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.

Weekend Update

Okay, so, my weekend. I did a lot of sitting around... and babysitting all day Saturday. I also got a very small chunk of the first chapter of 500 Miles, Hellfire 1 read... I also did cross-stitching while watching TV.

I finished the first two seasons of The Vampire Diaries and found out that Warehouse 13 is finally on Netflix. So I started watching that. It. Is. Awesome. Pete and Myka are such great partners... even if they do fight. But really, isn't it more fun when relationships start out that way? Artie amuses me, Leena is... interesting, and I absolutely love Claudia. I'm only six episodes in, but so far, I have not been right about any of the Artifacts.

While watching my lovely TV shows, I finished the cross-stitching and backstitching parts of my first ornament. I'm super excited. I may have a picture of it up later... not sure yet. I'll definitely show them off once the entire set is done.

And that... was my weekend. Somewhat fun, but ultimately exhausting. I slept until 1 for two days straight... so that's not exactly good. Tomorrow I'll be going to see Breaking Dawn Part 1 with my little sister, the Devil Child. Should be fun. I will have a review of that up tomorrow... and Wednesday at the latest.

Love ya, Jessie.

Against the Moon chapters 52-61

Taking a bit of a break from reviewing 500 Miles at the moment. Partially because of my cross-stitching project and partially because I said I'd review Against the Moon again when there were ten more chapters. The time has come, my friends, to speak of other things. Of werewolves, wizards, and my unending hatred for a little rat...

Against the Moon, chapters 52-61 by Stoplight Delight

     Okay, so maybe me having an unending hatred of Peter Pettigrew is a bit harsh... just a bit. I mean, at this point in the story, he's 12. Years away from betraying his friends and causing some of their deaths. But still, I find him quite annoying in these chapters. I will elaborate more on that later, though.

     When we last left our lovely young Marauders, or rather "the second year Gryffindor boys in the third dormitory" as Remus so eloquently puts it, they'd just found out that Remus is, indeed, a werewolf. And he'd almost killed himself in standing up to them the first time. Which was stupid, but there you are. Anyway... James and Sirius accept Remus back into their group with open arms... well... James has to think, but that was last section, wasn't it? Peter still has gigantic issues with Remus' being a werewolf. He still has a problem for seven of these ten chapters. And Remus is apparently mostly okay with this so long as Peter doesn't go blabbing. To his credit, he doesn't.

     Sirius is his boistrous, crazy self throughout these chapters. He's also quite sweet and protective of Remus. I'm still really disappointed that the pair aren't going to be a couple, eventually, in this universe... it just seems so natural. But they aren't, so I guess I'll just have to keep looking at those sweet protective moments and sigh dramatically... and giggle hysterically. James is his lovely self, wishing Remus luck with his next transformation and generally just being a very good friend. Oh, and he's now on the Quidditch team, isn't that marvelous?

     Sirius also spends a good chunk of chapter dead set on finding a cure for being a werewolf. Remus gets uncomfortable about it. James grumbles a bit, but goes along with it anyway. And Peter... Peter gets the book least likely to have anything terrible in it. I may have no mentioned that during that seventh chapter of this section, Peter apologizes to Remus and takes him back as a friend.

     The last two chapters focus on a little mischeif, because no Marauders story would be complete without it. Five Slytherins, including Mr. Severus Snape, invite James and Sirius for a midnight duel. Well... technically, it wasn't stated explicitly that there were to be five Slytherins, but we're a crafty bunch... and we cheat. The Slytherins' plan was to have five of them against just James and Sirius. But James and Sirius know better than that and so concoct a plan involving Remus and Peter hiding under the Invisibility Cloak. Chaos ensues in the corridor and the Marauders get away mostly scot-free... Remus had a bit of a bump...

     Now for the cliff-hanger. Oh yes, there's a cliff-hanger. I'm slightly annoyed by this. But exceited to see what happens. You see, it's Sirius' birthday and they boys have decided that instead of presents, Sirius is getting a prank. This prank is not detailed. It's also not completely finished by the end of chapter 61...

My Problem With Peter Pettigrew

     I did say I'd detail this later, and so here it goes. Peter's reaction to Remus being a werewolf is annoying. It's annoying when people do it in real life upon finding out that a friend is, say, gay. Peter is thoroughly disgusted and wants nothing to do with Remus. He has a talk with Dumbledore about things, but that doesn't help. In his mind, Remus is suddenly not the Remus he's always been just because he's a werewolf. He even goes so far as to strike a deal with Remus that they have nothing to do with each other unless they can help it. In the beginning, he's even frightened enough of Remus to balk at any accidental touches -- as if lycanthropy is contagious by touch.

     Now, I'm not saying I'm perfect, but I don't think that this is a reaction I can abide by. This, right here, is the first hint at what Peter later becomes. I kept wanting to slap him. Even though Madam Pomfrey sorts him out in the end, I know he's got that kind of prejudice in him, and it doesn't help.

