#dennis hopeless

[why-i-love-comics]

DC's How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days - "Love's A Stretch" (2024)

written by Dennis Hopeless art by Baldemar Rivas

[freakyfreak01]

it's becoming a pandemic where people treat charlie like he's some hopeless idiot who can't do anything unless he has his hand held the entire time and it's beginning to get on my nerves... charlie is not below complex and well-thought-out planning. he is very able to think ahead, orchestrate long-term schemes, execute them successfully, and he does it largely on his own (e.g., charlie and dee find love). even in episodes like charlie work and mac bangs dennis' mom, where he enlists other members of the gang to help him out, the plans are still entirely his and it is not at all representing an inability to do something himself. yes, there are things like his illiteracy and the episode flowers for charlie that suggest he has a lower iq than the others, but that doesn't mean he's not capable. when he sits down to really work at something, charlie is 100% able to do and/or get something he wants (abbott elementary's volunteers).

[burnthatbridge]

8x03 coda

buck being melodramatic about gerrard 'taking him under his wing' also on ao3 if you prefer

Buck spends an age in the shower at the end of their shift. He’s sooty, yes, sweaty, definitely, but no worse than usual, a lot cleaner than he has been on certain occasions — like after trying to dig Eddie out of forty feet of mud, for example. But, even when the water has long run clear, he can’t shake the sensation of being covered with dirt. 

In fact, when he finally shuts off the water, wraps a towel about his hips, his skin scrubbed pink, he almost feels worse, dirtier than when he got in. The surface layer of grime gone, uncovering the muck at the core of him. 

The locker room is almost empty, A-shift long departed: Chim home to Jee and Mara, Maddie heading out for her own shift; Hen meeting Karen for dinner, Denny at a friend’s. And Buck’s been trying to wash himself clean for long enough that B-shift have passed through, all changed from their civvies to their uniforms and headed out into the station, some away on a call. 

The locker room is almost empty. It would be completely so if it weren’t for Eddie. He’s seated on the bench, fully dressed in his street clothes and shoes, hair almost completely dry from his own — significantly shorter — shower, scrolling through his phone. But he looks up as Buck shuffles into the room, eyes on him as Buck opens their locker, hefts out his bundle of clothes and dumps them on the bench, a couple of feet along from where Eddie is sitting. 

“You okay?” he asks, locking his phone, tucking it away in his pocket, entire focus shifted now that Buck’s there. 

Buck nods, reflexively. “’M fine,” he states, aiming to sound it. As he tugs on his boxers, he tries to change the subject, “Thought you’d be out of here by now.”

He and Eddie don’t have plans this evening, and Buck had mentioned at the start of their shift — back in the inverse of this moment, when he’d been sitting on the bench, ready, but chatting to Eddie while he got changed — that he was probably going to see Tommy tonight, so Eddie can’t be expecting them to make any impromptu ones. But there’s no denying that Eddie’s been waiting for him, all the way through his endless, hopeless shower. 

“Hmm,” Eddie hums, but doesn’t say anything further. 

Buck towels his hair furiously, then rubs his shoulders, his chest, his arms down, hard. He feels itchy, like there’s a film over his skin, a coating of filth. He tugs his t-shirt over his head, slides his sweatpants up his thighs. Collapses down on the bench and reaches for his socks, pulls on one, then the other. 

The clothes are clean: the tee, socks, and underwear fresh, and the sweats only donned for an hour that morning, for his trip to work. And yet, he still feels unclean, tainted. 

Buck looks over at Eddie, finds him slouched on the bench, arms braced behind himself, already looking back. 

Buck looks away. Plucks at the fabric of his pant leg, scuffs one socked foot against the other, shrugs his shoulders against the scratch of his shirt tag at the back of his neck. Sighs. Glances over at Eddie again. Finds warm brown eyes still watching him, waiting for him, soft and open. 

“I hate him,” Buck says, low, even though Gerrard has absolutely already left for the day, isn’t around to hear his words, and turns his eyes to the concrete of the floor. 

“I know you do.” Eddie’s voice is as gentle as his gaze. “You’re not alone in that.”

