Quiver

I have never heard of this subtitle project. I know there was a Phantom Menace edit deleting Jar Jar though...? Also, Aquaman is so cool. I mean... think about it. How many superheroes operate exclusively in the ocean? There are dozens, if not hundreds, of fictional versions of Chicago, and New York, and Vegas in comics. But the ocean? That is so underexplored and underrepresented. It's mysterious, and filled withdrew life that looks like it's ripped straight from fantasy novels, and that's just the stuff we know about. Add in mythological connections, like kraken, and Leviathan, and Atlantis, and, honestly? Aquaman is probably situated to be one of the most interesting and unique characters in fiction.

...'kay, so, thinking about it, I might just have a character concept in mind. I'll try and get a post up in a day or two... though I admit, I am not very good at writing or roleplaying, so, um... yeah. Sorry in advance.

I've been posting stuff I'm listening to as status updates recently! But it's mostly been covers of themes from anime, particularly the Dragonball franchise. There are some pretty cool covers of stuff mixed in there.

Well, at the moment... I'm making my way through the Haruhi Suzumiya series; I've finished the third book in the series. I'm taking a quick break from it to read The Painted Man.

Or, like myself, as the War Doctor from the 50th Anniversary special. From what I read, it sounds like he had had some health problems recently (though they had been optimistic about things in October), so... I don't know what to add. Sympathies to his family, obviously.

...so... I'm wondering if it's worth starting a blog? But that makes me wonder just what I have to offer. I mean, I know I ramble and talk about comics a lot, but comic blogs are a dime a dozen, and I don't know if my perspective us different enough to be of interest. (Though I do want to do a blow by blow comparision of the Civil War comics...)

Okay, I admit it: I spoiled myself on Arrow. I wanted to know how the cliffhanger got resolved.

Ooh. You have very much piqued my interest and intrigue! (Looking back at my rather shoddy history in this forum, I am much more interested in the role play side of things, so,. You have hit right up my alley.) I'm actually working for the next couple of days, but I'll bounce some character concepts around and try and get something up within the dedline, if'n ya'all don't mind me joining.

... Huh. That sounds... disappointing. I should give a caveat; I one or two Magic:The Gathering novels, but they were focused on the Weatherlight crew, so some of the specifics of what you said went over my head a little. Also, I kind of love the idea of doing a story where the hero becomes the villain, and I have done for a long time... ... but this sounds like executing that theme in a really clunky, awkward, unsatisfying and downright wrong way, so... condolences for the railroading of one of your favorite characters.

Might I suggest you post these to the gallery? Because these are really good? Might I also ask for your bank details, because I think I'm gonna bill you for the therapy I need now. All of the creepy.

At that point, you're just straight up mocking me.

Computer chairs without wheels. I am trying to get comfortable, and having to drag a chair is annoying.

... I have some morbid curiosity. What was the arc, and how was it ruined?

