#Best Web Developer in 2023

[mikestek]

Is it time to re-consider your browser? Top Alternatives to Google Chrome with Pros and Cons

Alternatives to Google Chrome are becoming increasingly popular as users seek improved privacy and performance. If you’re feeling the pinch of data collection or find Chrome slowing down your browsing experience, it may be time to explore your options. This guide will probe into the pros and cons of various web browsers that could better suit your needs while ensuring a more secure and efficient…

[gmatechnologi]

The Future of E - Commerce: Trends to Watch in 2023

Welcome to the future of e-commerce! As we step into 2023, the online shopping landscape is evolving at an unprecedented pace. From virtual reality-powered shopping experiences to drone deliveries and personalized AI assistants, there’s no denying that technology is reshaping the way we buy and sell goods. In this blog post, we will explore the most exciting trends that are set to revolutionize e-commerce in 2023 and beyond. So fasten your seatbelts as we take a thrilling ride through what lies ahead for online retail – get ready to be amazed by what’s on the horizon!

Introduction To The Growing Popularity Of E-Commerce

E-commerce, or the buying and selling of goods and services online, has become a major player in the global economy. With technology advancing at a rapid pace, it is no surprise that the popularity of e-commerce is also on the rise. In fact, according to Statista, e-commerce sales are projected to reach $4.9 trillion by 2021.

One of the main reasons for the growing popularity of e-commerce is its convenience. With just a few clicks, consumers can purchase products from the comfort of their own home and have them delivered right to their doorstep. This eliminates the need to physically go to a brick-and-mortar store and wait in long lines at checkout counters.

Another emerging trend in e-commerce delivery is the use of autonomous vehicles such as self-driving cars and trucks. These vehicles are equipped with sensors, cameras, and advanced software that allow them to navigate through roads and traffic without human intervention.

Autonomous vehicles offer similar benefits as drones when it comes to fast and efficient deliveries. They can operate 24/7 without rest breaks or limitations due to weather conditions.

The Future Of E-Commerce: Predictions For 2023

The world of e-commerce has been rapidly evolving and expanding in recent years, with the COVID-19 pandemic only accelerating this growth. As we look towards the future, it is clear that e-commerce will continue to play a crucial role in shaping the way we shop and do business. In this section, we will explore some predictions for 2023 that will likely shape the future of e-commerce.

1. Increased Integration of Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) The use of AR and VR technologies in the e-commerce industry is expected to see significant growth in the coming years. These technologies allow consumers to have a more immersive shopping experience by virtually trying on products or visualizing how furniture or home decor items would look in their space. This not only enhances customer engagement but also reduces product returns, as customers can make more informed purchasing decisions.

2. Rise of Voice Commerce With the increasing popularity of virtual assistants like Amazon’s Alexa and Google Assistant, voice commerce is expected to become a major trend in 2023. Consumers can already use these devices to order products online, but advancements in natural language processing are expected to make voice-based shopping even more seamless and personalized.

3. Growth of Social Commerce Social media platforms have become an important tool for businesses to reach potential customers and engage with their target audience. In 2023, social media platforms are predicted to further integrate with e-commerce through features such as “buy” buttons directly on posts or shoppable ads within users’

Conclusion

As we look towards the future of e-commerce, it is clear that technology will continue to play a major role in shaping the industry. From advancements in AI and virtual reality to the rise of social media shopping and personalized experiences, there are many exciting trends on the horizon. It is crucial for businesses to stay informed and adapt to these changes in order to remain competitive in this ever-evolving market. By keeping an eye on these emerging trends, we can anticipate what’s to come and prepare for a successful future in e-commerce.

[simba-institute]

Wishing you a day filled with 'labh' (profit) and happiness. Happy Labh Pancham! 🌟

[i4technolab]

Java is an established programming language and an ecosystem that has dominated the software business for many years. According to TIOBE index rankings, Java was the #1 popular programming language in 2020 and the fourth best currently for bespoke software development.

The key factor for its intensive popularity is its security, which is why it is extensively used in a broad range of disciplines such as Big data processing, AI application development, Android app development, Core Java software development, and many more. It provides a large set of tools and libraries, as well as cross-platform interoperability, allowing customers to build applications of their choice.

