That’s awesome, well done! Any idea if it’s worth it to take the passwords you’ve earned over to Oracle of Seasons in order to unlock the alternate plot points, expanded story and extended ending? I always liked the idea of the two games interacting to create a third unique experience, but never knew anyone who actually used the interactive features.

I’m pretty sure Neil Gaiman enjoys milk and cookies, he even wrote the story Fortunately, The Milk where a kid goes back in time to get the ever-important milk that his father forgot to pick up.

Does that mean you pulled off being mean to Kim? Of those that have tried, most can’t go through with it, and I myself lack the conviction to ever even attempt it.

It’s either quite the paradox or that bear’s info is out in the open.

In other words, it’s either a bear-a-dox or that bear got doxxed.

It is common knowledge, I merely guessed they used that specific hunting strategy over other “food hacks” because this is literally a greentext community.

They’re probably referencing another greentext from the perspective of a fast sprinting Elk that can’t escape the long-distance persistence endurance of a bipedal human hunter:

The premiere episode where they try to survive on minimum wage is still one of the best day-to-day documentations of the struggle and that was almost 20 years ago, well before the price gouging of today. I wish it had as much impact as Supersize Me which actually succeeded at putting pressure on McDonald’s to make changes.

The person reacting to your comment calling them a pigeon:

Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of Darths, I will fear no evil: for Obi-Wan art with me!

Definitely, in the show when we start meeting characters from their home city and really start to hear details about how they grew up it was such an eye opener. As soon as I heard there was a novella I smashed through it for the moment-to-moment details and really felt like I understood a lot about the character, by the end thinking “you know, all things considered, this character is actually far more well-adjusted than I gave them credit for initially” which, given the character, is saying something.

I squeezed in the first chapter of Leech earlier today and it’s very much the kind of “different” that I’ve been looking for! Getting these insights into how a character with a consciousness across multiple bodies thinks and feels is fascinating. Also, the description of the autopsy very much reminds me of watching Castlevania where I’m impressed and intrigued while also knowing there is no way I could read this book and eat food at the same time haha.

Hmm you might have also convinced me to check out The Host after this. I’d adamantly stayed away from it because I got sent the first book from the big series she’s known for in a care package and read it since the girl I was dating at the time really liked it, and it was one of the most miserable reading experiences of my life. Nothing against the swathes of people that loved her big blockbuster series, and I’m not saying reading them makes people dumber, but for me I found it harder and harder to think the further I got in and that terrified me. But, even the author herself said she wants to be remembered for The Host but knows people will only remember her big hit series instead. If it really is enough of a step up for her and others to say that, and it serves as a comparison to the kind of narrator perspective in Leech, I might just have to give her another shot.

I think that’s definitely one of the reasons Leech sounds so intriguing to me, I kind of just want to see how the unified consciousness is written as the main (instead of a side character) and as a parasite instead of a collective, especially in such an unusual mystery plot – it’s so different that I figure I gotta satiate that curiosity. After carefully checking out some non-spoiler reviews, I’m gonna go for that one first since I feel like I might need something light and fun like Starter Villain to recover afterward.

And I am with you on The Expanse books and 100% think it’s because we watched the show first – especially since that show brought the actual authors of the books into the writers room for the entire series (for anyone stumbling across this that are confused, the author “James S.A. Corey” is actually a pseudonym for the two people that wrote the books, Ty Corey Franck and Daniel Abraham). With the actual creators, plus an incredible showrunner that really helped them navigate how to keep the heart and stability of their story world while making some necessary changes for the medium, translated extremely well to screen.

But that also means we’ve essentially gone through the three main things that makes The Expanse so compelling already (at least to me):

1. First, the careful balance between “science” and “fiction” that considers so many details. It makes it realistic and believable while also understanding it’s an epic fictional story. Stuff like the muscle difference of people depending on how much gravitational force they grew up with is fascinating, with Belters having lived their lives in low gravity stations and Martian military training extra hard in order to withstand the same level of gravity that Earthers are naturally conditioned to. Normally that would be extremely fascinating to read, but because the show did such a fantastic job at explaining it, it was more of a nod and an appreciation for the elaboration on the effects of it.

2. Then, the characters. Even with the differences, it’s easy to see why so many people that read the books before the show ended up embracing the cast in its entirety after being initially put off. While Amos and Bobbie look a little more beastly in the books, most anyone that was initially put off admitted that the actor for Amos ended up being so true to that guy that him being too pretty for the part quickly faded from their minds. Same thing with Bobbie, as realistically the fact that casting found an actress with the height, ethnicity, muscle and real-world competitive fight experience to come close to the Bobbie character in the book is a miracle in itself (and my bias for having a massive crush on Frankie Adams as well as every actress in the show). For that reason, for the most part, instead of being fascinated by Amos’ adjusting and growing, Bobbie’s Martian education and patriotism and her exposure to the reality of the universe, and just wanting more Avasarala dialogue, it’s kind of just reminding you why they are such fascinating characters instead of pulling you in to understand them – after the show, in a lot of ways, we already were captivated at unraveling these people and already have done so.

