#the whole trying to ‘cure’ being a mutant

[spoofyleaf]

As an adult rewatching all the x-men movies, I think I’ve figured out why the movies made me uncomfortable to a personal level as a kid

[tomato-soup-whore]

obviously the entire concept of the x men universe is based on being a barely even veiled metaphor for discrimination. it can easily be compared to the civil rights movement, with xavier and magneto corresponding to mlk and malcom x and all that, and the clear plot points about segregation and slavery and general racism. but theres also many comparisons that people have made to some mutants being an allegory of homophobia.

one of my favorite plotlines in both the cartoons and the movies is the personal conflict some mutants face when offered the "cure" for their powers. i always thought it was super interesting to see the mutants who had always fought for equality and acceptance to be drawn to the concept of not having to fight for that anymore. like rogue, who was one of the most powerful x men, especially in the comics and the '92 cartoon. she was crazy powerful in so many ways, but was the one of the only ones drawn to the cure because of the side affects of her powers that took away a huge life experience for her.

anyway what im trying to say is that i think the difference of opinions between different mutants on how they should interact with the "normal" members of society, and how those opinions correspond almost directly with the discriminatory consequences of their mutations, is a really good analogy for the intersectionality between racism, homophobia, and transphobia.

If we look at characters whose mistreatment can be compared to racism, we have people like mystique and nightcrawler. they both have physical differences that clearly set them apart from the majority and subject them to judgement. raven especially has her whole arc in the movies about whether or not to live life unashamed in her natural form, or continue using her own energy to make herself more palatable for others. Comparing this to people of color consciously or subconsciously whitewashing themselves to fit in makes a lot of sense.

but then we have the homophobia element. characters who's powers aren't visible on the surface, but are still an integral part of who they are. asking them to hide their powers is like for others convenience is discriminatory, despite the good intentions that many of their human counterparts may have (think of bobby's mom asking if he's "tried not being a mutant" in x2) and rogue having a physical and romantic disconnect from all of her peers because of her powers.

and theennnnn we have the transphobia analogies, which i connect to the characters that have physically visible powers but are still able to hide them from society. this would be people like angel (he literally BINDS his wings like c'mon) and beast before the serum shit turned him blue and he just had weird feet. with those people, embracing their powers would have really cool benefits for them, like flying and shit, but its easier for them to hide it because of society's discrimination.

anyways this is a really long winded way of saying that thats part of the reason why the political dynamics of the x men is still so relevant and important and interesting. relationships like erik and charles are so much deeper from this pov, bc you have the group of people who see the hope and humanity in people and want to have everyone treated as equals (the x men) and you have the mutants who retreat into their own community and don't want the acceptance or the cooperation of regular society because if they're always going to feel "other" why not build a new society to erase that feeling (the brotherhood).

if i could write essays on this shit for school i would be acing all the humanities, trust.

[tobiasdrake]

We go from the best fight in the X-Men filmography thus far straight to Charles Xavier sitting in a room, looking into the camera and explaining the plot. Okay guys. XD

One of the main jobs this film has is to bridge First Class, which became more or less a reboot, with the original trilogy. So they can go in new directions and do different things with the characters without outright saying, "The original movies up through Origins: Wolverine aren't canon anymore, sorry."

Days of Future Past is what's commonly referred to as a soft reboot, where continuity gets to start over from scratch but with an explanation offered in-universe that connects it to the previous continuity.

Time travel and multiverse shenanigans are often the go-to for carrying out soft reboots. The Chris Pine Star Trek films, for instance, take place in an alternate timeline created when Spock and a bad guy traveled back in time and messed up the series canon.

The Marvel multiverse is basically designed to allow Marvel writers to make continuity-free re-imaginings of the Marvel universe and then go "That one is Universe 42069, it has its own canon somewhere out there in the multiverse unrelated to the mainline comics."

DOFP intends to do that for the Foxverse, liberating the cast of the newer X-films from the shackles of the old canon and letting them spin out in a new direction.

But before we can do that, Charlie Boy needs to explain the plot that will get us there.

Magneto chimes in to explain Mystique's powers, like Bobby and Kitty don't already know her. XD

Actually, come to think of it, Kitty only formally became one of the X-Men in Last Stand, the movie that took Mystique's powers away. And Bobby wasn't really an X-Men X-Man until that same movie, despite being present for the whole trilogy. They actually might not know who Mystique is.

Huh. Objection retracted.

Then again, Colossus recognizes her. And he was no more involved in X-Men Stuff than Kitty was.

Xavier goes on to assert that he, too, has watched First Class and thought it was pretty sweet. Don't let the face of Patrick Stewart fool you; Despite this personal history having never come up in the original trilogy, it is still an important part of the two characters' relationships with one another.

As an artistic note, I love how she shapeshifts into a human form when he says, "I knew her as Raven." A subtle call-out to their conflict from First Class - or, at least, what it was supposed to be in First Class even though the film doesn't convey it well.

We're told, in the film, that Xavier never appreciated her natural mutant self and preferred that she try to pass as human. They kinda botched their attempts to show it, but it was the clear intent. In a subtle reference to it here, when Magneto talks about her we see her in her true form, but when Xavier reminisces on how fondly he remembers her, she shifts into her human guise.

These two men both fondly remember Mystique, but they have very different memories of who she was.

(Where is she, anyway? Did the Sentinels get her? Is she still mutant-cured?)

Yeah, Xavier's good at that. Remember that time he was losing a tense negotiation with Magneto and Jean so he just started throwing punches, basically forfeiting the argument and pushing Jean into Magneto's arms as hard as humanly possible? Not so different from what happened with Mystique when you think about it.

Xavier offers a sanctuary for mutants on the run from the dangers of the world, and that's great. But his powers of persuasion leave much to be desired.

Logan gets all sad and grimly reports that Mystique killed again after that. Bit of a weird moment. Like, it's performed as if he's referencing the death of another character that was important to him. Something we would instantly recognize and be like, "Oh, fuck, my heartstrings."

I have no idea who that might be, though. He didn't even know her in her youth to be sad about who she became. One time she beat him up and then he stabbed her, and then another time she tried to trick him into having sex with her under false pretenses. That is the entire extent of their relationship.

Why are you so sad about Mystique killing people, Logan? Who did she ever kill that could be haunting you like this? Don't you have enough ghosts already? Do you really need to borrow Charlie's?

The Sentinels are using Mystique's powers to acquire Sunspot's heat powers and Colossus's steel plating and Iceman's cryokinesis.

Meanwhile, poor Mystique can't do any of that. It sucks when people steal your powers and then get whole new abilities you didn't possess out of them.

You know, you'd think in the decades she was hanging out with Magneto, the two of them would have done something about this. Did the fact that humans captured her and performed invasive experiments to steal her powers just... slip Mystique's mind?

"Less than 50 years." My dude, that is a long-ass time to be working on one project. XD These things were in production hell for half a century.

Xavier's like, "When Mystique killed Trask, it convinced the world that they needed his program. And then the humans stayed mad about it for FIFTY YEARS."

FIFTY YEARS. Two generations later, it was still just Trask that they were mad about. Nothing else that happened in that time, nothing in the entire original X-Men trilogy, ever moved the needle one way or the other. It was always about Trask. They were very slowly building the Sentinels the entire time and nothing else mattered.

Senator Kelly's entire anti-mutant career was pointless because humanity already had made up its mind to kill mutants with Sentinels. Trask is the one and only bullet point of history that matters. XD

I understand why this is so janky. Stopping the assassination of Trask is meant to be the emotional goal of the film. We have to stop Mystique from becoming a murderer, because that sets her down the road to being evil.

But "We have to stop her from killing the man making Genocide Machines" wouldn't be a compelling narrative on its own. Because. Like. Fuck that guy. Mystique did nothing wrong.

So the assassination also needs to be the apocalyptic cornerstone around which the fate of the universe revolves. Killing Trask has to directly cause the creation of the Sentinels, but the film also wants to be set in the 70's and has to account for the fact that none of this was a thing in the original trilogy.

So. The humans just. Stayed mad about Trask for fifty fucking years while working on the slowest weapons development project in the history of the arms race. Which has the knock-on effect of meaning that none of the mutant-human relations stuff from the original trilogy mattered, 'cause the humans were building the Sentinels behind the scenes that whole time.

That is an incredibly bleak revision. @_@

Nobody tell Charles, but if there was enough hatred towards mutants to sustain a fifty-year grudge over Trask's death, it wasn't really about Trask's death.

[theyhavetakenovermylife]

I've been binging your x readers the past few days, and they're so well done!! If it's not much trouble, could you do a 2k3 Donnie x GN Reader during the Adventures in Turtlesitting/Good Genes arc? I've been turning the thought of (Y/N) witnessing his transformation and going "Like Hell I'm not gonna do something about this" and doing what they can to make a cure; even standing up to Bishop and Stockman. I'm a sucker for "You helped me, it's the least I could do to help you" stories. >u<

Secondary Mutation (Angst)

2003!Donatello x reader

A/N: Thank you so much! That’s so sweet of you to say💚 This arch goes over three episodes, but I’ve tried cut it down and make it more precise, making the main focus the showdown and all that at Area 51. Hope you enjoy💜

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Warning: Spelling (was a little tired towards the ending. Long day😅), Donnie with a secondary mutation, Bishop and Stockman being assholes, a little hostage situation like?

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You were there when it happened. You witnessed the whole thing as it unfolded. Leonardo, Raphael and Michelangelo and dropped you and a sick Donatello off at April’s place. It had been Leo’s idea, citing it would be good to keep both of you out of the sewers, while he and the other’s went on a hunt for Bishop’s mutants. You too thought it was a good idea, except it meant crashing April and Casey’s long awaited date night.

It had started out great. Or as great as it could. Your boyfriend was continuously sneezing and sniffling, bags running under his eyes, and shaking even when covered by several blankets. The poor guy was going through it.

But then the black out happened, leaving all of New York City in darkness. That was the last thing you needed, sitting with your shivering boyfriend’s head in your lap, trying to sooth him with your fingers tracing across his head. But nothing helped. Donnie felt horrible, and the darkness only made it worse for him.

As Casey went to look for a flashlight, Donnie started groaning out in pain, complaining that the cut on his leg was beginning to act up. He said it felt like it was burning, causing you even more worry than before. April wanted to help, but with her own boyfriend knocking things over in her room, as he looked for the flashlight, she had to leave to make sure he didn’t bring the whole apartment down over the shop. But that was when the trouble began.

Donnie groaning almost turned to screaming, his thigh convulsing. You were terrified, asking him if he was okay, begging him for an answer, but Donnie could not speak. The pain was too much for him. Then suddenly he let out an ear piercing scream, his thigh doubling in size. He sat up, hugging onto his legs, screaming and shaking as sweat ran down his face. His body started to grow, his belt, elbow pads and knee pads ribbing before he hurried up from the sofa, as if he frantically tried to find a solution on his own.

“Donnie?”, you asked terrified, trying to find him in the dark, grabbing your phone in your pocket.

