Pidgeverse one-offs

Difficult subjects in four panels, hopefully handled tactfully.

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Should we be concerned…?

Keri hooks people up with clothing. What do we think?

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Image source: https://rantsofagypsygirl.wordpress.com/2017/03/03/a-head-full-of-stars/

If Concord looks like this amazing star-man in his powered-up form, what would his female equivalent look like? I figured closer to “cosmic wonder” than “smoking hot vixen”, hopefully I was able to find an image that fit.

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I might have made fan art. (Is it still fan art if it is variations of my character? I’m going with kinda.) While I’m sure the intention of having her broken up over two panels wasn’t “giant woman” Concordance form, I just couldn’t not.

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Fine, I’m stepping up my game.

No comic in the world is gonna do justice to whatever happens next, so all we get is Keri’s reaction. :smiley:

Great art, Mike, not at all surprisingly.

Also, when I initially glanced at the initials “MJW,” they read to me as “CAJUN”. Just one of those weird things that now I can’t unsee.

image

Not at all my intention, but definitely an odd quirk.

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One of my goals with the Pidgeverse was to look at gender differences. And one recurring theme in the comics (and some cutscenes) has been Alycia threatening dire harm and/or retribution to Jason. So what does it look like if the shoe’s on the other foot?

… And the answer is, it looks like Medea is okay with it for her own uh, reasons. No word on whether Jason similarly enjoys the feeling of danger.

So I think the balance works here, for these characters. But for other characters, would it really be appropriate? Always something to keep in mind, and hopefully this comic sticks with people as a reminder.

For Alycia (and presumably her counterpart), it’s honestly a sign of how damaged she is, that she would make those kind of threats. Part of it is a sitcom tropishness that, in real life (or even in most modern comedy) would be looked at askance today – that Jackie Gleason “to the moon, Alice!” kind of thing just isn’t funny any more (even in jest).

To give it more thought than it deserves, it’s probably also a sign (for Jason – I have less of a handle on Medea) of being a bit of an adrenaline junkie – enjoying that feeling of danger, as you put it – combined with a growing sense over the course of the story we’ve had for them that this is mostly (inappropriate) bluster on Alycia’s part: that she would probably not kill or seriously injure him (having had the opportunity to do so in the past), but with just enough uncertainty over inadvertently pushing her too far to make it exciting.

That all said, you’re correct – the male threatening the female is highly problematic in most circumstances, as Jason recognizes. Medea can handle it, and their relationship seems to work for them, but it’s something that is very character-situational and best treated with care.

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My argument is that this is exactly the thought the issue deserves, so thank you for coming back to this post and doing just that. :smiley:

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I’ll talk about this separately, both because I like talking through my thinking and because Dave likes hearing about his characters. :wink:

Medea Quill as depicted in the comics is my impression of what applying Jason’s life to a girl would be like. Same plot beats, sometimes same reactions, but not always. So who is Jason Quill?

  • A kid who never got a normal childhood, but was gallivanting around the world with a larger-than-life parent and an imposing, influential bodyguard.
  • A kid trained to tackle outlandish danger and intrigue, but not hardened sufficiently by it to become good at dishing out death - just good enough to survive it.
  • A kid whose inner life was showcased for millions and had to react to both real fame and the distortion of who they really are. Someone whose own goals and dreams were swept away in the wake of two famous adults.
  • A kid grieving for the loss of those people, because at the end of the day, our parents are our parents.
  • A kid whose ideas of “fun” and “normal” have been warped by all these experiences, resulting in a high (and sometimes misplaced) libido, mood swings, empty charm, and deep loneliness.

So we have a girl who might want to casually flirt with boys but is held back by loss and sadness and idealism, who sits in her big house watching old videos of family, gets angry at the cartoon of her life because it made her “girly” instead of just “a girl”, who’s pretty intent on getting back with a guy who’s the ultimate Bad Boy, who led a superhero team and maybe made eyes at a hunky android boy for a bit. If she’d been born in the 18th century, articles about her would lionize her as a proto-feminist icon who got shit done, while noting the undercurrent of tragedy that drove her to her more disreputable or questionable actions.

From wikipedia:

Medea does not fit into the mold of a “normal woman” according to Athenian philosophy. She is depicted of having great intelligence and skill, something typically viewed as a masculine trait by Euripides’ original audience. On the other hand, she uses that cunning in order to manipulate the men around her, and manipulation of other people would have been a negative female trait to the Athenian audience.

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Some of the other characters are a lot easier.

  • Leah Snow isn’t just a female Leo, she’s Priss S. Asagiri but as a mechanic rather than a rock singer.
  • Writing Sunny as a male Summer is pretty easy too. He’s the guy who you’d assume was gay if he was in an 80’s teen movie.
  • Alistair has a lot of Colossus going on. Russian stoicism, calm threats, deeply emotional core.
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Well, you have Jason nailed, that’s for sure. I’m not sure his libido is oddly high (I remember 18), but maybe misplaced or unhealthy targeted in some eyes.

I like Medea’s theme and variations (and the others you mention).

Oddly high only relative to the rest of the cast, really.

I have no idea where this is going. I suspect Alycia’s just being paranoid, but that’s always comic gold.

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Real talk about Pidgeverse relationship problems.

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I have no idea where this is going.

I suspect Jason would find it even more awkward.

It’s a small world after all.