#I’m at Scarab 25

[cinnamonglaive]

Worm 25.3, “ I was sitting here, a little cold, wishing I’d saved a little something from the lunch I’d packed into my plastic Alexandria lunchbox.”

?????? Bro????? She’s eating lunch out of a collector’s item depicting the woman she killed??

[bird-lettuce]

hello! i’m looking to get into blue beetle and was wondering if you could tell me about him? what’s he like as a person and superhero and stuff

thank you!

helloo!!! sorry for taking so long!!! you've come to the right place!!!!

(please bear with me, english is not my first language)

first, here's a reading list im working on! it's still very much a wip but it covers most his more prominent apperances (you can check my pinned post for a link to a spreadsheet that has more apperances if you want background/cameos) https://jaime-reyes-archive.carrd.co/#guide-eng

If you want the best intro to him as a character you should read his first book from 2006. It falls off a bit at the end with the writer change imo but the rest it absolutely fantastic and what made me love the character so much! A follow-up to that would be Blue Beetle: Graduation Day, his most recent mini.

Here's an abridged description of his character, more other media you watch him on and my thoughts about his different media and comic characterizations. Buckle up! We have a long way to go. I'll try not to spoil the first run too much:

Jaime Reyes is a a mexican-american teenager (15/16 in his first run, 17/18 in his most recent mini), son of mexican immigrants who lives in El Paso, Texas. He became the third Blue Beetle after Khaji Da, the scarab that belonged to the first Beetle, Dan Garrett, latches onto his spine overnight. He was scared and rejected his power at first, looking for ways to get rid of the scarab, who is capable of communicating with him in his head. Through some mentoring from more experienced characters and communication with the scarab they grow to think of each other as friends and brothers. (highlight: bb06 book one & #25)

Jaime's most important trait is his deep connection to his family and community, notably not keeping his identity as a hero secret from his family and close friends. He is constantly aided and supported by them in his journey to becoming a superhero. (highlight: bb06#1-7, 16, 17, 25-26)

He is a normal teen who was suddenly given powers, so a constant theme is the nervousness and stress he has about the amount of responsibility and expectations he was suddenly given. He tries to do right by his family and community, choosing to dialogue with any possible foe before attacking, and prioritizes the security of the people he protects over his reputation or being on the good side of other leaguers or authorities. Personality wise, he has a very light spirit, and a good sense of humor, he regularly jokes around while fighting. He is good-natured and often silly. (highlight: bb06#17, blue beetle: Graduation Day, Justice League Action)

As a hero, he is the wielder of a potentially world-domination weapon that has enough power to rival that of a green lantern (bb06#1), multiple teen titans, producing synthetic kryptonite (bb06#18), tracking people, protecting him from falling from the atmosphere (bb06#1), hacking batman's computers (the secret six storyline), producing a wide range of weapons, flying, a type of dimension-jumping (bb06#25), etc. The world is lucky that Khaji Da is in the hands of a good kid.

In his original story, he had no relationship with the other Beetles, being mentored by an array of different heroes. After Rebirth, though, he and Ted Kord were often written as a team, either as a duo or through ocasional teamups. It is important to say, however, that Jaime's growth as a hero was more impacted by his family, friends and mentors than it was by Ted. He is self-made and has a separate legacy from the other two Blue Beetles that should not be discredited. Their stories have been separate more than they have not, and recently there has been a subtle push to recognize Jaime as the current main Beetle, and Ted as someone whose time in the spotlight has passed, as opposed to having both of them as The Blue Beetles. (Blue and Gold #7, Blue Beetle: Graduation Day)

Notable relationships:

Paco and Brenda, his best friends

Khaji Da, the scarab. His brother and half of the Blue Beetle

Milagro, Brenda and Alberto, his sister and parents

The posee and La Dama, first rivals, then close allies in his community

Hector and Nadia, the people he trusts the most and the team's tech experts

Peacemaker, Guy Gardner and Starfire, his most notable mentors

Batman, who has gone out of his way to spend a lot of money on him and his family without them knowing lol. Compensation for certain wrong choices I'd say.

The JLI, legacy allies. Especially Booster Gold.

The Reach, his main antagonists. Creators of Khaji Da

Other media

Batman: The brave and the bold: Jaime has a lot of remarkable appearances in BATB! He's literally in the first episode lol. I love his characterization and his dynamic with Batman, and the approach to Jaime's relationship with Ted Kord. His origin story isn't the same, but a lot of characters' stories were changed to be more Batman-centric so i don't really mind. He is also one of the main characters in the Wii game, and his banter with batman is really fun. Definitely one of my favorites

Justice League Action: a more light-hearted version of him! Really fun and the design is very cute imo. Also has some funny banter with Batman

Young Justice: the second season has The Reach as main villains, so Jaime is pretty prominent. He doesn't appear much after that though. It's not exactly my favorite adaptation but it introduced a lot of people to him so it's notable.

The dc animated movie universe: not that interesting lol he's mostly a bg character.

NOTES ON HIS COMICS

The Blue Beetle 2006 run by Lilah Sturges tries to tackle an immigration storyline, but does so poorly and has a very important main character siding with right wingers. The final issue has a couple of upsetting endings for some beloved characters. It starts after #30 and ends the book.

New 52 is awful. Awful. Changed his origin, his relationship with almost everybody, gave him a weird running joke with the scarab and a lot of the dialogue and characterization choices come off as insaaaanely xenophobic, racist and classist. Also all of it was retconned so it's not even worth reading.

Rebirth was written by Giffen and had Ted Kord back as a mc. Also changed the scarab's origin from tech to magic. Not a favorite of mine, a lot of it is based around Giffen's humor, which i never really connected with, and the dynamic between Jaime and Ted can get annoying after a while. I've noticed it's still enjoyed by a lot of people and only had 16 issues, so you should probably give it a try and see for yourself.

Blue Beetle: Graduation Day is very good. Probably his best book since his first run. It's just about to end, the final issue comes out next week. It's just a mini so it can feel like it was missing more issues to fully flesh out what it wanted to do, but it honestly is refreshing to have Jaime's family and cast back. Also introduced a new city, a new armor and a lot of new characters!! I highly recommend it

This is all I can think of without going into extremely detailed analysis and breakdowns of every little bit of content he has had over the years!! I hope it's understandable and helps guide you into this beloved character <3 He's absolutely one if not my favorite DC character, and means a lot to me. If you have any questions or would like me to clarify about anything I'd be more than happy to answer!!

[zahri-melitor]

New(ish) Comics (this is the best week of the month, no lie)

Batman – Santa Claus: Silent Knight #1: this is fun. I like the way Bruce and Damian are written together. I am annoyed Babs is out as Batgirl. I'm amused that Tim is very specifically excluded from the story that involves real Santa given he'd not be wondering 'ooh oooh is Santa real' like Dick is here.

