Smoke In Your Eyes (Sometimes, America thinks it's not worth it)
( Alfred wonders if this is what it takes to be a hero. )
ConCrit more than welcome!
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lundi @ umbrella_cafe06 June 2009 @ 08:24 pm
Smoke In Your Eyes (Sometimes, America thinks it's not worth it)
( Alfred wonders if this is what it takes to be a hero. )
ConCrit more than welcome!
26 September 2008 @ 04:43 pm
'ello, your friendly neighborhood ranter whaleabc is here! Aren't ya'll excited?
... I don't care if you say "NO! Please sweet Jesus/Father Zeus/the Almighty/Jade Emperor/*insert deity here*, MAKE HER STOP!" The show must go on, and that's final.
And yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm speaking to myself. Thank you very much *glares*.
Ahem. Anyway, let's get started.
Rightio, so who's Northstar exactly? Well, Northstar, aka Jean-Paul Beaubier, is a mutant with super-speed and light generation abilities. Due to his speed, he appears to defy gravity and fly.
He is also probably Marvel's most iconic gay superhero, being the first openly gay hero in the Marvel universe. He was officially outed in 1992, but there were hints of his sexual orientation in the earlier issues of Alpha Flight (the team which Northstar first joined as a superhero, which also serves as their comic title). It had been stated by John Byrne, the 'creator' of Alpha Flight, that
At that time (1992), this outing caused quite a controversy, which isn't that surprising. There were bigots writing in to say how "disgusted" they were, and how Marvel shouldn't "promote the homosexual lifestyle" (note: these exact same phrases appeared in the Young Avenger letters pages, which debuted in 2005. And here I thought we've moved on and become more open-minded, but you just can't cure people of their bigotry).
Anyway, that was then, this is now, you'd expect people to be less uptight about it, right?
Nah. In all the time that he's been outta the closet, in all 16 years worth of Marvel comics, he had never ever - and I mean never - hooked up with anyone. There was a (one-sided) crush on Iceman (... you do know who he is, right?) and former teammate Walter Langkowski (aka Sasquatch in Alpha Flight), but that's about it. You'd think there would be an ex or something, but zip. Nada. The closest he'd ever gotten any action was at the wedding of Rick Jones, where he was seen to be chatting with Hector (mostly forgotten gay character in the Incredible Hulk). You know things are bad when the only time he had ever gotten close to being in a relationship is flirting. And even the flirting is a one-time incident. That's a sad, sexless life, innit? No wonder he's so uptight all the time.
Furthermore, Northstar had suffered countless cases of bad writing - he's either shelved, gets no screen time, cannot fulfill his potential, or - during the few arcs in which he is featured - constantly PMSing. They also bring up his homosexuality every single (ok, fine, 9/10 times) time he appears in the book. I know it's shocking, but there's more to the character than his sexuality and catty behavior, ok? Yeesh. I'm beginning to suspect that Northstar's sexuality is treated like a joke.
Oh yes, before I forget, he had also been killed in 3 different realities in the span of one calendar month. A single calendar month! That's almost as many times Jean Grey (aka Phoenix, Marvel Girl, White Phoenix, Has-So-Many-Codenames-That-I-Can't-Keep-T
... Okay. I've cheated a bit, as I've only mentioned the Earth-616 version of him (the main Marvel Universe). The Earth-1610 (or more commonly known as the "Ultimate Universe") version of him - let's call him Ultimate Northstar - is happily dating Ultimate Colossus (who is not homosexual in Earth-616. He hooked up with Kitty Pride for a while). However...
In the latest arc, Northstar was paralyzed from the waist down (and shown 'dead' in the issue before). This basically means stripping him of his powers, as I don't really see much use of going superspeed above-waist only. And they just have to ram the 'sexless' thing down our throats, don't they?
Ah, such is the way of mainstream comics. Remember kiddies: you just can't cure people of their bigotry.
Extra reading:
Northstar
Ultimate Northstar
Ultimate X-Men
I'll also include the link to Jean Grey, just so you can count how many times she had died.
