#the only part of the crossover to really delve into the interesting possibilities of the event are the catwoman tie-ins

[forevercloudnine]

Catwoman claws her way out of Selina Kyle's subconscious after being brainwashed by Scarecrow, Catwoman (2011) #27.

[lokiondisneyplus]

Holy crap. Look at Kate Herron's shirt. When the Loki director pops up on Zoom, she's donning the most glorious image anyone will see since we laid eyes on Alligator Loki: A Teletubby wearing the Loki horns. Are the Teletubbies Loki variants? Sure, why not!

"I got it on Instagram," Herron says. "There's an amazing comic book artist and he designed it. He made it into a T-shirt for me because I saw it and was like, 'That's incredible. Can I get it for the press junket?'"

Herron, no big deal, just pulled off an MCU miracle. Entering a mammoth franchise with, notably, some of Sex Education's best episodes under her belt, the director deftly brought a plot involving multiverses and Richard E. Grant in a cape and superhero mumbo-jumbo to brilliant, beautiful life. Following Loki's tear-jerking, mind-bending finale, the series has been dubbed by critics and fan's alike as one of Marvel's best efforts—which is no small feat. Of course, we needed to ask Herron how she stuck the landing. Following the most epic finale you, me, or any Teletubby can remember, Herron talked to Esquire about the Miss Minutes jump scare, filming the finale's introduction of He Who Remains, and why she won't return for Season Two of Loki.

ESQ: How are you doing?

KH: I'm good. I think I feel very relieved that I don't have to sit on the secret of He Who Remains anymore, It was a very big secret to hold, but for an important reason, right? Because it's such a good character to be launching. So yeah, I feel good.

ESQ: Loking back at your old interviews, you have such a good poker face when you're avoiding spoilers, but you're also incredible at giving aggregator crumbs.

KH: I play a lot of board games, so you need to be quite good at strategy and poker faces so people can't always read your hand. So I think weirdly board games have prepared me more for working with Marvel than anything else.

ESQ: I have to start with the Miss Minutes jump scare. What went into the decision to make her a memeable, creepy apparition in that moment?

KH: I love horror, and my executive, Kevin Wright, knew that. Me and him were talking about Episode Six and I remember that he was like, "Oh, maybe you could do something creepy of Miss Minutes." And I immediately was like, "We have to do a jump scare!" Because I haven't got to do a good jump scare in anything yet and I really wanted to, because a lot of my friends are horror directors. I was like, "I can't let them down." So I was really excited to have a shot at doing a jump scare. And Miss Minutes, it was really fun testing it because we'd kind of bring different people into the edit, me and Emma McCleave, the editor, and we'd just play it for them, watch them, and check that they were jumping when we cut it.

ESQ: One thing that I think is getting missed in all the craziness is that we see a peak moment of the love story between Loki and Sylvie. Where does the finale leave the companionship that they found in each other?

KH: When I started the show, that was always in the DNA of it—that Loki was going to meet a version of himself and they were going to fall in love. And that's honestly what drew me into the story, because I directed Sex Education. I love stories about self-love and finding your identity and your people. Loki is such a broken character when we join him, and seeing him go on this amazing journey with all this growth and finding the good points of himself in seeing her—I think that was very beautiful. It's also paying respect to the fact that Sylvie's in a very different place to him. She hasn't had the Mobius therapy session. She even says, in Episode Five, "I don't know how to do this. I don't have friends." You really feel for her because she has been on the run and her whole life has been this mission.

It's almost funny because these characters are thousands of years old, but it's almost teenage the way they both talk about their feelings for each other. I think everyone can relate to that, right? In any new relationship, there's always that kind of awkwardness and like, "Oh God, am I too keen? The important thing was the hope—like when Sylvie and him kiss, I think it is genuine and it is coming from a place of these feelings they have for each other. Obviously she does push them through that door, but for me it was a goodbye and it was with heart. But it's kind of a goodbye in the sense of like, I care about you, but I'm going to do my mission because that's where I'm at.

ESQ: I would pay for you to direct the Sex Education episode where Otis falls through a portal into the multiverse, into the main MCU.

KH: He really looks like a Loki as well, which is so funny. I always thought that. I was like Asa does look like a Loki. It didn't come to pass or anything, but it would be interesting to do a Sex Ed-Marvel crossover. I wonder who all the different characters would be within the MCU, but it would be quite funny.

ESQ: You're right, he could pull off a teenage Loki.

KH: Yeah, like a teen or a very young ’20s, maybe. But it was just funny because I was like, "Oh yeah, he looks a bit like Tom." I wonder how they could do it. I'm sure they'll find a way to do a crossover anyway.

ESQ: Can you just take me back to filming with Jonathan Majors? And you capturing him in such a compelling, quirky, scary way—I'm sure your direction was such a big part of that.

KH: I was just so excited because Jonathan is an actor that everyone was so excited about. He's like a chameleon in everything he does and he's so talented. I just feel as a director so lucky to have worked on this because I feel like I've got to work with some of the best actors out there. And when you're with Jonathan, you know you're in the presence of just someone really magnificent. For me as a director, it's giving him the space to play and feel safe. Because we filmed it all in a week, but it was a lot to film in a week. So I think it was really about creating a space where he could have fun and find this character because he's going to be playing him for a long time.

ESQ: What went into the decision to introduce us to the good guy first?

KH: I remember in the script, he comes up the elevator and it was so casual. I was like, "Oh man, that's so fun." And then Jonathan, when he plays it, he's relaxed. And I the thing he used to talk about a lot was that this is a character who's been on his own for a long time. Because at the beginning, we introduced him in a space in the universe that feels like this very busy, loud place, but actually, when we see the Citadel, he's surrounded by the Timeline and he's very isolated. Even in his costume with [designer] Christine Wada, for the idea of his outfit, he's a character who's existed for multiple millennia. So it's like, OK, let's pull from lots of different places so you can't necessarily pin down which time or which place he might be from. Also the fact that his clothes look comfy. They were like pajamas because he's living at home. He loved the idea of the office [being] the only finished part of the citadel and that the rest of the citadel was like this Sunset Boulevard kind of dusty, dilapidated space. And just again showed that he probably just keeps himself to his office. All those elements definitely fed into Jonathan's performance in terms of balancing the extrovert, but also the introvert of someone that would be living by themselves and only talking to a cartoon clock.

ESQ: It really is incredible how you pull a nail-biting finale with this battle of wits and dialogue.

KH: It was really exciting because I feel like Episode Five was a lot of fun because we got to play into all the joy of the different versions of Loki, but also just the fact that it was our big usual Marvel third act, right? Like it was where our big spectacle was as they were fighting this big monster. But I love that our finale bookends, right? We began with a conversation and we ended with one.

ESQ: I also loved that there was no end-credits scene—I think it makes the ending that much more impactful. Was there ever an end credit scene on the table, or any kind of a stinger?

KH: I think no, because weirdly, we never went after the kind of mid-credit sequences. I think we always just were thinking just of the story and where we knew we wanted it to end. For example, Episode Four, originally Loki was deleted and then we went straight to him waking up. And it was only in the edit I was like, “I think it'd be really cool actually. We should move that scene to mid-credits because then we'll really feel like Loki has died." Because if I watched that moment and then it went to the credits, I'd be like, "What?!" And then when we were talking about the best way to talk about Season Two, we were like, "Okay, well, let's do that like a little mid-credits at the end because that is exciting to confirm it in that way." I'd say we found both of those in the edit just because we wanted to kind of do it right and have a fun nod to something that Marvel does so well.

ESQ: Is there anything you can tell about the future of the story you've told here—or even where you personally would like to go with the studio or otherwise going forward?

KH: Yeah, so I'm just on for Season One. So I'm so proud of the story we told. I mean, it was amazing getting to set up the TVA and take Loki on this whole new journey. And I mean, I think we've left so much groundwork for his character, and as people see in the comics, there's so much more to be delved into. And I just am excited honestly to just see where all the characters go. Like, who is B-15? What did she see in those memories and where did Ravonna go and where is Loki? I think for me, we've set up these questions and I look forward to seeing them being answered as a fan in the next season.

ESQ: Absolutely. Well, can we please work on the Asa Butterfield Loki?

KH: I will call him and I'll be like, "You want to do some crazy Marvel crossover?"

[spiced-wine-fic]

Fic Writer Review

Tagged by@effervescentdragon Thank you, that’s so sweet 😘

How many works do you have on AO3? 39

What’s your total AO3 word count?

2576954

How many fandoms have you written for and what are they?

I’m monofandom. Tolkien only.

What are your top 5 fics by kudos?

1) A Far, Fierce Sky, which is a sequel to A Light in The East and unfinished!

2) Magnificat of the Damned III.

3) Fragments of Fate and Fire (Basically art, kudos to the artists!)

4)Dark Prince

5) Magnificat of the Damned IV.

Do you respond to comments, why or why not?

In the last couple of weeks I’ve turned them of for several reasons, (not to do with hate comments).

What’s the fic you’ve written with the angstiest ending?

Magnificat of the Damned IV: Anvil. Dagor Dagorath and the end of the universe.

Do you write crossovers? If so what is the craziest one you’ve written?

No.

Have you ever received hate on a fic?

No, oddly considering what I write. When I began on LORFF.com and then Faerie most people seemed far more interested in just reading and writing and willing to give the stories a chance. (No filters!) There was a sock on Fragments last year. Fairly certain it is a sock as the person I believe it to be has a long, long history of sock puppets and his writing and terminology were the same.

Do you write smut? If so what kind?

I write sex scenes if the story calls for it. M/M or multi. Not really into PWP for the sake of it. I need a bit of a run-up 😂

Have you ever had a fic stolen?

Someone’s translated Dark Prince into German on Wattpad and used some art I commissioned for the cover, cheeky bastard 😂 I have given permission to some people to translate fics but they all sent me the link to the site’s the fics are uploaded onto (Which in itself is funny as I couldn’t possibly understand anything, and might have been reading War and Peace in Chinese or something!) But they are all sites hosted in those countries. Wattpad is not one.

I’ve had ‘in ‘verse’ specific (as in they make no sense outside my ‘verse) ideas claimed by someone else, except that it’s so obviously a lie (as the ideas were posted years before I was unlucky enough to know this person). But apart from the Wattpad one, I’m not aware of it.

Have you ever had a fic translated?

Yes, Russian, German, Romanian, I think, and Chinese.

Have you ever co-written a fic before?

I wrote Dark Lands and part of Dark Blood with Anwyn. She was lovely to write with. @naryaflame and I do write in a shared multiverse but that is case of checking things with each other rather than co-writing.

What’s your all time favorite ship?

Fëanor/Fingolfin.

What’s a WIP that you want to finish but don’t think you ever will?

I don’t want to finish a Far Fierce Sky but I feel I ought to. It almost is finished really, but it and the prequel were a gift fic based on Anestel by Esteliel and I tried to write Legolas like her own vision of him. The trouble is I can’t stand timid, shy characters. I enjoy reading them but I get so bored writing them. That’s a whole other ball game. (Elgalad (an OC) comes across like that in my fic, although not as intensely, but I could write that as I know Elgalad’s not really like that). ‘Sky’ has the most kudos of anything I’ve written just because it has Legolas in it, (typical) which irks me as I’m not that interested in him as a character 🤷 So I really doubt I’ll finish it. Still, I enjoyed writing in Khand in that fic exploring a little of their culture, and the young Variags who became Khadakhir, I loved writing Sauron. It was the first fic I really delved into his relationship with Vanimörë, which is exceedingly complex. Also that was the first story my OC Bainlaph appeared in. He’s a sub minx and I do like writing him. So the fic wasn’t a waste, or not to me.

What are your writing strengths?

Perseverance, I think. Although there are a couple of fics that are incomplete and abandoned, I mostly do finish.

What are your writing weaknesses?

I dwell far too much on the gorgeous flowing hair, the beautiful eyes, the tall bodies…okay stop 😅 I just enjoy imagining that, and not in a lustful way, not at my age! It’s more like the way I appreciate art, or Michaelangelo’s ‘David’ or ‘The Charioteer’ of Delphi.

What are your thoughts on writing dialogue in other languages in a fic?

I’ve done that once in a fic I took down, which was just bits of French, I asked Narya to check it as she speaks French, which she kindly did. Usually, I don’t write dialogue in another language because I’m only monolingual and aware that Google Translate is hilarious. One curse word might be fine, try a sentence and people who do speak the language will laugh.

What was the first fandom you wrote for?

Tolkien.

What’s your favorite fic you’ve written?

Summerland, which was a gift for @naryaflame an AU crossover of her wonderful The Ways of Paradox and my ‘verse.

It was 2018 and a gorgeous long, hot summer and I was absolutely in the ‘zone’ when I wrote it; it just flowed. It was set on the Devon coast and I could just smell the air, see the characters as if I was watching them and every scene built itself. It felt effortless. That doesn’t usually happen — or only for certain chapters. Most fic is work (to a greater or lesser degree). Tagging: @keiliss, @lucifers-cuvette @awesome-bluehair-universe @naryaflame @lumeriel-666, @skyeventide @cycas @thisshadowprevails @idrilsscribe @nuredhel @formerlyknownasredacted @thisshadowprevails @melkors-4th-silmaril If anyone has a separate name for their AO3 or SWG account and wants to do this, please do, the name differences just confuse me sometimes and I’m not sure who’s an author and who isn’t.

[what-do-1000-swords-look-like]

Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Ackles, I hope you’re both having a very nice and relaxing Saturday but I was wondering, would it be okay if I submit a few ideas for SPN projects moving forward? Just a few really...

*puts glasses on and begins*

The Milligans as Jake Abel suggested - if we’re going to see John’s story, would it not be interesting to see another part of his story to see Adam develop into the character we know and to the point we last saw him?

Michael and Adam’s time in Hell, in the cage with Lucifer and maybe even Sam - I for one would be very curious to see their take as Sam is being tortured by Lucifer, to see what prompted Lucifer not to mess with Michael/Adam, and more

Wayward Sisters - I really believe SPN had something there with that, plus we would also get more Jody, Donna, Dreamhunter, etc (and who could say no to more Kaia? not me!)

a limited series where Ketch and Lady Bevel continuously try to one up each other while training - imagine the British wit, danger, and sexual tension all while being done with noses upturned and pinkies in the air

more Dichael doing...well, anything really (I will venmo you!)

