#Balloon ride review

[incorrectbatfam]

Does the Batmobile ever get ticketed or does the GCPD just ignore it

Bruce: *puts a box on the table*

Bruce: Gather around, everyone. It's time for our monthly ticket review.

Bruce: First up, Steph. Can you explain what happened last Friday?

[earlier]

Steph: *looking for parking in a full lot*

Steph: Screw it, I'm going around back.

Steph: *parks in front of a fire exit*

[present]

Steph: I just needed to use the bathroom.

Bruce: And in those three minutes, the Joker released a giant water balloon forcing everyone to evacuate through one less exit.

Steph: It said "fire exit." That technically wasn't a fire.

Bruce: Well, the penalty is $100 plus the towing cost. I can pay it off but you have to help Alfred in the kitchen for a month.

Steph: Yeah, that's fair.

Bruce: Next up... Cass and Barbara? Color me surprised.

Barbara: Oh yeah, I had to remotely pilot the Batmobile the other day because Cass needed a getaway.

Bruce: Then why am I being charged $250?

[earlier]

Cass: *fighting a gang*

Barbara: Orphan, ETA thirty seconds. Prepare for extraction.

Cass: *knocks out the last henchman and runs to the car*

Comm. Gordon: *writing a ticket*

Cass: ?

Comm. Gordon: You're in a disabled parking spot without a permit.

[present]

Barbara: Well I am disabled.

Bruce: Understandable. I'll let it slide since it's the first time. Just file the paperwork for a permit.

Bruce: Dick, you went thirty-five over the speed limit when you weren't pursuing a suspect. Explain.

[earlier]

Wally: Race you to Keystone?

Dick: *revs the engine*

[present]

Bruce: You're better than this. I'm disappointed. Next up: Tim. Driving without a license plate. What happened there?

[earlier]

Tim: I wasn't supposed to take the Batmobile since Bruce benched me for my wrist, but my other ride is in the shop.

Kon: What about cameras? Can't your dad tap into the city's surveillance system?

Bart: Traffic cameras read license plates, so if we take them off, no one will recognize us.

Kon: Now that's an idea.

[present]

Tim: That's on me. I shouldn't have listened to them.

Bruce: Put them back on, plus you're benched for another week. Damian, on to you.

Damian: What on Earth could I have done? I followed the speed limit, parked in the correct spots, and never so much as changed lanes on an empty road without signalling.

[earlier]

Damian, a middle schooler: *driving*

[present]

Damian: Tt.

Bruce: Don't do it again. Duke...

Duke: *cringes and remembers what he did*

[earlier]

Duke: *hooks the Batmobile to a freezer trailer*

Duke: *starts driving around with a megaphone*

Duke: Ice cream! Get your ice cream!

[present]

Bruce: Fantastic job. No complaints.

Jason, muttering: Teacher's pet.

Bruce: And finally, Jason.

Bruce: *empties the rest of the box*

[coliverentalhomes]

Colive reviews top 5 things to do in Bangalore

Colive reviews top 5 things to do in Bangalore

When in Bangalore, don’t miss exploring the city! Why? Firstly, because the city is loaded with several interesting places to explore and secondly because you always need some time out from work for personal recreation. Now if you are confused regarding where to start then worry not as Colive reviews some of the best things to do in Bangalore.

Team Colive reviews the Top 5 things to do in Bangalore:

WonderLa Amusement Park

WonderLa is India’s biggest amusement and waterpark. So, if are looking to spend some awesome time with friends then simply head to this place. Apart from different water sports and open rides; various other attractions of this amazing place include musical fountain, virtual reality show, laser show, high thrill rides, heated wave pools and numerous other water rides.

Per Person Cost:INR 1349/person on Weekdays & 1649/person on weekends and holidays

(20% discount is available for children and 25% discount is available for senior citizens)

Art of Living International Centre

The ways of recreation are different for different people. So, if you belong to the category that is more on the spiritual side then Art of Living International Centre is a must visit for you. They have wide range of programs and workshops for all age groups where you gain deep knowledge of yoga, meditation and overall wellness.

Per Person Cost:Free (Course fee varies for different courses)

Trekkeing at Skandagiri

Are you an adventure enthusiast? If yes then get ready for a small trekking expedition in Skandagiri. The forts, mountain tops and the scenic beauty offer a breath-taking view. You would not just witness nature at its best but also get to indulge in host of activities planned for each day of the trek. It’s best to plan it with your group of friends for an awesome experience.

Per Person Cost:INR1250 onwards

Wine Tour at Grover Zampa Vineyard

Wine tour, though an offbeat activity; can turn out to be the best getaway option for all the wine lovers out there. You can visit the Grover Zampa Vineyard for a good wine tasting experience as well as to explore the vineyards. You can spend a whole day with your friends or partner exploring the different types of grapes, winemaking process as well as wine pairings with different cuisines.

Per Person Cost: INR 650 on weekdays and INR 1000 on weekends

Hot-Air Balloon Ride at Jakkur

If hot-air balloon ride has been a part of your bucket list then experience it in Bangalore. Jakkur is the hub for aerial adventures in Bangalore and hot air balloon ride is the most sought after among all other activities. Flying 250-feet above the ground in hot air balloon; you can view the city like never before. Don’t forget to take along your ID proof while heading for this adventure.

Per Person Cost: INR 1500 (approx.) per person

Colive team has curated the above list keeping in mind the varying interests of different people and we really hope that your coming weekend is sorted with one of these options.

[the-offside-rule]

Pau Cubarsí (FCBarcelona) - Wake Up Call

Requested: yes

Warnings: none

Pau woke up on Monday morning with a sense of unease. He had sent a good morning text to his girlfriend, Y/N, but it had been hours without a reply. As he got dressed, he couldn’t shake the feeling that something was off. Concerned, he decided to head over to her house. Arriving at Y/N's place, Pau knocked on the door. To his surprise, it swung open, revealing her younger brother, Fernando, wearing a bright smile. “Hey, Pau! What are you doing here?” Fernando asked, his hands still clutching a bowl of cereal, the remnants of breakfast smeared across his cheek. “I came to see Y/N. She didn’t respond to my message this morning. Is she around?” Pau replied, trying to mask his worry.

“Yeah, she’s still asleep.” Fernando said, as he waved his twin sister, Jorda, over. She was sprawled on the living room floor, engrossed in a cartoon, a cereal box clutched in her tiny hands. Pau peered into the living room. “Are you guys just having cereal straight from the box again?” He chuckled, shaking his head. “Yeah! It tastes better this way!” Fernando grinned, tossing a piece of cereal into his mouth. “Where are Xavi and Sergi?” Pau asked, momentarily forgetting that their older brothers had started university this year and wouldn’t be back until Sunday.

“Xavi is in Madrid for college, Sergi is in London. Mama is on a business trip, and Papa is working a night shift, so he won’t be home until three.” Fernando replied, nonchalantly. Pau’s heart sank. “So, Y/N is alone?”

“Yup. Just sleeping.” Fernando confirmed, popping another piece of cereal into his mouth. With a resolute nod, Pau decided. “Alright, I’ll help get you two ready for school. Y/N needs some sleep.” He quickly walked towards the stairs, peeking into Y/N’s room. The sight made him smile and worry at the same time. Y/N was sprawled across her bed, notes scattered around her like fallen leaves. He couldn’t help but admire how dedicated she was to her studies, but it also made him feel guilty that she hadn’t been able to rest.

“Come on, let’s get you two ready!” Pau said, returning to Fernando and Jorda. “Are we going in your car?” Jorda asked excitedly, bouncing on her toes. “Of course! It’s a special day,” Pau replied, smirking as he recalled how the twins loved riding in his new Cupra. As they made their way down to the car, Pau switched to Spanish, engaging the twins in their father’s native tongue. “Cómo están, mis pequeños?” He asked playfully.