“(Y/N)”, you heard Donnie’s strained voice call out from the corner of the room. You quickly turned on your phone's flashlight, pointing it in his direction. There he stood, double in size, red eyes, sweat dripping down his face with an expression of pain. “Help me”.

“Don?”, you asked in confusion, stepping closer to him. “What’s happening?”

“No!”, he exclaimed, just as April and Casey came back into the living room. “Stay back!”

“Don!”, they called out.

“No!”, Donnie yelled, before pushing past all of you, making a b-line directly for the door, breaking it off the hinges before he ran downstairs. “Get away from me!”

The next few hours were horrible. Finding Donnie had turned into a giant alligator-like creature in the basement, before you and your friends had to defend yourselves against your boyfriend. Casey even had to go as far as mashing him over the head with a vacuum. It was even more horrible knowing he had run off into the sewers, leaving you scared and worried while the guys looked for him.

All of this led you up to this point, you and your best friends seeking out Agent Bishop in order to find a cure for your horribly inflicted boyfriend. Seeing Donnie like this broke your heart. Tears rolled down your face as you watched him unconsciously float around in the round glass bubble. Somehow this was even worse than having watched him slam against the glass or the other containment unit, roaring like a wild beast, trying to claw at whatever he saw outside the glass. Even you. You almost broke down when he snapped against the glass, wanting to bite you.

You paced around Bishop’s lab, unable to sit still. Because if you sat down you would stare, and if you stare you would cry. And you did not want to cry, you wanted to act. You wanted to do something. You couldn’t just sit around and wait for his brothers to get whatever Bishop had asked of them. Especially not when Leatherhead and Splinter kept reading Donnie’s vitals, giving each other sad looks. You knew what they were saying. You could not hear it, but you knew it. Donnie’s time was running out. His second mutation was breaking down his body. And there was nothing you could do but wait. And you hated it. You felt like you were going mad. Time was ticking and you could do nothing but watch, feeling the need to scream and cry.

“Doctor Stockman”, Splinter said, turning to the walking brain on a stick that had been testing your patience ever since you got to Area 51. “Agent Bishop told us that you would administer the cure to Donatello”.

“To think that I’ve sunk so low”, Stockman spoke to no one but himself, testing out different liquids on a creature in a different bubble. “That my unparalleled genius, would be used to save the life of one of these freaks”. You bite the inside of your cheek, holding from the temptation of smashing the glass that harbored Stockman’s brain. "Unfathomable".

“Where’s the cure, Stockman?”, Leatherhead asked, doing his best to keep his tone civil. But Stockman ignored him, moving from one console to another, still talking to himself as he went.

“I’m pulled from sweet oblivion, for what?! This?!”

Getting tired of Stockman’s rambling, Leatherhead grabbed onto the walking stick, forcing him to face him. “Show us the cure, now!”

“Cure?”, Stockman asked. “You stupid animal! Agent Bishop lied. There is no cure”.

“What?!”, Splinter exclaimed, his eyes wide. You felt your own body going pale, stopping dead in your tracks. For a moment you stopped breathing. Leatherhead growled, anger bobbling inside of him.

“You inhuman, soulless, monster!”, Leatherhead yelled, slamming Stockman against the keyboard, before getting ready to punch the glass head himself.

“Leatherhead, please”, Splinter called out, putting a hand on the mutant’s shoulder. “I share your anger, but this will not help Donatello! We need solutions not vengeance”.

“According to me, that piece of gum needs a good chewing!”, you yelled, pointing at Stockman.

“You too, (Y/N)”, Splinter said. “Please, my child. For Donatello”.

“You’ll be wise to listen to your inlaw”, Bishop’s voice sounded as he walked into the lab. Leatherhead growled and you felt your fists tightened at the sight of his smug smile. Both you and Leatherhead started seeing red, your anger so great that not even Splinter could hold you back.

“I’ve waited a long time to do this”, Leatherhead said before grabbing Stockman by the metal throat. “Now you’ll know the meaning of pain!” He threw the lump of metal onto the ground, before making his way to the well dressed man. You wasted no time stomping your foot onto Stockman’s back, making him lay flat against the floor.

“Doctor Stockman is working on a cure”, Bishop calmly said. “He’s the best change Donatello has for survival”. You sucked a breath in, staring directly into Stockman’s lone eye. Leatherhead fought the urge not to jump on Bishop. “Harm me, and Stockman stops. And your friend has no chance!”

You reluctantly let Stockman go, just as Leatherhead decided to back away from Agent Bishop.

“Fine, for now villain”, the large mutant said, before turning to the robot human hybrid that had just managed to get off the floor. “Doctor Stockman, show me what you have so far”.

The scientist sighed, before moving to the console with Leatherhead and Master Splinter. You however went straight over to Bishop, anger still fuming off of you. “This better work, Bishop”, you growled. “Or else you’ll personally have to deal with me”.

Agent Bishop faked a kind smile. “Your care for your friends is admirable, Miss (L/N), especially your care for Donatello. Although, I’m right to assume that your care for the turtle goes above just that of friendships?”

“How I care for my friends is none of your business”, you calmly said, keeping your anger in check. “What is your business, is making sure Stockman succeeds”.

“If you say so, Miss. (L/N)”, Bishop said, before walking away, leaving you back alone in your anger and sadness. How you wished you could be hugging Donnie, just one more time.

—

Leatherhead and Stockman made great progress on the cure, with the first test subject being a success. Who would ever have thought that you would be happy with Stockman’s work, even if it actually had been Leatherhead that had done the most out of the two? But all that slight happiness disappeared the moment the Bishop opened his mouth.

“Impressive, Mr. Leatherhead”, he said, pushing his glasses further up the bridge of his nose. “And to think, I was going to dissect you”. Leatherhead growled. “What a waste that would have been. You’re even more brilliant than Doctor Stockman!”

“That doesn’t take much”, you mumbled, Splinter lifting a finger, telling you to behave. For the sake of Donnie.

“What?!”, Stockman questioned, not believing what Bishop had said.

“Then, it works?”, Splinter asked, watching as the test subject turned human again.

“Doctor, prepare an airborne version of the cure for the New York outbreak. As well as a sample for Donatello”, Bishop said, turning directly towards you and Splinter. “If his brothers fulfill their side of the agreement”.

“Don’t worry, Bishop”, you said, engaging in a stare down with the agent. “They will”.

“Brave of you to trust the life of your sweetheart with his brothers”, Bishop said. “Or maybe even foolish”.

“We trust them”, was the last thing you got to say, before there was news on a returning base helicopter. You sighed a breath of relief. They were back.

You went up to the main entrance, meeting the brothers as they came in. Bishop did not greet them, instead demanding that they handed over the item he was wanting. They looked to Master Splinter, waiting for his confirmation, before Mikey handed the stone over. The moment the stone was in Bishop’s hand, the alarm sounded, red lights shining all over the base.

“Base destruct sequence initiated”, sounded the alarm over your heads, making your ears ring.

“This base has been compromised by your presence”, Bishop said. “You have 15 minutes to collect your brother, and vacate the premises”. Then Bishop turned, smiling over his shoulder before he left. “Pleasure doing business with you”. You felt your fist clench.

It took you less than a minute to find Leatherhead. He was already working the cure on Donnie, leaving you all anxious in anticipation. Fog built up inside the machine, before the door finally opened, letting out a dazed and confused Donnie, rubbing his eyes as he took in his surroundings.

“Hey, guys”, he said tiredly. “What’s up?”

“Donnie!”, you yelled, running to him, throwing your arms around him before bringing him into a thigh hug. He wobbled slightly, leaning his weight on you as he found his footing.

“Hey, babe”, he smiled, still a little confused. “What’s going on? Where are we?”

“That’s a story for a different time”, Leo said. “Now we gotta go before this place blows up!”

He didn’t have to say that twice. Quickly you all ran outside, finding the chopper before taking off. You just managed to get up high enough, before the base blew up, sending red, orange and yellow light across the sky.

You all breathed a sigh of relief, happy to have Donnie back, safe and sound.

“Welcome back, my son”, Splinter said, taking a hold of Donnie’s hand.

“Thanks Sensei”, he smiled, still a little tired. “But I hope you guys didn’t go through too much trouble for me”.

The reaction on everybody’s faces spoke volumes. None of you had the guts to tell him, and neither should you.

You took Donnie’s hand in yours, smiling at him. “For you, nothing’s too much trouble”, you said, placing a kiss on his cheek. Donnie blushed slightly, not sure how to react in front of his family. But in all honesty, it did not matter much to him at the moment. He was just happy to be back to normal, feeling your hand in his once more.

[a-roguish-gambit]

Turn of the century au thoughts: mail call

It's occurred to me that after mutants are outed to the world via a newsreel of the whole sentinel fight, and eventually the X-Men's name is cleared via a combo of teddy Roosevelt and a secondary News Reel of them fighting and taking down juggernaut, the X-Men are probably going to get a lot of mail from random places in the country and maybe even all over the world. There's definitely a lot of hate mail because people are awful and Logan, Jean, and the professor are having to make sure nothing dangerous in any of the packages or mail letters there being sent, and ororo is specifically filtering Evan's mail cause she is gonna protect her nephew from any and all assholes personally and track down anyone who sends him so much as a threat. Still it gets absolutely bonkers because at the time people still did do shitposting and trolling they just did it via the mail system. Not only were chain letters a thing but putting your mailing list out for any reason, and there were a lot of reasons to have a public mailing list, was a gamble because you could have random people sending you extremely random letters. People would send randos their stream of consciousness thoughts or pretend to be someone they aren't via mail. The owner of Sears and robucks would frequently get letters from people asking for advice about who they should marry and stuff like that for example.

The institutes address is probably out there for business reasons, and even if it's not totally public it's only a matter of time before people find it or figure it out because the institute is a public address, so yeah there would be lots of very random mail being sent to the X-Men kids malicious or otherwise.

I can see the international kids getting sent letters from people they do not know claiming to be family members trying to make some money off these kids because they assume that because these kids have fame they also have some kind of wealth which is not true at all a lot of them don't and are there because Xavier himself is wealthy and is willing to spend a lot of money on kids who aren't even his, and to them it's very very obvious and they make fun of it all the time.

Roberto got a letter in Spanish and he's laughing at it with Sam and Amara who read it out to him, where the person is claiming to be his long lost uncle from brazil and it's so obvious this person knows nothing about anything, because his whole family speaks Portuguese not Spanish, because, ya know, they are actually from Brazil. Amara notes that the Spanish is incredibly bad as well, so it was probably some random non latin American who wrote this.

Scott keeps getting letters from people telling him he's wasting his talent and what he should actually use his lazer eyes for x thing like they know how his powers work, or telling him how to fix his eyes, one guy is claiming he can cure Scott by waving magnets over his body. Jean is doubled over laughing when Scott reads that one to her. He's just like "if all it took were magnets to fix me I think all the fights with magneto would have done something by now..."

Jean keeps getting preachers telling her she needs to "renounce her satanic ways and turn to God for power," because apparently these people think her psychic abilities are devil magic. She ignores them but Scott keeps writing angry letters back to these people telling them to leave his girl alone.

