#and this can often be seen as poor character writing or nonsensical or without vision

[gyokutoll]

I shouldn’t be typing this up on mobile after my work out but fuck it we ball. Dash talk inspired me to discuss the types of men Hotaru likes and I’m rolling the thoughts around in my head like a marble because I’m not sure if there’s actually a good word, or series of traits for it.

I don’t really believe Hotaru has any aesthetic preferences. Maybe sharper features comes to mind but that’s so? It’s such a non-thing nor something he really thinks about. Because Hotaru is frequently judged for his appearance due to his work, he’s not inclined to judge others by their appearance. Especially not after Sadao. He knows that appearances are deceiving and just because someone looks like what you’d want doesn’t mean that they actually are.

So that’s where I really struggle to verbalize Hotaru’s type. I think his type is rooted somewhere in stability. This isn’t even necessarily meaning mentally stable nor having a full time job or anything like that. Which is even weirder to try and explain. By stability, I mean rooted in something. Whether it be a belief, a conviction, a cause. There has to be something a man needs to anchor himself to. It can be tangible like a career or intangible like an idea or principle, even if morally ambiguous. Hotaru doesn’t see himself as a person worth loving, and this low self esteem and belief that humans are inherently self-serving fuels this flexibility in his type.

Hotaru isn’t above developing feelings for someone who does illegal things which is insane when you consider that Hotaru is just Some Guy. Horaru also doesn’t have the expectation that he’ll be romantically loved in any meaningful way, and because of that, he’s more inclined to fall for someone on the basis of sincerity and earnestness. They don’t need to be morally perfect or even socially acceptable, but if there’s a genuine care there, he’s willing to overlook a lot.

And it begs the question of whether or not this makes him saintly, desperate, or self-loathing. I think the most important component of being a saint is being a martyr, if you understand what I’m getting at. I think it can be all of those things at once.

Hotaru also isn’t closeted or shy about admitting that he’s gay. I’m not going to get into the long winding road of queer history, especially not one pertinent to a culture I myself don’t necessarily belong to. But I will say that there are countless sources which cite hook ups as prevalent in the culture amongst gay men. Hotaru partook in this culture years ago and burnt himself out on it. I bring this up because it makes dating other men very difficult when going to bars because a lot of times it’s to take the edge off. The unfortunate reality is that Hotaru has slept with men with wives and girlfriends and men who didn’t want anything from him except for a night.

Hotaru isn’t inclined to try gay bars again due to that and because the time he did landed him with Sadao. It’s a very complex situation with decades of communal trauma and the limbo of rights and representation in a country like Japan.

Hotaru has no expectation of romance and has a host of intimacy issues that I think makes his type very nebulous. Hotaru is past the age where aesthetic is a concern of his and he’s almost sort of. Post conventional morality. Again, I’m tired from my work out and don’t know how eloquent I am in explaining this. There are a lot of cultural nuances here in the culture of gay men and not only gay men, but Japanese culture that requires at least 12 cited sources and a Japanese sociologist with an emphasis in LGBTQIA+ study lmao. I’m almost half debating if I want to start citing things for these more sociologically-oriented analyses so it doesn’t seem like I’m talking out of my ass.

But it’s all to say that, due to the culture and trauma that Hotaru bears, he does not carry this inherent expectation of acceptance. He is used to being an object of desire due to his work and the fact that he’s still young and beautiful. But he’s tired of being an object of desire and rather wants to be desired and known and accepted in sincerity, which does not lend itself to an aesthetic type or even the conventional classes of person we come to expect in romantic conversations.

I really need to shut up because I’m getting so technical and in the weeds here you’d reasonably think I’m doing circuitry, but Hotaru reads as sex and romance positive ace, which already fundamentally changes his relationship to the idea of romance as opposed to other people not on that spectrum.

It ultimately results in someone who interfaces with romance and potential romantic candidates differently. This isn’t even to say that Hotaru doesn’t want love and is above it, but rather to say that the complexities of his trauma, employment, sexuality, and intimacy crisis beneath capitalism result in a person with a more conceptual type than any solid image that can be constructed.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers #211: ... By Force of MIND!

September, 1981

THE OLD ORDER CHANGETH!

Oh hey, Dazzler, Hercules, Black Widow, Moon Knight, Angel from X-Men, Yellowjacket, Black Panther, Tigra, and Hawkeye?

Are you joining Captain America, Wasp, Beast, Thor, and Iron Man as the new Avengers?

Is this going to be the next biggest roster since the Korvac Saga?

Possibly! Jim Shooter is back and he was the guy behind that story.

Jim Shooter is very back, something the creative credits make sure you don’t miss.

“Joyfully welcome back long-time star Avengers scribe, me, Jim Shooter -- ‘cause I’m writing these credits, and, also I’m the boss!”

Charming. Non-facetiously.

It has similar energy to the ol’ Stan Lee introductions. And is probably just as much a pretense. Eh.

So the story “... By Force of MIND!” starts in the Avengers conference room.

And penciler Gene Colan sure has interesting ideas what that should look like.

We’ve seen the Avengers’ conference room a couple times in various books. They tend to have a grand conference table with assigned chairs?

Look at this one from Avengers Annual #10.

Or the one just as recently as last issue #210.

Pretty big overall. Suitably grand.

But the conference room has apparently been redecorated because it looks different. The personalized chairs are still there.

But the table is puny. It looks like the Young Avengers table at Thanksgiving. Set up off to the side for all the kids. Its dinky. It doesn’t look like all the Avengers can fit around it.

Which possibly supports Captain America’s point when he decides that the Avengers roster needs to be trimmed down to only six.

All those people on the cover are going to be really disappointed to hear this.

Captain America: “The Avengers have a habit of playing for high stakes! I believe that a lean, close-knit group is better... stronger!”

Beast goofs that they’ll need explosives to dislodge him from the team.

Also, there’s a trapeze on the roof of the conference room. Why. I mean, I know why. Your acrobatic characters need to be casually acrobatic at random times or they’ll be bummed out. But also why.

Wonder Man isn’t as bothered. Even after all this time on the team, he doesn’t feel like he’s ever really belonged here doing this hero stuff.

Vision and Scarlet Witch are selling themselves as a package deal. You get both or you get neither.

Captain America gives the Avengers some time to rest and think but they’ll reconvene at 1600 for the new roster announcement.

So there’s 9 people in or adjacent to the Avengers. Thor, Captain America, Iron Man, Beast, Jocasta, Scarlet Witch, Vision, Wonder Man, and Wasp. Three are gonna have to go.

All of this possibly getting fired, gives a pretty dour attitude (except for Wasp who doesn’t seem very concerned and probably doesn’t have a reason to be. Would you want to tell Wasp that she’s fired? I wouldn’t). Beast decides to lighten things up.

By causing problems on purpose.

So Beast bounces through the crowd of Avengers, jostling them all, and stealing Wonder Man’s glasses. Who hates having his glowing eyes show.

Scarlet Witch: “What on-- !? Beast! You crazy -- !”

Beast: “Moi? Crazee? Begging your pardon, mademoiselle witch. I am merely, how you say... playful! So, like gimme some space to be a jerk in, you know? Okay?”

At least he knows he’s being a jerk??

And then he runs off with Wonder Man’s glasses, goofing all the way.

Wonder Man: “Come on, you lame-brained blue-furred buffoon!”

Beast: “Hmmf! I’ll have you know, sir, that I am a highly intelligent blue-furred buffoon. I hole a dozen PhDs! I speak fifty-three languages... but I tell you, I don’t get no respect! Wanna hear me say ‘eat my dust, jocko,’ in Latverian?”

In the face of all this buffoonery, Wasp still doesn’t really care.

She decides the done thing is to go get her hair done for the big meeting. And sure this is short notice but she’s Janet Van Dyne. She’s going to have a movie starlet’s appointment bumped for her.

Scarlet Witch reflects that maybe the reason Jan isn’t worried about the possibility of being cut is that the Avengers aren’t her whole life. She has other stuff going on. A husband. A fashion line. The fabulous existence of being Janet Van Dyne.

Jocasta comes and tries to ask Vision for advice. Even after her big focus story, she still feels like an outsider. And she doesn’t have a life outside the Avengers. So unlike her brain donor Wasp, she is very worried about getting kicked out.

Jocasta: “You’ve learned to fit in, even though you’re a robot, as I am. Please... help me to...”

Vision: “I beg your pardon, Jocasta. I am a synthezoid, not a robot! As such, I am a perfect meld of computer microcircuitry and living, synthetic flesh! In all ways I am a fully functional man! I have a wife -- who needs me now! I cannot help you with your dilemma.”

And then Vision peaces out of this conversation by flying through the ceiling. Even though he’s going to join Wanda who is in an adjacent room. Ya weird, Vision.

You’re also massively unhelpful whenever anyone asks you for advice.

This is fully the second time Jocasta has asked him for advice. At least he didn’t trash the room in an angst ‘I DON’T HAVE FEELINGS AHHHH I MISS WANDA’ tantrum this time.

Jocasta is left alone. Which basically sums up her time in this book. Poor, poor robot. She’s so lonely she goes off on an existential soliloquy right outside Vision and Wanda’s room. Which is a bit passive aggressive. But hey. Superheroes.

Jocasta: “Are you truly so much different, Vision? So much better than I? I know that my voice rings metallic... but yours is cold hollow and emotionless!”

“I have built-in sensors! I can see! I can hear! I can feel! I function well enough? Don’t I? Don’t I? What does it take to be alive?”

“Does it take warm flesh? Am I merely animated because I am made of metal? I did not choose to be what I am!”

“I am what Ultron made me! Ultron -- the evil robot nemesis of the Avengers! He made you too, Vision -- reconstructed you from a long-dead android body! Both of us rebelled against his evil! Both of us sided with the Avengers!”

“Why, then, am I less than you? Is it because you are loved... and I am alone? Ultron... loved me...”

;__;

Poor robot lady.

I do wonder why the Avengers have been so indifferent to her presence. She did come to them during a chaotic moment in the team history. Vision was based on Wonder Man who wasn’t on the team while Jocasta had to coexist with Wasp from day 1.

There’s also that while both she and Vision are angsty robots that turned against Ultron, Vision (despite his famous “even an android can cry” moment) tends to be more performative with his angsts. He sulks. He broods. He smashes furniture.

Jocasta sits quietly and sadly in the background. Makes tentative stabs at companionship but backs off without ever causing a fuss. Different socialization rules for the robot genders possibly?

The good news is that modern Jocasta has learned to assert herself a lot more. She’s been a delight in the Dan Slott Iron Man book.

Anyway. Hopefully that line about Ultron doesn’t foreshadow anything. Its going to be really dumb if Jocasta brings back Ultron because the Avengers treat her with all the attentiveness of the fridge (although she may still legally qualify as one depending on how much of the Henry Peter Gyrich’s nonsense has stuck around).

Time for a sudden, drastic tone shift!

Beast exits stage Avengers Mansion, pursued by Wonder Man.

He hides up a tree like a rocket belt isn’t something Simon has or the ability to jump hella high.