“Bien!” They chimed in unison, their eyes wide with excitement. Although being born and raised in Barcelona, Y/N's family primarily spoke english at home, mostly due to it being their mother's first language. Her job didn't require her to learn Spanish, she simply stayed at home until her company sent her out to review something. Her father however, was from Lleida and moved to Barcelona, in doing so, meeting their mother. Since the twins rarely spoke spanish or catalan at home, Y/N and her father tried incorperating it in everyday at home, simply by having breakfast in spanish every morning. “I’m just going to send Y/N a quick text so she doesn’t panic when she wakes up,” Pau said, pulling out his phone.

Hola cariño, just bringing Fernando and Jorda to school so you can get some rest. Love you!

Once they were all buckled in, Pau started the car. The twins immediately bombarded him with questions ranging from who he thinks will win the balloon d'or, to questions about whether the chicken or the egg came first. However, one question really did stick out to him. “Pau, do you want to marry our sister?” Fernando asked, his eyes sparkling with curiosity. Pau sucked in a sharp breath. He hadnt exactly thought of thay before. They were both young and had been dating a year. After a second, he chuckled, a warm feeling spreading through him. “When we are older, I absolutely will.” He replied with a wink.

As they arrived at school, Pau couldn’t help but notice the awe on the other children’s faces as they saw the shiny Cupra. He parked the car, and the twins hopped out, waving goodbye. “Bye, Pau! Thanks!” Jorda shouted, running off with her brother. With a smile, Pau watched them run inside before heading off to training. As he drove, he couldn’t shake the thoughts of Y/N from his mind. Finally, during a break in his practice, he pulled out his phone and checked for messages.

His heart lifted when he saw a reply from Y/N: “Sorry, babe! Just woke up. Thank you for taking care of the twins. You’re the best! Love you!” Pau smiled to himself, feeling the warmth of their connection and the excitement of their future together. Everything felt right in the world, and he couldn’t wait to see her later.

[oflights]

2023 fic review!

ahhh thanks for tagging me, @citrusses and @oknowkiss! i'm going to tag @teledild0nix @elskanellis @arminaa8 @thecouchsofa @stationintern and anyone else who'd like to do this!!

my 2023 AO3 stats are...alarming lol. AO3 counts Close Behind as a 2023 fic because i finished posting it in 2023, but i really wrote it all in 2022. so if we discount that (which was 134k) i still wrote...over 330k words of fanfiction. 🆗🆒

do i have regrets? no. should i have regrets? maybe??? in any case, 2023 was the year i really started using tumblr for fandom again (thanks, elon!) and i made so many wonderful friends who were so supportive and inspiring! that word count is all your fault, basically.

here's the (all drarry) damage:

January

Close Behind (134k words, M)

To rescue Draco from the Underworld, Harry has to look forward. Unfortunately, Draco has to look back.

February

find a new place to be from (47k words, E)

Something is wrong with Malfoy Manor, and it’s driven Draco into the Muggle world. Thankfully, Harry is now on the case. A story about houses that haunt you and homes built for two.

April

along each garden wall (61k words, E)

Draco has to have a baby (or have one on the way) at the time of his fast-approaching 35th birthday, or he's going to lose his home to his vile cousin. Harry offers to help, but their complex past—even beyond Hogwarts—prompts Draco to set out on a long journey of friendship, kittens, gardens, motorbike rides, and more.

May

the first in line (29k words, E)

Harry finds out he's a Veela. That's not so bad, and then he finds out his allure only works on his enemies. Even that's not so bad, since his safe, boring, post-war life means he doesn't have very many enemies these days. And then Draco Malfoy lands a hot air balloon in his front garden, intent on courting him.

June

please come to boston, Byzantine, and go to it laughing

(tumblr prompt fics! i was not good at this lol)

August

Cool About It (16k words, M, for @hp-bodiceripper)

Harry is so excited for his first date with Draco. But what follows isn't so much a date as it is an all-night odyssey including a malevolent lift, a Gringotts heist, a Sleeping Curse, a trip to the kebab shop, a lack of dancing, a Muggle drug, a rooftop pool party, a black eye and, eventually, a sunrise over a Quidditch stadium.

October

if the bees know (19k words, T, for @hd-fan-fair)

Scorpius' playground is haunted, Harry specializes in helping ghosts pass on, and Draco just wants his son to be safe.

December

The Star Splitter (WIP, 119k words so far, E)

On a routine time travel assignment to the past, Draco stumbles upon 7-year-old Harry Potter and witnesses his neglect and mistreatment by the Dursleys. In the moment, there is only one solution, even if it goes against all his training as a Time Agent: he has to bring Harry back to the future with him. In which Draco burns his life down for the sake of his former school rival.

[gunsli-01]

I was tagged in this by @tired-and-unjellied @rainbowghostcat and @a-star-that-burns-brightly,

cute thing im coming up with this picrew of yourself and your current hyperfixation !!

Thank you all for tagging me I was happy to see it and it made me feel really included! I love being tagged in things generally. So, it really made my day to see these as I was going through my days!

I hope you're all enjoying yourselves and the new timeline information!

Oh, and Rainbow on a milgramblrgram note did you like the long greeting. It's getting great reviews-

How was the portrayal of Mikoto, I'd like to know your thoughts if you have time to read all that- that is. No pressure if you don't though. It's pretty long.

To be honest my current hyper is actually just me, myself, and fucking I. Yet, that's not a media and I did just write all that so ya already know I'M- (<- Accurate depiction of the fanbase falling into super hell trial three. I'll be fine though~ Because I was already in hell. So, I'm just going to be going, "Super!")

I've pretty much been embodying this song. To me selfcare is recognizing when I don't want to speak to anyone and not pushing myself to do so out of a misguided fear of missing the opportunity to, or misinterpreted my own feelings and ways of display care and consideration one-sidedly. Ultimately causing a lot of undue stress. That and generally recognizing that no one is ever entitled to the ability to access/communicate with someone else especially if someone is abusing that ability.

This may sound antisocial, maybe on some level it is. Yet, this is actually the most social I've been in a year. It's more just a reminder to myself to just not talk to people who make me feel bad about talking to anyone at all or about my hobbies. Something that some may be able to tell I've been really getting back into.

So another current hyper fixation has been my many ocs. Right now with a big focus on my little sweetie Daniel-

Who also fits that song quite a lot too I'm realizing,

Daniel: Yeah, it’s a real touristy place but a lot of students where I go hangout there due to it. Easy to get lost in a crowd. So, sometimes I just get a ride out there when invited or someone sends a ride to me if they really want me there. Nayo: Sounds fun- though it also sounds like the times you go there are very conditional. Have you ever been there without being invited Daniel: I mean yeah. Why else would I go there? Nayo: Was just curious- since you did just say that you tend to either pay for a ride when you’re invited out or someone sending one to you. For all I know, it could have been specifically to meet up with people. Daniel: Yeah, it was just to meet up with others. Not like that’s a crime though.

"I've gone outside and taken Ubers my friends have made me go."

I've been trying to to plot out the best way to finish his trial. I'm also really into Mugram (Mayumi and Masaru the oops we fucked up at work duo that is if Masaru is running a gambling scam to make quick cash.) and Tsumigram (mostly still really fixated on Toa) still. Plus, I'm interested in seeing a-star-that-burns-brightly opinion on the new timeline today. Sorry about that at first disjointed explaination on the pregnancy entrapment theory by the way I fuck up spelling a lot and sometimes forget connectors are necessary hope the edited version connected things in a more understandable way.

Also more proof for that pregnancy entrapment Yuno theory just dropped thanks to Nott sending me the graffart. Where staff just decides to highlight the red ribbon that's tied to the balloon reflected in Yuno's eyes within Umbilical the one she was aiming seeming just in case her first songs visuals were to subtle about it,

Since the graffart is directly referencing things in the prisoners first trial songs,

I messed up I found out- Is right!

