#he's 6 and absolutely OBSESSED with darth vader right now

[bloodydeanwinchester]

guys i love my nephew so fucking much

[darth-jess]

GalaxyCon 2024: Meeting Hayden Christensen

I have never been someone who cares about famous people. To clarify: I care about them as human beings, like in a very general sense, the way I'd care about any other person I've never met before. I also don't really care to know much about the personal lives of my favorite famous people. For me, at least, knowing things about them can change the way I look at the characters they play, the music they write, or the art they make. And personally, I like to view these things in my own context, not within someone else's.

Because of this, I have never really become obsessed with any particular famous person. I've become obsessed with their art– their portrayal of a character, their music, their writing, etc… but never with the actual person. Why would I? I've never met them before, I don't know them, I don't know what they're like as real people.

So I never really understood those fangirls who scream or faint or start sobbing when they get to meet the Jonas Brothers or Taylor Swift. I totally did not get it.

Then, I got to meet Hayden Christensen this past weekend at GalaxyCon.

And let me tell you, emotional fangirls, I get it now.

I have never been to a con before, this was my first one ever and honestly I don't think any future con I go to will top this one.

I knew going into it I was going to be a little nervous. After all, even though (as I stated before) I don't really care about the actors who play my favorite characters, I can absolutely appreciate how much their acting affected me, how much the role they played on screen changed my own life, as well as their skill as an artist.

And because Anakin Skywalker has been my favorite character in all fiction since I was 6 years old– and has not changed since then– I was very excited. The only favorite characters I had before Anakin were Darth Vader (when I found out they were the same my 4-year-old brain nearly exploded) and Ariel from The Little Mermaid. I was 3 when The Phantom Menace came out, give me a break.

Anyway.

Waiting in line for the photo op on Saturday gave me so much excited anxiety, I felt light headed and a little sick to my stomach– and the entire time my husband was kind of making fun of me (not in a mean way, mind you, he was making me laugh). I kept telling him, "I'm too nervous, I want to go home!" – which wasn't true, but for some reason I kept saying it.

The photo op was super quick, I remember Hayden saying something nice, like "Nice to meet you" or something like that (or maybe I said that?). I only had time to hand Hayden the Anakin Skywalker replica lightsaber I'd gotten the day before and ask him to hold it! I think he said something else, but I literally don't remember because I sort of blacked out.

I barely remember taking the picture.

Then, later in the day, we waited in line for two hours (it was worth it) to get his autograph and the entire time I was trying to stay calm because I was worried that when we got to him I would just stare at him blankly, unable to say anything.

The line was soooo long, and he was sort of blocked off behind these curtains– I think the curtains are there as much for him as they are for the fans. I imagine if he could've seen how long the line was, he would've wished for Anakin's robotic arm to do all those autographs. I would have, for sure.

When we were ushered through the curtains I could literally feel every single beat of my heart, I could hear it in my brain. I felt lightheaded again, and I turned to my husband and said, "I think my heart is going to explode."

Something I noticed as we got closer was that even though he looked kind of tired, he was still nice to every single person in line and made every interaction special. I have no idea how many autographs he'd already done that day– hundreds at least– and he was still trying to talk to everyone who'd come to see him.

Finally, we got to Hayden and he looked me right in the eyes (and like holy aslkdfj that gaze is intense– NICE, but intense) and he said something like, "How are you today?"

And I said, "I'm good, how are you? It's so nice to meet you!"

I have no idea what he said after that because my heart was beating SO LOUD, but he said something nice in response.

And then I finally remembered what I wanted to tell him, so I said, "Anakin was always my favorite character."

He smiled real big while he was signing our poster, and he said, "Thank you, that means a lot to me!"

I wanted to say more, like:

"How much of yourself do you feel like you put into Anakin's character?" – This is something I'm always curious about, because as a writer I feel like I put so much of myself into my writing.

Or:

"I hope we get to see you in more Star Wars projects!"

Or even just:

"I'm so happy you're getting the recognition you deserve."

But I was honestly lucky I'd been able to speak at all, and at this point, nothing else was coming out. And I was slightly worried that if I spoke again I'd say something weird or not make any sense at all.

So my husband took over, and he held up the photo we'd taken earlier from the photo op and said, "Thanks for making me look like the third wheel!"

And Hayden laughed– he actually laughed– and made some kind of joking reply but I sort of blacked out there too because I was so embarrassed!

Finally, my husband said what I'd really wanted to say, "We're just really happy to see you finally getting the recognition you deserve."

And Hayden smiled and nodded, and said, "Really, thank you guys so much, that means a lot."

And then he shook our hands and said it was nice to meet us, and it was time to go. We walked out, and I had tears in my eyes, my heart was still racing, and my whole body was shaking. I turned to my husband as I held onto his arm and I said, "I literally can't feel my legs."

Moral of the story: Hayden Christensen is literally so nice to his fans, so if you ever get the opportunity to meet him, I highly recommend it. He's not going to remember the interaction, but I guarantee you will for the rest of your life.

Also, don't judge fangirls for getting emotional.

[eirenare]

“The Rise of Kylo Ren” + TROS theory (with TROKR pics)

I’ll probably look like a clown in 16-17 days when “The Rise of Kylo Ren” #2 releases but whatever lol—after TROS I believe even more that the former leader of the Knights of Ren (Ren) is Ben from another timeline or a future gone (more) wrong

Anyways, my thoughts on this:

1) remember the outrageous “Ben sets the temple ablaze and runs away” from the Visual Guide? I’m sure it’s probably just even more retconning (like a ton of stuff from the VD), but what if it’s literal—except it’s just that the Ben who does it isn’t the Ben we know, therefore making it true while retaining “our” Ben’s innocence. Another option (painful but, I think, absolutely plausible) is that Ben himself accidentally set on fire the temple with his rage and sorrow unleashing a Force storm. However, the way the “prologue” of TROKR #1 ends (I’ll talk about later on in this post) seems kind of like a foreshadowing that Ben (well, “our” Ben) didn’t do it...? Kind of interesting, and hopefully we won’t have to wait until issues #3 and #4 (february and march) to know about that important detail

2) this interview with Charles Soule (the writer) and Will Sliney (the artist) dedicates, curiously, the first 3-4 paragraphs solely to talking about Ren—and the article, which is from the official SW webpage (an article called “Introducing ‘Ren’ in Marvel’s The Rise of Kylo Ren”), starts like this: “they call him Ren, but that wasn’t always his name”. Which is also how the comic starts:

... Tell me this doesn’t sound suspicious as kriff and like foreshadowing

And the interview keeps going like this: “Born out of the flames,” as artist Will Sliney puts it, the leader of the Knights of Ren in the opening pages of the new comic Star Wars: The Rise of Kylo Ren #1, arrives battle-scarred and wearing a fearsome, featureless mask — a blank expression save for a smattering of claw-like gouges. Concealed within is a charismatic leader, the exact type of person who would be able to seduce young Ben Solo away from the path of the Jedi.” Then they basically proceed to spend the first 4 paragraphs talking a lot about Ren besides talking about Ben (and then, lastly, about Snoke—and, fun fact: they knew about the Snoke twist of TROS beforehand), although I think they talk less about Ben even

3) Ben being compared to Anakin while Ren is compared to Darth Vader, except Charles Soule wanted Ren to read “like a more charming Darth Vader. “A Vader who is charismatic and who is appealing. That’s why [Ren’s] skin is burned and he sort of looks the way that he does. He’s embracing the seductiveness and the damage that the dark side does. Darth Vader, as impressive and imposing and terrifying as he is, is remote and cold and distant because he has the suit surrounding him. Whereas Ren isn’t hiding behind it. He’s someone you could have a beer with, in theory.”

4) more interesting interview stuff. “Designed purposefully for the new comic series, with issue #1 out now, Ren feeds the evolution of Kylo Ren. “The entire seductiveness of the dark side poured into one character engineered for Ben Solo is Ren,” Soule says. “He’s sort of a charming evil rascal that can be really fun to write and I really like where he goes in the series. But if Kylo Ren is going to take over the Knights of Ren, which we know that’s what happens, there should be some transition.”

Also: “I think the key to writing Ben Solo is to write him as a lost teenager who is deeply in touch with emotions that teenagers often feel,” Soule says. “He feels like no one understands him, no one sees him the way he actually is, he’s utterly alone and there’s no one else out there in the universe. So when he sees Ren, he’s like, ‘Wait a minute — maybe there is somebody like me in the universe. Maybe there is a path for a guy like me. Look at the choices he’s made. I could make those choices, too, and I could be cool.’”

