Friday, January 25, 2013

X-men Supreme Reflections Volume 3 Announcement and PREVIEW!

X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope is officially history. This fanfiction series is now poised to enter a new era. I have no intention of slowing down the story. X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope brought about a lot of major changes to this fanfiction series. Jean Grey is now host to the Phoenix Force. Angel has left the X-men. And something may or may not be very wrong with Professor Charles Xavier. On top of it all, Senator Robert Kelly became President of the United States. His long-standing opposition to mutants and the X-men now promises to influence the world of X-men Supreme like never before. Make no mistake. I have big plans for this fanfiction series! But before those plans can manifest for the future, it's important to strengthen the foundation I laid in the past.

As such, I will be carrying on the tradition I established after the first two volumes of the X-men Supreme fanfiction series and do another Supreme Reflections spin-off. I've already had X-men Supreme Reflections Volume 1 and X-men Supreme Reflections Volume 2. Both entries focused on a number of characters and dug deeper into what made them tick. The characters and their personalities are a big part of why X-men has such vast appeal both for Marvel comics and for comics as a whole. For X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope, I'll be focusing on four more characters. Each will have a chance to paint a clearer picture of who they are.

And the first such reflection will be Gambit. He's a fan favorite who has often had a conflicted history in the pages of Marvel comics. However, his history in X-men Supreme is substantially different. I wanted him to have a bit more balance and I'll be exploring that in the first entry of X-men Supreme Reflections Volume 3. As such, I've prepared a brief preview here on this website and an extended preview of what you can expect from the mind of Gambit.

Talking to myself ain’t healthy. I think it may even be a sign of mental illness. But sometimes you gotta say things out loud to turn thoughts into actions, even if it be as simple as turning it into speech. Thought and action be the cornerstone of dualism and every branch of philosophy that stems from it. By the luck of the draw, that same conflict be the cornerstone of Remy’s messed up life.

Early on, Remy be pulled in both directions. My perè, Jean-Luc, always told me not to think. He didn’t like me asking questions or even making comments. He only wanted me to show him I could do all the thieving techniques I taught him. I did just that, but them questions kept bothering me. That’s where my merè came in. Marianne Lebeau was damn near the complete opposite of Jean-Luc. She did a hell of a lot more with just a few actions. A single hug from her told me a hell of a lot more than Jean-Luc ever could. She actually listened to my questions and encouraged me to ask more. Thing is, she didn’t usually have the answer. All she could do was teach Remy how to find out for myself.

When it came to having adopted parents, Remy’s sure knew how to confuse a kid. Jean-Luc always gave the impression that he adopted Remy because he was different. Remy’s mutation showed itself early by makin’ my eyes look all freaky. It scared off most parents, but not Jean-Luc. There be more function than heart when he makes a decision. For Marianne, it was different. I think she wanted a son that Jean-Luc didn’t brainwash with his thieving philosophies. I don’t think she ever bought into the guild. Her father was one of the highest ranking leaders. She be born into this world and it never really suited her. She sensed it didn’t suit Remy too…not entirely anyways. She always tried to balance out the lessons that Jean-Luc taught me with lessons of her own. I’m glad she did because it kept Remy from being brainwashed by the whole Thieves Guild mystique.

I still paid my dues, learning how to steal and mastering the art of the bow staff from Jean-Luc. I kept learning even as Marianne’s health started failing. The rest of Remy’s family didn’t know it, but she had been abusing pills for years. It was the only way she could cope with being in a world she couldn’t leave. To his credit, Jean-Luc did his best for her. The problem is Jean-Luc’s best ain’t what it should be. He was only willing to go so far, but that wasn’t nearly enough. Pretty soon Marianne’s organs started failing and that was it. She wasn’t gonna make it.

Remy could have broken down and cried like a baby. I sure as hell wanted to when I saw her lying in hospital beds, lookin’ like the life was just being sucked out of her. I be only ten at the time. How could I not? But Marianne wouldn’t let me feel that kind of pain. The lesson she taught me that day was probably the most important lesson Remy’s ever learned.

“Don’t shed any tears for me, Remy. I’m not leaving you behind. I’m just going to be with you in a different way. I’m ready to move on. I want this. But what I want even more is for you to remember…to remember just how special you are.”

Those were Marianne’s last words. I stayed by her bed and watched her slip away from the world of the living. I honored her final wishes and didn’t cry when she passed. The only one who cried, as messed up as it be, was Jean-Luc. It was the only time Remy ever saw him shed any tears. It showed the old man had some heart, but he still lacked spirit. Remy knows this because what he did was clearly different from what he thought. The man was like the rest of the Thieves Guild. He acted without thinking. Remy wasn’t gonna make that same mistake and boy did it cost me.


In addition to starting Supreme Reflections, I'm continuing with other updates to the X-men Supreme website. This includes the bios section. I'm often hesitant to post bios updates too soon because it could mean spoiling certain secrets for these characters. One character, however, has always generated a lot of interest and that's Emma Frost. She made her big debut in X-men Supreme Volume 3: Ashes of Hope. She played a major role in the X-men Supreme Phoenix Saga. And she'll continue to play a huge role in this fanfiction series moving forward. She still has her secrets, but I've managed to craft a bio for her that should help explain who Emma Frost is in the world of X-men Supreme.

Emma Frost Bio

I'm very excited about the future of the X-men Supreme fanfiction series. There's a lot I want to do with X-men Supree and I'm still formulating some plans. So stay tuned to this website for more updates on the future of this fanfiction series. That said, it's still very important that readers provide feedback. As this fanfiction series grows, I want to see more feedback from readers. So please take the time to post comments in each issue of X-men Supreme or contact me directly. Either is fine! The world of X-men Supreme is moving forward! I hope everyone is ready to move with it! Take care and best wishes! Excelsior!

Jack

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