#and he only stopped because Colossus picked him up

[mintaikk]

Deadpool after spending the first movie complaining about Colossus not having a dick and then offering to give him a blowjob in the second movie

[timetodecidedjo]

hi saw your post about prompts for Logan and wade! would you write about them getting caught in the act tehe 🙈

Yes!! This one was SO much fun to write!! I’m going to post it to AO3 as well under my username xuaerduobb. I haven’t written and put anything out in quite some time, so if it’s not the best, I’m sorry!

I hope you love it ❤️💛

“Happy birthday, Al!!”

Don’t ask how Wade and Logan pulled it off (it was mostly a lot of help from Laura). It was Althea’s 80th birthday and Wade really wanted to throw her a party with all of their closest friends to remind her of how much they all really loved her. You only turn 80 once, right?

Everyone scrounged up enough money to rent out a small party room inside of a restaurant, one of Al’s favorites, and decorated it just for her. Wade would argue that the need for decorations seemed unnecessary because well… she’s blind. Nevertheless, it came together perfectly, and she was totally surprised.

“Motherfuck!!” She yelled out before backing into Laura who had brought her down to the restaurant from their apartment. She went to grab her small pistol from her pocket, but Logan stopped her before she could.

“Althea, it’s just us. We threw you a birthday party.”

“Oh my sweet Logan!” The elderly woman chimed, pulling him in for a tight hug. Wade’s mouth dropped open like he felt overlooked causing Logan to smirk and laugh.

“You and Laura put this all together for me?” She asked while Logan walked her over to her seat so she could rest from their long walk there.

“Wade helped. Kinda,” he teased before placing a kiss on her cheek.

“It was my idea in the first place!” The merc with a mouth argued while everyone else had already moved on.

Everyone who was able to come to the party were taking their seats, including Dopinder, Ellie (Negasonic Teenage Warhead) and Yukio, Colossus, Vanessa, and Peter. It made Wade’s heart swell to see all of his friends together to celebrate Al, who had truly been like a mother to him. They really were one big, kinda freaky, happy family.

Wade sat down at the table next to his boyfriend and took his free hand on the table. Logan looked over at the merc and smiled, finally getting more comfortable with the idea of PDA. He was never really a big fan of being affectionate in public with anyone, but Wade LOVED showing Logan off to everyone, and LOVED being touchy feely as always. It took some time, but after a while holding Wade’s hand in public was easy. It was a comfort.

“Everything sounds so good!” Vanessa mentioned as everyone looked over the menu in front of them. Laura mentioned something about a sandwich and Peter noted that the steak was ‘just incredible’ there.

“I’m getting the steak too, Peter,” Logan seconded, now turning over to Wade for his decision on dinner.

“What about you, bub?”

“Nothing on this menu entices me the way you do in that sexy flannel button down,” Wade answered, his eyes glancing up and down at his lover. He practically had cartoon heart eyes popping out of his head watching Logan just sit there.

“I’m just going to order for you,” Logan informed as the waitress had gotten to their drink orders.

“I just love a man who takes charge.”

After dinner, it was time for Al to open her birthday gifts. Colossus picked up the table and put it to the side so that everyone could sit comfortably in their chairs to watch the birthday girl open her presents.

“Jesus, do you have to show off like that all the fucking time? Who are you even trying to impress?” Wade asked, mostly to annoy the steel hero.

Colossus just took it in stride and shook his head at the merc.

“Behave yourself, Wade. It’s Althea’s birthday.”

“Who invited the birthday etiquette police?” He quipped back as Logan pulled him down to take his seat. Their seats were at the back of the room, behind everyone else, while Laura helped Al into her seat at the front facing them. She would hand each card and gift to Al and help her open it. They had become very close in the 6 months they had all lived together at their new apartment. When Wade offered Logan a place to stay, and Laura was now with them in their timeline, it only seemed fair to let her stay with them as well. She had just made 19, but needed time to get on her feet, and Logan felt like maybe this was his chance to do right by someone. After all, she was technically his daughter, and they did share a certain connection that Logan felt was important to explore.

Al opened up her first gift bag, this gift from Dopinder, and tried to feel around it to figure out what it was.

“It’s an audiobook for you to listen to when you ride in the cab,” Dopinder beamed, very proud of his thoughtful gift.

“That’s so sweet,” Yukio said as she looked up from her phone, probably tweeting.

Logan watched along with everyone else before he was interrupted by his boyfriend beside him.

“Lo?” Wade said in a hushed tone.

“Wade?” The Wolverine replied without peeling his eyes away from Al.

“I have a proposition for you.”

“This oughta be good. Let’s hear it.”

“I started scoping out the bathroom in this place as soon as we walked in. It’s right down the hall, maybe 10 feet away.”

“Get to it,” Logan replied, sensing Wade’s body shifting closer to his own.

“You look absolutely ravishing this evening and I want — no I need to have you. Right now. In the bathroom.”

Logan hesitated. Was he enjoying himself at the party with all of their friends? Yes. Would he enjoy himself a hell of a lot more in the privacy of the bathroom with Wade? Hell yes.

“Meet me there in 3 minutes.”

Without drawing attention to himself or bothering anyone else, Logan stood up from his seat and began to make his way towards the hall and into the bathroom Wade whispers “go go go go” to his boyfriend as he passed his chair, counting down the seconds before he feels he's in the clear to make his getaway.

Once he believed 3 minutes had passed and Al had opened 2 more gifts, Wade got up to sneak into the bathroom to do ungodly things to the love of his life.

There was only one single private bathroom, no stalls, so thankfully there had been a lock for the door. When Wade opened the door, Logan had been standing there waiting for him with lust filled eyes. He grabbed the merc by the shirt and pulled him close, just to push him up against the door and kiss him.

As much as Wade wanted a 20 minute makeout session, complete with foreplay, they knew they probably didn’t have much time, so if they wanted to make each other come in this public bathroom, it needed to be soon.

“You’re so fucking hot,” Wade mumbled between kisses, his fingers tied up in Logan’s brown locks. “I still can't believe I get to tap that ass whenever I please.”

With one final sloppy kiss, Logan pulled back and gave his lover a smug grin.

“How ‘bout right now?”

Wade threw his head back in disbelief and utter joy while Logan was already undoing his belt and pulling down his jeans, the buckle of his belt rattling loudly in the echoes inside of the bathroom. Wade began doing the same as quickly as he could, and before he knew it, Logan was leaning over the sink counter, bent over and ready.

“Aren’t we an eager beaver? What should we use for lube?”

“Just…” Logan started, already getting impatient. “Just spit in your hand or something, I dont give a fuck. Just get over here and fuck me.”

“God, it’s like you just really get me,” the merc cooed, in utter awe of his partner.

“Now, Wade!” The Wolverine fussed one final time, giving his boyfriend a look of utter grouchiness.

Wade walked up behind Logan, took his aching dick into his hand and spit to give himself some sort of lubrication. He didn’t want to risk taking the time to stretch Logan out due to raising suspicion between their friends, but Logan had asked him before to skip the prep because the guy really didn’t mind the pain.

Slowly, Wade eased himself into Logan’s entrance and groaned at just how good it felt. Logan wasn’t being quiet either, a growl escaping his mouth, as Wade filled him up. It was a little painful, but nothing he couldnt handle, and truthfully, it felt really good anyway. Once the merc found a good rhythm, he gripped one hand around Logan’s neck and the other on his hip. Logan looked back at his lover, begging for a kiss, and Wade happily obliged.

“I love you so fuckin’ much,” Wade mumbled as he lost himself in their love making. It was always like this for the two of them. Every time felt like the first time– exciting and fun and sexy as hell.

Just as Wade could feel himself about to climax, he heard the door to the bathroom push open.

“WHAT. THE. FUCK!” Negasonic Teenage Warhead screeched, immediately letting the door close behind them. Both men hurriedly pulled their clothes back on and tried to catch Ellie before she could get back to the rest of their friends.

“I thought you locked the damn door!” Logan hollered, feeling beyond embarrassed that they had been caught in the act, especially by a friend.

“There was a lock on that door?” Wade questioned back.

When they made it back to the party room, everyone had their heads turned to watch their embarrassing arrival. Both disheveled and out of breath, they stood there and waited for the other to say something.

There was a small silence and then…

“This party was my idea!”

[not-that-dillinger]

“You shouldn’t be out here alone this late.”

The voice is echoed... garbled like it had been through too many layers of distortions gone wrong. The only tell that there was someone nearby on this forsaken piece of digital terrain was a flicker of something dark... cape?... or fabric maybe... just out of sight.

"It... isn't safe... for programs."

He'd had one of those days, where he'd been in not so great a mental space after a board meeting and couldn't go home but the walls of Encom tower felt more oppressive than safe like they usually did, and that perhaps made Ed a little more reckless. He'd gone for a walk, hoping to burn the last of his spoons so that maybe he could just go home and pass out.

He hadn't realized how far he'd walked until he found himself leaning heavily on Colossus, blinking up at the unlit sign of Flynn's arcade. He'd never really thought much about the place; he hadn't been allowed as a kid when it was open, and the one time his father's assistant caught him trying to sneak in with friends, he'd been... discouraged from returning.

Perhaps it was Flynn's old files he'd found on the Encom server that he kept thinking about, that drew him here. The files had been filled with ramblings that lined up so much with the angry rants his father used to have, and Ed couldn't stop thinking about them. He stood in front of the abandoned arcade, and something clicked into place. He realized he might have the missing puzzle piece to solve the mystery of where Flynn disappeared to.

Sherlock Holmes and Nancy Drew had always been a worse influence on him than his father made any of his childhood friends out to be; picking the lock on the door was trivial, and he quickly found the hidden basement.

It took him little time to find the Grid.

It took even less time for them to find him, though they didn't know what to do with the massive dog that had come with him.

They'd stripped him out of his clothes, put him in a light up suit, and given him a disc. They'd put Colossus in a suit and given him a disc as well. And then they marched him to Clu.

Clu had hoped to use him to lure his user out of hiding, and Ed laughed. Rescue his nemesis's son from certain death? Yeah right.

It was the sight of the test tube-looking prison, large enough to contain an adult human, more than Clu's plans to turn him into mindless soldier under his control, that had sent Ed into a panic.

Colossus had always been gentle with other people, and Ed had never seen the dog snap, much less bite someone, but Ed's panic must have triggered something, because the next thing he knew, the guards that had been restraining him were on the ground, and he was sprinting down the hall with Colossus, Clu dropping yellow voxels from the stump of his wrist as he pursued after them.

Ed didn't remember much about the escape, but an explosion or ten later he was hiding in an abandoned building in a darkened sector of the city.

---

That had been... Ed had no idea how long ago. It felt like months. They'd probably given up the search for him, if there even was one when he went missing. The darkened sector made an ideal hiding spot. It seemed like Clu or his forces couldn't track data there, though Ed also couldn't access the Grid to write scripts, execute command lines, or draw energy, which meant that Ed had to venture out in order to obtain energy or code anything he needed. And that meant he had to leave Colossus, since the dog was instantly recognizable.

Regardless, he'd learned how his disc connected him to the Grid, and had figured out how to use it to change his outfit to something slightly closer to his usual clothing with a floor length cloak, and had coded a swordstick with a pigeon-head for a hilt to defend himself with.

It was his third time venturing out, in need of more energy for both himself and Colossus, that he'd been found.

Ed froze, leaning heavily on the swordstick. He was having a low energy day, but he could fight, if it came to it.

He shifted his weight off the cane ever so slightly. "Is that so?" he asked, voice intentionally kept even and calm. "The same could be said of you."

[carolperkinsexgirlfriend]

Aro4Aro Stancy Break-up AU Part 2

Part 1

As his fingers clutch Steve Harrington’s steering wheel hard enough that his knuckles turn white, Jonathan wishes he’d stayed at the party. The music was loud and vapid, the punch was rancid, but at least then he wouldn’t be alone in a car with a boy he barely knows past saving each other’s lives that one time in his living room.

He can still almost feel Steve’s hand in his, the way his fingernails raked over Jonathan’s still-bleeding palm until his colossus caught and held onto the bandage. Even when they’re sitting across from each other at lunch, pretending that they’re three normal teenagers, Jonathan swears they’re still in that living room. Nancy’s shooting and Steve’s still swinging the bat.

