So, DashCon

These two right here, Dee Laytner and Diana Spacey

are on my cosplay list for DashCon. Dee's going to be fun and his outfit is decently easy. It's just the hair I'm probably going to have to fight with a little.

Diana is a little more complicated:

She's so fab, though~ <3

Cecil from Welcome to Night Vale is also on my list but no one knows what the man looks like so I kind of have free reign there. I also need an outfit for a formal dance (DashProm) and for a rave. I also have a friendship basket to do, the list for which is back in this blog somewhere (I know I posted it).




And now for something completely different.



Section Two: Writing

As in, I can get back to writing because this quarter is essentially over. Also, this happened:

Friend One: I think we all agree you're like.. one of our favorite writers ever. YOU WERE LIKE. MY WRITING SENPAI WHEN I FIRST MET YOU... I was so intimidated to talk to you xD cause you were so good

Me: ASDFGHJKL; What, really? People tell me this... but then I'm a geek and they stop being so intimidated (which is very good because I'm about as intimidating as a pink butterfly stuck to a marshmallow).

Friend One: yeah LOLL I felt so .. inferior compared to your writing. xD But I was so hoping to rp with you like oh god

Friend Two: same

So, yeah. that was kind of a pick-me-up.

And that's about all that's been happening right now.

Oh, wait, there was something else:

Section Four: NaNoWriMo

As in, 'I'm working as a free agent now, Scott. Can't abide by the larger wolf's laws so it only makes sense to leave the pack.'
...
I'm not doing NaNo officially anymore, is what that means. The OLL has just gotten... I don't really know if I can explain it - I just feel like they've gotten too far from the roots of the project and I don't really want to be a part of it anymore. I'll be over at WriYe, keeping track of things that way.

But ignoring all that, it's been pretty quiet. I think I'll spend some time before the first of the year going through the manga and picking an outfit for Dee and Diana and then I can jump into searching for things after the first.

I'm rambling. Stuff if going on. I have books to write and a company to build and a friend to meet in 2014 and wow, life. This was an awful post but I got my basic points across and I'm not going to go back and try to fix it now because my laptop battery is almost dead SO... yeah. I'll be back with a little more cohesion pretty soon to wish everyone a Merry Christmas and all that but for now, enjoy my rambling.

*waves* *crawls under a fuzzy blanket*

Quick updates

I'm sorry I haven't been on much lately. I haven't been feeling the best for a verity of reasons but that's beside the point.

Okay - Issue One: Progress Meters

You might have noticed that they've changed. That's because, for some reason, I can't get to the site I got my old ones from - it just gives me the 404 error. So. I opted for the skinny, sleek ones from this place.

So that means new code:

Blue - shows
Red - editing
Green - reading
Black - totals
Purple - scripts
Cyan - first drafts
Pink - challenges

Enjoy.


Issue Two - Moving. Soon.

...

That's it. That's the issue. Moving. Soon.

My room looks like a hoarder exploded.


Issue Three - Theme

Thinking of changing this one. Have no idea what I'd like to have instead. I'm kind of cyberpunk in a lot of ways but nothing I've found really fits and I'm not good enough with coding to make something (yet). Sigh.


In other news, I'll try to get the February post up before the trip. I've been stalling on that one since I really don't have a lot to say that's on topic. Oh, well. Nothing wrong with a short post, right?

I think I'll curl up and be quiet for a while now. There's just a lot of stress hanging around.

Anyway, I'm not dead! If anyone knows of any non-cluttered/non-blocky cyberpunk/cybergoth themes, please let me know. And I will see you all later on ^^

I Should Be Nocturnal

And I realise that 'should' is not a word I should be using but, seriously now, I'm much more productive at night.

Like, I made this thing:

And then I made this one with more options:

So... yeah.

I also realised that my story for next month is this weird blend of supernatural/horror/biopunk/steampunk wibbly-wobbly... stuff. And it's gonna be really fun.

I also have a mermaid story for this month. It's a novella. This is in edition to the two I'm already working on, one of which is half done... with the first draft.

Here's the schedule:

18th-20th - Weekend Madness at AoE (15k Goal)
20th-26th - Dream Week at WriYe (34k Goal)
26th-27th - 30-Hour Challenge (Time and Tide - AMAP*)

*As Much As Possible

February's still up in the air but there'll probably be another Genre Stretch Challenge in there at least.

Are you feeling lazy yet? Don't. I'm terrified.

Oh, well. It's still fun for me so I'm just gonna run with it. I have cool stories, awesome music, awesome friends, and a Kindle PC app filled with about a hundred books now. I'm good.

I hope you are all having a great month and I will see you all soon.

Gender Coding, Villains, and Mental Disturbance

Let me start by saying that I read far too much into things. I also just read far too much. All this is is something that I noticed after looking at the JTHM comics (by Johnen Vasquez) panel by panel and (sort of) de-constructing their construction, I guess would be a decent way to say it.

Of course, then I got to thinking about the wider implications and realised just how common a trend this actually is.

There's a lot that posing communicates and there are a set of ingrained codes in our society that attempt to compartmentalise and make sense of these codes and signals. This is particularly obvious in advertising when a message has to be communicated quickly. (The documentary 'The Codes of Gender' explains this amazingly well.)

Anyway, for the purposes of this post, I went though the comic and picked out a few panels and poses I found interesting.

Let's look at Johnny, since he's the villain protagonist.

(Johnny isn't well, in case you haven't guessed.)

Now, this is a panel from page three of the segment 'Goblins' in Volume 2. This is one of the clearest images I've found to illustrate a point I thought was interesting - namely, when a character is seen as mentally unwell, a lot of our expectations of them change. For example, if Johnny were perfectly sane, this pose would be seen as almost abrasively feminine (that is to say weak, unsure, and submissive).

Taking this pose out of context, it looks very odd (and not just because of Vazquez's unique art style). From the ground up, Johnny is off-balance. He has one leg up and bent - possibly with his heel against his knee - which is similar to advertising depicting a model grabbing the heel of her shoe while balanced on one foot. His hands are clasped behind his back in a manner similar to a small child and his head is down while he's looking away.

