Happy Wednesday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, our writers share what they’ve been listening to over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been listening to, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been listening to over the past month.
Kyra’s Tunes
I listened to Sarah McLachlan’s Surfacing (1997) from beginning to end for the first time in years, maybe a decade. My spouse and I listened to this album on repeat when it was first released. We happened to get married two months before Surfacing was released, so this album holds a special place. Music is one of those things that can trap a moment. Surfacing captures the early days of my marriage.
And this album is loaded with hits: “Building a Mystery,” “Sweet Surrender,” “Adia,” and “Angel.” There are so many memes with Sarah McLachlan and a dog. That stems from an ASPCA commercial where “Angel” plays and images of suffering dogs play. I can’t hear “Angel” without a Sarah McLachlan meme popping into my head. It was always my least favorite of Surfacing’s hits.
Of the Surfacing hits, my favorite was always “Sweet Surrender” or “Adia.” Those two showcase McLachlan’s vocal range. And I like some of “Building a Mystery’s” lyrics. “You come out at night. That’s when the energy comes. And the dark side’s light. And the vampires roam. You strut your rasta wear and your suicide poem. And a cross from a faith that died before Jesus came.” McLachlan shows the facades people can wear to hide their insecurities. Lovely.
My pick for Surfacing’s best deep cut is “Witness.” This soulful song screams sing-along. “Will we burn in heaven, like we do down here? Will a change come, while we’re waiting? Everyone is waiting.” Ah! I love the guitar solo, make it cry. “Witness” sounds nothing like any of the other Surfacing tracks, and yet, it fits.
I won’t spend as much time on Sarah McLachlan’s Fumbling Towards Ecstasy (1993). The title track is excellent, “Ice Cream” is fun, but “Possession” takes center stage. By the early nineties, McLachlan already had her share of deranged fans/stalkers. Two of them wrote McLachlan, and their letters inspired “Possession.” “And I would be the one to hold you down/kiss you so hard, I’ll take your breath away, and after I wipe away the tears/Just close your eyes, dear.” Haunting.
Knowing that someone wrote these words–or something akin to these words–to McLachlan gives me the ick. “My body aches to breathe your breath/your words keep me alive.” Restraining order. I’d never want to leave the house. If you ever want to feel like you need to sleep with the lights on, listen to “Possession.” But the vocals here are amazing. Love the harmonies.
Butthole Surfers are unapologetically weird. They may be one of the oddest Nineties bands to ever have a Top 40 hit, “Pepper,” and we’ll get to “Pepper” soon enough. I liked most of what Butthole Surfers was willing to produce. Independent Worm Saloon contains some non-traditional bops. “The Annoying Song” is just that, annoying, but I can’t help but bob my head along with the jam. I could Google “The Annoying Song’s” lyrics, but I like to interpret them as best I can. Looking up the lyrics is cheating.
Butthole Surfers’ cover of “The Hurdy Gurdy Man” (two years before Independent Worm Saloon) caught the attention of Capitol Records. I liked Butthole Surfers’ trippy rendition of “The Hurdy Gurdy Man.” They out-Donovaned Donovan. In the early Nineties, everyone was looking for the next Nirvana, so Capital signed Butthole Surfers. Independent Worm Saloon was the first album with all-new tracks under Capital. “Who Was in My Room Last Night?” was the lead single and received some play on MTV. But it wasn’t until the release of “Pepper” that Butthole Surfers exploded.
I always liked “Pepper,” but it sounded nothing like Butthole Surfers’ typical sound. Heck, Butthole Surfers don’t have a “typical sound.” What makes “The Annoying Song” and “Who Was in My Room Last Night?” great is that the tracks don’t sound like anything else. “The Annoying Song” is a chaotic noise-scape. Despite liking Butthole Surfers’ earlier work, “Pepper” is catchy. I love the line “You never know just how you look through other people’s eyes.” Brilliant. Honest. Haunting.
Butthole Surfers would be haunted by the ghost of “Pepper.” Capital wanted another hit single. Butthole Surfers weren’t into that and planned an odd follow-up to their 1996 breakthrough album. The new album was supposed to be After the Astronaut. Capital didn’t hear a single on this new album and refused to release it. Butthole Surfers released a doctored version of the already completed album and called it Weird Revolution. I wish I were lucky enough to have snagged a bootleg copy of the original After the Astronaut. It was a complete album. It never released. Not until later this month.
That’s right. After over three decades, After the Astronaut will be released in its original state. I’ve been listening to “Jet Fighter,” the album’s lead single, on repeat. The song is trippy. The video is equally trippy. Both deal with extremist Christians and how they love to go to war. Singer/songwriter Gibby Haynes worried at the time that the United States would return to war with the Middle East and largely Islamic nations. “Jet Fighter” was originally written in the mid-to-late Nineties. Turns out, Haynes was right to be worried. Led by extremist Christians, the United States has been in a consistent state of war against predominantly Islamic nations for almost as long as After the Astronaut has awaited a proper release.
I can’t wait to listen to the rest of the album. That’s all I have for what I’ve been listening to this month. Looks like Season and Skye don’t have anything for this week. They have both listened to plenty of tunes this past month, but life be lifing. What have you been listening to? 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. We’re forgoing any headlines for new releases in board games and video games. I have some family obligations over the next few weeks, so Geek News may need to be new releases for a little while. But it’s games. Who doesn’t like new games? Let’s get to this week’s crop of new board games and video games.
Shiver Me Timbers Launches on GameFound
Shiver Me Timbers is a highly thematic, strategic sandbox game set in the Golden Age of Piracy. The game is heavily Euro-inspired: It uses a tactical card-based combat system and takes lots of strategic planning to use your available actions to optimal effect and become the most notorious pirate of your era.
Each playing will vary as you randomly reveal five of ten vastly different victory conditions: One game, you’ll be rescuing your lost family, the next you might have to conquer enemy ships and fortresses or face the hideous Kraken.
At the beginning of the game, each player secretly chooses two of the revealed conditions as their personal goals. After all players have chosen, they set-up the fully modular board, each of them trying to find a constellation that optimally supports their hidden agenda. Then they outfit their modable ship miniatures, select their starting abilities and equipment and set sails to fight, conquer, trade, loot, hunt for treasure and much more.
During play, every achievement is rewarded with victory points. The game continues until all five victory conditions have been met. There’s a final scoring in which players collect extra points if they managed to achieve the goals they chose, and highest point total wins.
Thank you, Weltflucht Verlag, for Shiver Me Timbers’ description. This game looks amazing. This will be a theme with this week’s board game new releases, but I don’t have too many pirate games. Shiver Me Timbers looks like a pirate game I wouldn’t mind owning. Exploration? Check. Cool pirate ship minis? Check. Shiver Me Timbers even throws in some dice chucking. Except for the description above, I have no idea how this game plays, but I’m interested in Shiver Me Timbers. Players’ ships are supposed to be customizable. What? I like the idea of building my own pirate ship. Yo ho! If you’re interested in Shiver Me Timbers, check out its GameFound page.
Siege Perilous Launches on GameFound
In this expansive (and expandable) Euro-style board game, 1 to 4 players will traverse 12 kingdoms that compose Arthur’s Britain, each kingdom containing unique interactable locations, including castles, churches, training towers, ports, markets, fountains, dungeons, and the famed Forest Sauvage. The map itself changes throughout the game, as new events arise, foreign campaigns become available, and Merlin appears with a task that needs doing.
As a player, you will choose from among 6 Player Characters: Dame Britomart, daughter of King Rience; Sir Claudin, son of the Gaulish tyrant; Sir Galleron, proud son of the Northern wilds; Dame Marfisa, warrior queen of the East; Sir Morien, hailing from distant Africa; Sir Priamus, descendent of Judas Maccabeus and Hector of Troy; Sir Sadok, former vassal of the foul King Mark; Sir Wigalois, a lost son of Camelot. Each character begins with a unique set of statistics, which you will endeavour to increase throughout play, plus a starting quest unique to them. From there, embark upon your knightly career as you see fit.
I don’t know much about Siege Perilous, but Play to Z makes phenomenal games. I don’t have too many Arthurian-themed board games. There are plenty of them on the market. But I personally don’t have too many of these types of games. Siege Perilous looks involved. It’s a heavy Euro-style board game. And Siege Perilous may be worth it for the art alone. The artist, Jay Johnstone, uses traditional medieval art methods to create these images. Ah! Siege Perilous looks amazing. If you’re interested in Siege Perilous,check out its GameFound page.
