#or the adaptation is sort of lackluster

[5-pp-man]

lately ive noticed that ive become more... aware? of what mediums work best for certain franchises.

dont get me wrong, for some mangas im def hoping for an adaptation. but i've had some anime adaptations where im like. i should just go read the manga instead.

[idolomantises]

Since it's the hot new thing, what do you think of the Invincible show?

I think its great, one of my favorite shows currently airing. I could do without the promos for it being like "look at how many celebrities we have on our show!" because i find that kind of cynical.

I sort of agree with the animation criticism but as someone who did a bit of research on why the show's animation looks pretty lackluster, i honestly think its a miracle the show's animation came out the way that it did. I do hope they improve the compositing but again, when you're on limited time i understand why the show needs to look so flat.

season 3 has been pretty fantastic and im a bit confused by the constant complaining from fans online. i think people are just frustrated about the animation and channeling it into random things to gripe about. As someone who read the comics I'm genuinely impressed by how the show adapted things

[sifu-kisu]

I’ve sensed a stir of discontent surrounding my thoughts on the live-action remake of Avatar: The Last Airbender. please allow me to illuminate my perspective. In the animated series, we poured our hearts into crafting the action, for ATLA is at its core essence, a martial arts odyssey, even an epic—an art form that I’ve spent much of my life mastering, practicing, and teaching with unwavering devotion.

The live-action adaptation, however, seemed to stumble over the very foundation that made the original so captivating. To me, it felt as though the essence of the source material was either misunderstood or disregarded. The choreography (or lack there of..) , which should have been a dynamic homage to the intricate art of bending, came across as lackluster and devoid of the authentic martial arts movements that once breathed life into it. Firebending for instance, is not like tossing a stone. It has a process that entails a beginning a middle and end…

That being said, I’ll concede that the costumes and some of the special effects caught my eye, but beyond those fleeting moments, I found little to hold onto. Am i “mad” about it? Nope. Was I upset about not working on the project? Nope. (I don’t do that sort of work anymore.) I’m just enjoying my life, And let me make one thing clear—my opinion is mine alone.

Be well😋

[wandering-trader-joes]

So idk if this is a hot take or not, but I liked the end of TLOVM Season 3.

(More under the cut? Is that what they say?)

TL;DR: this version of Bard’s Lament fixed a problem I had with the original campaign, I think all the wrap up at the end was probably done as well as it could’ve been, and the way it ends with a tenuous semi-resolution is in-keeping with the way that it played out in game, albeit in a more condensed format.

———

The main thing I’ve seen people talking about is the lack of Bard’s Lament (kinda), and I was upset about that idea at first too. But honestly, I think this change does a lot of justice specifically to the relationship between Scanlan and Pike.

A lot of what happened in Bard’s Lament was due to the fact that nobody noticed that Scanlan was struggling, and that’s all well and good except for the fact that Pike absolutely would have.

The only reason she didn’t was because Ashley Johnson herself wasn’t able to be there. Idk about anyone else, but that narrative gap due to “meta interference” has always bothered me. I kind of love that they were able to rectify that in the show, and give us the way that Bard’s Lament likely would have gone if real life didn’t get in the way.

We finally get to see how it would have went down if Pike didn’t have such a Blind Spot, and I love that for her.

———

I’ve also seen people talking about how the ending felt lackluster, and I can see where they’re coming from, but I personally disagree.

I was a little anxious at the start of episode 10 when they started to split up to do a bunch of the previously group-based activities, but I was pleasantly surprised to find that, aside from not getting the group kill on Ripley, it didn’t bother me that much (and we still got the “one arrow in her heart and another in her mouth while she screams”, which makes me happy).

Especially because it gave time to see more of the twins on their own (which I will always take more of) and let Keyleth do her Earth Ashari stuff, which we didn’t even get in the original show as it happened pre-stream (but would’ve felt weird to leave out here given that they haven’t established that). And we finally got EarthElemental!Keyleth. It’s Key-teor time!

It also put her Aramente into more of a focus in her life, which needed to happen at some point anyway. And they still got to be together (kinda) for the final showdown against Raishan, so the conclusion was still there.

———

In the campaign, they had this weird kind of limbo period (the part with Tary) before the year-long gap where they were sort of just tying up loose ends. That felt fine as a game, but would’ve been super clunky on TV. So I’m glad that they found other ways to get the group to the point where it felt like going their own ways for a while was okay and also necessary (though I do wish we had gotten more of the twins struggling with the idea of being away from each other). I just really needed Vax to get his year in Zephrah!

All that being said, I am a little sad that we probably won’t get Tary in the show.

———

The vibe that I always got with the Vecna arc was that the group was pretty much ready to settle into their non-adventuring lives before they had to stop the end of the world again (aside from Scanlan stuff, but I already talked about that). In order for that to be the case, they need to have a period of time where it kind of feels like everything is wrapped up and happy. In my opinion, they were quite successful in this regard, which is impressive given how they were able to get there in only 3 episodes.

Idk I’ve just been wondering for a while about how the were going to navigate this part of the campaign, and I’m quite pleased with how they managed it. That’s not to say it’s perfect, but I feel as content with it as I do with all the other changes they’ve made whilst adapting to a different medium.

———

… also I’ve been wanting to gush over one tiny detail. I love the way that Vax’s interaction with Orthax went. Not only because of how it finally established him and Percy as brothers, but it’s also a cool way to loop in his multi-classing. Orthax specifically talks about Vax giving in to vengeance, and in the campaign he becomes a VENGEANCE Paladin! I thought it was a really fun way to kind of hint at that shift without needing to get into the dnd of it all :)

[freetalessimian]

MK AND MEI SEASON??!

ANYWAYS LISTEN TO ME RAMBLE ABOUT SEASON 6 THEORIES.

Right off the bat. Mk and Mei FINALLY get an episode and if not the whole season together. FINALLY AFTER A WHOLE SEASON. We’d get our classic Mk and Mei adventures back.