And that’s true, but it’s also not, because– Because Buck has been singled out. And he knows what that means. Has heard all the stories of Gerrard’s first reign of terror, from Hen, from Chim, from Tommy. Knows about the people Gerrard had it out for back then, and the people he had on his side. 

“No,” Buck says, hears how frustrated it comes out, but also how plaintive, “I really, really hate him.”

Eddie doesn’t reply, waits Buck out, while he tries to work the tangle of his thoughts into something resembling a coherent statement that he can say out loud. 

Because he does, he hates Gerrard, who has been so awful to them all, Buck included, but especially the people Buck loves most. Hates him for holding nothing but contempt for them being the thing Buck loves most about them: themselves. 

“He’s– he’s so fucking horrible to everyone.” Buck says, needlessly, because of course Eddie knows this, has been both the subject of Gerrard’s disdain and witness to him turning it on the rest of them. 

Only now, since Buck attempted to murder him and inadvertently ended up saving his life, Buck isn’t included with the rest of them, isn’t subject to Gerrard’s terrible treatment anymore. 

“But, now, he’s being nice to me. Taking me ‘under his wing’.” Just quoting Gerrard’s horrifying pronouncement from that morning makes Buck feel sick, nausea turning his stomach, climbing his throat. He can still feel the ghost touch of Gerrard’s arms around him, poison leaching into him at all the points Gerrard’s body touched his own. “It’s like he wants to mold me into someone just like him.”

Gerrard has seen something in him, recognized the same rot in Buck that resides in his own core. Like calling to like. 

“It’s like I already am.” Buck shivers, scrubbing his hands up and down his own arms, trying, fruitlessly to slough off this feeling, to shed his own skin. The first shower didn’t work, and he could hold out a futile hope that if he takes a second once he gets home it will finally work, but he fears no amount of water can wash him clean of this. The stain on him Gerrard has spotted and identified as kin permeated too deep, sunk too far, into his soul to ever be cleansed. 

“Hey.” Eddie grabs for one of his wrists, squeezes and pulls Buck’s arm down, holds on as he says, “You are nothing like him. And you never could be.”

“But,” Buck argues, clenching his free hand into a fist, taking the pain of his fingernails piercing his palm as penance, “If he wants to– to mentor me, he has to think he can turn me into the sort of man he is. He– he must think I’m like him.”

Eddie snatches Buck’s other wrist, puts pressure into his grip until Buck relaxes his fist, fingers no longer biting into his flesh. “Even if he thinks that, he’s wrong.” Eddie’s tone is vehement, but turns to a scoff as he goes on, “And if that’s his idea of mentorship, he’s as bad at it as he is at being captain. You’re not supposed to coach someone into a version of yourself, you’re supposed to help them become the best they can be.”

“He definitely wants to coach me in his evil ways.” Of that Buck is sure. And it feels like certain doom. 

But Eddie snorts, amused at Buck’s phrasing, not seeming to believe that Buck is standing on the edge, about to fall into an irredeemable version of himself. “I’m sure. But he’s not going to have any success in that, Buck.”

“He’s not?”

“Definitely not. Sure, he’s going to give you terrible advice and you might have to go play golf with him, and do whatever other horrific bonding activities he wants, but that doesn’t mean he’s going to turn you into him. That’s impossible.”

“Really?”

Eddie nods. “He’d have more luck getting Chimney to agree you should always be allowed the clipboard during stock checks, and we all know how likely that is to happen.”

“Chim would never,” Buck says because, really, Chim would never.

“Exactly.” Eddie releases Buck’s wrists, lifts one hand to grip his shoulder instead. “I know it sucks right now but we will be rid of him eventually. And we’ll get Bobby back, your real mentor.” Eddie smiles at Buck then, a tilted, lopsided curling of one half of his mouth. “Not that I think you need mentorship. You’re pretty excellent just the way you are.”

Buck nods, hoping so hard that eventually will come quickly, that they get Bobby back sooner rather than later, and trying to believe in himself. He kind of has to when Eddie believes in him, because he will always believe in Eddie, trust in what he says. But he still feels the cling of Gerrard to him. He scrubs at his bare arms once more. 

