#resurrection seeker comic

[gffa]

TWO NOVELS ANNOUNCED AT SDCC 2024:

1. This is the way…seeker. Justina Ireland’s new novel will explore Vernestra Rwoh’s life about 20 years prior to the events of The Acolyte, a giant leap from when we last saw the teenaged prodigy in Phase III of The High Republic storytelling.

2. Yord and Jecki live! We have good news for members of the Yord Horde and Jecki Jam: Tessa Gratton will resurrect these fan-favorite characters for a new YA novel set in the years leading up to The Acolyte. The book arrives in July 2025. No word yet on a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive edition with bonus steamer.

I'll give them a chance, I'm soooooo curious what Justina Ireland is going to do, because Vernestra's characterization in The Acolyte is so wildly different from where she's at in The High Republic and I think Vernestra is kind of her baby, so I would love to have been a fly on the wall seeing her reaction to the show's take on the character, but I'll settle for seeing how she attempts to bridge the gap. But even more I AM SO FUCKING READY FOR JECKI AND YORD NOVEL, I will set aside all my reservations if Tessa Gratton gives me the sibling needling with love dynamic that I crave.

[mariacallous]

‘I don’t like it when a comedian just spouts his own political views and relies on the audience agreeing with him to get a round of applause,’ announces Ricky Gervais in his new Netflix Special Armageddon. For 60-minutes Gervais, clad in his usual black t-shirt and jeans get-up, tells jokes about dwarfs, gay people, ‘disabled creatures’, African babies with AIDs, Chinese people eating dogs, people pretending to be asylum seekers, people pretending to have ADHD, students taking micky mouse degrees, Greta Thunberg, homeless people (‘fucking horrible’) and the fragile and narcissistic ‘woke’ youth. Which is to say that Gervais just spouts his own political views and relies on the audience agreeing with him to get a round of applause.

Gervais’s portrayal of David Brent in mockumentary The Office (2002) was a work of comic genius. Brent, a hapless white-collar middle manager who desperately wants to be popular, cuts a pathetic but ultimately sympathetic figure. The viewer didn’t so much hate Brent as feel sorry for him; he was an uncalibrated fool but a well meaning one, hence the happy ending written for him in the Christmas Specials that brought the curtain down on the story in 2003. Gervais foolishly resurrected Brent in 2016 for a feature length spin-off, Life on the Road (2016), this time without the grounding influence of his original co-writer on The Office Stephen Merchant. All of a sudden the charm had gone out of the franchise and Brent had morphed into something genuinely tragic and repulsive, trucking in boring jokes about gays and fat people.

Expressing any form of reservation or note of disapproval about anti-woke comedy nowadays is to get oneself marked down as an invertebrate. For those of us who possess a strong enough constitution to sit through jokes that poke fun at the shibboleths of political correctness - provided they are actually funny - retorts like this don’t hold much water. But I’ve come to realise that such humour is increasingly sustained by a section of the audience being reliably ‘offended’ by it and kicking off. How else to keep the lucrative conceit going which says that rich middle aged white men telling rollicking jokes about asylum seekers are heroic truth-tellers saying the unsayable? These days Gervais’s adoring fanbase seem more enthusiastic at the prospect of upsetting their political opponents than about the material itself. And who could blame them: most of the jokes in Armageddon are hackneyed and stale - ‘Doctor, Doctor, I keep thinking I’m a pair of curtains’; ‘You are then’. Heady stuff that is indeed guaranteed to ‘annoy all the right people’.

Netflix describes Armageddon as ‘controversial takes on political correctness and oversensitivity in a taboo-busting comedy special about the end of humanity’. Yet those on the receiving end of Gervais’s barbs are hardly considered off limits by the wider culture: illegal immigrants, the homeless and transgender people are all regularly subjected to invective from government politicians and Britain’s overwhelmingly right-wing media. By all means make an off-colour joke about those groups if you wish: I’m a big boy and I know how to use the remote control. But you won’t convince me that publicly flogging these tabloid bête noires makes one a gutsy truth teller. It’s true that a disability charity condemned Armageddon before it was released on Christmas Day for a joke Gervais makes about terminally ill children. But it’s also true that Gervais is still on Netflix telling the joke, which perhaps gives a good indication of just how risqué this style of humour really is.

One of the biggest cheers from the audience during Gervais’s performance in Armageddon erupts in response to a fatuous joke about mobs pulling down statues originally put up to honour slave traders - another example of woke hypocrisy apparently. ‘He was a slave trader, pull down the fucking statue.’ ‘He built the hospital, should we pull that down too?’ ‘No, leave the hospital’. It’s certainly true that wealthy people have historically (and not just historically) tried to launder their reputations through philanthropy (and on this note Gervais enjoys boasting about how wealthy he is and how much money he donates to animals, who he prefers to humans). But you needn’t take a course in critical race theory to recognise that those who became uncontrollably rich from the slave trade might have set aside some of their tainted money for similar ends. ‘Pride and vanity have built more hospitals than all the virtues together,’ wrote the Dutch physician Bernard de Mandeville in The Fable of the Bees, his eighteenth century polemic against philanthropic hypocrisy.

It isn’t for me to tell a comedian who the ‘correct’ target of his humour ought to be - comedy is subjective after all. But then Gervais’s current shtick is of a piece with right-wing populism more generally, characterised as it is by a servility to the very power it ostensibly rails against. I’m no more required to accept Gervais’s assessment of himself as a brave heretic saying the unsayable than I am obliged to join in with the hysterical blue pencil-wielding critics who really do want to see him cancelled. As to who is currently coming out on top, Armageddon is apparently the highest grossing single stand-up performance ever, bringing in £1,410,000 for a recent show at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles. Cancel culture indeed.

At one time conservatives and reactionaries would doggedly stand athwart history yelling Stop. Nowadays they need constant reassurance that they are still the plucky countercultural underdogs they imagined themselves to be in the halcyon days of their youth. Which is understandable I suppose. Nobody wants to be the angry young man whose waistband has inexorably expanded along with his list of blimpish grievances. ‘I think I am woke, but I think that word has changed,’ says Gervais. In other words it’s not him, it’s us. ‘No-one likes a white middle aged man anymore,’ laments Gervais at another point in the show. I’ve heard that one before too.

I used to enjoy Ricky Gervais but when I think of him today I always imagine some braying face demanding to know how ‘triggered’ I am by something puerile he’s said. This ‘type’ is seemingly ubiquitous at the moment: everything is geared toward getting a rise out of the libs and sticking it to the man in a way that doesn’t threaten one’s status as a servant of power (am I still allowed to say “man”? hehe - you get the gist).

The role of humour according to Gervais is ‘to laugh at bad shit to get us through it’. Which isn’t a terrible definition, though I suppose it depends on what one considers the ‘bad shit’ to be. I found much of the material in Armageddon indistinguishable from the endless bleating we hear in some quarters about the country going to the dawgs because of foreigners and queers and the young with their trendy ailments and political correctness et cetera. I can’t say I feel hysterical or offended by jokes about that stuff - soporific is more the word that springs to mind. Perhaps I should just be grateful that Gervais didn’t make an ‘Orange man bad’ joke. Maybe he’s saving those gags for his next Netflix Special when Donald Trump is President of the United States again. Important to laugh at the truly bad shit first though right.

[age-of-moonknight]

Hi!! Hello

I feel like we are not getting a lot of steven as much as both marc and jake, like what motivates them and such. Having said that, what would your aproach be at developing steven both personally and in his relationship with jake and marc?

Btw, your blog is still my favorite one in all of tumblr, I look forward both to new releases and your commentary after every single one <3

Hello! And thank you so much for the ask and for hanging around! :D I am immeasurably glad that this blog is something that sparks a little joy in your life. 🤍🖤 As for Steven, I see your point! You actually brought up something I've been mulling over deep in my brainpan for a hot minute, so (as always seems to happen when I answer asks whoops), this got a little long. There's a bit of preamble on how I came to my conclusion, but I'm pretty sure I more directly address your question in the second part, so you can just skip to there if you'd like hahaha

Part I: Preamble Not to hijack the whole lunar theme, but Moon Knight comics do go through phases and one type of phase involves some authors giving a bit more panel time to one of the guys (e.g. Jake in the first volume of Vengeance of the Moon Knight, Steven through a lot of the first Moon Knight volume as I recall). Currently, we're in a phase of focusing a bit more on Marc and, while MacKay's work on Moon Knight has been some of the most consistently enjoyable comics I've encountered in a while, I do miss Jake and Steven. Steven in particular, has been a little out of focus. On the one hand, I can kind of see how that happened. After how previous authors chose to portray him, my interpretation is that Jake's character needed a bit of time dedicated to returning him back to his essence (but that's a whole other kettle of worms). Additionally, I will always be the first person to rail against comic characters getting pigeonholed by editorial as having a certain "role" within a comic and once that role's been fulfilled elsewhere, editorial struggles to know what to do with that character and potentially discards them entirely (or worse, warps them beyond recognition, but again, I don't need to be bring up here how salty I am about how Marvel editorial has treated other characters hahaha) and I believe that might be a bit of the case with Steven. For a long time, the guys' dynamic was understood as Steven makes money and high society connections, Jake makes friends and underground connections, and Marc makes uuuuuh let's say "extreme bodily harm to his enemies" and is not really fit to be seen in society due to, you know, the crimes against humanity. Now that Marc's lost all of their money and, in a turn of events frankly more miraculous then his multiple resurrections (perhaps to no one's greater surprise than Marc's), established himself and the Midnight Mission as upstanding parts of the community, Steven's two main "jobs" in the reductive sense aren't as easily inserted into the narrative anymore. Part II: Actually Answering Your Question (Sorry) HOWEVER, even beyond my never ending love for Steven just as he is, I believe there's more to explore.

Particularly, when I first read your ask, the first thing that popped up in my head was this page from the most recent Moon Knight annual:

Moon Knight Annual (Vol. 5/2024), #1.

Historically and including in Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #24, writers have portrayed Steven as the respectable one who wants to settle down, but this idea that Steven's just as much a thrill seeker as Jake and Marc -- it just manifests differently -- greatly intrigues me. As such, personally, I would LOVE to see more of Steven's work on the logistical side of things. They don't need huge sums of cash to throw around; Steven's probably just a bit more adept at understanding how financing both legitimate and illegitimate ventures work, so he can either direct them or manipulate them as necessary. He can be messing with criminal finances for Moon Knight work in ways that carries just as much risk as pounding the pavement. Authors have alluded to such things previously, with Mr. MacKay highlighting how critical finances are to continuing the Midnight Mission's work in the community and how Moon Knight can even use them for fighting crime.

Moon Knight: Fist of Khonshu (Vol. 1/2024), #0.

This little gem of an infinity comic actually addressed the topic even more explicitly.

Avengers Unlimited (Vol. 1/2022), Infinity Comic, #64.

I get it, white collar crime and financial maneuvering is a lot more difficult to make appear exciting in the comic medium as opposed to, say, fisticuffs or edged weapons. In my opinion at least though, this is cool!!! Marines make jokes about their organization's history of struggling with logistics, but that underlines how critical that aspect is to making sure anything can operate effectively! Using the full range of skills and resources available to most efficiently execute justice is just something that feels very Moon Knight to me. That interpretation also helpfully supports my argument that Steven should be just as involved in Moon Knight work as Marc and Jake, just in an "occupational specialty," if you will that looks as different from what Jake and Marc do as how different Jake's networking looks from Marc's....very kinetic approach to problems. Accordingly, I guess I would just like to see Steven utilized in the narrative more as the "scalpel" of the trio. There is a time for everything, including Marc cracking skulls, Jake shaking hands and slapping backs to collect HUMINT, but also for Steven's precise and surgical approach that can dismantle a whole organization perhaps without even any bloodshed. After all,

Moon Knight (Vol. 9/2021), #25.

Steven's got his own way of doing things.

I guess, ultimately, is it too much for me to ask that Steven, Jake, and Marc be all equally valued for the unique skill sets they bring to Moon Knight? That they support each other, particularly with how wonderfully complimentary those skill sets are? hahaha

[generalpierrotdameron]

1. This is the way…seeker. Justina Ireland’s new novel will explore Vernestra Rwoh’s life about 20 years prior to the events of The Acolyte, a giant leap from when we last saw the teenaged prodigy in Phase III of The High Republic storytelling. 2. Yord and Jecki live! We have good news for members of the Yord Horde and Jecki Jam: Tessa Gratton will resurrect these fan-favorite characters for a new YA novel set in the years leading up to The Acolyte. The book arrives in July 2025. No word yet on a San Diego Comic-Con exclusive edition with bonus steamer. 6. Even more art from The Acolyte. And arriving next year, The Art of The Acolyte will join the bestselling series of Abrams books based on Star Wars productions, taking us behind the scenes with concept art, costume designs, creature illustrations, and more! Written by Kristin Baver with a foreword by series creator Leslye Headland, the book arrives next July.

SDCC 2024: The Acolyte Publishing Program and Other Reveals from the Lucasfilm Panel

[salarta]

Polaris/Lorna Dane Music Prediction Retrospective

That's a mouthful.

At the beginning of 2024, I made a playlist of songs I felt would capture Polaris' circumstances for each month of the year. It was based entirely on what I knew was coming in the comics and broader Marvel plans and then projecting out. Also vibes played no small part.

Now I'm gonna go over each song. See how on or off I was.

I can't remember precisely what happened for every month, so some of it might be off time frame wise (e.g. I might say something about the X-Men 97 cartoon for a month that it hadn't released yet).

January: "Ouroboros" by Seeker Pearl

This was probably the easiest to pin down, and therefore most accurate. I made the playlist pretty much right before or on the new year, so I knew what was coming up in the next month.

The Krakoa era in the comics was coming to an end, and Marvel had already touted a "return to monke" idea of going back to the 90s when X-Men was more popular as its next steps after ending Krakoa. These lyrics were the main reason I went with this song:

I know I'm alone And death is the road to awe I know I'm alone And birth is the gateway The natural law Cycle repeat after cycle repeat Like an Ouroboros

X-Men can be both great and better than it was, but it's trapped in a nostalgia cycle that necessitates wiping out any sliver of change. Eating itself in the process. Natural law and death and rebirth played parts in Krakoa, so it also felt fitting.

And then Lorna-specific, even though Marvel themselves keep being assholes and pretending she isn't a survivor of the Genoshan genocide, she's yet again witnessing and experiencing a wiping out of her entire species. She's alone even if some others happened to survive too.

