#and you didn't have to be dextrous in real time

[nymphetamineroach]

18+ NSFW MINORS DNI

Top!F!Reader x Bottom!Idia

It started out innocent enough. You were reading through a webcomic that you loved while Idia played a game on his phone. The two of you were indulging in some much needed cuddle time; your boyfriend's head resting on on your stomach, nestled between your thighs. Your free hand gently cards through his hair, and he always makes a cute pleased sigh when your nails graze over his skin. Only five minutes ago did you notice the pattern but the smile on your face only grows with every moan.

Your focus shifts solely to Idia, so you shut down your phone and set it on your pillow. As you make your move to sit up, the media on his phone catches your eye. Manga panels fill the screen, and if there was any plot involved, it was clear he was past that point in the story.

Idia's thumb slowly scrolls to the next page; you see the protagonist's point of view as he stares up at a woman from where he lies in her lap. Her professional blouse is undone, showing off her ample cleavage as she meets the protagonist with her own hungry gaze.

Perhaps it didn't start innocent at all. It was rather inevitable.

...

Idia is dextrous with his hands for sure, but it still amazes you how quickly he slips your top off under the ambient glow of the computers.

His fiery hair smolders in your lap, only adding to the heat already growing between your legs. Blue lips suckle at your breast, a pale hand teasing the nipple of the other as moans rumble in his throat. Your hand pumps his cock, smearing precum against his heated flesh as you stare down at him.

Idia whines against your skin when your thumb rubs mercilessly over the tip of his weeping cock, dipping roughly into his slit, causing the man to buck his hips into your touch. Your hand glides down his shaft, cunt clenching just at the feel of his girth as he needily fucks your fist.

A flitting fantasy of Idia drinking real milk from your breasts intrudes into your mind. The image of your darling boyfriend eagerly latching onto your nipple makes your clit throb. He'd drink down one only to have you shoving the next into his mouth, cooing about how good he's behaving, how he can taste your cunt next as long as he stays your good boy.

You almost feel perverted; but the drool running down your breast and his chin, how his eyes roll back in his head when your hand picks up speed, how he sneaks two of his own fingers inside himself -- neither of you are ashamed.

---

Pls reblog?

[positivelybeastly]

Hey there! The post you made about the core of a well written Hank McCoy inspired me to ask if you'd be willing to do a similar deep dive into Hanks various relationships over the years. Not in a shippy way in so much as a pros and cons of the relationships ( all relationships have them , even good ones) and how they reflect on and influence Hanks character over time.

Hello hello! I would indeed be willing to do a deep dive, and, at the same time, find out if Tumblr text posts have a word limit! I also realised maybe 20 characters in that you meant actual. Relationships, as in romantic, and I've done just. Basically. All of his relationships. Including platonic ones. Oops. Oh well, hope you enjoy!

These won't be quite as exhaustive as if you asked me about a particular relationship, since I always work best with plenty of image resources and I already know I'm going to hit my image limit early, but I hope I can give at least my general thoughts on how Hank has influenced and changed, and been and influenced by, the following characters.

Edna and Norton McCoy

X-Men Unlimited vol. 1 #10, 1996.

You have to start all the way back at the beginning, and Hank's relationship with his parents is crucial to understanding why he is the way he is. Hank is the by product of a radiation accident that nearly killed his father, which led to the odd nature of his mutation - namely, that it manifested at birth in the form of abnormally large hands and feet.

This was, in many ways, the best case scenario that Edna and Norton could have hoped for, that their child not miscarry, be stillborn, or be born with a disability that would massively impact his quality of living - this was a very real possibility for them. So Hank being the way he was, actually stronger, more agile, and more dextrous than a normal child, and not to mention a genius intellect even at a young age (not related to his mutation, but it certainly didn't hurt) created a bit of a miracle baby effect.

They were unremittingly supportive and loving - they supported his choice in academics, they supported his football career, they supported his choice of girlfriends, they pushed him to be the best that he could be but never put undue pressure on him. He grew up feeling like he could do anything he wanted to, if he simply chose to.

The worst I can say about this relationship is that you could view it as fostering his ego - perhaps if they had tamped down on his ambitions a bit, maybe he never would have turned himself blue and furry in a fit of 'I know better than everyone else,' but I think that's a lot to put on his parents, honestly. He made that decision, and he has no-one to blame but himself for making it. Blaming his parents for that is like blaming your parents for daring to make you believe you can grow up to be somebody - like, what's the alternative, making you believe that you'll never be anybody? Horrible way to parent.

There's a bump in Marvel Team-Up #124 (1982) where Edna freaks out about her child growing up to be a superhero and more physically obvious mutant, but it's resolved when Hank proves himself to be a man of caliber and altruism, putting himself in harm's way to save a child - proving himself to be the boy that Edna raised, and she returns the favour, putting her life at risk to save him from Professor Power.

He may not be the CPA or 'normal' genius she may have wanted, but he's still brilliant, and she realises that quickly. I also think it's notable that Norton, his father, doesn't go through a similar patch, which is attributable to the fact that he sees Hank's mutation as his 'fault', as you can see in the panels above - he can't exactly blame Hank for being who he is, he's explicitly responsible for it. It would be the height of ridiculous for him to come down on Hank for who he is, when who he is is a direct result of Norton's act of heroism.

In many ways, Hank can do no wrong in his parents' eyes - but in many ways, Hank never does do wrong by his parents. He makes their lives comfortable and improves on it in a lot of ways with his intellect, and he keeps them safe as best he can. They're a little disappointed they aren't grandparents when we last hear from them in 2018, in the X-Men Christmas Special, but they're still defensive of him and love him, even though he's changed for a third time.

Charles Xavier

X-Force vol. 6 #20, 2021.

You knew this one was coming. You'll note that this is one of the few times that I'm going to use something from Benjamin Percy's X-Force in this deep dive, mostly because it's one of the few times that Percy comes close to examining who Hank is and why he is the way that he is. It's one of the few times in X-Force that anyone asks, why is Hank doing what he's doing? Why is he committing these actions?

Because, in many ways, he's still chasing Charles Xavier's approval.

Charles does Hank maybe the biggest disservice of any of his original X-Men, save maybe Scott - while he plucks Scott out of an abusive home and then moulds him into a soldier for his dream, pretty much completely failing to give him any coping mechanisms for what that's going to do to Scott's relationships with other people and his ability to maintain a normal life, Charles plucks Hank out of a loving home, and cuts him off from it. He telepathically wipes Hank's parents' mind of his existence for a while, to 'protect' him, but really, he's isolating Hank, and installing himself as a father figure.

Whether he realises he's doing this or not is immaterial, because it's canon, as established in Marvel Presents #85-92 (1991) and reaffirmed in X-Men Origins: Beast (2008). And though Hank doesn't appreciate it, on some level hates Charles for it forever, he falls for it, because he is a fundamentally altruistic person who knows he has a responsibility to use his intellect and his mutation to make life better for other people - this is the canon reason he joins the X-Men, and it's important to remember that, because he has no need of training to foster his gifts like Jean or Bobby, and he has a home, unlike Scott. In many ways, he's actually most like Warren, but we'll get to that.

There are moments where Hank separates from Xavier, most notably in Uncanny X-Men #8 (1964) and Amazing Adventures #11 (1971), and it's significant that the latter split leads to, arguably, the best years of his life, where he's freest to be who he wants to be and enjoy his life. He joins the Avengers and the Defenders, he becomes a sex symbol, he feels comfortable in his own skin, he explicitly feels no pressure to use his intellectual gifts, and instead is, arguably, most himself.

It's especially interesting when you consider that even with all that in mind, he still matures and grows up and realises, independently of Xavier, that he still has a responsibility to help - but rather than being inorganically forced to take on that role by a man he doesn't know, he realises it in New Defenders #142 (1985) when a mutant activist calls him out on his immaturity and his lack of forward momentum.

Hank self-reflects, and self-actualises, and forms a grassroots mutant political activist group called M.O.N.S.T.E.R (Mutants Only Need Sensitivity, Tolerance, and Equal Rights), which is something that Charles would NEVER do. Its emphasis on elevating mutants everywhere, rather than focusing on providing examples of mutant heroism like the X-Men, is unique, and I really do wish we'd gotten to see more of a grass roots approach to mutant politics. But.

Then, Hank gets pulled into X-Factor, and all of that goes away. Then, he gets pulled into the X-Men, and his life becomes smaller. And smaller, and smaller, and smaller. And his life becomes worse, and worse, and worse. Eventually, he hits the point where Charles is handing him an Infinity Stone, and consigning him to joining the Illuminati in his stead, and Hank doesn't want to be there, but he feels obligated to, because this was Charles' last wish, his literal will and testament, and he can't say no to that. But he should've. Because it tortures him, and it all ends up being for nothing anyway. Thanks, Chuck.