All in all, it's very similar to adverts that use female models and - with no context to remove the expected connection - looks weak, submissive, and completely out of place on a male.

(It's worth noting that I do not in any way mean to imply that femininity equates to weak, unsure, submissive or anything of the sort. It's simply the expected connotation in the world of advertising and in media at large more often than not. Very unfortunate but interesting from a psychological standpoint.)

There's also the manner of how he interacts with his world. Often, most clearly when he's killing (which happens quite often), his body language changes but not completely. One example might be the way he handled the gun in the JTSM segment from Volume 2.

While this one may be justified given Johnny's dislike of guns, there's still the lighter touch being used here. He's holding the gun with just his thumb and forefinger, which is not a powerful grip, and seems to only have his fingertips on the slide.

Moreover, Johnny is seen again and again in these kind of off-balance, canting poses. He stands with his head tilted (sometimes with a hand on his face or shoulder)

or is shown lying down in a slightly child-like way (occasionally with a pen or pencil in his mouth)

or sits with his legs up in the air in a similar fashion to a Vargas drawing.

But here's the interesting part: despite all of this, Johnny's more feminine poses are not read as feminine - at least not consistently and out of universe.

The reason may be something to so with the way mental disturbance (or the perception of mental disturbance) changes what we expect from someone. Most of what we were brought up to know about gender coding goes out the window when we meet someone who doesn't fit the mould. Johnny, a frequent victim of bullying, is a good example of that (even though, in universe, the reasons for this torment are quite different, I still felt it was interesting to note.)

I've seen this in my own work as well - when someone is 'off' in some way, these codes fall flat and are impossible to read. Often, villains especially are given a more recognisably feminine manner than heroes as a way to make them seem unnerving. This isn't so much a slam against women or against the homosexual community - it just goes against the ingrained codes of gender and so makes many people feel some degree of uneasy because the coding seems faulty and out of step with what we've been taught to see as normal. The Joker from Batman is a great example of this, as are many other well known villains.

In 'Johnny the Homicidal Maniac', Johnny is clearly insane, which makes his off-balance posing and non-standard coding more acceptable as he is the villain in that world. In media, this is not an uncommon device to use as it serves to unsettle most of the target audience, which is usually young men. Movies and shows aimed primarily at young men tend to have villains who code feminine or at least androgynous whereas shows and movies aimed at women, when they do have villains, they are often depicted as brutes and code unmistakably masculine. This re-enforces the idea that we have strong and weak, masculine and feminine, and that the opposite sex is always out to hurt you, cause you pain or distress, or make you weak or afraid.

I can't say whether or not this may contribute to the apparent internalised misogyny, misandry, and homophobia but I wouldn't be surprised if it did to some degree.

What it all boils down to is that going against these societal gender codes causes most people discomfort. This is a good thing. I'd advise you to explore your world and why you (and your characters) act the why they do. What are you trying to convey? What are you trying to make your reader feel? What would you expect to feel? What really makes a man or a woman... a man or a woman? Or better yet, what makes a person a person?

(*Please note that all of this is only my opinion - likely to be just as flawed as anyone else's. I may come up with a post explaining the difference between sex, gender, gender expression, sexual orientation, etc. in the next little while as well. If I'm going to ramble like this, I can at least be informative, right?)

Updates on the List

FantNoWriMo will be in January, June, August, and October.

Script Frenzy in April can still be done but will not be official as the program has been shut down.

Camp NaNoWriMo is in April and July.

But aside from that...

All of my blogs are locked down.
I have serious, life-changing world-domination goals.
I think I've figured out how to clean up the draft effectively.
Now I have to get back on track.

So.

I need an outline for next month. I'm not that worried about it but still, it'd be nice to be a little ahead of the game. Plus, I like that story.

Anyway.

This should probably be a short update so I don't ramble so much.

I have, though, figured out The Book. I think. I hope.

(I was watching a Let's Player named Cry and he just said 'I am adorably tiny! Hell yes!' So I'm sitting here laughing like an idiot. Good moment.)

...

Yeah. this was largely pointless.

I'm gonna go and actually write by book now. So, you know... bye for now, everyone. I shall return. With updates. And...maybe whatever else I can scrounge up that I think it interesting to talk about.

DO ALL THE THINGS!

Mum: 'Was she always this stubborn?'
Grandpa: 'Yep.'
Mum: 'So, you know what you were getting into.'
Grandpa: '...Well, I was young.'

(That exchange had nothing to do with anything - I just thought it was cute.)

So... yeah. I have project blogs to lock down. And I will probably be doing that in fits and starts for the day.

In other news, it's NaNoFiMo - National Novel Finishing Month - which means *throws black and silver confetti* I'll be diving back into the world of what I've so lovingly started referring to as 'The Book'.

This is mainly because 1) I feel  like I should be working on it and 2) that NaNo project needs a break while I untangle the plot threads.

'The Book' should wind up around 85k, I think.

So, yeah. That's the project. And I'm already riddled with self-doubt, which is a very unpleasant feeling, much like soul termites. Any other project and I swear I'd be fine but this one is just nagging at me. And nothing looks right. I think that's my main problem. Nothing I do looks right. It's like I know the story but I can't seem to get my fingers to believe me.

I have a better grasp on it now, I think. Maybe.

There's so much to do - it's just insane.

I'm a little panicky right now but... yeah. That'll fade out I'm pretty sure. I just need to work, right?

Right.

Yeah.

I'm gonna go... do that.

(This is an example of my anxiety-rambling. It doesn't have a point and just eats up space but I can't seem to knock it off.)

I'm actually going to go and work on something now, though. Bye for now, everyone. I will hopefully be back when I feel better.

... I need a list or something.

*collapse*

Ick.

All kinds of things.

My scale reads 127 at this time of night. This is problem and needs to be fixed like now.

(I've also noticed that when writing for Heavy Rain - which will, for the record, require a major overhaul - and when planning for another project of mine, any issues with my weight seem magnified. Randy is underweight for his height and most of The Other Project revolves around not wasting the city's resources and not becoming a drain on the city. There is also a cap on ageing in that one. But that's neither here nor there.)

Life:

A decision has been made. I shall be an artist.

