#and dianas just being fashionable with her armor

[cyanide-sippy-cup]

So many depictions of the main DC Trinity have Clark be the tallest of the bunch. And while yes, he is a big ol' farm boy, I have to disagree and state why I think the opposite: Clark should appear to be the shortest.

Basically, Bruce and Clark are supposed to both be around the same height (6'3" or smth). However. Bruce also canonically pads his suit to look larger than he is for intimidation. You combine that with his cape which blankets around him and makes him look like a tall shadow, and he kinda just always looks like a hulking beast straight out of a fairy tale. He just feels much bigger than he is.

And Diana is like 7 feet tall. I'm not usually into the whole like "my opinion is the only correct one" but I am here. She's an Amazon AND the daughter of Zeus. She towers over everybody and I will not take criticisms on it.

Artistic depiction.

[hisui-cotton]

It’s interesting to see how long fashion can last beyond it’s presentation. It’s not uncommon to see styles or trends come back around but another aspect of it within media is how integral it can be to the show’s image. When you think of a character, you think of how they dress too. Good costume design can bring a full image together or reflect a new side of someone. Games can implement skins, armor, and character customization to express new sides of a character or allow players to create looks that directly reflect the outfit’s origins. Today though I want to talk about 2 shows, One Piece Live Action and Buffy. I'd like to ruminate about some of the outfits I loved and how the outfits added to the shows unique and iconic imagery not by being just stylish but relevant to characterization of these already iconic characters.

My favorite two outfits from the One Piece Live Action were Nami and Luffy’s Baratie outfits. I feel like Nami’s was both poppy and cute, a Pink top and Orange pleated skirt, in the realm of party wear whereas some of her other outfits were more obviously for comfort on the sea or in combat. The way Emily Rudd wore it was also very confident which I feel is important for the character. Part of what I think makes Nami’s strength and so great is her own confidence and will, where she will confidently take the action she believes. Likewise Luffy’s outfit is a bit more of a modern casual version of his usual outfit but still works for his character. Luffy’s usual clothes are supposed to be ones he happened to have found, where as these feel like some he perhaps got before leaving Syrup Village as they’re much cleaner. The style of them though is still super fun, almost childish, and just similar enough to his usual that you don’t feel a difference in his presentation. Iñaki Godoy has a really energetic and in some ways naïve play of Luffy and so the outfit and the it fits that makes it feel like something Luffy would wear with blue jean overalls and a bright red hooded t-shirt.

For One Piece it’s not too hard to figure out how it can be so distinctly styled. Oda’s art and designs are fairly unique. If you see Luffy’s outfit off of Luffy, it’s still recognizably his outfit. But what was kind of unexpected within the show was that even in other outfits they always felt like something he’d wear. Most of the costumes were adapted from Oda’s Color Walk 1 and 2 but costume designer Diana Cilliers has mentioned that there were costume changes made for function and to better fit the cast in ways. But it’s fun to know that it wasn’t just actors and set designers trying to recognize Oda’s vision for the world but also the costume designers trying to bring more of his work directly into the production.

I think this is a good vision for the show to go by too. Taking the both iconic characters and Oda’s sense of design for them and making it integral to the iconography of live action’s production, recognizing that the clothing and fashion of the world is just as important, is wonderful.

Now you may be wondering how I am transition to Buffy in this or how I even relate these two together. Actually I had seen Buffy a lot when I was younger, my mom and Aunt watched it quite a lot. From time to time they also like to rewatch old shows while doing chores and stuff just as background noise. At the time OPLA came out, my mom happened to be rewatching Buffy and something about how stylish Buffy was stuck with me the same way I was noticing OPLA was really stylish. Thats about how they ended up being compared in my case but something I noticed actually was how both felt like they tried to authentically represent and evolve the characters outfits.

In One Piece where the outfits are more involved with the characters and clothing functionality, Buffy’s feels more about the way it grounds the fantasy of the world in Sunnydale and it’s time. Buffy has returned to the fashion zeitgeist as Y2K fashion has made a some back in many places. Which makes sense with the way the show has a pretty iconic sense of fashion. Buffy and Willow both have the most distinct styles in the show an that definitely left a note on the fashion culture at the time. Within Buffy it’s pretty interesting to note that not all the outfits were bought or pieced from everyday fashion, some were specifically designed and made for the show. A lot of the ones that were bought were also sourced from around LA and it’s surrounding cities, the closest thing to Sunnydale there probably is. In one interview for Paper Magazine Cynthia Bergstrom mentions the brands Ver Wang which was located in Beverly Hills, Mark Wong Nark who had a store on Sunset Blvd and Cynthia Rowley out by the coast and south of LA and Huntington Beach.

Just as much as the show set trends in style, leaving ever iconic looks for characters, it also captured a lot of the actual clothes of the time. Willow’s clothing evolution is probably the one most people recognize across the series. Going from varied, almost hand me down fashion, to an almost casual punk or alternative style. From there it kind of naturally matures into outfits that feel more mature overall. One of my favorites though is from the episode where she meets Tara during a Wicca Group meeting. The episode is HUSH, a well known episode for being one of the more terrifying ones based on the idea of silence and terrors that lurk in that and take advantage of that. Willow’s outfit that I like has probably one of my favorite balances to match her personality and budding interest in this dark power in her. It has this cute cropped pink sweater and jean-patchworked Maxi skirt. It feels like it’s somewhere between the sweet and kind Willow and then the alternative grungy-naturalistic aesthetics of magic. In a lot of interviews it sounds like Willow was one of the easiest to style for and it shows quiet well. Willow always has a developing style all the time but it’s a very natural and understandable one and I love being able to see that.

The other outfit in this show I absolutely LOVE is from another legendary episode, Band Candy. Joyce, Buffy’s mom, and Giles, Buffy’s Mentor, essentially get their brains turned to teen-age from the chocolate sold from the school. Technically all adults who eat the chocolate get affected but we’re focusing on these two because Joyce looks great. Stacy’s mom? NO! Buffy’s mom. She and Giles go on a trek through the chaos that ripples through the town. Giles being the british-punk warlock he is steals a coat she wants from a shop window by tossing a trash can through it. Now when I say Joyce looks great in this episode I mean it’s undeniably one of the best outfits in the series. With suede (?) knee-high boots, a short formfitting skirt and the layered, ankle length jackets, one of which topped with an almost fur like feather collar, on top of a nice pastel V-neck shirt, is one of the most cohesive and timeless outfits seen in the run of the show. Giles’s outfit also fits this episodes' event change where he rolls his t-shirt sleeves up with a plaid shirt tied around his waist and plain jeans. It’s really simple but echos the general look of the younger punk scene Giles likely was a part of in his youth.

What I feel makes Joyce’s outfit stand out as iconic though is how it showcases something that actually people saw in a recent tiktok trend. People were swapping clothes with their parents and it made a lot of their parents look a lot younger. In many ways it showcased how style trends not just across time but across age can be irrelevant because of how the fashion itself is worn. A newer style and a certain level of trends can really affect the way a person’s age can present themself. When Joyce wears this outfit along with her acting younger it feels cohesive. The way she wears it and how it looks together, just like with Nami, Luffy or Willow, plays into the relevant parts of the character. She is teenage brained from a story standpoint but from a visual standpoint it helps to actually showcase that difference by evolving her outfit. Yet it still feels like her, not just because we see her in it but because of what we see in Joyce’s character in the rest of the series. She enjoys art, she jokes with Buffy and her friends a lot, and in being Buffy’s mom has raised her to be confident and fight for herself, even if she hadn’t always known Buffy was the Slayer. There is a deeper character that may not dress the way she does in Band Candy all the time, but has an origin and side to herself that would dress like that.

So when I say Fashion is always relevant, it’s not just a statement on how relevant it can be to a time. Most of what makes it so relevant in storytelling is the character and how believable it can be to see that outfit or costuming applied to said character. In live action series this can add a really thoughtful layer and be used to develop subtle, or overt, storytelling points. So when you find your next favorite show, see how much your impression and idea of the characters comes from how they dress. It might surprise you to see just how much it can change with a few outfit differences.

Anyways I’m no style expert, I just wanted to talk about some cool feelings I had over the fashion in these shows. Above is the full body picture I drew as a nice little doodle of the outfits I talked about here (You can also see part of it in the header for this post). Hope you like it. Here are all my sources and interviews I read to write this up:

Buffy:

One Piece:

[kuipernebula]

Shadow Veil Knights: Characters and Concept

Darkness is sacred. It is the domain of night, of rest, of passion and protection. It is the excitement of the unknown, the haven of the nocturnal. But many malign darkness, for its protection and secrecy can be used to hide evil.

But many forget that evil prefers the limelight.

The Sacred Darkness, the personified concept of night, is under attack by a malicious cult called the Society of Light. Based loosely on Christianity, they claim that they can cure people’s problems by invoking guardian angels. And when they say they can invoke angels, they mean it - and are using to wage war against the creatures and concepts of darkness. But they aren’t secret, and in fact have been gaining ground in the world.

To protect itself, the Sacred Darkness summoned one of her followers, a bat named Vesper, to find the legendary warriors the Shadow Veil Knights, and awaken their powers. He was granted the legendary Black Bouquets, perfumes belonging to the previous Shadow Veil Knights, which would awaken the new knights’ powers.

Meanwhile, at Milton University in the town of Helsing, Ruby Renfield is starting her freshman year of college. A drama kid with fashion sense stuck in the 90′s, she’s a firecracker who’s ready to get discovered or, at the very least, have a good time. Despite her contentious family relationship vis a vis her chosen career path as an actress, she’s ready to learn all that she can and perfect her craft.

But she gets an offer from the Society of Light to help her get over her acting hurdles, and she takes it without a second thought. After all, what could go wrong?

And she finds herself in a Sanctum, the domain of an Angel, who seeks to flush out any and all traces of darkness in the people of the world. The Angel seeks to take over her body, as many other angels have to members of the Society of Light, and flush out her individuality and passion - the traits of Darkness, they believe. She breaks out of its control on her own, a feat of defiance strong enough it attracts the attention of one of the Black Bouquets. This is how she meets Vesper, who teaches her how to transform into a Shadow Veil Knight.

Now that she’s Blood Veil, the vampiress and defender of the night, Ruby is balancing her college life with her life as a hero, while doing her best to reduce the reach and power of the cult slowly taking over her school.

Soon she is joined by her roommate, Diana Helena Glendon, a country girl from a rich family, who is somewhat aimless but excited by everything, and with an overabundance of physical stamina and energy. She turns into Moon Veil, the werewolf. And later, another girl at their school, Kendall Maia, joins them, despite being a recluse who barely shows up to class. A technical genius with a love of anime and video games, she joins in part because she thinks it’s cool. She becomes Deep Veil, the sea monster.

While they fight angels, they find themselves at odds with the leaders of the Society of Light, including their own Knight, Sandolphon. But they also find a rival and reluctant ally in the armored Skull Saber, who is just as likely to fight them on how to solve a problem as save their lives; they also content with Skull Saber’s calmer, more rational partner, the mummy-themed Grave Saber.

Though the odds are against them, these girls intend to save the world.

[ethelphantom]

it’s a WONDERful day

Maribat March 2020, day 2: Training.  Because we do not have enough WW & LB solidarity. Or friendship. Or fucking anything.

Ao3

This is Maribat -- don’t like; don’t read

__________________

“Aaahh, finally done. Never again. Chat, did you get the Peacock Miraculous? I need to get them to the Guardian,” Ladybug said, reaching out her open palm for Chat to give the pin to her. She already had the Butterfly in her other hand, so now as long as she got the Peacock from Chat, it would be great. He did hand it to her, after a moment.

“Do I— Do I have to give my ring away too?” he asked, hesitating. There was uncertainty and sadness in his voice, and it just broke Ladybug’s heart.

“I don’t know. I’m not taking it away from you, if that’s what you’re asking. If you do need to give it away, the Guardian will come to you and take it himself, just like he was the one to give it to you. I certainly hope he doesn’t want them back, I would hate to have to give Tikki back,” she replied. Ladybug put her hand on Chat’s shoulder and rubbed it with her finger. “But whatever happens, remember what we agreed on doing if we or one of us loses their Miraculous.”

Chat simply nodded before he took off, saluting to her and the woman standing behind her. Ladybug watched Chat go, a sad smile lingering on her face. Then she turned around to face the woman clad in red and blue armor, along with golden accents and a golden lasso. The woman smiled at her warmly.

“It’s wonderful to finally meet you, miss Ladybug,” she said and bowed to her. Ladybug was taken aback. She knew this woman was strong — after all, she had helped them defeat Papillon and Mayura, and she kept her emotions in check rather easily when Ladybug had told her how Papillon could and would use emotions against them, but she didn’t really know her. The woman continued speaking. “I am Wonder Woman, the champion of the Amazons, and the daughter of Queen Hippolyta, a previous—”

“Your mother was a Ladybug?”

Ladybug’s eyes were filled with fascination as they widened. Maybe there was a chance she could meet a previous Ladybug after all, if this woman indeed was Hippolyta’s daughter. She’d heard a lot about her from Tikki.

“Yes, yes she was, and when we heard there was a new Ladybug, we thought we would like to meet her. I was sent here to see how you were doing first, since the Ladybug is never brought to the world unless there is a great threat, and it seems I came at a good time. That man was your threat, wasn’t he?”

“Yeah. Papillon’s been a pain for too many months, but I’m pretty sure defeating him would have taken far longer had you not come and helped, so thank you for that!”

“It was no problem, I was happy to be able to help Ladybug. It seems you hadn’t managed to complete your training before being thrown into the war, so I would like to offer you a chance to train with my people. They are one the best warriors there are, so I am certain you would benefit of that,” Wonder Woman said and smiled at Ladybug.

Kwamii, the woman was gorgeous and she was offering her help, their help. There was absolutely no way she could say no.

Except, she was still barely 14 and had not finished school. Also, she was rather certain that they would not be here in Paris, so she would also have to come up with a reason to leave her parents, which was going to be much more difficult.

“I would love to do that, but… I’m not really sure I can? There’s school, my parents… I don’t think I know a way to avoid all that to be able to come,” she admitted, and Wonder Woman’s face hardened a little.

“Parents? School? Are you still in university?”

“No, I’m in middle school still. And I live with my parents — I’m not an adult yet.”

