Mod Post: Off-Topic Tuesday

[icon_uk]

In the comments to these weekly posts (and only these posts), it's your chance to go as off topic as you like.

Talk about non-comics stuff, thread derail, and just generally chat among yourselves.

The intent of these posts is to chat and have some fun and, sure, vent a little as required. Reasoned debate is fine, as always, but if you have to ask if something is going over the line, think carefully before posting please.

Normal board rules about conduct and behaviour still apply, of course.

It's been suggested that, if discussing spoilers for recent media events, it might be advisable to consider using the rot13 method to prevent other members seeing spoilers in passing.

The world situation is the world situation. If you're following the news, you know it as much as I do, if you're not, then there are better sources than me.

For those wanting an alternative to current news headlines, this "home invasion" story is pleasingy pastoral

I always love astronomy photo competitions. They make me think of Athena poster shops... (ask your parents) or the desktop wallpaper packs you used to get on the free floppy disc's (ask yourt parents) on the covers computer magazines (ask your par... never mind, you get the idea)

Catching up on my superhero movies again. This week was "Across the Spider-Verse" (eye popping and probably glad I didn't try to watch it in the cinema as I suspect headaches and eyestrain would have resulted) and "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3" (A surprisingly entertaining ending to the trilogy, with a relatively low stakes villain who you could really LOATHE with a clear conscience, though I had completely forgotten about the return of a certain character back in Endgame)

They're showing Scooby Doo animated movies around the time I gt up at the moment, so I've found myself watching a couple of themm. Credit where it's due,'Big Top Scooby Doo' went HARD on it's opening theme by Andy Sturmer

Miraculous Ladybug also got into the multiverse, with 'Miraculous World - Paris' introducing the Earth-3 moral reversal dimension where the heroic Betterfly tries to bring hope and inspiration to a rotten world against the scheming machinations of Shadybug and Claw Noir. Full marks for the reworked opening titles too! :D

Forgot to mention that Doom Patrol's final episodes have started dropping.

Comments

[leahandillyana]

Eh. I’m very angry. I apparently did not cut deep enough when I decided to cut out my toxic friends and ended up surrounded by blood-thirsty antisemites who I thought were reasonable leftists. I now have very few people to talk to in the West. On one hand, it feels isolating, on the other, I think my messages never reached anyone. I think I now know why so many people refused to support Ukraine – when they see a Jew, they stop thinking rationally. Western leftist community is a joke. They claim to be compassionate towards underpriviledged groups, but are no less tribal than right wingers. I feel there is barely anyone who cares about humanitarian principles anymore.

I watched three episodes of all anime series I’ve been following and made decisions. The overly long-titled one was not engaging enough for me, so I decided to drop it. The vampire series ended up being shit, but it’s yuri shit, so I’ll keep watching until I encounter something too off-putting. The villainess series is very good, gonna stick to the end. My favourite is The Apothecary Diaries though, as it has the most detailed, gorgeous animation I’ve seen in a very long time. It’s not about any action scenes (there are none, it’s a historical slice of life), it’s about how colourful, detailed and lively the world of the series is. I highly recommend checking at least first episode to everyone.

Watched second part of JLA/RWBY crossover. Fair warning to anyone wanting to watch it, it’s set after RWBY Vol 9 and has spoilers to most recent volumes – and most offensively, it spoils parts of the UNAIRED volume 10! The movie was basically an excuse to show RWBY team in DC-inspired costumes. Very little character interaction, the movie is made mostly of action scenes. And the surprise plot twist was so predictable everybody in fandom joked it must be a red herring after the first movie, but nope. I’d suggest you skip it even if you liked the first part like I did. I really shouldn’t have expected anything good to come out of RWBY, please just let the series end.

Bought first volume of the omnibus reedition of Paradise Kiss manga by Ai Yazawa. It’s very thick, has really nice print on the cover, and covers thirty chapters from the beginning of the story to the end of the runaway arc. The fashion is gorgeous, but the art overall is of poor quality. The story is pretty standard if spicy buildungsroman, and some elements aged poorly, especially sexual harrassment and homophobia played for laughs. I was surprised by the characters breaking the fourth wall frequently – apparently the magazine the manga was published in exists in-universe. Because next volume will also be the last, I will buy it for the sake of completeness.

