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milkytheholy1 · 2 years

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Apple Pie

A/N: Wanda Maximoff x GNReader. Set during Wandavision, I hope you get confused!

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Heavenly shades of night are falling

It's twilight time

Out of the mist, your voice is calling

'Tis twilight time

Your eyes flashed open, seemingly caught in a loop. You remember doing this before, waking up with your head spinning and your body sore. You don't remember what led you to feel this way, you don't remember anything but just the feeling of hurt and pain.

Your gaze was hazy, trapped in a room with no doors. At least, that's what you remember. There's a plush feeling comforting your body, fingers tugging on soft bedding. You feel your body straighten as you sit up with a jump, eyes wide and chest panting; but why?

You're in a room, it isn't full of anything that you recognise as being your own. The world felt dull, cold, lonely...grey. Your mind is playing tricks on you, you're certain of it. You step from the bed, shoes already on your feet and you know that isn't a normal thing you tend to do. You wobble around in a panic and a trance. You look out the window that's so perfectly lit by the sun, a suburban neighbourhood with dogs running wild, their tails wagging with glee.

Husbands and wifes saying goodbye at the doorstep and the lingering smell of apple pie coming from somewhere, it smelt heavenly. You suddenly feel the hairs on your neck stick up, goosebumps running down your arms. There's this ominous feeling shrouding over you, fear and panic. Your chest is puffing out again, your heart beating rapidly. You slowly turn to face the door, it's looming over you, dominant and intrusive.

You can't take it anymore, your mind is racing and you're scared. You don't know why, you don't know what's behind that door. You run to it anyway, pushing through it to be brought into a living room of sorts. The sweet apple pie smell wafting into the room from the kitchen, an angelic hum soon following.

When purple-coloured curtains

Mark the end of the day

I'll hear you, my dear, at twilight time

"You're awake, I was starting to think you wouldn't show up." Her voice rung out, as sweet as sugar. She came out of the kitchen holding the pie in her hands, a devilish smile on her lips, "I knew my world's famous apple pie would get you going."

This wasn't right, it felt all wrong. How could it feel like you were in a nightmare when everything was so perfect. You shook your head, this wasn't right, something was off.

"I-I have to go, I-I don't b-belong here." you hurried out, turning to the front door.

Deepening shadows gather splendour

As day is done

Fingers of night will soon surrender

The setting sun

You wake up again, confused and disorientated. Where were you?

Sitting up, you see the sun shining through the curtains. This all felt too familiar. The soft bedding under your fingertips, the feeling of pain and heartbreak, even the heat from the sunny rays were becoming common. You shot from the bed, clad in new clothing, the world was still grey but it had no effect on you anymore.

You moved to the window, peeking out of the curtains to catch the same sight as before. Men kissing their wifes goodbye and going off to work, rubbing their dog's head before they got in the car and jetted off. Their clothes were different, and so were the designs of the houses, as though you had moved through time.

You turned to see the door again, the same door from the day before. The same feeling came over you, but more so was a strong sense of curiosity. Pushing through you're back in the living room. The layout has changed as well as the furniture, there's a song coming from the radio joined by humming from the kitchen.

I count the moments, darling

'Til you're here with me

"There you are, I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up." came her voice again, as sweet as sugar. She came through the kitchen doors, in her hands was a pie, grey and colourless like everything else. She nodded down to the pie with a sickly smile on her face, "I made you some apple pie, I knew it would wake you up." she tilted her head to the side as she stared, there was something about her eyes that felt wrong.

You shook your head again, this isn't right, you're not meant to be here. As if she could sense your fear, she pouted, "What's wrong, are you ok?"

"I-I can't be here, I-I'm n-not meant to be-" the radio had grown louder, the atmosphere had changed. Her eyes were hard, glaring at you but the smile still remained, "(Y/N)?"

Together at last at twilight time

You turned, dashing to the front door getting an overwhelming feeling of DjVu. You swung the door open, the world dark. How was it possibly nighttime already? You had only just woke up, had only just felt the heat of the sun on your arms. You ran to the street, anything to get away from that house. You took a quick glance back towards the house, seeing her there with the pie still in her hands. Her smile had gone dark, now replaced with a frown "No." she spoke.

Deep in the dark, your kiss will thrill me

Like days of old

Lighting the spark of love that fills me

With dreams untold

It felt like you were falling again, falling into a pit of emptiness with no one to help you. You felt rage, something inside you was firing up and you couldn't control it. It scared you, there was so much anger, so much pain and you felt like you were dying slowly. Maybe you were, maybe this was how death worked.

You sprang awake in your bed, the world was different than before. You no longer saw grey but bright blues and greens, you squinted your eyes, the sun was far too bright. You leapt from your bed and straight to the window, knowing by now you'd already be wearing clothes.

The world was so colourful, neighbours were riding bikes together, wives saying goodbye to their husbands as they left. The smell of apple pie wafted to your room, your eyes widened, no- no more of this!

You stormed straight to the door, again, arriving in the living room. But it was different this time. She stood with her back towards you, leaning over two cribs, singing a lullaby you didn't recognise.

