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Oct. 9th, 2019 09:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
shadowkat1. So, this is weird -- the heat is on. Why is this weird? Well, according to the sign on the door -- everything is fixed and we passed the building inspection, but we have to wait two-three weeks for the building inspector to file the paperwork, in order for National Grid to put the gas back on.
I have radiator heat, which is fueled by gas. And the dryers in the laundry room don't work, nor is the gas back on for the oven or stove...so...
I'm wondering if they were given an okay for heat, but nothing else?
I'm admittedly a tad disappointed, since leaving it off -- meant I could turn off my air-conditioning finally. Now with the heat on -- the air conditioner will have to be turned back on.
2. Powers of X #6 by Hickman, RB Silva, and Pepe L.
Well, Marvel has completely and possibly irretrievably rebooted the X-men. (Although they did themselves a way out or a loophole, in case it doesn't work.)
The latest and final issue of the House of X/Powers of X limited series -- which rebooted the franchise and resurrected all the X-men characters that previous writers had killed off in a variety of ways much to the fans considerable annoyance. (Annoyance at killing them off, not resurrecting them). They even resurrected all of the villains. Except for Destiny, who is a precog, and that would be problematic. I have a feeling they won't resurrect Blind Fold for the same reason, assuming they even remember Blind Fold. Why is it problematic? Well, the game-changer or how the X-Universe was rebooted, along with the Marvel Universe for that matter -- is Moira McTaggart aka Moira X is a mutant with the mutant talent equivalent of rebooting a timeline (think Groundhog Day except more like Groundhog Timeline). She dies, gets reborn and the whole timeline reboots along with her. The previous timeline ceases to exist once she dies. And she takes with her the knowledge on how to change it. Because when she's reborn, she remembers everything from the previous timeline.
Confused? Yeah, so is everyone else. Join the club. I don't think the timeline rebooting thing works all that well -- but it is a Marvel comic so some hand waving is required. It's not like any physics majors are writing this.
Anyhow, it is an admittedly clever way of rebooting a long-running serial without really re-booting it or admitting that you are actually re-booting it.
Also, their explanation on how they've managed to resurrect everyone is an equally clever way of bringing back characters that the previous writers killed off, and the new ones want to play with. It also provides the writers with a means of killing them off and bringing them back -- and playing with the ethics of that, not to mention the consequences of having something like that in play.
The Moira X ret-con of Moira McTaggart, does make the character more interesting. She's apparently been manipulating Charles and Magneto for some time. And it's hinted in her diary that perhaps Onslaught was her fault -- in attempting to break Charles -- she unleashed something. And that Magneto's actions in Fatal Attractions were equally brought on by her tinkering. Leading to Moira retreating from the playing field for a long time. (She's been presumed dead for a very long time.)
This sort of tracks.
Considering 98% of this is exposition -- it's rather compelling exposition -- which is tough to pull off. Also there's a lot of future sub-plots and plot/character arcs buried in it -- that future writers can explore. Curious to see where it all leads.
The upcoming titles are certainly more interesting than the previous ones. And they appear to be rebooting the Kitty Pryde character almost completely, as well as a few others, like Betsy Braddock.
What was interesting about this twelve issue series is that it allows new readers an easy entry into the X-Universe, and rewards long-suffering fans for hanging in there.
3. American Queen by Sierre Simone -- this is a erotica contemporary romance novel that is rather loosely based on a modernized re-telling of the Arthurian Legends. Except Arthur, here Ash, is President of the US, Lancelot, here Embry Mowbry is Vice President, and Gwen, here Greer, is the soon to be First Lady. Add to this that it is a three-way romance. Everyone is in love/lust with each other, but none of them are very good at sharing -- so there's a lot of weird jealousy, political maneuvering, possessiveness, and power plays. In short, I'm not sure any of them are capable of unconditional real love -- and may well be confusing it with infatuation. But that's neither here nor there -- since an erotica romance, heavy on the BDSM.
It is consensual. And it does it better than some others out there. The writer can actually write.
I've mixed feelings about it. It's compelling, but there's a disturbing undercurrent of ingrained misogyny or sexism in the book -- that I've noticed in a lot of romance novels. It's very odd -- in the male written comic books, women are weirdly depicted far better than they are in the female written romance genre, you'd think it would be the opposite. It's not.
