X-23 Appreciation 2021

[Ambaryerno]

Honestly, I think you're putting substantially more thought into it than Marvel themselves are.

[Malachi]

Honestly, I think you're putting substantially more thought into it than Marvel themselves are.

Ha, you are probably right.

[Mercury]

Laura intrigues me and I just know Duggan is going to do right by her and explore her many shades and facets.

[Delta88]

Well in for those who do like Helix pairing.

Screen Shot 2021-07-31 at 11.00.58 AM.jpg

You can catch the entire image here. It's a NSFW, so look at your own discretion.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/hellio...Qr3bI8so9jrEQM

[Ambaryerno]

Well in for those who do like Helix pairing.

Screen Shot 2021-07-31 at 11.00.58 AM.jpg

You can catch the entire image here. It's a NSFW, so look at your own discretion.

https://www.patreon.com/posts/hellio...Qr3bI8so9jrEQM

Warning: Paywall.

[Delta88]

Well I wasn't sure if this site allows NSFW stuff. So I had to send the link if people wanted to see the it. Unless I could do something else?

[Ambaryerno]

Well I wasn't sure if this site allows NSFW stuff. So I had to send the link if people wanted to see the it. Unless I could do something else?

DeviantArt or Tumblr link? Or PM, I suppose.

[The Big G]

Another classic dimaiv-nov

[Delta88]

DeviantArt or Tumblr link? Or PM, I suppose.

I do know that tumblr has a problem with NSFW stuff. As for deviantart... well I don't own it so I can't showcase something that someone is using on his patreon.

Do you mean fan fiction PM?

[WebLurker]

Same here, never really got their relationship...

Guess they were going for the "bad boy shows better side to girl" or something.

...also didn't enjoy her being with Angel (and whatever happened in All-New X-Men v2).

Angel was pretty boring (it says a lot that he was intended to be Laura's partner in crime in the series, but Gabby stole that spot the instant she first appeared) and the phasing of him out was pretty sloppy. Not sure what happened in Vol. 2.

Although it would be nice to see them interact after such a long time.

Guess it depends on what the writers would have in mind.

Who do you think she should have gone out with?

I would've voted for her going with Mercury from the New X-Men comics (same series that tried to set her up with Hellion). #33, showed her trying to reach out to Laura and connect with her (being the first person to reach out to her in a big way and stand up to Emma Frost for her). The story arc also gave them some common ground to bond over in not feeling fully human (Laura on account of being dehumanized most of her life and forced into being an assassin, Mercury on account her body being transformed from the flesh and blood she was born with into organic metal, and so not being able to eat and all that) and both being traumatized by the same mad scientists' sick experiments (the story had the Facility/Alchemax/whatever they're called these days kidnapping Mercury, with Laura leading the search). Issue #43 also had this little bit after Laura flips out over the teen drama of the day and Mercury goes to check on her:

RCO010_1469399276.jpg

Don't think anyone was planning for them to become a couple, but, unlike the official significant others, they actually took the time to establish an emotional bond between the two and showed how they could support each other. At least in that series, it was well communicated that Mercury cared for Laura as a person, even if the X-Men stuff was factored out, something I never got from Hellion. Either way, was pretty annoyed that Mercury dropped off the face of the earth after Laura started getting her own series.

[Ambaryerno]

Guess they were going for the "bad boy shows better side to girl" or something.



Angel was pretty boring (it says a lot that he was intended to be Laura's partner in crime in the series, but Gabby stole that spot the instant she first appeared) and the phasing of him out was pretty sloppy. Not sure what happened in Vol. 2.



Guess it depends on what the writers would have in mind.



I would've voted for her going with Mercury from the New X-Men comics (same series that tried to set her up with Hellion). #33, showed her trying to reach out to Laura and connect with her (being the first person to reach out to her in a big way and stand up to Emma Frost for her). The story arc also gave them some common ground to bond over in not feeling fully human (Laura on account of being dehumanized most of her life and forced into being an assassin, Mercury on account her body being transformed from the flesh and blood she was born with into organic metal, and so not being able to eat and all that) and both being traumatized by the same mad scientists' sick experiments (the story had the Facility/Alchemax/whatever they're called these days kidnapping Mercury, with Laura leading the search). Issue #43 also had this little bit after Laura flips out over the teen drama of the day and Mercury goes to check on her:

RCO010_1469399276.jpg

Don't think anyone was planning for them to become a couple, but, unlike the official significant others, they actually took the time to establish an emotional bond between the two and showed how they could support each other. At least in that series, it was well communicated that Mercury cared for Laura as a person, even if the X-Men stuff was factored out, something I never got from Hellion. Either way, was pretty annoyed that Mercury dropped off the face of the earth after Laura started getting her own series.

