#man 'this is the only way to make erik's death me-' or whatever that quote is

[naturesrat]

what if i just go watch 30:21-37:10 of young royals again. maybe that will unbreak my brain, (it absolutely won't)

[thehomierobbstark]

What does Erik do when Bae is being bratty in public?

A/N: Ya’ll seemed to really enjoy the last one, so here, have a longer one! Thank you anon for asking! [i ride for my thick chicks but i couldn’t find the right pics, sorry yall :/ ]

Whewwww

First of all

God Bless that mans patience, because you? stay Trying👏🏿 It ™👏🏿

Y’all were at an amusement park in the height of summer after graduation after you’d decided to link back up with all your college friends one last time before fall came

Everyone was boo’d up, but especially Erik, who stayed hanging on you from the moment you got there

He couldn’t help it, you just looked so cute with your black and silver braids up in space buns and the ocean blue Van’s you paired with your white summer fit

He just needed to be onn youuu in somee wayy so he could let these niggas know that ‘this mines’

Soo you sucked it up, and put up with your needy ass man hanging all over you

….. for a total of five minutes

“Yeah, so uhh…. this not bout to work,” You lean back from your scrunched up position in the corner of the booth where he’d pulled you in to be under his arm. The rest of your crew was still in line, ordering food.

He gives you a confused look, not really sure what you’re talking about.

“Wassup? You wanna go somewhere else for food? I think they got a vegan spot around the corne-”

“Nah, son, this not bout to work,” You interrupt him, gesturing between the two of you. You feel a spike of heat flash over you, and your patience starts to grow thinner.

You fuckin hated being hot

It was honestly one of the worst feelings to you, and this gigantic, sweaty nigga was determined to be all up in your space, fuckin up your qi

“Baby,” you give him a little pat on his arm, trying to keep it together. “I love all the physical affection you’re trying to show me, but you gon have to cut that shit out.” *record scratch* “It’s too hot for all that.”

During the winter, those warm, cuddled up moments were cute and all, but now that the cold was gone so was your desire for unnecessary body heat, and you needed him to get with the program

He kisses his teeth. “I’m just tryna hold my baby girl, watchu getting all buck for?” He says defensively, acting like he wasn’t currently trying to be the actual ball to your chain.

“Okay, well, hold me in your heart or somethin, shit. You makin my back sweat,” You pull at the sleeve of your shirt to trying to air it out a little, unsticking it from you.

That was another thing you fuckin hated; sweat

You could put up with it if you had to, like when you did your occasional morning run or participated in whatever foolish activities Erik managed to get you into, but it still always made your neck scrunch up at the dewy gross wetness that lingered behind on your skin

Tbh, you turned into a total 👸🏿Diva when it was hot, and you weren’t putting up with any of Erik’s lovey dovey shit in the 102º heat

“Wowwww, so you really just gon block me out like that, babe?”

“Like a fuckin linebacker,” Your comeback is quick, zero hesitation.

Your friends start heading back to where you are, so he drops it, deciding to not be a grump in front of them and thinking that maybe you just needed some space for a little while till you cooled back down

Nnnopeeee

You may have felt icky on the outside, but it didn’t mean you still didn’t want allll of the attention from your man

It’s like your body knew it wasn’t going to get any physical affection in this heat, so to make up for it, it transferred all of its resources over to your mouth

And that mouth? Smh

Poor baby, you was skrugglin

“Erik, where are you going?”

“I wanna go ride on this one babe, come with me.”

“Why is it so hotttt,”

“Ooo, DOG!”

“I want a churro.”

“Why aren’t you listening to me right now?? Didn’t you hear me say I saw a dog??”

He’s torn between being fed up with you’re annoying, aggravating ass and squishing you to death in the tightest hug because he loved it when you started acting all needy

One second you’re dragging him to all the toy stores in the park to find a Pussyfoot stuffed animal, and the next you’re mad when he tries to hold your hand to take you there because ‘it’s too sweaty”

And when you had a hot flash?

Lord help any chick that looked even somewhat in Erik’s direction, because by then you were ready to add in the knuck component to your 1-2 crazy bitch combo

After he had to drag you out of the funnel cake shop to keep you from throwing hot fudge and strawberries at “that googly eyed bitch in the back”, he decided to take you to one of the secluded tables in the back of the park to talk.

“Sit.” he orders, pointing at the table top, and you hoist yourself onto the warm concrete, scooting back a little to make room.  He slides the plate of funnel cake onto the table, arranging the shopping bags he placed behind you to give you both cover. He situates himself on the bench in between your legs, pulling the plate of food over to him to unwrap it.

He spreads your legs open and puts the dessert there when he finishes, resting his hands on the outside of your thighs.

“Right now, you gon eat and listen, cuz you been acting like a fuckin brat all damn day and I’m not having any more of your shit lil girl.”

Your face immediately scrunches up, frowning at the factual statements he was making.  You want to open your mouth and start denying your bad behavior, but the look on his face tells you that it would be very unwise.

You only open up again after watching him use his fork to pick apart the funnel cake, dipping it in chocolate sauce and holding it to your mouth to feed it to you.

While you chew, your eyes drift over his defined arm muscles being showcased by the maroon sleeveless hoodie he’s wearing, the scent of his heady cologne wafting up to your nose, distracting your senses for a moment.

You want to bury your nose in his neck and deeply inhale his scent, but you restrain yourself, not wanting to get falsely accused of trying to distract him. 

“Aight so whats the deal, baby girl? You ain’t even wanna hold my hand cuz you was being such a drama queen earlier, but now you tryna bite every bitch head off in a 5 mile radius cuz they can’t tell that we together.” He feeds you another piece, this time with a chunk of strawberry, holding it with his fingers.

You accept it, wrapping your lips around his meaty fingers and taking the treat from them, sucking generously at the pad of his thumb.

He maintains his composure, watching as you swipe your tongue over the dust of powdered sugar on your top lip.

“Why you being so difficult, mamas? You actin like you don’t know how to act right.”

You roll your eyes, eyebrows furrowing in irritation as you start to get defensive. Sure you might have been acting out a little bit, but its not like he was entirely innocent in this either.

“Well, maybe if you didn’t wear shit like that when we go out, I wouldn’t have to act so fucking ‘difficult’.” You use your fingers to put up air quotes, voice laced with attitude.