     What I'm basically trying to say is, don't ever do this to anyone. It's stupid. If you've known the person for years and they decide to tell you they're gay or have some kind of disease, don't treat them like they're less than human. It's stupid. It's annoying. And, if you do it, you'll regret it. If you're on the receiving end of this kind of treatment, don't lash out. Just let the person be and either they'll come around or you'll be better off without them. Take a leaf out of Remus Lupin's book and keep being who you are.

Housekeeping

     The sub-header link for Against the Moon will take you to chapter 52, so if you haven't read the rest... there's a way to get to the beginning of the story from that page. Also, the next review for 500 Miles will be coming soon, I promise.

Love ya, Jessie.

It's a Vampire Thing

Okay so... I did not even get started on the Hellfire section of 500 Miles today... which you can go ahead and blame on The Vampire Diaries, and my little sister... who's the middle child in our family. She was watching TVD on Netflix yesterday morning and I decided to go ahead and get caught up with the stuff on there instead of watching Stargate: SG-1 or Buffy (which I watch with my other little sister, the youngest). Which then brings me to the topic of this blog post: Vampires.

I love Vampires. I've been in love with vampires since I was in highschool... probably even a bit before. My first real vampire book was Midnight Predator by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. After that, I devoured the rest of Amy's books and moved on to Anne Rice. I read Anne Rice's vamp books in a really odd order: first Queen of the Damned, then The Vampire Lestat, and then Interview With the Vampire... which I never did finish. Next on the list, I think, was this manga series called Vampire Game. And then I got into Laurell K. Hamilton's Anita Blake: Vampire Hunter series. And then there was Twilight, which I read before Twilight got really popular, before Eclipse came out. After that followed Angel, Buffy: The Vampire Slayer, Kim Harrison's stuff, Tanya Huff's stuff, and Karen Chance... among others, of course... *cough* The Vampire Diaries. *cough* I've seen the Underworld movies, the Blade movies, the Buffy: The Vampire Slayer movie, and a bunch of others that were honestly horrible. So there's my street-cred for what I'm about to talk about next: Types of Vampires.

Now, a lot of people have gigantic problems with Twilight vampires and the fact that they sparkle. This is not going to be a rant about how vampires should not sparkle. It's not going to be a rant about how awesome Twilight vampires are. It's not going to be anything having to do with bashing of any kind (except perhaps those who are stupid). If you were/are expecting any of these things, I'm going to ask that you leave. Now-ish. This is just me outlining a few similarities and differences between different types of vampires.

Nyeusigrube Vampires
     These vamps are written by Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. They were my first official vampires. They do not a)dust, b)die by sunlight, c)usually act like teenagers. These vampires make the most sense to me. They are also only one type of vampire within the universe of Nyeusigrube. there are two types, actually. And I lied, one type does to two of those three things I said they didn't. Those are Solar Vampires and they don't show up in Amy's books, because she finds them uninteresting. The Lunar Vampires show up in most of Amy's books. The first of which, by the way, pretty much starts out stating what bits of mythology are bunk within this universe. Bursting Into Flames In The Sunlight? Nope. Lacking a Reflection? Some of them... depends on how powerful they are. Killed By Staking? The main character of In The Forests Of The Night states:

"If someone hammered a stake through my heart I suppose I would die, but I do not play with humans, stakes, or mallets."

And that whole religious item thing? Bunk. Garlic? Well, their sense of smell is very, very good and garlic has a strong odor so... they don't techincally care.

     Are we seeing why Nyeusigrube vampires make sense now? They truly are the next rung up on the food chain. And they're powerful enough to take over a human mind. Hence, more awesome than your average, run of the mill vampire.

Anne Rice's Vampires

     So... the only way to tell if you've got yourself a vamp, at least at night, is to look at their fingernails? Really? Their fingernails look like glass? Seriously? So do mine with a good clear coat of nail polish. Their skin looks funny under flourescents? So does mine, and I'm human. They're compelled to sleep all day? Gee, that just sounds like a recipie for trouble... what if you can't get anywhere safe? You just collapse randomly? Really? That's crap. Sucks to be you.

     So... other than personality, the Anne Rice vamps don't have much going for them. The books themselves have tons of padding... but I kinda like them. But can someone tell me why Louis is still around? I mean really... he's so close to human it hurts. He might as well be dead. And he whines. All. The. Time. Someone stake him, please.

Buffyverse Vampires

     How to tell you have a vampire: Do they dress like they're not from this time period? Check. Do their faces go all "grr" (to quote Cordelia) when they're about to feed? Check. Do they back away from Crosses? Check. Do they go "poof" when you stake them? Check. Do they start to sizzle and then burn in sunlight? Check. And finally, do they have kick-ass fighting skills right out of the grave? Check. Oh good, you've got a Buffyverse vamp. Oh, and then there's that soulless thing... but how do you check for that?

     Well... not really that much extra to say about these guys. I love Spike, and Angel kind of grows on you. He did better in his own show. Not so much with the mooning over Buffy. Angelus was more fun, but there you are. Harmony... what to say about Harmony? She's delightfully weird and awesome at the same time. And then Drusilla! Oh God, Drusilla. She's the awesome kind of insane that's actually insane. I lied about that "not really that much extra" thing, by the way...