That being said, I think one of the most telling depictions of Hank and the Professor's relationship actually comes from Astonishing X-Men vol. 3 #12, where Scott is dressing down the Professor for enslaving Danger. Something I really appreciate about that scene is that it highlights how different Hank and Scott are in their relationship with Xavier.

Perhaps because Scott grew up with an abusive parental figure in Jack Winters and Hank grew up with very loving parents, Scott was able to recognise Charles' toxic behaviour and break away from Xavier - it might also have had something to do with the fact that at least one of Charles' biggest fuck ups had to do with Scott's brother Gabriel? Hard to say. But Hank, who Charles very carefully isolated from his parents by mindwiping them for years of Hank's whole existence, never really managed to break free of him, and it shows here really acutely.

Hell, it arguably never went away, even into the Krakoan era - a more interesting version of X-Force would have really dived into the kind of fucked up dynamic they have, where Chuck keeps covering for Beast's moral transgressions for seemingly no reason, because in some respects, he's responsible for them. He gave him the power, he gave him no oversight, but even more pressingly, he wasn't there for him emotionally. He pulled him into this life and didn't prepare him for the toll it would take, how much it would ruin Beast by the time he gets to Krakoa. Beast needed someone to help him there, and no-one did, which is part of why he went on the skids, I think.

But anyway, Whedon does a lot of moments where Hank is present for scenes but doesn't speak, which is important for a character who's well known for not shutting the fuck up. This, the initial cure conversation, the whole conversation about Piotr - Hank clams up. He doesn't feel like he can talk about it. He's off in his own head, his thoughts are his own, he doesn't feel the need to share them.

And here, it's especially important, because this is a big moral violation that Charles has committed in their name. I know it may be hard to remember, but back in the day, Hank had a moral opinion that was worth something, so the fact that he doesn't say anything here speaks volumes about just how much he feels capable of calling out the Professor, i.e. not at all. He craves Xavier's validation, his approval, he feels a kinship with Chuck. So he doesn't criticise him like he should.

It's especially interesting given that this would continue through the Utopia era. Every time Scott distanced himself from Xavier, Hank was there to comfort Charles, and I feel like that's just something he feels like he has to do. He feels like the devoted brother to Scott's more radical, more willing to criticise brother, and if Bendis had any interest in Beast as a character, he would've played on that in All-New X-Men - the fact that Scott killed their toxic father figure, and Beast feels both free of an influence he didn't know was choking him, but outraged that Scott would break their 'family' like that.

I find Beast compelling because of his flaws, and this is an interesting moment when you take all of that into account. I don't even know if that was the intention of this scene, or if Whedon just wanted to give Scott the speech, but it's interesting, nonetheless, and it really shines a light on how Hank and Charles see each other. I'm very interested to see Hank's take on where Charles has ended up in From the Ashes, because it has the potential to really change that dynamic.

Scott Summers

Astonishing X-Men vol. 3 #34, 2010.

Hank McCoy is Scott Summers' best friend.

I said it because it's true, and it's true reading all the way back to the Silver Age, honestly. Even as Bobby's screaming his head off about Scott being a stuck up asshole, Hank's quietly reminding Bobby that Scott can't be anyone other than who he is, "he can't help his psychological make-up," and I think that gets at a really important part of their relationship. Just as Scott's mind is attractive to telepaths because it's so neatly ordered and makes perfect sense to them, Scott's personality is appealing to Hank because he makes sense to him. Scott is orderly, anxious, dedicated, intelligent, hides his true feelings, and wants to belong, even as he stands apart. Hank is most, if not all, of these things, and so, they get each other. Bobby fucks around, Warren schmoozes and gets cocky, Jean is a GIRL AND THEREFORE SCARY, but Hank and Scott just get each other.

Which makes it all the more tragic when they fall apart, because Hank sees it all and it makes sense to him, even as it breaks his heart. What a lot of people misunderstand about Hank's arc during Utopia is that they read his moral grandstanding as self-righteousness or hypocrisy or a big ol' stick he wants to use to hit people with, and it's honestly not that. I really don't think it is.

I think he sees Scott sacrificing the parts of himself that make him a good man so that he can make a better general, and it terrifies him. He sees him become callous, manipulative, cold-blooded, willing to risk everything on a course of action because he believes he's right. Hank thinks he's fighting for the soul of the X-Men, for his own soul, for Scott's soul, even as everyone else is fighting for mutantkind.

Hank went through his own journey in Endangered Species, and he knows that there's nothing he can do, so why fight it? Why not just stop, and live out his days being the best man he can be, a member of the first and last generation of mutants, and let it go? Because no-one saw what he saw.

No-one saw the end of mutantkind inscribed on the vellum of reality like he did, saw what he would become if he did what Scott did and did anything and everything to stop the death of the mutant race - no-one else knows how close he came to jumping into the abyss and becoming Dark Beast. And no-one, honestly, cares. Hank doesn't tell anyone, because he never does, but it absolutely informs his views going forward. It can't not.

But no-one is interested enough in Hank McCoy's feelings to really ask why he's so insistent, or what happened when he was gone. He's a private individual, and he never told anyone. He felt profoundly ashamed of what he did while he was gone, which didn't exactly help. So his moral insistence just comes across as hatred, and it's not. He loves Scott Summers like a brother. That's why he fought so hard to keep him the way he was, not the way he became.

I also find it interesting that, in some ways, Hank is responsible for Scott becoming a happier, more well-adjusted individual, if in the most fucked up and irresponsible and manipulative way possible. Even in the midst of their relationship being at its lowest point, Hank was inadvertently responsible for time displaced Scott joining the Champions and getting to spend time with his father, giving him precious memories of a life not lived for Xavier that he didn't have before, and it's arguable that that's part of what mellowed Scott, coming out of the Death of X/revolution era.

It's not a good thing that Hank did that, obviously, he did it because - well, because he was having a brain aneurysm called Brian Michael Bendis, but whatever, it wouldn't have happened without Hank's intervention. I don't know if it's fair to give Hank credit for this, because those are Scott's choices and Scott's relationships, but the sequence of events is such. Idk. I try to see the best in Hank's actions and make them make sense to how I see the character.

A better version of X-Force would have made Scott central to Hank's descent into darkness, because it's frankly too obvious a connection to make, but whatever, we missed that boat. I just know that, just like how Hank didn't want for Scott to hollow himself out like he did, Scott wouldn't have wanted Hank to hollow himself out like he did, either, and I'm glad to see that reflected in MacKay's X-Men #1. I hope that friendship is rebuilt, because it deserves to be.

Jean Grey

New X-Men #124, 2002.

Hank McCoy is Jean Grey's brother.

Okay, so maybe not biologically, but they are basically brother and sister. It's why the stabs at making a relationship between them have never really worked for me, and I just enjoy the friendship moments between them too much to think of them together romantically. They're both intensely empathetic, deep feeling, loving characters, and in some ways, despite Jean being a literal telepath, Hank actually gets people better than Jean does sometimes (see X-Men Annual '95) because where she can be blinded by anger and passion and justice, Hank sees people for who they are and what they want very easily.

Almost any time that Hank is feeling blue (heehee) in 90s X-Men or New X-Men, it's Jean that pulls him out of it, because she's spent the most time learning what his habits are, when he's not really feeling as all right as he promises, and I honestly don't think it's a massive coincidence that the period that adult Jean spends dead (2005-2017) is a period that Hank spends alternately depressed, irrational, or alone. Maybe that's a form of dependency? Possibly. I just think they're best friends and that they make each other better when they're around one another.

Hank believes in Jean. He walks through the snow, thinking the rest of the X-Men are dead, believing that if he can at least get Jean out, then maybe he hasn't failed. He gets yanked onto the Shi'ar flagship, hears about what Dark Phoenix did, and instantly tries to throw the book at Empress Lilandra because he believes in Jean, and he believes in justice and law and due process. He watches her manifest the Phoenix and piece Emma together with her telekinesis, yanking her consciousness into her body once more, and even though he's afraid, he sticks with her. He trusts her with his mind, giving her his anatomy knowledge so she can work informed, even as the flames of her Phoenix form lick at his arm and burn him.

Hank believes in Jean Grey.

Bobby Drake

X-Men: First Class #4, 2007.

Bobby Drake is Hank McCoy's first best friend.

There were definitely great friends beforehand (Jennifer Nyles comes to mind), but in terms of making Hank feel normal, in terms of becoming friends to have fun and just hang out and because you simply like each other's vibes and feel comfortable each other? Yeah, Bobby is absolutely Hank's first best friend.

