#twitter voted on me painting him

[stranded-ziggy]

(WIP) Astarion || Baldur's Gate 3

[feminismisstillahatemovement]

I'm certain that Elon is full of shit at some times, but what good things has he done that deserve recognition, too? And, what are commonly-believed lies about him, that are easily dispelled?

Putting aside that the man is singlehandedly putting human beings on other planets, and thereby doing more to try bring about the long-term survival of the human race than every climate activist collectively throwing soup at paintings, and that he - again, near-singlehandedly - has made electric vehicles both cool and a workable alternative to the combustion engine, with close to 17,000 Tesla Superchargers in the US alone... just the single act of him buying Twitter and removing the censorship and bias has likely altered the future of the entire human world, and for the better.

Because of one man, the entire mainstream media corporate narrative now has an unavoidably public alternative, and every one of their lies now gets community noted into oblivion within minutes of them speaking them. What once was an unquestioned Democrat party line, held by all major TV companies and news sites, is now being laughed at by the entire world in real time. It cannot be overestimated how much this changes the political discourse and narrative of the time we are living through, and everyone benefits from it. Freedom of speech is something everyone should appreciate and applaud, regardless of how they vote.

Maybe the weirdest lie that went viral is that his father owned an emerald mine and so Elon grew up sitting on a golden throne wiping his arse with jewels and dollar bills. Even the woke/left-wing Snopes debunked this, but there are probably millions of people out there still believing it, and vilifying Musk because of it.

I've noticed more girls seem to have believed this nonsense than boys: both a current female friend and my ex-girlfriend would only mention his name with a sneer, but when I asked them to lay out why for me, so I could understand what they were seeing, they both trailed off to a slightly puzzled silence, because when trying to articulate it, they realized it was based on nothing, just an attitude they'd taken on from the tone of media reporting and the groupthink of their peers.

Elon is a flawed human being like the rest of us, and I'm sure there are many things I'd disagree with him on, but he's a genuinely great man in a world of mosquitoes, and we desperately need more great men with vision and courage to get us out of the mess we all agree we're in.

[nekoannie-chan]

Love, love

Title: Love, love.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X 40’s!Reader.

Word count: 690 words.

Rating: Teen.

Summary: You and Steve are in love.

Major Tags: Time travel, unexpected kiss, dating.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @multifandom-flash, Valentine’s day card & square 5:

"Garden of love.”

You can read it on Wattpad and Ao3 too.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @harrysthiccthighss @marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammitt @kmc1989 @somegirlfrom

1937

It all started with a playful glance during painting class and, a few weeks later, a small smile when you noticed the paint stain on Steve's nose.

Steve was too shy to talk to you, and you had ignored all the times Bucky tried to flirt with you.

You were beginning to consider talking to Steve and asking him out for ice cream. Although the last thing you wanted was for his friend to be included in the plan too, you needed him to be alone.

You decided that today would be the day, but first, you had made a plan. One of your friends was going to entertain Barnes so you could talk to Steve; it would be at the end of the class, although you were also going to owe him a trip to the cafeteria, not to mention that you had to put up with her for ten minutes laughing at what you asked her.

"It's beautiful," Steve said, standing behind you.

“Excuse me?" You turned to face him; maybe what you liked the most were his beautiful blue eyes.

“Not you, your painting; I mean, you are beautiful too." Steve now sounded confused; he wasn't even sure what he meant.

“Thanks, Steve."

“Ehm Y/N..."

Wait a minute, he knew your name? You were so excited that you stopped listening to what he was saying; you weren't invisible to him.

“Well, from your silence, I guess that's a no," Steve said, disappointed.

“I'm sorry? I didn't hear you say, “ You wanted to hit yourself; you hadn't paid attention to him.

"Doyouwanttogotothemovieswithme?" Steve repeated it more nervously, turning red.

“Is Saturday okay with you?"

“Sure, I'll pick you up at six."

On the day of the date, you stole a kiss from Steve.

1942

“You want to go to the Stark Expo?" Yeah. Bucky wants us to go on a double date.

You agreed, although it was a little awkward, especially since Bucky's date wouldn't shut up and wouldn't stop repeating how awesome and amazing Barnes was. You were about to shove the bag of popcorn in his mouth, if that would shut him up.

1945

Steve's time in the war was unbearable; you didn't see each other, although you got a letter from him every week without fail.

All you wanted was for it to be over so you could be with him again.

Until the fateful day came, that morning you woke up with a strange feeling. As soon as you opened the door, you knew what it meant. As soon as you saw that woman standing there, you didn't even hear what she was saying; you knew what had happened.

When the war was over, you and Steve were supposed to get married. It was all set; all he had to do was go home.

If there was any way...

2023

“Are you sure about this?" Bucky asked Steve.

“I have a promise to keep; I don't even want to imagine how bad Y/N has been having it, “Steve answered. He simply couldn't stop thinking about the same thing; no matter how hard he searched, he couldn't find any information. It wasn't possible that you had vanished; he was sure of what he experienced; however, it wasn't until he made the time trip with the others that he understood everything.

“Say hello to her for me; don't forget your speech on the big day."

“I'm not as much of an idiot as you are."

“You're more."

1945

You frowned in annoyance. It was the tenth time you had tried to read the recipe, and there was always a different interruption. However, when you opened the door, you dropped the container you were holding.

“S-Steve? “ You feared your senses were deceiving you.

“I promised you I'd come back," Steve said as he picked up the container.

“But... "

“I couldn't let you down, honey." Steve took your hand, leaving the container on the small table next to the door.

“Everything was ready."

“I was the only one missing, wasn't I? I'm here; everything will be all right, I promise."

[shahrwrites]

I will never ever stop calling out Bruce for the abusive hypocrite that he is and here’s one of the many instances why:

**WARNING: the following contains spoilers for events Identity Crisis and Gotham War.**

Also, this is gonna be a lengthy read because I'm gonna elaborate on Identity Crisis a little first, so grab a snack, I guess? lol

A couple of days ago, I finished reading Identity Crisis, and a recent visit to twitter revealed to me that... it's not as well received as I had thought?? I mean, sure, it had its flaws, but most of the arguments I have read about it arises from a lack of a sufficient grip on the essence of the story.

