Starbolts #666: Sibling Talk

 Hail!

    This week's comic deals with the aftermath of last week's comic where Crystal destroyed the "farm" she grew up on. I put "farm" in quotation marks because lord knows that wasn't a real farm. They didn't grow anything and there was barely any livestock. It was a farm in name only. But, that was the least of that place's problem. It clearly evokes a bad memory for her and Crystal was already stressed out over Ruby's current antics. No one is mad at her. However, the court of public opinion may see things another way. In the end, I don't think she'll care much about their thoughts on the issue.

    Marcus and Crystal had a great long talk when she got back. I totally see him waiting for her when she returned. They went to their apartment and proceeded to talk for hours about her panic attacks and Cody. He obviously knew what Cody did to her. They've discussed it many times. However, they never really talked about the cause of the first panic attack. Let's just say it wasn't pretty and is definitely not safe for this comic. I've gotten close to the line a few times. But, this is one line I can't cross. It was pretty horrible.

    At least our heroine is in good hands with her siblings and her other loved ones. I see her going to Jack and Carter whenever there's a problem. I even see her going to Marcus when she needs to let out some steam, too. The three of them suffered so much at the hands of Terra Nova. I think they'll need each other more than their parents when dealing with Terra Nova drama. Though the organization may be gone, the trauma may linger for some time.

    I think Crystal will be okay in the end. She has a great support system. At least now she's ready to take Ruby down once and for all. 

See ya next time!

    

Starbolts #665: Panic Mode

 

 Hail!

    Well, we knew this was coming. Crystal was never going to have a good reaction to hearing the lies coming out of Ruby's mouth. Thankfully, she's now immune to her "surrogate mother"/kidnapper's telepathic abilities thanks to the shields put in place by Aquita. So, she can see through the crap. Then again it doesn't really take much, does it? I mean everyone else had a similar reaction because they know the truth and are Crystal's friends/family.

    The poor Starbolt has gone through a lot and this is the final hurdle she has to go through. I won't go into details of WHY the panic attacks all started. If you've been reading long, you'll know all about Cody and what he did to her those many years ago. Sufficed it to say, it was not pleasant and despite all the progress she has made, there are some lingering effects that may never completely go away. Thankfully, she has a great support group nearby helping her out. It's all she really needs and it's what keeps her going in times of need. 

    As for the farm, it's probably for the best that it was destroyed like this. It was never actually a farm as Crystal stated. It was all a front to keep the daughter of Lady Liberty in line and away from her true family. Carter may have been in an actual prison. But, this was a prison as well. Any place can be one if you think about it. At least it's gone and now it has a chance to be made into a positive. What form it will take is unknown. The best thing it could be is probably a womens' shelter and a mental health facility. I think that would be the best use for that land given the history of the property. Who knows? It'll be a force for good and that's what matters.

    It was just like Marcus to try to run off like that. He loves Crystal and I think they're going to have a bit of a talk when she returns. Her sister may want a word with her as well given how Crystal used her powers this week. I don't think anyone'll blame her for destroying the farm. It's a good thing no one was hurt. The DMA took all the files and completely gutted the house. It's not like anything was there or in the barn. The structure, however, remained and that was the source of Crystal's pain.

    I think after this week she'll keep a close eye on her powers. Her spells still have some destructive properties based on pure emotion. Good thing help is just across the hall.

See ya next time!

Starbolts #664: Twisting the Narrative

 Hail!

    Wow. Where do I even start with this week's blurb? I mean it's obvious to anyone who has read the comic that Ruby here is a lying liar from Liartown, Liarania. This just takes it to the next level, doesn't it? When I was writing the comic this week, I was shaking my head and rolling my eyes when I was coming up with all the falsehoods she could be telling her lawyer. Thanks to Ruby's power of telepathic manipulation, Mr. Stevens bought it hook, line and sinker. I bet if an Aquan was assigned to be her lawyer, he or she wouldn't have been so easily swayed.

    She was able to use her powers on him thanks to the malfunctioning power inhibitor collar she was wearing. She was picking at it until it broke. She reconnected the points and people will be none the wiser. However, it didn't effect the people watching the feed and MAN are they angry. VERY angry. And rightfully so.