Of course, that means those so much stuff to figure out now but that can be done in fits and starts for a little while, until I stop panicking.

Writing:

There's the book.

This incomprehensible book.

Any other book, I can just write. Any other book, I can fix later and it doesn't feel so frightening. This one though... It's so... dark. And not in the typical way things I write are dark. It's a lasting darkness, something that has the potential to make this one of those books that stays with you for years.

And the least thing I want to do is screw that up.

So, it's to editing. To editing while I try not to ruin it.

Wish me luck.

Complaining Already:

Really. Everything I do looks cheap to me. I'm working on the site and everything I do looks cheap to me. I'm torn between being really professional with the white background and everything and thinking that that's just not what I do. This is not a bright company. It's a dark, horror kind of company. Our focus is on the unsettling, just not in an overly obvious way.

I want to use darker colours but I can't get a theme with them that I don't hate and I don't know enough about coding and CCS to make one.

So, you know, *HEADDESK*

I'm going about it in a different way now and I think it'll work out a little better like this. It's just gonna take forever.

FAKE Geekery:

I never noticed before but in the first volume (OMG, the art style changed so much 0.o) when Ryo is talking with Vikky at the station, he has his tie loosened, the button at his collar undone and he isn't wearing his suit jacket. In the very next scene without Vikky, his shirt is completely buttoned up again and he's fixed his tie.

I'm thinking that's one of the examples of him picking up on things and doing them without making a show of it. No jacket and his tie loosened is very similar to how he first saw Dee - namely, relaxed and not threatening. It's a less professional, more relaxed or easy-going look and so it shortens the psychological distance between him and Vikky at that point, meaning the boy may be more comfortable and more willing to talk.

Later, when Dee is around after Vikky gives them the information, Ryo moves back to the more professional side of the scale, fixing his tie. It's a small change but it still illustrates the distance between him and Dee.

Also, page 38 in volume one - Ryo is in street clothes. I hadn't noticed this before but his shoes have a decent heel on them in that shot - especially for a guy.

Anyway, it was one of those things that you notice on a second read-through.

Okay, I'm gonna go and try to get more things set up. (Just go down the list, right?) I'll see you all soon and hopefully I'll not be panicking and/or exhausted.

I'm Having an Existential Crisis

Seriously.

Like, here's what's happening:

Option A:

Become a mortician/funeral director. Go and have this big life and do all these big things in bigger places. (And move death from 'hobby' to 'career'.)

Option 2:

Get a small, nice apartment in a rainy little town, get a job at a pet store, start up a publishing/art company and have a nice life as a kind of jack-of-all-trades artist. (And be able to say 'Oh, no, no, it's just a hobby' when someone asks me if I'm obsessed with death.)

So.

What the hell am I supposed to do?

They both sound fun.

But, honestly, I'm leaning more toward option two.

I can get a job at a small shop or something - something I wouldn't hate is about all I ask for - and write and crochet and make clothes and make video games and scrounge together friends and funds for a small production company where we can work on the scripts that have been piling up.

That would just be wonderful.

Extra Crap:

I want to do a project here pretty soon - Open Real-Time Worlds (ORTW). It's similar to an ARG but without a strong 'Go here, Do this, Collect this' element, which basically means that it's a world that anyone can just play around in and 'enter' through blogs or social sites or LARP (Live-Action Role-Play) - basically, you're in it as long as you want to be. There are established rules but aside from that you create your character and how they live and all of that within the 'new world' and the rule set.

I can explain this a little better later, hopefully, but I've just always liked the idea of people spazzing and cosplaying and drawing things for things that don't technically exist except for in the collective minds of people who are in on the world and having fun with it.

I think it's a neat idea. Like, I can compile lists of fashions and foods and music and actors and movies, all from these worlds of mine... because I am insane. But I still want to share my toys.

*sigh* I have way too many ideas for my own good.

Also, this was interesting: How Chuck Wendig Writes a Novel.

Aside from all of that... well, not much else has been happening. Grandma's doing well and Grandpa's going in on the third to see about getting the cataract in his left eye removed - good thing, too, because he missed the gate with that truck of his by about four inches the other day.

I'm going to go talk to mum after dinner and well see if we can't hash out what exactly I need to be doing and what steps I need to take.

I'm all mixed up, I think. I love the idea but there's that little, socially engrained part of my brain that says 'Artists have no security! This little, bohemian 'thing' isn't a plan! Do something more safe and normal!'

Obviously, the answer is a gritty, in-your-face 'No'. But still, it's distressing. Can I just... live, for a little while? It's not like I'll be relying on income from that right off the bat - I'll have a job somewhere.

*sigh*

I'm gonna go panic a bit and then work this out.

Bye for now, guys! (Wish me luck, calm things, a clear head, and sugar.)

Rambling

(Really. That's all this is.)

I have, like, 5k left to write and all I want to do is go edit something else.

Or write something else. Or do something that proves to me that the first draft is not a complete train wreck. I mean, there are some very good bits and there's one scene I'll get to today that I think I'll want to keep but still. Plus I'm not sure if I want to wrap things up or leave his fate, as it were, undecided.

So there's that too.

Grandma goes in for cataract surgery tomorrow. She doesn't seem nervous at all now but I'm pretty sure that'll change by tonight (not that I want her to be on-edge or anything, she's just usually fine right up until the night before something big happens and then she starts getting nervous. Me? I fret and fuss and puff right up until and then I just go and do it. What was I talking about? Oh, yeah...) so that's gonna be fun. We have to go to a place that's about an hour (I think?) away so that means 'up early' and 'I should probably bring a book'.

We also have a lot of food around here that we need to use up before mum and I leave. Which is a problem because I've gained about eight pounds. This is not okay. But when we move, our diet will change. It always does. It was a fair bit healthier up there, all in all.

Do I need an 'Editing Bay' section in that sidebar? (Only if I'm going to use it. *headdesk*)

Oh, that's right. Did you hear about Casey Legler? She's working as a male model. Awesome, right? ^^ (If you don't think that's awesome, we are on two different wavelengths.)

I really think that the world is on the verge of a major shift. I mean, I'm not with the doomsday crowd by any means but I wouldn't be surprised if there's some kind of major change that happens around that time. There have been stirrings for years.

