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nani-nonny · 1 year

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I thought I’d update my pinned so here goes:

Hello! I’m LoneAnon aka Nonny aka LoneAnonon on AO3! My current fixation is Rottmnt, more specifically Future Leonardo (peepaw brainrot) hehe, so a lot of my works as of recent are Future Leo related! Check them out when you can!

Important: my response to ai with my works

Current Work(s):

•WDS or Whispers of Distant Souls aka another F!Leo returns to the past with Casey fic but F!Leo is haunted by his dead brothers. WDS TEASER

•I’m Blue… da ba dee da… aka Reunion, DMD, LCD, and WDS F!Leos collide in one dimension due to a multiverse oopsey (aka aka a silly “what-if” story where my peepaws meet :).)

•(Accidentally) Played American Football With My Newborn aka a silly F!Leo story where he takes a small baby turtle to the past to stop the krang. Never did he think being a single parent would be harder than defeating the krang. (No turtle tots were harmed in the making of the title.) father-daughter fluff snippet

Completed Works:

•DMD AU or Dead Man’s Deal AU a series with an 8-chapter main story and ongoing side stories centered around F!Leo, who returns to the present carrying his heavy guilt that lands him in the Battled Nexus as the Barbarian. DMD Fanart

•Reunion aka a oneshot where F!Leo returns to the past in order to pick up Casey Jones (takes place after the movie).

•LCD or Leonardo Come Down aka a prologue+9-chapter fic where F!Leo returns to the past with Casey (separately) and is hellbent on getting his revenge. Casey is given the task by Michelangelo to stop the Krang and save Leonardo while F!Leo faces the consequences of his actions. LCD fanart aka my pfp

•Setting Sun aka a 5 part short, interactive story where the readers’ decisions can end the story, or discover the details of Mikey’s situation. (Unedited, no beta, silly little dumpster fire aka something bad that you might not want to look away despite how bad it is) AO3 link

•Distorted Mirror aka a 4 chapter rottmnt Leo-centric fic focusing on his role as the leader in silly time travel oopsies. (The oopsies being the future timeline with the krang apocalypse hehe)

•BYMH or Between You and Me and Him aka short 6-question interview with my 3 F!Leos taken after they briefly spoke with each other. (Ongoing?) [Peepaw multiverse interview]

More to see:

Upcoming Works:

•Lost Ronin aka F!Raph returns to the past under “circumstances” and it’s up to the present turtles to solve these “circumstances”.

•Estranged aka an AU where the Hamatos reunite with their long-lost sisters, Jennika and Venus. (Based on the two turtles meant to be introduced in rottmnt future seasons—we were robbed tsk tsk.) Teaser: Two Birds Jennika and Venus appearance

•(possible?) The M-Word aka a 5?-chapter post-Rise-movie angst fic that deals with Raphael’s trauma regarding what he endured in the midst of the invasion.

•(possible?) Inimitable/Spiderweb aka Big Mama imprisons F!Leo to force him to train her upcoming Battle Nexus Champions in exchange for his freedom.

•(possible?) Reunion F!Leo returns to the past once again to provide ultimate peepaw advice and give the kids the reassurance they need.

•I’m In The Wrong AU aka a joke idea where F!Leo goes through the portal to find the key and stop the krang, but he finds himself in a New York unlike the one he knows. Rottmnt x ‘12tmnt crossover

•Mystic Mirror on the wall, who the fuck are those turtles?/A Genius’s Curiosity/Mirror Realm Activities (name still undecided) aka a separated au where Donnie is raised by Draxum, Mikey raised by Big Mama, Raph raised by the Krang and Leo raised by the streets. The turtles are reunited by Donnie aka Subject 03’s newest creation, a mirror that goes beyond its purpose and creates a realm inside its reflection that the turtles use as their escape from reality.

[Tcest DNI]

[Story tags and asks tag below]

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age-of-moonknight · 2 years

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“Ultimate Knights: Part 3,” Ultimate Spider-Man (Vol. 1/2000), #108.

Writer: Brian Michael Bendis; Penciler: Mark Bagley; Inker: Drew Hennessy; Colorist: Justin Ponsor; Letterer: Cory Petit

#Marvel #Marvel comics #Marvel 1610 #Marvel Ultimates #Ultimate Spider-Man #Moon Knight comics #Moon Knight #Steven Grant #Marc Spector #Ronin #the worst possible travesty: they made my guy a SQUID #a heckin’ frogman #RIP Marc’s career with Marine Force Recon 😔#In all seriousness this is just??? so much backstory to unpack just from one panel???#like I get it this is couched in a Spider-Man comic but…there’s so much!#like first there’s the “Paladin” moniker and working for Roxxon (which I guess lines up with Marc’s mercenary past)#and then there’s the “Gulf War” comment #this issue came out in 2007 which comparatively seems pretty early into the GWOT (“Global War on Terror”)#but even four years after the initial 2003 invasion of Iraq most people were distinguishing between the “First” and the “Second” Gulf Wars #or most Americans I should clarify #or just using “Gulf War” to refer to the 1990-1 conflict and saving “Iraq War” for the GWOT conflict #which leads me to think…is Bendis portraying Marc here as a Gulf War veteran??? Making him like 37 at the youngest?#and also a veteran of a war that was…comparatively and notably less lethal than the war that was on-going at the time???#unless of course this is all just a backstory /specific/ to Ronin in which case I’m reading far too much into this 🤣

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facesofcinema · 2 years

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Ronin (1998)

#1990s #actor natascha mcelhone #dir john frankenheimer #dp robert fraisse #cat action #cat crime #cat thriller #british #american #french #gray #blue eyes #sweater #ronin #ronin 1998

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spockvarietyhour · 9 months

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Today's rewatch!

#I didn't set out to have a french-themed rewatch week this week #but after bourne and ronin and taxi well....might as well do one.#also been progressively moving backwards in time lol #and 3 out of 4 are americans in paris #(note: will not be rewatching an american werewolf in paris)#Killing Zoe #Title Card #Killing Zoe Rewatch

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graphicpolicy · 1 year

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Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week!

Graphic Policy’s Top Comic Picks this Week! 12 new comics to check out this week! #comics #comicbooks

Wednesdays (and Tuesdays) are new comic book day! Each week hundreds of comics are released, and that can be pretty daunting to go over and choose what to buy. That’s where we come in Each week our contributors choose what they can’t wait to read this week or just sounds interesting. In other words, this is what we’re looking forward to and think you should be taking a look at! Find out what…

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thenerdsofcolor · 1 year

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Staying Sharp with Anna Akana and Yoshi Sudarso' from 'Blade of the 47 Ronin'

Staying Sharp with Anna Akana and Yoshi Sudarso' from 'Blade of the 47 Ronin' @AnnaAkana @yoshi_sudarso #BladeOfThe47Ronin

Blade of the 47 Ronin hits Netflix today! Back in 2013, the original film, 47 Ronin, debuted in theaters to unfortunate critical reception and low box office grosses. Nevertheless it was a moment in which Keanu Reeves really first acknowledged/embraced his Asian roots on film. In that grand tradition, it seemed fitting to reboot the franchise, but in the hands of Asian filmmakers, including…

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yorkcalling · 2 years

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Discovery: Imp

Imp is an American old school hip hop MC and producer who has caught my attention through their new collaboration with Only One Ronin and Allen Thomas. It’s called Bug Out Bag. (more…)

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#Allen Thomas #American #Bug Out Bag #deep #flow #Imp #jazzy #MC #Michizure #old school hip hop #Only One Ronin #Producer #satire #sharp #What&039;s In My Bag?#zombie apocalypse

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thethirdtriplet · 6 months

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Title: Mentor Tim

It was meant to be a simple mission.

