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fostersffff · 3 years

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Finished Season 4 of Castlevania: the Netflix, and thus the whole series! And I’ve got a lot to say!

Here’s the biggest observation for this season: I get the impression that they didn’t originally plan for this to be the final season. It feels like, at the start of Season 3 they believed they were going to have two more seasons, and then maybe by the time they started wrapping that up they were told they’ve been cut down to just one more, so they had to speed of the pace of Season 4 dramatically to make sure they could still hit the ending. I have no actual evidence to support this- I haven’t read any interviews or official comments to that effect- just a gut feeling based on aspects of the plot:

Biggest support of this is how quickly Saint Germaine is just like “ok I’m evil now”. He immediately submits to the random woman who tells him he’s gotta be evil to find his lady love, there’s one scene of him murdering a guy, and then he’s all-in on being a villain, complete with “I AM A GOD WHO FUCKS” monologuing.

In addition to Saint Germaine’s heel turn feeling half-baked, the Dracula’s resurrection plot in general really doesn’t feel all that important until the finale. Varney is a comic relief character, which in hindsight was completely intentional, but Ratko and Draken are just huge fighter dudes who weren’t involved with Dracula’s court during Season 2, but are very into bringing him back for reasons that are never clearly explained besides the assumed “it’s Dracula so we gotta”. Additionally, the way major characters like Hector and especially Isaac treat the resurrection plot don’t help, although it makes perfect sense that they both do what they do.

The things that happen in Targoviste, and the way they happen, also contribute, especially because there’s no satisfactory resolution to it. Trevor and Sypha start to help the people organize and rebuild, and then get whisked away to the Underground Court. They barely have time to react to the fucked up shit going on down there before they teleport to the castle to kick off the finale. More time to let hostilities between them and Zamfir bubble up before the reveal of the Underground Court, along with a more satisfying build-up to Trevor collecting the components of the Super Holy Dagger would have been good.

Season 3 ends with Alucard in Hector in very bad places: Alucard has just been betrayed by the twins vampire hunters, which has brought out a misanthropic streak, including him leaving them on pikes, and Hector has once again been duped into an even deeper submission than he was in as Carmilla’s prisoner at the end of Season 2. Trevor and Sypha’s vignettes establish that roughly a month and a half have passed, which was apparently enough time for Alucard to basically get over his trust issues, enough to help the villagers, and Hector to not only cope with the reality of his situation but also finally develop into a character on par with every other major character in terms of competence.

Carmilla and Isaac’s stories didn’t feel rushed like everything else I’ve mentioned, but following the train of thought that there was originally going to be more episodes, both of them could’ve stood to have more time and events to get to their final forms.

So, Death: I don’t know how I feel about Death as portrayed in this series. On the one hand, this interpretation technically not being Dracula’s right hand as he is in the games, and instead being an independent actor that stands to benefit from Dracula’s rampage and thus serves the same capacity as a right hand, is incredible. On the other, the fact that Death’s true personality is actually just Varney fucking blows. The design for Death is also not my favorite, because it reminds me just a bit too much of Castlevania Judgment, but Malcolm McDowell being the voice actor is really cool. In conclusion, Death is a land of contrasts.

On that note, “no it’s not Death Death, it’s an entity that calls itself Death that feeds on death and is an elemental spirit- or force of nature in other words- but is distinctly different from the personification of the concept of-” just fucking say “yeah for all intents and purposes it’s the Grim Reaper”. Coming up with a semantics explanation for why vampires get fucked up by crosses to explain the cross subweapon is fun, don’t undercut your final antagonist by trying to rationalize it into something less fantastical.

I already said that I liked the motivation behind Death, but also the execution of “I’m going to bring back Dracula wrong on purpose” and the way he accomplishes that is the best it’s ever been.

I thought Varney hopping over the stream of holy water was a fun cap on the argument about whether or not vampires can cross over running water from Season 2, but was in fact clever foreshadowing, since Death isn’t a vampire. Good stuff!

I think it’s just because I’ve been focusing a lot on animation quality over the last few months, but I noticed they started using 3D models a lot more this season. I imagine it was a matter of practicality considering that there are more action setpieces in this season than the other three combined. I think this is ultimately a good thing, because they do a very good job of masking the fact that they’re using 3D most of the time because it still looks very good, unlike some of Netflix’s other 3D action projects, and if it makes life easier for the animators without sacrificing quality then that’s a win for everyone.