Of the three characters, Greer is the least interesting. And the other female characters are portrayed as domineering, sexy, villains. Greer is passive, submissive, insecure, and demur. While her best friend, Abilene, the villain, is sexually dominant, aggressive, in your face, sexy, and vibrant. Also Greer has no female friends to speak of.
The writer tries to off-set this by having Ash's foster mother and foster sister - African American and wonderful. But neither character is developed or really present in the novel for it to matter. It's tokenism, if that.
Granted, one thing that erotica novels aren't is politically correct. If anything they are the exact opposite -- it's sort of the whole point. Sexual fantasy is...well, not something one discusses with others for a reason. What turns us on sexually isn't always nice. It's called a guilty pleasure for a reason.
And, for the sex scenes not to be boring -- the writer has to get a bit creative.
So often in these books they build tension by teasing the sexual act but not getting there, instead the characters spank, whip, tease, and talk dirty. It's all about the dance. The titillation. Also...if the writer is any good they'll use that dance to further plot and character and this works better if there's tension.
Plain vanilla sex is boring to read. BDSM on the other hand...is not boring. It's a lot of things, but boring isn't really one of them. No wait, I take that back. It depends. After a while it is rather boring watching the characters do the same things.
I often feel in contemporary romance novels with a lot of sex of scenes -- that the writer is constantly hunting new interesting ways to hold their own interest, not to mention the readers. So the sex gets a bit outlandish in places. Because honestly, how interesting is it to read about two people banging each other?
That said, I do find the Arthurian references entertaining. Mainly because I am overly familiar with the Arthurian legend and it's many permutations. One reviewer on Good Reads or Amazon, can't remember which, thought that the Arthur Legend was a myth and not real. Eh. No it happened. Just not exactly as it has been related over the ages. Legends and myths are often based on real events that have over time via oral narrative been embellished and changed beyond recognition.
It also dates back to well before the Norman conquest. It's a Welsh story, and about one of the early Kings of Wales. Lancelot doesn't exist in the earliest tellings. I'm not sure Gwen does either. Both came from the Christian interpretation of the text. In the Mabinogi -- the Welsh Folk/Myth Stories, Arthur is the King who will come again.
In this story, the author follows the general TH White Once and Future King outline of the myth. The one that is the most well known, and has been retold in various film offerings. It's so close that I can't help but wonder if she plans on killing the main male lead -- ASH by the end of it. Arthur always dies at the end of the story, and is spirited away to the island at the center of the Lake. It's a tragedy.
I have radiator heat, which is fueled by gas. And the dryers in the laundry room don't work, nor is the gas back on for the oven or stove...so...
I'm wondering if they were given an okay for heat, but nothing else?
I'm admittedly a tad disappointed, since leaving it off -- meant I could turn off my air-conditioning finally. Now with the heat on -- the air conditioner will have to be turned back on.
2. Powers of X #6 by Hickman, RB Silva, and Pepe L.
Well, Marvel has completely and possibly irretrievably rebooted the X-men. (Although they did themselves a way out or a loophole, in case it doesn't work.)
The latest and final issue of the House of X/Powers of X limited series -- which rebooted the franchise and resurrected all the X-men characters that previous writers had killed off in a variety of ways much to the fans considerable annoyance. (Annoyance at killing them off, not resurrecting them). They even resurrected all of the villains. Except for Destiny, who is a precog, and that would be problematic. I have a feeling they won't resurrect Blind Fold for the same reason, assuming they even remember Blind Fold. Why is it problematic? Well, the game-changer or how the X-Universe was rebooted, along with the Marvel Universe for that matter -- is Moira McTaggart aka Moira X is a mutant with the mutant talent equivalent of rebooting a timeline (think Groundhog Day except more like Groundhog Timeline). She dies, gets reborn and the whole timeline reboots along with her. The previous timeline ceases to exist once she dies. And she takes with her the knowledge on how to change it. Because when she's reborn, she remembers everything from the previous timeline.
Confused? Yeah, so is everyone else. Join the club. I don't think the timeline rebooting thing works all that well -- but it is a Marvel comic so some hand waving is required. It's not like any physics majors are writing this.
Anyhow, it is an admittedly clever way of rebooting a long-running serial without really re-booting it or admitting that you are actually re-booting it.
Also, their explanation on how they've managed to resurrect everyone is an equally clever way of bringing back characters that the previous writers killed off, and the new ones want to play with. It also provides the writers with a means of killing them off and bringing them back -- and playing with the ethics of that, not to mention the consequences of having something like that in play.
