#around the world in 80 days meta

[atwi80d]

Share your ATWI80D Christmas headcanons!

Question from @exuberantocean:

Sooo…what's everyone's headcanon for the trio's Christmas? Are they busy traveling and barely acknowledging it? Have the holed themselves up somewhere for the day together? It is spent pouring over maps and making traveling plans? Or do they (and Grayson) have a cozy little Christmas and put all that off until the next day?

First answer from @thinking-with-quadrants:

All of these are great possibilities! My favourite is celebrating it with Grayson cause i love him. I imagine they might make sure to return to London every Christmas so Phileas can celebrate it with Grayson. After Grayson does I think Phileas's might try to busy himself with traveling and ignore it the first couple of years, until the loss grows less painful. Over time I think they might create their own little traditions to celebrate it, the kind that don't rely on place, so they can celebrate no matter where they happen to be...

Second answer from https://acsalva.carrd.co/ :

I agree with this. Phileas clearly loves Grayson so hopefully they schedule their travels to spend the holidays with him (or take him along to somewhere close by)

[atwi80d]

#it was that or DT’s other speciality (psychopath villain) so they went the right direction

Damn the writer of around the world in 80 days did not have to come for DT’s entire body of work like this. ​She was truly like yeah book Fogg was boring and we were wondering what to do but David came on board and we said well what choice do we have but to make him an unwell girl who can’t throw a punch

[rovermcfly]

since we're talking about david tennant again, can I just recommend Around the World in 80 Days? I devoured it when it came out but it only got very little attention then. It was just a genuinely good show. I remember that more seasons were planned (following the main characters as they experience the stories of other Jules Vernes novels) but I don't know if that's still happening. either way I think everyone would have a great time with it, especially classic literature and history nerds (if the stunning main cast isn't enough to convince you)

[amuseoffyre]

"I don't even know who I am"

What I have loved about the show from day one is that it has been an unflinching examination of identity and what makes it: the things that shape people into who they are and how that impacts on how they act and react to the world around them.

The exploration of Ed’s sense of self has been so beautifully handled and I know that if/when we get a third season, they’re going to do even more with it.

This is a character who has been raised with violence and cruelty his whole life, who was told “we’re just not those kind of people” when he yearns for something better, who killed to protect his mother, who ended up under the heel of a brutal tyrant of a captain who used sadistic punishments and death to keep his crew in line.

It’s the only life he knew and it’s the only option he sees himself as having. He has no concept of any other alternative until along comes Stede “there’s always another way” Bonnet and he’s fascinated. He even tells Stede as much the first time they met – “do you have any idea how hard it is to find someone doing something original out here? It’s impossible, man.”

Ned Lowe cements that fact in 2x06, describing Ed as a generic pirate and Ed immediately calls him out on the fact that he’s as messy as the rest of them even if he’s trying to act like he’s not, observing “It’s usually family stuff”. Stede even observes “A lot of your friends are troubled” and Ed fully admits “Yeah. Well. They’re pirates.”

There’s so much juicy meta to be had about the fact that Stede wants to desperately be a pirate and Ed doesn’t even catch that not only is Stede fully troubled but that it’s got Family Stuff etched all over it. He even says “you’ve got it all figured out”, but the Stede meta is for another day.

In S1, Ed’s in a pretty depressed space and finds a bit of a respite from it in Stede’s company. It lets him try out new things, things he didn’t think he was allowed/able to do, but he still follows a lot of the patterns of behaviour and actions that are standard in the pirate lifestyle that has been 80% of his lived experience.

He can switch violence on and off when he needs it (“next one goes through your fucking eye”), he doesn’t see anything wrong in talking about the violence he’s inflicted (“Well, this one time I was gouging an eye out of this lad’s skull”), he has a deep well of punishments that he can draw from (force-feeding body parts, mutilation, skinning, maiming) and all of these things are just so normalised for him that he’s desensitised to how horrific they are.

He’s still doing all those things while also telling stories, having fun, teaching people about fuckeries and generally being “more open and available than I’ve ever seen him”. He hasn’t wanted or needed to shed that side of his life because he’s getting the best of both worlds.

Only then Calico Jack pays a visit and ramps Ed’s behaviour up to 11 and this is the first time Stede – who is dealing with his own issues at the same time – says that there’s something wrong with the way he’s behaving.

Ed says to Stede, confused and stung, “This is who I am. This is me” when Stede points out all the behaviour he isn’t enjoying. And for him, at this point, this is him. This is what he’s grown up knowing and being. This is his lifestyle and part of the culture of the pirate community. We see it repeatedly when we see Ed encountering people from his past or in the Republic. It’s the frog-in-the-pot scenario. He’s been in the pot so long, he doesn’t know it’s been boiling the whole time.

Only the very next episode, at the academy, pared back to just be Edward Teach, born on a beach, he admits “I don’t know if I want to go back to the old days, drinking all day and forcing some bloke to eat his own toes for a laugh”. He’s been played and double-crossed by people who trusted him and he sees an alternative in Stede – “I’m your friend” Stede told him, and he wants that. He wants a friend he can trust. They can go off together, away from all that and everything’ll be fixed, right? That’ll make it all good.

And then…

And then we all know how that goes.

Briefly, very briefly he thinks he might be able to hold on to that different kind of thing, that softer, brighter world, but Izzy reminds him of the reality of their situation. That people he considers allies and friends can and will warn him to “watch his fucking step” and that this is not a world where he can let his guard down.

Either you’re part of that world or you die. Izzy said it as far back as episode 4. The only retirement they get is death. And so that’s the option Ed takes: either watch the world burn or die trying. Not like he can have anything else. For ever and ever, trapped in his life and world he has come to hate.

He sinks him into the worst of it to try and end things faster. He’s crueller. Relentless. Brutal. And no one seems to care that he’s shattering under the weight of it, until he forces their hand and goads them into killing him or letting him kill all of them.

Izzy says “we did this to him” to Stede, but neither of them seem to realise how much deeper Ed’s hurts go. Yes, they both had an impact on Ed, knocking away his sense of place and self and acceptance, but the wounds are far older and far deeper than they know.

It’s only when Ed is first forced to confront himself in the unsettling not-reality of the gravy basket that he takes the first step in understanding himself better. He’s forced to face the stuff he’s done and the worst parts of himself. He even tries to kill them, over and over again, until he realises.

I find it especially interesting that Buttons describes getting out of purgatory as “escaping”. That this is a place where you’re flayed down to the bones and forced to face the worst parts of yourself.

It’s so vital that he – and Stede – have the encounter with Anne and Mary. He’s reminded of the world that he was part of and the casual brutality that came with it. He’s shown that he and Stede could easily fall into those patterns, but instead Stede offers him honesty, comfort and the assurance that he is loved.

“A lot of your friends are troubled” Stede observes after and Ed admits that yeah, they’re pirates. He recognises that this is part of the social culture he grew up in and that it’s still impacting on him now.

But what happens next is so sweet and important. Buttons talks to him of learning to change, that nothing is fixed and that if you want to, you can change your path. And then Buttons shows him it’s possible and Ed’s face just lights up. Yes, brother. Fly. You can change things. You can choose another way.

Only it’s not simple. It’s not straightforward. With the probation period, Ed looks for quick fixes – offers to let Lucius push him overboard to get it over with and the like – but part of him still doesn’t quite get why some of the stuff he did was wrong because it was so normalised to him.

It takes Fang saying “I was terrified” to make him see it and coming from someone who has been with him for 20 years, realising someone else from within his own world was terrorised by him brings things into focus for him. That the things he thought were games weren’t. That the stuff he told himself was normal in context absolutely wasn’t normal.

And this is where Ed’s entire world view pivots. Fang shows him how to sit with himself, how to reflect. Ed takes this lesson to heart and he’s still working through it, gazing out to sea and thinking about it at the beginning of episode 6. He goes from never apologising for anything as a captain to telling both Fang and Izzy quiet, but meaningfully, “I’m sorry”.

