#characteristic of comic books really

[loki-zen]

talking to dagny about superpowers the other day and it sounds like even Worm didn’t really tackle the thing that I always find a hard sell about the sorts of powers where the logic is like ‘this person can fight real good because they’re able to calculate everything super fast so they know exactly what actions they need to take and when to dodge and so on’:

namely, that as someone who has spent time practising movement disciplines, i can tell you it’s perfectly possible to know exactly what you need to do and still fuck up the physical execution.

think about like. one physical skill people always like to claim is ‘really’ physics is catching a ball, because there’s like an equation or whatever that will tell you where the ball is going to fall. but anyone who’s played a sport has surely had the experience of knowing exactly where the ball was headed, and just not being able to get to it in time.

unless you have a secret second superpower that gives you inhuman physical reaction times and peak physical fitness and have spent a lot of time practicing acrobatics? kinda feel like you should have a perfect vision of the set of movements you need to complete to dodge the incoming fire while moving quickly into cover, faceplant on the second backflip and eat bullets.

[pee-com]

i never thought the penguin would create riddler discourse that shouldn't exist 😭

its very clear that Edward is a self pitying man-child who blames everyone for the wrongs in his life.

i thought despite liking the character we could all very clearly sit back and understand hes a terrorist with self interested goals under the guise of justice. also if he were real you would have to be a 4chaner to agree with his actions.

[risestarkiss]

Being Baby Blue

Rise Ramblings #313

Leonardo Hamato is…an interesting individual.

As a middle child, he doesn’t have to shoulder the responsibilities of the oldest, nor is he fawned upon or babied over like the youngest. Therefore, he ends up having more of a lackadaisical approach to life.

In his free time, instead of training like Raph, Leo can normally be found reading comic books.

And for good reason! Someone has to be up on the latest issues of Jupiter Jim and his space odysseys.

But, other than being a Jupiter Jim superfan, who is Leonardo Hamato?

If you ask Leo, he's...*takes out a list*: “Primetime,” “First,” “The Best,” “Number One,” “The Champion,” or some other iteration of all of the above.

...Huh. Anyways...

Of course, the first thing Leo would tell you is that he's the team's "Face Man."

As the "Face Man," he’s the one that turns up the charm when they need to schmooze their way out of, or into, something.

He's the face of the group! It's a very important title, right?

Well, in this scene with Hueso, we learn what Leo really feels about his place on the team.

"There's no team with just a face man." "I'm nothing without them."

Hmm. If he thinks that he is nothing without his brothers, then what's the deal with all of this "Number One" and "Champion" talk?

I believe that Leo is exhibiting a form of Reaction Formation.

Reaction Formation is a primitive defense mechanism that involves transforming one's unacceptable feelings or emotions into the opposite.

"Solicitude may be a reaction-formation against cruelty...romantic notions of chastity and purity may mask crude sexual desires, altruism may hide selfishness, and piety may conceal sinfulness."

Leo has been creating these grandiose titles and this larger-than-life persona for himself as a means to cope with his feelings of insecurity, his anxieties, and combat his self-deprecation.

Gee, forming a larger-than-life persona to counteract their suppressed feelings also reminds me of someone else we know…

But, I digress...

Behind the fabrications, his insecurities, who he pretends to be, and who he wants to be, the real Leo is still on display, starting as early as the first episode.

He's attentive, he understands the team's strengths and weaknesses, he assesses situations, he comes up with great plans on the fly, and he is a voice of reason.

These are all the characteristics of a great leader.

However, something happens when he’s actually appointed as such.

There he goes again. He's cocky, arrogant, and act's as if he's unphased even by the prospect of loosing his brothers. If this is Reaction Formation, then what is he trying to mask with these behaviors?

Previously, he was masking his insecurities, his anxieties, and his self-deprecation, but with the faces he pulls when he thinks no one can see them, I want to say the newest emotion is fear.

He is terrified of being the leader and floundering under his new responsibilities. He's scared of the consequences of his actions, and what those consequences may mean for his brothers. However, instead of voicing his insecurities, or communicating with his team, he doubles down and falls back into old habits.

The "Face Man" persona is turned up to an 11, and things get worse and worse until...

His greatest fears have been realized.

He has failed as a leader. He has failed his brothers. He has failed to stop the invasion, and they are all going to die because of his failures.

Now he's faced with the harsh reality of his own mistakes, thus he finally faces himself.

"It's scary to be responsible for the lives you protect, your team...your family. But we do it anyway because that's what it means to be a hero."

He may be speaking to Raph, but he's talking about himself.

His words are his true feelings, the same feelings that have been holding him back this entire time. By opening up, he's able to surrender to himself and let it all go.

And it's the breakthrough we all have been waiting for.

What Leo doesn't know is that through letting go, he's able to become the true face of the group he is destined to be.

He's the face of hope.

Update: This post now also exists in video form. 😌💙

○○○○

Previous | Being Big Red

Next | Being Purple ○ Part One • Being Purple ○ Part Two • Orange, Baby!

Finale | Being Hamato Yoshi

[book-daenerys]

Daenerys Targaryen + book quotes and statements by GRRM that show that she has all the characteristics that (according to her creator) define a good king (in/s/p.)

GRRM at the “House of the Dragon” Comic-Con panel: A good king is someone who regards being king as a duty rather than a privilege that they are entitled to. A duty to the realm to dispense justice and peace, and occasionally do boring things like building roads and sanitation in King’s Landing and all that.

~

GRRM on which of his characters would be suitable leaders in modern times: You know, probably Tyrion. [...] Dany would also be an interesting choice if we could bring her dragons along. The recent American election [of 2016] might have turned out very different if Hillary Clinton had dragons. [as the linked meta above shows, GRRM's decision to mention Dany - especially when he could have chosen to name so many other characters - alongside Tyrion (who he deems the most suitable leader) highlights her portrayal as a good ruler and acknowledges that, with the right person, dragons can be used for good.]

~

GRRM to History of Westeros: I mean, it’s… you know, I had a lot of input in the beginning of Game of Thrones, partly cause I had these books out there. Um, but at a certain point, as the show went on, I, I found I had less and less influence uh, until by the end, I really didn’t even know what, what was going on. I, I… Some of these things I watched like everybody else, and ‘oh, okay.' 

[blackorchidcoven]

Pick A Card

Your Demons

Pile 1 Spider Nightmare

Song: Venus By Shocking Blue 

“ Goddess on the mountain top

Burning like a silver flame

The summit of beauty and love

And Venus was her name

She's got it

Yeah, baby, she's got it

I'm your Venus, I'm your fire

At your desire

Well, I'm your Venus, I'm your fire

At your desire”

This energy is so intense. You’re definitely an intense person. This pile is very personal, I don't expect it to resonate for a lot of people because it’s so particular. I get the energy of someone who talks a lot, who rambles on and on. There’s also this tension… You really love attention. I hate to break it to you but someone has cursed you. I don’t know everything but it’s happened and I have to tell you. That’s why you’re being drawn to this post and to the occult world in general. Deep down inside, you know who it is that’s done it. That bitch! It’s because you have characteristics that they envy and they cannot forgive you for this. It’s so twisted. This may be weird but this pile reminds me of a family member of mine, someone I love dearly and would literally die for. I love this pile. Your life has been hard and it’s not your fault. It always has been since the very start but you never let that stop you cause your loved ones never stopped loving you. You have a strong bond with your loved ones. This is important. Never let them go. This person who has cursed you is unfortunately wedged deep into your family. Maybe they married in, maybe they work for or with your family in some fashion. No matter what, they are lurking. 

The image for this pile, the “card” is freaky. It depicts a little girl freaking out as a giant spider with a creepy cat head runs wild. I actually see this spider cat as a protector but the little girl is too young to realize. She is just scared. The cat is guarding her, and who knows… whatever the cat is hissing at could be even scarier than itself! 

Cats are independent, intuitive spirits. 

So, you who picked this card is the little girl. The cat is your guardian in some form. It comes across strongly. Whether you have one as a pet/familiar/spirit guide, or someone named Cat/Kat/Catherine or someone in mind with other feline attributes 

(wear animal prints, have whiskers/facial hair, wear cat eyeliner, have long nails/claws, are feisty 😈  & playful) 

Sounds crazy, but cats are! 🐱 

In this circumstance with my family member in mind, I’m the cat. 

The cat feels creepy sometimes but all you see is cute, so it’s hard to spot them. It’s sad but it’s easier to spot who cursed you rather than who is protecting you. You have just begun to think of life in a spiritual way. You are so excited but this person is ruining it for you, this gives it away. They try to scare you. They live a lie. They aren’t like you and you know it. You do not share the same values. You should get away from them. Cut them off. 

