#also i chose the characters whose designs and names were the most appealing to me

[iknaenmal]

NEON GENESIS EVANGELION characters described by someone who hasnt watched it ie. me :)

[danwhobrowses]

Ghost of Tsushima: Thoughts, Ideas and Hopes for DLC and Sequels

So I recently Platinum’d Ghost of Tsushima, I finished the story last week after 30 entries of livestreams which saw a whopping viewership of at most 2 people including one asshole that decided to spoil the end of Act II before I got there because I was playing stealthy and the way I wanted to play. But then wrapped up the Achievements on my own time. After a bit of stewing I’m ready to talk gush about it, including what I liked, a small bit of stuff I disliked and stuff I would suggest for future DLC and Sequel(s)

Spoilers for the Game, unlike that Commenter on my Stream I will not Spoil you on this, it is truly something you should experience for yourself

Because Good Lord, What A Game. Easily my Game of the Year, which compared to all the big hitter titles released is amazing, I mean Crash Bandicoot could still blow me away and Cyberpunk, Watch Dogs, Godfall, AC Valhalla and Miles Morales in waiting but probably not in this way. It is a magnificent game, one made with fantastic care and beauty, but before I go all out, let’s get the negatives out of the way 出る杭は打たれる。: A Flawed Masterpiece Ghost of Tsushima is brilliant but not without its faults. Most of these faults are admittedly minuscule and fixable, but until they are fixed they remain flaws. The biggest disappointment for me with the game was the lack of Japanese lip syncing. I loved the Japanese track, it also highly appealed to me to hear One Piece’s Roronoa Zoro voice Jin, but you have to kinda avoid looking at the mouths because it doesn’t match up, the models still speak in English and it’s a heavy shame that can kill some immersion. I guess they didn’t have the finances for it, because they could’ve done the lip syncs at the same time as they did the English ones if they had the Japanese track too. Combat for the most part was great, aiming could be wonky at times and Jin’s attacks didn’t carry on to a 1 foot ledge, but my main gripe with combat was the Camera getting in the way. It was adjustable most times, but other times it was not. Doing standoffs in the tall grass was night impossible at the later stages without the knees giving us a tell, one standoff I had was completely obstructed by a tree - I’m not making it up, a tree was literally all I saw for the Standoff. You lose so much health for failing a standoff too, bit harmful in later levels. The remaining issues are probably more personal, I didn’t quite like some of the sword kit designs - the ones with fluffy sleeves and I didn’t really like the armor dye you get for 100%ing the achievements, some weapons seemed to lose their luster in later parts of the game (particularly the half bow and Explosive Arrow, the former was only good for killing the angry doggos and the latter only killed Mongols if near another explosive to stack), that one Masako quest mission where you have to follow and pick off Straw Hats one by one without being seen, but will fail if you pull a triple assassination before the outpost where Masako’s lesbian lover was leading them all to so there’s more Straw Hats to blow my cover! (it wasn’t difficult it just annoyed me that it failed me for killing them all early) and the completionist in me hates that there are empty slots in the arrow and blowgun sections, but they can be worked in what I’ll talk about a bit later down the line, alongside some minor loose threads. Also you killed my horse man!

Your horse will accompany you on your entire journey - Ghost of Tsushima UI Message

Don’t you dare lie to me like that again Sucker Punch! Just because you’re named that doesn’t mean you can live up to it, we already lost one horse at the beach! Had to spend the final act with Not-Sora and Kaze with a hole in my heart never to be filled. But with that dealt with, let’s talk about some things I loved about the game

花は桜木人は武士 :  Living into a Legend With these games it is very easy to fall into the Elder Scrolls prototype of an array fun side quests and exploration and a so-so main story. Ghost of Tsushima though decided to have both the array of side quests and exploration and a great, complex and partly tragic story. There were many times I wanted to get back to the main story but held off because I wanted to be prepared. Long distances didn’t feel too bad to travel when the roads were uncharted either thanks to radiant battles, new settlements, vanity gear and side missions to ease you on the way. Additionally, the characters are for the most part fantastic, I cared for the safety of most of my allies and Jin himself, I wanted the Khan dead in a cerebral villain (albeit one whose final battle fell into cowardice) and I was open to the complexities of Ishikawa and Tomoe. I did feel that Shimura was being a tad ungrateful but I think it was intended for us to be frustrated to the edicts of the Samurai code - my frustration led me so much to deep dive to prove myself justified since the code was subjective and many agreed to aspects of ‘win no matter what’ and ‘do what protects the people the most’. Along with the main quest was paired with the character journeys of our allies as well as the Mythic tales which granted some extra strength and challenges to overcome in order to expand Jin’s arsenal. I particularly liked the observation and killing of leaders to learn new stances, as well as the widely acclaimed Stand-Off and the duels. The Arkhamverse fan in me did appreciate the focused hearing for stealth and that assassination speed could be upgraded. The idea of collecting vanity gear, armour dyes and equipment that are remains of the conflict showed that SP had completely immersed their plot into the world of Tsushima, with a great amount of exploration and nuances nodding to Japanese folklore And Tsushima is certainly stunning, it’s amazing that the PS4 can hold this much when we know how the PS5 is meant to be with ray tracing. The landscapes are beauteous which makes exploration and travel much more fulfilling, as well as the photo mode and the scenic builds to some of the major battles. What’s also wonderful is the calligraphy cutscenes for Mythic Tales and the loading screens, some wonderful artistry. Artistry which is added to by the brilliant uses of Haiku spots, Bamboo Strikes, Lighthouses, Shrines, Altars which you bow to, Fox dens where you can pet the Foxxos and even the Hot Springs for some ‘Man-Butt Action’, each positions that fit to Japanese media in soaking in a moment without killing any pace, especially added to the fact that each one contributes to a purpose. I will admit, I chose wrong at the end, I was thinking more of Shimura (said ungrateful uncle)’s honour rather than what Jin would what, feeling that Shimura would’ve done it himself had Jin not. But seeing the spare ending made me wish I chose that one and it’s something I’ll touch on later. But both endings are fitting and tragic for Jin’s journey from Samurai to the Ghost, being inspired by his allies and his connection to Yuna, there has been conflict throughout regarding the line of protection, honour and vengeance explored through other people’s tales that blend together perfectly with the main plot.  It is pretty political as well with the argument presented by Jin and Shimura’s conflict. Samurai while still romanticised were still shown to be bound to the blind loyalty towards the Shogun and Jito, you did not defy because it inspired others to think freely. Jin became a champion of a people by defending the people rather than listening to the jito - represented by the shogunate - and their stringent ideas that the Samurai who failed on the beach would be able to out-muster the force and brutality of the Mongol invasion regardless of the collateral and yet still call that honour. In the current climate in 2020, that hits a chord a little closer than expected. And the main story certainly has their stellar moments, the ups and downs really hit you - like killing my freaking horse! I had to lose Yuriko, Taka and Sora in a single playthrough. Losing Taka was inevitable, but still heartbreaking because of how much we struggled to save him and how much we want to still be Yuna’s friend, but then the highs just blow you away from the opening act, Ghost Stance, raiding Castle Kaneda and Shimura and the final raid at Port Izumi. Also did I mention that you can pet the Foxxos? Because that’s very important, also NPCs walk at your pace most of the time, which is a fantastic addition. I could probably go deeper but there’s other stuff I want to cover, but understand that the world and the story is wonderful and if you’re a fan of Assassin’s Creed, Arkhamverse and just Japanese culture in general this should tick your boxes. And hopefully there’s more to come.

石の上にも三年 : Strait to DLC The sad thing that happens when a good game is over is the void. Even if its days, having nothing left of the game to play is still a shame, and I know that Legends DLC is announced, but multiplayer involving fighting Oni as mythic legends isn’t my pace, I’m still not done with Jin and I feel like there are things we could still do. There are still 3 conflicts Jin’s story never resolved that could still be resolved now, each as multi-layered quests. The first is this ‘Ghost Army’ mentioned by the wagon guy in Omi, we are not leading this so who is? We may not be able to stop them but we could reduce the amount of people thinking we’re leading them to fight. The second is Daizo, if you don’t know that name it’s because the guy is never seen in the game, you only read about him in the Records of ‘Conversations with the Khan’. This Japanese Monk clearly has a thing for the late Khotun and he feels that the Ghost is being a dishonorable monster, this Khan lover is still at large and a confidant of Khotun, we could link with Norio in a quest to ensure he doesn’t rally or try to spread his appreciation of the Khan to others to try and complete Khotun’s work. The final conflict is one that eats me up: How did the Mongols Know About the Poison? Yuriko died showing me how to make the poisons, made more potent from her own herbal poisons which were crushed down, if she didn’t tell and I didn’t tell, who told? Because the Mongols drank the evidence and we could make a story of an Omi village traitor or even someone from Shimura’s camp leaking the info to the Khan to try and preserve ‘honour’. On top of these loose ends I’d very much like to see our allies again, even if they’re just at their home doing their own thing, as well as some other minor side characters like the Tadayori descendant Kaede, Flame Swordsman Bettomaru (who would’ve both been mighty useful with this Mongol affair beyond their sole missions) and the Yarikawa Archer Daikoku, I also would like to see confirmation on Jin and Yuna - there is clearly something there but that could be just me. What is also just me would be the suggestion of a shrine that can let you redo the Shimura decision, it’s not a too ‘out-there’ thing to do either considering we fought a Tengu. The shrine could be for Omoikane, Kami of wisdom and intelligence or Ame-no-Koyane, the ‘First in Charge of Divine Affairs’ which’d subject the player to a gauntlet of bosses past; Ryuzo, Kotun and Shimura, if the player goes against their initial decision, they will trade their ghost armour dye for the other and get a Charm of Pondering, if they stick to their guns they get both ghost armour dyes and a Charm of Strengthened Stance. In similar vein we could have a master Mythic Tale that stacks the duels of those tales into one for another special attack, weapon or armour. It’s also possible that we could add more duels, some remnants trying to avenge Khotun or even some Samurai sent by the Shogun in promise of becoming Jito. Likewise we can use this to complete the weapons set; for the Half Bow, take the Mongols’ poison arrows (which can be a reward for finding who leaked the poison to them) which can just eat at lesser enemies’ health and take a chunk of stronger enemies’ health before resolving out of it, as well as a sticky arrow that could slow enemies or weaken their armour, or a perfume arrow that can mess with the falcons and angry doggo’s senses. For the Long Bow we could have...okay I’m drawing a blank here but I’m not meant to do all the work XD For the Blowgun at least you could have a Blinding Dart to aid in stealth and a Panic Dart to increase chances of Terrify. We could even have a few more upgrades to our ghost weapons and stance combats, even increase the amount of kills Ghost Stance can yield. In addition to more Fox Dens, Shrines, maybe new resources to bolster upgrades, Sword Kits, Haikus, Banners, Flute Songs, dyes and so on. But I know what you’re thinking, we can’t put that all in Tsushima? We’ve covered the entire island and it’s unlikely that SP would make a fictitious island. And to that I say, I have that covered. In the Tsushima Strait between the island and the mainland there is Iki Island, part of the same prefecture and equally ravaged by the Mongols during the invasion, it’s also the base of pirates which can offer a stop point for a Tomoe reunion or simply travel via Umugi Cove. A small bit of expansion wouldn’t hurt, as long as Iki isn’t planned for something else that is.

能ある鷹は爪を隠す : Hopes for a Sequel Now part of me would be content if this was a one and done, the game shines perfectly on its own. But I would not turn one down. Though many would feel that Jin’s journey is done (I even heard a suggestion of Tomoe, I could see that but not right now, maybe for a third) but not me, there’s still a few glaring issues at hand. For one, the Shogun now wants you dead, new clans are moving in on you and there will probably be a new Jito regardless of the ending choice because of Shimura’s failure, Adachi will also need to look at another clan taking its land. There’s also the vacuum left behind by the clans’ subsidiaries; Nagao particularly but also Adachi’s rival clan Kikuchi, there’s easily possibilities to use canon Sō, Abiru, Shōni and Imagawa, there’s also room for Kikuchi Takefusa, who survived both Mongol invasions  . A sequel could offer some clan territorial tensions in that regard as the people of Tsushima side with the Ghost over the mainland. That conflict is one we have touched on in the end of the first, Jin has fought for his country’s safety so how will he act when his country wants him dead? The first was a story of sacrifice perhaps the next can be a story of maintaining his legend, inspiring the mainland Samurai and even redeeming himself in the eyes of the non-Tsushima natives. It’s also worth remembering that Komoda was the beginning of the invasion, and there was a second invasion 6 years later where Tsushima was attacked once more, the death of non-canon Khotun could spark other higher ups of Kublai’s ranks to avenge or clean up for Khotun, Kublai also had counsel from different nations to understand his enemy so we could have an even more vicious and cerebral enemy be made, or even a group of enemies led by advisors like Liu Kan or Yao Shu, maybe even Marco Polo if we move the time after the first invasion. In terms of gameplay we could also see Jin expand from Tsushima to Iki and maybe some more naval warfare, growing in his equipment (like Caltrops, Kusari-Fundo and Suntetsu) and maybe even his weapon, an Ono, Jitte or a Naginata to rotate with his not-yet-made Katana to combat with Samurai or the army of a Mongol threat, maybe even use the Bo-Hiya for ranged fire archery learned from the Hwacha. And like the Mass Effect games (or Dragon Ball Xenoverse if you wanna pick a franchise that didn’t end in a bitter aftertaste) you could have the option to transfer over some data from the PS4 save to the next one, which’d inevitably be on PS5 at the least - also don’t be surprised if this gets a PS5 remaster too, especially if it does win Game of the Year. What I suggested for DLC could be used here too, if there is a sequel with Jin I really, really hope that SP don’t opt for the route of killing Jin (or Yuna) off for effect, I was nervous about the current game ending with Hara Kiri and I’d rather not have that or a downer of a death for the legendary Ghost (I am a happy endings guy after all). An alternative route to go (other than following Tomoe to the mainland to rip off the Ghost) is to work backwards, call it ‘Ghosts of Tsushima’ working towards a story of a more ancient time, where a thief could become a samurai clan. A clan Sakai or Shimura origin would sell in that way too and avoid the idea that we have to start again from zero but still have the more ‘dishonorable’ stealth tactics.

義は険しい山よりも重く、死は大鳥の羽よりも軽い : Conclusion In the end, this game was worth the wait, worth the delays and worth the price tag. I feel like this will be one of the games I’ll fondly remember when thinking of the PS4, which has truly had a stellar library of awesome games like Spider-Man, God of War, the Crash, Ratchet & Clank and Spyro Remasters, DMCV, Jedi: Fallen Order and more. This truly ticked the boxes for the anime nerd within me and the history buff, even the Haikus spurred the poet in me a little too. If anyone hasn’t played this game, they should, and I hope that Sucker Punch realises that people like me want to see more. If it stands alone so be it, but I’m not ready to leave Jin or Tsushima just yet. いってらっしゃい

[rpgsandbox]

One moment sets the course of destiny.

But what if that one moment was changed in the smallest of ways?

What if one madman's plan actually were to succeed beyond our known history?

Darker Hue Studios presents its second project:

Haunted West, A Historical-Fiction, Weird-Western, Spaghetti-Action Game.

This is a game about hope through struggle. It is a game that pieces together the stories of the largely forgotten people of the Old West, the people who have been whitewashed by history. Discover the American experience in the Weird West.

Grab your rifle, jet pack, and spurs to battle traitorous rebels in the defense of freedom, join the fight against temporally displaced dinosaurs, rustle cattle to make ends meet, and hijack a train full of illicit Confederate gold!

I hope you’ve got the grit and gumption to see this through.

Head 'em up. Move 'em out.

                                               The Train Heist

The Old West—The Wild West, The American Frontier—is one of the world’s most familiar modern myths. The time was draped in ruggedness; there was an idealized dream of freedom, and a notion that just one person could shape the world. That myth belongs to all of us. Yet so many stories of truth, justice, and the American Way have been stolen, erased, and never recorded. Haunted West aims to tell many of those stories, to shine a light on the proud people who shaped America and fought for her just as much as those people whose stories are central to widely-known American folklore.

Haunted West honors the many forgotten voices of the American Frontier, tips its hat to the Weird West genre, rides the trails with the Spaghetti and Hollywood Westerns, and drinks at the saloon with historical truths. It’s a game about our real-world history that does not whitewash it, but instead amplifies the voices that shaped the West, and thereby America, helping define the world. We’ve taken an entirely new approach to the Weird West genre in gaming, with a system built from the ground up to enable you to tell the kind of stories you want, and accurately represent the history of the Old West while running games as gritty or as pulpy as you want.

Haunted West approaches the Weird West in a unique way, riding the rails toward something new. This is fertile ground for all. Haunted West explores the true history of the American Frontier with a focus on the tales of the forgotten, unknown, and overlooked, and all through Weird-West-goggles.

