#superhero indonesia

[pramugianiqbal]

"Karena sepertinya setiap orang punya standar baiknya masing-masing. Lalu apa kebaikan yang sebenarnya baik?" gumam Rio dalam kepalanya.

ORANG BAIK - 09 - 2023

[farhanazhari5]

Balpil/Balpil & Bhinnekaz Hero Pose

[babehdickson]

Back again to OC concept art! During my break, I conceptualized the character & costume for one of the team members from Nyangu Rangers, namely Jamal. I tried to combine the Power Rangers concept with Sundanese/Sukabumi elements and symbols such as Totopong, Batik, etc.

I also tried to create a profile of Jamal's character in a school outfit. I originally wanted to draw casual shirt profile & side-back profile too but I'm still not happy with it. Next time ok~

I want to hear what you think 😁 (If you have input and suggestions, that's fine too~ Especially regarding the use of cultural elements 🙏) Your input will mean a lot to me 😁

FYI, Jamal is the leader of this original Sundanese team of heroes. An ambitious high school student who always maintains his image, who tries to be the best student in his school. What's the story? Coming soon~

[pictureviewer-universe]

This is quite the list of Local superheroes from different countries from around the world and has some nice details about them. I Hope you continue this list cause it feels like you only scratched the surface of regional superhero TV shows!

Fantastic heroines, and where to find them (part four)

And so, finally, to the last instalment in our list of unusual superheroine tv shows that can now be seen, for free, on web streaming services. As before, all of these shows are non-English, all of them feature superheroines as a lead or leading character, and all of them are available in their entirety (or their overwhelming majority) to watch for free.

Included in this batch is the infamous Indonesian Supergirl series. Yup, that’s the one that notoriously features a rather familiar costume.

Super Ma’am (Philippines, 2017)

Super Ma’am starred Marian Rivera as mild mannered school teacher Minerva Henerala, who protected school children from the demons and monsters that lurked in her local community by using a magic whip to transform herself into the superheroine, Super Ma’am. Jackie Lou Blanco played the wealthy and power hungry Greta Segovia, who may be connected with the recent monster appearances. The series mixed humour, romance, and lashings of whip-cracking, to create a family friendly action/adventure show.

Super Ma’am – all 95 episodes available at the GMA Network YouTube channel.

Supergirl (Indonesia, 2011)

Supergirl (sometimes referred to online as Supergirl Manohara) starred Manohara Odelia Pinot as Loli, a young woman who discovers a magic costume in a cave while trying to find somewhere to shelter from a rainstorm. The costume (which may look familiar to fans of Marvel comics) gives her the ability to climb walls, glide on air currents, and fire energy blasts from her hands. Half way through its 25 episode run, the lawsuit-baiting red/yellow outfit got replaced by a more sombre blue/black affair. In her Supergirl guise, Loli faced off against a range of foes, but her main enemy was Julia Perez as Melinda, another woman with a magical costume.

Supergirl (Supergirl Manohara) – most episodes available in fragments at the Lucu Aja Boleh YouTube channel, and via this tag search.

Ruby Princess (Indonesia, 2001)

Putri Ruby (Ruby Princess) was a supporting superheroine character who guest starred in the latter part of season one of Panji Manusia Millenium, then returns as a regular character in season two. Alongside solid martial arts and acrobatics skills, she has a utility belt full of grenade-style weapons she can deploy during a fight. Her secret identity appears to be Venna, a local business woman, although Venna’s identical twin sister, Vonny, may really be behind the mask.

Panji Manusia Millenium – most of the 115 episodes are available at MVP Hits YouTube channel, 77 episodes from season one, and 21 of the 38 episodes from season two (although episodes 2 to 5 are mistakenly copies of seasons one episodes, so only 17 in truth.)

More heroines

Part one: Varga (Philippines, 2008), Dragonna (Philippines, 2008), Serpent Girl (India, 2020)

Part two: Krystala (Philippines, 2004), Fire Goddess (Thailand, 2019), Saras (Indonesia, 1998)

Part three: Super Twins (Philippines, 2007), Devi (India, 2015), Supermak (Malaysia, 2011)

[jesncin]

Firstly, I loved Lunar Boy and congrats on the Harvey nom! Also wanted to know if you have any recommendations for stories (any medium, any demographic) that you think has a nuanced take on the intersection between race and queer/trans identity? it's really easy (for me at least) to feel pretty doom-and-gloom about the overwhelming whiteness of queer rep but no! the intersectionality we crave is out there! you just have to look for it!

p.s I really enjoy your approach to criticism and have enjoyed reading your recent posts. I genuinely think it's making me a more thoughtful viewer.

