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jesncin · 2 months ago

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Caped Crusader, "Safe Diversity", and Catwoman

We're at a point where it's expected that a new incarnation of any story previously with a white-dominated cast would be reimagined with a "more diverse" cast. This can mean racebending them, genderbending them or making them queer, but for the purposes of this analysis we'll be focusing on racebends. Most of the time, executives will take the "safer" routes with diversifying their cast- pick a couple of unproblematic supporting characters to be incidentally "diverse this time". Other times, there might be "braver" takes where more prominent characters (perhaps even the main character) are racebent. This doesn't necessarily mean racebending prominent characters is an inherently better thing to do.

I've been more than critical of MAWS' portrayal of BIPOC characters but especially their Asian Lois before. Sometimes BIPOC representation is just a decorative palette-swap change for these shows. Caped Crusader however, is different. It's more complicated- but it's rooted in very similar problems. Unlike MAWS (though I can only speak for S1), CC is far more willing to take on political topics: classism, sexism, police corruption and brutality, even beauty standards in the entertainment industry! Yet, in choosing to portray these topics in their stylistically anachronistic 30s-40s set piece- it makes it so the show's reluctance to discuss race intersecting with any of these topics far more apparent.

(spoilers for all of Caped Crusader)

Take for instance, episode 2: "...And Be A Villain". The story is about Basil Karlo, a less than handsome actor who wishes his appearance wasn't holding him back from both love and playing roles saved for better looking people. He makes a deal with Jack Ellman, an experimental makeup artist who turns him into Clayface. This story is set in motion when Miss Yvonne Francis, a beautiful actress, goes missing. Miss Francis is a woman of color (brown skinned, unspecified) played by Lacey Chabert: a white actress. CC goes for a generally colorblind casting what with Stephie (a white girl) being voiced by Amari McCoy (a Black actress) but it always feels icky when a white actor voices a character of color. Prominent characters of color in CC are more accurately casted. However I do think animation should be wary of using their medium to get away with their show appearing more diverse than the actual talent behind it.

The episode's theme is pretty clear on how unfair the entertainment industry is in regards to who it prioritizes in leading roles. Basil is constantly emphasized as a tragically talented actor whose appearance is holding him back. "With your talent you should be a leading man, Basil." Yvonne says to Basil in a flashback. Meanwhile as Alfred is watching through movie clips featuring Yvonne and Basil together, he comments "while lovely to look at, Miss Francis is no Gloria Swanson." So Yvonne has the looks, but not the talent and still gets prestigious roles because that's showbiz. The only time this is weirdly inconsistent is when Yvonne calls out Basil/Clayface in the finale, saying:

"I don't believe your performance. You're chewing on scenery. Relying on makeup effects to enhance weak characterization. It's insincere, Basil. It's not real."

I honestly feel like this scene was just meant to quickly "subvert" Yvonne being a damsel in distress by having her call out Basil's acting. It's a moment that isn't reinforced by anything the episode set up. After all, according to Alfred, she's not as good an actor compared to Basil. That's supposed to be how they foil each other, so this moment feels unmotivated. Again, I get what they're going for, that Basil's performance ironically relies on his newfound appearance so much that even a bad actress like Yvonne can spot his meager acting. But it doesn't work when our protagonists were actually convinced by his imitation of others. She's still a damsel in distress character regardless of her having a bit of attitude when calling her captor out.

What I don't understand is: why make Yvonne a woman of color if this was the story you wanted to tell? It's not like they're paying homage to how her voice actress looks, after all. Why, in your story set in purposely anachronistic 30s-40s era noir, did the character who was meant to represent the epitome of "not talented but gets by the industry because of her conventional beauty and pretty privilege" a woman of color? We're missing the very obvious conversation here where Tinsel Town is a white industry with white biases to what it considers attractive. It doesn't matter how many attractive actors of color exist, they're still pigeon holed into stereotyped and often racist roles (especially back then), and have to work twice as hard to get the opportunities their white colleagues get. Why is Basil, a white man, the only one afforded a marginalized narrative when Yvonne is quite literally a woman of color right next to him? The episode is especially painful to sit through when Basil is afforded so much sympathy compared to Yvonne.

"He didn't have the right look. He didn't have the right face."

"The camera is kind to some, but cruel to others."

This is transparently a colorblind narrative. Yvonne is written and even casted as a white woman. The CC crew just decided she should be a WOC likely because "wouldn't it be neat if the beautiful actress in this story is POC" without thinking about how that would drastically change a narrative already critical of the showbiz industry based on appearances. It's not intersectional and flattens the narrative to being selective of the prejudices Tinsel Town has. This episode is a great example to what CC generally does with diversity. It's not afraid to be critical of society, but it gets oddly squeamish with discussing how race intersects with these topics- opting mostly for a palette-change type of representation.

It's not entirely fair to say CC doesn't ever touch on the topic of racism. It sort of does: if you read between the lines for why the mayor gives Jim Gordon his commissioner role, and more prominently with the Gentleman Ghost (a rich aristocrat ghost that steals from the poor, believing wealth is his right) being offended that his mansion is sold to Lucius Fox (saying "and you would sell it to rabble like this?")- racism is somewhat present in the world of CC. We see the women in this show experience misogyny, but it's ambiguous if any of their struggles are intersectional with that of race. But that's... just about it. Racism isn't discussed more than it is alluded to, whenever the writers decide it's relevant. Because of this, CC has a spectrum of hits and misses when it comes to integrating characters of color in their reimagined cast.

Here's how I would visualize that spectrum using canonized instances of Asian Lois Lane. I should emphasize that representation of people of color doesn't entail the narrative owing us "a racism arc" or what have you. This spectrum is more used to measure how much racial identity was integrated in the characterization of the character: whether that be cultural identity or history. Being a person of color isn't just "person who goes through racism".

