#not unlike Nelson Muntz

[waterflowing-under-ground]

Geralt and Dandelion in the books:

- 2 badass and competent professionals in their own fields who have great chemistry right from the start of their relationship

- bond over philosophy and literature and a mutual desire and need to roam and travel

- are friends because they just genuinely enjoy each other's company, love, care about, and respect each other

- go out of their way, often to great personal risk, to help each other

- A close, platonic relationship between two adult men who are comfortable being physically close with each other (which includes sharing a bed quite often)

- share personal and financial resources when they travel together

- feel comfortable enough to read each other for filth and be honest about what they see in the other's life choices, and feel free to tell the other what they need to hear (but don't want to hear) in terms of life and relationship advice.

- close until the (literal) end even though there were still some residual relationship issues between them (with the Dutchess Anna Henrietta situation) which the reader is left hoping would have been worked through eventually had they been given the time. And even this wasn't enough to make them want to stop being close. 🥹😭

Geralt and Jaskier on the TV show:

[casmick-consequences]

Black Pete, my beloved

This is just gonna be a post where I talk about Black Pete from 'Our Flag Means Death' and his arc on the show (so far!!!!), as well as what he means to me. (And by post, I mean essay, lol. I'm passionate.)

So right from the get-go, you immediately see the kind of character Pete is set up to be. Stereotypical rugged pirate, very much "I live to loot and plunder and I eat danger and bloodshed for breakfast". He's immediately set up to be someone who is very unlikeable, and someone who you would get annoyed with fast. An overly confident macho character that thinks he's better than everyone else, yet has nothing to prove it. Think characters like Nelson Muntz from 'The Simpsons' or Eric Cartman from 'South Park'.

In episode 1, you see him being the character to effectively try to start a mutiny because he thinks the captain, Stede Bonnet, is incompetent and unfit to be a captain, even confidently stating that he'd take over in his stead because 'he's the most experienced'.

If there was one character trait to shadow all of this, though, it is undoubtedly his idolization and admiration for the dreaded and feared pirate; Captain Blackbeard. He makes up stories of him having been on his crew, and this being the reason as to why he is so skilled and great. Whether these stories are true is never mentioned, but nonetheless not a single person (except the quite gullible captain Stede) believes a word he says.

What is SO interesting about his character, however, is that all of this is just a first look into his character. It's a first impression. Yes, throughout the show he shall always have his little moments of "being a dick", but the further you get into the show, the more you see the layers of him.

We've established he's kind of a dick, he's self-centered, delusional... but under all this there's actually the sweetest core you could imagine. Whenever he does something wrong, or he offends someone, he's the first to apologize as soon as he can.

Accidentally stab Frenchie's flag during an ambitious attempt to start a mutiny? Show remorse and say I'm sorry immediately. Your captain makes someone cry? Tell him that that wasn't okay and console the crying person as soon as possible. Your captain wants to put a cursed suit onto other innocent people, just to lift the curse from themselves? Question it because it makes you feel like a horrible person.

And even to Stede himself. In Season 1, it was pretty clear that Pete did not think anything of Stede. He thought he was dumb, incompetent etc etc and loved NOTHING more than the idea to get rid of him. But then in Season 2, where a very offensive comment is made towards Stede by the newly-back-from-the-sorta-dead scribe, Lucius Spriggs, who now holds a vendetta against Stede because he's indirectly the reason Lucius had to come sorta back from the dead in the first place, you see him like this:

He is visibly uncomfortable here, while in season 1, he would've jumped on the Anti-Stede train in a SECOND. But here, he just sits and tries to kind of get rid of the thick tension of that moment, and get the negative attention away from Stede. GROWTH.

Not only that, but (and this is gonna be an insanely weird opinion of mine but hear me out): out of all the crewmembers on Stede's ship, I might say that none of them are as much like Stede than Pete is. Stede is quite dumb, quite gullible, obsessed with Blackbeard, very much wants to be a "big, strong pirate" and despite all of this still manages to be kind to the people around him and makes sure to take care of others just like he takes care of himself. To me, that sounds just like Pete.

And, maybe one of his most redeeming qualities:

He is the sweetest, most loving and most caring partner on the ship.

Lucius is pretty much what you think of when you hear the words "sassy gay sidekick". He's sassy, he's queer, he's confident, he's very flirtatious and basically the LAST person you'd think to pair with Pete. He's also immediately portrayed as likeable, and is understandably one of the absolute favorites in the entire fandom.

They sound like the crackiest pair of them all. And yet somehow, they work perfectly together. They balance eachother out like two sides of the same coin. What Pete lacks in self-awareness, Lucius got enough for the both of them. What Lucius lacks in pirate skills, Pete has heaps to keep them both safe. And so on and so forth.