Is what Red Robin was told, when he was summoned to the watchtower, and asked to intervene on a mission gone wrong, a mission that was meant to be handled by a bunch of teenagers, and while Tim wasn’t much of a fan of the justice league (maybe he was still salty about the whole not believing Bruce was alive thing, which was years ago, but his therapist said it was healthy to admit how you feel about things and people, so yeah he was still salty) and preferred taking on missions assigned from the Titans, he couldn’t not agree to the mission when he heard of the team that was assigned.

Young Justice.

Tim wasn’t aware there was even a Young Justice team still operational, as the hero community kept growing so has the number of sidekicks, he assumed all teens and sidekicks became teen titans, but then why would anyone dump their kids in Young Justice? With the team’s… eccentric reputation, Tim doubted it would ever be operational again.

That was until he read their files himself.

Name: Leonard.

Age: 15

Hero name: Iron knight.

Nationality: Irish.

Skin colour: Pale white.

Hair colour: Red.

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to harden his body into a metallic texture.

—————————

Name: Keith.

Age: 16

Hero name: Ronin.

Nationality: Japanese, American.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Black.

Eye colour: Black

Trained samurai from birth.

—————————

Name: Peter.

Age: 14

Hero name: Void.

Nationality: British.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Blonde.

Eye colour: Blue.

The ability to create portals.

—————————

Name: Nickolas.

Age: 16

Hero name: Magus.

Nationality: French, American.

Skin colour: White.

Hair colour: Brown.

Eye colour: Green.

Magic user.

—————————

Name: Mateo.

Age: 15

Hero name: Surge.

Nationality: Mexican, American.

Skin colour: Tan skin.

Hair colour: Black.

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to absorb high amounts of energy, and redirect it.

—————————

Name: Sofia.

Age: 15

Hero name: Ghost.

Nationality: Italian.

Skin colour: Pale White.

Hair colour: Brown.

Eye colour: Hazel.

The ability to turn invisible, and walk through walls.

—————————

Name: Amara.

Age: 13

Hero name: Whisper.

Nationality: Russian.

Skin colour: Pale White.

Hair colour: Blonde.

Eye colour: Grey.

Trained assassin from birth.

—————————

Name: Amber.

Age: 15

Hero name: Blaze.

Nationality: American.

Skin colour: White

Hair colour: Brown. (Dyed orange at the ends)

Eye colour: Brown.

The ability to create flames.

—————————

Those were probably the driest files Tim’s ever read, he knows supervillains with files less vague than these, so he had to do more research himself, reading into more personal details about each member it wasn’t hard to realise that each kid had their own issues, issues apparently no one was interested in dealing with, because the kids had no official mentor, they had been trained for some time from different leaguers, but that’s it.

Black canary has been working with them for some time now, for hand to hand combat, and as a licensed therapist, but there’s only so much she can do for those kids, seeing as most of them had been mistreated their whole lives, mostly by adults, it wouldn’t be surprising for them to be mistrustful.

That’s how Tim found himself, on a jet (that may or may not be the batjet, just don’t tell Bruce), headed to help those kids with their mission.

Once he arrived at the warehouse, he observed the situation from above, through a skylight, and watched as disaster unfolded right before his eyes. The kids were incredibly uncoordinated, some were arguing amongst themselves, while others seemed as though they had no understanding of the word teamwork, just when the goons they were meant to be fighting began to get the upper hand, did Tim join the fight.

His appearance halted most, if not all movement from both sides of the fight, he used that to his advantage and struck the men, taking them down one by one, as he shouted commands for the young teens to follow. Once the young heroes realised he wasn’t a threat, they took action almost immediately, following through on his instructions religiously.

As the last goon was zip-tied, Red Robin was approached by one of the teens, Surge (Mateo).

“Uhh.. Red Robin, ..sir?” Asked the boy

“Yes, Surge?”

“W-what are you doing here?”

“I was asked by the justice league to intervene on your mission, seeing as you weren’t able to complete it yourselves.” Red Robin replied Non-condescendingly.

Blaze (Amber) scoffed and said “As if the Justice League cared.”

Red Robin’s attention was turned to her as he spoke “What do you mean by that?”

As if opening a can of soda that’s been shaken too much, she spoke with relentless fury “Well if they cared, really cared they’d show it, wouldn’t they!? They’re not even pretending to care at this point! Heck the only leaguer we talk to regularly is Black Canary, but that’s for hand to hand and therapy, other than that no one comes around unless they have to, and even when they do, they don’t even bother hiding the fact that they’d rather be anywhere else if it meant they wouldn’t have to deal with us!” By the end of her tirade, she was trembling, with hatred, anger and…hurt..

“You’re right” the words left his mouth before his mind even registered he was speaking, not that his words weren’t true.

( The scene before him, of a group of children that felt abandoned, neglected and lonely, came from a very familiar play )

The atmosphere shifted as all eyes landed on Red Robin, as he spoke, he knew they were listening to his words ( it wasn’t everyday that someone actually understood you, as a teenager, let alone an adult ), “You’re right, the Justice League, has wronged, mistreated and neglected you, in more ways than just training, they’ve failed to acknowledge your presence, despite your need of proper guidance” no one spoke so he continued, “That is a mistake on their end, no yours, and so, it shouldn’t be you who suffers in the end. That wouldn’t be fair to you” silence still echoed as no one dared interrupt him, “I will bring this up with the league as soon as I return to the Watchtower.” (Is it just him or did he sound a little bit ‘adulty’? His therapist would be so proud).

His eyes soften and so did his voice as he took in the sight of the tired worn out teenagers, before him, “But for now I should take you all back to your headquarters, you seem like you need you need a nice hot meal, a warm shower and a good nights sleep, you’ve sure as hell earned it”. The kids seemed taken aback by his suggestion, as if they hadn’t expected him to suggest what he did, but none of them objected. Void (peter), spoke, “The Justice League sent us an automated jet, to get us here”, he was rubbing the back of his neck with his hands, “We don’t really know how to get back...?" He added awkwardly. “No worries, my jet is big enough to fit all of you just fine” said Tim, smugly. “Is that so? Is your jet that big?” Ronin (Keith), asked curious. “That depends, have any of you seen a Bat-jet before?”, Tim swore he could see stars in their -masked- eyes.

———————————

Mount Justice -apparently their base of operations- is in mint condition, thankfully (he was going to have words with the league if it wasn’t), looking around it’s obvious the kids haven’t been comfortable enough to mess around with the place (he’ll have to change that).

In a way it’s quite nostalgic, to walk around in his old h.q., though there’s still a few differences compared to back then, Like the brood of ducklings kids that are currently staring at him. “So.. are you guys gonna order something, or does one of you know how to cook?” Asked Tim, “Some of us can cook just fine, but we’re too tired to do so, sir” Magus (Nickolas) spoke, evidently wary in the presence of an adult, but still attempting to be polite.

“Y’know I could just order something for you guys.”, suggested Tim, “No, no need we can order for ourselves just fine.” replied Iron knight (Leonard), “I insist. Tell me what you’re in the mood for, pastas, burgers, pizza?” Once he noticed them perk up at the mention of pizza, he began to scroll through the numbers on his phone, searching for that one pizza place he liked as a teen (the one he used to order from, for the team, man he missed those idiots, he should reach out to them soon).

“Are you sure, sir? There’s no need for you to order for us.” Questioned Ghost (Sofia), “Yes, I’m sure, what toppings do you guys want?”, they suggested he order only one pizza with no toppings, which he immediately shut down, and even threatened to choose the toppings himself (“Do you want me to put pineapples on your pizza’s? Don’t test me, now choose.”), once almost everyone chose the topping for their own pizza, he turned to the only occupant of the room that hadn’t spoken, “And what about you, Whisper, what do you want?”, the girl in question -who had been observing him, silently for quite some time now, is she assessing whether or not he’s a threat?- Peter spoke for her “Uhh.. She can’t talk, she’s mute..”, “Black Canary’s brought her a few teachers for a while, but she didn’t like them much, so she stopped showing up to lessons after a while.” Mateo added.