This is how I'd personally place the prominent characters of color in CC on my "spectrum of racebends" chart. Generally most of the characters of color (whether reimagined that way or were originally POC already) are fairly harmless in how they were integrated into CC's world, but none of the characters feel bespoke as a reimagining of the character and are interchangeable with their white counterparts. To quote cartoonist Juni Ba (in a discussion on CC):

"...stripping characters of color in these time period stories of any cultural, [a]esthetic or social signifiers that’d make them true to the groups being represented. Instead they dress, act and speak very western."

In my opinion, the only character that is an exception to this is Linton Midnite (or as he's popularly known as: "Papa Midnite"). Midnite is a character so interlinked with Haitian culture and mysticism that even CC couldn't erase that aspect of his identity (important note: historically, the portrayal of Midnite since his creation is riddled in racism, but that's not my place to discuss here). Midnite at most speaks with an accent, dresses more nonconformingly compared to the western standard dress of all the other characters, and practices occultish stuff (though I don't think there was anything culturally specific in that episode, please correct me otherwise if someone has more insight!). That's a lot more cultural representation than just about any other character of color in CC. Midnite can't be changed to a white character, his African identity is too interlinked with who he is.

There are a few characters I consider in poor taste to be POC- that being Arnold Flass, Yvonne Francis (who we've covered already), and Harley Quinn (who will be getting her own post, as her case is complicated). So let's talk about cops, then.

I tend to be indifferent about media choosing to diversify cop characters because it feels like choosing the most "respectable to society" role for a marginalized character to play. Cops uphold bigoted systems of power at the end of the day, so that's a very comfortable place to represent your marginalized characters. It's why we keep getting gay or lesbian cops, which Batman media absolutely perpetuates as well with Renee Montoya. It's hard to cheer for two women of color being allowed to date and kiss in public when one of them is a cop, y'know? But this doesn't mean re-imagining cop characters doesn't have narrative merit.

In regards to Jim Gordon being reimagined as a Black cop, I'm gonna refer to La'Ron Readus' video on "Fixing the Batman's Copaganda problem" where he goes into detail about the missed potential of Black!Jim Gordon from Reeves' The Batman (2022). Generally, I felt that opportunity was missed in CC as well. While I love that Barbara Gordon is in CC, nothing about her being a WOC is integrated into this version of her. It felt like if either character was white, the story wouldn't be that different. The bigger issue here is the choice to racebend Arnold Flass- a previously white, blonde, cunningly smart, and brutally corrupt cop.

CC follows some of this in their version of Arnold Flass- he's paired with Harvey Bullock (also a corrupt cop). While Bullock is the brawns of the duo, Flass is the smarts. He's cunning and even implied to be willing to frame Bullock if the worse comes to it. It isn't an inherently bad idea to racebend a corrupt white cop into a Black cop. If the writers want to tell a story about how the police force assimilates people of color into the system and forces them to be just as if not more brutal than their white counterparts, then by all means tell that story.

But that's not what CC gave us. By rarely acknowledging race, we don't get to have a conversation or themes surrounding that delicate intersection of identities. We just have "diverse Flass". Look at these panels from Year One for example, can you imagine how Flass' casual disrespect for Gordon by constantly calling him "Jimmy" could be re-contextualized with a race change? Unlike other characters who just feel like missed opportunities for not integrating race into their characterization, Flass is an elephant in the room. To not acknowledge his race in themes of police corruption and brutality is to white wash the narrative with diverse paint.

I personally think the stronger narrative decision would have been to racebend Bullock as Black instead of Flass. Flass could still be the conniving cop, but he encourages Black!Bullock to be the more "violent brute" who does the dirty work for him. It would put a newfound racial layer to how Flass considers Bullock disposable. Then we could have some kind of commentary on how the police force encourages a system of abuse that makes even fellow POC turn on each other. It'd also make it so a certain scene would be better in optics.

I have many criticisms for the scene where Batman holds a gun to Flass in the finale of CC. It's a narratively unmotivated (see my criticisms for CC's Two Face here for elaboration) and weak moment that relies on metatextual shock value to cover up how underdeveloped this take on Batman is. But it's also just very uncomfortable optics-wise. It's a common and valid criticism that Batman as a character can very easily fall into copaganda, with his status, goals, and collaboration with the police force. In many ways, Batman is often written to be committing his own kind of vigilante police brutality.

Caped Crusader wants to be a deconstruction of a Batman tied to power and hellbent on his mission to eliminate crime. But because CC occasionally omits race from its narrative, the scene where Batman holds a gun to a Black cop-a man stripped of his ability to fight back-just falls flat for me. There's no acknowledgement in this scene that Batman basically gets to be an anonymous cop, "warning shots" and all. Batman shoots at an unarmed Black man several times. It's meant to be shocking to us how Bruce is willing to stoop to such a level and indulge in gratuitous gun violence, but it honestly hits too close to real incidents where this is racially the case for me to enjoy the narrative point of this scene.

You know a character who would be perfect for calling out Batman's many privileges? Selina Kyle. Let's talk about Caped Crusader's biggest downgrade.

I've heard just about all the arguments in favor for CC's reimagining of Catwoman and none have convinced me that this was in any way a good take on the character. I see people saying that this Catwoman is a return to her golden age roots, and there's a lot of misconception surrounding that assumption. So bear with me as looking at Catwoman's history is necessary to discuss race and how a character evolves.

Catwoman debuted in the 1940s as a jewel thief who disguised herself as an old lady. She was just called "The Cat" and would not don her more feline appearance until later. True to the mystery woman femme fatale trope she was inspired by, her backstory was left unknown for a long time. 10 years later, in Batman #62 it is revealed that after a plane accident bonked her head, the now named Selina Kyle got amnesia and went on a crime spree. Giving her leeway to reform and be an ally to Batman. This would historically inform how Selina Kyle toed the line between good and evil as an anti-hero.

Her origin would be revisited in 1983, in the Brave and the Bold #197. Although not canon to the mainline universe, it is still a crucial development for her character's history. In this story, Selina reveals that she lied about having amnesia to get out of facing punishment. Her true story was that she entered a life of crime to escape an abusive relationship with a rich man. The only loss her husband understood was material loss, loss of property, so stealing was how Selina fought back.