[techgeeg]

Best Programming Language for Web Development

Best Programming Language for Web Development – Are you a web developer?  looking for the best programming language to use for your jobs in 2023? In today’s article we will be considering  ���The Best Programming Language for Web Development“. What is a Programming Language? A programming language is a formal system of communication designed to provide instructions to a computer or computing…

[arjunsinghadvocatenagina]

Best Full Stack Web Developer Roadmap 2023 - Iqontech

At the heart of the Full Stack Web Developer Roadmap 2023 lies a solid foundation in programming languages such as HTML, CSS, and JavaScript. These form the building blocks of the web and allow you to create visually appealing and interactive user interfaces.

[infonicwebsolution]

Unleash Your Creativity with Our Personal Web Page Service

[ladyloveandjustice]

My Favorite Continuing Manga I Read in 2023

I went into the brand new manga I read in this post, but here's an update on some great continuing series!

Shout out to She Loves to Cook and She Loves to Eat for having phenomenal storyline about find the courage to cut toxic family members off, which is pretty rare to see (in manga especially)! The story explores how your family can impose a relationship with food that harms you in many different ways, and how finding acceptance of your food habits helps you heal. It also continues to be a lovely exploration of queer adults finding themselves that makes the point that your experiences don't have to fit in a box.  And I appreciate that they included a character who doesn't like eating that much for me to relate to! See my first review here, 

Now for a quick word about the other great continuing manga I read:

- I Want to be a Wall really upped it's game and included a nuanced discussion about asexuality that I loved seeing. See first review here.

- Yuri is My Job is still the best lesbian drama manga around and hits hard. See previous discussion here,

- A Man and His Cat is still the sweetest and Yona of the Dawn is as action packed and intriguing as ever...I feel a climax slowly coming!

- A Bride’s Story is still wonderfully done historical fiction with lush art while How Do We Relationship continues to develop its web of queer relationships nicely.

- Witch Hat Atelier is still a wondrous story of magic, creativity, accessibility, and struggling under unfair systems, all told in a fascinating fantasy setting with loveable, complex characters and incredible art.

A lot of manga I like concluded this year too, so let's take a slightly longer look at the conclusions!

Dungeon Meshi- The conclusion to one of my favorite fantasy manga ever was fittingly bombastically weird and fully satisfying. It filled you up like good food should. Live well instead of being consumed by fear of death and loss. Eat well instead of working yourself to the bone and neglecting your needs. Follow your own path, but cherish your connections and get together for a good meal. This series and its intricate world and wonderful characters will stay with me for a long time.

Catch These Hands- See my first review here. I enjoyed the cute conclusion to this series, and it was nice to see a little ace rep and a message about not conforming to society's expectations of "adulthood". It's an ode to delinquent girls that a sukeban stan like me can get behind! A lot of the stuff that annoyed me in the second volume was mostly dropped for the third and fourth, so that's also nice.

Run Away With Me Girl- See my first review here. I wish this had been a little longer, but the conclusion worked well and was cathartic.

Doughnuts Under a Crescent Moon- See my first review here. A nice conclusion to a cute, slow-paced little romance series, with yet more ace rep!

The Two of Them are Pretty Much Like This- see my first review here. This conclusion felt a bit rushed, with plot lines still dangling, like it was cancelled early or something. But the series is still good overall, and I'll miss it.

My Love Mix Up -This sweet-as-pie series about cute gay misunderstandings leading to romance comes to a fittingly sweet conclusion. It's sad waving goodbye to these silly, good-hearted kids, but I'm satisfied with where they ended up.

[tmnt-tychou]

What is Ninja Turtles: Brotherhood?

Brotherhood came into conception February 2023 when we started to see more of the Mutant Mayhem movie set to release later in August. While I don't mind the franchise skewing young--I myself first saw Ninja Turtles as a child-- I found myself wishing there was also some TMNT animated content for older fans. At the time I was watching DC animated series like Young Justice and Harley Quinn. It was nice they recognized that there were fans of all ages and they were putting out animated content for older audiences while also making content for kids. I found myself wishing that TMNT would follow that example. And then I asked myself, if I had the opportunity to make a TMNT animated series for older fans, what would it be about? At first, I had nothing and wasn't intending to explore the idea further. Then, one day, I was driving home from work and I suddenly had an idea.

