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maxwell-grant · 3 years

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if Wolverine is on every team, would he be an agent of the Shadow in an X-Men/Shadow crossover?

It's interesting to think about The Shadow existing in the same world as mutants, because the premise of The Shadow's agents is that they are people defined as "from all walks of life", working their talents to the same cause, which would definitely include mutants. At the same time, The Shadow would be forced to oppose mutants who threaten innocents, and most likely with mutants on his side, which is a recipe for trouble. One of the major problems with the X-Men is that they are constantly forced to share a universe with a setting that's not set up to accomodate mutants on a large scale, which cripples a lot of their potential, but I think the premise of "The Shadow exists in the same world as mutants" invites a lot more possibilites than just crossing The Shadow with the X-Men specifically.

Where does he fall on the Xavier-Magneto dychotomy? Is it acceptable for him to even be involved in mutant struggles if he's not a mutant himself? How do other mutants react to him? Obviously he cannot be stopped from giving a shit and helping them, but what happens when they don't want his help? What if he is a mutant? Technically speaking, the movie version of The Shadow and Margo already are mutants, since they were born with psychic powers and we never get any explanation for it.

Regarding Logan specifically: Would Wolverine be an agent? If there's any X-Man who's likely to have met and known The Shadow prior to his entry in a story, it's Wolverine. Usually it falls to Xavier or the resident telepath to give exposition on a new character, but The Shadow's older than all of them and you can bet that, in a world where telepathy exists, he would have figured a way to protect his thoughts from them, if he's not an outright telepath himself or something other. Would Wolverine be an acquaintance of The Shadow? Likely. Would they have worked together at some point? Probably, because Wolverine's worked for literally everyone. Would Wolverine be an Agent of The Shadow? I'd say no.

For one, even if he did work as an agent once, he's clearly had his hands full in the last decades, and there's hardly a point to having an agent you can't call on because he's busy fighting supervillains or gambling in Madripoor or mentoring kids and whatnot. Wolverine has the whole "lone wolf loose cannon doesn't play by the rules flips you off with one claw" routine down pat, plus the Berserker Rage making him put those around him in serious danger, all of which are incredibly poor traits for a Shadow agent, especially since The Shadow cannot have Wolverine work with another agent lest he bring danger to them (and Logan's a magnet for danger). The main thing The Shadow demands upfront everytime he enlists an agent, no matter what he's promising them, is absolute obedience. They obviously are expected to think and act for themselves and act according to their best judgment (and sometimes that judgment saves The Shadow in situations he hadn't accounted for), and they are all given the choice to refuse and back out, but The Shadow's word is final. He cannot abide distractions when lives are at stake, and Wolverine cannot promise that.

I mentioned before that The Shadow does not employ agents for assassin missions and that they are not supposed to be killing or even shooting anyone outside of gunfights, and Wolverine's whole catchphrase and job description is murder. If they worked together, it would not be with Wolverine as an agent. I don't see Wolverine accepting being a full-time agent, and I don't see The Shadow wanting him to be one. Instead, he'd be something akin to The Shadow's other allies that work with him or for him on occasion but otherwise have separate lives, like Myra Reldon and Yat Soon. Ultimately, there's a bit too much overlap between The Shadow and Wolverine for him to be an Agent.

Generally speaking, while the agents come in many different types and they should be as diverse a group of characters as possible, I'd say the number one rule that should go into making an Agent of The Shadow is that they must be good, heroic characters who contrast The Shadow in some way. The light to his darkness, the presence to his absence, the POV that grounds us so he can be cool and distant, the solid, likeable friends you can always trust to carry a story when he's off slinking through the dark in a thousand faces, and all that. So really it would be preferable to go with X-Men characters that are farther from the darker anti-hero side of the equation. Some of my suggestions would be: Jubilee, because I always really liked her energy and style and she seems woefully underutilized, and she would be a great character to not just contrast The Shadow in some of the most literal ways possible but also Wolverine should they team up. Or Colossus, who's got a very lovable simplicity, is probably the most straightforward superhero in Marvel after Cap, always makes a great contrast with edgier characters like Wolverine, and whose delightful portrayal in Deadpool was by far the greatest thing about that film, and who's already got seeds for a crossover considering he's canonically related to Rasputin, someone The Shadow personally knew.

Dazzler, who provides a more literal contrast than Jubilee in design and powers, and probably would be the last person anyone would expect to secretly be an agent of The Shadow, which makes her perfect for it. And Nightcrawler, who's got exactly the kind of personality and powerset that would make him perfect as an agent, perfect for working with the agents, and who I'd argue is, even more so than Wolverine, the closest thing to a genuine Pulp Hero currently among the X-Men, and who is just begging, begging, to get to star in his own separate franchise separate from the X-Men where he gets to go on realm-hopping Bugs Bunny swashbuckling adventures with a cast of misfits picked along the way. Put him in a Castlevania-esque game or something, I can't think of anything (at least, anything SFW) that would make the legions of Kurt fangirls happier than if he got to ditch the X-Men baggage and just shine solo more often, he's an incredible character and a very good bean who deserves very nice things, and he'd be my number one pick for partnering with The Shadow on this crossover.

#replies tag #comic books #pulp heroes #the shadow #x-men #wolverine #jubilee #dazzler #colossus #kurt wagner #nightcrawler #i can't stop thinking about how well michiru yamane's sotn score goes with nightcrawler #especially the groovier songs #we deserve more nightcrawler solo adventures

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khtrinityftw · 4 years

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Part 11: It All Ended With a Mouse

While the Kingdom Hearts series was conceived as a crossover between Disney and Square, the addition of Final Fantasy characters was a late one and, while welcome, clearly wasn't the main draw. The main draw was being able to play around in the worlds of Disney movies, see which Disney characters get crossed over with one another, and battle Disney villains alongside Disney heroes.