Mattie was attacked by Sebastian and now he is peeing with blood again. Apparently it’s his stress reaction. I have meds that helped him last time, hope everything will end up okay this time too. Good vibes and prayers are appreciated! I had to ask my parents for money (a lot of money) this month because my budget didn’t close neatly and I found myself running out of money in the middle of the month after helping a friend treat her cat for FIP (100% fatal if untreated, treatment is very expensive). It is very warm again, about 20 C. Bears visited us recently, though I didn’t see them. Father wrote the letter asking for hunting society to kill them :(

[deh_tommy]

Wait, is RWBY/JLA Part 2 out? Since when? How the heck do they spoil a Volume that I’m pretty sure isn’t even greenlit? Did the first film take place after Volume 9 or is it just this one?

[leahandillyana]

It premiered last week. The first film takes place during volume 7, and second during volume 10. I believe Rooster Teeth thought that volume 10 will be airing when the film is released. Oh, and a small part of the plot is related to a game I didn't know existed, but it's just a few lines of dialogue and it's not worth it to check info on the game just to understand them.

[tripodeca113]

Finished RWBY volume nine. It got quite dark.
Apparently it was meant to be 12 episodes but it ended up cut down to 10, which explains somethings.

Watched the Ahsoka show. Now what I wanted was the characters to go on an epic quest to the distant regions of space and see weird stuff.
That kind of happened.
Napvrag ehvaf va gur qrfreg. Pvepyr bs fgnaqvat fgbarf ba n pyvss-fvqr. Gung'f arng, ohg abg rknpg jung V jnag.
bu jnvg gurve tbvat gb nabgure tnynkl? Bxnl fb vg'f gur cynarg jurer gur fcnpr junyrf tb gb qvr, fb vg unf n evat bs tvnag junyr obarf nebhaq gur cynarg? Pbby! Fnqyl gur cynarg'f fhesnpr vf xvaq bs ynpxvat. Bu fher vg unf bzvabhf rivy gbjref, yvggyr urezvg peno crbcyr, naq n yrtvba bs jrngurerq orngra qbja fgbez-gebbcref, ohg sbe n 'jbeyq bs qernzf naq znqarff' vg'f xvaq s haqrejuryzvat.

oh hey that guy from Star Wars Resistance's dad showed up. This is the second time Star Wars media has referenced that show. He's a real prick.
Oh look they brought Clancy Brown back to play the guy he voiced in Rebels. I appreciate seeing him again, but there's more prominent characters I expected to return who never did. I guess they made that CGI Zeb model just so he could cameo in the Mandalorian?
Look out Ahsoka! It's an Inqusitor! He might slip on a banana peel and hurt himself! Naq gura ur qvrf sbhe rcvfbqrf va, ohg ubarfgyl V'q fnl ur'f fgvyy orggre guna zbfg bs gur barf jub fubjrq hc va Eroryf.
Vg'f wneevat urnevat Unlqra Puevfgrafra gelvat gb fbhaq yvxr Zngg Ynagre. Jbj Grzhren Zbeevfba'f Pncgnva Erk fbhaqf abguvat yvxr Qrr Oenqyrl Onxre.

It wasn't bad, but having watched it I feel that I'm done with Star Wars for a while

More Star Trek Enterprise season two:
Stigma: T'Pol has Space AID's. Phlox's wife tries to fuck Tucker.
So on one hand I think it's pretty cowardly to use a metaphor so they don't have to address homophobia in anyway. But it is also abut how T'Pol has the Good Type of AID's (the kind you get from a blood transfusion) versus the Bad Type of AID's (the kind you get from being gay), and how she doesn't want to take advantage of this double standard even if it'll save her career, which is more than I was expecting from this show.

Cogenitor: So I guess the idea of 'meeting some aliens who seem alright, but it turns out they have horribly immoral cultural practices and we can't really do anything about it' has potential, but I really disliked this episode.
Most of it just comes of as the other characters going "Jesus Tucker, why are you so upset that they have a slave?"

