#Moira is convinced that people are fucking with them at this point
Text
What did they mean by this
#overwatch#overwatch 2#moira#moira o'deorain#venture#Moira is convinced that people are fucking with them at this point#i LOVE drawing her in uncomfortable and confusing situations!#do NOT leave venture alone with the test tubes !!
2K notes
·
View notes
Text
Marleyan Warriors with a Filipino S/O!!
[Author Note: this is literally a re-do of my headcanons bc tumblr’s being mean and deleting my drafts, anyways trying to rush another finished bc outta here 😭 also! Reminder that my requests are OPEN, don’t be afraid to send in any requests!!]
Summary: Marleyan Warriors with a Pinoy S/O!
Recommended Song: Titibo-Tibo by Moira Dela Torre
TW: Swearing.
Theme: Fluff, Modern AU.
Characters: Reiner, Bertholdt, Annie, Zeke, Pieck, Porco.
Annie Leonhart
Annie knew, she actually met you at an event for those with cultures, and saw you dancing with your friends to traditional filipino folk music.
She was kinda hesitant to go when you asked her to accompany you to the Philippines, she didn’t like traveling.
She was kinda shocked on how welcoming your family was, your mom and dad hugged her out of nowhere and she just let out a squeak.
Your little sister forced her to go to SM mall with her omg- She literally came home with bags of candy.
Yes, Annie has a soft spot for your family, she probably almost spent all her money on them.
Buchi rivals her love for donuts. She looked like she discovered a new universe after eating one of them thangs.
God, help her when she’s watching filipino movies, your family encouraged her to watch movies with them, and by the end of it she was a mess, pretty sure she cried into your shoulder after watching Seven Sundays.
BUT LIKE SHE ENDS UP BEING ABLE TO COMMUNICATE WITH YOUR PARENTS.
You see, Annie is a really fast learner, she was bound to learn to be able to speak some point in her stay.
You were shocked when she spoke back to you in tagalog, like ‘dropped my stuff out of shock’ kinda way.
IT WAS A PAIN GETTING HER INTO A BARO’T SAYA. But bribing her with Buchis got her to keep it on for like 2 hours so like..good enough.
Her favourite filipino song is Porque.
Everybody acts like it’s a concert for every karaoke night because she’s there, like she’s just THAT good.
Reiner Braun
This man was so awkward. He went on a trip with Bertholdt to the Philippines, and met you.
He didn’t think you would understand him, so he just stared at you while you talked with your friends, until you were creeped out enough and asked him if he had a problem.
When you and him started dating, you convinced him to travel all around the country.
Firstly, you guys visited your family, your dad absolutely loved him, your mom was a little bit hesitant in letting him in the family, he was blonde, big and buff. Filipinos are bound to worry. Until Reiner cooked with her, then she started to warm up to him.
Okay but why did your family’s chickens like him so much??
He likes the feeling of being around your family, him not having a dad left an impact on him and he felt complete being with you and your family, he swore to himself that he’d marry you.
He almost fainted when he found you battling with one of the kids with your pet spider, mf was deathly afraid of your spider, it was like the size of your hand pls-
I think he’d be fairly good at speaking tagalog, he’s got an accent but people can understand him.
He eats like a tito omg- You lost him at a party once and when you found him, he’s already eaten half of the barbecue.
Everyone thought he was really old, because of his beard so everyone called him tito Reiner.
He’s somewhat good with the village kids, you could see Reiner playing soccer with the kids or goofing off.
He says he doesn’t like watching Manny Pacquiao but it’s his guilty pressure.
He doesn’t really listen or watch anything filipino, but he will listen to old filipino bands if you play them in his car.
Bertholdt Hoover
HAHA PLs- you got mad at him for eating your cake and started cursing in filipino. He was confused because he thought you were just blurting out nonsense.
One second you’re explaining what you were saying and the next second y’all are on the way to the Philippines.
He sweats like a waterfall, LITERALLY. Everyone would like move away because he sweated that much.
You had a private island..because y’all were RICH rich. he was kinda awestruck, you literally just said out of nowhere.
“oh yeah, we have a private island.” ‘YOU HAVE A FUCKING WHAT??”
Poor baby was kinda intimidated by your basket-ball player of a brother, he was taller than Bertholdt omg-
You’re always worrying him somehow, he’s be on the toilet and he’d just hear you scream and he comes running down with his boxers, just to see you watching a telenovela and you had to tell him that you were just gushing over the drama.
He has never felt so embarrassed.
Am I the only one who thinks he looks amazing in a Barong?? Like he’d rock that shit-
He loves eating filipino food, he likes when you guys stay in the country and you go out to buy bread at the nearest bakery.
Like every filipino, he too, dips his bread in coffee.
He ended up learning guitar while he’s in the Philippines, the country’s filled with people who can sing amazingly, he’s bound to learn guitar.
His favourite filipino song to play is Tadhana, it’s also the only song that he knows to sing to, like he absolutely butchers pronunciation for words but this man covers it up with this song.
Zeke Jaeger
He bumped into you and you cursed at him in tagalog, he basically just fell for you at that point.
I just know your family secretly hates this man, he slapped your ass once around your mom and your dad, it’s always tense when he’s around now.
You don’t have the heart to tell him your parents saw because one afternoon, he was gushing and praising your family, you didn’t want to ruin his happiness, his dad’s barely around and his mom passed away. he’d obviously be attached.
Yes you had to talk to your parents about it, a lot of filipinos are very kinds and forgiving, so your parents were very understanding, and made sure he felt loved around the family.
He actually almost cried when your dad told him to marry you already.
He calls your parents nanay and tatay.
You got him to buy a pet spider please- You would catch him fighting a kid’s spider to the death in a match, he’d feel bad though so he buys them new ones after.
Hey this man looks so hot in a Barong, please. You guys had to book a hotel for a night for some alone time yk.
Lord help this man, he tried to do the tinikling dance and he tripped, in front of everyone.
Every night, he comes to bed all shirtless, you could just hear the air conditioner buzzing as he tells you how fun it was playing with the village kids, or talking about he and your titos had a drink while watching a boxing match.
He more so listens to various artists, he doesn’t have a favourite.
but he will replay Joseph Vincent’s filipino covers.
Pieck Finger
She was on a business trip in the Philippines, and you were coincidentally at the same bar they were celebrating at. You were by the karaoke section and she kinda just, fell in love with you. right there and then.
Honestly some people thought you guys were siblings, Pieck can be mistaken as a filipino easily so, you guys expect it from time to time.
She likes to ask from time to time to teach her guitar, your mom probably has a lot of pictures of you and Pieck.
She loves eating the food in the Philippines, she thinks the adobo is great and if you lose her in public she’s probably by a street vendor eating food.
You guys dance to old filipino songs, a replaying song for you guys is Mabagal by Daniel Padillia and Moira Dela Torre.
She learnt Moira’s Part while you had Daniel’s part.
GUys she looks so beautiful in a Baro’t Saya. And she knows it, she flaunts it so well.
You guys probably have a vacation house in the Philippines after leaving with her to go back to her country.
She helps you with packing balikbayan boxes for your family, she makes handwritten letters, she’s both good at writing and saying anything in tagalog.
Her favourite artist is definitely Moira Dela Torre, she just loves her airy voice.
Favourite Filipino Movie? Yes.
You cannot tell me she doesn’t have a shelf full of filipino movies you guys watch.
Her favourite street food is probably qwek-qwek. She likes the sauce she dips, and she probably bought almost twenty bucks worth of the fishballs.
Porco Galliard
UGh honestly he’s a little cringey when it comes to the culture, for some reason I can see him accidentally disrespecting it somehow, I can’t help it.
Your family owned a sari-sari store, and he could not help for the love of him, he ended up being the one stocking it up while you chatted with the customers.
Like Pieck, he and you dance when you’re alone, he probably learnt from Pieck too.
He listens to modern filipino artists, like Ex Battalion, Skusta Clee.
He tries hard to really be respectful, he butchers the way he says nanay and tatay but your parents appreciate the effort.
I can see him being able to secretly make amazing filipino desserts, his ube cake is bomb.
He watches Basketball with your dad, and they both drink during the match.
I can also see him being the type to scream out curses when he hurts himself, a ‘PUNYETA’ comes out of his mouth.
he doesn’t enjoy the hot weather in the Philippines, and due to that, he wears sandos all the time at home, and when he goes out, every girl always looks at him because he’s ripped, yes you’re jealous, but as you should, he’s your mans-
He also knows how use a barbecue grill? You can find him helping your family members while they’re selling barbecue.
he hates going to SM?? He just really hates going, because you genuinely just go for the food court. They sell hella good food.
One time he got chased by the village dogs, so he doesn’t go out without you or a family member.
He secretly loves watching telenovelas with you.
#AOT headcanons#aot imagines#aot x reader#aot x y/n#marley warriors#marley warriors x reader#reiner braun#aot reiner#reiner x reader#reiner x y/n#reiner x you#bertholdt#attack on titan bertholdt#snk bertholdt#bertholdt x reader#reader x bertholdt#annie leonhardt#annie leonhart headcanons#annie leonhart manga#annie x reader#zeke headcanons#snk zeke#zeke jäger#zeke jaeger#zeke jaeger x reader#annie leonhart x reader#reiner braun x reader#bertholdt hoover#bertholdt hoover x reader#pieck finger
135 notes
·
View notes
Text
X-Men Abridged: 1978
The X-Men, those take-me-to-the-ballgame mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!
(X-Men 109 - 116) - by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, Tony Dezuniga
Yes, the plan here is to toss Kurt at Magneto and yes, it’s objectively the best panel of 1978. (X-Men 113)
If the X-Men were a tv-show, the Phoenix mending the M’Kraan Crystal would probably have been the finale of season 1 of X-Men: the New Generation. Now that we’ve had this big finish, Claremont takes his time to sow new plot seeds and navigate his team of merry mutants in new directions. Compared to 1977, 1978 is a lot more laid back, with smaller arcs and more character moments.
Take the first two issues of the year, for example. The victorious X-Men come home from their space capers and for a moment, all is well. Ororo is a plant mommy, Kurt is a grade-A cutey and Jean comes out to her parents as the Phoenix. (Intrigued? Read more here.) And, because Moira going back home to Scotland, the X-Men say goodbye to her through… a baseball game! (Which, I guess if you’re comic book character bound by the comic book code, is the next best thing to just getting drunk together.)
It’s all very straight-edge wholesome.
Lilandra is very absent: I’m assuming she is sleeping off the space jetlag somewhere. idk
Sure, there’s still a few action-packed B-plots: a fight scene is mandatory in a comic book, after all. Weapon Alpha tries to claim Wolverine in the name of the Canadian government and some nobody named Warhawk sneaks into the mansion as a phone repairman to rig the Danger Room into a Death Trap.
(Look, you have a danger room. Why are you calling phone repairmen? During breakfast, did Charles go around the table, asking anyone if they wanted to fix the phone and everyone was like “nnnnnno, I am le tired”.)
Anyway, how would you unwind after a baseball game? Scott has an awesome idea! (I'm betting Scott would have embraced the Comics Code.)
This is the one issue not drawn by John Byrne this year. Dezuniga does a fine enough job, but Jean using her powers looks like she’s barfing psy-energy all over the place. (X-Men 110)
Warhawk traps the rest of the X-Men in the Danger Room. Wolverine gets a moment to shine as the team’s rogue, finally getting a win after getting knocked on his ass lately. Also, Kurt calls Warhawk Krieghabicht. (Hee.) Jean, meanwhile, is startled because despite her phenomenal powers, she was taken out so easily. She makes the formal choice to rejoin the X-Men.
And the next time we see them… THE X-MEN HAVE VANISHED? (yes, i know this sentence contradicts itself, shut up)
We find Beast at a circus in Texas, investigating their disappearance while on a sabbatical from the Avengers. See, Lorna called him because Havok was kidnapped in Scotland and the X-Men did not pick up, so she called good ole Hank McCoy. We know Charles is honeymooning with Lilandra, so where are the X-Men?
Cerebro leads Hank to a circus and, dude, for someone who’s supposed to be a genius, you draw the conclusion that these are the brainwashed X-Men way too slowly.
I by no means wish to belittle Storm’s situation, but Wolverine is in equally skimpy clothing while chained the fuck up, Beast. Can’t spare a little sympathy for him? (X-Men 111)
Beast continues being the worst detective mutantkind has ever known: even Jean, who’s currently a cigarette smoking trapeze artist named Miz Destiny, barely convinces him that these are the X-Men. When Beast finally confronts the Ring Leader, it turns out to be… Mesmero!
This pose: appropriate for a super villain or suitable for a Harlequin novel cover? Especially with all this talk about enthralling? (X-Men 112)
Apparently Mesmero doesn’t give a fuck that half these X-Men aren’t the same X-Men that fought him before. Revenge is a dish best served cold and to the wrong table, apparently. Beast fighting ole Messy causes Wolverine to spring free from his hypnotic influence. Wolvie proceeds to slap Jean out of it (literally) and they free the rest of the X-Men. But when they come and confront Mesmero in his little circus wagon, their villain is knocked out…
By Magneto.
dun dun DUN
Magneto proceeds to kidnap them, like this:
Magneto, who has no patience for narrative baggage, also yeets out Mesmero over the Andes, no big deal (X-Men 112)
Just like Mesmero, Magneto wants misplaced revenge. Instead of exacting vengeance on Charles, Moira and the Defenders involved in (literally) infantilizing him - no, seriously, he was a baby - Magneto comes for these All-New X-Men. (Look, logic has never been one of Magneto’s super powers.)
He takes the X-Men to his secret base below the South Pole, tucked away under a literal volcano. (He really should be on the tourist board for Amazing Antarctica, this is his third base there.) The X-Men, after they have safely landed, attack him, but they are tossed around like rag dolls, falling one by one - even the Phoenix.
Jean does have the right idea, though: it’s my theory that the key to defeating Magneto is being equally dramatic and hammy. (X-Men 112)
Somewhere on a cruise ship, Charles loses contact with the X-Men and proceeds to do absolutely nothing about it. Damn, but Elizabeth Taylor Lilandra must have some pretty choice moves in bed.
YOU COULD TRY FINDING OUT, CHARLES. (X-Men 113)
When the X-Men wake up, they're bound by Nanny, a robotic… uh, nanny! And Magneto unveils his revenge: he has scrambled the X-Men’s brains: they are fully conscious, but are trapped, powerlessly in their bodies, which won’t follow the instructions of their brains. It’s as if they’re the minds of adults, trapped in the bodies of infants - just like Magneto was. (He does not succumb to an evil laughter, but he’s definitely drifting into Evil Overlord territory.)
Look, a lot of this is very silly. Magneto hasn’t really been codified by Claremont yet: he’s still very much the sixties super villain and he doesn’t have his Holocaust-past yet. His motivations don’t make much sense: it’s never made clear why he needs the base, for example, or why he doesn’t just kill the X-Men. And yet, he seems more menacing than he used to be. Might be because these X-Men actually have a hard time beating him.
A lot of this era works like that. There’s the occasionally very silly trappings of a superhero comic, but there’s also glimmers of exceptional writing. Take the following scene, for example, which I’ll just include in its entirety, because fuck it. Storm is trying to break free, on the flimsy premise that she was a highly advanced baby who had the motor skills of a toddler. (I’ve met babies. They basically eat, sleep and poop. They can’t really do this.) And yet? This scene kind of works.
Like, the fact that this scene works despite the fact that Magneto thought to give his Nanny-robot a sixties copper bob-cut and a aluminium French maid headpiece is a testament to effective writing. (Also to Magneto’s attention to detail.) (X-Men 113)
No worries, Storm succeeds the second time she attempts this.
Together, the now free team manages to almost defeat Magneto, but Phoenix grows a little too zealous, destroying precious machinery. It proves to be their undoing: the roof to the base cracks open, letting lava in. Things grow dire and Magneto gets the nope out of there.
The lava turns on the heat and the team gets split up. Phoenix escapes together with Beast, and they both collapse into the freezing snow in the Arctic. A helicopter saves them, but what about the rest of the team? Are they dead?!
They’re dead enough for Professor X, and I really have questions about the effectiveness of Cerebro. After a brief mourning period, Beast rejoins the Avengers. But what really happened to the X-Men? Well, they fled into the Savage Land!
So, are we getting a sexy costume change with every new locale and/or story arc? What is this, Charmed? (X-Men 114)
The Savage Land plot is… kind of messy and confusing? First, Storm is attacked by Sauron (yay!) and he even hypnotizes Wolverine and uses his love for Jean against him (ew!), but as soon as Karl Lykos gains control again (boo!), he explains how he
Did not fall to his death;
Is suppressing his pterodactyl side (ain’t we all);
allied himself with the Savage Landers.
Then Ka-Zar, Marvel´s discount!Tarzan, explains how someone named Zaladane transformed a hapless innocent into Garruk, the Petrified Man, who is some sort of… living god? Who stopped some sort of interdimensional invasion by mending some sort of… portal rift? And then he set up shop in the swamp and built some sort of futuristic city? And he wants to enslave all of the natives of the Savage Land? And he built his city on the geothermal fissure that heats the Savage Land, so now the jungle is being choked out by snowy tundra?
Such a mess. And I know Zaladane gets important later, but, ugh, the socio-political tensions in the Savage Land is generally not what I’m here for.