Twilight Saga Vampires

     This is the part where people are proably running away or scoffing. Good, I don't like those people anyway. I do, however, love the Twilight vamps. Not necessarily Edward Cullen, but it's really his family I like. Stephenie is really good at writing secondary characters, I'll give her that. Also, the books are a pretty quick read, which I like.

     How to tell you've got a vampire: Are they super pale? Check. Are their eyes changing color every time you see them? Are those eyes gold or scarlet or black or somewhere inbetween? Check. Do they sparkle in sunlight? Check. Is their skin cold and rock-solid? Check. Looks like you've got a vamp. Good for you. Don't go all fan-girl, it's annoying. Some of them will eat you. Did I mention the Volturi?

     The sparkling dilemma is the main thing that has people laughing at Twilight vamps. This annoys me. Stephenie Meyer has explained why it is that Twilight vamps sparkle somewhere on her website, I can't be bothered to look it up right now. Basically, Twilight vamps sparkle because their cells have crystalized in the venom that now replaces all the fluid in their bodies. The cells reflect/refract/whatever sunlight. Sunlight specifically. No idea why flourescents don't do it, but sunlight is special. It's why other vamps burst into flame. Personally, I like my vamps properly indestructable... or mostly indestructable anyway.

Vampire Kids

     On the whole half-human, half-vampire kid thing... Renesmee is a stupid name. Should have had that as the middle name and Carly as the first name. Also, it's been done before. They're called dhampir (no, I don't know how to spell that). It's from folklore. LOOK IT UP. Stephenie isn't the only author to have done vamps having kids before, either. Laurell K. Hamilton had it happen. Kim Harrison has some weird sort of born/living vampire that becomes a true vampire when it dies... Karen Chance has a whole series based around a dhampir. You're having a heart-attack about it? Look that the "actual science" of it.

     Specifically about Renesmee: Stephenie has stated that Edward's body apparently had some left over semen that got venom-ized or whatever. That's what impregnated Bella Cullen (she was married at that point). Not about Renesmee: Laurell K. Hamilton had this sort-of happen pretty much the same way. Said vamp had left-over semen in his body and was young enough that it hadn't died yet... or something. Anyway, he impregnated his wife. Tada, another technical dhampir.

     Oh, and don't go making small children into vampires. Claudia from Interview With the Vampire and Nikolas from Guilty Pleasures both give me the shivers. And then there are those other two from the Anita Blake novels... I can't remember their names. But their children. And creepy. The Volturi from The Twilight Saga outlawed them for a reason. And now I gotta wonder why so many child vamps are girls... hmm...

And I'm done ranting. I'm not leaving links this time, because I don't feel like looking them up tonight. But seriously, look up some of this stuff, if you're interested. It's all awesome so far as I'm concerned... except Interview With The Vampire, that's annoying and pants. I also just realized I didn't mention Dracula... I don't like Dracula. But you should read it. It's a good grounding in what vamps were originally supposed to be like...

Love ya, Jessie.

500 Miles, Complications 2

I'm back from the weekend, and hopefully I'll actually make sense as I type up my notes on this next section of 500 Miles chapters. I've been cross-stitching some ornaments for my little sister, so that's been taking up a lot of time in the last few days.

500 Miles, Complications 2 by Princess Alexandria

     This section's Christy does not have a nickname/codename, so she's just Christy. This version of Christy has an adverse reaction to having been taken over by Demise. She has a hard time coping initially and it does not help that Miss Astrid Bloom has decided to continue acting like a bitchy jealous girlfriend. As it turns out, Christy discovers that Demise has apparently left behind some sort of mental imprint, mainly expressed in the form of Psychology knowledge. Christy's perturbed by this and at the thought of what else Demise may have inadvertently left behind. Interesting little side note: Bright Eyes having problems with flying has carried over into Complications Christy. Well... it's more of a shared trait, but there you are.

     After Christy leaves Emma Frost and Astrid, Alexandria has sub-divided the chapters into time-line sections. So we're now at 9 months after New York. Michelle's being a right bitch to Christy. Did I mention how much I hate this woman? There's a small discussion on parallels between Nazi's and the Anti-Mutant movement. Michelle is revealed to be a bit of a bigot. BIG SURPRISE.

     1 year after New York: Christy finds Michelle and Michelle's lover in her bed. Michelle is summarily thrown out. A short time later, Christy calls Steven (one of Demise's tutor-ees) looking for Emma. The pair get talking about business and end up starting one together.

     6 years after New York: Nothing much happened at the two-year mark so we're just skipping over it here. The name of Christy, Steven, and this guy named Phil's business is revealed to be called Altered Realities. During this chunk of chapter, Emma and Christy seem to be invading each others' dreams. Christy uses "dream" Emma as a sounding board, since Emma just seems to be sitting around doing nothing. Marvel Universe time-line-wise, we're about the time Emma places herself in a coma to cope with losing her Hellions. Only, Christy doesn't know that. After one of their dream conversations, Christy is attacked by someone she fired and gets incredibly worried about it. The night of the attack, Emma reveals that she's waking up and Christy feels incredibly alone after that.

