X-Cresence: I'm the best course, eat me last

[jwatson]

Damn orville is really flying on all cylinders this season. I am loving it.

On a side i never got why the family guy crew didn't give Cleveland a bigger role when his family returned and made stewie and rilo best friends. it just seemed like it would have been hilarious. sort of like that cedric the entertainer show on where he finds out his neighbor is his cousin with tinisha arnold. lol can't remember the name right now.

[BobbysWorld]

Hey Rift, I've got a very important question for you:

With Slott off FF, and the way Franklin's exit from the Thought Dimension left a clear opening for him to get his powers and X-gene back in the future writers want to go that route......assuming Franklin is re-established as a mutant and starts hanging out on Krakoa again, what specific mutants would you love to see him hanging out with more, or established as his core friend group? I mean, Hellion's a given of course, but who else? Like what five or six characters from Academy X or anywhere else would you like to see Franklin being like, these are officially my besties.

[Rift]

Hey Rift, I've got a very important question for you:

With Slott off FF, and the way Franklin's exit from the Thought Dimension left a clear opening for him to get his powers and X-gene back in the future writers want to go that route......assuming Franklin is re-established as a mutant and starts hanging out on Krakoa again, what specific mutants would you love to see him hanging out with more, or established as his core friend group? I mean, Hellion's a given of course, but who else? Like what five or six characters from Academy X or anywhere else would you like to see Franklin being like, these are officially my besties.

First of all, thank you for asking. Second, I hate the idea of him willing an X-Gene into himself, but at this point I'll take whatever undoes the retcon and puts things back on track.

Thirdly, we saw him with a friend group before, in Fantastic Four #24. It'd be cool to see him interact with them again, and I have headcanons for how he interacts with each individual member. And of course, Franklin should interact with Leech and Artie. We need his boys back.


Though considering they're common faces, I'd like some other, more obscure mutants.

It also depends on his personality. What I'd really like is to go pre-Slott, and have him be kind, imaginative and mischievous. Not Valeria-level smart, but intuitive and intelligent. He was a nice kid. With that character in mind, I'd like to see him with:

• Surge: Despite being around the same age, I could see Surge taking up a big sister role with the little oddball. She could get annoyed by him sometimes, they might tease each other. But at the end of the day, they're tight.
  
  Or they could go with a romance between them, where Franklin's more innocent nature gives her comfort, while she relates to his trauma. But I could see that romance falling apart if they both fall into their negative emotions and can't help each other out. Like that dynamic would fizzle if they both aren't mature enough to see it.
• Xandra: Okay, think about it. Both are youngish teens. (Well, Xandra is something else entirely, but characters see her as very young.) Both are strong and have big roles in life. I could see Franklin being a friend who encourages her to be a kid and have fun. To step away from her royal role and live life every now and then.
• Hope: Okay, Rachel's off the table. He needs a new psychic ginger girlfriend if we want to get Hyperstorm. Hope's too mature for him, she has more responsibilities than him, and she's lived a less privileged life than him. It'd be cool to see Franklin grow and mature to earn her respect and understand her more. Like Fry and Leela from Futurama.
• Quentin Quire: If Franklin ever goes Psi-Lord, QQ could be a good, but brusque mentor. He'd pick on Franklin. But at the same time, I could see Franklin being less uptight about things. Since he's more kiddie and childish, he could call out Quentin's actions, get under his skin, and be the brat that throws Quentin off his game. At the same time, he helps Quentin learn to be more of a big brother and mentor, which Franklin would greatly appreciate.
• Rockslide: Original version. He'd be a bad influence on Franklin, encouraging him to pull pranks or act Rockslide-y. They could have fun hanging out, playing video games and making jokes. It'd be a really typical teen friendship, in the best way.
• Ernst or Dummy: Or anyone who's physically different or abnormal. He doesn't hold any prejudices about looks, he loved Leech and Artie, and he's often felt like an outsider. I could see him gravitating towards these sort of mutants without a second thought. He wouldn't see it as an issue, or try to hang out with them out of pity, or anything; friends are friends and it's just that simple.
• Seventh slot for Hellion, because he only guest stars as a friend of the group. Too busy being an X-Man and professional actor most of the time, you see. Same with DJ.