But Wonder Man takes neither of those options. Instead he karate chops the tree down in one stroke. Which is impressive but I imagine Tony Stark is going to be annoyed. That tree was part of the landscaping!

Not expecting this, Beast falls out of the tree complaining that cutting down trees is illegal in New York. Wonder Man catches him and takes his sunglasses back.

Beast: “You grabbed me! But nobody’s fast enough to do that!”

Wonder Man: “People think I’m just strong! Everybody forgets that I have instantaneous reflexes and blinding speed! To me, the world looks like its moving in slow motion!”

I feel like if Wonder Man was Actually Fast all along, he’s not been getting much use out of it, considering how often he takes dumb hits in fights.

And then Wonder Man hurls Beast into the sky.

Like. Really high into the sky.

Beast: “omigosh! omigosh! omigosh! He’s nuts! He’s crazy! He’s -- who cares about him?! I’m dead! He killed me over a crummy prank! For stealing his glasses I get to end up as a blue blotch on the street. My girlfriends won’t recognize me! I can’t look! Wait a minute! This is serious! This is for real! I’m falling at hundreds of miles per hour! Nothing can save me! I’m really going to die! Like this?! I’m going to die like this?! NO!”

Wonder Man: “Relax, Beast. You’re in good hands with Wonder Man!”

Beast: *Whuff*! You -- you caught me! But that’s like catching a bullet.”

Wonder Man: “Told you I moved quick!”

Beast: “thanks. You’re a decent guy for a common ruffian, Wondy!”

I mean, he also threw you straight up, Beast. Is it so impressive that he caught you?

But with the disproportionate response to a prank by making Beast think he’s going to horribly die, Wonder Man sort of apologizes and says he’s going to miss hanging out with Beast.

See, Wonder Man isn’t going to hang around hoping he gets to stay on the team. He’s actually decided to quit. As has been Wonder Man’s thing for a while, he just doesn’t enjoy the superhero life.

He’s always struggling with insecurity and dislike of throwing himself into deadly danger a dozen times a week.

In fact, he wasn’t too broken up when Henry Peter Gyrich kicked him off the team. Back when he got super into the idea of becoming an actor. He even said at time “If I can get used to playing roles on a stage - maybe I’ll feel more comfortable in my role as superhero!”

Except, as we saw in the Shadow Lord/Berserker two-parter, Wonder Man hasn’t gotten used to playing roles on a stage.

And we’ve seen that his Avengers responsibilities are getting in the way of his acting opportunities. So. Not a surprise he’s going to leave the team as long as the roster is being rearranged anyway.

Wonder Man asks if Beast likes that superhero life of facing death all the time.

Beast: “Frankly, I never really actually considered the possibility of dying... until a minute ago. But think of the fun, glamour and girls, Simon! This is the life!”

Wonder Man: “Is that stuff really enough for a guy as smart as you, Hank? The way I see it being a hero doesn’t make you a person any more than having power makes you a hero.”

Beast: “Yeah. But pigs make good pork chops so I’m staying!”

I’m not really sure what Simon is getting at here. I think its something about finding yourself?

As the time for the meeting draws minutes away, Completely Normal Doctor Donald Blake arrives at the mansion by cab. The cabdriver wondering what a guy like Blake is doing at Avengers Mansion. This Completely Normal Cab Driver is tempted to snoop but goes naw!

If he had snooped, he may have seen Completely Normal Doctor Donald Blake turn into the Mighty Thor and head into the mansion.

Here’s a funny thing, Thor claims that the reason why he talks to himself so much is out of protest that there’s just not enough heralds in Midgard to tell people how cool he is.

Thor: “Thus, the mortal facade is stripped away -- and thus, once again Thor treads the Earth! Thor, god of Thunder, Prince of Asgard! Thor, son of Odin! Bah! That the son of Odin must so proclaim himself -- ! Are there no heralds about? Nay... never when thou needest one! Unannounced, I enter this Earthly ‘mansion,’ poorer than the least dwelling in Asgard!”

Thor also wonders to himself that if he is chosen to take part in the new Avengers roster, will he choose to remain with them? One presumes he has a lot of Thor business going on. That’s why he left the team back when Moondragon was temping with them. She convinced him he was slumming by hanging with the Avengers.

OH. MEANWHILE. That Completely Normal Cab Driver?

He is seized by a strange compulsion. He parks his cab in an alley, takes off his clothes and -- MOON KNIGHT?

Inside, the Avengers are assembling for their meeting to find who is fired or not. Except they’ve decided to give the rinky conference room table a pass and are instead sitting around in a room with even fewer chairs and a table less conducive to holding a meeting.

Lateral move.

I’m wondering whether there was some miscommunication between writer and artist or what.

Cap tells the Avengers to find a place to sit (when there is only one visible chair) when Jarvis interrupts.

Moon Knight has shown up and demands to see the Avengers. And the automatic defenses that should have stopped him seem to have been switched off.

Moon Knight insists that the Avengers summoned him. That he was forced to come to the mansion. Which comes as news to the Avengers.

And then a whole bunch of other superheroes show up claiming that they were also forced to come here.

Hi Hercules, Hawkeye, Black Widow, Angel, Yellowjacket, Dazzler, Tigra, Black Panther, and Iceman!

So that explains the cover.

Wow, a cover that didn’t even lie!

There’s a hustle and bustle of the various superheroes complaining about being here because they had better things to be doing. Black Panther is late for a meeting to speak with the UN Security Council!

And Dazzler complains because its too cold to sit next to Iceman. And Iceman is just like ‘it be like that.’

Oh and Tigra seems to decide to get in some impromptu yoga. Don’t know what the deal with that is. But cats be like that sometimes.

Moon Knight sees all these heroes here and comes to the conclusion that this is some weird Avengers membership drive. But he is very not interested in this!

Yeah, I don’t know that a mysterious vigilante who mostly operates in the shadows would be a good match for a public superhero team.

Cough.

Iceman too is like sorry but I’m not into the hero stuff. I was on the Champions. I did my time!

So he and Moon Knight turn to leave. Iceman saying he’s going to need to find a cab and Moon Knight clearing knowing that he’s going to be picking up that fare.

But when they get near the door, the two freeze.

I realize that Iceman is involved so I mean that they suddenly stopped moving.

And they get super belligerent at each other and start fighting. With Iceman expositing about his skills. Which is normal for a comic. But seems a bit weird in the context of whats going on.

Iceman: “I feel compelled to explain how my X-Men training helped me to get the most out of my mutant ability to freeze the moisture in the air!”

And he freezes the ground under Moon Knight’s feet so he slips like a doofus.

But when he goes to finish the fight, Iceman’s head suddenly starts to hurt. Which he says is like someone else is in his head with him. He can’t think clearly enough.

While Iceman is distracted, Moon Knight throws some of his moonerangs at Iceman who blocks them. But neither can continue as the pain in their heads incapacitates them both.

Yellowjacket: “Wait a minute! I know who must be behind this! That arrogant self-styled g-- *uhh*”

And Yellowjacket freezes in place, as if in a trance.

The Avengers are concerned but Angel suddenly starts flying around the room, saying he can’t resist, he just has to flyyyyyy

Which apparently offends Tigra for some reason. Some mysterious reason. How mysterious.

Angel: “The Angel’s in the air! Watch me do my stuff!”

Tigra: “So, you think you’re pretty special, huh, Wings? Well, you’re just another bird to Tigra, the She-Cat -- and cats eat birds!”

Angel: “Sounds wild -- ! But you’ve got to catch me first!”

Tigra: “I will Bird-Man! I will -- with my nice, sharp claws! And, once I do, I’m plenty strong enough -- to tear your precious little wings right off!”

Eeeeeeeeesh. Well that’s retroactively a sore subject. Angel has his wings badly injured during the Mutant Massacre storyline and they end up amputated, sending him into a depression. And then stuff happens stuff happens, its his college roommate Cameron Hodges’ fault, Apocalypse gives Angel metal murder wings.

But in the here and now before that series of events, we must assume something similar to the sudden antagonism between Moon Knight and Iceman.

Something weird is going on and stating out loud that you’ve figured out what just gets you put in a trance.

Of course, I know what’s going on because I peeked ahead so I’ll just go ahead and tell you its M- *uhh*

Hahah, just kidding! Can you imagine, though? Anyway, its Moondragon.

She’s lurking behind the Avengers watching them watch this nonsense. They don’t notice her because she’s decided she doesn’t want them to. Until she does.

But before that, hey, time to call out Beast.

Beast: “Hey-- ! That’s not a costume! Tigra’s for real! She’s like a cat ... covered with fur -- like me! I should be thrilled, I guess... But instead, I find it vaguely unsettling!” 

Look, furries can’t judge furries for being furry. Its the law.

Anyway, Moondragon lets the Avengers notice her and they turn around and go ‘oh ffs its Moondragon’ more or less.

Moondragon: “I sensed your need for order... for organization! So I returned!”

Iron Man: “What?! What right do you have to interfere?”

Moondragon: “Why, divine right, naturally!”

You may not like her but you have to admire her confidence.

She recaps her backstory a bit, including her belief that she’s Actually A Goddess of Mind. Because she was raised by the demigods of Titan and she’s super psychic.

I’m not sure how super psychic. I don’t think she and Jean Grey, for example, have ever locked horns. And Jean Grey is kind of the byword for super psychic.

She’s at least psychic enough that she gave Daredevil his vision back. I think that’s psychic?

I do wonder how Moondragon stacks up on the Grey scale. But not enough that I want that kind of dick waving contest between the Avengers and X-Men. There’s enough of that already.

So after explaining how great she is the Avengers basically react with ‘oh ffs, we did not miss this’ and ask what this has to do with this circus.

Moondragon: “Come now, Iron Man! Who better than I to bring order to the tangled affairs of this company? When last I left this august assemblage, my status was still Avenger-on-call -- meaning that I would aid you in times of dire need! I am needed now! -- And so I am here!”

Iron Man: “Swell.”

I think I’ve actually missed her advanced state of arrogance. Or maybe I’m just charitably inclined to her because she and Phyla-Vell got back together and alive in the current Guardians of the Galaxy run.

Anyway, Hawkeye has not missed her advanced state of arrogance and decides to peace out. He’s got an actual paying job to do and he’s late for work because Moondragon dragged him out here.

Moondragon tells him he can go. FOR HIS FATE LEADS HIM AWAY FROM THE AVENGERS FOR NOW!

Hawkeye: “Baldy, if you’re so hot why couldn’t you figure that out without dragging me across town?”

Good point, Hawkeye.

Honestly? I think she did it to troll you.

Black Widow and Black Panther also take off. Black Panther to his UN thing and Black Widow back to her job with SHIELD.

Moondragon doesn’t stop them. So I’m guessing their fates also lead them away from the Avengers for now. But. Why bring them? They didn’t do anything?

Moondragon, were you just padding out the numbers for a more exciting cover? Dammit, Moondragon!