Thank you for the kind words on Lunar Boy and our media criticism!! ;0; Ooh yes! Here's my list of recs for QPOC stories:

Our Dreams At Dusk by Yuhki Kamatani. While race isn't directly talked about, it's still specific to the realities of being queer and Japanese. This short manga series inspired a lot of Lunar Boy.

Felix Ever After by Kacen Callender. YA novel about a trans masc Black teen going through love triangle shenanigans and self discovery.

The Henna Wars by Adiba Jaigirdar (this author does a ton of sapphic novels I believe). YA novel about two girls starting a rival henna business but perhaps?? Love?? Happens??

The Ribbon Skirt by Cameron Mukwa. This MG graphic novel is available for preorder now, and is written and drawn by a friend of mine :3 the story is about a 2 Spirit child who wants to create a ribbon skirt to wear for the upcoming powwow.

Sergius Seeks Bacchus by Norman Erikson Pasaribu. A collection of poems (translated into English by Tiffany Tsao) covering an array of genres and stories. Beautifully touching queer Indonesian writing, I recommend anything Norman writes.

These are harder to find but for more queer Indonesian film there's Memories of My Body (coming of age story about a Lengger Lanang dancer, Indonesia's drag dance tradition), Lovely Man (a religious young woman seeks to reunite with her estranged father, who is now a waria sex worker) Madame X (extremely camp queer SUPERHERO MOVIE about a trans woman fighting a violent hate group).

Idk if this is available anymore, but I adore To All The White Girls I Loved Before by Sarula Bao. A short comic from Short Box's annual digital Comics Fair (which I recommend keeping an eye out for comics in the indie scene). It's about the author's unflattering desire to assimilate with the white girls she had crushes on. Some pages are on her site.

Those are what immediately come to mind for me but I'm sure I'm forgetting more!! These are the ones that directly engage with the intersection of being queer and POC, as opposed to a character being incidentally QPOC.

[lovesick-joey]

INTRODUCTION Carrd

Hi, It's Lovesick Joey! Welcome to my blog! You can call me Joey or Jojo. I'm an amateur artist from Indonesia who focuses on digital art. I'm neurodivergent and queer. I use both he/him and she/her pronouns.

I have a lot of interests but the things I'm most obsessed with are DComics (specifically Batman) and Warrior Cats—but you will mostly find more DC stuff here including in my art!

TAG NAVIGATION

#lovesickjoeyasks — for answering asks

#lovesickjoeyart — for my art

#lovesickjoeydcwarriors — for my dc/warrior cats crossover. I no longer do this on this blog however

#lovesickjoeytypes — text posts

OTHER BLOGS

@applehopshonor ◽ a warrior cats oc comic

@batglare101 ◽ blog dedicated to my dc x warrior cats crossover au

@sneakers-crusadercat ◽ dc oc roleplay blog

@jla-earthsdefense ◽ unreality justice league blog

@autumnbirdiee ◽ blog dedicated to my superhero ocs

OTHER PLATFORMS

Twitter ◽ alt account

Instagram

Bluesky

Sheezy

Tapas

UnVale

CharacterHub

Q&A

What art programs do you use? I use autodesk sketchbook for everything! on rare occasions I use adobe photoshop for touch-ups.

Can I use your art for profile pics, banners, edits, etc? yes!! that would actually make me very happy. just make sure to credit of course.

Are you currently commissioning? commissions is something I have been thinking about, however I probably won't start doing commissions any time soon because of my communication issues and my constant anxiousness. I do partake in art trades and art requests- you can find out more about that on my carrd.

I feel like this introduction is very short, Idk how to do one. anyway, I hope you'll enjoy what I do.

[zeequicks]

hii everyone I will be launching my INDONESIAN SUPERHERO COMIC on Kickstarter soon! please sign up to the pre launch link (click "notify me" to get updates). we are planning to go live in just a few weeks but need a few more followers to boost the campaign 🙏

ROSANA! will be an anthology collection of 5 comics, made by 10+ Indonesian creators worldwide with a love for superheroes, comic book mythology and stories based on our own culture! think wonder woman x black panther but set in Indonesia, with action and sci-fi elements, with a dash of environmental themes. artists who worked on the preview in the link and ISSUE 1 (including the cover ABOVE) are: @bajingoarts @curlytsunamiart and @shaccharin ✨ pls help spread the word as we prepare for our Kickstarter launch, so we can get print issues of the comic made for release!