He’s known for a long time that he’s tired of piracy, but the Ned Lowe situation is the thing to put the final nail in the coffin: this man hunted him down because of his pirating. This man hurt them all because of it. And worst of all, Ned took the man Ed loves and pushed and provoked him until Stede killed him. This was Ed’s “you defile beautiful things” moment. His face in those scenes, when he said “don’t do it, you can’t come back from this” is a call from his own experience. Stede is taking that step onto a path that Ed desperately wants to get off.

That night makes the decision for him.

The next morning, his leathers go overboard, a symbolic end to Blackbeard (and I will yell another day about him putting the proverbial beast back under the waves. Ed and his sea metaphors are gnawing me alive) and he’s happy about it, humming and hurrying back down to join Stede in their bed.

Stede doesn’t notice, though. Stede never would notice something like that being important because for him, Ed is Ed. Whatever he wears, whatever he does, he is Ed. A change of clothes doesn’t change him in Stede’s eyes.

But other people notice. Hell other people not noticing Blackbeard and only seeing some hobo dude is such a change. There’s something so significant that the people he chooses to talk to about it are the old guard in his field. He tells Jackie “it’s not a phase” and Izzy that it felt “fucking great” and both of them get it. Both of them have been there, seen it, experienced it.

Only it happens as he’s seeing Stede become what he used to be, stepping into the space he’s willingly leaving, and Stede is so happy about it. And he’s happy for Stede to have his moment and be appreciated, but it just throws into stark relief that this is absolutely not what he wants or needs right now. He still has a lot of figuring out to do and unfortunately, they’re both highly-emotional people and when they’re emotional, their communication goes down the toilet.

Once upon a time Ed said “this is who I am, this is me” to Stede, when he was acting exactly like Stede is now: raucous, drinking, chaotic and loud. Only time and reflection has let him see that wasn’t necessarily him but the environment and his circumstances shaping him to be like that, just as it's now making Stede act that way.

“I don’t even know who I am,” he admits in this argument. “I’m not ready for whatever this is”. He knows he has a lot more to figure out and because he’s latched on so hard to fishing as a place to be quiet and contemplate, that’s why he runs there. He wants to work himself out without the weight and pressure of the pirate world breathing down his neck.

Only he doesn’t talk about it, he doesn’t explain, he just tells Stede he’s leaving and Stede immediately sees it as something he’s said/done, rather than something that Ed is trying to figure out. They both hurt each other because Ed has always worried that Ed isn’t enough – the loss of the beard still weighs on them both – and that Stede is only humouring him to get Blackbeard, while Stede is so convinced that being a great pirate will mean he and Ed can be together as equals instead of him being a bumbling amateur who isn’t worthy of the man he loves, only to see it slip through his fingers.

They both need to talk to each other, but they don’t know how. Ed’s made quick, rash decisions, but they’ve come on the back of a lot of reflection and he just didn’t explain it. He’s right that he doesn’t know who he is himself. He’s never had the chance to just… take the time and figure it out. He needs that time, but they just don’t have it right now and they end up hurting each other more because of it.

I’ve said from the beginning that both of them are coming from opposite ends of the spectrum and that they’re destined to meet somewhere in the middle. Ed got his fantasies of a fancy life shattered in season one and now, Stede is seeing the impact of his pirate fantasies on the life he made for himself in season two.

Both of them are on the edge of a catastrophe curve, misunderstanding each other’s motivations and totally at odds with who they are versus who they have been told they need to be. They will get there, but two little lost boys finally taking off the rose-tinted glasses and dealing with the mess that they have carried with them their entire lives isn’t easy.

And I will fully admit I am loving it.

[thenamesblurrito]

I’m so far down the SNAP rabbit hole I’m now interested in the fictional tv show in a fictional transformers continuity

Anyways, what kind of media is As The Kitchen Sinks? Who’s Thundercracker’s favourite character? Will he ever get his friends interested in the show?

hehehe WELCOME TO ROBOT MAHOU SHOuJO HELL WITH ME!!

ofc there's no real substance to it in canon, we only get that single bit in G1, so i completely made up everything except the title for SNAP! ATKS is kinda an in-universe species swapped standin for the role that actual the Transformers franchise plays? it's a much smaller franchise with far fewer tie-ins, but it has the same feel as the 80's cartoon. i could also compare it to iCarly, Wander Over Yonder, or the animated Barbie movies/show. it's an animated show, mostly for nymphs/younglings, following a broad, wacky cast of organics from a fictional species (that are uncannily similar to humans! but not actually humans, i am doing other things with humans in this universe) in a more episodic dilemma-of-the-day simplified soap opera plot structure rather than an overarching story with a specific climax to reach. there's a few smaller spinoff cartoons, a good chunk of comics, probably a couple novels, games, and direct-to-TV movies? a broad selection of toys and merch also. smallish but ongoing and respectable franchise with decent sized fandom

while it's similar in tone, it's not a one-to-one equivalent of Transformers, or any Earth media. Cybertron has a very different media/entertainment culture than humans do and their genres, production methods, and publishing forces don't act the same way (don't ask me to elaborate on this, i have nothing solid beyond "their civilization has been digital, interconnected, and interplanetary from the start, unlike our extremely recent information age, which would have shaped their media industry tremendously"). it's part of a general genre of specbio organic fiction, which is distinct from extant organic fiction (usually concerning actual organic aliens Cybertron once encountered, or their local organic lifeforms). a critical eye would note that this genre is usually infantilizing, demeaning, dismissive, or otherwise condescending about organic life, with an underlying attitude that they are simply inferior, stupider, incapable, etc in comparison to mecha. subtle and often unintentional propaganda wound up in otherwise average entertainment, despite the current absence of any known organic contact with Cybertron

resident nerd Thundercracker is something of a weeb for the very concept of organics, largely due to this show. TC's favorite character would be his OC, Buster, who is a "dog", a species he very carefully designed to plausibly fit into the world of ATKS, and who is absolutely the Mary Sue protagonist of his novel-length fanfiction. the Sweeps are modeled directly after Buster and Galvatron had to thump him a couple times to prevent Scourge from actually calling them that, because basic infosec even about ur OC could be the thing that keeps your secret identity safe. if he had to pick a favorite ATKS character, it would be a close tie between a cute little genius who gets around on wheels (Chip Chase standin) and a determined spitfire warrior he's written as one of Buster's best friends (Marissa Faireborn standin). his siblings and Megatron are pretty tired of hearing about ATKS, but now he's got a buncha new folks to preach to at the JAAT! folks like Powerglide simply cannot resist!

note that i'm never going to draw what ATKS looks like, or actually name the characters, etc. it's supposed to be a wink at the audience, a meta reference to canon Transformers humans without actually being them. enough that someone can go "is TC talking about Agent Fowler???" but never confirming it. mostly bc i don't want to figure out how mecha would perceive and design organic characters, and also i don't want to preclude using those human characters for real after SNAP's plot is done. Earth might be out there in the big wide universe, i don't want to confirm it only exists as the setting of ATKS and nerf myself that way

[atwi80d]

Agreed on most points, but I think it's important that the OT3 DON'T end up in Phileas' giant empty sad townhouse! To me, the ending makes a point of showing how once they arrive in London they almost fall back into their old social roles and drift away from each other, or at least from Phileas, because you can't cross lines of class, gender and race in London. They just barely escape with their friendship! The newspaper article is what offers them a chance to escape and shows them they don't have to stop running. I can point out the details I mean if you're interested.

Around the World in 80 Days

Hello! Can I interest you in a miniseries where David Tennant is various levels of disheveled and/or in peril? Do you like OT3s? Let me tell you about Around the World in 80 Days.

This post DOES include spoilers up to and including the end of the show, so if you don't want to know whether they make it back in time, please just scroll past.

Phileas Fogg is a sad, rich, lovable twit who cannot button his own shirt.

Everything is not fine. He spontaneously decides to travel around the world in 80 days, a feat that has only then been estimated to be possible, given advances in British colonialism and travel technology.

He is joined by Abigail Fix (Leonie Benesch), a plucky lady journalist;

and Passepartout (Ibrahim Koma, who deserves better lighting), a working-class man who pretends to be a valet so he can get away from a sticky situation.

