Located on Planet Y, this thriving utopian nation was founded by mutants, for mutants so they can live in peace and harmony without fear of persecution from biased haters on Earth. Ruled entirely by the Scarlet Empress and her royal family, mutants and their allies can frolic about here as they ready themselves for a bright new future ahead.
Edwige Lemoine would be an especially organic choice.
Interestingly, she is already the French voice of Stacy Hirano in Phineas and Ferb, which makes the connection almost perfect: Stacy is voiced by Kelly Hu in English, and Lemoine voices Stacy in the French version.
That means she could naturally carry over the Stacy-inspired component of your Xuân without making Karma sound like a completely different character.
Why she fits Xuân
I'd have Lemoine modify her Stacy performance considerably:
But she'd lower the pitch and slow the delivery somewhat as Xuân ages. The result would be a voice that sounds like:
“Someone who can cheerfully organize a charity fundraiser at 10 AM, negotiate a billion-dollar corporate deal at noon, and then calmly coordinate a superhero emergency at 8 PM.”
That's very Xuân.
The really clever part
Because Stacy Hirano is explicitly one of the inspirations for your Xuân, casting Lemoine creates a subtle meta-continuity. Young Xuân could have a more recognizably Stacy-like voice, while adult Xuân gradually develops a richer, more authoritative delivery. And because your version of Xuân actually ages from 1973 to 2026, Lemoine could let the voice mature along with her rather than treating 53-year-old Xuân as though she's perpetually in her twenties.
How I'd characterize her voice
I wouldn't give Karma a stereotypical "superhero voice."
I'd describe it as:
Warm contralto/low mezzo-soprano → articulate → slightly husky → quick when excited → measured when serious.
Her normal speaking voice should have an almost professional conversational quality.
When she's CEO:
“Let's look at the numbers again. I understand the projection, but I don't believe the social cost has been adequately considered.”
When she's with friends:
“Oh, come on. You knew that was going to happen.”
When she's leading Tiger Division:
“Everyone, focus. We have civilians on the eastern side. I want evacuation routes established before we engage.”
And when someone asks why she keeps personally getting involved in humanitarian work despite being CEO:
“Because writing a check is easy. Showing up is harder.”
That last line is where I'd really let Lemoine's performance become older, calmer and more emotionally grounded.
Xuân Cao Mạnh is born in Saigon, South Vietnam, to a Vietnamese family with strong academic and cultural traditions. She is born with the genetic potential for her mutant abilities, although neither she nor her family initially knows she is a mutant. Her parents affectionately call her Xuân, after the Vietnamese word associated with spring.
1975 — The Fall of Saigon
Age: 2
The Vietnam War reaches its conclusion with the Fall of Saigon. Xuân is far too young to understand what is happening, but the upheaval profoundly affects her family. Her parents eventually leave Vietnam with Xuân, beginning a difficult period of relocation and rebuilding their lives. The experience becomes part of her family's history rather than something she personally remembers in detail.
1976–1979 — Early Childhood
Ages: 3–6
Xuân grows up adapting to a new environment. She becomes unusually observant and empathetic for her age. She has a habit of trying to help adults solve problems she doesn't completely understand. Her family encourages education, particularly science and mathematics.
1980 — First Signs of Her Mutation
Age: 7
Xuân experiences her first unmistakable manifestation of her mutant ability. During an argument between two adults, she suddenly becomes overwhelmed by their emotions. For a brief period, she unintentionally enters one person's mind. The experience frightens her. Her parents initially don't understand what happened.
1981–1984 — Learning About Her Powers
Ages: 8–11
Xuân gradually learns that she is a mutant. Rather than viewing her ability as something that makes her superior, her parents teach her that it comes with responsibility.
She develops an early personal rule:
“Just because I can get inside someone's head doesn't mean I should.”
That principle remains with her throughout adulthood.
1985 — The Curious Student
Age: 12
Xuân becomes an exceptionally capable student. She's energetic, inquisitive, and somewhat nosy. She has a tendency to investigate mysteries that don't concern her. This is where her eventual Stacy Hirano-esque personality begins becoming especially apparent. She is also beginning to understand that her mutation could make ordinary friendships complicated.