I need to go back through those for my old ideas and to steal others from people

Logan trailer spoiler

Lyla stood in the clinic, stock still with bewilderment. She couldn't hear anything over the sound of her blood pumping. Which was strange, because she was certain - undeniably, unquestionably certain - that her heart had skipped a beat. She was, probably, dead. After all, an epic had just agreed to...she wasn't even sure what to describe it as, she didn't have the words, it was a minor miracle she wasn't hyperventilating on the floor. Lyla Robins had met multiple epics. Lyla Robins had befriended and had a conversation with actual epics. And Lyla Robins was about to go on a...a road trip with a flesh and blood epic. Lyla Robins, clearly, was in heaven. Shock began to wear off, and when it dud, the girls legs gave out. She collapsed against a wall, eyes welling with tears as a strange, almost crazed laugh slipped out. A day. She had a whole day to prepare. She should probably be getting on with that, but it wasn't as if she had a huge amount of personal effects to manage anyway. This was the best day of her life. Until tomorrow. 'Packing,' she reminded herself again. Okay, so she didn't have a lot of personal effects, but she had some. She tugged at her one of her pig tail's, practically quivering. She had some clothes that needed packing, obviously. Her photo collection (and her secret photo collection), she should probably say good-bye to some people- (She shoved that last thought to the back of her mind quickly, ignoring the implicit, painful question of 'Like who?') Point was, she couldn't spend the whole day loafing around. What if she didn't get everything packed, and was late, and Shiny left without her? She scrambled to her feet, practically bounding out of the clinic. She managed to get a few blocks away from the clinic before she couldn't hold it in anymore. She managed to hold it together long enough to duck into an alley - if people saw her giggling in the middle of the street, they might think she was weird - before doubling over, planting her hands on her knees and laughing. She didn't stop herself this time; she laughed, laughed, and laughed. She felt like bouncing on the heels of her feet; she felt like her knees were weak. She had thought the day had gotten off to a good start with all the Panda's; such a strange, cool thing, the same kind of off-kilter weirdness that the pig-tailed girl loved. She'd snagged a few pictures of the invasion, thinking she could have used it to convince people she was a bona fide epic lorist. Instead, it would be a forever tribute to the fourth-best thing to happen in the Dalles- Fourth-best. The number one thing was something she couldn't talk about too openly. Second-best was Shiny's offer. Third was meeting Scribbler... And all at once, the fact that Lyla had left Scribbler alone in her haste to get packing rushed back. Oh Calamity. She had just abandoned her in Games' clinic, hadn't she? Well, she had had to, she had to go get ready, but it would still be bad if Scribbler thought badly of her because of it. No, no way. Scribbler was cool; she'd totally understand how big a deal this was, and how important it was that Lyla get all her stuff ready. She'd understand what a huge opportunity this was for Lyla. Heck, given the way things were going... She cast an optimistic eye up, inviting the god in the sky to do... [isomething[/I]. After a few moments - her mood only slightly squashed by the fact that Calamity still hadn't made her an epic - she turned back to what she needed to do. Packing, she decided firmly. She didn't have much in the world, and less of it was precious to her; her camera, her tattered hoodie, the photographs. She'd need to take a change of clothes or two, but the rest, the government of the Dalles was welcome to. Did she need to return that stuff, or would they send someone to collect it? Get the photos produced, she realized, adding that to her checklist. She stopped, frowning. Actually, that one might have been a problem. She needed to get the film in her camera developed; she was starting to run out. No doubt Shiny would be taking her to interesting places and to meet interesting people - what was the epic she mentioned, Skinny Dipper? - and if they were half as open and friendly and amaztastic as Shiny, they were sure to want their pictures taken. And of course they were going to be all that; they were epics. It wasn't the first time when a digital camera might have made more sense. But getting film printed was trouble either way, and the camera around her neck had a sentimental value that exceeded it's battered frame and semi-cracked lens. She was getting distracted. She was very distractable. Point was, she was going to need to get the film processed and fast. And if she was going to try and get something fast tracked, that probably meant appealing to some authorities. At which point, the question became exactly who would be the most sympathetic to her situation. And - for that matter - who she felt like spending more than five minutes in a room with. After a few minutes thought, the answer came in a spark. Okay, she might not be an epic, but her name was close enough to one. And Glass could be pretty shiny, if you viewed it in the right light. Well, okay, that was a bit of a stretch. After all, as Autumn constantly reminded people, she was not, in fact, an epic; by definition she wouldn't be as 'shiny' as Shiny Sparkle. Stlll, she was probably Lyla's best chance at getting what she wanted, the person least likely to chastise and berate the photographer. Still, even Autumn would probably need to be approached carefully about it. Even if she was nice -for a vanilla- and cool -for a vanilla- she was still just a vanilla. She was barely more likely to help Lyla than the likes of Vondra, but only barely. She considered for a second, then pulled the her pigtails out, letting the hair drop around her shoulders. She preferred the pig tails - Shiny seemed to, too - but long hair looked more "adult", grown-up and mature. That would probably be a better place to be bargaining from. I could say I had some cool photos of the pandas, she thought, walking towards the church. It wasn't even a lie; photos of epics were the kind of thing the authorities in the Dalles would like. That would be a good way to start talking about things. All I have to do is play it cool. Autumn was a total soft touch, a typical grown-up. She flashed a smile at the guards outside the church, turning her strategy over in her head as she was waved into the office. She even took a moment to straighten up her hoodie, to clean some of the scruff and dirt from of her camera. Cool and mature. Like a war photographer or something? Yeah, totally like that. I can do that. After a few minutes, she pushed her way into the office, grinning. "Hi miss Gla-" Wait, Autumn, I should totally call her Autumn, 'cause then we're peers.' "Hi Autumn! So, hey, I was wondering if I could- " In retrospect, she maybe should have checked if Autumn was alone before talking. In hindsight, she should have asked if Autumn was in a meeting. Looking back at this later, she would probably hit herself for not thinking about what to do if Autumn was talking to the likes of Vondra or Arsenal. It was a good thing the camera was looped around her neck; if it wasn't, she would have dropped it to the Church floor. Her jaw dropped, pupils dilating, and all thoughts rushed out of her head. Well, almost all. There was one which didn't, and she quickly gave voice to that one. "Holy calamity it's Vapour Snake." Her tone was flatter than it should have been, coming face to face with another epic in the space of so many hours.

@The Honor Spren @Oversleep Neat! Thanks! I... Feel I should offer my own in tribute, but I have none. Much sad.

Alternatively, heck out your local library. They probably have trade volumes of stuff in stock, and if they don't, you can probably order them in. Or, even more alternatively, there is a service, Marvel Unlimited. I believe it has a big back catalog of older comics, with a service fee of $10 a month. I've never used it though, so can't vouch for content.