When I was young, growing up in the deep South of Alabama, I would watch Westerns with my grandmother on our one television in the house. Though we weren't always close, we huddled around that TV and explored the great Old West together, and that's how my love for the genre began. The only problem? No one looked like me unless they were cast as the villain or, sometimes, the butt of the joke. Haunted West aims to change that.

In Haunted West you'll battle the Weird, take side jobs to get by, and help shape a nation one step at a time. Experience adventures in the vein of Deadwood, High Noon, Gallowwalkers, Hell on Wheels, The Magnificent Seven, The Adventures of Brisco County Jr., and more.

This is a role-playing game inspired by real-life icons such as Bass Reeves, Belle Star, Cathay Williams, Tom Threepersons, Ah Toy, Nat Love, Kate Warne, Jerome Crow Dog, Joaquín Murieta, John Henry Holliday, Lucy Eldine Gonzalez Parsons, Jackson Sundown, Mary Fields, and Fee Lee Wong.

Haunted West hears the voices of the past and amplifies them for all to hear.

"We need to haunt the house of history and listen anew to the ancestors' wisdom." - Maya Angelou

The world of Haunted West: Reconstruction begins close to our known history, but branches off a few years into the Reconstruction era following the Civil War, dropping you in the middle of an evolving historical timeline. The War’s aftermath burns bright in people's minds, no matter if they or their kin fought with the victorious North or the traitorous South.

In our known history, John Wilkes Booth assassinates Abraham Lincoln, which accidentally elevates Andrew Johnson, a Southern former slave owner, into the presidency. He goes on to fight against every change the people, their country, and fallen soldiers had earned.

Haunted West: Reconstruction creates a timeline in which, in addition to killing Lincoln, Booth's assassination plot also kills Johnson as he had originally intended. Lafayette Foster becomes President, and without presidential opposition, the Southern confederates are not allowed back in congress. The land is divided and given to the enslaved people as was actually planned in our known history, changing the power dynamic of America, with black landowners battling against traitors who are terrorizing them and trying to steal their legally-owned land.

We've worked with historians to help us imagine how that new dynamic plays out in our alternate timeline.

We think you'll love exploring the alternate timeline. As a gamer, I love world meta plots but I also like having the ability to run my own game. So in Haunted West we give you options. The game is layered, empowering you to run a purely historical game including many of the forgotten voices of the Old West, where you're more likely to die of dysentery than a bullet; or you may choose to take a turn toward the Spaghetti and Pulp Western; or, my hope is you'll want to take the ride into the alternate timeline which can be played in either gritty or pulp style—your choice.

That’s right, this is an entirely new system specifically designed with the Narrator's and players' enjoyment in mind. The system’s core mechanic is a 1d100 based system with some new twists. It’ll feel familiar and easy while having a level of complexity to appeal to old school gamers.

The rules themselves layer on top of each other for ease of use and can be applied in many ways.

Why a New System?: We created a new system to provide exciting versatility of play styles, a system that is tailored to create iconic stories of the West, and a consistent way for you to tell your stories. For me, it was important to have something fresh to empower the player and Narrator alike. The system is easy to pick up for new gamers and has levels of complexity for old school gamers looking for that. But at the heart of it, it’s built to aid in telling stories.

The Essential Mechanics: The ‘Ouroboros System’ is unique in its approach to modular play and has a number of easy-to-apply rules. The core mechanic is a 1D100 roll under system with degrees of success and failure that have different impacts. Skilled Paragons are able to invest a portion of their successes into ‘The River’ and use that portion for a later challenge when the chips are down. Each skill is associated with 1 of 7 different attributes that confer a starting percentage in the skill.

Paragons:  Paragons are our system's player characters. We chose the term 'Paragon' because they are iconic, modeling an aspect of the Old West and larger than life.

                                     Mock Up of Character Sheet

Skinwalkers, vampires, werewolves, aliens, clockworks, monstrosities, magic, and more await you here!

The Weird populates Haunted West on the fringes. People may know about it but rarely discuss it; it's not proper, and if you name it, you give it power. The Weird is rarely in plain sight and anyone that has a touched it is forever changed by it. These folks have seen beyond the horizon and understand the world is more, more dangerous, and more wonderous than anyone imagined. But unlike a Mythos protagonists, the people of the West are made of stern stuff. They don't faint or break easily.

Haunted West builds its Weird from myths, stories passed down from generations, real-world sightings, and from the recesses of our minds. We've got supernatural horrors, science fiction aliens with technology to astound, and more. Stepping out of your door into the world isn't for the faint of heart.  

                                         Artwork: Battling the Weird

Haunted West is a core book containing everything a Narrator needs to run scenarios in the Weird and Wild West. The book itself is an exquisitely designed hardcover 8.5” x 11” book clocking in at well over 130,000 words. Haunted West will be printed in two editions. The first will be available via offset printing for our US customers and the second will be available through DrivethruRPG for our overseas fans which will help to minimize the cost of shipping. Both versions of the book will be FULL COLOR! Our goal is to deliver the book to you Summer 2020.

                            Mock-up cover. Final design is pending.

This hefty tome would give any cowpoke pause from its hidden secret and arcane lore of the past. If you’ve got the resolve, I’ll tell you a bit about it and hold back a few prizes for a surprise when you open the book. Rest assured it’s not a snake in your boot.

A brief, “Howdy, partner!” We’ll chat around the campfire about history, how to apply the Weird, the horrors and wonders of the West, and the new system.

Then we sit a spell at the trading post to make some characters, what we're calling Paragons, and you'll have your choice of 10 distinctive archetypes that cover a lot of ground, enabling players to make any character they can think of. The creative posse has built a detailed Life Path system to guide character creation from your lineage, to your crew, to a few antagonists that don’t fancy your face.

Each Paragon has a couple of aptitudes making them more than a run-of-the-mill town person. Maybe they can shoot a little straighter, train horses a little faster, or rumor has it that some sawbones can bring the dead back to life.

Skills are the salt-of-the-Earth of what a Paragon can do. Qualities are those small traits that make you stand out. It could be something like striking looks, a 500-dollar bounty, or an intimidating gaze that forces any law officer to keep walking.

You can’t have the weird without a little magick. We start the ball rolling with four historically-based Western theme magicks of the time. They've been researched and gamified for those looking to meet at the crossroads to barter with a demon.

                                                     Book excerpt

We'll delve into an engaging narrative about the true West from before time until the early 1900s. Our story is sprawling with unknown visages and we touch on a lot of them, like an old friend buying the first round at the saloon. We’re storytellers crafting a tale that has never been told.

Haunted West takes the reigns and gives you all of the West, above and below to explore. Paragons may be dueling clockwork gunslingers in Deadwood, trading for supplies with the Lakota, holding the line with Texas Rangers against an unknown army, debating Southern politicians in halls of power on the East Coast, or stealing aboard steam-powered cities in the heavens. We are boundless.

The book comes primed with over 50 historical folks for the Paragons to meet, call out, run from, or with whom to posse up. These are real-life icons pulled from history, and their voices are waiting for your breath to make them live again.

See 'Methods of Play' for all the gunslinger goodness.

What kind of no-good scallywag would I be without offering a Narrator a helping hand for running games, discussing the careful economic and racial divides you’ll need to navigate? I am not alone; I've got a crew of diverse voices to help tell the tales.

Haunted West: Reconstruction is the world setting. The entire book up until now has been a historical game plus how to apply the Weird, and this section gives you over 10,000 words dedicated to the alternate timeline. In this timeline, in addition to killing Abraham Lincoln, John Wilkes Booth's assassination plot also kills Johnson as he had originally intended. The alternate timeline imagines how this new reality plays out.

The world of Haunted West is a grim place of untold horror, the supernatural, sights that shatter even the toughest gunslinger, with wonders beyond description. It is the Old West—the frontier of America—with her people arriving from every corner of the globe, seeking fortune, fame, and a moment in the sun.

The Paragons encounter rumors of some flying machine beyond description that's leaving mutilated cattle in its wake. They need the thing stopped before they go bust. But a deeper horror awaits those who follow the Aerostat.

We present over 40 creatures pulled from folklore and myths, both supernatural as well as alien, to baffle and combat your players' Paragons.

We’ll have a foldout train map of the United States, a reusable town map, and an old west hex map for miniature combat.  

                                            Artwork: Ghost Town

Kickstarter campaign ends: Fri, November 1 2019 3:00 PM UTC +00:00

Website: [Darker Hue Studios] [facebook] [twitter]

[mynameisdreartblog]

Teachers 2

Leo: Karate instructor. Having an action figure of yourself would be rad. I mean, just imagine your very own Oro figurine to pose and play with. And in the fashion that every toy company hates, you can use it to interact with toys outside of the designated set. But the profiteering part of my brain wants to create an entire set of me and all my buddies and adversaries. We’ll call it something like, The Misadventures of Oro Quarez with an entire playset of the Ola Diara headquarters. Oh, we’d have figurines for Viz and Hunah, maybe even Mecatl! Hey, if we’re gonna go this far with it, we might as well add in a new dog sidekick to spice things up; we were losing sales with the original cast, you see. I don’t even have a dog, but let’s just pick a popular breed and call him Coco. Yes, Coco! That’s the generically adorable Spanish name everyone wants for a canine sidekick, right? [,,,] That got me thinking of how many parents have chose a name for their child only to then recognize later on post-birth that they’d have a more appealing set of circumstances if they possibly had a better name. Typically, the forces of Americanization persuade people chose dumb names like Bryce or Bryceler, but I can’t tell if this is better than traditional names. On one hand, I want experimenting, but on the other, I don’t want white people to engage with it. But if you wanna sell your products, you have to sell them in the U.S.; nobody here is soulless or rich enough to buy the entire collection. [...] Okay, I got back from contacting a toy factory here and they told me that it’s incredibly expensive and out of my league to attempt that, so I’ve resorted to creating Minecraft skins and potentially selling them to Mojang so they can create a DLC pack in the Bedrock edition of the game <the sound of chicken NPCs in Minecraft can be heard softly in the background>. Yeah, we got off topic a bit. Going back to square one… I really like action figure sets and Minecraft.

Taurus: Cooking instructor. The McDonald's toy—the one you stashed away in your car yesterday, under all of the hidden compartments—has shown itself again. It's shape was made distinct and it appeared almost as a silhouette to you. The franchise it was modeled after was Alvin and the Chipmunks, and the toy itself was based off one of the Chipettes: Jeanette to be specific. The cheap paint applied to her plastic mold was chipping with the relatively long amount of time you had her in the barracks of your Hindustan Ambassador, and the essence of her visage was fundamentally altered. With strength like yours, the figure was as easy to bend and mold like rubber: It was so close to shifting from a carbon-copy production into a unique shape of broken product. [,,,] Suddenly as you were remembering why you hid her for so long, a violent quake shook your car and forced you to pull over in a rather steep spot. You hid the toy back where you unearthed it from, and you get out of your car to avoid the possibility of being tossed over in this deep area and take a deadly plunge. As you waited outside your car, the violence of the quake stopped and you were left in a disturbing stillness. The earth's natural movement didn't cause that, it was something attempting to disrupt you. That disruptor was heard in the sound of a faint giggle, but the faintness of said giggle didn't matter, as you could instantly recognize who made it. […] You didn't forget this time; he didn't forget this time: The purple fucker was back for a second go. You frantically searched to attempt to locate his presence, but he was peering over you from the mountain cliff: Behind him was a city of foretold disaster made out of a broken reality bearing only Jeanette's face. Legends once told us that this was the mountain top which contained an ancient temple at its peak with finely crafted marble statues indicating where it is. Maybe that's why the Purple Entity came here once more. He hasn't come to fight you, but only to prevent you from retrieving something you would've discovered on your own had you made your travel up that cliff. Stop him before he gets what you were meant to discover.

Aquarius: Art teacher. I’ve been a party animal for a while, and I was always known as that person who’d bring the strangest gifts. Today, I think I’ll show up at your doorstep with a five-foot-tall leather-bound grimoire on all the sexual practices in the West wrapped in a pretty bonnet, gratifying you with a curtsy and a flash of an eye. Now, what I won’t tell you is that I’m the author of that book, and I’m creating a neat, tight-knit ploy in which you’ll soon recognize that the true grimoire of all the sexual practices of the West was me. You’ll promptly take me in and I’ll vomit onto you all of the painfully memorized information relating to the long, dark, and disturbing history of how people counteracted the popular narrative of heteronormative chastity. [...] “Nay, they must say! How are you so lackadaisical to forget your humble origins of bath-side instrument cleaning; you must understand that you can’t hop to-and-fro so rapidly and understand how the sexual grimoire controls you as much as you control it! Your body is just a fatty vessel for the liquid diaspora you’ve soaked up like a sponge; far too easy to make the connections and symbolism obvious as if you’re trying to imbibe your crew. I’ll continue to vomit the pages of the buoyant emotions that keep emerging back up no matter how hard you push them down.” [...] Yes, most of the pages are based on my personal life but I was sure that the consistencies wouldn’t be picked up on ‘cause I live mostly out at sea where anything can happen… as long as it’s nautical based. Er, speaking of nautical things, I’ve been having this strange feeling there’s some hairy boy somewhere in Florida who’s creating a write-up about his state’s maritime history and publishing it on, God, Medium out of all places. Best of luck to this hypothetical person though! Now back to the grimoire.

Pisces: Literature teacher. Our wrestling instructor didn't take their tummy medicine today and they were very cranky at the practice matches today. A beautiful piano solo was playing in my head when they were given a note that told them they had to substitute today. Ha, Idrissa almost broke character when they were training as the Simb this morning, so they went from a false lion to an honest lion! Heh, heh, heh… In all seriousness though, it was an unwarranted act of frustration that left many of us on the wrestling team quite uncomfortable. I thought it was just part of the bàkk beforehand, but it escalated way further when I felt one of my ribs snap under their hold on me. I’d complain about the safety violation that took place that day, but I did sign the EULA and it was pretty lenient on what was worthy of pressing charges over. I mean, it’s by tradition they allow hand blows, but Idrissa hit a little too hard. I mean, the thought of a huge, masculine-presenting lion grappling me and then proceeding to roughhouse me is pretty alluring, but I'd prefer if it was a different animal costume… I said too much; I'm sorry. […] Anyways, do you wanna talk about my aspirations instead? Someday, I hope to be as good of a wrestler as Boukar Faye, but with my seemingly indeterminate body weight and mass, I think I'll take on a different destiny as a wrestling legend. I'll be known as the shifting mass whose weight can change unexpectedly and can throw off even the most experienced of wrestlers. I'll also be known as the guy who never wears the proper attire, leading to a situation where I piss off the organizers. I'm not so good at Luttle Traditionnelle avec Frappe, since I don't use it to show off because… quite frankly, there's nothing about me to show off. Uh… How are you enjoying your stay so far? Do you wanna look at my trophies from the times I scared the contestants away?

[filmista]

Retrospective: Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope (1977)

🤖“A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away…” 🚀

A lot of us either are a Star Wars fan, or we know someone that’s a huge fan. Either way, there’s no real way to avoid coming across it; it’s so ingrained in the collective conscience of the entire cinema frequenting world, that we all are familiar with the basics of its universe. 

I’ve managed to avoid it until now during my 20 years on this planet, but I have a friend whose brother was an enormous fan of the franchise and owned multiple Star Wars sweatshirts that his sister would “borrow” but watch it she never could, because she found the whole world so far out there, that she thought it was hilarious. 

But alas, one day her brother convinced her and she decided to just give it a watch and actually ended up liking it. Ever since she’s been trying to get me to watch it, without much success in her endeavor. 

Until I recently got me curious about it myself, I thought if so many people love it there has to be a reason for it. And my experience was a huge success, I loved it on the second watch that is. 

The very first time, I actually ruined my experience. By really not paying too much attention to it and even talk during…

My problem was the attitude with which I approached it, I was expecting to not connect to it beforehand, I had a preconceived of what Star Wars was, which is a silly blockbuster that later became a money-making machine. 

Alas, I was wrong, and I deprived myself of a fantastically fun experience, because of my own preexisting conceptions. 

I admit to most of the time being inclined towards and maybe respecting, so-called deeper and intellectual films more, films that I can really sink my teeth into. 

I wouldn’t say I had a contempt for blockbusters and big studio films, I just generally don’t like them as much, I tend to find them over the top, too dramatic and sometimes a bit lacking in the emotional department. 

But the longer I’ve been watching films, and my recent experience with Star Wars, really has taught me something, there’s nothing with a film being innocent fun and just an adventure throughout. 

Afterward, I realized how ridiculous it is that I do value Jurrasic Park, which is also a huge blockbuster, but looked down on Star Wars, just because it all overall seems more plausible and is set in a world that’s still recognizable. 

There’s merit in building an engaging fantasy world, and in creating characters that are instantly likable and that the audience can care about. 

Star Wars (the whole franchise) has now become a piece of pop culture, and especially that first film, allows us to travel back in time, to the 70’s a particular period in cinema history, to the time of the first so-called blockbuster. 