He takes a deep breath, letting it out slow.

“She said it’s bullshit,” Steve says.

Jonathan clears his throat. “What is?”

“We’re bullshit.”

“We?”

“Me and her,” Steve says. Jonathan can feel him looking at him. He keeps his eyes on the road as Steve laughs. It sounds wet. “Maybe just me.”

Silence falls in the car like a fog. Suffocating. Steve lingers in it the way he usually doesn’t. At lunch, in the halls, even when there’s nothing to say, he’s saying it anyway. Sports, schoolwork, what they’re having for lunch. It’s like silence strangles him. It’s strangling Jonathan now.

“You’re not bullshit.”

He risks a glance in Steve’s direction. He’s crying. Jonathan feels his throat close up.

“You don’t get it,” he says, voice cracking in the middle. They both pretend not to hear it, don’t question the long pause before he continues, “there’s something wrong with me.”

“What do–”

“I love Nancy,” Steve says. It hits Jonathan, suddenly, that he’s in no way equipped to be Steve Harrington’s couples counselor. His only working example of a relationship growing up had Lonnie Byers as half of it. Steve continues unimpeded. “She’s literally perfect, Byers.”

Jonathan nods, waits for Steve to continue. When he doesn’t, Jonathan says, “that doesn’t mean she’s perfect for you.”

Steve sobs. Just once, before getting himself back together. It sounds raw and wounded in his throat. Jonathan’s hand twitches.

“There’s something wrong with me,” he says again, sounding frantic. “I should love her, right?”

“Steve–”

“So, why does saying I love her make me feel nauseous?” he asks, steamrolling over any response Jonathan could even think of giving. That’s okay. He’s got nothing. “Why do the fucking date nights and the fucking parties and all the fucking gestures make me want to run?”

“I don’t–”

“I love Nancy,” he says, slamming his open palm on the glove compartment for it to open, sending CD’s spilling onto the floor. Steve barely seems to notice. “It’s good sometimes, right? Like, when we’re all sitting at our lunch table, and I say something stupid and you both laugh at me, but Nancy does it behind her hand because she at least pretends to be nice to me. That’s good, right Byers?”

Jonathan feels choked up, keeps his eyes on the road, wonders how a night could spiral so quickly, wonders where he’s going to sit at lunch tomorrow. “Yeah,” he says, swallowing the knot in his throat. “It’s good.”

“But why do I feel the same about hanging out with you as I do her?” he asks.

Jonathan doesn’t say anything, waits until they’re at a stop sign with his foot firmly on the break to glance over at Steve. He’s curled in on himself, hands shaking in his lap. It reminds Jonathan alarmingly of that night, when he’d seen Nancy and Steve unravel in the face of monsters that crawl from the walls.

“Tell me what you mean,” Jonathan says, but he thinks he knows.

“What’s the difference,” Steve asks, like he’s picking each word out of his brain with care. “Between a girlfriend and a friend?”

Jonathan thinks of Will, how sometimes he looks at Mike like he’s so bright it hurts. He thinks of the way Steve’s eyes had looked almost afraid as he’d slung slurs in Jonathan’s direction in the heat of the moment.

There’s a pit sinking in his stomach. He swallows it down. “Do you–” he stops.

“Do I what?”

The air feels charged as Jonathan takes his foot off the break, continuing his drive to Steve’s house.

“Do you even want a girlfriend?” he asks.

Steve breaths in like he’s been punched. Jonathan feels sick.

No more words are exchanged. The silence hangs like a noose. Jonathan settles into it.

When he pulls up to the empty, encompassing Harrington house, he thinks he gets why silence is something to be feared for Steve Harrington. There’s no lights on in the Harrington house, no cars in the driveway. It doesn’t feel right to drive away, Steve silhouetted in the light of the moon, the shadow of his own front door hanging over him.

When Jonathan pulls into his own driveway, his Mom’s left the porch light on, welcoming him home.

[artzychic27]

More Nathaniel as Giganta! 🙏🏽

His villain outfit is similar to Giganta’s golden age look complete with the wrist and ankle cuffs

Like Giganta, Nathaniel becomes more aggressive as he grows. The other villain kids often use this to their advantage, goading him into using his strength and size to cause mayhem around the city

Just have Marc around to calm him down

Arguably the strongest in the class (Kim refuses to admit defeat, but that’s kind of hard when Nathaniel can easily lift an eighteen-wheeler while only grown to ten feet)

His max height is about 100 feet, but it’s rumored that he could exceed past Giganta’s max height

Surprisingly, he’s one of the villain kids who causes the least amount of destruction at school

During the Hero vs Villain fights, he immediately goes after Denise

His clothes are made to grow with him, but that doesn’t stop Kim and DJ from switching out his shirts

During Guys Nights, Adrien, Nino, Kim, Ivan, and Max place bets to see how far he can throw a bus

After Simon, he’s got the fastest metabolism

*Now for some incorrect quotes*

Nathaniel: COLOSSUS SMASH! *Denise ties him up with the Lasso of Truth* Colossus smash because Colossus is overcompensating for deep insecurities rooted in a quest for perfectionism and an overpowering fear of not being good enough, and- *Denise unties him*

Bystander 1: Aw. Poor thing, he’s not evil, he’s just misunderstood

Nathaniel: NO! I am evil!

Bystander 2: He’s just lashing out because of the pain he feels.

Nathaniel: I AM evil! I- *sighs*

—

Ismael: Hey, meatbrain! Over here! *Repeatedly punches Nathaniel*

Nathaniel: *Spits out a tooth, then grabs Ismael and bashes him against a wall*

Ismael: *Dizzily* That all ya got? *Nathaniel grabs his face* Guess not.

—

Anais: *Held in Nathaniel’s fist* Nath, you’re out of jail. How’s your head?

Nathaniel: Pretty good, considering you tried to fry my brain. *Tightens his grip*

—

Nathaniel: You wouldn’t hit a redhead, would you?

Ismael: *Hesitates for a moment*

Denise: I would! *Punches Nathaniel, knocking him out*

—

Nathaniel: *With his hand tied by Denise’s Lasso of Truth* I told you! I don’t know anything about a dark opal, or a dark topaz, or even a dark cubic zirconium!

Ismael: He’s telling the truth.

Nathaniel: *Unties his hand* Now I gotta get back to my community service. *Picks up a car*

Random Guy: Hey! That’s my car!

Nathaniel: Shouldn’t have parked in front of the fire hydrant! Pick it up at impound! *Chucks the car all the way to the impound center*

—

Victoria: Dude, you need to get yourself some anger management.

Nathaniel: I don’t have an anger problem! *Throws a car at Victoria*

Victoria: Whoa! *Quickly dodges*

Now for some sketches

[moonlight-tmd]

how would the cons, bots, and elite bots react to the fact bee's parents are basically their gods

how would sari react too????

I love this au so much <3333 (it's funny af and has great potential for chaos)

Well, the others wouldn't really know they are gods since Primus and Unicron are not allowed to reveal themselves- hence the disguises and alias'. Bee knows they're gods but he's not allowed to speak about it either, he only refers to them as Sire and Papa anyway.

While Prisma and Unis know they are the gods, they speak about their god-names as if they were separate beings(mostly when they're arguing) to keep their covers- religion is a minority on Cybertron since the war began so it's rare to see someone speak about the gods so much. They are seen as religious to say the least.

When Unis shows up in earth he's wrecking shit up for fun and the autobots come to stop him- he does his gig with "you have no chance against me! I will destroy you!" before he notices the tiny yellow bot standing in the group and changes his attitude to happy-go-lucky, The others are very confused and alarmed when Bee runs towards te colossus, even more so but add shocked when he picks Bee up and starts baby-talking to him and Bee yells; "Meet my Creator!"

They are sceptical and wary of Unis cuz this mech just threatened to kill them and now he's acting all friendly and good. He straight up says he was gonna destroy the planet for fun but he can't do that since his beloved sparkling (and his friends) live here.

And so Unis is a "guest" in the plant for few weeks. He's like gremlin-mode Bumblebee but worse- he dubbed Sari an abomination when Bee introduced her to him, Unis was quick to clarify he likes her very much and insults are his way of showing affection(in a way). She was hurt at first but quickly got used ot this weird affection Bee's dad gave her. She likes to go messing around with them in the middle of nowhere sometimes.

He doesn'd do shit when there's something bad happening and the team has to go take care of it. In fact, half of the calls happen cuz he's causing trouble. He's also encouraging Bee causing mischieft and doing pranks and saying he's "going in his Creator's pedesteps".

Unis had bragged about being the strongest warrior in the entire reality known, he's detroyed planets single-handedly and wrecked thousands of soldiers that happened to get in his way. Team Prime has a reason to be wary of him, not just because he's a giant.

The Decepticons straight up skidaddle on the sight of him- he's triple the size of Blitzwing AND wielding a giant double-sided axe. One time Megatron got his servos on Bee and threatened the other Autobots that he'll hurt him, Unis seemed to just materialize out of thin air behind him and politely got his attention before he suplexed him with one servo. The 'cons are straight up avoiding the yellow mini now in both fear of what other fucked up abilities he has and because they don't wanna be pavement on the courtesy of his apparently Creator.

Sentinel is giving Bee all the respect and praise he "held back on" the moment Unis approaches him from behind while Sentinel is trash-talking Bee and excuses them both so they can go on the promised treasure hunt.

While Unis does seem like the strongest in the universe, he's not on either side of the war. He calls it stupid and says that he "spreads the chaos equally".

Then Prisma shows up. He drops from the sky and seizes Unis by his horn. He says few things to his "little sunray" and promises to visit soon before leaving thru a "space bridge" with his husband.

Bee then tells them that was his Sire.

If Ratchet was questioning how this colossus Unis managed to take care of such tiny Sparkling like Bee then now he's questioning how the frag Bee is so small if he got 2 literal giants for Creators- and he doesn't look like he was adopted by them.

And yeah, Prisma does show up unexpectedly like a week later- they find him sitting in the main room with Bee, he was recovering from an injury so they left him in base for the call and when they come back- oop, there's a fucking huge airplane just sitting in the plant. How did he fit in the room? None of them know!

Surprisingly, Prisma is very likeable and they actually get to be kinda friends with him instead of being afraid- well, they're still scared cuz he does clarify he'll send Unis to wreck chaos if something happened to Bee but he's not as aggressive as Unis. He's not even violent- physically at least. He's also on neither side of the war- he says it's a pointless tragedy and he's giving help to anyone in need.

Prisma is similar to Prowl actually, he's calm, respectful and the responsible parent- he doesn't let Bee cause any trouble (most of the time). He actually made Bee apologize when he called Prowl's documentaries boring; "Just because his interests don't align with yours, it doesn't mean they are any less than what you enjoy." He has said.

Now, the 'cons and Elite Guard are still scared shitless from Unis' visit so they also avoid him. Bee and Sari have the fun flying together in his cockpit and seeing stars and galaxies from the "projector"- it's like they were actually in space!

Prisma leaves and things have quieted down. But all of the eath transformers were traumatized enough to treat Bee with respect. His team still bosses him around a bit cuz he is a teammate but they certainly are worried of what might happen if they so much as insulted him. But the tension shrinks the further Bee's parents' visits were in the calendar.

Now i have few funny ideas with BlitzBee and "meeting the in-laws" that i vaguely mentioned in this post. But i also think ProwlBee would fit. Feel free to send questions about whichever you want.

[x-mencomics]

The Uncanny X-Men #168 - Professor Xavier is a Jerk!

Kitty and Illyana discuss Professor Xavier's decision to move Kitty from the X-Men to the New Mutants. Kitty is very upset by the decision; Illyana basically tells Kitty to stop whining about it. A strange, winged creature watches them from a distance...

Nightcrawler and Wolverine also discuss Kitty. Wolverine thinks it's the wrong decision, but Nightcrawler thinks Xavier is right. Wolverine tells Nightcrawler he wants a break and some solitude. He's decided to spend time in the Canadian Rockies where he's from. Nightcrawler says he will take Wolverine to the airport, and take Kitty and Illyana to town on the way.

