#( i'll also review my roster as i do it )

[temeryte]

archived. like this and i'll follow you on a new blog!

[librarycards]

I like your point about something being "pretentious," because I also think the term is used only to silence people who are bringing around important ideas.

I've seen you defend the complexity of academic writing in disability studies, which I also love and advocate for. I'm curious, however, about how you make space for people with intellectual disabilities, reading disorders, and other disabilities that make it a lot more difficult to parse overly academic writing. I remember this came up for me specifically when I was reading Jaspir Puar's "The Right to Maim." It's complex, necessarily so, but I found it deeply inaccessible.

I wonder, can disability studies truly be inclusive if it conforms to norms of academic complexity while sacrificing readability and engagement directed towards individuals with intellectual disabilities? I don't know if there's an answer, and I'd love to hear of any recommended reading you have on making space for people who exist outside of traditional modes of academic knowledge and research in a field as diverse as disability justice and Mad studies.

this is a common question, and i'll try my best to do it justice here -

first and foremost, it's important to remember that disability studies is not an activist project, nor is it one primarily concerned with providing social/academic support to individual disabled people per se. it's an academic discipline with roots in critical theory, queer theory, and literary/cultural studies, with its own intellectual genealogy, roster of normative terms, and citational background. when people -- puar, for instance -- write books like 'right to maim,' they're not writing for a general audience, disabled or non-. they're writing for colleagues and students interested in a particular set of arguments, drawing on a particular set of sources, and operating under the assumption that one has already done the (disability studies, ethnic studies, (post)colonial studies) readings - and, if you haven't, that you'll avail yourself of the lit review portion before engaging deeply with the book.

in short, part of the issue many people have when it comes to disability studies and their frustrations with it is that they do not take it seriously as an academic discipline among other academic disciplines. being disabled doesn't make me a disability studies expert any more than being a human makes me an anthropologist. the inaccessibility, as it were, of disability studies is a result of its specialization. this specialization isn't a bad thing - it's what happens when a field has been built over generations, on the shoulders of earlier fields, and requires extensive background knowledge to engage with. there's really no way around that when it comes to niche scholarly disciplines about things deliberately obfuscated in "normal life." this doesn't mean that nothing can be done to support wider uptake of CDS ideas among activists beyond the academy, but it does mean that our collective liberation as disabled people cannot and should not rest on universal understanding of or agreement x y or z element of a specific scholarly text.

that brings me to the next question, which is mostly about bringing disability studies scholarship to disabled people outside the academy, especially those whose disabilities make it difficult to access higher education. i don't think there's a way around reading the difficult texts if you want to be well-read and familiar with disability studies - or any other field - simply because people don't use complex language and syntax for no reason. we need to make up words for things that never had words before. fortunately, however, there are ways to introduce difficult concepts stepwise and in community, namely, through coursework - because as much as these texts weren't meant to be read by non-experts, they were also not meant to be read alone.

in my own experience teaching disability studies to classes wherein many, if not most students, are disabled, the best way of introducing these concepts is with regular old pedagogical tools like scaffolding, introducing background reading, approaching topics socratically, and encouraging group discussion informed by outside reading and personal experience. it is often helpful to go sentence-by-sentence and break down a particularly salient paragraph, or return to a particular citation to understand where one author's points link up with another's. one might go from puar back to saïd, for example, and also forward/sideways to mel chen or nirmala erevelles. put simply, i think reading these works together - in classrooms, in groups, in pairs, or even alongside others who have analyzed them before you (there are tons of analytical essays about most of these books on academia.edu/google scholar for example!) is one of the most reliable ways to improve your comprehension, and is certainly the method i use to help students better understand what they're working with.

lastly, and i think most importantly, i want to stress that the way many undergrads are taught to engage with any theoretical discourse is really, really damaging. it's damaging to expect an eighteen-year-old to consume and instantly "get" ideas that take multiple lifetimes' of debate to get worked out, if ever. being confused, not-knowing, asking questions, getting frustrated, taking a break and coming back -- these are approaches which many disabled students in particular have been pathologized for, but are actually the best (and certainly most predictable) responses one can have to a challenging text. i did not understand a lot of puar the first time i read her. i have read right to maim several times now, and am still puzzling over new things. a great deal could be done to support inclusion in all of our fields if abled/sane/NT people would stop bluffing and admit that they get confused, too; what an opportunity for scholarly interdependence that would be.

anyways....that's a long answer about something i'm very passionate about, so thanks for reading if you did! my main advice is to keep chipping away at challenging texts, because the process of reading and comprehending, especially done in community, is worth it, and helps lay the groundwork / build the muscle for engaging more difficult texts in the future.

as far as more disabled/Mad scholars thinking about academic literacies/classroom accessibility, there's Mel Chen, whose recent monograph, Intoxicated, deals with research, brain fog, and cognitive disability; Margaret Price, OG Mad Studies powerhouse, has also written at length about both pedagogical and personal approaches to mental disability in the classroom, and recently published a book called "Crip Spacetime" that is functionally an exposé on academic inaccessibility of all sorts.

I would also like to strongly recommend my beloved friend and colleague Helen Rottier, who does disability studies scholarship and works at a university disability cultural center, typically with IDD students. We co-authored a paper on Mad pedagogy that should be coming out...someday? Publishing is slow. But definitely check her work and I'm sure she'd welcome questions from you if you wanted to reach out!

[torque-witch]

Soft-launching my new Ko-fi store and page!

Support Death's Head Divination on Ko-fi! ❤️ - Ko-fi ❤️ Where creators get support from fans through donations, memberships, shop sales and more! The original 'Buy Me a Coffee' Page.

It's only stickers and prints so far, but I do want to use it as a space to re-grow my art business while I'm still working on art shows during the year. I'll also be working on blogs, witchy/pagan book reviews, art processes and memberships.

I really want to get off of Etsy ultimately because

They support AI art

It's all drop-shipping or copied listings (fake)

They are banning real artists daily

They bring in zero traffic these days

People really don't trust Etsy anymore as a service

So if you want to follow along, please visit my site! I will also be re-adding slots for commissions of various types like statues, digital art and runes. I will also add Tarot readings back into the roster.

The goal is to not need to Doordash, especially as my health has been a bit precarious over the last few years. I want the majority of my energy for art shows, which have really been going well throughout 2024.

Other than that, please feel free to chime in about what you would like to see from me in the future!

[crankyweasel]

Second season of Arcane just dropped, and boy am I exited.