Anael’s story before she met the Winchesters - seeing her fall, her deal with Sister Jo, her starting out healing to make $, her story being somewhat similar to Cas’ in that by the end, they wanted similar things: love, home, family, etc - Cas could certainly show up for a few episodes ;-)

Cas’ story before he ever met the Winchesters (and of course you know Balthazar can make a few appearances possibly ;-) )

Jack’s story as he continues to use his God!powers and the journey (we can also see more of Kelly!)

Garth, Bess, and the twins - like a werewolf spinoff where we delve not only into the continuation of these characters’ stories but also dig deeper into the werewolf part of this world (that episode where Bess’ stepmom had to be handled was fascinating to me and had great potential)

Bobby’s time as a hunter pre-SPN and Rufus showing him the ropes

how hunters came to be in general - we saw the Colt being fashioned back in the Old West but who was the very first hunter? who started up this whole system of responding to and dealing with supernatural threats?

The Empty - you can’t tell me that with all of the characters that are currently in there, you don’t have a snarky sitcom waiting to happen

the continuation after the season 15 finale - anything after that finale - Dean and Sam’s comeback - the reuniting of Team Free Will 2.0 - the reuniting of Dean and Sam with John and Mary - a world with monsters still in it but Jack as God - Dean and Sam’s time in Heaven - all of it

Cas’ rescue from The Empty (if Dean and Sam aren’t involved, then I imagine this could be in one episode; but if they are, you could literally pull a half season to a full season out of this from their POV’s after coming back)

Rowena - always more Rowena (Crowley can also appear every once in a while if Mark Sheppard is willing to reprise his role) - this could be pre-Winchesters or her time as Queen in Hell, or both (why not? *shrugs*)

Krissy and her group - they were badass in that one episode, it would be interesting to see if they’re still actively hunting, how they’re doing, and if they somehow meet up with/crossover with Wayward Sisters in the Winchesters’ absence

An apocalypse - okay hear me out, I know this has already been done time and time again and after season 15 with Chuck being the villain, what could possibly top that? - well remember the Avengers movies? Remember how awesome it was to see every character in Endgame? Imagine all of the hunters coming together, including the Brits - I know this would be hefty price wise and tough due to COVID still being around plus everyone’s schedules but imagine the epicness - and like I said, I will knock off a bank and venmo you (knock off a bank, beg for a loan, tomato, tohmato)

Heaven vs Hell - more angels and more demons - we can see more of Meg, Alistair, Ruby, Bela, Anna (depending on the timeline), Lillith, Michael, Crowley, Raphael, Dumah, Naomi, Balthazar, Cas, Zachariah, Joshua, Anael, Metatron, Yellow Eyes - sort of the same idea as The Empty except now you’re seeing the battles, the backdoor deals, the snarkiness in real time - could be pre-Winchesters, during Winchesters, or post-Winchesters (which goes back to The Empty idea above)

Dean’s time in Hell (40 years) - him struggling to not give in and torture, then him giving in, his rescue

Dean’s year in Purgatory - more Benny, more looking for Cas, did he ever come across Emma? did he ever come across any monsters that he and Sam sent there? Gordon?

More young Dean and young Sam (I know Dylan Everett and Colin Ford are much older now but there could be something? when Sam leaves for college maybe?)

So yeah, these are just a few ideas that have been rolling around in my brain for a while now. Like I said, say the word, and I will venmo you. No thanks needed ;-) 

[emachinescat]

Way Back Wednesday #1

Welcome to Way Back Wednesday! Every Wednesday, I am delving into my past as a fanfic writer and reflecting on and sharing one of my stories… starting from the very beginning, 16 years ago, when I was a 14-year-old kid discovering her love for fandom. ❤️

Today’s story is…

An Unlikely Team

American Dragon: Jake Long & Kim Possible

Summary: Monkey Fist and Huntsman have teamed up in order to defeat their respective foes. With Monkey Ninjas, goblins, dragons, nacos, spy gear, magic potion, secrets, regrets, and tears, no one is going to escape from this situation without changing somehow.

Rating: G

Chapters: 18 | Words: 12,353

Year Published: 2005 | My age: 14

Relationships: Jake Long/Rose | Huntsgirl | Characters: Jake Long, Ron Stoppable, Kim Possible, Monkey Fist, Huntsman, Rose | Huntsgirl, Lao Shi, Fu Dog

AO3 Tags: Crossover, Suspense, Humor

My reflections on and "review" of the story are after the break! :)

Oh, wow. It was an adventure coming back to this story! It marked a lot of firsts for me - my first crossover, my first story above 10k words, my first chapter fic. I don't remember a whole lot about my writing process back then, or about the circumstances of writing this story. I was 14, and a lot has happened since then. I do remember that I was still coming off the review-high from my first story, and that I had no idea what I was doing, not really. And it kind of shows.

I guess I should go ahead and say that this story, like the last one, isn't bad. I mean, the plot, if a bit simple and contrived, makes sense and moves along fairly well, and the characters (except for Rose, but we'll get to her in a minute) are pretty well portrayed, and grammatically, there were no glaring errors that I could see. It was interesting enough; it has been probably a decade or more since I last opened this story, but it still managed to hold my attention well enough, I suppose. It has some very positive reviews (and some critical ones), so I must have done something right.

But I've got to go over the issues with this story. Most of them I think are just hilarious. I'd been writing since I was five, but I was new to this kind of storytelling and still trying to find my voice as a writer. Once again, it shows.

Okay, so first, there's the plot itself - super simple, very contrived, and kind of weird. Huntsman and Monkey Fist team up so that M can help H capture and unmask the American Dragon, and in return, H will give M a talisman that will "undoubtedly" make him the Ultimate Monkey Master? Sure, seems legit, I guess.

Then there's the fact that I had to end every chapter - or nearly every chapter - with a cliffhanger, even if it didn't warrant one. I was dying laughing because most chapters would end with a character saying something hopeful to another character, but then muttering under their breath something grim and suspenseful. For example: "'Let us go. Jake's life is depending on us. He is alive for now...' and then he added almost inaudibly, 'but not for long...'" It's hilarious, and I wish I could remember if I was trying to be edgy or just ensure readers would come back, or if I thought being ominous was a hallmark of good writing. Also, the chapters were overall very short. I think I just wrote however much I felt like writing and then posted. Of course, I was having to post between school and the Boys & Girls Club where my mom worked (and being grounded, like a lot), so I guess I just wrote what and when I could.

Some of the dialogue's a bit clunky, and I had a weird thing with time limits. They capture Jake, and then they have to send Huntsgirl out to get a potion that will make him human because they forgot (???) this very important part of the plan for some reason. She says something along the lines of, "My Huntstick will transport me to the magical black market almost instantly. I'll be back within an hour." That doesn't add up, unless she's going to spend an hour haggling with the seller. Then she gets back, amps up the whole evil villain plot, and then adds, "Oh, yeah, it'll take 30 minutes for this potion to take effect." So she and the baddies just stand there for half an hour watching Jake slowly turn from dragon to human. Then when he's been poisoned (another weird plot contrivance), Lao Shi says, "If we don't give him the antidote in 30 seconds, he'll die!" I suppose I did set the scene, whether intentionally or not, by having a clock ticking in the background, but the way that all of the characters seem to have such an acute knowledge and understanding of time is just weird to me.

The only aspect of this story to actually bother me is the disservice I did to Rose's character. In the show, she's portrayed as a pretty strong protagonist-by-day/antagonist-by-night, but in my story, she's pitiful. I don't know if I just consumed a lot of media with weak female characters or what, but it's super cringey how emotional and weak she's portrayed as once she finds out the truth about Jake. She cries, which is fine, but then girlfriend just up and faints! She cries some more, begs Jake to forgive her, acting like she'll never be able to live with herself or forgive herself if he doesn't, then gets mad at him when he needs a little time to process that the girl he has a crush on is also the girl who's been trying to kill him. Then as soon as he apologizes for... being traumatized, I guess? she turns around and starts spouting off stuff about never being able to forgive herself if he'd died or something. I apologize most deeply to her character.

Oh, I just realized I haven't really discussed the Kim Possible side of things, mostly because it's pretty cut and dry. Those characters all seemed to be, well, in character. I especially feel I had Ron down to a T. It was also really funny the way I had Huntsman and Monkey Fist constantly arguing even through their alliance. The fight scenes, with Kim and with Jake, are very minimal. They're usually one step above just saying, "They fought." On that note, there's not a whole lot of detail or description, but a lot of dialogue. I definitely could have expanded more on the world to make the crossover feel more complete.

All that (mostly light-hearted) criticism aside, it was fun to get to go back and read this, and if you think you'd be interested, be my guest. It's a cute little read, and important to me because it marked the second step in my fan-fiction journey.

Next week, we'll be taking a look at one of the cringiest things I've ever written - yikes!

[chaoticookie-autonomous]

Writer ask meme INCOMING! ☕️ 😅 👀 🎲 👎 💕 💘

Long Post!

☕️- favorite passage  There are so many passages I’ve written I loved, but I would have to go with this one from Chapter 24: Vulnerable:

“Do you think it had always been directing you? From conquering Mandalore, to the death of your brother, and finally creating Crimson Veil to one day destroy your master?” The question didn’t affect Maul as much as the way she asked. Venom dripped from every word and her eyes burned a deeper shade that was akin to something more crimson. “It is possible these events have been willed by the Force, but it does not keep me from completing my revenge against Master.” “What if you’re not meant to kill him? What if the Force has something else planned for you?” “What do you know?” Maul’s own anger aligned with hers and they were put in a deadlock, their fury aroused and spreading through their bodies and burning away the frigid air. “No, I don’t know anything. I’d prefer to keep it that way if I had a choice. But it seems I have none.” “What are you saying? Speak clearly, woman” he snarled. Nothing could have prepared Maul for what she was about to tell him or the implications behind her words if they were indeed true. Their very meaning meant more than what he could ever had imagined and rather than his fervent question being answered, he was only left with more. Before him was a being that appeared human but caried the galaxy within her. And what he would never understand was his part in her destiny. The apprentice. The woman. Durmónia was a wonder to behold.

😅- a line that made you feel second-hand embarrassment  I think this part from ACT IV: Apprentice? Asking for personal things from someone you don’t really know, much less your boss, is kinda strange. And from Maul. But the girl needs things.

“Uh. Wait,” she stopped before him at the cusp of his escape. “It’s nothing really important.”

“What is it?” she was stalling, wearing out his patience.

“So, I talked to Gar earlier about some requests, and he said it was faster if they went through you.”

Maul ran her question through again. “Requests?”

“Personal items. It’s not a lot. Mainly new clothes and some upgrades for Betts. She won’t shut up about it.”

👀- favorite response to one of your works It has to be this one. This comment was made before I created a blog on Tumblr and when Star Wars: Autonomous hardly received feedback during the three years I’ve written it. And it took that same amount of time to barely reach 30 kudos. What they said pushed me to get the fic out into the world and help it gain some traction. And because I’ve opened myself up as an author and made myself accessible to my readers, I have so many of you to talk with about our favorite zabrak. So thank you, Ked.

It’s so unfathomable to me how this fic hasn’t blown up??? I mean it literally has everything: great writing, fascinating original characters, amazing understanding of the Star Wars universe/lore, and an actual detailed and complex depiction of Maul. I seriously love Moni’s character she’s really fun and witty while also having very realistic and relateable struggles. And the slow burn between her and Maul is just...amazing... I really can’t wait to see where this fic goes!! <333

🎲- your favorite chapter/part from a multiparty series Oh gosh... there’s so many. I’ll just list my fave ones: 

Chapter 12: The Sith - First time Móni asks Maul for help to understand her abilities or a part of it. And writing Q’Var (the Jedi who fell into the Dark Side and killed himself) was so fascinating and horrifying--was pretty much delving into the mind of a sociopath. And it’s when she first discovers about the Rogue Jedi.  Chapter 18: Black Krinos - Móni and Maul fight together for the first time! Also, we see Maul display a bit of kindness towards her by lifting her expended body into his arms. Chapter 20: Respect - Móni builds her lightsaber with her ever so patient master. Things also get heated between them and their arguments are always fun to write xD ACT V: Embrace - Think we all know why this one ¬‿¬ But also it was a challenge to write out their relationship in a different way after a time skip. Chapter 27: Possessive - And this one was just... awesome. Action and romance is the best combination (at least for me). 

👎- if you could change something in one of your works, what would you change and why? So... When I started writing I had written the OCs ages on a whim without much thought for their role in the fic’s future. As I progress, I find myself pairing them with other characters and getting upset at myself for making them too young or too old to be together. Thankfully, I managed to fit them with a significant other, but I had other ideas SIGH oh well. It still works out in the end.

💕- opinion on AUs? I used to love AUs so much. Though, I find myself reading them less and less. I really have nothing against them. I guess I just really like having things written as close to the canon-verse as possible. Can’t really say why.  

💘- what’s your favorite AU? Least favorite? Favorite AU when there are some changes in the canon story but are still true to it. Least favorite is possibly crossover AUs. I am certain there is some good stuff out there, but it never really interested me.

Thanks for the ask!! ❤ ❤ ❤

[suplex51]

“Imagine being born to do something. And I mean it - born. You came outta your mom or whatever, and the universe pointed at you and said ‘Yeah… That guy’s gotta do this, be this. This guy? He’s my center!’ To be more specific, imagine if one of the first things you were ever fucking told was that you’re the main character. You got diagnosed with Protagonist Syndrome. The whole plot of a whole fictional world is on your shoulders, you’re its cosmic plaything, and that’s your whole life!”

“Until one day, it’s not. You wake up in a different fictional world - a multiversal melting pot of fiction from all possible corners. Whatever superpowers you might’ve had? Gone. Trusty weapons? Confiscated. Plot armor? Never coming back. You're not the hero anymore, you know it… and you can’t think about admitting it.” 

PROMPT: Write an 800+ word post reflecting on your time on the island and the struggles/revelations you’ve had during your time here.

“I’m Travis Touchdown, and when I first landed in Hive City… I was a fuckin’ mess. I mean, I was always a fuckin’ mess. And if you’ve played my games, looked up my backstory, or followed this blog for any amount of time, you know that. ‘Nerd buys a lightsaber off the dark web, becomes a gladiatorial assassin for the promise of sex, revenge, and the chance to be the hero he’s supposed to be. Everything goes to shit.’ I don’t gotta delve into the ‘whys,’ there. Don’t need to do a full-blown recap. That’s not what we’re here for.”