“You’re what? Were you put in the middle of war as a child?” The tone of her voice, while calm, radiated cold fury, but Ladybug got the idea that it wasn’t directed at her and rather at the person who’d chosen her — so Master Fu.

“Yes…?”

“I would certainly like to have a word with whoever your teacher is. They must have known that a child is not to be put to fight adults’ war, not when the evil you’re up against is far older than you are. You did wonderful considering that, though. Good job, I am proud of you.”

Wonder Woman was, for the lack of a better word, seething. She definitely wasn’t happy with Master Fu, but the reassurance she wasn’t angry with Ladybug (no, instead she was proud of her and said she’d done well!) brought a smile on her face. To be complimented by someone who certainly knew how to fight better than she did was an intoxicating feeling.

“Thank you!”

“Regardless, the offer of training stands. If it is a requirement, I live in the United States and know rather many influential people, so I could come up with something that would allow you to come with me. I understand revealing your identity is something you aren’t comfortable with, and shouldn’t be either, but that is likely necessary. If I know what you’re interested in, I could contact a person who could be responsible for you in your parents’ eyes while you trained with my people. Education would not be a problem either, that can and will be provided to you should you ask for it.”

Ladybug considered it. It was a wonderful opportunity and she didn’t want to miss it for the world. Besides, she had a feeling she could trust this woman. She was actually pretty certain that little voice in her ear telling her it was alright to have faith in her was Tikki.

“Alright, in that case, yes! Will you follow me so I can detransform somewhere safer? And if you could wear something more… civil, that would probably make things easier. My civilian self probably shouldn’t be seen near Wonder Woman,” Ladybug laughed nervously. She hoped it wasn’t too much to ask, but regardless she hurried to add, “it’s okay if you’re in a disguise even then, it’s just that I don’t want others to know my identity. My privacy is violated enough as it is.”

“Of course, Ladybug. Lead the way.”

Ladybug led them to a quiet alley where she could let her transformation fall. It was relieving to feel Tikki slip out of her earrings, and her suspicions about it being Tikki whispering in her ear were confirmed when Tikki didn’t complain about revealing herself to someone and instead flew to Wonder Woman and happily greeted her. “Diana! It’s so great to see you again! How long has it already been, at least two millennia, right?”

Wonder Woman — Diana — smiled and offered her hand for Tikki to land on. She did. “Yes, it has certainly been far too long. Is it alright if I take your Soul to Themyscira? It seems she hasn’t completed her training yet, which is unacceptable for a Ladybug.”

“She never did get any training. We didn’t have time before Papillon appeared. But yes, if she wants that, it’s all good with me. After all, I’d love to see your mother again, and all the others as well, but you know. She was my holder at some point too. Also, how did you know?”

“She what? And do you really think I wouldn’t be able to sense who the Soul you created belonged to? Tikki, you underestimate me. I’m no longer a child — she’s clearly the Soul of Creation,” Diana laughed and flicked Tikki’s head gently. It was rather adorable, if you asked Marinette.

Except.

Wait.

The soul of creation?

“It means you’re the true holder of the Ladybug Miraculous, Marinette,” Tikki said, suddenly floating in front of her. “I created your soul — it seems it decided to be born as you in this time and this place. I didn’t know when you were to be born, just that you would, one day.”

Oh. She’d said that out loud.

Diana changed her appearance as well, and then they were ready to go.

It… It didn’t take too long to convince her parents. It worked even better since Diana found out she loved designing clothes because Diana herself owned a fashion company and knew a few people who she could create a collaboration with to give Marinette a chance to try her hand at creating an actual line. The fact Diana was going to be the one responsible also felt better since that meant she wouldn’t even need to lie to her parents, really. Diana would actually let her do it.

The flight to the States to first get to Diana’s boutique and to have one of her acquaintances in on her plan (Marinette was rather surprised how quick Bruce Wayne and Oliver Queen were to create a collaboration with her but Marinette decided she didn’t want to question it. She felt like there was a story behind both she wouldn’t be too happy to know), and then they left to find the Paradise Island, the new Themyscira. Diana advised her to transform into Ladybug because the Island could exist anywhere and anywhen, so being Ladybug when entering would make it much easier upon finding it.

The Amazons welcomed her warmly and gave her a small bow as well. This time Ladybug had been expecting it as Diana had explained that any Ladybug would be held high in their eyes as their Queen had been Ladybug once upon a time. It didn’t make it any less weird, though. It was wonderful to be welcomed so well, though. It made her happy (and maybe a bit teary-eyed but that was another thing.)

While Diana went off to talk with Queen Hippolyta, Tikki and Antiope who had come back just because she’d heard Ladybug was back, Marinette took it as a chance to get to know Artemis of Bana-Mighdall and Donna Troy, as well as one of the Honorary Amazons: Cassie Sandsmark. It was nice to have (relatively) younger company, and she ended up especially liking Cassie who was the closest to her age. They’d all come just to meet the new Ladybug as well, all having at least heard the stories of Hippolyta as an Amazon.

Artemis had taken another look at Marinette when she offhandedly mentioned school and just stared at her before speaking, slowly, as though she couldn’t comprehend it (Marinette doubted it was that — it was more like she was just as scandalised by it as Diana had been earlier), “Gods damn it, why is the new Ladybug a literal child? Considering you aren’t an Amazon, that is far too young to be actually fighting in a war with the strongest Miraculous there is. Please tell me the Cat was an adult so you had someone supervising you, at least.”

“Nope! Just me and Chat, who is of my age, fighting against Papillon and Mayura, both definitely adults.”

“You did get to at least start proper training before you started fighting, though, right?”

“Again, nope. I got my Miraculous maybe twenty minutes before I had to transform for the first time because Papillon had attacked Paris.”

Artemis had buried her head in her hands and groaned something that sounded like “kids aren’t supposed to be fighting adults’ wars, what the hell.” Marinette just shrugged. Then, just as Cassie was about to take her to a tour around the Island, Hippolyta turned to look at them.

“Are you actually telling me you have no training? And that you were thrown in the middle of war with absolutely no training by your teacher?“ Marinette nodded; Hippolyta sighed. “Alright, we’re most certainly going to give you a proper Amazonian training so you will never again be the inferior one in a fight. Any Ladybug deserves that much, especially one with the Soul of Creation. Cassie, take her to the tour because you already managed to promise it to her, but afterwards, we’ll start your training. Artemis, if you can stay for a while to train her as well, that would be wonderful, but if you have to get back to the Outlaws, go ahead.”

Artemis stayed.

And yes, Marinette got her training, from the Amazons, but also a few superheroes both Artemis and Diana were in contact with, namely the Red Hood and Batman, since neither of the two had superpowers and the Amazons thought it would be good she got some training from people who were only human, like her. Superman was roped into occasional training sessions as well. All of the training sessions with Superman, Red Hood and Batman always happened outside of Themyscira, though.

Needless to say, the next time anyone dared to rise against Paris and especially the new Ladybug, it didn’t take long to end it all and return the world to its natural balance.

______

@freshbark @maribat-march2020 @catsandfanfic @fertileleaf @kris-pines04 @thethirdwheelfriend @daminett4life @abrx2002 @persephonebutkore @eat0crow

[the-irish-mayhem]

It’s been a minute since I’ve done one of these but...

I saw WW84.

Spoiler-free reaction:

Spoiler reaction under the cut.

+ positives, +/- mixed reaction, -negatives

+We’re all in agreement that Barbara and Diana were 1000% on a date, right? They were on a date.

+I bought the HELL out of Pedro Pascal’s descent into madness.

+STEVE’S MAKEOVER MONTAGE TO MATCH DIANA’S

+Steve discovering the modern world with Diana! Peak adorable! I loved the role reversal.

+the soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, soft, SOFT wondertrev

+Max Lord, imo, ended up becoming a huge critique of capitalism. He quite literally went insane with his quest for more, and more, and more, and MORE, and you realize at the end that no matter how much more he got, A) he’s still empty and B) it makes you ask at what point do you stop saying more? The continual quest for more is utter madness.

+the invisible jet! they did it!!! It felt a little more like an earned extension of Diana’s power rather than something shoehorned. The pressure of the moment and Diana saying that she’d only made a coffee cup disappear once made the stakes high so that when she accomplished it, you actually felt relief and excitement.

+THE LYNDA CARTER CAMEO WAS PERFECT.

+I didn’t know how much I needed a bleeding Diana in my life until now. It really highlighted just how good she is that she’s still willing to sacrifice her body and life to save people and do the right thing.

+Gal Gadot was still great. I still wish she was beefier, but it drove home again that they really did cast Diana pretty dang well. Chris Pine, also fabulous! Kristin Wiig, really awesome! I questioned her casting a lot but I enjoyed her portrayal of Barbara. PEDRO PASCAL WAS AMAZING!

+Diana saving Barbara from the creep and literally THROWING HIM ACROSS THE ROAD AND SAYING ‘oh it’s just about using his momentum against him, super easy, I’ll teach you’

+/- the expansion of Diana’s powers. She was already flying in the last movie in her face off with Ares, but in this movie, they treated it as though she was just learning how to do it. Expanding the lasso’s powers seemed dicey because the climax of the movie ended up depending on a magical MacGuffin to make people see ‘the truth.’ It also made the last face off with Barbara and Max a little wonky because you didn’t really have a fully formed idea of what Diana could do. I love an OP!Diana, but I didn’t even know what crazy powers to get excited about.

+/- Identifying Steve Trevor only as a pilot when in the first movie his identity was almost exclusively as a spy. It seems like a little bit of an idealization of him as a person and ignores some of the morally questionable things he definitely did as a spy during the war. I love Pilot Steve and I love emphasizing his piloting skills, but it seemed just a little disingenuous to talk about him as just being a pilot when the truth was a lot more complex.

+/- Speaking of Barbara and Diana absolutely being on a date, they won’t ever confirm a WLW relationship in the Wonder Woman cinematic universe. (There’s no DC cinematic universe. It’s the WWCU as far as I’m concerned.) So as much as I enjoyed their date, it also made me kind of angry because it’s yet another tantalizing morsel of ‘maybe she’s queer but we won’t confirm it ever.’

+/- The Golden Eagle armor. I wish she would’ve donned it sooner, and I wish that finding it had been a bigger plot point that just Steve noticing it in Diana’s office.

+/- The craziness of the movie partnered with Magical MacGuffins and more plot holes than I care to think about made it feel a lot like the chaos that has dogged other modern DC superhero movies. It did have some more coherent focus and character moments compared to, say, the Justice League movie, and a lot of more hopeful and nice moments, but it was still... chaotic. Hence the spoiler-free gif being the whiplash between crazy and nice.

+/- I don’t entirely understand the fate of the villains. Are they getting off scot free? Did Barbara’s powers get taken away after Max renounced his wish?

+/- Alastair gave Max some nice character motivation, but that is the ONLY reason that kid existed. To make Max more human and to look cute.

-yo, what was the point of setting the movie in the 80s and having that POPPIN song in the trailer and proceed to NOT have Diana beat guys up while a sick 80s beat goes off in the background

-that being said, the music in this movie was not nearly as on point as it was in the first WW. I was thirsting for the original Wonder Woman’s Theme but only got some brief, remixed versions of it.

-I felt that Diana didn’t really have much of a defined character arc in this one compared to the last. In the first movie, we see her grow from naive and idealistic, to realizing humankind’s downfalls, to her choosing to still be an optimist and fight for the world in spite of it all. In this one she..... is an optimist still and is willing to fight no matter what? It felt like we didn’t really learn anything new about her.

-The world around Diana was really lackluster compared to the first WW. In the first movie, you had a whole assemblage of side characters who made the world feel very real and expansive. In WW84, the character web is extremely insular and limited. It really made the story feel quite strange, because this was supposedly a worldwide crisis, but we truly only see it affecting a handful of people.

-the number of plot holes was just... crazy.

-As much as it pains me to acknowledge them, DC does still consider the Superman movies, Justice League, etc. all canon at this point... in those, Diana is painted as a ghost, someone who’s very difficult to find/track, and some of the only hard evidence of her existence is the old photo from WWI. Yet in WW84, Diana is literally fighting in the White House with nary a care for who sees her. She’s running through the streets in her full Wonder Woman regalia. She’s storming through a shopping mall where literally anyone can see her. Sure, she takes out the surveillance cameras, but there are hundreds of people in that mall. Not all of them are going to keep that secret. It makes for a bit of a mess considering what she’s supposed to be like in the future movies.

-also.... how does Barbara even find them at the White House?

-Speaking of Barbara.... how does she not die when Diana electrocutes her? That whole last fight between the two of them took some LIBERTIES. I do wonder what the reaction would’ve been if Diana had actually killed her. Would it be a rehash of the Man of Steel debate, or could it have revealed some interesting stuff about Diana compared to Clark? I guess we’ll never know.

-The last showdown with all the villains was kinda just pure chaos. I barely followed what was going down, and Diana’s speech was lovely, but pretty corny. The resolution was also just a little too tidy if you ask me.

-I do wish they’d addressed some of the really creepy implications of Steve stepping into another guy’s body and life, but they never do. They could’ve very easily used Magical MacGuffin #1 to bring him back in a much less weird fashion, but instead, they CHOSE to have Steve ride around in another guy’s skin for the duration of the movie without addressing it AT ALL.

-THERE SHOULD’VE BEEN MORE SICK 80S BEATS DURING THE FIGHT SCENES I’M STILL SALTY OK

-SICK 80S BEATS THAT EVENTUALLY MELTED INTO THE OG WONDER WOMAN THEME IN THE LAST FIGHT. That is all.

