#queenmorganlafay

[ruegarding]

You know, if they’re going to show us Percy killing himself to get into college, can they at least tell us what he’s going to study, and let us see him feeling somewhat excited about it?

yeah, as far as i can tell the general consensus that percy is going for marine biology is bc of annabeth's throwaway line. if percy's major has been confirmed somewhere, i'd love to see it.

it's weird that rick hasn't written percy actually liking any of his classes since...mr brunner's??? which percy didn't even find the specific material interesting as much as he found mr brunner to be engaging. the lack of focus makes sense, at least, in pjo and hoo bc their focus is less on school, so percy's classes are on the backburner after tlt (outside of acknowledging he's not experiencing straight-up ableism and is therefore doing better), but w the focus on college in the new marketing trilogy, percy's lack of interest stands out. it would be so easy to have percy say that he really enjoyed x class or lecture or assignment and wanted to study it more/focus on it in college. instead, rick has written percy to be slacking off in class, as if that was his problem and not, you know, the ableism he was experiencing (which is why mr brunner was the exception) and the fact that he had to miss a year of school bc of hoo. also, i'm unsure what accommodations (if any) alternative high is making for percy...considering he says he can quote sparknotes instead of shakespeare makes me doubt they're giving him audiobooks for his dyslexia...but the fact that percy is written to be struggling in his senior year bc he's lazy and not disabled is literally just ableism.

it makes it difficult to see college as a "good ending" when percy 1) has never showed an interest in pursuing a specific field of study (outside of him technically being a published author in-universe, which i'm not sure counts bc it's not referenced in the series...? is the implication percy writes the books after going to college? idk.), 2) is working himself incredibly hard to the point where's he's falling asleep in class, and 3) has to leave his mother/family behind to live across the country. rick also changed it so that demigods don't really have to worry abt monsters once they're 18 (which is coding for their disabilities...) and retconned nru so it requires good sat scores and isn't a full college (it's a satellite campus w uc berkeley and annabeth goes to classes at berkeley bc they don't have what she wants at nru???), so there's really no unique incentive for percy to be going to college at all, let alone in new rome. it's a series of very strange writing choices. to say the least.

[incomingalbatross]

What do you think about Bilbo's actions regarding the Arkenstone? I think he was mostly right to do what he did as he was trying to prevent a war from breaking out, and probably protect his friends. Also, in my opinion, they absolutely did owe the people of Laketown payment for Smaug's actions. While they were not directly responsible for the dragon's actions, they provoked him into doing what he did. Especially as they had no clue as to how to kill him. I can understand Thorin not wanting to negotiate with an army on his doorstep, especially the elves, but Bard had no reason to trust the dwarves after the dragon attacked them, and Thorin did not sound promising in regards to their claims.

I think Bilbo's action with the Arkenstone was... legally messy but ethically probably fine. :P

I haven't reread this part recently (more than I needed to to find quotes, anyway :P), but... I personally don't really think they owed reparations for the burning of Lake-Town. I mean, it's not like they went up there secretly, or against the will of the Lake-Town people--they were all 100% on board with the Dwarves' plan! Also, in all fairness, the one that set Smaug off in Lake-Town's direction was actually Bilbo, with his "barrel-rider" comment. So he has to take a share of any blame we're handing out there. Thorin's probably right when he says (I think) that this is their weakest claim.

BUT, that also means that they do have other, stronger claims! For one thing, Bard was absolutely right in claiming Dale's treasure for himself and his people. For another, I think the Dwarves did owe a debt of some sort to Lake-Town for its hospitality and generosity (even if it was given with ulterior expectations of return, it was still given when they were very much in need). For another, I would think a suddenly-reseated ruler would be urged both by charity and policy to give aid to his suddenly-suffering nearest neighbors. These are people the Lonely Mountain really should want a good relationship with!

But Thorin wouldn't be the first to bend (or to give up his treasure), and Bard wouldn't make any concessions either (and he did kinda want the treasure himself, as I recall), and the Elvenking was doing his best but he wasn't going to smooth anything over with the Dwarves either. So they just kept pushing each other toward war.

So BILBO (to circle back around) eventually throws up his hands because he is apparently the only person here who REALLY WANTS NOBODY TO DIE, and sneaks out to the “enemy” camp and hands them the Arkenstone like “Thorin’s not going to bend without leverage, but maybe you guys will do something. Here is leverage, please don’t start a war.” And then he goes back to the Dwarves.