Kitty keeps getting letters telling her it's improper to phase through walls, and that a young lady like her should be in an etiquette school not a school teaching her to phase through walls. she is absolutely baffled by this. The girls just come to the conclusion that "people will police women on literally anything". She gets a few offers from suffragette groups though too asking for her help, same with jean.

Ororo has been heavily filtering Evan's mail making sure he doesn't end up reading anything from a weirdo or a racist, but he has gotten interesting mail none the less. He got requests for interviews by several black publications for the perspective on being a mutant of African American descent, which has been fun. Some of the other kids are jealous, as he got a letter from W. E. B. Du Bois at one point, and Booker T Washington's widow and Lady principal of the Tuskegee institute, Margaret Washington, sent one about him potentially visiting the campus some time. But those kids are also getting good mail they are just also seeing some of the ridiculous stuff too.

Rogue seems to get two kinds of mail, one is people calling her a witch, and the other is marriage requests of all things. A lot of them claiming they can "fix her" (ew). A lot of men saw the news reels and apparently had gambit's same thought process about her dark looks. Remy is none too happy about these men, but rogue assures him she hasn't the slightest care for any of these men. They munch on the chocolates and other goodies they send her as rogue writes letters back simply saying "1. I have a lover. 2. My touch kills men. Leave me alone."

Kurt gets some of the wildest stuff: People trying to mail him exorcisms, people accusing him of turning their daughters into Satan worshippers because the girls want to meet him, letters from said daughters wanting to run away with him, people thinking he's the anti christ, with some demanding he leave the country and some asking for his orders to command them against the establishment, actual demon worshipers asking for his hand in marriage, A letter from Aleister Crowley himself, people asking if this is the true form of Germans, people asking him to curse their enemies, kids sending him letters telling him to make sure the krampus does not bother anyone this year, and so on and so on and so on. Poor boy is overwhelmed.

[spookytoonz]

I love your mutant mirror imposter au! It has such a good art and good story! Now I'm curious.....does Trixie regret anything she did? Like does she regret what she did with the water because how it hurt so many innocent ponies?

Also...sorry just when I'm super excited about a story, I get this urge to try to excitedly guess what happens next....I'm kinda curious if, at some point, the infection tries to get her either as another casual victim or if something crazy happens like....the mutated twilight can sense the type of magic used on the mirror pool and now is hunting for the one who casted that spell....being like 'you caused me this agony, I am now a husk of who I once was....well...if I am to be a husk of who I once was...I will make you a husk as well.'

Just mind goes into excitement overload lol! Apologies if this was annoying or anything lol...hope ya like guess/ideas lol!

Omg, first of all, thank you so much 😭💕 that makes me so happy knowing people are so interested in my au!!

Now about Trixie, she’s not like EVIL in this au as she didn’t think that the spell would have such a dramatic effect, so she does have her regrets and stresses over being responsible for the whole thing. As said in other posts, she is trying to find a cure and gathering research to undo the whole thing and trying to appear as a ‘hero’- but she never wants anyone to find out that she started it. Trixie is truly disturbed by what she has seen & fears becoming infected herself.

Also, that is a really cool prediction, I love seeing other people’s takes on the au but I can’t talk very much into it so I don’t spoil too much 😅

[samasmith23]

I always thought that it was ironically fitting that when Bolivar Trask first created the Sentinel robots to try and hunt down and destroy mutants, his creations almost immediately turned on their creator and threatened to conquer and enslave the human race as a whole.

In essence, Trask ended up creating the ACTUAL threat to humanity that he falsely labeled mutants to be:

As Stan Lee so eloquently narrated at the end of the 3-part storyline which introduced the Sentinels:

“Beware the fanatic! Too often his cure is deadlier by far than the evil he denounces!”

That's a message that sadly continues to be increasingly relevant with the current ongoing resurgence of fascism and far-right extremism worldwide...

From X-Men (1963) #14 & #16 by Stan Lee & Jack Kirby

[aealzx]

Omigosh ! Shame on me, I've only just noticed that you've done a written version of your comic. Or, at least, extra scenes and the sequel after Donnie becomes himself again.

I've read the first two parts with Raph looking after the recovering Donnie. How can I express my appreciation and admiration for your work? Your drawing style is amazing but your writing style is so descriptive and emotional. I can feel the brotherly love between the turtles, Splinter's love for his children.

You're doing an incredible job, I just had to tell you that.

I hope we get to see more of Disaster Twins after Better Genes.

Oh by the way, what's the reason for the title? Really curious about that.

And that's all I wanted to tell you. I also hope you are doing well !

Take care of yourself 💕✨

Ahhhhhhh no shame no shame XDDD That first post isn’t even like a week old, it’s no big deal at all. You’re totally fine.

Awwwww I’m so glad you enjoy it XDD Honestly comments are enough for me. My receiving love language is totally words of affirmation, so really, just comments pointing out one thing you liked is enough to give me a hit of happy chemicals for a whole hour or more XDD So euguuuuhhh ;V; Thank youuuuuuu omg, I’ve never really had my writing being complimented so much and have always felt like it was rather…scattered and subpar compared to “the good stuff” that makes people notice. So having it pointed out just TVT thank youuuuu. I’m glad the emotions bleed out well enough.

Thank you againnnn

Leo and Donnie being twins is one of my favorite fan headcanons I’ve adopted and looove to play with. But I also just love the dynamics between the entire family, so I end up bouncing around and none of the dous grab my attention permanently. That being said, I do have another Leo and Donnie section planned, as well as Raph and Mikey, Donnie and Mikey, and Carol in there too. XDD

As for the title XDD huuuu that’s a bit hard to explain. Mostly Better Genes is because the concept of double mutated Donnie was ripped from three TMNT 2003 episodes titled “Adventures in Turtle Sitting”, and “Good Genes” part 1 and 2. So I wanted people to know that I was referencing to those episodes, but didn’t want to have my stuff come up when searching those episodes. So I switched Good for Better XDD

But, I also went with Better Genes because it’s a more buried part of the story bit. The rottmnt boys were planned mutants, so it makes sense that they would be designed to have various ehhhhh plus points or whatever you call them. Enhanced strength, speed, etc. One of those that made sense to me was Draxum not wanting people to mess with his design, so I had the thought that Draxum made it so the boys’ genetics couldn’t be tampered with because their own genes would fight off anything that wasn’t part of the original design. 

These two sections kind of touch on that idea:

The reason Donnie was able to create a cure on his own within the vague time limit is because he wasn’t creating something brand new from scratch. His own immune system was trying to fight off the mutagen, it just was being overwhelmed. So he just isolated his own antibodies, and made more of them. And after that his own immune system was able to beat the mutagen, so he’s the one with the better genes X’D

Hope that made sense |D

Thanks again for the note 8DDDD I’m doing great, just eternally tired like everyone else. X’DD

Take care too~ Get yourself a treat if you want.

[crascet]

X-Men Movie Tier List Update- Deadpool

Let's first go back to Origins for a second here. In the character's film debut, Wade Wilson was shown as a really good mercenary with a snarky, wisecracking attitude that annoys people around him, which is typical to how he is in the comics. At first, people thought this would be a good adaption of Deadpool, but then...

... yeah, fans of Deadpool were really not into this. So, 7 years later, they rebooted the character, making him more comic accurate and made Deadpool the movie.

Already, this movie tells you that this is a very unserious, fun, rated R movie just from the freeze frame car crash, with the Juice Newton song and opening credits such as "God's Perfect Idiot" (followed by a picture of Reynolds on a People magazine with "World's Sexiest Man" on it), "An Evil British Guy," and "A Fully CGI Character." This whole sequence just establishes the tone right-off-the-bat, and the movie follows that greatly.

Reynolds as Wade does a great job here, and not just with the comedic parts. This movie just shows that Wade is not just some comedic side character, but as someone with more depth to him, mostly tragic. In the first flashback of the movie, it shows Wade as a merc-for-hire with at least a moral code with his first job in the movie being to stop a teenage stalker of a teenage girl free of charge while also not killing him, just threatening him to stop doing it. Wade is not a great guy, but he's also not the worst. He's... decent, suffice it to say.

The relationship between Wade and Vanessa is also just a very nice relationship between two messed up people with messed up lives just loving each other, by being nerds and mostly through sex, but if that's not a true love, then I don't know what is. This going into Wade's reaction to hearing he has late-stage cancer is both sad and also realistic, since when people hear that they have a terminal disease, the last thing they want to see are their loved ones suffering emotionally, which is why he went out to that black market organization to get a cure for his cancer, leaving Vanessa.

Ajax/Francis is a real asshole and this movie shows you that with how cruel he is towards Wade in wanting to activate his X-gene, which when activated, gives Wade a sort of healing factor since it is implied that Wade was injected by Logan's blood, which may have been stored since Apocalypse in that post-credit scene for that movie, but also radically altered his appearance to have his cancer cells come up to the surface of his skin. This pretty much makes it hard for him to come back to Vanessa, especially with how he left her when she was sleeping one night. So now it's sort of a revenge movie with him trying to find Francis and find a way for him to look normal again. Also, the whole reason for Francis taunting Wade with "What's my name?" being all about wanting control over Wade, since Wade found out his actual name by snatching his laundromat tag on his lab coat without him knowing is interesting.

The characters here are pretty good too. Colossus comes back and he's essentially what mainstream PG-13 superhero movies are: clean, always do the right thing types that people are familiar with, he even has an inspirational speech to Wade on how he shouldn't kill his enemies especially to Francis at the end of the movie... which didn't do anything to Wade since again, he's not a great guy, and just kills Francis. Colossus being this trope is good since that's what he usually is in the comics. Negasonic Teenage Warhead is pretty cool here with not only her cool as hell name but how she also has the New Mutants suit. Vanessa is good here as a crude spin on the love interest character who is also capable for herself since she can fight an gotten herself free thanks to Wade's katanas in the final act. Weasel is good here as a nice friend to Wade and has some funny moments in here, same goes to Dopinder and of course, Blind Al who is the best character here.

This movie is also just funny in general. From the opening sequence to the introduction to Colossus to Wade going through NTW's jerkish attitude of either doing long sullen silences or hurtful comments and that one time he calls her Ripley from Alien 3 to the hand regrowing scene to Wade's scenes with Dopinder to Wade's unmasking in the ending to Vanessa, only with a picture of Hugh Jackman stapled to his face and let's not forget, Blind Al.

Also, bonus points for using Careless Whispers from Wham! (WHAM!)

A simple, but fun movie with crude jokes and a good appreciation to Deadpool that goes so far as even including Bob. A good placement on B, just behind The Wolverine. Speaking of which, the next movie is what is considered not just the best X-Men movie here, but one of the best superhero films ever, in the sort of adaption of Old Man Logan as we see him be one of the last mutants still surviving in a world where most mutants are dead, but has him protecting someone way younger than him, but went through the same situations as him as well as the next generation of mutants, for the next movie is Logan.

