#i think ive used that caption before but eh...

[killjo-q]

Malenia my beloved

[yensunflowers]

so i saw this post about how modern nhs would use his phone as a equivalent of a fan. and tricking people into thinking he's not listening when is. and i added my own 5 cents and now i have a drabble! unspecified modern au with nhs as wwx's and jc's problem radar because it's not the gusu trio if they don't get themselves into some problems! unedited + written late, i might expand this au later... maybe

He was a party soul, honestly. He loved going out and spending time with people, listening to music, dancing, and anything but spending time studying. And it was no surprise that Huaisang was now sitting on someone's couch, in someone's house, he didn't really know the owner– But a good party wasn't happening every day! 

"...nah, no, we'll deal with him quickly."

He was alone though, with only his phone to keep him company. But it wasn't a problem really, he hadn't checked his Instagram feed for an hour now, so he had plenty of things to waste time on. Until someone comes up to dance with him. 

"Are you sure?"

He sighed. It would be great if someone did... Despite all his love for social media and all, he didn't really want to spend this whole night just on his phone, listening to the party noises. 

"Obviously! Come on, he's just a fucking brat who thinks he's in power now. All bark but no fucking bite."

His finger stopped mid-scrolling, his attention caught by a photo posted by one of his friends. Eh, Jiang Cheng wasn't a person to post anything often, so it was a big occasion! He tapped the screen twice and quickly opened the comments section. 

"I don't know, he seems strong... he beat up two people at once."

He typed a short comment about the photo and how shocking it is to see him active at all, before closing off the app. Though, he was even more surprised to see that almost instantly he got a notification back. 

"But they were unprepared losers. I'll get the old man's people, get some knives or something and we will fucking deal with the fucker."

It took him no time to open direct messages with Jiang Cheng, seeing that he was online. He was bored, alright? And Jiang Cheng was the perfect person to text! Well, maybe because he was sometimes funny to tease... 

"...you want to kill him?"

He texted him about how he was at some boring party and had no one to dance with, he had no one else to bother in other words. As if Jiang Cheng cared, was the reply. 

"Nah, wouldn't risk jail because of trash like him. Just stab him to show who's actually in power and that's it. A warning, you know."

Nie Huaisang sighed heavily and clicked out of the app again. He stared at the screen for a moment and opened the camera instead. He posed to the camera, opting for the same, well known pose he had in most of his party photos. 

"I don't want to deal with his brother if anything serious happens to him, though." 

It took him a moment to actually make a good photo, good quality, and all in this party lighting, but he looked super cute! He opened Instagram again and posted the said picture. He couldn't be bothered with a good caption, so instead, he just put the first emoji he had in his recent ones and tapped "post". 

"Ha! As if he cares about this annoying orphan... He will thank us for dealing with him, watch it."

And then, he opened his direct messages with Jiang Cheng again. 

you: you better watch ur brother btw

jiang cheng: why

you: [pic]

The photo was showing two guys sitting near the couch Huaisang was occupying. If they were a little less obnoxious and not so fucking loud, maybe he wouldn't hear their full conversation and their plan would succeed, but, well! Maybe if they cared about their surroundings more. 

you: ive been listening to them talk for some time

you: and they might be out for wei-xiongs blood

you: this time literally 

jiang cheng: fuck

jiang cheng: what the fuck 

you: take care, you two

Nie Huaisang tapped out of the app and raised his eyes from the phone. His gaze lingered on the two men, talking loudly and drinking some random liquor he was sure wasn't even party sponsored until his phone screen went black.

Well, he should sit around for some more, maybe. Who knows what else he would accidentally hear? He pulled out his earphones. This is going to be a long, long night it seems.

[tartagliaxx]

hm, why do i have a weird feeling that you're gonna be very cautious of every link that i give to you? honestly, that's probably not a bad decision lololol

also, here's a song that rlly reminds me of my nonexistent childhood. there's english captions btw. it makes me weirdly nostalgic even though i'm not exactly 'old' yet. pinky promise that it's not another rick roll or a blessed cursed video that randomly popped up in my recommendations :))

— r. anon

clickable link for the last ask here!