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First of all, the only thing I write here is apparently my options and stuff, so sorry 'bout that. So without further ado, lemme share my review on the first act of Arcane season II:

Honourable mention amongst everything is of course the music, tho I can't really believe that they got Woodkid again (gotta love 'em tho),

I gotta give out another honourable mention to the spec ops Enforcer squad that Cait put together. For some reason I wish we got to see moar of them. That, and we got knock-off Vander, but enforcer? He's the highlight of the squad, hands down.

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Runner up is gonna have to be (for me) the weird sisterhood that Sevika and Jinx formed. I didn't expect it at all, but gotta say I'm here for it. I do like the fact that both of 'em were like "well we were pawns... ain't no more bitch". Like the whole first season they hated each other's guts and now it's like "we gotta do some'n about the Undercity situation...bet".

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Next up, we have Heimerdinger adopting Ekko's whole crew. The lil old man just found his place in the Undercity apparently, and it's pretty nice I gotta say. He's a great addition to the tree community centre situation they've got going on,

Continuing off from this, is the whole teacher - protégé relation between Heimerdinger and Ekko. It's nice, it's cute and quite honestly an interesting dynamic.

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Moving on now. I've no clue where to rank this (this is actually not a ranking post), so I'll just put it smack dab in the middle. I GOTTA give immense love to hobo jesus Viktor. Also ain't no one telling me he isn't hobo jesus. His weird godly-hood comeuppance was a whole ass rollercoaster. First we got him butterfly style cocooned (also, comatose I guess), he then reawakened, body moar purple than Thanos, he then proceeded to do a confession a.k.a that whole "affections" thing (the fuck you mean Vik, the fuck we mean Riot?!), moves back to the Undercity and promptly becomes hobo jesus, like the hell? All in all I fucking loved that arc, 10/10.

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Powering the fuck on, in my eyes and opinions, a huge "fuck you" to the one and only Ambessa Medarda. Man does her character piss me off. She is the ultimate player and that makes me tip my imaginary hat to her but that's 'bout it. She is a master manipulator, she's cunning, annoying, I swear if she was an animal she'd have scales and her every opinion/ advice is titled "war".

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Next up on the roster is, the man, the myth, the legend...(drumroll please) clueless Talis himself! This man is so confused and lost CONSTANTLY that it's not even funny anymore. His only guidance is in the form of Mel, he's all over the place and his moral compass is questionable at best. Love this idiot to bits tho,

After blues clues boy, I find it appropriate to mention probably the best part. Which is, the root of all problems apparently...the magic, a.k.a the arcane. Which, as we find out is on acid? I don't know what corrupted amalgamation was that in the chamber but it felt like the arcane was on acid and so was I simultaneously. Suffice to say it was wild, the arcane is wild.

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Before I reach the end of this review/rant thing, I must mention a point that I'm most excited about, and a point that I absolutely hate, so here we go again:

We finally see glimpses of Warwick, which undoubtedly I'm most excited for, because let's be real that beast-man will rock everyone's shit (if he turns out to be a cheap imitation of what and who Warwick is imma be pissed),

I fully and whole heartedly want to kill the old fucker doctor hoodless a.k.a Singed. He creeps me out, gives me slight Dr. Frankenstein vibes (but worse), he's got his fingers in a lot of pies and he's old as fuck but somehow still alive?! Like this crazy motherfucker is 70, someone kill him please!

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And I shall end it with the lovely and incredibly stupid sort of couple VI and Cait! At first I was like, "please don't fight, don't hurt my blacked out soul". Then, in the Undercity I was like "yes! please stay together, trust each other and perhaps love each other", to my absolute shock and miracle it seems like Riot heard our collective cries and made them happen just to rip it all away. I hate y'all at Riot, but man do I love y'all too. Their emotional turmoil rollercoaster was both daunting and electrifying. Suffice to say I loved it.

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That's it, that's all (for now, just wait till the next and then the last act comes out). Thanks for reading this rant, have a nice acid-trip day everyone! Till next time.

[buds-and-baubles]

(superman: warworld apocalypse 2022)

my review for the warworld arc (issues of action comics (2016–ongoing) 1036-1046 plus 1047 and superman: warworld apocalypse) has arrived! there will be spoilers so warning in advance.

i'll be entirely honest, i genuinely enjoyed reading this arc. missing the original authority roster (v1 or v2) aside, my biggest complaint truly is that... there wasn't enough. for clark it had plenty, but for rebirth's the authority, we could've had more.

it left a sour taste in my mouth that after they were all defeated by mongul and his entourage, that we didn't get to follow along to see what happened to three of the team members.

i wanted to know what happened to manchester black being stuck with teacher, enchantress stuck with mother, and who the fuck if anyone that apollo was stuck with. they never explained who picked him, as mongul handed out two authority members to his finest and most loyal warriors.

frankly, it felt like apollo was shoved off to the side for this arc. he's there for the first fight against mongul, was horribly injured in that fight, and then was off the pages. he wasn't present for most of this arc. quite disappointing, to put it mildly.

even though this was an arc focused primarily on clark and his wanting to save the phaelosians, they could've given just a bit more and i'd have been more pleased than i already am about what i read.

if they'd have done at the back of the issues at least one whole issue each for each team member, it would've felt further fleshed out to me. OMAC coping post-arena fighting and reminiscing about lia. natasha while she worked the forge with leonath and missing her uncle john.

manchester black being moved to teacher's place after teacher declared he picked him and then the torture he endured while there. enchantress being moved to mother's place after mother declared she picked her and torture she endured while there there.

showing who picked apollo. was he picked by mongul as no other warrior was shown with him? was that why people were worshipping him around the throne and chanting 'gaoleng uhl mongul'?. when he was placed on the throne.

when the metal contraptions which kept him stuck and compliant were shoved into his back. that he had seen when midnighter visited him. showing how he was trapped inside while being one of the unmade. his reaction of being made to aid in killing almost an entire planet and those in warworld fighting alongside superman.

on the note of being an unmade, a tiny tidbit more for OMAC on being a willing unmade. i also would've loved an issue of lightray after being resurrected remembering she died and that she's now back, but there's the essence of mother trapped within her body right alongside her. she too, is trapped in being one of the unmade. for lia to have called out to OMAC but she can't be heard.

being made to kill innocent people and how she reacted. how it felt to see OMAC kill innocent people too, as well as apollo. what her and OMAC did after celebrating mongul's defeat since in action comics 1047 it shows OMAC fine like he wasn't near death anymore.

i would've loved a whole issue following midnighter and how he escaped the arena. of showing how it felt for him to leave apollo behind there chained up, knowing he had to do this so he could eventually get him out of there.

him hidden somewhere, enraged at what clark bringing them there had done to them all. especially apollo. midnighter reminiscing about apollo throughout the issue. as he declared when he first decided on his warpath to find apollo and get him out.