The hesitant-comfortable atmosphere they’ve had for some time now almost broke, as all the teens looked to him, as if gaging his reaction, all in defensive stances (Tim had to hand it to them, for being willing to defend their teammate, against someone who was probably way out of their league), calmly, he spoke “No worries, I know a bit of sign myself”, “Though, I am a bit rusty” he added, bashfully.

Hesitantly, Amara lifted her hand to finger spell ‘C h e s e’, “Oh, just cheese, sure.” said Tim, the once tense atmosphere returned to it’s semi-calmness, as the teens sighed in relief, (seriously, what did they expect him to do, judge her?).

———————————

Tim stayed with the team, up until the food arrived, they were all lounging in the ‘living room’ (it was just a big circular area, that connected all the rooms together, that you had to pass to enter a bedroom, it had couches and sofas), Tim observed the teens, as they helped themselves, with their pizzas, some even opted to shed a few items of clothing, while others, changed out of their costumes completely, politely they began a bit of small talk to pass the time as they waited the foods arrival, at some point the topic of hero’s came up, which then somehow led to a very heated discussion as to which hero could take down who.

Tim -Red Robin at the moment- who had spent an ungodly amount of time analysing various hero’s, old and new, their fighting styles, their abilities, strengths and weaknesses, and has written contingencies for most, if not all of them, was more than happy to share his findings. Especially since they seemed so interested in the topic, and whatever Tim -Red Robin- had to say about the heroes? Well, Who was he to deny their curiosity.

He knew he made the right call, when it got the kids comfortable in his presence.

(Was he gossiping with a bunch of teens over heroes who are basically his coworkers? Yes. Yes, he was.)

“No way, Wonder Woman, is the best superhero, period” said Peter.

“Really? You think she’d win against Superman?” Asked Leonard, curiously.

“The Superman?” Questioned Sofia.

“What say you, Red?” Asked Keith.

Red Robin, or “Red” as they’ve taken to calling him, answered, “I’m with Void on this one.” Tim didn’t miss the way he basically preened at his words, “I’m pretty sure she can kick any leaguers ass, any day.”

“Even Batman..?” Asked Mateo, in a hushed tone, as if just speaking his name would summon him (it was amusing, but understandable).

“What do you think his contingencies are for?” Replied Red, with a Smirk.

“Isn’t he.. I don’t know, your boss or something” Asked Nickolas, confused.

“I like to think I’m my own boss, thanks” replied Tim. (He may, or may not get bullied into visiting the manor, regularly, by various members of the Batfamily, no one needs to know that, though.)

“What?” Asked Tim, when he noticed the sudden silence.

“Huh.” Said Amber, as if a realization had just dawned on her “You’re actually way cooler than I thought you’d be.”.

“Gee, thanks.” Deadpanned Tim.

“She is not wrong.” At Tim’s raised eyebrow, Keith elaborated, “All the leaguers we have met so far were not interested in our wellbeing.”

“Yeah, they’d just complete whatever task they have, with us, and just leave.” Nickolas added.

“I don’t remember if any of them ever asked if we were tired or hungry. Unlike you.” Sofia continued.

“None of them ever stayed long enough to even speak to us.” said Leonard.

“And when they did, we couldn’t have normal conversations like this one, all we did was have a mission debriefing.” spoke Peter.

“Or we wouldn’t say anything at all, incase we say something.. offensive in any way.” Finished Amber.

Amara simply nodded.

Tim felt his blood boil (is that a thing? Whatever, it didn’t matter as long as it described just how furious he was) “Is that so..?”

Tim kept processing their words, even as they transgressed onto another subject, though, he knew he couldn’t stay long, so he bid them farewell, to head back to the Watchtower -via zeta tube- and tried not to let their disappointment affect him (with what he has in mind, for them, their dissatisfaction with his departure won’t last long), he had a few senior league members to speak with about an adoption a mentorship request.

And he couldn’t wait a second longer.

———————————

It took some getting used to, Tim will have to admit, for him and the team (his team now), to get used to their new relationship, as mentor and mentees.

The sudden announcement of his now mentorship over the teens, was made only a week after his hangout stay with the team, (it would have taken longer, had he not urged the senior league members to officiate it, and if he made a few, mild, harmless threats, to insure the job was done properly, Batman would be blamed for teaching him how to in-list fear), it did surprise the teens a bit, still, they took the news with stride (whether that was because they’ve never had an official mentor before, and were eager, or that they genuinely liked Red Robin, Tim isn’t sure).

Tim would like to point out, that they’ve made significant progress, in the last two months they’ve been working together.

They’re actually brilliant students, fast learners, always ready to try out a new training program, any chance they get, they soak up any knowledge he offers, like little sponges. They try to follow his teachings without fail, and even trust him when on missions, enough to let him lead them. They look to him for guidance when they need him, and he tries to always be there, to help (and maybe that’s what strengthened their new bond, the fact that he tries to be there, especially when they need him).

It wasn’t always as easy, not in the beginning, no. They liked him, Tim was sure of that, but liking someone doesn’t necessarily mean you trust them. Trust was something meant to be earned, not given. Tim had earned the right, to be trusted.

They trust him enough to act themselves around him. And just as they had gotten comfortable with him, did he realize why they were placed in YJ. He knew deep down, the reason stemmed from their traumatic backstories, strange powers, and ‘behavioral issues’ (talking back, is not a behavioral issue, fuck whoever wrote that in Amber’s file), Seeing as the team’s former members were regarded as “nutcases” by the media, it was a no wonder they would be placed there in the first place. Not that the kids tried proving anyone wrong (“Why waste time trying to show someone who you are, when they have already made up their mind, about you?” Those were the wise words of Keith, a young boy forced to mature faster than most teenagers, Tim could relate).

They were skilled, skilled boys and girls, using their gifts for good, to do good, and be good. They shouldn’t be criticized for being good. Just because they were.. creative with their skills, did he mention that? They’re incredibly creative with their skills, the stunts they pull would bring his old teams shenanigans to shame:

“How did you guys manage to burn and flood a building at the same time?!-”

Sometimes, he couldn’t help but wonder, why?

“-Is- is the building crumbling?! How did you do that?-”

Other times, he can’t help but wonder, how?

“Why in the world did you guys think this was a good idea, Surge?”

“Do you remember that one mission we did last week, when we discovered a secret lab, full of animals that were being experimented on?” Questioned, the boy.

“Yes, I do. But, what does that have to do with this?”

“We found out who owned that lab.”

The building -A Lexcorp building, mind you- blows up, promptly, after his admission.

“Void! I thought we told you to be careful with those!” admonishes, Blaze.

“My Bad!” apologized, Void.

“Ahh, I see, carry on.” Dismissed, Red Robin.

What? Yeah, so maybe he isn’t any better than they are, and he is might be the adult that’s in charge of them, But, who is he to stop them from doing their jobs, as hero’s?

And they’re applying what he taught them, in the field?

He couldn’t be any prouder.

“What’s going on here?” A new voice, interrupted his and Surge’s conversation. A new but familiar voice, actually. One that belongs to a certain Kryptonian.

Red Robin, and his students, that came up to him, not long after the building Burst to flames, turned around to witness Superboy (Conner Kent) descent from the skies, along with Wondergirl (Cassandra Sandmark), followed by Impulse (Bartholomew Allen) on land.

“Hey Rob!” Bart waved his hand so quickly, it fazed.