So... This is interesting. We have Snoke manipulating Ben to go to him, at first making himself appear friendly, while on some measure Palpatine’s pulling the strings from Snoke (I don’t think he would be like a puppet with Palps’ voice, though, given that chapter of the TLJ non-junior novelization that has a lot of stuff from Snoke’s perspective, but who knows). But then, Ben Solo’s basically obsessed with Vader... and, apparently, this Ren’s a walking dark side temptation for Ben. Well... We’ll see what happens, I guess

Also, crying inside at reading that “wait a minute—maybe there is somebody like me in the universe. Maybe there is a path for a guy like me. Look at the choices he’s made. I could make those choices, too, and I could be cool”. If Ren really was Ben from another time seeking to change things (probably something related to Rey): the implications that this has, the emotions that this has, the power that this has

Interesting, too, that it hasn’t been said if it’s Snoke who’s “the master” of the KoR (yes, they do have a master on top of their own leader), but that only gets weirder because the KoR were revealed time ago to be only loyal to their leader and to the “Ren philosophy” (which also makes possible ties with Snoke alone impossible)—so, if Snoke and the First Order aren’t, then who is it? Palpatine? Still, again, there’s the philosophy thing of following only their group leader...

Oh and: the Ren philosophy sounds very intriguing and I’m liking it a lot

(For context of the next pics: there are two brothers, being one of them Force-sensitive, and both the KoR and someone called SecSec are trying to recruit them—but the non-Force-sensitive one kills the other, which means the KoR doesn’t accept him, and Ren kills him)

5) just after that panel, in this pic below they talk a bit about “the master” here, being Ren who says it. Also it’s interesting that, after that happens, the KoR part ends with Ren saying "let’s go find something to burn”:

After that there’s a page as if this kind of prologue has finished, showing a page with the logo of the comic and all that... and then, next page it’s Ben standing in front of the fire and ruins of the temple all shocked (a note here: on that page it reads “now” and the name of the location, and the “prologue” happened “long ago”). I’d say that really looks like foreshadowing...

Now the thing is... If the KoR are not affiliated in any way with the First Order nor Snoke, and the KoR is only interested in recruiting Force-sensitives for their ranks, then how come they could’ve arrived in Luke’s Jedi temple... just at that right time to burn it down? I mean, right, there can be coincidences, but— uh, that might be a bit too much of a coincidence, perhaps? Who knows...

6) interview intensifies. “Born out of the flames”, is how Sliney describes Ren—well, thought it was worth mentioning this because guess what mythological being is born out of the flames too. Also, funny the parallel between that and the publisher’s summary of “The Rise of Kylo Ren” #3 (scheduled for February 12th): “Soon, BEN SOLO'S path will end in a place of fire and blood, and a shadow will rise to take his place. He is with the KNIGHTS OF REN now, and they will welcome him, if he can pay their price.” Well, given that “our” Ben starts becoming Kylo Ren after what happens at the temple, and that they describe Ren (referring to the former leader of the KoR) like being “born out of the flames”... this does nothing to deterr me from believing this theory, to be honest

7) more from the interview. “ The creative team engineered some surprises for this charming dark sider, a foil in many ways to Darth Vader hiding beneath his protective covering. “You expect the dude hiding his face under a mask like that to be all messed up, particularly with his body looking the way it does,” Soule says. But in issue #2 we’ll see what he’s truly concealing, a reveal that speaks to Ben on a whole other level” … This whole paragraph, I swear. Sounds like when they talked in the times between TFA and TLJ about Ben’s face behind his mask, and about his unmasking. Also, the talk about the face reveal…

What kind of “reveal that speaks to Ben on a whole other level” could it be? I don’t think they’d be referring to that with something more going on in his face, as in, scars or charred skin. In fact, it wouldn’t make sense for Ren to cover that up given that he shows with pride his scarred body

And faces of men he might know? The probabilities just lower and narrow soooo much here. We have yet to see, however, if Ben gets the reveal as a kid or an adult, which could make a difference. Still, back to “what man could this guy be”, I just can’t think of someone that he’d recognize and have this impact on him... ... And now it’s when it’s a Ben clone from another timeline, lol

8) that big panel on “The Rise of Kylo Ren” #2 where the KoR and Ren are facing Luke, Ben and Lor San Tekka, and Ben and Ren seem to mirror poses:

9) this is jut something that came to my mind, but… It still bugs me to this day the phrase “it is you” that Ben says regarding Rey on the TFA novelization (when she calls forth the Legacy lightsaber), because Ben didn’t know back then about them being a dyad, nor have we seen any mentions to him having dreamt of Rey before or anything—so maybe Ben’s encounter (encounters? Still not sure about it) with Ren involved Ren telling him something that will happen in the future? Something which could also tackle that random “which girl?”

The sad thing, if Ren was really Ben from the future? Like I said in my previous post about this teory (pre-TROS): ... that Ben would’ve literally killed himself, and therefore made true what he told Han that his son is dead and that he’d killed him (which then is reversed in TROS with that “Kylo Ren is dead, my son is alive”). That would be such a kriffing trauma for Ben that I don’t know if I could stomach it, after seeing Ben’s death in TROS... I mean, we would literally be seeing another Ben die... even if somehow his actions meant a worse future would have been avoided

Anyways my brain seems to find fuel in angst (why), because now reading “Ren” only makes me think of Ben’s name but taking on the “R” from Rey if in that future something happened to her...  (Or that the Knights would be called “of Ren” in reference to Ben and Rey)

... And now it’s when we’ve been played like a fiddle all along and the novels, with their differences/expanded material as hints (like the “it is you” in the TFA novelizations), are but one of the timelines. Can you imagine? To cite the TLJ non-junior novelization: “time is a circle. The end is the beginning”. At this point I believe anything could happen, specially after seeing TROS and how wtf it’s all that surrounds it...

10) to finish the post, the thing that made me start thinking Ren could be Ben: the hair that peeks from below the helmet looks apparently like Ben’s both in shape and color (an interesting detail is how the color of their hair seems to match in tone: in issue #1 it’s brownish for the both of them even though one’s surrounded by fire and the other by ice, and on the preview pages of issue #2 their hair is shown black). And in a universe so diverse as SW, and given that Ren and Ben are characters so connected, that’s a pretty... interesting choice. Here are some more images for comparison between Ben and Ren:

[muninn--huginn]

In an effort to chronicle my half-baked ideas and unfinished projects of 2020, here is the first of 6 essays I worked on over the course of the year. This one is on Star Wars, and musing on one of the larger faults I found in Episodes 7-9.

Full essay under the read more, as well.

The Star Wars sequel films are filled to the brim with nostalgia for the original series. You could see this back in 2015 when The Force Awakens released into theaters and was immediately hit with the critique that it was too derivative of the first Star Wars film, A New Hope. That film followed a similar plotline of a gang of quirky outcasts and rebels facing off against a fascistic military force led by a black-clad helmeted force user with a modulated voice, all while attempting to sabotage a planet-destroying superweapon. You could look at these two films lined up, and they would almost match beat for story beat, with the only real differences lying in the details.

There was already a significant amount of trepidation surrounding Disney’s foray into the Star Wars universe after purchasing the franchise in 2012. Many fans were already upset they had decanonized most of the fiction taking place outside of the original films, removing decades of stories and characters that many considered as real the original trilogy. The Force Awakens was perceived to be merely cashing in on the original classics’ reliability, which had been mainstays of pop culture for generations already, without taking any real risks. After all, what was the point of destroying literal decades of media if this was all they were going to do with it? Generally, how audiences felt about the series came down to what you wanted from Star Wars, more of what was already known and beloved, or something entirely new.

The Last Jedi, the follow-up movie in the sequel series, did much of the opposite from The Force Awakens. The Last Jedi was more concerned about conversing with the Star Wars legacy, with much of its plot and character arcs hinging on ending or moving on from not just the themes of the series as set up by The Force Awakens, but more so what fans expected out of the new trilogy. As opposed to repeating the same story beats, The Last Jedi refuted or prematurely resolved plot threads that seemed to be pointing at a larger trilogy long story when they were set up in the previous installment.

Once again, the new Star Wars film polarized the audience based on how they felt about the original series. While the film ruminated on themes and expectations that many Star Wars fans had coming into the film (for better or worse), The Last Jedi was still trapped circling this nostalgia towards the franchise. And it became most apparent with the way Disney was handling Star Wars as a whole. In between these larger tentpole films were smaller stories, Rogue One and Solo, which mostly explained the backstories or explanations of events and characters that happened offscreen in the original trilogy. While each film had noteworthy aspects in their own rights, there’s a question of why we needed to know precisely how the rebels got ahold of the Deathstar plans or how Han Solo got his name and the Millennium Falcon. Sure, there might be kind of cool factor in learning these bits of trivia, but rarely does answering a “Well, how did they get there?” question that never needed an answer in the original films do anything of value for the story you’re telling.

