Today’s Vibe
Category: Uncategorized
April 2025 Update
Here is the second of our quarterly JK Geekly updates. I don’t know if we’ll continue doing these. Let me know if you like to see them coming. I figured this would be a good way to let folks know what we’re up to and what we have planned.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Geekly has been chugging along with our new editor Season and new writer Skye. We’re staying a good couple of months out with our schedule. By the time you’re reading this, we’re probably working on summer posts. Yay!
Our regularly scheduled content being set this far in advance affords us to review the occasional TV show or movie. We’ve increased our weekly content.
Quizzes
We’ve been releasing color palette quizzes for the past few months. We hope you’re enjoying them. Here’s a link to the ones we’ve already produced. A new color palette quiz has been released each Thursday. Which ones are your favorite? Which franchises would you like to see get a color palette quiz?
We also reintroduced older quizzes that Geekly used to make and began posting alternating quizzes (among multiple-choice, matching, and timeline quiz types) every Tuesday. Since we have plenty of color palette quizzes (to match the number of the other quizzes), we’ll begin cycling through all four quiz types (to include color palettes) every Tuesday and Thursday. We’ll continue with this schedule until at least the next update in July. Let us know which quiz type you like best.
TV Show and Movie Reviews
Geekly has been keeping up with the weekly release of Disney+ and Max shows centered around the Marvel and DC Universe. We plan on covering some more movies, specifically ones that will release this summer. We can’t wait for Fantastic Four and Superman. Summer 2025 movies are looking great.
Let us know if there are any shows or movies you’d like for us to cover that we aren’t already covering.
Geekly News
We’re still figuring out how we want to present Geekly News. Should we go with a big headline with smaller stories throughout the week or weeks? Or should we come out with focused news stories for individual topics? We could always do a weekly Geekly News with no headline, too. In short, Geekly News is a work-in-progress.
New Weekly Posts
The Geekly Gang is filling out the rest of its weekly schedule with two different types of posts. We’ll start with the Whatcha Wednesday posts. Each Wednesday, the Geekly Gang will share which games they’ve played, shows/movies they’ve watched, books they’ve read, and even which songs made the previous month’s soundtrack. Feel free to join in the fun, because you’re part of the Geekly Gang, too.
Our other weekly post is inspired by Harper Ross, one of JK Geekly’s commenters. These posts will be called Geekly Casting and will be released one Friday each month, starting with April 18, 2025. Skye’s our resident movie geek, so she’ll share her ideas on who should play certain roles. Season likes to conduct research, so she’ll unearth casting rumors. And my contributions may vary. We’ll see. Again, you’re more than welcome to share who you think should play which role, Geekly Gang.
But Geekly Casting will only post on one Friday of each month. The rest of the Fridays will have various posts. We’ll make it up as we go for Potpourri Friday.
Fantasy and Mythological Creatures
We’ve struggled to get the fantasy and mythological creatures series off the ground. We figured this might be the case. It’s difficult to coordinate with more people, but we will produce this series whenever we get the chance.
Stop me if you’ve heard this before, but Geekly intends to release a series of game mechanism posts where we send game designers a questionnaire about specific game mechanisms. XD We do intend to do this and hopefully, the pitfalls we encountered with the fantasy and mythological creatures project will inform us on what to do with the board game mechanism series.
JK Geekly Discord Server
We started a JK Geekly Discord Server. We’ll try to be active on this server as much as possible. Discord could help with reaching out to potential content creators and you. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. Let us know what kind of posts you’d like to see. We could even hang out on the server and play games. Who knows?
Closing Thoughts
That’s all we have for now. We’ll have another one of these posts ready for July. Until then, stay safe, thank you for reading, and wherever you are, we hope you’re having a great day.
Harley Quinn: “Bottle My Heart” Review
Season’s Thoughts
“Bottle My Heart” took a turn this week. I have a hunch about the ending, but we’ll get to that later. Who’s ready for some “Brainiac: The Musical?”
“Bottle My Heart” didn’t take off into too many different subplots and focused on one story line. That was a nice change of pace since we’ve weaved in and out of side stories in previous episodes in Season 5. Since that’s the case, I have a feeling the rest of Season 5 will remain focused as the season finale ramps up.
Lena Luthor switching sides is always entertaining. She didn’t get her end of the deal from Brainiac, so she turned on him. I wasn’t sure how they were going to have the other characters find out about Brainiac, but this was fun. I hope Lena’s true colors stay out for the remainder of Harley Quinn Season 5.
Despite the campiness of “Brainiac: The Musical,” it covered loss. Harley Quinn has covered loss in the past with the death of Mr. Freeze. Frank passed at the end of “Bottle My Heart,” which hit differently than Mr. Freeze’s death. We’ve been with Frank since “‘Til Death Do Us Part” back in Season 1. I’ll admit, some tears welled up when I watched this scene.