My main beef with “blockbusters” is that I’m not talking about each and every single one, there are ones that I enjoy. 

But they’re often so formulaic and so played into what people will automatically like and be attracted to, and sometimes that results in something that I find lackluster, not spontaneous enough and without a fun, beating heart though.

And while Star Wars is the so-called first blockbuster, one of the films that changed film history. My dislike of it was completely unjustified. And the joke was on me because I missed out all those years. 

Whilst it is a big film and expanded into something even bigger over the years: a franchise. No one really knew whether there would be sequels, but George Lucas did set up the possibility for them. 

It really made marketing for these big films into a huge thing, the company in charge of making the action figures for Star Wars (Kenner) initially was unable to keep up with the demand, every kid that saw this at the time wanted one. 

Now that’s something normal, but Star Wars was really the first film to start that. and it’s mostly relatively unknown cast at the time, apart from Harrison Ford (who had previously starred in the George Lucas directed, American Graffiti) were propelled into superstardom and into 70’s icons. 

Everyone knows names like Carrie Fisher and Mark Hamill, even if they’ve never seen a single Star Wars film. And everyone knows terms from the film, everyone knows what a lightsaber is and has a vague idea of what a Jedi is. 

So aside from all of its technical merits, and there’s quite a few, it’s above all else a historical document almost as well as a darn good piece of entertainment, and that’s more than enough in a film sometimes. 

And unlike some later blockbusters, Star Wars really is a charming and fun film, with a beating heart. You can see and feel the love that went into them, and the fun people involved were having. 

Its dialogue is super cheesy even corny, but it works because of the way the actors deliver them and their enjoyable chemistry with one another, also the cheesy dialogue is quite charming in its own right. 

The film is obviously more about what’s happening visually on screen, than any dialogue. And I think that was my problem initially, I always took it way too seriously… the terms didn’t make sense to me and annoyed me, and the world with all its creatures felt perplexing. 

This time I decided to just sit back, watch and not think too much and allow myself to be absorbed by it, really allow myself to be swept into the world. And it was a radically different experience. 

There are still terms of which I thought wait what is that, or what is that thing supposed to be? The truth is that doesn’t matter for one’s enjoyment of the film at all, once you stop trying to make too much sense of it, and look at it too rationally it becomes incredibly rewarding. It’s not about being realistic. the whole thing takes place in a fantasy world, Star Wars is like a surreal dream come to life. And it’s really a matter of suspending any disbelief and logical questioning and just accept that stuff is called the way it is, looks the way it is, and that it’s a world with giant slugs and rats that look tiny kangaroos. 

I was never before able to just let that element of it slide, and once you do start analyzing it, it can almost become funny. This time I set to myself: you’re gonna watch this, you’re not gonna question anything or laugh at anything. And I’m certainly glad me, myself and I had a stern talk. 

I generally don’t dig stuff set in space all that much or with intricate fantasy worlds. But Star Wars felt different, yes it’s in space. But it doesn’t feel confined to one space, nor does too outrageous… 

There’s something so familiar about that world, something we all instinctively know of how it works and that’s almost comforting and cozy to disappear in. 

It reminded me of when I would dive into comic books when I was younger, and just disappear into them an entire afternoon, Star Wars really brings back some of that childlike wonder and awe, and in that sense, it really is a purely magical film. 

I watched A New Hope, whilst feeling a little under the weather, and the afternoon passed incredibly quickly, which is what good films do: they make you unaware of time and space. It’s over two hours run time, actually felt quite short this time. And I can’t wait to check out the other ones as well. 

But to return to my previous point, part of why it’s so fun to disappear in and probably part of its enduring appeal and popularity is its coziness, the really lived in vibe of it all. The title also helps in this, by adding Episode to its title, it feels like being into introduced to a world that has always been there and that we’re just stumbling into it. 

It also doesn’t present us with any storylines, or conventions that are hard to grasp. You get an instinctive feel of the world and its rules and conventions. When it comes down to it, it really is a simple story of good vs evil, with the classical plot point of saving a princess thrown into the mix. 

The fun thing is that it does subvert some of these classical conventions, in any other story princess Leia would have waited passively for her rescue, whilst here she actually consciously chose to fight and resists until the end. At least in the first one, you don’t exactly find out why the empire is precisely so evil and why they want to rebel against it, but I figured it was just some sort of space equivalent to a fascist regime that wants to rule each and every one of the territories around it. Imperialism in space, heavy… 

The first time watching this, I questioned all of that too much, but this time I was like, okay the empire is run by some evil bastards in space, there are rebels fighting against them and they’ve got plans laid to destroy their massive weapon of mega-destruction. Which is what the empire wants to recover from the rebels, but of course, we all know Leia hid them in R2D2. 

Speaking of the robots, aside from their designs being super cute, as well as all the bleeps and blips. I loved how positively they were portrayed, no the robots are gonna take over and destroy all of us! 

That kind of film can be good, but it would be way too negative for Star Wars. Here they’re really seen as equals by the characters, and even worthy of being friends with. As well as having a personality as defined as the humans, the whole dynamic between R2D2 and 3CPO is both hilarious and heartwarming. 

And that’s again why it works so well, the lightness even the humor and all. There are moments of light bullshit almost that defy logic, like R2D2 and 3CPO talking the stormtrooper into letting them go, with the excuse of R2D2 having to go to maintenance, it’s like an almost ridiculously simple solution to the situation at hand. Lucas knows it’s nonsense, but just doesn’t care. After all, it’s part of the genre. 

If you really want to dig deep (well actually not that deep) but if you insist on an intellectual side to cinema, you’ll have realized that the force is actually one big metaphor for religion, a higher power. And that some believe in it and others don’t. Han Solo literally talks about the force in terms of: “I don’t believe in any of that hokey religious stuff”. 

But essentially it’s a metaphor for believing, for believing in something bigger than ourselves, that helps us overcome obstacles along our way. 

The whole given of The Force is actually incredibly well handled. At first sight, it seems like mumbo-jumbo - "The Force is an energy field that flows everywhere, you have to become passive and let yourself be led by it." In other words: relax and just watch what happens. 

That’s not exactly a very profound philosophy, given that it was apparently used for hundreds of years as a basis for peace and quiet in the Milky Way.

Yet it’s not bad that Lucas keeps it simple (and purposefully vague, you can see whatever you want in it) The Force is just The Force and no further bullshit. Everyone has an instinctive sense of what it is, but there are no long, pretentious monologues needed to make it work and have people grasp the concept. 

Seventies icons Mark Hamill and Carrie Fisher have the nominal main roles, and don’t do a bad job at all, their friendship comes across as believable and is very enjoyable to watch.

The chemistry between Harrison Ford and Carrie Fisher, also reveals hints of what’s to pass between the two later on in the story. The whole cast overall has fantastic chemistry with each other, you can’t really imagine that any of them got along badly in real life, they seem to be having too much genuine fun. But it is Harrison Ford who steals the show as Han Solo. It is only with his entry into the film, 45 minutes after the beginning, that everything really comes to life. All other characters are quite serious and have serious motivations. 

Princess Leia tries to save her people (although Leia is a really enjoyable character because of her boldness and sassiness), only to see her entire planet explode before her eyes. Heavy. Luke Skywalker, in turn, grew up without parents, with his uncle and aunt, who are also murdered at the beginning of the film. 

And Obi-Wan is of course little more than a wisdom-spouting old man who must stay serene at all times while scratching his beard. Han Solo, on the other hand, has absolutely no melancholy background. 

He is a mercenary, who is only out for money, and that gives him the freedom to spit out one-liners as much as he wants, to put his crooked grin on display and insult the other characters whenever he feels like it. 'Star Wars' is a series that keeps going in the direction of the bombastic.

Perhaps that is inevitable considering the genre film. The function of Han Solo's character is that he pierces through that bombast. Whenever it threatens to go all over the top, you just have to give him a scene, and immediately the atmosphere becomes lighter, more pleasant and enjoyable.

Another thing that can’t be avoided when talking about Star Wars, is just how beautifully worked out and brought onto the screen the whole universe is. While it’s all undeniably a product of its time and feels decidedly 70’s, it still holds up incredibly well and feels really realistic for its time. 

The different locations are all incredibly gorgeous to look at, and the special effects absolutely splendid. The colors and lights of some scenes is an absolute joy.  Whilst John William’s beautiful score, adds grandiosity and epicness as well as emotionally complementing certain scenes. 

Star Wars is undeniably a piece of film history that can’t really be avoided.  I wouldn’t have called it a masterpiece before, rather a very well made piece of entertainment. But now I’d have to change my view: a film can be a masterpiece, precisely for being an incredible piece of entertainment. 

"Someone Has To Save Our Skins. Into The Garbage Chute, Fly Boy."

[leeegrinnerrr]

Lee Pace Came Out Seven Times a Week. Then He Came Out for Real.

It’s 2018 and we still don’t know what being out and gay will do to an actor’s career.

Five nights and two afternoons a week on Broadway, “Angels in America” sets out on its grueling, eight-hour course. “A Fantasia on Gay Themes,” as its playwright, Tony Kushner, called it, “Angels” is a knotty, furious history play, a jeremiad on the AIDS epidemic originally delivered at crushing ascent. It is also, at the same time, a skein of interconnected stories about love and betrayal and identity, God, man and Eros. Also, there’s a couple of Mormons. Before “The Book of Mormon,” no less.  

Five nights and two afternoons a week, one of those Mormons, Joe Pitt, a closeted lawyer working for the infamous fixer Roy Cohn, goes through hell and out the other side to come out as a gay man.

And so, over the course of this production — now the play with the most Tony nominations in history — does Lee Pace, the man who plays him.

Mr. Pace, 39, has been working steadily in theater, film and TV for the better part of two decades, helping to prop up mega-budget studio tent poles like “The Hobbit” (he is the elven king Thranduil) and “Guardians of the Galaxy” (the ferocious Ronan the Accuser) and cult favorites like “Pushing Daisies” and the recently concluded “Halt and Catch Fire.”

Mr. Pace sometimes attracted attention — from the nominating committees of the Emmys, the Golden Globes and the Independent Spirit Awards — but mostly disappeared into whatever elves, necromancers or sales executives he happened to be playing at the time. That was by design.

“It was a real strategy to draw boundaries,” Mr. Pace said in a recent interview at his New York apartment, as his rescue dog, Pete, dozed by his feet. In interviews, he kept the focus on his work: “I believe very firmly that my work is the reason we’re talking, and my personal life is something I want to protect.”

But earlier this year, Brian Moylan, writing about Mr. Pace’s arrival in the “Angels” Broadway cast for W Magazine, put the question to him directly: What was his sexual orientation?

It seems an entirely predictable question for an interview about the cornerstone of the gay theatrical canon. Mr. Pace had already said in that interview that he “feels it’s important for gay actors to play the gay roles.”

But he was thrown. He seemed “flustered” and “surprised,” Mr. Moylan wrote, and he published Mr. Pace’s response: “I’ve dated men. I’ve dated women. I don’t know why anyone would care. I’m an actor and I play roles. To be honest, I don’t know what to say — I find your question intrusive.”

“He told me his truth, which is all I asked, and all I hope for from any interview subject,” Mr. Moylan said recently. “I don’t apologize for asking the question.”

In the past, Mr. Pace was so not out that occasionally gossip blogs would put him together with an actress, like his friend Judy Greer. He brought her to the premiere of “A Single Man.”

“At the time, I knew he was gay,” Ms. Greer said in an interview. “I didn’t really talk about it to anyone — not even really because he asked me not to, just because it’s his business. When I saw that stuff online, I thought it was really strange. I didn’t think anything of it but to be flattered that anyone would think he would want to go out with me. I was like, ‘Oh my God, whattt?’ He was so tall and handsome! I thought, I’ll ride this wave for a minute.” She laughed. “And I was single at the time.”

The W article made headlines, and Mr. Pace was displeased he had come off angry. In an effort to take back his own narrative, he announced on Twitter that he was a “member of the queer community,” and noted he’d been playing queer characters his entire career, from his breakout role as the transgender showgirl Calpernia Addams in “A Soldier’s Girl” through his Broadway debut in “The Normal Heart” to the bisexual former IBM executive of “Halt and Catch Fire” and now, “Angels.” “Onward,” he wrote, “with Pride.”

The positive response to his tweets — thousands of likes, many comments and now, regular references to them at the stage door after the show — has assured him that he made the right decision, though the old habit of reticence died hard.

“The truth is,” he said at his apartment, “when you grow up queer, you get tough. And perceptive. And you learn how to field it. When someone comes at you that you don’t know, interested in that area of your life, it’s not always a good thing. I certainly knew that when I was a kid.”

Mr. Pace was born in Chickasha, Okla., and grew up in suburban Texas. He came out to his younger sister, Sally, while still in high school. “She cried,” he said. “She said, ‘I don’t know what that means.’” But she was supportive. So were his parents. Mr. Pace headed to drama school.

Unlike Broadway, Hollywood can be less accepting. There are still relatively few out gay actors, along with leading-man parts for them, at least in major studio fare. As his career took began to take off, was Mr. Pace encouraged not to be too open?

He pause for a while. “No,” he said, then reconsidered. “Look — yeah. I remember when I signed with a new agent, we worked together for a year. He took me to some coffee shop in the middle of the afternoon and I knew he wanted to talk about something. He said, ‘I heard you’re gay, is that true?’ I said, ‘Is that a problem?’ And of course he said, ‘No, fine, just felt like I needed to know.’ But within about a year, he was no longer working with me.”

Mr. Pace has the full support of his current team, he added, with whom he has been working happily for years.

The W article ended up offering an “opportunity to participate,” he said, in a way he hadn't before, even if it was one he hadn't necessarily sought or anticipated.  

What changed his mind were two things. One is a new relationship, with a fashion executive he preferred not to name. (“I’ve never seen Lee so happy,” Ms. Greer said.) The other is the role of Joe Pitt, and the reflection it gave him on his own life. Onstage, in Joe Pitt’s coming out, Mr. Pace sticks on a few particular lines: “I want to live now. Maybe for the first time ever. And I can be anything. Anything I need to be.”

“I remember after it had happened, I was able to say that,” Mr. Pace said, recognizing the thrill of freedom in it. “I can be anything. Once you say those words and the sky doesn’t fall down, or the earth doesn’t open up, a lightning bolt doesn’t zap you. You really can be anything.”

So he has embraced the opportunity. “It feels nicer,” he said, “than I ever thought it would be.”

What comes next, and how this affects his career, if it does, is yet to be seen. One person whose advice he sought as he considered his Twitter statement was his friend Matt Bomer, a fellow out actor and Mr. Pace’s friend since their high school days. “I’ve known Lee since he was shorter than I am, believe it or not,” Mr. Bomer said. (Mr. Pace is 6-foot-5.)

“My counsel to him was, basically, when you decide to make it public, it can feel like you’re operating in a void,” Mr. Bomer said. “Nothing about you has changed, but maybe certain people’s opinions about you have changed. The beautiful thing about that is out of that void come all the people who truly want to engage with you and want to embrace your most authentic self. To me that’s always been far more rewarding than whatever mass appeal you have if you chose not to.”

“That’s assuming that that even happens,” he said. “I don’t know if that happens anymore.”

When asked if he had experienced negative repercussions after his own coming out, Mr. Bomer paused.

“The shorter answer is yes,” he said. “I hate to say it, I really do. I wish the answer were a resounding no. But I wouldn’t change it for the world. What happened was, an entire world of artists who I had always dreamed of working with and who wanted to engage with me on the most authentic level all came to the forefront.”

Mr. Bomer is appearing in the Broadway production of “The Boys in the Band,” just a few blocks away from “Angels in America.”

“I don’t think he stands anything to lose,” he said. “I don’t think any of us do, really, anymore. And if they do, let it fall by the wayside.”

Mr. Pace acknowledged the uncertainty but also said he had no anxiety about his decision.

“I’m curious to know what it’s going to do to my work,” he said. “I’ve played very different characters, and I don’t think that’s going to change. I guess I’m curious to see if this influences that, and the kinds of roles that come my way. Or in people’s perception of the work that I do.”

But he is confident in the future. “The work speaks for itself,” he said, “and I trust that.” For now, that is the grueling work of being Joe Pitt.

“The thing that gets me through the pain of doing it is knowing he’s going to be O.K. after it’s over,” Mr. Pace said. “Once he gets through it, he’s better off. I imagine him on a beach in Hawaii, renting surfboards. ‘How did you end up with this life?’ And he’s like, ‘Well, actually, I was married. I used to be a Mormon.’ Now he’s got a great boyfriend in my imagination.”

[bnrobertson1]

EXCELLENCE IN PRODUCT PLACEMENT

Death Stranding* is a wowing mind-fuck of an experience, surreal and mundane and draining and invigorating. Unafraid to constantly show you Norman Reedus’ bare ass while pontificating on the nature of modern existence, the game is unlike any before it, a venerable nightmare for marketing people and gamers expecting something more tried-and-true. 