Key word there: WAS. After the KH Trinity, the prominence of Disney became drastically reduced to a genuinely shocking degree.

In Days, Roxas barely interacts with the Disney characters inhabiting the worlds he goes to, he never has any Disney hero party members to fight alongside, and the only Disney villain he fights is Pete.

In Coded, all of the Disney stuff are pure regurgitated rehashes that are infected with technobabble data nonsense, and in the last chapter it turns out that none of it mattered anyway and was just there to fill time until the KH-original plot took prominence.

In BBS, the only Disney worlds with even minor importance are the worlds of Snow White, Cinderella and Sleeping Beauty, and that importance only comes between awkward re-enactments of the movies' stories with the KH-original heroes shoehorned in. Disney Town is a minigame filler world, and the worlds based on Hercules, Lilo & Stitch and Peter Pan have new stories but they don't really connect with the main one at all and are just there to give the heroes something to do between the midpoint of the game and the climax. There are also no permanent Disney party members in any of the worlds, only occasional guest allies like Prince Philip, Hercules and Experiment 626.

In 3D, all of the Disney worlds are filler that recycle their movies' plots; the only important things to happen all transpire in KH-original locations.

In UX, it's more of the same, with Disney worlds being backdrops for fights and the movies' stories to play out while the actual important plot only happens in Daybreak Town and is solely driven by KH-original characters.

KH3 is the most complicated case, since due to it being such a big release the Disney characters, worlds and elements are given more prominence than they've had in ages and more interaction with the KH-original stuff, but when looking at the world visits only the initial one to the Hercules world has any purpose to the overall story. The rest, regardless of whether they rehash the movie's plot or have new ones, have no in-story reason for Sora, Donald and Goofy to be visiting them, and the things that the Organization members get out of being there are usually incredibly vague and ultimately don't really matter to the climax of the game.

For comparison's sake, every Disney world in the original KH was important to the overarching plot in some way or other, none of the stories in those worlds were direct rip-offs of the movies' but just shared elements with them, and many Disney characters played prominent roles such as Maleficent's alliance of villains and the Princesses of Heart. Being important to the main plot admittedly meant that some aspects of these worlds and characters went underdeveloped, but that's the main draw of COM: as with all of the world visits being filler rehashes of the first games' with the ties to the main plot removed actually mean that those aspects that went underdeveloped before get to be more fleshed out.

And while KH2 started unfortunate trends by having a third of the world visits rehashing the movies' plots and half of them not connecting to the overarching plot, there were still some obvious exceptions: major advancements in the story transpire in the worlds based upon Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Hercules, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Tron, not to mention at Disney Castle / Timeless River. Even the filler visits usually had a thematic purpose for existing, there was a clear reason as to why Sora, Donald and Goofy were visiting those worlds, and not having members of the Organization in every world was a wise decision in retrospect because it allows the Disney villains their chance to shine and 3D and KH3 have proven how utterly tiresome it is to be met with a monologuing asshole in a black coat in every single Disney world you play around in.

But even outside of the Disney worlds, the Disney elements in the KH series gradually suffered. The KH-original concepts, characters, and storylines used to be created with Disney in mind, providing the "Final Fantasy game set in the Disney universe" feel that they were supposed to. Keys and keyholes are a long-standing Disney signature, hence how naturally the Keyblade fits in a Disney game. Gummi Ships call the Gummi Bears to mind. The Heartless often feel like something out of Fantasia, Organization XIII share direct parallels with the cursed pirates from Pirates of the Caribbean, and Nobodies are basically like grim grinnin' ghosts from the Haunted Mansion (and hey, DiZ's Twilight Town headquarters is outright called "a haunted mansion"!) And just when you think Matrix-esque datascapes are too weird for Disney, the game goes and reminds you that they made Tron.

Now, however? It's just plain JRPG nonsense, none of it feels like it connects with Disney and as such is usually kept as far apart from the Disney elements as possible. This means that the KH universe now longer feels like a single, unified world like it did in the KH Trinity: it feels like the world of Disney and the world of Square existing separately within the same game and only occasionally crossing over with one another...usually through the Square elements and characters interacting with the Disney ones, but not vice-versa.

Then we have the Disney characters who used to be important but no longer are. Donald and Goofy barely did anything of significant value between KH2 and KH3, they were just there out of obligation. And while KH3 brought them back into prominence, the ending doesn't make me hopeful that this will continue in the near future. Jiminy Cricket also receded into the background after Coded and until KH3. And Pluto hasn't really done anything since KH2, even though he made a much better partner to Kairi than her former kidnapper!

But the most egregious example would have to be Maleficent and Pete. Maleficent was one of the original game's biggest villains next to Ansem and Riku, and she was resurrected in KH2 and given an arc that promised great things for her in the future, alongside her minion Pete who was that game's most recurring antagonist. And yet they have accomplished absolutely nothing since then! Their time as the main villains of Coded proved to be filler, their one scene in 3D was bizarre and inconsequential, and they literally spend all of KH3 on the sidelines looking for a mystery box and never claiming it. Two of Disney's greatest, most iconic villains - turned into a bad joke.

The ONLY Disney characters who have remained consistently important past the KH Trinity are Mickey Mouse and Yen Sid, the former being considered one of the core group of Keyblade wielders and the latter being the Big Good who assembles all the other heroes to fight Xehanort...basically the Nick Fury of the series.

But they got screwed up too! Yen Sid was turned into an unlikable idiot in with his insistence on Sora and Riku taking an exam that isn't really an exam at all in order to prove themselves worthy of the Keyblade Master mantle despite them having already done so, then flunking Sora for falling into a trap that he didn't see coming either, and then not allowing him to help Riku and Mickey save Aqua until he'd unlocked the Power of Waking...only for Sora to eventually go and save Aqua without that vaguely-defined power anyway!

