tldr is I have been dealing with facial swelling (close to bee sting allergy range) and face and neck rash/eczema, crusty scalp border, my skin won't stop leaking clear fluid and some slightly yellow that dries grainy. My face swells overnight and (sometimes) de-swells throughout the day, but the skin inflammation doesn't stop. I'm a 23yr old female, and I feel so debilitated.
I've seen a few doctors, 1 rheumatologist, 2 derms, and 1 allergist, tried to test a lot of possibilities but I feel like I'm running out of options. Does anyone have any suggestions on possibilities I can explore with my doctor or just general tips on how to manage? whether you read this whole long post or not, thanks for reading! It's easy to feel alone and I really appreciate any support.
things i'm getting to right now:

• ask derm about head and neck eczema and to be prick tested for malessezia, also ask her about weeping eczema, which I though was plasma but since it's been so long with no healing I'm not so sure anymore. for that, hoping for some type of antibiotic which might help with the full rash at least
• switching to vaseline (lanolin might be making things worse for me? I haven't reacted well to lanolin creams in the past, and I only recently found out that aquaphor contains some)

The whole long story.....

dec 2020

1. front neck hives the next morning after a home-cooked special dinner. Hives eventually accumulated into rash.
2. got food allergy blood test, found out I was allergic to sesame (although it was really quite low?). Cut out sesame. Neck continues to have rash/dryness/swelling of rash area

febish 2021

1. still have front neck eczema, manageable but always a little dry, a little red
2. right temple gets an insane dry eczema patch that eventually gets infected, I use muprocin and I think a round of antibiotics to clear it up

oct 2021

1. neck rash still there, really hard to manage with all the cold weather starting up etc etc, very red and dry and irritated all the time, I began trying to manage it more with a prescribed topical steroid
2. began to get bouts of small rashes popping up on my face from time to time
3. one day woke up with eyelids very swollen (like cried for 2 days straight swollen) and red and a bit of raised red on my cheek. it subsided throughout the day, and I think the rashes would come and go over the course of days
4. a week later from 3., I wake up with my entire face swollen, most noticeable eyelids and cheeks, and skin is very red/rashy and sensitive/irritated, with hives down my chest and back, in my right elbow crease. I immediately scheduled a doctor's appt., where I was told to hydrate a lot with creams and aquaphor, and take a mix of allegra, zyrtec, and benadryl until I could get to the derm. My face skin's texture felt very thick and heavy. the swelling would go down slightly (but usually not all the way or sometimes not at all) throughout the day. In the morning, my face would swell back up. It didn't feel like any of the antihistamines were really doing much.
5. I see the derm around 5 days later. She doesn't have anything to say to me except that I should see an allergist. She prescribes me another type of steroid ointment and protopic (tacrolimus), and tells me that if that doesn't clear up the rash in a week, I should call her and she'll prescribe me oral steroids. She didn't refer me to an allergist and I didn't feel like it was in my means at the time (I was at university at the time and everything felt very hard, with school and dealing with school insurance as I was not in my home state).
6. My skin clears up; it feels like a miracle. the swelling stops and the old skin goops off in grainy glumps with the binder of aquaphor, leaving me with baby soft skin. in the cold weather, little blood flow to my face allowed no redness. Aside from the burning pain you have to sit through during the first couple uses of protopic, the side effects of protopic were extreme heat sensitivity for me and of course with that being unable to drink; I learned to love the cold weather after that. Showers were hard because all the blood would rush back to those places were I had rashed out the worst, leaving me red, hot and blotchy. It was hard to exercise because of this at first too.
7. Years go by with me using protopic. I hoped the face swelling rash breakout was a fluke. Weening off was hard, first of all because I noticed that if I went more than a couple days not using it, my eyelid (specifically my left) and some rash areas would start to pop up on my face. So I used it to keep those in check. Second of all, there was a lot of pain involved (because if I was unsuccessful and felt that I really needed to use it again, then I'd have to go through that burning pain of starting tacrolimus again).
8. I was gradually able to work out without becoming too hot-flushed as cause of tacrolimus vs just normal exertion, and I learned that if I stayed away from certain alcohols and mixes I could usually keep the heat flushing tied to that to a minimum. However, I really began to feel weighed down by the side effects of tacrolimus and the fact that I couldn't seem to stop using it. Still, I would use it as needed and even on other rashes I would get from time to time, mainly back of neck, chest, shoulders, and elbow crease eczema. Aside from my face, it wasn't as effective on the rest of my body. I'm not sure if it was because the rashes themselves felt different (composition wise, and in the way they would flake off? I'm not sure if they were really any different or not). but anyways, I did constantly have some type of eczema on one of those other parts of my body, that would never go away fully, even with ointment usage (tacrolimus, topical steroid) for weeks. Even on my face, sometimes my eyelids would get a bit swollen and the sensitive skin inflammation would pop up even with consistent tacrolimus use. hot flushing did occur very randomly from time to time as well.

sep 2023

1. if I don't use tacrolimus the face swelling comes back. I tested this by accident when I forgot my almost empty tube of it before going on a trip, and my eyelids (my learned hallmark of when everything's about to go down) start the swelling+inflamed sensitivity.
2. I'm back in my home state now. i go to the doctor about some wrist pain I've been having, with no specific cause or injury. she notices all the arm and neck rashes I have, as well as my flakey crusty ears. She points out the (weakly) symmetric nature of my rashes tells me it might be autoimmune related, sends me to get all the basic blood panels. I have some allergies I knew about, and a positive ANA, but the titer is on the low end at 80. She refers me to a rheumatologist.
3. -brief interlude-My inner elbow eczema is flaring up badly at this point, so I try an elimination diet of nightshades and garlic. I don't think it really helped, it was more just me being conscious of it that helped it a bit? Anyways, the eczema could never fully go into remission it seemed.
4. the rheumatologist hears my history, and I do more blood tests to test out autoimmune more extensively. The tests all come back normal, and the allergist says has no idea what is wrong with me. In regards to the rash aspect, he asked me if I've ever considered whether it was eczema? I was a little dumbstruck in the moment, because it felt so rudimentary-- I thought we were already well past that point of understanding, like I thought that we both already understood, yes, I have eczema on my arms and parts of my neck. I was a little shocked that he felt the need to mention that, as I had already told him all of my past history with rashes, eczema, and prescriptions. He refers me to a derm at my request.
5. It's october 2023. I'm going on a trip. I'm out of tacrolimus, and I request more from my home doctor. she ignores my request, and I go on the trip fine. I had been slowing and limiting my use naturally because my tube was almost done anyways, so I figured it would be ok. After the 6hr plane ride, I noticed that my face skin was very dry and textured, and getting a little red. I assumed it was because of the plane's uber filtered air, and quickly set to my usual routine of lots of aquaphor (a normal nightly thing for me). I was having trouble - the rash on my face (cheeks, eyelids, the usual) was textured and raised and red, and not going away. It wasn't really evident what made it worse. At this point I start taking claritin to try to help. 2 weeks of this, until I wake up with a very similar occurrence as that first swelling moment in 2021 - entire face swollen like a bee sting allergy, skin rash/textured, hives down my back. In addition to the claritin, I'm taking benadryl and extra strength ibuprofen. In a last ditch effort, I get the lowest dose topical steroid at the store. It pretty much clears up both the swelling and rash over the course of the next few days, except for some little patches that refuse to go away, even after the next 2 weeks.

feb 2024

1. It's months later since that trip. I still did not have any tacrolimus, an ending use of hydrocortisone after 2 weeks (standard I was told) didn't work, as the rash spots on my face kept coming back and I'd need to reapply. I was getting very concerned about the long term use of hydrocortisone and even my prior tacrolimus use, and the fact that I could not shake these random rash patches + the ones that popped up all over my body led me to consider TSW. Regardless of whether I had TSW or not, I decided that it was time to ween off use of hydrocortisone on my face, as I've heard of all the harm and risks. I followed a similar schedule as (here), and took b complex + taurine supplements that may help with the redness throughout the process.
2. Even with the gradual stop, my skin was not taking it. It felt painful to have to put it through so much stress, lay on the steroid again, and then repeat the process (talking about the weening off) Eventually as I got to the true slow down, of trying to miss 3 days of hydrocortisone use, i was really feeling like the hydrocortisone application wasn't even worth it anymore, and just continued my stopped usage hoping that the rash that would start on the 2nd day and increase by the 3rd/4th would sort itself out with my potentially more equipped skin.
3. Over weeks and weeks, the rash just kept getting worse until I woke up with a swollen face again. It wasn't to the point of bee sting allergy swelling, but enough to make me look like a completely different person to my mom (primarily eyelids, under eye area, cheeks). My skin hurt, as it was inflamed all the time, and all the fluid retention in my eyelids made me feel fatigued all the time. My neck started with hives and spots of rash.
4. interlude ll here -- I started another elimination diet that focused on chemical intolerances - namely salicylates and amines (the FID Program in the Eczema Detox book), and even slow introduction and monitoring my symptoms, keeping a log, it was unclear whether it really played any influence. I tried covering my hands before bed, wrapping my arms.... it didn't work to stop my night itching.
5. there were some portions on my face (the stickler spots on my face that refused to leave during hydrocortisone use) that immediately began weeping when I weened off the hydrocortisone. I wasn't sure if it was weeping in the infected way, or the healing/plasma way. As the days went on, my neck rashes seemed to get bigger. It made me more cold sensitive, since I would constantly have this chill/tingling from the dryness at the back of my neck (even drenched in aquaphor). My sleep began to get disrupted, as now I would fully wake up multiple times throughout the night from scratching.
6. My derm appointment finally arrived. The derm took a quick look at my face, neck, and arms, and said I should see an allergist. Then perscribed me opzelura for my neck and elbow creases, after I had told her about my rough relationship with previous prescription drugs and how I felt slapped by the temporary solutions and dependencies, and how I only really scratch in my sleep, meaning my hands get all over the place (which might be bad with opzelura based on its instructions). At this point, my elbow eczema didn't even feel like a concern to me, and I was really tired how every doctor I saw kept averting my concern of facial swelling+rash by only referring to my eczema. She said that in the meantime, until I saw an allergist, I should try doubling or tripling claritin. After some reminding she referred me to an allergist.
7. I gave my allergist the rundown, and gave him copies of all the bloodwork I had done thus far. He gave me a brochure for dupilumab. I kept trying to push the conversation back to my facial swelling concerns. he scheduled me for a prick test for environmental allergies (which I had done a blood test for and gave him a copy of) and sent out another blood test for a few other markers that he said I hadn't tested for yet (when I tried to ask what they were he just looked confused, said, for your... and pointed up to his face. I clarified, "what do they check for" and he mumbled something about liver and kidney.) as well as the environmental allergies blood test (again).
8. The next appointment (for prick test) was weird. My blood test results had come in, and he told me I was quite allergic to dust and mold, and a few tree pollens. The thing is, we were already aware of all of this, because it was in the blood tests that I had done prior and given him a copy of, and we had already discussed it. He was pronouncing it as if he had found the root. I did the prick test, and it showed similar results to my blood tests. To the allergist, it seemed like my case was closed. He asked me a bunch of questions about my environment (which he had already asked and I answered as he took notes, in my first appointment) and told me that if I cover my bed and pillow with protectors then my symptoms would clear up by at least 25% in one go. The thing is, I already told him and reiterated that my mattress and pillow were covered (My family was very careful with airborne allergens and dust mites as my brother had childhood asthma). Regardless, the allergist kept going in circles and basically just told me to take some claritin, close the windows, cover the mattress/pillow, get an air filter, stay away from cats and dogs, and I should be fine. You know the story by now, these were all things already at play in my environment (my room has a hepa filter, I don't have pets, my window is never open, I've tried antihistamines), and I had reiterated all of this to him. After I emphasized how debilitating my skin was, how bad it hurt, caused brain fog, made it hard to do normal things like shower, his only other option was applying for dupixent (dupilumab). I did consider it after he gave me the brochure during my first appt. I had concerns though, as there have been an increasing amount of accounts of users of dupixent developing head and neck eczema, something tied to increased sensitivity to malessezia.
9. Currently, I'm trying the allergist's recommendations. I washed/steamed everything in my room and even got new protectors for my mattress and pillow. I'm double dosing claritin for 2 weeks. So far, the swelling that comes overnight has only increased, and the neck rash/eczema spots have evolved into 1 large rash enveloping my neck and up around my jaw. It seems to be only increasing, trying to creep down my collarbones, chest, and shoulders. Yesterday night I woke to my ears and especially earlobes swollen and leaking clear fluid. Everything is constantly dry and red, painful, and things are weeping or feel wet all the time now with the night itching. I feel so gross, like I smell like plasma or sickness all the time (this sort of metallic smell), and there are constantly grimy skin cells gooping off of me, and clear or yellow fluid leaking from me. I've scheduled a derm appointment to check for infection and malessezia sensitivity.

