#he loves when people draw him in superhero contexts

[fvcking-panda]

Just thinking in big nerd of comics Gareth who LOVES Marvel and went to every movie premier when the MCU started.

He used his fame as CC drummer to get tickets every time and it get a regular meme how people waited for his photos instead of the main cast, because he was photographed before and after every movie, Is kinda funny how some fans score the movie with that, if he's crying then the movie will be amazing, if he's not the movie perhaps is funny but not spectacular, If he's just smiling awkwardly then that's the lame movie even witnessed (it only happened with Iron Man 3 tho).

The first photography after Avengers wasnt Robert Downey Jr or Chris Evans or Scarlette Johansson, it was Gareth Emerson crying in Will Byers arms because he was overwhelmed for seeing his favorite heros in screen for the first time.

He eventually open his social media accounts and people though it was fake because he immediately started discussing about the MCU and the comics, his social meddia accounts are divided between Corroded Coffin news, embarrasing stories about Eddie, Will Byers n. 1 fanpage and Marvel.

He's always the most excited with new material, and when Infinity War came, Gareth had to take some days out internet before and after the movie to avoid spoilers and then because he was absolutely devastated crying in bed, Will had to post a photo where you could see him in bed cuddling his Spider Man plushie with a caption saying: "worst time to be Marvel fan but he'll survive."

Will also shares in ig stories how he's taking care of him and Eddie films himself going to the Byers-Emerson house with what it looks like buckets of ice cream saying to Steve: "dont wait for me tonight, my best friend is probably dying" and post it in tiktok.

Corroded Coffin also had the chance to record a song for the MCU and Gareth still believes is his biggest achievement, the next one is marrying with Will (and Will doesn't feel offended because he says his biggest achievement was meeting "The Clash" and then his marriage)

[idkaguyorsomething]

once again obsessing over the implications of hobie brown’s shoelaces

for those of you who don’t know, lace code is a part of punk culture where a person identifies themself by adding colored laces to their boots (purple for gay, white for racist, etc.). hobie wears blue laces on his shoes, which means he’s a cop-killer. but what makes this especially interesting is that a huge part of across the spider-verse hinges around the idea that all spider-people must experience the canon event of a police captain close to them dying, which hobie confirms has happened to him. from this we can draw at least two assumptions, that either a) hobie killed the police captain in his canon event or b) hobie feels responsible for the death of the police captain in his canon event

a) hobie is very anti-authority and in his introduction makes a point of saying that he fights the police (very punk of him 😊). given that he lives in a world of superheroes, and the world he lives in is hinted to be something of an orwellian dystopia, it’s extremely possible that he might have had to fight an officer that was transformed into a supervillain. although the spider society, including miguel, do not seem to use lethal force, we all know that hobie does not necessarily follow anything that’s expected of him, and in a situation where he had to choose between protecting innocents or putting down a baddie, the right call for him seems fairly simple. not necessarily easy, but simple. in the comics, he did beat president venom to death with his guitar (though he is a very different character in the comics and the movie) and when miles asks him about his canon event, he seems noticeably less sad than the other spider-people and more aloof. given how cautious he is of abuses of power and how much he values protecting innocents, this would add some fascinating depth to his character, but there’s also the possibility of

b) miguel specified that the police captain who would die in the canon event would be close to their spider-person, and the ones that we know about were all either loved ones or relatives of loved ones. additionally, the context we’re given for these canon events suggests that it’s common for these captains to die in the line of fire trying to save a child. with gwen, hobie has shown that he’s not averse to befriending a person who’s working in the system, whether because they genuinely believe they’re doing good or were put in a vulnerable position (though he’d obviously rather help them get out). it could be that his police captain was someone he knew before they joined the ranks or he really developed his beliefs. even if he didn’t trust his police officer, it’s possible that he may have viewed them as the least bad one, if that makes any sense, or they did something in their final moments that at least partially redeemed them in his eyes. the fact that he claims responsibility for their death suggests that it may have had something to do with a spider adventure of his, so it’s also possible that they were forced to team up against a greater threat

either way, that’d make for one raw as hell story, and hobie choosing to help miles show everyone that canon events aren’t inevitable while also claiming responsibility for what everyone in the spider society seems to believe they have no control over rocks

[aelaer]

“Nobody asked about my writing” meme

Thanks for the tag, @tea-understands :) Thankfully I have a small handful of folks who ask me about such things but I do love these memes.

 1: what are you currently working on? 

The Big Boy Fic! The finale of Earth-197320, which I'm 99% certain I am calling Above the Shadows. And I'll have a fun update on Write Every Day June in a couple days.

2: summarize your current project 

It's the fifth and final fic in a series that I started 4 years ago from an anonymous prompt sent to @amethyst-noir. I really clicked with it and she gave me her blessing to pursue it as a full-fledged fic, and here we are today.

Here's my first stab at a proper summary that I wrote for this questionnaire (tell me what you think y'all??):

2019 starts off in crisis-mode as rifts within the borders of reality begin spiraling out of control, drawing the resources of the Masters of the Mystic Arts thin. Tony now juggles the problems of a suddenly-absent Stephen, keeping his work with the sorcerers a secret, and Pepper's uncertain future. Stephen does what he can to maintain the stability of reality while keeping the promises he made. And somewhere out there, the other Stephen Strange is still hiding, putting his own plans into play.

3: summarize your current project poorly 

An author split up what should have been a single work into five separate stories because she wanted to fulfill Bingo cards in 2019, leading to a series that the readers are probably going to need to reread because there's so much detail in Fic 5 that calls back to stuff that happened in Fics 1-4. Fics 1-3 match the length of Fic 4, and Fic 5 is well over the length of Fics 1-4 combined, making for even poorer fic splitting choices. Whoops.

4: describe your favorite character or characters

I mean. Do I really need to? If you're on my blog you know who my faves are.

I guess quick summary as they are in the series in particular:

Stephen Strange: Has an enormous guilt complex that he's been working through a lot. He got better with the help of new friends. His work has endeared them to him quite a bit.

Wong: Has taken a leadership role, but not the title of Sorcerer Supreme for reasons not yet established to the readers. Carries his own secrets. Excellent poker face, but not emotionless.

Tony Stark: Has been blatantly ignoring the Accords ever since he went against Ross's back to find Steve in Siberia and has been continuing that trend since. Seeing the feds turn their eyes on Peter changed his opinion quite strongly. The Steve Issue is still difficult.

Other Strange: He thinks the Avengers and Masters of the Mystic Arts have failed their duties and that he can protect all of reality by himself. He just needs more power.

5: post a line from your current project without any context 

Closed my eyes and scrolled and went to a random page. This is what came up.

Oh, Jesus Christ. This explained so much about the man.

6: how do you get through writers block?

If it's not something health-related which just makes it physically very hard to work on items, I'll switch projects with my shorter fics. For a long fic like this, I'll put on a sprint and just power through 15 minutes at a time to get the harder bits out.

For health-related stuff (including mental), you sometimes just need to work on that first before you can be in the right space to write.

7: would you want to live in the world of your current work? 

Hell no. Superhero worlds are terrible for normal people.

8: briefly discuss your outlining process, if you outline 

I write an outline with the main beats of what I want in that chapter. Then when I get to the actual chapter, I'll sometimes expand the outline with more detail in that chapter section itself. I often go back to the main outline and add new things as I come up with them, or switch around elements in the story to a new chapter. This is how the planned outline has grown from around 12 normal chapters and 1 interlude chapter to 18 normal chapters and 2 interlude chapters (with potential for more growth seeing as I'm getting into some areas that have original outlining that I no longer am certain I want to use as they were ideas from over 2 years ago and the story's evolved a lot since then).

9: what is the aesthetic of your current project?

So much plot. Rewriting a lot of the end of phase 3 to push my Found Family agenda. Fix it vibes, but I think it's a natural fix it arc from the canon drama that could have happened in canon if the Russos gave a damn. A lot of character exploration into their own separate journeys and growth arcs. Pretty accurate on Marvel tones with action, drama, a bit of snark and humor. An itty bitty dash of canon romance but we all know I'm including it only because it needs to be there due to the plot and character arc reasons and not because I'm all googly-eyed for the genre.

10: what song sums up your current work the best?

Each chapter in the series takes a song lyric from a specific song and I identify that song with the story pretty heavily. For instance, Illuminating the Shadows took "The Light" from Disturbed.

For Above the Shadows, it's "Phoenix" by Fall Out Boy (who I'm seeing live in concert in a couple days, yay).

Tagging those who I know are writing/trying to write: @mckiwi, @sobeautifullyobsessed, @burglarhobbit, @amethyst-noir. No obligation either way. Also if I didn't tag you please feel free to take this (and you can poke me here if you'd like as a reminder that you're still actively writing fic regardless of the fandom and I'll try to remember for these sorts of things).

[hamliet]

What ur thoughts on Justin's love for Brian? Do u think Justin would move on from Brian and have a life with someone else?

Yay, a QAF ask! (The struggle of discovering a story and wanting to talk everyone's ear off about it, but you're like, 20 years late.)

Are you asking if I think Justin could or that he would? I genuinely don't think he would, but he could. The point is that Justin would choose Brian. That was his motivation throughout the series: he chose Brian, and then he had to figure out what that meant. (Justin ditching Brian in season 2 was a poor choice in some ways, but was also clearly a choice that thematically links to their decision not to get married in season 5--loving someone shouldn't cost you yourself.)

Having Justin suddenly be like "ahhh nvm Brian isn't worth it", even offscreen, would be thematically disastrous given the main crux of Brian's issues being that he does not, in fact, think he's worthy of love or even life itself thanks to his dad wishing he was never born.

The ending of season 5 was not that. Justin kept insisting that they would see each other constantly. He still chooses Brian. Brian has doubts because he's still scared, but QAF is always gonna go with the choice and hope option over the fear option.

I mean, I've talked multiple times about the ending, but I think the implication is clear--and that was before I found out the writers confirmed that they intended to write them staying together. It's open enough to where people can draw their own conclusions, but I think you have to neglect a ton of context clues and write them off as "random" (when nothing in a story should be random assuming best writing--granted, most stories, even QAF, don't always do this, but it's the general assumption) to come to that conclusion.

I mean, you could conclude that they ended up just as fond memories to each other. But you'd be neglecting a hell of a lot of context, and transporting the story's genre into gritty, even cyclical realism, when it was always more of an optimistic coming-of-age survival story with elements of a fairy tale. (It's not like the story directly called out its fairy tale optimism several times--oh wait it did reference fairy tales, and superhero comic books, and magic, and even had a ghostly apparition in Vic appearing in Brian's dreams.)

Anyways, to conclude that they don't end up together, I think people have to read their own experiences and preferences into the story, which admittedly we all do to an extent, but to a degree where I'd say they're ceasing to view it as a crafted story. I do think the authorial intent was clear.

Why did the narrative specifically call out Brian not returning the rings?

Why was the pattern of every single relationship in season 5 separating, but then coming back together even when things looked impossible (Melanie and Lindsay, Blake and Ted, Emmett and whoever that was, Hunter with Ben and Michael)?

What about the motif of home between Justin and Brian that got multiple shout-outs in every season? (I need to write a meta about this!)

Why did the story talk consistently in almost every season about Brian's life goal being moving to New York? (The thing is, Brian shouldn't move to New York out of fear or because he has no other options. That's not the message of QAF. It should be his choice, and I think it was set up to likely be precisely that.)