Yuno as soon as she found out that was Yellow's baby,

"Oh, please! Gimme that baby and I'd yeet it off a tower."

The fanbase trial three are about to be out here like, "What?!"

Oh damn that's gonna be funny if it's actually the case.

So, yeah I've have a lot things that I've had my eyes on lately. Sorry for the more long response. I just didn't want to just slap all your tags together answer and say nothing else. So I brought up a few things I thought might interest all of you.

Also, go check out @apatchworkstar they put a theme on her blog for desktop that's very cute. Also on that note thanks for the all the help Tired-and-Unjellied I really hope it wasn't too much of a bother.

Oh also I'm tagging Star and @purgemarchlockdown for the tag game. Neither of you have to do it if you don't want to, though.

[krispyweiss]

Song Review: Grateful Dead - “Hell in a Bucket” (Live, Dec. 31, 1987)

The Grateful Dead must’ve felt some foreboding about 1988, for as the clock struck midnight signaling the end of ’87, the band launched the New Year’s party with … “Hell in a Bucket.”

But at least everyone seemed to enjoy the ride.

The song is out as the latest entry in the Dead’s “All the Years” video series and despite the balloons, the iconography and the obviously festive spirit inside the Oakland Coliseum, this is a fairly standard rendition for the era, replete with In the Dark sound effects complementing, or, depending on one’s perspective, bastardizing, the music.

Jerry Garcia’s final guitar solo has a bit of New Year’s spirit to it and Bob Weir’s screaming-falsetto outro is about as fierce as they come. Instead of yelling, Yeah!, Weir signals the end of the tune with a raised arm and feigns some windmills - but doesn’t touch his guitar strings in the process - as the song crashes to a close.

There wasn’t much better than the Grateful Dead on New Year’s Eve. But there are a ton of songs better than “Hell in a Bucket” for the Grateful Dead at midnight on New Year’s Eve.

But then, the Dead often missed expectations in big situations such as this.

Grade card: Grateful Dead - “Hell in a Bucket” (Live - 12/31/87) - B

Read Sound Bites’ previous “All the Years Live” coverage here.

5/27/24

[xplrvibes]

Thoughts on episode 2?

It was fine.

I just answered an ask where I kind of touched on the Cody and Satori thing, but it bares repeating - the more I see of that, the more I side eye the entire thing.

It's interesting, but I just...I don't know.

I will say that I find the Abigail ghost, whether real or made-up, to be the sweetest thing on earth with her little excited dances and her whole "yea, I'll protect you guys!" routine.

And, you know she's down to ride for these boys for life after she got hit with the full offensive of the Colby Brock Patented Charm™️, lol. "I know you're the protector of the house, I know you're the matriach, and we want to consider you that as well," with that intensely earnest stare right at where he thinks this ghost is standing.

Like, fuck yea, I will catch a paranormal grenade for you now, you are now my soul child for life.

The Estes Method is always fun, but it's less fun when you've now got TWO people who won't stop bombarding with the questions and the on-the-spot dot connecting. We need less of that. I would love for them to do the old school Ghost Hunters method of just doing this shit and then reviewing the footage later to connect the dots after the fact. I feel like it would be less chaotic and honestly, they'd probably see better results at the end of the day.

Couple of random things that I'll mention, but don't want to dive too deeply into:

Something is severely wrong with their core body temperatures if they can go out into the woods of Rhode Island in August and sleep bundled up like they're in Alaska in December.

The dancing on the grave thing - I feel like doing something like that is way more likely to get you cursed than looking at a factory manufactured reproduction of a doll, but what do I know (I'm sorry Robert, for speaking about your reproduction dolls without your permission).

The REM pod at the door of the library...honestly, I think even when they were standing way far away, it was picking them up. Colby closes the door, and it immediately ceased. I mean, come on.

It was cool that they caught the door opening on camera from two different angles. Getting it from one angle is one thing, but getting it from both sides of the door makes it so much more impactful. Multiple camera angles, boys. More of that.

Oh! The names in the sand thing. I can't believe they are still trying to push that as having been paranormal in nature. It pissed me off when they did this in the video from last year (for that review, feel free to browse my "snc video review" tag, I'm almost positive i talked about that one), but to bring it back and use the people who work in the house and their sort of sus knocking method to "confirm" that this was some lonely soldier ghost who wanted to get with Amanda? No. 0/10 right there.

To end these bullet points on a positive...the Josh shirt pulling thing was pretty cool.

So, the last 30 seconds of this video is not something I am going to discuss, because trust me when I say you guys do not want to hear my opinion on that. You won't like it, I won't like hearing about how you won't like it, and honestly, I don't even want to talk about it. Just know that it deflated my balloon, and let's leave it at that.

But, commenting on the 5 minutes before the last 30 seconds - if anyone ever comes in new to the snc world and asks for a summation of who snc are and how they function as a duo, I'm sending them the clip of Sam deciding to summon every the basement demon to the upstairs and Colby just giving him the most deadpan, "I'm gonna kill you when we get home" look and then popping out from behind a wall (when did he even get there) to start a "I told you not to do that!" argument with Sam right then and there. That was the most long-suffering married couple interaction I've seen them have in a long time.

And then Colby turned into a theater kid there for a few seconds, with that whole dramatic diatribe on the steps about the Perrons. That was...a choice he made, lol.

And then yea, the video ended right when Colby rolled under the table to sleep (cause that won't end with a concussion when you wake up in the middle of the night lol) and I left happy. Nothing happened after that. That's where the whole screen goes black.

I'm giving the video (minus the last 30 seconds that don't exist in my mind) a 6.9/10. It was fun at parts, there was some good evidence, I enjoyed it...but there were some things that didn't hit for me.

Anyway, reminder to all that the preceeding was MY OPINION, and MY OPINION IS NOT LAW.

[kylesvariouslistsandstuff]

Chris Evans returning to the MCU in AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY...

And KRAVEN THE HUNTER being the end of the "Sony Spider-Man Universe", their series of Spider-Man adjacent movies about the webhead's antagonists...

Well, that's certainly the end of an era. VENOM kicked off this uneven series of 2000s pseudo-edgy throwbacks back in 2018, a year that was excellent for almost every CBM/superhero movie on the block, from the three MCU entries that year (BLACK PANTHER, INFINITY WAR, ANT-MAN/WASP) to the animated films (INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE, the TEEN TITANS GO! movie, INCREDIBLES 2) to the other stuff (Fox's DEADPOOL 2).

The VENOM movies seemed to get by on the buddy movie pairing of Eddie Brock and the symbiote creature, but the same couldn't be said for hacked-to-death-in-post movies like MORBIUS, MADAME WEB, and now KRAVEN... Set to flatline on opening weekend, with abysmal reviews to boot, against a $110m+ production budget. Sony is now focused solely on the fourth MCU Spider-Man movie and BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE. (Yeah, I heard today that Miles G. Morales' voice actor Jharrel Jerome hadn't recorded his lines for BEYOND yet... It's a non-story to me. The movie is far from ready, let's put it aside for the time being.)

I feel like, in addition to the MCU starting to see some big money-losers (like THE MARVELS) and relative underperformers (ETERNALS, QUANTUMANIA), it's another brick pulled from the 2010s superhero movie Jenga tower. That whole Spider-Man Villains Without Spider-Man Universe seemed to be building towards nothing, and to me it always felt like a weird attempt at riding the MCU wave.

The whole appeal of the MCU, to me, was that it took characters' whole worlds and bridged them together. Whether it was the techy world of Tony Stark to the New York neighborhoods of Spider-Man to the cosmic high fantasy of Thor... You get the idea! Spider-Man's world and all the people/villains he knows, that's not a shared universe to me. They would, logically, share a universe w/ Tony Stark and his network, Thor and his network, etc. These movies were little more than just spin-offs of a Spider-Man film franchise that didn't exist. Were they in Tobey-Spidey's universe? Andrew-Spidey's? Some live-action Spidey we hadn't met yet? It was never really clear. And I guess it won't be, unless some internal plan leaks out now that this series is kaput.