Sovereign: Shōgun Launches on GameFound
Sovereign: Shōgun is a competitive strategy game set in feudal Japan, where rival daimyos struggle for political dominance, military strength, and imperial legitimacy. Each player leads an asymmetric clan with unique advantages, competing to shape the future of the realm while a young heir sits at the center of shifting power.
On their turn, players select a single action using a River-style action track. Actions grow stronger the longer they remain unchosen, creating constant tension between acting early at lower strength or waiting for greater impact while risking that another player claims the opportunity first.
Core actions include Harvest to generate income from developed lands, Move to reposition armies, Develop to expand infrastructure and territories, Mastery to recruit and strengthen military forces, and Diplomacy to gain favor with temples and increase influence. Timing, positioning, and reading opponents are just as important as raw military strength.
The game ends when a player reaches the required threshold on either the Points or Glory track, or when a Harvest-related condition triggers the endgame. Victory belongs to the clan that best balances economic growth, military power, and political influence.
Thank you, PHALANX, for the game description. Wow! Look at Sovereign: Shōgun‘s miniatures. This looks like a highly interactive dudes on a map board game. Sovereign: Shōgun has the look of Risk or Axis and Allies, but the base building separates the two. I have yet to play Sovereign: Shōgun, but it sounds like players will need to balance their economy, military might, and political influence to win. A lot is going on with Sovereign: Shōgun. Publisher PHALANX is known for Brass: Birmingham and Scythe. Both of those games are near the top of BoardGameGeek’s all-time greatest games list. While I don’t put that much stock in BGG’s Top 100 Games, it is a good benchmark for a baseline great game. PHALANX can deliver on a game like Sovereign: Shōgun. If you’re interested in Sovereign: Shōgun, check out its GameFound page.
Survivalist: The Board Game Launches on KickStarter
Survivalist drops two to six empty-handed players into the brutal wilderness for ten nights. Each day forces a decision: stay warm at the fire, recover in the nearby clearing, or push into the backcountry and gather what’s needed to prepare for seven threats. As the game progresses, these threats grow worse and nearer: thirst, storms, hunger, illness, wildlife, fatigue, and isolation. The game plays out as a tense survival simulation where every round is a balancing act of action selection and resource management, shaped by limited time, limited backpack capacity, and the constant threat of injury.
The game ends when only one person is left standing. Whoever endures the longest is the true survivalist—and the winner.
Thank you, Homestead Games New Zealand, for the game description. I love the idea of a survival board game. Survivalist: The Board Game offers Push Your Luck, Risk Mitigation, Resource Management, and even Worker Placement. I love these mechanisms in board games. I have yet to play Survivalist: The Board Game, but the combination of game elements sounds interesting. The one mechanism that gives me pause is Player Elimination. I don’t care for games that feature player elimination if the game lasts too long. Fortunately, from what I’ve heard, Survivalist: The Board Game lasts no longer than an hour and a half. I hope this is the case, because Survivalist: The Board Game sounds like a game Mrs. Geekly would enjoy.
Survivalist: The Board Game offers plenty of pledge levels, ranging from $60 – $500. The $500 price tag sounds like a lot, but backers who choose this option can offer feedback for Homestead Games New Zealand’s next release. I have yet to see that offered in a KickStarter campaign. Curious. I’m keeping an eye on that to see if it takes off. You never know if Geekly may start a KickStarter campaign. If you’re interested in Survivalist: The Board Game, check out its KickStarter page.
Is That Sheep Looking at Me? Launches on KickStarter
Make sheep out of sheep heads and butts; you can even make weird ones. Use action cards to stymie your opponents or help you build the biggest flock in the flock-building party card game, Is That Sheep Looking at Me?.
Is That Sheep Looking at Me? has a quirky theme and game pieces to match. It sounds as if Is That Sheep Looking at Me? has plenty of Take That. While I’m not the biggest fan of Take That as a game mechanism, Is That Sheep Looking at Me? takes little time to set up and play, so I’ll give it a pass. And the artwork is hilarious. Is That Sheep Looking at Me? also has a reasonable set of pledge levels: $25 and $35. It’s worth a gander–wait, that’s geese. If you’re interested in Is That Sheep Looking at Me?, check out its KickStarter page.
The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales Releases
A brand-new action RPG from the creators of Octopath Traveler and Bravely Default. In The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, open new paths as you explore this untamed continent and reveal the world’s mysterious history. Enjoy intuitive and rewarding action-based battle with a healthy dose of strategic support abilities from a fairy.
Publisher SquareEnix states that The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales serves as a spiritual successor to Chrono Trigger. I’d like a true sequel to Chrono Trigger/Chrono Cross or at least an HD remaster of Chrono Trigger. In lieu of that, I’m down with a title like The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. Who knows? If The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales does well, SquareEnix may publish a true sequel in the Chrono series. Regardless, The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales looks amazing. Its HD-2D graphics are on point. What else would one expect from the creators of Octopath Traveler. While I haven’t picked up a copy yet, I will in the coming days. Let us know if you’d like Geekly to write a review of The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales. It’s available on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S/X, and the Nintendo Switch 2.
Turn tactical, turn-based strategy on its side in R-Type Tactics I • II Cosmos! Making its debut on modern consoles, this two-game collection features revamped visuals, multiple campaigns, and branching missions!
I didn’t play the original release of these two games, almost forty years ago today. Yikes! The updated graphics look amazing. R-Type Tactics I * II Cosmos has a rather hefty price tag ($50) for a remaster, but you do get two games for the price of one. From what I’ve heard, R-Type Tactics I * II Cosmos has massive strategic depth. These games challenge gamers to use their wits and adapt to their environment. Experimentation is key. I love the sound of that. While I may not spend $50, especially without a playable demo, I’ve wishlisted R-Type Tactics I * II Cosmos. Like The Adventures of Elliot: The Millennium Tales, you may hear more about R-Type Tactics I * II Cosmos. R-Type Tactics I * II Cosmos is available on PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 4, Xbox Series S/X, Nintendo Switch, and Nintendo Switch 2.
That’s all the news we have for you this week. Which game sounds the most interesting to you? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another writing brain dump. Last month, I talked about how I journal. I’ve continued with that journaling method, and it’s helped me get back into writing. Today, I wanted to discuss a story’s shape. I’ve always been interested in the shapes stories can take. Yay! Are you ready to geek out with me about story structure?
Fabula versus Shuzhet
I’m going to borrow a couple of terms from Russian playwriting: fabula and shuzhet. Russians contributed a lot to theater, most notably Konstantin Stanislavski, who recontextualized acting, but the Moscow Art Theatre also had plenty of groundbreaking playwrights who explored the shape of stories. Russian writers like Anton Chekov loved structure. Remember Chekov’s Gun? Anyway, the Russian story shape concept revolves around how the fabula (chronology of events) interacts with the shuzhet (how the writer or playwright arranges the events). In other words, the fabula is the timeline, and the shuzhet is how the writer presents that timeline. I’ll muddy the water even more by saying the fabula could also be viewed as phases divorced from time. What?
Don’t worry. I’m sharing pictures/graphs and will bring up a few examples where the fabula doesn’t fall neatly into time or the chronology of events. These examples will largely be in movie form because the fabula/shuzhet pairing came from the Moscow Art Theatre. But we can still apply these concepts to any writing. Let’s begin with our first narrative structure: three acts.
Three Acts
We begin with the easiest story structure to explain, the three-act play. This method is ubiquitous. Most of us have heard of the first act (Setup), the second act (Complication), and the third act (Crisis or Climax) that leads to the denouement (or falling action). Yeah, what’s pictured above doesn’t do the three acts justice. I only included this as a visual representation of what’s happening chronologically (fabula) versus the shuzhet. As you can see, pretty straight-forward.
Stories that use Three Acts:
Die Hard Jaws Raiders of the Lost Ark
All three stories above have well-defined setups, complications, and climaxes. The three-act system is easy to follow. There’s a reason why so many writers choose this story shape. In Die Hard, we receive John McClaine’s backstory in short order (he’s estranged from his wife, and he wants to reconcile). This happens quickly because Die Hard is an action film. The complication occurs when German radical Hans Gruber and his armed team overtake Nakatomi Plaza. The climax takes place near the beginning of the third act before the story ties up loose ends.
