#i like me a good girl falls for a cure being/ monster trope

[bookwormlover10]

God I want to make a Beauty and the Beast Au with Tron and Yori so bad !!! Like hear me out !!

We could have Tron curse into the Rinzler because he pissed someone off and got a whole Castle curse with him. I guess in this au we could call it Beauty and the Rinzler. I have decided of who should curse him. it's tied between Clu 2 and Alan. But I'm also thinking about Alan being the cogsworth of the au, because I have my mind made up that Flynn is the Lumiére of the Au and Sam is going to be our Chip but instead of being tea cup he's going to be a cute little candle to mash his father. ( Think of litwick from Pokemon but on a little old candle holder tray. I think you know the ones I'm talking about).

On Yoris side it pretty much what you expect. I only have pin point on who going to be the Gaston of the story. The candidates I have are Sark for obvious reasons, Dyson for also obvious reasons, and tesler because hear me out on him.. Dumont is Yoris day in this you can't convince me that they don't have a father and daughter relationship.

But the twist is I'm gonna add Beck as an orphan that Yori befriends and emotionally adopts ( thought Beck adopted her first because she fead him food and read him a story) so when he heard he immediately went there to to rescue her.. he fails to do so when Yori explain what happened and Yori refuse to let Beck back out in the cold all alone and The Rinzler agrees. So Beck ends up staying at the castle ( so he can protect Yori for the monster obviously) and he befriend little Sam and becomes Sam brother figure. ( What can I say I love the found family trope)

And that all I have so fair. But you. Lovely reader you might ask as to why I haven't written this. While the answer is simple my dear reader because 1. I can't write or finish a fanfic for the life of me. ( I blame schooling for smashing academic writing in my head and I'm a lazy writer to..) And 2. I can't draw monsters for shit. So I'm just putting the idea out there. Manifesting. topical fandom stuff..... You can also add more stuff if you want.. just have fun with it..

[shinysparklesapphires]

Okkkk so Barisapph loreeee buckle up this one’s pretty long

Sapphire is cast as Usagi in a live action sailor moon, and they decide to shoot it in Kanon Town (the filming takes place throughout the entire series but she arrives there around episode 3-6 so before cure beat was awakened) So she’s living in Kanon Town for the time being. Baritone heard something about a celebrity in town and was like “eh I guess I’ll check it out ain’t got nothing better to do” and like goes out and Sapphires being crowded by people so he can’t fully see her face and eventually gets shoved and is like “ok fuck this.” Anyway he ends up making a negatone out of the moon stick prop from the set, Hibiki and Kanade defeat it, and he ends up in the shopping district in the evening where he bumps into this girl wearing a face covering and sunglasses and she’s like “ohmigosh I am so so so so sorry!” And she shows her face for a brief moment and helps him up and he’s like in his head “omg this is the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen holy shit” The relationship isn’t brought up again until around episodes 9-11 (heh.) where baritones constantly spacing out thinking about the girl he saw, and obviously bassdrum seiren and falsetto are all like “Ho is you coo???” He eventually finds out that the girl he saw was named Sapphire and that she was the celebrity everyone was fawning over bc he bumped into her again while she was on a break from filming and she recognized him and was just like “hey do you wanna hang out sometime” and bc baritone doesn’t wanna make the most GENARATIONAL FUMBLE he says yes! While they’re on their “date” (not really) Sapphire realizes “holy shit. I want this pathetic man.” And eventually has a crush on him too. At some point (since sailor moon is full of romance and lovey dovey stuff hehe) she’s like “Hey wanna go over my lines with me?” And he’s like “sure” and she reads one of my favorite quotes: Endymion. I love you. You were my first love, my only love. If I’m ever reborn, I know I’ll find you again. I know that someday, we will fall in love again. And Baritones like “…this feels targeted.” (It was.) And she ends up revealing how much of a nerd she is when it comes to sailor moon and magical girls and all that

Then FINALLY at around episodes 15-17 Baritone confesses his love for Sapphire, and she does the same and they’re officially dating. He gets jealous of the guy playing Mamoru saying something like: “I want to hold Sapphire like that..” but denys it fully (keep in mind Sapphire and the guy playing Mamoru are close friends and that’s it, he doesn’t have any feelings towards her bc I don’t like tropes like that)

in episode 27 when he’s describing his plan to the others there’s a tiny doodle of Sapphire somewhere in there all like “Wow Baritone you’re so cool! I love you soooo much!” A MAJOR point in their relationship is when Falsetto becomes the leader and turns baritone into that monster thing (hubba hubba 😍) he starts distancing himself away from Sapphire thinking “she’d run away and call me disgusting if she saw me like this” and obviously Sapphires fucking pissed about him ignoring her and when she finds out about it she’s like “Oh my goodness gracious 😨” and then goes “Oh my goodness gracious 😍” and then in episode 41 where he and bassdrum are running around trying to catch fary, she sees him and is like “hiiiii!” And so he’s standing there with the goofiest grin on his face waving back at her blushing, and Bassdrum tells him to lock in and stop getting distracted. Eventually when the melody of sorrow is completed and everyone is turned to stone Sapphire’s memories of baritone are completely erased, and the same thing happens to him when he’s turned to stone. So when they’re turned back they just go back to their normal lives. Sapphire’s done with shooting so she flies back to America, and Baritone’s back in major land doing whatever, and it’s like they never met. Eventually when the Sailor Moon show comes out (which is around 2 months before the time during the novel happens) Baritone’s working in the music store and he sees the trailer for it on tv and thinks “Man that actress is really pretty huh?” Sapphire ends up in Kanon Town again since they’re filming season 2 for her show, and ends up in the music store where Baritone works in the novel. Also, since Baritone changed his hair to look “normal” he looks completely different if you didn’t already know him personally you wouldn’t know he was the same guy. She ends up asking him for help with something and he recognizes her as the girl from the tv and she’s like “oh you like sailor moon?” “No. But I think a friend of mine did and she’d talk to me about it all the time..” and Obviously since she’s still Sapphire she’s like “can I have your number?” Bc she’s not immune to cute music store employees 😞…

