#Parry Shen

[gameofthunder66]

'The New Guy' (2002) film

-watched 1/22/2024- 2 [1/2] stars- on DVD

This was a very silly movie; all about some students lives at a high school, but it did end well.

[coolscreenshotsbro]

[levia-san]

I love cleaning up my screenshot folder and finding art i barely remember having drawn but also man

[tsukiyadori]

Reading+Watching+Listening Log 2024.07 - July

Previous: Reading (+Watching+Listening) Log 2024.06 - June

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Reading languages: German, English, French, Japanese, not listing which was what. (There’s also been some feeble attempts at Chinese, but that was more on drama and music.)

Titles are as I’ve read them either first or most and thus remember it for that title mostly

Not going to bother putting in the original titles of translated reads unless there is something worthy of note to it

Cursive titles have been completed

If it says a volume number, it may mean it has been finished or is still in progress

Some notes’ content may be subject to repetition here and there, as I also copied some older notes from casual conversations over and didn’t go through any rounds of cutting things down.

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JULY

Trying to return to reading stuff on the apps daily has failed rather miserably

and keeping up online serialized chapter releases continues to be a mess. For some I've by now given up, as I buy them anyway...

This month started with Tearmoon Empire and I was thinking surely this month was gonna become the Tearmoon-month, but then... distractions happened

By the end of the month, it consisted pretty much just of last minute JNC catchup readings... which actually have proven I can still read fairly fast, but organizing those readings is a mess beyond description.

The music section stays, because this month's list is just too short again.

Light Novels/Web Novels/Novels:

Brunhild v3

Fake Saint of the Year: You Wanted the Perfect Saint? Too Bad! v1

Fushi no Kami v1

Grand Sumo Villainess (Light Novel) v1p1-5(ch2)

Heavenly Swords of the Twin Stars (Light Novel) v1p1, v2p1

I Could Never Be a Succubus! (Light Novel) v1p1-3

I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Light Novel) v1-5

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? v11-12

Tearmoon Empire v1-4

The Brilliant Healer's New Life in the Shadows (Light Novel) v1p1, v3

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish v1

The Disowned Queen’s Consulting Detective Agency v1p12

The Rebirth Of The General Who Always Sees Himself As A Replacement ch2-3

vTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream v1

((classified))

Manga:

Dahlia lässt den Kopf nicht hängen v2

Der Filmriss - meine Flucht vor der Realität

Doll-Kara ch1, v8ch42-47

Domestic na Kanojo v14-16

Doukyusei v1

Fangirl v2

Forget Being the Villainess, I Want to Be an Adventurer! (Manga) ch1, ch8

Girl Crush ch64

Go For It v2ch7-12

Gothic Angel

Haikyu v41

Hari to Hitsuji no Fune ch11.1

Himmelblaue Zeiten v1-3

Hot Dog

I Can't Write About This Kiss

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch19

Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch33

Nachtregen

Purgatory Survival v2ch5-8

Queen's Quality v19

Sonna Kazoku nara Sutechaeba? ch73-75, ch72sample

The Angel Next Door Spoils Me Rotten ch13.3-14.4

The Saga of Lioncourt v1-6

Webtoons:

Silent Lover ch192-195(S2ch50-53)

Taberare Usa ch110-113

Drama:

Story of Yanxi Palace #1-8

Music:

Just a selection of those that left the most impression, had me check out its lyrics and/or popped up high in the replay count.

Still all the stuff from last month

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 01 - 看 (電視劇《延禧攻略》主題曲)

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 75 - 誣陷

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 57 - 反擊

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 33 - 腐朽化神奇

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 14 - 危在旦夕

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 12 - 出手相助

Story of Yanxi Palace OST - 11 - 入宮

RADWIMPS - Suzume (Suzume No Tojimari) [Dante Levo and Kindred Remix]

Suzume no Tojimari OST - 27 - Suzume feat. Toaka

Zhou Shen - 铃芽之旅

Zhou Shen - 触不可及

Zhou Shen - 濃情淡如你

譚維維 - 繡春

张渠 - 玉人

Notes:

Tearmoon Empire v1-4 - I really thought at the beginning this month was just simply going to be a Teamoon month than then this whole post could just be summarized with a 'Sweet Moons!" – Btw, those moon expressions really are nice. I kinda want to adopt them, but then Mia is Mia and apparently all the other Moon families of Etoile aren't…. Much more brainy, either. How to be torn! Anyway. I kinda expected a cute girls doing cute stuff comedy, which is actually still is, but then it also starts surprisingly brutal with the execution and the whole depiction that Mia legit does have more than a few little and big traumas, but at the same time (maybe because she is a bit daft after all) still manages to get on her feet and try to get life in order pretty darn helluva well. That's some strength that kinda gets underestimated, maybe even most by the narrator who really can't leave a chance out to diss this character. (By v4 said narrator kinda starts to feel a bit mean spirited.) And maybe it's not even all her own quality - after all in part it's because she bluffed so much she now has no choice but to actually become more like her bluff. But v2 thematizes the idea of self betterment, forgiveness of flaws and mistakes so well, I felt like this was totally fluff, but tucked behind the most tsundere veil ever. This series is like the diagonally opposite of Livid Lady (which I'd like to call the anti-fluff), where no one gave the MC any sympathy for her efforts, which causes an escalation of demise and no mercy. Mia's self betterment however ultimately springs out of Ludwig honoring her will and effort to at least try and Anne's sympathy to give her at least a token of humanity until the very end, which then is the seed to cause snowballing not downwards, but upwards. That's just such a bright, positive note to capitalize on.