This person has become a detriment to you. They are flesh and blood but spiritually they are demonic. I’m sorry but they are. They’re corrupt. They’re into satanic culture and dark society. They want to watch the world burn. They’re made of something you are not. This person just hangs on. They���ve almost been told goodbye many times but it’s never truly manifested. It will but I know it will take a little while but be quicker than you think. I’m thinking around spring you’ll swear you see change even though you feel like you’re imagining it but by the end of summer everything will be taken care of. You’ll see. 

Energies: 

Cancer ♋️ 

Hallucinations 

Mass Hysteria 

Childhood Trauma 

Nightmares 

Femininity

Girlhood 

Goosebumps Books 

Love ❤️ 

Vintage 

Tradition 

Stereotypes 

Comic Books 

Action 

Art 

Curses 

Woman 

Witch 

Beef 

Jealousy 

Venus 

The Past 

Scorpio ♏️ 

Cherished

Spring 

Divine Intervention 

Pile 2 Swamp Queen 

Song: Beautiful By Christina Aguilera

“Don't look at me

Every day is so wonderful

Then suddenly it's hard to breathe

Now and then I get insecure

From all the pain

I'm so ashamed

I am beautiful no matter what they say

Words can't bring me down

I am beautiful in every single way

Yes, words can't bring me down, oh no

So don't you bring me down today”

Okay, you’re your own worst enemy. 

This would be my pile 😂 

Okay. We get it, you also have a lot to say like Pile 1. 

You have a constant internal monologue going on, you’re the star of your own movie. I sense The Star Card for this pile. You are dreamy, spiritual and weird. You’re obviously magical. There’s something strange about you. You are seriously different. You’re not what’s considered normal. You worry so much about whether you come across as normal or not but you don’t have to worry any longer cause I’m going to clarify it for you, you fucking don’t. You are weird. You do not conform to society’s expectations but not because you don’t want to, you just weren’t born to. Most who pick this pile wear makeup, false eyelashes, wigs, dye their hair, have acrylic nails…This is not to hide who you are but actually to accentuate it. You use vibrant colors and exaggerate your natural features so gorgeously! You go! You're not afraid to show your true face though. You’re seriously into skin care/self care/self love and it shows. You glow. Everyone acts weird around you. You’d be surprised why… it’s because you’re beautiful 😍 

I do not sense any denial or skepticism from this pile 

😆 

Everyone already knows … 

It’s almost awkward 😐 

You do not value appearances whatsoever and this is your true beauty. I sense a lot of empaths in this pile that are just now discovering that they’re empaths maybe even because of this reading! 

You’re earthy. 

I sense a lot of dark skinned queens here. 

You’re a reader. You read books for sure but you read people too. You mind your own business and that’s beautiful too. Maybe you mind your business too much, people want more from you. They want to see you more, talk to you more, hear you laugh more and see you smile… You have many admirers. I mean tons. You had humble beginnings and that’s shaped you into who you are today. You are so mature, too mature. Some want you to relax more and have fun. Some are critical of you and want you to “act your age” they want to dumb you down to their level. They want to party with you, get you drunk and dance 🪩 

This is not anything like you. 

Ignore these kinds of individuals because they want to change you. This isn’t who you are, if it was then so be it. You’d rather curl up on your couch with a book and a cup of tea 🍵 so do that! 

This all sounds so good, then how are you your own problem?

 You’re stumped. 

You’re stagnant. 

A running theme in your life is waiting cause God is teaching you the virtue of patience my friend. 

Ground yourself. 

Notice everything. 

Get comfortable but remember to work hard now so you can relax later. 

Stop procrastinating. 

Do your best. 

You’re idolized behind closed doors. You light up this world. 

No one would know an angel like you could have been through hell but that’s the truth. The dark side of this reading is everything you’ve overcome. 

The color of this reading is bright green. Slime green like the swamp monster in the image. I see severe chronic incurable illness, sicknesses, nausea, actual vomit. There’s this disgusting and grossed out feeling I get. I get that you feel like a monster maybe cause you don’t “fit in” like I said. You cry about being a misfit. 

You put on a happy face. You hate showing people your vulnerabilities but you do so gracefully. You feel nervous a lot, like all the time pretty much. You stay on an even keel of worry. You feel like it’s hard being human, and it is so you try to overcompensate. Just chill out. Your overthinking is a gift and a curse you’ll learn. The present moment is a gift 🎁 so enjoy it. 

Energies: 

Gemini ♊️ 

Confidence 

Insecurity 

Acne 

Grease 

Iconic 

Makeup 💄 

The Present 

Reality Check 

Money 💰 

Plastic Surgery 

Shots 

Needles 💉 

Alcohol 🍷 

Mirror 🪞 

Lips 👄 

Mouth 

Voice 

Throat Chakra 

Sexuality 

Seduction 

Submission 

Scorpio ♏️ 

Scorpion 🦂 

Snake 🐍 

Mistake 

Self Harm 

Self Destructive Tendencies 

Junkie 

Addiction 

Flaws 

Weakness 

Pastel 

Accurate 

Monster 

Shadow Self 

Ego 

Virgo ♍️ 

Aquarius ♒️ 

Pile 3 Wishbone 

Song: If I Die Young By The Band Perry 

“If I die young, bury me in satin

Lay me down on a bed of roses

Sink me in the river at dawn

Send me away with the words of a love song

Oh-oh, oh-oh”

I see red. 

I sense male/masculine energy. 

This pile likes my energy so that’s why you’re here. You like how I talk. We could be friends. Oh. 

You’re angry. 😡 

You’re into conspiracy theories and the apocalypse. You may be religious. You are dying to state your individuality against the other piles. 

You’re vulgar. You swear a lot. 

You’re like, “Fuck you, get to my pile!” 

You are into horror and gothic things. 

I see myself as a teenager so you must be pretty darn damaged. 

You speak negatively to yourself. You abuse yourself. 

You hate yourself. You feel like no one understands yet the ones who do are as bad as you and can’t help you but at least they make you feel less crazy, right?

This is a rough pile guys. 

I’m so sorry for who this is for. It’s definitely for my younger self. I’m having flashbacks. I’m uncomfortable. 

I have to be honest, this is the work of the devil. 

I bet if you are another pile scrolling down out of curiosity you probably could see it clearly but when you’re knee deep in it, you cannot see it and even act like it’s “cool” 

It isn’t. 

I don’t even know what to say. 

Someday you’ll realize why the devil was after your soul so bad, you’ll realize the richness of who you are and maybe you’ll turn around or maybe you won’t. 

I sense deep regret. Someone who’s eating their words and really anxious 😥 You absolutely beat yourself up. You cry a lot. 

You're young aren’t you? 

Just because I said male/masculine energy doesn’t mean some women cannot be involved… You on your period? I’m teasing but really, are you? 

I sense mars energy. 

Dark humor, sharp features and tall frames. Warrior souls, brown eyes and hardy laughs. A taste for spicy food, picky when it comes to partners and the moral compass of a saint. 

You may be scary on the outside but you're a little ray of sunshine on the inside, aren’t you? 

Seriously. You got a good soul. 

I sense Leo ♌️  energy. 

People want to be like you. 

You choose what you say very carefully. You tend to obsess about what you say. 

I sense a blocked throat chakra. 

You may have nightmares you’re choking, this is a result of it. 

Pray on it. 

Manifest it. 

Open it. 

You’re actually really loud. 

In energy and volume. 

You have massive energy. 

You may be big physically, if not then you wear wild outfits that get everyone looking & complimenting.

No matter what you look hot 🥵 and sexy. 

You get rid of people in your life if they cross you and now you’ve come to a point where there’s no one left. You’re devastated and lost all hope. 

You feel like an alien 👽 

This is how the devil wants you to feel

Hang on. 

Survive. Then thrive. 

God will give you opportunities to move on. I know you’re ashamed of yourself right now so move slow. 

Be a sloth 🦥 

You feel like a joke.

You also feel numb. 

I pray for you, I know you’ll be given a fair chance as I was. You just have to wait. 

All of our stories are different yet still similar. 

I felt like nothing could get through to me, but that was my story until God moved mountains. 

I was in a pathetic place so you should listen to my testimony. I was mad at the world until I realized I’m a part of it, that I matter. I realized not everything is as simple as it seems. We as beings are not as simple as we think we are. 

You are not “bad” like you say and think you are. You are the author of your own life. You're the writer but God is the editor. If you wanna be bad then be bad if you want to be good be good but the beautiful thing is that we all have different definitions of good and bad. 

So define yourself. Then you’ll be happy. 

Your demons are real and the literal devil is after your soul. Don’t panic. 🫨 

I sense that it’s just spiritual at this point. 

You’re not possessed (yet) 

Nothing is attached to you but the devil is attacking your subconscious. Either God is making you walk through hell (and it gets deeper my friend) or you’re trying to swim in the deep end, I trust you know which is which. (I know you do)

So if it is out of your control try to view it as a learning experience no matter how unbearable it may be (I have done this and it sorta helps) 

If it’s in your control, be vigilant. Stay aware. Remain observant. Question everything. Ponder existence. You will be rewarded. Expect change and you’ll be good. 👍 

Make decisions that make you happy.