* * *

i mean... even if i was wary (in which case, i am), i would still click on the links bc i trust people too much and hello?? it’s you?? how can i not? on the other hand, that song is on my uh ‘when i need to write angst’ playlist and one of my favorites from kenshi yonezu. it hits different when you read the lyrics but when i’m just vibing to it, it still hits bc the melody and idk... the feelings reach you regardless. it’s bittersweet almost and im just... sobbing.

stonehide lawachurls? is that one of the new challenges? i havent tried it out yet but it sounds like a drag. honestly the shooting game is the one i liked the most bc it almost serves as target practice for venti. as you know, i am a newly converted pc player from mobile and archery in mobile is... ehe. and the gliding one. ugh. i suck at gliding and im not very good at choosing which way to go. the rhythm one is fun too. i didn’t play osu on pc so it took a bit to figure out how to control but ig piano lessons helped me calm down and match beats. honestly, i just top the scores i need to get the rewards and stop. i havent really tried beating highscores yet bc i was doing the hangouts yesterday.

i think im good w the games? they are pretty easy when you get the hang of it but istg i can’t do barrage minuet. i mean i can but i cant dodge all of it which is what i need to fully do all the things in the first list. do u wanna co-op the mini-games? it sounds fun to play w someone.

honestly same! this is the first weekend i didn’t need to worry about passing smth and it really feels liberating. like i actually have control over my life and i can freely do the things i love to do w/o worrying abt anything. the feeling you get abt being anxious bc you dont have anything to be anxious about? felt and valid. im so used to worrying abt missing smth bc i feel too free but ive been so overworked that i can barely care rn. ig thats just proof that we hold so much anxiety in us. i hope you took this time to rest and rejuvenate regardless!

it’s actually a holiday here today so no classes. just more hours spent on genshin, farming and farming.

i watched that before (a bop btw) and pls?? kaeya?? good boy?? diluc?? bad boy?? no ❤️

[refractedglade]

do all of them. or the odds. or the evens. honestly just do some I'm tired and dont feel like reading through them all :/

this is honestly a lot so it gets a cut. also wow way to abuse the question ask.

1. do you have any recurring dreams? what are they?

only ever had one I think, and that was back in… probably elementary school? I had monthly nightmares thanks to one of the least frightening episodes of Courage the Cowardly Dog, god bless you young me you tried your best

2. what is your favourite kind of fruit?

im torn between grapes and apples

3. sweet or savoury?

savory

4. what is your smallest/pettiest fear? 

not even sure what the hell that means uhhhhhhhh

the fear that i am or will be mediocre at video games. it sounds dumb but at this point it’s one of the only quote-unquote skills I have that I can identify and im afraid to lose that

5. what is your least favourite vegetable?

peas

6. what is your favourite art movement?

surrealism I guess? I don’t know much about art movements tbh

7. do you drink milk?

fuck yes i do

8. what was the last line of the last book you read?

“A mob of Surly Thugs are there to greet you.

TO BE EVEN MORE CONTINUED.”

9. do you like bitter food?

not really

10. what is the most significant event in your life so far?

probably one of the several times i’ve moved since that always leads to meeting new people

12. what is your favourite breed of dog or cat?

I love labradors.

13. list your top 5 favourite turtle names.

what

uh

Leonardo

Donatello

Michelangelo

Raphael

and uhhhhhhh

Coco Jumbo

14. what job would you have if you could have it without going through all of the school or experience that is required?

if I didnt have that Id probably get fired very soon for being shit at my job, but lets say public attorney, see how far I get in that bullshit

15. are there any names that you dislike so much that you would dislike the person with the name? what are those names?

no not really

16. what is your favourite letter?

either R or T, they’re both such helpful shortcuts for web browsing

17. are there any instruments you wished you played?

I wish I had continued learning piano when I was younger. I was in the middle of lessons when we moved for the second time and we just never got another teacher.