“You’re cold,” Eddie says, misinterpreting the motion, perhaps purposefully so. “Here.” He tugs the hoodie he’s wearing up and off, holds it out to Buck. “Take this, you’ll feel better.”

“You don’t need to give me that,” Buck protests.

“Well, I am,” Eddie says, shaking the garment slightly, coaxing Buck to take it. He grins. “Besides, it’s yours anyway.”

It is, Buck realizes as he lets Eddie hand it over, the fabric familiar to the touch, soft and comforting. 

Eddie stands from the bench, shoulders his bag, smiles at him. “Have a nice time tonight. Tell Tommy I said ‘hi’.”

Buck nods as Eddie crosses to the door and leaves, calling a see you tomorrow back over his shoulder. Buck watches his progress out of the station through the glass wall. 

Once Eddie passes out the bay doors, out of sight, Buck pulls the hoodie on. And in it, still warm from the heat of Eddie’s body and smelling like a mix of both of them and the laundry detergent they use at the Diaz house, he finally feels clean. 

[m4rs-ex3]

anyone who says tdp "ruined rayllum" can meet me in the denny's parking lot. i will truly never believe that the writers broke up rayllum (physically i mean) just as a plot contrivance. this is not me defending my favorite show and my favorite ship; i genuinely believe this was the right move. even when i was young and dumb and first heard about an arc 2 i was like "pff rayllum isn't gonna break up," and yet in the back of my mind i was just wondering how are they gonna pull this off? like i loved them and i know they loved each other and they were sweet little babies blah blah blah but you cannot sit here and tell me that the two 15 year olds who went through a whole shitload of trauma and grief together and who were already killing themselves for each other out of hopeless devotion within 2 weeks weren't bound to crash and burn. people seem to forget that rayla didn't simply decide to leave just because; she was being tormented by her unresolved issues and could not stand to be in that place anymore, no matter how much she loved callum. of course she left because a) that's all she's ever known and b) because they couldn't last (how they were, anyway). rayla and callum had grown to rely on one another so much that they needed time to grow up on their own, and now, well...

there is no better way to test love than to put it through the ringer and see if it survives, and rayllum not only love each other just as much if not more, truly understand each other on a whole new level despite having been apart for so long, and now are back together and stronger than they've ever been. it was entirely logical and frankly inevitable for this to happen, it was a natural progression for the story, and it has made them better.

[hellomystraightlacedfriend]

Spider-Woman (2016) #11

Dennis Hopeless/Veronica Fish

[valentine-cafe]

for strawberry cupcake! | fem! reader

i.. i can take her strap, i can be a good girl for her, like, give me a chance please ma'am, one chance i can be the wife, i can take her last name, i will cook, i will clean, i will match her freak, we can even scissors anything for her! she can even choke me with her thighs while i eat her out and i'll thank her because goddamn, if that woman told me to bark or meow i will, please let me worship her

i am not above the temptation of flesh, if she want to roleplay of one of us receiving while the other is sleeping, i would, without hesitation, because goddamn, how could one could be so gorgeous while sleeping? how did i end up pulling an angel like her fr fr

⊹ ۪ ࣪ ᥫ᭡ verse 9819 denara

˗ˏˋ꒰ 🍮 ꒱ sorcerer x fem!reader, healer x fem!reader ⊹ ۪ ࣪

you and denny switch from hopeless, fluffy romantics to the most depraved of freaks. it’s such a whiplash, one that you adore oh so much.

one moment, the both of you are cuddling on the sofa. giggling and tittering about some random occurrence during the day —

and the next you are are sprawled back against the cushions. her dark nails digging into your thighs and her elongated tongue fucking into your slit. or her deep red lips wrapped around your clit and suckling so earnestly while you tug on her hair and whine that you’ll come.

it can switch from the both of you out and about. hand in hand while you look for a place to eat. snacks? ice cream? whichever it is, as long as you’re both together and she can cling onto your arms -

but oh do you love the way that she clings to you when you push her into one of the bathrooms. a hand clamped around her lips so that her big black eyes look at you with tears of pleasure while your finger her tight and squirting pussy. her whimpers muffled and her hips desperately bucking against yours. she loves whenever you just use her.