One such argument being that "Jean only wanted to scare Sue, yet she brought a flame thrower with her." So did everyone collectively forget that she was institutionalized at the end of the story? Not to mention that she had a history of mental instability already, (Or so I've read about her) meaning she was mentally ill. She was very definitely lying through her teeth saying that she didn't mean to kill Sue.

Another was the leaguers being morally compromised because, 1) they altered Dr. Light's brain after he threatened to repeat everything he did to Sue and worse to their wives and family, and 2) Because they wiped away memories of a certain leaguer and kept what they did to Dr. Light a secret?

I don't know about you, but to me, that only shows that for the exception of one literal alien, they're all human at their core. They have flaws, they have fears, and they're not above making mistakes. For me, it painted what would be a bunch of one dimensional characters, in a more complex picture.

On another note, I understand that there may have been continuity errors, but honestly, what comic run doesn't have them? It's just become a feature of the comics over the years and given them a flexibility to explore new stories, ideas and themes.

Now, if Deathstroke was buffed up from fighting kids to one-man-up the League, if Firestorm died a little too randomly, you'll just have to excuse the poor writing in those respectives. This happens to the best of stories. At age ten, I found such ridiculous plot holes in Harry Potter of all stories it was seriously embarrassing.

Moving on,

Why did reading this comic specifically strike a nerve in me about Bruce and Jason in respect to the events of Gotham War? Because after what Dr. Light did to Sue and threatening the leaguers to do the same to their families, too, they made the choice to jumble his brains a little so as to stop such tragedy to ever befall again. Of course, Bruce wasn't there for the voting, but then he comes back when they're in the middle of transforming Light's personality. And this is what ensues:

* Identity crisis (2016)

Say what you wanna say, it was more about Batman's authority than anything else or whatever. But don't you think Bruce would have stopped it and lashed out, either way? Well, I do. Because so many times, he's shown to be more sympathetic to monstrous criminals than to a boy he raised.

* Batman – Catwoman – The Gotham War – Red Hood 002 (2023)

* Batman (2016) #138

I think you've all had enough of reading about how Bruce took away Jason's autonomy in the name of giving him a normal life when he can't even be a normal human being anymore, all without an ounce of regret, so I won't go there.

[tricitymonsters]

A long rambling post about US Healthcare

Alright so waiting didn't really help me parse out what I want to say but a big pillar of our online community passed away suddenly because of what amounts- frankly- to the gross negligence and cruelty of the US healthcare system.

For those of you who don't know Furaffinity is essentially THE cornerstone of the centralized furry and monsterlover community and the site was, for a long time, run by a guy named Dragoneer LARGELY by himself. This website hosted community ads, moderated its own content, and maintained a welcoming and corporation-free space for artists and other creatives to do their thing. My involvement in furaffinity has been pretty low key but I firmly believe that monsterfuckers and furries are only spitting distance apart at best so I feel a strong camaraderie and sense of kinship with them. As for how Dragoneer ran Furaffinity, what I can tell you personally is that FA was one of only TWO websites that will allow me to advertise TCM and when I emailed to get ads set up and configured, Dragoneer answered those emails personally.

Dragoneer had chronic issues that were difficult to diagnose for a while and reading his twitter/journal posts paints a really depressing, heartbreaking story of frustration, misdirection, and the banality of pure evil. Dragoneer was denied care he deserved because of the bureaucratic void that is our healthcare system here in America. He was charged tens of thousands of dollars for inconclusive tests, ordered to wait at home with minimal or no treatment, and this culminated in his rapid decline and sudden death last night.

Our healthcare system is traumatic and one incident, one accident, one sickness can financially ruin any of us permanently.

It's awful. One of the reasons this is difficult for me to talk about is because my dad died suddenly and horrifically to Covid in late 2020 because our for-profit hospitals refused to prepare for a pandemic while our executive administration pretended nothing was wrong. My dad died two weeks before vaccines began rolling out and when my mom and I had to make the choice to end his care we were only allowed to see him for 2 minutes at a time, separately. My husband was denied entry altogether because he wasn't "immediate" family.

Personally, I have chronic health issues that regularly get ignored. I have a mandatory medication (of several) that has no generic and costs over 300$ for a 30-day supply and my pharmacy (I'm not allowed to change) sometimes runs out and I gap for weeks at a time, sending my brain function into the toilet.

If you're American please help by keeping healthcare reform a primary voting issue in both Federal and State/Local elections. We need officials who see what this is doing to us, not more 1%ers who will never have to worry about what to do with a $25k hospital bill (one of Dragoneer's latest) or even a $250k one (my dad's bill for daring to die in ICU). I know it's a rough ask but for the financially stable, consider legal recourse for rights violations (some lawyers work pro bono for health stuff, the point is to always explore avenues to push back). We can't go on like this.

If you're not American, please help us by raising awareness in your own areas. Most of us look to more socialized countries like Canada and the EU for examples of how to improve our current system and of course, we know things aren't perfect but it's an embarrassment and a tragedy that Americans can't access the quality of care our system should VERY MUCH be able to provide.

Anyway.

This was really long-winded but it hurts a lot to know that there are so many cases like Dragoneer, like my dad. People with serious or even chronic issues can't get the smallest scrap of compassion in this system that reduces us to inconvenient numbers that our for-profit system can squeeze pocket change out of while murdering us.

I'll post links if a fundraiser goes up for Dragoneer's family to help cover the funds but until then, thanks for reading my long and winding thoughts. It's very hard to tame the emotion with this particular issue.

