#i hate the frequency of Event Comics

[doomed-jester]

Man, remember when Spider-Verse stories were big events? They'd get tie-ins, they'd take over the main comics run for a couple months, heck the first one even got that Edge of Spider-Verse prelude and was being teased all the way back in Superior Spider-Man.

Now these massive multiverse scale events don't even get a nod in the main book anymore. They've got a whole side story miniseries running because God forbid this week's Crisis on Infinite Spider-Men distract from Ben Reilly's ongoing identity crisis.

[whatsaudreythinkingabout]

randomly assorted scott pilgrim headcanons!

(mostly involving roxy)

(some involving future scenarios)

envy & roxy have the same weak spot behind their knee. they are also girlfriends. this is the most important headcanon & i have a whole separate thing that goes more in-detail on this but this is all you need to know

kim is a huge tegan & sara fan (she’s from canada and definitely bi so it makes sense). she likes their earlier albums (since it takes place in the mid-2000s it would probably be around the time so jealous and/or the con were released), and when heartthrob and lytd came out she tried to pretend she hated the new pop sound but she secretly loves it.

lynette lost her arm while performing a show with tcad that brought the house down. literally. the frequency of the vibrations emitted from their performance was powerful enough to cause a minor earthquake, and while the band was trying to escape the venue, her arm was crushed by falling debris.

envy is bilingual, having grown up in montreal, and speaks both english and french.

roxy & matthew are best friends. however, when they first joined the league, they absolutely could not stand each other. each thought the other was totally obnoxious, and they would constantly bicker and fight with each other. they also definitely got into the pirates vs ninjas argument on more than one occasion. eventually, after a sparring match gone wrong, they bonded over the fact that ramona had used them in some form while they were dating her (matt for his powers, roxy for her sexuality), as well as their love of too much black eye makeup, and they’ve been inseperable ever since. they definitely have a partners-in-crime dynamic, and their friendship is 80% snark and 20% chaotic dumbass.

later on, lucas gets roped into their friendship as well, and they form an unstoppable friend trio. roxy sees him as a cool older brother type. matt has such a huge repressed crush on him you don’t even KNOW and roxy teases him about it literally all the time

after the events of the series, they form a 3-piece punk band called roxy & the hooligans (title derived from a book i read when i was a kid). roxy is the lead singer and bassist (she learned how to play out of pure spite just to flex on scott & todd), matt is lead guitarist & backup vocalist, and lucas is the drummer. matt is also their special effects/pyrotechnics guy.

they’re also housemates for a little while, then matt & lucas start dating and roxy moves in with envy when they start dating. of course, this does not affect their friendship, and they have double dates frequently.

after she starts dating envy, roxy also forms another best friend group with julie powers and lisa miller. at first envy is worried roxy and julie won’t get along bc she thinks julie will be jealous of roxy for “stealing” envy’s attention, but they end up bonding over their shared hatred of scott.

lisa and roxy are identical twins who were separated at birth. (this was bc they’re both portrayed by mae whitman but i might retcon this one, idk)

meanwhile, roxy & todd actually, genuinely HATE each other. todd was always kind of a bully to her when she was in the league & she hates how much he gets on her nerves. to make up for it she loves to rub in his face how much he fumbled the bag with envy

envy was genuinely hurt by lynette going behind her back with todd bc she thought they were friends. lynette is pretty indifferent about it.

after the events of the comic, ramona starts a support group for all the women affected by gideon.

envy is a natural redhead, but started dyeing it blonde once she had her big rockstar makeover, and often alternates between the two shades.

(tentative, still figuring out whether i wanna make this a full headcanon) roxy is a natural brunette, but dyed (and maybe also cut) her hair after ramona broke up with her, as the gays™ are known to do. she also used to wear her hair in space buns instead of pigtails (whaat nooo this totally wasn’t inspired by spinel what are you talking about)

roxy doesn’t really care about the spelling of her name; she spells it with a “y” and with an “ie.” (alternate idea: she spelled it with an ie before the breakup and with a y after the breakup?)

barbie movies exist in this canon, and envy recorded “hope has wings” for the magic of pegasus when she was a teen (back when she was still going by natalie) but she’s super embarrassed about it. she has literally done everything in her power to hide it, but as soon as her friends find out about it they refuse to let her live it down.

likewise, finally out of pe exists in this verse except now it’s just part of envy’s early discography, which she wrote before she formed TCAD.

technically the events of the story happened at the same time the early barbie movies & brie’s album came out but we can afford to move the timelines around a lil bit just for funsies

kim created the maid costume herself, & she’s a closet geek/cosplayer. later on she & envy end up bonding over their secret nerdy sides.

she’s also a closet theatre kid

roxy is the kind of person that tries to put on a tough front to avoid getting hurt & being seen as weak but if you give her even one (1) single tiny bit of affection she will instantly fall apart (especially if you happen to be a pretty girl)

when gideon was messing with everybody’s memories, he ended up causing a rift in the universe that caused the timeline to branch into two separate realities (the books and the movie, respectively). when he was defeated, they merged into one again, but the characters now have memories from both realities. it’s a little confusing

wallace ends up getting together with stephen later on (maybe? they seem like they’d have a fun dynamic), and they’re happy together, but once wallace finds out about matt & lucas dating he’s so fucking salty about it bc HE HAD A CHANCE WITH LUCAS LEE THIS WHOLE TIME

ramona eventually becomes the lead singer of shatterband. scott & kim decide the two-person lineup isn’t working out for them; they need a frontman, someone with charisma to tie them all together. then they hear a voice coming from the bedroom. they go to investigate and find ramona singing softly to herself. she’s a bit hesitant to join at first bc she’s not super confident about singing in front of others, but they manage to convince her by telling her how she could totally one-up envy.

matthew is a proud, unabashed theatre kid. roxy is the kind of person who acts like she absolutely despises theatre kids (even tho she’s really just as melodramatic as matt but won’t admit it) until karaoke night rolls around & she suddenly knows all the songs

roxy is a mixed media artist & is proficient in quite a few different techniques, but her specialty is graffiti. since being a ninja takes a lot of discipline & she often got criticized for letting her emotions get the better of her, it gives her an outlet to be more uninhibited.

the twins are pretty aloof & don’t really talk to anyone else besides themselves; they just kinda do their own thing while viewing everyone else with either mutual respect or smug superiority. gideon doesn’t really give a shit about the other league members, but the twins are his “favorites” (relatively speaking) just bc of how efficient & powerful they are

scott & ramona end up in sort of a semi-throuple with kim. no one really knows what their exact situation is; whether they’re an open relationship, friends with benefits, or just officially all dating each other, but wherever they are, kim is usually also there, & they don’t question it. (honestly the more i think about it the more i like the idea of polyamorous ramona just bc there’s so many characters i ship her with)

maybe wallace also gets involved. just for funsies

in the future, roxy ends up taking knives on as her ninja protégé. as a mentor, she’s pretty no-nonsense bc she wants her to be able to reach her full potential, but she also tries to keep her temper in check & not be overly harsh on her just bc of what she went through in her own training (at the ninja academy she was looked down upon for her half-ninja status & constantly belittled for being too soft, undisciplined, emotional, etc. which caused her to push herself to the brink of total physical and mental exhaustion to prove them wrong, & that led to her parents pulling her out bc they were worried she was gonna push herself so hard it would kill her, & that whole situation is the main source of most of her insecurities). at first she’s put off by how relentlessly upbeat knives is, but then she sees how eager she is to make her proud & roxy can’t help but see a bit of herself in her. over time she comes to see her as sort of a kid sister, especially when knives eventually comes out to her, though she refuses to admit how much of a soft spot she actually has for her. she knows knives can handle herself, but she’s also grown more than a little protective of her (and scott is terrified of her for this reason)

i have a LOT of other HCs regarding specific backstories/relationship dynamics/etc that i might post later if i get the motivation for it but these are just some of my shorter ones

[nowoyas]

Koi no Yokan 22: come together (nishinoya yuu/reader)

First - Prev - Next - M.list - Ao3

A/N: take two on the right blog this time lmao. next update may be delayed, but I'll keep y'all updated. between new health issues and world events writing is really difficult for me right now. thanks for understanding <3

Summary: As the training camp nears its end, your boys continue to work hard and pull it all together.

Warnings and Tags: blanket series warnings

Words: ~3200

The next day is the first that you manage to make it to lunch without cringing, and the first where you get to be in the gym all day. You push your luck as you always do, spend the night up until dinner helping Noya with his jump set—still not quite there yet—and, after dinner, shoot a text to Noya asking if he'd like to walk around the school with you, since you're supposed to be going on walks and stuff and don't feel like going it alone. Naturally, he'd been so down for it that you'd been able to watch him basically leap out of his chair from across the cafeteria once he read the text.

You kinda missed having time alone with him. You haven't really had much of any since the training camp started, and you realize with a pang that the reduced frequency is an indicator that things are back to normal—no more sleeping in his arms, no more everyone in the house you're in home before dark, no more I'm home! and casual welcome back. No I'm heading out, no see you later. No one to eat dinner with.

A finger pokes your cheek. "You're getting stuck in your head. What's up?"

Right. This is stupid. You're being stupid. "It's nothing."

An unimpressed look. "Sure it is."

You sigh. "Just thinking about what I'm gonna have to put up with when we get back."

"Your dad?"

A nod.

"That's a problem for future [name]-san, isn't it?" He tilts his head. "You're not there and it's not your problem."

"But…"

"But I know that girl. She hates it when you take work from her. If she knew you were trying to take the worry about this from her, she'd be pissed."

You pause. Laugh. "Right. You're right."

You walk a little longer with him. It's nighttime, but it's still hot. The darkness isn't doing anything to cool anything off, but you happen to like it. It feels nice. Comfortable, even though you're stuck to long pants while doing manager stuff. Maybe a bit sticky, but it's not like you're doing any running. (Maybe it feels better because you know you aren't the one stuck exercising in this heat.)

"Thanks for walking with me. I know you've probably had enough exercise this week to last you the year."

"Are you kidding? I can keep going."

You roll your eyes. "Probably shouldn't, though. Something something, rest and recovery, something, take care of your body. I think I've basically gotten my fill, anyway, so we can head back."

"I mean," he hums, "if you took better care of yourself, I might consider taking better care of myself…"

You roll your eyes. "Like you'd do anything to hurt your performance at volleyball. You'll take care of yourself."

The pair of you wander past one of the gyms, and you pause at the distinct sound of volleyball taking place. Check the time on your phone. Noya isn't far behind you when you poke your head in to look—Hinata and Tsukishima, of all people, are mid three-on-three with some guys from other schools. They're locked in, which is sort of cool to watch, but…

You wait for the ball to fall, and then you cross your arms. "Hey, you guys ate, right?"

They freeze, turn to you in comical sync.

Oh god. They haven't eaten. "The cafeteria is getting locked in three minutes. Tell me you guys ate."

Hinata shakes his head gravely. You sigh. If you remember correctly… "Alright. Hold on. You guys clean up."

You've been excluded from the rotation on account of the concussion, but the other managers have a rotating schedule on which two girls clean and lock up the cafeteria at night. Tonight's Shirofuku and Suzumeda, if you recall, the latter of which does not pick up the phone. You get Shirofuku when you try her, though.

"What's up?" she answers.

"Shirofuku-san, hi! How much do you love me?"

There's a pause before she responds. "…why?"