Single, Uninterrupted Stream
As you can see with the image above, a single, uninterrupted stream behaves similarly to three acts. The big difference is that the scene is uninterrupted. While three acts can edit out any fluff or lulls in the action, a single, uninterrupted stream will not jump any moments.
Stories that use a Single, Uninterrupted Stream:
High Noon 12 Angry Men Before Sunset
I was going to break down High Noon or 12 Angry Men. Both are excellent. Both occur during real time. But I’ll switch gears with a sitcom, my favorite Friends episode, “The One Where No One’s Ready.” You’ll see that this episode also uses a three-act structure, but it occurs in real-time. We get the setup with Ross’s event, and no one else is ready. Complications arise, like Phoebe’s dress getting the hummus. Finally, our climax occurs when, after Ross yelled at her, Rachel refuses to go unless he drinks the fat. Three acts are tidy. They even work on a twenty-minute episode. This episode also happens to occur in real-time without breaks.
Multiple Timeline
Here’s where things get interesting (from a charting perspective, that is). Multiple timelines do what they suggest. The reader or viewer follows multiple timelines, presumably different characters, but not always. I love what N.K. Jemison did in The Fifth Season, which is a good example of multiple timelines within a novel. The reader follows three timelines of the same main character during different phases of her life. Brilliant! And with this example, you can see how the definition of the fabula or even the shuzhet can shift. There’s always room for a writer to play.
Stories that use a Multiple Timeline Structure:
The Godfather, Part II The Fountain Cloud Atlas
The Godfather, Part II contrasts the lives of Michael (son) and Vito (father) Corleone. We’re introduced to Michael Corleone and wonder how he could become this much of a monster. Watching Vito’s early life unfold informs us of Michael’s past and present. So good. There’s a reason The Godfather, Part II is a classic. It also provides an important question. Ask yourself if the multiple timelines build on one another. If they do, you’re good to go. If not, figure out a way for the timelines to build on one another.
Hyperlink (Multiple Dominoes)
I struggled with how to visually represent the hyperlink story shape. The image above doesn’t quite do it justice. With a hyperlink story, the narrative doesn’t need to progress in a linear fashion. You can expect swirls. Perhaps the term multiple dominoes works better. One domino falls against another, causing a chain reaction. You’ll need to connect the dots for this one, but when it happens, something magical can happen.
Stories that use a Hyperlink Structure:
Ajami Magnolia Under the Skin
It’s been a while since I’ve seen any of the movies I used as an example. I’ll try to recall Ajami as best I can. Ajami was written and directed by Scandar Copti and Yaron Shani. As Palestinian and Jewish people, the two used their lived experiences to explore the animosity between these two groups in Ajami. One act of violence from one group leads to another act of violence by the other. The cycle continues like dominoes until neither side remembers what caused the conflict. I may need to rewatch Ajami. I love its message.
Flashback
Uh oh. These story shapes can be tricky. I’m unsure of what I was trying to do with the image above. It gets better. I swear. Flashback stories start near the end and send us back in time toward the beginning. The story will then progress as usual. While the graphic may make flashback stories look complicated, plenty of stories use them. Like the ones below.
Stories that use a Flashback Structure:
Citizen Kane Fight Club Forest Gump
I’ll stick with another classic, Citizen Kane, for this example. Famously, Citizen Kane begins with the title character’s death. That would be toward the end of a story. Then, we go back in time, watching Kane’s life unfold. We already know what will become of Kane. We watch to understand why.
Backwards
This one was easier to represent. Backwards tells its story in reverse. The concept is simple; execution is not simple. You almost need to write the story forward first and then rearrange it so that it’s told in reverse. And if you’re going to do that, you’ll need a compelling reason to do so. Fortunately, we have plenty of stories that do just that.
Stories that use a Backwards Structure:
Irreversible Memento Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind
All three of these stories have some narrative reason why the story would be told backwards. The main character in Memento has short-term memory loss. Eternal Sunshine of a Spotless Mind is a sci-fi movie where people can erase their memories, beginning with the latest. Again, a great reason for telling a story backwards, but I’m going to focus on Irreversible. This French film is difficult to get through.
Trigger and Spoiler Warning: It deals with rape. There will be a scene where you may need to turn away. Irreversible shows a couple on a rampage, and the audience wonders why, only to reveal the couple’s loved one was raped. Before that reveal at the end, the audience questions why anyone would do what the couple we follow does. By the end, you’ll question why they didn’t take it further.
Repetition
Repetition is a powerful tool. Repetition is a powerful tool. Be honest, you read those two lines differently. JK
Repetition more or less repeats the same story or story elements more than once. It can and has been used to remarkable effect. Don’t knock repetition until you try it. If you don’t believe me, check out the following stories that use repetition.
Stories that use Repetition:
Rashomon Mr. Nobody JFK
Akira Kurosawa, the Japanese grand master of film himself, used repetition in his classic Rashomon. The audience receives several stories as to how a samurai died. Each storyteller in Rashomon has their own spin. Any of these stories could be true. Any of them could contain elements of truth. They all could be crap. Ultimately, which story you choose to believe or don’t believe says a lot about you.
Circular
We’ve gone full circle. I’m sure most of you have your “insert favorite time loop story here” as an example of a story using a circular structure. Sure, time loop stories do use a circular structure, but a time loop isn’t a prerequisite for this type of story.
Stories that use a Circular Structure:
Before the Rain 12 Monkeys Inside Llewyn Davis
Of course, I’m going to use a non-time loop story as my example here. The Serbian film Before the Rain centers on a pair of childhood friends. At first, they’re just friends. When they hit puberty, they become each other’s first lover. War descends, and it drives the pair from their home. After the war, the two became a romantic couple, despite one of them being married. Eventually, the pair discovers they should be just friends. Before the Rain uses the couple’s relationship as the loop, refraining from inventing time travel.
It’s okay if you want to include time travel, but the circular structure does allow for other avenues.
Non-Linear
Non-linear stories go back and forth in time, so you’ll see the fabula doing all sorts of crazy movements. Plenty of stories use non-linear storytelling to great avail. I like thinking of the non-linear structure as the structure for trauma. One thing can trigger another. Soon, you’re experiencing everything all at once.
Stories that use a Non-Linear Structure:
The Sweet Hereafter Pulp Fiction Slaughterhouse-Five
I love all the stories above, but let’s focus on The Sweet Hereafter. The story is about a school bus that careens off an icy bridge. Half the children on the bus survive. The other half don’t. The Sweet Hereafter explores the survivor’s guilt the living children have. Why did they live while their friend across from them died? I’m getting choked up thinking about it. If you do decide to read or watch The Sweet Hereafter, make sure you have tissues ready.
Oneiric
I don’t know how to express oneiric through a chart, so I stuck a cloud in the box. Oneiric pertains to dreams. So, the oneiric structure is one of dreams. Strange, non-sequiturs occur. The dream’s logic may make little sense in the real world, but that doesn’t mean that it doesn’t have its own interior logic. The trick is finding logic in the illogical.
Stories that use an Oneiric Structure:
Mirror Enter the Void Tree of Life
The Adventures of Alice in Wonderland is easily the most famous story that uses an oneiric structure, but I decided to go in a different direction. We started with Russian writers and playwrights, and we’ll end with one. Andrei Tarkovsky’s 1975 film Mirror (or Zerkalo) pushed countless boundaries. Semi-autobiographical (and based on Tarkovsky’s father), Mirror follows a poet nearing death. His memories pop in and out like dreams. The titular mirror doesn’t show what it should. Rain falls inside a house with no obvious hole in the roof. Mirror is one of those films you can watch hundreds of times, never quite know what Tarkovsky meant with some of his imagery, and come away with discovering something new.
Side note: I love a mirror as an object in a poem or story. The possibilities are endless.
And those are ten story structures or shapes. Wow! That was long. If you’ve made it this far, you’re awesome. We all know it. Let me know in the comments if I missed a story structure or another ten. I’m certain I did. 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 share what you’ve been watching, too, because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been watching over the past month.
Kyra’s Movies
I finally got around to watching Fahrenheit 451 (2018). It’s been some time since I read the Bradbury novel (of the same name), but I could tell HBO’s Fahrenheit 451 took a lot of liberties. Updates, if you will. I don’t believe the eye drops and augmented reality social media were part of the original. I’m okay with the additions, but it did bother me that Fahrenheit 451 didn’t elaborate on what happens to people after they got booted from augmented reality social media.