So now that leaves, going forward... The MCU (which Tom Holland-Spidey is a part of, unless he got throttled into another universe after AVENGERS 5/6), the nascent DC Universe spearheaded by James Gunn and Peter Safran, the Matt Reeves Batman "Crime Saga" Whatever-Verse, the MUTANT MAYHEM TMNT universe, and the SPIDER-VERSE series.

I think if those Sony movies leaned harder on the 2000s weird-edgy-too cool angle, they could've really stood out from their contemporaries. Nostalgic for a time that included Ben Affleck DAREDEVIL and Halle Berry CATWOMAN for sure, but still would've been unique to the MCU, the DC movies, and everything else. Hell, MADAME WEB took place in 2003. Would've been perfect... But alas, they did not go this route.

The MCU bringing back Chris Evans has been painted as desperate, given the send-off Steve Rogers got in AVENGERS: ENDGAME. Now unless he's returning as another Johnny Storm variant and not the one that got horrifically nerfed in DEADPOOL & WOLVERINE, this... Uh... It shows how last-ditch a lot of this all seems to be. Bringing back Robert Downey Jr., now Chris Evans, teasing this massive crossover of several familiar characters, etc.... All because the plans with Kang really did not work out. This feels like Disney desperately trying to squeeze out one more hurrah from this flailing franchise, instead of going smarter, smaller, and focusing on the characters again. Like, why is the supposedly on-the-ground political thriller CAPTAIN AMERICA 4 going through yet *another* round of reshoots that have apparently ballooned its budget to $375m+??? What the heck is going on here?

It's kinda telling that little DOG MAN from DreamWorks, done on a presumably tiny budget, could probably be one of the more successful superhero movies of next year. How the Gunn-Safran SUPERMAN kick-off of the DC Universe movies (since it started recently w/ animated Max series CREATURE COMMANDOS) performs remains to be seen. I think animated comic book movies will weather this sea-change quite nicely, as MUTANT MAYHEM 2 and BEYOND THE SPIDER-VERSE should turn out good.

But it's amusing to me how two titans of 2010s comic book movie, the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC Universe, are the ones to keep an eye on like this... to see if they can crawl out of the early 2020s maelstrom that claimed the likes of BLACK ADAM, QUANTUMANIA, SHAZAM! FURY OF THE GODS, THE MARVELS, AQUAMAN AND THE LOST KINGDOM, MADAME WEB, and JOKER: FOLIE A DEUX... And keep going, maybe even adapt and change. DC - both Gunn's universe and the Reeves Bat-verse - looks kinda primed to do that, not sure about the MCU, though.

[nerdieforpedro]

This baggage is heavy, can we drop it off somewhere?

Chapter two of "Do we know how to love?"

Frankie Morales x Nadia Thomas (plus size OFC)

Fanfiction 18+ MDNI

Masterlist

Summary: Nadia makes an impulsive but ultimately good decision. We found out a lot more about Frankie’s past. Nadia also decides to just let go.

Warnings: cursing, toxic relationships, angst, thoughts about sex, lengthy mentions of drugs and drug use, Addiction, pregnancy, death, mental health issues, medical issues during pregnancy, 12 step program

Notes: I kinda meant for it to be more lighthearted than it turned out.

Sitting in her driveway, Nadia studied the sticky note. She thought about throwing it away, she should not have this, shouldn’t have even taken it, but she did. Nadia had been swept away in the magnetism of meeting a man like Francisco Morales. Him speaking to her and enticing her with a few sentences was something that Eddie had never been capable of remotely doing, even when they first met years ago. Nadia felt she should just sent a text and break up with Eddie, but it still felt wrong, she preferred to be upfront with him, but it didn’t work well the first time.

“I’m in a relationship I can’t stand. What’s the harm? I’m meeting a new friend. A sexy new friend.” Nadia grinned to herself and got out of the car and went into her house, putting down her purse and hopped in the shower. She texted Kim and Katie and told them that she wasn’t coming she was tired. They texted back playfully mocking her for being a homebody, but hoped that she felt better and that they may stop by this weekend. Nadia told them that she’s working on something, and that she would tell them about it later. The nurse did add the number of her contacts under the name ‘Chocolate curls.’

“Hey hermana, thanks for coming by. I’m have a meeting tonight.” Frankie stated flatly. It was required for him to keep working as a pilot. He may not have to go as often as he once did, but he had to make sure he went and call his manager. Frankie was a hell of a pilot, he could fly a plane, helicopter, jet, anything if you let him tell it, he could also fly a blimp and hot air balloon. The woman was his best friend’s wife, Yovanna, she watched his daughter during his meetings.

The meetings were with cocaine anonymous, a program he entered the year his daughter was born. His wife at the time, Maria had put up a lot from him, with his drug use, being away for long periods of time due to work and a difficult pregnancy to boot. She had been stable on her lithium for years along with lexapro. He remembered the doctors testing her heart to make sure it was okay periodically and it was but when she became pregnant things changed. 

The OBGYN reviewed her medications and said she couldn’t take the lithium anymore, only the lexapro. Maria’s mood swings worsened and she started having high blood pressure during her second trimester. Frankie missed more of her appointments and they fought more which let to him doing more cocaine and picking up more hours while high. It was his own fault he knew, he should have talked to her more and supported her. He did not, one week before his daughter’s birth, he was fired for flying under the influence and nearly crashing a helicopter with some big wigs on it. The very least he could do was provide for Maria financially, but he couldn’t even do that. Maria had been complaining of contractions but her water hadn’t broken yet, Frankie did offer to go to the doctor with her but she didn’t want to, she had her birth plan with a planned home birth, doula and candles that he didn’t understand. 

The pilot had told his wife that he was off to work when really, he was going to snort his cocaine in an industrial parking lot, away from everyone. He received several calls, but drowned them out with the swimming high, riding the waves as he closed his eyes. By the time he was coherent enough to check his phone, there were two missed calls from his wife, two from her doula and five from the hospital. Maria passed out during the home birth after her water broke and her doula had called 911 and tried to get a hold of Frankie as well. When 911 came, it was the doula who went to the hospital with Maria. The medical staff tried contacting Frankie as well but he didn’t answer. They treated her as best they could while Maria went in and out of consciousness, she kept stating that she wanted her baby to be safe and asked if her husband was here. The staff told her that they would do their best and that he was on the way, though no one had actually spoken with him. Maria was having seizures associated with eclampsia, the baby was delivered safely, but the medical staff were having difficulty getting Maria stable post birth, they were able to slow her seizures, but her blood pressure kept increasing and making her bleed more than expected and they weren’t able to keep up with her body’s demands. When Frankie finally arrived he greeted his daughter Camilla and the body of his wife Maria.

Francisco Morales cried for the first time since finding out he was going to be a father. He mourned his wife Maria and their marriage and that he had failed not only as a husband but a father for not being there for his daughter’s birth and caring for her mother properly.

It was then that he asked for some of the biggest favors in his life and relied on his old Special Forces buddies. He needed to get clean ASAP but doing too quickly would do more harm than good. He asked his best friend Santiago and his wife Yvonne to care for Camilla while he went into inpatient rehab, meanwhile Will and Ben (who was never in Speical forces but tagged along to see what he could do, not much except some babysitting) working on talking some old commanding officers to have Frankie become a pilot again with strict requirements.

Complete inpatient rehab

Drug testing weekly

Go through a re-fresher course for non-commercial pilots

Attend meetings at least three times a week, calling his CO (commanding officer/manager) so the call could be traced to a cell tower near where the meeting was supposed to take place.