3. Finally, the most compelling thing for me was the need to know WHAT HAPPENS NEXT! There are political stakes, thriller sequences, tough decisions, all done with the grace that causes someone to say “I can’t stop now, just one more episode” or “just one more chapter” and keep going. Because of the show, we, for the most part, already know what’s going to happen.

I found the books to be very well written, but with these three main draws already having played out in the show, they didn’t give me that addictive rush I usually get from a good book that turns me into a page-flipping fiend that just can’t put the damn thing down. That said, the elaboration is fantastic. I was confused by the guns on the space station in the show initially since they don’t explain there is different ammo until either near the end of the first season or even later. When the books clarified, in satisfying detail, the plastic gyro rounds used on space stations that are designed to puncture human flesh but not pierce the walls of a space station, and that normal bullets are still used in other environments, was great. All this stuff about reducing gun recoil for use in space, etc., all were a treat to read. Even when not perfect, the added details on top of the thought they put into trying to convey some realistic use of the laws of physics, etc., elevates the believability of the books to a new level. Other than that, it is a lot of just “spot the difference” for us that have seen the show. It’s interesting to say “oh okay so this is different from the show but I see how they’re going to get there still” or “ah so they must have realized these events weren’t enough to justify adding another character on the show with limited screentime, so they just rolled that character’s actions into Camina Drummer’s character, which worked well.” Extra tech, characters, bigger differences, etc., are all nice to bring you in closer to this story universe I love so much, but at the end of the day the need-to-know stuff is mostly already in our memories.

I also think that’s why, like you, I really enjoyed the novellas. They added so much extra to a story universe that I didn’t want to leave yet. The Churn was actually the first thing I read because the reveal of [redacted]'s upbringing was so eye opening that finding out there was a novella further explaining just what made this person who they are today felt like a must-read addition to such an interesting character.

I’m not a fan myself but I think the right amount of ketchup on Mac and cheese is generally how much you like.

But there is such a thing as too much. Ketchup is great because the sugar and salt makes it appealing. Start pouring it on and all of a sudden you’re guzzling down a lot of sugar and taking a dish high in sodium and exacerbating it. Not so bad every now and then but a constant high-sodium, high-sugar diet is rough for kidneys, blood glucose levels, etc.

There are also “no salt added” and “no sugar added” versions of ketchup but even still, a reasonable amount is just not pouring a ton on. For anyone eating the dish like twice a year, I’d say go nuts! But for those eating it regularly, make sure to enjoy yourself but also take care of yourself! I say this as someone that has a kidney issue in remission and was asked way back at my first appointment “how much sodium do you consume in a day?”

I have never heard of Leech (Ennes) or Starter Villain (Scalzi) but both sound intriguing in completely different ways. It’s been a while but you might just have gotten me to start reading something longer form again.

Also, massive props for not just including some of the main books in the series starting with Leviathan Wakes but for also including Gods of Risk and The Churn on here. The Expanse is so compelling that those novellas really add an extra something special!

Glutenous Maximus over here loving that Pig gluteus maximus.

I just looked into it, kind of surprised I didn’t know Kilian Eng’s name with so much work out there. Really cool stuff that also sent me down a rabbit hole of other stuff Floating World Comics has republished.

The more I think about this the more curious I am as to what’s on it. Nice work reaching out to the Smithsonian, sometimes you gotta take action to satiate curiosity.

Reminds me of Napoleon Dynamite’s pocket tots.

Just a clarification, Trigun Stampede is not a prequel but is an alternate universe re-imagining of the original.

When the producers approached the creator about doing something very different from the source material, the creator mentioned that the first anime adaptation was “really excellent”, and that “anything beyond the original anime is more of a bonus time, so you could pretty much do whatever you want to with it.” They liked the idea of how, for example, there are different versions of Spider-Man in the Spider-Verse (so that the 90s Spider-Man show, Ultimate Spider-Man, etc., would all be very different from each other). This is them doing that for Vash and company.

It’s very different in a lot of ways, you can think of it as an alternate universe from the original. I would strongly recommend first time viewers watch the original anime in its entirety first and then check out Stampede if they’re itching for more of that world in a very different flavor.

I don’t know how, but I hope I die better than I’ve lived.

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