Mei said it herself. We are WAAAAAY overdue for a Jackfruit duo episode. I MISS THE SHENANIGANS 😭😭

And don’t worry I have evidence to support my claim. As always…usually.

✨✨MATCHING OUTFITSS ✨✨

LIKE COME ON??! Look at them, PLUS! A TWO SEATER. like come one. You see it

I CANT TELL YOU HOW EXCITED I AM!!!

Anyways. So we know that Erlang is going to be in season 6 obvi, and that he is likely the antagonist or going to be similar to Macaque in season 3 and Li Jing in season 5. The antagonist or conflict until the Big Bad Guy. (i almost said BBG….😭) I do have some theories on who the bad guy could be.

Buuuut back to Erlang. I assume his relationship with Wukong will be like early JTTW. As Lmk adapts a lot.

In the JTTW Erlang is one of the only gods who managed to rival Wukong. However later in the book they become Allies..of sorts. I do NOT Think this is the case in lmk. As in the lego commercial trailer, Erlang seems to have a vendetta against Wukong. As he says ‘哈哈，猴子的徒弟也不过如此嘛’ which correct me if my translation is wrong. “Haha, so the Monkey’s disciple is nothing special after all.” Basically hes saying Mk is lackluster. Which could be just a jab at Mk or at Wukong as thats Who hes comparing Mk to.

(Mk is transformed into Mo btw)

The quality isn’t great but as you can see Erlang is after Mk. Which COULD be just be for the lego commercial, as Mk is the main character. BUT I think it would be interesting. Perhaps Mk decision to break the cycle had some other consequences like Azures defeat that we find out in season 6. Except it would be annoying as it would be a repeat if they were on the run from Erlang. Because they were on the run from Li Jing last season.

There are a few possibilities. Either Erlang is being sent out by Li Jing or he has his own agenda. This also brings me back to an old theory of mine. But before season 5 came out I had assumed Erlang was going to be in the season because of my theory on the nine headed demon last year.

Erlang and Wukong in the JTTW fought together to beat the nine headed demon. But im assuming that didn’t happen in lmk. But perhaps in a different cycle?

If Erlang wasn’t involved, then what is his motive? Id like to say he is a morally grey character. Hes a good guy and a bad guy in a variety of myths. So it could be that hes not even the antagonist of the season but having a roll similar to the Dragon king of the east sea in season 3. He has a vendetta against Wukong and is the antagonist for an episode but something bigger comes along and he either helps the group or reluctantly lets them go.

THERE ARE SOOOO MANY POSSIBILITIES.

I have much more to say but if you have anything to add or anything you want to hear my comments and asks are open.

Last thing… JUST LOOK AT THEIR LOGO. MK AND MEI SEASON 6 BABBBYYYY

[dragonner0]

Y'know what, I'm bored and cannot process words correctly. It's time to write about the Branch 𝛼 AU. Also because I want to properly refine and flesh out a few of the various drone models.

Service drones: The most widely-produced drone model to date, Service drones are equipped for absolute precision at little cost of speed. Service drones are also the posterchild of their manufacturer, with the signature silver-ringed limbs and general versatility. Their molars are serrated to allow them better grip if their hands are occupied. Examples of Service drones in Branch 𝛼 include the Doorman family.

Intelligence drones: As their name suggests, these drones trade durability and robustness for some of the best calculators to date. The rest of their systems trade form for function, being rather ugly and impractical for much other than working computers or basic appliances, but easy to maintain. Many intelligence drones tend to develop superiority complexes, despite - or perhaps because of - their rather lackluster physical performance and uninteresting design. Examples include Lizzy and Rebecca.

Hazard drones: Hazard drones are a more recognizable variant due to their unique paneling and design choices, being slightly bulkier than most others and significantly more expensive. They are overall more vulnerable to physical damage, but are far more immunized to radiation, temperature, pressure, electricity, magnetism, or other environmental conditions that would otherwise rend humans and machines useless. Unfortunately, their cost makes them undesirable in all but the most necessary situations, which likely contributed a large part to the core collapse on Copper-9. Examples include Doll.

Disassembly drones: Downsized and re-armed from the █████████ drone model, Disassemblers are Cyn's greatest creation and are remarkable achievements in robotics in general. They are fast, strong, adaptable, near-silent, and tear through anything without any armor with ease. Their predecessor would likely beat them in a one-on-one, equal-grounds engagement, but humanity's mistreatment and aggression has meant that they were forced to fend for themselves during Cyn's attack, which let Disasembler squads slaughter humanity practically unhindered. Both are made from Worker drones. One of the more unique features of Disassemblers is that they stand in a sort of limbo between their predecessors ferality and pack mentality and their sapience as former workers, with them being present in Disassembler code but locked away behind dense firewalls. Theories imply that it is to make their squads more cohesive and effective, or it is simply to make the redesign easier for Cyn. Examples include N, V, and J.

[synergysilhouette]

Random opinions about animated films

Pretty much what it says! I've had this for a while, so I wanted to put my (possibly controversial) thoughts on paper. What random opinions (and hot takes) do you have about animated films?

"Happily N'ever After" should've been a live-action film--BLASPHEMOUS opinion in the animation world, I know. But given the starpower of the cast and the lackluster animation, I think that, with some touch-ups, a live-action HNA would've not only succeeded in being a counterpart to "Shrek," but also an almost parody of "Ever After."

2. "Melody" should be Zagtoon's top priority right now--Am I biased because I want more animated musicals and I'm a fan of Katy Perry? Yes. Granted, "Miraculous" didn't really sell me on the music (I think Katy should definitely use her connections to get some unique songwriters and producers to work on this film), but if I can give Disney a bunch of chances, I suppose I can do the same for Zagtoon.

3. Theatrical animated sequels should only be released AT MAX ten years after the original--Aside from casting concerns, I don't like the idea of the door being opened for any animated film to be fair game, so having a decade-long window (a proper animated film takes about 3-5 years of production, right?) sounds fair.