Give address of meeting for further location confirmation.

After six months of negative weekly drug testing, while switch to monthly hair testing for one year and then either testing can be done if drug use is suspected.

Morales adhiered to the rules placed on them and welcomed them, after getting the house ready and baby proofed and working out day care, he was able to care for Camilla and himself within the year while working. Now that she was six, he focused on childcare during summers but had turned things around, though he still had to deal with people mentioning his past drug use, thankfully they seemed to have enough tact outside of Ms. Shirley not to mention it mostly.

On his way to tonight’s meeting he reflected on things as he usually did, not quite feeling the urges he once had for the drug, instead it was placed elsewhere in caring for his daughter and sex. Frankie did not have an issue in that arena, more like he wanted something in addition to the sex and he hadn’t really found a woman that he could go on more that three dates with, they were all boring, some of them married. None of it was for him.

The school nurse he met today was interesting though, he was used to dealing with more confidant women, that matched his ‘let’s get it’ energy no matter if his daughter was present or not because when the feeling strikes you it’s best to say something coded so little ears don’t catch on. He did appreciate that she didn’t seem to be swayed by what he was sure Ms. Shirley had already told her, that old prune took the opportunity to badmouth him whenever she got the chance. Frankie suspected is may have to do with him not eating her dry cake that she was offering everyone. Most of the parents took a pity piece, but Ms. Shirley’s face became real twisted when he asked if she had any milk or water to go with the cake. The pilot was up for the challenge of getting the nurse, Miss Nadia, to be more honest about what she wanted with all those breathy sighs. Had his daughter not been there, he may have tried to sweet talk her onto that desk and fuck her in just that lab coat.

Taking a few deep breaths himself, Frankie steeled himself for this week’s meeting, he wouldn’t have much to say per usual. He didn’t want much to say, he preferred boring everywhere except the bedroom. He hopped out of his truck and locked it, double checking he had his keys wallet and phone. He was about to turn it off when he saw a text notification:

Hi, it’s Nadia from the school nurse’s office. I just wanted to reach out and see when we could meet up this week. My evenings and weekend are open.

Frankie chuckled, it’s pretty business like how she was at the office. He made sure not to open the notification because he didn’t want to leave her on read. He would definently have the bare minimum to say, he needs to check his schedule after this meeting. It was rare that he ever went to these meetings with a smile on his face, but tonight he did.

Elsewhere…

Nadia sat on the couch sipping her moscatio out of a 16 oz Sailor Moon tumbler with a straw. She had texted Frankie and was nervously awaiting a reply or maybe she wouldn’t get one, she wasn’t super worried about it, because she had refilled the tumbler once already. Instead, she was more concerned about the text she would send to Eddie. The wine emboldening her, she felt she could just send him a text, telling him not to come by her house any more because they were over and he can go with some basic woman elsewhere. It sounded simple, it was not want she texted Eddie. 

Nadia sent him the following text message:

Eddie, I haven’t heard from you for three days even after I tried calling you with the time difference and texting you. You’re over there doing monkey business and you can keep doing it. I don’t want to see you ever again. Everything is on your terms and I hate it. I wasted more of my life because you sucked my nipple a few times. Fuck you, or better yet, have someone else fuck you so they too can be disappointed in not being satisfied any of the times, like not even close to where I can finish the rest. Just bad. Horrible. You should watch some porn and get some pointers. Ugh.

The nurse finished her tumbler and stood up triumphantly, but then held onto her couch because she had stood up too fast. She then decided, drinking water would be best and to take some Tylenol before bed. “I gotta change the locks, I think I was dumb enough to make him a key.”

Nadia called first thing in the morning and paid a bit extra to get a locksmith in that morning. There was still a wide time window, but she would be able to be at work by noon. So far Eddie hadn’t called or responded, she was nervous, but also glad because she didn’t want to talk to him. After having the locks changed and having two spare keys in addition to the main one made, the school nurse headed on into work. Once she arrived, she got settled in her office and started reviewing her emails. Her phone pinged and a text came from Frankie exactly at 12pm:

Hey sexy nurse. This weekend sounds perfect, I know a good Italian resturant we can go to, you alright with me picking you up around 7 on Friday? I’m looking forward to finidng out what else you like besides chocolate.

Nadia could feel the smirk he likely wrote that last line with. She just read it a few times while she sat at her desk, imagining him looking down at her again. Running his hand up her arm, pulling her forward onto the desk, spreading her legs and…

“Nadia honey! Have you seen the stapler? I bet that wispy looking guidance couseler took it again and didn’t bring it back. If he can wear such big sweaters, why can’t he get his own stapler, I’m sure that sweater was more than a stapler.” Miss Shirley’s noise brought Nadia back from her daydream. She cleared her throat and realized she was hovering over her chair, leaning her body forward.

“Are those some new chair exericses? Are those any good? You look flushed dear, Maybe you should take a break from those, you just got in.” The older woman remarked before leaving her door, presumly to track down the rouge counsuler for the stapler.The nurse plopped back in her chair and closed her eyes, trying to calm down, inhaling and exhaling deeply. She then giggled becuase she remembered when Frankie had commented on her breath control. 

“I’m losing it…over a man I met once. Will I even make it through a date with him? At this rate, I should drive, becuase that’s they only way i won’t jump into his car.” She muttered to herself. Then in dawned on her, why should she? If she wants to fuck him in the car and he’s fine with it, why not? Hell, maybe they won’t make it to dinner. Nadia crossed her arms and spun around in her chair. She’s just getting out of a relationship, it doesn’t need to be serious, right? Could she do that? Be un-attached?

“I just must be firm. I can do it…I think.” Nadia finally replied to Frankie.

Good afternoon handsome. Seven sounds perfect and I love Italian. You can pick me up, I feel like being pampered a bit.

Nadia sent it and put her head on her desk. She did feel like being pampered at least one night and if she had a one-night stand, it would be icing on the cake. She just had to mentally prepare for the cake.

[runjumpkauf]

THE AMAZING, CUBICAL, MYSTERIOUS GAME-WORLD! (Part 1)

(Refer tumblr.com/runjumpkauf/760050868958707712 To Understand This Post's First & Second & Third Sentences.)

Hello, I'm runjumpkauf. In August 28, 2024, I Said,

"I'm A Professional Post-Writer For The Amazing Digital Circus. But I Don't Want To Mannerisming By Only Filling The Void With The Amazing Digital Circus. So, I Changed My Policy To Review In "The Amazing Digital Scoops" + "Official Trailer Scoops" Together!"

And This Is THE AMAZING, MAGICAL, MYSTERIOUS GAME-WORLD! 2nd Of The Saga.

I Was Just Looking For Something Hilarious To Watch On YouTube. But Oh-Me-Oh-My, I Saw Something Literally Hilarious.

And One Minute Thirty Seven Seconds Later.....Of Coursely, I Realized A Minecraft Movie Is Multiverse Of Minecraft. Or Multiverse Of Madness?

And With This Mania Ideas, I Decided To Write Down The Synopsis From The Trailer In This Post.

So, Let's Began This Wacky Terrarium!

Story

Once Upon A Time, There Lived A Naive Big City, Named "Idaho". Garrett, Henry, Natalie, And Dawn. (Not A "Dawn" Who Met With Nasty Insulting Spoiled-Brat.) These Four Know At Least A Bit Or Bit More About Minecraft.

And One Day, The Four Addventurers Ended Up In The Wacky Minecraft World, Due To An Unexpected Accident.

And The Four Addventurers Arrive At The World Of "End", And Suddenly Fight The Dragon That Lives In The End. But Of Course, They Defeated And Runned. And Somehow They Ended Up In The Place Called, "Overworld".

Then, They Discover A Village Of Overworld, And Use It As A Base To Prepare To Everything To Fight The Dragon For Escape This Wacky, Looney, Travelsome Worlds.