"You're awake," she interrupted herself, standing up straight but still not facing you. You grew taller yourself, shoulders back and spine explicit. The goosebumps were a familiar feeling at this point. You side-eyed the front door, you were so close.

"I was starting to think you wouldn't wake up, I knew my world's famous ap-"

"Apple pie would wake me up." you finished for her, now she had finally turned to you. She looked almost shocked, but she hid it rather quickly, "What a lucky guess." she gawked. She stepped towards you, but you rejected her advancements, taking two steps closer to the door.

She could see the look in your eyes, you were slowly catching on, she couldn't have that. You looked around the room, new furniture, new layout, new babies?

"Won't you join us for a slice?" she asked, the shutters to the kitchen suddenly opening to reveal said apple pie. Two slices on two plates. There it was again, the feeling of pain and anger. It was becoming too much, you needed to get out, you needed to escape. You ran to the door once more, swinging it open and stepping foot outside.

Each day I pray for evening

Just to be with you

Together at last at twilight time

You're awake again, the days feeling shorter. Like there are not even days at all, only hours, maybe minutes. The plush of the bedding is all you feel, your mind feels wiped like all the emotions you were forced to feel are suddenly gone. You push yourself up, in more of a hurry to escape this house. You don't remember if you've done this before or not, but something feels oddly similar about it.

You ignore the window, for now, just going on the pure instinct of leaving. You move for the door, ending up in the living room with the smell of apple pie in the air.

"You're awake!" came her voice as sweet as sugar. She was in the kitchen, humming a song while she washed the dishes. The room was different, with a new layout and furniture. You wanted to be alarmed by this, but you couldn't remember how it had been before. When she turned around to face you, hands dripping with soap, all those feelings came back; like your mind had been switched on.

Fear. Pain. Heartbreak. You were falling and you couldn't get up, couldn't save yourself. You panicked, hands shaking and face going pale. You needed to get out, but before you knew it, she was standing in front of you with apple pie.

"I thought we could have a slice of my world's famous apple pie." she beamed, it felt forced.

"W-what are you doing to me?" you huffed out, you wanted answers. She tilted her head like before, "I don't understand, what do you-"

"You, you're always here. Always making the same apple pie, always surprised I wake up."

"(Y/N), now that's-" you cut her off, "I want to know where I am, who you are, how do I leave!" you yelled out, growing red with frustration. After a beat, she put the pie down and turned to you with a frown.

"You're my partner, I'm your wife. You love me and I love you." You didn't believe her, you weren't married, you didn't even know who this woman was. You took a step back, moving towards the door, "I-I don't know you!"

She grabbed your hand, pulling you away from your one escape. You tried to get out of her grasp, but she held on tight, "I already told you, I'm your wife."

"I-I'm not married." you stuttered, unable to look anywhere but her eyes. She gasped, placing a hand on her chest, "I know we've been a little strained these last few days but that's not a very nice thing to say." She showed you the hand she'd been holding. Your hand. And on that hand sat a golden band, a wedding ring on your ring finger.

You were puzzled, that hadn't been there before. No this was wrong, this was all fake you weren't meant to be here. You stood from the couch, tearing your hand away from hers, "This isn't right, I don't belong here."

"Oh, enough of that will you!" She stood up, "This is our home, this is our family and you are my partner." she grew closer to you, fear was coursing through your veins. This was too much, your head felt like it was overflowing, you shook your head and made a mad dash towards the door.

Here in the afterglow of day

We keep our rendezvous beneath the blue

Here in the sweet and same old way

I fall in love again as I did then

You woke up in a start, sweat pouring down your form. You sat up with wide eyes and panting, a common occurrence you felt. You rubbed your eyes, the world was dark out, that felt new. You stood towards the window, seeing the roads lit by fairy lights. You saw children running along in costumes, parents and neighbours laughing and handing out sweets.

This felt wrong, so very, very wrong. Turning you saw a door, must be the exit. You leapt towards it, ripping it open only to see it was boarded shut. Huge wooden planks had been spread across the door frame, blocking you from leaving. Your face dropped, how were you going to leave, you don't remember this happening before.

That's when you felt it, the pain. You crumbled to the ground, hands bracing against the carpet, it felt like you were on fire. You screamed, praying, begging for it to stop.

Deep in the dark, your kiss will thrill me

Like days of old

Lighting the spark of love that fills me

With dreams untold

You woke up, sitting up straight. You could still feel the tingling sensation, your memories were slowly coming back like a fog had been lifted. You bolted from the bed to the window, the streets were empty. Something was off.

You moved to the door, flinging it open and surprised to see the wooden planks had been removed, somehow. You couldn't remember exact things, but you had a feeling that flowed through you, some things felt familiar. You left through the door, finding yourself in a living room.

"You're awake, finally." her voice rang out. She sat on the couch with the tv remote in her hand, mindlessly flicking through the channels, "Can you put the apple pie in the microwave, I would do it but I just don't want to."