You take on your sweetest affect, smiling even though she can't see you. "Could you maybe hold on locking up the cafeteria for me?"

She sighs. "What did you do?"

"I didn't do anything! But we've got a couple stragglers who got too focused on individual practice and haven't eaten yet. You wouldn't want anyone to fall out tomorrow because they didn't eat properly, would you? Not you, Shirofuku-san. You'd never."

There's a hesitation. You hear her cover the speaker, probably to talk to Suzumeda. You pounce.

"I'll handle locking up afterwards and cleaning properly, so you guys can go ahead to bed and not miss anything."

"How about you make them handle it, Little Miss Concussion?"

You pout. "It won't be that much. You guys were basically already done, right? And it's not like it's a problem if I miss any sleep, I mean, I've got doctor's orders to take naps as needed, anyway, so if I miss out on sleep—"

"Don't you dare—" Noya interrupts beside you. You lean over, slap a hand over his mouth, and keep talking.

"I've got this. Come on, please?"

"Fine. We'll wait. But you are going to take it easy, you hear? if you don't come upstairs in time we're physically carrying you up the stairs and forcing you to sleep."

"Great!" you chirp. "Thanks so much! I've got them cleaning up, so I'll meet you and get everything ready. You're the best!"

Just as you hang up, something warm and wet lathes over your palm. You squeal, jerking away from Noya. "Did you just lick me!?"

"Sorry," Noya says with a shit-eating grin. "There was this hand over my mouth, see—"

"I'm going to have Nee-san dye that little bleached strip pink next time you bother her for a refresh," you threaten.

He laughs. "I think I could rock it."

...infuriatingly, he totally could. You turn to the six stragglers, face flaming with embarrassment. "Anyway! I got clearance to keep the cafeteria open a little longer for you guys, but obviously it'll create problems if you stay too late and we make it to curfew without being done, so I gotta ask that you guys clean up and eat quick so I can clean up in time, okay?"

You receive six synchronous bows, six shouted thanks. Pride surges in you when the volume doesn't bring about any twinges of pain.

"You're so kind to us!" a voice booms.

Your gravity lurches out of wack—at first, you think that'd be because of Fukurodani's ace (Bokuto, maybe?) rushing towards you, but then a familiar arm settles over you and you realize that Noya has pulled you squarely out of his reach. He steadies you, chin resting on your shoulder to glare at him.

Bokuto stops and pouts, arms crossed. "I just wanted to thank her for making sure we can eat tonight. Is that not okay?"

"Bokuto-san, maybe don't randomly hug someone else's girlfriend," Fukurodani's setter says.

You freeze. "Hold up. Girlfriend?"

"Are you two not dating?" Nekoma's captain asks.

Noya's arm over your shoulder tightens protectively. "Not yet, but she's still off-limits."

"Excuse me, yet?" You turn to glare at him. He raises an eyebrow back.

"Yet."

You snort, roll your eyes. "Right. Okay. Anyways, we all need to hurry, so..." You wriggle out of his hold.

He's so convinced you'll fall in love with him. Like it's that easy. Stupid.

So you meet up with Shirofuku and Suzumeda. The guys trail not far behind—they get leftovers, and they're cold, but it's dinner and they're grateful to you. They go out of their way to avoid making a mess, and Noya lingers by to help you finish cleaning and lock up even though you repeatedly tell him he doesn't have to. He's so pushy. What pisses you off the most is the fact that you can't even be honestly annoyed with it. You lock up, you get to sleep on time, all six of the Stragglers Squad thanks you with their lives, and the next morning—last day of the camp—you settle in for morning practice like always.

When Hinata pulls off some new move—a wipe, Shimizu calls it—Yachi smiles at you and says, "I hope that new quick comes together soon, too."

"Same," you reply back.

~

Her wishes do not go unanswered. The final set of the training camp—imbued with energy from the promise of impending grilled meat and emboldened by Yachi's gentle mention to Hinata that she'd like to see that new quick they're working on—sees the first truly satisfying spike you've seen from Hinata in a while, your head notwithstanding. It takes you too long to recognize that they'd done it, that that was the new quick. It doesn't look much different to you, or to Takeda, apparently, but it's all about options, apparently, and now Hinata has those.

As Yachi cheers beside you, and the guys yell, you can't help but feel a little proud that they managed to make it work. You kinda wanna tell Kageyama I told you so, but you'll let them have this. The set moves on—a successful synchronized attack, a time out, water bottles and towels and excitement and Noya taking a moment to flash that wide grin at you.

"Wait, [name]-san," he says before you can walk away to set down the water bottle caddy, "for good luck—marry me?"

You roll your eyes, turn to pat his shoulder. "I don't think you really need the luck, but why don't you get that set to come together and ask another eight hundred and eighty-six times or so and I'll think about it in the meantime?"

His face lights up as always, and you watch him practically bounce back into position on the court.

It takes two points for the opportunity to come—a receive by Kageyama, and then Noya flowing easily into the set, which Azumane spikes and just barely manages to get in. But he gets it in.

It comes together.

Holy shit, it came together.

You grab at Yachi's arm in your excitement as she cheers—nice kill!—and try to contain yourself. Your first thought had been to cheer with her, but the second thought was swift and much louder—he'll never let you live it down if you do.

He catches your eye as you try to tamp down the smile. Gestures wildly. You roll your eyes in reply. You're sure later you'll receive a tackle for it, but you can try to avoid it, at least.

~

Fukurodani takes the last set with a truly impressive spike from Bokuto. You can't even really be mad that the gambit to crush him didn't really pull through, least of all when Noya sweeps you off your feet in celebration of his first successful in-game jump set.

"So, since I got it to come together—"

"Eight hundred and eighty-five or no deal," you interrupt, voice a little strained from the ongoing bear hug.

That earned you another nine proposals, rapid-fire, like you weren't in the middle of the gym and wriggling to get free, but it's fine, you guess. More important than proposals 106 through 115 is the barbecue, which you manage to escape for in hopes of helping out with.

And everyone is happy with the barbecue. When it kicks off, you find a corner to linger in with Tsukishima. The amount of people is just a bit... overwhelming, that's all. Tsukishima's corner is quiet. It's a good pick.

You can't help but needle him, though. You can only take so much quiet, only so much room to think. "I think that those moments today where things started working are why everyone else works so hard. That's where their passion is coming from."

He sighs. "I gathered. I don't get it, but I think I at least see it. It still feels stupid to just chase a high like that, but..."

You shrug. "Better than walking aimlessly, I guess."

He nods. "Right."

You sigh. The smell of meat is getting to you. "I'll leave you to your skulking," you say. "I'm gonna see if these guys will let me get close to any of the grills."

He nods you away, and you make it all of four steps before you spot a disaster-in-progress in the form of a trembling Yachi, surrounded by basically the four beefiest dudes at the entire camp, including Azumane.

You swoop in quick, gesture to them to step back. "Woah, hey. You're looking a little overwhelmed, Yachi-san. Do you wanna go sit?"

She nods weakly, face deathly pale. You shoot an apologetic look to the guys. "Sorry. I think the crowd's overwhelming her. C'mon, let's go sit with the girls and I'll get your food for you. How's that sound?"

"O-okay..."

"Can I touch you?"

Another weak nod. You place a hand on her shoulder, steer her over towards the other managers at a careful pace. Your firm "excuse me!"s cut through the guys well enough. You suppose there's an advantage to basically everyone knowing you have a concussion. When she's sat down, you kneel in front of her with a look of concern. "Are you gonna be okay?"

She nods. "Y-yeah. Sorry, I just... they're all so big and scary and... I-I know we've been around them all week, and even Azumane-san was there, b-but..."

"It's okay. Seriously. You're allowed to have anxiety, no matter what anyone says. Do you still want to eat?"

"Y-yeah. Maybe. I don't know."

"I'll get a plate with enough for both of us, then, and bring it back."

"Y-you don't have to—" she starts to protest, but you raise a hand to silence her.

"I'm choosing to. You're not making me do anything. It takes no extra effort to just take a little bit extra of what I get while I'm already getting it."

"B-but your head..."

"Will be fine. I'm supposed to be gently pushing myself, right? This is a good gentle push. If it gets too hard, we can send someone else. Alright?"

"Okay..."

You nod to Suzumeda and Shirofuku. "Can you two keep an eye on her and talk to her? Just a distraction to help her calm down. When I'm back, I can walk her through calming down the rest of the way if she needs it."

They nod, and you disappear into the crowd—get a small pile of meat for you and one for Yachi, pile up some vegetables on top to balance it. You're not all that hungry, but you suppose after nearly passing out like that, she probably isn't, either.

For good measure, one rice ball for each of you makes its way onto the pile as you wind your way back, and then you slump into the chair beside her and offer her food. You pick at your own, focus more on letting her get her fill than eating, yourself. The meat smells delicious, but...

You can't shake it. Can't shake the loom and gloom, the knowledge that, after this, you're going home. To your house. To your house.

Your eyes drift to watching everyone mingle as Yachi goes from shaking to calm, from having to be fed to being able to eat on her own.

You promised your dad you'd come home and talk then. You don't know what he could possibly say to you, if anything could make his absence better. You probably deserved it, anyway. You should be the one apologizing. It's not like he killed your mom. His wife. The woman he loved more than anything.

Your eyes trace Shimizu, sauntering obliviously through the crowd of guys to get her food. Maybe you should just find Noya and hang out with him. He's good at distracting you. You're sure he'd be thrilled to be hanging out with a girl at one of these, anyhow. He's just so easy to be around.

But right now, he's not far behind Shimizu, flanked by Tanaka and Mohawk guy. Glaring, probably audibly growling. Letting some guys from Fukurodani know, in no uncertain terms, to lay off.

A hand tugs you out of your thoughts, forces you to turn to the other girls.

Suzumeda leans in, devilish grin on her lips. At some point, Miyanoshita and Otaki also joined you, so, save for Shimizu, all the managers are present. "So, [name]-chan."

"Yeah?"

"We've been good. We've been patient. But you're about to go home—" Gee, thanks for the reminder. "—and we can't let you leave without answers."

Ugh. This is about Noya, isn't it? You suppress the urge to roll your eyes.

"What is the deal with him?" Otaki asks. "I mean, you guys are really obviously super close. Like, really obviously. And you know, we're nosy... why aren't you dating him?"

"Him?" You snort.

"Yeah! He clearly likes you, you like to act tough but I'm pretty sure you like him, I mean... why not?"

You jerk your chin towards where he's patrolling around Shimizu, chewing your lip hard enough to punish. "Does it look like he likes me, or does it look like he likes girls and I just happen to be one who pays attention to him?"

"[name]-chan…"

They have more to say in response, but you refuse to entertain it. Instead, you zone out Shimizu-ways, watch her remain blissfully unapproached as the trio does their sworn duty. Noya does his job well.

"Yachi-san," you interrupt suddenly.

She jolts. "What's up?"

"Can I borrow your bus pillow when we leave today? My head's kinda starting to hurt but I can't sleep on the bus without resting my head on the window. You can probably imagine how much that will not help me at all."

"Oh, uh, sure! I don't mind! Do you want me to go ask Sensei about your painkillers?"

You shake your head. "I should be fine. It's not that bad, I just need to sleep it off."

Doubtful that you actually sleep.

