#also I have this same attitude towards other X-Men and possible adaptations with them as well

[osmiumamygdala]

Do you think when the MCU adapt the X men and hopefully adapt Colossus theyll change Piotr nationality from Russian to Ukranian or Polish or just a generic Eastern Europe background to avoid controversary?

Forgive me in advance because I am going to vomit out a deluge of my thoughts and feelings on this matter, and (as is characteristic of me) it is going to run long.

Short answer? Do I think the MCU might pull something like that? This is Hollywood we're talking about, so I wouldn't be surprised. Optimistically, I hope for better.

Long answer: I would hope with the very building blocks of my person and psyche that one would not attempt that goofiness.

I've said it before, I'll say it again, I'll repeat it verbatim until I'm exhausted and have to scrawl it out in dirt because I choose this battle: Colossus, as a character, was conceived during the Cold War. People didn't like Russia then, very justifiably. There were MANY, MANY horrible things the Soviet Union was responsible for at that time. Prejudices all around were ASTRONOMICAL. And here was Colossus, a heroic Russian character, there to remind you, "hey! These people are still people! Even when we're scared! Even when tensions are high! Even when groups are enacting horrible acts! Individuals still exist, and they are people!" This general attitude is integral to the themes of the comics Colossus was brought into. I think anyone could see how changing Piotr's background because of "controversy" is a kick to the teeth and backasswards with this in mind.

Colossus' Russian home and heritage are important to him and fit within the general overarching ideas of the X-Men. Where Piotr comes from informs us of his perception, things he might have seen or done, and ideas he might have. Throughout the comics, there are multiple points where the differences between him and his peers are observed. It's also obvious he's been exposed to propaganda in his home country, and we see how his teammates handle or fail to handle it. Not to mention, he is shown in direct opposition to Russia and its ideals occasionally, and he also faced prejudice and pushback for his nationality in America concurrently.

AT THE SAME TIME-- While all of the above is true, you don't have to focus on Piotr's country of origin to make a compelling story or character arc with him. It's a PART of him, like his mutation, his art, his farming, his being a brother. No story with Colossus needs to center on (or limit itself to) just one specific facet of his personality. He could incidentally be Russian, as it were (like Deadpool's Colossus).

Leading to; the MCU will probably not have Colossus as a very integral character. In cases like this, historically, the MCU might choose to sand away the uncomfortable parts of a character or make edits to them to ensure they are more palatable/better fit to the story at hand. For this reason, he very well could still be Russian (there ARE Russian characters in the MCU already, after all, I wouldn't see the point in making a fuss of it now), or they could change him for "simplicty's" sake. They might not even give it that much thought.

For a final addition: I would HOPE the minds behind the MCU have the sense to understand that Russia is not interchangeable with Ukraine or Poland and vice versa. Because... those places are not the same. At all.

[cienie-isengardu]

Erron Black. Arguably a character I don't know much about. Is Erron Black feminist, sexist, or just soft on girls? Now I know MK everyone can fight everyone, but in story mode...

In MK10 Milenna impale his hand with a knife, but he doesn't fight her. I'll except injury for that one.

But then with Cassie Cage later, he fights her, only after she engages him, but once he knocks her down he stops fighting her to fight Kung Jin in the market.

Later on the bridge fight, we do see him fighting Jacqui Briggs, in the background, but she charged him, so she initiated it, and when they focus in he is fighting Kung Jun again.

In MK11, when young Erron Black goes after Jade and Kotal, he let's Jade leave without so much as a glance.

In the Black Dragon fight pit, even though she is right next to him, he ignores Sonya Blade until she actually attacked him. He doesn't even point the other gun at her, he points it up and looks away, until she punches him.

The only time it looks like he initiated a attack on a woman was when Sheeva got shot in her shoulder armor (and shrugged it off), but we immediately see him chasing down Nightwolf, so that looks like a accident. And they only fight after she punches him across the room.

And in the comic's when he kidnapped Cassie and Jacqui he defended them against Kano, telling him not to hurt them, and when he realized they were in serious danger, tried to free them and help escape.

Unless I'm missing something, well he doesn't avoid it, he doesn't fight initiate fights with women.

Before I will talk at length about Erron Black and his attitude toward women I wish only to emphasize this is my subjective opinion and there is no need to agree with me on this. Because no matter how much source material will be brought into discussion, there are many ways to interpret his mindset, especially since A) what Erron says is not always compatible with what he is doing and B) the specific game mechanics that limit and/or adapt his “personality” to the needs of the storyline.

Long text ahead!

Mortal Kombat X’s stated Erron Black was hired by Shang Tsung 150 years ago. So he was born and raised at least the previous century and half, thus his approach to women may be old-fashioned but I wouldn’t say he was somehow deeply concerned per se about gender to begin with. Yes, the mentioned examples suggest otherwise but their context is as important as Erron’s action alone. Because the context of the game will not always work well with in-universe logic. I’m talking here stricte about game mechanics that are built around chapter’s main hero that must win against the opponents and in the mentioned examples Erron was sadly just an obstacle to beat down so it is not like he could headshot Mileena, Sonya or Sheeva or any woman and be done with the problem despite how marksmanship is his forte. Also, the game mechanic in MKX kinda made me joke that Erron shouldn’t be left on his own for too long because his competence in those chapters seemed that bad (from Outworld’s main cast only D’Vorah looked to me as a competent character and she was a traitor, that says a lot about Kotal’s team doesn it?). Anyway, on the basis of the specific nature of the game alone I wouldn’t go so far to judge Erron’s mindset, especially since he was a background/supportive character in MKX and MK11 story modes. So far, Black didn’t have his own chapter - thus the story isn’t told from his POV.

To be honest, games and comics present Erron in different lights, thus his approach to women may vary from one source to another. Because of that let’s firstly look at the sources separately.

In MKX, on Kotal’s voiceless order, Black was going to kill Rain. Mileena attacked Erron by surprise before he could shoot down the rebel but it was Kotal’s chapter so the emperor was the one that dealt with her. Erron was part of the background during chapter 2 without any impact on the story.

Then we have chapter 4 about Kung Jin.

When Cage Team met Erron Black for the first time, the man demanded to know what is Special Forces’ business here including “a reason why we shouldn’t kill you”. Despite the not so friendly welcome, Erron was willing to address Takeda’s remark (“I can read you… You’re not from Outworld.”) and did not resort to violence once Cassie’s explanation did not satisfy him. Looking at the uncertain situation of Outworld, Erron’s lack of trust is understable - Kotal was still at war with Mileena thus in constant danger. Of course, it is up to interpretation, did Erron listen to Jin solely because the prospect of money spoke to him so much or there is some bias (thus the cynical remark about Raiden’s seal and dismissive attitude) against Cassie, the woman in charge. I personally tend to think Erron was simply cautious because the last Earthrealm that got close to Kotal tried to kill the emperor. And yeah, Kano is nothing like Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda or Jin but there was no way for Black to know that for sure, especially since Outworld and Earthrealm weren’t really at the best terms at that time and Raiden’s name did not foreshadow anything good.

The next sequences may be interpreted as Erron being soft on women but I’m gonna present here different possibilities:

Once Jin went ahead to disrupt the execution, Erron’s first reaction was to shoot him yet Black took aim instead of shooting blindly without care for the crowd (or at least the slow down of his action is how it looked to me). Because he was focused on Jin - the main culprit whose action caused unwanted riot, Cassie easily stopped the attack. Should Erron be more focused on the female soldier at his side? Most likely, but all of this happened in mere seconds so I can understand why stopping Jin acting on his own accord was priority to the mercenary since it was related to his job and he was the one that agreed to take Earthrealmians to Kotal. Which may be the reason why Black just knocked down Cassie and immediately ran after Jin. And mind you, Erron knocked down Cassie by hitting her on the head with the butt of the pistol, which is not a gentle way by no means.

The chapter 6 is focused on Takeda and partially on Cage Team’s run from captivity. The Earthrealmians were important hostages, even if falsely accused of working with D’Vorah. So it makes sense that “Outworld Champions” weren’t trying to kill them. Otherwise Kung Jin would be shot down for good yet Erron kept him just at gunpoint. Once again, the game mechanics don’t make much sense considering how Jin stayed behind as air support but somehow ended up on the bridge while Jacqui disappeared somewhere in the background. Also, the same as with Cassie in Chapter 4, Erron did not kill defeated opponents nor tortured / injured for fun (Rain is a different matter because Erron went for killing only after Kotal’s voiceless order to finish the traitor).

In Chapter 11, Erron is even more degraded into a support role and he did not attack nor take part of the skirmish in the forest until Jacqui beat down Kotal. Personally I suspect he could be (in universe) too injured for hand to hand combat but once Team Cage was surrounded and Kotal gave the order for execution, Erron was aiming at Jacqui and if Sub-Zero did not show up, Black most likely would shoot to kill.

(Also, he did not shoot any enemy from a distance, so the women and men were treated the same although if this is a matter of game mechanics or Erron’s own moral code, hard to tell. Black recognized himself more as Outworlder than anything else so he may actually follow the common there idea of one on one fight.)

So, MKX story mode alone does not tell us much about Erron’s mindset about women because he has never been the one starting fights in the first place. This kinda makes sense since he is a mercenary and kills or injures only those who Kotal wishes to see dead or punished. Besides that he didn’t injure / kill Cassie when he had a chance but he didn't do so with Jin either. MKX!Erron gives the impression of a collected, detached type of person who is far from macho stereotypes or psychopath/sociopath like Kano.

Thankfully there is additional information like dialogue intros and Erron’s ending (from what we learned about Erron's approximate age) that aren’t canon per se but at least give some insight into his psyche.

The best counter argument for eventual Black’s habit of going easy on women is his own ending in which he ambushed and killed Cassie, Jacqui, Takeda and Jin (this situation was repeated in Briggs’ ending except this time Cage Team was saved by Jax). This is a rare moment in which Erron was the attacker and on his own initiated the violence toward others. In this case, he attacked women and men alike.

Then we have intro dialogues in which Erron usually deals with people in a professional manner, some even sometimes addressing in a polite way. Like “Mr. Kung” to Lao, “Mr. Hasashi” to Scorpion and “Mr. Takahashi” to Takeda. Surprisingly, he addresses Cassie and Sonya by their military rank (Sergeant Cage and General Blade respectively) which suggests that whatever Erron learned a century or two ago about gender-related social norms most likely evolved accordingly to his own life experiences, especially those gained in Outworld.

At the same time, it seems some of outfashioned - harmful - convictions are still enough deeply rooted in him to say stuff like that:

Kenshi: The friendless wanderer.

Erron Black: Least I don't take orders from a woman.

Kenshi: Which century are you from?

Which is kinda ironic since Kenshi takes orders from Sonya whom Erron addresses by high military rank without any snide comment about a woman in the army. But as far as I managed to check the intros, this is the only(?) one outright sexist thing Erron said to anyone and surprisingly, he didn’t say that to any woman, just to Kenshi. Frankly, if the idea of taking orders from women was so offensive, why would Erron bother to call Mileena the Crownless Queen or Kitana the Fallen Princess, if both titles by itself imply facing women that are used to give commands or even hire people like him? Once again, there is little to no sexist attitude toward women in context of their power over other men. Which suggests that whatever prejudices Black may have, he does not allow them to affect his interaction with other characters. Usually, at least.

Okay, the insult toward Kenshi could be some of Erron’s deep-seated sexist beliefs adding to the reason why he didn’t support Mileena in the fight for the throne. Yet, at the same time, if that was the case, he could outright say he doesn’t agree to be bossed by a woman to her (or he could be accused of that by her or any character really). Of course, it could be something similar to Black’s claim to care only about money with MK11 strongly hints he is saying one thing and doing differently but I will come back to this topic in a moment.

Another argument against this insult: Erron was one of the characters that did not mock Mileena’s look, origin or called her crazy. If he really thought listening to women's orders was so bad, then he didn’t show that when interacting with her or other female characters.

At the same time, like many other male characters, Black is not immune to the beauty of women around him and some of his comments sounds disrespectful and are unwelcome by the ladies:

Sonya: The gunslinger.

Erron Black: I could take you away from all this.

Sonya: I must be a jerk-magnet.

→ Sonya is not amused by Erron’s words at all.

Erron Black: Hello, beautiful.

Jacqui: Messin' with the wrong girl.

Erron Black: But it feels so right.

Jacqui is like the only one woman described by MKX!Erron as the beautiful one, the other he usually referred to along the lines of hot / sexy. Yet once Jacqui outright warned him to not mess with her, Erron deliberately ignored her because it amuse him. Whatever it is a sign of an old-fashioned mindset (a remnant of the times he grew up) or just simply (male’s) egoism on his part, Erron likes to flirt with women but he does not always respect their opinion or wish to be left alone.

At the same time, Erron rarely tried to change women’s minds about him or their eventual relationship. So far, only the intro dialogue with Kitana seems to be the exception:

Kitana: Stop!

Erron Black: We've barely begun, my lovely.

Kitana: It will end quickly.

Black may put his own amusement above other people's personal comfort, yes, but didn’t act creepy like Kano did, especially toward Blade-Briggs-Cage family as a whole.

So we have this

Jacqui: I really don't like you.

Erron Black: I really don't care.

Jacqui: As long as we're straight on that.

in which Erron doesn’t care for Jacqui’s dislike of his person but doesn’t impose himself on her. He does not resort to the common rapist “excuse” that woman says no but her body says otherwise, like Kano did (“Your mouth says Kano, but your eyes say Kan-yes.”) and this contrast puts Black in a more positive light. Similar thing happened in the intro dialogue toward Tanya.

Erron Black: My friend, Tanya.

Tanya: We are not friends, bounty hunter.

Erron Black: Have it your way...

Again, whether trying to be friendly or ironic, once Erron was “turned down”, he simply accepted the situation without any additional crude remarks.

Interestingly, interaction with Sonya showed that Black was capable of rethinking his statement about hot/sexy women:

Erron Black: Girls with guns? Always hot.

Sonya: I'll shove 'em up your ass and fire.

Erron Black: Almost always hot.

Those examples suggest Erron may treat women differently, depending on their “fighting experiences”, age and origin and maybe even how sexually / aesthetically appealing they are to him. For example, veteran Sonya’s threat was taken seriously while (novice / new generation) Jacqui’s warning was ignored. At the same time, the intro dialogues didn’t hint at any romantic or sexual interest in Ferra (a young female symbiote) nor D’Vorah (Kytinn) and relatively good looking Mileena who deserves a separate paragraph.

To be honest, Erron, Johnny and Kano are like the main three men openly showing their (sexual?) interest in women around them. Understable, Black’s flirting / comments rarely were appreciated yet he still was less creepy or aggressive towards others than Kano. Erron didn’t bother to hide his eventual (sexual) interest in beautiful women but it can’t be said A) he had no control over his sexual drive and B) has rapist / sexual predator tendencies.

Another interesting thing: with few exceptions like Kano or Quan Chi, Erron threatened people with violence usually after they offended him and most of the time maintained professional neutrality toward his rivals. In that regard, Erron treated other characters the same regardless of their gender.

This is something worth keeping in mind how Black, as mercenary, in general is not the initiator of violence. Unless someone will pay him. For money, Erron would attack (kill) anyone, including women (to Tanya, “The Kahn wants your head.” + Erron’s Epilogue).

The last detail to talk about: one of the intro dialogue with Cassie suggests Erron thought she was an easy opponent.

Cassie: Is something funny?

Erron Black: I'll win this easy.

Cassie: You're going down hard.

but to be fair, he thought the same about Sub-Zero

Erron Black: You're an easy target.

Sub-Zero: As are you.

Erron Black: Bullets beat snowballs any day.

so I wouldn’t say it was the bias toward Cassie because of her gender and just Erron’s own arrogance (and maybe lack of good judgement on his part).

In summary, MKX!Erron in game alone tends to act in a professional manner. He had an occasion to shoot defeated opponents but did not seize the opportunity against not only Cassie but Jin as well. During the storyline he was rather collected, emotionless. In intro dialogues he openly expresses his interest in tough, relatively attractive women yet the banter is far from the creeping tone of Kano’s interaction with female characters.

Then we have Mortal Kombat 11 in which past and future timelines are messed up. Sadly, Erron’s characterization departs from the neutral-polite one seen in the previous game. Of course, this could be blamed on the younger version of Erron, but frankly, twenty years for someone living at least for a century and half shouldn’t make that big difference in behaviour and well, MK11 outright claims Erron is prone to violence for violence’s sake instead of just money. Which is one of many plot-holes and divergences between both games I guess.

