#and while my issue of failing to finish stories remains

[kyofsonder]

Sometimes writing involves haggling with your own stories/poems/other creative works. Maybe it can't fit all 5 things you envisioned, but it can fit 1 of them and give you a bonus 2 you didn't think of in the planning stage for a discounted total of 3 and you'll just have to take that.

[mischiefmaker615]

Ghost (Loki Love Story) Ch.22

Your eyes quickly looked up to the smirking god of mischief who sat calmly across from you at the table. This is about the seventh time you’ve had to move your legs in a different position before he sought them out with his own again to rub against you under the table. Apparently warning looks weren’t helping and there was nowhere else you could sit while Steve continued with the meeting.

Now and again you were sure he knew what was up and caught some irritation in his voice while he spoke. That reaction seemed to then trigger Loki doing it again, almost giving off a smug look he failed to hide while you pressed your legs together.

Ever since you both left the bathroom after your.. moment.. the rest of the morning while you headed towards the meeting had been filled with nothing but sexual innuendos and his hands “accidentally” brushing up against particular parts of you- mostly your ass.

The very thought of your moment with Loki had your cheeks reddening and your thighs squeezing together again while you trained your eyes on Steve. Any attention off of Loki- especially on Steve made him rub against your ankle harder- it’s not like you had a choice?? Steve was running a meeting!

You thought about kicking him in the leg, but something told you you’d pay for it later.. yet the gods blessed you to having the urge to pee where you then raised a hesitant hand up and paused Steve’s talking.

‘’bathroom run..’’ you said apologetically and stood, Steve giving you just a nod with a blank expression before it gave Loki a distasteful one when he stood up too.

‘’stuck together, you know how it goes.’’ He chuckled, raising his hands with a small shrug but looked anything other than disappointed where you sighed and had him follow you out.

The feeling of his slender hand then finally run along your lower back to pull your side against his made your skin feel like it was tingly and your cheeks redden.

‘’so darling, do you actually need a bathroom break or are you wanting a bathroom break?” he winked, trying to search your face to see if you had just secretly got you both out of there to continue your.. activities before you gave him a dry look.

‘’bathroom break.’’

Loki raised his hands again in a surrender position yet his smirk remained. ‘’very well darling, I’m sure waiting outside in the family facilities would be not to far to be teleported.. unless you want me to go inside and-‘’

‘’the family bathroom is a single unite and is relatively close to the wall. It should be fine if you wait outside without having yourself teleported.’’ You said with the same dry sound, hoping he’d catch on to your disappointment on how he had totally interrupted the meeting.

Loki didn’t get the hint as he lowered his hand at your side every so slightly to try to sneak his fingers under your shirt before you shook him off a little.

‘’we’re in public- would you mind just watering down your actions a notch??” you scolded but he merely chuckled as he kept his pace with yours that quickened.

‘’so you are referring to the fact that if we weren’t in public, my affections would be acceptable?”

You merely gave him a ‘watch it’ look before you gripped the handle to the bathroom. ‘’I won’t be long.’’ You told him and he gave you a nod, leaning against the wall as if to wait with his arms crossed while his gaze watched you disappear.

As soon as the door closed behind you, you felt yourself exhale and your shoulders slump to relax yourself finally.

Fuckkkkkkkk last night was truly amazing.. but he seemed to now think it could happen anywhere. He seemed quite adjusted to this whole thing, having no problem to this whole ‘stuck together’ situation but honestly- you needed air. There was nothing wrong with being together but.. for gods sakes you needed privacy in the damn bathroom region of the issue.

Running a hand through your hair, you freshened up with some water in your face before a deep breath. ‘’just finish the meeting, then back to figuring this thing out..’’ you told yourself, knowing Loki used every excuse to try to get out of it or avoid it but- no. no no no. this was happening. You took hold of the doorknob, chest puffed up to be firm and took a step forward.. only to take several back when ‘speak of the devil’ collided his lips with yours, pushing you with the door slamming shut behind him until your back found the wall.

‘’for gods sakes Loki- bathroom sex??” you whined, never really fond of the idea but by his wondering hands and lips over you, he may be able to convince you as you pressed your hands against his chest to separate you both.

‘’if your facility is so adamant with following orders than im sure your janitor followed his.’’ Loki said, finding it clean enough to hoist you up and sit you onto the bathroom counter, his slender hands gripping your hips while he moved his body to stand between your legs.

‘’that’s not the damn point- we have a m-meeting to go too-‘’ you tried to reason, finding it hard to think while Loki leaned forward and began brushing his lips along your neck, adding open mouth kisses while inhaling your sweet scent he loved so much. ‘’d-don’t you want to take things so?-‘’

‘’darling, I don’t remember your preference being slow’’ he winked before a hand reached up to rest behind your head, pulling you forward so he could get a hold of your earlobe and nibble, causing goosebumps running up your skin while you shivered.

‘’but the meet-‘’

‘’the meeting was boring and pointless. Rogers just calls it so he can just keep an actual eye on us.’’ Loki brushed it off, working his hands up your shirt now while your own gripped his shoulders.

‘’but he had an idea to get us to work until we figure things out-‘’

Loki paused his movements, slowly pulling back enough to look at her with a raised brow and a questionable expression. ‘’when did you have time to talk to him?”

‘’when you were in the bathroom.’’ You told him with a small shrug.

‘’when I was in the- this morning?? What the hell is he doing up that early?” Loki said with irritation while he furrowed his brows.

‘’it wasn’t that early.. we were almost late to the meeting but apparently not really. He always does his jog- er.. run in the morning before he begins to prepare for the debriefing.’’

‘’I don’t even want to know how you are aware of that’’ Loki shook his head and sighed, resting his forehead against your shoulder like a pouting child while his hands rest at your thighs. ‘’I want sex..’’ he said quietly.

‘’now don’t tell me just because we.. did it, it now has made you needy.’’ You gently tease him as you ran a hand against his back, the other tangling in his hair where he moans at how you scratch gently.

‘’I really didn’t desire to leave that room Y/N.. ever..’’ he breathed, growing an erection at the memories from this morning and it made his hand glide around to your hips, puling you more forward against him while his face nose to be nose to nose with you. ‘’don’t tell me you aren’t needy too..’’

Your cheeks reddened, fingers gripping his shoulders while you felt the urge to instinctively close your legs while you looked at him. ‘’you were.. amazing Loki..’’ you breathed, feeling arousal as your teeth captured your bottom lip while Loki’s nose playfully rubbed against yours. ‘’but we need to get back to the meeting.. there will be plenty of time after to-‘’

‘’done.’’ Say no more, Loki took hold of your hand and helped you off the counter, a blush creeping upon your cheeks but you couldn’t help the small smile tug at your lips as he confidently lead you out of the bathroom and back to the meeting room.

Steve was still going on about files Loki was still sure wasn’t important, when he paused to look at them enter. ‘’took awhile..’’ he said dryly, clearly looking at Loki while he gave him a smug look.

‘’we got caught up discussing just how fascinating this all was.’’ Loki said sarcastically and resumed his seating across from you where you sheepishly sat down and sighed, trying to break the two up.

‘’carry on..’’

‘’honestly you both are like an old married couple.. but divorced.’’ Tony ‘complimented’ while he sat back with his arms crossed impatiently.

‘’anyway-‘’ Steve dragged on before continuing.

 While Natasha gave you a few looks, nonverbally asking if you two actually did it in the bathroom, Loki began resuming his rubbing against your leg, causing your attention to be split while Steve gave an irritating tone while he tried to power through. The moment you jumped a little by Loki’s somehow-skilled movements with just his leg, Roger’s threw his hands up and huffed.

‘’will you for once in your life just-‘’

*BOOM*

Someone violent seemed to shake the building, causing you all to jump to your feet and look around.

‘’what the hell is that??” Clint asked, looking around while Tony raised up his wrist device.

‘’Jarvis- what are we looking at here??”

The tower shook violently again, a loud explosion being heard from somewhere below them while it felt like a drawn out earthquake. The lights began flickering, alarms could be heard down the halls where Nat had to cover her ears briefly with a wince.

‘’seems like something shot into the tower- a missile of some sort but a smaller type, it looks like- hang on!’’ Tony yelled, everyone bracing and some gripping the large table before another harsh jolt of the tower could be felt, Clint losing balance while Loki pulling up along side you with an arm around your waist.

‘’now’s a perfectly good time to end the meeting, right?”