In the Danger Room, Charles and Lilandra work to help Charles get stronger and walk on his new legs (see last ish). Unfortunately, it's a real struggle, and Charles collapses. Lilandra comforts him.

Charles says that he is able to walk only if he focuses all his psionic powers on walking, making him, he says, basically useless to the X-Men. Charles notices that Lilandra looks troubled, and he asks what's wrong. She says she has decided to leave earth with the Starjammers and regain her throne in the Shi'ar Empire. Charles asks her to stay. She asks him to go with her. He says he cannot - he must stay on earth to help mutants. They embrace, knowing that they must separate.

And that winged creature from earlier is watching Xavier and Lilandra too!

Later, Kitty is taking dance lessons from Stevie, and still complaining about the move to the New Mutants. Stevie suggests that Kitty continues to fight and prove herself as an X-Man to the Professor.

Outside the mansion, Storm feels she has been away from earth too long. She feels she is reconnecting with earth and nature and her weather powers. But then a strong wind blows, nearly blowing her over a ridge. A storm has developed and she is unable to control it. And suddenly the storm is gone. Storm thinks she knows why she was unable to control the weather...

Elsewhere, Cyclops reconnects with Lee Forrester at her boat, and Nightcrawler visits Amanda Sefton. Lots of romance in the air.

Back at the mansion, Kitty is working on studying; she thinks good grades will get her back on the X-Men. Suddenly a computer program she has detects an anomaly within the mansion. She goes to the basement area to investigate. The Professor contacts Kitty telepathically, telling her to leave the basement. He has also detected the anomaly, believing it to be dangerous. Suddenly, the dragon from a couple issues back shows up in the basement. Could this have been the anomaly?

Nope! The Sidrian Hunters have returned (see issue #154)!

The Professor tells Kitty to flee at once, but before she can, one of the Hunters blasts Kitty with a blast that almost looks like it's from Cyclops. Kitty and the dragon start fighting the Hunters. They're doing ok, but then Kitty is hit with another blast and nearly another before Colossus appears, blocking this third blast from hitting Kitty.

Later, Kitty introduces the dragon, she calls it Lockheed, to Colossus and the Professor. Colossus explains that he saw Lockheed destroy a nest of the Sidrian Hunters. Kitty says the X-Men should look after the dragon, and the Professor agrees. The Professor notices that Lockheed is immune to psychic probing. Because of Kitty's win against the Sidrian Hunters, the Professor puts her back on the X-Men, so long as it doesn't interfere with her education.

Meanwhile, in Anchorage, Alaska -

Scott, Alex, and Christopher Summers wait at the airport to meet Christopher's parents. A beautiful woman who looks EERILY similar to Jean Grey arrives, saying she's there to pick up the Summers family. Scott is shocked by her resemblance to Jean. The woman introduces herself as Madelyne Pryor.

[queen-scribbles]

Talk about Hal! And/or Cele :3

Oh, both, obviously😁

Halthiras is my baby boy, he loves to read, loves long walks in the woods, loves animals. And animals love him back, he’s practically a Disney princess xD He grew up in Rivendell and thus was more... sheltered than he might have been, right up until he and Talagan went to Edhelion(personal headcanon is that Hira was along for the ride bc she wanted to see more of the world, but this trip was most a scholarly one for Hal and Talagan) So that whole intro quest was an extremely rude awakening for him and left some pretty deep emotional scars. 

He is still more “light-hearted” as opposed to “serious and elegant”.(I’m debating the headcanon of him being one of the Singing Elves when Bilbo & Co arrive at Rivendell in The Hobbit. It’s the sort of thing he’d do, I just dunno if the timeline works out) Probably why he loves the Shire and Hobbits as much as he does. He’s much more of a small-picture person; likes to help out with local problems--like setting up for the Farmers’ Market in Oatbarton or adventuring with Esmeralda Boffin and telling her family ghost stories(he’d call her his best friend, btw). This results in him acting very un-Elflike on numerous occasions. He’s a member in good standing of The Inn League, so he’s gotten drunk off his ass at least twice, and he’s a very happy, affectionate drunk. 😂 Esmeralda has talked him into bogs, climbing on people’s roofs, catching frogs, pranking her cousins etc. He frequently has flowers in his hair and a smile on his face, he loves to nap leaning back against his bear, who lets him. (I think she sees him as a very large, furless cub?) He’s gotten sunburned doing various Hobbit-Errands. His favorite place to be is curled up somewhere cozy with his animals and a good book and cup of tea.

He would much rather read than fight, but he’s no slouch at combat; he’s Master of Nature’s Fury track and making good use of it. Burning Embers and the lightning bolt are his go-to spells, with Cracked Earth thrown in occasionally for mobs. It’s just that he definitely only fights when he has to. It was an extremely impactful moment for him standing on top of the King’s Crossing colossus and really being hit by the scale of... everything. The size of the world, the necessity of helping the Rangers, how he’s just one person(Elf) but he can still do something. It’s also going to be a favorite spot to sit with a couple pets and a book or sketchbook because it has a fantastic view, and I think that combination of views is the perfect example of who he is; acknowledging this place made him feel small--but not unimportant--while the other part of him is going “Look at that view” and still finding something to enjoy about it.

Celebaros is a protector. A defender. It’s so much part of who he is, it became his surname(Tirthalion; Dauntless Defender). You could argue this comes from calling Mirkwood home; they always have to be more on guard and defensive than other bc of the corrupted nature of the forest. Or it could just be his nature. Or both. Regardless, he’s always been the one to draw an opponent’s attention, keep their focus on him and off others(tad reckless, which is why that’s his trait track xD). That aspect of his personality only got stronger during his and Talagan’s travels, when they stopped at Edhellond and Cele picked up the Warden fighting style; he’s already been more inclined to melee combat than a bow, but spears are... questionably useful in dense forest, so the forays against spiders etc were usually more with swords or bow and arrow. Spear and shield turns out to be perfect for him, though he is also very good with a sword. He practices and hones his skill much as he can while continuing the circuit of visiting Elven cities. 

After the fall of Edhelion and Talagan’s death, Cele doubles down on his role as a defender; he couldn’t save his mentor or Edhelion but he’ll be damned if he doesn’t protect everyone else that he can. Particularly from evil like Skorgrim or the Witch King. Whenever the LOTRO team expands all those new appearance options Men got to the Elves, Cele is getting a scar and a blinded eye from defending someone(Details pending to see where he is in the main quest when that happens lol).

He has a deep appreciation for well-forged weapons, especially beautiful ones. The skill it takes to make something like that is something he admires so much he starts learning weapon-smithing as a skill/hobby. It’s a good way to focus his mind, clear his head, and have a greater understanding of the weapons he wields all at once. He’s rather good at it, with a special skill for swords, which he finds ironic. xD 

(I’m also more than a little tempted to pair him with Hira, both bc I think they’d be great together and putting Hal through a Big Brother Crisis as his little sister finds someone EVEN MORE reckless than her to fall in love with would be fun xD)

[obscuremarvelmuses]

I have a lot of notes on Darkstar’s characterization from the comics and my interpretations of it. . .but when I took those notes a few years ago, I failed to include WHAT COMICS I GOT THEM FROM. Thus, the great Darkstar reread has begun, in which little by little I reread her issues in chronological order and refamiliarize myself with WHY I think what I do about her!

From her introduction in Champions #7 (1975), Darkstar is clearly not one for needless violence nor killing opponents. Even though she’s a villain in this story, she tells her teammate Griffin that “that’s enough” while he’s beating up on Ghost Rider. It at first seems it could be just pragmatism, as the reason she gives is that “Clark is our only objective” as could the fact that though she out loud proclaims to Angel that her Darkforce energy bands “will squeeze the life out of you!” her thought balloons reveal that, in fact, they will automatically loosen after she and her team leaves (hence my hc for her powers that her constructs dissipate when she departs or stops thinking about them) Yet still, this technically could be more practicality than mercy, as she thinks to herself how Angel has to be restrained and kept out of the action because Griffin killing him would “spoil everything” In the following issue, a team member accidentally suicide-bombs, and Laynia seems to pity him, despite that being the plan. The Griffin asks why, she says she’s not desirous of another’s death unless absolutely necessary. It makes sense that she’s not totally opposed to death or uber upset over it, as that would be stranger for her upbringing, but she’s very clearly not a bloodthirsty type from the get-go, even if we don’t know at this stage if it’s out of real compassion. A mere few panels later, she proclaims that “Yuri only commands my obedience, Griffin—not my conscience. That alone has been left to Darkstar—heaven help me!” So just by her second issue, we’ve got her core conflict established: Her obedience vs her conscience, and her being very cognizant of that. It’s also worth noting she mentions Heaven. While that could be just a colloquialism and not indicate any actual religious belief, it sticks out to me given how Colossus, to emphasize he was from the atheist USSR, never used religious-based swears like that but always said things like “Lenin’s ghost!” so it’s interesting to me she used that phrase. Decades later, she made reference to ghosts, so I headcanon that despite an upbringing that was surely even more rigidly atheistic than Piotr’s, she’s nonetheless picked up some belief in souls and the afterlife,and given that she specifically says “Heaven help me” I headcanon she does see that afterlife as a place of judgement, for good or evil. Perhaps, much like she needs a structure and a leader in life, it comforts her to think that there is the same in death—-and one that she can count on to be fair. That said, I don’t extrapolate anything more about her spiritual beliefs than that, I don’t think she’s specifically Christian or specifically anything, just that she thinks we have souls (which is a literal objective fact in Marvel anyway) and that they can stick around as ghosts but there’s also an afterlife. Their goal is to capture Black Widow, which they do. When Natasha awakes, bound to a chair, Laynia, who is her guard, is incredibly respectful to her as she explains her situation, addressing her as Tzarina and asking if she requires anything. They’re very civil with each other, and I like that. Layna is also thoughtful on Natasha’s behalf, thinking that the other woman will surely want to know what is to become of her and why she is wanted back home, showing empathy, if not yet actual kindness. But as Titanium Man notes to Laynia, “Do I detect concern in you for an enemy of the state?” and Darkstar does not deny it. She also randomly notes that Natasha is beautiful In Champions #9, Natasha gets loose and faces down Darkstar. A plot point is that they were both trained by the same man, Bruskin, though while Natasha’s training obviously focused on her natural physical abilities, Darkstar was trained primarily in use of her mutant powers, though she’s still pretty athletic herself. What’s really worth noting, though, is that when Bruskin tells Nat to go and save herself, Nat says she’d be being untrue to his teachings if she did that, to which Darkstar replies that she would be being untrue those same teachings if she were to act any differently now “though I cannot say which of us is right” So, again, we see Laynia has moral doubt about what she’s doing. But she’s still doing it. In Champions #10, she tells Yuri Petrovitch, the leader, that she refuses to work anymore with “that butcher” Griffin, further showing her distaste for needless bloodshed and those who engage it. She also intervenes when Yuri strikes a recaptured Natasha, and is willing to believe it when it’s revealed that Yuri was actually lied to by the Russian state about the reality of what happened to his parents even when Yuri himself wasn’t. Yuri actually attacks her in one scene but she claims right after he would never hurt her. That’s um….yeah, even though her relationship with Yuri doesn’t last, I think it’s a reflection for her mentality with the USSR itself, in some ways. But speaking of the USSR, it’s interesting she’s so immediately ready to listen and believe how they lied and brainwashed and tricked Yuri. Maybe she’s more open to seeing that when SHE’S not the one it’s been done to; I think that’s realistic, a lot of people can see a situation when someone else is in it but not when they themselves are. When Yuri kills in cold blood, she’s outraged by it. What’s interesting is she says if he had murdered this man KNOWING the truth that she now knows, but since he DIDN’T, he’s just a cold-blooded murderer and THAT’S what she has a problem with. I think that’s an interesting distinction, a line that she draws. She’s demonstrated she’s resigned to death if it is truly necessary, but she clearly loathes those who relish it like Griffin. We see here also that she also is understanding when it comes from a place of emotion and vengeance, since by her own admission if Yuri had known what she knew then she’d understand doing this…but since he DIDN’T, she judges the act very differently. Motive and situation definitely matter to her, and I like that nuanced view on her part. She strikes and holds him with her Darkforce power, and his fate is put in her hands. She proclaims “I just don’t care anymore” and releases him, and he flies off, proclaiming in classic villainous fashion that “You haven’t seen the last of Crimson Dynamo!” Natasha tells Iceman he must trust that what they did was right, and Laynia tells “Madame Natasha” that she hopes she’ll prove worthy of that trust. She still seems very in awe of her and it’s adorable. Also, Yuri is the first and last love interest Laynia ever has, to my memory. It’s possible she’s also had some since she came back to life, as I’ve yet to read beyond that. So my “well I want her to be a lesbian” rationalization was that she’s young (probably the O5’s age is my guess) and like….brought up in the Soviet Union BY the Soviet Union. She wouldn’t be the first gay woman to have a boyfriend in her youth (I did), and after she figured out herself she probably knew it wasn’t safe to pursue a girlfriend. But that’s also not even a little bit canon, not even subtextually. Champions #11: Laynia officially appears as part of the team. There’s actually no scene where we see her joining on, she just apparently stuck around after last issue and everyone was just ok with that. I kinda wish we’d gotta a scene and her thoughts about it but oh well. Anyway, Natasha asks if the customs agents were hard on her, Laynia says no, they were not, thanks to Nick Fury, and says “Darkstar thanks you, Madame Widow. . .from my heart!” dramatically while staring into Natasha’s eyes. I call girlcrush. Bobby flirts with her and Laynia politely but emphatically yeets herself into the sky. Also, while Laynia is bedazzled by Natasha, Nat.  . . has feelings that are not so positive. She muses in her thought balloons that Laynia joined them without being asked and why she would be so presumptuous, then ponders if maybe she feels threatened by a younger woman with seemingly limitless powers. It is kinda interesting to me that Laynia would not only jump teams but do so without asking. My headcanon is she didn’t want to defect without defecting TO something, to another team, and this seemed the only other option/the moral option. It strengthens my headcanon she needs to be in a group, specifically a superhero group, and she just doesn’t even imagine any alternative. And, apparently, doesn’t imagine anyone else would have a problem with it. I’ll probably incorporate her being little assumptive that her POV is going to be understood and shared/accepted in my way of writing her. Champions #12: Laynia explains that her black energy is called the Darkforce and even she doesn’t understand why it serves her, but it does. I’m actually not sure she’s specified as a mutant at this point. Yet again, she’s definitely a lot less murderous than USSR type characters were typically, to my knowledge, depicted as—for instance, she seeks to simpy use the Darkforce to blind a foe so he can explain his actions.  She also exclaims “Praise Lenin!” when she manages to save Ghost Rider in time and ahahaha I had forgotten that! So she DOES do the Colossus-style “use Soviet leaders in place of religious expletives” thing sometimes! Oh yeah, and Ghost Rider thinks her defection is an act, and while that confuses her, it’s honestly a really logical assumption, showing again she may not be great at realizing her own perspective isn’t everyone’s. 