late night cuddles turning into her riding on your thighs once you’ve falling asleep. waiting for you to wake up so that you can both grab onto the double-sided strap and grind against one another through the night until the both of you are whining and gasping into one another’s mouths. cumming all over each other in the most pitiful of ways.

denara is someone that has quite the sex drive - high stamina, high libido. so she’s down to do it whenever, for as long as you both possibly can.

she loves waking up to you between her legs. the sight of you looking up at her through her lashes as you great her good morning with your tongue fucking her slit and a squeeze to her plush thighs.

oh she would wrap them around your head so tightly. buck into your face and whimper the softest of praises. tell you how beautiful you always look in the morning.

scissoring is always so intense. especially with the way that she looks at you. as though you are her entire world. the way that her hands always try to grope and caress you. how she’s constantly trying to make you cum before her -

but she’s just so so sensitive. of course she always squirts before you. she’ll limp into the sheets and whine at the way that you tease her for it.

she’ll get you back later when she invades your dreams to have you all to herself. whether that be for the fluffiest cuddles and dream shenanigans or for fucking both of your brains out.

[why-i-love-comics]

DC's How to Lose a Guy Gardner in 10 Days - "Love's A Stretch" (2024)

written by Dennis Hopeless art by Baldemar Rivas

[chaosinstigator]

mac is a neat freak, peels dennis’ apples for him, does what he can to make sure he’s okay

- mac’s dream is to be a housewife confirmed

in relation to this; dennis is absolutely fucking hopeless on his own… just like a typical husband is js

[screensland]

X-Men Season One (2012) – by Dennis Hopeless and Jamie McKelvie. 

[babybearnation]

sir bear's 1k event~

sir bear’s 1k event is an event running from march 10th to march 16th. during this week long event, you can ask for head canons for any of the drivers set in any of the AUs with any themes/topics listed under the cut. please adhere to the rules below, and don’t forget to have fun!

event explanation:

the whole event is themed around worlds & alternate universes i've created/used for my published and non-published ao3 fics.

i've included titles/general concepts alongside the AUs, but these really aren't important to you - you can just request the AU without it necessarily being set within the fic world i've created.

some of the AUs will link to posts that explain the more original worlds i've created or to fics i've written to avoid confusion.

if you have any questions about my ao3 fics/worlds, please ask me about them on @littlebearnation

rules:

no sad ending angst. no crack.

happy ending angst is welcome (and encouraged).

suggestive and smut are fine, but nothing overly gratuitous.

no cis female reader requests. gn, male, trans, genderfluid/queer and nonbinary+ reader requests are allowed.

female reader requests are only allowed when requesting for abbi pulling and i won't do male readers for her.

if you request one of the kimis, make sure to specify which one or else i'll delete it.

one idea per ask. multiple drivers per idea is fine.

six drivers per idea. full grid/full list is not a valid driver option.

overly complex ideas will be deleted.

AUs are allowed (they're the whole point of this event) but please check list below.

polyamory is okay (encouraged even!) but try not to cross leagues too much as i find it hard to write for uncommon pairings.

no more than 3 drivers per polyamorous requests.

the fics will not be titled or edited to near perfection. i will also be creating a masterlist for this event that will become available after i post the first fic.

fics that request non-headcanon style work will be deleted.

any asks received before the starting point (00:00am GMT, march 10th) will be deleted.

any asks received after the cut off point (23:59pm GMT, march 16th) will not be answered, but asks received before then will still be answered, even after the event is over.

mutuals are allowed to request even after the event is over.

during this event , regular requests will stay closed so as to not create hell for me post-event.

have fun <3

drivers/aus/themes/topics below the cut!

