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thegayhimbo · 2 months

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Stranger Things The Voyage Review

WARNING: The following review contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the comic!

Stranger Things Reviews/Theories

Stranger Things Comics/Graphic Novels:

Stranger Things Six

Stranger Things Halloween Special

Stranger Things The Other Side

Stranger Things Zombie Boys

Stranger Things The Bully

Stranger Things Winter Special

Stranger Things Tomb of Ybwen

Stranger Things Into The Fire

Stranger Things Science Camp

Stranger Things “The Game Master” and “Erica’s Quest”

Stranger Things and Dungeons and Dragons

Stranger Things Kamchatka

Stranger Things Erica The Great

Stranger Things “Creature Feature” and “Summer Special”

Stranger Things Tales From Hawkins

Stranger Things x TMNT Crossover

Stranger Things Tie-In Books:

Stranger Things Suspicious Minds

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Runaway Max (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 1 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 2 of 3)

Stranger Things Darkness On The Edge Of Town (Part 3 of 3)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 1 of 2)

Stranger Things Rebel Robin Book and Podcast (Part 2 of 2)

Stranger Things Hawkins Horrors Review

Stranger Things Flight Of Icarus

Stranger Things Lucas On The Line

Stranger Things Episode Reviews:

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 1 of 2)

The Vanishing of Will Byers (Part 2 of 2)

Synopsis: When Captain Jacoby Cunningham (no relation to Chrissy Cunningham) is approached by Russians for an "off-the-books, no questions asked" sea voyage to Kamchatka, he reluctantly take the job in exchange for much-needed compensation. However, tensions immediately begin to brew between his crew and the suspicious passengers. When a storm hits and a crew member goes missing, Jacoby begins to realize that not only is he way in over his head, but his employers may have brought an unwelcome and deadly passenger onboard without his knowledge.........

Observations:

Back in September (Has it really been that long?) when I did my review of Stranger Things Kamchatka, I predicted that The Voyage (which had yet to debut at that point) would likely follow the same plot threads of Ridley Scott's Alien. Guess who turned out to be right on that call?

And when I say similar plot threads, I mean eerily similar:

A commercial crew is out in the middle of nowhere (space in Alien, the sea in The Voyage) having picked up cargo they know nothing about. Said cargo turns out to be a creature (Xenomorph/Demogorgon) that gets loose on the ship and begins picking off the crew members one-by-one. The remaining crew eventually come to understand that this wasn't a happy accident, and that their employers (Weyland-Yutani/The Soviets) arranged for this to happen for their own purposes. Realizing they've become expendable, the crew is forced to fight for their lives, with their chances of survival looking slimmer by the minute. All of which culminates in a highly tense showdown.

Both the Stranger Things comics and novels have traditionally drawn inspiration from (or in some cases, paid homage to) famous movies from the 70s and 80s. Science Camp did it with the Friday the 13th Franchise. Tomb of Ybwen did it for The Goonies. Darkness on the Edge of Town drew heavily from Escape from New York (as well as the comic Batman The Cult). The Voyage follows a similar trajectory, so it's not unique in that regard, but it does add its own twists and turns (similar to the other comics/tie-ins I just mentioned) to keep things engaging without becoming a blatant rip-off. There were times I didn't know what direction the story was going, even though I had some general idea of how it might end (i.e not well). It's the same feeling I had two years ago when we were all waiting for Vol 2 of Season 4 to come out, and it helped me stay invested in this comic.

Speaking of which, The Voyage takes place between seasons 3 and 4, and acts as a prequel to Stranger Things Kamchatka. Unlike that comic, which was stylized as a Cold War thriller with science-fiction elements sprinkled in, this comic is straight science-fiction horror, with a major emphasis on the horror aspect:

There were genuinely scary moments in this comic, and a sense of dread and unease with each turn of the page. This is a comic that does an excellent job keeping you on edge.

I know I previously said that Stranger Things Kamchatka was a violent comic (even by the standards of the show) that didn't shy away from depicting graphic scenes. While I still stand by that, this comic arguably takes those graphic scenes up to eleven. Some of the deaths at the hands of the Demogorgon are the kinds of moments you'd expect to see in a gory R-Rated film:

Major props to the writers and artists for making effective use of lighting, shadows, colors, and the Demogorgon's vicious nature to truly emphasize the terror of being trapped in an isolated location with a monster that wants you dead.

On top of that, I appreciate how, even with the Demogorgon running around and causing chaos, the writers were able to keep tensions high during the scenes between Captain Jacoby's crew and the Soviets. Every interaction between these two groups was ripe with paranoia and mistrust, and I'm glad that the comic didn't beat around the bush in spelling out that the Russians were the antagonists. They even brought back a familiar face from the Kamchatka comic to emphasize this: Dr. Karine.

The moment she appeared in this comic is the moment I realized that, in spite of being the villain, this was her story. Captain Jacoby is initially set up as the main character, but the comic subverts this towards the end by turning him into a false protagonist who is doomed to die.

In fact, with the exception of one other character whose fate is left up in the air (and who could potentially appear in a sequel should the writers choose to pursue that), guess who ends up being the main survivor by the end of this?

Like I've said, the parallels to Alien (1979) are uncanny. However, instead of heroic final girl Ellen Ripley surviving the Xenomorph's carnage, we get villainous Dr. Karine managing to remain alive and come out on top. Since this comic is a prequel to Kamchatka, it isn't much of a spoiler to point out that she doesn't die (though interestingly enough, we never find out if the Demogorgon she smuggled onboard also survived the explosion).

The only other character who gets fleshed-out in any meaningful way is Captain Jacoby. Bit by bit, we are shown glimpses of his past as a disgraced military veteran, and find out he'd initially been an illegal gun-runner for the U.S. army, up until he accidentally led his men into a horrific ambush that cost them their lives:

When he tried to inquire into how things went wrong so quickly, he was dishonorably discharged (with the implication that his superiors threw him under the bus in an attempt to cover their asses), and it led to him regretting poking his nose in other people's businesses. This in turn led to him suppressing his curiosity in favor of taking shady jobs to survive. Unfortunately for him, and to the detriment of his crew, not only did this attitude cause him to take Dr. Karine's deal to ferry them to Kamchatka, but it also resulted in him missing some major warning signs that she and her people were not to be trusted. Everything went downhill from there.

Captain Jacoby and Dr. Karine's exchanges were interesting in that they provided humanizing moments for both characters, and also gave brief but unique insight into Dr. Karine's motivations:

I remember not caring that much for Dr. Karine in the Kamchatka comic since she came off as little more than a generic evil mad-scientist, but this comic turns that around with this conversation she has with Captain Jacoby. Regardless of what kind of person Dr. Karine is, she has enough self-awareness to recognize that, at the end of the day, she is merely a pawn for her government and their agenda, and that she could easily become expendable in the name of "The Motherland" or whatever self-serving cause her superiors decide to inevitably sacrifice her to. She isn't lying in this scene: You can practically sense the bitterness and resentment in her tone, intertwined with her clumsy attempt to empathize with Jacoby's backstory.

This gives more depth to her fascination with the Upside Down and the Demogorgon: It isn't just about harnessing its power; it's an escape for her. An escape from being under her governments fist, and an escape from the "forced conformity" of being an obedient citizen to a collapsing empire.

Come to think of it, when you look at many of the Russian characters in both the comics and the show, from Agent Frost to Alexei to Enzo/Dmitri to even Yuri, there's a recurring theme of these characters either growing disillusioned with the Soviet Union, or recognizing how shitty it is living in Russia, and doing everything they can to climb out of that hole before they're buried underneath.

I don't know if any of the characters in the comics will make an appearance in the final season of the show (my money is likely on it not happening), but if the Duffer Brothers are planning on bringing back the Russian arc for Season 5, and are looking for an antagonist to fill that role, then they might as well incorporate Dr. Karine. They've already written two comics around her character, establishing her as a credible threat and a compelling villain, and it would be a lot better than introducing another generic forgettable Russian Authority Figure** in lieu of what we've gotten for the past two seasons:

(**Can anyone even tell me their names without Googling them?)

I know some fans aren't eager to revisit the Russian arc return in S5, but considering the show's already spent 2 seasons on it and there are still unanswered questions (i.e. Who was the mole at Hawkins Lab that informed the Russians about El opening the gate? How did the Russians get that piece of the Mind Flayer, and what do they know about it? Are there other Russian facilities keeping UD monsters in captivity? Do the Russians plan to come back to America to either capture more monsters, or take revenge against Hopper, Joyce, and Murray for ruining their plans? Etc, etc.), they might as well wrap this up and give it a satisfying conclusion. Last thing I want to see are more story arcs left unresolved (*cough* Kali Prasad *cough*).

In regards to the other characters in the comic, I don't have much to say about them since they're not really developed. The remaining Soviets on the ship are either generic dumb-muscle or yes-men to Dr. Karine, and the rest of the crew don't have memorable personalities that make them stand out. Considering this is a monster story where most of the characters are going to be killed off anyways, the lack of development doesn't bother me.

