#shield of thunder

[hussyknee]

Song of Achilles did make me cry and there are some beautiful, extremely quotable turns of prose. But honestly? Even without being a classicist or a Greek mythology enthusiast— it really kind of sucks. There's no substance or complexity to it, the characters are one-dimensional and it's painfully YA. It's written for a Booktok audience who doesn't give a fuck about Homer's poems or Greek myths as a genre. I mean I'm also largely disinterested but I hate books that loses everything that defines a genre in order to appeal to people who don't care for it.

Idk if you want an incredible reimagining of the Trojan war for an audience who doesn't care much about the Illiad, read The Troy Trilogy by David Gemmell. It makes no pretence of being faithful to the Illiad and takes out all mention of gods and magic, and sadly doesn't have a lot of gay in it, despite the protagonist being one of the most badass bisexual women in fantasy fiction (Andromache in the Old Guard can't hold a candle to this Andromache). But for all that, it has very complex and vivid characters, cinematic battle scenes and is an emotional rollercoaster that makes you blow through all three books in one sitting. It's very much about how war and pride and honour can make people you like and believe in do horrific things, how morality is informed by culture and era, how you can feel pity for even the worst characters, and how desolation lives hand in glove with glory. Once you read that you'll realise how hollow Madeline Miller's work is.

[djohnhopper]

STARTED READING: the second book of David Gemmell's Troy trilogy. Excellent writer. Creates an ambience that seems so real. A joy to read.

[crystal-bytes]

MARVEL CHARACTER EVOLUTION

SIF

[fansids]

You know, I see people say Odysseus sacrificed six men because if he hadn't they would've all died. I don't think that's true. Scylla had six heads, so six men were going to die regardless. Odysseus was just making sure he wouldn't be one of them.

[vertigoartgore]

2005's Ultimates 2 Vol.1 #5 cover by Bryan Hitch, Paul Neary and Laura Martin.

[illustratus]

A Lion Hunt by Simon de Vos

[trainerjoshie]

Pokémon TCG SM Lost Thunder (2018) & SWSH Silver Tempest (2022) Evolutionary set illustrated by Naoyo Kimura 🤩🤩

[idkiwillfindone]

Defending Eurylochus online is not enough i need a gun

“He’s such an hypocrite he wanted to leave his men behind”

Mf Odysseus didn’t want to leave anyone behind of course he’s disappointed

[explosivelines]

@bldrdsh

"Those ore deposits had to go, one way or another."

In other words, Esemio in his ever wise wisdom had blown the whole enemy base up , the smokes still visible from the distance. It seems he had a lot of fun blowing it up.

[queen-of-the-scene]

corel and iggy <3

source: duckklord on instagram

i had originally seen it on pinterest so it took me a while to hunt down the original source hehe

[hjbirthdaywishes]

March 12, 2024

Happy 40 Birthday to Jaimie Alexander.

[kindaorangey]

gang can i be honest with you. i don't even like show!devil's minion that much anymore

[narzissenkreuz-ordo]

i love you triple crowned wrio killing everything in abyss <3

(we do not talk abt floor 12. fuck the pma & thunder manifestation)

[definitelyimportantpost]

HERE WE ARE, FINALLY ON THE SECOND FLOOR

This floor is, unlike the first floor, pretty uneventful! That means that, also unlike the first floor, we'll be moving through it rather quickly! Yay!

One of the first things we encounter is a character whose story definitely has a deep connection to the game's wider plot, and isn't one of the ONLY, like, four bits of worldbuilding in the entire game!

Next we fine Conrad—er, sorry. Force of habit. I mean Spirie of some random guild whose name I forgot! It's not likely at all that the person that made this character is reading this right now, but if by some slim chance they are, then... hey! Hi! Hello!

I ought to make mention of just how much wreckage Aurora is putting out. This enemy has 187 HP (almost twice that of a Rabid Acorn's 104), and Aurora's Chain Flame just deleted 136 of it. That's 72% of its HP straight-up gone in one hit.