Similar articles:
Who Cares About A Dead Gay Superhero? - This article points out how gay superheroes are treated in today's mainstream comics.
Northstar, a Redshirt in every universe - It is here that I learned of Northstar's quick multiple deaths
A Challenge to Marvel - An account of Northstar's bachelor life... kinda.
PS. Don't think I took what was in those articles at face value. I checked on stuff, from multiple sources (wikipedia is my friend). So it's not some part of a "gay agenda'' or something silly like that.
'Sides, you just don't mess with comic geek wannabes.
whaleabc is here! Aren't ya'll excited?... I don't care if you say "NO! Please sweet Jesus/Father Zeus/the Almighty/Jade Emperor/*insert deity here*, MAKE HER STOP!" The show must go on, and that's final.
And yes, I'm perfectly aware that I'm speaking to myself. Thank you very much *glares*.
Ahem. Anyway, let's get started.
Rightio, so who's Northstar exactly? Well, Northstar, aka Jean-Paul Beaubier, is a mutant with super-speed and light generation abilities. Due to his speed, he appears to defy gravity and fly.
He is also probably Marvel's most iconic gay superhero, being the first openly gay hero in the Marvel universe. He was officially outed in 1992, but there were hints of his sexual orientation in the earlier issues of Alpha Flight (the team which Northstar first joined as a superhero, which also serves as their comic title). It had been stated by John Byrne, the 'creator' of Alpha Flight, that
"I settled on Jean-Paul, and the moment I did I realized it was alreadythere. Somewhere in the back of my mind, I must have been consideringmaking him gay before I 'decided' to do so. Of course, the temper ofthe times, the Powers That Were and, naturally, the Comics Code would not let me come right out and state that Jean-Paul washomosexual, but I managed to 'get the word out' even with thosebarriers."
way back in 1983.
At that time (1992), this outing caused quite a controversy, which isn't that surprising. There were bigots writing in to say how "disgusted" they were, and how Marvel shouldn't "promote the homosexual lifestyle" (note: these exact same phrases appeared in the Young Avenger letters pages, which debuted in 2005. And here I thought we've moved on and become more open-minded, but you just can't cure people of their bigotry).
Anyway, that was then, this is now, you'd expect people to be less uptight about it, right?
Nah. In all the time that he's been outta the closet, in all 16 years worth of Marvel comics, he had never ever - and I mean never - hooked up with anyone. There was a (one-sided) crush on Iceman (... you do know who he is, right?) and former teammate Walter Langkowski (aka Sasquatch in Alpha Flight), but that's about it. You'd think there would be an ex or something, but zip. Nada. The closest he'd ever gotten any action was at the wedding of Rick Jones, where he was seen to be chatting with Hector (mostly forgotten gay character in the Incredible Hulk). You know things are bad when the only time he had ever gotten close to being in a relationship is flirting. And even the flirting is a one-time incident. That's a sad, sexless life, innit? No wonder he's so uptight all the time.
Furthermore, Northstar had suffered countless cases of bad writing - he's either shelved, gets no screen time, cannot fulfill his potential, or - during the few arcs in which he is featured - constantly PMSing. They also bring up his homosexuality every single (ok, fine, 9/10 times) time he appears in the book. I know it's shocking, but there's more to the character than his sexuality and catty behavior, ok? Yeesh. I'm beginning to suspect that Northstar's sexuality is treated like a joke.
Oh yes, before I forget, he had also been killed in 3 different realities in the span of one calendar month. A single calendar month! That's almost as many times Jean Grey (aka Phoenix, Marvel Girl, White Phoenix, Has-So-Many-Codenames-That-I-Can't-Keep-T
... Okay. I've cheated a bit, as I've only mentioned the Earth-616 version of him (the main Marvel Universe). The Earth-1610 (or more commonly known as the "Ultimate Universe") version of him - let's call him Ultimate Northstar - is happily dating Ultimate Colossus (who is not homosexual in Earth-616. He hooked up with Kitty Pride for a while). However...
