#Phil might think he’s not that involved with the lore on the island

[themanlykittenkayden]

Phil and Cellbit make me insane anytime they interact with each other because it’s so obvious that they take their roles as leaders on the island very seriously and they all carry that weight on their shoulders, even to their own detriment, and they’re clearly comforted by having someone else they KNOW can handle that burden too around so they can help carry it for each other.

Etoiles Bad and Fit too, all of them, you can just tell that anytime any of them are around each other that they relax their guard just a tiny bit because they know they can depend on each other.

[genevawrenn]

I have so many thoughts surrounding what Fit and Bagi discussed about Phil on stream today, then Fit's realisation it might be the Ender King.

First of all; FitMC, you chef above the rest, you fucking cooked today.

Second I think Fit was our best chance of that connection being made because he is the one Phil has confided in the most besides his own kids. Fit was the person he grabbed when he was convinced he was seeing things. He told the anarchist about the birdhouse plot. He brought him *again* when he saw things his kids didn't see.

Fit, is quite possibly, the only one outside his immediate family that knows the most about the crow and he knows something is wrong.

And of course this is happening the moment before he is also being dragged off to his own mission, but he can't help but worry about Phil's kids alongside Ramon and Pac.

Because Chayanne seemed genuinely worried and Fit took it seriously. He knew something was wrong the moment he saw the duckie-wearing dragon child and how he was snarky but sorrowful with responding where their father is. Tallulah told him she's had better days, and you can tell the moment he focuses up.

[And its delicious. Whenever those cc's focus in, I sit up straight cause its so impressive.]

Fit has some of the most regular content on that server. He sees things and records them, filing them away for later in case he needs that knowledge.

So the moment it clocks in that Phil is being weird enough his children are being outspoken, he engages. They took him aside, especially, and opened up more to their Tio Fit than I have ever seen [except maybe Tallulah with BBH, who now has amnesia, and Bagi, though misguided has a good heart (thinks Phil is a Federation experiment)].

And he's made the best connections using his past knowledge and experiences.

Bagi helped with showing the crying obsidian and comparing it to the markings that spread across Phil's shoulders and back where the backpack hung, and I think that's when it clicked for Fit.

But he didn't want to tell Bagi because he isn't certain and perhaps he remembers Phil stressing this 'him' is dangerous. But the similarities have started to snap into place; especially with crying obsidian being a marker of the End Dimension, or at least drawing his thoughts that way.

Basically at the end of all of this; Fit had the best damn shot of making the connection based on lore from months ago and I am so fucking glad he did cause at least another Islander finally has a name for the fallen god chasing their crow.

I hope to God he or Ramon share this knowledge with another trustworthy source if an emergency comes up [Hoping on Bagi, Etoiles, Cellbit and Pac]. I have never been more proud to call that beautiful bald man one of my streamers, Veteran's Duo understand each other on a level no one else comes close too.

Yes they have their own important secrets. But, when they are themselves, they will trust one another to protect anyone effected if it becomes dangerous. It's been them since Day 1, between the regular visits and missions Fit is the closest brother in arms Phil has.

Despite the crow believing no one will care nor want to get involved due to the danger, Fit, Pac, Bagi and their families are all ready to prove them wrong. Phil sees himself as removed from the rest because he can be rather blind to affection and fondness, his self-blame not allowing him to acknowledge he is cared about.

But he is. And by Goddess will that server prove it, with Fit and Ramon at the front of the pack.

[sca-rian]

RECAP OF CELLBIT'S STREAM, 05/05

investigating quesadilla island!! the man has gone full detective and lore mode. here's a link of my recap of his previous stream if you want to catch up. only updating on the first 5 hours of stream, since after he switches to more casual building/chatting

cellbit's plan for the day is investigating the mystery within quesadilla island. he even got a special skin for this occasion

he started a diary to keep notes of what he finds within his investigations. i compiled what he wrote so far and translated it in this file

he also finished his office/investigation room!! its under his house

he left the favela with philza and he's asking phil some questions regarding how they got to the server and how his days in the server went by so far

philza is telling him about his experience exploring the structures he found in the sky and his encounter with the binary code entity, which fit exploded with a bomb

philza gave cellbit the coordinates he got from the entity (2530, 66, 1892)

he's now asking philza about the eggs

(this section of the stream is in english, in case anyone is interested. i will get the correct timestamps once vode is out, but roughly it should be around 30 mins in until the 1 hour mark)

he's now heading to the train station where everyone arrived to investigate

after not finding anything other than the puzzles (which weirded him out due to why such a thing would need to exist and why it feels like everyone is being tested), he moved to explore the ship where the brazilians arrived

he's revisiting the puzzle found in the ship with the letters/flags. it involves the international code of signals. the letters were KXUT, meaning the following:

    K - "i wish to communicate with you"

    X - "stop carrying out your intentions and watch for my signals"

    U - "you are running into danger"

    T - "keep clear of me"

cellbit believes it was like a warning for them to not approach the island

he went to meet up with maximus and foolish. he's telling them about when he got attacked by the binary code entity

they all went to his office and are now discussing the flag puzzle/codes

they're rewatching the tapes now

cellbit, foolish and maximus are heading to the coordinates phil gave cellbit earlier

the location is close to luzu's house, and foolish explained to cellbit what has been supposedly going on with luzu and an ai called erin (i have personally not been keeping up with this part of the qsmp, so im not entirely sure)

(once again, this section is in english if you want to watch for yourself. will get exact timestamps later, but roughly between tge 2 hour and 3 hour mark)

RICHARLYSON STEPPED ON A MINE MY GOD MY HEART I WAS SO SCARED HE WAS GONNA DIE. hes fine tho!!!

they're speculating the federation got luzu and thats why he hasnt been on the server. also that the building they found (picture above) is how luzu's mind stays alive and in the server somehow, since it looks like a machine

rip tree

theyre speculating the number "8" on the building might be counting the eggs that are currently alive

cellbit's main theory right now is that they're stuck in a simulation and are being tested

cellbit also mentioned he doesnt think the eggs are real or that theyre a way to manipulate them to stay in the island and not search for a way to leave. obviously, the others dont want to believe that

(guys i think cellbit is going a bit insane)

cellbit thinks they should find a way to break out of the simulation

cellbit is now speculated that when the eggs got kidnapped the federation placed something inside the eggs, thats why theyre cracked. bbh added that maybe they took a sample out of them to do experiments

theyre discussing ways to try and break out of the simulation/leave the island

A BOOK WITH BINARY CODE SHOWED UP ON HIS INVENTORY ???? the code translates to "LEAVE"

theyre going to try and see if they can leave the island by following the train rails. the eggs will stay with poor philza minecraft

AS SOON AS THEY LEFT, PHILZA AND THE EGGS GOT ATTACKED BY THE BINARY CODE ENTITY HOLY SHIT????????? thankfully, bbh placed a teleporter thing and they all managed to go back quickly. however, once they arrived the binary code entity was already gone

after that, they gave up on exploring the rails and all went their separate ways

bobby drowned while trying to escape the binary entity.