The Moira X ret-con of Moira McTaggart, does make the character more interesting. She's apparently been manipulating Charles and Magneto for some time. And it's hinted in her diary that perhaps Onslaught was her fault -- in attempting to break Charles -- she unleashed something. And that Magneto's actions in Fatal Attractions were equally brought on by her tinkering. Leading to Moira retreating from the playing field for a long time. (She's been presumed dead for a very long time.)
This sort of tracks.
Considering 98% of this is exposition -- it's rather compelling exposition -- which is tough to pull off. Also there's a lot of future sub-plots and plot/character arcs buried in it -- that future writers can explore. Curious to see where it all leads.
The upcoming titles are certainly more interesting than the previous ones. And they appear to be rebooting the Kitty Pryde character almost completely, as well as a few others, like Betsy Braddock.
What was interesting about this twelve issue series is that it allows new readers an easy entry into the X-Universe, and rewards long-suffering fans for hanging in there.
3. American Queen by Sierre Simone -- this is a erotica contemporary romance novel that is rather loosely based on a modernized re-telling of the Arthurian Legends. Except Arthur, here Ash, is President of the US, Lancelot, here Embry Mowbry is Vice President, and Gwen, here Greer, is the soon to be First Lady. Add to this that it is a three-way romance. Everyone is in love/lust with each other, but none of them are very good at sharing -- so there's a lot of weird jealousy, political maneuvering, possessiveness, and power plays. In short, I'm not sure any of them are capable of unconditional real love -- and may well be confusing it with infatuation. But that's neither here nor there -- since an erotica romance, heavy on the BDSM.
It is consensual. And it does it better than some others out there. The writer can actually write.
I've mixed feelings about it. It's compelling, but there's a disturbing undercurrent of ingrained misogyny or sexism in the book -- that I've noticed in a lot of romance novels. It's very odd -- in the male written comic books, women are weirdly depicted far better than they are in the female written romance genre, you'd think it would be the opposite. It's not.
Of the three characters, Greer is the least interesting. And the other female characters are portrayed as domineering, sexy, villains. Greer is passive, submissive, insecure, and demur. While her best friend, Abilene, the villain, is sexually dominant, aggressive, in your face, sexy, and vibrant. Also Greer has no female friends to speak of.
The writer tries to off-set this by having Ash's foster mother and foster sister - African American and wonderful. But neither character is developed or really present in the novel for it to matter. It's tokenism, if that.
Granted, one thing that erotica novels aren't is politically correct. If anything they are the exact opposite -- it's sort of the whole point. Sexual fantasy is...well, not something one discusses with others for a reason. What turns us on sexually isn't always nice. It's called a guilty pleasure for a reason.
And, for the sex scenes not to be boring -- the writer has to get a bit creative.
So often in these books they build tension by teasing the sexual act but not getting there, instead the characters spank, whip, tease, and talk dirty. It's all about the dance. The titillation. Also...if the writer is any good they'll use that dance to further plot and character and this works better if there's tension.
Plain vanilla sex is boring to read. BDSM on the other hand...is not boring. It's a lot of things, but boring isn't really one of them. No wait, I take that back. It depends. After a while it is rather boring watching the characters do the same things.
I often feel in contemporary romance novels with a lot of sex of scenes -- that the writer is constantly hunting new interesting ways to hold their own interest, not to mention the readers. So the sex gets a bit outlandish in places. Because honestly, how interesting is it to read about two people banging each other?
That said, I do find the Arthurian references entertaining. Mainly because I am overly familiar with the Arthurian legend and it's many permutations. One reviewer on Good Reads or Amazon, can't remember which, thought that the Arthur Legend was a myth and not real. Eh. No it happened. Just not exactly as it has been related over the ages. Legends and myths are often based on real events that have over time via oral narrative been embellished and changed beyond recognition.
It also dates back to well before the Norman conquest. It's a Welsh story, and about one of the early Kings of Wales. Lancelot doesn't exist in the earliest tellings. I'm not sure Gwen does either. Both came from the Christian interpretation of the text. In the Mabinogi -- the Welsh Folk/Myth Stories, Arthur is the King who will come again.
In this story, the author follows the general TH White Once and Future King outline of the myth. The one that is the most well known, and has been retold in various film offerings. It's so close that I can't help but wonder if she plans on killing the main male lead -- ASH by the end of it. Arthur always dies at the end of the story, and is spirited away to the island at the center of the Lake. It's a tragedy.