askmissthunder

[askmissthunder]

Happy Summer Solstice!

Miss Thunder: Hello, hello, everyone and welcome to the longest day of the year!

Red Rabbit: A.K.A the start of Summer! Whoo hoo!

MT: That being said, this summer's rather off to a bittersweet start, I'm afraid. Perhaps you should tell them, Cassie.

RR: *Sigh* Yeah. Unfortunately, two of the girls in my OCU dance squad, The Sensational Sirens, are moving away from Ocean City. For those who don't remember, my team was made up of Tamika, Stacey, Amanda, Deb, Joanie, Lailani, and Karen.

Well, turns out Stacey and Deb are moving away after this last Spring semester, but for good reasons. Deb's grandma got very sick recently, and she wanted to move back to New York City to be closer to her family.

MT: The poor dear! I do hope she gets well soon.

Talon: Same here. I always liked Deb. A good egg, if a bit of a sailor's mouth on her.

RR: That's because she was a lot like you! Very blunt and not afraid to speak her mind.

T: That's why she was the most tolerable of the bunch. Sad to see her go, but I understand why she had to.

MT: Deb did say before she left that if we were ever in New York, we'd be welcome to stay with her. I might just take her up on that offer...

RR: On a bit happier note, Stacey just got accepted to the Nursing program at the University of Pennsylvania next fall semester!

Eli: Is that good?

RR: It's literally one of the best nursing programs in the country, if not THE best!

Eli: Wowee!

MT: Yeah, that's too good an opportunity to pass up. I can't blame her for taking her shot.

RR: She defintely worked her ass off when it came to her grades. Way higher GPA than all of us, I can tell you that!

MT: She certainly helped me when it came to our math homework.

E: Before they left, though, we had one last big night out on the town!

RR: Yup! A true all-nighter from dusk 'till dawn!

MT: And kicking off what I call the Summer of Music by attending an En Vogue concert!

RR: *kicking her feet* AAAAH! THEY WERE SOOOO GOOD! THOSE HARMONIES?!

E: Then we pretty much went club hopping the rest of the night!

T: And eating at all of those all-night food stands.

MT: We were tired, exhausted, and hungover, but that was honestly one of the funnest nights I've ever had in my life.

RR: *Sniffs tearfully* Nothing like watching the sun rise with all of my best friends. I'm...I'm really gonna miss Deb and Stacey. The Sirens won't be the same without them.

MT: *Hugs Cassie, her eyes also teary* Oh, I know, luv, but they said they'll give us their numbers at their new places once they've settled in. You just know Deb's gonna be calling us to complain about something.

RR: *wiping her eyes* Yeah...yeah, that's just like her.

T: Hey, Penny. What did you mean earlier when you said "kicking off the Summer of Music"?

MT: Oh! Well, I've been telling Eli all spring semester that I've been wanting to attend more concerts, especially now that Summer break is underway. And not just classical music either! I want to experience the full gamut of all types of music! Starting with the En Vogue concert, I've been to three this month alone!

RR: Oooooh! Look at you being all out and about!

MT: *Blushes* Well, I might be getting just a bit teeny-tiny bored just staying home all the time when I'm not on patrol or at school. Just a teeny bit.

T: Okay, that explains why you wanted to come with me to see Pantera, because I know Metal isn't really your thing.

MT: It was certainly...loud and chaotic, but fun! Other than the drunk guys trying to climb the back of my wheelchair to jump off into the crowd, most of the people there were surprisingly very accommodating of me.

T: You also caught Dimebag Darrell's pick when he threw it to the crowd and gave it to me. Thank you for that.

MT: Well, I thought you'd appreciate it more than I would, being an actual fan of the band. I have to say, you're usually pretty calm and collected most of the time. It was a bit odd to see you headbang and jump into the mosh pit like that.

RR: Whaaaat?!

T: Heh. If I'm not fighting street punks, I'm moshing to let off steam.

MT: Some of those big metalheads didn't know what hit them!

E: Just last week, me and Penny went to go see Extreme!

MT: I'll admit I wasn't familiar with the band other than Eli liked them but...Wow! Wow wow wow! That guitarist was bloody AMAZING!

E: I'd figure you'd like them because the guitar playing reminded me a lot like how you play the flute, Penny.

MT: He has to be classically trained! Just the speed and dexterity! *Chef's Kiss* Muah! Beautiful!

T: I should take you to go see Blind Guardian next month. You'd probably like them, they sing about dragons and wizards and shit.