     7 years after New York: Christy has become famous due to an interview she gave. She and Emma are reunited at a conference, which was quite interesting. Christy starts to reveal information about Emma's life that she technically shouldn't have known. She and Emma explore this and the reason Christy retains some of Demise's knowledge. Emma had forgotten pretty much everything that went on in her head during her coma-time, and so gets that out of Christy's head. A few months after the conference... or was it weeks? ... Christy isinvited to visit Emma's school and gets to mean Generation X. This part's actually quite funny because Jubilee is trying to get information about Emma out of Christy. This plan, of course, dies a horribly funny death. Emma and Christy explore more about Demise's left-behind knowledge and how Emma's powers work in relation to Christy's.

     8 years after New York: Moira McTaggert dies and Sean Cassidy leaves Emma's school. Christy is invited to fill the gap he leaves and does. She and Emma later have a conversation about who gets to go to Mutant School and who doesn't. I quite liked this discussion because it always seems like those with basically useless powers get left out of the X-Men universe. Also, it brings to light that Charles Xavier may be poaching those with "useful" or "powerful" powers for the X-Men. It's not right and I very much hate it.

     Then, of course, we get a development in another Emma/Christy couple. It was sweet, but very protracted, which was cool.

Housekeeping

     Okay so... I had a look at the website stats over the weekend and I saw that there was something called a bounce-rate. I have no idea what that is, but if it is what I think it is, then Webs in being annoying. I've got a secondary blog-site on Blogger, which you can find HERE. It's basically this, without the rest of the website.

     This next hunk of chapters for 500 miles is... interesting. I haven't reread certain parts of it since... probably never. I did read them to begin with, but they make me somewhat uncomfortable. I'm going to have a go at rereading them this time, but it might take me longer than usual... just a warning.

     Last thing, remember that the links to the chapters reviewed and author's page are in the section headings.

Love ya, Jessie.

500 Miles, Complications 1

Okay, first off, I really, really love comments. I wish I had some comments. Like, here, on the actual blog. And yes, I'm begging, because I love you. Also, a big thank you to those who contacted me letting me know you read the long reviews. I love you more than everyone else... Joking... I'm joking... but seriously, thank you. Now on to the review!

500 Miles, Complications I by Princess Alexandria

     And we're back to following Demise around! Yay! This time, Demise lands in New York, but it's a New York around the time when Emma Frost is 18, in college, and anti-mutant hysteria is just starting up. Demise also lands in the body of her 21 year old counterpart, who is on vacation with her then-partner Michelle. Demise, needless to say, is not happy about this. Turns out, Michelle had cheated on and left Demise prior to Demise actually becoming Demise... if that makes any sense... Demise and Christy also have no contact with Emma and therefore have to bascially leave Michelle in order to find Emma.

     During the getting away from Michelle part and the finding Emma part, we get the internal turmoil Demise still feels over the way her relationship with Michelle went. We also get some more hints of Mystique's influence on Demise.

     After finding the teen-Emma, Demise has to sit around and recharge her powers. During which time, we get to see exactly how Demise would act when drugged... which is kind of funny, but mostly heartbreaking. While drunk and drugged, Demise divulges to the teenage-Emma just how much she loves and misses her Emma. And then there's the Emma character development! Well, not so much of development, really, but pre-Hellfire Club and whatnot. It's basically the beginnings of teacher-Emma. She's caring and holds her own in regards to taking care of the drunk and drugged Demise... which I loved.

     After the drinking and drugs incident, Demise ends up tutoring some of the students in Philosophy and realises how much she misses teaching. There's also a bit of time-travel-y stuff in how Demise has decided to write some notebooks for Complications-Christy and for Emma on their doubles lives. Things like avoiding the death of the Hellions and what Michelle ends up doing to Christy. Emma, of course, vows to not read hers, preferring to live her life the way she wants to live it -- showing off that unshakable stubbornness in the process.

     Near the end of our brief time with Demise, we get a bit of one of my favorite things about her: her protectiveness/vindictiveness. She plants drugs and gay porn on a guy who was harassing Emma. It's a small thing, but it's awesome to see. And again, something I completely forgot about until I was reading it. I thought the porn was a nice touch.

Astrid Bloom

     So, this post's unknown character-person is Miss Astrid Bloom, who we met in this chapter, but I didn't mention... partially because I don't like her and partially because she isn't really that important in the long-run... Oops ... that's kind of a spoiler...

     Anyway, Astrid was a college friend of Emma Frost's. She taught Emma the ins and outs of telepathy while at the same time trying to manipulate Emma. Astrid's main goal was to turn Emma against males and non-mutants... which, if you ask me, is a big pile of lesbian subtext. Emma basically gets a big hunk of Astrid's telepathic knowledge from being trapped, by Astrid, in Astrid's head. Good going there, chicka. Emma came out the more powerful of the two, especially with the gained-knowledge, and left Astrid comatose. See, not so much of a spoiler, after all.