[servin-up-surveys]

survey #073

If the last female you talked to told you that she was pregnant, what would you say to her? My mom had a complete hysterectomy so that's literally impossible. If the last male you talked to told you that he was going to be a father, what would you say to him? Well I'm sure as hell not pregnant so that means he cheated, in which case I'd break up with him in a heartbeat. Have you ever had too much to drink and felt embarrassed about your behavior the next day? No, not really. The last time you were in a car, who was driving? My mom. What’s the shortest song you have on your iPod? It's probably some Silent Hill track, or a Shadow of the Colossus one.

How did you meet the last person that messaged you on Facebook? Back in the old YouTube days where it had more social aspects. Have you ever had a friend whose parents you didn’t like? Yep. If you were told that you were going to spend the rest of your life with the last person you kissed, would that make you happy? I'd be fucking ecstatic, honestly. Have you ever had carpal tunnel? Oh, I definitely have something. It oddly doesn't really manifest when typing, though; instead, I absolutely cannot physically write for very long. What browser do you use? Chrome. How much was your allowance when you were a kid? I didn't get one. Do you often find yourself eating just because you're bored? Not so much anymore, but I do occasionally struggle with that. Have you ever sent an anon hate message, be honest now. Nope. That is, first of all, unnecessary and rude, and secondly, it's also cowardly. Biggest fear, pick ONE. Ending up living alone in the streets. I worry a lot it'll happen after Mom dies. What's the grossest thing that dogs do? Ugh the fact some have a thing for eating cat shit. I CANNOT handle that. If you’re a girl, what’s your favorite color of eyeliner? Oh wow, I had no idea eyeliner was exclusive to females. But whatever, I only ever wear black. Do you ever eat leftover pizza cold? Yep. Which cartoon character would you want to keep as a pet? Hmmm... first off, definitely a Pokemon, but it's super hard to pick exactly what! I think I'd go with Vaporeon because I LOVE to Eeveelutions and it'd be useful to have one that had water-oriented powers, too. What is your favorite flavor of candy cane? I really like those Starburst ones. What’s the weirdest thing you’ve seen in a grocery store? YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO once upon a time I found basically fursuit heads in one of those big baskets in Wal-Mart and I lost it. 😭 Have you ever met any bands/band members before? NO but I absolutely wanna go to a Rammstein meet and greet at some point. What’s your favorite superhero movie? Logan really sticks with me. That was one that made me cry. Do you struggle with acne? Nah, my acne problems chilled out a lot when I was like... 19? Around there? What was the last song you downloaded onto your computer? Oh god idk, I did a MASSIVE downloading sesh a couple days ago for my iPod. What color are your headphones, if you have any? My current earbuds are blue. I FLY through earbuds, one side always stops working. Where do you normally get your hair cut? I see a family friend and have since like... middle school? Maybe even before then. Will you go to your high school reunion? Nooooope. Would you ever get a tattoo on your collar bone? I HAVE one on my collarbone, so. I want to get it covered with something new, so I'll obviously do it again. Have you ever kissed anybody who had a mustache? Yep. Have you ever cussed someone out? I can't remember if I actually cursed, but I can tell you I told OFF my sister's abusive then-boyfriend. Fucking coward just stared at me like he was wondering what the hell he did. He was a fucking manipulative narcissist. How would you feel if a significant other asked you to make your relationship "open" as in, see other people but still stay together? What would you tell them? Quite honestly, I would immediately break up with them. That to me is a clear sign that I'm not enough for them. I hold no moral distaste for polygamy for others, but it is NOT for me, and my partner being interested in it is no okay to me. When you were younger, did you mother or father ever let you open a few presents before Christmas or your birthday even arrived? As kids it was a tradition to let us open one, "minor" gift on Christmas Eve. How many break ups have you had to go through? How many of those break ups were with the same person? I've only had one breakup that REALLY felt like a "breakup." Do you plan on traveling a lot in your lifetime? What about moving around a lot? Will this be from state to state, country to country, or what? Traveling, god, I HOPE so. I don't want to move around a lot, though. How old where you when you had your first pet? What kind of animal was it? What was its name? My first PERSONAL pet was honestly too young; I can't remember if it was my guinea pig Squeak or Chinese water dragon Shadow, but I was certainly too young to properly care for either. It still amazes me that Shadow lived his/her full life expectancy, they were stunted in growth and I'm certain the humidity wasn't as sustained as it was meant to be. When taking a survey, do you typically read the person’s answers before typing in your own? Or do you just erase them without reading them? I always read my friends' answers. Do you like “just girly things” on Pinterest? Lol no, I literally use Pinterest for fandom pictures. 😭 How many different natural hair colors are there in your immediate family? Mostly brown, but also black. What is your favorite online game? World of Warcraft. Are there any Asians in your family? No. Do you take birth control pills? Yes. My periods are unbearable otherwise. What’s your favorite frosting flavor? Chocolate, I guess? Have you ever called a suicide hotline? Yes, but they were busy at that time so I didn't get to actually talk to anyone. Do you enjoy writing in cursive? I write mostly in cursive, yes. What would be the icing on the cake for you this Christmas? It'd be nice to spend some time with Girt actually on Christmas. If you had the opportunity to live forever, would you take it? Nope. Did you ever really believe in Santa Claus? Yeah. Do you like quesadillas? Yeah, generally. Whose butt did you last slap? lul I'm pretty positive that was Chelsea, yearssss ago. We used to be real close and she lived with Colleen when I saw her a lot and our friendship was founded on being playfully sexual around each other haha. I eventually got closer to her (and still am today) than Colleen. Have you ever been on a mechanical bull? No. Do you enjoy riding around town looking at Christmas lights? God, I used to love that. I still would, but. Gas ain't cheap. What’s a good book you’d recommend? ESPECIALLY in today's age, I cannot recommend The Handmaid's Tale by Margaret Atwood any more than I already do, particularly for those with uteruses. Margaret is SO vividly descriptive and creative in her writing so it's just fun to read, and let's not fucking forget the moral behind it. Have you gone out with someone, then ruined the friendship you had before? I want to say yes, but like... Jason and I weren't "just friends" for very long at all. Like, MAYBE two weeks. It was very, very obvious what was going to happen/where we were going. There was nothing to really go back to, because we STARTED OUT very clearly into each other. Did you sleep alone last night? My cat always sleeps with me. <3 Do you hate when people try to play with your hair? If you're not my boyfriend, I'd feel kinda weird. Last song you heard? "Demons Are A Girl's Best Friend" by Powerwolf is on rn. Other than yours, whose house did you last fall asleep at? My sister's. What is your favourite flavour of Skittles? Red, definitely. Have you ever met a famous political figure? Nope. Who taught you how to ride a bike? My dad. Have you ever lost someone to reckless/drunk driving? I am VERY grateful that I have not. Have you ever fed a wild animal? Yeah; ducks and geese at a local pond, and I used to like making bird feeders out of pinecones and peanut butter and stuff. Have you ever faked sick? Yup. I sure hated school. Do you like cinnamon on your apple pie? I don't like apple pie. Do you clap or cheer when at a concert? I'm sure I did both at the only one I've been to. Do you use a comb or brush? I just use a comb. Have you ever been called a coward? What for? Yup. The one time I remember was when Sara created a new deviantART account solely to tell me off and then immediately deleted the account. Apparently THAT isn't cowardly. Do you eat the crust of your sandwiches? Yeah, I've never understood the considerable percentage of people who don't like bread crust. I mean it's my least favorite part (I eat off the crust first to get it outta the way), but it's still perfectly fine. Have you ever had a vacation where you stayed in a cabin? No, but I really would like to do that one day. What flavour cake you you like most? I really enjoy chocolate lava cake as well as red velvet. Depends on what I'm feelin' at that moment. Are you self-conscious about wearing "short shorts" in the summer? Even when I had a fit body, I wasn't comfortable doing that. Do you see a lot of stray animals around your home? No, but it's funny I get this question now when Girt noticed a stray cat outside our door a couple days back. We don't see that a lot. When you’re being grounded, what is usually taken away from you? It was always computer privileges. What is your most commonly used nickname for your best friend? Well, technically "Girt." Everyone else in his life either calls him Donald or Junior. How tall is the last person you kissed? Exactly 6'. Do you enjoy dried fruit? NO. Aside from your own, whose house did you last set foot into? My boyfriend's. Who in your house smokes? Nobody. Who wears glasses in your house? Are they near-sighted or far-sighted? I always do; I'm near-sighted. My mom has reading glasses and is far-sighted. What kind of hot beverage do you drink the most? Hot chocolate. What kind of plants do you have in your house? How often are they watered? Mom actually has some succulents in this spare room by the window. That's all I know. Who in your family has the longest hair? How long is yours? My younger sister Nicole; she has a mane, ha ha. Mine is like, boy-short; it doesn't even touch the back of my neck since I got it trimmed. The last time you went out, what shoes did you wear? Flipflops... like always. What books (if any) have you read more than once? Meerkat Manor: Flower of the Kalahari (BUT I skipped Tim's outrageously long tangents that had nothing to do with the meerkats in later reads) and Because of Winn-Dixie. There MAY be others, but it's quite unlikely; I've never been much of a re-reader except as a little kid with children's books, obvs. What professional teams do you and/or your family root for? My dad is into the Carolina Hurricanes, Carolina Panthers, and Cleveland Browns. Ryder likes the last two too because of Grampa, ha ha. Maybe Nick likes them too, idr. How many pillows are on the bed you sleep in? I have two on my side and I keep Girt's two there too. Do you know any TV shows’ theme songs by heart? Which ones? Ha ha quite a lot honestly when you consider how little I watch TV, like That '70s Show, The Golden Girls, Supernatural (I loved "Carry On My Wayward Son" way before the show), OBVIOUSLY shit like Spongebob ha ha, and I KNOW there are more, but I'm blanking. What is a fashion trend (new or old) that you absolutely hate? Crocs. They're just ugly. What is the oldest gaming system you’ve ever played? An Atari, actually. We might still have that thing somewhere...

