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Category: Fiction

  • SUPERMAN

    SUPERMAN

    By Chelangat Caren,

     

    For a decade, Superman has been stuck in the awkward space between “godlike” and “unrelatable.” The 2025 reboot finally drags him out of that trap by asking a simple question: what if the most powerful person on Earth was also the kindest? Directed by James Gunn, this new Superman does not waste time brooding in the dark or blowing up cities for spectacle. It drops us into a world where heroes already exist, where the internet argues about them like they are  in a group chat, and where Clark Kent is trying to figure out how to do good without losing himself. The result is a film that feels like a deep breath after years of holding your breath in the theater.

     

    The movie’s biggest win is its tone. This Superman is earnest without being naïve, hopeful without being corny. David Corenswet plays Clark with a quiet sincerity that makes you believe he’d actually stop to help a cat out of a tree between saving the planet. Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is sharp, fast-talking, and not just there to be rescued—she challenges Clark in ways that make their relationship feel like a partnership, not a plot device. And Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is chilling precisely because he is not a cartoon villain. He is a billionaire who genuinely believes humanity does not deserve saving, and he is smart enough to make you almost agree with him for two minutes.

     

    What sets this film apart is how much it cares about small moments. Yes, there are massive set pieces: Metropolis gets leveled, kaiju-sized threats appear, and the sky lights up with color. But the scenes that stick with you are quieter—Clark talking to his dog Krypto, who is gloriously messy and loyal; Lois and Clark debating journalistic ethics over late-night coffee; Pa Kent’s simple advice about choosing kindness even when it costs you. Gunn understands that Superman works best when you believe he cares about people individually, not just as statistics. The action is clean, fast, and easy to follow, avoiding the shaky-cam, gray-filter fatigue of earlier DC films. The color palette is bright, the score by John Murphy and David Fleming leans into classic heroism without feeling like a nostalgia grab.

     

    It is not perfect. The plot juggles a lot—multiple villains, political subtext, a packed supporting cast—and sometimes it feels like it is  sprinting to fit everything in. Some side characters could have used more breathing room, and the third act leans a bit heavy on CGI spectacle. But the film never loses its emotional core. At its best, it reminds you why Superman mattered in the first place: he is not inspiring because he is invincible, but because he chooses to care in a world that often does not.

     

    Superman 2025 works because it refuses to be cynical. In a year of sequels and reboots that play it safe or lean into grimdark, this film argues that sincerity is still a superpower. It is messy, hopeful, a little goofy, and deeply human—just like Clark Kent. You walk out not just entertained, but reminded that choosing to be good, even when it is  inconvenient, still matters. Years from now, we might forget the exact plot beats, but we will remember the feeling: sitting in a dark theater and believing, for two hours, that someone out there still believes in us. And honestly, that is  the kind of blockbuster we needed.

  • What a world

    What a world

    by Chelangat Caren,

    Tomorrow uphold mysteries

    Little by little there goes the flare

    Life is a dance, feel the rhythm

    Close your eyes and hear it

    Coming in with all the fragrance and remembrance

    Of all we have lost and all we have gained

    Coming in and coming out

    Yet to know what  lies ahead

    Beyond the end of time if there is anything as such

    Just like every other moon, trying so hard to shape our Imperfections

    Through clouds of perfection

    Life is eventful

    Series of events and opportunities gang upon us

    Cherish it bit by bit

    Live in the present.

  • The Most Toxic Family Dynamic Ever Written

    The Most Toxic Family Dynamic Ever Written

    by Bem Ayuko

    {images by Tekken}

     

    For anyone who grew up like I did, playing Tekken 3 on PlayStation 1, Heihachi Mishima was pretty much just that old guy who looks like somebody’s grandfather. Only later on do you actually realize just how insane the lore behind the Tekken series and why this character shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.

    It all starts when a young girl named Kazumi Hachijo happens upon the Mishima Dojo. There, she meets a young Heihachi, they grow in love and eventually wed and bare offspring, whom they name Kazuya.

    One day, Kazumi collapses in training, and when she wakes, she is like a completely different person. In fact, she completely morphs into some form of demonic entity. She reveals that she came to the Dojo intentionally in order to kill Heihachi, foreseeing the tyranny that he will enforce in his future. Heihachi, tragically, can only shed a tear as he has no choice but to murder the love of his life in cold blood.

    Heihachi, fearing that his 10yr old son may be possessed by a similar demonic entity, does what any father would do to handle the situation. He throws him off a cliff. The logic being that, if he survives, then he was surely right. Textbook parenting.