MT: Ooooh!

RR: You're about to have a full schedule this summer, Penny!

MT: Getting to hear and expand my musical knowledge is my idea of fun, Cassie! Well, Blessed be, and make sure to spend time with your friends and family this hot summer, everybody!

[askmissthunder]

Dear Miss Thunder, How do you get ready to fight crime? Do you have a special transformation sequence for getting into your costume, or does it just appear on with nanites like in the movies? I'm tired of the nanites, everyone's helmet disappears every 2 minutes so they can say a line of dialogue. I tell you, Batman never needed to take off his mask to tell The Penguin he wasn't the mayor!

Miss Thunder: Blimey, I wish I had nanites or my costume just appeared like magic! No, the reality is a bit more boring, really. I just wear my costume underneath my regular clothes.

There's a hidden compartment in the back of my wheelchair's seat that stores my boots and mask. That's honestly what eats up the most time when I have to change quickly: kicking off my shoes and having to slip on my boots with all this belly and bosom blocking my view, but I think I've done it enough times now that I'm getting better at it. Also, I just wear a domino mask, so no unmasking needed to talk. Honestly, do superheroes in your universe not need secret identities anymore?

(Artwork by BlueIke)

[askmissthunder]

Hey Miss Thunder. What was one of your first team ups with Red Rabbit?

Miss Thunder: I believe we've answered this question before!

Red Rabbit: Oh, yeah! That's where we stopped that bank robbery!

MT: I believe you stopped that bank robbery, Cass. I was more on the sidelines, if anything.

RR: *Pssh!* Nah! Don't sell yourself short! You saved all those cops and bystanders from being shot by the robbers. Besides, if you weren't there to distract them, I never would've been able to run inside. I'm curious, though. Let me ask you this: Had you heard of me before this robbery?

MT: At the time, only rumors and hearsay. I had heard reports on the telly about a red blur speeding around town, helping people and stopping crimes. I assumed it must've been a speedster hero, but you were so fast, no one could catch a good look at you.

RR: Hee hee! Yeah, I was still early in my crimefighting days. I don't think I debuted as Red Rabbit until maybe not even a year before that robbery. Buuuut, I definitely remember seeing you on "the telly" before then!

MT: "The Punch Heard 'Round the World" or whatever they're calling it?

RR: How can anyone forget? You going toe-to-toe with El Toro and knocking him on his ass on live television? Before that, I remember hearing stories about a really fa- really big superhero jumping around town. But finally seeing you in person when you jumped in like that, it was like "Oh my God, she's here! She's really real!"

MT: "She's just as fat as they said she was!"

RR: *Pats Penny's belly* Even fatter and thank goodness for that! That bulletproof fat came in handy that day!

MT: Heh, I suppose you're right.

[askmissthunder]

Happy Easter!

Miss Thunder: All of us here at Ocean City wish you a very fun and safe Easter Day! Cassie, as the fabulous Red Rabbit, volunteered to help out the Easter Bunny by delivering eggs to the kids at the local children’s hospital! Although, it seems there was a bit of a mishap along the way…

Red Rabbit: Heh heh! I found out the hard way that super speed and an uncovered basket of eggs don’t mix well together. But not to worry! All the eggs made it to the hospital safe and sound!

(This amazing artwork was done by @ElectroAtomM on Twitter!)

[askmissthunder]

New Year, New Art!

Miss Thunder: Hello, hello, everybody! A belated Happy New Year to all of you out there!

Red Rabbit: and a Happy Belated Thanksgiving, Hanukkah, and Christmas too!

Talon: Happy whatever the hell you celebrate.

MT: To help ring in the new year, I'd like to share some of the recent fanart I've gotten of little ol' me!

T: Whoo hoo.

RR: Oh, be nice! It's always sweet to get some props every once in a while.

MT: Indeed, and to start off, here's an action-packed piece by Kreat-Like-Crete!

MT: Next, we have one with a very cheeky grin by Fapo!

MT: Up next we have a cute one by...aatvdngrz1! I hope I said that correctly...

MT: Now, we have another cutie by Grindagoat!

MT: And last, but certainly not least, we have not one, but TWO pieces of art by BlueIke!

RR: *GASP* It's me! This is the best one! A+! 10 out of 10!

T: They certainly captured how tiny you are compared to Penny and somebody FINALLY drew you in your wheelchair.

MT: Oh, I love all my fanart! I couldn't possibly pick a favorite of the bunch, they all go up on my fridge! Again, thank you to all of the artists! It genuinely does mean a lot to me to see all these!