with midnighter in mind, i would've loved if he hadn't caved so fast when clark arrived about rescuing apollo. he should've argued longer, gotten in clark's face. that coming to warworld was a mistake. how any team member whose dead or might be dead is blood on his hands.

midnighter as he turned to leave so he could save apollo despite clark's protests, only being stopped by clark apologizing. mid to turn in order to remark again, for clark to gently ask him if having him back now is worth the statistical risk of losing him forever, as there's a high risk that removing him from the star forge could go wrong.

midnighter only agreeing to help with the phaelosians when mongul sent his entourage in after otho-ra, osul-ra and the others if they find a way to get out apollo next. that if he isn't the next they save, he will leave again and find a way to do it himself.

on the topic of otho-ra and osul-ra, i love them. i love imagining that if they hadn't aged jon up, how the interactions from here on out would be like. this arc also made me love both who use the alias of steel and now i wanna read for both of them so i picked up reign of the superman.

my ideas aside, the characterization for midnighter and apollo left much to be desired. it was leagues better than stormwatch vol 3 and while kinder than the shitty characterization i had endured during my wildstorm reading, it felt.. stale.

i would've loved to see apollo being cheeky and with his dry humor to bounce off of midnighter doing much of the same. their whole back and forth quick banter has always been a fond thing to me so i miss it. i wanted them to talk how they used to. how they spoke in this didn't really sound like them.

midnighter's best and closest to his actual characterization i felt was during his back of the comic issues journey we got to see of him searching for apollo and how to get him out. it felt intrinsically midnighter and i wanted more. outside of those tidbits, i wanted his to-the-point statements.

let me give an example of my own writing:

"i know what move you're about to make. my computer had seen it before you had the damn gall to approach me. superman is letting you and your mongul boot-kissing fucks off easy. me? i'm going to find out just what bones you have that earthlings don't. i'm going to break them one by one, stress fracture by stress fracture, until you're crying and begging for mercy like others have done for you at your feet. then, i'll sit and ponder whether i end your miserable existence or leave you to writhe in agony, begging to die. so say the schrödinger's dead."

also this is a teeny thing but i wanted midnighter calling apollo by his name or other nicknames whether romantic or not. babe is cute don't get me wrong, but some variety would've been nice. i say the same for apollo to call midnighter by name or other nicknames whether romantic or not.

all in all, i actually enjoyed reading warworld arc. i wanted more to flesh out rebirth's the authority roster. it seemed like it was good for clark/superman characterization and story wise from the small bits of him during the 90's i have read.

i can't say whether it was good for natasha irons or enchantress as i've never read for them before. manchester black i say much of the same but admittedly i'm not really a fan of him so it doesn't change too much about reading this.

OMAC and lightray (lia nelson) from earth-9 have really grown on me. i'd love to see more of them in the future perhaps doing their own thing heroicially as a duo like midnighter and apollo did. like maybe exploring that tidbit teacher mentioned about 'knowing OMAC's name'.

i got genuinely giddy at the comic issues that explored what was going on back on earth. we need to give lois more alien guns, honestly. john henry irons is such a brilliant character. he's close with clark AND lois. close with the whole superfamily. he is an extremely intelligent man who strives to do good for the environment and people. he loves his niece natasha, who followed in his footsteps. i can't wait to see more of him.

thanks for reading y'all. the superfamily i do say has got me going yippieeee!

[scooby-review]

The Scooby Doo Show Villains Ranked

Make your own tier list here! Made by Finbar

Bad

Much like Where are You? The Scooby Doo Show boasts an iconic roster of villains, alongside some unique deep cuts with a wide array of unique ideas. However, there's also an episode where the villains are just a couple of guys. Just old men.

Saying just old men is maybe harsh, they're colonial ghosts, all based on real people. Yet they offer me nothing, their histories are muddy to say the least, and I don't find them to be all too interesting. If someone were to show me this roster, I would assume they were the culprits, not the monsters themselves.

Meh

Most of these character designs fall into similar categories as to why I dislike them. In fact, excluding the zombie, I would fairly simply explain these designs as lacking much life, often actively feeling like they're missing something. And maybe the same can be said for the zombie, his design does lack much flair to it, he's a man with crimson eyes, he's bland to watch both visually and in terms of his personality.

Okay

A good chunk of these designs I think are well put together, but something in their personalities or archetypes are missing for me. Characters like The Rambling Ghost and Phantom Racer in particular stand out as competent and creepy designs, I especially love the raggedy costume and hung, ghoulish face of the Rambling Ghost.

Some that are okay, somewhat by default, are the Gorilla, Talking Bull and Soulless Captain Clemens, because at their core, these are secondary characters that count as villains, but evidently lack something. Ranking the Gorilla in particular is a tricky one, there's no real flair to the character, it's a Gorilla, this is all. The Talking Bull is a funny disguise, it therefore, completes its purpose, but stating the Talking Bull is a better monster than the Rambling Ghost would be ingenuine, he lacks a lot of the creativity and flair of Where are You's Phony Phantom too.

There are the some recolours here, the Ice Cream Phantoms are simple palette swaps of the Green Ghosts from Where are You, which look appealing, they're more interesting than the previous series pirates, however they still lack any creativity to what could have been a great monster.

Both the Jaguaro and Demon feel somewhat off to me, it's difficult to explain exactly what about their designs fall flat for me, but both characters are completely reliant on just a great design to get by, personality isn't a factor, and therefore, I simply can't say I love them.

Good

There's such an array of faces in this tier, which can only be a positive reflection upon the diversity of monsters in this iteration of the franchise. As to not go in depth into every character in fear of repeating my thoughts from my reviews, I'll hone in on a select few.

This zombie is an interesting one, because yes, this is just another recolour. Yet the pink pops so perfectly against the ashy skin, he's a near carbon copy of the character from Where are You in personality too, yet something about him is so much more interesting to me. He's lazy, it's impossible to deny this, but if we're getting recolours, I'm happy to see them be completely unique spins on the originals designs.

Tamooka, the bull, is a great central villain to the episode, given that he acts more so as an omen in contrast to the typical Scooby monster who chases. Of course, the gang flee this monster, however, this comes from their own assumptions, building upon common tropes in their mysteries, which allows Tamooka to stand out loads in comparison. However, I do feel this is ultimately done better with the Willawaw, the owl, in great tier.

The Ghost of Captain Pescado is a perfect way to demonstrate the ways the crew are able to take an existing trope and make it feel fresh. Having another pirate is inevitable, yet this design offers such a distinct colour palette, ghoulish face, unique costume and fun array of supporting characters that he ends up becoming one of the best pirates in the franchise, at least to my knowledge.

