#the Rudolph doll is a real thing that I bought

[therosebunpost]

Rudolph The Red Nose Demon

Apparently, you and Eddie are regulars at this thrift store.

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CW: Reader has the nickname Bunny, but otherwise is un-named. This is from Steve’s POV, and there is mention of demonic singing reindeer. Reader uses Fem pronouns, is mute, has a distinct fashion style, but otherwise is as inclusive as possible!

————

Apparently, you and Eddie are regulars at this thrift store. You two come in nearly every week. Sometimes just to buy something you need, other times it’s like you two are on some kind of date.

Those days always make Steve’s heart hurt the most.

It’s just awful watching the two of you galavanting around, showing each other all the weird shit Hawkins had to offer. It’s not like either one of you are disruptive, well you weren’t, but it just made him sick watching how sweet you both were to each other. How you just relished in the strange.

There was one time Steve was stuck watching Eddie come up behind you, holding a stuffed animal version of that claymation reindeer he’s seen during Christmas. With a flourish, Eddie presses the button on the toy and the most demonic version of Rudolph The Red Nosed Reindeer plays. All garbled, and tinny. The ending notes make him think of those music boxes in horror movies.

You love it. Your smile lights up the entire store and Steve is blindsided by it. You play the toy for him when you come up to check out, and Steve can’t help the smile on his lips. Still fucked up, but…maybe it was kind of cute. Maybe you both were kind of cute.

It wasn’t just you Steve was watching, though. He found himself paying more attention to Eddie as well. At the way the metalhead treated you with such love and tenderness. At the way he grinned when he found something he liked, or something you’d like. While you were a technicolor oddity, from your clothes to the little notepads you carried with you, Eddie was your achromatic counterpart. His clothes may not have been the most colorful, but he glimmered silver and sometimes the jingle of his chains reminded Steve of bells.

“Steve, are you gonna help me put these hangers away, or are you just going to moon over Munson and his girlfriend?”

"Im not- Im not mooning." Steve huffs, turning towards her and grabbing the pile of hangers from the register beside him. "They just draw attention, hard not to stare."

"Well yeah, I mean Munson's girlfriend is gorgeous but we have work to do.” Robin shot back, jabbing him in the arm with a hanger. “Cari is coming in soon, so you want to start putting away those hard lines with me? Maybe you’ll run into them.”

Grabbing a few board games and craft supplies, Steve cautiously moved through the isles. He got stopped a few times, people wanting to find certain items or asking what the sale was for that day.

“Harrington!”

Jumping at Eddie’s yell, Steve swung around and nearly dropped the items in his arms. You approached him, gesturing with your hand before messily scribbling in your notepad. It was macaroni themed, and it matched the macaroni and the pasta noodle necklace combo you had wrapped around your wrists and throat.

‘Sorry to scare you!’

Steve shook his head, and placed the stack on the shelf. “It’s alright, what’s up? Looking for more macaroni?” He jokes, which brings a smile to your lips and your shoulders shake a little with what he hopes is laughter.

“Close. We’re actually hoping to snatch that box of dice and wooden beads from you.” Eddie says, reaching over and grabbing the two items. “Hey, do you guys ever sell those tiny screw-in pins?”

Steve starts putting the rest of the games away, “Maybe? I’d check the hardware section. What are they for?” Briefly he wondered if it was for that game Dustin raved about. “Are you like, using the beads as rocks to throw at people in your game?” He turns to look over at them, momentarily taken aback by the surprise in Eddie’s eyes. The metalhead is quick to recover, tossing the packet in the air and catching it on the other side of Steve.

“Thanks for the idea Sunshine, but nah. My sweetheart’s got the great idea to make another dice belt. This time fruit themed.” The nickname flusters you, and Steve’s heart flutters at the sight of your bashful smile. “So, you make all the things you wear?”

For a moment Steve is bold. He reaches out, his fingers gently nudging your macaroni earrings. The clack they make is loud in the bustling store. You look up at him, eyes wide. For a moment Steve thinks he’s just blown it all, but your written words soothe him.