Season 4, imo, sets up the ending for us. Justin's about to fly back to Hollywood, but he still waits at the finish line to see Brian (who lags behind everyone else). Michael helps Brian, but Brian almost gives up just in sight of the finish line--until he sees Justin waiting for him. Then, he gathers himself and pushes across the line. The metaphor was so on the nose. Yeah, Justin will then leave for a bit, just like he will at the end of season 5, but Brian will keep moving forward for him. And as if the writers wanted to assuage our fears brought by their very own theme of "you don't know what tomorrow brings; all we have is the present," they included ghostly Vic appearing in Brian's dreams in the finale of season 4 promising Brian that he'd have a "lot more" years left. They'll get there.

So, I think Justin's love for Brian was a choice--one everything about his character and the show's themes demonstrate he'll continue to make.

[asm5129]

Flash thoughts episode 9x02

Let’s get the headline out of the way—I freaking love Khione. She’s great. She’s interesting, she’s intriguing, and she’s performed really well by the ever exceptional Danielle Panabaker.

Her sincerity and joy is such an interesting contrast to the rest of the team this season—especially Barry, Iris, and Joe who are all dealing with 9 years of superhero life baggage and trauma. She’s also got really interesting and deep insights into people, almost piercing ones. Plus there’s her connection to nature she speaks of. I wonder if that’s some kind of power, or simply a result of her sincerity and fresh eyes on the world, uncolored by a long history of bias and regrets and the like.

It was off-putting to hear Barry and the other heroes talk so casually about sacrificing Khione’s life to bring back Caitlin and/Frost, barely thinking of her as anything more than a reason Caitlin isn’t there anymore, but I think it works within the context of how grief affects us. Even heroes struggle to think of every life as having equal value, because they have personal relationships too, and these heroes just had more investment in Caitlin and Frost—it’s just someone you just met is not going to mean the same thing as someone you’ve known and thought of as family for years. Obviously I’m glad Barry realized he was treating her so awfully.

I definitely miss Caitlin and Frost, but I agree with the team—Caitlin made her choice. For that matter, so did Frost. Both knew the risks of their choices. Khione is the result. And neither Caitlin nor Frost would want Khione to give up her life for them when it’s only just started.

I also think it’s really interesting that what she said to Hartley actually applies to Mark in a really deep way. Mark never really committed to becoming a better man, he just worked to be a better person to make Frost happy. Like Khione said—doing it for someone else isn’t real change. With Frost gone he’s lost the foundation for those changes, hence him “going rogue”, as Barry phrased it. Speaking of—

The new rogue is another strong one. A new version of The Fiddler, and while I liked what we saw of the new Captain Boomerang we got a lot more of Fiddler and I am very pleased with her. I think it’s a fun performance, a cool power set, and a solid presence. She also sold the fear in the scene with Red Death really, really well. Regardless of why these Rogues decided to ally with Red Death at first, it’s clear they’re in over their heads.

It was fun to have Hartley back, and I’m very happy they didn’t pull a bury your gays with his boyfriend but instead did this really neat thing of him and the others being trapped in a vibrational frequency out of sync with reality. It allows them to be saved through Barry’s ability to vibrate at a frequency that can see them, without undermining Fiddler’s claim about it being “a fate worse than death”—for being frozen just out of sync with life forever, I think that’s an apt description, and that doesn’t get undermined just because they could be saved imo. Anyway it’s just a really neat thing to do with sound powers.

Joe meanwhile is in a rough spot as Cecile gets closer and closer to being capable of field work, cuz he’s been dealing with the harsh reality of field work longer than anyone—both as a cop and as the patriarch of the Flash family since the very start. I think with all that experience with violence and pain it makes a lot of sense that he feels like he has to draw the line somewhere, and this feels to him like where it has to be drawn. I’m intrigued to see where this goes.

It’s cool to see WestAllen making sure to keep themselves provided with joy during these difficult times as well—we could all learn from that honestly.

And finally, I think Red Death framing her plan as “serving justice” rather than “getting revenge” is really interesting, especially knowing this is a version of Batwoman. We’ll probably find out soon if my theory is right about this being the Ryan Wilder from the Armageddon future. If it is, from her perspective Barry is the reverse-flash, and he did to The Flash exactly what Thawne actually did in the beginning of season 8. Would be a really interesting way to play with that warped future Thawne created, keeping him as part of the last season while Barry faces consequences for rewriting a timeline in which Ryan was happy, and was even literally about to adopt a child with Sophie. She would have lost not just that but all her other friendships and connections too. In this timeline for instance, Ryan and Iris aren’t friends, they don’t even know each other. All the years of friendship? Gone. Anyways we’ll see.

Overall another really solid episode for the final season.

On that note, it seems like the Arrowverse guest stars will be more of a chance to say goodbye this season rather than wrapping up any of their stories, which makes sense. Better to keep it focused, but I’m glad we will still have a chance to say goodbye.

I’m sad we won’t get to see Eric Wallace’s grand plan he talked about recently come to fruition. Season 10 sounds like it would’ve been amazing, maybe even a proper Justice League story, but instead the planned 200th episode is now the series finale. I have to believe that if the star wars prequels can find themselves real fans, and there can be a desire for The Amazing Spider-Man 3 with Andrew Garfield, the Arrowverse will find its way to the sun again as well.

[scorchedhearth]

ok i had to ask. Kyle and Nile for the character asks because they RHYME :]

they do rhyme yeah :3

kyle

favorite thing about them: how kind and down-to-earth he is. at the end of the day, he just wants to help people, and the fact that power never gets to his head and that he willingly and without a fight lets go of incredible powers, while frustrating to read because it’s fun to have op character, is also so interesting in characterizing him

least favorite thing about them: can’t think of one, he’s a great character all around with good flaws to balance everything out

favorite line: i don't have the exact quote but when parallax first confronts him and he reaffirms how he wants to be a superhero and a green lantern even if he wasn’t cut to be one at first, it’s such a good line about how he decides to do good

brOTP: a tie between guy and connor, i love the dynamics they both have with him

OTP: alex, i’ll never forgive how coldly they killed her, and then jade from the few issues i’ve read they’re cute together!

nOTP: i guess hal? i don't hate it and i can see why some people ship it but i prefer the mentor/fatherly dynamic where hal guides kyle and hoovers over him it’s fun

random headcanon: projecting a bit here, but i dont think he listens to podcast and radio show while drawing, i think he limits himself to music because words are too distracting, so various 90s artists and anime soundtracks

unpopular opinion: i guess it’s not unpopular amongst his fan, but he should be terribly OP and overpowered and not once phased by it. i hate how they took ion away from him and now he’s just a regular lantern, sodam yat is fun but kyle should be the guardian’s precious pet project they cherish and who can do everything

song i associate with them: 

favorite picture of them: i love when he’s in regular clothing just hanging out or drawing, but this particular page is incredible too, i love ion kyle

nile

favorite thing about them: her heart! She’s dead set on doing the right thing no matter what, and she has such a strong morality and sense of loyalty

least favorite thing about them: to the surprise of no one, how unchecked her military background is, i wish it could have been acknowledged some more instead of just ‘that’s why she can fight!’ and not thinking twice about the implication

favorite line: no man left behind, like!! you’re family you come with us, no matter what

brOTP: nile and andy, they’re foil of course they’re besties

OTP: with her current state it’s hard to think of love for her, but andynile under the right context can be good, even if i prefer the mentor relationship. moose from the comics is cute too, i think it could be good to explore loss and her immortality

nOTP: bookernile, it depends for me because it has some potential but if not done well it tends to feel too much like putting to the single together and. eh.

random headcanon: she uses physical activity to ground and calm herself, she fidgets a lot and bounces her leg and going for a run helps clear her mind

unpopular opinion: she’s not perfect and treating her like she can do no wrong ever is a disservice to her character, she has flaws and it should be included

song i associate with them:

favorite picture of them: after she decks andy in the jaw, how determined she looks, and the end of the movie when she picks her outfit with the hoops and little jacket, she looks so good!

send me a character

[niannianyabao]

Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania

So, friends, what is going on with the MCU? We're now at the end of phase four (I think? I've lost track of that sort of thing entirely) and there's a very palpable sense of the air coming out of the balloon. By which I mean not that the movies have gotten bad—some of them are (Eternals) but most are still falling squarely within the same C-minus-to-B-plus range that has characterized this franchise from day one. And yet, without very much having changed, it's clear that something has changed. The MCU used to be something that I—and a lot of other people—enjoyed talking about, and maybe even more than that, arguing with. When it was bad, that was something that felt worth calling out. Now it's just something to shrug at.[1] What I want to do with this post, then, is not so much review the new Ant-Man movie (which is definitely at the C-minus end of the aforementioned scale but still isn't that exciting to talk about) as to try to work out what it can tell us about why the MCU feels so inessential these days.

There are several obvious culprits when trying to identify the cause of this shift. Avengers: Endgame put a period on an eleven-year film and TV project that maybe made it easier for people to hop off the bandwagon. The pandemic following soon after shook people out of the habit of going to see the latest Marvel offering in theaters two or three times a year, and it's hard to regain the sense of FOMO that made doing that seem reasonable. The Disney+ MCU shows we watched instead of the movies have fallen in an uncomfortable middle ground between the two mediums, not as compact as the films but not reaching for the classic TV virtues of building character arcs and relationships either.

To me, however, it seems as if the problem is both simpler and more profound. The reason that Marvel superhero movies aren't landing the way they used to is, well, the superheroes. Avengers: Endgame saw off Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and Scarlett Johansson, three of Hollywood's most charismatic performers, who were playing three of the franchise's biggest draws. Chris Hemsworth and Tom Holland have subsequently made soft exits. Other MCU stalwarts—Tom Hiddleston, Jeremy Renner, Elizabeth Olsen—have transitioned to TV (and in Olsen's case, had their characters killed off). And, of course, the tragic death of Chadwick Boseman has removed what was probably intended to be a central figure for this batch of movies. There's a void at the heart of the franchise, and while new characters may eventually come to fill it, right now feels not at all unlike where we were during phase one, still trying to figure out what there is here to care about. Except now the novelty of the cinematic universe concept has faded, and the star power that made that concept seem plausible is absent.

It's in the context of this void that we have to consider the decisions made with Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. Scott Lang is one of three MCU characters who are still standing and capable of headlining a movie.[2] It makes sense to try to make him, alongside Doctor Strange and Captain Marvel, into the core around which the next stage of the MCU can be built. Makes sense, that is, until you remember that Scott, despite starring in two previous MCU movies and having major roles in two others, has never cohered as a character. He's a tech genius who walks around with a permanent air of confusion. A self-destructive fuck-up with criminal tendencies who is also a genial dad and a bit of a fuddy-duddy. His superpowers are mostly used for gags—the franchise has never figured out how to make the genuinely awesome power of miniaturization work in a fight scene—and his heroism feels largely informed. When he rises to it, it's usually because of a risk to his loved ones—most often, his daughter Cassie—or because he's too awed by another hero to say no.[3]

In fairness, Quantumania is clearly aware of all of this, which you can tell because the movie opens with a voiceover by Scott saying everything I've said in the previous paragraph, albeit more generously phrased. The purpose of the movie is thus to reposition Scott as a genuine hero, not the heroes' comic relief. It does so, first of all, by making him not a hero at all. As the film opens, Scott is retired not just from the Avengers but, seemingly, from any other job. He's written a book about his adventures, but doesn't seem to be doing anything else except playing devoted boyfriend and father to Hope and a now-teenaged Cassie. This frustrates Cassie, who believes her father should be using his powers to help people, and has been getting arrested while using miniaturization tech to fight off cops who try to break up protests and clear out homeless encampments—a radical note that the film raises and then immediately shies away from. At the same time, Scott learns, Cassie has been developing a device that sends signals into the quantum realm, where Hope's mother Janet spent decades before being rescued in the previous Ant-Man movie.[4] Despite Janet's warnings, the device malfunctions and sucks the entire Pym-Van Dyne-Lang family into the quantum realm.