Hawkeye is Hawkeye and thus extra extra so he shoots a suction cup arrow at a helicopter to hitch a ride instead of taking a taxi. And as he dangles from it, he muses melancholic about what Black Widow and he once had. And ironically, Black Widow is also thinking about him and sure that he doesn’t care for her anymore.

Womp womp.

Inside the mansion, Moondragon decides to continue, to the protests of Thor, Iron Man, and Captain America.

So she yells SILENCE! and paralyzes them, just like with Yellowjacket.

The assorted crowd of everyoen else fusses and wonders what to do but Moondragon takes charge and demands that Dazzler show her stuff.

Or rather:

Moondragon: “You use your gift frivolously... as part of a musical act! Please demonstrate!”

That’s... a way to request that, yes.

Dazzler doesn’t like her tone but decides to demonstrate anyway. Cranking her pocket radio and converting the sound waves into a dazzling light show.

Dazzler: “I.... uh. Also skate! Not much of a power, huh?”

Moondragon: “Hmm! Greater than you suspect... but i sense that your desire to be a minstrel is deep and sincere!”

Minstrel? Really? Psychics have no excuse for not knowing the right word.

I’m getting a real mixed vibe from Moondragon talking to Dazzler. Its like she’s being condescending and complimentary at the same time.

But since she senses that Dazzler just wants to do disco stuff, she tells her that she can go.

Dazzler isn’t sure whether to leave the Avengers to deal with this or as she thinks “Baldy’s rap sounds real cool but this scene is definitely tense!” but Scarlet Witch tells her it will be alright.

So Dazzler goes. “When the Scarlet Witch says go -- I go!”

Dazzler knows the score.

With Dazzler gone, Moondragon is like ‘welp lets get back on with it’ but Scarlet Witch has had it.

Scarlet Witch: “Enough! We demand that you cease this outrage! We can make our own decisions.”

Moondragon: “Can you? Some of you would choose to stay out of force of habit... or loneliness... or fear of failure in the world beyond these walls! You are children! It is far better that I choose!”

And now Iron Man has had enough. And has also had an idea.

While his body may have been paralyzed by Moondragon, a lot of his armor functions are thought activated because, hey, I don’t see a lot of buttons on him, do you?

So all he has to do is think WHOOOSHy thoughts and WHOOOSH he goes, flying through the ceiling of Avengers Mansion. For once, it is Tony Stark who destroys Tony Stark’s home.

And once he’s outside Avengers Mansion, he is apparently far enough outside her range that he can now move. And since “brainwaves are electromagnetic in nature” he turns on his built-in transceiver to emit a microwave psionic jamming signal.

Which is something that he just can do!

The effect of which is that it’ll make Moondragon “feel like she’s got static on every channel!”

Sure!

Kind of reminds me of the First Foundation’s anti-psychic defenses they made against the Second Foundation. Ah, classic sci-fi. Sometimes it teaches us things like how to fight specifically Moondragon.

Moondragon is sure that she can overcome the jamming if she can just regain her concentration but...

With psychic frequencies jammed, the paralyzed Avengers start to spring into action.

So she just puts up a force field. Projected from her spaceship in Earth orbit and activated with a remote control in her glove.

Aside from the other things I’ve given Moondragon, I’ll also give her this: she came prepared.

Moondragon: “Why must you resist me so? Why can you not simply acknowledge that you need my godly guidance? We are wasting valuable time! I have yet another group of candidates to summon... but I cannot dally here much longer!”

I really want to know who her B Squad would have been.

But with the Avengers trying to break down her force field and Iron Man swooping back in to help, Moondragon decides ‘hey fuck this actually’ and teleports away.

Moondragon: “By the braided ring! How naive... how foolish you are! Perhaps I am wasting my time on your petty affairs! All right then -- enough! Have it your way! I am needed elsewhere in the galaxy! Farewell!”

And she doesn’t die on the way back to her home planet.

I do like that she recontextualizes the scenario as being actually this is a waste of her time and she’s just throwing pearls before swine. She’s going to go somewhere that appreciates the work she’s doing out of the goodness of her heart.

She is horrible. And like with Emma Frost, I just kinda appreciate that in a character.

With Moondragon not here to force people to stay, Thor tells all the non-Avengers to fuck off. Not very gracious, Thor. They were forced to come.

Iceman leaves and reminds everyone and me that his life goal is actually to be an accountant. Something I’m surprised by every time I hear it.

He even offers to help the Avengers with their budgets or tax forms. Heck of a guy.

Angel also leaves but muses that he kind of hates to.

Angel: “I... sort of hate to leave! I haven’t really done much with my life since the Champions broke up! -- Besides hang around with the X-Men a little! I never thought about becoming an Avenger --! Maybe I ought to!”

This is the thought process that will probably lead him to form X-Factor and that road leads to Cameron Hodge and Angel becoming Archangel. Dammit, Moondragon!

Although, the X-Man I really want on an Avengers team is Cyclops. He’s so defined by being an X-Man and by being a leader of X-Men, I want to see what he does on a team that already has plenty of leaders. I want to see if he goes through a weird character transformation like Beast and becomes relentlessly chill.

Alas.

Anyway, Tigra speaks up and says “I gather that you guys weren’t really looking for new members, but now that I’m here... uh, any chance?”

Cap is dubious because he doesn’t know a thing about Tigra (except that he gave her clothes to Patsy Walker) but Hercules is like hey we all saw how she tried to beat up Moondragon, that shows she has mettle.

Plus, there are Avengers that Hercules knows nothing about, which is totally the same thing.

Hercules: “You, for instance! You are called Wonder Man, though in sooth, I know not why!”

Wonder Man: “Really? Well, I... I’m as strong as Thor... almost...”

Hercules: “Eh? What?! HAVE AT THEE, THEN!”

And then he punches Wonder Man through a wall.

God, I love Hercules.

And then he tries to wrassle him, just pleased as all get out that Wonder Man is still conscious after Hercules gave him a big punch. “What fun!”

Wonder Man is less pleased.

Wonder Man: “Why are you doing this? Why are you attacking me for no reason?”

Hercules: “Men must brawl to know one another! How better to learn the measure of a man -- ? And what greater gift can a man give another than the thrill, the glory, the joy of battle? I am a friendly fellow who would often give this gift -- but, alas, most mortals are too frail to receive it. You are not, though! You and I may batter freely!”

Hercules just wants to punch people to be friendly but poor guy is just too swole for most men. He needs a real sturdy friend to beat the shit out of.

Wonder Man squirms out of the wrassle and clocks Hercules through a different wall. As the Avengers just watch like ‘yup this is the kind of day this has been.’

Hercules is in good spirit about being clocked through a wall and decides that now he and Wonder Man are friends and that Wonder Man is truly worthy to be an Avenger.

Wonder Man sheepishly mentions that actually he was quitting to pursue a career in acting and WHY HERCULES LIKES THAT JUST AS WELL!

Hercules: “Acting? Why of late, Hercules has kept company with those mortals known as the ‘jet set.’ I know many producers and directors! Come, I’ll introduce you to them! And the women, friend Wonder Man!”

Captain America, bemused: “you meet some strange folks in this business.”

There’s an non-existent Wonder Man and Hercules Take Hollywood Buddy Comedy Book and its a crime that its non-existent.

Geez, Marvel. GEEZ.

Anyway, that’s Wonder Man gone. Out of one buddy comedy into another.

Tigra reminds the Avengers that she’s still here and still wants to be in the Avengers.

Tigra: “Yeah... uh, back to my little problem... I’ve been at loose ends for a while... and I really want to belong somewhere! I know I could cut it as an Avenger! Please?”

This time, the objection is that the Avengers just don’t have room for a new person. They were trying to pare back! Not recruit!

But Beast interjects and reveals he is also leaving.

Beast: “Wondy and I had a talk this morning that started me thinking -- and I hate to admit it, but a couple of things Moondragon said hit home! You know, I used to be a scientist! I used to have a future besides my next gag and tomorrow night’s date! I want to see if there’s anything left of Hank McCoy besides a ‘blue-furred buffoon!’“

Hank’s early character beats on the Avengers were him struggling to find what his place on the team would be. He couldn’t be the strongest with Iron Man or Thor on the team. He couldn’t be the smartest with Iron Man again, Black Panther, or Yellowjacket. Wonder Man joining the team. Wonder Man joining the team gave Beast someone to be there for and with. But mostly Beast’s tenure has been kind of... party time for him. He’s been the fun member of the team. Going out to parties and juggling multiple dates and telling jokes.

Its been a fun time for Beast but he’s not really been living up to his potential And there were times he could have become the scientist on the team again. Or helped as one. Yellowjacket hasn’t been on the team as a core member for a bit. But he stuck in his role as the team clown.

Like with Thor, Moondragon has convinced Beast that he’s been sort of slumming it with the Avengers and now he’s gotta go rethink his character.

Where does this lead him? Why, he’s going to join the Defenders! And going to try to get that non-team team more organized like a team team. Is this a good thing? I don’t know, I haven’t read a lot of Defenders! Hopefully the Defenders podcast I listen to gets to that point soon!

But Beast isn’t the only one Moondragon has swayed.

Vision and Scarlet Witch likewise announce that they’re quitting the Avengers.

Vision: “Perhaps we will not succeed in finding a place among ordinary people -- but we must try!”

So perhaps influenced as well by the conversation Wanda had with Jan where Wasp wasn’t worried about losing her spot on the team. Which Wanda attributed to Jan having a life outside the Avengers. And apparently Wanda and Vision have been afraid to try for that. Until Moondragon dunked on her for it.

Geez. If there’s anything Moondragon is good at, its getting Avengers to quit the team. She got Thor and Hellcat last time. This time she got Beast, Vision, and Scarlet Witch.

So there’s room for Tigra now but also too much room. They were aiming for six and even with Tigra, they’d only have FIVE THERES ONLY FIVE CLEARLY.

Jocasta, in the background: -saddest robot in the world-

Yellowjacket shrugs and decides to rejoin as a full-time member to get the number up to six. His research hasn’t been going great lately anyway so he has time in his schedule.

Feeling overlooked, just like last issue, which was a filler which was supposed to address the Avengers overlooking her, Jocasta decides to slink away. Just leaps out the window and runs away from home.

Jocasta: “They didn’t even notice me... didn’t count me! Was it an oversight? Or had everyone already made up their minds that I would be one of those eliminated? What difference does it make? I am nothing to them! They do not want me here! Maybe I’ll find someplace where I am wanted! Maybe I’ll find someone... who loves me!”

=(

And where does Jocasta go from here?

She wanders the country looking for love, presumably in all the wrong places, and is seized by a per-programmed compulsion to rebuild Ultron. This leads to a big team up between the Thing, Machine Man, and her and Jocasta sacrifices herself to help stop Ultron. The Avengers hold a memorial and Machine Man attends, realizing that he had loved Jocasta.

So plus side: she does find someone to love her. Minus side: she dies and also its Machine Man.

Double plus side: she’s eventually rebuilt. Dies a couple more times. But she’s currently alive.

It’s going to turn out that this was a failure of communication.

(On the team less than a day after basically begging to join and she’s already made herself at home and is hogging the entire couch. How very cat of you, Tigra.)