[chambergambit]

ww84 thoughts

in no particular order, under a cut bc spoilers.

dispite being a wonder woman movie, diana felt side-lined. it seemed like the central conflict was maxwell lord’s, not diana’s. yes, she has a wish that she needs to renounce to save the day, but it’s not the emotional core of the story. the emotional core is max and his son.

steve possessing some random guy was weird, as was all the face change stuff. why couldn’t he have just... appeared? in his own body and clothes? it’s magic, right? why does it matter?

i felt like the armor should have been more central to the story. i would have liked to see diana discovering it.

so... diana loses the watch at some point, right? because in the first one batman sends it to her? or does he just send the picture idk i don’t remember.

diana figuring out how to fly was a very pretty scene.

would’ve liked to see more of steve reacting to the 80s. tvs, computers, etc. all the times he did react to stuff was cute.

so does everyone like... remember this global incident afterwards? are people ever like “remember that time in the 80s when this dude took over all the tvs and granted wishes but then we were on the brink of total nuclear annihilation so we had to renounce our wishes and then everything was fine?”

was there a 12 year old bruce wayne wishing for his parents to come back to life who then had to renounce his wish?

did diana actually go to college or does she just get by on her amazon knowledge?

loved the picture of diana with old lady etta. i hope she lived a long and happy life.

loved the scene of steve trying out 80′s fashion, and diana introducing him to the future. it was kinda a reverse of the first movie with steve introducing diana to the world of men.

are people ever like “ooh i like ya accent where you from” and diana has to be like “uh, far, far away” or do people assume she’s isreali bc that’s the accent gal gadot speaks with? actually, idk if the average american can pick out an iseali accent so idk.

was the president supposed to be regan? in the credits he’s just called “potus”.

i think setting superhero movies in the past is a good idea in general. you can choose an asthetic without your movie eventually becoming dated.

i have mixed feelings about kristen wiig’s performance. idk, maybe deep down i expected her to be funny? like when you get an snl alum you kinda expect funny.

her showing up to the white house in a studded leather jacket and thigh-hi books was kinda hilarious actually.

I ALMOST FORGOT ABOUT LYNDA CARTER OMG THAT WAS GREAT

the opening sequence gave me the impression that diana “proving herself” was gonna be a bigger theme. i guess it ties in with wanting something really bad but you can’t have it? like lil diana wanted to win the race and older diana wanted to keep steve... but you have to EARN wins, you don’t really earn a boyfriend.

it just occurred to me that max’s storyline is a lot like jafar wishing to be a genie.

what happened to the invisible jet? i assume they used it to fly back from eqypt but like... what did they do with it? did they put it back? did diana lift the spell? or did they just... leave it somewhere and hope for the best?

steve’s “WELL SHIT DIANA!” was great.

they should’ve made the guy steve possessed another famous white dude named chris.

[thecrownnet]

Season four began filming immediately after three wrapped. The ever-aggressive paparazzi snapped many scenes of Princess Diana (Emma Corrin) and former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher (Gillian Anderson) filming the penultimate installment, which just narrowly completed production before the Covid-19 shutdowns in the U.K. But the rush to finish didn't affect the costume department.

"With all those custom-made pieces, you have to be ahead of the game," explains Roberts. Her couture house-like department regularly operated on a three-week to one-month-ahead schedule, especially for the "ceremonial" pieces for principles.

"In fact, the last day, it was a huge scene with Diana and that was it," she continues. "We went out on a bang, you know. A massive scene with her in New York, and that was it. No more filming."

[Spoilers Ahead]

Season four extends to 1989, when Princess Diana embarked on a solo trip to New York City — actually shot in Manchester, England — prior to her 1992 separation from Charles. Playing the People's Princess, Corrin was photographed wearing a stunning re-creation of a gold-embroidered, pearl-embellished Victor Edelstein gown and bolero jacket that Diana wore to attend a Welsh National Opera Gala production of "Falstaff" at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music.

As "The Crown" stans anxiously await the announcement of a season four premiere date from Netflix, Roberts revisits some of the costume and behind-the-scenes highlights from three with Fashionista, including Colman's reaction to donning Queen Elizabeth II's intimidating investiture helmet, Princess Margaret's historically inaccurate White House visit dress and Prince Charles's and Camilla's imagined meet-cute outfits. And, yes, the costume designer drops more teasers for the upcoming season, including Princess Diana's "fantastic journey."

Your re-creations for Queen Elizabeth II were so accurate, like the fur-trimmed coat she wore to Aberfan (episode three) and her investiture suit — especially the hat. What was the most challenging costume to recreate and why?

The investiture costume with that extraordinary hat. In "The Crown," you have key moments with actual events that we know about. [The images are] very much out there on film and photographs and you are acknowledging those looks. I hate to say we're "copying" them. I think we're making a nod to them with hopefully a bit of us in there.

But that was quite a challenge because everybody knew that extraordinary medieval hat that the Queen wore. [We made ours out of] a very fine satin georgette and getting that color, that pale clotted cream color, [was a challenge]. For Olivia, that was quite a challenge to wear as well. She's a remarkable actress to work with, as you can imagine. She just lets you do your job. But even she looked slightly askance when that hat came out. But being Olivia, she went with it.

Which costume for Queen Elizabeth II allowed you the most creative freedom, because it wasn't a re-creation?

I'm really fond of when I imagine dealing with the real woman. There's a series of outfits [in episode five], when she is very involved with sorting out her riding stables and her horses aren't doing very well. And she leaves her [royal] role in the care of her mother and goes off [to Normandy, France and then Kentucky] with Lord Porchey [John Hollingworth].

I loved doing her like that. In macs [trench coats] and blouses and skirts and headscarves. The scarves are such a cool look. People can really relate to that now with that slightly Prada and Miu Miu-style shirts, blouses and colors that we went for.  When she dines, for once, she's not done up in a long dress. She's in rather attractive — well, I think they were nice — floral silk dresses.

I loved being able to see or pretend or imagine that side of her; that kind of upper-middle-class country woman doing things that she loved. [Spending time with] her horses — not that there are many dogs in that episode — which I think she probably feels most at ease with. Olivia looked fantastic in those clothes. She's like glowing in a way.

Everybody assumes [my favorites are] all the big ball dresses, which are lovely to do. But I like doing that more real element of people. This other side. 'The Crown' gives you that fantastic opportunity — the big, glamour, out there moments — and there's a lot of very intimate personal stuff, where you don't know what they would wear or what they would say, but you can have let your imagination go with that one and that's lovely to do.

In episode two, Princess Margaret goes to the White House to see President and Ladybird Johnson, to help secure U.S. aid. You designed a floral, off-the-shoulder, arm-baring dress, which made sense for her to trade dirty limericks with POTUS. But in real life, Princess Margaret wore a pink, long-sleeved jacket over her gown. What was the inspiration behind changing the design, and what are the print and silhouette telling us about her?

I just wanted to be a bit bolder and more startling. I just remember when we saw that fabric in one of the shops, I thought, 'That's it. That's it! Let's use that for that [part].' Sometimes things jump out at you, don't they? Also, it's a portrayal of Margaret by an extraordinary woman, Helena Bonham Carter. So somehow you're also taking that on board. With Helena, you could push it a little bit further and she would just be bold and brave with it herself.

Princess Anne is considered a fashion icon and as young woman in the late '60s and '70s, she was able to push the fashion envelope and do things like wear jeans and mini-skirts. How did you use her costume to show her as the more independent one in the family?

I don't think she represented the wild '60s. But the mini-skirts — the short skirts — that she wore, represented the '60s in a kind of posh-girl way. The first image that we had of her [to work off of] was written in the script as Anne in jodhpurs. That blew it all apart, didn't it? Here's this girl, strutting through the palace in riding breeches and boots — I think that's how it was written — that was my big guide into how we would deal with her.

There's a little shot of her [in episode six], when she visits her brother, when he's performing the play and she's in the audience. She's got '60s baker boy cap on, but there's nothing extreme about her. It's sort of sensible. It's getting that balance of that youthful brashness, but still she's a princess.

I did enjoy the scene where a buttoned-up Prince Charles calls her from Wales because he's homesick. She's in her room at the palace — and it's all messy — and she's wearing high-waisted flare jeans and a Hawaiian-print, long-sleeved T-shirt.

[That] was a scene where you could do that. She's on her own and I quite like that because it was contrasted against Charles, who never gets to be relaxed. He's at university. He's still wearing those little old man clothes, like tweed jackets and sweaters. I mean he looks adorable, because the actor's quite adorable, isn't he? [Ed. note: Yes.] He never somehow lets his hair down. So it was quite fun that she was dressed like that and he was in corduroy trousers or slacks — they were called slacks then — and a jumper.

It was really quite funny, the director of that particular episode, Christian Schwochow, is quite young himself and also German. So his view on the Royal Family was quite refreshing and we wanted to blow it out of the water as much as we could.

What inspiration and process did you go through to design and create the costumes for imagined scenes between Charles and Camilla?

There's very little reference [imagery] on her in that early time. With Camilla, it's a sexy posh girl with, dare I say, not a huge amount of style. Why should she? Why should she have that? So it's just that Sloane Ranger girl. We were just trying to tune into that and her country pursuits. So after she marries [Andrew Parker Bowles, played by Andrew Buchan] in series four, suddenly she looks a whole lot more herself, really. She's living the life she wants to in the country, [as part of the] the country set. It was a little point to what she'd become, probably. She's fun, relaxed and not particularly into clothes.

In series three, you know that you'll see a lot of these people again in series four. So you're kind of giving little pointers to what they'll become when they're a bit older and more settled. And people have a style. You change, of course, but you are what you are. You just get a little more sophisticated or get a little more confident.

Speaking of, images of Emma Corrin as Princess Diana in famously-photographed outfits (or variations of them) have been caught by paparazzi. How does Diana's place as an international fashion icon influence how you designed her portrayal in season four?

Well, she was brilliant to do because she has a real journey in four. Most of them do, but she, in particular, has a fantastic journey — a real arc — again, like Camilla. We kick off with a nice little Sloane Ranger, wearing bobbly old jumpers, and you end up with a dramatic change. A complete manipulation of her look. Like, she puts on suits of armor to protect herself. So that's all we'll say about that.

What hints can you share about the other members of the Royal Family in season four?

The Queen grows in being steadier in her role and her marriage. I'm always saying this, but whatever issues she has — or had — in the marriage, [she and Philip, played by Tobias Menzies] found a way of dealing with that, like a lot of marriages. It's just everybody maturing.

And Margaret — that very tempestuous relationship she has with Tony at the beginning, it's just getting more and more toxic. Of course, in four, her life is really a real mess and we just illustrate that with her clothes. But the colors are much more dour and bruised and her flamboyance from three is slightly toned down now. Charles actually matures into a married man, quite stylish, but, again, an unhappy marriage. And good old Queen Mum stays the same. Lovely Queen Mum. I love her.

This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.

[morethanaloveinterest]

An Awed Review of Diana Prince’s Costumes in WW 2017

As always, I am not an expert on costumes, but I am very excited to talk about these ones!  Discussion under the cut

(More costume analyses here)

This is the costume she wears in the modern day framing device, while she’s working at the Louvre.  Like her costumes in BvS, it is absolutely gorgeous and fashionable, while being a bit otherworldly.  Her colors are red and blue, and it is great that she wears an outfit in both colors in this movie.  Though it lacks some of the fun metal accents of her other modern-day costumes in BvS and JL, it still evokes an ethereal nature.

Female representation: 10/10 Beautiful, extremely feminine, but not particularly form-fitting or sexualized.

Practicality: 9/10 It looks warm and comfortable.  The heels are a bit much (especially for an already-towering Amazon), but overall I think about this when clothes shopping all the time.

Young Diana on Themyscira.  It matches the colors of the other Amazons’ armor, though is clearly cloth rather than leather.  She already has her gauntlets, which is a cool thing to establish so early.  Her belt is quite detailed, indicating her place as daughter of the queen, though otherwise it is very simple.  Most of Diana’s early costumes have this level of simplicity, so that her character arc visually involves incorporating more color into her costumes.  Her hair also gets to show this arc, as we only see it put up in some way (including in the framing scene) until her Big Moment in No Man’s Land.

Female representation: 10/10 A great costume for a child.  It evokes the older Amazons and their costumes while being a childlike version of their armor.  Obviously not sexualized or objectified in any way, and introducing Diana as a child goes a long way to keep her from being objectified in the audience’s minds.

Practicality: 10/10 Presumably, it is hot on the island, so it is a perfect costume for a child to wear in that kind of environment.  She can move easily and we see how well it allows her to mimic the Amazons as they fight.

This is an older version of her, though still young.  As with before, Diana wears a full skirt with several layers rather than the overlapping bands of leather that make up the skirts of most of the Amazons (and that she will wear later).  That could be a marker of her non-combatant status or of her royal status.  She wears her gauntlets again, though obviously larger now (I’m intrigued that the queen allowed new ones to be made for her regularly).  The dress itself is fairly simple-looking - just layers of cloth.  But the leather addition on top makes it much more visually interesting, as well as preparing Diana to wear the leathered armor of the Amazons.  Hair is still up, though in a more complicated arrangement, similar to Antiope and many of the other Amazons.

Female representation: 10/10 Again, she is a child, so it fortunately is not objectifying or sexualizing!  Her skirt is longer than it was when she is younger, which is nice (many movies have teenage girls wearing skimpier clothing than they did as children to indicate they’ve grown up, so it’s refreshing to have the opposite happening here). 

Practicality: 9/10 The placement of the leather looks a bit uncomfortable to me.  It also sort of highlights her most vulnerable spots by going around her chest instead of over it (not in a sexualized way, but in a way I find perplexing).  Otherwise, it is a very practical costume, both modest and easy to move in.

Young Diana as an adult.  Now her costume is in much the same fashion as the other Amazons, though the color is more golden than many of them (again pointing her out as both a princess and obviously as the protagonist).  Other than the color, there isn’t much to set Diana apart from her peers, which she would probably prefer as a change from her childhood (as the most quintessential only child ever).  She now wears a breastplate and her skirt resembles the overlapping bands of both the other Amazons and her later costume.  Her hair continues to be up in a complicated way, like her peers.

Female representation: 8/10 Personally, I’m a little hesitant about how much skin this shows.  Obviously, Wonder Woman has a canonical costume she will wear later and this definitely hints at what that will look like.  Still, she is a wide-eyed innocent at this point in the film and, while the framing does nothing to objectify her, it does show more skin than the other Amazons.  The others all have skirts that, if not longer, have longer portions, and many have more embellishments or armor over their necks and shoulders.  Her sandals are also considerably less protective than the greaves everyone else is wearing.  So it is unclear if she is supposed to be represented as still childlike (hence the limited amount of actual armor) or more adult (hence the more skin showing).  Regardless, it is far better than the flowy white robes one might expect of Greek/Roman goddesses, and vastly superior to the leather bra/mini-skirt combo that women in this sort of setting tend to be reduced to wearing.  It may be form-fitted to her chest, but it is mostly practical instead of emphasizing the features.

