Haiku/Breaking

You will break the world,

with your raised voices and hands.

Where will we be then?

NFTF: President Hu Meets With California President

President Diane Hu confirmed that she had a “very friendly” vidchat with California’s President Eric Petro a day after rising tensions caused the cancellation of a meeting scheduled for next week.

During the vidchat, Hu said the two discussed building a “fair relationship,” but made clear there would be no backing down.

“I have been very firm en regards to California returning to the Union,” said Hu during a Friday afternoon press conference.

“If California wishes to return to the Union, they can only do so by submitting to the authority of the U.S. government,” Hu declared. “On that, I am resolute.”

The White House would not disclose who initiated the vidchat or whether the issue of Hu’s plans to demolish the wall along the U.S.-Mexico border had impacted California’s interest in rejoining the Union. 

“With respect to the border wall, both presidents recognized that this is a very sensitive issue,” said a statement released by President Petro’s office.  “The presidents also agreed not to speak about it at this time,” continued the statement.

The strong reaction from California to the Hu administration’s commitment to demolishing the border wall was a sign relations with California may be improving.

However, while President Hu’s move to demolish the border wall has been hailed as a positive act, public and political reaction to California’s overtures to return to the Union has been mixed.

An Armstrong flashpoll, revealed that only 24 percent of Americans think California should be readmitted to the Union. Forty-three percent were opposed to readmittance, while 33 percent of respondents expressed surprise that California had ever been a part of the USA.

Comic Reviews

The Backstagers #6

2 out of 5 Stars

Eh.

Disappointing.

Future Quest #9

4 out of 5 Stars

Entertaining.

Surprise twist at the end.

Inhumans vs X-Men #3

3 out of 5 Stars.

The X-Men are dicks.

Ms. Marvel texts to save the world.

Jem and the Holograms #23

3 out of 5 Stars.

Great cover.

So-so story.

Still better than the fucking movie.

Jim Henson's The Storyteller: Giants #2

4 out of 5 Stars.

Great story.

Art is okay.

Lady Castle #1

2 out of 5 Stars.

*sigh*

Princeless does it better.

Saga #42

3 out of 5 Stars.

Not their best issue.

Ending is depressing as fuck.

Thanos #3

4 out of 5 Stars.

Thanos vs. The Shi'ar Imperial Guard.

A well done fight issue.

NFTF: Star Wars Episode XXXVIII Title Revealed

The title for "Star Wars: Episode XXXVIII" has finally been revealed.

The PRD announced on Monday that the next chapter in the space opera saga will be named "Star Wars: The Phantom Army."

"The Phantom Army," written and directed by Abdul Frye, immediately follows the events of the  smash hit "Star Wars: The Return of Nix Olru."

Frye said in a recent interview that the epic will explore the motivations of the anti-hero, Nix Olru, and his connection with the Sith matron, Bhiria Otrume.

"I wanted to know more about each of them, and that doesn't just mean information or backstory," Frye told Earth Today. "Figure out what's the most difficult thing each of them could be challenged with now — let's throw that at them and dig into what really makes them tick by seeing how they handle that."

"Star Wars: The Phantom Army" hits theaters on December 17^th.

Notes From the Future

New Washington (VNN) - President Diane Hu will take executive action Wednesday directing federal resources toward dismantling the Mexican-American Border Wall, a White House official confirmed to VNN.

Hu plans to issue two executive orders Wednesday during her visit to the Department of Homeland Security, according to a person familiar with the President's plan.

The first will direct the agency to begin removing the border wall between the USA and Mexico. The order will also include a mandate to fill vacancies at Customs and Border Protection with 5,000 androids.

Officials said Hu would wait until later in the week to take action on visas and refugees, potentially as early as Thursday.

An order being prepared for Hu's signature includes the drastic measure of overhauling the government’s refugee program, expediting the admittance of refugees fleeing the German Civil War and European humanitarian crisis.

Earlier in January, Hu's transition team engaged in active discussions with the US Army Corps of Engineers and Interior Department to tear down the wall along the Mexican border, VNN reported.

A US official with knowledge of a visit last month to the Interior Department -- which oversees most federal lands -- said the transition team was particularly interested in finding out "how long it would take" to demolish the wall.

Hu's announcement comes as a high-level delegation of Mexican leaders arrive in the US for talks. Hu spoke by phone with the Mexican President on Saturday, and plans to meet with him later this month.