Iron Man, Captain America, and Thor had decided privately to ask her to stay on as a Special Substitute Avenger, keep living in the mansion, and help out when its needed.

In the hubbub of Moondragon’s recruitment drive I guess they forgot to bring it up. I feel like its something you should have approached her with before the meeting, just to make sure she was okay with it.

Hindsight and all.

The snubbing from Vision definitely didn’t help.

Iron Man: “I hope she comes back! -- And I sure hope Moondragon doesn’t!”

Hah.

I do wonder what the initial plan going into the meeting would have been, before Moondragon took it over. What roster had Iron Man, Thor, and Captain America decided on before Moondragon talked three Avengers into quitting and introduced Tigra to the team?

I guess we’ll never knoooow.

Captain America muses that although it seems like they drove Moondragon away, she may have gotten what she actually wanted. “What if she used her mental powers subtly to influence the decisions that were made?”

And its possible because of how her speech influenced the three people who quit.

The thought just about makes Iron Man furious.

He doesn’t have time to dwell on it because the news shows up to get coverage of the last panel new roster AVENGERS ASSEMBLE! moment.

I do love a good last panel new roster Avengers Assemble moment.

And that was Jim Shooter’s first issue back. And a pretty great first issue too.

Not that the previous issues have been bad necessarily but he definitely brought a sense of fun to this issue. Even though there’s some forced fighting for those ACTION SCENES most of it is just character interactions. Even some of the pointless fights.

And like writers like to do when they take over a book, Jim Shooter draws a line in the history with a shake-up to the team roster. Reintroduces Moondragon into the book because he has unfinished business with her.

I’ve actually been reading the original Star Brand book by Shooter and the writing is night and day. Its all text text text words words words but its much punchier here. Though there are some strange spelling and punctuation choices.

Still, I’m excited to have a consistent writer back on and I’m even excited about it being Jim Shooter. I hated his first run on the book on first read and then appreciated it more the second time through. And I’ve heard interesting stuff about this upcoming run.

Psst, follow @essential-avengers​. You are being mentally influenced by Moondragon to do so. Wait, this is a counterproductive self-promote. Er, like and reblog because you choose to?

[movieswithkevin27]

King Arthur: Legend of the Sword

For the first time in his career, Guy Ritchie is likely happy he directed Swept Away because without its existence, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword would have firmly established itself as Ritchie's worst film. Entering in the illustrious pantheon of bad films that bomb after being intended to start a franchise, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is everything that is wrong about blockbusters today. Cliche and riding the hero's journey too closely, the film's special effects ridden action, frantic cutting (even beyond Ritchie's norm), and awkward injections of "humor" during tense or thrilling moments, the film is a hodge-podge of everything that studios believe audiences want. Unfortunately, as is often the case in these failed franchise starters, it turns out that audiences do not want to watch an incomprehensible, poorly edited, poorly acted, and exceedingly dull film.

The tragic part about King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is that it starts off pretty well. With his castle under attack, King Uther Pendragon (Eric Bana) defends his people by using Excalibur to decisively cut through the invaders' forces and kill their leader. Unfortunately, he did not count on his brother Vortigern (Jude Law) having turned on him. Sacrificing his to become more powerful, Vortigern kills Uther and tries to take Excalibur, but Uther turns into a stone with the sword in his back. Setting up the legend of the sword with his son Arthur drifting off in a boat and being found by a group of women Moses-style, being destined to pull that sword out of him and liberate England from Vortigern. Though he is unwilling and tries to throw away his destiny (the classic cut-and-paste scene of the Lady of the Lake rising with the sword to give it back to Arthur that is in every King Arthur movie apparently), this destiny is not one he can run from unless he is willing to see Britain descend into darkness. Becoming the man who will liberate his people (Moses again), this prophet who is persecuted by the King (Moses again, but also Jesus to some degree) must rise to the occasion via the Hero's Journey to save England. Though cliched to a fault, the story is nonetheless one that can become gripping with Ritchie's occasionally sharp script delivering the fantastical journey and thrills necessary for a King Arthur film.

Unfortunately, shortly after the film's strong opening, things begin to go awry. In other words, Guy Ritchie takes over. Known for his rapid cutting, Ritchie seems to forget he has already cut 15,000 times before unleashing another round of 15,000 shots of Charlie Hunnam's face on the world. Immediately after the credits, he shows Arthur growing up from a young boy to a man with intensive training and odd encounters in his brothel home. Rapidly skimming through time, the headache-inducing sequence tragically sets the tone for a film that puts a premium on rapid cuts and slow-mo action instead of story. So brief, distracting, and inconsequential, this particular montage would have been better if replaced by a "20 years later..." bumper before just cutting to Arthur being a ripped Englishman set to encounter his destiny.

Reliant upon these rapid cuts throughout, Ritchie - as expected - uses it frequently as characters tell a story to somebody who was not there - such as Arthur giving an account of his whereabouts to a police officer with Ritchie flipping through the flashback and the present day with the flashback often matching Charlie Hunnam's every it of dialogue - or to toss in flashbacks and foreshadowing about Arthur's destiny, but where the film truly lacks with this rapid cutting are in action scenes. Rendering them nonsensical and often incomprehensible, Ritchie tries desperately to cover up the poor special effects with this flashy editing style, but it unfortunately has the opposite impact. Instead, these flashy cuts only serve to highlight the often poor special effects that are found in this film, especially as Arthur duels with officers towards the end. Cutting, pausing, slowing things down, and spinning the camera in a circle around the action, Ritchie tries every trick in his arsenal to make the scene look good but does nothing more than confuse and nauseate. Furthermore, it is a clear attempt to manipulate the audience into feeling tension and thrills during the action - especially as Arthur and his friends run from the cops with Ritchie rapidly cutting, using an extreme close-up with a handheld camera, and sprinkling in shaky cam into the scene - as even Ritchie can see that the film is not all that original. Trying to inject originality and beat back claims of predictability with these drawn-out and "stylish" action scenes, Ritchie only manages to further highlight his film's hollow nature. This half-hearted attack at style over substance only serves to prove this as he relies upon it like a crutch to make up for the film's thin writing and run-of-the-mill approach to Arthurian legend.

Perhaps the best example of Ritchie utilizing his rapid cutting technique (if it can even be called a technique) to ill-effect as an attempt to mask the film's largely dull writing comes as the Mage (Astrid Berges-Frisbey) speaks to Sir Bedivere (Djimon Hounsou). Informing Bedivere that Arthur needs to go to the Dark Lands to finally claim power over the sword, Ritchie cuts between that conversation, Bedivere taking Arthur there, and Arthur going through the Dark Lands, in rapid succession. Blending dialogue, finding comedy in Bedivere quickly refusing the Mage only to then be seen taking Arthur there, and always incomprehensible, this flashy diversionary tactic only serves to highlight the script's inadequacy. Clearly unwilling to rest on the tension of the conversation between the Mage and Bedivere and unconvinced that Arthur traversing the Dark Land will be a worthy scene on its own, Ritchie tries to blend them all together in attempt to see if these lame-duck scenes can prop one another up enough to make them work. Unfortunately, three wrongs do not make a right and the thin, dull, and poorly constructed, scenes only combine together to make a horrific montage.

As with many blockbusters in recent times, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a film that is unwilling to take risks. Not only is it cliche, poorly edited, and littered with vanilla performances, but it seems unwilling to rest on the atmosphere created by its director. Uncertain in its vision and intent, the film relies on cheap laughs via poorly injected comedic lines to try and prop up the film's appeal. Recognizing that it is not particularly tense or thrilling with a shocking lack of competently put together action scene and set pieces for an action film, the film continuously undermines any attempt at any of those elements via comedy. Though Guy Ritchie successfully blended action, tension, and comedy, into films such as Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels or The Man From UNCLE, he was not as successful here with the comedy continuously falling flat. Overly forced and the by-product of a Frankenstein-esque script that had the fingerprints of too many cooks, the lack of comedic flow, poor delivery from the cast, and the film's inability to maintain consistent emotion throughout any single scene, is perhaps the film's most damning element. Even if Ritchie interjected too much in the editing room with rapid cuts and even if the film is cliche, thrills and strong action are hard to deny as great entertainment. However, with no room to breathe and only half-hearted attempts at either with comedy coming in to stunt both repeatedly, the film is one that consistently feels flat, hollow, and tragically wooden.

It is often in the quiet moments that King Arthur: Legend of the Sword succeeds. Whenever tasked with exuberant moments of bombast, Jude Law falls short as the villainous Vortigern. However, when he sacrifices his wife and, later, his daughter to these demonic mermaid things (I have no idea), Law and the character of Vortigern truly soar. Ominously stepping up to a woman he loves with his whole heart but giving into the greed and lust for power that has entirely consumed his soul, Vortigern feels almost like a tragically evil character but one that is wholly wicked. These chilling, quiet, and sinister, moments as he plunges a sword into them and feels the life slip out of their body are enough to establish him as a worthy villain and show the greatest bit of character development in this film. Willing to stop at nothing to become the ruler of the world, Vortigern is a man who instills fear the second he steps onto the screen, until Law opens his mouth and goes crazy.

By a similar token, this journey is one that is often quite memorable due to great imagery. For one, as the city burns at night with the orange flames pouring out of a tower, Ritchie finds a fantastic image that demonstrates the film's often great beauty. In the scene of Vortigern speaking to the mermaid demons, the female mermaids ominously swimming around him is a similarly terrifically executed scene and one with great beauty as their blue green exteriors swim sinisterly around him in the dark cave. However, perhaps the most stunning sequence comes as the Lady of the Lake restores the sword Excalibur to Arthur. Though featuring much of Ritchie's annoying rapid cutting, there is one scene of the Lady pulling Arthur into the water through a muddy puddle. While perhaps a bit nonsensical, the glowing Lady of the Lake with her dress billowing around her as she pulls the sword and Arthur down into the Lake is a stunning image. Somehow capturing the fantastical sense of wonder in one image, it is this quiet shot that establishes King Arthur: Legend of the Sword as a major missed opportunity. For if Ritchie can create such a beautiful image without any of the frills and excess of the rest of the film, why did he feel the need to obstruct our view of the rest of the film and not just rely on his keen eye for stunning visuals?

Building up to a tension-filled showdown between Arthur and Vortigern with Arthur trying to end his nightmares by killing the man who killed his father, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword ends disappointingly even by its standards. Rapidly cutting through the fight, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword reaches the culmination of its hero's journey with lame plot convenience. Though reliant upon a lot of deus ex machina's throughout the film with Arthur only remembering he has Excalibur when it is convenient and the Mage only occasionally using her powers to help the good guys get out of unwinnable situations, this final convenience is perhaps the lamest. Knocked down by Vortigern, Arthur passes out briefly and sees his father being killed again. However, just as the sword is set to enter his father's back, he grabs it with poor Eric Bana uttering some line about how it is no longer time to run, but instead it is time to fight. Now inspired, he finds power he did not even he had within him. Getting up and decisively beating Voritgern after this rapid development and growth in confidence. Lame, cliche, and entirely convenient, this final growth spurt for Arthur underscores the fact that the film is poorly constructed. Unable to create him as a worthwhile character who grows into his new role over the course of the film, Ritchie is forced to rapidly develop him via yet another flashback that gives him the inspiration and strength to overcome what scares him the most: Vortigern.

