#and his rider went '!!!!'

[yo-yo-yoshiko]

They put the light back in his eyes :)

Cleaner shots of these two cause i liked em!

I think Hanto had been hating himself for a long time now, but he's finally starting to pick himself back up. I thought he was really cool this week!

[girlwiththegreenhat]

"big baby disney rushes to edit crew member out of 4 frames of the mandalorian" back in my day you'd see the entire fucking camera crew in the reflection of kitts paint nearly every episode of knight rider and we LIKED IT THAT WAY

[aaron04jpg]

Fuck everyone switching up on Esteban Ocon stay away from my guy if you spent all of 24 spreading hate

[damthosefandoms]

darry taking extra shifts after thanksgiving to be able to afford christmas presents for his brothers and the gang vs soda taking extra shifts after thanksgiving to justify putting up christmas lights to bring some holiday cheer to their neighborhood even though it would blow their electric bill through the roof

[hyakunana]

✨💖 Winner gets desir———

[moonshynecybin]

small domino marc getting bullied out of moving to andorra at age 21 large domino marc doing badly at the apparently extremely competitive ducati team launch group ski race

[kamenridergaysex]

accidentally drops my yuuto drawings out of my pocket ahhh shit oops what the hell

[iamirhen]

Previous - Next - Start Road to Recovery

So now Robbie has met a new unsuspecting victim friend! That makes three of them counting with the girls, but Hunter is the only one who will not run away (Nico) or tell him to go fuck himself (Illyana) if he tries to infodump like a champ share his passion for cars.

Which is... actually a great way for Hunter to get introduced to a lot of modern concepts like what is fuel, what does an engine do, etc. She is very lost in this new world and he can help. It's a good idea! That it is if he manages to stick to the basics and does not get derailed. How successful will he be at that is up for you to decide.

I wanted to do something easy and fun so I could experiment a bit with a more webtoon-like format so I decided to do this mini-epilogue for chapter 1. In Midnight Suns, when you reach the basic friendship tier with Robbie Reyes he shows Hunter his car, and this strip is based on that.

I forgot to say this in the previous update, but I'm using this series as a way to experiment and learn how to do comics so I could improve both my writing and my drawing skills. Since now I'm jumping between archs I'd be grateful to get feedback about what kind of stuff did and didn't work in your opinion in the first arch of this thing so I can do better next time. So feel free to reach me privately if you are too shy to write criticism in the comments.

[incorrect-green-lantern-quotes]

Let's talk about Abin Sur

Chances are, you might only know him as the pink alien who crashed his spaceship, recruited Hal Jordan to be his successor, and then promptly shuffled off the mortal coil to hang out with Uncle Ben, the Waynes, and all of Krypton.

Showcase issue #22

And in the original 1959 version of this story, that's really all there was to old Abin. It was a simpler time in comics, and this new version of Green Lantern was being introduced in an anthology series that was basically DC throwing stuff at the wall and seeing what stuck well enough to spin off into its own book. Consequently, there wasn't much need for Abin to be anything besides a source of exposition. Details like a one-off spaceman's home planet or species just weren't important enough to spend ink and paper on.

But when Hal proved to be popular enough to carry his own title, the extraterrestrial nature of his powers meant that quite a lot of his adventures took place on other worlds. Whether by accident or intention, the writers established that the Green Lantern ring allowed its wearer to fly freely through outer space.

Green Lantern (1960) issue #1

Which of course begs the question: Why was Abin Sur in a spaceship when he crashed on Earth?

Perhaps that's why a couple years later in 1962, the same creative team did reveal a little more about Abin in the story "Earth's First Green Lantern!"

Green Lantern (1960) issue #16

In the expanded account of his demise, Abin was possessed by an energy being which was trying to force him to free its comrades that he'd imprisoned for robbing other species of their intelligence (it was the Silver Age). He tricks his enemy by telling it that his ring doesn't have enough power for the flight, which is why he was in a spaceship. He is able to defeat the energy being but shortly after their fight, the ship flies through a field of yellow radiation, which blinds Abin and causes him to crash on Earth.

(This story also establishes Abin Sur's home planet as Ungara, and that he was still a history professor while also being Green Lantern, presumably to make him feel more like an actual character than a flat plot device)

For over two decades, this was the canon version of Abin Sur's death. He went out heroically while fulfilling his duties, but otherwise wasn't particularly remarkable as a Green Lantern. His most important role was still dying in Hal Jordan's origin.

Marvel certainly seemed to think so, when they created their own "space cop" superhero in 1976. They quite literally copied the broad strokes of Green Lantern's origin for Nova, right down to the dying alien predecessor.

Nova (1976) issue #1

Now, Richard Rider is hardly a carbon copy of Hal Jordan, and one day I'll tell you all about the man who stood when all else fell, but the reason I bring up the Nova comic is that it has very rarely been a priority for Marvel in the same way that Green Lantern is for DC, and especially lacks any development of its nonhuman cast. Consequently, Rhomann Dey is kind of like a time capsule of what Abin Sur was like before all the retcons to his character.