One of the few Savage Land scenes I do like is also messy, but the emotional kind of messy. See, the X-Men on their part believe Jean and Hank are dead, and Scott takes it rather… lightly? When Storm confronts him about it, he confesses he does not mourn Jean as much as he thought he would, as if she were a different woman ever since they crash-landed the shuttle. Storm rejects this confession, always solidly in Jean’s camp, and basically tells Scott to man up. Scott has a point: Jean has changed and it’s not like people have fallen out of love for less, but there’s something to be said for Storm’s firm “for better or for worse”-argument. The scene ends unresolved, and I like that.
Anyway, there’s some X-Men fighting dinos and flying lizards, so there’s at least that. Oh, and Colossus develops a suddenly intense bond with a Savage Lander with a mohawk, which is a detail that becomes important later. Another significant detail?
There’s a lot of weight to that snikt, bub. (X-Men 116)
The implication is that Wolverine simply kills the guy in cold-blood. It’s a little weird that both Storm and Kurt are so okay with this, especially because Storm tries to save Garruk later. This, however, also marks an important direction in which they’re taking Wolverine, becoming the most ruthless of the X-Men.
In the end, Cyclops blasts the foundations of the citadel to smithereens, solving everyone’s problems and putting a neat bow on this tangled plotline. Also, all of a sudden? The X-Men are monthly again! (yay!) And they’ve upgraded from All-New, All-Different to Uncanny on the cover, though the name of the comic won’t officially change until issue 142.
Best new character: Like Hell I’m giving this to Weapon Alpha! So instead, it’s going to the two stylish, mohawked ladies who “show the island” to Piotr. (Again. They’ll be relevant later. Sort of.)
What to read: X-Men 109, for the denouement of the Phoenix Saga (or the first part thereof). The rest is rather inconsequential.
#x-men#x-men abridged#abridged x-men#cyclops#phoenix#storm#banshee#colossus#nightcrawler#professor x#lilandra neramani#Tony Dezuniga#chris claremont#john byrne#magneto#mesmero#sauron#savage land#moira mactaggart#warhawk
26 notes
·
View notes
Note
For mermay, #25 siren for Sternclay, rating up to you? Thank you so much, I love your fics!
Here you go! I went with SFW and it's set in the same universe as the other siren prompt I got this year
Joseph has sailed so far over the horizon of regret that he’s landed right back on the shores of resolve.
The highway curves through low mountains, extends in interminable straight lines of super-heated asphalt, and he drives both stretches with purpose, eyes fixed on his goal so as not to see the last forty-eight hours lurking in his rearview mirror.
When the sign reading “Kepler: Population 3,000 on land, 50 in water” reflects the setting sun he slumps back in the driver seat, too tired to be glad, excited, afraid, or anything else at all.
He passes the Cryptonomica, proclaiming itself the premier place to learn about the Roadside Sirens. Rolling his eyes means he nearly misses the drawbridge warning, the barrier dropping and bridge rising to allow a small sailboat to pass. It’s aboard this he sees his first siren; dappled tail hanging in the water as she converses with the other passenger and waves to the siren working the bridge.
The bridge lowers and he continues forward as the early evening overtakes the main road. Neon crackles to life, creosote and rabbitbrush drift through the window when he rolls it down. The sign on Amnesty Lodge declares vacancies, so he pulls into the parking lot. It’s a strange lay-out, little cabins dotting the patches of pools that, once upon a time, must have been enclosed in rooms. Now they glisten under the emerging stars, some surrounded by lawn chairs and set ups to play horseshoes or cornhole. The building housing the lobby is precariously perched on the bank of the slow flowing river, another building whose neon is unlit sitting beside it. He pays the young lady at the counter for a week to week cabin and lugs the remainders of his life inside.
In the bathroom mirror, the wear of this trip is clear in the wrinkles on his suit and the dust on his shoes. He strips down, rinses off, and heads into the night in his shorts and T-shirt from Puget Sound. On a whim he turns right, follows a trail that leads him into the state park. He pays the five dollar fee in a little envelope as he continues on his way. Just as he reaches a scenic viewpoint, the singing starts.
Joseph can’t see any of the singers, can only pick up six or so distinct voices swirling around him.
It’s said the roadside sirens will tell you what you need.
It’s said the roadside sirens are the only way Kepler gets new residents
It’s said the roadside sirens will lead you to your hearts desire.
It’s said the roadside sirens are not always gentle.
All that tugs at Joseph’s heart is exhaustion. When footsteps creak across the boards behind him, he turns to find a man in a ranger uniform. Their eyes meet a moment and the man nods in greeting, “Evenin sir, you got any questions?”
“What do you hear when they sing?”
The ranger shrugs, “I hear them singin’. Never been all that susceptible to ‘em. Well, except for one, but he don’t sing all that often and the last time it was to tell me he missed me while I was out here workin’.”
Joseph raises an eyebrow. The man comes close enough for him to see his name tag. All it says is, “Duck.”
Duck chuckles, leans his arms on the railing, “S’okay, most folks don’t believe me when I tell ‘em that. See, thing about sirens is, you gotta have unfulfilled desires for the song to take hold. First time I was in Kepler, didn’t have a goddamn clue what I wanted from life. When I came back, found the two things I wanted right away. Been pretty content since.” He glances at Joseph, “why, you hear somethin that worries you?”
“I don’t hear anything besides-”
A burst of blue and orange light spills across them; the building beside Amnesty Lodge has come to life, and Joseph can see a line out the door from here. More importantly, someone is singing and his body moves towards the source without him noticing.
“I mean, if your main want is you’re hungry, Lodge is a damn good place to start. Put Kepler on the map. Or, uh, guess the sirens put it there and the Lodge kept it there once the novelty wore off.
“Uhumm” Joseph nods, waving an absentminded goodnight as he follows the path back to the Lodge. He’s about to join the others waiting to get through the door when he gets a flash of an image; a draft on a desk, announcing the Lodge needed a cooks assistant.
What the hell, it’s worth a try right?
A knock on the back door summons an older man in a “Joshua Tree” shirt.
“Howdy, if you’re lookin for the line-”
“I’m here about the assistant job.”
“Uhh, o-kay. Not the best time for it, but follow me.”
The man leads him down a set of stairs to a kitchen that is half in and half out of the water in a way that defies logic and physics. Swimming about are several sirens, plus two humans on the shore, cooking and sending food up to the main building in a dance that borders on chaos. In the middle of it all is a siren with a deep copper tail that matches his short beard and long hair tied back in a bun.
“Barclay! You got a minute?”
“Not really!”
“Okay then. I’ll just have this fella wait in your office until dinner rush is over.”
“Sure great yeah Moira wheres the crawfish for table ten?”
Which is how Joseph finds himself sitting in a cabin, twiddling his thumbs. His manners fight his boredom until he pulls a paperback from the nearby shelf and loses himself in the exploits of a someone recreating dishes from ancient civilizations. Doesn’t look up until the door opens and the same man, now with legs instead of that beautiful tail, walks in.
“Phew” he shuts the door with a satisfied smile, rests his head on the wood, then whirls and slams his back against it when Joseph clears his throat.
“GAHWHATTHEFUCK”
“I’m, I’m so sorry, I thought you heard, um, Thacker, tell you he was having me wait here.”
“W-wait here for wh--Oh, oh right, the assistant thing.” The siren scrubs his face, “yeah, uh, guess Mama must've put the ad out. Uh, would you say you’re organized?”
“Extremely. But honestly it doesn’t seem like you need that much help on that front.”
A deep, rich laugh, “I cleaned this morning, last night it looked like an earthquake hit this place. Guessing from the fact you didn’t freak out in the kitchen you’re cool with the supernatural?”
“Yes. It’s an area of interest for me.”
There’s suspicion in Barclay’s voice, hidden but very much present, “why’d you end up in Kepler?”
“I came here on purpose. I wanted to be somewhere where strange things were celebrated and out in the open. Not...not kept from the world.”
Barclay leans back on his desk, arms crossed, “Where’d you work before now?”
“The…” he sighs, resigns himself to finding somewhere else to go, “the FBI. UP branch, I was at Nellis when they, um, relieved me of my duties.”
For a long moment, Barclay studies him. Then he turns to his desk, setting stacks of papers in order as he hums. Joseph closes his eyes, takes calming breaths; all he wants is to be safe, to not have to run. All he wants is for Barclay to hold him, he’s never seen a man so handsome and a useless, primal part of him fixates on that fact. Also he’s starving, god, he hasn’t eaten since his breakfast of black coffee.
Barclay stops humming, “Come with me.”
Joseph follows him back down into the strange kitchen (“couple of friends of mine are pretty powerful magicians. They rigged up the kitchen for me”). All the lights are off, and without them he discovers Barclay’s eyes glow an eerie yellow-green. When he smiles, Joseph sees only the points on his teeth, not the crinkle at the edge of his eyes.
“Hungry?” Barclay rumbles.
“Starving.”
“You eat fish?”
“...Yes?” Will the wrong answer get him drowned.
The cook leaps towards the water, tail appearing and clothes vanishing at the last moment before he hits the dark surface. Joseph stands, on edge and curious, until the siren emerges, newly-dead trout in his hands.
“Tastes best fresh.” Barclay swims to his grill, turning it on in a click of a knob.
“Why not just stay human when you cook?” Joseph makes his way over to the station as Barclay butchers the fish and sets it into a heavily buttered pan.
“The charm only holds for so long before I need to be back in the water, and I get so busy during meals I don’t want to risk passing out because I went too long on shore. Besides” he spins elegantly to grab two spice jars, “I learned to cook in the water, so this is the most natural way for me.”
“Fascinating.” Joseph sits down, keeping himself out of arms reach of the water. Barclay seems nice, but sirens did not become famous for offering people things and then following through; hundreds of dead travelers prove that much.
“Where are you from?”
“Chicago, originally.”
“Ever see the great lake mers?”
“No.” He can’t help but feel disappointed that he’s only learning of their existence now.
“Quite a few out there. Sirens too.”
Well, that introduces some new reasons for all the shipwrecks.
“How do you know? Are you from there?”
“Nah. Been in Kepler my whole life. Even during the bad years, singing people into that godawful, overpriced casino buffet. Convincing them the shitty cold cuts were prime rib.” His hand stills a moment, clenches and then releases, “yeah. Every now and then” he starts chopping shallots, “one of the drunks would get it into their heads to pet the sirens tail or hair and I had to sit there and let them. My tail” he shudders, swipes the shallots into the pan so roughly Joseph starts.
“Sorry.” Barclay mumbles.
“Don’t be. I’m on edge, that’s all. And you have every right to be angry. Being forced to do something you know is wrong is....there’s no winning.”
“That why you just want a place to feel safe?”
It’s so easy to confess in the darkness of the cave.
“I put up too much of a fight about something. Refused to do something that went against my conscience. They let me go, which I feared but expected. Then I found my bank accounts were cut off and someone had manipulated the records to say I’d been fired for criminal activity so it’d be harder to find a job.”
A clink of metal on china, and then Barclay is holding a plate out to him with tenderness in his eyes, “I’m so sorry, Joseph. Here, at least you won’t be hungry.”
Joseph murmurs out his thanks.
“You a wine drinker?”
“Right now I could certainly go for some.”
A few flicks of that stunning tail and Barclay returns with a glass of white for each of them.
“To getting free of shitty pasts.” The cook raises his glass and Joseph bumps his against it. Barclay brings it to his lips, but smiles rather than sip, “and by the way: you got the job.”
-------------------------------------------------------
Being Barclay’s assistant is fifty percent clerical work and fifty percent following the siren around as he gathers ingredients or tests recipes. On Ned Chicane’s recommendation, Barclay had published a cookbook of both traditional siren foods and his own creations. It became a bestseller which, among other things, means Joseph has a brand new wardrobe, regular deliveries of gourmet food, and his cabin is now full of books. Whenever he points out that Barclay is already paying him and doesn’t need to buy him things, the siren simply rubs their cheeks together (a thing Joseph is only now getting used to) and tells him he likes doing it.
So when he’s not getting his recipes in order or typing up scribbled note cards into something legible, he’s following Barclay on foot or in a boat while he harvests or buys ingredients. Sirens have permission to fish and forage in areas, including the park, that humans don’t, which means he runs into Duck and his siren husband, Indrid, on more than one occasion while hauling lines into the boat.
The one time it gets stuck, Barclay pulls it out all on his own. Almost like he’s showing off the muscles in his back, arms, and tail.
The only thing Joseph won’t do is get in the water with the siren. He can’t get the images of drowned sailors, of fishermen torn to shreds, from his mind. Barclay is powerful, sharp-toothed and slit-pupiled, dangerous yet so gentle he once purred when Joseph complimented his food. And if Joseph never goes in the water with him, he’ll never have to confront the fact he wouldn’t mind if those pointed teeth dug into his skin and that tail trapped his legs while he thrashed in Barclay’s hold.
He assumes Barclay doesn’t notice; after all, swamps and marshes, even the river, are far less suited to a human swimming in them than an ocean or lake. This conclusion is bolstered by Barclay never, ever asking him to join him in the water. The siren is less careful about singing; he usually just hums as he works, but sometimes he sings wordlessly and Joseph nearly dives head first into the water (Barclay’s lap, if they’re on land).
Tonight, he’s cleaning up after Barclay’s test session of new recipes in the kitchen. The cook went out to visit some friends who live further in the state park, so when his voice drifts across the stones Joseph is surprised.
Cool, calloused hands on his cheeks, a tail stroking his thighs, his lips tracing up a sturdy leg. Copper hair twined in his fingertips, a heart beating in time with his own, teeth sinking into his skin, marking him, claiming him.
Water fills his nose and his body jerks back to the present, standing up in the shallow water that he stepped and stumbled face-first into.
“Joseph? Oh fuck, are you okay?” Barclay rounds the corner, swimming over to look up at him with concern.
“Yes. I, um, I think I got caught up in your song.”
“I’m sorry, I thought you were already upstairs or I wouldn’t have sung so loud. I know you can’t swim.”
“I can.” Joseph kneels, face down-turned in shame, “I was scared to, um, to be in the water with you. It’s, I was afraid of what might happen.”
Barlay swims back, “you thought I was gonna eat you?”
“No! Or, um, at first I didn’t want to foolishly assume that sirens in Kepler were harmless, since death isn’t high on my to-do list. Then I thought suddenly starting to swim would tip you off to the fact I’d been suspicious and I didn’t want to hurt you.” He runs a hand through his hair, “that song, though, Barclay, lord almighty is that what I want?”
“It’s what I want, I never sang it to bring you to me.”
“Oh.”
Barclay swims back to him, rubs their cheeks together, “Can I try something?”
“Anything” is all he gets out before he’s pulled into deeper water. He gasps for air, his own moans ricocheting across the room as Barclay bites his shoulder. On instinct his body tries to tread water, but copper scales trap his legs together, keep him flush against Barclay’s body.
“It’s okay babe, you can relax. I got you, I could keep us both afloat in my sleep.” He hums as he trails his lips across Joseph’s throat, “you’re safe. You’re with me.”
“Don’t make me leave.” The song pulls it out of him, because he wants to say it, wants to admit that losing what he has in Kepler terrifies him, just so he can hear-
“Never. You make me so fucking happy.” Barclay kisses him tenderly, keeps tracking his bite marks with a finger, “please stay. Stay for as long as you want."
"What if I want forever?" He rests his face on Barclay's shoulder as the siren spins them, dance-like, in the water.
"I think we can manage that."
17 notes
·
View notes
Text
Tarn the Uncaring and his Locus Vile remain creepy as fuck, but I can’t help but feel that this Hellions issue would be a lot more impactful if we had any clue whatsoever what Tarn and his ick squad’s powers actually are. Its the same gripe I have with the last Wolverine issue and that Arakki pirate guy......I feel like the writers are making all these new Arakki characters but aren’t bothering to figure out what they can even do beyond just make them look bad-ass or intimidating or whatever and just be vague as to their actual capabilities.
For the most part its not a big deal, but I do think sooner rather than later we do need an ACTUAL clue about what the hell Tarn and the rest of the Great Ring’s powers are, given that its been well established that the Arakki ONLY let omega level mutants sit on their ruling council, so like......I think they should have bothered figuring out what the Great Ring’s powersets are before introducing them at least, and I feel like a big reason for the vagueness is that so far....even the writers only have the vaguest idea about what most of them can do. I mean, the only ones we know for sure are Isca and Lactuna or whatever her name is....and we have a reasonable sense of what the fish dude’s powers are and they’re fairly epic....and Idyll’s powers obviously are precognition related, so....okay y’know what, I take it back.
Of the Great Ring, the only ones we don’t really have a sense of are Tarn and the other random dude whose name I forget, and Tarn’s obviously have something to do with genetics/power manipulation.....but every time I see that giant caterpillar mutant, Xili or whatever his name is, I’m just like....okay we saw him in action but I still don’t get how his power works even a little bit.
Anyway, Hellions was an interesting issue, I enjoy seeing Sinister’s fuck-ups come back home to roost and all the Hellions finding out just how badly he screwed them on the Amenth mission, and I am intrigued by the mention of Chimera towards the end of the issue. I’m guessing all of this is building up to the reveal of Sinister’s first experiments in creating the triple-powered mutants we saw in Powers of X a hundred years in the future - and that series did mention that the first Chimera were ‘grown’ in the Vats of Mars, which is now Arakko, home of.....the people Sinister just admitted to stealing the DNA from to create these Chimera. So it all fits.