1987–1989 — Adolescence
Ages: 14–16
Xuân becomes more confident with her powers. She learns how to enter another person's mind without completely overwhelming them. She also develops an interest in computers and emerging technology. She dreams of eventually working in technology—not because she wants to become rich, but because she sees technology as something capable of improving people's lives.
1990 — Teenage Hero
Age: 17
Xuân begins operating as Karma. At first, her superhero activities are relatively small-scale. She helps people discreetly rather than seeking recognition. Her philosophy is simple:
“If I can help someone, why wouldn't I?”
1992 — First Major Superhero Experiences
Age: 19
Xuân becomes involved with other young heroes and mutant communities. She begins receiving formal combat and tactical training. Her powers become much more sophisticated. She learns that psychic abilities can be useful for rescue operations as well as combat.
1995 — Young Adult
Age: 22
Xuân begins studying business and technology while continuing her superhero career. She becomes increasingly interested in corporate ethics. She believes that companies should be judged by how they affect ordinary people, not simply by their profits.
1998 — Entering the Technology Industry
Age: 25
Xuân joins Hitachi Tech, initially in a relatively junior technological and strategic position. Her combination of technical knowledge, organizational ability, and extraordinary people skills quickly makes her stand out. She is ambitious—but not ruthlessly ambitious. She wants to build something useful.
2001 — Rising Through the Ranks
Age: 28
Xuân becomes one of Hitachi Tech's most respected executives. She begins establishing philanthropic programs through the company. Her work increasingly connects technology with humanitarian causes.
2004 — Corporate Leader
Age: 31
Xuân becomes a senior executive.
She begins pushing Hitachi Tech toward:
renewable technology
medical research
accessible electronics
disaster-response systems
educational technology
Her superhero identity remains separate from her corporate position.
2007 — The Philanthropist
Age: 34
Xuân's philanthropic work expands dramatically. She establishes programs supporting students from disadvantaged communities and begins funding scientific education throughout Asia.
Her philosophy becomes:
“Money is useful. What you do with it is what matters.”
2010 — Relocation to Seoul
Age: 37
Xuân moves permanently to Seoul, South Korea, as Hitachi Tech expands its East Asian operations. Seoul quickly becomes her home. She develops a strong affection for the city and becomes increasingly involved in its technological and humanitarian communities.
2012 — CEO
Age: 39
Xuân becomes the CEO of Hitachi Tech's Seoul-based operations, eventually becoming the company's overall chief executive in this continuity. She is now one of the most influential technology executives in South Korea. Yet she continues personally visiting schools, hospitals, research institutions, and community centers.
2014 — Joining Tiger Division
Age: 41
Xuân becomes an official member of Tiger Division, Seoul's designated superhero team. This marks the point where her two lives finally converge.
She is now:
CEO by day.
Karma by night.
Philanthropist whenever necessary.
Her business connections provide resources for the team, while her superhero experience helps protect Seoul.
2016 — The Mentor
Age: 43
Xuân becomes one of Tiger Division's senior members. Younger heroes increasingly look to her for advice. She discovers that she enjoys mentoring almost as much as she enjoys being a superhero. Her greatest challenge becomes learning when not to take control.
2018 — Balancing Everything
Age: 45
Xuân's responsibilities become enormous. She runs a major technology corporation, manages philanthropic initiatives, and remains an active superhero. Her teammates occasionally tease her for treating every mission like a corporate project.
Xuân insists:
“Organization saves lives.”
Nobody can really argue with her.
2020 — Crisis Leadership
Age: 47
Xuân becomes particularly prominent during several major humanitarian crises. She uses Hitachi Tech's resources to assist communities while simultaneously operating with Tiger Division. This period reinforces her belief that heroism isn't limited to punching supervillains. Sometimes heroism means making sure people have food, shelter, medicine, communications, and somewhere safe to go.
2022 — Veteran Hero
Age: 49
Xuân is now regarded as one of Tiger Division's most experienced members. She's less impulsive than she was when she first became Karma. Her powers are considerably more refined. She's also become one of the team's primary strategists.
2024 — Fifty-One
Age: 51
Xuân celebrates her 51st birthday. Rather than slowing down, she expands Hitachi Tech's humanitarian initiatives. She also begins deliberately preparing younger heroes to eventually take leadership positions. She understands that being a good leader means preparing others to succeed without you.