[paintedpolitics]

trump & the changing role of political art

recently, i was discussing differing images of marat with prospective history students. the martrydom of marat in david’s 1793 painting was conveyed through his dedication to the pen even in death, and the almost halo-like lighting in the portrait. 

a week later, images emerged of a bloodied trump defiantly holding up his fist in the aftermath of a shooting at his rally. immediately, the american right responded with commendations of martyrdom. simultaneously, ‘how did he miss’ trended on twitter. the image held incredibly different implications depending on one’s view of trump. i knew i ought to see it as the picture of irony, vindicating the stance of campaigners for gun control: an advocate of gun rights shot down. 

despite this, the image first struck me as rousing. i felt myself viewing it from the perspective that this man was for the people, would lay down his life for the american people. in this regard it reminded me of those portraits of marat. i felt that the caption accompanying the images could shape the interpretation of it in the same way that artists upheld their political opinions in portraiture. 

i made the decision to draw trump in only red, white, blue and varying shades of grey. however, i felt the political implications of creating this image every time i touched (digital) pen to paper. not only would people judge my terrible rendition of a fist, but perhaps my political views too. 

this dilemma, i concluded, revealed little about the politics of this event. what feels interesting to me in political art is not criticism or praise, but what they can reveal about the nature of power in the moment being recorded. david’s portrait of marat revealed his power as a figurehead of the revolution, and the power of l’ami du peuple in catalysing change. the red white and blue in my drawing implies the populist power that trump holds, presenting himself as a representative of the common american. highlighting the blood allowed the event to revealed his power to divide america to the point of violence, regardless of my opinion on him.

in the current media landscape, political artwork has a highly limited role in influencing opinion. i didn’t feel like any image of trump i created could dissuade someone voting for him. perhaps, a more valuable role for political art today is to objectively examine power and political relationships. as polarisation increases globally, allowing political events to be viewed through a different lens may lead to the reevaluation of ideas and more critical thought. i think iconic opinion based pieces of art - like warhol’s portrait of nixon - has immortalised popular opinion of political figures. however, as scared and angry as trump makes me, i feel like i can impact through a more objective artistic approach.

[fcble]

화룡점정 (畵龍點睛) (PAINT THE DRAGON, DOT THE EYES) is the third full album of fictional boy group FABLE. The album was released digitally and physically on MARCH 25, 2024. Title track PLATONIC LOVE was promoted for two weeks and received two music show wins. For the first week of performances, they also performed pre-release single CHASING THAT FEELING.

Like their last full-length album, the majority of the tracks were written and composed by ANDREW with contributions by INTAK, MINGEUN, and HAKSU. Following the album’s promotions, the group embarked immediately on their second world tour, MYTHOS, starting in Seoul on April 10.

TRACK LIST

Arrival / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak, Kang Haksu ; produced by Andrew Han

Chasing That Feeling / written by Andrew Han, Kang Haksu ; produced by Andrew Han

Platonic Love / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak, Yoon Mingeun ; produced by Andrew Han

Feel Me / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak, Yoon Mingeun ; produced by Andrew Han

Late Night Calls / written by Park Intak, Yoon Mingeun; produced by Park Intak

It’s Raining / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak, Yoon Mingeun ; produced by Andrew Han

Light / written by Andrew Han ; produced by Andrew Han

My Name is Shadow / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak; produced by Andrew Han, Park Intak

Keep On / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak, Yoon Mingeun; produced by Andrew Han

Lovers or Enemies / written by Andrew Han, Park Intak; produced by Andrew Han

Blockbuster / written by Park Intak, Andrew Han, Yoon Mingeun ; produced by Park Intak

ERA NOTES

Andrew’s Sweetune era. Maybe he’ll be in Monotree in five years. You never know. 

Also their singers who sing era. They were extremely serious about it. Andrew made an appearance on Lee Mujin Service, where he covered Bibi’s “Bam Yang Gang,” Glass Animals’ “Heat Waves,” and Song So Hee’s “Moon Halo.” They also parodied Dingo's Killing Voice, performing the closest songs they have to hits and a few popular b-sides.

Both of their encore stages were part switches. The first one was fan-voted through Twitter polls. Intak asked fans three times on Weverse to please not make him sing Haksu's part. Fans obliged and gave him Andrew's part instead.

The second encore stage went viral after they randomly pulled names while Andrew was still finishing up his acceptance speech. Haksu did mangle Intak’s part while Intak looked like he wanted to die and Byeonghwi forgot Andrew’s lines twice but it was more endearing than anything.

Despite the album’s commercial success, they continued to face criticism from netizens and self-proclaimed former fans upset about their concept switch-up. The video essay “the problem with fable” saw its second moment in the sun. There were no responses from Fable this time around.

Their fandom is slowly beginning to fracture into OT7/8 fans and OT5/6 fans, the latter of whom would rather not have Mingeun (known liar) and Andrew (ruining the sanctity of the k in kpop) in the group. At the end of the day, they’re all buying albums and streaming songs and attending concerts. For the most part, the group is fine with pretending this isn’t happening.

As per usual with any negative attention, Mingeun's scandal was dragged up for the nth time. OT7/8 fans came to his defense with Demi Lovato Instagram-style Tweets.

[positivelybeastly]

I'm curious as to how much flack Percy gets in regards to his x-force and wolverine run.

This cap doesn't have anything to do with anything, I just find it funny.

So, in regards to Percy's writing of X-Force and Wolverine, I'm going mostly based off of Reddit and Tumblr for these general impressions, because these are the social networks I spend the most time on - minus Twitter, but Twitter is frankly always a cesspool, and people don't actually talk that much about X-Force or Wolverine on there, they talk primarily about X-Ladies.

Reddit actually just wrapped up a poll asking people to rank their least favourite Krakoa era books, and the results were. Interesting.

So, Immortal X-Men was voted the best, with Hellions and X-Men Red trailing in second and third place - well deserved, frankly, those are all really quite excellent books. But we're not here to talk about excellent books, we're here to talk about Ben Percy!

Both of Ben Percy's comics were ranked as being in the bottom third of all Krakoa era comics (not including mini series). That's. Not great, honestly. That's usually what you'd call an indicator of a not well loved comic book.

Now, that's not to say that these runs don't have their appreciators - for one thing, they are objectively drawn pretty much consistently gorgeously. For all the flack I personally give Percy, he is competent at creating interesting body horror situations. There's a firm fanbase that's quite invested in Omega Red's redemption arc.

But I don't think there are many people who actually love these comics.

For one thing, the pacing is glacial. They are the single longest running ongoings of the Krakoan era, bar none, both of them looking to hit #50 in an era where other series are getting cancelled or cut short at #10 or #18 - and they have only just started to wrap up their major plot points. Beast was established to be pure evil back in issue #9, and it took until Wolverine #35 for him to be acted upon in a meaningful manner. Colossus was established to be under mind control years ago, also, and that has only JUST NOW been resolved.

A common response to this criticism was that Ben Percy is a novelist, and therefore used to writing his stories in a certain format - to which I say, cool, but you're writing for comic books, motherfucker. Adapt your style. I don't turn up to a watercolour painting class with a can of spray paint.