That being said, I was surprised how quickly the first arc wrapped up with just two volumes. It could have well held on more volumes before the guillotine danger vanished. And then v3 pulled a Sailor Moon Dark Moon arc. Except that this series' Chibi-Usa equivalent is a bit less obnoxious to start with. Somehow the arc seems a bit more weak in terms of its plot pull, but also it seems like a build up to some more stuff building up on it, and so I'm curious what twists it may walk to. I'll be pleasantly surprised if it managed to surpass volume 2.

Brunhild v3 - Its events take place some 100 years after v2 and still a long long ago before v1 (which so far definitely is still the least interesting volume of the series). But I am quite taken with multi-generational stories and how one life's course affects some others later on even when they are long past and gone. As such, v1 does get some more bonus points in retrospect, but the memory of it being a bit of a slog unfortunately remains. v3 was cool to have another strong female protagonist, but somehow lacked any bigger twist that v2 still had. Maybe that's because Krimhild really only gets some agency much later on.

Fushi no Kami v1: Good heavens, this volume is dragging on forever. 87% in. Unfortunately, right in the middle of a Maika part. I'm half considering skipping paragraphs. The world building around the overarching lore of the ancient civilization and their writings and books still remains interesting, but it's really at the back burner of the plot right now. And every single Maika part just. Argh, I'm really not interested in your cheese PoV...

I Parry Everything: What Do You Mean I’m the Strongest? I’m Not Even an Adventurer Yet! (Light Novel) v1-5 - This was a complete surprise. I expected some generic OP power fantasy thingy, but then it was all about misunderstandings, and they seemed to be on Tearmoon levels, while not being half as funny and hilarious, which I half thought was a bit disappointing. After another volume I figured, this series just works from differently and I had to look from a completely opposite angle: it isn't a comedy and satire on the forefront, but more action and badassery. But both have in common that every character suffers the Mia-bug equivalent of this series and there is an escalation ladder which prompts everyone to be coaxed into self-betterment. That's a nice thing.

And despite being rather OP the MC still isn't a Gary Sue and has to spend effort and isn't always saving the day on his own. Meanwhile, secondary female MC definitely got some real elegantly cool looking spotlight.

I mean, just look at this!

Elegant badass female (secondary) MC spotted!

Is It Wrong to Try to Pick Up Girls in a Dungeon? v11-12 - I, uh, accidentally skipped v10 after only reading 30 pages of it. The most baffling thing is, it…. did not even really feel needed. Of course v10 appears to have changed a few things considerably, but they were so considerable, they were shown and explained in v11 again anyway. That being said. V11 felt like quite the complete slog as well. By the end, I was probably more skim reading than not…

The Disabled Tyrant's Beloved Pet Fish v1 - Oh my. I will say the situational comedy aspect of this is quite stellar. It does come up with the wildest absurd ideas (tho the biting the jewel bit is a bit facepalm.) That and the short chapter do prompt me to read on as it goes, but it feels a bit like the instant gratification feedback you get from, say, playing Tetris. So far I read until the half line of v1. While I can feel this slightly addictive feeling while reading, as soon as I put the book down, overall, I can't say I am very wowed. I think this stems most from the fact that the MC is kinda…. bland? That is to say, it's like he has personality, but no character. Despite everything being narrated from his PoV the reader has rather little insight to his background, his past, his weaknesses, strength, personal motivations, how clever or not he is, stances or even what his opinion of the characters of this world, which he knows from the novel he read, is. And that's… weird. Second MC is known as a to-be-tyrant to him, he knows his past, present and future, and you'd think that should have colored some sort of opinion and stance, but he appears to be strangely indifferent to him, aside of primary instincts and that his life kinda depends on him. But maybe that impression is still too preliminary? Will see.

Initial Impressions I've blabbered in German while reading after being prompt:

Pet Fish p118/ch11 durch: What have I just read….

Also soweit erstmal: Es ist unterhaltsam, aber ich glaube, wenn das einfach nur so weitergeht und nicht irgendwann noch ordentlich ernst für Tiefe wird irgendwie wird es bei mir nicht richtig zünden. Aktuell fehlt tatsächlich was ziemlich sehr: MC hat wenig Charakter. Also er hat Persönlichkeit, aber irgendwie… keinen Charakter. (Falls das irgendwie Sinn macht.) Dazu gehört u.a. auch Hintergrund zu seiner Person oder Motivationen im Leben und so Sachen. Man weiß ja mal so gar nichts aus seinem früheren Leben, und auch so wie er handelt, macht keinerlei Implikationen, was für eine Art Leben er geführt haben muss (abgesehen, dass er einem Kommentar nach halt aus PRC China kommt.) Sämtliche Handlungen bislang sind auch weniger eigene Motivationen, als Motivationen durchs System. So lustig und trollig das System auch sein mag (soweit eine interessantere Version von dem System in Wiedergeburt als Schleim) und zumindest etwas Anhaltspunkte gibt, an dem er sich entlanghangeln kann, damit es überhaupt einen Handlungsstrang hat - Es nimmt ihm auch die Agency weg. Was halt irgendwie nochmal gar nicht hilft, dass er eigenen Charakter zeigen kann. So wie er sich benimmt, Reaktionen und Gedanken und so die Art erinnert er mich auch etwas an Mia aus Tearmoon, aber gerade bei Ihr wurde gleich am Anfang Hintergrund, und neben Persönlichkeit auch schnell Charakter etabliert. Sie ist keine Leuchte, sie ist ziemlich selbst bezogen, faul, fehlgeleitet, eitel, denkt nicht weit, aber kann durchaus ihr Bestes geben, wenn die notwendige Motivation da ist, oder lernfähig sein, wenn es sein muss (i.e. triftige Gründe fürs Überlegen) und letztlich ist sie zwar egoistisch und ihre Handlungsmotivationen in den meisten Fällen fragwürdig, aber sie hat kein wirklich schlechtes Herz, das Treue und gute Taten anderer nicht wertschätzen kann. Und es ist auch direkt mit einigen griffigen Ereignissen klargemacht worden, warum sie so ist.