A fantasy swashbuckler film, King Arthur: Legend of the Sword is a by-the-number action film that is entirely devoid of soul, purpose, and thrill. Overly-stylized like an image that had the "sharpen" option chosen too many times in Photoshop, the film's poor visuals are met with a hack-kneed attempt at Arthurian legend that hits all the right moments but without any of the feeling or spirit. Toss in a bad, by-the-numbers script that just checks items off the "How to Be a Blockbuster in the 2010s" checklist and the film's issues only compound. Lackluster, bland, or outright poor performances, hardly help matters with the actors trying to force emotion into this story to make up for the script and direction, but failing entirely. A slipshod smorgasbord of how to not make a film or start a franchise, King Arthur: The Legend of the Sword is an expensive disaster.

[daughterofwasps-blog]

really  LONG CHARACTER SURVEY. RULES.

repost , don’t reblog ! tag 10 ! good luck !

TAGGED. no one, thought this looked fun TAGGING. @foundingavenger, @codenamemockingbird, @wobblemywebs, @looktotheants, @newjerseyshero, @ironmaidenfan, @error1nmycode, @webheadjrr, @synthetiicus, and anyone who like me is procrastinating and wants to do a thing.

BASICS. FULL NAME : nadia pym* ( *awkwardly holds up multicanon sign* ). NICKNAME :  wasp ii, pixie, bee girl, bug girl, baby wasp, tinkerbell, mean pretty lady AGE : verse dependent. BIRTHDAY : unknown. ( headcanon: capricorn ) ETHNIC GROUP : american // hungarian-american. NATIONALITY : american // russian. LANGUAGE / S : english, russian. french. & etc. ( see here + here for more info) SEXUAL ORIENTATION : asexual. ( headcanon: nadia is an ace lesbian. )   ROMANTIC ORIENTATION : gray-romantic. RELATIONSHIP STATUS : single. CLASS : superhero. HOME TOWN / AREA : small, comfortably affluent neighborhood. CURRENT HOME : pym residence. PROFESSION : scientist.

PHYSICAL. HAIR : brunette. EYES : brown with specks of green. NOSE : straight, high bridge, straight and pointed tip FACE : round shape, high cheekbones LIPS : soft, plump COMPLEXION : smooth, pale BLEMISHES : freckles. SCARS : none. TATTOOS : none. HEIGHT : 5′6″. (167 cm) WEIGHT : ~ 120 lbs. BUILD : slender, petite frame FEATURES : sharp eyes, prominent eyebrows ALLERGIES : none except pessimism and bs USUAL HAIR STYLE :  short, choppy bobcut USUAL FACE LOOK : it’s either vacant space cadet or the steady, serious “judging you” expression. there is no in between.

USUAL CLOTHING : 

nadia: 90s style burgundy bomber jacket, handmade necklace, and worn out boots hope: dark colored blazers, tank tops, ruffled blouses, black,stiletto high heels, acorn necklace

PSYCHOLOGY. FEAR / S : failure, abandonment ASPIRATION / S : to make up for lost time and and change/make the world a better place. POSITIVE TRAITS : diligent, empathetic, intelligent, focused, determined, confident. NEGATIVE TRAITS : impatient, prying, rebellious, obsessive, prideful. MBTI : istj (the logician) TEMPERAMENT : melancholic ( nadia is sanguine ) SOUL TYPE / S : thinker  ANIMALS : sable antelope. VICE HABIT / S : , putting off sleep for work, skipping meals (often forgets to eat), caffeine addiction, often consumes fast food & has a MAJOR sweet tooth.  FAITH : agnosticism. GHOSTS ? : no.  AFTERLIFE ? : no. REINCARNATION ? : unsure. ALIENS ? : yes. POLITICAL ALIGNMENT : none. (appears to learn towards liberal) ECONOMIC PREFERENCE : upper middle class. SOCIOPOLITICAL POSITION : stable. EDUCATION LEVEL: Red Room Academy // M.S. in Business, Biochemistry, and Entomology, B.S. in Physics.

FAMILY. 

FATHER : alive. (616: and fused with homicidal robot brother.) MOTHER : mia! (1. mcu!janet is alive dammit! & she’s nadia’s stepmom in 616. 2. let me live my dreams that maria escaped captivity, changed her name, and started a new life. )

SIBLINGS :  

brothers: henry pym jr., ultron, dimitrios,  bangalter, cothran. half brother:  william nelson. sisters: alexis, eton, fountain.

EXTENDED FAMILY : (see here for post on ultron’s family)

grandfather:  brad pym, vernon van dyne, janos trovaya (616) grandmother: doris pym, lynn van dyne (take wiki w/ grain of salt), mrs. trovaya (616) great-grandmother: angela pym nephews: vision, victor mancha nieces: jocasta, alkhema great-nephews: billy kaplan, thomas shepard, vin vision great-niece: viv vision, antigone “son”: ion-man (982 verse)

nieces-in-law: wanda maximoff, virginia vision,  eve nephew-in-law: machine man ___________________________

relation due to brain wave patterns transfer/personality engrams:

jim hammond (human torch)  ➡ vision 

simon williams (wonder man) ➡ vision ↪ eric williams (grim reaper) : brother of simon williams 

bobbi morse (mockingbird)  ➡ alkhema

nathanial richards (iron lad) / teen ver. of kang the conqueror   ➡ vision (jonas) ____________________________

relation due to pym particle superhero shenanigans (ant-family):

scott lang (ant man ii) ↪ cassie lang (stature / stinger)

bill foster (goliath) ↪ tom foster (bill’s nephew / goliath)

eric o’grady (ant man iii / black ant) raz malhorta (giant man ii) rita demara (yellowjacket ii)

_____________________________

those not mentioned above: literally millions of androids, bio-synthezoids, robos, war toys, and rex (creations/”children” of ultron, alkhema, or eve)

NAME MEANING / S : slavic — hope;  english— expectation of the future 

HISTORICAL CONNECTION ? : nadia pym is basically hope van dyne only her mother is maria instead of janet. (and age difference) the girl is also the heroic version of hope pym from MC2 (982 verse) who was also hank and janet’s daughter but is a villain. (they even have similar costumes!) 

hope van dyne herself is also based on the idea of doing a hero version of MC2! Hope. so…in a way despite the obvious differences between the 3 of them, it comes back full circle.

FAVOURITES. BOOK : contact by carl sagen MOVIE : the day the earth stood still (star wars is a close second)

5 SONGS : (in in particular order)

hung up - madonna

heroes - david bowie

a better son/daughter - rilo kiley

man! i feel like a woman! - shania twain

grande valse brillante (arr. igor stravinsky for orchestra) - frédéric chopin

DEITY : athena HOLIDAY : new year’s day. MONTH : august. SEASON : autumn. PLACE : laboratory. WEATHER : cold. SOUND / S : steady mechanical buzzing, pencil against paper, idle chatter SCENT / S : firewood, smoke, perfume, chemicals, old books and photographs, vanilla TASTE / S : dark chocolate, strong, bitter coffee, honey FEEL / S : wind blowing through her hair ANIMAL / S : wasp, greyhound, stallion NUMBER : 8. COLOUR(S) : red, black

EXTRA. TALENTS : proficient in mixed martial arts, mechanics, and science, efficient strategist, able to juggle many ideas simultaneously. BAD AT : difficulty picking up emotions/social cues, lying TURN ONS : science, intelligence, hardworking ambitious people TURN OFFS : jealousy, immaturity, poor personal hygiene HOBBIES : building inventions - robots, gadgets, holograms, etc. TROPES : a sample taken from tv tropes: action girl, adaptational heroism, badass bookworm, broken bird, in the blood  legacy character, meaningful name , morality chain , sci-fi bob haircut, sweet tooth 

AESTHETIC TAGS : there is beauty in the details GPOY QUOTES : “This is not how it’s supposed to be.It’s supposed to be better.”, “It’s easier to think without pants sometimes.”, “I’ll let you know when I start being more interested in kissing someone than quantum physics.”, “You know me. I’d be happy with a cheeseburger.”

FC INFO. MAIN FC / S : evangeline lilly ALT FC / S : considering natalia dyer and madison wolfe for nadia ; ramona marquez for hope pym OLDER FC / S : n/a  YOUNGER FC / S : emily evan rae. VOICE CLAIM / S : none as of now GENDERBENT FC / S : none, i would say edward burns ? i guess? hmu with suggestions

MUN QUESTIONS. Q1 : if you could write your character your way in their own movie , what would it be called , what style would it be filmed in , and what would it be about ? 

A1 : a solo wasp movie not starring janet van dyne would be criminal. i’d do the solo janet wasp movie first (either post!agent carter set in the cold war with her having undercover superhero  adventures with hank or rewrite the mcu timeline altogether and have her be a founding avenger with the rest of them). THEN, have a sequel movie where janet is training hope as her successor. 

also, i’d LOVE an animated mini-series with nadia having science adventures. Saturday morning cartoon style with monsters and villains of the week while recruiting members for G.I.R.L. she can even do ‘nadia science facts” in-between commercial breaks a la sailor says. Q2 : what would their soundtrack / score sound like ? A2 : a lot of classical music (mostly compositions from 17th-19th century that accompany a ballet), alternative rock, and 80s/80s-inspired eletronic-dance pop. Q3 : why did you start writing this character ?  A3 : there were a lot of avengers character ask and rp blogs, especially when i first joined tumblr, but i didn’t really make up my mind on rping her until after seeing the movie and the want to explore her character, because her characterization is pretty great.

Q4 : what first attracted you to this character ? A4: i’m someone who often hides my emotions, and i often end up looking cold without intending on it, so i really enjoyed seeing a character who is defined like that? she expresses her bitterness and unapologetic anger that is rarely seen in heroic characters and that it doesn’t shy away from the idea that she could easily block out the light and turn into the darkness, but underneath her no nonsense cold exterior, she’s really empathetic and compassionate. and seeing her finally getting what she rightfully deserves, and knowing she’s gonna be the biggest damn hero the world’s ever seen is just amazing.

similar thing can be said about nadia in that her optimism is refreshing in the current state of comics. 

Q5 : describe the biggest thing you dislike about your muse. A5 :

Nadia Pym: i mean if i have to find ONE nitpick it would be that her overly sugary upbeat personality comes off as "too quirky”. i love the writer and artist of the solo series, but i see why some people can get annoyed by that, especially when they didn’t expect her series to take the colorful, fun, lighthearted, there is very little drama (eg: squirrel girl, batgirl) route as opposed to a traditional action drama legacy character approach (eg: ms. marvel, the atom rebirth )

Hope Van Dyne: i relate a lot to hope’s cynical and snarky personality, but the fact that she’s the exasperated, strong, serious, work-focused female interest trope found in nearly every movie is very…meh. 