And poor Mickey ended up looking like the biggest asshole when 0.2 BBS retconned it so that he met Aqua in the Realm of Darkness during the original game's climax, knew she was trapped down there, and then did absolutely nothing and told absolutely no-one until it was convenient for him. Anti-Aqua even drags him for exactly this in KH3, and many players agreed with her! This seems like the exact kind of thing that made Disney not allow Square to use Mickey in a large capacity in the original KH!

Back during the KH Trinity, there was a man in the production team named Eri Morimoto, and it was said that he was famous in the company for his love of Disney. He even was able to stand up to Nomura and tell him if he was doing something Disney-related wrong. But he never showed up in the credits of any KH game following KH2 because he left Square shortly afterward, and it was all downhill for how Disney elements were handled from there.

At this point, the Kingdom Hearts series is just another Nomura series that just happens to feature Disney in it, and that's not the series I signed up for.

#Plinkett-Style #Anti-Series Beyond #Anti-Nomura

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fallen029 · 6 years

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Engagement Party

"Oh, Elfman, you big oaf!"

"I didn't mean to, Ever. I-"

"You're useless, you know that."

"No man is useless!"

"Well, considering I don't see a man here-"

"You take that back!"

"Make me."

"Would you two knock it off," came the complaint of Freed as, with a glare, he sent them a look over his shoulder. "Honestly."

"He dropped the-"

"A man can drop whatever he likes!"

Bickslow, from the living room, where he was lounging on the couch, only tsked. "They're pitiful, the way they can't get anything done. Don't you think so, Lissy?"

"They really are," she agreed from where she was beside him, doing an equal amount of fuck all. "If we were getting this all together-"

"You are supposed to be helping," Freed complained from in the kitchen where he was trying to whip Evergreen and Elfman into shape. It was...well, actually, it was going about as well as he'd thought it would. "The whole reason you came here was to help. Why else are you here if not to help?"

"For the free dinner."

"Duh."

It didn't matter in which order the pair of them said that. Because, ultimately, it was only together that they could annoy people so well. They practically were one.

Maybe they should have been the ones to get engaged…

Which, yes, was why they were in the current predicament they were in. Following Laxus' proposal to Mirajane, Freed told the others that they should do something nice for the two of them.

Of course, the other four had a myriad of responses.

"What do you mean do something nice for them?" Elfman had complained. "I'm letting him marry my sister. What more could he ask for?"

"I don't do nice things for people," Evergreen had retorted. "Especially that Strauss."

"Something nice for the boss and the future Mrs. Boss, huh?" Bickslow had snickered before giving a salute. "Why not something big? Elaborate? Oh, I know! I won't ask for any help with my rent this month."

"I," Lisanna agreed, "fully support that. I won't ask Mirajane for anymore days off. So she'll have to cover for me less."

Freed did not find any of them cute nor their lackluster responses. So, after composing himself, he decided for all of them what they would do. First, he suggested chipping in for a present.

Of course, poor Freed only got another one of their endless supplies of ridiculous statements.

"I gave him the present of marrying my sister!"

"I would rather choke."

"I'd chip in to buy boss a new motorcycle so that he gives me his old one, but I'll have to do a rain check on the whole, you know, chipping in part."

"I not only agree with Bickslow, but I will also suggest buying them a new house, so Bickslow and I get the old one."

"And that defeats the rent problem! Score one for Lissy!"

It took some more composure from Freed to find something else to suggest. That time, it was that they, at the very least, plan them a party.

"I...a man can't complain about a party."

"Well, if there's wine-"

"Lissy and I have some requests-"

"-but no complaints."

And so it was settled.

To commemorate their engagement, Laxus had taken Mirajane out on a short vacation and, well, what could be more perfect than to surprise them with a party upon their return?

A new motorcycle, complained Bickslow.

A new house, agreed Lisanna.

Literally being any place, but his own damn apartment, sighed Freed when he had to invite them all in and begin the preparations.

They were not going smoothly.

To say the least.

"It's been long enough now," he'd addressed the two couples with his arms folded behind his back, "that we should be able to at least attempt a dinner party and have it go marginally well. Have we not matured then, since the last?"

They all glanced around at one another. Bickslow beamed, Lisanna blushed, Evergreen huffed, and Elfman only shrugged.

"So you know what that means, yes?" Freed kept up. "Don't you? Should I go over a few things?"

There were pleas for him to not, but, well, that just meant even more to Freed it was necessary.

"There will be," he began, "no mentions of murder, necrophilia, loogies in others drinks, arguing over who's a man, arguing over who's not a man, no calling things gross, no stupid inside jokes that only serve to derail conversations, no bring up previous sexual partners, no bringing up sexual endeavors or hopes of any kind, preferably, no attempts on one another's lives, no talking of cannibalism, cannabis, or...the tape incidence."

This got silence finally.

For a moment.

"I don't remember any of that crap," Bickslow complained loudly. "Sounds like Freed here is over here making up fantasies."

"Necrophilia? Cannibalism?" Lisanna whistled and shook her head. "You're a sick man, Freed."

"What? You are the ones that have-"

"Pretty gross," Bickslow offered up. "I think, Lissy."

"I dunno. I think the loogie thing is grosser."

"Than necro-"

"Definitely."

"Well, the tapes are definitely-"

"The grossest!"

As the pair of them laughed and laughed Freed only seethed while Evergreen sighed and Elfman racked his brain to figure out just when all of this could have possibly all taken place.

Far too long ago, he decided.

Because Freed was right about one thing, it was time they had another one of their family dinners. Their last get-together felt like it was well over a year ago. Much less the last time they had an epic party.

It was long overdue.

The assertion that any of them, any ounce of them, had matured in the slightest was, well, it was completely wrong.

