#i lied yes i do i POTENTIALLY have a sweet comic in the future. Potentially.

[todayisafridaynight]

lil things

[red-i-mean-blue]

A:TLA romantic ships part 1

yes, no one asked for my opinions, yes I will give them anyway, yes because I have decided making a bunch of meaningless decisions and arguing for them will improve my mental state, yes I watched the show all in one very sleep deprived go and i’m not interested in rewatching it so yes I have absolutely no sources, yes this is a really long grammatical nightmare because I don’ t know how to be succinct and i use way more words than necessary at any opportunity because if my point doesn’ t come across exactly like i intend it will greatly upset me, no I have not yet watched Korra or read the comics because i’m tired now let’s do this.

includes Kataang, Zutara, Jetkara, Jinko, Maiko, Sukka, Taang, Tokka, Toko Ty Lokka, Tyzula, Yukka bc these were on the Avatar wiki ship list, part two will go into gay ships more

from 0 I despise people who ship this immediately to 10 I will read absolutely anything with this, I love it and could draw it for hours on how much I think the relationship would be good and how happy it makes me

Kataang (looks like a comic book sound effect so plus points)

very clearly built up over the series

cute kid crushes also ngl did not know katara was 14 and not older 12 or 13 so didn’t care about age when watching

now I know she’s 14 and he’s 12 it’s a little weird but still

haters say katara was just the avatar’s trophy girl, as if aang didnt kiss the ground she walked on and wouldnt stop telling anyone how amazing she is. Katara was the first face he saw from the new world and they immediately became friends. she was so excited to meet another bender, he clearly is trying to impress her and it is working, he listens to her about bending and offers to take her to the other side of the world to master water, TELL ME at this moment she is not ride or die and she doesn’t even know he’s the avatar, he lets her feel like a kid again, which is a feeling she’s forgotten after years of being a mother to sokka and the children. he literally sweeps her off her feet to save her from the fire nations ship i-. rewatched boy in the iceberg and hoo boy had canon not messed it up, this ship could have been legendary

hard to imagine older them working out what with the whole last airbender, preserve air nomad culture, let’s travel the world bc nomadic lifestyle, what’s marriage i’m a monk without biological family values vs last southern waterbender, preserve southern water tribe culture, I believe in the power of family and am ridiculously dedicated to my tribe,  let me go home to my father and tribe shtick, but I don’t care for after the show finishes much except for following the gang fix the world so I don’t really care about the marriage issue

canon was good until that Mess in season 3, WHY did he kiss her after that speech, wish they talked that out properly, wish he learned letting go of her to open the 7th chakra was the only right decision, wish the ending was a little more vague in ships and just left things open but yk whatever

that finale kiss was sweet, they hugged foremost as friends, no blushing, and then got the fuzzies, that moment standing alone? a+ but without any talking about what happened on ember island, a little unsatisfying

overall, fine ship, not my favourite nor do I actively ship it, but I see a kataang moment, i’m like, sweet so I give it a 6

Zutara (apparently fans are zutarians which looks like an alien race, plus points)

latter half of the show had quite a lot of Zutara potential, but idk about Zutara actual

katara was so ready to drop his ass, no way at the start

there is only one dynamic between them in which I can see Zutara working and that is as in the Stalking Zuko by emletish series where katara is so distrusting over zuko she takes to stalking him to make sure he isn’t doing anything to hurt Aang or about to betray them (her) again but he is just such a sweet dork who keeps trying to apologise to her even while she’s apologising to him for being a bitch that she can’t help but start to trust him, i’m a third into the third book in the series not stalking firelord zuko and I am thriving and tbh this is the only situation where I accept zutara, read the series I love it

age gap is weird, I know it’s the same difference between kataang but they made a point of zuko being older in the show also he’s so much taller and I don’t like 16 year old boys with 14 year old girlfriends in real life and so would katara because jet

katara has a bad experience with bad boy sword weilders (jet) but I guess you could see it as the start of her type idk

they are both the moms of the Gaang. sokka is the fun dad.

there is a parallel between their families, with the leader of their people dad, mom who left the picture when they were young, an older brother who is not a prodigy at/can’ t bend their respective element so they become proficient at swords instead, prodigy at bending younger sister with a violent streak. this is why I see zutara as potentially a really close friendship, almost siblings, but not a romance because to me katara is a little too like azula for comfort...

tbh I think a lot of folk shipped it because ooh fire boy and water girl (not the game) that’ s perfect, and bam army of zutarians

overall, kind of weird but ok and good grounds for humour so I give it a 4

Jetkara (bad ship name, why would you like this, minus points)

Jet is bad. yes Katara really liked him, yes he was definitely her first kiss and she would definitely consider him her first boyfriend but they would not define it because it’s easier to manipulate someone when it’s unclear what your relationship is and Jet is bad, with his weird fricking eyebrows and not even real swords those hook swords

Not wasting my time, 2

Jinko (cool name, reminds me of Hong Jinkyung, plus points) 

short but so sweet. not the first thing people remember from watching the tales of ba sing se (brb going to rewatch and cry) but really cute, so here’s a running commentary

his first thought was she knew they were fire nation rather than a pretty girl sat in a teashop giving him looks because she had a crush omg

that honest surprise when his uncle suggested she liked her and then she walked up and asked him on a date, adorable

anyone who looked at that god-awful hairstyle and still thought he looked cute has it bad also aww that hair ruffle and the little grab onto his arm

he’s pushing his food around and she’s trying out ice breaker questions and recieving one word responses he has no idea what he’s doing

“she is not my GIRLFRIEND” he’s not over Mai, clearly but he still is trying his best to be a good date even if he’s terrible at making conversation

anyone who sat through that date and the bad lying and the stilted conversation and still thought he was cute has it bad 

he is So Bad At Lying he just told the truth very vaguely and then bam travelling circus

jin so knows the two are fire nation, the whole date she just politely ignores the clear lies and doesn’t react to the obvious firebending, what an icon we love jin

honestly I was really expecting the show to reveal that jin knew he was a firebender if not from the start then from the lights but eh I guess she can keep a secret, good for her

HE KISSED HER BACK BEFORE REALISING A RELATIONSHIP COULD NEVER GO WELL AND HE MAY HAVE ANGSTILY STORMED OFF BUT HE ADMITTED IT WAS A NICE TIME TO HIS UNCLE

that being said I can’t see anything more happening but this date but omg imagine fire lord zuko coming back to visit and they become friends I-

overwhelming support for pre-date jin flirting to an oblivious zuko and the date Jinko, 8

Maiko (name would be a good name for a cat idk why)

childhood sweethearts before the banishment i think

she crushed because he saved her hair from getting burnt by tackling her into a fountain? adorable

I love mai she’s so funny but I think not the best match for zuko? he has a lot of trauma to get over and she doesn’t seem like the let all your feelings out and let’s talk about it until you feel better kind of person.  it was deeply ingrained in her to keep all of her feelings and emotions strongly hidden because she got what she wanted from her politician parents so long as she was quiet, well-mannered, and perfectly behaved according to avatar wiki so I get why she’s that way, until I was 11 I was that way too all the time, I understand freezing your face so you don’t look afraid or upset or angry and risk annoying adults, but I don’t think that that would fit zuko with his social ineptness

they literally broke up twice but are just assumed back together? she just surprised him and said they were back together and I think he forgot she existed

the deadpan firelady and the fire lord would be hilarious together tho she got the ruthlessness he lacks

post coronation I can see it happening, 6 but under Kataang

Sukka (terrible name lmao)

the cutest, sokka very excitedly says “Suki!! :DDD” every time he sees her

she didn’t give him the time of day until HE changed, incredible

just the best canon ship, the two nonbenders in the Gaang but very clearly shown to be important key members.