‘’not now Loki- everyone else head out, suit up, I have a feeling this is coming from-‘’ Tony cut off Steve as he growled out the word Hydra, everyone losing balance once another missile hit, causing some of the ceiling boards to fall down and break apart upon impact.

‘’lets go, come on!’’ Steve ushered, standing by the door as he let everyone hustle out- Tony, Clint, Nat and Loki- Y/N holding onto Loki’s hand where you were almost out the door yourself before you both fell onto the ground after another violent shake.

‘’you okay?” Loki asked, getting to his hands and knees while you rolled over off your back.

‘’yeah I’m-‘’

‘’watch out!” Steve yelled, grabbing Loki’s arm and yanking him back as a piece of ceiling collapsed between you both.

‘’Y/N come on-‘’ Loki yelled, struggling to his feet by the swaying building while you raised a knee to get up.

Just before you could stand there was a horrible ripping sound while the building shook before you felt yourself sliding back away from Loki. Your nails dug into the floor, trying to anchor yourself while you glanced behind you to see that the floor was falling apart and down a couple floors below.

‘’Loki-‘’

‘’hang on!”’ he yelled, getting onto his belly and crawling towards the ledge you hung off in as if the floor had literally made a cliff. ‘’take my hand-‘’ he told you, Steve having to back off as the floor in front of him crumbled, leaving you and Loki on crumbling floor patches held by barely a thread while he clung to the now useless doorway.

‘’almost-‘’ you breathed, your fingertip brushing against Loki’s before another blast was shot, this time you could see the flames from the broken window beside you where you quickly covered your head, the glass scattering beside you before you felt yourself being elevated into the air. Once you opened your eyes you could see yourself falling, your back towards the ground as you passed several floors whose floors had collapsed too. As soon as you felt like you were going to hit the ground- squeezing your eyes shut, you suddenly felt strong arms envelope around you while you fell, opening your eyes to see Loki holding you close.

There was a sense of relief upon seeing him, even though you both now were falling through the broken floors, some pieced scraping against your sides and legs that still clung to the original frame before you suddenly hit the ground with a thud, pain shooting through your body where your cheek rested against Loki’s chest, indicating he had used himself to absorb most of the impact so you could land on him.

‘’-you okay?..’’ Loki grunted, a hand on the back of his head where he winced from hitting it on the ground.

‘’y-yeah.. are you oka- look out!’’ you screamed, by the gods mustering up the strength to shove him out of the way while the building’s ceiling came crashing down amongst you both, causing darkness and dust to be in the air while Loki heard a gut-wrenching scream come from amongst the rubble.

‘’Y/N?! Y/N!!’’ he yelled, ignoring his pains while he looked around, coughing while he waved the dust from in front of him to see, moving broken concrete and wood out of the way before he finally turned the corner of the largest piece to find you.

Pain shot up in waves through your back, your fingers curling into fists on the ground while you stayed laying on your side while your legs kicked out to try to wretch yourself free and your hands searched for something to pull at. It hurt so much- you felt like you wanted to throw up while your skin began growing cold and your face draining. ‘’L-Loki..’’

‘’I’m here Y/N I’m here-‘’ he breathed, kneeling down at your side as his hands hovered over your body, not sure if he should touch you while his eyes searched for injuries. That’s when he saw it..

Amongst the largest part of concrete rubble, your wings stayed pin right underneath them.

‘’oh gods..’’ Loki whispered, his voice hushed as to not scare you while his eyes frantically looked over the rock. Using his shoulder and arms, he rammed against it, hearing a yelp leave your lips while he used all his god strength to try to push it off. ‘’fuck..’’ he cussed, Midgardian language slipping out as he ran his fingers through his hair while his eyes widened, trying to figure out what to do.

‘’Loki..’’ you breathed, your voice weak as you tried taking in proper breaths through your shock.

‘’yes Y/N? yes? What do you need?” he asked, his voice shaky as he immediately knelt at your side, a hand grasping yours that shook just as much as yours.

‘’Loki… cut them off..’’

Tag List: @violethaze @fire-in-her-veinz

[justthemis124]

My opinion on “Monsters: The Lyle and Erik Menendez story” PART I

If some of you guys have read my presentation post, you know that this show encouraged me to create this blog, because after finishing the last episode, I just needed to talk about it to someone. Unfortunately nobody I know has seen it or is even interested in seeing it. Anyway that’s not the point, I have a lot of things to say about the show, that’s why this post is only a part 1, and I’ll try my best to organize my thoughts as best as I can.

You can read part II just here :))

I. THE RYAN MURPHY PROBLEM

I feel like I needed to start with the most obvious one.

So first of all you need to know that my only knowledge of Ryan Murphy comes from the 5 seasons of American Horror Story that I watched. And the thing that I noticed straight away when watching AHS was the omnipresence of very, very uncomfortable and weird s*x scenes. Every 5 seconds you get these scenes that serve no purpose to the plot whatsoever, it feels like they’re there just for the sake of making people uncomfortable and satisfying whatever perverse desire Ryan Murphy has. Now, I’ll say that American Horror Story is fictional and that, at the end of the day, no matter how disgusting these scenes are, they remain in the fictional realm.

BUT the problem is that RM has clearly brought his weird and obscene fantasies into the world of what I can only think of calling “True Fiction” (a show or movie based on real events, and that wants itself to be accurate). It’s something that you can so clearly see in each and every episode of the show, and while watching it, I remember thinking how disgusting it was that this almost 60 years old man was just forcing his perversion into a representation of literal victims of incestuous s*xual abuse. And I genuinely cannot express how sick to my stomach it makes me.

Furthermore, I think that it is also very clear whose side Ryan Murphy seems to be on, and in my opinion and based on the way he decided to portray the brothers, I think that he clearly thinks that the boys are liar. Which okay, he is of course entitled to his opinion on the matter, even if I (along with a lot people) strongly disagree with it. The problem is that he should not bring his opinion into the show and make his opinion seem like the real and factual events.

On that same note, I’m sure most of you are aware, but Erik released a statement through his wife about the show, I’ll put it below :

And I’m so glad he spoke up and said how much fake things, inaccurate portrayals and misinformation this show was spreading. Unfortunately, Ryan Murphy responded to this statement, in the worst manner possible, here is his response below :

I find it absolutely insane to tell people, whose life you tried to recreate on screen, that you did an amazing job at it while these persons themselves tell you that you failed to put in light the truth that they spent their whole lives trying to be heard.

In conclusion on this whole part about Ryan Murphy, I was just really disappointed in the way that he produced and realised the whole show as well as the way he handled the aftermath of its release, this man even had the audacity to say that he had no interest in talking to the brothers so that tells us everything that we need to know about him. And I think that he should just stick to fiction and stop trying to film true crime shows if he’s gonna ignore the facts and just build the show on his opinion instead.

II. THE PORTRAYAL OF THE BROTHERS

The issue with the portrayals of the brothers is obviously directly linked to Ryan Murphy but I wanted to dedicate a part about it and not it be a sub part to the RM problem.

When I was watching the show, the first thing that struck me was the portrayal of Lyle. I was familiar with the Menendez case way before the show because, like a lot of people, I had watched the trials on YouTube. And while I cannot claim to know what Lyle is like, and none of us can, because we don’t know him, I was still quite shocked to see the way they made him act on the show. I guess that this arrogant, angry, violent and spoiled rich kid act just wasn’t what I was expecting, along with a lot of people. And we were right to find this representation to be odd because Erik, himself, talked about how inaccurate and defamatory this representation of Lyle was in his statement that you can read above in the Ryan Murphy problem.

So there's already that. And then, the worst part in my opinion, is the way that Lyle and Erik were, first of all, highly s*xualized and also represented as if they were in some kind of incestuous relationship with each other. If we focus for a second on the s*xualization of the brothers, the first example that comes to my mind is the shower scene with Erik in prison. What purpose does that scene serve in the telling of Erik and Lyle's story? I cannot help but think that this is just another manifestation of Ryan Murphy's perverted mind. On that same note (I'm gonna try and explain this next part as best as I can) but I think we all know now that RM has a tendency to cast attractive actors for these type of roles (ex: Evan Peters as Jeffrey Dahmer) to later s*xualize them non stop. And words are failing me to express how wrong that is, because in Dahmer's case he was literally s*xualizing a serial killer, and in the Menendez' case, victims of incestuous s*xual abuse. Again I fail to understand how this man doesn't see any wrong in that.