18. list your best friends.

@verbalmoonwalking and honestly even though we haven’t talked much in forever @wombathills

19. would you rather be a skeleton or a ghost?

a ghost, way more opportunities and less of a hassle (imagine trying to navigate through the world as reanimated bones)

also there’s already some people i’ve promised to haunt

20. do you prefer fish or lizards/snakes? (as pets)

i dont have much experience with lizards or snakes (although I did have an anole for a year or so). i guess fish, they’re just so incredibly low-maintenance

21. art or music?

weird way to phrase that considering music is art but music

22. what is your favourite type of flower?

unfortunately Ive never learned much about flowers, but I do really like when they’re blue

23. soup or salad?

souuuuup

24. are you good at keeping plants alive?

surprisingly yes! I’ve had two plants growing since late winter/early spring I think

25. do animals tend to like you?

heck yeaaaah

26. what is the worst book you’ve ever read?

the Book of Leviticus

there’s not really a good answer to this, if a book is terrible I either never got far enough to remember or read it for a school assignment and promptly forgot about it

27. do you collect anything?

too many thing, and most of them only for short periods of time. the only consistent collection i have is my Halley Labs music collection

28. how many pillows do you sleep with?

right now just two, used to be three

29. whats the latest you’ve ever woken up?

5 in the evening i think? I forget details since its been a few years, but after an all-nighter I pulled during my first finals of college I passed out at around 6 pm and woke up almost a full day later

no wait addendum: i think like 1-3 in the morning because of falling asleep around 8-11 am.

30. how many pictures are on your walls?

my room has… a painting and a poster

31. what age did you stop keeping stuffed animals on your bed?

honestly? i didn’t

32. what is your favourite candy?

Butterfinger, or if in moderation Twizzlers

33. what is your favourite baked good?

its not the real answer but a vivid image of a steaming baked potato keeps appearing in my head

actually the more i think about it the better that sounds, like its plain but theres a lot of room for customization there

34. do you have a camera? if so, what kind?

yeah, i actually sort of inherited it recently from my late grandfather, though I haven’t actually,,, used it yet.

35. do you wear jewelry?

nope, used to wear a fidget ring a lot but who knows where that went. if i ever find a really cool necklace I’ll probably start wearing that all the time though.

36. sunrise or sunset?

sunset, sunrises are pretty but its a pain in the ass waking up the early

also seeing something like that in the evening is just a better state of mind imo

37. do you like to listen to music with headphones or no headphones?

depends on both the music and my mood, generally at this point no headphones though just because when i listen to music its while driving

38. what was your favourite show as a child?

I had a weird sense of almost reverence for Digimon as a kid. My mom had forbidden me from watching Pokemon, and I only ever saw like 3 episode of DIgimon once by accident because a day care had their cassette tape. I barely saw any of it but I loved it.

Season 3 aka DIgimon Tamers is still a solid series, and I still vividly remember watching season 4 on TV when I was slightly older and finding it weird but cool (4 was where they could actually like combine with their digimon)

39. describe your favourite spot in your house.

im the basement goblin so the couch down there is for all intents and purposes mine. also its right next to the room with the heater so hell yeah.

40. do you like to be warm or cold?

I like to be in slightly cold environments so I can be the kind of warm that isn’t just warm but warmed up, like the feeling of being warm when things are cold is very good.

41. the best joke you have.

i think the best jokes i ever did done was editing like 20 different photos of a friend of mine into dumb joke images

one was his face on a tube of laundry soap with some dumb caption along the lines of “ah, this is my life now”

42. whats the weirdest thing that you’ve seen happen in a public place?

first thing that comes to mind is a futon frame on the side of a highway. now let me clarify:

-it was sitting upright, not like it had been tossed aside

-it was on the INSIDE side, not the outside

-no mattress in sight

just… there.

43. CD or digital?

CD, I’ve been conditioned to love owning physical copies of stuff. On that note, also cassette.