Hope Pym (982): 

WARNING: RANT

if you’re going to make her a villain at least give her a GOOD REASON to be one. WHAT IS THIS ‘KILL THE AVENGERS BS’. your parents are hank pym and janet van dyne. FOUNDERS OF THE FREAKIN AVENGERS. hank literally passed the ant-man mantle to scott lang before you were even born! WHAT ARE YOU DOING?! YOU GREW UP WITH THESE PEOPLE! HOW IS THIS EVEN POSSIBLE?! THERE’S A MILLION REASONS TO BE A VILLAIN BUT THIS ONE MAKES ZERO SENSE. (i guess her being jealous of cassie would be her “reason”, but that’s a really cheap route to go considering how close the pym-van-dyne and lang family are. which leaves the “she’s mentally unstable” which im not even gonna touch.)

she isn’t even cool as a villain this could have been so cool! WE COULD HAVE HAD A VILLAIN ON PAR WITH ULTRON IN TERMS OF THREATENING. all that build and all we got was “MUHAHAH IM EVIL AND IM EASY TO DEFEAT IN 2 PANELS” all i see is a bunch of writers  going “OOOH PLOT TWIST~ THE CHILD OF TWO SUPERHEROES IS ACTUALLY A BAD GUY OOOOH~”

sorry. im just disappointed by the lost potential in this idea . I genuinely like the idea. Hope Pym and Henry Pym Jr.. Twin siblings who are raised by Hank and Janet, and one going on the path of being a villain, and the other deciding to be a hero could’ve made a good story. this could have been executed a LOT BETTER than what we actually got.

Q6 : what do you have in common with your muse ? A6 : we love doughnuts, are often deep in thought and forgetful of the world around us, wear mostly dark clothes, not really interested in romance, think holograms and robots are the coolest things ever, would probably marry a robot lol Q7 : how does your muse feel about you ? A7 : i think she’d like me. it’d  take a while for me b/c i’m an anxious jelly bean, but i think i’m a pretty nice person. im not a science genius or anything, but i can offer doughnuts and friendship! Q8 : what characters does your muse have interesting interactions with ? A8 : pretty much EVERYONE considering she’s still new to the world around her. i love her interactions with janet, jarvis, bobbi morse, kamala, lunella, and peter parker. (can’t wait to see her interacting with matt murdock in the next issue) 

i also have a pretty solid list on characters we have NOT seen her interacting with im interested in seeing: bucky barnes, natasha romanoff, bruce banner, reed richards (both mister fantastic and the maker), rest of the fam (scott, cassie, raz, eric, rita, viv, billy kaplan, victor mancha, etc. etc.), every known scientist both good, evil, and in-between, in the entire multiverse. ant-man ridiculous but astonishing rogue gallery (like dr. egghead and whirlwind) the list can go forever tbh.

Q9 : what gives you inspiration to write your muse ? A9 : i don’t know. when i have an idea, i just roll with it. listening to chiptune music and reading old analysis and metas are major boosts to get myself out of the writing slump. Q10 : how long did this take you to complete ? A10 : about 5 hours.

[sleepymarmot]

DS9 season 2 liveblog

[Season index: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 PS]

The Homecoming

They're opening the season with a three-parter about Bajoran-Cardassian problems, and Dukat will show up right in the first episode? The writers are not wasting time...

Sisko's unusually cheerful.

Again, I'm amazed at this new heroic O'Brien who is so unlike the background character I've watched press buttons for years.

One does not simply walk into a Cardassian camp! Unless you're these two.

This is completely crazy! What'll stop the Cardassians from destroying their ship?

Just as I was going to say "Why not beam the wounded right from the runabout?", they actually do so -- but just after exiting it. Is there any in-universe reason behind it, or just the ease of fiming?

Why is Dukat being so friendly? Maybe he has spies among the freed Bajorans? If so, it better not be Li Nalas himself...

Bashir you're embarrassing yourself -_-

Quark, why are you always such an ass to your brother? Is that really necessary?

Poor guy.

Oooookay?? The previous scene made me completely trust him, but now my suspicions are stronger than ever. He's replacing Kira? Seriously? That has got to be someone's plan.

Well, this episode was meaty. And it really seems like the show is finding its feet -- unlike Duet, this episode didn't remind me of the other series and feels uniquely DS9.

The Circle

Aw, Odo's being a good friend! I don't remember him ever becoming so agitated before.

Vedek Winn as guest star? *grinds teeth in advance*

what a mess... I don't know if it's funny or sad. What a contrast to Data's friendly, nice and organized goodbye party :D 

"These are my... these are my friends" 

Do the Prophets really need to show her this sexy crap? Also, I'm too faceblind, is the guy in the vision the freedom fighter or the priest?

Odo and Quark!

I don't understand, which of these two is trying to convince the other to support them? And I don't like how blatantly evil they act.

AUGHHHH NOT A STUPID STARFLEET ADMIRAL AND THE PRIME DIRECTIVE!!!!! NO!!!!!!!!! GET THIS CRAP AWAY FROM ME!

(Seriously though, you say "Prime Directive", I hear "stupid bureaucratic crap that gets in the way of doing the obviously right thing". Either retire it or write it better, dammit!)

The Siege

Okay, I might change my mind by the end of the episode, but this might be the strongest of the multi-episode stories so far.

Aww Nog

"The Cardies" haha

Ugh, don't do the "wife asks husband not to be a hero" thing

The freedom fighter becomes a leader for real!

Sisko and Bashir turn and walk away in sync lol

"Is that a spider or a dog?"

Please stop ruining your engaging story with scenes about cartoonish villains...

I've... actually completely forgotten that O'Brien had been in the Cardassian war until this very moment. That's probably why he has been so opinionated, not just because of Picard. 

That's it? Kinda underwhelming.

Ugh, killing Li Nalas? I didn't expect this show to cling so hard to status quo...

The first episode was the most impactful, but the entire story is still very impressive, epic and engaging!

Invasive Procedures

End of previous episode: Everyone happily returns after evacuation! Beginning of this episode: The station has been evacuated

Quark and Odo: *bicker* O'Brien: Ughhhh get a room already

Previous episodes: main characters defeat the forces of the entire Bajor This episode: DS9 is easily hijiacked by a handful of mercs & amateurs

That's an impressive "As you know" speech, Dax

When will poor Jadzia get an episode that's not about her being victimized and quietly accepting death?

Yes, I get it, the entire thing is just a plot device to show us Dax without Jadzia (and hopefully, Jadzia without Dax, if she'll be awake for it?), get on with it please

I hope the second half of the episode is about Dax working against the antagonist literally from the inside

Well, it's pretty disappointing that Dax by themself has so little personality and moral compass. I guess Sisko was all this time really friends with just Curzon and Jadzia, not Dax. Honestly, it's easier to forgive Quark (who sort of redeemed himself with an amusing scene) than Dax after this episode.

I was planning to go to bed after this one, but hell, I need to wash down this nonsense

Cardassians

I see Bashir has gained a lot of confidence since Past Prologue

"I am no more a spy than you are--" "A doctor"

I guess not everyone is fine with strangers touching them haha

"To us, he isn't even one of them any more" uh.....

"They won't hurt you. They're humans, they're not Cardassians" jfc...

"Don't apologize. It's been the high point of my day. DON'T DO IT AGAIN." 

(Sisko seems to chew out Bashir more often than others. Is Bashir just the most undisciplined?)

Oh, here we go, O'Brien's anti-Cardassian racism again, makes sense for it to be in this episode

Poor Keiko, she's trying so hard

Miles is getting over himself! I'm proud of him

Bashir is learning to yell at people! Two episodes in a row now.

Um, Miles, I don't think it's a great idea to tell these things to the boy's father...

Dukat's neck scared me. is that normal

GOD IT'S EVEN WEIRDER FROM THE FRONT why am I so bothered by this lmao. honestly was their casting requirement "not only be able to look ominous without actually doing anything, but to have an extremely long neck so we could sculpt interesting things around it"? i'm sorry i'm gonna shut up about this now

Garak if you hold that satisfied smile for some time more you're going to turn into a child-drawn picture of a sun

I love that Dukat doesn't even bother to finish the conversation, he just turns around and leaves without a word the moment it becomes clear that he lost

Ugh, poor boy... What a choice. Abusive family he loves and considers his own or the planet of strangers from an unfamiliar culture he hates, both claiming to love him and expecting him to identify with them? Even if they didn't tell who took him in the end -- he gets a bad deal either way.

it's much more easier to take Garak seriously when he's not dressed like a grandma who stopped giving a fuck 20 years ago. that's probably why he does dress like this, though... but shouldn't that hurt his reputation as a tailor?

This episode was awesome! Exploration of social issues, family drama, political intrigue -- all tightly wound together and making perfect sense. So far the Cardassian stories are the highlight of the show, I hope it's going to stay this way.

It's really weird how Bashir changed between seasons. He hasn't gotten a lot of screentime apart from this episode, but he seems less naive, awkward and bouncy, he's grown more confident, and the crush on Jadzia has disappeared without a trace. Tbh I'm kind of disappointed -- I was expecting a smoother character arc that would let him grow before our eyes and phase out his immature traits one by one. Same goes for his relationship with Garak -- we've only seen their meeting and now they act like besties, how did they get here?

No, wait, let me get back to the plot of the episode. So Dukat had a politician's child kindapped just in case that politician becomes his opponent at some indefinite point in the future, so that he could go through another complicated scheme to humiliate him? Had he absolutely nothing better to do?!! Did he arrange something like this for everyone who could ever possibly cross him?

Melora

Um, Julian, that sounded a bit too much like Geordi's style of creepy almost-stalking...

Wait, Melora is Grace Holloway? :D I didn't recognize her until the familiar name appeared on screen.

She complains about being treated differently and about following the same rules as everyone else in the same breath. Did the writers make her hypocritical on purpose?

Why is he doing this? Is he actually interested in her as a woman? Does he want to help her acclimatize? Or to put her in her place?

Okay, the low gravity scene is pretty cute even if it doesn't make much sense

Daphne Ashbrook in all your fandoms, kissing all of your pretty Doctors

so far it seems like in season 2 the good episodes are better than in season 1, but the mediocre ones are worse

god, the writing and design are so bad, I don't want to list everything that doesn't make sense to me, let's just move on

Rules of Acquisition

I was tired but the plot twist woke me up!!

Dax is so sweet

Poor Pel :( Shitty Ferengi values win again I guess 

Well, I'm glad he took a stand after all. And that they kissed. HELP I'M HAVING FEELINGS ABOUT FERENGI ROMANCE

Necessary Evil

Aw, Sisko called Rom "a family friend"

...so do Odo and Sisko perform the bad cop-good cop routine often?

yoo a flashback! I was wondering how Dukat was going to fit into this

"Cardassian neck trick" I... think I've already said enough on the subject lol

First meetings!

First meetingS!

I was distracted for some reason and didn't appreciate this episode enough :/ But it was very good!