What I’m curious about is how much of this is just leading up to the same events that already played out in Moira’s last failed lifetime, versus how much things are going differently this time around. Like, we’re finding out about the Chimera being created already, which would seem to suggest events so far aren’t playing out too differently from the last time around, given the references to them being made on Mars....BUT in Moira’s last lifetime in Powers of X, like, it was clearly referenced as MARS having been where the Chimera were first made.....while ever since the Hellfire Gala, the books have all been pushing really hard that the planet’s name is Arakko now. So what I’m wondering is if Moira’s last lifetime - where she was allied with Apocalypse for at least part of it as well - if Arakko and its mutants were ever successfully retrieved from Amenth....or if Mars was simply a Krakoan colony in that past lifetime, and the Chimera we saw a hundred years in its future were just the results of Sinister’s experiments with mutant/Krakoan DNA, with him never having had access to Arakki mutants or Tarn’s own experiments with mutation.
Because if the latter, then that would suggest that the key difference this time around, and the potential game changer for the future, is not actually Krakoa itself, but Arakko’s presence and the Krakoa/Arakko alliance, spread across two planets.
Hmmm. Must ponder more.
As for the new X-Men issue, it wasn’t bad but it was mostly meh. It felt like a lot of just action sequences with Duggan narrating how they all used their powers together to defeat the Annihilation Wave, and like....yawn? The mutant synergy idea is fine conceptually, but they are milking it WAY too hard, its like we get it, can you do something with the actual STORY rather than just being like look what happens when these two mutants use their powers at the same time? LOL. For what its worth, what story there IS in this issue is intriguing. I mean, the idea of Gameworld and its bets on the fate of Earth is pretty interesting, and Dr. Stasis is shaping up to be a dangerous threat, especially with him seeming to be on to the Krakoan resurrection capabilities (uh, not that they’ve been all that subtle about it, tbh), and allied with Orchis - thus them knowing about the great Krakoan resurrection engine as well, lmao. Like, they probably really should have put a bit more effort into keeping that under wraps awhile longer instead of just being like:
"Oh Jumbo Carnation famously was murdered a few years ago with it all over the news and now we’re making a big deal about him designing all the outfits for our highly publicized Hellfire Gala, and you want to know how that could be possible, Mr. Reporter? Uh...look! A squirrel!”
Also, that plus the big fight between the Locus Vile and the Hellions on Krakoa after Ororo specifically WARNED Tarn that she was going to fuck his shit up if he tried to retaliate against Sinister - and that Isca and the rest of the Great Ring promised to back her on, lololol, its kinda funny that they all seem to hate Tarn as much as the rest of the Quiet Council all hate Sinister - anyway, all that has me wondering what the official policy on dead Arakki mutants is. I assume given that they’re mutants no fundamentally different from Krakoan mutants, that like, ever since they emerged from Otherworld, there’s no reason that Cerebro shouldn’t back up their consciousnesses as automatically as it does any other mutant’s....so is Krakoa sharing its resurrection technology with Arakko at all? Assuming of course that once they saw how Krakoans did it, they don’t have specific mutants of their own capable of matching the capabilities of the Five and doing the same for them.
BUT then again, the idea of resurrection seems to fly pretty heavily in the face of Arakki culture, so I don’t imagine on the WHOLE they’re all that interested in it in the first place.....BUT BUT, that doesn’t mean that INDIVIDUAL Arakki mutants aren’t interested. And given that we know now that it was Solem who was pulling strings in Wolverine’s solo title and X-Force, and that he was behind stealing the Shi’ar logic diamonds, which are used in resurrection, and he seems to have aims towards stealing the Cerebro Sword from Mikhail in Russia......from what we do know of Solem, it would make perfect sense for him to be interested in resurrection, given how many of his own people want him dead (especially after how he fucked over War in X of Swords), and I can’t imagine Solem being all that interested in like, applying for Krakoan citizenship just for that perk if he felt he could finagle resurrection on his own terms instead.
Or that he thinks they’d even offer it to him at all at this point, given that Emma, a key figure on the Quiet Council, is personally gunning for him to get payback for what he did to Christian and the Marauder (yesssss, this is one Emma + Wolverine teamup I’m here for lololol). Course, I can’t help but think, you know who else would want payback for Christian, and who might be extremely helpful in going after a notoriously dangerous Arakki warrior with adamantium skin? Oh, idk, Christian’s boyfriend, the omega mutant capable of freezing anything so cold it can shatter with a touch....even vaunted adamantium. I’M JUST SAYING. We saw Bobby get his vengeful on after Kate was killed, and him applying that same energy towards going after someone as dangerous as Solem on Christian’s behalf, would be like....potentially the most interesting thing they’ve done with him in years.
Like, I know it won’t happen because it probably hasn’t even occurred to the writers, since most of them barely even acknowledge that Bobby and Christian are IN a relationship, but how fucking great would it be to have Solem smugly convinced that he’s a match for Logan only for him to be like “the useful thing about NOT being a loner loser like you and actually having friends and people who like me, is sometimes it pays to have a bigger gun than yourself on speed dial.” Cut to....Heeeeeere’s Bobby! You know, the dude who just singlehandedly gave your spiffy new homeplanet its ice caps. And whose boyfriend your pirate patsies tossed overboard and left for dead when stealing his ship.
Solem: Aww, fuck.
8 notes
·
View notes
Note
Soooooo~! We heard what Roman thought about the caravan people, what about Virgil? You must have liked some other people than Missy and Jester over there!
(Virgil hums for a minute, thinking back to the travelling troupe he's spent so much time with. Not the kind of people he thought he'd be associating with on the surface, but Remus takes you strange places... He grimaces, but you get the feeling it's just for show.)
(The more he thinks about them, the more fond he sounds, like he's forgetting he has an audience while he muses about the troupe...)
Virgil: Hmm… not much to say, really. Most of them either hated and distrusted me at first, or still do, which is valid. And I’m closer with the kids then some of the adults, since I spent so much time herding them around during shows…
Virgil: Somiza’s alright. Kind, but keeps her distance. She’s good with people, and smarter than she acts… EV’s cool as shit, we understand each other just fine. --Of course I’m fond of them, I wouldn’t have left Missy and Jester with them if I wasn’t! They’re good moms...
Virgil: Tamaris is… fine? We flirt occasionally, but when do I not… He was one of the first to start trusting me besides EV, so that was cool, if misguided of him. Pryce… is pretty much the exact same. Pretty face, trusts way too quickly, annoying, but doable. Vanessa keeps her distance, cause she can tell I’m not very social, which I appreciate. And Jester and Missy are very fond of her, so I can’t hate her. Moira is much the same way -- stays out of my way, I stay out of hers. She got mad when she found out I couldn’t read, wants to teach me. I said no, obviously.
Virgil: Milo and Elias… I don’t talk to them much. Elias is much closer to Remus than me, and Milo took a long time to warm up to all three of us. Honestly, he, EV, and Lorilla might be the only things keeping that group alive… But those two always seem to catch me when I’m trying to avoid sleep. Elias is much more chill about it, he’ll just sit with me and talk, or wait out the longer hours. Milo will try to trick me into sleeping with milk and honey, because he was ‘totally making some for himself anyway’, but he’s a liar and a bastard and I can’t believe I keep falling for that damn trick… I don’t know, something about his whole shit is...calming? He’s what I imagine people mean when they describe surface “dad”s to me.
Virgil: Lorilla earned my respect, for sure. Last to trust me, knows her way around a weapon, hunts and tracks well, tamed a fucking bear. We’re...about as friendly as I let people get. She’s protective of the kids too, and Missy and Jester really like her, so… We’re very alike. And usually that irritates the shit out of me, but she’s not annoying, so it’s fine.
Virgil: Raena had a pretty violent reaction to me at first too, but she had a very good reason: She’s escaped from Luihaun'athar, just like me, and… well, let’s say it’s not too hard to recognize a Blackguard when you see one. It took a bit to convince her I wasn’t out for blood, but we get along fine now. We play Sava sometimes, since she has the board, even if we’re both bat-shit awful at it… Not much to say about Dario. Respects me, keeps his distance. Which is nice, as always. Theta’s still pretty scared of me, but he’s generally nice to the kids, as long as they’re not putting him through the ringer…
Virgil: And there’s a new one in the past few years, Brian. She’s a literal fairy. Like, less-than-a-foot-tall flying dragonfly person. Bri-anne, but spelled dumb, because she’s a fairy and she changes her given name every two minutes based on the funniest one she can come up with at the time. She’s funny; the kind of funny that gets old fast, though Remus swears I’m wrong about that… Supposedly, she was in the troupe years ago, and just left for a bit. I’d say I wish she stayed gone, but I’m scared she’ll materialize and fuck with me for it...
(Virgil smirks slightly at himself, then shakes his head, biting back a smile,)
Virgil: Then there’s the kids. I’ve probably spent the most time just babysitting them, which… I don’t hate doing. They’re good kids, if ridiculously reckless.
Virgil: The twins… Lea is probably the second most energetic, following Missy. Blunt, distrustful, rages against the system and adults, a real fucking punk. She’s fantastic, I adore her. Her sister’s a lot quieter, and we aren’t as close, but she listens to me. Respectful, but fragile… But, she’s always got Lea attached to her hip, so she’s fine for now.
Virgil: Yuuto’s a good kid, Roman’s just dumb. He, Lea, and my two can get into some trouble if they’re left alone together, but they’re just kids expressing themselves. He spends a lot of time with Jester, and I don’t always know a crush when I see one, but he’s a bit obvious... And Cyrus is a sweet kid. When he was little, he seemed to instantly form a crush on any dude he saw. He hit on me too, and Pryce “helped” him, which was a total shitshow… He’s much more chill now, showed real interest in my kind of work. I taught him to pick locks and steal, which everyone else thinks was a massive mistake, but it’s only ever been hilarious from my point of view~
Virgil: Peia’s the youngest -- still a toddler -- and I’m her favorite, obviously, because she has good taste. She freaks Dee and Remus out, which is always funny… I’m fucking soft for that little kid, I’m not even mad about it. EV and Somiza trusted me to watch her while they do the show, and she wouldn’t let me put her down, and she wasn’t even scared of Charlotte? She’s a little fucking badass! --When she catches me sitting down, she tries to sneak up behind me and jump on me. I let her think she’s quiet enough to catch me off guard, because she needs the training... And I am not about to let her down, are you shitting me??
Virgil: And then, there’s Missy and Jester… Well, you know how I feel about them. Little bastards, spawn of satan, ruined my life, I wish them nothing but pain. ...That’s a joke, obviously. I would kill for those kids-- And they’re still kids, goddamnit, I don’t care how big they get. They’ll be eight forever, and you can tell them I said so.
151 notes
·
View notes
Text
This One Time in Atara - First Meetings
Me? Not writing a story where I live out my dream to romance Gust? Never. But it’s true. Here’s a story about how Albert and Gust first met in Atara. I plan on writing more stories of their shenanigans in Atara while they were younger (as they come to me). So please enjoy!
I’ll also post them here in AO3: This One Time in Atara
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“Oh and this one time back in Atara,” Albert managed around a boisterous laugh, “Gust convinced the local Civil Corps members doing their rounds to join us for a game of darts. We made a little competition out of it to see who could wrack up the most points.” He took a sip of his hard soda and stifled another chuckle. “Well, we just about won the clothes off their backs. Though that might have been Gust’s goal from the get go. The one with the wing tattoo across his right shoulder was quite the looker. I think you got his number in the end, didn’t you?”
He winked at Gust as he pulled Sonia a little closer into the crook of his arm and planted a kiss on her cheek, then on her mouth. Gust grimaced at the overt display of affection. Did he have no shame? He turned away from them and traced the intricate basket weave pattern of the Round Table’s wallpaper. Beside him, Piper squeezed his hand sympathetically. It was only a minor consolation considering their present company.
Albert continued in blissful ignorance, “That was shortly after we met, wasn’t it?”
“I don’t think I’ve ever heard the story of how you two met,” Piper said as she took a sip of her red tea.
“Is it a good one?” Sonia added as she twirled a strand of dark hair around her finger.
Gust rolled his eyes. “That depends on your definition of a good story.” He ran his thumb back and forth over the bridge of her knuckles. How did Piper convince him to go on a double date with these two again? They were practically on top of each other and right in front of him and his dinner. “It’s rather depraved if you ask me.” He cut the man across from him with a pointed glare. “Much like Albert and his effect on women.”
Albert gave him a wounded look. “Low blow, I think it’s a pretty great story,” he said, “Gust here really helped me out of a tight spot. How could I not want to be best mates with him after what happened.”
Piper arched an eyebrow at Gust. “It’s not that spectacular,” he insisted with a languid swipe of his free hand, “Albert was being a fool and I didn’t want to get caught up in his shenanigans. That’s all. End of story.”
Piper snorted and pressed a kiss to the back of his hand. He ducked his head to hide the heat burning at his cheeks. She turned back to Albert and said, “Well, now I have to know. What did he do?”
“Well,” Albert said as he shifted forward in his seat. A feline smile curved his lips that made Gust’s skin crawl. “All good stories start with a pretty...”
“It started with a sketch.”
All eyes turned to Gust in surprise. Even he was mildly surprised by his interjection. He planned to sit back and roll his eyes at Albert’s dramatic retelling, like he usually did, but a small part of him hated his side of the story. The last thing he wanted was to subject Piper to his bullshit. He cleared his throat and took a sip of his vodka and apricot juice.
“It started with a sketch,” he said a little more firmly, “and a bad case of creative block…”
☼☼☼☼☼☼
Gust settled back in his seat and regarded the sketch in front of him. He spent the last two hours outlining a simple two-story structure with crow stepped gables. He had yet to settle on where he wanted to place the windows. Should he go with a symmetrical design? Or make things interesting and only include windows on one side of the building? Which would Vera choose? He nibbled thoughtfully on the end of his pencil as he traced and retraced the lines with his eyes.
The answer was simple, wasn’t it? She’d say his design was shit and tear it in half.
So, he did just that. He ripped the sheet off his drafting table and tore it right down the middle. The shreds of paper landed at his feet, joining the rest of his discarded designs. He growled and combed his fingers irritably through his hair. Shit. All his designs were absolute shit. He knew it. Vera knew it. Everyone knew how much of a failure he was. At this rate, he’d never become one of the great architects of his time.
Maybe he should cut his losses and go home with his tail between his legs.
He wrinkled his nose at the prospect. He would never stoop so low. Portia was in the past and he wanted to move forward. He refused to go back and waste away in that backwater town. He would make it as a great architect, even if it killed him. Vera took him on as an apprentice despite the fact that he had a personality blander than stale bread dipped in water ー her words not his. So, she had to have seen some potential in him, right?
He huffed and reached for the sketchbook. He just had to keep working at it. He wouldn’t give up, not until his dreams became a reality. He’d show everyone. He flipped to a blank page and began outlining a new design. He only got a few short strokes in before ripping it out and tossing it to the side.
Then started again. Then again. And again…
Shit. Shit. And more shit. Why couldn’t he get it right?
He sighed and glanced around his bedroom. At the wads of paper littering his floor and the half-finished designs tacked up on the walls, so he couldn’t see the moldy wallpaper beneath. They mocked him. He could hear their whispers at the back of his mind, telling him he’d never be good enough. He snarled and swiped his shoulder-length hair into a low ponytail.
He needed a change of scenery and maybe some fresh air, but he had no desire to actually leave his dorm. His gaze fell to his window and the streaked panes of glass that hadn’t seen a rag in over a year. He could see the vague outline of the Atara skyline. He fell in love with all the different buildings that made up this fine city. It was one of the reasons he sought out Vera in the first place. He wanted to make his mark on this city with a design of his own.
He straightened in his seat as an idea struck him. Maybe he could… if he was careful, there wouldn’t be any harm in it, right? The Civil Corps couldn’t arrest him if he was just hanging out on a window ledge. He glanced down at the half-hearted attempt at a new design in his lap, then back to the window.
Fuck it.
He stood and pushed the window open. Its rusted hinges whined in protest, but it opened just wide enough for him to shimmy out onto the lip of stone that jutted out just far enough so he could sit comfortably. He settled back against the relief carved trim that decorated his window and turned to a new page of his sketchbook.
He admired the skyline with a faint smile, then took a moment to watch the people mill about in the streets below. The sweet smell of coffee and black tea wafted from the café below and curled up and around him like a blanket that warmed him to his core, despite the crisp autumn air outside. He hummed contentedly.
He loved this city. He never wanted to leave.
He used the buildings in front of him as inspiration as he began to sketch a new design. Something a little more angular that used a lot of geometric shapes and windows. It wasn’t like anything he’d designed before now, but the longer he stared at it, the more he liked it. It was something new. It was something innovative. He only hoped Vera would feel the same. He worked until the sky turned a lovely shade of pink and bled into the faintest of light purple. The color reminded him of the heather plants that grew in the gardens outside Vera’s home. His fingers itched to mix a paint color that matched it, but he resisted that urge. He needed to keep his mind focused on architecture. Painting for pleasure could wait until he made a name for himself.
A window slammed open and jolted him from his thoughts. He almost lost his grip on his sketchbook entirely, but managed to clutch it to his chest before it toppled over the edge. His lip curled in disgust as he turned to glare at the source of the commotion. A young man with dark hair, clad only in a pair of plaid underpants and long grey socks, scurried out onto the ledge and the window slammed shut behind him as soon as he cleared it.
