Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here for a second round of a Daredevil: Born Again review/reaction. This post will focus on the second season’s third episode, “The Scales and the Sword.” It played out exactly how I thought it would. If you didn’t catch my thought on “Shoot the Moon,” here’s a link to the previous episode’s reaction. While some may say that an episode playing out exactly as someone believed it would is not a good thing, it works in the case of “The Scales and the Sword.” But this fact may have played a role in Daredevil: Born Again’s second and third episodes releasing the same day. They’re two halves of the same episode.
Seriously, I got the sense that Disney/Marvel ended up with an hour and a half to two-hour episode and decided to cut it into two, roughly forty-five-minute episodes. Angela dons White Tiger’s amulet and helps Daredevil escape his infiltration of Red Hook. We even get a trial scene with Duquesne (Swordsman) that goes as well as you’d expect. All of this I predicted. But again, I don’t think this is a bad thing. It proves that Daredevil: Born Again is building toward something. Many of the major plot points have yet to be revealed. And I’m certain we’ll get plenty of twists and turns before the second season’s climax.
I said it before, and I’ll say it again, Heather Glenn serves as a fantastic secondary antagonist to Daredevil. She has a haunting history in the comic books. I won’t spoil that here, but trust me, Daredevil: Born Again could’ve gone a lot darker with her storyline. It still could. I like how she navigates her trauma at the hands of Muse. It makes her sympathetic. She believes she’s doing the right thing. Her scenes around Duquesne trial are great. I loved the quick rundown we got with Heather and Buck at the ball. We may have even gotten a hint that Blake will become The Rose. Buck and Heather could be an interesting couple.
I don’t have much to say beyond what I did with the previous episode’s (“Shoot the Moon”) reaction. It was a joy to watch Daredevil use his powers during the Red Hook infiltration, and I was shocked by how satisfying it was to watch Duquesne fight alongside the Man Without Fear. “Shoot the Moon” could stand on its own as an episode. I don’t believe “The Scales and the Sword” could’ve done the same. Disney/Marvel made the right decision to release both episodes on the same day. If we had gotten “The Scales and the Sword” by itself next week, we might’ve felt a little shortchanged. I’m glad Daredevil: Born Again tied up its early loose ends with this episode, and I hope this frees up the next episode to deliver a few twists.
That’s all I have for my reaction to “The Scales and the Sword.” I did watch the episode twice like I did the previous one, but there isn’t as much to discuss. “The Scales and the Sword” serves as an enjoyable second half to the last episode. But those are my opinions. What do you think? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Saturday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another Daredevil: Born Again reaction/review post. Daredevil: Born Again released two episodes this week, so we’ll have a reaction for the next episode, “The Scales & the Sword,” later today. I’m writing this reaction/review of “Shoot the Moon” after watching the episode twice. I like most of the developments in this episode, but Daredevil: Born Again also continues its penchant for adding more story threads and characters we need to follow. Before long, I may need a roadmap.
Angela del Toro, niece of Hector Ayala (White Tiger) and definitely the next White Tiger, is reintroduced in this episode. I don’t mind having another White Tiger this quickly. Several characters have donned the White Tiger mantle. I like the story centered around del Toro. It gives ICE in Minnesota vibes. Daredevil: Born Again, Season Two may not have shot these scenes as an homage to ICE in Minnesota, but one can see parallels. I’m down for it. My issue from last week stands. Daredevil: Born Again, Season Two has a massive cast. It does a lot of things great, but I don’t know where to focus. I don’t even know if the show knows to place its focus.
The massive cast was my rant from the previous episode. I don’t know if I mentioned enough of the previous episode’s strengths. I do like how Kirsten McDuffie gets roped into Angela’s superhero origin. McDuffie already fights the legal battles for vigilantes. She’s going to war for vigilantes in the courtroom. I can see her helping Angela as the new White Tiger outside the courtroom. This could mirror Foggy and Matt’s relationship way back in the original Netflix Daredevil. I’m all for that. And it’s confirmed. BB Urich is behind the Mayor Fisk smear campaign, and she’s the one dressing up as Kingpin. I think I called that last week. If I didn’t, I certainly thought BB was behind the Fisk mask. Honestly, the reveal wasn’t that big of a shock, so it’s best that it occurred so soon in the season. But the scene between BB and Deputy Mayor Daniel Blake was fantastic.
I liked Daniel Blake’s portrayal from last season. We lost him in the second season’s first episode, but “Shoot the Moon” highlights why Blake is a dynamic character. Michael Gandolfini shows unlimited range in this episode. He switches from affable to terrifying within the same scene. He’s so good in this role. I don’t care if he is or isn’t Wilson Fisk’s son, Richard Fisk, also known as the supervillain The Rose. There are so many great performances on the Wilson Fisk side of the aisle. Sheila Rivera stands on the precipice of learning who Mayor Kingpin is and watching her navigate which path to take is mesmerizing. Vanessa and Wilson Fisk share several heartfelt moments in “Shoot the Moon.” If they weren’t murderers, you’d swoon.
And “Shoot the Moon” brings back Benjamin “Dex” Poindexter into the fold. It’s fun watching Wilson Bethel’s Bullseye get to work. There are so many delicious layered plot threads introduced in Daredevil: Born Again so far. Bullseye takes down the anti-vigilante task force (AVTF). This obviously hurts Fisk’s AVTF and authority. But it doesn’t do Matt Murdock any favors, because Fisk can blame most of the deaths on Bullseye working alongside Daredevil. And I like how Fisk sends NYC citizens after Murdock because he’s a hero, while siccing his AVTF after Daredevil. The only thing I didn’t care for was Matt explaining what’s happening to Karen because whoever wrote the script didn’t trust the audience would pick up on Fisk playing both sides. This was Kingpin acting like Kingpin. There’s a reason we love the big guy. Vincent D’Onofrio is brilliant.
And that brings me back to Venessa and Wilson, and I’ll add Matt and Karen. I like the parallels between these two couples. There’s a reason why the Heather Glenn/Matt Murdock relationship felt like it would be short-lived. The two didn’t have chemistry. Matt Murdock and Karen Page’s relationship is the one that could rival Venessa and Wilson’s, and it’s great to see them together in Daredevil: Born Again. But I do like Heather Glenn as a secondary antagonist. The Vigilante Trials should play a huge role in Daredevil: Born Again’s Second Season. I’m watching these episodes one at a time, so I may contradict myself in the next post. In fact, I’m going to make some predictions before I watch the next episode, “The Scales & the Sword.”
Sword makes me wonder if the Swordsman will get involved. We may see Duquesne, but I think we’re more likely to see him in court, the aforementioned Vigilante Trials, because Scales and the Sword is also the symbol for justice. Red Hook was built up in this episode, so we’ll see Daredevil attempt to infiltrate the facility. And there’s an outside chance del Toro will don the White Tiger amulet. Most likely, she won’t wear an outfit…yet.
I may have focused a lot on the first episode’s shortcomings, but I do like Daredevil: Born Again’s, Second Season. There are a lot of interesting characters and plotlines. I just hope we get some satisfying payoffs. But what do you think? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang. Kyra Kyle here. Today, our writers share the games (both video games and board games) they’ve been playing over the past month. Feel free to add which games you’ve been playing this past month. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll kick off this post with the games I’ve been playing this past month.
Kyra’s Video Games
My first entry is the first of two Monster Hunter games. Woah! Monster Hunter Wilds follows in Monster Hunter World’s footsteps. Ironically, we covered the release of Monster Hunter Wilds a little over one year before I picked up a copy on the PlayStation 5. Monster Hunter Wilds gives the Monster Hunter World formula some much-needed updates. Mounts are a great addition; we saw them in Monster Hunter Rise. I like that one can harvest things on one’s mount, and the grapple comes in handy. The load times and the ability to ready up for a mission from almost anywhere are fantastic quality of life upgrades over Monster Hunter World. Objectively, Monster Hunter Wilds is the better game. But there are two things I wish Monster Hunter Wilds retained from Monster Hunter World: scale and research.
Simply put, Monster Hunter World feels larger than Monster Hunter Wilds. Having finished Monster Hunter Wilds’ main story, I found monsters segregated by size. This means monsters will fight each other for territory because they’ll be of similar size. This is a good thing. I don’t know how many times I waited for another monster to damage the monster I’m hunting, and then swoop in for the final blows. But I also liked how smaller monsters will run away from larger ones. This gave Monster Hunter World a sense of scale. A pukei-pukei high-tailing it from an anjanath made the anjanath feel bigger and more imposing. Sure, this made hunting a pukei-pukei more difficult, but I didn’t mind. It made World’s monster feel more alive. Without dissimilar-sized monsters in the same area, I lost sight of a monster’s size.