FOLLOW ROSANA ON:

TWITTER/X

INSTAGRAM

WEBSITE (MAILING LIST)

KICKSTARTER (SIGN UP FOR NOTIFS)

[fortressofserenity]

US imperialism, DC and Marvel style

There's a book called 'How To Read Donald Duck' which is about Disney's role in propagating and inculcating US imperialism that I feel similar things can be said of DC and Marvel, the latter a future Disney subsidiary, that would have insidious and disturbing implications for former US colonies like the Philippines. The Philippines is in a state of constant US neocolonialism, given there are American military bases here and many Filipinos are very sympathetic to America that it would take guts to cut it off from us.

It's kind of depressing how people like Gerry Alanguilan don't seem to trust more Eastern influence in Philippine comics, but see no issue working for DC and Marvel that it seems some Filipinos would rather allow American neocolonialism to continue, rather than (re)building ties with the Philippines' closest neighbours. The Philippines would benefit more from allying with neighbours like China, Japan and Indonesia than it would with a warmonger like the US. But I suppose brain drain's preferable to building stronger ties to rest of the Far East.

What makes DC and Marvel so good at propagating US imperialism isn't just due to the abundance of patriotic figures like Captain America, Superman and the Falcon, but also how both aliens and actual foreigners often work in America far longer than they should or could've done with countries like Britain, Australia and Canada. Alpha Flight is one of the few Marvel publications to be consistently set outside of America, but even then it's intermittently published. It's all in the name of achieving the American Dream.

Whether if they're extraterrestrials like Supergirl and Superman, or proper foreigners like Nightcrawler and Betsy Braddock, America will always be the place where they better themselves in. America is the place where they'll be willing to work for US organisations like the Avengers and X-Men, regardless of their own citizenship (thus national allegiance to). Wolverine is Canadian, but tends to live and work in America. Not unlike Walt Disney's own father by the way. Betsy Braddock is British but works in America just the same.

One would wonder why Storm's marriage to Black Panther, an African superhero by the way, never lasted this long nor has her stay in any African country, despite being the X-Men's pre-eminent African member. It's more appealing to work in America and be the resident exotic black girl, than to actually work in Kenya and represent Kenyans as they really are. DC and Marvel's US imperialist ideology is more abhorrent whenever they assist in continuing US neocolonialism in the Philippines.

So it's seen as an achievement for Filipinos to work for DC and Marvel than it is to build their own Bumilangit, an Indonesian superhero publisher by the way, featuring the likes of Darna, Captain Barbell and Lastikman. Canada's own Lev Gleason has done the same with Northguard and Captain Canuck, but to be honest there was something like Bayan Knights here in the Philippines. But I don't think it lasted long, as far as I know about it, so it seems attempts at Philippine nationalism are often undermined by US imperialism.

I feel Filipinos don't have much integrity the way Indonesians and even Canadians do, that's why it's easier to work for DC and Marvel than to find a way to better the Philippines and even build stronger ties to the rest of the East. US imperialism works too well with us, that's why we often work for DC and Marvel. But it's a not good sign, especially if it undermines national and cultural integrity.

[tilbageidanmark]

The 1,289 movies I saw in 2024...

This is my fourth 'End of Year' recap. In January 2021, during the Covid lock-down, I began logging the many films that I watch every day, just to keep track. In the beginning I jotted a line or two about each, only to create a record. But then I started adding longer notes and more elaborate impressions, and before I knew it, I've got a 'Film Project' on my hands.

The obsessive project mushroomed. In the course of these four years, I watched and reviewed a total of 4,126 movies; 885 in 2021, 954 in 2022, 998 in 2023, and a ridiculous number of 1,289 movies this last year.

And it seems that I'm just getting started.

As I wrote before, I owe an apology to nobody for my indulgence. I derive great pleasure from discovering daily the best movies ever made, and I enjoy even more the process of thinking about them and coming up with my own specific takes, if I can. As an un-accomplished 'Creator', composing short reviews fills me with just the right amount of self-fulfillment. The fact that I am blessed with the physical and financial ability to enjoy this type of existence right now, at the end of my own life and while civilization collapses all around us, is not lost on me either.