The quantum realm, as it turns out, is inhabited with all the things that make for a good adventure backdrop—there are strange and dangerous creatures to run away from and/or make friends with, a marketplace where unsavory characters haggle over dubious wares, a bar where you're as likely to be stabbed as get a drink, and badlands where mysterious nomads roam. And there's a villain, Kang the Conqueror, another variant of the character introduced in the first season of Loki. Kang arrived in the quantum realm decades ago and was rescued by Janet, who then joined forces with him to repair his ship's power cell so they could both return home. Right at the moment of their triumph, Janet realized that Kang was the perpetrator of multiple genocides, acts that he'd resume if allowed to escape. She sacrificed her own chance to get home by destroying his power cell using Pym technology, but not before he regained some of his powers. Kang then began to take over the quantum realm, rebuilding his empire in miniature. The arrival of our heroes gives him access to the kind of tech that could restore his power cell and allow him to escape, while the rebels who have been fighting him for decades hope to use that tech to defeat him once and for all.

This is, in other words, the kind of story we've seen many, many times over the years, in books, film, and TV. It goes all the way back to Edgar Rice Burroughs's A Princess of Mars, and examples of it are as recent as Tron: Legacy. And the two things that need to be said about how Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania executes this story are, first, that it doesn't make a lot of sense for Scott Lang, and second, that the film doesn't even try to make it make sense. The standard template for this story sees the hero dropped into a long-running conflict and quickly embroiled within it. Their original goal may be simply to get home, but by the end of the story they're supposed to be emotionally invested—they've fallen in love with the leader of the rebellion, or discovered something essential about themselves in this new world with its new opportunities for heroism, or become so disgusted by the villain's perfidy that they whole-heartedly adopt the rebellion's creed. None of that happens in this movie. Scott's goals remain what they always were—to protect Cassie. He never gets particularly involved in the rebellion.[5] Right at the end he makes the same choice Janet did, to sacrifice his chance to get home in order to prevent Kang from escaping, but the emotional foundation for that sacrifice hasn't been laid (and immediately after he makes it a new way to get home appears, so it isn't even that much of a sacrifice).

There is some good stuff here. Jonathan Majors's second take on Kang is as magnetic as his first, and makes the idea of him as this chapter's ultimate villain an enticing one. The flashback in which we see Kang and Janet's friendship grow and then shatter is extremely well-done, and Janet's self-sacrifice lands incredibly well for a character we've known for less than an hour all told. The rebels are a fun motley bunch, including an enjoyably dry performance from William Jackson Harper, some zany CGI creatures, and a hopefully star-making turn by stuntwoman Katy M. O'Brian as rebel leader Jentorra. Late in the film it's revealed that the ants Hank was experimenting on, who were also drawn into the quantum realm, have spent subjective thousands of years evolving, eventually developing a hyper-technological socialist society—an idea that deserved much more space in the movie[6], but is pretty neat for what we do see of it. But as you'll note, none of these things involve Scott, who ends up feeling like a bystander in his own movie.[7]

Of course, that last bit isn't new. Scott has always felt like someone who stumbled into his own stories, all the way back to when he fell into heroism after trying to rob the wrong house. The second Ant-Man movie leaned into that by making Scott the relative straight man to an ensemble that included his semi-criminal friends Luis, Dave, and Kurt, his FBI monitor Jimmy Woo, his ex-wife and her husband, and a villain, Hannah John-Kamen's Ghost, whose story aroused more pity than disdain. The result was one of the best MCU movies for reasons that, I think, tell us a lot about why the franchise has started losing steam. It's not just about the characters. It's about the relationships.

There was a period, roughly between 2012 and 2015, when it seemed like the MCU was interested in doing the thing that creates fertile soil for a fandom—let its characters grow and change, and let the relationships between them develop. To let Tony Stark grow past his need for an armored suit. To sit with the tragedy of Steve Rogers's separation from Peggy Carter, and his determination not to let the same thing happen with Bucky Barnes. To make the Avengers friends as well as teammates. That all proved a mirage, of course. The MCU's now-famous tendency to devour itself, to end one story on a definite note of change and then roll that change back as soon as the next story starts, quickly asserted itself. But the fumes of that impression carried the fandom forward all the way to Avengers: Endgame, kept our investment in the characters going even though what was showing up on screen was flat and samey. Once that story ended, however, the fumes dissipated, and it's now easier to see that there's nothing in this franchise worth getting invested in.

There's no better encapsulation of the MCU's determination not to do the things that attract fans to stories than the fact that Quantumania discards all of Ant-Man and the Wasp's supporting cast[8] in favor of a parachuted-in "family" theme with Hope, Hank, and Janet that it then singularly fails to earn. As I've noted in the past, in the new MCU the only people who matter are the ones whose names are in the title, so it's obvious why this movie doesn't want Scott to have relationships with people like Luis or his ex anymore. But it also doesn't sell the relationships it does want us to care about. We don't feel the love that supposedly exists between Scott and Hope, or the connection that has formed between Cassie and her step-grandparents. Even relationships that should have been a slam dunk, such as Hope's attempts to reconnect with her mother after decades of separation, don't land. And despite all the emphasis the film places on it, Scott's connection with Cassie still feels generic, the standard protective dad template we've seen in a million movies rather than a relationship between these two specific people, who are starting to figure out how to relate to one another as adults.

As phase four draws to a close, it's clear that Marvel has put all its eggs in the cosmic basket. In multiverses and variants and a villain with a thousand (identical) faces. What's been left by the wayside is any reason to care about all of this. As Quantumania demonstrates, that reason will not come from the legacy characters, who are being flattened out of what little personality they had in order to suit the needs of this new, gargantuan, story. Again, I don't think this will lead to the vaunted "death of the MCU". It will take much more than that for people to stop going to see these movies. But I do think we're witnessing the death of the MCU as a fannish phenomenon—a death that, in all honesty, has been a long time coming.

[1] When you say things like this, some people start talking with great yearning about the looming death of the MCU, but I don't see any reason to anticipate that. Cultural currency is, after all, something very different from actual currency. As Avatar: The Way of Water recently demonstrated, it is possible for millions of people to spend billions of dollars watching your movie, and not have a single further thought about it as soon as the credits start rolling.

[2] Yes, I know that officially the title of the movie includes Evangeline Lilly's Hope Van Dyne, indicating that she is a co-equal hero to her male counterpart. That was barely true in the second Ant-Man movie, however, and it certainly isn't the case in Quantumania, in which Lilly gets virtually nothing to do and is repeatedly upstaged by the actresses playing her character's mother and stepdaughter. This is presumably due to her much-publicized anti-vaxxer positions, so good riddance.

[3] It's never stated outright, but between how the incident is described in the previous Ant-Man movie and this one, it seems very clear that Scott has no idea what the fight he was roped into in Captain America: Civil War was about. This is both hilarious and horrifying.

[4] Cassie has only known Hank, Janet, and Hope for a couple of years at the outside, but has nevertheless become proficient in miniaturization technology and even has her own supersuit. She also calls Hank Pym "grandpa". This all feels very awkward and like a way of shoehorning in a family theme for a character who already had another family, which goes almost entirely unmentioned here.

[5] Cassie does, but Cassie is the latest in a long line of teenage girls whom Marvel are clearly positioning as potential heroes going forward, and by far the least interesting and individualized of the bunch. Her affinity for the rebels never rises above the generic.

[6] If nothing else, in order to create the callback to Honey, I Shrunk the Kids that this film so obviously demands.

[7] One character who does interact with Scott a lot is MODOK, a cyborg killing machine who turns out to be Darin Cross, the villain from the first Ant-Man, now transformed into an enormous, floating head. This is such a weird plot element that I have no idea what to say about it, but I knew I couldn't let it go unmentioned.

[8] Jimmy Woo appears in a brief, wordless scene, but everyone else is absent. Including Cassie's parents who, again, raised her on their own during the entire five years that Scott was missing during the blip, a point that the film seems almost eager to elide.

[risingroleakira]

I posted 436 times in 2022

That's 436 more posts than 2021!

96 posts created (22%)

340 posts reblogged (78%)

Blogs I reblogged the most:

@sparring-spirals

@extravorganza

@risingroleakira

@drawsmaddy

@captainofthetidesbreath

I tagged 346 of my posts in 2022

Only 21% of my posts had no tags

#critical role - 302 posts

#cr - 277 posts

#cr spoilers - 250 posts

#critical role spoilers - 240 posts

#cr3 - 174 posts

#critrole - 152 posts

#critrole spoilers - 105 posts

#cr liveblog - 73 posts

#exu:c - 38 posts

#cr2 - 26 posts

Longest Tag: 139 characters

#bet had i watched the entirety or c1 & not just the briarwood arc percival fredrickstein von musel klossowski de rolo iii would b there too

My Top Posts in 2022:

#5

I'm sorry, we've had turtle shells, a banana peel and bomb-ombs. If you're drawing fanart for this episode and you're not listening to coconut mall or SOME part of the mario kart soundtrack, what are you even doing

200 notes - Posted July 22, 2022

#4

i know we're all excited and freaking out about keyleth and whitestone and VM in C3 and trust me I am too, but I have to take a second to mention Ashton being constantly in pain, and the whole sequence describing that. As someone who has several issues that mean I am never really not in physical pain in some way, I genuinely came close to crying when that was described. I already connected to Ashton a lot, they were already one of my two faves of the party and five faves of CR over all, but this really hit very close to home for me.

266 notes - Posted September 23, 2022

#3

saw this in chat of the rebroadcast... this is an interesting thought. ...if this happens to actually be the reason for their murder bot rage, i hope Ashton dropkicks Dancer to the moon and back

375 notes - Posted August 19, 2022

#2

Hey I know we're all freaking out about Imogen, Laudna and Delilah Bitchwood, but I want to take a moment to point out how Ashton was being soft w/Orym after he fell. And I don't just mean like... 'oh look the tough rock is being wholesome'. I mean as in... it was Ashton who was soft with him.

I don't know I just can't stop thinking about Matt describing Orym's fall off the ship and how it reminded me of the description of Ashton's fall off the balcony. I just think it's neat that it was them, of all people, who immediately went over to him and stuff.

God I love these two

391 notes - Posted May 13, 2022

My #1 post of 2022

oh and for anyone who hasn't caught on or has just not thought about it due to all the other shit that's been going down, Ashton having confirmed chronic pain from those cracks also gives more context to him asking about imogen's lightning marks in E34. "Do they hurt?" | "How do they make you feel?" | "I mean, at first, they were terrible. They let everyone in town know I was different, you know?" | [Ashton subtly nodding along and changing expression at parts of what Imogen says] | [Does their best to reassure Imogen that This is Some Hero Shit and Not evidence of some sort of great evil within her] "...Goddamn Superhero, are you fucking kidding"

I love this punk rock. so much.