‘We do! Do you want to join us sometime?’ The hope in your eyes wares at his uncertainty. Steve bites the inside of his cheek, the slow bloom of a migraine rising in his skull. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to, he did, but well…

“I don’t know, I don’t think I’m all that good at that kind of stuff? I mean, I haven’t done any art classes since elementary school…” Surrounded by smart, creative people really highlighted how much of that Steve lacked in that department. Hell, he didn’t even make his bat. It was Jonathan’s first that he just adopted.

You and Eddie are quick to disagree though. “Steve, my stuff looked like shit when I first made it. The first thing that I liked was this.” Eddie reaches into his shirt to pull out a guitar pick on a chain. “And well, now look at me.” He makes a dramatic turn around for Steve, showing off the things he’s made. He even shoves off his vest, only hesitating for a moment before tossing it to Steve. “See how fucked the stitching is over there?” He points to the edge of his Dio back patch. “I was high as a kite, nearly jabbed my fingers off, but it worked. It’s on there.”

Steve let his fingers run along the edge of the denim. “….Is that…floss?” He blinked, poking at the thick, white thread holding one of the patches together. He looked up at Eddie, who snorted. “Yeah. The thread I was using kinda sucked, so this one,” he made a proud gesture towards you, “suggested we could try some floss. That shit is strong.”

You hold up your notepad, grinning. ‘I got the idea from a friend of mine who’s into Punk stuff. She showed me how she put patches on her bag with it.’

Steve hummed, and handed the jacket back over to Eddie. “I wouldn’t even know what to make. I’d just be sitting there. Besides, I might make it and then never wear it."

'You don't need to wear it,' you scribble with determination, 'it's just for fun, you know? Something for us to do! We really want to hang out with you, Steve. :)'

Steve liked the way you wrote his name. The curve of your writing, the smiley face right next to it. Eddie chuckles next to him, and Steve's cheeks burn with heat.

"Maybe you can invite Buckley too? Think she might be interested?"

"Interested in what, Munson? In knowing why your holding up my co-worker when he's supposed to be helping me? Yeah, I'd say so."

The three of you jump at Robin's words. You end up laughing again, turning towards her and scribbling into your book. Robin breaks out in a smile. "Yeah, I'd love too! Did you manage to convince Steve?"

You pout, shaking your head and looking over at him with big, soulful eyes. He makes a show of hiding himself behind a hand. "Oh thats not fair-"

"She does it to me too, dude. It's a weapon." Eddie chimes in and you make a shooing motion at him, which only prompts him to catch your hand and kiss the back of it. A goofy grin on his lips. "Didn't mean to upset you, m'lady~"

Robin groans and Steve suppresses his yearning.

————

Taglist: @ali-r3n

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[lcnelyghost]

romantic touches//the ahs boys

pairings; fem reader with tate langdon, kit walker, kyle spencer, jimmy darling, james patrick march, tristan duffy, dandy mott, rudolph valentino, and michael langdon.

ratings; pg?? i think? maybe pg13

warnings; FLLLLLLUUUUUUUUFFFFFFFFF, (potential harsh language)

summary; my thoughts on what little romantic things you do in you’re relationship with the ahs boys!!

tate langdon;

• Total cuddle bug even when you don’t expect it

• Neck kisses, neck kisses, NECK KISSES

• Likes it when you fully pay attention to him randomly doodling in an old notebook

• He adores it when you start playing with his hair whilst he’s asleep :)

kit walker;

• Cracks thousands of dad jokes on purpose just to see you painfully laugh at them

• His heart melts when you snuggle into his chest

• He’ll always show you off to his friends and make sure they don’t make you uncomfortable, etc

• When the two of you get all dolled up for going out someplace nice, you literally have to try everything to get him to pay attention to something else that isn’t part of you’re looks. (HE LOVES WHEN YOU DRESS FANCY FOR HIM😭)

kyle spencer;

• Hugs from behind, all the time

• Constantly makes sure you have more covers whilst you’re both in bed. Though if you’re cold, he’ll wrap himself around you to try and warm you up

• If you’re not busy during the day, he begs you to sit and watch TV together. He’ll throw in some snacks too