Things That (Somewhat) Tie Into The Show:

The Voyage does provides a reasonable, albeit mundane, explanation for how the Soviets got the UD monsters out of Hawkins across the sea to Russia: They found people they could bribe to look the other way and not ask any questions while they smuggled their cargo (and presumably themselves and Hopper) to Kamchatka. Unlike Dr. Karine's Demogrogon, I'm assuming they found a way to keep the monsters anesthetized and hidden better so they wouldn't cause problems or attract unwanted attention.

On top of that, the device Dr. Karine was pursuing in the comic Kamchatka makes an appearance again, except with a different purpose: Instead of it being used to keep the Demogorgon alive, it's used by her to control the Demogorgon and hunt down Captain Jacoby's remaining crew in the climax:

While this is a Retcon from how the device was said to work in the previous comic, it's one I don't mind because the explanation here at least makes sense. The device allows Dr. Karine to mentally connect with the Demogorgon and control it, similar to how Vecna uses the Mind Flayer to possess people/UD monsters and control them. It also gives insight into how the Russians planned to weaponize the Demogorgons and Demodogs to do their bidding without having to worry about the monsters turning on them. While we don't see this particular aspect play out on the show (if anything, the Russians in S4 treated their Demogorgon like an attack dog with barely any restraint), it's an avenue the Duffer Brothers could explore should they choose to continue with the Russian arc in S5.

Overall, this was a grisly and dark comic, but one that kept me invested. For that, I give it a high recommendation.

#stranger things #stranger things comics #stranger things the voyage #the voyage #st5 spoilers #stranger things season 5 #stranger things theories #st5 theories #dr. karine #demogorgon #jim hopper #vecna #captain jacoby cunningham #tgh opinions #tgh reviews #alien 1979 #the duffer brothers

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rolandrockover · 2 months

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War of Not (Reprise Vol. 4)

War Machine is hitting the shit a lot harder than just about any other Kiss song before. Not only musically, because of its straight but brute heaviness, but most certainly to the same degree lyrically as well.

These more or less give free rein to a fantasy of violence lead by a call for regency of the fist over society, if of necessity, then even by pure forceful breaking the laws of nature in two. Demons or whatever merely make it in as a side note, but only to demonstrate the pure wickedness of the non-demonic spokesman of this song, who gets pure satisfaction by calling for the release of all demons, and finds pleasure in the midst of the chaos he creates.

So, someone please tell me that this is not hard stuff.

You could ask yourself if this could be a foreshadowing of a planned removal of the make-up for the release of Creatures of the Night, considering that War Machine's title character is only human, and not a demon or anything similar, thus demonstrating that this human protagonist of War Machine, a possibly unmasked Gene, is quite capable of not only competing with demons, but even being superior to them in pure attitude (1). If this were indeed the case, I would find it rather regrettable not to have been true to this line in the following years.

Apart from Lick It Up, of course.

If you wanted it that way you could include Not for the Innocent (2) in this attitude scheme, and more than just the attempt to express that one is dealing with really bad guys here. The world in which we move here is primarily concerned with the law of the jungle in an anarchic world from which there is no escape, because apparently no one is left to protect the innocent from the beasts on the loose. If Kiss were universe-building in their lyrics, one could assume this and the apocalyptic theme of the Lick it up videos was as a direct consequence of the intended world overthrow out of War Machine (3).

This concept would have at least provided a real opportunity for Gene to have a contemporary tough persona for himself during the unmasked era that he could have stayed true to. But I guess that new revolution just didn't work (4) .

And Asylum and that colorful drag were a pretty good concept, too.

Side Note:

(1) After all, War Machine was the legitimate God of Thunder of the 80s for unmasked Kiss.

(2) All Hell's Breakin' Loose, And on the 8th Day, Young and Wasted and whatever from Lick It Up also fitted in perfectly.

(3) Incidentally, the substantially longer original entry from which some of these words originate can be found right here.

(4) The apocalyptic theme at least made it onto the back cover of Animalize, but that was it.

War Machine (1982)

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Not For the Innocent (1983)

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shiningdesignersreflections · 9 months

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Yexiao: Deep In The Clouds

Designer's Reflection: Deep In The Clouds

Obtained: Qingxiao Legend event

Rarity: SSR

Attribute: Gold/Elegant

Awakened Suit: Hiding Moon

Story - transcripts from Designer's Reflection

Chapter 1 - Rainy Night Meeting

Chapter 2 - Moment of Awakening

Chapter 3 - Crimson Crisis

Chapter 4 - Unknown End

Story - summarized

Back when the outskirts of Cloudcrest weren't urbanized yet, Yexiao heard of a loner living on a nearby hill. Everyone gossiped about him and called him a "psycho." Nevertheless, she was curious about him, so she drew up a design and went to go visit him during a heavy storm.

He tried to turn her away, but she shoved her design prints into his face: she wanted to create a living monster and observe the unknown. The man, Insay, was a mix of interested and scared. Could this even work? But he invited in Yexiao and they started their experiments.

The local villagers still gossiped about them, fearful of what was going on but not willing to check. Finally, Yexiao and Insay created their monster and successfully brought it to life. The villagers could hear the monster's roar, terrifying them more. This did not upset Yexiao in the slightest when she would come to the village market for food and supplies. The unknown was scary, she reasoned, so naturally others would be put off by it.

But one day, when she went to the market, a child dashed into the center and cried about a monster on the loose and blood in the river. Everyone panicked and raced for their homes, while Yexiao ran as fast as she could back to Insay's house. The man was gravely injured, but he had managed to lock and secure the trapdoor to the underground lab.

The monster still tried to escape. Yexiao made her way down there and searched the destroyed lab for any signs of the monster. It tried to sneak up on her, and she barely escaped. She was scared. When all seemed lost, she shut off the light. The monster hated the darkness.

When she saw its glowing heart, Yexiao grabbed a scalpel and stalked the creature until she plunged the scalpel into its chest, killing it. Its scales glowed as its life drained away. She thought she had prepared for everything, but no one can truly fathom the unknown.

Connections

-Yexiao may be gentle, but she has always embraced the unknown: from her leaving the Ark in Blooming Magnolia, to this adventure, to her leaving the village of Banyan in Spring Forest and the events in Mind Maze 5.

-In Vol. 1 Chapter 7, Nikki is overwhelmed by the power of Designer's Reflection, causing her to experience two realities at once: Miraland in Path A and the Ocean of Memories in Path B. Yexiao appears to Nikki in Path B through visions to help her through the unknown and avoid drowning. Much of her advice can be traced back to her experiences with Insay and the monster.

Fun Facts

-The monster's species is never given, but its description matches that of a dragon: has scales and a huge body, roars loudly, prefers fresh meat, and moves in a writhing motion. (East-Asian dragons are more snake-like than other dragons.)

-Yexiao's favorite motif is flowers, and this Reflection managed to work it in when she describes the monster's blood and scales as like blooming flowers.

-Since Yexiao could feel the creature's emotions so clearly, it's possible that she is tied to the monster.

-This story shares many similarities to Mary Shelley's Frankenstein: stormy night, fearful gossip, wild creature, the desire to create life and dive into the unknown, and the creator (just Insay in this case) dying in an attempt to stop/catch the monster.

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vanlegion · 1 year

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Through the Looking Glass, Darkly

Some thoughts and theories about Juane on RWBY Vol.9 OP, Episode 1 and onward.

But also something about the OP no one has mentioned yet. Could be minor, or it could be huge.

This contains spoilers, so I’ll do a break and tag accordingly.

So since the teaser and moving forward, and with everything that has been giving to us so far, one of the biggest things I see, and *partially* agree with is:

This is our White Knight, Possibly also the/connected to the White Rabbit (this character is seen with a JACKALOPE towards the end of the OP) and hinted to be Juane.

I agree . . but I do not believe this is ALL of Juane. I think this is only HALF of Juane.

So far, a lot of speculation about this season is about what’s INSIDE. The Within. “What are you?”

In fact, these scene during the OP has the lyrics ‘Inside’ framed on it. Looking in, seeing darkness, seeing nothing. And as pointed out by many others which I did not see before, there is no 11th hour. Hope is lost.

This man is broken. Fractured. Much like his sword.

This card, along with Ruby’s own card, are the only characters to have any other color on them that’s not a hue or tint of their predominate color.

Juane has the red of the blood from Penny, Ruby has white for emptiness, nothingness.

We see Ruby slowing down, loosing her light, lossing her way. She is slowly becoming undone.

But Juane, is already broken, and his mind is fractured. He has had no time to process the fact he had to kill someone dear to himself and even more so to Team RWBY - to Ruby herself. Ruby who is his very dear to him. His first friend at Beacon. His Team Leader buddy, who has helped him through so much.

It does not matter it was war. It does not matter the sacrifice was necessary.

That scream he let go of when he had to do what was asked of him, was the scream of someone breaking, and then smbolically, so too goes his sword.

And so he falls, he shatters.

So then. . . “What are you?”

Juane no longer can feel like he’s a Hero. Juane can no longer feel like he’s going to be there to save people.

Because now Juane feels like a monster. A killer. A murder.