“Really, Rob, we leave you alone, to go on a mission off-planet, only to find out you’ve become a teacher?” Chides Cassie, fondly. Then, she states “And here I thought we were friends” putting a hand on her chest, were her heart is, feigning hurt.

“And look, he’s already causing trouble with them.” Conner points out, Bart adds “It’s like we don’t even know you anymore.” while wiping away a fake tear.

“Haha, very funny, you guys.” Deadpans Tim, though secretly amused.

“If you’re done with the theatrics.” He sends them a pointed look, before gesturing to the.. starstruck kids next to him (?), “Allow me to introduce to you, the newest Young Justice members.”

This was probably going to be the beginning of something beautiful, or incredibly disastrous… meh, he’ll let the universe decide, and just go with the flow.

#tim drake #mentorship #tim is so done #tim is a mentor

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cpunkhobie · 10 months

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@non-rise-tmnt-au-competition POLL LINK HERE !

Ronin Plural Au here :) !

Imma have to finish the rest of of the propaganda in the caption cause I don’t have the energy to keep drawing it on my phone BUT

*Im a system and this is an AU about being a system ! :D that’s what Ronin Plural AU is !! Ronin is just a bunch of dudes stacked in a trench coat

But YEAH. !!!! I have seriously put a lot of effort and thought into this AU and making sure the system dynamics are accurate AS WELL as Ronin’s relationship as a system with the other characters in their world, INCLUDING THEIR VILLIANS

It’s pretty much a whole new iteration with its own magic system that ALSO is a metaphor and helps tackle topics of emotional disregulation and generational trauma. It’s also made by an Chinese person (me) whose focusing very hard on creating an accurate and relatable representation of Asian American families and culture. The themes of generational trauma coming hand in hand with the trauma the Ronin system originated from

I could go on and on honestly abt Ronins found family with Casey, April and Karai, or the relationship between the Hamato and Foot clan but seriously!!! I care abt this au so much even if I don’t post abt it as often as I’d like to. So a vote would mean a lot. So um YEAH !!! Vote roninpluralau au and support your local systems TODAY !

#jonah with a megaphone #roninpluralau #Jonah with a pen

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sandytree1 · 5 months

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Criticism of Blue Eyed Samurai

Well, I just watched Blue Eyed Samurai. Been spotting several positive clickbait thumbnails of it, so even though I didn't have high expectations based on the trailer, I gave it a go. And well, it was what I feared it was. I still enjoyed it though! And it's an engaging story, just not what I wish it was. Anyways, I wrote a comment on Reddit about it, which I thought I'd repost here.

Edit: I ended up going in and reordering some paragraphs under headings, as people on Reddit replied to by comment. Noticing people are nitpicking the historical accuracy of my commentary, which wasn't really what I was concerned about. It's more that certain cues in these stories make me expect certain things.

The main point of much of this text is to look into what makes Blue Eyed Samurai a noticeably American story, by comparing it to other jidaigeki stories with a similar setting made for and by Asian people, and stories set in Asia made by Americans (for Americans).

🚧 NB! I'm still working on the text. Text marked in cursive are just notes, so please ignore them for now! 🚧

Overall verdict

I did also think of Ghost of Tsushima while watching, but in the sense that Blue Eyed Samurai lacks what I liked about it. Ghost of Tsushima did a great job with its Japanese localization, and referenced actual bushido conduct, although a little bit off still. Blue Eyed Samurai throws around words like samurai and honor, but doesn't appear to actually understand what these words entails, and only focuses on the superficial badassery of it (...)

But overall, great choreography and compositing, engaging story and characters ... Blue Eyed Samurai is good, but does veer into the uncanny valley for me, which I know was an issue Asians had with ATLA. Guess I felt it a little bit more with Blue Eyed Samurai due how much (unrealistic) violence and (meaningless) sex is glorified, and made me question what exactly the overall moral message of the story was supposed to be beyond simply "revenge plots are cool but also destructive." As somebody else said, it's giving "guts and tits for the people."

Glorification of the badassery of revenge

So, somebody replied that they thought we should be careful about romanticizing bushido, and provided examples of samurai being deceitful. This is my reply.

You missed my point. I did not want Blue Eyed Samurai to romanticize bushido, I wanted it to discuss and explore it, exactly because it throws around words like honor and samurai. A first step towards this is to acknowledge that Mizu is not a samurai.

What is Mizu?

We could argue that she is a ronin, but then she'd technically must've been serving a lord as a samurai in the past, and should be at least be a tiny bit concerned with chivalry (at least enough to discuss or talk about it), which we know isn't the case. Mizu is closer to being a shinobi/ninja, since her goal is to assassinate her 4 maybe fathers. Another thing Mizu shares with shinobi is that both are often criticised by samurai because of their penchant for ambushes and lack of concern for bushido / warriors code. Yet she breaks the mold of being a shinobi, since she doesn't really sneak around in (civilian) disguise and will openly brawl her way through a dojo and into a fort.

Mizu has a lot in common with the titular protagonis of the manga Azumi. Both are female assassins with foreign blood (bluish eyes) fighting during the Sakoku policy. While Mizu's motivation is simply revenge for the injustice she and her mother suffered at the hands of the gaijin faction, in Azumi the motivation is to prune the country like a bonsai tree off individuals which may threathen a new age of peace, and prevent the country from slipping back into the Sengoku period of civil war.

But where characters in Blue Eyed Samurai is heavily protected by plot armor, allowing Mizu to be an almost invincible pin cushion, no one is safe in Azumi and injured characters requires months to recover and heal from cuts.

While writing this, I recalled that in episode 5, they interjected a story about a samurai marrying and fathering a child with a woman who descended from an enemy clan. He kills both her and their son, which turns her into a onryō. Mizu being an Onryō works, but I am left questioning how this fits into the story beyond its symbolism, as there's been no explicit supernatural elements in the story. Mizu is bullied for being the (devil) spawn of a quote "white devil" in childhood, I think it would be more interesting if they called her a "white ghost," since onryos (which could represent Mizu) are a type of vengeful female ghost. Furthermore, Taigen often compares Mizu to a dog, esp. when she does not live up to the samurai standards he holds her to. Not sure where that fits in either..

Orientalism

So the statement about samurai criticising shinobi was called out as orientalist. This was my reply:

As for orientalism, I guess Blue Eye Samurai is being orientalist then, which I was kinda feeling while watching but didn't really put into words. It's pretty stereotypical to connect Japanese with honor and samurai after all, contributing to why I felt the show was very American.

In the sense of samurai simply meaning warrior, then we can consider Mizu a samurai. But Taigen (and Akemi) connects being a samurai with honor and complains about fair play. By making this connection, he invokes bushido/chivalry and excludes people who ambush others like assassins from the definition of being a samurai, and by extension criticises assassins like ninjas for not shying away from "dishonorable" ambushes. To restore his honor, Taigen wants to arrange a formal duel and even writes up a challenge letter (hatashijou), which makes sense in terms of the dojo trope. But well, the series does contradict itself a lot in favor of cool one liners, and what it means to be a samurai or knight has changed throughout history.

"Glory" in Azumi

As I said, the manga Azumi is what I was hoping Blue Eyed Samurai would be. Azumi is a gritty look into (among other things) both shinobi and samurai that does not romanticize either, and has won an award for its exploration of these concepts in relation to buddhism. In fact, everyone in Azumi suffers. The only one who is perhaps glorified is Azumi, who many critics compare to a boddhisattva.

Throughout the story, Azumi works to not become too attached to earthly comforts, but still suffers because of her attachment to her companions. As Azumi completes her pruning missions for her boss (the Buddhist monk Tenkai), she accumulates a lot of bad karma in the form of endless waves of people pursuing her for either revenge, the bounty on her head, the thrill of defeating a master swordswoman, etc. Because of it, 90% of her closest companions SPOILER die, and many of her friends are raped or permanently maimed, and has to deal with the trauma and practical inconveniences of it. Often because they are caught in the crossfire between Azumi's targets or those who pursue her.