• You laugh at how super giggly he is when he’s tired. It’s almost as though he’s extremely drunk but certainly not in a bad way!

jimmy darling;

• Pls, this man is such a sweetheart to you

• Does NOT take anyone’s shit if they start on you for no reason. Smh

• You’re not feeling well? Don’t worry, Jimmy’s you’re personal nurse for the day. That time of the month? Hey, Jimmy gets it. Whatever you want, he’ll make sure you receive it in no time at all. If you need space, he’ll give you it <3

• He just loves doing the goofiest things to make you laugh. Whether it be impressions or ‘accidentally’ doing something embarrassing, he never fails to get a giggle out of you

james patrick march;

• Hell, this is gonna sound real far from the truth, but this mf is such a softie

• He knows you can’t really sleep well and tend to wake up during the early hours of the morning, so he’ll usually try his best to relax you by rubbing small circles on you’re back or telling you how much he cares for you

• James always tries to understand the modern world just for you. You’ve even caught him slowly dancing around the room with a pair of AirPods in

• If you choose to attend Devil’s Night, he makes sure no one invades you’re personal space and if anything dares to choose the wrong move, the whole night is immediately over

tristan duffy;

• He doesn’t know what it is exactly, but he loves just staring into you’re eyes without breaking eye contact at all

• Thoroughly enjoys the nights you guys get wasted and come back to the Cortez, hand in hand whilst laughing you’re asses off

• Tristan is extremely protective of you. If anyone even looked at you the wrong way, he doesn’t hesitate to turn it into a full blown fist fight. Sometimes, even worse..

• Whenever you gently massage it shoulders, it soothes him so much that the next time you take a good look at him, he’s sound asleep and snoring his little head off

dandy mott;

• Takes you round to every expensive shop in town, buying you tons and TONS of things until half of it is just unnecessary items

• Always asks if you can sit up on his bed late at night, quietly talking and stuffing you’re faces full of candy he raided from the kitchen

• Thinks of you as his little doll at times. Doing every small move around you extra carefully in fear of ‘breaking you’

• He demands to be the little spoon. ALWAYS, the little spoon

rudolph valentino;

• We all know this man is forever going to be romantic, so much so to the point it’s just fucking unreal

• Mf please, Rudy has bought you the finest shit in town by now. Everything you appear to like, he gets you. Lucky girl, hm?

• As much as he’s admired, most women think of him as a charming young man yet still a player. But really, he’s not. He’s the sweetest a person could ever truly be and you’re flattered with every kind word he says to you

• Every kiss he gives you is meaningful. It’s always full of that passion and fire you’ve longed for in a man

michael langdon;

• NAH WHEN I SPOKE ABOUT JIMMY, TRISTAN AND JAMES BEING PROTECTIVE, IT’S NOTHING COMPARED TO THE SORT OF PROTECTION YOU HAVE WITH MICHAEL.. TRUST ME..

• Has a secret fascination with how perfect he thinks you’re features are. Beautiful lips, a lovely little nose, yk

• Much like Valentino, Michael gives the most passionate kisses to you. Every touch is a symbol of how much he truly loves you

• He enjoys it when you both tease one another. Even though you’re both fully in a relationship, that doesn’t stop him from trying to make you beg

[laikaworld]

The Stop-Motion Animation Studio With a Cult Following

Travis Knight, CEO of Laika, is breathing new life into an under appreciated art form

Travis Knight is sitting in the back of Laika Experience, an exhibition at Comic-Con in San Diego, next to an interior set from his film Kubo and the Two Strings, one of several film sets stationed around the room. Each setup looks effortless, but the reality of the hours and decisions that went into that tiny space is something only Knight and his team understand. In a way, you could say seeing the sets re-created is like returning to an alma mater campus. Memories. Sometimes too many. “I won’t say which one, but one shot on Kubo took two months to get the expression right,” says Knight, CEO and president of stop-motion animation studio Laika. “It’s ridiculous on some level.”