Throughout the show, Pete has learned to put someone else before him for once. It used to always be him as number one, but it becomes very clear that he now has a new number one. His number one.

There are lots of reasons why this relationship in particular means a lot to me. The main one being the way that they are perceived in the show.

Pete has a cleft lip, a bit of a lisp, a bald head, and overall just isn't what you'd normally expect from a TV show that depicts gay characters. He's average-looking. He's just some guy. And despite all of this, he gets to be in a sweet and loving relationship with his cute boyfriend who loves him, adores him, and looks at Pete like he's the most beautiful thing in the world.

Lucius himself isn't really that conventionally attractive either, but this fandom definitely perceives him better than they do Pete. Which is apparent in the way they pair him up with other, more conventionally attractive people, which is upsetting but hey. That's how the world works, I guess.

But it's the way these two are not perfect in any way, they're just two dudes on a ship who happen to be in the most beautiful relationship imaginable. Their relationship isn't perfect either, but it's perfect enough. They're just like a regular couple you'd see anywhere in real life. Nothing too fabricated, and it all just feels so real. Which is also why they remind me so much of my personal relationship with my beautiful, amazing partner whom I love more than anything in the world. The Lucius to my Pete.

Pete means a lot to me because, aside from having the best oneliners in the show and making me want to study him in a lab, in a way I see a lot of myself in him. I like to think I'm not nearly as delusional or self-centered as him, but the way he engages with the world around him feels just so familiar to me.

He's a bit dumb most of the time, and he's prone to make mistakes, but he always means well. He keeps up a hard, rough exterior to be able to protect his loved ones and look tough to others, yet in his core he is so incredibly sensitive and caring He found love in a place and time where it pretty much could've been impossible, and he spreads that love as far as his bare, sleeveless arms can reach.

He's a dick, but he's my dick. He whittled his boyfriend a damn finger, he deserves to be a little obnoxious every now and again as a treat.

So yeah. Black Pete does not NEARLY get the appreciation and recognition he deserves. And neither does his relationship with Lucius. And I wanna thank Matthew Maher for his incredible performance of this incredible character. Thank you!

(Also he's trans because I'm trans and I said so <3 ok bye)

[ty-talks-comics]

Best of Marvel: Week of March 11th, 2020

Best of this Week: The Immortal Hulk #32 (Legacy #749) - Al Ewing, Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo, Paul Mounts, Javier Rodríguez, Álvaro López and Cory Petit

Xenmu hopes you enjoy the show.

Xenmu the Living Titan or Xenmu the Hulk is a super deep cut of a character that predated The Incredible Hulk by two years and has been plaguing Hulk and his allies for the last few issues of this series. Xenmu’s origins trace back to Marvel’s old days of Sci-Fi horror in the “Journey into Mystery” anthology series back in 1960. On top of having immense strength, not unlike Hulk himself, the Living Titan is capable of using psionic abilities and mass hypnosis - something that has already come to bite Hulk in the backside.

This book begins with an incredibly creepy scene, drawn and colored by Javier Rodríguez with inks by Álvaro López, in which a mass of CRT TVs are stacked on top of each other and all show Xenmu recreating iconic Marvel moments. He emulates Spider-Man crawling down a wall, Reed Richards using the Ultimate Nullifier to scare away Galactus and even Wonder Man when he stood behind David Letterman (Avengers #239, 1984) before ending with his creepy eyes.

Al Ewing and Rodríguez do an amazing job of conveying what it is that Xenmu wants - the hearts and minds of the citizens of the Earth, to counteract the love that they’ve been giving The Hulk and other heroes of the Marvel Universe. Rodríguez draws and colors the background in a dark and dusty way with lots of dangling wires and dilapidated surfaces as well as lots of browns and hazy blues.

In the following scenes, regular series artist, Joe Bennett takes over and he and Ewing do their best Bendis impression as we get about six panels of citizens each talking about their love for Xenmu and how he’s the greatest hero in the world! One of these panels even includes a not so subtle cameo of Simpsons characters Bart Simpson, Milhouse Van Houten, Nelson Muntz and Lisa Simpson in the background. We obviously know none of this to be true and see that Xenmu’s false memories have wormed their way into their minds.

Soon after, we cut to the office of Roxxon CEO, Dario Agger, as he and Xenmu look upon the fruits of their work and continue to plan for a world without the Hulk interfering with them. Agger is always looking for a way to make a good dollar, even if that means selling out the human race to Dark Elves (War of the Realms, 2019) or by siding with an intergalactic being of mass mind control. Bennett continues to make Agger’s Minotaur form a thing of horror with his hunch back and drooling maw.