Someone had better give Darkseid some coal, is all I can say.

Batman #139: …so we really are running Batman and Batman & Robin with contradictory plots right now. Cmon. There was even a way to finagle this so that Damian could be living with Bruce and have Zdarsky’s plot still work! Grump.

“I’m coming for you, Joker. I’m coming for all three of you. For the last time.” (actually there’s a printing error in this line and the letterer has ‘For the the last time’) I disbelieve this Zdarsky, sorry, though if you could figure out a way to get Joker out of the Bat books for a few years I think everyone would enjoy that.

Now that aside, I do want to note that apparently my decision to (re)read all of Henri Ducard’s appearances seems to have been prescient, given Zdarsky has just referred to ‘manhunting’, ‘training when I was young’ and ‘Paris’ all together. That’s Ducard. That trio is 100% Ducard. Sounds like I need to finish Henri Ducard’s post-2016 appearances, which I was delaying. So Batman: The Detective and Batman: The Knight are jumping up my reading list. (And a quick look at ‘Lucie Chesson’ says she’s from Batman: The Knight, so yep, gotta read)

Joker + dolls always makes me think of NML Endgame, personally.

Birds of Prey #3: Damn this continues to just be a solid read. Thompson keeps hitting yet another 'look I can be trusted' target every issue.

I could do with at least 30% less Harley commentary in this book, but I do acknowledge that at least half the team are unlikely to talk much in a combat situation. Future!Maps is cute and as I slowly approach Maps content I’m excited to meet her more. Also… SIN MY SWEETHEART. I have been waiting for this hug for SIXTEEN YEARS. (Literally. I was in DC fandom in 2007 when they were torn apart). Also loooooooooool Ollie got curbstomped by Diana, sucks to be you Ollie.

Blue Beetle #3: Oh I couldn’t help myself (in terms of how many panels I already posted), but Blue Beetle is doing such interesting things right now. Victoria’s finally being acknowledged on page as being super sus and villainous (rather than just slinking around being sus and concerning me deeply). I’m getting more and more worried about the identity of the Red Beetle. We got Traci back! Which from what I hear means that Trujillo is glossing over some of Traci’s recent characterisation, but we’ll see how this tracks (and in any case, re-establishing Jaime’s connections to the magic/dark side of DC via Traci is helpful if we’re about to do a Dan Garrett story).

Free my girl Dani Garrett if we’re doing a Dan Garrett storyline, she’s an autistic mildly amoral archaeologist and I desperately, DESPERATELY want to see her arguing with Victoria Kord over who ‘owns’ the scarab while Jaime’s standing in the middle going ‘excuse me nobody owns Khaji Da, it’s its own being! And my friend!’

Fire & Ice: Welcome to Smallville #3: hello Jimmy Olsen! Hello Turtle Jimmy lore! (I love how silly this book is. I do enjoy JLI stuff that doesn’t take itself seriously) I’m getting attached to a few of the new villains, particularly Linka Grodd.

Shazam! #5: MARY SIGHTING. Darla remains tiny and adorable and I love her too. This comic remains committed to ridiculous fun villains (and Waid and Mora have apparently been off raiding the ‘underused weird Silver Age villains’ list). Mr Dinosaur is an amazing addition to the canon. (And yes. Billy rebuilt the moon. Oh Shazam!) Also I see we are still back firmly in the ‘jealous Freddie’ plot that’s been hanging around for a while.

Warlord #25: this week we check back in with Tara, Mariah and Machiste. Grell’s done some fabulous art for the splash page that I really really like.

Travis is fighting *checks notes* snow giants as he's still too ashamed to come hang out with his friends and partner after the whole 'I killed Joshua' incident a few issues back. He's also cutting all sort of things with his Damascus Steel sword which I have to remind everyone and note is highly suspicious damascus steel, because it's made from a RIFLE and there is no way the type of steel used was able to be worked as damascene, given it likely was alloyed wrong.

I love Ashir here (the guy actually wearing clothes) as firstly, look! A rare appearance of someone with most of their skin covered! Secondly, Travis' burn of "I didn't know you had character".

Anyway, Travis is moping a bit here about being a lone warrior. You could go and hang out with your friends any time you want, Travis. You're the one who left, not them.

[amazingmsme]

can i ask what fandoms the rest of your tickletober fics are for? :o curious if you have any more tma ones!!!!

I don’t remember when this was sent, but I do have a list of my tickletober pairings & fandoms. Even tho I’m not done with all the fics, I do plan on posting them once I write them! School’s been keeping me busy & then holiday baking, but I’m trying to catch up! We had to put one of our dogs down towards the end of the month & I got behind & have been playing catch up ever since

1. Anticipation- Miguel & Peter B ft. Spider Gang (Across the Spider-Verse)

2. Accidental- Hobie & Miguel Across the Spider-Verse)

3. Cuddles- Barbie & Ken (Barbie)

4. Weak Spot- Tommy, Alfie & Arthur (Peaky Blinders) prompted

5. “I’m not ticklish”- Artagan (aka The Traveler) Fjord & Beauregard (Critical Role)

6. Chase- Jon & Michael (The Magnus Archives)

7. Flustered- Simon, Marceline & Bubblegum (Adventure Time/Fionna and Cake)

8. Truth- Tommy & Ada ft. Shelby family (Peaky Blinders) prompted

9. Lie- Iceman & Slider (Top Gun) prompted

10. Ghost- Spiderkids, Peter B & Miguel (Across the Spider-Verse) prompted

11. Squeal- Lucas & Max (Stranger Things) prompted

12. Bites/Nibbles- Alex & Henry (Red White & Royal Blue)

13. Sneak Attack- Arthur & Tommy (Peaky Blinders) prompted

14. Soft- Prismo & Scarab (Fionna & Cake/Adventure Time)

15. Tickle Fight- David & Alexis (Schitts Creek)

16. Unusual Spot- Simon & Fionna (Fionna & Cake/Adventure Time)

17. Interrogation- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

18. Magic- Jon, Tim & Martin (The Magnus Archives)

19. Arms Up- Rooster & Hangman (Top Gun Maverick) prompted

20. Relentless- Nandor & Guillermo (What We Do In The Shadows)

21. New Discovery- Agent Cooper & Sheriff Truman (Twin Peaks) prompted

22. Ticklish Kiss- Steven, Marc & Layla (Moonknight) prompted

23. Incoherent- Mike, El & Nancy (Stranger Things) prompted

24. Pinned- Edgeworth, Phoenix & Larry (Phoenix Wright Ace Attorney) prompted

25. Gang Tickles- Paul, Ted, Bill & Charlotte (The Guy Who Didn’t Like Musicals) prompted

26. Counting- Arthur, Tommy, Ada, John & Michael (Peaky Blinders) prompted

27. Hysterical- Caleb, Mollymauk & Essek (Critical Role) prompted

28. Massage- Bones & Kirk (Star Trek) prompted

29. Wake Up!- Peter, Steph & Ted (Nerdy Prudes Must Die)

30. Caught- Narrator & Stanley (The Stanley Parable) prompted

31. Aftercare- Grace & Max (Nerdy Prudes Must Die)

[ramblestimesthree]

