500 Miles, Hellfire 1: Chapters 6-8 Review

Just got back from Target, with my sister. Got more stuff for my Mom... again. Everytime I go to Target, I find more stuff for my mom. And it's cheap. But there's a lot of it. There seems to be a bit of a problem here...

500 Miles, Hellfire 1: Chapters 6-8 by Princess Alexandria

     When we last left our perilous heroine, Demise was being rescued from the Hellfire Club by the X-Men. At this point, it's safe to say that Demise is completely disillusioned with Charles Xavier. Not only did he know full well Raven/Desmise was at the Hellfire Club, but he waited at least a week to send anyone to rescue her. I'd be disillusioned, too. In fact, I was. And this was before I'd read the Deadly Genesis trade, where the X-Men find out that Xavier's been messing with their heads for years.

     At some point during the last chapter chunk, Demise and Raven have figured out how to switch who's in control of Raven's body... which I'd forgotten. Demise discovers Raven's artistic talent and is a bit jealous.

     We get a little taste of Xavier erasing memories after Demise tells Kitty what happened to her and Raven. This is later revealed to have happened a lot. Apparently, Xavier's been erasing random bits from people's memories whenever he thinks Raven's told them too much. Demis confronts Xavier about what he did to Tessa and Raven, and also a bit about the memory wiping. This unsettled Xavier, but he doesn't stop being a manipulative bastard. He reminds me of religious nuts using God to back up their actions. Except, Xavier's only got his "grand plan" to back up his actions. This really, really pissed me off. It still pisses me off. I hate people who pervert their religion or ideals to get what they want.

     Demise strikes up a little conversation with Rogue, which is helped along a little by Destiny/Irene Adler's precognative powers. After shoving a box of pictures, sent by Sebastian Shaw, into Xavier's lap, Demise and Rogue slip off to Christmas dinner at Mystique and Irene's. Raven finally decides she's had enough of Xavier's nonsense and quits the X-Men... after giving Xavier a good yelling at. We get Raven's side of her and Tessa's past as she and Demise pick up various things from the hidey-hole Xavier had housed them in.

     Raven and Demise try a hit on Shaw, with help from Mystique and Irene. However, this fails miserably because Raven had forgotten that Tessa would be there. This then leads to some conspiring with Mystique and Irene over Raven leaving the X-Mension altogether. They succeed and go to live with Mystique and Irene for a while. This section started me off on my love-affair with Destiny. Alexandria paints her as such a strong, amusing, gentle woman. I really do love this portrayal and wish she hadn't died in the comics.

     There's an interesting discussion about Emma Frost and the paths Destiny sees for her. Demise wants Emma to have the best future possible, but that can't happen without the devastating death of the Hellions. It's really a no-win situation as far as both paths Destiny sees have to get worse before either can get better.

     Raven attempts to get Tessa to come with her into the special "witness protection" thingy Irene and Mystique are setting up for her. Tessa refuses, leaving Raven devastated. And then Demise leaves the very next day.

     These chapters are really an emotional roller coaster for both Raven and Demise. Demise gets more attached to Raven than to any of her other doubles. Raven leans more on Demise than is really advisable, especially as she knows Demise has to leave. Tessa's refusal to leave with Raven hits a nerve with Demise, especially since she seems to dedicated to bringing down Shaw Xavier's way. It's really heartbreaking to see that Xavier would purposefully leave someone with no one. And it is all Xavier's fault. Every bit. But I'm not going to rant about that...

Housekeeping

This was supposed to go up yesterday, but my working on my little sister's Christmas present distracted me. Until I get that done, I may be sporradic with my posts... and what I post about. As always, the link to the fanfiction and the author's page are in the mini-header.

Love ya, Jessie.

Things I've Discovered

I've decided to do this post earlier than usual today... mainly because I have a cold and my head feels like it's a bowling ball sitting on my shaky neck. Today I've got a picture of that cross-stiching project I've been working on. These two are finished, at least, the stitching part is done. They're not COMPLETELY finished.