~

On the bus a short hour or so later, clad in your bus hoodie—well-worn, faded, and cozy without making you overheat—you rest your head on the borrowed pillow and try to keep your eyes closed. You don't want to see the look on Noya's face when he realizes you've taken a seat on the side of the bus with single-seat rows.

You hear it, though. Footsteps stuttering to a stop, then Yachi's voice.

"Oh, she said her head was bothering her, so she was just going to nap."

You can actually hear the pout in his voice. "Am I not a good enough pillow…?"

"Oi, Nishinoya. Keep moving," Ennoshita says. "We all have to get on the bus, you know."

"Right. Yeah, sorry. Ryuu! I'm coming to sit with you!"

The footsteps continue. You pull your hood over your head and try to shove down the guilt. When your phone buzzes, you flinch.

Noya to [name] at 14:13

Noya: [image attached. Image description: Soba with her mouth open and both front paws in the air, batting at something out of focus in the foreground.]

Noya: Soba fighting off your headache. get some good rest for me, ok?

Somehow, this doesn't help your guilt. It doesn't help it one bit.

Tags: @deeplightgarden @idonthaveanameideayet @dusstory @kazunish

[ectonurites]

mishandling of oracle aside, why do you think so many people dislike the nightwing ongoing?

For me and from what I've observed from others the main (aside from Babs stuff) problems are:

Pacing feeling kinda all over the place, like very little has actually happened. One part of it that's less on Taylor was being interrupted by Fear State, but I don't think the whole issue can be blamed on that because I saw people feeling that way before those tie-ins. We're over a year into this run on the book and it just does not feel like enough stuff has happened in that year- or at least not enough new stuff. It's felt like a lot of... treading over ground we've already covered if that makes sense? One thing that kills me is the second issue of Taylor's run being all this stuff about Dick finding a tent city in Blüdhaven that needs help... with no mention/acknowledgement of the fact that the issue before Taylor's run began had that exact sort of scenario happen too! If those events had been connected in any way then it'd feel like maybe building towards something, but instead it just feels like Taylor ignoring what came before. Similarly, we've already had plots about a daughter of Tony Zucco before, we've had this sort of stuff with Blockbuster blowing up Dick's apartment building... and then the thing that is totally new with Heartless? That's what it feels like we've gotten the least focus on.

Distracting fanservice/meta elements. I've talked about the use of memes on-panel before and how while that sort of thing happening occasionally can be fun and cute, the frequency they occur does just get annoying and distracting to me. It takes me out of what I'm reading and gets me thinking too much about the logistics of things. This is definitely in part a Redondo problem rather than just a Taylor one because many of them are visual, but still. Other things that fall more into the meta category like the 'fridging' bit are more on Taylor. I know that one kinda gets into Babs stuff, but even disconnected from the history that term has with Babs specifically which makes it feel in poor taste, it was still just a distracting thing to put in there at all.

Dick's characterization/capability. This is one I can't quite as specifically speak to because while I like Dick and have read a decent amount with him, I don't consider myself all that knowledgable on him/his portrayals or anything like that the way I do with some other characters. But I've seen a lot of people feel frustrated with how little agency Dick has seemed to have within his own book, and like he hasn't been portrayed as being as capable as he should be.

there's also other more specific things (the 'romani smile' line being one coming to mind for just being... awkward and weird), but that above stuff is definitely at the root of most non-Babs related complaints I've encountered between here and twitter.

I do just wanna put a little... disclaimer here that i don't think this is the worst comic ever or anything like that. I think there are very real problems in the run (especially in regards to Babs stuff which wasn't the point of this post, but ya know I can't not mention it) but I also think a lot of people go to extremes with their criticisms/hate on it just because they already don't like Tom Taylor in general (which is like, something people are allowed to do! but I think it's good to recognize when that's a bias playing into your opinion).

As a whole I just think the comic is extremely overhyped (not so much by the tumblr audience, but I mean on twitter/in more mainstream reviews) because many people were so glad to see the Ric Grayson and then Joker War stuff be over that literally anything else was gonna get praised to hell and back- and I think that combined with the fanservice moments and pretty art has made a lot of people gloss over the other problems, which is frustrating. And so that frustration over how the book's been received by a broad audience I think also can contribute to a lot of people being annoyed by/disliking the run. Seeing it get endless praise while people gloss over big problems can just make ya get a bit jaded.

[47crayons]

THE WICKED WITHIN—A COMIC SANS WIP REINTRO

!!!!! it's here :D the wip that started to consume me and has been continuing to do so since, now with a much better sense of what exactly is Happening

current tww taglist let me know to be +/- !! @a-completely-normal-writer @writing-is-a-martial-art @wannabeauthorzofija @magic-is-something-we-create @croctears @writeblrfantasy @opes-magnas @author-a-holmes @zoya-writes@fuyugomori @ink-fireplace-coffee

transcript is under the cut!!!

[transcript: a powerpoint presentation of black text on white background, written entirely in comic sans.

start slide one the top left corner reads in red, "warnings (most relevant) war, death, drugs (& addiction), poison". in the center, "the wicked within", and underneath it in smaller font, "a comic sans reintro by @47crayons". the comments around the entire slide read "a family that is so found!!!", "gang rivalry :D and gang content in general", "crime found family basically", "childhood friends to STILL FRIENDS", "all queer cast :p", "eat the rich (not quite, but it’s the right sentiment aldskjfls)", "kickass women, yeah bay bee", "nuanced relationships between different groups :D", "morally grey characters!!!", "so many different governments!!!", "a (mostly alsjflksdj) stable relationship!!!" end slide one

start slide two in the beginning of time… there were four gods: eltenjer, he/him, earth; skari, he/him, fire; aenged, they/them, air; thilda, she/her, water. i didn’t /mean/ for them to have genders, but a quiet breeze whispered “psst. i use they/them.” in the beginning? so you mean… they’re not there anymore? kind of! the gods need followers to survive, and after several unfortunate events, they lost the majority of their followers. the aforementioned unfortunate events: the great ruination, in which natural disasters caused several years of famine and other hardship. the restoration era, in which renovation led people to believe they can live without the gods. if the gods are dead, what’s the point? the gods aren’t /really/ dead, closer to dormant. they can’t actively interact with the mortal realm, but IF they had followers, they would come back to life. oh. did i mention that they control the magic. end slide two

start slide three the dormant gods who can't do... anything control the magic??? hey, no one said magic always has to work. foreshadowing alert huge foreshadowing alert. let’s talk about how magic works, shall we :D people use the Spirit to do magic. people have a Vessel (representation of stamina or how much Sprit can be used at once, can be trained!). people also have a Strength (a type of magic that works well with the user, these have varying frequencies which also depends on location). there’s too much i could say here, but the important thing is the main characters’ Strengths. the right depicts an image of a flowchart showing that gods need followers and produce sprit. people need spirit to do magic. end slide three

start slide four okay but where are we??? where could the magic be so fucked? well, here, of course! the left side shows a line art map, split into five parts going clockwise: portingdale, worchester, the hooks, elderwood, unlabeled. the legend shows that there are mountains in portingdale, forests in elderwood, and rivers that run from portingdale to everywhere else. the place where the four labeled regions meet is called the Inner City. the text on the right reads. welcome to Kjer! there are 3 districts. but wait! there are five? sections? and one isn’t even labelled. worchester used to be a district,,, but it left after the war began. the unlabeled section is the disputed region (re: war). let’s talk more about this war. elderwood wanted easier access to water (see: the rivers in the Wetlands) elderwood & portingdale have been fighting there on and off for over half a century. the hooks has three wards: west (hella rich), south (lower income), north (somewhere in between). end slide four

start slide five whomst. skip to the next slide if you want the actual characters. character basics: the unnecessarily-winded-and-cram-a-lot-of-lore-in version. in the North Ward of The Hooks, there are three main gangs. Kaer Styen, meaning “wicked ones”, Ghetfaer Skarnen, meaning “trickster lords”, Ad Knesten, meaning “the grumbles”. that was so many capital letters i don’t like capital letters alskjdflksjd. they have rivalries and conflicts from time to time, but it’s pretty rare. the tww cast is kaer styen !!! their main means of profit is a drug called jezdin. relieves physical and mental pain. lethal in high. quantities/ when tampered with. can also be addictive. they operate out of a dingy tavern-like building, and they live upstairs!!! okay so this is purely for vibes. how did u know. end slide five

start slide six the Gang. literally :3 Kaer Styen, my beloved. the first thing in each of their bios is their Strength (re: the magic slide). artbreeders!!! i fixed quite a few of them, but my artbreeder skills are questionable at best. this slide is split into three columns. the first column shows a white person with short, brown, curly hair and a firm, but not angry, facial expression. len, he/him, pan. Shifter (can manipulate physical properties). cynical, very cynical (because he has killer instincts). “oh people are dying? am i dying? are you dying? why should i care?” in a relationship with cal. the second column shows a person who appears east asian with long, black, wavy hair and fair skin. chloe, she/her, aroace. Chemist (chemistry but magical). literal archery god. also she’s so quiet it’s SCARY. seems welcoming, emphasis on /seems/ she’ll destroy your ass. knows what you’re feeling. she just. knows. the third column shows a white person with dirty blonde hair. they are smiling. cal, they/them, bi. Whisperer (can persuade others through speech/music). so casually funny all your burdens disappear for a hot minute. gets very attached very deeply. grew up in Portingdale which becomes Important later. end slide six

start slide seven cont. also they have piercings!!!! maybe i will make some picrews later (listen, i KNOW i’ve said this before but. maybe i’m for realsies this time, okay?) this slide is also split into three columns. the first a smiling white female with light blonde hair. eden, she/her?, demi lesbian. Healer (healing magic <3). seen hell and doesn’t want others to suffer. still believes in the gods’ existence. we Don’t talk about her awful parents. raised by a lovely woman in the South Ward, known as Nana. this eye (left) is almost PURPLE which i didn’t do on purpose but is honestly such a cool idea. the second column shows a partially smiling black man with short curly hair. jereth, he/him, gay. powerful life magic thing (will be spoilers if i talk any more). joins them at the beginning. honestly kind of scared of them (who wouldn’t be), but wants to live up to expectations. throws himself into stuff to avoid Thoughts. the third column shows a woman with brown skin, black wavy hair, and a small smile. she is NOT a member of Kaer Styen, but i’m talking about her here all the same. adalaide, she/her, bi (i didn’t like the e in adelaide alskdfjlsj). Melder (metals and the like). heir to the Portingdale throne (assuming her dad doesn’t disown her). Cal’s ex from a few~ years ago she’s still a lil’ hung up on them. technically an antagonist but i love her. so all my characters are queer sue me </3 end slide seven

start slide eight some semblance of plot? coming right up!! the four (jereth isn’t there yet!) are attacked in the Inner City. turns out it’s portingdale soldiers. and then they discover that portingdale has been poisoning the southern rivers (affects worchester and the south ward) because worchester doesn’t really contribute to Kjer as a whole. word gets out, and elderwood, naturally, is even angrier at portingdale (remember, they've been at war). so, they try to stop portingdale from being power hungry enough to poison the entirety of a country while learning about why worchester is so isolated while ALSO trying not to get killed by everyone who hates them. end slide eight

start slide nine memes :> the first is the meme of spongebob reading a sheet of paper and burning it. the paper reads, "going into worchester by yourself is going to get you KILLED", and spongebob is labelled "chloe". the second is the levels of brain template labelled "jereth". from the weakest to most powerful: "trying to figure out his magic", "doing it by accident", "saving everyone's lives". the third is the sleeping person and brain meme. brain: "you're going to portingdale". cal: yeah, i know. brain: you'll see adalaide. cal's eyes are wide open in fear. the fourth says "corporate needs you to find the difference between this image and this image". the first image says, "family", and the second one says, "len, chloe, cal, jereth." eden says, "they're the same picture". the fifth is the spiderman copycat meme where jereth is copying len. end slide nine

/end transcript]

[devintrinidad]

Charlastor Week #6: Hurt/Comfort

Charlie had told her it was best that they stayed separate for now.