Choose a Caption!: “I intend to help all of humanity through these apocalyptic times. But first, a peek of me bottom for the ladies.” -OR- Reedus Rump: Kojima’s Metal Gear-esque Weapon to Appeal to Women. 

Death Stranding is also the host to the best piece of product placement in recent memory. The product? Monster mahfucking Energy** drink, a (demonic?) elixir that boosts main character Sam’s stamina when consumed- a life-giving tonic with only 160g of sugar. You don’t drink water in the game, you drink Monster. Hell yes. For a game about wandering the wreckage of a nuclear-ish event, it’s a masterful touch, eloquently capturing our need as humans to technologically improve everything (yes, even the liquid responsible for life), a destructive compulsion that is the vertebrae and driver of the game’s narrative. Many in the press find this shameless money-grab to be tasteless, but the fact Coca-Cola (a corporation!) undoubtedly paid millions to get it so prominently in the game only speaks to its preposterous-yet-probable presence. It’s probably too subtle to be a Kojima-nod to the futuristic satire of Idiocracy, but Monster Energy will undoubtedly go down as the real world’s Brawndo (just without the electrolytes).    

*More Thoughts on Death Stranding (BEWARE NON-SENSICAL SPOILERS): God Bless Hideo Kojima, the man goes for it. Arguably video game’s most beloved auteur and inarguably the one who most wants to be referred to as “Kubrikickian” and/or “enigmatic,” the mastermind behind the beloved Metal Gear games proves incapable of working small or with gloves with his Death Stranding, leaving both fingerprints all throughout and editors’ calls unreturned. Hours-long cut scenes waxing philosophical about technology’s dooming yet liberating role in our future? Check. 4th wall breaking, star-fucking pop culture references? Check. Singular gameplay whose laborious nature quite soundly proves larger points about things ranging from literary theory to the gig economy? Check. Check. Check.

But between the preposterous acronyms, convoluted packing systems, and Conan O’ Brien cameos, there glimmers dots of genius. Those willing to wade through the oft- incomprehensible industrial-military-complex babble are rewarded with “Holy Shit” moments, those boundary and/or sense exploding things of which Kojima is King. Death Stranding is no different, and although the game never reaches the heights of the Metal Gear games, there are specific parts that unleashed that goosebump wave of awesomeness. The bolo gun that wraps up your enemies instead of killing them, your ability to hog tie the unsuspecting with an elastic strand, the focus on oil and blood as the life force of all things- these are but some of the elements of the game that really work, dripping into the game at just the rate where you keep interested but not overwhelmed.

But the best moment in the game is in a cut-scene where your baby companion (did I mention Kojima is weird?) literally stops bullets with its mind to save you. Now, the prior sentence shouldn’t make sense, and probably doesn’t. But the real nonsensical thing is just how powerful it hit. In a game about loneliness and the brutal nature of existence, this self-less act is totally unexpected but gives you the real feeling that someone has got your back (even if it proves to be a futile gesture). It’s effect was reminiscent of similar film sequences. After about 15-months of Covid I would say the point was comforting in a way I was not anticipating whatsoever. 

Being the only one of my friends insane enough to finish the game’s deliberate but nonetheless grotesquely overlong runtime (60+ hours of fetch quests!), my fellow Metal Gear fans have asked: is it worth playing? To which I really don’t know the answer. It’s absolutely bold and tries to tell a tale that could only be told in the video game medium, but then again, video games aren’t particularly great ways of telling stories. At points it felt like its design was made to be played in the pandemic: it’s time-consuming, meditative, and at times utterly mind-numbing. At its peaks, the game is reminiscent of Grandaddy’s The Sophtware Slump, another generally somber post-technological tale, albeit with less alcoholic robots and more characters named things like Die-Hardman. It’s not nearly as *fun* as other AAA titles, but then again the diametrically different approach of Doom Eternal didn’t inspire a couple thousand words.    

**I can’t remember my first cigarette, beer, or kiss but I do remember the first time I had a Monster Energy drink. Due to some mental, emotional, and physical deficiencies, I was unable to fly for about 6 months- just the thought of driving to the airport turned my anxiety- and palm sweat- on like a firehose. But knowing this fear was simply incompatible with modern life, I gave myself a building block of a goal- make a flight from my then-home of Austin to somewhere close enough that I could rent a car and drive home. I chose Dallas because I had an incentive: to see obscure musical group Nine Inch Nails*** performing at one of the Metroplex’s many arenas.

Getting on the plane took some assistance- specifically in the form of about 2 grams of Alprazolam. The barbiturate calm pressed the right buttons beautifully, having me giggling about clouds as opposed to obsessing about how we were in a speeding steel cylinder 7 miles above the surface of the earth. But when we landed in Dallas about 30 minutes later, the ease evolved into a potent sleepiness. Which is fine if you’re headed to a hotel, or virtually anywhere else in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, but not so much when you’re about to see an Industrial concert with 8,000 other people not exactly known for their chill. Plodding along, I finally made it to the concert, hoping to order a Red Bull as big as its namesake to get me out of blah bliss and into banging. The venue only sold Coke products, so in my apathetic exhaustion, I decided to order a Monster, an energy drink to that point I identified with redneck culture and thus avoided. Finding the whole thing pretty funny- and strongly buzzing off the fact that I had somehow faced my fear and gotten on an airplane- I figured there was probably no better place on earth to try a tall boy Monster Energy Drink Zero Sugar than FUCKING DALLAS, ie, the Monster Energy Drink of America.

The flavor I ordered was in a white can and poured out looked like some sort of large sea mammal had just bricked into a cup. Disgusted but not discouraged, I grabbed the glowing goblet like it was the reins of a dragon and took it by its mighty wing, by which I mean swig. Surprisingly tasty, I thought. Not the Pepsi-fied version of Red Bull I was fearing. The house lights then were dimmed, indicating it was game time. I wisely bought another Monster and went into the show, thinking 32 oz of liquid electricity was exactly what I needed to match Reznor’s energy.

You’re goddamn right I took a picture of my first Monster! 

Whatever chemistry was going on in my body was probably bad, because it felt awesome. Even though Nine Inch Nails had performed a majority of my favorite stuff the night before (their first of two nights in Dallas), the concert was as engrossing as was hoped- the loudness and lights simultaneously pummeling and transcendent. While it goes without saying that it wasn’t for everyone, the entire 3-hour ride back to Austin I was laughing like a maniac, having won a small battle (flying) and getting a big reward for my efforts (NIN). So, when anybody asks me what the ludicrously huge can of white can of energy drink I’m proudly, obnoxiously enjoying tastes like I am genuine when I tell them: “Carbonated Capri-Sun. And Courage.”      

*** I had been scared of NIN growing up too, specifically the video for “Closer” which made my 10 year old guts squirm like worms with its hanging meat and imagery that was confusingly gory yet sexual. I also went to a conservative all-boys school where wearing NIN stuff was rarely allowed, and when it was you’d be shamed by one of the change-petrified cliques that ran the place. My position softened a bit after the landmark Johnny Cash cover of “Hurt,” but what confirmed my fandom was when I heard “The Hand that Feeds” on a Chicago strip-club sound system- since then, they have soundtracked much of my life. Lesson: There lies wisdom in Strip Clubs.      

[shirlleycoyle]

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation

Over the weekend, director Zack Snyder—a man who Mr. Magoo'd his way into having control over the cinematic presentation of DC Comics for many years and is an avowed fan of Batman—posted an image of the Dark Knight performing cunnilingus on Catwoman. Since that time, I have not known peace. I must know who drew it.

Like the two women at the counter of the coffee shop where I bought the iced coffee that was necessary to begin this investigation, I am so desensitized to pornography involving cartoon characters that at first this image barely registered. The necessary context is that, apparently  in response to the ongoing conversation about DC's decree that Batman canonically doesn't eat pussy, Snyder, who once directed a movie called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and was for a long time as in control as anyone else was of DC lore, posted a drawing of Batman going down on Catwoman. He captioned it "canon." I guess!

As time went on, theories began to emerge about who drew the image. Snyder fans—and to be clear, he is a divisive figure in the multiple fandoms oriented toward and revolving around various DC brands—propose that he, personally, drew it. A major aspect of this theory is that Snyder didn't provide any information about the image when he posted it, at all. The image doesn't even have a signature. Running it through a reverse image search yields nothing from before Snyder posted it. The drawing seems to have appeared from the ether.

Representatives for Snyder didn't respond to requests for comment, leaving Motherboard unable to put the question of whether he drew this image of Batman satisfying his longtime love interest and occasional fiancé with his own hand. A Motherboard review of footage from the DVD extras of Watchmen—a movie directed by Snyder that I definitely saw in theaters and remember absolutely none of—suggests that Snyder is a talented draughtsman, and may well be capable of having drawn this image. We cannot definitively establish, though, whether or not he did so by putting the question directly to him, and so had to turn elsewhere in search of answers. 

Logically, there are only so many options here. It's possible that, as some fans are beginning to think, Snyder drew it himself; it's also possible, though, that it's a panel from an existing comic book or a piece of fan art, whether preexisting or commissioned personally by Snyder.  Roy T. Cook, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota who specializes in the aesthetics of popular art, told Motherboard that it seems unlikely that it comes from something DC published.

"If this were from a comic, it would certainly be well known given its content, and hence would have been identified by fans or scholars by now," Cook said. "So it’s almost certainly a custom piece of art."

In theory this would narrow things down some, but the sheer ubiquity of Batman-related pornography means that there are still too many images to anyone to sift through. On the pornographic website Rule 34—named for the humorous "rule," which functions with the force and power of a basic law of physics, that anything that exists will also have porn of it on the internet—there are more than 400 images with both the tags "Catwoman" and "Batman." The image Snyder posted can be found there, but was only added after he tweeted it, and notes Snyder's tweet as the original source. It is not hard at all to find an image of Batman eating out Catwoman. Finding one that no one has ever seen before is much harder.

It's possible to inferentially establish that this image is unique to Snyder, whether as something he commissioned or as something he had unique access to and chose to put on the internet. The question consuming many fans, though, is the one of whether he personally drew it. Experts in comic book art doubt that he did. Both of the comic-art brokers that responded to Motherboard's requests for comment said that they definitely don't think Snyder drew it. Details noted about the art style offer food for thought.

"I would say that [Frank] Miller is most certainly an influence/inspiration for the style of the image Snyder tweeted. Dark Knight Returns and all. Gritty stuff," Douglas Gillock, vice-president of the comic art brokerage ComicLink, said. (He was referring to the writer/artist whose mid-80s Batman comics set the tone for all the many, many grim and bleak interpretations of the billionaire who does kung-fu at muggers that have dominated pop culture for decades. Miller's Batman comics have been critiqued as fascistic but could also be read as brilliant parodies of fascistic excess; complicating the question is Miller's later-career turn toward things like a comic where Batman murdered Muslims to avenge 9/11, which was rejected by DC and subsequently repackaged as Holy Terror, a comic where a thinly-veiled Batman stand-in murdered Muslims.)  "I would also say that I also see some David Mazzucchelli here. He was an artist that was also influenced by Miller. He did the art on the Batman: Year One run, which Miller wrote. Pretty sure that is where that particular iteration of Catwoman's costume came from in the modern era too. A similar version was used for the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman animated series."

Gillock's interpretations seem correct. Notably, the outfit that Catwoman is wearing in the image that Snyder tweeted is purple—the color used in most Miller versions of the character—while many popular depictions of the character have her wearing black. It also features cat ears, which not all of her costumes have; this design was favored by Miller and used not only in Year One, but in a special wedding issue of Batman written by Tom King—a renowned comic book writer who spent much of his run on Batman making it canonical that Batman and Catwoman fall in love and get married with the insistent energy of a Livejournal poster embroiled in a shipwar—and featuring a Miller drawing of Catwoman wearing this exact costume. 

Snyder's Miller fandom cannot be overstated. He directed 300, based on the Miller graphic novel. He recreated scenes from The Dark Knight Returns in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in exactingly specific detail, even where it made no sense to do so. Like Miller, Snyder has used his work to promote and exult in vaguely fascist iconography. (Unlike Miller, for Snyder the appeal seems to be mostly aesthetic.) Snyder's fandom for Miller is so intense and specific  that the details in the shading, the coloring, and the costumes depicted in the image of Batman face down in Catwoman's super soaker pussy stand out as ones a fan steeped in Miller's work would not only appreciate, but commission or create, if they were able to. Especially on Selina's legs and head, the specific way that the image is shaded looks a lot like the way that Miller draws Catwoman. In both Snyder's tweet and the image from King's Batman, the shading on Catwoman's suit consists of black swirls and circles. (Miller's image is a lot more stylized than what Snyder posted, though, with Catwoman's spine curving exaggeratedly, like an actual cat's would.)

It should be noted that one thing we know about Snyder is that he's a passable artist, at least from the storyboards he's released for a few of his films. According to a profile in Bloomberg, he studied painting for a year before transferring to film school. It's difficult to tell, but when I look at this blurry screenshot of one of Snyder's sketchbooks where he shows off a drawing he did of Watchmen's Silk Spectre kicking a Nazi in the back of the head, it kinda looks like the same general body proportions as Catwoman as she's getting eaten out by Batman. In particular, both Silk Spectre and Catwoman have pretty sturdy thighs, though comparing a fully colored and inked image to a sketch is not going to yield conclusive results.

Image Source: League of Mayhem

DC, several art history professors, noted Snyder enthusiast Armond White, and Tom King did not respond to requests for comment. In absence of their authoritative input, as well as Snyder's, it seems Motherboard will never know for sure whether Zack Snyder spent the weekend drawing Batman eating box. But my friend and film critic Nadine Smith pointed out something important to me as I discussed this mystery with her: With any other director, this wouldn't even be a question. Snyder's fandom for comics, which somehow is for the exact opposite things about the genre that I admire, is nevertheless deep and powerful to the extent that he forced a major studio to release a four-hour uncut version of the Justice League fanfiction he filmed at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. He's always expected to do the most, and could not surprise anyone by doing anything that demonstrated the depth of his passion.

"If anyone else posted it, we would probably assume they just found some fanart," Smith told me. "But like, Snyder would."

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/

[biofunmy]

Kelly Clarkson moves to daytime talk, and her 3-year-old wants in

CLOSE

Kelly Clarkson, musician and the first American Idol, dishes on the inspiration behind her new talk show and growing up watching Oprah. Harrison Hill, USA TODAY

LOS ANGELES – As a recent taping of “The Kelly Clarkson Show” begins, the three-time Grammy winner emerges from behind the bank of audience seats, performing Heart’s “Alone” while walking through rows of cheering fans.

Clarkson even stops to let one join in before making her way down to the center of the airy, comfy set, closing the tune with a trademark power riff. She then calls out to a woman in the audience wearing a “Meaning of Life” shirt, the title of her eighth studio album and most recent concert tour.

The interactive musical opening plays to the first “American Idol” winner’s strength, but she embraces it more for familiarity than as a branding maneuver.

“Honestly, the singing at the beginning of every show was more for me to be comfortable. I’ve done it for a decade on tour. And I’ve been covering songs forever. Obviously, I’m from “Idol” – Hi! Sang covers the whole time. It’s what got me here, so it’s what I’m going to be doing on the way out,” she says, laughing.

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Kelly Clarkson’s talk show, focused on “humor, heart and connection,” premieres Monday. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

“Clarkson,” focused on “humor, heart and connection,” features a guest panel that mixes celebrities and regular people with uplifting stories.

A-list movie star Dwayne Johnson headlines Monday’s premiere, which also features an Oregon woman who runs a community food pantry. Other first-week guests include Ellen DeGeneres, Jennifer Garner, John Legend, Jay Leno and Chance the Rapper.

Clarkson approvingly cites the unpredictable guest matchups on “The Graham Norton Show” as inspiration: “He always sets you up with just the most random characters that you would never find in one place. I think that’s really clever, and it breaks down walls when (guests) are nervous.” 

To the likely disappointment of some fans, Clarkson, who has sold more than 25 million albums and is known for such hits as “Miss Independent” and “Because of You,” won’t be opening each show with her own songs.

Swift backing: Kelly Clarkson’s advice to Taylor Swift: Re-record old songs so fans won’t pay Scooter Braun

Kelly Clarkson opens a recent taping of ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show’ by performing Heart’s ‘Alone.’ (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

“I think it’d be a genuinely tool thing, me singing my own music. They’re all covers. … I like doing songs people love to sing to,” says the singer, whose show band is the same one she tours with. “At Christmastime, I might sing something from my Christmas record. Or if we’re releasing a new single, I might sing something as a surprise.”

Clarkson, 37, displays an engaging, natural enthusiasm that bubbles up in conversation, as with the interjected “Hi!” or when she briefly interrupts an on-set interview to quiet her crew – “Hey, guys, I love you, but this is on camera!” – and later calls out her husband and manager, Brandon Blackstock, for playing a video on his phone at the other end of the set.