notes on current condition:
the sun feels good, I try to take some time in the sun
i like exercise, recently only been doing hardcore treadmill walking at home because of social fears from everything.

What is this glitch? how can i fix it?? u/dumbmatter
https://preview.redd.it/d1vezywoqn3b1.png?width=1877&format=png&auto=webp&s=b0f88acdaa4597bc7d15db16d998bd31a8b5e118

On 1/10 I was outside taking a walk in a park when the guy 6’ in front of me with a stroller pulled over to the side of the path.
No big deal, didn’t even really think twice about walking by him without breaking my stride. When I was shoulder to shoulder with him on the narrow path he sneezed.
He did what he could to keep it to himself. He covered his mouth with the base of his hand but didn’t really seal it with his fingers, so all of his air blew sideways, right at me. It moved my hair and of course I was chatting with my husband, so my mouth was open when this happened.
I immediately felt slight numbness on part of my tongue, maybe like a little novocaine touched it…
I went to the side and tried to spit, then tried not to swallow any saliva and got to a bathroom to swish my mouth out about 3 minutes later.
Came home, swished with Listerine, and did nasal flushing. Upped my zinc and quercitin.
4 days later started with a runny nose. 5 days later I started feeling achy. Not awful, just a little under the weather.
I’m tired, but I’ve been tired since my last bout reactivated my EBV. I wouldn’t even call it fatigued, just sleepy but I can’t sleep during the day (and barely catch more than 5 hours at night).
Decided to check my temperature because I was achy - 104! I was shocked! I didn’t feel THAT sick. Full disbelief. Rechecked my temp 5 times. Same result.
Did a home test that barely showed positive - when I say barely, I mean the faintest line, but the package insert explains any line is positive, and I have observed that when it’s negative there is absolutely NO line.
Started PAXLOVID immediately (had some in the cabinet). NOTE: The medication poop sheet says not to take it with hydroxychloroquine (plaquenil) and other meds, so be sure to read the insert before you add new meds.
I upped my zinc and Vitamins C and D (way up). I resumed quercitin, NAC and alpha lipoic acid. I added a morning Claritin to my evening Allegra.
Had to take a few low doses of ibuprofen for the fever, but I’m not supposed to mix this with the blood thinner I’ve been on since I had SARS, so just three 400mg doses when my temp was 103-104. (The ibuprofen causes leaky vessels when combined with anticoagulants, so I have a few bruises now, like one in the middle of my back).
I continued my multivitamin, B complex, fish oils, and NAC. I’ve been on anticoagulants since I had SARS.
Within 24 hours my symptoms were much better. As of this morning I’m still running a 101-102 fever and feel minor weakness, but I don’t really feel sick.
In fact I forgot I was positive and went to give my husband our routine good night kiss and he reminded me I was sick - I totally forgot for a minute.
This is day 4 of 5. I have tested slightly positive every day. Fingers crossed that I’m past the worst of it, and I caught it in time. If there is a rebound, it will be because a few of the viral particles took hold before I started the medication.
I will continue my supplements and antihistamine routine for several months to prevent the reactivating of the cytokine storm and MCAS.
I believe this is my 6th or 7th go round. The antihistamines, multivitamin, vitamin C & D, magnesium & calcium, and fish oils are standards for me. And my diet is extremely strict because I react to so many things.
My last bout of COVID in December 2022 led to MIS-A that resulted in an emergency appendectomy and has continued to cause organ inflammation since then. Because of this, I keep PAXLOVID on hand even though I work remotely and avoid crowds.
Yes I am vaxxed. And yes I have had Long COVID since February 2020. Caught it at a conference before we knew it was here. 99.99% sure I had it in 2018 with sequelae too, but no way to prove it.
Definitely had post SARS syndrome before that - caught it working as a nurse unaware and unprotected at the hospital in 2004 during the SARS pandemic.
I believe PAXLOVID is helpful for me and I would take it again to head off potential neural damage and other sequelae.
I am sharing my experience because there is so much misinformation and fear out there about everything. We need to keep a level head and make a logical plan for the next time. Think of it the same way you think of planning ahead for a hurricane or blizzard.
Here is a link to the high quality supplements I use. This list was developed from surveying covidCAREgroup followers multiple times over the last 2 years.
Natural Supplements Nominated for Long COVID Symptom Management by covidCAREgroup Followers
And here is the article I wrote that will help you make your plan.
https://www.covidcaregroup.org/blog/covid-19-prevention-and-treatment - covidCAREgroup.org
Keep moving, keep breathing. Above all, take a breath and keep a level head. COVID is not going away, but have tools now and we know how important self care is.
-Nurse Laney @LaneyBondCCG
Update 2/18/22
Someone asked if my symptoms were the same every time I got infected.
No. The first infection broughtfever and shortness of breath.
September 2021- Delta / hit my lungs really hard.
December 2021 - Omicron - I threw up once - honestly thought it was an allergic reaction, but I got tested because people in the group had said that was their only symptom.
Next few were very mild.
January 2023 I thought I was exposed when someone sneezed near me on 1/10. I gargled with Listerine, did nasal flushes, upped my vitamins. On 1/14 runny nose. On 1/15 I wasn’t feeling terrible but had some unusual body aches, so I checked my temp. 103.8. My home test BARELY showed a line.
Got on PAXLOVID on 1/15. Felt perfectly well while on it but I should have started it 1/14 because there was viral replication in that 24 hour period that PAXLOVID couldn’t take care of. When I stopped I felt like I had a cold for another week. Isolated the whole time.
So far my fatigue has flared again and my eyes are a bit challenged.
This week I developed a lung infection. Dr. Thinks it may be early stage post COVID pneumonia. On antibiotics and doing a LOT of breathwork.
I am intentionally focused on staying positive so I can avoid stressing and going into fight or flight.
I feel like I’m doing ok. I see that I am extremely susceptible to reinfection.

Laying on my parent's old bed, I rambled to a teacher across the room (and some boys) about shows that frighten me. Firstly, a kids show about a mexican guy talking in and out of reality; with powerpoint slides and bumpers added. I noticed my love behind me as I laid back, looking up into his eyes from his lap. My head pressed against soft thighs vividly, as my head was wrapped in my fleece blanket in real life. The teacher spoke: 'Do you remember alecka's attic?' I visualized a black screen with a orange nickelodeon bone; memories of an alternate universe. Obviously inspired by allegra's window. I looked up at him again, my eyes rolling back in my head to meet his height. Our gazes looked similar. Next to me was a take-out cuisine container, filled with lettuce; probably taco salad.
Looking up again, he was facing me slightly. I felt love radiating towards me. The lucidity was impressing me. I may have reached out for my computer, wanting to post this. 'That show gave me actual trauma..' I murmured, beginning to wake up. Or maybe he disappeared..
I woke up, annoyed at one of my brother's presence as I faced my computer; trying to remember the dream. I caught a glimpse of someone's angsty blog, looking at a specific post. I shut the cuisine box, noticing two pieces of glazed crust. Desperately, my eyes were clenched shut, actually waking up in reality to one of my cats meowing loudly.

SFF here means all speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history, magical realism etc).
The following SFF books will be published in the U.S. in October 2022. Other countries may differ. They are mostly new releases, but occasionally there is a re-release or a new edition of a previously published book.
If you know of others, please add them as comments below. If I've made any mistakes, just let me know, and I'll fix them up.
If you are using the Chrome browser, you might find the Goodreads Right Click extension useful, to find out more information on books that you are interested in:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/goodreads-right-click/fbicpmopjallgdpklipffmihodimmcbe?hl=en
​
October 1

• Exodus: The Final Testament of Mankind - W. B. Biggs

October 4

• Across The Sand (The Sand Chronicles) - Hugh Howey
• A Curse of Queens (The Kingmaker Chronicles 4) - Amanda Bouchet
• A Turn of the Tide (A Stitch in Time 3) - Kelley Armstrong
• Blood on the Plains (Bravelands: Curse of the Sandtongue 3) - Erin Hunter
• Daughter of Darkness (Child of Light 2) - Terry Brooks
• Deathless Gods (The Chronicles of Kencyrath 10) - P. C. Hodgell
• Fight, Magic, Items: The History of Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, and the Rise of Japanese RPGs in the West - Aidan Moher (#io9)
• It Rides a Pale Horse - Andy Marino (#io9)
• Kalyna the Soothsayer - Elijah Kinch Spector
• Lute - Jennifer Thorne
• Our Missing Hearts - Celeste Ng
• Reforged - Seth Haddon
• River Woman, River Demon - Jennifer Givhan (#io9)
• Saturnalia - Stephanie Feldman
• Shad Hadid and the Alchemists of Alexandria - George Jreije
• She-Hulk by Rainbow Rowell Vol. 1: Jen, Again (She-Hulk (2022 #1-5)) - Rainbow Rowell, Jen Bartel
• Station Eternity (The Midsolar Murders 1) - Mur Lafferty
• Such Sharp Teeth - Rachel Harrison
• The Best Horror of the Year Volume 14 - Ellen Datlow (Editor)
• The Empress of Time (The Keeper of Night 2) - Kylie Lee Baker
• The First to Die at the End - Adam Silvera
• The Mountain in the Sea - Ray Nayler
• The Nihilistic Neverending Nightmare (The Holy Grail War) - Armanis Ar-Feinial (#rjhspb)
• The Quantum Chain (Joseph Bridgeman 4) - Nick Jones (#io9)
• The Revivalists - Christopher M. Hood (#io9)
• The Second Death of Edie and Violet Bond - Amanda Glaze (#io9)
• The Storyteller's Death - Ann Dávila Cardinal
• The Witch In The Well - Camilla Bruce
• When Life Gives You Vampires - Gloria Duke (#io9)