Didn’t think much of it at first, but I’ve really come to appreciate the term “night creatures” as a catch-all for monsters in this series. It’s generic enough to encompass everything regardless of design difference, but more unique than just ‘monsters’ or ‘demons’.

I had heard someone make a joke about a character wearing Artorias Dark Souls’s armor for a scene because fuck you, but holy shit, Striga really does just wear Artorias Dark Souls’s armor for a scene because fuck you.

When Saint Germaine first shows up, his lines sound really low quality compared to Alucard and Greta, and then that issue goes away after that episode. I imagine that it was pandemic related, but clearly Bill Nighy was either able to get into a studio or eventually got a better home setup- couldn’t you just have him re-record those lines?

I’ve talked so much about how Carmilla’s design in this series is The Best™ because they masterfully adapted a single sprite with no animation from a 1987 video game into a fully realized design, and this frame in particular struck me as perfect. This is the best this character has ever looked and likely will ever look.

I love how optimistic and positive the tone of everyone’s ending is. Ranging from the unexpectedly beautiful and uplifting resolution to Isaac’s story, to the foundation of a town that fundamentally accomplishes what Lisa hoped for at the very beginning of the series, it’s all nice way to go out. Even Lenore choosing to commit suicide, while not necessarily optimistic or positive, is at least on her own terms.

Dracula and Lisa also having a happy ending is nice. It doesn’t really make any sense, and it makes me wonder what Richter’s call to action is going to be in the next series, but I think they were right to have the series end with the same two characters it opened with.

AYY SOMEONE THREW A WINE GLASS!!!

Unfortunately, I’d say Season 4 is the weakest of the series, but they did everything they could to make sure they provided an explosive finale and a solid ending. This was a damn good show and without a doubt the best thing to be associated with Castlevania in over a decade. Not that it had much competition there, but still!

As a final note on the nature of Castlevania as an adaptation: I can certainly understand why certain people don’t like this series. If you’re looking for Castlevania: The Video Game: The Animated Series, you’d walk away disappointed because of how many things were changed in adaptation, how much they were changed, and that so much is just made up from whole cloth. But an animated series isn’t a video game, and while an eight episode series where each episode is a different stage of non-stop fight scenes, complete with a big boss fight at the end sounds like it could be cool, if that’s what I really want I’d probably be better served just playing a game.

#Castlevania #Netflix Castlevania #anime #video games #long post

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dragon-snoots-a-boopin · 3 years

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There are quite a few anime based on video games that one can watch on Netflix. The first one I watched was Castlevania and that got so weird by the end of the second season that it scared me off. Then I watched Dragon’s Dogma which was really good but just too short. But, then we come to the focus of this post and that Dota: Dragon’s Blood.

Now, one of the things that I praised the Dragon’s Dogma anime for is that you didn’t have to know or have previously played the game to enjoy the anime because the anime tells you everything you need to know about the world and characters.

Dota: Dragon’s Blood does not do this and I kind of hate that it doesn’t do this. I was confused while watching all 8 episode of this. There’s this character that is a DragonKnight (which I assume is a class in DOTA 2???) that ends up turning into a dragon...which is cool but I don’t get why.

Then there’s this whole feud between these people that wear blue armor and what I assume are elves?? That one actually makes sense though because they show the blue armor people going and massacring the elves because the leader of the blue armor people thinks this is what their goddess wants but it’s really not even though their goddess chose the leader of the blue armor people because they’d do what had to be done.

It really doesn’t make sense to me at all why their goddess at one moment is like “I like you because you will do what needs to be done” and then when blue armor people leader does that, the goddess is like “I DIDN’T SAY TO COMMIT ATROCITIES!!!!” like make up your mind.

There was also a small romance between the DragonKnight and the girl that is actually the princess of the blue armor people but they don’t do much with it aside from the two kissing like three times in the entire anime.

Maybe if you like, play and know thing about DOTA and its universe, go ahead and watch this. If you are like me and know nothing about DOTA and its universe, then I’d suggest to skip it.