Anyway, Erron, again, was the background character to beat down, so it is worth remembering that he couldn’t permanently hurt or kill anyone from the main cast. In chapter 2 he let Jade get away when he was facing Kotal and frankly, there is little explanation for that in-universe wise. I personally suspect it may be related to Erron’s own sense of honor, as in respecting one on one fight without cheap moves like shooting someone’s beloved person. Not practical in the mercenary job but it is possible for someone born and raised around two centuries ago. Also, Shao Kahn’s anger was focused mainly on killing Kotal for taking the throne. Because of that Erron could be not interested in Jade who simply did not have any significant political matter at that time. Sadly, it is really hard to say for sure what was on his mind.

In chapter 6, past!Erron stormed the Special Forces Base alongside Black Dragon members. There were women in that group but sadly, Black did not interact with anyone beside Johnny Cage. We can at least assume, Black did not mind fighting side by side with women.

Similary, present!Erron in chapter 7 showed up in the background during the alliance attack on Coliseum. The attack was led by Kitana (albeit did Erron join her to save Kotal out of loyalty or for money, it was not explained) and there were female fighters in the group. It seems then Erron does not mind fighting side to side with women.

During the pit fight (chapter 8), past!Erron faced the past!Sonya and the past!Johnny. Frankly, the same as in the previous chapter, game mechanics make little sense because there was no real reason for Erron to open the ring and face the characters when he could simply shoot down both from a safe distance. This really undermines the whole point of Black being a gunslinger, isn’t it?

Anyway, Cage took the forward position (which I think is both because despite his injuries he tried to shield Sonya AND because he actually met Erron during an attack on a Special Forces’ base) and got shot in the arm. After a short skirmish, Erron knocked down Johnny and aimed to kill the injured man.

The most logical thing for Erron in this situation would be to shoot down Sonya first and then finish already beaten down and exhausted Johnny. In defense of the Black though it is worth emphasizing that he didn’t completely ignore Blade nor turned away from her.

Most likely the weird slow-down action of aiming at Johnny was a moment of distraction that Sonya simply used to attack. Similar to MKX, game mechanics do not allow Black to headshot the main heroes, even though, in-universe, he should do just that and be done with the job. There is also a possibility that past and present Kano still wanted to keep Sonya alive for their own amusment (torture and sadly most likely rape) what could explain why Erron didn’t shot her from safe distance. I mean, the game alone did not voice what Kanos really ordered Erron to do.

I know that MK games like to slow down action for dramatic effects, but I strongly believe it was actually a matter of a few seconds of distraction (Erron looking aside to shoot Johnny and aiming) that Sonya took advantage of rather Black ignoring her on purpose. Even more since Black did not hesitate to shoot at her and seemed to enjoy facing “the legendary” Sonya Blade.

The same as MKX, Mortal Kombat 11 does not explain Black’s mindset. He does not shoot Jade or Sonya when he has a chance but he does not make any rude remarks toward women in general. However the intro dialogues shed a light on the complicated relationship that Erron has with women.

From what we learn about Erron, his childhood was far from normal or safe. We don’t know details, but what he shared with Cetrion and Cassie strongly suggest that Erron’s both parents were abusive people:

Cetrion: You shot your own father, Erron Black.

Erron: Sonofabitch had it coming.

Cetrion: Honor thy parents, mortal!

or

Erron: My Ma would’ve loved you, Cassie Cage.

Cassie: Aw, sounds like you miss her bunches.

Erron: I hated Ma.

or

Erron: I grew up around tough women.

Cassie: Didn’t they teach you respect?

Erron: They taught me to hit back.

The last statement suggests young Erron was abused by women (most likely including his own mother) to the point he is now willing to hit back anyone regardless of their gender without remorse. Erron himself says “I ain't above shootin' a lady” (intro dialogue vs. Sonya).

Beside that, an abusive mother alone could influence Black’s approach to women - and most likely she did, since he admitted to hate her. Surprisingly, Erron uses the past tense (“I hated Ma”) so there is a chance he gained distance over time in that matter. It also seems like whatever he feels about mother usually doesn't affect his relationship with other female characters. For example, in the mentioned banter he did not insult Cassie for reminding him about the abusive parent. Despite the bad childhood intro dialogues hint Black actually likes dangerous women.

Erron Black: I stepped out with Nitara before you.

Skarlet: You clearly have a type, Erron.

Erron Black: Just like living dangerously.

Like in the previous game, Erron openly shows his (sexual) interest in various women. The interesting change however is how:

His interest extends now to more alien-looking female characters like Nitara or Sheeva. Surprisingly, Mileena’s advances are still rejected. Also, Erron has like zero respect for the goddess Cetrion but to be honest, he does not respect any god.

Erron is more disrespecting by using nicknames like Legs or Baby Doll for Sonya or Sugar for Cassie. Of course, it may be just the “charm” of younger Black - hard to tell in most cases which version is speaking - but it creates an overall feeling of ironic, at times irritating or insulting approach to female fighters. At the same time, there are women that Erron refers to in a rather consistently respectful manner - Jacqui (Miss Briggs, Little Lady), Jade (ma’am, missy), Kitana (Princess, Kahn).

Before I will focus on the complex situation with Mileena, I need to talk about Erron’s important trait: he often says one thing but does the opposite. This is especially noticeable in intro dialogues concerning money and loyalty. Both games agree the main motivation for Black is a good payment, albeit MK11 highline also the thrill of danger. Anyway, Erron admitted he is willing to betray Kotal, a current employer, if someone offered a better deal (“Until a better offer comes along.”, “There's always a better offer, Kotal”). This strengthens the impression Black cares only about himself yet he rejects all propositions coming from Kotal’s enemies such as Shao Kahn, Rain or Mileena, Quan Chi, Shinnok and Kano/Black Dragons. At the same, he is willing to work with/ for Kitana who happens to be the best friend of Jade, Kotal’s beloved. Which makes Erron still operate in a group wishing no harm to the ex-emperor.

I’m bringing this into discussion because there is strong possibility that under the tough guy act, Erron still follows some “old-fashioned” sense of morality and is decent enough to not attack or harm women (and in my opinion, people in general) unless A) it is part of the job or B) is self-defense. Which could explain why he let Jade walk away or why he didn’t shoot Sonya from a safe distance but faced her in hand to hand combat. Depending how long he lived in Outworld, he could simply adapt into local customs - the people of Outworld are a combat-focused society and because of that have a strong sense of honor code. Erron’s eventual softness toward female fighters would get him in serious problems and I doubt he could afford such weakness when serving Shang Tsung or Shao Kahn.

So, why did Erron not want to serve Mileena, the designated successor? As the Empress, she was in position to offer the best (materially wise at least) deal after all.

In MKX!banter Erron claims Kotal paid him better:

Mileena: You aided the usurper.

Erron Black: He offered more coins.

Mileena: ...and no protection.

Meanwhile, MK11!Black outright says it was not a matter of money but of Mileena’s behaviour. Considering how prone to violence she was, it is no wonder why Erron decided to work for someone else.

Erron Black: Now what's got you all rip-snorting mad?

Mileena: When I gained the throne, you abandoned it.

Erron Black: Wasn't no pay worth dealing with your crazy.

This brings me back to the MKX’s banter suggesting Erron may dislike being bossed by women. Considering the implication he is currently negotiating a proper deal with Kitana Kahn (“New Kahn, same deal?”), the problem is more complex than judging someone by gender alone. I mean, Erron worked for Shao Kahn who himself was a cruel tyrant so sadism shouldn't be anything new for Black, right? Except, he was hired by Shang Tsung and because of that I think it is highly possible Erron had just indirect contact with the Emperor. Thus Erron could be not ready for Mileena’s unstable nature(?) and cruelty.

I mean - Erron comes from a pathological family and grew up around tough women. In his opinion Cassie has some traits or behaves in a way for which his mother would’ve liked the girl. So there are certain things that Black connects to hated mother. Now, Cassie is more of an extrovert type of person, showy and with sharp ripostes but she is one of the good guys and cruelty for fun is not her thing. So, if someone like Cassie can somehow make him think of a hated parent (that most likely is dead for decades now), how much Mileena could trigger Erron in the wrong way? To the point he chooses his mental health over money and/or thrill of danger?

If this is true, we may further wonder if bad experiences with tough women in childhood are the reason why despite flirtatious nature, Erron’s interest in female fighters usually is strictly sexual attraction? Because it really looks like he does not try to emotionally connect with women. Even his “thing” with Skarlet seems to be more a matter of thrill than a serious relationship, considering how Erron was okay with her eventual death.

(The possibility of Erron being freaked out by Mileena also rises an interesting question about her mental state between MK9 and MKX)

This is why I think Erron did not have a problem with working for women as long as they did not remind him too much of past abuse. And this is pretty nice implication, considering how tough guy Erron is for most of the time.

Because of that, Kotal questioning if Erron is jealous of Jade could be read in different way too:

Erron Black: So, you and Jade, huh?

Kotal Kahn: Jealous, Erron Black?

Erron Black: She's quite the looker, Kotal.

And yeah, Erron brings this to the matter of appearance alone, but hopeful as I proved earlier, Erron sometimes says one thing but does (thinks) something totally different. Because of that I suspect he may not be really jealous of Kotal for having a sexy lady but actually of the relationship itself. You know, build on respect and love than just build on sexual drive.

Like I said before, the game cutscenes and character banters may be interpreted in many ways but for me MK11!Erron Black - at least the older version - seems to mask his trauma and/or complex nature of his relationship with women under the act of tough guys. At the same time, there is a high possibility he still follows an out-fashioned sense of honor and though he is not above shooting women, he does not attack them unless it is demanded. Though to be fair, in my opinion this is how he approaches everyone. A mercenary’s mindset that distinguishes him from the likes of Kano.

In Mortal Kombat 11: Aftermatch, Erron met Sheeva, when the Shokan Queen in the company of Fujin, Nightwolf and Shang Tsung carried a coffin to the Soul Chamber. Black and Baraka decided to confront the Shokan woman and it quickly turned into a fight (and the typical game mechanics).

There is a question though - did Erron really take Kitana's offer or did he stay with Kotal? Because it’s really suspicious that he happened in the place where defenless, injured Kotal was in the healing process. Anyway, whatever the case, Black directly or indirectly worked for the new Kahn so it is highly possible his actions were dictated by Kitana’s best interest rather than his liking or disliking anyone.

Let’s just look at the situation - Kitana is the empress but she promised to treat her allies as her equals. That means Sheeva, as well respected Shokan Queen, plays an important role in the new regime - killing her or permanently injuring was out question, otherwise Shokan people could rebel against Kitana and in result the freshly established peace would go straight to hell.

In my opinion, this is why Erron asked Sheeva’s group to go with them quietly so the situation could be explained to Kitana without unnecessary violence. Black actually was okay with Sheeva go to Soul Chamber as long as Shang Tsung (Shao Kahn’s sorcerer) and the suspicious coffin was returned to him. Thanks to Shang Tsung, one of Tarkatan warrior died and thus the situation got out of hand. It makes sense Erron was more focused on Shang Tsung (hated by Kitana), Nightwolf (whose current self is revenant) and Fujin than on Sheeva who, potentially, was protected by political immunity.

When the Shokan Queen beat down Baraka, Erron in my opinion did not try to hurt her, only fired a warning shot. Maybe to make sure Sheeva will not kill Baraka (another important leader whose support Kitana needed to uphold the peace in Outworld). The Earthrealmers on other hand were another matter. Maybe Erron was too trusting or too reckless to not pay more attention to Sheeva or simply didn’t really think she was the traitor. It was after learning she is trying to resurrect Kitana’s evil mom - a dangerous, not consulted with Empress decision - Erron faced Sheeva in hand to hand combat.

Not much to analyse here, especially not with limitations of game mechanics yet I strongly believe Erron’s course of action was dictated by political situation and Kitana Kahn’s best interest so killing or seriously injuring Sheeva could be out of question. Also, like I said previously, Black is rarely the aggressor, what I believe is related to his mercenary’s mindset.

The last source, Mortal Kombat X comics series, requires a little clarification: I treat it as a potentially additional insight into Erron’s psyche than any real canonical material. Partially due to many plot-holes but also because of overwhelming violence used for violence’s sake alone. That said, here what happens:

Earthrealm (Special Forces) and Outworld (Kotal Kahn) weren’t on the best terms. To help Kotal, Erron and Black Dragons kidnapped young (under 21 years old) Cassie and Jacqui and took them to Outworld. During the journey through the dangerous jungle, girls tried to run away but got hurt in the process by Kano. Erron openly talked against brutal treatment of prisoners.

Looking at the difficult situation of Kotal, it was in Erron’s best interest to keep Cassie and Jacqui in one piece. Otherwise the whole plan would fail and then Kotal would be forced to deal with really pissed off Sonya Blade. And that would take a bad turn for Black himself. But like I said earlier, the tough guy act could also cover Erron’s more empathic nature that in the mercenary world was seen as a weakness to exploit. I personally think he did not like torturing people if that was unnecessary but also that he would have spoken against it even if Cassie and Jaquie were boys.

Then the Red Dragons attacked to take over hostages.

(Once again, a tough guy act with the “girls are Kotal’s property” as in cover up his worries about the situation or his true mindset, or mix?)

When the fight started, Erron went to tied hostages:

One one hand, Erron needs the girl to stay alive and not be taken by the enemy. On the other hand, he does not promise them safety nor ask them to run away. He is freeing them so the two girl (both under 21 years old) will fight against experienced criminals armed with swords and other dangerous stuff. This is actually an interesting detail, because it suggests Erron thought Cassie and Jacqui had a chance against thugs or that at least that way they wouldn't be a burden to him.

Jacqui punched him and Erron, either was taken by surprise or did not want to hurt her, was “saved” by Kano. And then betrayed by the Black Dragon leader.

Kano’s worlds raise a question, how much Erron is driven by the money and how much he uses the tough guy act to actually hide his unwanted “vulnerability” (as in, having moral sense and not being the heartless psychopath like Kano).

My general conclusion about Erron is that, for a side character he has a really complex relationship with women around him. I strongly believe that Erron sticks to some old fashioned sense of honor that mixes well with a mercenary's mindset. Thus rarely he is the one attacking first. This most likely influences his interaction with female fighters but at the same time, Outworld is not a place where people are judged by gender but for their skills and powers. So, Erron living there for decades for sure got influenced by that mindset to some degree.

I would not call him a feminist - not because he couldn’t be one but for lack of proper material to analyse. Feminism has many shades but in the most general sense is about establishing the political, economic, personal, and social equality of the sexes. Erron does not show much opinion on that matter and does not interact with “common” women; those truly weaker than him, disabled or anything else other than warriors, soldiers or queens. With lack of such interaction there is no chance to come to a proper conclusion.

Does Erron have a soft spot for women? It is possible but that would not stop him from hitting back or killing them if the situation called for such action. I think the safest option is just that Erron is in general a more emphatic and honorable human that he wants to admit, to not look weak or be exploited by others. In contrast to Kano, Black for sure has some moral code he follows no matter what. Even if this get him into trouble more often than not.

Hope it answers your question!

[roger-that-cap]

once upon a december

knight!steve x reader (sort of an anastasia au type thing!)

word count: 4.09k!

warnings: i think swearing! but other than that this is good for everyone!

did not check her for errors, sorry!

part two!

You rode for about fifteen minutes at medium speed on the huge horse that felt like seconds to you by the time you were coming into town. The way the horse stopped startled you, because just as fast as he started his trot, it felt natural to you. It would have brought you all the way to sleep, if your mind hadn’t been so wary about who was right in front of you. 

“This is our stop,” he muttered, getting off of his horse and turning to you, and you reached your hand out to be helped down, landing softly on your feet. “You good?” 

“I am, thank you.” You said out of politeness, and he nodded. You looked at where his eyes were looking as he tied his horse to the tree, and you immediately recognized it as a bar. “A bar?” 

Those were forbidden back at the orphanage. You had been told that only low people went there, people with no class. As far as you were concerned, orphans were the lower class. You couldn’t get lower than that in the kingdom. Right above you were the common bargoers, you believed. 

“There a problem with that?” 

“I don’t speak to drunk men.” You surely didn’t. You had learned from others that men who were drunk wanted one of two things at all times, and that was to start a fight or to make children. At first, you had faith in the men that people talked so down on. But you learned. Like all other women, you learned. “If he wants to speak to me, he’ll have to come outside.” 

 “It’s cold,” James said, giving you a face. 

You weren’t going in a room full of rowdy people. You much rather preferred hushed, passionate conversations and whispers. It was just… better. “If he’s a good man, he won’t make me go in there.” 

“What does him being a man have to do with that?” 

“Men are nasty,” you said boldly, and he gave you a slightly amused, slightly agitated look. “And they’re all in there,” you said, grimacing when you heard boisterous laughter. “If you want a good seamstress, you’ll bring him out here to talk.”