2025 — Fifty-Two
Age: 52
Xuân is now firmly established as one of Seoul's most prominent business leaders and superheroes. Her reputation is unusual:
She has become something of an unofficial elder sister to younger members of the superhero community.
2026 — Present Day
Age: 53
Xuân Cao Mạnh is 53 years old.
She remains the CEO of Hitachi Tech in Seoul and an active member of Tiger Division.
She has spent more than three decades as Karma. She is no longer the eager young mutant trying to understand what her powers mean. She's now an experienced woman who understands exactly what they mean—and has spent her entire adult life trying to use them responsibly.
At 53, Xuân still goes into the field.
She still gets excited about new technology.
She still meddles in situations she probably shouldn't.
She still organizes everything.
She still believes that people deserve help regardless of who they are.
And when someone asks why she continues risking her life despite having a successful career and comfortable life, her answer is characteristically simple:
“Because being fortunate doesn't mean you stop caring about everyone who isn't.”
This gives Xuân a particularly nice 53-year character arc: Vietnamese child → immigrant/adapted youngster → mutant teenager → young superhero → technology executive → Seoul-based CEO → philanthropist → veteran superhero and mentor.
Real Name: Xuân Cao Mạnh
Hero Name: Karma
Species: Mutant
Nationality: Vietnamese-Korean
Current Residence: Seoul, South Korea
Occupation: CEO of Hitachi Tech; superhero
Affiliation: Tiger Division
Base of Operations: Seoul, South Korea
Role: Corporate executive, philanthropist, strategist, field leader
Powers: Psychic possession and mental influence
Age: Ages naturally with the passage of time
Overview
Xuân Cao Mạnh is a highly accomplished mutant who has managed to build an extraordinary life without allowing her superhuman abilities to define her.
Unlike versions of Karma who become consumed by the darker implications of possessing another person's mind, Xuân regards her powers as a responsibility rather than a privilege.
She is intelligent, compassionate, organized, socially confident, and occasionally far too willing to take charge.
Her personality combines the earnestness and competence of Stacy Hirano from Phineas and Ferb with the courage, resourcefulness, and empathy traditionally associated with Karma in Marvel Comics. A subtle influence from Daphne Blake comes through in her willingness to use her wealth, connections, and social position to help people who cannot help themselves.
As an adult, Xuân has become the current CEO of Hitachi Tech in Seoul, transforming the company into one of South Korea's most innovative technology firms while establishing extensive philanthropic programs throughout East and Southeast Asia.
By night—or whenever duty calls—she serves as a member of Seoul's officially designated superhero team, Tiger Division.
Personality
Xuân is fundamentally a people person. She genuinely enjoys helping others and has an almost instinctive ability to tell when someone is uncomfortable, frightened, or hiding something. She's also considerably more energetic than her traditional portrayal.
Her Stacy Hirano influence
Xuân has Stacy's:
enthusiasm
organizational skills
determination
practicality
tendency to investigate things that aren't technically her business
love of being useful
ability to maintain composure during ridiculous circumstances
She's the sort of person who can walk into an utterly chaotic situation and immediately start assigning people tasks.
“Okay! Nobody panic. You—call emergency services. You—get the civilians behind the barricade. I'll handle the villain.”
Her teammates occasionally remind her that she doesn't actually have to organize everything. She usually responds:
“I know. I'm choosing to.”
Her Daphne Blake influence
Xuân's wealth and position haven't made her detached from ordinary people. Quite the opposite. She believes that having resources creates an obligation to use them responsibly. Through Hitachi Tech, she funds:
scholarships
disaster-relief programs
technological accessibility initiatives
children's hospitals
mutant community centers
STEM education
refugee assistance
environmental restoration
affordable technology programs
She is particularly passionate about helping young people discover careers in science and engineering. She'll happily attend a billion-dollar corporate conference in the morning and spend the afternoon visiting a community center. And unlike someone who merely writes a check, Xuân likes to show up personally.
Powers
Psychic Possession
Xuân possesses Karma's classic mutant ability: she can project her consciousness into another person's mind and temporarily take control of their body. She can also influence thoughts and emotions to varying degrees. However, Xuân has established extremely strict personal rules concerning her powers.