I see it as an eclectic friend group that seemingly wouldn't work together as a unit, but would gel together well when Franklin is there to push them along. Or they could be like the cast of Friends, where they all just bounce off each other and accidentally get into hijinks. Shenanigans, even.

If he retains the Slott touch of death, then I'd like to see:

• Hellion: He'd absolutely bully him at first, and a Franklin with attitude would fight back. I can see them developing a rivalry at first. But when the chips are down and one of them is in danger, the other one will come and help them. Then they become good friends. Maybe as close as brothers? If Franklin gets his TK, then Julian could become a mentor on top of it.
• Rockslide: Only this time, he balances out Franklin. He takes Franklin's edginess and teases him about it. It'd be like Anole and Rockslide, if Victor was one of the Goth kids from South Park.
• If we want to have Franklin join a more benign version the Hellions, throw in Tag and Mercury to the mix. More positive influences in his life, and loyal friends. They wouldn't pick on him, and they could relate to him with their own issues. Especially Mercury, who has dealt with self-esteem issues in the past.
• If not, Eye-Boy and Prodigy: I could see him desperately wanting to make himself useful to the island and ensure a place in Krakoa, so he could try to help X-Factor. Prodigy would be helpful, but would have less patience for Franklins bouts of immaturity. Eye-Boy, meanwhile, would be able to reach out and offer a softer approach to dealing with him. Together, they could help Franklin use his creativity, intuition and powers to solve mysteries. Murder mysteries, but you know. Kid's been to Hell. You can't screw him up any more than he already is.
• This is going to be a weird one, but Nature Girl. Franklin loves animals, Nature Girl loves animals. Franklin had a dog, Nature Girl has a dog. If they bring back Puppy and have him vouch for Franklin, I could see the two having this really weird dynamic. Like, he chases after her and tries to stop her. She continues her mission, but has doubts about humanity's evil because he's a good person. So it's this weird game where they desperately try to stop each other, but they'd never kill or seriously harm the other.
• Oya: The exiled children. They're both good, well-meaning kids who had to deal with really bad stuff, and have come out worse for it. They'd still be edgy, but they'd comfort each other. If Franklin can help her regain her old self, they could balance each other well. They'd both grow up and improve. If Oya still remains an unrepentant killer, I could see it being a tragic would-be friendship (or maybe even more?) that never quite blossoms. Something that could have been if they only met sooner, before Oya had to go through so much.

This is less of a core group, but several groups or dynamics he could fit into. With the Hellions, it's basically Harry Potter, if Harry joined Slytherin. With X-Factor, it's about finding a place for him in Krakoa. With Nature Girl, it's about a close, but complex clash of ideals that belongs to just the two of them. With Oya, it's either a story of two troubled kids growing up; or it's a story of something that might have been.

[Rift]

Oh yeah, the Elephant thread reminded me that Gwenpool is on Krakoa. She's a little older, but it'd be fun to see them get along. She means well, but she can be pretty immature at times - possibly moreso than Franklin. Considering both have a knack for finding trouble, I'd love to see a book where they keep ending up in messes, and using their powers and creativity to save the day. Plus Gwen kissed his dad, so that'd could lead to some awkward moments.

[jwatson]

hahahha a friend of mine really brightened up my mood. he texted me a picture of ikarus flipping his hair saying "you got caucasian gods now." lmao

[jwatson]

Someone needs to teach topa you never follow tinkerbell. She took peter pan to neverland and let him leave just enough to grow up and recruit friends and every time he decided he wanted to leave to go grow up, she dusted him and made him forget.

that dolly Parton cameo was great. hhaha

[jwatson]

As i'm watching this episode of Orville the color and the look of makelines looking so different actually has me hoping that people who see this episode but don't see themselves are then able to get past the "not me" and feel the story being told and the actions and maybe at some point find a correlation with where they may need to put some work. This episode was a great example of how when fiction is used right it might change even one heart and mind. Really great episode.