Das fehlt mir hier etwas sehr. Also, ja, er will halt nicht als Fisch krepieren, aber jenseits davon… Was treibt ihn eigentlich so als Figur, Charakter selbst an?

(Zwangsleerzeile, weil tumblr)

Das andere was mir jetzt auch etwas, uh? ist, hängt wohl damit zusammen (und dass es letztlich ein BL ist). Einige Reaktionen sind für mich eher ??? Dass er kann nicht aufhören kann mal zu erwähnen, dass der Prinz sehr hübsch ist, ist ja noch kein Ding. Aber dass der dann gleich so überreagiert, weil er an seine Haut kommt und er nackt ist, äh. Hat der im letzten Leben nie in einer Umkleide oder so andere Kerle gesehen? Oder hat der schon immer so reagiert? Weiß nicht, sind auch nur Kleinigkeiten, die kommen mir irgendwie nicht so natürlich nachvollziehbar rüber. Und dass es dann jetzt schon eskaliert in Richtung schlüpfrigen Humor, also ja, es ist BL und schon irgendwie klar, sie landen wohl noch im Bett am Ende, aber mag es dann doch eher, wenn das natürlich für den Charakter von MC und ML läuft und nicht, ja weil Plotchecklist.

Und allgemein denkt er irgendwie nicht so viel nach. Wie ist der hier hergekommen? Scheint ja nur einfach beim Lesen eingeschlafen zu sein, mal kein Truck-kun o.ä. Aber dann auch: keine Gedanken, dass er abgesehen von wieder Mensch werden zurück in seine Zeit/Welt will? Der hinterfragt auch null das Moe Pet System. Und wäre ja eine Sache, wenn es einfach zu seinem Charakter gehöre nicht weit denken zu können, aber irgendwie…. fehlt da was, das griffig einen Grund impliziert. Und auch grad, wenn der die WN von der Welt schon kennt, der kennt den Prinzen ja schon, und das Wissen poppt hier und da mal raus, und wird mehrfach betont, er kennt den Plot. Aber dafür, dass er ihn so gut kennt, lässt er irgendwie keine Meinung zu ihm als Figur je anmerken. War das seine Lieblingsfigur? Fand er ihn furchtbar? ….? Sowas müsste doch eigentlich seine Interaktionen und Reaktionen prägen. Und er hat im letzten Leben wohl WNs gelesen, ist der dann ein Otaku von? Kennt der die ganzen Tropes? Oder nur Gelegenheitsleser? Das müsste sich doch auch in seiner Haltung dazu, dass er jetzt in einem WN Plot gelandet ist (mit einem Game-style System) widerspiegeln wie Genre-savvy oder nicht der ist, aber bislang auch Niente.

Also kann alles ja noch kommen, aber bislang sieht es von der Art her nicht so ganz danach aus, da es noch nicht wirklich einen Vorbau gibt/"Samen" gesäht wurden.

(Klingt jetzt eventuell harscher als es ist…)

vTuber Legend: How I Went Viral after Forgetting to Turn Off My Stream v1 – … the premise is interesting. It felt like a walk out of the comfort zone to test this one out, and maybe it was too far out. In any case, I cannot console myself with how this just celebrates the booze a bit too much. And it's not even like she has the immunity and can drink the stuff like it's water.

((classified)) - Which is not quite the case over here for some characters. You can even play bingo games here for how often something alcoholic appears and they drink it like water or juice. Not much more to say yet than that the MC gives me more and more aroace vibes and there was even a scene that was almost made me grovel and flop down on the table facedown, because it hit a bit too close to home. But it's kinda nice to see how the MC is having people supportive to them and also in way it's feeling like being earned.

Domestic na Kanojo v14-16 - Collection of Immediate impressions as I have read them:

v14: (nothing of note after reading and zero in my memory right now anymore)

DomeKano v15: New character and kind of everything about her is grating on my nerves…

A bit later: finished the volume, Hina… how come you are so… kinda useless….

DomeKano v16: So much rabu rabu…

Reaching closer to the end: …….

That whole "female molester" arc is rather losing me

Doukyusei v1 - It. Uh. Now this one is very famed and acclaimed and everything and I have read some Asumiko Nakamura before and I also do not dislike her style. But this one, kind of. I went out, and it's just leaving any impression whatsoever in my memory? Which is weird, the covers by themselves are quite memorable somehow, but anything inside did not want to stick around whatsoever.

Isekai de Ane ni Namae wo Ubawaremashita ch19 - The cheese has very much clearly started. But it's very soft cheese. And darn pretty looking cheese.

Loop 7-kaime no Akuyaku Reijou wa, Moto Tekikoku de Jiyuu Kimama na Hanayome Seikatsu wo Mankitsusuru ch33 - Pouts, pouts POUTS--- And some other good faces:

Oh and also, volume 1 in German got out end of July!