“Where are you from?” He asked out of nowhere, and you were both shocked at his blatant attitude and relieved by it. 

“Why?” 

“You don’t sound like you’re from around here.” He per his horse twice before looking back at you. “So, where are you from?” 

You took a deep breath and then exhaled, watching it leave your body with an intense curiosity before you answered his question. “Would you believe me if I told you I didn’t know?” 

 A slow smile spread across his face, and then he was grinning, a shallow but true grin. And then, he shook his head once. “No.” He turned around and walked straight into the bar. 

You had no idea what to do. Were you supposed to stand there and wait, possibly even freeze? Or was that a sign for you to follow him or go on your own way? You had already tried to be on your own, and that didn’t work well at all. Maybe you were a team player before you were an orphan. 

  You stood with your arms wrapped around your body, swishing back and forth and bending your knees every so often, locking eyes with the horse every now and again before finally turning away from the bar and throwing your head up, giving out a groan. 

  “Hey,” you tilted your head back down. “Buck tells me you’re a seamstress for cheap.” You turned around and faced the direction where the sound of boots slapping snow came from, and immediately you were stunned. 

 A blonde man, even taller than his brunette companion, was standing there, his steps long stuttered at the sight of you. You could see his blue eyes clearly even through the flurries of snow that were still coming down. You frowned subconsciously, something about the sight of him tugging at your mind. 

He took a few steps closer, and you stayed put. You could have sworn that his head was going to pop right out of his neck when he pushed it forward, trying to get a good look at your face. He was close enough where you could see the looks of surprise, confusion, and anger morph into one. His jaw slacked, and as quiet as the wind, he said one word. “Alexandra?” 

Just like that, your enchantment with the second grown man that you had seen during your journey dropped. You shook your head at him. “Who’s Alexandra?” 

His slight joy dropped, plummeted so far that you couldn’t have caught it even if you tried. “Who are you?” He questioned harshly.

“Y/N,” you said cautiously, narrowing your eyes on him. “I make clothes. You said you needed help,” you said, and you looked towards the hole in his pants and how they were shorter than what they needed to be, and you also caught sight of a huge hole under his arm. You gave him a look. “And it seems to me that you do need help, so don’t be so hostile.” 

“Buck, who-”

“I found her. She sprained her ankle.” 

The blonde man had you on the receiving end of a harsh look and then yanked his friend to the side, seemingly for a private conversation that wasn’t so private because of how loud he was, and how good your hearing was. 

 You could tune into nearly anything, and tune out of nearly anything. It was the perk of being the oldest for most of your time at the orphanage. Some kids were fighting while another needed some help, and you couldn’t listen to both. And so, you adapted. 

 “This- who is she? Who is that, Bucky?” Bucky? His name was Bucky and not James?

“She says she’s-”

“I know, but she sews, too?” The man’s voice was quiet. “She- she looks like an older version of Alexandra.” 

“I know.” 

Whoever this “Alexandra” girl was, the blond man was not happy about you resembling her. It was all over his face and in his body language. “So, why did you bring her here?” 

“He brought me here because your pants are too small,” you chimed in, and they jumped. “What? I have good hearing. What can I say?”  

 “It’s not polite to eavesdrop.” 

“Guess my parents never taught me that,” you joked, knowing that they wouldn’t get it. “I can fix your clothes. I just need money, and quiet. All the whispering freaks me out, and I can hear it.” 

 “Who are you really?” 

“I’m Y/N, I’m an orphan, and I’m a seamstress in training.” 

“You’ve never worked in a shop?” 

“W-well, no, but I- I know how to sew,” you said, getting tripped up on your words the second he started to ask you about what you could do. “In fact, I did all of my clothes myself.” 

He looked you up and down. “How did you learn?” 

You had a feeling that I always just knew wasn’t going to be enough for the blond man, especially because he already didn’t like you. “I… it’s a natural talent.” 

 “Ha!” His laugh was more of an exclamation than anything as he looked up to the sky and shook his head. “When will I be done paying for the past?” 

You made a face at him and waited for his dramatics to subside, tapping your foot in the snow despite your utter freezing. “So, are you going to give me your pants to work on…?” 

“What’s your rate, girl?” 

“Don’t call me that.” You retorted. “Who are you, anyway?” 

“Sir Steven,” he answered, and you saw James give him a look. “What pay do you want?” 

“Enough to get a train ticket to Auren.” They both looked at you strangely, and it was for long enough that you took a step back and crossed your arms over your chest. “Is there something wrong with that?”

“Why are you going there?” James asked carefully, almost as if he was walking on the thinnest sheet of ice over a lake that he was standing in the middle of. You didn’t like it. 

“Because I want to.” You didn’t even consider trying to explain to them about the pull you felt. They looked rich. They looked like they had never experienced loss before. You hadn’t met many knighted men, but you felt like they were too pretty to have seen much at all. “So, if you can’t trade me some new clothes for a ticket, then, I’ll find someone else.” 

“We were actually heading that way.” 

“That way?” You asked, a brow cocked. “You mean to get there by horse?” 

  “It’s no more than a three week ride from here, if we’re fast.” James explained, looking to his partner, who was still staring holes in your face. “The trail is already made.” 

  You knew what he was insinuating. Was it wise to agree to it? Probably not, and at the same time, it may save you money and time. It would take you a long time to work up what you needed for a ticket, but if they were offering to let you ride with them if you fixed their clothes every so often, that could be it. On the back of a horse could be the way you got to Auren, away from the snow, away from everything you’ve conditioned yourself to know again. 

“Are you offering for me to come with you?” The huge, blond man looked horrified. 

“If you’re comfortable with riding,” he said, ignoring the lethal look that “Steven” gave him. “We mess up our clothes a lot, we could use someone who knows how to fix them. How fast are you?” 

“Very.” And you were. You were quick and accurate, and you only got quicker with every passing month. 

  “I’m sorry-” the glowering man gave you a fake smile and turned around to his friend. “We need to talk.” He pulled him off to the side, way too far for you to hear, and sighed and shook your head. 

 “Hey, horse.” You muttered, petting him a few times. “Do me a favor, would you?” There was no verbal answer, of course. “If you think I should go with them, stomp your foot twice. 

You didn’t even need for him to stomp his huge feet for you to know what you were doing. The men seemed more honorable than the ones you were warned about, and for some reason, you knew that you could trust them more, even if the blond one was angry. The time it would take for you to earn the money would be past three weeks, and in three weeks, you could potentially already be in Auren. It made no sense for you to not take the deal, so you decided that you would make sense. 

  Minutes later, a red faced Steve and a frustrated James came back over, only to find you talking sweet to James’ grey horse. 

“What do you need to sew?” James asked, hands on his hips, near his sword though you knew that he wasn’t going to be using it. “Supplies?” 

You tried not to smile. “I have everything but cloth and string that matches the colors of your clothing, really.” 

“We don’t care much for looks,” Steve muttered and turned to his own horse, giving you his back. “Just do what you do, and we’ll pay you.” 

“We’ll pay you and,” the brunet added, giving his friend a dirty look. “You can ride with us, but you’ll have to share horses with someone.” 

 “You,” you said automatically, making Steve turn his head your way. “You seem to be the one most on board with me coming, so… you. Please.” 

  “Fine by me,” He said, shrugging. “We should get you out of the cold and set up camp.” 

  You nodded, and your shoes crunched on the snow as you walked forward. Right before you hoisted yourself up on Bucky’s horse, you heard the other man call out at you. “Don’t try it if you can’t do it yourself-” you interrupted him by effortlessly swinging onto the horse, scooting back to give the man enough room for when he got up himself. 

 “You ever rode a horse before?” 

Not to my knowledge. “No.” 

Steve gave you a long look, scrutinizing and breaching into the rude factor. He nodded his head after the lengthy stare and then looked towards Bucky. “We riding out?” 

“She’s going to freeze if we don’t set something up, and a fire, too.” You agreed with that mentally. Bucky hoisted himself up and then tapped his horse quite lovingly before the both of you started on a trot, your legs trembling against the backs of his from the freezing cold. 

 §§

You didn’t realize that you had fallen asleep until you felt yourself hit the ground. Not a sound came out of you as you roused yourself from your sleep, blinking slowly as you registered the cold, and the sound of shouting. 

“Shit!” You felt yourself being picked up by the arms and you sighed, feeling your wet clothes get even more damp. Your shoes were as good as gone. Your shirt was barely salvageable and your pants were probably better off if you took them off. “Are you-”

You were traded off into another set of arms, and you nearly flinched when warm hands touched your neck. “Is she alive?” 

“Yeah, but we need a fire. Now.” 

You shook your head and opened your eyes, blinking once you saw the night sky above you being halfway blocked by Steve’s face while he peered down at you, that same suspicious and questioning look that he had before on his face again. You raised your arms up and put your hands together, rubbing them to get some friction going, and hopefully some heat. You were cold, and hardly awake. 

Before you even knew what you were doing, you stood up on your own, reaching for the bag on your back and pulling it in front of your eyes, your hands digging for something.  

“What are you doing?” Steve asked, his tone annoyed. “Take it easy.” 

You ignored him easily as you took out the thick quilt that you made that was folded up and nearly done. You grunted when you realized that you never quite finished it, and then you pulled out your scissors. Your hands shook as you found where you left off and realized that cutting and tying would do nothing but ruin it. 

“Are you seriously trying to knit right now?” Steve asked, irritation leaking into his question as Bucky worked on starting a fire not too far away, diligently blowing and running stones against each other.

“Gotta finish,” you mumbled, and then you shook your hands out. 

“Just put it on, worry about finishing later-” he was cut off by your hands working rapidly, threading the thick material through your largest needle at what was almost your top speed, never missing once. He stared down at your hands and your face as your concentration never broke. You finished the last line, grabbed scissors, and ended it before you wrapped it around yourself. “How… I thought you said you were never taught.” 

“I wasn’t.” 

“Fire’s ready,” Bucky called, and you stumbled during your first two steps only to fall forward and be caught by Steve, who made an exasperated sound. “Don’t put the blanket in the fire, Y/N.” 

You were freezing. You were tired. You had just finished a knitting project that you assumed would take you much longer than you thought. And you had a feeling that everything you were feeling was going to be a constant thing on the journey that you had barely begun. 

The morning after you felt better, and the sun hitting your skin made you glow like a golden flower. You were back to the slightly bubbly attitude you naturally had, waving to Bucky when you woke up and saw him still on watch, immediately starting to knit something. 

“Those socks?” He asked I’m a raspy voice after watching you for a few minutes, and you nodded. 

“I’m making a few pairs for all of us.” 

“How much material do you have?” He looked at your bag, and you laughed. It seemed small, but you lived confined all your life. You knew how to compress things to make them fit, and you knew that to anyone else, your bag probably seemed like a magic trick. 

“A lot,” You mused, looking to the side as Steve woke from his sleep at the sound of your voice. “All my life’s savings have gone to material to sew, fabrics of all kinds.” 

“Why didn’t you save to get a train ticket?” He asked softly, almost like he knew that he probably shouldn’t have asked. 

Your fingers stopped moving as quickly as you thought, your movements much slower, slow enough for them to see what you were doing with them. “I could live without making it to Auren, I suppose,” you replied just as soft, looking back down to your hands. “But… sewing? No. I couldn’t live without doing that.” 

 “You love it that much?” 

Your expression of nonchalance turned into muted confusion when he asked that. Did you love sewing? You weren’t sure. You weren’t sure if you loved it or if you knew it, and those were two different things. It was your way of life that you would never abandon, but did that mean that you loved it? “I… I know it, I think.” You dropped your arms onto your lap. “It’s the only thing I have, I guess.” You had sewing and dancing, the kind that all the commoners learned to do. 

Steve frowned, too. “Have from when?” 

A small scowl formed on your face, the same one that you hid from the younger kids when they pressed on for you to remember something that you clearly didn’t. You wiped it off of your face and just gave a shrug. “I don’t know. But it’s the only thing I have in this world that is mine, so I’ll keep it.” 

“Okay,” Bucky said, giving Steve a look when he saw that the ever persistent man was about to keep pressing. “Do you think you can sew and ride at the same time?” 

“Probably,” you answered. 

Steve stood up. “Then let’s get it moving.” 

You had been given Steve’s pants to work on while you rode, and you started with the hole first. You found a fabric that matched the color relatively closely and went with it, finished within forty minutes. You couldn’t do much about the length other than estimate how much longer he needed them, and your guess was two and a half inches or so. 

By the time you were almost done with the first leg, you looked at the sun and realized that you were going in the wrong direction. “Uh…” you started softly, and you felt Bucky tense up. “Where- this isn’t the direction we’re supposed to be headed.” 

“We have to make a short detour, pick up a friend.” 

“How far is your friend?” 

“Shouldn’t be more than twenty leagues from here,” Bucky answered, his strong voice louder than the cutting wind. “He’s good people.” 

“Does he live where cloth is available?” 

“I thought you spent all your money?” Steve asked from beside you, his eyes watching your every move, like they had been the whole time. 

 “I did,” you confirmed, and you smiled when he looked confused. “I can basically talk my way into getting anything,” you said, and you watched him roll his eyes. “Except for someone to adopt me, I guess.” 

You felt Bucky’s snort more than you heard it, and Steve had a look on his face that said that he didn’t know if he was allowed to laugh at the joke or not, but you shrugged. “Is that one of your talents?”

“What?” 

“Sweet talking.” 

You made a face. It had been something that came slower, like a memory that was in the part of your brain that was much less quicker than the rest. It was the reason some didn’t ever warm up to you at the orphanage, especially the adults. They called you charming, they said that the combination of your smart tongue and your “accent”, whatever it was, was telling a different story than the one you remembered. 

“If I hadn’t seen you being brought in by that man myself, I would have called Marta a liar. You’re no orphan. You- you were something else. Someone else.” The Warden’s words haunted your mind every so often. 

“It’s something I think I might have known how to do before.” 

“Before what?” Steve asked, and you breathed in through your nose, ignoring the sting of the cold air. 

“Before I lost my memory.” The world froze there. “I woke up in the snow, someone brought me to the orphanage, and I don’t remember anything before that.” 

“What do you mean, you don’t remember?” 

“It means that I don’t know,” you said. “I don’t even think Y/N is my real name. I didn’t remember what it was, so I picked it. I knew how to read, and I saw it in a book, so I took it.” 

“Holy… when were you put into the orphanage?” 

“I was… I think I was fifteen or sixteen. It’s hard to say, no one could tell my age without giving me an exam and I said no to that one,” you chuckled, but neither man was laughing. You hadn’t even realized that you stopped riding, and that Steve had turned his horse so that he was looking at you head on without having to turn his body. 

  “You don’t know who you are?” 

“I know who I am,” you said, getting a little defensive. Even though

“You just said that you didn’t remember what happened to you through the first sixteen years of your life, that’s a huge chunk of time.” 

 “Well, I know who I am now.” Steve frowned deeply. “I’m Y/N, I like to knit, and I’m good at talking. That’s it. That’s all you need to know. That’s all I know.” 

“Have you tried to find something out?” 

“What do you think going to Auren is about?” You quizzed, feeling oddly satisfied when that shut him up. “I think someone’s there.” 

“Who?” 

“Someone who knew me,” you said. 

“How do you know that they’re there?” 

“I just have a feeling,” you said, your voice slightly whimsical as you thought about being reunited with people who cared about you, the people you had guilty lost recollection of. “And I also have nothing to lose.” 

“None of us do,” Steve said, and then he snapped the reins on his horse and began trotting forwards. 

“Steve, Buck!” You had fallen asleep and woken up to the enthusiastic shouting of a man. “That was much faster than expected.” You wiped your face with your hand and straightened your posture, attempting to stop your teeth from chattering like they previously were. “Do you have someone- oh, Holy Hera.”

A man with nearly the same look of shock that you had was looking at you, eyes wide. You would have assumed that what he felt was terror, if his lips weren’t slowly curling up into a smile. The world stood still again as you both analyzed each other, him with much more confusion and enthusiasm than you. 

 “Alexandra!” He nearly shouted, and he bent his body downwards, into a deep kneeling position. You tilted your head to the side, so confused by his sign of respect that you didn’t see the looks of panic on the other men’s faces. “I always-”

“Y/N.” Steve said sharply, interrupting him and catching all three of you by surprise because of his hostility. “Her name is Y/N.” He was the first to climb off of his horse, and he gave the man a pat on the back before entering the house like he had been a thousand times and lacked the need for invitation. 

“Who is Alexandra?” You asked again, upset at being mistaken for someone for the second time.

“She’s um, she’s no one.” Bucky said, shooting his friend a look. “This is Sir Sam Wilson. He’s a great man, very honorable.” 