Bounty: T'Pol goes into heat so she runs around the ship in her underwear, shouting for someone to fuck her. It doesn't matter what the A-plot is.

The Expanse: After 9/11 an attack on Earth Bush Archer has to invade go on a mission to Iraq a distant region of space to find weapons of mass destruction a planet destroying super-weapon
I guess the scenes of the main characters solemnly getting updates on the situation (and how the estimated death toll keeps on rising), and Tucker standing in the ruins of his home town were pretty affecting.
Two issues I had. One: apparently the weapon that attacked Earth was a prototype, and the whole thing was actually a test for the real weapon. But attacking Earth before the final weapon is ready, accomplishes nothing but alerting humanity to a previously unknown threat, jeopardizing everything their trying to achieve.
Two: apparently quantum dating doesn't tell you how old something is, but rather the year it was made. I have no idea how that works.

[informationgeek]

My friends and me decided to watch through My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic... all of it. We finished season 1 of it and I had a lot of thoughts coming back to this after so many years.

Coming back to Season 1 of Friendship is Magic is interesting knowing where the series would go. We see it now as a huge franchise with several multimedia properties of games, comics, books, and more. It exploded with huge plotlines, big villains, character growth, several shakeups, an expansive cast, and ended up appealing to a wide demographic thanks in part to the obvious brony community. Seeing it then and now, it’s come a long way.

And returning to where it started, it’s definitely what it originally intended to be in the first place, a show for kids. A show in mind for girls, but one willing to be something open to anyone young. The morals are simple, blunt, but effective for what they are. The humor is more for kids while the plots don’t get particularly challenging or surprising later on. Sure, you get the opening episodes and one where Twilight is turned to stone, but nothing too dark or shocking. And that’s all fine. That was what the show wanted to be and it succeeded. It’s a solid show for young kids.

However, seeing where it would eventually lead and what it would do, the first season is very humble and laidback. It starts a bit rough with some okayish animation, writing, and song composing, but once it hits Winter Wrap Up, the show finds its footing and really improves. The writing and pacing get better, the songs almost all land well, the humor improves, and the animation really steps it up. By the time the finale gets here, the show feels really alive and has found its footing.

Though, when the show really takes off and starts going beyond just a simple show for kids and into something even bigger, that’s right around the corner in Season 2.

Did some rankings as well...

Best Episode: Winter Wrap Up

Like I said, this is where the show finds its stride. Everyone is given a chance to shine, the animation is looking better, the pacing is solid, humor is good, the moral and execution feels on point, and this is when the composing and music really come together. This feels like the best representation of the season as a whole, something that tells you everything you need to know.

Best Song: At the Gala

Tight race between this and Winter Wrap Up. Great singing from everyone, flows well, the animation is nice, and it builds to a great conclusion. What pushes it over is the nice shifts in instrument for each pony’s verse. It’s the little touches I appreciate

Hero of Harmony: Twilight Sparkle

Hero of Harmony is decided upon who did the most to solve problems, help others out, learned good lessons, and caused the least damage. Twilight, while certainly overstressing at times, definitely contributed the most to success for the season. Figuring out how to defeat Nightmare Moon, offering good advice when needed, figuring out magical solutions to problems, solving an Ursa Minor problem, and more. All around the best pony of the season in terms of help. Fluttershy almost reached it by taking down a dragon and cockatrice, but her parasprite hiding and stampede incident at the gala knocked her down.

Worst Episode: Over a Barrel

A message about enemies having to compromise and find a solution to live in harmony is one thing. The metaphor/real-life parallel of using Native Americans and settlers for this is another. Waaaaaay too overly simplified of a message and handling of the subject matter to the point where it’s just baffling anyone thought this was a good idea. This was aged badly on arrival and has only aged worst since. Whatever good there is in this episode is outweighed by the baffling and uncomfortable aspects of this.