drivers i will write for:

abbi pulling (rodin gb3)

alex albon (williams f1)

arthur leclerc (ferrari f1)

callum ilott (prema indycar)

charles leclerc (ferrari f1)

christian mansell (ex f2)

dennis hauger (andretti global indy nxt)

dino beganovic (hitech f2)

esteban ocon (haas f1)

gabriel bortoleto (sauber f1)

george russell (mercedes f1)

zhou guanyu (ferrari f1)

isack hadjar (racing bulls f1)

jack doohan (alpine f1)

jenson button (ex f1)

josep maria “pepe” marti (campos f2)

kevin magnussen (bmw wec)

kimi antonelli (mercedes f1)

kimi raikkonen (ex f1)

lance stroll (aston martin f1)

lando norris (mclaren f1)

lewis hamilton (ferrari f1)

liam lawson (red bull f1)

logan sargeant (ex f1)

luke browning (hitech f2)

marcus armstrong (meyer shank indycar)

maximilian günther (ds penske formula e)

mick schumacher (alpine wec)

nico hulkenberg (sauber f1)

nico rosberg (ex f1)

nyck de vries (mahindra formula e)

oliver bearman (haas f1)

oscar piastri (mclaren f1)

pato o'ward (mclaren indycar)

paul aron (alpine f1)

pierre gasly (alpine f1)

robert shwartzman (prema indycar)

sam bird (mclaren formula e)

sebastian vettel (ex f1)

taylor barnard (mclaren formula e)

yuki tsunoda (racing bulls f1)

zak o'sullivan (kondo super formula)

zane maloney (lola yamaha abt formula e)

AUs i will write for (full list):

1920s (the gentleman's club)

assassin's creed (f1 x assassin's creed)

blackout (blackout)

casual magic (meowgical mishaps)

cupids (hopeless)

driver!reader (this could go for most of these ideas tbh so - also reader can drive in any motorsport you choose)

gentleman's club (the gentleman's club)

high school (the button-vettel household)

historical (regency/georgian/victorian eras only) (sargebon historical romance)

hopeless (hopeless)

hybrids (bunny boo!)

mythical hybrids (the dragon & his bear)

non-drivers (daddy x4, don't lacrosse my heart, superstar, the button-vettel household, who is logan sargeant?)

omegaverse (cinnamon & sugar)

other sports (don't lacrosse my heart)

paranormal (supernatural/paranormal f1 au)

red sight 'verse (red sight)

royal (princely duties)

steampunk (f1 steampunk au)

supernatural (supernatural/paranormal f1 au)

twitch streamer (twitch/drive)

university (don't lacrosse my heart, who is logan sargeant?)

urban fantasy (supernatural/paranormal f1 au)

themes/topics i will not write for/about (these are hard nos):

adult/child (either both are adult or both are underage)

children/kid fics

death

feederism

incest

large age gaps (10 or less is my okay spot)

periods

physical disabilities (i just don't feel confident in this, sorry)

pregnancy/mpreg (excluding breeding kink)

serious injuries (minor injuries is fine)

smut/kink topics: food kink; sensory deprivation (excluding blindfolding & choking); wax play; scat; age play (excluding daddy kink); CNC (consensual non-consent); exhibitionism/voyeurism; foot fetish; most paraphilias

teacher/student

trauma/recovering from trauma

© all rights to babybearnation 2025.

[asmrrpaddict]

I may be a hopeless romantic overthinker, but do you guys ever think about the pet names?

I’m out of creative ideas due to attempting to write a pirate script, so we’re talking pet names.

Here are some of my favorites that I can remember from some of my favorite VAs. I know it may be cringe, but I don’t care. These are just ones that make me smile, melt, or laugh.

Notice: while I love nicknames like Yuurivoice’s Cass/Casper, Scythe Audio’s Demon Girl, or Escaped Audio’s Denny’s, this will be pet names and nothing that specific.

Redacted Audio

Darlin’, Treasure, Lovely, Angel, Starlight, Sunshine

Redacted Bonus:

Terror & Menace

Nomad:

Little One & Babe (Caleb)

Reverie Audios:

Sweets, Dove, Bunny

Reverie Bonus:

Terror

Captain Matt:

(Don’t you make fun of me! 🫵🤣)

(My) Darlin’, Love & thanks to listening to an older audio, My girl.

Obsidian Lantern:

Bug

MasterMissy:

Sweetheart

Good Boy Audio:

Paradise, Darling, Baby (Magrius)

Yuurivoice:

Sugar & Boo

Aural Arcana:

Baby

Everyone who does Aizawa from My Hero Academia says:

Kitten

AJ Audio:

My everything, My Love, Pearl (Siren’s Son character, but on AJ’s series)

One name 3 VAs: Wolf Z Row, KC Audio, and Phasmid ASMR.