For most of 2023 I explored the concept. Since animation is my background, that was the medium I had in mind when putting it together. Of course, there's no way I could animate a whole series by myself as a fan project. I first thought about maybe trying animatics, but that also seemed a bit overwhelming. For a time, I thought maybe I would let it go as it seemed too big of a project for one person. But then the 40th anniversary came around and I decided I wanted to do it for them. For a lifetime of turtles. So I decided on a web toons type format. It seemed easier as a one-person project than the typical comic book format. So here I am after a year of development, attempting my best at putting out a TMNT fan comic for the anniversary. It's meant as a love letter to both the franchise as a whole and the fans. It pulls from many different iterations while also telling its own story. As such, it's meant for not just fans of one iteration, but for fans of any of the iterations. Just Ninja Turtle fans in general. And I'm aiming to provide a full character arc for each turtle so, no matter who's your favorite, you'll get some good content.

Plot: The series takes place five years after the defeat of the Shredder. In a story meant for older fans, I decided the turtles should be older, too. No longer teenagers, they are now 25. The idea is that everything that you expect to see in a typical TMNT series has already happened to them, and now they are navigating their world and experiencing new adventures as adults, trying to find meaning after their main adversary is gone.

You can find development art I've done over the year by checking out the #ntbrotherhood tag. I post new parts every Monday. And I usually post here on Tumblr unless I feel they are too big. You can find the full comic collected on Webtoons (for as long as they'll put up with hosting a fan comic.)

The Boys:

[itchywebreviews]

Exit/Corners - a game review

Are you looking for a game to scratch your Zero Escape itch?

Exit/Corners, by Canadian-based Moon Moth Games, is a free visual novel/puzzle game available on itch.io and playable in web browsers.

You play as Ink, a student who wakes up alongside four other strangers to find himself kidnapped and locked inside a mysterious abandoned hotel that's rigged to explode. They can escape, as long as these 'Contestants' solve a series of riddles and puzzles within a 24-hour time limit. Or, they can die.

Without spoilers, this game surprised and delighted me. It's 29 episodes, takes several hours to complete, and has detailed art and a custom soundtrack. I can strongly recommend it to anybody who enjoys character-focused mystery stories and simple but satisfying puzzles (and who doesn't have an issue with dark themes or depicted violence).

None of the puzzles felt 'unfair', as the game has a great hint system where you can ask the other Contestants for advice or their opinions, which gives you extra insight into their characters as well as providing hints. If you get really stuck, ask them enough times and they'll eventually spell out the answer for you.

The relationships that develop between the Contestants, positive and negative, form the emotional core that the plot needed to keep the reader invested. At first most of the characters are abrasive, stressed, and either insulting to or dismissive of each other. The only friendly face is Aether, the girl who woke up in the same room as you, but she has her own secrets she's keeping. As you can imagine from people picked to play a deadly game, all of them have hidden depths that they're unwilling to trust the other Contestants with—including Ink. Uncovering the pasts of each Contestants is as much part of the mystery as who brought them together, and why.

Generally I found each backstory reveal satisfying, placing each character's previous actions in new context. There was one particular reveal that worked so well on a meta-level that I felt genuinely called-out by the fact I hadn't realised what was happening. Actions that felt unrealistic or confusing could often be explained through later information, as well as the high-stakes situation revealing the best and worst sides of each Contestant.

The mystery plot was excellently foreshadowed. As new information is revealed, through Ink's internal monologue the reader is also gently reminded of relevant points they may have forgotten—allowing them a chance to put the clues together as Ink does without being excessively heavy-handed. Many of the biggest twists were hard to predict, with enough clues that I could guess some of the elements, whilst the actual unveiling left me staring at my screen in shock as my mind went over all the clues I'd overlooked or missed. The plot started slowly, picked up the pace as revelations started stacking on top of each other and revealing the shape of the plot, and in the last few chapters definitely sped up as the different mysteries converged together. The ending felt a little rushed, but each major plot thread and mystery was neatly resolved when the true purpose of Exit/Corners was explained.