So now this place takes that fractured mind, that broken boy and makes him into what he feels he really is, a monster:

“. . . or could I lose my mind?” The first time we see the Jabberwalker, it is ‘Seeking, Searching, Scouring, Stalking.’

It then listens, senses danger and after accessing attacks. It then sizes up its target. Then, when it analyzed the battlefield and sees it is outnumbered, it makes the call to Retreat.

A creature of high intelligence and battle field tactics. Voicing its actions as if voicing commands to others, but no one is there except itself. Was able to show great strength against Blake, and then took evasive action.

I think this is actually the real Juane, or rather his mind and soul. I think the White Knight is his empty body, a vessel and little else. A malleable puppet.

Or perhaps the WK part of Juane is what is left of the hero he was suppose to be, and this creature is what he feels he’s become. A danger. A monster.

The Chevrons on the tail seem an interesting choice, and what are Chevrons is just a pointed arc?

Then lastly, the OP - At the end as Ruby falls, she falls downward and passes by all the important highlighting motifs. . . except. . . I saw something peculiar. She’s falling in front of every thing as she descends. . making this seem like a flat image. Making it seem she’s beyond their reach.

Except. .

This creature is not reaching UP the graphic, it’s reaching OUT of the graphic.

Ruby falls BEHIND this creatures hand.

That is an Animation CHOICE. To me that is SIGNIFICANT.

Also to me the significance of the broken mind is the placement of these two - the high standing hero figure (top) looking towards the horizon, and the other the demon/monster (bottom) look up towards where it’s trying to reach

But I will stress all of this is just my crazy brain putting little tiny things together, exploding those into a macro level of thoughts and feelings. I feel the WK/WR is a huge subversion, a great one, and no one has questioned what the sanity of an already broken mind could look like. . because we are instead watching the possible fall and break of another one.

#rwby spoilers #rwby spoiler tag #rwby volume 9 #rwby theory #rwby thoughts #theories about juane #also ruby #god my poor cinnamon rolls ; - ;#jabberwalker #OP examination

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irrfahrer · 1 year

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Your Muse in 10 Quotes: Ziv Odiz’ Zee As a OC Ziv does not really has a Quote that defines her beside “Kriff it”, so its just not so random Media here that was used for building her character. Tagged By: @strongfuck Tagging: @sithisms @mando-of-esverr @lighthouseborn @peacefaithed @envychosen @starfaithed @lessthantwelve @talesgolden @retrocognizantrecreant @cnlyluck @onehell-of-apilot @skysnipsw @space-hecate @asycuwish @skyler-bane @bewitchingbaker @hopexncarnate @beskar-himbo @ofthestcrs @honorhunt @lady-proudmoore @savior-of-humanity @stillfocvsed @gildedcommander @fallesto @outcaststar @jedilovcd @poewingsdameron @cardinal-carvings @smertzimy @kyberllcore @cfmartyrs @general-kalani @luminousxbeings @thaneirstaer @admrl @notsith @gwiazdowe @lvkexskywvlker @drabbles-n-doodles @preempire @ariadne-inthesky @archaeotech @sxbaist @lightfaithed @trueheartofarebel @protectxthem @hunters-house @masterofthelivingforce @startrailed @bladelancer @wartornpilot @hosnianleft @rcfekjwtaardby @sithdestined @safrona-shadowsun @stubborn-amphibian @ncxile @skywlkrr @jedixamidala @chromium-siren @aetcrnus @savesgalaxy @bountyborn @memcriaes @2sabers @creaticn @thestupidmeanone @fatewills…and everyone else who blinked today!

“1. Organize before they rise! 2. They feel no fear, why should you? 3. Use your head: cut off theirs. 4. Blades don't need reloading. 5. Ideal protection = tight clothes, short hair. 6. Get up the staircase, then destroy it. 7. Get out of the car, get onto the bike. 8. Keep moving, keep low, keep quiet, keep alert! 9. No place is safe, only safer. 10.The zombie may be gone, but the threat lives on.” From The Zombie Survival Guide: Complete Protection from the Living Dead by Max Brooks.

“Every so often, the Universe must just get bored and decide to really cut loose.” From Red Harvest by Joe Schreiber

“Will Ossai be well?” “Hmm, He is what the Mosspeople call a ´Unseen´. With the knowledge of the earth, ground and greens he can move through any area without beeing noticed. If he does not want your Clan to see him, Your Clan will not see him. Of all people, don´t fret for Ossai, Laghou, he will be well.” From Neandertal Vol. 3 by Emanuel Roudier

“Ah,I remember you. Sylvanus, right?” “Seianus!” “Hard to forget the last four letters of your name.” From Les Aigles de Rome by Emmanuel Roudier

“It was disorienting. Beeing thausand of miles away from anything familiar was strange enough. But Courtney didn´t even feel she had a Home to return to. She felt like a lost ship after all the continents had sunk under the sea...wondering if there were any other ships out there on the endless, empty ocean.” From “Courtney Crumrin Volume 4: Monstrous Holiday″ Written by Ted Naifeh.

“So I got to figure out a way to grow three years’ worth of food here. On a planet where nothing grows. Luckily I’m a botanist. Mars will come to fear my botany powers.” From The Martian by Andy Weir.

She looked at him and shook her head. ‘I feel like a hulder.’ He’d heard the word before, in Norway. ‘Aren’t they a kind of troll?’‘No they are mountain creatures, like the trolls, but they come from the woods, and they are very beautiful. Like me.’ She grinned as she said it, as if she knew that she was too pallid, too sulky and too thin to ever to be beautiful. ‘They fall in love with farmers.’ ‘Why?’ ‘Damned if I know,’ she said. ‘But they do. Sometimes the farmer realises that he is talking to a hulder woman, because she has a cow’s tail hanging down behind, or worse, sometimes from behind there is nothing there, she is just hollow and empty, like a shell. Then the farmer says a prayer, or runs away, flees back to his mother or his farm.‘But sometimes the farmers do not run. Sometimes they throw a knife over her shoulder, or just smile, and they marry the huldra woman. Then her tail falls off. But she is still stronger than any human woman could ever be. And she still pines for her home in the forests and the mountains. She will never truly be happy.She will never be human.’From “Monarch of the Glen” by Neil Gaiman.

When the barber-surgeon peeled the dressing from the wound. Rittersporn groaned pitifully. 'Relax,' Regis said, cleansing the wound. 'It's nothing. Only blood. Only a little blood... Your blood smells nice, poet.' At precisely that moment the Witcher did something Milva would never have expected. He walked over to the horse and drew a long Nilfgaardian sword from the scabbard fastened under the saddle flap. 'Move away from him,' he snarled, standing over the barber-surgeon. 'The blood smells nice,' Regis repeated, not paying the slightest bit of attention to the Witcher. 'I can't detect in it the smell of infection, which with a head wound could have disastrous consequences. The main arteries and veins are intact... This will sting a little.' Rittersporn groaned and took a sharp intake of breath. The sword in the Witcher's hand vibrated and glistened with light reflected from the river. 'I'll put in a few stitches,' Regis said, continuing to ignore both the Witcher and his sword. 'Be brave. Rittersporn.' Rittersporn was brave. 'Almost done here,' Regis said, setting about bandaging the victim's head. 'Don't you worry. Rittersporn, you'll be right as rain. The wound's just right for a poet. Rittersporn. You'll look like a war hero, with a proud bandage around your head, and the hearts of the maidens looking at you will melt like wax. Yes, a truly poetic wound. Unlike an abdominal wound for instance. Liver all cut up, kidneys and guts mangled, stomach contents and faeces pouring out, peritonitis... Right, that's done. Geralt, I'm all yours.' From Chrzest ognia by Andrzej Sapkowski

“Yet here I am, Zahara thought now, queen of her own miniature kingdom, after all, duchess of the empty bunks, and our lady of the perpetual stomachache. Involuntary lust-object of a hundred emotionally frustrated prison guards and deprived stormtroopers. Dispenser of medicine, charged with keeping the inmates of the Imperial Prison Barge Purge alive long enough to be permanently detained on some remote prison moon.” From Death Troopers by Joe Schreiber

“Medicine is the opportune application of poisons. Healers and poisoners are folks with similar skill sets and wildly different philosophies. “ From a Tumblr Post answered by Dandelionwitch.

#I said it before and I say it again : Marcus Valerius Falco gives the best burns in the whole Varusbattle #headcanon #irrfahrer #Ziv Odiz' Zee

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kudosmyhero · 3 months

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Daredevil (vol. 1) #113: When Strikes the Gladiator!

Read Date: May 31, 2023 Cover Date: September 1974 ● Writer: Steve Gerber ● Penciler: William Robert Brown ● Inker: Vince Colletta ● Colorist: Linda Lessman ● Letterer: Artie Simek ● Editor: Roy Thomas ●

**HERE BE SPOILERS: Skip ahead to the fan art/podcast to avoid spoilers

Reactions As I Read: ● GLADIATOR <3 ● is Matt finally back in New York for good? ● Artie Simek’s lettering is chef's 💋. never really noticed until I came across a lot of comics with not-great lettering ● DD heading to Netflix headquarters, apparently

● if Candace needs a lawyer, why didn’t she call her brother, the D.A.? ● o_o is that the first time we really see Gladiator’s blades cut someone? ● ah, so that’s why Candace didn’t call Foggy ● a mention of both the Daily Bugle and ESU. could there be a Spidey crossover in the near future? ● finally a good DD story! ● 👏👏👏👏

Synopsis: Following the defeat of the Mandrill and the Black Spectre, Matt Murdock decides to remain in New York for the time being in order to get the District Attourney's office back in order while Foggy Nelson is still recovering and bids farewell to Natasha for the time being parting with a kiss. Out on patrol as Daredevil, Matt broods over his relationship with the Black Widow and the current state of things in his life, he returns home just to miss a phone call.