.....I Think, But I Believe This Is Real Story.

Characters

Henry The Boy & Natalie The Girl: Henry And Natalie Are Siblings, And They Had Recently Moved To Idaho And Were Livin' A Ordinary Life. And They Find Minecraft Worlds, And Go Through.

Dawn The Real Estate Agent: She Helped Henry And Natalie, Double Of Who Moved To Idaho, But She Ended Up Entering And Go Through To The World Of Minecraft.

Garrett The Champion: He Was Once A Greatest Super-Player Of Video Games. However, Other Super-Players Have Enjoyed And Destroyed His Record One By One, So He Is Obsessed With Fame, Unless He Go Through To Minecraft Worlds!

.....Well, That Dosen't Happen, These Are Just Occupations For Guessing The Story, So It Doesn't Matter You Skip.

But Steve Is Exactly.

Steve The Jack Black: He Is A Human Of Minecraft World, And His Role Is To Help Four Addventurers. And If You Watch The Trailer Closely, You Can See That He Is The Owner Of "Steve's Lava Chicken!". It Looks Delicious But I Don't Want Lava-Spice.

Alex The Watchamajigger: I Hope She Appears.

Or.....Maybe Not Appear?

Creatures

Pink-Furred Sheep: It Is So Ugly That All Of People Said About: Accursed, Ill-Conditioned, Infernal, Unprincipled, Spineless(I Don't Know If Sheep Have Spines.) Monsterous, Distasteful(Wait, What?), Felonious, Gross, Naughty, Foul, Grave, Miss-Created, Spoiled, And Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah-Blah!

Llama: This Alpaca-Shaped Llama Makes A Growl Reminiscent Of A Pig. And When It Saw The Flocks Of Piglins, It Wasn't Scared. Am It Brave Or Just Ignoring It?

Wolf: I Don't Know What This Creature's Role.

Piglins: The Villains Of A Minecraft Movie, It Is A Creatures That Lives In The World Of "Nether". And In The Trailer It Was Shown Invading The Overworld Riding A "Hot-Ghast-Balloons"!

Ghasts: The Villains Of A Minecraft Movie, It Is A Creatures That Lives In The World Of "Nether". I Was Curious About The Relationship Between Piglins And Ghasts, And Now I Know!

Creepers: Needless To Say, This Is Exploding-Kind Monster!

And.....I Tried To Find Out More About This, But This Is All I Could Find, So, I Will Post Part 2 Once The Main Trailer For This Movie Is Released.

So, STEP RIGHT THIS WAIT!

P.S. As Everyone Knows, The Teased-Teaser For This Movie Was Met With Reviews Are Very Harshness Disappointment, But I Found It To Be Quite Great. Becuase I Am Truly Proud Of Their Nobleness!

P.S.2. Could You Imagine, Pigs, Cows, Chickens, Mooshrooms, And Above All, Squid, Turning As Ugly Like A Pink-Furred Sheep? Wowie-Zowie!

(Not A Playstation 2)

P.S.3. They Choose "The Beatles - Magical Mystery Tour" As The Teaser Music. Which Is So Great Because It Fits The Topic Of The Minecraft Game Quite A Bit!

(Not A Playstation 3)

P.S.4. Okay, So, If You Ask Me If I Like Minecraft. I Like It, But Since I Had To Spend A Lot Of Cashes To Buy It. So I Had To Watch On YouTube. (I Mean, I'm Worker, But Salary Is Low, So I'm Not Go Through To Yet.)

(Not A Playstation 4)

P.S.5. This Post Took Me Over An Day To Be. For Real.

(Not A Playstation 5)

[spicykaraage]

Tenipuri Complete Character Profile - Masaharu Niou

[PROFILE]

Birthday: December 4th (Sagittarius)

Blood Type: AB

Relatives: Father, mother, older sister, younger brother

Father’s Occupation: Company employee (construction company)

Elementary School: Unknown (supposedly some school in southern Japan)

Middle School: Rikkai University Junior High School

Grade & Class: Third Year | Class 3-B | Seat 14

Club: Tennis Club (regular)

Committee: None

Strong Subjects: Math, Tube language [TP]

Weak Subjects: Music

Most Visited Spot at School: Rooftop

World Cup Team: U-17 World Cup Japanese Representatives

Favorite Motto: “Riding a black and white horse, I backed up going forward.”

Daily Routines: Preparations and reviewing?

Hobbies: Darts, blackjack [23.5]

Favorite Color: Blue

Favorite Music: Jazz

Favorite Movie: 8½

Favorite Book: The Trickster’s Paradise ➜ To Have an Honest Heart [23.5]

Favorite Food: Yakiniku (beef tail soup [23.5])

Favorite Anniversary: The night of a New Moon

Preferred Type: A person who’s good at bargaining ➜ A person who shows their true face [23.5]

Ideal Date Spot: A beach ➜ Las Vegas [23.5]

His Gift for a Special Person: Puri-lliant moments filled with surprise and delight

Where He Wants to Travel: Casa Batlló

What He Wants Most Right Now: Screws and a screwdriver (it’s unknown what he wants them for) ➜ Glow-in-the-dark paint and balloons (it’s unknown what he wants them for) [23.5]

Dislikes: Heat, vegetables [23.5]

Skills Outside of Tennis: Hitting targets, gun-shooting games [removed], katanuki [23.5], coin toss prediction [23.5]

Spends Allowance On: Secret

Routine During the World Cup: Keeping his pockets filled with chocolate and candy

[DATA]

Height: 175cm | 5’8” ➜ 176cm | 5’9” [23.5]

Weight: 62kg | 136 lbs ➜ 60kg | 132 lbs [23.5]

Shoe Size: 27cm

Dominant Arm: Left

Vision: 2.0 Left & Right

Play Style: All-Rounder

Signature Moves: Trick Play, Illusion

Average Calorie Intake in a Day: 2000 calories

Equipment Brands:

Racket: Prince MORE POWER 1150 S

Shoes: YONEX Power Cushion Wide 271 (SHT-271W)

Overall Rating: Speed: 3 / Power: 2 / Stamina: 3 / Mental: 5 / Technique: 5 / Total: 18

Kurobe Memo: “Rather than techinique or play style, he focuses on copying others. When he completely transforms into his opponent, he can make use of his target’s charisma. What a dangerous person he is.” <Official Description>

[POSSESSIONS]

What’s in His Bag [40.5]:

Snapping prank gum: He’s tricked most of his classmates with it

Toy pistol: A tool for his tricks, it’s unknown what he uses it for

Bubble blower: The type of bubbles you wear around your neck that you can get at a fair. He had been seen blowing them on the rooftop

Bouncy balls: All in different sizes. It’s unknown what he uses them for, and he has a lot of them in his locker

Boxes with contents inside: Boxes with more boxes in each of them. It’s unknown what the contents of them really are

Sanada’s calligraphy: “Be open-minded.”

What’s in His Locker at the U-17 Training Camp [10.5 II]

Snapping prank gum: A sacred tool for his tricks, Marui and Shishido often fall for it. He’s challenging himself to consecutively trick people with it

Screws: It’s unknown why he has them or what he uses them for

Croissants: Leftover from breakfast, to feed stray cats with

Screwdriver: It’s unknown why he has it or what he uses it for

What’s in His Travel Bag [23.5]:

Candy and chocolate: To (maybe) increase his calorie intake. Marui and Kintarou had given them to him

What’s in His Locker [C&S]:

Cube puzzle: Yanagi often plays with it

A snow globe

Oranges he received from an old lady: Given to him for helping an old lady find her lost item. He’d been asked where he got them multiple times, and he eventually answered

[librarycomic]

I'm A Great Friend! by Lauren Stohler. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2023. 9781665918336. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781665918336?partnerid=34778&p_bt

Capybaras all lounge around the pond calmly, offering protection to their bird friends on their backs. Baby Capybara wants some bird friends, too, but his energy and activities drive them away. After he attracts a few, there are a few funny pages where the birds try (and fail) to hang on for the ride. I love the energy of Stohler's illustrations, and how she ends the story.