Great

Within this tier there are characters brimming with personality, something that can sometimes feel missed in this era, although many of the worst seen in Where are You too lack much personality. I don't mind brutish characters or villains content with just groaning, the Tar Monster and Pterodactyl Ghost in this tier are evidence to that, but it should go without saying that giving a character something unique to the way they act or talk will instantly make them more memorable.

The Spectre of Ebenezer Crabbe, Ghostly Gondolier, Vampire and Merlin are all oozing with personality that perfectly compliments their interesting backstories, accompanying locations and thematic pulls. They're joys to watch from the moment they appear on the screen, they truly enhance their respective episodes, every second with them in presents such a grand flair to the story.

Many characters in this tier also overshadow many older or other villains. The Willawaw, Shark, Zombie Lilah and Cat Creature are all far more interesting takes on similar ideas (with the exception of the shark) explored in this series. They highlight the aspects that made the prior monsters fall, Zombie Lilah is so much more interesting than the aforementioned red eyed zombie because she's a character we meet beforehand, who becomes a zombie, with a great shift in her palette and design. In contrast, I can't say this Black Knight is any better than Where are You's, however, they both rest about on par.

Perfect

There are a slew of perfect designs in this series, all of which echo my feelings of The Scooby Doo Show generally.

The Mantis Creature, Octopus Monster and Gator Ghoul are immaculate takes on animals as anthropomorphic monsters. They very literally light up their episodes, their colours are beautiful, stories unique and incredibly distinct. The Gator Ghoul's sharp, moon steeped eyes and the Octopus Monster's shockingly gorgeous movements etch them into my mind.

Both Old Iron Face and the 10,000 Volt Ghost are steeped in genuinely creepy and captivating backstories, not to mention the designs are great and command attention. The former monster comes from a fairly bland episode too, her very presence is able to transcend the prison she's been encased in.

Finally, both the Headless Horseman and The Ghost of Melissa Wilcox (The Witch) are perfect takes on common horror villains, the former coming from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow, while the latter is a common archetype. Yet both manage to stand out against every other rendition of the same idea, they too are steeped in personality, with the witch steeped in stories of the Salem Witch Trials, managing to deliver a surprisingly strong look into the persecution of women for theoretical crimes, the moral panics that many fall into, and how folk devils can uphold a semblance of peace to those unable to live.

Next Ranking: Scooby Doo and Scrappy Doo Villains Ranked (Coming Soon!)

Previous Ranking: The New Scooby Doo Movies Villains Ranked

[thekaijudude]

Ngl, I was kind of hyped when I watched the trailer, until I learned the lead director was Masayoshi Takasue. Now I'm worried it's gonna be terrible. Imo R/B was meh but Decker was just awful. Hopefully I'm wrong, but I was also hyped for Decker before it came out. At least the TF looks cool, I guess. And yeah, the kaiju are a bit hit and miss with me.

What are your thoughts?

Personally I feel confident since Masayoshi has improved with each installment. As pointed out prior that for me, RB went absolutely downhill after ep 9 and Decker was literally just mid for me as there wasn't anything done that was especially bad nor good overall

I see this mirroring Taguchi's own improvement from X to Z. With Omega being possibly Masayoshi's magnum opus like how Z was for Taguchi on their 3rd series

As for overall thoughts on Omega thus far, tbh as far as visual effects go, I hope the scene where Omega ventures into that CG landscape is actually related to the main plot cause MAN that looks AMAZING

But otherwise, the kaiju roster rn is extremely dissapointing as they are all very obviously modified versions of existing suits. And as I pointed out, 2 of the kaiju had such basic designs that it's absolutely laughable

Like I could've literally designed them when I was 5 or sth, the 2nd one is literally just Big Bird but blue wtf

As for the plot synopsis, tbh we can't really tell much atp, because there's 2 ways of interpreting it.

One would be Omega arriving on Earth was by sheer coincidence and his arrival probably sparked a domino effect in causing kaiju to show up. As recall that the leaks prior pointed out that this Earth did not had any kaiju appearance prior to Omega's arrival

Second would be that Omega's amnesia situation and arrival was orchestrated by someone so that by extrapolation, the kaiju were also sent by said person to get rid of Omega somehow

Atp I've been baited enough times by TsuPro to NOT have my expectations so high so for now I'm just reserving my views until at least when ep 0 comes out in June

But another thing that actually stands out to me after rewatching the trailer so many times that it's actually possible that Omega might go all in on the visual effects but leave everything else lacking.

As the revealed kaiju suits are of any indication as I've pointed out that they are all simply remodels, even Omega's design himself is very basic as pointed out in my design review (not that it's neccessarily bad, but it just goes to highlight what I'm saying), so it's evident that TsuPro is trying to cut costs left and right here

Since we do know that Omega finished filming very quickly as TsuPro wanted to get working on the 2026 anniversary series asap, so I'm quite concerned that the Omega series would go down this route. Which means simple/underwhelming plot and majority of kaiju suits would just be remodels

Tho personally, since the plot synopsis pointed out that there's gonna be fast-paced fight scenes as a selling point and we saw such AMAZING visual effects? I think I'll be totally fine with this arrangement as long as at least the mid boss and final boss suits are unique and amazing looking

Thanks for the question!

[lazysunjade]

2024 simblr resolutions:

new year, new aesthetic: "idgaf"

finish Chosen of the Sun

post more often

play sims 3...?

more interior posts

modern AU

resurrect the fallen (wcif naiven. kerrigans? never met em)

lower my standards challenge impossible

I'll be honest, after reviewing the astounding lack of posts I made this year, I was a bit sad and a bit ashamed. part of me wants to go back to doing stuff that I used to years ago, even if just to see if it still brings me any joy. whether it does or not, I want 2024 to be the year I start caring less about hitting impossible benchmarks and holding myself to brutal standards just to fail anyways, and start just posting things that make me happy. that means no more locking myself in to one particular theme or content type. I've had an itch to actually post interiors again. and maybe I'll even post some sims 3 stuff to this blog. I think I'll still primarily stay in Blender because it makes me happiest, but some things are too much effort. very likely you will be seeing more modern and less fantasy content on this blog, because it's less stressful and quicker to make. I do miss some of my older sims and families, but also I won't lie. I'm happiest posting Yeryn, still, I'll at least put in some effort to expand the roster.

I'm not committing to any big new projects but I've an idea to do something a bit different from my usual stories with the Yeryn modern AU. the format will be completely new for me, and not as confining as things like CotS or even legacy. I put it on the list but I don't expect to make much headway, I just want to give myself a push to try and see if I like it.

anyways thanks for sticking around with me, especially considering I almost entirely moved away from the game this year, and y'all still supported me and followed my posts and love you for it, truly. I think a year's break and changes in game and out has given me a much needed rest and some perspective. all I really want for the new year is to be more active and make stuff I love and not have any regrets when the clock strikes midnight a year from today. let 2024 be the year we all be a little messy if that means more damn posts on dash

Happy New Year's to all of you!