(Little) Rabbit

Others that I don’t remember exactly where I heard them.

Sweetness, Ladybug, Sunflower, Pebble, Starshine.

I’m sure I’m missing some. Honestly if I ever get into a relationship, I hope that he will use one of these. ❤️ I would fall so hard!

[gardens0feden]

❀ you’re not from around here , are you? i figured because you totally just missed { EDEN DE LOS SANTOS } walking by. don’t tell me you don’t know who { SHE } is? they kind of look like { ADRIA ARJONA } and i could be wrong but i think that they might be { THIRTY-TWO } years old right now. they’ve been living in palmview for the last { FIVE YEARS }. and i don’t know if anyone has ever told them this before but they kind of remind me of { IZZIE STEVENS } from { GREY’S ANATOMY }. if you stick around the town long enough you might catch them in action working at { KIM AND PENN ARCHITECTS } as a { ARCHITECT }. you see this town isn’t really that big of a place, some folks like to call them the { ROSE COLORED GLASS } of palmview! they took a liking to the name too after a while, go figure. oh crap, they must have heard me yapping. they’re coming this way. i got to warn you though, rumor has it they can pretty { IMPULSIVE } at times. i wouldn’t take it too seriously though, from the times i’ve spoken to them they seemed pretty { COMPASSIONATE } to me. we see each other all the time since they live in that { 2 BEDROOM } apartment beside me over in { SEAGLASS HEIGHTS }. i better leave you to it. it was nice meeting you!  

—

FULL NAME. eden yajaira de los santos

NICKNAMES. ed, denny, eddy

AGE. thirty-two

GENDER / PRONOUNS. cis woman, she/her

SEXUAL ORIENTATION. straight

PLACE OF BIRTH. miami, fl

ZODIAC. pisces, february 28.

HEIGHT. 5’5”

BACKGROUND

born and raised in miami, eden is the youngest of three—aka the baby of the family, which she absolutely milked growing up.

guatemalan roots, loud family, louder opinions. sunday dinners are a sacred ritual, and if you miss one, be prepared for five different guilt-trip texts.

her dad is in high-end real estate, and he really wanted eden to follow in his footsteps, but she had other plans. she was never about selling buildings—she wanted to create them.

architecture was always her thing. as a kid, she’d build entire cities out of legos while her brothers destroyed them like godzilla. later, she traded legos for sketchbooks and blueprints.

naturally gifted artist—the type to doodle on napkins, sketch on scrap paper, and absentmindedly draw floor plans when she’s supposed to be paying attention.

moved to palmview grove five years ago on a whim. didn’t expect to stay. yet here she is.

works at kim and penn architects—good at her job, but also the type to show up to meetings with coffee for everyone and an unnecessary amount of enthusiasm.

she believes in people, even when they don’t deserve it. makes her endearing. also makes her a magnet for bad decisions.

impulsive as hell. spontaneous road trips? yes. adopting a stray animal she swore she couldn’t keep? also yes. cutting her own bangs at 2 am? regretfully, yes.

loves the idea of structure but lives in organized chaos. her apartment is full of half-finished sketches, random diy projects, and post-it notes with ideas she forgot the context for.

big on emotions. she cries over feel-good commercials, fights fiercely for the people she loves, and gets way too invested in her clients’ dream projects.

a hopeless romantic who pretends she isn’t. she’s been burned before, but she’ll still fall for someone who says the right thing at the right moment.

[kolbisneat]

MONTHLY MEDIA: July 2024

I read a lot more than I was expecting this month but I ain't complaining. Here's how I spent the month of July!

……….FILM……….

Evil Dead II (1987) Didn't love Evil Dead (not that it's not good, I just get too spooked by straight horror) but had no idea that this would be what it is. Puppets and stop motion! Looney Tune antics! Magic with rules! This is my kinda movie and I'm baffled the modern films in the franchise don't try for this sort of energy.

Poor Things (2003) It took a while for me to settle into this, but around the time Dafoe's Godwin explains Bella's condition, I was all in. It's a dreamlike movie with dreamlike logic so despite some of the discourse I tried not to take too much of it literally. Beautiful and far funnier than I expected.