It's probably best exemplified in New Defenders, especially #122, where Bobby just. Needs Hank. He needs his best friend. Hank always has a knack for chasing away Bobby's blues, and you see it again and again throughout that run, where Hank is just who Bobby goes to first whenever he's feeling bad (as well as in 90s X-Men), because Hank always seems to know what to say.

I also don't think it's an exaggeration to say that there must've been a lot of good feeling going on for notable stick in the mud 60s Hank and retroactively gay Bobby to go out on double dates with Vera and Zelda. Hank bought an entire cabin so that they'd have a place to go to. Can you think of anyone else that Hank's done that for? I rest my case. (Is it all a little gay? Maybe. But it's not gay if the socks stay on.)

Where this relationship falls apart is when Bobby stops growing before Hank does, and what Hank needs outpaces what Bobby can provide, as seen in Uncanny X-Men #518. It's not necessarily Bobby's fault, he's just - not a very emotionally capable person, a lot of the time, his primary character flaw is an inability to grow up, and so Hank throws something heavy at him, and his best, most immediate impulse is to just say, well, deal with it how you've always dealt with it.

And that's just not good enough. And in many ways, I think Hank just stops trusting Bobby at that point, to the extreme where Bobby calls out for every other member of the original X-Men but him at the 2023 Hellfire Gala as he dies, and I wasn't surprised one bit. They stop appearing in comics together, Hank doesn't feature in his modern solo series' at all, and their interactions are fine, but nowhere near what they were.

Warren Worthington

Uncanny X-Men #297, 1992.

Warren is the original X-Man that Hank is most like.

Which, you might think is strange, given that Warren is a rich kid with wings and Hank is a farmboy quarterback with big feet, but it's true, by virtue of three facts - one, they're the two most obvious, physically mutated members of the O5.

Two, they came to heroism on their own. Warren's turn as the Avenging Angel, and Hank's fighting against the Conquistador in his origin, both predate their time as X-Men, and this is massively important in their development because it demonstrates that altruism and self-sacrifice are intrinsic in their characters. They believe in doing good things to help people, or stopping bad people from doing bad things, because it's the right thing to do. Whereas Scott and Jean and Bobby emerged from tragedy and ruin, Hank and Warren came from a place of stability and a desire to do good.

Three, they both undergo a terrifying physical metamorphosis that causes massive changes in their personalities, Warren becoming Archangel and Hank becoming a much more literal Beast. This point of commonality is a rock for them both, and as you can see, it helps them through. They realise that for all their struggles with the other aspects of their new selves, they're still, in the ways that count, the same people - they're still the friends they always were.

It's also very significant to me that Warren is the X-Man that Hank first 'comes out' to as the Beast, in Amazing Adventures #15 (1971), and I don't think it's a real coincidence that even as Charles tries to assert that Hank's protest that he's his own man, not an X-Man, and Jean shies away in shock from the vehemence with which Hank rejects their telepathic call, Warren calls bullshit and just goes.

He asserts himself. He's independent, and he breaks from the X-Men, much like Hank and Bobby did, Hank going to the Avengers and Bobby and Warren to the Champions, then all three of them to the Defenders - even as Scott and Jean stay with the X-Men, a decision that will lead to a whole line of catastrophe that ends with Jean dead, and Scott resigned to a life left unfulfilled because his one true love is dead.

Meanwhile, Hank, Bobby and Warren are clustered in a borrowed quinjet in their best togs, going to a wedding. Warren asks why he and Bobby are going along, given they hardly know the couple. Hank replies Warren that he's family, and he wants them there, and that's that, and there's a quiet, warm little smile on his face, because he is. They are.

I also find it very interesting that Hank and Warren undergo a very similar trajectory, tracking from Utopia to the Dark Angel Saga for Warren, and All-New X-Men to Krakoa for Hank - they cloister themselves off from others, they lose sight of who they originally were, they roll around in the blood of innocents, and in the end, they both end up dying and losing their memories, born anew.

Like I said. Warren is the original X-Man that Hank is most like.

Jennifer Nyles

X-Men Unlimited vol. 2 #10, 2005.

Jen is an underrated figure in Hank's history, and that's mostly because she has very limited appearances, none of which quite make sense with one another. Her first appearance in Marvel Presents #85-92 posits that she was, in many ways, Hank's first love, the person he missed most of all those who were made to forget him, and that the absence of him in her mind compelled her to study the mind so that she might try and unlock what she knew was missing. In the end, he stays away from her, because she nearly dies and he feels he endangers her. He probably does.

Then, we have a retroactive appearance in Origins: Beast, and the above story in Unlimited. Origins: Beast doubles down on her importance, stating that she's the person who encourages Hank to come out of his shell even before he's an X-Man, to use his gifts and be the brilliant person she knows he is, and while Unlimited agrees with that importance, she knows who Hank is at a time when she shouldn't. How to square it away? Ehh. I kinda don't. I like the three stories and how they impact and change and demonstrate Hank's qualities too much to try and change them. Instead, I just enjoy them.

In another life, Hank and Jen absolutely got married and they had a brilliant history together. She's almost as smart as he is, just as fiery (she punches out a bully antagonising Hank), and she has a strong moral, empathetic core. Hank, honestly, has a type. But even more than a romantic figure, I like her as an inspirational figure for Hank, someone that pushes him in the right direction and leads him to the right answers without giving them to him. She accepts him at a time when he needed it most, and helps him rebuild his life.

Tony Stark

Amazing Adventures #14, 1972.

For a pair of geniuses that snark at each other almost non-stop whenever they're around, and who feel almost constantly at loggerheads in classic Avengers, Tony is very important to Hank's development, sometimes by virtue of his faults.

First off, he's the superhero who turns up to investigate Hank's transformation at Brand, and his apparent death there at Hank's hands (a Mastermind illusion) and his mercy and understanding of the torment that Hank is undergoing are massively formative in Hank coming to terms with his new bestial form. He teaches Hank's two lessons - one, that he needs to control himself in a way he didn't need to before, and two, that he can still rely on people to see the human in him if he acts it.

Secondly - it's his inadvertent dismissal of Hank during the Avengers' examination of Wonder Man that sparks off Hank getting annoyed about his genius being ignored, pushes him out of the Mansion in a snit . . . and that's when he discovers that he's not just adjusting to being a beast anymore. No, he's fucking hot now. Even when he's being a dick (without really meaning to), Tony helps Hank grow, helping him realise that he doesn't need to be the high performing intellectual he was on the X-Men, the Avengers have that covered, but also, that he can afford to be someone else as well.

They continue to be friends for years and years, with their friendship built up over the course of plenty of classic Avengers issues, leading to a complete bypassing of a big ol' hero vs. hero fight in X-Factor Annual #1 (1986) because Hank's just like, oh hey, Iron Man, it's me, and Tony's just like, oh hey Beast, what the fuck's all this about? And it just. Fixes the problem.

I also don't think that it's a coincidence that Hank and Tony are the two most visibly affected when the Illuminati mindwipe Steve during the Incursions arc, with Hank unable to even really look at Steve when it happens, and Hank is constantly pulling on that morality chain even as they tie each other into knots, trying to justify the destruction of worlds. For as much as they give each other shit, Hank and Tony can rely on each other to give it to 'em straight, and that's important when their heads can get as big as these guys.

Wanda Maximoff

Uncanny Avengers vol. 3 #30, 2017.

Hank should hate Wanda more than he does.

The event that Wanda caused, the Decimation, was, in a lot of people's opinions, the beginning of the end for Henry McCoy. It stripped him of his morality and his pretensions and his ability to do anything. It was the height of cruelty, and Wanda did it without arguably meaning to. Not casually, but in a moment of instability. Leaving a gaping wound in evolution that Hank tried to fix.

He threw away a lot, trying to fix it. He wrecked a lot of relationships, came away feeling dirty, consorted with demons. Became acutely aware of every one of his limitations. And yet. He never really blamed her. Because how could he?

After all, he knew Wanda before the mess. When she was a brilliant friend and teammate on the Avengers. When she was shining, glimmering proof that people could change and become better, if only they tried and were given the chance. When she was at her best. And he never stopped believing she could be that again. It certainly didn't help that they had a certain wonder man in common, but honestly, they're just great friends.

Hank supported her in Children's Crusade, even in the face of the X-Men going kill crazy, and he never held a grudge. Even when he finds her, at the end of his rope, in Endangered Species, when he's at his most fraught and defeated, he just. Wants to fix things. It would be so easy to be hateful and resentful, but he just doesn't have it in him. After all, he knows what it's like to ruin your life in an instant because of a bad decision, and to want to claw it back however you can.

Carol Danvers

Ms. Marvel vol. 2 #18, 2007.