#anime #dota2 #dota dragon's blood #castlevania #dragon's dogma #netflix

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masternest · 3 years

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DOTA - Dragon’s Blood: New Show on Netflix

So, a new show has shown up in Netflix which is called DOTA: Dragon’s Blood. It’s an animated series that is based off a very popular video game called DOTA 2 Now me personally, I had only played DOTA 2 once or twice years ago. But back in my heyday, I had played a lot of DOTA the first game back when it was a modded game inside of Warcraft 3: Frozen Throne. I used to play the heck out of that game with my brothers and friends. DOTA stands for Defense of the Ancients and is called a MOBA game which stands for Multiplayer Online Battle Arena. In a MOBA, it typically involves two teams of five battling it out against each other in strategic fast paced combat where you need to think on your feet and be very tactical. When it comes to computer games, MOBA’s are still very popular and hold many leagues and tournaments where teams can win prize pools of money So this show in particular is based off that. Now personally, I know next to nothing about the lore of DOTA. So I started watching this a little bit blind with only my knowledge of the first DOTA to help me. And boy going into this show blind was better than I’d ever imagined. This show is really good! First off, the animation is great and it seems to be in the same style as other animated shows like Castlevania and Voltron. Could be from the same animator. But trust me when I say that the action scenes will keep you glued to your seats as they’re an absolute thrill The pacing of the story is also quite good I should say. They never bore you too much with the lore of things and the lore of this world seems to be so rich and vital to the story as well. But things never get too stale as the next scene could be loaded with action. I’m five episodes in and I’m already heavily invested into the story. I don’t want to give too much information to you about what exactly you’ll find in the show as I personally think that going into this thing as blind as possible is the best way to truly enjoy what this show has to offer So I’ll try to inform you as little as I can without spoiling the major points of the show. The story itself follows a Dragon Knight whose purpose is to slay dragons. Slowly things start to unravel and the fate of the world seems to be in the balance as more characters get introduced into the story. I may write more into this story when I can as I think it’s absolutely amazing and I hope that you give it a shot and watch it. I’m sure you’ll enjoy it ^^

#dota #dota2 #dragon's blood #moba #netflix #show #animated

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glassvines · 4 years

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Thoughts on 2020 Favorites

Thoughts on all my favorites from 2020! Sadly, I witnessed what is most likely the demise of one of my favorite hobbies: going to the movies. I hope all my local theaters don’t close up for good this year, and I start going more regularly again in 2021 but. I don’t know if it’s ever going to be the same again. TV Shows 1. Battlestar Galactica (2004) - Getting into this one rather late, but I just discovered I can watch it for free on Peacock haha. Absolutely loving it. Been meaning to finish it ever since I watched the 2003 mini series a few years ago. Stylistically brilliant, and I love that the theological-laden dialogue appears to have a plot-driven point to it. 2. Evil (CBS) - I love this show! Hope it gets another season. It manages to pull off that fine line between silly and creepy most of the time, and all the actors come off as sincere. Also Michael Emerson is there which makes everything even better. Also, also a plus: I'm used to the media portraying Catholics in two different ways: lapsed or bigoted. Muslims? Devout and spiritual or terrorists. It's nice to see a series centered around a devot Catholic, a lapsed Catholic and an ex-Muslim who are all the good guys. Fantastic central characters dynamic. Animation 1. Hilda, season 2 - One of Netflix's best imo. The new season was gorgeous, and even got me to shed a tear at one point. I want to read the comic it's based on. 2. Infinity Train, seasons 2 + 3 - Excellent follow-ups to a great first season. Both were good seasons, but I really enjoyed s2 for Jesse and MT's instant chemistry. 3. Castlevania, season 3 - This show is going to end up breaking my heart but damn if it isn't a really fun watch. Fight scenes continued being top-notch in s3. 4. Bee and Puppycat, season 2 - Yeah, this isn't getting an offical Netflix release until 2022 (what the fuck), but I watched the leaked episodes and enjoyed them a lot. The show feels un-polished and the plot is surrealist nonsense, but those aspects of the show also make it creative and original. I'd like more seasons in the future, but given how disorganized to the point of incompetence the s2 release is, I'm not counting on getting anymore. I don't like seeing the popularity of this show squandered so it's a huge shame. 5. Amphibia, season 2 - Best Disney show airing right now. Characterizations and animation continued being great and I'm looking forward to s3. 6. Wolfwalkers - We all needed a beautiful Cartoon Saloon movie in 2020. It did not disappoint! Hope it has a bluray release soon so I can rewatch it somewhere other than Apple TV+ :/. 7. The Willoughbys - More Kris Pearn directed films please. This movie's character design style was so charming and cute. Loved the Ricky Gervais Cat Narrator. I watched this one with my family after having been separated from them for some time due to the lockdown. It was probably one of the happiest evenings of this year for me. 8. Soul - I enjoyed Onward quite a bit, but Soul hit me in that old-school Pixar feels way. A film about inspiration and finding purpose, so it had a message very similar to Ratatouille. Only Soul ponders on one's worth if they are "not doing what they're meant to do". This movie really knocked that message out of the park.