Her first rule:
She doesn't invade someone's mind unless absolutely necessary.
To Xuân, mental privacy is sacred.
She refuses to use her powers for:
business negotiations
political manipulation
personal revenge
cheating
interrogating friends
gaining romantic information
making someone agree with her
This becomes especially important given her position as CEO. She could theoretically make somebody agree with her. She simply considers that cheating.
Fighting Style
Xuân is not a traditional powerhouse. She's a tactical superhero. She uses her abilities alongside technology, martial-arts training, and careful planning. When operating with Tiger Division, Xuân tends to remain behind the front line and coordinate the team. She's particularly effective against groups because she can temporarily disrupt multiple opponents and create openings for her teammates. Her corporate experience also makes her surprisingly good at crisis management.
CEO of Hitachi Tech
Xuân's position as CEO is one of the most interesting aspects of her character. She inherited a successful technology company but refuses to behave like an aloof executive.
Her philosophy is:
“Technology should make people's lives better. If it doesn't, we're doing it wrong.”
She pushes Hitachi Tech toward:
renewable energy
medical technology
accessible electronics
artificial intelligence safety
transportation
disaster-response technology
cybersecurity
infrastructure modernization
She also refuses to let Hitachi Tech become a weapons manufacturer merely because doing so would be lucrative. This occasionally puts her at odds with shareholders. Xuân doesn't particularly care.
Executive meeting
Executive: “We could increase profits by twenty percent.”
Xuân: “And how many people would that hurt?”
Executive: “Well—”
Xuân: “Then we're not doing it.”
Relationship With Tiger Division
As a member of Tiger Division, Xuân occupies an unusual position. She's simultaneously: CEO → superhero → philanthropist → strategist.
She isn't necessarily the team's strongest member, but she's one of its most dependable. She frequently serves as the team's planner and logistical backbone.
She can arrange evacuation routes, transportation, medical assistance, communications, and technological support almost before the rest of the team realizes they need them.
And because Hitachi Tech operates in Seoul, she has access to an enormous technological infrastructure that can support the team without turning them into government-controlled weapons.
Her Leadership Style
Xuân doesn't lead by intimidation. She leads by competence and encouragement.
She remembers people's birthdays.
She checks whether everyone got home safely.
She notices when someone hasn't eaten.
She'll remember a teammate mentioning an obscure problem six months earlier and suddenly appear with a solution.
Her teammates sometimes joke that having Xuân around is like having: a CEO, older sister, therapist, event planner, superhero dispatcher, and concerned mother all rolled into one. She insists that last one is unfair. She also secretly loves it.
Aging With the Flow of Time
Unlike characters whose appearances remain perpetually frozen at a particular age, Xuân ages naturally as the timeline progresses.
Her teenage years gradually become her twenties. Her twenties become her thirties. Her thirties eventually become her forties and beyond. Her appearance, personality, career, relationships, and responsibilities all evolve accordingly. This makes her an excellent long-term legacy character.
A story set ten years later shouldn't require Xuân to mysteriously remain the same age.
Instead, readers should be able to watch her grow from a talented young mutant into an experienced executive, mentor, philanthropist, and veteran superhero.
Her changing age also allows her relationship with younger heroes to evolve naturally. Eventually, the enthusiastic young woman who once needed mentors becomes the mentor herself.
Character Arc
Xuân's central conflict is learning that helping people doesn't mean controlling everything for them.
Her powers tempt her toward control.
Her wealth gives her the ability to solve problems with money.
Her intelligence lets her plan ten steps ahead.
Her position as CEO gives her authority.
Her personality makes her genuinely want to fix everything.
But she gradually learns that sometimes the best thing she can do is give someone the tools to solve their own problem. That lesson becomes especially important with younger mutants.
Instead of saying:
“I'll fix this for you.”
She learns to say:
“I'll help you figure out how to fix it yourself.”
That becomes the philosophy she carries into both her superhero career and her leadership of Hitachi Tech.
Character Summary
Xuân Cao Mạnh/Karma is ultimately a character about responsibility.
She has enormous power.
She has enormous wealth.
She has enormous influence.