But it’s with the final film in the sequel trilogy, The Rise of Skywalker, that this obsession with navel-gazing nostalgia hits its absolute peak. Whereas The Last Jedi at least questioned the legacy of the films, The Rise of Skywalker marinated in it. While there are many examples to showcase this, the biggest is how the two films deal with legacy and family. The series’ main protagonist, Rey, was established in The Force Awakens to have a mysterious past and a lineage that would be uncovered throughout the sequel trilogy. The Last Jedi ended that thread by answering that her family ultimately meant nothing and wasn’t an intrinsic part of her character. The thematic conclusion of this revelation being that destiny and heritage doesn’t mean anything and that anyone is capable of great things, no matter how humble their beginnings.

Rise of Skywalker has no time for that nonsense. The movie immediately goes to work undoing much of the thematic groundwork set up in The Last Jedi in favor of attempting to resuscitate the overturned or completed character arcs established in The Force Awakens. So now, not only is family and destiny a driving force in this story again, but it’s the only thing that matters. Sure, maybe anyone can wield the force, but only those from the bloodlines of Skywalker and Palpatine decide the fate of the galaxy. Oh, you remember Palpatine, right? The bad guy from Return of the Jedi who gets thrown down a shaft by Darth Vader? Well, he’s been alive the whole time, orchestrating the events of the entire sequel trilogy from behind the curtains. Why create a new villain or establish one of the villains that fits the story we’ve been building over four years as the final antagonist of the trilogy, when I guess we can just shove in an old character that fans will geek out about. New things bad, old things we like are good!

But regardless of refocusing on a plot about the original Star Wars story and characters, or in a conversation and exploring what that relation needs to be, Star Wars seems eternally obsessed with itself. One of the best things about Star Wars is how simple and intimate it’s original story is, but nonetheless feels like it takes place in a full lived in universe. The tech looks grimy, and there’s always a sense of history. It’s no wonder that people want to know every detail about side characters like Boba Fett or Willrow Hood or even Nien Nunb. But with time and build up to a cultural behemoth, Star Wars seems reluctant to shake off this shackle to the past and grow beyond its own nostalgia.

[yakumtsaki]

Alright you guys, sorry for the delay, I’ve had to restart this post 20 fucking times because my changes weren’t being saved in the draft and then I kept getting the ‘upload failed’ error. In case you don’t remember wtf is going on you might wanna re-read the last update (I certainly had to) which is apparently from JUNE 2018. Jfc I suck so hard. Now this was gonna be really long but tumblr wouldn’t post it so I’m breaking it up in 3 parts, part 2 to be posted tomorrow. For those that don’t feel like reading back, general recap of the last couple updates:

Jojo cheated on Wyatt with Max Flexor and my solution to that marital crisis was to adopt our first dog ever, a puppy hilariously named Maxx.

The puppy grew up to be an asshole and is constantly beating up the cats, who have turned into giant pussies (no pun intended) and are losing every fight to him despite the fact they’re named after Mortal Kombat characters. They’re a fucking disgrace to Alegra’s/Victor’s/Ronroneo’s memory and I haven’t settled on a cat heir yet because they both suck.

Jojo is perma miserable, I don’t even remember how much money away from his 100k LTW, and still not a werewolf despite my pathologically persistent attempts to make him friends with the wolf.

Fucking useless Wyatt didn’t get promoted while Komei was alive providing us with his 100 townie friends, we spent 20 updates befriending every rando that crossed our lot to secure his promotion, and then finally on the day he was supposed to become Captain Hero, Wyatt got, of course, fired and is now on track to take longer to complete his literal career based LTW than Komei took to get 6 pets on the top of their careers.

Absolutely everyone hates noogie addict Shajar, she got a Kylo Ren makeover, and we still don’t know what her sexual orientation is thanks to her ridiculous fitness/fatness turn ons and cleanliness turn off.

Golden child/10 nice points freakshow Cyneswith grew up, rolled romance with the most disturbing turn-ons/offs possible (grey hair/mechanical & charisma turn off) and the 20 simultaneous lovers LTW.

Wulf grew up into a kid, got an Amadeus makeover, is officially a Wyatt clone and the only member of this family I don’t completely hate yet.

Now I’d like to begin the first Union post in more than a year by requesting you do me a solid and lower your expectations for this thing as far down as humanly possible. Like really try to recreate the Jules Verne classic “Journey to the Center of the Earth” with your expectations here, because my brain is so fucking fried that there’s a 20% chance I randomly start citing sources at some point during this post. This grad school crap has seriously been the worst trade deal in the history of trade deals, maybe ever. And speaking of bad trade deals, let’s get this update rolling with the man, the myth, the legend, the husband who managed to make Komei look like a dreamboat in comparison..

..Wyatt fucking Union, née Monif. It’s been a long time, but I’m not gonna lie to you Wyatt, not nearly long enough. Looking good man, just one small question, where the fuck are your eyebrows?

-You àccidéntally deléted thém, imbécilé, et I cannôt exprèss my irritatiόn prόperly becausé I hàve non eyebrôws!

Did your selective French accent get thicker this past year or is it just me?

-It géts thickér whén je suis distrésséd, givé moi mon eyebrôws bàcc!!!

No can do, brother. Actually can do, but I think the Mona Lisa look is working for you, and more importantly I still hate you, so I’m just gonna hardcore ignore you for the rest of this post if that’s ok. Talk to me when you finally get promoted, aka never the way this shit is going.

-Non! NON! MON EYEBROWS!

It’s been lovely catching up.

Jojό I mean Jojo, goddammit Wyatt, is spending most of his time building robots in the mausoleum (sweet hipster band name alert)..

..giving financial advice in Shajar’s room (inb4 what’s the difference between the mausoleum and Shajar’s room)..

..building evil snowmen alone in the middle of the night, like all mentally healthy middle aged men with 3 kids are wont to do..

..and getting the piss harassed out of him by the cat ghosts in the bathroom (sweet hipster band name alert #2). How is this like the fourth time this happens in the exact same spot, will you just stop autonomously cleaning the bathroom after midnight? It’s obviously where the cats hang out, give it the fuck up already.

-I’m actively TRYING TO DIE you absolute moron, what does a guy have to do to get killed around here?

Yea can’t say that I blame you but not happening, you can commit suicide by Ghost Alegra after the kids fuck off to college, ok? I promise.

-Oh like you promised me being heir was a route worth pursuing??

Um obviously you too need to go back and re-read your own life story, because I spent the entirety of our “““cherished””” time together telling you heirship is a shitty gig at generation 2. And then to top it off you went and married Wyatt to ensure maximum shittiness, so there you go, fucking enjoy. God I am so sick of both of you losers and we’re only 5 pics in. Let’s check in with your spawn, I’m sure they can’t possibly be more annoying than their parents-

-oh right, I forgot, this is the generation with 10/10/9 active points where the party never stops. Cyneswith are you somehow twerking to classical music?

-How else am I gonna attract all those hot senior citizens per my grey hair turn on and 20 lovers LTW?

Ok great yea I see how this is gonna go, you’re trying to entice people into voting you for heir based on how torturous playing this fucked up LTW is gonna be for me, well forget it, my readers are intellectuals and completely above such petty entertainment. (istg mofos, don’t even think about it, i already did Komei’s 5 pets career shit, i will burn this place to the ground if you saddle me with Cyneswith banging the elderly for 30 years)

-No need to worry your stupid little head, I will beat Cyneswith for HEIR just like I beat her HAIR up daily! HAHA!

Shajar no offense but you’re a fucking war crime of a sim, nearly everyone who’s ever met you hates you including your parents, and the fact that you’re the alternative here is really not helping my situation in any way. Also how the fuck are you gonna be heir when the only thing you seem to be attracted to is giving noogies, you’re like one week away from college and I still don’t even know if you’re str8 or gay or bi or w/e the fuck you are. You have Jojo’s personality combined with..

..yes exactly, DANIEL’S SOCIAL ABILITIES. I mean I was joking with the whole ‘Shajar’s the spawn of Satan’ thing, but this combo of traits was clearly drawn up in Hell’s boardroom.

ANYWAY. It’s a snowy Sunday morning, and anyone who has been a teen knows what that means:

Time to go clubbing! Man I remember being like 15, waking up on a freezing Sunday morning and my mom making me a cup of hot chocolate before I drove off to the club. Those were the days.

-Uh, Shaj, when did you learn how to drive?

-Don’t be stupid, Cyneswith, people don’t need to ‘learn’ how to drive.