The first stop-motion film was made in 1898, but the technique was largely replaced by hand-drawn celluloid animation by the 1920s. Stop motion was deemed too time consuming: painstakingly animating clay or wooden puppets by hand, frame by frame, so that, played in succession, photographed frames mimic real action. “One of the things I wanted to do at Laika right from the start is take this medium that I’ve loved since I was a kid and bring it into a new era, dragging, kicking, screaming,” Knight says.

And guess what?! We get some new-ish info on film five!

“According to Knight, the fifth film (the name of which is still secret) is a major departure for the studio. For one, it has no characters who are children.”

Read the rest under the read-more below!

Knight, 44, grew up outside of Portland, Oregon, where he filled his time with illustration, music and the arts. He watched stop-motion animation flicks like Ray Harryhausen’s creature features and Rankin/Bass specials including the holiday staple Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer. In 1998, shortly after Knight graduated from Portland State University, his father, multibillionaire Nike co-founder Phil Knight, invested $5 million for a minority stake in an animation studio led by Will Vinton, who co-directed Closed Mondays, the first stop-motion short to win an Oscar for best animated short film. Vinton, who had opened the animation studio in Portland in 1975, was in financial trouble and in need of an investor. The younger Knight, coming off of a failed attempt to launch a rap career in New York and still passionate about animation, started an internship.

‘I wanted to take this medium...and bring it into a new era.’

At Will Vinton Studios, Knight rose to production assistant and then animator on the Emmy Award–winning stop-motion show The PJs, which was created by Eddie Murphy, Larry Wilmore and Steve Tompkins. He quickly became one of the studio’s standout animators. But by 2003, Vinton was still struggling, so Phil bought the company—he has said he was partly motivated to own Will Vinton Studios because if it failed, his son would likely leave for a studio in Los Angeles. He had spent most of his sons’ childhood away from home, a reality that was especially difficult when his older son, Matthew, died in 2004 at 34. In 2005, Phil and Travis launched Laika and began developing their first feature.

What links Laika’s films��Coraline (2009), ParaNorman (2012), The Boxtrolls (2014) and Kubo and the Two Strings (2016)—is their depth and complexity. Ben Kingsley, who voiced the villain Archibald Snatcher in The Boxtrolls, explains that the movies “include a dark side many other people in [Knight’s] field might outlaw.” Coraline, adapted from the children’s gothic novel by Neil Gaiman, follows a blue-haired girl who slips away from her inattentive parents into a twisted dream world. Kubo, a story in which Knight says he channeled emotion from his own experiences, is about a boy who seeks his deceased father’s armor to protect him from his unfeeling specter grandfather and aunts. In both films, family members vie for control over the main characters’ sight and identity.

Gaiman met Travis years before he became CEO, when Gaiman and Henry Selick, director of the 1993 film The Nightmare Before Christmas, were already working on the screenplay for Coraline. Shortly after the film’s release in 2009, Travis was promoted to president and CEO. “It was terrific watching a relatively reclusive animator step up,” Gaiman says. Animators work mostly alone. Once a director has briefed them on a shot, they work solo with the puppets and sets. There are 24 frames in a single second of film, and each puppet is meticulously posed and made to stand, often with a rig that is later removed from the picture using CGI. An animator will finish around four seconds of film per week. If a character takes a couple of steps, it’s a good day.

After years spent tending to the micromovements of puppets, Travis grew into his role as CEO, then director, and has now branched out. This summer, he began filming his first live-action feature, Bumblebee, a Transformers prequel backed by Steven Spielberg. But his accomplishments with Laika are still his greatest achievement. Each of the studio’s four films has been produced with the same budget, about $60 million, a fraction of the cost of CGI projects from studios like Pixar and DreamWorks. If his father’s Nike empire was built on products for speed and momentum (“Just Do It”), Knight has dedicated his life to stopping motion, breathing life into pauses and stillness (just barely move it). Yet, working as a businessperson and artist, Knight often calls on his father for wisdom. “Personally, one of the most rewarding things has been how I’ve been able to understand and connect more deeply with my father,” he says.