4. I felt bad for Tzekhal-Khan's ending--I mean obviously he needed to face some sort of consequences for his actions, but it feels icky knowing he probably became a slave or killed by the conquistadors for what I'd assume were racial reasons.

5. Monster High (Gen 1) deserved a theatrical film--Unrelated to the EAH crossover, to be clear. I think the franchise had a really good message, and the musical film was pretty good. We'd just need to do a bit more polish for whatever theatrical film they make to make sure it's theatre-worthy and not straight-to-DVD worthy.

6. The Magic of Pegasus and the Fairytopia series are underrated Barbie films--I'm a classic Barbie movie fan (call it age bias), and while I enjoyed their adaptations, the original films were so underrated. "Fairytopia" was a better take on "Thumbelina" than the adaptation they made later imo, with an amazing sequel (and a meh threequel, but best two out of three!), and "The Magic of Pegasus" felt almost like a storybook I would've read as a child.

7. If terribly written movies were 2D, most people would defend them--While 2D has become notably neglected in western animation, I do feel like a lot of 2D fans have some bias; one person told me that a Disney 3D movie (they had a specific one in mind, but I can't remember which one) was 2D, it would be automatically better, regardless of story/music issues. "Wish" was one of those movies; a couple of people have said it being 2D would've made it a better movie, and I was FLOORED by that take.

8. Movies featuring POC often have people of the same race sharing the same skintone--I feel like this occurs a lot in animated films; when focusing on a non-white culture, I feel like the people are usually given the same/similar skintones as each other instead of more variety. This doesn't always happen, but I did see it a few times in several movies.

9. I'm not a fan of Pixar's recent art style--I'm mainly talking about "Turning Red," "Luca," "Soul," and "Elio" (based on what I've seen thus far). The art style feels a bit too plastic and cartoon-y, taking away from the realism that I enjoy from 3D animation.

10. No major American animation company can match the O3 (But I encourage them to TRY)--Perhaps it's just me, but I really do feel like Sony, Skydance, Illumination, and Warner Bros Animation are NOWHERE near the level of Disney, Dreamworks, and Pixar. While Sony has the Spiderverse films, that's pretty much the strongest thing they have going for them. That said, I am kind of excited for WB's "Bad Fairies" film (just because it's a musical from the team of "Six").

[themattress]

Pokémemories: The Black/White Chapter

These last two days of October are the last two days I'm going to go into specifics about story arcs in the Pokémon Adventures manga series, because boy oh boy is this a special case.

Hidenori Kusaka seemed to run into a problem when adapting the Black/White games. Its story was the most thoroughly crafted in the game series to date, and yet at the same time it was highly reminiscent of the exact sort of storytelling Kusaka had been engaging in from the beginning. Meaning that what felt new and revolutionary for the games would be old hat for the manga. As such, he and Satoshi Yamamoto clearly struggled early into the Black/White Chapter on how to distinguish it. Therefore it felt exactly like the game's story, except that the characterizations for the central characters (Black, White, Cheren, Bianca, Professor Juniper and N, all pictured above) were totally wrong. So I was not a fan of this story arc, at all.

Then, about 1/3rd of the way in, this happened.

At the time, I wasn't entirely sure how I felt about this moment, but I did know that it was the first big, jolting, "WTF!?" moment the arc had pulled that separated it from the games' plot.

From that point onward, Kusaka and Yamamoto pulled off a truly remarkable glow-up.

In many ways, Gen V's Black/White Chapter is the complete, diametric opposite of Gen III's Ruby/Sapphire Chapter. Whereas that arc opened up with promise yet only got worse and worse as it went on, this arc opened up lackluster yet only got better and better as it went on. The characterization problems were fixed, new events were added into the game's while other events from the games had their order shuffled around, stronger ties to the sequel were established, and the finale was like the games' endgame on steroids...and closing on an even more emotional note. In the end, this arc can stand beside the games as an equal.

[13eyond13]

Ik this is random but can i hear ur phantom of the opera 2004 takes lmao

ahahaha you sure can! I'll try my best to remember what I thought, though I don't think I've actually watched it since it first came out back then...

SO my background with this musical is that my best friend growing up was a big Phantom musical fan, but I hadn't really listened to it myself apart from having heard the titular song from it and all. However on some school trip when I was about 11 or 12 years old I bought the original 1980s London cast soundtrack and then listened to the entire thing on my discman while reading along with the lyrics booklet on the bus ride home, and that was the first time I was actually able to piece together the entire story in my head. I just LOVED it after that and was captivated by the music and the melodrama and the emotion in the acting and everything else. I was particularly enamoured with Michael Crawford's depiction of the Phantom, and his vocal performance really had me feeling a lot of empathy for the character. I got a bit obsessed with this musical for a while after that and memorized the entire thing lol, and I loved listening to it and just trying to imagine what it would actually be like to see the show being performed for real (didn't really have any options to do so available to me then, just had to kind of picture it all in my mind's eye)...

ANYWAY so as soon as I found out a year or two later that they were making a movie out of it and that the Phantom was going to be played by Gerard Butler I was fairly disappointed, because I was so attached to the version of the Phantom that lived in my imagination thanks to listening to the original soundtrack. And he just did not fit my idea of the character in my head at all. I kinda felt like the main thing that the Phantom's character should have is an incredible voice with a ton of emotional range that can easily go from seeming vulnerable and tender and gentle to menacing and powerful... somebody who can be convincingly persuasive and attractive almost entirely based on their voice, if not their appearance. And Gerard's singing and onscreen presence just did NOT do it for me at all. I felt like they cast him in the film mostly just based on his handsome leading man looks, which really annoyed me, because that's definitely not what's important about this character. And it actually takes away quite a lot of the sympathy and the point of his character for me (yeah, I know he had some deformity/burns or something hiding under his mask, but it really just makes his character 1000x more lame that he didn't look in the least bit creepy with a mask on, nor was he actually that great at singing himself... he's supposed to be the "Angel of Music" for crying out loud, you shouldn't cast somebody with an unremarkable singing voice).

