fandomhigh | Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You

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powers and identity

Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You - Friday, Period One

//Right. So... We don't have much of a discussion prepared for today,// Jono admitted, looking a touch sheepish. //This semester apparently hasn't been much good for that. But we haven't cashed in our 'movie day' get out of jail free card yet, either, so I found an old episode of the Y-People cartoon to show, and then we can discuss it afterward. How you felt about the situation of the young girl, your opinion on the animation, whatever you wish. It's topical, at least.//

He shrugged his shoulders, and then slid a Y-People VHS into an old VCR, because that was just how the 90s rolled, okay?

[Open!]

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"It's a classic?" Kathy tried.

Raven sighed. "I can see why it could be," she said. "But some of the characters are so irritating."

"It's very 90's-tastic," Kathy agreed. "But considering the source material? We're lucky it isn't worse. And I'm a fan of the comics, so, believe me, that's said with love."

"There are comics?" The Y-People book wouldn't start for another 8 years, back home. "How would it be worse?"

"Because there's a whole slew of them, written over decades, by various people who all have their own takes on the characters, their own stories to tell, their own axes to grind," Kathy explained. "A lot of the beliefs of the day can slip into things, too, without anyone even noticing at the time, but that are really glaringly obvious when you go back and read them years later."

"If you're interested, I've got a bunch back in my room I can hook you up with."

"Are they all about people with special powers?"

"Yup," Kathy said. "On the surface, it's about people with powers fighting other people with powers, it actually deals with a lot of civil rights stuff. Because the Y-People are shunned and feared because of their abilities, so half the time, they're just trying to survive in a world that's hostile towards them even before you factor in bad guys and aliens and crazy stuff like that. At it's best, it's really moving."

She grabbed for her bag, wondering if she had a spare issue tucked away in a pocket somewhere.

"You even feel for the bad guys sometimes. They're the villains, but so much of who they are was shaped by the people who were horrible to them first."

THIS WAS EXACTLY WHAT MYSTIQUE NEEDED, YES, GOLD STAR KATHY.

"Like the mom in the episode?" Raven asked. "They make her all out to be really terrible, but she took the girl in and tried to make her powers a good thing."

"Exactly. The mom's one of the series' major villains, so they're taking it as a given that the reason she had the girl do that was for ~*evil*~ or whatever." Kathy shrugged. "I haven't seen the cartoons, so I don't know what her reasons were for this plan, but if it's like the comics, she's not just using her daughter for no good reason."

"What was her reason in the comics?" Raven asked. She couldn't say why, exactly, the mom had her so curious. It certainly wasn't because of her fashion sense. "And does it explain why they wear jumpsuits all the time?"

"No one can explain the jumpsuits," Kathy said. "No one. As for what happened there, I don't think she knew that it was possible to absorb the personality along with the powers. I mean, yeah, she was running a team of villains, which was why they attacked ~~meta for-~~Ms. Marvel in the first place, but she just wanted her daughter to have access to those powers. I think it worked differently, because these powers were alien-based, and not the kind she's used to absorbing."

"Is it always so . . . black and white? I mean, who wakes up one morning and goes 'I know, I think I'll be an evil villain'?"

"Oh gosh no," Kathy said, shaking her head. "At the crux of a lot of these battles is a philosophical decision. One faction, the Y-People, think that with enough caring and compassion and a dedication to peace, they can make humanity change their mind. The other faction, that the mom is part of, is led by a guy who survived the Holocaust and saw the worst of what humanity can do. He thinks that you have to show humanity you're too tough to be messed with before they'll leave you alone."

Of course, now he was a Y-Person, and half the original team had gone off to violently claim a place for themselves, but Kathy couldn't be expected to sum up all of comics history as once.

"It gets pretty ugly on both sides, but the best arcs make you not only understand the nominal villains, but empathize with them."

Raven nodded slowly, not sure whether she should mention the part that, from the basic descriptions Kathy gave, she'd agree way more with the second faction. "Good," she said. "That does sound like it'd be pretty interesting, then."

"I can loan you some of the newer stuff," Kathy offered. "Remind me next time you stop by my room. And I'll bet the library has a bunch of the older stuff collected. And the comic shop in town probably does, too."

Yes! Another nerd into the collective!

"Okay, thanks." Raven smiled. "You know, you're welcome to stop by my room too, sometime. Though I don't have quite as much interesting stuff to look at." Since the majority of her wardrobe was technically imaginary, and most of her pop culture from home far less portable.

"Just remember you said that when I end up kicking at your door because my hands are too full of comics to knock," Kathy warned. "And when I sit you down and make you watch a Y-People movie marathon."

They wouldn't be watching the third movie, of course. Not that there was one. But even the hot guy with the wings wasn't enough to make up for the travesty that--never existed, yes.

"I'll be sure to warn Amy," Raven promised. "A movie marathon sounds fun. I should see if I can find some of my favorites back home to show you, too."

Kathy had possibly already seen the ones Raven would be able to find. If she had any taste in golden age film, anyway.

Nope! Kathy was pretty ignorant of any movies released before 1975.

"Sounds awesome," Kathy said, flashing Raven the V-sign. "Something to look forward to after the weekend is over."

"I'm very good at providing study breaks," Raven promised. She was also good at making sure they happened. Charles needed to be dragged out into the sunshine to have fun pretty regularly during exam time, after all.

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Powers, Identity, and The World; Embracing the Real You - Friday, Period One

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