The orders on immigration, a congressional aide said, are expected to lift restrictions on refugees, and people with visas from some countries including Germany, France, the United Kingdom and Ireland.

In the first three days of the Hu administration, the US admitted 136 German refugees, according to the State Department Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration.

There is no word yet as to whether President Hu will also seek to dismantle the Canadian-American Border Wall.

Ratlings

In the world of Garus, ratlings are the creation of the goddess, Simera. Following her destruction of the city of Sertu, the goddess elevated ordinary rats to near-human intellect. She set them to living in the ruins of Sertu as a kind of mockery to the efforts of her fellow goddess, Ademnestra.  The ratlings, therefor, were created to be part of a divine joke that was in poor taste.

The ratlings did not stay in Sertu. They left the ruins of the city and traveled west and south, establishing nests along their way.  They turned away from Simera, as a patron goddess, and many embraced Datosh, viewing him as a God of Change rather than Chaos.

Ratling nests are controlled by the strongest or the smartest ratling. Occasionally, a charismatic ratling leader will unite several nests under his control. These individuals are known as rat kings, and they are very rare.

Ratling Traits

Ability Scores. Your Strength score increases by 2 and your Dexterity score by 1. Your Intelligence score is decreased by 1 and your Charisma score by 2.

Age. Ratlings mature quickly. They are considered adults at 13. Most can live for five or six decades, but many die earlier from violence, disease, etc.

Alignment. Ratlings are concerned mainly with their own survival. The majority are neutral.

Size. Ratlings are between 4 and 5 feet tall and average about 100 to 120 pounds, They are considered Medium creatures.

Speed. Your base walking speed is 30 feet.

Darkvision. Largely nocturnal, ratlings have superior vision in dark and dim conditions. You can see in dim light within 60 feet of you as if it were bright light, and in darkness as if it were dim light. You can't discern color in darkness, only shades of gray.

Keen Noses. You have proficiency on all Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on smell.

Light Sensitive. You have disadvantage on attack rolls and on Wisdom (Perception) checks that rely on sight when you, the target of your attack, or whatever you are trying to perceive is in bright light.

Languages. You speak Ratling and one other language of your choice.

Ratling Actions

Bite. Melee weapon attack. +4 to hit, reach 5 feet, one target. Hit: 1d4 +2 piercing damage.

Spear. Melee weapon attack. +3 to hit; range is 20/60 feet; one target. Hit: 1d6 +1 piercing damage.

Inhumans vs. X-Men #2

Inhumans vs. X-Men #2.
Tedious.
Stupid.
Pass.

Happy Belated New Years

Good evening, gentle readers!

Please forgive my absence, but it's been an 'interesting' couple of weeks for yours' truly.

'Interesting' in the sense of the Chinese curse, "May you live in interesting times."

First things first.

I'm unemployed.

The comic shop I've been working at for the last few years shut its doors this past December. It was a sad time. I really enjoyed that job. Comics have been a passion of mine for years and it was a lot of fun to work somewhere where I could indulge that passion and 'geek out' with the customers.

And, of course, the end of 2016 was a godsend.

The whole year wasn't bad.

Just the last quarter.

I'm glad to see the end of it, and so were a lot of you, I imagine.

2017 is still new, it still has that new car, minty fresh smell to it. Let's hope it doesn't go pear-shaped on us. *fingers crossed*

Being unemployed sort of sucks.

I've applied for unemployment benefits, but it will take a while before I know if I'm eligible. In the meantime, I'm having to jump through hoops to accommodate the governing agency. Honestly? I'm thinking of saying fuck it and just roughing it out on my own.

I have been pro-active with employment. In the last week, I think I've applied for about twelve jobs? Maybe more? I'm not sure. I've also registered with a temp agency (something I haven't done in years), and am considering registering with a few more.

So, hopefully something will open up for me soon and I can get back to work.

If anyone wants to help out, feel free to go to Amazon and buy a copy of an e-book or something. I'd appreciate it.

Speaking of books, I'm starting to write again. Well, to do research at any rate, for a future story. The past year, I've mostly been content to experiment with poetry, particularly the haiku form.  But now I feel like I want to sink my teeth into something meatier.

So, *fingers crossed* lets hope I manage to produce something readable in the near future.

I hope all of you had a happy new year's celebration and that 2017 isn't pissing all over you.

What's next? 

Hopefully a job. Or a decent story.