Hellion stood up for her first by shielding her when Emma tried to screw Laura over during the try out rumble. It's why Surge was made team leader in the first place; Emma was punishing him for going against her wishes to have Laura taken out. And the bathroom incident wasn't over just "teen drama of the day," but specifically because she was lashing out because she didn't understand what she was feeling when Surge kissed Julian to drive Prodigy away.

[Paragon]

Don't think anyone was planning for them to become a couple, but, unlike the official significant others, they actually took the time to establish an emotional bond between the two and showed how they could support each other. At least in that series, it was well communicated that Mercury cared for Laura as a person, even if the X-Men stuff was factored out, something I never got from Hellion. Either way, was pretty annoyed that Mercury dropped off the face of the earth after Laura started getting her own series.

There was also that Manifest Destiny short story where Laura got to return the favor and be emotionally supportive for Cessily when she was struggling with her insecurities about her humanity. Laura was even considerate enough to let Cess beat up all of those Hellfire idiots that came after them.

[WebLurker]

Hellion stood up for her first by shielding her when Emma tried to screw Laura over during the try out rumble. It's why Surge was made team leader in the first place; Emma was punishing him for going against her wishes to have Laura taken out.

That was very much of a "I don't like you that much, but I play by the rules" situation, as I recall. I mean, prior to that, he didn't really want anything to do with her.

And the bathroom incident wasn't over just "teen drama of the day," but specifically because she was lashing out because she didn't understand what she was feeling when Surge kissed Julian to drive Prodigy away.

Was just trying to be concise and to the point.

There was also that Manifest Destiny short story where Laura got to return the favor and be emotionally supportive for Cessily when she was struggling with her insecurities about her humanity. Laura was even considerate enough to let Cess beat up all of those Hellfire idiots that came after them.

Missed out on that. Would've liked to have read that.

[Ambaryerno]

That was very much of a "I don't like you that much, but I play by the rules" situation, as I recall. I mean, prior to that, he didn't really want anything to do with her.

Whatever the motivation/justification Hellion used, (which frankly the tone comes across like him trying to act like it was less of a big deal to him than it really was) it still happened.

Was just trying to be concise and to the point.

The problem is you also removed the context, which matters because it defines that entire interaction.

[WebLurker]

Whatever the motivation/justification Hellion used, (which frankly the tone comes across like him trying to act like it was less of a big deal to him than it really was) it still happened.

Flipped through my copy of the series. It was their first positive interaction, after most of their other ones had basically been him bullying her. Could've worked as a set up, but, the thing is, I don't think it was ever really that well-written in the first place. I mean, from X-23's perspective, all we get is that she has a crush on him because he saved her life, and that's about it (nothing really from Hellion's perspective, either). That's pretty flimsy. All things considered, the messy breakup actually seems like a pretty logical conclusion (beyond how they weren't exactly dealing with life that well, the relationship hadn't grown any from where it started).

I will freely concede that I did see the later materials first, where things really went off the rails, but I remember comparing notes with someone who'd read it all the way and they agreed with me that Hellion was a jerk and that Laura could've done a lot better for herself (forget if they had an alternative significant other in mind or just that Laura was okay single, but there it is).

The problem is you also removed the context, which matters because it defines that entire interaction.

Had enough trouble posting that one page without having to deal with multiple ones. I did cite the issue, so people can do the homework if they want too see how everything pointed out. The only reason I brought it up was because it was a nice moment between the two characters. (Also should point out that I think the question of whether X-23 and Mercury could've made a good couple if the writers had gone that way is a different topic than whether she and Hellion would've; generally, we're all compatible with more than one person. She could've well clicked with both. My only point for tying them together was the overlapping plots ("Hellion isn't working for me; too bad Mercury wasn't in the running") happened to be in the same series.