cellbit is really scared right now that richarlyson might be attacked again, he feels guilt somehow since he believes the entity is attacking because of what he has been doing/saying

cellbit was watching the clip of philza and the eggs being attacked. he realized it was initially cucorucho who turned into the binary entity

the binary code on the entity translates to "AI" ...... possibly linking back to the luzu situation they were discussing earlier

the next session of the stream is cellbit and richarlyson expanding the basement to include more stuff. cellbit also plans to make an interrogation room for people he thinks are suspicious (quackity)

theyre now going to visit roier and bobby. richarlyson made bobby a little gift :)

cellbit told roier that he thinks the attacks are his fault. cellbit told him it was probably a warning from the entity

cellbit also told him that cucorucho became one of the binary entities

maximus is building a transmission tower to send messages in all languages to the server. cellbit is absolutely losing it at his portuguese

they went back home to keep working on the basement

cellbit is teaching richarlyson how to play chess (this is an important update). richarlyson lost, but cellbit told him to just shoot the opponent when he loses

quackity logged on and cellbit mentioned he might interrogate quackity on sunday

as cellbit was ending his stream, cucorucho showed up on his basement

now, over 5 hours into the stream, cellbit will be changing into more casual minecraft gameplay to work on his base and overall taking a break soon. i will be closing the stream and ending this post. will update later if anything more happens!! once again, feel free to dm me/send asks if you have any questions, comments or requests for clips/timestamps/translations <3

[finnitesimal]

you reblogged that old ask about pissa ever going anywhere with their relationships and i've had some thoughts about this topic and it's probably gonna become a little bit of a rant so no pressure answering or even reading it's your askbox of course. so firsts things first jusr as you said the the answer to that task missa would definitely have to be more present on the server for this to not fall flat and feel very surface level. that being said the ender king stuff that's been going on with phil could potentially be a catalyst for things to move forward but personally i don't know if i like this idea 100%. while it is crucial to phil's character because well it's his lore! i presonally wouldn't like missa to become just an extension to him and a plot device for his story. i'd love missa to have more developement on his own or with other people first because as you said yourself a lot of the times when he's on the server him and phil barely leave each other's side.

the thing with phil ignoring missa's feelings in a way is that it could be easily attributed to him being a repressed old bird, which well, he totally is. and the threat of the ender king constantly looming over him and his loved ones definitely doesn't help with opening up to people these days. but that's where a lot of developement could happen for him and he's already been talking more to his eggs so hopefully he can exchange that trust and honesty to missa soon. and if it takes the ender king to do it then so be it i have more faith in missa being open about things on his own accord than this guy.

honestly i think i saw a post similar to what i'm going to say but i really hope the prison kiss will push some unspoken boundary between them that makes them perhaps question some things or move forward. i'm personally any type of pissa enjoyer but i just hope they can confront each other at some point and talk about how they feel. there's a lot of potential for a very sweet story here it would be a shame if nothing ever happened with it. i know it's probably wishful thinking but hey i can dream.

also we don't really know how the server is going to look and to what extent it's going to be reset but it could be a good chance for them to hang out more if let's say some bases get yeeted or they need to gather resources. or even if the bases are untouched it feels like a good moment for less active members to join since there's been a little bit of pause. what i'm saying is missa please log on more it's really crucial to this.

WOOHOO

i do agree that Missa should get to write his own lore whether it coincides with Phil's or not, he doesn't seem to be into scripting interactions with the others he's more likely to just start playing a bit and then bouncing off that for his cubito's story (spreen's betrayal and him leaving roier's house for it, kidnapping by wolves, being in love with phil, fortnite cheese putting him in prison) overall there's no evidence missa's gonna be involved in the ender king plot in canon unless he and Phil have talked about it

definitely think having a lot of new untouched space could take most of the pressure out of just walking around and seeing everything expand so quickly and being worried about building somewhere someone might have already claimed or on someone else's grounds

canon romantic pissa is still up in the air but ccphil and missa are most definitely aware that they're playing into a traditional romantic love story, theyre gonna have to decide if it'd be better or funnier to keep pivoting around the subject and drive everyone on the island insane or to get the ball FUCKING rolling

I'm going to Have Faith that he will log on more. I'm going to Hope and Pray. Calacaland will prevail

[pikmininaplane]

Fit lore!! I’d love to hear about your thoughts for Phil figuring out fits secret if you’d like to share, the same thought has been floating around in my head as well lol

OHOHOHOHO friend I love you /p I'm putting this under a read more because I. Ended up writing a lot more than intended–

So the thought came to me the day before Fit's lore, when Fit asked Phil if he'd be there the next day. Obviously it didn't mean anything else than "will you attend the event/will I see you tomorrow my friend ?", but my brain immediately went "what if Phil was involved in Fit's lore"

This, combined with the fact that I've been hoping someone would find out about qFit's secret or at least get sus of his behaviour, led me to believe that qPhil would be the best person that could find out about it, actually

'cause like– first of all, qPhil is probably the person qFit's closest to, without counting Ramón or any of the eggs. I mean, he's friendly towards most people, and gets along pretty well with qBad, qPac and qMike, but qPhil has literally given qFit access to his eggs' bunker, which, to my knowledge, he'd only given to qMissa and qWill, the fathers of said eggs, before. qPhil, who would probably have earned the #1 paranoid dad crown if qBBH hadn't been around, fully trusts qFit with his children.

And like I said, I really want someone to find out about qFit's secret, but like. Wouldn't it be more interesting if it were someone qFit is close to ? Someone qFit trusts, but also someone who trusts qFit ?

Also, as much as I want someone to know at least part of the truth, I don't want everything to be revealed to everyone yet, and I feel like most people, if they found out about qFit's secret, would reveal it to the others – some others, at least. Would qCellbit or qMaximus hide it from the Ordo Theoritas ? Would qBaghera, qForever or qBad hide it from each other ? Would the people actively investigating the island keep the existence of a third, unknown party to themselves ? Well... maybe. That is up to discussion. But they'd want to tell, at least, and that's not what I wish for.

Now qPhil ? qPhil is a lot less involved in the lore, or even in the RP itself (no shade, I love ccPhil, his character and the way he plays him) – he isn't even part of the Ordo Theoritas. He's not really interested in solving the island's mysteries – his priorities lie with the eggs and their safety.

I truly think qPhil would be a friend qFit could confide in. Because let's be real, qFit could probably use one – mans has been lying to everyone on the island for months, and the only one that knows part of his secret is Ramón, his 3 months old child, who he hasn't even told everything. Between that and the growing pressure (for real, what's with the cats appearing around him,,) qFit is under, he can't keep it all to himself forever.

I don't think qFit would tell him himself, though – and neither do I think qPhil would ask. I mean, even if he thinks qFit's chat messages are suspicious, he isn't the type to inquire about it.

... But accidents happen, y'know ?

[As he jumps down the elevator shaft, Phil can't quite shake off the feeling that something's wrong. That whatever Fit's doing down there, it isn't any of his business, and he should probably just go back up and tell Fit to meet him at his gym, or anywhere, really.

But, well. He's already there. Might as well go further.

The trail of torches leads him deeper and deeper, until it finally stops, in a tunnel like any other. But Phil isn't a fool. He can hear the faint tapping of keys.

It only takes him a few seconds to find the hidden entrance.

Fit stands up as he comes in.

The room is small, barely big enough to breathe, and dark. Its only light comes from the computer screen sitting on the wooden desk, in the middle of the room, between the two men.

Neither of them speak.

Phil can see the thoughts flashing behind Fit's eyes. He's certain of it now, he's found something he shouldn't have found, and Fit has yet to decide how to react. Unconsciously, his hand has moved closer to his trident; consciously, Phil prepares himself to grab his sword.

But Fit doesn't attack. He simply places his hand in front of himself and gives Phil an awkward yet friendly smile.

"Hey, Phil ! Didn't expect to see you there... !"

Phil wishes he could just return his smile and pretend like nothing’s wrong. Ignore what he’s seeing and go back to Chayanne and Tallulah.

... but it's a little too late for that, isn't it ?

"Oi, mate," he calls out as he crosses his arms. "What are you up to."]