By the end of the story, Azumi still ends up making new companions like usual and her boss continues wanting to send her on pruning missions. But she decides to leave them all behind, so that those she cares about will not be affected by her bad karma again. She knows she will have to stay on the road indefinitely and will never really be able to enjoy the comforts of settling down, because of her pursuers. The series makes the buddhist argument that earthly attachment in general causes suffering, and Azumi is enlightened by abandoning those attachments and by facing her karma, although that does not mean she will not end up with a violent death. The story ends openly with Azumi wandering off into obscurity.

Time period

Some people began nitpicking the historical accuracy of my commentary, which wasn't really what I was concerned about. I am open to artistic liberty. However, with BES it was a little bit harder, since they made so many historical references and leaned into the jidaigeki genre, but then broke it in ways that came off as uncanny to me. Looking back, I guess this uncanny feeling was the orientalism letting itself be known, though I couldn't put it into words back then.

As jidaigeki is a subgenre of historical stories, certain cues does make me expect certain things. Like when I see an English-speaking gaijin as the antagonist, I would make the connection that this story is probably set sometime after the Americans forced Japan to open up for trade in the 1800s. Yet this expectation is then contradicted when I learn that no foreigners are allowed in Japan yet due to the Sakoku policy, which makes me wonder what this Irishman is doing here all alone centuries too early and how he even managed to climb to such a powerful position while being so isolated.

Gaijins as antagonists

Why an Irishman as the gaijin antagonist? It'd make more sense if it was a portuguese or dutch. If Blue Eyed Samurai is set in 17th century Edo Japan, it's a long time off when the Americans forced Japan to put down the sakoku policy, and even then, why Britain/London? If anything, Japan and Britain liked each other enough to form an alliance for their shared fear of Russia.

Why not other colonial powers who were actually active in Japan and Asia overall at the time (the Dutch) or the ones who caused Christianity to be banned during the sakoku (the Portuguese).

My first thought of a precedent goes to Konishi Shizune, the Christian revolutionary leader in Azumi who's also mixed race like Azumi, which is based on the historical Amakusa Shiro.

(Depictions of Gaijins: Americans during postwar Japan in Hajime no Ippo. Senator Armstrong in Metal Gear Solid)

Japanese in Europe

With Mizu heading to Europe, I came across people discussing the plot armor and how Mizu wouldn't stand a chance against the guns nor London police. It came off as kind of white supremacist, and the entire thread was locked because of unsolicited opinions from outsiders.

To be fair, Japan had guns too at the time. According to Netflix themselves, Blue Eye Samurai takes place in the 1600s. If that's the case, it means that the guns were mostly muskets, rifles and pistols which took time to load, so people did still use swords even in Europe. And only a century earlier in the 1500s, when Dreamwork's El Dorado is set, people would still use firearms and crossbows side by side, and Oda Nobunaga also used firearms in his own warfare during the sengoku period.

Also, the police didn't exist yet, since the UK police were created in the late 1700s. As for the London battalion or royal guards storming her, it'd either amount to when she was stormed by the hand claw guys. The plot armor in the first season was a lot imo even then though. But sneaking up on them depends on the terrain and context, so I can see it happening.

Furthermore, it's not unrealistic for Japanese people to travel to Europe, because there's historical precedence for this. In 1613, Hasekura Tsunenaga was sent on a diplomatic mission to negotiate with the pope and the king of Spain, and some of his men even stayed behind to form the Japon clan in Spain. The expedition took 7 years, and ironically enough, once he returned, christianity had already been banned in Japan. The people who still kept the Christian faith in spite of this came to be known as kakure kirishitan.

Debauchery means it's for adults ..

The way characters (esp. Mizu) will throw out badass oneliners as if on a treadmill, only to contradict exactly what she said as short as 5 seconds later does mess with my suspension of disbelief.

The story also goes into protitution and patriarchy, though it also felt superficial to me. If anything it feels like an excuse for fan service, similar to Game of Thrones in a sense. Like they know that sex sells, and that's what "the audience really wants." That said, again I enjoyed both GOT and Blue Eye Samurai, even though some may laconically break the former down to "dragons and tits" and the latter to "guts and tits".

Token representation

Mizu's apprentice was born without hands, which could have brought about an interesting exploration of disability. But instead, he's relegated to being a quirky sidekick and comedic relief..

BES is an American story

Blue Eyed Samurai has all the visual motifs of a Japanese samurai story (jidaigeki), but the tropes and logic is extremely American. It does get the artifacts and set dressing of a jidaigeki story right (surprisingly accurate at some points), which is why it triggered the uncanny valley for me sometimes. When certain artifacts and set ups appeared, I expected it to follow certain tropes I'm used to from jidaigeki, but it didn't really do that.

Kung Fu Panda

In contrast, Kung Fu Panda is also in the same boat. It has the artefacts of a Chinese wuxia story, but it is ultimately based on Chinatown (a theme park-esque idea of China designed by and to cater to white people, as a Chinese American defense mechanism). However, where Kung Fu Panda is an American love letter to Chinese kung fu films, Blue Eye Samurai isn't really a love letter to jidaigeki, and caters rather to white people's idea of the stereotypical samurai.

My understanding is that Kung Fu Panda is pretty popular in China.

Yes, Kung Fu Panda is popular in China. I also enjoyed Kung Fu Panda, which is why I used it to compare what I felt was lacking in Blue Eyed Samurai. If I had to choose one to rewatch, I would rather watch Kung Fu Panda.

That said, Accented Cinema points out that although Kung Fu Panda is often used as an argument of successful orientalism, it's rather about China's own failure in representing themselves. In my opinion, Kung Fu Panda's perhaps saving grace was that it didn't take itself too seriously, yet still delivered on the serious bits when it needed to.

Patriarchy and gender roles

While I understand and appreciate your critique, I don't think the narrative is grounded in realism. It's more like expressing the need that women do have to see themselves in the shoes of a physically invincible protagonist. Also the motivation isn't simply revenge - what has happened to Mizu has convinced that her very existence is suffering. She's internalized the hate to an extent that it no longer matters whether she lives or dies. She will slowly change as a person and her motivations will also change, which I hope we get to see . All the characters are somewhere trying to rebel against their gender roles, and that I feel is the 'message'. Also as far as the right antagonist to show goes, Fowler seems an indictment of British colonialism a few centuries too soon, but his attitudes aren't unfamiliar. At all.

Blue Eyed Samurai doesn't explore the concepts it references or markets itself with, but seems to throw them around because samurai and honor sounds cool and is a stereotypically Japanese/Sinosphere thing. Instead it'd rather explore gender roles and patriarchy. And the character Blue Eyed Samurai primarily uses to explore these themes with isn't the titular protagonist, but rather Princess Akemi.

But Akemi's struggles with patriarchy, also comes off as more a Western suffragette story than a Sinosphere one.

The Princess as a Caged Bird

Other stories about gender roles and patriarchy in ancient Japan to which we can compare this to is probably Isao Takahata's Princess Kaguya, though this one is probably set long before BES in the Heian period.

Like in Kaguya, the ohaguro set is presented as a symbol of oppression for Akemi. However, instead of being explicitly oppressed by outside forces like Akemi, Kaguya is instead pressured by societies and her father's idea of what a princess should be to become happy. Throughout the film, Kaguya questions what it is all for and even counters against her governess that "a princess is not a human then!"

Princess Kaguya as a roadside flower. To be plucked in a moment of fancy, and neglected once savored and bored. Merely a trophy to be won and stowed away in a display cabinet.