As he tried to get them all to work together to get the party underway, Freed was made known this fact.

A year away changed nothing. Ten years away would change nothing. They were who they were simply because that's who they were. Time was simplistic and irreverent.

Mostly, Freed found that he could be as poetic about it as he wanted; his friends were assholes.

Plain and simple.

Still, things had to get done and, though he found the others to be a bit...tedious at times, Freed truly did wish to treat both Mirajane and Laxus to a surprise of sorts, to honor their newfound happiness. Or perhaps confirmation on the happiness was a better word for it. Laxus was, after all, his closest ally and mentor while Mirajane, though they were quite different in the approach, had forged an even tighter bond in recent years than those of their youth even. While Mira constantly insisted that all of them were a family, they were a family of tiers in may ways. With the Bickslow and Lisanna circling the bottom, Elfman and Evergreen barely treading the water of the middle, and Freed placed squarely with Mirajane and Laxus as the elite on top. While there was a system in place in the tiers, even, Freed still felt a rather close connection to the slayer and his soon to be wife.

It didn't mean that the bond between the Thunder Legion and Strauss siblings wasn't separate all the same.

But it did mean that each was different and special.

Freed knew that if he were the one with such a big occasion on the horizon, Mirajane would definitely force the others to push passed their inadequacies in order to put together a celebration in his honor. And Laxus, though he might deny it, would assist with pride as well.

So it was the least Freed could do, as the last of the top tier, to force the others into cooperation.

"You could at least," the rune mage decided then with a bit of a grumble, "set the table, Bickslow. Lisanna. One of you."

"Oi, but don't ask me to fill any drinks. I'm feeling a loogie coming on."

"Just don't put it in mine, alright, Bicks?"

"Of course not, Lissy. Need you to get all the beer in ya as possible, no spit contamination. How else am I gonna score, huh?"

"Pretty easily," Evergreen complained at them from the kitchen, "considering how easy she- Elfman!"

"That's my sister! A man doesn't insult another man's sister in front of him! What's the big idea, Evergreen?"

"Other than the fact that I'm not a man-"

"No, I wanna go over that fact," Lisanna carped, voice full of offense, from the living room. "In detail."

"What did you say you little-"

"Don't go after Lissy when you drew first blood, Ever."

"Don't you talk to me in any capacity, Bickslow, you little worm. Don't make me turn you to-"

"I'll control you before you ever have a chance to-"

"No!" And Freed, from where he was trying to chop all the veggies for the roast, had had enough it seemed. "None of that either. Honestly, all of you, listen to yourselves. Mirajane and Laxus do much for us."

"Sis, fine, she does a bunch," Elfman complained. "But Laxus-"

"Laxus is the one that does the most," Evergreen replied. "Your wretched older sister though-"

"They both do plenty, you ingrates." Freed, it seemed, had had enough. "Laxus has covered the expense for all of us more than enough times that we are all monetarily indebted to him a thousand times over. And who is it that plans all the time for us all to be together? Mirajane. Much less who it is that forces Laxus to do monetary things for the lot of you. They take us on vacations, they look out for us; they're the whole reason any of us are together right now! It does not matter who you think has done more; either way, you should be driven by your desire to please those who care so dearly for you in their greatest time of joy. How then could you be so callus and selfish as to ignore this and choose rather to wallow in your own pleasures? When they would gladly give up their owns for all of you?"

Again, he got silence.

Then,

"That was a manly speech and all, Freed, but a bit on the long side."

"Honestly, Freed, are you tearing up? Mirajane is unworthy of Laxus, as you well know, and he deserves no consolation for picking her."

"Ah, Freed, you turning soft on me, huh?"

"I think it was cute...but also gross."

"Grosser."

"Grossest!"

"I quit." At the end of Bickslow and Lisanna's little bit there, Freed sat his knife down and, with a long sigh, took to untying the chef's apron he wore when cooking.

"Quit what?" Evergreen asked with a frown over at him while Elfman only made a face.

"You can't walk out on us," the man complained. "Freed. We don't know how to do all this on our own."

"Hey, that's right!" As he passed through the living room, Freed drew the ire of the other couple as well. "Thought we were brothers, Freed? You can't leave me to deal with these degenerates. Lissy and I can't sit back and do nothing if you're not here doing something."

Lisanna, of course, was the most regretful and called out to him, "You know we were just kidding. No one wanted to hurt your feelings. Freed, come on. We'll help. You don't have to go."

But oh, he did. Because if he stayed much longer, he'd find himself completely miserable.

And he didn't want to be that.

Not when he was so happy, before, with the thoughts of surprising his idol and his future bride.

It was just so frustrating to him at times. When Mirajane and Laxus were around, Freed typically had some like minded individuals to commiserate with. Though Mira could be a bit daft, she and him both shared a similar desire for the more civil sides of life. And Laxus, though quite cantankerous at times, felt ultimately the same way. Both were on the same maturity level as him and, though they could be brought down to the level of the others around them as well, when there were three of them banded together, they could contain outbursts by the others.

This was his ultimate failure though, in things. He shared a tier with two people who were, ultimately, paired over him and therefore, when it all came down to it, things would always be him against the others. And though, when they were younger, he held quite the reigns on Bickslow and Evergreen, when they were around their specific Strauss sibling, things could get more than a bit sticky.

Evergreen felt an undeniable rage when Elfman was near. Especially if others were also around. And Elfman, quite the showman in normal situations, had his desire to prove himself cranked up to eleven at the mere mention of the woman. They were drawn to one another and, for a reason that no one could quite figure out, this drew bloodlust from the pair for one another than it typically did much else.

And then Bickslow and Lisanna.

Bickslow and Lisanna.

Bicks and Lissy.

Ugh.