[dumbfinntales]

I'm pretty much done with MH Wilds for now. I still kinda lost interest towards the end and didn't feel like grinding like back in the old days, but I still had to hunt Arkveld a little and a certain returning lil' fella ;-)

A long time ago I was a massive fan of the MH games. I started with 3 Ultimate and played it religiously. I then got 4 Ultimate that I played a lot, but not quite as much. I had a break from the franchise until World and I quite enjoyed that one as well, but something felt different. After beating the story and hunting all the monsters my interest kinda fell. I didn't feel like doing end game, or grinding all the coolest armor. I'd make a couple armor sets that suited me and beat the game with those. After Iceborne, which I got late, I started to realize that I wasn't as into the MH gameplay loop as I used to be. I eventually tried out MH Rise demo and decided to skip the game altogether. Honestly I had no interest in Wilds when it was revealed either.

Why did I get Wilds then? I watched a review and saw all the new monsters and they just awoke that old sense of awe in me, when I first set my eyes on 3 Ultimate. And honestly? I think MH Wilds has the most unique roster of new monsters. They're not all just dinosaurs or wyverns. I especially love LOVE the new octopus type enemies like Nu Udra and Xu Wu. I even made the Xu Wu armor set, even though farming his fangs was a pain. The new monkey Ajarakan was my favorite in the whole game. This is what I love about MH. Monsters. And hunting them of course. I never get excited for returning old monsters. I've already fought those. Honestly I'd prefer if the monster roster was 100% original. And I would not mind at all not seeing Rathalos' scaly face ever again. Uniqueness of the monsters is important too. Hard to get excited for the 20th dinosaur or the 50 wyvern type monster. How many monkeys do we have? Or toads? Octopi? Where are the snake wyverns? They introduced a couple in MH4U.

And I know I just said that I don't like returning monsters, but... I'll be a hypocrite and say I was happy to see Gore Magala again. Honestly, Gore Magala was cool as hell, and he still is. I bet Shagaru will make a return as well at some point, haha. Gore was a hectic fight and one of the few monsters in the game that carted me more than once. Wilds is kinda on the easier side right now. I didn't cart even once against tempered Arkveld, but nearly ran out of quest time. Still beat it, baby!

But yeah, you get me. The monsters are neat. The story is also even more involved than in World. Your hunter especially feels like a character, and I kinda like it. Instead of being a silent protagonist they take part in the story. It's not a mind blowing story, but serviceable.

I dig the open world structure as well. You can set out at any point and travel between each locale freely, and if you see a monster in the wild you can just hunt it. And it even turns the hunt into a quest, which is neat. I also liked how much easier it is to get rare mats from monsters this time around. I'm one of those blasphemers that didn't enjoy hunting Rathalos 20+ times for a single plate. Although my luck was pretty good, as I got gems from carves and quest rewards quite often even before the investigations.

Usually I main the Charge Blade, I have since 4U, but this time around I simplified my approach and used the sword and shield. Quite a fun and useful tool, no wonder it's considered very beginner friendly. I just like the mobility and that my movement isn't restricted. I did try other weapons like dual blades and longsword, and I feel the combat is somewhat improved. I also quite liked the wounding mechanic. It's a bit busted as you can just keep stunlocking a monster, but I enjoyed it.

MH Wilds is probably the best starting point. It has a lot of QoL improvements that purists hate, a very unique monster roster and a somewhat interesting story. Although no matter what they do with the story, most people are here to hunt monsters and not listen to drama about artificial life. Good game! I hope the new monsters they introduce later on are as unique.

[mercuriallily]

Cosplay year in review (plus more)

2023 has been quite the year for me. I turned 25, moved away from the only city I've ever lived in, started university, and adopted a cat. I dealt with several personal issues and health problems. So much in my life changed this year - but what remained constant was my love of cosplay.

I added two new cats to my cosplay roster (Demeter and Mungojerrie), plus song pieces for Rumpleteazer. (I also started a non-Cats cosplay, Katherine Howard from Six the Musical.) I learned how to knit warmers and make fluffy tails for Cats cosplays, and even got to do a few commissions and trades! I did a presentation for school in cosplay, and started a cosplay-centric Instagram account.

Cosplay is not a cheap or easy hobby. It is very expensive and takes a lot out of me. There are times when I consider giving it up, but the joy it brings me and the support I get keeps me going. Thank you all.

I plan to add two more cats to my roster in 2024: Mexico Rumple (already halfway there!) and freestyle feral kitten Bomba. I'd also like to get song pieces for Mungo and maybe a replica Deme wig if possible! I'll be revamping my commission info as well, so if you're looking for warmers and/or fluffy tails I hope you'll keep me in mind.

So, in classic year in review fashion, some highlights!

My top 5 most popular cosplay posts this year: 1 2 3 4 5

My top 10 personal favourite pics this year:

Shoes, makeup, belled collar, Demeter arm warmers, Mungo warmers and tail by me; spikey collars by jelliclecatscorner on Instagram; everything else by @pixiedustjellicle

Thank you so much for this year, and I hope you're looking forward to 2024!!

[romancomicsblog]

Marvel's Secret Invasion wastes potential & fantastic actors - REVIEW

I'll be honest, the announcement of Secret Invasion being adapted into a Marvel television series was somewhat disappointing. After seeing this story successfully adapted through Avenger's Earth Mightiest Heroes, and with the MCU's ever growing roster of heroes, it felt like a story well suited for the big screen.

None the less, when it was revealed to be an espionage thriller centered around Nick Fury, with the feel of Captain America the Winter Soldier, I was very excited.

As the cast grew, Ben Mendelson, Emilia Clarke, Cobie Smulders, Don Cheadle, Olivia Coleman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, I thought this show was going to be something very special.

Unfortunately, while most MCU shows have been a mixed bag, none have been more mixed baggier than Secret Invasion.

Before I get anymore deep into this rant, I must say:

SPOILERS AHEAD FOR ALL OF SECRET INVASION.

I will say a few nice things to start.

Excellent Actors

Although I think many of these actors were wasted as far as how much screen time they had, and their role within their show, the show is ridiculously stacked with talent and it's a delight to watch.

Olivia Colman, Kingsley Ben-Adir, Don Cheadle and Ben Mendelson are highlights to me, but Samuel L Jackson, Emilia Clarke, and others are also fantastic.