On to my hunch. I’m pretty sure Brainiac poisoned Frank in some capacity. At the end of “Bottle My Heart,” Brainiac says, “Now you know what it feels like.” I’m not sure if he poisoned Frank to get at Ivy, Harley, or both of them. He seems more fixated on Harley. Maybe we’ll get some answers next week.
One last question: Did you remember your hemorrhoid cream?
Kyra’s Take
I like how Harley Quinn tied up loose ends last week. The creative team abandoned the Gotham City Sirens storyline and gave that storyline closure, so they can concentrate on Brainiac this week and going forward. I agree with Season that Harley Quinn will (and should) focus on this singular story, with maybe a side story here and there (we might get at least one more Shaun the Shark sighting), for the remaining four episodes.
I don’t know how Alan Tudyk does it. He voices Clayface, portraying Brainiac and singing in a musical with his character’s usual flourishes. Ko–Kooooh! Awesome!
Lena Luthor always looks out for herself. Harley, Ivy, and the gang’s desires match hers for now. I wonder how much Lena regrets telling the gang about Brainiac’s plan to bottle Metropolis. She hopes they will write an expose about Brainiac and alert Metropolis’s citizens of their impending doom. She says as much to Poison Ivy as they watch from box theater seats, but as Ivy says, “This (a musical) is what they came up with.” I like Lena’s jabs at Harley’s costume choice. She would never wear that tacky blazer.
The musical has an effect, but it’s not the one the gang planned. Metropolis citizens sympathize with Brainiac’s story. To be fair, Brainiac and Mr. Freeze’s backstories parallel and both are tragic. Brainiac lost his family. His only tether to his past is Koko, but Koko is long gone. Brainiac: The Musical opens his eyes to this loss, which is heart-breaking, and Brainiac (presumably) poisons Frank. This won’t be the end of Brainiac’s terror.
Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “If This Be My Destiny…” Review
Season’s Thoughts
We’ve come full circle in the season finale of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. I thought we were building up to a Green Goblin debut, but I was pleasantly surprised.
The entirety of Season 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man felt like a pseudo-rendition of the Hero’s Journey. We started with Venom and ended with Venom. Granted, the characters are in different stages of growth now than they were at the beginning of Season 1, but things are calming down while they set up Season 2 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man. It’s debatable how big a role Venom will play in Season 2. I’m guessing we’ll see more Venom given the setup at the end of “If This Be My Destiny…”
Since we didn’t see Green Goblin in Season 1, I suspect we’ll see him in Season 2 now that Norman has Spider-Man’s DNA. We may even see Chameleon in Season 2. While Osborn didn’t go full Green Goblin on us this time, he let his destructive ambition with the space door slip through the cracks.
One last thing I want to touch on is Dr. Strange. His making an appearance and time traveling with Spider-Man makes Season 1 of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man feel like a time loop. Peter’s own DNA was used in creating Spider-Man. Freaky.
Skye’s Take
These folks really know how to end a season. Going off what Season mentioned, this episode made the season feel much more satisfying. While I hadn’t thought of it as a “Hero’s Journey” before, I absolutely saw it as its own self-contained story. Everything coalesces in this episode which makes the wait feel earned.
Of course, my favorite detail in this episode was how it tied back to the first. I imagine most people who saw this had similar thoughts. What I liked about it was that it proved that this story has been carefully constructed since episode one. As an unassuming viewer, I didn’t know what plans the writers had in mind, but it’s obvious now they know what they’re doing. Kudos!
Also, my inner fangirl went crazy seeing those last-minute developments at the end of the episode. I could list them here, but I won’t. There’s just too many of them. Given what they showed us, I can’t wait for Season 2’s premiere. Sure, I still have small issues here and there with some aspects of the writing, but I think focusing on them is doing the show a disservice.
It’s safe to say that Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has strung me up in a web of childhood nostalgia. Can’t wait to see y’all next time!
Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, follow this link for episodes 9 and 10’s Secrets (Easter Eggs).
Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man: “Hero or Menace” Review
Season’s Thoughts
Well, we certainly have a lot to unpack in Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man’s “Hero or Menace.” Will Lonnie embrace his life of crime after seemingly taking over the 110? Will Spider-Man’s DNA be used against him? Highly likely. Let’s swing into “Hero or Menace.”
Who knew Big Donovan was such a coward? He seemed fine with taking other people’s lives in one way or another but, when it came to his own, he turned tail and ran. I thought this was done rather well since you never know how somebody’s going to behave when their life is in jeopardy. I’m not sure if Lonnie will become an anti-hero or a straight up villain. I’m leaning toward anti-hero, but that could change.
Nico and Peter making up was a sweet moment. I hope we get to see some spellcasting in the coming episodes from Nico. I feel like she’d fit right in with Spider-Man’s crime fighting. The pacing for Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man has been consistent, so we may see more of a focus on Nico in Season 2.
Norman visiting Otto in jail to gloat was gold. I know their feud is serious and is affecting people’s lives, but this encounter was comedic for me. I’m anticipated full-on Green Goblin in “If This Be My Destiny…” That sinister cackle Norman gave at the end of “Hero or Menace” is very telling.