[pikkish]

GIMME PEEPAW BJ HEADCANONS.

I haven't finished New Colossus yet but HERE YOU GO HAVE SOME BJ HEADCANONS

Headcanon A:  realistic

He's absolute crap at dealing with other people's emotions. Has no idea how to comfort a person in distress. Would he like to? Absolutely, he hates seeing people suffering. The only problem is, his own reaction to grief is to either stand there with a stoic expression or to beat the snot out of whatever's causing the pain. So when someone else is struggling, the best he can do is go ":| ok."

Headcanon B: while it may not be realistic it is hilarious

ONE HUNDRED PERCENT CANON THE MAN EATS DOG FOOD. HE EATS DOG FOOD IN THE OLD GAMES. HE EATS DOG FOOD IN THE MODERN GAMES. I HAVE SO MANY QUESTIONS ABOUT BJ AND HIS THOIGHT PROCESS AND WHY HE DOES THINGS THE WAY HE DOES BUT I WILL NEVER UNDERSTAND WHY THIS MAN, IN THE MIDDLE OF A PRISON ESCAPE, LOOKED AT A BOWL OF DOG FOOD ON THE FLOOR AND THOUGHT, "YEAH THAT LOOKS GOOD. I'LL EAT THAT." I SWEAR TO YOU I WILL NEVER GET OVER THIS.

Headcanon C: heart-crushing and awful, but fun to inflict on friends

While I think basically all the ID Software protagonists have quite a bit of PTSD, I think BJ is probably the Most Depressed out of all of them, at least as of New Colossus. His main enemy isn't some supernatural beast or interdimensional hell army. Sure, he's seen both of these before, and fought them too, but his biggest enemy is other humans. Other humans with an unmeasurable capacity for cruelty and hatred. Not anything supernatural, just other people who decided they were somehow better. And on top of that, he failed to stop them. It was a direct result of his failed assault on Deathshead's compound that put him in a coma for fourteen years and let his entirely human enemies take over the entire world. Doomguy came close, with the gap between 2016 and Eternal, but there were still major human resistances left in Eternal. But in New Order? There's hardly any resistance left by the time BJ wakes up. And he blames himself for that.

Headcanon D: unrealistic, but I will disregard canon about it because I reject canon reality and substitute my own.

Yes I know the Spear of Destiny was supposed to be the actual spear, but I am saying it was an Argenta weapon on the same level as Doomguy's crucible, made of wraithsong, and the angel of death that asked BJ to prove himself the first time he picked it up was, or was associated with, the the Elemental Wraiths. And in successfully doing so, BJ was changed. Not to the same degree as Doomguy with the Divinity Machine, but in the same direction. He became just a bit stronger, just a bit more resilient, just a bit angrier, and he was marked in some indistinguishable way as a holy bastion against all things evil, monstrous, and hellish. That's how he was able to survive getting a chunk of shrapnel lodged in his brain and falling into a fourteen year coma, then coming out of it almost immediately capable of singlehandedly fighting an entire army. He's not wholly human, not anymore, and he passes that on to each of his descendants, all the way to Doomguy.

[radioactivepeasant]

Fic Prompts: Transformers Tuesday

Setting: Transformers Prime, 10 years after the movie finale, in an unknown military base.

Starscream has begun to threaten Earth, making demands of its leaders. The agents now known as the Nevada Team are called in, and "negotiations" halt as a young man in a suit strolls up to the video link. Jack Darby is now 26, and experienced with would-be alien invaders.

"Sorry to call you in so early," the general sighs. He glances from the agent to the ambassadors and back. "Scans on this guy came back matching one of the Jasper files. The president's opinion was that if Fowler wasn't available, you were the next best person to deal with this species and their demands."

The agent frowns and scans the tablet he's been handed. "Yeah, I know this guy. I won't lie, there is a chance that we could be in danger, depending on the situation. What kind of demands is he making?"

"See for yourself," the general's secretary sighs as he patches their audio back into the video link.

Starscream has been talking the entire time, either unaware or unbothered by the humans muting their half of the link to talk amongst themselves. He demands the immediate surrender of Earth's major governments, and insists that humans begin to mine energon for his benefit within the next week. Failure to comply with result in an invasion by his army.

Unable to stop himself, Jack lets out a quick little bark of a laugh. "You don't have an army."

Military members mumble in concern about this young man bluntly contradicting the alien terrorist. And for his part, Starscream looks more annoyed that he was interrupted. He leans close to the screen and sneers.

"Oh, I think you'll find that I do."

With a tight smile, nearly a smirk, Jack retorts, "No. You don't. Because if you did, the first thing you would've done is make yet another half-baked attempt on Iacon, not come saber-rattling around organic worlds."

He's seen how Starscream operates time and time again. Ever since losing the respect of his fellow Decepticons, Starscream has been fighting a losing battle, and he hasn't changed that much in ten years. He's highly intelligent, Jack wouldn't say otherwise. But for all his cleverness, Starscream never seems to know how to pick his battles. His overconfidence is probably his greatest weakness, often clashing with his formidable survival instincts.

Starscream is rattled, but tries to play it off. Humans are usually impressed by him, because what few aliens are known to their species are roughly their size. He is a colossus, a pinnacle of technology they can only dream of. But all it takes is one human who has experience with Cybertronians to ruin the illusion of grandeur. Starscream begins trying to work out if he's seen this cocky human before. Starscream flares out his wings in an intimidation display.

"And you don't think," he purrs, making an admirable pretense of calm, "that I may have wanted to remind humans of their place in the universe? You don't know my kind at all, human."

Agent Darby leans back on his heels. He sucks on his teeth and begins to slowly unbutton and roll up his coat sleeves. One by one he folds them back, glancing occasionally up at the screen.

Humans have threat displays, too.

Jack examines his forearms, one bearing the scars of an old energon injury. He meets Starscream's gaze and says with a sardonic smile, "Well, I know you got mugged by MECH and humans stole one of your internal organs."

Starscream sputters, fully caught off guard. How did this human know about MECH stealing his T-cog?! Nobody is supposed to know about that! The last surviving member of that cell met his end on Knockout's dissection table before they'd even left the planet! But wait, Fowler was there that night, wasn't he? Oh, is must be Fowler behind this. Starscream fumes as he thinks about the human agent who so cheerfully defied him, even under torture. But how many humans did Fowler tell?

Jack snaps his fingers as if suddenly remembering something.

"Oh, and you lost a fight to a fifteen year old human."

Starscream's wings drop in shock. Alright, he knows Fowler wasn't there when that brat stole his Apex Armor. Which means that this impertinent human knows the Wrecker's pet. Which probably means he's-

Oh scrap and bother. Nothing ever goes his way.

"What an imagination your species has," Starscream scoffs, desperate to salvage the situation. "Me? Losing to a human child?"

"She beat your aft like hammered tin." Jack's smile is fearsome to behold. "I can give her a call if you're looking for Round Two? I'm sure she's just as eager to put your face in the dirt again."

Starscream feels the last of his confidence shatter as somewhere in the background an intern snickers.

[faeintheointment]

My first one-shot: In Session

As I sat alone in the waiting room, somewhat unsurprisingly, I was unaware that I was about to experience the pivotal therapy session that was going to change everything. The one that would probably be shown on TV as a montage of scenes where the client morphs from a moment of illumination to an earth-shattering revelation. Tears and snot flow freely before they leave the therapy room and everything in their life magically falls into place. And it did, just not in that way. Not in a way that any of us expected…

He stuck his head around the office door and gestured for me to come in, just like normal. In I walked, taking my usual place in the comfortable chair facing him and relaxed to ease myself into what felt more like a conversation between good friends than a therapy session. The warmth of his greeting and softness of expression certainly suggested that the feeling was mutual. He could look at me like I was the only person in the world when I explored how I felt about the events of the past week and how they related to a complicated past which left me a stranger to my emotions. Only now was I learning to say, “I feel” instead of “I think.”

The session carried on as normal, until he stopped me to point out a theme in my words that he’d noticed: “More than once today, you’ve referred to yourself in with the language of size. It’s a significant theme, what do you feel it means?” I stopped, took a deep breath, and considered my words over the past 30 minutes or so. “I just feel like… I just feel – small. Which is ridiculous! But I just feel like I wish I could become insignificant and go unnoticed.” He smirked, “So you came to see a shrink?” We both chuckled at the terminology. Finally, he said, “This is not an uncommon feeling, and there is a way of tapping into our emotions to make this happen. I’ve been reading about it recently, as it happens. So, if you focus enough on that feeling in this controlled environment, see where it takes you. Go on.” 

I sat back in the chair and took a deep breath, trying to concentrate on the feeling – what would it be like to be small, to still be, but not stand out. I wondered if he was practising some sort of hypnotherapy on me, because he suddenly looked… different. He was far away, but closer. He was getting bigger! So was everything in the room, in fact. I panicked, and he smiled reassuringly, saying, “It’s ok, just let it happen. Just let yourself be small. I’m here.” It felt… strange. I was being carried away on a strange tide, but the sensation was soothing. I watched him, awestruck, as he became a colossus before me. 

As the sensation wore off, I stared at the giant before me and corrected myself silently. He was normal-sized, it was me that was small. As I took in the surroundings, I realised I must only be about 6 inches tall. The world looked totally different now – he looked so different, yet still the same man I knew so well and trusted with my deepest feelings. I looked up to see how he had taken the change in stature, expecting a puzzled frown or neutral expression until he was led by how I was feeling. Instead, he was smiling. A soft smile – a safe smile. 

“I’m going to have trouble hearing you over there, so would you mind if I picked you up and brought you closer?” he asked as he stood up and walked towards my chair. The absurdity of being asked for consent by a man who could quite easily just grab me if he chose made me look quizzically at him, as if to say, “You’re asking?” “I’m a giant to you, there’s a power dynamic here – if I touch you when you’re not prepared, I could hurt you. I don’t want to do that… So, may I?” So, being small did not mean being insignificant, which was good. “Of course, I trust you,” I said, and I meant it. 

Just because I trusted him didn’t mean I was prepared for what was going to happen. He stood over me, and even though I wasn’t at floor level, I was straining my neck to meet his gaze. He was huge, and I was painfully aware that, at this size, I was incredibly vulnerable. Not everyone would be as trustworthy in their behaviour. A shadow passed over as he reached a hand towards me. It was as big as I was – he wielded such power over me. Unconsciously I took a step backward. Then I felt a finger under my chin, raising my eyes to meet his as he was leaning towards me. 

“Are you ok?” he asked, eyes filled with concern. “It’s a bit much to ask you not to be scared, but…” I looked into his face and saw nothing but concern and gentleness, just like he had looked at me when I had told him difficult things before. Just… never like this. Something told me, though, that although the physical circumstances were very different, he was still the same person. And so was I – I was brave, not just a little feisty, and independent to a fault. At least this way, I was going to learn that it wasn’t just safe to rely on another – it was necessary. “Scared of you?” I quipped back, with a raised eyebrow and a smile. Although this dynamic was new… it felt right. 

Fingers encircled my body, gently but safe enough to prevent him from dropping me. The fall alone would have been enough to cause some serious damage. Vertigo had taught me never to look down, so I focused on his face as he assessed me to make sure he wasn’t causing any discomfort. He let my arms be free, so I rested my hands on his fingers as he carefully lifted me to carry me over to where he was sitting. The skin was soft – perhaps softer than I would have imagined. Had I ever imagined anything like this happening, which somewhat unsurprisingly, I had not. 