Kelly Clarkson lets a Heart fan chime in on ‘Alone’ during a recent taping of ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show,’ a nationally syndicated talk show that premieres Sept. 9. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

The talk show allows room for Clarkson’s digressions and improvisations, even her glitches (“Oh, my gosh. I’m an idiot,” she says during the taping, after one inconsequential error). They convey a charm that has helped her connect with fans throughout her music career and, more recently, her time as a coach on NBC’s “The Voice,” to which she returns for Season 17 on Sept. 23.

Clarkson’s engaging “Voice” presence suggested her potential as the host of her own show, which is produced by NBC and will air on many of the network’s owned stations.

Coaching decision: John Legend, Kelly Clarkson say goodbye to Adam Levine as he exits ‘The Voice’

Kelly Clarkson takes the stage at her new talk show, which includes some audience seats positioned very close to the host and her guests. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

“I always say she’s one of us in a way that so many celebrities aren’t, because we chose her,” says executive producer Alex Duda, referring to Clarkson’s talent-show roots. “Even though she’s a big superstar, we all feel like she’s our best friend. That’s the best combination of qualities for a daytime host.  She’s like a jazz artist. She brings all the humor, all her personality and infuses it into the basic melody we give her.”

Approachability is key to the appeal of Clarkson, who recently relocated to Los Angeles from Tennessee with Blackstock and their children: River Rose, 5, and Remington, 3. (She’s also the stepmother of Blackstock’s children, Seth and Savannah.)

“My youngest daughter has already asked me if she can be on the show,” she says.

Just mom to him: Kelly Clarkson’s son is unaware that she’s famous

Reality bites: Oops… Kelly Clarkson accidentally told her daughter that Elsa and Anna weren’t real

Kelly Clarkson, left, and Blake Shelton will be two of the coaches on Season 17 of NBC’s ‘The Voice.’ (Photo: NBC, NBC)

Clarkson, who worked as a cocktail waitress in her hometown of Burleson, Texas, before becoming at star at 20, had been singing since childhood and knew music, but daytime talk is a new and dramatic shift.

She felt some reassurance after twice hosting the Billboard Music Awards to positive reviews, which were only amplified after it was revealed that she worked the 2019 show suffering from appendicitis (She had an appendectomy the next day.). 

Still, it took some persuading from Blackstock before she committed to daily show duty.

“I was very nervous about taking on something I hold a high bar to, all the (hosts) I love watching. I didn’t know how it would play out, and my husband convinced me. He said, ‘Look at all the stuff you love whenever you talk about Oprah, Ellen or Rosie O’Donnell back in the day, how they were able to do so many good things,’” she says. “There’s so much negativity, so much division (now). One of the main reasons I signed on is I wanted a place that was fun, joyful, had a lot of heart.”

Playing with pain: Kelly Clarkson is ‘feeling awesome’ after appendectomy following Billboard Music Awards

Kelly Clarkson, right, has plenty of familiarity with members of her house band, left. The musicians also are members of the band she travels with on concert tours. (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

Going in, she knew she had at least part of the gig down pat. 

“I knew I could talk. I don’t get nervous with people ever. I’m quite the extrovert. That’s not a surprise, I imagine, for anyone. I really genuinely love people. I’m a full-on tourist in that sense,” she says. “I’m very down to earth, and I think everybody’s very similar. We all just come in different packages and we all love different things. I like getting in there and finding that connection.”

Accident avoidance: Kelly Clarkson nearly face-plants on Indy 500 red carpet in sky-high heels

Kelly Clarkson finishes a song in close proximity to audience members on ‘The Kelly Clarkson Show.’ (Photo: Robert Hanashiro, USA TODAY)

To provide more opportunities for the singer to interact with the audience, “Clarkson” includes familiar elements from her concerts.  Audience members suggest cover songs, explaining their personal significance, and Clarkson leads “Kelly-oke” group singing sessions. The set design, which features guitars on the walls and wooden supports that resemble musical staffs, includes seats just feet from Clarkson and her guests, because she likes the close contact. 

And while music is a signature component,  the show will explore a broad range of topics, including family and motherhood.

Kelly Clarkson kisses her husband, Brandon Blackstock, at the 2019 Grammy Awards. (Photo: Dan MacMedan/USA TODAY)

“I love relating to other moms. It makes me feel good, because sometimes you feel like you’re epically failing and just treading water. And we’re all doing our best and trying our best,” she says.

Clarkson says she was nervous taping the pilot, but she’s already feeling more confident. And she’s not focused on the treacherous daytime landscape, which has in recent years claimed talk shows helmed by such high-profile names as Katie Couric, Harry Connick Jr., Meredith Vieira and Anderson Cooper.

“This is what’s weird about me. Ignorance is bliss. I’m just doing my thing. I love talking to people. I love singing. I love the audience being kind of a co-host with me. My band’s here,” she says. “So, I’m just kind of doing me. It might work and it might not.” 

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[scarlet-shattering]

Major NPCs (Incomplete)

So uh, here’s a big-ass list of NPCs that people are gonna meet in the game. This is about 50% a guide for me, 50% for people who aren’t me, so parts of it (like the entire description for Vesura’s lesbian vampire queens) are missing, but yeah, this is what I’ve been working on. Also as I’m looking at this, the description for Brenna Beren, the gnome from Damaria, was updated to reflect my summer party’s actions, and may or may not be what the college party ultimately does with her. But yeah, here’s a big fuckin’ list of characters I’ve been designing since like February. Enjoy!

Major NPCs

Tora:

Brinewater:

"People die, promises break, and evil prevails. But gold... gold always remains." -Edna VanLee: Wood Elf Rogue(Arcane Trickster) 18, LE, In Book Also known as the Lady of Jade, Edna VanLee is the leader of Brinewater in every sense of the word. Not only is she the city's elected mayor, she also is the head of the Jade Shadow guild, the not-so-secret thieves' guild. The Jade Shadow is a force of evil, but also one of order: any thief that does not follow their laws pays the ultimate price. Edna is a tough but refined woman, familiar with high society, though she is not a member herself. She doesn't tolerate failure or disorder. She has been known to hire adventurers from time to time, but rarely directly. When she contacts the party, it will be through a Jade Shadow member. When she was younger, Edna was less coarse, and actually went adventuring with her own ragtag bunch of misfits, Adrian included. She empathizes with the party, but mostly pities them and their naive beliefs in the good of humanity. She is, at her core, greedy. She steals because she can, she's good at it, and she enjoys being surrounded by wealth, inspired by the first dragon she met. That was the day that she and Adrian, the only adventurers left in their sad little band, parted ways.

Centuries after their parting, Edna learned of an entity called The Stranger, some cloaked figure with a shovel that destroys evil wherever it may hide. She knew that her Adrian had become this creature, and while she hasn’t seen him herself, she keeps tabs on his whereabouts so that he doesn’t get in over his head. Secretly, she has vowed to find whatever entity let Adrian trade his humanity for vengeance, and find a way to kill it.

"Don't bury me with it. You can't take it with you." -The Stranger (Adrian Drake): Human Paladin(Consumption) 20, CG, In Book A cloaked entity known to most as only The Stranger, Adrian is a walking tragedy. He was once a simple mortal man, centuries ago. He was an adventurer: he slew monsters, and that was all. However, as his blade tasted innumerable foes, he lost a few too many friends. He went on quest after quest of vengeance, slaying evil creatures not because he needed to, but because he wanted to. Eventually, Adrian became consumed with his need to destroy evil, until it overcame him. Now, centuries later, The Stranger is a living shade. He has replaced his noble greatswords and fine armor with a shovel and a tattered cloak. He carries a tombstone on his back, so that when he dies, no matter where it ultimately happens, there will be some form of burial. He doesn't know what grants him his still technically divine powers anymore, and he doesn't care. The only god he waits for now is the Raven Queen. "Brinewater's not such a bad place. Look past the pirates and you'll find decent folk!" -Finnan Goodbarrel: Halfling, No Class, LG Finnan has lived his whole life in Brinewater. He knows pretty much every area of town, and nobody has any reason to dislike him. The Jade Shadow generally leaves him alone, because he's been around for just as long as they have, and his earnings are far too humble to concern them. Still, the old Halfling is wiser than anyone figures at first glance. Finnan and his wife Bree own a bar and inn, Pino's. Bree dabbles in druidcraft, and after learning that she was infertile, she Awakened a mushroom named Pino. "If you don't ever notice it's gone, did I really steal it in the first place?" -Madam Miri (Ahari Ren): Gnome Rogue (Thief), 10, CN Ahari is a true-blue child of Brinewater. She's lived in it her entire life. Therefore, she has seen the best and the worst of humanity, and associates herself with neither. She's found her way into almost every home in Brinewater, and she could do it again. Ahari spent most of her life taking only what she needed--something for the next meal, a new (to her, at least) piece of clothing. But as she grew older, Ahari became resentful. Why should these ignorant fools, whose possessions were evidently so unimportant to them that she can steal them without getting caught, even deserve them in the first place? But Ahari knows the Jade Shadow well. She isn't totally afraid of it, but she's not foolish enough to go toe-to-toe with it either. So, she resolved to come into her own legitimately. Or at least, as legitimately she feels like. Ahari has spent some time outside of Brinewater as of late, perusing dungeons and even nicking things from careless adventurers. With what she's collected, she has managed to make herself a small magical item shop, across the walkway from Finnan and Bree's inn, on the second level. "Yes, Madam, right away." Scribbler: Kenku (no class), LE Secretary to Edna, Scribbler is a quiet person. Most of their work involves taking down Edna's orders, commanding the Jade Shadow guild with Edna's voice, and carrying their replies back to her. They're also the numbers bird behind the Jade Shadow, constantly counting coins and making sure that every guild member gets what they deserve, and not a piece more. They're the more than the slightest bit uncomfortable with their position of power, but they channel Edna and use her voice whenever they're uncertain. "Lookin' to hire a boat?" Grursad Stormwell: Dwarf (no class), LN Grursad began his life as a fish out of water. Exiled from the Iron Highlands for theft, he has since found a reputable position as the dockmaster in the city of Brinewater. Grursad is, as many dwarves are, a burly man. His black beard is cropped shorter than that of most dwarves, hanging only an inch or two off his face, and coming to a point at his chin. He wears what seems to have once looked like a nice cloth shirt, but its sleeves have been not-so-gently torn off, exposing his thick arms. His left arm sports a tattoo of a rather offensive Dwarvish curse word, and the right arm is tattooed with an even more offensive Dwarvish curse word. His eyes are stern, but not over-aggressive.

Damaria:

The world's a big place. Take a sword." -Leon Firebrand: Human Fighter(Battle Master) 9, CG, In Book Leon Firebrand went through most of his life as the man with the largest sword in the room. Born a smith, he lived simply, until a man that bought a sword of his used it against the innocent. Leon, furious, made his own sword from a monstrous hunk of black steel, and killed the man, retrieving his sword. He adventured throughout the world for a while, until he was attacked by a young bronze dragon that was the victim of mind control at the time. Leon, not knowing that bronze dragons are generally good creatures, heroically charged the dragon and swung his buster sword, cutting a deep scar into the dragon's snout. The dragon came to its senses and thanked Leon's, saying that he owed him a favor. They've been travelling together ever since. Recently, Leon has set up a new smithery, Firebrand's, in the city of Damaria. Despite its strict laws, Leon and Alderion chose the city because of its bustling economy, and because it's a great place for secrets. Leon's great blade, Dragonslayer, is mounted on the wall in the shop, covered in nicks and scratches from years of use. However, the "retired" adventurer always keeps his armor polished, just in case. "When you get as old as me, you start to see the same faces on different people. That's why it's always so exciting when a new one pops up." -Adrik Ironfist: Young Bronze Dragon/Dwarf, No Class, CG Adrik Ironfist was born Alderion, and a dragon. Once he learned of his draconic superiority, he, like many bronze dragons, took great pleasure in mingling with humans. He found their petty concerns and trifling day-to-day lives endearing, and it helped him understand why creatures as weak and feeble as humans needed protection like his. Then, one day, his conceit became his comeuppance, as a band of kobolds, servants to a black dragon, invaded his coastal cave, stole his meagre pile of treasure, and, most embarrassingly, took control of his mind. He found himself assaulting a band of adventurers, and while his mind yelled at him to stop, a tall blonde man with a monstrous sword struck him in the nose. The impact was so great that it left a scar, even on his thick hide. Alderion then learned how naive he'd become, and his scar was a permanent reminder that humanoids are capable of more than most dragons know. Now Alderion spends his days as Adrik Ironfist, assistant and lover to Leon. He knows very little about forge techniques, but he carries materials from one end of the forge to the other, and he always attempts to indulge the patrons in friendly conversation. The life of a simple dwarf is easy for him, but Alderion still secretly waits for the days when he can spread his grand wings into the sky once more.

“There cannot be order when reckless mages run free in my city.” Archbishop Rolf: Human (No class), LE

Archbishop Rolf inherited the great city of Damaria from his father. Before he took over the city-state, not many knew him. However, he quickly appealed to a smaller sect of Damaria’s populace, a radical group that wished to exterminate all of the mages in the city, for the sake of order. Most Damarians want to live in peace, but his extermination of mages has become the rule that most are used to living other.

"Purity... and peace." -Lucian Senatus: Dragonborn Monk (Tranquility), 7, LG, In Book Lucian Senatus is a walking contradiction. He lives in a city that spurns mages and all creatures magical, and yet he is an essential, if small, element of maintaining the city's guard. He works as a healer for the guards, helping cure diseases and wounds. He is not necessarily under their employ, but he's a medicine man that they frequently turn to when they meet an injury they don't know how to heal. His services are of course open to the rest of the people as well. Lucian generally tries to help everyone that needs him, believing that the ability to heal others is not his to withhold. Lucian was actually born in Overturn Valley, and spent most of his childhood there. However, he wandered the world, and eventually settled in Damaria. He felt that the city needed him, as he is unaffected by its hatred of mages. He is a pacifist by nature, and will help anyone that comes to him, if he can. He doesn't like to give information about who he heals, but if the party learns of his country of origin, he'll attempt to give them some insight about it.

“My grandpa’s theory sounds crazy, but I have to believe it.”

Brenna Beren, Gnome (no class) NG:

Brenna is the granddaughter of Sergius Beren, a gnome whose life’s work was compiling a grand theory on the origins of the world and its current state. He studied ancient texts and did archaeology all over the continent, and found ruins or mentions of societies that had no modern continuations. What was even more puzzling is that they referred to major geographic features, like mountains and lakes, that simply did not exist. Further study of past religions led Sergius to conclude that vast chunks of this planet had simply vanished, in a great calamity he dubbed “The Shattering.”

Brenna grew up hearing of her grandfather’s theories as he pieced them together, waiting for him to come home and tell her about his newest piece of research. When she came of age, they studied it together, though by then, Sergius’ theory had become mostly complete. The old gnome’s golden years were behind him, though, and he passed away, handing his theory down to Brenna. She has kept it well and expanded upon it when need be. She used to manage a library in Damaria, but ever since contact with the party, the only people in Damaria interested in her grandfather’s theory, she had to leave it behind. She laments the loss of one of the greatest centers of knowledge on the continent, but she has saved all she can, and is beginning to recreate her beloved library in Clearsky Hideout, where the party has left her. "Do you require my assistance?" Archmage Amon: Human Wizard (Abjuration), 18, CG Archmage Amon hides in plain sight. As a powerful mage living in Damaria, the least safe place for people like him, he initially took a lot of precautions in setting up his living space, spending years creating complex illusions. But as time's gone on, he's become rather complacent, taking to hiding in plain sight. Most every day, he dresses up in robes and walks in the town square to study the Fire Eternal. He's utterly fascinated by its origin, and very few things can tear him away from that pursuit. However, if confronted with an interesting enough thing to research, or a cause that desperately requires his aid, Amon will reluctantly tear himself away from the Fire Eternal to lend a hand. He's bookish, but businesslike. He's extremely skilled at minimizing the amount of time that he has to interact with someone, unless they've proven themselves worthy of his attention or friendship. Such relationships are ones that he doesn't seek, though, and he makes them very rarely.

Vesura:

“”

Queen Lenora Ves: Half-Elven Vampire, LE (In Book)

One of Vesura’s queens, vampire. Always wears red.

“”

Queen Alvina Ves: Human Vampire, LE (In Book)

Other Vesura queen, vampire. Always wears white.

Ravenna:

“I hate being a politician, which is why I must do it.”