You stared at her, was this the thing that felt different? For some reason you listened to her, walking into the kitchen and flipping the switch. You took the apple pie and placed it in the microwave, why were you doing this? Leaving it to cook, you pushed the kitchen door open but stood there in shock.

The room was completely wrecked, sparks of electricity flew from the tv, the walls were falling apart. The front door swung open, red and purple light writhing on the ground like tentacles. It flowed through the windows and the back door, even coming from the cracked tv screen. You wasted no time in escaping, dashing to the front door, jumping over and avoiding the tentacles as bet as you could.

You could hear voices in your head, some of them were of a woman screaming others felt more personal.

"This is our home now. I want us to fit in."

"This will be your only warning."

"You know, a family is forever."

They kept swirling around your head, getting louder and louder.

"Don't worry, dear. I have everything under control."

“I can’t feel you.”

Once you stepped foot outside, the world around you changed, the voices stopped and everything suddenly went silent.

You were now in black and white, the world around you grey. You woke from the bed, feeling the plushness of the bedding under the tips of your fingers. You stood from the bed, fully clothed, it felt weird; maybe you had forgotten to get changed the night before?

You looked out towards the window, seeing husbands kissing their wives goodbye, dogs playing on the streets. The sweet smell of apple pie wafted through to your room, you loved that smell. You felt the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, an ominous feeling began to shroud you. Turning you saw two doors.

One looked to be a cupboard, perhaps a wardrobe, the other no doubt was the exit. Your hand was braced against the doorknob of the closest, maybe you'd take a peek inside.

"(Y/N), I made apple pie!" her voice rung out, as sweet as sugar. You turned to her voice, your attention taken by your wife, "Coming, Wanda!" you left the room to join her.

If only you had opened the closet door, that was your true escape. Behind it lie the woman who controlled it all, floating above the ground with a dark book in her hands.

Each day I pray for evening

Just to be with you

Together at last at twilight time

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spiderling-space · 2 years

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Only 2 parts left after this 😮‍💨 I think I'll post the final chapter after I watch MoM. There won't be spoilers from the movie though. It'll only be the storyline I wrote for Wanda. Before I watch MoM, I'm rewatching WandaVision. That show was lit! This chapter deals with Book 4 of twst. JFC, I planned a maximum of 2k but it became 3k lol

Part 1 - Part 2 - Part 3 - Part 4 - Part 5 - Part 6 - Part 7 - Afterword

What if MC is Wanda Maximoff aka Scarlet Witch? - Part 5

After the finals ended, the winter break came. Wanda told her friends about how she feels when there is chaos around her yet she didn't know why. She decided to withhold some of the information until she was fully aware of who she was.

The unspoken tension between her and her friends eased a bit but it was still there. She assumed her powers freaked them out.

Between the time when she defeated Azul and winter break, she questioned Idia regarding Ortho and his body and Hades. He was reluctant to answer her questions about Ortho but he was over the moon to tell her everything about Hades, including his diet.

She noticed the similarity between the Hades she knew and the one in Twisted Wonderland. Both made deals in exchange for the soul of the person, were powerful beings, could take the shape of someone else and ruled the underworld. However, this Hades seemed to be stuck in one dimension. Her research on the matter ended there until she got her full memories.

Wanda knew she should respect people's privacy but she had to learn how Ortho is still a living person despite the android body. It would be helpful for the person she longed for. So when she asked about Ortho again, she read Idia's mind and learned the truth. Since her beloved didn't have a soul like Ortho had, his android technology would be worthless for her.

Despite having ulterior motives, she felt sympathy for Idia's loss for she knew the pain of losing a sibling. It felt like someone tore her heart out and crushed it in front of her. No... Pietro is alive now! The Voice said. Given how she thought the Voice was speaking while she was actually speaking out loud, she now considered The Voice to be herself with full memories, helping Wanda to reclaim all of her powers and memories.

Recently, as more of her memories surfaced, some of them clashed with each other. In one of them, she was with Pietro in every step of her path but in the other, she lost Pietro. In one of her memories, her father controlled metal whilst in the other, he was an ordinary guy who brought sitcoms to cheer up his children. She decided to be patient with her memories and not rush them.

Whilst everyone was preparing for the winter break, including the principal, she was pestering Dire to explain the black stones after the overblot fight and her premonitions. He was acting elusive and saying he was busy.

She learned why he was busy at the start of the break. He went to a holiday resort. He only gave her a phone and assignment and then yeeted away. She bid her farewells to her friends and exchanged numbers. They all seemed happy to go back home which made her yearn for her home as well. Although, she still couldn't understand which place was her home.

Her powers were improving daily. Now she was able to apparate to the other end of the NRC but she should know the layout to avoid apparating inside a tree or another object. She was easily making shield and attack practice targets now.

Things were boring until Grim and Wanda went to the kitchen of the cafeteria and met with Scarabia students. Jamil looked too nice for NRC which made her uneasy. He invited her and Grim to his dorm but she wanted to refuse until he used his magic.

Their eyes were locked when he said she would accept the invitation. She felt a familiar tug in her mind. Mind control... Wanda smirked at the irony. Although she couldn't mind-control directly, when she wished for something it happened, whether it was human or object. She was going to entertain his game since the things were boring and she needed a break from all the new information she learned recently.