“A pleasure to meet you, Sir.” You responded, helping yourself off of the horse and ignoring the icy air that surrounded Steve’s sharp actions. 

You saw him look at your quilt, and then at the bag that had needles dangerously poking out. “You sew?”

“I do,” you responded, and he smiled. “I think I’m hired to be their seamstress and accompany them to Auren.” 

“You have interest in going to Auren?” 

“Yes,” you answered, drawing out the last letter to make it sound like less of a short answer. You smiled at him and moved to get off of the horse, ignoring the way that he rushed forward, hands outstretched to help you down. You swung both of your legs around and hopped right off without problems, prompting for the knight to give you an impressed look. 

“You’ve ridden before?” 

You knew you looked like you couldn’t even afford a bucket to put the horse food in, and that was why he was asking. It didn’t bother you at all, because the assumption was painfully true. “Actually, before I met them,” you nodded towards Bucky and Steve’s horse, “never.” 

“Never?” He echoed. “Even the noblewomen request help from getting down off of their horses. I’ve helped probably every noblewoman who ever stepped foot in the palace walls by horse, besides- yes,” he cut himself off, brushing his hands on his pants and nodding sharply, like he had just remembered something. “Well, I’m sure you’re starving and in need of warmth. I think Steve has already seen himself to the food.” 

Sam was right. There were already bowls out, and Steve had filled them with soup and was waiting for everyone else to start eating, even though he looked like he was using all of his strength to do it. His hands were hidden under the table and his leg was bouncing up and down as he stared at his bowl, hunger evident in his expression. 

 “What have you been eating?” 

“We’ve only come across rabbits and squirrels,” Steve muttered, clutching his spoon. 

 “It’s been an unfortunate season,” Bucky added, giving Sam a look. “And you know that Steve doesn’t operate on an empty stomach.” 

  “Oh, do I,” He said, a grin on his face as he said it. “Help yourself, Y/N! Don’t be shy.” 

“If you insist, Sir.” 

“So polite,” he teased, and you cracked a smile. “Where are you from?” 

You almost grimaced. “A small town, a ways away from here. Yakir.” 

  “Really?” 

“Yes. It’s not very fun, nothing much to do.” That was the grossest understatement ever. There was quite literally nothing to do, and even if there was something to do there, you were restricted by the operators at the orphanage. “Except for learning manners, I suppose.” 

  That gained you a smile, and you took your own spoon, first putting it on the other side of your bowl before eating, and folding the napkin out on your lap, crossing your legs and sitting up straight in your chair, leaning over slightly to blow on the soup that you picked up with your spoon. 

  “This is very good, thank you for making it,” you said after having a bit of it, and you were being honest. It was good, even though you were sure that anything would have tasted good at that moment. 

  “You’re welcome,” Sam dragged out, eyeing you oddly as you ate the soup in your bowl, which put the attention on you at the table. 

“Um…” you trailed off, trying to get at least one of them to explain why they were staring at you like you grew a head and cut it off and then went back to business. 

“Nothing, nothing at all,” Bucky assured, and he picked up his own spoon and waved it around, making a big show of starting to eat and hoping that the others would do the same. You raised your brows and then put your lips together before parting them again to drink from the spoon, figuring that whatever weird exchange that was, was going to eventually be explained. 

  You finished first, and you felt weird about it. Your stomach was full, though, so you watched the fire crackling in Sam’s fireplace with a far off look in your eyes as you thought about Lucas, and what he could be doing. 

  Did he miss you already like you missed him? Did his young mind offer to spare him some pain by forgetting you were ever there? You almost preferred it to be that way, because you knew that the kid didn’t sleep without you feet away from him. He didn’t eat if you didn’t, he didn’t go outside if you weren’t watching him. You prayed that he wouldn’t remember you.

  “What are you thinking so hard about?” 

The words that came from Steve took you right out of your mind as you kept your eyes on the burning fire, a small smile gracing your face as you thought about him again. “Nothing.”

****

hey junebugs!! how are y’all? this is entirely self indulgent at this point- and i love this! can’t wait to do more with this steve! we’re gonna build a relationship here with this miniseries, no love at first sight this time! i don’t think anyone’s vibing with this rn but i at least hope y’all liked it! if you did like it, please drop a like or reblog or a comment! i loveee comments omg

[hotforhandman]

Are the Villains “right”?

Okay, so I was scrolling through the bnha spoilers tag whilst procrastinating work and I’m really not living for the vibes there. My biggest issues fall into two main camps: “this arc is going to be the end of the League”, and “Villain stans are hypocrites with no reading comprehension for condemning the Heroes’ behaviour”, and I believe both of these statements can be addressed simultaneously, whilst also giving me a convenient excuse to not write. So without further ado,

Part 1: Themes

Right from the very beginning of the series, literally the first line, one thing is made blatantly clear: This series is not going to be about good guys and bad guys. “All men are not created equal” is not a line that implicates an inherent divide between good and evil, unless you’re an actual eugenicist. And pretty much every important character is designed to criticise a different aspect of the established system.

Izuku: The Quirkless are worthless. Not explicitly, but... everyone knows it. 

Bakugou: If you have a good Quirk, you are praised and treated as special, and as a consequence you’re never expected to learn and grow as a person. 

Shoto: Dedicating your entire life to becoming strong to the detriment of your own health is the best way to climb to the top. 

All Might: You don’t have to worry about anything. A Hero will save you. 

Shinsou: If you have a Villain’s Quirk, you’re going to be a Villain, no matter the quality of your personality. 

Kirishima: If you’re not flashy, there’s no point even trying.

Hawks: Similar to Shoto, if you show natural promise then it’s acceptable to groom you as a weapon. 

I’m sure there are others that I’ve missed. Each of these characters’ individual developments have been focused around them overcoming these ingrained ideas and growing and succeeding despite them - with the exception, perhaps, of Hawks. So if several of the major Hero characters are designed to illustrate and criticise the established system, what about the villains? I guess if the Heroes are stories about people succeeding despite what the world tells them, then the Villains are stories about what happens when they don’t. 

Spinner: Mutants are second-class citizens and should be treated as such. 

Toga: If your Quirk is considered to be bad or gross, then you should be punished for wanting to use it. 

Twice: The world won’t make space for your special needs. 

Magne: If you don’t fit the mould of what people want you to be, you won’t be respected.

And Shigaraki: It’s not our responsibility to help you. If you weren’t saved, that must mean you’re not worth saving. 

The one thing that both the Heroes and the Villains have in common is that they are tools to show the audience the flaws in BNHA’s society. It’s canon that Quirks appeared suddenly, and though by the time BNHA is set in, society has tried to adapt to fit it and is making some progress towards being functional, it’s clear that it has a long, long way to go, because it’s failing so many people. (Draw some parallels to real life, hm?). BNHA’s overarching themes of individual worth not being more important than collective good and how rules and structure created in good will can result in a lot of pain and abuse are, first and foremost, exemplified in the characters themselves. I like to tell people who find Shigaraki’s motivations vague and uncompelling that Shigaraki doesn’t need to have a point, he is the point, and this is exactly the reason why. 

I also believe that this is primarily why for Horikoshi to end the League here would be, frankly, terrible writing. We have engaged with the LOV more than pretty much any other Shonen villain group I can think of, almost any villain group at all. We’ve seen them develop as much as we’ve seen the heroes develop, especially in Shigaraki’s case, and to have Shigaraki only be their ‘first-year villain’ or whatever would be disrespectful, wasteful, and thematically inappropriate. To have a more classic, pre-developed villain whose villainy seems to stem from some inherent evil characteristic like AfO or Overhaul would ultimately defeat the story of how the worst villains are created by flaws in the system, not born. 

Part 2: Fan Response

Sometimes I can’t believe I still have to reiterate this to people, but it is possible to stan a character whilst simultaneously recognising that they are flawed, often critically so. When did we move from adoring villains to saying if you like this character you must be an inherently bad person because of this list of bad things they did? 

The thing is that the vast majority of ‘opinions’ on fan blogs are... poorly thought out and shallow, to put it lightly. When it’s 2am and I’m answering an ask about my opinions on x plot point, it’s not gonna be well thought out and thoroughly researched. I’m probably a bit tipsy, kind of tired, and just typing out whatever my initial response is. And really, if I reblog a bit of art with the caption ‘Shigaraki did nothing wrong’, do you really think I’m being serious? A lot of what we say is hyperbolic and meant to either be funny or to evoke an emotion, not because we actually believe it. 

That being said, the League in particular, I believe, resonates with a lot of people in the current political climate. A group of outcasts with characteristics considered undesirable by the wider population coming together and genuinely caring about one another whilst they aim to completely eradicate the system that hurt them? As an angry, marginalised leftist in a society that seems increasingly determined to wipe my chances at a good life out without blinking an eye, hell yeah that resonates with me. Being able to crumble the cripplingly complex and morally vile system I live in to dust and starting over is one hell of an appealing power fantasy. Does that mean I think murder is okay? Obviously not. It’s a fantasy. If there’s one place where I can live out those fantasies without consequences, it’s here. In fiction. And so it seems really stupid to me to be confronted with the idea that if I like a fictional violent radical I’m accused of condoning murder and kidnapping. 

Part 3: Are the Heroes right?

So a lot of the posts I saw that aggravated me were framed like 'how can the villain stans think Miruko and Gran Torino's behaviour is worse than Shigaraki's?', but like... who was saying that?

I feel like certain people's views of the heroes versus villains debate falls under the same fallacies as a lot of political arguments- that is to say, if I'm criticising one side, I must be defending the other. Which is... just blatantly untrue. When we say that the heroes' consistent dehumanisation of a man who is, first and foremost, a victim of significant grooming and abuse throughout his life, is gross and cruel, and that this attitude is mirrored in an awful lot of the hero-villain interactions implying a certain level of empathetic alienation and lack of accountability, we're not saying they shouldn't be trying to take Shigaraki down. Of course they should, he's going to decimate hundreds of thousands of innocent lives. But, like, does that mean they're exempt from all criticism? Should we be excusing the cruel and dismissive attitudes of the heroes and ignoring the behaviours of their side that lead to further 'villainisation' of marginalised people just because they're responsible for saving lives? No. Because once again, one of the key themes of BNHA is that neither side is perfect, and neither side is right.

Mass murder is wrong. So is systemic cruelty towards the oppressed. You don't have to approve of one to criticise the other. So next time you see one of those posts and jump to the conclusion that villain stans have no reading comprehension, pls remember these points.

Anyway, that's my little rant. Sorry.

Tl;dr, villain stans aren't stupid or glorifying murder, we're just capable of criticising more than one type of bad behaviour.

[streets-in-paradise]

I want to talk about some of the main family relationships in Troy

As I already told once in one of my posts, I adore to overanalyze family relationships in the media I consume. I’m still in the process of writing another one as a second part to my sibling relationships post talking of more family relationships from various of my fandoms but, since that one is taking me too much time to finish, I'm writing now this shorter one for my Troy appreciation series. 

I already started this ramble in the same post I referenced. There I talked about my favourite family bond in the entire film, the sibling relationship of Hector and Paris. Still, there is a lot to discuss about family dynamics in the story this movie tells. Even since I was writing that post I kept thinking on how many family related story arcs this movie has and how, if you pay close attention to those, you can capture the essence of the characters. Because of this, I decided to dedicate a separate post to the main family relationships portrayed there and the important role they play in the development of the story. I will try to skip the ones i already talked about before. This are, for most part, the relationships inside the trojan royal family. Since i already discussed those, most of this will be about family bonds of the greek characters. 

As i stated in previous posts, this is a talk about the characters and actions in the movie. I’m not talking from an adaptation” movie vs book” point of view. I can occasionally mention some of the differences but there would be more references than comparisons. 

As always, i apologise for any possible mistakes in my writing. I’m still in the process of getting used to writing long texts in english. Also, I give proper credits for the images to the original sites hosting them. 

Agamemnon and Menelaus 

The movie establishes them clearly as the main antagonists. Precisely, one of the many scenes I love in this movie is the one in which they show up to the gates of Troy commanding the greek army and they argue with the trojan princes over the terms of the combat between Paris and Menelaus. The first thing I always notice in that one is how alike Hector and Paris look when they get down from their horses, it reminds me of the actual part of the Iliad in which it is said that Paris gets confused for a brave man because of his looks. Going back to my point, in that scene I get the vibe of opponents these characters have just by the display of the dynamics between siblings. 

Agamemnon is using his brother’s problem as an excuse for a war highly profitable for him. Menelaus is aware of this and he doesn’t care because he is too consumed by his wish for revenge and, it seems that this mutualistic beneficial goal is what sticks them together. Their first scene together, when Menelaus goes to Mycenae asking his brother for help, summarizes their relationship in a great way. Menelaus seems to have a rather servile attitude towards his brother and Agamemnon clearly takes advantage of that, having in that particular time a perfect excuse to attack an enemy he had wished to conquer for a long time. If you think about it, this is the exact opposite relationship of Hector and Paris. I love how well this scene fits as a contrast to the argument in the ship scene of Hector and Paris . In both, Menelaus and Paris are basically asking for the help of their older bros, one doing it on purpose and the other one half aware. Their family relationships are established so well by those two scenes. 

Going back to the one scene I mentioned first, the exchanges between characters are awesome. Not only because you can appreciate directly how this differences play a role in the conflict, but also because you can totally appreciate how every character involved is the exact opposite of the one who challenges. The exchange between Hector and Agamemnon is fantastic. I love how Hector cuts the crap on Agamemnon’s cocky bullshit, their short interaction is priceless.Also, i almost feel bad for Paris because “ the sun was shining when your wife left you” is his best line in the entire movie and he gets his ass kicked by Menelaus immediately afterwards. I like how, despite being a coward, Paris is a sassy little shit. 

Something i need to add about these brothers is that the Director’s Cut adds a better perspective on Agamemnon’s care for Menelaus. There are many short hints, especially after Menelaus’s death, that show how he actually cared for him. I think that this small glimpse should have stayed in the final version. Even when Agamemnon is a piece of shit of the worst kind and his brother was not very different, it is nice to see him caring for something else than his own imperialist desires from time to time and to get a real family vibe from those two.

Achilles and Patroclus 

Before starting with this two i want to clarify that i am fully aware of the very different interpretation their relationship got in this movie. I heard that the romantic approach was explored in Troy: fall of a city. I haven’t watched it yet, it is on my to watch list and at some point i will do it. Now, speaking of what we have seen in the context of the movie, i have to say that i love the adorable family bond they have since the first scene they share. This is by far my second favourite family bond in the film. 

As i said before i have a weakness for family relationships and tragedies regarding them are the biggest pain i can imagine. I don’t have anything against romantic Achilles x Patroclus, i just enjoy a lot the family approach it took here. First, i think it happens because i saw the movie far before reading any piece of trojan war related fiction and second because I happen to enjoy seeing family bonds more than romantical ones. My basic example for explaining this is the complaint I had over Kili x Tauriel and how it kinda shifted the focus of the previously established family story of the Line of Durin. If i have to choose between  a family or a romance story of any kind, I will always end up more interested in the first option because i relate to and enjoy those better. 

In this version, they are cousins with a very brother like relationship. I feel like here Patroclus acts like a little bro that hero worships Achilles. We know that his parents died and Achilles took care of him but we don’t know when that happened. What we do know is that his protection is the only aspect Achilles feels responsible for in his life. His bond with him reflects the best and the worst of him. It displays his softer and his most terrible side. Without paying close attention it looks like the romantic subplot with Briseis is the part of the plot that is supposed to show his soft side and, partially, it does but i think that job is already done earlier with the introduction of Patroclus. The story with Briseis serves mainly as support of what was already established there. The kindest, more human side of Achilles is clearly there when you look at his interactions with Patroclus. 

One of the main reasons why i enjoy this relationship so much is because, plotwise, it serves as a perfect point of encounter for the two main heros’ characterizations. Despite all the effort the storytelling makes in pointing out the many differences between Hector and Achilles, these two apparently opposite men share the same limitation. Hector’s goal is to protect his country, Achilles’s goal is immortality through fame, but both find themselves lost when their reckless younger relatives endanger themselves and both react the same way. When Paris was at instants of dying by the hands of Menelaus Hector had to choose between saving him or letting him get killed for the good of Troy. The man who serves as paradigm of honesty and sacrifice, the most noble hero of the story, broke the agreement and killed Menelaus. He broke a pact and gave his enemies an even better excuse for war that will doom Troy because his brother’s life was at risk. Achilles’s madness over grief for Patroclus fits so well family related in this particular narrative because it originated in the same feelings. Paris and Patroclus may be opposites, one being a coward and the other the embodiment of reckless courage, but both become the limit of tolerance for Hector and Achilles. At the end, both heros are driven by love for their families. In this version where Hector and Paris have this strong bond that works perfectly as a mirror for Achilles and Patroclus, it fits so well for them to be family. The chain of deaths unleashed with Patroclus’s death becomes a natural response to the bonds previously mentioned between the four characters involved. Everything becomes a big family tragedy and that is devastating. 