This crucial re-examination of her character transformed her from shenanigans inducing femme fatale, to a marginalized fighter. Shortly later in 1987 in Batman Year One, Catwoman is reimagined as a street-hardened sex worker in poverty. She is inspired by the Batman to become a vigilante for her own goals and gets annoyed that she's assumed to be his sidekick.

The moment Catwoman became marginalized by power, was the point where she became worthy of solo-character status. She was not only a compelling foil to Batman-capable of going toe to toe with him and make him question his motives even though she did not share his privilege-she could lead her own adventures reflecting a side of Gotham Bruce Wayne's perspective doesn't. She actively makes the setting of Gotham stronger because of how she's evolved as a character.

Catwoman's character would continue to evolve, with some iterations reimagining her as a latina woman and others where she's canonically bisexual.

While Catwoman has been portrayed by Black actresses before, I want to focus on the most recent and prominent iteration of a race-swapped Catwoman. When Matt Reeves' The Batman (2022) featured Zoe Kravitz as Selina Kyle, an explicitly biracial character within the text of the story, we see another step this character evolves. I think La'Ron Readus' video on "Why Race-Swapped Characters Are Not The Full Story" does a fantastic job of explaining why this is a narratively great race swap. To summarize (though I do encourage watching his video as he goes into depth about 2022 Batman's Jim Gordon as well among many other examples) and add analysis of my own: Selina being the byproduct of an Italian crime lord and a Black sex worker is a brilliant marriage of her original backstory (being connected to and abused by powerful men) and her modern backstory where she's poverty stricken (and tangentially related to a sex worker if we're talking about Batman Year One).

We understand why someone of her background would have an affinity for stray cats because of how she lost her mom at a young age, she is sympathetic to fellow people from the lower class, and explicitly calls out privileged white people- including Batman who attempted to over moralize Selina's partner as a sex worker.

"All anyone cares about in this place, are these white privileged assholes."

It's especially that last line that makes it so Selina's character isn't interchangeable with her white counterpart. She's a textually rich character to contrast Bruce in Batman 2022, and we can see how years of history and evolution has brought such an empathetic character to the screen. Interestingly, Readus feels that while 2022 Selina was an example of a race-swap that works, he believes it was great by coincidence, because of the miss that was Gordon's characterization in the same movie. I think with Reeves as a collaborator on Caped Crusader, that assumption was correct.

Selina in CC is back to being a rich socialite, but (unlike her Golden Age counterpart) she's not married into wealth- she's got generational wealth (with a dad serving jail time for tax evasion). Worse yet, she's taking what little remains of her money and spending it on superficially imitating the Batman to create her Catwoman persona. She even has her own reluctant Alfred, a Catmobile, the works. Selina steals things because. She likes shiny things. And is something of a kleptomaniac. Catwoman is instantly discovered to be Selina because of course she's not as good as Batman is with keeping a secret identity (another key difference from her Golden Age counterpart, whose backstory was shrouded in mystery for a decade).

It is laughable to me that CC touts that their version of Harley Quinn has an origin of her own outside of the Joker, only to turn around and make a Catwoman that is completely tied to copying a man as her origin (did they decide Harley's goofyness as a character needed to be replicated in Selina for some reason? In their supposed dark and edgy show?). What a strange choice to fixate on the part in Year One where Selina didn't like being mistaken for Batman's assistant despite being inspired by him and turn it into a quirky bit. It feels like such a regressive take that frames Selina as a sillier, whimsical version of Bruce that just spends money on a whim because women just aren't smart enough to know how to keep track of their money. They're too busy looking for shiny things to steal. The fact that both 2022 Batman and CC have a scene where Selina is looking through her many bills she's yet to pay is wild to me. How am I supposed to care for a Selina that has the expendable wealth to create a Catwoman costume, car, and gadgets, but delay paying her maid? One of these versions of Selina is far more sympathetic than the other.

Again, I get what CC is going for. Batman is characterized to be hellbent on catching criminals, Catwoman is supposed to serve as some kind of reflection of his obsession. They're both self destructive in their goals, but one is vengeance and the other is chasing thrills. But is that really as interesting a foil as having Catwoman be marginalized, just as skilled, and making Batman second guess himself? Is it a take that strengthens Gotham as a setting by shedding light on its lower class characters? Is it a take that makes her worth revisiting as a perpetual rogue and not a one off episode where's she's basically a shenanigans-inducing nuisance to Batman? Evolved takes on Catwoman have talked about her desire to seek thrills and paired it with how she dismantles power. So it's not like CC's take is particularly unique, it just lacks all the depth that usually surrounds Selina's thrill seeking.

In a show that is frankly desperate to make it so Bruce doesn't have a personal relationship to his rogues gallery because he's too busy being "A cold, remorseless avenger of evil, seemingly more machine than man. Forged in the fire of tragedy, every fiber of his being is dedicated to the eradication of crime." (according to promo) that's how we end up with Barbara as the foil and humanity to both Harvey Dent and Harley Quinn. How the show focuses on the police force more than Bruce. It feels especially pointed that Catwoman is characterized this way. When she doesn't contrast Bruce, she becomes less personal to him as a character that is poverty stricken but still matches up to him in skill. She can't challenge him or his worldview, he can't find her fascinating as an equal, all of their chemistry and intrigue is erased.

All this to say that of the characters revealed for CC, I was honestly surprised that Selina wasn't one of the many characters racebent. CC followed up on a Black Jim and Barbara Gordon, two characters that have been race swapped before in previous media. Most prominently! Harley is Asian in this iteration, something never done before. So why is it that Selina doesn't follow up on the many times she's been portrayed by Black actresses?