suki is sneaky and badass, rivalling zuko for position on the team as the sneaky badass one (they tie and bond over being sneaky and badass)

sokka is a great dad, he is the dad of the Gaang and he clearly loves suki and suki loves him back

sokka ships are ELITE, 9

Taang (a delicious orange drink mix that reminds me of home, nostalgia)

foreshadowing from the swamp where someone aang loved in the future really made me think taang was endgame yk

opposite elements ideology that I guess is what zutarians like also leaves everyone in the gang dating a Gaang member if zutara happens

actually the same age but not much else going for it

best friends, 4 but under Zutara

Tokka (great name of a small pet fight me)

sokka ships are elite, childhood crush turned adult strong friendship

I really like seeing the rough, tough, greatest earthbender in  the world have a crush, adorable

sokka is a great friend and his and toph’s canon relationship is so sweet, I wouldn’t change it

toph was fully going to give sokka a kiss on the cheek for saving her life i’m melting

age difference is too weird for a romance he’s like 16 or 17 by the end I think and she’s 12

best friends, 10 as a relationship in the show, 2, but in their 20s after the show... 4 but under Taang

Toko (very forgettable name but both characters have 4 letters so I guess it’s hard to come up with something memorable but every time I read it as Toph because same shape ish so minus points for being annoying)

even weirder age gap than Tokka 

not many moments that could be considered romantic? 

toph first accepted zuko despite him burning her feet, how she sees, which was big and they resolved problems between them quickly

toph clinging to his arm and asking for a life changing field trip caused him to blush, but I see that as him being like oh someone wants to spend time with me?? she’s hugging me??? what is this 

convenient ship for kataangers because the Gaang could be paired off as Kataang, Sukka, Toko

her crush on sokka seemed to go away or calm down when he showed up and she punched him and teased him a lot, her way of bonding

similar strict teaching styles and bonding over secret identities as Blue Spirit and Blind Bandit and parental issues and being the children of important families who made them run away to enjoy not having anything to do with politics and being nobility with impaired vision who have never stepped into a kitchen in their lives and being used to servants and then being on the run

I really see them as siblings with her helping him relax from his duties as fire lord because you already know this boy’s sense of honour is going to make him work tirelessly to fix the world and him helping her relax from the whole i’m not a fragile, weak little blind girl, i’m the greatest earthbender in the world shtick and reminding her she can be both a blind 12 year old girl and the most powerful earthbender in the world, she can accept help without being weak or lesser than anyone, people want to help because they care not that they pity you

best friends 10, relationship in show 1, after show 3

Ty Lokka (I don’t like this name looks like a place but can think of nothing better)

yeah I guess ty lee’s obvious flirting is grounds for a ship but in every interaction he’s involved with someone else and doesn’t seem to like her as a person

do they even interact while on the same side?

friendly aquaintances at best, don’ t understand, 2 but above Jetkara

Tyzula (don’t like this name, like a mineral water?)

canon I don’t care it is canonically a possessive relationship

azula’s only genuine apology goes to ty lee after hurting her feelings

Azula clearly loves ty lee, her betrayal sends her mad

after a lot of therapy for azula and apologies, maybe a healthy relationship could form after the show, 8 above Jinko

Yukka (looks like a childish insult, surely someone could have thought of a better name)

Sokka’s love for Yue stays with him for the rest of his life, she was the first person to die in front of him and he sees the moon as her facing the earth

love this forbidden lovers content, sokka ships stay elite

Sokka and Yue spend as much time together as possible with secret midnight dates flirting (“you wanna do an...activity together?”)  Sokka’s reaction to Yue’s engagement shows that he wants to have a serious relationship with her, and also he thinks Hahn is a bad person for Yue, which he is. 

Yue dying devastated him and he never falls out of love with Yue. her last words “[she] will always be with him” are true. swamp visions show Yue as one of the most important people in his life like a season or so after he last saw her. he wouldn’t kiss suki in front of the moon, and cries when Yue appears on stage, ignoring Suki. he talks about the moon as if it is directly Princess Yue in that cactus juice scene.

she died in his arms oh my god don’t look i crying, he feels personally responsible and guilty

yue was great even though she was the indigenous or black girl with light hair and eyes character and I wish she could have helped aang in the spirit world 

despite her arranged engagement she clearly really likes sokka even though she knows nothing can happen, 9

Kataang, Zutara, Jetkara, Jinko, Maiko, Sukka, Taang, Tokka, Toko, Ty Lokka, Tyzula, Yukka

[bitterxweetencounters]

~5 months later~

Ok I lied. I’m not going to talk about my Japan trip in this post. Instead I’m going to provide an update on what’s been going on in my life for the past 5 months since my last post. Lol. 

Okaaaay. So we ended up having a second wave. Hahah..aha..hah. A very intense and overwhelming one, at that. There was a day I believe when the number of new covid cases reached almost 800? It happened around mid this year. I remember it being a really devastating and disappointing period of everyone’s lives. It would seem like the number of new cases would only get worse everyday. I would be so put off from watching the news or reading about anything related to covid ‘cause it would only make me depressed. 

Today is a notable day to write this post ‘cause today’s the first day, since this second wave started, that VIC reached 0 new cases and 0 new deaths. 4 stages of lockdown (plus an extension) later, we're finally here! Everyone up until this day had been feeling it - despair, restlessness, anger, hopelessness - at this lockdown that seemed would never end. But today we got the news that VIC will be re-opening again (1st stage) this Wednesday (it’s a Monday today), then even more on Nov 8. The glimmer of hope we���ve been waiting for, for literally months now. 

Now for the non-covid related updates. Lol. 

It’s tempting sometimes to overgeneralise 2020 as “the year wasted”. “Nothing happened this year” (besides covid of course). But there have been a few new things I’ve experienced this year which I think would be worth noting. And a few thoughts I’ve been having lately that I really need to deposit somewhere before I forget them. 

Ever since I became single early this year, I’ve received some interesting dm’s via Instagram. One of the first ones was from this guy from Canada, who sent me one of my posts via my DM then proceeded to comment “cute haha *monkey covering it’s mouth emoji*”. I got this message while I was showering, at like 3am, so it was pretty unexpected. This was the beginning of a very strange friendship (?) thing. Long story short, and around a month later, I found out him to be a very strange guy. He was cute, seemed like a catch at first. BUT he gave off major player vibes and also, he was basically 4-5 years younger than me, and didn’t live up to the maturity he claimed to have (emotional maturity mainly). He would make it seem like he was after a relationship with me sometime in the future but also kept implying that he wasn’t necessarily after a relationship right now, and just wanted to “go with the flow”. He was always complimenting me, always wanted to FaceTime everyday, and would sweet talk me with things that were nice to hear. But I couldn’t shake off the feeling that he was bad news and wasn’t really serious about any of this (I even kept telling him I was thinking this). I should mention he was asking for a selfie and wanted to FaceTime from the very first conversation we had (after only exchanging a few messages). We didn’t even know each other yet?? Lmao. After a few weeks of talking to him I eventually caught him in a lie, and yeah. That was one of the biggest red flags. I had a weird feeling about him from the get go, but I guess I tried to give him the benefit of the doubt (and also what threw me off a lot is that he told me that he told his Mum about me - but I’ll never know if that was just a lie too). He also told me that he was going to visit here from Canada in August (it’s October now) and kept going on about how he wanted to spend a whole week out of the two weeks he was going to be here, with me, and how I’m so chill and fun to talk to that we would have so much fun spending time together. Lmaooo. He told me he’s dated a lot of older girls (I’m not sure if this is a fetish of his), but every time I asked him how many exes he’s had, it would always be a different number (which is hella sus ‘cause it seemed like he was lying then). He tried to do some weird sexual stuff as well which I never entertained and pretty much shut him down straight away whenever he tried. Not sure if he was just joking, but it was disturbing nonetheless. I won’t go into detail ‘cause this isn’t the place for it. It eventually got to a point where I was decided on the fact that I couldn’t take this guy seriously and didn’t want to waste both our time so I started replying less/later to his messages, basically friend-zoned him by calling him “man” and “dude”, and teased him about other girls saying that he had potential with them. I think he eventually got the hint ‘cause one day he just stopped texting me “good morning” everyday. Lol. But anyway, yeah that was more or less the main stuff about guy #1. 

