Add another “cosplay I didn’t expect to see” with this one. TBH Mew-Two kinda scares me. He’s so smart.
I’ve always loved water
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
As a kid, my mom complained that I never wanted to get out of the bath, pool, or lake.
Unfortunately, I got ear infections every time I went into a pool until I was in high school.
Because of that, I never got formal swimming lessons. My mom taught me in the local lake. I don’t remember it, but she must have been a good teacher.
When I first met my wife, one of our first dates was at the local YMCA where she worked as a lifeguard. She challenged me to a race. I knew I was going to lose, she was a lifeguard, swim instructor, and a great swimmer (still is). She of course did win but I held my own, only a few strokes behind. (I think she took it easy on me.)
Not sure if she did it as a test or not, but in hindsight, I think it’s a good one. How a person handles losing or winning tells you a lot about them. I was impressed by how good a winner she was.
I still have issues with chlorine, bromine, and other chemicals in pools. It makes me itch, and if I have a cut, it swells and burns. If I don’t take a shower within a few hours, I start to feel a little weak.
Despite that reaction, my muscles and body always feel better after being in the water. I feel more relaxed and less stressed. (Maybe I’m a child of Poseidon?)
Anyways, here’s a cute picture of Dragon and Pegasus jumping into the pool:
Be kind and stay safe,
Éric
Overwhelmed… Maybe I need a tattoo?
Hello Friends, Family, and Fans;
It’s been quite the year so far (and it’s only June). Between politics, war, and the world in general, I’m feeling worn out and overwhelmed. My health issues (allergies, migraines, bilateral arm pain, and tendonitis) aren’t helping.
There are several things that are helping though. Working from home has been wonderful. I’m more productive and feel better. If I hadn’t been working from home these past months, I would have burned out completely. I really hope my employer makes this permanent.
Skyrim is also helping. When I was off work for a week because of the tendonitis, it hurt to hold a book or a phone but I could rest my controller on my lap. It was familiar with a few differences (I started a new playthrough). It’s gone from a fun game to a soothing comfort activity.
I saw a post (do people still call them that on Instagram?) with a series of illustrations of people wearing pride colours as allies and that it put queer people at ease. I thought that was really awesome. I’m not an ally, I’m bisexual and queer.
The whole concept has made me want to get a geeky pride tattoo. My top contenders are:
- Rainbow polyhedral dice (each die a different colour)
- A Star Trek ship silhouette with a rainbow trail
- The Stargate Earth address glyphs each in a different colour
- Something Doctor Who or Lord of the Rings
I haven’t fully made up my mind. If you have any ideas, feel free to drop them into the comments.
In short, I’m struggling but I’ll be okay and I want another tattoo…
Stay safe and be kind,
Éric
Favourite Things: Tommy
I saw a post on Instagram a while back detailing the author’s favourite things, and I thought it would be fun to do that, not only for ourselves, but for our characters too! Here’s Tommy’s:
Read Tommy’s latest story here:
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
Captain America: Brave New World – JenEric Movie Review
How This Works – Read Other Reviews
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2025 film Captain America: Brave New World.
Story
This was a Captain America movie, it had all the heroics, all the intrigue, and all the big set pieces that were needed. That’s not to say it was predictable or boring. It dealt with twenty years of lore and not only told a story but connected it with the world.
I know it’s setting up a lot of the next Avengers movies but I never felt like I was watching a prologue.
Score: 1
Characters
There was so much in this that I found the villain got lost. I get that the real villain is the systemic oppression of the American people, especially those that are different, but the Leader wasn’t all that scary once they figured out his mind control trick.
Captain America, the new Falcon, and the agent following them around were a great group and a lot of fun to watch. The softening of Ross was interesting. Much more than the Red Hulk. I also loved the cameos.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
You’d think with such a big brain, the Leader would be able to come up with better one liners. His dialogue was boring.
The quips by the heroes were great and there were some great lines about government’s mistreatment of people.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
I think, hope, and pray that this movie is proof that Marvel is fully moving away from jump cuts and shakey cam. The action was clean and the special effects were pretty good. The camera work was spectacular.
The music was great.
Score: 1
Fun
I wasn’t looking forward to this movie but I really enjoyed it, as did the rest of the family, although there were a lot of questions about who people were and what they were talking about. Thankfully, I can’t remember important information but I’m great with superhero lore and trivia.
Score: 1
Overall
The movie lives up to the first three in every way possible. It’s an excellent set up for future movies, while being a great political thriller and having fun with superheroes. It’s Captain America and if you loved the others, you’ll love this one.
Final Score: 4 Stars out of 5
Two Days Left in the 0.99 Sale
Hello Readers,
Only today and tomorrow to get the ebooks of Parasomnia or Everdome for only $0.99 until the 17th of June! They’re available at all major ebook stores.
