (before she started threatening her), and when they were playing as kids. And I don't think her constant compliments were 100% genuine, of course, she's smarter than this, but I don't believe she was completely lying to her either.

Imo, they were friends, it was just so much complicated by Azula being their commander, war, and living in an imperialistic nation.

The comics (and the last episode of the show too) don't care about that, of course. The narrative they propose is just "Mai and Ty Lee always hated and feared Azula, they had to do everything she told them and so they never have to face any consequences" even tho we know Zuko, who was actually in that situation, had to face consequences for his.

Also, Mai is a perfect New Ozai Society supporter if I've ever seen one. I'm gonna start headcanoning her as a legit villain who consciously manipulated her way to avoid consequences for her actions thanks to being the Firelord's gf and her "treason", it's fun.

«The message sent is that if you turn at almost the last point possible, the people you have wronged repeatedly will instantly forgive you.»

Preach it! Ironically enough, last-minute traitors are often forgiven injustly in real-life wars even tho they might be objectively terrible people, but I don't think the comics writers were aiming to explore this particular subject xD