[askmissthunder]

Dear Miss Thunder, are your glasses prescription? Did gaining superpowers affect your eyesight like how Peter Parker did not need glasses anymore after being bitten by a radioactive spider?

Miss Thunder: Well, they used to be prescription! I was terribly nearsighted all me life but then I got the Gift of the Goddess and just like that *snaps fingers*, me eyesight's pretty near perfect now!

MT: Now, I don't necessarily have to wear glasses, moving around in my day-to-day life in a wheelchair provides plenty of cover to hide my identity, but if it works for Clark Kent, what's the harm in a little more protection? Also, there's...one other reason why I don't ditch the glasses...

Red Rabbit: *Waggling her eyebrows* It's because Eli said you look super cute with them, isn't it?

MT: *Blushing, placing her hands on her cheeks* Hee hee hee! I can't help it! Who am I to deny my precious boyfriend a cute-looking girlfriend? He also said I look "super smart like a scientist" with them, too!

RR: Oooh, what a charmer! Hee hee!

(Artwork by @exponentialmass and BlueIke)

[askmissthunder]

Happy Winter Solstice!

Hello hello, everyone! Well, it's that time of year again when everything gets colder and darker before the sun rises all the brighter! It's also the Holiday season so I'll keep it brief since I have to leave for London soon! As always, here are some wintery songs for you all to enjoy as you settle in by the fire (or heater if you have no fireplace) with some hot cocoa. Blessed Be and have a safe and happy holiday!

[askmissthunder]

A Happy Yule and Winter Solstice to you all!

To celebrate, here’s a small clip of me playing the flute during this year’s Winter Concert. We’re playing Antonio Vivaldi’s Winter (L'inverno) from The Four Seasons (Specifically the Allegro non molto in F minor)

(Original Audio)

[askmissthunder]

🎃 Happy Halloween from Ocean City! 🎃

Miss Thunder: Hello, Hello, my little ghosts and goblins! Just wanted to pop in and wish all of you a very safe and fun Halloween! As for us, Me, Eli, Talon, Cassie, and her dance squad are going to the park to see the Halloween Parade again.

Eli: I hope there's bobbing for apples again this year!

Red Rabbit: Make sure you do it towards the end! I don't want the water to ruin your makeup, I just finished up!

MT: She's right, E. You look very spooooooky as Frankenstein's Monster.

E: And you look very scaaaaaary as the Bride of Frankenstein!

RR: And since I did your makeup, I'll be going as Dr. Frankenstein! Wha ha ha ha ha!

MT: You didn't have to do too much with me, I'm already pale enough to pass as a dead body brought back to life.

RR: Oh, girl, hush! You look good and you know it!

MT: I know, I know, Cassie. "Stop putting yourself down" and all that but, old habits die hard.

E: *Tiptoes to Penny's face as she sits in her wheelchair and kisses her on the cheek* You look amazing, Pen.

MT: *Bashfully smiles* ....Thank you, Luv. I need to hear that from time to time, y'know?

RR: *Hands on her hips* And you, Talon? You're going as Jason? Again?

Talon: *Shrugs* Looks just as good as it did last time. Why waste money on getting a new costume?

MT: Well, we need to go, we're almost running late as it is! The girls are waiting on us! Have a Happy Halloween and Blessed Samhain, everybody! Stay safe out there, drink cider, and eat lots of candy!

[askmissthunder]

Hello Miss Thunder! Who is your favorite mutant from Marvel Comics? Mine is Ms. Marvel!

Miss Thunder: Ooh, tough question! The X-Men are my favorite fictional superhero team, along with the New Mutants, Excalibur, and X-Force so it's hard for me to pick just one!

If I HAD to pick one though, it'd probably be Kitty Pryde. I was about the same age as she was when I started reading X-Men comics in general so I've always had a soft spot for her even if she was the "Kid" character at the time. She's grown so much since those early awkward years at Xavier's and has really become an essential part of whatever team she's on. I'm also glad she changed her old codenames of Sprite and Ariel (Bleh) and went with Shadowcat ever since the Kitty Pryde and Wolverine miniseries. It was so good! That was when she really made the transition into an amazing fighter, she could probably give Talon a run for her money!

Now, as of my time, she's with Excalibur, a British mutant team! I loved Alan Moore's run on Captain Britain so seeing him and Kitty on the same team was like a dream come true. Plus, a potential runner-up in Favorite Mutant is also on the Excalibur team, Nightcrawler! I've always loved his design and his backstory of looking like a traditional devil but is a truly devout Christian. His powers (mainly teleporting) are cool and I love that despite his looks, he chooses to be a good person and has a fun personality.