[stormxpadme]

Whumptober 2023 No. 24 - If only I could dream in a little less colour

Scogan Bingo challenge Neighbors AU

Scott would have easily made it in time if it hadn’t been for Charles of course using the excuse of today's date for a courtesy call, meaning yet another badly disguised attempt at trying and get Scott to change his mind. And these kinds of conversations you didn’t want to have on your mobile on the street and the subway unless you wanted half of New York to learn, you happened to be both a former teacher in a mutant school and the no-longer aspiring leader of a mutant military group not too long weeks ago. Not a good idea, with how, once more, alarmingly mutant-unfriendly the mood in general public felt lately, especially since the news of the Cure had broken.

It took Scott almost 20 minutes before he managed to end that damn call as just hanging up on his foster father would only have meant being forced, having to continue the argument telepathically. By that time, he had to all but run to the elevator to not lose even more precious time. And that was how he came to make the first crucial decision that night, upon realizing that said outdated transport cabin luckily was right on his floor, only its doors were just about to close. "Wait! Hold it, please!" Much to his annoyance, whoever was inside the lift ignored his shout so that he had to go even faster, slipping through the far too narrow gap between the closing doors at the last moment. Another day, he might have given an irritated comment about rudeness but with both his anxiety and his excitement about the upcoming procedure at the City Hall growing by the second, he wasn’t feeling like starting a fight right now.

Not to mention that one glance at the guy at the other side of the cabin let Scott know, he'd probably only have gotten a grunt for an answer anyway. It was the maintenance guy. Figured. Scott had only run into that certain, notoriously nonverbal neighbor a couple of times since moving in here but that had been enough for quickly deciding that giving that attractive muscular, slightly stocky shape any attention? Best to be filed under delusional fantasies, judging by the utter lack of interest in interacting with the building tenants that this dude displayed. Probably he'd only found himself thinking about that rugged, remarkably handsome face more than once lately in the first place because he'd seen the guy get himself hurt pushing waste containers one day from afar, and promptly instantly heal.

Not something Scott had had expected, but for the sake of his already skyrocketing paranoia about Charles possibly sending someone after him to spy on him, he'd decided that in a city overpopulated with all kinds of enhanced like this … It wasn’t that unusual, two mutants living in the same fairly huge apartment complex.

Either way, for feral guy, Scott didn’t have any patience for right now. Not with how especially slowly this damn elevator crept downwards today. It was only when he paced the small space unusually restlessly for his usual control of body and mind, and something crunched under his boot, that he realized, the dirty PVC ground was covered with lanterns and garlands in probably a whole range of flashy colors that Scott couldn’t make out thanks to his glasses. Given the occasion, the words that the half-torn and scrambled letters on some of them spelled out were still easy to guess. So this was where all that stuff had ended up that had brightened the grey, homogenous corridors of the apartment hallways just a few hours ago still.

"Yeah, I took it down. Big fucking deal," the stranger hissed, apparently noticing Scott's confused frown. "Not allowed on general space anyway. Fire hazard and shit. I'm not getting my paycheck cut for some holiday kitsch."

Scott held up one hand in surrender, determined not to let anyone ruin was what supposed to be his best day since he'd fallen out of an exploding plain as a kid with his baby brother in his arms. "Not my decorations." Another restless glance at his watch let him know he had still two more minutes to get to the station right outside the door which usually should be more than sufficient. Except every single street of this city would be overcrowded today, and with Scott always having to make painstakingly sure to keep his distance from other people if he didn’t want to risk any accidents with his glasses … For example, like almost tripping over his own nervous feet when the elevator cabin suddenly came to a halt, between two floors, and most of the half-blind neon spots on the ceiling went out. His brain needed a moment to catch on before new worry landed a solid blow to his punch, not unlike all these hits he'd been taking in the combat training he'd been undergoing from the age of fifteen on. "What the …? Oh no, no, no, this cannot be happening right now. I got a damn appointment."

When janitor guy, alarmingly unfazed, had the nerve to reach for a cigar in his shirt pocket before sitting down on the narrow bench on the cabin's side with a resigned sigh, Scott let out a growl of his own at the man for once. With two hectic steps, he was at the emergency phone on the wall, only to find that there wasn’t even a dial tone. "What …? This thing's dead!"

"Bub, you seen this place before you moved in here? Why do you think rent's so low? Everything in here is kept together by superglue and goodwill." The stranger lit his cigar, entirely ignoring the warning glare of red from behind Scott's glasses.

"Well, that's just great. So how about you call these people who write your checks on your mobile then?"

"You ever look at your calendar this morning, shades guy? Or out of the window? Who exactly do you think works today?" The man rested one leg on the other knee in continuous, nerve-wracking patience, a half-amused, half-lenient grin on his lips when Scott, in spite of his growing trepidation, couldn’t help but stare at the fascinating game of those thick thigh muscles under a worn, far too tight pair of jeans.

"Pretty sure a couple of guys with fancy car sirens do." Not ready to give up, Scott reached for his own phone though part of him already knew better. He'd indeed been very well aware when he'd left the comfortably wealthy life at Charles' behind, that a big city came not only with safe anonymity but also with the according social and technical issues, including those of the only place he could afford on his new small garage shop salary. Far too much lead in the walls causing basically non-existent reception in the hallways was just one of those. "Fuck!"

"You are the kid who moved into 5B last month, right? You seriously didn’t get stuck in here yet?" The stranger raised his brows at him when Scott continued to walk through the cabin with one hand clenched into a fist, feverishly going through possible options in his head.

"Some people like to keep their body healthy and use the stairs." Scott got only even more pissed off, not least because of the still-burning cigar. If he'd had his damn VISOR on him, he might have shot the simmering tip off just on principle. But not to mention, janitor dude on his part surely had no idea that they were part of the same species, Scott couldn’t even focus on seriously complaining right now. Not when he was dreading more and more, not making it to his meeting in time, and had no idea when he'd be invited to a new one. With those feelings, he seemed to be alone in this lift though. "You really don’t give a fuck about being stuck, huh?"

"Why should I? I don't got an appointment." With that, the stranger went back to smoking, staring up at the semi-darkness of the empty shaft above them through the grated ceiling.

There was an idea at least. The walls of this damn building were paper-thin which Scott knew thanks to already being perfectly able to tell when his neighbor on his left came home to scream at his wife about unpaid pills and when the prostitute on the other side of the hall started working. Maybe if he could get someone's attention, they could call 911 … "Hello? Anyone out there? Guys, this is 5B! Elevator's down! Hello? Guys, this is really urgent! I really need to get downtown! Can anyone hear me?" For a few more seconds, he listened to the silence almost deafening thanks to the broken elevator motor and a building probably basically empty thanks to everyone out partying already, only his own quickening, uneven breathing sounding through the cabin, and the unnerving long drags on that damn cigar from a few feet away … When nothing but silence was the answer, and a surprisingly compassionate headshake from the stranger, as the guy's surely enhanced senses could probably make it out that there wasn’t anyone within earshot, Scott cowered down on the cabin floor, trying to get his breathing under control and not to let the threatening panic choke him.

****

"Still nothing." Once he'd gotten his heartbeat back under control, Scott threw another glance at his phone display, without any hope, but still couldn’t see a single bar.

He probably deserved the next shrug from that bench over there that didn’t need a translation into feral to know which two words it expressed.

Fine. Waiting it was then. He could still make it to the City Hall if someone from the outside would notice the elevator not working anytime soon and call help. Even with so many residents not being at home, that was a pretty surefire bet. Scott had been seldom so grateful for the exact habit that had annoyed Jean so much in the end, of always overplanning things and never going anywhere without a generous time window if he could. He just needed to keep his mind focused on the task at hand lest he'd possibly start overthinking again what he was so dead set on doing tonight, after it had taken him so long to make this decision in the first place. Means of distraction, sadly, weren’t really available for the moment. Well, if anything, this stupid situation at least offered another chance at finding out more about this mysterious stranger whose damn name Scott still didn’t even know. "So, no going out on your part today?"

"I'm not a masochist." The man let out a huff and vaguely gestured towards the building exits. "Why would anyone of their sane mind hit town on New Year's? All these primitives out there who can't hold their liquor, starting fights left and right? Not exactly safe for the likes of us." Well, that answered the question if the guy had guessed by now why Scott didn’t take off his glasses in spite of the cabin's bad lighting. "This is basically a war zone out there, and I've seen enough of those in my time. Got enough entries on my police records already, too," the man added after a, this time dejected-looking, nibble on his cigar. "Holding cells got really shitty beds. Maybe you shouldn’t be in such a hurry to get your cute ass wasted tonight. At least not out there."

"No such luck," Scott gave back with a tired smile. "Told you, I got somewhere to be. I don't fault people for getting a little overexcited tonight. I'm one of them. I'm not thrilled that they could do the damn appointment only tonight, but when you get a freebie for something that usually costs a couple of thousand bucks, you don’t question."

"Hm." The man didn’t seem convinced and didn’t ask, either, but Scott hadn’t really expected that. "Getting up your hopes is never healthy, Shades. Especially tonight. Just one big damn letdown, usually. You build up these huge expectations and wake up with a hangover and disappointed to the bone the next day."

"Whatever." Scott had enough of this pessimistic bullshit. Rolling his eyes, he'd spotted a detail possibly useful in the massive grates up there. Suddenly filled with new energy, he jumped back to his feet and stretched up on his toes. But even with his considerable height, he couldn’t make out what he needed to see thanks to the disturbing quartz coating of his glasses, as the damn cabin had quite a high ceiling. "I think I can shoot the lock of this hatch." He quickly calculated the bill for a possible repair on said access grate in his head and decided, he could cover that with his next paycheck. Which still left him with another problem though. That shaft behind the exit was looking awfully narrow and winding for someone with his stature, slimmer since he was no longer encouraged to work out like a madman every night at the in-house gym but still towering over most other people. "Think you can climb through this tunnel to the hallway?"

The man looked at him as if he'd just grown a second head. "I look like Spider-Man to you?"

Scott eyed him from head to toe just to be a pain, doing his best to hide that in his opinion, the guy had actually a better physique than said famous web-crawler. Dude's ego was surely big enough already. "Hardly. Don’t worry, I'll get your job done for you. Just give me a lift so I can see better. I don’t want to hit a damn cable by accident. Would you hurry? Unlike you, I don't got all day," he snapped, agitation already taking over again when the stranger made no move to get up.

"You need therapy, you know." Sighing deeply, janitor dude finally approached him and wrapped his arms around Scott's waist which promptly sent a surge of unexpected heat through his veins, at the sensation of the steel cords of muscles playing under those thick arms and the warmth radiating off that strong body. The latter being a very welcome change to the winter coldness seeping in through the ramshackle building walls.

Scott called himself to order and sent his juvenile hormones where they belonged. "That thing's full of cobwebs and dirt. I can't see shit. Give me your phone, or mine. I need some light up here." He wriggled a little in the stranger's ridiculously easy hold on him to get to said device in his jacket pocket. A movement which promptly let the badge with his patient name and number that he was already wearing on his belt, slip from under the dark leather.