... something about leitmotivs and Phil finding out people's secrets by walking into their secret underground rooms...

So yeah, TL;DR: I want someone to find out about qFit’s secret because it’s a shame such a huge share of the lore is kept, well, secret, and I think qPhil would be a perfect first confident because they’re really good friends and he wouldn’t just tell anyone :] Plus I love their relationship and I’d love to see it being explored more please I’m begging

(Also I'm glad to hear I'm not the only one who's been thinking about it and I'd love to hear your own thoughts if you're willing to share them 👀)

[bonesandthebees]

Ok, so, I've never watched any of the qsmp streams, but I read your rambling about it and read your one shots abt it, and uh do you have any advice on how to get into watching the streams? Like where do I start? How to catch up on missed lore? Stuff like that

well there are a lot of different POVs you can choose to catch up on and which one(s) you choose will definitely affect your understanding of what's going on. if you want to just catch up on the primary major story beats overall (federation lore, main egg lore) this channel on youtube has made 3 videos so far summarizing the lore as it goes on. I haven't watched these videos myself so I can't say how accurate they are or if they leave anything important out, but I've heard positive things!

now if you wanna catch up on more individual lore/character dynamics and all that then you're facing a bit more of a challenge. I believe quackity has most of his qsmp vods uploaded on his vod channel so you can definitely check those out for his story stuff. if you wanna understand my fics better wilbur has the smallest number of qsmp vods out of the cc's at least somewhat tied into the storyline so it shouldn't be too hard to catch up on his stuff. his vod from day 1 of the qsmp has one of the funniest moments from any wilbur stream ever (yes I am referring to that moment he was talking to max) but I don't think you need to watch a ton from any of the day 1 POV's after the first hour or so.

while phil is the pov I watch the most for qsmp, he's definitely less involved in the plot. but unlike what I keep seeing some people on twt and tumblr say, he DOES participate in the rp and does care about the lore. he just doesn't go out of his way to get super involved in it and likes making 4th wall breaking jokes. but yeah if you're looking for more lore based stuff, phil might not be a great pov to watch as your primary.

now bad is the english speaking cc most involved in the heavy federation lore stuff, so his vods are definitely good to check out if you're looking for an english speaking cc to watch. jaiden's also definitely tied into it and has her own very interesting plotline going on atm involving the federation, but she doesn't stream as often so there are a few more gaps with her compared to bad who's been daily streaming for months now.

now for the cc's who don't primarily speak english, it's definitely a bit more of a challenge to watch those POVs if you don't speak the cc's language, but when many cc's are in a group they'll usually switch to english since that's the most common language on the server. also there's the translator that most of them have up on their screen, but it's not super accurate and a lot of the time cc's forget to switch it between languages so I don't rely on it much. for lore stuff, cellbit is a great choice because he's been heavily involved in investigating the federation and solving puzzles and all that since he first got on the server. from the french side, baghera jumped into lore stuff pretty quickly too so I highly recommend her pov as well

again I don't know how detailed/what the summary videos do and don't include but if you see clips from certain streams on that summary video that look interesting, I definitely recommend going to the vod itself and watching at least a bit of it. the group dynamic between all the players on the island is so delightful to watch. so many great friendships have formed bc of this server and it's so much fun to watch them grow in real time.

more than anything though when you're trying to catch up, go through the tumblr tag! follow people who liveblog a lot! follow the updates accounts on twitter! I actually don't catch many streams, but I'm usually pretty up to date on the big plot stuff happening on the server at all times just from what I see on my dash. read posts and check out the tags to absorb info via dash osmosis. that's how I caught up on dsmp when I first got into it back in january 2021 lol

hope this helps :)

[shadowfloofster]

I keep seeing people want Phil, Jaiden or Slime to be president and every time it makes me go "absolutely not". I know the public votes won't have a big of an effect as the people on the server but I NEED people to think for a minute instead of focusing on their favs.

Philza is 100% not running. Q!Phil doesn't like politics or the federation so as if he's going to run. Even if he did he's not on the server a lot and doesn't get involved with lore unless needed. And to the people saying to add Tommy? No. Nothing against him but we don't need his fan base treating him as the main character again and he'd probably break the community on the island.

Slime doesn't play on the server so chances are he's not ganna sign up + he'd cause SO many problems on the island.

And while Jaiden might be a good choice, she's rarely on + Cucorucho linking her to the federation makes her untrustworthy to people.

People need to think logically about this. Bad and Baghera are already thinking of ways to stop the federation from getting too close to the president and using them as a puppet while making it fair for everyone. While people keep trying to throw the idea back in their face with loop holes and possibilities, it's better than nothing and they're getting more into details with it. Nothing says they can't try their plan but they can make a back up plan too.

Also PLEASE stop boiling Q!Bad's motives as "Only for Skeppy" as that's not true! If it was only for Skeppy he'd be going full out convincing people to vote for HIM, not trying to keep the community together with as little conflict as possible. He's running so it absolutely can't fall into the wrong hands! Even if he doesn't trust himself to be president because he doesn't know if he'll be able to stay clear of the federation, he knows he's better fit than possible others. So he put himself into the running, thinking of how he could benefit everyone and not play into the federation's games completely, to keep everyone on the island as safe as possible.

So currently, I'm on team Bad or Baghera.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (April 5/2021) - The Case of the Disappearing Sheep

Ponk and Karl both make plans to speak to Niki about her haven city.

Tubbo does a lap around the server to check out what’s going on, but some mysterious messages crop up on screen. 

Tommy and Ranboo attempt to move Friend to a safer location and in the process, Friend goes missing. How do you lose a bright blue sheep? No one knows, but it sure happened anyway.

---

VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Tubbo

Foolish

Tommyinnit

Ranboo

Karl Jacobs

Captain Puffy

---

- Ponk has something he needs to do.

- The Egg has enemies. Everyone hates the Egg. But you know who people don’t hate? Niki.

- Things don’t last forever, so Ponk needs a backup plan for when things go south with the Egg. He goes to Niki’s secret city to leave a message.

(Ponk is going to try and get Purpled in on this, Sam too. He’ll have lore that has to do with before Tommy joined, so he wants to get Sam, Bad, Punz, maybe even Alyssa and George involved too, as well as having some cameos. He mentions Boomer and Snifferish, Redvelvet, 5up, etc., as possibilities)

- He leaves a sign for Niki asking to chat sometime and heads back.

- Ponk retcons his fake kneecaps

- He continues to work on his flower hill for Sam

- Ponk talks to Delta.

- Tubbo aims to get the most powerful sword in the game possible so that he can interrogate people.

QUICK I DONT

HAVE MUCH TIME

- Tubbo goes down into the spider spawner and thinks of sword names.

STAY AWAY FROM

- He considers names like “the Hornet,” “Soul-stinger,” among others.

- He then chooses between “Final Hope” and “Checkmate” and settles on naming the sword Checkmate.

THE NORTH!

- Tubbo visits the mansion

- Tommy logs on and Tubbo spots Tommy walking up Drista’s god staircase. Tubbo is confused and tries it out for himself.

A STRANGE METAL

WEAPON WASHED UP

- Tubbo goes to explore Kinoko. He remarks that a lot of the big places on the server are south of Snowchester.

- He sees Kinoko and also goes down into Niki’s underground city.

IT POISONS

- Next, he decides to check up on the Egg.

- As he heads over, he sees Fundy’s honeymoon suite for Dream and reminisces about Dream’s iron door MCC nightmare. 

- He checks up on the prison first and notices the god McDonald’s.

- Then, he goes to the Egg.

THE NATURE

- Tubbo enters the Egg Room.