Darius Drake, Human Paladin (Vengeance, Raven Queen), 12, NG (In Book)

Darius Drake was born to inherit the leadership of Ravenna, but since he was so far down the line of succession, he spent his early life wandering the realm, caring for little. However, he was still pure of heart, and he rid the land of evil where he could. He grew strong, and even became part of a roaming group of adventurers. They had grand adventures together, but eventually the other members grew old or died in battle, and Darius was one of the last to leave the band. He returned home to Ravenna, and took an elven princess as his wife. They lived happily together for a time, and the marriage produced a son. However, his wife soon fell ill, and Darius was tasked with being the lord of the city and a father all alone. Darius’ goddess, the Raven Queen, called him in for one last favor, and Darius was eager to adventure once more, even if alone. The Queen had learned of an entity that had delayed its own death by centuries, and even though it didn’t seem to harm the world, she still wished to preserve the cycle of life and death. Darius took up the task, but was met by his famed ancestor, Adrian Drake. They fought, and Darius lost, but Adrian spared his life in exchange for the Queen’s begrudging pardon of his crimes against the natural cycle of life and death. Adrian promised both the Queen and Darius that he would allow himself to die, but not quite yet. Darius returned home, now ready to retire. However, his son Jason, suddenly fully grown, told Darius that he wished to travel the world as his father did, and to track the lineage of the great Drake family, particularly the first Drake, a man Darius now knew to be Adrian. Darius couldn’t refuse, but he worried that Jason would get in over his head and learn of the awful fate that had become of their ancestor.

“That glimmer of hope you see… that’s me.”

Jason Drake: Half-Elven Paladin (Devotion, Pelor), 6, NG (In Book)

Jason Drake was born in his father’s shadow, but he quickly became determined to shine brighter than his dad. He studied hard and honestly, displaying excellent mastery with books as well as weapons, though his instructors said that his fighting style was quite peculiar. Nevertheless, Jason excelled, and when it came time for him to commit to a deity, he chose Pelor, the god of purity and light, that he might banish the darkness that surrounds his father and their lineage. Finally, he seeks the first Drake, the legendary hero who, centuries ago, roamed the land and sought out evil wherever he could find it. Legend has it, the First Drake established Ravenna, but his tale has no conclusion, for he mysteriously disappeared four centuries ago. Jason is determined to retrace his ancestor’s footsteps and discover what happened to his lineage, though he knows not what awaits him at the end of that path…

The Triple Peaks

“These peaks are older than memory.”

Gae-al Coldheaven: Goliath, no class, NG

Gae-al is the chief of the Cold Heaven tribe that resides on the southern base of the middle of the Triple Peaks. She was essentially forced into the role of chief, ever since the previous chief and the tribe’s elders disappeared on their yearly pilgrimage to the other side of the peak. She doesn’t fully understand the tribe’s traditions, but she respects the ruins of the ancient monasteries. Keothi was elected by her people, but she worries if she is enough, and if she will be able to keep the tribe fed and alive through the upcoming winter.

Worldsend

“Welcome… to the end of the world.”

Elder Norden, Human, no class, LG

Elder Norden is the leader of the small tribe of guardians who live in Worldsend. He’s been a watcher of the tribe for the last sixty years, and was very worried when the acolytes of the Cold Heaven tribe stopped coming.

[adriwatchingin-blog]

Finals Movie Discussion

Introduction

Philippine movies came a long way from Un Homme Au Chapeau (Man with a Hat) which is the first film ever shown in the Philippines and José Nepomuceno's Dalagang Bukid (Country Maiden) in 1919 in which the first film ever made by a Filipino to the present day in the movies such as “Hello, Love, Goodbye” and “Ulan”. The Philippine cinema evolved from time to time it could be affected by the status of the Filipinos for example: Marcos’ regime and his tyrannical way towards Filipinos in the Martial Law or another, the modern appeal especially to the millenial and Gen-Z generation with the love genre and heartbreaks. 

The movies that we are going to discuss this time are cinemalaya films; Sid and Aya, Meet me in St. Gallen, Ulan, ML, and Kisapmata. Cinemalaya films are short videos produced for the film festival that happens annually during the months of July and August with the aim of promoting and producing Filipino independent films where only 10 “finalists” are chosen from hundreds of submissions in the Philippines and are shown during the festival. The genres mostly shown during these films and shown to the films we will be reviewing are; romance, drama, comedy, and horror films. It is in these genres that can be shown about the similarities of how Filipinos would make their base as to how they write and present their films to the audience. Since these genres appeal in the Filipino audience, they base their movies in such ways.

Discussion

Sid and Aya

Sid and Aya is a movie about two characters who are currently having their own personal problems. Sid is a businessman who is suffering from insomnia. Aya is a woman who works multiple part-time jobs to solve her financial problems that is connected with her family. One night Sid met Aya, and hires her to keep him company during his sleepless nights. As the title suggests, it really is not a love story. It may seem like it during the first parts of the movie. But as you progress through the movie, the story is more focused on the character development that the two characters give to each other as they interact with each other. The thing that caught my eyes most of the time were the scenes that took place at the amusement park. Usually when the movie uses this setting, it is full of colors. It symbolized that the emotions of the two characters are stirring up, and they will share something personal about themselves. They agreed that their relationship is strictly business and that she’ll get paid to hang around him. But the more they get together, the deeper their relationship becomes, an example of this kind of scene is when Sid told Aya in the amusement park that he will propose to his girlfriend, and that they should go back to just being friends.

It shows the importance of being sincere and honest with other people on how you feel and what you think. It shows that we need to think before we act. It tells us that money really can’t buy you happiness. We need to focus on the little things such as memories and the moments we spend with people we care about, not just wanting them to stay to make you feel safe or feel better about yourself.

Meet me in St. Gallen

Meet me in St. Gallen is about two people who met one night, coincidentally, with both being in a very bad mood. Jesse Abaya is a musician, whose parents disapprove of him being one, calling him an embarrassment. Celeste Francisco is a graphic artist who got fed up with her boss’ demands and decided to quit. Celeste thought at first that Jesse was stalking her, but he cleared it up that he just saw how brave she was and wanted to talk to her, someone who was also in a bad mood. The two would soon spend the night together that will get them stuck in each others thoughts for a long time. The whole movie would be based on their discussion of destiny and true love but would get caught up in each other’s life and hopes in dreams. The plot was primarily based on their discussion of Celeste’s aunt love life; of her childhood sweetheart meeting her after years after the fact that she had already wed few years prior, as a foreshadowing as to how it would end up themselves as their lives start to change for the better.

It had a good portrayal of real life events that happen to most people who get attached and wants a friend or a lover to stay for the longest time. It mirrors real life in the way that when even if a person gets attached to another person, it does not mean that that person will stay forever in your life. Sometimes, some encounters are just by chance. To help us figure out what we want and what he have to fix in our lives. Sometimes, people are just really there to give you a push to become better. We all have a role in everyone’s lives, but not everyone gets to stay.

Ulan

Ulan is a 2019 movie directed by Irene Villamor about a girl named Maya (Nadine Lustre) with a consistent unfortunate events about love. One time she visited her crush since College but was heartbroken when she found out that the person she likes already have a family. She met another guy at a wedding in which his best friend works as the brides wedding designer. The boy which treats her like a princess  her as a princess and and told her fairytale like promises which sounded superficial. It is a lip service but sounds resounding. Maya falls for him and hoped that they would stay together longer however finding out that this prince guy was not really that serious in that relationship which led to Maya getting rejected and heartbroken once again. She swore never to cry again about love or to fall easily anymore.

There is constant transition back and forth of her past and present with that mixture of reality and fantasy /  symbolic elements here and there. One scene is the superstition as told by many elderly is when it is raining while it is sunny, the aswang called Tikbalang are getting married. Maya’s Grandmother told her granddaughter that it is raining because the heavens are against their marriage thus punishing them. It is also because of Maya’s bizarre imagination as a kid, the Tikbalang replied in a soft, sweet tone and told the young Maya that no one can severe a true love even if it the heavens are against you. Another superstitious belief her grandmother told her is eggs can stop the rain. Maya asked this to the teacher which led to her getting bullied. But one boy stood up for her that made it look like he is “the one” .  Yet the expectation turned into a bitter twist showing you are not the person meant to be with the person you love.

When I first saw the title, I thought it was intriguing, it is just one word signifying rain but it could mean many things. It could mean hopelessness, heartbreak, bitterness, or hope, or love? Who knows, I will still search it up. I saw it, the main character is Maya which is portrayed by Nadine Lustre, now I was biased at first, I saw Nadine, it could be one of those generic Romantic Comedy settings perhaps? I was wrong. I thought it would be too shallow but honestly it was focusing on much more depth especially with the fantasy and symbolism element incorporated with the young character’s wild imagination making the atmosphere feel odd yet relatable. Maya has been through constant heartbreaks and honestly I could relate it to our environment especially with the current global warming status. We could see the selfless love we had from nature yet we chose to put it aside and love superficial elements 

ML

ML is a recently released film in 2018 and clearly portrays the lifestyle and ideals shown during Martial Law. The movie focuses on Carlo a typical millennial jock, was given an assignment to research Martial Law but soon goes wrong when he tries to interview a former Colonel during the time of Martial Law. When Carlo tries to interview the Colonel he soon ends up getting kidnapped by the Colonel and have him tortured in his basement. The delusional Colonel had him tortured by having him gagged and tied up so he could not escape and soon starts with the Colonel removing his toenails one by one going back and forth with Carlo screaming in pain and the Colonel asking questions that did not make sense to him and soon even dragging his friend and girlfriend to be tortured after being lured in as well. Soon only Carlo and his girlfriend Pat was the only ones who escaped while his friend Jaze was the only one killed and thrown to the pavement to look like a casualty from drugs. Carlo and Pat reported the case but the colonel was acquitted of having no substantial evidence. Carlo wanting revenge returns to the colonel’s home having him found him dead in his sleep. The colonel portrayed in the movie is a delusional retired soldier who still thinks that martial is still being continually done performs his duty of torturing Carlo. Carlo is portrayed as a typical millennial who thinks and argues that Martial Law was actually a good thing that happened to the Filipino people. But the film shows what was actually like during martial law and clearly shows how “unlawful torture” was done during Martial Law.

Kisapmata

Kisapmata is a 1980s movie focusing on three main characters Dadong Carandang, a retired police officer and the father of Mila Carandang, his daughter and Noel Manalansan, Mila’s husband. The movie is about an over possessive father as he tries to control Mila so that she would not leave his sight and never allowing her to leave his house. When Mila soon fell in love with Noel they decide to go towards Dadong in hopes that he would accept their marriage. Initially Dadong didn’t approve of it, but soon allows it when they found out that Mila was pregnant as well as the condition of Noel having to pay a very costly dowry as well as the one paying for their luxurious wedding. After the wedding Dadong had both of them stay within their house and to have them sleep separately with the excuse of having Mila take care of her sick mother, Dely. The couple becoming miserable had tried their efforts to escape the house but to soon be hunted by Dadong even going so far as to make compromises to have them continue to stay. The couple soon ends up having to return back to the house to get back their belongings only to have Dadong pleading with Mila not to leave. It would soon reveal that Dadong and her daughter Mila had an incestrous relationship and was the one who got her pregnant. But when Mila and Noel still firm on leaving, Dadong brings out his gun and kills everyone, finally shooting himself.

Comparisons

All of the movies had personal problems, each of the characters portrayed problems that they tried to solve with themselves or having someone help them overcome their obstacles with them. Most of the movies also had gullible characters within them, they would be easily tricked into doing something unusual to meet their goals. Such as seen in Sid and Aya; Aya being hired to company Sid when trying to sleep, Ulan when Maya is tricking herself to solve herself as to not needing love to cover her loneliness, and Kisapmata when Mika and her husband is tricked into staying and coming back to their father’s home despite knowing the situation between them. There are various differences between them such as the circumstances and personalities between them and the end result where most were led to unsatisfying or a bad end result. But the most common is that all of them had personal problems that had to deal with and having it end up affecting others as a result.

Criticism on Philippine Film

Philippine films are mostly based on the genres of romance, comedy, drama and horror but the common thing between them is that they have a peculiar or odd thing about them that causes them to meet with another person as the sort of destiny to help them go through their problems or fail as a result. Most Philippine romance films would show have a similar plot as a sort of destiny at work that would cause them to meet. Compared to other films such as western films where the protagonist of the film, though would have a peculiarity that would differentiate them from others, would at most work through their situation themselves or have a guide or teacher to help them through and be the better version of themselves. Unlike in Philippine films where the former and latter need each other to improve themselves.

Conclusion

Philippine films are generally based on the four genres romance, comedy, drama and horror because they are primarily based on the idea of self-improvement and creating relationships. They create the movies that had terrible endings as a statement to the audience to have them make better values when making relationships with others as well avoid making mistakes similarly to their characters. It is also a way for these films to appeal to the Philippine audience to make it appear to have realism or similarities to our everyday lives. It is also their way for the films to be enjoyed as well reflect on the mistakes and values shown.

[araitsume]

Prophets and Kings, pp. 539-548: Chapter (44) In the Lions’ Den

This chapter is based on Daniel 6.

When Darius the Median took the throne formerly occupied by the Babylonian rulers, he at once proceeded to reorganize the government. He “set over the kingdom an hundred and twenty princes; ... and over these three presidents; of whom Daniel was first: that the princes might give accounts unto them, and the king should have no damage. Then this Daniel was preferred above the presidents and princes, because an excellent spirit was in him; and the king thought to set him over the whole realm.”

The honors bestowed upon Daniel excited the jealousy of the leading men of the kingdom, and they sought for occasion of complaint against him. But they could find none, “forasmuch as he was faithful, neither was there any error or fault found in him.”

Daniel's blameless conduct excited still further the jealousy of his enemies. “We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel,” they were constrained to acknowledge, “except we find it against him concerning the law of his God.”

Thereupon the presidents and princes, counseling together, devised a scheme whereby they hoped to accomplish the prophet's destruction. They determined to ask the king to sign a decree which they should prepare, forbidding any person in the realm to ask anything of God or man, except of Darius the king, for the space of thirty days. A violation of this decree should be punished by casting the offender into a den of lions.

Accordingly, the princes prepared such a decree, and presented it to Darius for his signature. Appealing to his vanity, they persuaded him that the carrying out of this edict would add greatly to his honor and authority. Ignorant of the subtle purpose of the princes, the king did not discern their animosity as revealed in the decree, and, yielding to their flattery, he signed it.

The enemies of Daniel left the presence of Darius, rejoicing over the snare now securely laid for the servant of Jehovah. In the conspiracy thus formed, Satan had played an important part. The prophet was high in command in the kingdom, and evil angels feared that his influence would weaken their control over its rulers. It was these satanic agencies who had stirred the princes to envy and jealousy; it was they who had inspired the plan for Daniel's destruction; and the princes, yielding themselves as instruments of evil, carried it into effect.

The prophet's enemies counted on Daniel's firm adherence to principle for the success of their plan. And they were not mistaken in their estimate of his character. He quickly read their malignant purpose in framing the decree, but he did not change his course in a single particular. Why should he cease to pray now, when he most needed to pray? Rather would he relinquish life itself, than his hope of help in God. With calmness he performed his duties as chief of the princes; and at the hour of prayer he went to his chamber, and with his windows open toward Jerusalem, in accordance with his usual custom, he offered his petition to the God of heaven. He did not try to conceal his act. Although he knew full well the consequences of his fidelity to God, his spirit faltered not. Before those who were plotting his ruin, he would not allow it even to appear that his connection with Heaven was severed. In all cases where the king had a right to command, Daniel would obey; but neither the king nor his decree could make him swerve from allegiance to the King of kings.  

Thus the prophet boldly yet quietly and humbly declared that no earthly power has a right to interpose between the soul and God. Surrounded by idolaters, he was a faithful witness to this truth. His dauntless adherence to right was a bright light in the moral darkness of that heathen court. Daniel stands before the world today a worthy example of Christian fearlessness and fidelity.

For an entire day the princes watched Daniel. Three times they saw him go to his chamber, and three times they heard his voice lifted in earnest intercession to God. The next morning they laid their complaint before the king. Daniel, his most honored and faithful statesman, had set the royal decree at defiance. “Hast thou not signed a decree,” they reminded him, “that every man that shall ask a petition of any god or man within thirty days, save of thee, O king, shall be cast into the den of lions?”

“The thing is true,” the king answered, “according to the law of the Medes and Persians, which altereth not.”

Exultantly they now informed Darius of the conduct of his most trusted adviser. “That Daniel, which is of the children of the captivity of Judah,” they exclaimed, “regardeth not thee, O king, nor the decree that thou hast signed, but maketh his petition three times a day.”

When the monarch heard these words, he saw at once the snare that had been set for his faithful servant. He saw that it was not zeal for kingly glory and honor, but jealousy against Daniel, that had led to the proposal for a royal decree. “Sore displeased with himself” for his part in the evil that had been wrought, he “labored till the going down of the sun” to deliver his friend. The princes, anticipating this effort on the part of the king, came to him with the words, “Know, O king, that the law of the Medes and Persians is, that no decree nor statute which the king establisheth may be changed.” The decree, though rashly made, was unalterable and must be carried into effect.

“Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions. Now the king spake and said unto Daniel, Thy God whom thou servest continually, He will deliver thee.” A stone was laid on the mouth of the den, and the king himself “sealed it with his own signet, and with the signet of his lords; that the purpose might not be changed concerning Daniel. Then the king went to his palace, and passed the night fasting: neither were instruments of music brought before him: and his sleep went from him.”