    I didn't put any links to old comics in this one because it's clearly a bunch of lies up to the fight in Starbolts #638. For those who don't know, Ruby twisted everything. Let's take it one point at a time.

* She did indeed give birth to Crystal. However, it was a surrogacy involving two kidnapped fetuses, Crystal and Carter.

* Ruby abused Crystal and tried to turn her into a spy for her terrorist organization, Terra Nova.

* She hired a much older man named Cody Dillinger to be her "bodyguard". He was in his twenties when he groomed and later had sexual relations with the girl while she was still a minor. Ruby looked the other way.

* Ruby and Andrea were rivals. However, her organization was not the altruistic one she made it out to be. Terra Nova were never "good guys". Ruby became jealous of Lady Liberty and tried to stop her at every turn.

* Crystal turned on Ruby on her own thanks to the abuse she suffered at her hands. It didn't help that Dennis (Firaxil) also suffered. 

* Dennis/Firaxil was also never her child. He is indeed an alien who unfortunately landed on the farm with his parents. She faked his parents' deaths and altered his mind using her powers.

    There are so many other lies. Basically everything that came out of Ruby's mouth this week is complete nonsense. Crystal is not going to take this very well next week. Stay tuned for that!

See ya next time!

Starbolts #663: The People vs Ruby Arronfeld

Hail!

    A new year of Starbolts adventures has begun and right off the bat it looks like Ruby Arronfeld is raining on Crystal's parade. You might recall some trouble with her last year when she and a bunch of her closest friends summoned a giant fire-breathing space turtle. I'm not letting that one go and neither are the Starbolts. See all the action in Starbolts #630. 

    Of course, that's not the only crime Ruby has committed. She was an accessory to the sexual assault Crystal had to endure during her "care". If you think she flat out lied to the lawyer about everything, you're right. You get a cookie. The trick is to prove to everyone that she's been lying. Though, I don't think it'll be too hard given the mountain of evidence against her. She has done so much to so many people and yet her focus has been on Andrea and Crystal due to petty jealousy. Ruby will get her just desserts again. 

    It's a shame that she had to rain on Crystal's parade this week. She finally worked up the courage to have a photo shoot. This is a big deal to her because she's never been comfortable showing her skin to people other than her boyfriend and a doctor. You can thank Ruby and Cody for that. After years of therapy she's finally in a good place. She just has this one last hurdle to jump over before she can finally be who she was born to be.

    Now as far as Carter and Firaxil go, I don't think she wants to be equated with the future version of herself. That's why she's kind of cold regarding any mention of "The Chief". Sure she may have had good intentions. But, she wants to be separated from her future self. I can't say that I blame her. We may see more of this in future comics. For now we need to get ready for what is sure to be a dramatic courtroom event. Ruby will naturally make this all about her. Crystal will have to be the one to set the record straight. 

See ya next time!

Starbolts #662: The 2023 Wrap-up

Hail! 

    A new year is upon us and this week's comic looks back at a few of the major events that transpired in the comic in 2023. The biggest event was when Kyodon came to Earth and stomped around town for a while. That was just the backdrop for a few other things happening this year. For example, Crystal found out Ruby hired Cody Dillinger to be her bodyguard. That didn't turn out well. We also had a major shakeup within the Order of Korun once an evil witch Karen was removed from office. So much more happened. I was not able to put it all into one comic! So, I stuck with some plot points that'll come into play in 2024.

    We will likely check in on Pal'idin's son as he's now stationed on Earth as a member of the New Starbolts. Poor kid lost his parents. He's gonna need all the help he can get. 

 We will also check in on Ruby. For those of you who are wondering what Medea did this week, I'll explain. Medea basically made her feel all the pain Crystal had felt from being kept apart from her real family to being sexually assaulted by Cody. All the pain hit Ruby at once and that's never going away. Just like those hideous scars on her face.