They start talking again and one day Sapphire’s looking through old pictures on her phone while with the guy who played Mamo and he’s like “Hey whatever happened to that baritone guy? Weren’t y’all together or something?” And she’s like “who?” Anyway eventually they both regain thier memories of each other and end up together again and get married a few years later and then Calista and Diamond (my fan kids for them) are born and they live happily ever after then end mega happy ending thank you

💌: @h2llish @lowcallyfruity @xen-blank

[floweranarchist]

hey do u have any decent visual novels to reccommend.. would prefer free ones but eh if theyre cheap that's fine 2

i can def do some free visual novel recs for you!!! first, i’d recommend checking out some otome games i’ve recced, and some GL games i also rec. there’s freebies on both lists!! 

but in OTHER free visual novels......

autumn’s journey - it’s TECH an otome game, but it’s very much more friendship focused. you play an aspiring knight travelling with two dragons - you can romance both of them, or you can have the third, friendship ending! it’s not a very long game, but it’s really solid and feel good.

yearning: a gay story - this game is 18+!!! if ur a minor DON’T play this game, even censored it’s p explicit. anyway you play a gay freshman in college dealing with his first college year! there’s lots of romance options and a TON of different ways you can play and it’s rlly interesting! it’s not entirely my cup of tea (more sexual than i prefer my games, especially given ur only playing a freshman.... like thats still a baby adult), but definitely worth a mention. you can get a lot of hours out of this one, trust me.

elven relations - this one’s a galge vn! i’ll be real i haven’t played this in... a LONG time but i remember i rlly enjoyed it! you play a knight trying to set up diplomatic relations with the elves n possibly fall in love along the way... i’ve played the creator’s other vn’s as well and remember liking them even if i don’t remember jack shit so prob worth trying out as well!!

lake of voices - DID YOU MEAN LITERALLY MY FAVORITE VISUAL NOVEL OF ALL TIME? NO LIE. I FUCKING ADORE IT. it’s a horror game where you play a woman named kikka who has to travel across a lake filled with monsters. if you like horror please PLEASE play this one. no matter what someone will die. you can die! it’s GREAT. i recommend starting with bemelle/margaret as ur first routes, and lu/the guide as secondary. but tbh you’ll prob end up twisting and turning ur way through and being unable to truly identify what path ur going on so like... yeah... ANYWAY THERE’S LEGIT TIMED CHOICES TOO IT’S JUST. GREAT.

nekojishi - it’s a gay furry vn about taiwanese folklore. it’s GRAND. i’m not done with it yet (the fucking car.... You Will Understand), but like. do u want to play a gay furry? and kiss big buff gay cat spirits? great! this is The Game For You. one of the romance options is uhhhh weird tbh but the other two are solid from what ive played and it’s just rlly fun! AND SO MUCH SECONDHAND EMBARRASSMENT OH MY GOD. idk shit abt the nsfw version, tho, i just play the censored steam one

christine love’s vn’s! - she has three free ones, digital: a love story, don’t take it personally babe it just ain’t your story, and cell phone love letter. they’re all connected like... spiritually - that’s prob the order i’d recommend playing them in? there’s definitely. uh. some not great stuff in them espesh the second (you can uhhh be a teach and romance a student PLEASE don’t do that) but they’re rlly solid experiences. so yeah! worth checking out.

finally, last but not least, these two deserve more than a bullet point. while i do have my favorites, true remembrance and narcissu are, imho, some of the BEST visual novels. like, period. they deal with very heavy topics - depression, suicide, etc. don’t read them if you can’t handle that, because they are absolutely heavy and ABSOLUTELY depressing and absolutely good. kay? so!

descriptions of these two under the cut, bc they’re long and contain those heavy topics. i HIGHLY HIGHLY recommend both of them - true remembrance changed my life, and that’s not hyperbole in the slightest.

true remembrance is a visual novel set in a crapsack of a world. i’ll copy tv tropes excellent description:  20 Minutes into the Future, the world has fallen to a pandemic of super-depression known as the Dolor, which eats away the affected's mind in a process called Psyche Corrosion, eventually leading to suicide. The only known cure is difficult and scarce; the only way to cure situational depression, after all, is to help those who suffer it past the memories causing it, or to destroy those memories completely. 

The government has decided that the latter option is faster, and cultivated a group of people called Mnemonicides ("memory killers") who can induce amnesia in their patients through a long treatment process, thus removing the Dolor and ending the Psyche Corrosion.Mnemonicides are scarce, and they work in one sleepy, snowy town, where their patients ("Guests") are sent. The waiting list to get into this town is long, but the town itself is so cut off from the outside world that all that seems to matter is what happens inside it. True Remembrance is the everyday yet remarkable story of a Mnemonicide named Blackiris and his Guest, an extraordinary young girl named La.”

narcissu is a visual novel where you play a terminally ill young man. at the hospital he lives in, he meets a young girl with a terminal illness as well - as she says, it’s where they’re left to die. you either die there, or at home. and since neither of them want to do that... they steal a car, driving away to see the flowers... the Narcissus flowers...

both narcissu and true remembrance are VERY good. please don’t play them without expecting to cry (tho tbf im a crybaby). i hope u enjoy some of these!!!

[anhed-nia]

STILL NOT BLOGTOBER EVEN THOUGH I ONLY GOT ONE LEFT FER CRYIN’ OUT LOUD: CAM (2018)

I've been chewing on this for a couple of days, and I think I just have to resign myself to the fact that it's ok for me to fire off some immediate reactions, and then come back later on when I'm feeling more smarterer.

I really liked this a lot, even though there is no good reason why that should be. On paper, it hits my every "off" switch. Movies about sexy girls being sexy? Usually bad. Movies about the internet? Usually bad. And I even realized for the first time, going into CAM, that I usually dislike movies about doppelgängers. Even when they're decent, they're typically predicated on a predictable Ego versus Id concept that is as pretentious as it is transparent. These movies, in which someone's life is imperiled by a superior and corrupt other-self, often have the same problems as time travel stories--which I also hate--which hinge on a bunch of obvious "twists", and logistical acrobatics that don't even work very well. So all that said, I'm very grateful for the well-earned word of mouth that CAM has generated, because without it, I never would have rushed out to see a movie about a chick who is professionally hot, using the internet, and being threatened by an even more seductive version of herself. Sometimes it is wonderful to be wrong.