……….TELEVISION……….

Columbo (Episode 1.04 to 1.07) Gosh I love the era of television where each episode was self-contained. Episode 7 features Columbo smoking in a doctor's office and I was not at all expecting him to comment on the dangers of tobacco, but he did! I notice this first season only had a handful of episodes with the classic "oh one more thing" schtick so I'm curious if that pops up more in later seasons.

Scavenger's Reign (Episode 1.01 to 1.12) This is a show where I sit down, turn it on, and while the beautiful opening credits play, think, "I wonder what horrifying imagery is gonna f*** me up this episode?" The animation and design are sooooooo good that it made up for the occasionally baffling writing. Please go watch it so a second season can get greenlit.

Bridgerton (Episode 3.05 to 3.08) I missed a few eps there in the middle but it all worked. That final party, and all that went with it (the speech, the bugs, the reveal of who paid for it) was 10/10. Good stuff.

……….YOUTUBE……….

Yoko and The Beatles by Lindsay Ellis Yoko Ono didn't break up the Beatles. And while this video essay expands on the factors that DID split up the band, it's also a really great dive into the weight of fame and the weight of fame on women. VIDEO

Was starting a product business a mistake? by Simone Giertz An honest and detailed insight into the dream vs. reality of small business and internet fame. Looks like it's going to be a full series and I'm looking forward to more. VIDEO

……….READING……….

N or M by Agatha Christie (Complete) Spy Thriller set during the Second World War? With a husband/wife spy duo? Oh heck yeah. Sometimes I find the clues to be a little convoluted/unnecessarily obscure but this one struck a great balance of visible but easily forgettable.

The Knight of the Swords by Michael Moorcock (Complete) Having first read the comic adaptation (penciled by Mike Mignola!) I now realize some of my issues (pacing, understanding the abstract) work better in novel form. An elevated pulp adventure that has some great ironic twists.

Sherlock Holmes vs. Dracula or The Adventure of the Sanguinary Count by Loren D. Estleman (Complete) Thrift find purchased based on the premise alone. Exactly what you'd expect but not much beyond that. It's at its best when you get Dracula directly interacting with Holmes and/or Watson.

Spider-Verse by Dan Slott, Christos N. Gage, Mike Costa, Dennis Hopeless, and many many more (Complete) Really enjoyed reading this but am baffled by its production. Why the issues aren't collected in chronological order, I'll never know. I know the book is over ten years old now but the writing (especially all of the Spider-Women) really stands out as...not great. All but the Superior Spider-Man essentially sound the same (perhaps the point?) but Gwen and Jess and Cindy mostly talk about things like body image and pheromones and it's glaring. I'm curious what I'll think upon a second readthrough (reading in order, and after the first wave of nostalgia has completely rinsed off) but I definitely think this story walked so the movies could break the speed of sound.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up the Marvel Universe! by Ryan North and Erica Henderson (Complete) North's writing and Henderson's artwork are the perfect blend for such a bright and enthusiastic character. Unbeatable Squirrel Girl is such a great series (which I gotta go back and finish) and this is an equally great introduction to the character.

Superior Foes of Spider-Man Vol 1 by by Nick Spencer, Marcos Martin, and Steve Leiber (Complete) I was really excited for this series (the premise! the cover art!) but the pacing, humour, and art just didn't connect. Honestly really bummed that I didn't like this more.

……….AUDIO……….

3D6 Down the Line (Podcast) A nice change of pace from the modern D&D games I play in. They use Old School Essentials for their system (more akin to 2nd Edition D&D) and play with a mindset similar to the 70s style of play (treasure for experience, everything is lethal). I'm still having trouble distinguishing some of the voices from each other, but it's a great listen.

……….GAMING……….

Oz: A Fantasy Role-Playing Setting (Andrews McMeel Publishing) Tuesday crew watched a peaceful inauguration and gained notoriety for saving a neighbourhood from roaming monsters (you can read all about it here!) and the Mof1 crew is dabbling in dangerous contracts with dangerous people (all for a cap that controls the winged monkeys).

And that's it. See you in August!