Colman as Sonya I think will leave this show as a fan favorite, and possible eventual successor to Fury. She has a good mix of fun energy and intimidation, and clearly is having a ball.

Don Cheadle's "Rhodey" is for once doing something interesting in this show. As a secondary antagonist, Cheadle is able to chew up scenery as a Skrull and be a sinister rival to Samuel L Jackson, for once using Cheadle's fantastic acting skills properly.

While Gravik is an ordinary Marvel villain by all means, Ben-Adir gives him an anger and viewpoint that feels fresh. His monologue facing Fury in the final episode really brings the pain out for me. I don't know if he'll work as a character for others, but for me, due to the performance, Gravik is a step above many others.

Solid Ending

Secret Invasion ends on some very interesting notes, and I think overall sticks the landing where other MCU shows fail.

Wrapping up the story of Gravik with a giant Super-Skrull fight (which was a lot of fun), it leaves the MCU in a very interesting place, with the President calling on all aliens to be considered enemies.

This leaves assassinations running rampant, Skrulls on the run, and people anxious and scared.

This leaves Sonya and a new super G'iah as uneasy allies to protect the Skrulls and mankind.

This also pushes Fury to keep his promise and go up to Saber to continue his mission with his wife.

Overall, I like this ending. It sets up good stakes for earth that aren't just multiversal stakes. We can feel the ramifications of this show for years to come, and seeing what Fury, Sonya, and G'iah do next does excite me.

Plus, who doesn't love a Super Skrull fight?

Excellent Complicated Love Story

I think often where reviews and reviewers fall short is complaining about what a show isn't as opposed to examining a show for what it is.

While part of me thinks this isn't the time for a Nick Fury love story, I also have to point out that this is a great love story.

Charlayne Woodard as Nick Fury's wife Varra/Priscilla Davis adds an excellent layer to Fury's character.

While the chemistry is there, the acting performance between these two were captivating. There is an excellent scene where you have no idea what each character might do, guns on the table, talking about their past mistakes.

This was by far my favorite scene of the show.

It also brings to light many of Fury's flaws and possible prejudices, and gives you a firsthand look at what Skrulls go through on a daily basis.

Overall, I loved the inclusion of Varra, and would love to see her pop up more often.

But now on to my problems with the show. Starting with:

Meaningless Deaths

While a story like this definitely needs death to carry weight, I'd argue two characters die for absolutely no reason.

First I'll talk about is Talos. This fan favorite character dies in my opinion the saddest death. At the end of Talos' life, he has lost his wife, his daughter has lost faith in him, he has been stripped of his seat at the table of the Council, he has lost the faith of his people, and he just dies.

Now, a death like that you think would impact our main characters in any sort of significant way. But Fury, like with most deaths, has no reaction. It does not change or effect Fury's view of himself, he does not reflect on his regrets. You'd assume he was a nothing soldier, not a brother in arms.

But at the very least we got more Talos this season before his fatal end.

Maria Hill and Cobie Smulders deserved so much more.

Besides her death being used as leverage for the world to be after Nick Fury, which truly doesn't affect him at all, Hill's role is simply to die to imply stakes.

Using Maria just to die in such an unheroic way is really insulting to the character. When they killed Coulson, at the very least they did it with him trying to protect one of our heroes. Here, she is tricked by Gravik, and dies doing nothing of importance in the series.

I think having another character to provide a view point between Talos and Fury's argument of the Skrulls could have been beneficial. And having a larger group of agents would've added to the drama of who you could trust, who is really a skrull.

Instead they wasted not one but two of Marvel's most underrated characters.

Twists we see Coming

Rhodey being a skrull, G'iah not being dead, even G'iah being Fury in the final battle were all rather predictable twists. While there were genuine moments of suspense and shock, none of these worked for me.

Perhaps if they hinted strongly The President was a Skrull, and it was revealed it was actually Rhodey, that might've worked more for me, or hiding G'iah is alive for a few episodes. But instead none of them felt particularly hard to figure out.

Easy to figure out who you could trust

The point of a Secret Invasion storyline with many characters is to not trust anyone.

With the exception of Rhodey, Ross and Fury (ONE TIME), we don't get anyone impersonating our heroes. No one pretends to be Talos, or other MCU heroes, and Fury's crew is easy to trust throughout the entire show.

They do a half-hearted reason as to why Fury can't call other Avengers but really the best reason was right under their noses: he doesn't know who is real. That should've been the driving force of the show. Fury putting all his best mates to the test trying to figure out who he can trust and undo this invasion.

That's what a Secret Invasion story is.

All in all, Secret Invasion has just enough weight and great performances to warrant a watch and maybe even a future. It surprisingly sets up a second season very well, even with two protagonists who aren't Fury.

If this were to continue, it definitely needs to push the stakes, the conflict, and more than anything, the suspense. We should all be like Agent Prescod wondering desperately as it goes on, who do we trust?

If not, I'm afraid this show is destined to be forgotten in the middle of the road of the MCU.

Thank you for reading! If you'd like to support me, you can follow me here on my socials!

[vocaloid-girlnament]

SUBMISSION PERIOD: OVER!

(propaganda is always open, though!)

CURRENT ROSTER

like vocaloid* music? like girls? like vocaloid* music about girls? you have found your people. one must rule them all.

*"vocaloid" is used here to increase traction; songs made with any vsynth engine under the sun are welcome!

welcome :-) got a character from a vocal synth song you really like? well, if they're girl-adjacent, toss them in my direction!

you can also submit propaganda on why that girl should win

[thank you to vocalokat's discord server KATNATION for this idea...!]

the submission period is currently over!

please read the criteria under the cut before submitting!

submission criteria: • the submitted character is from a song with a title formatted as "(ADJECTIVE) girl" or anything adjacent • the submitted character has a design that differs at least marginally from the design of the vocal synth used for the song (all with nuance of course, submissions will be present to The Council™ for review)

submission guidelines: • you can submit more than one girl, just keep it to one per ask, please! this is for sorting reasons! • it'd be cool if you could include a link to the song your girl is from! youtube, spotify, vocadb, niconico, etc. all work • you can include an image, that'd be so awesome! do note i might end up digging for an image myself so i can set up image aspect ratios right and whatnot ^^" • if you can, please check the current roster section below to see if the girl you want to submit is already registered! there's always the chance that i've gotten them in already! additionally, even if i just haven't updated the roster yet, don't be afraid to send in a girl you don't see in the current roster, i'll understand if i get repeats and the girl is not already on the roster!