    He then proceeds to imprison his father and take over the family business, The Mishima Zaibatsu (The Dojo). Truly unhinged.

    His son, Kazuya Mishima, actually does survive the fall and, after learning about the fate of his mother, trains and trains until one day, when he is much older, he returns to face his father to exact revenge. He defeats him and, in an ironic twist of fate, he carries him up the same mountain, and tosses him off the same cliff. He is very satisfied with this.

    Heihachi, not to be outdone by his son, survives this fall, and returns to find that his son Kazuya has taken over the family business. He proceeds to exact his own revenge and, after a taxing battle, Kazuya morphs into a demonic entity. Alas, Heihachi was right. He defeats him and this time, carries Kazuya up a Volcano and tosses him inside to get rid of him for good.

    Heihachi then sets his sights on Kazuya’s son, Jin Kazama, who was training to avenge his own mother’s death. Having helped him achieve his revenge, Heihachi tries to end his life as well, perhaps fearing that the same demonic entity lies within him as well. This attempt on his life only serves as a catalyst to unleash the demonic entity and Jin survives, escaping into the night.

    Would you believe it, but Kazuya survived the Volcano. Surprised? Actually, his body was recovered by G-Corp (an organization in the know) and they revived him to even greater strength.

    He immediately sets on a course for his father, Heihachi but just as they meet, they are interrupted by Jin, who defeats them both. He then disappears. Kazuya and Heihachi wake up to find themselves surrounded by terminator-esque androids (the JACKS). They fight side-by-side, showing us a glimpse of what could have been. Alas, Kazuya betrays his father and leaves him for dead.

    Kazuya takes over G-Corp and goes out in search of his son. He comes across Akuma, a demon, in the city and when fighting him, morphs into a demon himself. This turns out to have been set up by Heihachi as now, in the public eye, everybody can see Kazuya for who he is. Heihachi, in an act of, perhaps even his, most vile and cruel malevolence, cancelled his own son.

    Heihachi, having barely survived the JACKS’ incident, was now in Kazuya’s crosshairs. They agree to meet inside a that volcano and proceed to fight to the death.

    After an arduous battle, Kazuya, finally, defeats his father.

    He picks him up and throws him directly into the lava. Heihachi Mishima…is Dead.

     

    Or so we thought. Listen, Heihachi and Kazuya have killed each other a number of times, yes, but still. This genuinely seemed like the one. Turns out, we were wrong…again.

    He’s Back! Breathing new life into probably the most toxic Father/Son relationship yet.

    We eagerly await this family reunion.

     

     

  • The Ship of Theseus

    The Ship of Theseus

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image by jotem}

    We have all, by now, heard of ‘the Ship of Theseus‘. If you haven’t, Theseus was Divine Hero and a Founder of Athens in Greek Mythology. He was known for his exploits, most famously perhaps for defeating the minotaur. The King Minos of Crete had an annual tradition whereby he would select 7 maidens & 7 young men from Athens to feed, as a sacrifice, to the minotaur located at the center of the Labyrinth on Crete. Theseus, determined to end Minoan rule, volunteered to go as one of the young men. Remember when I said he was a Hero.

    He would find his way to the Minotaur, slay it, and, with the help of Ariadne- the King’s daughter- he would make his way out of the Labyrinth, escaping the island on a ship. The Athenians, undoubtedly grateful, would preserve this ship -which came to be known as the aforementioned Ship of Theseus– by replacing each panel of decaying wood one at a time. That’s how the story goes anyway.

    The question is this, after every single aging/decaying panel of wood that makes up the boat has been replaced by new wood, can we still refer to the new ship as the Ship of Theseus?

    Or, in other words, what makes the ship of Theseus the Ship of Theseus? Is it the wooden framework? Is it the contents of the ship? Is it the fact that Theseus sailed on it?

    Surely once you have replaced every single panel of the ship, then the original ship ceases to exist. Or maybe it does still exist, but it exists in the corner where the pile of discarded dead wood has been tossed. That is to say, should one possess the ability to stitch the dead wood back together, then Theseus would now have 2 ships, no? Or is it still just one? Surely, they can’t both be the Ship of Theseus because only one of these ships aided in his escape from Crete. But which one is it?

    With developing technology, we, as humans, may soon have to come up with a concrete answer to this question. In video games such as Cyberpunk 2077, we come across characters who have augmented their bodies, replacing their fleshy body parts with robotic attachments to enhance their level of existence. For instance, replacing one’s eyeballs with actual cameras that can see things more clearly, record events, even zoom in and out. Maybe they want to run faster/ jump higher, so they replace their legs with machinery that would enable them to do so. They have smoked all their lives and have therefore weakened their lungs, so they replace them with more efficient ventilators. Or they have had one too many heart attacks and opt to replace their heart with a state-of-the-art pacemaker.

