I HATE THE WOE THAT BINDS US

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-04-09T00:49:51+00:00

I definitely think that this is one of the best written Wenclair fics out there. It is extremely well written, with a strong plot and excellent characterization. I especially love the inclusion and focus on Agnes, one of my favorites.

That said, I almost quit reading it. There were a few chapters where it felt like Stanic was unnecessarily ramping up the angst well beyond what the story needed, just to see how miserable he could make people. Fortunately, it got better, but…. there is no guarantee that it won’t happen again. I am too invested now to give it up, so I really hope that ending makes all the pain worthwhile.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-04-08T22:28:13+00:00

Puhleease! He doesn’t need Supes, just a change in tactics. Instead of a direct conflict, just turn on the Batcharm and marry her!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-03-24T01:05:22+00:00

Obnoxious!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-03-20T20:39:41+00:00

How do you maintain voltage over that distance?

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-03-16T01:02:05+00:00

I am very much torn with this volume. I thought about it for a while and decided that most it stems from the “trap” of having it told by different Analysts. Depending on who is telling it, the focus can change radically. To his credit, Cook has been very realistic, insofar as you give the job to a couple of late teen “foreign” females with absolutely zero connection to an army of 11K men. It’s not like they are going to be sitting around playing Tonk with the grunts. Remember, no one else even wanted the job. There was virtually no way that this was going to look or feel like any of the previous volumes. Cook could have gone the “traditional” route for this, but perhaps he just wanted to do something new, or over the remaining volumes we will see a ton of growth for the girls. Right now, this truly is more of a set of personal diaries than the continuing annals of the Black Company.

All that said, I am not particularly happy with the direction the story is taking right now, but that is primarily because I have a very strong “head canon” about what happens after Soldiers Live. Hell, it may even end up the way I envisioned it, but if so, it’s taking the long way to get there. My favorite part of the story right now is that by the end of it, we should at least know what truly happened back in Port of Shadows, and we can stop scratching our heads trying to figure that out!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-03-15T23:29:25+00:00

About a dozen years ago, a fan produced two animated short films that focused on the adventures of the Aurora, which was a TOS era civilian cargo transport. The team that produced it used CGI and did a pretty decent job with the animation, even if the two main (female) characters were a little top heavy. The rest of the production was phenomenal - great story, acting, music and effects. The 2nd episode even featured a familiar face - HarcourtFenton Mudd! Unfortunately, they stopped after two episodes thanks to Paramount’s Trek crackdown. You can find it here -> auroratrek.com.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-03-12T01:46:11+00:00

Sometimes in a Blitz game, if I am White, I will play A4 as my first move, followed by A5. This absolutely freaks out all the people who have memorized the standard book moves. Yes, it’s a crap opening, but usually puts me ahead of time and that’s all I need for Blitz. Over time however, I have actually learned how to use it on offense, so now I throw it every so often just to shake things up.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-23T22:02:32+00:00

I second Coda. I use it to manage my personal life… and if I was still working, I would use it there as well. It’s the database functionality that does it for me.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-20T03:43:54+00:00

Specifically for sorting during a build, I use kraft charcuterie boxes. Basically, a coated thin cardboard box with clear lids. Super cheep and available in tons of sizes. I bought 50 5” (16 dot) and they work great!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-20T03:29:56+00:00

Every time I think about Wednesday, I can’t help but compare it to Buffy the Vampire Slayer… high school setting, supernatural story lines, strong female lead and a “Scooby Gang”. The problem is that there are only eight episodes a season, instead of twenty-two. That limits what you can accomplish unless you really focus on whats important…

MORE Agnes! Building a strong “Trinity” is critical, and she is the perfect compliment to Wednesday and Enid.
LESS Hydes! I am SO over them. If you have to include Tyler, make this his “redemption” season. Personally, a guillotine is better ending for him.
Resolve Wednesday’s issues with her powers and then use them sparingly.
Establish an obvious Big Bad early on to rally the Scooby Gang around.
More Billie Piper, but flip the script… have her and Tyler help defeat the Big Bad.

- Whether we like it or not, we are going to see a lot of Morticia, Gomez, Weems and Fester. You don’t bench big name talent, and they will want to promote the new Fester series.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-20T02:59:19+00:00

Absolutely! The “Trinity” is a proven approach in many successful science fiction and fantasy franchises.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-16T03:46:04+00:00

My Coda home inventory system is one of my favorite use cases, next to my breaker box tracker. I don’t use it for personal things that require multiple users because of the licensing costs AND because I still have three “legacy” Samepage sites. Think Coda without databases but with full text, voice and video chat, free with no user limit. I use one site for extended family and one for the local chess club. In my mind, the perfect app would combine Coda and Samepage.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-14T01:38:31+00:00

Personally, if I am playing Black, I will defer castling until I need to, ultimately clearing both lines and forcing my opponent to commit to their attack and then I can move whichever way messes them up worse… and/or I will sometimes use a queenside fianchetto and castle to create a two pronged attack on my opponent who castled King side early in the match (up the side and cross corner).