1/31/25

I belong everywhere - the trees that whisper, houses that creak, leaves that swirl, whirl, twirl, curl away from their branches in the snow. The first touch of innocence. A November blizzard versus a march one. I belong in the room, the one with the birds watching, protecting, and ripped blankets and scratchy pillows. Maybe I let what truly needs to come out in there, even if that barrel is fully shut and stagnant. I’m feeling flaky today. I want a leg so I pick one out, admire then try to reattach it to the branch but there it goes, in the snow instead. The price of my freedom, of intimacy, is high - like a good ole blimp and as a rare as one too. I’ll never be able to afford my own voice again, my freedom, my intimacy. I wish I could make you understand - explain it, draw it, build it or construct it out of string - but I do not have the right tools. You’d be just as lost as anyone else and fighting yourself ifs the worst piece of advice because I already am. I am a wreck and I hate that you are now in it with me. This weighs heavy, will you grab the other side? I loathe the time we spend together but I want to be someone else, someone who belongs yet I don’t know who that person is.

Just take it all! Take my writings and go because I do not know what else I can give, not even to myself. I’d give myself the world, the stars, all 15 oysters if I could but. I. Don’t. Know. Where. My. Hands. Are! Please help me find them, I have lost a part of me that had hope and now I’m lost in the blizzard, somewhere I do not belong. Tell me, tell me, tell me. I do not show this part of me for validation a but as a cry for help and now I am quiet. Stagnant is the word of the day. To be stuck, slowly crawling through your own skin like a thousand scarabs. Take it all away, body and blood, so I can start anew as well.It is time to give in. Give in, share it all because I have nothing left to care about. Let the balloons carry me away. Hunger, apples, bears - you keep coming back, a persistent zit, and I need Acutane this time. I know you know it all yet that doesn’t seem to help.

All gray to me yet I change pens regardless. I’m too tired to write. I’ve given it all away. What is left? For once I do not know how to write continuously - I pause and look around and think about opening a window when the door’s right there. The door’s right there. This surface is… a fridge, I’m reading a fridge because I am empty, all out of ideas, inching around the room, the next very hungry caterpillar. I’m shedding my skin I think. I’m letting you in. Even if all I do is sit there on the floor and stare I am letting you in. I’m scared. You’re soaking into me. I’m more than scared, I’m petrified that this is the end, this is when you give up, but that’s only one possibility right? Just a bunch of stars not looking at each other. Just a girl, a boy, a girl who must talk, even if just in the bathroom mirror because she is being devoured by herself while I sit there helplessly watching. Where do I meet myself? How long must this take? When will I break or have I long been broken regardless. I think we need art. I think we need space. I think too much and you’re doing too much but so am I, am I not? Everything should be great but it’s not and you’re the only one who sees it. I’m processing this too.

[westofwonder]

Pull List (07/19/2023)

Batman/Superman: World’s Finest #17 Hawkgirl #1 Knight Terrors: Punchline #1 Knight Terrors: Superman #1 Moon Knight: City of the Dead #1 Power Rangers Unlimited: Hyperforce #1 Radiant Black #25 Static: Shadows of Dakota #5 The Hunger and the Dusk #1

World’s Finest - Bats and Supes fighting robots! Yes, please!

Hawkgirl - This is only six issue? Boo! I’m looking forward to it. One of my comics reading regrets is that I stopped reading the previous Hawkman run too soon.

KT: Punchline - I like Punchline.

KT: Superman - This art looks fun, and I do wonder how this works for the Knight Terrors tie-in.

Moon Knight: City of the Dead - Got the Variant with Scarlet Scarab on it. I lik Jackals so this will be fun.

PRU: Hyperforce - I was never a big fan of Hyperforce RPG. I’ve never been into D&D. I do think it’s fun that this team is making a reappearance in comic form nonetheless.

Radiant Black - Need to catch up with this book.

Static - The previews I saw for this have me worried for Virgil.

The Hunger and the Dusk - Wanted to check it out.

Truncated thoughts. Lots to do today.

Happy readings!

[blasttemplatesftw]

Hey folks, are you ready for some Necrons?

First up, we have 40 warriors. I think there are like 25 more in my cases, but they’re all pretty similar and I don’t know how many more I could fit in frame. I think I mentioned a while back that I started playing in 4th edition, and back then this is how Necrons were played! Swarms of warriors.

As a side note, a lot of these were actually from yet another friend of mine who played Necrons and later got out of the hobby. He played much earlier than the friend who I painted these for though, so if you see any old metal models they’re likely from him. What is it with my friends and Necrons?

Next we have my two small squads of Immortals. One squad of new models, and the other of old metal models. I understand why they stopped making the glowey green bits, but they really do add a lot to the army as a whole. And as a bonus, I can cut up the extra sprue to make crystals for their bases.

Third, there are some of the newer elite models. I actually had to look these up just now, since I’m still not all that familiar with the modern codex. Lichguard and Deathmarks is what they are.

Then there’s the obligatory squad of Destroyers and a couple Heavy Destroyers for extra firepower. Again, these are classic models from back when I played a lot more and every Necron army looked the same. But hey, they get the job done. I remember having a tough time fitting the glowey rods into the guns of the Heavy Destroyers. They’re made of metal and didn’t seem to be sized quite right.

Finally, there’s the old Spyder and its compliment of Scarabs. The rules have changed for this thing, so I added the little guns on top so that it sort of matched. The whole body is metal, it’s a heavy model.

That pretty much does it for the infantry of the army, although I do have some unpainted models still to complete. Whenever I get around to it, my next post will be about the hovering vehicles and jetbikes.

As always, I love to hear what you think about these or any other models in my armies!

[masterofrecords]

Angstober 2022 masterlist and notes

Angstober is upon us!

I’m going to try and post at least a small drabble every day (let’s see how I fare by the end of the month). All of them are going to be related to the world I created when running my latest Pathfinder campaign. As such, I fear they might be incomprehensible without prior knowledge of the world and characters, even though I’ll try my best. Very sorry if you just stumbled across them in the angstober tag and went “wtf is that”!

Without further ado - here is the list of available chapters.

Day 1: Miscommunication

Missed Opportunities

Lawrence and Odri’s love story was a series of lost chances - a story that never allowed itself to happen.

Day 2: Crack in the Mirror

Reflection

Oscar looks in the mirror, and the face he sees is his yet doesn’t belong to him

Day 3: Flashbacks

Bound Spirits

Dillon’s head is full of memories that aren’t his.