Agent of Discord: Pinkie Pie

If there was one pony that caused so much trouble, whether intentionally or not, it had to be the pink one. Sure, Rainbow Dash pissing off a dragon and nearly having it roast everyone is bad. Fluttershy keeping Parasprites in her home after everyone tried to get rid of them is bad. Sweetie Belle destroying Rarity’s studio when trying to help get some ribbon was a trilogy of errors. However, Pinkie beat them all out through and through. Her propaganda song against Zecora, the mayhem caused at the gala by her, and causing a frickin’ war between the pony settlers and bison due to her music pushed her well over the top. She was helpful at times, but no one does chaos and trouble while being one of the good gals like the Pank.

[icon_uk]

I always liked this infographic of MLP I found online years ago (I'd credit the creator but I never did find out where it's origin was) which nicely highlights the Mane Six personalities.

[zachbeacon]

Lost a lot of last week to apartment-related nonsense.

Back to the regularly scheduled healthcare and job headaches.

(Wow, putting my personal information out in more new places sure does lead to a lot more obvious scam emails/calls. I may not have any job offers yet but I certainly seem to be winning a lot of contests I didn’t enter.)

The only* thing I have to say about Marvel Snap this week is that I jumped through a bunch of hoops to get anniversary variants. One of them was a Hawkeye that required me to use a code to sign up for a free month of Discord Nitro so I could get a different code for the variant (they managed to find a redemption system worse than the Twitch drops). I cancelled immediately. I can think of nothing less valuable than paying** for a social media platform*** and I regularly comment here about the virtual trading cards I get from wasting hours a week playing a silly superhero game.

*Well, the one other thing is that I’m annoyed by the vote but I get why the pool 3 card won even if Shang-Chi is clearly a better card than Human Torch with better variant art. Mostly I’m surprised by how poorly Ghost Rider did; skeletons from Hell tend to do great in real life political elections.

**Okay, the 500mb file limit was briefly helpful over the weekend but certainly not ten bucks a month helpful.

***Seriously, don’t give Twitter your credit card info.

Anyway, that’s as good a segway as any to this; I have a few Blue Sky invites if anyone here is interested.


Amidst a sea of unwatched/half-watched shows on Hulu, I decided to finish Yashahime. I mostly liked it but there seemed to be some pretty wild shifts in villain motivations toward the end. Mostly I’m just happy to see the families together again. Shippo kind of annoyed me in the original series but he was fun here. For some reason I found it funny that they gave an in-universe reason for Kagome and Rin looking younger than they should be and meanwhile Miroku and Sango … just have good genes, I guess. I was half expecting a reveal that Kaede is alive in the present because Death is clearly afraid of her.

With my Netflix expiring tomorrow, I finally watched The Old Guard. It was okay. Really the most interesting thing to come from it is that I decided to listen to a spoiler-filled podcast from 2020 (peak pandemic) and some of the predictions for the state of the future of entertainment are tragically optimistic.

The last thing I did with Netflix was finish Castlevania. The show is a lot more enjoyable when watching multiple seasons at once because the two-season arcs are really frustrating if watched one season at a time…which is a roundabout way of saying that I haven’t started Nocturne.

Last week’s Loki seemed a lot more substantial than the other episodes this season. I might even remember some of the episode by the time I post this Tuesday.


This might fall under “things that are only amusing to me” but there’s been some recent discussion of people pirating the 3D print files for Gundam model kits and now I can’t stop thinking about those “you wouldn’t download a car” ads from two decades ago.

[cainofdreaming]

I'm pretty sure people have downloaded kit car blueprints.

[zachbeacon]

Modern cars ARE, like, half plastic.

[full_metal_ox]

Not only that! Taking advantage of the fact that eggs in Britain are sold at room temperature, some enterprising farmer pirated a duck of a proprietary royal breed:

https://orionsangel86.tumblr.com/post/706084310683369472/what-do-you-mean-you-hatched-an-egg-you-bought-at

[zachbeacon]

I've said this before with some "food hack" videos and I'll say it again now...

I think that's just regular farming. Congratulations on discovering agriculture.

(I wonder if that's the real reason American eggs are refrigerated. I know the official reason is that the shells' protective coating is washed away in cleaning)

[skjam]

It's the beginning of busy season at work.

Trying out the health improvement plan that goes with my insurance. Sent me a free scale to send my weight in. :-(

Laying down a bundle of money for custom compression stockings.