After making himself comfortable in the chair, he released me from the hold and into the other hand, so that I was sitting in an open palm. “Is that ok?” he asked. “Fine, as long as you don’t talk with your hands,” I fired back, to another of his smiles. Always the joker. The truth is, I was using humour to make myself relax just as much as him.

“Was this what you read about?” I asked, puzzled. “Yes, there’s a certain phenomenon that’s present in each of us, apparently. According to the way we normally express ourselves emotionally, our bodies can attune to it and… adjust accordingly. Sometimes it’s temporary, sometimes permanent. I can read you some of the research if you like – it happens more often than you think.” I reflected on what he said – adjust accordingly? “So, my size… shifts… according to my emotions? Does it happen in other ways too?” I was curious about this phenomenon. “Absolutely, for some it’s the other extreme,” he relayed. “I suspected you were capable of this, especially from the way you were talking. Once the… shifters… become accustomed to tapping into this ability, they made remarkable progress in their difficulties. Tell me, how are you feeling right now?”

Although I’d been listening to what he was saying, I realised that I felt comfortable in my body, and far less distressed than I thought I would be if I were sitting in the hand of a giant. “I feel… better,” I said in agreement. We sat in comfortable silence as I breathed easily and relaxed in a soft, warm place that was starting to feel like home. 

[bamfdaddio]

X-Men Abridged: 1981 - the Body-Swap

The X-Men, those body-swapping mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. We’ve been untangling that history for a while, but sometimes, you really want a more in-depth look. Interested? Then read the (un)Abridged X-Men!

(Uncanny X-Men 151 - 152) - by Chris Claremont and Josef Rubinstein

Emma Frost and her frenemy Ororo Munroe have not been getting along! One fateful evening, as the two quibble away, they mysteriously switch bodies and minds. Talk about your Freaky Friday! What lessons will they learn, walking a mile in one another’s shoes? And will they be able to switch back, or will they stay in each other’s bodies forever? Mutant Monday, coming soon to a cinema near you. Starring: Elizabeth Banks, Angela Bassett and Elliot Page. (PG-13)

For a moment, we’re in a proper period drama: a letter delivers ill tidings!

I love that Kitty’s parents are so self-involved that it took them A WHOLE YEAR to realize that it’s weird that Kitty is the only non-adult attending the Xavier Institute.

I can only assume the mailman interrupted a pool party of some kind? Or a communal shower? I get why Kurt would not swim a lot - all that fur - but did Scott wear that while they were splashing around? Was it a beach volleyball competition where one half got to wear swimsuits and the other half superhero costumes? Most importantly, was Scott’s costume always this tight?

Not that I’m complaining, mind you.

The awful thing is that Kitty’s parents are transferring her to the Massachusetts Academy, not realizing that headmistress Emma Frost is, in fact, a terrible human being. Charles, uncharacteristically, says that changing their minds telepathically is a line he does not cross (any more) and half the viewing audience bursts out in laughter. More importantly, last they saw Emma, she was kind of dead-by-Phoenix, so it might be better there this time? Kitty does a Classic Teenage Stomp-Off and Storm comes to comfort her. Kitty cries that life is unfair (“My parents are only doing this because they’re splitting up”) and Ororo tells her that yes, life is unfair. You just gotta roll with the punches as best you can.

To be fair, bald men are technically all cheek, so it doesn’t matter where you kiss them.

While I enjoy the relationship Kitty has with the other X-Men (Scott gave her a compliment! Logan told her his name!), especially the mother-daughter-bond she shares with Ororo, the whole Piotr-thing always gives me pause. Even if we’re being very generous with age, Kitty is, what? 14 going on 15? And Piotr is… 19? At best? I get why Kitty would have a crush on him: he’s a gentle hunky giant: at fifteen, my teenage ass would have felt the exact same viz-a-viz Colossus’ upper arms. The fact that Piotr reciprocates feels skeevy, though, especially because they’re always treated like star-crossed idiots these days.

Skee-vy.

Ororo drives Kitty to Massachusetts, where her young ward is greeted by someone named Muffy and whisked away for orientation. All seems well. Ororo stands in a parlour, surveying the grounds and considering that they should have fought harder for Kitty. Still, nothing seems too wrong just yet: this Academy just seems very preppy.

Not-at-all-dead Emma takes her cue and jumps out, saying (essentially): “Surprise motherfucker.”

There’s a flash of light, and then...

I’m willing to bet that Emma’s EVIL journal has the following to-do-list: - Steal Storm’s body. - Experiment with her powers. - See how good Storm looks in white. (Leather? Fur?! Both!??) - REWARD: Smoke break.

I wonder if Emma’s plan hinged on being able to body-swap with Storm, or whether any X-Man would have sufficed. Was her original target Xavier? Cyclops? What if one of Kitty’s parents had brought her to Massachusetts, would she have taken Kitty instead?

In a locked cell, Storm wakes up in Emma’s body and is horrified. I wonder why Emma didn’t take any more precautions. Couldn’t the guy who made the freaky friday-gizmo also make a power dampener to nullify not!Emma’s telepathic abilities? Or did Emma count on her victim being so utterly incapacitated by her mind-powers that they’d be driven mad? (This would actually tie in with some of Emma’s later-revealed history: when her powers first emerged, she also got locked away in a padded room because of her madness.)

Emma is not wrong, by the way: Storm can’t get a handle on Emma’s powers. What follows is possibly the sweetest moment in an arc filled with sweet moments:

This arc isn’t drawn by any of the regulars - not Byrne, not Cockrum - but Josef Rubinstein brings his own kind of panache to the pages. I love the way he draws women’s faces: in a story that’s all about women, their faces are actually distinguishable. Kudoz.

Emma, meanwhile, coordinates with Sebastian Shaw to execute the second part of their two-pronged attack on the X-Men. They both laugh evilly in their phones while the mansion is attacked by Sentinels! These androids take out Cyclops and Xavier with some sleeping gas and knock out Nightcrawler, but the rest of the X-Men manage to trounce these robots. Then ‘Storm’ appears! She zaps the rest of the X-Men (and Amanda Sefton), successfully finishing their master-plan.

It’s not entirely clear what the Hellfire Club wants with the X-Men this time, but I’m assuming it’s more experimentation to improve the sentinels? Eh, doesn’t matter! Nefarious Hellfire Club is nefarious.

The real Storm, meanwhile, comes to claim Kitty, forgetting that she looks like the one and only Emma Frost. Kitty spooks and Storm accidentally reaches out, knocking her out telepathically. Whoops! Storm takes Kitty and flees in a car, while Emma gives chase. (How dare Ororo run off with her body, which is absolutely the kind of hypocritical hilariousness we all love Emma for.)

Kitty awakens and jumps from the car, causing Storm to swerve and...

JETSTREAM!? Speaking of which, where are the Hellions in all of this?

Kitty sees that an unconscious ‘Emma’ is about to burn to a tender and moist little crisp and she is faced with the hero’s dilemma: would you save a villain that would never save you?

Emma, meanwhile, has realized the downside to body-swapping: somebody else gets to run around with your body too. Shaw, of all people, talks her down from her anger.

You can’t just introduce a persona exchange gun to the plot WITHOUT EXPLAINING WHERE THE FUCK YOU GOT IT FROM.

My favorite detail is that Emma keeps calling Kitty brat, like she’s some sort of Pokémon-villain.

Kitty, meanwhile, has saved ‘Emma’ and tied her up with a special knot. Storm tries to convince Kitty, going for the “ask me something only Storm would know”, but Kitty’s all: “Duh, you’re a telepath.” Ororo insists, but the thing that clinches it is when she breaks free of her ties without breaking a sweat. That knot was taught to Kitty by Ororo and she’d be the only one who knew how to break out of it.

Storm and Kitty recruit Stevie Hunter to come pick them up and during the ride, Storm-being-angry-mother!Storm convinces Kitty more than anything else:

After all, Storm was voted most likely to say: “If you don’t stop this nonsense immediately, I will turn this Blackbird around, so help me God!”

Ororo and Kitty sneak inside. Ororo even uses Emma’s telepathy to help her pick a lock after phasing through a door. (Kind of funny: Kitty’s still such a neophyte that she can’t even phase with anyone else yet.) Emma, meanwhile, taunts the captured X-Men, presenting herself as the new white queen:

Anybody feel the inclination to point out that the Hellfire Club did this exact same thing last year, except then they tried it with a redhead?

I secretly suspect that the Hellfire Club’s plots always revolve around seducing X-Men to their side and dressing them up in sexy lingerie. (Which: fair.) There’s also a subplot where the guys Wolverine cut apart last year want to exact revenge on him for being made bionic, but eh. We’ll start paying attention to them when they become actual Reavers.

Kitty phases through the locks of the X-Men, freeing them, and a kerfuffle ensues. Emma starts using Storm’s powers, but they grow out of control. Colossus tosses Shaw out of the window - which should just be company policy, really: all Shaws should be defenestrated - where he’s promptly hit by a rogue thunderbolt.

When he doesn’t get up, Emma starts to lose it. The weather goes wild. Storm intervenes, using her telepathic power to help calm down Emma (and the raging storm), but she also manages to get a hold of the swap-gun. There’s a zap, and with a satisfied sigh, the status-quo is restored again.

My favorite implication is that, apparently, Emma decides which school Kitty attends and not her parents.

While this little arc is neither the most iconic nor the most profound of 1981 -- those would be Days of Future Past and I, Magneto, respectively -- I still love this for a couple of reasons.

As a lover of Freaky Friday, 17 Again and the new Jumanji-film, I just have a soft spot for body swap plots. (Hi Psylocke!)

It focuses on the Xavier Institute as a school, planting seeds for the upcoming New Mutants.

It is very female-driven without beating you over the head with it. (Looking at you, Birds of Prey.)

It has three definitive main characters, who all get fleshed out in fun and interesting ways. It starts the trend of robbing Ororo of some of her powers and tossing her into against-the-odds circumstances, only for her to come out on top.

It solidifies the Storm/Kitty mother/daughter (or older/younger sibling) dynamic. Kitty is a believable teenager when it comes to Storm - clever and kind, but also looking for answers and prone to rash decisions - and I love how much they care for each other.

Jean/Storm-friendship-callback, yay!

Emma gets fleshed out as a villain. Resourceful and petty, powerful and vain. It’s no wonder she’s one of the break-out antagonists of the X-Men, because, like Magneto, Claremont is not afraid of giving her depth. Arguably, she is the most three-dimensional of the Hellfire Club at this point.

Yay! And fuck completely sensible plots, if you don’t know what to do with your plot, just introduce a random persona exchange gun. Let’s use it on Xavier and Legion in Way of X next!

[mcustorm]

In Defense of a Black Cyclops

In case my username didn’t make it clear, the single most anticipated visual project for me is the MCU’s interpretation of the X-Men, which hasn’t even been announced yet [officially]. And ladies and gents, I have found your Cyclops:

Good ol’ Alfred Enoch, who we all know from Harry Potter and How to Get Away With Murder. If you’re not familiar with HTGAWM, know that his character goes from the de facto leader of the ragtag (murderers) and most cherished protege of Viola Davis’ Professor X to taking more of a grimdark turn after his girlfriend’s death. Sound at least somewhat familiar?

Enoch also embodies the physicality of the character well, seeing as to how he’s “slim”, 6′4(!!), black, and notoriously lanky. Wait, one of these isn’t like the others.

In general I hate fancasting. Everyone generally picks from the same pool of about 30 actors (Peeps, neither Taron nor Daniel is a good Wolverine choice. Argue with your mother!), and most all of it is based on physicality, except when it absolutely should be (like say, choosing a ~5′10 dark-skinned black woman for Storm).

And I think there’s some malarkey afoot. I think there needs to be some serious consideration on part of fancasters and actual casting agents alike to rethink race when it comes to the [white] X-Men, especially since they’re the X-Men of all teams. So I’ll make the case for a black Cyclops: 

1. There is no quota on Black X-Men: There’s a bug in your ear that’s been whispering lies to you for years, it says something to the effect of “We need a black person on the team for diversity. How bout Storm?” And you’ve gotten complacent. Storm does not have to be the only black person on your X-Men roster.