Day 4: Heat

Fever

Safe under the watchful eye of her beloved brother, Faye didn’t think falling mildly sick was that big of a deal

Day 5: Hearts of Cinder

Hearts of Cinder

In the last moments of her life, Odri burns

Day 6: Injury

Loss

What’s the point of fighting if you can’t save people dear to you?

Day 7: Never Again

Invitation

Getting saved from a certain murder charge should be a good thing, but Phoenix isn’t sure he deserves forgiveness.

Day 8: Haunted Pet

The Corner

Elisa’s kitten is behaving strangely

Day 9: Scream

Forgotten Encounter

It was supposed to be a routine hike, nothing more

Day 10: Apathy

Monochrome

After her brother’s death, Emma’s life loses its colors

Day 11: The Wrong Tomb

Bloodied Peonies

Orion and Jacob were looking for a tomb. Well, they found one.

Day 12: Eyes

Lie, Lie, Truth

Lying comes as easily to Joel as breathing. Usually it’s a good thing.

Day 13: Worthless

Hunger

For a century, hunger had been her only companion. She’d learned to manage it, but never to forgive it.

Day 14: Ashes to Life

Ashes of the World Long Gone

Augustine wasn’t sure what to think of his day, but he knew he had touched something sad, ancient, and irreversibly lost.

Day 15: Drugged

Awakening

Margaret wakes up, suddenly not in prison. That might not be a good thing.

Day 16: Love & Hate

Tools Discarded and Broken

Margaret feels emotions far too keenly. Adrian hardly feels any at all.

Day 18: False Death

Midnight Resurrection

Elisa is about to lock up for the night, when something knocks from inside the morgue.

Day 19: Cowardice

Hand-made Miracles

Leonard was terrified of his sister dying, but that only meant he would fight tooth and nail to keep her - maybe not quite alive, but safe.

Day 21: Memories

Memories

A psychemental is a being of pure emotion, destined to observe and remember the feelings of the world around it

Day 22: Corruption

Knighthood

Oleander knew his forest was sick. But it was his forest, and Oleander wasn’t willing to leave it.

The fact that Oleander was a little owl changed nothing.

Day 23: Slay it with Flowers

Black Petals

The corruption runs deep, and the forest won’t let its saviors go unnoticed.

Day 24: Shivering

The Cold Awakening

Faye woke up alone, in a world she could no longer recognize.

Day 25: Wasteland

The Dead City

Faye’s world is broken and devoid of purpose, full of worry and empty habits

Day 26: Dark Water

Fruitless Dreams

The gods failed to save Gwilym, and Delwyn is left lost and alone

Day 27: Fragments

The Council

Lucas isn’t sure what a broken paladin can contribute to the conversation, but he’s trying his best

Day 28: Reunion

Worth the Wait, Worth the Trouble

Phoenix is always just outside Ashton’s reach, closed in and distant. Ashton loves respects him too much to push him further. Ashton loves cares for him too much to let go

Day 29: Sand Towers

Scarab of Death

Ashton didn’t like the idea of summer practice, but he could never imagine it would end up haunting his nightmares

Day 30: Failure

The Ritual

There was no room for error in what they were attempting to do. But of course, that is when things go terribly, terribly wrong.

Day 31: The Last Goodbye

The Sacrifice

The choice wasn’t easy, but it was the only Kat could make. If she had to go, she’d do it with Molly by her side, doing something she believed was right

[nyktomorphia]

Nyktowe’s Guide to Rivenese Wildlife (1/5)

...I got distracted from redesigning Serenia.

One chamber on Riven - the room where the Moiety stage escapes for Gehn’s prisoners - is decorated and locked by a circle of 25 stones marked with stylised wildlife, only four of which (the scarab, ytram, sunner, and wahrk) are ever actually seen in the game. (While obviously this is due to the technical limitations of a game that was released on 5 CDs in 1997, I think the fact that most if not all of these animals are implicitly extinct before we arrive also reinforces how Gehn’s reign as god-tyrant has brought Riven to the verge of collapse.) I thought it would be interesting to try to figure out what the remaining 21 might have looked like, using the four we see as a basis. (Reference screenshots are from Lost Library of D’ni, and in case you’re not familiar with the Myst games you may want to refer to it for background.)

A simple start. This exercise leaves a lot of room for interpretation - I also did a version that was more of a horned toad, but the elf-eared punk bunny seemed more accurate. Him angy.

The stylised symbols don’t give any sense of scale, and this is another one that could’ve easily been a sort of froggy anteater. (In hindsight, given that Riven evolved at least one amphibian in the form of the ytram, there should almost certainly be more even among this limited set.) Still, neither of these have the unique legs that the ytram symbol does, and the general stance here reminded me strongly of an alert hare. It’s possible that neither of these were really extinct (before the end of the game, I mean), if they’re as flighty as actual lagomorphs.

The shape here reminds me of several different fish, but especially piranhas for some reason. The fins and general orientation, though, makes it seem like it is built for swimming down, so I want to imagine it as a bottom feeder of some kind, hovering above the dirt waiting for movement and darting down when an unsuspecting eel pokes its head out.

So this could be some sort of insect-eating woodpecker bat or haha, no, I jest, this is obviously a cross between a hummingbird and a seahorse (or one of the other syngnathids). Lungfish and flying fish are one thing, but it’s a little too much for me to imagine an aerial nectarivore that still breathes through gills, so I have to assume the resemblance to a fish is only superficial. It makes a pretty adorable little hummingdrake, though!

Okay, starting to get a bit more in-depth now. Sunners are one of the most interesting creature designs in-game to me, sort of a baleen plesiosaur-platypus-seal, and their symbol has a very distinctive mouth-shape which is also present in several other creatures’ symbols, so on that basis I decided they all at least have beaks. So now I’m imagining an entire clade of partly-aquatic Rivenese monotremoids, and I can even imagine a simple phylogenetic tree linking them together that resembles the real-world evolutionary history of cetaceans. Sunners would have descended from an equivalent to Ambulocetus, while this platypotamus... hippoplatypus... whatever, is representative of the family that diverged as far back as the anthracotheres that eventually produced actual hippos. (Beak based on a puffin, because it’s the closest sillhouette I could find, which may suggest its dietary habits are more carnivorous?)

Part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5

[ascalonianpicnic]

30 questions: GW2 edition

I was tagged by @just-eyris-things and @where-is-caithe to fill out @pr-gw2 ‘s lovely question set <3 which i took forever to get to riiiip but here we go~

You can draw, write (to explain in details or not) or just post screenshots! If you miss one it’s totally okay, whether it’s by lack of answer or time. Have fun!