[jwatson]

Just a little garden update. It's been awhile lol. The weather has just been crazy from the cold going to long to now this heat but I been out there putting in the work. Lol. The gophers be ripping off my apple limbs and eating the squash leaves and the racoons been trying to bathe in the fish pond but at least it's finally coming together in unision. Lol

PXL_20220723_153728507.jpg

The mint.
PXL_20220723_153721705.jpg

Squash and stuff.
PXL_20220723_153654056.jpg

[jwatson]

And just a few more.

My tomatoes.
Attachment 123184

I love watching the fireflies a night. A little piece of peace.
PXL_20220723_153621219.jpg

And a piece of frustration. But one fish has avoided getting captured so far. Lol
PXL_20220723_153611572.jpg

[Uncanny X-Man]

I'm back from a few days in Disneyland Paris, which I enjoyed immensely, including the new Avengers Campus. I love the Avengers so it was fun to see the Avengers Assemble ride and stuff like Pym Kitchen and Stark Tech, but I love the X-Men even more so I'm looking forward to thr day when they have their own section in theme parks with dedicated shops selling only X-marchandise. I will be broke but it will be glorious!

[Rift]

The garden's looking good! Might start growing something, myself.

And yeah, I'd like an X-Men section. My nieces want to go and meet the X-Men and Annalee.

[jwatson]

Thanks, really appreciate it. I don't use sprinklers so these last few days have been brutal but it is fun and relaxing.

[Rift]

I play The Sims 4. I could go on about all the disasters both in and out of the game, because it's a mess. But I wanted to share what happened with the latest patch because it's pretty funny.

The patch introduces sexuality (allowing sims to be varying degrees of bi, pan, aro, ace, etc.), curved walls, and a new Wants and Fears system for your sims. The latter replaces Whims, which are basically little actions you can make your sim do, in order to earn points. Wants and Fears is meant to be an evolution of it.

So here's where the patch goes wrong.

• If you leave your home lot or go to a new screen (like accessing Create-a-Sim to dress your sims), they suddenly age up and possibly die.
• They curved walls are cursed. They're incomplete and glitchy. Everything clips. There are tons of lighting issues. Some windows curve, some don't. Some of the windows that are supposed to curve don't, or glitch out. Sometimes the walls glitch and show you an infinite void.
• Some people have bugs where everyone, including pets, are now world-famous celebrities.
• Sims are more likely to play with their phones now. And they do it all the time, no matter the context.
• Wants and Fears system are incomplete and glitchy. There are less wants than there are whims, so they're now very repetitive and don't necessarily fit your sim's personalities, which was one of the big selling points for them.
• It's especially glitchy when it comes to other sims. A lot of wants to date/kiss/sleep with with family members.
• Mentioning it again because there are a LOT of incest wants.
• It ignores the new sexuality system, so you get a straight man wanting to be boyfriends with his brother.
• It's The Sims 4, so we don't know if/when many of these will be fixed or updated as needed. There are a lot of incomplete and poorly-developed parts to the game.

So, infinite voids, incest, phone addiction, more incest, celebrity pets, sims rapidly aging to death if you try to play the game, and more incest. Though as far as Sims drama goes, it's pretty light.

[Uncanny X-Man]

Rift, now you made me want to play The Sims 4 again LOL

Am I the only one who played with X-Men characters?

[jwatson]

Get over it! i swear these people wanting will smith to interview or apologize to them like he hit them they need to get it together. I honestly feel they are so hard on him because he has broken the mold in his way to success and didn't need to conform to what hollywood's expectation to see from a successful black man. When they keep asking harvey weinstein and woody allen and others to apologize then come check for will again. I'm not even a huge fan but these people are starting to look like chickens with their heads cut off.