“Anywho… the whole ‘multi-fandom roleplay’ thing should’ve been freeing from the start, to be honest. And in a way, to me, it was. All of a sudden, at the lowest point of my life, after my dumb ass had ruined everything back home - not only for me, but for everyone around me - I had a fresh start. A whole new city, a whole new cast of interesting characters… A chance to rebuild myself. To finally make something of myself, and finally leave a decent impact. To be a real cool-guy action hero, at last; Just like all those movie and anime icons who’d influenced me as a kid.”

“This nerd-turned-assassin was ready… to make the same goddamn mistakes he’d always had, suffer the same losses, yada yada yada, and then some. I mean, ‘definition of insanity,’ right?”

“Most of the time, for the longest time, I was nothing but a punching bag to Hive City (or Radiale Island, when the former came to its apocalyptic end). A punching bag, literally, figuratively, either/or. At least, that’s what it felt like. I’d lose fights like I never had before, face things outside my fucking comprehension. Friends I’d make would get hurt, be taken away, or go on power-crazed, citywide rampages. And no matter how much of my power I’d regained at the time… I’d so rarely be able to do shit about it. To avenge them, keep them, stop them, save them. Hell, sometimes, I’d die trying! I just wasn’t strong enough.”

“I’d say or do something stupid, and everyone would be on my ass in a snap - turning me into a joke. A perverted comic relief character, stuck in his pitiful delusions, trying too hard to be something he’s not. And don’t get me wrong, I deserved the rep. But even when I tried to get better, so many people couldn’t be bothered to show me how. And why should they have bothered? I just wasn’t good enough.”

“I was stuck. Stuck in my canon ways, because those were the only ways I’d ever known.”

“... At first. But remember those friends I mentioned? Yeah, that’s right; We’re getting into ‘power of bonds’ talk, here! They wound up being just the thing I needed. They wound up being what finally broke me, in the best term of the word.”

“Marceline, the Vampire Queen: Taught me that it was okay to open up, to stop bottling up. That I wasn’t a pussy or a failure if I initiated a hug, or let out some tears... She and her wife, Peridot, they got me to goof off, stop taking myself so seriously, and do things that those iconic action heroes would never even dream of. Reminded me that, as fictional as I was? I was also human, and needed to let myself be one. Finally, they — along with a bunch of other friends — more than I’d ever thought I’d have — like, more than 5 close friends—!” 

“... Ahem. They also helped me start to realize that, for all my flaws and fuck-ups… maybe I was deserving of love and affection.”

“And that, you readers and writers out there, is where we segue into Rosa Cervantes.”

“Holy shit, where do I even begin with Rosa motherfucking Cervantes? I could shout out 800+ words on her alone, in my sleep! But this essay or whatever, it’s not about her. So I’ll stick to the basics. This beautiful half-human, half-dragon/shark hybrid… She might not be a protagonist, or have any sense of the 4th wall. But Rosa, she somehow still gets me more than anyone I’ve ever met. And when you live in TWO massive crossover settings? You meet a lot of fucking people!”

“If I hadn’t learned my lesson beforehand, well… after the long and (often literally) painful process of getting to really know her, really get her? Rosa hammered it in: If someone who’d made as many (if not more) horrible, stupid, violent mistakes as me… someone who’d been through so much of the same shit and so much more… if someone like her, who was still so willing to keep pushing forward - keep trying to improve the world, her laundry list of vices be damned - could look at someone like me, and eventually say that I was good enough to love like no other?”

“I’d do anything to always prove her right.”

“And I think it’s worked wonders.”

“We’re coming up on the 2-year mark since this blog, and my roleplay life, first began. Like I said, I’ve faced shit unthinkable back in Santa Destroy. I’ve met beings capable of atomizing islands, countries, and worlds. I’ve gotten a glimpse of a life where I was real, in every way (some existential horror, there). I’ve seen the world ended twice - and the second time, it got transformed into a fantasy RPG, and rebuilt as it was before, in the span of a single month.

“I’ve helped people. Really helped people, with or without throwing a single punch! I’ve found love and family, things my original canon would’ve never given me. And I’ve grown. GodDAMN, have I ever grown! It’s amazing!”

“... Still. Sometimes, I can’t help but worry that I’m doing this all wrong. A part of me sees all my deviation from canon, and… fears. Travis Touchdown isn’t meant to be genuinely likable, cool, or heroic, after all. And at the end of the day, what’s the point of all this? How many lives does my story change, as is? Am I being what I was born to be?” 

“What would Sylvia say?” 

“... Not like I pay any of that much thought. I’m not the Travis Touchdown of No More Heroes fame. I’m the Travis Touchdown of Isola Radiale! I’m not the hero I’m supposed to be. I’m the hero that I want to be! I’ve made my mark! And no matter what, my story isn’t ending anytime soon!” 

"I’m Travis Touchdown! Thanks for reading, and here’s to the future!”

“...” 

“P.S., just so we’re fucking clear, I’ve made a lot more than 5 friends. I was just talking about people who could’ve made it into this essay, but didn’t, because none of us wanna be here all day! Okay? Okay! Now, we can end this drabble.”

[aparticularbandit]

State of Bandit Fic

it’s been a couple of months since i posted one of these and i’d like to have one done by the end of the year SO here we go. under a read more for length.  my apologies, mobile users.

plans for the rest of the year:

roisa secret santa goes up next monday.  i still don’t know what i’ll post on the monday after that.  i have another chapter ish of falling written, but idk if that’s a direction i really want to go with that novel.  maybe, maybe not.  idk.

word count maintained 2k during november with only a few hiccups.  this month the first couple of weeks i had multiple days where word count was less than 1k.  i’ve gotten it back up to 1k and think that the sudden jump from main focus on roisa hp au to main focus on rss was part of the issue there (when i go and make sure i get 1k in the hp au, i tend to hit 2k again, so there’s that).  i plan to try and maintain the 1k to the end of the year with the hope that i reach a total of 400k written this year (at the end of november, i was at approximately 381.5k - give or take a few - which means i only needed to write 18.5k this month.  i have at least 11.5k in various other non-roisa hp au projects from this month, not including any word count from second writes, and i know i’ve done at least another 1k (probably 2k or more) in the roisa hp au - so i should be hitting that if i keep up the 1k minimum).

that Christmas project i said i started last year and wanted to finish this year won’t be finished in time for Christmas most likely so my apologies.  :/  it just takes more mental thought for less word count and my focus right now is on rss.  sorry.

plans for next year:

i’m very tentative on these, but this is what i’ve been thinking about (and may or may not actually do):

focus on five days a week at 1-2k with saturdays and sundays off - still plan on keeping word count on one of those days but giving the other one for second write for the monday update because i’ve found that trying to do the second write and final edits and get 1k written is really hard for me to do, especially with longer updates.  so i’m not going to push myself for that.

this also potentially allows me an additional day to spend editing or drafting other projects - like the roisa hp au or mexican stud or stuff like that which i want to be finished and go through another edit and possible betaing before posting - and while that might not be immediately, i like that space being open and available.

focus on finishing the rough draft of the first book of the roisa hp au and hopefullly get it through a second draft and betaing and polishing so that maybe it starts getting posted in july or august.

i was thinking july but we’ll see.  i don’t want to lock myself into something like i did with ACAL this year, and while i like having it set up for the beginning of the school year, i’m not sure that’s enough time.  i haven’t done this kind of editing/drafting/betaing before on a project - with the exception of noir fic, which...hasn’t been posted and got stalled in the fourth draft.

i also think that this would be in place of the monday updates instead of a separate update as i originally planned.  because this first book is currently 16 chapters long, that would give me multiple months to focus on other projects while they’re updating - and that time off was something i really wanted in july and ended up getting mostly in october and november.  so we’ll see.

possibly hosting roisa fic week probably around july 4th and then possibly hosting rss next year, as well, but with a longer application time (probably all of october, but unsure).

possibly pick-up lines month for january into february in time for valentine’s day.  still not sure.

more focus on personal projects.

i want to write my original fic and i’ve been focusing on fanfic and that’s not a problem but i should do some writing on my original fic, too.

not sure what this means yet because i plan to maintain monday updates because that’s been a good schedule for the past however many months and i like having that schedule.

i did set up a blog for that fantasy thing i mentioned a while back, but it’s...more complicated and something i want to ease into before bringing it up real big.  so.  in the wings.

time off from social media in january.

not sure how i’ll be doing this either, but i just want to take some time off from facebook/tumblr/twitter/etc.  i don’t think full blackout because i plan to still be posting links to chapter updates and such here, but i’ve found...i get really worn-out and waste so much time and i just.  want to see what happens.  idk.

so that’s that.

and then general fic updates:

posted but incomplete fics:

if you lived here, you’d be home now

no change from last update

started a reread, maybe that’ll help

jane: the real story

no change from last update

might be dead fic; i’m not super interested in continuing this

blame soulmate timer au

heart in motion

no change from last update

luisa and the child

aka the sequel to luisa and the fox

no change since last update with the exception of some brainstorming

sin rostro

holding off because other projects are louder right now.  still excited for this idea, though

emilia antonia

started the next chapter.

probably going to be focusing on this as one of my primary focuses in the new year.  actually i should poll about this.

falling

have another chapter written but not posted but not sure if want to keep that direction or not

started the chapter past that one as well

aftershocks

all of the current chapters are posted

back to back-burner

debating a flashback chapter

the time of your life

finished posting bitches get glitches

rafael’s fic - and the rest of this series - is one of my potential primary focuses in the new year.  i’m still really excited about this series and where it’s going.

have working titles for both rafael’s and petra’s fics.

apparently michael, who i hadn’t planned to have involved, is maybe going to actually show up.  i’m thinking his first appearance might be in petra’s fic, but i’m not sure on that point.

unposted fics:

where the lightning splits the sea:

aka roisa hp au

the first book rough draft is probably going to be my primary focus in the new year, as i stated above.

currently in chapter eleven of what i expect will be sixteen.  chapter lengths vary, so it’s possible that when i go through the second write i may change chapter divisions so that they aren’t too long for ao3 postings.

i’m still super excited to be writing this one and super excited to jump into this fic so - i haven’t hit burnout, which is amazing.

mexican stud

aka rosalint fic

no change from last update

probably a primary focus in the new year as stated above

everything’s coming up roses

no change from last update

various other soulmate aus

no change from last update

epic superhero crossover

aka jtv/tick/timeless/supergirl/x-files/agent carter/person of interest crossover

possibly also to include proven innocent and deputy in a tie-in with the x-files aspect - re: how to get mulder and scully directly involved and not just have the syndicate and world-building aspects

still getting bigger

obviously i have added in person of interest as part of the crossover - primarily because i pulled in wendy mcnally - bridget’s character - from one of the episodes not because i’m pulling in main characters or themes (although there’s a possibility of that)

i have started bits and pieces of this

mexican stud, obviously

mostly dottie/lint stuff

and then a few thousand words in collateral damage, which is basically the wendylu fic that explains what happens with luisa in the three years after rose’s death

the primary fic taking place three years after rose dies but there are a lot of other interconnecting fics that cover that period and earlier, etc.

i want this to be a primary focus, but it’s...complicated

timeless/noir fusion fic

HEY I STARTED IT

IT SHOULD BE REALLY COOL

LOOK IT’S EXCITING AND I WANT TO WRITE MORE OF IT

basic premise: lucy teams up with amnesiac!assassin!emma as they delve into secret societies and etc.

emma is an assassin and has amnesia.

rittenhouse doesn’t suck.

carol doesn’t suck.

lucy is still a history professor, but at amy’s behest (YEAH AMY’S ALIVE), she went to a smaller university somewhere else instead of going into carol’s department

idk who else will show up in the fic yet - emma probably has one of the machines but i’m not sure which one yet either, so that means probably should look at rufus/jiya/mason and maybe flynn BUT not sure

noir is very female-focused with no male main characters so trying to mesh that with timeless is complicated

the focus would need to be on emma and lucy and their relationship

as a result, this will likely end up being prestmore.

sorry not sorry.

there are other projects i’ve considered - like one with nymphs kind of related to something else, and pick-up lines month like i mentioned above, AND ALSO @only-freakin-sunflowers AND I MIGHT BE BRAINSTORMING A COLLAB PROJECT - but i think that’s a good place to stop for now.  ^^

[eddycurrents]

For the week of 11 November 2019

Quick Bits:

Batman & The Outsiders #7 throws some further ramifications of Ra’s al Ghul and his minions meddling with Duke and Sofia. Some particularly disturbing transformations going on with Duke that should be interesting. The level of intrigue that Bryan Hill is keeping in the story is gripping.

| Published by DC Comics

The Batman’s Grave #2 is another excellent issue. A little more packed with action than the first one, allowing Bryan Hitch to cut loose with some of the sequences. Also, I’m loving the humour that Warren Ellis is giving us between Alfred and Bruce. That acerbic wit is something we’ve seen from Alfred a lot and Ellis just nails the voice.

| Published by DC Comics

Battlepug #3 is more fun from Mike Norton, Allen Passalaqua, and Crank! Some really nice stuff here as Bryony cuts loose on Nobody’s Ponies. I absolutely love the mix of traditional sword and sorcery storytelling with rather over-the-top humour that basically lampoons it at the same time.

| Published by Image

Black Cat Annual #1 is a fun tale of a heist on the Maggia by Black Cat and Spider-Man from Jed MacKay, Joey Vazquez, Natacha Bustos, Juan Gedeon, Brian Reber, and Ferran Delgado. It features the usual humour and action that we see in the series and I quite like how the artists are broken up each following one particular aspect of the story. Though it’s all one narrative, it gives a nice differing feel to each part.

| Published by Marvel

Black Hammer / Justice League: Hammer of Justice #5 concludes what has been an excellent series from Jeff Lemire, Michael Walsh, and Nate Piekos. Ultimately, this has reminded me of the old JLA/JSA crossovers of old, and just feels great as an overall story. Plus the possibility of seeing a sequel.

| Published by Dark Horse & DC Comics

Black Panther and the Agents of Wakanda #3 begins “God Loves, Moon Kills”, another two-parter for this series, from Jim Zub, Lan Medina, Craig Yeung, Marcio Menyz, Federico Blee, and Joe Sabino. I love this story format, giving us essentially quick-hit missions dealing with a problem and then moving on. It’s yielded some pretty tight storytelling and some fascinating situations.