- Tubbo also visits Ranboo’s house in the Arctic.

THE WATTER

- He goes all the way out to his jungle base and finds a pufferfish in a bucket in a chest. He decides to take it.

- Then the guardian farm

NO ITS NOT

- He returns to Snowchester and sees Michael.

THATS IT WE ARE

LEAVING

- Tommy logs on. He’s gotten a barrier block from Drista and plays around with the invisible staircase.

- They noticed a mysterious nether brick block with a single sign on it. All it says is “AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH.”

- Jack comes over to them.

- They go back down and Tommy speaks to Ranboo one-on-one. Ranboo suggests they might need Jack as a sacrifice, and Tommy mentions that now that he’s finished with the tower, he might be taking back his hotel.

- They recount the events of last time, where they attempted to rescue Henry.

- Tommy says that until they can give Friend back to Ghostbur, he doesn’t want anybody knowing where he is. They should put him in a vault. Specifically, a place that everyone walks by every day, but no one goes to.

- They visit the Oogway Shrine and Ponk’s green room.

- Tommy points out King’s Court to Ranboo. Everyone sees it, but no one goes up there. It would be the perfect spot to put Friend. They leave Friend tied to a post near the highway elevator.

- They go up to King’s Court.

- Jack comes up and Tommy speaks with him. Jack says he might have a court case coming up due to Puffy suing him for the hotel. Tommy and Jack argue about who owns the hotel. Tommy tells him to give it back, and Jack refuses.

- They see that Friend has gone missing and are confused. They ask Jack if he took their blue shieep.

- They start looking around for Friend.

- Tommy and Ranboo speak away from Jack, trying to figure out who took him.

- Ranboo says he has some of Ghostbur’s blue and suggests they just make a new one.

- Tommy explains to Ranboo that Jack stole his hotel, and as he’s been gathering up resources, working towards Netherite so that he can go to the prison again, he’s decided that he might as well get his hotel back.

- They go back up to King’s Court to work on the vault some more.

- They go back down and discover Friend tied up to the post by the elevator again. They’re extremely confused and speak to Jack again.

- Tommy and Jack fight about the hotel. Jack tells Tommy that since he’s come back, he’s basically a different person and has to buy it back with leverage. Jack says he’s got business deals going on.

- They notice that Friend has disappeared again.

- Tommy asks Jack why he shouldn’t just kill him right now. Jack claims that Friend’s life depends on him.

- Tommy and Ranboo demand Jack to prove that he can summon Friend again.

- Jack leaves and comes back in a detective outfit. He admits that he doesn’t actually know how to summon Friend, but if they need a detective...

- Foolish comes over and they question him.

- They start digging up the hillside.

- They call Dream to try and figure out what happened.

- Jack wonders if maybe Friend pulled a Jack Manifold and went to Hell.

- Phil sends a clip of him singing about Friend dying in autotune. 

- Tommy leaves and Ranboo finds Friend with Jack and Foolish.

- They discuss whether Friend’s name is spelled with a capital F in various incarnations.

- Ranboo realizes that Friend is tied to a different fencepost and takes Friend away. 

- Karl and Sapnap run around Kinoko on Karl’s account. They decide Jack Manifold’s shoreline restaurant has to go.

- Karl explains that he wants to merge with Niki’s country, and he can’t sell her the deal with this building here. Hannah is there, and says that it’s her favorite burger restaurant. 

- Karl starts tearing it down. Foolish hands him TNT. Punz shows up. They light TNT inside and mines down the walls. Hannah says he’ll pay with his life.

- They see a fish in the pond and decide to name him Lasagna. If anything happens to Lasagna, Sapnap would take a canon life.

- They also retrieve Hutt the fish, Rutabaga, the Party Island llamas

- Karl writes a book to Niki saying he’d love to show her around his beautiful country, and that he’s noticed their countries are close together. He remembers creating Rutabagville together, and suggests they might do something similar and combine territories. He puts the book and George’s wall shield in his Ender Chest.

- Puffy pranks Bad and Skeppy by replacing the quartz in their mansion with white concrete.

- Puffy sacrifices Antfrost for Karlnap.

---

Upcoming events remain the same.

[davidmann95]

What's your Marvel Starter Pack?

My Marvel knowledge isn’t nearly as extensive as what I have for DC, so this’ll be scaled back to 12 books from the 15 I had there (nevermind Superman and Batman’s own personal lists). Additionally, since Marvel’s even more about Right Now than DC, nothing here is earlier than the turn of the century; a lot of my older recommended reading is by my dad’s suggestion since he had plenty of firsthand experience with the Silver and Bronze ages. Also worth noting that my Marvel tastes don’t exactly fall in line with the general sensibilities of Tumblr or fandom at large - I’m not a big X-Men guy, for instance - so your results may vary. But anyway, again, if you’re following me but new to actually collecting comics and wondering what to look into to gauge your interests, I’ve got plenty for you.

1. Daredevil by Mark Waid

What it’s about: Blinded as a child pushing an old man out of the path of an oncoming truck transporting radioactive waste, Matt Murdock grew up to become a lawyer, encouraged by his pugilist father Battlin’ Jack Murdock not to rely on his fists as he had throughout life. But when Jack was murdered for refusing to throw a fight, Matt was forced to rely on the talents he had developed in secret under his sensei Stick - the same isotopes that took away his sight boosted his remaining four to superhuman levels, as well as granting him a 360° awareness of his surroundings he termed his ‘radar sense’ - to find justice for his father and those like him, becoming the vigilante Daredevil. Now, after a crimefighting career marked by agony, loss, and an increasingly deteriorating psyche, his identity has been unofficially exposed by the tabloid press…but attempting to turn around both his life and his mental health, Matt’s chosen to try and re-embrace the good in both his daytime career and in the thrill of his adventures as the Man Without Fear.

Why you should read it: Aside from being in my opinion the most influential superhero comic of the decade, Mark Waid’s tenure on Daredevil is the complete package of superhero comics. Energizing, gorgeous, accessible, character-driven, innovative, and bold, it’s a platonic ideal of Good Superhero Comics, and most especially Good Marvel Superhero Comics, and as such there’s little better place to start.

Further recommendations if you liked it: Shockingly, few modern Marvel titles seem to operate on a similar frequency to this run, even among those that clearly wouldn’t have existed without it; of those I don’t mention in one capacity or another below, the only modern books that leap out to me as being of a similar breed are Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee’s (the latter ending up the primary artist on Waid’s Daredevil) tragically cut short Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Dan Slott and Mike Allred’s Silver Surfer, and Al Ewing’s Contest of Champions. Given the classic mood it evokes, you might also be interested in some of Marvel’s older stuff in general - as probably most conveniently packaged in the Essential volumes - as well as the more recent Marvel Adventures line of all-ages titles. For hornhead himself, most of his classic work tends to operate in a pitch-black noir mood that much of Waid’s run is meant to contrast; if you want to delve into it, go to Frank Miller’s run (primarily Born Again), then Brian Bendis’s followed by Ed Brubaker’s and, following Waid, Chip Zdarsky’s (the Charles Soule run in the middle seems largely forgettable).

2. Marvels

What: Following the career of photojournalist Phil Sheldon - beginning in World War II with the rise of the likes of the Human Torch, Namor, and Captain America, and forward into the reemergence of superheroes with the Fantastic Four - Marvels shows what the battles that define a world look like to the helpless spectators, from the controversy surrounding mysterious vigilantes such as Spider-Man, the fear of the “mutant menace” represented by the X-Men, and the terror when the planet is first truly threatened at the hands of Galactus.