Sure, Monster Hunter Wilds has some massive monsters. I judged that from the environment. That boulder looks a lot smaller. That must be a massive monster. Still, I’d trade the occasional small monster getting away for a more cohesive biome.
And then, there’s research. I understand why Monster Hunter Wilds mostly got rid of research. It got tedious. Finding monster mucous in a biome and learning that a specific monster marked its territory with its mucous was awesome the first time I heard it. But it loses its luster after the hundredth time collecting mucous. Monster Hunter Wilds could’ve toned down the amount of research one needed to conduct. I liked the idea of my character as a field zoologist. Or would they be monstologists? Regardless of those two minor shortcomings, I enjoyed Monster Hunter Wilds.
The story wasn’t that good, but no one plays a Monster Hunter game for its story. Exploring the world is as fun as ever. I can’t wait to dive into the post-game and any new DLC. Bring it on!
You know how I just said, no one plays a Monster Hunter game for its story? The same can be said for Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. But I think I found where all Monster Hunter World’s research went. But Monster Hunter Stories may be the better title for monster research. Monster Hunter Stories 3 is the first game in the series I’ve played. From what I’ve heard from Season, Monster Hunter Stories 3 added quality of life updates just like Monster Hunter Wilds did to the mainline series. I’ll leave those points for Season; I’m sure she’ll talk about Monster Hunter Stories 3. But I’ve been enjoying Monster Hunter Stories 3: Twisted Reflection. I love restoring biomes.
Yes. Monster Hunter Stories 3 features invasive monsters, disrupting the flow of each of the game’s biomes. Players are tasked with restoring each biome to its original balance. This includes researching monsters and learning their moves. Speed, Power, and Technique Attacks play out like a Rock-Paper-Scissors style of combat. Add this to an additional layer of elemental type (which also plays out like Rock-Paper-Scissors), and Monster Hunter Stories 3 prompts players to collect ’em all. You’ll need monsters with a Fire, Water, or Lightning (and others) element and each of the three attack types. This dual-layered game of Rock-Paper-Scissors adds plenty of complexity. And it’s fun collecting eggs and watching them hatch.
Most of the popular monsters in the Monster Hunter series make an appearance in Monster Hunter Stories 3. Heck, you begin the game with a Rathalos. The story overview (first paragraph in this write-up) mentions Twin Rathalos, and I’m certain the other Rathalos factors into Monster Hunter Stories 3’s storyline. Again, I couldn’t care less about the story. The voice acting is over-the-top. Characters sport the JRPG-styled mannerisms. And the ultimate attacks (for each of the monsters) play out like a summon spell in Final Fantasy VII, but at least you can skip the animation if it’s the one millionth time you’ve seen it. I like the shake-up the Monster Hunter Stories series gives the typical Monster Hunter gameplay formula.
Did I mention you can ride your monsters? Flying on my Rathalos rules. But so does riding my Tobi-Kadachi up wall faces. Yes! I haven’t yet found (or built) a monster I can reliably ride on while they swim, but I’m working on it, and when that happens, I’m certain that’ll be a blast.
Kyra’s Board Games
I’ve talked about Super Mega Lucky Boxin this series before, but I’ve played it with Skye at least twice this past month, so I had to mention Phil Walker-Harding’s take on Bingo. If you know how to play Bingo, you know more than half the rules to Super Mega Lucky Box. This board game is one of those perfect games to introduce to people who don’t play board games. And it’s fun. I could play Super Mega Lucky Box with Skye another twenty times this upcoming month. It’s that good.
I have been meaning to play Cascadia ever since it was first released in 2021. I never picked up a copy of Cascadia because I already owned Overboss, which has a similar pick-up a tile and token combo. But that’s where the similarities of the two games end. Cascadia offers varied but balanced play in every game. I didn’t catch all the ways one can score during the original rules explanation (I didn’t know that each collection of land types scored, and it wasn’t just the player who had the most of the largest type of each land), but my brain wouldn’t let me place a tile without a match. I ended up scoring way more points than I thought I would. And matching animals to the pattern they wanted made thematic sense. I was impressed.
Beth Sobel’s art elevates any nature-themed game. Her art has appeared in so many games of this type. Keep it coming. And Flatout Games has a knack for designing/developing easy-to-learn but difficult to master board games. They’re the company behind the Point Salad series of games, Ten, and Calico. I knew I would like Cascadia. I can’t believe it took me this long to play a round.
Bandido may be the oddest board game on this list. It certainly generated the most laughs. Gamers take on the role of prison guards. The titular Bandido has broken out of his cell, and it’s up to the players to work together to cut off the Bandido’s exit by strategically placing flashlight cards, dead ends, and loops for the tunnel. Bandido likes to sprawl, so gamers are encouraged to stand while they draw a card from the deck and add a card to one of the tunnel’s open ends.
You’re not allowed to show your teammates your cards, and there’s limited table talk. But that didn’t stop us from ribbing someone for making a suboptimal play. Bandido may not work for every game group. The subject matter could rub people the wrong way. The gameplay can be a little difficult to explain at first, but with the right group, Bandido is a blast.
Those are all the games I have for this month, and it looks like I’ll be flying solo this month. We’ll have to wait on Season’s take for the two Monster Hunter games. But hey, what games have you been playing this past month, Geekly Gang? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with a review/reaction to Daredevil: Born Again, Season Two’s premiere, “The Northern Star.” Daredevil: Born Again’s second season begins well, but one issue persists: the show feels off-balance. I’ll get to the good stuff soon (and there is a lot to like about “The Northern Star”), but I can see Daredevil: Born Again’s showrunners’ original vision of making seasons one and two of Daredevil: Born Again a single season. I don’t yet know if this show could’ve worked better with these first two seasons squeezed into a single season, but I’ve been on the record stating that Daredevil: Born Again Season One did a better job developing Kingpin’s side of the narrative, while shortchanging Daredevil’s. Yeah. This season, or at least during this season’s premiere, the roles reversed.
Daredevil: Born Again has a balancing issue. Both “seasons” could’ve benefited from evenly spreading the love for Daredevil and Kingpin’s story. Granted, “The Northern Star” is season two’s premiere, and I didn’t rewatch Daredevil: Born Again’s first season. But I shouldn’t have to rewatch a show’s previous season. Again, this is the first episode of the new season. All may be revealed in future episodes. But that’s also my point. We had to wait a full calendar year for Foggy Nelson’s death to find meaning. Sure, Karen Page left Hell’s Kitchen for most of last season, but the first season spent too much time trying to develop new characters. Matt Murdock seldom grieved the loss of his friend.
He does in “The Northern Star,” though. What a difference twelve real-world months can make. Matt’s story glossing over Foggy’s death may have sparked a lot of last season’s doubts. It wasn’t that the showrunners couldn’t kill Foggy. It was that no one seemed to care he died. I’m glad that we finally see Matt and Karen grieving the loss. And that makes me wonder what this story could’ve looked like where this episode part of the first season. We would’ve seen this catharsis sooner, and I wouldn’t be playing catch-up, trying to remember who everyone is, with Kingpin’s characters. Were there always this many characters? Yikes! I may have mentioned the volume of new characters in the previous season, but returning to Daredevil: Born Again after a year requires flashcards. Who are these people?
And we’re not done introducing more characters like Mr. Charles, Matthew Lillard’s character, who works for CIA director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. That’s a mouthful. Try saying that name three times fast. Mr. Charles is on Kingpin’s side of the narrative. We also get introduced to Ariana, who owns the Aegean Gardens, and aids in witness protection. Didn’t know that was a thing. That’s cool. BB Urich has more time to develop. I still don’t like the BB Report segments (the people on the street interviews with a shaky cam), but it’s clear, through a scene between Urich and Page, that she’s also the one behind the gorilla news stories defaming Mayor Fisk. This story angle has legs.
But that’s another minor issue. Many of these story angles have interesting ways they could go, but will Daredevil: Born Again season two have enough runtime to explore all of them? It’ll have to cut certain threads. I haven’t even mentioned Heather Glenn’s full heel turn. We got a whiff of Glenn (Murdock’s therapist girlfriend from last year) changing sides by the end of Daredevil: Born Again season one, but it was nice to see the show explore plenty of gray areas. Glenn may do the wrong things, but she believes she’s in the right. She suffers from PTSD after the attack by Muse. While I didn’t like how quickly Daredevil: Born Again dispatched Muse, I love how he continues to haunt the series.