Phileas likes trains, and is fascinated by hot-air balloons, and loves the idea of travel.

But the man cannot undo his own cuffs.

It's an adventure that I would describe as "rollicking." The screenwriter did a good job of taking a story that was really steeped in era-typical racism and colonialism, and turning it into a story that recognizes and criticizes racism and colonialism.

But we're here for the peril.

Drugged and feverish peril.

Needs to be propped up by his companions peril.

Flogged for a crime he didn't commit peril! Peril that makes me hope the PBS video player doesn't report on how many times a user rewinds a particular scene peril!

Hypothermic and needing to be cuddled and have your legs briskly rubbed peril. This also introduces the second important part of this show: the OT3.

There's excellent character development throughout the show and the three main characters grow to like and respect each other. The real adventure is the OT3 we made along the way.

(The show is of course trying to sell you on Abigail/Passepartout, but . . . .)

ot3 ot3 OT3

Please don't try to tell me that these three end up anywhere but in Phileas' giant empty sad townhouse and make it less empty and sad.

Please join me in watching this! It's a good show! It deserves more than 105 works on AO3! It's cheap to watch--PBS is five bucks a month, and if you sign up at the right time you might get a free water bottle.

In conclusion:

[raayllum]

I keep seeing people calling Callum Snake boi what does that MEAN

Little slice of fandom history and also because it's my fault (TLDR at the bottom in bold):

Years ago, a few days after S1 came out and when JK Rowling wasn't an outspoken bloody TERF there were discussions of what Harry Potter houses the characters would fit into. The general consensus for Callum seemed to be that he'd be a Ravenclaw because he's clever and artistic, but I argued for Slytherin (whose symbol is a snake) because I saw him more so as ambitious than just curious and more selectively loyal when it comes to his motivations, etc etc.

If you've been following me for any period of time you might know that I tag Very Meticulously, so as a trans person and a trans ally I was like I don't wanna use the TERF's terminology anymore, but having a tag to talk about a specific aspect of Callum's characterization (his wonderfully harsh temper, his intense selective loyalty, his obsessive ambition, etc etc) was still a useful prospect to me. Thus Snake Boi Callum as a tag was born, mostly as a joke? And so I could find metas that talked about his characterization (specifically) as I don't think I had a characterization tag almost at all for a while?

It started to pick up steam in my tags specifically when there was starting to be a little bit of - pushback isn't the right word cause everyone's entitled to their own interpretation and characterization of a character, nor does everyone have to engage with every part of a character's canon personality or actions in their fandom stuff if they don't want to.

But there'd be stuff of people forgetting that he can be pretty mean when he gets angry or not seeing him as selectively loyal to Ezran and Rayla? People would also be surprised but accepting, or resistant, to his growing and consistent parallels in characterization with Viren and Claudia (even if they are all still, ultimately, different from one another).

I saw a fair bit of sentiment during the hiatus of "oh he'd Never ever do dark magic again" (which I never believed even immediately post-s2) or in discussions of how he'd respond to Rayla after she left in Through the Moon graphic novel (set shortly after S3). Some people thought understandably that he'd care a lot about the lie (that he'd get to go with her) and the abandonment, understandably so - they're both shitty things to do, but I also sympathize/cry over why Rayla thought she had to do them, but I never thought he'd think the lie was that important, and focus more on the abandonment aspect as a source of hurt.

Snake Boi Callum as a concept also got some mileage in the development of my Cube Hostage Exchange Theory as well, an ongoing theory since November 2020-ish that Callum will help Aaravos / give him the Key of Aaravos in order to save Rayla's life if she was injured / taken hostage. I don't know if they'll do that scenario now because S5 basically delivered the exact thing, just with Finnegrin instead of Aaravos, but there was some more legitimate pushback to said theory/scenario during the hiatus because people thought Callum would never help a villain like that or take such a big risk for someone he loves. I'm not gonna say that I was wholly right (because I wasn't) and again people can interpret his actions in S5 in whatever way they want, but I will say that all of S5 was one of the most validating experiences of vindication I've ever had in my whole life, so that probably speaks for itself

But yeah, it's a term that's kinda caught on (I would say 60-80% of the fandom sees Callum as someone who would risk the world for Ezran and/or Rayla, with 20-30% - maybe less? - seeing otherwise, hence why I think it's caught on; but again, having an 'unpopular' opinion in fandom doesn't necessarily make it wrong, god knows I've had plenty) and then in the discords I'm in, a few people thought a week based around those traits would be fun and boom. Snake Boi Callum Week was born.

TLDR; Snake Boi Callum is a fanon catch-all / shorthand for the 'darker' / more emotional and torn side of Callum's personality (his ambition, his temper, particularly his fierce protectiveness and selective loyalty) that is being explored by whoever wants to in a fun fandom week. His bio in official series material does read that he values "those close to [him] more than anyone or anything" after all (which again, was very validating after years and seasons of seeing and writing him with that exact sentiment)

The tagging also means that for people who don't agree with this characterization for whatever reason, or whom dislike the emphasis on it, can blacklist it easily (as is the intended purpose with all tags on my blog)

He's a goofy nurturing guy who will Cut You and verbally eviscerate you without question if you hurt his loved ones or piss him off enough, and I love that for him. He's a little snake boi and we think he should have lots of angst (or sometimes not enough when it comes to killing/threatening people) over how far he'll go to protect the people he loves, as a Treat

[exuberantocean]

You know, I was pondering this for the past couple weeks and I haven't seen it discussed. And as I was circling around another meta (for Our Flag Means Death and Around the World in 80 Days) and looking at trauma and The Body Keeps Score, it really solidified this idea for me in Doctor Who.

Because the Doctor used to be the Timeless Child. A foundling child found on an alien planet whose adoptive mother strapped them in a lab and experimented on them for years. And we know they that regenerated many times during this, likely because she was killing him to see how the regeneration happens. I don't think I'm stretching anything by saying he was tortured tortured through his first childhood.

And then they worked for Division and that too likely involves some "persuasion" given that they apparently ran away from them and Tecteun complained that their morality always got in the way.

And then they were forced to regenerate back to a child and wiped their mind.

And they don't remember any of it.

But the body keeps score.

To clarify, the book The Body Keeps Score posits that exposure the abuse and violence fosters the development of a hyperactive alarm system and molds a body that gets stuck in fight, flight, and freeze. Trauma interferes with the brain circuits that involve focusing, flexibility, and being able to stay in emotional control.

And while there's little we know of One's childhood, its clear that the Doctor was a fearful child, intelligent but too distractible and unfocused to succeed in school. All that trauma in one little boy who can't remember any of it and yet it still affects him in every moment of every day. The Doctor's body has been molded by the trauma they experienced, a legacy that passed through One's childhood and each regeneration after. The Doctor has always run from one emergency to another, but really, that just matching their external reality to the internal reality of their mind, their body.

And the truth is, even when the mind hides (and it often does! Amnesia of traumatic events is common in real life) the body keeps score. We are meant to survive. We are built to survive, and we adapt around trauma, like a tree around a rock. Survival at all costs... And so has the Doctor for all these years.

As someone with c-ptsd, this is why Fourteen stopping is so powerful to me. To stop and take time to tend to your body - to ease it off from that state of fight, flight, or freeze bit by bit. To find that ease, that calm. To tend and mend.