Another point people like to bring up is that Percy got 'screwed' by the higher ups extending the Krakoan story arc due to Hickman leaving and the other X-writers deciding to stick around in this stage of the story for longer. The theory goes that he has a set end point, and he's had to stretch the story out to make it work.

To which I say, if he's had even more time than he was meant to have, why do we know less psychologically about Beast now than we did at the beginning of the series? Why are Sage and Omega Red and Domino all begging for table scraps of story? What the fuck was even the point of the Kraven arc? A good writer who is interested in their characters and what they can say about them relishes more time to have them talk, not less, especially if you're getting paid to write it.

How in the goddamn hell did we have a company wide crossover event featuring a godlike being that forced characters to be judged for their actions, motivations and philosophies, and we didn't hear a single thing about Beast or Omega Red?

You could also just? End the story? Would the world really be that much of a poorer place without the adamantium surfboard and the evil space Nazi prison that literally mattered so little that Beast got arrested for it, then turned up again next issue like nothing had happened?

Which leads me to my next point - Beast's descent into villainy, whether or not you think it makes sense with how the character has been treated this last decade, does not make a fucking lick of sense. Everyone on the goddamn island of Krakoa is a fucking moron because X-Force is happening and no-one is watching what obviously evil Bond villain Beast is doing.

Jean Grey is staring Beast in the face, telling him that she believes that she thinks there's still good in him, while he's mentally thinking about what dead animal carcass to throw to Wolverine to break his mind and spirit. SHE IS A FUCKING TELEPATH.

MAKE IT MAKE SENSE.

Nightcrawler says Beast is utterly unethical and he doesn't trust him. Won't talk to him, though. Or check in on him. Or act against him. Beast was running an evil space Nazi prison in orbit, got caught, got taken away in handcuffs, and just. Walks. Away. Scot free.

From the Quiet Council.

How. The FUCK. Did that meeting go?

I don't know, but we'll never see it!

And every time you bring these things up, even the X-Force defenders just kinda have to shrug their shoulders and go, look, dude, I'm just here for the rad art and to watch how far Beast is gonna go this issue. Every other run during this era makes a grand effort to be connected, for Krakoa to feel like a breathing, living island . . . except for X-Force and Wolverine. They all just kinda. Exist in their own little universe.

It's called the Percyverse, incidentally. Legitimately. There's a full on term for it, this effect is so well documented and has been an issue for so long.

So, on Reddit at least, there's a pretty common derision for these runs. Some defenders, but no-one is ever gonna say that they're their favourites of the era. Most people are just kinda like, ehh, it's fun pulp, don't think too hard about it.

On Tumblr . . . yeah, this is something I actually have some personal experience with. You see a lot of X-Force panels posted from major comic book blogs because they catch attention and get a lot of notes, especially if it's a 'Beast does something evil' panel because you inevitably get a flood of people in the comments going HEY WHAT THE FUCK IS THIS, but you wanna know what I pretty much never see?

Fan art.

Idk, maybe I'm looking in the wrong place for it, but there's no fanart, for X-Force. I've seen exactly one piece of fan art for war criminal Beast. Exactly one. I've seen more explicit porn depicting the PS5 and Nintendo Switch fucking in weird robot form than I have fanart of X-Force. Fanfics, also, are very thin on the ground - I've seen maybe five, six, maybe seven?

I actually have one of the higher rated (in terms of views and kudos) X-Force related fanfics on AO3 by virtue of the Irredeemable Beast following on from that plotline, and even then, most of my comments are from people saying, oh hey, it's nice to see Beast back to his proper characterisation again (which is really nice to see, I love that!). I've had one or two people say that they think Beast is still evil, in the context of my story, but . . . honestly, that's an audience I want to cultivate and challenge, so I don't mind that. But still.

That's. Not a lot of fan engagement.

Hell, to go back to the Reddit point - there was a thread a month or two back asking what everyone's favourite X-Force incarnation was, and most people picked Uncanny X-Force (Remender's) or the original 90s run. A few people picked the Utopia era run.

Pretty much no-one I saw picked the Krakoan era book. And I was checking. I was craving that validation. And oh boy I got validated.

There's just. Not a lot going on in these books that's going to foster a dying love in a fan for them, honestly. There's not a lot of in depth characterisation, there's no grander point to the story other than 'CIA bad (but if it were run by these good guy field operatives who understand the necessary evils rather than the stupid bureaucrats, it would be better'). It's just. A pulpy comic book with a lot of violence and a one-note villain.

Who's going to go to bat for that?

In terms of more official flack, well, it's bad form to bad mouth your co-workers, so you're not gonna see a lot of people directly telling Ben Percy he sucks, BUT.

You've seen these panels before, right?

. . . Guys, is this a joke?

And I don't mean, is this a badly produced panel that makes no sense, I don't mean, is this an insult to comic books, I don't mean, are you serious.

I . . . seriously kinda think that this panel is a joke.

Poking fun at X-Force.

Because X-Force Beast is the kind of boring psychopath who can only convey his argument through a PowerPoint. Like, that's a fucking meme. That's straight up a meme. That's the equivalent of, in this essay I will --

Now, this one is also pretty funny, but also . . .

If you were a comic book writer, and you were in charge of a comic book that was getting some fairly intense criticism about the fact that a 60 year old legacy character is being written as the worst villain this side of Charles Manson, and LITERALLY EVERYONE on the internet is screaming that this HAS to be Dark Beast because it literally just doesn't make sense . . . what would you ask editorial to do?

Would you, perhaps, ask that Dark Beast be shown on panel in a different writer's book, acknowledging Beast's evil? That would give you some legitimacy, wouldn't it? Although, that's - a pretty desperate move, isn't it . . .

Especially considering the writer of that book (Kieron Gillen) fucking loves writing Beast. Like, legitimately loves him. You can tell.

This is not dialogue you give to a character you dislike. This is dialogue you relish getting to write because it's fucking fun. This is you getting free licence to get as esoteric and as wild with your dialogue as you want because you're getting to write Beast today.

Beast is fun to write. The writers of the 90s animated show literally said he was their favourite character to give dialogue to because he's so goofy and weird and intellectual.

Not convinced?

This is the same writer, Kieron Gillen, from years and years later (S.W.OR.D was 2009, this book is from 2015).

