Quiver

Fanfic I kind of want to write: The classic Wonder Woman story has her leaving Paradise Island after American pilot, Steve Trevor, crashlands on the island. He tells her about the on-going world war II, and Diana sets out to bring peace to Man's World. Kind of want to do a rewrite, where Diana leaves because the man who washes ashore is Steve Rogers...

Oh man, Ghost in the Shell. Okay. I know of the various Ghost in the Shell continuities, so I'm gonna try and break this down into my recommended order... but bear in mind that I haven't really read or watched most of this, I've just dipped my toe in the water. First of, from everything I've heard about the manga... I don't know if I would recommend it as your gateway series. It sounds very different from the later, more famous incarnations that the live action film (presumably) will be drawing from. The movie continuity is probably a good place to start, since it only has two films in it: the original Ghost in the Shell, and Ghost in the Shell II: Innocence. The original Ghost in the Shell film is one of the most influential anime films of all time -the Matrix takes a lot of cues from it- and it's part of what catapulted the series to fame to begin with. I haven't seen the trailers or synopsis for the film, but I'd say it's a safe bet the movie will draw from this. As a caveat -and part of why I didn't enjoy the film that much- it's the type of film which relies a lot of philosophical waxing and posturing. It's definitely the kind of film you should watch - like I said, it's pretty dang influential - but I didn't feel it was particularly character driven. Your mileage may vary. The TV series is titled Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex, and is a bit more character driven; it's also a bit longer, since it consists of two seasons of around 20 episodes a piece. Each season concerns one major, overarching plot thread, mixed in with some side episodes to develop the characters. Again, it's a really influential anime, so there is a good chance that the film will be drawing from that for some of the characterization... but it could be a time sink. Luckily! If you just want the arc stuff (the highlights reel, I guess) both seasons have been condensed into films. Ghost in the Shell:The Laughing Man and Ghost in the Shell: Individual Eleven both serve as movie versions of the first and second seasons overarching plots. So, if you want a speed run version of the anime, you could watch those two, and then go back and watch the Stand Alone episodes later. (There is also a sequel OVA to SAC, titled Ghost in the Shell: Solid State Society. I literally know nothing about that, other than that it's a sequel set after the main series, so... don't watch that.) So... yeah. Depends on how much free time, and what kind, of story you're looking for, I suppose. I prefer the TV series continuity - what I've seen of it, at any rate- but the fact that everything is squared off from each other means you can just pick one and start there. If it helps you decide, the original Ghost in the Shell film came first, so... that is literally the starting point.

I got into Pokemon when it was new, back in the Red-Blue/Gold-Silver era. So... my answers lean heavily into those eras. Based purely on looks... I think Mewtwo has he best design. You look at him, and you instantly know his story. He looks like a pokemon, but he looks wrong. The hands don't look quite right, the way the bulbous tail connects to his body doesn't look quite right, the neck tube thing he has doens' look quite right. He looks like a pokemon, but he doesn't. It's a nice bit of visual storytelling, and I like it. I... never really paid much attention to the Pokedex to be honest. Favorite overall -and this is cheating - is the Eevee line. I love those little guys. When I play Pokemon, I do end up getting attached to certain 'Mons and want to keep them in my team, simply because I've used them for so long... but the Eevee's are Pokemon I go out of my way to get. If you're asking for a particularly Eevee as my favorite though... that's not something I can answer, because they are all pretty great. I have a fondness for Umbreon though.

Does being a dark jester make you the Joker?

... Does nearly two years count as necroing? I mean, I didn't want to start a NEW topic when this one is right here, and mostly died due to my own slow response time. Anywya... I'm trying to get a little more active, so... this is a -for all intents and purproses- fresh start! Any questions?

@Darkness Ascendant ... I thought that your second person story was written in the first person. Exhaustion or not, that is inexecuable, and grounds for me turning in my degree. You can prety much ignore everything I said in my review after the first paragraph because seriously. I... that was dumb. I'll try and get a proper one that doesn't screw up the fundamental portion of your story later, but... yeah. My short comment is, the story was good. It was experimental, and I like it when people experiment; but the second person is really hard to write well in, and it didn't quite work for me. I want to take a bit of time and figure out why that is though, so I can provide half-decent crit for a change.

