Video Games, D&D and Writer’s Block

I have not written anything for a long time.

I started this website because I needed a creative outlet. I was working short-contract, dead-end jobs and felt like I had no way of expressing myself creatively.

I love video games, I love books, and I love storytelling. I have loved this website, being able to share my thoughts and feelings with the media I enjoy, as well as my forays into Dungeons and Dragons and the beginning of my streaming hobby.

But as these hobbies grew, my writing began to fall into the background. COVID hit and I found myself unable to put words to paper. I was adapting to working from home and I could only really manage low-intensity escapism that I didn’t need to think about. Video games and streaming became the primary way for me to relax, alongside my regular Dungeons and Dragons games.

Reading and writing were too mentally taxing for me, and even then Dungeons and Dragons I could only JUST handle.

But recently I have started a new job, and my ability to stream regularly has decreased. In this new pattern of my life, I am once again feeling the urge and drive to put words to paper. I am watching and listening to videos on world-building and storytelling and I have begun trying to consolidate my Dungeons and Dragons records into a World Anvil wiki.

Feeling driven to both read and write once again, I am actively working on my books and stories hoping to return to writing on this blog more!

So much has changed since I started this whole website. My mental health is much better, and my streaming has really taken off in a positive way. I like the idea of being a super-creative, able to do it all, but that puts too much strain on my capabilities as a person.

Moving forward I am hoping to build back up to some regularity with writing articles here, I will be exploring the kind of content I want to produce and I hope you enjoy this process with me.

Much love!

Chapter 1: A Conjunction of Fates | Part 3

Sorry for the delay on this part, I have been adjusting to quarrantine life, and unfortunately writing had to take a side seat for a few weeks.

But now I and ‘The Wardens of Corinthia’ are back, and we continue the story with part three of chapter one!

If you want to the earlier parts of this chapter you can check them out below:

Prelude

Part 1

Part 2

I hope you enjoy the continuation of this story and a huge thank you for joining me on this adventure!

3

‘What does it mean?’ the sharp-eyed Dragonborn asked the wizened wizard.

‘In truth Mojito, I do not know.’ Alysha said as she poured over her scrolls and tomes, consulting all of the divination mechania that filled her study. ‘The appearance of this star is not an accident, and it clearly has some connection to the very weaves of fate that have brought you here.’

‘But it wasn’t fate that brought me here master, I chose to come here of my own volition! I travelled seeking answers from you and found you after a long journey, I was not wandering aimlessly in the wilderness!’ Mojito took a breath after his statement. He had not been able to fully learn the habit of taking breath between sentences and often waited until all thoughts were out of his mouth before re-filling his lungs.

‘I do not disagree with you, but you have just so happened to arrive in our town at the same time as two other travellers who come fleeing significant dangers and are seeking help. That is an impressive coincidence. Particularly under the burning star that is shining today.’ Alysha turned from her books and stared into a looking glass. Mojito could see nothing but a simple reflection in the polished surface, but Alysha was focused on something beyond the glass.

‘Two? There is only the gnome, no other travellers have come since I have arrived.’ replied Mojito uncertainly.

‘There was only the gnome, but a second has now arrived. It’s time for you to go to Aggie again. Tell her to go to the town square, her final guest is arriving.’ Alysha’s eyes remained focussed on what lay beyond the glass. Mojito rose, and with a bow left the wizard’s study, making his way down the spiral stair to the base of the tower, and out to the Studregg Tavern.

***

‘So what exactly did Alysha say?’ Aggie asked as Mojito led her and Tana to the town square.

‘She said that another person is coming and we are to go to the town square to meet them, she didn’t explain more than that,’ replied Mojito, impatient to find out exactly what was going on and meet this final guest. Stood in the town square, the trio watched the bustle as townsfolk attempted to carry on their work, as much as they could, whilst keeping half an eye on the burning meteor in the sky.

‘What’s goin’ on Aggie?’ Willow, the owner of one of the town’s general good stores, asked as she walked over from her small shop front.

‘Well, Alysha an’ Hektor ‘ave asked us t’ meet one of their friends out here, apparently, they are new in town.’ Aggie replied with a shrug.

‘Oh! Well that can’t be good, can it?’ Willow replied, hesitantly. ‘Don’t get me wrong, I love them two, but I mean, it can’t be good news right? Wizards friends turning up at such a time?’ Willow tried to avoid looking at Mojito and Tana as she spoke, but her eyes could not help but flicker across the group. Tana shifted uncomfortably behind Aggie’s large frame as she avoided eye contact with Willow, whilst Mojito scanned the town. If he heard Willow he did not acknowledge her.