2. The X-Men represent diversity: Iceman is gay, Cyclops and Prof. X are disabled (sorta), there are plenty of women, oh and everybody except Storm is white. Of the A-List X-Men, there is only *one* POC character. I’d argue that an MCU X-Men needs to champion diversity like never before.

3. The X-Men represent minority struggle while being mostly white: There’s a cognitive dissonance in the metaphor that has always been there, and for the most part, nobody cares. To appeal to the white readers of the 60′s, the X-Men were all initially white. That way, the message of the mutants could be related to the audience with a familiar face. We don’t need to approach the problem that way in 202?

4. Just because that’s the way it’s always been, doesn’t mean that’s the way it should be: The first line of defense. Sorry, that will never be a good justification for literally any idea. It’s time for some more critical thinking.

5. We don’t all want to be Bishop: So say you’re white and you have a kid who for his birthday having a costume party. You’ve bought some X-Men costumes and you want each kid to pick one. 9 white kids and one black kid show up to your house. As the kids deliberate who gets what costume, be it Cyke or Wolvie or whatever, you yell at everybody to “STOP!”, point to the one black kid and tell him “You’re gonna be Bishop. That’s it, end of story!” 

We don’t all want to be Bishop. The black child could have the best Cyclops interpretation within him, but you’ll never know if you don’t let him try. And that’s no different from the Black actors of Hollywood. There’s no reason why all of the black talent should *have* to compete for the role of Bishop or Storm, which I’ve discussed, while Joe Schmo can walk up and audition for literally anybody he wants.          

Jharrel Jerome is 23 and has an Emmy to his name. He needs to be in the MCU in some capacity, period. Stephan James is another. How bout Damson Idris. Ashton Sanders. But no, no, let’s fancast Dacre Montgomery or Ansel or Joe Keery again as [Human Torch, Wolverine, Iceman, Angel, I’ve literally seen it all.]

6. Nobody wants to see the B-team if it comes down to it. The next line of defense from your racebending naysayers after “That’s the way it’s always been!” is “Well, what about Psylocke, Bishop, Forge and Jubilee?” who are otherwise known as B-tier X-Men. The problem is, we’ve got limited time and limited spots.

So since the X-Men is all about wonky metaphors that make half sense, let me give you another: Let’s say somebody approaches you and says “Hey buddy, I got two free concert tickets for ya! You can either see Michael Jackson Sings the Blues, or you can go see Justin Timberlake. Free of charge!”

Now, are you used to MJ singing the blues? No! Do you have a problem with going to see Justin Timberlake? No, he’s fine on a Wednesday! He had that one little diddy we liked that one time. We’d love to see him eventually! But are you gonna say, “fuck that, I’m going to see MJ Sings the Blues” regardless? Hell yes, because that’s still Michael Jackson. He’s gonna give the same amazing performance he always does, it’s just gonna be the blues. And speaking of blues...

7. Black is not Blue, Brown is not Blue: Raise your hand if you’ve ever heard this one: “I don’t care if you’re black, white, purple, or green, I’m going to treat you all the same!” I will not say all have this intention, but some fancasters have noticed that the racial diversity is kinda low within the A-List X-Men, so they oh-so-generously give the following roles to a black or brown person: Iceman, Nightcrawler, Beast. 

Notice the pattern? It’s a microaggression, and it’s bullshit. What these fancasters are implicitly telling you is that, yes the actors will be black or brown, but when the action starts we can ignore that. They’ll be blue by then. In other words, you in fact do care if they’re purple or green. Nobody will cry foul if Dev Patel gets to play Nightcrawler (because that’s a common one I see), but should Anna Diop be Starfire or Michael B. Jordan be Human Torch, I bet there’d be backlash. Oh wait. If that’s you, please stop acting like you actually value diversity. You don’t want to see black or brown skin, period. Unless of course, it’s Storm (refer to point #1).

But wait, there’s more! When brown characters get whitewashed in these movies, it’s crickets! So eventually it’s revealed implicitly that proclaimers of point #4 only care about it one way.

8. Professor X should not be black if you’re not willing to change anyone else: The next line of defense is that some people say the professor should be black, if anybody HAS to be racebent. Something something MLK Jr., Civil Rights or some shit. Number one, I’m not reducing Professor X to being a magical negro for 9 white people (and Storm!) who for all intents and purposes get to have all the action. Number 2, the Professor X/MLK/Magneto/Malcolm X comparison is an oversimplifying disservice to ALL FOUR of those people. I hate that line whenever I see it, please watch a documentary my friends. 

9. The Candidates for Racebending: For me, the A-List X-Men are Cyclops, Jean Grey, Iceman, Angel, Beast, Wolverine, Storm, Gambit, Rogue, Colossus, Nightcrawler, and Kitty Pryde. Now, who should be exempt from the racebending? Storm, she’s our designated minority. Gambit, he’s Cajun and they’re white (generally speaking, that’s a fun bit of research). Wolverine, Colossus, and Nightcrawler, because their nationality/ethnicity was the whole point of the Giant-Size premise in the first place. Angel, because his character embodies a privileged white male. Beast and Iceman, I don’t care one way or another (Point #7).

That leaves Cyclops, Rogue, Jean Grey, and Kitty Pryde. Now Jean Grey is a redhead, and we all know that every time a redhead is racebent people sharpen their pitchforks (Mary Jane, Wally West, Iris West), so I will cede the ground on Jean if only so that my ginger friends can get their rep. Kitty Pryde is Jewish, but Jews of color exist. Rogue is from the South. And Cyclops is, well, just Cyclops. That makes those three characters good options for more diversity. But allow me to make the case for Cyclops, specifically.

10. It’s not just diversity for diversity’s sake: If you had to pick who the main character of the X-Men is supposed to be, most would say Cyclops. And so in a series that highlights racial discrimination in society, it makes sense that our main character be black. While changing Cyclops’ skin color should not change who he is as a character, it *should* recontextualize it. Now, as an eventual increasingly radical leader of the X-Men, Cyclops would evoke real life figures such as Colin Kaepernick or, shall I say, Martin Luther King, Jr.

Not that most X-Men fans and writers truly think about what it means to be black anyways. Storm’s minority status is almost always put through the lens of her being a mutant and not her being a black woman. In other words, you can’t argue that making a character black will fundamentally change his or her character when you haven’t even analyzed the racial context of the black character(s) you already have. Another concept that the MCU X-Men should tackle: intersectionality.

11. Representation matters: I have to say it: Chadwick Boseman’s Black Panther hit different. And now he is tragically gone. At the end of the day, the MCU moving forward is down its most prominent black male superhero. Which has implications beyond just the movies themselves.

The women are in good hands. Shuri, Okoye, and Nakia are badasses in Wakanda, Valkyrie is ruling Asgard, Storm is almost assuredly on the way, RiRi Williams has already been cast, and Monica Rambeau is here and she’s not even at her most glorious yet. That doesn’t even include variable Δ, or the number of characters who can and will be racebent. And I’ll note again that to me, Gamora doesn’t count, because she’s green (#7 really pisses me off because it’s so blatant. I hate it). Of course from a behind the camera perspective we love black women getting work.

The men are a completely different story. Imma just go out and say it, I can’t stand Falcon and War Machine [in the MCU] because they’re not characters, they’re just two of a slew of MCU minority sidekicks who have essentially been at the beck and call of Captain America and Iron Man, respectively. You cannot tell Falcon’s story without mentioning Cap. The reverse is not true. There’s a whole essay that could be and have been written on “Minorities in the MCU, pre-Black Panther”. Remember, there’s a reason BP made so much noise in the first place.

So excluding those two we have, let’s see, M’Baku, Blade, and Fury who aren’t exactly the most superheroic superheroes, Eli Bradley is proooobably coming, I doubt Miles Morales is coming (because he’s just Peter Parker in the MCU), Luke Cage(?) Bishop(??), Sunspot(???), Blue Marvel(????). Not only are they not A-List, I would not put money on any of them being in the MCU any time soon.

Cyclops is thee Captain America of the X-Men. He’s the frontman. He’s the poster boy. He’s the “boy scout”, which in other words means he’s the hero, if there has to be one. It would mean a lot right now, and specifically *right now*, if he were to be black. The MCU needs it. It NEEDS it.

12. The X-Men is the Summers Story: I’ll even make the case that if just one character needs to racebent, then it should be Cyclops, because that of course implies that other related characters need to be black because half of the X-Men universe is in fact a part of the Summers family. 

So now Cable is black. Corsair is black. Havok is black. And one of the most central stories in the X-Men mythos, the Summers family drama, is now a black family drama set in space or the future or where the fuck ever. The concept is boundary pushing. When white families have drama in the media, it gets to be Game of Thrones or Star Wars, while when black families have drama in the media, it has to be black people arguing in a kitchen or living room about their various earthly traumas (I’m @’ing you, Mr. Perry). I mean, that’s all fine and good often times, but I want my black family drama in space, dammit.

And again, this is the X-Men, the series that’s all about *minorities* and their struggle, so again, why not?

Oh, and I’ll even throw out a Havok fancast for you: How bout Jharrel Jerome?

[bigskydreaming]

Doing some writing today off and on between errands and work, and jumping around various Kings of the Sky installments, specifically Dick, Jason and Cass stuff, so probably gonna post snippets from a bunch of them as I go. 

(Kings of the Sky is an AU that goes canon divergent from the point of Jason calling Dick for advice for dealing with Bruce after the Garzonas case and where things end up going dramatically different from that point on. Including Jason not dying, being part of his own lineup of Titans between Dick and Tim’s, Dick being adopted not long after the Church of Blood incident, Cass being the third Wayne kid to be taken in and adopted and with Tim and Duke being next and then Damian coming along later once they find out about him. This is basically my ‘the family’s alright’ AU with largely ‘Good Dad Bruce’ except for Dick and then Jason yelling some sense into him about the other, respectively, in the first two installments, just FYI).

Anyway, this bit is from a story called “In Their Shadows Grow Trees Of Good and Evil,” set about a year after Cass has been adopted, when she and Jason are both sixteen and Dick’s twenty-one. Also just FYI, because canon has never been specific about what ways Cass is neurodivergent due to the comic-book style ‘rewiring’ of her brain so that she could learn to speak later in life, I tend to go with her being dyslexic and having aphasia. She sticks exclusively to sign language and being a silent presence in her costumed personas, so that there’s no chance of people connecting the dots between Black Bat and Cassandra Wayne, as she mostly speaks verbally in her civilian persona and doesn’t hide her aphasia. The reason there’s not likely to be any obvious signs of aphasia in the snippets of her I post is because I wait until I complete something to choose words at random to replace with aphasia-born mixups, so its more realistic and I’m not gearing her dialogue towards deliberately placed moments. Just in case you were wondering.

In Their Shadows Grow Trees of Good and Evil

“Hey Todd,” sneered an exquisitely obnoxious voice. “Why’s your sister so fucking weird?”

Jason sighed the sigh of a soul a mere century into its eternity of damnation as he rose from the lunch table he’d been studying at and crammed the rest of his books into his backpack. Then he pasted a cheerfully bland smile on his face and turned around, geared for academia warfare (teenage prep school edition).

“Hey Craig,” he said brightly. “Why’d you come out of the womb so ugly your parents had to tie a piece of steak around your neck just to get the family dog to go near you? Mysteries abound.”

The advancing junior slowed a step, momentarily rocked by his truly impressive return volley. The grimace Craig’s already gargoyle-esque features twisted into made his face even more unpleasant to look at than usual, which was quite the feat. Jason would have applauded if just looking at it hadn’t already turned him to stone.

But the bargain basement basilisk kept on towards him rather than turn tail and skulk off to pop his emotional blisters, so Jason sighed a sequel to his first one. Looked like it was one of those days where Craig felt up to powering through. Guess someone had eaten their self-esteem Wheaties that morning. Joy.

“You think you’re pretty hot shit, don’t you, Todd?”

Jason shrugged. “I mean, to be honest I kinda have a one track mind, so right now I’m mostly just thinking about punching you in your mistake.”

“My what?”

“Your face,” Jason elaborated with exaggerated patience.

“Huh?”

“Oh my god, I’m saying your face is a mistake. See, its not as fun when I have to stop and explain it to you. Ugh, you ruin everything.”