I remember thinking Emmy Rossum was beautiful in it and that she had a good look for Christine, but it was kinda hard for her to compete with Sarah Brightman's iconic vocal performance as well.

The one thing I WILL say in favour of the movie is that I thought Patrick Wilson actually made a very cute and likable Raoul, and that I cared a lot more about him in the movie than I ever did when listening to the pompous sort of performance the original actor gave on the London soundtrack (though Raoul being so likable in the movie added EVEN MORE to how much I did not like the Gerard Butler Phantom at all fhhfhfs).

I think when I watched it way back in 2004 I was basically just sitting there feeling quite disappointed and nitpicky about all of this stuff, especially the singing, but ALSO kinda going "oh ok so THAT'S what it's supposed to look like in that part"... overall from what I remember of it now it's a pretty lackluster adaptation to me. I DID eventually get to see it performed live in London a few years after that at the original theater though, and that was such a blast!

[mayhemchicken-varneyposting]

Varney the Vampire, Chapter 13: IT'S VARNEYING TIME

[Previous chapter] [Next chapter]

The search of the grounds continues. Despite combing over every stick and stone, the only trace they find of their nighttime visitor is a small amount of blood beneath the window where Flora shot at the vampire.

Morning dawns, bright and beautiful, and Henry laments that he may have to leave his picturesque childhood home. His reverie is interrupted by a servant, bringing him a letter from Varney. The servant tells him she wants to quit due to all this vampire business, and he lets her go without a fight, much to her disappointment.

Varney's letter contains an offer to buy Bannerworth Hall, which Henry finds sort of suspicious. He asks for Marchdale's advice on the matter, and Marchdale suggests he try renting the house to Varney for a year, rather than selling it outright.

Henry also talks to Flora, who is very open to the idea of leaving. Flora and Charles agree to have a meeting in the garden to talk about their feelings, which does not happen in this chapter.

Henry and Marchdale go to Varney's house to discuss real estate with him. Varney's servant informs them that his master is not well, but is willing to see them just the same. He leads them upstairs, where they discover that Varney is, in fact, the spitting image of the man in the portrait - the vampyre!

Henry, at this point, is McFreakin losing it, and is unable to keep from telling Varney to his face that he looks like ~the vampyre~. Varney remains cool as a cucumber throughout the entire interaction, except for when he bumps his arm against a chair, and it turns out that arm is injured - from a fall, he claims.

Henry attempts to surreptitiously ascertain whether Varney has been to Bannerworth Hall before - say, a hundred years or so ago, perhaps - but his efforts yield no results.

HE'S HERE!! The guy of all time, God's wettest and most tortured meow meow, the man the myth the legend VARNEY THE VAMPIRE himself!

I'm getting ahead of myself. Calm. I am calm.

Everyone's had a shot at the vampire by this point, but it seems only Flora actually made him bleed, at least as far as they're able to find evidence. This is a sign that you should include Flora in more things, guys.

But no. They tell Flora Charles' gunshot was only a precaution, to deter any would-be intruders from the property, and send her back to bed. We can't go upsetting her delicate feminine constitution.

As the sun rises, Henry reflects on the story's Gothic themes: this vampiric intruder, in all likelihood an ancestor of their family, poisoning the happy atmosphere of their home, until the very building itself feels monstrous. Fortunately, the sun has risen, and as we've previously established in this story the sunrise has literal, physical mood-altering effects, so Henry's angsting is abated somewhat.

A servant appears, and we get a brief comedic sequence. Rymer's dogshit politics aside, I think this part manages to be decently funny.

This woman was one of those who were always armed at all points for a row, and she had no notion of concluding any engagement, of any character whatever, without some disturbance; therefore, to see Henry take what she said with such provoking calmness was aggravating in the extreme; but there was no help for such a source of vexation. She could find no other ground of quarrel than what was connected with the vampyre, and, as Henry would not quarrel with her on such a score, she was compelled to give it up in despair.

At least, I could see a filmed adaptation of this sequence that is funny. Rymer's addiction to telling not showing makes the delivery a little lackluster.

Now we get to Varney's letter, and oh my God he is so unsubtle. Varney. My guy.

"What I have heard from common report induces me to believe that Bannerworth Hall cannot be a desirable residence for yourself, or your amiable sister. If I am right in that conjecture, and you have any serious thought of leaving the place, I would earnestly recommend you, as one having some experience in such descriptions of property, to sell it at once."

"Now, if you were looking to sell it, I might be interested in buying...just saying...not for any particular reason, I certainly don't have ulterior motives here..."

"How strange," he muttered. "It seems that every circumstance combines to induce me to leave my old ancestral home."

It sure does seem that way, doesn't it, Henry! Wow it's almost as if someone is plotting behind the scenes to get at your house for some unknown purpose. Haha that'd be crazy wouldn't it. Anyway.

Henry and Marchdale discuss the prospect of selling the house, and Varney's offer. Marchdale suggests that the vampire may be haunting the house, not the family, and therefore leaving is the best option. Henry, who is rather attached to his childhood home, worries the opposite may be true, and that they might flee the house only to be pursued wherever they move to. Marchdale proposes, as a compromise, that they rent the house to Varney for a year, and see whether the vampire follows them or bothers him. Henry, unable to make up his mind, decides to talk with the rest of his family and see what they think.

The rest of the family are pretty much unanimous that selling or letting the house to Varney sounds like a good idea, and Flora is especially keen on the idea. Henry, his mind having been made up for him, resolves to visit with Varney at once to discuss the sale or rental of Bannerworth Hall. Before he does, though, Rymer interjects a setup for a later chapter:

"Dear Flora, you will now surely no longer talk of driving from you the honest heart that loves you?" "Hush, Charles, hush!" she said; "meet me an hour hence in the garden, and we will talk of this." "That hour will seem an age," he said.

An age indeed; we won't go back to them until Chapter 16.

Oh, but now it's time - we're going to Varney's house! Marchdale insists on going along, so there will be a third party at the negotiation. Henry and Marchdale speculate about Varney as they make the short walk to his house; neither of them have ever seen him, nor do they know anything about him.