It is from Candace Nelson who is trying to get a hold of Matt Murdock to represent her now that two FBI agents have come to take her into protective custody. With no time to wait, they take the research papers she has collected and is being led out when suddenly her apartment is crashed by the Gladiator. He critically wounds the two FBI Agents, takes the research papers and escapes with Candace as his prisoner.

When news breaks out, Foggy and Matt are worried about Candace's well being, and Matt decides to investigate. Going to Empire State University, where Candace had told him her trouble began, he meets with School of Journalism teacher Charles Laing. Liang explains that Candace took an interest in the universities work with the military and stumbled upon experiments conducted by former ESU professor Ted Sallis regarding Formula SO-2 that would turn people into pollution breathing creatures so that the current rate of prophets for progress could continue unimpeded long after the pollution makes it too toxic for normal humans to live. The troubling fact about this research is that none of the research or it's findings ever went public and stranger still Sallis has since gone missing in the Florida Everglades.

Traveling out to Citrusville, Florida, Matt Murdock meets with radio DJ Richard Rory who tells Murdock everything he knows about the disappearance of Ted Sallis, the strange murders that happened at his old home, and the creature known as the Man-Thing. Being taken out to the Sallis property, both Richard and Matt are attacked by the Gladiator. When Richard is knocked out, Matt slips away to change into Daredevil.

During the fight, Daredevil has the advantage over his old foe, until Gladiator's missing swings cuts loose a tree branch that lands on Daredevil's head, knocking him out. Then out of the bushes comes the Gladiator's employer, a costumed villain known as the Death-Stalker. He orders the Gladiator to kill Daredevil, and as the Gladiator raises his arm to land the killing blow, the Man-Thing shambles out of the swamp to witness the scene.

(https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Daredevil_Vol_1_113)

Fan Art: The Gladiator by Kyle_Miller

Accompanying Podcast: ● Josh and Jamie Do Daredevil - episode 18

#daredevil #marvel #fanart #fan art #joshua and jamie do daredevil #podcast recommendations #comics #comic books #podcast recommendation #marvel comics #my marvel read

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yolciethar · 9 months

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Below the cut: An excerpt from the Rosengrimoire (Vol. 1), Preface, Section titled On recognition, and the acceptance of the Path.

Fair warning, it gets rather violent. This one's rather uncomfortable, at least to me. I get this sense of urgency reading this part, as though there's something important I need to be taking care of, but that's probably just anxiety flaring up as usual.

There's some parts that, in the book, are formatted in ways that aren't available here, so I had to add in notes [like this] to specify.

"[...] at the end of the chamber, in darkness, I could make out the edges of a doorway. Finally, a way out of this place. Hastily I crossed the empty hall, eager to leave this ghastly town behind, when I noticed movement in the corner of my eye. I knew better than to underestimate the creatures that nest in this realm, and so I came to a halt, now focused on the strange form arising from the ground near the exit. As it straightened itself up slowly, strenuously, giving its contour away through graceless motion, several observations could be made. It was large, larger than most living things I'd seen around there. I took several steps back, readying myself for inevitable combat against this unexpected opponent. Its form was organic in nature, lacking the long, pointed vertices signature to the hard-shelled critters. However, it clearly wasn't one of the mollusk ones either, lacking any tendrils to speak of and displaying a massively different body shape. It was when it reared its head and directed its gaze towards me that I was caught by surprise. A head? Nothing I'd encountered thus far had even come close to resembling a humanoid form. Could this be yet another type of lifeform inhabiting such a place as this? Unwilling to repeat my earlier mistake, I decided to remain at a distance and wait for its reaction. So did it. I cursed fate for presenting me with an unknown threat in such darkness. Now again unmoving, its outlines blended back in with the dark, crimson walls that surrounded us. Had it not been for the blood rushing in my ears, perhaps I could've heard it move, if it did. And so I stood with anxiety, and waited. Any moment, surely, it would lunge at me, or strike with some hidden appendage, or launch some sort of psychological assault. If there was any benefit to be gleaned from how treacherous this journey's first act turned out to be, it without a doubt was this: I had become accustomed to the ways of combat and self-defense. And so i braced myself. I waited.

Nothing.

What was it waiting for? I took a careful step to the side. No reaction. "Hello?" No reaction. I took a careful step toward it. No reaction.

I slowly started to approach the being, upholding my stance, ready to defend myself at any moment. And still, no reaction. Having closed some of the distance, I gained a better view, and began to be able to make out more of its appearance. What I saw was unlike anything I'd have expected. It was indeed humanoid in nature, and it would have towered over me had it not been for the fact that it was missing half its body from the abdomen down in a scarlet display of loose intestines. Part of its spine was visible amidst the bloody menagerie, pristine, as though it had not been crushed or sliced, but carefully excavated. The way the creature hovered above ground just barely kept the lowest segment from coming into contact with the floor. It lacked arms as well, cleanly sliced off at the shoulders. From these wounds in particular, though vibrant red flesh, fat tissue, and bone were perfectly visible, like a pristine cross-section, no fluids were leaking whatsoever. From its back, to the left and right, I could see thin bones jutting out from two large wounds. A pair of wings was floating at the same height - it appeared as though they had been torn out but retained their position relative to the main body through unknown means. The wings were much too small to carry a creature of its physique - barely the size of my hands. Its face remained indeterminable in the dark. The creature's hair provided further cover, obscuring its eyes from view. I could not tell whether it had a nose or a mouth at all. It appeared to be breathing, in any case, though none of the beings I'd encountered here had had such features save for the eyes of the mollusks. So sudden was the reveal of this mutilated, human-like creature that I had let my guard down processing all this information. Yet once again, it simply did not so much as keep its assumed gaze fixed upon me. Testing this observation, I caught the minute shifting of its head as I leaned from side to side. So it was clearly alive, clearly aware of me, and either unaware of its own condition or unable to express itself. Or perhaps this was simply how it normally appeared?

Regardless, it would not make any attempt at my life - again, unlike any other lifeform I'd come across here.

I decided to continue my approach, as foolish an idea it may seem now, hoping that perhaps communication of some kind could be established. Could it be intelligent? Maybe it consciously decided against engaging in hostile behavior, hoping itself that I may not be a thing of danger? Was it possible that things of human intelligence, even, would inhabit this place? What if it didn't belong here? Was it looking for help with those injuries? If they even were injuries, how was it even still alive? Now anxiously hopeful that I may gain an ally here, I took the initiative.

"Can you understand me? Do you need help?"

It quietly hovered in place.

"If we get out through that doorway there, we might be able to find a safer place, maybe even something to aid our injuries! If you won't hurt me, I will keep you safe from the creatures out there. Do you understand?"

It kept up its passive disposition.

"Gah... this is pointless, isn't it?", I muttered. I had so hoped it would react, that I wouldn't have to continue my journey through this perilous realm on my own. Any ally to be made here would be of immense value. Now, this situation had left me with little more than a growing sense of agitation.

I had just settled on simply moving on and leaving it behind, when a sudden sense of irritated curiosity got the better of me. I turned back toward it and reached out, settled a hand on its shoulder, and stared. I squeezed. Tried to shake it. It was understandably heavy, but not immovable. Yet still it did nothing. Its lack of expression, facial or otherwise, felt like mockery now, as though it was observing me, looking down on me, like I was some weak, lowly insect not worthy of a response. Fury welling up within me, I raised my other hand and struck the wretched thing in the face, breaking its direct gaze for the first time. It hesitated, head angled towards the floor, for a few seconds, leading me to believe it would remain this way in its usual irresponsive fashion. I was just about to push it away and, still steaming with irritation, exit the room at last, when it straightened up its head to its previous position, only now facing to my left. Again it hesitated, then turned back to me.