This is why I think Kieron Gillen was digging at Percy there. Because he clearly loves this character, clearly really is invested in Beast and Abigail's relationship - they were BROKEN UP in normal comics by this point, and yet he went OUT OF HIS WAY to do this. To express a tenderness of feeling and a love and an affection for these characters that scans as genuine.

Hell, look at this.

Is . . . Gillen poking fun at the fact that this fairly important relationship was ended on a whim eight years ago and no-one knows why? Because that's kinda what this reads as to me?

When I met Kieron Gillen at a comics convention a few years ago, I got him to sign my copy of S.W.OR.D. He said, and I quote, that he was fairly certain he'd signed every copy of it ever made. We both kinda laughed, because yeah, that story sold like shit, but also . . . everyone who read it got it signed, huh? And you remember this little 5 issue mini-series that got cancelled well enough to make a joke about it not selling well, with a distinct vibe of, everyone who actually read it loved it, sigh.

Interesting.

It's also worth noting that Jed McKay, currently writing the Avengers, has said that he wished he could have Beast on the roster, but he couldn't. He went out of his way to say that in an official interview.

Interesting.

It's ALSO worth noting that both Grant Morrison and Jonathan Hickman, when asked about Beast at an anniversary livestream, said they didn't see Hank as the kind of character who should be a villain, but merely someone who got into bad situations and reacted like a human to it. Which is. Not something you'd say about X-Force Beast, is it.

Interesting.

Very interesting.

[1moremilgram-enjoyer]

Continuing on "Haru's quest to annoy FF about every character in Milgram because they had the bad luck of getting interested in it basically at the same time he did" (/lh) Next on the list of prisoners is Fuuta. I remember you once said that he's one of your favorites along with Amane, Mikoto, and Muu, so I'm interested to hear you cover him !

Ah, so that’s why you’re doing this, your character motivation. The lore thickens. /lh

Yeah, I like Fuuta quite a bit. I’m always a sucker for protag foils, and since we can consider Es and even ourselves as the protag(s), then obviously I was going to love Fuuta. His views on justice are really interesting when considering we kinda do the same thing he ended up in Milgram for, deciding on people’s fates with horribly incomplete information and trying to justify to ourselves why we’re in the right for causing these people psychological pain. Not like it’s gonna stop me from voting people guilty when I think it’s deserved though lol.

CW: Cyberbullying, mention of suicide and murder.

(T2) Q9: How do you feel about the first trials results?

F: You’re the same as me.

Oh yeah that’s the good shit right there.

That is certainly a huge factor, Fuuta is great as a reflection to some of Milgram’s main themes and I love him for that. Even if his personality is maybe reminiscent of some other characters I’ve seen (when did Xander Matthews and Ace Markey have a secret love-child and why does he have a Bakugo complex), he’s still unique enough that I don’t see it as much of a problem.

And let’s not kid ourselves. Part of me enjoying a character sometimes comes from loving their song, and not only is Bring it On a banger like no other, Backdraft is probably my favorite Milgram song.

There’s also just a certain amount of hilarity that comes with the fact that people in Trial 1 managed to inno someone they believed to be a damn organ harvester then turn around and guilty my guy for having a Twitter account. Truly the most unforgivable of crimes.

It’s especially interesting now with Backdraft the theories around his “murder”, because I actually think it may be one of the more unclear ones in terms of what happened. You might have seen there’s a theory he wasn’t the one to start the witch hunt on the girl that ended up dying, which I find is quite believable even if we still have to explain what was going on with that photo he took of someone’s home in his Undercover silhouette thing. But what’s even crazier to me is the goddamn Undercover kill shot where his victim has both shoes on, unlike Mahiru’s and Kazui’s. Does this imply it wasn’t a suicide? Is it because whoever has the orange spray paint that shoots really straight at the one graffiti’s forehead actually murdered the girl themselves? But Fuuta still got blamed for it?

Hey remember when I said the more headache inducing a character the more I’m going to love them?

Anyways, I also think it’s cool how much Backdraft references the events during Milgram themselves. I love Es appearing in a prisoner’s song, too, especially with the whole “the one shadow from Purge March kinda looks like Es thing”-

Oh yeah Amane! I love her dynamic with Fuuta so, so much. They’re so cool and awesome and great and I hope Fuuta doesn’t get too indoctrinated but also I think it’d be kinda funny. I don’t think it would happen though, I trust big bro Fuuta will help Amane reject her cult’s teachings please I need them to have a wholesome ending where they just eat cake and play video games together you know Amane would beat his ass in any game even though she’s probably never touched a videogame in her life-

I am immensely normal about them, as you can clearly tell.

Anyways, some other things which I find really interesting.

(T1) Q1: What is a friend?

F: Folks you can get hyped over the same thing with

(T2) Q16: Do you have a lot of online friends?

F: I don't know if we were friends or not. There were times when we had fun together. But I don't know if I can call it that.

Am I reading this wrong or did my guy change his definition of what a friend is specifically to exclude his old friends? Because that’s some crazy character development right there.

(T1) Q9: Do you have apologetic feelings for who you killed?

F: I never killed anyone. Didn't you hear me? I thought you were a guard!

(T2) Q6: Do you remember the name of the person you killed?

F: I'm pretty sure I do. I saw it often after all.

So he’s admitting he did kill someone in a way. More character development.

(T1) Q10: Which prisoner do you get along with the most?

F: I'm not anyone's happy friend. Well Haruka's younger, so I take care of him.

(T2) Q2: How do you feel about Haruka?

F: This isn't the time to worry about other people. Plus it's not like he's a kid either.

More changes, my guy really is very different from trial 1 himself and I think that makes him extremely compelling.

Okay I need to stop or I’m gonna be here forever, this guy is just all kinds of silly. Anyways, love him. Please don’t get indoctrinated into Amane’s cult.

(T2) Q14: What are you thinking about now?

F: Maybe because I'm anxious, but I want something to rely on.

Please. Fuuta you’re like the only one there who might be able to reach her Fuuta please.

Anyways, I gotta go before those two rot my brain further. Hope you enjoyed! Take care!

[realhousewives-fan]

Post-Eurovision Depression Kicked in

Well, my apology for the delay on my blog here. 

If you’re a regular reader of this blog, then you might be familiar with my obsession with Eurovision Song Contest.

It was difficult to find the time to watch any Bravo content the last couple of weeks, because… if you know, you know. 

Eurovision is an all-consuming party.