And then there’s Murdock’s new law firm partner, Kirsten McDuffie (pictured above), who has an interesting interaction with one of Fisk’s lawyers, Benjamin Hochberg. And there’s also Cherry, the retired cop turned Murock’s personal investigator, who gets more to do in this episode. And Bullseye’s return gets teased. And the antivigilante task force continues its insane mission. And did I mention that the poignant Page-Urich scene is available because of a lead Page gets from Jessica Jones? Well, it is. And Krysten Ritter will return as Jessica Jones in Daredevil: Born Again season two. There’s a lot to unpack in “The Northern Star.” I watched this episode four or five times; that’s why this reaction got postponed from Saturday to Monday. I needed the weekend to digest.
Most of these are great developments. I’d love to see Ritter return as Jones. The Bullseye tease has me hyped. So many of these character developments are fun: McDuffie’s, Cherry’s, Page’s, the AVTF, most of Fisk’s entourage, and Glenn’s PTSD and struggling with remaining objective. I don’t know how Daredevil: Born Again season two plans to tie up some of these loose ends. Thankfully, Daredevil: Born Again will receive a third season; they’re already filming the third season. But I don’t want another Lost situation. For those who don’t know, the television show Lost presented numerous great ideas and seldom finished any of them.
Daredevil: Born Again should make good on many of its premises, but Matt did get shot (by Bullseye) at the end of last season, and we didn’t see the shot’s effects in the second season’s first episode. Something tells me we’ll get flashbacks and flash sideways and flash forwards to fill us in with Matt recovering from his gunshot. I’ll just leave this here: Lost used a lot of flashbacks and flash sideways and flash forwards, too. Uh oh. Let’s hope we don’t get too many flash somewheres.
That’s all I have for “The Northern Star.” Oddly enough, this episode could’ve used more guidance from something like a northern star. Daredevil: Born Again’s Season Two premiere was a solid beginning. I just hope the season can stick the landing. But what did you think? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Sunday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another week of Geek News. Sorry about missing last week’s news post. We have new releases for board games and video games, but before we get to those, we have a few headlines to discuss first. The news this week was rough, but not as rough as the recent PlayStation 5 price hike.
Sony Raises PS5 Prices Worldwide
This Friday, Sony announced that it will raise its prices on PlayStation 5 consoles on April 2, 2026. Despite the proximity to April 1st, this is not an April Fool’s Joke. In the United States, the standard PS5 will increase to $649.99, up by $100. The digital game-only edition will also increase by $100 to $599.99, while the PS5 Pro will see a $150 increase to $899.99. The company cited ongoing economic pressures for this price hike.
Note: If you’re in the market for a PlayStation 5, you may want to purchase one before April 2, 2026.
“We know that price changes impact our community,” Sony said in a statement, “and after careful evaluation, we found this was a necessary step to ensure we can continue delivering innovative, high-quality gaming experiences to players worldwide.” Ongoing economic pressures indeed. While Sony mentioned the rising cost of memory chips (thank you, AI slop factories), a couple of other factors could’ve assisted Sony in making this decision: shipping costs may increase because of the closure of a certain strait in the Middle East, and tariff wars continue to add additional costs to companies conducting international business.
And there’s the next headline for this week: Sony has laid off a lot of its workforce by shuttering first-party developers. The climate looks dire at PlayStation.
Sony Shuts Down Dark Outlaw Games and Downsizes Mobile Game Development
2026 hasn’t been kind to Sony or its first-party developers. This past week’s announcement of Sony shutting down Dark Outlaw Games marks the second major Sony has shut down this calendar year, and the year isn’t that old yet. Dark Outlaw Games, a studio founded barely a year ago, was founded by Call of Duty veteran Jason Blundell. The company didn’t even get a chance to produce one game. In fact, Dark Outlaw only had working title for a new project that was “still in the early stages” (according to ResetEra user J-Soul, who first broke the story), when Sony Interactive Entertainment decided to close the fresh “incubation studio.”
Sony has made other cuts, including its mobile development and developers who primarily worked on virtual reality titles. These cuts may be in conjunction with the “ongoing economic pressures” mentioned in the previous story, and/or they could signal a pivot by Sony to traditional single-player titles. I wouldn’t mind more titles like the upcoming Wolverine. Many of the developers Sony has recently shut down have worked on live-service projects, which makes sense after the failure that was 2024’s Concord.
The overcrowded online game market has slowed down, even for giants like Fortnite. And hey, we have some news about Fortnite, too. Fingers crossed that the employees affected by these layoffs find work. Sony has maintained its commitment to producing great first-party titles. Let’s hope we’ll see Sony’s vision soon.
Epic Games Lays Off Over 1,000 Employees
Fortnite developer Epic Games has announced it is laying off 1,000 staff due to a “downturn in engagement” in Fortnite. “Today we’re laying off over 1,000 Epic employees,” Sweeney told Epic Games employees. “I’m sorry we’re here again. The downturn in Fortnite engagement that started in 2025 means we’re spending significantly more than we’re making, and we have to make major cuts to keep the company funded.” So much for Fortnite being an evergreen battle royale. But when in 2025 did Fortnite begin to see a sharp decline in sales? Epic Games controversially raised the price of the game’s lucrative V-Bucks in-game currency two weeks ago. This caused an outcry among gamers, but that only occurred two weeks ago. Should Fortnite have done something sooner?
Gamers have spent less money in recent months. That could contribute to Fortnite’s drop in sales, and the game has seen growth in the number of game modes it offers. Fortnite began as a player-versus-zombies game, until it added a battle royale component. The game has since added numerous game modes, several of which will get mothballed (like its Pysonix-made Rocket Racing mode). Fewer game modes, means fewer employees needed to maintain those game modes.
But Epic Games has known about Fortnite’s dip in sales for months (if not close to a full year), and it also controls the Unreal Engine. Surely, the company makes enough from that asset alone to finance 1,000 employees. Every game seems to use Unreal Engine 5. Epic does plan to unleash Unreal Engine 6 in the near future. But isn’t Unreal Engine 5 a few years old at this point?
Sweeney mentioned that the company has experienced a setback like this before when they moved from 2D to 3D with Unreal Engine 1 back in the Nineties. Honestly, I started singing the Bojack Horseman theme in my head when I wrote, Back in the Nineties, I was on a very famous TV… Nevermind. To his credit, Sweeney made it a point that “the layoffs aren’t related to AI,” he said, “to the extent it improves productivity, we want to have as many awesome developers developing great content and tech as we can.”
So does that mean Epic Games uses AI or not? The phrase “to the extent it improves productivity” is doing a lot of work in that statement. The illusion of increased productivity is what tempts employers to shift toward AI. Regardless of the company’s true reasons, Epic Games was believed to employ a little over 4,000 people, so this week’s layoffs impacted almost a quarter of the company.
Nintendo Suggests Cutting US Switch 2 Output
We’re just full of great news this week. Nintendo’s Switch 2 struggled in the United States during its first holiday period. The console’s sales numbers were down 35% in the United States when compared with its predecessor in 2017. As a result, Nintendo has lowered its US production for the quarter. According to sources, this decision is “driven by slower demand from consumers” over the holiday period, and not by wider economic factors affecting worldwide hardware production, like rising component prices. Thank you again, AI Slop Factories.
I can see why Nintendo’s Switch 2 would struggle this past year in the United States. It had few titles that sparked gamers’ imaginations. No new Zelda. No new Mario title. Not even a new Kirby title. The long-awaited Metroid Prime entry (in over a decade) bombed; Metroid Prime 4 was the lowest-rated game of the series. And Mario Kart World, the game that’s packaged with many Switch 2s, had stiff competition in the kart racing genre in 2025. Many critics and gamers believed Sonic Racing: CrossWorlds was the better game. The kart racing debate could come down to choice, but that’s the point I’m making. Mario Kart has always been unequivocally the best kart racing game to release each year it had an entry until last year.
But the Switch 2 has had some superb titles. Mario Kart World is still a fabulous game, and an excellent Donkey Kong game was released last year. DK doesn’t pull the same numbers he used to, but a great title in his line of games is a good sign. I am stoked for the recently released Pokémon Pokopia, which is a joint effort by the creators of Dragon Quest Builders 2, one of my favorite newer game series. Pokémon Pokopia has renewed interest in the Switch 2, moving 2.2 million units in its first four days. Yay! And we have an upcoming Yoshi video game to tie into the upcoming Mario Galaxy movie, releasing this summer. I would’ve thought Nintendo would have planned a major Mario release as a movie tie-in, but Donald Glover is voicing Yoshi. Glover’s stardom could elevate Yoshi to icon status. Stay Yosh!