Energies:

Aries ♈️ 

Resistance 

Stubborn 

Cross 

Religion 

The Holy Trinity 

Blood 🩸 

Bones 🦴 

Memories 

Crying 😭 

Weight Loss/Weight Gain 

Change 

Transformation 

Roses 🌹 

Encouragement 

Hormones 

Teenager 

Adolescence 

Leo ♌️ 

Lion 🦁 

Copy Cats 

Regret 

Mistake 

Redo 

Restart 

Delete 

Space 

Advice 

Friendship 

Guidance 

Similarities 

Red 

Summer 

[redgoldsparks]

Podcasts I love and recommend

I spent a truly extraordinary amount of time listening to podcasts this year, including my perennial faves and some new discoveries! I wanted to write up a bit about each of the ones I recommend the most highly, and give them some of the same attention and love I put into my book reviews. Recs below the cut. (This post brought to you by my patreon).

MATERIAL GIRLS- This is, hands down, my favorite podcast of all time. Friends and scholars Hannah McGregor and Marcelle Kosman take on a new pop culture subject in each episode and examine the material conditions and historical setting that made their subject of the week zeitgeisty. They bring an expansive feminist lens, different types of critical theory, and tons of humor to each topic. I feel like I am slowly getting a media studies degree one episode at a time as I listen to this show. Some of my favorite episodes tackled Jurassic Park, Dopamine, Twilight, Taylor Swift, Bridgerton, and Queer Eye. I have guested on this podcast and also support them on patreon so I can get all of that sweet sweet bonus content! (This show uploads full transcripts but they lag behind the audio episodes in updates). 

GENDER REVEAL- Journalist, writer, and now small-press founder Tuck Woodstock interviews trans folks on a wide range of topics. A characteristic episode includes some deeply intimate or tender moments mixed with wild tangents, extreme silliness and irreverence. I listen to every single episode and also back them on patreon for the extra episodes; some recent conversations that have really stuck with me include Colby Gordon, a founder of Early Modern Trans Studies; trans historian Susan Stryker; Jewish anti-Zionist comic author Solomon J Brager; writer Lucy Sante; and multimedia artist (and friend of mine) Shing Yin Khor. This podcast gets a special award for recommending more books that I actually end up reading than any other podcast. This year alone I’ve read at least 6 books by authors Tuck has interviewed (I Heard Her Call My Name, Heavyweight, Hijab Butch Blues, Transgender History, Boys Weekend, Practical Anarchism, Falling Back in Love With Being Human) and I have more on my TBR (The Prospects, When Monsters Speak). (This show also uploads full transcripts). 

PUBLISHING RODEO- This is a new fav! I discovered this podcast over the summer and binged all 44 available episodes in about a month. Hosts Sunyi Dean and Scott Drakeford are friends and fellow Tor authors. In 2022, they both released debut novels in the same genre, in the same year, with the same publisher, to very different results. They are remarkably candid about the nuts and bolts of their publishing deals, and in each episode interview another author, usually one early in their publishing career, on signing agents, selling books, the size of their advance, resulting royalties and more. I have learned so much about the publishing industry from this show- I’ve sold 3 books, and yet it turns out there’s still loads I don’t know. I’d recommend starting with the intro episode in which Sunyi and Scott introduce themselves and then you can jump around to any interview which interests you. Their recent conversation with Chuck Tingle was especially delightful. (This show also uploads full transcripts). 

PRINT RUN PODCAST- Another new discovery, also about the publishing/writing industry. Hosts Laura Zats and Erik Hane are both literary agents at a small agency they founded together. They discuss current events in the book news world or focused single subjects, often for early career writers. Because this show is more focused on current events, I haven’t dived super far into their back catalog, but listened to a handful of episodes from the past two years and plan to continue listening as new episodes are released. Laura and Erik also have a very cool patreon special bonus offering- they will critique query letters and first pages submitted from listeners. I haven’t written a query letter since probably 2017, so the refresher course was extremely valuable! I’d recommend the episode The Books That Made Us as a good starting point in this show. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

FIC CLIQUE- This is an old favorite I have recommended before. In a standard episode, the three hosts Nic, Reid, and Brenna each bring one fanfiction to read and discuss book-club style. In the past year, I’ve been particularly enjoying some of the mini-episodes that break this format. If you want to give it a try but you’ve less interested in hearing people talk about a fandom you aren’t in, I’d suggest the episodes on Mapping Fannish Migration, Books and Fandom, and Genre and Subgenre in Fanfiction. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

FANSPLAINING- Tragically (for me), this beloved long-running show wrapped this summer with its final standard format episode after 9 years and 200+ episodes. However, there’s still more to look forward to! Fansplaining has shifted to become primarily a publisher of fandom related journalism, and they’ve been releasing audio versions of each article along with the text, generally recorded by the author. I find these so charming, almost like new mini episodes of the show. Find a full list of their articles here; I especially loved the recent ones on The Beatles RPF fandom (still going strong!) and Bringing Fanfiction into the Classroom.  (This show has full transcripts).

SHELVED BY GENRE- In this show, the three hosts re-read popular sci-fi or fantasy book series and record long rambling episodes which both summarize and analyze their current texts. When I say they ramble… most episodes are over 2 hours, some pushing 3 hours. I started on this show when they began reading the Earthsea series by Ursula K Le Guin, which I have read multiple times in past years. I skipped their episodes on Gene Wolfe, who I haven’t read, as well as some movie and horror focused episodes. But I happily dived back in for the unit on Mercedes Lackey’s Last Herald Mage Trilogy, which was perhaps the first book with an out queer character I ever read; the queer host on the show, Michael, similarly remembers this as a foundational queer text from his teen years. I am very happy that the next author the hosts plan to discuss is William Gibson, who I might re-read to keep pace with the show. I recommend checking out their 40+ back episodes to see if there’s something you are interested in! (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

STUFF THE BRITISH STOLE- I found this 3 season podcast sometime in the middle of the year, hosted by an Australian journalist following the trail of objects (or sometimes animals or people) the British stole during the height of their colonial reign. The episodes generally run 35-45 minutes and feature interviews, history, and usually live records of the host seeing the item, whether it’s currently in a museum, a private collection, a random high school, or the site of a foreign grave. You can jump around to whatever topic that interests you, but I can definitely recommend the episode Blood Art as one of very few in which an item is repatriated! (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

LIVE LIKE THE WORLD IS DYING- A Margaret Killjoy and a group of queer anarchist friends rotate the hosting of this show. Once a month they release a “This Month in the Apocalypse” update which I started listening to in November and plan to keep up with going forward, but probably won’t listen to back episodes of as it’s very current-events focused. However there are other conversations/interview style episodes released between the monthly updates. Two recent interviews that really stuck with me were Spencer Sunshine on his zine “40 Ways To Fight Fascists” (which I subsequently downloaded and read) and Henri Feola on their zine “The Veil Between Worlds is Plexiglass”, which chronicles some of their experience spending 96 days in jail after being arrested protesting Atlanta’s Cop City and the police murder of Tortuguita, a protester defending the Weelaunee People’s Forest. I have a friend in Atlanta who was arrested at the same protest so I’ve been following this case; this conversation felt important and needed, as I expect there will be even more arrests of protestors in the coming years. (As far as I can tell, they do not release transcripts.)

BORROWED AND BANNED- The Brooklyn Public Library released this 7 episode limited run podcast on book bans, book challenges, how it’s affecting teachers, students, librarians and authors. I was one of several authors interviewed for the show, and you can hear my interview as a separate bonus episode; but I highly recommend listening to the whole thing because it’s a very close and personal look at these national issues- which I expect to get worse under the Trump administration. (This show has full transcripts).

SOLD A STORY- This is a 10 episode limited run podcast about how a misinformed educational specialist’s incorrect idea of how children learn to read damaged the literacy of a whole generation of school children. This podcast explores different research on reading, how sweeping educational policies like Bush’s “No Child Left Behind” impacted schools and how textbook companies pushing expensive reading-kit book sets have all negatively impacted schools. The later episodes contain messages and voicemails from parents, teachers, and students reacting to the show and some hope of change on better educational resources. I’ve probably made this sound dry but it’s genuinely a very emotional journey- as someone who really struggled to learn to read, I found this show riveting. (This show has full transcripts).

THE REDEMPTION OF JAR JAR BINKS- This 6 episode limited run show is hosted by Dylan Marron, better known as the host of Conversations with People Who Hate Me and for his role as Carlos on the podcast Welcome to Nightvale. Marron was the target of a fair amount of internet hate himself, which made him interested in how people express hate towards public figures online, and why. This led him to investigate what is possibly the first ever case of cancellation online: the rage directed at the character Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequel series which began releasing in 1999, and how that hate destroyed the mental health of and nearly ended the acting career of the young Black actor who voiced and helped develop the character. Marron is a deeply compassionate interviewer, and a good researcher. He finds and talks to fans who built “kill Jar Jar Binks” websites in the days of the early web, he interviews the actor, Ahmed Best, he interviews folks involved with the production on the Star Wars prequels. I am a lukewarm Star Wars fan at best (lol) but I loved this podcast. (This show has full transcripts).

