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Wednesday, September 30, 2015

Five Favorite Male Characters

Woot, I've been tagged! Time to do the tag dance.... yeah, just kidding. This is the Five Favorite Male Characters (book or screen).

Now fair warning, these are the first five I think of / have on the mind as of the moment. I'm sure I'm probably missing my all time favorites. But then again, this is a good thing, because if I only talked about the top characters, you'd never hear my thoughts on other beloved characters.

Rules:
1.) List 5 of you favorite male characters (book or screen)
2.) Tagging other people is optional
3.) If you are tagged link back to the person that tagged you
4.) Link back to Revealed In Time (preferably using the link to this post)
~ ~ ~
Choose one from each category.
1.) Hero
2.) Villain
3.) Anti-hero
4.) Best book-to-screen adaption
5.) Best character perception

1.) The Doctor


My dear Doctor. He is my favorite hero for so many reasons, that we'd be here all day. But lemme try and 'splain a little.

When you first enter the world of New Who there's this strange man who's running about London, saving the world, all with a big grin on his face. You don't know it until much later, and I think many people forget this. But this is the Doctor whom regenerated from the War Doctor. It was not long before he met Rose, that he destroyed Gallifrey. That he became the last of the Time Lords. You'd never guess that from how he acts.

Nine falls in love with Rose, a simple shop girl who turns into the Bad Wolf. Even so, she still wasn't that special. She was just a girl, who loved the Doctor. Rose saved Nine's life, and regenerated into Ten. So while Nine was born from war, Ten was born from love.

Ten is special. He is the man who regrets. He is the one who counted how many children were on Gallifrey when it was destroyed. When he destroyed it. Ten is the Doctor who kept smiling, but underneath that smile you could see through his eyes the horrors he'd lived. The tragedy that sent Rose to another dimension must have hurt more than we Whovians can imagine. You know why? Because not that long ago, before the end of the Time War, Time Lords could travel between parallel universes. After Rose left, Ten was depressed. Try as Donna and Martha might, he would never be the same again.

In the end, Ten was destined to die alone. He lost Rose, Martha left, Donna forgot, Astrid sacrificed herself, etc. ... everyone was gone. His new regeneration, Eleven, was born from pain. All the pain of Gallifrey being destroyed, the loss of his companions, the pain of being alone as he died.

Eleven is dark. He doesn't let it show, but he's reckless and dangerous. Though he's mistaken as a cute puppy in a fez, who trips on his own feet, he is in fact a killer. Eleven forgot how many children died on Gallifrey. While Nine sent Rose home in the face of ultimate doom, the Doctor kept Amy and Rory by his side. He didn't want to be alone again. But his selfishness is his undoing. Yes, deep down he's a sad man in a blue box. But Eleven became careless, and thus became dangerous.

Now on to Twelve. By all means, Eleven should have died. I mean truly died. He was on his thirteenth regeneration. It was a miracle that the Time Lords restored him, and bequeathed thirteen more regenerations. Twelve is new, and trying to figure out who he is. He's dealing with the ghosts of his past, while trying to make a future. Given time, we'll see what kind of a man Twelve ends up as.

So there's my super long rant as to why I love the Doctor. He is deep. Troubled. Dark. Happy. Sad. He is everything. And that's fitting for a man who is over a thousand years old (and still not a ginger).


2.) The Joker


I'm sure you all expected Moriarty. But I think it's time I elaborate on another favorite. The Joker.

Why is the Joker one of my favorite villains? For many reasons. Starting off, he is scary. I'm not exactly saying I'm afraid of him. That I cover my eyes when he's on screen (technically I've never seen him in a movie. But having a comic nerd brother, and becoming a comic nerd myself, I know who he is). But in a story scenario, he is not to be messed with. Joker is insane, and unpredictable. To a fault of course. He keeps his word, and when he says he's going to reign terror on Gotham, he keeps his promise.

Most importantly, I love his dynamics with Batman. How they are each other's nemesis. And not that they chose each other, but it's because of who they are that they're nemesis's. I just... arlhgsjkahsdf. The fact that neither can kill the other is just... brilliant. And not even because of some prophecy or spell.


3.) Malcolm Merlyn


Oh Merlyn... just lemme punch ya in the face a few times, you crazy git. He's just... despicable and yet he's so awesome. Definitely an interesting dynamic in the show.