Guy #2 was from London and it started with one of my girl friends messaging me and asking me if I was talking to someone at the moment. I said I wasn’t and she proceeded to tell me that one of her boyfriend’s friends found me really pretty and wanted to follow me on Instagram. She then sent me a few photos of him (screenshots from his IG account), asking if I would be interested (I felt like I was on a dating site for a moment lmao). While flattering, I remember thinking this was so bizarre. To be honest with you though the guy wasn’t my type (looks-wise). My friend said he was “a real sweetheart”. Even though he wasn’t my type, I gave it a chance and told her that I don’t mind him following me. We both agreed that the guy and I had nothing to lose, and if anything we’d just become international friends. Lol. So soon enough the guy follows me on IG and then starts a convo via DM. He introduces himself, seemed like a nice/decent guy. Very articulate, and well versed. He would comment on my stories here and there and try to get a conversation going, try to get to know me better and try to share things about himself. I think I recall him saying he thought I lived in Japan ‘cause I had a lot of posts from Japan. Lmao. It would get to the point though where he would write massive paragraphs, but the energy wasn’t called for, and didn’t feel mutual. I think I found it a bit overwhelming and felt like he wanted to take every opportunity to write an essay about his views on everything. There was a particular time I did an IG story post where I was venting about something, and he replied to it with like two long paragraphs worth of his thoughts, and then said he would be there for me even though we didn’t really know each other that well yet etc. Which was really sweet - yes. But also felt too early, premature. It almost felt like he was trying to forge an emotional connection too early on in a relationship which wasn’t even at the friends stage yet. We’d only been talking for like 2 weeks or so. I couldn’t help it, but I think my neutral and short replies gave off a hint, and he commented less and less on my stories. Till eventually he stopped altogether. Lol. Also I think I may have accidentally called him “man”....on purpose. I feel like a horrible person. There was a point early on though that I looked through his IG profile and tried to find things about him that I liked (I basically tried to convince myself that maybe the guy wasn't so bad). But I think that wasn’t successful. And yeah, it was hard to hide that fact for long I think. 

Guy #3 is this random guy that just followed me out of no where and liked a bunch of my photos on IG all at once. He then started commenting on my stories quite a lot. He would leave brief comical comments, and tried to get me to play animal crossing with him. Lol. He tried to start a convo one time but I didn’t reply to it for a few hours, and then found that he deleted it. Lol?? He would then like a few more of my IG pics. He was a bit strange. I wasn’t quite sure if he was trying to show that he was interested, or if he was just bored and wanted more friends. But yeah he doesn’t comment on my stories much anymore.  Now that I’ve gotten those out of the way, just thought I’d go on about my recent thoughts. So lately I’ve been feeling really stuck. I have a quarter-life crisis pretty much every day. I feel like I’ve plateaued, and I’m not really growing much right now. I feel like I need new experiences, new company. Most of the ones I have at the moment aren’t serving me well or helping me become a better person, if I’m honest. And I’m not happy. The company I have right now aren’t encouraging me to level up, or helping me expand my thoughts and horizons. I’ve noticed that a lot of the friends I was close to pre-covid have changed a lot, and so have I, so we’re not really offering much to each other. I’ve become so low energy lately that I find myself trying to avoid or escape dealing with people or situations that I feel aren’t worth my energy. Which I want to start doing more of from now on. I want to be more selective of the people I chose to surround myself with. I also want to find my community or a new community which I can be part of and grow from. Not sure how or where I will find that, but it’s something I’m keen on delving into more as time goes by. I want to be more myself, I want to change up my look, my fashion. I want to expand my knowledge, expand my vocabulary, expand the diversity of ways I talk/present myself or respond/reply to situations. I want to feel like I have something to offer - not only to my future partner, but to the friends I make in this lifetime. I feel like I’m too basic and uninteresting. I feel like I’m also too careful, too slow, too afraid to make mistakes. Too afraid to take risks. I want to stop “complaining about things, but doing nothing about them”. I want to be confident in myself, no matter what I feel that I am. If that makes sense. I want to speak more clearly, slower. I want to be able to speak Filipino fluently. I want to find the career that I love and work in it. I want to work with people that I can genuinely be friends with, not just colleagues or “fake friends”. I want to not care about what people will think about me, and just do me (especially on IG). I want to be unapologetically myself. But before that, I want that self to be the kind of self I aspire to be. Can you want to be different, but also want to just be yourself at the same time? Can someone confirm this? 

[rycewrites]

lookism rant #1

so... it’s spring break. and i’ve spent the entire break doing what any smart ap student would do: ignoring my five looming ap tests and draining my phone battery by looking at webtoons and instagram. since most of my favorite webtoons are on hiatus, i have resolved to rereading my favorites, and one that i’ve reread the most so far is lookism. as spring break comes to a finish in two days, i decided to get my life back on track and instead of simply rereading the comic, i will rant about my most and least favorite characters starting with the fandom’s all-time favorite character (yes, if you check the wiki for lookism there is a poll and it is fact that he is the majority’s favorite), jay hong/hong jae yeol. (also, note that these are my opinions so if you disagree with them don’t be offended but i would be happy to hear other people’s opinions on the webtoon! please comment who would be on your list because i need to talk to more people who read lookism!)

top favorite characters~

1. jay hong/hong jae yeol:

let’s just list off reasons why everyone loves him: he is well-dressed (even plans out other people’s outfits), generous (gives daniel literally everything he wants), selfless (he fricking took in enu’s pups even though he is scared of dogs), RICH (main reason for kouji’s admiration), strong (manz uses his systema well), and CAN RIDE A MOTORCYCLE (yes, i love a man who can ride a bike). he may not be the most dynamic character, but his static puppy status makes it impossible for me to put him lower on this list. we honestly don’t know that much about his backstory and i am super curious about why his family relationships are so strained (except with his sister, joy). for now, he remains a mystery, but like an attractive mystery. overall, me -> ( ･_･)♡

2. zach lee/lee jin sung:

honestly hated this boi in the beginning because he was a big bully to daniel, but  he has been through some SERIOUS character development. mira was a big part in this but i feel like overall his morals have changed so much even when mira isn’t around. he does still fight often, but now it’s not meaningless violence as he uses his boxing skills to defend his friends (ex: defending johan during the god dogs arc).

i also hated his eyebrows and hair in the beginning of the comic but like that’s personal preference. however, in the last few episodes, his hair looks SO GOOD (reference image above).

he is second on my list of favorite characters because i feel that his development throughout the story has been the most dynamic. he not only changed mentally as he overlooks lookism more (ex: he is not only friends with big daniel but also little daniel) but also physically as he doesn’t simply depend on his inherent talent for boxing but actually goes back and trains again in order to get better (to defend mira >.<)

in the future, i hope to see more development with his relationship with mira and his friends because i hold a lot of high hopes for this boi! ♥‿♥

3. vasco/lee eun tae/tabasco:

BIG CUTIE ENERGY ♥╣[-_-]╠♥! first off, he may not have as much long-term development over the course of the story like zach, but we do see a lot of his development with his own arc and bullying story. he was always a pure boi and his inherent innocence creates a discrepancy with his appearance which makes him more endearing in my opinion. the idea of lookism is very apparent in his character because most people look at him and see him as a gangster or someone very intimidating, but in reality his personality and mindset are very innocent (showing another way that you shouldn’t judge a book by its cover). i honestly LOVED the scene in the god dogs arc in which he defended zach and daniel joins in because that friendship is GOLDEN. i love how he always strives to be stronger and more powerful to defeat the evil in the world because it shows that he truly cares about the weaker people and those impacted by lookism. in my opinion, i think that vasco and zach will end up being the most powerful in the story (but that’s my opinion)