I may have missed something. I got that erasing someone’s data (from their fingertips) severed them from the rest of humanity (through the augmented reality social media or ARSM), but I couldn’t see why that was a bad thing. Did people get food through the ARSM? Did the ARSM pay them? Fahrenheit 451’s world-building was a little shaky. But the acting was stellar. Michael Shannon and Michael B. Jordan–hey, two Michaels–gave brilliant performances. They did so well in the roles that they made me forget all those pesky world questions.
Fahrenheit 451 clocks in at just over an hour and a half. I appreciate the shorter runtime. Too many films insist on more than two hours. The short runtime and the performance of the Michaels make Fahrenheit 451 a fun watch. I’d still recommend reading the original novel. It’s a short read. Heck, I may reread it so I can see all the liberties the movie took.
Crazy Rich Asians was another random movie I watched this past month. Typically, I don’t watch romantic comedies; I read them. And Crazy Rich Asians was first a novel. I may need to pick up Kevin Kwan’s novel and add it to my never-ending to be read pile. Actors make acting choices, and actors in romantic comedies can make some poor choices–or they can’t act. That’s why I tend to read romantic comedies. Let me fill in the blanks for myself. Case in point, the romantic lead in Crazy Rich Asians is not the best actor, and one or two actors make some questionable choices.
Of course, Michelle Yeoh was amazing. The look she and the romantic woman lead’s mother share is perfect. Years were conveyed in a thirty-second stare. Awkwafina was in rare form. I don’t tend to like her in most movies; she’s funny in Crazy Rich Asians. Ken Jeong is the perfect choice to play Awkwafina’s father. I love most of that family. I could do with a little less of Awkwafina’s creepy little brother. Stand-up comedians Jimmy O. Yang and Ronny Chieng partially round out this massive cast. I love Yang and Chieng’s stand-up routines, and they don’t disappoint.
I didn’t expect to like Crazy Rich Asians as much as I did. The movie showcases Singapore, another city just made my bucket list. The set pieces look phenomenal. Constance Wu (the romantic woman lead) did a stellar job, as did most of the cast. But the romantic man lead torpedoed some of his scenes. I didn’t care for the ending because he was deeply unlikable. And I wanted to see a happily ever after. Who doesn’t in a rom-com? Still, I recommend Crazy Rich Asians. Just try to block the male lead from your mind.
Kyra’s Shows
If you’ve been following Geekly for a while, you’ll know I’m a sucker for true crime. Netflix’s Should I Marry a Murderer? stands out from many of the streaming giant’s other offerings: empathy. Should I Marry a Murderer? presents its subject, Caroline Muirhead, in a way that we see why she makes certain choices. She fell in love with a man who turned out to be a murderer. She doesn’t cooperate with the police and makes some questionable decisions. Muirhead admits that her choices may not have been great, but they did have internal logic.
If you’re ever wondering “why did X stay or return,” you may want to give Should I Marry a Murderer? a watch. Muirhead explains her position well. She gets the viewer on her side, and just when that happens, the documentary throws in one of the authorities who call her foolish or state they would’ve helped her. Only, we see how the authorities didn’t help. Should I Marry a Murderer? shows how a police department can fail a witness. This is a cautionary tale. It may even give you pause with judging others because we don’t know what led them to make their decisions.
Originally, I watched Should I Marry a Murderer? while working on a project (a board game design), but I rewatched the show, giving it more attention on the subsequent view. Few shows like this offer empathy. I found myself agreeing with a witness who refused to immediately go to the police. Should I Marry a Murderer? reminds us that we live in a world of gray.
I also watched the recently released Spider-Noir. I won’t go into too much detail. Geekly has a full review of the series. In short, Spider-Noir is better than it has any right to be. I didn’t anticipate Spider-Noir, but that works in its favor. The biggest debate I’ve seen about Spider-Noir is which version is best, Authentic Black & White or True Hue (color), and after I reviewed the show, Marvel released its definitive way to experience the series. You split the two versions.
Marvel suggests watching episodes 1-3 in Black & White, Episodes 4 and 5 in True Hue, Episode 6 in Black & White, and Episodes 7 and 8 in True Hue. Essentially, Marvel says the first three episodes should be in Black & White because Ben Reilly isn’t in the best headspace, stuck in the past. Episodes 4, 5, 7, and 8 are more Reilly’s present (color), while Episode 6 is a flashback (so, Black & White). It’s an interesting concept. I may just try out this method of watching Spider-Noir. No matter how you watch the show, it’s fun.
That’s all I have for what I’ve been watching this past month. Let’s check in with Season.
Season’s Show
I’ve been feeling anime recently, and My Roommate Is a Cat stood out to me on Crunchyroll. I have two cats, so that’s part of the reason. Tee hee! Anyway, My Roommate Is a Cat isn’t something I normally watch. I tend to watch action/adventure or romance, not slice of life, which is the category My Roommate Is a Cat falls under.
My Roommate Is a Cat follows Subaru Mikazuki, a twenty-three-year-old introvert novelist who sucks at dealing with people. He’s also kind of a jerk to the few people who are close to him. He feeds a stray cat (whom he later names “Haru”) and takes her in. Subaru studies Haru’s behavior for a novel he’s writing, learning how she shows affection for him and bettering himself in the process. The show features both Subaru’s perspective for most of each episode and Haru’s for the last five-ish minutes of each episode. Haru’s perspective is goofy since she doesn’t understand why her dumb human won’t feed himself. She has to do everything.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. That’s all our writers have for what they’ve been watching this past month. Let us know what you’ve been watching, Geekly Gang. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Monday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here, and today, we have another Geekly Casting. Skye and I will be casting for a hypothetical Overwatch film. I found it difficult to pare the list of Overwatch characters to a manageable number. I forgot the original Overwatch launched with 21 characters. Twenty-One! We’ll cast a full twenty-one characters, so I researched Overwatch’s original cast–the one they used during demos before the game officially released–and found twelve. That’s a much easier number. I added a couple of characters (two) who will show up at the end of my segment. One makes sense for lore reasons, and the other sounded like fun to cast. So, we’ll have fourteen cast members. Yay!
Looks like Skye is sitting out this Geekly Casting. Hopefully, she’ll return soon. I’m flying solo with this Geekly Casting, so let’s get it started. Here is Geekly’s Casting of a hypothetical Overwatch movie.
Bastion: Ben Burtt
I almost didn’t cast anyone to voice Bastion. But someone does just that in the game: Chris Metzen. While Chris Metzen would make a great Bastion for an Overwatch film (because he is Bastion), I opted to go with Ben Burtt, who voiced Wall-E. Let’s be real. Bastion has Wall-E tones. If you’re not going to go with the original, you can’t go wrong with Ben Burtt.
Tracer: Emilia Jones
Tracer is young, British, and full of spunk. I had plenty of choices for this role, but I chose Emilia Jones (Locke & Key and CODA) because she’s already proven her acting chops. She’s received multiple awards and was nominated for a BAFTA. Jones just needs a big break. Tracer could be that big break. And it doesn’t hurt that she’s a dead ringer for Tracer.
Reaper: Tyler Dean Flores
While I could’ve gone with an older, stoic Latino actor like Danny Trejo or Javier Bardem, I wanted to go younger with Reaper. Tyler Dean Flores got his start on The Dark Knight Rises and has steadily built a varied and impressive acting career: When They See Us, I Saw the TV Glow, and The Falcon and the Winter Soldier. Flores has range and is another actor who could use a big break. Flores could give Reaper depth.
Widowmaker: Megan Northam
Widowmaker is a French ballerina turned sniper. Who better to portray her than jack-of-all-trades Megan Northam? Northam trained for a decade on the cello at the Nantes Conservatory. She’s even a dancer. Great! And Northam is French. Perfect! Northam’s breakout role came in 2021 in the French comedy Robust. She later starred in Netflix’s Notre-Dame and the Amazon Prime series, Greek Salad. I could easily see Northam pull off a convincing Widowmaker.
Pharah: Jamila Awad
Jamila Awad has had a varied career. She’s acted in comedies and dramas alike but hasn’t been in a major project in half a decade. Awad took part in a UNICEF campaign alongside numerous Egyptian and international artists, including Mona Zaki. The objective of this campaign was to enhance awareness of children’s rights on a global scale and within the Arab region. And last year (2025) Awad was the face of Armani Beauty. I could see Awad make a triumphant acting return as Pharah.