Video Games 1. Animal Crossing: New Horizons - I played this rather religiously. Definitely kept me from moping during those times when my work hours were cut. 2. Creaks - Amanita Design is offically one of my favorite indie game studios at this point. I adore the atmosphere and music in this game; it's one of the most chill puzzle games I've ever played. 3. Hylics - This game is so bizarre. I've never seen anything like it. Really want to play the sequel.

Films 1. Emma - May officially be my new favorite Emma adaptation. I loved everything about it. The stylized look to the cinematography, the costumes, the music, the actors. Everything. 2. Doctor Sleep - Was surprised at how much I enjoyed this one, as I completely missed it in the theaters. An excellent sequel to a classic, and a well-done good vs. evil story. 3. The Vast of Night - Fun little sci-fi/indie/1950s period piece. I hope streaming services start distributing more films like it. 4. Prospect - My dad recommended this one to me and we watched it together. I was blown away by the dedication to detail; how everything worked in this future setting. Pedro Pascal's character was constantly surprising me too. (Also see: very handsome.)

Podcasts This is only here so I can mention that my favorite new thing was 100% The Magnus Archives. I listened to a lot of new stuff in 2020, but it all paled in comparison to TMA. Good spooky times, great characters and character dynamics, interesting plot direction. The lore is so, so good; I'm impressed with how thorough it is with explaining the seemingly unexplainable, without fully taking away the air of mystery.

Honorable Mentions 1. The Mandalorian, season 2

Things I'm Looking Forward to in 2021 1. Hopefully we'll finally be getting that PacRim series?? 2. The French Dispatch 3. I just want to go the movies again sighhh

Some Creative & General Goals for 2021 I actually managed to do a proper job this year with the journaling and taking more photography! I've started serveral journals, as well as a digital one. So, at least I managed to keep up with one of my creative goals. Managed to have a fairly successful deck garden this year too. My sugar peas didn't die on me haha. Hope to expand on it more this spring/summer. Moving forward this year: 1. Continue to keep up with journaling: drawings, gardening, travel (fingers crossed) and tv/film commentary. 2. Seriously organize my photography this year, as well as post online more often. 3. Help my brother this year with some of his own creative projects! He's always asking for art and I'm usually too busy, but this year I want to get more serious and contribute to his projects. 4. Maybe get back to an old goal of learning how to play the guitar. I want to drop some cash on one this month so I can practice at home.

#New Year's #some comments #glassvines gets irl #animation

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keyofjetwolf · 5 years

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THE GIFTENING 2019: Jet Wolf’s Nomination Run-down

Last year, people said they would have liked to know which of the nominations I’d seen, or knew about, or liked, or didn’t like, etc. etc. I HEAR YOU. Under the cut, you’ll find all the nominees in every relevant category (anime, non-anime animated, live action, movies, games), and a couple of brief notes on my familiarity (or lack thereof) and general feelings on the thing.

YOU NEED NOT CONSIDER ANY OF THIS BEFORE MAKING YOUR VOTES

I’m putting the info out there for those who’ve wanted to know, but that information is relevant precisely as much as you want it to be. I can and will liveblog something I hate, I can play a game I’ve played twenty times before. THE GIFTENING is for you, and while I won’t lie (I won’t pretend to like something I don’t, I won’t feign surprise at a twist on my 21st playthrough), I’ll happily provide whatever entertainment in whatever way I can.