[metamorphiacreations]

I think that the events are happening in different timelines. The last TBD update alludes to that

Filler timeline

Canon timeline

first off, the "filler timeline" is called Cookie Run: Kingdom (for legal reasons this is a joke)

the last TBD update was meant to lead into this current update with Schneeball mentioning a dinosaur egg and now we in dino town and honestly it wouldnt make much sense to have an unannounced filler timeline within the story of OvenBreak imo

we know that Potato and Shine Muscat's update spans two years and during Sugar Swan's update Pilot and Whipped Cream travel around the world in more or less 80 days. during which, they meet Mala Sauce and her tribe so that specific meeting happened way before Longan woke up. from the sound of it, that meeting happened before Yam, Milk and Dino-Sour even got there bc thats what got the ball rolling on seeing the dragons.

its not super impossible for some of the events that launched between Longan's awakening and the clash of dragons to take place at the same time, Black Garlic couldve been exploring the school at the same time Rebel was helping out the Yakgwa village. maybe while Coffee Candy was starting her new job, Mocha Ray and Lobster were exploring Wandercrab or Roguefort was going into trial

i also dont wanna confuse "filler" for "non-diegetic"

the fashion week updates (specifically the 2nd one) and the wish camp updates were non-diegetic meaning that they were for audience only and had no true effects on the canon story because why and how would Longan agree to go see shooting stars with a bunch of cookies

that doesnt necessarily mean its a different timeline or that it even happened at a different point in time but just something to celebrate the games anniversary in a meta-storytelling like how the 5th anniversary was

i was confused on when things were happening in correlation to the dragons' stuff because i had thought Longan woke up and everything that followed happened over months at most not actual factual years

[mahlikes]

#leaving aside a couple of things atm such as the somewhat wobbly first episode #which did have some issues in writing race imo but not because it was 'less interesting' but because the narrative was too rushed #and the fact that passepartout often occupies an uncomfortable (but id argue interestingly written) space as a black servant #to two upperclass white english people who have notably never travelled far or know much compared to him #and ofc the fact that in this iteration fix passepartout and fogg basically end up as a triad well... #many things...

wrote a big long text about people saying things about fix being a woman and passepartout being black in the dtennant around the world in 80 days as "forced diversity" or "straightening out a previously gay-if-you-squint white dude ship from the original text" or "inherently less interesting than the original dynamics" as... well, yes racist and misogynist, but differently racist and misogynist to people who throw around "woke" as a derogatory, and more racist and misogynist as in someone would gasp and be offended at the accusation and it's just personal taste, but mainly it's not understanding how a lack of actual curiosity and analysis in why choices are done makes you (perhaps accidentally) have low-or-highkey biased opinions especially when it comes to race, but also often often when it comes to women.

because why is your lack of curiosity manifesting like this, for these two specifically? and does that happen often enough for it to be a pattern? does it just happen to be that white men are more interesting in texts for some reason over and over again?

and how it reminds me of the way lucy liu was treated when she was cast as watson (forced diversity, "straightening" the watson-holmes ship, nothing interesting could possibly happen here, it's just my personal opinion).

anyway I have not posted that big long text, because it was quite big and long and honestly at this point people oughta pay me for my essays or at least tell me to log off tumblr sometimes. I'm right though.

the thing of course is that fix in the new iteration is partially inspired by nellie bly -- the first person to actually circumnavigate the globe post-reading-the-book (in 72 days no-less), and that passepartout gets to have an insiders opinion on what it means to be a non-privileged person moving through a series of british colonies + america in the late 19th century. it's... you know. it's a good choice. it's actively interacting with the text. it's an adaptation. that's what adaptations do.

I think btw that "forced diversity" has long been the more acceptable way of saying "woke" in a derogatory way. both of them give the speaker the apparent right to not investigate or have curiosity about the text, but the first has got that air of a disclaimer about it, which you're not really expected to poke at. a certain veneer of respectable opinion

[irrealisms]

jun wu or bwx for character asks? 👁️

starting off: hi yen if you're reading this it's got spoilers so pls skip this post ty <3 u can come back to it when u finish tgcf which at your current rate will be in like. a couple days lol

How I feel about this character

Im Normal About Him.

the ending is. perfect. the bamboo hat. it's never too late. when he's defeated he looks relieved. quoting myself from discord:

he cannot face being proven wrong, because it means he’s done terrible things and hurt people when he didn’t have to. he wants so badly to be proven wrong, because it means that maybe there’s good in the world and not just endless crushing pain and evil.

i have a lot of thoughts abt him & the tragedy of him & his entire ideology!!! i am sort of failing at condensing them but i have a lot of thoughts about him .

All the people I ship romantically with this character

hehe. xie lian (i am a sicko). i can also justify this to some extent--jun wu/bai wuxiang (i think mostly bai wuxiang, actually?) remarks positively on xie lian's appearance a notable amount, there's the "makes one ache, makes one excited" bit which i cannot read as anything other than Kind Of Weird And Horny, there's the thing where jun wu tests xie lian's virginity by making him bleed on jun wu's sword (i have another whole meta in my heart about swords as blatantly phallic in tgcf but i assume you do not need to be convinced of this lol)--but honestly i don't fully stand by it. this is a ship i have at least 80-90% because i am a sicko. i hope you can all understand

My non-romantic OTP for this character

ALSO xie lian. im complex. i contain multiple guys. the thing is that i have a beautiful google doc that consists of every time jun wu/bwx is analogized to a parent/teacher and xie lian is analogized to a child and it has . like. 30 quotes? somewhere around there? it's a lot! it's a lot. "i have decided that we are the same guy due to The Parallels but also i am going to enforce this and Make us the same guy by Molding You into Becoming Me" is an incredibly good dynamic whether it is slash or gen, and i do think the "weird forced adult-child relationship going on" reading is in fact more supported by the text than a shippy one. also when i'm not being a sicko about it there's also something deeply beautiful to me about their ending, about xie lian defeating jun wu but also showing him this moment of grace. and of course the Parallels which apply equally when it's slash vs gen. also you may have noticed that neither this question nor the last one do i bring up guoshi. this is bc idgaf about him. sorry mei nianqing . he exists i just Do Not Care

My unpopular opinion about this character

im gonna be so real i have no idea what is and is not popular wrt jun wu. what are the popular jun wu opinions.

One thing I wish would happen / had happened with this character in canon.

once again im kind of at the same place i am wrt mu qing of, like.... nothing, honestly? i am incredibly happy with what we got, i think it's beautifully written and the resolution is perfect, mxtx is a good writer and tgcf is a good book, no complaints

having a bit more of his backstory with mnq might be cool, i guess? we get the huge infodump but it's kind of just an infodump, it is just Pure Exposition, going into that a bit more / more naturally than "guoshi helpfully exposits for us" could be neat even tho i dont think its necessary. as mentioned i'm p much happy with what we got

(ask game, give me a character)

[pyxilate]

An HSR OC I may or may not have made to date SW.

EVERYTHING ABOUT HER (except what she actually looks like because I haven’t drawn her yet):

Name: Nyx

Affiliation: Antimatter Legion

Age: Between 17-21

Path: Harmony

Type: Lightning

Quality: 5 Star

Trailer Name: Speed Me Up

Relations: Nanook (parental figure), Seele (biological sister), Silver Wolf (best friend/crush)

Home Planet: Punklorde

Planet of Birth: Belobog

Hair Color: Red/Purple/Black; Can turn Blue

Eye Color: Violet

Accessories of Note: Butterfly behind her right ear; giant scythe, also butterfly themed; Sonic the Hedgehog pin in her hair

Important Actions of Note: Elio cannot predict her; beat the Sonic the Hedgehog Speedrun world record with an in-game time of 8m35s on PC; emanator of destruction; Infiltrated the Stellaron Hunters under the guise of allyship, betrayed them, and got out unscathed; nearly accidentally died when young due to following around a butterfly and being lost in the fragmentum of the underground; was temporarily abducted by aliens for a brief time period before their planet was blown up by Nanook; Seele’s younger sister and a diehard Bronseele shipper- an efficient wingwoman indeed.