Add onto that the initial poke that set off that Chain, additional pokes from others, which can set off additional Chains, attacks from Beck, Hero, and even Berry if the party's safe enough, and... most enemies at this point are dropping dead like nobody's business.

This is a big part of why EO5's Fencer is my favourite class in Etrian Odyssey as a whole; as with any follow-up-style class in the series, it's a bit of a chore to build around (as the guy who took around a YEAR to come up with this team comp, believe me, I would know), but unlike a Chaser Landsknecht, it has the skills it wants from the very start—no hefty prerequisites required—and unlike a Link Landsknecht, from the word "go," it's pouring on the pain like gravy at a Thanksgiving dinner. Boy is it sarisfying to see, and if you'll believe it, the true feast is still yet to come...

(Chain Killer Chain Killer Chain Killer Chain Killer Chain K—)

Anyways, as I said before, not much of particular note note happens on 2F, so after getting through about the first half, I go back to town.

There was one quest that I could take on at the moment. This quest wants you to reel in one forest fish...

...in exchange for five (and a level up for the party). It's a pretty good deal, I say. I personally don't make much use of the HP recovery that this game's food items provide since Chloe has more TP than she knows what to do with and a healing skill that costs practically none of it.

Before I end this post off, there's one small quirk with Chain skills that I want to mention.

A Fencer's Rapier mastery makes their equipped sword deal stab damage instead of a sword's default cut damage. One might assume that this change would be reflected in their Chain skills as well; for example, that Chain Flame would deal Stab+Fire damage instead of Cut+Fire damage.

In actuality, Chain Skills will always deal stab damage, regardless of the user's investment in Rapier Mastery, meaning it only affects normal attacks, and can thus be largely ignored by most Fencers.

This means that I was able to obtain Disloged Fangs (a material dropped by Ice Bats when killed with stab damage) even though Aurora has no points in Rapier Mastery at all, and as a result technically no rapier with which to stab.

[wanderingmind867]

This story actually got me to have to look up the Thunder Agents, a comic I barely even knew existed. So that was pretty interesting. There's also a reference to the Man from U.N.C.L.E. on the last page, so that's another thing I can look up later. (Not Brand Echh #2):

[deanorosphoto]

Above: Beautiful symmetry or tangled mess?

In my previous post, I introduced THE MOODY BLUES OF THE SLEEPING GIANT, a new black and white photograph where I play with hues of blue and contrast. 

In today’s post I continue exploring with monochromatic interpretation of nature with:

THE FOREST.

THE FOREST is neat, laid out with beautiful symmetry. Is it a perfect balance of harmony and form? Or is it a big tangled mess of branches, twigs and foliage, scattered about by light striking from various angles as the sun begins it late afternoon descent?

Interpretation and perspective. How we VIEW THINGS one day may not be the same as the next.

I see certain beauty and symmetry. You are my sunshine, my only sunshine.... as the lyrics going back to 1939-40 state. Perhaps some things don’t change with time.

Pictured is the forest of Centennial Park which is located in Thunder Bay, in Ontario’s Superior Country. Trails include the blue and red trail: a 6.5 mile (10.5 km) loop within a portion of the 147 acres of Centennial Park. The trail begins at the park’s parking lot and follows along the shores of Current River, through the park and Trowbridge Falls.

In my next post I’ll continue with my series exploring the beautiful YUKON TERRITORY. 

THE FOREST: SHOP FINE ART PRINTS.

Two versions of THE FOREST are available.

1. THE FOREST FULL FRAME

2. THE FOREST TRIFOLD

Choose traditional silver-halide, archival giclée or gallery-wrapped canvas prints. Order via my online gallery or CONTACT ME. I’ll ensure you’re ordering exactly what you want.

Thank you for visiting. 

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artistry + documentary