"Hm... are you... an epic?" "No." "... then why are playing?" ...On a Lyla related note... I'm considering deleting/hiding the post in the Dalles and posting something else. Mostly because my post... while I think "happiness so profound she emotionally shuts down" isn't an unfair reaction, it IS kind of a narrative dead end. So... probably gonna edit, delete, or otherwise do something to fix that. Sorry.

@Darkness Ascendant Okay, story reactions. First of all, I need to say... I am not a fan of the first person. It's a personal thing; I like bigger worlds and characters, so focusing the viewpoint down to a single person doesn't really work for me. (And yes, I know that there are excellent first person narratives, and that things like Name of the Wind and the Lies of Locke Lamore does fanastic world building in that style. I'm just pointing out that it's not a narrative person I, personally, enjoy.) I think it is, over all, good; personally, I like the ending.I actually read it as a very ambiguous ending; the spinal tumor would suggest that the syringe is from surgery, but the murders throughout and the immediately preceding presence of the police gives the impression that the syringe might just be the character being delivered the lethal injection. I'd caveat that with... again, this isn't the type of story I would normally like. Despite the fact that my own RP's and writing veers towards a lot of introspection, but I generally like a bit more action... but then, this is the story of a miserable, petty person reflecting on their life and looking forward to the best part of it, so it fits that kind of mood. Overall... yeah, it's a solid story. Minor continuity issue though: EDIT Oh! Maybe someone can help me with something? I've been trying to find an old myth I read a long time ago. Problem: I can't remember the name of the myth, or of the main character. I only barely even remember the event it detailed... But the event was so cool that I really want to read it again. So. The moment in question is... the hero is elading a group of people through a forest when night falls. The people are shaking with fear and unwilling to go any further... so the hero cuts out his heart. He holds it up in front of them, and it starts shining, like a lantern, lighting up the forest. He leads the group out of the forest before dying, on account of... you know. Heart being cut out of his chest and all that. I think it's Germanic, or at least European, and I'm leaning towards Roland as a name for the guy, but... I might be misremembering. So... if anyone could say if that rings any bells, I'd appreciate it!

Sorry; on mobile at the moment. Feedback soon, if that's okay?

I can't guarantee the hope for humanity. At least in the long run. But you are not dumb. I have nothing to say that Twi and Oversleep didn't...except to add this one thing: The fact that they asked if you were an immigrant. If these people didn't try to get more money out of you afterwards, if they were less pushy, I'd have said that it was just them being friendly. Coupled with that part, though, it does sound like they might have been trying to take advantage of you, at least to me. Other than that...yeah, I have nothing to add, except for saying I'm sorry fir what happened.

Adding to that...it sounds like the situation with Jon Snow and A Game of Thrones.

This is... so, so rough. So I'm not even sure if this will be accepted, part of why I left the ending as it is. If I am accepted... I'll maybe do another post showing Veriq becoming a Radiant, if that's okay?

I feel like this is the distinguishing point. A theory is what you suppose will happen. It might be overwhelmingly supported by the evidence; I say plenty of people predictating certain revelations from Words of Radiance months before the books release. In fact, a good theory, twist or revelation should all be supported by the text. A spoiler would be a case of knowing something that was going to happen, either because you got an early copy of the book, or you managed to get Brandon or Peter to tell you Dalinar betrays the Knights Radiant, Szeth becomes the champion of Honor and Kaladin ends up with Shallan. A theory is what you think might happen; you could still be wrong. A spoiler is what you know will happen, short of you posting and derailing carefully laid plans. I wouldn't feel bad posting a theory (tagged with appropriate spoiler possibilities, of course); I would feel bad if I posted a spoiler. One is me exercising my wit and ingenuity; the other invovles me making public information I shouldn't otherwise have had access to.