So, yeah. I woke up, cleaned up cat vomit and now I'm going to go back to writing. I have ideas. And those ideas spawn more ideas. It's like an idea rabbit-garden. Or something a lot more coherent.

Bye for now, people. Just wanted to update you on the pointless ins and outs of my life.

(*headdesk* I need a plan! *rolls around in self-pity*)

*waves*

Rambly headcanon/questions post

Section One: Silent Hill 3: Vincent Smith

(My guy-mode's namesake.) But I had a thought. Silent Hill distorts images. Even though Vincent backpeddles after that famous quote of his ('Monsters? They look like monsters to you?'), there probably is a good deal of truth to that. But that got me thinking.

In the game, Vincent is always neat and nice and clean in contrast with the dark, rusty, bloody environment of Silent Hill 3. The only thing that is out of step with that image is his teeth. In-game, his teeth are decayed and discoloured. This is a complete departure from the rest of his image and makes me wonder as to symbolism.

Vincent's speech isn't affected in the least which may have been done for clarity in-game but it made me wonder a bit when I first met him.

I wonder if Vincent's teeth are seen to be rotting and discoloured because it's a projection of an internal quality, not because they actually are in the real world - the world not affected by Silent Hill.

Vincent is a manipulative, sly, self-serving man. He strikes me as the type who can lie through his teeth without feeling much. All of that may cause that illusion under the influence of Silent Hill itself. One of my conlangs has a word that uses this concept - savelton: 1: manipulative, 2: pathological liar. (lit. 'False words stain the teeth')

It was an interesting thought so I figured I'd share.

Section Two: FAKE: Randy 'Ryo' MacLane

More of a question post than headcanon this time. I've looked through what's available (translated) from FAKE: Second Season and looked back through series one, as it were, and something is bothering me.

Apartments in New York City are notoriously expensive. This is somewhat covered by Ryo's parents being art dealers in Europe (according to the translation I read). If they worked overseas they were likely good at their jobs and if they were both working at even a low-end salary (around 30,000 a year on most charts) it means Ryo himself would likely be fairly well off since the entire family strikes me as upper-class without being pretentious (even though a line in the second season seems to contradict the wealth, at least on his part).

But that's not what's bothering me.

Ryo's apartment seems over-large for one person, especially someone like him who seems to value his organisation. Why have a bigger place to maintain? (That actually feeds a headcanon of mine that says that he keeps his apartment like a showroom since he often has little to no control over a lot of his life - in particular in work. He copes by controlling every element of his life that he can.)

Moreover, his adopted son Vikky* has his own room, meaning that the place was likely two-bedroom or at least has an extra room. I doubt Ryo would put up with a kid sleeping in a storage closet or something. On top of all that, Ryo's bed is a king and I'm not sure an apartment under about 1,000 square feet would have room for something like that. And that much space seems out of step for a man who saves his money.

(I have similar issues with Dee's apartment, which is really too much space for someone on a detective's salary in the heart of the city, at least from the prices I've found.)

(*I maintain that this was probably what she was going for and that that translation is flawed.)

In other news, a lot is happening. You know, behind the scenes. Like, plans and stuff.

Yeah.

Anyway. That was about all I had. I just wanted to spew out my thoughts to the world, hence why I have a blog.

These are the kinds of things that I think about when I'm 'not doing anything'.

I also have too many tabs open currently so I'm gonna go throw this up online and then... go do something else. Maybe sleep.

Bye for now, guys. Have an awesome day and I will see you all soon, hopefully with some form of actual news!

Doll makers and general rambling

First off, this:

Isn't she awesome?

(The correct answer is 'Yes.')

She's from here and I suggest that you go play around with it if you're in need of a new avatar or just have some time to kill.

...

I would totally dress like this. :|

I would. But I do not have the budget, currently, for that level of awesome.

Okay. Time for a list/texbook heading... thing.

Section One: Writing

I have been. At least, I have been more this month than I did before, which is a little sad when you think about it.

I found a good existing version of a male AI voice so I'm just sitting here, listening and planning for another project after NaNo.

Since NaNo started, I have been gifted three new ideas and submitted an application to be allowed into the RRWG - The Reading, Rambling Writers Group. Their membership has been down the last few months.

Anyway.

Section 1-A: NaNo

NaNoWriMo, Oedipus, are you working on it?

I am. Now.

I miss writing, guys. I really missed it. (Of course, one of Randy's girls bailed on him just before a runway show so he's having to walk and he's kind of flirting with his makeup artist and this is just really freaking fun!)

But yeah. I'm going to get caught up today. It's only 20k and I'm on about 18 now, so that's not that hard.

On another note, I think these section things work really well.

Section 1-B: Scripts

Two scripts, no waiting a lot of waiting because I have a lot of other crap to do.

Seriously, I'm getting ideas for like Season 4 of 'Mortuary Boys'. I'm like, WTF, man?

I think I want to get on those fairly soon, too. I just... when I have a project like this I kind of want it to at least start getting done, you know.

This one and Demonology. Although Demonology should probably be first because I actually have, you know, pages written on that. It's a little longer per episode though.

They're both just so fun. And so hard to focus on.

Section 1-C: Ghostwriting

Why did I give this a section? I'm not allowed to talk about it. But yeah. I have a ghostwriting/helpful writing project thing to do. W00t?

Section Two: Reading

I want to get back on actually reading books again. I mean, I do read but not like I'd like to.

So, that's become the goal for right now: Just finish reading a freaking book. And then move on and freaking read another one. And continue this until you have to buy more because you've read all of yours.

There's also a lot of Creepypasta that I'd like to get through so if I find one that's just amazing, I might link you to it.

Section 2-A: New Book Selection

So. Once I'm through 'The Sociopath Next Door', which is really good and recommended, I'm thinking the Millennium Trilogy (The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo and those, you know?) Lisbeth seems like a really interesting character and someone I could learn things from reading about.

So I intend to.

So that's where that is.

Section 2-B: Manga

I'm jumping back on the bandwagon here, too. At least, I'm hoping to. If anyone knows of a few good series, totally tell me. I love adding things to the list.