It’s not that I don’t care about all the twists and turns of Scandoval, or Real Housewives, but I’ve got bigger obsessions in May.

The semi-finals and the final were last week and I’m still trying to process it all. And, frankly, the Post-Eurovision Depression has started.

If my favourite had won, I might have handled the transitioning better. But he didn’t. So, I’ve been obsessing over other Twitter-content than Bravo stuff.

Like, fanfiction. And getting lost in conspiracy theories. Like, how convenient it is that it’s ABBA’s 50th anniversary next year and Sweden is hosting the competition.

Käärijä was supposed to win Eurovision Song Contest of 2023 and I will never get over the disappointment of the juries!

It felt like the song contest was ruined by favouritism. The crowd was screaming “Cha Cha Cha”! He was the public’s favourite, but his victory was robbed by snobbish juries.

This has happened before, with KEiiNO in 2019. The juries butchered their votes, so they finished 6th, even with an enormous number of votes from the public.

So, I don’t care. I won’t listen to the winning song. It won’t exist in my world. 

I’m waiting for Käärijä to announce a tour in Scandinavia and for him to launch some merchandise. I’m definitely painting my nails green!

But that wasn’t the only shock of 2023. Like, what the fuck happened to Austria?! And don’t get me started on United Kingdom and Germany!

There’s so much to process after this year. I’ve been spoiled with my favourites winning the last couple of years.

Måneskin and Kalush Orchestra have been worthy winners. But this year hurt me. I’ve forgotten how heartbroken I can get over this competition.

But I will start watching Bravo again now.

[dizzyluc]

TW: Politics, Death, Suicide I really hate discussing politics, but after today I do feel like I need to at least say some things on it. So, one of the BIG reasons I'm against saying the whole "should have been killed" thing is because personally, saying that kind of thing will give the idea to those on the "independent" side, that's on neither party side, that one side wants their opposition killed in the literal sense. (While the other side has not blatantly said it... as of recent.) "As of recent?" Yeah, although not technically their opposing side, the cult literally wanted Mike Pence's head during J6, but it's like everyone forgets that... and do you know why? Recency bias. Whatever is in people's heads at the current time is what they are going to think the most on, which will sway their voting (J6 happened over 3 years ago, versus something that literally happened today... so people aren't going to remember as well that MP was on the idiots' list of "taking down" as well as about 10 people dying to J6, (hard to find info on all deaths) they only are going to think about the "current" news and paint "the guy that lived, that the opposing side wishes death on" a hero) Hell, I saw people trying to spin "no one died during J6, while 2 people died today." YES, PEOPLE DID DIE. (Most are... rather weird deaths, but one of the people participating was fatally shot by capital police, another from being trampled... but also overdose??? And two died from "natural causes" during the event? (a heart attack and a stroke) Then of capitol police, one died the following day from being attacked by the mob (mentioned natural causes, but the mob played a major role), and 2 officers... went out by their own means, one after the attack and one 4 days after) I swear, seeing people act like it wasn't a big deal and act like no one died when that was all on that idiot that just sat there for hours as it went down. (I still remember being home and watching it go down on TV, calling my mom as she did not know it was happening) I do have to say it though, you aren't going to get the opposing side to change their vote obviously (as they are too far up their own ass about their "savior"), but saying you want your opposition dead is not going to win anyone over on the fence about voting. The best thing you can do, is try not to give this anymore attention as of the following day, and continue to let people know all the things the GOP plan to do if they take office, and asking them "is that what you want in a president?" As much as I hate both candidates, I'd rather vote in the best possible person to make him NOT be president, than just throw my vote at a 3rd party at this point. (I'm usually one that would not care about voting, but at this point it's starting to get a bit "scary" with how bad the previous president's cult has been) Especially with how Project 2025 is sounding... Note: Also me trying not to use certain words in the above post cause I'm used to trying not to bring in certain words in the algorithm on Twitter, so I don't get a bunch of MAGA assholes or anyone of the like talking shit to me lol...

[fistofgaivs]

Working on a TTRPG which is a sequel to my free suggestion book "Not F.A.T.A.L. but Serious!" both a tip of the hat to a notorious sh-t lord RPG from earlier (zero connection) and a favorite American but Manga comic. Was hoping I could put up the uncensored version here but it seems Tumblr still has blue noses even though it's almost like reading the best of Penthouse magazine again.

In essence it'll be erotic TTRPG play with no holds or holes barred. We are F-cking adults playing the games now, but the core properties were owned and dominated by dry corporations making "Product" that had to be G-rated. Now the "Woke" rated is far far worse. So not for kids but you can download the original here and working cover for the upcoming full RPG later.

Serious - click the link (+18), go to the image of the top left and right click "Save as..." PDF document! - I'm privately hosted and NO ADS no SCRIPTS no GARBAGE. Not a full RPG just a book of suggestions that got the woke tourists invading to ruin TTRPGs to scream. That's their agenda, this is mine... I'll play my F*cking games any F*cking way I want them and I want to be able to buy and sell +18 interest.

The rainbow unicorn snowflakes can have Thirsty Sword Lesbians and Zwei-Hander. I'm not holding my gladius to their soy throats with no chins to play MY stuff but I expect something they are incapable of; respect -and that means for someone who has different views than them. If they can't understand that are their snowflake fake sh-t politics worth ANY respect? Jeebuz, I'm quite "Liberal" not a right winger.

Ai + 3D art by me. She's WAY over 18 like 200+ even in fiction, slime minds...!

Heads up - like any real Indie TTRPG I'll use AI art but still keep the few artists who'll do commissions for me employed like Max here. He can do hundreds of pretty damsels in distress and ribaldry in the time it'd take him to paint a swamp or dungeon Midjourney can do in seconds so why waste the time and money?

Let WotC ruin D&D for Blackrock EFT social credit - though I advise writing your Congress + Senate reps for the tax $ they'll scream to turn a failure into profit. The best out is to support the REAL indies that do NOT Bend the Knee to woke whine-buckets.

DEMAND from your TTRPG maker and game at least one element the "Woke" will NOT tolerate. I'm not for real sexism or racism and don't care who you voted for. The world has (and always will) 1,000,001 problems... Censoring comic books, video games, movies and pandering to rainbow unicorn snowflakes from some 'safe space' at a debt factory (College) does NOTHING to help anything on that list. Here are some statements free to include for free speakers, free thinkers versus "Woke" whine buckets:

Oh and speaking of lists...