October 5

• Emporium of Superstition: An Old Wives' Tale Anthology - Various Authors

October 9

• The Ripper (Next Life 2) - James G. Robertson (audiobook) (#rjhspb)

October 10

• Silverborn: The Mystery of Morrigan Crow (Nevermoor 4) - Jessica Townsend (delayed until October 12th 2023).
• The Aria of Steel Trilogy - Steven Raaymakers (boxset) (#rjhspb)

October 11

• Dead Man's Hand (The Unorthodox Chronicles 1) - James J. Butcher
• Ghosts of the Forbidden (Glazier's Gap 1) - Leanna Renee Hieber
• Hollywood Monsters (Lilith 3) - Dana Fredsti
• Illuminations: Stories - Alan Moore
• Mystic Skies (Mystic 3) - Jason Denzel
• Rogal Dorn: The Emperor's Crusader (The Horus Heresy: Primarchs 16) - Gav Thorpe (hardcover)
• The Dark Between The Trees - Fiona Barnett
• The Furies (Charlie Parker 20) - John Connolly
• The Hollow Kind - Andy Davidson
• The Immortality Thief - Taran Hunt (#io9)
• The Kraken's Sacrifice (A Deal With A Demon 2) - Katee Robert
• The Oracle of Maracoor (Another Day 2) - Gregory Maguire (#io9)
• The Raven Song (A Conspiracy of Magic 2) - Luanne G. Smith
• The River of Silver: Tales from the Daevabad Trilogy - S. A. Chakraborty
• The Spare Man - Mary Robinette Kowal
• The United States of Cryptids: A Tour of American Myths and Monsters - J. W. Ocker
• The Witch Hunt - Sasha Peyton Smith (#io9)
• Voice of Fear (Krewe of Hunters Book 38) - Heather Graham
• Will Do Magic for Small Change - Andrea Hairston
• Wrath - Sharon Moalem and Daniel Kraus (#io9)

October 13

• About Time (The Time Police 4) - Jodi Taylor
• Family Business - Jonathan Sims
• Sorcerer's Edge (The Tethered Citadel 3) - David Hair
• The Best of World SF: Volume 2 - Lavie Tidhar (Editor)
• The Children of Chaos (The Cruel Gods 2) - Trudie Skies (#rjhspb)
• The House at Phantom Park - Graham Masterton

October 17

• Edge of the Storm (Dragons of the Storm 2) - Elle Wolfson

October 18

• Black Panther (Black Panther Omnibus) - Ta-Nehisi Coates, Brian Stelfreeze
• Blitz (The Rook Files 3) - Daniel O'Malley
• Blood Empire Infiltrated (Luke Irontree & the Last Vampire War 6) - C. Thomas Lafollette (#rjhspb)
• Close to Midnight - Mark Morris
• Dark Tides - Kimberly Vale (#io9)
• Deadbeat Druid (Adam Binder 3) - David R. Slayton
• Greywaren (The Dreamer 3) - Maggie Stiefvater
• If This Book Exists, You're in the Wrong Universe (John Dies at the End 4) - Jason Pargin
• Living Memory - David Walton
• Lonely Castle in the Mirror - Mizuki Tsujimura
• Night of the Raven, Dawn of the Dove - Rati Mehrotra (#io9)
• Poster Girl - Veronica Roth
• Self-Portrait with Nothing - Aimee Pokwatka
• Singer Distance - Ethan Chatagnier (#io9)
• The New Annotated Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde - Robert Louis Stevenson (hardcover) (#io9
• The Whispering Dark - Kelly Andrew
• Uncanny Times (Huntsmen 1) - Laura Anne Gilman (#io9)
• When the Angels Left the Old Country - Sacha Lamb

October 20

• A Peddler of Chains (The Mountain Fell 2) - Allegra Pescatore (#rjhspb)
• Master Mage (Riders of Fire Dragon Masters 4) - Eileen Mueller (#rjhspb)

October 25

• Into the Riverlands (The Singing Hills Cycle 3) - Nghi Vo
• Into the Windwracked Wilds (The Up-and-Under 3) - A. Deborah Baker
• Light Perpetual (Hussite 3) - Andrzej Sapkowski (author), David French (translator)
• Miss Percy's Travel Guide (to Welsh Moors and Feral Dragons) (A Miss Percy Guide 2) - Quenby Olson
• Night of Demons and Saints (The Sisters Grimm 2) - Menna van Praag
• Reckoning - W. Michael Gear (hardcover) (#io9)
• Sign Here - Claudia Lux
• Strike the Zither (Kingdom of Three 1) - Joan He
• Sword of Darkness (Relic Hunters 2) - Keri Arthur
• The Atlas Paradox (Atlas 2) - Olivie Blake
• The Rise of the Dragon: An Illustrated History of the Targaryen Dynasty, Volume One (The Targaryen Dynasty: The House of the Dragon) - George R. R. Martin, Elio M. García, Linda Antonsson
• The Rogue Crown (The Five Crowns of Okrith 3) - A.K. Mulford
• The Scratch Daughters (The Scapegracers 2) - H. A. Clarke

October 27

• Dark Wolf King (Wolves of the Night 3) - Lindsey Devin

October 28

• Midnight on the Manatee - D. H. Willison (#rjhspb)

​
Archive
Previous "SFF books coming ..." posts have been collected here. (Thank you mods).
​
Main Sources

• Upcoming Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books listed at Risingshadow: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/comingbooks
• Rob J Hayes' monthly blog posting on new self-published books: https://www.robjhayes.co.uk/4309-2/
• Publisher "new" and "Coming Soon" web pages such as: https://publishing.tor.com/coming-soon/ and https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/imprint/orbit/
• Locus Forthcoming Books https://locusmag.com/forthcomingbooks/
• io9's monthly list of new sci-fi and fantasy books.
• Reviews of ARC books by various users in this sub.
• Other occasional posts to this sub announcing up-n-coming books.

Edit1: Added in books from Rob J. Hayes' October 2022 list of self-published fantasy books (tag #rjhspb).
Edit2: Added in the books from the October io9 SF/Fantasy list that I'd missed (tag #io9).

SFF here means all speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history, magical realism etc).
The following SFF books will be published in the U.S. in July 2022. Other countries may differ. They are mostly new releases, but occasionally there is a re-release or a new edition of a previously published book.
If you know of others, please add them as comments below. If I've made any mistakes, just let me know, and I'll fix them up.
If you are using the Chrome browser, you might find the Goodreads Right Click extension useful, to find out more information on books that you are interested in:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/goodreads-right-click/fbicpmopjallgdpklipffmihodimmcbe?hl=en
​
July 1

• Enchanted Forest: A Magical Collection of Short Stories - Various Authors (#rjhspb)
• Night, Rain, and Neon: All New Cyberpunk Stories - Michael Cobley (Editor)
• The Third Kingdom (A Thousand Li 7) - Tao Wong (#rjhspb)

July 5

• Acts of Violet - Margarita Montimore (#io9)
• Dreadgod (Cradle 11) - Will Wight (#rjhspb)
• Flying the Coop (The Dreambird Chronicles 2) - Lucinda Roy
• Master of Furies (The Firemane Saga 3) - Raymond E. Feist
• Silk Fire - Zabé Ellor (#io9)
• Tantalus Depths - Evan Graham
• The Icarus Plot - Timothy Zahn (#io9)
• The Jigsaw Assassin (Major Bhaajan 4) - Catherine Asaro
• The Key to Fury (The Key 2) - Kristin Cast (#io9)
• The Law (Dresden Files 17.5) - Jim Butcher (audiobook only)
• The Pallbearers Club - Paul Tremblay
• Tomorrow, and Tomorrow, and Tomorrow - Gabrielle Zevin (#io9) (Friendship / Cultural Heritage fiction, not SFF).
• Until the End (Skulduggery Pleasant 15) - Derek Landy
• Vanishing Act (Float 2) - Laura Martin
• Weird Tales: Best of the Early Years 1923-25 - Jonathan Maberry, Justin Criado (Editors)

July 7

• New Voices in Chinese Science Fiction - Neil Clarke, Xia Jia and Regina Kanyu Wang (Editors)

July 8

• Surge (The Taking 4) - Melissa West

July 11

• Chains of the Earth (The Ascension Cycle 3) - David Mealing
• Where You Linger - Bonnie Jo Stufflebeam (#io9)

July 12

• A Prayer for the Crown-Shy (Monk and Robot 2) - Becky Chambers
• August Kitko and the Mechas from Space (The Starmetal Symphony 1) - Alex White
• Classic Monsters Unleashed - James Aquilone (Editor) (#io9)
• Eclipse the Moon (Starlight's Shadow 2) - Jessie Mihalik (#io9)
• Flames of Mira (The Rift Walker 1) - Clay Harmon
• Half Outlaw - Alex Temblador (#io9)
• Hooked - A. C. Wise
• Into the Mist - P. C. Cast
• Into the Narrowdark (Last King of Osten Ard 3) - Tad Williams
• Our Wives Under the Sea - Julia Armfield
• Realms of the Deathless (The High and Faraway 3) - Greg Keyes
• The Albion Initiative (Newbury and Hobbes 6) - George Mann
• The Extractionist - Kimberly Unger
• The Last Blade Priest - W. P. Wiles
• The Memory in the Blood (The Fall of the Gods 3) - Ryan Van Loan
• The Mermaid of Black Conch - Monique Roffey
• The Night Shift - Natalka Burian
• The Splendid City - Karen Heuler (ebook; audiobook and paperback published in June 2022)
• The Wizard of Eventide (The Goddess War 3) - Jon Skovron
• These Gossamer Strings (The Last Gift 3) - Allegra Pescatore (#rjhspb)
• They Drown Our Daughters - Katrina Monroe (#io9)
• Titan Hoppers (Titan Hoppers 1) - Rob J. Hayes (#rjhspb)
• Upgrade - Blake Crouch
• Weird Tales: Best of the Early Years 1926-27 - Jonathan Maberry, Kaye Lynne Booth (Editors)
• What Moves the Dead - T. Kingfisher
• Ymir - Rich Larson

July 14

• The House of Drought - Dennis Mombauer

July 19

• Avatar, the Last Airbender: The Dawn of Yangchen - F.C. Yee (#io9)
• Briefly, A Delicious Life - Nell Stevens
• Darius (Black Dagger Brotherhood 0.5) - J. R. Ward (audiobook / audio CD only)
• Dark Earth - Rebecca Stott
• Dead Water - C. A. Fletcher
• Heat Wave (The Extraordinaries 3) - TJ Klune
• Ion Curtain - Anya Ow
• Just Like Home - Sarah Gailey
• Mary: An Awakening of Terror - Nat Cassidy (#io9)
• Other Terrors: An Inclusive Anthology - Vince A. Liaguno and Rena Mason (Editors) (#io9
• The Big Dark Sky - Dean Koontz
• The Book of Sand - Mo Hayder (#io9)
• The Daughter of Doctor Moreau - Silvia Moreno-Garcia
• The Last Storm - Tim Lebbon
• The Moonday Letters - Emmi Itäranta
• These Twisted Bonds (These Hollow Vows 2) - Lexi Ryan
• The Stone Road - Trent Jamieson
• Wake of War - Zac Topping (#io9)
• Youngblood - Sasha Laurens (#io9)