Section Three: TV Shows

Clearly, my version of productivity is watching or reading things that I hadn't gotten around to. But I love the feeling of 'catching up' with something, you know? I have the same recommendation policy here as I do with everything else: Tell me and I'll look into it.

I'm probably going to be trying to start and get through Six Feet Under pretty soon.

Section 3-A: Anime

Ergo Proxy. Devil May Cry. And a host of others that I don't remember right now but are on the list. Speaking of, should I have a list? Like a 'To-Read' and a 'To-Watch' page? I don't know. I'll think about that.

Section Four: Games

On console: Devil May Cry. I want to start from the beginning since I have the first three games.

Also, I've been playing Happy Wheels when I get bored. It's bloody and violent and pixels and I suggest you go play it.

...

This was a really pointless update thing, wasn't it? *sigh*

I really need to get back to talking about actual things. And pictures, maybe.

Bye for now, guys. I need to figure out what I'm doing different with these things.

*backflips into traffic*

Twenty-One: On a Certain English Dub

(In which Jezzy has a lot of feelings and is a complete anime geek.)

If you really don't care about any of this, feel free to skip... most of this entry.

Time for the rare fandom post.

I realise that the dub of Tiger and Bunny has been kind of a base breaker among the fans (most either love it or hate it) but I have to say, I'm fairly impressed with it so far. All dubs are going to have their issues - I never expected it to be perfect - but I am really glad to see some very smart decisions made on the part of the script writers, translators and voice actors.

For the purposes of keeping this post a reasonable length, I'll just be focusing on our main two Heroes.

Some of the dialogue reads a little like it was from a comic book which is sort of a nice callback since the show was based heavily on American superheroes and the culture surrounding them.

Three episodes are out now.

Here we go (keeping in mind that this is by no means a comprehensive review - I'm just having feelings):

Episode One

Kotetsu -

In episode one, when we're first introduced to Kotetsu Kaburagi (Wild Tiger), his English voice is a bit of a jolt if you're used to the original Japanese version. His voice is lighter and maybe a little friendlier than in the original, which makes sense given the difference in language in general. Besides, his original voice actor (Hiroaki Hirata) has a rather distinctive voice which would have been hard to match in English.

Wally Wingert has done a very solid overall job with bringing the sense of old-fashioned heroics and the kind of adorable single-father-trying-too-hard silliness that was present in the original Japanese version. He also manages to bring the sarcastic, tired side of the character through without dragging the entire performance to that snarky level.

Wally has a few weaknesses as Tiger, of course, namely that his lines sometimes aren't as smooth as they technically should be. Overall I think these issues balance out nicely and anytime it is obvious, the comic book 'origin' could be called in to cover any slightly awkward reading. All in all, even these smaller 'slip-ups' tend to work with Kotetsu's character for the most part since he is rather 'old-fashioned' in a lot of ways.

Favourite Lines:

'Seriously?' '

'Oh, boy.'

‘I caught the criminal – doesn’t that count for anything?!’

Barnaby -

Barnaby sounds his age, something I am infinitely happy about. He has a natural flow to his voice that one would expect from someone who always projects the image of, essentially, a pop star. He's much like what you would expect a young American star to be like.

In the first episode, he's portrayed as the classic young upstart hero - the talented rookie with too many fans for his own good, basically. Masakazu Morita did a very solid original reading and showed Barnaby as a real character, apart from his stage persona.

Yuri Lowenthal's portrayal of him in the English dub seems to have blended these two personae a bit more, leading to a very interesting reading of the character himself.

Favourite Lines:

(Tiger: ‘Who are you supposed to be?’) ‘The guy who just saved your life.’

‘Times are changing. Better keep up, Old Man.’

Episode Two

Kotetsu –

In episode two some of Kotetsu's lines reflect much more bitterness at being relegated to the sidecar, essentially replaced by a rookie, than his original lines did. This, to me, is a very smart decision as it shows Kotetsu still seeing himself as the hero he was when he first started out.

As we see more of his life and his relationship with his family, we’re able to see different sides of his personality in a more consistent light.

Lines like 'How'd I get stuck with you?' when speaking to Barnaby further reflect this. There's a fair bit of animosity between them early on, which was brought through quite nicely. Kotetsu is out to help; Barnaby is out for the points.

Wally has also made some very good decisions with regard to how Kotetsu talks with his daughter and brings him across simply as a single father with a demanding job in those scenes.

Favourite Lines:

'That's a brilliant idea - why don't we wait until the whole city's destroyed?'

'(to Barnaby) You sure? You don't want to touch up your makeup or [something]?'

'How'd I get stuck with you?'

'Sidekick to that showboat?! That guy's a costume clown!'

Barnaby -

Barnaby is of special interest to me because of Yuri's choices of tone for certain lines in this episode. In particular, in the famous 'My name is not Bunny! It's Barnaby!' scene ('I am not a bunny! My name is Barnaby!' in English), Barnaby's voice is fairly even, if annoyed, for those two lines however, once Tiger mocks him (I am not a bunny! I'm a Barnaby!), his next line - 'I don't talk like that!' - has a much different sound to it. He sounds as though he's largely dropped the act. He sounds younger on this line - his voice is higher for most of it - which leads me to wonder if Yuri will continue to play with the differences between the stage persona of Barnaby Brooks, Jr. the Hero and the real Barnaby.

Another example I've noticed is in the next episode preview. The preview for episode three has Barnaby reading. He sounds a bit bored and almost sarcastic at the last, especially over 'See ya!', which was almost always some degree of flirty or at least friendly in the original. I'm hoping that this was a conscious choice as it would reflect a certain level of annoyance. It would also be a good callback and commentary on young stars who are apparently very annoyed with their fans.

Of course, that snarky personality trait has been seen before, mainly around Kotetsu.

All of this seems to hint that Yuri understands the character in at least these two levels which bodes well for future episodes.

Even things that are very 'classic young American star' in my opinion (like, 'Hey! Who planted the bomb? I'm right in the middle of a freakin' interview here!') don't seem out terribly of place due to the delivery and the character's apparent attitude.

Favourite Lines:

'Just three and a half minutes of my life that I'm never going to get back. But, hey, don't worry about it.'