[Transcript note: the following three paragraphs were centrally aligned]

and struck the wretched thing in the manubrium. The force of the impact pushed it back by just a touch. Almost immediately, a blue-green hue accumulated at the point of impact, proving that it was indeed receptive to physical damage. This simple sight invoked a sense of satisfaction in me, though its continued passivity even in the face of genuine harm and hostility bothered me to no end. Again I cast my fist against its chest, again I did, and again, when finally it recoiled and shuddered. Proudly I inhaled, and began to utter some taunting words, when suddenly its head jumped to fix its gaze at me again.

struck the wretched thing in the stomach. My fist sank deeper than expected, likely due to its semi-eviscerated state. I applied more force, hoping to push against some internal component in order to inflict as much pain as would be possible through this simple motion. I froze, only now recognizing this situation should not bring me as much satisfaction as it did. Why exactly was I doing this? That question, however, remained unanswered. These thoughts disappeared as quickly as they had manifested. Instead, a violent desire welled up in my chest, sending warm ripples all throughout my body. As a consequence of plunging my fist into the thing's guts, I had come intimately close to it. Its hair gave off an aroma of Confusion and Numbness. Its chest pressed up against my own, I could clearly sense the beat its meek heart so insolently dared keep up. Carried away by this situation, enraptured by thoughts that I so dearly wish were not my own, now, I withdrew my arm from its abdomen and wrapped it around its back, bringing the other up to its chest. Ignoring a spark of singeing Mania in my eyes, I brought my face in front o

shoved it into the wretched thing's gaping wound at its side. The thin, flexible bones poked my skin, but weren't strong enough to penetrate it. I felt its rib-cage obstruct my fingers from digging further into its warm, slick flesh. I felt the creature twitch and shudder, jerk and cramp, though it made no attempts to move away. My hand now resting comfortably inside it, I curled my fingers, nails boring into some intestine or other, gaining a solid grasp and enabling me to tear out a considerable amount of tissue, should it try to back away after all. I traced the edge of the wound at its shoulder with my free hand, proceeded to scratch at the exposed muscle and bone. This provoked a surprisingly intense reaction - it pulled that side away abruptly, shaking and shivering, violently jerking its shoulder back and forth. It faced the ground, neck muscles visibly tightened, constricted. Undeterred, I reached for its shoulder again, pulled it back towards me. It continued to shake. It was obvious, now, that this disgusting shell at least understood the concepts of pain and threat. With growing excitement, I pushed into the shoulder-wound, along the bone, up to and into the joint. I relished the thrashing and contorting of its meager form, feeling myself rise into a state of euphoria. Every organ squished, crushed, ripped or swallowed, every bone disjointed, broken, torn out or scratched away, every fiber of muscle stripped off, every gram of fat carved out, every single living cell tainted by my hands brought unimaginable bliss to this wonderful existence. My past, my future, my life and my reasons; none of it amounted to anything now. None of it I would remember, and none remained to remember me. I could stay here in paradise forever, bringing infinite ecstasy to this divine being of endless golden ichor, ambrosian bile and soma phlegm. I felt its saltpeter hair brush against me and, turning my attention to its salt and iron stained fa

[Transcript note: the following three paragraphs (up to and including the line "Who I always will be.") were aligned right]

awoke in my friend's guest room. It was dark. Something was blocking the streetlight that normally peeked in through the window. I felt more comfortable sleeping if I could see that light from my bed, so I got up to move whatever might be...

I... I couldn't? Wh-

Ah, how I begged for someone to hear. How I wished any sound at all could escape my mouth, but of course, he knew how to go about it. And even then, nobody cared, in the end. This was just life. It's who I was. Who I always will be.

When I came to, the world was spinning like a carousel, that thing hovering, towering above me after all. Barely awake, I dragged myself across the floor. Away, away, away from it. All I knew was to get away. But, halfway to the other side of the room, I collapsed again.

When I came to the second time, I jolted awake, regaining consciousness almost immediately. The creature had not moved. I don't know how much time had passed. Gathering all the strength I had in me, I brought myself back on my feet, never letting it out of sight. I was still tired. My body ached with exhaustion. I could tell I would soon collapse yet again.

I needed to get away.

So I approached one final time. Slowly, with all the attentiveness I could muster, I crept towards the exit.

It remained in place.

I closed in on the doorway.

It stayed, motionless.

The light was within reach now.

It continued to observe my advance.

Halfway through the gate to my salvation, as the being left my field of vision, I hesitated for a fraction of a moment.

It did feel quite delectable."

#transcript

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kult-of-tol-in-gaurhoth · 1 year

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"IN THE LEGEND-LADEN DAYS BEFORE THE DAWNING OF THE HYBORIAN AGE..."

PIC(S) INFO: "THE COMING OF -- KING KULL! Spotlight on the introductory page (and remastered cover art) to "Creatures On the Loose!" Vol. 1 #10. March, 1971. Marvel Comics.

"In the time before the oceans drank Atlantis and the gleaming cities -- in the legend-laden days before the dawning of the Hyborian Age... the man called Kull rides proudly at the head of his hand-picked guardsmen. But beware, monarch of mighty Valusia... for ahead lies terror! Ahead waits, stark, unfathomable fear! Ahead lurks -- THE SKULL OF SILENCE!"

-- CREATURES ON THE LOOSE Vol. 1 #10

Artwork by Herb Trimpe (✝), Marie Severin (✝), and Morrie Kuramoto (✝). Story artwork by Bernie Wrightson (✝).

Script by Roy Thomas, adapted from the works of writer-creator Robert E. Howard✝.

Source: https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Creatures_on_the_Loose_Vol_1_10.

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skekheck · 3 years

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Dark Crystal Question: Rank the best ways to consume the lore of the world. I've seen the original movie and the Netflix adaptation and I love them both and I want to participate in more of the Fandom but it feels like I only have a third of the pie. Rank the best-to-worst canon materials and lore!

So here's the tricky thing about the Dark Crystal's lore: it's contradictory. Even in stories centered around AOR, because the Jim Henson company is pretty loose with how their work and characters are portrayed, things get muddied up.

The best way I believe to think of the inconsistencies is seeing it all as different timelines (which could be backed canonically if Aughra's line of "I see many endings laid before us" has anything to go by). So what I am going to do is categorize lore-based materials into different groups, but still rank them from consistent to inconsistent.

Also, FYI, these are subjective so you can take it with a grain of salt if you don't agree.

Uncategorized:

Creation Myths: This is probably one of, if not the most, important lore-based material for this franchise. It dives into what happened during the very beginning of Thra's life, the arrival of the urSkeks, what led up to the Division, and what followed shortly after. There is some very minor contradictions between info told here and AOR, but it's not so distracting that it's noticeable. In my opinion, this should be the first thing to read as it sets groundwork for a lot of the other stories.

The Dark Crystal Bestiary: This is basically a compendium of all the creatures of Thra, including Gelfling, Skeksis, and Mystics. It doesn't include every animal within the franchise and it leaves some of the Urru and Skeksis out but overall pretty informative with nice illustrations to boot. There are some info mentioned in here that people didn't agree with but in my opinion it adds more to a lot of other characters.

Age of Resistance Focused Material:

Songs of the Seven Gelfling Clans: This is basically an in-depth look into all Seven Clans written by J.M. Lee who also was a creative consultant for AOR so because of this I think this should be ranked highest in this category. It's a nice info dump of the seven Gelfling clans so if you wanted to learn more about a specific clan this is your go-to book.

Heroes of the Resistance: It's a small book with a lot of the information taken from the Dark Crystal website word-for-word, but it also has nice additional information not seen anywhere else about some of the other characters.

The Ballad of Hup & Barfinnious: Of all three prequel comics, this one hardly, or doesn't even, contradict lore established by AOR. It's the story of how Hup got the idea of becoming a paladin being mentored by an ex-paladin named Barfinnious who get into sorts of trouble. We get little lore drops about paladins and the Spriton clan. While a fun read, it's the least memorable out of the three.

The Quest for the Dual Glaive: My personal favorite of the prequel comics. It's the story of how Ordon retrieved the dual glaive. It gives needed exploration of Ordon, as well as Fara's, characters with a look at how the First Battle of Stone-in-the-Wood went. There is some minor contradictions between how the story went and Maudra Argot's accounts of it in AOR but it's not enough to ruin the comic.

The Journey into the Mondo Leviadin: This one is a double-edged sword when it comes to consistency. The comic adds a lot of interesting things to the world including an in-depth look into the All-Maudra lineage, additional lore about the Sifan clan, and crustecean sub-species of Podlings and Arathim (called the Bobblings and Zoas in that order). However, it also makes some odd writing decisions, some of the major ones being the characterization of skekSa the Mariner and the ending which, to not give off too much spoilers, sort of flips the whole idea of the Vapra disapproving Gelfling of two different clans from getting together on its head. It also painfully contradicts some of the lore stated in Songs of the Seven Gelfling Clans that came out a month or so after this comic.

Quadrilogy Book Series:

Also known as the J.M. Lee book series. This should be seen as a self-contained story because while it eventually follows key plot points we see in AOR, it definitely takes place in a different timeline with a focus on Naia, Kylan, and co. I do recommend reading these books anyway as it gives focus to side characters who had little screen time or who haven't shown up at all (including villains such as skekLi the Satirist and skekSa). Also some other characters (like skekLach and skekMal) are different from their on screen counterparts.

Movie Focused Material:

Dark Crystal Novelization: Jim Henson said this book was like the child to the movie, as it was written along with it under his supervision. I feel like this is an important piece to read as it adds context to the film that was sorely needed. The biggest of these was giving Jen more depth as a character which honestly should have been in the film. Aside from that, the book contains ideas that are outdated, both within the franchise and surrounding certain subject matter (as this was written in the late 70s/early 80s).

The World of the Dark Crystal: This is another companion book written for the film. It's written from Aughra's point of view and does contain lore specified within the movie. Much like the novelization, it also contains outdated information.