February: "Welcome to the Show" by Fireflight

I felt Lorna in February would be about to step up in the events, as we knew when I made the playlist that she would have a meaningful role. I chose the song for its spirit of "inviting" the enemy to her spectacular retaliation for their genocide.

Lift your hands if you're looking for a show Did you come to hear what you already know? Are you looking for some comfort? Let me entertain you Just another fix to get you high All you gotta do is step inside Welcome to the show

If I remember correctly, February was the month that we actually got to see Lorna in a teasing final page making initial plans with the Brood of Knowhere to bring them to the Orchis space station. There's also this section that felt very on point. Resurrection's down, are you ready to fight and risk your life for the greater good even knowing you won't come back if you die.

Are you ready to die Or just live for yourself? Do you pray for the souls Of anyone else? Are you giving it all? Are you holding it back? Are you standing complacent Or on the attack? Are you ready to die Or just live for yourself? Do you pray for the souls Of anyone else?

March: "There Will Be Blood" by Kim Petras

Again, at this stage I already knew Lorna was gonna have a big moment. We had a cover already of her using her powers to move Knowhere. And boy were these lyrics appropriate.

There will be blood, run for your life Go on and say, go on and say your last goodbye There will be blood, you're gonna die You'll never make it, never make it through the night

Her invasion of the Orchis station with the Brood was a bloodbath, in a highly justified way both for what happened and for Lorna specifically as a character. Really the whole song fits, I think. Though special shout-out to these lyrics.

Take a sip from the Devil's cup Just a taste, you won't get enough Seal your fate when you swallow up (there will be-)

Part of Lorna's intro was "The Devil Had a Daughter," with Magneto at the time being the referenced devil (reminder: Magneto was revealed as Jewish and a Holocaust survivor in comics that came many years later; at the time he was just a villain the X-Men fought).

April: "Wrong Turn" by Kim Petras

I mainly chose this song for April because I thought it was very likely the time when Lorna would start to get screwed over, hence the wrong turn. That treatment of her would be taking a wrong turn starting then.

As it so happens, we very much got a taste of that with April being the month when the X-Men 97 cartoon decided to use the Genoshan genocide story... without Polaris. She was completely excluded despite being a high profile survivor in the comics during and immediately after it happened. Instead, X-Men 97 decided the only thing about her they'd spend any time on was 90s X-Factor shit.

I don't have any specific lyrics to highlight this time. The whole "you took a wrong turn and now you're fucked" vibe is what I was picking up on.

May: "Paralyzed" by Conquer Divide

Following on from taking that wrong turn, I felt this song would capture Lorna circumstances in getting screwed over. From a good start to the year with a lot of promise, to having that wiped out for nostalgia.

The fault line's about to blow And the devil is at my throat Paved with good intentions, don't you know? I'm staring down a dead-end road Please call the doctor; I just saw a piece of me die I can't stop the bleed As dreams turn to nightmares right before my eyes Awake or asleep

I believe around May is when we first found out about Lorna getting forced onto X-Factor yet again. Every time she gets forced onto X-Factor, everything about who she is and what she really offers gets destroyed to satisfy the needs of other characters or the desire to bring back nostalgia. The current X-Factor has proven to be no exception

So yeah. I'd say this song fits. From some of her best dangerous moments back to the nightmare that is "lol she's only good as Havok's supporting character girlfriend that gets kidnapped so he can have manpain about it."

How the hell did I wind up here? Somewhere bеtween all I know and fear Caught my reflection in thе rear-view mirror My demons are closer than they appear And I can't remember the last time that I got out Trapped in a machine The only way out is if I go straight through it now I'm disintegrating

The nostalgia for sexism is incredibly powerful right now. As such, Lorna's pretty much gonna have to ride through that storm and hopefully get out the other side not too badly damaged.

June: "Make a Move" by Icon For Hire

We're getting into the months where I didn't have much inkling of just what might be happening beyond "we love 90s nostalgia even if it means sexism" out of X-Men stuff.

I mostly went with vibes for this one. The vibe that Lorna's stuck in place just waiting for someone that doesn't suck to get things going for her again. IIRC this turned out to be a month where not much happened, which kinda fits that "stuck in place" vibe.

Yet at the same time, there were efforts beginning to spin Lorna on X-Factor as a potentially good thing. Which makes these lyrics feel fitting.

Try to make it look like it's all somehow getting better 'Cause I know how to play it pretty good against the measure Everyone started out a little insane But we learn pretty quick how to fake it for the game But some of you never learned to drop the act So under that skin of yours: a heart attack

And this part.

Screaming in the dark while we just play our part I'll play right along Like I don't know what's going on

July: "First Thing To Go" by Hayley Williams

I chose this song because I presumed that by this point, Lorna's connection to her father Magneto would start to get treated like it's nonexistent or irrelevant.

The song overall is, as its name implies, about losing one's sense of a person's voice after they're gone. How memories of that person can sometimes change your perspective of a person, make them seem bigger and grander than they were.

First thing to go was the sound of his voice, I It echoes still, I'm sure but I can't hear it Was it gentle or cold? Or maybe just noise, I Heard what I wanted, until I couldn't

Where things are for Lorna, this is kind of a yes and no. The real 'first thing to go' of this year actually happened in the past month. By that, I mean when Marvel revealed a new Champions character that stole away Lorna's Magnetrix codename, accompanied by Marvel hyping that character up as Magneto's "heir" as if Lorna doesn't exist.

So July specifically? I think I was off. But I do think that over the summer, the gears were starting to move in that direction. X-Factor didn't and doesn't acknowledge Magneto being Lorna's father (which you can kind of expect when Brevoort, a man who tried to make excuses for why Lorna couldn't be Magneto's daughter a decade ago, is at the helm).

Marvel loves ripping good things away from Lorna and giving them to other characters while reverting her back to ideas of her based in nostalgia for sexism. Hard not to say around this time was when Marvel started thinking that taking this from her, too, might be fine for them to do.

August: "Terrible Things" by Halestorm

Okay look. This song is one I typically think of for Lorna in connection to Genosha.

I see terrible things I see a sickness in a world on its knees It will takе what you love like a thief But in my drеams I believe We're not these Terrible things Terrible things

And yet... ironically... it's when the first issue of 2024 X-Factor came out.

We are nothing without failure But we have chosen ill behavior

As I'm writing this, I think my selection for August is the most on the money for exactly how things went down for her, even taking into account the earlier months where I knew what was coming with greater certainty.

If I fall If I run That's when I Will become Terrible things

Lorna stuck on X-Factor to exist as a supporting character girlfriend for Havok, all to cater to nostalgia for sexism, is definitely a terrible thing. In the end, Marvel chose to do something bad even though they actually know better after the X-Men fan vote and positive reception to the actual good treatment of Lorna.

As with the earlier Conquer Divide song, we're stuck in a patch where we have to hold out and get through the garbage, trying to preserve her as best we can in spite of official Marvel work trying to destroy her.

September: "I'm Just Ken" by Ryan Gosling (for Barbie)

Yeah. This was another shot in the dark, figuring Lorna would be getting screwed over back into 90s nostalgia land. And sadly, it fits.

Doesn't seem to matter what I do I'm always number two

No matter what progress Lorna makes as her own character, the sexist undercurrent of Marvel insists that she has to be kicked off the ladder and back into a supporting role for Havok.

'Cause I'm just Ken Anywhere else, I'd be a ten Is it my destiny to live and die a life of blond fragility?

If she were a character outside of Marvel, with her background and experiences, she would be a top tier character. She would be breaking bank everywhere. But because she's a Marvel character, she keeps getting roped back into "what can she do for this fragile blonde white dude with an inferiority complex." Doesn't matter how smart or powerful she is, she's always gotta be his butt monkey.

I wanna know what it's like to love To be the real thing Is it a crime? Am I not hot when I'm in my feelings? And is my moment finally here, or am I dreaming?

You know how long Polaris has existed? Since 1968. You know who editors and writers at Marvel have allowed her to have a relationship with?

Havok.

Just Havok. ONLY Havok.

She's been around for over 50 years, and in that entire time, he's literally the only character Marvel has decided that Lorna's allowed to do anything with.

Meanwhile, Havok's had a different woman every decade. Madelyne Pryor. Janet Van Dyne. Nurse Annie. He gets around. Yet Lorna must perpetually be reserved for Havok like she's his property that would be tainted should any man do anything more than mild flirtation.

It's abundantly clear that what Lorna keeps getting shoved into with Havok is not anything close to love. If it was love, her own needs and desires would actually matter when she's depicted as in relationship with him. If it was love, editors and writers would not be oh so fragile to the idea of her around any other characters, because they would feel this relationship could handle some mixing it up for Lorna.

They don't do it because they KNOW that if Lorna had a relationship with someone other than Havok, and it was pursued genuinely (not loaded with sexism), it would blow their nostalgic concepts of this pairing out of the water. It would be hard for them to justify their raging nostalgia for sexism once they offered up something other than Havok for comparison.

I think September was the month when X-Factor had Lorna getting abducted by the Mutant Underground, completely ignoring her own strength and intellect so Havok could whine and mope about it in subsequent comics. Gotta include that damsel in distress shit to make it even worse.

October: "The Rush" by JJ Wilde

Look I'm gonna be honest. I was really, REALLY hoping that October would defy expectations and let Lorna actually let her hair down a bit. My picking this was very much me hoping that Lorna would end up getting some kind of out, away from the shit of 90s nostalgia.

That didn't happen. So I think this pick was most off the mark. Though it's not totally without connection.

I woke up this morning, in a panic I had my red dress on again Last night I came out I was so damn manic I don't even know where I went wrong But I went wrong

I think the "I went wrong" is the most accurate part of this pick. Everything about Lorna on X-Factor is wrong. The "red dress on again" could be taken as vibing with her early 90s X-Factor Doc Samson issue where she put on that gold and red costume.

Not that anything that happened in the comics actually aligns with it.

And it's times like these that I swear to God Oh that my mother can't see me and if she did I don't know how I would keep it together

Yeah Lorna, I'm pretty sure your mom that died in the plane crash caused by your powers would shit herself if she saw how you're being misused to promote a cis blonde white man while everything about you is treated like it's worthless.

Between what's right, what's wrong, what really turns you on What makes your heart beat faster You're headed for a beautiful disaster

Yeah. Not sure about the beautiful part, but your treatment on X-Factor has definitely been a huge disaster.

There's also these lines.

It's the rush It's the lust You can't trust

If you choose to take Lorna fucking Havok as a character thing instead of a "the editor and writer suck ass and love sexist nostalgia" thing, then you can certainly say the rush of it and the lust is ruining her both in universe and meta.

November: "Queer" by Garbage

Honestly? With this one I don't really know. I picked it cause it just felt right. Though I can see connections.

Hey boy, take a look at me Let me dirty up your mind I'll strip away your hard veneer And see what I can find

One of the chief complaints of Havok fans over the past couple months has been Havok acting emotional about not knowing where Lorna is or what happened to her.

You see. Because their main interest is the sexism. Which comes prepackaged with ideas that Havok needs to be this big strong blonde white guy who has no emotions besides rage and eating beef jerky. This time, Lorna's character assassination isn't just making her look bad, it's also leading to depictions for Havok that fans of him don't like.

The queerest of the queer Hide inside your head The blindest of the blind The deadest of the dead You're hungry 'cause you starve While holding back the tears Choking on your smile A fake behind the fear The queerest of the queer

As I mentioned before, one of the rampant things with Havok is a stupid inferiority complex angle. He's leading the X-Men. Bolded lines are pretty much sides of him coming out as the temptation that is sexist nostalgia toward Lorna starts to unravel any potential for him too.

Fans of 90s nostalgia, particularly 90s X-Factor and the Havolaris shit, constantly fail to grasp that forcing Lorna to fit molds for Havok's stories actually hurts Havok too. Constantly going back to that nostalgia period undoes HIS progress and opportunities for growth. His problems aren't just that of turning people like me against the character due to how Lorna gets screwed over in service to him. They're many, and like Lorna, he'll realistically never get anywhere near HIS potential so long as he keeps being used as a tool (in both senses of the word) to reinforce sexism.

December: "Figure 8" by Paramore

We're finally at the current month.

A very small part of the reason I chose this song for December was cause I felt it complemented January's song. Book ends about cycles and being trapped in them. But more importantly, I felt like it would capture the state of Lorna at year's end and what the outlook of 2025 would be.

Drained me dry down to the last drop Pearls before swine, all flowers die Tapped the last good vein Don't know how to shut it off

The nostalgia is strong with X-Men comics. They're really trying to play off it. Truthfully, this might be the last time they can really play off it, because nostalgia games are losing their flavor. The people who find this stuff most appealing are dying off. Yet while that's still what they're going for, they're sucking Lorna dry of her remaining potential and sapping her lifeblood all to water short-term bullshit.

All for your sake Became the very thing that I hate I lost my way Spinning in an endless figure eight

All to promote Havok amid nostalgia for sexism, Lorna's been reduced to everything she shouldn't and was not meant to be. She's presently the closest she's come to repeating the worst sexism of her entire character history. Can't be her own character, can't wipe the floor with randos kidnapping her cause Havok needs his manpain over her abduction, meanwhile nothing about her as her own character is present. It's a tale as old as time, and she's spinning endlessly.

What remains? And now I think I'm losing my shape Not a trace No end and no beginning, figure eight

Most of this past year has been a disaster for Lorna. Not much of who she really is remains within official work. She's presently just a plot device blob fitting whatever mold most satisfies the desire for sexism and Havok promotion. Marvel doesn't care about her experience of the Genoshan genocide, or her experiences with death and treatment of mutants. They don't even care about any of what she did at the end of Krakoa. And her connection to Magneto is getting thrown right out the window.

Lorna's really in a terrible spot right now. And I think the situation with the US election and what's to come there exacerbates the problems that hold her back.

Fighting for Lorna to get good treatment, now, to me seems like something that will take more than just pushing for better within Marvel. I think it will take having to fight even more broadly. The root problem of sexism is pervasive. It doesn't only apply to Polaris. It applies to the entire culture in America. A majority of people who voted decided that Trump's rampant misogyny and very clear-cut sexual abuses and assaults were just fine to have in a president.

How can we realistically expect Polaris to have good things happen for her when the culture would sooner have her barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen making Havok a sandwich, than get to see her kicking ass and taking names as a survivor of the Genoshan genocide who'll never let that horror happen again?