'Yeah? Good luck with that.'

'Great plan - worked out real well.' 

'Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold it! What did you just call me? Did you just call me 'Bunny'?'

‘I don’t talk like that!’

Episode Three

Kotetsu –

We finally get to see a little of Kotetsu being a Mr. Legend fanboy. Wally’s starting to really find his stride here. Not perfect by any means, but good enough – which is really all I was hoping for in the first place.

He and Barnaby are slowly learning to trust each other here and I was a little concerned about the English version trying to make the jump too fast and throwing the pacing off but that fear’s been mostly stepped on. Things are evening out but they’re by no means settled, which is where they should be by this episode.

Wally still has lines where it doesn’t come across as natural as it maybe should have but one could also write the majority of those off as just being Kotetsu’s speech patterns by this point.

Favourite Lines:

‘Eh – I got nothin’.’

‘Yo, Homie… wanna, like, hang out?’

‘(to Barnaby) Yeah, well, I’m not you.’

Barnaby –

As we learn more about him, more of Yuri’s choices make sense.  I was initially a little worried since there were scenes where it had that ‘acting’ undertone to it. However, it seems to work with the character better than I thought it would, even in English.

Little by little, we’re being given glimpses into his past and what his life may have been, which makes this kind of reading understandable, especially for someone his age.

(At any rate, it isn't enough to bother me.)

The characters and actors seem to be sort of smoothing out as everyone finds their stride. Barnaby’s speech patterns vary widely depending on the situation and who he’s speaking with. Already, he speaks differently around Kotetsu, though it isn’t as noticeable now as it may become later.

Favourite Lines:

‘Okay… I guess I don’t get any privacy.’

‘Why are you talking like that? It’s creepy, man.’

‘Thanks for the sentiment but if I were you, I’d ditch me.’

TL;DR - All in all, I’m pretty happy with the job. What more can I say?

It's very possible that the dub will turn out better than its current detractors believe it to be. I certainly hope so. In any case, I'm currently a fan of both versions (and will hopefully be making the Blu-Ray release a kind of late Christmas present).

And this has pretty much been a fandom post.

And please do remember that these are just my opinions - likely to be just as flawed as anyone else's.

*****************************************************

Wow.

That was really rambling and I’m very sorry if you don’t care at all about this. But I had a lot of feelings. As you can probably tell.

Basically, both Wally and Yuri have moments where their lines just don't flow but because of the (sometimes very amazing) job they do on other lines and in other scenes, I can easily overlook these types of issues. It's by no means constant and will likely even out as the show goes on. Everything else is pretty stellar (in my opinion).

But yeah. This might be one of my longest posts yet.

On a completely different note, what I'm thinking I should do with my current issues with getting things done is just start from the top of the list and start doing outlines. If nothing else, it'll really tell me what ideas are workable and whether or not they're meant to be novels or would work better as short stories.

I wonder if I could do an outline a day? They really don't take me that long if I'm focused on them.

...

I love that when I get to work with a character, I suddenly want to know ALL THE THINGS about them.

Well... I should probably get back to some semblance of work that doesn't involve rambling about anime (although that section alone is nearly 1,500 words by my word counter. So yeah.)

I am sorry for the insane post length here guys. Seriously. I will try not to ramble so much in the future.

Your next entry should be delivered to you soon.

See ya~

Twelve: Killer Dinosaurs

Do you see this? This is insane and awesome and a part of me wants to work on movie sets so I can do crap like this and get paid for it. I wish they would have hidden their legs better but a good pair of digitegrade stilts would fix that.

I just love costumes, okay?

(Hi, I'm Jezzy. I like to pretend! Come on!)

I've been thinking a lot. And I need to start working out again. I also want a hat with ears but that's another story.

Also, random, but I'm glad to see that what they call the 'Furry' fandom isn't nearly as weird as the media likes to portray it as. It's just like any other fandom I've seen, really. That's... kind of a relief, really because I guess I'd fit a broad definition of it. I mean, in that anthropomorphic animals (think anything from Balto to Bugs Bunny) have always been kind of cute to me with the really human facial expressions and all and I wouldn't feel weird going out wearing a tail, a collar and ears (although some of that is probably just due to the fact I appear to lack the ability to feel shame).

Anywho.... I just thought that was interesting to note. I'm amazed at how often the media seems to get things wrong on purpose. They do it all the time with pretty much every subculture or fandom they use so it really pays to do your own research (and do it well).

And, overall, it's just another creative outlet - at least for me. Fashion and costumes (though I'm not a fursuiter, for the record. I'd think it'd be like wearing a mascot suit - too hot and claustrophobic.) and eye-catching things along with people who really are just themselves have always made me feel just a touch better about the world.

Anyway. That was just kind of social commentary. That was far and away not the point of this.

Um...

Actually, I'm not sure I had a point. I've been so... kinda burned out today that all this was kind of just for the sake of not missing a day.

Also, I kind of want a pet rat once I'm settled in. They're so cute ^^

All in all, I basically feel like this:

and my thoughts are in about a million different places and I'm reading up on random subcultures/fandom for no apparent reason... So... yeah.

I just want to be me and be happy, even if everyone else thinks I'm weird/a freak/a little off/an attention whore/whatever else. I'm sick of it all. I'm sick of basically being told by society: 'Be yourself... just not in public. Or at work. Or online. Or anywhere where anyone might notice that you're different.'

So. For right now, I'm gonna go curl up, watch Monster High (I know, shut up) and maybe get something productive done. Maybe.

I might just go scrounge something to eat. But either way, I'm having kind of FILDI moment with the whole 'being yourself' thing. Not much I can do here right now but when we move and I'm in school, I think I'm just gonna focus on school and on not worrying what other people think of me. I'll probably be a lot happier that way.

This might have sparked it a little. (If you're already in a bad mood or depressed about the world, I wouldn't suggest reading the story. It'll just confirm that society as a whole is pretty awful.)

Bye for now, guys. (I really need to get better at blog posts...)

Eleven: What do you want to do?

Eleven.

I've been thinking about this question a lot lately.

For me, the answer is just 'Be happy'. Ultimately, that's all I really want.

And it's raining here and that's helping, even though I have to work.