There are times I wonder if he's my favorite because of his role as Jack Harkness, or because his character and acting are just flawless. I think a little bit of both. He's a fearsome character, with a purpose. Sometimes I wonder how much he really cared about Tommy... or how much he really cares about Thea. All too often the moment you think he's human, it turns back to be a scheme to save his neck. Or on occasions it's a twisted scheme to help them. He's unpredictable.


4.) Harry Potter



A lot of people think that movie Harry didn't do justice to his character. While I do think he could have used more one liners and sassy comebacks, I still think his character was an amazing adaption.


5.) Tom Hanks / Walt Disney


Sorry to copy you here Evangeline, but you really hit the nail on the head. Also, Disney is by far my most beloved fandom, for so many reasons, so how could I not include it here?

He just... really brought Walt alive. Walt Disney is a very special person to me, because going to Disneyland is some my most prominent and happy childhood memories. He seems almost unreal to me, and Tom brought his character into perspective. He made Walt Disney into more of a man, than a legend. You could feel him as a more down to earth man, even though at heart he's a dreamer.

So there you have it folks. My top five favorite male characters. I hope you had a good time reading this. And congratulations if you made it through my Doctor Who rant, especially if you're not a Whovian.

I shall now tag the following people:

Tiana
Sereina
Morgan
Matt

If you choose to accept your tags, know that I eagerly await your answers.

Wednesday, September 23, 2015

Sun and Stars

Once again, most of this post is going to be about music. Partially because I found the son Roots by Imagine Dragons, and I'm obsessed with it. I love the tune so much!

Another exciting thing is, I've finally finished my first original composition, and I'm actually kinda of happy with how it turned out. Granted, it's totally got room for improvement. But here it is!


So yeah, that's my big news! I'm really excited to have launched my official YouTube account, and I hope to upload new music regularly-ish. Honestly I can't promise anything. But lately I've been accidentally coming up with new tunes, so who know what could happen? Yeah, I'm still kinda freaking out about this. I can't believe I actually made this. I kinda think the violin and viola drown out the piano a little too much, but I suppose it sounds fine. My favorite part is either the build up or the very, very end.

The part I like about the song the most, it that it reminds me of two of my characters whom I ship hard. The song name is the same as the working title for book two actually.

OKAY freaking out here, a stranger liked and commented and subscribed to my video! Ahh, I can't believe it; that's sooo cool all I wanna do it make music!

Saturday, September 12, 2015

Music on the Mind

♪  She's talking to angels, counting the stars ♫
Making a wish on a passing car
She's dancing with strangers, falling apart
Waiting for Superman to pick her up
In his arms yeah, in his arms yeah
♫ Waiting for Superman ♪

♪ Hey young blood ♫
Doesn't it feel like our time is running out?
I'm gonna change you like a remix
Then I'll raise you like a phoenix
Wearing our vintage misery
No, I think it looked a little better on me
I'm gonna change you like a remix
♫ Then I'll raise you like a phoenix ♪

♪ I'm an angel with a shotgun ♫
♫ Fighting 'til the war's won ♪

Music is where it's at people. I've been listening to a lot of music lately, and it's been fueling a lot of story inspiration. Today I got new, better speakers to listen to my music. Some of my newest music purchases includes the entire Skyrim soundtrack, of which I'm obsessed with. So yeah, I've really been listening to a lot of music lately, and listening to music makes me really happy. I love my taste in music so much.

Recently I asked if someone could draw my character, Nora, from Believe. They finally finished, I'm and I'm so happy with the finished drawing that I had to share it here. The artist is Ultron5 and all credit goes to her, and her amazing skill.


It's like, perfection. Honestly it's opened so many new doors to her character. I really love it when people draw my characters. I like seeing other people's views of my characters. It gives me amazing new perspective.

I'm probably gonna say this a million times between now and November, but I'm so excited for NaNoWriMo and the release of Tatiana's Diary and Letters. Arg! So excited!

Dang. I'm listening to Into Darkness by Thomas Bergersen. Man when that beat drops. Love this song.