You need a solid foundation to build on. This culture is a broken down mess in too many ways. We have to fix that before Lorna has a real shot, otherwise gains will crumble and disappear as swiftly as they keep doing.

The fight for better for Lorna necessitates a fight for real world gains first. This culture needs to recognizes and appreciate what actual women can offer as real people first before that can cascade meaningfully to Lorna. Until November, it seemed to me like we had a fairly firm foundation. Now I know we don't. We have to change that.

I really don't know what next year will look like for Lorna. I'm probably not gonna do another one of these music prediction things. But if I had to guess, I'd presume that the X-Men comics will stick to treating Lorna like shit for Havok's sake. My main hope right now is that X-Factor gets canceled and Lorna goes into limbo until a) we manage to fix things (at least a little bit) in America and b) Brevoort isn't senior X-Men editor anymore.

Within the mix, I anticipate that Disney and other companies will be pressured into taking on more sexist (and probably racist) narratives and depictions, where cis straight white men get centered at the expense of all others. And I expect Disney to cave. They've already caved on a recent depiction of a transgender character in one of their works, and Trump isn't even in office yet. They're eager to comply in advance.

I think more than ever, Lorna's best bet for proper depiction is outside of Marvel content.

Of course, I'd love to be mistaken. I'd love for Lorna to get a solo, mini or oneshot out of Marvel that actually gives a shit about her. I'd love to hear that with Beau DeMayo gone, X-Men 97 would acknowledge Lorna's experience of the Genoshan genocide in season 2. I'd love to see her in games again, as a powerhouse unto herself without all the 90s X-Factor nostalgia shit undermining her.

But hard truth, I think Lorna's best bet is among fans using her as a symbol of pushback against all the worst things in current American culture.

Bigger name characters like Jean, Emma, Storm, etc are at great risk of compromise through Marvel and Disney specifically BECAUSE they're household names. They're likely to be targeted by misogynist Trumper types, and Disney and Marvel are likely to give them what they want cause resisting will have greater consequences than giving in.

The sole saving grace to Polaris not being a household name is that she can be an under-the-radar symbol. She has the history, the origins as more feminist than her peers on intro, the persistence in spite of efforts to destroy her (particularly by Claremont in the 80s).

She's in a terrible spot in terms of official work. But she's in the perfect spot to inspire outside of official work.

And that wraps up my post.

[pyroanime2k16]

Transformers and GI Joe story idea.

Heyo.

So, given Skybound's current Transformers and GI Joe comics are out now...and to celebrate the 40th anniversary of Transformers, I figured I'd share my idea for a Transformers Legacy and GI Joe Classified story.

I should point out that, while not important, Rom and the Micronauts do exist in this story.

This initial post is for Transformers. GI Joe will be in another post.

Okay. So some build up.

1: This is set in present day.

2: Optimus Prime (a fusion of the Peter Cullen Primes (G1/G2, movie, and Aligned), thus sharing their forms and abilities through the Reconfiguration Matrix) is retired from active service. Most of the 1984-86 cast are retired, actually. Optimus is done. He can’t take the constant pressure of the war and the guilt it gives him. Instead, he does his own justice.

3: The war was thought to be over, however, that hasn't stopped some from trying to start it again. That said, some characters, like Soundwave and Thundercracker (heavily inspired by their IDW counterparts) are helping with making sure the conflict is minimal. Most of the Decepticon cast don't want another war, actually.

Characters who gained more prominence in the later shows, like the Unicron Trilogy, Super-God Masterforce, and Victory characters for example, are here too (though some have to be renamed to not make things confusing). This includes the humans.

Garry Chalk Optimus Prime, who still leads his respective Autobots, is reimagined as this universe’s Primus (the Transformers creator). The David Kaye Megatron is reimagined as Unicron.

The Primus of this Legacy-inspired story will be based on certain forms of UT Optimus. Unicron is a mix of Armada Megs and Unicron. I know it's probably lame in comparison to Primus, but Armada Megatron had the best design.

7: Car Robots Optimus and Magnus is here, but as an original character named in their Japanese names. BOTH are female, inspired by the only canonical female Optimus that was sadly only a recolor of Car Robots Optimus..and not an original design.

8: EACH iteration of Transformers occurs as if it happened on the day of its release. For example, the 1986 film occurs in 1986, not the year 2005 as stated in the film. Of course, certain things are changed in order to not make this a mess.

9: Optimus Prime is a character who dares to challenge and surpass fate and destiny at any opportunity he gets. For example, he survives his 1986 encounter with Megatron...and uses the Matrix to resurrect everyone who died in the event.

Main Story

Part 0: So, this whole thing started as a mix of the cartoons, while slowly became more IDW and movie-verse like, much to the dismay of Optimus and some of the Autobots. During an All Hail Megatron-inspired event, Thundercracker leaves and berates Soundwave before doign so, leaving the communications officer stunned by the seeker's courage.

Soundwave then goes through every event that's been cataloged in the base's files, before realizing just how far the Decepticon dream has fallen. He usurps Megatron shortly after and brings him to the Autobots, taking command of the Decepticons after a brutal fight with Starscream.

Megatron is found to be suffering from extreme insanity, which is treated during his prison sentence. With that, in the year of 2014 (30 years after the Transformers' initial arrival on Earth), the war is officially brought to an end.

Then in 2019, a new generation of Decepticons emerge (lead by Starscream), before forced to retreat after the arrest of their leader. And with that, most of the 1980s cast chose to retire after Optimus and Rodimus step down as Autobot commanders. The war remains ongoing, but on a smaller scale.

Part 1: The plot surrounds the Autobots (ALL of them) as they attempt to repel the new wave of Decepticons Should point out that some former members have either changed sides, become unaffiliated, or (like Optimus Prime) retired. Frank Welker Megatron is an example of the last one.

Not sure what reasons this new generation of Decepticons will have, other than that they're more aligned with Unicron. Optimus uses his Super Mode Stellar Optimus/Star Convoy rarely here, opting to chose his base robot mode upgrades, like G2 Hero and Laser Optimus.

A few major members escape. Others surrender. Unicron begins to manipulate the future to further his schemes, as he's realizing who and what he and Primus truly are. Primus knows who he is and what he must do, but the Matrix is sacrificed to give the god his answers.

Interlude 1: Optimus struggles with being brought back into the war, which leads to him seeking Magnus's own guidance. The two stay alone for a majority of their time in this...and ultimately, Optimus feels like he's making progress and thanks his twin brother.

The two reminisce about the days before the war, wondering their older siblings (the original Nemesis Primes), grandparents (Nova's predecessor and Alpha Trion), Uncle (Sentinel Prime),and their father (Nova Prime) would feel about them right now. Optimus thinks about Elita and wonders if she's disgusted by his conflicting actions and behavior.

However, human terrorist groups that the Autobots have dealt with in the past return for some vengeance. Not wishing to fight, Optimus radios in an emergency ground bridge for an escape. Despite his efforts to prevent more losses from happening, Magnus uses himself as a shield to defend his brother.

Upon hearing the confirmation that Magnus is gone, Optimus loses it, willingly giving in to his built up rage and stress. He actively tracks down the terrorists responsible and unleashes absolute hell on them. Despite his rage, he chooses not to kill, but instead ensures that the terrorists will fear him for all time.

Upon returning, a funeral is held for Magnus...and Optimus contemplates as to if he should return to solitude.... Primus and Optimus's closest friends convince him not to, as Magnus would want him to continue protecting his loved ones.

Part 2: The Maximals and Predacons arrive to present day from the future. The Predacons wish to change their future, while the Maximals wish to preserve it. Unlike most retellings of the Beast Wars, both sides are fighting an understandable cause, but for different reasons, which causes friction. Primal is the legal surname of Optimus Primal, Lio, and Big Convoy. Convoy is the rank, with OP being titled Kong Convoy.

The Autobots and Decepticons are in the background this time, working to rebuild after the short-lived second Great War, but a few provide major supporting roles (like Primus and Peter Cullen Optimus). Also, the initial three Beast Wars series did happen, leading to BW Megatron and BW Galvatron's demise at the hands of Dinobot and Lio Convoy (legally named Leonidas Primal here) respectively. Big Convoy is also given the legal name of Mammoton Primal and given a less-shell-formy design.

Primus manages to diffuse tensions, successfully getting the Maximals and Predacons to work together and change their future for the best. He and Unicron are seriously injured, nearly causing a paradox. Primus is upgraded to the form I described, before traveling back in time (with an imprisoned Unicron) to meet The One (the creator of the TF multiverse and Primus and Unicron) and restore history as a result.

Interlude 2: Primus, before leaving, gives Optimus the temporary ability to travel to any universe and multiverse he wishes for (in his universe's timeline) one month. Ecstatic, Optimus takes his vacation, eager to get a chance to truly relax and have fun. He first travels to a world similar to Beast Wars Uprising, which greatly disturbs him, meeting more Maximal descendants of his, like Convobat (voiced by Kevin Conroy) and Aquila Convoy.

He ultimately helps prevent the war from leading to a Vehicon scenario and arrests the Builders personally, displaying and feeling a greater sense of responsibility, as this is what would've happened if he died and there was no Matrix.

Optimus's reconfiguration matrix upgrades him by granting him a new super mode comprised on the three sacred animals of Japan; A phoenix for the back and chest, a lion/tiger for the right arm, and a dragon for the legs and left arm. This is called Beast King Optimus/Juou Convoy. Very Brave series.

Huge issue is that this form is hard to control and is mainly a berserker transformation.

Optimus then enters the multiverse of the Braves franchise, meeting and helping out various heroes like the OG Exkaiser, fan favorites Might Gaine and J-Decker, Goldran, even the king himself: Gaogaigar. Eventually, Optimus's rage gets the better of him again, but after being inspired by the people he's met across time and space, he successfully overcomes it, merging his Super Modes together to become a Great Combiner himself: Great Optimus/Great Convoy.

To make sure his presence doesn't screw up the Braves' multiverse, Optimus sacrifices this new form to keep the multiverse stable, before returning home.

Part 3: The deceased 11 of the original Transformers (the 13 Primes) come back to life and attempt to bring back the Golden Age. However, their views are significantly warped after what lead to their downfall. The Autobots, Decepticons, and their descendants unite to stop them, no matter the cost.

Optimus also restores the Matrix in response to this plight, becoming its bearer once more and reborn into his former glory, restoring his Great form in exchange for his Hero and Laser forms. Five members of the 13 also join, realizing how misguided they've become.

They are Nexus, Vector, Alpha Trion, Alchemist, and Micronus. Speaking of the OG Primes, the four Guiding Hand members (excluding Primus obviously) and Logos Prime are instead treated as students/successors to the 13. The Last Autobot is instead the codename for Teletraan 1's Ark robot mode.

Optimus and Megatron are revealed to be the Thirteenth and Megatronus respectively, having been reincarnated, thus retaining NO memories of their past. Optimus meets his siblings, Elita, Nova Prime, Sentinel Prime, and various deceased human allies after a near-death experience, all encouraging him to continue living and fighting for what he believes is right.

Interlude 3: This mainly just goes over what Primus and Unicron have been doing since going to the past. It goes over how The One (the source of the entire multiverse, kinda like The One Above All from Marvel) came into contact with this Primus and Unicron, before making them his wards, much to the ire of his other wards: The Vok.

Gaea is also in this, being the core of Earth. Primus and her have a tight sibling relationship, with Primus viewing her as the big sister. Eventually, Primus creates the life we now today, viewing them as his offspring and loving them dearly. Unicron returns to his old ways, which finally pushes Primus to the breaking point.

As the brothers fight, Primus desperately tries to keep anyone else from getting harmed. Unfortunately, Gaea uses herself as a shield for Primus, dying in her brother's arms. Unicron flees, while Primus makes Gaea the core of Earth, naming the planet after her as he knows what will happen in the future.

Primus and Unicron's feud continues, which results in more loss of life, frustrating and causing more heartache to Primus. In a desperate attempts, he creates the 12 members of the Covenant (from 3H's comics), before they willing choose to become the 13 Primes: The original Transformers. Optimus Prime is the only one of the group who was a unique creation and not a reborn Covenant member.

Unicron is finally thwarted for now...but not all is done. Primus witnesses Cybertron's growth to what it is today. He watches the fall of the Thirteen, the arrogance of Prima, the betrayal of Liege Maximo, the redemption of Megatronus, and the vengeance and grief of Optimus.

And now we are lead to present day, where it's revealed that Unicron's attack on Gaea had infected her, forcing Primus to mercy-kill her. Primus reluctantly restores Optimus and Megatron's memories of their past lives, before letting them make their own decisions with this knowledge as he returns to Cybertron.

Part 4: Unicron (in his present day form) arrives to Earth, while Primus returns from present day Cybertron to protect his home and family. This final battle between the gods is played like a tribute to every final battle in the franchise, as well as a tribute to the mecha genre (as Mazingers Z and Great, the old and new Getter teams, the RX-78-2 and Extreme Gundams, and Brave Exkaiser and Gaogaigar join in), with Primus as the victor. BOTH die, which gives the Transformers a chance to live without having to worry about the gods' feud.

The remaining escaped Decepticons, still loyal to Unicron, attempt to use the Nemesis to destroy the Autobots. Primus lends Optimus his power, growing into a Titan and giving him the strength to destroy the Nemesis by using the Ark. With all threats now finally gone, Optimus dies peacefully as he witnesses the most beautiful sunrise he's seen.

The Matrix is passed to Optimus Primal, evolving him to Primal Prime (or Rebirth Convoy), and the Maximals and Predacons head back to their now-changed time period.

Somewhere across the multiverse...Optimus Prime, Megatron, Optimus Primal, BW Megatron, Garry Chalk, David Kaye, Frank Welker, and Peter Cullen are all hanging out and relaxing on the beach in the glow of a brilliant sunrise.

Till All Are One.

Will give this Optimus Prime hypothetical epilogue/retirement stories where he travels the multiverse and meets other Optimus Primes, making the whole Thirteenth Prime connection even stronger, besides the simple reincarnation. He will also go up against the will of the multiverse (so basically Hasbro, Paramount, Takara, and potentially the entire fandom and hatedom).