Honestly, for someone who you often see getting blasted on the X-Men Reddit for the Superhuman Registration Act/where were you when our babies were burning panels, Carol has a lot of really strong relationships within the X-Men, but I think her bond with Hank is especially strong - which is saying something, considering their first meeting was a fight! But, honestly, they just like and respect each other. They don't tolerate injustice, they believe in being heroes for everyone, not just the few, and they support each other.

Even in the midst of Civil War II, arguably the single worst that Carol has ever been written (not counting Avengers #200, take your pick of a character assassination), there's a moment where Tony is begging Carol to rethink her Minority Report bullshit, and she says, fine, I'll consider your evidence - but only if Hank checks it. And he says he has, and it's not wrong. And she knows that that means something.

The best friends will tell you when you're wrong. And you'll listen to them.

Heather Douglas

The New Defenders #139, 1984.

Hank and Heather have an almost constantly combative relationship from the instant Moondragon joins the Defenders, with Hank never afraid to let her know that he doesn't like her and that he doesn't want her on 'his' team. In his estimation she's high, and mighty, and conceited, and possessed of more power than wisdom.

And. Guess what?

Hank's fucking wrong. Heather is trying. Yes, she backslides, she has her moments of true ego and duplicity, but it takes Hank far too long to come to realise that she's trying as hard as she is - and frankly, she's right to smack him down and humiliate him from time to time, because he can be conceited. He acts as though the Defenders are his team, and he harbours pretensions of leadership that no-one takes seriously, because Hank is not a leader, you don't even have to dislike him to know that - and it takes him a while to realise that.

Their combative relationship keeps the other in check. They grow as a result of being around one another, even if they never quite settled things between them. Hank's maturation into a grown adult, into a man able to be more than just a superhero, is in no small part thanks to Moondragon's barbs and pushes and slaps at his ego, and he should be grateful that he got the chance to make good on that chance to mature, because Heather didn't, in the end.

Alison Blaire

Marvel Heartbreakers #1, 2010.

I'm gonna be real, the Beauty and the Beast miniseries by Ann Nocenti is not great. It has moments of fun, some pathos, but for the most part, it's incredibly soapy, incredibly hackneyed, goes nowhere, has a lot of weird anti-set up, and Hank is strangely incredibly violent and cruel in it at times. For someone claiming Hank was his usual charming self, Nocenti sure wrote him as a borderline psycho.

But. The Heartbreakers epilogue for that relationship redeems it, honestly, and it gains added poignancy when a future version of Alison is killed in Battle of the Atom, in one of the few instances of that series actually managing a moment of pathos. There's no magic trick to why Hank and Alison work, they just sort of find each other hot and fun and they're there for each other in a weird, fucked up time in Alison's life, so maybe it was inevitable that it faded to nothing.

I just like to think there's always a lingering softness, a lingering what if, for the both of them. A potential of something, if not an actual something.

Vera Cantor

The New Defenders #149, 1985.

Oh, Vera . . . you deserved better.

Gonna be brutally honest, Hank treated Vera kinda like shit. I don't think he meant to, it was never a relationship he was invested in, and he said as much, he was interested in the stability it represented, but I'm genuinely sorry for Vera that she got caught up in the crossfire of it. She was dismissed and treated like a pick-up, drop-off girlfriend when she was looking for a good man - and Hank is a good man, but at this point? Not what she was looking for. Not what she needed.

I'm glad we see her again in X-Factor and she's doing well for herself. I'm fairly convinced that she's a lesbian because Hank may have ruined men for her (in the not good way), but hey, a pro-mutant activist? That's pretty worthy - and considering how Hank treated her, pretty big minded. I like to think this taught Hank to be more considerate of people's feelings and grow out of his womaniser stage.

Julio Richter

X-Factor vol. 1 #18, 1987.

For a character often defined by his teaching abilities, Hank actually wasn't a particularly great teacher or carer for children when he first started - I always think there's a good deal of significance in the fact that X-Factor #1 has him searching out a position in academia, being rejected out of prejudice, but then finding his way to a teaching position through way of X-Factor, though I doubt that was planned.

Regardless of whether or not it was planned, I do think his relationship with Julio Richter, or Rictor, is massively important to Hank's development, because everything that Hank gets wrong with Tabitha Smith, he gets right with Julio. He encourages him, gives him his clothes, never talks down to him, nurtures his potential, pushes him to learn and think for himself - and it's rewarded.

Julio imprints on Hank strongly, and you can see that he favours Hank amongst all the other X-Factor members for a reason. This relationship largely went away in future, sadly, but I always like to think that it remains in some fashion, even if only in small ways.

Trish Tilby

X-Factor vol. 1 #36, 1988.

Yeah, you knew this was coming.

Honestly . . . I can see what Hank saw in her as a human being. She's a woman of fierce convictions. She believes in truth, and honesty, and justice. She is pro-mutant, after a fashion. And I have to give her credit, she does have her moments of heroism, like in this issue, when she risks her life to help Hank save a bridge of people as Inferno kicks into high gear. There are moments of good between them.

But fuck me she's an awful human being.

Leaking the fact that the Legacy Virus has jumped to humans directly leads to a mutant hate crime that ends in a death. She barges in to a sick, dying man's hospital room in the search of a scoop. And I'm not even gonna get into what happened when Hank turned feline.

She's just a trainwreck of breaches of journalistic ethics, and I hate her to bits. If she taught Hank anything, it was that the people you admire and love can disappoint you, and it says a lot that it's a one-two punch of her, and Cassandra fucking Nova that shatters Hank's self-esteem into a million pieces. What rarified company. The very fact that she tries to get back together with Hank after this, like, what even the fuck, man.

Jubilation Lee

Uncanny X-Men #308, 1993.

These two make me smile.

I think Jubilee awakens something very simple and immature in Hank, but something healthy at the same time - she encourages him, and everyone else at the Mansion, up to and including Professor X, to have fun. At a time when they were losing people left and right, it would have been easy to lose heart, but Jubilee kept Hank and the rest of the team bolstered, kept them focused. That's no small thing, honestly. Maybe she doesn't have quite as strong a relationship with Hank as she does Logan - that's a hard bond to match - but it's hard not to look at these two and see a true blue friendship.

I also adore that it came back in full force in X-Men vol. 4 (2013), where Hank often acted as mission and home support for the all-female team of X-Men that featured in that book. Taking care of baby Shogo, helping Omega Sentinel with her physical rehab - Hank was an invaluable asset in that run, and his scenes with Jubilee were always a treat.

Dark Beast

X-Men: Endangered Species, 2007.

"For now we see through a glass, darkly; but then face to face: now I know in part; but then shall I know even as also I am known."

Dark Beast is such a well constructed character because he is not just Henry McCoy if Henry McCoy were evil. Dark Beast is, what if Henry McCoy were raised in an evil world that believes in evil things and the only thing to do is be evil, lest it kill you? There's such a curious drive to betterment, to becoming stronger, smarter, more, to him, that speaks to the same in Hank, but it's all just so twisted up. It's driven by fear where it's driven by hope in Hank.

Because he is afraid. And he is human, much as he might hate the label.

He's a warning. He's a check and balance. He's a cruel joke. He's a monster. He's the other side of Hank's fears. Hank fears devolution, becoming more of an animal, giving in to the Beast, but Dark Beast represents evolution, becoming less animal and more - other. Something that considers itself above human, animal, mutant. Intelligence without conscience, drive without wisdom.

He's not what all Hank McCoys inevitably become. That's stupid, and basic, and anyone who believes that is stupid and basic. That's genetic essentialism, and it's shit media literacy. It's also the basis for X-Force (2019) and I reject that hypothesis entirely.

Henry's much more interesting than evil Hank - not just because he's funnier, and better at his job, and a more efficient villain, but because try as he might, there's still something essentially human inside of him. Something stopped him from killing Hank's - his - parents.

An essential, viral, inescapable fact.

There's something good in him, just as there's something bad in Hank. And it will bedevil them both forever, because they can't get rid of it.

Cecilia Reyes

Astonishing X-Men vol. 3, 2012.

Honestly, maybe the most grown up and equal relationship that Hank ever had, and I don't really feel like he even really had the chance to have it. Cecilia is everything Trish wishes she could be, and much more besides. Uncompromising in her morals, fiercely dedicated to healing, defensive of her boundaries, strong, independent, intelligent, funny - and kind.

She held a torch for him, for a long time. There's a lot of pictures of him in her apartment, both from the 90s and his feline form. She felt for him in a way maybe he didn't realise. Maybe he's the one who got away. Maybe she is. Either way, these two just. Work. There's a world out there where they became something more, and that's a happier world for Hank, honestly. But, hey ho.

Emma Frost

New X-Men #123, 2002.

Sometimes friendships don't make sense. Other times they do.