Freed had suffered through some terrible things before. He'd almost been murdered by Satan Soul for gosh sake's. But oh, he'd go through with that, if it meant avoiding the terrible relationship that was Bickslow and Lisanna.

Alone, both were fine. Rather enjoyable, even. Bickslow and Freed had been best friends since childhood and he would put his life in the hands of no other above him. Lisanna, though they might not have always been close, Freed found to be a pleasure to know and would be reminisce to think there was a chance otherwise. On the outside, they had no similarities that might draw one another to the other. On the inside, they had no similarities that might draw one another to the other. In any realm of possibility, they had no similarities that might draw one another to the other.

And yet…

It was complicated, to say the least. And when he attempted to dissect the relationship, as he'd long done with the one Ever had with Elfman and the one that Laxus found himself in with Mirajane, it somehow felt far more complex than anything Freed had ever considered.

They didn't make sense. At all. That Lisanna would wish to be with a man that typically was so far removed from her normal circle stumped Freed and he came to the conclusion that, perhaps, it was some sort of desire for the strange. Because Bickslow was plenty strange for a normal woman, but one that rarely stepped outside of her bright beautiful picturesque circle of friends had to see him as a nightmare.

But then...maybe after all she'd gone through...that was what Lisanna wanted?

That didn't, of course, explain Bickslow's desire for the woman. The seith certainly returned any feelings she had for him and, seemingly, felt them more intensely. The best Freed could figure what that it went with his tortured soul gag that he liked to play up. Lisanna was the perfect angel and he was the damage goods that got to lust after her.

Maybe.

Maybe their feelings were beyond Freed's understand and the pair were simply meant to be.

Regardless, the fact that they chose to be together didn't bother Freed. It hardly bothered anyone. Made them scratch their heads, perhaps, but certainly didn't cause anyone bouts of anger.

Or...at least it shouldn't have.

The pair had the uncanny ability to pull the most unlikable qualities from one another and, while finding their own joy in it, beating the fact over the heads of anyone in hearing distance. Sweet, cute Lisanna was turned into a dirty, rambunctious deviant while the dark, sarcastic Bickslow turned into, at best, a clown, and at worst, a sadistic, slick tongued jerk.

It was infuriating. It was nonsensical.

It was Bickslow and Lisanna.

Heh.

Sometimes, Freed considered what life would be like without their constant interactions. Not with the Thunder Legion or Laxus, and not necessarily with the Strauss siblings, but rather them as a whole. Together. The Thunder Strauss Tribe, as Mirajane deemed it.

They...aggravated him to no end.

It wasn't jealousy. Freed saw no need for such relations like they all had. It would distract him from his most important goal; guarding over Laxus. And, if he were lucky, the offspring that Mirajane and Laxus' union would produce. He didn't want what the others had. They only further complicated their lives with over extended relationships. His life was pure though and, though he cared deeply for Fairy Tail and, more importantly, the little group they'd formed, he knew that he wasn't overburdened by any of them.

His mind wasn't clouded by romantic love.

He didn't wish for it to be.

His aggravations with the others surpassed such frivolous things as jealousy. It was deeper. It was….

It was inconceivable to him, that they could become they way they were, just from being exposed to one another. He longed for the days of old, when Evergreen and Bickslow were closer to his own sensibilities. For when Laxus was his own man, not a man that also had a woman who he had to call and check with before going on long sabbaticals and jobs. For when the Strauss siblings were just that to him; the Strauss siblings. Not people that he had to consider close friends and take into consideration, even, their feelings with certain actions that he took in his day to day life.

Mostly, he longed for the past, when things were some complicated. Where, if Laxus was...marrying someone, fine, Freed might be cordial about it, but he certainly wouldn't get misty in the eyes and hope the best for them. He would just hope the best for Laxus, whatever that might mean, and that the actions the man took didn't do much to damage his own reputation.

Now he felt all sorts of emotions. He, of course, wished them both the best, but also found concerns in what taking things to such a step would mean. There was no going back from marriage. Well, there was, but in terms of the guildhall, there weren't. Before, when they were only dating, back before things go serious, perhaps if things went south, they could eventually find themselves in the guildhall together with no hard feelings, but as time went on, it became clear this wasn't the case. And though the guildhall could withstand the separation of the two, perhaps even thrive from it with Laxus off on his own, away from the place completely, but...Freed and the others…

They truly had become a family. It was scary to admit and Freed had trouble doing so as freely as Mirajane did, but it was true. He might not be as close to Elfman as the others and he was sure Bickslow and Mirajane weren't going out to dinner alone together, but they were all part of a very specific group that cared very deeply for one another.

There was no doubting that.

But…

Things weren't necessarily better before, but they were certainly easier. Stuff like what had just happened at his apartment didn't occur. There was more regimen to the lives of the Thunder Legion and, fine, maybe not the Strausses so much, but what did he care? He didn't. Before.

There's a longing in apathy, but a definitely weirder thought process that went into longing for apathy.

Still, after walking around for a bit, Freed knew that he had to return home. For one thing, it was his home, not theirs, and he had no idea what the group was doing back there. Sometimes their spats could get a bit heated between the two warring groups of Bickslow and Lisanna and Evergreen and Elfman.

Mostly though, he knew that he'd left that note on Mirajane and Laxus' front door instructing them to come over to his place after settling in and, well, he had to live by that. He wouldn't let the two of them down.

He truly did hope to show them a nice time.

So he made a stop first, at a liquor store, to pick up some different spirits than his home might offer. Even splurged and bought an expensive wine for the occasion that he was sure Evergreen would be highly critical of and then drink the most from it, but nothing ws too good for his idol, after all.

Laxus, at least, would appreciate the gesture.

And Mirajane would be overjoyed by the whole thing, but definitely have a few kind words to share with the rune mage over such a thing.