Also please note that if I don’t like something, that feeling comes with no value judgement. My disliking a thing reflects only on myself. So if you see I’m not a fan of something, or don’t think I’ll like it based on what I’ve seen or heard, please keep in mind there’s nothing personal toward in you at all in that. AND HELL I COULD BE WRONG FEEL FREE TO TRY AND SHOW ME

Anyway, enough with the blah blah. Join me under the cut if you care to know!

Anything marked only with ** means I haven’t seen/played it nor have any particular thoughts or opinions to share.

Anime

.hack//Sign **

A Place Further Than The Universe - Haven’t seen it, but from Dashboard Osmosis, was more interested in it than I have been a non-Sailor Moon anime in a long time.

Aggretsuko **

Aikatsu! **

Alien Nine **

Angel Sanctuary **

Aria the Animation **

Assassination Classroom **

Azumanga Daioh **

Bodacious Space Pirates - Saw through the first couple of episodes (liveblog here!) Not sure where it’s going, but liked it pretty well!

Bubblegum Crisis - An old personal favourite

Clannad **

Death Note - I think it’s about killing people with a slam book I DUNNO

Death Parade **

Diebuster **

Erased (Boku Dake Ga Inai Machi) **

Excel Saga **

Fate/Grand Order: Babylonia **

Fate/Grand Order: First Order **

Fire Force **

Free! Iwatobi Swim Club - I’ve watched the first series. It’s okay, WOULD BE BETTER IF NOT SO MANY DUDES

Fresh Precure - I’ve not seen any Precure series, but if pressed, would say it appears overwhelmingly fluffy and saccharine

Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood - a GIFTENING favourite! Barely into it, but enjoying so far. (previous liveblog here)

Fushigi Yuugi - I watched the series (quit partway through the OAVs) when I finished Sailor Moon back in the day and desperately wanted to find it again. I failed.

Gekkan Shoujo Nozaki-kun **

Given **

Glitter Force **

Grave of the Fireflies - NEVER SEEN IT HAVE BEEN INFORMED IT WILL DEVASTATE ME

Haibane Renmei - I know only what I’ve read via Holligay’s liveblogs! (find them here)

Hamtaro - uhm isn’t this about a hamster

Higurashi When They Cry **

Houseki no Kuni (Land of the Lustrous) **

Hugtto! Precure - See note on previous Precure

Hyouka **

Kaguya-sama: Love is War **

Kaleido Star **

Kemono Friends **

Kimetsu no Yaiba **

Little Witch Academia **

Log Horizon **

Love Hina **

Luck & Logic **

Madoka: Rebellion - I saw the Madoka series (fairly ambivalent to it), and heard the movie was terrible, but no clue why, specifically.

Magic Knight Rayearth - Watched this back in the day and haven’t watched a single second since. I REMEMBER LIKING THE BLUE ONE

Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha - Someone sponsored this liveblog for a while! (liveblog here) It was doing some really interesting things with kids burdened with all this world-saving shit, I thought.

Magical Girl Pretty Sammy (TV not OAV) - I know this is a Tenchi Muyo! spin-off (watched some Tenchi back in the day), but I’ve never seen it. Magical Girl Raising Project - Seen the whole series, and really quite enjoyed it.

March Comes in Like a Lion (3-gatsu no Lion) **

Megalobox **

Mirai Nikki (The Future Diary) **

Mob Psycho 100 - Never seen it, but know a bit about it through Dashboard Osmosis.

Mobile Suit Gundam (1979) - WOW WE’RE GOING BACK INTO THE OLDEN TIMES. I’ve seen bits and pieces of *A* Gundam, but no idea which.

Moribito **

My Bride is a Mermaid (Seto No Hanayome) **

My Roommate is a Cat - Never heard of it, love the title, want it to be a series mashed with the one above.

NANA

Natsume's Book of Friends - I’ve heard the title enough to have it ring a bell, but know nothing otherwise.

Neon Genesis Evangelion - I FUCKING HATE EVANGELION I SEE YOU HOLLIGAY

O Maidens in Your Savage Season - This is another banger title, never heard of it.