490 notes - Posted September 25, 2022

Get your Tumblr 2022 Year in Review →

[itsamiraculous]

Solitude

There are a lot of references to Gorizilla and Origins in Mr Pigeon 72, Sole Crusher and Queen Banana. I think they are all leading into the same thing, but aren’t as blatantly obvious as what we have seen in the other S4 episodes.

In Mr. Pigeon 72 Marinette as Ladybug is wearing a towel like her disguise in Gorizilla. 

The rest lies under the cut as it is long

We also have the same dialogue of Alya and Marinette as in Gorizilla between Tikki and Marinette “aren’t you forgetting something?” as Marinette is wearing her pyjamas still, needing to head to the pool etc.

There mob of people running after him with the initiated use of social media, it also so happens that they are trying to film a new eau de parfum ad, there was one released in Gorizilla.

In Sole Crusher adds details to solitude, that Andre is the one who made the film, this leads into Queen Banana where Andre is constantly trying to get recognition over being the director of Solitude.

Gorizilla is where we first get introduced to Solitude and also where Emilie is being kept. 

Also in Queen Banana there is the blatant parallel to having a Gorilla, and his first place that he goes to destroy is the Cinema

In Queen Banana Zoe as Vesperia said “pick on someone your own size”, this is literally what Chat Noir says in Gorizilla. This is also similar to what Chat says to Stoneheart as well.

Zoe also didn’t believe she was cut out for the task, this is the same thing that Marinette went through, both Tikki and Chat Noir assured her that she was, though arguably Chat Noir’s speech was more affective. Zoe said that she wasn’t strong enough, Marinette thought she wasn’t the right person for the job. There is obviously more context with Zoe’s conflict than what happened with Marinette as well, but I couldn’t help but feel the nostalgia of the Origins episodes.

Then in Mr. Pigeon, it is rather evident with the reverse umbrella scene.

ack, the quality of Mr Pigeon 72 is nothing in comparison to the Origins, dang.

The amount that Zoe reflects both Adrien and Chloe in general is astounding. In the case of Sole Crusher though, I want to talk apropos of Adrien. Not having many friends, used to have only one, first day at school, the association with Chloe making people immediately judge. They are actually lovely human beings who just wants to help people.

So, why is this happening? 

Well, miraculous always has episodes that directly parallel, or make a lot of references for a reason. The reason why I point this out about these specifically is because these are 3 episodes, 2 only directly feeding one into the other, and I mean the stigma around Solitude especially is a big deal! It usually indicates that something is going to come up. 

I would argue that the reverse umbrella scene is something on it’s own, because it’s to do with the romance arc, however everything seems to lead to the same thing; Solitude. Even the mobs and ads, because it’s all part of Adrien being the Gabriel brand, not his own person, as he was feeling trapped. Seeing Solitude he felt like he would become closer to his mother as he didn’t believe Gabriel would allow him to see it. The towel used as a disguise, and also Ladybug was losing her marbles, arguably thinking she has to figure everything out on her own. The umbrella we have theorized as a fandom that it is the same umbrella used in the film.

Then the bigger picture is still solitude, except the more literal sense. I pointed out that Zoe’s concerns mirrored that of Ladybug/Marinette, you can feel alone in those emotions. Ladybug told Zoe that she knew she could do it, Chat Noir told Ladybug that it was because of them that Chloe was still alive, that they would be able to prove themselves, that she wasn’t alone. 

Sole Crusher is also a clever play on words with your soul being crushed which is what happened with Zoe and also with Andre that he had to change his dreams because it’s what his family wanted. With that you can feel isolated, judged by your own family. In Queen Banana Ladynoir make comments of them being the best duo et cetera which can paint some red flags, but as Adrien, Adrien inadvertently has ended his friendship with Chloe. I know in Optygami Chloe still seeks out refuge behind him, but it’s because they still care, like how Kagami still saves Adrien. 

We know that Chat Noir has been increasingly sidelined and Ladybug had to reassure him in Guiltrip that she didn’t say it often enough that she needs him and wouldn’t be able to do anything without him. 

Chat Noir I don’t think will be convinced for long, especially with what’s happening with Rena Rouge. Rena literally appeared in Mr Pigeon 72, gave advice to Ladybug straight from the grinoire and helps her understand her powers more. I know Adrien may have not been able to hear, and they don’t know he’s Chat Noir, but they also saved the day without him, they still needed Plagg, but he was not there. Everything is increasing.

Remember how isolation and feeling trapped (as Adrien) and not being loved and respected by Ladybug (as Chat Noir) are his greatest fears. 

I thought it was strange how they were drawing a lot of attention to Chat Noir being more jovial. You hear it a lot more with these S4 episodes that Chat Noir has been having a lot more fun as Chat Noir, and even says it to Ladybug. There is a reason why the crossover of patrols and him telling her the best times he has is when he is with her. They want it to stick. 

There is also an emphasis on how Adrien is done with being “Adrien”

Everything is leading into Chat Noir/ Adrien being sidelined and isolated. I’ve just read a post as well about how Chat Blanc was not sorted, it had just been delayed. It may also be for different reasons as well, more about the love and respect that Ladybug never showed him. 

There is a theme of divide as well. I mean the whole film they try making in Queen Banana is a reflection of what is bound to happen. The Superhero of Creation and the Supervillain of Destruction. Yikes!

The precedent was set in Truth and Lies with what’s to come; that division will happen from lies and secrets. Marinette and Adrien had their respective relationships end with Luka and Kagami because of the secrets and lies they were withholding. Increasingly Ladybug has been keeping Chat Noir in the dark, and this isn’t going to turn out well.

[beananacake]

hey hey hey sorry if I am bothering you but I still have some other questions. I'm just really interested in your thoughts of the fics.

questions 9,21 for TAP and can you tell us 26 aka the funfact of savior, TAP, and snapshot please!

thank you so much for patiently asking the long questions that I have!

You are very welcome, anon! Thank you for sending me more asks. You are definitely not bothering me! I love getting asks like this!

9. Was there anything from canon that you pulled for this fic?

I used Cinderella 2015 for TAP so some stuff I got from canon were: most of the characters (Thibault is the Captain in the movie but he didn't have a name so I just named him that), Kit having been to war, the idea that Kit has to marry for the betterment of the kingdom, Y/N being a commoner, and the setting (although it's not really that obvious because I didn't go much into world building with this fic.) I did get some dialogue from the movie, although I mixed them up and put them in the context that fits TAP. I took the essence of it, of marrying outside of the rank, and played around that a bit. I'm not saying they couldn't but I can't think of how a peasant girl could rule a kingdom armed with only love from her husband, the prince/king. That's why I made her a diplomat's daughter. She's not necessarily exposed to the workings of how to run a kingdom but she's been through a lot of different ones where she can draw inspiration from. She's still knowledgeable of it, which makes her a better candidate than a maid or peasant (sorry, Ella :/ )

21. What is something you didn't expect people to notice or gravitate towards in this fic?

I think this was answered in the previous ask but to reiterate, it was Louis. I never thought Louis would be someone the readers would come to love! He was meant to be just a side character but he's suddenly become this larger person inside the fic and I just went along with it. I'm so glad he's well-received! But in general, I didn't think the readers would actually love the story lmao Most of the fics I see being requested and read and shared are dark fics and smutty fics. TAP couldn't be dark and couldn't be smutty, especially since it was important that their marriage wasn't consummated, so I was surprised at the love it was getting. I didn't think something like this would actually have an audience (and I am thankful for each and every one who has read it!). I thought it was a dead fandom but I guess there are still some of us who love Prince Kit from Cinderella 2015.

26. Wild card! I'll tell you a fun fact(S) about this fic!

Snapshot: So, I wrote Snapshot because I literally cannot contain my admiration for Richard Madden. I was like a bubble waiting to burst when I started to write it. I just happened to be bored during my chemo sessions and I had this handful of free time that I didn't want to spend scrolling through social media so I started writing. I actually have no plot in mind for that story; it was just a blurb in my head but people wanted a second part to it. I did finish writing the second part in one day because of sheer excitement. Snapshot is just supposed to be a bit like "slice-of-life" piece of fic, where some days you don't really have anything going on. It's very milestone-y so any updates for that fic would be far in between, like life. About Oscars: it had been my plan to actually upload Oscars on the day of the Academy Awards (which I did) because I love coincidences. The idea for that was already forming the moment I finished writing ch5 of Snapshot.

Savior: Like Snapshot, when I first wrote ch1, I have no plot in mind. I just decided to go along the movie because it's a beautiful movie with a lot of layers that people seemed to miss because what they wanted was action and it wasn't as action-packed as any other ordinary superhero movie. It's a love letter to humanity and what else would better fit the embodiment of love than an angel. Speaking of love, I knew I wanted them to end up together but I didn't know how to do/show it. I think I did Angel and Ikaris a disservice when I had them almost kiss in ch4, instead of an organic progression in their story. I actually watched Eternals via a grainy French subbed copy. I could barely understand what was going on but when he yeeted himself to the sun at the end, I was so pissed. That was what prompted me to write Savior. Ikaris had a lot of room for redemption but it's too bad they went for a poetic ending. I'd like to think I like my story's ending better lmao And speaking of ending, I don't think Angel and Ikaris's story is ending soon. There's one plot I want to explore and only shared it with one person in this platform. I just wish I get the energy to write it lmao

TAP: Pride and Prejudice 2005 is my favorite movie of all time so it was partially inspired by that movie (esp that line of dialogue in ch5). When I was considering a love triangle, the movie was one of my primary research materials with Kit obviously being Mr. Darcy but I couldn't see Louis as a Wickham so I scratched that idea. I went with the poisoning instead because I was watching Poirot and Agatha Christie (the author of Hercule Poirot's stories) loved using poison as a plot device. Medici is also an inspiration (ep1 intro where Giovanni de Medici was poisoned with hemlock and Marco Bello going into the apothecary to investigate were a few of the scenes that I took from the show). You'd actually be surprised at the amount of research I do for the etymology and history and origin just for a particular word. I never write without having a dictionary and a thesaurus beside me. The words I mostly use couldn't be later than 1850's, or else they wouldn't fit the era I set TAP in (and I unintentionally set it during the years the Brothers Grimm were alive [See ch1 for that mistake lmao]) And I have never pored over research as much as I did with TAP! There are still mistakes, especially with the poisons and the thing about royalty, but so far, I'm happy with the outcome. It's a fairy tale, it's not meant to be perfect (no matter how much I try to convince myself of that lol).

[cooper-ation]

You caught me?

Helloing!! this is a collab i did with the wonderful @keyocore a week or two ago, where i would write something and they would draw something based on my work! this was supposed to be a small drabble, but i got a little carried away haha!

[Maxine’s drawing!]

Context: Brian and Brock are superheroes, who had a petty, unspoken high school rivalry. Brian’s powers are robot-based, while Brock’s are gas-based. Hope you enjoy!

There’s a repairs shop just around the corner from Brock’s store. It’s nice, kind of quiet and not really all that popular in a city where it’s almost always too busy to travel by car during work hours, but it hasn’t closed down yet. Brock actively avoids going in there, for a couple of reasons:

For one thing, he’s well aware that the shop is a cover up for a hero’s lair. Being a hero himself, he can pick up on the signs quite easily - closing early, opening late, blending in a little too well with other stores on the street, that type of thing. 

And for another, he’s well aware of who works there. 