It's because it's an actual good racebend if written well. It wouldn't be a "safe" racebend because writing Selina this way means you'd have to acknowledge racism, and it would be much more noticeable if you didn't. There is no canonized version of Asian Lois Lane that parallels her relationship to Superman as an immigrant. But there is a version of Selina as a Black woman who directly calls out white people and is aware of systemic power. It's in something as prominent and mainstream as Matt Reeves' 2022 Batman. So instead it just reads as cowardice to me that CC couldn't follow up on this evolution of Selina.

Not only does it weaken Catwoman and Batman's relationship to regress Selina this way, but it actively weakens Gotham as a setting and the very themes of Caped Crusader. I personally think all the energy that went into Harley Quinn should have been shared with (or straight up gone to) Selina Kyle. Because unlike CC's take on Harley, the way Selina Kyle's marginalization intersects with race and queerness would have actually critiqued Gotham's class corruption effectively. As a Black queer woman, Selina would be among the most vulnerable people in Gotham. We don't have prominent characters in CC that truly reflect the lower class, there are these unnamed characters Harvey Dent sits next to on a train. There are some orphans with Batfam names. A proper Catwoman reimagining that takes advantage of her evolution would have filled this gap in their narrative.

But that's not how "safe diversity" works. CC would rather racebend and canonize the queerness of a character like their take on Harley Quinn. A WOC who gets to kiss a cop and call out powerful men, but not in a way that makes white people uncomfortable.

If I could edit the Sandman quote that "The great stories will always return to their original forms" for Superheroes, I'd say "The great stories will always return to their most resonant forms" because without iterations we don't get characters like the Kents, Alfred or Catwoman as we know her today. Classics are good to look to, but we like these characters because they evolve. In my opinion, none of CC's takes on these characters of color feel resonant. They're not definitive to the level of Mister Freeze's tragic love story in BTAS, among many standout narrative choices in BTAS that continue across media iterations.

In my opinion, CC isn't as thoroughly clumsy as MAWS is in regards to POC representation and race-swaps (all characters of color in MAWS get put in the left side of that chart I made. In the Sunken Place. Where they all Missed The Movement). However, I can't help but see Caped Crusader's take on the world of Gotham as nothing more than an anecdote in the evolution of Batman's story for the modern era. "It's BTAS but superficially more diverse and with less compelling narrative choices."

#ramblings #caped crusader spoilers #jesncin talks caped crusader #jesncin dc meta #long post under the cut #catwoman #rememberrr pls be nice these are just my thoughts

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randomuser678 · 2 months ago

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I love how most Batman villains have a genderbend version of them, specially bc as a trans woman I want to read into them being trans

Like, the Ventriloquist's design is of a mild mannered boring looking man who contrasts with his puppet Scarface who's much more rude and greedy, it feels like Scarface is a way for his ventriloquist to express his more rude side while distancing himself from them.

Now on my read where she's a trans woman there would be two layers of repression here, Ventriloquist personified her "masculine" side into the puppet who acts like a stereotypical tough guy, a rude bossy mafia leader, and she became a sexy trophy wife for him, this way she separates herself from the undesirable masculine traits, as well as becoming a love interest to a man who makes all the decisions for her, she only exists to support him, she finally made it to cisnormative and heteronormative ideals of femininity! It comes off as a tragic clinging to idealized femininity and male approval on a way I really relate to.

Clayface also has a really good portrayal of Dysphoria since in the versions I've seen they're an actor who hates their own face and got into a drug that would make their face easy to remold, then it went horribly wrong and now their entire body is moldable, Lady Clayface didn't have to change that general backstory for it to work at all, and the theme of beauty is common on female villains, but tbh I love this one specifically because of the trans read being more obvious, and this is the one case where a character didn't have to change backstories at all for the female version, she can still be a former actor with dysphoria that later gains shapeshifting powers, it's almost a happy ending for her now that she can change her shapes even if it's still tragic.

Calendar girl has a similar theme (Although she's both a version of Calendar man but also The Manikin) where she's a former celebrity who's horrified by her appearance under the mask and is "aging out" of her career, her attacking themed on holidays is both a mockery of her job as a model and needing to keep up with trends and also to show her resentment towards the passage of time, it's a really fun mix of characters and my trans read of her would be similar to Clayface. Also how youth and beauty is valued in society as a whole and older trans people in general are ignored on the mainstream.

And because the comic book world is really hostile towards genderbends (see Oswald from the newest Batman cartoon) a lot of them have instead characters who co-exist with their male counterparts, that was the case for the Ventriolquist since she just took the role from the previous one, but sometimes they do what they did here:

Madame Crow is part of the Victim Syndicate, a group of people who were victims of different villains and now resent Batman for not saving them, their powers are now ironic mirrors to the characters they were victimized by, and on Madame Crow's case, where she was a victim of the fear toxins from the Scarecrow, she made toxins that completely rid a person of any fear or self-preservation. And idk the fact that she wants to create something that gets rid of fears and repression just comes off as queer to me even though it was obviously not intentional, it's just that on a version where she IS the Scarecrow I would love how thematically fitting it all is.

I've seen pieces about how Batman is inherently queer bc super heroes and villains as a whole empower themselves through creating an alternative persona on an over the top camp way that's basically drag.

Some male villains have female sidekicks, Sugar and Spice, Query and Echo, and I guess those are harder to read as female personas of the same character like how I've been doing, but idk, you can rewrite the stories however you like to make these work, maybe twoface is bigender and flips a coin to decide which gender they're going with, that would be on theme. You can do anything ever with these characters.

Also I never understood why ppl were mad about Oswalda, every version of Batman changes backstories around, why is changing a character's gender or whatever completely out of line with that they've already been doing for decades? Anyways I'm trans and this is all.

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kandisheek · 3 months ago

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FIC REC WEEK 31 - GENDERBEND

Nightmare Scenario by jellybeanforest

Pairing: Steve/fem!Tony Rating: T Words: 2,349 Tags: Established Relationship, Body Modification, Earth-3490

Summary: Natasha Stark is kidnapped and held captive in Afghanistan. When she escapes and is found walking across the desert, her husband Steve is overjoyed but quickly becomes concerned when Tasha remains withdrawn and spurns all attempts at intimacy.