Now, about the representation of the brothers' relationship. As I was watching the show, I remember noticing all these little things that were insinuating that something romantic was going on between them, again I cannot express how uncomfortable it made me, I can only assume that it was the case for everyone else watching. And again, I cannot find the words to say how disgusting and sick this is. Because here is the thing, so we know that Erik was m*lested by Lyle, because Lyle was himself being abused by José Menendez, he was child and he didn't know any better than to try and recreate what he though was an act of love. BUT knowing that and willingly deciding to subtly portray these brothers as if they were in a consensual incestuous relationship is digusting and sickening.

And I want to clarify that this critic of their portrayal is aimed at Ryan Murphy and in no way at the actors, I will be talking about the actors' work in the second part, in another post.

Alright guys that's it for the first part of my opinion on "Monsters", I hope that maybe some of the points I addressed will help you see the show in another light if you didn't share my point of view. And if my post didn't convince you of anything and if you disagree with me on certain point, please leave a comment so we can discuss it :)

The second part will be focusing on the portrayal of José and Kitty Menendez as well as the work of the actors.

See you in the next post!

[deusvervewrites]

When you think about it, the current situation between the state of Jujutsu Kaisen and MHA are really similar. Both Shonen are reaching their end points, with MHA having one more arc to go and JJK having maybe two more. They’ll both end by end of year. Both fandoms are actively imploding: MHA fans are either writing fanfic to deal with Horikoshi’s questionable writing decisions (to be fair, he has to deal with Jump editors) or just coping. (Ask 1/2, I’m running out of space)

Jujutsu Kaisen fans are either coping extremely hard (search up lobotomy Kaisen for context) or just practically praying that Gege fixes the story. Both authors are trying to finish the story up fast. Gege is trying to finish so that they can write their idol manga (yes, really) and earlier, Horokoshi is done with the jump editors. The problems plaguing both manga are even similar, with Horokoshi’s villains being boring and him killing off to many people, and Gege’s villains… (ask 2/3) …Are also boring AF, with the equivalent of the HPSC or even Overhaul, (Kenjaku, who’s as immortal as AFO but actually smart), being replaced as BBEG by Sukuna, who STILL has not had his backstory explained. (And is as dull as AFO.) The only difference is that Gege has killed too many characters for us to care, while the stakes that Horokoshi has put up aren’t all that engaging. (And again, so many pacing issues.) Thankfully Gege seems to be back to writing well, but only after a THREE WEEK …Break. ( sorry, my last ask got sent in early.) With all that said, what do you think about both series? And what do you think either author could do to fix it? (So sorry that my asks are this long, this got longer than I expected, and I didn’t know Tumblr had a character cap) (Ask 3/4)

I never got into Jujutsu Kaisen. I have no idea what it's fandom is doing and I'm not really invested in finding out since I'm not reading that manga. However, I do know enough to weigh in on Sukuna. The reason I hate AFO being an idiotic cardboard cutout is because of how he was built up, and how MHA has other characters represent societal failings, but AFO doesn't. How AFO steals the screentime from the far more compelling Shigaraki.

However.

Sukuna, from my understanding, was always the main antagonist. After all, the series starts with him possessing the protagonist. Additionally, JJK takes many cues from Naruto--which makes sense, as they're both highly influenced by Hunter x Hunter. And Sukuna serves a very similar role to the Nine Tailed Fox in Naruto, but where Kurama eventually came around, Sukuna doesn't. All media is a conversation.

Like, Sukuna is the Evil Curse. Isn't he called The King of Evil Curses or something? Why wouldn't I assume he's the main antagonist, when he's introduced the way he is and given such weighty titles like that and remains a constant threat through the entire story?

I'm sure an actual JJK fan could give a more nuanced take on it though.

As for fixing MHA? You can't. And I'm fine with that. The problems I have with MHA are things that either have to have never happened (the OFA Kills Quirked Wielders bullshit) or needs a total rewrite (the HPSC not being a major antagonist before their destruction). However, Horikoshi already laid the groundwork for all of the things I want rewritten. I don't necessarily need to see Midoriya fight the HPSC to know that they're bad and that he's making a point about government seizing control of bodily autonomy being bad, or that celebrity culture leads to unsustainable pressure and putting people on unrealistic pedestals. Horikoshi has already made those points.

[shsl-heck]

So because I've seen it compared to Worm, I started reading The Boys by Garth Ennis. It's bad! Like really bad! It feels like what would happen if you let an edgy anti-feminist atheist youtuber from 2015 write a comic book. I finished the first volume of the omnibus in large part because it was a train wreck I couldn't look away from, and am debating starting the second since I hate myself. The most interesting parts are actually the little forewords. Through them I learned both that it was supposed to be a comedy, and also a critique of the military industrial complex/police (or at least that people read it as one). This was surprising to me since it is neither funny nor incisive. Anyway, now I want to ramble incoherently about my problems with it because this goddamn comic broke my brain.

Okay, so one of the most common ways it shows you which characters you aren't supposed to like is by having them do comically "gross" sex stuff. Notable examples include cocaine fueled orgies, mentions of shitting during sex, bestiality, masturbating in public to the sight of disabled people, and a little person using sex toys. One that shows up repeatedly in this context is characters being bisexual or gay. Now, I don't wanna get controversial, but I think any claims that your work is a critique of capitalism, police, the military, or whatever are rendered moot when your villains are a group of secret hedonistic sex-freaks. Like we can't pretend that doesn't sound a lot like regressives and their obsession with "degeneracy". Sexual assaults, misogyny, and slurs also appear pretty often, mostly as the punch line for jokes. Victims are rendered down into objects and denied any sense of interiority so we can instead focus on what really matters (gore porn, and middle school 4chan posters' sense of humor). Never once does Ennis deign to explore the actual impact and trauma of these things, or ask why he views these things as material for jokes.

That incuriosity is I think the real problem with The Boys. There is no actual coherent thought about why things are bad. Superheroes hurt people and are wrong because of their personal moral failings as selfish perverts, not because their whole job is to violently enforce the will of the state. It's like if someone agreed that all cops are bastards, but only because all cops just so happened to be "bad apples". The main characters literally work for the fucking CIA, and yes, I know the titular Boys are at best meant to be anti-heroes a la the Punisher. My issue here isn't that they're hypocrites who are frequently also horrible. It's that this premise for is absolute nonsense if you think for half a second. Superheroes do not function without the legitimacy granted to them by the state and it's monopoly on violence, so why would the CIA need these 5 randos with zero oversight working to take out the supers? Is the force Homelander and the others can bring to bear so great that even the apparatus of that state can't deal with them? If so, why does this group of assholes change that? Normally I'd be willing to give the story a lot more of a pass when it comes to questions like this, except I'm being told that this story has things to say about systemic problems involving the government and corporations! So I have to ask, where? Where is the commentary? What does it actually have to say about the state of the world circa 2006-2012? The only answer I can come up with is "not a whole lot". It's a story which dares to ask the tough questions like "what if the world was made of pudding" and then ignore answering those questions so it can instead recite Ellis' favorite slurs in alphabetical order while showing you a woman's tits.

On a lighter note, it's also just not very good. The plot (as mentioned) falls apart under any amount of scrutiny, pacing is bizarre in a bad way, the characters aren't compelling, themes remains stubbornly unexplored, and Ellis is allergic to doing anything interesting or creative with the premise he's decided to base a whole comic around. I genuinely do not know what people enjoy(ed) about this comic.

[emmalovesfitzloved]

An Essay on X-Men’s Krakoa Era

Reflecting on the Krakoan Era, it's challenging to express my overall feelings, especially considering its anticlimactic conclusion. Nevertheless, documenting my thoughts now might help me see if my perspective changes in the future.

Few comics have thrilled me like HoX/PoX did. Each issue was a whirlwind of excitement, and the peak moments remain unmatched within the era. While I have favorite individual issues, such as S.W.O.R.D. #3, Hickman's introduction to the Krakoan Era stands out as a near-unparalleled body of work.

Dawn of X was inconsistent. Despite high hopes for Hickman's solo run, there were significant highs and lows. Issues like X-Men #4, #7, and #11 stood out, but others, like X-Men #3, were disappointing. Hickman's run mainly laid groundwork for other writers, which, though not bad, wasn't what I anticipated.