This won't be a game for everybody, but for a completely free game that doesn't even require a download? If any of this interests you, give it a try. It might surprise you.

Spoiler-free warnings: This game includes depictions and discussions of graphic violence, depictions and discussions of mental illness and suicide, derogatory language, and internalised bigotry.

What's next for Moon Moth Games? Although they have a demo for an upcoming game called 'Séance: Spectral Noise' on their itchi.io page, there have been no official posts since March 2022. A twitter post from January 2023 stated the project ran into legal difficulties. There have been no subsequent updates.

[kdramaxoxo]

Sorry if you've been asked this a million times, but who are your favorite couples from the last couple years?

Congratulations Anon! This ask is AMAZING and I've never been asked it before! Shocking right?? :P

My favorite K-Drama Couples 2023- Spring 2024

NOTE: I tried to include 2022 but my list got too long :)

Moving (Bong-Seok & Hee-Soo, Joo-Won & Hye-Won & Doo-Shik & Mi-Hyun): It's very obvious by this list how much I love this drama and how many blorbo-from-my-shows it created for me. And I know I'm only reviewing couples, but I was blown away by this drama. I don't even LIKE superhero shows, but I made an exception for this one and I'm so glad I did. If you like character development and plays on good vs. evil, I highly rec this! Bong-Seok and Hee-Soo are one of my favorite couples EVER and I loved the softness and epic romance of Joo-Won & Hye-Won. (And we all know that scene at the rainy window with Bong-Seok and Hee-Soo). These couples are really EVERYTHING.

Tale of the Nine Tailed: 1938 (Lee-rang & Yeo-Hee): This is the only time I've ever watched a season two and liked it better than season one. It's probably because it featured my favorite tragic half fox Lee Rang and gave him a love line with a mermaid. The two are SO sweet together---SOB!

Tell me That You Love Me (Mo-Eun & Jin-Woo): Wow. Maybe one of the softest couples I've ever seen in existence. Just watching them together was like a warm blanket in front of a cozy fireplace. I didn't like the ending choice which is a shame, but the drama was super well done and I still think people should watch it. There is also a very cute high school couple too!

The Eighth Sense (Jae-Won & Ji Hyun): not to be dramatic (just kidding!) this is the best bl kdrama I've ever seen. Literally this is it! I don't even want to tell you about the couple because I want you to just watch it! I'm dying for the writer to make another one because we need more queer media like this one!

Crash Course In Romance (Haeng-Seon & Chi-Yeol): Give me a noona romance featuring a man who has not felt warmth in 1000 years (ok not literally but this dude needs to have a warm meal made by an amazing lady!) This drama fell apart at the end (this seems to be a theme this year) but the couple makes it worth watching.

King The Land (Gu-Won & Sa-Rang): If you're looking for a low stakes, totally fluffy, rom com with TONS of chemistry (featuring MY BIAS!), King the Land is for you. Amazing skinship, kisses and just like a really fun duo to watch. Plot? Not so much but there are a billion good moments-- just look at the tags: They are full of cuteness.

Love After Divorce Season 4 (Benita & Jerome): Listen, I know I'm cheating by putting a reality tv show on this list but if you're in the mood for one, I highly recommend this season (it's on Netflix). Benita and Jerome will steal your heart and they are still together! I'm rooting for them. <3

See you in my 19th Life (Ji-Eum & Seo-Ha, Da-Hoon & Cho-Won): My bias Shin Hye Sun kills it in this drama featuring past life romance. Honestly it's not fair because this drama is totally my vibe so I'm obviously going to love the mains. But when a drama gives you more than one love line and they are both interesting and lovely?? Chef's Kiss!

Dr. Slump (Jeong-Woo & Ha-Neul): This drama TOTALLY fell apart at the end and left us all very disappointed, but that's not because our leads weren't a perfect couple! They bonded over mental illness and even took their meds together. Communication: check. Comfort/Healing: check. Chemistry: check!

The Story of Park's Marriage Contract (Yun-Woo & Tae-Ha). You probably don't know this but I've been following Bae In Hyuk's career since we was in silly little web dramas. Seeing him as a lead is really wild! To be fair, he's not nearly the actor that Lee Se Young is, but do we care about that when there's a time slip romance drama featuring a historical lady who's been thrown into the future and has to fake marry someone who looks just like her de*d husband for reasons??