They all went to Scarabia and met Kalim. Despite Wanda feeling gloomy recently, Kalim's positive aura rubbed on Wanda's mood. They ate together and played a game. They were also invited to stay the night which they accepted. However, the next day, Kalim's personality shifted 180.

She didn't like his new persona and thought he either had multiple personalities or his behaviour was changed by someone else. Hence, she took a peek inside his mind and saw an abnormality. His mind was shackled and something else was in charge as if that thing was the puppet master while Kalim was a marionette.

She thought Jamil was the one doing it since she felt him trying to command her mind. So she confronted him. He denied obviously. Given his attitude, she didn't feel bad about reading his mind. It was harder than the others but his mind powers couldn't hold a candle to hers.

She went to tell this to everyone but he tried to stop her. Seeing his unique magic not work on her pissed him off further. He reached to grab her. When she dodged, he attacked her with his magic. Wanda's shield appeared in front of her even though she didn't lift a finger. She took a risk like that but its result was rewarding.

She then blasted him back. While he was recovering, she reached where Kalim and the other students are. She began to tell them everything but Jamil soon appeared and used his unique magic on the rest of the students. She didn't know how to break the mind control of the others yet, so she grabbed Grim and ran away. She could have easily handled the entire dorm but she didn't want to harm them since they weren't acting out of their free will.

She also didn't know if she could apparate with Grim without hurting him so they had to leave physically. As many students surrounded them, she decided to use the Flying Carpet to escape. She was excellent at levitating objects but the Flying Carpet had its own consciousness so she wasn't able to control it and they crashed into the Mostro Lounge. The trio was still there. Wanda and Grim were followed by Scarabia students. Not liking them invading their territory, the trio fought them. Despite Wanda's warning about not going hard on them neither listened to her.

After the commotion calmed down, Wanda explained to them the situation. Azul seemed to want to get involved in it and the twins looked as willing as Azul. So the trio dragged them back to Scarabia, spewing some bullshit on how he didn't mean to cause trouble for Scarabia, how lonely it was in the Octavinelle and why they want to spend time with the Scarabia. Despite Jamil suspecting them, the trio along with Wanda and Grim stayed in a Scarabia room even though they were 4 people and Grim in a small room.

Azul, Floyd, Jade and Grim were discussing what to do while Wanda was thinking of a way to break the mind-control. They agreed to record what Jamil would say and when his magic on the mind-controlled students was gone, they would show the video to them. She agreed with the plan but she wanted to have a backup plan. Plus, she would know if she could also control people like that, it'd be useful power for her.

She started to meditate in the room but since she was focusing on the mind, she couldn't black out the thoughts of her roommates. She looked outside from the window and saw there was no one outside. She let them know that she was going to meditate and come back later on. She apparated onto the opening she saw and started to meditate.

Since I hit the word limit again

Link to AO3 or check out the reblog

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lonelywretchjervistetch · 7 months

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My DCCU Interlude: The Legion of Super-Heroes (Part Six)

Part VI: Starting the Story AKA The Pilot

So, with the set up of the last five goddamn essays done...now what? You probably won't be terribly surprised to hear that I'm not a writer by trade. A rambler, kinda, but not really a writer. But I'm also an avid watcher of television, especially superhero series. So, I have a general idea of what I'd like to see in this series. Not sure still whether it'd be animated or live-action, but I'm aiming for hour-long episodes (dependent upon streaming or ad-time) either way.

This post will be a basic layout of plots for a first season of this show, with the plan to set up a second season as well. As for what I'm using as a sort of basis, well...that's tricky. This is a series with a large ensemble cast, dramatic character-based storylines, and a literal universe of worldbuilding, meaning it should feel like a lived-in universe that the audience can get invested in. So, when I was thinking about the most beloved and successful television series of the past decade or so, I landed upon two answers. Two...extremely controversial answers.

Man, oh MAN, is The Flash the biggest disappointment of my life.

Look...The Flash was a really bad show...for the last 4 seasons. Seasons 4 and 5 were not horrible (not amazing, but not horrible), season 3 was pretty decent, and the first 2 seasons were honestly quite good! It has a large supporting cast, great antagonists, recurring dramatic storylines (for better or for worse; looking at you, Iris-Barry romance), and it was a superhero show based on a DC Comics character! So, good, right? Well, the first seasons are definitely good models to base this Legion series off of...but the series as a whole is a big fat warning sign, especially writing and plot-wise.

It's pretty obvious that the series creators didn't have a great plan for 9 seasons of this series, and even the first three seasons are more repetitive than you'd expect or want. I could talk about the massive wasted opportunities of this series for a LONG time (and I will, don't worry; might devote an essay to it, honestly), but it had a lot of problems. Also...yeah, the budget for this Legion series has to be higher, whether it be animated or live-action. I want the world to feel real and lived in, not to not be fueled by crossovers for that sensation.