Reinhardt: Michael Fassbender
German-Irish actor Michael Fassbender needs little introduction. He’s freaking Magneto. While he may need to be aged up a little bit for the role of Reinhardt, Fassbender can pull off the accent. He has the gravitas that will pull in combatants and viewers as Reinhardt. The only thing that surprises me with this pick is that I haven’t cast Michael Fassbender in anything yet. A good Overwatch film could erase the less-than-stellar Assassin’s Creed movie. Yikes!
Mercy: Isabel Lucas
“Heroes Never Die.” The same can be said of Samantha Cage, Isabel Lucas’s character in MacGyver. Lucas certainly has the look to play Mercy. It also helps that Lucas can speak Swiss-German, so Mercy’s accent should be no problem. Recently, Lucas has returned to Australian film, but I’m sure the role of Mercy could convince her to return to Hollywood.
Torbjörn: Bill Skarsgård
Bill Skarsgård is another actor who needs no introduction. The Pennywise actor may seem like an odd choice for Torbjörn, but Skarsgård is no stranger to mountains of prosthetics. He loses himself in most of his roles. And can’t you see Skarsgård in full Torbjörn makeup and beard extensions? It’d be glorious.
Hanzo: Brian Tee
Chicago Med star Brian Tee is no stranger to action films. He’s been featured in Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift, The Wolverine, Jurassic World, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, where he portrayed none other than Shredder himself. Yeah. Tee has the credentials to pull off a menacing Hanzo.
Winston: Crispin Freeman
I’m keeping it simple with Winston. His voice actor Crispin Freeman retains the role. Why not? Winston will most likely be predominantly CGI. It makes sense to keep Winston’s video game voice actor. Nuff said.
Zenyatta: Feodor Chin
I’m sensing a trend here. I’m going with Zenyatta’s original voice actor Feodor Chin. The role will most likely be achieved through CGI, so why not have the classically trained Chin reprise his role? Chin has forgotten more about acting than most of us will ever know. He’s starred in live action, animation, and video games. Chin has countless acting credits, but here’s a list of his highlights: Big Little Lies, Lethal Weapon, Jane the Virgin, New Girl, Hit-Monkey, What If?, and Regular Show. And that’s on top of all Chin’s video game voice acting.
Symmetra: Anjali Bhimani
Okay. I’m three for three with these last three roles. I’m sticking with Symmetra’s voice actor Anjali Bhimani. Clearly, Symmetra won’t be CGI, but seeing Bhimani in live-action roles makes me smile. She was one of the reasons I watched Ms. Marvel. And if you’ve ever seen Bhimani on YouTube Dungeons & Dragons videos, you know she has charisma to spare. Being a D&D fan gives Bhimani extra geek cred. It also doesn’t hurt that Bhimani also voices one of my Apex Legends’ mains, Rampart. She’s gotta be the live-action Symmetra.
Genji: Mamoru Miyano
Mamoru Miyano may be primarily known as a J-Pop star and voice actor, but Light Yagami from Death Note is one of Miyano’s voice acting credits. Ah. I like the idea of an android Light wreaking havoc. Miyano has the presence to pull off Genji’s voice. And if you noticed, Genji is one of my final two entries. He wasn’t one of the original 12 characters in Overwatch’s demo, but I couldn’t include Hanzo without including his brother, Genji.
D.Va: Bae Suzy
D.Va may be an E-Sports star, but she gives off crazy K-Pop Idol vibes. I’m leaning into the K-Pop angle with Bae Suzy, who just so happens to have built a solid acting career. I can see Bae Suzy saying “Nerf This” before ejecting from a mech. It also doesn’t hurt that Bae Suzy has martial arts training. She can pull off an action role like D.Va.
Those are my picks for a hypothetical Overwatch live-action film. Thank you for reading. You’re awesome. We all know, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle with another week of Geek News. Until recently, I was entertaining family from out of town, so we won’t have any headlines this week, but we have plenty of board game and video game new releases. Let’s get to the games that released this past week.
8 Dragons Launches on KickStarter
In 8 Dragons you play a mighty Dragon soaring across two kingdoms. But you don’t fly alone. Your Wyrmlings have just hatched and are eager to fly. You form Swarms, with your own Wyrmlings and those of the other Dragons.
On your turn, you visit wondrous locations and activate effects for yourself and every Wyrmling in your Swarm. When your Wyrmlings fly with others, you benefit from their turns too.
Along the way, friendly villagers help you expand your Lair, chamber by chamber. Collect artifacts, fulfill Missions, and hoard as much Gold as you can.
And as befits true dragons: whoever hoards the most Gold wins.
Thank you, Wonderbow Games, for that game description. I know very little about 8 Dragons, but it looks amazing. That centerpiece with the dragons and the infinity symbol leaves an impression. Everything I’ve read about 8 Dragons has me intrigued. Limited downtime. Turns don’t take long, and every turn will have each player invested. The lair building (the hexagonal tiles pictured beneath the board) sounds interesting as well. I love dragons as a theme. I also love puzzle elements (the lair building). And I like having multiple paths to victory. For me, 8 Dragons checks a lot of boxes.
8 Dragons offers multiple pledge levels, ranging from $57 to $87. That’s not a bad price point for what you get in the game. Obviously, the deluxe version will cost more than the standard, but the board game insert–that snaps into place within the game box–may be well worth the additional cost. I’ve spent about $30 on board game inserts before, and a custom-made insert by the board game company is a huge plus. If you’re interested in 8 Dragons, check out its KickStarter page.
Hexes of Sygon Launches on KickStarter
Your wizards gaze across the mystical planet of Sygon. Volatile volcanoes have blazed away much of the world, except for a precious clearing of land. Here lies the various landscapes of Sygon: meadows, swamps, dunes, mountains, forests, and caves.
Each landscape hosts a unique spell component crucial to developing civilization on Sygon. Collect gold and the various spell components – flower, elixir, spice, powder, mushroom, and crystal – and maneuver your wizards to conjure towns, workshops, and markets to quickly advance your civilization. Use alchemy or forage to obtain components outside your grasp.
Sygon relies on you to bring prosperity to its ravaged lands. However, you are not alone. Wizards loyal to other civilizations plot to loot you and compete for control of the planet. Be wary of where you place your towns and wizards and build walls to protect them against thieving wizards and volcano eruptions. Rise from the ashes and bring glory to your civilization on Sygon.
Thank you, Hexes of Sygon, for the game description. I’ve seen a lot of wizarding games recently–Wandering Towers is a great introductory game–but Hexes of Sygon may offer the most variability. Oh my! I haven’t played Hexes of Sygon, but the game has received solid reviews on BoardGameGeek. BGG also lists Hexes of Sygon as a 2025 release, so this KickStarter campaign may signal Hexes of Sygon’s second print run. That’s a good sign. I can’t get over the number of building types players may construct. Each player’s region may play vastly differently from one another. Hexes of Sygon features some nice artwork, too. I may get the game for the fungus tiles alone. If you’re interested in Hexes of Sygon, check out its KickStarter page.
Tokyo Hanafuda Launches on KickStarter
Hanafuda is a traditional Japanese card game that has been enjoyed for generations. Its biggest appeal is the designs of the card. Without the use of numbers or symbols, each card has a specialised design that uses flowers, birds, and nature, and is a design that transcends time and is well beloved.
Today, Hanafuda that use anime or game characters, or sets that depict local landmarks of various regions, have been created, and continue to charm many people.
Thank you, Kitamido (Tokyo Hanafuda’s publisher), for the game description. Quick Trivia Question: What was Nintendo’s first game? Yep. It’s Hanafuda.
While Nintendo added colorful characters (and you can get Mario Hanafuda decks), the traditional game featured flowers, birds, and nature, just like the description said. Tokyo Hanafuda brings Hanafuda back to its roots. You’ll notice that none of the cards have suits or numbers. You’re trying to match the cards in pairs. Simple, elegant. And I love that Tokyo Hanafuda features art by a Tokyo resident and Hanafuda enthusiast, Kitamido. Tokyo Hanafuda offers multiple pledge levels, ranging from $30-$67. If you’re interested in Tokyo Hanafuda, check out its KickStarter page.
Voidling Bound Releases
Become a Space Wrangler and take direct control of creatures called “Voidlings” in this action-packed sci-fi 3rd person shooter. Shape them through branching evolution paths and upgrade their abilities to overcome bubonic swarms, pestilent bosses, and reclaim lush planets overrun by corruption.