Thank you so much for this ask - it was super fun!! Maybe I should do 2022 next?? :D

[a-shade-of-blue]

New Gaza fundraiser asks I've received (22-23 August)

23 August

Fidaa (@fidaa-family2, @fidaa-family): Fidaa is 29 years old and has 2 children: Sila (2) and Muhammad Amr (2 months old), whom she gave birth to during the current war. They have been forced to move for more than 7 times. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/c33cc3d1) (shared by 90-ghost. Also vetted by association. Fidaa is the sister of @/wafaaresh (campaign shared by 90-ghost) and @/mohiy-gaza (campaign shared by 90-ghost), see post here.) 

Thaer Qanoo (@savethaerfamily): Thaer (26) and his wife Marah (21) has a one-year-old daughter named Nai. Thaer is a computer engineer. Marah is a uni pharmacy student who dreams of becoming a pharmacist but is unable to finish her studies due to the war. Their baby daughter’s health is deteriorating due to the lack of proper care and nutritions. They are trying to evacuate out of Gaza. (https://gofund.me/c4e00591) (shared by mohammedalanqer but still SEEMS UNVETTED (?) since mohammadalanqer is asking el-shab-hussein, nabulsi and 90-ghost to verify this campaign in his reblog. (FYI mohammedalanqer's gfm is #174 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi).But still sharing since mohammedalanqer has reblogged it asking us to help Thaer and his family)

Mohammed Almadhoun (@savepalestineinfamily19): Mohammed is a graphic designer. He is raising funds for himself and 10 family members (his parents, his brother, his 3 young sisters, his married sister, her husband and her two young children). His father suffers from arthritis and joint inflammation, and has a swollen leg and a partially paralyzed hand due to shrapnel caused injuries. He needs urgent medical care. They are trying to evacuate to Egypt. (https://gofund.me/e1cd35f4) (UNVETTED but seems legit. He has had his Instagram account @palestinian_survivor19 since March 2019 while his other Instagram account. He has had his backup account @mmadhonne since July 2017 and his earliest post there is dated March 2023.)

Yara Mohammed (@pt-yaramohamed): Yara is a 22-year-old uni physical therapy student. She was due to graduate this year but couldn’t because of the war. Her uni has been destroyed. She is trying to evacuate herself and 9 family members: his parents, five sisters and two brothers. Their house has been destroyed and they have been displaced. (campaign has been published by gaza-evacuation-funds and shared by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi. (FYI @gaza-evacuation-funds is an account created by el-shab-hussein and other bloggers dedicated to fundraisers vetted by @el-shab-hussein, @nabulsi, and MohdAyesh.It is created by el-shab-hussein and some other bloggers and has been vouched for by el-shab-hussein) (23 Aug: LOW FUNDS!!! Only €917 raised of €20,000 goal!)

Osama Basil (@osama-basil-ps, @ahmad-basil): Osma is a web designer whose office has been destroyed. He is raising funds to rebuild his office, secure internet access, support his and his family’s livelihood, and to purchase resources for his web development. (https://gofund.me/100da7db) (Vetted by association. Osama is a friend of @drfarhatblog (Dr Farhat is #248 on the verified fundraiser list by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi.) See post here for proof. His instagram is shammala.osama and he has been active on it since 2015)

Omar Khaled & Ahmed Al-Agha (@omargaze, @jody-family): Ahmed did not manage to complete his professional diploma in culinary arts due to the war. He is trying to evacaute himself and his family: mother (samah), brother Omar and his three sisters: Abla (20), Yomna (17) and Jody (9). Omar is an accounting graduate. Abla is an English major who dreams of being an English teacher, but her uni has been destroyed. (https://gofund.me/60d9e2dd) (vetted by association, see post here. Omar is the best friend of @/mohiy-gaza (Mohiy's account has been shared by 90-ghost.) This is Omar/her daughter Jody's IG account: jody_toys, which has been active since 2020)

Bilal & Maher (@shadowyavenuetaco): Bilal is from a family of 8 and they are trying to evacuate to Egypt. (https://gofund.me/69f45862) (Vetted by association. Bilal is the nephew of Mohammed Ayyad (@/mohammadayyad, @/yasermohammad, @/mohammadyaser1980). Mohammed's campaign has been shared by 90-ghost. Please see post here for proof of the two's relations. Bilal has also said that he has been vetted by el-shab-hussein, but I have not yet found the link to that.)