[ao3feed-brucewayne]

The Death Seeker

read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yQ7TfMq by Nightwhinge STAND-ALONE FIC :) Timothy Jackson Drake was a 'Death Seeker’— in other words, after a few close encounters with the Grim Reaper, the boy had gained the supernatural ability to see ghosts. But when Batman's violent tendencies start to spiral out of control, and Robin's ghost is nowhere in sight, Tim takes matters into his own hands; he summons a ghoul in his neighbour's backyard... Perhaps he should have acknowledged that actions had consequences. Words: 11126, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 1 of A Crow’s Cryptid Call, Part 2 of Unrelated Batfamily Shenanigans 🦇💥 Fandoms: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Death - Character, John Constantine (mentioned), Joker (mentioned) Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Death Additional Tags: Tim Drake has the survival instincts of a wet paper bag, Tim Drake Sees Ghosts, Ghost Jason Todd, Resurrection, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Cryptid Tim Drake, slight world building, Meta human Tim drake, (in a way), Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Self-Sacrificing Tim Drake, Morally Ambiguous Tim Drake, BAMF Tim Drake, Child Neglect, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Tim Drake-centric, Unreliable Narrator, no beta we die like jason todd read it on AO3 at https://ift.tt/yQ7TfMq

[tarnishedspark]

a-all of them? okay I'm gonna have to put a read more on this bc the list is fecking Long. no really. there's 80. I am not good at finishing things.

and yeah they're the filenames not the fic titles. that are so incredibly helpful that I have to pair them with a description in my spreadsheet. yeah I have a spreadsheet. we're in that level of wip hell.

In no particular order:

first time - soundwave x starscream

sign the fucking treaty

idw soundwave x starscream

claim

nesting instincts

The Duly Appointed Enforcer of Megatron's Bedchamber

masochist starscream

shockwave stays

seekers

grounded

parenting - starscream x soundwave (prime)

swindle-soundwave

Silence

Lab protocols

shattered glass starscream

last bots in the universe

shattered glass wavewave adjacent

one insecticon

decepticon boyfriends club

wavewave

canon compliant - transformers prime soundwave/megatron

alpha zero

transformers prime fanfic

soundstar extras

Emotional jetlag

agressive wavewave

shift change

making a name for yourself

soundwave x reader

soundstar bonding

Fit for a king

spotlight: megatron redux

unconventional resurrection

jazz prowl fic

tarn x megatron

room assignment

megamags

Deadlock on the hunt

Deadlock's litter

only Soundwave remains

sparklings end the war

megatron-optimus

megastar

tfp au where orion pax never became prime

Armada screamer in post-IDW world

Titan's Will

flying without wings

transformers eclipsewing fic

bayverse rumble and frenzy fic

transformers rodimus fanfic

tarn asmr

ooos better ending movie - v2

I don't care what they say

added to the archive

shockdad

fall

starscream's fantasies

kobd

tarnma

sparkeater skywarp

skyfire spark eggs

tfp skyfire

comic appearance

mirage/skywarp

skywarp/prowl nonsense

wing biting

Gladiator Hours

sunstorm x optimus

torture kink

flat fuck friday

movie night

mech suit skywarp

the better skywave

bayverse skyfire

stomping grounds

shockwave-soundwave-starscream

deep cover

megop spakling time

trine eggpreg

dratchet rodimus

Ask about any of them, there is.. quite a range!

spot the one (1) that isn't transformers lol uhh tags.. anyone else who wants to reblog and play, feel free

wip title tag game [I got tagged]

RULES: Make a new post with the names of all the files in your WIP folder, regardless of how non-descriptive or ridiculous. Let people send you an ask with the title that most intrigues them, and then post a little snippet or tell them something about it! [Link to the previous tags]

@fiber-optic-alligator Thank you for the tag, this looks fun :D I'll be sending an ask about 'Lost and Found', the plot sounds so cute. I welcome anyone to ask about the WIPs I've got.

My WIP names: 1. The Take Over AU - g/t 2. Little Islands - Story Revisited (Draft 7) - g/t 3. Cinnabar One Way / Zonal - TFP 4. War AU 5. Desert Survival With Starscream / Know the Dunes - G1 6. Polar Inquiry - G1 7. Reverse First Contact AU Notes 8. Forgotten Habitat 9. 5 Years of Kindness 10. Soot Water - Sky Bound EU 11. Nuclear war 12. Delphi

I don't organise my WIPs very well. I've written story drafts in the notes app and written the notes of other stories inside of unrelated WIPs whenever ideas come to mind, oof. But hay, I am curious about what others might be working on. And interested in sending asks your way! Mutuals: @steelthroat @topaz616 @cryingline @soothedcerberus @theinkwaygame

It's alright if you don't really have any WIPs, if you don't mind asks about the ideas that aren't quite WIPs and you're interested in sharing that'll be fun. Others are welcome to reblog and join the tag game.

[partnersatfazbear]

Michael is a trend on this blog lately. I was anxious about posting this page, since it’s actually very personal to a conversation I had with my father (when he was alive) and there isn’t much to “view” on the page, but that should get the impact across, since William doesn’t answer.

[taiblogcomics]

How The West Was Wing

Hey there, gray zoners. We continue our journey through the second MLP/Transformers crossover this week, like we're doing all this month. It's a not-really-a-theme month! Let's get into it~

Here's the cover:

Here's another fantastic poster-like cover. Everyone likes Starscream, yeah? And... most people like the Wonderbolts...? Probably. Rainbow Dash is a main character, so of course she's liked. And people like Spitfire, I feel. I think people used to like Soarin, but that was way back when he was A) one of the only Wonderbolts at the time, and 2) one of the only male characters at the time. I think he fell out of popularity and into a lot of pie jokes. And Fleetfoot is also here! Remember when the comics shipped her with Big Mac? Good times~

So, if you recall last time, the Decepticons tried to steal magic from Equestria and instead accidentally resurrected King Sombra. That's a pretty bad mistake, especially since Sombra then brainwashes several ponies (including half the Mane 6) and a number of Transformers (including Megatron). So the remaining members of all factions have to team up to defeat Sombra. And that's where we are! We open with Starscream and the other jets I don't know flying on patrol with the Wonderbolts. Rainbow is taunting Starscream, which is deeply enjoyable.

Spitfire advises Dash not to antagonise the giant robots armed with missiles, but Dashie is her usual flippant self. Spitfire also worries they might be out of their depth, and to punctuate this, an enemy patrol begins shooting at them. Starscream calls for everyone to attack, while both Soarin and Skywarp point out that blowing up brainwashed allies isn't going to be helpful when Sombra is defeated. Like, no exaggeration, Skywarp says "You can't make an army out of dead soldiers". This is a real line in an official My Little Pony comic book. That's amazing.

Since Skywarp is actually being reasonable, Rainbow Dash and Spitfire drop down to formulate a plan with him. Essentially, the Wonderbolts use the clouds to create a cover, then signal the Seekers with a Sonic Rainboom. This gives them an opportunity not to shoot everyone but drop an Energon net over the enemies, immobilising them. Starscream taunts them, noting that there will always be a need for pawns on the battlefield and having visions of himself as a king. He's shaken out of it when Thundercracker calls for three cheers for Rainbow Dash.

I think I noted this last week, but every issue in this is broken into two smaller stories, just like the first crossover. Just noting that, because here's our second story. Apparently Cybertron has deserts, with bundles of wires forming the tumbleweeds. This is what happens if you don't untangle the cables in that box in your garage. Despite her nature, Applejack here is giving some noir-esque narration. Are cowboys the noir detectives of the Old West? A “rust storm” starts up, which does explain a lot about the desert existing in the first place.

Applejack just keeps moving forward, following the sun because it's the only thing she understands out here. Fortunately, she's not out here alone for long. Unfortunately, the one she's encountered is a Transformer named Wildwheel. I don't know this guy, but from what I gather (and the four word bio the comic provides), Wildwheel seems to be a defector from the Autobots. He wants Applejack out of his territory, and AJ just wants through his territory. And the two of them are about to have an old-fashioned duel over it.

Rather than guns, both of them draw a whip. Applejack's is rope, and his is a big electro-whip. The fact that she can match him with it is impressive to both Wildwheel and the readers, and even moreso when she takes out Quickstrike, who'd been sneaking up on them. Hey, I know that guy! I had a toy of him from Beast Wars! Me even having a particular Transformers toy is so rare that it's worth noting. But while they're complimenting each other, Wildwheel strikes again, and Applejack is unable to retaliate in time.

She flinches, but it wasn't the earth pony Wildwheel was going for. It was another brainwashed Transformer, Skids this time, sneaking up on the group. Wildwheel reasons that a bunch of brainwashed folks are more dangerous to his territory than a single pony, and Applejack casually reminds him not to underestimate ponies. He looks at Quickstrike on the ground and agrees, ending the duel and saying Applejack's earned his respect. He's gonna help her get back home, and she says he'd love it there. She has a friend who can make them matching hats, if he likes. And the pair walk into the sunset, as any good western should end~

Both of these are fun little stories. The Seekers and Wonderbolts teaming up makes perfect sense, and it’s always nice to see Starscream get undermined. I don’t know this Wildwheel, but he seems a good fit for AJ. Plus it makes up for the previous crossover, where she teamed up with nobody and just fought the Insecticons. And it was just neat to see not only a Transformer I knew but even had a toy of. That doesn’t happen every day~

Next week, even more crossover fun! And if you thought a cover with Starscream was cool and popular, well... Let’s just say, Soundwave superior~

[sociopath-analysis]

Sociopath Profile: DCAU Joker

Pre-acid dip appearance pictured on right Real name: Unkown Alias: Jack Napier Appearances: Batman: the Animated Series (1992-1995), Batman: Mask of the Phantasm (1993), The New Batman Adventures (1996-1997), Superman: the Animated Series (1996-2000),  Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker (2000), Justice League (2001-2004), Static Shock (2000-2004), Justice League Unlimited (2004-2007) Voiced by Mark Hamill

[EXTENDED SPOILER VERSION HERE]

One of the most iconic and defining portrayals of the Joker in the modern age. Even on a show geared towards children, he was still the same murderous sociopath he has always been known as. No punches being held back. (Literally sometimes.) And where exactly do we begin?

Let’s start with the fact that he has a complete lack of empathy for others. He obviously disregards the feelings of others by murdering them wantonly for shits and giggles. Many times, after killing someone, he moves on pretty quickly. After sending Sid Debris in a coffin plunging into a vat of acid, he immediately asks Harley and his henchmen if they want Chinese food.

There are many points where he sees people as nothing more than tools to be used and discarded. One example of this is what he does with Charlie Collins. He keeps tabs on him even through him moving and changing his name and forces him to do a favor for him while threatening his family. Why? Charlie cussed him out in traffic for cutting him off! It shouldn’t be that surprising that he’d torment the man for two years over something so simple. And he still planned to kill him after doing the favor (which was holding open a door for one of his plans).

This is one of the more disturbing aspects of the Joker. He can be so obsessively petty that he doesn’t differentiate between grand scale villainy and small petty villainy. Anything is worthy of either response. It’s the reason why Harley only got thrown out in “Harley and Ivy” for inadvertently disrespecting him and Charlie had been stalked and tracked down for two years as a way to torment him in “Joker’s Favor” all because he cussed him out in traffic. He takes any chance to make a darkly comedic joke at the expense of other people’s lives. Just look at his answering machine:

The Joker: (laughs) Boy, did you get a wrong number. Leave your message at the sound of the shriek. Man’s voice: No! Please! Don’t! (shrieks)

However, he still makes every bit of the showman that he is in the comics. The man can be very polite and affable on the surface even while threatening other people. He’s got a lot of charisma despite his insanity and he uses it both for his grandiose performances and to manipulate other people.

Harley is also one of the more prominent examples of him being manipulative. He could sense that Harleen was drawn to him for his extreme personality and knew she was a bit of a glory-seeker. So he decided to use that and her naivety to pull her closer and then give a sob-story about an abusive alcoholic dad. And she ate it up. And as Batman notes to Harley, he’s got a million of those stories. He’ll use them to drum up sympathy for an escape or just to mess with people.

And he still remains as sadistic as ever. One very big show of this is Joker-gas. While the network wouldn’t let him actually kill people, the showrunners retained his Joker-gas with the removal of its lethal intent. Effectively, this manages to be worse than if it killed them since people will laugh uncontrollably until they get an antidote or they literally laugh themselves to death which will take much longer.

One of his most infamous crimes is torturing Tim Drake into becoming a mini-Joker for his and Harley’s “family.” (An act Harley supported, by the way. Just sayin’.) Later on in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker, he plans to hijack a military satellite armed with defense guns in order to carve a smiley face into Gotham City! Even after being resurrected with a computer chip, he doesn’t even slow down with his old personality.

And if you think you can control him, you have to be crazier than he is. Honestly, whenever he goes out working for other people on jobs, the Joker always goes off the leash or causes some problems that his employer didn’t expect. Lex Luthor and Sal Valestra learned this the hard way. In “World’s Fines,” Lex tried to hire him to kill Superman, but when he didn’t produce results, he tried to have the Joker killed instead. This proved to be a terrible mistake. And Sal Valestra ended up getting murdered.

And his rage issues are also one thing that makes him a very dangerous individual. You never really know what could set him off. Sometimes, the biggest mistakes will only earn you a stern talking to. And minor things can often result in killing his employees at best and full-scale mass murder at worst. He really doesn’t take it well when Mayor Hill on TV called Batman a villain as bad as him. His response was to go to his son Jordan’s birthday party, dress up as the birthday clown, and rig the place to blow!

He also has a very grandiose sense of self-worth that is evidenced by a few things. One thing is that he’s very narcissistic in general. When Harley calls him in “Harley and Ivy,” he picks up a hand mirror to admire his own reflection. And the reason he kicked her out in the first place is that she inadvertently undermined his contributions to the gang by agreeing with his facetious comment about her running the gang better. The worst of it is when she almost kills Batman in Mad Love. He knocks her out of a three-story window for getting closer to killing Batman. In fact, Bats used his ego to save his life. Something that makes him fly into a rage.

“I knew your massive ego would never allow anyone else the ‘honor’ of killing me. Though I have to admit she came closer than you ever did… Puddin’.” - Batman

The Joker also has many actions that are driven by his intense need for attention. He makes so many plans and makes so many actions just because they took attention from him or they took advantage of his image. “The Laughing Fish” is the most egregious example of this. He tries to trademark his fish when that literally is not how trademarks work! He basically threatens people’s lives just to profit off of his stupid laughing fish. (It was a stupid idea! We all know it was!) “Joker’s Wild” shows him being very angry with Kameron Kaiser making a casino using his image, something Kaiser was banking on so that the Joker could blow up the place and he could take the insurance money. When the Joker finds out, he just decides to kill Kaiser instead.