And she believes none of those things make her better than anyone else. They simply mean she has more opportunities to do something useful. That's where the combination of Karma, Stacy Hirano, and Daphne Blake works particularly well: the compassion of Karma, the enthusiastic competence of Stacy, and the philanthropic courage of Daphne. She isn't a billionaire who happens to be a superhero. She's a superhero who happens to have become a billionaire—and she's determined to make sure that distinction matters.
I adore Logan and Rogue relationship in XMen Evolution. He has soft spot for Rogue (and Kitty, too) almost like pseudo father 🤭
So if Evo Rogue end up with Evo Scott, then we could still have Logan and Scott rivalry , but instead of love rival they are like neurotic BF vs grouchy unimpressed GF's dad 😁
Oh, DEFINITELY!
*incoherent rambling incoming~*
You know how Logan was 100% all for Scott and Jean getting together?
Not the case with Rogue.
Why is that?
Logan is a girl dad, even if his only bio daughter is Laura.
We saw him and Jean wearing cowboy hats together when they were looking for and recruiting Freddy, so even though their interactions are minimal compared to his and Kitty’s and his and Rogue’s, I believe Logan is close to Jean too.
He was even willing to speed up Scott’s confession to Jean bc he thought the former was dragging his feet.
And as far as I could tell with Kitty and Lance, Logan didn’t seem to have an issue with Kitty dating the Brotherhood Boy (I might be wrong and need to rewatch to make sure).
So, why would he be less enthused by Rogue x Scott together?
I think it would be because he sees a lot of himself in Rogue despite them not sharing any blood.
And even though he likes Scott fine, he still kind of thinks he’s an idiot at times and butts heads with him.
Pre/Post Time-skip of Rogue confiding to him about boy troubles and only alluding to Remy by name while not mentioning the other corner of the love triangle that she INSISTS she got over, and then Logan finds out that it’s Scott she’s talking about, and then they somehow got together without any warning in his eyes???
Poor Scott.
It takes a while for Logan to accept that Scott is ‘good enough’/the best kind of love for Rogue.
It takes even longer for him to actually admit that to Scott’s face.
*In case I am unable to fully do Scogue-Tember the month of it YET AGAIN, I am using this as a bonus cheat day 😅
This was an ask I was working on before tumblr ate it 🥲, sorry @withjust-a-bite !
Following this prompt list by @raesource !
Part one bc whoops! I got carried away~
😏 Who is bolder in public (hand-holding, kisses, etc.)?*
Initially? I would say it was Scott, buuuuuuuuuuut it was a little hard to tell since it was less spontaneity and actively taking initiative and more letting Rogue set the pace while making sure to ask her permission or let her know ahead of time when he wished to engage in PDA.
The majority of this occurs within the timeframe of them posing as a couple for a mission, catch/rekindle feelings, and some time after the Evolution version of the Dark Phoenix Arc events.
The Mission
Fun fact, Scott and Rogue were SUPPOSED to be posing as siblings with Charles Xavier as their ‘dad’ as they were trying to discreetly uncover information about some guy Thaddeus Ross had on his team of ‘mutants.’ However, as they tried checking into a family-owned B&B, it turned out that Forge or whoever was in charge of making the arrangements bungled up the reservations and accidentally had Scott and Rogue’s undercover identities listed as a COUPLE instead of siblings, and only Scott and Xavier listed as family.
Before either of the two could clear up the mistake, Professor X had swooped in smoothly and confirmed their [unexpected, last-minute and new] roles to the innkeepers. Cue Scott quickly putting his arm around Rogue’s shoulders, both of them grateful that she was wearing something to cover them. One of the innkeepers—sisters who are decomposite character counterparts to 616!Rogue’s Carrie—made a comment about how odd Scott and Rogue seemed as a couple, making a pointed glance at Rogue.
Cue Scott proceeding to be as blatantly affectionate with Rogue as possible whenever given the opportunity (but within appropriate reason and maintaining boundaries, because of the no-skin-contact thing she still has but is working on, and also because he is still under the impression she and Remy are still together) during the entirety of their mission because HOW DARE??? He even buys a pair of gloves later to both ‘match’ his ‘wifey’ but also for whenever she is ready for PDA depending what outfits she wears.