WIND OF CHANGE- I picked up this 8 episode limited run podcast because it was researched, written and hosted by Patrick Radden Keefe, the author of Say Nothing, one of the best nonfiction books I’ve ever read. In this show, Keefe digs into rumors of the CIA using cultural productions, especially pop music, as propaganda weapons against the Soviet Union during the Cold War. In particular, he’s interested in one song, “Winds of Change”, by German rock group The Scorpions which became an anthem of change shortly before the fall of the Berlin Wall and then the end of the Soviet Union. Keefe is friends with someone who does a lot of recruiting of ex-CIA folks and has also written a whole book on the CIA, so he’s not without background or connections on this subject; but the question he most wants an answer to might not be one he can ever answer. This was gripping and intriguing, and made me think a lot about soft power and propaganda more generally. (This show has full transcripts).

[amequeer]

My post-crystalized headcanons

To celebrate finishing main ninjago series, here's how I view them after 15 tiring seasons lmao + some things i think they got into I usually draw them canon way so it was fun

Kai: • he/him, bisexual (in denial) • loves social media and interacting with his fans • did at least one (1) tiktok dance and it's somewhere on internet • practices e-boy fashion but refuses to acknowledge that • goes to concerts with Cole and Nya

Jay (BRING REDHEAD JAY BACK): • he/they/she, bisexual • unironically wears christmas sweaters all year round • got into game development after Prime Empire • regularly goes to therapy, advocates for mental health and self-expression • send Nya like +20 gifs a day

Zane: • all pronouns, queer • does tutoring for kids mostly when not on duty • often replays tough memories to study situations and get ahold of his emotions in the future • started reading Lloyd's old comic books • really enjoys elegent fashion

Cole: • he/they, gay • fully blown punk and social activist • DJ's as a part time job • got Kai and Nya into metal music and going with him to concerts • started small garden as a way of connecting with his earthy powers

Lloyd: • he/they, queer and demisexual • got horns, tail and few more new characteristics after being an oni • started swimming regularly as a way of meditation • embraces his inner child more often by visiting arcade and comic book store • spends a lot of quality time with Misako

Nya: • she/they, bisexual • hosts kickboxing classes for women • often lectures at university about tech, really got into working with younger generation • started doing lots of social work, thanks to Cole • goes on few days long hiking trips alone

Art requests and asks are open!

[lovedaisy02]

I think the ATLA fandom and the ATLA comics forget a lot about Katara's character. She's not a 'good girl' type or even a rule follower. I think this concept really comes to life in Book 3 and after Toph joins in Book 2. It's understandable considering Toph is pure chaotic neutral (neutral up for debate but chaotic is an absolute). Compared to Toph even Sokka looks responsible. Aang is also chaotic and often just wants to have fun (just not at the expense of other people), so juxtaposed to those two she does look like a rule follower but it's not true, she's a true rebel.

Katara 1. Stole from pirates, 2. Slaps Pakku with a water whip in the back of the head and starts a physical fight with him. 3. Incites a rebellion on a fire nation prison boat. 4. Yells at Sokka all the time because he's being a jerk 5. Absolutely burns Toph with (what I think is the most savage) insult among so many other instances.

These are not 'follow the rules good girl's characteristics. In the comic Katara and the Pirate Silver, the Gaang refuses to believe that Katara joined a pirate crew as an honorary member. I found this to be really incongruent with all of their characters considering she forced them into a con with pirates and a con in getting arrested and put in a fire nation prison.

I would've believed it more if Aang and Katara were telling their children the story and they didn't believe it since Katara does have a motherly side and I think her children would see her in a more 'good' and 'virtuous' light.

Just because she doesn't want to participate in swindling people of their money by gambling on the street side while in disguise in fire nation territory

Doesn't make her boring or a goody two shoes. It makes her the only voice of reason in their chaotic group.

In fact, I'd posit that Sokka is more of a rule follower than his sister.

[banj0possum]

Hiii! Could you please do a scenario where the reader is gushing over a fictional character and saying stuff like how hot they are and that they (reader) want to marry them (fictional character). And then the reaction of your characters to all that (specifically darik and hallow I think were the names) thanks!!

When Their Darling Simps For A Fictional Character

My OCs x GN Reader

hey silly billys !! ill be on a little hiatus for a bit because ill be visiting family <3 thank you for all the love yall have given me and my characters!

⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅∙∘☽༓☾∘∙•⋅⋅⋅•⋅⋅⊰⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅⋅•⋅

Adrian sees you on your phone and smiling at...a cartoon character??

Over the course of the week, he teases and makes fun of you for it, but quickly goes through the stages of grief over how he's not getting your attention as much as before.

At first, he denies that he's jealous of a fucking picture, but that denial is soon forgotten once he hears you comment about how hot they were and he's fuming.

He'll try any way to get you to pay attention to him, slap your phone out of your hand, throw balls of paper at you, anything to make you stop ogling over that dumb character and be with him!!

"Stop looking at that stupid fanfiction and pay attention to me!"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Brandon is not hiding the fact that he's jealous.

I mean he's trying, but you can clearly see he has beef with your fictional husbando.

He goes home and does research on the character, asking you all casual sounding what you like about them and change a bit of his style depending on your answer.

If you like how masc they are, he's gonna show off his muscles more during training, take off his shirt drenched with sweat in front of you, anything he can think of to make you think he's more manly and therefore more worthy of your love and attention.

"Hey (Y/N)! Check out my new haircut! You know, it kinda reminds me of that character you like right?...right?"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Valeth brought you a few books to read and he notices you taking a liking to a certain character in one of them.

You tell him how dreamy and attractive the character is and how awesome they are, and he's trying not to grab your little book and throw it in the fire.

He would never want you to hate him for destroying something you love but goddAMN would it be satisfying.

He makes sure to note what characteristics you like about them and see if he can display them himself.

The big orc would even try to hide your book in a high shelf so you can't read it and pay attention to this fictional character instead of him :(

"Duckling? How about you put down that book and we prepare dinner together? I've missed spending time with my love~"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Bo hates it. But he stays quiet about it, there's no way he can tear apart something that doesn't exist...

He's really salty and a bit whiny about it, begging you to compliment and love on him instead.

"Why settle for some fake when ya got the real thing right 'ere darlin'?"

Ribs is tearing apart anything that depicts the character. Say goodbye to your comic books or magazines.

He just throws a little pouty tantrum because you love someone that isn't the horde.

"You're our mate! Now please come here so I can hug you!" >:I

Soda is sitting across from you as you ramble about how cool this character is and he's not listening at the slightest. Fuck this guy, who even are they???

After you're done, he crawls up to you and pulls you into a tight cuddle.

"Thats nice...can we go back to kissing now?"

Screw just thinks you like the merch and not the character so he collects anything with your favorite character on it.

However, the others get mad at him for it and explain. Screw then takes it all away and hides it somewhere you'll never find.

"mmm I think we're cooler.."

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Wolfie isn't happy. He takes whatever thing you have of your character, and he rips it to pieces.

You run after him as he has your treasured item in his mouth and you hear his muffled laughing as he shakes his head around, ruining it..

He makes it his mission to jump in your lap whenever he sees you gushing about your little character, or pawing your face so you can look at him and love him now. It's been 5 minutes (Y/N)! It's his turn!

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Dorik's eye twitches as he watches you smiling and giggling over some picture. What's so good about it anyway?

He tries to get your attention on him by being extra obedient, making your favorite food, turning on your favorite movie for the both of you to watch, running you a hot bath, anything to make you praise him and not that stupid little image!

He almost settles to whining and begging for your attention, asking why and how you like this drawing and not him! He's your loyal servant after all!

"Master! They don't deserve someone as wonderful and perfect as you! Let's just eat dinner together and forget about them!"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Kalva is a bit like screw and supports your interest in the character, but only if you praise him for finding little trinkets and stuff of them.

He loves seeing you happy, even though he hates the fact that you talk about them like they're your mate or something, but that's nonsense, he's your mate!

There will not be anything of that character in your shared bed/nest. You have a personal space for them, but your bed is special to only you and him.

He coos to sleep next to you, mumbling about you possessively while he huddles close to your warmth.

"Cute mate, my little mate, you're my mate! My happy little darling!"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Jasper wouldn't really care unless you directly tell him you like them better than him then he's committing a war crime.

If he hears you saying you want to marry them, he's stealing all your merch of the character and burning them.

He might distract you with Jonesy like pushing a glass off a table and framing it on the cat so you could stop paying attention to your fanfics or whatever.