"The fuck …?" Instead of following the new instruction, the stranger suddenly let go of him so quickly that Scott dropped back to his feet with a thud, an almost disgusted look on his face as he stared at said badge with the stylized clinic's W logo on it. "You're one of the cowards volunteering for that Cure scam? That's your big plan for tonight? Betraying what we are and helping normal people wipe us all off the face of the Earth soon just because you need a couple more Ray Bans than the rest of us?"

Scott stared at the guy in new anger, both fists clenched hard by his sides this time, the pressure of his boiling emotions nurturing the power of his blasts behind his glasses to a point where a hated throb emerged behind his eyes. For seconds, he was looking in his usually not-that-limited vocabulary for any kind of fitting retort, for an insult big enough for this condescending bastard to articulate … But not a single word wanted to pass his lips, not least because it was a bad idea, getting in a possible physical fight with a feral in a confined space, especially one likely to have them both drop to their death if they made too much noise in here. Scott turned away from the stranger, deflated. So much for an interesting new acquaintance. A night for huge expectations turning into the biggest disappointments indeed. He could have tried, sure. Have the same useless debates all over that he'd left Mutant High with against the urgings, warnings, and admonishments of all his friends, his mentor, and the woman he'd once thought to love … But if these people who'd known him for years, already refused to understand, how could he expect a stranger to? Apparently, it was up to fate anyway if Scott would even get a chance to go through with this, at least tonight. He took his place on the ground by the corner again and shut his mouth.

****

"Look, I shouldn’t have said that." The stranger made it through exactly five minutes of the icy silence before speaking up again with an exasperated sigh. Apparently even someone usually so disinterested in social contacts started to feel a little cramped after a while, stuck in a place like this. "Politics have just been scary lately, you know that as well as I do. Thinking what those half-cooked drugs might do to the ones among our kind who can no longer deal with the pressure just pisses me off. I never had good experiences with normal people experimenting on the likes of us. I shouldn’t have taken that out on you. You really wanna give me the silent treatment now for as long as it takes until they find us?"

"Not sure. You really wanna hear what I'm thinking right now? About you?" Scott gave back, still insulted and offended, not to mention more pissed about missing his damn appointment by the second. Unleashing these negative feelings on the next person within reach wasn’t entirely fair, especially since the guy did have something of a point, he supposed, but it wasn’t like the world had ever been fair to him. When the janitor just shrugged at him once more, tilting his head expectantly, he let out a snort and got up again, crossing his arms in challenge. "Well, by your accent, I'm guessing you grew up somewhere in bumfuck Canadian nowhere. Feral like you, shaped for battle by nature but mentally far too much out of control for regular duty? You surely signed up for the next best merc group the moment you were legal. After a couple of kills too many for the wrong side, you found out you had a conscience and deserted. You didn’t have the motivation for a real job though, so you let them pay you for keeping this ruin here together while you smoke and drink your days away. And because you fucked up so much in your life, you think you're not worth any warmth and happiness from anyone around you. So you bite people away before they do as much as give you a second glance. Oh, and also?" Scott had talked himself into a frenzy and just had to get it out, maybe just because the guy had let him down so much a minute ago, and even though the dude had turned suspiciously pale on his bench over there, entirely forgetting about his smoke. It was rude and spiteful and not like Scott at all, but fearing that the only chance at his happiness was just being blown out of this damn shaft, he was on the verge of losing all that self-control and polite distance to people he'd taught himself ever since mutating. Not like that had ever gotten him anywhere anyway. "Your New Year's allergy? I bet some high school jock with the IQ of toast let you down at midnight like 20 years ago, and now you think everyone you meet has to pay for that. Am I close?"

"Alberta," the stranger answered flatly, looking him in the eye as if he could see right through his glasses. By his hunched shoulders and that terrible emptiness suddenly in his gravelly voice, Scott could easily read that his thoughts were miles from this cabin suddenly.

Already, the bad conscience for his outburst hit like a freight train. "Huh?"

"Alberta, Canada. Can't tell you where exactly. I lost my memory five years ago. Been trying to find any clues ever since. No such luck. Moved here when I was getting tired of cage fighting to make a living. Some old mental dude in a wheelchair upstate New York found me on the road someday and helped me get the job. Dude probably still thinks I'll return the favor and help his little facility of sleeper agents out with some fight someday or something. Whatever. Never heard from him again and I'm not interested, frankly. I've had enough of war all my life from all I can remember. When you're supposedly more than a hundred years old, you've seen a few."

"A hundred …?" Scott's eyes went wide, the shock about the almost casual mention of his old home, of his former mentor from someone maybe not a stranger at all, almost immediately forgotten. Charles … Goddamnit, Scott should have known that the guy would find some way to make sure, he'd still be in some way in Scott's life, watching him, even if it was just by casually placing him in the same damn house as some old acquaintance. That was something Scott would have to think over long and hard once he'd no longer be busy with tonight's far more important plans. The next call with Westchester would definitely not be a friendly one. But for the moment, he neither found the energy to even tell the stranger about his suspicions nor to dwell on that new aggression of being constantly manipulated by his foster father. Not in the light of another, almost even more astonishing revelation from that stranger. Scott wasn’t even entirely sure why the guy was suddenly being so candid to him of all people. Or maybe he did know; maybe the two of them ending up here together did have a reason he also would have no chance to think about before tomorrow came. But that, too, was overshadowed by his sheer amazement and the shame about how much he'd really misjudged this stranger. Sure, he'd known in theory that ferals could get really old without hardly aging at all, but suddenly facing one of these people then … Facing the sheer weight of grief and history such a person carried, even when the latter was lost apparently, that ball of pure depression and frustration of a person there on the other side of the cabin … That was a whole different deal. Charles was a lying asshole, but Scott had to admit reluctantly, his mentor probably hadn’t been off about at least some of his lectures in the course of his years anyway. Including all those about restraint and a good, firm check on Scott's emotions, especially when he didn’t have all the information on a situation yet.

Before he could think of a badly needed apology, the stranger looked up again with that terrible lost expression in a pair of sunken dark eyes, a hard tug around broad lips that let the guy look older than his genes should allow. "And no. It was right after deserting that my arch-enemy killed the girl right in front of my eyes just to hurt me. That's one of the memories not even amnesia couldn’t wipe out. Fireworks had just started if you need to know. That made it easier. Drowned out the screams."

And just like that, Scott suddenly seriously considered cutting a hole in that damn floor below him and climbing out towards the nearest exit never to return. Talk about putting his damn foot in his mouth.

******

When the silence became too deafening, Scott started talking again, not least to maybe try to make it clear to the stranger why he'd just been such an ass. And also because he felt it wouldn’t have been fair, leaving him in the dark about them both having been used from afar by the same person in some way.

Janitor guy didn’t seem too surprised by his story, not even really commenting on it save for a bitter snort and a headshake, which in turn probably shouldn’t surprise Scott. Ferals came with a brilliant set of instincts usually, especially regarding people they shouldn’t trust.

That was something Scott especially on this night once more wished he would have had himself. "Xavier took me in after I'd made it on my own in foster homes and on the streets for a couple of years. At that time, I was far too grateful for that to realize, the guy just needed someone to lead the new strike team he was building. Don’t get me wrong, I'm still grateful to him, and I don't think it's a bad thing what he's doing, trying to keep the peace between our kind and normal humans. But I already got a mutation that doesn’t leave me the freedom of choice in many regards. After the first few missions and when my relationship with a teammate fell apart because work and fun don’t go together for me, apparently … I realized I'd never actually stopped to think if this was what I wanted. Guess that is what I came here for to find out. To see if there's another path in my life I want to take. And now I think I found one."

The stranger regarded him thoughtfully over the edge of his cigar that he'd somehow forgotten to light again in the last few minutes, and patted the bench next to him invitingly. "Logan. My name. Or just call me idiot, I guess," he said with a rueful grin when Scott dropped next to him. A mutually apologetic nod exchanged had the last of hard feelings fade away. "Scott, right? Well, let me tell you from experience, when it comes to decisions like this, I think is awfully vague. For how long have you had these?" He nodded at Scott's glasses with still that pensive frown.

"I was twelve. It happened shortly after my parents died and my brother vanished. That plane crash rendered the control over those damn blasts useless, for a lifetime, from all that Charles' doctors could find out." Scott rubbed his eyes under his glasses as he felt his headache grow stronger as if his mutation wanted to comment on the whole situation … or rear up in protest because it knew exactly what was coming tonight. Hopefully. "When I heard about the Cure, that was when I started questioning my role with Charles. I know there's no guarantee it even works, and there's no long-term studies yet but … Thing is, I didn’t think I would even get a chance at a shot so quickly. I just won the damn ticket when they did one of these case study lotteries. That's not a chance you waste. I'm not proud of running, Logan. I've been fighting for our race, for our cause, for years. But …" He paused, leaning his head back against the elevator wall, not sure he could make it clear to someone with enhanced senses and a healing factor erasing every pain and injury within seconds, what he had to deal with.

He actually expected Logan to try and talk him out of this again. Instead, the guy brushed the back of Scott's hand where it was tensely clenching on his jeans. He was even nice enough to ignore Scott's heart immediately beating faster in his chest again. "Show me?"

"Yeah, not happening." With a strained chuckle, Scott bravely fought his increasingly impure thoughts at the sight of those really beautiful pair of lips, those soulful eyes so close to him now. "The only device that keeps these blasts somewhat in check is in my apartment. You don't want to catch one of these by accident, believe me, healing factor or not. I've hurt too many people before when I didn’t close my eyes quickly enough; not gonna do that again."

"You can hold them back with your body though, right?" Logan reached up for a just as short touch along the straps of his glasses on Scott's temple, the cigar vanished somewhere in his jacket for good. "Come on, use your fingers. Take these apart for me?" He nodded down on the heap of decorations on the floor. "We ain't got nothing to do in here but party tricks for the moment. And you'd do me a favor, honestly."

Because such a thin blast through two fingertips with one eye admittedly was one of his easier tricks, and because Logan seemed truly interested, Scott finally gave in, shooting paper and plastic to his feet into particles before quickly slipping his glasses back into place. "What about you?" he asked with a weak grin when his new friend stared at the pitiful remains of those decorations with large eyes, back to being speechless again for a moment.

Logan silently got up, standing on the bench to stretch to the damn hatch. With a bright, menacing snikt-sound, a blade of pure metal protruded from between his knuckles, neatly cutting the lock in two.

"Just in case you still want to pull that stunt," he remarked dryly, sitting down again when Scott stared back and forth between him and the grate with his mouth ajar.

"I think I'll pass." The damn appointment for the moment almost forgotten, Scott couldn’t help but reach out to that rough feeling spot at the back of Logan's hand where only a faint trail of body fluid the same color as his glasses spoke of the already closed injury from that claw. "That's gotta hurt like a bitch."

"Not usually the first thing people wonder about if they see them," Logan stated quietly after long stunned seconds, his hand slowly turning to grab Scott's before he could pull it away. "And you? You're in pain too. Your breathing's off," he explained with a weak smile when Scott gasped.