Charlie had told her that it was best that they break things off now before things would get worse.

Charlie had told her many things, but she didn’t expect that any of them would have a positive effect on Vaggie—or her.

For now, as Charlie huddled in the one place that no one would ever check (the rightmost stall of a bathroom in desperate need for renovation on a floor that was evacuated due to a brawl a few weeks ago), she would just relax and let none of her worries touch her now.

But that’s what Charlie had been busy telling herself for over three hours. However, all she could do right now was sit and cry while browsing all of her albums featuring her beloved partner when they had all those good times trying to redeem fellow sinners or hanging out or that one time—Oh! Why was Charlie doing this to herself! This was torture of the sweetest kind! A part of her wanted to throw her phone into the deep, disgusting bowels of the toilet beneath her, but another part was too damn sentimental and wanted to hold onto that phone like it was the only thing keeping her sane.

Charlie loathed the position that she was in, but after the events of last night…

Suddenly, Charlie heard a disturbance in the darkness. It was faint, but repetitive. And it was coming closer.

Footsteps, she knew that it in the back of her mind. However, she didn’t want to contend with the fact that either someone found her or worse, someone was just stumbling in on this part of the building. Whatever the case, she simply tightened her arms around her knees and stifled her sniffles. It wouldn’t do for someone to see her so weak and vulnerable. Especially since she hasn’t told anyone, save for Vaggie, about what happened.

The hands that clenched at her knees became unbearable; they were too tight. Her nails, always kept short to prevent them growing into claws, dug deep into her skin, almost drawing blood. There was only so much that Charlie could do before—

The bathroom door slowly creaked open and the footsteps from before clacked loudly on the linoleum. Ah, she could recognize that telltale click clack of dress shoes anywhere. It was Alastor and by God, she didn’t want to have this on her plate as well. Holding her breath wouldn’t work, Charlie knew that his ears could hear the most imperceptible of sounds. It was only a matter of time.

“Oh, Charlie,” his voice was mirthful, but not unkind. He had stepped in front of her chosen stall. Thankfully, he didn’t see fit to slam his fist upon the door or worse, force his way in. Having the Radio Demon also be a gentleman from a bygone era had its downsides, but for now, it saved her from seeing him.

For now.

“I know that I can be intimidating, but it’s been years since you’ve last stuttered around me!” He chuckled and the low, mellow tones had Charlie minutely relaxing within the hold of her arms. Still, she kept her breathing quiet. There was a pause outside of the door, an audible one that was only signaled by the radio frequency stuttering around a bit before going back to its scheduled programming. “Darling, Vaggie told me to come find you, which is a miracle no one asked for in Hell, but oh well.” Charlie could practically see him shrug comically in her mind’s eye, the image of which almost had her smiling into the crook of her elbow.

“Ah,” Charlie managed to croak. Her voice was shaky, like an old rickety building just moments away from crumbling away. “Did… Did Vaggie… Did she…” Why did it hurt to say her name so much? Saying a name shouldn’t have held so much power, but here was Charlie, wasting away in a cell of her own making while her dearest love’s name scratched and clawed at her throat while the pit in her stomach threatened to swallow her soul whole. A soft whimper left her lips and she nearly had an aneurysm. Alastor was here! He could hear her breathing, possibly the way her heart was beating at a rate that would have been harmful to humans. Of course he would be able to hear her!

Despite his excellent hearing, Alastor refrained from commenting on Charlie’s state of mind. Instead, he surprised Charlie with an observation.

“It was Extermination Day yesterday. Was it not?”

“Er…I’m pretty sure you of all people know that.” She didn’t mean to sound so mean, but where was he going with this? On top of that, he didn’t even bother answering her question. “What does that have to do—“

“And your…uncles came to visit you. Alone.” Another observation. A stone cold fact that chilled Charlie to the bone. No one knew about that. Not even Vaggie. How could—? “Darling,” he said easily, as if he could see her expression from the other side of the bathroom stall, “you weren’t really that secretive yesterday. Vaggie had me tail you. A risky, but bold move. Entertaining, even.”

Charlie felt like he should have laughed at that moment, he was an entertainer, he knew when certain beats and phrases were emphasized, yet… He kept his voice subdued. It was almost as if he were respecting the ordeal that she had gone through yesterday.

“So… you heard everything?” She chuckled bitterly. “Does… she know?”

“If you are referring to your dear lady friend, then yes. That woman put her spear to my throat and of course, I had to tell her everything lest you want to run this hotel all by yourself.” His voice, even lower than before caressed her ears and had her looking up at the stall door in wonderment. “I know that I shouldn’t pry into your affairs, but it’s quite telling that I’m being the mediator between the two of you when it should be me stirring up chaos in my wake. Why don’t you tell her how you feel?”

“Feel? Feel?” Charlie threw herself off the toilet seat and wrenched the door open. Miraculously, Alastor managed to avoid being hit as the door swung wide in his direction. Normally, Charlie would have taken care not to make such a fuss, but at heart, she was a soul that felt too much at times. She needed to let it all out, no matter the consequences. “How would you feel if your partner was destined to be taken away within a year because your stupid plan worked? How would you feel that no matter what you do, you can’t join her because of your parents? Because of the place where you were born? How would you feel if your girlfriend who loves and trusts you so much decides to leave your side for good because—because—because—“

With every question she threw at Alastor, the Princess of Hell would poke him in the chest, all pretense of acting the fool in their business relationship thrown to the wayside. She didn’t care that Alastor was seething underneath that damnable grin of his. She didn’t care that her voice was loud and that half of Hell could hear her. She didn’t care that water was dripping down her lashes and onto the full apples of her cheeks. She didn’t care that heat was rushing towards her flushing face, how she wobbled and screamed for some sort of sign that all of this was a nightmare.

After what had seemed like an eternity of spewing out questions that Alastor couldn’t have possibly known the answer to, Charlie had fallen silent. Her head was bowed low, fists clenched and trembling at her sides. Her hair, usually gently curled and vibrant, was matted down to her scalp, tangled because in her frustration, she would tug at her locks. For a moment, there was not a sound in the bathroom; for once, there was radio silence.

When Alastor spoke, the filter that masked his voice was gone. His words were crisp and clear, as was tradition of the Mid-Alantic accent, but there was another accent layered underneath his main mode of speaking. His consonants were rounded off, his vowels drawled and blurred together. Belatedly, Charlie realized that he was a Southerner, which matched up to his chosen cuisine whenever he would cook, but she had never asked. Never confirmed what was probably so obvious during their time together as business partners.

“Charlie, I wouldn’t know how to answer any of those questions. To be honest, I don’t think I would ever have the heart or the stomach to even try to attempt to phrase such sentiments.” Charlie felt rather than saw that Alastor was looming over her, his shadow encompassing her much smaller frame. She shuddered when she felt his clawed hand rest against her locks, had tried blinking away tears when he began combing through them with a gentleness befitting a mother grooming her child. “But, my dear, you can. I’ll be the first to attest that Vaggie was in hysterics when you ran away from her. She went from yelling to pleading with me to find you.” He tugged Charlie closed and rested his head on top of Charlie’s. “Imagine that, your dear love acting quite the sweetheart to me when she knew that you were going to fall to pieces.”

Charlie sucked in a deep breath. “She probably hates me for doing this to her.”

Alastor stopped his gentle petting before pulling away from her.

“What do you mean by that?”

“Have her fall in love with me. Allow her to date me. Get her sucked up into the hotel redemption schtick and then—and then—“ She shrugged her shoulders, not noticing how Alastor’s radio static seemed to grow erratic and imbalanced. “Well, you were there when Uncle Michael, Uncle Raphael, and whoever else was there when they told me. At least they gave me one year to say goodbye.”

“I probably should have known this before I’ve ever properly introduced myself, but you are very conceited, my dear.”

Charlie’s head whipped up from gazing down at the floor and straight into the Radio Demon’s eyes. For the first time since Alastor had stepped into her bathroom, she noticed that he looked…ragged, well more ragged than usual. His eyes were glowing a faint red, which only heightened the shadows that lay under his eyes. His clothing was bedraggled and torn, flecks of blood and an assortment of dirt was layered over his customary jacket. He was, in the words of one Husker, looking like shit.

She brought a hand up to her ashen lips, tears springing anew in her eyes.

He was telling the truth; he really had been following her to the meeting place with the angels. Had she known that he would have followed her into the forest where sinners first appeared from Earth, she would have picked somewhere closer. And cleaner.

Now, all her guilt over what happened last night was compiling into one burden.

“A-al! Have you slept at all?” She cried as she hurried to him. A hand brushed against his cheeks, another straightened the lapels of his coats. He was always well dressed—putting on the ritz, he would say. This was simply unacceptable for the Radio Demon! “I’m so sorry—“

He shook his head lowly at her. “You should know better by now, I don’t sleep.”

“But I’m worried and I can help you—“

“And therein lies your problem. You’re so compassionate and wanting to do good by others; you want to bear the loads of everyone around you. Yet, you don’t care. Not at all.” He held up a hand, effectively stopping Charlie from demanding what he meant. “You claim to start redemptive therapy for the good of all sinners. You claim to want everyone to end up in Heaven. You claim you’re doing this to stop overpopulation in Heaven. But. You. Don’t. Care.

“You’re doing this because you want to be there. Your blood that runs through your veins calls out for the sweet ambrosia of God’s love and acceptance. You want it, you crave it. So you get an idea; do enough good deeds that are worth mentioning to the higher-ups in Heaven. Along comes someone who believes in your cause. Another one joins just to jumpstart the business. Another, another, another, and you feel like you’re actually succeeding, but in reality, you’re just gathering up the clout, the good points to get you into Heaven. Then, all of a sudden, the wish that you had been preaching gets granted.

“Do you feel proud of yourself? Do you feel the need to rejoice and celebrate? After all this hard work why not celebrate? Yet, you don’t. You’re here throwing a pity party in a bathroom that has seen better days. You want to know why?

“You’re bitter and jealous. You’re resentful that the one person who you thought would stay by your side until the end actually worked hard enough for the chance to be redeemed.

“Besides, have her fall in love with you? Allow her to date you? And what was that last part you said? Allow her to get sucked into the hotel redemption schtick? What do you take her for? I may not have the highest of opinions on her, but I do know this: she went with you because she utterly cares more about you than she does about redemption.

“That’s why you’re conceited, dearest Charlie. You’re doing all of this because you hope to earn something after all of this. Vaggie did those things not only for you, but for herself. She wanted to fall in love, so she did. She wanted to get closer to you, she did. She believed in the redemption process and now—Look! She has it.”

Alastor knelt down on one knee and clasped Charlie’s hands in his own. His claws had retracted back into the supple leather of his gloves, allowing them to gently touch her skin.