God did not prevent Daniel's enemies from casting him into the lions’ den; He permitted evil angels and wicked men thus far to accomplish their purpose; but it was that He might make the deliverance of His servant more marked, and the defeat of the enemies of truth and righteousness more complete. “Surely the wrath of man shall praise Thee” (Psalm 76:10), the psalmist has testified. Through the courage of this one man who chose to follow right rather than policy, Satan was to be defeated, and the name of God was to be exalted and honored.

Early the next morning King Darius hastened to the den and “cried with a lamentable voice,” “O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?”

The voice of the prophet replied: “O king, live forever. My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions’ mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt.

“Then was the king exceeding glad for him, and commanded that they should take Daniel up out of the den. So Daniel was taken up out of the den, and no manner of hurt was found upon him, because he believed in his God.

“And the king commanded, and they brought those men which had accused Daniel, and they cast them into the den of lions, them, their children, and their wives; and the lions had the mastery of them, and brake all their bones in pieces or ever they came at the bottom of the den.”

Once more a proclamation was issued by a heathen ruler, exalting the God of Daniel as the true God. “King Darius wrote unto all people, nations, and languages, that dwell in all the earth; Peace be multiplied unto you. I make a decree, that in every dominion of my kingdom men tremble and fear before the God of Daniel: for He is the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed, and His dominion shall be even unto the end. He delivereth and rescueth, and He worketh signs and wonders in heaven and in earth, who hath delivered Daniel from the power of the lions.”

The wicked opposition to God's servant was now completely broken. “Daniel prospered in the reign of Darius, and in the reign of Cyrus the Persian.” And through association with him, these heathen monarchs were constrained to acknowledge his God as “the living God, and steadfast forever, and His kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.”

From the story of Daniel's deliverance we may learn that in seasons of trial and gloom God's children should be just what they were when their prospects were bright with hope and their surroundings all that they could desire. Daniel in the lions’ den was the same Daniel who stood before the king as chief among the ministers of state and as a prophet of the Most High. A man whose heart is stayed upon God will be the same in the hour of his greatest trial as he is in prosperity, when the light and favor of God and of man beam upon him. Faith reaches to the unseen, and grasps eternal realities.

Heaven is very near those who suffer for righteousness’ sake. Christ identifies His interests with the interests of His faithful people; He suffers in the person of His saints, and whoever touches His chosen ones touches Him. The power that is near to deliver from physical harm or distress is also near to save from the greater evil, making it possible for the servant of God to maintain his integrity under all circumstances, and to triumph through divine grace.

The experience of Daniel as a statesman in the kingdoms of Babylon and Medo-Persia reveals the truth that a businessman is not necessarily a designing, policy man, but that he may be a man instructed by God at every step. Daniel, the prime minister of the greatest of earthly kingdoms, was at the same time a prophet of God, receiving the light of heavenly inspiration. A man of like passions as ourselves, the pen of inspiration describes him as without fault. His business transactions, when subjected to the closest scrutiny of his enemies, were found to be without one flaw. He was an example of what every businessman may become when his heart is converted and consecrated, and when his motives are right in the sight of God.

Strict compliance with the requirements of Heaven brings temporal as well as spiritual blessings. Unwavering in his allegiance to God, unyielding in his mastery of self, Daniel, by his noble dignity and unswerving integrity, while yet a young man, won the “favor and tender love” of the heathen officer in whose charge he had been placed. Daniel 1:9. The same characteristics marked his afterlife. He rose speedily to the position of prime minister of the kingdom of Babylon. Through the reign of successive monarchs, the downfall of the nation, and the establishment of another world empire, such were his wisdom and statesmanship, so perfect his tact, his courtesy, his genuine goodness of heart, his fidelity to principle, that even his enemies were forced to the confession that “they could find none occasion nor fault; forasmuch as he was faithful.”

Honored by men with the responsibilities of state and with the secrets of kingdoms bearing universal sway, Daniel was honored by God as His ambassador, and was given many revelations of the mysteries of ages to come. His wonderful prophecies, as recorded by him in chapters 7 to 12 of the book bearing his name, were not fully understood even by the prophet himself; but before his life labors closed, he was given the blessed assurance that “at the end of the days”—in the closing period of this world's history—he would again be permitted to stand in his lot and place. It was not given him to understand all that God had revealed of the divine purpose. “Shut up the words, and seal the book,” he was directed concerning his prophetic writings; these were to be sealed “even to the time of the end.” “Go thy way, Daniel,” the angel once more directed the faithful messenger of Jehovah; “for the words are closed up and sealed till the time of the end.... Go thou thy way till the end be: for thou shalt rest, and stand in thy lot at the end of the days.” Daniel 12:4, 9, 13.

As we near the close of this world's history, the prophecies recorded by Daniel demand our special attention, as they relate to the very time in which we are living. With them should be linked the teachings of the last book of the New Testament Scriptures. Satan has led many to believe that the prophetic portions of the writings of Daniel and of John the revelator cannot be understood. But the promise is plain that special blessing will accompany the study of these prophecies. “The wise shall understand” (verse 10), was spoken of the visions of Daniel that were to be unsealed in the latter days; and of the revelation that Christ gave to His servant John for the guidance of God's people all through the centuries, the promise is, “Blessed is he that readeth, and they that hear the words of this prophecy, and keep those things which are written therein.” Revelation 1:3.

From the rise and fall of nations as made plain in the books of Daniel and the Revelation, we need to learn how worthless is mere outward and worldly glory. Babylon, with all its power and magnificence, the like of which our world has never since beheld,—power and magnificence which to the people of that day seemed so stable and enduring,—how completely has it passed away! As “the flower of the grass,” it has perished. James 1:10. So perished the Medo-Persian kingdom, and the kingdoms of Grecia and Rome. And so perishes all that has not God for its foundation. Only that which is bound up with His purpose, and expresses His character, can endure. His principles are the only steadfast things our world knows.

A careful study of the working out of God's purpose in the history of nations and in the revelation of things to come, will help us to estimate at their true value things seen and things unseen, and to learn what is the true aim of life. Thus, viewing the things of time in the light of eternity, we may, like Daniel and his fellows, live for that which is true and noble and enduring. And learning in this life the principles of the kingdom of our Lord and Saviour, that blessed kingdom which is to endure for ever and ever, we may be prepared at His coming to enter with Him into its possession.

[imogengraceportfolio]

Film Studies Coursework- Imogen Mair

An exploration of Tim Burton’s auteur signature and the branding term “burtonesque”.

 According to Nelmes in ‘Film Studies: The Essential Resource’ an auteur is “an individual, inevitably the director, whose contribution to a film’s style and theme is considered so significant that he or she can be considered the ‘author’ of the film. Tim Burton is already an established auteur with a distinctive appearance to his films. In the words of Mark Salisbury the editor of the book ‘Burton on Burton’, “Tim Burton has transformed from being a visionary director with the Midas touch to becoming an identifiable brand; the term 'Burtonesque’ being ascribed to any filmmaker whose work is dark, edgy or quirky, or a combination thereof’. Adding to Tim Burtons’ auteur status Mark Salisbury argues that Tim Burtons “signature” transcends his own films and inspires others with his distinctive style. I am going to be exploring this perspective through an analysis of the films; Edward Scissorhands(1990), Beetlejuice(1988), Sweeney Todd: The Demon Barber of Fleet Street(2007).

 One of the most distinguishable “burtonesque” elements of these films is the narrative, as all of the films appear to share the same characteristics when it comes to characters, environments etc. Firstly the main character in all of these films can be described as a misunderstood outsider, this is made the most clear in Edward Scissorhands as his peculiarities are shown with appearance as well as behavior. Tim Burton’s attraction to these types of characters stems from an autobiographical perspective as he said in the book ‘The Monster and the Crowd: A Post-Jungian Perspective’ “I get the feeling people just got this urge to want to leave me alone for some reason. I don’t exactly know why.” Frank Beaver describes Tim burton’s narrative style in the article ‘Tim Burton: auteur fantastique’ as “dark and expressive tailoring- a trait that has characterized all of Burton’s screen work. He has consistently been drawn to the macabre, and every aspect of his productions from plot to settings to lighting, costumes and makeup, contribute to his cinematic vision.” Tim Burton’s narratives normally contain an abnormal outsider as a main protagonist that is typically relatable to a certain audience, placed in fantasy environments that add to the absurd nature of his films.

 In relation to the narrative another key characteristic of Tim Burton’s films is the characters and to always have this alienated protagonist (shown in Edward Scissorhands). Yvonne Tasker in ‘Fifty Contemporary Filmmakers’ describes the characters of Edward Scissorhands and Lydia Deetz as “transitional” in Lydia’s case “a child-woman” and similarly in Edwards case a “half-finished physical state renders him an in-between”. This “archetype” is shown to be autobiographical to Tim Burton and to appeal and be relatable to a select audience of people likeminded to Burton himself. Despite gaining larger audiences and becoming a household name as an auteur Burton still uses the same types of outsider protagonists rather than attempt to appeal to all audiences, this defines his signature on his films as they stick to his original “brand”. Niamh Coghlan in the article ‘A massive retrospective bringing together hundreds of artworks and film-related objects tracing the trajectory of Tim Burton’s creative imagination’ says “visually his characters tend to be fractured in appearance, distorted in size, and aesthetically disturbing” this is again shown in Edward Scissorhands as his appearance is “fractured” due to the scissors for hands and numerous scars lining his face as well as the black clothing that stands out against the pastel colours of the suburban area, as well as the clothing the other characters wear which are also bright pastel colours.

On the character of Edward Scissorhands Tim Burton said “he has this kind of naïve quality which as you get older gets tested and has holes poked into it” this shows how Burton chooses to have the main characters have vulnerabilities and flaws as outsiders again choosing to direct films his own “burtonesque” way rather than have perfect less dimensional characters.

Tim Burton’s ‘stereotypical’ character appearance is at it’s peak in Sweeney Todd as both the main protagonists (Sweeney Todd and Mrs Lovett) are in full gothic ensemble costumes with white pale skin, erratic hair and sunken eyes. The appearances of these characters can also be compared to those of Lydia Deetz and Beetlejuice as they share the pale white skin, and dark eyes, Lydia Deetz also wears similar gothic clothing in all black, whereas Beetlejuice has a black and white striped suit, similar to that of Sweeney Todd in Mrs Lovett’s ‘Seaside Fantasy’ scene. Beetlejuice’s eyes are further exaggerated with a theatrical face paint appearance rather than the other characters’ more natural approach. Winona Ryder’s character Kim in Edward Scissorhands has a completely different appearance as for the character of Kim, Tim Burton chose to make her more suburban looking as her character in this film isn’t an outsider, the blonde hair and natural makeup are a change from Tim Burton’s signature character looks.

 Tim Burton is also identified by his preferences in terms of casting as those cast in a lot of his films include Helena Bonham-Carter, Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder all of which share the similar appearance of pale skin and dark sunken eyes and hair. Tim Burton explains casting Winona Ryder as Kim in Edward Scissorhands saying “she’s one of my favourites. Also she responds to this kind of dark material and I thought the idea of her as a cheerleader, wearing a blonde wig, was very funny.” The appearance of Winona Ryder’s character in this film is the polar opposite to her other role as Lydia Deetz in Beetlejuice. Burton also describes why he chose Johnny Depp for the role of Edward Scissorhands with “I like people’s eyes a lot especially with a character like this who doesn’t really speak, eyes are very important. We wanted him right from the beginning.” Burton plays up his usual character appearance with Johnny Depp in this role as Edward is one of the most recognizable outcasts in his Filmography and uses Depp’s appearance to his advantage. Johnny Depp is then cast again by Burton in Sweeney Todd a film Frank Beaver said “offered up Burton and Johnny Depp at their most macabre extremes.” As Burton chooses and directs projects with similar narratives and characters he also chooses to cast people he is familiar with and have a passion for the project over and over as he says in ‘Burton on Burton’ “I try to work with people who want to do what I want to do” this is also the case with Helena Bonham-Carter and Winona Ryder. Burton describes the casting process for his films as a “very case-by-case thing for me. It’s hard because it’s like a puzzle. You go with one person, then you try to find another person, but you don’t want to go too much in a certain direction” when casting Beetlejuice he said that “I met Michael and that’s when I started to see the character of Beetlejuice. I didn’t know him that well, I didn’t know his work, but he’s crazy. Michael is manic, a livewire”. Tim Burton makes it clear that he doesn’t like to cast people who are popular in mainstream media and prefers to choose people who themselves are outcasts and have something to relate to the characters with.

The most obvious branding of ‘burtonesque’ in Burton’s films is the mise-en-scene, a mixture of surreal fantasy gothic visuals that give his works the ocular link audiences recognize. This distinguishable appearance is clearly displayed in the pastel coloured suburbia of Edward Scissorhands although fantasy appearing the pastel colours of the houses and clothes show the mundane lives those in the suburbia live in comparison to Edward as they have no individual identity. This is also autobiographical to Burton as he says “growing up in suburbia was like growing up in a place where there’s no sense of history, no sense of culture, no sense of passion for anything”. Visually Burton alienates Edward Scissorhands character by giving him a black leather and PVC costume and a dark gothic castle on a hill as a home as a very clear contrast from the coloured houses of the suburbia he soon finds himself in. Tim burton describes Edward Scissorhands as being “seen from Edward’s point of view, a slightly more romanticized view of the world. I like dark colours better, but they weren’t too dissimilar from what was already there. And although the production designer Bo Welch ainted all the houses different colours, it was important to me that the area still remain a community. We hardly touched the insides of the houses. What you see is pretty much what was there.” Burton through Edward Scissorhands shows that he doesn’t need to colour scheme all of his films to be in dark colours like the blue and black colour palette of Sweeney Todd he can incorporate pastel shades and his work ‘Beetlejuice’ according to Yvonne Tasker “employed self-consciously ‘cheesy’ special effects (delivered on a mini-budget in relative terms)” Burton’s “brand” is so unique that a still at any point of any of his films can be recognized as one of his works. Burton said of Beetlejuice “we wanted the effects to be kind of cheesy, and they were. We just tried to be fairly matter-of-fact about it. I didn’t want to make too much of a show of it, in a way.” this is meticulously achieved with Bo Welch with the sandworm scene and the waiting room scenes as the characters involved are suitably both low budget looking creations as well as typical Tim Burton style. Such as a man who travels through a gap on the wall attached to a coat hanger-like contraption and a man with a shrunken head that fittingly looks low budget and not realistic at all staying true to this style. Yvonne Tasker says of the special effects “the effects and imagery are firmly integrated within the fantasy world, as in the comic/grotesque physical transformations of Beetlejuice”. Burton says of Beetlejuice “I always had my own ideas about the way it should be: if there’s darkness there should be colour and light. Beetlejuice was a real mix of colour and dark to me, and I wanted to temper a lot of the darker aspects and make it a bit more colourful.” Tim Burton successfully does this throughout the film even with characters mixing the bright Miss America’s appearance of blue skin and bright pink hair with the more macabre reason for being there of suicide. There are similarities within costume between the characters Lydia Deetz and Mrs Lovett as they both dress in dark colours and all black ensembles with the exception of a bright red outfit in both films for Lydia this is her wedding dress which is an entirely bright red outfit a stark contrast to her previous costumes, for Mrs Lovett this outfit is when she has her fantasy of herself and Sweeney on a pier where she is wearing a red and white polka dot and striped outfit complete with a matching umbrella. These similarities also spread to the characters of Beetlejuice and Sweeney Todd both adopting similar black and white striped outfits Burton comments on this in relation to Beetlejuice “As far as the black and white stripes are concerned, that one I have never been able to figure out. I guess there must be some sort of prison element involved in there somehow. I am drawn to that image, I always have been, it’s in a lot of drawings as well, but I don’t know why.”

 Finally there is the soundtrack that completes any Tim Burton film, both the soundtracks for Beetlejuice and Edward Scissorhands were written and arranged by Danny Elfman another one of Tim Burton’s favourites to collaborate with off camera scoring many of his films. Sweeney Todd however being part musical Burton collaborated with Sondheim the 1979 musical adaptation’s music composer. Tim Burton says of Beetlejuice’s soundtrack “the soundtrack also featured two calypso songs from Harry Belafonte, including the ‘Banana Boat Song’, which became the film’s unofficial theme tune” this scene of according to Tim Burton “Adam and Barbara being on vacation and this kind of calypso music which I liked” brings the blatant comedy into the film again rather than the comedy/drama mix of the previous events. Making the film although more “crude” than Tim Burton’s other films, universal to all audiences furthering his mark as an auteur who is a household family name. (Struggling to find sources that comment on Tim Burton’s use of sound)

 In conclusion Tim Burton is by definition an established auteur as many agree that his films have a distinctive appearance throughout his choices in casting, colour, costume, narrative and sound, giving them a distinguished “look” branded as ‘burtonesque’ by many. His auteur status is so great it has become a household name, a line from Frank Beaver’s article ‘Tim Burton: Auteur Fantastique’ states that “after 25 years of feature-film directing, Tim Burton certainly merits auteur status” more recent films such as Sweeney Todd demonstrate that even though many years have passed since earlier films such as Beetlejuice his auteur signature is still identifiable. Despite creating films for separate audiences for example child and young adult upwards, showcased with the heartwarming family aspects of Edward Scissorhands contrasted with the more macabre horror aspects of Sweeny Todd. Burton still remains a director both child and adult alike recognize, his films such as Edward Scissorhands have a universal appeal when shown to audiences, that both the children and adults equally enjoy such narratives and visuals. Even darker films such as Sweeney Todd and the more comical Beetlejuice are still very successful despite being produced on varying budgets the Tim Burton “signature” is still there showing that there is more to his style than fancy Hollywood Special Effects, the fantasy and dramatic elements paired with the characters make his style truly unique, gaining him a cult following as well as mainstream popularity.