Reasons why I love it: This is such an amazing take on canon. Both Steve and Natasha are perfectly characterized, and their conversations throughout this whole fic are fantastically written. And the ending makes me feel so much for Tasha, I'm so glad that Steve has her back through all of this. Definitely read this one, I love it so much!

Chirp of Destiny by Neverever

Pairing: Steve/fem!Tony Rating: G Words: 1,494 Tags: Mutual Pining, Falling in Love, Earth-3490

Summary: Natasha isn't in love with Steve because he removed a cricket from her workshop. That would be silly.

Reasons why I love it: Oh my god, this one is so cute! I love Natasha freaking out over her feelings for Steve, and Carol and Jan hyping her up is fantastic. The ending made me pump my fist and go 'hell yeah, go get your man!' I hope you check this one out, it's amazing.

Through Each Other's Eyes by GotTheSilver

Pairing: Steve/fem!Tony Rating: T Words: 1,065 Tags: Married Couple, Slice of Life, Domestic Fluff

Summary: “Okay,” she says, taking the coffee from him. Natasha slips the lid off and gulps down a large mouthful of it, wiping her mouth with the back of her hand. “You’re still staring at me,” she says, arching an eyebrow. “Have I got something on my face? I thought I got all the oil before I started—” “You’re just—” Steve cuts himself off and shrugs helplessly. “You’re really beautiful.” Natasha’s mouth forms a perfect, silent O before a smile crosses her face, her eyes lighting up. “Are you saying you have a crush on me?”

Reasons why I love it: Aaaah, this is the cutest, I can't! Married Stony being absolute dorks in love is my favorite thing ever, and this fic ticks all of my boxes. If you're having a not so good day, give this one a try and let the fluff give you a mood-booster!

On the Up and Up by Sineala

Pairing: fem!Steve/fem!Tony Rating: E Words: 1,948 Tags: Canon Divergence, Identity Porn, Getting Together

Summary: Antonia Stark, WAC aircraft mechanic, has a number of questions when she is unexpectedly reassigned to Project Iron Man. Luckily for her, the most important one is answered very quickly.

Reasons why I love it: The concept of this legitimately made me gasp with how genius it is. I adore the thought of Toni and Eve finding each other like this, and the nudge towards their possible future at the end made me so happy. Plus, the smut is incredible. I love this one, and I really hope you check it out!

Momentary Displacement by vailkagami

Pairing: Steve/fem!Tony Rating: T Words: 4,800 Tags: Unresolved Sexual Tension, Dancing, Discussion of Murder

Summary: Steve Rogers from Earth-616 meets Natasha Stark from Earth-3490 in a world that is neither his nor hers. Together, they share (soft) drinks, a (slow) dance, and a few uncomfortable truths, while waiting for the multiverse to drop them back home.

Reasons why I love it: I really love the dialogue in this one. It's charged with delicious tension, and their discussions feel super in character. Plus, the ending makes me want to read a billion more words in this universe. Definitely check this one out, it's so good!

#marvel #fanfic #stony #a year in fanfic recs #fic rec #fanfic rec #ficrec #genderbend

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whumpsday · 9 months ago

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Random question! In a gender blend AU would anything major change story wise?

i assume u mean genderbend! and by that i'm gonna assume everyone with a binary gender switches to the other one (and laken stays genderqueer).

yes it actually changes quite a bit of kane's backstory and family relationships! this is something i've talked about a little when discussing a trans man kane au, but noble vampire society is absolutely drenched in TRADITIONAL GENDER ROLES. if kane and bellamy were both women (cis i assume), it'd change a lot!

kane would be even more outcast, but has a new avenue to acceptance: marry well. she would likely put more emphasis on this goal at first, but fail at that, since no high-status nobleman wants to go for a bride with no persuasion. failing that, kane would move on to plan B, which is kidnapping jim. (everyone would have different names but i'm not getting into that) things would mostly proceed as normal after that.

bellamy's hobbies (sewing, clothesmaking), unlike in canon, are gender conforming in this au, which makes her parents approve of her more. however she would be a lesbian, which her parents would not approve of. she also wouldn't be the heir, no longer being the eldest son, so there's a bit less fuss when she abandons the nobility.

jim & liz's stuff doesn't change as much, tho i'm sure their lives would be at least a little different. imagining liz as a big scary hunter man is kinda 😳😳😳... i'm very bisexual. liz is probably taken more seriously by his peers as a man, vampire hunting is mostly a male-dominated field.

kane's treatment in captivity would probably vary. there would be hunters less likely to hurt her because of not wanting to hurt a woman, and hunters more likely to hurt her because of an excuse to hurt a woman who can't fight back. i imagine it kind of evens out? tbh a lot of hunters prob wouldn't be moved either way, as vampires aren't thought of as "men" or "women" but as less than a person, a thing not thought of enough to be gendered.

assuming laken stays unchanged (being an amab genderqueer person) and liz is a cis man, them having kids goes differently. i do imagine that in canon they end up having a bio kid and an adopted kid (maybe more but at least those 2 i haven't ironed out the details yet), the adopted one being orphaned after their parents are taken by vampires. here, they would just have the adopted kid.

this was interesting to think about!

#ask #k&j ask

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mthofferings2023 · 1 year ago

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MassiveSpaceWren

See MassiveSpaceWren’s existing works here.

Preferred contact methods: Email: [email protected] Discord: massivespacewren Tumblr: massivespacewren / wrenchirps

Preferred organizations: - Anything from the list of approved organizations

Will create works that contain: I’m open to almost anything not mentioned in the “Do not want” section. If you are unsure or have your heart set on something very specific, feel free to ask! Happy couple-y scenes, fighting together, fighting against each other, fluff, angst, hurt/comfort, character being tied up or hurt, armor or no armor, all good! I like AUs too, especially medieval/fantasy AUs, fairy tale, canon AUs, Western AU, Roman AU, Viking AU, etc. Story wise, I love secret identities, enemies to lovers, pining, forbidden romance, secret relationships, and other fun tropes!