[t-u-i-t-c]

to flee - to run away from a place or situation of danger

[nugulover69]

"Faker? I think YOU'RE the fake Shoma around here!"

I WAS JOKING

[llamasofchaos]

So one thing they did in season three that I find so interesting is how they set up parallels between Mrs Jones and Julia Rothman. Because when you actually pay attention to their interactions with Alex you realize that it's actually Blunt that is similar to Julia and Yassen that is similar to Mrs Jones.

Rothman and Blunt were both so caught up in their own egos and obsessions that they didn't recognize how reckless their actions were when it came to how they ran their organizations and how they used Alex.

They both saw Alex as a piece on the board. Something they could use to get what they wanted, they both let their anger and pride get in the way of rational decisions when it came to certain decisions.

Then on the flip side you have Yassen and Mrs Jones. Mrs Jones was always concerned about Alex but until season three never really fought back for him or herself until she saw how easily Scorpia was able to get to Alex. Yassen tried to keep himself separated from Alex, he didn't want to help or see him, and then in season three he has no choice so he tries to teach Alex how to be like him.

It is so interesting because Mrs Jones is supposed to be the deputy of the department but we see in season one and two that Blunt keeps things from her that he doesn't from Crowley or Smithers because he knows she will question him about it.

This is similar to Yassen because when watching season three, at first it seems like Yassen is Julia's deputy but it becomes clear he isn't because he doesn't just follow blindly.

Season three was the turning point for three of these characters, both Yassen and Mrs Jones had to decide where they stood when it came to Alex and their respective bosses. In the end Mrs Jones chose to defend and support Alex and Yassen chose to hide in the shadows and offer protection.

Blunt had to choose to trust Alex and stop using his people like chess pieces in a game he didn't understand. This is why he is the actual parallel to Julia, because when it came down to it Julia chose to use Alex to get her own petty revenge and Blunt chose to put his revenge aside to help Alex and save innocent people.

[batsplat]

It's a thing I already knew but all your beautiful analysis really made obvious (to me) how much of a grudge holder vale is. That man is never letting it go he's gonna hold his grudges into his grave

you know, I do think this is an interesting issue, because I'm not sure this is true of all his grudges. just sticking here with the grudges he accumulated in his capacity as a competitor, rather than just his general approach to life or whatever... how you judge this will kinda depend on how you feel about the 'reconciliation' he's experienced with some of his rivals - and whether you read the whole thing as sincere or not. now, personally I reckon he still dislikes biaggi, but also you are allowed to just dislike people so I'll give him a pass for that. some of the others, I'm a little more convinced by the whole reconciliation schtick

let's get valentino's take:

interesting that he mentions those three together, isn't it? and like, he's still not messaging biaggi or inviting him to his home - "even with max" kind of tells you all you need to know - but the other two? they said some proper nasty things to each other over the years!! I mean, the casey rivalry, there's some remarks from both sides where quite frankly I think I would struggle just a touch to get over it

I don't know, obviously this could all be pr stuff, but I kind of feel like... y'know, why bother? it's 2022, you're retired, who gives a fuck? sure it's a good look to be all magnanimous, sure it can be a bit of a way of twisting in the knife to the guys left in the cold, but also, who would care if you don't play nice? I think especially with jorge, you surely don't need to do all that, inviting him to your home and dancing with him... (which, again, some of the spats those two had...) and with the casey rivalry, if there's one guy who's still hung up about what happened between the pair of them, it's obviously casey (speaking of blokes who can hold a grudge). maybe this is giving valentino too much credit, but personally I buy it's more or less sincere. there's nothing to really indicate he's still particularly bothered by any of their past disagreements - he's basically going for the 'all's fair in love and motorcycle racing' approach. he knows he was an asshole, he accepts they were assholes too, whatever, that's how these things work. he's generally a fan of drama in rivalries, unsurprisingly, and he was happy enough to contribute his fair share - but he does see it as fundamentally being part of the game

to point out the obvious, check out who he's left out: sete and marc. that's where he can't let go of the grudges... because it's not about the offence itself as much as it is about the betrayal. this is the thing with valentino, right, it's about what kind of bond you had with him. if you weren't his friend in the first place and then piss him off as a rival then, y'know, whatever. obviously he's going to be vicious in trying to get back at you, but also he's really not going to waste his time feeling too aggrieved by it. I mean, think about how all the bullshit between him and casey dropped off sharply post-2012... from valentino's end anyway. think about how jorge and valentino pretty quickly got on again whenever they weren't fighting for supremacy within yamaha. they weren't friends in the first place, then they were enemies for competitive reasons for a while there, then it's over and valentino is basically happy enough to call it bygones

but... if it's a certain kind of bond you had with him and then you wrong him... that little mental list of all his past grievances, all your past transgressions, that's where it comes in. that's where he ices you out. denies you any emotional warmth. ensures that any interaction going forward is conducted entirely on his terms. where even any public 'reconciliation' won't truly be sincere.... or, certainly he's not going to forget what happened. if something else happens... it's like you've always got the potential of triggering this lingering resentment, in a way, where all that past stuff is still primed and ready to be called upon. he certainly doesn't just let it go

or, as he puts it in his autobiography:

Biaggi and I never talk to each other. I mean, we've never had a real conversation, anything that's lasted more than the requisite time to insult each other or put each other down, in the nastiest way possible. In any case, I don't hate him. It's true, we've never been friends, but hatred is something different, and that's too serious a word to describe our relationship. Far too serious. No, we have a reciprocal antipathy. No doubt this is a result of what we do for a living and the fact that we both want to win every single time. And perhaps it's also a function of the fact that we have very different personalities and very different ways of seeing things. Still, I don't think this means we hate each other, as some journalists have written. I think I could feel hatred for someone, but only for someone far worse than anything Biaggi has done. For example, if I were betrayed by a friend, then, yes, I could hate him. But Biaggi will never betray my friendship for the simple reason that we are not, and never have been, friends. Our relationship is very clear: we compete on the track - outside the track, each goes his own way. You could say we detest each other cordially.

... I mean. he said it, not me. and given this book was first published in '05... biaggi can't betray his friendship because they were never friends... I'm not saying he's thinking about sete, but it has to at least be a possibility, right? he's talking about one rivalry here and refusing to even mention the other... and the one he's refusing to mention is the one where he was friends with the other bloke. I don't know, maybe that's reading too much into it! and anyway, even if this passage wasn't really about sete, it's obviously still revealing. "detest each other cordially" is essentially what he was doing with casey and jorge (or from his point of view in any case, not entirely sure they'd agree with that). the grudge comes when he feels let down by you... and then, yes, he'll never let it go

of course, he's willing to set aside his grievances for a while if there's sufficient motivation for him to do so. in 2009, when he had so definitively won that rivalry with sete, why bother kicking up a fuss? in 2016, quite frankly it was just too much, and it was getting to the point where it was obviously hurting him too. on the one hand there was the media furore that had been going on non-stop since sepang, on the other hand it was also hurting his own approach to racing. there's reports from the time how visibly aggrieved he still was in the first few races of the season, and it took until they got back to europe for him to... y'know, have fun again. it's not sustainable to be walking around with a constant dark cloud over your head and broadcasting burning resentment towards your two main rivals. certainly not for someone like valentino - he needs to be having fun! the slight rapprochement needed to happen, in a way, because otherwise those years would have been even worse for everyone involved. but that doesn't actually translate to forgetting any of those grudges. this is about convenience more than anything else

goes to show, really... most of the time he doesn't take these things personally. I talked about it a bit in this post, how maybe it's also something that changed over time for him: the question of whether he was willing to develop these kinds of bonds in the first place with competitors... because he does possess a certain level of self-awareness in terms of what these kinds of rivalries are like and what they do to interpersonal relationships. ideally, you don't want to be hurt by a friend like that, right? better not to have that kind of emotional attachment with your competitors in the first place. how unfortunate it'd be if all those years after sete the circumstances aligned for him to see a competitor as something like a friend again... because, after all, those are the only people who could betray him. those are the only people where he thinks he could truly hate them

[indigonobody]

I LOVE VALEN'S NEW FORM!!! I love the suit and the whole build up before the transformation is incredible, then the tender moment between him and Shouma had me fangirling so hard.

I'm definitely making something that's ChocoGummy (I'm having a hard time drawing them hugging, but I'll learn how to for them)

[umunschaas]

So, Galbatorix was absolutely mad and traumatized over losing Jarnunvösk, yes. As expected when losing their scaly partner. But no one ever speaks about the fact that he also lost four others (the dragons and riders who accompanied him).

And he certainly wasn't a person who had many people/dragons who he got along with. Even sane he'd be a bit of an 'odd' character. Someone who wants to explain the universe (in a way too complicated way) to show someone that he likes them. Which comes off as even more arrogant (even if certainly not intended), than the slight tendency he already had for it back then (and speaking from experience; apparently people don't like explanations why their joke was scientifically incorrect). And I doubt he'd set out with people/dragons he wouldn't get along with, or would be sent out with them. There would probably be the real risk he'd tie them to a tree and leave them there lol.

No excuse either to go on a mass-murder spree and become a tyrant of course, but it certainly didn't help things. So, some survivors guilt added on top of everything too perhaps. But, who even were theyyyyy? Also, interesting that we got the number three of riders here again. Although it probably doesn't mean anything.

[azures-grace]

I joked that it'd be funny if Celeste and Benny were siblings.

well shit.

hi this is Benny, Celeste, and their mom Maria they're certainly something.