After all he’s been through on his Life-Changing Field Trip, he decided he doesn’t care about any of these factions’ politics or pride, and he doesn’t care about his honor or respectability as perceived by others (I think “I may be a burglar, but I am an honest one, I hope” about sums up his approach by now), and he doesn’t care about the Arkenstone that he was half-enthralled by. He cares about people not being stupid and dying, and he cares about his friends, and he cares about keeping his own integrity above his own safety (as seen by going back to the Dwarves). Aside from that? He’s ready to be sneaky, and a little chaotic, and to ignore both opposing armies’ rulebooks whenever he considers them unhelpful.

It’s not entirely a hobbitish move, I think--the respectable Mr. Baggins probably would not have taken this initiative or called himself a burglar so freely. But it’s not a move that belongs in this epic world he’s become a part of, either--it’s selfless but also sneaky, as said above, and is only possible for someone who owes no fealty and has no definite baggage attached to any side.

It’s a very Bilbo move, I think, on due consideration.

[hood-ex]

I’m very confused. I haven’t been following the sequence of events clearly. I thought Dick went to Bludhaven at some point after the events of Grayson. Did he become a cop then?

Cop Dick is from the Post-Crisis era of comics (Nightwing Vol. 2). He was a cop in Dixon and Grayson’s runs. Because of omniverse (actually, writers were doing this before omniverse), some events from Post-Crisis are being brought back in Rebirth, including Dick working as a cop in the past. 

Timeline-wise, it doesn’t really make sense, especially since the law school thing is back in play. Dick was in Spyral when he was 21 or so. He would’ve had to go to undergrad to get his B.A. in order to be accepted into law school. Law school would take 3 years? And then at some point during all of that, he would’ve gone to the police academy and been an active officer for who knows how long. So when you shove Spyral into all that it’s like:

[jasontoddiefor]

Sorry. I just meant Hayden being cast as Jason in a hypothetical movie. Sorry if I got you excited

not excited, just confused. I’ve been reading comics long enough to not get excited over casting until there’s a trailer.

That being said!!!

HEck yeah!!! I’m down for Hayden as Jason. I think he could do a pretty great job as “I am HURT and PAIN inside and blame my Dad but I ALSO just wanna go home”.

Also I’m a sucker for tall & lean Jason as opposed to bodybuilder tank Jason. He has my vote!

[thelightofthingshopedfor]

Okay, I know that this isn’t the point you were trying to make by reblogging that post and that you probably didn’t want to start Civil War discourse, but... I think you’re right about Tony trying to kill Bucky. He did try to repulsor him in the face and then try to launch a rocket at his face at the beginning of the fight so either he was going for the kill or was going for some serious remodelling. He probably wasn’t trying to kill Steve though.

yeah, that was definitely the way I see that scene. I don’t actually think he was trying to kill Steve, and if it sounded that way, then I was just being unclear, but I do think it’s pretty reasonable to assume he was sincerely trying to kill Bucky, so that’s what Steve was reacting to. I’m...not really sure what else he could’ve been doing there, or what he was trying to do if his ultimate goal wasn’t “make sure the guy who killed my mom also dies”. his suit already wasn’t in top shape, which is probably a big part of the reason he didn’t succeed in killing Bucky, but I honestly did not think that was a controversial read on that part of the scene, that he was trying to get revenge for his mom by killing Bucky. I even understand why he’d want to! I mean I think he was wrong to do that (and I think he would’ve regretted it pretty quickly if he’d succeeded), but it’s still a completely understandable reaction.

[elcorhamletlive]

Corgis are precious. Do you imagine Steve ever having a pet corgi?

I do! I actually spend more time thinking about Steve and Tony with pets (both as a couple and individually) than it’s advisable. lol 

And yeah, I think Steve would absolutely LOVE corgis, or even dogs in general, really. Firstly because I think animals would be a GREAT way to help Steve get settled in the 21st century - because animals don’t really change, so they’d be one of the few things Steve would still understand. Like... imagine sad, post-ice Steve getting out of his Loneliness Ride in the subway, sitting on a bench to contemplate his sadness, and then a stray dog shows up and starts bugging Steve to pet him. And Steve is a little like “...” but then he’s like “oh. oh I actually know how this works” and he pets the dog and, just for a moment, he feels a little bit better. 

Pets are also good for physical affection, which is something I think Steve struggles with in general, and that he’d be in DESPERATE need post-ice, though completely unprepared to ask from another human being. Plus dogs don’t know who Captain America is, they don’t want anything from Steve other than the love and affection (and treats) they want from any other person, so I think Steve would really feel immediately comfortable with a dog in a way he wouldn’t be with most people he’d see after getting unfrozen.

