Titans

I have watched five episodes of Titans on Netflix and I love it. I loved it from the first time I saw Detective Grayson, from the first time I saw Rachel and her mother. Dick Grayson is fantastic. I don't think I've ever loved him more (except for maybe Robin/Nightwing on Young Justice). Being a detective is just so fitting. He learned from the greatest detective in the world, even if others didn't know that from the start. It definitely ups his cool factor in Garfield's eyes.

Titans is very dark. These aren't the characters from Teen Titans Go! or Young Justice. Robin and Starfire/Koriand'r are very much adults. Raven and Beast Boy are teens. Bad stuff happens. There is a lot of blood. Heads explode. Also, Hawk and Dove are part the story, an interesting part so far. I wonder how they will factor into Rachel's story. As much as we're seeing Dick, Kory, and Garfield's stories, the plot so far has revolved around Raven/Rachel. She's a kid, a young teen, just trying to figure things out, missing her mother, with serious trust issues. 

Is it weird that I really like the title sequence?

A few episodes in and Titans is becoming one of my favourite series of the year. I'm so excited to see what happens next!

Caraval

From beginning to end, my heart raced with Caraval. Stephanie Garber created such compelling characters. I adored Scarlett, but with both Tella and Julian, there was so much more to them. Scarlett grew, so much in the story. She went to wanting just to escape, but also wanting to live. Not only did she learn about what people were capable of, good and bad, she learned about herself. She was more than what she thought.

Tella was more as well. There is a strength, as well as a level of duplicity beneath her colourful attitude. By the end, I didn't know what Tella was going to do. I didn't know if she was lying or what her plans were. Julian stole my heart a little though. He was torn throughout the story. Something about Scarlett though, she made him happy, I think. Being with her made him happy in a way he did not think was possible.

[Lite Spoilers] Caraval is a complex story. It sort of reminds me of Ocean's Eleven, where we see what happens, but then the end is a surprise. At the end, we take a journey back through the story so that we can see what was really going on the whole time. Even now, with two more books in the series, I don't know what's going to happen next. The future of Caraval is really unknown. I feel like anything could happen. Tella could die, she could also meet Legend and marry him. Their father could come back. The count is definitely not out of the picture.

One thing I absolutely loved was Stephanie Garber's use of colour to reflect how Scarlett was feeling. She even discusses her own name. Scarlett is red, which is the colour of love AND lust. Red can be positive and negative. The use of colour to describe feelings was a brilliant tool. I thought at first it was just part of Garber's writing style, but then I began to wonder if Scarlett had magical abilities and this was how it manifested. Maybe I'll learn more about it when I read Legendary. I'm definitely a fan of Stephanie Garber now. I look forward to reading more of her work.

Wonder Woman: War-Torn

I started out pretty frustrated with Wonder Woman: War-Torn. I was wondering what Meredith Finch and David Finch did to this series that I had been seriously enjoying until now. The ending saved the book. Not just Diana getting more in touch with the island, but her final battle with Donna Troy and the flashback chapter. Oh, Hippolyta.

Irony: "She's everything they used to mock me for."

I don't agree with quite a few of Diana's decisions in this story, not that I have to in order to enjoy it. Diana seems to be that "wonder woman" who aims to do it all. She is a member of the Justice League, Queen of the Amazons, and God of War. Can I be honest? I would give up being a member of the Justice League, at least a full-time member. I'd keep in touch, help when the big things are happening, like alien invasions or whatever, but both God of War and Amazon Queen seem like full-time positions. I think that's what frustrated me. Also, when Diana was dealing with First Born, where was the League? I get that it was an Olympus problem, but this involved the FATE OF THE WORLD. Even Orion came from ANOTHER PLANET to help. Sorry for all the All Caps. I have feelings about this book.

Speaking of Orion, where is he? I missed him. I missed Zola and a bunch of the characters from the previous story arc. I know there is a new writer and artistic team, but still! Also, if they want to see who has Hera's favour, Diana couldn't just ask her to stop by? That would have saved lives, no? As I mentioned, the end saved the entire story for me. There were some touching moments. I wonder about Wonder Woman's relationships with Superman and Batman, and if they'll be explored the next two books. I also wonder if all those characters I loved will come back and what these new creators will do with them.

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe

With a title like, The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe, how could I resist? The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe is my first Squirrel Girl comic, but it definitely won't be my last. I adore Team Squirrel Girl. I love Nancy, Koi Boi and Chipmunk Hunk. Their names are amazing. Also, Squirrel Girl's dynamic with Tony Stark is fantastic and fun. I also enjoyed watching Squirrel Girl have a little banter with Spider-Man. Her final outfit change was perfect. 

The Unbeatable Squirrel Girl Beats Up The Marvel Universe was the perfect book to start off my 2019. It was fun, very funny, but also had a female hero at the centre of a crazy storyline, who was also just a girl. Doreen Green is a 2nd year computer science student. Her hero team are more nerds. She balances her super hero life with her school life. Homework is a high priority and so is her best friend, Nancy. Also, Tippy. Tippy is the BEST squirrel ever. Based on this little squirrel's awesomeness, I hope that she's in the other Squirrel Girl comics that I have. Ryan North and Erica Henderson have created an amazing team of young heroes, who are totally capable of saving the world.

Forward and Backward: Hello 2019

The past 2 years probably saw me take some of my biggest steps forward with regards to my writing life. I joined the WCYR. I became one of their staff bloggers. I’ve taken on the membership profile posts and I have become more active within the group as a whole. In 2018, I joined a second local writing group and I participated in NaNoWriMo for the first time. I’ve also been taking an online course from Sarah Selecky. On her website she posted some questions writers can ask themselves: Writing Inventory, Intentions, and Reminders for the New Year

Here are some answers to those questions: 

LAST YEAR:

A pitfall from this year, and how going through it made me into the writer I am now:

A pitfall? The first question and I really don’t know how to answer it. Every writing experience I’ve had this year and all the years before, have made me into the writer I am now.

A success from this year, and how going through it made me into the writer I am now:

A success from this year is the activity on the WCYR blog, The Easy Writer. I like to think that I played a pretty decent part in the increased activity.

Writing milestones. What actually happened, that mattered? What am I proud of doing this year?

(Get out your diary/notebooks and reflect, month by month.)

I don’t have time to reflect month by month, but NaNoWriMo might be the thing I’m most proud of this year.

Now I guess we’re at the “resolutions” part…

NEXT YEAR:

Next year, I’ll stop: Being so critical of myself. Probably not. But I can try.

Next year, I’ll start: Taking more time for my writing.

I want more of: The intense focus I get when I’m “in the zone”. Also, word count.

I want less of: Self-doubt. Goes with the first one, I guess. I also want less procrastination. I need to get the words on the page.

I am totally done with: I don’t know. Nothing? Nothingness?

I am ready, so ready for: A draft that I can show people.

I expect… my words to keep moving me forward.

I believe… I make pretty sentences.

I desire… my children to go to bed when I tell them so that I can keep working on my stories.

REMINDERS ABOUT MYSELF AND MY WRITING

What inspires me, without fail?

A really good prompt.

What grounds me, always?

My children telling me they need me.

What strengthens me, reliably?

My husband? Yoga?

What softens me, in just the right way?

My husband? Yoga?

I promise, I took this very seriously. However, I also have no time. Questions like these, like my responses in yesterday’s post, are often instinctual. They are my gut reaction. Often, from my gut, from deep within the pit of my stomach, is where I find the truth.