One more comment i will make about them is that i also love how some of Achilles’s friends add some more sweet or happy hints to some scenes. Eudorus, despite the formal servant-like way in which he speaks to Achilles, gives me a long time friend who is almost family vibe. Of course, i have to mention Odysseus here as well. Patroclus and Achilles sparring scene has an amazing chill domestic fun tone and he adds even more fun to the moment once he arrives. They are the most likeable greeks of the movie and you get such a friendly feeling of them. I live for these guys. The main scene they shared is the happiest of the film. 

Bonus mentions 

The Director’s Cut has a lot of scenes that help you understand some of the characters' motivations and lots of them are family related. One small scene I wish really hard the should had kept is the one in which Priam explains the reasons for his deep religious devotion. He listens to the high priest’s terrible advice and ignores his son’s wiser words not because he is a nice but dumb and inept king. He believes Apollo saved Hector from a disease when he was a baby boy. There is a reason for his blind, sometimes naive, faith in Apollo’s protection.Other cut out moment with a similar meaning is the one in which Andromache tells Hector she lost seven brothers in a previous war. She is tired of losing people, her husband is all she has. Having this in consideration her story turns even more tragic. 

I could mention a few more characters and moments but this is getting too long so i will end it here. I think it is enough for the topic i wanted to write about and the only main character i feel i skipped a bit here is Priam but i had talked enough about the trojans and how much i love them so i think it is enough. 

I enjoyed writing this, as fast as i can i will upload the general post for family relationships i’m working on and i’m thinking of making a special one like this for lotr.  @hrisity12​  I tag you as i always do in all my Troy content. 

Thanks for reading this ramble i intended to keep short but, as always, ended up longer than i expected. 

[lorei-writes]

Together

Part 2 - The Present

Masamune x MC (Mizusaki Mai) Mostly feels, some fluff (I think) Previous parts: Part 1 - The Past

Okay, I think it’s all right.

Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, as Ikemen Sengoku is the property of Cybrid. Anything included in the story is not canon.

Briefly:  When the time comes, I will not hesitate.

Mai never intended to return. She locked away her fears and regrets, never once wanting to face them. After all, how could she? If she had any say in the matter, she would have approached the matters differently – she would have told her parents about the reason behind her disappearance, she would have said her goodbyes by herself, she would never have them worried like that. However, the stakes were stacked against her, the wormhole being too much of an unusual occurrence to even consider counting on another one to ever happen – all she could do was to give Sasuke hand written letters and hope that they'd believe her words. Not that she could tell them all the truth and risk having her sanity put into question.

Mai never thought she'd ever see her mother, even less so that the woman would be crushing her ribs in a tight embrace. “ Mum?” she asked, too puzzled to asses the situation. “ My little girl, where have you been all this time? You had me worried sick,” the mother sobbed. “ It's a long story. For how long have I been here?” The arms around Mai loosened a bit, just for the parent and the child to part seconds later. The woman sat back on the chair next to the hospital bed. “ A day. The doctors don't even know what had happened to you.” Mai raised her eyebrows. She sat up and stretched her arms. “ What do you men they don't know what had happened to me?” “ We... We did not expect to ever see you again,” she hesitated, as she choked on words, the tears threatening to spill over at any moment. She took a deep breath, trying to steady her uneven tone: “ Let alone unharmed,” she continued, rubbing at her eyes. “ Your father will be here in an hour. We were sure you got kidnapped.”

The days following the return were rather hectic, with her parents in a state of hysterical happiness and disbelief.  Their minds could not conjure any scenario probable enough to accept. How could they? For all those years they lived convinced their daughter was a victim to human trafficking, sold somewhere on an illegal market, never to be rescued. They had grieved her during the days, the nightmares sometimes twisting the dreams into horrible visions of abuse. For Mai to come back safely was miraculous, for her to be of relatively good health and to have seemingly lost all memory from the past years – it was next to impossible. In their minds, it was all an illusion. Partially, they indeed were right, as the woman never allowed her sorrow to surface whenever anybody was around, hence strengthening the image of a lucky survivor.

Mai wasn't one, though. If anything, she dreaded her fate, all too aware of the fact that even if the opportunity came to be, she could not return to her husband. The diagnosis didn't scare her at first – the doctors assured her that although the disease had progressed, all the effects could be reversed. Only later did she understand what they meant – it would get better, if she took the medicine, the very pellets that were manufactured only in the present time, a definite cure still remaining unknown to the world. As it was explained to her, her hypothyroidism was most probably a result of an autoimmune condition, a thing they couldn't help. She would be able to lead a happy life, to fulfill her dreams – yet only then and there, not back in time.

Mai did miss plenty of time. The trends had shifted and the technology had progressed. With her parents worried about her and the police insisting on continuing the investigation, she soon found herself moving to her hometown, where she worked on rebuilding her portfolio. While trying to convince everybody that she was in good condition, she adapted to the present, her spirit still stuck back in the past. People assumed it was ordinary, as something surely must have broken her in a way – why else she would have vanished?

However, she was not able to hide everything. To the surprise of her parents, her designs changed in a peculiar way – Mai did seem to become keen on a particular shade of blue, oftentimes using a moon theme in her work. It wasn't only that – her cooking improved greatly, she took a strange liking to cats and was awfully unapologetic. She also gained a rather weird interest in history, as if she had seen some things happen with her own eyes. Her attitude towards consumption changed as well, with nothing being destined to become waste.

On that morning, she was out shopping for dinner, hoping to fetch herself some fresh ingredients. She wondered which of the dishes she should prepare, when she heard a familiar voice calling her. She spun around abruptly, not quite believing her own ears. To her best knowledge, Sasuke returned to the present to continue his studies – what possibly could he be doing in her town? Yet there he was, carefully avoiding clashing into other humans, as he rushed to her side. “ Mai, I just... What are you doing here?” he asked, concern evident in his voice. “ I could ask you the very same thing. Care for a coffee?” Former ninja agreed with a nod and soon, they were seated in a small cafe.

Bitter-sweet aroma filled the space, as their orders got delivered. Not sure how to go about the conversation, Mai started: “ So, why are you here? I presume it has nothing to do with your research.” “ No, it doesn't. I do have an interesting observation, though. It seems that nobody but us is aware of the changes in the history we've made. Their memories just update to what presumably has happened.” “ And?” she nagged him to continue, as she dug into her cake. “ In last years it was noted that Masamune Date died leaving no heir behind. In past months it got updated to 'Masamune Date died leaving no heir behind, allegedly abstaining from any relationships with women after his first wife died in an accident'. Mai, history is changing at an astounding rate.” She bit her lip, trying to silence any hope welling up inside of her. “ Do you want to tell me that...” she started. “ I can't say anything for sure, but it's entirely possible more things will be discovered.” “ Thanks,” she mustered, an honest smile gracing her face for the first time in months. “ Friends in the past stay friends in the future, right?” Sasuke laughed. “ What even happened back there?” Mai shook her head, just to start explaining the recent events a few seconds later. ***

Masamune couldn't possibly tell everybody the truth. Having escaped the burning fire, he was greeted with compassionate looks – his servants and retainers had already made up the version of reality, in which the princess had died. Given the evidence and the almost supernatural nature of the  phenomenon that stole her away, it would be unwise to state otherwise. Whenever anybody asked, Masamune simply said: “She's gone”, never bothering to provide any further explanation. After receiving the letters with briefing on the events, his friends didn't even ask for details anyway.

He was restless. To the outside world, Masamune didn't change too much – he lived, as if his beloved wife was still by his side, at worst being even more eager to fulfill his duties. Simply, no eyes could see the insatiable hunger consuming him on the inside. Yet, in his misery, he couldn't say he'd do anything differently – the possibility of saving her was enough for him to withstand the poisonous effects of the feeling he was unable to give up on.

Torn apart by his desires and the better judgement, he sprung into action, using the information provided by his lover to speed up the cogs of time. If the reason behind the appearance of wormholes was restoring balance, he'd disturb it just enough to force one to open. At worst, he'd silence the yearning in his chest, so that he could live through another day. The nights, on the other hand... The nights were unbearable. At first, his bed still smelled of her, rubbing salt into the fresh wound. However, the scent started to fade out fast, making him miss her even more. Hoping to breach the gap between them, he wrote letters to her almost daily and hid them in his most prominent castles in an attempt to lure the researchers into finding them.

Though some part of him was certain, he'd have a chance to deliver them himself. ***

Almost two years had passed since their parting. Mai had moved to Kyoto, as she began to stand on her own feet anew. The place had some strange magnetizing effect on her and she couldn't help but listen to her intuition. She was cooking dinner, when the phone lit up. Sasuke had sent her a link. She frowned, turning the stove down.

The site opened. “A collection of letters discovered by the archaeologists”, read the title. Feverishly, her eyes scanned over the text, until the quotation and pictures of source material appeared. “ To my one and only beloved,

I miss your touch. I long to kiss your lips and hold you close. Whenever I close my eyes, you're in my dreams and I can't wait for the time we can meet in reality.

I can only hope you forgave me, as I know you won't be able to answer me. I did not lie in my vows.

When the time comes, I will not hesitate. Please, keep smiling until we meet and then, you'll have all the rights in the world to be angry with me. For now, just trust me.” The rest of the letter was smudged, but Mai didn't need to see the signature to know the sender. She covered her mouth with her hand, as her heart started to beat faster.

Another text appeared in her notifications: “I can see the dates changing. It's insane.” A few seconds have passed. “Mai, entire paragraphs are being rewritten.”

She didn't wait. She turned down the stove completely and barged out of her apartment, heading towards the monument she knew so well. The weather was beautiful, just like the first time. She didn't need any confirmation, she knew what would happen.

And it did.

[funkymbtifiction]

INTJ v. ISFP: The Men Who Renounced God

SUBMITTED BY H.

I recently re-watched Bram Stoker's Dracula and it struck me that ISFP Dracula (as portrayed in that movie, at least; the book diverges on some important points) and INTJ Salieri (from Amadeus) are strikingly similar in a lot of ways and would make for a good comparison between unhealthy SFP and NTJ cognition and behavior. They are also both core Enneagram 4's, albeit with different wings and fixes, so cognitive function order plays an even more important role in shaping their at times divergent behaviors and attitudes. I've compiled a small collection of observations and thoughts of mine below.

Both men decide to renounce God because they feel God did not live up to His part of the bargain they think they had with Him, and here's where the Fi-Te function axis comes into play; a Fi-Te user, regardless of function stacking, views the basis of morality, of trust, as an exchange of services. Quantifiable, verifiable services. Tit for tat. If you have let down a Fi-Te user, you won't get away with flattering their ego, as you might with an Fe-type. If they put in X effort they expect a Y outcome, and should the other party fail to deliver, you will have a very angry, displeased FP/TJ on your hands.

Dracula, being Fi-Se, is more direct and forthcoming than Salieri in both his desires and responses; finding his wife dead from suicide, he concludes simply that "this is God's 'reward for defending His church" and has a very immediate, visceral and violent reaction - and his feelings do not change from then on. He holds true to his first judgment about people and events, refuses to compromise on his stance, and he holds grudges - literally for centuries! There is nothing particularly abstract about it; Fi is his primary and conscious orientation, and it's running the show, backed up by easily accessible auxiliary Se, which gives him an impulsivity which does not always work in his favor, but allows him to adapt quickly to his physical surroundings and use them to his advantage, be it for attack, defense or seduction. Dracula, when threatened, frequently uses theatrical, Se-based scare tactics heavily dependent on his current environment.

As Fi-doms usually are (the unhealthy ones, anyway) he's easily offended and prone to lashing out with aggression, like when he tells Jonathan Harker about the history of his order and how their relationship with the church was not "entirely successful". Jonathan chuckles and Dracula perceives this as a grave insult against his person and points a sword at Jonathan, and hisses "It's not a laughing matter! We Draculas have a right to be proud!" Pure, unfiltered Fi, right there. His inferior Te shows too; he's not good at gauging what is culturally appropriate behavior for a situation, regardless of what century he's in (e.g. following Mina around London after she snubs him). He has another reactive, aggressive response when he finds out Jonathan has a mirror and impulsively breaks it; you can tell he knows he made a mistake then, with Harker, and tries to smooth it over with "You are in Transylvania. Our ways are not your ways. Some of what you see might seem strange to you." Fi and its general attitude to social convention can be observed here as well; Dracula alludes that since they are different people with different origins,  they do not have to conform to the same social, moral, or behavioral standards.

Both Dracula and Salieri become recluses late in life, but for different reasons. Dracula, having an inferior extroverted judging function, withdraws from the rest of humanity because he feels so alienated and disconnected from it that isolation becomes a preferable alternative. "I am dead to the world." He does not see the value in fostering or maintaining diplomatic alliances with other nobles or royals. He just... exists, marinating in his own misery, hatred and loneliness. Unlike Salieri, who is industriousness personified, Dracula doesn't actively work toward an over-arching goal, at least not until he spots Mina's photograph amongst Jonathan's possessions. Until that point, his plans for London were vague and oriented mainly toward pursuit  of sensory experiences - he wants to "walk the crowded streets of London and merge with the whirl and rush of humanity". Dracula, much like Salieri's nemesis Mozart - a fellow ISFP, does nothing to foster a sense of fellow feeling or Fe-based belonging in other people. He persuades, with somewhat uneven results, through the force of his own private and at times infectious passion. His pursuit for the finer things in life and in-your-face vivaciousness is what endears him to Mina, who is not used to such open displays of sensuality. "I have never met any man with such a passion for life". In contrast the pious Salieri, while in possessions of similar desires, does not indulge. You also see his Fi dominant orientation - and judgments - emerge when he realizes that Jonathan is engaged to a woman whom he believes is a reincarnation of his long dead wife. Until he spots Mina's picture on Jonathan's desk, he had been amicably disposed (or neutral) toward Jonathan, but once he begins to see him as a rival for Mina's affections, his attitude changes like the flip of a switch, and because he is a feeling dominant, he cannot suppress his true feelings even for an instant. From then on, he becomes increasingly hostile and cruel towards Jonathan, first in a passive-aggressive way (pretending not to understand him, knowingly startling him, breaking his mirror, alluding to the dangers awaiting him in the castle should he leave his rooms, etc.) but gradually escalating into open hostility and outright sadism (letting his brides ravage him and then feed on a human infant in front of him).

Conversely, when he is happy, Dracula's conscious orientation toward Fi and Se can still be seen in his open pursuit of his momentary desires (Mina, Lucy, excitement for the cultural and technological marvel to be found in a big city) and he is quick to create an exciting and enjoyable environment for himself and others to sample.

Salieri, being an Ni-dom and thus a perceiving dominant, is comparatively slow to reach lasting conclusions, but once he does, (about the path he wants to take in life, his opinion on Mozart, and his eventual decision to destroy his rival) he does so with absolute, unflinching certainty. Salieri's repressed Se and complicated relationship with this function can be seen in his compulsive avoidance of anything that he perceives as excessively indulgent - basically everything he hates about Mozart can be encapsulated into hatred of his inferior function and thus his own weaknesses. Salieri, like Dracula, feels wronged by God, "why implant a desire in me without the talent to match it?" but unlike Dracula's direct, straightforward conclusions about other people and their motives, Salieri routinely abstracts events and happenings and ascribes to them meaning way beyond what can be considered factually realistic or even in the realm of possible. "That was not Mozart laughing, that was God, laughing at me through that obscene giggle!" Salieri abstracts Mozart's entire person and existence into nothing but a personal affront against him, by God, and in his eyes, Mozart ceases to be an independent agent with feelings and desires of his own and becomes nothing but an instrument through which a spiteful God mocks Salieri and his efforts.

Emotional restraint - at least in the eye of the public - is one key difference between an ISFP and an INTJ, and it can be observed in these characters. Dracula does not hesitate to show or express emotion, even in its most raw and unbridled form, which gives this sinister character an unexpected air of vulnerability. He rages, he cries openly in front of Jonathan and makes spontaneous gloomy, morose statements such as "My life, at its best, is misery. I would be better off dead." Salieri, while intensely emotional, is surprisingly emotionally unreactive with excellent control over his temper, even in the face of blatant public humiliation. He does not "blow up", he retreats into solitude to nurse his hurt feelings and never lashes out with physical violence, regardless of the scale of the offense against his person. Salieri's auxiliary Te, when led by Ni and supported by his tertiary Fi, gives him a keen eye for politics and diplomacy; he is not a "divine" composer like Mozart, but he can easily intuit and deliver what other people, including the Holy Roman Emperor, want from him, which gives him a powerful and much coveted position at the Emperor's court.