The project, like the many others I created before it, is purely personal, and is a strict 'labor of love'. Watching a movie today is an individual experience [Except of one visit, I haven't been to a theater in many years], and maintaining this blog (which hardly anybody visits), is done as a form of mental masturbation; I do it every day because I like it a lot, and because it doesn't hurt anybody. I described my background before, so there's no need to repeat it here.

So here are some generalities, with a dozen 'Best-Of' samples below.

I've made a concerted effort to watch more films helmed by women directors - 215 in all (but only 16% of the total). Next year I will increase that number.

I like good documentaries, and of the 1,289 movies, 170 were documentaries. However, most of them were not that great. Surprisingly, only 99 were repeat films that I had watched before – it felt as if the number would be higher. I also started watching many more short films (5 to 40 minutes), and I plan focusing even more on short films in the coming year.

As I'm moving away from Hollywood-type blockbuster fair, I saw 737 “Foreign” films (read: Not American) which were 57% of the total. Next year I will be sure to increase that ratio too.

Here is the break-down by country:

From the UK (108)

From France (106)

From Canada (44)

From Japan (40)

From Denmark (25)

From "Czechoslovakia" (24)

From Germany (21)

From Sweden (20)

From Italy & "Russia" (18 each)

From Israel & Poland (17 each)

From Brazil (16)

From Australia, Iran & Ireland (13 each)

From Iceland, Korea & Spain (12 each)

From Hungary (11)

From Turkey (10)

The rest were films from China, Romania, The Netherlands, Argentina, India, Yugoslavia, Belgium, Finland, Latvia, Mexico, Chile, Croatia, Norway, Austria, Cuba, Egypt, Greece, Morocco, Palestine, Scotland, Switzerland, Hong Kong, New Zealand, Nigeria, Slovenia, Bulgaria, Georgia, Haiti, Lebanon, Philippines, Saudi Arabia, Singapore, Afghanistan, Armenia, Colombia, Cyprus, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Jordan, Paraguay, Portugal, Senegal, Sudan, Taiwan, Thailand, Tunisia and Wales. [But unlike 2023, no films in Babylonian this year...]

Many of these 1,293 movies were terrible. But only 23 of them I simply couldn't finish. They included: Otto Preminger's 'Exodus', Troma Studio's 'Poultrygeist', Polanski's 1970 'A day at the beach', The Japanese 'Patisserie Coin de rue', Bob Fosse 'All that Jazz', M. Night Shyamalan 'The happening', Gene Hackman's 'Heartbreakers', Elaine May 'A new leaf', Etc. Many of the others were boring, tedious, stupid. YMMV.

Next year I will also start keeping track of the genres, which I haven't done up to now. I may try new things, but there are some popular genres I generally stir away from: Superheros, horror, franchise, fantasy. There were six A.I.-generated films that I saw this year. I predict that in 2025 we will have the first 'good' A.I. features.

I wish I had signed up to Letterboxd at the start. It would have made sorting the list so much easier. But I've been dropping out of all social media (reddit and tumblr are the only ones still standing), and I don't plan on starting on a new platform.

I only felt the urge to "rate" 40% of the movies I saw (527), and of the ones that I did rate, there were 18 which I designated “Best”, and 78 to which I gave the 10/10 score. 'Best' for me usually meant that it offered a 'very' strong emotional reaction.

40 years ago I studied film at Copenhagen University, but it's only during these last few years that I've become pretty knowledgeable about the overall history of the cinema. It is therefore my favorite experience today to come across a movie I never even heard of, maybe from a different time and place, which knocks me completely over.

And so, here are a few of the less obvious gems which I enjoyed the most this year. Many more on the blog. Check them all out if you want.

The films of Icelandic Hlynur Pálmason (all but 'Winter brothers'). My favorite was 'White, white day', a masterful feat of slow film making, with unusual choices in its subtle direction. A policeman grieves for his wife who died in a car accident. The man renovates a house, takes care of his cute granddaughter, and then, (like ‘The Descendants’), he discovers that before she died, his beloved wife had an affair with some guy. A stunning story of heartbreak, resignation and acceptance. The Trailer.