“I apologize if I’m being harsh, but it must be said. You of all people should be happy—nay! proud—that Vaggie has earned her spot inside those pearly gates.” His grip gently tightened around her wrist, pulling her gently onto the floor with him. “Go to her and talk. You have an entire year left with her before your uncles come to take her away on Extermination Day.” He tapped a finger against her cheek. “Before that, I recommend you take a long bath. You’re smelling a bit ripe.”

Charlie… Charlie didn’t know what to say. After so long, she knew that there were times when the Radio Demon had his moments, both good and bad, but this speech was unheard of! Without warning, Charlie launched herself into his chest and felt a fresh slew of tears escaping her eyes. She was probably adding to the mess that was already caked onto his clothing, but at that point, she didn’t care that she was brought low and vulnerable in front of her business partner.

“Thank you,” she murmured into his lapels. “I…your methods need some work, but it really got to me.”

“I will look into better methods for the future. In the meantime—“ He surreptitiously tried to move away from her, but the soft arms that surrounded him wound tighter than a cog in a well polished clock. A loud sigh fell from his lips. He should have expected more physical sentimentality than was reasonable from Charlie.

“You know, you could be a motivational speaker for some of our group therapy sessions. Who knows, you might be next for redemption!”

“Ha ha ha! Not a chance, sweetheart.”

[tacittherapist]

((HS2 Spoilers under the cut!))

((I know this is primarily a Rose Lalonde RP blog, but I’d just like to appreciate Jade Harley as a character for a moment here. In the entirety of HS canon, Jade has stood out as a singularly tragic figure. Forced to keep quiet so as not to spoil the future events she witnesses in gnostic dreams, isolated on an island after her dog was psychically controlled to murder her guardian, and growing up alone for virtually her entire childhood, Jade has always valued her freedom above most things. Her character was arbitrarily chosen to be the pack mule upon which everything else could drive forward. Let’s lay out these examples:

1. Massive internalized self-loathing. Compartmentalized to the point where she literally beat her sprite self senseless for showing sadness. Jade HATES dealing with her own negative feelings -- she plasters over them with progress and new connections and hobbies that make her feel adequate. Being isolated will do that to you. It makes you feel like maybe you just aren’t good enough for others. That maybe you’re alone because you deserve it. Jade tacit refuses to believe this, and weaponizes her personal freedoms to overcome it. I imagine living alone on a tropical island will do that. Don’t like something? Simply change it. Who will tell you otherwise? So when Jade is confronted with an issue (even if that issue is her own loneliness), she analyzes the situation, gathers resources, and takes steps to solve it. But feelings don’t really have a solution, hence the violent outbursts when things don’t go her way. Negative feelings are stupid and pointless to Jade. They’re only useful for fueling progress, which is why we see her not taking any of John’s tantrums while they wait for the 3-year journey to end. And also why we see her here threatening to kill herself if she isn’t allowed her freedom in the epilogues.

2. Despite being arguably the most powerful player in either her own or the Beta troll sessions, she is still somehow uniquely unable to manipulate her element in such a way that solves her largest issue: loneliness. This is supposedly the curse of being a Space player, but HS2 Callie raises a good point: what about Kanaya? Kanaya has held meaningful, healthy relationships despite being a Space player. Her arc foils Jade’s in most ways. Kanaya embraces negative feelings as a natural conclusion to negative situations, resulting in a balanced emotional pallet. And while she might arguably lack the raw ferocity Jade packs, Kanaya is undoubtedly happier than Jade come endgame. But I suppose that may have more to do with the HS endgame writing being pretty lacklustre than it does to reflect the emotional framework that went into their characters. Regardless, it’s certain Jade was dealt a bad hand dressed up in godlike powers, which we the audience have collectively agreed makes Jade a well-written character enough to not spur massive overhauls of her arc before the end of the comic.

3. The biggest reason Jade fits so well into wlw pairings is because... well, her options for men in HS are incredibly bad. Dave is possibly one of the worst partners for Jade, strictly personality-wise. As mentioned before, Jade HATES dwelling on emotions, whereas Dave needs at minimum a few days just to sit on something he’s feeling in order to adequately process it. Where Jade immediately overcomes problems, Dave likes to analyze and figure out creative possibilities. If Jade needs a resource, she simply takes or creates what she needs. She has the sheer determination and personal strength to do so. Dave, on the other hand, does not -- so he creates inventive ways to never run out of those resources. But that’s pointless to Jade. Why bother having limitless grist by manipulating the stock market or creating negative grist to sell? That’s wasted time and wasted effort. Karkat is just as bad for similar reasons. Where Dave and Karkat love to grapple with their internal monologues (as a coping mechanism, truthfully), Jade despises it. I won’t go into why the other troll men are bad for her (except, perhaps, everyone’s favourite Sollux), but you get my point. And don’t misunderstand me: there are women Jade would not work with, absolutely. But all of the Homestuck men are arguably complete nonsense as longterm partners for Jade.

4. Buuuuuuuuut this is also what makes Jade a spectacular wlw fits-all. Where the HS men are indecisive and asthenic, the women are aggressive and impulsive. This fits well with Jade, who is used to consolidating raw and chaotic events into useful resources. Where the HS men react to tragedy with tears and consolation, HS women react to tragedy with immense violence and sheer vindication. Where the HS men tacitly accept small suggestions that they may be tragic figures within their own stories, HS women belligerently reject such notions. Jade, Rose, Terezi, Vriska -- these women typify the savoir faire that answers the Advance or Abscond question with the edge of a blade. But Jade most of all exemplifies this idea that if there’s an obstacle that gets in the way of a thing you want, you tear a hole through so large that space itself warps around you. And this is pretty sexy of her, not to be Horny On Main. Many HS men have problems that can’t be solved with gratuitous violence... but many HS women do.

In conclusion: I forgot where I was going with this. Jade Harley is an awesome character. Her rage resonates with me at a frequency only dogs can hear. And it brings me catharsis to know there’s spotlit HS media that finally lets Jade just Wreck House and shout back at the yoke the original HS canon placed on her. Good for her, good for her.))

[shadow-the-clone-of-epsylonn]

I never dared post my old comic book project (let’s be honest, I had a problem that I couldn’t finish it) holding, I don’t want to continue this board anymore. The reason is simple, I saw the Season 11, and unfortunately it ruined all my dreams of a season in Egypt in another Realm not mentioned with my OC, Pharotha.

I will probably have to start all over again, it disgusts me this first part of the season with Clutch Powers which is useless while there was potential to exploit. Personally, I had imagined that Krux, after the Season 7 events propelled into the world of Baron, became as young as his brother as he traveled through time. And even if the tablet of Acronix is broken, the Ninjas manage to pick up the frequency, and thinking that it’s a person to save, they realize that it’s Krux, to their great misfortune ( Cryptor is the Samurai X in this story, sorry but I hate P.I.X.A.L of all the fibers in my body ) and yet they decide to bring him back to their QG, Of course Krux doesn’t want to join their camp, as we don’t know because he still resents the Ninjas for making his brother disappear, once again ( His love of his life, yes it’s very obvious, come not hate because I always thought he loved Acronix more than a brother) So he’s going to stay very vocal for quite a while.

For Pharotha I thought he had rescued Baron in the background, and that he was trying to rally him to his camp because he knows what he’s worth, but of course, the great, the almighty Iron Baron Dicator continues to give a fuck and think only of his mouth:') Add to this that the two men do not suportent and you have the perfect coctail! ( Still I dream at night that they end up working together and I think it’s too cool! ) Then I will not talk about J-Bad, his second, and the fact that only Clutch Powers can hear him speak. And Cleo who hates Pharotha when he wants to marry her :')

Here’s the mess, quick. First time I really explain my ideas, too.

And so, it’s in French, I translate what he say.

“ Where did I land? How long have I been gone? ..“

“ But. Is that my brother’s tablet? .. What is it doing here? .. Where is it? .. It’s broken.. “

“ It seems that to my great regret, this most miserable device still works! ... * Think * Here I am in this sordid world and I don’t even know how to use this stuff ! “

Should I continue with a new page ?

[sswarehouse-blog1]

Superior Spider-Man: The Complete Collection Vol. 1

Along side new comics I’ve been catching up on key events in the big wide world of comics. So if you are like me and don’t like waiting a month to read the new issue, I’ve got some trade reviews coming your way! This week is focusing on Superior Spider-Man Vol 1! 

This collection consists of issues: Amazing Spider-Man 698-700 Spider Dreams Date Night Superior Spider-Man 1-16 It’s a pretty thick paperback, and I’m not really the biggest Spider-Fan, but I think it’s well worth the effort! To give a bit of context, this series follows after Doctor Octopus, Otto Octavius, viciously attacks Peter’s mind using an octobot. You see, Octavius is dying in a high security prison trapped in an iron lung, unable to move. His last ditch effort is to use his mental connection with his robots to match brain frequencies with Peter in order to transfer their minds. Spoiler Alert. He succeeds. The Superior Spider-Man is none other than Otto Octavius, now inhabiting the body of the man he left to die in his place.

As always, spoilers and reviews under the cut! See you space cowboys...

Story & Visuals As I’ve stated before, I’ve never been a huge fan of Spider-Man, so my knowledge comes mostly from the cartoons as a kid. BUT. I have always thought those cartoon villains were some of the best! Kraven, Morbius, Lizard/Dr Connors... those guys always stuck out to me as great characters because they were multidimensional. They lived by some sort of code, constantly reflecting on their actions and redirecting their goals. At the time, Doc Oct was none of that. He was a joke, someone who’s ego drove him mad and who never failed to be a failure. This book changed my view on him as a character. Do I still think he is a dingus-bat creep-a-zoid with greasy hair and a sleaze face? Absolutely.

Let’s start with visuals. Being a collection, the artists change quite a bit, but it’s not distracting and is consistent enough that when you are absorbed into the book, you hardly notice the shift.I wasn’t so sure how I felt about the art style when I began reading as everything was so dramatic with hard, harsh shadows and the regular use of black as the color margins between panels. But then, I realized how well it fit with the narration. Parker’s mind has been taken over, he is losing control of his life, and Otto Octavius is the drudged up slime pit that is doing it. It makes sense! Otto is an edgelord drama kween!

The writing gives Octavius brief moments of brilliance, these flashpoints where he is happy, where he is doing something good for someone, and then at just the moment where you want to congratulate Otto for his deeds he takes it a step further. As the reader I can’t do anything to rectify the situation and I can just feel this disgusting sinking feeling in my gut because I know what happens next, and it’s not good. At some point Octavius, as Spider-Man, creates an army od Spider-Bots to keep watch over the city and allows him time for personal affairs, such as visiting Aunt May during a physical therapy session. Except it goes big-brother level and soon he has infested the city with a crawling swarm of spy cams... Gross.

My favorite issue in the collection is Joking Hazard, which I believe is issue 6 of Superior Spider-Man. There are a lot of quick, short bits of personal development that fit perfectly into the pacing of the issue, but I’m going to focus on Jester and Screwball. These two are essentially internet pranksters who get their entertainment from humiliating prominent public figures (they hit Jameson with a pie in the face and depants him in the first 3 pages). Octavius, a man of pride, can not handle the humiliation. It breaks him. This is the most aggressive, most fearsome depiction of Spider-Man in the whole book. He loses his humanity, and you can see the instant that it happens. It’s a great lead in to the next half of the collection because you know it’s over. It’s all down hill from here and we are just along for the ride.