REGULAR STATS

LVL 0:

HP 134

ATK 156

DEF 69

LVL 80:

HP 1842

ATK 2978

DEF 237

RESTING STATS:

Max Energy: 95

Speed: 120

ABILITIES:

Talent: I Am Starchasm (Battle-imitating strike that applies lightning DOT to all enemies and deals a small amount of Quantum DMG to any enemies with that weakness)

Technique: Gotta Go Fast [Enhance] (Immediately raise Nyx and her allies’ speed so they will, no matter what, be faster than the enemy in the next triggered fight)

Basic Attack: A Simple Game (Nyx hits the enemy for simple DMG. One stack of ‘Normal Speed’ will be applied to an enemy up to a maximum of 5 times. A single stack of Normal Speed will increase the enemy's speed slightly but also greatly increase their vulnerability)

Skill: For Nanook and Bronie [Blast] (Nyx will hit the target enemy before her with her scythe and apply one stack of ‘Normal Speed’ to it. The enemies to the side will be hit for an equal amount of DMG but not be applied with any stacks of ‘Normal Speed’)

Ultimate: This is Not a Drill (Nyx will run extremely fast, striking the enemy several times with an attack based on her running so fast it doesn’t look like she’s running. Increase her and ally’s speed by 15 instantly, and increase allies’ crit rate by 15%)

Follow-Up Attack: Snow Hill Zone (Once per charge, requiring two turns to charge up, if at any point on there fight Nyx’s speed exceeds 135 a follow up attack is initiated after every Basic ATK, dealing Lightning DMG equal to that of the character. If the 135 speed threshold is not met, Snow Hill Zone will take an extra 2 turns to be charged. An exception to this is an enemy with 5 or more stacks of ‘Normal Speed’)

Signature Light Cone: Runner’s Meta

RUNNER’S META

Path: Harmony

Quality: 5 Star

Increases the user’s base speed by 10/12/14/16/18, and Break Effect increases with a base chance of 10%/13%/16%/19%/22%.

It is said that the most effective tactic available to a runner is to run like you’re being chased by a monster. This is of course totally made up, as that running style is generally inefficient for competitive racing, however, it’s possible it could help someone one day. 

LVL 0:

HP 64

ATK 73

DEF 14

LVL 80 :

HP 904

ATK 1286

DEF 193

Secondary Light Cone: Seele Onee-Chan!

SEELE ONEE-CHAN

Path: Harmony

Quality: 4 Star

Increases the user’s base speed by 1%/2%3%/4%/5%. Increase Break Effect by 7%. If used with Seele on the team, double the amount of speed boost given to the character using this light cone.

This light cone is perfect for little sisters who miss their big sisters! Once they run fast enough, they can finally catch up to their big sisters with lots of nice and shiny achievements to impress her with.

LVL 0:

HP 38

ATK 41

DEF 14

LVL 80:

HP 984

ATK 989

DEF 206

TRACES

Bonus Trace 1: Find Your Flame (Upon entering battle, if Nyx is the first character to act, the use of a basic skill will enhance every other team member’s turn to repeat once after their first action)

Bonus Trace 2: Aria Math (Once Nyx breaks an enemy’s weakness with 3 or more stacks of ‘Normal Speed’ from her Skill, immediately trigger her follow up attack as well as an extra turn for the character with the highest speed other than Nyx)

Bonus Trace 3: Dream in Drive (The use of Nyx’s ultimate will automatically increase the Crit Rate and speed of the ally with the highest ATK by 15% and 12 respectively, and increase the Crit Rate of the ally with the lowest ATK by 25%, while also refilling any follow-up attack gauges by 1 required turn)

EIDOLONS

E1: Minecraft (Break effect is increased by 17% in a single fight every time she lands a single crit and resets outside of the fight)

E2: Undertale (When Nyx’s health gets below 50%, once, on a single battle, increase her speed to the 135 threshold. If already there, cause her to automatically go next two times in rapid succession)

E3: Hollow Knight (Increase the DMG dealt by the ultimate times 6.78% of Nyx’s break effect)

E4: Sonic the Hedgehog (Every time Nyx uses her Basic ATK increase speed by 10 in a battle up to a max of 170 total speed)

E5: Scarlet Nexus (any Antimatter legion enemy will take 15% less DMG from Nyx’s skill, but all other enemies will take 30% more)

E6: Honkai Impact 3rd (When another character executes a follow up attack, automatically trigger her follow up attack regardless of speed or charging point. This includes enemies)

BEST RELIC SET:

Head- Iron Cavalry’s Homing Helm (HP%)

Body- Iron Cavalry’s Silvery Armor (ATK%)

Gloves- Iron Cavalry’s Crushing Wristguard (Break Effect)

Feet- Iron Cavalry’s Skywalk Greaves (SPD)

Rope- Talia’s Exposed Electric Wire (Break Effect)

Sphere- Talia’s Nailscrap Crown (Lightning DMG Boost)

VOICELINES:

First meeting: Hey, (Trailblazer). I guess we’re working together from now on. How ironic.

Greeting: Hey there, Speedy. How’s your day going?

Parting: Leaving so soon? I’ve barely had enough time to run circles around you.

About Self (Trust): I don’t trust easily. Don’t expect you to be any exception.

Chat (Plushies): Silver Wolf once got me a stuffed Saber Tooth for our two-month friendaversary. I can’t sleep without it.

Chat (Nicknames): I give everyone nicknames. Sometimes they’re ironic, like yours. I call you Speedy, but you’re actually quite slow.

Hobbies: Speedrunning video games and playing Super Smash Bros with Wolfie.

Annoyances: Whenever someone interrupts my speedrunning, it’s so irritating. Unless it’s Wolfie or big sis. Then it’s okay.

Something to Share: I call Silver Wolf ‘Wolfie’. At first she hated it, but after we got close she seemed to get kind of mad when I didn’t call her Wolfie. She’s so cute.

Knowledge: On a scale of 1-10, how would you rate your experience playing Honkai: Star Railed? :P

About Wolfie: She’s so calm and chill all the time. It’s a nice change of pace from how Punklorde is always loud and busy. She reminds me of Belobog sometimes, in that way.

About Seele: Big sister is amazing. She does so much for the underground and she did so much for me back before we were separated.

About Bronya: She’s my future sister-in-law, I tell you. Mark my words.

About Sparkle: It’s kind of weird to have a yandere obsessed over and evil clone of you, y’know?

Eidolon Activation: I’m ten steps faster and one step closer.

Character Ascension: Update running!

Max Level Reached: Top score any% glitch less speedrun! I’ll always be one second ahead.

Trace Activation: These were hell to make, you know. Show some respect and put effort into them!

Added to team with Wolfie: Wolfie! Hey, how are you? Wanna come over and play video games later?

Added to team with Seele: Hey sis. Glad to see you again.

Added to team with Bronya: Break my sister’s heart, I break your neck.

Added to team with Sparkle: Oh. *It’s you again.*

Battle Begins - Weakness Break: Faster than ever.

Battle Begins - Danger Alert: Gotta be ready to run.

Turn Begins 1: I could do this all day.

Turn Begins 2: Nah, I’d win.

Turn Idling: Could you hurry it up already?

Basic ATK: So slow.

Skill: I am all I am.

Hit by Light Attack: Is that all you got?

Hit by Heavy Attack: Dangit. I shoulda dodged that one.

Ultimate - Activate: They’ll know your name, burned into their memory.

Ultimate - Unleash (x2 Speed): So break through it all!

Ultimate - Unleash (Normal Speed): Override and overrun the competition.

Talent: Nyx does not feature any Talent voice overs.

Downed: I… wasn’t… fast enough.

Return to Battle: Nyx does not feature any Return to Battle voice overs.

Health Recovery: Finally got to keep up.

Technique: Disappear among the sea of stars!

Battle Won: I’m reaching far across new frontiers.

Treasure Opening: Nyx does not feature any Treasure Opening voice overs.

Precious Treasure Opening: What a gift. Hey, can I have it? I wanna give it to Wolfie.

Successful Puzzle Solving: Well that was quick.

Enemy Target Found: Let’s break em’ down.

Returning to Town: Back home in the green hill zone.

ASCENSION MATERIALS

Lvl 20: x5 Thief’s Instinct

Lvl 30: x10 Thief’s Instinct

Lvl 40: x6 Usurper’s Scheme, x 3 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 50: x 9 Usurper’s Scheme, 7 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 60: x 6 Conqueror’s Will, 15 Void Cast Iron

Lvl 70: x 9 Conqueror’s Will, 27 Void Cast Iron

Y’all, I’m so sorry, I had to put the Sonic references in there. I don’t know why, it was just a compulsory urge that I gave into. On a scale of 1-10, how would y’all rate her chemistry with SW?