‘Come on now, that’s no way to talk! You know these two are friends, and ‘ave been nothing but lovely since they got ‘ere!’ Aggie replied, kindly but not softly. ‘Who knows what’s happening and we have no right t’ judge people who pass through-‘

‘Oh! Who’s that?!’ Mojito called out cutting Aggie short and causing both her and Willow to turn to his direction. Mojito pointed and hopped to see over the crowd, whilst Tana hopelessly scanned the crowd’s legs. She was getting used to not seeing much when there was a lot of large-folk around, but she did not resign herself to impassivity in such a situation. Aggie looked across the square and saw someone who appeared to just as startlingly tall as her, if not taller. ‘It’s a Firbolg!’ Mojito called out ‘It must be, I have never seen one but look! It’s all furry like a Goliath with hair!’ As the Firbolg made its way through town it kept attempting to engage townsfolk in conversation. Had it been any other day Harstead would have been more than welcoming, but people were on edge with the star hanging in the morning sky, and much to Aggie’s embarrassment, people were visibly avoiding the stranger and pointing them in any direction away from themselves.

‘Hiya darlin’ how’re doing?’ Aggie asked as she strode forward through the crowd, Tana and Mojito in tow, holding out a hand to the new visitor.

‘Oh! Hello! “I” am pleased to meet you!’ replied the Firbolg placing a hand over her heart as she spoke. Seeing Aggie’s outstretched hand she mimicked the gesture uncertainly.

‘What brings you to our town darlin’?’ Aggie asked as she reached forward and took the Firbolg’s hand and shook it with a smile, ‘You seem like you’re a long way from ‘ome.’

‘Well we are looking for help you see’ the Firbolg replied continuing to shake Aggie’s hand as she spoke, ‘we were sent by the people to find help, and so “I” came here.’

‘So what’s your name darlin’?’ Aggie asked as she subtly tried to break the handshake without outright tugging her hand away.

‘Darling? Erm.’ The Firbolg let go of Aggie’s hand as her golden eyes glanced down in thought, ‘Yes, Darling is my name?’ The Firbolg’s gaze fixed on Aggie inquisitively.

‘You ain’t sure?’ Aggie replied keeping the Firbolg’s gaze. ‘You can be Darling if you want.’

‘Okay!’ replied the Firbolg with a flash of relief crossing her face, ‘”I” am Darling!’

(to be continued…)

Chapter 1: A Conjunction of Fates | Part 2

The Wardens of Corinthia is back, and we continue the story with part two of chapter one!

If you want to catch part one of this chapter you can check this out here!

I hope you continue to enjoy this story and thank you for joining me on this adventure!

2

This was the furthest the firbolg known as the Lalar had ever travelled from her woodland home. She had heard of races cultivating the land and transforming it to produce food in vast quantities, but she had never truly seen it close. Stretches of uniform wheat growing within constructed barriers of deadwood prevented intruders from casually walking across the fields. It was a far cry from foraging in the woodland groves, but upon close inspection it was clear that even in this cultivated land many animals were able to make their home here.

A small family of dormice ran up and down the wheat sheave stalks, and many cottontail rabbits were enjoying the luxurious feasts that such intensive cultivation nurtured. Small birds built nests in the bushes that reclaimed the deadwood barriers, and sung tales of love and joy to the morning light; Chaffinches, dunnocks and wrens flitted from hidden perch to hidden perch. And where there are small animals, there are always larger animals to hunt them, and as far as Lalar could tell by their scent there was at least one family of foxes that had built a set nearby.

Nature always made a way, and no one could tame it for long.

Coming out of the wheat fields Lalar came upon a dirt path that lead to a dwelling built from deadwood and stone. She started towards the homestead before something caught her eye and her stomach turned. Across the top bar of the deadwood barrier that ran along the dirt path, little tiny bodies had been pinned. The bodies of many little, lifeless moles.

The grim trophies framed the dwelling darkly, and so, turning her back on the dwelling, Lalar followed the path in the opposite direction to what was presumably the large city that she had been told to go to.

Over the city she noticed a strange star burning brightly on the horizon. She had been so intent on the goings on the ground she had missed it completely until that moment. Perhaps it was a sign that fortune was with her.