Thanks for reading! Let’s wrap this up before we get too tangled in the webssssss, haha get it?

Ratings: Overall 9.5/10 - As much as I hated watching Peter’s life fall apart, I have to admit that it was an interesting read and a good narrative. Butts 2/10 - I guess old Otto is a pretty conservative guy and doesn’t often point his butt towards the camera... The cheek shots you do get are WEAK! Creep Factor 154315431/10 - Bruh. Chances of Picking Up the Next Volume: I’m gonna do it. I’m really going to read another Spider-Man book...  

[themyskira]

Wonder Woman #42

Previously in James Robinson’s long, excruciating descent into total apathy: nothing happened for an entire issue, and then Jason showed up.

This time, Diana continues to be totally redundant to the plot as Jason and Grail prance around flaunting convenient and poorly-explained new superpowers.

We open with some typically stilted, overwritten Robinsonian dialogue.

“I’ll ask you again, Jason. What happened to you? Your armour? This look you have now? And where have you been all week?”

This is a perfect example of how James Robinson writes to the reader rather than to the character. Diana’s words tell us nothing about her emotional reaction to Jason’s return. Is she relieved? Worried? Angry? Suspicious? Irritated? I couldn’t possibly tell you. Because she’s not really addressing Jason in this panel. Her words are directed at the reader. They’re there remind us that Jason has been gone for a week and he’s just now mysteriously returned dressed in some shiny new armour.

And, granted, sometimes a writer needs to drop in cues or reminders for readers, especially in a monthly or fortnightly publication, where details could easily be forgotten in the time between issues. A skilled writer can find ways of folding these in without upsetting the flow of dialogue or taking the reader out of the story too much. Robinson, as we have by now established… is not a skilled writer.

Anywhoozle, Jason blathers a bit about how he doesn’t know where he’s been, it’s all a haze, all he remembers is “a dream of giants” and, oh, now he can “sense” things, so he magically knows that he is stronger, more in touch with his powers, able to fly faster even than Diana. And it all has something to do with his armour, which is a gift, but one that comes with a price. Sometime soon he’ll have to pay that price, but doing… something.

(Crossing my fingers here that it involves him sacrificing his life and pissing off out of this comic.)

(Wait, no. Oh shit. He’s going to be the fucking saviour, isn’t he. He’s going to be the hero who saves Themyscira — and Diana is once again going to be relegated to a supporting cast member. Oh, goddamn it, I hate this run so much.)

So of course, Diana says that she’s relieved that Jason is okay, but that she’s concerned about his missing time, not to mention this mysterious armour and unexplained power upgrade. She knows something about divine encounters, but she also knows that the gods have agendas of their own, and it wouldn’t be wise to rush headlong back into the field or—

hahaha nope just kidding, what happens is they hear that Grail’s up to some shit, and a passive Diana allows Jason to take the lead by using his superior speed to fly them both to the scene.

“We can go, Diana. I can get us there. My powers -- I’m more aware of or in synch with them, suddenly. I don’t know if it’s the armour or what. But I can fly faster now -- even faster than you. Come on, Diana, take my hand... we’ll be there in no time.”

As they fly, Jason pointlessly recounts his first meeting with Grail. It’s a waste of six pages that does nothing to advance the plot. Basically, when Jason was fighting off the Deep Six (previously shown in flashback in WW #35), Grail arrived in the nick of time to help him, and because he’s a dickhead this didn’t strike him as even the slightest bit suspicious.

In addition to showcasing Jason’s awesome fighting prowess (what, Wonder Woman? who’s she?), Robinson takes the opportunity to throw stones inside his glass house with some side-splitting comedy about the Deep Six’s Kirby-esque dialogue.

Jason VO: I didn’t know my foes, and their attack came out of nowhere […] but they all sort of introduced themselves as they spoke… Shaligo: Come, brothers, this “flying fish” is no great threat. Why, I, Shaligo, alone shall end it! Jason VO: …which at least made them easier to tell apart. I did okay, though. Gole: I, Gole, shall deal with h— Jason: [thrashing him] Deal with this! Kurin: You may be too agile for Gole, but I, Kurin, will sink you! Jason VO: That’s how they talked. The whole time. Weird, right?

Hahahaha! Hilarious! Early seventies comics, man, so wacky with their dialogue, what with everybody talking all weird and stiltedly and announcing their actions and tossing out names at the reader and pedantically recapping events and—

…oh.

Heh.

See, the thing is, whereas Jack Kirby’s dialogue was of its time, James Robinson’s dialogue is a good decade or two behind the time in which he’s living.  So when he jokes, even good-naturedly, about the unwieldy speech patterns of seventies comic book characters, he only serves to draw attention to the unwieldy speech patterns of his own characters.

Diana and Jason arrive at a picturesque German castle. Apropos of nothing, Diana ~senses~ that somebody inside is in imminent danger, so she asks Jason to fastball special her into the tower.

She crashes through just as Grail is about to murder some rando hero who I believe is supposed to be the Wild Huntsman. As usual, Robbo shows much more interest in resurrecting obscure characters than he does in actually writing Wonder Woman.

They fight. Diana snares her with the lasso, forcing Grail to spill Darkseid’s plans. (Short version: He wants the best army he can get. To this end, he’s collecting relics that resonate with a divine frequency. These can be used to attune a boom tube to the energies of the Greek pantheon and, by extension, Themyscira.)

Diana tells her to go on, but Grail says there’s no need, because she has now mustered enough energy to do “something only someone with the blood of Apokolips and Amazon could do…”

Cut to later, and Jason still can’t shut up about how fucking awesome his new powers are.

“…I mean sure, I can control the win and lightning like our father, but I didn’t need to focus like I normally do. I thought it, and there it was. And I wasn’t drained afterwards like I have been. I know I didn’t get to battle Grail — the fight I wanted — get to test these new, stronger powers that way. But…”

aaaand then Darkseid decides to attack ARGUS, the end this comic is awful.

[aion-rsa]

Black Lightning Season 4 Episode 4 Review: The Book of Reconstruction Chapter Four: A Light In The Darkness

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This Black Lightning review contains spoilers.

Black Lightning Season 4, Episode 4

Black Lightning has been dealing in trauma for the entirety of its run and that has not changed in this, the final season. And while that can be exhausting, writers have used it to a mostly positive effect, driving the emotional core of the show. Jefferson has cocooned himself in his grief and he expels those feelings in fits of violent rage that have left more than one—admittedly deserving— person severely injured. Fighting in Lala’s illegal cage matches may have given Jeff an outlet, but he still carries his hurt with him. When Lynn confronts him about the fighting, which was discovered by Jennifer and TC, he lets loose a verbal grenade that she returns in kind. Jefferson and Lynn are in different types of recovery, and introspection could only take them so far without also confronting their unresolved anger toward each other. Finally allowing them to express the ugly emotions makes way for real healing, and even more compelling storytelling.

Black Lightning is a show based on a comic book and as such, there has to be something epic going on. Tobias is clearly setting the mayor up by suggesting he have a gun buyback event at the homeless safe zone. Freeland is awaiting shipment of the next-gen DEGs, which as we’ve seen, can do major damage to metas. When Lala attacks the buyback event, Lightning, Blackbird and Grace—newly-nicknamed Wylde— intervene. When the mayor is fatally shot, Chief Lopez blames them for getting in the way. This further cements Lopez’s hate towards metas which puts them at even greater risk. And Gambi’s tactic to delay deployment of the DEGs merely slows production by a few days. The writers wanted to make it clear this episode that shit is very bad and certain to get worse.

To recap: Tobias has the mayor killed, and successfully pushes an anti-meta rhetoric, which Chief Lopez fully supports. Freeland law enforcement—and the criminal element— will soon be in possession of powerful anti-meta weapons. Monovista, makers of the DEG, is secretly working on an energy field emitter for an unnamed client who I’d bet is Tobias, possibly planning to Malcom Merlin a piece of Freeland. Things are not looking great for the good guys. On top of all of that, Jennifer may be dead.

If this were not the last season of Black Lightning I would be absolutely certain that Jennifer’s apparent destruction is a fake out. But knowing that this is it, and that China Anne McClaine, who plays Jenn, was leaving anyway, I don’t know what to think. Jennifer flies to the ionosphere which she’s been doing with increasing frequency, but this time the power she absorbs is too much. She appears to… explode. Some part of me believes that the time we’ve spent with Jennifer this season has a prelude to something…. else, something that changes who she is but leaves her alive to be changed. The other part of me though recognizes the weight of a main character death. Especially the youngest daughter of our series hero.

Fridging Jennifer for Jefferson’s redemption would be a bad look, because it always looks bad killing a woman to enrich a man’s story. But the Pierce women have always been the emotional anchor tethering Jefferson to his heroism, and their safety has always been a key motivator for him. Jenn’s endangerment in season one is what brought Black Lightning out of retirement and ultimately propelled the story forward. It would be tragic, maybe poetic, if Jennifer’s death brings Black Lightning back once more, but that is a very fine line to walk. I may be getting ahead of myself but I can’t help but to ask. What else could bring Khalil back to Freeland if not to mourn his first love? What could make Anissa leave? Jennifer’s death, if that’s what it really is, would be impactful.

When Jefferson and patrons of a Freeland bar get into an open conversation about heroes, and Black Lightning in particular, Detective Hassan Shakur (Wallace Smith) shares how Black Lightning saved him. “When you talk about Black Lightning, you put respect on that man’s name.” Whether or not Hassan has agreed to aid Jefferson, it’s clear he has a respect for the impact Black Lightning has had on the city. And that is significant. Also significant is that Jefferson is moved to action. He asks Lynn to accept Tobias’ offer, signaling a shift from being reactive to proactive. Jefferson might not be ready to be Black Lightning, he may never be, but he’s tired of wallowing and tired of pushing his family away. Cress Williams is in his MF bag, thoroughly pulling us into Jefferson’s despair and disappointment. His performance is doing a lot of heavy lifting 

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This episode is emotional and full of action, and it feels like the writers have their foot firmly on the gas. Whatever is coming, I hope Black Lightning continues to apply pressure and keep the momentum going. 

The post Black Lightning Season 4 Episode 4 Review: The Book of Reconstruction Chapter Four: A Light In The Darkness appeared first on Den of Geek.

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[mjrtaurus]

Revised AOS Khan Headcanons

Buckle your seat-belts, my little cadets, ‘cuz this is gonna be a monster of a post!

I commonly section off my headcanons in what I like to call the “Biopsychosocial Template” which is pretty self-explanatory.

Anyway, here we go.

BIO

Khan is the result of an extended period of highly selective breeding and genetic engineering. He was not conceived in the traditional fashion because of this. The two sex cells that formed him were so heavily altered by the breeding and modifications that he, in essence, had no discernible mother or father.

As stated above, he was not born in the traditional fashion, either. He developed outside of the womb (thus having no naval), in a purely artificial environment meant to eliminate the risks that would have been present in a pregnancy. He was simply too valuable to lose.

He is able to adjust his metabolic rate at will. Slowing it when he needs to endure through a period of famine, and speeding it whenever he is in battle.

His rate of healing is directly tied to his metabolism. A lot of healing means a lot of food and water.

Due to the sudden jump through time, his immune system was unable to compensate for the adaptations of common illnesses throughout the centuries he slept. Shortly after being woken from cryogenics, he became sick with Terran Influenza.