4. mira kim/kim mi jin:

pure! cute! sweet! moral! (✿ ♥‿♥)! mira is just an all-around great gal that makes it impossible for me to find flaws with. although she isn’t super major in terms of daniel’s story, she does impact zach significantly and makes him a better person. like she is the sole reason that zach has become a character that i truly admire and like. (although she did think that daniel was the r-word when he tried hitting on her in the beginning of the story. but throughout the story we see that she isn’t really a person to judge people on looks and stuff as we see that she gives jasmine the benefit of the doubt even after the vasco fiasco)

5. yena/eli jang’s (jang hyun’s) daughter:

honestly too cute for words. like the episodes where zach and mira find her are my favorites so i just wanted to include her in my favorite character list. also, she seems to be a character that really impacts other characters (zach and eli really changed for her ಥ_ಥ)

least favorite characters~

park ji ho:

always doing dumb things and making it harder for the people around him. he tries too hard to be a part of the popular group and as zach said, he doesn’t really think of them as friends because he just thinks about what the benefits are for hanging out with daniel and co. i think we all went from being tolerant of jiho in the beginning and then hating him at the end. i especially hated how he kept blaming other people and yet not accepting when people were being friendly. especially during the fake bank account arc, he just brushed off daniel when he asked jiho if he wanted to go to the convenience store then jiho goes running back to daniel and his friends when he realizes his mistake. overall, -123912830/10.

2. james gong:

don’t even know where to start with this punk. very violent for very little reason! i know i stated before that i hate jiho but i still felt kinda bad for him when he realized that james had sold the bank account he made for him. just overall a very intimidating character that hurt zach (ﾉಥ益ಥ）ﾉ ┻━┻

3. jasmine huh:

needs to get her shit(ake) together. first off, she almost got vasco expelled from the school because of her lies. like big! red! flag! it seems that she really doesn’t care about other people (except james) and is willing to put so many other people at risk to save her own behind. also, i hate how she uses other people. like how she uses mira to make money when mira didn’t do anything wrong ヾ(ﾟдﾟ)ﾉ. i hope she one day realizes that her lies are gonna hurt so many other people and then herself.

4. heemin kim/zeus/creepy dude from the boot camp arc:

sexual assault is a big no in this household. i hate how he thinks that being handsome can defend him of his crimes! also, he broke zach’s arms which made me FLIP OUT. LIKE HOW DO YOU DARE TO HARM MY BOXER BOI. he also attacked mira, an actual angel ლ(ﾟдﾟლ). words can’t describe how much i hate this man but numbers can -> 0/10

5. logan lee/lee tae sung:

big bully energy. he needs to lay his hands off of everyone (especially zoe!). blackmail? big no go in this household. he also dumped his plate of food on mira? BIG NO GO! he needs to get his life together and realize that people don’t hate him because he’s “ugly,” it’s because he has THE WORST PERSONALITY!

6. strong contenders for least favorite: stalker girl, animal cruelty cat mom/hoarder, zoe’s stalker

characters that i need more information about to form stronger opinions about~

vin jin/jin ho bin:

dislike him because he abused enu but also want to know more about him. big bully energy but i feel like he has a deep backstory behind him so i want to know more. why did he quite judo? why does he wear sunglasses? hope he gets over his superiority complex and changes because i feel like he has a lot of potential.

2. eli jang/jang hyun:

so far, very cute and strong is all i have to say about him. also, he is a good dad like that scene where he put out that god dog’s cigarette? MAJOR PROPS TO YOU ELI. i’m very curious about his backstory as well because it seems that he was a contender for gun’s successor but he changed drastically to take care of yena. i also just love a man with good hair sooo…

3. jong gun + joon goo:

i want to know more about these two! like what’s their backstory? why did gun create the 4 big crews? why was goo sent to the juvenile detention center before? (look at vasco’s bullying arc for reference) why did gun leave goo alone with the money collection? overall very mysterious and i want to learn more.

random characters that just deserve appreciation~

crystal choi/choi soo jung:

we stan a strong female character. however, i don’t like how she is immediately prejudiced against handsome men in the beginning of her appearance. i think over time she’ll realize that her prejudice isn’t right and her experience as someone who has to deal with lookism doesn’t justify her immediate judgements. however, we need more female fighters in this story so she is a big yes.

2. duke pyeon:

WE STAN A MAN WHO FOLLOWS HIS DREAMS DESPITE BEING BULLIED AND JUDGED. yes, we stan.

3. daniel park/park hyung suk:

honestly, he’s a great character and all, but i don’t know if he could ever reach favorite character status. i just have a mindset that makes me unable to pick the protagonist as a favorite character because i feel like they are sometimes created specifically to just bring the story together. don’t get me wrong, he’s a great person, defends his friends, and doesn’t fight for no reason, but i feel like there isn’t anything super special about his personality (other than the fact that he has two bodies but like so does crystal). he also looks like kim seokjin in his new body which is a big plus.

4. inu/enu + inu/enu’s pups:

i love dogs

5. mary kim/idk her korean name someone help me:

strong female character? i think yes. honestly such a fav. she doesn’t take sh*t from vin jin and i honestly want to know more about her character and background. *spoiler alert* i read ahead in the korean version and saw that she can beat people up too so like… she’s a bada**.

6. kouji:

as a person interested in computer science, I STAN. i also love a man with good hair. his cocky personality is sometimes off-putting but honestly his confidence is endearing at times. also we both love money!

7. jace park/park bum jae:

during vasco’s bullying story, i was so sad when he left vasco, but i love how he realized that he should’ve been a better friend and has stuck with vasco after all of this time. also love how he listens to vasco and tries to make him happy even when he knows that vasco does some silly things (like planting durian seeds in korea)

8. zoe park/park ha neul:

i love her development! she still fights with herself over whether she should like big daniel or small daniel, which displays her internal conflict with lookism. over time she has stopped judging people solely on their appearance and she is even able to distinguish between daniel and his cousin! (in my opinion, if daniel doesn’t end up with jay he better end up with zoe instead)

9. daniel’s (hyung suk’s) mother:

ICON! WE NEED TO APPRECIATE OUR PARENTS MORE! I AM A BIG STAN! SHE WORKS HARD FOR DANIEL AND IT BREAKS MY HEART WHEN DANIEL DOESN’T REALIZE!

10. song johan:

deserved better. he was just trying to help his mom which makes him so pure! but i feel like he should realize that he has friends (zach and mira) that could help him get through his problems! overall, want to see more of him and i hope he develops even more.