-They absolutely do, actually.

-Well what can I tell you, the dark side of the Force is a pathway to many abilities some consider to be unnatural.

-Here we are, safe and sound! Celebratory noogie!

-YOU RAN OVER 9 PEOPLE

-How many times to I have to explain this to you, Apartment Life townies are not people.

Can’t argue with that logic. Let’s just go in and find out what Shajar’s sexual orientation is once and for all so I can spend the rest of this update aggressively promoting Wulf’s candidacy.

Now I consider ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’ one of the dumbest sayings there is, but even I have to concede that this particular picture truly is worth a thousand words. Quick poll, what is more horrifying, Shajar’s literal Joker face or Cyneswith, whom I’ve never seen read a book ever, autonomously pulling one out in the middle of the dance floor, in what I can only assume is an attempt to attract old perverts with the schoolgirl routine?

And I know what some of you are thinking, you’re like ‘bro, you’re just reaching to make a bad joke bro, Cyneswith is just a sweet nice introvert and not like other girls, she doesn’t feel comfortable in the club’, well to that let me reply with another picture that is worth a thousand words:

Yea that’s right, on the first minute of our first time out WE RUN INTO THAT ONE ELDER TOWNIE THAT HAS WRINKLE MAKE UP ON. GODDAMMIT CYNESWITH

Do you guys remember how Jojo was obsessed with Stephen Tinker as a teen? Are you seeing the connection here?? Those kids have literally inherited the worst possible traits from both their parents turned up to 11, it’s fucking unreal.  

Right after I get over Wrinkle’s presence I turn around and what do I see, those 2, who have never had a non-noogie physical interaction, autonomously doing the family kiss thing. I didn’t even catch it on time because I was loling irl, we came out here so these assholes can find age-appropriate partners, and instead they’re kissing each other. Seems about right with this family, and clearly Striped Scarf’s dumb ass ships it.

-They look so much alike, it’s meant to be!

Yes, and they even share the same last name! Talk about written in the stars.

Thankfully Abhijeet is here to save us from incest by perving on Cyneswith. GTFO ABHIJEET. Anyone like ‘bro townies just autonomously come to greet your sims on community lots regardless of age, stop calling them perverts’, see you in about 5 pics down.  

I try to have Shajar chat up Striped Scarf and suffice it to say Shaj ~stole her heart~ and presumably put it on this stick to wave around.

NO. CYNESWITH NO. I’m seriously having déjà vu of all the times I was like ‘NO. JOJO NO’, jfc.

Shajar is unsurprisingly exhibiting no interest in socializing with anyone around her, instead she’s trying every activity this terribly lit place has to offer, and she looks demented while doing it:

I’m feeling a primal urge to photoshop Darth Vader’s melted helmet on the bowling ball here, someone please remind me to do it for the heir vote photoshoot.

-HA. SUCK IT DENISE JACQUET

That’s Denise Jacquet?! I can’t tell who anyone is for shit anymore. The default replacements are a scourge upon premade brands, I’m getting rid of them pronto. Speaking of scourges, where the hell is your sister?

-Who cares?

I wanna say ‘me’ but we both know that’s a lie.

Oh ok, THERE SHE IS.

-So you see Cyneswith, just because something is technically ‘illegal’, doesn’t mean it’s morally wrong-

Yea yea fascinating stuff, now get out of the hot tub or I will fucking neuter you, I don’t know if a eunuch mod already exists for medieval games but I will make one if it doesn’t.

Here, Cyneswith, drink some water, have a nice G-rated convo with your sister about violins and stop pissing me off. 

-First of all this is straight vodka.

Great.

-Secondly Shajar is talking about Mozart’s coprophilia.

-I sure am.

Amazing. Well, I guess it’s at times like these when you need to look inside your heart and truly ask yourself, what did you expect from Jojo’s children.

ABHIJEET ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME DID YOU EVEN HEAR ME TALK ABOUT CASTRATION

-Ha, I went home and put on my most elderly-looking formal wear!

-I hate to see you go but I love to watch you leave Ab <3

CYNESWITH SHUT UP. I can’t believe you people are actually making me miss Gunther’s teenage whoring, at least he kept it age appropriate.

-Is some random lady pressing her breasts against my head?

She most certainly is, Shajar, because it is now crystal clear that this bowling alley doubles as the site of annual perv townie convention and we walked right into it-

-and it’s also clear we have serious issues and are enjoying ourselves. Shaj I legit don’t know what to tell you, this is the first time you get along with someone right away and it just had to be the adult with the bad haircut and the flasher’s trench coat???

-You’re damn right it did.

Alright then, I’m officially going to nope out of this situation, safe in the knowledge you’re a noogiesexual and nothing will actually happen with this freak, so I’ll focus on Cyneswith instead who is much more of a loose canon. 

Here Cyn, talk to this guy, who I’m 90% sure is the same guy your father rejected in favor of stalking Stephen Tinker when he was your age.

-Ohhhh, he’s dreamy!

Omg really?? Halleluj-

-oh never mind, you were of course referring to adult ass Brandon Lillard. I do like that our townies have recurring roles each generation, we should make rejecting Blondie a rite of passage in this family. We should also officially gtfo because this is happening:

-Um, now that I’m looking at you in harsher lighting, it’s gonna be a no from me dawg. 

Oh, thank the fucking lord.

-Let’s celebrate the fact we didn’t get hopelessly obsessed with any adults here by doing the traditional Dance of Normality!

-We beat Dad’s genes, we beat Dad’s genes!

-We’re normal!

Yes, and we’re definitely showing it. Can we please leave now so I can make sure I’ve uninstalled Inteenminator and turn off free will? 

-Nop! Venue change!

-Got-out-of-the-car celebratory noogie!

-Made-it-to-the-door celebratory noogie!

Shajar you unironically have a noogie addiction, I’m not kidding in the slightest, you need to see a doctor.

Great, great, not another teen in sight and to top it off Denise followed us here to ensure maximum elder presence. I feel comfortable officially declaring this day a complete waste of time.

God, the vintage pink dress and the pink alcohol combo is some straight up current era Taylor Swift nonsense. That’s it, we’re outta here, back home where no one is lurking, waiting to strike at us-

-SOPHIE NOOOOOOOOOOOO💔💔💔💔💔

-The Lord is my shepherd.

NO HE ISN’T EVERYONE KNOWS YOU CAN’T HERD CATS PLEASE DON’T DIE

-Nop, I’m over it. Goodbye heathens, it’s been nice, hope you don’t find your paradise. 

UGH SOPHIE, my beloved Westboro lunatic, the last gangsta generation 1 cat we had.. I can’t believe you’re gone and all I’m left with is stupid Goro and D’vorah who can’t even beat up the fucking dog. This is truly painful.

Yes, pets, I agree, Kaylynn is completely to blame for Sophie dying of old age. The time has now come to decide on a cat heir-

-and since Goro ran away like a little bitch after Sophie’s death despite the fact he didn’t even like her, he’s automatically disqualified and will be going off to live on Melody and Daniel’s farm once returned to us. Congratulations to D’vorah I guess, on being the least terrible of two terrible options. 

On the topic of terrible heir options, Cyn has non-stop wants to go on dates and have her first kiss and all that crap, and since our Sunday morning clubbing was a bust we invite over the matchmaker.

-Hello there young Union, I see your house has been upgraded since I was last here.

Oh right we haven’t required your services since Daniel was a teen and we lived in a trailer, well we are flush with cash now!

-Hopefully your payment reflects that.

It will!! Just please give us someone good, I can’t deal with single teen Cyn for one more second.

-Oh my, what a beautiful BLANK PIECE OF PAPER.

WHAT!? NO THAT’S 5K IT’S JUST A SNOW GLITCH 

-What do I look like to you, a money thawing service?

Does such a service.. exist??

-It does not, so I have to go home and use a hairdryer on this!

Just come inside and we’ll give you non-frozen money!

-No, no, you’ll get what you paid for..

-Have a magical time!

...

.........

......................

Lakshmi this was so fucking evil that I almost want to age you down and see if you and Shajar hit it off. 

-As if, the whole neighborhood knows what you did to Komei.

Helped him achieve his insane 6-pets-career LTW?

-Turned him into a servant while your sim was lounging around all day!

Oh yea I did do that. But Wyatt was also a townie and he does literally nothing, Jojo is the servant now!

-Only because Wyatt is too fucking stupid to do things! Word has gotten out, no townie will ever marry in this family again unless they’re brain dead, so it’s Wyatts only for you from now on, sister!

Well this has been a complete fucking disaster. It was great seeing you again, Lakshmi, thanks for the dream date with the adult farting machine, 5k well-spent.