Even with Nintendo reducing its United States production for the Switch 2, this may be a blip in the console’s life cycle. So, when is the Legend of Zelda getting another entry, Nintendo?
Chicken Fried Dice Launches on KickStarter
Order up! Become Top Chef at a Food Truck Festival by serving up delicious dishes to hungry customers. You’ll be chuckin’ and pluckin’ dice in this frantic, puzzly roll ‘n write for 1-5 players! Upgrade your truck to out serve your competition featuring dry erase customer cards and dual layer food truck player boards.
Operate your own food truck serving up delicious dishes to hungry customers. Each food truck is represented by a double-layer board with different food stations that help you feed customers. Upgrade your truck with dry-erase tiles to out-serve the competition. Insert tiles onto your truck to change the way each station works and make your job easier.
Pluck ingredients from the market before the other chefs get a chance. It’s a race to grab the ingredients you need each round.
Based on the description (provided by the publisher), I had to check and see if Chicken Fried Dice was a real-time. It is. Each player owns a unique food truck with various meal offerings. Customers have food desires, and the quickest chef to claim the appropriate number and colored die can serve the customer first. I have never played Chicken Fried Dice, but I love the concept and the game’s punny name.
Chicken Fried Dice is the first of a couple roll-and-write games (like Yahtzee) this week. It’s been on my radar for a few months now, and I’m excited to see it released. This title scored big at the PAX Unplugged Convention a year or two ago. If you’re interested in Chicken Fried Dice’s fast-paced roll-and-write action, check out its KickStarter page.
Brass: Pittsburgh Launches on GameFound
From Roxley and Gavan Brown, co-designer of Brass: Birmingham, comes Brass: Pittsburgh, which allows you to re-experience the explosive late 19th-century industrial boom of America’s Gilded Age in its northeastern “Steel Belt” region (1865-1913). Players take on the role of a ruthless industrial titan in the age of Cornelius Vanderbilt, Andrew Carnegie, John D. Rockefeller, and Henry Frick as they build sprawling networks of railways, pipelines, steel mills, oil refineries, and more.
Built on Martin Wallace’s acclaimed Brass system, this standalone game introduces innovative new mechanisms and content, while maintaining the overall structure and strategic depth for which Brass has become known.
The description above comes from Brass: Pittsburgh’s publisher, Roxley. I’ve never played a game in the Brass board game series. Brass: Birmingham has dominated the BGG (BoardGameGeek) charts for years, and Brass: Pittsburgh is the latest game in the series. I have some familiarity with Pittsburgh, so the subject matter strikes a chord. But I’ve seen some Brass fans unhappy with this latest offering.
Above is a picture of a player’s tech tree in Brass: Pittsburgh’s. Yes. Games in the Brass series feature tech trees you can progress. You can see why I’ve been reluctant to play one of these games. But Brass fans have pushed back on Brass: Pittsburgh’s $125 price tag, and that doesn’t include shipping. And I’ll push back a little on those Brass fans by saying, Roxley does offer a Brass: Pittsburgh Essentials Edition. This stripped-down version of Brass: Pittsburgh will resemble the kind of copy you can pick up at retail for only $79, so I can see disgruntled Brass fans’ point. What’s the point in picking up the Brass: Pittsburgh Essentials Edition via GameFound if you can wait a few extra months and pick up the game at your local game store?
I’ve heard few people say negative things about Brass: Pittsburgh’s gameplay. By most accounts, it deserves the Brass name, and if the shift to the States, and specifically Pittsburgh, piques your interest and you want a stunning copy of the game, you could give Brass: Pittsburgh a shot. If you’re interested in Brass: Pittsburgh, check out its GameFound page.
Hyve Launches on KickStarter
Hyve puts you in control of a beehive. Each turn in, you roll dice equal to your population. These rolled dice represent your worker bees. Using these bees, you select actions you wish to perform. All of your remaining bees are then used to gather nectar, building you a very colorful Hyve. Struggle to stay alive against the constant threats of nature, and lead your colony from merely surviving to thriving.
Thank you for the description, Aerobellum Games. Roll and write–or in this case, roll-and-color–have had a moment in modern board gaming. These games scale well at large player counts, although the original Hyve release was strictly a one or two-player game. I love how most completed Hyve games look so colorful.
Aerobellum Games isn’t kidding about Hyve being a roll-and-color beehive simulator. The new KickStarter campaign aims to make Hyve a multiplayer experience. I wouldn’t mind having the option of pollinating extra player into this game. The new KickStarter even includes amber dice that look as if they’re made from honey. Ah. Gorgeous!
I don’t know why bee-themed games have become huge in the tabletop game space. Perhaps, they lend themselves to strategic planning and managing resources. We must have the pollen. There are too many pledge options for Hyve to discuss in this short write-up. I counted eight for typical customers (no retail store pledges) and at least a dozen add-ons. Yowza! Pledges do range from $38 to $149. And the add-ons range from $12-$15. Not a bad deal if you want more Hyve merch like colored pencils, playing cards, or a Hyve pin. If you’re interested in Hyve, check out its sweet as honey KickStarter page.
Galen’s Games Mint Tin Series 2 Launches on KickStarter
Bring on the mint tin games. Galen McCown, owner of Galen’s Games, is a four-time semifinalist in Game Crafter community contests, many of which included games that can fit inside a mint tin (like Altoids). Naturally, he publishes mini-board games that fit inside a mint tin. This year’s KickStarter campaign marks the second in Galen’s Games Mint Tin Series, and it includes four new games: Kickabout, Hard Drive, That’s An Order, and Mint Mechs. The four games in this series can be further broken down into two smaller bundles: Action and War.
Hard Drive is pictured above. Along with Kickabout, it belongs to the Action bundle. I like the variety in this bundle. Kickabout is a soccer-themed game, where players attempt to out-think their opponents, while Hard Drive plays more like a fast-paced Android: Netrunner. Gamers battle each other to be the first to hack a corporation. The War bundle has a couple of solid offerings as well. That’s An Order looks like a miniaturized Memoir ’44 in the best way. And who doesn’t love a good Mech battle?
Don’t worry if you missed the original mint tin games set. The KickStarter includes multiple options for gamers to pick up the previous series. Pledges range from $8-$230. The cheapest option is a print-and-play (gamers download and print their own game copies), while the most expensive option includes everything (Series 1 and 2, along with all their expansions). Galen’s Games Mint Tin Series offers a lot of games. You’re sure to find something that strikes your fancy. If you’re interested in Galen’s Games Mint Tins Series 2, check out its KickStarter page.
Crimson Desert Releases
Because we missed a week of Geek News, we’re a bit late with Crimson Desert. We’ll let publisher Pearl Abyss describe their game. Crimson Desert is an open-world action-adventure set on the continent of Pywel. Join Kliff on his journey to rebuild the Greymane faction and to save the land from a looming threat. From vast wilderness and cities to ruins and the mysterious Abyss, forge your path through battles and discovery.
Originally planned as a prequel to Black Desert and another MMORPG, Pearl Abyss soon found that Crimson Desert worked better as a single-player open-world RPG. Yes, please. The publisher has no further plans to make Crimson Desert a multiplayer experience. Thank you. And Crimson Desert’s setting, Pywel, is based on Sicily. I am so there, and I think, Mrs. Geekly is, too. The only issue I can see Mrs. Geekly having is the reported boss difficulty spike. Combat works fine until a boss enters the battlefield. Eek! Crimson Desert is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series S/X.
Life is Strange: Reunion Releases
The saga of Max and Chloe, and the fate of Caledon, is yours to decide! Play as both Max and Chloe as an all-new story builds towards an epic climax. The fire will force Max and Chloe to make devastating decisions. Can they find a future together… Before everything burns?
We’re going back to Caledon. What? I loved the original Life is Strange. I even dabbled with the sequel that featured new characters, but I never played Double Exposure, the continuation of Max and Chloe’s story. After Life is Strange: Reunion’s release (the third game in the Max and Chloe’s trilogy), I may have some gaming to add to my growing TBP (to be played) pile. Unlike the original Life is Strange, Life is Strange: Reunion was released all at once, not in an episodic format. Okay. And you can play as Chloe. Yes! I added Life is Strange: Reunion to my wishlist. Max, Chloe, and I have some catching up to do. Life is Strange: Reunion is available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.