The film explores what makes life worth living, by exploring the difference between humanity and moon people.

Filial piety. Fulfilling your own dreams through your offspring. Showing off achievements to relatives (accumulating merit).

Geisha and maiko in contrast to the Oiran of the red light district. Streetwalkers. Prostitution - the world's oldest profession.

Oda Nobunaga's younger sister in Nobunaga Concerto and Azumi.

Hypergamy. Tradition of men being adopted into the wife's household. The Fujiwara clan of the Heian period, who continuously married their women into the imperial family for generations. Attitudes around cheating and monogamy (Genji Monogatari).

The Fallacy of the Stereotypical Asian woman

Oshin - Resilience and endurance.

Asian women as firecrackers. There's a reason why the stereotype of Tiger Mom even came to be, because Asian women and people in general are not weak and strictly submissive, although they are often mistaken as doormats.

Honne and tatemae

Yamato Nadeshiko

While writing about this, I ended up going on a tangent about Asian women, which you can read here: The Fallacy of the Stereotypical Asian Woman.

Gender roles in Genderbender

Kaze Hikaru

Ryou

Torikaebaya Monogatari, where a brother and sister in the Heian period is gender mixed at birth, to fulfil gender roles they're more "suited" for according to societal expectations. Another Heian period text about a guy who crossdresses as a woman to get close to a woman he has a crush on.

Gender fluidity has been the norm throughout most of history.

A wolf in sheep's clothing

I guess the show is more concerned about gender roles and patriarchy. I'm actually not all that concerned with historical accuracy, but I couldn't help but be thrown off by how it felt like vastly different time periods (and thus different expectations in terms of jidaigeki tropes) were meshed together. I still stand by that the show is a very (overseas Asian/) (Asian) American narrative, which made it uncanny how accurate it still was in terms of getting the artefacts etc. of a jidaigeki right. Sort of like a "wolf in sheeps clothing," though that doesn't make it a bad thing. For example, Akemi feels more like a Western suffragette, rather than an Asian feminist. Yet the ohaguro set etc. may be a reference to Isao Takahata's Princess Kaguya, which is about feminism.

The story came off as stereotypical to me. Yet it does get the artifacts and set dressing of a jidaigeki story right (surprisingly accurate at some points). I did cringe at some points or feel the uncanny valley, but again overall the show was engaging and enjoyable.

I've enjoyed other orientalist stories before, such as Kung Fu Panda and Avatar the Last Airbender. I've also enjoyed occidentalist stories like mohuan and isekai. Yet something with Blue Eye Samurai made me cringe sometimes. Comparing it to the others I've mentioned, perhaps it's because it's set in a more non-fantastical setting as opposed to a jianghu of sorts idk. Blue Eye Samurai is still entertaining though, and may be the start of a new genre.

It's hard to explain what it feels like for people who don't have the same cultural references, so here's an example of occidentalism. I noticed that when Genshin Impact (a Chinese game) released the new Fontaine region where they decided to mix Britain, Italy, France etc., which people claimed is just plain weird haha. But Fontaine has still been well received regardless it seems. On the other hand, I still cringe every time I see Senator Armstrong in Metal Gear Solid.

Historical references

Random, but here's a list of different artifacts and set dressings that appeared in the show. The little theatre play about the ronin and his wife uses kurogo (black clad actors) to manipulate the dolls, which was novel to see. Previously I've mostly watched kurogo being used to manipulate perspective such as in this Matrix Ping Pong skit and the Tokyo 2020 pictogram opening ceremony. Traditionally, Kurogo is used in Kabuki to create special effects and are supposed to be invisible to the audience.

Mizu's husband uses a naginata, which is basically a spear. Although also used by warriors in general, it was often used by women.

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davidmariottecomics · 4 months

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Goodbye IDW! Hello Something New!

Hi there!

After seven years and some change, today, 12/22/2023, is my last day at IDW Publishing. It's for good reasons. Things just timed out that my last day could be the last work day of the year for IDW and in the new year, I'll be starting a new job elsewhere. I'll still be in comics and once I can talk about the new gig, I'm really stoked to be letting you all know. So, today, I want to say my goodbye to IDW.

But first, before I get to that, I did have something else notable happen this week. I sent my last tweet! I'm officially shutting down my Twitter at the end of the year and if you see a Twitter account claiming to be me after January 1st, it's an imposter. If you'd like to keep up with me, however, I've got good news! There are lots of other ways to find me still. Here are a few!

Check out and bookmark my website! Get access to my blog, plus lots of behind the scenes stuff and new projects at my Patreon! Subscribe to a newsletter version of my blog for free at Buttondown! Follow my blog on Tumblr! Keep up with my main socials: Bluesky and Instagram (I'm @davidmariotte at both)!

Okay, with that out of the way, let's talk about it. This is not my first time saying goodbye. In fact, almost exactly a year ago, I said my farewells to Transformers, one of the hallmarks of my IDW run. I don't want to revisit that too much, so if you want to read about my early days at IDW or that part of my career or a big list of thank yous to my collaborators, you can! And while I've had significant runs with other books, most notably Sonic the Hedgehog which with January's Sonic: Fang the Hunter #1 will mark 100 issues of Sonic at IDW under my editorial eye, or my personally exciting, if shorter runs on stuff like Godzilla, Samurai Jack, the Hasbro Action books, Canto, Scarenthood, The Kill Lock, The October Faction, Wynonna Earp, Brynmore, Atomic Robo, or literally so many other books, I don't want this to just be a retrospective on the work. In fact, I'm largely not interested in talking about the past when I say goodbye this time.

IDW has afforded me a lot. They've helped me find my place in the industry. They let me do some writing. They let me do a lot of editing. I learned various other skills both through directly on the course of the job and through my own interest because of what I was doing and seeing there. I have made true lifelong friendships. And I have made comics. So leaving feels weird. I'm very bummed to be leaving a place that really has been my home (and for the past couple of years, has quite literally been mostly at my home) for so long. But I am even more excited about what's to come. On my side, I can't announce it just yet, but watch this space for some big news soon (after a couple weeks of much needed vacation).

Talking about the future I actually can say a little more about, I wanna tell you how excited I am for IDW. Yes, I'm leaving, but IDW remains home to so many people--both at the company and our freelance creators--and so many projects that are close to my heart. Next year is their 25th anniversary. That is an impressive feat in not just the world of comics, but any industry. For the milestone, they've got a lot of cool stuff planned.

I'm not going to blow up IDW's spot and say anything about what's coming up too early. Just to talk about the things that are already public knowledge, you've got things like the new TMNT: The Last Ronin sequel! The TMNT ongoing on it's road to issue #150! There are cool new originals like Golgotha Motor Mountain! There's the launch of the aforementioned Fang the Hunter which is IDW's first Classic Sonic mini-series and sees 100 unique issues of Sonic at IDW and is just laugh-out-loud funny and full of such good action! And I'll tease this, when the Sonic ongoing is back with issue #69 in May, you'll be in for an absolute treat as that series runs up to #75!

I know some readers of this blog don't read a ton of American direct market comics. You aren't "Wednesday Warriors" who go to the comic shop every week. You like the comics you like and I've been graced to be a person working on those comics. If you aren't as familiar with how these comics work, let me assure you of a couple things. The books I was editing and many unannounced projects that I set up will still be happening. Because of the timelines of comic production, you'll still see my name in IDW books for a few more months and, at the same time, you'll see new credits creeping in. And if we've done everything right, that'll be about the only thing you'll notice is different, at least at first. As the editors really take the reins and take over, we'll both be in for the treat of the unknown! I'll be reading them with a good sense of professional jealousy.