"It's … something I'm used to," Scott answered after a moment of hesitation, staring down at their linked fingers, entirely at a loss about why he didn’t pull away. Maybe this long-missed touch of someone caring about him, beyond how useful he could be to them, just felt far too good. Especially while he tried to put into words what he'd been so determined to no longer question this morning. "I just started wondering at some point if I really had to when there was maybe another way. That constant pressure from the blasts being held back … That's one thing. But always being a danger to people and never being able to see the world for what it really is … When the invitation for my Cure shot came, for tonight, of all days …" He tilted his head back again, with a longing stare into the darkness, at the building ceiling over which the first quiet bangs of isolated rockets going off early had started to sound, loud enough even for non-enhanced ears. "It felt like fate. It's been a decade since I was last allowed to see a firework, Logan. I haven’t entirely forgotten yet how beautiful they are. Sometimes I wonder if it would be easier if I did, if I no longer saw colors in my dreams and memory. I want to take this chance before I forget completely."

"Dunno, bub." Logan unexpectedly let go of him, that skeptical darkness and a now very clear hint of worry returning to his tense posture as he lit his cigar again. "As far as I'm concerned? You see a lot clearer than most people I've met in my life."

To that, Scott didn’t know what to say so he decided to stay silent again for a while.

*****

With the time window shrinking by the second, resignation set in at some point. When the noise of the fireworks outside grew louder and louder, Scott didn’t even dare check his phone for the time anymore, the depressing silence starting to become painful. "Doesn’t seem like we'll be found anytime soon. Too bad you made me ruin those decorations. Here I was just thinking we could have our own party."

"Told ya, I don’t do New Year's." Logan chuckled, the argument that wasn’t even really one fortunately over.

"All the more a reason to replace those horrible memories of yours with better dreams." Gathering all his courage, Scott reached for Logan's hand again, his heart immediately hammering in his chest when an increasingly interested, curious glance met his, the man next to him licking his lips in a gesture almost too brief to notice … if you hadn’t been waiting or it. "Come on! Ball's dropping only once a year. Not sure about the time, but people do usually kiss at midnight, right?"

"No idea. I'm not a traditional guy as you might have noticed," Logan warned him, but it came with a lot less bite this time. "Since we are in this together, though …" And without having to talk much about it, they both knew, that wasn’t only true for their little predicament in this damn cabin tonight. But those were matters early enough talked about again tomorrow. It was far more interesting suddenly how those beautiful lips looked from up close, slightly opened as they were slowly approaching …

And then the damn elevator cabin started to move again.

Scott wasn’t finished yet cursing all the damn fortune gods of this verse by the time they reached the ground floor to a crowd of impatient other tenants already waiting. Some technician in a grey uniform grinned at them proudly, for having been so fast, and there was even someone Logan knew, judging by the exhausted groan on his lips.

"The fuck are you doing here, Wade?"

"Getting you to the party I told you about of course. Since you didn’t answer your phone, I came here to see what was up. You should thank me." The guy who was obviously off to a costume ball, judging by the red and black latex suit covering both his body and face. Wrapping his arm around Logan's shoulders, he entirely ignored his friend's reluctance and warning growls, dragging him with him towards the exit. "Who's that cute ass over there? You two made good use of that hour in the cabin, huh?"

"Shut it, Wade. Get out of here. Told ya, I'm not coming." Logan pushed the overly excited weirdo out the front door and turned back to Scott, looking definitely a little regretful himself about the sudden end of their little adventure. "So. You can still make it to City Hall, I think."

"Yeah, gotta run." Only Scott didn’t feel like saying goodbye yet, not like this, not after what had almost just happened. "How about I buy us a bottle of booze on my way home? We could watch a movie or something."

"From all I heard about those drugs, you'll spend the next two weeks puking your guts out, bub. But if you're still game after that … Apartment 1C." At least no longer that aggressive about Scott's choice, Logan pulled him in for a hug, this time not even sparing his friend a glance who was already sticking his head through that door again, whistling at them. "No one can take this decision off your shoulders, Shades. Might wanna remember though that new chances don't expire at midnight on New Year's. Just don’t do something you might regret. Now get the hell out of here."

"Going." Quickly turning away before the other man could see the returning unsettled frown on his face and possibly throw him off balance for good, Scott hurried away.

****

Somehow, he'd known, the whole time. Maybe he'd even hoped for it a little. In any case, the last tears of humiliation about the disparaging comments from these damn doctor hacks immediately dried behind Scott's glasses when he left the City Hall behind and suddenly saw Logan standing right before him, softly pulling him back into his arms as if not a second had passed since they'd parted in the hallway.

"Still got your Ray Bans, huh?" It wasn’t a question and certainly not one of surprise.

"I balked when they came with the needle," Scott admitted, shuddering in the stranger's arms at the memory of these cold sterile facilities, all these people who were so eager to reduce the number of mutants on this planet as quickly and thoroughly as possible … Christ, what had he been thinking? "I told them I needed more time to think. They said, if I go now, I wouldn’t need to bother coming back. And that I was ruining my only chance at a proper, normal life."

"I hoped you blasted them in their stupid asses." Logan growled at that building as if he was about to storm it and rip all people and equipment for this special procedure parade of the Worthington Labs tonight there to pieces.

Scott decided they could both find something better to do on the last night of the year than spending time in a holding cell and buried his hands wordlessly in Logan's hair to pull him down for a kiss. It was a fantastic, mindblowing first touch full of yearning and bliss, and greed that only ended when the increasing number of fireworks and the deafening cheers from the distance let them know, the ball had dropped at Time Square. "Happy New Year, stranger."

*******************************************************************************

@whumptober | @whumptober-archive

@scoganbingo

[1-up-chump]

Assorted fallout 4 companion opinions

Preston is not boring he's simple. He's just a guy trying his best to do good in a fucked world and he's hanging by a thread. It's not his fault bethesda radiant quests suck.

Strong is wasted potential as a character. He should have been more than a dumb brute companion with the only difference being "he's not aggressive to you" he should have been a rather "smarter than the average mutant" and know a lot of advanced words and how to properly apply them (but mispronouncing them terribly) due to his interest in literature.

A super mutant who does super mutant things but can wax poetic about his POV as a mutant would've been a great companion. I know the "milk of kindness" being taken literally is a joke but honestly i was expecting strong to eventually "get it" and figure out why human so strong is bc of compassion that helps them lead a group and not a show of brute strength (which is why strong thought fist was a terrible leader bc he didn't care about his brothers, but with his dialogue it seems like he only cares about your ability to kill as long as you dont say mean things?) and like, Maybe strong is a bit NICER to travel with and his opinions could change to thinking humans are decent at most.

Nick should have had more side quests involving him. More mysteries to solve, hell i had an idea for at least a mod quest that if you side with the institute a scientist who's interested in older tech to improve advanced tech offers to fix the holes in nick's synth skin bc C'mon we are traveling the god damn commonwealth full of trash, irradiated water, and bullets from who knows where like how has nick not gotten some radroaches trying to make a nest in his chest cavity. It would make for some great dialogue and philosophy of "are you content with yourself even if you could fix some problems? What are you willing to trade off?" And give players options while hearing out both sides.

Piper also should have more side quests involving interviews with certain characters, maybe after completing certain quests you can go back to them with piper and maybe get additional quests involving old ones to tie loose ends? Or the very least have an opportunity for your character to voice their opinion on the events

Maccready. WHERE IS HIS SON????? i DID ALL THAT FOR THE GUY JUST FOR HIM TO KEEP FUCKING AROUND WITH ME AND NOT GO TO HIS DAMN SON??? Now it sounds super awful to say but the only possible outcome for his story to conclude is, macready leaves the commonwealth for a few days, and in a few days daisy wants to talk to you and she says to talk to maccready in the third rail. Turns out when maccready left to ensure the cure gets to his son, it was too late. The man is in an awful state and you gotta pass a few charisma checks to keep him in the commonwealth as a companion.

Gage. It makes some sense for him to turn on you too when you open season the raider leaders. HOWEVER, the leaders were needy dicks anyways and YOU'RE the boss so why can't you: replace the gang leaders with someone else you personally like OR Tell gage "im the boss, you got me here, you deal with me. You're lucky i like you so much" and establish dominance and give gage a sexual awakening. Gage will hate you for a few moments but ultimately with everything he said to you about his views and personal code he has to agree that you really are better/worse than colter.

That or bully him into being not a raider by either saying "do you REALLY wanna fight me?" Or "being a raider sucks this is actually beneficial for everyone even assholes like you" like the whole of nuka world would've been cooler to be like an actual fleshed out raider and not generic "haha im mean" but a "if its kill or be killed then im gonna kill the status quo to become god"

Cait is perfect in every way ngl i have nothing else to say about her except i love her

[obsidiancreates]

Heart of Gold (Pushed Too Far)

Raph hates when Leo goes solo. It's constant, it's always stressful, it deprives the whole team of a valuable member. Sure, Raph's been known to try the solo thing himself as well, but never in the way Leo does.

When Donnie tries it, though, that's always an interesting time. Because Donnie is always almost hyper-competent on his own... until he isn't.

He goes to save April's dad all on his own, and almost succeeds except for an unexpected space assassin. He takes up finding a cure for mutagen mutations all by himself, and actually manages it despite all the setbacks. He helps April and Casey take down the mutagen worms from Dimension X, which may not be entirely solo but is still him being the only of his brothers on the scene.

Now he's a quiet, vengeful shadow, having somehow made it up to the roof of Don Vizioso's place without even his own team realizing he'd slipped away and taking out the guards with one move.

It's pretty impressive, honestly.

Leo looks worried. He pulls out his T-Phone and, despite his earlier insistences of stealth, shouts into it. "Donatello, what are you doing?"

Donnie's voice comes out of the T-Phone speaker sharp and tense. "I'm getting that heart and putting an end to Vizioso, for good!"

Donnie almost sounds like Raph, in a way. As much as Raph admires Donnie's guts right now... it's a little concerning.

"Whatever is between you and the Don doesn't matter!" Oh, that's a mistake. If it was Raph, that'd just make him more determined to do the thing he's set out to do. "You're jeopardizing the mission!"

Again, the voice that comes through the speaker is sharp and angry. "Oh come on, look at all the anti-mutant weapons he's built! We need to put a stop to this, and we need to do it now! Donnie out!"

He's got a good point, Raph thinks. Fighting other mutants and aliens and and ninjas demons, that's one thing. Fighting humans with weapons made specifically to kill not just who they are, but what they are? That's different. That's sicker. There's no personal vendetta, no perceived slights, no old rivalry to put a target on their backs.

It's just their general existence.

"DONNIE!" Great stealth there, Leo. Raph's pretty sure they heard him all the way in Maine.

"Uh, guys? Stealth isn't gonna matter!" That ship has long sailed, but before Raph can tell April that he sees what she means.

BeeBop and Rocksteady, again. So it turns into a shoot out. And then that Demon shows up, and it gets even worse.