Initially, and a while after they establish appropriate boundaries so their cover won’t be blown but also Rogue won’t feel overwhelmed, it feels surprisingly easy and natural for Scott to be affectionate with Rogue regardless if they were in public or not. It gets to the point where Scott’s arms, hands, and fingers get restless unless they are touching, holding onto, resting upon, are intwined with, and/or wrapped around Rogue’s fingers, hands, elbows, shoulders, waist, knees, hips, and face.
Sitting together? Arms around her shoulder or behind her chair/whatever bench or couch upon which they are seated.
Walking around? It takes Rogue reminding Scott after they have long passed active civilization that maybe they don’t need to hold hands right this moment after one or both of them needs to go in an alternate direction for whatever reason, only to remember that their hands are still finger-woven holding.
Just standing? “This is Rogue. Rogue likes her personal space. This is Scott. Scott also [respectfully] likes Rogue’s personal space.” If he isn’t holding her waist/shoulders/hips/hands/elbows, he is paying attention to whatever she is saying as if she’s sharing a secret worth keeping, and/or leaning ever so slightly in her direction as if she’s the sun to his sunflower.
He has to retrain himself from brushing her hair out of her face, but will pluck out the rare stray leaf or petal that gets caught.
It becomes less natural and more awkward for a bit when he finally realizes he’s fallen IN LOVE with Rogue via an unplanned and unprompted ‘love’ confession when he is trying to soothe her during a massive nervous breakdown she is experiencing.
He avoids physical contact, close proximity, and talks very carefully to Rogue (because again, he still thinks she and Gambit are still together) during this time, and it’s not until Rogue pulls him aside, they have a heart-to-heart talk where, among other things discussed, she informs him that she was technically on a break with Remy, but recent events have led to her to decide to follow through with ending things officially.
Post-Dark Phoenix
Once the events of the Dark Phoenix Arc are over, they undergo their mourning period and are in the process of self-discovery, Scogue decide they want resume dating.
You guys: ‘Resume???’ But wasn’t the earlier part only fake dating/marriage???
Me: Technically? Yes.
You: And wasn’t Rogue only on a break with Remy?
Me: Also yes. BUT! Rogue actually wanted to break up because she had discovered that Remy was still engaged to a fiancée [Belladonna], Remy had begged her for another chance as he goes to visit his not-ex so he may properly end things, learned that she was in some trouble and wanted to help so asked for more time, which led to them agreeing to a ‘break’ for a certain amount of time. Remy had reluctantly agreed to Rogue’s condition that since he had still been betrothed all this time, and wasn’t planning on breaking up with his not-ex until after he helped her, she was not expected to wait for him and would be free to date anyone she wished. Rogue had been mostly bluffing out of betrayal, frustration, and minor heartbreak, actually anticipating alone time so she can figure out where to go with her relationship with Remy from here.
Cue random new threat to mutants by mutants under military supervision, Professor X deciding that Rogue and Scott be paired with him in one of many X-teams with respective missions, Scogue’s undercover information getting bunked up and having to pose as a couple instead of siblings, and trying to play up a convincing ‘happy marriage/honeymoon phase’ as they try to make progress on their mission.
Rogue: *types into search engine* does accidentally fake marrying my high school crush as a job requirement after recently breaking up with going on a break with my current boyfriend who has gone to hang out with and is still engaged to his arranged-from-childhood fiancée count as a rebound?
Besides, despite the craziness the fake marriage was involved with at one end and another, the feelings that blossomed and rekindled, the bonds that were reforged, and the connection made were VERY real, and neither of them wish to discount that just because it was an unplanned fake marriage.
You: ok, but what about Jean and Remy? 👀
Me: Scott and Jean had already broken up quite some time before circumstances led to Scott and Rogue reuniting and being placed on a team for a mission, and Jean goes through her OWN journey that she was benefitting from before the whole mess with the Phoenix. As for Remy? He and Belladonna had made up, and the eventual break up with Rogue was mutual.
ANYWAY! Off the tangent and back to the initial prompt.