July 21

• Until the Last (The Last War 3) - Mike Shackle

July 26

• A Half-Built Garden - Ruthanna Emrys
• A Strange and Stubborn Endurance - Foz Meadows
• Master of Iron (Bladesmith 2) - Tricia Levenseller
• Primeval Fire (Scarlet Odyssey 3) - C. T. Rwizi
• Storm Echo (Psy-Changeling Trinity 6) - Nalini Singh
• The Awoken - Katelyn Monroe Howes
• The Book of Gothel - Mary McMyne
• The Eye of Scales (Blade of the Avatar 2) - Tracy Hickman, Richard Garriott
• The Half Life of Valery K - Natasha Pulley
• The Last Kamaali (The Ancestors Saga 4) - Lori Holmes
• The Nova Incident (Galactic Cold War 3) - Dan Moren (#io9)
• The Valkyrie’s Daughter - Tiana Warner (#io9)
• Three Miles Down - Harry Turtledove
• Violet Made of Thorns - Gina Chen
• When Stars Come Out - Scarlett St. Clair (#io9)

July 27

• Between the Lines (The Planar Pages 1) - D. Hale Rambo (#rjhspb)
• Dragon Heart: The Rescue (Dragon Heart 1) - Kedumetse Motloutsi (#rjhspb)

July 28

• Stealing Infinity - Alyson Noël (#io9)

July 29

• Anamnesis (Timelessness 4) - Susana Imaginario (#rjhspb)
• Strange Cargo (Mennik Thorn 3) - Patrick Samphire

July 31

• Master of Shadows (Jayne Thorne, CIA Librarian 2) - Joss Walker (#rjhspb)

​
Archive
Previous "SFF books coming ..." posts have been collected here. (Thank you mods).
​
Main Sources

• Upcoming Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books listed at Risingshadow: https://www.risingshadow.net/library/comingbooks
• Rob J Hayes' monthly blog posting on new self-published books: https://www.robjhayes.co.uk/blog/
• Publisher "new" and "Coming Soon" web pages such as: https://publishing.tor.com/coming-soon/ and https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/imprint/orbit/
• Locus Forthcoming Books: https://locusmag.com/forthcomingbooks/
• io9's monthly list of new sci-fi and fantasy books.
• Reviews of ARC books by various users in this sub.
• Other occasional posts to this sub announcing up-n-coming books.

Edit1: Added in books from Rob J. Hayes' July 2022 list of self-published fantasy books (tag #rjhspb).
Edit2: Added in the books from the July io9 SF/Fantasy list (tagged with #io9).

Okay, so. I think I've mentioned before that I am a huge fan of Ben Folds. Much bigger than Tally Hall, who I am also a huge fan of, mind you. I know Tally Hall is what this Reddit's about but, y'know, I can't change who I am, I can only hate it.
So, a while ago, I came across the BF song "Phone In A Pool" and I was confused when people pointed out that it sounds very similar to Perfect by Rob Cantor. Now, even though I like both of these artists quite a bit, I can't say I heard the similarity.
Strangely enough, this argument seems to have started with old-school YouTube animator, TomSka. Unfortunately, many of the original tweets by Tom seem to be sent to the shadow realm. However, I did find this tweet which references the original argument. Coz made a blog post saying that a TH fan named Allegra pointed it out first. He says that there's grounds for a lawsuit if they wanted to, which no.
Rob's never commented on it as far as I know but Ben did. For one, Ben said that he's never heard of Rob and secondly, a fan found an improvisation that Ben did (BF fans will know these as the "Rock This Bitch" improvs) that was fairly similar to Phone In A Pool, played years before either Rob or Ben made either song.
But are they similar? The short answer is yes but only barley.
Now, most people I've seen in this spat have said that the rhythm of the piano is entirely the same. Now, changing a chord on the + of 2 is so common that I don't even think it's necessary to bring up an example. But let's look at the chords themselves.
Now, it should be pointed out that yes, both songs have the same chords although they are in different keys. Perfect is in A Major while Phone In A Pool is in C. Both follow a ii-V-I-IV pattern. However, I should point out that Perfect actually changes its chords on the first time. The chords on the verse 1 of Perfect is actually ii-V-I-vi and on the second verse, it's the ii-V-I-IV.
Also Perfect actually goes to an F major chord to G (Which is not in A) on the lyric "You're perfect in the way that you are". That and the chorus of Perfect actually goes A-Bm-F#m-Dm while Phone In A Pool, repeats it's initial pattern until the bridge. Perfect also changes keys in its bridge (Even when you're slightly ajar) going from A to Bb to Eb major.
Perfect also has more unique instrumentation, at least comparatively. The drum beat is different (I think it might actually be a drum machine), there's filtered vocals, a synth pad, string section and also the whistle solo, obviously. Phone In A Pool has piano, violin, viola, cello, clarinet, flute, trumpet and a live drum set, as the song is from a collaberation album with YMusic.
Now, I'm not suggesting that just because a song is perceived to be more complex or has more going on, that means it's better. Simplicity is good. I like Perfect but if I had to choose between the two, personally, I'd go with Phone In A Pool because I just like the melody more + the accompaniment from YMusic is stellar.
Honestly, I think that this argument started because of the viral version of Perfect, played entirely on piano, meaning there's less instrumentation so people focus in on that aspect more. Ben is a piano player, a damn good one might I add. I've listened to basically all of his work and I can only think of, like, three songs that doesn't have a prominent piano part, all of them on the Over The Hedge soundtrack, ironically enough.
Now obviously, the lyrics are also different. Perfect is a love song about a woman who kinda pushes Rob around but he loves her anyway. Phone In A Pool is a song about stardom and being tethered to technology. Fun fact, the song was actually inspired by a time Ben threw his cellphone in a hotel pool and Kesha (Still in her dollar sign phase) dove in and fished it out, so the song could also be from the POV of Kesha.
So conclusion? They're different songs that should be treated differently. Honestly, I think part of this has to do with the success of both artists and their fanbases. Rob has made two viral videos, one of those being the piano version of Perfect, works at Disney and is part of Tally Hall, a band that's only seeing more success today than when they were active. Ben's been around for nearly 3 decades, between his start in Ben Folds Five and his solo work, both very successful. Because of TH's diehard fanbase, it can be understandable that if you think there's a similarity between two songs, then one might wonder where that similarity comes from.
I don't think it's wrong nesscerily. People want to protect their favorite bands. Hell, you could say I'm doing this right now with Ben Folds. But I don't make this because I think that Tally Hall fans are overexaggerating and making mountains out of mole hills. I just thought it was an interesting discussion that I found and I wanted to talk about it in detail, rather than in the abstract.
Plagiarism is a serious accusation and I never want to accuse another artist of plagiarism because of minute similarities. Especially nowadays in a post-Blurred Lines world, it seems like more and more, record companies are trying to make more money, under the guise of protecting the legacy of artists. I don't think that Olivia Rodrigo should've had to give a co-writing credit to Paramore on good 4 u or that Katy Perry had to on Dark Horse.
Luckily, as time has bore out, neither Ben nor Rob seem interested in pursuing a frivolous lawsuit. I doubt either of them hate each other, if they even know who each other are. They both seem reasonable. I just thought it was an interesting topic to bring up and discuss.
Thanks for reading.
TL;DR: Don't accuse people of plagiarism because of minute details. Ben Folds and Rob Cantor are vastly different artists and big record companies kinda suck.

Few countries in the world have tried & tested with the 4-hour workweek idea and suddenly their employees were found to be more productive. There are a lot of experiments going on in this area of enhancing employee productivity.
I read about an entrepreneur who gives half-day Fridays, I found this to be a unique policy. Never heard before, but she thinks giving half-day Fridays will give a couple of extra hours for everyone into the weekend. And most important the weekend should feel like a weekend. I think this decision can make the employees more productive & happy both professionally & personally in their lives.
You can read more about it here: https://blog.mailmanhq.com/allegra-poschmann/

https://blog.mailmanhq.com/allegra-poschmann/

SFF here means all speculative fiction (fantasy, science fiction, horror, alternate history, magical realism etc).
The following SFF books will be published in the U.S. in January 2022. Other countries may differ. They are mostly new releases, but occasionally there is a re-release or a new edition of a previously published book.
If you know of others, please add them as comments below. If I've made any mistakes, just let me know, and I'll fix them up.
If you are using the Chrome browser, you might find the Goodreads Right Click extension useful, to find out more information on books that you are interested in:
https://chrome.google.com/webstore/detail/goodreads-right-click/fbicpmopjallgdpklipffmihodimmcbe?hl=en
​
January 1

• Holy Terror - Cherie Priest (Hardcover)

January 4

• All Daughters Rise (Kinborn 1) - Alysa Auriemma (#rjhspb)
• Beautiful Nightmares (Fortuna Sworn 4) - K.J. Sutton
• Echoes and Empires - Morgan Rhodes
• Fate's Ransom (The First Argentines 4) - Jeff Wheeler
• Spin Me Right Round - David Valdes
• Spirits and Sourdough (A Magical Bakery Mystery 10) - Bailey Cates
• Star Wars The High Republic: The Fallen Star - Claudia Gray (#io9)
• The Crossing Gate (Waltz of Sin and Fire 1) - Asiel R. Lavie
• The Ivory Key - Akshaya Raman
• The Starless Crown (Moon Fall 1) - James Rollins
• The Unfamiliar Garden - Benjamin Percy (#io9)
• Threader War (Quantum Empirica 2) - Gerald Brandt
• Tiger Honor (Thousand Worlds) - Yoon Ha Lee
• Waking Romeo - Kathryn Barker (#io9)
• Where the Drowned Girls Go (Wayward Children 7) - Seanan McGuire

January 10

• Fall of the Argosi (Spellslinger) - Sebastien De Castell

January 11

• A Practical Guide to Conquering the World (The Siege 3) - K. J. Parker
• Ashes of Gold (Wings of Ebony 2) - J. Elle
• Battle of the Linguist Mages - Scotto Moore
• Cold the Night, Fast the Wolves - Meg Long
• Daughter of the Moon Goddess (Celestial Kingdom 1) - Sue Lynn Tan
• Deep Dive - Ron Walters
• Gods and Dragons (Wake the Dragon 3) - Kevin J. Anderson
• Medusa - Jessie Burton (author), Olivia Lomenech Gill (illustrator)
• Nightrender - Jodi Meadows (#io9)
• Quantum of Nightmares (Laundry Files 11) - Charles Stross
• The Amber Crown - Jacey Bedford
• The Bone Spindle - Leslie Vedder (#io9)
• The Monarchs (The Ravens 2) - Kass Morgan
• The Shattered Skies (The Cruel Stars 2) - John Birmingham
• The Silver Bullets of Annie Oakley (Elemental Masters 16) - Mercedes Lackey
• Where the Black Flowers Bloom - Ronald L. Smith