Brian is… an old friend, to put it nicely. Brock can’t say they got along, but he also can’t say he hated him. It was more of a mild mutual dislike. Just one of those silent high school wars, too unimportant to ever be spoken about or resolved, and yet too apparent to ever be hatred.

So out of habit alone, he’s never set foot in there, no matter how many times his shitty, dust-sucker of a car breaks down on his way to work. 

Brian must recognise him from all those years ago, and thus has never set foot in his quaint little arts and crafts shop either. Brock knows Brian loves art just as much as he does, so there really was no other excuse. 

The first time they had met outside of school - and in the hero world - had been… awkward.

“Well, well, well.” Terroriser had said, though Brock hadn’t recognised his voice with the modifier he had built into his mask. “If it isn’t infamous silent hero.”

Brock nods curtly. It’s true he’d built up sort of a reputation for being completely silent during interviews, choosing to use American Sign Language for fear of giving away his identity by speaking aloud.

“You come to steal my villain? I’ve already got him in the squad car, darling.” The hero says. Brock could hear the smirk in his cocky, arrogant tone.

He shakes his head, which was technically a lie, since he had come to take down the bad guy before Terroriser had swooped in and snagged him. But, for his own sake, he lies and signs that he’s just on patrol.

“Right, and my hero name isn’t a complete joke.” The other laughs. Terroriser was a pretty odd name for a hero, but the public and media had given it to him before he’d had a chance to name himself, so he just ran with it. “I suppose yer not here to form an alliance, Moo?”

And then it hit him. The hero in front of him hadn’t said “you’re”. No, he’d said “yer.” The same way that cocky Irish prick from high school had said it.

“What?” Terroriser asks. “Have I got something on my mask?”

Brock shakes his head, using his smoke powers to disappear before the Irishman can respond.

And that was it.

Until they kept meeting. Brian kept stealing Brock’s saves, and Brock kept stealing them right back. It was a rivalry like no other, and the media ate it all up.

Every newspaper, every news channel, each broadcast was ranting and raving about the Terroriser vs. Moo fiasco that the media would twist and mould into an actual story worth looking at, instead of some petty high school drama that wasn’t really even there.

Apparently, Moo had said that Terroriser was a fraud and a spy. And apparently, Terroriser had said that Moo was the son of the man who killed his father. As far as Brock knew, Brian’s father was still alive and kicking. Of course, Brock was not a spy.

But the public didn’t know that. All they knew, was that the two didn’t like each other, and hey, who was Brock to prove them wrong? Anything to keep the people content and satisfied, right?

It’s late when he gets the call. The screen tells him it’s Brian’s number. He can’t remember ever saving him to his contacts, or even calling or texting him once, but despite that he doesn’t bother to question it and picks up the phone with a roll of his eyes.

“What do you-“ The sound of crashing and explosions cuts him swiftly off. 

“Moo? Hey, it’s me. Hate to do this to ye, but I need backup, now.” Brian grunts, presumably in the middle of a fight.

“Wh- What?!” Brock exclaims, as more explosive noises echo through the phone speakers. Did Brian know he was a hero?! Since when?! “How did-“

“I knew it the moment we met, can you please just get over here?” Brian huffs impatiently.

“Alright.” Brock sighs, hanging up the phone and flipping the sign on the shop’s door so he can rush to the back and get changed.

Brock wasn’t sure how Brian knew his identity, but somehow, some way, Brian knew Brock knew his. 

Maybe it was the way he jibed and prodded him, always so condescending, always so smooth.

Or maybe it was the way fate kept bringing them together, whether they wanted to be or not. The more Brock thought about it, the angrier he felt, but he knew that Brian was probably in real trouble and he’d just have to put up with it for now.

Brock switches on the radio in his car. The crackled news report tells him a gang of suped-up criminals has stormed one of the industrial skyscrapers in the city, and the only available hero - Terroriser - was single-handedly saving the day. Brock sincerely doubted it, considering the call he just got, but the media will twist anything to make the public’s favourite heroes look better.

He hops out of the car, and hears an explosion from above him. Smoke billows from the roof, and more blasts and booms echo in the night.

Brock races through the crowds of reporters and concerned citizens, waving to them as he darts into the building and up the stairwell.

When he arrives on the roof, Brian has at least three villains on him, all big guys Brock could easily have knocked out with his gas bombs. However, if he does he risks knocking Brian out too, and by the looks of things they both need each other for this fight.

He channels the gas from his fingers into small explosions, and charges the villains holding the other hero down. They stumble backwards, allowing Brian to scramble to his feet.

“Ha! You came!” He says, audibly beaming. Brock nods and the two stand back-to-back, ready to take on the rest of their foes.

They punch and pummel their way through the goons, each using his own abilities to assist the other when it looks like he’s in trouble.

They separate at some point, Brock moving closer to the edge of the building, while Brian uses the thrusters on his boots to hover in the air and blast the baddies from up high.

It all happens in a blur. All of a sudden, Brock feels a screaming pain in his chest. The air leaves his lungs and he struggles to regain it, as his body flies off the side of the building towards the hard, cold sidewalk below.

When the air finally returns another blurry instant later, he screams. He’s in the air just long enough for Brian to see him fall and the younger soars towards him. 

Just as Brock’s hand is about to sweep out of reach, he snatches it out of the sky, his grip stronger than steel. Brock’s eyes widen in amazement, his heavy breathing still unsteady.

“You… caught me?” He mutters under his breath, just loud enough for Brian to hear.

Brian chuckles, shifting his grip on the other hero’s arm so he doesn’t slip away. “Was I supposed to let you fall?”

Brock’s eyes narrow under the mask. “Not sure why, but I kind of expected you to.”

“You should raise your expectations of me, Br-“

A deafening blast soars past them, causing Brian’s grip to falter. Brock instinctively scrambles for Brian’s waist, clasping his arms around his lower back. 

Realising the position he’s put them both in, Brock expects a teasing remark, or some kind of flirtatious jibe. Instead…

“You okay?”

Brock looks up. The sudden jolt having caused Brian’s hood to fall down and reveal soft brown hair. His mask has been tilted to the side, dislodging his voice modifier and revealing a sliver of his sharp blue eye staring right into Brock’s softer browns. Brock’s face suddenly feels way too warm under his mask.

“Yeah, I’m good.” He coughs, averting his gaze so that Brian can readjust his costume. Why couldn’t he have just went into that repairs shop? Then at least he would’ve been prepared to see Brian’s unfairly attractive face (especially his eyes - God, his eyes) again after so long.

“Okay, maybe we should get out of the air.” Brian suggests with a nervous chuckle, as the battle continues to rage on down below.

As they land, Brock cam swear he feels Brian’s heart beating, thumping against his chest. Maybe, he thinks, the cyborg hero isn’t as robotic as he thought.

[miraculouswolf99]

Akumatized: Valid Or Not

This is basically a list of every akumatized that has appeared so far. There will be four types of categories that they will be put into that say whether or not their reason for being akumatized was valid or not.

Categories:

1. Valid- The reason they were akumatized is completely understandable and could happen to anyone.

2. Semi-Valid- It is still understandable, but for things that are relatively normal. Like losing a contest, being rejected by a crush, or failing a test.

3. You Brought This On Yourself- Akumatized over something that was basically their fault to begin with and is not valid at all.

4. What The Hell- An akumaization that makes no sense at all and most likely not really much of a reason to be akumatized in the first place.

Season One:

Nino Lahiffe- Bubbler: Valid. Gabriel is a jerk that would not let his son's best friend throw him a birthday party.

Xavier Ramier- Mr. Pigeon: Semi-Valid. Was just trying to feed the pigeons, but had been aware that there was a rule/law against it.

Aurore Beauréal- Stormy Weather: Semi-Valid. Lost a contest, but almost had it rubbed in her face when she was told that she lost by a lot.

Alix Kubdel- Timebreaker: Valid. Had her family heirloom destroyed not even an hour after she got it because other people did not put a pocket watch in their pocket when she asked them to hold it during her race.

Théo Barbot- Copycat: Semi-Valid. Believed that the girl he had a crush on was dating someone else, but was treating the situation more that she was an object that he could take if he wanted to.

Jalil Kubdel- Pharaoh: Valid. While it is never a good idea to try and resurrect the dead, his father rejected his theory about the spell even when they were in a city of magical heroes and villains.

Alya Césaire- Lady Wifi: Semi-Valid. Was wrongly suspended because Chloe was being a brat. She may have been taking pictures of Chloe's locker, but the door was open and Chloe had accused her of breaking into it.

Nathaniel Kurtzberg- The Evillustrator: Valid. Was embarrassed by having his crush revealed by a bully and humiliated when the drawings of his crush were revealed to everyone.

Roger Raincomprix- Rogercop: Semi-Valid. Was wrongfully fired for not arresting a girl that the mayor's daughter accused of theft even without proof, but had not done any sort of investigation at all about the missing bracelet.

Lê Chiến Kim- Dark Cupid: Valid. May have been rejected by his crush but had his heart broken on Valentine's day and humiliated by the girl he had a crush on.

Mylène Haprèle- Horrificator: Semi-Valid. We all get scared and she was trying to be brave for the film, but she was also the one that purposely signed up to be the lead in a horror movie.

Armand D'Argencourt- Darkblade: Semi-Valid. Lost the mayoral election, but was also running because he thought that he should reclaim his family's lost seat of power from back in medieval times. It's been hundreds of years, man. Get over it.

Fred Haprèle- Mime: Valid. Was wrongfully fired from his job because a co-worker had sabotaged him to gain the lost job for himself.

Jean Duparc- Magician of Misfortune: What The Hell. We were never even given a reason for why he was akumatized in the first place.

Rose Lavillant- Princess Fragrance: Valid. Simply wanted to give a letter to a prince to thank him for all the charity work he does, but the letter was destroyed by a bully.

Ivan Bruel- Stoneheart: Valid. Believed that his crush rejected him while also being bullied/teased over the crush in the first place. Was also bullied over being akumatized in the first place and called a monster.

Otis Césaire- Animan: What The Hell. So, he was akumatized because a teenage boy thought that he could out-run a panther. Even for a zookeeper, is that really something to be upset about?

Simón Grimault- Simon Says: Valid. May have lost a contest, but was basically cheated out of a win because Gabriel did not even really seem like he was going to participate in the first place and he was not even given the chance to try his act.

Vincent Aza- Pixelator: You Brought This On Yourself. A creepy stalker that wants a picture of his favorite rock star and will try anything to get it. "Yicks" is all I have to say.

Jagged Stone- Guitar Villain: Valid. Was told that he had to change his look and music to the complete opposite of his own just because his manager liked a teenage pop star more than him.

Wang Cheng- Kung Food: Valid. He lost a contest, but that was only because Chloe was a brat that sabotaged him.

Max Kanté- Gamer: Semi-Valid. He lost a chance to be in a video game contest but was more upset over losing his chance because he lost to a girl.

Juleka Couffaine- Reflekta: Valid. She was trying to break her "photo curse" but lost her chance because Chloe had her locked in the bathroom so she could stand next to her crush/obsession.

Manon Chamack- Puppeteer: Valid. She is a little girl that was simply trying to win a game and did not really see why having a doll that was given to her was wrong.

Sabrina Raincomprix- Vanisher: Valid. Had a fight with her best friend and then said best friend also pretended that she was invisible because she was a brat.

Chloé Bourgeois- Antibug: You Brought This On Yourself. She was a brat that was called out for lying about being the reason for an akumaization by the hero that she admired.