In CAM, the appealing and somewhat uncanny Madeline Brewer plays Alice, a cam girl who discovers that her feed has been taken over by a separate version of herself who is exponentially more successful than she had ever been before, despite her fiercest efforts. Alice launches a down-the-rabbit-hole investigation into who or what this twin could possibly be, ending with a horrific genre-bending discovery that will require all of her wits to confront. The less said about the details the better, as the movie is much more than the sum of its parts.

What sounds like a pandering, uncinematic proposal is made into a stylish, absorbing, relentlessly tense thriller by director Daniel Goldhaber and his creative partner, co-director and first time screenwriter Isa Mazzei. Mazzei, a cam girl herself, has taken the tired old id monster trope of the doppelgänger, and used it to stage a sober argument about the conflict between public success and personal boundaries. Alice's career seems to remain middling in part because of her insistence on standards of personal dignity; she refuses to deliver fake orgasms or fake "I love yous" during her performances, maintaining a sense of authenticity without giving away any more of herself than she chooses. Alice's double, Lola_Lola, is not constructed as a dangerous femme fatale whose self-indulgence throws Alice's polite hypocrisy into relief--which is usually what happens in this kind of tale--but rather as a distillation of Alice's ambition as a performer. Lola has no private life to protect, and needs only public adulation to survive, so she shatters all of Alice's rules in order to succeed on a level that no other cam girl can touch. Alice's war with her public self says a lot about everything from competitive feminine pageantry, to the average citizen's use of social media, and Goldhaber and Mazzei's intelligence and sincerity prevent CAM from sinking to the level of a PSA on self-esteem and internet addiction--which it could have easily become.

One of my favorite parts of CAM is the most contentious. At the very end, once Alice has vanquished her counterpart, she creates a brand new account with her old host site, starting her career over from scratch. A lot of viewers have seen this as an unjustifiable "Don't go back for the cat!" moment, but I find it very gratifying. Earlier this year, I saw a movie called CONCUSSION about a stifled suburban mom who starts a new chapter as a lesbian escort. She's good at it, as it turns out, and it boosts her self-confidence, helping her identify and nurture strengths that she didn't know she had. But, of course, because very few movies can resist the gravitational pull back toward status quo, she clunkily makes her way back toward monogamous civilian life. A lot of movies about unique individuals have this problem--even GHOST WORLD, which I adore, pulls the suspicious trick of making us fall in love with Enid's eccentricities, before concluding that the very things that make her so special are actually symptoms of her stuntedness, that she will have to be cured of in order to mature. It makes me think of John Waters' childhood memories of watching his favorite movie, THE WIZARD OF OZ, and crying hysterically because of Dorothy's incomprehensible choice to return to Kansas, "to that awful black-and-white farm, with that aunt who was dressed badly, with smelly farm animals around, when she could live with winged monkeys and magic shoes and gay lions. I didn't get it." Many movies seem to obey a basic mandate to return everything to normal--perhaps to reassure audiences that our mundane existence is still worth something?--and I am happy to report that CAM is not one of these movies. Actually, it is critical that CAM allows Alice to continue her career as a sex worker. Otherwise, we wind up with the insulting, moralizing conclusion that Alice's big mistake was owning and enjoying her own sexuality, and that the lesson here is that she should retreat to some quiet, humble existence in which she isn't "asking for it". Maybe her decision to start over is a little confusing, emotionally, but morally, it is the right thing to do.

[precuredaily]

Precure Day 110

Episode: Futari wa Precure Splash Star 12 - "Choppi is a li'l bit Homesick?" Date watched: 02 April 2019 Original air date: 23 April 2006 Screenshots: https://imgur.com/a/sBJsHUI Project info and master list of posts: http://tinyurl.com/PCDabout

I don't want to say that Splash Star is fairly derivative of the seasons that preceded it, because it's more accurate to say that there are some basic genre tropes that both shows explore, and that pop up again in many of the succeding Precure shows. That being said, it's hard to ignore that many episodes to this point have been similar to FW/MH episodes, so when an episode like this happens along that tells an original idea, it's worth pointing out.

In this case, the subject is Choppi feeling a bit alienated in the Land of Greenery (Earth), and longing for her home in the Land of Fountains. Some of the scenery she sees reminds her of home and the fun times she used to have. She tries to bottle up her feelings and not admit to Mai that she's homesick and kind of lonely, but because she doesn't talk about her feelings, Mai doesn't realize anything is wrong, and the problem exacerbates.

Choppi feels alone while Mai is eating dinner with her family

The next morning, Mai wakes up and can't find Choppi anywhere. After meeting with Saki and Flappi, the fairy confirms that she hasn't been taken by Dark Fall, because he'd be able to sense if she were in danger. The trio spend all day looking for her in every possible location they can think of, namely the great tree, but also the playground, the shrine, the softball field, and a scenic overlook. Finally Mai thinks of one more place she could be, so they set off. Finally we learn that Choppi is at the highway overhang from the previous day that looks out over the lake. The view reminds her strongly of the Land of Fountains and she flashes back to a more innocent time playing with Flappi and some spirits.

Notably, aside from the tree and fire spirits, there are also some ground spirits flying around as a hint of things to come. Choppi's reminiscing is cut short by the appearance of Moerumba, who interrogates her for the location of the Foutain of the Sun of course, but Flappi senses the danger and fortunately the girls are already close to her location. Moerumba summons an Uzainaa out of some random equipment in the back of a truck to distract the girls and he grips Choppi tight, heating up his hands to get her to confess.

Saki pulls a trick that has no business working, but this is a kids show. She says the fountain of the sun is behind him as she points, he looks, and then they urge Choppi to escape. She bites Moerumba's finger and he throws her at the girls, who are then able to transform. The fight with the monster is kind of unremarkable, it can shoot poison goop for some reason and use a charging attack that is easily avoided. It has tentacles that it swings around to knock the Cures about but they manage to push through its attacks and knock it over, then they use Twin Stream Splash to finish it off. Afterwards, all four of them look out at the scenery and discuss the day’s events. Flappi encourages Choppi by saying that sometimes he gets lonely and misses their home, but she responds that she’s fine, it’s fine, everything’s fine, it’s fine. Fine. Then Mai gives her some of the best advice that I think may have ever come out of this show: “You don’t have to worry about not worrying us.” They all four vow to tell each other everything and pledge that they’re all in the fight against Dark Fall together.