The other day a friend, Evangeline, helped me save a character's life. See, Jason from The Shadow, almost died. He was stabbed in the abdominals, and was going to die. But now he's going to survive, but has a breathing impairment. I'm really happy with how things turned out though, because it's important that his life hangs in the balance to give Moriah (the main character) motivation to kill the bad guy. Also, I think it's hilarious how much Jason is going to hate having a breathing impairment. Knowing his character, he'll be really angry. It'll be good for him. Humbling.

Tuesday, September 8, 2015

So Much Excitement

I am so dang excited right now, I honestly can't even. So I was on the Amazon website, and on the first page it has suggestions based on your history, right? Well it had Tatiana Romanov, Daughter of the Last Tsar: Diaries and Letters, 1913-1918 Like I'm freaking out right now! It comes out on November 6th, and I'm so excited. I want to preorder it. I'm just so excited that Helen Azar is continuing these translations, and I hope more and more continue to come.

Due to a friend referring me to a song, I've now become hooked on Audiomachines music. I've actually heard a song or two of theirs before, but never really looked into them. Their music is really awesome!

Armikrog came out today, and now I have only to buy it. I'm so excited, and I'll be sure to video my first time playing, with commentary and all.

Lacey has officially left the stable, and I'll miss her. But luckily she's just down the road from Rachelle's. Like two minutes. So that's awesome. In the meantime, my official lesson has been moved to Thursday, and I should be riding Halli (is there an "i" or "e" at the end? There are too many different Halli/e's at the barn) so I can practice cantering and get more confident.

Yesterday we had a Studio C premiere party, and it was glorious. We played various games, talked a lot, and of course watched the latest episodes of Studio C. There was cake that Sereina made (soon to be famous cake too. The official Studio C page asked if they could post her picture on their Instagram), and good food. We played lots of Never Have I Ever, which is an amazingly fun game that I'm obsessed with. And yeah, that was pretty much the whole evening. Overall I had a really great time, and I eagerly await the next episodes of season six.

Monday, August 31, 2015

All Sorts of Crazy

On Saturday we attended the wedding of our friend, Rose Beede, or as she is now called, Rose Whipple. It was a very nice wedding... I'm not entirely sure what to say otherwise. There was cheese. Good cheese too.

The big thing was when we got home. It was all casual, and I was playing piano when I heard a commotion upstairs. Daniel came downstairs and was like, "look outside." Me being me, I was just like "why" and kept playing. Turns out a large chunk of the tree behind our house fell down into our yard while we were gone. Luckily nothing seems to be damaged; it missed the chicken coop, playhouse, and even the teepee which is surprising. It really couldn't have fallen in a better spot.

A few days ago I started learning a new song on piano on accident. I didn't mean to start a new one at least until I finished In Dreams. But I failed. See, I found a song (London Calling) that I was totally hyped to start learning and was like, "gosh, that beginning looks super easy." And for the heck of it I learned the first few chords. It escalated from there. I can now play the whole song (minus one key, because my keyboard is too short!). Now I just need to practice to get a few of the transitions on time. Overall it's actually really easy, but some of the transitions will need a bit of practice before I'm smooth on the whole song. It's kinda infuriating though, cause the end get's really intense and when I play it on my keyboard all I heard it very loud clicking from the plastic keys. Oh well.

Okay so something super exciting and a little scary happened on my Thursday ride and I'm still hyper about it. So since Lacey is leaving (isn't that so sad!) Rachelle decided to get me started on another horse to help me get used to a different stride, and so I took my first ride on Gigi. Now I only learned this after the incident, but she's a very literal horse. Everything is black and white to her if you know what I mean. Honestly she was doing moves I didn't know I was telling her to, and it was kinda cool but discombobulating. So anyways, I walked, trotted, and cantered her a little even. Then one of the times I asked her to trot, she decided to canter. See, if you don't tell her what to do every second, she'll just assume you want to go fast. So I'm cantering, and unprepared for the sudden speed, so I loose my left stirrup. Okay, I'm still good, right? Not really. I lose my balance and start to fall forward, losing my other stirrup. I was so off balance by now, and I was thrown forward (a terrible thing, I know). I'm holding to Gigi around her neck, having lost all control by now. Turns out Gigi galloped around the round pen four times before Rachelle got her to stop. And I was stirrupless and didn't fall off. I'm kinda amazed at myself. 'Course that was a pretty big novice moment for me. I mean, leaning forward signals to go faster, and I was gripping too hard with my knees, which urged her forward. But Rachelle did say any other horse at the barn wouldn't slowed down. And she was impressed at my ability to stay on. Haha, so that's my big news. It was really exciting and scary. And to think, I fell off due to my saddle slipping, and not this.