It’s really no surprise that he manages to be one of the most monstrous villains in the whole of the DCAU (if not the most).

More Joker

[zhaliacain]

If you could plan season three of Huntik, what you would have them do??

This was actually so hard to answer and I re-did it like 3 times which is why its so disjointed and took me forever to answer but oh well I tried and it’s also weirdly mashing up Gargoyles and Avatar because the villains are basically the Quarrymen and the idea behind Huntik is basically the Spirit World but thats because I’m stupid and unoriginal so oh well.

Actual plot:

Lok and Sophie have bigdecisions about their future to make so they decide to re-double their effortson trying to find Lok’s father before they make any final decisions. I’d probably explore the teamhaving more options, Lok and Sophie are coming to the end of their educationand they need to start deciding on whether they follow further education or notand this is an ongoing theme of contention between them. Lok views that nowthey’re seekers they don’t need anything else in life but Sophie wants to takea break from being a seeker and persue further education (that and managing anew Casterwill family would be too much to also be a seeker alongside.) Andthat would be a breaking point between them at some point when Lok finds outthat Sophie had applied and been accepted to a major university which catalystshim to go do something stupid. Meanwhile, Dante has been reminding them thatthey can only be a seeker for so long before age starts catching up orsomething else goes wrong, hence why he was a detective. But his warnings alsotrigger Zhalia, Harrison and Den who are struggling to have a normal life after the Organisationand Blood Spirals etc happening so close together.

They start delving into howEathon got through the portal in the first place which involves the mandatory oncea season trip back to Ireland to see Lok’s mother and they dig through Lok’sfather’s possessions. They could see that he was digging into a way to accessmore and more of the titan world and then we’re going to find out that Huntikand Normal Earth didn’t start out as two separate dimensions, they were one-kind of like avatar- and the reason Cherit can’t remember his amulet is he never had one because he just got sealed on the wrong side.

The villains are going to besome crazy witch hunter kind of group who believe all seekers are dangerous andshould be eradicated, and they have resources etc which allows them to pop upall over the world.

So off they’d go, trapezing across the world trying to let Lok’s Dad back in, probably find another nexusbut it’s already smashed so they have to go find new titans to help themharness the powers of the nexus fragments to open the doorway to Huntik. 

Then the new villain groupblows up a HQ or something and this becomes a big issue because theOrganisation want to take action to defend seeker kind but the Foundation don’tagree

Breakdown:

Villains: a weird cult thingthat believe that all seeker powers are evil and want to eliminate seekers as awhole/ at some point they attack a HQ which triggers a lot of anger fromseekers, the organisation is threatening to take action against this group butthe Foundation doesn’t like that. This threatens the peace Dante and Grier hadbeen working on between the two.

Main goal: getting Eathon outof Huntik whilst also preventing the new villains from disrupting seekers toomuch. The way to get Eathon out of Huntik (harnessing the nexus fragments) isalso believed to be the way to close the gap between Earth and the Huntik worldso they are also trying to destroy it.

Driving forces: Lok and Sophieneed to make choices about their futures because they soon need to make decisions,Lok doesn’t see the need to carry on further education because he just wants tobe a seeker. Dante reminds them that you can’t be a seeker forever, thingschange, that’s why he did the whole detective thing. Sophie secretly appliesfor a top university and gets in and plans to drop being a seeker for a whileso she can concentrate on that and her family but doesn’t tell Lok immediatelybecause she doesn’t want to hurt his feelings.

Team composition: Lok leading,Sophie, Zhalia, Den, Harrison, Cherit and Dante joining whenever council workallows (there was this test panel for the next line of comic books I saw yearsago when browsing deviantart that had this team.) To be fair, Dante’s only just joined the council, he’s not goingto be in any major position yet so I think thats fair. I also think he’d be incharge of the Venice compound, I always interpreted it as each council memberhad their own area to be in charge of whilst Metz oversaw everything. That wayDante’s close to where his team and is also the member in charge of giving themmissions. He does still have an apartment in NY though for the big meetingswhich are regular (and it is heavily hinted that the team and particularly Zhalia went up and helped him decorate.)

General guideline: They plan toget Eathon out of Huntik, need a nexus but that’s a hard thing to find. They goback through Ethan’s research (insert mandatory visit to Lambert household) andfind out that Huntik and normal Earth used to be the same dimension and theyjust need enough of the Nexus powers to get Eathon out. I don’t know, there’s atitan they have to find who can open the portal if they collect enough (powerful)nexus shards to use, like a hyped up legendary version of Janusea.

Other stuff: I would put Lin inbecause she seemed cool and also I want Zhalia associating with more adultsbecause otherwise we only ever see her with a bunch of teenagers. The mandatoryonce a season appearance of Montague, Tersley and Scarlett, once a season tripto Ireland. Blood Spiral is still a threat and Zhalia’s, Harrison’s and Den’smarks still ache every now and again but that’s not so much of a primaryproblem, that’s just something going on in the background to be picked back upagain in season 4. There’s obviously tensions about how Dante died and they’re all worried something like that is going to happen to one of them but without the resurrection thing. I also want more of Zhalia techy stuff like actuallyupdating the graphics on the holotome because I remember finding that so funnywhen I was a kid. Zhante and Lophie because Zhante and Lophie. I also want Harrison struggling with the guilt from being in the Bloodspiral and that’s like a serious conversation he has with Zhalia about because obviously she’s been there done that. Then probably does something stupid like tries to take on a group of the new villains and it doesn’t go well and then seriously considers whether he should give up being a seeker again. In between, Sophie also has to go to Casterwill meetings as well because they all have concerns about the concept of opening up Huntik. Eathon the dog is seen a lot more because he was cute. If it wasn’t a kids show I’d also broach the concept of various PTSD’s in the characters because, you know, there was kinda war, and Dante died. And I’d make Zhalia’s anxiety a bigger thing because I noticed it slightly in season 2 but they didn’t really talk about it.

Honestly I have a lot of ideas for season 3 but I’m just refusing to talk about them so I made this one up instead. Clearly I’m bad at plots.

[comicteaparty]

July 25th-July 31st, 2020 Creator Babble Archive

The archive for the Creator Babble chat that occurred from July 25th, 2020 to July 31st, 2020.  The chat focused on the following question:

Where can your comic be read, what is it about, and why should people read it?

carcarchu

last one

mariah (rainy day dreams)

You can read Rainy Day Dreams on it's homesite: http://rainydaydreams.mariahcurrey.com/ Book 1 of RDD is also currently in pre-orders for both physical and digital books. This volume collects the newly redrawn and remastered first five charters. Currently not all of those pages are online so book buyers will get to see them first https://gumroad.com/mariahcurrey Rainy Day Dreams is a manga influenced, character driven supernatural story with dreamlike pacing. It follows the lives Tristin, an excitable and friendly human who becomes trapped in the Nameless World after a treasure hunt gone wrong, Mara, a reclusive retired knight belonging to an ancient lineage of psychics, and Michael, a sad vampire torn between his vampire instincts and being the soft boy he is deep down. Come for the compelling characters, interpersonal drama, and found family, stay for the underlying slow build of the cosmic machinations of the Nameless World's gods and a villain from the past bent on undoing the very fabric of reality. Reasons you should read it beyond the above pitch: - I've been told by frequently people find it's relaxing to read. We all need a little relaxation - Has a female driven narrative - I take every chance I get to put my characters in ball gowns or party dresses - Monsters! Cute monsters, scary monsters! Monsters that want to eat you, monsters that want to smooch you! - I make this comic traditionally with ink wash so enjoy all the beautiful ink blooms! - Chapter 18 starts this week

CoppertheCarutor

Oh wow, I missed out on A LOT! Dang! Well, here it goes I guess. To start off, please read with discretion, this project is rated R/17+ and for now contains: Abuse, discussion of suicide, blood, violence, queerphobia, trauma, mental illness, self-harm, mild body horror, substance abuse, profanity and full-frontal nudity. You can read my comic, The Guide to a Healthy Relationship, on it's main site: http://tgtahr.spiderforest.com/ I also have it posted on Tapas, Webtoons (nudity censored), Comicfury, FlowFo and Itch.io. The Guide to a Healthy Relationship is a slowburn character driven psychological drama about an emotionally immature alcoholic trying to make amends, and fix his friendship with his ex-childhood friend upon discovering they're not dead. Unfortunately the situation is much more complicated and serious than he can comprehend. Why you should check it out: - Possibly interesting if you enjoy non-fantastical character studies and/or Psychology. - May be cathartic if you like consuming heavy content in a controlled environment. - Has some light horror elements. - Contains an extremely flawed LGBT+ cast. - No romance. - This comic is drawn traditionally with pens and color pencils. - The story is a little over halfway finished. - Contains/will contain beaches if you like the beach. - Lots of sky shots.(edited)

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

(Ahhh this was hard to write out, i'll really miss this server) Ghost Junk Sickness is a free to read LGBTQ+ sci-fi that tackles themes of found family, accountability, and acceptance. It rated T for it's course language and violence, and can be read on it's official website, < https://www.ghostjunksickness.com/ > . Books 1-3 are available on the store (link on site) and we're currently on our way to wrap up and print vol 4! Ghost Junk Sickness is about two bounty hunters with an unstable dynamic who are pushed to pursue the elusive and deadly bounty dubbed The Ghost. It updates mondays and fridays, features an extensive cast with queer rep, topics about dealing with trauma, responsibility, and taking control. GJS has: -Space ships! -Lived in worlds/ extensive world building through illustrative backgrounds and characters - Slow burn character growth, expanding relationships, and new love -Drawn traditionally and worked on by a team of two! -Long run story that reached the halfway point, GJS has a huge buffer of over 800 pages now, so it's a time sinker! - hot lizard lady (best part)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

holy shit 800 page buffr

OH wait by buffer you mean archive omg

Krispy §[Ghost Junk Sickness]§

(oh YE we only have 70 page buffer now woohopps lol)

Eightfish (Puppeteer)

holy shit 70 page buffer

that's like 10 months

eliushi [Keyspace]

KEYSPACE: A Winged Tale is a story about kids with wings for hair, and can be found at https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/keyspace-a-winged-tale/list?title_no=322364 https://tapas.io/series/KEYSPACE-A-Winged-Tale/ TW: Body Horror (comes with having wings sprouting from the head and more) Keyspace is my passion project about a world between portals that is dying. A Winged Tale is the first story of this series and touches upon the deeper magic that unites the work. It’s about a wingless girl trying to find her missing scientist mother in a laboratory beneath a forest, winged children discovering their origins and Machines that once ravaged the world, now lost. It’s a story for those who grew up with Studio Ghibli stories but want a little more complications and lore but still retain hope for the future. TL;DR: Come for winged hair, sad robots, possibly dragons, lots of science. The comic returns August 1

CoppertheCarutor

AH! Thank you for reminding about a couple content warnings I forgot to add.

LadyLazuli (Phantomarine)

Phantomarine is a story about a haunted ocean, a ghostly princess, and her journey to save her soul from a death god known as the Red Tide King. http://www.phantomarine.com/ TW: death, body horror, limb loss Princess Phaedra's untimely and mysterious death casts her out into the dark waters of the Candlelight Sea, forcing her to wander the world as an ethereal seaghost. Her journey toward resurrection quickly evolves into a grand maritime adventure on her ship, the Mantaluna, along with a crew of similarly-cursed friends and familiars. But Phaedra's mission has a dark undercurrent to it - a divine mystery that, when solved, will force her to question everything about her life, her death, and her world's long-dead past. If you like:

-THE COLOR BLUE (or just the ocean) -general spookiness that never gets too dark or gory -flamboyant villains of various kinds -swashbuckling pirate-y stories -fancy boats and pretty islands -big elemental animal gods fighting -friends and family fighting for each other -lots of hero-vs-villain salt and sass -DOGS

then heck yeah, this is your comic (edited)

Miranda (Into the Swell)

Into the Swell is about a Pirate with nothing left to lose but his life and a Wizard who wants more than a life of entertaining royals with party tricks being thrown together on the treasure hunt of their lives. The official blurb is: Ocean swells are remnants of storms hundreds of miles away. So do past actions cause swells of destiny on the shores of the present. Fate will always find a way. Given the choice between a one way trip to the gallows or a return to high sea adventure, imprisoned pirate Fletcher makes the obvious choice. With Court appointed wizard Kelwyn watching his every move, the two set off to reclaim a stolen treasure for King and Country. The ocean journey leads the duo through uncharted waters that hide dangers and secrets that could unravel the very fabric of their lives. Could this treasure hunt prove more adventure than they bargained for? TW: deaths? You can find it on https://tapas.io/series/into-the-swell or Webtoons It’s just starting out so there’s not much yet but you gotta start somewhere!

Cronaj ~{Whispers of the Past}~

Heyo! For all you who don't yet know me, I work on Whispers of the Past, a fantasy comic about a farm girl and an amnesiac elf man going on a journey to learn who they really are. https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/whispers-of-the-past/list?title_no=191366 Age Rating: PG-13 or T+ TW: death and corpses, blood and violence, bladed weapons, profanity, depictions of racial discrimination, alcohol, miscarriage, suicide, suggestive content Magical powers can only come from the other side... When Aniya discovers a foreigner with amnesia, she sets out to help him find the answers to his nightmares. Along with their growing feelings for one another, they will uncover an identity riddled with magic, bloodlines, and betrayal. What WotP has to offer: - a unique painterly art style - in-depth world-building (including a conlang) - hurt/comfort themes - hella family drama - MAGIC - ace, bi, and POC representation - cute romance - If you like high fantasy like ATLA, this might be right up your alley

Nutty (Court of Roses)

I wanna say first of all that thank you for this server. Even if I couldn't participate often, it was a lovely place, love you all!! Court of Roses is in several places, but its main site on Spiderforest is a page ahead! Best place to read it is here: http://courtofroses.spiderforest.com/ As summer comes to an end in the kingdom of Prismal, the Bardic Festival is in full swing, bringing together musicians and minstrels from all over. But amidst the celebration, a sinister plot of murder unfolds... Follow a ragtag group of bards as they band together and travel the realm of Prismal; Merlow the Rose, half-elf, charismatic leader, bagpiper, and perpetual drunk; Diana the Fleetfoot Fletcher, human tidinit player with a heart of gold; Nocturne, brooding but classy Infernal and violinist; Sven Rockscreamer, goliath drummer and seeker of justice; and Feliks Halfdance, curious gnome who plays accordion and magically conjures their entire backup. And who knows! Mayhaps they'll solve a murder mystery together! The comic is greatly LGBTQ-friendly, and takes inspiration from both classic fantasy themes (Dungeons and Dragons, Lord of the Rings, The Elder Scrolls, etc.) as well as music across all genres. Specific pages and scenes might even include their own suggested theme songs in the author notes. Contains Fantasy Violence and Alcohol Use(edited)

AntiBunny

You can as always read my comic at http://AntiBunny.net/ and is a film noir inspired story about anthropomorphic rabbits and the difficulty with coexisting with humanity. Crime and conspiracies move the plot along, but in film noir there's rarely a clear black and white. Why should you read it? Do you like stories about crime and conspiracies? Do you like bunnies? Do you want to see a contrast of cute and grim, and see relatable characters who deal with mental health issues, and fight a struggle for acceptance? Do you ask yourself the question what is identity? Well then this is for you.