Story of Yanxi Palace #1-8: Over all the dance choreographies I watched of the 浮光 song (I babbled over that last month) youtube decided to throw me a dance performance clip of The Legend of Haolan over. Which had Haolan be misnamed as Yinluo. Haolan and Yinluo share the same actress, but the latter is the MC from Yanxi Palace, and then youtube decided to bombard me with clips of this series. All over the place out of order, and I probably have watched half of the show this way already, so figured could just start actually watching the thing from the beginning. And Yinluo is just so darn great of a strong, witty, quick brained and clever character. The show, aside from being full of pretty props, a very interconnected cast and plot also knows how to be funny to offset some of all the drama, death and broken hearts. And from the clips it seems like it's also a good example of how a person can love two people simultaneous, even if in different ways. And most importantly, how that that love stuff is not controlling her life. Integrity and purpose far supersede it. And she has the wits and later the means and power to stand her ground over it. And moreover, she is not above using dirty and bloody methods, but she stands firm at being what she is and who she is, and what her values are, so her character remains very true to herself. That's something really hard to pull off in life. She is quite the awesome character~

Some German describing (fangirling?) over her: Sie hat Grips, kann schnell und flexibel auf alles das ihr entgegen kommt reagieren, hat allgemein einiges drauf, kein Angebertum, aber sie macht das, was sie kann auch nicht klein. Hat keine Hemmungen ihre Meinung zu geigen, aber auch genug Menschenkenntnis zu wissen, wann man das machen kann oder nicht sollte, scheut sich nicht die Hände dreckig zu machen wenn nötig, aber wenn nichts und niemand sie zum Handeln nötigt, dann lebt sie ein friedliches, hilfsbereites Leben.

Which really. Actually. Is the exactly same description you could just as as hang onto Maomao from The Apothecary Diaries. (Except that Maomao has her poison antics in addition and really gives some big aroace-moods as of LN v2 to me.)

看 (電視劇《延禧攻略》主題曲): The opening song of Story of Yanxi Palace. As the OP it's pretty much got no vocals beyond the reciting of that poem at the end, which I still wonder if it's some classic poetry or specifically of this show. The full version features some lyrics, and they are quite nice, too. The opening visuals additionally are quite great and being atmospheric. What is astonishing is, that it's actually a whole bunch of stills with only kinda simple effects - the sort you frequently see in say Manga MADs or MMVs. And despite the simplicity of effects that kinda even look a bit cheap, it works. Really well. The direction and composition of the stills of the sequence definitely is eye catching. (Unfortunately the ED doesn't work as great. It also has the stills and effects, but inside is also a clip of the series itself, which is normal movement and kinda breaks the atmosphere completely for me.)

Other songs from the show's OST. You could also call these tracks the Yingluo-goes-badass tracks. Especially 反擊 is the Badass Yingluo comes, let's all have smug faces as watchers-theme.

张渠 - 玉人- Another track from some dance video yt foisted on me and it was nice to have in the playlist for a few days.

Zhou Shen - 触不可及 - Oh darn, this Engrish. But probably that made it so memorable, too. The melody is nice and the lyrics have a nice contemplative and kinda optimic note. The track was apparently the Chinese track to a movie, of which I have watch the first movie from a free years back. And at the time (and still) think, it is a good movie, but I really, really did not like the characters and some of the messages. So, just for having some fun and learn some sunlight in your life it's ok to speed on the highways or do prank calls to hospitals faking an emergency? I just can't get behind that. And knowing it's the theme song to it kinda soured me eventually on it. :/

Zhou Shen - 铃芽之旅 - The Chinese Version of the Theme Song of Suzume no Tojimari. I still haven't watched the movie, but I do like the JP version already, but I prefer the Chinese Version a whole lot more. Maybe it's because the voice is a bit lower than Toka's which this would imply:

RADWIMPS - Suzume (Suzume No Tojimari) [Dante Levo and Kindred Remix] - I like this Version more than the original too and it's some remix that does some pitch manipulation that lowers the one from the original.

The rest was nicely repeatable and mainly served to balance and accompany the above in the playlist.

[actorsinunderwear]

Parry Shen in The Hazing (2004)

[jimc0]

Kombat Pack 1 - Takeda Announced in Mortal Kombat 1

The Blade Whipping Shirai Ryu returns to Mortal Kombat! NetherRealm Studios has announced that Takeda will be added to Mortal Kombat 1 on July 23, bringing his iconic blade whips, shuriken, and teleport-kick to the fight. Parry Shen reprises his role as the voice of Takeda, adding a familiar touch for fans.

Players can anticipate unique interaction dialogues that delve deeper into Takeda's character alongside his arcade story mode ending. As the final addition to Kombat Pack 1, which also features Quan Chi, Ermac, and guest characters Homelander, Omni-Man, and Peacemaker, stay tuned for NetherRealm Studios to unveil more DLC updates in the future!

#MortalKombat #MortalKombat1 #MK1 #MortalKombatTakeda #NetherRealmStudios #FightingGames #Takeda #KombatPack1 #MortalKombatFans #NewCharacter #ShiraiRyu

Mortal Kombat 1 – Official Takeda Gameplay Trailer https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dqZwGZBx-t8

[lacommunarde]

rules: List the first line of your last 10 (posted) fics and see if there’s a pattern! Thanks @dual-domination and @bladedweaponsandswishycoats for tagging me! <3

“Commander,” said Ivanova’s comm. (A Field Telepaths' Guide to Types of Rogues Babylon 5, Ivanova/Talia Winters) (Next line is a bit longer: She needed a drink. She needed rest. She needed her comm to stuff it for all of the two hours of regulation rest that they were required to have even when they were working back-to-back shifts, so she could actually take that rest and not suffer sleep brain.