“Come on, Moira, you don’t have to do this,” he drawled with a lilting accent as he rapped his knuckles on the glass, “I don’t care if you have a boyfriend. In fact, he’s welcome to join in the fun. I’m flexible and I know you are.”
Moira didn’t deign to respond and the young man’s shoulders slumped as he pouted and turned away from the window. He noticed Gust immediately and blinked at him owlishly. Gust mirrored his surprise, still clutching his pad protectively to his chest. He glanced down at his bare chest and then the tent in his pants. The heat burned at the tips of his ears as he stared pointedly at his face. The young man grinned at him fiendishly.
“Just another Wednesday, am I right, mate?”
Gust furrowed his brow at him. He didn’t even know how to respond to that. A normal Wednesday for him involved take out from the noodle vendor that set up shop outside his building and banging his head against the wall until inspiration finally struck him. And when inspiration failed, he drowned his sorrows with a few shots of vodka. If this was a regular Wednesday, he didn’t even want to consider what Saturday looked like for this man.
“Uh, actually, I…”
The man sidled down the ledge until he settled down beside him. He reeked of sex. Gust wrinkled his nose and leaned away from him. “”I live two floors down from you, but I was enjoying Moriaー you’ve met Moira, right? She’s this pretty young thing with big brown eyes and a mouth always painted red as sin. Anyway, I was enjoying her company this evening and...”
He paused and the corners of his mouth dipped into a frown. “Or at least I was until her boyfriend returned home early from class. Then she freaked out and suddenly developed morals or whatever.” He threw his whole body into the eye roll. “Now here we are, just two blokes sitting on the ledge of their building, shooting the shit.” He kicked his legs absently as he offered him a hand, “the name’s Albert by the way. Pleasure to meet you.”
Gust stared at his outstretched hand, utterly mystified by the entire situation. How… How was he supposed to proceed? Did he pretend this man wasn't just kicked out of a woman's dorm because she was cheating on her boyfriend? Was he supposed to ignore his bare chest and the tent that refused to go away in his pants? Was it too late to just ignore him? Probably. He squinted at him, but didn’t take his hand. “Gust.” He turned back to his sketchbook and continued, “now please leave me alone.”
Albert let his hand fall to his side. “Well Gust, you see, I would, but as you can see I’m currently on the side of a building wearing nothing but my underthings,” he snorted, “so, you’re stuck with me until Moira let’s me back in or you let me in.” He inclined his head towards Gust and hummed thoughtfully. “So, the ball’s in your court, mate.”
He went stock still at the mere suggestion. He wanted to use his window to get out of this? Never, not in a million years. He had no reason to help this sexual deviant escape the consequences of his poor choices. “Fuck off,” he mumbled as he dragged his pencil across the page, “I don’t have to help you.”
Albert hummed. “Very true, you don’t,” he said with a sigh, “I guess that means I have to wait with you and go into great detail about the various things Moira and I were doing before her boyfriend got here. Let’s see there was this one position where Iー”
Gust cut him with a glare. “If I let you use my window, will you promise never to speak to me again?”
Albert made a crisscross motion over his chest. “Cross my heart,” he said with a wide grin, “you’ll never have to see me again after this.” He winked. “Unless you like what you see. Like I was saying before, I’m flexible.”
Gust gave him another once over. He wasn’t unattractive, quite the opposite. He had a charming smile that showed off a shallow divot on his right cheek. His dark hair was tousled from the soft breeze and, he had to assume, the sex he just had. Not normally his type, but Gust didn’t see too much action these days. But he wouldn’t give this bastard the satisfaction of knowing he considered his offer for a moment.
He glowered at him and said, “Just get inside.”
Albert beamed and, together, they crawled back through the window and into his bedroom. Once his feet were safely planted on the ground, Gust turned and glared at the half-dressed heathen. He stood in the middle of his bedroom, hands planted firmly on his hips as he regarded the sketches on his walls with mild intrigue. His heart leapt into his throat.
Gust wanted to die. He forgot about all his shitty designs on the walls. He resisted the urge to jump in front of him and wave his arms wildly to distract him from his shame.
“Alright,” his voice cracked on the panic mounting in his chest, “you’re inside, now leave.”
Albert ignored him and peered more closely at the design hanging over his bed. An intricate layout for a botanical garden he designed when he first vied for Vera’s mentorship several years prior. It was the first and only design she ever complimented. And by complimenting, he meant an almost smile and a ‘it’s alright’, which was high praise coming from someone heartless and stone-cold like her.
“This is pretty good, more than good actually,” he noted with an appreciative tilt of his head, “are you an architect too?”
Gust blinked. “Uh, yes, I’m trying to be?” His brow furrowed at him. “Wait. Too? Are you an architect?”
He buzzed his lips and took a step back. “Construction management, actually,” he drawled with a wave of his hand, “but I’ve met my fair share of architects while tailing my mentor across the Free Cities. None of their designs look like these though. You’re pretty good.”
“Oh.” He scratched sheepishly at the nape of his neck. He turned and busied himself with grabbing a shirt and sweatpants from his dresser. “I’m alright, I guess,” he said as he tossed the clothes at Albert, “now get dressed, you look utterly ridiculous sporting around in nothing but your underwear.”
“Don’t be modest,” Albert said as he tugged the shirt over his head, “I know talent when I see it. I’d throw my hat in your ring if you wanted to make a living out of it.”
“Well, I’d need to get certified first,” Gust grumbled under his breath, “and who knows when my master will allow that. She hates my work.”
Albert nodded. “Well, when it happens, you should come find me,” he said as he shoved his hands in the pockets of Gust’s sweatpants. The soft grey fabric pooled around his feet, considering he stood at least a head shorter than him. “We’ll make a living of it, mate.”
Gust wrinkled his nose and said, “You agreed to never speak to me again if I helped you.”
He pursed his lips. “I did, didn’t I?” He shrugged and made his way towards the door, “well then, thanks for your help. As promised, I’ll never seek you out again.” He paused, hand on the doorknob and glanced back at him. “But if you seek me out again, I won’t turn you away. So, don’t be a stranger.”
Gust clucked his tongue. “Just leave.”
“You got it, mate,” he said, “thanks again.”
And with that, he disappeared through the door and Gust was alone again. He didn’t move right away. Instead, he glanced at the design above his bed, then the one next to it, and then the next, until he’d surveyed the whole room. Albert liked his work. Albert thought he had what it took to be one of the greats. Knowing someone felt that way, even if that someone was a half-dressed imbecile, was… oddly inspiring?
He turned back to his half finished sketch and smiled to himself. The wells of inspiration flowed freely through his veins and he already had a few ideas swirling around at the back of his mind.
He was convinced Vera would love them.
☼☼☼☼☼☼
“And that’s how Albert and I met,” Gust concluded with an indignant sniff, “see, he’s a depraved sexual deviant who drags me into his shenanigans.”
“Wait,” Albert started as he leaned forward in his seat, “you actually considered my offer to sleep with me?”
Gust scowled. Was that all he took from that story? Sexual deviant, indeed. He settled back in his seat and shrugged. “A pretty face is a pretty face, but then you opened your mouth and I quickly reconsidered your offer.” He leveled him with a glare. “I think I made a good call in the end.”
“I didn’t want you anyway,” Albert insisted as he toyed with the ends of Sonia’s hair, “you’re too grumpy for my tastes.”
“That’s a pretty cute story actually,” Piper teased. She elbowed Gust in the ribs and chuckled. He made a face, but it softened when Piper smiled up at him. He wrapped an arm around her and placed a soft kiss on the top of her head. “It’s good to see you’ve always been a stick in the mud and that wasn’t a new development.”
“That’s not true,” Albert exclaimed, “Gust was a very charming individual when he wanted to be. Why, I remember this one time in Atara…”
30 notes
·
View notes
Text
Okay, so…I’ve had this idea for Reaper since his creation. And I don't mean since Blizzard made him. I mean since I started roleplaying him and making him (literally) separate from Gabriel.
In recent years, I've stated that when these two separated, Reaper took the “bad” parts of Gabriel with him. Now, I never really got into that I feel because I felt it was obvious (at the time) or perhaps something that’d come up in roleplay or asks about him. However, neither of those latter things happened (yet). Y’all I just enjoy talking your ears off about this stupid smoke monster okay. Lemme become Marvel and create lore then later retcon it because I FORGOT (read: became big brain).
So, I’ll just info dump on y’all everything I have saved in my head currently or otherwise and I won’t apologize if this gets sad. It should…maybe. Anyways, it gets long :))
Anyways, when these two separated and Reaper took the bad parts of Gabriel with him…well, he did just that…literally. He took the portions of Gabriel that were horrible, that wanted to harm others, that wanted to harm himself, etc etc. However, in doing so…he took half of Gabriel's soul! Which is why Gabi sleeps so often! I believe I’ve stated that before but wanted to add it here just in case. Though, in taking half of his soul…Reaper left Gabriel quite vulnerable. The soldier’s traumas that he might’ve buried before were now resurfaced and back for blood, back with vengeance. Gabriel experiences horrible, horrible nightmares because of it. Some days they’re so bad he can’t sleep and refuses to eat. Others they’re just night terrors that keep him from sleeping for a few hours, that’s when he reads or takes a walk to settle his nerves.
What Reaper got from that? The fuel that Moira used to make a monster, a weapon, out of something that shouldn’t have been possible. He was a sentient swarm of nanites simply because he took half of Gabriel’s soul. That shouldn’t be possible but it was and Moira was going to harness it into a weapon. And she had. He was already fueled by terrible thoughts so it wasn’t hard to convince him to act on them. He was just more free to do so now without Gabriel waking up or trying to take over while Reaper worked.
Which is why when people say nice things about Reaper, want to do nice things with him, spend time with him, or otherwise associate anything that’s not “horrible” or “bad” with him…he gets weirded out by or confused by. When people said they wanted to fuck him, he’s baffled by it because he’s dangerous. He could kill them with a flick of his wrist yet they wish to fuck him? Did they wish to flirt with Death so badly? At least they never have to worry about unplanned pregnancies as he has nothing to help that. And as far as he knows…nanites cannot get someone pregnant by doing any sort of weird thing.
Also on the topic of nanites...he does have full control over them. So because he’s entirely of nanites...he could technically change his height, weight, etc etc at any point in time he wanted because he has no internal organs to speak of because he doesn’t need them to function...so why use nanites to make fake ones when you can use them to add onto your height? In other words, he’s petty someone else was taller than his 7′1″ height so he’s trying to become taller than that. His height ego was bruised.
No, but seriously, he can completely alter his physical appearance with his nanites but also the density of them (ie: wraith form, “physical” form, and my personal favorite form: blades of death - his hands/arm nanites are made into blades that are extremely sharp...think Alex Mercer from Prototype). He can do quite a lot of similar things as Alex Mercer can, actually. Like, consume someone then take on their appearance. However, for Reaper it’s their soul he consumes in order to look, talk, and have the memories of the person for better impersonation. This is a skill and ability he hasn’t shown signs of yet (hasn’t quite “unlocked” it just yet).
Speaking of Death….why does he call himself Death? He wasn’t ever really “alive” to begin with. He was just nanites created to assist Gabriel whose soul gave “him” sentience and later “programmed” to kill and reap souls. Death was a fitting name. He also made a mental note to himself to never go after kids and/or babies regardless of if it was their time or not. That wasn’t his place. However, the scent of death upon them is strong and quite enticing. And yes, all people who are close to death have a scent of death to them that draws Reaper in! That’s where he goes to get his souls from unless it’s a kid/baby then he goes to look elsewhere.
Also, Reaper’s been extremely unpredictable lately because I’ve been playing him with the multitude of emotions/feelings/thoughts going through him that he took from Gabriel but also what was programmed into him by Moira. He’s constantly switching between moods and stuff because the “soul” is fighting with its programming so it’s causing some hiccups and mishaps for the wraith. Which is why certain people get the same reaction when they speak a certain way to him about things because he’s associated that emotion/feeling with that scenario and hasn’t changed it to be a better reaction on his part. It’s all he knows for those types of things. Y’all did a good job breaking him with your thirsts after him because his programmed reaction to that is “what? Why? I’m spooky and death?” which isn’t the best way to…seem sexy. Not that he ever truly tried to be but…
Though, with this that does mean he can be “brought to the light” so to speak. In other words, appeal to that portion of a soul within him and he’ll slowly over time give into it when around you (usually just the two of you). Appeal to that human side of him, it’s the only thing a human has that’s important to them for it keeps who they are intact - their memories, their feelings, their inner/true self. Nothing could replace that.
You’d also think that consuming souls would also appeal to his humanity as he’s literally consuming someone else’s humanity, yeah? Well, while he does get their memories…he once again programmed an automatic response to such things. Which is essentially “they’re just memories and they’re not mine so they matter little as do their feelings” because that’s just how he responded the first time, when he took half of Gabriel’s soul. He tried to distance himself from Gabriel yet couldn’t because everything he was…was because of Gabriel. There was no distancing himself from who he was, who he is and what he’s become. He’s the yin to Gabriel’s yang, the dark to Gabriel’s light, the shadow of Gabriel. He’d never amount to what Gabriel was and is. He’d never be good like Gabriel.
Now, some of you might ask “well, why is he comparing himself to Gabriel when he’s his own person?” It’s their souls. Yin and yang. They walk different paths in life but they’ll always find each other again down the line. They’ll always come back to each other.
It’s just a matter of when, where, and how hidden away his light is.
#ʀɪʀᴇyᴏᴜʟɪᴋᴇᴛʜɪꜱ || ᴏᴏᴄ#ᴀɴɢᴇʟ ᴏꜰ ᴅᴇᴀᴛʜ || ʀᴇᴀᴩᴇʀ#ᴀ ꜰᴀᴅᴇᴅ ɢʜᴏꜱᴛ || ɢᴀʙʀɪᴇʟ ʀᴇyᴇꜱ#ʀɪʀᴇ’ꜱ ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ || ʜᴇᴀᴅᴄᴀɴᴏɴꜱ#//am I hinting at something??? 👀👀👀#//who knows :)))))#//also i think i got everything my mind thought up last night or reminded me of???#//if not i'll add onto this post obviously#ᴀ ᴛɪᴍᴇʟy ɪɴᴛᴇʀᴠᴇɴᴛɪᴏɴ || qᴜᴇᴜᴇ
1 note
·
View note
Text
Magnetic Push - Erik Lehnsherr x Male!OC - Part 1
Fandom: X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014)
Pairing: Karmel Rosenstein (OC) x Erik Lehnsherr
Warnings: Swearing, Spoilers for Days Of Future Past, Magnetic Pull spoilers,
Notes: Hi! Welcome to the sequel of Magnetic Pull, titled ‘Magnetic Push’, it is advised you DO NOT READ this if you have NOT finished Magnetic Pull. But that is an obvious given. Grimm, as you all may remember, is an OC of mine. Enjoy!
Logan and Hank sat in front of Charles' desk in his office.
Charles bent over sluggishly, looking at Logan under a big desk lamp. "So, you're saying...that they took Raven's power, and, what? They weaponized it?"
"Yep." Logan nodded.
"She is unique" Hank commented.
"Yea, she is, Hank" Charles agreed, standing up properly.
"In the beginning, Sentinels were just targeting mutants. Then they began to identify the genetics in non-mutants, who would eventually have mutant children, and grandchildren" Logan explained, watching Charles walk over to sit on a big couch at the side of the room. "Many of the humans tried to help us, but it was a slaughter. Leaving only the worst of humanity in charge. I've been in a lot of wars...I've never seen anything like this. And it all starts with her."
"Now, let's just say that, for the sake of...the sake, that I- I choose to believe you, that I choose to help you, Raven won't listen to me" Charles sighed, smiling sadly. "Her soul belongs to someone else, now. Hers isn't the only one."
"I know" Logan admitted, standing up. "That's why we're gonna need Magneto, too. And Climber."
Hank looked up, as if he hadn't heard those names in ages. "Erik? A-And Karmel? You do know where they are?"
"Yea."
Charles grinned in disbelief, laughing to himself. "Could you give me that one more time, please?" He rhetorically asked.
"You heard me" Logan replied, promptly standing his ground.
Charles continued to laugh as he stood up. "He's where he belongs. Him and Karmel both" he told, facial expression rapidly changing to one of disdain as he passed by Logan.
"Well, that's it? You're just gonna walk out?"
"Ooh, top marks" Charles raised his eyebrows, sassing Logan. "Like I said, you are perceptive" he pointed at Logan, walking backwards towards the staircase.
"The Professor I know would never turn his back on someone who lost their path" Hank noted, watching Charles walk away. "Especially someone he loved."
Charles stopped at the foot of the stairs. He took a step back, then one more before speaking again. "You know...I think I do remember you now" Charles said, walking back over to Logan. "Yea. Tall, angry fellow with the contentious hair. We came to you a long time ago, Erik, Karmel, and I, seeking your help. And I'm gonna say to you, what you said to us then..." he leaned in, getting right up in Logan's face. "'Go fuck yourself'."
"Listen to me, you little shit" Logan growled, grabbing Charles' shirt. "I've come a long way, and I've watched a lot of people die. Good people. Friends. If you're gonna wallow in self-pity and do nothing, then you're gonna watch the same thing, you understand?"