Why: As well as being one of Marvel’s best and most defining works period - this is Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross’s coming out party as two of the most significant names in the genre, and it articulates Marvel’s avowed “it’s the world outside your window!” philosophy better than perhaps any other title - Marvel is ruled by history and continuity in a way DC isn’t. The latter may have reboots to contend with, but Marvel has a much more upfront and consistently significant timeline of what happened when and what’s important, and if you’re going to have to immerse yourself in that ridiculous lore, there’s no more fulfilling way of getting an injection of pure backstory than this.

Recommendations: There’s a follow-up by Busiek, Roger Stern and Jay Anacleto titled Marvels: Eye of the Camera; I haven’t read it yet myself, but given the pedigree involved I can’t imagine it’s anything less than entirely solid. For other Major Marvel Events, the defining one of the 21st century is Mark Millar and Steve McNiven’s Civil War, which set a tone that still reverberates through the line; also worth checking out the recent Marvel Legacy oneshot, which seems to be laying the groundwork for things to come. Speaking of setting a tone, while it’s not directly ‘relevant’ continuity-wise, Millar also worked with Bryan Hitch on Ultimates 1 & 2, which proved to be the aesthetic model for the current wave of Marvel movies and added plenty of ideas that have been extensively mined since. History of the Marvel Universe by Mark Waid and Javier Rodriguez fits its title and is absolutely worth a library checkout, but is mainly a rote checklist elevated by all-timer artwork.

3. Kieron Gillen and Jamie McKelvie’s Young Avengers

What: The heroes of the group once known as the ‘Young Avengers’ have gone their separate ways, each trying to figure things out on the cusp of adulthood. But when Wiccan’s attempt at helping his boyfriend goes horribly wrong - mixed in with a pint-sized god of mischief’s machinations, an interdimensional bruiser’s attempts at routing him, and non-Hawkguy Hawkeye’s extraterrestrial hookup - the gang’s forced back together again and on the run before old age literally swallows them whole.

Why: Here’s the bummer truth, daddy-o: I am not, in the common parlance, down with the hep cats, at least as far as gateway young-readers Marvel books go. I flipped through Runaways and wasn’t compelled to pick it up; I kept on with Ms. Marvel for a couple years but always on the edge of falling out of my monthly pile. Unless it’s truly next-level spectacular or heart-pouring-out sincere, gimme superfolks routing fiendish plots and going on trippy adventures any day over a bunch of sad kids in tights figuring out adolescence all over again: Spidey already did it first and better, and when emotionally-down-to-Earth superhero comics do get me fired up it’s usually set a little later on in life (even when I was the target audience for this sort of thing). But fire it through Gillen/McKelvie laser neon sexytime pop, and suddenly you’re in business. Slick, smart, raw, and wild, this was the best comic of 2013, and’ll certainly go down as one of the best superhero titles of this decade, Marvel as the Cool Kids of superherodom dialed up to 11.

Recommendations: Nothing else quite like this out there - the closest in feeling is Grant Morrison and J.G. Jones’ excellent original Marvel Boy miniseries, though that’s more about becoming a 20-something out in the world in the sense of wanting to burn it all down to the ground - but as I said, Runaways and Ms. Marvel do generally appeal to the same audience (and to be clear, I did like the latter just fine), as do the original Young Avengers run and Avengers Academy. Personally, I checked out and liked Avengers Arena, where all the fun teen heroes got forced into Hunger Gamsing each other on a murder island run by Arcade, followed up by them breaking bad in Avengers Undercover - please note that I’m like one of the three people on Earth who liked this book as opposed to ravenously despising it, which probably has in part do to with my lack of prior attachment to the characters involved. Also, important to note that this book is in the middle of a thematic Loki trilogy, preceded by Gillen’s Journey Into Mystery (which I haven’t read but don’t for a second doubt the quality of), and completed by Al Ewing and Lee Garbett’s truly magnificent Loki: Agent of Asgard; also worth noting that these books, and really modern Loki as a whole, are deeply rooted in Robert Rodi and Esad Ribic’s Thor & Loki: Blood Brothers. And for perfect entry books, I don’t think there’s much of anything better out there, especially for young readers, than Ryan North and Erica Henderson’s The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl, one of Marvel’s most consistently high-quality ongoings of the last several years.

4. Hawkeye: My Life As A Weapon

What: Clint Barton, aka Hawkeye, aka Hawkguy, is the Avenger who’s Just A Dude. No super-steroids and vita-rays, no magic hammer or Pym particles, a distinct lack of multi-billion dollar armor or immortality serum. Dude has a bow and arrow, and while he is very, very good with that bow and arrow, he still gets his ass kicked a frankly disproportionate amount relative to his teammates. Between meeting a dog, buying a car, and hanging out with friends - even if each incident goes significantly more wrong that they would for anyone other than Clint Barton, with non-Hawkguy Hawkeye Kate Bishop typically along for the ride - this is what he gets up to when he’s not helping save the world.

Why: Gonna show my heresy again: I’m not actually over the moon about Fraction/Aja’s Hawkeye past the first arc. But that first arc? Man oh man oh man, are they about as good as Marvel gets. This is absolute next-level storytelling on every front, with Aja and Pulido pulling out all the stops and Fraction - who by all accounts thinks more about the process of how comics work than anyone else in the field - just pouring heart and style all over the thing. It’s as tight and energetic as comics get, and the perfect introduction to Marvel’s street-level corner.

Recommendations: Aside from the rest of this run, there’s the recent Hawkeye (starring the non-Hawkguy Hawkeye Kate Bishop) by Kelly Thompson and Leonardo Romero, and there’s a generous helping of Hawkguy in Ales Kot and Michael Walsh’s Secret Avengers, a book as tight and out-of-the-box and oddly joyous in its own way as this. If you’re looking for other Marvel material that gets this explicitly experimental and afield of the house style, go for Jim Steranko’s much-loved work with Nick Fury. And for the other, considerably grimmer side of the street, aside from the Daredevil stuff I mentioned above, check out anything and everything you can get your hands on from Garth Ennis’s work with the Punisher, along with Greg Rucka’s and Jason Aaron’s.

5. Moon Knight: From The Dead

EDIT: This list was written prior to allegations made against Warren Ellis. It’s your money, but while I’d still recommend checking the book out of the library - the quality of the work isn’t going to change now that it’s out there in the universe - if you’re looking to pad your bookshelf I might recommend skipping to some of the books suggested below in its place.

What: Marc Spector was a mercenary until the day he died, betrayed in the desert before an Egyptian temple by his comrades…and then he kept going. No one knows for sure whether the truth is what his doctors have to say - that sharing his head with the likes of Steven Grant and Jake Lockley is a manifestation of DID, and he’s a profoundly sick man - or his own interpretation - that his fragile human personality buckled and shattered before the immensity when dying by its temple, he bowed his head at death’s door to the moon god Khonshu and let it seize his soul. Whatever the truth, he now knows his purpose: to defend travelers by night from whatever horrors would cross their path.

Why: There’s no story as such to be told here; Ellis and Shalvey simply show six adventures over six issues that establish Moon Knight and the scope of what he’s capable of when handled properly, ranging from straightforward detective work to psychedelic journeys through a rotting dream to a jaw-dropping issue-long fight scene. Marvel has a proud history of material skewing slightly to the left of the rest of their output, tonally and conceptually, and this is your ideal gateway to Weird Marvel.