Lila Rossi- Volpina: You Brought This On Yourself. She was called out for lying about being best friends with a superhero and trying to claim that she was also a hero with a fake miraculous. Karma will always come back to bite you, Liar Rossi.

Season 2:

Santa Claus- Santa Claws: Valid. Was trying to be a good samaritan, but was instead accused of kidnapping by a superhero.

Gabriel Agreste- Collector: You Brought This On Yourself. Gabriel is Hawkmoth and he akumatized himself. Need I say more.

Nadja Chamack- Prime Queen: You Brought This On Yourself. Her job may have been on the line, but she was willing to leave out information and use a picture taken out of context as her "proof" that the heroes were a couple.

Jean- Despair Bear: You Brought This On Yourself. Was trying to use humiliation to try and make a spoiled brat change her ways and was doing it in front of her class.

Kagami Tsurugi- Riposte: Valid. Thought that a single loss against a formidable opponent meant that she had lost her honor because of an over strict mother.

Gina Dupain- Befana: Semi-Valid. Had a hard time realizing that her grandaughter was growing up, but all grandparents feel that way.

Markov- Robostus: Valid. Even as a robot, he still had feelings, but was told he was just a toy and locked away like an object.

Mr. Damocles- Dark Owl: You Brought This On Yourself. If you are a high school principal with no reason or skill to become a hero, don't try and be one while exhausting the real heroes in the process because they keep having to save you.

August- Gigantitan: Valid. He's a literal baby.

André- Glaciator: Semi-Valid. Was told that the special "soulmate" ice cream that he believed in was not magical, but it was still only one girl that did not want that ice cream.

Ella and Etta Césaire- Sapotis: You Brought This On Yourself. They may be young girls, but they had repeatedly been told to go to bed and were rightfully punished for their bad behavior.

Adrien's bodyguard/The Gorilla- Gorizilla: Valid. He was just trying to do his job and was having an extra stressful day with his charge running off and disappearing with almost half of Paris looking for him.

Anarka Couffaine- Captain Hardrock: Valid. Roger was a jerk to her, telling her that her loud music could not be played during the festival instead of simply telling her to turn it down a little.

Clara Nightingale- Frightningale: Valid. Was told that she could not perform or shoot her music video in France anymore because Chloe was being a brat over not being the star in the music video.

Ondine- Syren: Semi-Valid. She believed that she was rejected by her crush, but there had actually not been any real rejected on Kim's part.

Caline Bustier- Zombizou: Semi-Valid. While she took the akuma to protect her student, the akuma was only there because she made her student believe that she was in trouble for being a victim of bullying

Philippe- Frozer: Valid. He is close to losing his business because of the lack of customers.

Audrey Bourgeois- Style Queen: You Brought This On Yourself. She is a grown woman throwing a temper tantrum because she had to sit in the second row of a fashion show.

Penny Rolling- Troublemaker: Valid. Give the woman a bloody break. She deserves it for putting up with you crazy people and a freaking crocodile every day.

Queen Bee/Chloe Bourgeois-Queen Wasp: You Brought This On Yourself. While she had been trying to impress the mother she thought would never love her, she still stole a miraculous, almost caused a train to crash, and used her powers selfishly.

Marc Anciel-Reverser: Valid. He had his notebook destroyed and confidence ruined after trying to put himself out there for the first time because of a big misunderstanding between himself, Nathaniel, and Marinette.

Nora Césaire- Anansi: Semi-Valid. She was trying to protect her sister, but was being super overprotective and did not have faith in actual superheroes.

André Bourgeois- Malediktator: Valid. He was trying to keep his family happy and together but was faced against a brat of a daughter and a controlling wife where neither respected him.

Boy- Sandboy: Semi-Valid. He was a little boy that had a frightening nightmare, but nightmares are pretty common and normal in life.

Lila Rossi- Volpina: You Brought This On Yourself. She wanted to be akumatized and gladly welcomed the chance to be a villain again.

Nathalie Sancoeur- Catalyst: You Brough This On Yourself. She was willingly akumatized. Nothing more needs to be said.

Rena Rouge/Alya Cesair- Rena Rage: Valid. Took a negative emotions arrow for her boyfriend and had all her love put in reverse and turned into rage.

Carapace/Nino Lahiffe- Shell Shock: Valid. Just saw his superhero girlfriend be akumatized and was both losing hope and was hit by a negative emotions arrow.

Heroes' Day Villains: Valid. They all believed that one of their town heroes had been killed by the akumatized form of their other main hero. They had lost hope.

Season 3:

Lila Rossi- Chameleon: You Brought This On Yourself. She literally grabbed the akuma out of the air purposely got akumatized to try and ruin Adrien's friendships and get another shot at defeating Ladybug.

Thomas Astruc- Animaestro: What The Hell. So, he was akumatized because no one recognized him as a director of an animation movie. I did not really understand it. He was a director of an animation movie. Why would anyone recognize him if they had not seen the movie credits and know who the director was in the first place?

Rolland Dupain- Bakerix: What The Hell. I'm still confused over him. Was he akumatized because Marinette lied about who she was or was it because he was upset over modern baking techniques outshining his own? I did not get it.

Marianne Lenoir- Backwarder: Valid. She had been waiting a long time for the person that she loved, only to believe that he no longer cared for her.

Max Kanté- Gamer 2.0: Semi-Valid. He could not find a person to test out the game that he had made and was told no by a lot of people. A person can only take rejection for so long.

Tom Dupain- Weredad: Valid. He wanted to protect his daughter from heartbreak and was a victim of a lie gone way out of hand.

Luka Couffaine- Silencer: Valid. The song, look, and music that he and his friends created was stolen and his friend had been threatened when they tried to get their music back.

Kagami Tsurugi- Oni-Сhan: Valid. She might have been jealous, but that was only because Liar Rossi lied her way into her friend's home, kissed him without his permission, and claimed that the two were a couple even when he was obviously uncomfortable with her kissing him.

Sabrina Raincomprix- Miraculer: Semi-Valid. She was yelled at by her friend even though she was simply trying to help her after she fought off being akumatized.

Alya Césaire & Nino Lahiffe- Oblivio: What The Hell. They were akumatized over being caught playing a silly video game. That is a very stupid reason.

Wayhem- Party Crasher: Valid. He thought that his friend lied to him about not being able to have friends over and was then rejected at the door of his friend's house when he thought that there was a party there he could attend.

Chris Lahiffe- Christmaster: Semi-Valid. He was upset over not being able to get his presents early, but what kid wouldn't be upset over that.

Manon Chamack- Puppeteer: Semi-Valid. Wanted to play with the big kids and felt ignored by them all day. But that is pretty common for little kids to feel, especially when older siblings and their friends are involved.

Aurore Beauréal- Stormy Weather: Valid. Not only were her grades slipping, but she was also ridiculed by a bully, bullied by her saying 'once a villain always a villain.'

Ms. Mendeleiev- Kwamibuster: Semi-Valid. She was humiliated on live television when trying to prove herself as a great scientist, but she had not even bothered to look at the footage she had before going on the show.

Dormant Sentimonster- Feast: What The Hell. An akumatized sentimonster. I have officially seen it all now.

Juleka Couffaine- Reflekta/Reflectdoll: Valid. She was trying to start her dream of being a model but was basically chased out because Alya was pushing her matchmaking over her friend's dream.

Tomoe Tsurugi- Ikari Gozen: Semi-Valid. Her daughter had disobeyed her to play a game that she did not think was worth the time, but she was still an overly strict mother that was trying to control her daughter's every move.

Vivica- Desperada: Valid. She was fired for a completely ridiculous reason and her boss was quick to try and find a replacement for her.

Claudie Kanté- Startrain: Valid. She was a nervous wreck over if she was close to achieving her dream of being an astronaut while also being a worried mother about having to leave her son if she did get accepted into training.

Xavier Ramier- Mr. Pigeon: You Brought This On Yourself/What The Hell. This guy had been akumatized about 24 times. Enough said.

Future Chris Lahiffe- Timetagger: What The Hell. We are never even given a reason why he was akumatized in the first place.

Cat Noir- Cat Blanc: Valid. He had just found out that his father is the supervillain that has been terrorizing Paris for years and that the mother that disappeared has been under his house the entire time in a coma.

Alya Césaire/Rose Lavillant/Juleka Couffaine- Lady Wifi/Princess Fragrance/Reflekta: Valid. They believed that their friend had sent a horrible message to them in return for their heartfelt messages about them supporting him in his time of pain.

Nathalie Sancoeur- Catalyst: You Brought This On Yourself. She was willingly akumatized again, nothing more and nothing less.

André & Audrey Bourgeois- Heart Hunter: Semi-Valid. They had been fighting and not as in-love as they probably had been once upon a time, but they had never thought about a marriage counselor before.

Queen Bee/Chloe Bourgeois- Miracle Queen: You Brought This On Yourself. Even after being told that she will not get the bee miraculous back, she still tries getting it from Ladybug multiple times. And then she willingly works with Hawkmoth.

[maxwell-grant]

To return to the Pulp Heroes: Thoughts on the Rocketeer?

Rocketeer's design is incredible, maybe one of the Top Five pulp hero character designs at least. It emulates a 30s aviator color scheme and has reasonably practical baggy pants but with a distinguishable torso, a blend of fancy and practical and iconic that blends as a call back to the adventure nostalgia that's really what this character is all about. The helmet has a very lovable bug-eyed Sentai aspect to it and it's "horn" perfectly compliments the character's perpetual motion, like a pulp hero equivalent of Flash's wing ears. It's a design so perfect that it single-handedly influenced much of the aesthetics we usually attribute to pulp heroes and "two-fisted tales", and it gets a lot of incredible art dedicated to it as a result. Just perfect character design.

Which is the nicest thing I can say about The Rockeeter himself, because I don't think there's really much to him once you get past the design. Cliff in his original iteration is an asshole, not even in a lovable way (especially when we learn about why is it that he's fled the circus), and the comic's not really interested in him as a person as much as it's interested in it's well-drawn setpieces and the cameos it can squeeze in it. Every other Rocketeer comic I've read since then either plays this up or downplays it, which is a little better but also usually ends up leaving Cliff a little bland. Can't judge the movie version because I haven't seen it yet.

He's a guy with an attitude who gets a jetpack and takes up adventuring and becomes a slightly more responsible jerk. And Bettie Page is his girlfriend, and that's all there is to her, she's a bunch of Bettie Page pin-ups. Sometimes Cliff crosses over with other characters from the time period. Mostly he gets into high-action flying sequences which are usually great to look at because he's a very pleasing character to draw.

I don't wanna come across as too harsh here, but the character just doesn't give me much to work with. He's not bad, he works for what the stories are going for, but I don't think what the stories are going for is particularly interesting to me in the first place. I'd guess I'd ultimately describe him as a sort of entry-level pulp hero in the sense that he's fairly popular and acessible for people who wanna get started looking into pulp fiction. The comics are allright, it's just that I can't really muster up much investment in Cliff as a person.

I do relate to his love of flying and how it's often established it's where he feels most comfortable, and I guess ultimately he's a character entirely centered around the wonder of flight as an ability, something that gets taken for granted when so many superheroes have it as a textbook superpower, but here, it becomes not just the great tool that allows a shmuck like Cliff to become a hero, but also the forbidden secret he must keep from the forces of evil. It's "just" a jetpack and a costume, but presented in the right context it becomes something special.

