“Master, Don’t You Think It Would Save Time If You Just Put Your Glasses On Over Your Cowl?”

My Kind of MariChat

Chat and Marinette hanging out as friends and talking about their crush struggles with each other.

Chat not saying who he likes, because he knows that Mari is best friends with the Ladyblog girl and he can’t risk Ladybug finding out how he feels through the Internet. How tacky!

Mari not saying who she likes, because she’s afraid Chat will see her love for Adrien as just a celebrity crush. Also she has a tendency to malfunction when speaking his name aloud.

Chat giving Mari advice about how to calm her anxiety and be more confident when talking to her crush.

Mari giving Chat advice about how to come across as more genuine and less flirty when talking to his crush.

The two being 100% oblivious.

The two practicing on each other and totally NOT blushing  ( ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°)

The two encouraging and pushing each other to ask their crush out.

The two making a pact to do so the very next day.

Mari going up to Adrien at school and remaining 50% calm as she asks him out for ice cream.

Adrien internally screaming because he didn’t realize Mari had a crush on HIM and now he feels like a jerk.

“OH, uh that sounds like it’d be a lot of fun, but I can’t eat ice cream… model diet, you know?”

Marinette trying to recover. “Oh, right. Well, uh…what about a movie?”

Marinette regretting her decision the moment he says “Look Marinette-”

Adrien trying. “You really are an incredible girl and it means a lot to me that you’d even ask. I just- I already have feelings for someone else.”

Marinette accidentally blurting out, “Who? Chloe?”

Adrien not knowing whether to laugh or gag. “No, no, no! She uh, she doesn’t go here. You wouldn’t know her.”

Marinette thinking that it’s probably some gorgeous model.

Marinette sending only one text to Alya instead of her usual 50.

“He likes someone else.”

An akumatized villain showing up at the absolute WORST time.

Chat Noir noticing that his lady is off her game for some reason.

Ladybug noticing that Chat is making fewer puns for some reason.

Chat pulling her away from the press after the battle.

“My lady, I need to tell you something… I love you.”

Marinette’s gut clenching because HOW did she not realize Chat had been talking about HER and then she’s reminded of Adrien’s rejection and she’s overwhelmed by hurt and confusion and guilt and-

BEEP BEEP go the earrings.

“Chat… this isn’t a good time. I- I have to go.” 

“Then meet me tonight on the Arc de Triomphe at 11 o’clock.”

Ladybug just nodding before she swings away.

Chat trying not to be discouraged.

Marinette checking her phone after she detransforms.

Alya: “Oh girl. I’m so sorry.”

Alya: “Are you okay?”

Alya: “I’m mandating an emergency sleepover tonight. Just you and me.”

Crap.

Marinette trying to “go to bed” early so that she can sneak out and meet with Chat.

Alya making her stay up because it’s a Friday night and “you promised me we’d watch Moulin Rouge”.

Chat somehow managing to set up a candlelit dinner on the Arc de Triomphe because he’s a hopeless romantic.

Chat pacing back and forth with droopy ears as it gets later and later.

Chat growing incredibly disheartened as he picks at the food and thinks about how he rejected Marinette only to be rejected by Ladybug.

Mari worrying about Chat and crying over Adrien.

Chat finally heading home around 1:00 AM but stopping when he sees Mari on her balcony. 

Mari feeling awful and tearing up when she sees Chat.

Chat feeling awful when he sees how upset Mari is.

The two hugging and crying and realizing how much they hate seeing the other hurting.

The two trying to comfort and encourage each other.

Mari telling Chat how funny and brave and kind he is.

Chat telling Mari how talented and beautiful and endearing she is.

Mari and Chat looking into each others eyes, each wondering if they’ve been pursuing the wrong person all along.

Chat leaning in slowly and kissing Mari.

Mari kissing back.

Alya opening the trapdoor and screaming.

The End (ﾉ◕ヮ◕)ﾉ*:･ﾟ✧

Deadpool and the suicide prevention PSA

Hopefully everyone has gotten a chance to get a copy of Deadpool (2015-) #20 by now. 

Obviously, trigger warnings for suicide

So, Deadpool #20 is a standalone issue that specifically targets the issue of suicide and we’re going to jump right to the ending to start off with: the writer’s, Gerry Duggan, message

I don’t actually think it’s outlandish to try to do a helpful story about suicide prevention with Deadpool as the protagonist. Like Duggan said, it wouldn’t be the easiest story to write, but it makes sense in an odd way. Deadpool is probably the most suicidal character ever if only because he is immortal and yet is constantly trying to kill himself and lets people murder him when it’s easier than fighting.