Aaaaaaaah, I love this book so much! I highly recommend it!

Also, since when was Carol Danvers a mutant? Didn't Rogue take her powers and she became Binary later? Hmmm.....

[askmissthunder]

hi, Miss Thunder, I'm a big fan.

In a comic from my time called Radiant Black, the hero is asked to help a family with a flat tire but didn't know what to do so he lifted the car and flew them to their destination.

has something like that ever happened to you?

Miss Thunder: Hello, hello cool-no-name-blr! If you're asking if I use my powers to help people around town, of course!

I've answered a similar question waaaay back in the early days of this blog, but I've done more stuff since then. I helped lift a garbage lorry a couple of weeks ago when its wheel got stuck in a particularly big pothole. Thankfully, the axle wasn't too damaged but I made sure to let the city know about the pothole. Goddess knows what would've happened if a motorcycle had hit it. They would've gone flying or worse!

A little more recently, a local fire brigade was trying to open up a hydrant to put out a car fire but it was jammed up good. I came to assist with any rescue attempts (The couple driving had made it out long before I arrived) but I was wondering why they weren't spraying on the fire. I gave it a twist with some super elbow grease and they were thankfully able to put out the fire.

While I haven't been asked to fix a flat tire yet, I would totally give the car a lift to where they needed to go. Like the hero in your comic, I have no experience with any sort of car maintenance so, it would be easier for me to just carry it too!

By the way, thank you for liking all the posts my friends and I answer, cool-no-name-blr! That really means a lot to me and is very much appreciated!

[askmissthunder]

OOC: Before the day is done, I want to honor Bi Visiblity Day by showcasing my Bi Superhero, Red Rabbit!

[askmissthunder]

(CW: Religion Talk)

Miss Thunder: Well, the Wheel of the Year spins around again to my favorite season: Fall with the Autumn Equinox! The crisp air, the leaves changing color, and all the seasonal scents and flavors, I love it!

Although I'm gonna share a playlist of some seasonal-inspired music as I always do, I want to take a moment to share some thoughts about where I am in a spiritual sense.

You see, I've been posting these playlists for a while now during the Solstices and Equinoxes. I suppose it was only a matter of time but Cassie asked me recently, "Are you a pagan, Penny?"

And I think my answer is "I think so? Maybe?"

Not that I blame her for asking. All these posts and my extensive New Age/Metaphysical book and music collection would make anyone curious.

I've been raised Christian (Anglican specifically) more-or-less my whole life but my family has never been super religious. We usually only went to church for holidays like Christmas or Easter or for special events like weddings and baptisms.

However, as you know, my family is in a rather peculiar spot when it comes to spiritual matters. Being the physical Avatar of an ancient goddess makes going to church feel rather...off. My Nan confided in me that she also felt that way when she was Miss Thunder and has also slowly drifted away from Christianity over the years, especially as she's been gathering more and more research about the Goddess.

Not that I'm gonna start burning down churches or anything rash like that but...I don't know. It's not like I don't appreciate attending mass while growing up. Even now, if I feel genuinely fearful or frightened, I'll still say the Lord's Prayer to meself to settle my nerves from time to time. But lately, perhaps as I become more attuned to my powers, I honestly feel more spiritually connected, if you will, away from the church and out in the wilderness.

Now that I think of it, even before I received my powers, I've felt more of a connection to the ancient pagan sites of England. I still remember vividly my parents and I went on holiday to Stonehenge when I was in secondary school. I swear, I could've stayed in that circle forever. I just felt so at peace with myself amongst those giant stones, imagining the old Druid rites that must've taken place there. Perhaps even old Merlin himself stood there, gathering strange and mystical powers on a cool Autumn Equinox night.

As I read more and more about Neopagan traditions, (like Wicca, Witchcraft, Shamanism, etc.) there's just something more, I hesitate to use the word "pure" because of negative connotations but something more authentic, I suppose, about these faiths. To me, at least. There's no dogma to obey other than "Don't be an arse", there's no book that somebody with a chip on their shoulder can rewrite for their own agenda. There's just you and the Other, be it a goddess, god, spirit, Fair Folk, Alien, or whatever feels best for you.

And if I'm being honest, I've never felt more alive and spiritually centered than when I'm in the Goddess' domain, be it amongst the old trees at Hamilton Park or on the beach, listening to the waves pound on the shore.