I've also decided that I'm tired of hearing about the Presidential nominees for the Republican Party. They're all nut-jobs with annoying stances on things. I think they all secretly want to be Amish. However, they lack the actual balls to go be Amish and so fail completely.

Other uninteresting things I've discovered:

• Lifting heavy things with a head-cold is a bad plan
• Having someone try to a cajole you into eating when you're not hungry is annoying
• Reading fanfiction can, in fact, make you feel less crappy
• Paranoid and extremely worried about everything Remus Lupin is annoying
• Thin fleece hoodies are still super-warm
• Watching My Little Pony until 4 AM is a bad plan

Love ya, Jessie.

Quick Catch-Up

Okay so... I've been cross-stitching a lot. And yesterday I got it into my head to do some My Little Pony Avatar Art. I've got it all sketched out and I'm currently coloring it on my computer. This is taking up a lot more time than doing just one picture. Did I mention I was doing more than one? Yeah... most of my more regular Gaiaonline Avatars are getting Pony-fied.

While I've been cross-stitching, I've been watching Stargate SG-1. I've just started the sixth season and gotten to the episode with Jonas' Professor person. I've really been enjoying this season. I quite like Jonas, he's more fun than Daniel... and without the baggage. He's snarky enough to go up against Jack so... yeah... those bits are funny.

I'm off to go work on that Pony Art now.

Love ya, Jessie.

Just A Few Notes

Okay so, I just got done watching the new episode of Last Man Standing. I have to say, Do Not, Under Any Circumstances Make A Break-Up Video/Song. Just because Justin Timberlake does it, or idiotic girls obsessed with reality shows and boys do it, does NOT make it a good idea. Also, why are women on TV always incredibly obsessed with how big their asses are? I mean, come on, there's gotta be something better to get upset about.

On another note, Neopets' Games Master Challenge is over for another year. Brains won. We're awesome. If you don't so much care about that, don't worry, this is the end of this section.

Actually, that makes the end of the blog post for today. This is what happens after I get a bit burnt-out reading fanfiction. I'll get back on it, but I do need a break.

Love ya, Jessie.

500 Miles, Hellfire 1: Chapters 1-5 Review

I hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving and didn't get trampled on Black Friday. I was on the computer all day Thursday and then did yard work Friday, so no shopping for me. On the bright side, I started back into 500 Miles and here's what I have for you:

500 Miles, Hellfire 1 by Princess Alexandria

     We're back with Demise again and she ends up inside an X-Man named Raven. Raven was, at the point in which Demise ends up taking over, infiltrating the Hellfire Club... or attempting to, at any rate. She's caught by Emma Frost (at the time, The White Queen) and Tessa (known more recently in the Marvel Universe as Sage), Sebastian Shaw's Personal Assistant.

     I got a good way into the first chapter of Hellfire, rereading-wise, and stalled. I really, really tried to reread it, really I did. However, knowing what goes on during these chapters puts a gigantic dent in the rereading process. It's very well written, it's a good idea to read it the first time through -- which I did -- and it's a very good idea to keep an open mind while doing so.

     The Hellfire Club and what goes on behind the scenes are never really looked at too closely in the comics. Alexandria makes the not-so-nice leap (hop, actually) into the BDSM realm of Hellfire back-room dealings. Seeing as it is cannon within the 616-Universe that the Hellfire Club does have some strip-club-ness goings on (see the Deadly Genesis arc/trade to see what I'm talking about), the hop to full-blown S&M parties isn't a stretch by any means.

     that said, this is the part I'm skipping. Basically, Demise and Raven get thrown into this during the Hellfire Club's Christmas parties. At some point, Selene gets a hold of Demise and Raven, and Emma Frost is able to pull Demise out of Raven's mind but is unable to protect Raven like this. Raven is raped by Selene and Selene's cronies before the X-Men finally show up to rescue Raven. (How's that for not rereading this part?) And that calls an end to chapter 5.

     Also during this part, we find out about Raven and Tessa's time at Xavier's away from the other X-Men. They're trained as spies, kept away from the X-Men, and then used as leverage against each other. That's how Tessa explains her reasons for staying at the Hellfire Club despite all the things that were going on. Xavier keeping Raven, and eventually putting her on an X-Man team, were used as blackmail to keep Tessa in line.