And sure, there are much better superhero shows to use as a basis here, especially during the renaissance we're currently in. Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Luke Cage, WandaVision, Loki, The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, Ms. Marvel, Moon Knight, and She-Hulk are some of the recent best. And hey, let's not discount DC completely, either. Doom Patrol is pretty fantastic as comic-book adaptations go, as is Peacemaker, and I haven't really watched Titans past season 1, but I hear it got better as the series went on. Oh, and Stargirl and Superman and Lois! But using the Flash as a basis is...personal.

That said, I do think The Flash also works as a basis because of the wackier nature of the source material. For the messiness of the series, it's never been afraid to go to some crazy places, adapting storylines and characters from the comics with little hesitation...and sometimes little accuracy, but that's a different story as well (lookin' at you, Zoom). But OK, that's one inspiration. What's the other?

Game of Thrones' first season is, genuinely, some of the best television I've ever watched. The wide scope of that series, both dramatically and story-wise, is a great model for a Legion series. With the first season so eloquently showing the fall of House Stark from grace, foreshadowing the rise of Daenerys, and the various struggles within two battling houses. It combined political intrigue with medieval fantasy, and did so masterfully. It gave us memorable characters and storylines, which generated a faithful fanbase for a reason. Seriously, it was amazing television.

But both GoT and The Flash had their myriad issues, especially when it came to sticking the landing. Honestly, the former lasted as long as it did because it at least had the books to go off of. But once that material ran out, the series suffered heavily until the end. The Flash, on the other hand, took from its source material a lot, but never really had a good endgame in mind, and completely lost its focus by the end of the series.

So, looking at both series, the main lessons they have to give are:

Strong protagonists (e.g. Barry Allen or the Starks, Lannisters, and Danaerys)

Strong and memorable supporting cast (e.g. Team Flash, or...shit, so goddamn many)

Threatening and memorable antagonists (e.g. the excellent and unmatched Eobard Thawne, or...well, the Lannisters again, to be honest)

Character-based storylines (for protagonists, support, and antagonists alike)

An actual plan (The Flash had one until season 3, and GoT had one until the books ran out and they had to make shit up...badly)

I originally elaborated on this more, but this is all pretty basic stuff, when you think about it. I'm not exactly breaking ground here. I'm just pointing out where these shows succeeded or failed, and how.

So, with all of that said, it's time to talk about this prospective Legion series, huh? I'll be breaking it down by storyline, which are centered around the protagonist or protagonists involved. I've covered these guys in previous posts, as well as touching upon their storylines, so check those out for more information on individual characterization. OK, let's do this!

Prologue: Plans Unfold

On a dark planet, in some forgotten corner of the galaxy, a dark cult meets within stone catacombs. An obsidian spire stretches towards the depths of space, surrounded by a large and perfectly circular arena, in which the cult gathers. Runes cover the chamber, written in a language thought abandoned long ago. This is, of course, the home of the Dark Circle, the underground antagonists for the season. The robed cultists gather in this ancient place to foment their coming plans.

While the true nature and history of this place will be revealed by the end of the season, the seemingly ancient surroundings immediately set it up as a part of the endgame. Four of the cultists, egged on by the triumvirate of leaders, are sent out into the universe at large to seed their plans, as well as the season's conflict. They enter the obelisk, which acts as a beacon for Zeta Beams, which the Circle can aim and control. They send their emissaries to the next location: Luna, in 3038 CE.

Episode 1.01: Debut

The Moon, in this universe and timeline, is a large mining colony. It's here that one of the cultists arrives, to make their way incognito onto Earth, which will act as the true staging grounds for their plan. Their contact on Earth is a nomadic gang leader and criminal contact known as Cadis Thar-Ok, who will be a major player in this story. Also looking for Thar-Ok, and also on Luna, is Garth Ranzz, a farm boy from Winath here to search for his brother Mekt Ranzz, who was a part of Thar-Ok's gang when they wandered through Winath not too long ago. While the cultist heads towards Knighton, a neostate known for its (literally) underground criminal empire, Garth heads to Metropolis, the City of Hope. Here, he hopes to speak with the Science Police, and to find clues to his brother's location.

Also on this shuttle is a traveler attempting to escape her homeworld, and possibly find a temporary new one. This is Imra Ardeen, an outcast from the Moons of Saturn, specifically Titan. Escaping persecution from her people, and recruitment by the Titanian cult known as the Espers, Imra is attempting to remain hidden. In fact, she is dressed similarly to our cultists, but in brighter colored red robes, rather than the dark robes shed by the cultist. Wearing a circlet meant to mask and suppress her abilities, she is sleeping on the shuttle, and doesn't sense the danger of the cultist. However, she hopes to arrive in Metropolis to answer questions about herself by seeking out the Temple of Mars there.

A quick note about our passengers, in terms of casting. After some thought, Garth is remaining ginger and Caucasian, rather than the darker skin of the current comics. The reason for this is twofold. Firstly, there are way too many Black electrokinetics. Check out my second essay in this series for more about that, but it's ridiculous. Honestly, it's basically a stereotype at this point, and I'd rather not contribute to that. Secondly, though, there's a weird Ginger erasure happening in media, specifically when it comes to racebending characters. And while I'm very much an advocate for racebending, but even I have to admit that this is...really weird. So, yeah, let's keep one iconically Ginger character in this series, shall we?