I’m not telling y’all all her lore. Let’s just say she’s been thru it :/

[tiredgamergirl]

If you could bring someone back to life, what would you do? Would you do this no matter what takes or would you have any reservations?

There is so much one could say about Paranormasight, yet this is one of those titles that the least you know about its story the better. Written by Takanari Ishiyama, most famous for his long-running Japan-only series of visual novels known as Tantei Kibukawa Ryōsuke Jikentan (Detective Ryosuke Kibukawa Case Story), it is a gripping tale of mystery and horror that takes place in the 1980s Japan, in the town of Honjo in Sumida Ward of Tokyo. A series of urban legends that started back in the Edo period, famous to this day, actually have a dark secret underneath: each legend represents a horrifying curse, manifested in artifacts known as “cursed stones” bearing very specific conditions to activate and effects but all of them extremely lethal. These legends are seemly linked to a resurrection ritual that will activate once a certain number of soul dregs are reached, and the death of other curse bearers is actually more worthwhile than random passerby, making the chosen ones both the hunter and the hunted in this story.

A cleverly crafted game that makes full use of both the in-game narrative and the meta, every small detail is part of the story: from the chapter selection and even the save game feature, there is no extraneous feature or anything that overstays the game’s welcome. The cast of characters all have a reason to get involved with the curses and not relinquishing their goals. Despite the dire situation and rather scary overall plot, they are all full of life and bounce off each other very well, getting tense when appropriate and allowing the player to breathe and get involved with each of them. We are first introduced to Shogo Okiie, an everyman that works for a soap company and is introduced to the legends by his supernatural-loving friend Yoko. Then we have Harue Shigima and her tragic story, a housewife in the verge of despair after the death of her son with the help of Richter, a flamboyant private detective; Tetsuo Tsutsumi, a veteran detective and his eager partner Jun Erio that are investigating the mysterious deaths in Honjo; and Yakko Sakazaki, a high school student who refuses to believe that her classmate ended her own life and wants to uncover the truth with the help of a transfer student named Mio. Their stories meet in various points, sometimes you need to switch around the groups and bring them closer in the timeline in order to progress as the story unravels, bringing dreadful secrets both from the past and present, culminating in many high points and twists that invites to think about what happened.

The visuals are striking, evoking a retro feeling from late 70s and early 80 Japan. The character designer, Gen Kobayashi, is more known for his works in the World Ends With You series makes a very distinct impression in making everything looks grounded and yet stylized and memorable. The music by Hidenori Iwasaki is a show-stealer in itself, going from whimsical to terrifying in a heartbeat, all complimented by a VHS aesthetic that permeates the entire presentation.

With a strong narrative and presentation, Paranormasight is a title that will keep the player hooked until the very last ritual, leading to a satisfying conclusion in which most of the mysteries are wrapped up in a satisfying way, although some aspects might be bittersweet. A must play for fans of visual novels, mysteries and horror tales. You can find it for on Steam or on Nintendo Switch.

Tʀɪɢɢᴇʀ Wᴀʀɴɪɴɢs

Gore (gruesome deaths)

Jump scares ( two of them: one in Shogo’s story and one early during Yakko’s chapters)

Suicide (false, the victim didn’t commit suicide)

Violence against children (child murder)

Domestic violence (mentioned not shown)

Sexual violence against children (it is implied a teacher might have questionable intentions towards a student)

Mention of alcohol (nothing is ever shown)

Traffic accident (mentioned)

Trauma, depression

[mahlikes]

#like i know we've had way more than enough in the way of hc but #just look at him

please let the englishman pass out just this once he’s deserved his little victorian swooning on the convenient couch. he looks like he’s about to fcking lose it he’s seen a lot of shit poor thing

[manasurge]

GW2 30 Day Challenge

6. Favourite Elite spec?

(I couldn't find any fancy pics of my own to use, so instead have a couple angles of mirage cloak glitching out and turning the Mirage into an eternal swirling and glowing vortex. These are old screenshots before the Aurene mounts were released as well since I use those for my main) It's... Mirage!! (surprising to absolutely no one who knows me). I just LOVE being invulnerable and hard to hit, plus all the mobility that comes with the spec and the SUPER fast gameplay (I love very fast inputs and reactions, which makes playing slower classes difficult for me bc I'm impatient and spam click abilities lkdjflsf). Being able to jaunt/blink everywhere, shadowstep, clone+phantasm distractions, and evasion hax dodging (mirage cloak my beloved) made dodging part of my rotation, making me really dumb with a lot of other classes bc I instinctively want to dodge all the time due to muscle memory. Also fun fact: Mirage/Mesmer was the first spec that I used a 80-boost on, and I was able to learn it just fine! (and even became my favourite!) so boosting a class to learn it is totally okay in my opinion!! Just do cozy open world map comp to ease your way into it and it'll be cherry!

Granted I also don't exactly play the class as intended. While I have 3 builds for her (guess I should say my main, Vespaura), I tend to just use her power build (since Mirage is moreso meant for Condi and boons or w/e, which I have builds for and also never use lol). I think this build I like to use was originally made for the Labyrinth (tagging everything with GS), but I tweaked it a bit with other preferences since it has pretty good survivability and is an absolute monster when I attack huge groups of mobs (Greatsword lasers are the best invention and it NEVER gets old. Also the amount of laser ricochet gets me pretty high damage and looks absolutely bonkers on my side (what a lightshow!), plus my lasers are HOMING lasers, which means they will automatically hit any enemies in the vicinity around me and helps out if I don't notice them from a different angle, allowing me to re-orient myself. I also don't have to worry too too much about aim bc of this too! (oh yeah, and especially with relics being a thing now. Mabon relic has been pretty neat so far cuz I can take advantage of that boost being used to hit all those targets!). Though power GS does fall a bit against single targets, but that's fine! (I sort of have the daggers for that at least!). I also play with a trackpad, which is a funny thing to tell ppl, especially when playing a class like Mirage, lol. I just hate using a mouse and only have it for certain games that force me to use it. I just don't want carpel tunnel and my wrist is more relaxed this way (never had problems! so far at least). I just love playing at ranged with non-ranged weapons (Greatswords, daggers. Mine actually has all 3 types of blades (very lesbian of her) bc she has a sword as well. I literally gave her both of Caithe's weapons askjflfj. I'm so glad that I can give my Mirage daggers now!! much more fun than another sword/axe!). It's just so much fun, and I CAN'T WAIT to see what rifle is gonna be like!! I just love ranged classes bc stacking ALWAYS gets me killed constantly... so yeah I'm the annoying person who doesn't like stacking bc I'd rather not be dead!!!!! (I'm sorry I just HATE stacking. I can't see SHIT and it's just so much visual noise for me!! let me breathe!!) and plus I revive everyone in fights thanks to invulnerabilities allowing me to rez through attacks. You're welcome!!! (I rez so many people during metas and other fights) I also just love Mesmer in a class in general bc it's unique in comparison to a lot of other fantasy classes, and I just adore the concept and the aesthetics (flamboyant fancy dramatic magic user? HELL YEAH. Literally the gayest magic user ever and I'm eating it up). I also love the ability to make clones and all the pretty butterflies, and phantasms and all that! I know a lot of ppl don't like clones/phantasms, but they save my ass every time and I appreciate them very much.

[lightningarmour]

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TODAY or SUPERMAN: FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

Every 10 years or so they do some kind of retelling of Superman's origin story to reestablish the details of his mythos but updated into the modern day. This is simply a symptom of serialized comic books with 80 years of continuity, sometimes things get old and you need to update them. I'll admit I haven't paid much attention to DC comics since the end of Doomsday Clock, which actually uses Superman's origin as a kind of meta-narrative thing in which the entire DC Universe specifically changes itself around Superman, which I thought was a kind of neat idea, though that event was a let down. So I have no clue when the last time they did a major overhaul or update of Superman's story. They did one during DC Rebirth, There was Superman Earth One, Superman Secret Origin, but my personal favorite is still Superman Birthright because I'm a Mark Waid fanboy. For all I know maybe DC has done a Superman retelling recently and maybe it even does all the things I'm about to suggest, but as far as I'm aware they haven't.