Charles searched Logan's eyes, confused at the audacity this man had.
Logan let go of Charles.
"We all have to die sometime" Charles walked away, for real this time.
"I told you there was no professor here" Hank reminded.
"What the hell happened to him?" Logan asked, turning around.
"He lost everything. Erik, Karmel, Raven, his legs" Hank sighed. "We built the school, the labs, this whole place, then, just after the first semester, the war in Vietnam got worse. Many of the teachers and older students were drafted. It broke him. He retreated into himself, I...I wanted to help, do something, so I designed a serum to treat his spine, derived from the same formula that helps me control my mutation" he shook his head. "I take just enough to keep myself balanced, but...he takes too much. I tried easing him back, as did Grimm, but he just couldn't bear the pain. The voices. Grimm tried countless times to- to help Charles, to slow him down to the dosage I take, but like I said, Charles, he...couldn't be helped."
"Grimm, uh...blue-haired guy, talks to and controls the dead?" Logan arched a brow.
"Yea. Grimm didn't want to waste away trying to help someone who couldn't be helped, so, he broke it off with Charles, and thus, Charles lost him. The treatment gives Charles his legs, but it's not enough. He's...He's just lost too much" Hank concluded.
Charles lay on his bed, eyes shining on the brink of tears. He looked over at his bedside table, specifically at a framed photo of Raven. Charles' chest went up and down with his restrained breathing, thinking back to the first time Raven and him met, as kids. His vision glided over the photo of Raven, to a tie. Not any tie of his own, or Hank's, but...an old friend's tie.
Karmel's tie. He had forgotten it at the X-Mansion back when he resided in it, and Charles kept it with the underlying hope of seeing Karmel again and returning it to him.
Charles knew how much Karmel's ties meant to him, and why they meant to much to him; all of Karmel's ties belonged to his father. He groaned softy, thinking back to when he first met Karmel.
"Uh, Karmel" Karmel repeated, outstretching his hand, "Karmel Rosenstein."
"Charles Xavier. Friend of Moira's?"
Karmel shrugged.
"Acquaintances, actually? Mutual friend" Charles corrected.
Karmel furrowed his eyebrows. "Yea...How did you- never mind- you?"
"Very recently acquainted. She brought me here to meet you."
Karmel's eyes went wide. "Uh- w-why? Why'd you need to meet me? What's happening? Moira, I- I don't like boys, but it's fine if you do Charles, but I-"
Moira raised a hand, putting back the book she was holding and cutting Karmel short. "I didn't bring Charles here to set him up with you, I know you like girls. I brought him here because I feel that you both have something in common."
"An obvious interest in girls?" Karmel insisted, hands on his hips.
Charles held back a chuckle. He knew Karmel had been locked up in Erik's heart for the past ten years or so- and vice versa. Charles thought that surely, today, Karmel was more embracing of his sexuality than he had been back then, when he used to live in fear of it.
"Karmel, Karmel-" Charles called, putting a hand on Karmel's shoulder. "It's okay."
Karmel slowly dropped his hands, raising an eyebrow. His vine art of Erik grew purple flowers, which bloomed quickly. Karmel's breath hitched at that.
"It's okay now, remember? I know, you know, we both know here. And I'm a hundred percent okay with what I know. As of our quick trip to Russia, so are you. It's okay, you're safe here. You can be who you truly are."
Karmel took slow, deep breaths, nodding. "Yea, I- I just...I guess I'm gonna forget sometimes, that it's okay. But it's hard to forget that on a scale of one to ten, he's a certified twenty. I'm...I love Erik, man."
"Which is okay" Charles cracked a comforting smile. "I'll be around to remind you. It's a slow process."
Charles could still vividly remember the way Karmel's vines looped around the wall of the mansion to form Erik's face, the pure detail of it all- Karmel had Erik's entire being memorized. He moaned in annoyance, getting out of bed and passing right by the tie and framed photo.
Back downstairs, Hank was organizing the study while Logan tried thinking of what to do next.
"I'll help you get her" Charles stood right outside the study. "Not for any of your future shite, but for her."
"Fair enough" Logan quickly replied.
"But I'll tell you this, you don't know Erik, and you definitely don’t know Karmel. No one knows them like they know each other. Karmel follows in Erik’s footsteps, his pain and anger pushing him to go faster and faster. Erik, that man is a monster, a murderer. You think you can convince Raven to change? To come home? That's splendid. But what makes you think you can change him?" Charles scowled.
"Because you and Erik sent me back here, together."
Charles stared deep into Logan's eyes, determined. "And- And what about Karmel, huh?"
"Listen, Professor. What Karmel does or doesn't do in the future isn't important. What's important is that we can change Erik, and that means him, too. Y'just gotta believe me."
***
"The room they're holding Erik and Karmel in was built during the Second World War, when there was a shortage of steel. So the foundation is pure concrete and sand. No metal. The walls are too thick for Karmel to grow vines out of, and the glass ceiling, he isn't strong enough to break his vines through" Hank described.
"They're being held a hundred floors beneath the most heavily-guarded building on the planet" Charles added, the three men looking over an aerial map of the Pentagon.
"Why are they in there?" Logan inquired.
Charles looked up at Hank, then over at Logan. "What, Erik forgot to mention?" He snickered.
"Uh, JFK" Hank timidly answered.
"...They killed-" Charles cut Logan off.
"What else explains a bullet miraculously curving through the air? At the perfect level from around some trees? Erik's always had a way with guns, and Karmel's always had a way, for the way Erik has a way with guns" Charles chuckled.
"Or just, Karmel's always had a way with Erik" Hank shortened what Charles said, down to its bare minimum.
"Are you sure you want to carry on with this?"
"This is your plan, not mine" Logan reminded.
"We don't have any resources to get us in" Hank complained, Charles chiming in by chirping "or out. It's just me and Hank."
"I knew a guy. Yea, he'd be a young man now. Grew up outside of DC" Logan giggled, shaking his head. "He could get into anywhere, I just don't know how the hell we're gonna find him."
Hank tore his gaze from Logan, to Charles. "Is Cerebro out of the question?" He whispered, Charles silently hanging his head as an answer.
"If only you guys had internet."
Charles looked up at Logan, eyebrows raised in interest.
"What's 'internet'?" Hank furrowed his eyebrows.
Logan sighed, shifting where he stood and turning back down to the map.
"We have a phone book" Hank then suggested.
#X-men#x-men oc#xmen#xmen oc#Erik Lehnsherr#erik lehnsherr x male#erik lehnsherr x oc#erik lehnsherr x male!oc#young brad pitt oc#brad pitt#brad pitt oc#magnetic push#male oc#oc#male x male#male x canon#male x oc#oc x male#oc x canon#canon x male#canon x oc#karmel rosenstein#dofp#days of future past#x-men days of future past
15 notes
·
View notes
Text
KLAUS HARGREEVES / 001 . therapy boundaries vodka hugs !
triggers ; smoking , alcohol , implications of drug abuse and transphobia , trauma , abuse , nsfw language.
mentioned ; del luccetti , moira rose , five hargreeves , kenickie murdoch , luke & nell crain , hanna marin , emma duval , alex karev.
she doesn’t start the day with the intention of saving the town of its sorrows. that’s good ; if she had , the weight of it wouldn’t have allowed her body to drag itself up from the kitchen floor of del’s place. to light a cigarette she bummed off a stranger last night. packs are so much more expensive than they were in the 1960s , by the way. didn’t miss that at all.
the nicotine hasn’t even begun to stop her fingers from trembling before they are wrapped around the cap of a bottle of smirnoff. she inhales again & pours herself a glass. they’re her closest friends and they even come into the bathroom with her when she picks around del’s things for barrettes or perhaps a pretty headband. she settles on elastics , braids two chunks of her hair before she’s bored of it.
she smooths her hands over her crop top. when she leaves to who knows where , there’s too much force behind her pull and the door slams , so she jumps and yells to del through the door , through lips that struggle to keep her second cigarette between them. “sorry!” whether her tiny friend is even awake or inside. hopefully not , because she’s definitely broken her promise not to touch her things.
somewhere outside she passes a pair of siblings on the sidewalk , one holds happy father’s day balloons and the other holds a box with some kind of pastry , probably. oh good , the stupidest day of the year. maybe second stupidest to columbus day.
“oh,” klaus mumbles, clicking her tongue as her eyebrows crease with sentiment. she presses a hand to her chest which has never once ached for what she could have had with her father. “that is touching.” they don’t turn away in horror at the ‘man’ in a skirt like they would in the movies , but the laughter they’re clearly fighting to release doesn’t feel much better. she’s unamused as she waves them off and goes on her way. she gulps from her glass and taps it with stubs of fingernails.
eventually she stops at a bush in front of the church and digs around in the brush, smiling as her fingers connect with the cracked screen of her cell phone. “there you are!” and more importantly , an old eye shadow palette that doubles as an all you can snort buffet.
apparently it’s sunday , so she drags herself up the steps of the church to snag herself a blueberry muffin. but she doesn’t stay to chat because , well , it’s father’s day and she’s having ideas. not that any of them would truly make sense to anyone but her. it shows in her eventual trainwreck of an instagram post , but the picture is great! and moira rose likes it.
in the town square she brushes rocks off a spot on the ground and plops herself down , legs spread out in front of her. klaus argues with her stubborn brother , to no one’s surprise not managing to convince him to come. a particular comment about a talking stick , forces a scoff and sarcastic laugh from her throat. another swig of her drink pushes them back down. she tells five to find himself a hug , while she waits for kenickie to come along. what a little punk!
she chases down the muffin with a drink of milk that dribbles down her chin. she’s already descending into her baseline state of ineptitude. she blunders on to kenickie about the monocle she called her dad , simply because how much the man hates being called that. she tells him about his ridiculous ranking system and how much she used to hate how tight their stupid socks were.
klaus leans heavy on his shoulder and kisses his neck and smokes. talks a lot. people show up and there’s not crying because no matter what five says there are no pathetic adults here. not that her judgement is exactly reliable , but still she listens to the stories and laughs. shares her own which she is 90% sure no one believes but they humor her anyway. she considers suggesting an orgy but it would be a joke and there’s a lot of daddy issues here and god , she is just tired of being dad. she doesn’t miss destiny’s children as much as you might think. she misses dave. at one point she loses her shirt but she’ll wake up later using it as a pillow with pebble imprints on bare shoulders.
she’s hoping to see lukey or nellie pop in , but they don’t and that’s okay because they are deserving of a father they don’t hate. she meets a lovely number of other people anyways , she takes to hanna and to leia. did she try to kiss a girl named emma on the lips? that’s embarrassing! but klaus doesn’t remember that. is that where she got this cut on her lip? or was that when she tried to take alex’s wallet (he’s a surgeon! you can’t blame her) ? but maybe the injury was there when she woke up that morning. she doesn’t remember. she’s drinking and dancing to amy winehouse.
it’s fuck father’s day but other than several witty insults and curses to the sky , she barely thinks about the man who once pushed her down the stairs for wearing heels and locked her in the dark for hours or days or whatever because she was weak.
if klaus thinks about it hard enough she can remember every haunted face that confronted her in there. but she doesn’t think , because as far as she’s concerned she is handling that trauma just fine. she’s hilarious and fun and she doesn’t need boundaries or therapy and she certainly doesn’t need her brother and his refusal to participate in her fabulous ideas. but maybe she’ll take a hug.
2 notes
·
View notes
Text
The Miys, Ch. 87
Well, it had to happen.
SOMEONE had to call Sophia on her bullshit...
I stifled a moan as I felt the tension easing from the muscles in my legs. Tyche and I - after much negotiating - were spending some quality time together for the first time in weeks. Rather than our usual meet-up over a meal we had agreed to some yoga and a light workout. At the moment, we were moving through a series of beginner level poses, me following her lead. With the increasing gravity on the Ark, the movements were much more difficult than I had recalled, and I was already sweating.
Then again, that had been the point of the workout, I guess.
“Keep breathing, Soph…” Tyche warned as we moved from child pose to cobra pose.
“Trying,” I grunted. Was I this out of shape, or was it just that much harder?
Somehow, I survived finishing yoga. I sat on the floor for a moment, taking a breather. We were in one of the communal spaces - I think it had originally been intended as passenger quarters, but was currently opened up and being used as a sort of gym. We were currently debating what we wanted to do next to finish off our workout, when a red-haired man I didn’t quite recognize approached us.
As we jumped to our feet, the man scowled when Tyche stood slightly in front of me. “Weak,” he spat, and I realized he was one of the people I had noticed acting suspiciously early on.
“What do you want?” my sister asked in a carefully-neutral tone.
“I don’t want anything from the likes of you two,” he answered in a disgusted tone. “But you,” he glared at me, “need to stay away from the Leader.”
The bitter laugh that came out of my mouth sounded like a bark. “For starters, he approached me. I don’t know what his issue with me is, but I’m sure as shit not hunting him down to give him a second chance at a sucker punch.”
“The Leader would never - “
“Bullshit,” I cut him off. Tyche was still in front of me, but seemed content to let me speak. “He would and he nearly did. I don’t know what the hell he told you and your buddies, but I was minding my own business when he tried to lure my friend away, and when I stopped him, he started talking about a situation he has no real clue about. If she hadn’t shoved me to the ground, his punch would have landed in my kidney instead of her side. You want a copy of the recording? I’ve got that, too.”
“You aren’t worth his attention,” the nameless man sneered.
Tyche snarled and stepped forward, brandishing her finger under his chin like a knife. “Your so-called leader isn’t worth the air he wastes by breathing, much less the poison that drips from his mouth.”
Surprisingly, he outright dismissed her, instead focusing on me. “You won’t have your precious guards around you forever. The Leader will strip away everything you have, leaving you nothing.”
I managed to convince Tyche to step aside. “Look. Whatever Jokull Bjornson wants, I don’t have it.”
“Don’t you dare say his name!”
“Is this guy fucking Voldemort or something!?” I asked Tyche incredulously.
Her laughter seemed to be the opportunity he was waiting for. He stepped toward me aggressively, hands raised...
...Only to find himself flat on his back, me sitting on him, one forearm across his throat. I found myself absolutely furious, and tired of people treating me like I was some dainty, fragile thing. “Yes,” I hissed in his face, “the people who care about me put a lot of thought into keeping me safe. And yes, most of them are more willing to fight than I am. But that doesn’t make me helpless, you brainless fucker. I don’t know where you or your precious leader got the idea that I can’t defend myself, but it may be one of the bigger piles of shit he’s selling you.”
Some vague glimmer of intelligence flickered across his face, and he nodded. He didn’t even spit in my face, despite the fact that it looked like he really wanted to. Satisfied that he got the message, I carefully let him up, keeping a watch on him the entire time as he left. As soon as the door closed behind him, I let out a breath I didn’t even realize I had been holding, every ounce of willpower I had focused on not letting my legs collapse when the adrenaline just drained out of my body. I managed a weak smile as I turned back to face my sister, proud of myself.
Needless to say, I was entirely unprepared for the blow that knocked me on my ass, pain blooming from my mouth. My fight or flight response tried to find a target, only to see a seething ball of blonde rage standing there.
Tyche had decked me. Right in the teeth. “You foolish, stupid bitch! Now they know you aren’t helpless! We were counting on that!”
All I could do was stare at her, mixed with looking at the blood on my hand - and shirt, and the deck - before trying to speak “Da fug?” Ow. That hurt.
“When are you going to get it through that brilliant skull of yours that you don’t have to fix everything yourself?! Jesus, fuck, Sophia! Someone has it out for you, badly enough to try to assault you in clear view of everyone on this fucking ship. Which, in case the math escapes you, means they have more followers than we even realize, if he’s that confident. He wasn’t trying to take you down, it was a fucking test. He wanted to see if you would fight back, and he never found out, because Charly didn’t let him.”
“Tyg - “
“No. You do not get to speak right now. You get to listen. When Charly took that hit for you? Yes, it made you look helpless, but it protected you. Bjornson won’t attack someone who won’t fight back. But, guess what? You just tore that protection to shreds, set it on fire, and pissed on the ashes.”
“Dis in’t deh fuss die sowwuh has had it oub fuh me.” Maybe she had a point about me not talking. That hurt like a bitch.
“AND YOU NEARLY DIED!” she roared. “For three weeks, I had to watch you try to figure out if you were going to live or die! Conor had to watch you. Derek had to watch you, the closest thing he has to a mom, almost die for three. Gods. Damned. Weeks.”
Her words hit me harder than the punch, and all I could do was gape.
“Yeah. That never occurred to you, did it? We all had to sit there and watch you die. Every day, every hour, every minute, we hoped you wouldn’t. And this time, yeah, he’s got more people, but we thought we had the advantage, right? Because we knew who they were, we knew what they thought, but nooooooo. Fuck all that to hell, because Sophia Moira Reid has to fucking save everyone!”
No. None of this occurred to me. I felt so small and guilty as I realized the truth of what she was saying. I had been so selfish.
Tyche’s eyes welled with tears and, if anything, that made her even angrier. “I can’t keep losing you, mon coeur. Three times! Three times in my life I’ve had to lose you. When you went to college, when the End happened, and when we ended up on the Ark, I thought ‘Finally! I finally get to have a sister! We can be in each other’s lives like siblings are supposed to be.’ But then I had…. I had to see you… She was tangled in your hair, killing you…”
I reached out one hand, wanting to comfort her but at a complete loss for what to do. She was mourning me, the person sitting in front of her.