Skye’s Take
Alright! We have solid action, relatable characters, big-name villains, and a compelling story. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man is coming along well. By this point, the animation has grown on me. That and the frequent build-up for future villains.
In the case of “Hero or Menace,” I was mostly surprised with how Lonnie’s character progressed. At this point, it’s nice to see that he still has enough morality in him to help Spider-Man take down Gargan. However, I’m in no way holding my breath that it’ll stay this way. I’m actually hoping that Lonnie will become full-fledged Tombstone because that would create more complexity for his and Peter’s relationship. Don’t get me wrong, I’m sure I’ll still cry when that happens. If you can’t tell, Lonnie’s still my favorite.
That aside, there were a couple standard things in this episode. Not bad necessarily, just standard. They showed Peter and Nico make-up and Spider-Man almost killing Gargan. I think the Peter/Nico thing made sense and fit well in the show. At the same time, it’s a standard friend breakup you know isn’t going to last. Peter and Nico are still cute, but it’s a commonly used trope.
Then there’s the Spider-Man/Gargan battle. I have few issues with this fight. It’s well laid out, tense, and gets you invested in the action. The only thing that’s standard about it is how it ends. Spider-Man has the opportunity to kill Gargan, but Lonnie talks him out of it. While this ties into the struggles we’ve seen Peter go through in previous episodes, the “what it means to be a hero” trope has been done, especially with Spider-Man.
In fairness, this episode got me excited. After seeing it, I can’t wait to dive into the next episode. Stick around and see our review drop at 11:00am.
Thank you for reading. If you’d like to dive deeper into Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, follow this link for episodes 9 and 10’s Secrets (Easter Eggs).
Most Interesting 2025 MCU Project
Moving Today’s Post to Christmas
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. We’re moving today’s post to Wednesday, Christmas Day. We hope to have another Skye sighting. Fingers crossed.
Happy Early Christmas! Yay!
Today’s Post Is Moving to Thanksgiving
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here. Today’s post will be moving to Thanksgiving.
We’ll be doing something a little different with Thursday’s post. I’m going to rank each of the ten Thanksgiving Friends episodes. I hope you enjoy it.
We’ll see you in a few days. And wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hulk Hate Puny Pencil!!!
Way Overdue Update
Hey, hey, folks! Long time, no upload. I’m Kyra Kyle, and JK Geekly has returned.
A lot has happened since we last updated this website. Some events spanned the globe like the pandemic and the ensuing lockdown. Glad that’s over.
I had a few personal events occur. I’ve been diagnosed as autistic and ADHD. I didn’t know one could have both, but I’m an AuDHDer. Is that how I spell it? The two don’t always play well with each other. I attended the Origins Game Fair last year and was alternately over and under stimulated. Meltdowns are fun. Other times, the two play too well with each other. I paced a trail into the carpet. It’s okay; we needed new carpet.
Pacing aided me to finish writing a novel or two. I’m pitching my first novel, Crooked as a Dogwood, to agents. I’ve gotten further than I’ve ever gone before with this process, so that’s great. I’m unsure if it’ll get picked up but that hasn’t stopped me from editing the next one and writing the one after that. Just keep writing. Just keep writing. Autism loves the routine; ADHD wants some strange. So, I’ll pace in between stories.
Speaking of stories, my short stories and poems have been published in several journals since the last update. I’ll have to look back and see which ones were published in which journals over these past several years. I’m fighting the urge to backtrack these past few years. No. I’ll do it later. Ack! I’m so bad at making shameless promotions for my work. Consider this a generic, hopefully modified soon plug.
On a somber note, my mom passed away last year. I’m still processing the loss over a year later, but I’ll do something in her memory, perhaps a top five tabletop games that she liked to play on her birthday in November. Or a list of games that I play that remind me of her. There may be at least a few games that have been released around or since her passing that Mom would’ve enjoyed.
Mom also liked that I design tabletop games, and it turns out that I’m also pitching multiple games. I’m less familiar with this medium’s pitch process, but I’ll learn. One company has already expressed interest in Spill the Beans, but as of this post, I have yet to sign a contract, so I’m still pitching until a deal is reached. Here’s an initial Spill the Beans sell sheet.
And here’s the sell sheet for a second game I’m pitching to board game companies, Whistlestop Pets.
Whistlestop Pets factors into one of the books I’m working on as well. There may be some crossover possibilities.
I have several other projects (both game designs and writing) that aren’t as far along or I’m not at a stage where I’m comfortable talking about them here, but I’ll keep you updated. Hopefully.
And that brings me to the last point: What will happen to JK Geekly? In short, I don’t know. The site can go in many directions. I have one article I want to upload this November (love you, Mom), but aside from that I don’t know. I’ll probably try several things. If anyone has any suggestions, leave them in the comments.
I hope that wherever you are, you’re having a great day.
~ Kyra
jkgeekly.com 