Man, these last few days have been all sorts of crazy.

Okay guys, it's finally been released. The Cake Alternate. Our editor, Lilly, messed around with the footage and made an alternate, which is honestly hilarious in a kinda weird way. I'm just gonna put it here:


So yeah. That's what serious filmmakers do in their spare time. What do you think?

Friday, August 21, 2015

It's Coming

Shawn came, and he went. It was a wonderful visit with our cousin and aunt, and I couldn't have asked for more fun. We went on a grueling hike to a beach, and hung out a lot. It was just a lot of craziness and it was wonderful. While he was here, we saw Ant-Man. That movie was more amazing that I was expecting. Like, I really liked it. AND THAT END SCENE. And the mild Avengers: Age of Ultron references. Ha, it was great.

Okay so like, two days ago I think, I bought an amazing book I found on sale at University Book Store. The Time Travelers Guide to Elizabethan England. Since I've been busy I haven't been able to read much of it, but I got through the introduction and started chapter one. It's amazing. I've never actually read a complete book by Ian Mortimer, but I'd started his first book, The Time Travelers Guide to Medieval England, and what little I read was wonderful. He writes parts of it like a book, even though it's not a story. And his perspective... ahh, it's incredible. I'm seriously so in love with this book. Makes me want to dive back into Tudor history more. Lately I've been all about the Romanov's, and forgotten how much I love Elizabeth's story.

Guys I've got major story feels right now. It's about one of my own stories, and I haven't seriously worked on this one for a while. But I've been listening to Imagine Dragons and... just... oh my gosh. I think I've got sufficient story to turn this idea into a trilogy. Which I'm really happy about. But now I've got a character death planned, and some very emotional parts with another character, Kyle. The story is currently called The Shadow. Lame, I know. It's a working title, 'cause I can't think of anything better. But man, Imagine Dragons is really good at making inspirational music. Honestly super into this story idea right now. Gah, need to stay focused on HOF and Believe.

Just downloaded Part of the Pack by Adrian von Ziegler. He posted about it on Facebook, reminding everyone how he made that song as a thank you to his "Pack" (followers) and that it would always remain free. So now I own it.

Guys, guys, guys, it's getting closer. All the adds are letting everyone know that it's still coming around this year. The fifth season. Fandoms. Everywhere I look it's premiere dates for Studio C, Doctor Who, Arrow, Flash, Agents of Shield... still no Sherlock *fangirling agony* but hey, the best season of the year is right around the corner. And this time I'm actually talking about an actual season. Autumn. Seriously so ready for some colder weather.

Oh, and this is my one hundredth post. Yay.

Tuesday, August 18, 2015

The Neverhood & Armikrog

Welcome to my first game review! I've decided to do a review on a game that scarred me as a child is a large piece of my childhood, and then talk about it's soon to be Successor, coming out... soon... Woo hoo! But first, to get the full experience, I suggest you listen to this on repeat whilst reading the entire post. Fair warning, there are... spoilers... in this post. If you can call them that. It's not exactly one of those kinds of games.

The Neverhood is a point and click adventure game, made entirely of clay. It originally came out in 1996. Being the crazy adventurous child I was, the game interested me greatly. I found it fascinating, though rather scary. The story, puzzles, and plot are incredible. Much like the story of good and evil from the Bible. But I've never been a fan of... claymation. I mean it's amazing that the game was made piece by piece like that. No doubt that it took a lot of work and all. But when put together, and with the style of the game, it's just kinda scarry.