Varney's servant sees them into the study, where Varney is sitting in the dark waiting to dramatically reveal himself.

There was very little light in this small room; but at the moment of their entrance a tall man, who was seated, rose, and, touching the spring of a blind that was to the window, it was up in a moment, admitting a broad glare of light. A cry of surprise, mingled with terror, came from Henry Bannerworth's lip. The original of the portrait on the panel stood before him!

Dun dun dun!

From the moment he appears, Varney steals the whole show. He plays the mannerly, aristocratic host with skill on the level of Dracula, but where Dracula's act is laden with undertones of subtle, building horror, Varney's oozes camp. He could not be more obviously a vampire; he knows this and leans into it. He's having fun. He's living deliciously. I'm obsessed with him.

"Are you unwell, sir?" said Sir Francis Varney, in soft, mellow accents, as he handed a chair to the bewildered Henry. "God of Heaven!" said Henry; "how like!" "You seem surprised, sir. Have you ever seen me before?" Sir Francis drew himself up to his full height, and cast a strange glance upon Henry, whose eyes were rivetted upon his face, as if with a species of fascination which he could not resist.

"You know, from common report, that we have had a fearful visitor at our house." "A vampyre, I have heard," said Sir Francis Varney, with a bland, and almost beautiful smile, which displayed his white glistening teeth to perfection.

"Nay, Henry," whispered Mr. Marchdale, "it is scarcely civil to tell Sir Francis to his face, that he resembles a vampyre." "I must, I must." "Pray, sir," interrupted Varney to Marchdale, "permit Mr. Bannerworth to speak here freely. There is nothing in the whole world I so much admire as candour."

The trap of manners is back, and boy does Varney skewer Henry to the wall with it. Poor Henry goes completely to pieces at the first sight of Varney, spending the entire conversation on the back foot. Varney, meanwhile, seems to take great delight in winding him up, playing the part of the gracious (and oblivious) host while simultaneously dropping outrageously unsubtle hints. On a different protagonist this approach might prove fatally dangerous to him, but Henry is no Jonathan Harker, lacking both the latter's ability to play along with the vampire's social games, as well as his murderous determination. It's a good thing for Henry that Marchdale is here to mediate things somewhat; I can only imagine how much more disastrously a solo meeting between him and Varney might have gone.

Varney's smooth facade falters only once, when he bumps his arm on a chair and can't help wincing in pain - although I have to wonder if this wasn't an intentional move on his part, given how blatant he's been so far. "Ooh ouchie I hurt my arm...oh it's nothing, sir, I only tripped and skinned my elbow, barely a flesh wound. I definitely did not get shot at multiple times from point blank range, perhaps while I was breaking into a house. That would be outrageous."

Henry attempts to play along with Varney's 5D chess game for a bit, without much success.

"How true it is, Mr. Bannerworth, that in the midst of life we are in death." "And equally true, perhaps," said Henry, "that in the midst of death there may be found a horrible life." "Well, I should not wonder. There are really so many strange things in this world, that I have left off wondering at anything now." "There are strange things," said Henry. "You wish to purchase of me the Hall, sir?" "If you wish to sell." "You—you are perhaps attached to the place? Perhaps you recollected it, sir, long ago?" "Not very long," smiled Sir Francis Varney. "It seems a nice comfortable old house; and the grounds, too, appear to be amazingly well wooded, which, to one of rather a romantic temperament like myself, is always an additional charm to a place."

"The house, no doubt, has suffered much," said Henry, "within the last hundred years." "No doubt it has. A hundred years is a tolerable long space of time, you know." "It is, indeed. Oh, how any human life which is spun out to such an extent, must lose its charms, by losing all its fondest and dearest associations." "Ah, how true," said Sir Francis Varney.

He's trying, bless him, but he's not nearly enough levels deep into the mind games. Varney already knows you know, Henry, you're not going to bait him into saying he's a vampire outright.

Next: Henry shows an embarrassing lack of object permanence

[marlenesarchive]

people like shane walsh??? i am sort of on the outskirts of the walking dead fandom, but ive gotten into several internet arguments over me hating shane walsh. he was CLEARLY an antagonist? like, not even just that, he was a bad guy. i looked up his tag on tumblr and there was fanfic?? 😦

shane walsh is a bad guy, and is written as so??? let me remind the folks who forgot-

shane walsh sexually assaulted lori grimes. thats it. no matter if she was 'leading him on' in the previous, he sexually assaulted her. he grabbed her and touched her when she did NOT want it. if you cant remember, rewatch the scene. i was writing out for a different blog about it and rewatched it to refresh my memory - safe to say its worse than i remember. their previous relationship or however you viewed her actions (and his) following that relationship does NOT give him the right to touch her when she says to stop. thats literally the bare minimum.

moreover, he was a man going crazy. he didnt 'adapt' quicker than everyone else, and comparing him to rick in season five (a guy we already know i dont like) when rick was 100% having a bout of craziness himself is weird. shane walsh, no doubt about it, was going crazy. he couldnt handle the world as it fell apart, and was insane. he had ideals far too harsh to perservere any longer than they did, and he never could lead. he was harsh, mean, manipulative, and aggressive.

to ignore these things in trying to defend why you like him is to ignore who he is as a character. these moments, his bouts of psychosis and his actions following his and loris affair, are pivotal to understand him.

also, no, he didnt love lori. shane was obsessed with her, and not in the booktok way most folks (apparently) viewed it. he was crazy, and was convinced that he and lori were meant to be even after lori immediately tried to break it off with him when rick came back. i dont agree with all of lori's actions, but to act as if she were completely hot and cold and not just trying to be civil is INSANE. she had a few moments that j can agree are bad, but she was at least not constantly professing her love for a married man, or trying to kill said married mans childs father.

we literally see shane walsh talking poorly about women the FIRST time we see him - he clearly doesnt respect women ('you and every other pair of boobs on this planet' - direct quote). even more than that, he's never been a father. he wouldnt know how to parent carl, he just wouldnt. not with how aggressive he was, not with how impatient, and not with jumping into the middle of carls life. one or two scenes of carl and shane getting along will NEVER be enough to convince me that he couldve even aimed for being a good parent for carl.