[asiryn]

tagged by @primrose-path-of-dalliance (!!!!!! thanks!!! (lmao, it’s been so long since i’ve been tagged in anything XDD))

Rules: Name your top 10 favourite characters from 10 different fandoms, then tag 10 people!

i’m putting this behind a cut, bc i rambled on for quite a while XDD these won’t be in any particular order, and the fandoms will be chosen based off of what i’m currently most into/whichever ones i think of first XD

1. Maleficent [Disney]

okay, i lied a little.....she is clearly my #1 favorite character of all time, so of course she’s first (the rest of the list won’t be in any particular order :P). but....yeah, i love her forever and for all time and eternity, i love her class and elegance, my hunt for all merchandise of her that i can get my hands on is legendary and knows no bounds, she’s my forever girl, etc, etc. if you know only one fact about me, it’s probably that i love maleficent. there’s nothing i can say here that i haven’t probably already said a million times over, so i’ll move on XD

(moana has risen to be a pretty close second, tho)

2. Anthony J. Crowley [Good Omens]

i read the book from a library over a decade ago, and i liked it well enough, but it like....wasn’t an instant new fave that i had to immediately buy for myself (tho it is on a list of books that i wouldn’t mind owning...but maybe it’s finally time, who knows). i’m halfway through the show, and i’ve finally fallen in love with it (i think it finally being a #confirmed love story between our favorite ineffable idiots finally gave it the push it needed XD). it’s still a bit early for me to have a solid, definite fave, but lbr, if i know myself at all, it’s gonna be crowley XD i love this dumb demon (who’s rivaled in his idiocy only by his equally dumb angel husband), i love how he’s so soft even as he tries desperately to convince himself and everyone else that he isn’t, that he loves so many things and humanity and an angel even as he tries to say that he isn’t capable of it, that he never stopped questioning even after it had made him Fall. also, i am so thankful that the fandom has really embraced the potential for the shenanigans of crowley’s snake form.👍

(second place is probably aziraphale, but i also really love anathema too)

3. Namine [Kingdom Hearts]

another one that probably comes as no surprise, if you know me. i love this girl to the ends of the universe. i love the way she reclaimed her agency, her selflessness and determination, her empathy and kindness, how she went from a damsel in distress to pretty much saving everyone, over and over and over again. she deserves only happiness and the best things from now on. and please, for the love of god, give her some new clothes, nomura. >_>

(second fave is roxas, tho really, i love 98% of all the characters in this series ;;;)

4. Aerith Gainsborough [Final Fantasy VII]

my precious sunshine girl 💖 i prefer her in the original game, where she was sweet and optimistic, yes, but she was also sassy and fierce and took shit from no one. i love the girl that decided she wanted to wear a sexy red dress just for the hell of it, and threatened to rip off a mafia don’s balls. i love the girl that was confident and flirty with cloud, but never let any kind of bullshit ‘rivalry’ get in the way of being friends with tifa. i love that she always called cloud out on his bullshit, that she never let tragedy and oppressive shinra forces grind out her optimism, that she never stopped dreaming of a better future. i love that she was exposed to the worst of human nature, and yet still believed that they were worth saving. i love all versions of aerith, obvs, but they’ve definitely smoothed out her edges over the years, and i think that’s a shame. so here’s hoping that she’ll be more like her original self in the remake. 

also, can’t wait to see aerith die again :)))))))

(my second fave tends to flip between cloud and sephiroth)

5. Ling Yao / Greed [Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood]

look. listen. i can’t choose between them, i just can’t. and hey....technically they sort of combine into one entity, so it’s totally fine to count them together, right?? XDD so yeah, it’s really fucking hard to pick a fave out of this cast, bc there’s only like....3 characters?? that i don’t love. but ultimately, it had to be these two. every single second they’re on screen, they totally steal the show, and they have a lot of the best scenes and moments in the series. i love ling, how he seems like a total goofball and comic relief at first, but fairly quickly you come to see just how fucking seriously he takes his duties and responsibilities, how selfless and devoted he is to his people, how he would walk through hellfire for the people he loves. he’s just....he just loves, so fiercely and intensely, that he moves even greed into loving him and the people he cares about without even trying. 

and then there’s greed, who even from the beginning, you can’t help but be charmed by, with his sarcastic slow claps and laidback attitude. but over time, you see that he’s just like ling, really, in that he can’t help but get attached to these humans, that he loves them just as fiercely and intensely, even as he desperately tries to play it off. i love the way his character serves as a means for the story to have a really thought-provoking rumination on the nature of sins and desires, and on humanity (as do all of the other homunculi). i could go on forever about these two, and about the show in general, bc it’s just so deep and incredibly layered and complex, so i’ll stop here. 

(next fave after them is winry)

6. Bucky Barnes [MCU]

it’s hard for me to talk about bucky without just dissolving into endless sobbing, but i’ll try my best. he’s just.....he’s someone who has ended up suffering so fucking much, who has every reason in the world to be angry and bitter and resentful and if this was the villain origin story, you’d probably find it hard to blame him. (also, i refuse to say that bucky was ever a villain, bc he never willingly chose to be with hydra, he’s a victim goddamn it--) and yet....he still chooses to be good. to be kind. he could have chosen to go on an endless revenge tour against hydra, but instead he focuses on his own recovery. and always, always, always, he puts other people first. he chooses to goddamn freeze himself, possibly forever, so that he doesn’t hurt people again. he’s truly an inspiration to me, because even after everything he’s been through, he still doesn’t give up. ......and if you’ll excuse me, i need to resume crying about bucky barnes for the rest of eternity 😭😭😭

(next faves are sam and steve. what can i say, i love my caps XP)

7. Keladry of Mindelan [Tortall]

speaking of inspirations, few (if any) characters inspire me more than kel does. unlike every other tortall protagonist, she has absolutely no magic at all, and she starts her story with more odds stacked against her than any of the others. the system and institution are against her, and most people actively, viciously hate her and want to see her fail, all for being a girl and daring to openly step outside of her gender roles. and yet, kel never gives up, and wins through pure will and determination. more than that, she never stops fighting any oppression that she sees, and is always looking out for the abused and marginalized of society. she is fair and just and righteous, and full of a quiet, immovable strength that i, frankly, envy. she’s a fucking mountain; you haven’t a hope of ever tearing her down. 

(other faves....george, raoul, and dom. it’s really fucking hard to choose between them, i can’t even)

8. Oree Shoth [Inheritance trilogy, by N. K. Jemison]

oree is pretty much single-handedly responsible for me loving this trilogy, and is the reason why The Broken Kingdoms (the second book, of which she is the protagonist) is in my top 3 favorite books of all time. she is....just so fucking radiant. she’s a blind artist, and is flung so far out of her depth in the story, and yet she holds her own. in this world of gods, she brings this incredibly human element, and is celebrated because of her humanity. she’s angry and flawed, but also full of love, compassion, kindness, and mercy. she teaches gods the meaning of forgiveness. she takes shit from no one. just....do yourself a favor, and read this series, even if it’s only so that you can read this book. 

(second fave....it’s probably shiny, lbr XD)

9. Sirius Black [Harry Potter]

ahhh, a classic fave. but yeah, i still love him, even after all these years. yes, he’s incredibly flawed, but at his core, he’s just so loyal, and he loves so fiercely, and he tries his absolute best to be there for harry, that i can’t help but love him. also, i have a Thing, for characters who suffer so tremendously, but who don’t give up, and still try their best to be good people anyway. also, wolfstar was the foundation of a very formative part of my life, and put me onto the road of accepting my queer identity, so i’ll always have a soft spot in my heart for the characters who were a part of that. 🤷‍♀️

(other faves are luna and harry, always)

10. Gladion [Pokemon]

mostly his anime incarnation, tho i do like him in the games as well. i love this soft goth boy with all of my heart. he’s so gentle and kind and loving, and i can’t even with him. 

(other faves are lillie, n, zoey, and kukui)

if you guys want to do it, i’ll tag... @dabiden, @green-piggy, @seasbelow, @theroyalweekend, @toomanyfeelings5, @ashetrashe, @neddea.....i can’t think of anyone else, and i’m running out of steam, so if you want to do it, then consider yourself tagged! :)

[insanityvirus13]

My Red String Story

I’ve been getting back into the “Red String of Fate” thing, and I decided to create a little short story. I would make a comic, but I know I’d take years to finish it XD So my bad story-writing skills will have to suffice.

Dedicated to 2 beautiful people;

Sam - My Boyfriend of 2 months now

Derin - The original “Lover boy.” I’ll never forget you.

My Red String was cut. Might as well rip that band-aid off now. Yup, my red string was cut. Not exactly in the way you think, but it was cut.

I used to have a soulmate. We met as teens, and he was wonderful. He was like how everyone talked about their soulmates. Funny, sweet, kind, carefree, adventurous, caring, loving, and just absolutely, wonderfully perfect. I loved him so much. I still love him. I’ll love him until the end of time itself and than some. He was taken from me though. The man who was my very life and soul was taken from me. The man who gave me a reason to live was taken from my life... and I can’t ever get him back.