Electrically inclined weaponry such as tasers and stun guns are especially effective against him, as his pain receptors are made overly sensitive to better discern where and how his body is damaged..

His bones are much denser than the average human’s in order to compensate for how much harder he is able to hit without breaking them.

At eighteen years of age, he was sterilized by the geneticists of the Chrysalis Project due to having a very tribal nature, which was seen as a highly undesirable trait.

His blood cells are highly adaptable, not only able to live independently from his own body for several hours, but to boost the healing rate of another via transfusion.

He can heal from nearly all superficial wounds without any form of scarring.

His ears are sensitive, able to pick up frequencies both lower and higher than what the average human ear can detect. Because of this, he can’t stand using sonic showers.

When light levels are low, he becomes fully colorblind to better pick up on different values of black, white, and gray, much like a cat does.

Psycho

He was raised without much affection, seen more as a creature or a machine rather than a human. Because of this, in high stress situations, he will become very detached from emotional responses, similar to a factory reset.

Marcus’ abuse was nothing new to him initially. However, the reconstructive surgery done to alter his appearance and voice sent him into severe anxiety attacks for a handful of months whenever he caught a glimpse of himself in reflective surfaces.

His IQ easily rivals that of a well educated Vulcan.

He has an eidetic memory, able to recall minute details from events that had taken place years prior.

His views on the matter of sex are incredibly literal due to the environment in which he was raised. To him, sex is only for the sake of reproduction. Unable to have offspring of his own, he has little to no interest in sex whatsoever.

He is prone to having nightmares and PTSD episodes whenever he is ill, recovering from wounds, or sleeping during a thunderstorm.

His esper rating is quite high, even for an augment. He is able to predict emotional responses in others almost flawlessly because of this, but has little else in the way of extrasensory abilities.

He was trained since a very young age to have strict control over his perception of pain. While he does feel pain, he is able to function through it with relative ease.

He has difficulty with understanding abstract concepts such as music or art. He sees it as frivolous, and unnecessary, yet it is found in every corner of the universe.

Social

He is fiercely loyal to those he considers trustworthy, more than willing to risk life and limb to ensure that they remain unharmed.

He is very slow to trust, wary of strangers to the point where it often comes off as rude.

He has difficulty in expressing his affection for someone or something, having been shown so little affection in his own life.

Outside of posturing and diplomacy, he is incredibly, near comically awkward in conversation.

Tactile forms of affection such as hugs, kisses, and the like make him very uncomfortable.

Romantic affection is equally foreign, even outright frustrating to him.

He often does not involve himself in large social gatherings outside of political necessity.

His concept of family is more closely defined as a pack mentality than an actual family. Everyone has their roles and responsibilities, and it simply is the way it is.

The time spent out of contact with his family resulted in a very bitter, reclusive lifestyle.

He is flattered by the little things. Giving him a blanket whilst he’s dozing on the couch, offering coffee or tea on a cold day, letting him borrow a book when he is bored, etc...

He hates being cold. It reminds him too much of being in cryo.

[inhumansforever]

Moon Girl and Devil Dinosaur #25 Review

spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers spoilers

The Fantastic Three story-arc starts here, from the creative team of Brendan Montclare, Natacha Bustos and Tamra Bonvillain.  Quick recap and review following the jump.

The tale starts off in Lunella’s underground laboratory where The Thing (Ben Grimm) and Human Torch (Johnny Storm) have brought Lunella some of the many boxes of storage that had previously been collecting dust in the old Baxter Building.  The boxes are loaded up mostly with memorabilia, but also a number of Reed Richards’ old intentions and Ben and Johnny thought that a fellow big-brain like Lunella might find some use for it.  

While Ben and Johnny bicker and banter with each other, Lunella discovers an old H.E.R.B.I.E. unit and accidentally switches it on.  The robot comes to life some time later and is likely to show back up some time down the line.  

Lunella takes Ben and Johnny up to her listening outpost on the roof of her apartment building.  There she explains that she has been monitoring different frequencies across the cosmos and multiverse in search of some sign of Reed Richards.  She has been dedicated to finding Reed, Sue and the kids not only because the world needs them, but also for her own reasons.  As the current smartest person in the world, Lunella is left feeling quite lonely and pines for the chance to meet and talk with the former smartest person in the world.  

As much as Ben and Johnny appreciate her efforts, they see Lunella’s search for Reed, Sue and the kids as being in vain.  It’s still not entirely clear what Ben and Johnny know about their family’s disappearance; what exactly they recall from the conclusion of the Secret Wars event.  Do they know that Reed and the others remained behind to help the Molecule Man recreate the multiverse, or do Ben and Johnny simply believe them to have died?  In either case, neither seem to feel Lunella has much of a chance of reaching Reed and the others.  

Elsewhere, a mysterious set of forces has been thieving various items as part of some sort of sinister scheme.  An experimental isotope of anti-yellow quarks is stolen, as is a large cache of gold, barrels of toxic waste and a huge amount of electricity.  To what end these items have been pilfered and who or what is behind the thefts remains to be seen.  The thief or thieves remains just out of the panel; yet what we do see of them bears a good deal of resemblance to the Fantastic Four (one is invisible, another has massive strength, another appears to have stretching powers, while the fourth seems to be composed of fire).  

Back at school, Lunella offers up a bunch of the old Fantastic Four comic books to Eduardo, who is very excited to receive them.  Eduardo and Zoe are Lunella’s friends, but not really the kind of friends that she can feel she can talk to, whom she can relate to on a deeper level.   

Lunella’s parents come to pick her up after school and are met their by Ben and Johnny.  There is something Ben and Johnny need Lunella’s help with, but Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette want nothing to do with it.  They’re done with Lunella’s dangerous super hero adventures and want her to come home.  Johnny is crestfallen that Lunella’s parents barely even remember the Fantastic Four.   No one bothers to ask Lunella whom she would prefer to accompany.

This whole argument over who Lunella is going to go with is interrupted by The Silver Surfer, who arrives above the school to deliver a dire message.  Ben and Johnny both assume The Surfer’s message is for them, but it is actually meant for Lunella.  

Ben and Johnny don’t take tio kindly to the matter and before you know it, yet another fight breaks out between The Thing, The Torch and The Surfer.  A fight that only comes to an end when Lunella threatens to obliterate them all with her latest invention.  

This stops them all in their tracks, whereupon Lunella reveals that her latest innovation is actually just her leftover sandwich from lunch.  Still, it sufficed in getting the trio to quit fighting and The Surfer is finally able to deliver his warning.  The Surfer no longer requires words to relay this warning, all that is needed is a mere gesture.  He points to the horizon where the enormous figure of Galactus looms, peering out over the Lower East Side.  

Lunella is of two minds in considering the world-ending threat that Galactus represents.  On the one hand she is daunted over the prospect of having to face this threat without her trusty pal, Devil Dinosaur.  On the other hand, however, she also feels solace that if the world is to come to an end at least Devil D will be safe back in his home dimension.  

And it is here that the issue comes to an end with he promise of continuation in the next installment.  

My ability to offer up at least the semblance of an unbiased review for this issue is all but entirely undermined by the fact that I am a huge Fantastic Four fan and so very much miss getting to read their adventures on a monthly basis.  And if missing the FF is a kind of itch, then this issue of Moon G and Devil D definitely helped to scratch it.  It is such a treat to get to see Ben and Johnny bickering again… and Lunella worked out great acting in the dual roles of Sue and Reed.  This Fantastic Three might not be quite as good as The Fantastic Four, but it is an excellent consolation prize.  Although what it most achieved was to remind me just how much I miss the FF.  

It seems a good bet that The Galactus who appears at the end may not be the real Galactus.  Instead of wearing his traditional mauve and blue armor, this Galactus is donned in armor of gray and gold.  My guess is this being may actually be an artificial Galactus composed of those various items that were shown as being stolen earlier in the issue.  Yet who might be behind this all?  Is it some evil version of the Fantastic Four from another dimension?  Is it the U-Foes?  Some other dastardly threat?  Whatever the case, I’m looking forward to finding out.  

Although it is a minor complaint, I was a little confused by Lunella’s motivations for searching out the missing members of The FF.  Clearly Lunella is very much missing Devil Dinosaur and I can get that she is longing to be able to talk with someone on the same intellectual level as herself, but this thematic was already very well addressed in the ‘World’s Smartest’ story-arc and it feels a touch like returning to the same well.  Besides, Lunella could have just taken to searching out Reed, Sue and the kids simply because it is a challenge worthy of her intellectual prowess.   It was nice to see Lunella’s mom and dad again, although I continue to wish we could see further development of their characters.  And where are the sentient robot duplicates Lunella made to cover for her when she was off rescuing Illa the Girl Moon?  Again, these are the kind of complaints that are merely a product of my having become so invested in Lunella and this comic.  These are good complaints… the kind of complaints I never have for comics I don’t really care about.  (but seriously, Mr. and Mrs. Lafayette need some more screen time…)

There’s also a neat little side-joke for longtime Fantastic Four fans.  Johnny shows contempt for the little robotic H.E.R.B.I.E. unit that Lunella uncovers and Ben jokes that Johnny doesn’t like him because he’s jealous of the time that H.E.R.B.I.E. had replaced him.  

What Ben is referring to here is actually took place in a cartoon.  The first Fantastic Four cartoon was produced in 1967 by Hana Barbara and was actually pretty terrific, with character designs by Alex Toth and stories derived from he comics themselves.  

A second, more ‘kid-friendly’ series was produced in 1978 by DePatie-Freleng Enterprises.  At the time Hana Barbara still owned the IP rights for The Human Torch so this new cartoon opted to replace him with HERBIE, an annoying Robot who was meant to be cute but was actually quite grating.  

This cartoon was just terrible and hating HERBIE is pretty much a badge of honor among big time FF fans.   

Anyways…. It is awesome to get to see Natacha Bustos illustrate The Thing and Human Torch.  The Kirby-esque elements of her style are highlighted, but the over-all look remains very much her own.  I have become such a huge fan of her and just love the way she draws The Thing and The Torch; her knack for fun and animated facial expression perfectly capture the playful banter between Ben and Johnny as well as Lunella’s exasperation over their nonsense.  I especially liked how Bustos chose to depict Johnny in his flamed-on form.  She opts for a minimalist approach, maintaining the expressiveness of in the face whilst also creating the illusion of dynamic flames dancing about.  It’s quite well done.  

As always, Bustos’ art is augmented and brought to life by Tamra Bonvillain’s expert colors.  Bustos and Bonvaillan work so well together, I could just gush over it all day.  The aesthetic they have created for this comic has been a key feature to it being a comic easily enjoyed by older and younger readers alike.  It’s… well, it’s fantastic!

Definitely recommended.  I’m biased because it met my FF jones, but keeping that in mind I’m going to go headband give it Five out of Five Lockjaws anyway!

[isthemedia]

Hey why do you like the whole “include every bit of media” in your fics? Not hating just curious. You seem to like doing this with like your two biggest fandoms (BNHA seems to be spared since it’s newer and all).

I’m a HUGE comic fan. I grew up on Marvel buuuut when I got more into making things for fandoms I was more into DC.

DC played around so much with their multiverses and I loved it when they’d cross over. (Marvel didn’t start playing around with multiverses until like WAAAAAY later-like up until the Ultimate Verse Marvel insisted that every Marvel title was taking place in the same universe).