Truth be told, I did buy the original Dave Stevens comic, largely because of The Shadow's cameo as Jonas, which was very nice, definitely one of my favorite comic appearences of the character. I like that it's he who starts to steer Cliff in the right direction as an agent of good, I always love stories that emphasize The Shadow as a teacher and someone who helps people find purpose. And I do really like this part from Rocketeer Adventures where he takes Cliff on a test flight as he's training Cliff, even calling him son. It's cute and I wouldn't mind seeing more of it.

[luninosity]

Okay, so, some Falcon and the Winter Soldier thoughts (will have some spoilers) for episodes two and three. General non-spoilery comment first: I feel like these were both *okay* episodes - neither as good as the first, but I didn’t dislike them, either. I’m still really curious to see how we’re going to wrap this all up in three more episodes; it doesn’t feel like we’re halfway done yet!

Okay, more spoiler-y notes below the Read More, not in any real order, just as I think and type. I’ll probably forget some things, but for now, here’re some thoughts...

--I like ep 3 slightly more than ep 2, mostly because of Zemo!

--I actually really love Zemo here (I liked him in Civil War, too): complex, sardonic, enjoying poking at people, a villain we do feel sympathy for even as he’s still sharp enough to remind us that he is a villain. Daniel Bruhl has always done a fantastic job flipping between calculated cruelty, wry humor - the whole “I am a Baron” moment was great - and pain that for him is still raw, about the loss of his family. (Some things’re awfully cliche - look, the supervillain’s playing chess and reading Machiavelli in his cell? really? - but, y’know...sure. Why not. We expect some cliches in the superhero genre, and this is an inoffensive one.)

--also Zemo dancing. That’s it. That’s everything.

--moving on from that: I’m also really liking how they’re writing John Walker. He does have charm, and there’s a certain amount of sympathy - especially as we see him worrying about filling the Captain America shoes, in ep 2 - but we’re also getting this really subtle sense of wrongness about him. He’s clearly vindictive and angry when things (and people) don’t act according to his mental script for them, and he’s willing to use his name and power to do things like get Bucky released...which in context and given our sympathies for Bucky is a good thing, but...it’s also an indicator of his willingness to do what he wants, because he can. (To be fair, Steve Rogers also often did that! - but Steve earned our trust, both in narrative and character. From his first introduction to WWII leadership experience to all the Avengers stuff, Steve consistently acts to protect people, and he’ll also listen if someone else has a good idea or if someone needs to talk, like with Wanda.) So I’m really liking this slow-fuse character development.

--mixed feelings about Sharon. I love that the show’s acknowledging how much she sacrificed for our main heroes, with no reward. On the other hand, she also clearly knew the consequences that could happen; she said as much at the time. The level of bitterness seems like a lot. But I’m also interested in everything we still don’t know about her - if she’s not the Power Broker herself, she’s obviously Up To Something. So that should be fun.

--hey, look at that X-Men location, with Majipoor! Also a nod to Wolverine’s favorite bar there, I think?

--I love heist and disguise plots!

--I also really like Bucky’s having to revert to the Winter Soldier - Sebastian Stan does it so brilliantly, with so many layers of emotion: not wanting to, loathing it, recognizing the necessity, shutting off all emotion and just coldly doing it, hurting but covering it up...just fantastic, and you know I love some hurt/comfort, and this seems like such a great set-up for emotional hurt

--but! this also seems like...a weird plot hole, kind of? Bucky’s pretty famous at this point, right? I imagine the criminal underworld knows he’s been pardoned and deprogrammed, right? or do they assume Zemo, with his knowledge of Hydra, still has some special control over him?

--along the same “this seems like someone didn’t think this through” path, Sam, you’re a professional, turn off your phone on a mission. Oh my god. Face-palmingly stupid - and I think somewhat lazy writing, as the writers plainly needed a giveaway, and went for the first idea they had. Even if it made a main character look incompetent.

--the Flag Smashers and Karli are...fine. They feel very Generic Marvel Villain - not the big space alien type, but the other type, the “I have a personal loss and motivating pain so I’m a little sympathetic but also Clearly Evil, watch me kill civilians so the audience won’t ever find me TOO sympathetic” type. Meh. Fine. Zemo’s more interesting, but...fine.

--Anthony Mackie is such a fantastic actor - every bit of his reaction to the Isaiah Bradley reveal is so good. The anger, pain, frustration, ferocity...heartbreaking. Actually that whole scene is so good - his emotions at discovering this secret history are palpable, and it’s so painful, because we also understand why Bucky would keep the secret - as someone who knows about pain and trauma and being experimented on, and knowing Isaiah wants to be left alone - we feel really deeply for both characters here, and it’s great.

--I actually liked the abrupt swing from the Isaiah Bradley encounter to the casual everyday racism of the cops on the street - is it subtle, no. But it’s not meant to be: it’s meant to be standing up and shouting about how not that much has really changed, and about how pervasive racism is. I know some reviews were all, “this was just too much!” or “too forced!” but...look, it needs to be shouted sometimes for people to hear.

--Bucky’s notebook being Steve’s, oh, ouch, my feelings. If I had the time and energy to write fic...

--(also, if I had the time and energy to write dark!fic: where’re my fics in which Zemo’s implication about the Winter Soldier “doing anything you want” gets played with? what or who does Bucky have to do to keep the undercover charade going? so many Bad Wrong Kinky power dynamics and explorations of consent and what this would do to Bucky’s head, here, and honestly I’d totally read them all, just saying.)

--Sam and Bucky together...I don’t know. This is one of the elements that I’m not actually a huge fan of, but I think it’s partly a personal genre / sense of humor thing that’s not clicking for me, personally, again. Like...

--I don’t find people shouting aggrievedly at each other to be funny? I’m not sure why it is.

--I mean, I get that they’re doing, like, eighties buddy cop movies, but...it got old really fast then, and it’s not something we needed to bring back. It’s not clever, and it’s...well, shouty and annoying.

--(I say this as someone who genuinely likes the first two Lethal Weapon movies...but the significant difference is, I think, we’re also shown in both those movies that Riggs and Murtaugh care about each other. They don’t want to be partners initially, and they don’t get along initially, and they do argue over tactics**...but they immediately feel responsible for each other and act to protect each other even as they argue, because it’s the right thing to do and we’re shown moments of them awkwardly trying to connect, because they both have that deep sense of...protectiveness...that makes them Good People - like, if they learn something that the other person needs to know, they tell each other. They protect each other’s families / love interests. So by the end of the second movie, with that fabulous character death fake-out, Murtaugh’s initial shock and grief is real and powerful and painful, and so is his genuine relief when the worst isn’t true - and it’s all earned.) (**however, they tend to argue tactics *before* jumping in - “is it 1, 2, 3, go on 3? or 3, then go?” And then once that’s established, they go ahead. That makes a difference as far as...well...competence and teamwork!)

--(Sam and Bucky, as far as I can tell, don’t do the above, and just...maybe shouldn’t be working together?)

--I also don’t find grown men acting like my youngest nephew, when he’s having a temper tantrum, to be funny. Staring contests? Random insults? Sulking in silence? Oh, grow up.

--(Also, yes, writers, we see you with the “couples therapy” and “get closer and make your legs touch” and “landing on top of each other as they hit the ground” moments. I, at least, personally, am very tired of...I don’t know that I’d call it queerbaiting exactly, but this idea that we’re supposed to find these moments funny...because why? Because, ooh, they’re two men getting close to each other, physically or emotionally? Why is this a thing we need to draw attention to? Do you think you’re doing some sort of fan service? Please either make Sam/Bucky happen or stop doing this.)

--both Sam and Bucky are highly competent and professional agents, or they should be. They should know how to work in the field - even with people they may not like - and adapt to shifting strategy, make best use of available assets, include people in the plan, etc. I can’t help but compare this to something like, say, Leverage, which also has a team who mocks each other and makes jokes but clearly absolutely respects each other’s capabilities, has a plan going in and tells everyone what the plan is, and adapts (and trusts each other to adapt) on the fly as necessary, and does it all without random insults about someone’s (PTSD-related) staring and “robot brain”.

--one of the very specific moments that bothers me a lot is the ending of the therapy scene (yay for showing heroes in therapy! but also I’m pretty sure she’s...not a great therapist?). Bucky finally opens up and says something real, about his own self-doubt and wondering whether Steve was wrong about him....and Sam just...brushes it off and goes, “we’re done here,” basically. Not only does that feel wildly out of character for former counselor Sam, it feels cruel. I really deeply dislike that moment the more I think about it. Makes me want to scream.

--Sam insults Bucky way more than the other way around. It’s starting to feel very one-sided (it’d be better if more clearly reciprocal, though it’s still not a dynamic that’s my favorite), and again, feels out of character - maybe this is Anthony Mackie’s sense of humor, but Sam isn’t Mackie, and Bucky isn’t Seb, and it reads as...a weird unbalanced power-trip thing to me. And also out of character for Sam, who can be sarcastic (”If you guys eat that sort of thing,” about breakfast, when Steve and Nat have randomly shown up at his door) but that’s not the same as just throwing unprovoked insults at a person who’s trying to recover from trauma, and a lot of those insults seem to center on things that were done to Bucky, that he had no choice in (the staring, the arm, etc), and that feels....it just feels mean, to me. Make fun of things he’s had a choice in / can do something about, if you have to - hair, clothes, liking “old people’s games” like gin rummy or pinochle, not knowing who Beyonce is, I don’t know, there are so many options that aren’t cruel! Do that instead. Let Bucky have a good comeback for once, too!

--the action scenes are action scenes. Also fine.

--Sam might be right about destroying the shield, and the show may even be (unintentionally?) setting that up as the best outcome, but that’s a problem for the future, Sam; get it back first. Also it’s a problem you caused by giving the shield up - did you really trust the government to leave it unused in a museum? You’re not that naive.

--overall, it’s...a perfectly fine show, so far, I think? Solid, and interesting, but not great. I think some of what doesn’t work for me is because it doesn’t work for me personally, as far as the shouty insult-heavy action “comedy” bits that I’m not enjoying, but I think they’re doing what they aimed for with it, so in that sense, I guess it’s working? There’s a lot of really cool stuff around the edges - John Walker, Isaiah Bradley, that Dora Milaje stinger, the bigger world of a history interwoven with racism and superpowers, the chillingly effective use of Bucky’s past - but I wish I liked the central Sam-Bucky relationship more. Individually they’re wonderful - they’ve both had such powerful scenes dealing with family, trauma, and consequences - but I feel like, in the effort to do the buddy comedy dynamic, the writing has just made me really sure that they actually genuinely don’t like each other? To such an extent that if they show any affection / caring / interest in each other in the last three episodes, it won’t be believable. (I mean Sam and Bucky, not Mackie and Seb. Mackie and Seb’re adorable.)

--I just want to think about Zemo dancing some more.

[lady-charinette]

Adrien Agreste =/= Sociopath - About Adrien Salt

I've seen a lot of posts going around about Adrien being a sociopath or the other (harasser, abuser...etc.)

What I find most of those posts lacking is looking at the big picture, or just zeroing in on certain moments of the show and even disregarding the context of those selected moments to unfairly rule judgement on a child (in canon) no less.

Definition of sociopath: A sociopath is a term used to describe someone who has antisocial personality disorder (ASPD). People with ASPD can’t understand others’ feelings. They’ll often break rules or make impulsive decisions without feeling guilty for the harm they cause.

People with ASPD may also use “mind games” to control friends, family members, co-workers, and even strangers. They may also be perceived as charismatic or charming.