The friendship between Hank and Emma always made sense to me. The wit, the banter, the emotional intelligence, the willingness to play to roles assigned to them by their image - they were practically destined to be friends. And yet, often forgotten. Every now and then, it crops up, and I cherish it, but for the most part, they're just irrepressibly bitchy all the way through Morrison's run, and that'll always be special to me.

I always try and see good where I can, and I wanted to post an exchange from Secret Empire Omega where Hank tries to bolster Emma in the wake of New Tian's fall, because I like the moment for them, but in the end, it's just too poor of an event and a context for me to share it. All my props to Nadia Shammas in the X-Force Annual, the one issue of X-Force I thought actually had a decent handle on a villainous Beast - by sheer virtue of actually remembering that people would care. Emma would care.

Abigail Brand

Siege vol. 2 #2, 2015.

Abigail Brand did not make Hank McCoy into a war criminal.

To say so is to betray a basic lack of understanding of this entire relationship, but then, what else is new? A lot of people seemingly don't get who Hank is and why he works. Out of universe, but also in, oddly enough.

Kate Pryde and Kurt Wagner both speculate about what made Hank into what he became in X-Force, and they think it's Abigail, because that's an easy explanation, but it's not the truth. Not remotely. It betrays that they didn't know Hank as well as they thought they did, and Hank died not being known by a lot of people.

Which . . . sucks. But it is what it is.

Abigail knew him. She knew him as a kind man. Kinder than her. Kinder than anyone. She wanted that kindness. Craved it. Needed it. Managed to jam it into her work life, by hook and by crook. But I don't think Hank minded. At that point in his life, he needed what she offered, and though I don't think either of them ever thought they'd catch real feelings, they both absolutely did.

He kept her honest, she gave him options. He gave her moral dimension, she gave him self-esteem. They complemented each other perfectly, and I'm sorry that they never got a fair chance, really.

Sure, it was all essentially motivated by a desire to get good dick, but sometimes, that's all it needs to be.

Kurt Wagner

Uncanny X-Men: The Heroic Age, 2010.

Ahhh, Kurt . . . honestly, I don't think Hank and Kurt were ever shown to be quite as close on panel as you'd think they would be, in part because there's a One Blue Limit on X-Men teams for a while (seriously, check the X-Men team line-ups, and you'll realise that Hank and Kurt are pretty much never on the same team until 2015, with Amazing X-Men, a team Hank promptly leaves at issue #5).

But I like to think they're good friends, even if Kurt does fall for Hank's facade of being okay, just like a lot of other people. I like to think that Kurt represents a kind of ideal to Hank - he's what Hank, in many ways, wishes he could be. A better man. A happier man. A more hopeful man. A man who believes in a higher power, still. I certainly don't think it's a coincidence that it cuts Hank deep, when Kurt dies at Bastion's hands.

Steve Rogers

Secret Avengers vol. 1 #21, 2012.

Hank and Steve have an odd relationship. In a way, he does a lot for Hank, bolstering him during his time in the Avengers, treating him as a valued teammate - even if, as is typical of 70s writing styles, they can both come across as cunts to one another occasionally - and one of my favourite moments for Hank is in Avengers Annual #11, where Steve calls Hank out as a man who won't kill. Doesn't have it in him.

Which makes this moment, a sequel to what Steve pushes Hank to do in Secret Avengers #16, hurt so much. Steve had to know what it would cost Hank, to shortcut his way into an Oppenheimer arc, but he hoped the math would comfort Hank. I don't think it did.

I don't know if it was intentional, but it haunts me that both Scott and Steve use Hank (Scott during Secret Invasion, and Steve in SA #16) to commit acts of mass murder, and try to console him with the numbers of people saved through atrocity. Hank tried to escape all of that, fleeing from Utopia, and maybe he was naive to think a band of Secret Avengers would be a place to hide from doing bad things, but it doesn't change the essential fact. Scott and Steve used Hank to achieve their goals, and he had to just deal with it.

"Are you seriously asking a mutant what he'll do to avoid extinction?" Mindwiping Steve in New Avengers vol. 3 hurt, I'm sure, but it's a fine old thing, trying to morally grandstand to a man you explicitly used to make a nuclear bomb. A lot of mixed up history in that room.

Broo

Wolverine & the X-Men vol. 1 #7, 2012.

If only Hank's adopted sons were given as much attention and care as Wolverine's adopted daughters. Ah well. There was a lot of work being done over this run, to make it clear that Hank, Abigail and Broo were forming a family unit, including Abigail being there as Broo's parental figure during his graduation and a possible future showing Broo as head of S.W.O.R.D, but all of it eventually came to naught, which saddens me. Broo deserved better. So did Hank.

Time Displaced Beast

X-Men: Blue #35, 2018.

There was a kernel of an idea here.

It was inevitable that Hank was going to end up hating himself. He's a character largely defined by self-hatred, in most of his forms. The thread that never got pulled was the fact that, honestly?

Older Hank should hate younger Hank just as much.

Younger Hank is much closer to the man who turns them blue, who's ego tripping at Brand, than older Hank is. That's what leads him down this entire path, of magic and demon summoning and servitude, that's broken only by the intervention of other X-Men.

But, whatever. The era of lost potential, tbh.

. . . . . . . .

Oh, hey. You're still here?

Yeah, I guess there is someone missing, huh?

Simon Williams

Uncanny Avengers vol. 3 #28, 2017.

Avengers Annual #6, 1976.

X-Force vol. 6 #49, 2024.

Avengers vol. 3 #14, 1999.

Wonder Man vol. 2 #5, 1991.

Avengers Annual vol. 2 #1, 2012.

They complete one another.

They simply are their best selves around one another.

Even when sick, and twisted, and cruel, and beyond redemption, Hank couldn't bear for the possibility of harm to an invulnerable, immortal, ionic man. He would rather dash all of his plans, make it all for nothing, kill himself, than risk hurting Simon.

At the start of this whole ass breakdown, you said, all relationships have pros and cons. And I think that's true. Mostly. But when Hank and Simon are together, nothing can tear them apart, nothing can bring them down, nothing can stop them, nothing can keep them from doing the right thing.

I can't think of a negative to them being together.

They love each other.

Thanks for bearing with me. :)

[bogleech]

In 2010 I illustrated the party game "Chimera Isle," by Kevin Lanzing which randomizes creatures from heads, bodies and tails, but for both convenience and fun I drew them together as complete creatures that would be split apart later, based on simple lists the creator sent me for "attributes" he wanted in the game; like a card that would make a creature the fastest, or the tallest, or a grazer or a scavenger. The game went through some rules changes by the time it was released, and my real-life friends felt the unreleased beta rules were the easiest and most fun. For $10 patreon patrons I've uploaded a zip of all the creatures in high resolution, an extensive text file detailing my conceptual rationale, and a PDF of what those original gameplay rules were like, but I'll also include a little bit of the art stuff right here:

"GRASS EATER head," "JUMPING body," "DEXTROUS" tail: Lanzing really liked my first concept for a grazer head, a goatlike animal with a lawnmower-like trunk. I reused his concept of spring-shaped legs for the "jumping" body, and then I assigned "dextrousness" as a tail piece with a cluster of tentacles, wielding a spear. I guess most people would expect dextrousness to be tied to the torso limbs, but this was approved for being unexpected and fun.

"SCAVENGER" head, "FLIGHT" body, "FASTEST" tail: for a scavenging creature I went all out with my personal tastes, making a vulture head that's also a fly head that's also a coiling earthworm, so the all-purpose "flight" body card became condor-like. Lanzing didn't assign attributes to body parts for me, but let me decide what should be what, so I made the "fastest" attribute a tail piece and designed it like a many-finned shark. This originally had a rocket jet on the end, but we changed it to a propeller because we already had a different fire-spewing tail.

"SENSE OF SMELL" head, "SOCIAL" body, "SYMBIOTIC" tail: for sense of smell I designed a bison-like head with a huge, comical nose on the end of a little trunk and no visible eyes. Kevin's notes also included "SOCIAL" and "SYMBIOTIC" as two different attributes he wanted in the game, and they were the most fun to think of ideas for. I assigned "social" to a body card, and I drew it so whatever head card you drew, it would end in a little round rump with legs, with the rest of the body card featuring a band of different creatures: a little piglike thing, a flying eyeball, and a stalk-eyed flightless bird who leads into whatever tail card you drew. I then assigned "symbiotic" to a tail card resembling a tree branch with a little weird bird perched on it, and I decided to draw these three attributes together so they'd be a whole pack of creatures relying on a blind leader who sniffs out the food. Again these "original combinations" wouldn't be seen by players, so they're just my own internal behind-the-scenes combos. I didn't include the following in the patreon file but if you're having a hard time picturing it here's how the Symbiosis Body card looks on its own, like all body cards still lining up with any possible head and tail:

In retrospect, we settled on pretty bad background colors, the cool grey way too close to the dull green template of the creatures, especially given that they were done without any lineart. Should have gone with totally white backgrounds, but we thought that looked too cheap!