"I'll back up Donnie!" Leo shouts. "Whatever you do, get that s-"

"Hey, no way!" Raph pulls out his sai and scowls at Leo. "You're not using this to pull the solo act again! I'll go back up Donnie, you figure out that seal thing!"

"What?! Raph, I'm the leader and-"

"And you're the one Splinter spent the most time doing spiritual training with! If anyone can figure out that seal, it's you!"

Leo opens his mouth to argue, but he knows he can't. Donnie may be the smart one, but Raph's always been the practical one. ... When his head is clear. And right now, it is.

Biggest problem is the demon. Leaders face the biggest problems.

"Fine. Just- keep him from doing anything stupid!" Leo looks down at the fight below. "I-I don't like the headspace he's in, the way he's talking. Keep him grounded."

Raph rolls his eyes. So Donnie wants a little revenge. He's smart, and thinking clearly enough as far as Raph can tell. It's not that big a deal.

Donnie knows not to take it too far.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Okay, maybe Donnie's not as clear-headed as Raph had thought. But almost falling off a building and cracking your shell if not for a tackle-save by your brother will do that to you. Just like BeeBop calling you "turt" will. Boy, did that make Raph want to pin BeeBop's togue to the wall with a shuriken.

Made Donnie feel the same, apparently, because he hit BeeBop harder than Raph's seen him hit anyone before, except in literal life-or-death situations.

He's focused. Sometimes you forget to pull your punches when you're focused. It happens.

Now, as they take out the two guards in the hallway, Raph's starting to get a little worried too. Because he's pretty sure Donnie didn't need to squeeze that guy's neck that hard to knock him out.

"So what're we thinking for getting the heart?" Raph whispers roughly, elbowing a guard who opens the door behind him without even looking. "Give Vizioso a little lesson first, or after?"

"In the spirit of multitasking, I think we can do both at once," Donnie whispers back. He jolts a little when Raph throws the unconscious guy's gun at the guard sneaking up behind him, temporarily wiping the scowl off his face.

"Sounds good to me," Raph whispers back with a grin.

Donnie doesn't smile. "At least you get it."

"Eh, Leo's a spoilsport sometimes. A little butt-kicking revenge never hurt anyone. ... Well, never hurt anyone metaphorically."

"Yeah. Sure." Raph goes first down the hallway, and Donnie follows him.

Raph hopes things are going as smoothly outside as they are for him and Donnie.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

So smoothly is an exaggeration once they're actually inside the room, but it could be worse. Vizioso seems content letting his thugs do the work for him, so at least it's a two-on-two fight.

And they're not just even in number, but ferocity. While Raph manages to stab his sai into the twin he's fighting knee, Donnie hits the other one in the chest with his bo so hard Raph hears the distinct crack of a broken rib, and another when the blow makes the man slam against the wall.

And then Donnie grabs Vizioso, and Raph smirks. See, Leo? A little revenge to clear out the system. This guy tried to dissect Donnie, so a little beatdown isn't exactly unearned.

Until Donnie releases the blade from the tip of the bo.

"This is the end for you, Vizioso!"

It doesn't seem like he's doing it just to intimidate.

"Donnie, a little help here!" Raph is trying to shove the remaining twin into the wall. Donnie doesn't seem to hear him. He just slams Vizioso against the wall and puts the bade right to Vizioso's face.

Oh, sewer apples. Now Raph gets why Leo was worried.

"Donnie, quit screwing around and help me!" Raph flips the twin over his shoulder. Donnie remains laser-focused, the way he was in the lab when making retromutagen, the way he is when upgrading the Shellraizer, the way he does when April is in danger.

"This is the end," he growls. It doesn't even sound like him.

Donnie must hear it too, because suddenly he gasps. He gasps and jerks away from his own reflection like it hurt to look at.

"Because-" Raph sees it, just for a second. Something he's so very familiar with. An inner struggle, trying to control the anger before it controls you.

He suddenly wishes he'd taught his brothers some of the techniques Splinter taught him.

That second feels eternal, with Donnie hesitating and looking away from Vizioso with his eyes shut tight.

And then Donnie looks back up. "Because we're taking the heart, and you're going to jail!" He slams Vizioso to the ground, still harder than he needs to, but it's not a blade through the face so Raph hopes Vizioso is grateful.

"Nice job, Donnie." Raph slings an arm around his brother, grinning at him. "And you didn't even have anger management with m-"

The next thing Raph knows is the floor.

His head spins and his side burns. He groans, his vision swimming. He sees one of Vizioso's twin lackey's holding something, something big and glowing at one end, and sees Vizioso going to grab the heart Raph dropped-

And then he sees Red.

Everywhere.

He feels himself be lifted up, two arms working to support him. He hears a shaking, strained voice calling his name.

He tries to turn to look, because- because there's a metallic smell and that means-

"Please don't look." The voice trembles so much the words are almost nonsense. "Please don't look at it."

"D-Donnie?" Raph looks up.

There's dark blotches on Donnie's mask. Face. Everywhere.

His eyes are wide. Terrified. Horrified.

They start making their way back to the hallway. "Donnie, stop. Did- did you-"

"Don't tell the others," Donnie croaks. "Please. You went down and-"

Raph realizes that his brother's hand is pressed to his burning side, with a pressure level Raph's very familiar with. Trying to stop the bleeding.

"You'll be okay," Donnie breathes. "He can't hurt us anymore."

The steadiness of Donnie's arms should be comforting Raph right now.

He thinks back to the red.

"You... need to get cleaned up," Raph grunts. "If you... don't want them to know." He pushes away from Donnie, putting his own hand over his wound. "And the... the body."

Donnie's eyes somehow widen even more. "Raph-"

"Hey." Raph puts his free hand on Donnie's shoulder. "I know. The others might not get it. But- hhhn-" He sucks in a breath, which unfortunately only hurts more. "But I do," he breathes out. "You gave him a chance."

"... I..."

"We'll hide it," Raph pulls one of the masks off of the still unconscious guards in the hallway and readjusts his belt, tightening it to press the mask to the wound with as much pressure as possible. He breathes out slowly. "They don't have to know."

Donnie stares dumbfounded at Raph. Raph grabs another mask, and uses it to wipe some blood off of Donnie's face. "Come on. The others won't be fighting that demon forever. Leo's bound to figure out how to use that seal any minute now."

"O-okay." Donnie takes the mask out of Raph's hands. Now, the unsettling steadiness of his arms is fading, and Donnie begins to shake. "Do... do you think this is how Leo felt? After Shredder?"

Raph sucks in a breath. That's what Leo meant.

He saw it. He recognized it. From himself.

And thanks to Raph, he wasn't here to prevent Donnie from doing the same thing.

"I don't know, Donnie."

------------------------------------------------------------------------------

They have the heart. It's being kept in a junk drawer in the garage.

No-one wanted it to be where they could see it, and no-one wanted to give it the honor of a special containment.

Leo had figured out the seal. He sent that demon back to wherever it was truly from, we ith an extra command for it to stay there forever.

None of them had found Donnie when it was all over. Raph just stumbled out of the building, a bleeding wound in his side and the heart in his hands.

He said Donnie took off to get better medical supplies, and Vizioso got away.

When Donnie showed up with the Shellraizer, he didn't have his bo with him, and he was wearing his backup mask. He said his usual one got torn in the fight.

Later that night, when everyone else was asleep, Raph helped Donnie wash his mask and his staff, steady hands working with trembling ones to clear all the red out of the fabric and wood.

[deviiancetv]

Cinema Starview Presents: The Legacy of T’Challa

I just got done watching Wakanda Forever, and all I’ve got to say is that, this movie was a beautiful love letter to Chadwick Boseman’s T’Challa. This review will be a little short, contain some spoilers, and just overall my opinion on why I’m glad they did the movie this way.

Shuri’s journey throughout the film is an incredible tale of a young princess watching her entire family die right in front of her, leaving her to be the sole survivor and heir to the throne (or so we think). The opening to the movie shows us a stressed Shuri trying to find a rapid cure to help save her brother, T’Challa from a mysterious illness. Then later towards the middle of the movie, Queen Rawanda dies from drowning after saving when our underwater mutant villain, Namor, strikes Wakanda with his soldiers. The backstory of Namor, it was so cool how much the Talokans share similarities to the Wakandans, from the heart shape herbs to both nations having vibranium as a precious resource world governments want colonize. I’d love if in the future we get a movie where both nations come together to protect vibranium from the hands of a big evil. If Dr. Doom has any involvement with this, that’ll be 10x more amazing. It’s important to remember that this movie shows us how that minorities are always combating against each other and within our own communities, when the real enemy are the colonizers and governments that continuously steal from our own. I do hope they focus on that in a future BP movie along with a Namor movie.

But back to Shuri, the scene where she took the purple herb and was transported to the Ancestral Plane, her conversation with Killmonger. It was touching how much her similarities to him were of battling that need for revenge vs. trying to be passive and forgive. Even her suit has gold and silver accents that are mirrors of both T’Challa and Killmonger’s suits. I loved that slight touch to Shuri’s suit and even her portrayal in this movie. From being the tech girl in the background in the first film to now being in the forefront with a complex hero arc.

The introduction of Riri being an MIT student who created a machine to locate vibranium… can we say YOUNG PRODIGY ALERT!!! We definitely needed her in this film as the lighthearted comic relief, as well as Mr. Thicc Legz himself M’Baku, those two really made this movie somewhat lighthearted amidst all of the grief and sadness. Knowing that Riri’s show will be about the battle of technology vs. magic and she’s going against the whole Hood (pun intended) I’ll be invested to see where her character arc translates from this movie to her series.

// ⛔️ SPOILERS ⛔️ // So, Nakia & T’Challa had a son together!!! This is sooo exciting, because there’s so much that can happen from this alone. Toussaint aka T’Challa Jr. or TJ is definitely gonna take on the role as Black Panther in the next few years. I wonder if they’re gonna age him up so that he can take on the mantle a bit sooner, or if they’ll just wait for him to get a little bit older to join the Young Avengers.

Lastly, I know there was a lot of uproar on Kevin & Ryan not wanting to go about recasting T’Challa, while some fans wanted this to happen, others wanted a new actor to take on the mantle. The reason why I personally never liked the idea of recasting, is because T’Challa meant A LOT to many black people, and it was one of the most important and beautiful films about our people in YEARS. Every black film is either a trauma film, or a ghetto struggle film, Black Panther was the first film where we actually saw ourselves in a fantasy superhero world and the mix of afrofuturism and African royalty all mixed together in one. T’Challa meant a lot — and still does to everyone, especially black people. So, the idea of recasting him, to move on from Chadwick’s passing with a new actor that wouldn’t have made the same impact… it would’ve felt like pouring sugar on an open wound.

Plus, Chadwick passed when we were in the middle of the pandemic — we’ve all lost loved ones in the past 2, 3, 5, 7 years that we still haven’t fully moved on from. I know from experience that grief isn’t easy, and it never gets better, and you never fully move on. That’s what this movie symbolizes. That is the beauty of this movie in my eyes. This movie is grief perservering as Vision says. I’m hopeful for the future of the franchise and I do hope Letitia does decide to stay for a few more movies. Her role as Shuri was really amazing!! This movie was just extremely sad, but it was an important movie to hurdle over.