Hatch, evolve, and upgrade powerful space creatures in this action-packed sci-fi 3rd person shooter that reinvents the monster taming genre! Here comes Voidling Bound.
I’m a sucker for monster-taming video games. I just learned this game existed. Reading Voidling Bound’s premise, I’m hooked. The game has received good to great reviews. That’s a good sign. The new, indie studio Hatchery Games developed and produced Voidling Bound. Hatchery Games’ crew is comprised of ex-Skylanders and Borderlands developers, so you can see the inspiration behind Voidling Bound. Skylanders and Borderlands are a combination I wouldn’t expect, but it’s more than welcome. I downloaded Voidling Bound’s demo. You may be hearing more about this game from Geekly in the not-so-distant future. Skylanders meets Borderlands. What’s not to love?
That’s all the Geek News we have for you this week. Which game are you the most interested in? 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, and today, our writers share what they’ve been reading over the past month. Feel free to share what you’ve been reading over the past month because we’re all part of the Geekly Gang. I’ll get things started with what I’ve been reading this past month.
Kyra’s Fiction
Yes! In preparation for the upcoming Supergirl movie (releasing later this month), I read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, and I’m glad I did. I like the addition of Ruthye. Ruthye serves as a Nick Carraway-style narrator (The Great Gatsby). The story may be Supergirl’s, but it’s told in Ruthye’s voice. While Ruthye has a tendency to monologue, I love it when Supergirl’s actions contradict Ruthye’s narration. For example, “Many view Supergirl as soft,” and Supergirl swears while beating someone to a pulp, to which Ruthye will add, “In my experience, that was not the case.” Instant chuckles.
Tom King wrote Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. I figured I would enjoy the title, because I enjoyed Tom King’s (sometimes maligned) run on Batman. Honestly, I don’t know why some readers didn’t care for King’s Batman run. I blame it on King killing off Alfred Pennyworth during the City of Bane (2019), and Batman’s faithful butler has yet to return. The fact that Alfred has remained dead shocks me. Good on DC Comics. I mention King’s work on Batman to suggest that he takes risks, and Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow takes risks. Future authors codified Supergirl Kryptonian with PTSD in future Supergirl stories, but King took the first leap.
And this is a heck of a first leap. I can’t wait to see what Season thinks of Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. After I was done reading the story, I shared it with her, and she finished it in one sitting. Yay! And after Season was finished, she handed the book to Skye. We may have a three-way crossover this month. Woo hoo!
As you can see, I went on a DC Comics kick this month. Comic book writer Greg Rucka is another favorite. I liked his runs on Wonder Woman, so I was excited to try out Batwoman: Elegy. We begin in medias res (in the middle), and I appreciate Batwoman: Elegy refusing to hold the reader’s hand. But I was confused. Some context could’ve helped, but the story flows. Super fast. I blew through Batwoman: Elegy, and I don’t recall Rucka’s Wonder Woman reading that quickly. In short, Rucka made the right choice. Batwoman moved through this story so quickly, as if she were trying to run away from something. Turns out, it’s her past.
The context I complained about not having at the beginning reveals itself toward the middle of Batwoman: Elegy. This story’s speed gets the reader to those ah-ha moments faster. Only one thing bothered me in Batwoman: Elegy. The story overcommits to linking Batwoman to Batman. While I appreciate Batwoman: Elegy trying to link its character with the rest of Bat Family, at times it felt forced, and other times it was downright confusing. Evidently, Batman had a similar case to Batwoman’s, and Batwoman: Elegy remixes the two events. Batwoman: Elegy is a great origin story for the character, but at times, it get turned around.
This is my final DC Comics entry, I swear. I didn’t know what to expect from Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens. Paul Dini (writer of Batman: The Animated Series) is another excellent comic book writer, and Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens serves as a source material (of sorts) for the Harley Quinn: Animated Series. The final product reads like a series of odd occurrences, some of which make their way into the Harley Quinn series. I expected a comical tone. Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens took itself far more seriously than I imagined.
The stories were engaging. Short, but engaging. Dini tends to write short-form comic book stories. If you’re expecting a longer narrative like Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow or Batwoman: Elegy, you won’t find it with Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens. This is the third graphic novel I read this month, and frankly, I needed a change of pace. Harley Quinn and the Gotham City Sirens fills that role. Don’t enter reading this story thinking it’ll be as comical as the Harley Quinn: Animated Series.
Kyra’s Nonfiction
I mentioned last month (I think) that I had read the Proactive Roleplaying Guide from the Game Master’s Handbook line, and I was going to start reading The Game Master’s Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design. Phew! That is a long title. But the title’s length makes it easy to search online for the book. I love this series. I knew I’d love this book. And didn’t disappoint. Jonah and Tristan Fishel hand game masters the keys to incorporating the methods in this book into any tabletop role-playing game, even ones that are underway.
The biggest hurdle will be letting go of some authority as the game master. When the Fishels say collaborative campaign design, they mean it. The game master and the players craft the world and campaign they wish to play. Funnily enough, this leads to more buy-in by the players. Players take ownership of the game and its world. And it alleviates pressure on the game master to always come up with something. Will The Game Master’s Handbook of Collaborative Campaign Design work for every situation? No. It wouldn’t work for the two-hour session I have planned for the upcoming Comic-Con: Nebraska (stop by and say hi), but I can’t wait to try out this method with a longer campaign.
That’s all I have for what I’ve been reading. Let’s check in with Season and Skye.
Skye’s Fiction
With the upcoming release of the Supergirl DCU film, the rest of the Geekly crew has convinced me to take a closer look at the movie’s inspiration, Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow. I am in the process of reading Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow, but what I’ve gleaned is this is a complex tale about the emotional struggles of the title heroine following the destruction of her home planet. Kara is despondent that her people have been wiped out. As a result, she’s developed a habit of taking trips to planets with red suns to repress her powers and drown her sorrows in booze. It’s genuinely depressing to see a beloved superhero in such a state, but I look forward to seeing how the story conveys the need to rise above one’s circumstances.
Season’s Fiction
Same! I also read Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow in preparation for the upcoming movie. As previously mentioned, I read it in one sitting. Can you tell I enjoyed it? I appreciate the story not being told from Supergirl’s perspective. I mean, she began the story wasted, so her being the narrator would have been less reliable. There is a point in Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow when Ruthye makes conjectures about what happened when Supergirl left her on a safe planet. I’m curious whether they’ll include this in the upcoming movie.
Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow had good pacing and evened out the heaviness of the story with goofy moments. The ending is truly something to behold and is well-earned.
The Spellshop is a popular 2024 romantasy title. It’s also my first time reading a romantasy. Kiela ran away from the city of Alyssium to the remote island of Caltrey with illegally acquired spell books due to a revolution in Alyssium. I thought most romantasies had a lot of hot and heavy moments, but The Spellshop proved me wrong. Kiela focuses on survival in her new/old home (her parents’ house before they moved to the city), and all of her neighbors want to help her. Kiela isn’t a social person, so the help is unwelcome at first. She warms up to the villagers (and a local guy) and manages to thrive on Caltrey. There are a couple of scenes with kissing in them, but acts of service are the primary love language in The Spellshop.
Did I mention Kiela’s best friend, Caz, is a talking spider plant? Honestly? Caz is the main reason I picked up the book. Tee hee!
Back in April, I mentioned The Husky and His White Cat Shizun. I’m still reading that (I’m on Volume 5), but I’ve also started reading Heaven Official’s Blessing. I watched the anime for Heaven Official’s Blessing, and the ending was abrupt. Apparently, they’re releasing a new season this year. Anyway, the light novels have a faster pace than the anime, though they’re redundant in places. Seriously, if Mo Xiang Tong Xiu cut out half of the redundant sentences, I guarantee the first volume could have been shorter by at least thirty pages. I still enjoy the story, and the characters are cute. I’m excited to see what lies beyond the anime.
Hey, hey! Kyra Kyle here again. Those are all the books our writers have been reading this past month. What’ve you been reading? Let us know in the comments. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Hey, hey, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here. Supergirl is right around the corner, so now may be the best time to get into reading Supergirl comics. Many of the stories mentioned in this list will come from the previous two decades because Supergirl was a girl version of Superman for many years until DC Comics decided to kill her in Crisis on Infinite Earths. Spoiler: Crisis on Infinite Earths didn’t quite make this list, but I’d recommend reading it for reasons other than Supergirl lore.