January 13

• Components of a Caster (A Series of Decisions on Kairas 2) - D. Hale Rambo (#rjhspb)

January 14

• Whispers of Stone (The Last Gift 2) - Allegra Pescatore (#rjhspb)

January 15

• Star Overhead: Volume 3 - Zachary Nieves (#rjhspb)

January 17

• A Capital’s Perils (Adventures on Brad 8) - Tao Wong (#rjhspb)

January 18

• Akata Woman (Nsibidi Scripts 3) - Nnedi Okorafor
• Anatomy: A Love Story - Dana Schwartz (#io9)
• Beyond the End of the World - Amie Kaufman, Meagan Spooner
• Bound by Firelight - Dana Swift (#io9)
• Electric Idol (Dark Olympus 2) - Katee Robert
• Engines of Empire (The Age of Uprising 1) - R. S. Ford
• Game On:5 Stories of Wins, Losses, and Everything in Between - Laura Silverman (Editor) (#io9)
• How High We Go in the Dark: A Novel - Sequoia Nagamatsu
• Mestiza Blood - V. Castro (#io9)
• Outcasts of the Wildwood - Rachel Atwood
• Servant Mage - Kate Elliott
• Such a Pretty Smile - Kristi DeMeester (#io9)
• The Beholden - Cassandra Rose Clarke
• The Chosen Twelve - James Breakwell (#io9)
• The Mirror Shattered Midnight - Dhonielle Clayton
• Trouble the Waters: Tales From the Deep Blue - Sheree Renée Thomas, Pan Morrigan, and Troy L. Wiggins (Editors) (#io9)

January 20

• Inscape - Louise Carey

January 25

• Devil House - John Darnielle
• Empire of Shadows (Coraidic Sagas 3) - Alicia Wanstall-Burke (#rjhspb)
• Goliath - Tochi Onyebuchi
• Heart of the Bloodstone (The Stone Tribes 1) - Philinna Wood (#rjhspb)
• Hold My Place - Cassondra Windwalker (#io9
• Into the Midnight Void - Mara Fitzgerald (#io9)
• Light Years From Home - Mike Chen (#io9)
• Munro - Kresley Cole
• Obsidian - Sarah Daley
• Quicksilver - Dean Koontz (#io9)
• Road of Bones - Christopher Golden (#io9)
• Seven Mercies (Seven Devils 2) - Laura Lam, Elizabeth May
• Temple of No God - H. M. Long
• The Best Science Fiction of the Year: Volume Six - Neil Clarke (Editor)
• The Broken Tower - Kelly Braffet (#io9)
• The Sculptor - Michael Aronovitz

​
Edit: Added in books from io9's Jan 2022 list that I didn't already have (tag #io9).
Edit2: Added in books from Rob J. Hayes' Jan 2022 list of self-published fantasy books (tag #rjhspb).
​
Main Sources

• Upcoming Sci-Fi & Fantasy Books listed at Risingshadow:

https://www.risingshadow.net/library/comingbooks

• Rob J Hayes' monthly blog posting on new self-published books:

https://www.robjhayes.co.uk/blog/

• Publisher "new" and "Coming Soon" web pages such as:

https://publishing.tor.com/coming-soon/
https://www.hachettebookgroup.com/imprint/orbit/

• io9's monthly list of new sci-fi and fantasy books.
• Reviews of ARC books by various users in this sub.
• Other occasional posts to this sub announcing up-n-coming books.

I just want to know where people are thinking my writing is going. I'm working on getting a comic book published and I kinda just feel stuck in the meantime until I can get the art back for the pages. So I went back to writing up stories for my blog to fill in some of the gaps between issues and stuff. Anyways, rambling. If somebody would be so kind as to let me know what you think of these random short stories! Freaky Witches: https://terraversecomix.com/?p=472
Allegra's Questioning: https://terraversecomix.com/?p=489
I'm constantly working on more work, so feel free to let me know what you think!

Yesterday I posted the first half of my own pitch for the 3rd MCU Spider-Man film, "Spider-Man: Home Invasion". Due to its long length, I'm posting it in two starts. The link to the first half is here, but here is a brief sypnosis of it.
Brief Recap of Part One

• In the months since Far From Home, Peter Parker has gone into hiding with Aunt May and Happy Hogan, who provides them security. While there is not enough evidence to charge him, he remains hidden as the media hounds him. They are led on by J. Jonah Jameson, head of alternative news site TheDailyBugle, and William Riva, head of the Mysterio Truther movement (essentially, MCU version of Q-Anon). Michelle "MJ" Jones, Ned Leeds and Betty Brant operate their own podcast, The Jackpot, which tries to fight against the misinformation spread by people like Jameson and Mysterio Truthers.
• Peter's lawyer, Matthew Murdock, is in a lawsuit against TheDailyBugle and trying to clear Peter's name, to no avail. Peter misses his friends and life. After The Chameleon frames Spider-Man for further crimes, calls to arrest Peter ramp up. Feeling stressed, Peter decides to go out on a secret date with MJ.
• Kraven the Hunter, hired by Hammerhead (who I mistankely wrote as "The Big Man" in Part 1, due to a previous draft having him as the character), arrives to kill Spider-Man. Kraven stages a hunt and places a bounty on Peter's head, drawing in many different assassins, prominently among them being Shocker and Mac Gargan/Scorpion. Peter saves his friends and puts them into hiding, while he works on tracking down Kraven.
• While in hiding, Peter's allies try to investigate Kraven. Using a connection of MJ's, they discover more of his background. They also find a connection between him and the Mysterio Truther movement, suggesting he is behind Peter being framed. Before they can do anything with the information, the Chameleon arrives to kidnap them. MJ manages to recover and hide their info before she too is captured.
• Peter struggles to survive against the many different assassins after him. He is eventually rescued by Matt, who is revealed to be the vigilante Daredevil. After he nearly kills Scorpion, Matt takes Peter away to talk with him and patch his injuries. Peter laments the way he has been treated despite all the good he's done. Matt gives him some advice on the lives they live and how Peter needs to deal with his anger, as well as his misguided, heavy burden of responsibility. After Peter believes he heas a lead on Kraven, he leaves without Matt as it's Peter's responsibility to face Kraven and doesn't want any help.