    Or maybe I take things up an echelon. I want to avoid death. I mean, it’s only the physical elements of our bodies that die, right? The brain may decay and limit the mind’s functionality, but the mind would otherwise remain unaffected.

    Maybe I want to live beyond the years my body will allow me. Maybe I watched shows like ‘Altered Carbon‘ and ‘Pantheon‘ and got intrigued by their idea of life. Maybe I can just lift my consciousness from out of my brain and preserve it on some kind of digital hardware. Maybe I can upload this hardware onto a different machine and live like the Terminator and call myself Adam Smasher.

    If I did so, then would I cease to be myself? And if so, then at what point would I cease to be myself? How many body parts would I need to replace in order to stop being myself? And if I donated all my body parts to one single person who needed them, would they become me? Surely, we couldn’t both be me, could we?

    Or maybe I made a copy of my own consciousness. Then I put it into another body. Would it be me? If anyone else talked to it, they would definitely believe that they were talking to me, wouldn’t they? But it wouldn’t really be me, would it? If I left my clone with them and travelled to the other side of the galaxy to start another life, by the time I returned, would they still accept me? Or would my clone now take priority considering the clone now had some new memories with them. Memories that I don’t have. From their perspective, it’s all the same. All the time I’ve been away, they have been living with me.

    If Theseus returned from beyond Olympus, would he recognize the ship as the same ship he had escaped from Crete with? If not, then what was the crossover point?

  • Wait, Which one is You Again?

    Wait, Which one is You Again?

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image by TheScientist}

    If you haven’t finished “the Boys” season 4 (and you intend to), then go watch it first then get back to me. If you generally don’t care about the Boys, then allow me to pick your brain.

    If you don’t know the Boys, well then let me introduce you. “The Boys” is one of the most family friendly, light-hearted and at times even hope-filled television programs currently on air. Adapted from a comic book series by Garth Ennis and Darick Robertson, it was brought to life on the screen by Eric Kripke, the same mind that brought you “Supernatural”.

    “The Boys” is about a ragtag group of acquaintances challenging the status quo that is orchestrated by the powers that be. A story about how important family is, and that if you have family, everything will always work out in the end.

    In season 4 of “the Boys“, Annie January, aka Starlight, is kidnapped and subsequently replaced by a shape shifter. This shapeshifter assumes the identity of Annie seamlessly. This is made possible by the fact that, when it assumes her identity, it also assumes her memories. Now, what this means is, should anyone try to question her under suspicion of being an imposter, every answer that it would give is an answer that Annie would have given. Because not only did it copy her body, but italso copied her mind.

    This becomes an issue when it, the Shapeshifter, goes to Annie’s home where she stays with her Boyfriend, Hughie, and decides to propose to him. Hughie, elated with joy, accepts the proposal and even gets, unbeknownst to him, the Shapeshifter a ring. They stayed together for 10 days before the Shapeshifter’s ulterior motives came into play, forcing itto reveal itself. When Annie resurfaced and found out what had happened, she was, understandably, very cross with Hughie.

    Which lead me to my question. Did she have a right to be angry? I mean, sure, she obviously would be considering she came home to find that, not only did her partner not even realize she was gone, but he had also got engaged to another woman. But even so, does the fact that he thought it was her account for anything? Remember, this person is the exact likeness of the person he knew, down to the memories they shared. Heck, even her ambitions. The imposter may not share the same burning desire, but it at least knows what the desires are.

    And it isn’t as though he spotted another lady who he deemed superior to his partner. The person he vowed to spend the rest of his life with was, at least in his own head, effectively, his partner.

    So, at what point does it become a betrayal? When he couldn’t tell the Forgery from the Original? I mean, he only had 10 days to work with. Why would he even think his partner had been replaced? I mean, what if I told you, reader, that the person you are currently living with was actually a clone of the person you actually lived with? Isn’t it such a ridiculous concept to even entertain? Yet, cloning is a real thing in our world today. Obviously not to such a sophisticated level, but as early as 1996, the first animal to be cloned, Dolly the Sheep, was born. Who knows what kind of level of cloning human beings could achieve before the sun burns out, if it hasn’t been achieved already.

    How would you even react, if you found out your partner had an exact copy of themselves? Would you feel the same way about their copy as you do them? Keep in mind, they would react in exactly the same way, share the same goals, suffer the same trauma, remember exactly the same experiences they had with you…how would you tell the difference?