Second Sight

Yikes Sisko don't embarrass yourself

"She's a married woman" "That would have never stopped Curzon" ew

ah I've missed the starship uniforms

what a boring episode. can we stop with the love interests of the week, please? I don't understand why the writers are suddenly forcing them so hard this season, and watching three of these in one day has turned my brain into soup. okay, Rules of Acquisition worked, but Melora and this episode were terrible!

(only pros: gorgeous woman, gorgeous dress)

Sanctuary

What was even the point of the universal translator not working for a while? This had nothing to do with the story, and the only thing it did was to remind the viewer how implausible the entire concept is.

Second mention of the Dominion -- I guess we'll meet them in the season finale?

Yep, I'd be surprised if the promised land didn't turn out to be Bajor

Bajoran Leia!

Wait, why is famine a problem? Why can't the Federation just provide Bajor with replicators? Prime Directive again? I mean, they almost seem to want me to ask this question by cutting right to refugees in front of a food replicator.

Why are they so attached to the idea it MUST be Bajor? Ugh, I hate these stories.

Rivals

Are you implying that El-Aurians have supernatural abilities and all this time people confided in Guinan not because she's charming and wise but because she mind-controlled them? 

Julian is a NERD and Miles is regretting all of his life choices that led to this point

(Gosh, I didn't realize how much I've missed scenes where the main characters just hang out together off-duty)

8 minutes into the episode and I still have no idea what it's about

Are you saying that O'Brien and Bashir's tennis rivalry is legitimately the B-plot because I'm really into it

"Not in this space-time continuum you won't"

oh my goooood

wait a sec, the listener is only figuring it out NOW?! h o w

finally, a really fun silly episode!

The Alternate

Wait, so when Odo is in humanoid form, does he see and hear like us, or "percieve" like in liquid form? Does he have 360 degree vision?

Put it back! This is either a defense mechanism or the environment needs this column to function for some reason; beam it back down

So Bashir's crush on Dax isn't dead? We haven't seen it for so long, I thought it was over. But why is he monologuing? that's just bad writing.

plot twist! D:

god, this doctor is so creepy with his Measure of the Man reenaction

poor Odo is literally having a meltdown :(

Armageddon Game

Another O'Brien and Bashir episode, nice!

Poor Keiko

Bashir's speech about wife and children at home is weirdly sexist, especially since the previous episode re-established his interest in Dax, and his previous romantic involvement this season was a fellow Stafleet officer too -- he should have the opposite problem (which was already discussed in "Melora")!

aw Quark, you don't have to hide behind the Rules of Acquisition to admit you care

Whispers

Everyone around seemed to be acting like he smells bad, does this mean that's actually true?

"It's not doctors I have a problem with, it's--" "You, Julian"

jfc Miles, she's your wife, you should try to talk at least to her

Quark can't name a rule of acquisition by number? alright, for the first time in the episode I believe someone is fake

O'Brien is a badass

Are they absolutely sure the dead one is the clone and the real one takes his place, not the other way around? That was an awfully convenient excuse to shoot a Starfleet officer point blank without anyone asking questions... 

Poor communication kills. At first it seems like something is wrong with O'Brien, but since people refuse to talk to him about it, he becomes convinced literally everyone else is conspiring against him -- and turns out, no, the problem was with him after all! And then they kill him off for no reason just to maintain status quo and avoid the Thomas Riker situation. They could have told him at literally any point instead of being so stupidly vague, but no, gotta keep the plot moving for 45 minutes! Before they found the real O'Brien they could have arrested the clone and told him everything, I'm sure O'Brien would understand; and after they rescued the real one, they could have just transmitted the image, if they're so averse to words. And after acting so stupid, as a final insult the other characters keep talking over their poor dying friend in third person like complete jerks. The episode is great... until that ending. Which just doubles my frustration, because it's one thing when a story is mediocre to begin with, but it really sucks when a wonderful episode is ruined by shitty conclusion.

Paradise

Yes, yes, I get it, this woman would do anything to keep this way of life and probably sabotaged the technology in the first place

What's wrong with replicated food? I hate this stupid trope

did she send the runabout away too?

what the FUCK

look, it might be useful social commentary to depict these rhetoric and tactics, but watching it is still torturous

it adds another level of creepiness that all this shit is done to a black protagonist -- was it intentional?

she's a more proficient torturer than the guy from Chain of Command

this woman is one of the most horrifying antagonists in all Star Trek. she actually believes all this shit

the engineer is supporting her? they all want to stay? for fuck's sake. she made them all see five lights

well. if the writers wanted to upset me, they succeeded

Shadowplay

"How fascinating" :D

"Women don't react to me in that manner" What about Lwaxana, then?

"After seven lifetimes, the impersonal questions aren't much fun anymore"

Yeah, why does a 15 year old need a job?!

The local guy is surprised at Odo beaming up and back down, like he's never seen anything like this before, and two minutes later says he has scanned for transporter activity

I like how the Prime Directive isn't even mentioned :D Or is it a human colony? But isn't this the Gamma Quadrant?

"You want me to spy on Quark for you?" so excited, bless him :D

backstory for that one time Miles played cello on TNG!

I'm glad these villagers are not as conservative and stubborn as people from the previous episode

I am reminded how much more modern DS9's storytelling is than TNG's every time they namedrop the Dominion -- like Doctor Who did ten years later with Bad Wolf, Torchwood etc

I knew he'd transform for the little girl eventually :') Odo reminded me of Data more than usual this time because of the friendship with a child and the episode's general similarity to Thine Own Self. But while Data gets along with kids partially thanks to his own childish (in a good way) qualities, Odo is more like a grumpy but caring grandpa -- I'd even say there's some First Doctor vibe. 

(I'm a bit disappointed the episode didn't follow up on that promise of "Bashir practicing his purely theoretical spying skillz on Quark for Kira", because that sounds absolutely hilarious)

Playing God

Fun-loving cool senpai Jadzia is amazing

Interesting that Jadzia doesn't identify with Curzon at all in this case, despite presumably remembering their interaction from his point of view too

I didn't really understand how they solved the problem but I don't care

This is my favourite Jadzia episode so far. She finally got to show agency, have some fun, show off her professional skills, and explore her own identity (instead of standing around silently while other people explore it). And I love how other characters' scenes are vivid despite shortness: Quark playing tongo with Jadzia and giving well-intentioned if unhelpful advice to the initiate; Bashir's friendship with Jadzia and O'Brien; O'Brien calling across the border about his pest problem; Odo, Kira and Sisko's different approaches to the ethical dilemma.

Profit and Loss

Yesss! Cardassians!

Ooh Quark has romantic history with the pretty Cardassian woman?! This is getting better and better

A scene between Garak and Quark! is it my birthday?

"Personally, I find this style to be a bit too radical. But your friend seems the sort who appreciates that kind of thing" Does he know everything and everyone?! Though come to think of it, this shouldn't have surprised me at all -- even regardless of special channels Garak may use, these dissidents might be well-known to the point that their info is freely available on something like stateenemies.gov.car/wanted

I love how he casually rips an expensive dress to make his point

Passionate lover Quark is so strange to see

Odo's good at playing hard to get

lmao I've waited so long for someone to finally to hug Odo and... :D I do also love his relationship with Quark but I never expected these two things to intersect :D

so, did Garak change his mind on the fly or was he just stalling until that guy comes and can be disposed of?

alright, I amend my previous statement about one-episode love interests: Quark is allowed to have them, if all women who fall for him continue to be this awesome

Blood Oath

What, the holosuites have no sound isolation?! If so, who would ever use them for anything more... private than a recreation of a famous battle?

These Klingons have strange hair

It's so nice to see a young, human-looking woman as an equal to three old Klingons

ah bat'leth fighting, I didn't realize how I've missed it

-- and that young, human-looking woman is more of an old-fashioned honorable Klingon than the rest of them

what an outfit

I'm glad the Klingon interpreted her hesitation so favorably

*reads TVTropes* Wait, all these three are from TOS?! Damn... I could barely tell them apart. I really liked the episode, but turns out I didn't appreciate it nearly enough. Time for a little TOS rewatch?

The Maquis 1

What does the word Nor mean? Terok Nor, Bok'Nor...

The Vulcan woman looks great; nice dress.

"Jake-o" aww

Do Cardassians have a thing for showing up right in your quarters unexpectedly?

"We'll need one of your runabouts" "Where are we going?" Nice one, Sisko

"So you turn off my controls so I don't have enough light to take my photograph?" :D  

"Education is power. Joy is vulnerability" Dukat is being very quotable today?

"Of all the humans I've met you strike me as the most joyless and the least vulnerable" "I am when I'm with you"

Honestly it's as if they are writing Sisko and Dukat's interactions for me personally

I like how the Vulcan is taking Quark's courtship at face value

Wait, is Gul Evek that reasonable guy from Journey's End?

I'm starting to understand Preemptive Strike better -- so it all took place in the demilitarized zone? That makes sense. (How did I miss that?)

"I was looking forward to showing you more ways to mix business with pleasure" "Perhaps in the future. I do find you... intriguing, Quark" im screaming hooly shit I'd never have guessed that Quark of all people would be the chick magnet #1 on this station?? how did he manage to meet a woman this line would actually work on

good shit good shit

The Maquis 2

Sisko gives a show-defining speech!

"Vulcans are a species that appreciate good ears"

something tells me Dukat wasn't the one supplying weapons and the Central Command is trying to kill two birds with one stone -- oh look, this lie was so obvious that for once the characters saw through it right away too

"The Central Command wants him dead. That's reason enough for us to want him alive"

Interesting, Dukat suddenly started acting in a theatrical manner I've only seen in Garak before. Some Cardassian cultural thing?

Haha, I didn't even realize where Sisko was leading the conversation! He's excellent in this story

"With that kind of firepower, the Bajorans could have launched a full-scale assault on Cardassia" "And lost"

Damn, Dukat really has his Intimidate skill maxed out! Sisko fails the Paragon check, Dukat passes the Renegade check.

Finally we see someone explain to a Vulcan why they're being illogical instead of making some bullshit reference to emotion. I love you Quark

the only bad thing about this two-parter is that it kinda made me like the Totalitarian Lizard Man a bit too much??? how dare you. let me go back to my wholesome crushes on Bashir and Jadzia before I start stanning or something

oh, and also I hoped this episode would make the Maquis more sympathetic so I could feel better about Ro Laren leaving Stafleet for them... nnnot much.

The Wire

What a great episode!! I wasn't liveblogging at all because it was too intense. I don't even feel the need to comment on drama or character development -- the story and acting speak for themselves.

Alright, how the hell did Bashir reach Tain? How does one get the home address of the former head of secret service of a foreign empire?! And how did Bashir manage to convince Sisko to authorize this stunt and give him the runabout -- or did he steal it?

The "Elim" reveal isn't really a surprise after you've spent some time near a fandom where people tag characters by full name... 

What interests me now: is Garak going to act differently now that he's not keeping himself drugged? Will he go through withdrawal? In the final scene he pretends everything is Back To Normal, but... Or was the table-flipping scene the extent of his withdrawal symptoms?