1. Favorite living world season? while I think 4 was probably better in terms of writing and gameplay, I think lws3 is still my favorite. It was the first new story updates I got to experience in game and @mystery-salad and I played all the updates together so it was really fun! It’s just a really nostalgic season for me

2. Favorite expansion? Path of Fire. It’s really good man, it’s so good and so pretty and the plot I’m <3

3. Favorite soundtrack? Alpine Marches!

4. First profession you played? Necromancer! I’d say it was an excellent choice~

5. First race you played? Sylvari, and I still main her to this day~

6. Favorite Destiny’s Edge character? It was originally Caithe, and I love Zojja a lot, but after a ton of hate Eir got back in April and May, I’m an Eir stan now. That’s my milf and she’s amazing

7. Favorite Dragon’s Watch character? Kasmeer currently~

8. Favorite Elder Dragon? Jormag, sorry for being massively gay for them

9. Best boss fight (story)? Probably the fight with Balthazar at the start of the Departing? Though to be honest I’m a huge fan of all of the Balthazar fights, his mechanics are really fun and his visuals and dialogue are *chefs kiss*

10. Best boss fight (fractal)? High Priestess Amala, it’s such an interesting fight but such a fucking tragic one

11. Best boss fight (raid)? I’ve only fought Cairn and never won but he’s cool. Based purely of aesthetics, Samarog is my wife, and I am very interested in Dhuum and the Soulless Horror

12. PvE or PvP or RP? RP my man, y’all hit me up for some rp Please

13. Favorite canon couple? Kas n Jory~

14. Favorite fanon/self made couple? for oc/oc it’s def Aildyn and @mystery-salad​‘s Matthias, and for oc/canon, Rhosill and Canach just hit a warm spot in me

15. Favorite quote? “They’ll write more songs about you. Keep your legend alive. I’ll find whoever did this. I promise.” Norn pc to Almorra’s body in Whisper in the Dark, I did in fact tear up hard at that

16. Most emotional cinematic?  Hard to say, since none of the most emotional moments for me were cinematics, but dialogue over action that adds to scenes, like leaving Blish in the Mists, or Executioner Amala’s death, where you and Braham are just stuck in space together for a few minutes after. That said, maybe when Braham pushes you free of Joko’s spell and takes your place so you can fight? Was that a cinematic?

17. Favorite VA? Sumalee Montano, the voice of Marjory

18. Post a fun screenshot! uvu

19. Post a landscape screenshot! It’s the best I’ve got on this laptop sorry ^^’

20. Most used mount(s)? the Skyscale, it was well worth the effort

21. Favorite mount skin (for every mount you have)?

Overall - Desert Scarab for the beetle

for the rest - Storm Ridge (raptor), Sun Temple Gecko (springer), Magnificent Hummingbird (skimmer), Stardust (jackal), Sky Bandit (griffon), Starclaw (warclaw), Shimmerwing (skyscale)

22. Favorite weapon? in general, i adore axes and how they’re used on every class with access to them. in terms of just skins, Sharur and the merciless focus are my two favorite skins.

23. Favorite gear set? Zodiac, definitely. I know it’s skimpy and ridiculous but I love it

24. Favorite title? “I’m rich, you know” is my dream title, but “good apple” is my favorite of the ones I have

25. Something you worked really hard to get? I made Chuka and Champawat this year!!!! It took forever

26. Favorite GW2 Youtuber / GW2 related video? now is my time to shill! @yolosmith​ has some really fun wvw roaming videos that you can find [here] !!!

27. Most used miniature? Mummy Legs

28. Most used novelty? The bouquet of roses~

29. Number of achievments points? 10,581 points, I don’t put in a ton of effort to gaining points for the sake of it

30. Something you’d love to see in GW2? I want More norn content! Especially anything about Forgal or his father since we’re meeting new followers of Ox/Dolyak

I’m not going to directly tag anyone since I literally have no clue who has and hasn’t done it and I’m late to the party, but if you see this, I’m tagging you to do it, fight me

[pinkbellythundershark]

30 questions: GW2 edition

This can be done in many different ways: get asks by your followers, pick some questions for yourself, answer the whole damn thing at once, etc!

You can draw, write (to explain in details or not) or just post screenshots! If you miss one it’s totally okay, whether it’s by lack of answer or time. Have fun!

I was tagged by @brax-was-here (Their stuff if cool go check them out >:D)

1. Favorite living world season? 2. Favorite expansion? so far HoT, I spend a lot of time in TD 3. Favorite soundtrack? Sands of Chaos (path of fire battle), Fear not this Night, and Dragon Fall meta music 4. First profession you played? Thief 5. First race you played? Sylvari 6. Favorite Destiny’s Edge character? Zojja and Snaff 7. Favorite Dragon’s Watch character? Cannach and Taimi 8. Favorite Elder Dragon? 9. Best boss fight (story)? The Source of Orr story step 10. Best boss fight (fractal)-haven't done many 11. Best boss fight (raid)?-haven't done any 12. PvE or PvP or RP? I mainly PVE and WVW.  RP sounds fun but I'm too anxious to 13. Favorite canon couple? Those two olmakhan charr at the festival of the four winds 14. Favorite fanon/self made couple? 15. Favorite quote? "I dare you, hit me" - sylvari voiceline for retaliation 16. Most emotional cinematic? -I cried during HoT.  Clawr Island was also pretty emotional 17. Favorite VA?Sam Riegel 18. Post a fun screenshot! I have too many screenshots to go through so I'll maybe upload one later 19. Post a landscape screenshot! 20. Most used mount(s)? Skimmer, Warclaw(because I wvw), and Griffon 21. Favorite mount skin (for every mount you have)? Raptor: Flamelander, Bunny: Summit Wildhorn (awakened springer is a vlose second), Skimmer: I usually use the default one but I really like the  Lithosol skin.  Jackal: I go between Branded Mystic and the Mordrem Alpha.  RollerBeetle: Funerary Scarab, Warclaw: Assault Warclaw, Griffon: Stardust, Skyscale: Bio-luminescent  22. Favorite weapon? Daggers, Caladbolg 23. Favorite gear set? SneakThief armor 24. Favorite title? Knight of the Thorn 25. Something you worked really hard to get?

legendary shark spear my pride and joy

26. Favorite GW2 Youtuber / GW2 related video? 27. Most used miniature?  Fern hound, since I have one constantly on my druid who uses the fern hound as a pet 28. Most used novelty? Watermelon sandshark kite and Endless Anomaly Fragment 29. Number of achievment points?

30. Something you’d love to see in GW2? Malyck.  More underwater content. Sayeh al’ Rajihd.  

Tagging: @dpyer​ @vaixation​ @ilydesia​ @ketterinq​  I am so bad at keeping up with my gw2 friends on tumblr that I can’t find their usernames

[mystery-salad]

Reposting this since legit somehow Zero of the tags or bolding carried through holy shit

30 questions: GW2 edition I was tagged by @where-is-caithe and @just-eyris-things

This can be done in many different ways: get asks by your followers, pick some questions for yourself, answer the whole damn thing at once, etc! You can draw, write (to explain in details or not) or just post screenshots! If you miss one it’s totally okay, whether it’s by lack of answer or time. Have fun!