But what about Imra? She's canonically a Caucasian blonde, but there's no canon reason for this choice. Honestly, as far as I'm concerned, Imra could be any race, and I actually sort of like the idea of a dark-skinned Imra with blonde hair. I tinkered with this idea previously, but I'm actually sort-of digging it now. Especially because...well, name a Black female true telepath in media. No cybernetic enhancement, no magic, just telepathy as a primary and innate power. Go on. I dare you. You can't. Now, that's a trend I'd be down to buck.

We'll get to our third member in a second, but I'll spoil now that I'm thinking AAPI for him. That's flexible, though, so throw whatever image you want in your personal headcanons. Now, back to the story!

Once the shuttle arrives, Imra and Garth depart, and we see their initial reactions to this beautiful and futuristic city. Imra is mostly nonplussed, but Garth is very much into it, before quickly being overwhelmed. We then change to our third major focus: Rokk Krinn, a citizen of Braal and locally notable athlete, here to speak with the United Planets on behalf of his impoverished world. He meets Marla Latham, assistant to his sponsor, R.J. Brande. Marla goes over details of Rokk's stay, then offers to take him to meet Brande, who's currently in his favorite place: the Hall of Heroes.

The Hall of Heroes , a relocated and restored Hall of Justice, is an attempt to revitalize one of the older districts in the city, specifically located next to the historic Steelworks building, which has fallen into disuse in recent centuries. The Hall was moved from Washington D.C., after a historical event known only as Godfall nearly destroyed it and the rest of the city. Housing a massive amount of historical artifacts, the Hall has been expanded upon and restored over the years, until becoming the predominant collection of artifacts from the First Age of Heroes.

As a major feature of the city, Garth and Imra are also headed here. Garth's journey led him to the Science Police, but he stopped at the museum after being turned away from the busy station. Imra, on the other hand, went towards the Temple of Mars, only to find that they had no solid connection with the one she sought, the legendary J'onn Jonzz. Instead, she came to the Hall of Heroes to find more information on him, so that she may herself be helped. And, of course, there's one more person headed here.

In Darkham, the crown city of Knighton, the cultist has found Cadis Thar-Ok, who contacts one of his men in Metropolis to assassinate R.J. Brande for the Dark Circle. The purpose of this is to eliminate a driving force for planets to join the United Planets, which increases order in the universe. Braal's membership is tenuous at best, hence Rokk's visit here. Were Brande or, even better, a Braalian celebrity to be assassinated, this would foment chaos in the UP, and further the goals of the Dark Circle.

As planned, Thar-Ok's assassin makes their way to the Hall, following Rokk and Marla inside. Here, the DC fanboys are fed with artifacts that we haven't seen yet in this fledgling DC Cinematic Universe, as well as hints of battles to come in future projects. It's one of those Easter egg-filled scenes that fans love to dissect for all they're worth. We also get a view of the museum through the eyes of our main characters, which gives us insight into their desires and characters.

Garth, for example, is focused on finding his brother, and meting out any needed justice (or vengeance) against Thar-Ok and his crew. His focus is, therefore, on crime-fighting, so he heads towards a controversial wing of the Hall: Batman's. Now most of the artifacts about the Dark Knight are actually in Knighton, which includes the place once known as Gotham City. Here, though, the Hall focuses on Batman's role as associated with the Justice League. As such, this is a slightly more sanitized version of the character, more akin to Bronze than Modern. Garth, therefore, is interested in the legend of the character, moreso than some of his darker realities. He doesn't want to be Batman. He does want to fight crime of the same caliber, however.

Imra, for her part, goes to the area devoted to Martian Manhunter, as well as the other Martian visitors and heroes that have visited Earth. We can get a look at Miss Martian here, as well as possibly even Jemm, Son of Saturn. However, unsurprisingly, this exhibit is somewhat sparse as well. Mars has reclaimed much of this exhibitry, and other pieces are found in other exhibits or museums. So here, Imra doesn't quite find the answers she's seeking. However, as she's realizing this, she also gets a sense that something is wrong. This drives her to head towards the most popular exhibit. Which, of course, focuses on...

Understand me. No hero is revered more in the 31st century than Superman. Period. There cannot be any doubt about this. The legacy of Superman has lived beyond the ages. However, because of this, there are a lot of misunderstandings about him as a person, outside of being a hero. Put it this way. You know Hercules, right? His labors, his history, that one little time he murdered his wife, you know? But, like...what was his favorite color? Favorite food? Was he a morning person, or a night owl? Do you really know anything about him personally? Hell, what was his actual name? Yeah, I see you nerds with your hands up in the front of the room. To the rest of you, though...did you know his name isn't Hercules? Or Heracles? It's Alcides. But people tend to forget that fact.