***

‘THE SKY IS WHAT?!’ Tana cried out, rolling off her chair and running to a window of the Studregg Tavern to peak out at the sky nervously. ‘What is going on?!’ The sky was blue and clear, and not a flame could be seen.

‘Oh it’s nothing like that little one,’ laughed Hektor, choking on some bread that had been in his mouth as the deep gnome caught him off guard. Coughing he slammed his fist on the table several times, before settling his throat with some water. Aggie’s stared at him unflinching. ‘There is a comet in the sky Tana,’ Hektor announced as he stood up and walked over to the opposite side of the Tavern. ‘You won’t see it out of that window, but you can see it out of here, look!’ There was a rush and the sound of wooden chairs scraping on wooden floors as guests at the tavern scrambled to look out of the window that Hektor stood by, leaving Tana unable to get close. ‘BACK UP! BACK UP YOU LOT!’ Hektor called out at the crowd, making space for Tana to see the burning crimson and gold firebrand in the deep, cloudless sky.

‘What is it?’ Tana asked nervously, her large green eyes fixed on the burning sigil.

‘Tis a sign. An omen.’ Hektor replied solemnly. ‘You know what that means?’ Hektor asked the small gnome who had pulled herself up onto the windowsill. Tana nodded darkly before turning her attention back to Aggie, who was still sat in her chair, looking past the tavern door. Hektor walked over to Aggie, through the whispering rabble, and sat back at the table, continuing to pick at his food.

‘I still thought I would’a had more time,’ Aggie said, turning to look at Hektor. ‘But I guess ye can’t really choose these things can ya?’ Hektor smiled the same warm, chip-toothed, smile he had had for as long as she could remember.

‘Course you can Aggie.’ Hektor said, in a quiet rumble, pushing his empty plate into the centre of the table. ‘You always have a choice. But what ye don’t always have is the opportunity t’do something truly different, t’go out there and see the world.’ Hektor’s hand gestured pointingly to emphasise his words, ‘You have always had a fiery ‘eart Aggie, and you ‘ave built somethin’ truly beautiful here.’ Hektor looked over to Tana who had turned back to look at the comet in the sky. Aggie followed his gaze to the small gnome. ‘There are others who need ‘elp, outside of ‘arstead. Help that me an’ Alysha can’t exactly do no more.’ Hektor stood up and placed his hand on Aggie’s shoulder comfortingly, ‘The last one will be ‘ere soon, after that it’s up t’you. Ye can’t make a wrong decision here Aggie. It’s an important decision, but it’s not possible t’get it wrong.’ Hektor dropped a gold piece on the table as he walked towards the tavern door.

‘Hektor wait!’ Aggie called after the grizzled veteran as he neared the door. Hektor turned around with raised eyebrows.

‘Hmm?’

‘You forgot your leftovers!’ said as she rushed into the kitchen to pack a fresh meal to go for her old friend.

(to be continued…)

Chapter 1: A Conjunction of Fates | Part 1

The Wardens of Corinthia is here, and we start with part 1 of chapter 1!

If you want to catch the prelude you can check this out here!

I hope you enjoy the beginings of this story and writing experiement!

1

It was a bright and cold Spring morning as Aggie looked out at the frost that still sat on the rooftops of her small hometown. Of the twin moons that hung in the sky, only Luna could be seen in the dawn-light, slowly waning like the closing eye of a lethargic god.

Hektor’s words stuck in her mind like a thorn. This town, this life was all she had ever wanted. It held her parent’s memories and love. Wasn’t that enough? Sighing, Aggie turned back into her tavern.

The wooden floor was clean and the tables and chairs had been arranged neatly. A well-worn bearskin rug lay before the simple stone hearth, which crackled with the morning’s fresh firewood. The creaking of the floorboards above foretold the rising of her guests from their slumber. And it would be amiss for any one of them to wake up without breakfast and a hot drink to greet them into the new day.

***

‘MOJITO!’ Aggie cried out, startling the mixed-blood Dragonborn, who had been quietly raiding the pantry before the other guests had awoken, causing food to scatter across the floor in the process. ‘How many times to I have to tell you to stay outta my kitchen?’ her southern drawl softened the tone of her loud Orcish voice. Mojito’s vibrant blue crest stood on end, like the fur of a kitten that felt threatened, as he reeled back coughing.

‘S…shhooryy…’ choaked Mojito, between coughing fits, which quickly became silent as he struggled to catch a breath. Aggie walked up to him and gave him a solid thump on his back, knocking him to the floor, and causing a large chunk of onion to come flying out of his mouth in the process.