A hit and run. It was supposed to be me but he... he saved me. He threw me out of the way. While I was left with cuts, scrapes and a sprained ankle & wrist, he was left for dead. I was at least there for the final goodbye but that didn’t stop my heart from dying that day and my string disappearing.

When he died... our string snapped in two.  That day now left me without 3 things. I was now left without a soulmate, a string, and a heart.

I didn’t love anyone for a long time. I loved family and friends in the way everyone does, yes. But romantically, my love for anyone was just non-existent. Believe me when I say I tried. I tried so damn hard. I tried to believe the men and women who said they could “fix me.” I tried to make myself believe their attempts we’re working. I tried to force myself to love the few people who had affections for me. After a while though, I just gave up. I gave up on trying to let people “fix me” and just gave up on trying to fill the hole in my heart. 

I was always pestered about not moving on, about not trying to find a new potential soulmate, that I HAD to have another one. That I HAD to love someone. While I got used to it, I also started to get really sick of it. I HAD a soulmate once, and now he’s gone now. What else did you want from me? I had no string to guide me, no path to follow. I was all alone.

I was fine on my own. Don’t get me wrong, I did get lonely, but that’s normal for anyone. I did miss the man who used to make me whole. I missed him every single day and I still miss him, but I learned to move on. For him, his memory, my love for him - I learned to survive on my own.

For almost a decade, I was on my own. For a decade, I had to deal with people talking about their soulmates or future soulmates. For a decade, I had to be alone. For a decade, I had to fake a smile and talk about my own “future soulmate.” For a decade, I actually forgot what it was like to genuinely love someone.

....

And than he came running into my life.

We met in a semi-peculiar way. I was on Discord talking with a few friends of mine, when one of them invited me to a sever. He knew I was really into anime and all things geeky and said he thought it would “fit my style.” I decided to give it a go. The name of the server was “The Anime Grail” and it was pretty much just a NSFW server for anime. It did have SFW chats and a “General Chat” that was meant to stay mostly SFW, but it’s purpose remained the same. As weird as the server was to me, I was bored anyway and needed something to occupy my time. After all, gaming & drawing did get boring after a while and Youtube can only occupy you for so long.

When I joined the server, the first 2 people I met we’re the founders of the server.

Alt and Prime

While Alt was definitely nice, and we’d soon become good friends, it was Prime who I became quickly interested in. Somehow, me and Prime just... clicked. We got along so well, you’d think we’d known each other since grade-school. We became very fast friends and talked almost everyday.

If I’m to be honest, I’m kind of surprised I hadn’t realized sooner the affect he was having on me at the time.

I became happier and more cheerful, more optimistic. I was more hopeful and even had some confidence in myself - something I hadn’t had in God knows how long. I always looked forward to get on, always eagerly awaiting every message from him. Even just the simplest heart emoji brought a smile to my face. Hell, if I was ever in a crap mood, just hearing his name brought my spirit up.

Than one day, he complimented my figure. I finally decided to post a slightly revealing selfie cause I was feeling bored and confident, and he told me how much he loved the way I look. He loved my every look and wish he was there with me.

You’d think I’m sick with how red I got, haha. But what got me was the way my heart was skipping a beat.

My heart was doing somersaults, I had a horde of butterflies flying in my stomach, and all I could think about was him loving me. It just hit me like a sack of bricks.

I wanted him. I wanted, him so much, and I wanted him and only him. I never wanted someone so damn much since...

I was scared at first. I shouldn’t be falling for him like this. He already has a soulmate. I’m not his soulmate. He’s in love with someone else. Somebody’s waiting on him. But... I stopped caring. I have no idea why but, I just stopped caring. I didn’t care. The less I cared about those thoughts, the deeper I fell for him. It became bliss, really.

The tension was high with us. We always found a way to flirt with each other, get revealing, “joke” about... other things, etc. Our friends always teased us that we should get together. It took my best friend, Wolfe - bless her for doing this, really - to make us face the question when she asked us both directly.

What were we?

I was so afraid of this moment. So afraid of rejection. So afraid to be let down. So afraid for my heart to be broken once again. But than, by God’s hand, it went like this;

Prime: I mean, it feels a bit empty to just call it Friends w/ Benefits, don’t you think?

Absentia: In all honesty, it kind of does... I don’t know. What do you wanna define as us?

Prime:  I mean, I don’t... I... Do you... want... to make this something more?

I hovered over the my keyboard. How the hell do I respond to that? I subconsciously looked to my ring finger, where the old string lied. I followed the string and noticed  something strange... I couldn’t see the end of it. It was... blurry to me. I furrowed my brow in confusion and looked back to the screen, staring at the message. Absentia: You don’t... have someone else?

Prime: No.

Absentia: No soulmate?

Prime: I’ve never had a soulmate. My string’s never lead anywhere.

Absentia: I can relate in a way

Prime: How so?

Absentia: Mine.... isn’t here anymore. My string leads nowhere anymore.

Prime: I’m sorry. He must’ve been good to you.

Absentia: ...Everyone’s tried to “Fix Me” after that one.

Prime: Only you can “fix” yourself. I just want to be there when you need a helping hand...and, hopefully be something more to you if you’re ready for it.

Absentia: Are you asking what I think you’re asking?

Prime: Will you be mine?

Absentia: Yes!

I never loved someone more that day. It really was the happiest day of my life. I was close to tears. I didn’t think it could get better.

Than my hand got pulled.

I looked down and saw my string. I stood up and got pulled out of my chair towards the window. I looked at the string, and couldn’t see the end! It went on for miles, and I realized.

Prime: What the fuck?!? My string just pulled me!

Absentia: OMG SAME!

Prime: You don’t think...?

Absentia: HOW YA BEEN SOULMATE! 💞

Prime: HOLY SHIT 😃💘

I never thought I could love again. I never thought I’d be truly happy again. I never thought... I’d have someone like him in my life again. But you changed all that. You two are so similar in so many ways and yet so different. Don’t worry, I know you’re not him, but you really do remind him. And I thank you for that, for just being you.

I know he’d be happy for me that I could finally move on. That I finally have someone again who can care for me as much as he did, and vice versa.  

I loved you Devilin, I always have and always will. Thank you for making my life beautiful when you did. And I love you Sam. Thank you for making my life absolutely wonderful, and I can’t wait to see you~ 💛💜

After Note

I’ve been alone all my life, and I truly though it would stay that way. I fell in love once but... well, let’s just say this story is from real-life experiences. I thought I would never love again, but than you came spiraling into my life in the strangest way possible. How I fell in love in such a short time after we met I will never know. How you felt the same is an even bigger mystery. But when we met, we clicked like we knew each other for decades, and... heh. Well, I guess I’ll just leave it at this.

I’m thanking God everyday that I got to meet you and be yours~

I’m also starting to wonder if I should believe that the Red Thread of Fate is real... 

You’re to thank for that 💘

[travis-m-knight-blog]

The Web of Lies: Spider-Man’s Inferiority

No matter where or when you exist in this world, you will be in some form of social structure. The sheer existence of this structure (whether it be the social ladder in high school or the Estates of pre-french revolution social structure) proves that some people can be better than others. This could be due to popularity, wealth, birthplace, or a variety of other reasons. Today’s social structure is more malleable, it’s more accepting of people from all parts of society. However, it still very much exists. There are still “cool kids” and “nerds.” If you happen to care enough to read this particular essay, I believe it’s safe to assume you’re somewhere among the degree of “nerds.” If this is true then you are familiar with the superheroes and their abilities. You might have even developed complex ideas about different superheroes and their powers. And of course, you have your own opinions as to who is the best superhero of them all. I intend to prove you wrong (or right depending on your previous thoughts before you read the essay). Spider-Man (A.K.A. Peter Parker) is the best superhero in existence.