Also there’s a framing device about Mai making a painting for the art club about “scenery that makes an impression on you.” You will surely be shocked to hear that she chose the view that Choppi had of the lake and tree. Mai presents it to the club members, who all fawn over it, and she states it represents a place that is very important to her and a friend, as she nods in Choppi’s direction in the back of the class.

The theme of the episode is honesty: honesty to yourself, and honesty to others, even if that honesty is inconvenient. That’s a very important message, especially in Japanese culture which is built around politeness and not inconveniencing others, and I applaud them for the decision to write this. Your emotions are important and your feelings are valid, and they are only going to grow more complicated if you bottle them up and don’t discuss them for fear of troubling someone else. Also, it’s okay to be homesick, to miss a familiar place for whatever reason, even if you’re better off in your current state.

One gripe I have is that despite Moerumba being hounded by Akudaikaan and Gohyaan that he's running out of chances, he doesn't seem to have any particular plan going in. He would be more than capable of defeating the girls if he simply didn’t assume one or two attacks could defeat them. He literally had the girls in a very vulnerable position, holding Choppi hostage so they couldn’t transform, but due to an absurdly silly trick he lost control of her and they gained the upper hand.

I understand the rules of the genre and I know that, if he truly won, there would be no show, and I know people watch this show to see the hero triumph over evil. However, you can conform to the genre rules while still presenting your villain as a credible threat. In today’s example specifically, if Choppi had gotten out of his grasp by some slightly more creative method that didn’t make Moerumba look like a total dope, instead of one of Akudaikaan’s stronger soldiers as he is treated, then I would be less frustrated. Have her bluff her way out, have the girls distract him and then quickly snatch her from his clutch, there’s other ways. Then, in the fight itself, the monster could have used the tentacles to hold onto the girls to bring them close to it’s spinning danger wheel area. Show me that Moerumba deserves the rank he has within Dark Fall by showing him use strategy like in episode 10, with the Uzainaa on the open ocean. Have him learn from the failures of previous fights and plot a new strategy to learn where the Fountain of Sun is and/or defeat Pretty Cure. Fire is a very flexible element for a villain so the writers could concoct some pretty clever uses for it to challenge the girls. Unfortunately, Moerumba does not do this, and he has very few chances left, so enjoy his singing, dancing, gratuitous spanish-using ass while you still can. Soon, we enter the best arc of the show.

Upon rewatch I discovered a few bits of recycled animation (within the same episode): one honestly pretty good pan around Saki and Mai as they were searching for Choppi gets reused in two locations in pretty short order, and then of course a lot of the views of the lake are repeated. Also, at the end of the episode when Mai gets inspired by the view, the water is rippling more than it was previously, and it’s very clearly CGI in that instance.

though it’s a bit more obvious in motion

Next time it’s Moerumba’s last stand so look forward to that!

Pink Precure Catchphrase Count: 1 Zekkouchou Nari

Miracle Drop Count: 5

[des-shinta]

So I saw Anne Rice’s Book “Interview with a Vampire” at work...

And I started thinking...what if it Was an ACTUAL interview?  As In, For a Job. Just Go with me for a second. A Snarky, Deadpan Pharmaceutical researcher get’s fired from her job after a requisition order she commissioned for supplies falls through after she’d already taken the materials.  She finds work with another researcher, who she discovers to be a Vampire After seeing all the clues; special anti-UV windows, not a silver thing in sight, avoids reflective surfaces...but the tip off is when she tries to get him on camera, and only digital ones work.   Though the dude is shown to Love Garlic and is shown wearing a white Misato-Katsuragi-like Cross.  Can’t buy into all of them. So she’s forced into a confrontation... ...and the Guy, while a scientific Genius, is a Total Dork.  Like, Complete subversion to the swave, seductive badasses and/or Monsters seen the likes of...Near all Vampire media Ever.  Into Geeky things, Dances like a Nerd oblivious to how goofy he looks (Perhaps to the tune of a risky business dance scene?), and Feints at the sight of blood.  She initially freaks out, but ultimately finds him harmless as a result. ”What, next you’re tell me you’re at war with Werewolves!” ”Oh don’t be Ridiculous, Werewolves don’t exist.” His research?  Artificial plasma, based off what he made to not, well, Die, since he’d pass out every time he fed off people.  And Since she has her own research goals, she agrees to keep it a secret. I see this as going the way of a Will and Grace Satirical comedy skewering Vampire media tropes.  Like, the guy and Girl?  No Attraction, no Chemistry, Absolutely ZERO Romance subplot. Not only is he not her type, he’s creeped out by the idea of getting close to someone like that because...he’s a walking corpse and he doesn’t know where the line is; and he’s science-y enough in his thinking that it bugs him.  They are Will and Grace except the guy is a Vampire instead of Gay. The girl could admittedly be Gay or just Asexual, it wouldn’t really matter to the overarcing story. There’s a vampire hunter (of any Gender, age or nationality, again something that wouldn’t matter; though we’d want to avoid the ‘Blade Reject’ or ‘aren’t you supposed to be hunting hopping zombies’ nonsense) that tries to warn her with grave seriousness of her straights when she’s out on a break, and she just keeps on Ordering Lunch at a Kiosk. “I know it seems ridiculous, but your life is in Danger.” “What’s The soup of the day?  I’m in the mood for something Creamy.” “Your Boss is a Vampire” “And A Diet Pepsi, or do you guys Stock Coke Products?” Eventually the hunter barges into The Guy’s place and he drops to the ground Screaming as he literally has no Training to fight nor Vampiric instincts nor the strength due to the current serum he uses just leaving him with no Super-human abilities as it’s so inefficient beyond dealing with the urge to drink.  They make fun of the Hunter’s outfit-- ”Look, you freaking power rangers reject--” ”Actually it’s more like super sen-” “*Glare*” ”Shutting up now.” --And with a Warning the hunter settles in to watch him with one eye open. For you see, this is all a Subversion.  The dude’s not some noble hero or Powerhouse monster, he’s just a Guy that happened to get turned into a Vampire. He’s not even really the main character, he’s just the impetus for all these events coming together. The Twist, as you’re all expecting it, is that other Groups have Gotten word about their research; some vampires liking the idea of not being Blood-sucking abominations so are privately funding it, others see it as a threat to their societal structure and how things have gone for untold time with them.  This all Culminating with them Kidnapping the Girl in an attempt to get him to destroy his work (throw in a scene of the guy and the hunter arguing about how to rescue her where he pulls out a gun he shows no capability with only to shoot himself as he only has movie knowledge of guns, result in him fainting from the blood...which only further shows how bad it would be for him to have a gun) ...Only for the Girl to actually shown to be the more dangerous of The Two.