44. who do you miss right now?

good friends, my dog, my will to live….

45. if you could combine two places in the world, which two places would you choose?

if by world you meant universe, lets combine earth with some other planet and see what the fuck happens

if you meant earth then Michigan and Ohio, that’d make some shit way more convenient for me

46. describe the worst substitute teacher you’ve ever had.

one of my high school english teachers went on maternity leave, and so we had a sub for about ¾ of the school year. i forget a lot of why the class hated her but a lot of it just came down to she was not good at teaching, and we had to deal with that for almost a whole year.

47. do you believe horoscopes?

short answer is no. less short answer is that while I don’t really believe anything like that, i still enjoy looking at and considering them, especially when they’re in shitpost format.

my sister came back from a mission trip to Africa a while ago and brought me back a small gift she got overseas, a pair of small handmade dice. i’ve developed a habit where on some mornings I’ll roll them before my day starts to see how high I roll, and sometimes interpret that as what the day might be like. do i believe it? not especially. but I almost sort of pretend to believe it. that’s sort of how i treat horoscopes, except even a little less than that.

48. are you spiritual?

eh

49. describe your pets ( or family if you dont have pets )

we had an extremely good dog named Zeus for a long time. yellow lab, energetic as hell in his youth and even in his old age. started having pain in his legs as he got older and eventually we had to put him down a year or so back.

he’s honestly part of the reason im not sure about getting pets in the future, i dont know if I want to go through that again.

50. are you good at getting over mistakes?

I guess? I mean I’m good at getting over that post-”I fucked up” anxiety for sure, that’s a skill I learned in college within like a year. After a bad test or something I just started forcing myself to say “fuck it it’s over can’t change anything now.”

[othercat2]

fic: two for mirth 36/?

[terminusgladiates.bubblr-fatima.com/chrono]

anonymous asks terminusgladiates: All you are is a creepy brainwashed freak. There are people still recovering from horrific abuse at the hands of Trolls and here you are talking about how slavery isn’t that bad.

nope

pretty sure i never said that looking through all my posts so far and i am pretty sure i never said that

what i did say was that i was pretty lucky after a pretty bad time

more lucky than i think i deserve sometimes when someone else had it worse

(doctor lalonde is at my shoulder right now saying how it’s not a competition about how worse someone else had it)

and if you are saying im brainwashed dont that mean i too am recovering from horrific abuse

because brainwashing = horrific abuse

do you have an ideal template of how an abuse victim is supposed to act that i could follow

im serious here how can i behave in a way you want me too brosis so ill meet your standards

[translator: John Egbert]

calamitycats asks terminusgladiates: Bearing in mind you might not be able to answer. Does anyone decide what you’re going to say?

eh yes and no i pretty much started posting/uploading on my own

wanted to get the ball rolling early before the tabloids did about the capital r relationship

i may have gotten in a tiny amount of trouble with the ambassador

the emissary didnt care though and the actual team handling the press didnt have a problem with it

the emissary reads over my shoulder sometimes and critiques my writing

doctor lalonde occasionally suggests better language

and theres egbert who mostly translates

the only post so far that was nixed was a poll for the other half of the emissarys title

i am not allowed to crowdsource sobriquets

srsly though Loudyell would be the best name

[translator: John Egbert]

Edit to add:

[Note from Emissary: NO IT WOULDN’T STOP TRYING TO MAKE LOUDYELL HAPPEN]

golgothasterror asks: You’re spot on chum! No one person processes what happened to them in the same way. Your anonymous unfriend had no right to speak to you so!

understood gt

anonymous hate is pretty puzzling to me though

its not like id challenge them to a duel

it would make the emissary sad

(it would possibly also make him sad if i talked about how damn cowardly it is so i won’t talk about how damn cowardly it is)

also i think dueling is illegal

challenge them to a bar fight maybe

nothing to see hear officers just a random bar fight

nothing prearranged or anything

[translator: John Egbert]

golgothasterror replies: Ha! I wouldn’t mind a *friendly* bout with you! There was always a bit of rough and tumble with some bets on the side when I was a sprog on AGRI-Station 612413!

i would totally take you up on that bro ive mostly been sparring with master whose no slouch but its been a while since i fought someone taller than me or fought fistkind.  