‘Now you know that that tastes better cooked right?’ Aggie said as she helped her scaled visitor to his feet.

‘Well yes, quite,’ replied Mojito regaining his composure and intonation, before diving into a hurried explanation ‘I was hoping to set out early today and was very worried that I would go hungry because I am not sure when Alysha is planning to eat, if she wants me to be with her at all, and if she does not then I am uncertain what it is that would be good for eating around these parts, as I have grown rather accustomed to your home-cooking and figured that your raw ingredients would taste a hell of a lot better than whatever I could find in the woods.’

‘Well raw onions ain’t good for no-one,’ replied Aggie as she started grabbing food out of the pantry, and setting it out on the kitchen counter. ‘And if you can waitfur five minutes I will throw sumthin’ together that will taste a lot better than anythin’ you could scavenge on your own.’

***

Mojito, satisfyingly full, walked to the tall stone tower where Alysha had set up her study and observatory in the heart of Harstead. The chill was slowly breaking as the sun rose, and Mojito was excited about what the day might hold. As he strode past townsfolk beginning their days work, a small mote of light caught his eye. Floating on the wind like a dandelion seed, the small figure of an elemental landed upon Mojito’s hand. The translucent, vaguely humanoid spirit pointed skyward, and as Mojito shielded his eyes from the sun’s glare, something came into focus.

A comet slowly burned silently across the sky, brighter than the Morning Star.

As Mojito stood transfixed by this omen, those around him started to notice the celestial event as well. Worried and excited whispers and shouts came from the townsfolk as early birds roused their households to see this important sign. Realising the hubbub that now surrounded him Mojito looked to his now empty hand curiously, before continuing onward to his teachers home.

***

Aggie had just started to eat her own breakfast with Tana, after serving the handful of guests that had rented rooms, when Hektor burst through the Tavern door. ‘Where’s my lil’ Aggie?!’ he roared to the startled and sleepy room of guests who were thoroughly underprepared for such excitement so early in the day.

Although he had not been taller than Aggie for many years, Hektor had always called her ‘lil’ Aggie, and hearing those words from the scarred, chip-toothed, bushy bearded veteran, always filled her heart with excitement, even after all these years.

‘Goodness Hektor, what are you shoutin’ about? Are you tryin’ to scare the skin off of everyone here?!’ She roared back, slamming her heavy fist onto the wooden table she was sat at as she spoke.

There was a moment’s silence as uncertain guests shifted uncomfortably in their seats, before Hektor and Aggie could no longer maintain their composure and broke into hearty laughter.

Embracing each other, Aggie lifted Hektor off his feet for a moment before putting him down again and bringing over to the table where she was sat with Tana. ‘How’re you doing little one?’ Hektor asked the small deep gnome at the table.

‘Okay,’ Tana said, averting her eyes from the large man that took a seat at the table opposite her. She found the way Aggie’s friend looked at her to be unnerving. He seemed to know who she was as soon as he had met her, four weeks ago, after Aggie had offered her the shelter she had so desperately sought. He had asked why she had come to Harstead back then, but he did not seem surprised by her story, it seemed like he had already heard it before. But Aggie trusted him, even if he wasn’t telling her everything.

‘So what’re you doing here?’ Aggie called out, as she returned from the kitchen with fresh bread and cheese, which she placed in front of Hektor.

‘The sky’s on fire Aggie,’ Hektor replied with a smile as Aggie sat back at the table. ‘And that means that the time has come for you to make a choice.’ Unmoving, Aggie kept Hektor’s gaze as he started to eat…

(To be continued…)

The Wardens of Corinthia

“After The Sundering the power of the gods was broken. Those that lived under their yoke were free to strike out their own path through history. People of all races and nations now had the opportunity to reach out beyond the mold that had been cast for them by their gods, to reshape the world to their own vision.

However, the ability to take advantage of this power vacuum was not isolated to the material plane…” (read more)

Welcome to this new writing series!

Over the next several months I am going to be posting short episodic chapters for a new high fantasy story, which will form the Campaign Diaries of a current Dungeon and Dragons game I am running.

Dungeons and Dragons is a collaborative storytelling medium, and the story that will unfold will follow four main-characters, who were crafted and are acted by four real-world people. My role in this collaboration is to provide the setting and the story for these characters to explore and build on together. I have used several sourcebooks from the Wizards of the Coast to help build this setting and the adventure, but this campaign diary will be my own words; my own twist on the events and individuals that have come from a variety of sources, including my own imagination.