"H-hey, Jonesy's on the table again...maybe you should switch apps...take some pictures.."

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Viktor tries to stay cool but deep down, he's very very jealous of how much you like this character.

He's one of the only ones to actually confront you about it and he's adorable whilst doing so.

"M-my dear, maybe you should read some other books? I-I know how much you love that one but maybe uhm..we could read one together?"

Garrick doesn't even hide his hatred towards them, he insults and belittles them every chance his gets.

Why be interested in someone like them when you got 3 supernatural men hopelessly in love with you?

"Oh they're strong? Bet I could beat em in a fight. Can they turn into a bat? Probably not..I can though!"

Silas ignores it, he's sure it's just a little interest that will go away sooner or later.

But if he hears you talking about wanting to marry them, he's sitting you down and asking you why you'd want to do that. He hints a lot about him being a better pick.

"Darling I'm sure you can do better than them..I mean..you sure theres no other..attractive..intelligent and interesting people in your life?.."

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Baron has to keep his cold exterior from breaking every time you ramble to him about your favorite character. He's read the books you've read because he's a creep because he wanted to know you better and he can't help but find some similarities between him and that character of yours.

He wants to speak up about it but he's scared what he might imply. A bit of him is a bit flattered that you find people like him hot, maybe he should show off those characteristics more often around you.

"They're uhm..interesting, Boss..sounds a lot like someone I know..."

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Caspian is a whiny bitch when he finds out your liking to that character, he'll try to guilt trip you into dropping your interest in them because 'he should be your only love!'

He'll try his best to get you to look at him instead of that ugly little book.

"You love them more than me don't you? You're so very mean sometimes my treasure!"

⋆⁺｡˚⋆˙‧₊☽ ◯ ☾₊‧˙⋆˚｡⁺⋆

Hallow is hiding the book, no ifs, ands or buts. He's not letting some big strong hero protagonist person take up your attention. If you try finding it, he's ripping it up and disappearing for days.

He'll be extra cuddly to you from then. He'll make sure he's the one who makes you happy, not your other little friend.

"I'll give it back to you doll, if you give me a kiss~"

[scarlet--wiccan]

If you want more context on how Young Avengers (2013) is not only a product of its time, but is in direct conversation with the cultural moment that comics, as a medium and an industry, were occupying, I would recommend Adrienne Resha's article The Blue Age of Comic Books. A version of the article is available here.

Reshas' theoretical "Blue Age" is largely defined by the emergence of digital comics, and the resulting changes in audiences and demographics. This is underscored by the evolving relationship between fandom and mainstream social media and the genre's metatextual relationship with both its readers and the spaces they populated. Simultaneously, there was a renewed focus on diversity and inclusion, although the material impact may have left something to be desired.

Young Avengers was part of the first wave of Marvel Now!, a branding relaunch that lasted from 2012 to 2015, which in many ways defined the first, and formative, portion of the Blue Age. The book holds obvious aspirations towards a characteristic notion of diversity which teeters on the edge of self-conscious tokenism, and the creators were directly plugged into their tumblr-based audience in a way that seems almost inconceivable in today's landscape. Between that, the notably organic (for the time) use of social media formats and vernacular, and a surprisingly clear grasp on junior millennial voices, the book both courted and gave birth to a very specific fandom environment where titles like Ms. Marvel and Champions would later thrive.

To me, Young Avengers perfectly encapsulates the opening moments of the Blue Age. It precipitates so much of what comics, and comic book spaces, would become over the next five to eight years, and experiencing it first hand really informed my perspective on both the industry and fandom. But the book also suffers for its liminality-- tonally and stylistically, it doesn't quite fit into people's nostalgic image of either the Blue Age or the post-9/11 Modern Age which preceded it, and the characters-- now on the verge of legal drinking age-- resist the conventions of an archetypical "teen team."

It's a weird book that sits in an interstitial period for the characters, the genre and its creators, being Team Phonogram's singular dip into work-for-hire supeheroics before returning to making creator-owned, pup-infused urban fantasies at Image. As somebody who loves reading and learning about the medium, I think it's a really valuable and I've learned so much about comics just from poring over this series. You'll never make me hate it, but even if you don't like it, there's a lot to gain from being open to objective, academic conversation!

[maxdibert]

Your opinion about Ginny is interesting, because I've seen so many people claim that she's a good character in the books, not in the movies, but honestly... She's not very well written. She looks good in comparison with her movie counterpart, but that's only because movie Ginny doesn't have much of a personality.

I wouldn't mind her being a "tomboy", there are plenty of girls who are like that. The problem is that the narrative looks down on other female characters who are traditionally feminine.

The story seems to imply that most girls are too emotional and vain, unlike Ginny, who is cool, sporty and "not like other girls". I think Hermione also gets a similar treatment, but she's the "book smart, intelligent girl" trope, a different type of "not like other girls".

Again, there's nothing wrong with any of these characteristics. The issue is acting like they are "superior" for being that way.

I agree 100%. The issue with Ginny—and honestly, Rowling's female characters in general—goes way beyond just the individual tropes. It's not about Ginny being a "tomboy" or Hermione being "book smart"; it's about how the narrative frames those traits in a deeply sexist way.

Rowling consistently pits her female characters against traditional "girly" traits, like being emotional, vain, or caring about appearances, as if those traits are inherently shallow or inferior. Ginny gets to be "cool" because she's sporty, tough, and “not like other girls.” Hermione is valued for her intelligence and practicality but is often shown to be above "silly" things like divination or gossips (unless, of course, she's being awkward or it’s for comic relief). Even Luna, who’s supposed to be this unique, whimsical character, only really gets respect as a manic pixie dream girl—a quirky outsider that fits neatly into a masculine fantasy of the "weird but lovable" girl.

And let’s not even get started on how motherhood is practically the only "redeeming" role for older women. You're either a nurturing, self-sacrificing mother (Molly Weasley) or you're a caricature of bitterness and cruelty (Aunt Marge, Umbridge). There's no middle ground.

The problem is that Rowling doesn't just use these traits as character details—she assigns value to them in a way that reflects a masculinized view of women. Women who exhibit traditionally "feminine" traits are mocked or dismissed, while those who embody masculine-coded traits (strength, independence, intelligence in a way that doesn't challenge male characters) are put on a pedestal. It’s not inherently bad to have a “cool tomboy” or a “nerdy girl” in your story, but when you repeatedly present them as better than other women just for not being “girly,” it reinforces the idea that femininity is lesser.

From a feminist perspective, this plays right into patriarchal ideas about the "right way" to be a woman. You're only worth something if you cater to male ideals: the “chill girl” who likes sports and doesn’t nag, the hyper-competent intellectual who doesn’t threaten the male ego, or the kooky outsider who exists to spice up someone else’s life. Anything else? Forget it. You're either a joke, a villain, or invisible.

So yeah, the problem isn’t the traits themselves. It’s that Rowling uses them to perpetuate these tired, sexist hierarchies about what makes a woman "good" or "worthy."

[radfemsiren]

I know that it's a sacrosanct among radical feminists, but I don't think that witch hunts were intentional persecutions of women.

There were a lot of men burned as witches. In Salem 1/3 of victims were male, in Europe generally around 20% were, and in the East majority of witches burned were male.

This seems like too much male victims for allegedly misogynistic campaign.

Don't get me wrong, I see that even per my words women were harmed more, and yes, it's because of misogyny. But it wasn't the prime reason for witch hunts themselves - they started because of paranoia and religious hatred (it was the time of Wars of Religion and also christianity in 16-17 centuries in all forms was strengthening its chokehold on society). And what is actually almost universal to all victims is that they were considered undesirable by their communities. And yes, since misogyny was commonplace, women were spared less empathy, especially elderly women.

And also the narrative of connection between women and magic of any kind, including healing one, emerged during witch hunts. Before them magic and healing practices were viewed as mostly male thing, and in some parts of my country they still are.

Once again, witch hunts are undeniably a testimony of misogyny of Early Modern Europe, but they weren't some kind of purposefully misogynistic conspiracy. Moids of all groups and ideologies always think of women as morally inferior in their way (fascists think that all womens are commies, atheists think that women are superstitial, christoids think that women are godless, I bet you know this), but saying that all of their political or cultural movements are therefore covers for misogyny is delusional. But the narrative of witch hunts as a campaign against folk healers or some unproven witch cult are IMO pointless because they paint Middle Ages as some feminist utopia (no fucking they weren't, though they weren't a trad dream either), and also operate on comic book logic of some shadowy evil men crafting misogyny in 16th century instead of pointing out how they highlight actual gruesome misogyny of the time.

And also I genuinely doubt that midwives medics of the time were beneficial for women, but accounts of harmful practices that I read were from 19th century, so one can argue that actual knowledge was lost during witch hunts

I feel like that’s what feminists are saying though no? Like the characteristic of the witch-hunts were that it was fanatic mobs persecuting hated groups: and women were the biggest oppressed, hated group. When it comes to the church being threatened by women gaining power and learning medicine, I can’t speak on that because I’ve never researched this topic.