Legend of the Dark Crystal (Vols. 1 & 2): This is the only story within the franchise so far that focuses on the Garthim Wars. I remember reading these books followed more closely with the original notes from the movie and it's one of the first lore-based material released for the Dark Crystal. Of course, this takes place in a different timeline for various reasons. The most entertaining of which is skekLach, completely different from his on-screen counterpart, being a main villain for both volumes.

Power of the Dark Crystal: This is a sequel comic to the film and was based on the script for the sequel movie that was canceled after a decade of development hell. And boy does it show. While it does introduce cool ideas, mainly the introduction to Firelings, the plot is a poorly rehashed version of the film's with many plot holes and lore contradictories. Some people might enjoy this, but if you're lore focused it's okay to skip this unless you're really curious.

Beneath the Dark Crystal: The least interesting material, not just for this category but out of all the reading material in the franchise. It doesn't do anything to clear up the plot holes and follows the inconsistencies from the previous prequel comic while being a boring read. It does add more lore about the Firelings, but a lot of ideas introduced around that is uninteresting or missed potential. I don't recommend reading this unless you really enjoyed Power but don't expect the same writing quality.

#asks for skekheck #the dark crystal

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welcome-to-the-cafe · 3 years

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SHANG-CHI AND THE LEGEND OF THE TEN RINGS (2021)

shang-chi and the legend of the ten rings is an american superhero film directed by destin daniel cretton, starring simu liu, awkwafina, meng'er zhang, fala chen, michelle yeoh, tony leung, and like...a ton of other large-named individuals...

jk this is not a review this is just a loose collection of comments on the movie, which i watched this weekend, in a theater.

actually no spoilers below.

disclaimers:

i have very limited context re: marvel and other superhero franchises

also even though i watched this movie a day ago, i remember basically nothing

comments:

ah yes, yet another evil organization manipulating the world from the shadows

shocked by how romantic that fight scene between xu wenwu and ying li was

i appreciate when a superhero movie has the hero hail from SF or LA or literally anywhere that isn't NYC; west coast represent

also appreciate all the kung-fu movie posters in shaun's place. i love when american movies do shoutouts to asian martial arts movies.

re: "shaun" - ah yes, bland-name anglicization

whenever i saw awkwafina on screen, i kept thinking "oh it's awkwafina" instead of "oh it's katy"

i feel like the character katy was made for this movie, like they wanted to put awkwafina in the movie so they just made up a character for her to play.

absolutely loved that oldboy-homage from-the-side baddie mowdown in the bus

i really love the whole "best friend throws aside everything to help out their friend" trope. i mean. it's kind of bad. but it's heartwarming whenever it happens. (e.g. in vol. 1 of ajin with kaito and kei nagai, in the lord of the rings with samwise gamgee and frodo baggins)

also i like that shang-chi and katy are actually just friends. they are just pals. nothing straight is happening over here.

i did like that scene with katy's family, where people are speaking in both english and chinese. i liked katy's grandma and the whole qingming festival grave gifts thing

i love xu xialing (shang-chi's sister), but... why do badass asian women almost always have bob cuts? i'm having flashbacks to rinko kikuchi as mako mori in pacific rim. brb, looking up "asian women in action movies with bob cuts" ...yes, note also: faye valentine in cowboy bebop, motoko kusanagi in ghost in the shell, and sun bak in sense8

i wish i had more context re: marvel bc i want to know who the asian portal guy is... (he shows up a few times)

that whole scaffolding fight scene - cover your eyes if you're afraid of heights, i guess - i don't think it was a good idea for them to leave the inside of the building for the scaffolding, but, well. it made for a good fight scene.

morris the dijiang/hundun was really cute! usually i associate chinese mythological creatures with words like "majestic," "beautiful," and "terrifying"...but wow! cute!

i'm kind of losing steam here i don't know what else to say

oh yeah, i almost cheered when i saw michelle yeoh on screen. sorry, i love her.

idk how chinese the clothing is. it seems really colorful. does it look like it's from a particular part of china? if someone has like, an article on that, i would be interested.

also i was surprised to not hear any cantonese despite this movie being partially set in macau.

oh i should probably talk about tony leung as wenwu. idk what to say. sensitive and powerful portrayal of a villain as just an old man consumed by grief.

i appreciate that bit where wenwu (who is really old) says to an old white-hared dude, "i've eaten more salt than you've eaten rice." i think that might have been lost in translation.

weird thought: ying li and wenwu have maybe a thousand-year age difference. mayfly-december romance.

if any analyses come out about like, what kung fu styles the martial arts are based on, i would be into that. send them my way. my only uneducated comment is that the fight styles of ta lo seem kind of airbendy. like the way the foot sweeps out in a circle. also the swirling leaves effects.

i'm also curious about xialing's style. with and without the rope dart. oh man, the rope dart...i feel like it was used in super unrealistic ways...but it looks really cool.

i really like how the rings are used in fight scenes. honestly they actually seem pretty...authentic? like there's something genuinely chinese kung-fu about them. like southern chinese maybe?

also liked the hook swords the ten rings mooks use. i don't think i've seen them very much (i think jet from avatar: the last airbender uses them?). they're not used in very cool ways though (the hook-ness of the swords is used a lot less than the sword-ness)

this isn't an asian film, but most of the cast is east asian. i wonder how china feels about this film. like how do chinese people feel about the casting etc.?

the water vfx were very impressive. fun fact: shang-chi had no less than 11 vfx companies involved in its production

also there are mid-credit and post-credit scenes that i thought were worth watching

i feel like this movie could have been better, but also i didn't expect better. i don't really know what to expect from superhero movies in general. i wasn't paying much attention to how good the movie actually was because i was just busy being dazzled by the visual effects and the fight scenes and so on.

bonus xu xialing because i couldn’t resist

and a few other asian action babes with bob cuts for comparison

hey, it’s a thing.

#joy watches #shang chi #media review #media commentary

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rolandrockover · 5 months

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Reprise Vol. 3 - All Hell's Breakin' Loose (1)

Here we have one of my favorites that I'm convinced deserves a few more words than I've given it so far, and also quite long overdue.

When I had freely hypotized a while ago that Eric Carr might have written All Hell's Breakin' Loose with other, older Kiss songs in mind, because of its obvious similarities between certain Kiss riffs, I of course promptly got a well-meaning reminder that Eric's vision of the riff went in a completely different, Zeppelinesque direction than Gene and Vinnie but mostly Paul had ultimately bent it towards. One could now diligently ponder what exactly the riff written by Eric Carr sounded like, but since no demo or anything else has surfaced to date, I'd better save my hopes for the next life.

And that of course gives me the necessary incentive to concentrate on what I usually prefer to do, namely writing about what I can hear with my ears. And that works for me in a similar way to a Terminator, which can best be compared with its red light vision when it scans persons or objects and compares them with each other until it finds a match. And when I hear All Hell's Breakin' Loose, or just imagine it, I have several, with Torpedo Girl and Almost Human standing out most.

Translated into my language, this roughly means that the werewolf from Almost Human and the Torpedo Girl dated and fell in love, got married and had a child of love who fits the description Supermutant much better, because it was boosted with steroids from the Creatures of the Night stable and developed a fondness for hanging out on the streets at night with its supermutant friends and practicing rapping.

Apart from the rapping, could this be more klassik Kiss in any way? And except that the dick lyrics are still missing, but I personally think every once in a while it works quite well without them.

But better not spread the word, too much confusion.

Side Note:

(1) The title should actually be Almost All Human Girls Break Torpedos. In Hell, but since it's a reprise of an old entry, I've changed my mind. However, I didn't want to withhold this convulsively created construct from anyone.

The links are not highlighted, except for Torpedo Girl, which starts directly with its bass line, which is particularly important to me:

All Hell's Breakin' Loose (1983)

youtube

Torpedo Girl (1980)

youtube

Almost Human (1977)

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ivorytowerblr · 3 years

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NaNoWriMo 2021: Nov 27th

I have battled through a day of dry, irritated eyes to bring you the end of Chapter 6 (and Year 1).

Title: Warcraft: Invasion (Vol 1 of Reborn AU) Word Count: 36969 (of 50000) Includes: Violence, mature sexual content, strong language. Summary: It was a dark and stormy night when the rift opened. From it spilled warriors of an alien culture bent on finding and destroying the cause of a sickness that plagued their world, all unknowing that the true cause was right under their noses all along.

Five years after the birth of his son, Llane Wrynn, Crown Prince of Stormwind, would learn of a terrible threat to his people, his nation, and his very world. The only natural thing to do is send his son to the protective walls of Northshire Abbey and, all unknowing, to the protection of a great hero, the prodigy-knight Mara Fordragon.

When sickness ravages your very world, you have no choice but to do whatever it takes to cure it, even if it means traveling to another world by means of the foulest of dark sorceries. It means standing at the side of a butcher, a monster, an abuser, a warrior, a chieftain, a hero to your clan. It means putting aside what is right to do what you must.

All these threads and more weave together to bring about a war like any other; two worlds will never be the same again.