The world of the dead. Who could say what all the souls in the long line of dead souls thought as Lyra and Will led them out. There were murmurs of course. So everyone could hear those immediately around them. What everyone thought, that was beyond everyone’s ability. (Long Distance Relationship, His Dark Materials, Lyra Silvertongue/Will Parry)

Zhang Rishan heard who had come calling at the Xinyue and did the only thing he could. He closed the door. (Zhang Rishan closed the door to his office: What else could he do after all, Daomu Biji, Zhang Rishan & Zhang Qiling)

Yoo Jaeyi’s first thought was she was only a high school student. Wasn’t she too young to be dealing with this? (Missing Persons Flyers, Beyond Evil, Yoo Jaeyi & Lee Dongsik)

The first few times Shen Wei woke up from a nightmare where the entire weight of the world was resting on his shoulders until it crushed him, he thought nothing of it. After all, he had had the weight of the world happen to him, all those years before, and then he had been the only one around to carry it. It made sense that now that he finally had someone to share the weight of the mountains and rivers with, now that he had Kunlun back to himself lying beside him in bed, only now was he releasing stress born from those years of carrying it. (Pangu Split Heaven and Earth and Then Himself Too, Guardian - novel, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan, Shen Wei & Gui Mian)

It all started when a fellow professor saw Shen Wei stretching after having a particularly awful day. Apparently the other professor recognized it as a qigong stretch. Shen Wei did keep track of things enough to be aware of the qigong fad that had appeared lately across both Dragon City and China in general. Ok, maybe a little longer ago than lately, but in the grand scheme of things, within a human lifetime, and a young human lifetime at that. But he had been unaware that someone would put together his moving his energy around with qigong. (Qigong Class with Professor Shen, Guardian, Shen Wei/Zhao Yunlan)

“Chief Zhao, there is a young man here to see you. He appears to be human. But… you’ll have to hear him out,” Zhu Hong announced when Zhao Yunlan entered the office one morning later in the year in 2015. (Loss of Soul, Daomu Biji, Guardian, main cast & main cast)

“Babies! I’m telling you! They are literal babies!” Pangzi ranted at him. (Younger Than We Were, Daomu Biji Sha Hai, Zhang Rishan & Wang Pangzi)

“You know, my husband isn’t allowed to make tang yuan anymore either. That’s why both of those good-for-nothings are in the other room and not allowed in here while they are made,” Mama Zhao explained to Shen Wei. She pinched off another bit of the filling and rolled it into a ball. Shen Wei followed her and took each ball to pop into a ball of dough, which he quickly smoothed up and over the filling. (Tang Yuan with Mama Zhao, Guardian, Mama Zhao & Shen Wei)

They should have been suspecting a trap. The tomb was too easy to get into. Admittedly, it was far out in the middle of nowhere. But in terms of actually being able to find it and climb into it once there, it was pretty easy. Tombs like that tended to have traps. (Revitalizing the Zhang family, Daomu Biji, Zhang Qiling, Zhang Rishan, Wu Xie, Zhang Haike)

So I like to start mid scene/mid-action, and then go back and explain/scene-describe what's going on (or just move forward from the mid-scene point). Other than that, I don't know. I tend to try to match the mood I am trying to go for, usually unsuccessfully. I should go back and read the source material more before redrafting in the future.

Whoever wants to do the ask meme can! Take this as your invite!

[bersergner-blog]

Practice 1_6.3 - Post Mortem

I imagined the fight as one where two opponents are severely outmatched. The duo are our protagonists. It starts as a fight jockeying for the scroll but turns into a fight to the death.

I developed a script, so I could plan my images out:

Unedited:

The twins hide within the door, we see the shadows of their pursuers cast onto the wall of the corridor they just escaped (we see this through the closing door, capturing the anxiety on the twin’s face). He closes the door.

They see the Sifu sat on the other end, he has noticed them. The twin not on the door has a very serious expression on his face. He looks down at the other twin’s hand which is holding the scroll, it is partially obscured by his back which he now has to the door. He hides it further behind himself. Close-up on the Sifu’s eyes as they are on the scroll, showing he has noticed it, then his eyes focus on them.

They collect themselves and get into fighting position. Sifu has arisen but his eyes are not trained on them yet. He slowly walks towards them with serenity. Wide shot where we see the layout of the room. Tatami mats in the middle, sliding doors around, two screen dividers and an incense setup on a slight step up at the last 25% of the room. It is a medium sized place.

When it begins the Twins attack in unison but Sifu only uses one hand to defend, however they are pushing him back. Shen wants to highlight his superiority while the Twins are trying to find a way to win at first, later trying to escape with the scroll.

Bato throws a set of probing jabs that are dodged by Shen, Riji goes low and throws a sweep at Shen from a low angle. Shen manages to step out of the way but he is being pushed back as Bato continues his flurry. The Twins are formidable and work well as a team, but they are not on Sifu’s level. Shen manipulates them into hitting each other and even knocks/throws them into each other.

Sifu throws a hook-chop, but the Twin infighter sways to the outside of it and he is very close now. He delivers a powerful body hook, but we realise that Sifu has managed to sneak his other hand in and parry it, grabbing the fist. Shock crawls across the twins face and Sifu’s eyes narrow. He kicks the Twin’s knee out, sinking him to one knee, then pulls him across by his captured hand and delivers a back elbow with the other arm. However as this is occurring we see the other Twin recovered and mid-jumping kick at him. We keep the same shot as the kick whiffs and Sifu just barely manages to duck underneath it, the kick only catching his pony-tail.