I will say though that the idea of “well all men are misogynistic so calling out specific cultures for misogyny is pointless” is an excuse I really hate. Religious people come to me everyday with examples of specific atheist men that are misogynistic as an attempt at a “gotcha” and its such a logical fallacy. It doesn’t sway me in the belief that a theocracy will always be a thousand times worse for women than a secular government: the overall function and practice of an ideology are what’s important, not cherry picking parts you like or dislike.

There are dogmas that incite hatred and misogyny and punish critical thinking and individual thought: the mechanism of organized religion is one of these. Authority must always be obeyed, and obedience to man and god is the priority. You can sprinkle nice little anecdotes of Jesus being nice to prostitutes (Muslims have similar stories too, like of the prostitute that gave a dog water and Allah forgave all her sins) and still the foundation of Christianity and Islam are clearly antithetical to women’s liberation.

[antianakin]

hiii, it's me again, someone who keeps popping in to say things nobody asked for lol. i was wondering if people who've been in the fandom longer (like you) agree with my impression that the novelizations are reallyyy important context for fanon interpretations? i didn't realize this until a discussion i had today iwth someone who helpfully summarized some of the popular prequel novels, which seem to match up really well with headcanons & fanon personalities. apparently stover emphasized obi-wan's devotion to anakin and how he's a ride or die for him. and apparently another popular novel wrote an adult obi-wan "as if a teenager in emotional maturity" which also would, you know- explain a lot.

the novels i've actually read are the jedi apprentice series, which i don't have much issues with, even though they certainly spin the trauma wheel lol. maybe it's been qui-gon and obi-wan both feel as if they are trying their best and their misunderstandings due to mutual action, rather than pure passivity? or maybe that even though the books have very dramatic conflicts that certainly put obi-wan in woobifiable situations, they more often than not help draw out distinct characteristics and strengths of his through those situations?

Just for clarity, I have NOT been in this fandom all that long by my own standards. I obviously did watch Star Wars as a kid and read some Star Wars fanfics when I was really young, but in terms of "participating in fandom" as such, that's really only been happening since like... 2021 maybe? It was basically a COVID byproduct, I had the time to consume some Star Wars stuff I'd never managed to get around to before and things devolved from there. And I honestly have read hardly any of the novels or comics myself, including the official film novelizations. Like you, the only books I've actually read are the Jedi Apprentice middle grade books, and that's really it.

So while I can speak to some of the experiences I've had in this fandom since I got into it a few years ago, I cannot speak to what fandom has been like since those novelizations were released almost 20 years ago now.

Matthew Stover's ROTS novelization seems to be pretty popular and considered one of the better novelizations. I've had people tell me that there's SOME evidence Lucas had something to do with the book and so it's often considered a fairly high level of canon as a result.

But the passage you're referencing where Stover emphasizes how Obi-Wan is "ride or die" for Anakin is genuinely one of the reasons I've never bothered to read it, no matter how pretty people say his prose is. If you want to actually see it yourself, I'll copy it below.

The line in question comes from an extended version of the scene in ROTS where Obi-Wan, Yoda, and Mace Windu are discussing Anakin's reaction to being asked to spy on Palpatine as Yoda heads off to Kashyyyk.

“I think," Obi-Wan said carefully, "that abstractions like peace don't mean much to him. He's loyal to people, not to principles. And he expects loyalty in return. He will stop at nothing to save me, for example, because he thinks I would do the same for him." Mace and Yoda gazed at him steadily, and Obi-Wan had to lower his head. "Because," he admitted reluctantly, "he knows I would do the same for him.”

Interpret the scene how you will, I guess. The Anakin characterization meshes with how I tend to understand the character, but the Obi-Wan characterization could not be farther away from how I see him in canon.

I don't know anything about whatever novel wrote Obi-Wan as though he had the emotional maturity of a teenager. That doesn't ring any bells for me. It wouldn't surprise me at all if there are authors who've written Star Wars books that just simply don't like Obi-Wan all that much and so if he shows up in their work, he could come across as having the emotional maturity of a teenager because that's how that author chose to write him. It would seem odd for it to show up in an official film novelization, I would expect it more in some of the Legends content, but I suppose it's not impossible.

Legends content in general DOES have an impact on fanon and fan interpretations of Star Wars because, for a long while, it was the only way to GET more Star Wars content beyond the films themselves. For a lot of people, they were canon because there was nothing to refute them. And even once there was, people sometimes were still so attached to those stories that they preferred them to the story told in the films.

So, yeah, it can have a major impact on people's understanding of things. Often if you get into discussions about, say, the Jedi or the Force, people will bring up Legends content to prove their arguments. You shouldn't feel like this means you personally have to consume any Legends content you don't want to consume. I tend to avoid it most of the time. It is perfectly for you to just stick with the films or the shows or whatever books you find most interesting. And even within that, what you consider canon doesn't have to include literally everything you've chosen to consume. I've read the Jedi Apprentice books and enjoyed them, but it ISN'T real canon and I don't necessarily take any of it into account in my own interpretations of the characters. Legends content and Disney EU content is, in many ways, just officially licensed fanfiction. If you don't consider every fanfic you read to be canon, you do not have to consider every Legends book or comic you choose to read to be canon, either. Sometimes it's fun to just see other people's takes on Star Wars even if there's no way to fit into the canon story of Star Wars (as a side note, this is why I love Star Wars: Visions so much as a show).

I don't know if this really answered your question. As someone who doesn't consume a lot of Legends content and hasn't read a single one of the official film novelizations, I may not be the right person to ask about this.

[marabarl-and-marlbara]

favorite word?

haven:t thought about it;

finished castle rock season 2 today, it:s a really good show if you only consider it as episodes 1, 5, and the last twenty minutes of episode 10 (the finale)--annie wilkes is a fantastic character in it but she fits only loosely (and poorly) as a 'hero' for an action narrative (which is how the story turns when it becomes more focused on the jerusalem's lot story-beats); i still really adore the 'spirit' behind castle rock, and mostly just wish annie wilkes had been kept as a secondary antagonist instead of falling into a strange deuteragonist hero;

still just adore the character--it:s something about the puritanism with a bunch of low vulgarity underneath the skin like all the gunk had just been swept under a nice rug; it:s a trait in the book version, too: they share this stink that comes from a love of junkfoods and, whereas castle rock features her more outwardly cleans, in misery she:s a breath of sewage and all her characteristic foulness is included in her efforts to clean (the murder of the rats and how she discards their carcasses; the usage of the dirty rag she uses to mop waste also being used to treat paul)--she:s just this depressive hole punctured into reality from a human-shaped cookie cutter;

then i put dostoevsky on pause, because although i really like what he writes about, his narrative structure is sort-of a slog; not so-much because of density but so far the bulk of brothers karamazov are these comic back-and-forths where there are a few comic setpiece characters and then long monologues between two 'opposed' characters that fleshes out ideas--and the ideas are really insightful, but i wanted to read something else. so: i started wuthering heights and i disliked the first three chapters because i don:t enjoy how emily bronte writes (i think jane eyre is better written) but the following chapters i:ve been enjoying more and more; i want to hopefully start/finish a christina stead novel this month, too. i:m almost done with tana french's in the woods. i haven:t felt very well lately.

[thebibliomancer]

Essential Avengers: Avengers West Coast #66: TUNNEL VISION

January, 1991

Ultron 13 -- Avengers, 0.

Hah, that's pretty clever, comic text.

Also, Tigra is back to normal! Yessss! Can't wait to see that happen!

Previously in Avengers West Coast: Wonder Man's brother, the Grim Reaper, was brought back to life and now has to murder people to live.

Forever ago, Tigra went feral so Hank Pym shrank her and put her in a terrarium but then forgot about her and she got out and has been missing ever since.

Ultron is a jerk. Once, he tried to not be a jerk but another version of him came and killed him about it.

Over in Avengers West Coast Avenging West Coastishly... uh, the government asked them to relocate some protestors that are standing right in the path of a malathion pesticide aerial spraying.

US Agent is, characteristically, grumpy about it. He's probably muttering about the nanny state under his breath.

Iron Man uses his repulsors to blast the pesticide spray so it won't land on the crowd. Meanwhile, US Agent decides to yell at the crowd.

A man protests that the helicopters are spraying at night too and decides to take a swing at US Agent. Which the super-soldier easily dodges.

US Agent: "The authorities okayed this spraying. If malathion's good enough for them, it's sure good enough for -- Hey! What's that rash on your face? It looks like -- some kind of metal!" Guy: "That's what I've been trying to tell you, jerk... They've also been spraying in secret -- at night! I've heard 'em -- choppers, the works! I got this way eating fruit from my own garden -- in Pasadena! These other people got the same problem!"