Where Dracula, due to inferior Te and the consequent unwillingness to compromise or adjust, fails to forge alliances with other powerful people, which leaves him without a reliable defensive safety net, Salieri, with his higher use of extroverted judging, excels in this department. He does not necessarily agree with current social conventions, but he does not needlessly flout them either. For example, Salieri holds off passing judgment on Mozart's choosing an "obscene" German libretto for the first opera commissioned from him by the Emperor until he is sure of how the Emperor leans on the subject. Though his motives might superficially seem like Fe, they are not; Salieri simply does not volunteer his personal convictions in a professional setting because he does not want them to be held against him. He abjectly derides the Emperor's lack of musical skills once it's safe for him to do so, and mentions how much he hated playing duets with the man, when "the Emperor had no ear at all". I mentioned earlier Salieri's complex relationship with Se and all that it entails, and this can be observed throughout the course of the movie. Salieri tries very hard not to subject himself to situations that can be unpredictable and outside of his control, and once that happens, he responds with a "deer in the headlights" reaction, which can be seen during the visit from Mozart's wife Stanzi. Salieri had not expected Stanzi to take him up on his offer ("come back tonight, alone, and I will speak on behalf of your husband. Certain favors require favors in return.") and when she arrives and begins to disrobe, Salieri is caught in a state of paralyzing fear and calls for his servants to promptly remove "Frau Mozart" from his house. Salieri is also not a violent man does what he can to avoid a direct, physical confrontation; he confesses that although he passionately envisioned the death of God's Creature, Mozart, at his hand, he was not sure how to actual go about it. "How does one kill a man?"

At the end, Salieri chooses a coward's way of murder through poison to snuff out his rival and permanently silence The Creature. The only Se-driven urge that the pious Salieri appears not to resist at all is his massive sweet tooth; indeed, this urge stays with him even when he is dying and committed to an insane asylum where fresh sugar rolls become the highlight of his day! Salieri's extreme reluctance to engage in a physical altercation, despite obvious stress, becomes obvious when he is confronted by Stanzi while urging the dying Mozart to finish dictating the commissioned Requiem mass. He freezes and does nothing to stop a woman he could easily overpower from tearing the notes out of his hands and placing them in a locked cabinet - away from his reach. To compensate for his "cowardice", Salieri is extremely calculating and prides himself on his foresight and knowledge that he has the power to crush someone utterly through deliberate, systematic repuation demolition. As Salieri ages and becomes increasingly infirm, his mind begins to crumble and he is plagued by crippling guilt over his crimes. Unable to maintain the practiced psychological defenses found in his conscious cognitive orientation (Ni and Te), he falls prey to his unsophisticated tertiary and inferior functions. Now a recluse but nonetheless rich enough to live a life of opulence, the aged Salieri is shown relying on crude sensory comforts (sweets, alcohol) for distraction from his hellish conscience. Since he is an introvert, Salieri turns his capacity for destruction and cruelty against his own person, which finally culminates in an attempt to slit his throat. Dracula, while arguably more disordered, has a more sophisticated use of Fi and Se and never resorts to outright self-harm; he is able to maintain a purity of subject and thus a purity of the ego, which allows him to freely pursue his desires without being plagued by a conscience. His inferior function instead prevents him from drawing rational conclusions from events around him - such as when it's time for a tactical retreat. Now on to where their cognitions converge - both Dracula and Salieri use Ni and Fi, which together have a polarizing and singular effect on the dichotomy of the internal versus the external world. Fi and Ni help in create a relatively uncompromised, separate ideational world, and Te and Se in turn offer a corresponding counter-orientation towards the external world, that appears to them on objective and comparatively unfiltered terms. Both have a strong drive to make a direct impact on the external world that is in accordance with their personal desires. Both interpret certain seemingly incidental occurrences as signs of destiny compelling them to commit to a certain path (with Dracula, it was seeing Mina's portrait on Jonathan's desk, with Salieri it was the unexpected death of his father, freeing him). Both began their careers as devout men dedicated to what they believed was a divine path, one driven by purity of vision (Ni), the other by purity of values (Fi). Salieri nurtures his vision of becoming the greatest composer to have ever lived, and Dracula prizes his love for his wife above all else. The latter has a concrete outlet for his passion, while the former gravitates toward the cerebral and ideational. Both turn against God but make their peace with Him and are - supposedly - granted absolution on their death bed.

[eddycurrents]

For the past few years, you could argue that the X-Men franchise has been working on trying to rediscover its identity. Since reality reasserted itself coming out of the Secret Wars event, they’ve been in a kind of flux. The initial relaunch set up the mutants in opposition to the ascendant Inhumans. When that was brought to a head, Marvel’s merry mutants then redefined themselves in part through nostalgic “back to basics”. In the past year and a bit, the mutants through a series of endings in “Disassembled” and Uncanny X-Men, while the Age of X-Man event traumatized them in a loveless utopia. It’s been an interesting ride.

You don’t really need to know any of that, or anything at all of recent or past history of the X-Men, in order to jump into House of X #1. This hits the reset button on the franchise and, while I expect that the past will inform some elements, it can largely be enjoyed coming in blind.

This is arguably the largest, most dramatic change to the X-Men since Grant Morrison, Frank Quitely, Tim Townsend, Brian Haberlin, and Comicraft took over back in New X-Men #114. Jonathan Hickman, Pepe Larraz, Marte Gracia, Clayton Cowles, and Tom Muller kick off a new era that is firmly built on a science fiction grounding. It frames the mutant identity in a new understanding and begins a new conflict with the rest of humanity as human governments and organizations react to the new status quo.

Without going into any details in this section, I can say that House of X #1 takes many of the common themes and elements of decades of X-Men stories and gives them a new spin, both familiar and strange at the same time. All of it is brought beautifully to life through astounding artwork from Larraz and Gracia, taking it to a completely different level. It’s brought together nicely through the design work of Muller, implementing a number of text pieces yielding further information, making it decidedly feel like a Hickman comic. 

The digital edition on Comixology is also another instance of having “Director’s Cut” material, including Hickman’s redacted script for the issue, a wide array of the variant covers, and process pages of line art and coloured pages.

It’s a bold new era starting point for the X-Men and I’m excited to see what else is in store.

There will be spoilers below this image. If you do not want to be spoiled on House of X #1, do not read further.

SPOILER WARNING: Below I’ll be discussing the events, themes, and possibility of what’s going on in House of X #1 and beyond. There are HEAVY SPOILERS beyond this point. If you haven’t read the issue yet and don’t want to be spoiled, please stop reading now. You’ve been warned.

PREAMBLE | First Impressions

I had high expectations for House of X #1. 

Jonathan Hickman is easily one of my favourite writers currently working in comics. He’s full of mad ideas that you look at and wonder why no one has implemented them in quite the same arrangement before. He’s great at execution and construction for the long game. While each story usually works on a micro individual story-arc/issue level, they also build a large tapestry that tells an even larger tale. One merely needs to look at his previous outing for Marvel telling one grand story that began in Dark Reign: Fantastic Four (with elements you could say were seeded even in Secret Warriors) and ended in Secret Wars. It was wonderful.

Pepe Larraz has been wowing me with his art since Uncanny Avengers. There’s a fluidity of motion and design that evokes the spirit of Alan Davis, Neal Adams, and Bryan Hitch, while adding what feels like an even more gargantuan attention to detail and sense of design. He elevated that even further with stellar showings on Avengers: No Surrender and Extermination. He’s easily become one of Marvel’s premiere artists to me.

When you combine Hickman and Larraz, and couple it with a marketing machine hyping this as the next big thing in the X-Men evolution, expectations were huge.

House of X #1 exceeded those expectations.

This first issue feels like a sea change for the X-Men, in terms of the team’s status quo and in the approach to storytelling. This is a science fiction story with heavy political leanings. With Xavier pushing the lead, Marvel’s mutants have staked a claim on a new mutant nation on Krakoa, with tendrils through Earth and beyond.

And it’s breathtaking. The artwork from Larraz and Marte Gracia is beautiful. The landscapes and vistas, the designs for the characters, the page layouts, and more, this is a visually stunning book. Larraz has truly outdone himself with the line art, but it’s taken even higher by the sheer beauty in Gracia’s colours. It’s very rich, emphasizing the beauty and wonder of this new world being birthed into existence.

There’s also an interesting choice here in Clayton Cowles’ letters, it’s mixed case. These days it’s not necessarily as unusual not to be in ALL CAPS, but it is different from what we’ve seen in Uncanny X-Men as of late and helps to foster that idea of this being something different. Similarly the text pages scattered throughout from Hickman and Muller that give this the stylistic feel of a Hickman comic and enriches the depth of this new world with more information.

ONE | X Nation

The idea of a mutant nation isn’t a new one. Magneto broached it before and attempted a kind of compound with Asteroid M. Genosha was set up as a mutant paradise for a while. The fallen remnants of Asteroid M served as the X-Men’s home repurposed as Utopia. A corner of Limbo was briefly carved out as a haven for mutants. There was that enclave with Xorn. And Jean Grey kind of set up mutantkind as an amorphous nation within nations given central home in Atlantis during X-Men Red.

More often than not the nation merely serves as a backdrop for the X-Men’s interactions in the rest of the world. I mean, when mutants had their own homeland in Utopia, more stories took place in San Francisco even before the schism that drove half of them off to the Jean Grey School of Higher Learning in New York.

What’s presented in House of X #1 feels different.

Ostensibly, the new mutant nation is headquartered on Krakoa itself, but the implication is that it’s so much broader. The X-Men have seeded Krakoa flowers all over the Earth, on the Moon, and Mars and have grown what feel like embassies and external outposts of the fledgling mutant nation. And it’s the fact that these outposts are within other nations, with the potential of moving a superpowered army unseen and seemingly instantaneously, that has the government representatives met this issue nervous.

While it is a home and a haven for mutantkind, it’s also actively being treated as a political entity. Similar to how Jean argued her case for mutantkind in X-Men: Red, we’ve got ambassadors of sorts checking in with Magneto and two of the Stepford Cuckoos. There are some intrigue elements that sync up with other aspects of the story, but the fact that it’s being used as a tour, a show of force, and an ultimate in order to broker a deal recognizing Krakoa as a nation is an interesting development. It takes it from a place of superheroes playacting at being politicians to actually being politicians. Abrupt as it may be to have Magneto as the face of the operation.

But that’s part of the genius of this play. Like with Magneto siding with Scott upon the founding of Utopia, Xavier and Krakoa is a further fulfillment of Magneto’s dream. A mutant homeland with mutants in control. Every previous time this has happened it’s come to ruin, but it’s always fun while it lasts. 

Also, it’s an impressive show of power to have Magneto as the liaison to the rest of humanity. Where Kitty Pryde or Jean Grey would likely be more diplomatic, that isn’t the intent here. Sending out not only one of the most powerful mutants as your face, but also someone who has been in direct conflict with humanity over the years, pushing a mutant independence angle, is a statement that the new mutant nation isn’t something to be trifled with.

TWO | Who are these X-Men?

With the release of titles, creative teams, and team line-ups for the forthcoming “Dawn of X” reboot following House of X and Powers of X, there have been a lot of questions about what’s going on. Characters who have died during recent issues of Uncanny X-Men are alive and well. Characters who were in different configurations and statuses seem to have been changed to more familiar versions and attitudes. So it raises the question for House of X, who are these X-Men?

This first issue doesn’t answer that. I don’t know if we’re going to get an explicit answer that, but I think we’re given a clue on the very first page.

A key element in this first issue is the utilization of the mutant island Krakoa, both as a new home for the X-Men and as refined and adapted through application as portals, habitats, and medications. But in the opening scene, we see a central tree essentially acting as a birthing matrix overseen by Xavier.

The first born being Jean and Scott, I’d guess, then maybe that’s Bobby on the second page with some others. It’s possible that the one guy is even Gabriel Summers. It could be that they’re being rejuvenated, refreshed, and refined through healing properties heretofore unrevealed of Krakoa, but it may be more sinister. There’s a reaching, a yearning towards Xavier that makes me suspect. Are they the characters that we know? Or are they something else? I don’t even know if that’s a question we’re supposed to be asking.

Other than Magneto working front and centre with the team, they’re also working with a number of other traditional villains/antagonists like Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad. All three have had their dalliances back and forth between the sides of good and evil, but it’s interesting to see them in the fold here. One the one hand, it reinforces the idea that this initiative of Xavier’s is for all mutants and that they’ve come together. But it also raises the question further, how?

I think it’s worth noting that every X-Men character we see fully interacting in the real world has been a villain at one point. Cyclops included, since the last time the world at large saw him before his resurrection he was “Mutant Terrorist Most Wanted #1″.

With characters seemingly back from the dead, characters changed to different versions, characters rejuvenated and healed as it appears that both Cyclops and Banshee are, characters who’ve previously been at one another’s throats, there’s a lingering doubt of how Xavier achieved this. There’s also a happy Wolverine playing with kids, so just think on that for a bit.

THREE | Master of Puppets

Professor Charles Xavier died (again, but who’s keeping track?) during Avengers vs. X-Men back in 2012. Then was brought back in Astonishing X-Men, first as a disembodied psyche caught in the Shadow King’s web and then through the personality sacrifice of Fantomex, inhabiting his body. He referred to himself as “X”, as something new, despite repeatedly claiming that he is the one, true Charles Xavier. His actions, both in his initial appearances and in the subsequent Astonishing X-Men Annual wherein he reunited with the remaining original five X-Men (Cyclops was dead at this point), could be considered manipulative, possibly even evil, callous, and villainous. We’ve not seen him again until now.

With the uncertainty of the origins of the wide cast of characters on the team, whether or not they really are our X-Men we know and love, doubt is cast on Charles Xavier as well. And it’s not just because we only see part of his face. Larraz’s design for Xavier’s new large, portable Cerebro deliberately distances us from him. It’s alien and off-putting, and I believe that’s the idea. I’m unsure whether or not this was the intention, but it also evokes the memory of another villain that Hickman enjoyed using, The Maker. The visual similarities and implication of another hero turned villain can’t be missed.

Consistent with that idea is the portrayal of Jean here. From a real life perspective, there’s an argument that all of the X-Men in House of X and beyond are taking on the costumes and behaviours of their most popular incarnations. In that regard, it would kind of make more sense that Jean would be in a more Phoenix-inspired get up or something similar to her blue and yellow outfit from the ‘90s.

Instead, we get Marvel Girl. Which seems odd to me. It’s not only regressive, but it represents a time period that in-canon Jean supposedly hates. It was, however, a time where Xavier’s somewhat lustful intentions towards his student were more apparent (creepy and disturbing as they are). It further reinforces that maybe not everything is on the level with what’s going on.

FOUR | A New Religion

Religious symbolism and outright textual substance are rife throughout this issue. From the beginning of Xavier acting as a kind of god to the newly reborn mutants beneath a Tree of Life through to Magneto’s proclamation at the end of the story, this first issue is planting the seeds of a new mythology for mutantkind. It’s something that sets them apart from the rest of the superheroes on Earth, giving them an explicit framing as the overseers of the world, but with it, there’s a tie back to how this new nation feels different.

There’s a definitive feeling from House of X #1 of building an entire society. Religion as an aspect of that, both real and implied, but we also get a new language of Krakoan (the glyphs we’ve seen before and again in this issue) and the idea of a broader organizational structure to Krakoa. It’s not just a school any more.

FIVE | Dangerous Beauty

There’s an interesting dichotomy set up in this first issue as well between the mutants and humanity. Of nature versus technology. It’s one we’ve seen before in mutants being the natural evolution of mankind coming into conflict with the sentinels constructed in order to prolong mankind’s grip on power. It tends to lead to the kind of nightmare scenarios of post-apocalyptic futures as we see in Days of Future Past.

Krakoa is an inspired choice for the catalyst of mutant change in the world, delving into some of what was explored in Wolverine and the X-Men, but going steps even further. Creating pharmaceuticals, creating properties similar to Man-Thing’s ability to transport throughout the world, and the various habitats. It’s like the Weapon Plus application of The World in that everything is grown, organic, nature-based objects all ostensibly pieces of the greater Krakoa entity. I wonder if this gives Xavier and the X-Men effective “eyes” all over the world?

It’s also important to recall how dangerous Krakoa has been throughout X-Men history, acting as an antagonist that kickstarted the all-new, all-different era in Giant Size X-Men #1, built out even in Deadly Genesis with the lost team, and the problems had at the Jean Grey School with the baby Krakoa.