1. Favorite living world season?

As much as some of the fights feel really badly balanced, I enjoy LS2 for the close knit new family feel. The whole little group is still figuring their dynamics out and finding their independence, and it’s a real good found family sorta feel as you Go Through A Lot.

2. Favorite expansion?

Heart of Thorns holds a special place in my heart (lol) just for being the first new story since I’d started playing. It’s got many flaws looking back, but nothing has actually hit me harder since. Maybe because anet overuses the punch of tragedy and death an I’m numb to their attempt to low blow us after several years *shrugs*

3. Favorite soundtrack?

The music in Caledon forest was my first step into gw2, and it will forever hold the top spot for me, alongside the original character select screen music.

4. First profession you played?

Ranger! Still one of my absolute favorites.

5. First race you played?

Sylvari, go figure

6. Favorite Destiny’s Edge character?

It’s a tough choice for me! Eir and Caithe rank highest though due to their unconventional character arcs for women. They’ve both got a lot of nuance and challenges and I respect that.

7. Favorite Dragon’s Watch character?

Again gotta pick two, Braham and Rox have a unique feel too and are amazing foils to each other’s characters. I’d like to see more of them together again.

8. Favorite Elder Dragon?

I love the potential held in Bubbles. Deep sea dragon, whose awakening scared even the krait off? Give me those deep sea horrors.

9. Best boss fight (story)?

I honestly really love the final fight against Zhaitan. It really managed to encapsulate the feeling of fighting a larger than life powerful enemy with an army at your back. No big fight since for me has had the same grandeur to it. We did a lot of fighting dragons in “smaller” ways or with “smaller” teams that just feel more...compact, ya know? I want that grandeur back.

10. Best boss fight (fractal)?

Jade maw is fucking wild! And it’s not the boss of its fractal but the giant living statue.

11. Best boss fight (raid)?

Never been in one, would love to one day when I’m in a guild who does them when I’m awake...

12. PvE or PvP or RP?

PvE by far, and RP is fun when you can find the right people.

13. Favorite canon couple?

In one map, there’s a seraph soldier and a bandit having a secret date. They’re so fucking extra and sappy and unnecessary and I love fining them and reading their cheesy star-crossed dialogue.

14. Favorite fanon/self made couple?

With another player, my favorite currently is Matthias with @ascalonianpicnic‘s Aildyn. The two have a very good dynamic.

Solo, I really love my new commander, Kai, with Caithe. I’ve built up a back-an forth for the two that I’m a lot more compelled by than I thought I’d be! I’m excited to share more on these two.

15. Favorite quote?

“sneaky mode engaged”

16. Most emotional cinematic?

The end of Heart of Thorns. A victory, a tragedy, and a clear sign that it’s set off another disaster just by you winning. There’s so many layers to that *boom*

17. Favorite VA?

I’m so bad at naming VAs but whoever voiced the asura female MC knows what she’s about

18. Post a fun screenshot!

Still love this one~

19. Post a landscape screenshot!

20. Most used mount(s)?

I spend most time on raptor still, followed by griffon!

21. Favorite mount skin (for every mount you have)?

Raptor: crested plainsrunner

Springer: kourna jackrabbit

Skimmer: river mothwing

Jackal: lucent sands

Griffon: clouded corvus

Roller Beetle: deep desert scarab

Warclaw: vigilant saberclaw

Skyscale: axejaw skyscale

22. Favorite weapon?

Longbow is my favorite kind of weapon, I like it on every single class that uses it. Favorite overall weapon? Idk man too many to pick from at this point.

23. Favorite gear set?

I’m always a sucker for the sunspear armors

24. Favorite title?

Killer Queen

25. Something you worked really hard to get?

Astralarias is my only legendary so far and it’s pretty rad. Really like Mawdrey too.

26. Favorite GW2 Youtuber / GW2 related video?

Daelin Dwin

27. Most used miniature?

Mini Quail!!! The feather bouncing on the head is an adorable little feature.

28. Most used novelty?

Embiggening tonic!

29. Number of achievments points?

Little over 18,000 now

30. Something you’d love to see in GW2?

Norns getting the same revamp humans got on african american faces and hairs since they’re also based on humans :) Where is it anet? Where’s the fairness? And asura and charr both have some afro-inspired hairs that need better textures now. When anet.

I tag anyone who hasn’t done this yet! Idk who has or hasn’t been tagged in these couple of weeks, but if you haven’t done this yet I’d love to see it via tag 💕

[jadedbirch]

Rules: tell me one book from your childhood that you still love now, one book that is on your reading list, and the book that you’ve read most recently.

Tagged by Gemma <33 @vowel-in-thug - I’m so glad you’re surviving the apocalypse so far. 

1.  I don’t know what YOUR childhood was like but my parents tried to foist some really fucked up shit on me as a child (to read).  As a result, I actually did not enjoy reading very much b/c the things I had been forced to read, no child had any business reading, especially not a hypersensitive child like myself.  And then, one day, I was fucking around in my grandma’s room where our family kept our library overflow, and I found The Three Musketeers.  It had a beautiful embossed red cover and the illustrations were just to die for!  Anyways, I started to read it and all of a sudden there was Athos, manfully swooning into the waiting arms of his comrades, and shortly after drinking An Entire Cellar By Himself™ and well, my life was irrevocably changed.  If only my parents realized that reading the classics makes you gay, heheheheh.  Anyways, I adore those lovable assholes (their teenage rapist pet notwithstanding).

2. The Lost Future of Pepperharrow by Natashy Pulley, i.e. the sequel to The Watchmaker of Filigree Street. This is really embarrassing.  I bought it months ago.  My MOTHER has read it it in the meantime.  But I haven’t gotten around to it.  And now I don’t know when I will because I can’t write and read books at the same time.  And you might have noticed, I’m slightly occupied with writing right now ahhahahaah.  <333

3. The Gilded Scarab by Anna Butler.  Rafe Lancaster is a fantastic homosexual.  Really, he’s a delightful protagonist and this book is steampunk and really lovely and I know for a fact I would have read all the sequels by now as well IF ONLY THE UNTAMED HAD NOT HAPPENED TO ME.  I guess it’s a good thing I already met my 25 book quota early this year because who knows when I’ll read another novel at this rate.  Maybe 2021 if the world doesn’t end.