    Can you accept one while simply ignoring the other?

    If you had to, could you eliminate one to ensure the other’s survival?

     

     

     

     

  • The Resolve of the Mumen Rider

    The Resolve of the Mumen Rider

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image from the anime}

     

    One of the deepest, most underrated characters in Anime…in my opinion. I mean, i’m not exactly an anime junkie, but i’ve seen my fair share and this man is one of the characters that stood out. And why is that?

    Well, to understand this we have to think about the universe that he comes from, i.e. One Punch Man. One Punch Man is a story about the strongest man that ever existed. He was assaulted by monsters (as in, literal monsters) one day and the resultant epiphany he had led him to adopt an arduous training regimen aimed at making him stronger than any monster he would ever encounter. In his exuberant enthusiasm, he overdid it, and not only did he become stronger than any monster he would ever encounter, but he also only ever needed one punch to completely annihilate his opponent (hence the name). This became a problem.

    Now this is a world where monsters emerged from the underground to roam free in the streets with the people. They will see you. They will grab you. They will eat you. They are impossible to fight. It would be an incredibly hopeless ordeal to find yourself unfortunate enough to be caught in one’s eyeline.

    This is where the Hero Association comes in. A tax-funded government operation that deploys heroes in every town/ city/ suburb to protect the people from such occurrences. Naturally, these people all possess some sort of ability, i.e. telekinesis, superfast, superstrong, flight, invulnerability, etc., which enables them to fight on power with the monsters and even overpower them. To become a hero, you need to possess peak physical condition as well as display competent aptitude. Once testing is done, you will be sorted into S, A, B or C class hero, S-Class being the highest.

    Mumen Rider is ranked number 1 among the C-Class heroes. Try as he may, he just doesn’t seem to possess the strength required to graduate into the higher tiers. And while this does break his heart, it doesn’t break his spirit. In fact, he just might have the most unbreakable spirit among all the heroes. His power level is relatively low, meaning he can only be assigned to run of the mill gigs, e.g. help an old lady cross the road or “Help, my cat is stuck up a tree!“, that kind of thing. But he is always ready to run into action provided there is a civilian in need of help.

    Even when A/B-Class heroes would rather run away from the danger for fear of being decapitated, it is the Mumen Rider who always stands his ground. It can, honestly, be heartbreaking to watch at times. He would ride up to a monster on his Bicycle and unleash his ultimate, most devastating attack: The Justice Crash, where he would hop off his bike and use the momentum to launch it into his opponent. Because of its impenetrable skin, the monster would barely feel the tyres and pedals scratch at its skin. Feeling around the impact area as if trying to determine whether something had actually brushed it, or it was just imagining things. Only to wheel around and see Mumen Rider charging at it at full speed. It would swat him away like an annoying little pest and you would watch as he rag-dolled over to the side having broken a few bones. Just as it was turning away to continue spreading terror, Mumen Rider hops back to his feet and beelines toward it again. He would surely die from a second blow.

    But, for some reason, it doesn’t seem to register. Or at least, it does register but he chooses to ignore it. How can one ignore survival instinct? Even the other heroes ran away. And they were stronger than he is. But that doesn’t seem to matter in the slightest. Mumen Rider’s resolve is unshakable. Because, in his words, being a hero isn’t about winning or losing, it’s about facing down the opponent, “Right Here, Right Now“. This is, by no means, the ideal way to live. I would advise anybody to run in the opposite direction of where death dwells. But it is admirable. To have such control over your own emotions that you can elect to stand your ground knowing only unimaginable agony awaits. And to do it by choice as well.

    I don’t know, it seemed as though there was a lesson to be learned in there somewhere.

    Anyway, if you looking to get into anime, try One Punch Man. It’s worth the watch.

     

     

     

  • Is It Not Too Late…

    Is It Not Too Late…

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image by blakeArt}

     

    Is it not too late, for me to dream

    To dust off my past, to forgive my sins

    To set on a course, a new one for me

    That I’ve always wanted, always believed

     

    Is it not too late, for me to rise

    To the occasion, with new open eyes

    Take-off this facade, this funny disguise

    And out of the shadows, into the night

     

    Is it not too late, to howl at the moon

    So rugged and primal, my pores they will ooze

    Glorious purpose, a new kind of hue

    Surrounding this man, oh what would he do

     

    Is it not too late, to show off the shine

    Like brilliant lightning bouncing divine

    Inside of a bottle, I pour it outside

    Reveal all the content, no more can hide

     