Will not create works that contain: NSFW content, mpreg/pregnancy, D/s AU, daddy kink, eye gore/eye stuff, general heavy gore, kids, dogs, actual major character death, Superior Iron Man (unless AU), smoking cigarettes, eyelid kissing, genderbending to make m/m into cis m/f (crossdressing, trans, nb, gnc, bending into f/f are all awesome though). I prefer Tony with a goatee instead of just a mustache, but will make exceptions in digital art. If you are unsure if I would do it, feel free to contact me.

-- Art --

Auction ID: 1111

Will create works for the following relationships: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, AvAc, AA, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, Earth-TRN591, Earth-TRN944, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Next Avengers, Noir, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars: Civil War, Secret Wars: Planet Hulk, Ultimates, What If..? Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, AvAc, AA, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, Earth-TRN591, Heroes United, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Marvel's Avengers (video game), Next Avengers, Noir, Secret Wars: Civil War, Secret Wars: Planet Hulk, What If..? Bucky Barnes/Steve Rogers/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, AvAc, AA, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Next Avengers, Noir, Secret Wars: Civil War, Secret Wars: Planet Hulk, What If..? Loki/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, Arcadia, AvAc, Earth-TRN193, MCU, Noir, What If..? Teddy Altman/Billy Kaplan - 616, Noir

Work Description: Welcome to MassiveSpaceWren’s auction sheet for art or comics! This auction is for a custom piece of art/single comic panel that can be upgraded to more standalone pieces of art or more comic panels. The tiers are: <$60: A single drawing / single comic panel from $60: up to 2 standalone images OR 4 comic panels from $100: up to 3 standalone images OR 7 comic panels from $150: up to 4 standalone images OR 10 comic panels from $200: up to 5 standalone images OR 13 comic panels from $250: up to 6 standalone images OR 16 comic panels from $300: up to 6 standalone images OR 22 comic panels from $400: up to 6 standalone images OR 28 comic panels from $500: up to 6 standalone images OR 34 comic panels from $600: up to 6 standalone images OR 40 comic panels The art will be lineart or black & white, with a little bit of grey shading or some single colors. Please be aware I have a maximum of 6 standalone images and 40 comic panels, no matter how high the bid gets after these goals are reached. The standalone images are allowed to have up to 3 characters (without too complicated background) in it; the complexity of the comic panels will vary depending on the story. For the standalone images, I am happy to work with prompts or descriptions; for the comic, you can send me a script or a rough idea and I will work from that. I will show the sketches/page planning to be okayed by you. Since a page can have a different amount of panels, the page number will vary depending on the story, and I will send sketches for the arrangement on the page to be okayed by you. At least two changes to the sketches/planning are included. If your story idea doesn’t exactly fit the panel number, we can discuss options and work it out after the auction. If you have special wishes such as that you definitely want fullcolor art, or a very complicated background, please message me beforehand and we can talk about it (or take a look at my second auction). For example comic pages, click here. For example lineart, click here. Digital or traditional is up to you, in either case you will receive a digital file. (If you want to have the physical art, you will have to pay for shipping, might cost up to $10). I might be open to other ships depending on prompt and setting, so if you are interested, please message me beforehand and we can talk about it (or take a look at my second auction). It will take a while to finish it, since my real life takes a lot of attention, and other events also exist, and comics/multiple images can take a long while to complete. Please be patient. Good luck bidding and have fun with all of the great content in all of MTH! :)

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

Can pods bid on this auction? Yes - Podbids welcome!

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

-- Art --

Auction ID: 2059

Will create works for the following relationships: Bucky Barnes/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, AvAc, AA, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, Earth-TRN591, Earth-TRN944, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Next Avengers, Noir, Old Man Logan, Secret Wars: Civil War, Secret Wars: Planet Hulk, Ultimates, What If..? Tony Stark/Victor von Doom - 616, AvAc, Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, Earth-TRN591 Jack Rollins/Brock Rumlow - MCU, What If..? Tony Stark-centric - 616, 1872, AvAc, AA, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, Earth-TRN193, Earth-TRN591, Earth-TRN944, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Next Avengers, Noir, Secret Wars: Civil War, What If..? Carol Danvers/Jessica Drew - 616, 1872, Arcadia, AvAc Bucky Barnes/Natasha Romanov - 616, AvAc James "Rhodey" Rhodes/Tony Stark - 616, 1872, AvAc, Bullet Points (BP), Dark Ages, IM:AA, Marvel 1602, MCU, Next Avengers, Noir, What If..? JARVIS/Tony Stark - AvAc, MCU, What If..? T'Challa/Tony Stark - 616, AvAc, MCU, What If..? Richard Rider/Tony Stark - 616, AvAc

Work Description: Welcome to MassiveSpaceWren’s single image auction sheet. In addition to the listed ships, I am also open to doing art for other rarepairs than the ones listed. If you are unsure, please ask me beforehand. Do you like a weird small comic universe, or obscure characters with only a few appearances? I am likely up to drawing them. I may not have drawn all of the characters super often, so you may have to give me some reference. If you want a friendship with characters not listed (especially for female comic characters), I am likely up for it, just send me a message to ask maybe :D This auction is for a custom piece of art, that is: If the bids stay under $80: A black&white or greyscale or lineart style drawing, maximum of 2 characters with no complicated background. If the bids reach $80 or more: A full colour drawing/painting, maximum of 2 characters with no complicated background. If you want a more complicated background, please talk to me beforehand :) You can find general examples of my art here. - Black and white style - Watercolour style - Digital art Digital or traditional is up to you, in either case you will receive a digital file. (if you want the physical art, you will have to pay for shipping. It may cost up to $10, I am located in EU) It will take a while to finish it, since my real life takes a lot of attention, and other events also exist. Please be patient. Feel free to ask questions, I’m up for drawing almost anything! If you want a ship I don’t have listed, you can still ask (preferably beforehand). Good luck bidding and have fun with all of the great content in all of MTH! :)

Ratings: Gen, Teen, Mature

Can pods bid on this auction? Yes - Podbids welcome!