Tagging people who probably read, I don’t know, @twobrokenwyngs @mustlovetights @hithelleth @favouritealias @runawaymarbles @marsza @bea2me

[maple-keenes]

the second disaster: playing dumb gets you nowhere*  *with exceptions

the first disaster | the second disaster | the third disaster | the fourth disaster | the fifth disaster

summary: on a visit to the local museum, virgil meets and attractive tour guide and manages to convince him (somehow) that he doesn’t believe that egypt is a real place. 

it gets better. 

warnings: cursing, remus, deceit

pairings: analogical and brief demus/dukeceit/the ship with no name

wc: 1587

a/n: you don’t need to have read the other fics in the series to read this one, but i’d recommend it because i spent a lot of time on them 

um, there’s a mention that patton says he doesn’t know who virgil is, which if you’re following the canon of this series wouldn’t make any sense, so let’s just assume logan described him so badly that patton didn’t recognize him. 

taglist: @analogical-chaos @ilovemygaydad @alltimevirgilant @virgiliananxiety @romanticsanders @theincediblesulk @wroammin @creativity-killed-thekitten @bitchyybabyy400 @wooflesthatwoof @lyditist @heck-im-lost @max-is-tired @demurphart @thelowlysatsuma @land-of-dragons-and-frogs @theeternalspace @magicallygrimmwiccan @weirdsthenewnormal @romansleftshoulderpad @andrewisabraveboy @satanblessi @supbitchss @diamondrush862

- 

"Why did I have to come with you?" Virgil moaned as Roman dragged him towards the local museum. "I don't need the research!" 

“Museums can be cool! Come on, I just need someone here to make snarky comments about the birds in the wildlife wing,” he pleaded. 

Virgil rolled his eyes and relented. “God, I hate you.” 

“Love you too!”

Roman dragged him all the way to the wildlife exhibit he was supposed to be studying, and several families were confused by the angry emo 24-year-old being pulled by the arm by a bubbly 25-year-old theater kid to a random exhibit in the museum. 

Virgil and Roman had been close friends since high school, where they met through the misadventures of a mutual friend, Patton, and Roman’s brother Remus. The four had drifted apart over the years, but the two of them had gone to the same college and now, three years later, Virgil was still stuck going to this stupid museum with Roman. 

As Roman diligently took notes on the exhibit he was supposed to be researching, Virgil wandered aimlessly around the Egyptian exhibit and looked at all the… old stuff. (He was never really one for history. Too many white people pillaging and colonizing and not enough sword-fighting.)

He leaned over to look into one of the glass cases, and the attendant walked over with a smile on his face. “Interested in these artifacts?” 

“Oh… they’re cool. I was just looking around, really.”

The attendant nodded, still giving him that tight-lipped why-are-you-here smile. “Okay. These are scarab beetles. They were very common in ancient Egypt, and they were worshipped back then. They were sacred animals in Egypt.”

Virgil glanced at the attendant, who seemed to be about 26 or so, and noticed that he was… was it appropriate to say that he was smoking hot? He had tattoos up and down both arms, and glasses that framed his face perfectly, and Virgil’s bisexual ass was crying for this man to keep talking to him. 

“Yeah,” Virgil said, running a finger along the edge of the case, “I used to think that wasn’t a real thing until I came here.”

His mouth opened and closed a couple of times, before blurting out, "You didn't think Egypt was a real place?" 

Virgil, who was now slightly mortified, did nothing but nod. Oh, god, this hot guy thinks I'm an idiot, he thought, still smiling at the tour guide. “I -” 

“My stars, we get some idiots here…” he mumbled, and Virgil started, a bit offended. 

“So what if I don’t think Egypt is real?” he asked, affronted. “What are you going to do about it?”

The attendant blinked once, twice, apparently at a loss for words. “I…” 

“You know what, I’m going to go now, and you can mull over that,” Virgil said and then stalked out of the exhibit, head held high with the tour guide still tripping over his words behind him. 

He strolled through the museum for a little bit longer before catching up with Roman, who was still diligently taking notes on the exhibit he was supposed to. He glanced up when Virgil approached him and shut his notebook. 

“Where were you?” Roman challenged, frustrated. “You just wandered off.” 

Virgil stuck his tongue out at him. “Sorry, dad. I was just in the Egypt exhibit; I accidentally convinced a guide that I didn’t believe in it, too.” 

“You did what now?” 

He rolled his eyes, as if this was a normal thing that Roman should have been able to comprehend. “I convinced the guide - who was ridiculously attractive, by the way - that I didn’t believe that Egypt was a real place.” 

Roman stared at him, openmouthed. “You - oh jesus, you’ve got a crush on this guy, don’t you?” 

“How’d you know it was a guy?” Virgil said, raising an eyebrow. 

“Because I know these kinds of things, Virgil. You treat girls with so much more reverence than you do guys, so this crush is a guy.” 

He pouted. “I don’t have a crush on him. I just liked messing with him.” 

Roman folded his arms across his chest. “Describe him.” 

“What?” 

“Describe him,” he repeated. “Do it.”

Virgil stared at his best friend and then sighed. “He had like, really soft brown hair that looked really nice, and round glasses, and green eyes that were almost blue, and his face looked really intelligent but sweet at the same time, and - why are you /laughing?”

“You’re so gay for him! Oh my god!” Roman doubled over with laughter. “That’s so cute, it’s baby’s first crush.” 

“They will never find your body.” 

He glared at Virgil. “You’re awful, I hope you know that. Come on, let’s go back to the Egyptian exhibit! We can still find him!”

“No, we can’t, and it’s not worth it.” Virgil shrugged. “You done?” 

“I can’t believe you’re just giving up on true love like that!” Roman cried, exasperated. Several families shushed him, very annoyed. He frowned and turned back to Virgil, who was giggling silently.  

Virgil, finally recovering from his fit of giggles, said, “I’m not giving up on true love. It’s a crush, if that.” 

“Ugh, you’re the worst,” he replied, sticking his notebook in his back pocket. “Let’s go, then.” 

Roman, who was a wise man (sometimes) knew that there was essentially no convincing Virgil now that he’d made up his mind, so they went home. 

It was the next day when the guide, who’s name was Logan, and who was 26 years old, was with his friend DC, who was quite frustrated with Logan. 

“So you’re in love with him -” 

“Felt that he was attractive,” he corrected.

“And you just let him leave!” DC threw his hands up in the air, exasperated. “Logan, I don’t know what I’m going to do with you!”

“I don’t know what you want me to do!” Logan exclaimed, pacing the room. “I just thought he was attractive and I wanted to get to know him a bit better, but he left, so, oh well.”

DC sighed loudly and glared at him. “I hate you. I hate you so much. Okay, I’m calling Patton and seeing if he knows anyone who fits that description because I’m /sick of your /bitching and I want you to see this guy again.” 

He rang up Patton, who said, “No, I’ve never heard of anyone like that. Do you mind if I try my friend Remus?”

Remus, by some strange stroke of luck, was the brother of the man who had gone to the museum with Logan’s crush, and he directed DC to his brother, Roman, who was the best friend of the man, who’s name was Virgil. 