The Twins push Shen back with their relentless assault. He is still handling it fairly well but as he steps back his foot is halfway up the step in the back of the room and that unevenness is enough for Riji to seize the moment and attempt to throw a powerful axe kick, however Shen manages to kick him in the face before he can bring his foot down. However this causes him to lose his balance even more and Bato pushes his advantage. Shen rolls back but finds his back pushed to the screens and Bato is right on him as he rises. Bato fires an insane flurry of punches, all of which Shen manages to dodge as they punch holes in the screen behind him. Shen can not find an opening as Bato punches faster and faster. As he dips to his left Riji is already upon him with a powerful step-in hook kick. Shen is hit but manages to block it just in time, being sent into the corner but having managed to get his arm in the way. He realises he has to re-assess the two and will have to take this more seriously. Bato is breathing heavily from his flurry but Riji re-assuringly places his hand on Bato's shoulder to let him know that they can do this together.

Shen now goes full on. Tries to keep Bato from recovering and uses them both to hit and hinder each other

The two try a similar strategy again but this time Shen sees through it and counters them both with extreme efficiency. They switch over and Bato attempts to close in to judo throw. He manages to connect as Riji buys him the space but Shen manages to roll out of the throw.

Have Shen manage to grab the scroll a second time but this leaves him open to this following sequence. Bato swings a big Overhand, Shen leans back hard and manages to avoid it but leaves himself off balance, Riji leaps off Bato's back and attempts to deliver a powerful kick, however Shen sees this and attempts to throw his left leg up to kick Riji out of the air but Bato in his crouched stance manages to capture it. However Shen gets into a kip up position and kicks Bato with his other foot, forcing him to release the hold however this has bought Riji enough time to finally connect with Shen. He goes flying and the twins look relieved. Instantly the mood has changed and Shen's eyes listen with focus and a slight malice. He straightens himself up, tucks the scroll into his trousers and gets into a more aggressive fighting pose. The twins do the same and we dolly in from a wide shot to the center as they both move forward to meet in the middle of the room.

Riji kicks the lanterns at Shen hitting him the first time but only covering his eyeline the second. Bato uses the incense holder to throw ash in Shen's face and then hit him when he has him pinned up against the wall. Bato and Riji both individually monkey-bar leap off the ceiling beams but it only works once. Shen kicks the second screen at Bato and when he swipes it aside Shen has gotten close and delivers a powerful strike.

Bato and Riji manage to break Shen's arm. Making Riji holding his good arm at the end make more sense.

More jockeying for the scroll. Near the end Riji and Bato try to read the scroll to gain an upper hand in the fight but Shen manages to stop them every time. Only to turn after killing Riji and realise a battered Bato is holding the unrolled scroll, having ingested it's skill.

A kneeling Sifu delivers the Deathblow to the prone Twin. Shock goes across his face as he realises. The other brother screams with grief. The dead twin grabs a hold of Sifu’s arm with a look of serenity and acceptance on his face. Sifu realises too late and tries to free his arm. But a furious Twin descends upon him and delivers a powerful spear strike to his eye.

Summary-

As you have no doubt noticed I ended up changing the flow of the fight a little. I had a lot more planned than I managed to put to paper. I also put the whole thing together as a very rough animatic that you can see below. The images are not cleaned and the flow is not finished (some awkward moments that are way too short to be perceived), but I believe it highlights the scene well.

I'm proud of what I achieved, especially for the limited time I had. I also took the advice of my tutor to heart. Leaving images that I would normally have redrawn until I was happy with them.

[followmetoyourdoom]

Fullmetal Alchemist Live Action Casting Choices

As a disclaimer, I will be focusing on the actor and the English VAs and only on certain ones that stood out for me, for good or for bad

The Great

Keisuke Watanabe & Todd Haberkorn as Ling Yao - absolutely phenomenal, Keisuke is perfect for the role in both acting and looks. Costume, hair and makeup design was perfect too. Even when he becomes greed, everything is still so spot on. I wish we could have seen more of Greedling in the 3rd film. Todd as always does an amazing job with his voice, no flaws, he is Ling Yao.

Seiyô Uchino & ??? as Van Hohenheim - Seiyô was fantastic, the best iteration of Hohenheim I've seen. I prefer him to the brotherhood version. Seiyô plays him as a father who doesn't know how to be a father but is still trying and still fundamentally cares. He looks the part, he acts the part, his facial expressions are spot on. The VA (who I cannot find the name of, apologies) was pretty good. Nothing that stood out, but they did work perfectly together.

The Good

Tsubasa Honda & Caitlin Glass as Winry Rockbell - Tsubasa's acting was pretty decent, though a little over the top at times. The scene where she told Al off however was perfect. I do wish the costume & make up designers had let her lean more into her mechanic side. They made her a little too girly girl and while Winry does embrace her feminine side, she also embraces her mechanic side and I did struggle to see that. Caitlin was great as usual, she delivered some of the lines differently and some very similar. I almost cried at 'give them back, give me back my mum and dad'.

Ryôsuke Yamada & Caleb Yen as Edward Elric - Ryôsuke makes for a very good Ed, the facial expressions he pulls are great, his attitude is perfectly Ed, and when he needs to be soft he is. Caleb Yen needed to step in as the new VA after the first film for obvious reasons. I personally struggled with the change, but it was a change that needed to happen and overall I'm happy with how Caleb made his own version of Ed's voice. I enjoyed the 'huuuh???'s immensely.