However the BIGGEST factor was when DC introduced Hyper Time. This is the whole river analogy I brought up in Merged Teams. Where time and dimensions are more fluid that tributaries can break off and come back again. Like why a costume would change or why a character would think about a person or event suddenly.

It was such an amazing concept because of how it affected all points of a character. Sadly DC dropped Hype Time and went back to the whole “vibrating at different frequencies”.

I want to capture WHY I loved the concept of Hyper Time and apply it to other fandoms where it can be applied.

(And ye...BNHA still doesn’t have much for alternative or supplemental media as of yet so it gets the more tried and true AU/“What if” treatment)

[thesundaymorningpost]

The Sunday Morning Post

September 3, 2017                                                          10th Edition

Current News:

Yuri on Ice: ShitBang

On August 31st, if you love Yuri on Ice, your feed may have blown up with stories and artwork created as a means for writers and artists to come together and work on a project together.

What is the Shit Bang you ask? It is an amazing event for writers and artists to come together and write and draw about the amazing anime we all love: Yuri!!! On Ice! But a little more than that this is a direct - non-hateful - response to THAT blog. You know the one I’m talking about. Yup. THAT one. - @yoi-shit-bang

The amount of stories and artwork has been astounding. From one-shots, to multi-chapters, all written by amazing authors. Then there is all the amazing artwork that has come with it, by some amazing and very talented artists.

Please keep in mind that many subjects may trigger, please read all tags before reading a story. 

Story Recommendation: we have loved the stars too fondly by @thehandsingsweapon

“We live in a blue planet that circles around a ball of fire next to a moon that moves the sea, and you don’t believe in miracles?”

After an academic career at MIT and Oxford, Yuuri Katsuki eschews job offers at places like NASA and CERN to go work at the Very Large Array in what Phichit Chulanont lovingly calls The Actual Middle of Nowhere, New Mexico, monitoring radio frequencies from light-years away. He's loved the stars for as long as he can remember, and the universe feels so big sometimes that Yuuri is sure it would be a cruel mistake for humans to be all alone.

Enter the latest scientist to join the staff of the VLA, enigmatic Russian genius Victor Nikiforov, around whom Yuuri’s entire universe seems to bend to make room, and the strange, recurring dreams Yuuri keeps having, where something like love carries him across the stars.

Does love travel faster than light? Do souls?

“The cosmos is within us. We are made of star-stuff. We are a way for the universe to know itself.”

"Yuri, on Stars!!   This lovely short story will resonate with anyone that lives the heavens.  Dreamscapes thought to be a figment of Yuuri's imagination turn out to be a more real than tangible science, and Viktor is patient with all his insecurities.  With just the right amount of angst to give it depth, this vignette will take you into the endless cosmos!" - @darkrivertempest

Artist Spotlight:

we have loved the stars too fondly by @shadhahvar

Comic:

Good boy by @floccinaucinihilipilificationa  (Click title to reblog)

Support: 

This week’s Ko-Fi shout-out goes to Discoursemoth | @lowercasewrites  (Click to buy coffee)

im sei! im a non-passing trans boy with unsupportive parents, and im using this account primarily to pay for things that could help me pass better, such as a packer and binder. you obviously dont have to donate but i would really appreciate it!                                

Patreon: YukiPri | @yukipri  (Click name to become a patreon)

Hey there!! Thanks so much for visiting my Patreon. I'm Kazu, also YukiPri on Tumblr. I'm currently a freelance translator and illustrator who is HOPING to support myself primarily through art. My passion is telling my own unique stories through visual media, and I love world-building, costume design, and overall extensively over-thinking all of my stories. This patreon is a step towards hopefully better sustaining myself off of art so I can continue to grow as a professional artist and produce content that you can enjoy! I am unbelievably grateful to every patron who helps me continue to do what I love doing. My wish is for the majority of my work to remain public, but I also desperately need to support myself, and also have a variety of content that I'm not comfortable posting publicly for various reasons. As thanks for your support, my patrons will get access to exclusive content, including WIPs/sketches, previews, art progress/tutorials, higher resolution art, early access, and nsfw content!

Fun and Games:

10 Questions Every Fic Writer Secretly Wants to be Asked by @wyseink  (Click Title to reblog)

There are a lot of fic questions that float around online, but rarely do they ever ask specific questions about the fics themselves. Ask any writer one or more of these ten questions to learn more about the fic and show support.

1. Of the fics you’ve written, which is your favorite and why?

2. Which scene was your favorite to write in [title of fic]?

3. Which part of [title] was hardest to write?

4. If you could change anything in [title], what would it be?

5. Did you make an outline for [title]? Did you stick to it?

6. Which scenes did you cut, and which were added in [title]?

7. Who was your favorite character to write in [title]?

8. Which came first, the title or the fic?

9. Which idea came to you first in [title]?

10. What are some facts readers may not know about [title]?

Story Prompt:

Monochrome by @diamondwinters An AU where people who are sad, down, depressed cannot hide it. Whenever you get sad, you start to loose your color. Your skin turns pale, your eyes loose their color, and turn gray or white, and your hair turns gray. Like an old black and white tv show, you loose all your color when you’re very sad. A little bit of sadness might dim your natural colors, but you wouldn’t loose them. It’s during a time when you feel heart broken, or very depressed that you go Monochrome. Such as a big break up, a death of a loved one, deep depression, etc. Monochrome is the medical term used by the doctors in this AU to describe turning gray in a world of color.

Some people who are unable to get happy, may use make-up, contacts, and hair color to hide the fact that they’re depressed, but eventually even those things will loose their color and will need to be replaced.

The best thing to do is to find your happiness. Be with friends, and family who can help you bring your color back. The brighter you are, the more vivid your colors are, the happier you are.

Art Prompt:

Imagine your OTP by @bumble-beany

Person A: Are you awake?                                         

Person B: I am now                                         

Person A: I was just wondering...                                         

Person A: What do you think it'd be like to be a pregnant male seahorse?

Person B: Really?! You woke me up for that?

W.I.P. Motivation:

Liquor Stash by @severeminx​

I want him.

When the full realization hit him, Yuri felt as though he couldn’t breathe. Detached and fleeting thoughts that had passed through his mind finally took shape in these three words at that exact moment. The I being himself, Yuri Plisetsky, age 17, a Russian figure skater with a list of impressive accomplishments to his name that seemed pretty pointless right now given the context. The want being desire, the need to bury himself, the thought to consume, but never actually act out except behind locked doors in empty beds or shower stalls. The him being the person standing across from Yuri sipping coffee from a take-away cup with creased brows, the low sunlight hitting his face just so to light up his otherwise dark eyes. Someone he considered to be his best friend, who came all the way from Almaty just to spend a week with him and who was blissfully unaware of the fucking turmoil Yuri was feeling in the pit of his stomach. Or at least, Yuri hoped he was unaware.

In which Yuri Plisetsky invites Otabek Altin over to stay with him in Saint Petersburg, freaks out over his feelings and delves into Lilia's liquor stash.

Please go read and support this artist. They are looking for kudos and comments to get them back into finishing this fantastic story!

Fandom Week:  (Click each line to go to blog)

Zarkon Week! September 3rd - 9th.

Yuri on Ice Music Week! September 4th - 11th

NSFW Yuri Plisetsky Week! September 11th - 17th.

Guang-Hong Week! Voting will be Sept 15th - 21st

SeungChuchu Week! October 16th - 23rd.

Help Wanted:

Needed: Tumblr theme editor. Please contact Diamond Winters for details.

Story recommendations!! If you find a story that you absolutely love, and you want to see it get some recognition, please submit a link to it with a 2-3 sentence review of the story. This way it could get in the spotlight in a future edition of the SMP. Requirements are that it’s completed, or a one-shot.

Artist Spotlight!! If you find a piece of artwork that needs more love, please submit a link to it so it may be considered for future spotlights in the future.

WIP Motivation: Please send your support to these writers or artist to encourage them to continue their story or artwork. No good story or piece of art should be left unfinished. - If you know of a good story that hasn’t been updated in a while, and would like to offer encouragement to the author, please let me know, so that I can link to their story here.

If there is ever any section of the Sunday Morning Post that you feel you can contribute too, please send an Ask or Submit to either the SMP, or @d2diamond so that it has a chance at making in a future post. Thank you!  

@yoi-shit-bang | @thehandsingsweapon | @darkrivertempest | @shadhahvar | @floccinaucinihilipilificationa | @lowercasewrites | @yukipri | @wyseink | @diamondwinters | @bumble-beany | @severeminx

[thrallsnpuppets]

If i had just been raised with a gentle hand, if i had experienced warmth and guidance, if people were just kind to me than i suppose everything would be different.

I am warped and unfortunately my own perspective was shaped by the environment i grew up in before my powers... That sounds stupid, abilities... Useless... Gift? Whatever you want to call it, it didnt fully form until my concept of self awareness and understanding of the world around me fleshed out.

I have read in many many articles of fiction like comic books or mangas that describe people developing their abilities through an age milestone or a triggering event. It Was always fascinating, like waiting for a letter at 11 or some strange rumble at 13, i had anticipated a special trait of mine to appear like so many of the people around me. I never seemed to arrive.

I had this friend who could run very fast. He was always a gifted athlete and through training and support he scored the track record for the whole district at 13! I Told myself i could never run like that but he was the fastest person i know and the more i observed the faster and faster he was able to run. Incredible!

I had another friend who was amazingly talented with paints. I loved her brush strokes. The images always seemed to come to life. The colors, the lines, they were as beautiful and engimatic as she was. I will never be as good as she is but i made sure to follow her online profile closely watching as she grew better and better with every stroke. I cant wait to see her live exhibits.

My brother... Excuse me, sister wanted to be able to change her shape. Everyday she would apply her powders and her perfumes. Everyday she would practice in the mirror to change her voice. I wanted her to be able to shift into the image i want her to be and eventually i watched her change into anybody she wished to be. Our parents were never supportive in either of us but i believed that one day she can become anyone. And she does, with great frequency.

During lunch at school, she showed her amazing ability to take any form by taking on my image... Why would she do that? That didnt make me happy. I want her to capture the beauty in everyone... Else. Not me.

I suppose i could never be the beauty i see in my sister nor be as fast as or create amazing pieces like my friends. What could i do? Support from the sidelines i guess.

One day, however, i got an email with an invitation to my friends art exhibit. We hadnt spoken since highschool and they all ended up pursuing careers based off their talents. I had worked the same job, stocking shelves for years with no real change.

My life sucked. I hated helping nasty customers and dreaded audit and inventory day. I was always worried that the numbers wouldn't add up but through a great effort of mine we usually scraped by. So, when I was invited to go see my friends exhibit in the city about 50 miles outside of town, i wanted to change venues for a couple hours.

I didnt have a car nor do we have public transit, so with great haste my friend ran down from the college north of my hometown in his super fast car. Fastest on the market that an athlete like him can buy.

In no time, we made it to the city early. We met up with my sister for some brunch before hand to talk about the exhibit while my other friend prepped her studio for the evening.

This is when my sister informed me that she had worked together with my friend to create some of the main art pieces in her studio. I thought that was grand. Using someone who can change shape on a whim as a model seemed ingenious. But... She Was reluctant to tell me the main subject of the pieces. I assumed it was her sine, you know, she was the model.

Once said and done, we agreed to meet each other at the exhibit that night....

Tbc

You were born with superpowers, but you’ve never actually noticed it. Until now.