| Published by Marvel

Black Stars Above #1 is another incredible debut for Vault, with Lonnie Nadler, Jenna Cha, Brad Simpson, and Hassan Otsmane-Elhaou delivering an incredibly deep and unique horror story. It centres around a young woman in a family of fur traders, as the trade itself begins to die in Canada, and it’s impressive as to how real the characters and their struggle feels. The artwork from Cha and Simpson is exquisite.

| Published by Vault

Buffy + Angel: Hellmouth #2 continues Buffy and Angel’s descent through hell. It’s much more cerebral than you’d expect, with the demons trying to get into Buffy and Angel’s respective heads in order to manipulate and destroy them. Plus, a rather interesting surprise. Jordie Bellaire, Jeremy Lambert, Eleonora Carlini, Cris Peter, and Ed Dukeshire are doing some great work with the core of this event.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Collapser #5 somehow gets even stranger in this penultimate issue as Liam creates a “perfect” world to run away from the problems he’s having in the real world. The real world bleeding through and a revelation of his girlfriend’s true intentions just ratchet up the strangeness further. Mikey Way, Shaun Simon, Ilias Kyriazis, Cris Peter, and Simon Bowland are just doing amazing work here.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

Detective Comics #1015 takes an interesting turn as Nora decides that she likes being a villain. Through this, Peter J. Tomasi is definitely showing an interesting side to Mr. Freeze, emphasizing again that he’s a rather conflicted villain, only doing the various heinous actions to save his wife. Who now doesn’t need him.

| Published by DC Comics

Doctor Mirage #4 features more incredibly beautiful, inventive artwork from Nick Robles and Jordie Bellaire. The visual storytelling as Shan faces the Embalmer is just incredible. Magdalene Visaggio, Robles, Bellaire, and Dave Sharpe continue to deliver magic with this penultimate issue.

| Published by Valiant

Edgar Allan Poe’s Snifter of Terror: Season Two #2 is another entertaining issue. The lead tale from Tom Peyer, Greg Scott, Lee Loughridge, and Rob Steen has traditional EC Comics horror vibes, as a scientist tries to communicate with our worm overlords. In one of the comics back-ups Mark Russell, Peter Snejbjerg, and Steen revisit the world of the breakfast cereal monsters. And there’s the usual prose pieces, poetry, and Hunt Emerson’s Black Cat. 

| Published by Ahoy

Event Leviathan #6 concludes this series from Brian Michael Bendis, Alex Maleev, and Josh Reed. How much you enjoy it will hinge on how much you enjoy Maleev’s art and the realization that most of this tale is about moving one person off the board and the reveal of Leviathan to set up further stories. Also, Bendis paints a Batman who is ridiculously terrible at hiding his secret identity.

| Published by DC Comics

Fallen Angels #1 is the final new first issue of this first wave of “Dawn of X” titles and in many ways it’s more personal than the other X-titles, even Excalibur, delving into Psylocke (the former Kwannon, not Betsy Braddock) and her past. Bryan Hill, Szymon Kudranski, Frank D’Armata, and Joe Sabino deliver an interesting story with hooks on the darker side of the X-world, including some ominous bits from Magneto and Sinister, but I question the inclusion of X-23 and Cable. They don’t exactly seem to fit the roles they’ve been put into here.

| Published by Marvel

Family Tree #1 is a phenomenal debut from Jeff Lemire, Phil Hester, Eric Gapstur, Ryan Cody, and Steve Wands. This first issue perfectly captures that insidious nature of family drama mixed with creeping terror and body horror as a bizarre plague begins spreading across America.

| Published by Image

Far Sector #1 is one of the most impressive debuts I’ve read in a long time. NK Jemisin, Jamal Campbell, and Deron Bennett create a rich new world in the City Enduring and a compelling character in the new Green Lantern, Sojourner Mullein. The murder mystery that ties everything together is just the icing on the cake. Incredible world-building here and drop dead gorgeous artwork. Do not miss this.

| Published by DC Comics / Young Animal

The Flash #82 is part one of “Rogues’ Reign” from Joshua Williamson, Rafa Sandoval, Jordi Tarragona, Arif Prianto, and Steve Wands. It features a Central City taken over by the Rogues, transformed into their own personal playgrounds, as the Flash is nowhere to be found. It’s not bad, but the amount you’re going to like it may be relative to how much you’re also enjoying “City of Bane” and the recently concluded similar arc involving the Trickster.

| Published by DC Comics

Folklords #1 is off to a fantastic start from Matt Kindt, Matt Smith, Chris O’Halloran, and Jim Campbell. It starts off with a precocious kid in a fantasy world who’s been having visions of what essentially amounts to our world, whose quest sets out a rather draconian lockdown on their society when the Librarians rein in everyone from illicit action, like finding the Folklords. Highly recommended.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Forgotten Home #2 reveals more about Jannada, its history and society, and how an unjust queen was brought to rule through racial warfare. Love the artwork from Marika Cresta and Matt Emmons.

| Published by Vices Press

Gideon Falls #18 unleashes the Laughing Man on reality in part two of “The Pentoculus”. Jeff Lemire, Andrea Sorrentino, Dave Stewart, and Steve Wands are beautifully unfolding this twisted and horrific flower of a story.

| Published by Image

Gotham City Monsters #3 adds another element of DC lore to the series as Melmoth claims a particular prize. I really quite like how Steve Orlando, Amancay Nahuelpan, Trish Mulvihill, and Tom Napolitano are pulling together disparate bits of Gotham and beyond to craft this story.

| Published by DC Comics

Guardians of the Galaxy #11 is the penultimate issue of this series from Donny Cate, Cory Smith, Victor Olazaba, David Curiel, and Cory Petit. It’s basically a big fight between the remaining Guardians and everyone else. It doesn’t go so well.

| Published by Marvel

Hawkman #18 takes a somewhat different approach to Hawkman’s infection than what we’ve seen of the others so far. Rather than being a dark reflection of Hawkman’s own desires, he’s taken over by an Earth-3 incarnation in Sky Tyrant. Robert Venditti, Pat Olliffe, Tom Palmer, Jeremiah Skipper, and Richard Starkings & Comicraft instead use that to play the spirit of our Hawkman against.

| Published by DC Comics

Hit-Girl: Season Two #10 is part two of “India”. The artwork from Alison Sampson and Tríona Farrell is impressive, given an amazing level of detail to bringing Mumbai to life. Brutal and rich in colour.

| Published by Image

House of Whispers #15 takes a new twist as the Corinthian finds the House of Watchers, takes over, and everything changes. Nalo Hopkinson, Dan Watters, Dominike “Dono” Stanton, Zac Atkinson, and AndWorld Design kick off some new terrors as even Erzulie’s status quo is upended, and we get another guest appearance of John Constantine’s homecoming.

| Published by DC Comics - Black Label / The Sandman Universe

Invaders #11 pushes deeper into Steve and Namor’s history and relationship, as Steve refuses to give up on his old friend. There’s some very heavy, very good character work here as we head into the final issue. Chip Zdarsky, Carlos Magno, Butch Guice, Alex Guimarães, and Travis Lanham continue to astonish at the incredibly high bar they’ve set for this story.

| Published by Marvel

Justice League Odyssey #15 is a fun tale from Dan Abnett, Will Conrad, Rain Beredo, Pete Pantazis, and AndWorld Design. Jessica Cruz leading a rag tag band of villains (and Orion) against Darkseid and the previous JLO turned evil is unfolding as a very entertaining story with some interesting twists. Also, Dex-Starr is awesome.

| Published by DC Comics

Morbius #1 isn’t a bad start from Vita Ayala, Marcelo Ferreira, Roberto Poggi, Dono Sánchez-Almara, and Clayton Cowles. This first issue is largely just action as Morbius sets out on his quest to cure himself, again, but it’s not bad. The art from Ferreira, Poggi, and Sánchez-Almara is very nice.

| Published by Marvel

Oblivion Song #21 continues the slowburn investigation and reconnaissance of the Faceless Men’s base, as Marco tries to map it out and discover where they’re holding all of the people who decided to stay in Oblivion. Gorgeous artwork from Lorenzo De Felici and Annalisa Leoni as we see more of the Faceless Men’s technology.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Psi-Lords #6 does a bit more world-building as we find out more about the Psi-Lords and the Starwatchers, even as the four Earthers are beset by the other Marked in a bizarre farce of a trial. Fred Van Lente, Renato Guedes, and Dave Sharpe are telling a pretty great sci-fi adventure tale here. It largely stands alone in the greater Valiant universe framework and deserves more attention than its getting.

| Published by Valiant

Punisher: Soviet #1 is another welcome return to the Punisher by Garth Ennis, stepping back into Frank’s adventures like he never left. Ennis, Jacen Burrows, Guillermo Ortego, Nolan Woodard, and Rob Steen deliver a brutal and bloody beginning as Frank chases down someone who everyone seems to think is him.

| Published by Marvel / MAX

Reaver #5 is a fairly impressive spotlight for Breaker as he does what he really didn’t want to do again in order to help his “friends”. Justin Jordan, Rebekah Isaacs, Alex Guimarães, and Clayton Cowles present a number of twists and surprises in one of the most brutal issues yet.

| Published by Image / Skybound

Ronin Island #8 sees the remaining islanders largely stand together as they try to both stand up to and flee from the Shogun’s soldiers and madness. With a terrible occurrence that looks like it’s going to cause even more problems for the survivors. Giannis Milonogiannis and Irma Kniivila’s art continues to be everything.

| Published by BOOM! Studios

Sea of Stars #5 very nicely puts the pieces together as a disconsolate Gil has been captured and basically given up thinking Kadyn dead is brought to the world where his son is about to be gutted. Jason Aaron, Dennis Hallum, Stephen Green, Rico Renzi, and Jared K. Fletcher are telling an incredible story here and this issue throws even more twists at the reader.

| Published by Image

Seven Days #2 unfolds some of the fallout of people learning that they only have seven days left, as the superhero community is enlisted to try to stop whatever the shiny harbinger things are. Gail Simone, José Luís, Jonas Trinidade, Michelle Madsen, and Saida Temofonte are continuing to build an intriguing story here as we get more and more of the breadth of the Catalyst Prime universe.

| Published by Lion Forge / Catalyst Prime

Superman #17 is kind of a housekeeping issue from Brian Michael Bendis, Kevin Maguire, Paul Mounts, and Dave Sharpe, acting as a prologue to “The Truth”. A bit of reflection on the Unity Saga, Event Leviathan, and Year of the Villain.

| Published by DC Comics

Tales from the Dark Multiverse: Blackest Night #1 might well be the best of these one-shots yet. Tim Seeley, Kyle Hotz, Dexter Vines, Walden Wong, Danny Miki, David Baron, Allen Passalaqua, and Tom Napolitano give us a bleak look at a world where Sinestro chose not to share the power of the White Lantern light and essentially everything fell to Nekron and the Black Lanterns. It’s a very unique take on the zombie apocalypse on its own, made more interesting as a fallen Sinestro, Lobo, and Dove try to save this universe. The art from Hotz, Vines, Wong, Miki, Baron, and Passalaqua is perfect.

| Published by DC Comics

Trees: Three Fates #3 continues to build up the weird atmosphere from last issue, then turns around and focuses on more of the gritty aspects of Oleg, Mik, and Nina. Gorgeous artwork all throughout from Jason Howard and Dee Cunniffe.

| Published by Image

Triage #3 shifts to Commander Marco’s reality as the group flee from the Hunter. I really like what Phillip Sevy and Frank Cvetkovic have been doing with this story. Great high concept, but the interpersonal relationships are where it’s really at.

| Published by Dark Horse

Usagi Yojimbo #6 is a beautiful updating and embellishment of the very first story of Usagi from Albedo by Stan Sakai and Tom Luth. This single issue story really captures the spirit and magic of all of Sakai’s stories, wonderfully portraying his mix of action and folklore.

| Published by IDW

Vampirella/Red Sonja #3 explores more of what the Russians were doing in regards to Drakulon and more. More very nice humour from Jordie Bellaire in the interactions between Vampirella and Sonja.

| Published by Dynamite

Wonder Woman #82 begins “The Wild Hunt” from the new creative team of Steve Orlando, Kieran McKeown, Scott Hanna, Romulo Fajardo Jr., and Pat Brosseau. It very much continues on from the plot threads and elements of the previous run, continuing to build on the current conflict between Wonder Woman and Cheetah.

| Published by DC Comics

X-Men #2 is pretty damn great, going back to the big and wild ideas bringing new elements into the X-universe, all while Cyclops gives some of the strangest parenting. Jonathan Hickman, Leinil Francis Yu, Garry Alanguilan, Sunny Gho, and Clayton Cowles give us a new mystery with the arrival of Arakko and the first of -|A|-’s missing original horsemen.

| Published by Marvel

Other Highlights: Age of Conan: Valeria #4, Agents of Atlas #4, Catwoman #17, Doctor Who: The Thirteenth Doctor Holiday Special #1, The Dollhouse Family #1, Elvira: Mistress of the Dark #10, Firefly: The Sting, Future Foundation #4, Ghosted in LA #5, GI Joe: A Real American Hero #268, Girl on Film, Go Go Power Rangers #25, Harley Quinn & Poison Ivy #3, History of the Marvel Universe #5, Marvel Action: Spider-Man #11, Midnight Vista #3, Moonshine #13, Runaways #27, RWBY (print) #2, RWBY (digital) #6, Savage Sword of Conan #11, Star Wars #74, Star Wars: Jedi - Fallen Order: Dark Temple #4, Star Wars: Target Vader #5, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl #50

Recommended Collections: Babyteeth - Volume 3, Dark Red - Volume 1, Fallen World, GLOW - Volume 1: Versus the Star Primas, Justice League - Volume 4: The Sixth Dimension, Savage Avengers - Volume 1: City of Sickles, Star Wars: Age of Resistance - Heroes, Star Wars Adventures - Volume 7: Pomp and Circumstance, Wonder Twins - Volume 1: Activate

d. emerson eddy can hear the scratching at the walls of reality.