All four of the studio’s films have been nominated for an Academy Award for animated feature film, and in 2016, the studio won a scientific and technical Oscar for its innovation in rapid prototyping, or 3-D printing, in animation. Each puppet is designed so that the facial expressions can be switched, with thousands of eyeless masks that can pop on and off the puppet’s steel armature. Although this technique, known as replacement animation, has been used for a century, Laika’s integration of modern technology has given its characters unprecedented depth. In The Nightmare Before Christmas, the moon-headed Jack Skellington wore 800 hand-sculpted faces. For Coraline, the title character had 6,333 printed and painted faces. Kubo had even more (23,187).

But despite all of Laika’s accolades, none of the films’ characters have been mass-marketed—meaning none have ever appeared on bedsheets or sippy cups. The studio launched its first Instagram page only a week before the exhibition at Comic-Con in July. “At some point you step back and realize we’re doing the company a disservice by not exploring these opportunities,” Knight says. In 2016, Laika hired Brad Wald as CFO (he had commercialized Downton Abbey for NBCUniversal in London). Knight wanted to expand the studio’s brand and produce a film each year, along with apparel, dolls and life-size foam figures. For the fifth Laika feature, which will wrap filming around March 2018 and will be released by 2019, the plans for merchandise are already underway.

According to Knight, the fifth film (the name of which is still secret) is a major departure for the studio. For one, it has no characters who are children. The collective vision of the films will be on full view at a Laika retrospective, Animating Life: The Art, Science, and Wonder of LAIKA, that will run at the Portland Art Museum beginning this month. When you see a tiny puppet with bits of human hair dipped in silicone and remember how they blew across the character’s face in a snow gust, you can’t help but marvel at the fact that each strand had to be lifted by hand to create that swirl. “The only life [a character] has on-screen is the life that the artists bring to it,” Knight says. “I just think that’s movie magic in its finest form.”

[oldnintendonerd]

Pickup Post #11 - Slim Pickins

It is officially that time of year. Off season.

Ugh.

Locked in to nothing but thrifting to find anything. Not necessarily a bad thing, the browsing can be done in a nice heated store, you’re out of the weather. But it does come with it’s limitations, you are sure to never come away with any real amazing deals. The chances of finding that giant box of goodies that says “$10 - Whole box” on it is zero, because it’s a retail location. You find a stack of 10 games you want, you are paying $2.99 times 10 plus tax. Granted the odds of finding a stack that big at one time that you like is also pretty close to nil. But, you can still find some stuff at thrift stores if you happen in at the right time.

Let’s get to it.

The first thing I ran across since the end of the last pickup post was, incredibly, a Dreamcast game. Unfortunately it was not complete, I’ll get that out of the way right now. The manual was not inside. Also missing was the second disc, which, fortunately is only a bonus soundtrack disc, it is not part of the game. At least that means the only game disc is there and it can be played in its entirety.

Grandia II - Found 2017.12.28 at Goodwill

It wasn’t even with the video games, or even with the CDs, it was tossed on the shelf over with the misc electronics. Typically where you’d see a console, or controllers or something. Unfortunately no console or controllers, but this is not a bad find. After grabbing this, I went back to the CD section and combed through it more carefully, just in case there were more that actually did make it into the CD section, and I did find two more games. But they were crappy sports titles that weren’t even worth a few bucks. I can’t stand most sports titles, so I left them. I was buying some CDs that day and had this in a stack of music. She counted down the stack, saw this as a double disc CD and charged me $0.99. Not a bad deal since it wasn’t complete. A buck though? I’ll take it. Great start.

Moving on.

Sealed Wii Fit Plus - Found 2017.12.29 at Goodwill

Sealed games are ALMOST always a good bet, especially if you find them at a Goodwill. This one seemed to be no different. Paid $3.21, and Pricecharting has new priced in at $19.97. More than six times the value. I honestly almost didn’t even check it figuring it would have to be nearly worthless. I mean, it’s WII FIT. Wii Fit. I recently sold a complete in box Wii Fit, with the board (very clean) and a mint copy of the game for $2. The person even had to think about it for a second too. So it is insanely hard to get rid of these in this area. I mean look at the shelf of another Goodwill.

Just thrown around like they are old bathroom scales (hah!). Those have been there for weeks. At $3.99 they don’t move. Apparently the Plus version is a little more valuable though. I’ll take it, it’s hunting money fodder there. Nothing special.