“Virgil,” Logan said, savoring the way it rolled off his tongue. “Isn’t that such an elegant name, DC?” 

DC flipped him off as he scribbled down Virgil’s number from Roman. “Yeah, thanks, Roman. And tell your brother I said he sounds sexy.” A pause. “No? You won’t? Okay.”

Logan rolled his eyes. “You’re awful.” 

“I just got you the number of the man of your dreams,” he replied, handing it to Logan, who nodded in thanks. “But, yes, I am incorrigible. However, he did sound really sexy.” 

“I’m texting him, I can’t hear you.” 

Me 8:34 PM 

Hello! I am Logan. I was the tour guide at the museum the day you told me you didn’t believe in Egypt, and I was hoping we could meet for coffee and I could tell you all about Egypt… and myself, if you’re interested? 

And the rest was history. 

I mean, that’s not the end of the fic, I’ve still got to get us to the next disaster by the end of this one, but like, it’s written history. Recorded history. 

You get it. 

It was only five months later that Logan was nervously tapping his foot against the ground in the Egyptian exhibit, which was closed down for a special event. 

Logan had started working in the archaeology department at the museum, so he still worked there, and therefore was able to shut down the exhibit for a ‘special event’. 

Y’all aren’t dumb. You know he’s proposing. 

It had only been five months, sure, but ever since the first date Logan had known that this grumpy young man was his absolute soulmate. They complemented each other’s personalities perfectly, they were best friends, and their friend groups were now melded, meaning that the six of them were all quite close. And so Logan had Roman, Remus, Patton and DC’s blessing to propose to his emo boyfriend, and that is where we join him. 

Virgil poked his head into the exhibit, eyes widening when he saw his boyfriend down on one knee with a box in his hand. “Holy shit -” 

“Virgil, you are -” 

“Yes!” 

Logan sighed. “Can I finish?” 

“No, shut up! I’m saying yes, save the sappy crap for the wedding!” Virgil beamed and ran over to Logan, wrapping him in a tight hug. “I love you so much.” 

He smiled and hugged Virgil back. “I love you too.” 

So they were married two months later, in a lovely park with friends and family and Remus’s dog, who was the most important member of the wedding party. 

It was two years later that they adopted their son, Remy. He was only a month old when they brought him home, but he was the final addition to their family, and Logan and Virgil were happy. 

Even without the existence of Egypt. 

[ramblestimesthree]

1/27/25

Raza, another new world, new word of inclusion/exclusion/seclusion. What did I get out of this radio show? Well fuck! I want to learn how to salsa. I forgot that I a test to dance until today but my feet are still a paper under rocks. Breathe in and out like sheets billowing. In, out, foot in both worlds like a stab wound. More prone, less prone, a world of two is so lonely yet I want to be alone, would prefer to dance in my room than on the street where I currently sway. Rocked, rooted, ruthless and loud! Scream! Tired of my words, my feet cramp the irate 10 steps in. The music awoke and me with it, maybe we too are raveled together. (Can you ravel or only unravel? How would you unravel if you never raveled in the first place?). Mindfulness, choice, I am the voice and the wave has a choice. I am too tired to write. I have talked too much - let’s hear from everyone! Where am I? What was I doing? I smell like shit. Transculturation, hide my thoughts between commas, race around the truth. I’m still at the borderlands. Dried river between worlds, the messiah, the dry prophet of parakeets and puppets approaches and offers you a key - do you accept the quest? Will you become one of their puppets?

Keys to a new car that will never leave your driveway, splatted on the floor - must I throw the waves or can they throw me?Over interpretation is a sign of the devil, beware! Snake snake snake! On an objective level you are a snake but subjectively a human - the perspective always matters and this is just fiction - always interpreting. I think I over interpret so I do not feel my breath slide down another’s neck. The wave is just a wave. Rerouting the brain, speak twice before you think, but make it a three because two is the loneliness umber. One is just a prompt for two to begin. Gibberish, burn the witch! Burn the trust between us as if it was there in the first place. Don’t tell me you think I’m good unless you truly mean it. Don’t tell me I’m self-aware unless you truly see me. I am not. I am a heathen, an outcast, the waving only stops when my hand falls off. Can’’t remember my own anger even though it just happened yesterday - what II felt and interpreted about my own life.

That’s my new prompting event - forgetting how I felt. Maybe I have the anger of a thousand suns boiling within. How do you forget the heat of a thousand suns? How can I be the sun with no flame? I am the scarab, the beetle of rebirth and eater of flames, forget how the coffee burnt my tongue till I eat the next hot food. Ra, the sun god, creator of all, primal life-giver, hawk/beetle/lion/rattlesnake, a walking mosaic of contradictions and yet continues to fight the snake each night. I know I was mad, I know I called my dad but how did I interpret my one thousand suns, thousand eyes? Or did it unleash into a black black room so no one else could see, not even me. How did I think? Need to finish the page, now this is compulsive but it works in my favor because this is still homework even if it safe to free my mind. Let the sun cry, let her free those tears she holds in so the day can continue on. Let it out sun, it’s okay to cry, the plants love the rain, and you deserve the day off. Cry cry cry, things have to change and the moon will love you regardless.

[westofwonder]

Pull List (06/14/2023)

Doctor Strange #4 Green Lantern #2 Moon Knight #24 Planet of the Apes #3 Son of Origins of Marvel Comics #1 Static/Anansi Team-Up #1 Superman: Lost #4 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #140 Waller Vs. Wildstorm #2

Doctor Strange - Really looking forward to this Wong issue.

Green Lantern - First issue was decent. Ready to see where Hal ends up and how Carol responds to it. Not really vibing yet with the back up.

Moon Knight - Been catching up with Moon Knight, and I’m really liking it. Wanted to see this issue before #25 and the introduction of the new Scarlet Scarab - the one from the show.

Planet of the Apes - First issue was phenomenal. Second was pretty decent. Still going strong with this and still excited to see this. Never been a big PotA fan, but I’m liking this so far.

Son of Origins of Marvel Comics - Only comic out of these five in this anthology I’ve read has been Daredevil. Really interested in how modern coloring updates some things - for the most part.

Static/Anansi Team-Up - Juneteenth celebration in this issue! Timely! It’ll be cool.

Superman: Lost - First issue was great. Second and third were okay, and a lot of that is due to Pax and Cox on inks and colors. Still, a Priest book regardless. Weeks cover again for me.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Wanted to jump on at a good point, and I’ve been hearing good things about this current writer and run and I want to give it a shot and proper look.

Waller Vs. Wildstorm - Still intrigued by what’s going on here and what this book is trying to do. Need to read the issue to see.

Late list! Bunch of stuff to do today. Caught up with most of my stuff (at least the titles this week.)

Happy readings!