     All of this is burned indelibly on my mind, probably why I can remember so much detail after all this time. These first five chapters of Hellfire had me cringing this time. I had to take frequent breaks from reading even the first chapter. Again, it's because of the material and not the actual writing. Seriously, if you're reading 500 Miles for the first time, read through these chapters. Keep in mind that these chapters are NOT meant for children. And hey, if you decide you can't take it, I've given you the chapter where it stops being all... S&M-y.

     Alexandria, because I know you'll read this:   I did like it the first time.

That's all I've got tonight. Sorry this is taking so long, but like I said in the review... well, you read it so... there you are.

Love ya, Jessie.

Nothing Much At All

Yeah so... today I did Cross-stitching and game playing. And I've been listening to The Enhanced Bat-Radia pretty much all day. Curse my need to catch-up on podcasts!

On the bright side, tomorrow is Thanksgiving. I should do something today that's Doctor Who related... since it's Doctor Who day and all. I don't know... But yeah... that was my day, it was boring. I probably shouldn't have posted at all today, but ya know, I love you, so here's the random post.

Love ya, Jessie.

Breaking Dawn Review

I went and saw Breaking Dawn today... this morning, actually. It's been over 12 hours since that time and... well... my brain's a bit scattered. Long story short, I loved it. All the important bits were there, although there could possibly have been a bit more explanation of Quil and Claire... Also, there will be spoilers and the review will jump around to the bits I can remember when I remember them. Sorry about that...

I thought the flash-forward of Renesmee through Jacob's Imprinting was... interesting. I wasn't expecting it... wasn't really expecting that big of a show-down between Jacob's pack and Sam's pack. Edward's lack of reaction to Jacob's Imprinting was also... odd. Although, I guess the news did kind of save all their lives so... that's something.

I miss all the stuff between Jacob and Rosalie. And I just realized this... although I know there's a difference between book universe and movie universe, the lack of teasing and whatnot is still a bit, I dunno, odd. The amount of time spent with Jake was okay, but not really what I was expecting. I guess Bella's POV was more important in movie reality.

I also miss the bonding with Seth. Don't get me wrong, there was some of that there, but there's really no relationship between Bella and Seth. This bothers me a bit because Seth was really painted as the sweet little puppy because of his interaction with Bella and not his pouting at Jake and Leah. Which brings me to another point: I'm really glad some of the stuff between Leah and Jacob stayed in. Which then brings tomind a question I had during the movie: Why are they running around in human form all the time? I mean, I guess there's budget to consider, but it was odd seeing Jake's pack do all that perimeter running in human form rather than as wolves.

I guess I'm really talking mostly about the end of the movie... probably because it was the part I was really interested in seeing. However, I did enjoy the wedding and the reception. Seeing the Denali clan was cool. My first thought about Carmen was that she was hot... and that's where my brain stopped. Also, the gold contacts clash a little with Tanya, Kate, and Irina's faces or coloring... I don't know. They seemed odd and out of place.

Renee was so awesome! I wasn't expecting to see her nearly as much as we got to. I love her and Charlie's reactions to the graduation cap artwork. "That's so creative!" vs "Or weird." that had me in stitches. Also, Charlie being used as a bit of comic relief... especially during the speech section... that was hilarious. He must have been drunk. Jessica must have been, too. That was an annoying dash of character I didn't need. She seemed so much more mature during the graduation in Eclipse... and then she goes back to shallow, really? What the hell?

A couple of final notes and then I'm done, I promise. Esme: Elizabeth Reaser finally got to play Mom for a bit. Yay! She looked so hurt when Leah refused the sandwich... Rosalie: there was something different about the way they did Nikki Reed's makeup or something because she looked a lot more creepy than she did in the last films. Jasper: Made me laugh several times with some of the things he said or the way he was standing. Alice: I LOVED that dress she wore for the wedding. And her direction of set-up... I giggled hysterically at it.

Well, that's it from me today. Love ya, Jessie.