22 August

Abed Rahman El-Shaer (@abed-rashad13): Abed and his wife’s house has been destroyed by the bombing. Abed is trying to evacuate his wife, his mother, his two brothers and his sister. (https://gofund.me/19c9242d) (#249 on the verified fundraiser list vetted by el-shab-hussein and nabulsi, promoted by el-shab-hussein here.)

Salah Ahmed Mohammed Alshareef (@salahmanarfamily, salahahmed90): Salah and his wife Manar have two children: Youssef (12) and Nour (7). They have been displaced and they wish to rebuild their home. (https://gofund.me/32a4669a) (vetted by 90-ghost.)

Other fundraisers I would like to share

Below are two Palestinian fundraisers my friend from my uni’s Palestine solidarity encampment asked me to share. Both are Gazan students and writers seeking evacuation funds.

Eman Alhaj Ali: Eman is a 22-year-old English literature and translation student. She is a writer and has published her writing in different news outlets like Al Jazeera. She has 4 young siblings: Doaa (6), Abduallah (8), Yousef (11), and Ahmad (12). Eman seeks to evacuate herself and her family and to complete her education abroad. (gofund.me/685217ca) (IG: eman.alhajali, you can see all the writing she has done (she has even written for news media like Al Jazeera, Middle East Eye, and The New Arab!) on her IG)

Muhammed Elbaba: Muhammed has just finished high school and was planning to become a pediatrician. He has 4 siblings. He is a talented student who is very skilled in language and has even cooperated with international television stations. He has received special training in journalism and media because of this. He has now lost his home and his family members have been killed and injured. He is raising funds to 1) treat his brother who is injured and suffering from amenia, 2) evacuate out of Gaza, and 3) continue his dream of studying abroad. (gofund.me/75d2b095) (IG: mohmd_elbaba, you can see that he has had his account since 2020 and has been geotagged in Gaza in his 2022 posts)

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 13 July - 25 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 26 July -29 July.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 30 July - 1 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 2 August - 5 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 6 August - 10 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 11 August - 14 August.

Click here for my Masterlist for fundraisers from 15 August - 18 August

Click here for my Masterlist for fundrasiers from 19 August - 21 August

How does vetting and verification work? See post here. (also read comments regarding 90-ghost and why we trust the campaigns he has shared)

Click here for my Google Doc with my complete masterlist of all the Palestinian gfm asks I've received, updated daily (along with other verified ways to send aid to Gaza). (I originally compiled it so it is easier for me to answer asks, but since I'm sharing it on my personal IG I might as well share it here too)

[simba-institute]

Here's to new beginnings, fresh starts, and infinite possibilities. Happy New Year!

[i4technolab]

In a world where security is paramount, Java looks to be an unrivaled platform getting better with every new update. It is a premier programming language and an extraordinary ecosystem with the ability to deal with security concerns more effectively, thanks to its important tools and libraries.

Another aspect of Java’s unrivaled success is its “Write Once, Run Anywhere” principle. It doesn’t require recompilation when developing Java applications, which makes it the best choice for cross-platform software development.

Java is highly chosen for a wide range of projects, including AI/ML application development, Android app development, Bespoke Java software development, bespoke Blockchain development, and many more.

[sintassays]

X Men: The Krakoan Age

I've finally read a bunch of X books through the Krakoan era. Not all of them though, as I can only let my financial irresponsibility go so far. Specifically, I've read: House of X/Powers of X, Hickman's 2019 run, Inferno, X Lives/Deaths of Wolverine, Duggan's 2021 run, Gilllen's 2022 run of Immortal X Men, 2023 Hellfire Gala: Fall of X, and finally Fall of the House of X/Rise of the Powers of X.

AND I. HAVE. THOUGHTS.