Recommendations: For the further adventures of Moon Knight, by recommendation would be Max Bemis and Jacen Burrows’ current volume, which is following up on the seeds Ellis and Shalvey laid down quite satisfactorily, with a few twists of their own on top. Ellis himself used Moon Knight before this in his run on Secret Avengers with a number of different artists, which was very much a precursor to his work above in its high-concept done-in-one style; also check out his book Nextwave with Stuart Immonen, which is as out there as it gets for Marvel and also the best comic ever. Delving into Marvel’s spooky side, if this did anything at all for you absolutely get all of Al Ewing and Joe Bennett’s massively and rightfully acclaimed The Immortal Hulk (and if you’re looking for more something more traditional with the Green Goliath, Mark Waid’s The Indestructible Hulk is a hoot). If you really want to go to ground zero of Weird Marvel, you’re in the market for Steve Gerber’s work, primarily Defenders and his own creation Howard the Duck (who had another very entertaining via Chip Zdarsky and Joe Quinones recently worth checking out). Another notably out-there character worth checking out is She-Hulk, particularly in Dan Slott’s run and Charles Soule/Javier Pulido’s. Two more figures existing on Marvel’s weirder end are Doctor Strange - whose ‘classic’ work would as I understand it be Steve Englehart and Frank Brunner’s run, and who’s worth checking out more recently in Brian K. Vaughan and Marcos Martin’s miniseries The Oath, Jason Aaron and Chris Bachalo’s run, and Donny Cates and Gabriel Hernandez Walta’s - and the Inhumans - while contemporary attempts to push them have been a failure, there have been excellent individual successes in Ellis, Gerardo Zaffino, and Roland Boschi’s Karnak, Al Ewing and company’s Royals, and Saladin Ahmed and Christian Ward’s Black Bolt. And I’d be remiss in the extreme not to bring up Gabriel Walta and Tom King’s Vision, which I don’t want to give anything away of, but has a serious claim to being the best thing Marvel’s ever published.

6. Ultimate Spider-Man by Bendis & Bagley

What: When bitten by a genetically mutated spider Peter Parker thought he could use his newfound powers to make a quick buck, and come on, you already know this.

Why: This is the foundational modern Spider-Man. The first arc’s aged a little wonky in bits as Bendis was trying to make late-90s/early-00s Teen Slang work, but by and large, Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley’s original 111-issue tenure on Ultimate Spider-Man reimagining his early years was pound-for-pound one of Marvel’s all-time most engaging, exciting, dramatic, and authentic long-term runs. This is the template for every movie (especially Homecoming) and TV show he’s had in the last decade, a sizable part of what got me into comics in the first place, and one of the company’s most reliable perennials. You want to get onboard with maybe the most popular superhero in the world, you do it here.

Recommendations: With the remainder of the list I’m getting into more character/concept-specific reccs, and for other great Spider-Man, your best bet truly is the classic early material by Stan Lee, Steve Ditko, and John Romita as collected in the Essential volumes, which has aged unbelievably well compared to its contemporaries; Bendis’s post-Bagley material just doesn’t hold up, even with the introduction of fan-favorite Miles Morales. For other ‘classics’, your best bests are Spider-Man: Blue, and by my understanding the runs of Roger Stern and J.M. DeMatteis, particularly the latters’ Kraven’s Last Hunt. For the modern stuff, Chip Zdarksy’s current Peter Parker: The Spectacular Spider-Man is just getting better and better, I’ve heard very good things about Spider-Man Loves Mary Jane, I personally enjoyed Mark Millar and (at his peak) JMS’s runs, and while most agree Dan Slott’s soon-concluding decade-long tenure on the character has outstayed its welcome, he’s also turned in some stone-cold classics like No One Dies and Spider-Man/Human Torch, as well as other entertaining work such as the original Renew Your Vows and Superior Spider-Man. Most recently, Chip Zdarsky’s work with the character in The Spectacular Spider-Man and the high-concept out-of-continuity miniseries Spider-Man: Life Story are some of Mr. Parker’s all-time best, while Tom Taylor’s Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is a charming relatively small-scale superhero adventure book, and Saladin Ahmed and Javier Garron’s Miles Morales: Spider-Man is easily the best possible introduction to that guy.

7. Thor: God of Thunder Vol. 1

What: Though Thor, the god of thunder and mighty Avenger, has faced limitless threats to even divine life and limb over his many millennia, only one figure has ever truly frightened him. Now, as he discovers a serial killer of deities is loose in the cosmos, he must turn to his past and future alike in order to survive the coming of the God-Butcher.

Why: The pick on this list most directly relevant to those coming in from the movies right now, I’m afraid that while a bit of this was plucked for Ragnarok, this isn’t remotely on the same wavelength. This is black metal death opera screamed through the megaphone of wild space-spanning superheroics, and not only is it the best Thor comic, it’s the perfect introduction to Marvel’s cosmic side.

Recommendations: Along with the Loki books I namechecked above, the defining run on Thor (though the rest of his continuing work there is also very much worth checking out) is Walter Simonson, which laid down a lot of the fundamentals of the character as he exists today; along with that and the rest of Aaron’s run, my understanding is that Lee/Kirby’s original run holds up very well. For more satisfying fight comics, I’d also suggest World War Hulk, and I hear Marvel’s early Conan comics were standouts. On the cosmic end, I know the Guardians of the Galaxy are where it’s at these days; they sprang to life in their current incarnation in the much-loved Annihilation, and while I haven’t been reading their current Gerry Duggan/Aaron Kuder run, it’s well-liked and probably a good place to drop on, as would be the recent Chip Zdarsky/Kris Anka Starlord, and I’d personally recommend Al Ewing and Adam Gorhan’s Rocket. Beyond them, Jonathan Hickman’s comics are where it’s really at, from his Fantastic Four to S.H.I.E.L.D. to Ultimates to Avengers/New Avengers to the big finale to his overarching story in Secret Wars; it’s a complicated reading order to figure out, but oh-so-worth it.

8. Iron Man: Extremis

What: Faced with the horrors of his amoral past and the questions of a future coming quicker than he can manage, Tony Stark faces his most dangerous enemy yet when experimental post-human body modification tech is let loose into the world and lands in the hands of a white supremacist terrorist cell.

Why: More than anything other than Robert Downey Jr. smirking and quipping, this story is the definitive model for the modern Iron Man, taking a C-lister most notable for dealing with alcoholism decades earlier and hanging out on the B-list team in the Avengers (at least until 2012), and redefining his personality, aesthetic, and role in the 21st century as a man who might be smart enough to save the world if he can ever pull together enough to somehow save himself from his own compromises and weaknesses. The road to this guy becoming a household name is paved here.

Recommendations: Prior to this, his biggest stories were Demon in a Bottle, showing his first reckoning with his alcohol abuse, and Denny O’Neil’s 40-issue run introducing Obadiah Stane and showing Stark’s darkest hour as he sinks completely into his illness. Post-Ellis, the big run is Matt Fraction and Salvador Larroca, which seizes both on the ideas here and the momentum granted by his Hollywood debut to cement his status as an A-lister; after that check out Kieron Gillen’s, which is not only a fun big-idea series in its own right but paves the way for Al Ewing’s spinoff Fatal Frontier, easily one of Iron Man’s best and most overlooked titles. Finally, while it was derided in its own time (that it was a spinoff of an event that turned him evil but the comic never especially explained the circumstances didn’t help), Superior Iron Man is also worth a look as a horrifying contrast to the rest of these.

9. Captain America: Man Out Of Time

What: A sickly young man who volunteered to participate in an experimental super-soldier program to serve his country in World War II, Steve Rogers became Captain America and protected the world from the Nazis with unimaginable courage and distinction, until the day he died disarming a drone plane rigged to blow aimed at America’s shores. He was honored throughout history…until the day he was found alive by the Avengers, frozen in the Atlantic and ready to emerge into the lights of the 21st century when needed most. Most people know that story. This is the story of what happened next.