Another disjointed thought: this is a wonderful example of a satisfying hurt/comfort story 

Star Trek has some amazingly intense dramas for two actors. The Most Toys, Chain of Command, Duet... This one is different because in order to bring the two characters together and at the same time isolate them from the rest of the world, instead of captivity it uses doctor-patient relationship. Oh, another story from a different fandom it reminds me of, now that I think of it: Scherzo.

Crossover

Lmao it's nice that even after leveling up at unstoppable determination and compassionate badassery in the previous episode, Bashir still can be a ridiculous dork 

...though it is pretty jarring that right after a high drama where he shows his capacity for patience and caring, and greatly deepens his relationship with someone, the next episode opens with the awkwardest attempt at befriending (and flirting?)

I didn't expect Garak to appear in two episodes in a row!

Why is Mirror Kira walking like this...

I started laughing at "I don't have a designation, sir" because my mind immediately went to "There's no need to call me sir, professor"

Female Cardassian guard! And Kira called herself attractive, heh.

Mirror Quark is dressed so poorly...

Okay, Mirror Kira definitely wants to fuck herself -- wait, that's actually canon? Do all evil Kiras hit on women? I wish they'd let our Kira do that too. I know it was written in the nineties, but I really don't appreciate the "evil=bi" trope

Well this was pretty weak. The only mirror character who works well, i.e. exposes the real character's darker side, is Odo. Kira looks just weak and hysterical. (Remember how I complained about her acting in the pilot?) Mirror Garak is actually less intimidating than our Garak.

The Collaborator

Can't say I'm very excited to see Vedek Bareil again. I liked him in his first episode for ideological reasons, but this romance...

Oh no, the Sydney Opera Hat is on the Promenade again? Is she planning another assassination?

"Welcome back. You're under arrest"

The episode was not engaging to watch, but I enjoyed the Grey Morality (tm).

Tribunal

These Cardassians have lost all shame, what do they think they're doing

Evek again, and I think another familiar face?

Yiiikes

Here comes the good cop

I'm glad they're not spending an entire episode on a Chain of Command remake. 

Not telling the accused what they're charged with: a deliberate ploy to mess with their mind, or do the Cardassians not even bother to think about these things anymore?

Huh, Odo had a Cardassian rank that's still valid? That's useful.

Alright, but wasn't O'Brien still declared guilty? So the scheme to discredit the Federation worked?

Also, a missing molar isn't good evidence. Maybe it means that man was just captured and processed by the Cardassians, like O'Brien. And why would a spy alter his appearance but forget about this? You'd think humans and Cardassians have different enough teeth that he'd have to get dental implants anyway. 

I found one good thing about the Cardassian "court"! The judge has fabulous hair.

The Jem'Hadar

Jake!

"I bet we'll have a great time!" "I know we will" Please don't say things like this in the opening scene of a season finale...

Aw poor Sisko :D

"Guess" "He said yes" "Guess again"

Aw Quark needs a hug

Aww kids

Aww Odo cares about Quark

"If the Dominion comes through the wormhole, the first battle will be fought here, and I intend to be ready for them." Well. That's a chilling line to end the season on.

As much as I like it when the Federation arrogance is called out, Quark's speech just doesn't work. "The way I see it, humans used to be a lot like Ferengi. Greedy, acquisitive, interested only in profit. We're a constant reminder of a part of your past you'd like to forget." Well, yeah! That was basically the original concept for their species! "Humans used to be a lot worse than the Ferengi" -- so what? 24th century humans are disgusted by the atrocities of their ancestors, so why can't they also be disgusted by the exact same things perpetuated by their contemporaries? Domestic abuse and sexism are wrong, no matter who does it. Note how this entire speech sidesteps the violent misogyny, aka the Ferengi's most obvious appaling trait. This is like saying "Don't judge the Cardassian state for being totalitarian! That's just their culture, you don't understand!"

General impressions

Bashir and Jadzia finally got some character development!

I live for Cardassian episodes. It's fascinating to see a dystopia in the universe that started as a utopia, and see how characters from both sides deal with each other. 

(Random thought: I want an AU episode like "Crossover" where another universe/timeline's Cardassia is a free state, and for a Cardassian viewpoint character our world is a nightmare scenario just like the Mirror Universe is for our heroes.)

I don't loathe Winn as much as I did in the first season finale. That makes her kind of underwhelming as a recurring antagonist. On the other hand, that might be a good thing, because getting so angry repeatedly couldn't have been good for my health. But because they're represented mainly by the hateful-but-not-enough Winn and the bland Bareil, the Bajoran affairs are usually not as gripping as the Cardassian. I hope to see more of their secular politics next season.

First season was very even; second has two irredeemably clumsy stories (Melora and Second Sight), but a growing number of outstanding ones, too. 

First season was already an improvement over TNG in terms of serialization, and this one is better. Both multi-part stories are brilliant, too. I hope this trend continues. 

A noticeable weakness in the first season was the mundanity of the Gamma Quadrant. No sense of wonder, no noticeably stranger aliens. The introduction of the Dominion and their overwhelming threat partially rectified that problem, bringing back some of the feeling from "Q Who". Yes, setting foot in a far corner of the galaxy should be awesome in both senses of the word, and lead the previously unimaginable dangers right back to your home.

The costume design has visibly improved in this season!

[the-u-s-s-enterprise]

How to Write Children

The other day I started writing something I’ve been thinking about for a long time.  The first chapter starts with the characters at age 7 and, for the sake of accuracy, I pulled out my notebook from the Child Development course I took over the summer.  I know that not everyone has access to a course like that or even notes from one, so I thought I could share some tips I picked up on writing children.

Age: Infancy (birth to ~2)

Infants don’t really do much besides eat and sleep.  The only way they know how to communicate is through crying; however, they do start making noises that sound like talking as they get older, which can be noted as cooing or babbling.  First words are usually short, brief words that are nouns or actions.  Language develops quickly at 50 words by 8-18 months, and 300 by 18-22 months.

Fresh babies can only see about 7-9 inches away from their face and without much peripheral vision.  Basically, things need to be right in front of them.  Infants respond to sound much easier, though, responding more to the mother’s voice, and sounds and rhythms of speech rather than nonsensical noises.  Babies are sensitive to smell, taste, and pain, being able to determine good and pleasant from the bad.

They spend about 2/3 of their time sleeping (16 hours a day).

Around 2-3 months, the infant starts being able to hold up their head, and around 3-4 months they can start grabbing things voluntarily.  

Age: Early Childhood (2-6)

At this stage, children are developing their gross motor skills, which is the large muscles.  They are learning to balance, throw, catch, push, pull, etc.  At this point, males and females are generally equal in terms of development and abilities.  Children can begin to develop fine motor skills at this stage, but not unless they have mastered gross motor skills.

Children at this stage usually develop patterns of erratic and unpredictable eating habits.  They can develop strong or strange preferences, and often are influenced by parental food preferences.

These ages need about 10-11 hours of sleep in a 24 hour period which is usually accomplished with 9-10 hours at night and a 1-2 hour nap during the day.

Children at this stage begin “symbolic” or pretend play.  They have one-dimensional thinking, and see themselves as the center of all situations, and this is completely normal development.  These children do not understand the laws of causality.  An example of this is that highways make cars go fast, or when I wake up the sun comes out (rather than people make highways fast or the sun will always come out whether you wake up or not).

Preschoolers learn an average of 9 words per day.  They also apply the concept of overregulation, which is applying grammar to words that are an exception to the rule (a child learn that you put -s on plurals and makes the word “mouses”).

Preschoolers start to identify and respond differently to their friends than other children.  They identify friends not by qualities, but rather the toys and activities they share.

Age: Middle Childhood (7-12)

This is the stage when children usually begin losing teeth.  They start going in for regular vision, hearing, and dental checks.  This is also the stage when hormonal differences begin to occur, not until puberty however.  Children begin to develop “executive functions” of thinking, such as goal setting, information processing, and self-regulation.

During middle childhood, children are increasing their speed, strength, agility, and balance.  They are developing hand-eye coordination, faster reaction time, and flexibility.  Their fine motor skills have increased to tie shoes, fasten buttons, zip zippers, etc.

Children at this stage begin to understand the law of conservation, which is the idea that properties of an object remain the same when superficial characteristics are rearranged or changed.  They can also begin to uses class inclusion, or understand that one category or class can include subcategories (**Note: This is Piaget’s theory and has since been proven that the development in this paragraph happens earlier than he accounted).

Children begin to develop a moral conscious that is usually dependent on the world around them.  Basically, children learn that they must conform to an authority or set of rules, and misbehavior results in automatic retribution.  Children at this age may also begin to lie as a way out of retribution, but do not fully grasp the concept of deception (develops around 9-10), so lies will be short, one-word answers rather than elaborate tales.

By age 6, children will have learned 7000-13000 words.  By ages 7-9, they will understand that words have different meanings and enjoy jokes.  

Children will start to develop self esteem around this age, and is usually higher in children with close relationships with their parents, and social acceptance by their peers.  Peers become powerful during middle childhood, and there becomes a lot of pressure to conform due to acceptance or rejection.

Age: Adolescence (13-17)

Puberty may have already happened before this age, but it usually marks the beginning of adolescence.  In males, early maturation is not usually seen any one way or another; however, late maturation in males can make them feel dominated an insecure.  This is reversed in females.  Early maturation can make them feel awkward and conspicuous.

Teenagers are at the peak of physical health, strength, and mental capacity (in general terms), yet this is a very hazardous age.  Rates of death by injury between ages 15-19 are about 6 times greater than the rate between ages 10-14 because of an egocentric feeling of invincibility.

Teenagers bodies have sexually matured, but they have limited executive functions and tend to be impulsive.  They may end up reacting to peer pressure.  Sexually-active adolescents have a higher risk for Sexually Transmitted Infections (estimated 2.5 million teenagers).

Many teenagers experience sleep deprivation (<6 hours), which can lead to poor performance.  Adolescents experience what is called phase delay.  This concept is the teenagers body shifting its sleeping schedule, making them fall asleep later and waking up later.  It is natural for teenagers to have difficulty falling asleep before 11pm.

At this stage, teenagers have a great capacity for abstract thinking and use of symbols.  They are categorized by hypothetical thinking (what might be rather than what is), Utopian thinking (the future’s possibilities), and symbolic thinking (how a symbol can represent something greater).

Teenagers still experience a sense of egocentrism.  Adolescents are overly concerned about what others think of them, and feel under scrutiny or on stage (”imaginary audience”).  They also believe that their own thoughts and beliefs are special and unique, which can lead to them feeling alone and isolated.

The differences between genders (I’m sorry I don’t have any notes on trans youth we didn’t cover that) is now much more obvious due to cultural experiences.  Girls tend to be better in verbal skills such as reading, and expressive language, whereas boys tend to be better at visual-spatial abilities because of sports.  In a study of 7 million teenagers, they found no difference between boys and girls in mathematics.

*** Please note that this is a very simplified and edited version of my notes.  There are entire sections of the science behind development, and also disorders and diseases.  If you want a deeper explanation on anything, or posts about the two subjects I skipped over, please feel free to ask! ***