He narrows his eyes at you. “Excuse me, little girl?” Its more of an opportunity for you to reevaluate your statement than it is a question, but you steamroll over the subtle warning, still going off.

“You mad you can’t be all up on me rn so we can look like we together, but you stay showing off your arms and shit like you’re not also taken.”

He grabs the plate of half eaten funnel cake and puts it off to the side, moving forward so that his face is closer to yours.

“You better change the way you talkin to me or we gon have an even bigger problem in a second.”

You ignore his threat, scooping up the plate to munch away at your anger.

“Shut the fuck up Erik, you’re irking me right now,” You mumble around a mouthful of food, eyes focused on the pile of whipped cream and pastry.

You didn’t see it when he pulled down the black joggers he was wearing to reach in and free himself, stroking slowly while he waited for you to swallow the food in your mouth. Before you could take another bite, he snatches the plate out of your hand, tossing it somewhere before pulling you to the edge of the table, gripping you under your knees.

“Clearly you need some sense fucked back into you because its obvious you lost it all somewhere in this goddamn park.” He grabs your shorts, roughly pulling them off before sliding you off the table and into his lap. He hooks two fingers into the side of your cotton underwear and rips them off, stuffing the material into your mouth.

“I swear if you cum I’ll take you home and bend you over for another 2 hours,” His tone is vicious, and you’re already wet from the way he’s gripping your waist tight and looking at you with pure fire in his eyes. He lifts your ass up and positions himself under you, thrusting into you powerfully and filling you all the way up. You let out a sharp cry, softened by your makeshift gag, and he covers your mouth with his wide palm, leaning into your ear.

“Shut the fuck up and take it,” he growls, and he tightens his arm around your lower back and starts to pound into you, struggling to keep his own breathing even and his grunts quiet.

With the tall shopping bags on the table blocking the view, no one can see what you’re doing in the corner, and you wrap your arms around his shoulders and bury your face, praying that there’s no cameras pointed in your direction. 

Somehow you both manage not to get caught, and its been 20 minutes now of his thick member slamming into you over and over again non stop. You’re wrapped around him so tight, struggling not to let go as you feel your 6th orgasm trying to fight past your mental barrier, and you push on his thighs weakly trying to lift off of him.

“I can’t I cant I cant,” you chant, your head falling back as you take in shallow breaths, a single tear falling down your face.

“You fucking better,” He snarls, and he digs his fingers into your cheeks gripping hard, spreading your ass apart further. His thrusts start slowing down, and he lifts you up, laying you down on the table with his body hovering over yours.

It’s a riskier position, and your legs bob over the shopping bag blockade he’s created as he keeps going. You scratch at his arms, whining his name to try and warn him. 

He ignores you, circling his hips into you sloppily as he starts to reach his climax, and right as he starts to release, he pushes up your cropped shirt and sinks his teeth into your breast, moaning into you as ropes of cum shoot inside you.

He collapses on top of you, both of you breathing heavy and sweating even more than you were before. 

He lazily smushes sloppy kisses into the side of your face as he comes down, nibbling on your cheek and the sensation of his beard tickles you.

“Daddy,” you whisper hoarsely, throat dry and aching from the fabric.

“Hm?” he hums, his body too tired to look up at you.

“I’m hungry again.”

[secretlymagneto]

Simon’s Dark Phoenix Review (Not the director, another Simon) (NOT SPOILER FREE)

Yeah, I’m a Simon too, what of it? That’s another thing, actually. Watching DP was like reading my own writing. NOT A GOOD THING. I could see exactly what the director was going for and what the flaws in the script were because we have the same style, and my god was it bad. Like the pitfalls in my writing style but worse. A lot of the choices (setting and characterwise) are similar ones to what I would have made, which is why I’m trying to clear my head and make this. (Because while some of it is similar SOME OF THE DECISIONS ARE HORRIBLE WHY) It’s like looking at my evil twin yikes.

I have regathered my thoughts from last night after seeing Dark Phoenix. I’ve been mulling it over. I’ve been reading other reviews and looking through the lens of a fan, a moviegoer, and a critic.

What I have to say before I start:

Nostalgia. I have been watching x-men movies since 2014? 2012? My first X-Men movie was DOFP, so you can tell the precedent that set for me. There are two good X-Men Movies in the “new” timeline. DOFP, and First Class. You can tell (based on writing, character development, etc). This movie is not one of them.

Cons:

I’ll start with the cons first, to get them out of the way.

There are three women on the x-men team and they kill two of them. Storm is barely involved in anything, and only has a few moments of character/screentime. Also, they never call her Ororo despite that being her name. (Everyone else is referred to by name)

Some of the acting is lackluster. I was a bit surprised too. I don’t know, I was hoping for better. Especially in the mourning scenes.

Why hasn’t anyone talked about the PACING? It was weird, stilted, and way too quiet in some scenes. Sometimes the script was so vague and repetitive it sounded like a movie trailer rather than a movie. Raven’s death was anticlimactic merely due to the way it was written. Like, come on.

GOD THE SCRIPT IS AWFUL. Some of the character development is good (more on that later) BUT WOW. Sophie Turner isn’t a bad actress, so I wouldn’t fault her for her choices in this movie really. Like, most of the time she’s fine, but once in a while, she becomes unnecessarily repetitive. The character dialogue doesn’t flow. Sometimes the sentences are too short too often, which makes the film seem choppy. Show don’t tell is really important, but sometimes WHAT the characters say is telling in itself and they really could have used that to their advantage.

The villain was a bit underdeveloped. They were just kind of...there? Sometimes they were well and truly evil, and I really liked some of the scenes with the power transference and stuff. Other times, they were just a vague yet menacing “force” that sort of comes from nowhere and will soon go nowhere too.

Raven’s makeup isn’t good. Sometimes Hank’s isn’t either? But it’s not nearly as bad.

The score wavered between good and bad, sometimes drawing out scenes with a sort of Interstellar vibe (aka, very cool, very vast, very beautiful) but other times falling flat or making scenes too quiet.

Dude where the hell is Quicksilver? Peter is so important. His character development kind of relies on him revealing that Magneto is his dad (which Erik doesn’t know, and probably should have at this point). Also, Peter could have been a key player in convincing Erik that he wasn’t doing the right thing, but he wasn’t even there AT ALL. I know he’s not the main character, but I really expected some Dadneto moments in this one.