Act Two, Part Two
Peter arrives at Kraven’s hideout, which is some sort of abandoned zoo. Peter follows the tracker to one of the buildings, sneaking in through a skylight. Inside, Peter sees a few remaining individuals: Boomerang, a new Whiplash, The Tinkerer, the Beatle, and Alistar Smythe with Spider-Slayers. Peter sends in a Spider Drone for closer looks. Kraven enters the room talking to Hammerhead and Aleksei. Hammerhead wants to know when Spider-Man will die, as he is tired of Kraven playing these games. Kraven reminds him that this is more than a “game”. This hunt is meaningful, and Hammerhead agreed to let Kraven do this his way when Kraven was hired. Kraven, who has enhanced hearing and smell, senses Spider-Man’s presence and welcomes him. Peter drops down from the roof to fight the remaining assassins.
Hammerhead escapes with Aleksei, while Kraven watches the fighting. Peter quickly takes out the suitless Beatle and Smythe, but not before Smythe boots up a slayer. Peter fights the remaining assassins. Whiplash proves challenging, as her electric whips prevent Peter from getting close to her, and Boomerang’s explosive projectiles force Peter to keep moving. The Spider-Slayer accidentally takes out Boomerang, while the Slayer is fried out from one of Whiplash’s whips. Whiplash knocks down Peter; Peter uses a web to throw a boomerang at Whiplash. Whiplash dodges it at first--only for it to come back and hit her, allowing Peter to get close and deactivate her suit. A cowardly Tinkerer, who was hiding, tries to escape but is web blasted by Peter.
Kraven runs off and Peter chases after him. While Peter can keep up with him, Kraven is faster than Peter anticipated. He lures Peter into an adjacent exhibit, where Peter finds out the place is spiked with traps. Peter avoids pits that lead to spiders, pressure plates that cause arrows to shoot at him, poisonous gas and bombs. Peter eventually finds Kraven in an outdoor auditorium, where he is holding MJ at gunpoint. Kraven congratulates him on surviving the assassins and his traps. He strikes MJ with the end of his knife, threatening to slit her throat. Kraven releases her to him after hearing Peter’s desperate pleas; however, Peter senses something is wrong. Peter blasts MJ, revealing her to be the Chameleon in disguise, who going to stab Peter. Unfortunately, this distracts Peter quick enough for Kraven to throw down a smoke bomb that dilutes Peter’s senses. Peter gets hit with a dart that knocks him unconscious.
Sometime later at a mob hideout, the Shocker is seen trying to fix his gauntlets while talking on the phone with Alexei. As Alexei tells how Kraven has gone off the deep end, Shocker hears someone breaking in. Shocker investigates the main room, to find all the men there have been defeated. Daredevil appears behind him and breaks his gauntlents. Matt pulls Shocker away for questioning, threatening that Shocker is going to tell him “everything”.
Peter awakens the next morning in a near empty penthouse. He stumbles around, finding various belongings to Kraven, such as: weapons and herbs. He discovers a board that is full of different photos of Spider-Man, Peter and his loved ones, which gives Peter the chance to see how deep Kraven's obsession goes. He finds Kraven on the balcony, who wishes him a good morning and offers Peter a meal. Kraven is excited to finally meet him after months of observing, but Peter demands answers from the hunter. Kraven explains his background to Peter. As a young boy he was forced to become a man to defend himself, and his step-brother Dmitri, from their angry father. After the father was taken care of, Kraven had to provide for the family. He hunted for them (taught to do so by his father), which helped make Kraven strong and instilled a sense of honor into him. After he grew bored with hunting animals, he began hunting humans. Learning from the food chain, Kraven believes it is vital that a man seize life for his own and show their dominance over those who fail to do so. However, after years of hunting, Kraven has begun showing his age. Wanting to cement his legacy, he planned one last hunt and decided to go after the one thing he never has before: a superhuman.
His attention turned toward Spider-Man at the suggestion of step-brother Dmitri Smerdyakov. Dmitri had been working freelance for Nick Fury in Europe when he met Peter during the Mysterio crisis. There, Kraven had become interested in the young hero. After London, Kraven and Dmitri tracked down the remnants of Mysterio’s crew. The brothers killed the crew, save for William Riva who tried bargaining for his life. William gave up some of their technology, as well as revealing the edited footage of Spider-Man. Kraven allowed William to send the edited footage to TheDailyBugle, and subsequently financed William to help create the Mysterio Truther movement, while Dmitri reconfigured the technology for his own purpose to become the Chameleon. Kraven explains how this was the first step in molding Peter to become stronger. While he sees Peter as the perfect prey, he recognizes Peter has yet to reach his full potential. So, he orchestrated the framing and this hunt to break Peter down enough for him to be pushed to his limit and grasp his potential. Afterall, the stronger Peter is, the more satisfying prey Peter will be. Kraven pulls up footage of Peter’s fight with Scorpion, specifically where Peter dug into his anger to beat Scorpion. He compliments this, encouraging Peter to dig into the pain that Kraven had helped give him. Peter calls him delusional, but Kraven believes that no matter what his legacy will be cemented today: Kraven will either go down as the man who killed Spider-Man, or as the man who taught Spider-Man his true potential. No matter which way it goes, Kraven will be comforted in knowing his legacy will endure.
Peter prepares to attack him but Kraven stops him, saying there is something he should know first. Kraven reveals that there is one last test for Peter to finish. Not a test of will (framing him for murdeidentity reveal) or strengths (the assassins), but a test of the heart. This final test will be the final push for Peter to become his ‘true self’. Shortly, Norman Osborn will be giving a speech at an event in Central Park to announce his plans to combat vigilantes. Kraven sent the Chameleon there. Osborn will be assassinated and there will be crossfire casualties, with Spider-Man being implicated. However, Kraven has also captured Peter’s allies and is holding them captive at Midtown High. Peter must choose between saving his loved ones or stopping Chameleon. If Peter stops Chameleon, many innocents will be saved, a political crisis averted and Kraven promises evidence that will clear his name but at the cost of those he loves. Alternatively, Peter can save those he loves but at the cost of allowing innocents to die, wide-reaching consequences from the fallout of Osborn’s assassination and the Mysterio Truther movement will continue to grow. So, Peter must choose between his responsibilities as “Spider-Man” or his responsibilities as “Peter Parker”. An angry Peter threatens Kraven, but Kraven warns that Peter is running out of time. Peter quickly jumps off the balcony. After watching Peter swing away, Kraven prepares some herbs and meditates.
Peter takes a moment to stop on a rooftop in a panic over what to do as he cannot do this alone. He tries getting ahold of Matt, but Matt won’t answer. Peter kneels down, racing in his thoughts for what he should do. He impulsively runs in one direction but stops himself. Taking a deep breath, Peter heads the other way and makes his choice.
At Midtown High, Mac Gargan is holding the hostages in the gym with some men. They’re hands and feet are bound to their seats. Gargan presses a knife to May’s face; although he missed the chance to kill her nephew, Gargan is satisfied being able to kill them. Discreetly, Happy is using a hidden blade to cut his bindings.
At Central Park, Osborn is addressing his crowd of supporters. Despite the Blip bringing everyone back, there remains chaos and disunity left over from the effects of the SNAP. With SHIELD gone, and the Avengers disbanded, who is there to protect them and keep the peace? Osborn publicly announces his new project: HAMMER, a private security force to protect the public against dangers. Particularly, HAMMER will specialize in combating dangerous and unchecked superhumans like Spider-Man. The Chameleon watches from a distance, disguised as Spider-Man and holding a trigger for a bomb beneath the stage.
Gargan receives a phone call. In this distraction, Happy breaks out of his bindings. Taking out the unsuspecting guard next to him, Happy proceeds to tackle Gargan. Although Happy knocks out Gargan in a few punches, Gargan is able to stab Happy with a switchblade. Quickly running out of adrenaline and strength, Happy cuts the others free from their bindings; unfortunately, armed guards were alerted to the noise from outside.
Before the Chameleon can activate his bomb, the trigger is snatched away by Peter. Peter and Chameleon fight on the rooftop, which is spotted by SWAT officers. SWAT opens fire on them, as Osborn is evacuated alongside the dispersing crowd. Officers, seeing two Spider-Men, don’t know if one of them is friendly. They fire anyway, with Peter being shot by a bullet. The Chameleon kicks Peter off the building, but Peter attaches a web to him so the Chameleon follows him down.
Before any of the armed guards can kill them, Daredevil drops down from the rafters. Daredevil takes out the armed gunmen. Afterwards, he reveals his identity to Peter’s friends so he can get their trust. Matt apologies for not getting there sooner, and that he came as soon as he learned they were held captive here.
The crowd watches as two Spider-Men fall from the building. Peter saves Chameleon from death with webs. Peter tries using webs to break his own fall, but lands harshly in Central Park. Seeing that the bullet passed through him, Peter webs up his wound. Amidst the evacuating crowd and chaos, Kraven approaches Peter. Peter is pissed at Kraven for what Kraven made him do. The injured, angry Peter attacks Kraven. The two have a fight across Central Park. Peter fights with pure rage, but Kraven proves overwhelming and resilient to his attacks. Kraven fights with an assortment of blades, spears, throwing knives and smoke bombs. They battle up in the trees, in the ice skating rink and eventually onto the streets. Peter is unfocused, allowing Kraven to consistently get the better of him. Kraven eventually stabs Peter with his blade, lamenting that he thought Peter would be more challenging after all this.
Before Kraven can kill him, people from a crowd throw rocks at him, demanding he leave Spider-Man alone. Kraven stands to face them, holding up the battered Spider-Man and asking if this is their hero? Peter is able to use this opportunity to use a web blast that knocks Kraven back. With more armed police coming, someone from the crowd helps Spider-Man up. This group states they always believed in him as a hero and encourage Spider-Man to escape before the cops arrive. Peter limps off, managing to swing away before SWAT arrives. They try arresting Kraven, but Kraven kills them before escaping.
The heavily injured Peter rushes to Midtown, hoping to find his friends. He stumbles through the halls, where he is found by MJ. Peter, relieved to see her safe, strongly embraces her before passing out from his wounds.
Act Three
Peter is put into a bed at the nurse’s office, where Matt and May try to work on his wounds. Happy is stable, but weak, from being stabbed. May asks why Matt is helping them. Matt says her nephew is a good kid and someone who is in over his head; while Peter may reject help, he is in need of it and Matt didn’t want to see anything happen to him. As this happens, Matt suddenly hears two people approaching. Outside the nurse’s office is Mr. Harrington/Flash, who had come in for weekend detention. They are in disbelief that Peter is Spider-Man. Flash tries taking a picture but his phone is smacked out of his hand by MJ.
A broken up May sits by the passed out Peter while the group debates what to do. They can’t go to a hospital, as the entire city is looking for Peter and the hospital would reveal his identity. Furthermore, Matt presumes Gargan’s boss will soon be searching for them. Matt vows to protect Peter and deal with anyone coming his way, encouraging the others to leave; however, they refuse to leave Peter. Even flash and Mr. Harrington stay. Peter saved their lives before and now they can repay him. Seeing as they know the school better than whoever may be coming, MJ suggests they set up traps and use the school to their advantage. Or, as Ned puts it, going full home alone.
As Happy protects Peter in the nurse’s office, the others set up traps around the school. They use one of Peter’s web shooters to set up web traps (similar to the PS4 game), alongside random technology and supplies scattered throughout. Ned sets up in the security office, to keep track of where the enemies will be over cameras. The prior men, including Gargan, are shown to be locked in a closet. Gargan is trying to escape through an air vent. During this time, MJ gives Matt the flash drive containing information that Kraven has been funding Mysterio Truthers, and Mysterio's illusion technology was used to frame Spider-Man for various crimes like assaulting Jameson/Osborn.
Eventually, Hammerhead arrives with Aleksei and some armed men. Hammerhead demands they kill Spider-Man and Kraven, should the hunter appear as Hammerhead has had enough of his games. His men spread throughout the school, where they are incapitated either by Daredevil or the traps littered throughout.
A panicked Flash is trying to hide in a classroom, trying to calm himself down, when Daredevil comes into the room and asks why he's hiding. Flash breaks down, admitting he isn’t brave like Peter and Flash feels so worthless to everyone. “Daredevil” suddenly pins him to the wall, revealing himself to be the Chameleon. The Chameleon demands to know where Parker is, but Flash doesn’t tell him. Before the Chameleon can kill him, they hear MJ scurrying outside, who calls in to see if Flash is okay (she had heard his breakdown from outside). The Chameleon quickly turns into Flash and throws the real Flash to the ground. MJ enters to see two Flashes fighting each other and holds them both at taserpoint.
As Ned talks in the security room, he can see Hammerhead approaching the security office. He evades a trap Ned had placed, and Ned calls for help. Hammerhead, after mocking their 'traps, threatens to kill Ned. Before he can harm Ned, Hammerhead is hit with a shovel by Harrington. Harrington and Ned run from Hammerhead, who chases them down the halls. They run up a flight of stairs; however, as Hammerhead is running up, Betty sends down a paint can on a rope which hits him in the head. Due to his thick skull, he keeps going but another one comes down to hit him, which knocks him out. Betty and Ned can’t believe it actually worked. The two kiss and talk about getting back together, but an uncomfortable Harrington breaks them up to remind them that now really isn’t the time.
Both Flashes came to be the real one to MJ. One repeats the same breakdown that Flash had earlier, prompting the other one to claim that is what he said. MJ poses a question: why does Flash bully Peter? The first says it’s because he is jealous that Peter is smarter than him. The latter, while acknowledging that’s true, admits he doesn’t have a solid reason; he always felt like a loser and desperately wanted to prove he was ‘better’ than someone. MJ has the former Flash come to her, while the latter tries begging one last time. When the Flash gets near MJ, however, she suddenly tasers him before whacking him with a bat. This Flash is revealed to have been the Chameleon. MJ could tell the real Flash was opening up and telling the truth about how he feels. She awkwardly tells Flash he is brave by being here, reminding Flash that right now he is saving Spider-Man, and that he shouldn’t feel inferior to anyone.
Aleksei walks down a hallway, where he sees Daredevil beat some of his men. In a one-shot (as homage to the show), Matt and Aleksei have a brutal fight. While Matt is very tough, Aleksei is a brute that towers over him. Their fight starts in the hallway, before Aleksei throws Matt into the library. While Aleksei has Matt pinned and nearly crushes his head (as reference to a certain scene in Game of Thrones...), Matt escapes his grasp. A tired Matt is able to get the better of Aleksei and kicks a bookshelf onto him.
A thug roams the hall, when he is stabbed from the darkness by Kraven. Kraven begins hunting the halls, trying to find where Peter is. Kraven evades some of the traps he comes across.
Gargan comes across the nurse’s office to find Peter resting inside. Happy attempts to stop him but a deranged Gargan holds him at gunpoint. Gargan overlooks the passed out Peter, and is excited how he is the one able to kill the little bastard. Suddenly, May appears behind him, tells him to get the hell away from her nephew and shoots him twice with a handgun. Gargan collapses over, mortally wounded. May, getting over the shock of killing someone, checks over Peter.
A hallucinating Peter finds himself in his old Queen’s apartment. He roams around, coming across someone sitting in his bedroom: Uncle Ben (Michael J Fox). Peter embraces his uncle, only to realize this is all in his head. Ben states that just because it’s in his head doesn’t make this any less real. Peter opens about how he’s tired--really tired. Ben sees this and knows that Peter has worked hard. Peter breaks down, saying he feels like a bad person for failing multiple times to save those he loves. Ben tries absolving him of blame but says that even if Peter were at fault he cannot let guilt keep him in shackles. Life can be harsh to him, he will make mistakes, he won’t be able to always save everyone, he won’t be perfect nor match the image people project onto him; and that’s okay; because Peter is only someone who is trying to do their best, and best isn’t invincible. Ben wishes Peter could see himself the way Ben sees him. He goes on to say that while it is true that “with great power there’s great responsibility”, Ben reminds Peter that he doesn’t need to take on that responsibility alone. Outside the nearby window Peter can “hear” his friends in danger. Peter knows he must go now, as his loved ones need him. Ben expresses his admiration for a final time as Peter jumps out the hallucinatory window.
Kraven arrives in the nurse’s office, tossing May aside after she tries to shoot him. Happy fights with him, but Kraven impales Happy with his blade. May, with her gun thrown too far, tries throwing something at Kraven. Kraven pounces at her, nearly killing her when Peter wakes up to save his aunt.
Peter and Kraven fight throughout the school. Despite his injuries, Peter is creative and agile in fighting Kraven. Peter keeps his focus and emotions in check, preventing him from falling for any of Kraven’s tricks. Their brutal fight leads from the school hallways, classrooms, until Peter knocks Kraven out a window and into the snowy field outside. The two fight in the snow, which Peter uses to slow Kraven down. Despite Kraven’s superior fighting abilities, Peter keeps his focus and gets the upper-hand. Peter beats down on Kraven, just as he did Gargan earlier. Peter stops himself from going overboard and instead traps Kraven to the goalpost. Kraven, proud of Peter for beating him, encourages him to ‘finish it’. Peter won’t give into Kraven’s twisted view of him or the world. He gloats that Kraven lost. On the contrary, Kraven believes that he won, as he made Peter stronger. Peter counters it was his friends who made him stronger, not Kraven. Kraven breaksdown, ranting that he won. Peter ignores his lunatic rants, turning to leave when a defeated Kraven tells Peter to return to his hideout. A man of his word, Kraven promises that he will find everything he needs there. However, Kraven warns that since Peter chose not to kill him then Kraven will come after him again and again until one of them finishes it.
Back inside, Peter goes to join May next to the mortally wounded Happy. With his last words, Happy says how when he first met Peter he didn’t see what Tony saw, as he was “just a kid”. But, Happy now believes “that kid” will be the “best hero out of all of them”. Happy dies from his injuries, to the distraught of Peter and May.
Soon after, police arrive at the school. They find all the enemies have been webbed up, while Peter’s allies are gathered in the nurse’s office. Peter and Matt watch from the nearby train station as Kraven is arrested, alongside Chameleon, Alexei, Hammerhead and the other goons. Peter and Matt arrive at Kraven’s hideout, where Matt finds a hidden room. The room contains drives telling the truth about Mysterio, alongside some of his illusion technology.
The film cuts to later where multiple news broadcasts are showing going through the breaking news about new evidence in the Spider-Man case:

• Details about who Mysterio really was have come to light, such as his past as an ex-Stark employee, and how he manipulated illusions to make himself a hero. MJ’s investigation information is also released, revealing the role of this technology in Chameleon’s framing of Spider-Man and how Mysterio Truthers were funded by a maniac with a vendetta against Spider-Man.
• Matt argues at court that Beck chose to frame Peter Parker as Spider-Man since Peter had a close relationship with Tony Stark. It was the last act of “revenge” against his former boss. He demands reparations be paid to Peter by Jameson, who irresponsibly accused a child without any evidence.
• On TheDailyBugle, Jameson backtracks on Peter being Spider-Man, but defends himself as “just reporting the news” and denies intentionally spewing false news. Immediately after claiming to be a fair and factual source, he twists the narrative to reiterate that Spider-Man remains a menace to society.
• Despite recent revelations the Mysterio Truther movement continues on, even if it’s more of a fringe group now. William Riva advises the true believers not to buy into the media’s lies, reiterating that Mysterio was the greatest hero who ever lived.
• Norman Osborn publicly thanks Spider-Man for saving his life; however, he also reveals that HAMMER has been giving full-funding from the government and will advance to next stages.
• MJ speaks on her Jackpot blog, where credit has been attributed to her for helping bring this information to light. Reminding everyone about the dangers of false information and mass media, MJ finishes by saying she is proud Spider-Man is back where he belongs in New York.

Sometime later, Peter is getting ready for his first day back at school. We see a selfie Peter took of himself over a sleeping Happy hanging on the wall, next to a Parker family photo and the photo of Tony/Peter seen in Endgame. Peter is nervous, but May assures him that all will be okay. After they hug, Peter opens the door to find Matt. Matt walks with Peter to Midtown High, where Peter again thanks Matt for all his help and admits he couldn't have done it without any help from him (or the others). Never one to accept a thanks, Matt asks that Peter only ‘pay it forward’ as Spider-Man. He asks what Peter’s next steps are. Peter isn’t sure what his own future holds, he just knows he’s not going to take his life as Peter for granted and that New York will always need Spider-Man. Still, Peter expresses sadness over being unable to save Happy, Matt gives him some encouragement, reminding Peter that Happy knew what he was doing. Matt promises to never be far away if Peter needs him; that said, if Peter gets into legal trouble again Matt jokes that Peter’s gonna have to pay him next time.
Upon his arrival to Midtown, Peter is met by MJ. MJ excitedly tells him that she got the internship with Robbie, which Peter is proud of her for. Together they walk into school, with Peter visibly nervous. Some students give him weird looks, while others awkwardly try to welcome him back. Peter passes Flash and the two greet each other as friends. Unfortunately, Peter is confronted by Brad Davis. Brad pins Peter against a locker and demands he “show us the truth”; however, Peter doesn’t bulge and Brad is pulled away by Harrington.
We follow Peter through his classes, where he is clearly excited to be back at school (contrasting the beginning of Homecoming, when Peter didn’t want to be there). However, Ned is ignoring him. As the day ends, Peter goes to see Ned, but Ned feels awkward around Peter. While Ned respects and understands Peter being Spider-Man, Ned no longer feels comfortable or safe around him. He needs space. Peter, although heartbroken, respects his wishes. Noting that they’ll “see each other around”, Peter and Ned go their separate ways. Peter watches as Ned goes off with Betty, and finds solace in at least knowing Ned will be happy with her.
Making his way back to MJ, Peter asks if she feels safe around him. MJ understands the difficult choices he has to make and accepts that being around him can be dangerous. Yet, MJ promises Peter she isn’t going anywhere and that she loves him. Peter promises she’ll always have him too and that he loves her too. Peter then gets an alert on his phone about a bank robbery unfolding. MJ tells Peter to “go get ‘em, tiger”.
Spider-Man swings through New York. He passes by a new Spider-Man mural, where “murderer” has been crossed out for “hero”. Peter triumphantly swings throughout the city, glad to be home and protecting his city once again.
Post-Credits
Matt tells Peter that he discovered that Hammerhead was working for someone higher up, and warns that the person is dangerous. Spider-Man goes to confront who hired Kraven and was behind the Hammerhead: Wilson Fisk, the Kingpin. Fisk was released from prison during the snap and (controversially) conditionally pardoned, due to him donating money to help with rebuilding. As Spider-Man has no proof, Fisk denies everything but subtly hints that Kraven served his purpose, despite growing out of control. Spider-Man correctly assumes Kingpin wanted to drum up public support for the HAMMER Initiative. Spider-Man promises to take down Fisk, who is unconcerned and says he looks forward to seeing him again.
Mac Gargan is taken to a secure facility. Despite his injuries, there remains some signs of life in him. Valentina Allegra de Fontaine stands across from his bed, musing that Gargan is a maniac but one that she trusts to get stuff done. She tells the doctor to start experimenting on Gargan, remarking he still may be of some use to her.
Another post-credit would be of different segments/outtakes of J. Jonah during his Daily Bugle show.
Bonus: Mysterio Truthers
When writing this, I had a lot of fun developing the "lore" behind Mysterio Truthers. It all couldn't be explained in the story, so here's some of it:

• Mysterio Truthers is a conspiracy theory that alleges interdimensional warrior Mysterio was trying to save the world from the Illuminati, a cabal of powerful people who secretly control the world. The Illuminati created the Elementials to spread fear so that they could get more govermential control, but their plans were foiled by Mysterio (who came from another dimension where the Illuminati destroyed the world). Mysterio nearly succeeded in defeating them, but he was murdered by their agent Spider-Man.
• Among those supposdly in the Illuminati leadership are an alive Tony Stark (who is portrayed as a 'dark money' figure), King T'Challa of Wakanda, King of New Asgard Valkyrie, Nick Fury, Captain Marvel and Sam Wilson/Captain America (who, according to them, murdered Steve Rogers to take his place as Steve was going to expose them). Other members include Spider-Man, Maria Hill, Scarlet Witch and War Machine.
• Another theory states that the Snap was a "lie". Instead, the Illuminati abducted half the population and did testing on them. They were released back into society without any memories of the testing, but deep within them there is a protocol that when activated will mind control them to do the Illuminati's bidding. There are other theories that discuss how Stark released Ultron on purpose.
• Mysterio Truthers believe that hope is not lost, however. Soon, this dimension's version of Mysterio will discover his abilities. Then, the new Mysterio will gather all his believers and allies to bring the storm against the Illuminati. He will defeat the Illuminati, reform the Avengers and bring about world peace.

​
So yeah, this has been my version of Spider-Man. Thank you to anyone who read, hope it was enjoyable!

https://iohk.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/articles/4404891938457-Alonzo-readiness-of-third-parties
the lists are at the end of the link, right now it seems that only Ledger HW wallets are ready!
Alonzo, Cardano's next protocol upgrade, will bring core Plutus smart contract capability to Cardano, delivering exciting new utility and fresh opportunities for businesses and developers. The final component of the ongoing Goguen rollout, it will start to open up whole new avenues of technical capability and decentralized finance use cases for the Cardano platform.
As with our previous three Cardano protocol updates (‘Shelley’, ‘Allegra’ & ‘Mary’) we’ll use the same HFC approach to bring Plutus – our native smart contract language and libraries – to the Cardano network.
This hard fork event is named after Alonzo Church – a US mathematician and logician who worked on the foundations of theoretical computer science. One of the reasons for naming our smart contract upgrade after Church is that Plutus Core (the Cardano smart contract language) is a variation of lambda calculus – a formal system invented by Church to prove the unsolvability of the Entscheidungsproblem.
Applying a rigorous approach based on formal methods and verification, Alonzo extends the basic multi-signature scripting language (multisig) used in Cardano Shelley to the Plutus Core language. The Alonzo ledger implements the extended unspent transaction output (eUTXO) accounting model, using Plutus Core to provide powerful scripting, and also builds on Cardano’s existing metadata, and multi-asset and native token capability. While multi-asset support allows users to create unique currencies that fuel business needs, Alonzo introduces a versatile platform for building smart contracts and decentralized applications (DApps) to work with collectibles, crowdfunding, or auctions, for example.
It’s also an update process that will require close and careful coordination with exchanges and other third parties currently integrated to Cardano.
The exchange integration team, led by the Cardano Foundation, has extensive experience in this domain. We hope that the whole upgrade process will be similarly smooth focusing on step-by-step improvements to ensure that everything works efficiently.
The team will be working closely with all exchanges to support them through the integration and to swiftly address any issues slowing them down. Exchanges have access to the Alonzo Purple testnet and also the Cardano testnet to support their integration work. However, every exchange is different and follows its own integration processes and timelines.
You’ll be able to track status on your preferred exchange, via this curated list of links to the major exchanges/third-parties we’ll be working with. Once the integrations start, we’ll track progress here to keep the community updated on the status.
People holding ada on exchanges or in wallets need have no concerns about the safety of their ada. However, it is possible that some exchange customers may experience some exchange downtime/service interruption as exchanges complete their final integration work.
Any ada holder keeping their funds on an exchange will be able to continue to be able to trade during this period. However, they may encounter issues making withdrawals and deposits temporarily during the time their exchange is updating.
If you have any concerns, we recommend you contact your chosen exchange; while we are working closely with all leading exchanges, they will be able to provide the very latest technical status. If you experience any access issues around this time on your preferred exchange platform, please first contact and log a support ticket with them if necessary. We recommend you also check their Twitter – often they will communicate status updates from there. Please also log a support request with us, using the "Submit a request" button. If we know which exchanges are having issues, we can help triage and ensure your exchange has got what it needs to complete an efficient transition to Alonzo-era functionality.
Thanks as ever for your patience during this exciting time.