We have to analyze the context and the surroundings Adrien is in.

Family, social life, relationships (platonic and romantic), personality, age, environment...etc.

Family:

We know Adrien has a father who is controlling, preferring to micro-manage every aspect of his son's life to continue to have a semblance of control at all times. We assume (heavily implied in the show), that his mother was kind, warm and emotional (whether that emotional is the "out-there" kind her twin sister has, it remains to be seen.)

According to a snippet from "Simon Says", Adrien also has "Quite a temper, you remind me of someone" according to Gabriel's own words, we can assume the "someone" is Emilie, Gabriel says this when Chat Noir refused to follow his orders and told him to basically "get off his high horse". In this context, anyone who defies Gabriel in such a way would either be branded as "disobedient" or to "have quite a temper".

According to Adrien himself in "Adrien's Double Life" (from Miraculous Secrets) he describes being Chat Noir as "...I can finally do whatever I want to do, say whatever comes to mind." He doesnt feel as restricted and controlled since that's the one aspect of his life his father has no knowledge of.

Social life:

Adrien has had no or very little interaction with peers.

Evidence: Chloe being his childhood friend. Felix commenting on Chloe's appearance in the video she sent for Adrien's birthday, saying "Chloe. Just as annoying as usual." suggests he knows her from before, maybe even as early on as their childhood days.

This makes Felix and Chloe the only kids, of spoiled and rich background, with whom Adrien interacted.

Felix is shown to be good at manipulating people and keeping up appearances (potentially connected to insecurities within the family? Not confirmed), Chloe is openly mean and bullies others (with underlying insecurities also connected to her parents).

The only positive adult (if Gorilla isn't as involved and Nathalie had been solely Gabriel's secretary and not Adrien's caretaker since there was Emilie) in Adrien's life would be his mother, who also fell into a coma during Adrien's formative years (and still during a time where he's figuring himself and his emotions out: puberty), leaving him with his father.

Moving on, even if the writer's sometimes may not always successfully show Adrien being awkward in social interactions, it doesnt mean they dont exist.

This interaction between him and Marinette, asking for her autograph, very formal in his question, awkward in posture:

He's picked up on some speech patterns from his frequent interactions with Nino ("dude", "Hey man." "Totally dude.") showing he's, like many people, mimicking his friend's behavior and speech to grow more favorably in their eyes.

The same pattern can be observed with Gabriel and Adrien: Adrien adopts his father's formal speech whenever talking to him, since that appeases him.

Adrien has had very limited friendly interactions with his peers, romantic interactions are basically non-existent. The scenes where Adrien is being chased by his fans, who obsessively adore him, cant be linked to Adrien experiencing healthy romantic contact (Lila doesn't count since she only uses Adrien to further her goals). Marinette doesn't count since Adrien's isn't even aware of her romantic feelings for him. (Again, difficulties picking up social cues due to only ever being homeschooled > limited social contact with peers)

So no, in my humble opinion, Adrien sometimes doesn't understand other people's feelings not because he's a sociopath, but because he's an awkward kid with very little experience about making friends and having healthy relationships with them.

Relationships:

Let's be direct here: Gabriel is an abusive as*hole.

If the writer's wanted to show Gabriel struggling or having remorse for his actions being Hawkmoth and putting his son through danger, well... They blew it. "Gorizilla" was a 5 second reaction of Hawkmoth showing concern after letting Adrien fall from a skyscraper. Applause. After that? Not much.

Nathalie: Adrien likes, she takes care of him, his schedule, was the one to convince Gabriel to let him attend public school. There are moments in the show where she softens up towards Adrien, but always carries that air of professionalism on her to (possibly, assumption) not grow too close. Gorilla is...Gorilla, but at least the man tries with his nonverbal support and affectionate grunts. Lol.

Gabriel: He loves his father. It's his parent, after all. However, Adrien's reactions to him are vastly different than to how he reacts when thinking of his mother. He shows signs of fear (tensing up, growing obedient...etc.), he excuses his father's excessive controlling tendencies to just be "he's just worried about me", "that's the way he always was", "father cares and protects me". Adrien shows to be frequently disappointed with Gabriel, one of the first scenes being that Gabriel couldn't attend parent's day at school, Adrien was talking on the phone alone in the school hallway. He was genuinely surprised by the blue scarf his father gifted him (not knowing it was Marinette), since all he used to get were pens (again, not even from Gabriel, but Nathalie). This is my assumption but: Adrien has previously begged his father to go outside more or attend public school, but this time it worked only because Nathalie managed to convince him.

Friends from school: Nino is his best friend, Adrien seems to be good friends with Alya too, basically everyone in class, with varying degrees of closeness. Chloe is a childhood friend whom Adrien is fond of but also grows exasperated with and corrects her behavior if she's too harsh.

Marinette: likes and respects her, but can't read her well or at least when he thinks he's got her figured out, she claims the opposite. Marinette has been sending mixed signals, on one hand even making Adrien believe (and fear) they weren't friends. "Chat Blanc" contrary to popular belief, showed that Adrien is delighted at the prospect of Marinette being Ladybug (he'd severe doubts when Chloe or anyone else was brought up as a possible option).

Kagami: likes her, respects her, admires her fencing skills, learned to have fun hanging out with her and playing as kids usually do since she also has a controlling parent and they both know some ways/tricks around their boundaries to sneak off and meet their friends. Adrien and Kagami have similarities in that respect, Gabriel pushing Adrien to be a model, Mrs. Tsurugi pushing Kagami to be a master fencer.

Lila: At first defended her, was friendly towards her since she was a new student from overseas he sympathized because surely it would be lonely? The new girl would need a friend who supported her through all this things that were new for him too. However, as soon as he caught wind of Lila's schemes, he changes his tune. He feels uncomfortable around her overstepping his boundaries, expresses anger when Lila accused Marinette of crimes she didn't commit and even makes a deal with her to not bother Marinette again (but use him instead, doing photoshoots together...etc.) to keep her safe.

Age:

A 14-15 year old, having lost his mother, the only positive, healthy relationship in his life. Surrounded by a controlling father, not much free time, many extracurricular activities and being a superhero alongside Ladybug.

Some of the signs of being a sociopath include: Breaking rules and being impulsive.... Didn't Ladybug do those too?

Breaking the rules: (since LB and Marinette are the same) stealing phones, sneaking into places where she shouldn't, using the miraculous for personal gain (latest example: getting Kagami away from Adrien), giving Adrien the snake miraculous due to personal preference instead of drawing logical conclusions. Sneaked into the Agreste mansion.

Impulsiveness: Marinette's daily fantasies (sharing a future life with Adrien and their hamster-who-must-not-be-named), when Lila's "precious family heirloom necklace" was "stolen", Marinette was quick to include her classmates in the list of potential perpetrators for it (without ill intent, but still..)

You know who the real potential sociopath in the show is?

Gabriel

Some of you might include Lila too (since she fits all the criteria for being a sociopath), but the key difference is: Lila is still just a kid.

We don't know much about her family life. Just that her mother is busy with work, we don't know where her father is, who her friends were/if she even had them. She might be lying and manipulating people to follow her own agenda, but she thrives in attention, when people notice and praise her. In some aspects, that could've been Adrien. With one neglectful parent, a missing parent, no friends (prior to going to school)...etc. There is also a lot we don't know about her.

[vampish-glamour]

Preferably, only LGBT people would portray LGBT characters because:

1. LGBT people are so marginalised that helping them break into the industry is a good thing

2. You say being LGBT isn't some magical other that straight people can't portray, and that this would also mean LGBT can't play straight people.

I disagree, LGBT are systemically sidelined, and real portrayals of our lives are hard to find irl or in media. I also think you give straight people too much credit, cause even supportive allies will come out with some shit that shows clear misunderstanding sometimes.

LGBT however, have been inundated with straightness, and in many cases have pretended to be straight for many years, therefore clearly able ti actually perform straightness. By the structure of our society, we are essentially forced to be able to understand straight people.

(I’ll be talking about LGB because that’s what I think is simple to represent, T I think gets more complicated. Just because then we aren’t just talking about same sex attraction and love in general, we’re talking about gender dysphoria and transition)

What is there to portray that a straight person couldn’t? A good actor can get in touch with their character, and can portray any experience their character has. This includes being LGBT.

A straight actor, if they are a good actor, can properly portray an LGB character. A cis actor, if they are a good actor, can properly portray a trans character.

I just don’t think there’s much to misunderstand or portray badly. Sure, a straight person may not understand what it’s like to come out or be closeted. But they also don’t understand what it’s like to be a superhero, and they still play superheroes all the time. Because acting is about portraying experiences that aren’t your own! Acting is about becoming somebody else. It’s stupid to draw the line at sexuality.

Most people just complain about awkward same sex kiss scenes, and I agree, they should be done better. But I don’t think it’s awkward because it’s a same sex kiss scene, I’ve seen equally awkward opposite sex kiss scenes. It’s just the actors really not wanting to kiss. So find actors that are willing to kiss, and bam, you’ve got a good kiss scene.

Being LGB, while underrepresented, is not a magical other. It’s just attraction to the same sex. We understand that love is love, so we should also understand that if a straight actor just understands that their character loves this same sex character, they can act in love. And if they understand what love is, they’ll be fine.

Plus, I want LGB people to be casted by talent. I would much rather have a talented straight actor, than a bad LGB actor who was only picked because they’re LGB. If the best actor in the lineup is LGB, great! But if the best actor in the lineup is straight, I don’t think they shouldn’t be casted just because of their sexuality.

I don’t really know how to explain this other than that. Let actors be actors. I trust that if you find a talented straight actor, they’ll be able to play an LGB character. I don’t think people should be casted based on sexuality. Just get the best actor, and if they happen to be LGB, that can be considered a bonus but not a necessity.

I’ll leave you with two examples that come to my mind of gay characters portrayed by straight people that I loved. First one would be Tara Maclay from Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I thought she was portrayed very well, and she was played by a straight woman as far as I know. Second one would be Marvin from Falsettos (2016 revival). He was played by a straight man, who did a wonderful job. In fact, I read an article where the gay man who plays Marvin’s lover, said that he has a chip on his shoulder about straight people playing gay characters and was wary about Marvin’s casting, but eased up when he saw how good of a job the actor did at portraying Marvin.

Also here’s a clip from Bright Young Things… I’ve never actually seen the movie lol this is just a scene I was told to watch because of Michael Sheen and because it’s sad. Sounds like the context is that this is a gay character (Miles) who has to flee the country due to homosexuality being criminalized, and letters from him to a male lover were handed over to the police. Arguably this is an experience no young LGB person who’s lived in the western world all their lives could properly portray, as they would have never experienced their sexuality being criminalized and having to flee. Technically, you’d need to find an LGB refugee, wouldn’t you? Sounds like an awfully unrealistic expectation. But because there are good actors out there, like Sheen IMO, this experience can be properly portrayed because they can get in their character’s head.

Here’s a clip of Marvin from Falsettos singing about his lover who died from AIDS complications. Sung by a straight man who did a damn good job because he’s a good actor.

A clip of Tara from Buffy, it’s a song from the musical episode but you can just watch the first part that’s not a song, since it’s a gay joke that was acted well by a straight woman. A straight woman who also did a damn good job at portraying a gay character, because she’s a good actor.

I’m just saying, the key here is good actors. A good actor will be able to portray anything believably, even if they don’t experience it themselves. That’s what acting is all about.