Housekeeping

     Just a reminder that the links to the first chapter of the section, author's profile, and character Wiki page are the section headings. The color is not there for pretty-ness. Also, you may have noticed I went a bit emoticon crazy today... yeah... I'm in a mood.

Love ya, Jessie.

My Art Ideas Like To Run Away With Me

Okay so... I did not get the next section of 500 Miles read so... there's not a review today. It's actually something of a miracle I'm writing this at all. See, I had this idea to do a Gaia Avatar Art-ish thing. The damn thing's run away with me for tonight so... you'll also not be getting anything on vampires. (If you're wondering about that, go back a few posts and you'll figure it out)

So basically... Gaiaonline has released it's final Halloween Event Item which is called Gro-Gain MAX. Roughly translated: You get to pick one of the wolves from the event and either be that wolf or have it as a pet... at your leisure. I picked the Black/Shadow one (they renamed them for the item as opposed to the image pictures) and my little sister picked the Purple one. So I'm taking a picture of some wolves and doing a recolored thing of our Gaia wolves. And I'm not just grayscaling and recoloring... which is what I should have done, it would have been easier... I'm actually taking the brush tool and recoloring in the colors from the Gaia images. It takes forever. Which I knew when I started it due to one of my other ones. I can't remember whether or not I added that to the gallery, but if it's there, it's the Ninja Kitty Formal-based one... with a big wolf behind it. That one I redid from the Jacob wolf from The Twilight Saga: New Moon. He's so cute and fluffy.

So... I will try and get the chapters read so I can discuss them... after I finish the purple wolf...

Love ya, Jessie.

500 Miles, Ruins 2

Hey, look, I read chapters for you guys. I hope you appreciate it.

500 Miles, Ruins 2 by Princess Alexandria
     Okay so, this bit picks up directly after Prologue Christy has run off to Scythe. We get to know Bright Eyes-Christy (hence-forth referred to as Bright Eyes in order to negate confusion) through these next three chapters. We also follow the trial of Kevin Ford/Wither... not actually in detail, but it's an excuse to point out some things about Bright Eyes and about Emma and Scott's relationship.
     Kevin's trial, for those who don't know, happened because when Kevin's powers manifested, he accidently killed his father. In the main 616-universe, Kevin was taken by the FBI and the Hellions tried to go and break him out of "jail" or wherever they had him. In the Ruins universe, Kevin is taken by the FBI, leaving Emma very displeased and Scott basically telling her off for having a different opinion than he does. Scott's on the side of "we'll be more accepted once they see us obeying the law" and Emma's on the side of "that's bullshit, Humans are going to hate us no matter what we do and bringing a kid who couldn't control his power up on charges is crap." We're also introduced to Evangeline "Vange" Whedon, Kevin's attorney, who I'll be detailing a bit later.
     Bright Eyes learns about her powers during this trip to Georgia for Kevin's trial (which Scott declined to attend. I only mention this because it's important). With Emma's help, she discovers why she's been needing more "death energy" lately. Bright Eyes mutates slower than Prologue Christy or Not Myself Christy did, seeing as she didn't have a planet explode around her. So basically, we get some insight as to how Christy's powers would have developed more naturally.
     We also get a more natural/slower progression of the Emma/Christy relationship. I had fun reading this again, especially as Scott basically gets what should have been coming to him in the main universe. I got absolutely giddy rereading the bits that covered Scott's leaving the school, mainly because I'd forgotten about it. These chapters very much highlight how wrong Scott and Emma are for each other.
     There's also a point brought up, by Bright Eyes, about the students. This is touched upon in the main comics, but it's one of those things that sticks in my craw and makes me go: "Yup. That's actually something I would have to change." The point is that having the kids at Xavier's Institute on squads doesn't really make a lot of sense. If you're supposed to be a SCHOOL first and foremost, shouldn't you NOT be training the kids to be superheroes? The kids aren't going to have their squads outside of the school, so teaching them to rely on that squad is ridiculous. In my opinion, Xavier's Institute needs to adopt a more Hogwarts style of splitting kids up rather than the squad system.

Evangeline "Vange" Whedon
     And now to a new section that may or may not get continued... a profile section. If you're like me and not completely versed in who everyone in the Marvel Universe is, then you were probably in the dark about who this "Vange" person was. Looking her up on Wikipedia by the name "Vange" didn't help. However, later in the chapters, we find out her entire name, which made things a lot easier.
     Vange is one of those minor characters who kind of serves a greater purpose in the grand scheme of things. She's a lawyer and a member of the Mutant Rights Coalition who was fired from her job immediately upon being outed as a Mutant. Her power is to shapeshift into a gigantic red dragon upon coming into contact with blood... or voluntarily.
     Vange does not appear to have worked on Kevin's case in the main 616-universe, but did in the Ruins universe.