I've been thinking a lot recently about how best to bring Superman into the modern day. To make him feel alive in this current political and cultural moment. Superman recontextualized for the 2020's. A big debate that rears up now and then is whether Superman is relatable, if he's marketable, if audiences want to go see a movie about him. In recent years it's been a lot of hand wringing from DC/WB because they just don't know how to make a Superman movie that people will like! But I think that Superman is almost perfect to meet the moment and really engage in stories that people can connect with.

I was late to find this article about DC changing Superman's motto from "Truth, Justice, and The American Way" to "Truth, Justice, and A Better Tomorrow," but I was instantly in agreement with the message being expressed. Now obviously the article is not doing any in depth political analysis of the concept of "the American dream" and while the material I am brainstorming is intended to be much more overtly political, I don't want to get too bogged down in this with a bunch of like, Marxist analysis of US Imperialism and the role of Liberal Democracy as a facilitator of Bourgeois society and yadda yadda. Suffice it to say for the purpose of this giant rant about Superman I am doing, America is a shithole and has been for basically it's entire history. It's like probably the worst place on Earth, full offense.

I bring this all up because I think that for Superman to really remain relevant in this modern age, he cannot exist as an apolitical character. If you think of the words "truth" and "justice" are those apolitical terms? For many people, myself included, things have been feeling increasingly more and more "political" over the last number of years, and many people who previously could blissfully ignore the world around them are finding it harder to do. The Hitherto history of the world is the history of class struggle, and as the contradictions of capitalism become more and more irreconcilable, greater and greater social and economic issues arise, and people try so hard to confront those issues. Racial Justice, climate justice, social justice. I think that for a character like Superman who we understand to be someone who wants to use his powers for good, for truth, for *justice,* there's no way he can do so without getting involved in the struggle.

I'm already rambling too much, this is supposed to be about Superman, so let's talk about him. Most of this is going to be broad ideas covering various elements of the superman mythos.

SUPERMAN: MAN OF TODAY or SUPERMAN: FOR A BETTER TOMORROW

A young, socially conscious Clark Kent goes on a journey of political awakening, and we see how Superman must grow and adapt to his increased understanding of politics and the way he can affect change in the world. He must develop and evolve tactics for combatting major social issues such as wealth inequality and climate change. We are in a time when there is a growing awareness of the ways in which the working class is exploited by the wealthy & how capitalist industry is primarily responsible for the damage to the environment so the public perception towards billionaires and the like is turning sour. Superman is an immigrant who fights for equality and his most iconic nemesis is a Rich corporate CEO. I feel like it is not too much of a stretch to have him meet this moment.

This is by no means a well constructed story pitch so I have sectioned off the various areas of Superman’s mythos below and my thoughts on how you would incorporate them into a left-wing Superman reboot.

MAN OF THE PEOPLE

If we accept that Superman's space pod lands in the United States of America, and he is raised as a US citizen, I think it is necessary to reevaluate his relationship with the nation. I think the only way to do justice to the character is to write him from a left wing perspective. Social Justice Superman, if you like. I will take a moment to recommend the recent series IMMORTAL HULK written by Al Ewing. It does a lot of things with the Hulk that I am basically saying should be done with Superman. Recontextualizing the character in a modern framework. In it, the Hulk becomes a kind of eco-warrior who wages a terror campaign against an oil company and like, protects protesters from being shot by the police. Obviously no art made under an American publisher is going to be truly revolutionary but it can still say *something.*

Now Superman doesn't necessarily have to become a terrorist, but this is the kind of shit I want to see. Clark Kent, raised by farmers. Working class. Salt of the Earth. You adjust his background somewhat so that he has a strong influence of labor solidarity in his upbringing. Maybe the Kents are part of a farming co-op? Maybe they had to sell the farm because they were being squeezed out by some corporate agrobusiness, and Pa Kent goes to work in a factory and tries to Unionize his workplace and gets bumped off, or maybe he dies on the job and Ma Kent then becomes a labor organizer or etc. There are many ways of going about this. When Clark grows up and decides he wants to be a journalist, he's interested in being a labor reporter, or doing human interest stories. Writing about social issues. Poverty, LGBTQ rights, racial discrimination, migrant rights, so on and so forth. If this were ever a story that got published it would have to be non-canon so we can assume this all is a world that can be changed by Superman's actions. The story could start out with Clark being a plucky socdem kind of self described "progressive" leftist, but as he learns more and shifts further down the line until he's a full on Marxist Leninist. You see him struggle along the way with how he can best use his powers to try and help and whether it is ultimately necessary for him to employ violence and lead the workers of the world in a proletariat revolution and yadda yadda.

A scene that has been running through my mind is something along the lines of: Lexcorp employees are trying to unionize, but Luthor calls in the cops to bust up their drive, or maybe it's a full on walk-out, whatever. Superman sees these workers being beaten by the police and so he flies down and joins the picket line, standing shoulder to shoulder with striking workers, almost daring the cops to fuck with him. Then later you have Lois Lane, labor reporter, typing up a piece about how Superman's presence at the picket line ultimately undermines the workers power which is derived from withholding their labor, not simply by being strong and able to shoot lasers to intimidate their way to victory, and Clark is left feeling confused and kind of embarrassed. He's coming to terms with how he can use his powers as a force for good in the world without invalidating the class struggle that he believes in.

I find it funny to think about Superman engaging in leftist twitter discourse. Like, in the course of his superheroics, maybe he stops an armed robbery or some kind of small scale, but still potentially deadly crime. The perpetrator ultimately ends up being arrested & Superman sees a bunch of posts online calling him a tool of the carceral system, claiming that he's basically nothing but a cop, etc. So he starts like, engaging with people earnestly. Like "Hey yeah it's me @therealSuperman I'm sorry that I am contributing to the further subjugation of impoverished people to the unjust prison system, I'm really just trying to help out however I can, does anyone have any advice on how I could better handle these kind of incidents in the future?" But then he is just like, utterly overwhelmed by responses and realizes that very few people have actual actionable advice for him that doesn't involve him waging literal war on the United States.

I am picturing Superman having a youtube channel where he addresses things that people yell or tweet at him like "hey superman why don't you end world hunger if you're so powerful!" and he does like a response video explaining the like, historical and material reasons why world hunger is a thing and that it's not just as simple as flying a giant bag of hamburgers to the third world and tells his followers to read How Europe Underdeveloped Africa.

CLARK KENT: MILD MANNERED REPORTER

A common element in a lot of Superman retellings is the Daily Planet struggling to survive in the internet age which I think has been fairly overdone by now, and doesn't really reflect the current state of like, major American newspapers. The whole "Internet is killing print media" thing doesn't really apply to the big publications like NYT or whatever and we are assuming the Daily Planet is like, one of the biggest papers in the country so they're doing fine. The difference is that Lois & Clark wouldn't be on-staff there. They met while both applying at the Planet, but neither landed a job. They'd probably work freelance at best, and I'm picturing them maybe operating their own like, independent left-wing substack blog or podcast or whatever, & obviously through being superman Clark is able to get them good scoops and they break some decent stories and get their work featured in the Planet from time to time. Jimmy Olsen is the Daily Planet's social media manager, but moonlights as Lois' producer on her podcast.

ORIGINS

I've already touched a bit on the background with the Kents, the farm, etc. Those are the things that are most important to who Clark is as a person. His upbringing. See, Superman's personality and mannerisms and whatnot are all things that can vary from writer to writer, actor to actor. A character who has existed for 80 years will have been interpreted differently. But the truth and justice, the ideal, the values. Those are the things that inform the character. You start with those and work backwards. We know what Superman believes, now what led him to those beliefs. So the important part is in the Kents, in Smallville, in how his life has developed. Krypton is less important to *who* he is, but has everything to do with *why* he is. Krypton. The Doomed planet. Doomed how? It doesn't matter, really. It's been done a dozen different ways. Sometimes it's the sun exploding, sometimes the planet blows up? Sometimes it's destroyed by war, sometimes it's a natural disaster. The Planet's core is unstable or some shit. Ultimately it doesn't matter WHY the planet is destroyed, only that it has to be so that Jor-El can put his baby in a rocket and fire his ass into space.