Damon and Baby Releases
I know little about Damon and Baby and just discovered the game’s publisher, Arc System Works. This company has a knack for retro-style games. While most of their offerings use dated graphics (like the old Dodgeball video game from the 80s), Damon and Baby has updated cell-shaded graphics.
Damon and Baby‘s combat harkens back to Smash TV, the 80s video game where gamers play as contestants in a warfare game show, but Damon and Baby also features a large world to explore. From what I’ve gathered from reviews, Damon and Baby has some great ideas, but the execution doesn’t always land. This sounds like the perfect candidate to wishlist and wait for a sale. Or you can try out Damon and Baby’s free demo to see if it’s right for you. Damon and Baby is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
That’s all the Geek News we have for this week. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Today, our writers share what they’ve been listening to over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to in the comments. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things rolling with what I’ve been listening to during the month of March.
Kyra’s Tunes
I’ve been listening to Childish Gambino’s “Lithonia” on repeat. The soulful voice. The vocal harmonies. The fusion between Gospel, Rock, and R&B. Ah! I love it. If you haven’t yet listened to “Lithonia” (named after an Atlanta suburb), do your ears a favor and give the Official Audio Video a play on YouTube. “Lithonia’s” Official Music Video is also great, but you don’t get the full song. I also recommend watching the Music Video after the Audio Video. And after watching “Lithonia’s” Music Video, you’ll learn why there are so many reaction videos to that music video. Yowza!
Bando Stone & the New World (the album in which “Lithonia” originates) is a return to form for Childish Gambino. Some of his more recent albums (Altavista) didn’t hit the same as Awaken, My Love!, which includes the amazing “Redbone.” Brando Stone & the New World shows Childish Gambino (soon to go by Donald Glover as a music artist) at the peak of his powers. And I love how this album serves to set up Glover’s upcoming movie of the same name, Brando Stone & the New World. I can’t wait to watch the film. Until then, I’ll listen to Brando Stone & the New World on repeat.
I’ve also been kicking it old school with Nirvana’s In Utero. This album deserves all the praise it receives. Sure, there are the singles “Heart-Shaped Box,” “All Apologies,” and “Pennyroyal Tea,” but the deep cuts set In Utero apart. It may be blasphemous, but I’d say In Utero is slightly better than Nevermind. “Serve the Servants” opens with a bang. The opening lyrics, “Teenage angst has paid off well, now I’m bored and old” let the audience know this is a different Nirvana. “Serve the Servants” does a great job of melding autobiographical lyrics with working-class anthem ones. The track even sounds vaguely like surf rock.
“Serve the Servants” is an excellent opening track, but “Scentless Apprentice” marks the direction Nirvana may have taken had Cobain stuck around for a few more years. “Scentless Apprentice” was Nirvana’s biggest sonic departure on the album. Not bad for a track with an original name of “Chuck Chuck Fo Fuck.” The nickname is a reference to how the rhythm guitar line sounds.
Frances Bean Cobain (Kurt’s daughter) has cited “Dumb” as her favorite Nirvana song. According to Frances Bean, she sees “Dumb” as her father showing his vulnerability. And “Rape Me” was an attempt by Cobain to speak his mind against violence toward women. His previous work in Nevermind fell on deaf ears. Despite dropping all pretenses, “Rape Me” may be one of Cobain’s most misunderstood songs.
All of this and the singles folks know so well make In Utero a fantastic album.
I went from Nirvana to the other band that dominated the early Nineties, R.E.M.. Ironically, R.E.M. was struggling to finish their eighth studio album, Automatic for the People, so lead singer Michael Stipe, who suffered from writer’s block, reached out to Kurt Cobain. Cobain joked with Stipe that people thought Nirvana used too many yeahs in their songs. And Cobain did have a habit of finishing a line with a yeah. Cobain challenged Stipe to write a song with a lot of yeahs. Stipe accepted the challenge and wrote the classic, “Man on the Moon.”
Mott the Hoople and the Game of Life Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Andy Kaufman and the wrestling match Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Monopoly, Twenty-One, Checkers, and Chess Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Mister Fred Blassie in a breakfast mess Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah Let’s play Twister, let’s play Risk Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah I’ll see you in heaven if you make the list Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah
The number of “yeahs” in “Man on the Moon” dwarfed the ones Cobain sang with Nirvana, and it went on to become Automatic for the People’s second single. I would say something similar for Automatic for the People as I did with In Utero, that obviously the singles were fantastic, but the deep cuts elevate this album to iconic status. But half of Automatic for the People’s tracks would get released as singles. That’s a lot of singles: “Drive,” “Man on the Moon,” “The Sidewinder Sleeps Tonite,” “Everybody Hurts,” “Nightswimming,” and “Find the River.” Yes. Any two or three of these singles could anchor an album. Automatic for the People had six. Woah!
Despite half of this album being released as singles, I still have at least a couple of deep cuts. “Try Not to Breathe” is haunting. Honestly, I thought it had been released as a single; it’s that good. “Sweetness Follows” is one of my favorite tracks on Automatic for the People. The strings on this track are arranged by none other than John Paul Jones, Led Zeppelin’s bassist. Throw in the awesome instrumental and “Monty Got a Raw Deal,” and you get one of those few albums that don’t have a single skip track. You’ll want to listen to them all. I need to pick up Automatic for the People on vinyl.
I’ll finish my segment by including the other song I’ve had on repeat this past month, “Move Your Feet.” This infectious 2003 dance-punk song by Danish pop duo Junior Senior will get anyone off their feet. While I like “Move Your Feet’s” official music video (with its pixel art pictured above), I’ve watched/listened more to one of Junior Senior’s live performances of the song. I didn’t think the band could pull off a great live performance of a song like this. It sounded too produced. But Junior Senior proves they don’t need a silly little thing like autotune.
The full band adds an extra layer of authenticity. The backup singers make “Move Your Feet” come alive. And I’m talking about the “Oh Yeah” woman singer, providing a Disco-like melody leading into the chorus, and the “From Downtown” man singer, harmonizing with Junior on the chorus. The drummer is mesmerizing whenever he clashes the cymbals. This live version of “Move Your Feet” is near-perfect. I prefer it to the studio version. With everything happening in the world right now, sometimes you just need to “Move your feet and feel united.”
That’s all I have for what I’ve been listening to this past month. Let’s see what tunes Skye picks.
Skye’s Tunes
I have succumbed to the K-Pop Demon Hunters hype. I did this a long time ago; I listened to the soundtrack on repeat for the past month. What can I say? K-Pop Demon Hunters is a good movie with a fun soundtrack that’s perfect for dancing. Considering how much I love to dance, you can see why the K-Pop Demon Hunters soundtrack would appeal to me. I’ll keep this entry brief since I know Season has previously discussed this soundtrack, but if y’all would like me to do a breakdown of K-Pop Demon Hunters’ story, themes, and characters, let me know in the comments.
Sometimes you need something to keep you going. “and the day goes on” has been providing me with sufficient energy over the past month. For those who’re unfamiliar, “and the day goes on” is a song uploaded to the YouTube channel Bill Wurtz, which is well-known for the viral video “history of the entire world, i guess.” There isn’t much rhyme or reason to Bill Wurtz’s content, yet they still manage to capture an uplifting tone and a hummable melody while making no sense at all in “and the day goes on.” If you need a little pick-me-up, “and the day goes on” is very good for that. However, I must warn you that it’s gonna be stuck in your head forever.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are the tunes our writers have been listening to over the past month. Let us know what you’ve been listening to in the comments, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hello, Geekly Gang. Skye here. For months, I’ve wanted to pay my proper respects to Rob Reiner. Since March is Reiner’s birth month (March 6th to be exact), I felt this month was the best time. Most movie-goers don’t notice how prolific a filmmaker Rob Reiner was. Heck. When I discuss movies with people, they tend to forget that Reiner directed some of their favorite flicks. When I saw the list of his greatest movies, I realized how big a creative powerhouse we lost last year. I’ll do my best to honor a masterful portfolio of cinematic brilliance. With that said, let’s dive in with my favorite Rob Reiner films.