You can still buy chimera isle on the gamecrafter here, but I don't get royalties or anything, it was all one big commission, which did prove to be more money than I would have made off its sales!

[sometimes-love-is-enough]

BEING PASSION: ...Until next time.

(PAGES 1-2 + cover) (PAGES 3-5) (PAGES 6-8) (PAGES 9-12)

Some bonus design thoughts, below:

Although I am easily one of the least elegant creatures on the planet, Passion (being an imaginary facet of my personality) does Not have the same constraints. She's ridiculously dextrous, active, and energetic, and is rarely not moving. She moves with the speed of a cat with the zoomies, is what I'm saying, and has the movies of a seasoned professional dancer to boot.

Communicating this in a comic medium was a fun challenge! I referenced three main styles of dance for her poses - contemporary, ballet, and swing. She's a bit all over the place with her dancing and running styles, but the aim was for it to look perfectly natural every time. She's good at what she does.

Not included on these notes: the studies I did of professional divers for the dive-headfirst-into-the-ground sequence, and the same for parkour. She probably jumps off buildings for fun.

Her jacket is based on one that I have in real life! Which is obviously one of my favorites.

It's covered in patches, which I 100% absolutely did NOT attempt to copy, because can you imagine. The patches that Pash has on her jacket are a lot more vague and sketchy, and are constantly shifting around. You can probably imagine that they have various activism and pride-based slogans all over them. Her jacket's also a bit floppier and drape-ier than mine - it flows with her, tends to bunch up and puff up as she moves.

Her skirt isn't supposed to make sense. In general, it's wispy and see-through, maybe made out of tulle or some other see-through material, a bit indecent. It swirls along with her, and never gets in her way even thought it would make a lot of sense for it to... you know, trip her up or tangle around her legs. Which is more than can be said for my skirts.

Finally, although my other Sides don't make any formal appearance in this comic, that doesn't mean they're not there! This comic mostly takes place in Passion's domain, which is partially dance studio, partially grassy endless field, partially indistinct abstract watercolor daydream mess - but she ends up dashing briefly through the others' zones in the middle of it all, and at the end you can see everyone's favored spots in the distance! If I end up drawing any more of these, you'll probably see more of them, but, it didn't feel right to leave them all out entirely.

That's all for now. Thanks for tuning in!

[vinxwatches]

(re)watching Transformers: Prime season 1

this was a series that was on during a time, but i don't think i ever saw the end or even a lot of it, though i do remember the motorcycle robot well and thought she was really cool (may have been lesbianism or gender envy), and Red from OSP mentioned is with some regularity which has kept it in my mind. also it was what i was watching when i got picked up to see my sibling for the first time after they were born and i remember being quite annoyed i had to stop watching the show, which clearly has stuck with me for way too long.

ep1 darkness rising, p1

well, it almost looks good. almost, but the lighting engine is just too weak to pull most things off. the graphic quality just doesn't seem to be able to pull of what they want it to. the terrain is extremely low in quality. i expect that to get a lot better, not just with seasons but even though the first season as they build up more assets.

damn that wasn't long for the first death. might also explain why he didn't look great. how much time do you put into a character that exists for 5 minutes?

it's interesting to see an enemy with a plan we know at least in part will fail as they don't truly have the element of surprise. for protagonists it's common, classic tragedy stuff. but never for antagonists.

wow, real subtle guys. two dark purple spiky cars driving like assholes. no one will ever notice anything up. also pausing really reveals how bad things blend. the entire scene has motion blur Except the characters. even still the action is surprisingly good. i just hope the human cast won't be unbearable.

small dextrous fighter dodging around strikes for larger opponents that she can take down? well if that isn't my favourite. no seriously that's always what i try to play in games. i'm no good at hit but it's my fucking jam.

oh she has way too much detail to be a background character. i don't remember this goth girl at all for some reason though. she does have the best personality so far though (yes i like enthusiastic characters)

p2

good way to make him intimidating: give his every footstep a screen shake.

i thought they were going to go somewhat light on combat. NOPE. the bad guys will cut people in half. the good guys will do a fancy kick move of someone's neck and take their head off.

and sometimes it's Very ps2.

damn, it didn't take long at all for the villain to make a turn for the monstrous. i thought that would be season finally or at least mid finally shit. oh shit i think i remember that tiny robot very well, may well have inspired a lot of things i've come up with over the years.

p3

man they really use a lot of plotpoints in the opening multi parter. my fear is that that'll result in a very status quo no progress middle of the season.

i'm getting the feeling that they either don't have the ability or time to fully render some scenes which is why some turn out way worse then others.

and of course the military can't be shown as truly bad.

p4

seriously that the undead army is already a thing is worrying to me. where do you get to go beyond that? "if your opponents are already dead how can we defeat them?" you stop them from being able to move.

ah, they are trying to give the humans a purpose... good luck.

blades extended straight out of the forearm. seems rather impractical. severely limits the amount of cuts you can make as you can't edge align, and these blades seem really short.

the boy walks away... i'm sure i'm supposed to be sad about it, but i'm really not. he added nothing other then being whiny. he'd obvious return. got to have a "default" guy, lets hope he find a bloody use. because responsible isn't interesting.

ok, pretty good threat for what to avoid in the future.

p5

i repeat again: a LOT of big plot point early. i'm afraid for the rest of the series.

transformers is pretty big on defending the home you didn't choose. there's a really harmful message in that. patriotism is incredibly dangerous, which is part of why america is so dangerous, to others and too itself. it's also big on them choosing to defending the home they didn't choose. there's a much less harmful message in that.

Masters and Students

oh, Starscream has a goa to work towards. will it be one episode or a seasonal thing?

"you are a motorcycle, shouldn't you know how to put one together?" "you are a human, can you build me a small intestine". there are some significant differences (motorcycles are designed and lack most useless parts while humans are not and our internals are a bloody mess design wise). but also fair point and fucking funny.

also neat choice to make soundwave, who acts the most like a robot, a drone in plane form.

oh i think i remember this episode. at least the science project subplot i hated.

Con Job

oh yea, he has the high villain shoulders.

Convoy

i was going to say that there were less and less ps2 moments. then they introduced a new setting and yea it's not looking great.

pretty good ending speech and pretty interesting concept for future plots.

Speed Metal

fucking hell don't say "that's my girl" it's fucking weird and gross.

at least they aren't (currently) pairing up the main human male and female character because i don't trust this show to do that well.

Predatory

oh shit we're diving into some heavy shit here. i'm afraid spider lady will be an obvious bad guy.

damn there's serious PTSD going on here. and how RC seems perfectly equipped to fight her could be extremely deep story telling if you read it that the made herself perfect to fight exactly her again.

Sick Mind

ok, they found the hidden enemy ship. so things are maybe moving forward. also really telling that they'll try a rescue of someone they don't know over hitting the enemy they know they have.

a plague ship. such a cool idea. so sad that it's currently probably a bit bad taste to use for things like ttrpgs. though if it's like a necrotic disease. zombies that turn you into zombies by biting you it's probably fine to use.

oh, inside someone's brain episode? really liked those in the owl house, lets see how they visualize it and what they do with it.

"i have thoroughly researched the theoretical literature" and today in least confidence boosting sentences.

interesting it's bumblebee and nor rc. i wonder why.

damn, smart play by bumbles, smart counterplay by megatron. not smart enough. really cool.

not to inventive with the visuals, but probably the coolest episode so far, maybe with predatory. and damn that cliffhanger.

Out of His Head

powerplays between the two people conspiring together. very interesting dynamic.

ok, megatron is back, things do move... and no one seems to be too bothered about it atm. i'm guessing that's what the next episode starts with.

Shadowzone

oh damn, starstream going to use the dark energon in desperation to be level the playingfield.

oh hey, people being out of phase, i recently saw this startreck episode. damn, and they left most of a zombie in the other phase. that'll be interesting for the future.

Operation: Breakdown

damn, how much transformer gore will we see in this one? just one lose eye and where it was supposed to go, kind of a letdown

Crisscross

fucking hell this episode is going brutal. more brutal then the breakdown episode.