Brisson’s New Mutants was forgettable, only serving to introduce the Goblin Queen, who later became vital in Ayala’s run. Hill's Fallen Angels had high concepts but lacked character depth, leading to its early cancellation, though it did set the stage for Wells’ Hellions.

Howard’s Excalibur, mainly setting up the X of Swords crossover, felt like it was biding time until the event. Duggan’s Marauders, especially post-issue #21, also failed to impress. Percy’s X-Force and Wolverine, spanning the entire era, suffered from a lack of editorial direction, though they might be viewed more favorably in the future.

The six initial titles were serviceable but often underwhelming. The collaborative effort behind the launch masked many of their weaknesses. In the second wave, Duggan’s Cable, William’s X-Factor, and Wells’ Hellions were standout titles, making the loss of X-Factor particularly disappointing.

Reign of X felt like a reset post-X of Swords, with Ewing's S.W.O.R.D. launching strong despite crossover disruptions. Ayala’s New Mutants consistently delivered, but her Children of the Atom was lackluster. Spurrier’s contributions were solid and crucial to the era.

Howard’s post-crossover work lost my interest, and her X-Corp series failed to captivate. The first Hellfire Gala was a storytelling highlight, while Ewing’s Guardians of the Galaxy crossover added value to the era’s narrative.

The lead-up to Hickman’s Inferno saw cancellations like William’s X-Factor for the Trial of Magneto, which didn’t align with Inferno as intended. Inferno itself was a fitting end to Hickman’s run, setting the stage for Gillen’s rise.

Gillen’s Immortal, Ewing’s Red, and LaValle’s Sabretooth series were post-Hickman highlights. Gillen’s Immortal distilled his earlier work, while Ewing and Spurrier continued building on their respective stories.

Duggan’s era was mixed; his Cable run was excellent, and early X-Men issues were strong, but later work suffered due to crossover interruptions and inconsistent quality. The A.X.E. event, while a capstone to Gillen’s Eternals, disrupted Duggan’s X-Men narrative with little to no consequences to the Krakoan Era.

The final phase, Fall of X, included many filler issues but also some gems. Spurrier’s work with Kurt and Ewing’s strong finish stood out. Overall, despite the bloat, 61% of the nearly 725 issues from the Krakoan Era remain cherished.

In terms of the overall lore and mythos of Krakoa, it's still dubious whether it had a significant impact. Few characters really stood out, as the era was driven more by plot than by character development. Historically, the X-Men have thrived on rich character narratives that created a soap opera effect. However, this era focused more on showcasing what characters could do rather than exploring their interpersonal relationships, which were deeply underdeveloped.

Standout characters like Professor X, Destiny, Emma Frost, and Magneto, primarily members of the Quiet Council, were given prominence, while 90% of the rest of the X-Men were underutilized. This is disappointing, as the era's format seemed perfect for deep character-driven stories. Characters like Jean Grey, Hellion, Cyclops, and Legion, among others, had opportunities for development that fell flat. The era lacked consistent and balanced character narration and plot development that made earlier X-Men stories compelling, marking one of its weakest points.

As we move forward to the next era, "From the Ashes," the general sentiment I believe is emblimised across the fandom is mixed cautious, optimism and excitement. Fans hope for a return to the tight, cohesive storytelling that characterized the best of the Krakoan Era, with a renewed focus on character development and innovative plots. The hope is that the lessons learned from the highs and lows of the past years will guide the creative teams to deliver stories that resonate deeply with the readers, balancing epic narratives with intimate character moments.

Krakoa Forever.

[stormyoceans]

In the end Mork's been treated as a plot device and not a full character of his own

im not sure i would say mork was treated as a plot device (the failed surgery and the break up definitely were, and very poorly written ones in my opinion), but i do think the narrative failed mork as a character. arguably, i think it failed day too, and that’s why i have so many grievances with the way the show ended

idk how to explain this without bringing vice versa as an example, so y’all we’ll have to forgive me if it seems like i can’t shut up about this show ;;;;;; (i mean, i can’t, but you know, i have actually REASONS to bring it up this time ;;;;;;)

the thing is.. in vice versa, both talay and puen are main characters, but it’s clear since the very beginning that talay is the protagonist of the story, while puen is the love interest. this doesn’t diminish puen as a character, tho, it actually gives him a very specific, structural purpose in the big picture. as a trope, the romantic interest is the personification of the ideal mental and emotional balance the writer hopes for the future of the protagonist. this character represents everything the protagonist’s personal journey is about and everything the protagonist aspires to be worthy of when the story is done: by the end, they help shape a new life for the future of the protagonist. as the love interest, puen speaks to talay’s character arc and pushes him to grow with regards to his inner journey. he relates to the lesson talay has to learn, that pink (love) is one of the many colors of life

puen, however, doesn’t exist only to serve talay’s narrative, that’s why they’re both main characters (or romantic leads): puen changes talay’s view on love, but talay too changes puen’s view on himself. one pushes, so the other pulls, back and forth, and that’s why their romantic relationship (and so the story) works, because they’re both allowed to have their own character arc within their romance

until episode 9 (possibly the beginning of episode 11, but things had already started to take a turn by then), this works for last twilight as well: day is the protagonist (because he is the character whose fate matters most to the story and who is deeply changed by his experiences), mork is the love interest (because he represents day’s journey towards acceptance and pushes him to view himself as normal [‘he is normal, he just can’t see’]), they’re both main characters and romantic leads (because day changes mork as much mork changes him), so much so that the show opens with alternating scenes of BOTH of them. push and pull, back and forth

but then episode 11 and 12 completely destroys this balance. day goes from ‘i think it’s good to end like this’ to ‘when i finished last twilight for the first time, it was like my heart was shattered to pieces’. mork becomes just another person who feels pity for day, someone who completely disregards day's independence and boundaries, and so he doesn’t get to have his own arc within their story but instead is reduced almost to a trophy for the protagonist to have to be able to reach happiness

in the end the real issues to me isn’t necessary that day gets to see again, because that experience can still ring true to people with disabilities, but it’s that the narrative didn’t remain true to the characters and the dynamics and the story that were established and that it was telling in the first 9-10 episodes of the show

[felixcloud6288]

Higurashi: Festival Accompanying Chapter 29

We're heading for the final battle. There are only 7 chapters left to this arc.

For a second, I was curious why Shion would have a second outfit she could change into. Then I remembered that they're at the Sonozaki residence. If she doen't have her own room, then she probably got it from Mion's wardrobe.

Shion is so embarrassed. She was talking about love and romance to Keiichi cause she was expecting to die in a blaze of glory. But she ended up surviving. But it did unlock the final part of her sidequest. Irie tells her that Satoshi is alive is is being cared for in the clinic's basement.

At some point, Shion and Irie found the tracker on him. I'm gonna speculate Shion was insistent that she wasn't followed and they connected the dots and realized that Irie must have a tracker on him since he was in close contact with the Wild Dogs.

I love this image. There's just something about mischievous chibi-Mion and chibi-Kasai with a shotgun that gave me a hearty chuckle.

We're about to find out how correct Keiichi was when he said Satoko could defeat an army if faced in her mountain.

Akasaka says "If I'm not on the clock, it's not my problem."

I really do wish Shion were with the club for the final battle, but oh well.

I wonder if Rena's "Pretty girls never die" and Shion's "Beautiful women don't die" from chapter 27 are different translations of the same line.

This is the third one-to-one conversation Rena and Shion have ever had. The first one was in Eye Opening chapter 3 when Rena thought she was Mion and they talked about Satoshi. The second was in Atonement chapter 3 where she asked Shion and Kasai about Teppei and Rina's extortion racket.

I'm just pointing out that Rena and Shion are acting like best friends here but have barely ever had a normal conversation with each other.

Thinking back, much of the answer arcs have included narrative aspects to bring closure to everyone's personal issues. Going into Festival Accompanying, the club members all have their affairs sorted, and it's really the secondary cast who are left to clean up their issues.

Thanks to a bit of divine intervention, Ooishi and Akasaka managed to close out their stories. And with a light nudge from Oyashiro, Shion is about to close her story too.

Two things to note with the Okonogi scene: Nomura and him are in contact with each other and his ears are getting even pointier.

No. Seriously. LOOK. AT. HIS. EARS. This is a VERY deliberate art choice cause no one else has these ears. And they were pretty normal looking prior to Operation Apocalypse.

During Takano and Tomitake's talk, I want to point out that Tomitake gave no valuable information to Takano, but Takano casually revealed Nomura's name.