Dating some time after the Dark Phoenix Arc is quite similar to when Scogue were undercover, except Rogue is not inwardly freaking out (as much) about Scott’s physical affection while making more determined efforts to overcome the negative side effects to her mutation, Scott balancing respecting Rogue’s updated boundaries—pretty please still ask or let her know when he wants to or is about to initiate physical contact, but now with the confirmed knowledge that she is not spoken for by ANYONE but him and she is ♾️% receptive towards him and reciprocating his feelings—and retraining the increasingly overwhelming urge to shower her with his love~
Now that he has explicit permission to touch her face, he gets to hold, smooch and squish her cheeks more often, and he loves to surprise her with a kiss upon her collection of moles behind her ear~
As time goes by, and Rogue manages to develop a more confident control over her mutation with minimal to no negative side effects, the roles have more or less switched~
While I’d also consider them equally attentive to one another, this time, it is SHE who is the main initiator of the PDA, without restrain and all of the eager affection!
Any grab-able accessory Scott has on his person? All of his straps, ties, belts, harnesses, and so on now serve as a means to be held onto and yoinked by Rogue to pull her man closer. I mean, besides their basic functions, they don’t serve any other purposes besides signaling for Rogue to grab ahold of Scott~
Coats, Sweaters, Jackets, and Big T-shirts? You must be mistaken; they are not meant for Scott to wear alone, but for Rogue to wriggle inside and be all nice and snuggly with him, excuse you.
Normal clothes? Yeah, no. Still grab-able. His pants’ belt loops are for her to hook her fingers in, and his pockets = resting places for her hands.
Are they sitting down? If she’s not in it, you can expect the occasional leg or two draped over his lap.
Elbows? Meant for her to hook her hands through.
Chest? Meant as a resting place for her head.
Face? Before Scott became accustomed to facial hair, every inch of his handsome mug is subject to boops, nuzzles, and kisses. After facial hair, nothing much has changed, except Rogue loves just holding his face and the scritch-scratching noises her thumbs make when rubbing his cheeks.
“This is Scott. Scott loves his personal space. This is Rogue. Rogue also loves Scott’s personal space~”
*Fun fact: for the longest time, and even now, while I absolutely love headcanoning PDA scenarios for Scogue, I actually don’t picture them kissing or engaging in skin-to-skin contact very often compared to other couples in my main AU. This is mostly because of what is one of the most interesting aspects to their ship, which is SENSORY DEPRIVATION.
While there are real life accounts of people successfully overcoming physical/mental handicaps, disabilities, or so on they’ve struggled with for who knows how long with additional help, pure willpower, miracles, or a combination of those, not always is that journey, solution, and conclusion resolved well in fiction.
I admit that I am not always bothered by how that is handled, as I do love a miracle story. However, in addition to those miracle stories where a cure is able to heal the physical/emotional/mental struggle a character has and is able to be free from…I find the stories where the characters still have those struggles, but learn how to endure and live with them just as inspiring.
I think that is why I have certain feelings about some views regarding Cyclop’s and Rogue’s downside to their powers.
According to both main and most canon, Scott’s limitation revolves around his lack of control over his powers because of physical trauma, while Rogue’s stem’s from emotional/mental trauma.
Both were very young when said traumas occurred, which adds to the stress and difficulty.
When it comes to mental/emotional trauma/etc, I can’t help but raise an eyebrow to those who have a range of skeptical attitudes of individuals whose trauma is not physical. Some statements I’ve heard fell along the lines of ‘you are _?_ years old. Why aren’t you over this by now? You aren’t trying hard enough to get rid of this problem forever and fast enough, so you must be using it as a crutch for pity points instead of leaving your box. Wait. I thought you overcame this already, but you’re suddenly affected by it AGAIN??? That’s kind of pathetic…’
I think that’s why Rogue is mostly—since nowadays, I am not a fan of how she is currently portrayed in comics, and season 2 of ‘97 is so far a letdown with her character—one of my favorite X-Men characters when her struggles are handled right.
Besides Scogue, my favorite ship with Rogue is Rogueneto. Why? Among the chemistry and mutual respect, I am a fan of how the writers make their relationship work in spite of her inability to touch. With Magneto/Erik/Magnus/Max and Joseph, Rogue’s powers are not taken away, but instead, Main!Magneto and Joseph!Magneto use their powers to help her be able to experience physical contact and intimacy with them. It felt like they were helping her not feel pressured to ‘turn herself off’ in order to meet each other halfway concerning a relationship, romantic or no.
With Gambit, there were several attempts to handle the ‘can’t touch’ issue: getting someone who psychically ‘removed’/temporarily numbed the mental barrier caused by her trauma, the power inhibiting collars, and then finally, Krakoa.