I did run across this guy the same day.

You can even see the Wii Fit Plus box where I set it down to snap a pic of the doll. Did a quick search on my phone, didn’t turn up anything spectacular, there was one on eBay that wasn’t selling, priced at $35 that had the sword and shield. This one, no sword, no shield, and had some significant wear on it. I passed. I’m not one to have a lot of figurines in my collection either. I’m about the games.

Moving on once again.

The holidays came and went. On January 9th I went into the Goodwill that is usually the most lucrative.

From afar I saw a nice stack of Wii games that were not there the last time I was in. Like 18 games. I got excited and hurried over to the shelf.

I was immediately let down.

I posted this on Instagram that day too. Terrible titles. All schlock. I couldn’t believe it. Either they had come in early that day or the day before and had been plucked clean of all the AAA titles (AKA anything First party, Mario, Donkey Kong, etc), or AA titles (AKA third party quality from Sega or Square, that kind of thing), so all that was left was what is in that picture, or the parents just had little kids AND a budget. I mean come on, iCarly? Rudolph? Smurfs? On and on.  Cmon, buy ONE good title.

Tucked behind them all though...

Gran Turismo 3 A-Spec - Found 2018.01.09 at Goodwill

In very good shape, the reason I bought it was not just that, but it was also complete. I have a copy of this already but it is just the disc and the case, I did not have the manual. The most ideal situation here would have been if this case happened to be empty, they would have given me the case and manual for free. Honestly, I could have taken the disc out, left it in the store, and gotten a free case, but I’m not like that. If I were I could have a crap load of free games. Take the discs out and either pocket them, or put them into other cases and double up the discs. Pay for half the games you buy, walk out of the store with the other half “free cases” and then pop the games back in once outside. They don’t ever check the cases I am buying. But again, I’m not like that. It’s charity, and $3 for a game, especially when you can get them in very good shape like this, is really a good price. Had I bought this game on eBay, a quick search turns up a recently sold copy for $5.97, complete, tested, and shipped. They don’t show the disc so you don’t even know if it would be as nice as the one I got, you just know it should work. I’d rather the hunt, and ultimately, the better price.

Anyway, back to my copy of the game. My current, incomplete copy disc is maybe a B, and this disc is an A-, much better condition. The other copy can be bundled or traded at a later time. Some people don’t care about the manuals. Me, for some reason, I just love handling a copy of a game, and it having that weight of being complete.

Call me weird. Moving on.  

Went back a couple days later on the 11th. Found the stack of schlock Wii games drastically reduced in size. Someone else must have had some little kids that could be into those types of games. Who knows. Maybe three remained from the 18. There were a couple added Wii games, including this next one.

I’d actually already found this one at another Goodwill in very mint condition, so I didn’t need a copy, but figured since this one was sealed, I might as well snag it. Sealed usually fetches anywhere from double, on up to quintuple or more of the normal CIB price. 

Sealed Wii Play - Found 2018.01.11 at Goodwill

I was right, couldn’t pass up a sealed copy. Pricecharting has it at $5.25 CIB, and $15.99 sealed at time of writing. So about triple price of CIB, and almost exactly quintuple what I paid, of $3.21. Not as good as the payback on Wii Fit Plus, but I’ll take it.

On top of Wii Play, there were several PS2 games that were not there before. Which was exciting at first. But that was quickly dashed when I realized what I was looking at. Probably the tail end of a lot that was brought in the day before, and been picked over already. A lot of the games were even OK (i.e. not Madden games, or other sports schlock), but were left because they were scratched. I mean looks like someone used them for a hockey puck on a sand paper rink scratched. Horrible. There were two Dragonball Z games, and couple others I don’t remember (I will try to start snapping more pics while I’m hunting), but do recall thinking “damn, why do they have to be so scratched!?” Because I probably would have picked them up otherwise.

You really do have to hit these stores daily so as not to miss anything. I just don’t have the time to do that.

I managed to find a copy of Star Wars Battlefront among what was left that was not too scratched, and was fairly confident that my PS2 would be able to play it.