A more specific summary of the Neverhood goes as follows: (as taken from the IMDb)
Long ago, a mysterious being known as Hoborg created a world called the Neverhood, made entirely of an odd substance known as "Klay." However, Hoborg was lonely and, using a mystical "life seed", created a "Klay man" that he called Klogg. Klogg was evil, however, and stole Hoborg's mystical crown,which was his secret to life; without it, he fell into a deep sleep! Luckily, Willie Trombone and his pal, Big Robot Bill, used a "life seed" to create Klaymen. Now, Klaymen must journey throughout the mysterious world that is the Neverhood, solve puzzles, dethrone Klogg, revive Hoborg from his long sleep, and save the Neverhood!
Overall I really love this game. The puzzles are pretty tough, the story well put together, and the animation rather amazing. Sure, the music is beyond strange at times. There are some really tense moments, and others where you can be just confused. But it's truly an amazing game. I would now like to share some screenshots of the game I've found, and share some of my thoughts. It's a wonderful glimpse into this creepy world.

He looks so carefree and happy...
And you thought that button opened the door

Okay... this room guys. It's gonna be the death of me, I mean it's so funny and annoying at the same time! See, throughout the entire game you must collect video tapes to understand your mission. They are extremely important, and you must find them all no matter how hard they are to obtain. This screenshot depicts one of over seventy shots of the same room. I counted once, though I forgot the exact amount. I'm guessing around 93 panels to get to the end of the room for one single tape. All along the way there's the entire history of the Neverhood. How it took that much wall space, I'll never know. Then of course once you reach the end of the room, you must go back. And Klaymen is no fast mover either.


These cart things are... kinda annoying. It takes forever to get around in them. Wait... that's basically the whole game. Everything is slow.

Part of one of the video tapes you find.


This puzzle always stumped me...


This is equally creepy as it is entertaining. This is a drain at the bottom of an empty lake. And you can choose to jump down it. And die. Through the whole game Klaymen says one thing. His name. But there are two times you can make him scream. Either choose the path of darkness, and he'll do this evil scream laugh that sends chills down my spine, or jump down this drain and he'll scream as he eternally falls.


*jumping up and down and screaming* Ahhhh, my childhood in a picture! This screenshot is one of the strongest pictures in my head from this game. Also a very strong childhood memory. Little Tiana and I in the computer room (which is now my bedroom), crowded around either her computer or mine. I forgot which (probably mine). We're approaching the music box. We've played the beginning of the game what feels like a million times, and we know what's coming. And we're terrified. We approach that symbol in the background, and press it. Nothing happens. We press it like a million times before we realise we need to go to the music box. Maybe we don't know this game as well as we thought. We start the music box scenario. Ahh, the memories


I don't know how many times I got stuck in this room for a long time after growing to normal size, but it was too many.

Did I mention there are teleporters in this game? That's what the machine on the left is. Also, do you know how long it took to get to this room?! How much playing time and hard work and cheating it took?! Too much! Ahahahaha, this game... this game man.


So I made this and I call it Klaymen in a nutshell. This is basically the whole game. Okay not really. But it basically outlines Klaymen.


And finally my larger collage of different parts of the game.

Now before I launch into part two, I want to say something. Sometime in the near future I am going to do a walkthrough / playthrough of this game. You will get to hear me babbling about the game, and all the memories and creepiness as I go through and try to beat the game for a second time. The only thing holding me back from doing this sooner, is I don't have the money to buy the program. But when I do, a playthrough of this game is in order.

Next stop, Armikrog!

Not much has been revealed about Armikrog, The Neverhood's spiritual successor, mostly because it's was supposed to come out today.  Due to the need of various bug fixes, the release date has been pushed back to September 8th. But here's what I do know. It follows Tommynaut and his blind alien dog Beak-Beak. They crash land in a fortress called Armikrog, and must find a way to escape. I think they might be trying to steal a powersource to save their planet, though I could be a little bit off about that.

It differs from The Neverhood in various ways, such as:

-The characters speak quite regularly
-The picture quality is better
-More detail in the game

When I finally come into possession of this game (which I suspect will happen soon after it comes out) I'm planning on doing a blind playthrough, with commentary as I go through the game. So be excited for that, cause I know I sure am.

Now let's look through some screenshots that they've released so far, shall we?






Whoa. Just whoa. I am so excited for this game. Look at the incredible design, which is all handmade. All of it's classic claymation. Everything is sporting the classic black sky, and familiar design, but it's new and fresh.

Seriously so excited for this game. Who else is excited for this game? Is anybody out there excited for my blind playthrough? Or my walkthrough? Lemme know in the comments guys.