Pretty sure it was you bro, and yes, how about we don’t do that again.

Wyatt has brought over Amanda from work! (Aka Victoria’s only friend and subsequent lesbian lover, who is really pretty and is definitely getting married in at some point, preferably after the brown hair genes have been weakened so we can go back to being gingers.)  

-Wow Shajar, your grandmother, God rest her soul, mentioned you were her favorite and now I can see why! Loving the Kylo Ren look!

-Is someone being genuinely nice to me?! What is happening?

-Yes, please stop being nice to her, Amanda, we don’t want her getting used to it.

Jojo istg.

-Cyneswith dear, tell Amanda all about how much money your grandmother left you so she can stop being nice to Shajar. 

-Soooo much money, Miss Amanda!

-Ah, what a polite child I’ve single-handedly raised.

-Now, Cyneswith, you really need to get back on the dating scene so you have ample time to find the perfect spouse and continue our line, since you’re clearly the only one of my children that is remotely heir material. 

-Dad, Shajar and Wulf are right next to you.

-Oh they are? I’m wearing my special contact lenses that make those disappointments invisible to me, but even better, they need to hear this. Shajar is a noogiesexual and thus incapable of reproduction, and Wulf is not even a Union, I mean have you seen that kid? Wyatt reproduced by himself like the amoeba he is. Now, your grandmother-

-YOU MENTIONED ME 3 TIMES AND HERE I AM

OH FUCK VICTORIA, deleting the default replacements gave you base game hair!!!!

-That’s the part you’re scared by, not my Beetlejuicesque entrance?

There’s literally nothing scarier than your ghost sporting this haircut for all eternity, I’m re-downloading that default immediately. 

-Oh mom, so good to see you! Let me just hug my beloved child, Shijer-

-Shajar, dad.

-SHAJAR, let me hug Shajar, like I do all the time. 

-I’m glad to see you’re not picking favorites among your children like I did, the way I treated David-

-Daniel, mom.

-DANIEL, is the one thing I’ve truly been regretting in the afterlife. That and not skinning Marisa Bendett alive when I had the chance. 

-Well, as you can see by Shajar’s totally normal and not at all shocked reaction to my hug, I am a wonderful, fair, and emotionally available father. 

(Bruh this freaked me out so much when it happened, I mean I KNOW it’s an animation glitch but I was convinced my sims had become sentient for a good while after)

-Is your grandmother’s ghost still on the premises?

-Yup. 

-When will this nightmare end, paying attention to you is the worst. 

-Ok she’s gone.

-FINALLY. Now it’s back to the crypt for you, and don’t you dare go complain to her urn!

-Ah, Stephen, Stephen, my life is crap and I can’t even🎵

And with the knowledge you have composed a theme song for Stephen Tinker, part 1 of the Union comeback update is concluded. Will Shajar’s sexual orientation reveal itself? Will Cyneswith find true love? Will Jojo become a werewolf? Will Wulf continue to be the only dignified member of this family? Will D’vorah have kittens? Will Wyatt do literally anything worth mentioning? Tune in for parts 2 & 3 to find out, unfollow button on the upper right corner for those who need it. 

[wakingbetweenworlds]

Reylo/Star Wars Tag

So, since I’m diving head first into the community after 5 years, I’ve been searching for ways to meet more of you. Anyway, I found this adorable Tag from @supremeprince-bensolo and thought I’d join in!

Rules: Answer the 25 questions and tag some people you think might like to play.

Tagging: I don’t really know anyone to tag, but I’m looking forward to getting to know some of you!

1. When did you start shipping Reylo?

I started shipping Reylo as more of an “oh this could be an interesting dynamic” type thing after watching The Force Awakens in 2015. The chemistry between Adam and Daisy, even as strangers/enemies, was compelling. It wasn’t until I watched The Last Jedi that I thought “yeah, this is totally a thing and I’m not the only crazy person that loves it”. The similarities between the two characters was fascinating.

2. Favorite Reylo moment?

Out of all 3 movies, my favorite Reylo moment is the first ‘force-bond’ scene while Rey is on Ahch-To. She’s still filled with so much anger and hatred for him, but Kylo is more interested in figuring out what is going on between them. To me, it illustrates the deeper motivations of the characters and their evolving relationship.

3. Three words to describe Reylo?

Conflict | Passion | Redemption

4. Favorite thing about Reylo?

My favorite thing about Reylo is, despite the difference in their upbringing, they have suffered in the same way. Both have been alienated from their families and forced into a role that they didn’t necessarily choose. Both are incredibly lonely and feel as though they are misunderstood by everyone close to them.

5. Favorite character?

Darth Vader. As an OT kid, I really don’t think another answer to this question exists. Vader has to be one of the most epic villains ever created. #LongLiveDarthDaddy

6. Favorite droid?

K2-SO. This may be a stretch, but come on! I just love the attitude!! Rogue One is a fantastic addition to Star Wars and Alan Tudyk is absolutely AMAZING!

7. Favorite planet?

This is tough. I’ll cheat and say it's a tie between Mustafar and Kashyyyk. Mustafar because of Vader. It would be a cool place to visit and explore. Kashyyyk because of the Wookiees. I mean, who wouldn’t want to live with Wookiees on a beautiful jungle planet?

8. Favorite spaceship?

Again, another tie. Of course, the Millenium Falcon is the most iconic ship in all of Star Wars. I seriously cried when I got to see it on my first trip to Galaxy’s Edge! Other than the Falcon, the one ship I would love to fly is the TIE Interceptor. That thing is just badass!

9. Favorite alien species?

JAWAS!!! Oh. My. God. I’ve been obsessed with Jawas since I was a kid! I used to parade around the house in a brown blanket shouting “UTINNI!” at literally everything! I just love those sneaky little ass holes!

10. Favorite actor/actress?

Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher. I know. I know. It’s the OT kid, again. Besides Star Wars, the only other movies I would watch as a kid were the Indiana Jones movies. I was 6 before I realized that not all movies had Harrison Ford in them. And Carrie? Forget it. She was the first female role model I had in movies. If Princess Leia could do it, so could I.

11. How did you get into Star Wars?

I can honestly say I can’t remember the first time I watched a Star Wars movie. I can remember watching Empire almost weekly as a kid. My dad had the OT on VHS and I would watch them whenever I had a chance.

12. Most memorable Star Wars moment?

Ugh. This one is hard! There are so many moments from each film and trilogy that stand out. I think I’m going to have to go with a Vader moment though. The scene in Rogue One where Vader hacks through everyone on the Rebellion ship. Shit. That has got to be one of the coolest, most well choreographed scenes. He’s the baddie to end all baddies!

13. Anakin Skywalker or Darth Vader?

Don’t get me wrong, I love Anakin. I love that the Prequels explain his backstory so well. I love that we get to see the conflict build in him and that his choices felt right at the time. And, I love how Haden portrays the character. BUT, Darth Vader is iconic. He’s truly the villain, no matter what his backstory says.

14. Ben Solo or Kylo Ren?

Ben Solo! So, here’s the thing. I don’t really see Kylo Ren as a separate entity. Kylo feels like a costume that Ben wears to protect himself. He becomes what he has to. Not to spoil anything from The Rise of Kylo Ren, but Ben is a victim of abuse. There’s no doubt about it. It’s canon. I don’t think he ever truly falls the way Anakin does. It feels like he finds a role he thinks he can play, so he puts on a costume and acts how he thinks he should.

15. OT, PT or ST?

OT!!! While I love all three trilogies, the Original will always have a special place in my heart. If it weren’t for those, I don’t know if I would love Star Wars as much as I do.

16. TLJ or ESB?

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK!! Are you kidding? There’s no contest. Yes, TLJ is amazing, but Empire is quintessential Star Wars. It has action, adventure, fantasy, violence, and romance that all of the other films try to emulate.

17. ROTS or ANH?

BIG OOF! I’m probably in the minority here, but Revenge of the Sith. I love the fall of Anakin Skywalker.

18. ROTJ or TFA?

Return of the Jedi. TFA is great and I love the new characters that it introduces, but ROTJ is amazing. Vader’s death is so poetic.

19. TPM or TROS?

I never thought I would find a Star Wars movie that I hate more than The Phantom Menace, but TROS did the damn thing. Like shit! What a HORRIBLE way to end a franchise that I’ve loved my entire life. Seriously, TROS is the Jar Jar Binks of the Star Wars universe.

20. Rogue One or Solo?

Don’t get me wrong! I LOVED Solo. Seriously, Donald Glover as young Lando is absolutely fantastic casting and seeing Han and Chewie’s backstory is perfect. BUT!! Rogue One’s storyline is much more compelling. It also has my favorite Vader scene….. sooooooo.