There's two pairs of panels I want to focus on during their discussion.

In the first set, Takano and Tomitake are talking about what has led to this moment. In particular, Tomitake is asking why Takano would join Nomura in all this. And they both agree that maybe none of this would have happened if Tomitake had been there for Takano when she needed help the most. They agree, but they cannot face each other. And the panel design emphasizes that.

In the second set, they've talked about what will happen to Takano after all this. And Takano has said that she will likely be dead. At this point, Tomitake is willing to metaphorically look Takano in the face and try to save her from going any further with her actions.

And though she desperately wants to take his hand and offer, she just won't let herself turn back from the path she's chosen. Negotiations have failed and Tomitake remains silent.

While they were talking, they brought up a fair bit about Takano's past names. Miyo Takano exists to bring her grandfather's research on Hinamizawa Syndrome to the world stage. And Tomitake states that when Operation Apocalypse is finished, Miyo Takano will cease to be and she can go back to Miyoko Tanashi. But Takano says Miyoko Tanashi is someone doomed to die in a pile of waste in an orphanage. There's nothing left of Miyoko Tanashi.

I feel like I should point out the one identity that never comes up in all these discussions about Miyo Takano and Miyoko Tanashi. There was also Miyoko Takano. She was a girl saved from certain death by Hifumi Takano. Miyoko Takano was someone who regained the happiness that Miyoko Tanashi lost and she loved her grandfather very much. Maybe Miyo Takano could try being that person instead.

But she threw away her desires to be happy when she went from Miyoko to Miyo.

Takano is back in her villain costume and she and the Wild Dogs are heading full-on in pursuit of Rika's group. They are fully certain that Irie and Akasaka are with them and they are trying to escape through the mountains to reach Okinomiya.

Okonogi is leaving eight men behind to guard Tomitake so that will be something to keep track of. Meanwhile the rest are marching into certain "doom".

back

[somegirlsnerdywords2]

Anime i've Watched

Kaiju No. 8:

Synopsis: After the destruction of their hometown, childhood friends Kafka Hibino and Mina Ashiro make a pact to become officers in the Defense Force—a militarized organization tasked with protecting Japan from colossal monsters known as "kaijuu." Decades later, the 32-year-old Kafka has all but given up on his dreams of heroism. Instead, he cleans up the remains of the slaughtered kaijuu after they are defeated by valiant soldiers—including Mina, who has successfully achieved their shared goal.

Upon meeting his new coworker, Reno Ichikawa, Kafka faces a mirror of his past self: an ambitious young man whose one desire is to fight as a member of the Defense Force. Unfortunately, the two are soon involved in a freak encounter with a rogue kaijuu. Though Kafka demonstrates his innate heroic nature and rescues Reno from certain doom, he is left gravely injured.

While both men recover in a hospital, Kafka is seemingly attacked by another one of the beasts. As a result, he gains the ability to transform into a humanoid kaijuu with the strength and powers of the massive monsters menacing Japan. Dubbed "Kaijuu No. 8" by the military, Kafka resolves to use his newfound gifts for the greater good. Tied together by mutual respect, Kafka and Reno set out to join warriors like Mina at the forefront of the Defense Force.

[Written by MAL Rewrite]

Status: Completed

My Rating: 6/10

Finished airing in 2024 with a total of 12 episodes.

Well... that was a bit disappointing. I thought it was likely overrated but at least expected it to be a bit of fun.

It was interesting enough to keep my attention for 12 episodes but the lack of world building and character development ultimately failed to make it memorable and really truly interesting. The story was also generic shounen style which isn't always the worst thing but combining it with those other two issues gives an anime that just ends up being "fine" and nothing more. I may watch any further seasons but I won't be rushing to do so.

Also, I absolutely hated the opening animation. Terrible. So ugly. The ending theme was great though! Very cute!

In conclusion this one's fine if you're bored and have nothing else to occupy your time or are really really into this type of anime.

[danganronpasurvivoraskblog]

So how are you gonna start the next arc like this?

//I knew I was going to get upset about it when the change was implemented, and as you can see by my toxic af messages previously, I was right.

//I've taken some time to think about it since then, and I need to just make a couple of statements.

//The ask box will remain open, but this will probably be the last you hear of me for a while until the day I announced I would start posting the next chapter of the story.

//As for what's going on, in the face of this new editor with it's 30 image limit completely fucking over my typical style and sequence of posts (for asks it's not a big deal, but for story posts and especially long answers, it's a problem to my entire setup, and as you can imagine, I am not ok with that) I have taken some time to come up with a plan going forward.

//First and foremost, I'm not going to stop writing just because the designers of this website lost 90 braincells as well as the nerves in their eyes and ears. As stupid as these changes are, I'm fully aware that there's nothing I can do about them, and I'm not going to stop this blog's progression, or stop answering asks just because of these difficulties.

//In the past, when these changes happened, I overreacted and complained like a child. I apologize for those instances, and I've worked towards bettering myself. That doesn't mean I can't still take issues with these changes, because they are stupid, but don't let my misdirections as a human being affect your enjoyment of my writing. I will keep this blog going.

//Right now, I have come to a few solutions. Initially, I said I would move the story posts at least, to a different website. However, I retract that statement, because doing so would require my readers to sign up and create new accounts on totally different websites that they might not use for anything else.

//The CURRENT plan is that there are a variety of mods available on the internet that allows you to use the old Tumblr editor. If I can find one that bypasses the limit, I'll be golden.

//Failing that, as much as it sucks to think about, my only remaining option is to suck it up and use the new editor. As for the image limit, it may result in me having to split the story up into multiple different posts a day to get the full chapter done.

//The reason why I wished to avoid it is because with Tumblr's horrible navigation system, made WORSE by the current changes, is that it'll be hard to order all the posts together. I could repost my own posts to continue, but that also clutters the blog with meaningless posts, so I'm hoping to avoid it. Plus, it's only a matter of time before reblogs get hit with the "SHIT CHANGE" laser, so it's not a long-lasting solution.

//To make it a bit easier, if I do resort to this, I will be posting the link to the next part of each chapter in links at the bottom of each post. I will also be adding a #story tag on these posts to make them easier to find. I should have incorporated this a long time ago, but my slow dumb ass didn't think it was necessary.

//With all that said, if anyone has links to any useful mods, or any alternative solutions I could use, I am more than open to suggestions. So if you could leave those in either DM's or in the ask box, I would appreciate it. Assuming they work, you would LITERALLY be saving my life.

//And potentially the lives of other blogs like this one who are suffering because of this bullshit. I'll definitely be sure to share your advice to whoever may need it, like Aliza or Bubbles.

//Ultimately, there's no great solution to this, but this is the unfortunate position that Tumblr has put us in. And as much as I hate it, all I can do is take my licks and keep going.

//I want to take this moment to thank you guys for being such a supportive and kind audience. People like you are a dime a dozen, and I hope to continue to get your support for the foreseeable future.

//This story isn't finished yet.

-Mod

[mister-e-muss]

Happy New Year’s y’all!

And on this new years, I bring yet another backlog report.

Trails in the Sky SC

Having finished Trails in the Sky FC two months ago, I immediately dig into its sequel. I appreciate just how much effort goes into the worldbuilding of these games. The new Orbment system isn’t just because of a mechanical reworking, but because it’s a new model of in-universe technology. Back in the first game, there’s a pair of NPC’s that are a couple, one of whom is hilariously trying and failing to propose throughout the entire last chapter of the game. We meet them again in here, and learn that they’re now on their honeymoon across the country. It’s a small connection, but it speaks to the level of detail that these worlds posses that a pair of minor characters, with no voices lines at all, still have an ongoing story between the games.

As for gameplay and the larger narrative, the former remains largely the same, with a few minor tweaks, while the latter is simply excellent. I dare not go into details, but I feel like this is where the Trails series truly starts to identify itself.

Trails in the Sky the 3rd

You know how I just mentioned that a huge part of this series’ charm is detailed world-building, and narratively continuous NPCs with their own stories? Yeah what if we made a game with little to nothing in regards to either.

I preface this by saying I genuinely enjoyed my time with 3rd, and it does some things very well. The Star/Sun/Moon Doors are definitely a mixed bag, but overall rather enjoyable. However, my main issue with this game is that it stretches what writing it has over too much content, like butter over bread, to borrow Tolkien’s analogy.