5: This is Spinal Tap (1984)
I first watched This is Spinal Tap a few months ago. It earned a place on this list for one primary reason: its impact on the “mockumentary” genre. While not the first film to invent a farcical scenario and frame it as factual (I like “F” words right now), This is Spinal Tap popularized the subgenre. If This is Spinal Tap weren’t created, we likely wouldn’t have movies and shows like Borat or What We Do in the Shadows, let alone the series of mockumentaries Christopher Guest (who stars in This is Spinal Tap) would later direct. Even though I didn’t find This is Spinal Tap to be laugh-out-loud funny, it certainly defined the “mockumentary” subgenre. It also kept me entertained by consistently throwing odd, ridiculous scenarios at me, which made me giggle.
4: When Harry Met Sally (1989)
Before I saw When Harry Met Sally, I had heard many positive things about it. As far as I heard, When Harry Met Sally was a quintessential romance. I saw what everyone meant. When Harry Met Sally combines several interesting elements in equal measure. It can be charming, awkward, funny, uncomfortable, and ultimately, satisfying. The two leads’ relationship plays out like a rollercoaster of emotion that feels incredibly personal and realistic. My favorite aspect of When Harry Met Sally is how both leads are equally likable and unlikable at the same time, but despite their flaws, I wanted to see them end up together. When Harry Met Sally is worth watching, and its high praise. It’s unforgettable.
3: Misery (1990)
As soon as I saw Misery, I had a feeling it would be one of my favorites. Adapted from the Stephen King novel of the same name, the Misery motion picture focuses on similar themes regarding the difficulties of creators to balance pleasing audiences and exploring new ideas. Released in response to the lackluster readers’ reaction to Stephen King’s first fantasy novel, Misery’s story is coated in creative frustration, and Rob Reiner understands that feeling. Every scene drips with creative frustration. Misery manages to create a hostile and unpredictable atmosphere for its protagonist, Paul Sheldon, at the hands of one of fiction’s most horrifying villains, Annie Wilkes, and it’ll make you rethink what it means to be someone’s number one fan.
2: Stand By Me (1986)
Stand By Me was the first R-rated film I have ever seen. At first, I was skeptical. Soon, I realized Stand By Me‘s weight. Chronicling the experiences of four young friends going on a quest to see a dead body, it’s not always easy to watch. Based on a Stephen King short story titled “The Body,” Stand By Me does a good job of detailing the rough side of childhood and how our relationships can help us through the quagmire of growing up. There’s a reason Stand By Me is on a lot of critics’ short lists of greatest coming-of-age movies. Stand By Me connects the audience with its material through great performances, relatable scenarios, and realistic problems. Stand By Me easily takes the number two spot on this list.
1: The Princess Bride (1987)
Call me shallow, but there was no way Princess Bride wasn’t going to be my number one Rob Reiner movie. I grew up with The Princess Bride. It served as my gateway into romance, action/adventure, and comedy in a medieval setting. Reiner includes something for every viewer. Don’t like action? The movie is built around the romance between the two leads and has several comedic beats. Don’t like that mushy crap? No problem. We have André the Giant! Because of that, most viewers can find something to like in The Princess Bride. That’s why it claims the top spot.
Thank you for reading my picks for my “Top 5 Favorite Rob Reiner Movies.” I hope you enjoyed it, because I certainly enjoyed paying tribute to a truly talented filmmaker. Rest in peace. With all that said, I’m curious what your favorite Rob Reiner movies are. As always, feel free to let us know in the comments, and I hope y’all are having a wonderful day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Has it really been about a month since the last Writing Brain Dump? Wow! Time flies. If you follow the board game design brain dump series, today’s topic will sound familiar. I tailored the design post toward board game design, so today’s brain dump will focus on writing. And we’re talking about the writing spectrum.
Most things in life can be expressed through a spectrum. Some people feel most comfortable on one extreme side of the spectrum, while others prefer the other. And then there are the ones like me who live somewhere in between the two extremes. In writing, those extremes are Plotters (or Planners) and Pantsers. Planners (or Plotters) create outlines for their plots and write their stories based on that outline. This may be the way most of us learned how to write. I remember my teachers preaching the importance of outlines. Several famous writers swear by plotting, and some refuse to conform. Rebels. Rebels, I say. You can’t tell them to make an outline. These are your Pantsers, nicknamed from the idiom, flying by the seat of one’s pants. And plenty of writers swear by pantsing.
Both sides make compelling arguments. JK Rowling, a famous Plotter, once suggested that without an outline, one will get lost. You wouldn’t go on a road trip without a map. That makes sense. But Stephen King, a famous Panster, once said never to outline. If you, as the writer, can’t be surprised by your work, you can’t expect your reader to be surprised. This also makes a lot of sense. So, who’s right? Both sides believe their method to be the best. Seriously, there’s a reason I made the above graphic look like a political divide. The writing divide can be just as contentious. Would it bug you if I said neither side is right? Or that both of them are right, given the proper circumstances? You can’t take me off this fence.
But context matters. A novel with numerous intricate plotlines may yearn for an outline. The writer could easily get lost. And pantsing one’s way through a story could help with suspense. Is it a coincidence that Stephen King mentions surprise in his reasoning for pantsing? Horror requires surprise. Of course, the Master of Horror would pants. Rowling’s Harry Potter series began with a school year structure. An outline for that series makes sense because she had to keep to that strict form. Until the final couple of books, where Rowling aged up the characters (to match the aging audience) and ditched the school year structure entirely with The Deathly Hollows. But enough about King and Rowling. Where a writer falls on the writing spectrum depends on the writer.
I’ve tried both of these methods. They work for various projects, like the ones I mentioned for the two famous authors. I’ve spelled out why an author may choose one extreme over the other. Pantsing adds surprise (might be good for Horror and Suspense). Plotting provides structure (great for books that follow a rigid structure). But there are two other main ways a writer can write their books/stories: Lighthousing and Blotting. I told you I live in the middle.
Typically, when I Lighthouse, I know what my initial scene will be, and I have a scene I know the story will progress toward, my Lighthouse Scene. This gives an author guide rails (sounds a little like Plotting), but allows the author to meander on their way toward the Lighthouse Scene (giving the flexibility of Pantsing). I love this method. It helps when I have a good idea of where I want to begin, and when I have a scene I’m dying to write. I’ve done this a lot with short stories. The exception for a short story is that you won’t have as many Lighthouse Scenes. You may even have one Lighthouse. If that’s the case, you may drift a little while before finding the point in the story where you’ll need to make your way to the end.
Lighthousing works best for stories where you have a good idea of how they’ll end (or perhaps a great penultimate scene), but you want some freedom to explore. But Lighthousing can get tricky. I’d begin with short stories first. Not enough writers start with short stories; short stories are a great way to explore one’s craft. Oh. I guess this is less of a writing brain dump and more of a craft talk. Whoops!
Blotting is the other main way writers can craft their stories, outside of plotting and pantsing. I always view Blotting like I’m a painter with an empty canvas. I have a sopping wet paintbrush in my hand, and I’m slinging the brush on the canvas with something I know I want in my story. This can be an element. This could be multiple scenes. The great thing about Blotting is that you can write the scenes in your story in any order, and then write the rest of the scenes that go in between those scenes. In other words, you can write the cool scenes you want to see in your story, and see what parts of the story remain.
Blotting works really well for non-linear storytelling, but that doesn’t mean it can’t work for a linear one. I blot a lot more when I write longer works. It helps me gain momentum, and writers need momentum for longer works. Get there faster.
So, which method is best? None. All. It depends on the writer and the project. Seriously, I’ve tried all of these; I’ve even used all four of these methods in a single calendar year. And just because you pants or lighthouse or blot, doesn’t mean you can’t reverse outline your book. Reverse outlining is when you take what you’ve written and retroactively place it into an outline. While Plotters could benefit from reverse outlining (you never know if you deviated from your original outline), reverse outlining is a godsend for a Panster, Lighthouser, or Blotter. If a scene doesn’t work in your overall story, why bother line editing that scene? Time is precious. Save as much time as you can.
How do you like to write? Do you have a fifth, sixth, or seventh method of getting your story on the page? Let me know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, our writers share what they’ve been watching over the past month. Feel free to say what you’ve been watching in the comments. We’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been watching this past month.
Kyra’s Shows
I’ve always liked SitComs, and no other television show type has suffered more from modern television programming (like streaming, binging, and shorter seasons) than SitComs. Animal Control has grown on me, but it took time to find its footing. Here comes a rant. Sorry. Shorter seasons don’t help a show find its footing. Back in the Nineties, Friends took 30 episodes to couple Ross and Rachel. This occurred a third of the way through Friends‘ second season. The coupling of the will-they, won’t-they relationship set up during Animal Control’s pilot also took 30 episodes. But it occurred during Animal Control’s season three closing episode. I binged Animal Control on Netflix, so it didn’t feel that long, but three full seasons for a SitCom is an eternity.