Kurt what. Just. What? Nightcrawler is like one of my favorite characters but there’s something about the way he’s written in this movie that’s sloppy. He’s still his sweet self around the beginning, but as the movie draws to a close his few moments of dialogue kind of (maybe) hint at development? Then he learns how to stop being a pacifist because some guy died, but like the way the actor conveys this looks like the way my friends used to pretend to do “violent rages” when they were younger. You know, the whole “AAAAAA” *stabs someone*. It looked cheesy.

There were some unintentionally hilarious moments. When Erik walks in with the subway car and looks up at Jean like “You think you can come into MY HOUSE and wreck MY SHIT for free??” that was PRICELESS. He doesn’t even say anything he just walks in there with his stupid train and stares at her. The evil lady is like talking to her when he just kind of bursts through the wall like the Kool-aid man.

Pros:

The first twenty minutes or so were the best twenty minutes. The work the team did together, the mission, and the atmosphere of the entire segment, was beautiful. Seeing the X-Men again on screen made me so giddy I was shaking.

The telekinesis was very good. I mean, the special effects weren’t always there but my god was the USE of telekinesis good. Like the creativity with it. They really manipulated it, making cool hand gestures and bringing power and finesse into play in order to make full use of the capabilities.

Erik has some of the most beautiful character development in this movie. He learns how to move when needed, while not taking drastic measures as he used to. He learns how to listen when necessary, and act when necessary. God, I’m such a Magneto stan.

Charles learns that he’s a flawed idiot. I’m so glad. (Quoted me, and also probably Magneto) Throughout all the movies he’s the good guy despite the fact that from his perspective and from the world’s perspective what he’s doing isn’t just the “optimistic” thing to do, but also the most dangerous. He’s sending teens (young adults?) to die for his cause because he believes so much in hope. It started in Cuba, and it’s still happening. He was the one who didn’t want to leave an astronaut behind. BASICALLY, HE SAYS THAT SOMETHING IS HIS FAULT AND THAT HE FAILED AND IT WAS THE MOST IMPORTANT SCENE.

Scott and Jean’s relationship was actually nice! I liked it! (Personal opinion obviously) but I didn’t think it seemed too forced or uh unlikeable like in X3. Scott is drastic but he’s not nearly as “edgy” as he was. The ending wasn’t heartbreaking, but it was great character development for Jean. It was a sweet relationship, but not one I’d label as moving. (at least it was nice! And I liked it! Sometimes relationships just seem forced and awful)

Listen, I know people say that Erik was unnecessary for this movie but seeing as he and Charles work as two perfect halves to Jean’s full power and potential is actually a really good story element. Like when Charles tries to coddle her, Erik gives her the truth. That’s good duality.

Erik working with the X-Men is the best thing that’s it it’s the best thing.

THE ENDING!!! SO GOOD!! It left me satisfied and it felt like a good sendoff. Charles and Erik are finally friends again, and they’ve finally developed enough to know their own flaws. It was also super cute aaa

Moira Mactaggart isn’t in this movie. I don’t hate her character, but god the way her relationship is written with Charles is awful and I’ve had to deal with it for two movies. I’ve had enough and I’m so glad the writers realized this.

SOME OF THE SETTINGS AND SHOTS ARE GOOD. I don’t know how to explain it, but as a writer/artist, I’m a big fan of atmosphere and setting/color means EVERYTHING. The suburban neighborhood is pale and desolate, set during a hazed summer and conveying a sense of warped nostalgia. The mission in space was beautifully lit and composed.

As a fan I was happy with it. It may have not been the best movie, but by god was it as good as it was going to get. It far surpassed my expectations with Jean’s story arc (finally not making her “suddenly evil” or whatever, and not making her sexy) and it rounded out Charles and Erik in a very nice and healthy way.

THE CHARACTERS ACTUALLY COMMUNICATE. This is the one X-Men movie I’ve seen where I didn’t want to punch anyone in the fact for not just saying something or apologizing. CHARLES ACTUALLY SEES HIS FAULTS. He actually apologizes and steps down from his position. Erik actually listens and carefully reviews the circumstances in order to make an educated decision. Charles stops making his stupid self-righteous speeches (he’s really bad at that). Raven actually tries talking to Jean first before fighting, and the things she says weren’t problematic. Unlike when Charles keeps trying to talk to Erik (and botches it because they don’t have the same background and they’re too different, blah blah blah), Raven’s speech wasn’t assuming anything about Jean. It was about supporting her and helping her out. Jean was overwhelmed, but the grounding methods Raven used weren’t incorrect.

Conclusion:

6.5/10. I would say Apocolypse is only slightly better because it is more structurally sound, but it’s on thin ice. DOFP is still an all time favorite, and First class is up there, but Dark Phoenix isn’t the best. It was quiet, overdramatic, and while doing better on the emotional side felt overwhelmingly anticlimactic. If you’re a fan of the characters and you just want to see them again? See it. I liked this movie a lot for that, and I really enjoyed the moments in the movie. If you want to see a GOOD x-men movie? Don’t bother. It’s not GOOD GOOD. It’s not BAD. It’s Okay. It’s okay and I enjoyed it. I was actually pleasantly surprised by it based on my expectations! And I really liked certain aspects. So give it a shot, okay? Don’t let the mean reviewers get you down, this movie is better than they let on even if it’s not good as a “movie”.

[thecomicsnexus]

UNCANNY X-MEN #107-108 OCTOBER-DECEMBER 1977 BY CHRIS CLAREMONT, DAVE COCKRUM, DAN GREEN, JOHN BYRNE AND TERRY AUSTIN

SYNOPSIS (FROM MARVEL WIKIA)

After being transported through a star-gate by Phoenix, the X-Men find themselves on an ancient planet that is home to the M'Kraan Crystal, surrounded by several members of the Shi’ar Legion of Super-Heroes Imperial Guard serving the evil Emperor D’Ken. When Cyclops announces that they are there for Lilandra, an enormous battle commences between the two sides. Despite the number of Imperial Guardsmen, the two teams are evenly matched.