For they did this...on a full moon.  Seeded throughout the story is The girl, like the Guy, avoiding Silver; asking for three days off a month, reacting just as badly as the guy when the Hunter Tries to use Silver Nitrate on him, stuff like that.  Her initial question on the earlier reveal, And the reason she needed the chemicals? Yeah, she’s a recently Turned werewolf and like him was looking for a cure or treatment for her condition.  Not expecting it, they didn’t think to prep for one, and she gets herself out of their own Damn Mess in the special-effects splurge expected of A Vampire movie. “Why didn’t you tell me you were a Werewolf?” “They don’t exist, remember?” The story would end on the pair just sharing some popcorn while riffing a bad Vampire movie...say Twilight or Dracula 2000.  Maybe the latter Underworld Films. Admittedly I just thought about this while working so is barely an outline, and I am NOT a good Enough Writer to develop it, But Tumblr? This one’s a Freebie. Have at.

[thenightling]

Just saw Fright Night 2 (2013  version)

@mrgoldsshopofhorrors  @thesaramonster

So I decided to give the 2013 Fright Night 2 a chance.  I was feverish and needed a new horror movie to watch and besides, I wanted to see how well Jaime Murray (the Black Fairy from Once Upon a Time) did as a vampire because I love her girlish (original Dark Shadows' Angelique Collins-esque) giggle.

At first I was ready to heckle it, from the cheesy blue-green tint and an explosion at the one minute and thirty second mark but it fast improved. Unfortunately it started to deteriorate back to shlock value near the end. First: this isn't really a sequel.  It's more like another remake.  A remake that unfortunately went direct to video while the 2011 version got a theatrical release.  I say unfortunately because... I honestly think this was (at least for the first forty five minutes or so) better than the 2011 version despite 2011's abomination of a remake having David Tennant (Even that couldn't save it).

This film was a LOT more respectful to the original 1985 Fright Night than the 2011 Fright Night.

The plot is Charley Brewster, Amy, and Evil Ed (as I said it's not the same continuity as the 2011 film, so yes, Ed is alive) have decided to attend college in Romania.  Their new professor is Gerri Dangridge (a female version of Jerry) is a vampire.  

Much like the original Fright Night Charlie sees her taking victims from his window and at first no one believes him.  She follows traditional Dracula-esque rules such as needing an invitation to enter a home, but unlike the gutter trash version of Jerry from the 2011 film she also has a lot of Dracula's traditional powers.

Her shadow can move as if of it's own accord (I like that a lot).  She can leap great heights and probably even fly.  She can read thoughts and enter dreams.  She can stop a moving car and damage it, with her own body.  And she heals fast even from a cross impaling one of her eyeballs.  She growls and makes animal and insect-like noises.  Her powers put the 2011 Jerry Dangridge to shame.  She also has more of the charm you would expect from a traditional vampire.  Suave and seductive yet dangerous. I just wish that like the original 1985 Jerry Dandridge and 1988 Regine she could take bat, wolf, and mist form.

She keeps making animal noises.  Let her change form, damn it!

Also, much like how the original 1985 Fight Night suggested that Jerry Dandridge was really Dracula (at least in it's novelization), this film heavily suggests (actually it out right tells you) that Gerri is Elizabeth Bathory, which I don't mind at all.  She even has a hidden bathtub of blood in her flat along with a collection of clocks (much like the 1985 Fright Night).

There's a bit of a twist though that she has been searching, for centuries, for someone born on the blood moon (and still a virgin) whose blood can cure her of her curse.   So though we see her revel in predatory behavior and seem to wickedly enjoy it, apparently she does not actually like being a vampire.   The new Evil Ed is a LOT better than the 2011 version as well.  This Evil reminded me of the original, right down to the facial expressions and eyebrows.  He even has the laugh.  He felt like Evil Ed, like he studied the original.   And unlike the 2011 Jerry Dangridge, who idiotically lived in a Las Vegas suburb with foil over his windows, this version is in Romania and has UV filters over her windows, a very nice modernization that didn't feel low brow or trashy.   I wish I had seen this when it first came out.  It's not as good as the 80s version or even the 1988 sequel but it makes up for the 2011 Fright Night in it's own way. 

This shouldn't be called Fright Night 2.  It should be it's own movie, stand on it's own, as it's own attempt at a Fright Night remake since that's what it actually is.   This version deserved to be more than a direct to video sequel to the 2011 film.  Unfortunately it does have it's flaws...

The new Peter Vincent is a TV host for a cheesy Syfy Channel style monster hunting reality show.  I'm glad he has a TV show again but he's still disappointing.  He's too much like the 2011 version.   I miss the timid horror host who finds his place as a real monster hunter like Roddy McDowell's Peter Vincent.  Becoming the hero he always wanted to be.  The way the 2011 and 2013 Peter Vincent is tackled is all too cynical.  

Amy's a bit stand-off-ish and keeps ignoring Charley trying to give her chocolates and flowers but I still like her better than the "Hot chick" version from the 2011 film that completely obliterated her Girl Next Door quality from the original 1985 film.

Evil Ed and Gerri Dandridge are fantastic and they make this movie! There are parts in this that actually managed to make me laugh.   Nothing in the 2011 version made me laugh.  This should have gotten it's own theatrical release as it's own Fright Night remake.  It's NOT a sequel, it is its own reboot.  This should not be called Fright Night 2.

I miss the 1985 gay overtones with Ed being in the closet but this version of Evil Ed is fun just the same. Every time a vampire screeches and all through the chase scene and later climax there is a flickering light effect that I absolutely hate.  That's not scary.  It's annoying and potentially headache inducing.  The flickering lights during the chase scene are really annoying and unnecessary.  The scene would have been a lot creepier without it.   This is one of the film's flaws, falling back on modern tropes and cliches like this when it had the potential to be so good otherwise.  Skip the chase scene if you are prone to seizures or are photophobic in any way.