21. Favorite quote?

There are soooooo many fantastic quotes in Star Wars, but I’m going to have to go with one that always made me giggle. Master Yoda is the original savage.

“When 900 years old you reach, look as good you will not.”

22. Favourite meme?

I am literally obsessed with this little shit. I mean… Come on!!

23. Favourite gif?

Does this count?

24. If you could change one thing about the Skywalker Saga what would it be?

For the Rise of Skywalker to actually have a Skywalker rise? Is that really too much to ask? For there to be at least one Skywalker left at the end of the Skywalker Saga. No, still too much? Maybe, not have the nemesis of the Skywalker line survive though his granddaughter? Maybe have a female character that is strong enough on her own? One who doesn’t need some powerful dude ancestor to justify her strength. Ok. I’ll stop now.

25. Top 3 Star Wars movies?

EMPIRE STRIKES BACK

Rogue One

The Last Jedi

[fireflyfish]

9 and 12, cutie!

9. Ship

Fave: I’m going to have to go with the classic X-Wing from Episodes 4, 5 & 6. Yes, the aethersprites in the Clone Wars are cool and, yes, nothing will be as balletic, mesmerizing and sexy as the opening of Revenge of the Sith and those twin Jedi starfighters but I will never forget riding my bike around my neighborhood pretending to be Luke Skywalker in my X-Wing shooting down TIE fighters and fleeing Darth Vader who seems bizarrely obsessed with me for Reasons(tm and pointed look at the audience). 

Least: Kylo Ren’s Lego TiE fighter thingy NOW WITH RED BITS!!! like a guy who is really into cars and wants to prove his superiority even though you’re just there because “OOOO! SHINY” and not because you give a damn about the torque power in his bright red break pads and fancy drifting car that he doesn’t use to race or drift with and only comes out of the garage on sunny days with no rain. 

In a very close tie for my least favorite ship is that trigonometry homework question gone wrong in Rebels. That is too many triangles Thrawn. PUT THE TRIANGLES DOWN, ADMIRAL. NOBODY WANTS THIS TO GET VIOLENT you malevolent blueberry who should have been played by Mads Mikkelsen but I guess we’ll have to settle for his younger brother. 

12. Moment/Scene

Fave: IG-11 in Episode 8 of the Mandalorian, avenging Baby Yoda against the SNL jerkoffs who hurt him, zipping across the lava flats like wind resistance? What’s That? Streaking through the Navarro marketplace and single-handedly fucking up Moff Holy Shit It’s Giancarlo Esposito’s shit as he proves that he is the Best Damn Nurse Droid in the galaxy and when he says he’s going to protect he means he will protect Baby Yoda with absolute lethal force and I am there for it. 

Also… “Do not be sad. I was never alive.” I’m just going to lay down and die right here okay? My tears will water the earth and in spring (which is probably tomorrow in Texas) wildflowers will bloom and Dave Filoni won’t be able to hurt me anymore. 

Least: Starkiller base. Han Solo. Kylo Ren. You know which one I’m talking about. 

[haydennation]

Seventeen Magazine

(Holly Eagleson Seventeen; New York Vol. 64, Iss. 6, (Jun 2005): pgs.148-149) 

Though he's been called one of the best actors of his generation, Hayden Chrlstensen, 24, isn't like most young Hollywood stars. He doesn't obsessively hit the clubs or blab to the press about the girls he dates. Instead, this Canadian spends his energy on his work-and it shows. As a relatively unknown actor from Toronto, Hayden reportedly beat out stars like Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels.

He has a reputation for being intensely private, but we got this talented Star Wars actor to open up about his secret passion. By Holly Eagleson

Though he's been called one of the best actors of his generation, Hayden Chrlstensen, 24, isn't like most young Hollywood stars. He doesn't obsessively hit the clubs or blab to the press about the girls he dates. Instead, this Canadian spends his energy on his work-and it shows. As a relatively unknown actor from Toronto, Hayden reportedly beat out stars like Leonardo DiCaprio for the role of Anakin Skywalker in the Star Wars prequels. He also won rave reviews for playing a drug-addicted teen in 2001's Life as a House, and a journalist who fabricated stories in 2003's Shattered Glass. On May 19 you can see him turn into evil Darth Vader for Episode III-Revenge of the Sith, the final Star Wars installment While it marks the end of an era for the trilogy, Hayden's career is just warming up-and he let Seventeen in on his future plans.

17: Many of the characters you play are troubled and don't make the right choices. Why have you chosen these kinds of roles?

Hayden Christensen: I don't consider myself to be a very dark person, but I guess I have an affinity for the more shadowy side of life.

17: Where do you think that comes from?

HC: I wish I could tell you. I think I have an understanding for where the darker sides of life manifest themselves in people, and it's something I've been drawn to thus far in my work. But my next film, The Decameron [costarring Mischa Barton], is definitely a more lighthearted, irreverent sort of comedy. So, you know, I'm trying to diversify a bit.

17: When you filmed Episode II, there were rumors you dated Natalie Portman, but now you're rarely in the tabloids. Did you make a choice to avoid the spotlight?

HC: Um, a bit of a conscious choice. If I'm not working, I usually like to forget about work and live a life that's completely removed from filmmaking and anything that goes along with that. So I try to keep my personal life private as much as possible.

17: Do you have a best friend or confidante?

HC: I've got a good core group of friends, mostly people I've grown up with-I can share most anything with them, and vice versa. One is my best friend from when I was 7 years old, who lived five houses down the block. When I'm home, I more or less spend every waking second of the day with him. He's in university studying architecture and doing the whole studious thing-nothing like what I do.

17: Do you ever regret not going to college?

HC: I don't regret anything. But it's definitely an experience I think I've missed out on, and I would like to have some form of that experience at a later time. I'd like to go to school for at least a year. Maybe study English literature, something along those lines-nothing to do with acting.

17: You've done some screenwriting too?

HC: Yeah, a little bit. And I used to write in high school. I loved it-the freedom. It's a solitary means of expression, where you can lock yourself in a room for a couple of days and just come up with your own stories. And I've always found that appealing because I'm a bit of a hermit myself.

17: Where do you see yourself in 10 years?

HC: Ooh, I have absolutely no idea.

17: Does that scare you?

HC: No, that's always how I approach life. I believe in the process and just letting things happen in their own time. It's worked for me thus far, and I don't want to force things. Ten years from now, I'd like to have spent a little time in school-that's about the extent of it.

17: Do you want to get married someday?

HC: I definitely want a family at some point. I don't know if that's within the next 10 years, though!

"I definitely want a family at some point."

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 13 November 2017

Quick Bits:

Babyteeth #6 opens the floodgates of story after getting through the initial hurdle of getting Sadie and Clark out of imminent danger. Donny Cates gives us more depth as to what’s going on broader picture of the world and introduces us to the cult geared to protecting and raising Clark.

| Published by AfterShock

Black Science #33 has the shit hit the fan as the confrontation between Grant and Kadir reaches its peak and then reality breaks. The mix of mad science and philosophy from Rick Remender on display here is wonderful, seeing a representation of Platonic ideals mapped onto quantum realities in a kind of unfurling of Gnostic cosmology is impressive. So too is Matteo Scalera’s art. He and Moreno Diniso really get to cut loose this issue and it looks wonderful.

| Published by Image / Giant Generator

Bloodshot Salvation #3 gives a revelation to the “soon” timeline of what’s happened to Ray, while in the “now” we get a confrontation between Ray and Daddy, Colin King helping out Magic, and Project Omen causing complications. I probably sound like a broken record, but Jeff Lemire, Lewis LaRosa, and Mico Suayan are doing some great things with this series.

| Published by Valiant

Brilliant Trash #1 is an interesting take on superheroes. It’s a mix of government conspiracy and potentially mad science, told from the perspective of a journalist looking for a story in the appearance of a V-like figure, Lady Lastword’s, final speech and death. Tim Seely’s got something interesting here. Priscilla Petraites’ art is also quite nice, kind of a mix between Jamie McKelvie and Phil Hester.

| Published by AfterShock

Dark Fang #1 continues the trend of not naming the protagonist in the body of the first issue. The solicitation copy and end piece are what’s needed to piece together the full premise of the series and name of the protagonist. That said, Miles Gunter does have a decent story here. It’s environmentalism through the lens of a centenarian vampire, Valla, who was friends with a fish until modern industry destroyed her ecosystem. But first, earning money as a cam girl and getting caught up in society’s obsession with cell phones and the internet. The art from Kelsey Shannon is a definite plus.