And then there’s the flip side.

Orchis is a new organization introduced here comprised of a number of former agents of Marvel’s intelligence community, good and bad, ranging from SHIELD to AIM. And we’re brought aboard the Forge. There’s a fearful symmetry to it, a station close to the Sun building machines to counteract whatever it is that Xavier is ultimately doing. At the Forge’s heart what appears to be a new kind of Master Mold sentinel, decked out in some of the same colour schemes that we recently saw with the golden sentinels of ONE in Uncanny X-Men.

I can only imagine that this is going to wind up well.

We’re shown a face that we’ve not seen for a while (outside of solicitation covers), since I thought she was an “ordinary” human again, in Karima Shapandar. It’s kind of sad, though, as her Omega Sentinel protocols seem to have been reactivated.

SIX | We Can Be Heroes

The presence of the X-Men within the broader Marvel Universe framework can be problematic at times. It’s one of the reasons why they’ve often been shuffled off to parts unknown, set up as a rag tag band of fugitives, and limited in number to the point where they’re culturally, socially, and politically insignificant. Because the heart of mutant existence within the Marvel Universe is one of intolerance.

Mutants are feared and hated, hunted down, enslaved, or executed. While it works extremely well as an analogy for real life racial and sexual bigotry and prejudices, it takes on a different level of problem in the face of a world filled with superheroes. For superpowered people who aren’t mutants, you wonder about a couple of things, such as why the general populace even makes a difference and why non-mutant heroes don’t seem to care about mutant prejudice.

That latter one has been approached a few times previously, as recently as this latest volume of Uncanny X-Men, and it always seems strange. It’s like the question that you see raised in Swamp Thing and Marvelman and later The Authority of the realistic application of near limitless god-like powers as a force for change; if you’ve got these powers, why don’t you do something to change the world’s ills?

It really undercuts the heroism of teams like the Avengers and the Fantastic Four, because it eliminates them as defenders of a universal justice, but merely teams that fight for the status quo. And so eventually the X-Men get shuffled off to Chandilar.

I think it’s great that House of X #1 goes straight for that jugular. Cyclops’ confrontation with the Fantastic Four beautifully displays his integration and friendliness towards the other heroes, that he’s happy for Ben’s wedding, but still at odds with them when it comes to overall mutant rights. Including those of Sabretooth, who admittedly just robbed a place and probably killed a few dozen people. So, it’s not like the Fantastic Four are in the wrong in trying to apprehend Sabretooth, but it’s reinforcing bits of the laws of the state versus possible ethical or moral concerns.

This scene also reminds us that mutants are everywhere. They can be anyone within society, anyone’s husband, wife, mother, father, friend, daughter, family, neighbour...anyone’s son, including Franklin Richards, son to Reed and Sue. It helps underline that compassion, understanding, and fighting for what’s morally right is something that really should be at the forefront here. And that Cyclops and the rest of Xavier’s new nation of Krakoa are making it known that they’re not going to accept the intolerance any more.

It’s also interesting the incorporation of the broader Marvel Universe as a catalyst for this confrontation in that Sabretooth, Mystique, and Toad were stealing information from Damage Control. It’s a neat bit of the shared universe and presents something potentially nefarious about Damage Control appropriating broken Stark and Richards tech. Though, we are left wondering, what did they steal?

SEVEN | Nothing As It Seems

One of the central themes we’re presented with in the ambassadors’ tour through Krakoa as led by Magneto is that nothing is quite as it seems. It’s even mentioned explicitly through the dialogue when the ambassadors are discussing the deal as lain out by Xavier. Worrying about the drugs, but even more about the amnesty. The terms of the amnesty aren’t actually stated here, but the gist seems to be that all mutants, criminal or otherwise, need to be set free (and presumably allowed passage to one of the gateways to Krakoa), if the country is to take part in the life-saving drug aspect.

Now, there’s an in-story payoff to the ambassadors statement, in that they’re all plants of one form or another, working for different organizations in order to gain information or surveillance on one thing or another and in Magneto’s ulterior motive for gathering them, but it feeds back into that tingling suspicion from the first page.

Something feels off. Something feels wrong. But that could well be the point. The seeds of doubt may well be planted intentionally for Xavier’s plan and the appearances of the characters. It could well be that we’re supposed to think that something hinky is going on, just to keep us in suspense. And that everything we’re seeing, everything we’re being told, really is the truth.

CONCLUSION | A More Perfect Union

As I said previously, House of X #1 exceeded my expectations.

Hickman, Larraz, Gracia, Cowles, and Muller came together to produce what is one of the most exciting and intriguing first issues that I’ve read in a very long time. Every single element from dialogue to line art, colour to letters, to cover to design gels into one massive stroke of storytelling. Every single thing within the comic adds another layer to immerse yourself into this brave new world of mutant merriment.

This is an incredible start to this new era and I am very excited to see what comes next week in Powers of X #1. Especially in how it relates back to House of X #1. These issues are apparently meant to be paired, but how exactly remains to be seen. I find that interesting, since PoX is apparently set in a different time frame.

d. emerson eddy is not an island.

[markgottliebliteraryagent]

Scandinavian-Inspired Dark Epic Fantasy Author Tina LeCount Myers

Tina LeCount Myers is a writer, artist, independent historian, and surfer. Born in Mexico to expat-bohemian parents, she grew up on Southern California tennis courts with a prophecy hanging over her head; her parents hoped she'd one day be an author. Tina lives in San Francisco with her adventurer husband and loud Siamese cat. The Song of All is the first book of the epic fantasy trilogy The Legacy of the Heavens. Her latest book from the trilogy, Dreams of the Dark Sky, publishes February 2019 from Night Shade Books.

The Song of All and Dreams of the Dark Sky reads more like "Shakespeare" fantasy than "X-Men" fantasy. Do you see the series as leaning more toward literary fiction, or fantasy genre fiction—or can they be read by both audiences?

Of course, my hope is that my books appeal both to readers of literary fiction and genre fantasy fiction. The two readerships are not that mutually exclusive. Readers of Shakespeare and X-men are likely interested in the same things: complex characters, a rich, detailed world, and great storytelling. The relationship between Magneto and Xavier feels very Shakespearean to me. One of the things that I tried to do in writing these two books was give equal attention to both language and fantasy elements. My hope is that readers will find a turn-of-phrase or description as compelling as a sword fight and vice versa.

What do you feel the fantasy genre of storytelling affords you as an author writing closely to that medium?

When I describe The Legacy of the Heavens series to people, I say, “The story is about two ancient warring tribes in the Arctic tundra, and a flawed man who is trying to save his son. It also includes parallel worlds accessed by song, psionics, sequential hermaphroditism, reindeer, and epic sword fights.” Where else but fantasy can a writer have that kind of latitude to explore such diverse elements? Anything is possible in fantasy storytelling.

“...I was equally interested in exploring how to layer mythology over science.”

In addition to your familial history, what drew you to the setting of your novels in the frozen northlands with characters drawn from Scandinavian mythology?

Part of the decision I made in world-building was predicated on the initial debate, and subsequent bet, I had with my husband, to write a fantasy story with science as a foundation. For me, that meant looking at the world I live in and that humans evolved in to find an other-worldly location. I chose the Arctic tundra because of its harsh climate. To survive in the cold with very little sunlight in the winter suggested the possibility of interesting adaptations due to evolution. This region also has a rich mythology to draw inspiration from. So, while my Finnish ancestry played a role in the setting of the story, I was equally interested in exploring how to layer mythology over science.

How did you go about obtaining literary representation and then go on to get published?

The Song of All went through seven edits, including two professional editors, before I thought it was ready for submission. Then I turned my attention to the synopsis, which I still think is one of the hardest things to write. I rewrote the synopsis ten times with the help of one of my beta readers. The query came next. I used every available resource out there to craft my query letter. I researched literary agents both in the Guide to Literary Agents and online. I did Twitter pitches, through #PitMad, to hone my logline (Twitter was still 140 characters then). I also attended writers’ conferences that featured literary agents and book editors. It just so happened that at my second writers’ conference, the San Francisco Writers’ Conference, I pitched you. You were my last literary agent of the day. The "time’s up" bell rang about a minute into my pitch. I was so flustered, but you weren’t phased at all. You asked for the full manuscript and a couple of weeks after that you took me on as your client. If I remember the timeline correctly, you sold The Legacy of the Heavens trilogy within three months of going out on submission.

The Jápmemeahttun—or what I consider akin to "dark elves"—from your novels are unique, in that they can change between male and female—at will. While sequential hermaphroditism does indeed occur in nature among species such as the clownfish, what inspired you to write that aspect into your characters?

The Jápmemeahttun were my way of thinking about and talking about "elves" without ever using that term. I was curious about what living a couple of centuries might look like. What might some of the problems be? What might some of the possibilities be? In particular, I wanted to consider what a social group might look like if individuals experienced both genders, in terms of their physiology and gender roles. So, I did look to nature for examples of hermaphroditism, in particular the sequential form—male to female and female to male—and how it might be evolutionarily advantageous. But while there are some species that change sex at will, the Jápmemeahttun go through a very specific biological process that allows them to transition from female to male in their lifetime.

“The learning curve for me as a debut author in the publishing industry was steep, and I was certainly grateful to have a knowledgeable literary agent...”

Now that you have published your second novel within The Legacy of the Heavens series, what have you learned from the book publishing experience?

The learning curve for me as a debut author in the publishing industry was steep, and I was certainly grateful to have a knowledgeable literary agent, like you, who was open to questions. With the second book, I am discovering that the learning curve is getting even steeper, particularly in terms of balancing my time between, promoting the first book, while preparing the second book for publication, while writing the third. I was raised to be self-sufficient, but I am now seeing the importance of building a team and getting help for things that I just don’t know how to do.

Irjan, the lead character of your first novel, goes through some tremendous character development in the story. What is the driving force behind his drastic change of character and what drew you to that particular literary device?

Irjan’s character development in The Song of All centers on a crisis of conscience, and what happens when the life of revenge and violence that he had relied on no longer served him. In particular, I wanted to explore the consequences of Irjan’s choices, both in his life and in the lives of the people he loved. I think a crisis of conscience or a life crisis is something that most people can relate to. How we handle it also ripples out, maybe not a dramatic as in Irjan’s case, but I do believe that actions have consequences, both intended and unintended.

The audiobook edition of The Song of All, narrated by Ulf Bjorklund, is particularly unique, given that he has a Swedish background and the novel is set in the Saamiland of Norway, Sweden, and Finland. What was it like working with Bjorklund on the pronunciations and character voices of your audiobook edition?

It was an absolute pleasure to work with Ulf and director Max Bloomquist, and the entire team at Brilliance Audio. Max’s background is both Swedish and Finnish, so it really was a Scandinavian production. Max and Ulf also worked with Thomas A. DuBois, the Halls-Bascom Professor of Scandinavian Studies, Folklore, and Religious Studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, to make sure they had the correct pronunciation for the Saami words. I always go and listen to the audiobook before I give a reading to make sure that I have the correct pronunciation. I think Ulf really captured the essence of the characters, and I hope to work with him again in the near future.

“You have to love your story before anyone will.”

Do you have any advice for writers out there, aspiring to become published authors?

I would say, write for yourself first. You have to love your story before anyone will. Then, be clear on why you want to be published, because that will inform your decision-making along the way. After that, I think persistence, combined with a positive attitude, is crucial.

Can you give us a sense of what’s to come from The Northern Ones, book three in The Legacy of the Heavens series? Please, no spoilers!

Of the three books, The Northern Ones has much more of a quest element in it. And readers will go beyond the borders of Davvieana to discover more of the outside world. The story is a cross between Rogue One and Marco Polo.

[iamandco]

  PHOTO: COURTESY ZACH BOISJOLY/HYPEBEAST  I don’t know about you, but there seems to be only one question buzzing through the minds of all the women I know, “Am I having a hot girl summer?” At the very least, you have likely seen this question floating around social media or your favorite femme-targeted publications. The phrase “hot girl summer” launched into virility earlier this year and has rooted itself in Millenials’ everyday jargon. Having a hot girl summer is all about embracing yourself (and all your glorious flaws), cutting off negative energy, and feeling as fly as humanly possible. To some, this may seem a little vain. All the bikini clad-pictures on Instagram and hashtags on Twitter have certainly enlisted a few eyerolls from me, but I hesitate to call the movement shallow. In fact, I think it is anything but. And manifesting your own hot girl summer is not simply selfish, it’s self-care .  For one, it is an affirmation ! By claiming your “hot girl summer,” you are already speaking positivity into your life. It takes confidence to be a hot girl; and if this confidence does not come naturally to you, it helps to look into the mirror and chant, “I am a hot girl. I am having a hot girl summer! I AM A HOT GIRL AND I AM HAVING A HOT GIRL SUMMER!” Trust me, it works; I do it all the time. (And I mean...ALL the time).  The best part of all is that in order to be this “hot girl,” you do not have to rely on physical attractiveness alone. The sexiness “hot girls” exude comes from their apologeticness. As women, the differences in our skin color, hair type, weight, nose shape, leg length, etc. are often judged, compared, or ridiculed, especially on social media. Beauty companies think they are in control of who looks good and who does not; who get to be called beautiful and who does not. “Hot girl summer” throws all of that bullshit out the window. There are no height and weight prerequisites, the only requirement is confidence.  Another reason I am such a big fan of such a small phrase is because of the way it has united so many women across the planet. This is one of the things the internet does best–make our giant world seem a little bit smaller. As previously mentioned, the phrase has rooted itself into our global popular culture. People who do not even speak English or live in countries outside of the United States use it to caption their photos and posts.  View this post on Instagram Making anything that gets in the way of my #HotGirlSummer illegal x Also if you haven’t started watching #StrangerThing3 yet go watch it NOW (it fills the #LoveIsland void v well) Gúna @prettylittlething White Booteens @nastygal Tan @barebyvogue Glow @mmmmitchell @bperfectcosmetics A post shared by Molly Roberts 🧚🏼‍♀️ (@mollerina_) on Jul 6, 2019 at 1:07pm PDT Having a hot girl summer, Ireland style It also connects fans to major celebrities including superstar Miley Cyrus, #HotGirlSummer 🔥👸🏼🌈 pic.twitter.com/d6NH0QRZYq — Miley Ray Cyrus (@MileyCyrus) July 28, 2019 Singing sisters Chloe x Halle, View this post on Instagram A post shared by chloe x halle (@chloexhalle) on Jun 25, 2019 at 4:31pm PDT Actress Jada Pinkett Smith, View this post on Instagram I'LL take that joyful hot girl summer thank you🌞✨ A post shared by Jada Pinkett Smith (@jadapinkettsmith) on Jul 18, 2019 at 6:38am PDT And of course, rapper Megan thee Stallion, the woman who first coined the iconic phrase. View this post on Instagram I am loving these edits 😍😍😍 HOTGIRL SUMMER IS ALMOST HEREEEE @nickiminaj @tydollasign A post shared by Hot Girl Meg (@theestallion) on Aug 8, 2019 at 8:12pm PDT This feels like a good time to reiterate that there is no physical look to being a “hot girl,” only an attitude. According to Stallion , the hottest girl of them all, "Your actions make you a 'hot girl.' You have to be someone who is energetic, the life of the party, just really nice, you know what I'm saying...You have to be able to put that confidence in other people and get along with all the girls and just like have a good time. Just be unapologetically you. You just have to be lit.”  If there is any chance that you have not yet heard of Megan (and I bet that chance is slim), the young rapper stems from Houston and has absolutely exploded onto the music scene. Her hit records include “Cash Shit,” “Big Ole Freak,” and yes, even a song titled “Hot Girl Summer” featuring Nicki Minaj . Not only are her songs certified bops, the latter of which debuted in the top 10 Hot R&B/Hip Hop charts, but they are all about women embracing their raunchy and rowdy sexuality.  I am not going to sugarcoat it, Megan thee Stallion lyrics can get downright filthy. She details positions and skills that I can just barellllllllyyyyyyyyy wrap my mind around. But, is it weird that that makes me love them (and her) even more? Women, particularly black women like Megan, are rarely praised on such a worldwide level for being openly sexual and graphic. Often times, our explicitness is degraded or we are brainwashed into thinking our desires are shameful when in reality, they are just plain fun.  How to Have a Hot Girl Summer All Year Long, According to Megan Thee Stallion So you understand the significance of the motto, and admire all the women embracing it, but still want more clarification on how to have your own “hot girl summer?” Then, we’ve got you covered. Here is some Megan thee Stallion-approved advice to inspire the “hot girl” in you.  1. Growth can happen at any time. "We're taking this hot girl summer into the winter. We don't care. Just put on a jacket. " - Megan thee Stallion “Hot girl summer” is not just a season, it is a state of being. That means, you do not have to be concerned with the fact that summer is coming to an end when you have the potential to be a proud, confident human being all year long. Instead of always trying to curate great moments or months, work towards manifesting a great life.  2. Support your sisters, whenever, wherever and however you can.  "Nicki [Minaj] is so sweet. We went live together, and then literally that night, she did her verse, and they sent it to me the next day and I was like, ‘This is a joke.’ Like y’a'll are playing with me right now. I can't believe Nicki Minaj just laid her verse down on my track. ” -Megan thee Stallion Supporting other women is one of the easiest and most rewarding ways to harness your “hot girl” energy, especially if you work in a male-dominated industry as Megan and Nicki do. Check in on your girlfriends, make sure to interview as many women as you do men when searching for a new employee, ask the single mothers in your life if you can come over and cook dinner one night. Do whatever you can to lift a fellow sister up and be sure to accept that kindness when it is returned onto you.  3. Comparison serves no useful purpose. It’s time to get rid of it.  "I really, really, really like both of them [Cardi B and her supposed rival Nicki Minaj]...They're two different people, two different rappers. It's not even the same. I feel like we need to stop trying to compare them...I love both of them. ” -Megan thee Stallion Comparison is the thief of joy. Not only does it bring down other women, which directly opposes rule number 2, it creates unrealistic expectations that you can never reach. None of us can! Of course I am not the smartest, strongest, prettiest girl in the world (hell, not even in my office), but another woman’s shine does not dull my own. The more we embrace this, the stronger we all become.  4. Don’t beat yourself up for starting late. It is always better than giving up. “I need all the hot girls to get y’alls head in the game! The summer isn’t over yet! ” -Megan thee Stallion   As previously mentioned, the summer is coming to an end, but I promise you it is not over yet. Whatever goals that you set for yourself at the top of this new season can still be accomplished. Old habits die hard, and sometimes it takes an exhausting amount of determination to make positive changes. Whatever intentions are still resting on your heart can be fulfilled; trust that you have an army of “hot girls” believing in you every step of the way.   5. Stay open to this life and all it will continue to offer you. “Got a whole lot of options 'cause you know a bitch poppin .” -“Hot Girl Summer” by Megan thee Stallion There is no doubt in my mind that the options Megan were referring to in this song are men that want to have sex with her, but this advice still rings true for other aspects of life. The only constant in this world is change . You may be facing a change of relationship or job or city, all of which can be extremely scary, but all of which you are also more than capable of handling. None of us are born with a map detailing the course of our lives; we just have to be open to adapting to what comes next.  While many songs become popular and their lyrics repeated, “hot girl summer” is wholly unique. The phrase may still seem silly, but there is no denying its impact. As a woman, it is an affirmation of power and a reminder to support other women around me. It is no wonder that it has elevated beyond the point of social media trend; today, it is a bonafide mantra.