Ojamajo Doremi **

Pretear

Princess Principal

Princess Tutu - WE’RE OLD FRIENDS TUTU AND I. I’m currently liveblogging Princess Tutu on the regular thanks to Calantian! (liveblog here) I just got to the halfway point of episode 12, and have Tutu on the schedule for January as well. LOVING THIS SHOW.

Project A-Ko - Among my earliest of anime experiences. A classic. A weird, weird little classic.

Re:Creators **

Read or Die (OAV) **

Revolutionary Girl Utena - I’ve no doubt my time of fully diving into this anime is approaching, but thus far, I’ve only nibbled at the edges. I know there’s shit here, there are too many people into it. MOSTLY THOUGH I’M STILL CONFUSED ABOUT WHY THERE WAS A KANGAROO (previous liveblogs here)

Rose of Versailles - It’s a historical anime and I think there are lesbians?

Samurai Pizza Cats - I could have this wrong, but I think this is a dubbed anime that’s hilariously unconcerned about anything involving the actual translation and plot? And it’s about cats that deliver pizza? I think there’s a crow that’s the bad guy or something?

School-Live - I know the general premise and watched the first episode ahead of Doc’s Eight Days liveblog of it. What I know has intrigued me.

Serial Experiments Lain - I watched this waaaay back when. Bought it on DVD! Still have them! I cannot for the life of me remember how I felt about it.

Slayers - Another I watched a bit back when! Found it to be generally okay, but it was like twenty something years ago because I am an old.

Snow White with the Red Hair **

Suite Precure - See previous Precure notes

Sweetness and Lightning - I got this as a Wildcard a couple GIFTENINGs ago, and found it to be CHARMING AS FUCK. I’m still mildly concerned it’s going to go creepy and weird on me Because Anime, but otherwise, I had a great time. (previous liveblog)

The Promised Neverland **

Thunderbolt Fantasy **

Trigun - I think I saw this on commercials for Toonami? Vash the Demolished or something? I THINK IT’S ABOUT A DUDE WITH A GUN

Umineko When They Cry **

Violet Evergarden **

Yona of the Dawn - I did a tiny bit of this for a commission, but remember next to nothing about it. (previous liveblog)

Zombie Land Saga - I ASSUME IT INVOLVES ZOMBIES IN SOME FASHION

Non-Anime Animated

Adventure Time - Seen a lot of it pass my dash, I know there’s a yellow dog that can be things, and the vampire and the pink one are gay.

Anastasia - Just livestreamed the movie with Holligay for Eight Days! I’ve no particular feelings toward it otherwise.

Archer - I KNOW IT’S ADULT

Barbie: Life in the Dreamhouse - This has been nominated every single GIFTENING, I think, and while I’m no closer to knowing what this is actually about, the persistence is inspiring.

Bob's Burgers - Great show! Seen many episodes! I think it’ll be hard to liveblog in a meaningful way.

Bojack Horseman - I’ve seen through season three. EXCELLENT SHOW

Captain N - What the fuck I think I used to watch this on Saturday mornings

Carmen Sandiego (2019) **

Castlevania (2017) - I’ve seen a couple gifsets, that’s it.

Chuggingtons - WHY DO YOU PEOPLE HATE ME

Courage the Cowardly Dog - I know the premise, never watched the show.

Cyber Six **

Daria - It was a Beavis & Butthead spin-off and that immediately killed all interest for me.

Donkey Kong Country (TV series) **

Ducktales (2017) - I know a lot of people love them, but I have to say, I’m not a huge fan of the Disney ducks, generally speaking.

Epithet Erased **

Ever After High **

Gargoyles - Saw the first multi-part episode in a livestream a year or so back. It was pretty standard 90s cartoon stuff to me just from that, but I know it’s well-loved.

Generator Rex **

Gravity Falls - Currently liveblogging for the Patreon! LOVE IT. I’m not sure we’re outside the exclusivity window for it, but if it makes it into the second heat, I’ll figure out how to go from there.

Green Eggs and Ham (series) - Wait, what the hell, this is a series? HOW DO YOU MAKE THIS INTO A SERIES

Green Lantern: The Animated Series **

Harley Quinn - Loved the clips I saw of the first episode! Did not love the antisemitic clips I saw of the second episode!