The ownership of a collaborative effort is hard to pin down, which is why we are sharing this experience with you for free.

I hope you enjoy the story that will unfold every week. I have ideas about what direction the story may head, but as I do not control the four main characters, they may, and do, undertake actions that I was not expecting, which adds to the suspense and drama of this storytelling experience as a writer.

The first part of this story is a prelude.

From the stage I set this week we will dive into the experiences that my players and their characters have had, presented with proper narrative and prose, for the enjoyment of everyone!

I hope you enjoy this writing experiment and that you choose to continue this exciting journey with us!

With all that said, let’s start the story first, by going back 15 years ago…

This is art, not real life celebrates it’s first birthday!

This is so exciting!

This is art, not real life is officially one year old today!

Over the past year we have had over 900 views from over 300 visitors, which really picked up when I started to create content regularly in May.

Thank you so much to all of you who have read, liked, commented and engaged with my content!

I am still learning how to grow and develop this site, what kinds of content you want to see, how to create a fun web experience for you, and I am excited to continue to develop this site over the years to come.

One of my most popular posts was a deep dive into Dark Souls, which I am excited to say there is a follow up article I have written that will be posted in just two weeks, and looks at From Software’s storytelling techniques!

Hopefully this website continues to be an enjoyable read for you, and I am excited to continue to share this experience with you!

– Aaron Surnaym

How many timelines are there in the X-Men film universe?

‘Mankind has always feared what it can’t understand.’

I watched ‘Dark Phoenix’ with my family over the weekend, which was an enjoyable film experience, and as we left the screen my Dad turned to me and said ‘So how does that all fit in with ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’?’

What followed was a rather long discussion with my family about where in the series of films ‘Dark Phoenix’ is placed, and how it is supposed to interact with the other films that have been published in the past decade of cinema.

This conversation made me realise that there needs to be a simple film timeline that explains what exactly links all the films that we see in the X-Men franchise.

And that is what I hope to set out here; the universal X-Men universe theory!

There will be spoilers for every film in the X-Men franchise ahead, but I will list the films I am about to talk about in each section, so you can avoid the spoilers before you see them.

There are 10 films in the X-Men movie universe (12 if you include Deadpool, which has its own little timeline) and everything was fine with the continuity (again I will address this at the end of the article) until Days of Future Past decided to add a little time travel into the mix.

Oh dear.

Retconning the ‘less good’ films out of the series must have seemed like a smart idea at the time, but then it means that people who have been following the franchise for the past 19 years get a little bit confused about what is and is not canon, particularly given the somewhat slap-dash approach to continuity that the X-Men films have had since ‘Days of Future Past’.

But never fear!

That is what this article is all about, and hopefully by the end of it you will have a better understanding of what exactly is going on with these timelines!

Timeline 1: The Original Timeline

This timeline contains the following films:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men: First Class (2011)
X-Men (2000)
X2 (2003)
X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
The Wolverine (2013)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)

The original timeline contains all the events that lead up to the beginning of ‘Days of Future Past’. Wolverine has his origin story, Magneto and Xavier have their first class, Magneto attacks Liberty Island, and the mansion is attacked by William Striker. After this Jean Grey is killed by Wolverine, who, mourning over the loss of the woman he loved, goes to Japan, before the sentinels begin to kill everyone, resulting in Wolverine being sent back in time to prevent this.

The events of ‘Days of Future Past’ result in this timeline being deleted or maybe just ignored as the audience never find out what happens there.

We know this because when Wolverine returns to the ‘present’ both Professor Xavier and Jean Grey are back in the mansion, alive and well, suggesting that the films ‘X2’ and ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ never took place in this new timeline, as Jean Grey dies in both of those films and Professor Xavier dies in the later.

But not all is well that ends well…

Timeline 2: The Logan Timeline

This timeline has removed ‘X2’ and ‘X-men the Last Stand,’ and the sentinels from ‘Days of Future Past’ are never created, but it looks like nothing can truly stop the doomed fate of the mutants…

This timeline contains the following films:

X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009)
X-Men: First Class (2011)
X-Men (2000)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Logan (2017)

This is the timeline that Wolverine ‘returns’ to at the end of ‘Days of Future Past’. Wolverine prevented the creation of the sentinels, but mutants are dangerous and a conspiracy of mega corporations find a new, biological way to wipe out mutants. Professor Xavier in this timeline, not being killed by Jean Grey, lives into a ripe old age, and gets to experience the horrors of dementia and psychic seizures, as told in the film ‘Logan’.