[blurhawaii]

Yuletide 2019

dear yuletide writer,

hello and happy yuletide! this is my fifth year taking part and my longest letter yet so i’m just going to jump right in. the suggestions are guidelines. if you’ve got a great idea, go for it. i only ask that you steer clear of my dislikes.

feel free to go through my tumblr for each of these fandoms. i should have tags for them, tho your mileage may vary. i might even have more stuff on my side blog: here. likes:

dysfunctional relationships eg. codependency, messed up father/son dynamics, enemies to lovers, power imbalances.

found family

big loyalty kink. love it when trust is earned and kept.

praise kink

vulnerability in men

open and honest communication between partners

i love ot3s. it’s the journey of them getting together and making it work that interests me the most. or how an established pair goes about bringing in a third person.

stories set in canon. or a divergence of canon.

dark/bleak fics. don’t be afraid to drag characters through the mud. happy endings are welcome but i like the struggle.

i’m fine with anything from gen to porn but would be happiest with something in the middle. i love first times.

canon typical violence is fine and to be expected from some of my choices of fandoms.

detective stories/film noir

magical realism/cosmic horror. weird hints of it in an otherwise normal universe

redemption arcs

characters and relationships are more important than plot for me

dislikes:

AUs that are completely disconnected from canon e.g. coffee shop AUs.

established relationships

crossovers

genderbending

feminisation of male characters

fics that are entirely fluff

A/B/O fics

PWP

mpreg 

scat/watersports

first person fics (i have no problem with second person fics tho if you think that could work. they really wow me when done well.)

The Departed (2006) *Billy Costigan             *Sean Dignam

one of my favourite films ever. i request it every year so you can't really go wrong with this as i am thirsty for anything. most of my love is for dignam and his tough love attitude towards his job and the undercovers he's responsible for. it's obvious he cares, i don't think you could do a job like that and not care, but those rare and few moments when he softens around billy --we need you, pal-- that's what i would like to see more of. i have written a couple of departed fics myself, centred around costigan/dignam, but in all honesty, i would be happy with anything involving them both. shipping is preferred but whatever you are comfortable with is fine. due to the nature of the film, i am perfectly comfortable with violence and the screwed up relationship they are bound to have. the friction born of the situation vs the fact that they need each other to get through this is what i am all about.

codependency, power imbalances and enemies to lovers tropes are abound here.

fics where billy lives are my usual go-to. the survivability of being shot in the head, that kind of stuff can be hand waved away in fic, and i'd love something that explores the angst of billy's ‘where the hell were you when i needed you’ reaction towards dignam following that ending.

or a canon divergence fic with their totally antagonistic relationship being front and centre. i just ask that there be an underlying level of affection, no matter how buried. when billy is undercover, there’s a special kind of relationship that comes with dignam and queenan being the only people he can talk to.

something i’ve never seen for this but would actually love: a time loop/groundhog day fic

Jurassic Park Original Trilogy (Movies)

*Sarah Harding                  *Ian Malcolm                  *Nick Van Owen

i originally wasn’t going to ask for this again this year (i was lucky enough to get treated with a fic a couple of years ago) but then someone other than myself nominated nick van owen which surprised and delighted me and i figured why the hell not.

my passion here is the ot3 potential. i view these three in the same way i view the trio in the first film, meaning i see them as three people who have bonded over a traumatic experience and come out of it forever linked in some way. they spend the entire film looking out for each other and keeping each other safe, and they all separately take care of ian’s daughter at one point and i am fascinated by this and how that could continue in the future. (in fact, i love stories where adults treat kids like adults, not talking down to them–see any shane black film.) i’m looking for an actual relationship between them but would be happy with anything that showcased a connection with every side of this triangle.

anything post-film with them dealing or not dealing with what happened would be amazing. there are quite a few fics based around this idea for the first film’s trio, i’d love to see something like that for these three. (i’ve always been kind of bitter about the way nick just disappears for the last act but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ that’s what fics are for, i guess.)

i don’t like the jurassic world films but i’m fine with fics that take that future into account. a lot of the trauma for these characters comes from the idea that the parks still exist and continue to fuck people up.

Godless (TV 2017)

*Roy Goode                 *Bill McNue                 *Alice Fletcher

i’m a massive fan of westerns. the harsh way of life, the violence, the isolation, drawn out revenge plots, the murkiness of good vs evil or sheriff vs anti-hero, the importance of honour and heroism and how that differs for men and women, especially in this universe with its town full of widows. having said all that, i’m still very much a sucker for cool cowboys in a shallow female way.

as you’ve probably already gathered my favourite thing is turning every love triangle into an ot3. so i’d love a fic post canon where roy comes back after realising found family is just as important as real family despite frank’s influence. i imagine bill would try to do the gentlemanly/self depreciating thing of bowing out and letting roy and alice be together but i’d love for alice to actually get a say in this where she wasn’t allowed in the show. however you jigsaw them together my main thing is that bill doesn’t get left out.

i feel the roy/bill aspect in particular could be explored a lot more. i love that they don’t hate each on sight. they learn mutual respect and then smoothly move around each other during the gunfight at the end. (bill’s deteriorating eyesight side plot also fascinates me, how it goes with his loss of purpose -”losing his shadow”- and comes back when teaming up with roy to defend the town. maybe there’s a fic possibility where it flares up again due to his insecurity of roy coming between him and alice. either way, the hints of magical realism here and with frank’s repeated insistence that he’s seen his death and this ain’t it are great and i wouldn’t mind seeing more of that.)

the usual ideas of western masculinity get all twisted around when roy and bill are in the presence of alice and they both seem kind of subby towards her, which yes please. the way alice kisses the scar she gave roy and the fact that he simply lets her is *chef kiss* because i also love the parallel that bill got shot in the hip trying to get revenge for alice. they all have scars that tie them together.

i’m actually very okay with letting them be soft with each other after all of their tragedy.

honest communication between partners could work wonders here.

Barry (TV 2018)

*Barry Berkman                     *Monroe Fuches

i expected to like this show. dark comedy, depressed hitman, henry winkler, it’s a perfect combination of things. i didn’t expect to get obsessed with barry’s obvious fucked up father-figure hangups. but hey ho, i was pleasantly surprised.

pretty much every one of barry’s relationships in this show has an element of fucked-upness but the barry/fuches one is by far the worst. it’s codependent, it’s manipulative, it’s a little abusive, the power is constantly flip-flopping and most importantly there’s the father/son dynamic that could so easily tip over into something sexual. it’s everything i love. any time fuches calls barry “his boy” it kills me. and i am fascinated by the way barry can go from needy and touch starved to a rampaging killer hunting fuches down by the end and still have that dynamic going strong.

the parallels between them and the barry/gene cousineau relationship, which is fucked up too just in a very different way, are great. love the jealousy it brings and i would even be into a fic set post the season 2 ending, if you could find a way to swing that. though, while i like a little darkness, i would still rather see them fall back into old unhealthy habits than kill each other.

any kind of prequel fic would be amazing too.

and just to be clear i’m more than okay with a sexual relationship between these two but if you don’t want to write it that’s fine. I’d just like all the other aspects of their shitty relationship delved into.

L.A. Confidential (1997)

*Bud White                         *Ed Exley

pretty much all of my bullet pointed likes come into play here. i’ve nominated two characters but i’d be happy with almost any combination of the characters available in the tagset as long as exley is involved in some way.

ships i like: bud/exley,  exley/vincennes,  bud/exley/lynn

but if we matched purely on both bud and exley then:

i love the opposites attract partnership bud and exley have and i like that they both seem angry at their attraction to each other. hate-sex with reluctant feelings? always good. i'd love anything that deals with their perceived difference in intellect and/or education. bud being turned-on by exley's smarts, exley realizing how much he's underestimated bud, them being mutually impressed by each other.

if you choose to go down the ot3 route then:

i love fics where exley shows up in arizona and they fall into weird domesticity. i love seeing how three people--especially three people who aren't used to the idea of poly relationships--work their way towards realizing and accepting what they want.

and while i’m not sure what you could do with this knowledge, i’d just like to add that i’ve read the book and i’m somewhat obsessed with the existence of dream-a-dreamland in general. if you could incorporate that in any way i’d be hugely impressed.

POKEMON Detective Pikachu (2019)

*Harry Goodman                        *Hide Yoshida

this is totally a last minute request that i’ve edited in but is by no means less wanted than the others. i watched this film back when it came out and was honestly surprised by how much i enjoyed it. i’m a massive pokemon fan and have been since i got my pokemon red when i was seven years old and, let me tell you, getting to see all those growlithes waddling about the real world was like a childhood dream come true.

i had a good time and i moved on.

a few days ago i stumbled on a piece of art : here : and it was like the little goblin that is my brain just sat up straight. the very concept of these characters together had never crossed my mind before that but then suddenly the desire for this just casually strolled through my entire headspace, turning on every light as it went.

i love detective stories, i love cop partnerships, i love hot single dads who happen to be cops with cute little pokemon cop partners. i love that harry is kind of a shitty father but he’s now trying his best. i love that hide had nothing but praise and respect for harry when he meets with tim and that he knew things like tim wanting to be a pokemon trainer when he was younger (meaning he and harry had talked about stuff like this.) i love that hide inexplicably has a spare key to harry’s apartment in his desk drawer. i love how absolutely certain hide was in saying harry loved his son more than anything in the world.

there’s history there is what i’m saying, and i’d love to know more about it.

anything set pre-film would be cool. loose cannon harry throwing his whole being into his job to deal with the loss of his wife and his fractured relationship with his son. hide the tired lieutenant trying to rein him in, quietly talking about tim together, keeping him grounded and safe. all up until he can’t, that is. (great angst potential with hide genuinely believing harry is dead.)

anything set post-film would be even better. harry struggling to find balance between being a father and a cop. probably doing a shitty job at it in the beginning. hide trying to help. would love for tim to be an actual presence (outsider POV could be amazing here.)

may sound strange but my favourite thing that used to happen in digimon a lot is when characters would interact with each other digimon partner. i would be massively into a fic about the two of them growing closer through each other’s pokemon partner.

thank you writer and best of luck.

[smokedstorybara]

I’m compiling a list of all my wips w/ summaries here to remind myself what all I should be working on and keep myself accountable - and if y’all wanna yell at me about them please do

(Also be warned there will be some spoilers in here cause I suck at non spoiler-y summaries)

Fanfics:

Dear Evan Hansen:

(Apprentice) Park Ranger Handsome part 16 (doesn’t even have a name yet I’m so sorry)

Evan and Connor’s first date!! They go to the orchard of course, and have more relationship conversation... and a picnic.

Fae Court AU

Prince Connor of the Winter Court falls in love with a human boy and acts on it, despite his parents having Rules against relationships with humans. The consequences are big but Connor and Evan weather them well.

Flash:

Soulmate AU (I’m thinking ‘Dream A Little Dream Of Me’ for series title)

A series of one-shots following the Arrowverse characters - with a bit of a focus on Team Flash and the Legends - as they find love and happiness , with some bumps along the way, in a world where you share dreams with your soulmate. Timeline is spread out from Stein and Clarissa’s first meeting to some point around mid canon.

endgame ships include Barry/Len, Hartley/Cisco, Wally/Jax, Sara/Ava, Nate/Ollie/Felicity/Lisa(it’ll make sense I promise), Iris/Caitlin/Shawna, and more

Role-reversal AU

In a world where Barry was kept strictly away from the file on his mother’s murder after he becomes a CSI he grows resentful and distrusting of law-enforcement and a little quicker to recognize that he can’t entirely fix the issues with the police from the inside. So when he wakes from a nine month coma with super speed his first thought is how much he can shove the police’s faces in the fact that the system isn’t perfect and needs to change... he becomes the world’s fastest thief - unbeatable. At least until he goes after a certain diamond at the same time as one Leonard Snart, who walks away from the encounter looking to the world like a hero and gets a sweet taste of positive press that he’s not all that eager to give up.

Harry Potter crossover

Snart and Rory go “backpacking across Europe” on a ridiculous challenge to steal one thing in each country. Their last stop is in England and they’ve set their sights on a suburb in Surrey... which leads them to noticing the treatment of the young nephew of their potential target. Being survivors of abuse themselves they decide to remove him from that environment... along with all of Vernon Dursley’s valuables. Raising a kid is hard, raising a magical kid while maintaining positions as master thieves? ...piece of cake...

Check Please:

Moving On

When Jack and Bitty go through a messy breakup their friends are torn and Bitty is uncertain about what to do, especially when he has to go back to Georgia - where he’s firmly in the closet - for summer break. He can’t talk to his family or his friends about all his conflicting feelings about what happened, so he somehow finds himself corresponding with the one person who he knows would understand - Jack’s other ex, Kent Parson. He also finds himself growing closer to the previous year’s freshmen on his college hockey team and the team’s new manager - especially when summer ends and they’re all handling the situation better than the rest of his friends - ie: behaving like nothing happened except that they’re immediately down to fight Jack at a moment’s notice.

The Umbrella Academy:

Ghost Dave (that’s what it’s called in my google docs but it’s definitely not gonna be the title of the final product)

Dave Katz has been haunting the surviving members of his unit for a couple decades when the story about the 43 women comes on the news; a story Dave had heard plenty about before he died from his lover, Klaus Hargreeves. In whose tellings of it he was one of the children born that day. He also had claimed a few times to be from the future so Dave was fairly willing to take this as proof he was telling the truth. Immediately Dave seeks out Reginald Hargreeves and the 7 of the children he adopted. Over the next 29 years Dave follows the young Klaus around, giving him advice and unconditional friendship and protection from the other ghosts the poor kid could see.