I think that, thematically it would make sense if the destruction of Krypton was ecological in nature. You recontextualize Kryptonite as an energy source. Highly unstable, dangerously radioactive, that sort of thing. Kryptonian society devastated their planet to mine deeper and deeper for more kryptonite, the waste from which was toxic to the people and planet. Extinction events occurred. Perhaps Kryptonite is volatile, and some kind of mining accident triggered a chain reaction that caused an enormous geological fracturing that split the planet into pieces or some shit. Could be even Phantom Zone related. Or that at least leaves a door open for later Kryptonian survivors to appear. Like in the dying gasps of the planet, people were evacuated to the Phantom Zone. Could lead to possible Zod, Mon-El, etc.

However it happens, it has to be predominantly man-made. It must be understood in no uncertain terms that the destruction of Krypton was brought on by the people and their unsustainable resource extraction. This information is, as usual sent with baby Kal-El in his space pod so he knows where he comes from and can keep the legacy of their race alive. It could serve as an extra super special motivation that makes both Clark and the Kents far more conscious and sensitive to climate change, and maybe you could even work in some little details about how the Kent farm is operated as sustainably as possible & yadda yadda. Either way it leads to Clark being passionate about climate change from a young age and as he gets older and sees more & more how bad the world is getting it drives him to want to use his powers to help fix it all.

ANTAGONISTS

LEX LUTHOR

Lex Luthor is a challenge because he is a character that can only reinforce the mythical figure of the genius-billionaire-inventor-industrialist who is so rich and powerful because he is just so darned smart and developed groundbreaking technology on his own that clearly deserves to be rewarded with riches. So while this is comics and you can certainly have super-intelligent people as like, a thing that exists, I would want to recontextualize Lex Luthor's villainy as inherently bourgeoisie. By that I mean everything he does that is "evil" should have material motivations. He does not want cartoonish things like "world domination" or whatever, at least if he did it would be more in the sense that he wants to dominate the global market to increase his own wealth and influence, and whatnot. It should be made explicit that Luthor comes from money, generational wealth, and that the reason he continues to get richer is through the exploitation of the working class and natural resources. The kinds of crimes he commits would largely be the kinds of crimes that real life capitalists commit, but with some like, killer robots and whatever thrown in for flavor.

Lex Luthor should be the stand-in for the Bezos and Musks of the world, representing the insidious ways that the bourgeois destroy people and the world for their own enrichment. Rather than being the kind of mad scientist schemer he typically is, Lex should be just a cold, bloodless machine of capital and his "villainy" is represented in the way he uses capital to exploit people, resources and the media. Less maniacal genius, and more ego driven and relentless because he has never had to face real hardship in his entire life. He's had the money that he's basically been able to get everything he wants and Superman represents a threat to him because he is the first obstacle Lex has ever faced that he cannot simply buy a solution to. This gets wrapped in with the typical xenophobic angle that is common in portrayals of Luthor. He hates Superman for being powerful in a way that Lex can never be, and finds it repulsive, and uses Superman being an alien as the object of his hatred. By making all of Lex's wealth and privilege much more pronounced and explicit, you get the nice little irony of Lex hating superman because having all that power must make it so easy for him, not like, me, a Human who has to strive and struggle to succeed, but of course Lex would never reflect on the self and see that his wealth makes him to an average person what Superman is to him.

CYBORG SUPERMAN Hank Henshaw is a hot, young charismatic astronaut, and he is also the poster-boy for the commercial spaceflight department of Lexcorp. (SpaceLeX)(lol) He is piloting a new Lexcorp rocket launch and due to cost-cutting measures, something fucks up and Superman has to save the day. In the whole catastrophe, Henshaw is still seriously injured. He is like missing an arm and an eye and whatever. Maybe it's actually not like, *that* bad initially even, but either way it ends his space career. That coupled with Lois & Clark doing an investigation into the faulty spacecraft which results in Lexcorp losing it's space contracts, Henshaw's reputation is also ruined. He blames it all on Superman, and Luthor says well if you want to fly again, maybe I can help you out. He augments Hank's body with cybernetics, possibly needing to like, remove more parts of his body than he was even missing before in order to fit all the tech in there, so like, because of his thirst for revenge, he is willing to sacrifice MORE of what he thinks made him human in the first place for the sake of being powerful enough to destroy superman.

So Henshaw is now a cyborg and Lex outfuts him in a rip-off costume and presents him as like, the Lexcorp brand Superman. Superman isn't like, a legal citizen or whatever, so it's not like he can trademark his S symbol or sue for infringement or whatever. So Lex very specifically dresses him to look like superman but uses him as basically private security and as like a publicity tool. Eventually that'll go tits up when Hank loses his shit and kills a bunch of people & all that stuff.

MR. MXYSPTLK Now honestly I don't think you really even need to change him up because being a 5th dimensional trickster genie or whatever is just a premise that can work for any tone. But I recently re-read the Jasper's Warp arc of Captain Britain by Alan Moore and I thought wouldn't it be interesting to kind of do a twist on Mxysptlk where he initially appears in the story as just a regular looking guy. He's a politician who is on a kind of Anti-Superman crusade, and as the story goes on it becomes clearer gradually that this guy is manipulating things on more than just a political level but he is actually changing reality too. There would be an eventual reveal where he transforms into the little gremlin with the hat that he normally is, and when Superman asks why he did it, he just kind of laughs and says because he was bored or whatever.

MAXWELL LORD Not traditionally a Superman exclusive villain, but I figure a rich entrepreneur who wants to use his money to like, buy his own personal superhero team and also he can mind control people? Seems like an easy villain to work with.

CREEPER Once again not traditionally a Superman villain, but thinking about him from a different angle, Creeper would be more of an antagonist to Superman as Jack Ryder than as Creeper. Part of all of my ideas is that Lexcorp would be the parent company for some kind of FOX News style media outlet that exists entirely to launder Lex Luthor's image and shift the overton window in America so that rich fucks like him can influence reactionary policies. So Jack Ryder exists as a kind of Tucker Carlson or Sean Hannity figure in this version of Metropolis and his number one goal is to make people hate Superman. Any fucking outlandish bullshit accusation he can make against Superman he will. He could also serve as like, the antithesis to Clark Kent as the upstanding journalist with integrity! Ryder is the like, dark side of the news and holds a candle to how it is a tool of the bourgeoisie to control the working class. I can see Jack Ryder like, going on tv and making salacious claims that Lois is whoring herself out to Superman for interviews and shit.

RANDOM PLOTLINES AND STUFF Now all of this is incredibly loose brainstorming, it's not like I am sending this as a pitch to DC comics or anything, so I don't know if this would all theoretically be part of one ongoing story or like, chapters of a limited series or whatever so this is all just random fluff to make me feel like this version of superman could exist.

Lex Luthor is strong arming the Metropolis city council to give him the permits to transform Metropolis into a Smart City and Lois and Clark have to dig into the corruption in city hall as well as the unethical business practices involved in the Lex city project, surveiling residents and harvesting their data and blah blah blah. Then somewhere along the line Superman has to punch a robot or something.

Facing greater scrutiny for the role of corporations in causing and accelerating the climate crisis, Lexcorp releases data that suggests , based on his approximate age, that global average temperature has increased every year since Superman first arrived on Earth, and suggest that since his powers are the result of absorbing solar radiation that it is in fact Superman who is drawing more heat from the sun into earth's atmosphere or some shit, and the media starts a campaign of demanding that Superman leave Earth. There's a hashtag. Superman decides to step away from the spotlight for a bit while the bad press is on him and it's up to Lois & Clark to disprove Lexcorp's claims

Superman defends an all-ages Drag show. Superman Disrupts a proud boys rally. Superman vandalizes a US Senator’s car or other property after the senator refuses to pass a social services bill Superman sets fire to a KKK clubhouse May add more as I come up with them.

So yeah, I dunno. I have just had this all on the brain and needed to get this all expelled out of my head or I wouldn't be able to sleep. DC, feel free to DM me.