So, I gave you all a partial list of the things I'd like to do (and was not doing) in the last post. That list, however, did not include getting into the funeral service. And that's a big one.

The big steps (in reverse order)

- Find a job/volunteer with a funeral home
- Get college set up
- Lose weight
- Study math
- Get at least one of your own books done
- Get 50 pages on at least one book done
- Get the nonfiction books done and sent
- Get the blog post for today done

Obviously there are a lot of little steps in between those but those are the main milestones.

And I've noticed something: I'm way happier when I have a lot to do. For a while I was fine having nothing to do but now I get bored easily. Like, all I want to do is get things done because I feel better once I've gotten something done.

I've also figured out that I could make a workable prototype of an idea of mine with an old pair of high heels and digitegrade stilts. It's not for an animal costume - it's actually a core design for cyberaugs. So. I'm a geek.

I'm also very tired, hence the rambling and WTH nature of this post.

I don't actually have a lot to say since I've been working the past few days but I didn't want to miss a day. So. Here this is.

I'll be sure to have more of a topic the next time. For now, I think I just really need caffeine.

Bye for now, everyone.

*HEADDESK*

Entry the Eighth: More Anime. And Anxiety.

More anime. So much more anime. Like Red Garden (I'm stuck between 'wow, this is dark' and 'what is with your face?') and Ergo Proxy (undiluted awesome) and Another (need to be watching).

I'm basically geeking out on a very consistent basis. I found Funimation's official site. And, Wyatt, I am rolling.

Also, I need to go driving. I'm planning on it today. If I feel up to it later. Although I'm kind of doubting it. Because I just puked my guts up in the sink (because (TMI) I was on the toilet at the time) and then Mum, bless her heart, had to come and actually plunge the sink because it was not draining.

So yeah. It's been a real fun night. It is now about 6 A.M.

I did a fair bit of work (actually paying work this time). I'll tell you this, though, I had absolutely no desire to sleep for most of the night.

I also made a pumpkin yesterday. A crochet one. It's adorable.

Also, I've decided that if I'm going to have something designer, I want it to be a dog collar. And yes, I will wear it and yes, I will look awesome.

I've also noticed that I'm kind of a big deal. In my head. Like, if I'm out in the real world, I'll randomly think 'Okay, don't touch me - I have more followers than you'. And I'm not sure why.

I think this will be a shorter entry because I kind of want to go to Lord and Taylor now. Expensive, I know, but still.

Wow. Rambling. You can tell when I haven't slept, huh?

This wasn't much of an update but, hey, I just got sick - I'd think you could cut me some slack.

Bye for now, guys. I'm very, very tired and I just want to curl up and be quiet for a little while. Maybe try to get a better handle on my thoughts.

Night! <3

*SCREAMS*

Seriously. That's about how I feel right now.

Reasons?

1) Editing job came though. I signed an NDA (Non-Disclosure Agreement) and everything! I'll get the hard copy books soon so I can catch up and then I'll be working with them and askjdflsdj

2) On another awesome note, I think I've discovered the root of my obsession with psychotic characters. Yeah. Those are the kind of major life-discoveries I make at this time of night. But at least now I can see how one psychotic character led to my current obsession with psycho, scarily intelligent, gender-bending characters with screwed-up backstories. Huh. Yeah.

3) I have books and mum promised to help me organise my room. That might not seem like something to scream about but to me it is. I love organising things... because I am weird, apparently.

4) Less awesome note: Our air conditioner is frozen. Like 'ice on the pipes' frozen. In the middle of the desert. When it's 80 degrees in the middle of the night. The hell? Seriously:

See this? All this white? That's ice. Those pipes are supposed to be copper-coloured, like the one in the front. Here's another one, closer up:

This is insane. It also means that we have no AC for a while because it won't run when it's an ice cube. Obviously.

5) Camp NaNoWriMo. Which currently can be summed up as 'If you talk about my word count, I will put forks in you'. But getting better. Really. Getting better. I'm starting to see more of a plot than I thought I had which is so nice right now.

That's about it for right now. I'm going to try to get to at least something approximating my actual goal and then calm the hell down about that editing gig.

I hope you all have a great day and I will be back soon to ramble at you and spam you with pictures of things you probably don't care about ^^

Awkward

That awkward moment when your 'People with your personality-type' list contains both Hannibal Lecter (Silence of the Lambs) and Professor Moriarty (Sherlock Holmes' nemesis). Of course it also contains Cassius (Julius Caesar), Mr. Darcy (Pride and Prejudice), Gandalf the Grey (J. R. R. Tolkein's Middle Earth books), Ensign Ro (Star Trek--the Next Generation), Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (Hamlet), George Smiley, John le Carre's master spy and Clarice Starling (Silence of the Lambs).

So it could be worse.

On the non-fictional front, there's: Susan B. Anthony, Lance Armstrong, Augustus Caesar (Gaius Julius Caesar Octavianus), Jane Austen (Pride and Prejudice), Dan Aykroyd (The Blues Brothers), Katie Couric, Phil Donahue, Michael Dukakis, governor of Mass., 1988 U.S. Dem. pres. candidate, Richard Gere (Pretty Woman), Rudy Giuliani, former New York City mayor, Hannibal, Carthaginian military leader, Emily Bronte, author of Wuthering Heights, Angela Lansbury (Murder, She Wrote), Peter Jennings, Charles Everett Koop, C. S. Lewis (The Chronicles of Narnia), Michelle Obama, General Colin Powell, former US Secretary of State, Charles Rangel, US Representative, D-N.Y., Pernell Roberts (Bonanza), Donald Rumsfeld, former US Secretary of Defense, Hillary Clinton, US Secretary of State, Arnold Schwarzenegger, Governor of California, Josephine Tey (Elizabeth Mackintosh), mystery writer (Brat Farrar), and the U.S. Presidents: Chester A. Arthur, Calvin Coolidge, Thomas Jefferson, John F. Kennedy, James K. Polk and Woodrow Wilson.

I seem to be in decent, if at times psychotic, company ^^

Anyway.

I finished Paper Towns and I kind of loved it in a way that I can't quite explain. I also figured out that I needed a calendar gadget. Because I am notorious for not getting things done on time. Also that my desktop layout is essential to my productivity. Thankfully, I think I've found one that works.