When he arrived back at his quaint apartment, Freed was surprised to find it not only untouched, but also in a better state than he left it.

"Freed!" Lisanna was the first to greet him. "Good, you're here. Mirajane was on the lacrima, to make sure your note was correct, and her and Laxus will be over here in about an hour."

"What?"

"Oi, Freed, more wine," Bickslow remarked as he poked his head out of the kitchen. He was not only wearing the apron that the other man had discarded, but also found a puffy chef's hat from somewhere to stick on his head. "Good. Evergreen's drinking it like a fish and water."

"You are such a jerk," came the voice of Evergreen from Freed's dining room that, when he peeked into, he saw she and Elfman diligently settling out the silverware. "And Elfman, forks do not go next to-"

"I know what I'm doing, Ever."

"You clearly don't, you big oaf, so-"

"You all got this together?" Freed asked then as Lisanna, still before him, only grinned brightly.

"Of course we did," she told him with a bit of a confused head tilt. "Aren't you happy?"

Yes. Certainly. But also a bit surprised. Not that he should be though because, though he'd forgotten, he was quickly reminded that though his family were the ultimate fuck ups, they were still Fairy Tail wizards.

And when their heads were close to the gravel, they were always able to pick themselves up with minor scratches.

Because+ they were assholes. They were inadequate. They were second and third tier.

But they were still part of the Thunder Strauss Tribe.

And that meant that when their backs were against the wall, they could pull off the impossible.

Like getting along long enough to get the dinner all ready…

Not to say that it lasted long. Because though they could band together to do amazing things, old habits died hard. When Mirajane and Laxus arrived, it was to a nice, professional seeming dinner party.

"You know," Mira told them with a grin over the glasses of wine they shared before it all went to shit, "this is kind of like an engagement party."

"Yes," Freed said with a nod of his head. "Exactly that."

"Well, not exactly," the woman went on. "Those are usually so that, you know, both sides of the family can get to know one another. But me and dragon, well, our families already know one another. Don't we guys?"

"Well, some of us are fucking," Bickslow offered to the snickers of his babies and the giggles of Lisanna. "I think that helps."

"It helps," Evergreen mumbled around her drink, "nothing."

"It's great all the same, Freed," Laxus was sure to tell him to which Mirajane beamed brightly at him. "Thank you. All of you, I mean."

Well, it was great. Before…

Before.

Before the things that happened every time that they got together.

Before the undeniable desires Bickslow and Lisanna had to watch the world burn around them crashed into the ones Elfman had to prove his dominance over Laxus and Evergreen's attempts to drink herself into the next great flood.

Before Mirajane cried over how nice it all was.

Before she cried over how shit it all became.

Before Elfman threw his glass of water in Laxus' face, before the slayer responded by shooting lightning at him.

Before Bickslow made horribly inappropriate jokes about anything and everything and before Lisanna laughed at every single one except for that one. The one that always caused the chain reaction that triggered everything else and oh, wow, Evergreen had taken Bickslow's stone body hostage and why did they all like one another again?

"Because we're a family," Mirajane sighed as, though tired as she was, she stayed around to help Freed pick up as all the drunks and rageaholics were sent home before they caused too much damage to those around them. As she and Freed picked glass out of the carpet in the living room, she giggled over at his look of displeasure. "And now we'll be even more of one. And you do for family, you know, Freed."

"Believe me," he sighed with a shake of his head. "I know."

"It was nice of you to do this," she added. "This party. Laxus and I weren't expecting it."

"That's what makes it a surprise, after all."

"I'm sorry they ruined your apartment again though."

"Yes, well, what's a party without some damage? Hmmm? When it comes to them?"

"You really are a great brother, Freed. And a friend."

Bowing his head deeply, he consider this. It had been him to talk Evergreen into reviving Bickslow and assist Mirajane in stopping Laxus from murdering her brother. He'd walked the sobbing Lisanna home after the drunk Bickslow took off on his own with his babies because h needed his space because he was a dark soul who'd just been showed up and ugh.

Just ugh.

"Sometimes," he confided in the woman, "it feels a bit...much though, doesn't it?"

"Try all the time," Mira giggled as she went back to looking at the carpet. "But…I'd take this, every single day, than how it was before."

"Before?" he asked, thinking of the times he reminisced on his walk alone. When the Thunder Legion was its own entity and completely separated from the Strauss siblings. "You mean-"

"I mean when I was young and angry and then when Lisanna was.. I always wanted this. I mean, with my two siblings, I guess to some my family is big, but I always wanted bigger," Mira confided in him. "Something to get lost in, really. Where what you thought and felt changed constantly because the situation changed constantly and you were always on your toes, but you were always in love, too, with at least some facet of things. I thought I'd have to wait until I…until I found the right person and started having children. But to find the right person and get it before that, even is just..."

Freed, for the first time that night, returned her grin easily and nodded his head. He was still angry, of course, at the others for ruining the night (and his home), but had to agree with most of the sentiment that Mirajane had just shared with him.

It was, after all, a lot of what he too felt though was rarely able to put into words.

As Laxus groaned from where he was unthinking sleeping until the following morning and Mirajane rose to go check on him, Freed found himself chuckling softly and shaking his head.

"Yes, Mirajane," he whispered though she was gone. "It is just...all a man could ask for."

Y'all had to know it wouldn't be too long before we got the whole gang back together, references to all their former misdeeds and all. So, I feel like I've covered a good portion of things they, as a group, can go through and though I still got plans for them, if there's anything I haven't covered yet that you guys want me to, just mention it. I'm always looking for more Thunder Strauss shit to write for the people who enjoy it.