Also, just to make men upset… if you’re mad about this movie having black women take on bigger roles, and being the main characters, I’m gonna need for you to look deeper into yourself and figure out why your masculinity is so fragile anytime women take the lead. If you are genuinely mad about women taking the lead, please croak. Thank you very much.

🖤✊🏿 WAKANDA FOREVER ✊🏾💜

SCORE: 9.5/10 ⭐️

[imagionationstation]

YAQ, IPA (Title is long, man)

The big thing to note here is that Donnie doesn’t yet have a good grasp on understanding the complexities of the mutageon. The assumption is that he figures it out over the three months at the farmhouse when he makes Leo’s “patented mutegentic medicine”. (But I think that’s mainly composed of human medicine and other chemicals, because he’s not trying to risk double-mutating his oldest bro, you guys.)

As they have not yet been scarred for life (season 2 finale literally changes the course of everything, my goodness-), his understanding is very limited.

We know that Stockman manages to crack it and figure out how to safely turn human into mutants, but one could argue that this is because of the equipment, chemicals, and funding he can get from the Kraang and Shredder. He has more resources than Donnie could ever hope to have.

Anyway~

Creating the retromutageon was a lot of trial and error. And I mean a lot of trial and error. It gets to the point that at the beginning of The Lonely Mutation of Baxter Stockman, Donnie is under-his-breath begging the retromutageon to work, and doesn’t sound the least bit surprised when it doesn’t. He groans, but that’s because there’s still some disappointment there.

When it does work, he is over-the-moon, ecstatically whooping enough to attract the attention of the whole lair.

While talking to his brothers, he says, quote, “I only have enough for two doses. One for April’s dad, and one for Master Splinter.”

This leads the viewers to the same conclusion that Donnie must have come too, which is that the entire vial is needed in order to cure the afflicted person. Which means that he didn’t know that one drop of the stuff would be enough. April leading her dad to the dropping mutagen was probably out of pure instinct. It was a last-ditch effort that I doubt she would have believed would work if asked later.

Honestly though, Donnie’s spent his entire life being conservative with what he has. Being unnecessarily wasteful, especially on something this important, just doesn’t fit the bill.

I’m sure if he knew, none of his worry about whether or not any would have been left over for Master Splinter would have come into play. He probably would have brought a bunch of tiny separate vials. As it were, he simply didn’t know.

Bonus photo:

Jsjskjsks, this boy so proud of himself. Give him some praise! 💜💜

[torturedblue]

In honor of 5 years of ROTTMNT, I present: Things I would love to see in Rise season 3+ *inserts Fairly Odd Parents 'If I had one' meme*

Part one of a list of ideas the previous shows have done that I’d love to see their version of if we get any more seasons 🤞🏽 (Part 2)

The Pulverizer. Dude was hilarious in 2012 and to take it even further, the idea of Rise Donnie also having to be the one to deal with the guy honestly seems so funny. Hopefully their version would have a happier ending tho...

TigerClaw. Do I even need to explain? He's my favorite 2012 villain and honestly the coolest one and clearly the Rise guys would think so too with all their tiger quips lol. And it would be nice to have a really serious villain that’s also not Shredder/Kraang level dangerous but still more of a challenge for the turtles. Since Draxum joined the light side Big Mama’s really the only one left

Bebop and Rocksteady of course. 2012 and 2016 Bop & Rock are so funny I think they'd be even funnier in Rise considering it’s the funniest TMNT show

Spike. Rise Raph deserves a pet.

Usagi. Genuinely wondering how Rise would portray him—and with this Leo being so different than the 2003 and 2012 characters, if and how they might still become close friends. I’m now too much of a leosagi shipper fr, probably mainly because I just love their friendship in 2003, also I think bc he's always an adult in the 03 and 12 versions, plus they barley got to know each other in 12, so overall it’s just an idea that doesn’t really click with me. Not to mention l'm so damn asexual I think I just love to see such a good friendship satay that way. But considering how serious Usagi's character always is I'd like to see if they'd change that in Rise to match their style or keep him the same way. If he is more serious it’d be an interesting contrast to Rise Leo’s constant joking and silliness

A musical episode bc honestly come on they would've killed it. And they're all just too musical theatre to not indulge in it at least once. Especially the Broadway baby disaster twins

Dropping the "Rise of the" in the title since after the season 2 finale and movie they have officially… arisen. Since the whole point starting off was these turtles aren't as trained or shaped etc, now that they are it would be cool for them to officially become the TMNT again. Not to mention they finally said the name in the movie so it would really top it off

A cure for the ooze. Draxum presumably could make his own 'retromutagen' like in 2012 and it'd be interesting to see a plot where all these mutants around New York could actually get back to their normal lives if they wanted to. Especially since Draxum had his reformation arc he really should be undoing his mess lol.

A Raph and Donnie episode

A Raph and Mikey episode

Huh despite being leader and the oldest Raph really got the least amount of solo/duo episodes

How they met April bc we need the story around that. Gd we're just missing so much background context from the show getting cut short

How they found the lair. 2012's Lone Rat and Cubs was such an amazing episode and it was awesome seeing what it was like for them before finding a home. In 2003's first episode we also see them find their new permanent home, and having the same backstory for Rise Splinter and the boys could be so touching. Especially being on the run from Big Mama and Draxum. We caught that glimpse of him still in a Liu Jitsu costume as a rat and living in a box. I’d love to see between that point and whenever they moved in to their home. I also think it would be a good reminder of how much Splinter was really struggling both during childhood, while he was starring in those movie yet Sho was still trying to get him back into Hamato business, and then his time in captivity after

An explanation behind why Yoshi is called Splinter, we never got our explanation in Rise… or 2012 either now that I think about it. Even 2003's reason kind of felt like a stretch, even though it was a cute story behind Splinter's owner Yoshi losing his girlfriend. I can’t remember if Bayverse explained it and I haven’t seen the original show, but I think each version has had a different reason they give

Fungus Humongous. One of my favorite 2012 episodes that would be awesome translated to the Rise boys. We know Donnie's hallucinated fear could be beach balls and Mikey's would prob be the Gumbus or some kind of ghost. Raph's could be Mrs. Cuddles, although he did conquer that fear. I wonder what Leo's would be… I always found it interesting he didn't have any special fears like his bros. But there is something about Leo strikes me as the kind of guy who doesn't have those irrational fears or gets scared easily, so seeing an episode where they could give him an advantage could be cool. Although, since this would be after the movie he could see Kraang, or him losing his family, and his insecurities with leadership would definitely be a realistic factor. It'd probably work well as another Halloween episode

Bishop; I think in the movie the fact that female Kraang stayed back was going to introduce him. I think a lot of people know him more famously from 2012 show ofc, but my favorite use of him was definitely 2003. Dude was unhinged and a whole ass machine and seeing the Rise boys face off against him would be so cool. Not to mention he gave us the 2003 Rat King episode, another one of my favorites

Spirit Quest type episode. They have such cool mystic powers and ninpo abilities and seeing them meditate and experimenting with them would be so cool. Not to mention the costumesssss I mean how bad ass would they look in some of the 2012 get ups

Turtles in space and the Triceratons. I've recently seen by other Rise fans that the triceratons might be been hinted to from a shot in the movie with a triceratops skull in the Kraang’s ship and apparently were being worked on by the creators. 2003 and 2012 each did these plots in different ways so I wonder if Rise would approach it as a season long thing or maybe just a fun arc. Either way these guys were made to go to space and seeing them freak out over actually getting to be like Jupiter Jim would be awesome. And again, getting to see their space outfits!

What kinda stuff do y’all wanna see from future seasons from rottmnt?

[teenverseofmarveltvshows]

Few more details explained

Since in my AU I combine the best from two shows(TSSM and USM), I need to explain more things.

Let's start with Eddie/Venom from TSSM and Flash Thompson/Agent Venom.

I hope we all remember that Eddie got into hospital for mentally ill in TSSM after his dramatic Break up with Venom. (That scene where he says hate is the only reason why symbiote loves him is heartbreaking). However! Symbiote escaped succesfully, leaving Spidey only with broken Eddie and slight gut feeling that they'll meet again soon. And they did. While symbiote was searching for new perfect host, it stumbles upon Flash Thompsom. He and Eddie, they're quite similar. Blonde hair, blue eyes, muscles, hate Peter. But symbiote did NOT expected a plot twist like: Flash hates Peter, likes Spidey, therefore symbiotes attempt to posses blondie jock is unsuccesfull and now it's attached to him. That's how Agent Venom became a thing in my AU.

MJ, Gwen and Harry. It's not hard to exlain, basically it's all the same like in USM, except for Gwen(obv cuz she wasn't there) so what's it like in my AU? Gwen in this my universe is like Sayori or just deredere type of character, best friends with Pete since childhood and that's all, nothing more, just friends. Poor girl in friendzone and is kinda jealous of MJ since she did got that kiss in the end of the day back then when they were 12. Harry is the only one who knows and he supports her in any way he can, since, well, Harry and MJ aren't that close so Gwen is pretty much his only friend.

About Liz, yeah, no, she's just a temporary character, Pete's gf for little time, nothing much. As suddenly she appeared in their friend circly, that suddenly she dissapeared out of it. Hobie Brown? I liked him in the TSSM, so he just casually exists in this universe, not exactly participating in anything here, except for the part where he's important character for Flash (Yeah, no, I don't believe that Flash was a meanie only to Peter, in USM he was also Rhino's bully, buy since it's my AU and Rhino here is a grown man, Hobie will be one of Flash's victims of bullying)

Alex Summers and Gwenpool being on Champions. I thought Alex would hate to be a part of team where everyone will know him only as Scott's younger brother, so instead of joining X-Men - he joins Champions, making everyone happy that a mutant is with them(he's the only mutant here, except for Gwen.) And Gwen? She just tags along from time to time out of boredom, and as dangerous she can be, everyone still happy to have her here! Just...gotta keep an eye on her and the guns she's carrying. Champions are even sometimes jealous that she's with X-Men as well, even though it happens rarely.

The Lizard/Kurt Connors, Electro, Doc Ock and Norman Osborn. They are closely tied to each other and since in TSSM Electro was working for Connors, but in my universe Connors is the one that was from USM so then how supposed things work? Easy-peasy. Lizard thing never happened and Kurt Connors isn't related to these three at all, except for Doc Ock since they were homies in college, but that's all. Now, Norman at first wanted an army of Spider-Men(I don't remember for what reason) so during this period of Norman's life, he has Ock under his control, and Ock is a shy fella, tries his best to satisfy all Norman's demands and The Accident happens. What about Electro? Oh, his Accident happened before Ock's and Norman didn't really cared about it so he just asked his guards to make sure Max Dillon/Electro will never ever try to return to them, and whole "Give me the cure!" thing then happened to Osborn instead of Connors, but he was lucky to be saved by Spidey.