It’s easy to look at certain heroes and admit that they’re incredibly powerful. Superman for instance; has super strength, super speed, laser eyes, the ability to fly, invincibility, the ability to freeze anything with his breath, and is essentially immortal. Superman is the pinnacle of power and strength wrapped up into one man. This man has infinite power and is able to single-handedly stop aliens from destroying Earth. But he’s not the superhero that others should look to for guidance. With his infinite power, he’s able to do anything he wants with little or no struggle. When there’s a lack of struggle, there’s little accomplishment. With little accomplishment, comes a dull story. With a dull story, comes a dull character. The struggle is essential to a valued character because it shows effort. The greater effort one puts into being a hero, the more heroic they are. A great character isn’t created by the scale of their challenges, but by the degree of which those challenges affect the character. Superman may be successful in saving the world, but his lack of struggle and character lead him to be a bland and unimpressive hero. The balance between character, struggle, and success is what dictates what a hero is. Spider-Man balances these three attributes perfectly.

  One of the core aspects of a likable character is their relatability. If you look into the Hero’s Journey structure of storytelling (which is proven to be a reliable way to tell an enjoyable story) you will notice that one of the steps is labeled “Ordinary World.” This particular section of the Journey is intended to present a stable and somewhat boring everyday life that the reader can relate to. Before Peter Parker became the webhead that we all know today he was a simple, ordinary boy trying to get by in school and focus on his future as a chemical engineer. He was an outcast and a nerd (much like the majority of people reading about his adventures). Even those who did not consider them nerds could easily relate to Peter’s everyday life in some way or another. This is not true when discussing Superman, Batman, or even Aquaman. Peter was not born special. Nor was he born rich. In fact, his family is constantly struggling to pay rent, insurance, and other everyday items. At one point or another everyone has had to deal with economic struggles. These struggles for our hero don’t stop at rent. This character takes a real world problem and applies it to the world of superheroes. He’s not only worried about paying for food, he’s also worried about not having enough money to pay for web fluid. Which frequently limits his ability to battle against his enemies. But throughout all of his struggle, Spider-Man continues to fight no matter what. He’s even been pushed to the point where he only has one working web shooter, and he still chases his villain through New York. His relatability doesn’t stop at his economic struggles though.

Peter is constantly being tormented by the burden of Spider-Man. He has to cancel plans with friends, lie to the people he loves, and even skip school. All things that Pre-Spidey Parker would never do. This constant battle between the webhead and Pete demonstrates his constant battle with character. Something that we all have to deal with to a degree. The difference between who we are, and who we want to be. The old, and the new. This struggle feeds into his character, and in turn, affects his success. The more stressed Peter Parker is with his daily life, the worse Spider-Man performs in combat. However, if success is the pinnacle to a great character, why is it important that he fails? Because success on its own must be balanced. It sounds morbid, but as an audience, we enjoy watching our heroes fail. Not because we thrive in their pain, but because if they fail, that shows that they still have room to improve. This is why The Night Gwen Stacy Died is one of the most influential comics ever written. It showed our hero at the lowest point of his life. His actions as Spider-Man led to Peter Parker’s first love dying in his hands. Even when it looks like there’s no reason left to fight for, Peter finds his own. Through all of the chaos and loss, he stays true to himself and stays true to his Uncle Ben’s wise words.

Even when Peter himself can’t find a reason to smile, he’s able to make us smile. His constant jokes and banter with his villains make every moment with Spider-Man engaging and entertaining. Nothing seems boring or dull because it’s always packed with something more to look forward to. His pop culture references are relatable and often hilarious. This all feeds into his already likable character. Alas, I admit, there times when Peter goes into dark corners of his mind and makes his audience fear for him. Not his life, but for his relationships. Relationships with Mary Jane, Aunt May, and Harry Osborne. His friends at work and his superhero allies. All of Spider-Man’s supporting cast is essential to each and every one of his stories. Having a Spidey story without Aunt May is like tearing the soul out of a beautiful medley. She’s such a sweet, kind old lady that has given absolutely everything she can to ensure Peter grows up to become the kind young man that we’ve come to know and love. The fact that she’s not even blood-related makes her that much more special. Mary Jane’s sass and classic “face it Tiger, you’ve hit the jackpot” hits home every time. Their precious love is unlike any other. Not to mention that Peter’s best friend since college, Harry Osborne, is also one of his most memorable villains. The complexity of their relationship always adds suspense and a memorable story to the life of Peter Parker. And you can’t imagine our webhead without thinking about his lovable boss Jay Jonah Jameson. It’s not just his allies either. Amazing stories have been written focusing on his fantastic villains. Doctor Octopus, Venom, The Green Goblin. Each one of these villains has affected both Peter Parker and Spider-Man’s life. With a phenomenal cast of allies and foes, you can guarantee that every story is going to be intriguing. Not just because of the star, but because of the characters surrounding him. Heroes like Superman, Batman, and Captain America don’t have their lives as intertwined with their other identities to the same degree that Spidey does. Therefore their stories are off balance and less interesting.

Actions have consequences. His actions in the suit lead to issues outside the suit, and vice versa. Gwen, Captain Stacy, Uncle Ben, each one died when he was acting reckless or irresponsible. And each one of these deaths led Peter to push himself further. Not because he wanted to, but because he has to. Peter knows the consequences of what happens if he doesn’t intervene, therefore he does anything and everything in his will to stop it from happening. Originally he didn’t want to be a hero, but because of Uncle Ben’s death, Peter realized his potential and hasn’t stopped fighting evil since. His stories are able to touch on meaningful subjects like death, betrayal, and loss without coming off as edgy or cliche. Everyone he’s lost was another lesson that he learned, and another reason for Peter to continue fighting. Yes. Peter. Because under that mask it is just Peter Parker. Just one person bears the burden of all the struggles of a superhero and the struggles of a normal person.

Superman and Aquaman may be extremely powerful, but when someone accomplishes something with little effort it makes their accomplishments seem unimpressive. Batman comes close behind Peter with his struggle of real world problems, outstanding rogues gallery, and deep character. In the end, though, he’s unrelatable (being the wealthy playboy he is) and hardly anything that Bruce Wayne does has any impact on the story. Peter Parker’s mix of struggle, character, and perfectly balanced success displays everything that makes a superhero super.

[aion-rsa]

X-POSITION: Dennis Hopeless Dives Into Cyclops & Jean Grey’s Psyches

After taking an extended road trip and running afoul of everyone from Toad to the Goblyln Queen, the teens of “All-New X-Men” have almost reached their journey’s end. Their tenure on the road concludes in next month’s “All-New X-Men” #19, and the team will move on to an all-new series — “X-Men Blue.” That series will reunite the team with their long lost fellow time-displaced hero Jean Grey, just in time for Jean to get her own ongoing series. ResurrXion lies ahead, and changes are coming with it.

RELATED: All-New X-Men Sets Up X-Men Blue’s Magneto/Teen Team Dynamic

This week in X-POSITION, “All-New X-Men” and “Jean Grey” writer Dennis Hopeless joins us and answers all of your questions about what lies ahead after “IvX.”

CBR News: Welcome back to X-POSITION, Dennis! We’ll start with the big question that everyone’s asking, even weeks after “Death of X” #4 came out: why are people in-universe comparing Cyclops to Hitler? We’ve heard different takes on this on the page and from other writers, but what’s your take on it? Is what Emma’s projection of Cyclops did in “Death of X” really that bad?