Well, that's enough of my rambling. I apologize for making you read all that but it's been on my mind for a while now and I just felt like I had to get it off my chest. As promised, here are some autumn-inspired tunes for you to enjoy! Curl up with some warm cider and Blessed Be!

[askmissthunder]

Hey Miss Thunder, is fighting crime boring for you because of how strong you are?

Miss Thunder: Not at all! In fact, I consider it a blessing that my strength makes crime-fighting easier in the long run. I'm not Miss Thunder because I'm looking for epic fights or a worthy adversary or to test my strength. My responbility, first and foremost, is to protect the people. I don't do what I do to entertain myself. I couldn't care less if punching out a supervillain gets boring. In fact, me and Cassie actually time ourselves to see how fast we can stop a bank robbery or jewel heist. On average, not counting anything unexpected happening, we can get it done in under five minutes. Under three minutes, if we're lucky.

Besides, I'm a college student! The quicker I stop a crime, the quicker I can get back to class or to practicing my flute!

[askmissthunder]

Hello Miss Thunder, we haven't heard from you in a while. I hope the criminal element of Ocean City or that nasty reporter hasn't been causing too much trouble! Who do superheroes call for help? Like, if there was a villain who was too big for the Ocean City Three, do you guys have a special phone to call up other heroes like the Power Alliance?

Miss Thunder: Hello, hello, Anonymous! No, the Bad'uns haven't been too bad lately or snotty little miss Denise Remington. I'm surprised you remember her, it feels like it's been a long while since I've mentioned her. She's still writing her little "opinion pieces" about me in the paper, though.

Red Rabbit: I can't believe she's still so dead-set against you, after all this time and how many times you've helped save the city.

MT: It's all because I'm bloody fat! She must think I'm the queen of all fat people in the world the way she talks about me!

RR: It's honestly ridiculous! Like, what's her goal at this point?

Talon: It's either getting a mob to chase after Penny out of town or hoping Penny sees "the error of her ways" and loses weight so she can be a good role model or some horseshit.

MT: Well, happy to disappoint you, Denise! *Throws up the backwards "V"* Now, piss off. (That's for Denise, not you folks.)

RR: As for your second question, well...as far as I'm aware, we're pretty much on our own.

MT: Yeah, I know they're always monitoring potential situations around the world in case they need to step in, but we have no way of actually contacting them personally. I remember when they came to see if we needed help with damage control after one of Mecha-Lord's robot attacks.

T: "After" being the key word.

RR: Now, I don't quite blame them for that. It wasn't just Ocean City that was attacked, it was the whole damn East Coast! I've always assumed they were helping out a city that had it worse tham we did..

T: So, in other words, the Power Alliance operate by "don't call us, we'll call you. Hope your town isn't a smoking crater by the time we show up". Got it.

MT: Be fair, Talon. They can only try their best to respond quickly. Goddess knows it's hard for us to handle every little threat or situation in Ocean City, they look after the whole globe!

T: Hm.

[askmissthunder]

Miss Thunder: Hello, hello, everybody! Sorry for the long radio silence but you know how it is juggling both school and superhero patrols. With summer now here, hopefully, me and my friends can get back to answering your questions. That backlog is starting to get pretty big now...

Speaking of summer, it's once again time for another Summer Solstice Mixtape! Here are some tunes for having a fun Midsummer wherever it's warm and sunny. Blessed Be!

[askmissthunder]

You know, an interesting tumblr transformation that's happened gradually, and which I've seen no one talk about: ask-culture has essentially dropped off to nothing.

By which I mean, asks used to be WAY more of the tumblr economy. They used to be more common to send, and receive, and see. They were integral to the collaborative, forum-like behavior of old tumblr communities, not even to speak on the HUGE number of ask-blogs that used to exist to only be interacted with in ask-form.

I'm not saying this in a vying-for-attention way but instead in an observational way: I used to get way way more asks in like 2015, even with a fraction of my follower count. I wonder if it's due to the homogenization of social media sites? There's a lot more of this divide between "content creator" and "consumer" instead of just a bunch of peer blogs who would talk to each other. "Asks" aren't really a thing on twitter, are they? And as I understand it, the closest thing to an "ask" on instagram or tiktok would be a creator screenshotting some comment and responding to it in a new reel or video or whatever those content mediums are. Are asks just too tumblr-specific? Is that aspect of the site culture dying out as more and more people converge to using all their social media sites in the same way?