Housekeeping Stuff
     In the course of writing this blog post, especially when referring to Christy, I've decided that the Prologue Christy will not be referred to as "Demise" seeing as that is her codename and none of the other Christy's adopt "Demise" in 500 Miles. Probably should have figured that out sooner, but there you are. If I refer to Christy as Christy, I'm probably talking about all the different versions collectively... probably. And as usual, the section headings contain links to the fanfiction and author's pages... and Vange's Wiki page.

Love ya, Jessie.

PS: For those of you not reading the main blog, I've added a new Journal Post to my Gaiaonline Journal. Link on the main website.

500 Miles, Ruins 1... and Possibly some other stuff

500 Miles, Ruins 1 by Princess Alexandria

     The very first chunk of chapters for 500 Miles takes place in an alternate 616-universe. Timeline-wise, it's directly after, possibly during, when Xorn turns out to be Magneto who decides to destroy Manhattan on a whim. This means that Jean Grey/Summers is dead... again... and Emma Frost is in a relationship with Scott Summers.

     Things start off with Christy from the Prologue landing inside herself from this particular universe, who was on vacation. We get a display of just how twisted Christy can be and just how heroic when she fends off some Mutant-hating jerks and then saves Phobe Cuckoo's life. And then Christy wakes up in the X-Mansion's infirmary and has to explain to the X-Men who she is and why she's there. Predictably, this leads to lots of raised eyebrows and me disliking some people right off the bat. Christy takes a job-ish sort of position as Emma's Personal Assistant while recharging her "batteries" and figuring out how to separate from her alter-self. We end this section with Christy separating and calling Scythe into being and then leaving.

     My overall feeling I came away with after these chapters was Scott Summers hatred. He's soooo not right for Emma and she shouldn't even be trying to build a relationship with him. The note I jotted down goes like this: Scott really annoys me to begin with and his interruptions of telepathic converstaions does not help with that image. (End note) I also had problems with how he treated Emma, not just in the sense of having been with telepaths for most of his adult life, but also in how he just sort of decides to shirk in his responsibilities. Christy was right in thinking that, as co-headmaster, Scott should be doing some of the work instead of running the X-Men and standing around chatting.

     The next section of chapters: Ruins 2, will focus on Christy's alter-ego from the "Ruins" universe. That review will probably be more than just this summary and Scott-bashing... probably. But really, at this point, there's not much to say about Christy from the Prologue... who I will now be referring to as Prologue-Christy, to make things easier. She's secure in who she is and who she is isn't properly explained yet anyway... not much to comment on.

The Other Stuff Section!

I went to the Texas Renaissance Festival yesterday. I had loads of fun. I also got a new unicorn necklace/charm. And today I'm really sore from all the walking around and bag-holding. But that's all I've got for you today.

Love ya, Jessie.

500 Miles, Prologue Review

I may possibly have forgotten *cough - decided not to - cough* write an entry for yesterday. Thank you, Season Six of Buffy: The Vampire Slayer. I do enjoy being depressed watching you... but on the bright side, I did manage to re-read the Prologue of Princess Alexandria's 500 Miles... and the first batch of paragraphs of Ruins 1 (the actual first chapter), before I decided I was too restless to actually read more at that point in time. This conclusion was reached after I re-read the same paragraph three times and still couldn't get the jist of what was going on. I will try harder next time. Meanwhile... here's a review of the Prologue:

500 Miles, Prologue by Princess Alexandria
     It is very important that you go and read Not Myself before you begin this story. That's pretty much what the summary of 500 Miles states. The author's note, states that Princess Alexandria keeps Christy Taylor chained to her desk. I found this amusing for several reasons: 1) I'm not telling you until further into my review series of 500 Miles, and 2) I love Christy. I may have mentioned point 2 earlier during the Not Myself review.
     As well as reading Not Myself, you should also note before beginning this story that this version of Christy and Ms. Emma Frost are in a completely different universe than the Christy and Emma from Not Myself. I didn't actually realise this until I was a good way into the story my first time through. They do act awfully similar and so it's a bit confusing when Christy starts mentioning things that don't have anything to do with the previous story... 500 Miles is not a continuation of Not Myself.
     The Prologue is very well written, as is usual with Alexandria's stories. There is mention of Christy having named her portal-y whirlwind power, which she didn't do in Not Myself. I thought that calling it Scythe worked quite well. And that she refers to Scythe more as a living entity than an object is interesting. I mention this before anything else because, well, this chapter throws you directly into a chaotic situation after a nice, soft lead-in.
     The Prologue starts with Christy prematurely waking Emma up by thinking too loudly about how much she loves her. The scene is very cute and slightly amusing. We then cut to the intrepid pair going out to a little sea-side house for a little vacation. And that's when things get chaotic. While out for a walk, Christy and Emma get ambushed by assassins and Christy has to use Scythe to protect Emma and herself after Emma gets shot. At this point in the story, it was unclear as to why exactly Emma was the target of an assassination, but that'll be explained much later on in the story. But basically, Christy ends up getting pulled into Scythe and out of the universe she calls home.
     And there you have the premise of the story. Christy and her undying, unshakeable love for Emma Frost and her journey to get back to her Emma. It kind of reminds me of Daniel Jackson of Stargate SG-1 and his search for Sha're across a single universe... but that's something completely different so forget I typed that...