Practicality: 8/10 As mentioned above, this does seem to be one of the least practical things anyone is wearing on Themyscira.  The armor of the other Amazons is more protective and covers more.  And Diana’s previous costumes covered more and might be more protective.  Now, of course, we know that Diana is a goddess and doesn’t actually need much in the way of protection.  But that is not established until later, so this outfit does sort of stick out from her other costumes and from the Amazons’ armor.  On a positive note to explain why it still gets an 8, it is a wonderful representation of female armor that doesn’t emphasize T&A, and it strongly resembles what Roman soldiers wore.  So it is both a historically relevant and practical interpretation of what she would would have worn.

This photo is from a little later in the film, as we are going sequentially, but this is the cloak Diana wears over her Wonder Woman costume throughout.  She wears it leaving Themyscira and at several times.  Going from a Mediterranean island to Europe involves a considerable change in climate, and this is a practical way to make the reveal of her in the Wonder Woman armor be more impactful for the audience.  She would likely be cold and want to hide something as flashy as that armor, so there are in-inverse explanations to why the first time we see her in her full WW glory is on the battle field.  Notably, before this picture, Diana’s hair is still up in some way until the Big Reveal.

Female representation: 10/10 It would be difficult to sexualize a cloak, of course, and it is certainly not sexualized here.  It remains closed and is not form-fitting for most of the beginning in London, and it hanging open later is not treated salaciously.  

Practicality: 9/10 Very practical.  It is warm and serves as a good way to disguise her more sensational outfit underneath.  It avoids notice in a much more drab environment than on Themyscira.  Overall, very positive, with only the slight negative of being difficult to fight in - that is why she removes it to go on No Man’s Land.

Diana’s disguise in London.  It perfectly matches the other clothing we see people wearing, and is in fact a bit more drab than what Etta Candy is wearing.  As we see in the montage of trying on clothes, Diana can move fairly easily in this, while not attracting attention.  Her greaves and gauntlets are at least covered (or perhaps removed).  This is a step back in terms of her costumes, going away from her famous costume rather than toward it, which is matched by the circumstances of the plot.  She is distracted from her mission by coming here at all instead of going directly to the front, and her costume effectively hides who she is.

Female representation: 10/10 Outfits with buttons down the front usually are presented quite differently on female characters.  But Diana’s coat is just that - it covers her up and keeps her warm.  There are no daringly open top buttons and she is even wearing a more modest shirt beneath it.  The high-waisted belt does not emphasize her chest, but just gives her a lovely silhouette.  It’s a great outfit.

Practicality: 10/10 Again, we get a wonderful montage of Diana testing out costumes and their practicality.  Obviously she chose this one, so how could I argue and not give in a 10/10?

Here it is, in all its glory!  The moment you’ve all been waiting for, when every lady in the theater burst into tears!  (oh, just me?)  Anyway, this is The Wonder Woman Costume, and just look at it!  The inspiration from the other Amazon armor is obvious here, though more stylized and brightly colored.  It is a perfect progression from her child costumes to get to this point of adulthood.  The skirt is now just like Antiope’s - short but with longer panels and obviously layered leather like Roman centurions wore.  The breastplate is more elaborate than her previous one, more like the other Amazon’s but in a brighter color.  The greaves are just like the other Amazon’s.  She is still wearing the gauntlets she has been wearing all along, and now she also has gifts from her mother.  The headpiece is hardly a tiara but matches what Queen Hippolyta was wearing as queen of the Amazons.  In short, she is finally dressed just like a warrior of her people, with added color to emphasize her true nature.  Her hair is finally down and flowing, signalling this is her Coming of Age moment.

Female representation: 10/10 This rating is based more as a comparison to what we’ve seen for Wonder Woman in the past.  I would point toward Captain Marvel as a way to create a costume similar to the sexy comics version while showing no skin, though this is still a fantastic representation of the character.  The girdle is not a bustier but rather obviously armor.  The mini-skirt is likewise Roman armor.  Her boots are not thigh-highs but actually (again) armor.  Though she is obviously quite exposed, we have in-universe and practical explanations for why it is a bit skimpy.  It is faithful to the source material while being hugely practical and doing a major bit of character development.  It’s perfect.

Practicality: 9/10 It is perfect.  The armor that inspired it is obvious and she uses the shield, her greaves, and her gauntlets to protect herself skillfully.  It’s easy to move in and allows her to draw all the fire during this scene.  Throughout this part, her fight in Veld, and the later fight with Ares, she is able to do whatever she wants to do and is never hindered by it.  The only potential negatives are it leaving much of her neck, shoulders, and back exposed, and the long flowing hair getting in the way (but obviously there are important character-development reasons for this hairstyle, so it’s fine).

The blue dress she wears to infiltrate the castle where she believes Ares is.  First, the color is gorgeous and I especially like how she wore a completely red outfit at the beginning and a completely blue one here.  Those are the two colors of her costume, so I appreciate repurposing them for her civilian clothes.  The style of the dress is not completely out of place in the setting (she acquired it from another guest, after all), but it definitely catches the eye and the profile evokes a Greco-Roman style. 

Female representation: 10/10 Very beautiful and feminine, again without being sexualized or objectifying.

Practicality: 9/10 It’s a fairly standard party dress, so not ideal for moving around easily.  Still, it gets her into the party undetected and effectively hides her armor, so it is perfect for the context.  And it gets extra point for allowing her to hide her sword in the back!

If you haven’t read this article on Wonder Woman’s costumes being based on armor, I would strongly recommend it!

Hear me talk about female characters here (Wonder Woman episode out now!)

[scanned-goods]

With the new Wonder Woman trailer out, I've gotten to thinking about armor.

First, I always think it's a bit... toyetic when a superhero has an extra-special super costume for dealing with big huge emergencies. The Hulkbuster, the Iron Spider suit, now the Eagle Armor. Yeah, sometimes it's justified, but you really have to wonder why Wonder Woman, who has Superman level strength, would need to wear armor? I mean, I know she's slightly less strong than Superman, but her bad guys also suck slightly harder than Superman's rogues, so...

In fact, as I recall, Superman wearing armor is generally derided as being... Superman wearing armor. Even though him wearing Kryptonite-proof armor would cut his problems in half. Yeah, radiation would still get in through his head and hands, but like 95% less than when it's just going through spandex. Oh well, maybe it's too hard for him to wear lead armor under his street clothes. (If you were wondering whether the Nu52 suit blocked Kryptonite radiation--no, of course not, why do you ask?)

Tl;dr he's wearing armor! Now he's even more invincible!

Whatever. Oddly, the same doesn't seem to apply to Diana. People seem to like the Eagle Armor, even if to me it seems like a bit much.

But no one comes to a comics blog for fashion tips. I'm wearing jean shorts right now; what do I know?

Back in the day, I think the fondness for the eagle armor went hand in hand with a distaste for the iconic Wonder Woman 'bathing suit,' which admittedly does look cooler with a Greco-Roman skirt added to it as in the movies.

Though with the thigh-high boots and tiny miniskirt, there's a real zettai ryouiki element to the costume now. Silly movie, that's even more fetishistic! And, oddly enough, now Wonder Woman's female fanbase is fine with her running around in a costume that's as sexualized as ever. Her eagle armor even seems to have boobcups, which as with a lot of things these days, seems to swing between being horrendously offensive or something no one cares about.

And to swing back to Superman, it's weird how the armor issue is partly that Superman is supposed to be nice, but Wonder Woman's the one who's supposed to be preaching love and tolerance. And yet she's the one who constantly grabs a sword and gets into a head-chopping mood when things go south.

(Which, in a separate issue, I would blame on writers replacing Philipus with Artemis and generally not using her--she was cast with a pro athlete who had no lines in the movie--and then using Diana herself as "a violent if not bloodthirsty member of the Wonder family." It's like if Batman started being characterized as Jason Todd. Which he... kinda was in Batman V. Superman... Anyway, DC should use Artemis more. Wondy isn't like Batman with his five thousand sidekicks. She only has three or so. No excuse not to know them.)

[darkspellmaster]

Costume designs and the role of the Skirt in the Modern Female Hero.

With recent discussions over costumes in regard to not only She-ra but in the past few years in regard to Wonder Woman and several other prominent female heroes, I wanted to step back and take a look at why a skirt, in a lot of cases, is actually a better option for a fight then say a very tight leather outfit. 

I had this discussion with my male friend who had just started to read Wonder Woman with the New 52 and he asked why it was that people were upset over the redesign with the pants. My answer at the time was, they look like jeans, you can’t really fight well in jeans designed like that. They will rip and tear, and she is a warrior and shouldn’t have to be restricted by what’s on her legs for moving. A skirt or shorts would work better for her. 

He at the time replied that she should wear pants. We went back and forth for a while until I brought up the fact that having a lady wear a skirt isn’t meaning she’s a weaker fighter, skirts are actually less restrictive for movement and one of the reasons why the Romans and the Greeks wore them into battle, along with the Scots who wore kilts. The idea of the skirt as a  worn by a warrior predates a lot of modern conceptions as women and men wore the style when fighting. Lets we forget that part of the idea of armor during the time of the knights was because of the newer weapons that had supplanted the bronze age swords of the period with harder steel weapons, so they needed more to protect them than the light armor and leather that they were wearing. 

However this idea of the skirt still stuck around regarding fashion for women, because, well, people like legs (although for a long period showing any legs off was a bad idea). Women, and men, in the entertainment world tended at the time to stick to shorts and it was shown in how Strong men were used for the Superhero look (see DC and Marvel with the outside underwear) while ladies like Wonder Woman were given more of a swimsuit/athletic look. Now the change to this started around the time of the whole issue with the Comic book Panic that came about because of the book Seduction of the innocent came out and freaked people out about various things in comics. Women at this time were wearing skirts, though they were limited. 

This changed by the 1950s to Female heroes wearing skirts to show their feminine side. The idea had always been there that women could wear make up and look “dolled up” in comics way back in the days of Wonder Woman, because she wore make up all the damn time in the stories. Also a number of the female heroes were Girls, and seen as well teens and children. The reason being that girls in the period wore skirts. It was pretty much ordered by the schools that girls had to wear skirts at the time. It was the 50s. Into the 1960s things changed and you saw skirts replaced with pants, shorts and in some cases the start of the bathing suit look. The trend continued into the 1970s, and some what in the 1980s where the suits changed some, but were mostly one piece swim wear for the most part for costumes of some characters. It really wasn’t until the 1990s that you saw this “Overly sexy” look come about and I can point to the shift being by the late 1980s you had a lot of cheese cake showing up in movies, so to drive sales of comics (which the industry screwed up on it’s own) a lot of artist started to turn to making women look more desirable and wearing less. You can kind of thank Image Comics for a lot of that as well. 

So why talk about any of that? Well to give an idea of where the skirts came from. Most heroes that wear skirts were invented in the 1950s and the look was popular among the female population. So of course you would have the characters in books wearing skirts. This never though replaced the fact that they were strong and independent characters that had their own villains to fight and later on allowed for newer female characters to come in and stand out as leads. 

By the way for those that think that a strong character can’t wear a skirt and still kick butt, well here are a few characters that do wear skirts and are seen as iconic, independent and strong females that have inspired both men and women in all walks of life. 

Starting with Super Girl. 

Kara Kent, or Kara Zor-el is as strong as her cousin Clark and can pretty much take on anyone he can. She has the same set of powers that he does, and one version of her later became Power Girl who, depending on the writer, can in some cases lift twice as much as he can. She also almost single handed beat the Anti-moniter. 

Marvel Girl -aka Jean Gray

Early costumes for Jean was this green piece after graduation. Her reason for it came down to her wanting to look different than the other members of her team and fashionable as well. She is, bar Xavier, arguably the strongest mutant on the planet with her mental capabilities, and has been shown to have so much power that the Phoenix force stayed with her for many many years after the first Saga finished. 

Mary Marvel

Mary is the sister of Billy Baston, aka Captain Marvel aka Shazam. Like her brother when she calls down on the power of Shazam she can become Mary Marvel, who is just as strong and powerful as her brother, and blessed by the gods. This girl can do what her brother can, and, on top of all of that, has proven to be able to go toe to toe with Super Girl and Power Girl in recent years. She is a force to be reckoned with. (And Ignore the Black Mary Marvel stuff that Johns wrote for Countdown it made no sense.) 

Flamebird aka Bette Kane

The niece of Kate Kane, Elizabeth “Bette” Kane started her career as a wanna be side kick and a fan of Robin. She grew to be as good a fighter as her aunt, and pre -52, she ended up becoming a teacher who was a strong detective in her own right. Her Aunt has taught her various forms of martial arts and the two train together as Bette intended to become a person that could protect others the way that she saw Robin (Dick Grayson) protect people during his tenure. 

Bomshell version of Batwoman

Basically Kate Kane as a baseball player and wears the outfit that her team wears when she fights. It’s pretty much all the awesomeness of Kate Kane but just wearing a female baseball uniform worn in the 1940s. 

Ms. Marvel aka Kamala Khan

While technically considered a tunic, the top part of Ms. Marvel’s outfit is considered a dress and can be worn as such. Kamala added the tights and other aspects because of her preference for dressing. However, yes that is a dress she has on. Also let’s not forget how powerful she is and how cool she can be even when geeking out. See her meeting with Wolverine for the first time. 

The Sailor Senshi

When Naoko Takeuchi first created this group of girls she had one thing on her mind. Sentai. You know, Power Rangers. But she wanted to use fashion as it is one of her passions. So she created these strong girls who grow as the series goes on, but every one of them wears an outfit that is recognizable to the female population in Japan, that of the school girl uniform. Yes the skirts are short, but that allows for their movement and is part of the Sentai look of uniformity with color co-ordination. Also did I mention that Sailor Moon literally saved Earth and everyone from a darkness by the power of her love for it, and killed parts of Chaos, an entity that has existed since the dawn of time. Yeah, girls in school skirts can crush monsters. 

Jun from Gachaman

Jun, or princess if you go by BoTP, is one of the strongest fighters of the Gachaman team. Her skills as a master of  Kagaku Ninpo allow her to use her aglity to create powerful kicks and hits on her enemies. She also uses a Yo-yo as a whip and flail and it’s electric. 

Wonder Woman aka Princess Diana, Diana Prince

Do I even need to talk about her? I think not. 

Xena Warrior Princess

Played by Lucy Lawless until the early 2000s, Xena was a huge character, powerful and full of compassion. After being a battle hardened character who at one point was an enemy of Hercules, she later went on to spin off on her own show and became not only a mother, but also was seen as a gay icon for many women and men. 