The chase scene and Peter Vincent are the biggest let downs of the movie but I love Evil Ed and I love Gerri Dandridge and her new array of powers that make the 2011 Jerry look pathetic in comparison.  I just wish she would take wolf, bat or mist form.

I also don't like that the vampires won't show up on camera, a trope lifted from the 2011 film.  Cameras never stopped Regine in the 1988 Fright Night Part 2, in fact part of the plot was her taking Peter Vincent's TV show and becoming it's new host.  Not showing up in a mirror doesn't necessarily mean you won't show up on camera.

They should shed all trappings of the 2011 Fright night, the parts that tried to mimic the 2011 remake actually hurt it.  Though I did like when Peter Vincent claimed to have the weapon that killed Dracula and that he had found it in the props department.

The ending is a bit incoherent and has it that a mere bite will change you into a vampire and yet in the original 1985 Fright Night, despite the feeding decapitations we distinctly saw Jerry feed Amy his blood.

The stupid flicker effect every time a vampire screeches is really obnoxious too, during the chase and the climax.

 Despite it's flaws the movie was kind of fun.  I would give it a 6.5 out of 10.  Gerri, you deserved to exist in a better Fright Night.

[mahou-furbies]

Closing thoughts on Doki Doki! Precure

Alright, now finished with DokiPre! We can only go up from here!

(Didn’t like. Rant below. Contains spoilers. Also I didn't like Mana one bit so if you don't want to see her being unashamedly bashed I'd advise you not to read further)

I had heard that this season would be more plot focused (as opposed to character driven filler) and even accused of being too much about the plot at the expense of character development, so I braced myself for endless monologue on the history of the Precure lore and dumb plot twists every other episode. But now that I'm finished I'm a bit confused with the whole "too much plot" argument, since I thought there were plenty of character focused episodes that had little to do with the main plot. Like if this is supposed to be the "plot heavy" I do wonder how much aimless meandering the less story focused seasons will be... Also I found the story about Cure Ace and Regina's origins reasonably interesting for Precure standards so I had no problem when an episode was about that.

One thing DokiPre did surprisingly well was the usage of its theme. I have trouble even coming up with what HapiCha was supposedly about (finding happiness in different places?), but at the very least DokiPre kept the selfishness idea through the whole season, making it stand out a bit in the sea of generic colourful magical girl shows that just throw around friendship and love and happy thoughts in an unimaginative mess whenever the plot needs it.

But in DokiPre the concept of selfishness is explored in more ways than I expected, with the monsters of the week are created out of selfish thoughts, the King Selfishness' daughter Regina's predictable character development to being more considerate of others, some discussion on whether people act selfishly or help each other at a time of danger, and the whole plot ultimately coming from people wanting to protect their loved ones even if it risked the wellbeing of many others. A baby growing into its selfish phase was probably a godawful idea in and of itself (who wants to listen to a crying baby throwing temper tantrums?), but at least it was tied to the theme. And then there's of course our heroine Mana, who we're constantly reminded to be endlessly selfless and always ready to help others, which brings us to the inevitable Mana Rant portion of this review thingy.

And good lord, what a repulsive character she was! She's everything I hate about the generic perky friendly spotlight stealing pink leader magical girls crystallised and multiplied by a million. I could sort of see what they were trying to do; like how it's common for the pink main character to be a bumbling loser who trips on her own feet and always ends up as the butt of the joke, so here's a competent one for a change! I can also agree that in most cases in the end the protagonist, be it the pink magical girl leader, the goggle boy in Digimon or whatever, should be the one to shine the most at the highest point of the story and in general have enough relevancy through the story to earn their place as the main character in the first place, but DokiPre went way overboard with that.

Mana would be very irritating on her own alone: she has practically no character development, doesn't need to learn anything and hardly ever has any moments of weakness, because she's amazing and always ultimately correct from the very start. They were trying to push a sort of Memetic Badass character on her, with her smug arrogant face regularly filling the screen when she boasts how her indomitable spirit remains strong despite all adversity, but that fell completely flat on me since I didn't find her to have any charisma to back it up.

But what's worse is how she relates to the other charaters. Two of her friends also become Precure, and their personal flashbacks are about their relationship with her. Episodes that are about some other characters' development usually end with Mana finishing the bad guy anyway, and often the development is about what they've learned from Mana. Multiple episodes have a plot about how other characters try to manage without her help for once. Regina flat out says that she only wants to befriend Mana because the other girls are uninteresting. The other Precure's powerup is them giving their power to Mana, or stalling the enemy so that Mana can finish it. At their darkest hour characters shout specifically Mana for help and in the final battle we get lines about Mana being the only hope even when the other girls aren't out of commission yet. Specifically Mana is compared to the legendary Precure from the past. And then there's the bad guy's final attempt to corrupt Mana's heart to selfishness, with which she needs no help from anyone else because unlike every other character shown she's so awesome and selfless that's she's simply immune to the corruption.

In the end even the selfishness theme falls apart when Mana is supposedly presented as the eternally selfless antithesis, but it's hard to buy when as far as I'm concerned she had been one of the most selfish and inconsiderate characters in the show, but the story just brushed that under the rug and had her face little to no repercussions about it. And on a meta level the writing constantly made her the centre of attention, leaving everyone else in the background.

(and even more on a meta level this season review is mostly about Mana too. But what else am I supposed to talk about? Almost everything in the show traces back to her.)

As for the other characters, Makoto's voice was really pleasing to listen to and she had a moderately interesting story, but since she was relegated Mana fangirl #3 it was really hard for me to care about her in the end, while Rikka never did anything for me. Then there's Aguri whose introduction felt like a really bad idea to me. I found it really hard to like a brand new nobody who just shows up and acts in a condescending manner about how she's so much superior about something the main characters have been doing for half a season. I'd say that the only reason I'm willing to give Aguri any slack is due to Mana being such a hate sink that it's easy to look good next to her. Plus Cure Ace is pretty much the only character who manages to push Mana out of the spotlight even for a few episodes.