Metal Attraction

damn, first instance of damage being permanent.

so they try to make the mom look bad by being over protective. but we don't get any sense that most recon missions go perfectly smoothly and safely. now i'm sure that's like characters in stories going to the toilet, but it does make it feel like they are very often dangerous making the mom seem more then reasonable. they also try to make RC seem over protective even though she takes them on missions she believes are safe and sends them back when dangers shows. i don't think they'll make the conclusion stick well.

i wonder how permanent they'll make those very neat retributive cuts. she seems like the type who'd keep them until she killed the one that gave them.

oh, his dad left... i though he might have died... that's either a much stronger stance, or his father will be revealed later making it much less interesting because we've seen that dozens of times. and they didn't make them worrying the bad thing they did, but instead not accepting change. surprisingly well handled.

Rock Bottom

not like this (be burried under a metric fuckton of rock and then drilled to death)... why not? a swift, easy end to one of the biggest threats. boring for the series? sure. but they could have made it saving before attacking and it would have made total sense.

Partners

i just realized the autobots make for a pretty standard 5 man band... sort of. some are easy. like bulkhead is the obvious big buy, ratchet is the obvious smart guy. now arcee and optimus are obvious leader and lancer. but you could question who's who. for the leader optimus is rather rarely the focus... but yea no he's the leader. and arcee is a neat lancer being the smallest compared to the largest, nimble and dodging instead of standing his grown and tanking. which would make bumblebee the heart which makes total sense.

if anyone would turn coat starscream would make some sense... but also not as he'd want to tripplecross. however he thinks he'll get more.

T.M.I.

damn this episode felt like one of the writers was struggling trough a family member suffering dementia.

Stronger, Faster

i think i remember this episode. unless the energy problem keeps coming up.

i mean... is what he's saying not true though? he's saying it like an asshole, sure, but what did he say that was wrong?

are you really giving the decepticons two corrupted forms of energon? seems redundant.

One Shall Rise, Part 1.

the only vagally reasonable natural threat to europe is something weird that kills power. sorry, it's just bizarre how safe Europe is compared to the rest of the world. this is not a flex, Europe is life on easy mod.

on the one side that's some cool lore. on the other i'd love it if for once something was called "the blood of X" and it's just myth, nothing more. not the plot twist of "the blood of X was Actually the blood of X and not just a fancy name".

One Shall Rise, Part 3.

damn, that's one hell of a cliffhanger for season 2. sure, the threat is defeated, but now the decepticons have optimus.

[hollowfaith]

「✧」 Lacrimosa was her name. An angel destined for a sorrowful end. Aurelius' impressions of her are vague, but he remembers a strong and persistent will. Perhaps Klaus inherited his stubbornness from his mother?

"Of course they are," he murmurs back. "How many times have they described your looks among our ranks? I couldn't help but notice your eyes the first time we met."

"They were looking at me so kindly while your allies tried to convince you not to take me in. I'm glad you didn't listen to them in the end."

His gaze drifts down to the dextrous digits weaving in real time with a smile.

"Your fingers are skilled too. Perhaps I shouldn't turn you into a necklace. It'd be better if there were shackles chaining our hands together so I could look at them everyday."

"I don't think that would be very fun for me." Klaus can't help but let out a chuckle though. Klaus looks up at Aurelius and his expression softens. Right. He thinks he remembers Aurelius saying that. Gold was his color. It may as well be his name really.

"I'm surprised that the color of my eyes are one of your favorites." How often had he been chased down and cursed because of the colors of his eyes?

Aurelius brings forth the flowers in the color of his eyes and klaus takes them. "I think these flowers will turn out pretty because you chose the color." And he begins crafting.

"My father told me that I got the color of my eyes from my mother. Though hers were more of a lighter shade. Seafoam like."

[downwiththemutantnjnjaturtles]

Making paper ornaments with the Turtles:

2k12/Bayverse

"Fold the tab over like this," you instructed the boys, demonstrating on your paper star. You were happy to be there making ornaments with them, giving them a holiday they'd never really done in full before. This was their first experience with a real Christmas, and you wanted it to be memorable. So, you started with the tree.

"Fold it over this way?" asked Mikey as he went ahead and creased it, regardless.

Leo was concentrating in complete silence while he worked on his own paper star. Raph was getting frustrated that he couldn't seem to line the creases up right and that his star was the jankiest, and likewise, Mikey was feeling a bit competitive about it as his were not the best either.

You checked Mikey's work so far and gave him a thumbs up, "Just like that."

"This is impossible," Raph huffed, low-key comparing his star to everyone else's. His fingers perhaps weren't the most dextrous, but he tried anyway, which was all you could ask for. He leaned over and grumbled in annoyance when he saw Leo's star, which was neat and pretty as it was supposed to be. "Of course he's getting it."

Chuckling to yourself, you slid over to Raph and took a seat next to him on the floor. He was still going at the project, fueled by his need to compare to Leo's work, though threatened to drop it all together every time he messed it up. So impatient was he.

"Maybe paper crafts aren't your forte," you said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He was turned partially away, his arms folded, and his eye darted to you upon feeling the touch. You thought for a second. If this was really something he didn't enjoy, you didn't want to force him. So you said, "You're free to go if you don't like it. You tried, that's enough."

He was seriously considering getting up and going back to his room, but then he looked around at his brothers, all having fun and for once, it seemed like Leo wasn't thinking about anything but the moment. And he was right—Leo wasn't thinking about anything but the moment. His mind wasn't on battling or when the next move was going to be made by Shredder and his clan. He was trying to fold his star, he was seeing his brothers having a good time, and was having a good time himself. He softened watching them.

Raph hadn't noticed when your hand left his hard shoulder; he was lost in his own little world for a minute there, just taking all of this in. He settled down and picked the paper back up. "I'm gonna do it," he told you, trying once more at it. You smiled as he continued, but after folding something the wrong way, he looked back at you, sheepish. "I...think I forgot how."

"It's all in the technique, bro," Mikey chimed in from across the circle, already starting his third star. His work wasn't much to look at, but he was having fun—that's what mattered. They would still complete the tree. "Want me to show you how?" Mikey gave him a cheeky grin.

"No," replied Raph. He flashed his younger brother a narrow-eyed look, and Mikey waved it off, muttering for Raph to suit himself.

You showed Raph how to do it again, and finally, he had it. He went from acting too stoic go be doing such things to actually kind of having fun, participating in conversation and laughing along with everyone. Though cold outside and down below, the lair tonight was alight with smiles and playful banter and positive prospects. You couldn't have hoped for a better day.

"How're yours going, Leo?" you asked curiously.

Gaguing by his eyes remaining on his work rather than you, he was quite focused, and he answered, "I think I've got it." He finished the little blue star and handed it to you, admittedly a bit proud that his were better than even Donnie's. "Good, right?"

You stared at his neat, cleanly creased paper and then back at yours, noticing the crinkled points and occasional mistake. Leo really did pick up skills in good time.

"Yeah, actually," you answered, having expected to be the best at the activity.

"And what about yours, Raph?" questioned Leo. He cocked his brow.

Raph bristled, "Mind your own business!"

Splinter walked in and you jabbed at Leo's shoulder with your elbow. He quickly cut it out and rubbed the sore spot, taking up another piece of paper.

"I see you are all having fun," Splinter commented, hands behind back as be stood over the lot of you. After their rough week with almost every night occupied by some kind of trouble, this was a well-deserved break. He thanked you for being there to get their mind off things.

Mikey bounced up from his spot and shoved one of his paper stars in Splinter's face. "See, sensei?!

Splinter's ear twitched and he nudged his son's hand aside, a soft smile present on his face. "And Leonardo is making a...paper shuriken."

In a second, he threw the paper star at his Master, to which he caught between his hands, and Leo laughed. "Nice catch, sensei."

"Wait! A paper throwing star? That's way cooler than this stuff!" Mikey beamed as he tossed away one of his finished pieces. Splinter chuckled and ambled back to the dojo, not before sneaking a couple of pieces of paper under everybody's noses.

Donnie shot Mikey a dirty look and turned back to you with an apologetic smile, "You know him."

The calculative turtle went back to his own project, where he was carefully trying to line up each crease to the tee. His tongue poked out at the corner of his mouth as he concentrated.

"A perfect thirty-five degree angle," he said as he did his last fold, accomplished. He cocked a brow at Leo, "Think you can get this close to perfection?"

"You're on," Leo answered with a smirk.

You checked on Mikey next, who was struggling on his yet again. You hated to see him behind everyone else, so you sat down at his side and said, "Need any help?"

"Nope," he responded. He was going at his paper with vivacity, and curious, you took a closer look. He'd strayed from the original star blueprint abd to some kind of wacky creation of abstract lines and weird angles. He'd even scribbled on it at some point with blue marker that you couldn't find even find now. He smiled in triumph and held it out for everyone to see. "I call this one a mutant star. See the mutagen oozing all over it?"