CLICK HERE TO BID ON THIS WORK

The auction runs from October 22 (12 AM ET) to October 28 (11:59:59 PM ET). Visit marveltrumpshate.com during Auction Week to view all of our auctions and to place your bids!

#MassiveSpaceWren #auction: art #mth 2023

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goldenzx · 1 year ago

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Specialized Super Spectacular Squadron Spider-Man / SSSS Spider-Man

Decided to make a group of Sentai Spidersona Goofballs, It was pretty hard to adapt the eyes into a visor design. Also was pretty hard to find out who would make up the team and what colors they would be (So many of Spidey's villains wear green, probably because of contrasting colors schemes?). As for why I decided to genderbend Rhino?.... dunno, really just seemed natural at the time.

Here's a bit of backstory and characters, but I don't have alot. I'd appreciate suggestions from people more familiar with Spider-man.

Spider Protector V and Spi-D Machines - 5 alien warriors from Planet Spider use the sentient transformation devices called the "Spider Protector V" to tranform into the Spectacular Squadron "Spider-Man". Fighting evil using their special combat suits and weaponize giant vehicles called the "Spi-D Machines".

But while patrolling a far away Solar System in-search of the dangerous Iron Cross Army, they are ambushed and ended up landing near a prestigious stem school called "Osborn High". With four of the warriors out of commission with both their Spider Protectors and Spi-D Machines heavily damaged, And their leaders losing faith in his skills, they decide to accept help from the shady headmaster and billionaire, Norman Osborn.

The four machines and changers are repaired, and all five suits and machines are given a few Osborn™ improvements, and the Spider Protector V are sent out to find a new group of heroes to fight the Iron Cross Army and their leader, the evil Doctor Monster. Although while Osborn seems be helping them to prevent the Iron Cross Army from conquering the earth, he seems to be plotting something behind the scenes.

The Hero's backstory (This is what I've thought of for now);

Peter Parker - Chosen to be the "Spectacular Red/The Spectacular Spider" or simply Spider-Man. A promising young lad who got accepted into Osborn High after disabling a sabotaged machine that was being shown off by scouts. He lives with his Aunt May and Uncle Ben. He's always been a huge nerd, but started going to the gym when he entered his first highschool in hopes of deterring bullies, although that hasn't seemed to be working thus far. (and because of encouragement by Uncle Ben). Surprisingly snarky and more confident than the average dweeb.

Otto Octavius - One of Parker's classmates and first friend in this new school. A genius inventor Peter met at Osborn High, they both get their suits on the same day, he transforms into "Spectacular Green/The Spectacular Ock" or just Doc Ock. Quite intelligent, But often victim to his own hubris.

Herman Schultz - Becomes "Spectacular Yellow/The Spectacular Shocker" or Shocker. A self-taught engineer, after having to drop out of his first high school because of his parents' financial situation, he tried using engineering and inventing prowess to rob crack safes. While in Juvie he was chosen by the Spider Bracelet, and because of this and Osborn being impressed by his inventing talents, he is out of Juvie in exchange for attending Osborn High (And fighting Dr Monster). Although he can be quite greedy, he's actually quite a kind and caring and pretty peppy dude. Just don't ask him to borrow a couple bucks.

Alex Sytsevich - She's "Spectacular Grey/The Spectacular Rhino" or Rhino, and Peter's second friend at Osborn High. A Russian American from a poor. She can seem dimwitted at practically everything else. Short-sighted and easily deceived, combined with her near inhuman stature and strength caused her to fall into the wrong crowd. She is enrolled into Osborn High after being chosen by the Spider Bracelet, where she learns she's surprisingly great at physics. Wants to make an honest living for her and her parents, but is afraid the crime life may be all she's truly good at. Appreciates Peter Parker's friendship and honesty, and has a slight crush on him.

Max Dillon - He's the final member, "Spectacular Blue/The Spectacular Electro". He's solely motivated by money, studied hard to make money, entered Osborn high to get a better job to make money, and when he gained his suit he used it as leverage to be paid when he fights against the Iron Cross Army. Some may think it's because he wants a good life for his sister, and maybe that's partially true, but spend any amount of time with him, and you'll find that he's generally just a money-hungry guy. He is easy to anger and pretty rude. It's unknown why the Spider Protector V chose him. Although he gets the job done well, probably the best fighter among them and the most adept at using his suits abilities, always getting vexed at when his teammates play around during battles. He wishes him and Schultz hero names weren't so similar and has been asking Herman to rename himself "Shockwaver" or something.

#across the spiderverse #tokusatsu #kamen rider #tokusatsu fanart #oc #fanart #superhero #ocs #goldenzx #tokusatsu oc #super sentai oc #super hero #super sentai #rhino #shocker #electro #doc ock #spider man #peter parker

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aceofsages · 8 months ago

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First Line Game

Rules: List the first lines of your last 10 published fics and see if there’s a pattern.

Thank you to wonderful @jonairadreaming for the tag!!

1. love me like i'm brand new [Wednesday; wenclair]

When Enid lands in San Francisco for winter break, she has to give herself a pep talk in the bathroom mirror.

2. so take my hand, take my whole life too [Santa Clarita Diet; abby/eric]

Abby Hammond chooses law after high school, mostly for the fucking irony of it all.

3. green-eyed (monster) [Wednesday; wenclair]

Something festers inside Wednesday—a gaping chasm of roiling emotions that Wednesday, for all means and purposes, should like, but doesn’t.

4. want something just like this [Wednesday; wenclair]

Enid lasts four days without sleep.

5. (on my soul, amore) your indelible mark [Wednesday; wenclair]

One slip.