Therefore out of the Precure my favourite character turned out to be Alice. She was pretty shallow even for a Precure character and a lot of the time she didn't have much else to do than use her shield attack, but at least I liked her calm Fine Lady type personality and the super casual attitude she had when she revealed her company's limousine or space rocket or something else extravagant. Also the hypercompetent butler is one of my favourite tropes ever so Sebastian rose as one of my favourite characters.

The mascots were a mixed bag. I don't think merchandise ploys with a squeaky voice and a stupid speech quirk should be a thing in the first place, but since they are let's judge them on their own merits. I liked their human forms, and especially Davie had nice moments with Makoto as sort of her guardian and moral support. And then we have the magic baby Ai-chan, who I predict to go down as one of my most despised Precure mascots. I think infants are best used as props, so a talking baby with a high pitched voice and a dumb catch phrase causing trouble with her cutesy antics wasn't exactly what I was looking for.

Speaking of side characters, they had few relationships with each other and were mostly connected through, you guessed it, Mana. A particularly egregious case being Regina, who never really bonded with anyone but Mana, but who the show suddenly decided should have some sort of meaningful connection with the other Precure as well. The repetitive episodes where each of the other Precure try to reach out to her with a dramatic friendship speech (only to fail in the end because of course that honour belongs to Mana) were super cringey, even if Makoto's song was okay.

Uh, what else? I still enjoyed the magical girl outfits, and some of the music was nice. But really even with small positives I found the overall season absolutely terrible and cringeworthy at most times. Would only recommend for completion's sake (gotta catch all the Precure series!). Or I guess the way how blindly Mana is paraded was a spectacle and sort of interesting as a failed experiment, but not really worth 49 episodes when just the first episode says everything there's to tell about her.

[techouspeaks]

Precuruary: Mahou Tsukai Precure

Finally, I review the series that seems to be the most hated Precure series, even more so than Doki Doki and Happiness Charge! I also reveal why I actually kinda like it....

“Asahina Mirai, a soon-to-be student in junior high, witnesses an object fall from the sky one night during spring break. Excitedly exclaiming that it could be a witch, Mirai sets off the next morning with her beloved toy teddy bear Mofurun to search the park. At the park, Mirai witnesses a girl soaring through the air on a broom. Excited and curious, Mirai barrages the girl with questions. The young witch introduces herself as Riko and explains that she's come to the "No Magic" World to search for certain objects. The two girls notice that they're wearing similar pendants. Meanwhile, Batty, a companion of Dokurokushe the Wizard of Darkness, appears in front of Mirai and Riko! Batty demands that Riko hand over the "Linkle Stone Emerald", which Riko herself had been looking for. To make things worse, Batty uses dark magic to create a monster known as a Yokubaru! Mirai, Riko, and Mofurun join hands. With the magic words "Cure Up RaPaPa!", their pendants shines a magical light over them! The legendary witches "Pretty Cure" are born!”

So, why does everyone seem to despise this series so much? Well, the main issue with this series is it’s writing and execution. The plot tends to throw some immature or just plain weird scenes at random and it seems like the writers just didn’t know what to do, so they just put whatever they thought was a good idea at the time. The plot is also a bit rushed and sadly, the characters suffer a lack of proper development. Put it short, the plot and the development is just a big mess. I heard it was because the writer and director kept clashing, like one wanted to something real dark and epic like Go! Princess and the other wanted it to stay cutesy and safe. I really wished they had stuck with the more darker route. I mean it’s a series about witches.Dark and witches go hand in hand together. The cutesy parts can get a little boring too for some folks, I didn’t mind it too much. 

So, despite all that, why do I actually like it and even get a little defensive for it? Shouldn’t I hate it like I do Doki Doki and Happiness Charge? Well I’ll list my reasons in so is to be consistent, unlike the plot of Maho Tsukai.

1.) Kinda likable characters.

I will admit, while they’re not the most deepest or complex of characters, most of the MTP characters are pretty likable. 

(Well okay, I said MOST, not all.)

I really do like Riko. Yeah, she can be snobby but this melts away rather fast and the way she does it, is very appropriate for her age. She’s a kid that wants to be more grown up, so she tries to look impressive. She’s has a lot of insecurities that come natural for someone her age and she acts a lot like how I expect a kid would act.

Which speaking of which, I feel like the three main trio are actually suppose to be in Elementary School, but they felt they needed to have them be in junior high. They don’t even look 13! They look more so 10 years old at the oldest but decided to changed it to 13 so is to fit with the other precure franchise. Come on, Toei! This franchise is aimed at elementary school kids anyway, we wouldn’t mind if you made them younger. Look at Cardcaptor Sakura and some of the older magical girls series. Some of the main cast in those are 10!

Anyway, I also like Ha-chan. Yes, she can be annoying at times, but I thought she was pretty cute and I really like her design as Cure Felice. She’s absolutely gorgeous in this form. 

I also really enjoy some of the kids, teachers and staff members at the Magic School, especially Kochou. At long last we get a handsome male supporting character that is both useful, interesting, likable and not look like a creeper (Such as Joe from Doki Doki)! His relationship with Kushy is very sweet. Some question whether or not it’s gay. I kinda wonder myself. I would be lying if I said I didn’t see this, that’s for sure. It could be just a real firm friendship but well, you ship who you want.

Bad ass design too! Though I really question on why he’s wearing a lampshade for a hat....

Mofurun can be a little unsettling to me at times and get a little annoying with that baby like voice, but they did grew on me. (Yes, I see Mofurun as non binary because well, teddy bears don’t have reproduction organs) I like how Mofurun is useful in many other ways besides being the transformation device. Most fairies that aid with transformation, tend to fall flat when it comes to being useful in other ways. Mofurun can sense linkle stones and was willing to risk their life to protect the stones from getting in the wrong hands. That’s pretty solid for me. Go teddy!

Not to mention, but Mofurun as Cure Mofurun is just adorable! I wish that Mofurun was actually a witch doll with Cure Mofurun’s design. It would have been way cuter and well...None of the Cure Mofurun plushies would be over 40 bucks! (US dollars). Speaking of which...