Circle Of Magic crossover

When Tris finds herself dropping out of some kind of portal in a strange land it doesn’t take her long to figure out that some mage had decided to get rid of her - and possibly her siblings - by banishing her to another world, one with advanced technology but not much by way of magic - if one didn’t count the six super-powered siblings she appeared in the middle of. At the same time, but also not, Tris’s adopted sister Sandry wound up smack dab in the center of a group calling themself The Commission who’re very interested in adding her to their ranks, she joins up but maintains suspicion. Daja, the third sister, follows a pair of assassins. And their one brother, Briar, falls into the Vietnam War alongside one freshly tortured Klaus Hargreeves. They all find their way back together eventually - with much fewer casualties than if they hadn’t been there

Harry Potter crossover 1

When an eighteen-year-old Klaus Hargreeves gets bored of being lookout on a mission in London and wanders into the bar across the street he isn’t expecting to find a best friend, but that’s exactly what happens. Lily Evans is a couple months into a break-up and still tired of her ex and his idiocy, especially after his most recent letter - a pile of stupid big enough to send her straight to her local bar. The two hit it off instantly via complaining about anything and everything and egging each other into doing the most ridiculous but fun things. Their night of fun turns sour when Klaus finds out his brother Ben died during the mission and at least one of his siblings blame him. Lily takes the broken boy back to her flat and let’s him stay with her until his visa to stay in England runs out. Thirteen years later the apocalypse is interrupted by a tired ex-professor bringing life changing news - Lily was pregnant when Klaus left England(they’d slept together a handful of times but were never more than friends with benefits), also Lily and her husband(the idiot ex who apologized and changed his behavior, Klaus was at their wedding) are dead and Klaus and Lily’s son was placed with his aunt Petunia(who Klaus has met and knows the boy never should’ve been put with) because only five people besides Lily and James knew who Harry’s father really was and the only one capable of doing anything about it had to find the wandering junkie first. Klaus handles all this about as well as a powerful veteran with a traumatic childhood can - fighting tooth and nail for custody and then raising the boy the best he can with help from his siblings and robot mom and shoving his son’s happiness and safety in the faces of everyone who did the boy wrong

Harry Potter crossover 2

Not long after the war ends Harry finds that he can’t stand staying in magical Britain any longer, so he takes his godson and moves to America. Six years later one of the kids who live across the street sneaks out his window, wearing only pjs despite the heavy snow. Harry finds himself staying up waiting for the boy to return to their street and making some hot cocoa - which he offers to the boy as soon as he sees him. It quickly becomes a Thing(tm); Klaus will sneak out his window in the middle of the night, go for a walk, and eventually wind up having hot cocoa in Harry’s kitchen. They form a strange friendship, one where Klaus has someone he knows he can go to when everything becomes too much - even if that means crawling through Harry’s window, collapsing on his floor in tears, and falling asleep on his couch, waking up just in time to get home before his absence is noticed. Three more years have passed when Harry and Teddy are idly watching tv and Harry sees a very familiar face as Reginald Hargreeves introduces ‘the inaugural class of the Umbrella Academy.’ When Klaus comes over that night Harry asks how much choice Hargreeves gave him and his siblings in their ‘heroics’. After some thought Klaus remembers how his brother Ben hadn’t wanted anything to do with what happened at the bank but was made to participate anyway. He answers honestly: they weren’t really given any. Thus begins Harry’s campaign to get custody for the kids from Hargreeves.

Original Works:

Four Elements Universe(a collection of stories set along one timeline - very far apart and with no overarching plot, just a shared world):

Sisa:

A secluded young king sneaks out of his castle and gets a job under a false identity in hope for friendship, then gives everything up to help his new friends and the rest of his people when he realizes the extent of his adviser’s corruption. Around the same time, a teenage master thief is hired to steal a specific box from the castle - and then to help another thief break her friend out of the castle dungeon - and uncovers several major secrets that might just change the fate of the kingdom.

Kings:

Bandit King Vakhtang’s life is irrevocably changed when he agrees to lend his men to a rebellion for a hefty amount of gold. Over time he finds himself growing fond of the boy prophesied to be the next king and learning just as much from his new employer about letting himself care and open up as he’s teaching the boy how to protect himself. (His best friend and lover is very proud of this growth and kinda wants to adopt the kid)

The Completely Unrelated Adventures Of Four People Who Had Nothing To Do With Each Other Beforehand:

Four teenagers in rural Texas follow a cipher they found in an old tome and discover that all four of them have magical abilities, and that their town may not be as average as they’d believed. As they delve deeper in this new world they uncover two different secret organizations and find themselves caught in the middle of a dangerous conflict over a powerful artifact - that may or may not be the kid sister of one of them.

Mythicals:

Six kids around the world each find objects - artifacts - that grant them magical transformations and abilities. Seven years later all six of them end up at the same prestigious performing arts school in New York. When they discover that they all have these artifacts and powers - and that New York and possibly the world is in danger - they team up to protect everyone else, and quickly become close friends. Though one of them has a secret that could drastically change how the others view them... and possibly risk the fate of the human race.

Eternity And Forever(this one does have an overarching plot):

Eternity Of Forever:

Back in the early years of humanity a young man goes up a mountain for his Trials of Adulthood - a series of three trials set to test a person on the traits of whichever three gods they’ve been assigned to serve - unfortunately for this boy he’s been chosen for the gods of empathy, loyalty, and love... three traits that do not come easily to him. In his desperation to pass his trials he cheats the system and gets caught. As punishment he’s cursed to live forever just on the cusp of adulthood but never reaching it, the only way to break his curse is to prove - with no possibility of dishonesty - that he’s capable of the three traits. Over the next few millennia he gets caught up in a war for the fate of all life on earth, and also somewhat adopts a maybe-alien and falls in love with a time traveler.

Throughout Eternity:

At some unknown point in the future all that’s left of the human race is a refugee colony on an island floating above the desolate remains of our planet. It’s into this that Quinton is born. But when it’s discovered that he can travel through time with just a thought he’s trained for a very important mission: to go back in time and stop the apocalypse. Shortly into his mission he meets an immortal teenager who claims to have met Quinton’s future self and who offers to help, telling him that first thing he should do is gather a team to help him - he even provides names and years. This little team becomes like a second family to Quinton, especially the pretend-aloof immortal.

Forever And After:

After the death of the closest thing he ever had to a father, Slythus finds himself applying to the superhero school the immortal had founded - despite knowing that even if he were accepted into the student body he’d never be accepted by the student body. Somehow he manages to get in... and even more impossible; manages to make friends. But even as he learns how to be good, his past is lurking on the edges of his new life and quickly becoming impossible to ignore - figuratively and literally.

Shadow Warriors:

After the dragon Svartr gets cursed protecting a village from invaders they offer their children to be trained by him - to take care of him as his condition worsens. Those selected and taught by him become known as the Shadow Warriors. Alexir was born several generations after the tradition began of sending every twelve-year-old up Svartr’s mountain for the selection and she never expected to be chosen, being much more focused on intellectual growth than physical, so when it happens it comes as a bit of a shock. She struggles to keep up with her peers in most of the lessons but refuses to give in, pushing herself to reach their level while also learning the complexities of friendship from them all.

Consequences(originally titled ‘Consequences of War’ until I realized it’s more about just consequences for actions in general - like: don’t piss off the powerful magical Being hiding out in the abandoned building):

After deliberately pissing off what they believed to be a ghost - or a false rumor more likely - a college aged idiot ends up being banished into a strange world... with a distinct change in biology(mostly in the area of hormones and primary sex characteristics). As they travel this new world in search of a way home - and back into their original form - they learn new things about themself and make interesting new friends. They find themself questioning whether they actually want their ‘old body’ back and then, when they begin to fall in love, whether they really want to return to their old world.

[dfhvn]

The Triumphant Return of Deafheaven: Interview // NME

Feature by Tom Connick via NME

With ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’, California’s Deafheaven have released one of the most acclaimed albums of the year, a record that makes non-metal fans sit back and think, ‘Wait, do I like metal?’ Tom Connick finds them – surfing, no less – on the day of the album’s release.

Kerry McCoy spent the morning surfing. The black-haired, bespectacled metalhead might not look like the archetypal surf bro, but McCoy uses the waves as an escape fairly often. Today, the guitarist took to the board to get away from his own record – Deafheaven’s ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’, which, when we speak, has been streaming online pre-release for a matter of hours.

“I’ve been trying not to look,” he says of the online reaction to the record. After his time on the sea, he went to hang out with friends – now he’s back home, ignoring his phone as much as possible. “My mom is keeping me updated,” Kerry says – he laughs when I suggest she might be filtering out any negativity.

Any longtime Deafheaven fan will appreciate his apprehension. Since their 2013 breakthrough, the Californian metallers – completed by vocalist George Clarke, guitarist Shiv Mehra, bassist Chris Johnson and see-him-to-believe-it mega-talent drummer Dan Tracy – have courted critical acclaim and genre purist backlash like few others. Second record ‘Sunbather’, released in 2013, was a beautiful fusion of post-rock atmospherics and doomy, heavy aggression, which achieved metal’s most elusive feat – crossover success. Heralded as genius by critics across the globe, this small-time, seemingly niche prospect soon found themselves performing at mainstream festivals like Coachella, and – according to reviews aggregate Metacritic – producing the year’s most critically acclaimed record, beating the likes of Beyoncé‘s self-titled, Kanye West‘s ‘Yeezus’, Daft Punk‘s ‘Random Access Memories’ and countless others to the top spot. With breakthrough success, though, came underground backlash. Black metal purists turned their noses up at Deafheaven, pinning them as culture vultures after a quick buck. They hadn’t paid their dues, spewed the forums, all while Deafheaven’s stature continued to rise. Their sonic fusions irritated the blacker-than-thou, too. “A lot of people have this idea that we’re thumbing our nose at the metal diehards,” says Kerry, “and it’s never that. It’s really just that we want to be this kind of band.” The fact they were pinned as metal saviors by some corners of the press was “overwhelming”, Kerry admits. Reviewed and written about by critics who’d never delved into the world of atmospheric metal before, they soon became tagged with all kinds of statements – ones they never wanted to make themselves. “You got people that either like, just really liked Beach House and had in no way ever listened to metal, but were like, ‘This is the most original thing I’ve ever heard in my entire life, this is god’s gift to music, oh my god’, and then there were people where all they listen to is Mortuary Drape, or they’re on the Nuclear War Now! Forums like, ‘This band is wildly unoriginal and the original thing that they’re ripping off sucks – this is the worst thing that could possibly happen to music’,” Kerry explains. “Both of those people were wrong!”

Citing the likes of ColdWorld and Alcest as early inspirations, he’s keen to drive home that Deafheaven never thought they were reinventing any wheels. “You’re getting blamed for stuff that you didn’t write, or you didn’t say, or whatever,” he shrugs. “People are gonna say what they’re gonna say, and they’ll like it or they won’t. Either way, we tried our hardest. That’s a mature way of thinking about it that I have now, but I think at the time we were trying to get to that point… hence my mom texting me stuff about the record, rather than me looking at it.

Photo credit:  Sean Stout ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’ is a record many will have to hear to believe. A swarming, euphoric mass of metal extremity, huge post-rock, Britpop melodies and guitar solos that could slot into place on a Thin Lizzy record, it’s a record that could soundtrack both victory marches and funerals – at once beautiful and bleak. “We’re all dudes that like extreme metal – really heavy, ridiculous stuff – but then we’re all dudes that really like psych-rock and shoegaze, Britpop, Madchester… Everyone in the band listens to everything,” explains Kerry of that anything-goes musical approach. No idea is considered too outlandish in the writing process, he explains: “If we like it, it goes in there – I think that’s how we end up with things like ‘Night People’ on the record, which is more like Portishead or The xx than anything else. The main thing that stops it sinking into those more atmospheric indie passages is George’s banshee vocal. A death metal-like scream that could shatter your grandma’s spine, it adds an element not often found in records this sonically beautiful. “I think that the juxtaposition between the harsh vocal and the more melodic parts of the songs is cool,” says George, matter-of-factly. “I think that my voice, more than anything, provides a lot of texture to the music. I think that its main process is to provide texture, which I think is a little bit different to how vocals are normally approached.” It’s a method which sees George’s vocal used as much like a musical instrument as it is a means to deliver a story – though that vicious scream hides poetry worthy of its own publication. “I think that – while it can be a little difficult for some to hear – it’s an integral part of the band,” George continues. “It’s necessary to do.” Fusing all those elements is often a case of trial-and-error. When it came time to approach ‘Ordinary Corupt Human Love’, the band exchanged voice notes and iPhone memos for months, before entering the practise studio last October. Picking out various riffs and piano parts that they’d demoed, and noodling over the top of each other, Kerry and Shiv began constructing what would become Deafheaven’s fourth full-length, almost by accident. “That happens a lot,” Kerry admits, “I’ll be playing this weird riff, just messing with it, and Shiv will just jump on top of it with something he’s making up on the fly, and we’ll be like, ‘Stop… that’s the thing. Don’t change that – that’s it right there’.” Your music taste stems from a pretty British indie background – Oasis are one of your favourite bands, right? Kerry: Yeah, definitely. Shiv is really into that too – we’re both large Manchester fans. I’m more of like a hooks, Beatles-y kinda guy, and he’s more of a Pink Floyd-y, psychy kinda guy. When we put that together, it comes out with this weird thing. For me, I can hear all of those things. I feel like it’s a… I don’t know what else to really compare it to, and I don’t mean to compare myself to this band, but I’d imagine this is how Thom and Jonny from Radiohead feel. There’s a really cohesive thing, where both of their separate influences gel together really nicely – that’s how I feel about Shiv. We’re both really good at separate things, and those things come together really nicely. Is it nice to find someone that you can gel with like that – if you’re mixing together loads of different influences, it can go disastrously, sometimes. Kerry: Absolutely. [laughs] And especially with Chris – he’s by far the most musical of any bassist we’ve ever had, and then Dan’s drumming, I think, just speaks for itself. I’m yet to meet another person who can play drums like him.

Photo credit:  Sean Stout That adulation is core to Deafheaven’s being. Now steadfast in their line-up after a bunch of early-days personnel changes, their trust runs deep. Kerry and George – ostensibly Deafheaven’s central duo – met at 14, drawn together in the kind of teen movie fashion only outcast kids at an American high-school could really muster. “I saw George at school – he was this new kid and he had a Slayer shirt on,” Kerry explains. “I went over to him and complimented him on his Slayer shirt, and I had a Dead Kennedys back patch and he was like, ‘Cool patch!’. The rest is history,” he peels off with a laugh. “I feel very fortunate to have that relationship,” says George more solemnly. “Most people go into these great adventures alone, and it’s been nice not having to do that. ”Off the back of ‘Sunbather’’s acclaim, 2015 follow-up ‘New Bermuda’ was a much darker prospect, stripping out much of the beauty that made ‘Sunbather’ so accessible to those outside of metal’s four walls. Rather than a sonic mission statement, the shift was a reflection of the impact that explosion of interest had on the band. “It was just exhausting,” says George today. “We didn’t really have a break between ‘Sunbather’ and ‘New Bermuda’, and we essentially – in terms of recording and touring – just merged those two together. By the time that we were done recording that record, we were a little bit jaded, and definitely in need of a break.” Kerry agrees: “’New Bermuda’ was a very big reaction – when I listen to that record I can feel the stress in it – it sounds like five guys who have their insides all wound up.” The result was a record which revelled in self-hatred.