You can find my other comic at http://nailbat.AntiBunny.net/. Nailbat is part of the AntiBunny universe, and deals with many of the same issues, but using a more straightforward and action packed superhero story. If you love superheroes and action you'll enjoy it, and maybe along the way get into the deeper lore of the AntiBunny world.

Holmeaa - working on WAYFINDERS

Thanks everyone who I have chattet with in here, it has been a delight <3 Wayfinders: Off Course Can be read on Tapas or Webtoons (I prefer tapas ) https://linktr.ee/snackbagstudios Whats it about? You may ask. In a world where magic is as natural as breathing, and the gods are known to actually answer some prayers, a ship is sent to keep the fragile peace between 2 countries that has been at war for 60 years. But guess what? The ship crashes almost immediately. Now the 3 only survivors, a runaway monk, with unexplained powers, the noble son and peace advocate, and a chaos child with an affinity for magic washes ashore on an unknown island and is forced together by a magical compass. With navigation, and magic being broken, it is not an easy task to cross the ocean. If only they knew of the chaos which is unravelling outside their comfortable lives. If they thought this adventure was going to be uneventful, they are in for a surprise. Why should you read it? It is a mix between the Road to Eldorado, and Avatar the Last Airbender, and if that short pitch is not enough, I don't know how else to sell it. It has fun colors, anime reference, and a lot of ocean and sinister magics Thanks to all the admins for putting in so much work in this server

Feather J. Fern

Okay, I have like three comics, and the fourth one coming soon so.....Lets get the easy ones out of the way. On Webtoons, you can read Teasday or Don't you hate it when...(DYHIW) https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/dont-you-hate-it-when/list?title_no=486501 https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/teasday/list?title_no=169870&page=1 DYHIW is a gag comic, so if you want a little laugh to brighten your week, feel free to check it out. Teasday is a tea informative comic, but it's on a bit of a hiatus and ending soon. My current project is Gravitational Pull, a story about a depressed magical girl trying to save the world while also trying to get the energy to leave her bed that day. Read it if you like magical girls, space and representation of anxiety, depression, inferiority complex and learning to take each day slowly. http://gravitationalpull.featheryterrarium.com/ And when it comes out, Go Figure is my comedy action webtoon about someone who wants to use a powerful wish to cure their asthma and allergies over anything else.

sssfrs (JOE IS DEAD)

JOE IS DEAD A band of pirates are visiting an island and they discover the dead body of their astronomer JOSEPH CINNABAR. He leaves behind a will with mysterious instructions that none of the pirates really feel like following. The crew decide to send the least-liked and least responsible pirate of them all on a solo mission to carry out Joe's final wishes. If you like: - Alternate historical timelines where the United States doesn't exist - Gay, lesbian, and transgender pirates - Morbid humor, death, dying - Biblical allusion - Warm colors - Alliteration - My handwriting - Birds or anything else, you will love to read JOE IS DEAD, a webcomic worked on entirely by me that will be at 150 pages within a week or so. My background is in marine biology and satirical writing, so I promise you this comic is funny and scientifically accurate. Rated PG 13, mild violence and swearing Where can I read it Read it on http://joeisdead.com/ (the main hosting website with some functional html) or on Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/JoeIsDead It's also on Webtoons but it's a couple chapters behind on there You can follow me on Twitter for information about updates https://twitter.com/sssfrs_

boogeymadam

Sink Your Hookteeth An LGBT+ Cosmic Horror/Love story about eldritch merfolk that fall for a pair of humans who are studying mermaids to cure a supernatural illness. CW: bodyhorror, gore, upperbody nudity, sickness, drowning, tryophobia, eye trauma, If you like:

-sea monsters

-big teeth

-painted comics

-nonbinary and binary transgender, lesbian, bisexual, and pansexual protagonists

-neurodivergent protagonists

-goofy friendship dynamics

-nasty and imperfect wlw couples

-enemies to lovers trope

-childhood friends to lovers trope

then this is a comic you might enjoy :D! It finished chapter 1 a few months ago with 195 pages, takes maybe an hour or two to read, and is currently on hiatus while I am building chapter 2's buffer. You can read it on Its own site https://hookteethcomic.com/ Webtoons https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/hookteeth/list?title_no=300709 Tapas https://tapas.io/series/Hookteeth/info

also i need to read more of these but joe is dead, wayfinders, keyspace: a winged tale, phantomarine, ghost junk sickness, the guide to a healthy relationship, and court of roses are all absolutely amazing and -chefs kiss- please give them all read if you aren't yet!

varethane

Comics!! Chirault A young half-demon named Teeko has been forced from her home, and to make matters worse, is now the size of a squirrel thanks to a wayward magic spell. Her only protection is the demon-hunter Kiran, who is a demon himself and lacks patience for children. Together, they must seek the help of a mage to reverse the spell on Teeko, but the journey is far from straightforward.. My first webcomic-- it's complete, it's a high fantasy adventure comic about finding family, fighting monsters, and also making friends with monsters (both outside and... inside). Check it out if you enjoy any of those things! http://chirault.sevensmith.net/ Wychwood Tiara is a delinquent who has been using a mysterious power to goof around for years without realizing the kind of attention it could attract. When a powerful organization finally tracks her down and attempts to recruit her, she has to decide what she really stands for. This is my new/current webcomic! It's a sci-fantasy genre-blender, with bits of post-apocalypse and urban fantasy thrown in as a treat just for fun. If you enjoy stories involving evil organizations, fire-flinging delinquents, and angsty supersoldiers, give it a look :U (Chapter 4 has just gotten started!) http://wychwood.sevensmith.net/

TaliePlume

Feather Cleanse (French: Nettoyage des plumes, Haitian Creole: Plim Geri) is a supernatural, sci-fi and military Shonen manga. Set in the year 2034 in the Haitian kingdom, Vérité Kindgom, the story follows 14 year old Soleil Andirans, her two older brothers and their cousin who joins their kingdom's military program to help Soleil find a wanted criminal and stopping a mad scientist from taking over the kingdom. This is a personal project that is very dear to me and I can't wait to share with you all hopefully around June of 2023. Why should you read it: -A positive Haitian representation -Strong female protagonist -Learning about a new culture - Family Bonds -Mad Scientists and experimentations - Criminal MasterMinds - Servant and Master relationships -Kings and Queens/Royalties -Dynamic and Impactful Fights Then, this is the comic for you.

shadowhood {SunnyxRain}

Alrighty cracks knuckles SunnyxRain, a webcomic about monsters surviving college.....BY THE POWER OF FANFICTION. Follow Sunny Dupont, a gluttony demon as she navigates college life and fanfic writing with the help of her housemates Liam (a qilin she roped in as her beta/editor) and Aron (an ocean naga as a fan). A story of trauma recovery and learning lessons about life and love. If you like: -housemate shenanigans -fanfic/fandom culture exploration -kickass but seriously flawed protagonists recovering from trauma - VOID CAT -LGBTQ+ cast because I can -coffee gremlin cryptid dudes -sweet slow burn romance -lesser known mythological creature representation Then this webcomic is for you to read, and y'all can come read it here! https://tapas.io/series/SunnyxRain/info and HERE https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/sunnyxrain/list?title_no=409335(edited)

Deo101 [Millennium]

Well, Here we go ^^ I have 2 comics right now, so: Millennium: A sci fi adventure featuring two best friends as they seek to help anyone and everyone they can, where we put together a bit of a misfit crew who are all intent on bettering themselves and the world around them. It's a lighthearted, LGBT+ Slowburn The sci fi is soft and so are the characters It's got found family, hurt/comfort, and gentle handling of heavier themes. It's easy to read and shouldn't make you think too much, it's just an hour or two of simple adventure between friends! It can be read a lot of places! My personal site: https://millennium.spiderforest.com/ Webtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/millennium/list?title_no=110866&page=1 Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Millennium Comic Fury: http://millennium.thecomicseries.com/ and Tumblr!: https://millennium-comic.tumblr.com/ Time and Time Again: A noir mystery about time traveling vampires! We follow Adam, a vampire, and his subject of study, Steve, the first werewolf/vampire. The two of them are trapped in the 20's, looking to solve the mystery of a missing relic. It's a limited palette, scroll style comic if you're looking for a bit more action and higher stakes, and a more serious tone, then this one might be a better fit for you than Millennium ^^ I'm planning on finishing it up relatively soon, so get in on it now! (It's currently on a short hiatus while school is doing me in) It can only be read on tapas! https://tapas.io/series/Time-and-Time-again

kayotics

Ingress Adventuring Company You can read Ingress Adventuring Company at https://www.ingress-comic.com/ TW: some gore, blood, violence Saving the world is a pretty big deal, but what do you do once you’re done with that and no one needs you anymore? Do you become a magic professor? Do you study a convoluted thesis that no one understands? Maybe you relive the glory days by starting up a one-man adventuring party to gather mystical artifacts for people who may or may not pay you. Or, if you’re Toivo Kissa, you do all of those things. Reasons to check it out! - You like D&D or other stories inspired by it - It’s got bittersweet comedy - Very fun villains - Expressive art - Elves. Just a lot of elves. - Sad Dads and old men - LGBTQ+ cast

maxwestart

Poison Ivy Gulch is hosted on its own WordPress site: http://www.poisonivygulch.com/ Poison Ivy Gulch is a funny Western set in a frontier town in the 1870s. The protagonists are Lotta Doler, a gambler, and her kid sidekick Ace. Other characters include a marshal, an undertaker, a prospector and many extras. Poison Ivy Gulch is a spiritual successor to Tumbleweeds. If you like Blazing Saddles, you'll love this!

sagaholmgaard

Ahh dang, thanks for the heads up!! Here it is: https://tapas.io/series/_Reclaim_ My comic, Reclaim, is about a prince that has to deal with the aftermath of a successful coup. His father is imprisoned and sentenced to death, and he's in hiding with his dear bodyguard. Now he has to save his dad and reclaim the throne from the power-hungry witch warrior Irene, but how can the two of them hope to stand a chance against the entire force of the empire? And what was the real reason for the coup in the first place? This is for people who want a heartfelt fantasy story, with inspiration from Steven Universe and themes around being a better person than you were yesterday, and sticking together through hardships!

PiraPiranha

DEPARTURE is a story about dead brothers, hot guys and competent women! Lights! Camera! Action! The flaws of our predecessors are the burdens that we carry today! As galactic governance has been passed down from generation to generation of divine beings, the wars and insecurities of the previous pantheons are weighing down on our world. Whether it’s vanquishing your greatest enemies, or buying tomorrow’s cereal, keeping this flaming shipwreck of a universe together is going to require a little elbow grease, and a lot of flashy super powers! Follow Kovit, a space fighter turned part-time cook and his friends Casey (Cool, has a nice jacket) and Vermillion (Dumb, has stupid hair) as he tries to help the most powerful beings in the universe keep it together (Ostensibly by beating them up). Check it out here! http://departurecomic.cfw.me/(edited)

seetherabbit

Vulperra is an anthology comic featuring superheros, cowboys and regular common folk in the fantasy world of Vulperra. Most of the stories are about the hero Flash Gauntlet, who travels from place to place to solve problems with his magical gauntlets which were bestowed to him by the goddess of the land. https://vulperra.com/

NAAN

Legendary Beings Ara & Celi is about a young girl, Miyara, who is chosen to be the successor to a specific line of Angels – headed by none other than Ara–and with it, duties that extend beyond the physical world. Only one problem: Miyara has no desire to do the job! What will happen then, especially with Celi, Ara’s counterpart, is intent on causing chaos in her life?! You can read Ara & Celi at its main site: http://ac.jadinerhinestudios.com/ Here is the Webtoons mirror: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/legendary-beings-ara-celi/list?title_no=59422 Doesn't have any trigger warnings (maybe that (1) page in chapter 2 is too creepy-crawly for anyone?), and it's currently on hiatus because I'm working on chapter 4, will update again when I have completed it! So enjoy the 3 chapters so far! If you like: • MAGICAL GOILS • an old school b&w shoujo manga style (according to some people, and I don't even do it on purpose ) • on that note, since the 3rd chapter, the comic is drawn traditionally! (all covers are in color and traditional) • expressive comedy • language jokes and notes • angels and demons, yes, it's one of those but is anybody really the bad guy here • a lion and a jinn walk into a bar-- • slow worldbuilding and character development • heck if I know what else, you should just check it out and tell me what you think later like in the good ol' days

L Hornsby

Heyo, I haven't been very active. I'm not used to Discord. If anybody would like some silly comics about puppies that live in the clouds and enjoy parties (and also happen to be princesses) my comic Princess Pups has you covered. It's all ages friendly so if you have younger kids you want to get into comics, it's a swell read according to my 3 years old :) https://tapas.io/series/Princess-Pups/info

carcarchu

@L Hornsby oh i didn't know you were in this server! i actually read your comic because our comics have really similar names ahaha

L Hornsby

Oh wow hey there! :)

I usually lurk on Instagram and Twitter these days and have been crocheting more than comics lately

mathtans

What the heck, been on hiatus more than a year but there's an archive and it's not like there's any dangling plot points. I personify mathematics! Because equations are people too. The hairstyles are the graphs, and there are puns.