#Freed Justine #Bixanna #Miraxus #Elfever #Fairy Tail #Fanfiction #thunder legion #Thunder God Tribe #Thunder Strauss Tribe

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comic-movieheroesranked · 7 years

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Cinematic Comic Characters Ranked! (Year 2002) Final Part

2002 was the Attack of the Sequels with three franchises coming back: Blade II, Men in Black II, and Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones. This is year was also the debut for Spider-Man and the lesser known (but just as good) Road to Perdition. This is also the first list that had some many candidates that it had to be divided into three separate parts. The final part on my list reveals the TOP 20 comic characters of 2002!

*SPOILERS FOR ALL THE HIGHLIGHTED MOVIES ABOVE*

20. Mace Windu (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"This party's over."

The dude's got a purple lightsaber!!! Like that's just so cool to me when all these other Jedi have a bunch of green and blue ones. He's usually seen hanging out with Yoda as the little green dude spills some knowledge tea on everyone else but has his shining moment when he leads a group of Jedi to save Anakin, Padme, and Obi-Wan. Unfortunately there's too many of Count Dooku's forces to take on, but that doesn't alter Mace's decision to give up. When the battle returns to their favor, he's seen leading units of clone soldiers to victory like the Jedi master he is.

19. John Rooney (Road to Perdition)

"There are only murderers in this room!"

I really liked this man! He's the ideal crime boss that just happened to be in a tough situation when his bitch of a son killed his favorite assassin's family. I do not blame John for protecting his son, even if he despises him because at the end of the day, that's his son. If the tables were turned Mike would definitely not give up Michael or Peter if he was in a similar situation. It was sad to see him go but I can tell that he didn't blame Mike at all even though he was the one who pulled the trigger. It's the name of the game and he just happened to be a major player.

18. Ben Parker (Spider-Man)

"With great power comes great responsibility."

Uncle Ben, possibly the greatest uncles in cinematic universe. I feel like he also starts the Marvel movie trend of a loved one dying at the beginning of the movie. He's such an understanding guy and it sucks that Peter's last conversation with him is an argument. Him dying from his gun shot wound is one of the saddest scenes in comic book history but his words are carried on through Peter as he grows into the hero we all know and love.

17. Nyssa Damaskinos (Blade II)

"The great day-walker. I have to say I'm a little disappointed."

Nyssa is the princess of a very royal vampire family and leader of the team of vampires trained to kill Blade. She and her team are forced to work with him, though, when Nomak appears and starts killing other vampires. She ends up proving to be a good ally of Blade's and might be one of the few he actually trusts in the movie. They earn each other's respect to the point that Blade lets her feed on him when she almost dies in the sewers. When she finds out she's been lied to by her father, she seals his fate along with hers and lets Nomak feed on them but Blade interrupts. Instead of turning into one of the creatures that killed everyone she knew, she asks Blade to take her to the sunlight and dies in his arms.

16. Obi-Wan Kenobi (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Why do I get the feeling you're going to be the death of me?"

Ok I get that Obi-Wan had to constantly keep Anakin in check because him and Yoda could sense that his ego could potentially be his downfall, but damn he was really condescending sometimes. Like I'd probably joing the dark side too if I had to learn from him. Honestly my problem with him is he would criticize Anakin for being reckless and then literally jump out of a window that was several hundred feet in the air! Besides that I can tell he takes being a Jedi very seriously, if only he lasted just a bit longer when he went against Count Dooku.

15. Harlon Maguire (Road to Perdition)

"I'm something of a rarity."

This dude was so creepy. I mean it can't get any creepier than an assassin who's hobby/profession is to take photos of the dead/dying. I just knew it deep in my heart of hearts he was going to kill Mike at the end. The last time we saw him he survived a bullet to the eye so I knew he was going to come back and since everything got resolved before he did, I knew he was going to be the twist. He ends up dying shortly after by Mike himself, but it sucks that he robbed little Michael a life with his father.

14. Mary Jane Watson (Spider-Man)

"I think I have a superhero stalker."

The girl next door who dreams of becoming an actress. Mary Jane comes from an abusive home which probably explains her choice in men at first. Still I just could not understand what took her so long to realize she's in love with Peter, but maybe it's because the movie is through his point of view. She's very much interested in his alter ego though and even initiates one of the most iconic kiss scenes in cinematic history!

13. Scud (Blade II)

"No. I'm a lover, not a fighter."

I was so bummed when Scud was revealed to be working against Blade the entire time. What's not to like about him? He makes great gadgets, eats Krispy Kremes, and also watches the Powerpuff Girls. He's not too much of a pushover when he's surrounded by vampires but that's probably because he's their familiar the whole time. When he gets ballsy and starts beating on Whistler, who was just starting to like him, Blade triggers the explosive in Scud's hand and Scud blows up into a million pieces.

12. May Parker (Spider-Man)

"You do to much-you're not Superman you know!"

Aunt May is one of those people you'd go to war for. Seriously, every scene where she was upset or crying I was ready to gear up and take down everyone responsible. She's Peter's last parental figure who just wants him to be happy. Even when she's in the hospital from Green Goblin's attack she's focused on spying on Peter's conversation with Mary Jane. She's also loyal and set in her ways. She wasn't going to let Norman get away with calling Peter a slob and she definitely wasn't going to let him dip his fingers in the food before saying grace.

11. Agent Jay (Men in Black II)

"I'm about to lay the smackdown on your candy-ass!"

Agent Jay is all grown up. No longer a rookie Jay has saved the world countless times after going solo (his temporary partners don't count seeing as none of them last). He joins forces with Kay to help save a girl we're supposed to believe he's fallen for from Serleena, someone we're supposed to believe is a threat. Most of the action and hilarity is brought on by Jay which honestly saved this movie (if you can really consider it saved).

10. Anakin Skywalker (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Someday I will be the most powerful Jedi ever."