The Meh

Dean Fujioka & Steve Phelan as Roy Mustang - Dean was... Okay. But he was a little expressionless at times. Hair wasn't right either. Steve again, was okay but just, didn't really get the gravitas of Roy for me. Together they did a decent job of a military man, but he wasn't always recognisable as Roy Mustang.

Atom Mizuishi & Matthew Moy as Alphonse Elric - We only see a little bit of Atom at the end and yeah he's decent enough, it works. Matthew did better than Aaron Dismuke in my opinion bc of the voice change from Brotherhood to the live action. I'm sure it was the age difference between when they recorded it which, understandable, can't help that, but I just didn't like the new voice Aaron picked. Matthew did better, but only just. It kinda worked when Al was in his armour. It did not work when he was Atom. At all.

The Bad

Mackenyu Arata & Parry Shen as Scar - I had no issues with the acting of Mackenyu, my main issue is with the casting in general. They did brown face. They didn't need to do brown face. Why did they do that. Just. Oh my god. Why. Everything else was fine, the acting, the costume, the voice acting but just... *sighs* Really guys?

Chiaki Kuriyama & ??? as Olivia Mira Armstrong - Now, Chiaki did amazing, looks the part, acts the part, etc... Moving on: Olivia is in this category bc of her English voice actor who I cannot find the name of. Her voice was completely wrong, she was straining to be powerful enough and the rest of the time her voice was too soft. Olivia isn't soft. You cannot get someone with a soft voice for her. None of her lines hit. She hesitated at times when Olivia wouldn't and it just. It was bad. She'd be in the terrible category if not for Chiaki.

The Terrible

Kanata Hongô & Brian Anderson as Envy - oh boy. Kanata... Kanata's acting was... Lacking, to say the least. He played Envy as more emo and uncaring, when in fact Envy is supposed to be batshit insane and constantly being a little shit and grinning or snarling when things suddenly aren't going his way. Brain was okay, he was trying, but he had limited expressions to work with, and his voice was too deep in my opinion and not snarky enough. For Envy's true form they got the voice right, but that was mere seconds, if that. Overall, very disappointed.

Monroe Ron & Risa Mei as May Chang - my main gripe is that, not only did they hire a person in their late 20s to play an 11 y/o child, but then that actor wasn't even that good. Sure she played the part, but she never felt like May. The costume hair and makeup were great, yet this still felt like a fan doing a very good cosplay without stepping into the roleplay aspect of it. Idk what child actor laws are like in Japan, but surely they could have gotten someone better at acting to at least warrant the age up if they needed an adult. Risa was fine, again, worked with what she had, though her voice was a liiiil too ear hurty for me.

[corneroffandom]

Weekly Writing Update #34 (February 26th, 2023)

This is going to be a short one. I have a zoom call with Parry Shen and Kelly Thiebaud in about an hour to get ready for. I just wanted to get all of this done so I could sit back and properly enjoy the shenanigans to follow, haha. And The Last Of Us afterwards! Well, as for my writing this week, I thought I was doing ok and then about halfway through the week I realized I'd forgotten Twenty Five's sequel. Oops. Well, I WAS doing ok at any rate. Haha. I'll have to definitely get back to that one this coming week, it's so close to being done! And the rest, well, they will come. Progress is being made. it's good! We'll get there. See you all next weekend with more updates.

Back to Basics: 402 World Wrestling Digidestined: 387 Encontrar una Manera: 381 Back to Basics bonus story: 0 Original story: 0 raffle story 2: 72 raffle story #3: 45 Twenty Five-- Questions: 0 New Years drabbles: 52 Sixteen: 362 Steady: 168 Passenger: 0 Evidence: 0 In total: 1869 Annual Word Count: 21139 New fic plot notes: 6 Team Work chapters booked: 0 Old fics uploaded to AO3: 1

Find me on Ko-fi at https://ko-fi.com/corneroffandom Any questions or comments, please let me know!

[royleteas]

Am I gonna sit here and think of all these 1v1 fight drabble ideas of Kengou vs various League champs and then never write them? Yes, yes I am. But I'll just save you the trouble and put the results here too! Best of ten style to consider multiple ways a fight can go. Keep in mind this is his Ascended Swordsman AU (think a less mobile Master Yi), not the normal barista verse. If he was, he solos all of Runterra in trying to make tea, no diff.

Kengou vs Sett - 7 to 3 Sett. I had initially had the match end in a tie for narrative reasons but even with his Ascension, Sett can easily overpower Kengou and since he doesn't use mana to fight, that part of his abiliites wouldn't hinder Sett as much. Kengou vs Akali - 6 to 4 Kengou. Akali's biggest strength imo is her quickness and even if he can't always see her, Kengou can track her ki so even in her shroud he'd be able to find her. He has the edge in physical strength and experience. Kengou vs Katarina - Even 5 split. Similar to Akali, Katarina would be able to out speed Kengou with her shunpo. I'd consider them even when it comes to experience, Katarina would have better odds getting the drop on her opponent whereas Kengou is much more used to even ground. It pretty much comes down to who gets the first jump. Kengou vs Fiora - 8 to 2 Fiora. In this instance, two swords are not better than one. I chaulk this up mostly to experience and training. Yes Kengou has trained most of his life but he had to reteach himself how to fight after he pretty much lost all of his muscle memory during his 'angry phase'. Kengou vs Shen - 10 to 0 Shen. To this day, Kengou has never beaten Shen in a sparring match, losing to him in durability, strength and tactics. He was taught by Shen and to that end, he knows how Kengou fights well enough to dodge his approaches.