What I'm saying is, that while the knowledge that Superman was Clark Kent is technically public knowledge...nobody gives a single shit about the person he was. And so, this exhibit is to all the flash, pomp, and circumstance that is Superman's deeds and legends. We see his villains, his greatest fights, his triumphs. But what Rokk and Brande see, as they walk around this portion of the Hall, is the hope and love and inspiration he gives to everyone that sees him. And that is what brings them together. Superman is the centerpiece of this portion of the franchise, and we should see some of the stuff that he's going to get up to in the future of this DC Cinematic Universe.

Brande and Rokk meet, they have a conversation about Superman and the Hall, as well as the personal strife they've seen and suffered. It's the beginnings of an important conversation, but both are continually distracted by their surroundings. As they have their talk, Garth and Imra walk into the exhibit, sort of in the background. Maybe Garth's reaction to Superman (which should be notably in awe) is noticed by Brande as a part of their conversation. Imra should come here sensing something wrong, but pause in the visage of this figure of legend. Yeah, I'm hamming it the hell up, that's the point.

But of course, in the background, we should see the assassin enter, ready to take Brande out from the shadows. The dark thoughts and influence he's exuding start to overwhelm Imra, which gets the attention of a nearby Garth. She points out what's going on, just as the assassin is readying a weapon. Garth, acting on instinct, fires of a wild lightning bolt at the guy as he sees the weapon. This loud and bright burst of energy gets the attention of the entire Hall, causing them to panic. The Science Police are called, while Brande and Rokk are also made aware of the situation. Hectic action sequence takes place, and Rokk uses his better-honed abilities to disarm the assassin. Imra, unable to hold back her power at this point, uses it to paralyze the assassin as they flee, in an impressive-if-terrifying feat. An extremely haphazard, if effective, display, from all three.

The Science Police take their sweet time to show up, and question the trio in their actions, as well as speaking with Brande and Marla. We meet two members of the police in particular: Gigi Cusimano and Director Ryna Norg. The former is impressed by the action of this trio, while Norg is not a fan of vigilante justice. A common problem in a post-Justice League world, this is a major sticking point for her, so she acts to suppress it as best as possible. In fact, she's about to arrest Garth for damaging the museum, before Brande steps in.

I should stress, by the way, that Ryna is meant to come off as a hard-ass, but also as a great cop and decent person. A bit harder than someone like Commissioner Gordon, but with the same dedication to her job. While she'll be an antagonist, she's not a malicious one. After this misunderstanding, Garth tries to get her ear about his brother, only for her to brush him off and tell him to go through official channels. Not encouraging. When he insists, although he's already on her bad side, Norg agrees to get his info and send an officer to speak with him later. As for where he's staying, he has no answer to that...until Brande steps in and offers to put up him and Imra. Both accept.

Now, at this point, the episode is coming to a close. Other stuff has filled in this episode to extend it to the appropriate amount of time, whether that's flashbacks or extra scenes that I, as a non-writer, haven't come up with. But, at the end, as the trio are settling in and introducing themselves to each other, Brande begins to come up with an idea. And from this, we cut to our final scene.

Typical Science Police interrogation, where we get to see the inside of headquarters. Officers Ryna and the reptilian Howkun try to get information out of him, but he reveals nothing. His role was, of course, as a gun-for-hire that knows nothing about the larger operation. He only knows that he was sent money by someone who wanted Brande eliminated, but has no more information to give. After a while interviewing him, the two officers exit the room and report to a watching Ryna Norg.

Suddenly, the criminal starts to scream, as if being attacked by someone. And before the Police can gas the room or otherwise intervene, the man explodes into body parts, as if sliced apart cleanly by an unseen knife. The officers intervene, but too late to catch anyone. They quickly spread out on Ryna's orders, and the police station is locked down. As this happens, the body parts lie abandoned in the room, with the prisoners head on the table.

Said head then begins to look around, and his body parts start to move.

This man is hapless criminal Cory Belkin, AKA...nothing, actually. You may recognize a character like this from James Gunn's fun and crazy movie The Suicide Squad. In the film, he's known as "The Detachable Kid", or TDK, and he's meant to be a version of another character from Legion lore. Only problem it, he's about 1000 years too early. So, I'm changing two things. One, this is a racial ability for this alien species, from a planet I'm calling Zerpitz. And two, they have the ability to completely separate parts of their bodies, rather than just their limbs. Problem is, it'll take a bit for Cory to come back together.

Either way, Cory takes his time to escape from the poorly secured room, with the help of a device hidden within the vents by one of Thar-Ok's criminal allies. By the time the officers return, his body is gone. With an untraceable weapon and no criminal, the secrets of this crime will remain unsolved by the Science Police. Their first L of the series.

Oh, and yes, this person is absolutely related to Arm-Fall-Off-Boy, for anyone who was wondering. He'll show up later on.

As the cops scramble to figure out the next move, the body parts of Cory Belkin also scramble out of the station. While it takes a while, Cory manages to pull himself together (maybe sans a digit or three), and makes it to Knighton. He reconvenes there with Thar-Ok, who's flanked by other members of his gang. There are, in fact, multiple powered people in this group, many of whom are young, and all of whom faithfully serve Thar-Ok. He congratulates Cory on getting away from the Science Police, but also recognizes that it's only a matter of time before they figure out something's up. Which means that Cory is now a liability. And so, Thar-Ok sends Cory away with cheers at his back, and certain death at his front. A Dark Circle member follows him through the shadows of Darkham, and actually kills Cory Belkin.