Nuri Bilge Ceylan 8 films (I still haven't seen his 'Casaba' and 'Clouds of May'). My favorite of his: 'About Dry Grasses' which plays for over 3 hours in the desolate, snow-covered mountains of Eastern Anatolia. Like Mads Mikkelsen in 'The Hunt’, a teacher in a small village is being falsely accused of improper behavior toward a 14-year-old girl. But the slow and meandering story embraces other themes as well, of longing, of truth seeking, of weariness, complacency and contempt. With a delusional, self centered man and the two females he misunderstands and maligns. It includes one shocking 'break the 4th wall’ moment (at 2:05:00) which illustrates that nothing we think and believe in is true. The trailer.

'A brand new life' (2009), a heart-breaking Korean story, based on the director’s personal life. A sweet 9-year-old girl is abandoned by her father, who one day and without any warning drops her off at a Catholic orphanage in the countryside and leaves. Life is suddenly too painful for her. With the cutest little girl, who has to deal with life’s harshest lessons. A relatable debut feature, it uses the simplest and purest film language. It's similar to other tragic stories about innocence lost; Carla Simón’s ‘Summer 1993’, the French film 'Ponette’, and the Irish 'The Quiet Girl’ from last year, all with the same kind spirit and sad understatements. The trailer.

'The Last Repair Shop', winner of last year's Oscar for Best Documentary Short. A quiet story about a shop that maintains and repairs the 80,000 musical instruments used by students of the Los Angeles school district. It’s about mending broken things so they can be whole again, performed by people who were also broken, but are now whole. Similar to and even better than the 2017 Oscar nominee 'Joe’s Violin'.

'Ága', my first Bulgarian film, but it plays somewhere in Yakutsk, south of the Russian arctic circle. An isolated old Inuit couple lives alone in a yurt on the tundra. Slow and spiritual, their lives unfold in the most unobtrusive way, it feels like a documentary. But the simplicity is deceiving, this is film-making of the highest grade, and once Mahler 5th is introduced on a small transistor radio, it’s transcendental. The emptiness touched me deeply. (I should watch it again!). The trailer.

'Symphony No. 42' by Hungarian animator Réka Bucsi. It consists of 47 short & whimsical vignettes, without any rhyme or rhythm; A farmer fills a cow with milk until it overflows, a zoo elephant draws a “Help me” sign on a canvas, a UFO sucks all the fish from the ocean, wolves party hard to 'La Bamba’, an angry man throws a pie at a penguin, two cowboys holding blue balloons watch a tumbleweed rolls by, a big naked woman cuddle with a seal, etc. etc. Bucsi made it before Don Hertzfeldt’s 'World of tomorrow’ and even before 'Echo', my favorite Rúnar Rúnarsson’s. 10 perfect minutes of surrealist chaos.

'Shirkers', a 2018 documentary. Sandi Tan was an avant-garde teenage punker when she set out to make Singapore’s first New Wave road movie in 1992, together with 2 female friends and a middle aged mentor. But when the shooting was over, this 'mentor’ collected the 72 canisters of completed film as well as all supportive materials, and disappeared. For 20 years, Sandi and friends could not figure out what had happened, and eventually gave up on their groundbreaking work. This documentary pieces together the mystery, telling about the process of making the original movie, the consequences of losing - and finding it again - after all this time. Absolutely tremendous. The trailer.

'Dwelling in the Fuchun Mountains' is young Chinese prodigy Gu Xiaogang's debut feature. A slow epic saga (2.5 long hours) of a large family struggling during four seasons through life’s ups and down in this provincial city. It’s a metaphor for a classic scroll painting from the 14 century, and it is apparently only the first chapter in an upcoming trilogy. A stupendous, slow-moving masterpiece told in a magnificent style, and half a dozen transcendental set pieces. The trailer.

The short jazzy documentaries of Dutch Bert Haanstra, especially 'Glass' (1958), the first Oscar win for The Netherlands, and 'Zoo', which was made 3 years later.

'Apollo 11', a documentary by Todd Douglas Miller. An exhilarating re-telling of the moon landing from 2019. Perfectly crisp and emotionally laid out, without any bullshit narration, talking heads interviews or irritating recreations. Just jaw-dropping photography which puts you in the middle of the action. The trailer.

I’ve always loved Buñuel’s last 3 films, maybe because they were so easy to watch. The fire and brimstone of his youth were distilled into accessible, vivid tableaux. Re-watching his 'The Discreet Charm of the Bourgeoisie', (or “Six friends and the impossible dinner”) was just delightful: You nearly feel sorry for these poor 1-procenters, who can’t find a decent place to eat in. Their illogical dreams dredge out their childhood traumas, and there’s no explanations to anything that happens. It was the New 4K trailer which drew me back.