Tyche swatted my hand away and kept talking. “I love Conor and Maverick, but there is this part of me that just says ‘my sister has the self-preservation of a koala’, and I can’t be around all the time to protect you. It’s killing me. And I can’t exactly ask Arthur and GK to chain themselves to you around the clock. If it were up to me, you would be confined to quarters, indefinitely, preferably sedated.”
“You would keep me prisoner?” I enunciated carefully, wincing slightly.
“Haven’t done it yet, have I?,” she sighed in defeat. “Didn’t even ask anyone if it was possible, for that fact. And it wouldn’t be holding you prisoner, per se. More like….. Protective custody.”
“To protect me from Bjornson.”
“To protect you from yourself.”
“I’m not the one who busted my lip,” I pointed out, gesturing at the evidence. Tyche was trying to pull herself back together, and I wasn’t going to stop her. Even if it did mean she was back to calling me an idiot.
She rolled her eyes and reached down to help me off the floor. “Don’t be so dramatic. I’ve seen you do worse to yourself washing laundry.”
“That stair was broken,” I argued, checking to see if my lip was done bleeding. Almost.
“Yeah, and so was your ankle.”
“Does this mean I get out of weights today?”
“Nope,” she casually dashed my hopes. “You get to do fencing now.”
<< Prev Masterlist Next >>
#the miys#humans are weird#science fiction#original fiction#found family#humans are space orcs#earth is space australia#aliens#apocalypse#tw: violence#my writing
72 notes
·
View notes
Text
not gonna lie, given that moira had one lifetime where it's implied she and apocalypse were a thing, i kind of want that non-superhero blended family AU
like, i feel like en sabah nur is still definitely some kind of radical political figure, and moira is an older-than-she-looks ex-INTERPOL agent whose specialization was in like, forensic genetics or something.
her first marriage was an ill-considered Vegas weekend wedding to Charles Xavier when they were Oxford grad students there for some conference. her second marriage was to kevin's shitty dad, and produced kevin, and when she realized how dangerous her husband was, she left with kevin and quit INTERPOL, using generational wealth & a bit of financial support from Charles (who is still in love with her), establishes Muir Island as a private genetics lab.
She still goes to some INTERPOL functions though, and that's where she meets Sean Cassidy. Sean is a widower and struggling to reconnect with his teenage daughter. They're married for like five years, during which time Moira's like "I want more kids but I'm not getting pregnant again," and Sean's like "ok let's adopt —"
and basically before he can finish the sentence, within the week she's adopted two kids being held in jail in NYC and two orphans, all of whom are teenagers around the same age as Kevin and Terry.
Sean & Moira's marriage ultimately fails due to irreconcilable differences, as marriages sometimes do, but she keeps in closer contact with Sean & Terry than she does with Charles, so, like, Terry does occasionally slip and call her 'mom'.
It's Sean who talks her into going to this party for divorced parents, and there she meets En Sabah Nur, who divorced his wife in absentia after she disappeared with their four kids 35 years ago. Some people are convinced he's a family annihilator but there was never any evidence pointing to him being responsible for his family's disappearance, and he doesn't often talk about it.
In the meantime, though, he wound up with a fifth kid, Evan, and nobody's quite sure how, and he only just got custody of the boy, who spent the first ten years of his life living in Kansas and is just the softest ray of sunshine. No one is sure how En Sabah Nur wound up with such a sweet kid, because that man is extremely intimidating and has big I Can and Will Murder You For Inconveniencing Me Energy.
So Moira & En Sabah Nur kind of hit it off really well; he's much older than her, I'm imagining him as like, in his seventies, and she's about 45 and all five of her kids have gone off to college just this year so she's having a bit of Empty Nest Syndrome and is maybe three drinks away from asking Charles if she can come teach at his weird secluded boarding school this year. En Sabah Nur is trying to make adult friends so he can gauge if his childrearing skills are up to snuff, since he's 35 years out of practice.
Both of them know it's probably a terrible mistake to hook up, but they do.
Their wedding is at Muir Island and the invitations joke about it being "Moira's Fourth Mistake"
Charles is invited because En Sabah Nur can tell he's still in love with Moira and En Sabah Nur is kind of a dick. Charles brings Erik, his own seventy-year-old (i guess I'm setting this in the 90s/early '00s?) boyfriend with three kids from previous relationships, because Charles is a competitive man who needs to Prove He's Just Fine, Thanks, Moira
(Also, Charles definitely adopted Scott at some point in this AU, which means when they figure out Scott and Gabriel are brothers, Charles starts referring to the Summers boys as "our kids" because the man is desperate to get back what he thinks he could've had with Moira all those years ago.)
(Sean actually gets into a physical fight with Charles at the Moirapocalypse wedding because he does this there and Sean's like, laddie, if any man here can call himself Gabriel's father it's me, not you, you deeply weird person)
fuck this AU got away from me but anyway basically I just like the idea of a ridiculous soap opera of middle-aged & senior citizen divorcees bickering at someone's fourth wedding, that's all.
#moira x apocalypse#moira x sean#moira x#moira mactaggert#charles x erik#the artist formerly known as en sabah nur#sean cassidy#charles x moira
9 notes
·
View notes
Text
I read the new X-men issue this week through...totally...legal...means >.>
Honest
Good god but X-men issue 7 has really showcased how UTTERLY FUCKED UP Krakoa is at this point and I hate it because I just like want mtuantkind to have a nice, safe, happy place where they can live where they haven’t got to worry about shitty things happening to them but now fuckin Exodous is starting an extremely creepy ass cult because hey guess what Xavier that’s what happens when you let a fuckin evil ass cult leader live on your island and just let him do whatever and Apocalypse has somehow convinced people that this stupid “Crucible” idea is REMOTELY OKAY like how is this possible how did Emma Frost who would rather DIE than see young mutants harmed agree to this, how did Kurt or Ororo or Jean EVER agree to this how the hell did Magneto ever agree this was a good idea...hell even Mystique who can be ruthless at times would say “This is screwed up” and aggggggghhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh....I am fully convinced at this point that Xavier is influencing peoples minds to make them go along with his controversial and shitty decisions because that is SO his M.O...
I JUST REALLY WANT THERE TO BE SOME KIND OF REVOLUTION OR REBELLION ON KRAKOA AT THIS POINT BECAUSE IT NEEDS TO BE BETTER THAN IT IS
The idea of Krakoa has so much promise like, the idea of mutantkind creating some kind of safehaven where they can finally never again have to worry about humanities bigotry and where this oppressed and persecuted minority can finally live lives where they don’t have to worry about an attempted genocide every other week and can build a society free from fear and hate....that’s an awesome concept...
But the reality of it is just
so screwed up and its all thanks to Xavier making that RIDICULOUS decision to allow complete monsters like Exodous and Apocalypse to just live there and run free and worse letting them be part of the GOVERNMENT like...
On a less negative note things I did like about the issue were
Scott/Jean/Logan is canon and I would much rather the X-books be about poly mutant love than Exodous brainwashing children into joining his cult
I though the plot point of Kurt wrestling with questions about his faith and if things he used to believe in even matter in a world where he’s basically immortal while also worrying if said immortality means he no longer has a soul...
I do get the feeling we’re MEANT to see Exodous and Apocalypse and what they are doing as being fucked up so I’m hoping it’s going to lead to Scott and go saying “No more of this shit” and forcing things to change on Krakoa whether Xavier likes it or not...I genuinely think Xavier is the villain of this story honestly. Everything points to him and Moira NOT being the heroes here
I also like that the entire Guthrie family want to beat the shit out of En Sabah Nur because seriously hard same
77 notes
·
View notes
Text
X-Men Abridged: 1977
The X-Men, those starjammin' mutants that have sworn to protect a world that hates and fears them, are a cultural juggernaut with a long, tangled history. Want to unravel this tapestry? Then read the Abridged X-Men!
(X-Men 103 - 108) - written by Chris Claremont and art by Dave Cockrum, Bob Brown and John Byrne
The fabled M’Kraan Crystal, a.k.a. Everything’s a butt plug if you’re brave enough. (X-Men 107)
When we last left our X-Men, they were being pummelled into a paste by Black Tom and the Juggernaut at the ancestral Cassidy Keep. Only Nightcrawler was out of their clutches, because he was saved by elves. (All Irish keeps have elves, plz don’t question it.) Apparently, Juggernaut and Black Tom have been holding the inhabitants of the castle hostage under the orders of Eric the Red. Black Tom plans to mindrape the X-Men to lure Charles to Ireland to kill him, which… er… Wouldn’t it be easier to go back to the USA now that Charles is mostly unprotected? Most of the the X-Men are in Oire right now!
Nightcrawler incidentally discovers he turns invisible in the shadows, and it makes total sense that he only realizes this now, because they have no shadows in Germany. Eh, nobody remembers he has this power these days anyway, so! Moving briskly on!
Kurt surprises the gay villainous duo by pretending to be a surprisingly spry Xavier. (Image inducer ftw.) While trying to turn Nightcrawler into a smear of blue fuzz, Juggernaut punches through a wall, exposing Storm to the sky and releasing her from the tight grip of her claustrophobia.
Very few things fill me with more delight than seeing Storm doing loop-de-loops. (X-Men 103)
Storm frees the rest of the X-Men. In the final battle, Banshee tussles with Tom, tossing him off the ramparts and straight into the choppy ocean. Even though tossing a villain into the water is an absolutely sure-fire way to guarantee they'll survive, Juggernaut jumps in after him, desperate to save his boyfriend. Friend. Whatever.
Hilariously, the people at marvel.fandom hate this issue and plotline, saying it’s more riddled with plot holes than Swiss cheese. For example, the elves reveal Wolverine’s real name - Logan - which… “This issue implies that the leprechauns have some prior knowledge of, and even a connection to Wolverine. This plot point, however, was completely dropped and never referenced again (which is probably for the best, considering how goofy it is.)”
I mean, they’re not wrong.
So. Hey. You ready for things to get weird?
Moira has received a VAGUE BUT DISTRESSING call for help from Muir Isle. Off-screen she got upgraded to being an associate at Edinburgh University who owns a lab in Scotland. She left some dude named Jamie Madrox in charge, which - Moira, you have a Phd, you should be able to tell that Madrox is an absolute (entertaining) mess of a person.
Also super surprised that Jamie Madrox was conceived in the seventies, but whatever.
In order to check out the lab, the X-Men rent a hovercraft, which explodes just off the shore of Muir Isle.
Get a bucket and a mop for this wet-ass fuzzy. (X-Men 104)
They are beset on all sides, before being pulled into the laboratory by… MAGNETO?
Magneto accusing anybody other than Dr. Doom or Namor of all-consuming arrogance shows us that self-awareness can’t be taught. (X-Men 104)
Cyclops arrives by airplane, reuniting with the team, while also talking to Moira and Madrox. Absolutely bonkers revelations are made in the space of three pages:
Moira’s lab is a secret Mutant Research Centre. (uh…)
In the Defenders-comic, Magneto was de-aged into a baby. (...what?!)
‘Research Centre’ is a Scottish synonym for a penal colony for all kinds of dangerous mutants, like baby Magneto, Dragonfly, Unus and the mysterious Mutant-X. (...what?!)
Moira quite cavalierly experiments on prisoners and babies. She also has a machine that can manipulate age. Xavier knows and is fine with all of this. (wtf!?!?)
This is such a bonkers, messy way to rewrite both Moira and Magneto. Like, I can’t.
Eric the Red freed Magneto and then used the aging machine to turn Magneto back into an adult man at the peak of his powers. This Magneto is understandably upset at having been turned into a science lab experiment/baby and he mops the floor with the X-Men.
Cyclops makes the executive decision to flee Muir Isle, because they have no chance against Magneto and he now realizes Professor X is unprotected and probably at the mercy of Eric the Red. Wolverine calls him a big fat sissy to his face.
I kind of dig that the X-Men don't win a lot of their fights yet. They’re still treated as relatively unseasoned, especially as a team, and they don’t automatically win at the end of every story. It also gives Magneto more oomph as a villain.
Anyway, when the X-Men arrive at the mansion, they’re defeated by Firelord, Galactus’ former herald. He’s been duped into attacking them by Eric the Red. Firelord is convinced the X-Men are the villains, because Eric went with the Wounded Gazelle Gambit: he even knocked out Havok and Polaris to pretend he was attacked by our merry mutants. (Next time we see them, they’re back to their normal, non-brainwashed selves.)
In her new apartment, Jean is introducing her parents and Professor X to her new girlfriend roommate Misty Knight when princess Neramani (of, uh, space) teleports into the room. And then Firelord attacks Charles! Jean has absolutely zero chill for all of this.
I know very little about Misty Knight, but every time she appears, she responds to anything remotely surprising by drawing her gun. I assume she shoots her paper boy every morning. (X-Men 105)
The entire point of this issue is to show how big a threat Phoenix is. Claremont originally wanted to use a big name like Thor or the Silver Surfer, but editorial nixed that: they feared that it would be emasculating for a popular character to be beaten by a girl. Once again, this proves how badly the Phoenix storyline was needed. Did Jean single-handedly introduce feminism to superhero comics? I’mma say yes.
With Jean distracted and Charles teaching Lilandra English telepathically so he can woo the pretty space-lady and/or get an explanation as to why the universe is ending, Eric the Red strikes, revealing himself to be: SHAKARI.
Yeah, no, I don’t recognize the name either, but the dude’s been working on this reveal for a while, so just let him have it.
He absconds with Lilandra through the Stargate and switches it off, just as the X-Men arrive. Jean casually turns it back on and because the Professor is all, “we’ve got to save her! I mean the universe!”, the X-Men jump through the gate.
Jean’s parents are all out of wtfs to give.
We take a break from Shi´Ar shenanigans with an inconsequential filler issue, where we flashback to Xavier while he was being driven crazy by his Space Trek dreams. It’s established that Moira and Xavier are ex-lovers and that Xavier’s melodramatic subconscious wants to kill the new X-Men. (Probably not for real, but who knows.) Next!
Still a better villain than Onslaught. (X-Men 106)
Anyway, the X-Men find themselves surrounded by aliens in front of the ginormous M’Kraan Crystal. The Shi’Ar are all: ‘dafuq you’re doing here’, Cyclops is all: ‘We’re here for Lilandra’, and the Shi’Ar are all: ‘You mean our prisoner and rogue princess?’ Scott decides that gathering more information is for losers and starts blasting, triggering a fight with the Imperial Guard.
Lilandra, meanwhile, is in the hands of Shakari and her big brother, Emperor D’Ken. He releases some nebulously defined monster - a Soul Drinker - to kill Lilandra. Nightcrawler saves her from its murderous clutches by teleporting two people for the very first time. Lilandra doesn’t barf up her insides, which is apparently a test of character, and proceeds to explain what’s what.
First, she tells the X-Men that she felt Professor Xavier when he was doing the telepathic care bear attack against the Z’Nox way back in the sixties and that she felt instantly drawn to him. She also explains that she’s D’Ken’s younger sister and leading a rebellion against her mad, power hungry brother. Why is he mad? Well...
The X-Men vs. Astrology! Riveting. (Still a better villain than Onslaught.) Although, “I’m a Pisces” sounds a lot lamer than “I was born under the Nine Death Stars. (X-Men 107)
The guy in the mohawk is Gladiator, he is consistently the worst. Even when Lilandra reveals that opening that gate triggers the End of All That Is, he’s still all: “Juuust following orders.”
The Imperial Guard goes in for a smackdown, but the X-Men are fortunately saved by the Starjammers. (Space pirates, not an 80’s rock group.) They are:
Corsair, a debonair dude with one golden earring. Pretty obviously a human.
Raza, cyborg with a temper and somehow bald whilst rocking a ponytail.
Ch’od, lizard creature. Has a white fluffy spider monkey-thing that I don’t recognize and but is apparently called Waldo Ch'ee. (I pray it just got lost in Marvel history and that it doesn’t get squashed at some point. It’s adorable.)
Hepzibah, cute cat girl with a gun. Involved with Corsair, except he can’t pronounce her name so he just gave her the completely unrelated nickname Hepzibah? Dude!
Jean, having learned psychic etiquette from Charles Xavier, immediately violates their privacy and scans their minds, figuring out that Corsair is Scott’s dad. Superficial telepathic read, my ass.
Meanwhile, power builds up in the M’Kraan Crystal and the universe briefly blinks out of existence, threatening to tear open the fabric of the universe if this keeps up. To emphasize that this is a Big Honking Deal, we cut to Earth where the Avengers, Fantastic Four and Peter Corbeau (rumored to have an IQ over 200) are all: oy, did the universe just stop existing?
That’s Hank McCoy for “we’re fucked’”. Hi Jimmy Carter! (X-Men 108)
Apparently, this is the year the X-Men can’t catch a break, because after being beaten by the Juggernaut, Magneto and the Imperial Guard, they are soundly trashed by Jahf, the Guardian of the Crystal. That is, until Phoenix drops a small meteor on him. In a story beat that I really like, Jahf isn’t fazed at all: the Phoenix, despite her immeasurable power, isn’t omnipotent. Sometimes, you need a scalpel instead of a sledge hammer: it’s Banshee whose sonic scream can scramble the guardian’s circuitry.