When Lilandra is saved from The Soul Drinker unleashed on her by D’Ken, she reveals that he plans to use the M’Kraan Crystal to gain power absolute and that is why she escaped to Earth, having learned of Professor Xavier when he used his mental powers to thwart an alien invasion by the Z'Nox. The tide of the battle is turned by the arrival of the Starjammers, a group of interstellar pirates who aid the X-Men against the Guardsmen. Jean mind-probes their leader Corsair, and is shocked to learn what she finds there, finding it impossible to consider.

Suddenly the M’Kraan Crystal powers up and reality for a fraction of a second ceases to exist. On Earth Peter Corbeau warns the Fantastic Four that should the cosmic blinks continue, the universe will die.

With Emperor D'Ken threatening to destroy the universe by trying to utilize the power of the M'Kraan Crystal, the X-Men and the Starjammers compare notes and come to the conclusion when the specific stars come into alignment the crystal will become available to D'Ken. While on Earth, Peter Corbeau connects with President Carter, the Avengers, and the Fantastic Four and tells them some grim news: some strange force is threatening to destroy the universe. Most affected by this is the Wasp, who feels helpless when faced with a crisis even Earth's mightiest heroes cannot stop.

Back on the M'Kraan world, the X-Men approach the crystal and are confronted by its defender, a small being named Jahf. Jahf warns them that he will defend the crystal to his death, and if he is destroyed a being twice as powerful would appear to defend the crystal next. Wolverine mocks the small android and finds himself knocked high into the atmosphere, only saved by the quick thinking of the Starjammer's robot Waldo who teleports Wolverine aboard the ship. Soon Jahf is upon the X-Men and the Starjammers, easily thrashing them with his superior strength. When brute force doesn't work, the X-Men pool their abilities to fight the creature. Storm clouds Jahf in a pea-soup fog allowing Banshee to get close enough to unleash the full fury of his sonic scream. While he manages to destroy Jahf, he strains his vocal chords so raw he can barely talk.

The two teams don't get a moments reprieve, however, they are attacked by the second guardian of the crystal, a giant robot named Modt. During the fight, Raza finds Emperor D'Ken and tosses the despot into the M'Kraan Crystal, causing D'Ken and both groups to be transported within. There they find themselves in a large abandoned city. In the middle a sphere of pure light that Phoenix finds herself drawn to. Upon touching it, everyone present is struck by a bolt of energy that awakens in their mind their greatest fears. Jean manages to shake off the effects on herself, and when Cyclops goes berserk as a result of his illusions she knocks him out. Seeing the sphere being to crack, she channels the full power of her Phoenix powers to it and learns that it is a keeping the birth of a neutron universe at bay, and should the barrier break the universe as they know it would be destroyed to make way for this new universe.

Phoenix attempts to use her powers to repair the damage, however it is not enough as she needs additional life forces to help repair the damage. With only Storm and Corsair free from the sphere's influence, she convinces both to give a portion of their life forces, revealing to Corsair that she knows that he is Christopher Summers. As Jean repairs the damage, Corsair realizes that Cyclops is his long lost son Scott and goes to the unconscious man's side. However, Cyclops never wakes up to learn the truth, as soon as Jean repairs the damage she transports all the X-Men back home through the warp gate that brought them to the crystal.

There they find Professor X, Misty Knight and the Greys waiting and are confronted by Firelord, who explains that he has no quarrel with them anymore after Xavier explained how he was manipulated by Erik the Red. Following after the X-Men is Empress Lilandra, who's coming burns out the warp gate keeping her on Earth. She explains to Charles and the X-Men that while her brother was driven insane by the M'Kraan Crystal she is now the ruler of the Shi'Ar, however there must be time to sort out the red tape to have her rightful place put on the Shi'Ar throne, and until then she is staying on Earth.

CONTEXT

Dave Cockrum was an integral part of the All-New X-Men. Together with Len Wein (and I believe the help of Roy Thomas), they created all the new x-men. The costume designs are pretty much his. And this is what Dave Cockrum enjoyed the most in life, designing and creating characters. These are some quotes from an interview done by Jon B. Cooke:

CBA: Mike Friedrich told me a story that back in 1972 you had an idea for an international team book that eventually turned into the new X-Men. Is that true?

Dave: It wasn't my idea. Roy brought up the idea that he wanted to do a new X-Men book but he was talking about approaching it as "Mutant Blackhawks." That was Roy's suggestion when he took us to a fancy restaurant, telling us to order whatever we wanted—he had a hamburger. That was Roy's proposal: He wanted them international and to operate out of a secret base. Part of the rationale, as I understand it, was that Marvel was looking for foreign markets. And then, ultimately, we picked a bunch of nationalities whose countries weren't liable to buy the book! It never wound up fitting that proposal anyway.

CBA: After that, how long did you work on the proposal?

Dave: I had gone home and started designing some characters, but for some reason, there was a pause in the development, and they just hung fire for months. When it came back, Mike Friedrich wasn't involved any more but Len Wein was. I had drawn up a number of characters: The original black female in the group was to have been called The Black Cat. She had Storm's costume but without the cape, and a cat-like haircut with tufts for ears. Her power was that she could turn into a humanoid cat or a tabby. She wore a collar with a bell on it. When we came back to the project, after the hiatus, all of a sudden all of these other female cat characters had sprung up—Tigra, The Cat, Pantha—so I figured that we'd better overhaul this one! She wound up getting white hair, the cape, and becoming Storm.

CBA: Where did Nightcrawler come from?

Dave: When I was still a fan and in the Navy, my first wife and I were living on Guam in a house in the boonies (which was infested with roaches and rats). There was a terrible storm going on overhead, we had no lights, it was noisy and loud and raining like hell with thunder and lightning. To keep ourselves occupied and keeping ourselves from being scared to death, we sat around making up characters. We made up this duo, a guy I called the Intruder (a cross between the Punisher and Batman, with a chrome skull and black jumpsuit) and his demon sidekick, Nightcrawler. The original concept was a lot different in that Nightcrawler would howl at the moon, run up the sides of buildings and do all kinds of weird sh*t. He really was a demon who had screwed up on a mission from hell and, rather than go back and face punishment, he hung around up here with this do-gooder. So he was considerably overhauled when he wound up in the X-Men.

CBA: What input did you have with Colossus?