The magical work of Australian stop-motion animator Adam Elliot. Especially, 'Mary and Max'. A weirdly adult 'Wallace and Gromit', a dark and tragic clay figure story, voiced by Philip Seymour Hoffman and Toni Collette. Two damaged and unfortunate souls connect by becoming pen pals; A lonely Australian 8-year-old girl with an ugly birthmark on her forehead, and an obese Jewish New Yorker with Asperger’s. It encompasses 20 years of outlandish long-distance emotions which ends with the acknowledgment of friendship. The trailer.

'Pirosmani' (1969), my first Georgian masterpiece which was not made by Sergei Parajanov. It’s an awe-inspiring biography of Nikolai Pirosmanashvíli. He was a self-taught, naïve Georgian painter who lived during Vincent van Gogh’s time, and like him, died destitute and unappreciated by his piers, only to find prominence decades after his death. (Japanese Trailer here.) It’s an absorbing and visually-stunning film, composed of rural tableaux and primitive folk setting, a mixture of Henri Rousseau, Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Bruegel and Jodorowsky. A sad, slow and formal composition, full of sublime pathos and simplicity.

'For the hungry boy' (2018), my all-time favorite Paul Thomas Anderson work, even more than his “Phantom Thread”, out of which these discarded shots were collected. Vicki Krieps is a major crush. The score is Jonny Greenwood’s “House of Woodcock” from the movie. I've seen it at least 15 times since October.

'Nostalgia for the light' (2010), my first film by Chilean Patricio Guzmán. His life-long work had been occupied with the Chilean coup d'état and the collective scars suffered by the people of Chile to this day. This beautiful documentary starts with examining the gigantic telescopic installations at the Atacama desert, used by astronomers to discover the origins of the cosmos. He then segues into the story the 60,000 'disappeared’, who were imprisoned in large concentration camps in the same area, and then murdered without a trace. A group of wives and sisters have been roving for decades now the same barren area, searching for bone fragments of their loved one. So both archaeologists and astronomers are looking for clues about the past. The trailer.

A woman interviewed in one continued shot: A small 1993 French masterpiece 'Emilie Muller'. A young woman arrives for her first ever audition where she’s asked to show the contents of her handbag. As soon as I finished watching it, I had to watch it again, and then a third time.

“Wow! So, are there any last words you would like to say, about this whole thing?” Not really.

Here is a Google spreadsheet with the output of all 4 years.

Please become one of the few regular people who visit this blog. I post 20-30 new film reviews every Monday morning, Copenhagen time. Bookmark and interact.

Arigato gozaimasu.

[curvesandcosplay42]

"Dewi Bintang - Indonesia's Original Superhero" (ArtStation Quick Sketch by Admira Wijaya)

[farhanazhari5]

Balpil/Balpil & Bhinnekaz Poster Character Hero

[babehdickson]

Toying with the concept of a local superhero. NYANGU RANGERS, young champions from Sukabumi who fight crime with unique way: NYANGU! Nyangu means "Cooking rice" in Sundanese language. Rice have a deep value in Sundanese culture, and that's why I want to explore it in humorous but still heroic way! Try further research on Sundanese culture, especially Tritangtu and typical Sukabumi art, combined with the visuals characteristic of Power Rangers. What do you think?

[jasmine-throne]

I reporposed my spidersona from 2018 into an OC for my own original superhero comic.

Originally, she was spiderglass, with a mechanical suit to shoot silicone based webbing and glass shards. Now, she's Walangwati (Javanese for 'grasshopper-ess'), who was bitten by a possessed spider (Indonesia has more supernatural stuff than sci fi).

She still has superhuman jumping and climbing, alongside strength proportional to a grasshopper's size. She's also super good at digesting plants cuz grasshoppers can eat cellulose better but ANYWAY... She's here. She's queer. She lacks fear. She has a crush on her universe's Batwoman.