Photo Credit: Sean Stout Was that darkness on ‘New Bermuda’ a reaction to the way ‘Sunbather’ exploded? You just got thrown into this, what I expect was, quite an unexpected success. George: Yeah. That’s exactly it – with ‘Sunbather’ we found an opportunity to live off our music, and then we started living off our music, and then we got really scared of not being able to do that. We just kept going – we didn’t want to take any breaks. It was great – we did a tonne of extremely cool things – but it also took a bit of… a bit of a toll. Growing up in that metal community, too, you don’t ever expect to have that kind of crossover success. It’s not really the done thing – it’s not something you’re prepared for. George: Yeah, I think so. We’re flying this ship blindly, is how I like to describe it. Everything that we were embarking on then – and even still now – a lot of the time, is unfamiliar territory. We navigate it as best we can. It is interesting being this sort of ‘crossover’ metal act, because there comes pressure from both sides, in a way. The Deafheaven of 2018 harbour a far more positive view of that crossover appeal – in fact, with the demons of the ‘New Bermuda’ cycle now behind them, ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’ is an altogether more positive prospect all round. “If we’re your gateway into this beautiful form of music, then I think that’s win-win for everybody,” shrugs Kerry. “I feel like when I was a kid, there was a hard line between being into alternative music and alternative things – especially aggressive music and aggressive things – and being a regular guy,” Kerry continues. “What I kinda see happening is that those lines are getting blurred. Some of these kids, these high-school kids, it’s not a big thing. They’re listening to the new Drake record or whatever, and then they’ll have Code Orange or Power Trip on next. From what I’ve seen, it’s not even really being talked about anymore – it’s kinda generally accepted that everyone needs to have a diverse music diet. I think that there’s a lot of bands out there that are helping open those doors, and I hope we’re one of them. More than it’s bands that are doing it, I think it’s just kids are smarter now than when I was in high school,” he breaks off with a laugh: “I remember it sucked being the punk kid in high school, when I was there.” ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’, then, feels like a victory lap. It’s an escape from numerous dark pasts – one that finds Deafheaven rejuvenated. “It’s definitely a cathartic record,” Kerry agrees. “To me it sounds like five dudes who have, essentially, been holding their breath for about five years [laughs]. We’re finally taking a deep breath and relaxing a little bit, instead of trying to handle things in a negative way. I think you can definitely hear that on it.” It’s a record which doesn’t shy away from the grisly truth of that path to redemption, though – for every soaring, reflective moment of musical bliss, there’s a doomy scream, or a well-timed lyrical takedown, to bring things back to reality – for every ‘You Without End’, on which George sings of being “In a dark tunnel / And new dawn approaching / With a sphere of light / Ever glowing”, there’s a ‘Honeycomb’, which finds him declaring that “My love is a bulging, blue-faced fool / Hung from the throat by sunflower stems.” “If I’m going to be spending time making art, or spending time writing lyrics or writing music, I think it’s important just to be honest,” says George. “I think it’s a waste of time if I’m not honest, and in being honest one has to reflect on both the positive and negative aspects of life. I think we try and do that – we try and be well-rounded about our reflections on life, and take the good with the bad, and not shun away the darker side of things. We try and be as accurate a representation of our feelings as possible.” “I think that, where the world is at now… I know I’m in desperate need of some positivity these days,” says Kerry. “It is nice to be out there and put out a record that isn’t literally pure darkness. It’s almost like a true, human version of positivity – it’s flawed positivity, like: ‘Hey, no one’s perfect here – but we’re all gonna end up alright’. ”Deafheaven’s new album ‘Ordinary Corrupt Human Love’ is out now via ANTI- Records.

[wazafam]

The vampiric franchise What We Do in the Shadows has quietly become one of the most entertaining and hilarious shared cinematic universes in recent years. Fans have come to greatly appreciate this ongoing serial set in the world of monsters and ghouls, but it's not immediately clear how it found so much success.

RELATED: What We Do In The Shadows: 10 Other Movies & TV Shows The Cast Have Been In

With the various critically acclaimed spin-offs, though, a celebrated movie, a top-notch cast, a brilliant core vision for this ongoing universe, and a number of other factors, other studios and brands can perhaps learn something from the lessons set out through these comedic projects. There looks to be no stopping this creative juggernaut.

10 Core Creative Vision

Jemaine Clement and Taika Waititi were the two creative forces behind the original movie. The New Zealand indie production was very much their vision and the consequential spin-offs have all been based around this very initial idea.

Compared to other franchises, the What We Do in the Shadows universe has benefitted from having these two overseeing everything. While they also delegate when needed, they have had an involvement in every part of this world's creation.

9 From Movie To TV

Very few movies have successfully made the jump from the big to the small screen while also keeping the same continuity. Marvel has been praised in recent years for their ABC and Disney+ shows and how they keep some of the same canon alive despite the various platforms.

Yet, What We Do in the Shadows has already mastered this with actual crossovers between the different areas of this universe and the same characters featuring in various places. It's a testament to the planning and execution of this increasingly complex landscape.

8 Two Spin-Offs

Considering the size of the initial film, shockingly there have already been two television spin-offs. The first is Wellington Paranormal, which follows officers O'Leary and Minogue, who are the two members of the police that invade the vampire's house in the original movie.

RELATED: What We Do In The Shadows: The 9 Most Likable Characters, Ranked

The second is the US version of What We Do in the Shadows, which investigates a different set of vampires. Interestingly, the characters from the original movie also make a couple of appearances in this show. All three projects are filmed in the same mockumentary style.

7 Fantastic Casting

Whether it's Guillermo, the werewolves, or the Wellington Police, every single level of this franchise is perfectly cast. Using a diverse range of talent, the comedic timing and chemistry amongst all of these actors are simply incredible. Each role has been made to feel totally unique.

The authenticity and natural style of these performances also help to really sell the story. This feels like a real world thanks to the people cast within these roles. There are some real heavy hitters from the comedy world throughout all the films and series as well.

6 Great Guest Stars

While the main cast of this universe is superb, the TV show also includes a number of brilliant guest cameos. The likes of Dave Bautista, Mark Hammill, and Tilda Swinton have all appeared as various vampires in the US show's first two seasons.

It's truly a great asset to the series that there are so many well-known and highly regarded performers wanting to be involved in this bizarre universe. The quality of the writing and the strong audience following would certainly interest any big-name star.

5 Consistently Funny

The one thing that really connects all of these strange projects is just how funny they all are. They play off of a New Zealand and British humor, which actually isn't morphed that much when looking at the American iteration of the world.

RELATED: What We Do In The Shadows: 10 Most Impressive Things They Pulled Off Without Special FX

The scripts are fantastically written and combine both physical gags and a number of fantastic quotes, which really sell the story while getting a laugh out of almost every scene. It's difficult to find any other franchise that hits it out of the park every single time.

4 Well-Known Stories

The whole idea of this franchise is that it is built off the back of familiar mythology. Everyone knows about vampires, werewolves, ghosts, and ghouls. The premise is that all of these mythological beings have been brought into the real world for the first time.

There's something very accessible about the concept, as there's no hidden lore that a viewer has to understand to interact with the property. Everyone has likely heard of a zombie story or the tale of Dracula and this just continues to delve into those traditional narratives.

3 International Appeal

The nature of the stories being told, the type of humor within the show, as well as the range of recognizable and new stars in these shows and films, means that the franchise actually has international appeal. In fact, Wellington Paranormal has recently made its way to streaming in both the UK and the US as well as other markets.

Despite being a Kiwi concept, the franchise has grown into something that the whole world can enjoy. A cinematic universe will only continue to grow if it can resonate with audiences and have universal appeal no matter where they are.

2 Room To Expand

There's even more room for this franchise to expand, and it's really only scratching the surface. For starters, the Wellington Police could certainly make a trip to the States for a mini crossover of their own. However, there are lots of other directions to go in.

With so many mythical creatures to explore there could easily be other spin-offs taking a mockumentary look at ghosts or even zombies. What's more, there's always the possibility that Taika Waititi may wish to direct a sequel to the original hit production.

1 Future Of The Franchise

What We Do in the Shadows is currently looking at its third season while Wellington Paranormal is heading to its fourth, although the ongoing global situation may have created delays in the current production timeline. Outside of that, there are no current plans on the table for more spin-offs.

Yet the original team behind the first film consistently talks about the potential for a werewolf spin-off down the line, with the project titled We're Wolves getting mentioned every now and again and the group confirming that it isn't dead in the water quite yet. If it does happen then it would be an exciting fourth entry into the franchise.

NEXT: What We Do In The Shadows: The 10 Funniest Quotes

10 Ways What We Do In The Shadows Made The Most Underrated Cinematic Universe from https://ift.tt/2SdYqiI

[affcgato-archived]

anon: ✂ A fandom that you feel isn't open and accepting? salty af munday meme ( accepting )

I’d like to state that before I get started on this 1,000+ word rambling, this isn’t a criticism of anyone because everyone deserves to be able to curate their own experience. this is merely an observation of how that exact practice has done its own damage to the RPC, & maybe, if possible, it might be healthy to loosen up in what little ways we can or at least be a bit more cognizant of the general effects & even fallout of these specific behaviors. 

      honestly I feel like MOST fandoms have gotten very... I don’t want to say clique-ish but isolationist as a recent trend? I think a lot of us have been writing for such a long time, we have such specific ideas of our muses & how they fit into canon that newcomers who recently discovered or re-discovered a fandom may not be as warmly welcomed as they used to be when everything was a bit newer & shinier, & we didn’t have such entrenched visions of how we wanted to shape not only our muses, but maybe related facets of their canon around them. 

      I also know that with a lot of fandoms getting surprise (or even unsurprising) new material, that can make things a little interesting. one of my fandoms has no less than fifteen full length novels over several hundred pages each, with at least five more on the way + six supplemental novellas/collections that are also several hundred pages each -- bringing the full series to twenty-six novel-length pieces by itself. some of us have been with the fandom since book 1 was released, some have only been in with the show that was released a few years ago, & I think sometimes it’s hard to have the perspective that many people may not have the time to read all those books or even watch the entire show - they just want to enjoy what they know, & maybe wiki the rest or read along slowly. 

      I see that a lot in fandoms like Marvel, too, that has an even bigger canon with double digit movies, & every single major character existing within a multi-canon multiverse, some of which has been retconned multiple times, & much of which contradicts itself even within pieces of the same run. that’s really exhausting to keep up with from a casual fan point of view tbh? & I don’t have the time to delve into the comics more than every once in a while because I work full time so even if I do want to expand my knowledge, I have to do it very slowly ( see: it took me until this week to knock out The Old Guard comics, & there’s only two existing collections. ) - & I’ll easily admit that I feel intimidated to approach comic-only muns for this reason, so I can’t possibly be the only person who has built up this sense of being “unwelcomed” sheerly in their own head, & may need help or just time to overcome it.

      I can’t count how many people in various comic fandoms have “comic only, ( insert movie or show of choice ) DNI” in their rules, or book series. again, no judgment - this is your safe space to curate & maintain your own comfort zone. print media as a whole I’ve noticed is one particularly difficult set of fandoms to break into because while I could devour an entire novel in one day in college, I now unfortunately just don’t have the time, or the mental health, to do that so I end up having to add it to a never-ending list of canons to catch up on, & that just slows things down further. that being said, that does make large chunks of fandoms entirely inaccessible to me - an experience I have to assume is probably not unique.

      smaller fandoms have a different sort of struggle, I’ve noticed. I might have no issue catching up on their canon because it’s comparatively limited, but the number of people active in it is much smaller than the big draws of Marvel, SPN, TUA, probably tons others that I’m forgetting, etc. so I may not feel like diving in with a muse but I’d be down to give an existing muse a verse &-- get met with crickets, because even verses that are standalone still seem to be too intimidating when you’re not familiar with the character, their canon, or the like. 

      I would touch on the struggles of OCs trying to break in literally anywhere, but I feel like that’s a post entirely in & of itself. 

      so I guess my point of this wall of text is that in wanting to protect our own visions of our muses & curate our own content, it’s had the unfortunate side effect of making virtually all established fandoms fairly unwelcoming, or at the very least, extremely intimidating, to new members in their own ways, even if it’s unintentional. that, coupled with... trends isn’t the word I’m looking for but it’ll have to do - that have cropped up in the past ( OCs, particularly female OCs being perceived as “pushy”, multis struggling to gain traction for various reasons, crossover verses being somehow more intimidating than pure canon ) has made it just really difficult to expand outside of the admittedly sometimes large but still confining bubbles within whatever pre-established areas we’ve been writing in.  

      I know this isn’t true for everyone, & obviously everyone will have vastly different experiences, but it’s still the experience I’ve observed through my own & via discussions with other friends over the years, & it’s also precisely why I’ve tried to make it a point with my muses, if you are only familiar with one part of the canon -- HIT ME UP. I am familiar with weird facets of canon & I don’t mind sharing -- I’d like to challenge more people to do the same so we can make this hellsite a little more welcoming & get some new ideas to throw around. 

      AGAIN, this isn’t a criticism - having strong feelings for your muses canon is a good thing, I just also think that sharing the knowledge of other facets of the fandom without being judgmental of where someone else’s experiences may come from is also important WHEN POSSIBLE & I’d like to see more of that. there’s a huge difference between “you’re welcome to approach me even if--” & “I would actively like to plot with you & include you, let’s figure out how,” after all. 

[thegnasticious]

Single vs. Multi-player

I’ve been playing games since I was about 5-10 years old and one of my biggest debates still is whether single-player is more pertinent than multi-player. This debate can factor down to multiple things, such as what a person might be entertained by and if they really want to play with others or what is AI. Having great experiences with games such as Banjo Kazooie, Zelda, Mario, Castlevania, Megaman, Sonic and many more, I have played and beat some of the best. These early titles without the capability of internet had a capacity in the single player to sometimes last for weeks of gameplay, depending on developer/difficulty. Nowadays this element is completely lacking. Having just reached a 100% in Red Dead Redemption 2 I’ve realized yet again a stark reality of the modern evolution of games. The single player is to be flat out, passed a story perspective, boring. As much as it entices me to return to a game, without much reasoning, it quickly becomes only recreation when there is no element of challenge. If you contrast this element to early single player games, you realize everything they were doing then to milk playtime with little content is the challenge that established some of the quips that drive the still existing franchises today. 