It’s also coincidentally the right time for this type of story with this type of character.

If this story came out in the 90s when Deadpool first debuted I don’t think it would be well received. The bro fans would complain about it being an afterschool special and people in general with think it’s in bad taste for character like Deadpool to be in a PSA like this, that’s Superman’s job (which we’ll get to in a second)

That was a Generation X audience; very disenfranchised, cynical and very angry about it.

This is a millennial audience, very disenfranchised, cynical and resigned to it all.

It’s an unarguable fact that the Baby Boomers are the worst generation ever and so when Generation X came along and got the shit end of their decadence and eventual complacency about civil rights they were understandably angry. Even grunge was pretty angry; you would sing with melancholy “I’m a loser baby, so why don’t you kill me” but this was underlined by rebellion. It was the clapback to the failed “give peace a chance”

Fuck you and your bigoted warmongering capitalism. I’m out, I’m done so why don’t you kill me?

Generation X is the exhausted end of this anger and is clearly exhibited by meme culture. Fuck you, everything’s a joke, how the hell are we can it dig ourselves out of this pit? Might as well kill myself  ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Anger and aggression has become the joke. Celebrities are reading “mean comments” on Jimmy Kimmel that say things like “fight me, you piece of shit” and don’t understand that that means “I’m a really big fan of yours and am probably sexually attracted to you”

So why is a character created out of this angry high adrenaline culture the best one to speak to an exasperated culture that mocks angry high adrenaline?

Because he isn’t condescending.

You want to kill yourself? So does everybody else but there’s a lot of stuff on Netflix we still need to get to so let’s try to make the best of it.

Deadpool isn’t a happy person telling sad people to cheer up.

Arguably the most popular/cited superhero comic about suicide prevention was made for Generation X audience in 2006’s All-Star Superman #10

It was effective for a lot of people and pleasantly regarded by the general public but some people didn’t like it.

I’m obviously arguing that if this were to come out now the majority of people wouldn’t like it.

This girl is a complete stereotype. She could easily be the poster girl for the “rebellious” trope.

You can totally tell she’s depressed because look how dark her clothes are.

And then Superman comes along knowing fuck all about her giving her a shallow complement based on absolutely nothing and then hugs her.

He tells her it’s not that bad.

It is bad.

Things are really bad.

I think Deadpool #20 is better even if it only conveys camaraderie in the badness.

The cover alone conveys that

Deadpool sees a girl, conventionally attractive but within ordinary aesthetic, about to jump to her death

He jokes about it in a very deadpan and abysmal millennial way. Much like Superman, Deadpool knows nothing about this girl but he doesn’t condescend to her

He’s not the right guy for the job

He doesn’t know her or have any stake in her well-being

He doesn’t belittle her decision but implores her to give it a little time

What does Deadpool know best? Showtunes and beating people up so he does what he knows best and the distraction gives her the ability to feel and just do something, anything

Then what? He still doesn’t know what the right thing to do or say is. There is no right thing to do or say. He gives for the resources to talk to people that have at least been trying to figure out the best way to help in this situation longer than he has

He doesn’t force her to use these resources and he offers to go with her as an equal

As a few people pointed out, going into inpatient care is not fun, nor is any other option. The problems are numerous and frightening but we have to make do until we can build better systems, but that’s not really the point of the comic. It’s how to handle these things in the current system and when you have no idea what to do. Whether it was because the Deadpool team got consultants on the issue of whether they lucked into it I believe they nailed it.

It’s not an comic that will prevent someone from committing suicide, in my opinion, but it’s an comic that will help people know how to better react to their loved ones who are suicidal.

We’ve discussed suicide extensively on this blog from many angles and the consensus has always been that what helps is when people don’t condescend to you, don’t just tell you to feel better, don’t invalidate your right to do what you want with your body. What helps is being there, as an equal, to consider the decision further.

You may want to kill yourself and you have the right to do that but remember that you don’t have to do it right now. You will still have the option tomorrow or the day after. It is a huge and final decision and you need to consider it as clearheaded as possible. Do something fun or mundane and just distracting to get you through the next few minutes or hours and then explore all your options.