...and, that's all you have to worry about if you're just submitting a girl! but, if you really, really want to convince the people to vote for your girl, you can also submit propaganda! submitted propaganda will be attached to all polls the girl is featured in. your propaganda will be posted anonymously, even if sent off-anon, as a bulleted list beneath the poll!

propaganda guidelines: (these are a little heftier, sorry! this is the scarier section because it's free writing on your end) • the "one per ask" rule is opposite here, please, as much as you can, if you are one person submitting propaganda, keep it to one ask! i can forgive forgetting one or two things in your ask and needing to squeeze in another, but for maintenance's sake, please avoid spamming as much as possible • stay appropriate please. this is not the confessions altar this is a random internet poll

[purplesurveys]

1837

What is your favorite breakfast food? Fried rice with eggs and hotdogs, or tapsilog :) Such comfort breakfast food. I like Eggs Benedict and Monte Cristo too, but let's be real I never have either for breakfast and only get them at restaurants when I feel like having breakfast food on a non-breakfast hour.

Who do you (romantically) love? Nobody.

Have you ever considered yourself dirty? In a few aspects, sometimes. Like how I have a bad habit of putting trash in my handbag, and end up having a pile of papers and wrappers after a few days.

What do you do to relax? Playing with the dogs eases my worries more than anything, but I also like turning to YouTube.

Do you enjoy kissing? Sure, but I haven't done that in a couple of years. That's okay with me though, I'm not a very sexual person in general.

What about making out? ^ Eh, just about the same.

Where are you most ticklish? My tummy and waist. I don't like even getting hit in that area, no matter how lightly, cause I'll end up squirming hahaha.

Have you ever been to an arena concert? Yes, most of the concerts I've attended have been in arenas. The only exceptions were One Direction (which was held in outdoor concert grounds) and Se So Neon (happened in a large indoor tent).

Where was the last place you kissed someone? It may have been outside my house, right by my car. Memory's hazy.

Do you know anyone who is expecting? I know someone who was due in like a couple of weeks when I first met her, so she has likely given birth by now. As for currently expecting, I don't think so.

What does your third text message say in your inbox? Just my bank telling me there was a recent transaction on my card.

Do you use speed dial? I never used that.

If so who is number 5?

Have you ever kissed someone of the same sex? Yes.

Where do you want to get married? I've always wanted a hotel wedding just so everything - or at least most things - can be set for us lol. They have the ambiance, they've got catering, the sound system, some hotels already have their roster of hosts...considering how all over the place I can get, that much would be a big help.

Do you plan on having both your parents at your wedding? If I ever get married, of course.

If you could visit one person right now, who would it be? No one, I like being alone right now.

Do you like school? The social part of it was really great; some of the best years of my life. I liked learning too but only to an extent, as there were some subjects I found to be a waste of time + some teachers didn't have the best attitude.

What is your all time favorite subject that you have ever taken in school? History. < Mine too :)

Do you have a current teacher who you wish taught all of your classes? Not current, but I wish my high school music teacher had been my teacher for everything.

What has been your favorite part of this calendar year so far? Being able to save as much as I have.

Are you going on vacation any time soon? No plans currently. My parents are planning this huge party for my grandparents in June so that will 100% kill off any vacation plans; Reena just came back from a trip to Thailand so I'm sure she'd want to save for the next few months; Angela's super busy with boards review. In any case I plan on going to Seoul next year for when BTS are back, so it'll be smart for me to not book anything for now.

Do you catch yourself staring at inappropriate times? Sometimes.

How many times have you been fall-down drunk? Less than 10 times.

Has a friend ever really hurt you and you never told them? Sure.

Where would your most romantic getaway spot be? Somewhere remote in either Palawan or Baguio.

Have you ever stayed on a ride at a theme park to ride it again? I'm sure I did this during the school fairs. I was in the rides committee so I had a few perks lol.

Have you ever used your sexuality to get you something you wanted? I'm sure I have, but only with a partner.

What do you count as too spoiled? Anyone who overreacts/makes a fuss over the smallest things. It can be very telling of how they've always had everything handed to them that they're incapable of handling the most minor of inconveniences.

When you don’t feel good, where do you want to be? Just my room, or the café we have in the village. It's never crowded and is fairly hidden, so it's a nice quaint little place to escape to.

Have you ever set an alarm on your phone to remind you to do something? Sure.

Where do you want to raise your children? The city. The stimulation and sensations would be good for them, I feel.

What is your favorite Crayola scented crayon? Idk I was never around them much.

What is your favorite childhood TV show? Hi-5!

Do you ever look at yourself and not believe it’s you? Eh, sometimes. I try not to get existential like that often.

What’s your favorite hideaway place? That café I mentioned. Not a lot of people in my circle know about it or would travel to get there + the signal in that area just so happens to be weak, so it's literally a place you can 'escape' to.

Do you have a secret you have kept from your family? Sure.

Have you ever slow danced to a song you didn’t know? I'm sure I have.

Where do you study? I don't anymore.

Do you study at all? Nope.

What do you want to be when you grow up? I wanted to be a journalist, but I've since gone a little west of that – I'm currently a PR practitioner.

Has someone ever dedicated a song to you? I don't think so?

How many people have you kissed this month? None.

Do you like do have your hair pulled? Sure.

Are you close with your parents? We're on much better terms now but I still prefer to keep some kind of wall up.

How much do you wish/ hope for something before you give up? I can be very passionate and will fight for things/people, but if I feel like I'm not getting the same energy back I slowly let go.

Have you ever hung out with a complete stranger? Sure!

Do you work any holidays? No.

[crehador]

brother crab's winter 2024 parting thoughts: ishura s1

tl;dr was originally meh on this for reasons that really aren't fair, ultimately wound up enjoying it well enough to pick up s2, but wouldn't necessarily recommend (especially if you'll be bothered by the fact that it's Very slow)

full review:

you know what i think for the first half of the season i really didn't give this show a fair shake. based on a skim of its summary and the fact that it had the battle royale tag, i went in thinking it would be structurally similar to shuumatsu no valkyrie (which i'd recently binged and enjoyed immensely)

and that sort of battle royale, a tournament between a roster of op heroes, does seem to be coming up. but unlike snv, ishura doesn't dump us straight into the tournament. there's a whole lot of buildup to it, in fact...