While I mentioned I binged Animal Control, and it did help with my enjoyment of Animal Control in this instance, dropping episodes all at once doesn’t usually help SitComs. We’ll go back to another Joel McHale SitCom, Community. Community’s pilot featured a budding relationship between Troy and Pierce. It took the showrunners half of the first season to realize Troy and Abed had more chemistry. If Community had been first released during the modern climate, it most likely wouldn’t have lasted beyond its first season (which would’ve been shorter, by the way), and we’d have never seen Troy and Abed in the Morning. Community needed audience feedback. If you drop all your episodes at once, there’s no time for audience feedback. I have a love-hate relationship with streaming. It’s done a lot of good, but streaming has done SitComs dirty.
Rant over. Let’s talk more about Animal Control. The CGI looks goofy at times, but Animal Control is a SitCom, so I don’t care. Sometimes, the dopey CGI heightens the comedy. The only times I felt the animal CGI detracted from the show were during the first season’s heartfelt moments with a mountain lion. Goofy CGI works for comedy. Not so much when Animal Control wants to tug at one’s heartstrings.
Animal Control’s human cast knew the direction they wanted to take their characters. The cast pictured above must have done some work ahead of the show’s pilot. That, or they’re incredibly lucky to have the chemistry to carry the show. Casting can be difficult. I’m glad casting directors are getting award categories in prestigious award shows like the Oscars (which also happened this past month, yay).
Even with nailing Animal Control’s main cast, the shift from season one and two saw plenty of changes in Animal Control’s secondary and tertiary cast members. “Hot Vet” needed to go because of her nickname “Hot Vet” among the rest of the cast. Those jokes grew old fast. Animal Control couldn’t find enough for her character to do before the end of the first season, which was only a dozen episodes long. Nope. I won’t rant again. If Animal Control had a full sixteen or eighteen episodes, it could’ve found a place for the Vet and the receptionist. Although I do like the replacement receptionist. She’s dope. Like most SitComs, Animal Control needed time to find its footing, but it’s picking up steam. The cast can be lovable, and I love the animal hijinx.
Unlike Animal Control, the Scrubs 2026 Reboot (or is it a Revival?) had the benefit of being a legacy SitCom. The returning cast members of the Scrubs Revival already knew their characters. They just needed to speed run the past two decades. I like the new characters as well. They do a great job showing what’s changed over several years. Scrubs‘ original release predates social media. Gasp! The Scrubs Revival had an episode where viewing a patient’s social media feed aided in their diagnosis. Clever.
The Scrubs Revival doesn’t reinvent the wheel. It doesn’t need to. If you enjoyed the original Scrubs, you’ll definitely like the Scrubs Revival. There are plenty of nods to the original. The new class of doctors manages to strike a great balance, reminiscent of the original Scrubs cast in their early days. Yep. I’ll be watching the Scrubs Revival for the foreseeable future.
The final television show that I’ll share for this month is Tales from the Void (Prime Video). I watched the first episode, “Into the Unknown,” and fought off sleep every second. And that stinks. Tales from the Void’s premise sounded interesting. It’s an episodic horror anthology series based on the most viral and haunting stories from the r/NoSleep community. Ironic. I almost fell asleep while watching a story that originated on the r/NoSleep community. The first episode played out like a group of people adding to a story, creeping out one another. If I participated in this activity, “Into the Unknown” could’ve spooked me. The television episode fell flat. I may give Tales from the Void another chance, but I may take several weeks to revisit the show. This could be a good show to try again during Spooky Season.
Kyra’s Movie
I almost forgot I watched Inside Out 2 this past month. Inside Out 2 is a worthy sequel to the original. The sequel did recast some of the original cast members; I believe Amy Poehler (Joy) made too much, and most of the other original castmates had to take less money. Several didn’t. The recast roles didn’t detract from my enjoyment. Inside Out 2 navigated puberty well. Oh. Mild Spoiler: Riley (the girl Joy and company monitor) enters puberty. But I do believe the trailers mentioned Riley entering puberty, so maybe this doesn’t constitute a spoiler. True to the original, Inside Out 2 has some tearjerker moments. Not as many as the original, but you may want tissues as you watch.
Inside Out 2 did run a little long for my liking. Some scenes could’ve been omitted or shortened. But this was minor. Inside Out 2 may be one of the better Pixar sequels. We may need our movie geek, Skye, to weigh in on this topic. The original Inside Out claimed Skye’s Number Two spot in her Top 5 Pixar Movies. While I had reservations before watching Inside Out 2, they quickly evaporated. I’d recommend Inside Out 2. You don’t need to watch the original Inside Out, but it could help.
That’s all I have for what I’ve been watching this past month. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.
Season’s Show
Hi, Geekly Gang! I go in and out of watching new shows, but I decided to revisit The Rookie. I watched most of the first season with some friends years ago, so I remembered bits of it. Most of the characters are well-rounded and get adequate screen time. Even tertiary characters are layered and get side stories. Normally, having many characters in a show makes it difficult not to reduce some of them to one-dimensional characters. The Rookie does a good job of making sure viewers spend an equal amount of time with the six main characters in every episode, even if one of them has a more dramatic story that episode. Also, watching just about anything with Nathan Fillion in it is a treat.
I’m aware that police shows don’t accurately portray daily police work for the sake of drama and storytelling. The Rookie tries to show some of the more mundane tasks, but there are still shootouts in most of the episodes.
What have you been watching, Skye?
Skye’s Movies
I’ve been trolling through my “To Be Watched” list and happened upon Nosferatu. I’m referring to the original 1922 Max Schreck silent film version, though I have other Nosferatu adaptations on my “To Be Watched.” After finally seeing it, I’m impressed with how it handled the psychological aspects of the story. I expected a run-of-the-mill monster flick that inspired so many others for over a century, but the horror doesn’t properly appear until after Hutter, the protagonist, enters Count Orlok’s Castle. Nosferatu’s true horror is pestilence. After Hutter is introduced to the castle rats, it’s highly possible he contracted a disease that spread everywhere he went, causing everyone to hallucinate. And Nosferatu’s visuals are unforgettable.
I haven’t seen Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs in a long time, so I decided to give it another look. I haven’t seen Snow White since my childhood, but my appreciation for it has grown as an adult. Not only was the animation revolutionary for its time, but Snow White’s story holds your interest, sets the tone for what was to become a giant of an entertainment company, and doesn’t skimp on the dark moments either. When I was a kid, my favorite scene was the Evil Queen’s transformation. I would rewind the VHS to watch it over and over again. They don’t make ‘em like this anymore, and if modern Disney is any indication, they never will.
I was perusing Disney+ when I found out Zootopia 2 had made it to streaming. It had also been a while since I’d seen the original Zootopia, so I decided to refresh my memory before passing judgment on its sequel. Let me put it bluntly: I forgot how much Zootopia frustrated me. I wanted to like Zootopia, but the movie makes it so hard for me. I saw the setup of the original as the potential for an incredible deconstruction of societal prejudice and how it’s shaped our communities over hundreds, even thousands of years. Ultimately, I got Disney’s watered-down script, which was more directed at children with little care for an adult audience. Zootopia is not a bad movie. I like the dynamic between Judy and Nick, and yes, “Try Everything” will be stuck in my head until I die.
Skye’s Show
It’s about time I started catching up on my shows. Family Guy’s a heck of a one to start with, though. So far, it’s been a giggle-worthy show. I’m only midway through Season Two, and there have been a fair number of jokes that I didn’t understand, but that’s common even with other comedy shows I’ve seen and liked, including The Simpsons, Friends, Futurama, etc. Good news is that there haven’t been too many uncomfortable jokes yet. Give it time. Other than that, I think it’ll be an interesting experience exploring this iconic animated comedy series.
Hey, hey! Kyra here again. Those are all the shows and movies our writers watched over the past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another installment of transgender representation in media. Today’s subject is Jules from Euphoria. Yes! I moved our previously scheduled autism representation to late June to take advantage of Euphoria season three’s upcoming April 12, 2026, release date. Woo hoo! We’re getting a third season soon. I binged Euphoria seasons one and two the past month. It got difficult. While Euphoria is an amazing show (great direction, acting, and writing), it tackles heavy subjects. Seriously, Euphoria holds back few punches.