Dave: I drew him up and brought him in, saying, "Here's Colossus, our muscle guy." Len came up with the civilian name and origin. So it was my visual. Storm was pretty much the same, though when I wanted to put the white hair on her, everybody said that she'd wind up looking like somebody's grandmother. I said, "Trust me."

CBA: Was Thunderbird your character?

Dave: Yes. When I brought in the first design, everybody said, "He looks like an Air Force pilot!" I had this strange helmet on him that was an Indian design but nobody liked it, so I went back and re-did it.

CBA: So you stayed with the book for two years?

Dave: I stayed through to #107. I couldn't stay with it because I was on staff by that time—my job was to design covers—and I just couldn't handle it anymore. I was tired and I gave it up. Later on, they asked me to do that Marvel Fanfare with the X-Men in the Savage Land and it was fun! I called up Chris and said, "This is really fun! If Byrne ever wants to leave the book, give me another chance at it." And Byrne left the book that following Monday. That was a weird juxtaposition! So I got the book back and I was enthusiastic again. It was fun for a long time.

The only reason I left the book the second time was because I had previously put in a proposal for The Futurians. It sat on Jim Shooter's desk for about a year, and he finally said, "Yeah, you can do this if you want." I was in some doubt whether I should quit the X-Men and do that but I really wanted to do it. Chris and Louise Simonson, the editor, talked me into giving up the X-Men because they thought I was more enthused about The Futurians. That was probably the biggest mistake of my life! That was about the time they started paying the royalties and reprint money. It takes nine months after an issue goes on sale before you get a royalty check so I hadn't received one yet by the time I quit the X-Men. When the first one came it was $2000 right out of the air! I thought, "Geez!" And it got better, and from what I heard, people like Jim Lee were making $40,000 a month on royalties. (That's why they could afford to go off and start Image.) If I had known about that kind of money coming in—even the $2000 a month��you couldn't have pried me off that book with a crowbar. The Futurians was never that successful.

CBA: Did you get to meet Jack Kirby?

Dave: Only once or twice. I had a run-in with him of sorts when I was designing covers. I would normally sketch out a rough and attach a logo to it, and send it out to the artist who was supposed to do it. They were doing "What If Jane Foster had the hammer of Thor?" and they wanted Kirby to do the cover for that. Well, me being me with the peculiar twist of mind that I sometimes have, the logo I put on said, "What if Thor wore a bra?" I sent it out and Jack and Mrs. Kirby were totally scandalized, sent it back, and refused to have anything to do with it. The powers-that-be demanded, "What are you doing to Kirby?! You've pissed off Jack Kirby!" I said, "But, but, but..." and they wound up having the cover done by John Buscema.

There was another time when I was working with Stan on the Fantastic Four cartoon. For whatever reason, they couldn't use the Human Torch, so I had the task of designing Herbie the Robot. I thought the whole notion of replacing the Torch with a robot was so lame, all I would come up with were stupid ideas: One of them looked like a trash can on wheels with a "4" on it, another was a lamp on wheels with a "4" on it. After a half-dozen of these, Stan says, "You know, you're really hard to work with!" And he called up Jack and had him do it.

So we know the reason for his departure may not have been caused by the impossibility of the this team to deliver on time, but because it was too much (it may still be that though). So who can replace Dave Cockrum on X-Men?

With Byrne there, a man known for being prolific (and high quality at being that), the title didn’t get monthly right away. So I am not sure what was the defining factor for Byrne being in this title, but I can tell you this... THE REST IS HISTORY!

REVIEW

So now to the issues in question. I have been explaining before how much I didn’t enjoy Cockrum as interior artist. His last issue, though... is very good. I don’t know if it is the experience with the characters, the Legion of Super-heroes rip-off or what... but he was on fire in that issue. Sure, Colossal Boy rip-off is the most obvious thing even on the cover... but Wolverine takes down Timberwolf rip-off and puts on his costume.

As for the last issue of this saga... what happened to Claremont all of a sudden? I noticed he liked to write funny, but he is a poet all of a sudden. And Byrne really elevates his writing. John Byrne is not the kind of person that usually just does his job (sometimes he just draws for the fun of it, though), so I can imagine that the X-Men as we know them wouldn’t be possible without the collaboration of these two legends.

With this classic issues I feel tempted to see the art with the originals, and the re-colored (usually for digital) versions. The Batman digital comics were recolored in an awful way so I usually try to avoid those... but this run... I don’t know. The coloring would probably get in the way of Terry Austin’s inks.

Welcome to the X-men, folks!

I give these issues a score of 8

[sonfaro]

@you-me-and-the-force-between-us Thank you for your rebuttal.  My response will be similarly long, and tumblr is being annoying so I’m switching to a new thread.