‘Logan’ is one of the best films in the franchise and those of you that have seen the film know what happens here, it needs no further explanation. Those of you that haven’t seen it; I think you should watch it. Patrick Stuart and Hugh Jackman give their finest performances for characters they have played for the past 10 years, and it should not be missed.

So this is the timeline Wolverine returns to, but what about the timeline that Wolverine left when he ‘came back’ to the present?

Timeline 3: The Re-Boot Timeline

The films in this timeline are:

X-Men: First Class (2011)
X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
X-Men: Apocalypse (2016)
Dark Phoenix (2019)

This is the timeline that Wolverine leaves at the end of ‘Days of Future Past’, and some things are different in this timeline.

We know that Wolverine exists in this timeline and for some reason behind the scenes Mystique takes over the Weapon X Project in place of William Striker, at the end of ‘Days of Future Past’. Odd but hey she does stop and join the good guys again once she is done with her mutant experimentation. This means that the events of ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ probably happened in similar way to the other timelines with some minor variations to account for that particular body swap, but they are not portrayed by the films in this timeline. In fact you get a little hint of this side of things in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ when the re-boot X-Men have to find their way out of the Alkali Lake facility portrayed in both ‘X2’ and ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’.

Following the events of ‘Days of Future Past’ the events of ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ happen and they are followed by the currently in cinema film ‘Dark Phoenix’. With this in mind all you would therefore need to see to be fully up to date with the story for ‘Dark Phoenix’ are the three re-boot films.

Look at that! A nice neat package!

It’s not like there are any films that throw a spanner in this perfectly working machine…

Well, I suppose I need to account for it somehow…

Timeline 4: The Deadpool Timeline

There are two confirmed films in this franchise are:

Deadpool (2016)
Deadpool 2 (2018)

So Deadpool definitely takes place in the same universe as the other X-Men films. How do we know? Well in Deadpool 2 we see Quicksilver, Cyclops, Beast, Storm, Nightcrawler AND Professor Xavier all exist in their ‘reboot’ forms in this timeline. They are in his timeline, whether we like it or not. Although it is very fun to see.

We also know that Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds and the DC film Green Lantern all exist as their own entities in the Deadpool universe. Yeah those fourth wall breaks care not one jot for continuity…

So how can we make heads or tails of this in a timeline perspective?

Here is my theory: The X-Men and Wolverine all exist in Deadpool’s universe. A universe where Deadpool clearly has a relationship with Wolverine. But in the Deadpool universe there are also films based on the X-Men’s stories. These films are similar or identical to the films we see in our real world – which is why Deadpool can reference ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ and ‘Logan’ in his films. He has seen the films, he has the action figures, and in his universe those are works of fiction portrayed by actors like Hugh Jackman, who is probably a lot better looking than the Wolverine he actually knows in world, that we never see on screen. It just so happens that in his reality the X-Men look startlingly like their movie actors…

…That works right?

So the continuity works?

No.

The X-Men films have always been shocking when it comes to the finer details of timelines. The films cross over each others ‘timeframes’ haphazardly and without a care in the world. The X-Men never seem to age in the timeframe between 1960 and 1995, and this is just glossed over. To enjoy these films you just need to accept that this kind of thing happens.

But we can still laugh about them!

Some of my favourite continuity issues include:

Professor Xavier is standing and bald when he rescues the children in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’, but loses the use of his legs whilst he still has hair in ‘X-Men First Class’.
Sabertooth goes from being able to speak perfectly in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ to becoming a mute, who seems to not know who Wolverine is in the original ‘X-Men’.
Professor Xavier transfers his consciousness into a coma patient in ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’ but has managed to transform back into his Patrick Stewart form, complete with non-working legs in ‘The Wolverine’ and ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’.
William Striker says ‘I used to think you were one of a kind,’ to Wolverine in ‘X2’ despite having performed an identical and very successful procedure on Wade Wilson in ‘X-Men Origins: Wolverine’ which would in no way suggest Wolverine was one of a kind.

These are just a few of these broken continuity details I particularly enjoy with the X-Men films.

If you have made it this far, Hi! Why don’t you share some of your favourite issues with the continuity of the X-Men franchise below, or pull at some of the plot holes that inevitably exist in my universal X-Men universe theory, I am curious to see what they are and see if we can fix them!

Until next time true believers!