That's pretty much it from me today, I am going to be rereading 500 Miles as often as possible. Also, I'm going to the Texas Renaissance Festival this weekend, so there might be a weekend blog post about that... but don't hold me to it. As usual, links to the fanfiction and author's pages are in the header leading the review. For 500 Miles, I'll be linking to the first chapter of the section I've reviewed, to avoid any confusion...

Love ya, Jessie.

PS: For those of you who aren't using the Plieades website, I've added a couple of Gaiaonline Avatars to that Journal. Links on the Link Page of the Plieades website.

Universe Names

So I spent a good chunk of my day typing up writing stuff from last year. That's always kind of... meh... because things have changed in the world I'm writing in. The characters have moved on with their lives and/or decided to do something different than what they were doing. Or else, my mind's little dimensional window has moved on to a slightly different universe. Which then brings me to a question I was sort of thinking of yesterday and more so today: Why don't more authors have a name for the world in which their stories are set?

Even when I was new to writing, I had a name for the world in which I was writing. Back then it was Roteshwa (Row-tea-shwa) and now it's Kintaria. The only other authors I know who actually do this are Science Fiction authors, authors with some kind of crazy fantasy worlds, and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes. Everything else just kind of goes by what the series is called. Well, what if your world has multiple stories written in it? Like Karen Chance. She writes a series about Cassie Palmer and a series about Dorina Bassarab. The Wikipedia page has them listed as being into two different worlds/universes/whatever. However, the stories take place in one universe in different parts of the timeline and in different places within the universe. It's hard to reference the universe itself because Karen Chance hasn't named the universe.

I quite like having a name for the universes I'm talking about. I mean, I can talk about Anne McCaffery's Pern and the Pernese people and Pernese dragons. I can talk about Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' Nyeusigrube solar and lunar vampires, etc. The entire preternatural community in Nyeusigrube have a name, too: Nyeusi. Yay! I'd like to be able to do this naming thing more often so I don't have to keep writing out the author's names to refer to their universe. It would be especially helpful in terms of talking about different vampires.

That kind of devolved into a bit of a... rant-y thing, didn't it? Oops. But yeah, I think I'll just stop there for the night. Tomorrow: either the first review of 500 Miles or a disection of different types of vampire. Depends on my mood.

Love ya, Jessie.

Halloween Hijinks

Okay, stop me if you've heard this one. A nineteen year old and two twenty-two years olds go out trick-or-treating. By themselves. No kids in sight. Do they: A) freak out little asian ladies, B) get lectured by an older gentleman, or C) get extra candy from the people across the street?

Answer: All of the above.

Yeah, that was me, my little sister, and my best friend. We had fun, though. And forgot flashlights, which made things slightly creepy. But hey, I stress again, we had fun. We also made Butterbeer -- it really didn't need to have butter in it -- and watched Sweeny Todd.

It's also my birthday today so we got to watch me squeal and cuddle a new stuffed tiger from TY at midnight. Yes, I still cuddle new stuffed animals.

I had an awesome birthday. Got to stay up late, watch Puss In Boots, and have my favorite chicken alfredo for dinner. I also got a purple pillow pet unicorn. ^_^ My collection is now missing the mini-purple unicorn pillow pet. The unicorn's name is Gabriel after a character in Amelia Atwater-Rhodes' book Midnight Predator. I name my stuffed unicorns after vampires. I'll probably go post a list of the ones I have so far on the Lists page.

Love ya, Jessie.

A Grimm Review

Just finished watching the first episode of Grimm. Interesting. Not sure what to make of it yet. I think Nick's going to get kicked off the police force. His partner, Hank, is going to be brought in on the Grimm secret. Eddie... I'm not sure how I feel about him. He seems cowardly and... mmm... not sure I like him. The visuals were cool, reminded me of Constantine in their surrealness. My dad wondered while we were watching whether or not the trees and their moss were CGed. The villian of this episode, the other "Big Bad Wolf" was creepy and seemed to be a pushover. I really, really don't like the use of guns in my fantasy, thanks. Give me some Buffy style stakes, swords, and crossbows. If a gun can take down everything, it's no fun.

It's a shorter post tonight, and there might be one on the weekend despite my taking weekends off... maybe. Blame my gigantic lack of life on that. My day consisted of Stargate SG-1, Gaia, and listening to Podcasts. Oh, and there were wings involved. They were yummy. But anyway...

Love ya, Jessie.

This one made me cry

Despite the fact that Gaia's Halloween Event is still going strong and I should be hanging out in a Doctor Who related hang-out thread in the event... I've decided to take some time out to do a blog post and fanfiction review, just for you. I've also decided to leave off reviewing 500 Miles for now because it's sort of a bunch of story chunks all put together and it's super long... so I'm going to reread it and get back to you.