Previous: 1st . 2nd . 3rd . 4th . 5th . 6th . 7th . 8th. . 9th . 10th . 11th . 12th . 13th . 14th . 15th . 16th . 17th . 18th . 19th . 20th . 21st . 22nd . 23rd . 24th . 25th . 26th .

Gnolls stood on the hills, their voices raised in a laughing cry. There were dozens of them taking cover, loosing well-fletched crossbow bolts at those who came near. They had chosen the place to make their last stand wisely given that it gave them a height advantage over the long, rolling plain near Lord Rethgar’s holdings.

Ten times had soldiers driven the creatures back and eleven times had the grinning Beast Men returned, foam dripping from their sharp teeth, greed and madness shining in their dark eyes. Their spotted hides were tough, needing to wear only hoods and harnesses to help them carry things, not to protect them from heat, cold, or stinging insects.

“They will cut us down as soon as we make to ride out,” whispered Baeran Stonewind. He eyed the gnolls from behind the slit visor of his helmet. “We cannot outride arrows, My Lady.”

“They will eventually get tired of us sitting here and fire anyway,” Azora Bluemount pointed out. The conjurer summoned up a small ball of water and threw it up towards the gnolls. It was pierced three times by arrows within moments and shattered into droplets. “I’m fairly certain they could shoot us right now if they wanted to.”

A few of the men shuffled nervously at the sight of magic being used so casually. Their knight-commander raised a hand, cutting off any speech, and spoke in a firm, even tone. “You are both right. We need to move and soon, and we will be murdered if we do not ride cleverly.” The commander eyed the gnolls for a moment, then turned their attention to the conjurer. “Azora, how many more of those can you summon up?”

“Do you mean for me to attack them?” Azora asked. “I will do it, My Lady, but they will kill me in an instant.”

“No,” the knight-commander said. “I don’t think water spheres will do much good to attack the gnolls... but they absorb arrows as easily as a shield does, don’t they?”

Slowly, Azora smiled, and nodded eagerly. “Yes, they surely do.”

“Wait for my signal.” The knight-commander turned to her soldiers. “We split three ways: two flanking forces to get up to those hills swiftly, and one down the middle to draw their first volley of fire. We will lose men, but we will lose far fewer than we would if we attacked all along one line. This is our home we fight for, the livelihood of our citizens. We cannot fail! We will not fail!”

A roar of approval swelled up from the soldiers behind her and the knight-commander drew her sword, swinging it out in an arc. “Forward, for--”

A stack of books tumbled onto the ground, startling Mara from her imaginings. “Shit.” Quickly, she looked around, and found that she was alone and she need not suffer the disapproving looks of the other residents of Northshire Abbey.

I suppose I’ll never know if I could have gotten those gnolls, Mara thought, bending to pick up the books. By the time that we got permission to march an armed force over a noble’s lands I would have been so pregnant that it wouldn’t have been safe to take forces into combat. It would have been one of my brothers, assuming the nobility didn’t just lose interest because it would have cost them some coin to fix a problem for good instead of just temporarily.

Mara shuffled the books in her arms as she stood, reading the titles. “I was supposed to be reshelving you, wasn’t I?” She walked to one of the shelves, searching for the right place to put the book, and immediately her mind began to wander. If you didn’t have access to a conjurer to protect your forces from the first assault, you could look into long bowmen. That would potentially drive them back, but not if you herded them forward first, and--

“Lady Mara?” called a voice. “It’s lunchtime.”

Mara turned and smiled. “Hello, Your Highness. Thank you very much, I’ll be along shortly.”

“Okay,” Varian said. Mara turned back to her task, quickly finding some free space for the books. When she turned, she found the young prince still there. “I had a question.”

“I’m sure I have an answer,” Mara said. “What is it?”

“Are you really a knight?” Varian asked, peering up at her. “Like Sir Lothar?”

Mara smiled, and fluffed his already-unruly hair. “I am, yes. I was appointed a knight earlier than most because I did so well at all the tests. It happens, sometimes. If your teachers think that you’re mature enough to become a full knight. Others need to wait longer because their teachers think they need more guidance.”

Varian nodded, and offered her his hand. Mara took it, and walked through the corridors to the kitchen, where all those staying at the abbey took their meals, regardless of rank. “Is it hard to be a knight?”

“I can be,” Mara said. “There’s a lot of studying. You need to understand maths and science, as well as the king’s law. You need to know how to behave properly at court. You also need to study all kinds of weapons so that you always have the right tools. Why do you want to know?”

“If it takes a long time to train more knights, it means it takes a long time for them to join in the fighting, right?” Varian said, kicking at the floor. “That makes the fighting take longer.”

“It can, yes,” Mara said. “That’s why knights are trained during times of peace so that they can be ready for war. You spend a lot of time practicing for the big wars, but you don’t look forward to them. It’s better for things to be peaceful.”

“So, you think war is bad too?” Varian asked curiously. “But you’re a knight too.”

“I know that Father Alonsus thinks that I’m a bloodthirsty savage, but it’s not quite like that,” Mara said as they walked along. “I think that fighting is important to do when it needs to be done. I think that fighting is needed to protect people from being hurt and places from being destroyed. Part of training as a knight is to know when you should or shouldn’t be fighting.”

“So, fighting can be good?” Varian asked. “If it’s against bad people?”

“Something like that, yes,” Mara said. “Not every single person that you will ever fight against will be truly bad, but most of the time if you could get them to do the right thing by talking to them, that would have been tried first. By the time you get to fighting, there isn’t any other choice.”

“...so how do you know if you’ve tried enough talking?” Varian asked as they entered the kitchen. Mara noted Faol was not yet with them, though Adalia was helping Marielle with her meal. Varian hurried to his mother’s side, seeming to forget the topic entirely.

Mara, on the other hand, did not. There are some that cannot be reasoned with. Stormwind’s mad kings of old. The Beast Men like the gnolls and kobolds who simply burrow in our mines or kill cattle or raid caravans. Some of the worst bandits. Trolls, who barely speak our language and eat their own dead. These new creatures that attacked King Adamant. The Brotherhood will never run out of foes.

“Hello, Lady Mara,” Adalia said. “I believe Faol took Bolvar out for some foraging, but they’ll be back soon.”

Mara nodded to her and Mari both and retrieved a bowl and a spoon, setting the latter down near Adalia and the children. “Thank you for sending Varian to get me. I lost track of time. You know how shelving books can be.”

“I do,” Adalia said, nodding. She lifted a jug of cider from the table and poured a generous helping into a mug. “I will have the children this afternoon for lessons. You’re welcome to join us if you like.”

“I’m going to go for a walk this afternoon,” Mara said, crossing the room to the great fireplace and the cauldron hanging there. She ladeled soup into the bowl until it was nearly full. “Is there bread?”

“Freshly made, just under that cloth,” Adalia said, gesturing. Mara nodded and lifted a red and white checked cloth and took two pieces of thickly cut fresh bread and balanced them on the edge of her bowl before carrying her meal to the table. “Do you see much on your walks?”

“No, not really,” Mara said. “It’s quiet out here, and I only rarely see the guards since they don’t share meals with us. It would be nice to hear more of what’s happening.”

“Llane sends his letters but it hardly seems enough,” Adalia agreed, and quickly rescued a spoon from Mari. Her daughter grinned at her. “I think there are things happening that he doesn’t dare commit to paper.”

“Well it could be good, bad, or political,” Mara observed, and began to eat her soup. She sighed happily at the rich, meaty flavour. “Though if it were good news, why hide it?”

“He might not want to preemptively announce an end to this conflict if he isn’t sure that it’s true,” Adalia warned. “Llane is cautious. That’s why we’re here, after all.”

“True,” Mara said and continued to eat. “Does he have martial training?”

“Like a knight?” Adalia asked. She shook her head slightly. “No, though he’s versed in the arts that most nobles are. The old king had to fight for his throne. Llane hoped he would never need to do the same to keep it. These creatures, though... they do not seem to care for anything other than warfare and destruction.”

“Some of the soldiers say they’re trying for the southern towns,” Mara said, glancing over at Varian, who was watching both of them with wide eyes. “But they’re being held at the border. If our forces get enough reinforcements, they’ll ride out and crush them.”

“The creatures don’t seem to possess much in the way of advanced tactics, just brutality,” Adalia said, gripping at her napkin. “I wish we knew more about them. Llane says they’re doing what they can to learn more but it’s quite difficult.”

“That’s understandable, we--” Mara paused as Faol came in with Bolvar and Uther, each of the boys carrying baskets of nuts and mushrooms. “Lovely soup.”

“Yes,” Adalia agreed. “Very nice.”

“We’re fortunate that the game hasn’t been scared off,” Faol said. “Fortunately, we have enough supplies to sustain us until the problem goes away.”

I wonder if he means Llane’s soldiers patrolling in case the creatures come this far north, Mara thought, eating a little faster. Or if he’s trying to hint at the other reason deer or rabbits might fear us.

“I’m sure it won’t be for much longer,” Adalia said. “Bolvar, come sit with us and have lunch.”