some more on his and lori's affair - even if lori was leading him on (a thing i dont agree happened) he was an adult too. he had full faculties to cut it off on his end too. yes, being led on can be troublesome. BUT, he was a fully grown adult and had full knowledge on the state of rick and lori's relationship, he couldve made the right choice to cut it all off. if not for himself, for his bestfriend. he just couldnt. he lacks the capabilities to do what he doesnt want, he lacks the sense to do whats best for others outside of his own obsessions. that alone is a clear indicator that he wouldnt have been a good leader, if he got obsessed there clearly was no changing his mind. also, if a simple breakup/lead on was enough to egg him on all that much more into a complete mental break, whos to say he would survive any amount of time at the end of the world? people die all the time after the end of the world, people break up, people lose others. if shane couldnt handle that simple departure from lori, what could he handle? he only ever was good at being authoritative when the losses didnt hurt him, when the pain wasnt directed at him - and even then, hes completely lackluster.

no, this isnt to say shane was a poorly written character. a lot of defense i get is 'but hes so well written!' which is essentially my whole point. shane is a very real and well written character, but hes well written to be a bad person. you cannot write out a SA scene and expect for others to move forward as if shane is a good guy. the writers clearly werent aiming for love towards shane. no, this isnt hate to the actor. in fact, i think jon bernthal did an amazing job at potraying such an awful guy, and its part of why the love for shane is so disturbing, because it felt so real.

in conclusion, shane walsh is a bad guy and will forever exist in my heart as a horrible guy. anyone who willingly defends shane or looks past his bad actions are wimps who lack even an ounce of media literacy. anyone who likes shane as a character for what he has done needs to stay far, far away from me! shane walsh, i hate you.

[yourfriendmonki]

On The State of Comic Books

Comic books should be way bigger than they are. Not the characters or the stories mind you, but the actual medium of comic books. While Manga and Manwha are arguably the most popular they've ever been, American comics are lackluster by comparison. Specifically the two giants of the comic industry (Marvel and DC).

Marvel and DC comics have been on a downward slope recently, events aren't as exciting, and new characters are introduced only to immediately be either forgotten about or used so often the novelty wears off (Looking at you, batman who laughs). There's also this issue of characters who were made to carry on a legacy that they'll never inherit. All of this on top of the confusing timeline, no solid entry point to the story, and the fact that timeline resets have become more and more common.

The way to fix this (in my opinion) is one more reset of the timeline, redo the origin stories and whatnot, and then LET THE STORY PROGRESS. Let characters age, let them die (permanently), and let new heroes rise into the roles they were meant for. Instead of resetting the timeline to explain Spiderman's origin story to the new generation, just let someone else be Spiderman. Let Peter Parker take some time off, get his life together, and let Miles be Spiderman. for the next ten years. Then once Miles gets older, he gets a protege and we see Miles fill the Mentorship role with the next generation's Spiderman (Maybe a young Miguel O'hara?). This idea can be applied to numerous characters within comic books.

Now I understand that this is a pretty radical change to the comic book landscape, but I think it will work. Any of the old people salty that they have to say goodbye to their hero have at least ten years' worth of story to engage with, on top of gettting to see an actual character grow and change with a solid beginning, middle, and end. The new generation doesn't have to sort through opinions online of where to start if they want to get into Green Lantern, and they get their own identity instead of continually having to live around their parent's media icons.

Allowing time to move forward in comics will eliminate some of the major issues within the medium. One of the biggest issues is character age, as time continues certain characters defined by events in the real world become harder and harder to adapt. This is seen specifically in Marvel Comics because their solution to the timeline is that everything in Marvel Comics has happened over ten years and they're just sliding the dates to fit.

The Punisher used to be a Vietnam War Veteran and that played into his disillusionment with the system and into his tactics for crime-fighting (brutal efficient murder), as the timeline progressed The Punisher became a Gulf War veteran, then an Iraq War veteran, and now he's a veteran of the fictional Siancong War. Changing what war Frank Castle participated in changed the context of his crusade. Being a Vietnam Veteran puts Frank Castle at a time when Veterans were despised, chemical warfare was used regularly, and The Government had just been exposed for the liars they were. These are real-life events that Veterans could relate to. Instead of introducing a new Punisher Character to tackle the effects of the Iraq war and reckon with the lies the US government told there, they decided to use the same character to go through the same thing. Making a new character gives you the freedom to explore the way that the same types of incidents affect different people.

The sliding timeline obviously isn't going to fix the massive issues present within the medium, but I believe it's a perfect foundation for major positive changes.

[birb-boyo]

The Chain with My Hero Academia Quirks

Quirks and info about them are under the cut

Time - Mortal Essence

Mortal Essence was something I came up with for my Percy Jackson OC but then I thought of it and was like HELL YEAH so it’s Time’s now

Basically, in my head, god’s have their essence that mortals can’t see or they will die instantly. Like with Semele, Dionysus’s mother, she saw Zeus’s essence and disintegrated immediately

In contrast, a mortal essence is an essence that can make the user have powers on par with gods, or turn the user into a god temporarily

We all know about Fierce right? You know, the war god that can temporarily take over Time’s body? Well, Fierce is Time’s quirk.