Now, there's one other book that has been announced for next year and I wanted to do a special call out for. Godzilla: Valentine's Day Special went to press this week. It's the last IDW book I saw all the way from inception to completion. And, in many ways, it's kind of a really good analogy of a comics editorial career. I think, genuinely, this may be the book that went from conception to reality the fastest in my career. I think it took... less than a week from a half-joking suggestion of doing a Godzilla Valentine's Day book to getting Zoe Tunnell's pitch in and approved by Toho and getting it on the publishing schedule. Usually these things take a bit--people are working on other projects, licensors need time to review things, whatever other bumps happen along the way--but this was like lightning. Everyone just got it instantly. And then Zoe turned in the script and it was great! Things continued, as they do, and then... we got a curveball or two. I won't go into too much detail, but major thanks to Sebastian Piriz and Rebecca Nalty for getting it done and having a book that we were all so proud of that I could send to press this week. And it struck me on that final press day that despite the curveballs we had been thrown, when it came to actually getting it approved, everything was so easy, straightforward, and smooth. When you read it in February, if I've done my job right, maybe you'll remember seeing somewhere that there were some curveballs. But mostly, you'll just have a really good book in your hands. (BTW, you did JUST MISS the final order cutoff on that, so do check in with your shop about still trying to get you a copy!)

Most of the time, after a book like that goes to press, an editor gets ready to do it again--maybe in a few minutes or days or the next week. For the first time in a long time, I won't be getting ready to do it again at IDW. That's a complicated feeling, but I'm so excited for the future.

The best metaphor I've been able to come up with for what is happening is it's like I've been working in a one room office constantly for the past seven years. It's got that dull office lighting, you know the kind. Each day, projects come and go across my desk, and as they otherwise disappear into the world, I put up one of those glow-in-the-dark stars as a memory of it. And each day, I work with so many people--my coworkers at IDW who've helped foster my growth, my collaborators as both a writer and editor who have made so many stories with me, all the folks where things never quite lined up but we kept trying, and the readers who are an inherent part of the ecosystem, the reason we make what we do. And so, for each of those people, I put up a little glow in the dark toy.

Now, for the first time, I'm going to get up and leave the office. As I flick the switch behind me, everything in there that has been soaking up light for years now glows. Some of the glows are slight. Some are so fantastically bright, it feels like they're drawing attention through the walls of the room. Together, they make the room brighter than it was when I left. Now, sometimes, I might sneak in to borrow a toy--make a copy of it for the new office I'm doing the same thing in. Other people will certainly do the same and make they've got their Evan Stanley figure on their shelf. If I ever return for a longer time, I'll be so glad to flick the light back on and let them all absorb even more light to glow an even longer time. If I don't, I rest happy that the glow goes on and forever people will be able to come back and discover some part of it. And I'll start working on a new office soon.

If I keep going, I'm a little afraid that I won't be able to stop. So, for now, I'll just say again, thank you. The future is about to be very exciting. Next year is for the creators you love or don't know you love yet, the books that are going to light you up that you've come to expect and the ones that will catch you by total surprise. While there are a lot of things I'm going to miss deeply and books that I'm going to wish I had gotten to do more on, I also have the really exciting experience of getting to see this stuff as a fan of IDW, just like you. And, hey, I hope you'll be a fan of the stuff I do next too!

As for next steps, like I've said, I'm not going far. I'll still be in comics. I'll share the news when I can.

Before that, I'm getting a little break. Not too long, just a few weeks, and obviously the holidays are part of those, but in my time between my jobs, I'm going to be working on some personal projects. I put together a little tracking list recently and I have something like 40 projects in various stages of gestation right now. Obviously, I'm not going to be working on all of those at once, and chances are, some of them will never see the light of day, but I'm going to be working on trying to bring a couple of them to you in the new year (and beyond). If you're an artist that I've had the pleasure of working with in the past and you think you might be interested in peeping the list and seeing what we could do together, let me know. You can reach me on my website contact page, through my email, or through Discord (feel free to ask if you don't have it!).

And if you read this blog, you'll see me hyping my last IDW projects up until we run out of what I left behind. Simultaneously, once I've got stuff to start hyping up for my personal projects and for the new gig, you'll see those start to pop up here too! I'll also keep talking about making comics and my thoughts on the state of the world and whatever else it is I blog about here on a regular basis!

Thanks for reading. Bye-DW! Next week, I'll be doing a little Best of 2023. But for now, onto our regular features.

What I enjoyed this week: Dungeons & Daddies (Podcast), Reverse 1999 (Video Game), Nancy (Comic), Lego Masters (TV show), Out There Screaming: An Anthology of New Black Horror (Short story collection), Yu-Gi-Oh: Duel Links (Video Game), Cunk on Earth (TV show), I'm a Virgo (TV show), The Boy and the Heron (Movie), an easy last week at IDW, all the well-wishes that've already poured in, leaving today to celebrate Christmas with my family and then have some downtime to work on my stuff, signing the paperwork for the new job, not being on Twitter anymore, getting all of our mail out in a timely fashion for the holidays, Chainsaw Man (Manga), I picked up Superman and Hawkgirl, so excited to get caught up on those, and knowing that in leaving this job, there are certain folks I just get to deepen my relationships with as friends, instead of co-workers.

New Releases this week (12/20/2023): Godzilla: The War for Humanity #3 (Editor) Godzilla Rivals: Jet Jaguar vs. Megalon (Editor)

Announcements: The Cartoonist Cooperative is still doing E-Sim cards for Gaza. You can donate a digital sim card so that residents can get access to the internet and have more functional phones and, in exchange, get some comics or a drawing or whatever else is available from the many participating artists. Additionally, the CC is hosting their mini-comic awards! It's a cool way to maybe get your mini-comic recognized and make some scratch!

You can also give more directly. If you don't have money, and I get it, you can call or fax or email or show up at the offices of your representatives. Keep your eyes open for actions too, whether they're another general strike or demonstrations and marches in your area. Given the nature of the things, they often come together fairly quickly, so do exercise your due diligence. Also, of course, being informed and just giving your time to Palestinian journalists and writers is incredibly valuable.

While Becca has got some things brewing for next year (and now on a schedule), you should reach out if you'd like to work on comics with them! You can find their gallery on their website and also, y'know, maybe pick up a few things for belated gifts while you're there!

Finally, I called out my Patreon earlier. You can support me (and boy, that would be cool during the time between paychecks because vacation is nice, but living is still expensive) and get not just this blog, but a lot of cool special features like extra posts, comics, infographics, and more! At the $10+ levels, you can also access stuff like a holiday gift guide I made, a podcast pilot for a spicy show with Becca, and a ton more!

Pic of the Week: Happy holidays from Becca and me! If you wanna full card in your inbox, lemme know!

#comics #godzilla idw #sonic idw #transformers idw #goodbye idw #comics news #david mariotte

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crossroads-of-the-raven · 3 months

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Just a Little Something about how long Zane was dead for in Ninjago between Season 3 and 4

In Ninjago Decoded Zane said that he downloaded all 74 episodes plus the holiday special of Jay's game show, 'The Ultimate Ninja Challenge' (a.k.a 75 episodes)

Taking in the schedules for American Ninja Warrior and Wipeout, which appear to be the inspiration for Jay's game show.

American Ninja Warrior is a half hour long show that airs four episodes in a day and another four the following week as a full season (at least when it first came out, IDK about now).

Wipeout is an hour long show (with commercials) that airs a new episode, once a week.

Understanding these two details:

At Most - eight episodes per season, at one season per year with 75 episodes total equals a little more then 9 years (to be precise, 9 complete seasons with 3 episodes of the tenth being aired)

At Least - one episode per week with 75 episodes total equals almost 18 months a.k.a. a year and a half (to be precise, 1 year, 5 months and 3 weeks)

In Compromise for the two shows with a leaning towards the Wipeout influence: Let's say, two episodes per week with 75 episodes total equals 9 months and 2 weeks (this is on the idea of Jay leaving before the filming of the 76th episode).