    You have to wonder why Medea is being so kind to Crystal lately. The way I see it. It's because the witch doesn't want Crystal to go through any unhappiness of any kind like she did. Medea sees herself in Crystal in terms of body type and personality. She doesn't want her to go through the pain she went through when she was married to Demonstorm and was forced to do unspeakable things. Santa/Odin called Crystal a "pure soul". We'll be finding out what that means soon enough.

       This now leaves Nikki and Cal. I revealed that they were Sola and Rick reborn in Starbolts #652. They'll be playing a role in the soul sword/cleaver arc coming up. For the moment it looks like they're taking on new staff for their perfectly legitimate enterprise. NO SHADY DEALINGS HERE! Yeah, I'm sure they're on the straight and narrow. Remember, they can't be touched by the Starbolts. But, I don't think they'll be all out evil. Nah. I see them as shades of gray. They'll do good things when it suits them. And Nikki already said she doesn't consider herself a Whitefox despite being Carter's clone.

    All in all 2023 was a pretty full year for our heroes. Next year is bound to be just as eventful. Stick around because we have a LOT going on. And as far as Tom goes....well, he'll be turning up again like a bad penny. Sometimes people don't know when to quit. See ya in 2024!

Starbolts #661: Days of Christmas Future

 

 Hail!

    The best Christmas present Crystal could ever receive is any baby picture of her with her real family. Santa delivered and Marcus got all the rewards. It's just as well. Santa isn't in it for the groupies. No. He's all about helping others much like the Starbolts. Still, I wonder a few things. Where did he get that picture? Well, as it turns out Marcus's hunch is correct.

    Santa took it upon himself to go into an alternate reality where Carter and Crystal were raised by the Whitefoxes. There, he found a photo of the family, made a copy of it and brought it back to his own reality. Now, you might say that the family isn't really "hers" because it came from a different reality. Here's the thing. For all intents and purposes it is her family. There's only a few minor differences and Santa had to find the one reality in the multiverse where the differences are negligible aside from one major difference: Who got to raise Carter and Crystal?  I hope that makes sense. There's a lot of timey-wimey stuff involved here.

    Now, I bet you're wondering about the other names jolly old Saint Nick has under his belt. Well, the Norse have called him Odin. Could he be Odin in disguise? Perhaps. The signs are all here in this comic. He lives in the cold Arctic. He has a long, flowing beard. He called Tommy a "mortal". The only thing is Odin has ONE eye. Eh....I'm sure the elves made one for him in the workshop. Then again Santa could be from another pantheon altogether. You never know. Gods do exist in this universe. Santa being Odin makes sense. Just be thankful he isn't Zeus.

    The Christmas trilogy has come to an end. You can read the other two here:

Starbolts #661: Days of Christmas Past

Starbolts #662: Days of Christmas Present

Tune in next time for the year-end spectacular! I hope everyone has an amazing Holiday! See ya next time!

Starbolts #660: Days of Christmas Present

 

 Hail! 

    Part two of our Christmas comic trilogy is here and it looks like someone is going to be getting a coal mine's worth of coal. I don't think there's any redeeming qualities for Thomas White. Do you? Yeah, unlike the other former members of the Legion he is not willing to turn over a new leaf. The man is obsessed with Crystal and I don't think he's going to stop now that he knows she's with Marcus. In fact, I think it might make him green with envy. Don't worry. I think Marcus and Crystal can handle him.

    Anya and Marcus discussed the plans for Crystal's present. I wonder what that might be. Well, aside from being a former Russian spy Anya Petrov was also a supermodel. Put two and two together and you might see where this is headed. Don't worry. This won't be the ONLY present Crystal is getting this year. I'd tell you. But, there'd be spoilers for the next comic.

    I'm fairly certain Crystal will like whatever Marcus gets her. She's a different woman now and definitely doesn't suffer fools like Tommy over here. Oh, that guy's going to be in for a world of hurt at the North Pole. I hate writing characters like him. But, it's satisfying to see the comeuppance.  I think Ellie's probably gonna want to take a crack at him. The man crashed HER ceremony. Dude has no class and it's easy to see who the better partner is for Crystal this week and every week to be honest.

See ya next week for the final part of the Christmas trilogy!