Things continue to get even more horrifying as Xenmu complains that he is getting hungry and Agger callously sacrifices Travers, one of the last men on his security team, to the monster. Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo and Paul Mounts work in tandem to create one of the most unsettling double page spreads of biomechanical body horror as Xenmu bends into a crab form like he’s Kayako from The Grudge, unleashes fleshy tendrils, dripping with blood and coiled in gold and drags Travers into the opening in his stomach. Travers screams in horror as Agger simply drinks his whiskey.

José and Brabo’s inks make the lines look incredibly smooth and do well to accentuate Bennett’s hatched shading as well as the small detail of Xenmu’s eyes peering at the floor as he reflects on the shining floor. Mounts also colors the scene with such casual, late afternoon lighting, contrasting the abject terror that is taking place within the scene. In a series with heart pounding-ly scary pages, this is HIGH up there with the most disturbing.

Soon after, we get another single page from Rodríguez with the same television set up, but this time, the news portrays the scientist, Dr. Robert Banner and his alter ego, The Devil, as a dangerous villain. These reports allude to Banner’s origin story, the events of the World War Hulk (2007) and even acknowledge the fact that General Thunderbolt Ross couldn’t be reached for comment (He was killed during the first arc of Ta-Nehisi Coates’ Captain America.)

This page distinguishes itself from the other as the backgrounds are given an eerie green color, one of the CRTs has been cracked and seems to be leaking some sort of purple liquid. The images on screen are given a green and purple static effect and the rat that was on the lower right corner of the page runs away at the sight of Banner and the Devil versus when it was mesmerized by the images of Xenmu the Incredible Hulk.

Bennett returns and utilizes the six panel structure with people lambasting Banner as a cult leader, murderer and terrorist. Bruce’s best friend, Amadeus Cho aka Brawn, doesn’t even remember his old friend. Jackie McGee, still recovering from her injuries following an attack by Roxxon, has trouble remembering if Banner and The Hulk were the same person, especially after travelling with Banner for a number of weeks/months. We then get a final panel of “Robert” Banner repeatedly saying that “nothing is wrong.”

Bennett, José, Brabo and Mounts do an amazing job of pulling us into the fracturing mindset of “Robert” Bruce Banner as we transition to Shadow Base and see Savage Hulk in the mirror, trying to break out, as Banner repeats the statement. Bennett sells us on Bruce slowly breaking with various pulled in shots of his sweaty, unshaven and crazed faces. Mounts even makes use of small hints of green around Banner’s eyes alluding to any one of the Hulks trying to escape.

Bruce is acting noticeably different and the resurrected Rick Jones seems to acknowledge this just a small bit. He doesn’t seem to be affected, but that might have to do with the metaphysical nature of his resurrected powers and how he’s always on, unlike Bruce who is still just a human holding back his various forms. Bruce also keeps referring to himself as “Robert” his real first name and also what Xenmu News keeps calling him, this suggests that Bruce as a human is also susceptible to the same mind control as other people.

Dr. McGowan and Doc Samson discuss as much when McGowan presents Samson with some video footage of her talking to Rick and Betty Ross as Harpy. Much like most others, she remembers Xenmu, but also knows that she said Daredevil in the footage and Samson confirms it. He also seems to have no actual recollection of Xenmu much like Rick and McGowan suggests that his existence is acting as some sort of Mandela Effect (google it, cause it’s weird) with multiple people remembering something that no one actually experienced.

McGowan explains that her experience as a transwoman helps her to separate what parts of her really are her and what is not and that method of self examination helps her in realizing that Xenmu’s memories aren’t real and that he’s been re-writing the minds of everyone else who looks at him through the screen, including Bruce Banner, which shocks Samson and Bennett gives us his shocked face.

We actually get one more shot of the television sets, but this final one is shockingly different. Almost all of the TV sets are smashed and bleeding, except for one showing Xenmu’s hypnotic stare. Each of the sets are a dark purple color and the background is given a bright and vibrant hot pink coloring. The purple and pink color scheme extends to the disgusting tentacles emerging from the shadows, almost leeching into the minds of all of its viewers. Even the rat in the corner isn’t safe as one of the tentacles wraps itself around the creature while Xenmu proclaims, “I’m in your head.” It’s all genuinely terrifying.

Before the book ends, Banner punches the mirror to hold back the Savage Hulk, and we get a surprising return of a previously mentioned Hulk and I’m ultra excited for the next issue.

This issue of Immortal Hulk was absolutely fantastic. Al Ewing continues with his epic run with the character by introducing a dastardly and unreasonably scary villain in the returning Xenmu to act as a foil to the plotting and genius Devil Hulk. Javier Rodríguez and Álvaro López absolutely blew my mind with their pages with the TVs by conveying the scale of the psychic threat and Joe Bennett, Ruy José, Belardino Brabo and Paul Mounts continue to stun with scenes of body horror and general grossness.

This book gets the highest of recommends from me.

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