| Published by Image

Deadpool vs. Old Man Logan #2 is every bit as fun, humorous, and action-packed as the first issue. Declan Shalvey has a great feel for both Wade and Logan and Mike Henderson’s art is truly wonderful. Only two issues in and this is just a fun, must-have wild ride.

| Published by Marvel

Evolution #1 is a very strong debut issue with multiple voices brought together by the singular visuals of Joe Infurnari. Infurnari has a style that is a bit Tom Mandrake and a bit Bill Sienkiewicz and it is absolutely perfect. If you like David Cronenberg’s early horror films, even just a little bit, you owe it to yourself to at least check this out.

| Published by Image / Skybound

The Family Trade #2 continues Jessa’s investigations into Berghardt and Mikkaelsen despite the protestation and outright prohibition by her Family. Her technique of getting close by blending in as a simple cleaning woman is a nice touch. The end, though, suffers a bit in who exactly Jessa is speaking to. I think it’s supposed to be her uncle, but I’m not sure.

| Published by Image

Fence #1 gives me the impression that everyone, even the protagonist, involved in competitive fencing is an asshole. That’s not necessarily a good impression of the sport, and gives a poor outlook on who to “cheer” for in the endeavour, but it may be an accurate depiction. Especially since many sports seem to be populated by jerks.

| Published by BOOM! Entertainment / Boom! Box

Generation Gone #5 is a suitably insane conclusion to the first arc of this series. It’s violent, angry, and explosive - kind of like how you’d expect kids to react when they find out that the world is designed to see them fail. André Lima Araújo’s art has just been fantastic on this series.

| Published by Image

Hawkeye #12 is a team-up issue between Kate and Laura (All-New Wolverine) with Gabby and Jonathan in tow as well, illustrated by guest artist Michael Walsh who is easily proving he’s a force to contend with. This issue looks great and is fun as hell.

| Published by Marvel

Jenny Finn #1 now in colour. If you haven’t read this masterpiece of Lovecraftian lit from Mike Mignola and Troy Nixey before, now’s a good time to do so. If you have, especially since this has been reprinted and repackaged a few times before, you’ll have to decide whether or not you want Dave Stewart’s colour. There was something to be said for the original black and white, although the colour version’s not bad.

| Published by Dark Horse

Kill the Minotaur #6 is both an expected and unexpected conclusion to the series. Ariadne and Theseus’ confrontation of the Minotaur is suitably epic. I can’t say much more than that because they’d be massive spoilers, so enjoy this amazing artwork from Lukas Ketner.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Killer Instinct #2 does what I was afraid the first issue was going to do and dumps a lot of characters with intricate backstories from the game on us in one go. Where the first issue mainly focused on one character to ease us into the world, this issue gives us more of the Coven, a bunch of characters fighting over the Killer Instinct Tournament, and Jago. While the Jago and Tsar bits are fairly well executed, the central bit over Ultratech is a bit of sludge. As I said in response to the first issue, I’ve never played the game and know little about the world, so this felt a bit like being dropped right in the deep end. The art from Cam Adams is still nice, though.

| Published by Dynamite

Maestros #2 quickly installs Will as the new Maestro and he begins making sweeping changes to the multiverse’s society, trying to bring concepts like equality and freedom to a world that only seems to know subjugation under magical will. It’s an interesting exploration of sociopolitical ideas from Steve Skroce and naturally it brings about severe pushback from those previously in charge. And betrayal.

| Published by Image

Mech Cadet Yu #4 features the cadets first full on confrontation with the Sharg and it’s about as exciting as you would expect. Takeshi Miyazawa’s art is just wonderful and it’s really nice to see Yu thinking on his feet during the battle to ensure the continued survival of the entire team.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Minky Woodcock: The Girl Who Handcuffed Houdini #1 is interesting. The relationship between Harry Houdini and Sir Arthur Conan Doyle has certainly been in the zeitgeist lately, this one doing something different and focusing on the end of Houdini’s career, long since the two had their falling out. Cynthia von Buhler sets up Minky looking into Houdini debunking spiritualists at the request of Doyle fairly well, but the main enticement is von Buhler’s art. She has a style that reminds me a bit of Melinda Gebbie and it works incredibly well for the smoky, pulpy atmosphere of the story.

| Published by Titan / Hard Case Crime

Misfit City #7 lines up the dominoes in this penultimate issue. Overall this has been a great series and I’m excited to see how it ends. That being said, I wish there were more. The world needs more girl adventurer books and this one has been excellent.

| Published by BOOM! Entertainment / Boom! Box

Ninja-K #1 is a damn fine new direction for Colin King, looking deep into the past of the Programme, dealing with the history of Ninjas A through L, and putting forth a mystery as to who killed Ninja-D and appears to be targeting the other remaining operatives. Christos Gage gives us a compelling mix of mystery and spy thriller that’s only topped by Tomás Giorello’s incredible artwork. Damn fine work.

| Published by Valiant

Rasputin: The Voice of the Dragon #1 begins another pre-Hellboy, pre-BPRD series tying numerous disparate threads together and giving more backstory on the world. This first issue focuses more on Trevor Bruttenholm tracking down a decrypted Nazi message, but it could be about a talking head describing how to prepare an avocado because Christopher Mitten makes everything look amazing. Thankfully, though, the story isn’t bad either.

| Published by Dark Horse

The Realm #3 reveals some chinks in the baddies’ armour as strong personalities clash. The artwork from Jeremy Haun is again one of the main drawing factors. This series just looks great.

| Published by Image

Retcon #3 finally gets around to the premise that Matt Nixon and Toby Cypress were on about in the interview in the first issue. I’m thinking maybe for a storytelling point, they should have led with this, but it does give the series a better cohesion and purpose. This was the make or break issue for me and Crowley ripped from time to tattoo a baby won me over.

| Published by Image

Star Wars: Darth Vader #8 continues Jocasta Nu’s infiltration of the Jedi Archive to retrieve an artifact from under the nose of the Grand Inquisitor. This issue gets a little...explosive.

| Published by Marvel

Star Wars: Doctor Aphra #14 is Emilio Laiso’s debut on the comic and the artwork looks gorgeous. He did a great job on the Rogue One adaptation and it’s nice to see him back on a Star Wars title. Even if I’m going to miss the hell out of Kev Walker’s art.

| Published by Marvel

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #76 allows no rest for the turtles as they return home from Dimension X, also after the brief excursion with the Ghostbusters. Damian Courciero looks like he’s handling the art chores for this arc and it’s a welcome addition. He has a darker, somewhat more realistic style and it suits the chaos and destruction going on with the Earth Protection Force’s first contact with the Triceratons.

| Published by IDW

Unholy Grail #4 continues this dark and twisted retelling of the Arthurian legend. Part of what really works about this series, though, is that it really isn’t that far removed from the other stories of glorious knights and magic, just given a different context,

| Published by AfterShock

Other Highlights: Adrift, Alien Bounty Hunter #2, Amazing Spider-Man #791, Ben Reilly: Scarlet Spider #10, Bolivar, Champions #14, Curse Words #10, Defenders #7, Descender #26, Doctor Strange #381, Dreadful Beauty: The Art of Providence, East of West #33, Guardians of the Galaxy #147, Horizon #16, Incidentals #4, Incredible Hulk #710, James Bond: Kill Chain #5, Mage: The Hero Denied #4, Mighty Thor #701, Not Brand Echh #14, Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man #297, Postal #24, Punisher #218, Ringside #13, Secret Warriors #8, Sheena: Queen of the Jungle #3, TMNT/Ghostbusters 2 #3, The Wicked & The Divine #33, X-Men Blue #15, Zojaqan #2

Recommended Collections: Ab Irato, Goldie Vance - Volume 3, James Bond - Volume 1: Vargr, Journey to Star Wars: The Last Jedi - Star Wars: Captain Phasma, Luke Cage - Volume 1: Sins of the Father, Nancy Drew & The Hardy Boys: The Big Lie, Regression - Volume 1: Way Down Deep, Rough Riders - Volume 2: Riders on the Storm, Star Wars: Poe Dameron - Volume 3: Legends Lost, World Reader - Volume 1

d. emerson eddy knows that evolution is a mystery, full of change that no one sees. He sees the line in the sand.

[kitsunesongs]

Tagged by: @likealieafonthewind

Rules: tag 10 of your followers that you want to know better!

Nicknames: Ali

Height: 5′4″

Time right now: 2:25pm

Last thing I googled: アナオビ (that’s anaobi in japanese, because I am obsessed and desperate)

Favorite music artist: Uhhhhhhh, ABBA? David Bowie...Beyonce, Adele...pretty much any/everything/one?

Song stuck in my head: Where You Are from Moana

Last movie I watched: I can’t remember, it was a while ago...maybe Rogue One?