A Child Of Books by Oliver Jeffers and Sam Winston. Candlewick, 2016. 9780763690779. https://www.powells.com/book/-9780763690779?partnerid=34778&p_bt

Every page of this book is mesmerizing, with its hand-drawn font, its photographic collage elements, and the way words are part of the illustrations. It's about a child from a world of stories inviting another kid (and everyone) along on adventures. It's a perfect gift from experienced readers to new readers.

Fish by Liam Francis Walsh. Roaring Brook Press, 2016. 9781626723337. https://www.powells.com/book/-9781626723337?partnerid=34778&p_bt

A boy and his dog fish for the letter F I S and H in this nearly wordless adventure that uses a few elements of comics to incredible effect. And the drawings themselves are perfect, as are the colors.

The Sword In The Stove by Frank W. Dormer. Atheneum Books for Young Readers, 2016. 9781481431675.

Two chefs look for their friend Harold. One assumes he went potty. But then they find his sword in the stove. How did get there? (Spoiler: they're not very happy with the answer when they finally get it.) Dormer's primitive-looking drawings work with the silly humor and word balloons to create a ridiculous atmosphere that makes the ending not at all as scary as it might have otherwise been.

Picture Book Reviews!

[maddiesbookshelves]

Five weeks in a balloon, by Jules Verne

Doctor Samuel Fergusson, brilliant explorer renowned across all of England, has decided on his next undertaking: to cross Africa from East to West in a hot air balloon. To assist him in his new adventure, his faithful servant Joe as well as his old friend Dick, a Scottish hunter, will accompany him. Five turbulent weeks will ensue, on board the aerostat designed by doctor Fergusson.

I'm gonna start by saying that this book is not at all for everyone. It was written in 1863, an entirety different time, and takes place in Africa. So of course the descriptions of the various people that doctor Fergusson and his companions encounter are extremely racist and stereotyped. Sometimes it made me sick. But Jules Verne wrote this book in another time, when it was held as truth that black people were inferior to white people and that the African continent was full of stupid and cannibalistic savages. So don't read this book if you don't want to read this kind of thing, but don't go boycotting Jules Verne because he lived in a different time. He's dead and his works are in the public domain, anyways (and he's still one of the founding fathers of science fiction).

Now, for my review:

It was pretty slow to start, there are a lot of pages where the narrator lists names and where doctor Fergusson describes in details how his hot air balloon works. Once they're in Africa and up in the air, it's a little faster and it's nicer to read (in spite of the racist passages that made me grit my teeth). Jules Verne has a very peculiar sense of humor that made me chuckle in my scarf during my subway rides.

It really wasn't my favorite Jules Verne out of the four I've read (Journey to the center of the Earth, From the Earth to the Moon and The Carpathian castle being the other three), but it's nice to read. It's Jules Verne, y'know.

French version under the cut

Le docteur Samuel Fergusson, brillant aventurier reconnu dans toute l'Angleterre, a décidé de sa prochaine entreprise : traverser l'Afrique d'est en ouest à bord d'un ballon. Pour l'assister dans son aventure, viendront avec lui son fidèle serviteur Joseph Wilson, ainsi que son vieil ami Richard Kennedy, chasseur écossais. S'en suivront cinq semaines mouvementées à bord de l'aérostat conçu par le docteur Fergusson.

Je vais immédiatement commencer par dire que ce livre n'est pas du tout pour tout le monde. Il a été écrit en 1863, une époque totalement différente, et se passe en Afrique. Évidemment les descriptions des différents peuples que rencontrent le docteur Fergusson et ses compagnons sont extrêmement racistes et stéréotypées. Parfois ça m'a même écœurée. Mais Jules Verne a écrit ce livre à une autre époque, où on tenait pour vérité que les noirs étaient inférieurs aux blancs et que le continent africain était peuplé de sauvages stupides et cannibales. Donc ne lisez pas ce livre si vous ne voulez pas lire ce genre de choses, mais n'allez pas non plus boycotter Jules Verne parce qu'il appartient à une époque différente. De toute façon il est mort et ses livres sont libres de droit (et il reste un des pères fondateurs de la science-fiction).

Maintenant mon avis:

Le début était assez long, on a beaucoup de pages où le narrateur énumère des noms et où le docteur Fergusson décrit en détails le fonctionnement de son ballon. Une fois qu'ils sont en Afrique et dans les airs, ça va un peu plus vite et c'est déjà plus agréable à lire (malgré les moments racistes qui font grincer des dents). Jules Verne a vraiment un humour particulier qui m'a fait ricaner dans mon écharpe pendant mes trajets en métro.

C'était vraiment pas mon Jules Verne préféré parmi les quatre que j'ai lus (Voyage au centre de la terre, De la Terre à la Lune et Le château des Carpates étaient les trois autres) mais ça se lit bien. C'est Jules Verne, quoi.

[homestarretrospective]

#47 - Main Page 8-9

Date: January 24, 2001 (at most)

And we immediately kick off the new year with some good ol' Main Pages!

Not too many ways to introduce these, so let's just get into the reviews.

Main Page 8 (Falling)

This one differs a bit from most of the previous ones we've looked at, as instead of being based on a general location, this one's more so based on the actions of Homestar himself, with him free-falling to certain doom. There are some solid gags in here, such as "Characters" making him screech to a halt, and "Store" making him fall in reverse. So yeah, another solid one.

Main Page 9 (Notebook)

Similar to the previous menu, this one is more based around the general concept of something, rather than a given location. It's another menu that takes good advantage of its premise, but it's only really notable for being the only main page to keep the old Homestar design, due to its unique art style.

Quote: Would you like to ride in my beautiful balloon?

[knightofhylia]

Deck Review: Alleyman's Tarot

original blog post May 31 2022

Deck

This is the Alleyman’s Tarot by Publishing Goblin. First off, the person who made it is named Seven so like how can I not support this epitome of queerness? I got this deck on Kickstarter after it kept poking at me. Almost every time I opened facebook or instagram I would get an ad for it and I had another friend point it out to me. This deck took like 9 months to actually get here so this number has been on the back of my mind for a while. It is a 137+ tarot deck with cards from different decks. There’s a whole backstory and podcast about the ‘Alleyman’ which makes the deck very intricate. I got this deck (including box, bag, both chips, deck, and free booster) for like $50 so that’s a goddamn steal if I say so. I think they mentioned extras would be going for more like $80. It’s worth it, trust me. My one complaint is that the guide book has a page texture that I don’t like. It kinda squeaks but I’m going to rebind it in twine or yarn to remedy that. This deck Is BIG! The stack is about 2 inches high. Physically it is a deck that demands respect and I highly recommend taking a look at Publishing Goblin’s other stuff, they have board games and oracle decks in the works as well!

Booklet

Organization wise it has Major Arcana, Cups, Wands, Swords, and Coins. There are multiple of certain Major Arcana, such as 9 death cards, 3 towers, 2 devils etc. My fave death is Death (Dancing) because he is a funky little guy. The suits are standard, no doubles. Then there is the Strange Suit which is all the decks that had non RW suits like my fave 8 of tentacles, a card about jacking off! Ace of hounds is great as well as he looks like a lad. The Other Arcana is all the non RW Arcana like The Hole, the Joker, and my ultimate favourite card, Giusseppe. There’s also ‘Lost Cards’ which are the ones that are in booster packs. I think every deck got a free booster pack and I believe they will be selling those later as well ( ihopehopehope). There’s some reading spread suggestions and it’s a wild ride. There was a spread that involved adding coins, the deck also actively encourages trading tarot cards, which might be a fun project someday. It’s very cleverly done and laid out. Reading it is easy on mine eyeballs as well.