Dennis Hopeless: My story there has always been about teenage Scott struggling to deal with the public perception of his older self. The world thinks of Cyclops as a villain because of what transpired with the Inhumans. That’s how we discussed it in the room when all of this was first being conceived. That’s the status quo Scott is dealing with. “Death of X” fleshes out the how and why of all that in a really interesting way. The reality of the situation was much more nuanced than “Cyclops is an Evil Terrorist!” But of course it was. Unfortunately, Teen Scott isn’t tormented by reality. He’s tormented by the ugliest version of public perception. He’s spiraling down a deep dark self-loathing Internet hole that makes him question everything. That’s enough to mess anybody up.

And we’ve all seen that you can find pretty much any kind of hot take on the Internet, too. Cyclops should frequent better news sites! Moving on a little, MarvelMaster616 also has a question about Cyclops and Emma.

Mr. Hopeless, I loved “All-New X-Men” #18 and how teen Cyclops now finally knows the truth about what happened in “Death of X.” I thought it was one of your best issues of “All-New X-Men” to date. Could you talk for a moment about what this revelation means for Cyclops moving forward? More specifically, what does it mean for his future with Emma Frost? She’s a big part of what happens to him. After a revelation like this, how will that affect his mission going forward?

MarvelMaster616! Thank you so much for saying that! We’re super proud of that issue. At the end of #18, Scott is on the warpath for Emma. He is coming at her as soon as humanly possible. You’ll see how all of that plays out in “IvX” and in issue #19. Scott’s story is ongoing.

Next up, Time Like Lightning wonders what’s going to happen to your cast now that they’re heading over to “X-Men: Blue.”

Since some of these characters are moving into Cullen Bunn’s “X-Men” book, did you and Cullen ever talk about possible directions for him to take the characters? And do you know where Idie and Genesis might be seen after this book ends?

Time Like Lightning! Cullen Bunn is a creep. No one likes him and I avoid talking to him at all cost. The fact that he is taking over these characters frankly frightens and disturbs me. They deserve better.

As for Idie and Evan, I’m not actually sure. There are big plans afoot across the X-Men line, so I wouldn’t be surprised to see them pop up soon, but I’m not certain where that will be.

Actually X-Editor Daniel Ketchum wanted everyone to know that Idie and Evan will be popping up in Christina Strain and Amilcar Pinna’s “Generation X,” at least in cameo roles. They’re not being left behind! Moving on, Psimitar has a question about a character you didn’t use in “All-New.”

When it became apparent that you weren’t going to get to use teen Jean Grey in “All-New X-Men,” did you ever consider using Hope Summers in her place? You seemed to really enjoy writing her in “Cable & X-Force” and with Idie on the team she seemed like a good fit. Also, with the upcoming “Jean Grey” solo series is there any possibility of Hope Summers showing up considering she previously hosted the Phoenix Force?

Psimitar! I did consider Hope briefly, but I was always concerned about growing the cast too large. My favorite thing to write is intimate character drama and the more stars you have in a book, the more juggling you have to do. Larger casts make what I do much more difficult. That said, I do love writing Hope (and everyone else from “Cable & X-Force” frankly). Don’t be surprised to see her show up in “Jean Grey.”

Also, yes, Jean will absolutely interact with previous Phoenix Force hosts. That’s a big part of our second issue.

EXCLUSIVE: “Jean Grey” #2 cover by David Yardin

And you can all see that in action on David Yardin’s cover for the second issue, which is debuting (above) in this very article! Next, Anduinel wants to know if there are any other stories you wanted to tell with this cast.

With “All-New X-Men” coming to a close, are there any stories you would have liked to tell that you just didn’t have time to get to?

Anduinel! Yes! So many stories. Because “ANXM” was always intended as a road trip book, I have a notebook full of exotic locales and the various sorts of trouble the kids could’ve gotten up to. We hit my favorite beats from the notebook, but I had so many more. Jean might just steal of few of the best ones for herself though, so I’ll never tell.

Moving onto “Jean Grey,” the aptly named Grey has a question about your ideas going into a new series.

I got “X-Men: Season One” for Christmas to see how you wrote Jean in the past and I absolutely loved it! I really look forward to your homecoming to the “Jean” solo book. As a writer, do you already have an end game in mind when you start a book? Does that change based on the duration of the book changing?

Grey! Thanks for saying. “Season One” was my first paid writing work and we had a blast making it. Jamie [McKelvie], Matt [Wilson] and Mike [Norton] made me look incredibly good right out of the gate. That book is gorgeous.

As for endings, I do usually have some sort conclusion in mind. That can be tricky on an ongoing because you don’t always know exactly how long it will last, but there’s always a goal. We usually have little touchstone moments worked in along the way to make sure the characters grow and change in interesting ways. Marvel stories rarely truly end, so you can only throw down so much punctuation, but a satisfying final issue is always a good thing.

“All-New X-Men” #19 cover by Mark Bagley

Speaking to Jean Grey herself, mbm721 wants to know what your take on her is.

What do you like most about Jean Grey as a character and do you find the notion of writing a Jean solo overwhelming and intimidating considering all her history? Expectations are high for this book.

Mbm721! I find Jean’s potential endlessly fascinating. Both times I’ve written the character, I’ve gotten her as a teenager. My Jean isn’t quite fully formed. She’s still learning the ropes with her powers and struggling with self-confidence on some level. That’s great fun because we all know how incredible she’ll grow up to be. The funky twist with time displaced Jean is that she now knows it too. She knows it and it haunts her dreams. That’s a fun dynamic and we’ll be leaning in.

I’m not super intimidated, though, no. Writing Jean feels like coming home and I’m a fantastic comic book writer. We’ll be spinning gold. No worries.

Here’s Gary, with a specific request for one of Jean’s many iconic foes.

Please tell us teen Jean will meet the real Maddie Pryor who was brought back a few years ago. The Goblin Queen is fun, but I would love to see teen Jean meet her adult clone seeing as the actual adult Jean is gone.

Gary! Nope! Goblin Queen or bust, my friend.

Short and sweet answer! On a similar note, Soulsword323 also wants to know if Jean will run into a particular someone.

Thus far, the Original Five have had the opportunity to interact with their adult counterparts, except for Jean. Do you have any plans for this teenage Jean to interact with her adult counterpart, whether it be through a dream or some type of vision? Seeing as how we’ve seen adult Jean interact or send messages from the White Hot Room before.

Soulsword323! Yowza… Do we have surprises in store for you! Great question, but that’s all I can say.

Color me intrigued! Coming up on the end of the “Jean Grey” questions, here’s an ask from venomblasting.

Hi Dennis! I want to express my thanks for giving Jessica Drew back her own series and redefining Spider-Woman. In her original run she had made great friends with the X-Men. Can we expect to find Jessica and Jean interacting at all?

Venomblasting! Thanks so much for reading “Spider-Woman”! That book is near and dear to my heart. I love writing Jess so I’d never rule out having her guest star (in anything). No current plans but now that you’ve planted that seed.., Who knows?

And we’ll end this week with a look at the larger ResurrXion line, from akiresu_.

Besides your own, which ResurrXion title excites you most?

Akiresu! I’m super stoked for “Iceman” and “X-Men Blue.” I’m a big fan of Sina Grace and was thrilled to see him on that series [“Iceman”]. Bobby is one of my favorite characters and he’s in great hands.

And while Cullen Bunn may be reprehensible, he’s a fantastic writer with some exciting plans for the O5. I’ll just mark out his name on the covers and pretend it was written by someone else.

“All-New X-Men” #1 arrives in stores on March 29, and “Jean Grey” #1 follows on May 3.

Special thanks to Dennis Hopeless for taking on this week’s questions!

Next week, incoming “Weapon X” writer Grg Pak returns to X-POSITION to answer your questions! Have a question for Greg? Go ahead and send ’em in via e-mail with the subject line “X-Position”. But get ’em in quickly, because the deadline’s Friday. Make it happen!

The post X-POSITION: Dennis Hopeless Dives Into Cyclops & Jean Grey’s Psyches appeared first on CBR.com.

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