Why: The search for the definitive statement on Captain America is one that’s driven his character for decades: after all, handling him doesn’t just mean talking about one man’s character, but the character of a nation. Successes are typically qualified, but one of the more successful creators in the pool is Mark Waid, who’s up to his fourth time at bat with Steve right now on the main book. His own most notable effort however is here, showing Rogers’ earliest days post-iceberg as he adjusts to living in what is to him the far-flung future, seeing the ways the nation has both surpassed his wildest dreams and fallen short of his humblest expectations, leaving him in the end to make the choice of whether this is truly the world he wants to defend.

Recommendations: As I mentioned, Waid’s had a few times up at bat with Captain America, and while he initial 90s stints might not be ideal for new readers for a number of reasons, his current run with frequent partner Chris Samnee is a solid crowdpleaser and a perfect place to jump onboard. Prior to that, worth checking out are Jim Steranko’s bizarre and transformative 3-issue run, Steve Englehart’s legendary Secret Empire (not the recent contentious Marvel event comic, to be clear), Ed Brubaker’s turn of the character towards grounded espionage, and his co-creator Jack Kirby’s bombastic, passionate 1970s tenure on the Captain. Currently, Ta-Nehisi Coates’ run is quite solid. Regarding related characters, for the Winter Soldier I’d suggest Ales Kot and Marco Rudy’s unconventional cosmic thriller Bucky Barnes: Winter Soldier; Black Widow had her own recent and excellent Mark Waid/Chris Samnee run, and I’d also recommend the one-shot Avengers Assemble 14AU by Al Ewing and Butch Guice, and issue #20 from Warren Ellis’s previously mentioned time on Secret Avengers; for Black Panther, his definitive runs are under Don McGregor and Christopher Priest, and I’d also note Jason Aaron and Jefte Palo’s Secret Invasion arc as showing T’Challa at his best.

10. Fantastic Four By Waid & Wieringo

What: Bathed in cosmic radiation on an ill-fated journey to the stars, Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm were transformed, and became the Fantastic Four, first family of an age of heroes! Now, years into their careers and with Reed and Sue’s young children in tow, they continue to explore new frontiers, whether battling a sentient equation gone mad, contending with an extradimensional roach infestation, or perhaps most perilous of all, Johnny trying to deal with getting a real job.

Why: Plenty consider the Fantastic Four one of Marvel’s most difficult groups to get right, but Waid and Wieringo nail the formula here as well as anyone ever has, just the right mix of high adventure and family dynamics to draw just about anyone in; this is as crowdpleasing as comics get and the perfect introduction to the best superhero team out there.

Recommendations: The FF’s another group where it’s worth going back to their earliest days of Lee and Kirby; while much of the writing’s aged awkwardly at best, they’re the absolute foundational comics of the entire universe and lay down concepts that are still getting use today throughout that universe. Past that initial run, John Byrne and Walter Simonson’s are among the best by reputation, as well as Jonathan Hickman’s as I discussed before (Mark Millar and Bryan Hitch’s is worth tracking down as well, especially since concepts there end up feeding directly into Hickman). For more outside-the-box material, Joe Casey and Chris Weston’s First Family is worth a look, as is Grant Morrison and Jae Lee’s 1234. And for the all-time best showing of bashful Benjamin J. Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing, find Marvel Two-In-One Annual #7 to see him defend the entire planet in a boxing match at Madison Square Garden. And while the team’s sadly off the table at the moment, Thing and the Torch are returning in Chip Zdarsky and Jim Cheung’s new volume of Marvel Two-In-One as they set out to find their missing family.

11. Mighty Avengers by Al Ewing

What: When Thanos takes to the skies as Earth’s Mightiest Heroes are off-planet, it’s a day unlike any other, as those left standing are forced to band together as the Mighty Avengers. And as the danger passes, the team remains, looking to truly work alongside those they protect rather than above them to make things better, even as forces conspire in the background to enslave them all.

Why: This title is something of a limitus test, in that it’s one where you’ll have to deal with it being constantly, infuriatingly forced to deal with crossover nonsense. It’s one of the big prices to pay for engaging with a larger universe, but the trade-off is that this is where Al Ewing gets set loose on the Marvel universe, drawing on every weird corner to pull together a run of genuine moral intent, note-perfect character work, and all-out adventure. This may be the ‘secondary’ team, but it’s as perfect as the Avengers have ever gotten.

Recommendations: The title itself is relaunched as Captain America and the Mighty Avengers, and as that ends but Ewing continues his time at Marvel, the characters and concepts end up divided among a number of titles: Contest of Champions, where a number of heroes are plucked from the timestream to duel for the power and amusement of the Grandmaster, New Avengers (later turned U.S.Avengers), where former X-Man Sunspot assembles a new team to act as a James Bond-ified international strike force, and Ultimates (later turned Ultimates2), where some of Earth’s most powerful and brilliant heroes band together to proactively defend against unimaginable cosmic threats; also try his mini-event Ultron Forever with Alan Davis sometime. Based on your response to numerous aspects of those titles, there’s a good chance you might be in the market for David Walker’s Luke Cage titles, Matt Fraction’s Defenders, and Jim Starlin’s cosmic 70s books such as Captain Marvel and Warlock (and make sure to read Nextwave at some point, Ewing actually follows up on that gonzo delight in some surprising ways here). For the ‘main’ team, aside from Hickman’s previously mentioned run - which while spectacular is pretty far afield of the usual tone - some suggestions might be Kurt Busiek and George Perez’s much-loved run, Roger Stern’s Under Siege, I have to imagine given the pedigree of the creators Earth’s Mightiest Heroes by Joe Casey and Scott Kolins, Brian Bendis’s extended ownership of the Avengers books, and The Kree-Skrull War.

12. Wolverine & The X-Men by Jason Aaron

What: Dwindled down to a few in a world that hates and fears them as much as ever, mutantkind has been split in two, with by-the-books Cyclops taking a hardline approach against oppression and feeling that the youth in the X-Men’s charge must be made ready to fight, while Wolverine has grown tired of throwing children into battle and has left to find a new way. Founding the Jean Gray School For Higher Learning, Logan’s found himself in the most unexpected role of all as a professor, fighting just has hard to keep the unimaginable high-tech academy and the hormonal super-powered student body in check as to fend off the supervillains inevitably sent their way.

Why: The X-Men aren’t exactly my forte, with a wobbly batting average at best over the years as the books devote at least as much effort to trying to juggle the continuity and soap opera demands as the actual sci-fi premise. There have been successes though, and few so geared towards new reader engagement as Wolverine & The X-Men, where Aaron strips the franchise down to the base essentials of a team living in a school for super-kids. It’s poppy, it’s weird, it’s touching, and it’s accessible. It’s the X-Men at its best.