[translator: John Egbert]

terminusgladiates posted:

[Image: Author Karkat Vantas looking up at the camera and glaring blearily over his breakfast bowl. His hair is a rumpled mess and he’s wearing a fuzzy gray bath robe. ]

caption: before

[Image: Author Karkat Vantas, glaring at the camera while wearing a suit and tie. His hair has not noticeably changed from the previous picture.]

caption: after

heres master off to get his daily scheduled lecturing in as you can see no comb has ever defiled his hair

its a tragic situation here

im accepting donations for the buy my master a comb fund

Edit to add:

[Note from Emissary: STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT MY HAIR DAVE COMPLAINING ABOUT MY HAIR IS NEVER FUNNY.]

ill stop complaining when you actually comb your hair master

[translator: John Egbert]

anonymous asks terminusgladiates: What do you like about dancing? Do you think you might make it a career?

mostly its fun and good exercise i always liked tumbling which was something i got lessons in because being fast and flexible were kind of a requirement when it became pretty clear i wasn’t going to suddenly shoot up a half meter or anything

it became a more invested interest after i started talking with professional quadrant facilitators a few of whom became interested in me and started critiquing my first few dance vids if im doing something i like to be really, really good at it so i started practicing more and adding it to my usual exercise routine or just to get the extra energy out

(maybe a little because im an exhibitionist and masters martyred pining thing was funny)

i dont think it will be a career career i had too late of a start its just going to be one more thing i have up on my trolltube account

[translator: John Egbert]

anonymous asks terminusgladiates: how many trolls have you killed? Do you like killing trolls? Have you ever killed another human?

its not like i have notches on my belt or something citizen

maybe something like a fifty probably more than that

not all fights are to the death unless youre talking execution duels

whether or not you like killing trolls is not exactly something you talk about lest you attract the wrong kind of fan such is the gladiatorial wisdoms that were passed down to me by a veteran gladiator owned by master paysun terhun

yes and that’s pretty much all im gonna say about it except that he was a pirate and im more than happy to kill pirates troll human or denbakian

[translator: John Egbert]

tinymonstergirl asks terminusgladiates: I saw you on Josh Miller last night. You and the Emissary were really funny! (Somehow I didn’t expect that to be a thing?) I was just wondering you were both referring to being owned by the Emissary as a relationship. Do you really think of it that way?

relationship doesnt have to mean a romantic relationship i mean you can call the interactions between a parent and their kid a relationship and you can call interactions between you and your employer a relationship therefore you can call being a concubine to a guy who never wanted one a relationship

and he really really didnt want one in his own words he decided to treat me like a combination of a guest and someones lusus he was taking care of a real hands off approach while trying to be as accommodating and entertaining as possible

it did not go so well my friend it did not go so well at all

later on he realizes he wants to be friends with me and he couldnt let himself do that and later on after that he decides he wants to court my fine self

not an easy thing to do considering he didnt want me to be a concubine since i sure didnt want to be a concubine

(not of course that I have any disrespect for sex workers i am in awe of their mad skills holy shit the things i learned in training and while talking with courtesans at various parties temeri i salute you in all your concupiscences where ever you are i mean hot damn)

and neither of us knew master makara had multiple reasons for setting us up the way he did

so things were strained for a while

but i like talking to him and hes cute and he stays up with me when im having a bad time and hes i have no way to put this that isnt embarrassing as fuck

just bear with me because its embarrassing

nope still got to wait for it

okay fuck

hes kind

just genuinely stupidly concerned about making sure everything is okay and giving me as much space as i need and sweet in really unexpected ways

[translator: John Egbert]

==>

<==

[gokinjeespot]

off the rack #1284

Monday, October 21, 2019

 Please take time to cast your vote in the Canadian Federal Election today if you haven't already. Our democracy depends on its citizens voting. If you wake up tomorrow and your side lost then I sincerely hope that we as a country can continue living our daily lives with respect and compassion. Things will change. Better for some and not for others. Let's all try to remember what it is to be Canadian eh.