So, I went down a small rabbit hole, trying to determine if having a story about malathion spraying was just one of those Very California Stories that Avengers West Coast sometimes does.

And apparently, in the 80s, California started spraying the pesticide to control an outbreak of Mediterranean fruit flies and continued the program for a while. But the program was discontinued when there was a bioterrorist attack that released massive numbers of the fruit flies in protest of the spraying. The culprits were never caught but it did result in the end of the malathion program (because it was ineffective) and also transporting Mediterranean fruit flies into California got bumped up from a misdemeanor to a felony.

Wild.

Anyway, in real life, malathion probably doesn't make people develop metal rashes, maybe.

Oh, brief tangent. Speaking of US Agent and how much he loves the government, you'd think that the Avengers losing their government charter would be a thing. Unless the government specifically stripped the charter from the East Coast team and kept on the West Coast team because they had their Agent on the inside.

The book has not said! And since they have different creative teams now, I do not expect them to try very hard to be on the same page! Granted, even when John Byrne was writing both books, they didn't really feel like two halves of the same whole.

Anyway.

Iron Man almost made the helicopter crash when he repulsored the pesticide. So after he saves the pilots, they decide to quit the pesticide business. They seem like they were on the fence already - sympathetic to the concerns about whether malathion is safe or not.

But US Agent has become a believer over one interaction and accuses the helicopter pilots of spraying at night.

Pilot: "You know that hothead, Iron Man?" Iron Man: "Who really knows anybody?"

Hah. What a way to dodge the question. He really doesn't want to associate with the guy.

The pilots deny having anything to do with nighttime spraying. All their flights were listed in the paper long before they did it.

US Agent is still being belligerent, though, so Iron Man picks him up and flies away with him. They weren't there to take sides on the malathion controversy.

US Agent: "Yeah? Well, we're Avengers, aren't we? If you'd got a close look at the skin on some of those people -- as metallic-looking in spots as your fancy-pants armor -- maybe you'd feel it was high time the Avengers West Coast finally started doing some real avenging!"

US Agent fills Iron Man in about the night sprays on the flight back to the Avengers West Coast Compound. And Iron Man agrees that it warrants the Avengers looking into.

Also, Tigra. She's back to normal. It happened off-panel! Agatha Harkness did it in Avengers Spotlight #38!

I'm slightly annoyed that the subplot dragged on so long in the book and it gets resolved in another book!

Tigra is also back to her old ways. She throws a flirt US Agent's way and he looks stricken by the attention. Slightly terrified, even.

Iron Man: "Yep. You're back to normal all right, Greer."

Everyone Avengers West Coast is in the meeting room, except for the Human Torch. Or as the ever-prickly US Agent calls him "the has-been Torch."

Do they have beef? US Agent and Human Torch both do so little that I don't remember them interacting very much.

Hank Pym called a meeting to tell everyone about the robot farmers he ran into.

And he reveals that in the most dramatic way possible.

Hawkeye isn't very impressed by some androids. The Avengers see a lot of androids.

But Hank Pym explains that these robots were being controlled remotely and disguised as perfectly normal wheat farmers. And that they blew up when he activated the Rover aircraft's engine.

Wasp speculates that if someone is replacing farmers with robots, it has something to do with tampering with the food supply.

US Agent connects some dots and wonders if this has anything to do with the metallic rash he saw on those protestors. He's not sure why these things would be connected but I think he could be onto something. Why are they in the same arc if not?

Hawkeye laughs this off.

Hawkeye: "Malathion spraying? Get serious, Agent. You think the Earth's being inaded by robot medflies?" US Agent: "You brainless -- ! Uncle Sam put me here to keep an eye on clowns like you -- not to take any of your bull!

The rest of the Avengers have to hold the two back so they don't start punching each other.

Hank Pym tries to get everyone on task, telling the Avengers to check out other farms in the area and asking US Agent to follow-up on the metallic rash. But Wonder Man interrupts to say he definitely will not be doing this.

He's got other priorities lately.

Wonder Man: "It's the rest of you that're crazy -- not me! Wanda and I told you how my dead brother's come back -- as the real Grim Reaper this time -- how he's drinking up people's lives like so much Miller Lite! And you want us all to charge off looking for robots down on the farm?"

Dr Pym acknowledges that he's not exactly the team chairman so he can only suggest what the team does.

Hey, the team hasn't had a leader since Hawkeye rage-quit. Why haven't they gotten around to resolving that? Like, the team doesn't need a leader. Some Avenger's iterations don't have one. In Jason Aaron's run, after Black Panther quit the leadership role to go deal with a bad solo book, the Avengers didn't replace him so made decisions as a group. It's perfectly valid.

Except, this book keeps going 'huh, weird how we don't have a leader, right?' and then not doing anything with that.

This is the era of Avengers where plot points drag on forever for no reason.

Anyway.

Dr Pym says they don't have any leads on Grim Reaper so they may as well focus on this robot farm threat while the whole L.A.P.D. focuses on tracking down the Reaper.

Wonder Man dismisses this reasoning.

Wonder Man: "Threat? What thrat? A tinker-toy version of Ma and Pa Kettle -- some bozo with zits whining about how somebody sprayed insecticide on his face -- and you jokers start worrying someone's going to cause rust on the food chain!" Iron Man: "We all hope you're right, Wonder Man, and it's just a false alarm. On the other hand -- don't you think you may have lost your objectivity?" Wonder Man: "I don't want to be objective, tin man. I want to find my brother -- "

Wow. You know that Tony is going to have to pay for that, right?

Wanda Witch runs after Wonder Man and tries to convince him not to fly off half-cocked, to wait for when the Avengers can back him up. Wonder Man says nuts to that. He asks Wanda to come and help him look for Grim Reaper but her powers are still gone so she's not sure what help she can be. So he says nuts to her and flies off half-cocked.

Later, the Avengers West Coast investigate various places for robots or weird pesticide spraying without finding much of anything.

Iron Man checks Riverside, US Agent checks Hollywood, Wasp checks Pomona, and Dr Pym and Wanda coordinate from the Compound.

But Hawkeye has gone rogue, going to investigate a closed down section of the metro rail tunnel without checking in with base.

And Quicksilver and Tigra have also gone rogue so they could sneak up and give him shit about going rogue. Because he was so obviously going to sneak off and go rogue that they couldn't help but follow him.

Hawkeye confesses that he took the malathion nighttime spraying stuff US Agent brought to the Avengers very seriously for reasons he can't really explain.

So he looked at the reports of nighttime sprayings and found that they made a nice circle around a metro tunnel that had been closed after a fire. Which IS a very ripped from the headlines thing, as an editorial caption confirms that the fire was in all the papers.

Rather than tell anyone about this lead, Hawkeye did not tell anyone. So the Avengers are flying around everywhere, wasting their time, so that Hawkeye can be the big man who cracks the case wide open.

Not a very good team player for a guy who wants to lead the team again.

Anyway, he's stuck with Tigra and Quicksilver now.

Tigra bends the bars over the tunnel entrance so they can get in. And she spots a minute crack in the wall where a secret tunnel (SECRET TUNNEL) was covered up.

Hawkeye blasts a new entrance hole with one of his arrows and the three go through to find a hi-tech secret base.

A base with a helicopter, like the ones that have been spotted spraying at night! Also, robots! Like the ones Hank and Jan found!

Team Hawkeye assumes hostility and starts bashing the bots. And they take care of them fairly quickly. Pietro hits one bot with another and then cheekily suggests he's available to help the other two Avengers. But they're also already done.

Hawkeye: "Four up, four down. All our super hero free-for-alls should be that easy!"

But just as Tigra is vowing she won't leave this base until she finds out what's going on, Ultron backhands her from the shadows and tells the Avengers they're not even allowed to leave.

Hawkeye says don't make me shoot you with an exploding arrow after already firing one. But you know Ultron, always made of really strong metal.

He shrugs off Hawkeye's electro-net arrows and then ZAPTs him.

Quicksilver tries running around and around to buffet Ultron with hurricane force winds. Ultron is even less bothered by that.

Ultron: "In earlier incarnations I created the Vision, and survived his betrayal --- I faced Avengers and Fantastic Four together, in the Inhumans' Great Refuge -- ! I triumphed even in battle with Ultron-12, who tried to usurp my identity and my station --" casually clotheslines Pietro "-- and now they send a mere jogger against me? It is almost -- insulting."

Hey. Hey, Quicksilver? Maybe you should have used that superspeed to run and get help.

By the time the Avengers waked up, Ultron has tubed them.

Villains love tubes.

Hawkeye: "Tigra -- Quicksilver -- you two all right?" Tigra: "Well, I had a bit of a cold, and Pietro's been complaining about an ingrown toenail..." Quicksilver: "This is hardly the occasion, Tigra -- !"

This is a superhero comic, Hawkeye. You're fighting a robot that's the unrestrained id of your fellow hero. Maybe a few yuks aren't genre inappropriate.