Thar-Ok recieves a message that the ugly deed is done, and that a new mission will come soon. We also get confirmation that Thar-Ok, because he can't help himself, used his connections to commit a few robberies in NuMetropolis while the police were on lockdown from Cory's escape. He's somewhat intelligent, he's very brutal, and he knows how to take advantage of a situation. Thar-Ok is our first major boss for the season's first arc.

Well, that's the pilot! I really wanted to devote one full essay to this story launching point, but that won't be the case for the rest! As this essay series moves forward, I'll be putting episodes into bundles, summarizing overall story beats and storylines, as well as establishing characters and their development, if any. And, of course, I'm only covering the first season of this proposed series. After that? Eh, I have other essay series to finally write.

Next post, I'll be putting up the first major arc, in which the Legion is officially established, the other core members are introduced, and the first scuffles with Thar-Ok and his gang lead to the introduction of the next threat: the assassins. See you then!

Next: Birth of the Legion (1.02 - 1.05)

Index: Legion of Super-Heroes

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valkyrieandstrangeridingaragorn · 2 years

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Saw this review of MoM and compared it with Loki and thought of you.

Ugh I hate the layout of the submissions, I swear, this is so weird.

Thank you @i-sudoku! Loved it, they're so right.

I agree with most parts but I disagree that MoM is WandaVision 2. The series took the time to address her issues and her past, they even had an entire episode that tackled absolutely everything: from the murder of her parents, to Hydra experimenting on her and Pietro, to losing her brother and falling in love with Vision, then EG and seeing what Sword were doing to his body... MoM never cared about any of that, they just took the post-credit scene and ran with that.

Elizabeth Olsen does steal the show as Wanda though, I hate the story they had with her but damn if it wasn't pleasant to see her doing it.

We keep seeing that Dr. Strange and Christine Palmer don't work out in any universe, which we already knew, but they keep repeating it for some reason

Mikey might have seen DS1 many times but he didn't understand that both Stephen and Christine had already moved on in that movie. So instead of having them as friends who clearly still love each other, since he thinks the only relationship you can have is romantic, he acts like instead of a mutual understanding this was an unilateral decision from Christine who chose to dump Stephen, she even has a scene in which she tells him she didn't love him. Excuse me?!! They always loved each other, just because you love someone it doesn't mean you have to be with them. But hey, Mikey doesn't get that.

Dr. Strange realises that he's really no different from the other versions of him [...] But he also realises that he can choose to be different from the other versions of him. [...] Which one is it? What does he learn from the other versions of him?

He could have learned something from them but since he only met one of them and spent more time fighting him than talking to him... and the others were given a couple minutes each so we didn't learn anything either. He's the same but he can be different but also being him is not bad. It's perfectly not confusing!

I gotta say though, I do believe they were trying to show him as being different from them because 1) He kept rejecting Wanda's offer to move to a universe where he could be with Christine, 2) He let America save the day unlike Defender, 3) He took the Darkhold and used it only to get to America, once he was done he left it on the floor and never bothered with it again.

So he does learn, it's just that the execution of the story wasn't exactly a good one, but what do we expect, this was Mikey writing it.

There are times when it felt like the writing room had an extensive Q&A session where they tried to cover every possible viewer doubt, concern or plot hole, but instead of weaving the details in naturally, they just made the characters parrot their explanations verbatim, which sounded contrived and awkward.

This is a huge problem with Marvel these days. They got rid of "show, don't tell" and it hurts the narrative.

But this part comparing MoM with Loki is so good (purple annotations are mine):

Waldron was chosen because of his experience with multiverse stories, especially Loki. This sounds great until you realise that Waldron has already run out of ideas and just wrote the same story again:

Main tension: The powerful protagonist is put in cuffs and deprived of his powers.

He is brought before a powerful tribunal of celebrity cameos with AI assistants to account for crimes against the natural order. [Just adding this to say that both Stephen and Loki are blamed for something a variant of them has done]

The tribunal has some heroic story for the public, but they are hiding a sinister secret. They turn out to be staffed by imbeciles who couldn't catch a shoplifter.

Main plot: A female character is being pursued because she has powerful abilities to transport herself across time and space and keeps evading everyone.

Main threat: A female character possesses the minds of other people to attack.

Lazy and blunt exposition technique: Protagonist uses a machine to bring his memories to life.

Lazy and blunt character development: Protagonist is forced to encounter an alternate version of a significant female character from his life to make him realise something about himself. She otherwise serves no story purpose.

Eventually, protagonist finds a deranged man who lives alone inside a castle in a post-apocalyptic realm. He knows more about the vaguely defined dangers of the multiverse and must be dispatched.

In short: Waldron is a terrible writer.

#submission #anti waldron #loki negativity #Doctor Strange

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