Marvel Puzzlequest (am I the only one playing this?) introduced a new boss, Quandary, who is an actual puzzle boss and much hated. Latest chase character is another Peggy Carter variant, "what if Peggy Carter became Iron Woman."

Over at my blog, I look at the first part of an Afrofuturist trilogy: https://www.skjam.com/2023/10/24/book-review-sweep-of-stars/

[cainofdreaming]

Never just you -tm. I do play occasionally. Not often enough to ever qualify for the currently introduced cards, but sometimes yes.

I also need custom compression socks, so I'm thankful that our nearly free healthcare provides for those. Guess it costs less than continuous wound care.

[full_metal_ox]

Let alone prostheses.

[thatnickguy]

I picked up Spider-Man 2 for PS5 on Friday and basically plowed through it straight to Sunday, not only finishing it but nearly completing it with all the side things completed. I love the game. It's a shorter game than the first, but the narrative is much more focused as a result. The ending, while satisfying, doesn't have the same emotional gut-punch the first one had. Oddly enough, the most affecting part of the game for me were two little side missions. They were two "Friendly Neighbourhood" side missions, both involving senior citizens. I have to wonder if the same writer worked on both of those stories because they shared similar themes. It made me wonder if the writer was working through some shit while writing them. But both made me cry a little.

I also got a heck of a deal on some comics recently through Facebook Marketplace. Someone is selling off parts of their collection because they're doing a big move to Toronto. I got all 8 volumes of Osamu Tezuka's Buddha, which I've never read before. I'd recently starting reading his Astro Boy for the first time and I wanted to see more of his brilliance. I've never read Buddha, but always good things about it. I only paid $50 for the whole set, which feels like a steal.

From the same seller, I also got the first 10 volumes of Prince Valiant, an adventure newspaper strip by Hal Foster that's still running today (by different creative teams, since Foster passed away). Again, I'd heard about it and was always curious about it. Especially for the fact that Foster's work inspired the next generation of comic creators, like Jack Kirby. Kirby's character design for Etrigan, for example, was directly inspired by an early story in Prince Valiant. I also didn't know that Hal Foster was born right here in Halifax, Nova Scotia, which makes me feel guilty for not reading this stuff before. I wound up getting these 10 volumes for $175. Each book is around $30 American (so, like, $40 Canadian) and again, I feel like I got these for a heck of a deal.

I feel like I'm getting bad for buying books, though. My to-read pile is getting out of control and yet I'll get book sets like these on a good deal. On the one hand, I feel guilty for shelling out that much for books that will collect dust for awhile. On the other hand, Buddha is out of print and to get that many Prince Valiant books at a good deal is hard to pass up. I still have so many other things to read, like the ginormous Complete Windsor McCay Little Nemo book that Taschen published or the Tom Strong Compendium. And yet there are books coming out soon that I plan on picking up, like the next Astro City Metrobook or a Daredevil Epic Collection.

I also sometimes borrow out books from the library, where I'll often try a comic on a whim since I don't have to pay for it. I've introduced myself to a wide variety of comics that way. Some that I later bought for my own collection. That's how I discovered and fell in love with Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, for example. That's also how I started reading Prince Valiant.

But I also started reading the manga, Pluto, through the library. Reading manga is something of a struggle for me. I'm used to reading comics from left to right and I often find it a struggle to get into a good reading flow in reading "backwards" with manga. I keep wanting to try more manga, but the "reading backwards" thing has always been a barrier for me. On the other hand, I've heard endlessly good things about Pluto. Since I'm on an Osamu Tezuka kick, I thought I'd try overcoming this reading barrier with Pluto. And I'm digging it so far. I love that it's kind of a dark re-imagining of Astro Boy's "The Greatest Robot on Earth," and done kind of like a murder mystery. I thought re-imagining a classic story like that would be sacrilege, but damn, it's good.

[deh_tommy]

Speaking of treating yourself and Spider-Man, how was Tony Todd as Venom?

[thatnickguy]

Let's put it this way:

It's Tony freaking Todd...as Venom.

He's awesome.