A suicide hotline might not work for you, nor will a hospital but they are options that are not permanent. You can try them. If suicide is really the right decision for you it will still be an option after you explore these avenues.

Remember, you can always make the decision tomorrow. Give today a chance.

Eye of the Beholder

I’ve never found myself pretty so I made a quick comic that might help others with the same feelings

100 Days in Houston

A lot can happen in 100 days…

At our Johnson Space Center, located in Houston, it has been busy since July 10. Here are six things that have been going on in Houston with our astronauts, the International Space Station and our next great telescope! Take a look:

1. Our James Webb Space Telescope is Spending 100 Days in a Freezing Cold Chamber

Imagine seeing 13.5 billion light-years back in time, watching the birth of the first stars, galaxies evolve and solar systems form…our James Webb Space Telescope will do just that once it launches in 2019.

Webb will be the premier observatory of the next decade, studying every phase in the cosmic history of our universe, ranging from the first luminous glows after the Big Bang, to the formation of solar systems.

On July 10, the Webb telescope entered Johnson Space Center’s historic Chamber A for its final cryogenic test that lasts about 100 days behind a closed giant vault-like door. 

Why did we put Webb in this freezing cold chamber? To ensure it can withstand the harsh environment it will experience in space.

The telescope has been in a space-like environment in the chamber, tested at cryogenic temperatures. In space, the telescope must operate at extremely cold temperatures so that it can detect infrared light – heat radiation – from faint, distant objects. 

To keep the telescope cold while in space, Webb has a sunshield the size of a tennis court, which blocks sunlight (as well as reflected light from the Earth and Moon). This means that the sun-facing side of the observatory is incredibly hot while the telescope-side remains at sub-freezing temperatures.

2. Our 12 new astronaut candidates reported to Houston to start training

Our newest class of astronaut candidates, which were announced on June 7, reported for training on August 13. These candidates will train for two years on International Space Station systems, space vehicles and Russian language, among many other skills, before being flight-ready. 

3. Our Mission Control Center operated for 2,400 hours

While astronauts are in space, Mission Control operates around the clock making sure the crew is safe and the International Space Station is functioning properly. This means workers in Mission Control work in three shifts, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m., 3 p.m. – midnight and 11 p.m. – 8 a.m. This includes holidays and weekends. Day or night, Mission Control is up and running.

4. Key Teams at Johnson Space Center Continued Critical Operations During Hurricane Harvey

Although Johnson Space Center closed during Hurricane Harvey, key team members and critical personnel stayed onsite to ensure crucial operations would continue. Mission Control remained in operation throughout this period, as well as all backup systems required to maintain the James Webb Space Telescope, which is at Johnson for testing, were checked prior to the arrival of the storm, and were ready for use if necessary.

5. Crews on the International Space Station conducted hundreds of science experiments.

Mission Control at Johnson Space Center supported astronauts on board the International Space Station as they worked their typical schedule in the microgravity environment. Crew members work about 10 hours a day conducting science research that benefits life on Earth as well as prepares us for travel deeper into space. 

The space station team in Houston supported a rigorous schedule of launches of cargo that included supplies and science materials for the crew living and working in the orbiting laboratory, launched there by our commercial partners. 

6. Two new crews blasted off to space and a record breaking astronaut returned from a stay on space station

Houston is home to the Astronaut Corps, some of whom end up going out-of-this-world. On July 28, NASA Astronaut Randy Bresnik launched to the International Space Station alongside Italian astronaut Paolo Naspoli and Russian cosmonaut Sergey Ryazanskiy. Joining them at the International Space Station were NASA Astronauts Joe Acaba and Mark Vande Hei who launched September 12 with Russian cosmonaut Alexander Misurkin.

When NASA Astronaut Peggy Whitson landed with crewmates Jack Fischer of NASA and Fyoder Yurchikhin of Roscosmos, she broke the record for the most cumulative time in space by a U.S. astronaut. She landed with over 650 days of cumulative flight time and more than 53 hours of spacewalk time. Upon her return, the Human Research Program in Houston studies her health and how the human body adapted to her time in space.

Learn more about the Johnson Space Center online, or on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram.

Make sure to follow us on Tumblr for your regular dose of space: http://nasa.tumblr.com.

When people say all straight pairings are boring and forced as hell, then this means they obviously have never watched FMA Brotherhood to witness one of the most beautiful and most perfect ships ever:

… Was a friend

Adult ladybug!