“Normal behavior isn’t always guaranteed by everyone. That’s life. Of course there are always going to be outliers of people who don’t think as they should. But they’re small compared to the number of people who CAN make these differences, so making comparisons like these are not only hurtful, but useless. It doesn’t matter WHAT language you use, somewhere out there–is going to fan over a serial killer or want to become one, because it’s not about language, it’s about personal experiences.�� It DOES matter to those who are left behind.  To those who’s people are routinely NOT treated in this way.  Infantilizing dangerous white men at any level of media sets a tone.  To see that kind of behavior follow into fiction and NOBODY have a problem with it is beyond bizarre to me.  I’ve had friends locked up for far less who never got treated like the children they were, so forgive me if I’m a little sensitive to the subject. “People who sympathisize with these types of people are either going through some sort of fucked up, I’m edgy 100%, phase that they’ll grow out of or have some serious mental instabilities. It isn’t the media’s job to walk on egg shells with language,“ It’s the media’s job to present the truth with no spin.  When they do things like this, it absolutely poisons the well.  There’s no one to blame for his crimes but the monster, but there are people to blame for how that monster is viewed by the masses. “This other rhetoric about what’s being said and how it compares to fiction–it’s bullshit. And let’s be honest here for a second–just honestly speaking–looking through OP’s page you can very damn well tell this post isn’t done with good intentions in mind; it’s a clear attack on a group of people under the facet of being a good citizen who truly cares. Which also pisses me off.“ In what way?  I’ve literally seen someone claim that Kylo is ‘young’ and ‘doesn’t know any better’. That sort of language does exist amongst the fandom. “(I’ve seen people call others abelist for using the word crazy on this hellsite, but idc either way) “ You’re sympathizing with the villain is all.  Which is fine, “ Clearly it isn’t??? Because that’s OP’s point. That’s what OP has a problem with, saying that we’re like criminal sympathizers because we sympathize with a villain–so YES I agree, I’m JUST sympathizing with a villain IS ALL, nothing more. That’s the point.“ OP’s point is about the language being used: the infantilizing and woobifying.  I can sympathize with Erik Killmonger, but know he’s a grown man and his end in Black Panther is justified.  I’m not going to say “He’s basically a teenager lashing out” or nonsense like that - which IS a thing that Kylo stans have said. “ALSO JUST SO EVERYONE’S AWARE. This ISN’T the media saying this.“ Matt O’Donnell, listed below the lawyer in OP’s post, is a reporter.  He lists the killer’s status as an orphan (with no reason), his young age (with no reason), and suggests he had a ‘troubled’ background.  These are softening social cues. And the media doesn’t have to make these quotes the headline.  It is they who present these quotes as a worthy title for an article. “Darth Vader is one of THEE most popular villains of all time, and most people ADORE baby-fying him.” Not canon Darth Vader they don’t.  If you want an Alt universe Kylo (like Emo Kylo Ren) it’s whatever.  That's a separate idea. “He was Kylo BEFORE KYLO EXISTED–he’s WORSE than Kylo–so where’s all the hate there?“ I disagree.  Vader was a tool for the Emperor.  Kylo IS the Emperor now.  And the hate is largely gone because in canon Vader died sacrificing himself for the hero.  “Why isn’t the majority of the world turned into serial killer supporters by now?  A. The majority of the world isn’t into star wars.  We’re a big fandom, but the world is bigger B. and the majority of Vader’s fans don’t try to justify his actions.  He’s liked because he makes a great foil for our heroes. Why isn’t OP making a comparison to Darth Vader and attacking his fans? Again, Vader’s fans generally don’t make excuses for his actions. Because OP has an agenda to attack Reylos and make them seem like horrible people, because that’s just the way the shit rolls on Tumblr nowadays.  Agreed, he definitely does. “[...]Committing a crime due to violent media, is far less easy to prove, and there has been no direct connection thus far.“ Right, but your post flat said “It isn’t true”, and that has not yet been determined.  Hence my post. “All of these still prove my point–media alone does NOT transform you into a violent person UNLESS you already have a predisposition to being violent (like a history of abuse or a mental illness etc). It ISN’T true until you have enough statistics that back up your claim, and this doesn’t. What’s unhelpful, is not being well researched in a matter and making blatant claims. “ But I didn’t make a blatant claim about video games.  I literally said the jury was still out.  In response to you flat saying it wasn’t true.  -_- “The media compares Hux and FO to Nazism because there’s a legitimate comparison to make (I know some SW fans disagree with me, but there is blatant Nazism parallels imo), because that was done PURPOSEFULLY. They took one evil regime irl and were inspired by it to create a fictional one of it. Every writer and design EVER takes inspiration form real life things to create something, eve villains. But let’s give an example here of a rational comparison and a shitty one:- Hux is like a Nazi (this can be confirmed by the imagery in SW, and background information, etc)  - Hux is like a Nazi and therefore if you like Hux you like the Nazi party and therefore you’re a Nazi apologist. Hux is a Nazi and you’re a Nazi apologist.“ This is a bit of a straw man.  You’d only be a Nazi apologist if you thought Hux’s POV were correct.  Once more, liking a villain is fine - liking them to the point where your sympathy leads you to defend their views and actions is another thing entirely. “Saying that someone who likes Hux or the FO is like someone who might have agreed/sympathized with the deaths of millions of people is a HORRIBLE, inaccurate comparison to make (also Hux is LIKE a Nazi and Hux IS a Nazi are two different things, “ Again, that’s not what’s happening here.  OP is talking about a specific action (how shippers talk about Kylo). Not liking the character in general. “And if you’re going to make the point that forcing yourself into someone’s mind is akin to rape, and therefore Kylo’s a rapist (and therefore Reylos are rape apologists–no lie i hear this shit WAY TOO much) then guess what?Obi-Wan is a rapist.Vader is a rapist.LUKE is a rapist.”  I mean Vader definitely attempted to force himself into his daughters mind in ANH.  Dude was the villain.  The jedi mindtrick is more deception than anything else - morally suspect but not a painful violation unless there are more than one person doing it at the same time.  Which is the actual term Pablo Hidalgo prefers for what Kylo does to Rey in that scene - a violation. “She (or he idk and idc tbh) is basically insinuating that Kylo Ren sympathizers cause school shooters sympathizers.“ Or vice versa, that the media and how damaged white monsters are portrayed is the reason Reylo’s see Kylo as sympathetic.  Which was what OP’s excuse was IIRC.  Personally I think the fault for both lies more with societies internal preference for white dudes, but that’s my take. “//Also–just for future notice–I don’t suggest ever using a Buzzfeed article to support your claim because your credibility will go right out the window. Buzzfeed is a pandering shitfest that is really written more by biased bloggers than actual reporters. I suggest using articles without bias and an actual good writing team and reputation.//“ I mean at this point that’s every news organization ever - least in America as far as I can tell.  You can barely open a paper or watch the news without someone's opinion’s being clear.  And it’s hardly the only article: https://www.salon.com/2016/01/12/we_need_to_talk_about_ben_kylo_ren_star_wars_and_the_media_narrative_of_the_mentally_ill_school_shooter/ https://www.theverge.com/2016/1/1/10698090/emo-kylo-ren-star-wars-parody-twitter http://www.forcematerial.com/home/2017/11/5/we-need-to-talk-about-kylo https://geekmom.com/2016/01/trying-not-to-raise-kylo-ren/ Kylo being compared to real world evil isn’t new.  Shoot, there’s a bunch that link Kylo to the alt-right as well.  Double shoot, Adam Driver himself straight compared him to terrorists.  Kylo gets compared to lots of real world evil people.  It’s going to happen. “Yup that’s definitely what happened. It wasn’t like he literally saw Luke about to kill him in his sleep“ No, he LITERALLY saw Luke post realization that he was in the wrong but still holding his lightsaber (like an idiot) and jumped to the conclusion his uncle was going to attack him.  Luke’s behavior (which is a character assassination if I’ve ever seen one, but that’s an argument for another time) also happens only after peering into Ben’s mind and seeing nothing but evil.  Ben then definitely attacks his uncle after that - from his point of view in self defence, sure - but from the overhead view an unnecessarily. “Oh no–wait, I was wrong:“ ...the article LITERALLY lists him murdering the kids.  -_- “Oh so I guess it’s like I said before–people PICK AND CHOOSE their biases!! There is a UNMISTAKABLE comparison between Vader and Kylo FOR A REASON–the two ARE very much alike. But Kylo is a shooter and Vader’s tragic and grand?? GET THE FUCK OUT OF HERE WITH THIS BULLSHIT.“ Uh, yeah.  Vaders complete arc requires six movies at two hours at least each to tell.  It’s pretty grand (lofty, big, etc).  His heel turn alone is a culmination of three whole films.  Also, the article presents Kylo as tragic as well, with Drivers portrayal being described as:  “a mixture of pain and hurt so raw it threatens to rend the fabric of the series every time he's on screen“.  Did you actually read it? “really made me want to pluck my eyes out. Holy hell my dude, why did you use this as a reference when it’s so clearly just—bad?? I think I lost five years of my life.“ Because it’s another example of Kylo being compared to the evil that is a school shooter.  Again, it’s not the only time, and it’s not the only horrible evil he’s compared to.  OP was insensitive about it though, given recent events. “And I want to make this clear–I don’t give a single FUCK if you don’t like Kylo Ren. That your opinion.“ I like his character a lot actually.  I think he makes an excellent, compelling villain based on Adam Driver’s work.  My issue is people attempting to pretend he isn’t one, or that his past trauma absolves him of ANYTHING he’s chosen to do, or that anyone owes him anything at this point, or pretending that this 30 year old man’s childishness can be justified at all.  My bigger concern is that sort of thing happens in the real world for folks just like Kylo and that the two often sound exactly the same. “ I CARE when you bring real people into stupid fictional shit and say “You’re the reason why this is happening. It’s YOUR fault things are this way” I don’t think that was OP’s point at all.  Least as far as he’s said. “ESPECIALLY when fiction is used right after a real tragedy like this. “ THAT I can agree with.  Dude was insensitive. “ It’s disgusting to be compared on ANY level with someone who might do something like this–and again–it isn’t true. “ No one compared you guys to the shooter.  How you TALK about the villain was compared. “ Read up on mental illness, debate gun control, read up on what actually causes school shooters to occur, look up psychological studies of BOTH sides, not just what Buzzfeed says–they aren’t accredited to make those calls in any way.“ The article I listed didn’t list the causes of school shooting at all.  Did you just skim it? “STOP accepting this shit behavior my dude. It ISN’T OK or educated AT ALL. It’s downright stupid.“ The behavior I don’t accept.  The point - that dangerous young white men are coddled both in and out of fiction - is all too true though.