Hawkeye admits belatedly that maybe he shouldn't have run off without telling the others where he was going. But he guesses that Ultron is behind the farmer robots AND the night spraying?

Ultron confirms. He's been placing robots amongst the wheat farms of California so that they can add a crystalline substance to the crop. The spraying is another way of getting that same substance into circulation.

Hawkeye assumes that Ultron is trying to poison humanity but Ultron says he's trying to evolve them. Into robots. That's evolution... probably.

And in the half hour that the heroes were unconscious and being tubed, Ultron sprayed them too.

Ultron: "You see -- in the past, I made the fundamental error of wishing to conquer the human race. What use could I possibly have for men, either free or slaves? At last, I see what should always have been my true goal: to replace every man, woman, and child on the planet -- with living ROBOTS who are nothing more nor less than four billion extensions of myself!"

Ah, assimilation plot.

Very evil robot supervillain of you, Ultron. Although, I assume that if you ever manage to accomplish this, you won't be satisfied with the result. You wouldn't dick around with making robot wives so often if you wanted to sit around talking to yourself all day.

Still, I wonder how the Avengers West Coast is going to get out of this one. They don't have the heavy hitters they usually rely on to deal with Ultrons.

Wonder Man flipped the Avengers the double birds and went off into a back-up story to cover his subplot. Scarlet Witch lost her powers. Thor and Vision are with the East Coast Avengers. I guess Dr Pym is around but his track record against Ultron is... bad.

Anyway, speaking of Wonder Man subplot...

Not sure why this needed to be a back-up story. Roy Thomas worked on both the main story and this. Other issues of Avengers have had subplots going on at the same time as the main story.

Anyway, Grim Reaper ate a guy.

And just when he's relishing the meal and making it oddly sexual

Grim Reaper: "Tell me, friend... Was it good for you, too?"

Wonder Man shows up and punches him through a wall.

And credit where it's due, Wonder Man remembers that there's other plot threads going on and asks if Grim Reaper is involved with the night spraying that is turning people into robots.

Grim Reaper: "I don't even know what you're talking about! Why would I want to do something like that -- when I need human life to exist?"

He raises a good point.

Wonder Man says that means they're on the same side on this one and suggests Grim Reaper surrender and let the Avengers help him with his horror hunger.

Grim Reaper tzzakks Wonder Man. The Avengers are just humans and humans are just food. Except Wonder Man, who is useless as a food because he would eat Grim Reaper instead.

Since Grim Reaper can't really hurt Wonder Man, he plans to drop a building on him. To keep him out of the way!

BUT OUT OF NOWHERE, MANDRILL!

Not entirely out of nowhere. He's Nekra's sister and he tracked down Grim Reaper because he's furious that he killed her.

If only he were better at not getting killed.

Luckily for him, he'll be saved from death by poor editorial oversight.

He'll pop up thirteen years later with no explanation in a She-Hulk comic because somebody either forgot or didn't care that he was dead.

Wonder Man is horrified and clearly Grim Reaper killing a monkey man was a line too far in the way that him killing a random man was not.

Wonder Man: "You better kill me, too, Eric -- before I get my second wind. Because if you don't -- after what I've just seen -- I won't rest -- till one of us is back in that grave of yours!" Grim Reaper: "You almost wish I'd bury you beneath a mountain of rubble, don't you, Simon? Then you could stop feeling responsible for all the lives I've taken -- the ones I'll go on taking. I'd almost prefer to let you live -- so you can suffer every time you hear I've killed someone -- Which should be at least once a day. Yes, I think I will leave you in torment for a while. Then, when I feel you've agonized enough -- I'll finally come back and finish the job!"

Grim Reaper jumps down a manhole but Wonder Man is stopped from following him when the police arrive. What with all the dead bodies around, seeming to flee would be a bad move so Wonder Man stays put.

Police: "Saw somebody duck down that manhole as we drove up, Wonder Man. Any idea who the killer was?" Wonder Man: "Afraid not, officer. It was someone... I never knew...!"

So that's about where Wonder Man is falling on the drama scale right now.

Next Avengers time, the East Coast branch changes up their roster. But next Avengers West Coast time,

Follow @essential-avengers for more Avengers at this Avengers channel at the usual Avengers time. Like, reblog, comment, subscribe and always twirling, twirling, twirling towards freedom.

[willymontana]

[REVIEW FOR DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, SPOILER ALERT FOR THE CAMEOS BUT NOT THE PLOT]

Okay, I wanna start this out by saying that I am NEITHER a professional movie critic NOR a huge movie geek NOR a comic book geek. I'm just someone with some thoughts about a movie I enjoyed recently and wish to share. My opinion doesn't reflect the general consensus and y'all can agree or disagree all you want, just be nice about it, please🥲

I've anticipated this movie for a long time as a casual Deadpool fan. When Disney acquired the rights to the character, I, like many, was worried that Mr. Bob was gonna try to family-friendly-ify Deadpool. There was also the fact that the quality of many Marvel projects since Endgame has gone downhill, which made me stop keeping up with them for a while. But Ryan Reynolds is passionate about Deadpool, he said it himself (I believe), and I quite enjoyed the first 2 movies despite not having seen them in a while. So I, with a couple of friends, walked into the cinema last Monday with a pretty high expectation. And oh boy did I come out feeling so goddamn high.

First of all, the CHARACTERS. The man of the hour, Deadpool, still has all of his charms. The jokes, narration, fourth-wall breaking, violence, dirty-ass innuendos, etc. are all very much still present. His growth from the previous movies carried on in this showing. Of course, he's still your good ol' merc with a mouth but now rather than acting out for selfish reasons, he always puts his found family and friends first, even if it means stop being Deadpool or losing them and never seeing them again (this growth might have been present already in Deadpool 2 but hey, like I've said, it's been a while). Another thing I'm utmost joyful about his characteristic this time around is that Deadpool is finally fruitier🤭. For those who don't know, Deadpool is canonically pansexual (don't believe me, look up the Deadpool/spiderman 2016 comic run, the girlies in dying of a new otp; you'll thank me later). And seeing such a big part of his character unapologetically being represented on a big screen is truly fulfilling. Ryan really pulled off one heck of a performance here and it really shows his passion and dedication for the character.

Next up is Wolverine. I've got to be honest with y'all: I wasn't a big Wolverine or X-men fan, not for any particular reason besides many fans and critics alike weren't too fond of the live-action movies. So I've passed out on the X-men franchise, even the highly-regarded Logan from 2017. This movie is actually my first introduction to Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and I must say, he REALLY did the damn thing. The gestures, his accent, the aggressiveness, they told me exactly who this character is. And I really was just blown away by Hugh's performance. I've only seen him through The Greatest Showman and some interviews, he seems like a pretty nice guy. So, to see him pull off the whole aggressive act and do it so well and flawlessly, I was speechless. I also love the redemption arc the writers gave to 'The Worst Wolverine'; it might not have been as epic as Logan from what I've heard, but it was solid.

The plot, what is there to say about it except EVERYTHING. Ryan Reynolds really gets the audience and also pop culture in general. I understand and hollered at most of the jokes and references. The soundtrack is absolutely FIRE. We have the mesmerizing BYE BYE BYE by NSYNC dance sequence at the beginning, the suit-up scene with GLAMOROUS by Fergie in the background, a road-trip montage with I'M WITH YOU by Avril Lavigne playing on the radio. Heck, there's also a lovey-dovey-stabby-bloody scene featuring YOU'RE THE ONE THAT I WANT from Grease for all the goldies out there. As a US-UK pop music enthusiast, I was like a kid in a candy store. And also, how can I forget about the EPIC battle near the end that used LIKE A PRAYER by Madonna?😩 All I have to say is 'fantastic, glorious, EXTRAORDINARY'. Ryan went through one hell of a journey just to get the license to the song and he sure did make the most out of it. I'm not kidding when I say that that montage is probably one of the best I've ever seen (I might be a little biased 'cause I love that song but the scene, overall, is truly incredible). And while we're on the topic of action and montages here, everything was beautifully filmed. The fighting sequences were such a treat to watch, nothing ever felt too busy to the point of not being able to focus on anything. Also, Ryan and the Mouse did not spare any expenses when it came to cameos. My gosh, like I've mentioned above, I was in the dark when it came to everything mutants-related, but even I was able to recognize a few familiar faces that fans online would go crazy over. And in addition, when Blake Lively came out as Ladypool, I literally lost my shit. She looked so good, her body was SNATCHED, like HELLO MOTHER???💅 But all these amazing cameos and jokes brought out what I considered the downside to the movie. I felt that the plot was outshined by them. To be clear, the plot was not bad but it wasn't that spectacular either. And when the credit started rolling, it was the thing I remembered the least.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie. I had a great time at the cinema and laughed out loud with friends. Sure, there might be a few flaws, but the product, in general, is truly outstanding and worth checking out. I, your casual movie enjoyer, rate this movie 9/10❤️