Main site: http://mathtans.ca/

Tapas mirror: https://tapas.io/series/Any-Q

It's called "Any ~Qs" because notQ is the symbol for irrational numbers. So anything irrational, in a sense. Very G rated - maybe PG, some discussion of biological sex and tangential politics. Enjoy, possibly.(edited)

Spring-heeled Jack

Hey all! My comic is a horror comic that features some LGBTQA+ characters in the main cast. Today is also my monthly update on public sites. I do four pages at the end of the month on Tapas, Webtoons, and my website. (Patreon gets weekly updates.) It is a story of a picturesque town with a dark secret and what will be done to keep that secret. I follow a few characters through the the twisting plot and show how the darker side of this town affects them. I think this would be PG13 mostly because there will be some blood, but there are no sexual situations. Currently Tapas has the most recent free pages as I will have to do Webtoon and the website manually later today. Happy reading and please do let me know what you think! <3 Website: https://www.iamfilledwithstatic.com/crocus Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/crocusheights Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/the-secret-of-crocus-heights/list?title_no=405820 Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/iamfilledwithstatic

DanielHookerArt

I have a series of self published graphic novels. When all copies of the first volume sold out I posted it on Webtoon. It's sort of a Isekai Mystery Adventure, inspired by the 1980's movie Labyrinth.

https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/line-of-ruin/list?title_no=232705

StickFreeks

Hi I'm Christy! I make the webcomic / graphic novel series EXTRA! It's about Extras in the backgrounds of a movie world escaping their fates of getting killed off... by going to go ask the Producer to stop killing them off. (Sort of like The Truman Show, but everyone is in on it.) You can read it at https://extra-comic.com/ I'm always looking to make new comic buddies! (edited)

Annausagi2

Hello! I joined right at the announcement of the channel shutting down, so bad timing. :,O I've been working on my webcomic Helix since 2012: Read from the start here: http://helixcomic.com/ Description/warnings: A street rat is given a second chance when he is dragged from the gutter and into a new life. Will he accept his position at the side of royalty, or fight every step of the way? -Rated M for sex (M/M, consensual), violence, nudity, language, and dark themes.- Warnings: -References to child abuse and sexual abuse.- If you can handle these subjects, I hope you'll enjoy the comic. :) Thanks for reading! UPDATES EVERY WEDNESDAY! ~ Support me on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/Annausagi2 ~ Join us on Twitter: https://twitter.com/Annausagi2

Kalli

I joined right when things were shutting down too :( Just my luck Anyway! I'm Kalli and I have a fully traditionally drawn webcomic, called World of Ruan! https://www.worldofruan.com/ It's a post apocalyptic, sci fi adventure type story, following Cait, a mutant mouse/human hybrid and Roxy, her robot companion! I update every Saturday~ And I'm always down for meeting new comic friends!

Cap’n Lee (Flowerlark Studios)

I make Children of Shadow: Ashes and Dark Wings: Eryl. Ashes is an urban fantasy / horror about teens with supernatural powers who have to team up with woodland critters to save the world from twisted monsters. It’s rated PG-13 and has mild language, graphic violence, and intense scenes. Eryl is a dark high fantasy about a fallen angel, a woman on a journey to find a dragon, and a wyvern who has been kidnapped. It’s rated 16+ and contains strong language, nonsexual nudity, and graphic violence. https://twitter.com/kickyourwrasse/status/1277315129793826816?s=21

Tuyetnhi (Only In Your Dreams!)

Only In Your Dreams! is a rom-com Drama comic featuring shoujo and future LGBT+ elements. Also a mainly BIPOC cast! Rated: PG16+ There are some suggestive language & content, and partial nudity. “Cara Luong is tired of her failed dating attempts and settles for Richie, her imaginary lover every night in her sleep. When given a chance to meet him in person for the first time, she suddenly forgets their long-term romance! Now it’s up to Cara to decide if Richie can live as a real boyfriend. That is, if she wants him to exist in the first place!” What it contains: - Dumbassery moments between a dreamer and a dream boi - Expressions that you can feel it in your soul - Main romantic interest participating in healthy masculinity and embracing femmine traits - horror elements in a romance comic? huh-- - Himbo appreciation - A mixed-Black Vietnamese protag for this romantic rollercoaster lol If you're looking something self indulgent, read it why don't you? I release pages early on patreon! https://www.patreon.com/tuyetnhip Otherwise you can check out the site! It updates once bi-weekly on Wednesdays usually! http://oiydcomic.com/ Tapas: https://tapas.io/series/Only-In-Your-Dreams Webtoon: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/only-in-your-dreams/list?title_no=115046 Other links: https://linktr.ee/oiydcomic

alizarin

I joined near the end of the server but I can't wait to participate in the reboot! So many interesting comics in here * _ * I make a comic called Patent the Sun, it basically reads like a big puzzle. It's about two characters who wake up without any memory, but slowly we learn about their whole universe and what happened to them. Oh and there's also magic, aliens, murder, and crossdressing https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/patent-the-sun/list?title_no=123560 https://tapas.io/series/Patent-the-Sun(edited)

Las Pinter

It is a pity that I was not so active here. I create the Tales From Somewhere comics, currently there are two of them: The Legend and The Secret. Both of them are high fantasy stories taking place in a fantasy world. The Legend is about three adventurers trying to survive in their realm. They are aware of being DnD like characters in a cruel world, where the DM wants to kill them as fast as he can... without luck so far. It has some comedy, action, horror and weird elements. This comic is ongoing since a long time, so expect to have big changes in the style and writing. The Secret is about an elf, who begins his journey from the world's end after an apocalyptic event. Accidentally meets a human thief girl, and now they are travelling together and figuring out what is happening to their world. This comic is currently being revamped and the story is continued parallelly. I would rate them R/17+ since they have some blood, violence, profanity and nudity. Website: https://www.talesfromsomewhere.com/ Tapas: - The Legend: https://tapas.io/series/Tales-From-Somewhere-The-Legend - The Secret: https://tapas.io/series/Tales-From-Somewhere-The-Secret Webtoons: - The Legend: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/tales-from-somewhere-the-legend/list?title_no=77159 - The Secret: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/tales-from-somewhere-the-secret/list?title_no=78355 And I'm on Twitter: https://twitter.com/thelaspinter

quietsnooze

Radio Silence is an award winning queer coming of age webcomic about a British rock band’s rise to fame. Hitting the road on a journey of self discovery and acceptance, this coming-of-age tale gives a backstage look at friendships and the plights of fame as experienced by a modern British rock band. On the fast track toward fame, the five members of the fictional British rock band, Radio Silence, enter into an exciting new life on the road with their best friends. As they tour across the United Kingdom, they excitedly embrace this new lifestyle and all the resulting challenges, including living in close quarters with each other with little privacy, and the overwhelming reaction of the public to their new-found success. Main site: http://radiosilencecomic.com/ Webtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/radio-silence/list?title_no=35242 Twitter: http://twitter.com/quietsnooze

Tired Programmer

This is mine. There will be update tomorrow (in 10 hours). https://tapas.io/series/The-story-of-how-humanity-has-thrown-itself-into-the-scrapyard Civilization, technologically advanced in the past, is now in decline. Killer and hacker are trying to survive and find the answers to their questions among the ruins. What will they meet in this crazy and cruel world of misused technologies? WARNING: strong language, violence and nudity. Only for adults.

JUNK

If any creators or readers are looking for another webcomic server to hang out in, you can check out this one: https://discord.gg/qjWJt7

I'll post it in the general channel too. :3

sierrabravo (Hans Vogel is Dead)

I wish we could have had a bit more time, but thanks everyone for creating such a great space for webcomic creators!! I make HANS VOGEL IS DEAD: an antifascist fairy tale with elements of historical fantasy. A German fighter pilot is shot down and killed during the Battle of Britain. When he wakes up in a fairytale afterlife, he learns what the evil he served has destroyed, and must undo the damage of fascism to become a better person. The end of Volume 1 is coming in the next two weeks, and September will be the fifth anniversary! You can read it on Webtoons: https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/hans-vogel-is-dead/list?title_no=62633 and find me on twitter! https://twitter.com/chjorniy_voron

Haruh2 (Colony Life)

This was such a great discord, hopefully we can keep in touch and still chat about comics and such my twitter is : https://twitter.com/Haruh2 Here is my comic Colony Life, ive been working on this for abit and will always love making this comic no matter what https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/colony-life/list?title_no=193784

boniae

I regret that I wasn't more active in here besides occasional lurking, but I always think back fondly to the CTP chat that my comic was discussed in, it was the first time I ever got to see so much in depth feedback and analysis on my comic and I will forever appreciate this server Four Corners is set in 1995, Yokohama, as the story follows Kazuhiro Tsuchiya who now leads his deceased brother's legendary gang, the Four Corners. Kazuhiro is approached by Hideki Yuhara, a schoolmate who claims to have vital information that Kazuhiro should be wary of. The two unlikely delinquents pair up to figure out the reason as to why gangs in the city are being brutally eliminated...though the unraveling of the mystery is darker than it appears. How far will Kazuhiro and Hideki go to rest their case? If you're looking for a slow burn lgbt romance, 90s manga nostalgia, drama, mystery, and a story with a general theme of: misfits who come together against dangerous odds to protect others, especially the ones they love—come check it out! https://tapas.io/series/four-corners/ http://fourcornerscomic.com/ https://twitter.com/boniaeart

snuffysam (Super Galaxy Knights)

I'll really miss having a new comic to read every week! My comic is called Super Galaxy Knights Deluxe R. It's a story of a small woman from a small town who goes on adventures across a strange kingdom. Action, comedy, and very, very slow burn romance... http://sgkdr.thecomicseries.com/ https://tapas.io/series/sgkdr https://www.webtoons.com/en/challenge/super-galaxy-knights-deluxe-r/list?title_no=41795

LeahVillart

I haven't done much work or anything in general these past months because they've been utter shit for me. This year had stuff breaking in my home, my grandma died from covid, family issues, found out my 9yo dog has lymphoma (blood cancer) and I got to a break point and I'm trying to recover from all the shit. Now it's late and I'm tired so I'm gonna make a super sleepy pitching~ I make Teach Me To Kill a horror-comedy webcomic about a school of villains and killers where a new seemingly innocent teacher arrives to help the worst class become the horror legends they are "destined" to become. [IN ENGLISH AND SPANISH] If you like contradicting/opposite genres or themes you'll find it here, violence, blood, kills, but all done with a cute colorful style where nothing is as it seems. With a cast made of crazy humans, detectives, monstergirls and guys like -our sexy looking hybrid vampire Daki who didn't ask for any of the cards she's been dealt and only wants to find true love and not something attracted by her vampiric aura. - Our lil raven kid Nayla who is a sugar bomb ready to explode, but can break a mountain in two. - Kyllian, a boy who's managed to make a personality out of each of his expressions, which sometimes is helpful and others a horrible mistake. - Q.Bee, an innocent looking girl who radiates sensuality in some weird way luring her victims into her trap. You never know what she's thinking or could do at any moment. the cast and world is really huge and don't want to spoil more, but it's filled with slice of life, mystery, action, dark humor, romance, fantasy, paranormal stuff. A total mix. If you give it a read, thanks for doing so and hope you like it! <3 http://teachmetokill.com/(edited)

Comic Tea Party

This concludes our final #creator_babble chat. Thank you so much to all the wonderful creators who have participated in this chat over its existence. It has been great to see your enthusiasm for the craft of webcomics, as well as learn your unique stories of how you pursue it. We are positive these conversations have helped many other creators out, so we appreciate you having them. For this conversation, and all past #creator_babble chats, you’ll be able to find them archived here: https://comicteaparty.com/creatorbabble

[templeofulchtar]

Starscreamian Correspondences: Part One

This is Part One of a two-part series. The topic is so large that I couldn’t cover even half of it! This first post is a general discussion of correspondences as they relate to Starscream, while in Part Two, you will find an exercise to help you develop your own personalized set of correspondences for Starscream.

What are Correspondences?

Correspondences are things that people tend to associate with… well, other things. In magick, correspondences are used to evoke the power of certain entities, or weave certain energies into your ritual or spell. A correspondence can be almost anything, from plants, colors, weapons, planets, constellations, elements, musical instruments, animals, numbers, crystals, days of the week, and so on.

Roses, for example, are sacred to Venus. So are apples, copper, the color green, the number five, and Friday. If you were to create a ritual that taps into Venusian energy, you might have it on a Friday, Venus’ sacred day, and make an offering of five roses, a green apple, or five copper pennies; you might light a green candle and write your intention using a pen with copper-colored ink. By using these correspondences, you are anchoring your working in Venusian energy, which will help you realize intentions associated with Venus, such as love or abundance.

Starscream has correspondences too.

Quite a lot of them, in fact! His classic colors of Silver and Red are obvious correspondences, as is the Eagle, since his G1 alt-mode is that of an F-15 Eagle. Numerologically, his name equates to the number 36 (or 9), so I consider those to be his sacred numbers, and his signature weapon, the Null-Ray, and coronation crown are also very much associated with him.

In addition to these ‘canon’ correspondences, I also have a large set of personal correspondences for Starscream. Some I can back up with evidence, while others are idiosyncratic. For example, I can make a reasonably solid argument for why I think Starscream is a Scorpio, but my reasons for thinking of the Thistle as one of his plant totems are more personal.

Below are my thoughts on some of the more canon-supported correspondences for Starscream. These are just suggestions. Take what resonates, and leave the rest. Your path with Starscream is yours, and it's ultimately up to you, and him, to decide what's best.

Starscream’s Weapons

Starscream has a number of weapons, ranging from deadly (his cluster-bombs) to comical (the slingshot he uses in *More Than Meets The Eye, Part 2*). But of course it’s his signature weapon, the Null-Ray, that’s always held the greatest fascination for me. Marvel's *Transformers Universe* comic series describes the null-ray  as being "able to interrupt the flow of electricity in any circuitry... for periods of up to two minutes." 

How cool is that? Not only does it interrupt the flow of energy through circuitry, but it also appears to stabilize or neutralize energies that have become unbalanced. It has even been shown to have healing properties. In the episode Auto Berserk, for example, Starscream fired his null-ray at Red Alert, causing his logic circuits to stabilize. Magickally speaking, the Null-Ray has so many potential applications that I ended up writing a separate post for it, complete with a meditation. See The Null-Ray: Magickal Uses.