2.) The Relationship Between Mirai and Mofurun

As someone that was really close to her stuffed animals, I kinda understand Mirai’s feelings towards Mofurun. In fact, I think most kids get the connection. It’s common for kids to love their toys, especially a toy given to them by someone really close to them. The belief of it gaining a personality is also a common thing kids like to do and also a belief in Japanese culture. The belief goes if you love something such as a toy or even an accessory so much, that object will gain a soul and that soul will protect you for loving it so much. (Same if you treat an object badly and the object hates you). It’s kinda silly but this is a nice touch to the culture and to childhood. Well Mirai is certainly not my favorite, she’s really bland on her own, the relationship with Mofurun is pretty cute and again, I can see a young kid having a close bond with their stuffed animal. When I was a kid, I use to pretend my stuffed animals had personalities too and especially loved this tiger plush, given to me by my grandma.

3.) This is short but the nods to old Precure series and designs.

The whole holding hands and use of attacks, even the speeches before the power up, are actually nods to old Precure series that also did this. It’s kinda nice of them contributing to older series. 

The designs of the outfits, especially Sapphire and Over the Rainbow are really well done and the transformations are fun to watch. The animation can be a little mediocre but beautiful in the transformations and I’m glad they decided to just do mostly 2D animation this time, with only resorting to 3D in the endings.

4.) The Witch World and How They Convey Witches As A Whole.

This is what I think MTP does a lot better than Ojamajo Doremi. How they convey witches. Well they use the same similar tropes such as the pointy hats and the broom flying, the way they convey witches is kinda surprising and kinda respectful. Believe it or not, witches do exist in a way. They don’t fly on brooms and the magic isn’t as instant as shown in this series. I’m mainly talking about witches and connection towards nature, as well as some of the lore tied in.

In the Magical World, nature seems to be a major key element to the magic of witches, which is true to actual witch beliefs. From their wands coming from trees, to taking care of mystical animals and right down to how the Magical World is made, is direct tie in with the belief of witches. 

 In some lore, mainly Wiccan, there is a belief that there is a Goddess and horned king in charge of taking care of the world.  Mother Rapapa and the Deustmas generals kinda seem to be a representation of that belief. I dunno if that was their main intention, but kudo points for adding in anyway, especially if it was.

I also like how witches in this world are just ordinary people that just happen to use magic as a passionate subject. That’s what I found inconsistent in Ojamajo Doremi. In Doremi, it seems like witches are not human. There’s not even wizards in their world. They’re in another one. They’re like some sort of weird creature not connected with people at all, since they can’t be found out by humans thus turn into frogs. Yet, somehow humans can become witches when given these magic jelly bean looking things.

Plus the designs of the witches in Doremi I found disrespectful and lazy! At least in Mahou Tsukai, witches and wizards are treated like their own person, with their own style. Yeah, they have the typical hats and such but they at least try to make them interesting. I also didn’t like how magic was given so easily in Doremi. With Mirai, she had to kinda prove herself that she was willing to put in effort to do magic. Yeah, it consisted of saying the magic words over and over, but at least it just wasn’t given to her like “Here some magic jelly bean things. Now you can do magic!” Part of the belief in witches is putting spiritual effort into the thing you desire. Doremi it seemed more like the magic was coming from the seeds, then themselves. As for Reiko, well, she comes from a line of strong witches so magic is born in her and she doesn’t get good in her magic until later.

5.) Deusmast Villains

Oh, come on, you knew this was coming! Deustmast generals are the best in the series. There the ones that caused some people to come back and watch this series again, especially Orba! They’re threatening, they’re smarter and they have great designs! 

Fun fact is not only are these guys really cool but also may have from different beliefs, including from witches. Not only can they presumably be based on the horned king of Wiccan and possibly (though more obvious) the Muslim belief of Jin/genies, but also the belief that help create Halloween. In ancient times before people started really getting into religious beliefs, people turned to witches to help  fight off monsters and demons that were said to appear mostly during Halloween. The witches would dress kids up in costumes, to confuse the monsters into thinking the kids are one of their own demon brethren. They would also use spells and incantations to fight them off.

I heard they were too scary for kids. Too scary my butt! DysDark villains were far from “cute” and went all out dastardly at times! If Precure starts getting lame villains because of that notion, it will be forever before we have a good series like Go! Princess! Threatening villains help create intensity, making you feel there’s more at stake for our heroes!

Either way, the Deusmast generals were certainly a lot better than the Idiot Trio. No, I refuse to call them “Dark Magicians”. That’s an insult to Dark Magician from Yugioh and I refuse to stoop that level!

Plus, come on. Orba is like the hottest character to come out of a magical girl series! He’s a package! He’s a book worm, he’s a hot without his glasses and when he powers up, he’s a hunk! It’s like 3 hot dudes in one! Who knew you could get such in a show aimed at kids! Plus, it’s said he’s based on the one wing angel and fallen angels. I believe that because he certainly looks like one. I always said his face is angelic and it is!

So, yeah, there’s a bit to like and appreciate from this series. Some people may disagree and if you’re one of them that’s fine. I can understand it. I’m a big fan of anything witch related as you can probably tell, so I’m usually forgiving. The only witch series I don’t like is The Familiar of Zero, mainly because I hated the main character and to some extend Doremi. I do like the idea of musical witches and they did convey what childhood is like real well, but the characters were annoying to me and again, I just didn’t like how the witches are represented in that series. 

So, I do like Mahou Tsukai a bit actually. In fact, it’s become my second favorite series. I like it not as a good series but as a guilty pleasure. I appreciate what it was trying to do, quite a few characters are likable, just a bit under developed and the ideas put in it, is pretty interesting. Sadly, I have to judge this as a whole so I’m gonna have to rate it a bit low.

I give Mahou Tsukai Precure 4 and a half stars out of 10. My recommendation is for anyone that can enjoy a series that’s cute, with some nice ideas thrown in there and don’t mind that the plot can be a bit messy. Put it short, if you like cute guilty pleasures, you’ll like this fine. Some of the bad moments can be laughable especially some of the dialog. Just whatever you do, don’t watch episode 50. It’s pointless and this is coming from a fan. I rather like to believe that episode just didn’t exist.

If you’re looking for a series that is intense with a good story line, you’re better off skipping this whole series, but I do recommend it more than Doki Doki or Happiness Charge. At least it tries to stand out with some interesting characters and ideas. Those two series are just horrible and the only good idea of Happiness Charge was different precure from other countries. 

**** /

Level: “It’s okay.”