the whole first season is buildup for the tournament to choose a hero, which isn't necessarily a bad thing! just isn't what i expected, so i was a bit on the fence for a while

ultimately though i think i did enjoy this series. it's heavy on the action (and gore) but most of the fight scenes are pretty banging, and the cast is full of fairly interesting characters (many of whom are not long-lived lmao)

some of the characters are so cool, in fact, that it feels like a shame to not get more time with them. the pacing didn't feel bad or anything, but it's a very, for lack of a better word, scattered series. not in a negative way, though, because the relatively huge cast provides a wider look at the world. it's just a lot of build-up and so far not much payoff (but clearly it's the start of a longer thing, so i guess to me that's fine)

the worldbuilding to me is by far the strongest point of the series, even stronger than the action sequences. there are some elements of it that i really love, like the naming conventions ("taren the guarded" "dakai the magpie" "alus the star runner" and so on, instead of family surnames) and the word arts magic

the (fairly early) reveal that not only humans and wyverns but even these... constructs? that seemed like mechanical golems? could use this word arts magic was fantastic to me, and i hope we get to see more interesting things of that nature as we continue

ishura has had a second season announced and even though i was a bit lukewarm on it for half this season, i do think i'll continue. if only because the cast is absurdly stacked and i go where my favorite voice actors go lol

i would still say it isn't exactly exceptional as a fantasy action series, but does do some interesting things with worldbuilding that i don't think i've seen much of before (but i also haven't watched fantasy extensively yet, so don't have too much to compare)

dakai my beloved freak i miss u already umu it was such a trip hearing hoshi souichirou voice a character like dakai though lol i mean i'm sure he's done many before but i more associate him with darling momo revale (and more recently saiyuki swk) so this was. new. and a treat

[undisputed-queer-a]

Let's talk about the Diva's Title

I said I'd do this so...um yeah that thing. Once again I'll try not to reiterate ground that has already been beaten to death. Seriously it looks so sh*t. It looks like it's sold at Claire's, if your not British let me translate- it looks like sh*tty jewellery for 13 year olds. But yes it looks terrible but instead of just saying that in 50 different ways how does it compare to other women's title's at the time.

(From left to right: TNA's Knockouts World Championship, Shimmer's Shimmer Championship, Stardom's World of Stardom Championship, WWE's Women's Championship, Ice Ribbon's ICE Cross Infinity Championship and WOW's WOW World Championship)

In my opinion the most important thing for a wrestling title is that it looks like an accolade, that it looks like something people would want to win. And I think that all of these belt fit this criteria with some excelling but then again good looking championships are subjective (Knockouts Championship my beloved) so the important bit is that they look important and like well championships. The Diva's Title doesn't look like a championship, it looks like a really bad accessory.

Ok let's zoom in for a second and compare the diva's title to one of these other title, and because I have the most history with it, let's pick the TNA's Knockouts Championship. Okay first off while I know that cagematch isn't always the best place, I'd like to mention that it rates the Diva's title at 2.62 and the Knockouts one at 7.91. And now let's compare some reviews of these belts.

"Not as good as the women's title and division and never liked the look of the diva's belt. The division is too much about eye candy and not enough hardcore action. There are no true HC matches such as ladder, cage, TLC or no holds barred matches. Also tired of seeing the black divas used as jobbers and think Naomi should have a reign as divas champ and Alicia should have a second reign. Only one black woman has held the title so far in it's history which is not right in my view."

"A very poor championship. The very design of the belt itself represents inferiority and relegates the belt and all who hold it in limbo. It's not a representation of a true women's belt and has been designed more for a pr teen or adolescent. As the design of the belt is that of a pink butterfly. Nothing against butterflies per say but it seems to have purposely over feminized in such a way as to make it seem worth much less then every other belt on the roster. I actually find the belt somewhat offensive and do not take it seriously. There have been a lot of great women's wrestlers that have held the belt but they and the belt are so-called Divas which in my opinion marginalizes them and the title itself."

A scathing admonishing of this belt, it's role in the company and the treatment of it's women. Now compare.

"While a lot of dumb things - lockboxes, hypnotism, ect. but it is still a bright spot, especially during the 2000's period where only TNA and places like shimmer cared for woman's wrestling, and there have been plenty of fun matches for this title, still a good title, just needs some for focus on the title."

I think that the KO Belt has a higher batting average of good feuds and good matches.

Ok fun game time, Name a good Diva's title match.

Ok sorry that was a bit hard, Name a good Diva's title feud.

Maybe you could, but I couldn't. And that's part of why this Title was sh*t (wow I've said sh*t a lot in this post) I can't name a single good thing to come out of it...maybe Paige Vs AJ...maybe Paige Vs Charlotte excluding the really uncomfortable reference to Charlotte's dead brother. Also it's design and name do a lot of work to undermine the women who held it, but I think you knew that already. It's important to mention though. They didn't call them 'women', they f*cking called them 'divas'

In conclusion, I have talked about the Diva's title for far too long and would like to stop. At least things are a bit better now. A bit.

This has been Undisputed Queer-a.

Slay The System, Shock The Cis-tem, and see you next Monday.

[cadaverviper]

Tecmo Super Bowl Review (Sega Genesis)

This is a pretty legendary sports title. I would go as far as to say it rivals only ESPN NFL 2K5 in sheer legendry. Whenever the topic of the best football games ever made this is usually said by someone as there top 5 at least. This game was even popular enough to recieve an NFL Films documentary. Especially the NES version of the game, which still receives constant roster updates through emulation too this day. Does it deserve such a great reputation? Let's find out.

This game doesn't actually have any modes really. You just pick whether to go through Pre Season, Playoffs or the Regular season. You choose which teams to play and which teams to sim through and that's pretty much it. So for my playthrough I picked the Bengals and set every other team to COM so I could just focus on them.

Game starts with a simple kickoff with a meter to decide the power of the kick. The plays that are called are decided by a button combination. You get 8 plays in total on both offense and defense. 4 run plays and 4 pass plays and vice versa for the defense. 4 to stop run and 4 to stop pass. You can change up what plays you do by switching playbooks of other teams before the game if your not feeling it when you get into the game. Now I'll be honest with you I struggled alot with this game at first. I still don't really have defense down. You can switch characters in game by pressing A and pushing down to the direction of the character you want. Whether the okay succeeds truly depends alot on the play. Ive personally never been able to pick off any pass but I've done pretty good when it came to sacking the QB. Prepare for alot of 3rd and forever in this game because both sides lose yards alot.

As for offense it's alot easier affair. After the ball is snapped you can switch which receiver with A and press B to throw to said receiver. If you quarterback sucks ass though Goodluck getting any receptions. This game is tough but also has plenty of things within the game that you can very easily abuse into your favor. Another big thing to mention is the fighting off button. Often times before tackling you can get into a little scuffle, and if you absolutely spam B you have a chance of throwing away a defender or tackle. Make sure you use that for sure because it will help you alot because if you don't you often risk a fumble if you are not fighting for the ball.

And that's pretty much it. This game is just so intuitive and feels very great. It really amazes me the sheer quality of this game for how old it is and what console it was released on. There is good reason why it has such a great reputation and history. If you take time to understand how to play it you can have alot of fun.

Rating: TOUCHDOWN HIGH FIVE/10