The Female lead in Assassin’s Creed Odyssey. 

A Spartan by birth, our canonical lead here, as said by the development team and the books, sports the same fashion as her non cannon male counter part. 

Both run around in a skirt and are warriors trained by birth to do battle with the forces that are causing issues for their people. 

Chun li Street fighter

One of the oldest Video game heroines. Chun Li is an interpol agent and has many awards under her belt. A known master of various martial arts, she also is a sharp shooter. Her outfit is that of a Chinese  qipao, a type of dress made popular in the 1920s, which she wears in honor of her late mother, and which she modified for movement. 

So with that in mind I would like to Add She-Ra to this list of Bad -ass females that wear skirts when fighting. 

She-Ra aka Princess Adora

With a strong sense of morality, the same strength as her brother when he’s in He-man form, and the skills with a sword and a gun, (and a strong jaw line to boot) She-Ra fights in a war that has nothing to do with her directly and left home to help her friends in the Rebellion. Her transformation is much like that of Mary Marvel, in that she calls down the power from Gray Skull and becomes a more powerful version of herself capable of fighting off Hordak and his evil Horde. 

So, with that in mind. Anyone else know of any bad-ass female characters that wear skirts?  

[shadowdianne]

This is based on @italymystery-swanqueen amazing manips that you can find here! Is there a name for this ship already?xd

Raising the flashlight as far as her arm let her, Lara frowned at the various drawings and inscriptions that looked back at her from the parapet that still remained more or less intact in the middle of the square-shaped room. The poor lighting didn’t aid on the translation of what she hoped were clues to reach the center of the temple. She, however, could feel the excitement beginning to rise on the bottom of her stomach, the same drunk-almost feeling of being seconds away of discovering a new clue.

Taking a step towards the wall, she licked her parched lips as she put down the backpack she -amazingly- still had with her; the heavy thud it made against the floor echoing through the humid room. Heat was definetely going to be a problem on the long run if temperatures remained as stubbornly high as they were already since, despite quite the stone work that isolated the temple from outside, the thick laziness-inducing warmth kept on mounting.

“What do you think?” She said, squatting and fishing her water bottle from her backpack. Taking a swig of it she motioned towards the drawings, the light the torch provided dancing around as she moved her hand, broken pillars and ashlars resting at the bottom of the wall, possibly keeping most of it together. “Maybe there is something there that we can use to…”

Stopping as she realized her companion had been eerily quiet ever since the two of them had climbed what could only be described as a forgotten sewer system full of slippery rocks and bat’s guano, she turned around, light following suit.

“Diana?” She called, careful not to scream into the crumbling building.

A few meters at her back, the Amazonian was also staring at the encrypted wall, hands on her hips and an expression Lara already knew meant the taller woman had discovered something.

Bracelets glimmering under the light, Diana pointed at what Lara’s compass dubbed as east, the gaping space on a side of it hinting a corridor or at least an entrance to another room.

“We should go this way.” Her words didn’t hold any doubt and, as she purposely began to walk towards it, Lara whipped her head back towards the parapet, trying to elucidate how the other woman had reached to that conclusion.

“How do you know that?” She winced inwardly, not wanting to seem petty or doubtful. Diana Prince was, after all, renown from her knowledge on any kind of ancient civilization. The fact that she was something more, something she still had problems to fully wrap her head around, didn’t dispel that fact.

And yet, she wanted to ask. Ask in the same fashion she had done a month ago when the Amazonian had appeared on her front door asking for help while taking her breath away. Kneeling once again, she put the water bottle back on her backpack, swinging it onto her back.

Ignorant of her musings, the taller woman replied with her soft-spoken voice, a hint of accent slipping through. Something Lara had learnt only happened occasionally, when the façade Diana had spent years cultivating fell off slightly, the Amazonian not bothering to keep with the actual pretense of being a common mortal.

“It says the center of the temple rises on the east side of the building. See? Just there.”

Which was something that, as soon as Diana said it, became clear for the younger woman. Turning back to her, Lara rolled her eyes good-naturedly even if a speck of her ego felt bruised at herself for not having been able to understand the inscriptions quicker. Which was something the Amazonian clearly saw if the amused look she received from her was something to go by.

“Come on,” She said with a hint of that competitiveness she knew was well known for. “Not everyone is an Amazonian with years under her belt on studying ancient civilizations. I would have been able to translate in two more minutes if you had let me.”

Despite her words, and the fact that she was slightly ashamed, she smiled as Diana smirked, raising a brow at the words while not entirely letting go of what Lara had begun to call “the super hero pose” only to pester the taller woman.

“I think you are bluffing.” The reply came swiftly and in the same tone, eliciting a small huff from Lara that didn’t quite escape her lips before she replied, taking a step towards the Amazonian and flashing a shit-eating grin at her.

“Wouldn’t you wish to know.”

Which, in hindsight wasn’t entirely the most intelligent line if one tried to keep the crush she had for the older woman at bay, but Lara didn’t feel like caring at this point. Especially when she heard the quiet mutter that Diana let go as an answer.

“I could use my lasso for that.”

Changing her body’s weight from one leg to the other, Lara crossed her arms in front of her chest, the flashlight pressing against her side in an almost uncomfortable way.

“Sorry? Didn’t catch that.”

Diana turned and smiled at Lara, shaking her head in a quick motion before pointing to the small corridor at their right. The light from the flashlight wasn’t strong enough for the darkness inside to be dispelled but that didn’t seem to faze the taller woman as she walked towards it with a couple of strides, armor glimmering red and gold as Lara directed the torch at her.

“Nothing.” The Amazonian said, voice as light as her feet as she kept on walking, her boots barely making any sound on the debris-covered floor. “Shall we continue, Lady Croft?”

Lara, who had momentarily stopped herself at the shining sparks on the other woman’s armor, blinked twice before nodding, muttering a quick “yes” that Diana answered with a hum as she leant on the northern wall of the corridor, one arm outstretched towards her.

“After you then.”

Truthfully, the Croft heir wasn’t entirely sure that she wasn’t being mocked. The posture of the other woman certainly seemed to state that; Diana’s legs were slightly bent, muscles bulging just slightly on the way she changed her bodyweight as she kept her arm extended, as if waiting for Lara to grasp it. The Amazonian eyes, however, were gentle and devoid of any sort of mirth.

Flustered, she took a last glance to the crumbling and shook her head minutely, walking past Diana the second she turned away from the decorated wall. Not dismissing the offered hand but not taking it either, she felt fingers touching her arm before the warrior let the hand fall to her side.

The Amazonian was going to be the death of her, she surmised as she glanced at her back, the light her body didn’t quite block bouncing slightly on the walls and giving her a partial vision of Diana’s body as the woman came closer, the smell she was starting to associate with the woman circling her as she was surpassed by her, the same quiet smile flashing momentarily on her lips.

Yup, definetely the death of her.

[crashershq-blog]

        after carefully reading through all the applications we’ve received, final decisions were made. below the cut you will find those accepted, their muse descriptions, & a cute lil’ note from me because i couldn’t help myself. thank you all so much for applying. i’m so sorry i had to turn some of you away, but i only had eleven spots to give. i promise every application we received was amazing, it mainly boiled down to accepting a group of muses with diverse personalities / reasons for crashing. if your name is under the cut, congratulations ! i can’t wait to start writing with you ! you can find our checklist here with further instructions ! thank you all so much for taking the time to submit an app, it truly means a lot to me because all my hard work would have meant nothing without your interest ! xx

congratulations abby ! you’ve been accepted as the aesthete !

did jessica vu just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just eden lo, the 21 year old aesthete of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are optimistic, but also clumsy. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her cosmetology degree. victoria secret bras, pink body sprays, small minimalist tattoos, christmas lights up always, countless blankets, oversized sweaters, white crocs, chapsticks, stacks and stacks of romance books.

       note : thank you so much for being so patient abby ! i really did enjoy your app a lot, i love how you incorporated two different artistic mediums into the aesthete ! i think eden is a dynamic muse & i can’t wait to write with you ! also the white crocs, it’s perfect ! 

congratulations veah ! you’ve been accepted as the libertine !

did cindy kimberly just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just cynthia navarro, the 21 year old libertine of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are debonair, but also imprudent. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her anthropology degree. rosary beads passed down through generations bookmarking a newly purchased anthropology textbook. cherry red lipstick stains on collared shirts, coffee cups and cigarette buds. numerous pairs of broken or bent reading glasses strewn about a messy, cluttered bedroom.

        note : i found the reason cynthia crashes to be quite refreshing, especially given her libertine label & the way you’ve incorporated religion into her ! i enjoyed your writing a lot, so i’m looking forward to watching you further develop cynthia on the dash ! thank you for applying veah -- also if you could message the main, that would be great ! 

congratulations dianna ! you’ve been accepted as the mountebank !

did nick robinson just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just sawyer hart, the 23 year old mountebank of the crashers. i heard he is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are beguiling, but also impenetrable. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of his english degree. hints of a southern drawl reciting the words of e.e cummings, a desolate young man hiding behind a saccharine smile, mismatched tattoos scattered along fair skin. 

       note : wow dianna, you took the mountebank label & created a muse i would’ve never thought of -- i love it ! i love sawyer’s use of aliases at the wedding, i think it’s so interesting ! thank you for applying, i can’t wait to write with you ! 

congratulations angelina ! you’ve been accepted as the opulent !

did hailey baldwin just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just juniper dixon, the 21 year old opulent of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the realists now. i guess it makes sense considering they are fearless, but also reckless. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her mandarin, studio arts, and marketing degrees. juniper is snorted laughter, twang slipping into a terrible fake accent, stealing a groomsmen’s jacket to wear out at the end of the night. she is downcast eyes at comments of you look familiar while judging the bride’s sister based on the quality of her diamonds. the dixon way is putting centerpiece roses into wheelchair spokes and leaving too much in an unmarked envelope, wondering if the people around you are happy to see you only when you pay for the next round of drinks.

      note : angelina, thank you so much for applying ! your muse is truly unique -- i’ve never seen anyone write a muse in a wheelchair. this is such a fresh take on the opulent, & i truly am excited to begin writing with you so i can see how juniper develops !

congratulations diana ! you’ve been accepted as the paladin !

did froy gutierrez just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just sebastian guerra, the 21 year old paladin of the crashers. i heard he is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are nurturing, but also irresolute. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of his theatre degree. movie scripts, dreaming of something bigger, being the knight in shining armor, picking sunflowers, family dinners around the table, voice as sweet as honey, believing in signs, always having sunscreen, being the sunshine in everyone else’s life.

      note : sebastian has my heart, truly ! his reason for crashing is so perfect for the label of the paladin & i love how he had never attended a wedding before crashing ! diana, i can’t thank you enough for applying & i look forward to writing with you ! 

congratulations moe ! you’ve been accepted as the polymath !

did barbara palvin just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just nora kennedy, the 22 year old polymath of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the realists now. i guess it makes sense considering they are responsible, but also bossy. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her medical degree. nora is books with entire paragraphs highlighted because she thinks all information is essential. nora is also big sweaters tucked into denim skirts and chunky glasses. and finally, nora is shy glances and freckles across her nose.  

    note : hi moe ! thank you so much for applying, i truly did fall in love with both your muses ! i think nora is a lovely muse -- the pushover secretly beneath the bossiness is a clever take on the polymath ! i can’t wait to write with you ! 

congratulations sedona ! you’ve been accepted as the quixotic !

did shawn mendes just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just everett sanders, the 22 year old quixotic of the crashers. i heard he is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are persistent, but also rebellious. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of his musical technology degree. half finished bottles of alcohol, left on the counter top for anyone to see. jumpers that were freshly pulled out of the dryer, yet still smell like his cologne. notebooks filled with lyrics about things that may never happen to him. 

      note : everett is everything i could’ve hoped for given the quixotic label. i love the last line of your aesthetics, sedona -- it’s perfect ! i also love how part of the reason he crashes is to give a lil’ f you to his parents ! i can’t wait to begin writing with you & everett. thank you or applying sedona ! 

congratulations skelly ! you’ve been accepted as the reveler !

did noah centineo just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just atticus morrison, the 22 year old reveler of the crashers. i heard he is a part of the realists now. i guess it makes sense considering they are charismatic, but also avoidant. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of his communications degree. a crowded dance floor with him in the eye of the chaos, losing himself to the party. a match striking in the dark, lighting a cigarette in the mouth of someone who doesn’t want to remember the past. a few far-gone giggles echoing down city streets, dazed smiles, dreamy eyes.

        note : skelly, you were one of our first apps & i couldn’t have been more grateful ! i really do love atticus or kit -- his reason for crashing is perfect for the reveler. i really loved how you wrote crashing was just partying with higher stakes ! your aesthetics are also lovely. i can’t wait to write with you & thank you again for applying ! 

congratulations maia ! you’ve been accepted as the sovereign !

did ariana grande just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just sofia romano, the 21 year old sovereign of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the realists now. i guess it makes sense considering they are passionate, but also contentious. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her criminal justice degree. pale pink roses crushed under the heel of a black louboutin. smudged eyeliner from studying all night. sipping champagne on a private jet.

        note : maia, your application was really lovely ! the competition for the sovereign was also really steep ! overall, i think the reason sofia crashes really drew me in. the divorced parents background is always an interesting backstory. thank you for applying & i can’t wait to write with you ! 

congratulations leo ! you’ve been accepted as the sycophant !

did cindy kimberly just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just jovie dubois, the 21 year old sycophant of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the realists now. i guess it makes sense considering they are alluring, but also narcissistic. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her fashion, marketing, & design degree. self harm scars hidden by colorful tattoos, a thirty dollar dress with a two hundred dollar pair of shoes, bulletproof confidence and casket white teeth, lipstick stains left on your collar so your wife knows she was there.

      note : oof, choosing the syocphant was very difficult because we had three really solid applications. ultimately, i decided to go with you because i enjoyed reading why she crashes. i really did get a darker sycophant vibe from it, which i loved ! thank you for applying & i look forward to writing with you leo -- also, please message the main !

congratulations hannah ! you’ve been accepted as the syrupy !

did danielle campbell just stumble into the wedding ? wait, never mind, that’s just juliette wilde, the 21 year old syrupy of the crashers. i heard she is a part of the romantics now. i guess it makes sense considering they are loving, but also naive. let’s hope this competition doesn’t get in the way of her early childhood education degree. a half-empty bottle of lavender perfume, overlarge sweater sleeves concealing pale pink nail-polish that is just starting to chip, smiles that seem to reach all the way to your heart, ink smudges and messy buns, fresh flowers filling a cramped apartment. 

       note : wow hannah, your writing is beautiful ! i loved reading your paragraphs on why juliette crashes, it really brought a smile to my face ! i am excited to write with you to see how you develop juliette. thank you so much for applying !