Also, it’s kind of a perfect match because Steve has enough stamina to tire even the wildest most excited puppy out, AND depending on the dog, they could even accompany Steve in some of his lighter runs. A corgi, obviously, wouldn’t be able to do that, with their tiny legs, but Steve would absolutely carry a puppy on his arms through his entire morning work out, so that could work, too. I bet he’d even wear a papoose. 

(This is actually something I’ve been toying with to shape into a fic idea: circa-post-Avengers Steve turning to dog walking and dog sitting as a hobby, just because it brings him comfort. And then it turns out he’s the PERFECT person for the job - after all, if you need to trust someone to keep your dog safe, no one better than CAPTAIN AMERICA, right? - so he becomes a success at the field and everyone wants to leave their puppy on Cap’s daycare.)

[copperbadge]

Dear Sam, i was just wondering if you could tell me if there is an arc reactor in the 616 marvel comics, and if it has the same significance and plays the same role as it does in the MCU. Also, is it similar to the MCU version? Thanks

Ahhhh I don’t actually know at present, I haven’t been reading for the last two years or so, and I never backread his entire history the way I did Captain America.

I will say that over the course of time since his origin, it has varied wildly. Originally it was a full on chestplate, which he had to keep covered up with a shirt. At times he’s had to plug it into the wall to charge it up, but not always. Sometimes it’s called Reactor Tech -- that’s some of the more recent stuff -- and sometimes he’s had a medical procedure that allows him not to have one at all, like in the latest Avengers film. Sometimes it does play the role of keeping the shrapnel in stasis, but other times it either replaces his heart entirely or keeps a damaged heart running. 

So uh. It’s not an easy answer. :D and in terms of the last two years I don’t know at all. Sorry I can’t be of more help!

[daresplaining]

What do you think about Jessica's relationship with alcohol? Do you think there's necessarily an urgency for her to stop drinking, and based on her character, how do you think she could cope without it?

    Given Jessica’s superhuman durability, drinking vast quantities of alcohol isn’t as physically harmful to her as it would be to a normal person. But it’s emotionally harmful, since it disrupts her daily routine, impacts her sleep habits, hinders her interactions with people, and she has become dependent upon it for temporary relief from her trauma and the challenges of her life. It numbs her depression and PTSD, thus preventing her from finding actual, long-term solutions. And physically, it’s certainly not doing her any favors either. From a storytelling perspective, there’s a visceral, engaging realness to Jessica’s chaotic existence (in which her drinking plays a primary role), but that doesn’t mean she shouldn’t be allowed to heal. There’s a danger of stagnation in this situation, and while “hard-drinking” has become a defining trait for Netflix Jessica, we do think she could (and should) work toward sobriety and recovery without losing her appeal.  

    In the comics, she was able to kick her drinking habit after starting up her long-term relationship with (and eventual marriage to) Luke. This was accompanied by other major shifts in her life that granted her structure and support. She beat up the Purple Man, thus ending (or so she thought at that point) that chapter of her life. She started living with a slightly healthier schedule. She had a baby. She forged more connections within the superhero community. She joined the Avengers, and has been a fairly consistent presence on superhero teams ever since. To this day, her life is still chaotic, but it’s not actually traumatic (at least, not all the time), and she has a powerful network of family and friends, and enough happiness and distractions to keep her sober. She still drinks occasionally, but doesn’t get black-out drunk on a regular basis the way she used to. 

    Netflix Jessica’s life is significantly worse. Her relationships are shaky and sparse, and her entire existence is heaped in trauma. Comics Jessica has had it rough, to be sure, but her life is a picnic compared to her MCU counterpart. Netflix Jessica bounces from one horrific experience to another, with very little time to even attempt to heal in between. As long as this trend continues, it will be very difficult for her to stop drinking, because it’s one of the few things in her life that provides her some manner of comfort. Alcohol is easily accessible, dulls the pain, and doesn’t ask her invasive questions or demand anything of her. And she’s not currently in a mental headspace that would allow her to easily stop drinking, because she doesn’t have much to replace it with– especially now that she’s lost the support of two of the people closest to her. We’d say that to get sober and still cope with the world, she would need a long-term break from any major traumatic experiences, and/or some other distractions and alternate sources of happiness. For the moment, it’s possible that Oscar and Vido could at least provide the latter, but without significant changes in her life, we can’t see her going sober anytime soon.