[diaryofanobsessivefangirl]

Masterlist of Ships Subtropes

Dynamic tropes

Puppy love

Romance between children.

Examples: Gendry x Arya, Arnold x Helga, Mike x Eleven, Shaoran x Sakura

Childhood Acquaintance

They meet when they were children, regardless of the frequency or how close they were. They may have been raised together, may have saw each other every now and then, or even just once.

Used to be Friends

Examples: Petyr x Catelyn; Erik x Christine; Mina x Lucy

Used to be Lovers

Couples that were officially together (At least had sex) before everything went to hell. Ships that only flirted, such as Anna/David (The Guest) and Jackson/Lisa (Red Eye) are not included.

Examples: Athos x Milady; Tom x Elizabeth (The Blacklist); Dolores x William

Love Makes You Evil

A character who was originally good but did things for love that turn him to the dark side.

Examples: Anakin, Petyr Baelish and Claude Frollo

Love Makes You Crazy

A character driven to the brick of sanity because of love.

Example: Claude Frollo from Notre Dame de Paris and Ram from Princess Daisy

Not So Different After All

Opposites/rivals/enemies that actually have many hidden similarities. They are canonically each other’s shadow and are compared as two sides of the same coin.

Example: Anne x Vincent, Steerpike x Fuchsia, Kylo x Rey, Jackson x Lisa

Love Beyond Death

Meeting in the after-life, meeting reincarnation or person coming back from the dead.

Example: Catherine x Heathcliff, Petyr x Catelyn, Dracula x Mina, Naraku x Kikyo

Dragging You to the Gutter with Me

A villain turns a heroine into a brutal lonely broken thing only he can understand what it’s like to be, and still she won’t come to him. So what keeps them together is also what keeps them apart. Read more.

Example: Naraku and Kikyo; Alina and Darkling; Petyr and Catelyn; Dolores and William

In Love with the Mark

A man who works for some really big, bad guys. He may or not believe in their ideology; that is not the point. He is there for the money and he prides himself of his professionalism. For some reason, this organization working on the shadows have “business” to deal with this ordinary everyday woman. So he is hired to stalk, threaten, or even kill her. Turns out, Stalking is Love, and he develops feelings for his target. That doesn’t stop him from keeping up with the job, thought. He had to be undercover to get closer, so cases of Used to be Lovers/Friends are probably included. You will likely hear from a character In Love With the Mark the quote “It wasn’t personal.”

Example: Jack/Angela; Jackson/Lisa; Vincent/Anne; Tom/Lizzie (Jacob/Masha); Skye/Ward

The Queen and her Champion

Woman occupies traditionally feminine roles of power and the man is an example of masculinity for others. She uses clever words, social understanding and schemes. He is her sword and her armor, but nothing more. Because of their different stances, he is bound to be close to her he protects, but never with her.

Examples: Maly and Alina; Zelda and Link; Lancelot and Guinevere; Rhaenyra Targaryen and Criston Cole; Daenerys and Ser Jorah; Every Elizabeth Tudor romance, Queen Anne and Aramis; Lucrezia and Cesare; Cersei and Jaime.

Art Inspires Love

When character A realizes or falls (more) in love with character B after watching him dance, sing, or doing something artistic.

Examples: Frollo/Esmeralda, Christine/Erik, Hap/Prairie, Isaura/Leôncio, Anne/Vincent, Sandor/Sansa and Babydoll/Blue Jones.