One of the BEST things on the internet for RPGs "The List".

They just want you to know if your RPG maker is a rainbow unicorn snowflake who cares their woke fake politics vs anything to do with a RPG at all. Agenda vs product. Invaders. Tourists. Most of these people are vile on Twitter and (Zwei-Hander) demand you do NOT play their game unless you agree 100% with them. How in the world their books sit in PILES at major bookstore chains for years no sales but can NOT fail is beyond me - save knowing about 'short-selling' and corporate EFT.

So I advise looking for GREEN on the list, companies that care about their games and players NOT warmed over re-hashed master of the obvious "Woke" sentiment that preaches to its own choir.

[dumbestthingiveeverheard]

Dumbest Thing I've Ever Heard: 8/3/2023

Fifth place: Twitter user @eyeskewer

This is a little older than the stuff I normally cover on this blog, but I feel like this is worth highlighting as it perfectly shows my issue when many who make conspiratorial claims about transgender medical care:

my "informed consent" was my doctor I had just met handing me papers telling me my voice would drop soon, I could freeze my eggs, I might get acne, and whatever else. I probably didn't even hear everything she said, I just told her I wanted the shot. so I got it. I just turned 18

So you were told you wanted something medical done to you, were told about the risks and consequences, and then got it. I really don't see what the big deal is here.

Fourth Place: Marco Rubio

Elon Musk's time as CEO of Twitter has been far from perfect, but easily the best addition he has made is the community notes feature. For just one example, here is a Tweet from Marco Rubio:

Also, those claims about the 2016 Presidential Election were never proven to be fake--just wanted to add that real quick.

Third Place: Scott Lively

The deranged homophobe who wrote an entire book blaming the Nazis on homosexuality wrote a column a couple of days back with the headline "Leftist lawfare and the abuse of power." A decent chunk of it is spent defending Russian President Vladimir Putin, but here are some highlights:

In all my years of watching corporate U.S. news about Russia and Putin, I have never seen a single counter-argument ever being offered in defense of President Putin (coverage of him is even worse than that of Trump). It's been more than a decade since Obama restarted the Cold War to punish the Russians for banning "gay" propaganda to children, when every story began to paint him as a "brutal monster" – to the point that even many conservatives (who have zero reason to trust that same media on anything) seem to agree.

The hatred of Putin on an international scale has nothing to do with the anti-homosexuality laws he has put in place while President of Russia--although, don't get me wrong, that didn't help matters, but several countries with anti-homosexuality laws are still seen in a positive light by the international community (wrongfully so, in my opinion). It was more his imperial ambitions--starting with his invasion of Georgia in 2008--that caused the international community to move away from him.

Second Place: Abby Johnson

I've mostly been ignoring the story about a handful of far-right Christians refusing to support the fringe Presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy because of his Hinduism, however given Abby Johnson was sold to us a few years back as a a reasonable anti-abortion activist--an oxymoron if I've ever heard one. And she has decided to take a stance against a Hindu President, saying:

Do not be a victim of Satan’s confusion right now. This is an important time for us to have clarity of mind as we are going into an election cycle. So please discern. Please use discernment right now because God hates those who are willing to put up idols over him, and he will not be mocked.

All I wish to say is that if you really want a President that's a dedicated Christian--can I recommend you a guy named Joe Biden? Oh who am I kidding, if Ramaswamy does get the nomination it's going to be just like when Billy Graham took Mormonism off his list of cults so he and his followers could vote for Mitt Romney in 2012.

Winner: Ben Shapiro

This man, considered by many to be serious political commentator, does not know the difference between eating and drinking:

[Trump] would face a whopping 641 years in prison. Which I assume means he would not survive prison. Although he is 70% preservatives at this point because he eats so much McDonalds and Diet Coke.

He eats Diet Coke? Ben, do you know how Diet Coke works?

Ben Shapiro you've said the dumbest thing I've ever heard.

[nekoannie-chan]

Museum

Title: Museum.

Fandom: Marvel, Captain America.

Ship: Steve Rogers X Reader.

Word count: 375 words.

Square: 2 “Locked in an abandoned museum.”

Rating: Teen.

Summary: A mission in a particular museum.

Major Tags: Abandoned and enchanted museum.

Additional tags: This is my entry to @seasonaldelightsbingo Language of flowers bingo. 63.

Links: Wattpad, Ao3, Spanish version.

@saiyanprincessswanie

My native language is Spanish so I wanna improve my writing skills in English if you notice any mistakes, please let me know and I will correct them.

I don’t give any kind of permission for my fics to be posted on other platforms or languages (I translate myself my work) or the use of my graphics (my dividers are included in this), I did them exclusively for my fics, please respect my work and don't steal it. There are some people here who make dividers that anyone can use, mine is not this type, please look for the other people. The only exception is the ones I gifted 'cuz now belong to someone else. If you find any of my works on a different platform and are not one of my accounts, please let me know. Reblogs and comments are always welcome.

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Marvel's characters (unfortunately), except for the original characters and the story.

Add yourself to my taglist here.

My other media where I publish:  Ao3, Wattpad, ffnet, TikTok, Instagram, Twitter. 

If you like it, please vote, comment, and give me feedback to improve my skills and reblog.

Tags: @sinceimetyou @unnuevosoltransformalarealidad @navybrat817 @angrythingstarlight @shield-agent78 @charmed-asylum @pandaxnienke @real-fbi @Smokeandnailz @white-wolf1940 @tenaciousperfectionunknown @xoxonotme @bluemusickid @leyannrae @Harrysthiccthighss @Marvelatthisone @caplanbuckybarnes @sapphire-rogers @lizzieolseniskinda @notyourtypicalrose @hallecarey1 @nana1000night @talia-rumlow @writingshae @alexxavicry @azulatodoryuga @daemonslittlebitch @chaoticcollectivenightmare @endlesstwanted @chemtrails-club  @marigoldreamer @whiskeytangofoxtrot555 @Here4thefanfics @theestorm @patzammit @kmc1989 @somegirlfromasgard @rogersbarber

You had met Steve during a recent mission and immediately started talking and spending a lot of time together. So, when you went on a mission to an abandoned museum in the nearby town, Steve offered to accompany you without hesitation.