Sky - Goddess Guardian

Ok…so maybe he’s the goddess’s guardian but shhhhhhh

This quirk was inspired by Demon Snow, an ability from Bungo Stray Dogs

Basically, Sky has a goddess or an avatar of a goddess who protects him and can and will kill you should he ask her to

He’s best friends with her, don’t worry

I mean, Sun was also in the academy guys, she can and will fuck you up should you try and hurt Sky

That being said, Sun is and isn’t Sky’s quirk

I might say that it’s Farore that’s his guardian instead of Hylia because his girlfriend is Hylia(technically)

Twilight - He technically already sort of has one(Wolfie) but Essence

If you watched My Hero or just know Todoroki’s backstory or you watched Heroes Rising you’ll know that quirks are hereditary

Twilight has sort of inherited Time’s quirk

BUT

He sort of has Malon’s quirk too

Malon has a quirk that allows her to command any animal to do something that she speaks to

But anyway, Twilight’s essence quirk allows him to turn into anything that he has DNA to as long as it is in his system

Plot twist

He can only turn into animals which makes things a little weird for him sometimes

His favorite for in his wolf form(obviously) he enjoys growling at people and he thinks that he looks cool

Warriors - Frost Blades

Warriors is just an ice user. I can sense it in my bones

Frost blades are mostly what they sound like

Blades made out of frost. If he’s mad enough and his quirk loses control, they can be solid ice

How the blades work is, no one but him can hold the blades, without the coldness of his hands, the frost will disperse

Knowing the Captain, he mostly doesn’t rely on them. He’s more like Aizawa, he uses his quirk when he feels like he must

Warriors quirk is mostly lackluster, but trust that he can still very much beat your ass without it

Wild - also technically already has one(bullet time) but Spiritual Connection

Spiritual Connection was thought of because of his whole thing with the other Champions

Wild can see and talk to spirits. He can also use their quirks, if they allow him to take it

Spirits love being around him, and he has probably been suspected of having AFO at some point, but he just has a lot of dead friends

Because why have living friends, when you can have dead ones? :3

Wind - Wind Bombs

Wind deserves bomb rights.

Wind bombs are small cyclones that can and will explode, should Wind make them

He probably blew a kid up once when his quirk first spawned

Parents hate him, but he loves his quirk

It’s a nice warning when you get hit was a wind bomb in your chest (:

Hyrule - Cloned

Hyrule can clone only inanimate objects

You know, like how his sword sort of has a shadow? I don’t feel like getting a picture

But when his enemy gets hit with his sword’s silhouette? Yeah, that’s his quirk

He clones money a fuck too

He’s a rebellious teen probably…idk

Legend - Alteration

Inspired by the whole painting shenanigans in albw

But anyway, Legend’s body is able to adapt to any environment

If he needs to keep up with a long legged person, boom, he has longer legs than they have now and now they have to jog to keep up

Need to get your phone that fell in the crack of your bed? Boom. Thin arm

Need to slip into a crack in a wall to kill that roach, bam, small and skinny

My man is more fantastic than Mr. Fantastic

Four - Mental manipulation

You know how the colors have their respective emotions…but not really…I think

Like Blue is usually characterized as angry a lot

Like that

So with Mental Manipulation, Four can alter someone’s emotions or thoughts

It’s that simple

You’re feeling depressed today? Nah. Have some choccy milk and be immensely happy.

Your significant other is making you nervous with how much you want to kiss them? Nah, Four got you, have some more confidence

You think you’re a sane human being? Nah. Go commit arson

So…yeah

There it is

The Chain and their My Hero Academia quirks

Thank you for reading :3

If you have different ideas for their quirks, I’d love to here them in the comments

Anyway, thanks for reading

[themosleyreview]

The Mosley Review: The Lord of the Rings: War of the Rohirrim

Expansion can be the sweetess addition and the most bitter tasting word to ever be uttered. It means more than just what is written in the dictionary. For you and I, it gives us the fans a chance to go back to a world or universe that we loved the moment our eyes gazed upon its majesty. Its a chance to explore the lesser known borders of the pages and go deeper into the history of an already rich world. Some franchises have upheld the quality of storytelling that we expect each time and some have massively squandered it to the point of unrecognizability. Here we are with another attempt to expand those borders and lore of Peter Jackson's adaptation of J.R.R. Tolkiens' world and I have to say it was a mixed bag. From the beginning, the welcoming horns and clearingness of the trumpets pull you back into the lands of Rohan and in a new adventure that some might say was a risky move. I for one was open to this prequel expansion of the lore in anime form and it didn't disappoint. The art form of anime and Tolkien's world mix together like peanut butter and jelly, even if at times there's too much jelly and not enough butter to get keep it solid.

The vocal performances from the cast alone were outstanding across the board. Gaia Wise was great as Héra and enjoyed her will to defend her family. She wasn't afraid to be vulnerable in the most sensitive moments of the story and she really handled herself well in the majority of the battles. Her story starts and ends sort of the same where there really wasn't much of growth beyond skilled abilities as a defender and rider. There are characters that end up being too perfect as a story goes along and never really get "dirt on them" so to speak. Hera was that for me and I wish I could articulate what was missing from her character that didn't really click for me. Lorraine Ashbourne was amazing as her aunt and former shieldmaiden of Rohan, Olwyn. Her chemistry with Hera was great and I was all about her strength and dedication to her people. Brian Cox as Helm Hammerhand was undoubtedly the standout of the film and bases of the lore of Rohan. Even in his voice and animation, he commands the room with his strong and steadfast beliefs. Helm was the vary definition of a King, but he falls into the same old traps of pride and stubborness. It wasn't until he finally knew deep loss that he became more humble and that was a quick journey and satisfying arc for him. Luke Pasqualino was great as the leader of the Dunlendings, Wulf. I loved his dark and brooding nature in the moments of planning his assault on Rohan. The classic unrequited love tale as old as time is explored here between him and Hera and I liked it. It served as one of the main pillars, along side revenge, for his campaign against Rohan. He was a formidable foe and absolute fool by the end. He illustrated the sad nature of men that have nothing left but hatred and rage in their blackended souls.