I've been thinking more about why Twelve didn't work for me. A part of it, absolutely, is that old fan hang-up, that you never forget your first Doctor. The first episodes of Who I saw were Ten's farewell, and while I did catch up on the seasons before series five aired... Eleven was my Doctor. I'm not saying he was the best Doctor; my opinion on that score changes rather freqently (though I am rather partial to Doctors Six through Nine). But Eleven was the one I watched live, every week. Series Five remains my favorite season of Doctor Who, partly because of Smith, partly because I think that was the seasons where Moffat best captured the "dark fairytale" aestehtic Eleven was so good at working in. Partly, I think it's because the writing was, simply, better. I don't feel like series six and seven really did much to improve Eleven's character; they darkened it, but I don't think it made him any better. It just made him darker and more miserable. Moving to Twelve and... you know, I wish more and more than Moffat had left when Smith left, because I feel like the writing, simply, was not strong enough. They did try to change the tone of the show - they go for a much starker, darker atmosphere, and I think they try to go for more science fiction than fairy tale - but it never quite clicked for me. I certainly like the ideas behind Twelve; an acerbic old man, someone who isn't as touchy freely, isn't as happy as he was in earlier incarnations, someone who is a little more alien. But that portrayal really needed to be grounded by a great companionas a counterpoint and... And I don't think Clara was that, either. Series Seven had been built around the idea of Clara as a mystery to be solved, which pushed all the responsibility for developing her as a character into series Eight... but it also meant that the audience didn't really connect with her during those early episodes when she was disoriented. It also meant that we ended up having to split the difference between developing the Doctor and developing Clara. ... But then, the show started by developing Nine and Rose at the same time. Moffat started by developing Eleven and Amy at the same time. So why didn't his efforts with Twleve and Clara work? I'm... still trying to figure that part out. As a side note... i think @TwiLyghtSansSparkles mentioned this once? Not sure; don't want to put words in her mouth, but I don't want to claim this as wholey my idea, either. But I do feel like... It feels like, maybe Moffat changed his mind about how Twelve should act between seasons. Watching series Two through Four, I see a throughline for Ten's characterisation (admittedly, I wish he had leaned harder into the egotistical Time Lord Victorius in the series proper, but that's a whole other discussion). While I prefer Eleven's initial portrayal, I can still see how the Eleven of series Five became the Eleven of series Seven. But... Twelve feels more disjointed. It feels like Season Eight focused on making him grumpy... then season nine opens with him rocking out, on a tank, at a medieval party. Sure, the prospect of death can change a man* but that change seemed far too jarring. I could see other Doctors maybe deciding to rock out -if not in quite that fashion- but Twelve's best moments didn't seem connected to that wild and crazy portrayal we got in the premiere. It felt like I was watching a completely different character from the previous year. *with spoilers,

Peter Capauldi is stepping down as the Doctor. I'm...not surprised, honestly. I think I've mentioned it elsewhere, but the show never really nailed the Twelfth Doctor the way they did the Eleventh or Tenth. A part of that, I think, has to be aid at the writing, which has been a lot less consistent these part two years. I appreciate them experimenting with tone and trying to do things differently...but they never really established anything as the status quo to make those stand out. A shame. I really wanted to like Twelve.

"You're nothing but a common parasite!" "I am an exceptional parasite."

We have established @bleeder is only fifteen, and you're going to throw him out to fight crime at night? Most likely ina really gaudy, colourful costume and- TWILYGHTSANSSPARKLES IS BATMAN.

Objection! Depending on the Lantern invovled, you're argument is entirely facetious! The original Green Lantern, Alan Scott, has more or less stuck with his original costume over the years. The Green Lantern Corp members -though they can customize their uniforms slightly- generally just wear suits that the rings pre-generate for them. ... Oh, and @TwiLyghtSansSparkles If you need visual cuews for Hippogriff Man, might I suggest Hawkman. (This is the only time in the history of ever where anyone has ever recommended Hawkman for something and meant it with sincerity.)

All Hail The Glow Cloud

...you're fifteen? While you await your inevitable destruction, enjoy your birthday!

@TwiLyghtSansSparkles @ShadowLord_Lith @bleeder Am I the only one hyped that their next live show is titled "All Hail"? @Sunbird Cool photos!

Reaper