Hazbin Hotel **

Hilda **

Home Movies - The few clips I’ve seen were hilarious.

Infinity Train **

JEM - MY LOVE. It’s desperately 80s and objectively poorly done in places and I adore it with my entire being.

Jonny Quest **

Kidd Video - I feel like I SHOULD know this, but I can’t place it.

Kim Possible - I’ve heard of it!

Klaus **

Mao Mao Heroes of Pure Heart **

Moominvalley (2019) - I know Moomins are those little white hippo things. I am pure confusion beyond that.

My Life as a Teenage Robot **

Over the Garden Wall - I did a couple episodes for my Patreon a few years ago, and have since finished watching the whole series. I’m up for a rewatch!

Rugrats - I know of it, but have only watched the Hanukkah special.

RWBY - Heard of it! I had the impression it was pretty queerbaity? (don’t quote me on that)

Samurai Jack - I know the premise, but never watched the series

She-Ra (80s) - YES I KNOW YOU

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018) - Love it, love it. I still haven’t seen the most recent “season” (it’s a half season don’t jerk me around Netflix)

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse - I am a long-time comic book nerd and quite familiar with the Spider-Mans. Saw the film shortly after last year’s GIFTENING and enjoyed it.

Star vs the Forces of Evil - Had a liveblog of this for THE GIFTENING a few years back and it was okay, but I wasn’t super impressed. (previous liveblog)

Super Friends - I FUCKING HATE THE SUPER FRIENDS I SEE YOU HUBBY

Tangled: Before Ever After - Saw the movie, never seen the series!

The Animals of Farthing Wood **

The Dragon Prince - I’ve heard Tumblr chatter in a general sense, but no details.

The Hollow **

The Loud House **

The Super Mario Bros. Super Show **

Thundercats - I fucking loved Thundercats as a kid, hahhaha, there is no way it holds up.

Totally Spies - I’ve had several Patreon livestreams with the show, so have a pretty good general sense of the show at this point. I’m not sure it’d make a good liveblog, though.

Venture Brothers - I think it features a blond buff dude in a black t-shirt?

Wakfu (French dub) - Oh hey, this was a free to play game at PAX one year! That’s it, that’s all I know.

Winx Club **

X-Men: The Animated Series (90s) - DID SOMEONE SAY X-MEN??? I love this show. Hubby and I still to this day quote this show. This show is not good.

X-Men Evolution - Evo, on the other hand, is EXCELLENT. One of the single best incarnations of the X-Men, in my opinion. Seen all eps multiple times, love it, can talk for a hideously long time about details you never in your life cared about, will probably not make it through an episode, please consider if that is a point for or against it before you vote. (previous liveblog)

Live Action

Agent Carter - Saw the Captain America movie, that’s it!

American Gods - Read the book

Atypical - I know the premise very loosely, and it sounds good, but I’d be a little concerned about accidentally stomping in all the wrong places with my giant clumsy neurotypical feet.

Babylon 5 - I know it’s a sci-fi classic, and I’ve been assured there are characters I would love, but haven’t seen it.

Batman (Adam West series) - A SERIOUS LIVEBLOG WILL RESULT I’M SURE

Black Mirror ("White Bear") - This episode still fucks with me to this day. It’s exceptional, and also very very complicated. This would be a heavy liveblog, be warned. (previous Black Mirror liveblogs)

Brooklyn 99 - I’ve only watched a bit of this and enjoyed it, but like most sitcoms, it’s incredibly difficult to liveblog. (previous liveblog)

Buffy the Vampire Slayer - One of my live’s greatest televisual loves. Joss Whedon and time have mostly driven that out of me, but letting my ego out to play for a second, I have to say, I give some pretty good Buffy. (previous liveblogs)

Cagney & Lacey - A formative favourite for tiny baby Jet Wolf! It’s a cop procedural, with all the downsides that implies, but also it’s lady cop BFFs AND I LOVE IT AND THEM

Carmilla - A current staple of the blog, thanks to @cello-moon! I’ve just started Season 3, and if you’re a regular around here, you know how all this goes. (previous liveblogs)

Charmed (1998) - I know of it, very very loosely, but never watched it.

Charmed (2018) - Also loosely known, but even less so!