@Claincy @Deliiiiiightful I've associated my online user names strongly with myself in the past... though oddly enough, I don't get that feeling with "Quiver". Maybe I was just young and impressionable

@The Honor Spren Any Web comic recommendations? I'm more or less up to date on the small handful I read..

Okay, so, my thesis: a lot of the problems at Marvel comes from the fact that they don't have a plan for their line these days. If you aren't familiar with comics, here's what I mean by that: Marvel publishes books featuring the X-Men, Spider-man, the Avengers and the Inhumans. That would be their line. But each of those books has its own series of books surrounding it; the X-Men have Uncanny, Astonishing, the solo Wolverine books. Spider-Man has Spider-Peter, Spider-Miles, and Spider-Gwen. The Inhumans have All New and Blackbolt. I'm simplifying the number of spheres involved to illustrate my point, but Daredevil, the Fantastic Four and so on would also exist as options. The point is, a comic line isn't really a singular universe. It's a universe made up of dozens of little universes, co-ordinated under five or six or seven different editorial offices, which the reader is then told #itsallconnected. The thing is.. I think at the moment, those individual universes are quite strong. But I notice that the line itself is less so, and I think that has a lot to do with direction. Jump back to the first Civil War, and we see the direction of the Marvel Universe being dominated by a specific choice. Readers can see the entire period from Avengers Disassembled to the end of Siege as a collective metanarrative of the Marvel Universe. Yes, at times it was contrived; Secret Invasion is an appalling waste of a good idea, while Dark Reign was a fun concept predicated on the entire Marvel citizen population being unbelievably stupid... But there was still a sense of clear purpose and meaning to these status quo and directions. It felt like books were being published to support the narrative of the universe. These days...I don't think that's the case. We have individually strong franchises, but isn't any direction for the line as a whole. I think Civil War II highlighted that; the ending was supposed to push a status quo called "Divided We Stand"...but less than a month after ut's published, we have Monsters Unleashed (where every hero is working together), and teasers for the Secret Empire event this Summer, showing all of the heroes working together. Marvel seems unwilling to commit to a major direction for it's universe. By contrast, the individual book lines are pretty strong. Regardless if how one feels about the idea, Hydra!Cap has resulted in Steve, Bucky and Sam's books co-ordinating to tell a massive story. The Spider-family continues to grow, with each book largely carving out it's own identities. Two of the weaker lines of Marvel these days are X-Men and Inhumans, largely because their current directions are so bland...and yet, Resurrexion is right around the corner to re-invigorate those franchises by pushing them in different directions. And; I'm not saying Marvel should only publish connected titles. It's current crop of stuff is strong.. which is why Civil War II flopped so hard. Instead of a compelling story shifting the moral centre of the Marvel Universe, we got a book which interrupted other books (which were doing well by spinning their own stories!) and ultimately produced a status quo which is receiving lip service at best, and being undone immediately at worst. There's a saying, one has to have a status quo before you can break the status quo. The fact is, Marvel doesn't have a status quo these days. Indeed, they don't seem to even want one.They couldn't even really commit to the idea they were pushing so hard last year of a "Universe Divided". Heck, before Civil War II had ended, we had the reformation of the Ultimates...despite that team being torn apart by different alliances in Civil War II. Rather than giving a cohesive spine to the universe, it feels like the big status quo shifting events are getting to the point where tie-in will acknowledge them...then undo them as quickly as possible so they can get back to telling their story. And I can't blame them. like I said, their books are great! I've heard fantastic things about the Ultimates! Yet, if the big cinematic blockbuster event has no consequences, no reason to exist...why on Earth should we care about them? By contrast... DC has a compelling universe spanning mystery. What is the Button, how did ten years go missing, and what does all this have to do with the Watchmen? Their universes are still self-contained; you don't need to be invested in the ongoing narrative to enjoy their books.But fir those -like me- who crave an ongoing metanarrative, this is great. Rebirth has marked a creative and tonal shift for the universe in a way that matters...and in a way that promises a big storyline is coming towards us. Rebirth forced the DC line to acknowledge it's history, move franchises forward (Teen Titans) and gave a tone for the books (with the arc word of "Hope"). Civil War II has...a generation divide, I guess, but not really?

That awkward moment when you have an observation to make about modern comic storytelling, and don't have the time to make it.  So...anyone who is interested, I will have a rambley comment to make about Marvel after work.

Okay, so. I started watching Dragonball Super at the end of the Future Trunks arc, where it grabbed attention with the whole Super Saiyan Blue fight at the end. Since then, it's run a bunch of... I suppose slice of life episodes would be the best way to describe them. The Z Fighters playing baseball is a thing I didn't realise I wanted until I had it. And they followed that up with Great Saiyaman Gohan yes. I was already kind of getting back into Dragonball Z thanks to Team Fourstar, but now I am all in and hyped for the Universe Survival arc.