Unfortunately, defeating the first guardian only awakens a second, stronger one, so…
Raza decides he’s had enough of this nonsense and, displaying admirable proactive problem solving skills, simply tosses D’Ken into the M’Kraan crystal. Presumably, the Crystal is annoyed at being attacked by someone who also has an unnecessary apostrophe in their name, and it lashes out, trapping everyone involved in their own personal hell. For Jean, this is apparently death, but she’s all: “Um, I was recently deceased, no big deal,” and snaps out of it.
The Phoenix reaches out the crystal, which is slowly cracking under the weight of the universe. (Same.) If it shatters, it will destroy the universe, devouring all . Think of it as a cosmic reset button. The Phoenix is its opposite, a bringer of energy and life, so it might be able to fix the crystal. Problem is, Jean has trouble remaining anchored in this reality, because she’s being absorbed by the crystal.
OKAY. SO MANY THINGS TO LOVE. Even when allied with a cosmic force, Storm proves she’s our queen. Furthermore, other than Jean/Scott, Ororo/Jean might the most fleshed out relationship among these new X-Men at this point. Their friendship is consistently a highlight.
Also, rough, rough day for Corsair. (X-Men 108)
Phoenix mends the crystal with a lot of mystical space mumbo jumbo and… er, that’s it. Cosmic balance restored, she poofs the X-Men home.
Lilandra tags along with them, explaining that D’Ken’s tinkering with the Crystal left him catatonic and unfit to rule. As his sister, she’s the rightful heir, but since she also led a rebellion, she kind of cancelled by her empire. She announces she will stay on Earth with Charles while the Shi´Ar iron out the details of the succession. So, instead of consolidating her power base and claim to the throne, she peaces out to explore her feelings for the hairless pink alien who can peek into her brain. Solid.
And with that final bit of space opera, we say goodbye to Dave Cockrum and welcome artist John Byrne. The Claremont/Byrne-run is widely seen as the definitive X-Men run, so hold onto your butts and let’s see where the Phoenix takes us, shall we?
Didn’t you take Art History? I stand by my space mumbo jumbo comment from earlier, but check out these Byrne-pages:
Chef’s kiss. (X-Men 108)
Ugliest Costume: I have a fierce hatred for the Shi'ar's weird wispy triangular hair/feather/thingies, but those are technically not costumes. So: Lilandra, why is your boob window a bug?
Best new character: I’m not much of a fan of space operas or the Shi’Ar and their extended court, but I do have a soft spot for the Starjammers, Hepzibah in particular. I fondly remember her being a part of the X-Men at some point in the future, although I don't think her actual unpronounceable name ever gets revealed.
Most audacious retcon: Moira the housekeeper is actually an evil morally complicated mad scientist.
What to read: Issue 105, 107 and 108, for all your Phoenix Saga needs.
#x-men#x-men abridged#abridged x-men#professor x#cyclops#phoenix#nightcrawler#colossus#storm#wolverine#banshee#chris claremont#dave cockrum#john byrne#juggernaut#black tom#shi'ar#moira mactaggert#magneto#starjammers
28 notes
·
View notes
Text
Hickman’s X-Men One Year In: Part 2: The Dawn of X
And we’re onto part 2. Since it took me a while to talk about Hickman’s Series outside of Giant-Size and the setup here, that’s in part one if your curious, I split this little retrospective into two parts, with this part here talking about the rest of the books. This isn’t to say they aren’t great, many of them are, it was just easier to do this as a two parter so with HIckman himself out of the way how did his hand picked batch of talented writers handle the lofty status quo he set up?Find out under the cut. Pax Krakoa baby.
Mauraders
Okay just to get this out of the way this is my second faviorite x-book running, after X-Men itself and it often equals it and far and away the best tile of the run and restored my faith in Gerry Duggan. Duggan is not a bad writer and I blame the messy finish of his otherwise awesome guardians run with infnity wars on marvel trying to cram other characters into it and then a weird mash up idea that while cool, kept the guardians out of their own damn event and from confrting a now mad gamora, but that and deadpool made me forget the guy is a good writer and can do great things. Maruaders however won me back to him with intrest.
A unique concept, the x-men as pirates helping ferry goods to krakoan allied states and ferry trapped mutants from hostile ones, is fucking awesome. The only thing missing is nightcrawler and it’s clear hickman has other plans, though I still feel he shoudl’ve been on the boat as he has both the relation to kitty pryde and pirate pedgree that fit in perfectly.
Speaking of kitty after years of writers misusing her due to having a crush on her as a kid and shoving her into half baked romances with peter quill and her ex peter rasptuin, the latter failing so badly that marvel pulled the plug on their wedding because fans clearly didn’t want it, and battling my own reluctance ot see her front and center again, Duggan makes good use of her again: Kitty is given the unique hook of the portals not working for her and no one, even her old friend Doug after he gets back, being able to figure out WHY. Though I do hope Doug does show up here and explain it more, as him being kitty’s best friend once is rarely brought up since he got back and it’s silly it hasn’t been. But rather than take this on the chin Kitty strikes up a crew consisting of big sister Storm, first class graduate x-man, badass gay and kitty’s friend and ex iceman, bishop who reluctantly joins as her bishop more on that in a second and the best of them by a mile: Pyro. The original, finally brought back and given some intresting backstory: he was the first mutant brought back and felt good about it..t ill he realized that despite sacrificing himself to save a, if your familiar with the various cartoons this will be baffling but trust me, reformed senator kelly as Pyro himself was dying from the legacy virus, only to find out they did him first because they considered him expendable basically and naturally was upset over that, drunk a bunch of the liquor kitty smuggled in, for logan naturally, and passed out and then joined in on the rescue mission that formed the team because why not and stayed because it was a great offer.
Speaking of offers with a new purpose, Kitty accepted her old enemy Emma Frost’s offer to be red queen, which includes a seat on krakoa’s council and was basically emma’s way of saying fuck you to her old cohort who she was forced to bring back on to handle the seedier side of Krakoa’s dealings via his underworld connections, sebastian shaw. Emma is the fincical backbone of krakoa, having the shipping connections to get the flowers in and out and now having kitty to handle the stuff she can’t and do some of the shipping, as well as again tell Sebastian, who naturally wants both gone and is pissy at Emma being so far ahead of him, wants gone. And while he’s seemingly succeded with kitty I not only have every expectation that while ressuection is failing to work on her she’ll be back, but that trying to murder one of the most beloved x-men whose consdiered family to among others three of krakoa’s captains, bishop after this series, four of their council, five if you include Doug whose best friends with both his left arm which is also a deadly space robot and the very place they live on. The only reason he’s not going to die 80 times in increasingily horrifying ways is because the five can’t take on that kind of workload and one murderous ass beating from half of krakoa and krakoa itself is close enough.
Emma is easily one of the books best parts, being written back as she should: An anti hero who while quick with a cutting quip, truly cares for her charges, and mutantkind as a whole and has grown from the monster she started as or even the kind of person who’d use a therapy session from a desperate man having issues opening up emotionally after apocalypse used his body as a rental car to convince him to fuck her. And yes that’s how things started with Scott and Emma and yes it’s really fucked up and yes the story treats it as such, though I still wish Scott would get actual therapy, but as Linkara recently pointed out in his House of M Review the Marvel and DC universes weirdly lack therapists for the most part and thus it was left on my mind the last two weeks.. and yes I know DC tried but when your final product at trying to serious tackle mental health is heroes in crisis.. I award you no points and god have mercy on your soul.
But while Emma and Kitty get the lions share of the focus the rest of the group is enjoyable, well done and intresting, if not given many arcs to themselves, but still have enough character moments to counterballance that. The standout of the rest of the crew is easily Pyro, taken from “why is he still dead despite being super popular and used in a heavy role in X2 that’s garnered fans of that version to this day and bafflement he became a foot note in the next movie and used in every adaptation” to fun side character with a skull on his face and a love of booze and setting things on fire. He’s finally given the respect he deserves sorta and while I hope more is delved into his ressurection angst, he’s a ton of fun and it again makes me wonder why it took 20+ years to bring him back, but i’m glad the right person did it. The rest of the crew are fun with Bishop being another standout.
That being said part of the reason there isn’t a lot of focus is simply because in additoin to our brave crew the book is juggling a LOT of characters.. the morlocks and calisto, both given a proper treatment after wya too long, jumbo carnation a minor character from morrisons run who was introduced in the same issue he died is emma’s designer, shinobi shaw and christian frost, the latter I question why a main relative of one of marvel’s a-list mutants who was one of marvel’s earlier gay characters hasn’t been used in a big way till now but no time like the present, Sebastian and the people he shares his big bad spot with Homines Verde aka those tweens who ran the hellfire club during jason aaron’s run because the man is nuts and who I only seemd to liked, brillinatly revamped as a racist replacemnt for the hellfire club and so far a clever threat. The book is just stuffed iwth good characters, beautiful art, and a great tone that combines spectacular humor with really good story and worldbuilding. It’s also a nice contrast to hickman’s stuff: don’t get me wrong I love hickman’s writing style but it’s nice to have something JUST as good.. but with a cheerier tone and less weariness to it, while still not lacking weight. I can’t wait to see where this goes.. it’s a pirates life for me.
Excalibur:
Like most of the dawn of X-Line outside of fallen angels, more on that in a minute and even then that had an intresting new directoin for betsy braddock, I was pumped for this one. A team I loved: While I struggled to find a run I loved with Claremont’s run having Brian Braddock be a raging dick whose terrible to his girlfriend and gets away with cheating on her and Claremont not really bothering to explain Saturnyne or other characters and their history with Brian well to us yanks who never had the chance to read those tales.. though why stories by alan moore and chris claremont haven’t been republished properly or in epic collections is beyond me. Warren Ellis, who I now loathe for being a scheming weasel who treated women like garbage, had a decent run with plenty of warlock, in a weird phase where he thought he was doug, Moira and Wolfsbane stuff I loved.. but also had 30-40 something pete wisdom shacking up with 18 year old at most kitty pryde, with Pete at the time being basically Warren Ellis badass self insert character, and given recent revelations i’m pretty sure he damn well knew kitty was just 18 and even if he didn’t having his own fanfic character deflower her is just all kinds of EWWWWWW. He also had Colossus, fresh of being a villian for a while for understandable reasons, nearly beat pete into a coma in a jealous rage over the ex.. the ex he dated while she was still a minor, and left because HE , and editorial, was uncomfortable with it for damn obvious reasons. I can see why fans like to see her as bisexual and pair her with Illiayna.. I mean why the fuck not? They have better chemistry than most of he hetrosexual intrests and are paried because of that and not because the writer wanted to make out iwth kitty as a teenager and forgot “oh yeah she’s fictional and i’m 40!” Christ thank god for Gerry Duggan.
But yeah moving on from that I was still pumped as a magical x-men book with Besty Braddock now captain freaking britan, and apocalypse on the roster. And rictor and jubille? nad rouge and gambit I guess.. I don’t knokw if they fit but whatever. Sign me up.
The actual result is a mixed back. I do like Tini Howard’s work here to a point: Betsy gets good character stuff and theres actually good tension from the fact that the new captain britan is no longer primarily a british ctizen, and the book brought back a character I felt marvel needed to do more with: Jamie. if you don’t know, Jamie is betsy and brian’s, her brother and the former captain britian, older brother who went insane due to his powers and thus just goes around in his underwear convinced reality isn’t real and he can do what he wants and the tension with Jamie refusing to have anything to do with his brother for no good reason is really good. Rictor and Apocalypse are likewise good sensable additons: Rictor turns out to be a natural to being a druid which is a nice twist and makes sense given when he lost his powers the biggest issue with that was loosing touch with earth after having a connection to it be a vital part of him for years. Apocalypse as an ominus chess master slowly securing magic for mutantkind with some goal we’re about to get answers to is really investing and adds a layer to his character, that much like doctor doom he’s as much sorecer as he is scinetest and given the guy’s immortal, it dosen’t feel like it was pulled out of nowhere.
The problem is the other half of the cast.. dosen’t really work. I fucking love Jubilee, a faviroite of mine as an xman despite not being a huge 90′s x-men cartoon fan, just feels kinda shoe horned in. Her son becomes a dragon and she worries about him constantly, but her worrying about her son possibly not being a mutant on mutant land could be done in any other x-book, and fraknly I feel her personality would fit better with the maruaders, and it’d be intresting to see kitty and her on the same team since both really haven’t interacted. Here she just feels like “well tini wanted jubilee and no one else did soooo I made her son a dragon to justify getting her”. I feel more could be done and hope Tini has better plans for her. Rouge is one of my faviorte x-men and All New X Factor and Kelly Thompsons work with him and Rouge made me like Gambit again, and I DO love their marriage and it was a way better idea than the one Guggenhiem had planned.. but while the idea of Rouge being reborn is intresting and all, she still dosen’t really get to do much and like Jubilee just feels weirldy out of place while Remy has that plus he’s annoying, as while he’s the only one rightfully supscious of apocalypse he also won’t shut the fuck up about it for five minutes. Ig et where he’s coming from but it dosen’t make him less annoying. These aren’t bad characters, but sof ar they just feel weirdly out of place in a magic based book and unlike Rictor tini hasn’t made any of htem but Rouge feel in place.
That being said I could ignore that more.. but the villians are also week. So far at least, as the return of Satyurne has given the book it’s first good antagonist.. but what I feel drags the book down the most from it’s potential is the bad guys; Morgan Le Fay is the first antaognist, being mad at apocalypse’s intrusions and corrputing Brian.. but her motives are just so boring: She wants power and to rule, she hates mutants... while “hates mutants” is a qualifier for every other antagonist so far, she just feels bland.. Tini just dosen’t make her feel like a good antagonist and it’s a shame as mutant hater or not she’s something DIFFRENT from the throngs of mutant hating conspiracies, mostly from russia in the other books... she’s just so bland it dosen’t work. And after her is Cullen Bloodstone who as far as I can tell is written out of character.. haven’t read his book but I had both a friend confirm it and having read his marvel wiki entry, it just seems like an odd turn to have him be a racist asshole.
But even with all my problems and underwhelm here.. I still WANT the book to get from okay to amazing, and feel it genuinely has the potetial. I’ve seen books sharply improve after a rough first arc, Duggan himself showed me that with his Guardians run. Sometimes it just takes time for something to truly blossom and I have a feeling even with my issues, with x of swords coming up howard’s going to flip it all on it’s head and leave me standing there gasping like a moron. I have hope for that. And if nothing else the book is at least UNIQUE. And not in a trainwreck way: by giving mutants a piece of the magic pie and having them tackle far weirder threats, it’s at least doing something new and it probably lands for other people if not me, and if nothing else it does brian 80 times better than the claremont run did. not a high bar but I do like the character and it’s nice to see him take such an intresting path, and the same goes for Betsy. Tini’s still got magic to do, and I have a feeling it’s going to take me by storm very soon.
Fallen Angels:
Now for the other half of the coin as it were. Some fans weren’t happy about Betsy getting her old body back, and yes Psylocke wasn’t orignally asian but a white british woman bodyswapped iwth a japanese assasian and yes that’s as ludicrious and unteitonally offensive as it sounds, because horrible implications of said Body Swap or not, Psylocke was one of the few asian superheros of note. So to compromise , Hickman and co decided to split the diffrence: Betsy would come back and get a rank up to captain britan, while Kwannon, said assasian, would take over as Psylocke. Hence Excalibur above and fallen angels here and I was excited about it. The Body Swap thing went on a decade too long and this way fans got the character they knew as Psylocke in another book while the face they recognized would finally get some fleshing out. I was excited about that and while probably the least excited about this book of the intitial 5, it did have an intresting lead, two characters I did like (Kid Cable I grant was only under hickman who turned him from that brat version of cable who killed the one I really love to a good character in his own right), and an intresting antagonist in a sentient machine.
In practice it was okay. The best I can say is that writer Brian Hill DOES do a great job taking a mostly minor x-character and really fleshing her out and making her engaging and Kwannon’s quest to save her daughter is really compelling.. but the premise of those who don’t fit with krakoa dosen’t work with the roster given. Laura Kinney is not only sticking with the x-23 name after dropping the wolverine mantle for no reason previously, something Hickman fixed as soon as he realized how fans felt for her apperance in the main book, while Cable feels nothing like the far more fun version from Hickman’s X-Men and later Duggan’s Cable. Add in Husk and Bling who do deserve to be on a team but feel out of place here, and it just.. is okay. The book has an intresting angagonist and a great lead, but just dosen’t work as a team book and would’ve been better off being JUST about kwannon herself, who is far and away the best part about the book and i’m glad she got fleshed out. Not TERRIBLE but nothing special and it’s a shame given the antagonist, whose name I can’t even remember at this point, is intresting and ties into mutantkind’s greatest enmies being man and machine accoridng to house and powers.. basically a decent concep twith a flawed execution. Maybe hill’ sbatman and hte outisders run is better. I need to get on that. That being said the premise and idea is so far being done well in Hellions which we’ll get to, even if I’m being cautious really getting into the book with Zeb Wells track record. But more on that in a bit.
X-Force:
Time to make noise, bad guys leave us no choice.. you know the rest. But yeah X-force. The concept here grabbed me, having X-Force rather than just be the black ops squad but be literal black ops for krakoa, was really great and fit the brave new world.. what worried me was the writer, Benjamin Percy. Now a lot of x-fans probably knew him from the much beloved “Wolverine: The Long Night” podcast, which i’ve heard is utterly fantastic as is it’s followup.. but I hadn’t heard it, and had only heard of Percy from DC comics where under his belt was an okay teen titans run and a not very good and politcally unsubtle green arrow book. And i’m not against politics in comics it just wasn’t done at all well there and the “oliver queen looses hif ourture due to a shadowy conspiracy thing” was already done better by jeff lemire. So yeah I was going to give this a chance but figured like those books it’d start strong and then peter out.