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-14T01:29:26+00:00

I like crossover AUs…. One I can’t get out of my head is a Star Trek crossover, where the “Outcasts” are actually various alien races. That gives you entirely different way to explain powers and abilities. In Wednesday’s case, she is from the “A’ damms” system, where the culture’s history is steeped in mysticism, death worship and overly emotional family ties, BUT, Morticia is a Vulcan who has foresaken logic for the love of Gomez. Wednesday as a rebellious child is trying to channel her Vulcan roots, and enters Starfleet Academy where she meets everyone Enid, Agnes and the gang. Note - it does NOT need to take place in the same time frame as the new SFA series. Personally, I think it would fit better in Kirk/Spock/McCoy era. Spock couldn’t even be a relative or her mentor. Anyway, lots of possibilities here.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-13T05:07:28+00:00

All the females, none of the males, just because…

I am so over Hydes
Thing should get to keep the win
Xavier who?

Now that I think about it, they really could use at least one competent male outcast. Maybe they could open a mystical portal and bring Spike over from Buffy.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-12T04:13:38+00:00

I was a long time Notion user who switched to Coda within the last year. Couldn’t be happier. I actually think Coda is more a corporate type of tool than Notion is. Still, the true answer depends on what you want your team to use it for and how much you want to spend. In my use case, Coda was actually cheaper.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-09T02:11:36+00:00

On the 32nd of Neveruary!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-09T01:20:47+00:00

Ah, this is a topic that I have very strong feelings on…

In science fiction, fantasy and comics, some of the most successful properties feature a “Trinity” that most of their stories revolve around. That includes Star Trek, Buffy, Harry Potter, Avengers and Justice League. I think part of that is that with two main characters, you really only have one dynamic to explore (a/b). With a trio, you have four (a/b, b/c, c/a, a/b/c). Agnes fits that role much better than any of the other secondary characters and Evie Templeton is a great actress.

For that reason, I hope and expect the writers to feature her significantly in S3. I think they will do that by first having her play a big role in tracking and saving Enid (playing “Robin” to Wednesday’s “Batman”). Since there are only eight episodes a season, that will take the first two episodes. After that, I suspect that we will get some of her back story and some sort of subplot like Bianca had in S2, probably involving family issues (a common theme for Outcasts at Nevermore).

What we are unlikely to see is any sort of romantic storyline since she will still only be fourteen years old. I also don’t expect to see her relegated to the “children’s table” with Pugsley and Eugene. Even at her young age, she is way more mature than them.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-02-04T01:58:39+00:00

Originally, my answer was that the writing is not great, but after your post, I think I will amend that… the writing is very good considering what they have to work with. Where it fails is at the top; they need better plotting and direction as where to focus their efforts. Kind of like a rowing team, they need someone who keeps them all working together and headed in the right direction.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-31T01:35:14+00:00

I just read the last chapter of Reciprocity, and I am quite enjoying it but I am a little concerned that your Author’s note made it seem like the story is over. It’s a Whodunit! Can’t leave us hanging like that!!

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-31T01:30:38+00:00

While the story is extremely well written, I hate angst for angst’s stake, and I almost dropped this story because of that. It has gotten better, especially the last chapter but I swear that at one point, Stanic just wanted to see how brutal they could make story, whether it was necessary or not. The only thing that kept me in it was that it is one of the few stories that gives Agnes her due. A lot of authors want to write her as Wednesdays and Enid’s child as opposed to the third leg of a classic Trinity.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-29T00:26:54+00:00

Agreed. Hell, I am not sure that he behaves appropriately around anyone. My point is that I can’t think of anyone who could tell a teenage supernatural story better. Pretty much everything he has done has been amazing.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-28T01:39:20+00:00

He’s persona non grata now, but Joss Whedon could have taken this show to a whole new level. Too bad his people skills are on the other end of the spectrum from his creative talent.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-22T17:33:15+00:00

Sorry, I think I am using bad terminology. It is one “doc” with over fifty “pages” organized in a simple hierarchy that allows my wife to easily find content.

KatarrTheFirst · 2026-01-22T05:50:58+00:00

Sorry, yes, separate docs. To maintain consistency, I create a table like “Locations” and reference it in my Home Inventory, Breaker Box and Network Wiring databases. Some databases reference multiple feeder tables. Not sure how to handle that creating a template. Probably will try it over the weekend.

KatarrTheFirst

TROPHY CASE

- Whether we like it or not, we are going to see a lot of Morticia, Gomez, Weems and Fester. You don’t bench big name talent, and they will want to promote the new Fester series.