(OG DESIGN UNDER CUT)

2018 design, Spiderglass

[callofthxvoid]

Please welcome AMIRAH SHEHADI (SHE/HER) to Huntsville, WV. They are a 23-year-old RESIDENT who lives in TOWN. You may see them around working as a PRINTER AT HUNTSVILLE DAILY. Poor unfortunate soul. We'll see if they survive.

quick facts

Title: The Lancer

Name: Amirah Genevieve Dasai Shehadi

Nickname: Ames, Amy, Ami

Date of Birth: June 10, 2000

Age: 23

Place of Birth: Jakarta, Indonesia

Hometown: Huntsville, West Virginia

Languages: English, Indonesian, Javanese, Lebanese Arabic, French

Faceclaim: Jihane Almira Chedid

Pronouns: She/Her

Sexuality: Bisexual

Relationship Status: Dating Reagan Emerson

personality

Myers-Briggs: ISTP - The Virtuoso

Enneagram: Type Four - The Individualist (4w3)

Moral Alignment: Lawful Neutral

Occupation: Printer at Huntsville Daily

Role: Gatherer

[+] assertive, imaginative, protective, honest [-] attention-seeking, overbearing, condescending, vain

Character Inspirations: Mermista (She-Ra), Pyrrha Nikos (RWBY), Cornelia Hale (W.I.T.C.H.), Lydia Martin (Teen Wolf)

background

Amirah was born in Jakarta to an Indonesian mother and a Lebanese father, who had met some time after both going through amicable divorces with their first spouses—bringing their children from those marriages into their family. For the first few years of her life, Ames and her older siblings travelled extensively with their parents before moving back to the United States when she was six years old. They chose to settle in Huntsville, mainly to be close to the Lovejoys, who were old friends of theirs.

When Ames started showing an interest in beauty pageants, her parents were initially skeptical but ultimately supportive, paying for dresses, dance classes, and driving her to pageants out of town regularly. She had a couple of titles under her belt when all of that came to a crashing halt due to the paradox hitting when she was almost twelve years old. While saddened, she immediately redirected her energy into other interests and extracurricular activities, in particular illustration—eventually starting her own graphic novel featuring herself and her closest friends as a band of superheroes.

After graduating from high school, she got a job at the local paper which gave her access to their printer (it's her, she is their printer). Most of her time not spent at work or with her friends is now spent working on her book, which she mostly distributes digitally to her friends as well as anyone else who wants to read it, with the occasional print copy of certain issues gifted to various Huntsville residents whenever they serve as the inspiration of a recurring character. It isn't the life that she wanted, but she is doing her best to make it one that she enjoys, in spite of their circumstances.

misc

Her graphic novel series is called The Phantom Guardians and features a main cast of five based on the Five-Man Band trope: Spencer Holmes as The Leader, Izzie Lovejoy as The Heart, Satine Hicks as The Big Guy, Riley Alson as The Smart Guy, and herself as The Lancer. She started writing it after Riley passed as a way to help her cope with the grief. In her story, Riley retired from being a hero and went on to chase her dreams, while the remaining four carry on her legacy.

[justagalwhowrites]

Ok so I have a couple of asks because I'm curious or more like nosy. Feel free to skip if it's to much.

1. What does your writing process look like? Do you outline everything or just make it up as you go? Do you write in order or write scenes as they come to you and fit them together later?

2. If you could give one piece of advice for everyone reading to live by what would it be?

3. If you could could visit anywhere in the world where would it be?

4. Is there a particular genre, topic, trope or Fandom you haven't written but would like to?

BESTIE!! HI!!!!

I love these omfg

I loosely outline everything and I write in order. I lay out the story chapter by chapter but only like (for example in Yearling): Chapter 1 - Bambi boyfriend turns, cut to future, Joel finds her. Things often take longer than I planned (see chapters 16-17 of Lavender that was supposed to be just one chapter and then became 2) or I might feel like a plot point didn't accomplish what I wanted in character development and need to add another element to get the character to where I want them to be. I'm not a slave to the outline but it definitely is the basis of my work!

Ooo I don't know if I'm the best person to give advice lol but one that I think is good for people who enjoy fic is: There is no such thing as a guilty pleasure. If it brings you pleasure and doesn't hurt anyone, don't feel guilty about it. Life is too short to be ashamed about what you enjoy! Love the things and people you love fully and whole heartedly and you'll be a lot happier for it.

