#facethepast

 People tell me I've redeemed myself. And some days... I think that's true. Other days... I don't. Helping people helps me. To feel worthwhile again. And maybe, hopefully... it'll help make those days where I really do feel like I've turned a corner not be so rare.

‘At some point it’s no longer about who wins or loses.’ The words made sense to her, to some degree. If winning or losing were all that mattered, a lot more things would be resolved in life. It often seemed like some people just liked to be in conflict as much as they possibly could be and would always find new reasons for it. 

“Would you say we’re past that point now?” Wanda asked, resting her head in on of her hands. Everyone on the planet was under threat right now. You would hope that might help align them somehow, even if the nature of the invaders was prime for sowing distrust. Instead, it seemed like it just helped to further some grudges. It was easier to accuse some people of not being who they said they were than others. 

Herself included. There were many people in the world who already didn’t like her. Some seemed all too glad for a new reason to question her allegiances. 

Yet she still couldn’t say protecting them didn’t matter. 

“I would hope it’s still important that we win this fight, in particular.”

@facethepast — happy holidays from your secret santa!

          A mild sense of concentration etches over the futurist’s visage in his moment of relative solitude, clustered neural pathways igniting as an encoded message is transmitted to a location far beyond the city limits of the Metropolitan Grid. A typewriter in a dingy room sparks to life, agitated type levers shunting into a sheet of paper.

Eleanor; 60 -  Upper East Side, Manhattan

I’m pleased to see the government is finally stepping in to regulate these “mutants” and what have you. I don’t have anything against them, but it’s clear that they can’t be trusted to control themselves, so if they want to be part of society they’re going to have to learn to follow the law just like everybody else.

John; 33 - Tribeca, Manhattan

How can we as citizens even contemplate opposing the Accords when accountability is so low that we let an unknown individual masquerade about as ‘Captain America’ without so much as even pushing for a definitive answer beyond mere rumors and gossip speculation? It does not matter what good deeds have been done or how many; despite quantity and quality of public service, the very public they serve deserves to know who exactly it is that supposedly has their best interests at heart. As is only clear from recent events, we only suffer the consequences when we don’t demand the knowledge we deserve.

Noah; 22 - Prospect Heights, Brooklyn

I feel like we’ve all been way too harsh on all these superheroes lately. Did everyone just forget that they stopped an alien invasion? Twice? And that’s without mentioning that they saved the city from various domestic terrorist attacks a few years ago, on top of battling another cosmic threat. With all due respect to local law enforcement, fire department, and counter terrorism agencies, we are simply not equipped to deal with threats of that scale. I think we could afford to cut them a little bit of slack.

Jose; 41 - Greenwich Village, Manhattan

So did anyone ever find out what that creepy, flying, red man-alien thing is?

Madison; 37 - Hell’s Kitchen, Manhattan

All the superhero-celebrity weddings are just stunts to draw attention away from the bad press they don’t want us to focus on. The Thor wedding coinciding with the alien invasion? Not a coincidence. Hawkguy and Hawkgirl getting hitched in the middle of this Accords stuff? Not a coincidence. Don’t think I haven’t noticed. It’s all just for show and I don’t buy into a second of it. For more details, check out my blog at www.superzeroes.com. 

[The Daily Bugle does not endorse the views held by public, unaffiliated bloggers]

Tarek; 28 - Brownsville, Brooklyn

I’m a public performer and I’m just writing in to say that this Accords business has put a damper on my earnings; everyone’s willing to line Cookie Monster’s pockets with cash, but not Captain America or Thor.

Danna; 35 -  Nolita, Manhattan

[messages sent from Sharon’s personal cell phone to Natasha’s private, secure line - early December, 2016]

(917): Strange, right, how America’s not doing a whole lot of talking, right? (917): Everything that’s happening, you’d expect to hear from the country.

(xxx): I’d disagree, but I guess it just depends on where you’re looking for news.

(917): That’s true.  That’s why I like to keep my interests diverse. (917): You know, stay educated.  Read a lot.  Travel.

(xxx): Now you’re speaking my language.  (xxx): I’ve found that sometimes the best places to find out what’s really happening in any country is just outside their biggest cities.

(917): Now this just sounds like how you talked me into going to Queens that one time.

(xxx): Say what you want, those pastries were delicious.

(917): Rub it in!

(xxx): All I’m saying is the outer boroughs have a lot of things you can’t get in the big city. (xxx): Pastries, cheap parking, real estate. (xxx): Did I tell you Isaiah was looking to buy in Brooklyn?

(917): Oh?  Good for him.  I hear the market out there is booming, right about now. (917): Can’t be too careful, better to lock down something early, before the prices go up.

(xxx): You know it. (xxx): I’ll send you a photo of the place he’s considering, very tasteful.  You’d approve. (xxx): Pre-war.  Very Old.  Practically belongs in the Smithsonian.