 Is This How You See Me? - Jaime Hernandez (writer & artist). It's been years since I've looked in on Maggie and Hopey so this new graphic novel chronicling their adventures at a punk music reunion in Huerta was a perfect way for me to catch up on their lives. The girls have always had a complicated relationship and things haven't changed too much now that Esperanza/Hopey is married to another woman with a son and Maggie is in a long term relationship with a man. I loved the flashbacks to their younger days and unlike Dan De Carlo's Betty and Veronica, these women have aged and Jaime shows that beautifully. Love & Rockets fans must buy this graphic novel.

 Archie #708 - Nick Spencer & Mariko Tamaki (writers) Sandy Jarrell (artist) Matt Herms (colours) Jack Morelli (letters). Lots of mysterious things going on in this issue as Archie and Sabrina's picnic in the woods is interrupted while Jughead and Reggie's investigation into Reggie's father's disappearance receives a major clue. These modern Archie comics are so much more interesting than the old school stuff.

 Guardians of the Galaxy #10 - Donny Cates (writer) Cory Smith (pencils) Victor Olazaba (inks) David Curiel (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). The reunion with an ex-Guardian doesn't go well but not to worry folks, Groot and his pals come to the rescue. I like the new Magus reborn. Oh, and the cover is a total fib.

 Absolute Carnage #4 - Donny Cates (writer) Ryan Stegman (pencils) JP Mayer, Jay Leisten & Ryan Stegman (inks) Frank Martin (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). All seems lost when Carnage absorbs the Venom symbiote from a defeated Hulk but hold your horses folks, Eddie Brock will save the day. It's a major change for this character so you won't want to miss it.

 Metal Men #1 - Dan Didio (writer) Shane Davis (pencils) Michelle Delecki (inks) Jason Wright (colours) Travis Lanham (letters). Unlike the recently released Inferior Five we actually have the Metal Men in this debut issue. I'm glad I gave Dan Didio a chance because he impressed me with this story. The discovery of a sentient Nth metal might be similar to Marvel's Venom symbiote but I'm hoping the rest of this 12-issue maxi doesn't devolve into Will Magnus's Metal Men fighting this new entity.

 Superman Year One #3 - Frank Miller (writer) John Romita Jr. (pencils) Danny Miki (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) John Workman (letters). Great Caesar's ghost that was a slog. I actually fell asleep partway through this. This 3-issue mini did not deserve the prestige DC Back Label imprint treatment. The writing was hackneyed and the art was unspectacular. I got tired of the clipped, repetitive captions after only a few pages because they ran on and on. And even though this is some of John Romita Jr.'s best work there was nothing special about it. These stories of Superman's early adventures could've been done in a 6-issue $3.99 US monthly and fans would have been happy. The big blue boy scout is not a good fit for Frank Miller. The style of writing he used in this last issue is more suited to someone like Green Arrow or the Question. If he follows through with another Superman story like he teased on the last page I would think twice before spending the time to read it.

 X-Men #1 - Jonathan Hickman (writer) Leinil Francis Yu (pencils) Gerry Alanguilan (inks) Sunny Gho (colours) VC's Clayton Cowles (letters). This is the first new X-Team book to hit the racks following the twelve issues of House and Powers of X that laid the foundation for Marvel's mutant revamp. It introduces the good guys (the mutants) and the bad guys (human scientists hell bent on eradicating mutants). The team rescues young mutants from the bad guys and safely return to Krakoa leaving behind a lot of dead humans. Yes, no more mister nice mutant. The team consists of Cyclops, Storm, Polaris, Magneto, Dr. Reyes, Jean Grey, Havok, Vulcan, Wolverine, Cable and Prestige (I know her as Rachel Summers). Only Scott, Ororo, Erik and Lorna go on the mission so no crazy Canucklehead antics this issue, sigh. I liked this enough to want to keep reading but not enough to add it to my "must read" list.