At dusk, the two of you slipped through a broken window in the back wing of the museum. The light from Steve's torch illuminated the dusty corridors. You had decided to go at that hour as you knew no one would be watching, but for some strange reason, in the daytime, people were watching.

“This place used to be amazing," you said, your voice echoing in the void.

“I can imagine," Steve replied. “It's a shame they left it like this."

You walked together for a few minutes until, as you rounded a corner, you heard a loud creak followed by a crash. The entrance through which you had entered was blocked by debris.

“It looks like we're trapped," Steve said, trying to remain calm, though he now feared it was an ambush. "Let's find another way out."

You spent hours looking for a way out, but the building seemed like an endless maze. Finally, you found a large room with a glass roof, where the moonlight came in faintly, and you told him about the rumors about the place and about the strange things that were said to happen.

“Let's rest here for a while," suggested Steve. You both sat on the floor, staring at the faded pictures that adorned the walls.

“Steve, how do you manage to stay calm in situations like this? “you asked, breaking the silence.

“I guess I've been through worse," he replied with a tired smile.

There was a moment of silence before Steve spoke again. "You know, there's something about this place that reminds me of the old days. Before the war, I used to visit museums. It was my escape."

“Your escape?" you asked, surprised.

“Yes," he said, looking at a painting. "The art and the history made me feel part of something bigger. It gave me hope."

“I'm glad you're here with me, Steve."

“And so am I, Y/N."

A few minutes later, you lay there asleep, while strange things kept happening in the place.

[penitentservant]

hi, I’m just going to leave this here

I thought about arguing your points and decided that would be a waste of words and time.

I’m as far left as you can get before diving into anarchy.

I am Romani and i am nonbinary. I’m saying this for you to have at least a small understanding in where I’m coming from when i say,

Trumps is as close to Hitler as we’re getting in this century.

that does not mean the loss of two lives (even if i do not agree with their views) were lost today.

i won’t lie and say i feel anything for them, but rather i will admit i feel for their family, having lost someone recently amplifies my sympathy towards their loved ones

Biden is no more better imo, but for now he is the lesser of evils to vote for.

i wish we didn’t have to vote for crazy old coot 1 and 2. But it is what it is until things change.

I do not like you nor would i ever wish to meet you irl, but i wish you the best nonetheless.

I have to respectfully disagree. Trump is nothing like Hitler.

Antifa wears the face concealing masks, the black clothes, and burns things to the ground. Anti-fascist? Seems to me those are the exact tactics of Hitlers brownshirts.

Biden's DOJ started surveiling parents who were concerned about what their children were being taught in school and attending PTA meetings. BIden's DOJ brought charges against Mark Houck for protecting his son from a "Pro-Choice" thug after local prosecutors said there were no charges to be had, sent armed men to his home to grab him in front of his family, and then, lo and behold, he's acquitted because it turns out there WERE NO LEGIT CHARGES.

The political left claim to be about inclusion and tolerance, but then they sue people for sticking to their sincerely held religious beliefs and attempt to punish them for those beliefs, despite the free exercise of religion being enshrined in our Bill of Rights.

As to being Romani, what does that have to do with anything? I'm a quarter Irish, a quarter German, and half Mexican. None of that really matters to me when I make decisions on voting and governance. Only whether the policy helps or hurts the American people.

And anything that puts more power in the hands of the Federal Government takes it away from the citizens.

So no, you probably wouldn't like me if you met me. I tend to read a good deal, paint to relax, and tend to prefer silence over conversation. I love the taste of spicy food, but can no longer handle it in my stomach. And I'm developing severe osteoarthritis despite not yet being 50, so I tend to gripe about my aches and pains. I'm not pleasant company.

But I care a hell of a lot more about individual rights and liberties than I do about whether or not a man with bad spray tan says mean things on Twitter.

[anthonysstupiddailyblog]

Anthony's Stupid Daily Blog (778): Sat 4th May 2024

My mother normally votes Tory but she forgot that it was voting day on Thursday. This morning she asked me if I voted and I told her that I did. She asked me this afternoon why I didn't remind her that it was voting day and I told her that I forgot which is true I did forget.. in the same way I forgot to spray paint my bank details on the roof of my unlocked car. The big takeaway from the election other than the Tories rightfully getting fucking mauled and Sunak actually having the balls to say that the forthcoming general election result is not a foregone conclusion but rather the fact that Boris Johnson forgot to take his ID with him to vote. This was especially noteworthy because it was Johnson who actually introduced this rule while he was Prime Minister. Someone fuckwits on Twitter were saying he did it on purpose in order to get attention with one user declaring "Unbelievable stage managed publicity stunt and the media fell for it" to which I responded "Right. Kind of like the time you “pissed” yourself during the school play and everyone laughed at you. Those idiot kids, teachers and parents had no idea you deliberately poured water on your pants to make people think you’d pissed yourself. Bunch of marks".

I started re-reading Philip K Dick’s Solar Lottery in the garden. When I decided I was going to read all Philip K Dick's books about a year ago I started with Solar Lottery because I thought that this was his first novel but I later found out it was the first published in his lifetime but not the first he ever wrote. Indeed there were half a dozen stories he wrote before Solar Lottery came out so I decided to go back to the very beginning, read those half dozen books then go over Solar Lottery again. I still think that the plot is one of the best of all PKD's novels. It's about an alternate Earth which has decided that the only way to have true justice in the world is through random chance and as such every leader of the world is chosen once every five years via a lottery. To coincide with this new president the lottery process also selects one person randomly to try and assassinate this leader and if they do they become the new leader or "Quizmaster". The current Quizmaster Verrick is coming to the end of his term and has survived his assassination attempt but does not want to give up his leadership role. The new leader Cartwright has his own personal medium that he intends to use to thwart any potential assassination attempt. In order to prevent the handover of power Verrick has built a robot that can be controlled by numerous people and has hired a group of around thirty assassins to mind control the robot and plans to switch assassins at random intervals which he thinks will confuse the medium and make it impossible for them to predict the robot's behaviour. My favourite part of the book is where the robot is walking through the offices where Cartwright is and someone is screaming over the PA system "THE ASSASIN IS IN THE BUILDING!" as pandemonium is happening all around. Some of Dick's works seem to be begging to be adapted for the cinema and I can totally see this scene being the most memorable if such a cinematic adaptation of Solar Lottery were to happen.