Crisis on Infinite Earths occurred in the Eighties, and Supergirl’s death would stick longer than most comic book characters. And when Supergirl returned, comic book creators took her in different directions. Finally, Kara Zor-El would break free of her cousin’s shadow. We have some interesting stories to discuss. Which comic book stories made our Supergirl Starter Stories.
We’ll start things off with our only single issue on this list.
Single Issue
“The Supergirl from Krypton” (Action Comics #252; written by Robert Bernstein/art by Al Plastino; May 1959)
Fun fact: Action Comics #252 contained three stories. The first featured the iconic Superman villain, Metallo’s first appearance in “The Menace of Metallo.” And the third was Supergirl’s origin, “The Supergirl from Krypton.”
Honestly, I only included “The Supergirl from Krypton” because it’s Supergirl’s first appearance. I like to include a character’s origin whenever possible. Very little happens in “The Supergirl from Krypton” besides Superman and Supergirl meeting for the first time and a lengthy backstory of how Kara Zor-El ended up on Earth. But Supergirl’s origin is interesting.
Her Kryptonian hometown, Argo City, was blasted free of Krypton’s destruction in a bubble of compressed air, designed by Kara’s father Zor-El (who’s also Superman’s uncle). Zor-El created a force field around the city to maintain its atmosphere, but years later, a meteor shower penetrated the air bubble, and Zor-El saved his daughter by building her a spaceship, similar to Superman’s. He sends her to Earth because somehow the Kryptonians on Argo City know about Superman. Sure. Supes can’t take on Kara as his ward (and risk his secret identity), so he sends her to an orphanage. Nice move, Supes.
“The Supergirl from Krypton” doesn’t have a lot of space to explore the cousins’ relationship, but there’ll be plenty of time to do that in the coming years.
Storylines
“Many Happy Returns” (Supergirl #75-#80 written by Peter David/art by Ed Benes; 2003)
Peter David had an excellent run on Supergirl. You should check it out if you have the time, but I’m focusing on David’s storyline, “Many Happy Returns” because David primarily wrote about Linda Danvers, the Post-Crisis on Infinite Earths’ Supergirl. This post focuses on Kara Zor-El, but Linda Danvers was a good character in her own right. Danvers is the reason Kara Zor-El in the Supergirl series had the surname Danvers.
Anyway, “Many Happy Returns” marks Kara Zor-El’s return to DC Comics continuity. A lot more happens in “Many Happy Returns,” we’re talking multiverse jumping and a romance between Earth-One’s Superman and Linda, leading to Linda needing to save Kara on her world. Long story short, Linda does something she can never come back from, renounces being a hero, and Kara Zor-El takes back the mantel of Supergirl.
“Supergirl: Girl of Steel” (Supergirl #0-10 and #12; written by Jeph Loeb, Greg Rucka, Jimmy Palmiotti, Justin Gray, and Joe Kelly; art by Ron Adrian, Rob Lea, Ian Churchill, Andy Lanning, Amanda Conner, Jimmy Palmiotti, and Norm Rapmund; 2005-2007)
Jeph Loeb’s classic run on Supergirl helped define the character. While “The Supergirl from Krypton” spun a tale of a teenage Kryptonian living on an asteroid for years before getting launched into space to join her cousin, “Supergirl: Girl of Steel” presents the more familiar story of Supergirl leaving Krypton at the same time as her then infant cousin. Supergirl was tasked with protecting Kal-El on Earth, but her ship got lost and she spent decades in suspended animation. By the time Kara Zor-El reached Earth, her cousin no longer needed her. And now, she needed to find her way.
“Supergirl: Girl of Steel” is an iconic story at this point. You can see its influence on the Supergirl television show, and the upcoming Supergirl film will use another story (more on that in a bit) that builds on “Supergirl: Girl of Steel’s” structure. This is a must read.
“The Hunt for Reactron” (Action Comics #881-882, Supergirl #44-50, Supergirl Annual #1, and Superman: Secret Files 2009) written by Greg Rucka and Sterling Gates; art by Jamal Igle; 2009-2010)
“The Hunt for Reactron” may take place on New Earth, but it does an excellent job showcasing Reactron, one of Supergirl’s greatest foes. And you can’t go wrong with Greg Rucka’s storytelling. On New Earth, Kara Zor-El’s father and many more Kryptonians survived Krypton’s destruction. They establish a New Krypton, and Reactron, with the help of Superman villain Metallo, disturb the peace. Okay. I soft-balled that. Reactron kills Kara’s father.
Understandably, Kara flies off in a rage. What ensues is fellow Kryptonian Thara Ak-Var (Flamebird) preventing Kara from doing something she’ll regret. Is she successful? You’ll have to read “The Hunt for Reactron.”
“Bizarro-Girl” (Supergirl #53-#57) written by Sterling Gates; art by Jamal Igle; 2010)
We go from one villain-defining story to another. Leading up to 2010, Bizarro had existed for decades. Bizarrogirl made her debut in this story, and she does so with a bang. Unlike Bizarro who’s the opposite of Superman, Bizarrogirl functions like a mirror for Kara Zor-El. Leading into this story, New Krypton falls and several Kryptonians (like Flamebird) die with it. Supergirl is in mourning.
Bizarro sends Bizarrogirl to Earth to cause trouble. While Bizarrogirl is away, Bizarro World gets attacked by giant bug-like creatures spawned by “Godship.” The insectoids overrun Bizarro World, and Bizarrogirl’s people believe she abandoned them. She blames herself for Bizarro World’s downfall just as Supergirl blames herself for New Krypton’s demise. I love how Bizarrogirl asks Supergirl if self-punishment ever ends, and Kara tells her it might not, but it’s what you do afterwards that counts. Supergirl takes her own advice, and the two start healing. “Bizarro-Girl” is a great read.
“Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton” (Supergirl #1-7; written by Michael Green; art by Mike Johnson and Mahmud Asrar; 2011-2012)
The New 52 brought changes to the DC Comics Universe. This version of Supergirl has just landed on Earth. She believes she’s dreaming. She must be on Krypton (instead of Earth) and encounters Superman. Confused, Kara Zor-El attacks the man calling himself Superman. She had babysat her infant cousin Kal-El three days ago. But this is indeed a grown Kal-El. He explains to her that the Earth’s yellow sun gives them superpowers like Kryptonian Worldkillers. What’s a Worldkiller? We find out when we meet Reign for the first time.
Reign explains that Worldkillers, like her, were the result of Kryptonian scientific experiments. They were genetically altered to be killing machines. And just like Kryptonians, Reign isn’t the only Worldkiller who survived Kryton’s destruction. Kara must take on four Worldkillers alone. The Worldkillers want nothing more than to kill innocent lives. Kara manages to save the humanity and drive off the Worldkillers…for now.
“Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton” introduces yet another great Supergirl villain, Reign. She made such an impression that she was featured in a season of Supergirl. Not bad for a new villain. “Supergirl: The Last Daughter of Krypton” shows Kara Zor-El as truly alone. It sows the seeds for our next entry as well.
“Red Daughter of Kryton” (Supergirl: #26-#33; Green Lantern #28; Red Lanterns #28-34; written by Various; art by Various; February 2014-October 2014)
Surprise. Worldkillers return in “Red Daughter of Krypton.” But before we get there, Supergirl fights off Cyborg Superman and H’el in space. H’el is another great Supergirl villain. We don’t get too much of his backstory here, but in short, he tempts Kara Zor-El with turning Earth into a New Krypton. While this pitch wouldn’t do much for Superman, Supergirl has more of an attachment to Krypton. Regardless, after Supergirl finishes this fight she returns home to find Lobo antagonizing her. All this leads to a red lantern ring finding its way to Kara. Red Lanterns feed off anger, and in “Red Daughter of Krypton,” we see Kara Zor-El give into her rage.
Even though most Red Lanterns, like Atrocitus, who does make an appearance, can be viewed as villains. We do see heroes take on a red lantern ring. Here’s looking at you, Guy Gardner. In the end, Supergirl manages her rage. She retains the moniker of a superhero. But “Red Daughter of Krypton” reveals a new side of Supergirl that writers will explore.