Starscreamian Colors

I love how colorful the Seekers are! They are like splendidly plumaged birds, each with his own vivid color scheme that's uniquely his. I have some headcanon regarding color in TFs. For example, I like the idea that a character's outward colors aren't paint, but are created by chromites—that is, specialized nanites that create the color and finish on the character's frame. I also like the idea that the chromites respond to the character's spark in creating his or her signature colors and patterns, and so there is often a correspondence between a character's frame color and the color of their spark. 

Color is a fun topic. There is no doubt that color has a potent psychological, and even physiological effect, on us, and I wear Starscream’s colors a lot. For this reason, it makes complete sense to use it in magick. It can be incorporated into your workings in countless ways (too many to list!), but here is a quick run-down of colors I associate with Starscream, and what their magickal associations tend to be:

Red: The color of human blood, red is associated with vitality, life force, passion, instinctual drives, survival and sexuality. It’s also thought to be the color of the Root, or Base Chakra, which is located at the perineum and is associated with survival and security.

Silver: The metal silver is associated with the Moon, with night, feminine forces, yin, intuition, the deep subconscious, wisdom and secrets.

Blue: The color of Earth’s sky, blue is also thought to be the color of the Throat Chakra, associated with mind, science, reason, speech, writing and other forms of verbal communication. It’s also the color most associated with water, and has connotations of purity and cleansing.

Yellow: The color of our Sun, yellow is thought to be the color of the Solar Plexus Chakra, located between the ribs and the navel on a human. This Chakra is associated with ego, will, drive and aggression. It's interesting that the only yellow part of Starscream is his brilliant golden-yellow cockpit canopy, and that when he's in root mode, it's located in roughly in the same location as the Solar Plexus Chakra would be on a human. It's as if his Will or Ego center is hugely overblown and exaggerated - which is actually true! In fact, his French name is Ego).

Gold: The color of Starscream’s crown is, as you might imagine, the color associated with extravagance, wealth, riches, and excess, though it is also associated with illumination, love, compassion, courage, passion, magic, and wisdom.

Purple: The color of Starscream’s coronation mantle is purple, a color which represents the sythesis of blue’s calm stability with red’s fierce energy.  Purple is associated with intuition, the psychic realm, royalty, creativity, luxury, power, pride, homosexuality, ambition, mysticism, independence, magic and… wouldn’t you know it… resurrection. (And, of course, Decepticons.)

The Mantle

Starscream’s coronation outfit. Le sigh.

Okay, confession time: I’ll admit that I felt embarrassed and vaguely uneasy the first time I watched the coronation scene, and as we all know by now, it turned out my sense of unease was fully justified. Whenever things go well for Starscream, it’s pretty much always because the writers are setting him up for a fall; and what a fall this was.

*pauses to sigh again*

But in seriousness, there’s a lot to be said about the symbolism of these clothing items. A mantle represents authority. In fact, when we say that someone is ‘assuming the mantle’ of something, it means they are taking on a specific role or position, along with any associated responsibilities.

Perhaps the presence of the mantle in the coronation scene was intended to underline the idea that Starscream was overstepping his assigned role in life, and that he was unprepared, or unfit, to take on the responsibilities associated with the role he’d just usurped.

There is, of course, another way of looking at it, one that is especially suitable for Ghost Season symbolism, which can be summarized by the saying, ‘fake it ‘til you make it.’ Our goals and ambitions *should* be a stretch for us. They should be a challenge, and they will almost certainly push us into taking on new roles and responsibilities for which we may feel unfit, or unprepared. That’s how growth is.

Sometimes the best thing you can do is brazen things out. Put on your mantle, wear it with pride, and prepare your acceptance speech. “Fellow Decepticons! As your new leader…” In time—and with practice—your new mantle will begin to feel as much a part of you as your null-rays.

Until then, my friend, fake on! (It looks so damn good on you.)

The Crown

Crowns, as you can probably guess, represent royalty. They correspond with the Crown Chakra, the energy center which connects us to universal energy (aka God), and thus symbolizes a monarch’s ‘divine’ right to rule. This is a very ancient idea. Throughout history, rulers have been viewed either as gods themselves, or as divinely appointed.

The Transformers series is fully on board with this notion, presenting the Autobot Matrix as a stand-in for the divine force that confers kingship upon those it deems worthy. In other words, those who possess a special, mysterious quality get divinely appointed to rule over the rest of us. Call it… the Touch. But Starscream, in refreshingly iconoclastic fashion, upends this whole paradigm.

Sure, he could wait around for a sparkly rock to decide he’s worthy to rule, or he could take matters into his own hands. Of course by doing so, he violated the established ‘natural order’ of the Transformers universe, and because of this, he was swiftly put back in his place. One does not simply appoint oneself king! You must stand around and wait until the sparkly rock chooses you. (Obviously!)

In light of what I’ve said above, you may already have guessed that you can invoke the symbolism of the crown as a means of activating to your Crown Chakra and connecting to the divine, especially your own divine nature. The crown can also symbolize the act of choosing oneself; of reclaiming one’s personal and spiritual authority.

Starscream’s crown has four prongs. In numerology, 4 represents stability, rationality, structure and rules. It’s linked to the Emperor card in the Tarot deck—which is interesting, since the Emperor, in Tarot, is the king of kings—and it’s also associated with the Death card. In some cultures, 4 is considered an unlucky number due to its association with death, but the Death card in Tarot is actually a positive card which symbolizes transformation. Starscream’s crown is an excellent symbol to employ if you are seeking to take charge of your life through your magick, or to transform it in a deep and powerful way.

The scarlet gems which adorn Starscream’s crown are another obvious bit of symbolism. We’ve already talked about the symbolism of the color Red, and we could speculate about what type of gems those are (rubies, perhaps?), but since this is getting long, I want to draw your attention to that central, hexagonal gem that sits directly on the forehead of the crown.

That is a Third Eye. It actually looks like one of Starscream’s own optics, but turned sideways—a classic depiction of a Third Eye. The Third Eye is the Sixth Chakra, which on humans is thought to be located on the forehead, above and directly between the eyes. It governs intuition and psychic abilities, making Starscream’s crown a wonderful symbol to employ in psychic development or awakening one’s intuition.

In the next post, I’ll give you an exercise for developing your very own, personalized set of correspondences. Keep reading!

[douxreviews]

The Mummy (1999) Review

"You better think of something fast, because, if he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming after."

The Mummy, a (very) loose remake of the classic Boris Karloff horror film of the same name, was released 20 years ago today. To mark the occasion I've decided to a look back at this classic adventure film and explain why it remains my favourite blockbuster of 1999. Yes, I actually rate it higher than The Matrix. Look, it's great an' all, but does it have a scene where Neo scares away Agent Smith with a cat?

No, it does not, and that's why The Mummy will always be better.

Despite being savaged by critics upon release (its Rotten Tomatoes score is only 58%), The Mummy was one of the big hits of summer 1999, earning $415m worldwide. It was followed by two sequels, the CGI saturated mess that is The Mummy Returns, and The Mummy: Tomb of the Dragon Emperor, which committed the unforgivable sin of replacing Rachel Weisz so I have boycotted it on principle. There was also a spin-off, The Scorpion King, a fun, but forgettable Conan knock-off which is little more than a stepping stone on the Rock's eventual path to global superstardom. There was also that reboot from a few years back with Tom Cruise, but we're not going to talk about that. The franchise may have crashed and burned, but the original film, well, the original remake of the original film, has endured amazingly and is probably more popular now than when it was first released.

Thousands of years ago, in the Egyptian city of Thebes, the high priest Imhotep is having it off with the Pharaoh’s mistress, Anck-su-Namun. When their affair is discovered by the Pharaoh, the pair murder him. Before they can be captured, Imhotep flees and Anck-su-Namun kills herself, knowing her lover will use that old black magic to resurrect her, which has to be the most extreme version of a trust exercise I have ever seen. Imhotep takes her corpse to Hamunaptra, the city of the dead and one of ancient Egypt’s top three tourist destinations, but is stopped by Pharaoh’s bodyguards before he can complete the resurrection ritual. As punishment for his crimes, Imhotep is mummified alive and cursed so that one day he will rise again as a super-powered zombie and bring about the end of the world. Why is it so many curses make the cursed super powerful? If Imhotep wasn’t evil this could almost be his superhero origin story.

Anyway, skip ahead a few millennia and Hamunaptra is now a ruin being guarded by the decedents of Pharaoh’s bodyguards, who are no doubt cursing their ancestors for their obvious shortsightedness. This might explain why they half-arse guarding the place. Instead of maintaining a full-time garrison to keep away any wannabe treasure hunters, they routinely leave the place wide open so any idiot can just waltz in. So, really, they've got no one but themselves to blame when a curious librarian decided to have a flick through the Book of the Dead and start waking up mummies.

The Mummy is the closest anyone has ever come to recapturing the joy and spirit of Raiders of the Lost Ark. It is by no means that film's equal. Raiders was made by one of cinema's greatest craftsmen, while The Mummy was made by the guy responsible for Van Helsing and G.I. Joe: The Rise of Cobra. Nowhere is this more obvious than in the action scenes, which are often unremarkable and a little too reliant on sometimes dodgy CGI for their spectacle. Fortunately, though, the film succeeds in spite of this obvious handicap.

What The Mummy might lack in amazing action and effects, it more than makes up for with lots of great humour and some amazing heroes. I really have to give Sommers some credit here; he might not be a great director, but he wrote a fun, breezy script that doesn't takes itself too seriously, but avoids slipping into self-parody. It's also endlessly quotable. The quotes section of this review will probably give War and Peace a run for its money.

But at the end of the day, it's the characters that make this film what it is. They are why I keep coming back to it again and again, why I occasionally bother with the sequel, and they are why I will always prefer this movie to The Matrix. That film might have groundbreaking special effects and some exceptional action sequences, but when it comes to its heroes... well, let's just say that Neo is a character best suited to Keanu's own unique brand of minimalist acting.

The Mummy, though, is blessed with a fantastic central trio in Rick, Evelyn and Jonathan, all brilliantly bought to life by Brendan Fraser, Rachel Weisz, and John Hannah. Sommers really hit the jackpot when he cast those three. There have been many pretenders to Dr. Jones' throne over the years, but Rick O'Connell is the only one that ever seemed like a serious contender. Evelyn is the brains of the entire operation and while the story often places her in the damsel in distress role, she never, ever feels like one. And Jonathan is essentially the anti-Jar Jar, a comic relief who is genuinely funny without having to resort to cheap laughs or silly pratfalls. He may not be as heroic as Rick or as smart as his sister, but when the fighting starts Jonathan is always there to help out and if you need some ancient Egyptian translated in a jiffy, well, he'll try his best.

Notes and Quotes

--The name Ardeth Bay is a tweaking of Ardath Bey, the alias Imhotep used in the original. The character was originally meant to die, but test audiences liked him to he got a reprieve.

--While all the heroes are great, Imhotep himself is a pretty flat villain. He's mostly just an excuse for the FX department to show off.

--Difficult not to think of Scooby Doo when that American loses his glasses.

Beni: "O'Connell! Hey, O'Connell! It looks to me like I've got all the horses!" Rick: "Hey, Beni! Looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the RI-VEEER!"

Rick: "Well if it ain't my little buddy Beni. I think I'll kill you." Beni: "Think of my children." Rick: "You don't have any children." Beni: "Someday I might."

Evelyn: "I know, you're wondering...what is a place like me doing in a girl like this."

Hangman: "Any last requests, pig?" Rick: "Yeah. Loosen the knot and let me go."

Jonathan: "Americans."

Rick: (a spooky wind blows through Hamunaptra) "That happens a lot around here."

Evelyn: "Look, I... I may not be an explorer, or an adventurer, or a treasure-seeker, or a gunfighter, Mr. O'Connell, but I am proud of what I am." Rick: "And what is that?" Evelyn: "I... am a librarian."

Jonathan: "Imhotep. Imhotep."

Evelyn: "I will give you one hundred pounds to save this man's life." Hassan: "Madame, I would pay one hundred pounds just to see him hang."

Rick: "I only gamble with my life, never my money."

Evelyn: "Patience is a virtue." Rick: "Not right now, it isn't."

Evelyn: "You swear?" Rick: "Every damn day."

Rick: "Well, you probably won't live through it." Winston: "By Jove, do you really think so?" Jonathan: "Well, everybody else we've bumped into has died. Why not you?"

Evelyn: "Abdul? Mohammed?... Bob?"

Evelyn: "Oh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl." Rick: "You dream about dead guys?"

Rick: "Sorry, didn't mean to scare you." Evelyn: "The only thing that scares me, Mr. O'Connell, are your manners."

Evelyn: "You know, nasty little fellows such as yourself always get their comeuppance." Beni: [laughing] "Really? They do?" Evelyn: "Oh, yes. Always."

Beni: (Translating) "Come with me, my princess. It is time to make you mine, forever." Evelyn: "For all eternity, idiot."

Rick: "Mummies!"

Three and a half out of four wrong sides of the RI-VEEER!

Mark Greig has been writing for Doux Reviews since 2011

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The Death Seeker

by Nightwhinge STAND-ALONE FIC :) Timothy Jackson Drake was a 'Death Seeker’— in other words, after a few close encounters with the Grim Reaper, the boy had gained the supernatural ability to see ghosts. But when Batman's violent tendencies start to spiral out of control, and Robin's ghost is nowhere in sight, Tim takes matters into his own hands; he summons a ghoul in his neighbour's backyard... Perhaps he should have acknowledged that actions had consequences. Words: 11126, Chapters: 1/1, Language: English Series: Part 1 of A Crow’s Cryptid Call, Part 2 of Unrelated Batfamily Shenanigans 🦇💥 Fandoms: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types Rating: Teen And Up Audiences Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings Categories: Gen Characters: Tim Drake, Jason Todd, Bruce Wayne, Death - Character, John Constantine (mentioned), Joker (mentioned) Relationships: Tim Drake & Jason Todd, Jason Todd & Bruce Wayne, Tim Drake & Death Additional Tags: Tim Drake has the survival instincts of a wet paper bag, Tim Drake Sees Ghosts, Ghost Jason Todd, Resurrection, Bad Parents Jack and Janet Drake, Cryptid Tim Drake, slight world building, Meta human Tim drake, (in a way), Tim Drake Needs a Hug, Self-Sacrificing Tim Drake, Morally Ambiguous Tim Drake, BAMF Tim Drake, Child Neglect, Angst, Hurt/Comfort, Tim Drake-centric, Unreliable Narrator, no beta we die like jason todd via https://ift.tt/yQ7TfMq