AHHH such a good question! My favorite place to visit is probably Paris. My dream life allows me the freedom to go to Paris for a few months a year so I can do things like sit at a cafe or a garden and write and watch the people go by. But I'd love to explore someplace new! Southeast Asia would be amazing to visit. I have a friend who LOVES Vietnam so that's been on my list for a while and Indonesia looks incredible. I'd also love to check out Australia, Morocco, Scotland and Brazil. I also think it would be incredible to visit Antarctica at some point though that's lower on the list. I love to get a taste of other cultures when I travel (I do a lot of nature stuff close to home, we camp and hike a fair bit) so I focus on that more.

I want to write a superhero story at some point! I'm a casual Marvel fan and I like Batman well enough from DC but I don't really feel like a part of any superhero fandom (except maybe Watchmen?) But I love the idea of 1) a hero who is always surrounded by other superpowered people dealing with the mortal fragility of someone they love or 2) someone who is used to being the strongest in the room suddenly being outclassed. I love how inhuman things (like superpowers or the infected in TLOU) allow us to explore the depth of our humanity, it opens the door for so many amazing stories and I want to tap into that!

Thank you for asking, Bestie!!

Love you!!!!

[spellbook-gayboy]

Suit Swap: The Love Language of America’s Superheroes by Christina Cabello

Valentine’s Day is certainly a special time for those of us caught in the throes of love. It’s a time of romantic gestures, chocolate boxes and all around mushiness with the people we hold the closest. Superheroes are no strangers to the celebration, and can enjoy it just as much as we do, either with other heroes or regular people. But as the years have passed and more and more heroes have come and gone, a sort of tradition has sprung up in the American superhero community, equal parts ingenious and adorable: Suit Swap. 

To put it simply, Suit Swap is exactly what it says on the tin: a couple, usually two superheroes, will swap clothes or costumes for Valentine’s Day, which is meant to signify the commitment they share to one another, as well as creating some absolutely hilarious photos. The first known instance of a Suit Swap taking place was all the way back to Valentine’s Day of 1973, when two employees of Capes Inc. USA, Sister Siren and Grey Swordsman, posed for a photoshoot while wearing each other’s costumes. Aside from showing the world how good Swordsman’s legs looked in fishnets, the shoot proved popular with many subcultures at the time that eschewed traditional gender roles, and was cited as a major milestone in the Sexual Revolution movement of the 60s and 70s. Seeing an opportunity to score points with those communities, it didn’t take long for Capes Inc. management to endorse Suit-Swap, and it soon became a tradition for many employees at the corporation’s offices through the following decades, long after the couple who started it left over a nasty legal dispute in 1978. After a while, interest in the custom died down, and it soon became a small event only celebrated by a select few. That was until the mid 1990s, when retired employee Night Flyer used his photography skills to make a photoshoot featuring his wife in his old costume, in honour of their 40th anniversary. This photoshoot managed to not only revive interest in Suit Swap, but also make it more popular than it had before, to the point that it still continues to this day albeit in a slightly altered form. 

And this year has been no exception, with many heroes honouring the tradition this year, with some truly hilarious results. First up is the pair of Kid Thor and Knockout, who were called out with the rest of their team to help deal with a supervillain attack in Albania, and from what has been shown, apparently the sight of Kid Thor smashing a killer robot in a crop top is a popular one. Next up is the well-known same-sex pairing of Shrinking Rae and Dupli-Kate, who joined their fellow Guardians (including Rex Splode in a somewhat ill-fitting Invincible costume) as they aided in clean-up efforts following an earthquake in Indonesia. Finally, we also have the solo partners from San Diego, Magic Man and Multi-Paul, who managed to take on an actual tentacle monster from either outer space or another dimension (both are equally plausible when Magic Man is involved), which had the unintended side effect of sending his online fanbase (who have taken to calling themselves ‘Magic Minions’) into an absolute frenzy.

Finally, while the tradition is typically associated with romantic couples, there had also recently been a push to include those who aren’t romantically involved in the tradition. Groups such as Eight Capes (the biggest advocacy group for LGBTQ+ superheroes in North America) has called for greater consideration of those in queerplatonic relationships as well as those on the aromantic spectrum, stating that they should be included in order to ‘prevent reinforcing the message that romantic love is superior to other forms of affection, and help to break societal amatonormativity’. Several heroes have already chosen to show their support, such as the friendly duo of Welsh supers Green Knight and Red Dragon, as well as the queerplatonic couple of Argentinian heroes Devastador and Lobo del Valle. While the opposition to this has been stiff, progress on the issue has certainly be made, especially as more and more high-profile supers show their support for their non-alloromantic peers.