Truthfully, there are only a few things this game does that could not have been delivered in another game later in the series, or if SC and FC had been just ten hours longer. For instance, while I like near-everything regarding Kevin, Ries, and the Gralsritter, I feel like it would have been a lot more prudent to save these concepts for their own arc, rather than staple them to the back end of Sky. While I appreciate things like Star Door 8 formally introducing Osborne to the audience and setting up the Cold Steel arc, did we really need an entire Star door dedicated to the exact specifications and mech design of the Pater-Mater?

As one final aside, I like how this is the game where turn bonuses started to go nuts. Nothing wrong with how the first two games handled it, but health and magic refills can only get so much use.

The Legend of Nayuta: Boundless Trails

If you’ve ever played the older Ys games, then there’s a decent chance that this will feel familiar. A solid action-platformer game.

The biggest things this game has going for it other than the gameplay is the story and the music. This has to be one of the most solid OSTs Falcom has ever produced.

Child of Light

Does a game ever catch you by surprise?

Have you ever fallen in love in such a short time?

Ten hours and two this game has stolen from me

Twelve charmed hours that I will never again see

Hours spent slowing enemies and interrupting them.

Hours spent in simple but fun skill trees.

Yet not angered am I, nor will I be.

Because just like this game, this entire review rhymes.

[nerdy-the-artist]

Maytroid… sort of… part 5!

Now, we come to the end of my little Maytroid series. If you want to understand what’s going on with these, I’d recommend glancing at the previous posts in this little series in order to understand what’s going on with this. In hindsight, I sort of wish I had put a little more time and effort into these, but I suppose it cannot be helped now. I do still enjoy the world building these have allowed me to do, and in many case have laid out the groundwork for some very interesting storytelling going forward, from the cult like worship of Phaaze, to the mysteries of SR-388. I hope to flesh these things out in future stories, but something I’ve learned from some prior experiences is to hold myself to a standard of passion over consistency. I can’t give any promises on when any of these story arcs will be properly written and posted. For now, though, onto the finale of his little series.

Day 27: Golden Torizo

Zebes Rebuilt Archive Scan

“The process to control the Torizo guardians has been a long and arduous process, with much trial and error. The Torizo are sentient, containing the souls of long deceased warriors of the Chozo. Many of my archives on Chozo spiritual studies have been lost due to the destruction of the initial archive made by my creators, so I am unable to ascertain the exact process of imbuing the soul into one of these guardian statues. Current efforts to convert the Torizo to our side have centered around continuous logic routines and straining the mental faculties of the guardians. Their on control over themselves is absolute, and they will never make a move to harm a member of the Thoha Hasana. This has had no hope of change. However, this should not pose an issue.

Ridley has personally taken one of the Torizo to convert by way of immense emotional trauma. He has regularly destroyed artifacts of great spiritual significance to the Chozo in front of the Torizo. Once a week, he has commissioned for me to create a biologically perfect Chozo egg, which he proceeds to consume in front of the Torizo. The fact that the egg is infertile has not been acknowledged. Other acts to emotionally torment the Torizo include footage of violence against animals and civilians during his raids on Galactic Federation Space and during recreational hunts, and playing footage of the massacre of the Chozo during his attack on Zebes. Such methods have shown only minor success in breaking the Torizo’s will. However, I believe he simply seeking personal pleasure from the guardian’s suffering.”

Day 28: Metroid Prime

Promise to the Entrusted One

“We have failed. While the great poison has been sealed away at its source, our population is all but dead. Only seven of us remain. We cannot hope to finish this, nor rebuild the society we once knew. Our creations are insufficient to end this. We are scientists, not the great warriors who fell to protect our world. Still, we toil, in hopes that you, the entrusted one that greatest of us foresaw, can succeed where we have not. We gift to you the armor perfected for your use, utilizing the one organism the Phazon does not infect. Go forth, hatchling of the Chozo, and save this world. You cannot save us, but this world of beautiful creatures can live on. From the trees to the fish to the very fungus that protects you in this armor, you can save this vast, wonderful world. Go forth, and free this world.”

Day 29: EMMI

Report from GFS Sunset Homage

“EMMI unit S-11 has infiltrated SR-166. Preliminary readings show minimum atmospheric Phazon contamination in general planetary range. However, creatures around the crash site have already undergone Phazon induced transfiguration. Several carcasses within a 45 mile radius of the crash sight have been found with no signs of predation and have shown definitive signs of Phazon Induced Cell Death (PICD). While exacerbating preexisting ailments has not been ruled out, current evidence points to death due solely to PICD. One herbivorous creature seen displaying erratic behavior was euthanized by S-11, and was found to have PICD in several areas of the brain.

It is this researcher’s opinion that the entire north western continent of SR-166 be put under strict quarantine. We have seen in other cases how the Phazon infestation of a planet can begin slowly but escalate exponentially. We cannot risk the Phazon crisis reach the Galactic Federation’s proverbial flank.”

Day 30: Mother Brain

Secret Agreement

“Your purpose will not be to enforce order. You will not bend the Galactic Federation to my will or push politics from the shadows. You are not an agent of peace. You are my monster. You will have your fill of blood and sadism. You will be my agent of evil to sic on those who fall astray from cooperation. You will be nothing more or less than yourself, but only where I choose. This war will last forever, and you will be the wolf for the sheep to fear. You will be the enemy.”

Day 31: Mission Completed

Mission Report

“Mission was successful. Metroid presence on SR-388 has been eradicated. Signal coming from the cavern was created by highly mutated Metroid, which was put down as well. However, I have saved and catalogued data on all Metroid permutations encountered for future reference. Glaxamore presence on the planet was low, but I did face a brief encounter with Ridley. He was beaten, but due to the arrival of the planetary super storm, I cannot confirm the kill. Additionally, I have disobeyed orders slightly. I discovered a Metroid hatchling during its hatching process. It has since imprinted on me, and has shown no signs of aggression. I have taken in the Metroid for study by the Galactic Federation. I already have drafted paperwork to ensure that it will not be tampered with for purposes of bioweapons research, and hope that the energy they metabolize can be used for something positive. Against my better judgement, I have given the hatchling a name. It’s the name of a pet I used to have before the Chozo took me in, Pyonchi… Computer, strike the last two sentences from the record.”

[desperatecheesecubes]

March Wrap Up Part 4 (I may need to find a better system)

Superman (1987) 662, 668

Dates Read: 27 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: Reading all of Chris’s comics is an interesting experience, boys timeline makes no sense. Hard to say my thoughts on either of these issues on their own merits-they’re both clearly one issue in an arc. I’ll probably go back and read the rest of the arc for issue 662 because it was an interesting start-i actually have to forecast siroccos so that was kinda a fun name for a hero for me lol. The third Kryptonian arc I’ll try and finish this month lol.

The American Daughters by Maurice Carlos Ruffin

Dates Read: 25 March- 29 March

Review: 2 stars

Thoughts: Hey have you ever written a good story and then decided to fucking ruin it completely with an epilogue? Well so did this author! Why why why why did this book go from being a historical drama to a fucking sci-fi in the epilogue. Explain it to me. Really truly. Because it was some of the stupidest shit I’ve ever read. God it made me mad. I’m making all my book people read it. I need to know what their authentic reactions are to that fucking acid trip of an epilogue. OTHER THAN THAT I liked this. The author didn’t Go There enough for my personal preference but that’s not the story he was setting out to write I suppose. A sapphic story of an enslaved woman becoming a spy and thwarting the man who enslaves her? Absolutely a story I’m down for. Unfortunately the pacing was very bad. In summation-I did not like this and I’m mad as hell about it.

Superboy the Boy of Steel by Geoff Johns

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: I loved the art of this so much. The first two pages technically being a Blackest Night tie in and the rest of the collected not addressing the event at all was absolutely hilarious to me. This was a fun story, it felt like the set up it was and it’s pacing worked well for what it had. I’ll get to Smallville Attacks soon I swear. It’s sitting next to me while I type this.

Superboy (1994) 5

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: this was another reread. Not too much to say about it other than how intense my dislike is for Tana-I am simply unable to look past her age Jesus Christ. Kon being absolutely determined to be a hero always breaks my heart a little.

Superman Man of Steel 35

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: Thjs was really interesting to me because in the most recent collected release of Kon’s 94 superboy run they do not include this issue or any of the rest of this arc so Kon just gets magically cured off page with no explanation there.

Superman (1987) 90

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: Jesus fucking Christ Luthor is crazy.