The component of Krakoa that immediately stuck out most to me was that it was an ethno-state. Of course, this ethno-state wasn't established with the displacement or subjugation of another people like in the case of, say, Israel. But settler colonial domination is not the only problem with ethno-nationalism. A mono-ethnic society creates bigotry and alienation against outsiders. It moves its people away from the ideals of compassion, acceptance, and equality. And for the mutants, that means moving away from the dream that Xavier and so many others wished for.

Still, despite its many problematic and unjustifiable elements, Krakoa's change in global power dynamics was an incredible sight to see. The mutant population went from society's margins to a world superpower in the blink of an eye. Seeing Magneto pledge to use humanity's tools of power against them *to ambassadors' faces* made my jaw drop. Mutants were finally on the upswing, and I could not get enough of it.

I read these books between late March and late May of 2025, so I missed the opportunity to observe or participate in lots of Krakoa discourse as it was happening. But from looking up topics of interest and finding web articles and discussion threads, I know one subject of particular controversy was the Crucible.

The Crucible makes sense to me. The idea that in order to achieve rebirth that returns your powers, you must prove your resolve in fighting not only for yourself but for your people seems worthwhile. I don't buy into the "the Crucible keeps mutant society strong" argument, as it seems kinda fashy. But it does help regulate the process of rebirth so that mutants don't kill themselves left and right asking for improvements/enhancements. The Crucible, as far as I can tell, is only meant to restore the victims of M Day, and is only accessible to those with the resolve to face it. Maybe it's because I'm not spiritual, maybe it's because I'm an outside observer looking in upon a fictional society and lack the stakes of someone actually living there, but I don't see much of a moral or ethical dilemma with the Crucible process.

The character I found it hardest to wrap my head around throughout this era was Moira. Specifically her betrayal of the mutants after the events of Inferno. I understand Moira's hatred and fear of Mystique and Destiny, as they were the ones who actively wanted to kill her, but to feel betrayed by Xavier and Magneto is stretching it. Destiny's revival wasn't their doing, and they had no reason immediately post-Inferno see her as an enemy.

She also turned out to have wanted to "cure" mutantdom the whole time. The biggest change post-Inferno was moving from the "peaceful, voluntary cure" approach to an outright genocidal one. The best guess I have at why she snapped is a combination of spite and rage at her repeated failed attempts at saving mutantdom and her great fear of finally dying. She went from what she thought was "best" for mutants to just burning it all down and selling out to the winning side, which she thought to be Orchis' AIs. This wasn't very clear to me at first and still isn't crystal to me now, but I can't tell if that's because of convoluted writing or me just not reading enough of the X books.

There were two positive developments in Krakoa that were very promising for the nation's future. The re-establishment of the X Men team showed that despite mutants' embrace of separatism, they were still willing to help and fight for all of humanity. This showed there was yet hope for the dream of equality. And the dissolution of the Quiet Council in favor of a plan to hold elections would have reduced the power and harm of the mutant elite.

And then the hope for a brighter future immediately went to shit.

I don't know exactly who is to blame and I don't especially care. The writers, editorial, executives, doesn't matter. The Fall of X is one of the worst decisions in X Men comic history. A hard reset into the mutants once again struggling on the margins has been done to death and just sucks at this point. There were so many other potential ways of moving the X narrative forward! With the Quiet Council gone and the establishment of a new, democratic Krakoan era, the problems at the heart of Krakoa's founding could have been addressed! For fuck's sake, Xavier admitted in Immortal X Men that mutant separatism was a horrific compromise he only made out of desperation! Democracy and continued aid and dialogue from the X Men team could have moved Krakoa in the right direction! And now that's all blown to hell! FUCK!

Speaking of Xavier: I had heard for a while now via Reddit and Tumblr discussions that he is not an especially ethical man and has committed various crimes and atrocities over the years, earning him quite a bit of controversy and even hate. I avoided forming an opinion simply because I hadn't read the books featuring the events people were talking about. But now I see what earned him such hatred for myself. Charles selling out humanity to Orchis in exchange for a sort of "mutant preserve" is one of the most batshit plot points I've ever read, in comics or otherwise. I remember in Immortal X Men (toward the end of volume 2, I think?) Charles said in a narration to the reader that he knew the horrors of what he'd done over the years, and while he wasn't proud of it, it was necessary and the bad reputation it earned him would cause mutants to be skeptical of power. Or something to that effect.