Then you have games like Dark Souls. Games that are relentlessly brutal and use the power of AI, gambling and self-greed against the player. Many have accused Dark Souls of being Masochistic. Having survived and beaten all three core games, I have to say the game does test even a seasoned player’s patience. The enemies are ahead of your moves and some such as the mushroom men can single handedly fuck your game up for a good hour or so in as little as a moment. A big part of Dark Souls that holds similarity to RDR2 is how much of the game is initially unexplained. Much of this leads to one googling half of the game’s progression and depending on the game’s content this can either be a chore or a pleasure. Much of what I’ve discovered in postgame Rockstar games, Assassin’s Creed and some others is what devolves into a collect-a-thon that sometimes is very time consuming and somewhat stressful in a sense of boredom. The poignancy of these games seems to break down without driven narrative in Lamen’s.

I find it interesting that games try to emulate hunting/fishing. Some do it well and some expose the improbable nature of a digital hunting environment by either making animals too easy and/or hard to find. Yet again another element that if reduced to old gameplay mechanics could find substantial improvement. Being a big element of RDR2, it unfortunately means that if you can’t stomach the many skinning and gutting animations, you might never progress to the game’s official completion. That being said, a game that lacks varied and diverse enemies as well as ones that aren’t killable sets up post game, what is a hunting simulator. For this reason I desperately hope RDR2 decides to develop single player over multi player, introducing some sort of enemy element that doesn’t just die. Zelda had surprisingly good but simple fishing, Final Fantasy has recently done a decent take on it as well that stands as decent. I would like to see more hunting/fishing in future games but it would be good if it didn’t seem to compromise the majority of the end game as it does in Red Dead. 

Now to bring up the point of Red Dead. Depending on when you discovered Red Dead one recognizes it as either Redemption or Revolver. Having played both, I am still waiting for an acknowledged and sensible crossover of the games, though none has been officially made. I originally 100% redemption in hopes of a crossover reveal and also my own self made theory. Neither happened, but I feel obligated to explain what could of been possible. Back in the day when Banjo Kazooie was first released it had a strange coding for Stop N’ Swop items that was previously unknown to most players. Upon opening this code it was discovered that it was implementation for a certain string of hidden items unlocking stuff from Banjo Kazooie to the follow-up, Banjo Tooie. In vain hopes I had hoped that Rockstar discovered such a thing and would open up the alien ships/UFO’s in GTA 5 from the ships in RDR2(spoiler sorry) allowing the player to port(abduct) Arthur into GTA 5 before he dies, and allowing a crossover reward that would wrap up eggs from both games, after joint 100% completion ( i.e. you have unlocked John Marston). 

This would assuringly be the beginning of wrapping up GTA 5′s online that will be encompassed by GTA 6 and hopefully allow the player to port their online earnings/vehicles/weapons into single player with a final patch. In a weird way the developers owe this to the hardcore fanbase, if they could just stop making a damn joke out of it and do it one night, maybe the jetpack conspiracists can actually find something and many of them would be disappointed by an actual solution, which makes it all the better. I would assume the UFO’s will then serve as a place to switch characters in the single player once 100% is achieved. This is all again, theories and wishful thinking.

Overall games that challenged me I still remember and play the most. Games such as Crash Bandicoot, Geometry Wars or even Pocket Tanks I still play for various forms of entertainment. My favorite form of games is unfortunately the least currently explored, RTS and Sim hybrids. They are usually the most time consuming games and with current capabilities of next-gen systems I’ve been waiting for a good replacement to Command and Conquer: Renegade or Red Alert 1+2. Unfortunately Westwood has all but dissolved and the best hopes for a decent console RTS still lies in a Starcraft port, that I still have my fingers crossed for. I would personally love seeing a Black and White 1 or 2 port, or new one altogether, but this would yet again require the resurrection of a now dissolved company (Lionhead).

It seems that in modern games the ones I find the most entertaining and memorable are alike to the current Destiny formula (though I love Bungie, I still haven’t jumped on the Destiny bandwagon) which features a hybrid of single and multi-player. This is also alike to Dark Souls which basically hosted it’s multiplayer through single player. This formula seems to be taking nods from MMO developments and in my opinion that is a good direction. Genres are supposed to evolve into new areas as the games develop and eventually reach a level where they can be considered non-linear creations. Some FPS hybrids have started delving into Counter-Strike territory which is a good sign. I have yet to see anything like Command and Conquer: Renegade on the consoles though. Once the player becomes more concerned then just with what they are shooting at, they realize the bigger game within the game. Almost every game could benefit with some form of resource gathering/management, and there isn’t a modern game that doesn’t have some sort of unlock tree, none of these things came from Goldeneye. This isn’t to say shooting isn’t important, but rather a synthesis of elements to make a game have longevity. 

Best Single-Player: Black & White

Best Multi-Player: Command & Conquer: Renegade

Best RTS: Command & Conquer Red Alert 2 Yuri’s Revenge

Best Shooter: Halo (Bungie)

Best Adventure: Red Dead Redemption 2

Best Sim: RCT2

Best Sports: NFL Blitz

Best Fighting: Tekken 3 

[eddiejpoplar]

2017 Infiniti QX30 S Four Seasons Wrap-Up

Asking us why we chose to add an Infiniti QX30 S to our Four Seasons fleet is a lot like asking someone why they got a tattoo when they were drunk. Although the details are fuzzy now, it seemed like a good idea at the time. Unlike the tattoo, however, we’ll never regret adding the Infiniti to our long-term test stable.

The QX30 was an intriguing and somewhat controversial vehicle when it first debuted, and it piqued our interest immediately. More of a big hatchback than a (sub)compact crossover, it’s also a close relative of the Mercedes-Benz GLA-Class—a German-Japanese mashup that led to more than a few scratched heads. Although they share plenty of genetic traits, one thing was evident from the outset: The Infiniti won the beauty contest.

Indeed, the QX30’s exterior styling found plenty of fans from the day it rolled into our parking garage. Associate editor Conner Golden preached the Infiniti’s gospel early.

“Forget compact crossover, this thing is the size of a Focus, and it’s gratifying to drive a compact luxury hatchback,” he wrote in the first logbook entry. “We don’t get cars like this on our shores very often—or at least we didn’t used to—so it still feels intrinsically special. Infiniti has come a long way with its design language, and I think the QX30 is one of its best. I like the proportions and the star-spoke wheel design.”

Senior editor Nelson Ireson chimed in, “I love the look of this car. That’s all the more impressive because it’s a crossover—and I hate crossovers.”

Augmenting the QX30’s slick and sharp looks was its unusual Liquid Copper hue, which attracted attention wherever we went. “People stop and look at the car and admire the way the paint seems to change with natural sunlight,” wrote graphic designer Michael Cruz-Garcia. Golden added, “The Liquid Copper paint is one of the most interesting and polarizing hues I’ve seen. Some say pink, I say rose gold. I like it.”

The praise continued for the QX30’s interior layout. “Given the combination of Infiniti and Benz bits, it could have been a disaster,” wrote editor-in-chief Mike Floyd. “But they took the best of both and mixed it into a cohesive whole.” Cruz-Garcia expressed similar sentiments. “The mix of smooth finished metals with high-quality plastics adds a touch of luxury that reflects the interior of a Mercedes,” he wrote. “Sturdy and comfortable leather seats put you at ease when driving long distances.” Other staffers felt it was a good idea that Infiniti installed its own infotainment setup instead of the Mercedes COMAND system, and Infiniti’s standard AroundView 360-degree monitor was cited as a top-notch feature.

The Infiniti QX30 is a German-Japanese mashup, but in terms of build quality, it leans to the East. Aside from routine maintenance, we never needed to return to the dealership.

However, both Floyd and Cruz-Garcia took issue with the cabin’s overall space, one of the traditional selling points of a crossover. “Despite the pronouncements that this is some sort of crossover, it’s a hatchback, plain and simple,” Floyd said. “It’s smaller inside than your average compact sedan, and its swoopy lines are a major drawback for rear-seat passengers in the form of a claustrophobic feel.” Cruz-Garcia agreed: “The back seats can use a bit more room to accommodate three people comfortably. There really isn’t any room once a child seat is added in there.” In addition to the rear-seat passenger issues, cargo capacity is small for the segment at 19.2 cubic feet with the second-row seats up and just 34.0 with the 60/40 setup down.

Out on Los Angeles streets (the Infiniti also made forays into Arizona and Nevada during its stay) we found the QX30’s ride and handling satisfying, thanks in large part to its MacPherson front, multilink rear suspension setup and 19-inch tire and wheel package. “The more I drive the QX30, the more I like it,” Floyd said. “It’s nimble and drives like a car, which it basically is, with a well-balanced, on-center steering feel.”

Ireson, as usual, waxed poetic: “Wielded with impatient severity, the QX30 dances with nimble grace through the lethargic, texting hordes of L.A. traffic.” Online editor Ed Tahaney was of two minds about it, however: “The QX30 feels pretty good on the highway, but it’s a bit of a slug around town.”

Although we’re sure Infiniti would prefer we ignore the QX30’s German lineage, we couldn’t help but delve deeper into the differences (and similarities) between the two cars. That said, most of us saw the partnership as a good thing on balance.

“While driving it around, I’d think, ‘Wow! This is the best-driving Infiniti they make,’ before realizing that I’m enjoying the fruits of the Mercedes-Infiniti partnership,” Golden said. “I wasn’t the biggest fan of the GLA, but with the Infiniti badge, I think it works. It’s much more in line with the Japanese luxury brand than with Benz, and it fits Infiniti’s lineup perfectly.”

“Wielded with impatient severity, the QX30 dances with grace through the lethargic, texting hordes of L.A. traffic.”

In order to get a better feel for how closely related the two really are, we devoted an entire online piece to a comparison between the QX and the Benz. While the QX30 deploys the same 2.0-liter turbocharged I-4 as the Mercedes, with the same 208 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque, the biggest difference we noticed was with each car’s transmission tuning. Both use the same seven-speed dual-clutch gearbox, but several staffers took issue with how Infiniti set up its version of the hardware—at least on the 2017 model we tested.

“The transmission makes low-speed driving, and especially traffic, miserable,” associate editor Billy Rehbock said. Floyd advised to “make sure you’re in Sport mode, as the gearbox is slow on pickup in regular Eco mode.” Cruz-Garcia echoed the team’s sentiments. “The transmission isn’t the smoothest in the first couple of gears,” he said.

This hatchback shares its powertrain with Mercedes’ GLA, but the Benz’s trans- mission tuning is better, with the QX30 upshifting too clunkily at low speeds. Our fix: Drive in Sport mode.

Another complaint: The start/stop feature. “Man, I hate start/stop,” Floyd said. “I wish there were a way to shut it off permanently.” Even those who didn’t share the editor-in-chief’s degree of dislike saw a problem. “It always turns off right as I’m about to start moving, causing a slight delay while the engine turns back on,” noted recently departed (to a new career) senior editor Kirill Ougarov. Executive editor Mac Morrison condemned start/stop in general, noting, “I’ve given up trying to understand the logic of so many of these start/stop systems and when they choose to turn a car off. Sometimes they do it at every stop, sometimes they seem to forget to do it, and sometimes, even when I hit the switch to deactivate the function, I still find it kicking in every once in a while for no apparent rhyme or reason.”

Enough about what we liked and didn’t: How did the QX30 hold up during its stay? Although its temperature gauge would occasionally climb when we worked the car hard, drawing some notice among our editors, it never hit the red. (We noted similar behavior in other QX30s and GLAs we drove.) Our overall recorded average fuel economy was decent by small crossover standards—22.5 mpg—but that was far below the 27-mpg EPA combined number. (Even with our lead-foot tendencies, that’s quite a bit off.) The 14.8-gallon fuel tank made it hard to go more than 300 miles between fill-ups.

A slight misreading of the owner’s manual led us to South Bay Infiniti at 5,395 miles for our first (and, it turned out, only) service appointment. In fact, the QX30 is meant to cover 10,000 miles between oil changes (yes, even before the first one), or possibly longer—like many new cars, it can calculate oil change intervals based on how the car is driven. Rather than correct us, the dealership happily changed the oil, rotated the tires, topped off the fluids, and billed us $93.97. After that we kept our eye on the maintenance minder, which did not request service for the rest of the QX30’s stay. Lesson learned: Read the manual. Carefully.

Two days later, we got an alert from the Infiniti’s tire pressure monitoring system, and a trip to American Tire Depot found a nail in one of the rear paws. The flat repair was free, but rebalancing the tire cost us a cool $15. And that was it—our only unscheduled repair.

At the end of Four Seasons, the QX30 left our fleet well liked, if not loved. “It wouldn’t be a bad car to live with by any means,” Rehbock said. Others went as far as to call the compact Infiniti the marque’s best car. “All in all, it’s a car that sells itself, even if I’m not the target buyer,” Ireson said. To be sure, this Infiniti is far, far better than a drunken tattoo—unless of course that tattoo is of, say, a QX30.

Our 2017 Infiniti QX30 S

AS-TESTED PRICE $43,695

ENGINE 2.0L turbo DOHC 16-valve I-4/208 hp @ 5,500 rpm, 258 lb-ft @ 1,200-4,000 rpm

TRANSMISSION 7-speed dual-clutch automatic

LAYOUT 4-door, 5-passenger, front-engine, FWD crossover

EPA MILEAGE 24/33/27 mpg (city/hwy/combined)

L x W x H 174.2 x 82.0 x 58.1 in

WHEELBASE 106.3 in

WEIGHT 3,364 lb

0-60 MPH 6.2 sec

TOP SPEED N/A

OUR CAR

ODOMETER START/END 698/13,652

GALLONS OF FUEL USED 574.97 gal

OBSERVED FUEL ECON 22.5 mpg

TOTAL FUEL COST $1,862.90

AVERAGE COST/GALLON $3.24

MAINTENANCE 1 x Oil change/tire rotation, $93.97

RECALLS AND TSBs None

OUT OF POCKET Tire plug and rebalance, $15.00

OUR OPTIONS Liquid Copper paint, $500; Sport Leather package, $1,500 (heated Nappa leather seats, Nappa leather stitched dash insert, front passenger seat storage, black dinamica headliner and A-pillar, leatherette door, console, and dash trim); Sport Technology package, $1,200 (blind-spot warning, lane departure warning, forward emergency braking, adaptive cruise control, automatic high-beams); Sport LED package, $1,000 (LED headlights, active front lighting, enhanced interior ambient lighting)