The score by composer Stephen Gallagher was fantastic and fit right at home in the world of Middle Earth. The many original themes of The Lord of the Rings and Rohan, created by the great Howard Shore, return and welcome you back with open arms. Like I said before, not all of this sticks together for me and drops this film from being great to good. The animation was fantastic with the use of many techniques that were hit and miss. There are many tracking shots that linger too long and the animation suffers from it. I loved seeing the brush strokes of the paint, but the animation of the characters were very jerky at times and lacked the smoothness I desired. I get that they were trying to capture actual physical movement, but it was inconsistent throughout. There is a sequence with an oliphaunt that kept a plot line going that ultimate had no end and bloated the runtime with its unnecessary and questionable end. The climactic battle although exceptionally personal, was lackluster in its final blow. Overall, while the score and artful take on a tale of Middle Earth was a welcomed return, I felt the story of Hera was the weakest element of the film. Director Kenji Kamiyama has made an entertaining animated adventure, but it lacked the same polish that we all expect from the on screen world of Peter Jackson's Middle Earth. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

[astrangergivingthestrangewelcome]

For the ask game!

💕 What is your favorite fic that you’ve written?

🥳 Why did you start writing fanfic?

🦈 Which character is the toughest to write?

💕 there are different things I really like about a lot of my fics, but honestly it's Blood Wisdom. Even though I've written 71k (!!) more of the story since Blood Wisdom and I think grown as a writer a lot since then... it's Blood Wisdom. One of the reasons that I started to write Strange Wonders was because I just thought that the ending of Dracula was lackluster. It's fine, but it starts off this Very strong psychological drama between Jonathan and Dracula and the way it ends... You might as well have car chase music playing tbh. Dracula doesn't speak past October 3rd. He's a total non-character in his own climax. It's cool that Jonathan kills him, but you're not in Jonathan's head in anyway... I wanted to end it as a psychological drama between Jonathan and Dracula and it was just really really satisfying to me to write. You know when things are just going great and you're sitting at your laptop and it's like you're in an elevated state of being and your energy is up bc you're writing it and it's like you're in your story and you start to feel the emotions you're writing for your characters? That's really what it was like for me to write Jonathan and Dracula's last verbal exchange. Like there's a line in that story where Mina says that Jonathan left the study in an agitated state and went out for a walk after he wrote his ending, and I included that because I left my living room in an agitated state and took a walk after I wrote that scene as well. I had just the best time.

And even though I would say New Woman has really given me the most valuable practice at adaptational plotting, Blood Wisdom was really the first successful time I had to sit down with a plotting problem and figure out "hey, I need these story beats from this moment. What do I need to do to get myself there?" It was a big moment of proving to myself that I could do that sort of a thing, and even though the story was only under 30k at that point in time it meant a lot to me that I had written a longer story with a beginning, middle and end.

🥳 The year was 2010, I was 10 years old and was very guilty telling fanfiction.net that I was 13 years old so that I could read James and Sarah fan fiction for PBS's American Revolution cartoon Liberty's Kids... I decided I wanted to write James and Sarah fanfiction myself and spent an afternoon writing maybe a page before I accidentally deleted everything and never started again because I was so discouraged. The next fanfic I would write and actually publish would be a BBC Sherlock fic in 2016. 🤣

I think my reasons are the same as anyone else's really. I get inspired by fiction and want to fill in the gaps. While this is not true for all of the fanfiction that I've written, I definitely tend to write my best work when I want to see something happen in a story that I don't get to see.

🦈 I've only ever written one scene with Lucy in it but I don't think she'll prove very difficult to write for. The character that I struggled with the most was probably Van Helsing. I know that Uncommon Horrors and the Resilience of the Dawn were in fact supposed to be one fic, but I switched perspective because I was like God damn I can't be in his head 24/7 anymore this is killing me. Just in terms of doing a pastiche of how Stoker has him talk. It's all right when he's just saying dialogue, but when the entire description of everything, dialogue and thought and all that has to be in that style as well... it was challenging. But I do like some of the lines that I wrote as Van Helsing. I am moderately satisfied with the end product but a lot of blood sweat and tears came before it lol.

Thanks friend!

[the-sky-queen]

So what's the deal with Sonic of Mars? Because I saw that Shadouge post, and now I'm intrigued, but I don't know anything about Princess of Mars or John Carter. Explain?

I'm so happy to hear you're interested! And don't worry about not knowing anything about the source material. It's kinda obscure, sadly. I've already made two posts about the basics of the plot, so make sure to read those first!

Since you seem to be interested in the shadouge aspect of the AU, I'll explain a bit more there! Basically, Shadow is the jeddak (leader) of the Tharks, a nation of sorts of one of the various alien races of Barsoom (Mars). They're a very war-like people and believe things like kindness and love are weaknesses. So, there aren't really relationships in their culture. Two people will 'mate' temporarily for the purpose of bearing children, but those children are then given to someone else to raise. Shadow especially isn't supposed to have a romantic relationship because he's the jeddak and he shouldn't get distracted from his duties. However, fate brought Shadow and Rouge together and they fell in love. The two are secretly married now. No one can find out about them, or else Shadow will surely be overthrown and the two of them will likely be killed.

And if you're interested in the history of the Princess of Mars book and the John Carter movie, I'll include a run down under the cut. :)

So Princess of Mars is a book written clear back in 1912. This thing is really old! It was written by Edgar Rice Burroughs, the guy who wrote Tarzan. There's a whole series for this book, but I've only read the first two books (A Princess of Mars and The Gods of Mars). This book and the whole series is really the backbone for a lot of modern sci-fi. Apparently, things like Star Wars and Avatar have taken inspiration from it!

In 2012, Disney made a movie adaptation of Princess of Mars, which they titled John Carter. For various dumb reasons, the higher ups kinda sabotaged the movie through a really lackluster promotional campaign. The movie got bad press and was accused of copying other sci-fi stuff. (The very stuff it INSPIRED might I add.) John Carter was largely considered a failure and it then sank into obscurity, which is really sad because it's SO COOL. Which is why I'm now making into a Sonic AU. :) (Also, I'm going to be following the plot of the movie more than the book. They're pretty similar, but they differ in some places.)

(If you wanna get into the series, be aware that it's kinda violent. Also, I'd recommend watching the movie and not looking at any of the pictures for the book if you value your eyes. A lot of artists have taken Edgar Rice Burroughs' description of minimal clothes very literally and its extremely uncomfortable. The movie is much better in this regard.)