Kengou vs Yasuo - 6 to 4 Kengou. Yasuo's wind walls would be a neat counter but Kengou can use his short range ki waves pretty frequently and has enough mobility to step around the tornadoes. He's also more nimble just enough to parry Yasuo's signature steel tempest strikes.

Kengou vs Riven - 7 to 3 Riven. Her more acrobatic style of fighting leaves Kengou with little options plus the size of her blade, even broken, is enough to push through his defense. Most of the fight would be on his back foot, similar to Sett. Technique would get him a few wins here and there but nothing definitive.

Kengou vs Master Yi - 9 to 1 Yi. Speed and precision. At top speed, Kengou can't keep up but there's a chance if he can get enough hits in to slow down his mana usage. Kengou vs Jax - 10 to 0 Jax. He has, is and will continue to canonically whup Kengou's ass from now to kingdom come. He's the only one to actually have left a lasting scar on Kengou's body, add that mental block as well and Kengou doesn't stand a chance. Stupid lamp post.

[the-active-news]

Tony Britts Cause Of Death: Britt Birthday Bash Gets Underway As The New Year Draws Near

Tony Britts, a British-Ghanaian, gained notoriety for his physique and most recently went viral for it. On November 24, he was born in Ghana. He is currently pursuing a profession in fitness and bodybuilding while residing in the UK. Additionally, Tony has worked as a fitness teacher for BBC, which has exposed him to the public and thrust him into the spotlight. In addition to this, he has amazing dancing abilities and is used to dancing and choreographing.

Tony Britts Cause Of Death

Tony Britts Cause Of Death Tony also served as a fitness instructor for the BBC, which gave him exposure to the general public. He also choreographs and dances and his dancing movements are fantastic. Tony, however, is no longer with us since he supposedly received an AIDS diagnosis and died in 1988 at the age of 32. Tony Britts is a Ghana-born British fitness specialist. He was raised in London, England, but was born in Ghana. 1988 saw his passing. Tony Blitz is 5’9″ tall with black eyes and hair. He is N/A in size and weighs around 74 kg. You also like it:- - Alex Haley Net Worth: Is He Still Alive Or Not? - Kenneth Copeland Net Worth: How Much Money Does He Make In a Year?

Britt Birthday Bash Gets Underway As The New Year Draws Near

So how exactly did Brad (Parry Shen) and Maxie (Kirsten Storms) do in terms of planning Britt’s (Kelly Thiebaud) birthday party and making it a smashing success? We got a glimpse of the party on Thursday’s episode of General Hospital, replete with shirtless waiters and bartenders, a drag queen, and some epic karaoke tossed in for good measure. When Britt enters the Haunted Star, she compliments Maxie on how amazing everything looks and thanks Brad for the attractive waitstaff! Following his arrival, Austin (Roger Howarth) has private time with Britt. He hopes she is changing her mind about skipping her own celebration and leaving town altogether. Britt explains to Austin that she is making a gracious departure rather than fleeing. She admits that her one-way ticket to destiny will allow her to easily disappear as soon as the clock strikes midnight. https://twitter.com/SoapCrush/status/1608579881725566977 A drag queen then briefly takes over the celebrations to signal to the attendees that it is time to hit the dance floor. Brad and Maxie continue to get praise from Britt for making this a night she will never forget. Approaching Austin, Liesl (Kathleen Gati) expresses her gratitude for his friendship with Britt. She then cautions Britta not to dance too much and exhaust herself. It’s all about having fun tonight, Britt tells her Mutta.

Who was the BBC fitness instructor?

During the height of the coronavirus epidemic, I certainly didn't anticipate becoming a part of the resurrection of home exercise programmes. Considering CEO Mike Ashley's blatant contempt for workers' rights and safeguards, I'm hesitant to advocate for the purchase of resistance bands and yoga mats from Sports Direct. https://twitter.com/Arden_Forester/status/1255031982800678918 I wasn't expecting to be reporting about the state of the internet by discussing the struggles of social media fitness celebrities to get to the top of Instagram's cutthroat engagement hierarchy. Nonetheless, the BBC has retrieved archived film of teacher Tony Britts, a man I am now completely infatuated with, filling the hole of interest in fitness routines previously present on the internet. Tony guides his TV audience through a performance that feels both scripted and spontaneous in Twice as Fit, a three-minute feature on BBC's Breakfast Time, the 1980s forerunner of today's BBC Breakfast. “Hi! So, I figured, "Hey, let's do three exercises today and attempt to integrate them as we have been." Tony's enormous physique is covered in gorgeous fit-wear, and nothing quite prepares you for the ease with which he moves it. This dance-aerobics-yoga hybrid goes well beyond the limitations of the typical training DVD from the '80s. Someone on Breakfast Time said, "I think his hips run on ball bearings." Instead than expecting people to perform to Tony's athletic standards, Twice as Fit provided a safe haven where people could try to mimic his physical prowess in the comfort of their own homes without fear of ridicule. For more information visit  theactivenews.com Read the full article

[z025]

The untimely death of Britt Westbourne gave several General Hospital actors a chance to shine as their characters grieved over the beloved doctor. Chief among the mourners was, of course, Brad Coo...

[superghfan]

New promotional cast photos of Parry Shen as Brad Cooper.

[malestarssockedfeet]

[may8chan]

Victor Crowley