Adventures of Superman 513

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: My biggest take away from this issue was Kon believing he’d failed to evacuate the mountain and hating himself over it. Because I love Kon more than I love Clark lol.

Steel 5

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: This is listed as a battle for metropolis tie in issue but there’s only a few panels that do that and the character who’s having the tie in is completely foreign to me. A story about kids doing drugs on the streets isn’t really my cup of tea but it was fine.

Action Comics 700

Dates Read: 31 March

Review: 3 stars

Thoughts: damn they fucking destroyed metropolis in this one. The amount of times they blow up the globe from the daily planet to symbol tremendous loss in Superman’s life is kind of ridiculous at this point. I liked seeing the superfam all working together in this!

IN SUMMATION!

I read 7 novels, one novella, one poetry collection, one ‘collection of essays’, 4 graphic novels, two comic collecteds, 10 volumes of manga and 33 single issue comics. According to Goodreads I’m now ahead of my goal! According to StoryGraph (the one where I’m not counting comics, collecteds, or manga) I remain behind. A tragedy.

[cold-arrow]

Doctor’s Notes, Epilogue

| Making a life for myself, and those around me |

| - | I feel like I deserved a break. After everything. Bruised al over and beaten to an inch of my life several times over, I simply passed out within my quarters once we reached airship. Not waking up till in the afternoon the next day. Though while quickly sharing a drink with the others, and some the crew the following day, whenever they want to raise a glass. Gor the most part he isolates himself a bit on the journey back. Just quietly sitting, and reading on the upper deck. Re-reading some of his journals to, to clear his mind in sense. To take in, all the things they’ve been through, that they have survived up to this point.

Eventually closing the book, and putting his journals away, to join back up with the others and just relax. Once they’re back at the mansion in Waterdeep, and having taken a day for themselves, just peacefully working on his craft and tinkering, ge Joins Lym the following day as they go to make a final report to Lady Silverhand. Offering his services as an Artificer as well, should she ever need some help with any business. Though, with the ulterior motive, to also keep an eye on her. Especially after the revelation of her past interactions with Zyra. But for the most part, that’s a headache that he’ll worry about later.  Instead he goes to clear his mind in a… somewhat uncharacteristic sense, or manner for him. Setting out to travel instead, and visit some of the several places that they’ve been to. Offering his services as a travelling Doctor once more while on the road. Helping out, and treating anyone that he can. Free of charge. As he always has.

He first sets out to the North. Past Mirabar, and along the Spine of the World. Till he eventually reaches the Temple of the Allfather.

Paying his respect to Harsnhag, and camping out there for couple days, before making his way back South. Returning to Mirrorbar, and saying hi to Mildthru. Catching up, and helping her out with setting up a new tavern. While at the same time, weeding out any remaining vestiges of “The Brotherood.” And making sure they won’t be an Issue again.

Next, he continues to Yartar. Acquiring a migraine, and some new nightmare fuel, as the visits Kolbaz for a little bit at his mansion. And while his continued discoveries in regards to his “pets” that he keeps in his basement are fascinating. They remain equally horrifying, and should be kept an eye on as well. Taking note to make sure that it won’t get out of hand along the line, in the future.

He spends a night in Silverymoon as well, though doesn’t stay very long, as heads for the Citadel. Plagued by Equine dreams for several nights after. Though he tries to shake them for his head the best he can. And instead fill them with knowledge, as he studies under the Kogres for a week or so. Expanding his knowledge on herbalism and Druidic, and learning some of its intricacies . Promising to return, and finish his scholarship under him, once time permits it.

Heading south afterwards, he travels towards The High Forest. Paying a visit to Tharra and catching up with her as well, before heading further east. Making sure to avoid the river of Unicorn’s run, till he eventually arrives once more at Noanar’s Hold.

He shares a rather pleasant evening and dinner with the Lords. Sharing both stories, and what they’ve been up to.

As well as finally acquiring the relic that he’s long sought after, and been dreaming of for months: the Transmuter’s stone. But it comes at a cost however. Having prepared for the possibility for the request and price, should he visit. The Lord’s indeed want a rematch.

Another hunt. So next dawn, Nicholas runs a final time. Leaving both the hold and the Lords behind as to try, but fail to catch up, even on their horses. Simply combining sheer speed, with flight. As well as resting up within his astral hiding place when he needs to. The lords are eventually forced to give up, and concede as day finally breaks, admitting defeat. Continuing his journey, now with his new trophy.

Whenever the opportunity arises, he does regularly visit Waterdeep to check in, whenever he’s near a Teleportation circle. Seeing how things are going at the mansion, and with Lym, before continuing his journey. But also using to teleportation circles to regularly pay visits to Loudwater. Which over time, he does so more and more often, until one day, he introduces a woman named Amerith to the others.

Having met shortly before their fight with Ymira, when he was dealing with aftermath of the Refugee situation in Loudwater, and the ones responsible. It appears that they’ve been meeting up quite regularly since. Having first met one another when she stormed out of the Temple of Mielikki, annoyed at her family as well as the worshippers there. After bumping into one another, she recognized him as the man with the Unicorn horn in Silverymoon. When they visited the gardens of the unicorn goddess during the time when Omrick tried to re-commune with his own deity.

After conversing for a bit, they seemed to have a lot in common. Sharing a sort of disdain for the Unicorn goddess. As well as sharing an interest in plants and herbs, and their medicinal properties.

Amerith, a Half Aasimar and descendant of Mielikkie, apparently worked as a Herbalist in one of the shops in Loudwater. And was desperate to get away from her family, and their obsession with unicorn goddess. So she eventually joins Nicholas, as they go to start a live together in Waterdeep. After a final stop in Gauntlgrym, checking in with how Angelo is doing as the new “King” of the city. And improving his smithing skills a bit at the great forges of Maegera. He finally brews an end to his journey in order to finally settle down. Working hard at his old job at the alchemy shop, and saving gold, until he eventually has enough money, to start a business of his own.

During this time, he has a conversation with Dave as well. Asking him to examine, and asses him. And try to find the source of his cursed nature, for the nightmares have slowly been getting worse and worse again. Giving his consent to do whatever is necessary, in order get to the root of his problem, of his curse. And how to rid himself of his haunted past.

Should he survive this ordeal, Nicholas will return to Waterdeep, a changed man. A weight lifted from his shoulders, both figuratively, and literally. The haunted look that he has always caried, finally faded from his eyes. And standing tall as he finally, and truly starts forging a future for himself, instead of being weighed down by his very past.

Opting to accept a loan from Dave, he eventually buys a piece of land close to Lym’s Church. And sets up his own little potion and magic shop. Using the trophy that he gained from Noanar’s hold, the Transmuter stone, to help him with the creation of many a potions and artifacts. Including a giant metal golem, using the manual that was bestowed upon him by the giants, as dedicates himself to his craft. - He even regularly gives lessons as well, in potion making and other subjects, for Lym’s young followers at her church.

And covertly making donations to her cause, using some of the proceeds from his business. Until one day he’s saved enough money, for a wedding. The Ceremony, held by Lym, is a touching experience. And though the wedding itself is a bit bigger than expected, with the pleasant surprise of even quite few uninvited guests. The reunion of friends and allies, and people they’ve met, is a heartwarming experience over all. Begrudgingly accepting the Tressym wedding gift that is given to him by Lym, who his now wife Amerith immediately adores, they go home to start a family.

Until one day, a little girl comes to Lym's temple. With long silver hair, and a single horn on her head.

She introduces herself as Soraka. And should she accept her as a one of your followers, Shell grow up to become A faithful cleric, worshipping the Weave, and priestess of the stars. The second child.

A young boy named Corin. Will instead grow up to become a skilled golem mechanic, and creator of constructs. Eventually taking over his shop, and helping Nicholas with maintaining his constructs. Amd even the Tressym eventually grows on him. Though especially a at the start, it takes a while, as he creates several mechanical owls not just to help out with his shop, but to keep an eye on the flying feline as well.

 Yet last but not least however, his lives work and one of his greatest undertakings during his lifetime: is the creation a clockwork daughter. A warforged.

Inspired by Baras himself, and using some of the secrets bestowed upon him by Dave, and through his own craft, he will add another Warforged to the world. To carry on his legacy along. Along with the Uni-horned priestess of the Weave, and one of greatest creators of constructs on the coast.

Nicholas happily retires with wife Amerith, until the day he grows old. And leaves his story to continue with his family.