Yo it was damn near overwhelming with how emotional Anakin was throughout this movie. Like he was one some Romeo and Juliet shit and it was just a lot to handle sometimes to be honest. Granted he does go through a lot. He loses his mother and then goes on a rampage killing everyone in sight, he ends up being in a giant romantic quarrel with Padme before they eventually get married, and he's constantly at odds with his master. He's the epitome of angsty teenager and it'll be interesting to see what exactly tips him over to the Dark Side to become Darth Vader.

9. Jared Nomak (Blade II)

"Is the enemy of my enemy my friend? Or my enemy?"

An experiment gone wrong, Jared Nomak was the son of royal vampire, Eli Damaskinos. He ends mutating horribly and finds that he can infect every vampire he feeds on. And so begins his quest to end all vampires. Since he's basically impossible to kill he ends up being an unstoppable force of nature as he takes down Blade's men one by one. After killing his father and infecting Nyssa, Nomak has one final brawl with a newly charged Blade. After they both deal some heavy blows, Blade comes out of the fight the winner, killing Nomak once and for all.

8. Padme (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"I truly, deeply, love you and before we die I want you to know."

Padme is going through a huge dilemma. She's a senator who's in love with a Jedi whom she meet when he was only ten years old and she was a young queen seven years his senor. Now the boy's all grown up and confessing his undying love to her and she can't help but feel the same. She thinks it's wrong though and tries to fight it but when she thinks they're about to die she ends up returning his affections. She doesn't give up though and helps fight against Count Dooku with the rest of the Jedi and clone soldiers. When the battles over, Padme and Anakin run off and get married.

7. Whistler (Blade II)

"I love it when you talk dirty."

The only father figure in Blade's life, Whistler is also his only weakness. Blade rescues him and he turns into a vampire and held hostage by a vampire gang for years. He grumpily disapproves of all the new changes, mainly Scud and his gadgets, but he still down to help Blade in any way he can. He's the one to figure out where the mutated vampires are hiding and also talks to Nomak to find out that Blade's been played since the very beginning. He rescues Blade and even makes sure the other man has his signature glasses after Blade recovers in the pool of blood. Him and Blade are the only two to survive at the end of the movie.

6. Michael Sullivan Jr. (Road to Perdition)

"And that was the last time I ever held a gun."

Little Michael's entire world is turned upside down in just a matter of a few weeks. One night he finds out his father is a hitman after he watches him kill a man and the next he finds the bodies of his mother and his little brother before running off with his father. He has a lot of insecurities with his father but they slowly dissolve the more time he spends with him. My favorite part of the movie is easily Mike teaching him how to drive and Michael being absolutely horrible at it. After his father dies, Michael decides to leave the world of crime forever, taking his new dog and going off to live with an old couple with a farm.

5. Yoda (Star Wars: Episode II-Attack of the Clones)

"Truly wonderful, the mind of a child is."

Even though he seems like the nicest creature in the world and probably the young Jedi's #1 teacher, it was taking me so long to get used to Yoda's speaking patterns. Little dude spends his time giving confusing advice until he literally saves everyone at the end of the movie when he arrives with the clone soldiers. If that weren't epic enough, the dude can fight! He's ends up taking on Count Dooku and is flipping circles around the guy until he eventually pulls a cheap trick and gets away. Yoda ain't even phased by it though, he just saves Anakin and Obi-Wan's life and then heads back to base camp to plan for the future, like a true master Jedi.

4. Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (Spider-Man)

"The only thing they love more than a hero is to see a hero fail."

Norman Osborn is a wealthy scientist who becomes Green Goblin in a last ditch effort to prove his project works. At first he only becomes his psycho personality for personal reasons like killing the people on his board committee after they fire him, but decides to go after Spider-Man after the hero tries to stop him. The Green Goblin is a great villain. With a few gadgets and a hovercraft, he's able to cause some serious terror to Spider-Man, terrorizing Aunt May and kidnapping Mary Jane. He brings up some good points about how some people just want Spider-Man to lose but in the end him and his conniving ways are what bring his demise.

3. Michael Sullivan (Road to Perdition)

"This has nothing to do with business."

Mike is a man who started with nothing yet had a wife and two kids to support. He ends up working for John Rooney and becomes his best hitman, even earning John's love over his son, Connor. However, said son is a bitch and decides to ruin everything when he kills Mike's wife and youngest son, Peter, leaving Mike with no choice but to go on the run with his older son, Michael. Throughout the movie, as Mike plots his revenge against the Rooney's, we learn that his biggest fear is that Michael will end up just like him. Just before he dies, however, he's able to see that his son is not like him and he dies knowing he never will be.

2. Blade (Blade II)

"You obviously don't know who you are fucking with!"

Blade is the ultimate badass. Like everything he does is just so freaking cool! He kicks ass, taunts his enemies, even when he's hurting he manages to make it look cool. He's one step ahead of all his enemies and on the slight chance they manage to get the jump on him, he's able to recover fast-with the help of Whistler-and take them all down. His return to film was much needed as he was easily the greatest thing about the movie.

1. Peter Parker/Spider-Man (Spider-Man)

"Just your friendly neighborhood Spider-Man!"

Spider-Man was just another game changer when it came to superhero films. My dad took my brother and I out of school early to watch the movie when it first came out and we were so grateful! It's just so easy to like Peter Parker, the nerdy kid who gains amazing abilities after getting bit by a radioactive spider. From him hilariously learning how to shoot out his webs to him getting smoother and smoother talking to Mary Jane, we see him go from this puny kid to this lovable hero. He's everything we could have asked for. He made us laugh, cry, and cheered as he saved the day again and again.

And that’s the list for 2002! Spider-Man came out on top but I’m a little bummed there wasn’t that many fleshed out female characters, especially when they practically dominated 2001. Well let me know who y’all would’ve had on the top of the list. Here’s to 2003!

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