  Annotated Catalogue

Introduction

•          Film Studies The Essential Resource- Peter Bennett, Andrew Hickman and Peter Wall. Chapter 6 Quote by Nelmes 1996.

•          Tim Burton: Auteur Fantastique- Frank Beaver May 12th 2010

•          Burton on Burton revised edition Foreword- Johnny Depp Edited- Mark Salisbury written- Tim Burton (first published revised edition 2000 copy I own published 2006)

Narrative

•          The Monster and the Crowd: A Post-Jungian Perspective- Tim burton published 2006 (December 16th)

•          Tim Burton: Auteur Fantastique- Frank Beaver May 12th 2010

Characters

[pa0231benjaminhall]

Essay structure (200 words over max )

My short story is about three flies Juan, who is confident, strong minded, stubborn and has no sense of humour.

 Miguel who is constantly depressed, he is also a womaniser that is extremely lazy.

 Lopez who is constantly eating, he is very hyperactive and talks constantly.

Juan is a fly that has lived most of its life in a human corps at the end of a sewage pipe with his brothers and sisters. He hears from one brother senor sabio of a place called the white house, it is said to be found at the other end of the pipe. Legends about creature the size of their home, gods that will grant you one wish if you can survive there challenges.

Juan decides to go through with this journey with hopes that it will better their lives. They head down the pipe looking for an opening into the white house.

When they reach the end of the pipe they find an opening that they take and come out a sink, they find out that the gods whose wisdom they seek are not what they seem to be.

The gods are angry, mean and violent with others and each over. They consume everything and leave debris were ever they go.

The three little flies look for a place to hide in the white house, they witness terrible things and end up flying into a room with a large desk placed at the end. The chair behind the desk turns revealing a big silhouette, he calls him self Donald.

Donald  speaks to them and debates there place in the world, he questions whether they could find a place more suited to there needs. Donald gives them a taste of what they could have if they chose to follow he’s instructions. The three little fly’s follow Donald to a light placed in a corner of the room, Donald stands by the light and tells them that they could find everything they need through the light, his face is sweet and heart-warming. They land in front of the light afraid of the decision they have to make.

Should they go or should they stay?

After much consideration they decide to go into the light.

They jump towards the light, while in mid-air they notice the name of the light “Bug Zapper”, in there last moments they are horrified by whats to come, they disappear. Donald Trump’s face turns red and he’s facial expression become demented.

how did you get the idea ?

When I was searching for an idea I started by looking for words I would use to describe the story I wanted to wright. I chose to use a disturbing and grim environment, using dark humour to liven the mood of the story. At first I was going to use humans as my main characters but realised that I could make the story more interesting by using an insect or an animal to make the perspective of its life look harsh without shocking the viewer to much. I also wanted the character to be something that would not normally be liked in the real world, which would allow me to add more to the dark theme and would make the viewer think about how they would normally act around it. I decided to use a fly as my main character since it is commonly disliked. 

I now wanted to find a theme to the story, I wanted my main character to go on a quest, using epic scenes and bizarre insects to be the antagonists. I wanted the story to sound like an incredible adventure that would be told through generations like a fable.

I decided to make the main character believe in something better then him self and pursue it, to discover all of there secrets.

So I added humans as the superior being that the main character would worship, I wanted humans to be imagined as gods by the flies so that I could make up legends about others  discovering them and the rewards that come from finding these mythical gods. 

I wanted the flies to idolise humans so that I could show a different view on the humans, the flies expect so much from humans but they end up being disappointed, since there discovery has proven to them that they are not loved by there gods but instead are hated. 

how did you use the feed back ?

Using the feedback given to me by our class I could make the story more enjoyable and also make more sense to the viewer. At first I had one main character who would recruit other insects to join his quest as the story progressed. I changed this so that there would be three flies who are brothers that would go on this quest together, I got rid of all the extra characters but kept certain small appearances that would help link the events together. 

There are certain parts that I did not want to change and our class agreed with me, parts like the ending, the quest and the environment. These parts were important to me since they are what keep the story interesting and different from others. I only changed the events that led to the ending so that it seems less random and would not confuse the viewer.

The last critic I received was that the story was too action packed and too long, so I cut certain events that were unnecessary and tried to make the story less complex since I was looking to make a simple short story. 

Using the feedback was very helpful, I understood what people were expecting from my story, I also managed to keep the core elements that made this story mine while making it more appealing to the viewer. 

  how did you use the exercises done in class? 

The exercises helped me understand how I had to concentrate on the main story and forget all the small detail that complicate the story. I used the exercises in the same way we were asked to do them in class on my own story. I gave myself three minutes to tell my story, this helped me strip my story down to the core so that it is not to complicated. Once I had re-written my story I added components so that the event that lead to the end would make more sense.

how did it affect your work ?

The exercises done in class have made me think about the length of my story and what is truly necessary to make a simple story work for multiple viewers with different outlooks and opinions. 

I have concentrated on the main goal of my story which is for the flies to discover humans and suffer consequences for following advice given to them blindly without any thought of there own. 

how much has the story changed during the course ?

During the time that we were given to improve our stories mine has changed drastically, my story started with no message, just a series of events that lead to a deadly end for the main characters and everyone that surrounds them.

When I first started writing my story I simply wanted to create a ridiculous world were our logic would be redundant. I wanted the viewer to enjoy the craziness of the environment and the characters who’s innocence and naivety lead them into a world that they do not understand.  

I have kept these different events in my story but have managed to create a link between them and the events that come after.

 I also added a symbolic to the story which was not a understandable at first, since I have taken a lot out of my story it has allowed me to spend more time 

I have re-written my story five times, each change in the story has improved my idea and helped me reach the main goal, which is to make the viewer think about how we act around something as insignificant as a fly. 

analyse your work using the information from the lectures 

Using a book written by Philip Parker called The art & science of screenwriting I could identify the theme of my story as a quest. 

To quote the book: 

-The character is set a task to find someone or something.

-The character accepts the challenge.

-The character searches for the someone or something. 

-The character finds the someone or something.

-The character is rewarded, or not, for their success in the quest.

These five steps describe the structure of my story perfectly, I believe that there is no other theme that describes my story better then this one. 

My three main characters are told about a paradise surrounded by Gods that will grant them wishes. 

use your own research on the subject 

When reading “Screenplay the foundations of screenwriting” by “Syd Field” I understood I was going in the right direction since I already knew how I wanted my story to end. To quote as it is said in “Syd Field’s” book:

“ A lot of people don’t believe they need an ending before they start writing. Those endings usually don’t work and are not very effective.”

“The ending is the first thing you must know before you begin writing”.

“Know your ending !”

I also knew how I wanted my story to start, I believe that before I even started writing I knew how I wanted my story to start and also how I wanted it to end. Therefor I had the components necessary to wright an acceptable piece of work.

All that was needed now was to add elements in between so that the start and end would be linked and make sense.

The story I have written is about the pursuit of pleasure, since my character are trying to find a better life for them and their family.

what have you learned from this process ?

I now understand that to make a good short story it is important to use these themes to create a good structure that will be understood by the viewer without causing any confusion to what the core story is really about.

prove that you understand the screen writing process

conclusion 

how could you have made it better ?

I would say that if wanted to improve my story further I would add more detail to the three main characters and wright about their reactions to the different situations.

I believe that I could have made the message behind the main story more vague therefor making the viewer think and even imagine different messages that were not by my own design. I would have liked to have made the story less linear to make the events happening between the start and the end more interesting.

what mistakes have you made ?

I think that as a short story my idea works fine to me, I actually liked my original story a lot too but it did not work as a short story, using the original story I think I could have used a lot more dark humour to keep the elements that I enjoyed in and also keep the symbolic message behind my new story.

 Symbolic messages

First 

The main symbolic message behind my story is that we should not follow advice given too us that could change the course of our existence without questioning its source. 

second

In my story the flies represent immigrants trying to enter a country to make a better life for their selves or escape the physical and mental violence that they suffer from ravages caused by years of conflict, the white house represent many countries that refuse their entry because they have different beliefs. 

Third

It also shows a fly worshipping a being that it believes to be all knowing and all power full, but once they meet they realise that there gods consider them to be vermin and that there very existence disgusts them. If god existed what would he, she or they think of us, after centuries of violence between our own kind and the destruction caused to our own planet.

action plan 

If I could do over my story I would change the events that happen between the end and the start because they seem to random. 

In the future I would probably spend more time making events that happen between the start and the end more interesting and move away from the main goal of the story to add more diversity and make it seem less linear.

Bibliography.

Field, S. (1984). Screenplay The Foundation of Screenwriting. 3rd ed. New York: Dell Publishing, pp.60-61.

Parker, P. (1999). The art & science of screenwriting. 2nd ed. Portland, Oregon, USA: Intellect Books, pp.78-79.

Parker, P. (1999). The art & science of screenwriting. 2nd ed. Portland, Oregon, USA: Intellect Books, pp.92 

[shirlleycoyle]

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation

Over the weekend, director Zack Snyder—a man who Mr. Magoo'd his way into having control over the cinematic presentation of DC Comics for many years and is an avowed fan of Batman—posted an image of the Dark Knight performing cunnilingus on Catwoman. Since that time, I have not known peace. I must know who drew it.

Like the two women at the counter of the coffee shop where I bought the iced coffee that was necessary to begin this investigation, I am so desensitized to pornography involving cartoon characters that at first this image barely registered. The necessary context is that, apparently  in response to the ongoing conversation about DC's decree that Batman canonically doesn't eat pussy, Snyder, who once directed a movie called Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and was for a long time as in control as anyone else was of DC lore, posted a drawing of Batman going down on Catwoman. He captioned it "canon." I guess!

As time went on, theories began to emerge about who drew the image. Snyder fans—and to be clear, he is a divisive figure in the multiple fandoms oriented toward and revolving around various DC brands—propose that he, personally, drew it. A major aspect of this theory is that Snyder didn't provide any information about the image when he posted it, at all. The image doesn't even have a signature. Running it through a reverse image search yields nothing from before Snyder posted it. The drawing seems to have appeared from the ether.

Representatives for Snyder didn't respond to requests for comment, leaving Motherboard unable to put the question of whether he drew this image of Batman satisfying his longtime love interest and occasional fiancé with his own hand. A Motherboard review of footage from the DVD extras of Watchmen—a movie directed by Snyder that I definitely saw in theaters and remember absolutely none of—suggests that Snyder is a talented draughtsman, and may well be capable of having drawn this image. We cannot definitively establish, though, whether or not he did so by putting the question directly to him, and so had to turn elsewhere in search of answers. 

Logically, there are only so many options here. It's possible that, as some fans are beginning to think, Snyder drew it himself; it's also possible, though, that it's a panel from an existing comic book or a piece of fan art, whether preexisting or commissioned personally by Snyder.  Roy T. Cook, a professor of philosophy at the University of Minnesota who specializes in the aesthetics of popular art, told Motherboard that it seems unlikely that it comes from something DC published.

"If this were from a comic, it would certainly be well known given its content, and hence would have been identified by fans or scholars by now," Cook said. "So it’s almost certainly a custom piece of art."

In theory this would narrow things down some, but the sheer ubiquity of Batman-related pornography means that there are still too many images to anyone to sift through. On the pornographic website Rule 34—named for the humorous "rule," which functions with the force and power of a basic law of physics, that anything that exists will also have porn of it on the internet—there are more than 400 images with both the tags "Catwoman" and "Batman." The image Snyder posted can be found there, but was only added after he tweeted it, and notes Snyder's tweet as the original source. It is not hard at all to find an image of Batman eating out Catwoman. Finding one that no one has ever seen before is much harder.

It's possible to inferentially establish that this image is unique to Snyder, whether as something he commissioned or as something he had unique access to and chose to put on the internet. The question consuming many fans, though, is the one of whether he personally drew it. Experts in comic book art doubt that he did. Both of the comic-art brokers that responded to Motherboard's requests for comment said that they definitely don't think Snyder drew it. Details noted about the art style offer food for thought.

"I would say that [Frank] Miller is most certainly an influence/inspiration for the style of the image Snyder tweeted. Dark Knight Returns and all. Gritty stuff," Douglas Gillock, vice-president of the comic art brokerage ComicLink, said. (He was referring to the writer/artist whose mid-80s Batman comics set the tone for all the many, many grim and bleak interpretations of the billionaire who does kung-fu at muggers that have dominated pop culture for decades. Miller's Batman comics have been critiqued as fascistic but could also be read as brilliant parodies of fascistic excess; complicating the question is Miller's later-career turn toward things like a comic where Batman murdered Muslims to avenge 9/11, which was rejected by DC and subsequently repackaged as Holy Terror, a comic where a thinly-veiled Batman stand-in murdered Muslims.)  "I would also say that I also see some David Mazzucchelli here. He was an artist that was also influenced by Miller. He did the art on the Batman: Year One run, which Miller wrote. Pretty sure that is where that particular iteration of Catwoman's costume came from in the modern era too. A similar version was used for the Paul Dini/Bruce Timm Batman animated series."

Gillock's interpretations seem correct. Notably, the outfit that Catwoman is wearing in the image that Snyder tweeted is purple—the color used in most Miller versions of the character—while many popular depictions of the character have her wearing black. It also features cat ears, which not all of her costumes have; this design was favored by Miller and used not only in Year One, but in a special wedding issue of Batman written by Tom King—a renowned comic book writer who spent much of his run on Batman making it canonical that Batman and Catwoman fall in love and get married with the insistent energy of a Livejournal poster embroiled in a shipwar—and featuring a Miller drawing of Catwoman wearing this exact costume. 

Snyder's Miller fandom cannot be overstated. He directed 300, based on the Miller graphic novel. He recreated scenes from The Dark Knight Returns in Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice in exactingly specific detail, even where it made no sense to do so. Like Miller, Snyder has used his work to promote and exult in vaguely fascist iconography. (Unlike Miller, for Snyder the appeal seems to be mostly aesthetic.) Snyder's fandom for Miller is so intense and specific  that the details in the shading, the coloring, and the costumes depicted in the image of Batman face down in Catwoman's super soaker pussy stand out as ones a fan steeped in Miller's work would not only appreciate, but commission or create, if they were able to. Especially on Selina's legs and head, the specific way that the image is shaded looks a lot like the way that Miller draws Catwoman. In both Snyder's tweet and the image from King's Batman, the shading on Catwoman's suit consists of black swirls and circles. (Miller's image is a lot more stylized than what Snyder posted, though, with Catwoman's spine curving exaggeratedly, like an actual cat's would.)

It should be noted that one thing we know about Snyder is that he's a passable artist, at least from the storyboards he's released for a few of his films. According to a profile in Bloomberg, he studied painting for a year before transferring to film school. It's difficult to tell, but when I look at this blurry screenshot of one of Snyder's sketchbooks where he shows off a drawing he did of Watchmen's Silk Spectre kicking a Nazi in the back of the head, it kinda looks like the same general body proportions as Catwoman as she's getting eaten out by Batman. In particular, both Silk Spectre and Catwoman have pretty sturdy thighs, though comparing a fully colored and inked image to a sketch is not going to yield conclusive results.

Image Source: League of Mayhem

DC, several art history professors, noted Snyder enthusiast Armond White, and Tom King did not respond to requests for comment. In absence of their authoritative input, as well as Snyder's, it seems Motherboard will never know for sure whether Zack Snyder spent the weekend drawing Batman eating box. But my friend and film critic Nadine Smith pointed out something important to me as I discussed this mystery with her: With any other director, this wouldn't even be a question. Snyder's fandom for comics, which somehow is for the exact opposite things about the genre that I admire, is nevertheless deep and powerful to the extent that he forced a major studio to release a four-hour uncut version of the Justice League fanfiction he filmed at a cost of hundreds of millions of dollars. He's always expected to do the most, and could not surprise anyone by doing anything that demonstrated the depth of his passion.

"If anyone else posted it, we would probably assume they just found some fanart," Smith told me. "But like, Snyder would."

Did Zack Snyder Draw A Picture of Batman Going Down on Catwoman? An Investigation syndicated from https://triviaqaweb.wordpress.com/feed/