6. see you as you are [House of the Dragon]

"Ser Criston," says Alicent. "Bring me the eye of Lucerys Velaryon."

7. you left me, sweet, two legacies [DCEU; superbat; genderbend]

They walk side by side.

8. wild nights would be (our) luxury [Iron Man movies; pepperony; genderbend]

His eyes roamed the crowds as he took a break, leaning against the bar counter in a way that indicated polite disinterest in conversation-one that was acceptable and not offending.

9. so i travelled back down that road [Iron Man movies; pepperony; genderbend]

He was shaking.

10. flashbacks in a film reel [Harry Potter]

Draco couldn't stop staring at the knife in his hand.

----

tbh, i'm not really good at analysing stuff, but i think in all of these I tend more towards writing something that's physically happening/they (the characters) are doing--ig i try to ground the readers into the worlds by physicality before something emotional.

(or i could be wayy off the mark in my pattern*shrugs*)

----

absolutely no pressure tagging @simplynotcapable @mokkkki @hashtagdrivebywrites @tollingreminiscentbells @dark-princette and anyone else who sees this! literally, anyone who comes across this can hop in!! <3

#sage plays tag #my fic #tag game #my writing #writing what writing

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fandomnerd9602 · 1 year ago

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Toni lounges on the couch as Y/N walks in…

Toni: hey lover.

Y/N: Toni, why are you still in your suit?

Toni: perhaps I want you to rip me out of it (winks)

Y/N: you’re stuck in the suit, aren’t you?

Toni: yes. I am. Please help me, baby

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duckprintspress · 7 months ago

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Fandom Lexicon G

There’s juuuuust enough entries for G and H that I decided not to combine them into one post, but we’ll definitely have multi-letter updates coming soon…

Check out the full lexicon posted thus far here.

Spot a mistake? Think of a term we missed? Drop us an ask or comment!

Lexicon Terms Beginning with G: (read more)

Gary Stu: The ideal man/boy. Attractive, talented, and intelligent, with flaws that serve to highlight his perfection rather than being actual flaws. Often used as a term to refer to a male self-insert, as in, a male character who is seen as an avatar/insertion-into-the-story by a male author. See also: Mary Sue (pending).

Gaslight: A type of emotional/psychological manipulation. Read more about gaslighting.

Gatekeeping: Controlling/limiting access to [thing], where [thing] is a fandom, an individual, a definition or concept, or anything else that one party wants to prevent another party from accessing. For example, “you can’t be a fan of (thing) unless you believe (something about the fandom),” or “you’re not queer if you don’t have (x) experience.” Read more about gatekeeping.

Gaybies: Young gay people, often those who have just discovered they are gay and are exploring their new community. Not usually used self-referentially.

Gen: Short for “general” or “genuine.” 1. A fanwork that specifically does not involve shipping. 2. Any work that is rated as “general audiences,” as in suitable for any adult to read (or, sometimes, anyone of any age to read). See also: fic rating. 3. One of the most commonly used tone indicators; when used as a tone indicator, it means “genuine” and is always preceded with a slash, as in, “are you serious? /gen” would indicate that the preceding question is meant genuinely (as opposed to sarcastically, jokingly, etc.). See also: tone indicators (pending).

Genderbend: 1. When a character or individual performs gender in a way that does not align with the gender they identify with. 2. Sometimes, a synonym for cisswap or genderswap.

Genderswap: When a character’s gender is changed to something other than their canon gender in a fanwork. Synonym of cisswap, sometimes used as a synonym for genderbend. See also: Rule 63 (pending).

Geocities: A former free website host that housed many early fandom communities and websites. Read more about Geocities.

GF: Abbreviation for “girlfriend.”

GIF (file format): Abbreviation for “graphics interchange format.” A moving image file. Subject to a long-running debate on if it should be pronounced with a “g” pronunciation of the leading g or a “j” pronunciation of the leading g.

Giffer: Someone who makes gif sets.

Gif Set: A curated collection of GIFs. They might be sequential segments of a scene, match a theme of some sort, or simply be images the creator enjoys. Sometimes, they are unedited or lightly edited extracts from the source material; other times, they involve extensive graphic design and modification efforts by the giffer.

Girlboss: A term that fandom co-opted from hustle culture, meaning a young woman who leads or owns her own business venture. In fandom usage, this term is gender neutral (applied to characters regardless of their gender) and is often used ironically, and/or as part of the phrase “gaslight, girlboss, gatekeep” meaning one or more characters who lie, control, and manipulate to get their way. Read more about the term “girlboss.”

Glomp: A big, squishy, overpowering tackle-hug. Only fun when consensual! Read more about glomping.

Glup Shitto: A fake name mocking Star Wars naming conventions. In fandom, this “name” is often used alongside “blorbo” to denote different characters/character archetypes. Read more about the origins of Glup Shitto.

GM: Abbreviation for “game master” or “general manager.” See also: dungeon master.

Gong: In Chinese fandoms, the gong is the character who tops during sex.

Grapefruit: See Citrus Scale.

Griefer/Griefing: A griefer is someone who plays a multiplayer video game in bad faith, especially by behaving rudely, harassing or trolling other players, stealing, destroying things other players make, or otherwise being a nuisance. Griefing is the behavior engaged in by a griefer. Read more about griefing and griefers.

Grok: A verb that means “to understand easily,” coined by Robert A. Heinlein in his novel Stranger in a Strange Land. Read more about the term “grok.”

Grue: Grues are fictional monsters that originated in a series by Jack Vance, but they came to public awareness through inclusion in the game Zork (and again in Return to Zork), which was one of the first text-based computer games ever released. Grues live in total darkness, are terrified of light, and move too quickly to be seen. If you are in a pitch-black spot, you are likely to be eaten by a grue – unless you can produce a light source, of course.

Guro: A Japanese word modified from the English term “grotesque,” used to refer to especially gory stories and, especially, art. The term “ero guro,” short for “erotica grotesque,” is also used. Read more about the term “guro.”

#duck prints press #fandom lexicon

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