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 2 October 2017

Three favourites for the week: Eugenic #1 by James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan, Punisher: The Platoon #1 by Garth Ennis and Goran Parlov, and Slots #1 by Dan Panosian. Published by BOOM! Studios, Marvel/MAX, and Image/Skybound respectively.

Eugenic #1 is the start of the third of a thematic trilogy of end-world plague fictions (after Memetic and Cognetic) by James Tynion IV and Eryk Donovan and it looks like this one might be the most outright horrific. 

Unlike the previous two stories, with Eugenic we start with a main pathogen or vector for the apocalypse already having ravaged the population. Tynion drops us into a society where the Red Cough has already killed or infected a sizable chunk of the population, leaving many still carriers for the virus, and effectively rendering the population sterile as all pregnancies seem to be stillborn. Into this chaos, a geneticist Dr. Cyrus Crane, has promised a vaccine to reverse the effects of the virus and allow people to repopulate.

This is when the real nightmare begins.

The premise for the series and the execution of the first issue is flawless. It makes us question who exactly is the “bad guy”, even when it seems like the monstrous acts are apparent. How far exactly would we go in order to ensure that things like birth defects or proclivity to certain diseases are removed from the genome, and what attachment to certain social stigma from phenotypes are allowed to remain? What happens when the children born from Crane’s vaccine mature is also a fascinating prospect for the rest of the series.

Then there’s Eryk Donovan’s art. He has a style that somewhat reminds me of Phil Hester and Ted McKeever, not quite as heavy on the use of ink and shadow and not quite as extreme in stylization, but still showing a good use of angularity, lines, and lanky features to put the reader somewhat on edge. His designs for the children are particularly effective. We see them as horrors, possibly monsters, but it will be interesting to see what happens when they become the norm, when they achieve adulthood. In a way, their appearance mirrors the classic Twilight Zone episode “Eye of the Beholder” in that in the future we will be the “freaks”.

This is some strong stuff and a good way to start the end of their apocalyptic trilogy on a high note. Highly recommended.

Punisher: The Platoon #1 is the glorious return of Garth Ennis to the Punisher. I’m of the opinion that everyone who loves comics should probably read Garth Ennis’ run on the Punisher. Particularly the “Welcome Back, Frank” storyline under the Marvel Knights banner, but especially his Punisher MAX. His work under the MAX imprint was some of the most mature, most harrowing war and crime comics that have been published. A highlight from that run was the Punisher: Born mini-series that Ennis did with Darick Robertson. It was essentially an original story for Frank, showing the events in the Vietnam War that truly shaped who the Punisher would become. It was basically a perfect melding of Ennis’ Punisher and his love for telling war stories.

Punisher: The Platoon acts as both a sequel and a prequel to Born. When I first read the announcement for this series, I wasn’t sure it was necessary, but having read the first issue, I’m glad it’s here. I’m glad Ennis is back on the Punisher, I’m glad that he’s telling this story, and I’m glad that he’s taken his experience of telling nuanced war stories over the course of the past fourteen years since Born and brought it back to the Punisher.

This first issue frames the narrative as an interview with members of Castle’s first command in Vietnam, by the apparent unseen author of the Valley Forge incident chronicled in Born, and switches back and forth from the present to the events in Vietnam. It’s interesting to see the trust Castle gives to his men, as well as the no-nonsense approach to completing objectives. The story also seeds a mystery as to where the author is getting information and how he knows about activities on the other side of the conflict.

The series reunites Ennis with one of his Punisher MAX collaborators, Goran Parlov, and the work is seamless. Parlov truly is one of the greats working in the medium and it shows in the seemingly effortless way that he makes everything from a simple bar set-up to the tunnels of Vietnam to fatigues interesting visually. I’m also highly impressed in the usually stunning work of Jordie Bellaire as she manages to make the endless amounts of green in the Vietnam war, from those fatigues to the fields and jungles, a veritable verdant variety.

This is a good start, and I’m anxious to see the rest of the story.

Slots #1 is further proof that somewhere over his many years in the industry, Dan Panosian has managed to advance to art god-tier level. I remember Panosian primarily as an inker on many ‘90s X-titles, but he’s come a long way since then. I noticed again on covers from the mid-aughts to present day and he’s developed a beautiful style. There’s hints of Alex Toth, echoes of Jack Kirby, and elements of Darwyn Cooke that result in a highly thought out style that is just a joy to look at.

The series follows Stanley Dance, a one-time boxer turned grifter, who has seemingly run out of luck (represented in story as a cache of keys) and looks like he may be working towards an ultimate checkout, when he’s contacted by an old friend for help. This help involves him returning to Vegas and sinking himself back into a world that’s changed with the times, and may also see some of his past sins catch up with him. The characters that Panosian populates the book with Stanley, Betsy, Mercy, Les, Alex, et al sound and look like they’ve walked out of a Donald Westlake novel and it at once makes them feel familiar and the world comfortable.

Slots is probably as close as we’re ever going to get to a Darwyn Cooke Parker adaptation in comics again. I consider Cooke’s work there to be about as close to a perfect comics as possible, so that’s high praise indeed. Not to put any pressure on Panosian, but I hope this series lives up to the promise in this first issue.

Quick Bits:

All-New Guardians of the Galaxy #11 shifts focus back again to the Talons, this time bringing in Richard Rider and the Nova Corps when they discover a distress signal from Rider’s brother. It’s pretty dark, actually. Darker than the usual tone of the series, which gives a fair amount of gravity to the story. It also has some great art from Roland Boschi.

| Published by Marvel

The Archies #1 picks up more or less from where the one-shot left off. It gives a decent recap, though, so you shouldn’t necessarily need to pick it up (although I do recommend it anyway for the story). Alex Segura and Matthew Rosenberg give us a what happens next after their first successful gig, with the band seemingly drifting apart. It’s fun.

| Published by Archie Comics

Astonisher #1 is the second of the Catalyst Prime series that I’ve sampled and it’s pretty damn good. Where I find Incidentals a little obtuse in its narrative style, Astonisher just gets right into the characters motivations and set-up for the wider premise. Alex de Campi sets up an interesting character in Magnus Attarian, a kind of silver spoon wunderkind that actually seems to have a modicum of genius to back up his arrogance, and makes it more interesting in the powers of travelling into individuals’ minds. Pop Mhan’s energetic art also helps convey the strangeness of the various mental landscapes and how some people are still being effected by things following the Event. All around a good start for this book.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Black Bolt #6 concludes the first story-arc with the cast’s final attempt at a prison break. This series is simply great. Saladin Ahmed is populating the book with interesting and compelling characters, giving them unique voices and attitudes, and even manages to make Crusher Creel likeable, noble even. Added to that, Christian Ward’s artwork is gorgeous, capturing much of the same beauty that he’s employed previously in his ODY-C series with Matt Fraction.

| Published by Marvel

Cannibal #8 is one hell of a gut punch. As the second story-arc comes to a close, resolutions again aren’t necessarily happy or optimistic. Brian Buccellato and Jennifer Young again have the characters display a kind of bleak pragmatism as they deal with the fallout of Danny’s public revelation of cannibalism and Jolene’s return to town.

| Published by Image

Eleanor & The Egret #4 is the penultimate issue in this odd and whimsical series. This issue focuses on Detective Belanger, having been fired from his position due to what they see as gross incompetence, as he encounters the art-eating egret himself. John Layman and Sam Kieth’s story is weird, but highly enjoyable.

| Published by AfterShock

Elsewhere #3 is still as good as the previous issues, but it brings to light its pacing a wee bit more than the first two issues. It’s relatively slow in advancing plot, operating more like ten minute intervals between commercial breaks of a television series. By no means whatsoever does that mean it’s bad, it’s not, Jay Faerber and Sumeyye Kesgin have something wonderful on their hands here, just that it’s a very measured pace.

| Published by Image

Extremity #7 still feels like Ronin-era Frank Miller, when he was highly influenced by Katsuhiro Otomo and Goseki Kojima and it was showing in his work. Though Daniel Warren Johnson also gives a fair bit more depth to the characters and story. 

| Published by Image / Skybound

Giants Days #31 continues Daisy’s war with her (former) roommates over her relationship with Ingrid. It’s disappointing to see her run from her problems at first and not recognize the negative impact that Ingrid has had on Susan and Esther, especially in regards to financial impositions, but I suppose often times a “first love” is blind.

| Published by BOOM! Entertainment / Boom! Box

Hack/Slash vs. Vampirella #1 has some amazing artwork. Rapha Lobosco has a style similar to Eduardo Risso and it perfectly suits the dark, bloody story that Shawn Aldridge is telling here.

| Published by Dynamite

Hawkeye #11 gives us the final confrontation between Kate and Masque!Kate and it’s pretty impressive. Leonardo Romero’s layouts and action choreography for the fights, especially atop the Hollywood Sign, are wonderful. How Kate handles the fight with Madame Masque is also interesting. Instead of just fisticuffs, Kelly Thompson presents her with reason, humour, and compassion towards Masque’s situation, that helps differentiate her from how she perceives her father and villainy in general.

| Published by Marvel

Hillbilly #8 has a nice back-up story illustrated by Simone Di Meo. At its heart it’s a ghost story, but there’s also an interesting bit of comeuppance of one’s “betters” in many morality tales. Like Eric Powell’s main narrative of Rondel, this is good stuff.

| Published by Albatross Funnybooks

Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Star Wars: Captain Phasma #3 further underlines Phasma’s willingness to do or say anything to get what she wants. The pilot compliments Phasma on a rousing speech to the refugees on Luprora, only to discover that it was empty, just words in order to get the people to do Phasma’s bidding. It’s interesting to see when you remember that Phasma’s whole reason for being here is a dogged determination to capture a “traitor” to the First Order to cover her own tracks.

| Published by Marvel

Motor Girl #9 advances both a bit of the alien plot and dealing with Sam’s PTSD, hallucinations, and remaining injuries. Terry Moore presents an interesting argument about the will and determination of wounded soldiers and what can hinder them when reintegrating into society.

| Published by Abstract Studio

Old Man Logan #29 is one tick closer to the finale, featuring the first part of thrilling confrontation between Logan and the Maestro. Much of this issue is dealing with that battle, trying to convince the other Hulk brood of Maestro’s malicious machinations, and dealing with the nuclear bombs being seeded across the world by Maestro’s minions. Ed Brisson and Mike Deodato Jr. have been doing something good with this entire arc, looking forward to what happens in the next issue.

| Published by Marvel

Regression #5 reminds me, amidst the baker’s dozen of other titles that he seems to be writing every month, that Cullen Bunn is a damn good horror writer. Danny Luckert’s artwork, weaving in and out of realism and fantastical horror, certainly helps set the tone for the series and makes it a joy to read, but the concept overall, of the terror potentially lurking in “past lives” unlocked through hypnosis and regression therapy is fascinating. And terrifying.

| Published by Image

Shadowman / Rae Sremmurd #1 is the latest in Valiant’s series of one-shots that give a different take on their properties; this time giving an updating and retelling of the Robert Johnson myth. I don’t know Rae Sremmurd, I’m sure it adds something fun for fans of the group, but knowledge of their work isn’t necessary for enjoyment of the book. Eliot Rahal also plays with the interesting idea that the nature of various afterlives are dependent on interpretation, with this particular devil shaping his according to his musical proclivities. It’s also really nice to see Doctor Mirage again, she’s one Valiant character who I’d love to see get another series. And, of course, Renato Guedes’ art is top shelf.

| Published by Valiant

Star Wars #37 is Jason Aaron’s last on the series, warranting extra pages and a second story. The main story illustrated by Salvador Larroca is told mainly from the perspective of SCAR Trooper Sergeant Kreel and it serves as a brutal counterpoint for why the Empire’s troops serve willingly to what we would consider a despotic regime. The second story, co-written by Dash Aaron and illustrated by Andrea Sorrentino, focuses on the Tusken Raiders and their almost symbiotic relationship with Tatooine’s sands.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Darth Vader #6 brings the series timeline closer to that of the Star Wars: Rebels cartoon, showcasing the first meeting between Vader and the Grand Inquisitor. The battle between the two is wonderfully depicted by Giuseppe Camuncoli. 

| Published by Marvel

Usagi Yojimbo #162 gently reminds you that Stan Sakai is a master storyteller.

| Published by Dark Horse

Venomverse #5 brings this mini-event to a conclusion. Overall, it’s been pretty fun. While I think some of the Edge of Venomverse stories were better, Cullen Bunn and Iban Coello have still crafted an enjoyable story with the main series. There’s also a hint at something more to come.

| Published by Marvel

Warframe #1 is interesting. I never really got into any of the lore behind the video game, but this seems like a good starting point. The artwork from Studio Hive, though, is the main draw. Their artwork has a similar texture and style to Clayton Crain’s and it’s very appealing. Great action scenes and they capture the tone and visual appearance of the game well.

| Published by Image / Top Cow

Other Highlights: Ab Irato #6, Astonishing X-Men #4, Avengers #672, Beautiful Canvas #4, Centipede #3, Cinema Purgatorio #12, Elephantmen #78, Iceman #6, Iron Fist #73, Jessica Jones #13, Manifest Destiny #31, Meanwhile #7, Moonstruck #3, Motor Crush #7, Paper Girls #16, Postal #23, Ringside #12, Rocket Girl #10, Royals #9, Spider-Man #21, Spirits of Vengeance #1, Venom #155, War for the Planet of the Apes #4, X-Men Gold #13

Recommended Collections: Hulk: World War Hulk Omnibus, Outcast - Volume Five, Planetoid - Volume Two: Praxis, Rapture, Royals - Volume One: Beyond Inhuman, The Visitor: How and Why He Stayed, William Gibson’s Archangel

d. emerson eddy welcomes you to the jungle. We’ve got fun and games. There’s Yahtzee and Monopoly over there, a row of gaming PCs and network ports are set up in the living room, and a massive D&D campaign should be starting at 6. There’s snacks and drinks in the kitchen.