I. Was. Wronnnnggg. X-Force is easily one of the best of the dawn of x and uses said premise well. It started a bit roughly, mostly becasue the first arc idnd’t make clear x-force didn’t exist yet but was a great origin story: a squad of military commandos working for a shadowy consirtum who become x-force’s big bad, plunge onto Krakoa and massacre a bunch of mutantas and assinate charles xavier. He comes back, though it’s trickier for obvious reasons, but it’s clear from this, and from wolverine and kid omega’s sucessful investigation and finding domino, that this can’t go on and thus X-Forces is formed; The intellegence and black ops arm of Krakoa and the one arm of it’s goverment exempt from the ‘dont’ kill humans rule”. What followed was nearly a years worth of fast paced adventures with good character stuff: Wolverine is in his element, kid omega, while I had my doubts due to quinten being way overused , turned out to be a perfect choice basically being a more compitent teenage sterling archer, cocky and loving this but also really good at his job, while Domino gets a great arc dealing with her trauma over her mutalation and having some of her power stolen by the shadowy masked dickheads while Colossus deals with his trauma over what went down when he rescued some Russian mutants, with the book slowly building up new threats and towards a showdown with Russia, something that’s also been built up by conflicts in Wolverine and Mauraders, which again makes the world of x feel more like an actual world instead a bunch of comics in one cast herd. Jean Grey is good for intellegence, though by now seems to have noped out as she couldn’t take the toll, it’s not for everyone and most notably after 5 or 6 years of being treated worse and worse and written worse and worse and becoming a bigger and bigger piece of shit Beast is FINALLY put in the right spot: his darker turns aren’t ignored but he’s back to being an actually intellegent hero as X-force’s director, still a bit greasy but now for good reason and without a god complex or some such bullshit and with a tiny bit of his humor back. Not much else to say really, X-Force is well paced, enjoyable and gritty, getting the spirit of the team at it’s best down right while doing something fresh with it.
New Mutants (Ed Brisson)
Last one, New Mutants is the odd duck of the dawn of x line in terms of how it was launched. Fallen Angels ended up being a mini series both due to Hill being busy and it’s cast being needed elsewhere but will presmibly get a follow up later, but it’s not the ONLY mini series in the line with Fantastic four/x-men, the giant sized one shots and now Empyre: X-Men all debuting in wave 2. New Mutants however is the first book to change writers and said writer STARTED in the middle of hickman’s run, partly due to scheduling delays but even before that it was partly by design and those issues haven’t been collected yet, with hickman’s short run being collected first. So you have a run that builds off what Hickman started but with it’s own ideas that started insidei t and suprisingly it .. really works.
While I do think there are better books in the line Brisson’s new mutants is enjoyable, combining humor and character work. New Mutants focuses on the sextant, which was first brought up in hickman’s run, the series of habitats for younger mutants on krakoa that the new mutants look out for, and while the original new mutants are in space, Armor decides to try and bring some old friends in to join in paradise with the help of Glob Herman, that big pink guy with a visable skeleton and eyes, and Maxine and Manon, who in the tradition of layla miller were created for an event and not great htere but turned out amazing under the right writer.. who I think also wrote that event but whatever, a pair of empaths and telepaths who have trouble grasping the right ethics for using their powers.
The four go to get one of my faviorite x-men back: BEAK! I missed him even if he’s weirdly suddenly repowered. Beak and his wife Angel only haven’t joiend in with their kids because his dad’s sick, and things soon escalate when a bunch of criminals try holding them all hostage and it’s up to boom boom, bored since everyone left her alone, to save the day! After that we deal with Magik rangling them and the team’s new mission statment: not wanting ot mess up again like she did with beak, who did join them but not without loosing his dad and then his memory of his dad thanks to the twins misguided efforts, Armor still wants to try welcoming new mutants in with the vetrans help, and thus we have our puprose: focusing both on how these younger mutant 20 somethigns of various ages from early to late work together to make a better world nad help their own get back to this world. it’s intresting.. I’m not in love with it like mauraders or x-force, but it’s still pretty good and their first big foe so far, DoX, a blog that well.. doxes mutants that haven’t arrived yet, seems to be intresting. Not much to say just pretty good and and better at mixing comedy and character stuff, and getting the cast right. Ed Brisson had already proven himself on old man logan, but this cements him as one of the hottest new x-writers around and i’m glad he was given a book here. He’s also succeded in making me actually like Glob Herman so that’s a plus.
Fantastic Four/X-Men
The first title of wave 2 and easily one of the best, right up there with mauraders nad probably JUSST behind it and ONLY because i’ts a mini series, giving the X-Men their first real step into the rest of hte marvel universe. Sure the 4 had cameoed in the first issue and there’s been mentions of krakoa in other books and one off issues but mostly Krakoa really hadn’t impacted anything.. but that first issue also set things up with Scott’s conversation with Sue Richards
Yeah and in case those who haven’t been aware of what’s going on with the FF lately and either remember franklin as a 6-11 year old or wondered why the hell he was suddenly a teen when they read this crossover, it’s actually simple; At the end of secret wars the Richards family was put on a bus, also so marvel could shove the ff as a proper team out the door due to the whole fox rights thing, and when Dan Slott had brought them back.. and cleverly had more time pass for the richards than for the 616 proper, so he could age Franklin up to his late teens and Valeria up to her early ones, allowing the richards children to actually age since Franklin’s age always had to stay vauge due to marvel’s vage and wobbly time scale. This way they get both consitant ages and more agency.
But the return also came with a price as Franklin, who if you didn’t know is so powerful he can create whole universe and shape the sturcture of the universe, had his powers break saving his family, and thus since he came back, he’s onlyg got so much of them left in the tank before they run out entirely, and it’s been an issue for him in Slott’s run as he worries about being the normal human in a fantastic family and comes to a head here, though rather than Hickman himself, who as mentioned last time has a marvelous track record with the family or FF series writer dan slott Hickman choose a wild card for this, though had both Hickman and Slott’s permission to do whatever he wanted: Chip Zdarsky, a modern marvel for marvel who’d writtne the four in marvel two in one but for some reason didn’t get the main book and this book makes me hope whenever Dan Slott bows out he gets his turn and while this is his first x-men work, Zdarsky proves he’s just as good here as is in most of his work on Howard the Duck, Jughead and Star Lord.. a weird selection I know but all classics.
With this power outage, Franklin is worried his dad is, at least subconciously, not really trying to help him and to make matters worse teh x-men show up to offer their help.. and Franklin his birthright. The arguments made by both sides are great and I will be covering the series in full soon but in a nutshell the four dont’ want to give up their son/nephew, Reed dosen’t trust Xavier and feels he wants to use his son’s powers while the x-men feel it’s franlin’s choice and he’s old enough to make it, he belongs with them and he’ll be safer there. It also works because Franklin understandably isn’t swayed by either as neither is reallyt alking to him more at him, especially his parents .. and only tries the gate when Kitty Pryde, the two bonded back in the 80s and a young franklin stopped her from comitting suicide long story but really moving, is the only one to tell him it’s his choice. This dosen’t go quite well though since Reed Richards, father of the year, decided to make a device to mask his son’s mutant gene and no one, including his own family, is happy about htis.
Naturally Franklin, with Val’s help, runs away.. and then as if it couldn’t get worse DOOM shows up wanting to help so now it’s a three way dance between them for hte fate of franklin. The series has gorgeous art form the dodsons a really damn compelling story and great setup for further stories for both lines and feels like the best of both franchises. It’s the x-men’s first huge impact on the rest of the marvel universe,a nd it feels like it with the ending showing that and showing this might not be the last time both sides crossover. It’s everything you could want from a crossover and i’m only being so brief because I want to review it soon as a huge fan of both groups. Easily one of the best x-men stories of the line and one of the best stories for both groups period.
Wolverine:
We’re onto the final two, and Percy’s second book and the first solo.. and it’s logan again! Makes sense though: Wolverine only just came back from the dead, and while both is daughter and alternate future self carried the woverline banner for him, the original hasn’t gotten his own ongoing in some time. And so far.. it’s pretty good> the first issues a bit messy due to it’s lenght, but overall the book is intresting and has Logan graple with being the best at waht he does and if he can be better or if he deserves paradise while also delivering a compelling solo mission teaming Wolverine up with a federal agent who resents mutants. it also does some good world building, explaning why Krakoan drugs have things like wait lists (they want to control production closely both to avoid having the flower taken away and for quality control), and expanding the russia subplot while using Dracula of all people as a major antagonist, which is clever especailly since this isn’t his first rodeo with the x-men. Just a fun book wiht loads of promise.
Hellions:
NOt much to say here as it’s hard to judge after two issues, buti f nothing else this series brought back the delightfully batshit Nanny, who just with last weeks issue offered to nurse Greycrow (who had his name changed from scalphunter because of course marvel did why wouldn’t they) and falling down. It combines humor with an odd but well thought out cast and makes Alex Summers intresting without making everyone else assholes, a hard but earned feet. If it continues to be good.. I dunno, especially since i haven’t been impressed by any of zeb wells other works especially his new mutants run, good god that one’s am ess, but so far he’s winning me over with a clever concept and roster full of deep cuts.
Final Thoughts:
I won’t be covering Empyre: X_men, though I did enjoy it and i’l save that one for next time. For now this has been a hell of a year of x-men comics, with even the weaker books still having something intresting and none being outright terribule and only one had a bad grasp on some of it’s cast and for a line this big and expansive, that’s a gold medal achivment. After YEARS of stasis the x-men have finally risen again better, bolder and stranger than ever. IS every book A+ gold star etc etc, no, but what’s important.. is that it’s all DECENT. There’s enough standout books to make it work but as i’ve made clear what isn’t the best of the best is still good or decent. There’s nothing bad, no one phoning it in or not giving an effort, everyone is trying thier hardest and succeding on SOME level even if not completely and that.. that’s truly amazing and I look forward to more of it as this line continues. Pax Krakoa and hopefully i’ll see you again.
#x-men#x men#jonthan hickman#dawn of x#ed brisson#gerry duggan#tini howard#zeb wells#brian edward hill#chip zdarksy#mauraders#wolverine#hellions#x-force#new mutants#the new mutants#fantastic four#franklin richards#kitty pryde#benjamin percy#comics#comics reviews#mutants#krakoa
12 notes
·
View notes
Text
okay UGH here have some 8x01 observations 😭😭😭
IT KILLS ME the little differences we see in Oliver’s behavior as he’s “reliving” his history, not just because he’s seeing people he hasn’t seen in years, but because HE IS SUCH A CHANGED PERSON NOW. It allows us to see, side by side, just how far he’s come and like. UGHHHH MY HEART. Case in point:
the way he responds to Moira when she picks him up at the hospital 😭 Instead of being all closed off, he just....smiles so big. And squeezes her so tight! And says “I missed you so much!” 😭 (Contrast that to how Moira’s reaction is almost exactly the same. It just stabs me right in the heart!)
and then obviously his shock at things being different, like he thinks he’s on familiar territory and it’s all going to be easy. It really speaks to me, because it shows how he’s come to accept his past as part of him, so that reliving it is comfortable and familiar, unlike how it was the first time around! 😩💔💗
which only becomes clearer when we find out what happened to THEA OMG. !!!!!!!! HIS SHOCK AND SORROW AND DISBELIEF! Because (aside from how much he just loves her) protecting Thea and being a brother is such a huge part of who he is, and has shaped him into the person he has become, and just! It shakes his very foundation. I love how well they show him experiencing this, and then bring it back later on in the episode when Dig is trying to convince him that things on this earth are WORSE OFF because he wasn’t there. SO BEAUTIFUL! SO PERFECT! SO WELL DONE, WRITERS (god it’s been an age, hasn’t it? lol)
and the fact that Oliver mentions William - SO SIGNIFICANT. Because even though he’s here, back with people he loves and has lost, almost like a “second chance,” he is thinking of William - of the life he left behind, his real life. 😭😭😭 Even with all he went through, he wouldn’t change a thing, basically.
Which is why it’s so perfect when Malcolm asks him how he managed to survive on the island all those years, and Oliver just says (with his cracking voice), “It’s a long story” I DIIIIIIIIIED. It’s his story...his whole history of how he found his people - Dig and Felicity - and grew as a person, and became a hero. It’s all there in his voice and I am dead. 😭
and can I just say that it’s just so well done: Oliver came into this thinking he had it handled, but again he ends up having to leave dinner early, again because of how things have changed “at home” - because they’re not like how he was expecting. GUH, again, it just shows how far he’s come in accepting his past as part of who he is today. 💗💗💗
OKAY so Oliver staring at the picture of HIS FAMILY 💔 and his uncertainty about whether he did the right thing in leaving Felicity and Mia and William OMGGGGGGG STAB ME IN THE HEART RIGHT NOW.
“AND SOMEDAY, WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN” his face omg his face his tears and the fact he can’t even look her in the eye because it would be too revealing OH GOD MAKE IT STOP 💔😭💔😭💔😭💔 FUUUUUUCK.
AND THEN “MOM I’M SO SORRY” because this is the first time he’s looking at her complicity in the Undertaking from the perspective of a parent and like UGHHHHHHH I AM DEAD. 💔💔💔 I CANNOT EVEN
And okay Moira saying “Close your eyes, sweetheart” CANNOT BE A COINCIDENCE. Moira’s voice saying those words RIGHT BEFORE SHE GETS STABBED BY SLADE in 2x20 is INGRAINED in my BRAIN okay. GAH THE PAIN. 😭
Oliver’s snarky bitterness toward the Monitor is 💯👌🙌 like, okay he’s committed to the mission but he’ll be damned if he’s gonna like it loool.
Now to: “the most important room on this tour” AKA WHERE IS MY WIFE 😍
(also jesus FUCK he looks so fucking good, and his outfit is very similar to 1x03 THANK YOU!! 🔥🔥🔥)
(also okay not to be a bitch but that actress looks nothing like Felicity, not even from the back?? Um even giving differences due to different earths, she wouldn’t look THAT different and Oliver would certainly not confuse her for Felicity mmkay? Also why would random lady be wearing Felicity’s 1x03 outfit and why would she be chewing on a pen? I mean, the adorable pen-chewing is kinda part of Felicity’s unique charm. BUT ANYWAY I appreciate what the writers were trying to do here so I will let it slide.)
HIS LITTLE SHY EMBARRASSED HAPPY SMILE WHEN HE THINKS IT’S HER OMG 😍😍😍
“It’s supposed to be red” OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY OKAY GAH
his obvious dismay when it’s not her looool
“Oh good for her” 💗💗💗 swooon
Oliver puttin’ to use those “My wife taught me a thing or two” skills 🙌
Tommy as the Dark Archer - YASSS and I called it!
MAH BROTP!!!!!!!!!!
The absolute relief on Oliver’s face when something FINALLY is right on this earth - meeting Dig. GAHHHH!!!!!
meanwhile John’s face with hidden amusement should have been a dead giveaway that he is OUR Dig 😂
and Oliver’s token “wait no I don’t need a babysitter” LOL SO DELIGHTFUL
Oliver being just SO SO HAPPY that some things haven’t changed, John’s “Diggle. Dig if you want.” 😍
and then the failed car escape attempt!!!! and John’s laughter!! and Oliver’s confusion!!! AAAAAAHAHAHAAAAAAHHHH SO PERFECT! 💗
just....AFTER EVERYTHING THEY’VE BEEN THROUGH TOGETHER, and HOW FAR THEY HAVE COME, and HOW THEY’VE BECOME CLOSER THAN BROTHERS, and then for them to get to relive together this moment when they were strangers!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I LIVE!!!!!!! 🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
GODDAMN OLIVER LOOKS SO FUCKING HOT IN THAT SUIT 🔥
And just watching Oliver as John says “Felicity.” Ugh, my heart. How nice it must be for him to have his John here, who knows his history, who he has become, who knows all the most important people in his life. 💔
then their conversation about being brothers, and Oliver being vulnerable about his impending death. 💔
AND THEN OLIVER ESCAPING THE PARTY AND "YOU ALWAYS FALL FOR THIS MOVE” OMGGGGGGG I DIEDDDDD 😂😂😂😂 so perfect!
“This world isn’t better. It’s much, much worse. And do you know why? Because you weren’t in it.” 😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭😭
everything in this episode was leading up to this moment, and it is SO PERFECT. PERFECT for setting up the season. And PERFECT for Oliver having to confront this other version of his life. And PERFECT for him dealing with lingering insecurities and confronting his impending death. OH GOD OH GOD OH GOD. 💔😭💔😭💔😭💔😭
Okay I know there were things I skipped, not the least of which was all the Tommy and Moira feels, with Oliver’s goodbyes to them 😭 but this thing has gotten way longer than planned 😂
so anyway. those were some of my thoughts lol
#arrow#arrow meta#arrow 8x01#arrow season 8: no felicity no arrow#arrow season 8 spoilers#150 plus notes#top post#top posts#alli babbles#alli blathers#alli emotes
156 notes
·
View notes
Last Seen Blogs