Given what I'd heard from others' discussions on the character, Xavier's reflection on his ethics seemed to make sense. But nothing in that reflection, nothing in his rationale could justify the abominable decision to join Orchis' genocidal war just to get the chance to put a psychic back door in Moira so Jean could defeat Enigma. It crosses a million bright red lines. Maybe it was necessary, maybe it wasn't. I'd hope the writers could have done something different that wasn't so insane. Regardless, given the circumstances, I'm glad Charles is now in supermax incarceration, even if I hate that he has a stupid little backdoor in the prison's anti-psychic security measures. An enormous change in his character would need to occur for me to be happy to see him free again.

I will not be reading the From the Ashes era of X Men. The Fall of X was just too bad of a decision for me to want to read further right now. Not to mention the fact that I've seen pretty negative reception over its writing. I'll wait for an interesting point down the line to get back into newer X Men books.

All in all, I honestly loved this era. I brought up a lot of negative and controversial elements in this post, but it was honestly one of my favorite comic reading experiences ever. Its tragic end highlights what was lost and would could have been more than anything. All I wanted was more! And any storyline that can hook a reader like that is pretty damn special.

[pillowfort-social]

Site Update - 8/3/2023

Hi Pillowfolks! 

How has your summer (or winter) been? Our team is back with a new update! As always, we will be monitoring closely for any unexpected bugs after this release, so please let us know if you run into any.

New Features/Improvements

Premium Subscription Updates -  Per the request of many users, we’ve made a number of updates to creating & editing Premium Subscriptions.

Users can now make credit-only Subscriptions without needing to enter in payment information, if your credit balance can fully cover at least one payment of the features fees.

Users can also now apply a custom portion of their available accrued credit monthly– i.e., if the cost of features is $5.97 every month, you can choose to cover only a portion of the cost of features with your credit. 

Users who have recently canceled a Subscription no longer have to wait until the payment period expires to create a new Subscription. 

To access Pillowfort Premium, click on the  “PF Premium” icon located in the left-hand sidebar. This page will allow you to convert your legacy donations to Pillowfort premium, review & edit your subscriptions, and more. 

Premium Image Upload Limit Increase: Good news! We’ve raised the limit for Premium Image Uploads to 6MB (formerly 4MB), at no extra cost! We may raise the limit further depending on how the subscriptions service performs and how our data fees fare.

Premium Subscription Landing Page & Frames Preview: We improved what users who do not have a Premium Subscription see on the Subscription management page to provide more information about the Premium features available. This includes the ability to preview all premium frames available.

New Premium Frame: We’ve released a new premium avatar frame! We hope you like it. We also have more premium avatar frames in the works that will be released later this month.

Modless / Abandoned Communities Update - Our Developers have made changes to our admin tools to allow our Customer Service Team to be able to change Community Ownership and add/remove Moderators to help revitalize abandoned and modless Communities. We will make a post soon explaining the process for requesting to become a Mod and/or Owner of a Community. 

Bug Fixes/Misc Improvements

Some users were not receiving confirmation e-mails when their Pillowfort Premium Subscription was successfully charged. This should now be fixed.  Please let us know if you are still not receiving those e-mails.

Related to the above bug, some users who were using their credit balance in Subscriptions were not seeing their credit balance being properly updated to reflect the credit used in those Subscriptions. We have now synced these Subscriptions, so you should see a decrease in your account’s credit balance if you are using that credit in a Subscription.

Fixed a bug where users were unable to delete their accounts in certain scenarios.

Fixed bug that displayed errors on the log-in page incorrectly.

Made improvements to how post images load on Pillowfort, to reduce image loading errors and improve efficiency for users with slow web connections.

Fixed a bug causing the checkmark on avatar frame selection in Settings to display improperly.

Terms of Service Update

We have made a small update to our ToS to specify that “deepfakes” and other digitally-altered pornographic images of real people are considered involuntary pornography and thus prohibited.

And that’s all for today! With this update out, our team will now be working full steam on post drafts, post scheduling queuing, and the progressive mobile app! Be sure to keep checking back on our Pillowfort Dev Blog for further status updates on upcoming features. 

Best,

Staff