Out of all of these ‘solutions,’ the collar is surprisingly the one I find less issue with, mostly because to me, it reminds me of medical medication that are sometimes offered as solutions in real life. In addition, I liked that it almost felt like a realistic double-sided blade, meaning that in exchange for being able to temporarily suppress the mutation and prevent risk from the mutation’s side effects, you get control, but you also get headaches and queasiness. That would then bring up the question: do the benefits of dealing with my trauma/weaknesses/struggles in this manner outweigh the discomfort I now have to learn how to tolerate?
With the psychic removal/nullifying, I would have minded less if it wasn’t resolved in what felt like only a day or so. Looking at it in a different way, I would have liked it better if it was treated like Rogue visiting a therapist, and only after a significant amount of time, she is able to improve her control rather than her side-effects just immediately ‘gone,’ and Remy patiently and happily willing to wait.
Which leads to Krakoa. From what little I understood, what Rogue did to finally solve her emotional and mental struggles was pretty much a G-Rated lobotomy. I understand why Marvel wanted to eliminate the final ‘barrier’ so that Rogue and Remy wouldn’t have anymore limitations regarding physical intimacy. That doesn’t stop me from viewing it as kind of a cop out. Putting aside my earlier comments of the general skeptical attitude regarding nonphysical limitations and trauma and the belief that a person should just ‘fix it’ or ‘get over it,’ it seems that the ONLY reason why this is now the ‘permanent’ (until further notice) cure for Rogue is because the writers have no idea how to make Romy work and be official without further argument unless Rogue is FINALLY free of her inability to touch. I also was interested in seeing what consequences she would deal with as an aftermath to her altering herself to be rid of ‘her one fault,’ but nope. No consequences. No temporary or lasting side effects. That is how good this ‘cure’ is I GUEEEEEEEEESS.
Before anyone assumes anything, I do not dislike Romy. They have genuinely cute moments and are aesthetically pleasing. They are just not my favorite Rogue nor Gambit ship~
Sorry. Let me go back to Scogue.
OTP: SENSORY DEPRIVATION
Frank Paur said it best:
“We played the relationship card with Scott and Rogue, she makes a play for him, and why not? If anyone has an idea of what she’s going through, it would be Scott. He lives in fear of losing control of his powers and killing someone; so does she. He had a lousy childhood; so does she. He always feels isolated because of his powers and of his responsibility; so does she. And he’s the one who reached out to her and brought her into an environment of warmth, family and friends. Why wouldn’t she make a play for him?”
Regardless on whatever factors that contribute to why I love them together, I feel like this is one of the main ones that makes their dynamic work so well and their ship so appealing.
It’s not required for all real-life couples or fictional ships to share similar experiences in order to be valid, healthy, and happy, but sharing some level of understanding and recognition HELPS.
So for me, even though I love making Scogue kiss and cuddle in my AU every now and then, and I enjoy fanworks and participating in headcanons/discussions that portray that as well, I have not taken away the negative side-effects of Rogue’s mutation in order to make my version of them work together and have a family:
Anna Marie can touch Kirby and Bertie without problem, because the genetic code in their respective mutations allow this. She CANNOT however, absorb much—if any—of their abilities to use as her own or help them.
In addition, Kirby and Roberta’s genetic code in their mutation also allows them a significant degree of physiological immunity from Scott’s concussive, optic blasts. Significant as in, besides getting the wind knocked out of them from an unintentionally powerful beam and being momentarily dazed or off their feet, their bodies won’t sustain physical damage, inward or outward.
It is MORROW, their youngest and only nonmutant child, who would be considered utterly defenseless and most at risk of losing her life should either of her parents lose control of their powers even for a split second.
Soooooo…yeah!
In my AU, Rogue—despite having made significant progress at this point and no longer needing to constantly refer to her inner timer—still has struggles and limits, as does Scott, but their romance for me works because though they have not yet nor may ever find a permanent cure for the downsides of their powers, they continue to work through them, learn how to overcome and live with them to the best of their ability, to the point in their lives that —besides taking EXTRA precautions with their youngest daughter—their sensory deprivation is no longer a source of stress, grief, or a trial to overcome~
…*returns to my countless wips of them engaging in PDA~*
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