Star Wars Battlefront - Found 2018.01.11 at Goodwill

I’m not a huge fan of the Star Wars franchise in general, but these are pretty well known, and well liked games, for $3, and black label, I figured why not add it to the collection. Case and manual were at least in good shape, and the disc... I’d give it a C+. It does play in my fat SCPH 39001. Also installed to the HDD just fine. So... Winning.

I do have SWBF II in the collection as well, but it isn’t complete, so it is hovering in the void between “in the collection” and “available for bundles or trade”. As I mentioned before, I really only like to have complete games in my disc based games collection, hence why I decided to buy a whole other copy for GT3, just to complete it. Cart based is a little bit too tall of an order to want complete games. The budget just doesn’t allow for it. If I happen to stumble across a decent priced copy of Super Metroid, or Link to the Past complete, and its in nice shape, I’d get it to display. But I’m not seeking them out, its just too much.

Anyway, that’s it for this round. Nothing stellar, but not complete crap either. Which is honestly what I thought these months would bring.

Hopefully get some hunting money back in the bank once I list a couple of these items along with a couple others I have that need to be sold.

Official business. We had $96.09 after I sold the PS2 at the end of the last post. The first find was Grandia II, that was $1.06 after tax taking the total to $95.03. Then Wii Fit Plus takes us down another $3.21 totaling $91.82. After that I picked up GT3 for another $3.21, takes us to $88.61. The sealed Wii Play and Star Wars Battlefront purchase came to another $6.42, which puts the total at still a respectable $82.19.

$82.19 game hunting money remaining.

2018.02.06

[stacks-reviews]

New Releases 8/29/17

Happy New Release Day!

This is the big one folks. The one we’ve all been waiting and training for.

The Lion King, The Lion King II: Simba’s Pride, and The Lion King 1 1/2 is finally freed from on the vault. I missed picking it up the first time it came out on DVD/Blu-Ray but I am not missing out this time. Unfortunately for our wallets, all three will have to be bought separately. Which is mildly frustrating since Pocahontas, Lilo and Stitch, Mulan, and The Fox and the Hound were all released with their sequels in a combo pack earlier this year. For the same price as what one of these alone will be. Yet I can’t blame Disney for wanting to cash in while they can though they really don’t need to. I’ll definitely be getting the first two later today. I’ve never seen the third and I don’t particularly care to.

In Books --A Song for Quiet (Persons Non Grata #2) by Cassandra Khaw “Deacon James is a wandering bluesman straight from Georgia, a black man with troubles that he can’t escape, and music that won’t let him go. On a train to Arkham, he meets trouble - visions of nightmares, gaping mouths and gasping tendrils, and a madman who calls himself John Persons. According to the stranger, Deacon is carrying a seed in his head, a thing that will destroy the world if he lets it hatch. The mad ravings chase Deacon to his next gig. His saxophone doesn’t call up his audience from their seats, it calls up monstrosities from across dimensions. As Deacon flees, chased by horrors and cultists, he stumbles upon a runaway girl, who is trying to escape her father, and the destiny he has waiting for her. Like Deacon, she carries something deep inside her, something twisted and dangerous. Together, they seek to leave Arkham, only to find the Thousand Young lurking in the woods. The song in Deacon’s head is growing stronger, and soon he won’t be able to ignore it any more.”

I have not read the first book (Hammers on Bone) in this series yet but I don’t think you will necessarily need to in order to read this one. John Persons was the main character in book one but it looks like he’ll be taking a back seat in book two. It was actually this book that made me interested in this series. I love it when music is a form of magic.

--Akashic Records of Bastard Magical Instructor Volume 1 by Tarou Hitsuji and illustrated by Aosa Tsunemi “Lumia and Sisti are mages-in-training at a prestigious magical academy where they hope to be taught by the best of the best. However, when their favorite instructor suddenly retires, his replacement turns out to be a total jerk - he’s idle, incompetent, and always late! Can Lumia help uncover their new teacher’s true potential - and can Sisti still learn magic and unravel the secrets of the mysterious Sky Castle with such a terrible mentor as her guide?”