[higuchimon]

[fanfic]  Rebirth of Kaiser:  chapter 27

Something isn’t right here. Yuusuke stood beside Ryou, watching as the Hail Cyber army and their allies got sorted out to observe Tesni’s duel. Sunrise wasn’t that far away and Tesni prepared her deck a short distance away, fully decked out in her armor and paying little attention to anything else. She barely even looked up when Shine Angel stepped up, whispering to her. Yuusuke thought he saw a card being passed over, but he had no idea of what it was or why Shine Angel would do that.

He glanced at Ryou, whose own gaze kept dropping to the deck in his hands. While he couldn’t hear the Cybers in there, Yuusuke could still feel their presence. He’d gotten more and more used to being able to do that over the years. He wasn’t sure if it was because of learning to be a shadow mage or what, but it certainly helped.

“This isn’t the end,” Ryou murmured and Yuusuke shifted in surprise. Ryou looked up to meet his eyes. “Even if she defeats Ruin, there’s something else going on. There always has been.”

Yuusuke pressed his lips together, thinking. Ryou wasn’t wrong; that tied into his own feelings about all of this. He wasn’t sure about it all but none of it felt entirely right. He lifted his head.

“Then we deal with things when we know what they are.” What else could they do? Whatever wasn't right wasn’t going to politely ignore them, however this duel turned out.

Ryou very seldom smiled and when he did, it tended to be the sort of smile that terrified people. Yuusuke found it soothing, though. Ryou – Cyber Hell Paladin – would do whatever he needed to do. He always had.

Between one moment and the next the army of the Knights and all of their allies stood there. Ruin stood at the head of them, with another person beside her. This wasn’t someone Yuusuke recognized, but Ryou tensed the moment that his eyes fell on the stranger.

“That’s War God Gaap,” Ryou murmured. “I-I remember him. From somewhere.” He shook his head; even though more of his memories flickered in day by day, not all of them were there yet. Yuusuke could only hope that these weren’t memories that would be needed right now.

Ruin strode forward, Gaap at her heels, and smiled winningly at Tesni. “Such a pleasure to see you.”

“Are you ready to duel?” Tesni snapped her words out, her Duel Disk a breath from activation. Ruin tsked softly.

“You are so impatient. Let me introduce you to someone.” Ruin gestured to Gaap. “War God Gaap. My chief servant, my right hand, and-” She took a visible pleasure in her next words, “the champion of the Knights.”

Tesni froze. Ruin’s smile never wavered. “I didn’t say that you would duel me, my dear. I specified our champions. You could have chosen anyone you liked. Perhaps that young Duel Spirit there.” Her gaze shifted over to Ryou. “Though I must say that there’s someone else who seeks your blood.”

Ryou took a step forward. “Who are you talking about?”

“Now, now, it wouldn’t be a surprise if I just told you. But I’ll offer this: should Tesni win the duel, she’ll be awarded the army of the Knights and all of their strongholds and treasure. You on the other hand, I can give the name of the one who wants to kill you.” Ruin tapped one long finger against her chin. “Unless, of course, you’d care to duel someone for the information?”

Yuusuke kept his attention on Ryou the whole time. He could see the way that Ryou's breath quickened and his eyes brightened at the mere mention of a duel.

He hasn’t dueled in years. He has a new deck that he needs to get to know.

“He won’t.” Yuusuke stated flatly. “But I will. If you insist on trial by champion, then I’ll be his.”

He could see Ryou’s eyes turn to him, lips turned ever so faintly downward. He would explain his reasons later. For now, he wanted to make certain that Ryou fought as the true Hell Kaiser, Cyber Hell Paladin, as himself and he couldn’t do that right now.

Ruin’s laugh was a sound of crafted beauty. “So be it then, shadow mage. Regardless of who wins this duel, you will duel someone of my choosing who is also in my service. Victory in that duel will win you the information of who seeks to kill Cyber Hell Paladin. Are we agreed?”

“Yes.” Yuusuke nodded, taking a step back as Tesni moved forward. “Good luck, Captain Tesni.”

Tesni acknowledged it with a nod, turning her gaze onto War God Gaap. Gaap stood there, broad wings spread out, every inch of him crafted of bone and sinew and a mocking glare of evil. With a gesture his Duel Disk appeared, deck already settled into it.

“I will take the first turn,” he declared, his voice not the demonic rasp that Yuusuke would have expected. It could have won him a career as a musician, if he’d wanted that. “Unless you object, captain.”

Tesni barely twitched. “Go right ahead.”

The two of them stared at one another, then Gaap began, drawing five cards from his deck. He cast a quick glance over them before he selected a card. “I summon Daemon’s Soldier!”

In front of him there appeared a tall blue scaled demon, swirling a long brown cape around himself. His attention seared across the battlefield, resting on Tesni, who didn’t look all that impressed.

“Daemon’s Solder is only a Normal Monster, but his attack makes up for any other failings,” Gaap announced as he slid another card between his fingers. “And this will make it even better: I equip Daemon’s Soldier with Daemon’s Axe, adding another thousand points to make it twenty-nine thousand!”

Yuusuke mentally winced. At least Gaap couldn’t attack on this turn. That would have left Tesni with a bare eleven hundred already. But he didn’t doubt this would cause trouble in the near future.

“Now, I set one card and end my turn.”

It wasn’t the best first turn that Yuusuke had ever seen in his life but it didn’t bode well for the rest of the duel. He looked forward to seeing what Tesni had in store for them.

“I draw!” Tesni added the card to her hand and made her decisions. “I set this card face-down!” It settled into her monster zone; Yuusuke suspected it was a Flip Effect since there weren’t many other monsters it made sense to put face down.

But no sooner had she stated that then Gaap struck, gesturing towards his own face down card. “I activate Sulfuric-Acid-Filled Pitfall! I target one face-down defense position monster on your field and if it’s defense is two thousand or less, then it’s destroyed!”

There was a small squawk from Tesni’s Hail Cybers. But Yuusuke caught a glimpse of a smile on Tesni's’ face before she flipped her monster upward, causing a blue-skinned, red-haired and red-winged fairy to appear before them. “Illusion Fairy. She has only two hundred defense points, I’m afraid, so she’s destroyed.”

Acid bubbled up from beneath Illusion Fairy, long streaks of it reaching upwards to wrap all around her and pulling her out of sight with a horrific scream. Tesni bore onward though.

If she doesn’t do something about that, then next turn she’ll take almost three thousand damage. If not more! It wouldn’t be outside the realm of possibility for Gaap to summon another monster on his next turn and be able to finish her off.

But Tesni didn’t flinch. “I thought you would do something like that. It’s clear who taught you how to duel.” Her gaze shifted to Ruin, then back again. “So this is my counter. I remove Illusion Fairy from the graveyard to summon Diana the Light Spirit!”

Swirling upward in a column of pure white light – much more pleasant than some white lights Yuusuke could name – there stood a maiden who could have been crafted from the light itself. Every inch of her – hair and eyes and gown – gleamed as if fashioned from freshly fallen snow. Her sweet smile warmed many of the hearts there.

“She might not be as powerful as your monster, but on every one of your End Phases, I gain a thousand life points.” Tesni pointed out. “Now, this.” Another card flicked between her fingers. “Five hundred points of direct damage to you, courtesy of Fire Ball!”

A flaming sphere appeared overhead, hovering for a few seconds before it slammed into Gaap and sent him stumbling back two or three paces. He growled, the sound no longer rich or mellow or sweet, straightening himself out and sending Tesni a glare fit to shatter bone and rend flesh as she set one card from her hand and ended her turn.

“I draw,” he snapped, eyes dropping down to the three cards now in his hand. His lips twisted into the foulest of smirks as he summoned a second monster. “Daemon’s Calvary!” This red armored warrior demon held the same attack as Daemon’s Soldier did before being equipped with that axe. It stared right at Tesni and her single monster, weapon lowered and ready to attack, black stallion neighing in anticipation.

Yuusuke did the math. Unless that face down card could do something about it, then Tesni would take thirty-one hundred damage and lose her only monster.

“Daemon’s Calvary! Attack Diana the Light Spirit!” Gaap declared. His fighter roared in rage and galloped towards Diana, lance lowered. A breath before contact would be made, Tesni made her counter move.

“I activate Emissaries of Reconciliation! I take no battle damage at all this turn and no monsters of mine are destroyed, either!” Tesni’s grin glowed almost as bright as Diana did. “Was there anything else that you wanted to do?”

Gaap growled, eyes hovering briefly over his hand before he shook his head. “I end my turn.”

“Yes, I thought you would. Now, Diana.” At Tesni’s words, Diana spread her arms outward and a wash of warm white light fell over her, increasing her life points by a thousand. Tesni drew her next card, a slight hint of a frown touching her lips now.

Ruin tilted her head. “You aren’t having problems, are you, my dear? You’re really only defending yourself, you know. And your defenses won’t last forever.”

“They don’t have to last forever. They just have to last long enough so I can win.” Tesni pulled out one of her cards. “I activate Treasure Cards From Heaven! I remove the Sealing Chain in my hand from the game in order to draw two cards!”

Yuusuke knew something wasn’t entirely right just from the look that flickered over Tesni’s face. She hid it well, however, and took out one of her newly drawn cards. “Thanks for the help, Diana, but now things have to change. I activate Black Hole, destroying every monster on both sides of the field!”

In the center of the field black energy swirled without warning, sucking all three of the monsters down into it. All of them screamed and flailed, Daemon’s Calvary’s horse neighing in terror for a few heart-stopping moments before silence fell. Potential options for what could happen next darted through everyone’s minds.

Few suspected the route that Tesni did take.

“I set one monster face-down and end my turn.”

Yuusuke and Ryou exchanged glances again. Whatever Tesni’s monster was, there had to be a reason for her to summon it in defense mode. A zero attack with an effect that wouldn’t function under these circumstances? A flip effect that would be more useful long-term than just attacking right away?

Or perhaps an effect similar to what she’d used with Diana and Illusion Fairy, where she needed more monsters in her graveyard? Too many questions and not enough answers.

Gaap took a step closer, fingers closing and opening as if he wanted to close them around her throat. Then he drew himself up, cast a glance at Ruin, and drew his own card for the turn. No sooner had he glanced at it than he smiled, almost as bright as Diana had once shone on the field.

“Hand Obliteration. We both discard our hands to the graveyard and draw that same number of cards.” He tossed all the necessary cards into his graveyard and drew two more, his smile growing even brighter as he did. “I summon Lancer Daemon! Lancer Daemon, attack!” His eyes glinted with pleasure. “And Lancer Daemon possesses a piercing effect as well.”

To Be Continued

Notes: I do hope you enjoy this. Ryou won’t duel until the sequel. He needs more of his memories back before he can truly be himself again.

[heatonenterprise99-blog]

The Goody-two-shoes Superhero is the best kind.

We as humans crave excitement and vigor. We live in a world that is pretty mundane in comparison to what the human mind can create meaning our imagination is an outstanding resource for making things more fun and interesting. When an individual or group creates and shares something really great using their imagination then people will take a quick break from their boring lives to sit back and admire what imagination creates. All of us are invigorated by that nostalgic “BANG!, BOOM!, SMASH! And KAPOW!” from a superhero comic or movie. Nothing was better during my childhood than hopping on the couch with a bag of popcorn cheering Superman on while he saves a whole train load of people while my little brother hangs out the window with an antenna trying to get the best signal. Now that cinema has evolved, technology and CGI has paved the way for great works of cinematic art that brings millions and millions of people across the world to the theaters to root for their favorite superhero. DC and Marvel Comics are worth billions of dollars outfitted with armies of specialists and professionals working to create the greatest superhero movies. But what I have found to be the most important part of what makes a great superhero movie is the nature of each superhero. Specifically the goody-two-shoes type also known as the “Boy Scout” Superhero.

The persona of a superhero can really make or break a hero movie because of the appeal they have on the majority, their positive influence on the world, and the ease of incorporating that type of superhero into a story line allows for better films. Having a Goody-two-shoes superhero as a main character in a movie is definitely what makes for a great cinematic work of art. The Goody-two-shoes type is the kind of superhero that consistently displays idealism, courage, and morality, a person with superpowers that has those conventional superhero characteristics like the old style comics. Every good movie in this genre needs an idealistic hero for the audience to root for.

I would like to bring Wonder Woman to the spotlight as one outstanding example of a Goody-two-shoes superhero. In this case, Goody-two-shoes is a compliment. Wonder Woman was raised on a Utopian island by other pure women, without the “corrupting” influence of barbaric men. She was fashioned out of clay and taught since birth about moral justice and purity, she is insanely intelligent and not only does she make the perfect feminist icon but she makes for a great “Girl Scout” type superhero.

In the movie starring Gal Gadot, Her character learns of the wrath of Aries and immediately goes out to free the world from his destructive might. During her conquest she displays her courage, determination, and innocence throughout the movie. When she saw someone in trouble she went to help them whether it was convenient for her or not. Being an icon for women, she was definitely a guardian for her gender and their children. This Amazon was trained to be the unconquerable warrior and when Steve Trevor crash lands on her island,she saves him. Despite the reaction of the other Amazon warriors Wonder Woman (Diana) saves him making the audience fall in love with her because of her kindness and compassion. These characteristics appeal to the good side of the audience making the movie more comfortable and exciting for the audience to watch. One example of a great scene that pushed the audience to root for Wonder Woman was the scene called “No Man's Land” where her and her colleagues find themselves blocked by a trench war. The distraught and tired American soldiers are on one side and the German soldiers were blocking the way on the other.  Instead of giving up and trying to find a way out of that situation, Wonder Woman majestically takes on the whole German Army helping the soldiers take control of No Man's Land while at the same time liberating the people of the town nearby.  No matter the type of person watching everyone, has human nature to root for the good guy as long as the hero gives the audience a cause to believe in. In connection to a Superhero with a righteous cause and a true talent for being the good superhero just like Wonder Woman.