To leave this world a better place, then he was born in.

[handelplayssims]

Hello! Been awhile for me writing this sort of thing down. We’re finally back and I’m going to attempt to shake things up around here. Firstly, even I’m bored with how my blog posts are going. Turns out, just writing everything that happens in the Sims game makes for extremely dry reading. And it makes for slow playing of my personal file as well and I don’t really want that. So I’m going to try something a little different. I’m going to do a sort of bullet point journaling of what’s happening over the course of my game and then write out what happens in general. Because the important bits and bobs, of aspirations gained and relationships changing are still there! The story is important but most is bogged down in the everyday day-to-day life. ...quite in in reality I suppose. We’ll see how that shakes out.

Time to introduce our next household then!

Literally 2B and 9S! So I finally get to explain something. This personal file of mine is a spin-off of sorts. I initially started the Sims playing with video game characters and rotating between a few of those households every time I played. Eventually however, I got bored of doing that thing constantly and decided to play my randomized rotations with all of the households across the game. A lot of those households have been utterly decimated since Neighborhood Stories has been introduced, as only the slight few that have been played are truly safe from the hand of death. Naturally this means I am getting de-sensitized to death of my crafted video games bros.

...nah, I am not. But I feel like it’s a good approximation of what happens to people at times. Sometimes, they just suddenly die! And we must mourn the losses for what they are. -sniff-

Anyway, 2B and 9S! Nier Automata isn’t particularly a favorite game of mine but the characters are fun! 2B is Unflirty, Gloomy and a Loner, stoic as she is. She’s already finished the fitness aspiration so has moved onto the Inner Peace one of the Wellness aspirations. 9S has completed the computer aspiration as is on to the Soulmate one. He’s a genius, a geek, and jealous. So I’ve played a bit with these guys.

Also ageing is turned off while I’m in this household. They’re androids. They will stay young while the world gets old around them. They also have several reward traits, such as Forever Full, Steel Bladder and Hardly Sleepy on them to help sell they idea of their andriod-ness.

So we load into this lot and already, the electrical outlet is sparking. 19 Culpepper might be my personal favorite apartment in game but man does it have it’s utility issues. And bugs. And pests. But two beds though. I have 9S attempt to repair it and when that fails, have them call the landlord. Who mysteriously, actually repairs the issue in a timely manor. Truly, the Sims is quite a fantasy game.

Both 2B and 9S are apart of the military career. Just continuing on with what their previous life in Sims world. Hmm. Wonder what other patterns will hold. Anyway, military has work-from-home opportunities so I’ll rotate between 2B and 9S for who remains home. Today is 2B’s and...she’s gonna run at a treadmill. We have one already at home. -shrug- Easily done I suppose.

2B’s actual whim is to chat with someone. She’s been found by quite a few outgoing folks. For example, a celebrity comedian named Majore De La Cruz. How? I think I vageuly remember finding her when playing as Majore. They chat and I also do a thing for 2B’s aspiration. So she’s doing a Spa Day centered one, the one that focuses on wellness and emotional control. And now I just have to farm using insence and listening to music and finding relaxing enviroments. And I got to farm them. A lot. It’s riveting gameplay. So I listen to some tunes while I chat and also talk about her fears to clear them out. And then, after said chat, she heads to bed, in need of a recharge. (Because I didn’t make them immune to sleep, just very resistant to doing sleep)

9S is back home! And with a promotion to his next stage! Don’t worry, 2B will be right behind him once the wfh rolls over. He wishes to play some video games and so we do so. And gain a sedentary lifestyle out of it. That’ll be interesting because he’s in a super active career and you do get penalties if your lifestyle doesn’t quite match your career. We’ll see how that’ll affect him.

Decided to pop into CAS to edit 2B’s clothing options to see if I have any more frilly dresses. Not really so alas. Could try CC because I’m aboslutely sure someone would have made a 2B dress but eh, I like limiting myself to what’s in-game. Also don’t want to mess with CC until the game is “finished” because for me, the effort to update mods is eeeeeeeh. But also-

What 2B’s muscle definition would be like if designers weren’t COWARDS!

2B’s whims are to be sad and alone so, we’ll just go and focus on those enviroments and perhaps meditate in her room alone. Miko Ojo, the peppy politican who’s our neighbor, wants to hang out! She’s got a good relationship with 9S so she wants to drop in frequently. I set her and 9S to play some chess together for a bit.

After those two hang out and 2B vibes alone a bit, 9S asks 2B on a date. He’s got the Soulmate aspiration and that’s needed for him. To go on dates! We’re off to the nightclub! Those are trendy places for young folks to hang out with yeah? So it’s time to chat a little and...oh. Both of the second requirements needed moodlets. Moodlets I can’t easily get thanks to the Meaningful Stories mod making their confident moodlet deeply entrenched in their minds! Ehhhh. Alright then.

Somehow I got these two outside the club, just stargazing and having private chats outside. This would be a horrible spot for such stargazing, just think of the Del Sol Valley light pollution! Perhaps next time, we go to a park or some such. Much better for chats and stargazes.

Oh and we got the alert that 2B got promoted in the midst of this date. Now both of them need to go into work but I have plans...so both shall take days off! And hey! With all that chatting, they are now best friends. Alas, this is just a moderate by dating standards so no additional moodlets. Other than the Deeply Connected one for being best friends! And with that, it’s time for-

Neighborhood Watch!

Nothing happened recently. Check back tomorrow.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony’s Stupid Daily Blog (419): Wed 10th May 2023

Up early for a visit to the doctors this morning about an issue that has needed to be resolved for some time. In recent years I’ve found myself constantly worrying, overthinking, instantly picturing the worst possible outcome of every decision I make and unable to find the enthusiasm to even do things that I like. I also try to avoid other people like the plague and having to even exchange friendly banter with them makes my skin crawl. I think it’s pretty obvious to anyone reading this that my anxiety has really gotten out of control in recent years. The therapist I saw a while back tried her best to help treat my anxiety but it was to no avail (and to be fair she was trying the help me treat it while I was working in a call centre so she was fighting an uphill battle). When the therapy (specifically CBT) failed to ameliorate any of the issues associated with social anxiety disorder I realized that if I was ever going to get better it would have to be through medication. I thought that I was going to have to have a lengthy dialogue with the doctor because anxiety has become a bit of a buzzword these days and I wouldn’t be surprised if doctors are a bit suspicious that people have self diagnosed themselves with anxiety. I told the doctor about all the constant overthinking, the dark thoughts, the constant apprehension I have when it comes to venturing out of my comfort zone and having to interact with others and the lack of motivation to do even the things that I enjoy. I also mentioned that when I got diagnosed with BFS a few years ago the neurologist told me that it is typically triggered by anxiety. The doctor gave me a questionnaire to fill out in order to determine what level of anxiety I was at. The questionnaire had a possible high score of 30 and I scored 27. Five years ago I would have been shocked by this revelation but recently things have gotten so bad that my immediate reaction was that it sounded completely accurate. The doctor gave me a card for Mind the mental health charity and she’s given me some meds and told me to increase the dosage over the coming weeks. I’m glad that I’ve finally decided to stop burying these issues and hoping they resolve themselves. Hopefully I won’t be such a nervous wreck anymore and maybe it will also help treat the twitches in my calves too. I finally finished “reading” Cimarron Rose, the latest book in my quest to read all the winners of the Edgar Award for Beat Novel. Once again it’s an entry that is probably much more entertaining than k gave it credit for but I’m the kind of reader who needs to be gripped right from the start or else I’ll just be phoning it in for the remainder. The plot is about a cop defending a young black man who he suspects has been falsely accused of rape  (I know there will be some far-left people who don’t recognize the term “falsely accused of rape” but people do actually lie. It happens). There’s also a subplot about being haunted by the ghost of a Navajo he accidentally shot dead but the novel as a whole wasn’t enough to captivate me. Maybe if there was a third subplot about a demonic dog who shoots flaming turds out of its arse and is going around Edinburgh killing people. I don’t know how the author could have worked that into a story set in the American badlands but if he’s a good author he would have found a way. The two items on my bucket list I’m determined to cross off before this year are to get my weight down to twelve stone and to finish reading all the Edgar books. I’m going to plow through the remaining 24 books in the series so that I can finally move on to my next challenge. Luckily the next book in the series Mr White’s Confession by Robert Clark arrived today so I’m going to jump right into it tomorrow.