I watched the anime of this series on Crunchyroll, though I still need to finish the last episode or two. If you ever decide to try it out, give it two episodes. It does a complete mood change near the end of episode two and from the there the show really starts getting good. The volume showed up a little early at my work so I flipped through it at the end of my shift. The end of episode two is where the volume ends. Or maybe it was a little into episode three? 

There is some mild fan-service in this series. And the new teacher is a perv. But other than that I really enjoyed the show and I’m excited to read the manga.

--Kigurumi Guardians Volume 1 by Lily Hoshino “Hakka Sasakura’s life it about to turn upside-down. She comes home from a day of admiring her student body president to discover that a mysterious creature resembling a man in an animal suit has taken up residence in her home. What’s more, she has been chosen to work with this strange being to fight off invaders from another dimension and save the world...and she has to kiss him to do so?!”

Really drawn to this series because of the art style. Which this series is written and illustrated by the artist of Penguin Drum. Which then makes me think of Utena and Yurikuma Arashi. The first chapter is available to read on Kodansha’s website. It covers how Hakka and two other students (one girl and one boy (yay more magical boys!)) are recruited and become involved in a short fight with one of the weaker dimensional beings. Though none of them fight in the first chapter, it was set up for them to see that such beings are indeed real and threatening their world.

In Movies --A Journey Through Fairyland “Michael is a gifted oboe player, but his heart’s not in it. He ignores his musical studies to lose himself in the garden, playing for the benefit of his beloved flowers. Michael’s frustrated teacher gives him an ultimatum: Be serious, or leave the music school forever! Despondent, Michael prepares to say goodbye to the garden. But the floral fairy Florence, so bewitched by his music, bestows a powerful magic wand on Michael, and whisks him away. Will Michael’s astonishing adventure with Florence in Fairyland help him rediscover his love of music?”

Really want to see this. It was directed by Masami Hata who also directed Little Nemo Adventures in Storyland and The Sea Prince and the Fire Child. Which I have also never seen. But all three just look amazing. Especially Little Nemo.

--Marmalade Boy Collection 1 “Miki Koishikawa’s parents have always been strange. While deeply caring for their daughter, they’re prone to wasteful spending, oversleeping, and even taking extravagant trips. And their latest trip to Hawaii has brought back something truly outrageous: love. Not for each other, but for a different couple entirely! With her parents planning to divorce and swap partners with the Matsuuras, Miki’s life is turned upside down with a new, highly abnormal family all living together in one house. To top it off, Matsuuras have a son named Yuu exactly Miki’s age, and he’s too gorgeous for words. For better or worse, this is Miki’s life now, but adjusting won’t be easy when jealous rivals and old flames enter the mix!

Collection 1 includes episodes 1-38 of this classic shoujo series. I have never seen this series but two of my friends are very excited for this re-release. At first I thought this would be a more drama shoujo series but after a second thought I realized that it is more of a romantic comedy. After all, with both families under the same roof but staying with the others spouse there is sure to be a lot of funny, awkward situations.

--The Nutcracker Fantasy “After a young girl, Clara, receives a nutcracker from her enigmatic Uncle Drosselmayer, she finds that her precious present is stolen by thieving rats led by Mauslynx, the double-headed rat queen. To win it back, Clara enters a surreal land through her family’s grandfather clock. One of her stops is the Kingdom of Dolls, where she finds the king grieving over his cursed, eternally-asleep daughter, Princess Mary, a doppelganger for Clara herself. She and Franz, the captain of the guards and Mary’s suitor, infiltrate the army of rats in a desperate attempt to dethrone the despot!”

A stop-motion film from 1979 made with dolls. It reminds me of the classic Christmas films of Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer, The Year Without Santa Claus, and so on. Which I watch every year so this title would be a nice addition to add to my yearly movies. Also, film wise, it looks very impressive. I looked up a trailer on YouTube and it has some pretty great camerawork that I don’t think I’ve seen in other stop-motion films of that era.

Those are my top picks for this week. Other great titles are also coming out today like Gotham S3 and Ushio and Tora (the new series). What is everyone most excited for?