Spirit

I knew EXACTLY who it would be the moment I saw it. There’s only one bitch as thick and juicy as this deck. I have shied away from deity work because I was afraid of disappointment and I was a really bad believer for a while lol. This was my top dog deity Tmikh Hemy (she/they/he/it)! I was very excited to be ready to work with her. Without a doubt she is one of my most powerful decks. I put my hand in her bag and close my eyes and I can feel it up my arms and in my forehead.

Reading Style

Okay so she’s a funny one. She’s a deck that loves to be passed around. Everyone takes a chunk and passes on. She thrives on the different energies she gets. She learns from her readings like I do. She’s a cool mom and she’s hip with the kids! Since the deck is so big I read it three different ways: whole deck, chunking, or ‘which card fucks’ (official terms). Whole deck is a sad clown balloon act to shuffle so I generally chunk it. Usually I do a big shuffle and then I just grab parts of the deck and that’s what I’ll work with. If I grab a chunk and change questions I have to redo my chunks. Which card fucks is where I go through the whole deck and pick out cards that vibe to me during that time, or ‘fuck’. Her tone is very funny, she LOVES to be sassy. I kept joking about ‘what if I get all the death cards’ and sure enough every reading had at least one of the death cards. Each card means something so vastly different from each other that this really demands the time to sit and read over the guide a few times to really get it. She loves puns and language, so I look a lot into specific words or phrases she says. Even if I don’t get the metaphor I can understand what she’s getting at. Hemy is definitely a mystery, sometimes she tells me straight up shit like her house layout but I ask about something else and she’s not saying a word. I can tell because usually the card says something about secrets or giving up or makes no sense in the rest of the reading. A lot of ‘go figure it out yourself’. 

Suggested Readings

I would recommend her for any kind of reading, but her specialty is personal power. She’s the fire under your ass. She emphasizes on your personal changes first before your circumstances. If you want a soulmate, be ready to work on yourself. If you want abundance you better have room for it. I would love to do readings for people of various faiths with this deck!

[joshisurcrush]

"IT" by Stephen King

To preface this, the book is nothing like the movie. It's absolutely nothing like the movie. They took the characters' names and three isolated events from the book that were roughly three pages long each, and then made a movie out of that. If you watched the movie, don't associate it with my following review.

Heads up, I ABUSE brackets (constantly), and another FYI: There’ll be a level of abuse/sex/gore talk, so it might be in your best interest to skip this review if you’re sensitive to that.

IT (by Stephen King) was super crazy, I loved it, and my overactive imagination did too. The characters are pretty good (I'd kiss Richie Tozier on the lips in a mildly homoerotic way), the story is laid out so nicely and the word choice is insane. Even as someone who’s not a native speaker but started English along with basic multiplication, I’ve had to search up some words. Sure, the book might have given me nightmares about flying leeches biting dime-sized holes into my arms and flying into my mouth to then blow up to the size of a balloon as they fill with my blood, but it was fun to read. Wild ride. I also liked the perspective switch, graphic detailing, and the way that the horrible events described were used as a vessel to talk about bigger things. This book basically scratched all of my itches. A need for gore, a need for emotional depth, a need for comedic relief, a need for poetry, a need for murder and for horrors beyond my comprehension.

Ok, I'm gonna elaborate a bit further to do the story justice. I drip-fed the book to myself slowly, reading a bit every day, five days a week, and it took me... weeks. Well, currently it's one of my favorite books and there's good reason for it. First off, the perspective switches were awesome. Point, end of the story, I don’t care how you stand to Stephen King himself, the plot or anything else relating the book. Incredible. I like how you were able to see everything from everyone's perspective, how there were subjective and objective accounts of things, diary entries, news articles, etc. Had me cumming and nutting I swear to god and little baby jesus, it's so good.

Second, the family dynamics were well-written. I'm a cause-and-effect type of guy, and I like when characters are fleshed out, and there's a rhyme and reason as to why they're the way they are. King (Stephen King, the author) executes this fantastically by letting you meet the families of most of the losers (that's what they call the main characters if you were unaware.) 

For example, we're introduced to Bill's post-Georgie apathetic, cold family (giving him a motive to kill IT, since he thinks it'll make his family care about him again). We meet Eddie Kaspbrak’s mother, a fat and overly emotional lady that sort of abused him (I'm sure that the way she treated him was abusive actually) and she ended up really shaping his character from a young age.

Mike Hanlon's family was awesome and supportive though, real model family, but he got crap for being african american (the story’s set in 1958, it was really bad for Mike). Richie Tozier also had a good family (probably the most normal), and Stan Uris did as well (he went birdwatching a lot with his dad.) Bev's family, I think, was the worst of all because her dad physically and emotionally abused her, and well as attempting to sexually abuse her. This is later reflected in the man she marries, Tom, who physically, emotionally, and sexually abuses her. It was very hard to read, I'm gonna be honest. I didn't know what it feels like to read something with a lump in your throat until I read the parts about Tom and Beverly. Plus, it's like... ultra-triggering for survivors of abuse, it was pretty triggering to me, so I'd discourage anyone who went through that kind of stuff from reading. If you really wanna read IT though, as a sexual assault survivor or someone who’s easily triggered by stuff related to SA, you should skip over the Beverly POVs because frankly, they're just brutal.

Well, on a lighter note, I like how Stephen King wrote sex in this book (it's a continuous theme.) And before you judge me, I'm praising him for being thorough enough, but also vague enough. The story is not an erotica, it's not meant to be hot. Sex is mentioned as a form of bond, as a form of abuse (holy shit there's so much abuse in this book, it's absolutely packed with it), and also mentioned in the "losing your childhood / growing old" sort of way which becomes VERY important later in the story. Sex is only insinuated in the story, it's not graphic, you don't get any action out of it and it's only for the plot which I find awesome. Even in the part where adult Bill cheats on his wife with also-adult Beverly (lol), sex is only insinuated, even though it's the only actual erotic scene in the book. Felt like mentioning it on the side, but I *do* think that the way that King wrote about ten-year-old Beverly Marsh’s body way very, very weird; but I was able to let it slide because it wasn’t too frequent and medium in severity. Still think King is kinda messed for describing a kid’s body that way.

Lastly, the poetry is crazy good, and the way he strings together the literal dozens of characters with their own individual stories and experiences is so well-executed. King unironically sat down, created a masterpiece, and dipped. Everything fits into place, all the experiences come together to form this... beautiful picture with no loose threads. Everything ties off together, there are no plotholes and the more you think about it, the more it makes sense. I'm getting goosebumps and a boner thinking about this (I'm a writer, how could you tell?), but the only thing I didn't like about the book is how it ends. I’m gonna ruin Christmas, but essentially IT ends with all of them moving to different states/places and forgetting each other, like, a full memory wipe, and just going back to their lives before that. They're slightly improved though, because Bev leaves her abusive husband and Ben gets a promotion, along with Bill's depression lightening up.

Now comes something that really ruffles my feathers. I hate Ben's and Beverly's relationship toward the end. I hate, hate, hate it. If the word HATE was printed tiny, 10 times onto every square inch of the 1184 pages of the IT paperback, it wouldn't be able to touch the amount of HATE HATE HATE that I feel for the relationship between the two. Bev could have ended up with anyone else. Richie would’ve been ideal, maybe Eddie, hell, Bill would have even been fine if his wife had died. But Ben? Ben the weirdo who's fantasized about touching her breasts starting in fourth grade? Ben who never got over her, even as she was married? Ben who couldn't back the heck off? Ben, the lonely pig who I wished had died instead of Eddie in the finale of the book? I guess he's not as bad as Tom, but holy, I was dreading the Bev&Ben arc, and it ended up being confirmed at the end of the book. Screw that, bro. 

Still doesn't take away from how good the book was. I'd rate it a solid ten.