 Killswitch #1 - Jeffrey & Susan Bridges (writers) Walter Geovani (art) Brittany Peer (colours) Simon Bowland (letters). This sci-fi comic book is about a future where a small minority of people can see the future. They're called Augers. The rest of humanity fears them and have them rounded up in detention centres. Sounds familiar. The main character is Major Marcella Regula who turned in her own brother as an Auger. She's the new head of security at a detention centre in a domed city built on a comet. She hits the killswitch to try and save an Auger from dying but fails. Then she helps the dead man's friends to escape. I picked this up because I really liked the art but the story didn't spark joy. I'm hitting the killswitch on this one.

 The Marked #1 - David Hine (writer) Brian Haberlin (art) Geirrod Van Dyke (colours) Francis Takenaga (letters). This new book is full of magic and the art is stupendous. An ancient order of tattooed magic users tasked with fighting the forces of chaos have found a new recruit. So has a malevolent government agency after one of the Marked is banished. I cared about Saskia and her new friends by the end of this issue so I want to find out what happens to them. I'm going to read this as long as I can.

 The Batman's Grave #1 - Warren Ellis (writer) Bryan Hitch (pencils) Kevin Nowlan (inks) Alex Sinclair (colours) Richard Starkings (letters). The opening pages did not surprise me because I know someone who has their tombstone already in place. Batman investigates when a dead body is found in a tenement building. The victim had a wall full of Batman clippings and this 12-issue maxi is off and running. I love the detective side of Batman so I'm adding this to my "must read" list.

 Spider-Man #2 - J. J. Abrams & Henry Abrams (writers) Sara Pichelli (art) Elisabetta D'Amico (inking assistant) Dave Stewart (colours) VC's Joe Caramagna (letters). Two issues in and Ben has met his MJ. Her name is Faye Ito and she's a pip. So much for the old secret identity. Also cue the super villain menace appearance. You won't hear me complaining that there are too many Spider-Man books on the racks as long as they're this good.

 Inferior 5 #2 - Jeff Lemire (writer) Keith Giffen (plot & pencils) Michelle Delecki (inks) Hi-Fi (colours) Rob Leigh (letters). That's enough for me. This is just too weird. If you're into weirdness, you will certainly like this.

 Something is Killing the Children #2 - James Tynion IV (writer) Werther Dell'Edera (art) Miquel Muerto (colours) AndWorld Design (letters). I like Erica Slaughter, monster hunter. She gives this horror story a lot of spunk.

 Contagion #3 - Ed Brisson (writer) Mack Chater & Stephen Segovia (art) Veronica Gandini & Andrew Crossley (colours) VC's Cory Petit (letters). I'll give Ed Brisson this, he sure knows how to string a Marvel maniac along. Jessica Jones was the one to entice me to read this issue and the heroes that show up to help fight the fungus next issue makes me want to read that too. And that's not to mention the Wrecking Crew either.

 Once & Future #3 - Kieron Gillen (writer) Dan Mora (art) Tamra Bonvillain (colours) Ed Dukeshire (letters). Evil King Arthur gets his Galahad while Duncan and his granny get help from a historian. I like granny's simple solution for keeping the bad guys from winning.

 Batman #81 - Tom King (writer) John Romita Jr. & Mitch Gerads (pencils) Klaus Janson & Mitch Gerads (inks) Tomeu Morey & Mitch Gerads (colours) Clayton Cowles (letters). We're getting there folks. Bear with us. That Thomas Wayne is one tough Batman. He takes on Batwoman, Batgirl, Orphan, Huntress, Red Robin, Robin and Signal and manages to survive. Damn that no killing rule. Meanwhile, Batman and Catwoman get into Arkham Asylum to get to Bane. I liked how all the stuff leading up to this issue is explained even though it was hard to follow.