“Okay!” Bolvar set down his basket on the floor and hurried to sit at the table. Mara hid a smile as Uther brought his basket to the pantry, then returned for Bolvar’s basket. Mara exchanged a look with Adalia as they continued to eat, letting the topic drift to Bolvar’s tale of adventures in foraging.

When Mara had finished with her meal and used the last of the bread to wipe her bowl, she gathered the dirty dishes and brought them to the wash bucket. Uther helped her through washing and drying, then excused himself for his studies, while Adalia collected up the children for their own lessons.

Our days are so very similar every day, Mara thought, drying her hands. It feels as though we’re in a holding pattern, waiting for the rest of the world to catch up to us, or for us to catch up to it.

Frustration, anger, and restlessness boiled up in Mara and it was all she could do not to throw down the towel she was using and march out. Instead she hung it up neatly, and hurried off to collect her cloak. Several of the other monks that lived within the abbey nodded to her as she passed but she barely noticed them.

Mara threw on her cloak the moment before she stepped outside, and breathed in the cool air. Outside, the gardens had been put to rest for the year, carefully protected with leaves or dirt mounds in places. Working in the abbey garden had kept her hands busy for many seasons, and not tending to them for months left her adrift.

Past the garden was the vineyard, where the vines were similarly tended. Near them was the apiary, and the bees were hibernating peacefully, awaiting Spring once more. Mara crossed the vineyard to the far side and opened the gate, bending to retrieve something carefully and hiding it under her cloak. Then she stepped out into the forest and sighed gratefully.

There were a dozen soldiers in the forest, each taking a specific path to watch out for the creatures. Some, she knew, found their duty boring. Others were grateful to be away from the front lines. A few took their duties seriously, and for all Mara wished she could whip them into shape, their indifference would help her now.

Mara drew out the object from beneath her cloak and brandished the long, sanded stick with both hands. It had taken time to find something of the approximately correct size and shape to make a sword, and more time to be able to hone it into this reasonable facsimile.

Mara took a breath, and took a step forward, striking heavily with her wooden blade. Footwork was key, and as she moved, she strengthened her stance, making sure there was never a toe out of place. She made hard, downward cuts, then broad, sweeping slashes. She would take a step forward, lunging with the blade’s point out in front of her, arms locked in the right place.

The pack of gnolls was drawing closer now, marching through the hills as though they had nothing to fear from neither man nor beast. They had come upon the knight-commander when she was alone, assuming her to be weak.

Their greatest mistake yet, aside from attacking her lands in the first place.

“Come, you wretches!” the knight-commander cried, bringing her sword forward. “Do you think the likes of you can outsmart the likes of me?!”

The gnolls shuffled on their feet, some clearly wanting to break through and attack, while others wished for nothing more than to flee. Confused as they were, the knight-commander did not allow them time to regroup, but instead charged forward, killing left and right.

The leader of the gnolls, an ugly brute with a mouth full of teeth raised her head in an ululating cry, charging forward to--

“Lady Mara,” called a guard, and she stopped halfway through her swing. “I’m sorry, I didn’t mean to disturb you but we just received word from a courier. We have the letter for the Queen, but we’re not permitted inside.”

“I remember,” Mara said, and approached him. “What does the message say? Surely you know what it says too”

“I do, but...” The courier swallowed. “Please understand that I brought this as soon as I could.”

“What is it, don’t be shy,” Mara said, lowering her weapon. “Out with it.”

“The news is dire, Lady,” the courier said. “The king himself said that we must be on guard. Lakeshire has come under attack by the creatures. No one is quite sure how, but the orcs seem to have broken past the border patrol and worse yet...”

“What is it?” Mara demanded. “What’s worse than that?”

“They have catapults, Lady,” the man said. “They can lay siege.”

End Part 1 - Year 1

#nanowrimo 2021 #warcraft #fanfiction #warcraft series: reborn au #and now for interludes

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brightbeautifulthings · 4 years

Text

A - C | D - H | I - L | M - O | P - R | S - Z | Recent

Reviews are alphabetical by author and then by title.

Paige, Danielle - Dorothy Must Die - The Wicked Will Rise

Palacio, R.J. - Wonder

Parker, Jeff - Future Quest, Vol. 1 - Future Quest, Vol. 2

Pascal, Francine - Sweet Valley High: The Evil Twin - Sweet Valley High: R for Revenge - Sweet Valley High: Return of the Evil Twin - Sweet Valley High: What Jessica Wants - Sweet Valley Twins: The Carnival Ghost

Peevyhouse, Parker - The Echo Room - Strange Exit

Peretti, Frank - House

Perkins, Stephanie - Anna & the French Kiss - Isla & the Happily Ever After - Lola & the Boy Next Door - My True Love Gave to Me - Summer Days & Summer Nights - There’s Someone Inside Your House - The Woods Are Always Watching

Perry, Sarah - The Essex Serpent

Pessl, Marisha - Neverworld Wake

Pierce, Tamora - Circle of Magic: Sandry's Book

Pike, Christopher - The Blind Mirror - Chain Letter - Chain Letter 2: The Ancient Evil - Execution of Innocence - Fall Into Darkness - Final Friends: The Dance - Final Friends: The Graduation - Final Friends: The Party - The Hollow Skull - The Last Vampire - The Last Vampire 2: Black Blood - The Last Vampire 3: Red Dice - The Last Vampire 4: Phantom - The Last Vampire 5: Evil Thirst - The Last Vampire 6: Creatures of Forever - The Midnight Club - Remember Me - Remember Me 2: The Return - Remember Me 3: The Last Story - Sati - See You Later - Spooksville: Aliens in the Sky - Spooksville: The Cold People - Spooksville: Creature in the Teacher - Spooksville: The Dark Corner - Spooksville: The Deadly Past - Spooksville: The Evil House - Spooksville: The Haunted Cave - Spooksville: The Hidden Beast - Spooksville: The Howling Ghost - Spooksville: Invasion of the No-Ones - Spooksville: The Little People - Spooksville: The Secret Path - Spooksville: The Wicked Cat - Spooksville: The Wishing Stone - Spooksville: The Witch’s Revenge - Strange Girl - Thirst 3: The Eternal Dawn - Thirst 4: The Shadow of Death - Thirst 5: The Sacred Veil - Whisper of Death

Pinguicha, Diana - A Curse of Roses

Poe, Edgar Allan - Complete Tales & Poems

Power, Rory - Burn Our Bodies Down - In a Garden Burning Gold - Wilder Girls

Powers, Richard - Prisoner’s Dilemma

Praski, Courtney - The Seven

Pratchett, Terry - Good Omens

Preston, Natasha - The Cabin - The Lake - The Lost

Pyle, Nathan W. - Strange Planet

Pynchon, Thomas - Inherent Vice

Ralph, Vincent - 14 Ways to Die

Ramsay, H.J. - Ever Alice

Raskin, Allison - I Hate Everyone But You

Raskin, Ellen - The Westing Game

Rave - The Shoebox Project

RayShippouUchiha - The Limitations of Wax

Reeds, Alice - Echoes

Reid, Raziel - Kens

Reiss, Kathryn - Time Windows

Remender, Rick - Captain America: Castaway In Dimension Z, Book One - Captain America: Castaway in Dimension Z, Book Two - Captain America, Vol. 3: Loose Nuke - Hail Hydra

Rex, Adam - The True Meaning of Smekday

Rex, Katy - Sweet Valley High: Academic All-Star?

Reynolds, Jason - Long Way Down

Reynolds, Madeline J. - Illusions - The Time Traveler’s Guide to Modern Romance

Rice, Anne - Interview with the Vampire - The Vampire Lestat

Richards, Natalie D. - What You Hide

Rickert, M. - Lucky Girl, How I Became A Horror Writer: A Krampus Story

Riggs, Ransom - Hollow City - Library of Souls - Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children - Tales of the Peculiar

Ringle, Molly - The Goblins of Bellwater

Rio, M.L. - If We Were Villains

Riordan, Rick - The Battle of the Labyrinth - The Blood of Olympus - The House of Hades - The Last Olympian - The Lightning Thief - The Lost Hero - The Mark of Athena - The Sea of Monsters - The Son of Neptune - The Titan's Curse

Roberts, Nora - Dance Upon the Air - Face the Fire - Heaven and Earth

Rodriguez Wallach, Diana - Small Town Monsters

Romasco Moore, Maria - Some Kind of Animal

Rosoff, Meg - How I Live Now

Roux, Madeleine - Asylum

Rowell, Rainbow - Almost Midnight - Any Way the Wind Blows - Attachments - Carry On - Eleanor & Park - Fangirl - Kindred Spirits - Landline - Pumpkinheads - Runaways, Vol. 1: Find Your Way Home - Runaways, Vol. 2: Best Friends Forever - Runaways, Vol. 3: That Was Yesterday - Wayward Son

Rowling, J.K. - Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - Harry Potter and the The Cursed Child - Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban - Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone

Rubin, Julia Lynn - Trouble Girls

Ruby, Laura - Bone Gap

Russell, Karen - Sleep Donation

Ryan, Carrie - The Dark & Hollow Places - The Dead & Empty World - The Dead-Tossed Waves - The Forest of Hands & Teeth

#review index #p - r

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