“Supergirl: Being Super” (Supergirl: Being Super #1-4; written by Mariko Tamaki; art by Joelle Jones; 2017)
We get another origin story of sorts with “Supergirl: Being Super.” In this one, Kara Zor-El becomes Kara Danvers. This is an obvious nod to the Supergirl television show in the middle of its run on the CW. “Supergirl: Being Super” remixes details of the original Supergirl origin. She lives in Midvale, which is where Superman dropped her into an orphanage. But she also discovers her powers, similar to Kal-El. The Supergirl in “Supergirl: Being Super” drops the Supergirl as Superman protector for a moment and explores what it would be like if Supergirl were a novice.
“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” (Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow #1-8; written by Tom King/art by Bilquis Evely; August 2021-April 2022)
“Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” was the first comic I knew would make this list. If you were to search against this title, you’ll find the Supergirl 2026 movie as a top result. Simply put, “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” is the basis for the upcoming DCU Supergirl film. Yay!
Written by Tom King (who had just finished an iconic run on Batman), “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” returns Kara Zor-El to Superman’s would-be protector. Only a grown Superman doesn’t need a babysitter. So, she’s on a foreign planet (Earth) with no purpose and gives in to her baser instincts. This is a lost Kara Zor-El. The ending of the DCU’s Superman (2025) does a great job of setting up her character. Kara gets wasted. She’s aimless. She struggles to find purpose, but eventually, she finds herself. The award-winning “Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow” received widespread acclaim. I can’t wait to see how the DCU interprets this story.
Those are the Supergirl stories that made our list. Are there any Supergirl stories you would add to this list? Let us know in the comments, Geekly Gang. 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. I got a surprise visit from family this week, so I reduced our board game new release coverage to the largest release of the week, and fortunately, there weren’t too many video game new releases. We’re skipping headlines this week and jumping in with new board game and video game releases for this week of Geek News.
Concordia Special Edition Launches on GameFound
Awaken Realms releases another special edition of a classic board game, Concordia. Concordia joins The Castles of Burgundy and Puerto Rico in this series. I love that Awaken Realms has updated these classic board games. While I don’t believe every classic board game needs a fancy special edition, if you really like a specific board game, it’s nice to have the option of a deluxe (special) edition of that game. And Awaken Realms is known for overproducing games. Like some of the other choices Awaken Realms has produced, Concordia could’ve used an update. This game looks amazing.
In case you missed The Castles of Burgundy and/or Puerto Rico, Awaken Realms has given gamers a chance to add these titles to their upcoming GameFound project. Fair warning, these games do cost about $100, possibly more with add-ons. Since this project is launching on GameFound (and I’ve only seen a preview), we don’t know exact numbers at this time. One thing is for sure: this version of Concordia looks fantastic. If you’re in the market for Concordia Special Edition, check out its GameFound page.
eFootball Kick-Off! Releases
Celebrating more than 30 years of football gaming, eFootball™ Kick-Off! brings together national teams and club teams from around the world, featuring top players and iconic legends. Whether competing on the global stage or building a dream squad, fans can experience the passion, intensity, and spectacle of the world’s game.
I haven’t played this series since it was called Pro Evolution Soccer (PES). To be fair, I have played the 2020 version of PES, but this remains the premier soccer (or football) simulation video game. No offense, EA Sports’ FC Series. This week the Nintendo Switch 2 gets its version of the game. It looks amazing. eFootball Kick-Off! is eFootball on Nintendo Switch 2. What’s not to like? I have yet to play the game (still don’t have a Switch 2), but if I wanted a mobile football sim, I’d look no further than eFootball Kick-Off! on the Switch 2.
CALX Releases
Flow across the WARP-corrupted planet Syro. Master movement as the Seeker. Double jump, dash, levitate and grapple through atmospheric ruins. Scan, solve puzzles, and engage in measured combat in waves of stillness and frenzy.
CALX looks amazing. It bills itself as an action-adventure game with hack-and-slash combat, and from what I’ve seen from trailers and screenshots, that sounds accurate. But I’d add platform and puzzle elements to its list of designators. I love the cel-shading art style. From what I’ve seen, the game flows well. CALX does have a playable demo, so you can see for yourself if the game is a good fit. CALX is available on Steam.
That’s all we have for Geek News this week. We’ll most likely be back to a normal schedule next week. Fingers crossed. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
Happy Friday, Geekly Gang! Kyra Kyle here with another board game design brain dump. I’m trying to get back on track with these, and since I’m rusty at writing a game design brain dump, I’ll be jumping topics a bit with today’s post. We’ll begin with Monster Chef. Yes! I’ve kicked around Dungeon Chef and Dungeon Gourmet for this card game, but I Monster Chef fits. Plus, I love this simple logo for Monster Chef.
So Cute! Anyway, several game design brain dumps ago, I mentioned a card-drafting game based on the anime, Delicious in Dungeon. Monster Chef is that game. I just cut the card-drafting aspect of the game, and that led me to board game development. If board game design is like writing a story, board game development is editing that story. So, today’s game design brain dump leans into a very important aspect of design: development.
Sure, some people make a living editing and don’t write as much original material. The same can be said of board game developers. Plenty of developers can make a living (or at least some extra spending cash) by developing other designers’ work. But like writing, a board game’s first developer will be its designer. No matter how much I’d love to hand off Monster Chef to a developer and move on to my next game, I need to find a happy place for Monster Chef. And like writing, often game designers need to “kill their darlings.”
I love card-drafting games. Heck, Monster Chef began as Food Court Hustle, which had an interesting–to me at least–twist of dual-purpose cards. Players would play a card for one effect and discard a different card for another effect, before passing their hands to the next player. With Monster Chef, I took the concept further by allowing players to draw cards into the hands they inherited from other players, giving players more control over the chaos caused by card-drafting. Despite all these factors to “solve” my perceived problem with the card-drafting games, I learned card-drafting was holding back Monster Chef. Card-drafting breeds upheaval. Monster Chef needed stability.
The game wanted to use hand management (players don’t change hands and keep the ones they have dealt to them) instead of card-drafting (in this case, closed card-drafting). Players would often forget to pass their hands after their turns. The physical act of drafting cards meant that players couldn’t preplan their following turns, which slowed gameplay. Some of the choices felt as if they lacked consequences because you didn’t know what your hand would eventually look like, so one wouldn’t care what remained in their hands. And Monster Chef had plenty of other random elements (like not knowing which recipes would get drawn for the display). Hand management affords more control.
With hand management, I added card draw to the Monster Chef’s design space. The game has a faster run time. Players can cycle through the draw decks (dungeon floors) more quickly. And I was able to get rid of the cards few players used, except in edge cases. I may have eliminated most edge cases, which are mechanisms that either have limited viability or can only be used in specific situations. All of Monster Chef’s main actions have obvious usefulness. It depends on how and when players use these actions. That makes for a better game.
I’ll definitely come up with a card-drafting game in the future. I love these types of games. But I must “kill that darling.” Doing so made Monster Chef a better game.
Here’s where I bounce. I’m giving a brief update on the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game module I’m writing for Comic-Con: Nebraska (CCN). I didn’t need to create my own module. Just trying out a few things. Running the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game at last month’s Aftershock event got me thinking that the game could be geared for true RPG beginners. Some of my players had never played a tabletop role-playing game before, or they had played once or twice. While the Marvel Rivals Timestream Adventure is great for a one-shot to introduce new players to the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game, it could do more to welcome truly new role-playing game players.
I was reminded of Legend of the Five Rings. When I ran a game for younger players (who had never played an RPG before) with that game, I resurrected the Rokugan Tournaments (like an Olympic Games for samurai) mentioned in the game’s lore. I had players participate in non-combat events, learning how checks worked in a pseudo-video game tutorial manner, and of course, something fishy was going on with the tournament. Once players discovered the threat, a battle occurred, but this only happened after players knew their characters and how the game worked. I want to do the same for the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game.
So, I chose Mojo and his Mojoverse. X-Men ’97 Season Two will begin releasing soon, so gamers may be familiar with Mojo by the middle of August (in time for CCN). Players will participate in Mojo’s reality TV show-like events (similar to the Legend of the Five Rings tournament), and I can tailor the game to a two-hour window. Perfect for a Comic-Con. If I get players for the Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game at CCN, most likely, they will have limited (if any) experience with tabletop role-playing games. Who knows? A quick session with a tutorial may get more potential players interested in the game.
I’ll keep you updated on my progress. Hopefully, I will have finished the module before CCN. I’ll also be working for Extra Life, so if you’re in the area, stop by and say hello.
That’s all I have for today’s game design brain dump. Thank you for reading, and wherever you are, I hope you’re having a great day.
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