Donnie saw Mikey's odd creation and thought about how his brother was quite imaginative. Donnie could admire his more abstract approach to things; a quality Donnie oftentimes lacked. He was smart, but he had his pitfalls. "Let me try that," he said finally. He motioned for Mikey to hand him his piece.

"I know how to do it," Raph snickered as he crumbled up his half-finished star, throwing it at Donnie's head. It hit him square in the face. Donnie squeezed the paper in his hand hard, irked, and was about to fireball it back at his brother when something flew from the dojo and hit Raph right in the temple.

There Splinter was at the entrance of the dojo, holding a paper shuriken in his hand. He chuckled under his breath and slunk back into the room.

"As I was saying," Donnie cleared his throat, "I'm gonna try to make this...mutant star."

Mikey leaned in real close to Donnie's side, "You can try, but it'll never be the same..."

Brandishing both a bored look and his staff, he pushed Mikey away with it and went back to trying his hand at the new technique.

The entire project derailed from where it had started. But delightfully so—the night went on and eventually, it was time to wrap it up.

The boys were still expected to do their nightly patrol, so it was time for you to go, yourself. You didn't live too far, but you were family, now, and they weren't going to let you wander home in the dark alone. As you gathered up your stuff, Leo approached you with that gentle smile.

"Thanks for the night, y/n," he said, glancing back at the rest of his brothers as they dispersed within the lair to go do their own things until it was time for patrol. "We...haven't really done anything like this before."

You pulled your bag over your shoulder. "I had a lot of fun," you replied warmly, noting the appreciation in Leo's voice. "See you later?" You slipped your shoes on.

"I'm going to escort you home this time. Just to make sure you get there alright." There was a pause, and he added with an awkward laugh, "Can't be too sure with all of these mutants roaming around these days, right?"

"Right. Thank you, Leo."

Before you left, the boys helped you assemble the small fake tree they'd found discarded outside, and when all of you were done putting in your contribution, you took a step back. It was wonderfully unique, paper stars and shuriken and amalgamate creations decorated the tree rather than tradition. The boys were going to make their first true Christmas their Christmas, and as all of you stood back and admired the work, everyone was content. Life with them was beautifully strange.

[townofcadence]

"So basically modulus 10 of whatever cards you draw, and highest hand number wins. You just bet on which hand you think that is." Artair comments as the rules are explained, but for the most part he watches Jonas play with the cards like a kid might play like they're a waterbender in a pool; it's far more impressive given the solidity. He's definitely dextrous.

He raises a brow at being shown a set of cards, but doesn't think much of it when they disappear into the deck. It was interesting how he knew just where to flip, to show him the cards he wanted to, which was inherently impressive. But it also filters the thought in his hand that someone with so much sleight of hand with cards and control of where they're going might just be very good at setting up a difficult game if he played his cards right.

He shakes the thought away with a minor twitch of his head. Did it matter? The point was to help this guy and pass the time. It wasn't like they were betting real money and he has something to lose.

He finally moves to seat himself across from Jonas. It'd be easier to play this way. Once seated, he looks at both decks with a indecisive hum.

He didn't have much reason to pick any of the options in particular, when there wasn't much logic that he could apply. It was like blackjack-- Eevie taught him to play that at least, so it was the best equivalent he could think of. That game was also all up to chance, but with a little more control because you knew what you had. This was akin to--- watching two people play blackjack without seeing the cards, and guessing who had higher. Risky, but there could be fun to trying to predict the answer. And if later rounds weren't shuffled in, then maybe some skill could come into play as well.

Finally, after a few moments of deliberation, he shrugs. "Mmm. I guess I'll bet Banker."

Jonas made a self-dismissive little noise but it was clear he appreciated the compliment. " Eh. Thanks. That's a nice thing to say. Anyhows. Baccarat's a casino game but it's pretty straight forward. Here's the basics."

He turned the cards over in his palm and snaked them smoothly out across the bench. With a delicate turn of his fingers, he rippled the row of cards over on their sides to reveal the four suits all in a row and ordering from 2 to 9. " That's what you call a ribbon spread with a turnover, flashy huh? Anyways. Cards two through nine are worth their face value in all the suits. "

He gathered up the cards, shuffled them and did the ribbon spread again, this time revealing the 10, jack, king and queen all in their suits when he turned then over. " These all have a face value of zero. " Again the cards vanished in a flurry of shuffling and then were flipped quickly between his fingers. He held up a card that spread into a fan of four right in front of Artair's eyes, all the aces in their suits. " Aces have a value of one. " A little snap and the joker peered out from behind the aces. " And you don't use the joker at all. " He plucked it out and laid it to the side as the cards snapped back into one pile. He began doing a very complicated looking cut as he continued talking, the cards flipping through his fingers, pivoting acrobatically over each other's edges. " Also the highest possible combination of cards you can get would be nine. Because say you draw a 6 and a 7..."

The 6 of hearts and the 7 of spades appeared in front of Artair's eyes. " That's 13 right? Clearly over nine. So in that case you just punt the 1 and leave the 3. So 10 becomes 0, 16 becomes 6 and so on. "

He went back to that complicated looking flurry of card movement he had been doing earlier. " This is called the Sybil cut by the way. " he remarked. " It's one of my favorites along with the Five Faces of Sybil. "

With a little flourish the cards unfolded in his hand so that Artair could easily see the faces of all five cards

Queen of Spades. Ten of Clubs. King of Hearts. Seven of Hearts. Ace of Spades.

And just like that he had folded the cards away again and pointed to himself. " Anyways for the sake of simplicity...banker. " He pointed at Artair. " Player. " He patted the space between them on the bench. " Tie. So! A quick practice round. "

He dealt two cards to himself and two cards to Artair, all face down. " You wanna bet on the player, the banker or a tie? "

[atalana]

i can't speak for every disabled person, but here's some things i know are important to consider:

-timed challenges, particularly involving dexterity. some people cannot have good reflexes for stuff, so by all means include these in the main game, but having an option to remove timers (or skip difficult fights if you can't take the timed feature out of the fight) is going to be very helpful. i always breathe a bit easier when combat in games is turn based rather than real time because i know i won't get penalised for not being able to hit buttons fast enough. if it's something like a timed puzzle, allowing an option to either remove the timer or set the rate (a slower timer for people struggling, a faster timer for people who want the challenge) benefits everyone. obviously this isn't going to work for mmos, but generally people who have problems with this prefer to stick to games where they're not going up against other people

-crucial parts of the game relying on fine motor control. if it's a side challenge, sure, we can skip that, but if it's cutting off our ability to proceed, and it's something that cannot be done with shaky hands or it needs all five of your fingers to be doing different jobs? that's gonna lock some people out of the rest of the game. widen your margin of error, find something that can be done just with one or two buttons if possible, or allow an option to skip it

-i'm not blind so i don't know what good audio descriptions sound like, but i know there are blind people who enjoy video games, so they exist out there, i'd encourage you to do your research and see what you can accomodate for

-caption everything. please. don't include vital information only in sound. some people can't hear it, some have audio processing issues, some have panic disorders, some people just wanna be able to play the game without having to listen to the sound, if you've got important dialogue, put it in text form somewhere. this goes for important sound effects, too, if you have a sound effect you don't want your players to miss, describe it in brackets in your captions. (for example, (footsteps) or (heavy breathing) or whatever)

-warnings for flashing lights and sudden sounds, you don't gotta put these right before it shows up and spoil everything, but give a warning at the start of the game that they are present, and give an option to turn them off (when it comes to selling the game, mentioning your accessibility settings on the steam page or equivalent will go a long way in getting people to love your game, as you can imagine it's hard to commit to buying a game if you don't know ahead of time that you'll be physically able to play it or not)

-keybinds. most games do involve some measure of letting you change the keybinds, but i'm encountering this problem in deltarune at the moment, where you can only keybind numbers and letters, you can't even set space as a control. just, don't do that, let people use whatever keys are available to them in whatever configuration they need. and let us use the space bar it's the biggest and easiest key to hit

generally i'd say you can put whatever in your game, but give us a menu setting to get around it, the more flexibility you offer the player the better. supergiant games are honestly a good example, they're not perfect yet, but they've provided some of the best accessibility mechanics i've seen so far, in that everything is variable. if you want a more challenging game, there are a huge amount of difficulty settings, but there's also things to make it easier, they have an auto aim system, keybinds can be changed to anything you like, and their most recent one (hades, the one that actually got popular) introduced god mode - basically it's a game that relies on a certain level of failure, so they can't make you immortal immediately or you'll lose the story, but every time you die makes you 2% more resistant to damage, so you know you'll get enough failure states, but eventually you'll get to the success as well, even if you're struggling immensely with fights

all video games should have a “I’m shit at video games but I’m curious about the story and I don’t want to watch a let’s play” mode