Supernatural Connection

The characters have a psychic or physical connection. Maybe they can communicate through telepathy or can feel each other’s presence and emotions when they are nearby. There might be a spell connecting their hearts in a way one can only die when the other one does. Maybe they are twins. Whatever the reason, these characters are bonded in a way no one else could be.

Examples: Kylo x Rey, Nuada x Nuala, Darkling x Alina and Cersei x Jaime.

The Frollo Effect

A guy falls in love with a girl he is suppose to reject, repulse or dehumanize, and fights against it. By trying to suppress it, her converts love into hatred against her and himself, and probably punishes both hoping it will make the feeling go away. It does not work and the guy starts doing things he never thought he was capable of in order to deal with this unbearable need. He is usually proud, rational and very in control of himself until she comes along. Her initial dismissal as a suitor commonly starts out as social expectation - in which the characters are from divergent social segments and ideologically separated -, but it’s always a expectation the guy has over himself, regardless if anyone else imposes this on him.

Examples: Esmeralda x Frollo (Gypsy and priest), Amon x Helen (Jew and nazi), Isaura x Leôncio (Slave and master), Daisy x Ram (Sister and brother), William x Dolores (Host and guest) and Hap x Prairie (Subject and scientist)

Bonding undercover

When the bad guy pretends to be a normal person long enough to befriend the good girl and make her fall in love with him. This is usually how tragically two-sided vxh happens, because she gets to know his other side before the bad one gets in the way, but they can still have a happy ending because it also establishes they could have the base for a healthy relationship if only he could abandon his malicious quest. This only happens when the girl develops deeply romantic feelings for him; if it's only a crush or devilish attraction (Red Eye, The OA and Agents of SHIELD) than it doesn't count. She must be sobbing on the floor when this is done. May also involve an amnesia period in which the antagonist approaches the hero as an old friend or a lover.

Examples: Steerpike and Fuchsia, Christine and Erik, Kiara and Kovu, Elizabeth and Tom, Dracula and Vanessa

Generation Parallel

A love story doesn’t end up well. Years later another generation repeats the first one in a slightly different manner. Most of the time, the parallel between the two affairs means the characters from the first one have the chance to develop as we wished they would, and that their love might have grown roots under a different field. Sometimes it just means shit happens no matter the circumstances, and that people will make the same mistakes of their elderlies despite that they should have known better by now. If we are talking about the first generation’s offspring (Incest not necessarily included), it might mean their love is on their DNA and they would fall over and over again under different names and places. In any case, this trope is the romantic side of History Repeats Itself.

Very common theme in incest, because their birth requires a previous affair between their parents, but it only counts if it is a story on its own, full of ups and downs, and people talk about it. If it’s not mentioned or important to the plot, there is no point in calling it Generation Parallel.

Examples: Jaime and Cersei (Joana and Tywin), Arya and Gendry/Jon (Lyanna and Robert/Rhaegar), Catherine and Hareton (Cathy and Heathcliff), Abby and Henry (Wakefield and Sarah), Rey and Kylo (Padme and Anakin), Isaura and Leôncio (Almeida and Juliana), Leonardo e Marina (Pilar e Murilo).

Roaring Rampage of Romance

Love that starts a war and the main plot. Characters that destroy cities and galaxies because Love Made Them Evil, because they are trying to be with whom they love or to secure their safety and happiness. It might be on purpose, in which they have foreseen the consequences but choose to take them anyway as a means to an end, or it was accidental. There may be decades of conflict and the count of a hundred corpses, or maybe a famous massacre with a handful dead extras. Maybe a murderer is hunting down everyone on an Island so that he can be alone with his beloved. Anyway, innocent people that had nothing to do with them nor interfered with the couple’s happiness will suffer the collateral damage.

Common trope among royalty, since marrying or bearing the children of someone you were not supposed to could have disastrous consequences to the State, still people would do it for love.

If the character is causing the rampage in search for something else, like power, and to secure his beloved is an incidental bonus, it isn’t considered Roaring Rampage of Romance, unless he is doing it because Love Has Made Him Evil. Alina/Darkling and Nuada/Nuala, for instance, don’t fit this category.

Examples: Penny Dreadful, Inuyasha, ASoIaF (Rhaegar x Lyanna, Jaime x Cersei, Petyr x Catelyn), Harper’s Island, Westworld, Notre Dame de Paris, Wuthering Heights, The Phantom of the Opera, Bram Stroker’s Dracula, Apollo and Cassandra, Star Wars (Anakin and Padmé)

Taboo Tropes

Incest

Self-explanatory. Cousins will not be considered incest in here. I’m brazilian.

Subtrope: Decadent Aristocrats

Ho Yay

Homosexual couples

Age gap

Ships with age gap between then, 10 years at least. Supernatural/immortal beings won’t be taken into account unless the other part is a child or coming of age.

Wife Husbandry

A man adopts or temporarily takes care of a little girl. She may or not develop a precocious crush on him. Little girl grows up into a extraordinary and desirable woman. She had him on a pedestal all these years and has been saving herself for him. Man is distressed bc he can’t reconcile the image of the child he cherished as a father and the provoking woman she turned out to be. He mostly resists her advances, but they work that out by the end.

Example: Older!Mathilda/Leon AU, Nancy/Hartigan (Sin City), Veronica/William (Final Girl)

Development Tropes

End game ship

Is not everyday an OTP becomes end game

AU ship

A.k.a. “Canon? Who needs canon?” ships. OTPs that had a lot of potential but were ruined by canon. So either I ignore the end they were given, either some parts in the middle. Unlike Not Canon ships, these were meant to be romantically involved, but the way it was executed ruined it.

Secondary Interest ship

That One Scene ships are the ones with nothing shippable except for one or two scenes. Sometimes is not even canon and are more anti-recs than anything, but it’s still about villain x heroine, so it’s relevant to this blog.

Not canon

Word of God stayed silent and, according to my best judgment, the subtext was not enough. If something sexual or romantic happens between the characters but isn’t based on desire, such as the villain seducing the heroine for his advantage, it’s not canon.

Example: Scream (Billy/Sidney), Kim Possible (Kim/Shego), Mulan (Mulan x Shan Yu), World Without End (Carys x Edward), Sky High (Layla x Warren), Star Wars (Obi-Wan x Padmé), Richard III (Anne x Richard), Tesis (Angela x Bosco)