Recommendations: The most direct predecessor to this run (aside from its actual lead-in miniseries X-Men: Schism, which is actually worth checking out) is Grant Morrison’s New X-Men, which takes the sci-fi aspects of the concept to the very limit in what I’m inclined to consider the best X-Men run, though it’s proven controversial over the years among longtime fans. The base of the team as it exists today is in Chris Clarmemont’s work, which I’m not wild about myself but has a few hits such as God Loves, Man Kills; if you’re looking for a modern update on the formula developed there, Astonishing X-Men by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday is probably your ticket (and the follow-up run by Warren Ellis is a great weird paramilitary sci-fi book for a bit). Jonathan Hickman’s relaunch is a radicaly and brilliant departure paving a new way forward; it’s perhaps best experienced after a bit of ‘traditional’ X-Men to understand the scale of the contrast, but check that out as soon as possible. For classic material, I understand the Roy Thomas/Neal Adams run was an early success, and Jeff Parker’s X-Men: First Class is by all accounts a charming look at the team’s earliest days. Jason Aaron’s work elsewhere on the X-Men proper was limited to the first 6 issues of the short-lived Amazing X-Men, but he had a very extended and successful tenure on Wolverine which would be my go-to recommendation for him; past that, Death of Wolverine actually satisfies, and All-New Wolverine starring his successor Laura Kinney was the best X-Men book on the stands for some time (writer Tom Taylor is also had a short-lived ‘proper’ X-book in X-Men: Red). As for the group’s many spin-offs, I’d suggest Rick Remender’s X-Force, Peter Milligan and Mike Allred’s X-Factor/X-Statix, and Joe Kelly and Ed McGuiness’s Spider-Man/Deadpool, which should serve as a decent introduction to the latter dude’s own oddball territory in the franchise along with the truly mad and utterly delightful You Are Deadpool.

[findingjoynweirdstuff]

Dream SMP Recap (February 24/2021) - “Mine-opoly”

Ponk and Sam have a date, Phil and Ranboo get into some heated bargaining with Sam for a get out of jail free card, and Tubbo and Ranboo get the idea to start a rival hotel across the street from Tommy’s: 

The beginnings of Bee ‘n’ Boo!

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VOD LINKS:

Ponk

Foolish

Tubbo

Philza

Skeppy

Awesamdude

Hannah Rose

Captain Puffy

Ranboo

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- Ponk wants to make progress on the Oogway Shrine.

- After a dono asks about it, he says that he’s known Bad and Ant for a long time, and they would never sacrifice him to the Egg! So he decides that he is pro-Egg and not pro-Omelette.

- Ponk walks out onto the class over L’manhole and does a little bit of improvised lore, giving a speech:

Ponk: “Civilization...is just a brutal cycle of destruction and corruption, chat. You see, the only man who could run a civilization, died fighting for a civilization that he took under his wing. I’m sure he didn’t want to, chat, I’m sure he didn’t want to, y’know? But he did...and he lays rest over there.”

(He gestures to Schlatt’s Grave)

“Chat, that’s not the point. Think about this, chat, think about this...what happens after the Egg, huh? ...Sure, the Egg could be a common enemy. Or, a common friend. But when it’s gone, for...things never stay the same, things aren’t always the same forever, chat. Nothing lasts forever, okay? Out of corruption, friendship, you know what is born? ...New civilizations. And you know what happens in civilizations? Conflict, chat.” 

“What is going on, huh? The cycle will repeat itself. I’m sure Dream will get out of prison one day. I’m sure Tommy might not do something, who knows, chat? ...Maybe, one day, this conflict will get so large...that we’re pushed out of this land, and into a new one.”

- He then goes to continue work on the Oogway Shrine.

- Ponk also talks with Sam for a bit. He asks about whether the Badlands has a citizenship test, or if he could just marry and get a greencard.

- Ponk shows Sam what he’s been working on. 

- Sam and Ponk head to the Egg. Ponk asks if Sam has a hoe on him and says he needs Sam to collect a sample. Sam says he doesn’t want to, throwing Ponk the hoe. Ponk insists that it has to be Sam.

- They walk and talk. Ponk tells that Sam’s two prison guards put Ponk in the obsidian box, that they forgot about him there.

- Ponk and Sam exit the room. Ponk mentions that he took Fran for a walk. They continue to walk around and chat. Sam puts in a bunch of new names in the Prank Wars station.

- Ponk asks, doesn’t it upset Sam what Bad and Ant are doing with the Egg? Sam says he doesn’t love it, but he’ll let them do what they’re doing for now.

- They come back to the heart area and Sam runs to his house to get some things.

- Sam comes back with some pumpkin pie, cakes and a poppy for Ponk. He also brought drinks and the promise fish.

- Sam then gives Ponk his own trident!

- Sam leaves after that. Ponk reminds chat that it’s only the first date, and he has to be more smooth.

- Foolish continues work on HBomb’s savannah mansion.

- Phil works on home renovations.

- Awesamdude asks Phil if he’d take diamonds in return for iron. Phil has 22 iron blocks, but doesn’t need or want diamonds. Sam asks what Phil would want.

- Phil asks for access to the prison or plans, but all these requests are denied. Maybe a get out of jail free card? Sam thinks a bit, but ultimately decides no.

- Ranboo joins and tells Phil he has five stacks of iron blocks. Phil proposes the five stacks for the get out of jail free card. Call it “Mineopoly.” Sam is open to the idea, but wouldn’t have a get out of jail free card for any type of offense, necessarily.

- Ranboo worries about getting nothing out of this and Phil drops the offer to two stacks instead for his sake. Sam is still open to the deal, but worries about what the card would be used for, as Phil likes anarchy and might use it to ask for Dream to be let out.

- Phil says he won’t use it for Dream. Sam says he might have another deal, involving something he’s building that Phil might like to use: a massive creeper farm.

- Phil passes on the offer. He’s got withers. He makes the same offer from before again.

- Ranboo banters with Sam about the sandstone penis. Sam rejects the deal.

- Phil proposes a get out of free card for a non-main cell and a deal for three stacks. Sam says he could do it for five stacks. Phil says no.

- Sam then asks Ranboo. He could build Ranboo a memory machine in exchange for the iron. Ranboo says no, and asks why Sam would think he has the iron. Sam points out that Phil and Ranboo live together.

- Ranboo is insulted at the idea of stealing from Phil. Sam suggests he steal and just not write it down so that he doesn’t feel bad. Ranboo says he’d rather kill Sam than steal from Phil.

- Ranboo and Sam continue sassing each other and it gets a little heated.

Sam: If I’m old Philz is a geezer

Phil: I am wise beyond my years

Phil: Centuries are mere childsplay for me

Phil: I’ve seen many like you fall

Phil: You will not be the last

Sam: What was it like

Sam: Seeing everyone you loved die

Sam: Slowly as time moved on

Phil: Painful

Sam: I feel for you then

Phil: But not as painful as what I inflicted on their enemies

- Wilbur starts doing TTS in Phil’s stream. Oh no.

Sam: Ranboo I have just realized something

Ranboo: Yes

Sam: Ranboo agreed everyone he has ever loved is dead

Sam: Which means he does not love any of you

Sam: Live with that.

Ranboo: I know that

- Phil keeps working on his home renovations and deals with his chat (started by Wilbur, of course) requesting chippy money. 

- Ranboo and Tubbo work on getting the Bane o’ Bees back, but after seeing Tommy’s hotel, Tubbo gets the idea to make a rival hotel across the path.

- Phil’s murderous rampage against rabbits continues.

- Ranboo and Tubbo lay the scaffolding foundations for the hotel, which they decide to call Bee ‘n’ Boo! 

- Skeppy and Badboyhalo continue to work on Big Daddy Island together, working on their tiny little vacation house. 

- Sam does some grinding while watching Mediashares.

- Ranboo later continues to gather resources for the hotel.

- Puffy finds out about Ranboo and Tubbo’s hotel plans and decides she wants to join in with a hotel of her own! But she then decides to change plans to a fast food restaurant instead, laying the foundations for a McPuffy’s on the Prime Path near the two hotels.

- Puffy completes the glass covering over the ruins of L’manburg

- She puts a bunch of furnaces on top of Bad and Skeppy’s house

- She gets rid of the crafting table house and adds the tables to the furnace monstrosity

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Upcoming events remain the same.