Parasomnia
At the Aux-Anges institute, nestled in the woods outside of North Bay, they study and treat parasomnias, or sleep disorders. Ashley suffers from night terrors, Terrance sleepwalks, Kiri sleep-eats, and Paul sets fires; they are there for treatment. Adelaide took the job as a counselor to discover why she still has an imaginary friend. When they discover the secret hideout of an old club called the Dreamers, they are shocked to find that the five of them are connected through more than just the Institute.
Everdome
Will YOU be Everdome’s next hero?
S.M. Ardwur’s epic ten novel series and the world’s biggest MMORPG is a world fractured by a magical disaster and saved from destruction by a brave king and mad wizard. It is now formed of twelve floating continents with magical domes protecting them.
For thirteen lucky contestants, when a man dressed as a knight offers them the opportunity to visit their favourite fantasy world as an immersive reality show, there’s only one answer they can give: YES!
The level of impressiveness is beyond anything they can believe and some of them start to wonder why.
Abigail, James, Krista, Nicole, Richard, and Megan have to learn how to play the game and win; the fate of Everdome depends on it.
Go get both! You’re worth it!
Éric
SALE!!!
Hello Readers,
Get the ebook of Parasomnia or Everdome for only $0.99 until the 17th of June! They’re available at all major ebook stores.
Parasomnia
At the Aux-Anges institute, nestled in the woods outside of North Bay, they study and treat parasomnias, or sleep disorders. Ashley suffers from night terrors, Terrance sleepwalks, Kiri sleep-eats, and Paul sets fires; they are there for treatment. Adelaide took the job as a counselor to discover why she still has an imaginary friend. When they discover the secret hideout of an old club called the Dreamers, they are shocked to find that the five of them are connected through more than just the Institute.
Everdome
Will YOU be Everdome’s next hero?
S.M. Ardwur’s epic ten novel series and the world’s biggest MMORPG is a world fractured by a magical disaster and saved from destruction by a brave king and mad wizard. It is now formed of twelve floating continents with magical domes protecting them.
For thirteen lucky contestants, when a man dressed as a knight offers them the opportunity to visit their favourite fantasy world as an immersive reality show, there’s only one answer they can give: YES!
The level of impressiveness is beyond anything they can believe and some of them start to wonder why.
Abigail, James, Krista, Nicole, Richard, and Megan have to learn how to play the game and win; the fate of Everdome depends on it.
Go get both! You’re worth it!
Éric
Winging It Style Comps
Winging It is a queer YA portal fantasy romance. There are several other books that have a similar style, in one way or another, to my book. Here is the image I made with all the covers of the style comparisons.
Summary
A wedding and a summer camp that Tommy and Carter are never going to forget.
Tommy discovers magic exists, his boyfriend is a rock giant, and his sister is marrying one of the leaders of a supernatural community called Aetherborn.
Carter learns to navigate an in-person relationship, introducing Tommy to the magical world, and being involved in his Ariki’s wedding.
Both boys need to build their confidence in each other, themselves, and their relationship. The Door Tech summer camp seems to be the perfect way to do that, until they get magically transported to the not-so-fictional world of Everdome. In this realm of Domed continents floating in space, winged beasts, and new cultures, the boys will have to overcome challenges beyond anything they’ve seen before.
The only way they, and their relationship, can survive is if they start Winging It!
Book 2 in the Lucky in Love series
Cover Art by Pinkpiggy93
My Spy: The Eternal City – JenEric Movie Review
Hello Cinephiles,
Today we’re talking about the 2024 film My Spy: The Eternal City.
Story
Mixing the teen travel drama with a spy thriller isn’t new, but they do it fairly well.
Score: 0.5
Characters
Transitioning from the previous reluctant partnership to the much more banal and overdone father-daughter fighting dynamic is just frustrating. They did such a good job turning the tropes on their heads for the first one that this just feels recycled. Separating the two for most of the movie ruins the charm of them working together.
The additional cast were fun and the new villain was interesting.
Score: 0.5
Dialogue
Bautista has wonderful comedic timing as does Coleman, but they really shine when they are together, which doesn’t happen much in this one.
Score: 0.5
Visuals and Music
Beautiful scenery and great camera work.
The music was fun and did its job.
Score: 1
Fun
Had this been the first movie in the series, I would have liked it more. Unfortunately, there just wasn’t enough of what made the first one great, which was spoofing spy movies and the relationship between the leads.
The rest of the family did enjoy it.
Score: 0.5
Overall
An acceptable sequel but despite the bigger set pieces, bigger cast, and massive budget, it doesn’t have the same charm as the original.
Final Score: 3 Stars out of 5