He neatly sidestepped the older boy as R2-Dumbass stayed frozen, smoke coming off of his internal CPU while trying to catch up. For a second Jason thought he was home free, but then he remembered the universe fucking hated him so haha, sucks to suck. Also, a small crowd had gathered to witness the verbal jousting match, and nothing invigorated an asshole like Craig more than an audience of like-minded peers. So there was that too.

“Whatever. Laugh it up all you want, you little shit,” the junior rallied. “But just remember, mocking your betters will never change the fact that you were born street trash and you’ll be street trash until the day you die.”

Honestly? Not his best effort. Jason almost felt bad using any of his good material. Seemed like overkill at this point. But he did have a strict Scorched Earth policy to maintain, so.....

“Yeah but my dad could buy out and ruin your dad so that means I still win, right?”

He smirked as the barb landed and Craig’s face set into a sunset vista of strangled purple and furious red. Bam. Direct hit.

“Listen, you - “

“Oh for fuck’s sake, it was rhetorical,” Jason interrupted. “I don’t actually care what you think even a little bit. Nobody does. You don’t matter. Please go be irrelevant elsewhere, you’re fucking dismissed, you loser.”

“Speak for yourself, charity case.” Oh goodie, Craig’s backup singers had finally arrived. Now if only he could remember to care enough to learn their names in the first place. Seriously, who told the extras they could have lines? “All the jokes in the world can’t change who and what you are.”

Jason shrugged and continued nonchalantly up the hill to where his sister was standing with arms crossed, staring down at something on the other side.

“True genius is never appreciated in its own time,” he tossed back over his shoulder. “I’m sure I’ll be immortalized in song eventually.”

The mob of morons deigned to let him go without further incident. Though he suspected that had less to do with his scathing wit and more to do with him being headed towards Cass. She was immaculately presented as always, wearing the Gotham Academy uniform like she was born to it despite hating its uncomfortable stiffness every bit as much as he did. But that was just Cass for you. 

For all that she still struggled at times to engage verbally or speak up in social settings, her mastery of body language remained without peer. She could chameleon-camouflage her way into matching poise and posture with anyone - a skill that had allowed her to walk into school on her very first day with her head held high as though she owned everything in her sight. Exuding so much Queen Bee Intimidation Factor even the other hive queens were afraid to approach her  themselves. Sending forth their drones to try and woo her into an alliance, only to see her remain oh-so-casually above it all, a slightly contemptuous smile adorning her lips.

Basically, she scared the shit out of their classmates without them having anywhere close to a true understanding of why, and Jason was outrageously jealous. Rude. Unfair. Why did his siblings always get all the cool toys when all he had was his rakish charm, scintillating intellect and debonair.....nah, who was he kidding. He was fucking awesome. 

“Sup, sis,” he said, cresting the hill to stand beside Cass. “Just FYI, I just took a popularity bullet for you, which means you owe me your dessert tonight. Its a family rule that’s totally a real thing and definitely not something I just made up right now because Alf is making chocolate soufflé.”

She made no acknowledgment and remained stock still, a Colossus at Rhodes peering down into the shifting shadows of the parking lot below.

He peered down as well, though with absolutely no idea what they were looking at. Solidarity, yo.

“So are we staring fixedly at anything in particular, or should I just pick my own spot and commit?”

His humor was totally wasted on her as always. Instead of laughing and telling him what a lovable goof he was, she just inclined her head in the direction of a blonde girl where she was standing next to the driver’s side door of a Mercedes-Benz, dictating final commandments to her peons before departing. Well, probably. Jason was just guessing, based on his own body language reads, and like, general disdain for literally everyone at this school that wasn’t related to him.

He made a face. An extra special one reserved just for this classmate in particular. “Ugh, Madison Dunleavy? She’s the worst.”

Cass raised a cool eyebrow. “I thought Craig Hendricks was the worst.”

“He is. They’re both the worst. Its a hotly contested position here at Gotham Academy.”

She rolled her eyes and nodded back down at the Queen of Air and Darkness. “So. You know her?”

“Nope,” Jason said. “Come to think of it, I’ve actually never seen her in my life. No idea who that is. Can’t help you, sorry. Shall we go home?”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition speared him with clear intent. Who the fuck needed words when you could pack the Encyclopedia Britannica into a single facial expression?

Jason sighed gustily. 

“I had a slight altercation with her freshman year that led to her declaring her undying enmity for me until the end of time. The word nemesis may or may not have been thrown around once or twice. I can’t recall.”

The Eyebrow of Inquisition lowered nary an inch. Ugh, she wanted more? Why did everyone in his family hate privacy, with the obvious exclusion of himself when snooping through Cass and Dick’s rooms for blackmail material, which was actually intel-gathering and thus another matter entirely.

“Okay so basically what happened was my first week here I overheard her talking shit about me and not even twenty minutes later she was pretending to kiss my ass in homeroom, like probably because of Bruce, y’know? So I just busted out laughing and told her to fuck off and die and she has inexplicably loathed me ever since.”

Avoiding further Eyebrow Inquisition-ing, he made a show of peering around aimlessly. When the silence extended and it was clear Cass was absolutely not going to break first, Jason waved a hand in dismissal and took to peering oh so casually at his fingernails. "I suppose I was less tactful back in those days.”

He chanced a look up, finally, and saw his sister’s eyebrow had somehow managed to mighty morphin power ranger its way into a configuration evoking both judgment and disbelief, with the latter perhaps aimed at the idea he was significantly differing in the tact department these days either.

“I don’t love the implications your face is making right now,” he told her.

She ignored him, because of course she did. 

“Does she know Dick?” She asked instead. Jason shrugged.

“I mean, maybe? She’s probably seen him around at one of those stupid galas we have to go to, and actually I think maybe she has an older brother who was either in Dick’s grade or like, one above or below it? I don’t know.”

Now both eyebrows were doing the dance of disbelief. Okay, so maybe that was poor situational awareness on his part, since it wasn’t like Gotham Academy was a big school with a ton of other kids and also he’d only been in the same class as Madison for like over two whole years, but whatever. There were extingent circumstances.

“Look, she’s a total snob who’s always looked down on me and in return I willfully ignore both her existence and that of everyone and everything even tangentially related to her. Its called equality, Cass.”

She pursed her lips and went back to the peering, because of course in the mind of Cass it made total sense that the Grand Inquisition didn’t need to be followed up by any explanation on her part, what the hell. Like was he supposed to have inferred it?

“What’s this all about anyway?”

“I heard her talking about Dick earlier,” she said without peeling her eyes away from her personal recon mission. “I don’t know what she said though, I just heard her say Grayson, and then I was busy looking at what her body was saying. I know it was about Dick because she shut down when she saw me. And I didn’t like the way she....looked....before that happened. The way she was talking. It was.....”

Jason frowned but held back any follow-up questions while he waited - with total patience because he wasn’t an absolute cad, thank you very much - for his sister to find the word she was hunting for. It was a major source of frustration for her, that whatever neural map her brain followed put body language and spoken language in totally different regions of her brain, separated by a fairly great divide. Meaning she usually had to make a conscious choice to focus on body language or conventional languages - whether verbal or sign. But it tended to be one or the other; she’d yet to master taking in and comprehending both forms of ‘language’ at the same time. And none of them had quite figured out how to convince her that she wasn’t actually missing anything when she chose to focus on one specific form of communication - that she was still observing far more than most people ever would.

“Proprietary,” Cass settled on at last. She nodded her satisfaction with her choice of word, and Jason waited a whole two point five seconds before sticking  his whole foot in his mouth.

“Proprietary?” He asked with a scrunched nose as he weighed that for possible context and implications. “You sure?”

She glared. He winced. It was a whole thing.

“Yeah, I know, sorry, sorry, I heard it the second it was out of my mouth. We don’t actually have to experiment with the legitimacy of if looks could kill.”

Cass rolled her eyes, but eh. That could’ve gone worse.

Jason swiftly redirected attention anyway. Discretion is the better part of valor, after all.

“So. The Queen of Air and Darkness was talking about our big bro, and her mood was.....proprietary, huh?” He recapped while digesting the info like a boss. “Well. Definitely not loving that, I gotta say. Hold please.”

Pulling out his phone and pulling up his most recent texts, he began typing furiously.

“What are you doing?” Cass asked.

“Texting Tom,” he replied, because duh. Hah, now it was his chance to have the answers that should be patently obvious and thus make with the ‘are you kidding me’ when she asked obvious questions she should know the answer to! How do you like them apples, sis?

“Why are you texting your boyfriend right now?”

Jason rolled his eyes, because fair is fair, but never ceased texting for a moment. Time was of the essence here, probably. Well, maybe. Okay probably not. But it’d still been like half an hour since he and Tom had last texted and that’s a very fucking long time in teenage years.

“To be our getaway driver tonight, obviously.”

She stared at him. He didn’t look up, but he could feel it anyway. He was very intuitive like that.

“What?”

Jason heaved another sigh, one keyed to tones of ‘oh my god, do I really have to spell this out,” exasperation. He was just racking up the bonus points here. It was really too bad this wasn’t an actual competition he could actually win and this was all just pettiness taking place wholly in his own head. Lame. 

“Well, clearly we now have to go snoop in Madison’s house aka lair to see if its actually a house or a full on lair. Because she’s either a creeper or like, legit evil, and its important to know which one before we proceed, because obviously we can only bust her for being a weird creeper about our brother as Jason and Cass, whereas if she’s legit evil, that’s gotta go down as Robin and Black Bat. I’ll handle the snooping, you’ll take look-out, but we still need a wheelman and that’s why I’m texting Tom. This is all very mission-oriented, okay. I’m a professional.”

“Right,” she affirmed, while sounding anything but convinced. “Why don’t we just tell Bruce?”

Without looking up or breaking stride, he said: “I’m going to give you til I finish typing this sentence to figure out what was wrong with what you just said. Remember that we are talking about hypothetical danger to our brother, and also Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response to any of his children being in even hypothetical danger. And also our brother’s idea of a proportionate response to Bruce’s idea of a proportionate response. Look, you’re still new so I’m gonna need you to just trust me on this one. Its gonna be a no on telling Bruce without further intel.”

Cass said nothing in response to that, which meant that she was conceding the point and recognized the wisdom of his words. Or maybe that she was just gonna go ahead and do what she wanted anyway and just wasn’t bothering to fight about it, but it was probably that first thing.

“Well you better not just make out with your boyfriend all night,” is what she said at last, and that got his attention reeeeeal quick like.

“Umm. Wow. Okay. So, first off, you’re not the boss of me and who I make out with and when, so jot that down. And second, now I’m definitely going to make out with my boyfriend extra hard, with the exception of when we are actually on our recon mission because as previously established, I am a professional. And also, again, you’re not the boss of me.”

Jason ignored her Eye Roll With Extra Emphasis, and instead just held up his phone to Text With Extra Emphasis, as he read along with what he was typing.

“By the way babe, we have to make out extra hard tonight,” he said, tongue sticking out of the corner of his mouth while he dragged out his dictation with the kind of focus that usually led to Bruce asking why he couldn’t apply as much intensity to training as he did to pettiness. “Cass has suddenly decided she can dictate terms to me and I need to shut that shit down ASAP, so thank you in advance for your assistance in this matter. Smoochies and other gay stuff to the best boyfriend ever.”

Jason frowned as a response pinged back seconds later. 

TheCatsMeow: ....the things I put up with for the sake of your weird family dynamics.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah, yeah. You’re a saint among were-panthers. Must you mock? Why can’t you just tell me I’m pretty instead?

TheCatsMeow: Sorry. Let me try again. OMG you’re so pretty Jase how did I get so lucky xoxo.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: No. Its too late. It feels forced and unbelievable now. You’ve ruined it forever.

TheCatsMeow: Got it. From now on I will only tell you that you’re repulsive and hideous.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: I’m breaking up with you.

TheCatsMeow: But after I help you with your mission tonight.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Obvsly. I’m a professional. Why do people keep forgetting this?

TheCatsMeow: And also the making out to spite your sister.

TheOnlyRobinThatRocks: Yeah we should do that first too. I mean we already penciled it in.