    Is it not too late, to retrace my steps

    Back to the beginning, to what i have left

    In pieces and tatters and just recollect

    Every single detail and just start again

     

    Is it not too late, for Jesus to forgive me

    All of the sins that he carries upon he

    All of the lacerations that I’m causing

    All of the blood that he’s bleeding ’cause of me

     

    Is it not too late, to rise from the ashes

    Hover Over Olympus like a savage

    Like a Titan ready-to take on the masses

    Like a bomb ticking away till the last breath

     

    Is it not too late, to be more than I am

    To become a being, worthy of a grand

    Reception in Valhalla when I Land

    To get back on-the-path, originally planned

     

     

  • I Know I Shouldn’t

    I Know I Shouldn’t

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image by Cornell Chronicle}

     

    I feel like if I, acknowledge the past

    it means that it happened, that it will out last

    If I were to hide, from it in a pit

    It wouldn’t have meaning, nothing to admit

     

    But who it affected, would not just abide

    from out the woodwork, they’d emerge alive

    to keep me accounted, counting my sins

    making me witness, again and again

     

    If I were to ask, forgiveness from they

    I would be admitting to my past mistakes

    and that would mean, indeed they were right

    how could I sleep with myself tonight

     

    No, I know better, planned it out well

    I’ll take them out, to dine and to dwell

    a wonderful night, out in the city

    with banter to laugh at, funny and witty

     

    Till it’s getting late, so get in the car

    I’ll drive them home, ill drive them far

    I’ll take them where, they can’t see no human

    I’ll take them there because they know too much

     

    Bury them deep, right next to my secrets

    With skeletons rotten and they’re holding them dearest

    And now I can act, like it didn’t happen

    Back of my mind, where they must reside in

     

     

  • Fatal Mistake

    Fatal Mistake

    by Ben Ayuko

    {image by Nation Media}

     

    She was so spent at the end of the day

    She spent it all, with patients and patients

    And patients became, faceless, the same

    screaming in unison, “I need a doctor”

     

    So, write up a chart, she did this for him in

    Sent him to the back where they’re waiting for him

    “Really? it’s just my hand feeling pain here

    but the doctor’s the doctor, so I have to adhere

     

    But the doctor’s so tired, from working all day

    He’s feeling so drowsy, really needs to lay

    Stripping him down so in scrubs she can dress him

    To get him to surgery for his hand swelling

     

    Enter the theatre, the doctors are ready

    Give him anesthetic, he sleeps like a baby

    Envious, when feeling, they get down to drilling

    and sawing his skull open for the revealing

     

    “This guy is clean, are we sure he’s sick”

    “Yeah, they said that the clot was this thick”

    “Where is his chart, where was it again?”

    “DOCTOR, STOP OPERATING ON HIM!”

     

    In rushed the nurse, too late she was

    The man’s skull cracked open, bleeding on the floor

    “This man on the table, who you’re addressing

    He came to hospital only for a swelling”

     

    “What do you mean? So where is my patient?”

    “Recovering. Now. On his own. It’s amazing

    Seems like he won’t even need operating”

    “Jesus, we’ve cut this man open for nothing”

     

    Patching him up, and sending him home

    They waived the fee, that’s what he was told

    He couldn’t remember, not a lot of it

    Of course, this was just the start of this habit

     

    3 years of pain, delusion and memory

    lapse, of way too many episodes that

    remained after the incident

    And they didn’t know no-one reached out to them

     

    Not till it was too late, were they to have found

    Not till his future was buried in the ground

    Not till he’d succumb to the consequence of it

    Did they find the truth of what really had happened

     

     

     

    Family of patient wrongly operated on at KNH want justice for their son (youtube.com)

     

     

  • Nairobi Today

    Nairobi Today

    by Ben Ayuko

    contact info: benayuko@gmail.com

    {image by Ben Ayuko}

     

    So, once again it repeats

    The people, they want to speak

    We didn’t like it before

    Now we just don’t believe

     

    The reason we roam the streets

    In t-shirts and ripped up jeans

    And sweaters in sweltering heat

    And boots with laces thick

     

    And blouses with purses hanging

    The music it could be banging

    The blaring horns are wilding

    In combat with constant sirens

     

    “Enough is enough,” we’re crying

    Holding up and waving our signs in

    The middle of cityscape, no escape

    You will listen this time

     

    Canisters, they blow up so loud

    To try and deafen the crowd

    Blowing them up to chunks

    Separating their body parts

     

    But the spirit is still intact

    “You’ll have to bring more than that”

    You try to stifle the people

    The people they will react