Hello, Darling, Welcome Home by Blackbirdox
     Yet another in a long line of Remus Lupin/Sirius Black stories I've been reviewing. So that's the first thing: if you don't like either the pairing or the homosexuality of it, go away. Second thing: Bring tissues because if you're anything like me (ie. really, really attached to the characters), you're going to need them. Third thing: I friggin love this fic and I wrote the most sappy review for it on fanfiction.net that is not going to be posted elsewhere... at least not by me...
     "Hello, Darling, Welcome Home" is a post Deathly Hallows fanfic focused on an afterlife of sorts. Expect spoilers for the rest of the Harry Potter books in which there's a mention of Remus and Sirius. I really enjoyed the stairs metaphor and I think it's widely underused as a method of "life flashing before your eyes" thing... if that makes any sense. I swear it did in my head. So Remus suddenly ends up in this afterlife place after he dies in the battle for Hogwarts and has to take a journey through his life. He feels a kind of tug toward something and so sets off up these stairs. The stairs lead to landings with doors that have pieces of his life/memories behind them.
     Throughout the story, Remus is, undoubtably, Remus. The characterization is dead on and I even bought the explanation for why he married Tonks... well part of why he married Tonks... and I never really liked that happening in the books, but I digress. The memories of Sirius we get made me smile and as Remus continues up the stairs, I started to dread what was coming. The scene where he remembers his time at Grimmauld Place with Sirius during Order of the Phoenix made me cry because of what came next.
     And finally, because the story must have an end, there's a bit of Sirius that turned the tears into a grin... but I won't say exactly what happens here. You really ought to go read it.

Random Updates

• A Conspiracy of Cartographers: Year Two has a new chapter out. I'm also taking a ten chapter break from reviewing that because I think I'll get bored reviewing it chapter-by-chapter.
• Against the Moon also has a few new chapters out, still on break from reviewing that.
• I find it quite interesting to "jump universes" while reading these... I went from reading ACoC to AtM today and, well, they're pretty much at the same place so... that was interesting.
• Here's a link to the Masquerade's Doctor Who thread: LINK Come join us!
• As always, links to the fanfiction reviewed and the author's page are in the section title.

Love ya, Jessie.

Gaia's Halloween 2

Gaia has been invaded by werewolves. Or... technically they're genetic experiments released or escaped from the infamous G-corp (makers of Grunnys, Gruckens, Gramsters, and Zombies)... but who cares? They've invaded Louie's mansion and we have a chance to join them or fight them... or both! Doing either/or apparently gets you alchemy ingredients! For yay! Except... Alchemy on Gaia kinda sucks.

Mostly, the problem with Alchemy is that the items are really expensive just to make. And the actual Marketplace value of the things conjured... kinda not worth it. That, and the items needed for Alchemy have apparently not been released in any way that you can get them properly... So, I don't do it unless they give you all the stuff for free.

But anyway... that's where we are for the Gaia Halloween Event so far. It's gone from fun to confusing... and I haven't been on since 4:30 so... they may have fixed it. I'm off to find out.

Love ya, Jessie.

Gaia's Halloween 1

Okay so, the next thing on my list to review is the "Not Myself" sequel of sorts "500 Miles." This is not happening tonight and it's not going to happen until at least after Halloween. You can thank Gaiaonline and their Halloween Event... which is also to blame for me not posting an entry yesterday.

This year, Gaians are apparently fearing for the worst because we've had zombies, aliens, dark elves, vampires, demi-gods, and ghosts for the past few years. So instead of an outright battle for something or over something, we're having a Masquerade Ball! This Ball is hosted by the vampire NPC Louie Von Helson at the Von Helson manor. What that means for users is: a Flash Space and a dedicated Masquerade Forum.

The Flash space is the foyer of the Von Helson Manor in which you as your avatar can walk around and/or hang out with your friends. After you "talk" to Louie some mask options appear at the bottom of the screen. You put on each mask in turn and find a little item. After collecting all the items, you go back to Louie and he gives you an Alchemy recipie. After using this recipie via the Bifrost, you get a little masquerade-y mask brooch. I think this would have been better if we could also use it as an actual mask, but since I'm not wearing it anyway... Also related to the Von Helson mansion, on the World Map, there is a little "Beast" sprite.  The Beast shows up randomly in the Flash Space as a shadow on the window when it thunders. It's also getting closer to the mansion.

The dedicated forum is basically a forum with a background. This means that the forum and related topics take a tad longer to load, but it's worth it to be in the running to get gifts from Anons and have fun conversations and speculations.

Also, there's trick-or-treating in the shops and Towns, as usual. The NPC shop keepers are each dressed up for the occasion. This year's favorites of mine are Agatha, Brennivin, Josie, and Old Man Logan. They're dressed up as Professor Minerva McGonagall from Harry Potter; Sherlock Holmes from BBC's Sherlock; Storm from the X-Men; and Mole from Atlantis.

So that's what I've been doing the last couple of days. Hope you guys drop by Gaia and join in the fun. Link to my profile and therefore the site on the Links page.

Love ya, Jessie.