So obviously we don't get a ten year time skip between Seasons 3 and 4 and I clearly haven't factored in how long it took to set up Jay's game show in the first place, however, I don't think it's that far outside the realm of possibility that the time skip was at least somewhere between 9 and a half months and 18 months. This certainly gives enough time for moss to grow on Zane's statue and for angst among the Ninja Team (<- Including Nya, Pixal and Skylor).

Enough time for Jay to get his own game show.

Enough time for Nya to gather what she needs to fix the Bounty.

Enough time for Cole to get a job without people knowing who he is.

Enough time for Lloyd to be with his father before Garmadon's Season 4 self-sacrifice.

Enough time for Zane to rebuild himself only to be kidnapped by Ronin and sold to Master Chen.

Enough time for Pixal to be kidnapped as well and held in Chen's dungeon where the Mechanic pried her open and took her apart piece by piece.

Enough time where Skylor's training was put into overdrive as she had to watch her father put every last detail into place for the Elemental Masters, like a spider preparing its web for the flys.

Enough time for Kai to get his own apartment where he exists alone with thoughts that are far to loud and condemning for a protector who lost his brother, to craft a place for himself in an underground fighting ring that won't ask questions, where he can fight and forget, only to be constantly plagued by his every waking moment asking, 'why wasn't it me', and thinking, 'it should have been me'.

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girlactionfigure · 1 month

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🔅ISRAEL REALTIME news update - after Shabbat updates

🔻HEZBOLLAH - Anti-tank missiles - at Mt. Dov IDF outpost.

🔻HEZBOLLAH - Rockets x 4 - at Dishon, Malkia, Ramot Naftali, Betzet, Shlomi, Menara, Margaliot, Meshgav Am, Kiryat Shmona, Hurfeish, Alkosh, Matat, Fassuta, Netua

🔻SHIA MILITIAS CLAIM.. suicide drone attack on “an Israeli intelligence base in the north of the Golan” and “the fuel terminal in Haifa”.

▪️HOSTAGES MURDERED.. Hamas announces the death of 4 hostages, another report says 7 hostages, held by them in Gaza Strip. One source lists the names Itzik Jarat, Alex Densig, Ronin Tommy Angel, Eliyahu Margalit. No confirmation or proof provided.

▪️CEASEFIRE LEAKS.. U.S. head of CIA arriving to the region in last ditch effort for a pre-Ramadan ceasefire.

.. Qatar threatens Hamas to expel senior officials from Qatar if they don’t convince the organization to agree to a deal. (Wall Street Journal)

The Mossad in a statement carried by the Prime Minister's Office says Hamas is "fortifying its position" with regard to a potential hostage deal, and instead is looking to "ignite the region during Ramadan."

▪️TERROR - CHOMESH.. Terrorists detonated an explosive device in Silat A-Dahar near Chomash, an Israeli was reported injured by the explosion, 2 more injured by gunfire. Palestinian Islamic Jihad claims responsibility.

▪️US PRESIDENT SAYS.. BIDEN: "I told him, Bibi — don't repeat this — you and I are going to have a come to Jesus meeting." HANDLER: Sir, you're on a hot mic. (For those who don’t know this American expression, it means he’s going to call him out strongly privately for his actions.)

▪️AID FIGHT.. exchange of fire in the last hour between the Hamas police and armed "bandits" who sought to loot aid trucks that entered Nuseirat in the central Gaza Strip. Some of the trucks were looted when they reached the area near the Farouk Mosque in Nuseirat.

An aid truck ran over a Gazan to death, while he was trying to protect another truck driver who was attacked by Gazans (who wanted to loot the goods on the truck). Other truck drivers were beaten on the spot by the Gazans.

▪️MORE PARACHUTE MASSACRE.. Gazans report 8 killed by failed aid drops. The Jordanians claim the failure that killed Gazans by bombing by aid (aid parachutes failing) wasn’t Jordan’s fault, the US claims it wasn’t their fault. (( it’s the Jooooooos? )) A Gazan journalist claims: even today some of the parachutes of the aid packages did not open. It is not yet clear if there are more casualties among the Gazans.

Gazan, “the dishes are silly... we'd prefer a drop of a kilo of flour. This is better than the whole box of aid... this food is not good for us, we are the Arab... Palestinian people.... it is cat food for us... I exchanged the entire carton of aid with my brother in exchange for a kilo of flour. We want better assistance than this.” Others complain the instructions are not in Arabic.

▪️RED SEA HOUTHI ATTACKS.. US Central Command: Yesterday afternoon, the Houthis launched two ballistic missiles at a Singapore-owned ship. The missiles missed the ship. Early this morning the Houthis launched an attack in the Gulf of Aden area - the coalition forces and the US Navy intercepted 15 Houthi drones. The Houthis claim in an official announcement that they launched 37 drones.

🔸CEASEFIRE - Hamas’s terms basically seem to be ‘end the war, leave Gaza, release our mass murderers, and MAYBE we’ll return some hostages”. The U.S. has been PUSHING Israel very hard to come up to the edge of those terms, Israel gave a lot but it appears Hamas hasn’t budged.

Current analysis says Hamas is hoping to rile up the Arab world by keeping it going over Ramadan.

🔸JUDEA-SAMARIA (West Bank) - Hamas is already releasing Ramadan propaganda to hopefully rile up both the Arab public and the various militant groups in Judea-Samaria and hopefully cause serious attacks either into Jewish towns or into Israel proper. The IDF has been very active raiding militants in the major Arab cities for the past months, with counter-terror battles nightly - hopefully having suppressed and redirected the militants (if not outright capturing or killing them).

🔸LEBANON - increasing power tit-for-tat attacks continue, with the IDF bombing Hamas sites in southern Lebanon villages hourly, and Hezbollah firing rocket barrages of 20-60 rockets per round.

Rumor are Home Front Command wants to start a campaign to inform the public to PREPARE PREPARE PREPARE, but there is concern it will cause PANIC and possibly cause the enemy to react.

🔸GAZA - The IDF continues working through Khan Yunis neighborhoods and tunnels building by building. Hamas is primarily limited to the last Gaza Strip city of Rafah - which the IDF is somewhat leaving alone but is air striking Hamas leadership locations and operations locations, but warning to evacuate first in some cases. IDF attacks include blowing up buildings and, in some cases, neighborhoods when they’ve been used as attack platforms.

🔸HOSTAGES - Hamas says 7 were murdered. No reason, but also no evidence.

🔸AID - the aid story is getting weird. Aid protestors have successfully slowed aid, such that the US and Jordan (and others) are now air dropping aid - - which has had drop failures effectively bombing people with aid and killing them while claiming the failure is not them.

The Gazans are complaining about the air dropped aid: the instructions are in English, some is expired, it is not to their taste, the portions are too small, it’s cat food.

The US has said they are going to build an instant-port, to deliver aid by sea - and aid is prepping and loading on ships in Cyprus, but the US has also said they’re going to do this without US forces entering Gaza, by deploying 1,000 US soldiers to:

“Deploy a floating pier and causeway. The aid will be driven into Gaza by vetted U.S. partners and not American troops. The U.S. military will work to ensure proper security measures are in place on the ground and will take precautions to protect its troops offshore.”

Since security is the issue, with most aid trucks being attacked and looted or hijacked by Hamas, the goals seem impossible. And who are these ‘U.S. partners’ who are going to go into Gaza?

🔸PROPAGANDA - the new propaganda item is “Gaza children dying by dehydration” since “Gaza starvation” is starting to lose traction.

#Israel #Realtime War Updates #October 7 #Operation Swords of Iron #Hamas Massacre #Israel/HamasWar

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