In the latest arc, Northstar was paralyzed from the waist down (and shown 'dead' in the issue before). This basically means stripping him of his powers, as I don't really see much use of going superspeed above-waist only. And they just have to ram the 'sexless' thing down our throats, don't they?
Ah, such is the way of mainstream comics. Remember kiddies: you just can't cure people of their bigotry.
Extra reading:
Northstar
Ultimate Northstar
Ultimate X-Men
I'll also include the link to Jean Grey, just so you can count how many times she had died.
Similar articles:
Who Cares About A Dead Gay Superhero? - This article points out how gay superheroes are treated in today's mainstream comics.
Northstar, a Redshirt in every universe - It is here that I learned of Northstar's quick multiple deaths
A Challenge to Marvel - An account of Northstar's bachelor life... kinda.
PS. Don't think I took what was in those articles at face value. I checked on stuff, from multiple sources (wikipedia is my friend). So it's not some part of a "gay agenda'' or something silly like that.
'Sides, you just don't mess with comic geek wannabes.
11 August 2008 @ 04:31 am
18 May 2008 @ 11:20 am
I come bearing more fic.
Fandom: Legendz: Tale of the Dragon Kings
Characters: Dino Sparks
Prompt: “Whenever you see a flame, remember that I’m always with you.” (Translated from the Chinese dub)
Warning: Cussing, mentioned drug usage, and probably much OOC-ness.
Summary: “Remember that I’m always with you.” But what do these words mean half a decade later, when you can’t even remember?
Notes: I wrote this based on the 2nd half of the last episode, especially when the Legendz beasts (dunno what they’re called) are fading back into their elements, and Greedo’s little speech to Dino gave me ideas. Granted, I’ve only watched about… 2 episodes put together from all the bits and pieces, so it not surprising that I might have butchered Dino’s character completely.
( Ashes To Ashes )
A/N: Please R &R! Feedback is always appreciated!
Current Mood: 
stressed
stressed14 May 2008 @ 09:37 pm
Hi! I'm back with more of my own stuff! (Yes, writing fanfic about my own project... sad i know)
And here's another one that's more serious (and I'm more proud of)...
Prompt: Cotton candy
Pairing: Natsuya/Midori
Warnings: None - wait - Disgustingly sappy and fluffy, i guess
Summary: My addiction is cotton candy, and your addiction is…
( Cotton Candy )
And here's another one that's more serious (and I'm more proud of)...
Prompt: Nightmare
Pairing: Er... Faintly Takeshi/Akiko, but not really
Summary: You are a stranger, but why do I dream about you?
Pairing: Er... Faintly Takeshi/Akiko, but not really
Summary: You are a stranger, but why do I dream about you?
( Nightmare of You )
Current Mood: 
sleepy
sleepy24 January 2008 @ 09:49 pm
I've written a few drabbles/side-stories for a joint project with my friend. The settings are based on Feudal Japan, so there are a few (so much more than a few, really) references to Japan. I hope you enjoy them and please leave some comments (even if it was just "OMG I'm gonna kill you for writing this rubbish!")
Characters: Takeshi, mentioned Akichi
Theme/Prompt: Kannazuki
Warnings: Implied prostitution
Summary: You’re not here with me tonight, under the godless moon.
AN: Kannazuki literally means ‘the month without gods’, the name of October in the old Japanese lunar calendar. The Chinese lunar calendar starts with a new moon, so assumed the same for the Japanese lunar calendar.
Theme/Prompt: Children; Namesake
Character: Takeshi, mentioned Akichi, Midori, Natsuya, Otonashi, Yaneko
Warnings: Er... Death?
Summary: For each of his beloved friends, he will honor with a child of his.
( All the Children )
Current Mood: 
accomplished
accomplished01 April 2007 @ 04:11 pm
Hi. This is my official writing journal. Right now I am planning a feudal Japan/ reincarnation fiction with my friend. This series is called Shadow Sun Crimson Moon (SSCM).
excited