As with just about all anthologies, some stories are better than others and that was the case with this one too. The 1st story- A Boyfriend by Christmas was the best and if I rated this story by itself, this would be 4*. Noelle and George have been dating almost 5 years. They grew up together, but didn't start dating until they were in college. Their parents are friends and next door neighbors. After having (finally) realized he really wasn't just that into her/right for her Noelle breaks up with him. On Thanksgiving. Her sister sets her up with a fake boyfriend app. Noelle accidentally texts the wrong person (Nathan) and a relationship begins. I thought Noelle was a little batty, but relate-able and I liked her. I also liked Nathan. The romance helps fast, but I didn't really have a problem with that.
All I Want for Christmas 2*
Didn't like Daniel.
Her Favorite Present 2*
Gabe is one of the founders of the fake boyfriend app. I couldn't warm up to him. He had a less than favorable opinion of the people (mainly women) who used his app.
For romance-opoly using this for the last mystery square (and only one more to go!)

The Way of the Writer, Reflections on the Art and Craft of Storytelling is filled with the accomplishments of Charles Johnson, his philosophy in regards to writing and the benefits of academia. Somewhere among this rather high-minded autobiography (because that's basically what it is) are some insights about actual writing (that would be literary fiction with a capital L since Johnson considers anything else "pork" or industrial writing and not worth the effort).

Much of his philosophy is similar to John Gardner's who was his teacher and mentor. Indeed, one might be better off reading Gardner's On Moral Fiction as well as The Art of Fiction for more specifics on these two areas unless you're want to know more about Johnson's career highlights beginning in grade school.

I did find it interesting that he places more emphasis on plot than character development which could be considered a contradiction since one definition of literary fiction is that it's character driven. That's it you ask? Perhaps it's his lifetime as an academic, with thirty of those years as a teacher, that gives him, in my opinion, a rather limited point of view.

Though I'm now inclined to read at least one of his novels - to see if it is actually as good as he thinks it is.

I read this on August 22nd, along with All-New Inhumans #11.    (Loved that ending, loved this ending, too.)   Medusa is faced with a choice.   She can choose to follow Doom's lead, or to recognize what a fascist he is - and fight back with Black Bolt.   She chooses the latter, having been told what's really happening.   She now sees through Doom's ruse, and is willing to fight him with everything she has. 

Except it's Doom.  He's planned for all eventualities, even this one, and he's more than ready to take on both Medusa and Black Bolt - even a Black Bolt with a destructive force.   

I didn't see this heartbreaking ending that speaks of cycles, of how violence and fascism thrive, on being doomed to repeat your mistakes coming the first time, and I did the second. I was afraid that it would lose it's impact knowing that surprise twist, and it... did not.   It's as impactful as ever, and I'm in awe of what this series did. 

The best of the Battleworld/Warzones mini-series in my opinion.

When Black Bolt is captured and interrogated by Medusa, he both questions her loyalty to Doom and also tells her there are towers that broadcast signals that force people to accept the world as it is, rather than see what it could be.   Black Bolt isn't affected, and he tells Medusa that people are more willing to questions and less affected once they're made aware of the truth. 

They also talk about why Black Bolt hasn't been through Terrigenesis, and he answers that it's a matter of control.   Once you get your gifts, you're not allowed to choose where you want to go.  Your powers dictate that, and that's where you are for the rest of your life.   The example he uses is an artist who gets offensive abilities, and is put on the security team.   

Transformers time.   I didn't put it together, despite reading some about this in the Inhumans series by Jenkins and Lee.   I think that's because it's a little bolder here: it's a huge point in this series, a huge motivator, and stated far more plainly as a form of Functionalism than in the previous series.   In Transformers, the Decepticons were originally acting out against Functionalism, or the belief that what you turned into was your function.   Like Jetfire was told that because he was a flier, he couldn't be a scientist.   Fliers aren't scientists, they're made for battle.   They, much like Black Bolt, wanted the freedom to be whatever they wanted.   (Both Functionalism and Attilan had problems with racism of a sort: if you didn't turn into something good, or you didn't get top notch, or even good, gifts during Terrigenesis, you were outcasts.   Ravage was always treated like an animal because  of his panther form and in the Inhumans series - Jenkins and Lee again - there's a lot about that: a girl who's hands are deformed and is told that her best friend that they can no longer be friends, or Wuz, the boy who turns into an Alpha Primitive and is forced down into their literal underground society.   They are the morlocks of Attilan, these Alpha Primitives.)

Anyway, loved this issue.   The fact that Black Bolt is tortured is a plus, because I like seeing this in my favorite characters.  I also hope for a hurt/comfort story, and I like seeing how much they can take, even if there's no real comfort in the end.

Medusa sends Auran and Kamala Khan to infiltrate The Quiet Room.   Black Bolt takes charge, putting an effective end to said infiltration - or so he believes. 

I'm surprisingly not enjoying Matt Murdock - who goes by Murdoch in this - or Auran or Nur, all of whom I enjoy immensely in the regular Marvel universe.   It's not the author, because Soule writes some of the best Daredevil in his new run.   And he's written Auran and Nur in Uncanny Inhumans, where I originally fell in love with their characters.  I just don't see why Murdoch is in this, and he feels like comedy that isn't really necessary.   There's enough going on that he's not really necessary at this point, but it's such a minor point that I'm not even going to knock a star off.   (It's more that once I stopped reading and thinking, 'hey, Murdoch isn't doing it for me,' it bugged me until I worked it out in my mind.)

Still, it's nice seeing these characters in new situations, because Kamala is Medusa's servant: she doesn't question Medusa and the Kamala Khan I know would immediately.  Still, many characters are put in positions where they act differently than they usually do, at least at the beginning.   Even Medusa acts differently, deferring to Doom completely, which she never would in the regular Marvel universe. 

The fact that Doom is looked at as a savior, even by Captain America, and Tony Stark, all the Avengers even, is proof enough that the characters are all going to be slightly different.   Medusa still acts as a queen, compassionate, although trying to save her people from a fate worse than death.   (Being turned into a zombie would be that most likely of all fates, so there's that.)   Kamala is still doing what she thinks is right, but again Doom is looked at as a savior rather than the fascist he is so the 'right' in this world can be warped. 

The world, and the characters, are the same - and different.   I love how playful this gets, even when it's not necessarily funny.   Like this mini-series is about underground resistance and fascism and fighting that, and helping people who are worse off than you. (Sounds like something we need right now, huh?)

It's fun because it's so different, it skews what is normal in the regular Marvel universe, but it's also rather serious - or speaks to serious issues and gives them their proper gravitas - and I love this mix.