[forestcatdreams]

Oh, gosh, thank you for posting about the Taschen Little Nemo book! I've been trying to get Little Nemo for literally over 30 years. Every time I found a book, it was either an incomplete run, or it was already so long out of print that the only way to get it would be to pay scalpers more than my monthly car payment. I'm ordering this one straight away!

[scorntx]

The way the world is now, when the news is (briefly) talking about storms and mass floodings and notable sports stars dying it actually feels like a nice change of pace.
That's where I'm at.
(Wouldn't say no to a plague of frogs. Just for variety.)


Loki continues to be a baffling show.
It's like they wanted to make a show about the TVA and Kang, but for some reason figured no-one would watch that, so they just glued some Loki onto it.
(Resigning myself ages ago to the fact we're not going to get any sort of world-building for the Nine Realms or any of that helped. A little.)
Oh and we got a cliched "AI turns eeeeeviiiiill" in there as well, at no extra cost.


The Cheers rewatch with the family finally got through the Diane years.
But oft, those last few episodes were a slog...
Diane's a lot anyway, but towards the end she gets to be really a lot.

There were some cast photos of that Avatar series released last week, mostly the Fire Nation lot.
... Iroh with a mustache just looks... not right.
Ozai... is alarmingly good looking. (oo-er.)

Epic Collection browsing, torn between X-Men: Proteus (upside: Less chance of some of Claremont's... typical Claremontness. Downside: Claremont writing Scottish people. Och. Jings.) and... err, Hawkeye (mainly just to see what happens with this "Blind Justice" guy.)

[iamrman]

The Hawkeye Epic you're referring to, is that the one mostly consisting of Solo Avengers/Avengers Spotlight?

[scorntx]

That's the one.
(Bit leery because of who wrote it...)

[iamrman]

The only writer credirs I could find are for Tom DeFalco, Howard Mackie and Roger Stern.

[scorntx]

Oh. Huh.
Got confused about who was doing the writing.
(Oops.)
Leeriness withdrawn, then.

[iamrman]

Who were you thinking of?

[scorntx]

Err, I think I was thinking of Gerard Jones.

No idea how that happened...

[iamrman]

Ohhh, now I get it. As far as I am aware, he wasn't involved in Solo Avengers/Avengers Spotlight. He was the writer on the Wonder Man issues that were part of Operation: Galactic Storm though.

[cyberghostface]

Did anyone watch Netflix's Fall of the House of Usher? It was pretty good.

[shakalooloo]

It was! Seeing them manage to modernise and tie together all those stories/poems so neatly was a joy!

[icon_uk]

I've been watching it, I've got as far as hal;fway throughThe Black Cat one and I'm sort of torn as, whilst he is an utter asshole, on the scale of his family, Napoleon seems approaching the decent, and I don't feel he's (yet) earned his imminent demise.

[bradygirl_12]

Health problems today. Have to see a new PCP because of insurance. Man, health insurance in the U.S. is effed up! Blows my mind that as far back as the late '40s Truman wanted to start a national healthcare program but of course the AMA stopped that right quick. 🙄

[onsokumaru]

Yesterday, one of the major "news" outlet in France pointed that serveral pepople on social media are using "celestial dragons" as a dog whistle for "jews".
(Celestials Dragons are the elite nobles in the One Piece world. They are despicable slaver manchildren who are protected by the authorities.)
And of course, the comments under the paper were by a bunch of excuses, of denial, of "we can't say anything anymore", " it's not about the jews but about the zionists". The rise of antisemitism everywhere is disgusting, and when it's so rampant in the fandom of one of your favorite mangas, it's disheartening.

On the fun side.
I finally pruchased a new Sunspot variant in Marvel Snap. Roberto in a suit, like in his Avengers days. I had to have it. Still have enough gold left for just another card. Maybe Broo, if he ever shows up again, or a Rockslide.
Also got a nice Falcon 3099.
But zero variant from the boxes. I'm now making a list of everything I get when I open them, because it feels I didn't get any card in ages.
I'll get Nico and the Space Chicken his night, hopefully without having to open 4 boxes. I'm hoping to have enough boxes to open for the the Gladiator, Annihilus, Firestar and maybe Selene weeks;

[iamrman]

Ooh, Sunspot suit variant. I have that one. The only recent variant of any interest I have is the Spider-Man 2099 baby variant.