Jules’s storyline, despite being compelling, can be a rough watch. She gets statutory R-word–don’t know if I can say the word that rhymes with grape in this post–and commits an act of self-harm. And that’s only during Euphoria’s pilot episode. Yikes! Oh. Now may be a great time to remind everyone reading that I can’t do one of these representation posts without spoiling some plot points. I wouldn’t consider what I’ve said thus far as major spoilers, but you’ve been warned. I’ll also try to handle Jules’s story with care. I don’t want to sensationalize lurid details, but as you can see, Jules’s story packs a lot of drama.
Gender Expression May Not Match Gender Identity
We’ll begin with lighter topics concerning Euphoria’s transgender representation. As you can tell by the picture above, gender expression and gender identity don’t have to match. Sure. Jules is wearing an angel outfit, hyper feminine. Jules is a woman, and her gender expression matches her gender identity. But Jules’s partner, Rue, wears a tuxedo, and Rue is a cisgender woman. I love it when Jules teases Rue’s look as a dead ringer for Seth Rogen. Lol. Jules isn’t far off with that characterization. Rue’s tuxedo is the only time in Euphoria’s first two seasons when she doesn’t wear Seth Rogen-chic.
Off topic a little bit, but I love Jules’s makeup in Euphoria’s first two seasons. She looks stunning.
Euphoria is on point with breaking gender norms and suggesting that gender expression and gender identity don’t need to match. Heck, an episode even includes dialogue expressing this sentiment. Great job.
Gender Identity Doesn’t Inform Sexual Orientation
Okay. The following may contradict this segment’s title. Jules has been with a lot of men. A lot. We never know how many. That’s a secret she only shares with her friend Elliot (pictured above), but during a moment of self-reflection, Jules shares why she felt the need to sleep with so many men. She needed to conquer femininity. No. She needed to obliterate it. And I believe that’s a poignant line. By the time Jules shares her need to obliterate femininity, she’s in a loving relationship with Rue. Jules admits that she felt more like a woman when she slept with men, as many men as she can bed, and upholding a gender stereotype, but in this moment, Jules no longer feels like she has to sleep with as many men to feel like a woman. Euphoria’s inclusion of this scene puts a fine point on how gender identity does not have to inform one’s sexual orientation.
Quick Note: All bets are off for Euphoria season three in two weeks. This write-up is only for seasons one and two.
I do have to give a brief mention to Jules feeling less like a woman when she admits, again to Elliot, that she doesn’t know how to orally stimulate another woman. Yeah. The scene suggests that Jules may have held off coupling with another woman because she didn’t want to admit this shortcoming. It just takes practice.
We won’t discuss the following tutor scene. Eek!
Featured Episode Placement Mattered
I may be reading too much into Euphoria and its creator, Sam Levinson’s, intentions with this next segment, but I don’t think so. Euphoria’s first season played like a collection of interconnected short stories. Sure, there was an overarching narrative, but that first season had short story vibes. Each of Euphoria’s first season’s episodes featured a character. The pilot featured Rue. That makes sense; she’s the main character. The second episode centered on the show’s main antagonist, Nate. This also makes sense. And then, we get three episodes featuring woman characters (Kat, Jules, and Maddy, in that order) before shifting back to another man. This may not seem like much, but it links Jules with Euphoria’s other woman characters. If this was Euphoria’s intent, it’s huge.
And I choose to interpret Euphoria’s feature episode placement (in season one) as intentional. It could’ve made sense to place Jules’s featured episode immediately after Nate’s. Nate does harass her. But Euphoria doesn’t do that. Perhaps the show could’ve put Jules’s story at the end of those three episodes, but no. Euphoria sandwiches Jules’s episode between two other women’s. She belongs there. Jules is treated like any other woman in the cast, because again, she is a woman. I love it. She suffers through a lot of the same issues as Euphoria’s other women, only she has a handful of additional issues. We’ll get to those other issues soon enough, but kudos to Euphoria for what I’m interpreting as subtle inclusion.
Jules Began Transitioning at 13
Jules started transitioning at age 13. Fortunately, her father supported her, and by the time we see her in season one, she’s been on hormone replacement therapy (HRT) for at least a couple of years and has had breast augmentation. More on that last item in the next section. Thanks in large part to her father’s support, Jules is far along in her transition. Having a supportive parent is a fantastic thing and helps with a transgender child’s mental health and well-being. Jules’s father supported her as soon as she began socially transitioning (wearing girls’ clothes), and this is another detail Euphoria gets right. Doctors don’t immediately jump to HRT. Social transitioning is the usual first step. And we don’t see Jules on HRT until after she’s been seeing a therapist. This also tracks. Typically, transgender people gain access to medically transition after speaking with a mental health professional. Or two.
All of this is great transgender representation. The Euphoria team has done their homework, and they lean on Jules’s actress, Hunter Schafer’s lived experience. During therapy, Jules shares poetry Hunter Schafer had written when she was at a similar age and stage in her transition. I love some of the imagery. Puberty is an irreversible metamorphosis. It’s a deepening, a thickening. Beautiful. These moments grant authenticity to Euphoria’s depiction of a transgender person.
But not every parent can or will support their child. During Jules’s featured episode, her mother drives her across state lines. I thought she was dumping her daughter at conversion therapy. Turns out, Jules’s mother dumped her at a psych ward. Unfortunately, this happens. The Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) removed gender identity disorder (being transgender) as a mental health condition in 2013. This episode aired in 2019. That may be too real. In one powerful episode, Euphoria showed multiple angles of a transgender experience.
Jules Wears a Binder
When Jules and Elliot first meet, Jules interrogates Elliot (Rue’s mysterious new friend). Jules doesn’t trust Elliot at first because she knows her girlfriend is hiding something. Spoiler: Rue’s an addict, and she and Elliot are using. So, Jules’s suspicions are well-founded. During Jules’s interrogation of Elliot, Elliot questions why she’s a trans woman, wearing a binder. Note: A binder is a device used to compress one’s chest, typically used by transgender men to hide their breasts. But Jules is a transgender woman. Why does she wear a binder?
Euphoria never gives us a straight (pun intended) answer, but I do have some theories. Jules could want to thumb her nose at gender norms. That would track within Euphoria’s narrative. At times, Jules distances herself from conventional women’s norms. But she could wear a binder to fit in better at school. While Jules has no issue with who she is and the shape of her body, she may wear a binder to avoid freaking out the normies. Euphoria takes place in a small town. Jules ditches the binder when she returns to the city. I love that transformation. She suppresses a lot of who she is for the sake of Euphoria’s small town.
Gender Euphoria
Gender dysphoria (feeling distressed because one’s gender identity differs from their sex assigned at birth) hits differently for each trans person, but gender euphoria (positive feeling of comfort, confidence, and joy in response to gender affirming experiences) is universal. I’m quoting an unknown source. I remember the quote, but can’t remember who said it. Euphoria’s title may derive from the euphoria one feels while high (Rue and her addiction), but Euphoria does a great job of showing gender euphoria through Jules. She is comfortable in her skin, even when others dare her to pee in the middle of the road. Yes. That happens, and it’s hilarious.
During the scene, Jules mentions Elliot (here he is again), attempting to question her gender. She doesn’t give him the satisfaction.
Closing Thoughts
Euphoria features strong transgender representation. Jules is a fantastic, layered character. Her journey is unique and yet emblematic of a lived transgender experience. Hunter Schafer’s lived experience gives her performance authenticity. And I love Euphoria’s sense of inclusion. Few people care she’s transgender. I even like how Euphoria doesn’t spell out that Jules is transgender at first. She’s one of the girls.
At the same time, Jules experiences many ups and downs that a transgender person may experience. She has doubted her gender. At times, she has modeled her life to appease cisgender men because she internalized that women–all women–must appease cisgender men. Ah! That makes her more real.
Euphoria is not an easy watch. It delivers an unflinching look at drugs, sex, and self-harm. Jules has an amazing but harrowing journey. And we’re getting a third season soon. I don’t know what to expect. The trailer has me a little nervous. And I’m going to miss Angus Cloud as Fezco. Fezco was one of Jules’s staunchest supporters, and he had a cute romance with Lexi. Rest in peace, Angus Cloud.
I would’ve been okay with Euphoria ending after two seasons, but I’m not complaining about a third. I trust the creative team to do a great job.
Geekly’s next two representation posts should center on autism representation. But would anyone like to see a show or movie that has poor representation? Let us know in the comments. And let us know what you think of Euphoria’s Jules. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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