Superman is definitely the most well known for being the stereotypical perfect Superhero of doing good to all and standing for the “American Way”. According to Rotten Tomatoes reviews, Superman didn’t do as great as Wonder Woman but the thing that did generate the positive feedback and what has carried Superman through the decades in overwhelming popularity is his utmost goodness and “Boy Scout” personality.

These types of characters allow for the greatest stories to be told following the monomyth structure that the human race has been following for hundreds of years. A Monomyth or a Hero's Journey type story laid the foundation for the modern hero films that we know today. In old mythology the Protagonist receives a call to an adventure or challenge, he or she then obtains some supernatural or divine help such as an ability or weapon of some sort after they then get started on their journey and experience a few road bumps along the way, a helper or mentor (sidekick) comes along to make it easier to discover their newly obtained abilities and provide relief in difficult situations.  After they make it through the long road of tests and trials and mini quests normally orchestrated by or connected to the protagonist  we reach the final showdown. In the beginning of the finale it seems the odds are definitely not in favor of the hero. But through strategic methods the hero gains the upper hand and triumphs over evil. This type of storyline with the exception of a few deviations makes for the foundation of all of our favorite actions movies. This type of storyline allows the the frame or shape of the story but the demeanor of the characters are what keeps the story going. By following this story and utilizing the characters personalities and reactions to certain events has outstanding effects on the quality of a film. Taking a closer look at how the producers strategically use the Avengers to build a successful film is very beneficial in understanding how  the “good” heros do such holding an intensely action packed film together.

Starting with Captain America, we had the opportunity to follow his story from the beginning of his life up to the point that the Avengers were created. His experiences of being the “little guy” and wanting to make a difference in the world made him a revered superhero which in turn made it easier for screenwriters and producers to use a character like him to create the The First Avenger. His experience of being the underdog, his kindness and mental strength allowed him to be the perfect candidate as the leader of the Avengers and a very likable, non-controversial representative for superheros. Because of his “goody-two-shoes” demeanor, it created the balance needed to deal with heros less “boy scout-like” such as Iron Man with his spoiled, snobbish attitude, Thor with his prideful and entitled demeanor, and Black Widow with her dark assassin toughness. Although Iron Man, Thor, Black Widow, are obviously heros and not villains they don’t necessarily fall under the “boy-scout” criteria. They still have that type of personality that can be overpowering without a character like Superman or Captain America to balance out the scale. Even in the movies Captain America confronts Tony Stark by asking him,

“Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?”

Captain America understood that being a hero is not just your abilities but by who you are. He knew that Tony Stark definitely wasn’t a “goody-two-shoes” type of hero. And he knew that his attitude bothered him enough that he had a need to challenge him.  When these types of Superheros display that kind of character, we as fans can’t help but feel that heroic intensity grow within ourselves. That is the reason why it's common to see that child dressed up in a superhero costume with the the red cape with running around the house. Not only is it awesome to have superpowers but because every kid (and adult) really does want to have those “boy-scout” qualities in one way or another. Even if you look at an anti-hero like Deadpool, he doesn’t do so great in being the good guy; which the audience may enjoy for a while but by the second movie even Deadpool grows a conscience and begins to clean up his act and follow more closely to the “traditional” superhero psyche. This is proof that having a “goody-two-shoes” superhero as a main character in a movie is definitely what makes for a great cinematic work of art. The next time you watch a superhero movie see if you find exactly which character displays those traits and pay attention to how the writers of the movie use that character to make the film more balanced and how their actions make you feel as a fan.

[marvelousbirthdays]

Happy Birthday, bailee416!

April 16 - WinterShieldShock, fluffy with “Make me”, for @bailee416

Written by @ozhawkauthor

“Darce, I really think this is a bad idea,” Clint kept saying as the elevator zoomed up to the penthouse. The ride only took thirty seconds and he still managed to say it five times. Darcy debated clobbering him around the head but settled for pretending he wasn’t there.

“Shut up, Clint,” Natasha said finally. “I wouldn’t have let her do it if I didn’t think she’d be perfectly safe.”

Clint gave a put-upon sigh as the doors slid open. “I don’t know where to put my eyes,” he complained. “It’s the most outrageous outfit.”

“It’s a very practical outfit for fighting,” Natasha disagreed. “I approve of the costume designer’s choices.”

“Everyone approves of the costume designer’s choices, but mostly not for the reasons you do, Nat,” Clint pointed out.

“Oh, I appreciate it for those reasons too.” Nat grinned at Clint.

Darcy shook her head at their banter, took a deep breath to steel her courage, then had to pause for a hasty tuck back inside her bodice. She and Nat had to majorly redesign the outfit to accommodate Darcy’s boobs, and even so, she had to be careful how she breathed.

Of course, she hoped not to be wearing it for all that long, if everything went to plan. Her boyfriends were being old-fashioned about courting her slowly before taking their relationship to ‘the next level’ as Steve called it, and Darcy was frankly horny as fuck. She’d killed two vibrators in the last month, and she didn’t want toys anyway.

So, it was time for desperate measures.

Neither Steve nor Bucky were rude enough to openly admire other women, but they’d both absolutely adored Wonder Woman when Darcy took them to the movie. She’d heard them both mention Diana as the kind of superhero everyone should aspire to be, which was hilarious in her opinion, especially since she’d heard Gal Gadot say in an interview when asked who would win between Captain America and Wonder Woman “Don’t be ridiculous, they wouldn’t fight. Diana wouldn’t want to risk damaging that fabulous booty!”

Darcy totally agreed with the sentiment. Which was when she’d come up with this fabulous idea and recruited Nat - and Clint, who was suspiciously good at stitching together leather and metal pieces. He muttered something about making his own costumes when he was a carny, which was definitely a story Darcy was going to have to get to the bottom of one day.

She was procrastinating. Nat and Clint were waiting for her by the slightly-open double doors which led into the big room where the party was being held.

It wasn’t a fancy dress party, so the second Darcy stepped into the room a shocked silence fell. It was quickly broken by (of course) Stark letting out a loud wolf-whistle.

“Allow me,” Natasha murmured, heading off in Tony’s direction. Clint looked around, checking for anyone else liable to cause trouble, but frankly all the women were smirking and giving Darcy not-at-all-discreet thumbs up, and all the men were staring goggle-eyed. Including Darcy’s intended targets.

Clint started counting under his breath.

He was quite surprised, considering both Steve and Bucky had super-soldier reaction speed, that he got all the way to eight before Bucky’s arm swept him away from Darcy’s side. He tucked and rolled, came up grinning next to the bar.

“Pour me a large one, thanks, Vis,” he said cheerfully. “Time to watch the fireworks!”

*           *           *

“What,” was all Steve could say, gaping as he took in Darcy’s outfit from the diadem perched in the shining dark waves of her hair, all the way down to her long, tooled leather boots. “What.”

“Don’t you like it?” Propping a hand on her hip, Darcy gave him big eyes. “I thought it’d be a nice surprise.”

“Guh.”

He was quite literally stunned speechless, Darcy realised, and turned her attention to Bucky, who hadn’t said a word after almost hurling Clint away from her. He was standing close to her now, close enough and angled just so that she’d be barely visible to anyone else in the room.

“That’s not somethin’ you should be wearin’ in public, doll.” His Brooklyn accent had returned, and broadened, since he came back to the Tower. “Why don’t you go and change into somethin’ more suitable for a party?”

“This is perfectly suitable,” Darcy said brightly. “And Steve likes it. Don’t you, Steve?”

“Uh.”

Bucky moved closer again. “Darcy. You gotta change.”

She narrowed her eyes at him, not liking the commanding note in his voice. “Make me,” she challenged.

Which was, in retrospect, a mistake, because Bucky just scooped her straight off her feet and over his shoulder in one easy movement, heading straight for the elevator.

Darcy shrieked.

“C’mon, punk,” Bucky said over the other shoulder, not in the least concerned about Darcy’s squealing and wiggling. “Looks like our girl’s not willing to wait any longer.”

Steve rushed after them. Darcy squinted at him upside-down. “Help?”

“Really?”

“...on second thoughts, no.”

“Stark, unlock the damn elevator,” Bucky bellowed when the doors didn’t open for him.

“Darcy?” Tony called across the room.

“I’m fine!” At least, she hoped she was. Bucky’s hand was on her almost-bare ass, anyway, warm and firm and making her feel decidedly hot between her legs.

The elevator let them out on the private floor Steve and Bucky shared - the floor they’d never yet brought her to. Still upside-down over Bucky’s shoulder, she looked around with interest as he carried her through a large living area furnished with comfortable-looking couches and into a bedroom dominated by a huge bed.

She half-expected Bucky to drop her on the bed, but he laid her down gently, hand between her shoulder-blades supporting her all the way down… before he lay down on top of her.

“Hello,” Darcy said as his face ended up about two inches from hers. “Do we have a problem?”

“Apparently you do, or you wouldn’t have worn an outfit that should really only be modeled for us in private unless you want me to lose my god damned mind!”

She smiled. She could feel exactly how she’d affected him, considering he was lying between her thighs, their groins pressed together.

“And you?” Turning her head to the side, she addressed Steve, who’d joined them on the bed.

“You make an incredible Wonder Woman,” Steve said, “but Buck’s right… wearing it in public isn’t the best idea unless you want to see both of us totally embarrass ourselves.”

Darcy reached out a hand to touch his cheek. “Maybe I just wanted to see if I could push you to the point of losing control,” she murmured.

Bucky nuzzled her throat, laughing quietly. “Oh, doll. You have no idea. Every time we leave you, we’re like a pair of wild animals. We were just tryin’ to take it slow an’ easy for you.”

“I’m more a fan of fast and hard, actually,” Darcy said, with a little gasp when he bit at her collarbone.

“Can’t imagine an Amazon princess would want it any other way. Now, how do I go about gettin’ this magnificent outfit off you?” Bucky lifted himself off her and started looking for the fastenings on her armor.

Grinning, Darcy directed him exactly which straps and buckles to unfasten.

[aion-rsa]

Top New Fantasy Books in November 2020

https://ift.tt/eA8V8J

Here are some of the upcoming books we’re anticipating this month:

Join the Den of Geek Book Club!

Top New Fantasy Books November 2020

Rhythm of War by Brandon Sanderson 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Tor Books Release date: Nov. 17 

Den of Geek says: Sanderson’s famous Stormlight Archive series continues with book 4. 

Publisher’s summary: After forming a coalition of human resistance against the enemy invasion, Dalinar Kholin and his Knights Radiant have spent a year fighting a protracted, brutal war. Neither side has gained an advantage, and the threat of a betrayal by Dalinar’s crafty ally Taravangian looms over every strategic move.

Now, as new technological discoveries by Navani Kholin’s scholars begin to change the face of the war, the enemy prepares a bold and dangerous operation. The arms race that follows will challenge the very core of the Radiant ideals, and potentially reveal the secrets of the ancient tower that was once the heart of their strength. 

At the same time that Kaladin Stormblessed must come to grips with his changing role within the Knights Radiant, his Windrunners face their own problem: As more and more deadly enemy Fused awaken to wage war, no more honorspren are willing to bond with humans to increase the number of Radiants. Adolin and Shallan must lead the coalition’s envoy to the honorspren stronghold of Lasting Integrity and either convince the spren to join the cause against the evil god Odium, or personally face the storm of failure.

Buy Rhythm of War by Brian Sanderson.

Comes a Pale Rider by Caitlin R. Kiernan 

Type: Short story collection  Publisher: Subterranean Release date: Nov. 30

Den of Geek says: Kiernan’s dark, intricate prose injects a variety of stories with atmosphere and horror. As with any short story collection, there will probably be a range of quality here, but Kiernan is one to watch if you like lush writing. 

Publisher’s summary: Possibly Caitlín R. Kiernan’s most enduring character, albino monster slayer Dancy Flammarion has been carving a bloody swath across the American South ever since her first appearance in Threshold(2001), “laying the bad folks low.” In 2006, Subterranean Press published a World Fantasy Award-nominated collection of Dancy Flammarion short stories, Alabaster, and beginning in 2012, Dark Horse Comics released a three-volume graphic novel series introducing Dancy to comics in Alabaster: Wolves(winner of the Bram Stoker Award), Alabaster: Grimmer Tales, and Alabaster: The Good, the Bad, and the Bird. And now, with Comes a Pale Rider, Kiernan offers a second collection of Dancy Flammarion short stories. From Selma, Alabama to the back roads of Georgia to a South Carolina ghost town, Dancy continues her holy war with the beings of night and shadow, driven always on by her own insanity or an angel with a fiery sword—or possibly both.

Buy Comes a Pale Rider by Caitlin R. Kiernan.

The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 by John Joseph Adams and Diana Gabaldon 

Type: Short story collection Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Release date: Nov. 3 

Den of Geek says: A tumultuous year still includes this annual anthology with stories from Charlie Jane Anders, Ken Liu, Rebecca Roanhorse, and more. 

Publisher’s summary: Today’s readers of science fiction and fantasy have an appetite for stories that address a wide variety of voices, perspectives, and styles. There is an openness to experiment and pushing boundaries, combined with the classic desire to read about spaceships and dragons, future technology and ancient magic, and the places where they intersect. Contemporary science fiction and fantasy looks to accomplish the same goal as ever—to illuminate what it means to be human. With a diverse selection of stories chosen by series editor John Joseph Adams and Diana Gabaldon, The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 explores the ever-expanding and changing world of SFF today.

Buy The Best American Science Fiction and Fantasy 2020 by John Joseph Adams and Diana Gabaldon.

Top New Fantasy Books October 2020

The Emperor’s Wolves by Michelle Sagara

Type: Novel  Publisher: Mira Release date: Oct. 13

Den of Geek says: Sagara’s urban fantasy sets itself apart with creative anthropomorphic characters. This new entry could be a good entry point into the pre-existing canon, since it starts a new series in the same world.

Publisher’s summary: Multiple races carefully navigate the City of Elantra under the Dragon Emperor’s wing. His Imperial Wolves are executioners, the smallest group to serve in the Halls of Law. The populace calls them assassins.

Every wolf candidate must consent to a full examination by the Tha’alani, one of the most feared and distrusted races in Elantra for their ability to read minds. Most candidates don’t finish their job interviews.

Severn Handred, the newest potential recruit, is determined to face and pass this final test—even if by doing so he’s exposing secrets he has never shared.