Last tv show i watched: The Clone Wars

What I’m wearing right now: White t-shirt with purple picture on it, loose black pants, pink jacket around my waist for the pocket. 

When I created this blog: UHHHHHH (Checks archive)

The kind of stuff I post: Fandom stuff - fics, fic ideas, gifsets and art, rec lists - pretty much anything that catches my eye as I browse, I reblog or like.

Do you have other blogs: I used to have a livejournal and a Dreamwidth, and an extra tumblr for KenshinTomoe from Rurouni Kenshin.

Do I get asks regularly: Nope!

Why did I chose my url: I had it as Dragons_Songs, got sick of the dash, couldn’t use dragonssongs, changed it to kitsunesongs, because I  love kitsune!

Gender: Female

Hogwarts house: Hufflepuff

Pokemon team: ????? Uh...blue?

Favorite colors: Purple! Also, pinks greens and blues - but mostly purple.

Average hours of sleep: like, 10-12 - I sleep a lot.

Lucky number: 5628. Or, you know, 6.

Favorite characters: OOH boy. Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker (Darth Vader), Padme Amidala, Ahsoka Tano, Riyo Chuchi, Rex, Cody, Mace WIndu, Shmi Skywalker, The Daughter/Winged Goddess...I could go on forever. MOstly Obi-Wan though. He’s my absolute favorite!

Dream job: Writer.

Number of blankets I sleep with: 1 light blanket, and 2 doonas - one light and one heavy, for differing weather.

Following: 73

Tagging: Anyone who wants to, I guess?

[lovemesomesurveys]

1. Have you had an argument with anyone recently? If so, do you still have issues with that person?

No.

2. Are you talking to anyone while filling this in? How about texting / chatting on Facebook?

Nope. I’m just doing my own thing.

3. Have you done something recently that helped someone else, in any way?

My cousin texted me earlier asking for help with some school related. She’s coming over tomorrow so I can help her in person.

4. What kind of mood are you in atm? Is someone else responsible for that mood?

I’m in my usual blah mood.

5. Has someone of the opposite sex been getting on your nerves lately?

No.

6. Who was the last person that asked to hang out with you? Tell me the story of how you met that person, everything you remember.

My friend, Arynthya. We had a class together a few years ago and we also both attended the after class study sessions with the TA. We just got to know each other and became friends.

7. If you knew that one of your friends was considering suicide, what would you say to them?

I have been in that situation with a friend. I was there for her, listened to her, and let her vent about anything and everything. I was just there for her and let her know that she wasn’t alone.

8. Have you ever felt so depressed that you were struggling to carry on? If so, what would you say to someone else who was in that situation?

Mhm...

9. Have you ever worn coloured mascara? If not, would you ever think about trying it? And if you have, what is / was your favourite colour to wear?

No. I just like to wear black mascara.

10. What do you remember about your first day of secondary school? Were you more nervous or excited about it?

I was suuuuper nervous. The school was bigger, and I’d be thrown into classes with new people and that’s scary. I went to a K-8th grade school with majority of the same people throughout, so yeah. I was worried about getting lost on the first day, and about my teachers. Also, movies about high school did not give a good impression, and that scared me as well.

11. Who was the last person to pay you a compliment?

This lady at Wal-Mart.

12. Tell me about the shirt you’re wearing. Is it one of your favourites?

I’m wearing a gray sweatshirt with Darth Vader on it. It is one of my favorites.

13. Is there anything that’s happened in the past month, that you wish you could go back in time and change?

Yes.

14. What colour is your purse / wallet?

My purse is gray and black, but it has an Alice in Wonderland design on it that’s super cute. I get a lot of compliments on it. My wallet is white and has colorful giraffes on it.

15. What’s the closest item to you that’s black?

My Ninja Coffee Bar.

16. Do you think guys see your mother as a ‘yummy mummy’?

Wtf. My mom is beautiful, but what an odd question to ask. I don’t want to think about guys thinking of my mom that way.

17. Is there a certain name that you think seems to have become really popular, and you know lots of people with that same name?

Not that I can think of at the moment. I’m sure there is. When I was in elementary school, my name was quite common. There were like four other Stephanie’s in my class.

18. What’s the most expensive item in your make-up bag?

I’m not sure. Probably the eye shadow palette I got for Christmas, but I don’t know how much it is.

19. Think about what you looked like 5 years ago. How did you look different, compared to the way you look now?

My red hair is the biggest difference. Other than that, I look the same.

20. Who was the last person of the opposite sex to text you? Do you think that person is attracted to you?

My dad, and uh no absolutely not.

21. Before Facebook became popular, did you use any other social networking site, like Bebo or Myspace?

I used MySpace. Funny how that was like the thing back in the day, and then it just literally died.

22. Has anyone ever asked you out, and you turned them down? If so, did you feel guilty about it? Why do you think you said no?

Yes. I felt bad when it was someone I knew, but I’ve had a couple random guys I didn’t know at all come up and ask me and I didn’t feel bad about saying no to them.

23. Name the last three people of the opposite sex that you talked to. What did you talk about?

My dad, brother, and... it must have been my other brother. I haven’t talked to any other guys besides my dad and younger brother in awhile.

24. Who is your most recent text message from? Has that person ever told you that they love you?

My dad. Yes, he has.

25. Have you ever asked anyone “Do you love me?” If so, did you get the response you wanted? Do you think when someone says “I love you”, you feel obliged to say it back?

Not anyone in the romantic sense, no. I ask my mom that sometimes as a joke. I’ll be like, “You don’t love me, do you?” if she doesn’t want to get me fast food or coffee or something lol. Other than family, I haven’t said it to anyone else. I feel weird. It’s not something I just throw around. I’ve had my friend’s mom say that to me, and I was just like, “Awww, thank you.” Ahahaha.

26. I know it’s a depressing thought, but have you ever actually tried to imagine what the end of the world might be like?

I try to not think about that because it sounds terrifying.

27. Which Disney princess do you think is the most beautiful? Why?

Hmm. Ariel because she has long, flowing red hair and that’s goals for me.

28. Someone tells you that you’re wasting your time with the person you like. What do you say?

Well, maybe you’re right. However, I don’t consider spending time with someone and having someone in my life who brings me happiness and seems to genuinely care about me, whether it’s just as a friend or not, as time wasted. We’ve had a lot of good times together.  I miss that a lot, and I hope we can get back to it soon.

29. Has anything happened in the last 7 days that you’d like to forget?

Not particularly.

30. Has someone of the opposite sex ever sang to you? If so, how did you respond to it?

Yes. It was sweet.

31. When did you last hug someone of the opposite sex?

A couple weeks ago. That reminds me, in regards to the other question about the last three males I talked to, it was actually my cousin and not my older brother.

32. Have you ever seen the film “Casablanca”? Did you like it?

I have not.

33. If you’ve had a bad experience in a past relationship, did you find that you were scared to get into another relationship, in case the same thing happened again?

After the Joseph situation, I was scared to fall for someone else again and open my heart to someone else with the chance of getting hurt again.

34. Are you friends with the last person you hugged, or something more?

He’s my cousin.

35. Do you ever post song lyrics as your Facebook status?

I used to that now and again. I haven’t in a long time. I rarely post statuses anymore.

36. How many girls do you know with the name ‘Georgina?’

Zero.

38. Do you drink alcohol on a regular basis, or do you prefer to save it for special occasions?

I don’t drink anymore. It’s been like four years.

39. Do you have a relative whose name begins with ‘L’? Tell me about him / her.

Actually, no I don’t.

40. Did you play with Barbies when you were a kid, or did you prefer something else?

I was obsessed with Barbies.

41. Are you a secretive person?

I keep to myself a lot in “real” life, but online I share a lot.

42. When did you last eat?

A couple hours ago.

43. If you were going to buy a present for the person you love / like, what would you generally choose?

Hmm. I don’t know at the moment.

44. Do you plan on kissing the last person you kissed, again?

No.

45. If I’m going to buy you a box of chocolates, which kind should I definitely NOT get?

I don’t like dark chocolate at all.

46. If you met the celebrity that you most admire, what would be the first thing you’d say to him/her?

Oh man. I’d be such a nervous wreck I probably couldn’t come up with something coherent.

47. Has anyone ever told you that you are special? If so, do you think that person meant it?

Yes. One I don’t think did and was just saying what he felt like he should say, and the other I do think he meant it. At the time.

48. Is there something you generally always ask for help with?

Yes.

49. If you had to give up your phone or your computer, which would it be?

My phone. I spend all my time on my laptop.

50. Has anyone called you gorgeous / beautiful today?

Ha, no. Not with the way I look.