Selene and Firestar cards incoming, you say?

[onsokumaru]

Yep, it will be Hellfire December.
Selene doesn't seem great, but I missed the opportunity to get Black Knight, and he is in the spotlight with her, so...
Firestar will bring new dynamics to rebound decks and maybe to Thanos too.
Blob and Shaw are quite the powerhouses. Especially Blob. Help us, Shang Chi!
Havok is... Alex just can't win, heh.

[iamrman]

Wow. You weren't kiddin about Selene's card. Blob looks broken. Just waiting for the inevitable nerf.

I have Black Knight. I put him in my SternVengers deck and the mandatory discard deck.

[iamrman]

New manga titles on my list:

Assassination Classroom. Eldritch monstrosity trains a class of loser students to become assassins.

Bocchi the Rock! Girl with crippling anxiety joins a band.

Cardcaptor Sakura. I enjoyed Chobits, so a friend recommended this as well.

Masamune-kun’s Revenge. Eight years ago, chubby Makabe Masamune was cruelly rejected by the pretty Adagaki Aki. Now he has lost a lot of weight and has changed his name. He is looking to get back at Aki for making his life a living Hell.

No Matter How I Look At It, It’s You Guys’ Fault Why I’m Not Popular. Tomoko Kuroki thought she would become popular in high school due to her experience with otome games. In reality, she has become an unsociable loner. Could she be in the wrong? No, it is everybody else who is wrong.

Marvel trades on my list:

Avengers Epic Collection: The Gatherers Strike! Yep, still trying to make the Gatherers a thing.

Fantastic Four Epic Collection: This Flame, This Fury. The DeFalco/Ryan Fantastic Four. ‘Nuff said.

Silver Surfer Epic Collection: Resurrection. More Infinity (Crusade) Nonsense?! *Fuuuu...*

Spider-Man by Todd Mcfarlane: The Complete Collection. So 90’s. Much wow.

Thor Masterworks Vol. 18. The Eternals Saga. Pray for me.

In real life news, Dad has been pickling some shallots for Christmas. We had to make sure to sample some to ensure they were good enough. The batch probably won't last until Christmas, so he has pickled some more.

A co-worker gave me some cheese yesterday. They bought some cheeses to have with biscuits, but ended up not liking one of the cheeses. It is white Stilton with mango and ginger. I like all three of those things, so the cheese should be good.

[thezmage]

Watched the first 6 episodes of the new Goosebumps series. Surprisingly intense. I wasn't expecting a visual depiction of a compound fracture. Feels like it owes a lot to Locke and Key. There was a moment in episode 5 that had me laughing for a solid minute

Watched a few movies this weekend:

Disney's new Haunted Mansion wasn't very scary but it was a lot of fun. Tiffany Haddish isn't really my favorite actress but she was absolutely killing it in this movie

Sinister 2 was bad. Not much to say other than that it was bad.

The Mortuary Collection was a fun anthology horror film, but I wonder if I'm not cut out for anthology horror movies. It feels like finding out that you live in a world where the first short could happen would kinda keep the person listening from sitting still for the other stories.

Vicious Fun I enjoyed, and it had a lot of things tailor made to appeal to me: a badass final girl and a bunch of expies of other movie villains

Totally Killer was fun but the time travel cringe was just too much for me. At some point you have to realize that you're in a different time period with different customs and you're just going to make it harder for yourself by not keeping your mouth shut.

The Black Phone was also good. Joe Hill is sure his father's son

[shakalooloo]

It's strangely satisfying to have rekindled nerd rage at the UNFORGIVEABLE CHANGES that WotC has made to the new edition of Planescape. They added a bank! A Goddamn bank!!!

[ladymidath]

I have started watching Doom Patrol and I swear it keeps getting better. I have also watched the second season of Wolf Like Me and wow that got intense. I am also watching Loki and some Australian noir which has been great. I started watching Fall Of The House Of Usher but really could not get into it. I found the characters too repellent. If I can't find one interesting character, I can't get invested in the show.
I have been catching up on my reading and shows that I have been meaning to watch.