Aside from that, I've been working for the fast coupe of hours and I'm actually feeling pretty good ^^ I hope you guys are having a good time today and I will be back to spazz at you when Camp NaNoWriMo starts.

Orthorexia Nervosa

Basically, orthorexia nervosa is a non-medically recognized term first used by Steven Bratman to characterize people who develop an obsession with avoiding foods perceived to be unhealthy. Now I realise that, if taken to extreme levels, yes this could be dangerous. However, I'm pretty sure that a lot of people are going to use that as yet another way to rag on vegetarians and vegans.

No, this is not going to be some major rant. I just found it a little odd, is all.

Anyway, what's been going on?

It's cold and rainy here so that's awesome.

Also, I got to thinking about English VAs and English dubs in general (since with the Tiger and Bunny English version in the works, there's a fair bit of speculation on the cast). Now, a lot of people are worried about Vic Mignogna potentially being cast. While I don't hate Vic (for example, in the dub of Ouran High School Host Club I think his representation of Tamaki was more true to the character than the slightly snobbish tone the Japanese version had) I don't think he would fit well with the show. Vic is, in many ways, not a voice actor. That isn't to say he's a bad actor - not at all - but he is always Vic. You can always tell when Vic is playing a character because his voice is very distinctive.

In short, I don't hate Vic but I don't feel he could pull off a Tiger and Bunny role. I think his inclusion in the cast would be... rather grating, I'm sorry to say. (Just getting that out there... even though I doubt anyone cares.)

And that leads me to thinking about English dubs in general. Yes, the majority of them are really rough. The actors don't know the characters, the wrong people were cast for the wrong roles and it's in general a trainwreck. And then there are shows like Cowboy Bebop, where the general consensus is that the dub is better than the original Japanese version.

It's really a toss-up as to whether you'll get a good dub of a show or not. A lot of the English VAs do work very hard to get their characters right but, as I've always maintained, there are several ways to read a character and even if they seem to be simple, they're not.

I could go on and on but I won't. Instead I'm gonna jump thought trains and talk about Script Frenzy.

My main character is going insane. Like, 'seeing things' insane. I was not expecting that.

That's about all the updates on that, aside from the fact that I'm I-don't-even-know-how-many pages behind and somehow not panicking.

I don't know why but I just feel like things are okay. I'm not gonna argue with that ^^

There should be pictures of food (and maybe a desk) with the next update. So, you know, look forward to that.

For now, I'm gonna go try to figure out A) my website, B) my stories, C) the basic music, clothes, scents, etc. for those stories and D) what I'm doing with my life.

That last one might not get done for a while.

I'm really rambling and I don't have too much to say so bye for now, guys~ Just wanted to let you all know I'm not dead ^^

Let me tell you about my day.

**Warning: long post ahead.**


My day started at 9 this morning. Okay. I can deal with that.

We then got in the car and drove to a property management place to look at houses we could rent. Fine. So we piled in the car with the broker (who was actually funny and pretty normal so that was a relief). There was commentary like 'I went to get a tattoo once. The artist said I was too fat so he'd have to give me a tat-3'. I think he'll show up in a character or two.

Now.

House one was bigger (with a second floor and very steep stairs) and the foundation was solid. It was also the highest rent. I loved the neighbourhood though and we kept it on the list since it seemed like a strong option even with the extra cost.

House two was a single story with some minor cosmetic issues in the same neighbourhood (different street). Another strong option.

House three... House three I wouldn't have rented on a bet. It reeked of mold, there were water stains and I didn't honestly feel like I could safely touch things in there.

So... Even with the higher rent, we figured the first house was the better option. Fine. Awesome. I love that place, steep stairs and my upstairs bedroom (with the only bathroom downstairs) and all.

So we get that figured out, there's no problem with getting the lease, the landlord seems nice. It's all good. So, while we waited on the lease to be typed up, we got to run to the power company and to get the cable appointment (TV and internet). Water, sewer and garbage are paid which is a fairly big deal up here. We also bought an older washer and dryer.

So we go out to Dairy Queen to eat because I'm getting a headache from lack of food (I think I might have to be one of those girls who has to eat every few hours or she starts feeling sick). Great. We get all that done and sign the lease, the place is ours (though they did tell me not to chew on the windowsills. Killjoys.) But then we start to wonder: Did that place have cable outlets?

So we go back. And no, no it didn't. There was not a single outlet in the entire house. The place had never even had cable hooked up. And we just signed a six-month lease.

So we go back to the property management place to have them call the landlord and see if we can't fix this. Thankfully, we can. The landlord was fine with them running cable to the place as long as we paid for it.

All right. But wait. We have no furniture. Now we have to go into town, to every place we can find that might work, and look around for a couch, loveseat, TVs and something to put said TVs on. The first place had a set we liked but the price was painful. We then looked around at several others, both local and chain, for something better and cheaper. Failing that, we returned to find the set sold to the couple who originally asked about it before we got there.

Annoying but understandable. So then it was off to yet another store. We finally managed to find a couch we liked along with a set of tables (coffee and end). The saleswoman was really sweet too. She gave me a pillow to hug carry over to their larger store (up the street) so we could find something that went with it. Problem was, the only chairs we could find that went with it colour-wise were more than the matching loveseat was. So we got the loveseat.

We also figured out that we have to go unload the truck tomorrow so we can load up the TVs and the stands.

Let me put something back in your head: We're in a 104-year-old house in Aberdeen, WA. It's a town that is big enough to have cross-walks but small enough that you can actually use them and where plastic drink cup lids refuse to stop rolling down the street despite considerable odds. We walked to most of the places we went today. My legs are going to hate me tomorrow... when we're unloading the truck.

W00T for exercise, though?

So I'm thinking now (because I'm just so glad to not be walking) about my little website project. I mean, there's a lot I want to do and a lot I want to share and I think up here would be a good place to actually get writerly things done. I hope.

So... back to Script Frenzy and trying to figure out where to go with some of my other projects.

We move in on Wednesday and I want a desk by the window so I can contemplate life and then write about it.

See ya~