One of the influencers I follow is Allegra Shaw and she was doing a Q&A today on her Insta stories and then decided to stop because she was tired of so many people asking when she’s going to get married and have kids. Her response was perfect! She said that getting married and having kids isn’t the only path in life and it’s not going to magically make you happy or validate you as a woman. She asked her followers to consider if they would bother their favorite male influencers with this question. It was a breath of fresh air after I’ve had to unfollow a lot of influencers over the last year after they have kids and turn their accounts into mommy blogs.

This was my first year at Bingo and I loved it! I am quite the normal bookdragon, I have a personal fluffy black hole (a.k.a. my TBR) that is constantly growing and that constantly tries to eat me whole. There are so many books on there, and some of them are there since forever, but thanks to the Bingo I got the opportunity to read some of them, and I discovered some pretty amazing new authors and books, too! So... here is the second part of my card!
A Novel Set in School A Deadly Education by N. Novik This book was a surprise. I have read a couple of other books by this author and I wasn't so impressed. I cannot say that they were bad but I didn't love them either. So I started this one with pretty low expectations. Sure, the idea sounded good but... yes, but the same could have been said for the other books by her I have read. And it blow me away! I loved this school, is really original and an interesting and creepy place. And I loved El. She is not your usual MC, and I adored her!
Book About Books The Left-Handed Booksellers of London by G. Nix I think this was the square that I liked less, but I don't really know why. It is just that I am not a big fan of books about books (even if I love books!!!), so I decided to go with a book that made me quite curious. And this went okay, I guess. I enjoyed the book, especially the characters, but I wasn't really hooked up. The beginning was pretty good, and I was interested but around the halfway point I lost interest for the plot. It wasn't boring, but it wasn't so compelling, either. I was expecting something more, but it is all the same a good book, especially if you are in for something different!
That Made You Laugh Saint's Blood by S. De Castell Okay, this may not be your usual choice, I give you that. But I had to use at least a book in this series for this square because there is so much in this series. And yes, it is not funny per se. We get a lot of bad things happening, and the author is quite bad with our MCs (bad author, no cookies!!!), he hurts them so much!!! But with all the tears and the hurt, I had laughed out loud and smiled. So much. Because Falcio, Kest, and Basti are amazing. And they would make you laugh, too! (And cry, and scream, but these are details!)
Short Stories Swashbuckling Cats this anthology was pretty fun. And it is full of cats!!! You cannot ask for more, really!
Big Dumb Object The Collapsing Empire by J. Scalzi I discovered this author thanks to this series, and I know that this won't be the last I'll read of him. This was such an amazing series! And this book in particular is the first, where all the things began. We get to know some interesting characters and quite some action. It is a fast reading, and the best part are the dialogues. So so good!!!!
Feminist Novel Snowspelled by S. Burgis I discovered this author thanks to this Bingo, and it was such a great surprise! This is a short book, but it has some pretty great characters, and the world-building is pretty intriguing, too. I loved it!
By A Canadian Author Under Heaven by G. Gavriel Kay I had this book on my shelves, and it was there waiting for its turn since a lifetime, or so it seemed. And it would have waited for a long time still if I didn't need it for this square. This is the first book I have read by this author, and I have mixed feelings toward it. On one hand, this is not my cup of tea, it is not my kind of story and I had a hard time to really feel the characters. On the other hand, I enjoyed the time I have spent with it. It is a story beautifully told. And it was interesting. So, I enjoyed it, and it surprised me, but I won't go on with this series anyway.
With A Number In The Title Three Mages and A Margarita by A. Marie I discovered this series on a blog that I follow, and I had to try it because I was curious and it seemed like my cup of tea. And I fell in love with it. This book is fast, fun, and quite a good comfort reading. It may not be the best book ever, but I had an amazing time with it, and in the end, this is the important thing.
Paranormal Romance The Dirt on The Ninth Grave by D. Jones I think that this series should have ended a couple of books ago. Once upon a time, I loved these books, but I think that with the birth of Charley's daughter the story should have ended. They are still fast books, but I think that they lost traction, and I am quite undecided about keeping it going or dropping it.
With a Magical Pet Midnight Light Blue Special by S. McGuire I think that I am keeping up with this series for the Aeslin Mices. They are just the most amazing thing ever! And the world-building in this series is so rich and fascinating. I really love it. But I don't particularly care for the characters. I don't know what really is not working for me, and I cannot say that they are bad books, I enjoyed them so far, but not loved them.
Graphic Novel Black Butler vl. 18 by Y. Toboso I love this manga, and this volume is one of the ones with the story arc of the boarding school. Ciel and Sebastian in a boarding school were just so good! And the art is superb.
Featuring Politics The Demons We See by K. D. Ball This was another of the books that I discovered thanks to the Bingo. And I think this was the best surprise of all. I loved this first book, Allegra is so far from your usual main character, because she is what she should be. I mean, she is a noblewoman who makes the noblewoman. She write letters, she play her part in society (not always willingly, maybe), she makes herself heard with the meaning and the resources of a noble. She is not secretly a thief/spy/assassin/whatever. And mind me, I love this kind of books, but sometimes it is refreshing to see something different. And Allegra is different. And this book is different. And I loved it. (And also the sequel. It is amazing too!)
And now I am really looking forward to the next year's Bingo!

Episode 1 (Premiere) - "Smoking, Bacteria, and the Beginning of the End"
Take care of your body everyone, this is gonna be one uncomfortable ride.
Full Cast & Crew
Dub Available Now on Funimation!
---
Well that was awesome. Dark, bloody, and violent, exactly what I was hoping for.
Kyle McCarley (Red Blood Cell) and Allegra Clark (White Blood Cell) were fantastic, as was the entire supporting cast (Patrick Seitz showing up was a nice surprise). Jason Marnocha is outstanding as the narrator, really sets the grim tone for the show, compared to the cheery and upbeat narration from the original series.
The fight with the Carbon Monoxide bacteria was well animated, super gritty and it doesn't hold anything back. White Blood Cell is an absolute badass, hyped to see more.
Also, What have they done to our precious platelets!!
This is gonna be a fun show that we should hopefully see weekly with Aniplex/Bang Zoom! handling it.
On to Episode 2 - "The Liver, Alcohol, and Pride"

Follow my blog for similar reviews: https://fantastyreviews.wordpress.com/2021/02/27/the-starless-sea-by-erin-morgenstern-and-red-wine-hot-chocolate/
Plot
This book focuses on Zachary Ezra Rawlins a university student who one day finds a collection of short stories all about a place called the Starless Sea. The most amazing thing is that one of the stories in the book is a moment from his life exactly as he remembers it. This starts him on an adventure to discover and save the Starless Sea which is a collection of all of the stories. Interspersed with the main story line are short tales some about the Starless Sea and some that feel like folk tales.
Characters
The main character is Zachary and he falls in love with Dorian a man who is introduced as a possible antagonist who has his own book that was stolen and he is desperate to get back. There is also Mirabel a girl who was raised in the library and has the ability to paint doors that enter into the library. The Keeper has worked and lived in the library for a very long time, he is the mysterious guide who gives what advice he can. Finally is Allegra someone who was supposed to protect the library and has decided the best way to do that is keeping everyone out.
World building
The world building is by far the strongest part of this book. The world Morgenstern builds is a beautiful love story to stories. The Starless Sea is a library to hold all stories through all time no matter what shape the story took. It contains whole worlds. People who love stories will at some point in their life find a door. Many people wont open the door but those that do find themself in the Starless Sea. Some will visit only once and some will never leave, but many will come and go attending parties and exploring the stories contained there. The Starless Sea is the world that book lovers dream of and Morgenstern built it perfectly.
Where are the women, LGBTQ+, BIPOC characters?
Well there are a few women throughout the story but Mirabel is pretty much the only one that gets more than one or two pages of screen time. However Zach and Dorian are both gay and in love. Zach is a black character so there is representation in this story.
My Reaction
I love this book, I think it was the world more than anything. I want so badly to visit the Starless Sea and explore the world and all of the secrets. However with that said I will admit that there are problems. The story is very much plot driven Zach has very little reason to make the choices he does. Even as a plot driven story there is actually very little plot. The story just wanders around exploring different areas with random folk tales and different point of views popping up. It is rather confusing and the Zach doesn’t know what is happening so the reader often doesn’t know either and none of the possible protagonists ever actually do anything.
The lack of women characters is really felt. You really only get Mirabelle who is a little bit pixie manic dream girl for my taste. With pink hair and seeming to exist only to support Zach in his adventure. Further more the romance between Zach and Dorian was…lack luster. It came out of nowhere I had no idea Dorian was gay. I believe it was supposed to be an insta-love romance but that didn’t get shown very well. I can fully admit that there are some problems that many readers have pointed out in this story.
I still love this story. This book was such a comforting read and I found it to be telling a story that was a bit like going home. On a logical level this story has problems but I connected with it so much on an emotional level that I am willing to overlook all of those problems and just enjoy the story.
​
Red Wine Hot Chocolate
“warmed with thermoses full of hot cocoa that he sometimes spikes with bourbon.”
Hot coca spiked with bourbon is delicious but I wanted to take it a different direction with something fewer people may have considered. Red wine and chocolate go together so well already why not add some wine to hot cocoa for a special winter treat. And while it is starting to warm up there are still enough chilly nights for you to enjoy this treat.
Ingredients
This recipe will make two cups or one mug of hot chocolate

• 1/2 cup red wine (a port style pairs well such as a malbec of sirah but any type will work)
• 1/2 cup full milk
• 25 g of dark chocolate
• 1/8 cup sugar
• 1/2 teaspoon cinnamon
• 1/2 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1/4 teaspoon cayenne pepper ( the final hot chocolate won’t be spicy this is just to balance out the flavors a bit)
• pinch of salt

Combine all of the ingredients in a sauce pan over medium heat. Whisk constantly until the chocolate has melted and all of the ingredients are combined. Serve while hot with whipped cream and/or marshmallows.
Edit to fix mistake and add:This is also such a simple recipe that these are more guidelines than rules. Any of these ratios can easily be changed and nothing will be ruined so tweak with it until you find what you like. The dryer the wine you use though the more sugar you might need to balance it out.