When an interrogation uncovers the connections to a two-decade-old series of murders of the Tha’alani, the Wolves are commanded to hunt. Severn’s first job will be joining the chase. From the High Halls to the Tha’alani quarter, from the Oracles to the Emperor, secrets are uncovered, tensions are raised and justice just might be done…if Severn can survive.

Buy The Emperor’s Wolves by Michelle Sagara.

Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Gallery / Saga Press Release date: Oct. 13

Den of Geek says: Roanhorse’s Trail of Lightning sent her careening into the urban fantasy world. Now she brings sharp action and an indigenous perspective to high fantasy with a story inspired by the pre-Columbian Americas.

Publisher’s summary: In the holy city of Tova, the winter solstice is usually a time for celebration and renewal, but this year it coincides with a solar eclipse, a rare celestial event proscribed by the Sun Priest as an unbalancing of the world.

Meanwhile, a ship launches from a distant city bound for Tova and set to arrive on the solstice. The captain of the ship, Xiala, is a disgraced Teek whose song can calm the waters around her as easily as it can warp a man’s mind. Her ship carries one passenger. Described as harmless, the passenger, Serapio, is a young man, blind, scarred, and cloaked in destiny. As Xiala well knows, when a man is described as harmless, he usually ends up being a villain.

Crafted with unforgettable characters, Rebecca Roanhorse has created an epic adventure exploring the decadence of power amidst the weight of history and the struggle of individuals swimming against the confines of society and their broken pasts in the most original series debut of the decade.

Buy Black Sun by Rebecca Roanhorse.

Shadows of the Short Days by Alexander dan Vilhjálmsson

Type: Novel  Publisher: Titan Books Release date: Oct. 20 

Den of Geek says: A unique setting and a fantasy world reminiscent of China Mieville’s serves as the backdrop for a dark story. Both characters — one an artistic rebel and one an antiheroic wizard addicted to magic — sound like they have specific and intriguing ties to their brutal, magical world. 

Publisher’s summary:  Rebels and revolutionaries disappear into the infamous prison, the Nine, never to be heard from again. Masked police roam the streets, dark magic lurks in the shadows, and the implacable flying fortress casts its baleful eye over all below.

Sæmundur, addict and sorcerer, has been cast out from university, and forbidden to study magic. Dissident artist, Garún, is desperate for a just society and will do anything to achieve it.

Both seek revolution in their own ways. Both seek power.

Together, they will change Reykjavik forever.

Buy Shadows of the Short Days by Alexander dan Vilhjálmsson.

Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee

Type: Novel  Publisher: Solaris  Release date: Oct. 15 

Den of Geek says: If you read these lists often, you know I’m a big fan of dragons. Renowned science fiction author Yoon Ha Lee turns to fantasy-with-robots in this twist on the story of an unlikely knight, a mechanical dragon, and a corrupt kingdom. 

Publisher’s summary: Gyen Jebi isn’t a fighter or a subversive. They just want to paint.

One day they’re jobless and desperate; the next, Jebi finds themself recruited by the Ministry of Armor to paint the mystical sigils that animate the occupying government’s automaton soldiers.

But when Jebi discovers the depths of the Razanei government’s horrifying crimes—and the awful source of the magical pigments they use—they find they can no longer stay out of politics.

What they can do is steal Arazi, the ministry’s mighty dragon automaton, and find a way to fight…

Buy Phoenix Extravagant by Yoon Ha Lee.

Top New Fantasy Books September 2020

Piranesi by Susanna Clarke

Type: Novel  Publisher: Bloomsbury Publishing Release date: Sept. 15

Den of Geek says: Clarke’s atmospheric Jonathan Strange & Mr. Norrell was an eerie, old-fashioned take on the fairy genre, delicate and complex at once. She returns with a haunted house tale (!) featuring endless rooms, mysterious characters, and “A Great and Secret Knowledge.” Publisher’s summary: Piranesi’s house is no ordinary building: its rooms are infinite, its corridors endless, its walls are lined with thousands upon thousands of statues, each one different from all the others. Within the labyrinth of halls an ocean is imprisoned; waves thunder up staircases, rooms are flooded in an instant. But Piranesi is not afraid; he understands the tides as he understands the pattern of the labyrinth itself. He lives to explore the house.

There is one other person in the house-a man called The Other, who visits Piranesi twice a week and asks for help with research into A Great and Secret Knowledge. But as Piranesi explores, evidence emerges of another person, and a terrible truth begins to unravel, revealing a world beyond the one Piranesi has always known.

For readers of Neil Gaiman’s The Ocean at the End of the Lane and fans of Madeline Miller’s Circe, Piranesi introduces an astonishing new world, an infinite labyrinth, full of startling images and surreal beauty, haunted by the tides and the clouds.

Buy Piranesi by Susanna Clarke on Amazon.

Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston 

Type: Novel Publisher: Tor.com Release date: Sept. 8

Den of Geek says: A lyrical, apocalyptic fantasy epic, Master of Poisons sends two very different characters into an unforgiving world in a creative new alternate empire. Publisher’s summary: The world is changing. Poison desert eats good farmland. Once-sweet water turns foul. The wind blows sand and sadness across the Empire. To get caught in a storm is death. To live and do nothing is death. There is magic in the world, but good conjure is hard to find.

Djola, righthand man and spymaster of the lord of the Arkhysian Empire, is desperately trying to save his adopted homeland, even in exile.

Awa, a young woman training to be a powerful griot, tests the limits of her knowledge and comes into her own in a world of sorcery, floating cities, kindly beasts, and uncertain men.

Awash in the rhythms of folklore and storytelling and rich with Hairston’s characteristic lush prose, Master of Poisons is epic fantasy that will bleed your mind with its turns of phrase and leave you aching for the world it burns into being.

Buy Master of Poisons by Andrea Hairston on Amazon.

 The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart 

Type: Novel Publisher: Hachette Books  Release date: Sept. 8

Den of Geek says: The magic system in this debut has a pleasantly video game-like system of magic talismans and animal automatons. Publisher’s summary: The emperor’s reign has lasted for decades, his mastery of bone shard magic powering the animal-like constructs that maintain law and order. But now his rule is failing, and revolution is sweeping across the Empire’s many islands.

Lin is the emperor’s daughter and spends her days trapped in a palace of locked doors and dark secrets. When her father refuses to recognise her as heir to the throne, she vows to prove her worth by mastering the forbidden art of bone shard magic.

Yet such power carries a great cost, and when the revolution reaches the gates of the palace, Lin must decide how far she is willing to go to claim her birthright – and save her people.

Buy The Bone Shard Daughter by Andrea Stewart on Amazon.

Top New Fantasy Books August 2020

The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Tor Release date: Aug. 11 

Den of Geek says: The Baru Cormorant series features as its hero a mentally ill accountant with the fate of an empire at her fingers. The third book in the series promises more dark, twisty introspection and grim, creative world-building. 

Publisher’s summary: The hunt is over. After fifteen years of lies and sacrifice, Baru Cormorant has the power to destroy the Imperial Republic of Falcrest that she pretends to serve. The secret society called the Cancrioth is real, and Baru is among them.

But the Cancrioth’s weapon cannot distinguish the guilty from the innocent. If it escapes quarantine, the ancient hemorrhagic plague called the Kettling will kill hundreds of millions…not just in Falcrest, but all across the world. History will end in a black bloodstain.

Is that justice? Is this really what Tain Hu hoped for when she sacrificed herself?

Baru’s enemies close in from all sides. Baru’s own mind teeters on the edge of madness or shattering revelation. Now she must choose between genocidal revenge and a far more difficult path―a conspiracy of judges, kings, spies and immortals, puppeteering the world’s riches and two great wars in a gambit for the ultimate prize. 

If Baru had absolute power over the Imperial Republic, she could force Falcrest to abandon its colonies and make right its crimes.

Buy The Tyrant Baru Cormorant by Seth Dickinson on Amazon.

Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley

Type: Epic Poem  Publisher: MCD x FSG Originals Release date: Aug. 25 

Den of Geek says: Headley got an intimate look at Beowulf in the modern interpretation The Mere Wife. She turns the intellect behind that inventive, scathing novel about complex and furious women to a translation of the poem featuring new research. 

Publisher’s summary: Nearly twenty years after Seamus Heaney’s translation of Beowulf―and fifty years after the translation that continues to torment high-school students around the world―there is a radical new verse translation of the epic poem by Maria Dahvana Headley, which brings to light elements that have never before been translated into English, recontextualizing the binary narrative of monsters and heroes into a tale in which the two categories often entwine, justice is rarely served, and dragons live among us. 

A man seeks to prove himself as a hero. A monster seeks silence in his territory. A warrior seeks to avenge her murdered son. A dragon ends it all. The familiar elements of the epic poem are seen with a novelist’s eye toward gender, genre, and history―Beowulf has always been a tale of entitlement and encroachment, powerful men seeking to become more powerful, and one woman seeking justice for her child, but this version brings new context to an old story. While crafting her contemporary adaptation of Beowulf, Headley unearthed significant shifts lost over centuries of translation.

Buy Beowulf: A New Translation by Maria Dahvana Headley on Amazon.

The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe

Type: Novel (Reprint)  Publisher: Tor Books Release date: Aug. 11 

Den of Geek says: Gene Wolfe is a modern master of fantasy. This reprint of a 2004 duology provides both original stories in one paperback package. 

Publisher’s summary: A young man in his teens is transported from our world to a magical realm consisting of seven levels of reality. Transformed by magic into a grown man of heroic proportions, he takes the name Sir Able of the High Heart and sets out on a quest to find the sword that has been promised to him, the blade that will help him fulfill his ambition to become a true hero―a true knight. 

Inside, however, Sir Able remains a boy, and he must grow in every sense to survive what lies ahead…

Buy The Wizard Knight by Gene Wolfe on Amazon.

Top New Fantasy Books July 2020 

The Book of Dragons: An Anthology by Jonathan Strahan

Type: Anthology  Publisher: Harper Voyager  Release date: July 7 

Den of Geek says: I’m always looking for a good book about dragons, and this incredible list of authors promises adventurous and unique stories. Anne Leckie, Zen Cho, Seanan Maguire, J.Y. Yang, Patricia A McKillip, Brooke Bolander … it’s an astounding, literary-flavored list of people qualified to write cool creatures.

Publisher’s summary: Here there be dragons . . . 

From China to Europe, Africa to North America, dragons have long captured our imagination in myth and legend. Whether they are rampaging beasts awaiting a brave hero to slay or benevolent sages who have much to teach humanity, dragons are intrinsically connected to stories of creation, adventure, and struggle beloved for generations. 

Bringing together nearly thirty stories and poems from some of the greatest science fiction and fantasy writers working today— Garth Nix, Scott Lynch, R.F. Kuang, Ann Leckie & Rachel Swirsky, Daniel Abraham, Peter S. Beagle, Beth Cato, Zen Cho, C. S. E Cooney, Aliette de Bodard, Amal El-Mohtar, Kate Elliott, Theodora Goss, Ellen Klages, Ken Liu, Seanan Maguire, Patricia A McKillip, K. J. Parker, Kelly Robson, Michael Swanwick, Jo Walton, Elle Katharine White, Jane Yolen, Kelly Barnhill, Brooke Bolander, Sarah Gailey, and J. Y. Yang—and illustrated by award-nominated artist Rovina Cai with black-and-white line drawings specific to each entry throughout, this extraordinary collection vividly breathes fire and life into one of our most captivating and feared magical creatures as never before and is sure to become a treasured keepsake for fans of fantasy, science fiction, and fairy tales.

Buy The Book of Dragons by Jonathan Strahan on Amazon.

Or What You Will by Joe Walton 

Type: Novel  Publisher: Tor Books Release date: July 7 

Den of Geek says: Jo Walton is a writer’s writer, highly praised but still generally skating under the radar. I found her 2014 My Real Children to not nearly live up to its very high concept, but she’s one of those authors with technical prowess who is at least worth checking out for context for women’s science fiction. The metafiction plot sounds fun. 

Publisher’s summary: He has been too many things to count. He has been a dragon with a boy on his back. He has been a scholar, a warrior, a lover, and a thief. He has been dream and dreamer. He has been a god. 

But “he” is in fact nothing more than a spark of idea, a character in the mind of Sylvia Harrison, 73, award-winning author of thirty novels over forty years. He has played a part in most of those novels, and in the recesses of her mind, Sylvia has conversed with him for years. 

But Sylvia won’t live forever, any more than any human does. And he’s trapped inside her cave of bone, her hollow of skull. When she dies, so will he.

Now Sylvia is starting a new novel, a fantasy for adult readers, set in Thalia, the Florence-resembling imaginary city that was the setting for a successful YA trilogy she published decades before. Of course he’s got a part in it. But he also has a notion. He thinks he knows how he and Sylvia can step off the wheel of mortality altogether. All he has to do is convince her.

Buy Or What You Will by Jo Walton on Amazon.

The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal

Type: Graphic Novel  Publisher: First Second  Release date: July 14 

Den of Geek says: The Adventure Zone is a wildly popular humorous fantasy podcast. It’s part of the big 2010s wave of Dungeons & Dragons coming back into the geek space. Especially for someone who might not want to listen to hundreds of episodes of a podcast, the illustrated version does a good job of smoothing out the story into a graphic novel format without removing the goofy chaos of the original podcast. 

Publisher’s summary: START YOUR ENGINES, friends, Clint McElroy and sons Griffin, Justin, and Travis hit the road again with Taako, Magnus and Merle, the beloved agents of chaos from the #1 New York Times bestselling graphic novels illustrated by Carey Pietsch, The Adventure Zone: Here There Be Gerblins and The Adventure Zone: Murder on the Rockport Limited.

Our boys have gone full-time at the Bureau of Balance, and their next assignment is a real thorny one: apprehending The Raven, a master thief who’s tapped into the power of a Grand Relic to ransack the city of Goldcliff. Local life-saver Lieutenant Hurley pulls them out of the woods, only to throw them headlong into the world of battle wagon racing, Goldcliff’s favorite high-stakes low-legality sport and The Raven’s chosen battlefield. Will the boys and Hurley be able to reclaim the Relic and pull The Raven back from the brink, or will they get lost in the weeds?

Based on the beloved blockbuster podcast where three brothers and their dad play a tabletop RPG in real time, The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal has it all: blossoming new friendships, pining for outlaw lovers, and a rollicking race you can root for!

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Buy The Adventure Zone: Petals to the Metal on Amazon.

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