Cloak and Dagger - I’m burned out (and just burned) from Disney’s Marvel garbage, but I know Cloak & Dagger from the comics, am that only makes me more surprised this show exists.

Crazy Ex-Girlfriend - I never picked this back up after THE GIFTENING, but had a great time with what we watched! (previous liveblog)

Critical Role (The Night Before Critmas one-shot) - I haven’t seen this one shot, but I DO love me some Critical Role.

Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance - We watched the whole series, and I enjoyed it way more than I thought I would. PODLINGS ARE VALID AND HUP IS THE MOST VALID OF ALL

Dear Friends **

Derry Girls - Watched the whole thing a couple times now, absolutely adore it. One of the best shows I’ve seen in a while. Once again though, comedies can be SO hard to liveblog.

Dinnerladies **

Dirk Gently's Holistic Detective Agency - I’ve heard of the book series?

Doctor Who - I’ve tried SO HARD to like Doctor Who, and yet.

Doctor Who (City of Death serial) - See above, no thoughts on this serial specifically.

Elementary - I’ve seen the first three seasons, I think it is? They began to lose me with some season choices, but I love Sherlock and Joan SO MUCH.

Farscape - I watched the series when it was first on The Sci-Fi Channel, but they kept jerking the schedule around and it fell off my radar. Quite liked it though, as I recall.

Galavant - I SUPER BELIEVE IN YOU TAD COOPER (previous liveblogs)

Good Omens (miniseries) - Read the book and survived the miniseries consuming Tumblr, but didn’t watch it myself.

Hannibal - I remember when this was EVERYWHERE, but mostly I remember that it was very gay and had that guy from Rogue One in it.

Hellier **

His Dark Materials - Haven’t watched it, haven’t read the books, I know nothing!

Kamen Rider (1971, ep 1) **

Kamen Rider Fourze **

Kamen Rider W **

Kanpai Senshi After V **

Killing Eve - I’ve seen some photo and gif sets, but haven’t watched it. I think they’re trying to murder each other? But also fuck? IT’S VERY CONFUSING

Legends of Tomorrow - I know it’s a DC show, and I think it has something to do with time travelers?

Leverage - I just watched and streamed my first two episodes last night on Patreon! Quite enjoyed it, more than I expected to.

LOST - Until proven otherwise, I’ll assume this was a troll nomination. GOOD GOD I HATE LOST

Lost Girl **

Love Island (season 3) **

Maho Sentai Magiranger **

Midnight Dinner: Tokyo Stories **

Murder She Wrote - Actual lol, I have no idea why this was nominated, but I love it and also you. ANGELA LANSBURY ON TV WE ALL WIN

Murdoch Mysteries **

Once Upon a Time - The premise is fairytales all smooshed together I think?

One Day at a Time (2017) - I’ve watched all but the most recent season, I think. Good show, very enjoyable, but mostly “watch and forget” for me.

Orphan Black - Currently liveblogging, thanks to @skylineofspace! I’m currently on episode 4, and absolutely loving it. (previous liveblogs)

Parks and Recreation - I’ve seen all but the last season, I think. Great show, but once again, I’d expect a difficult time liveblogging it.

Pushing Daisies - Never seen it. I think it’s about someone whose touch kills?

Re:Mind **

Russian Doll - Never seen a single second, but I’ve heard nothing but good things through the grapevine.

Sapphire & Steel - HUBBY’S TROLLING ME AGAIN. This is an oooold old old English sci-fi/horror show that I used to watch when I was a tiny tiny Jet Wolf and it scared the shit out of me. I’M STILL MILDLY TRAUMATIZED BY IT TO THIS DAY

Schitt's Creek **

Sense8 **

Shanara **

Smash **

Star Trek: The Next Generation - I love me some Star Trek. I’ve seen all of TNG, but haven’t sat down to fully rewatch the series ever, so most I only saw when they first aired.

Stargate SG1 - I think this is based on a movie I also haven’t seen.

Tantei no Tantei **

Terrace House **

The Good Place - OKAY SO THE GOOD PLACE. I watched the first two seasons and LOVED THEM. Mostly. I DO NOT love the Eleanor/Chidi thing. I do not love it to the extent that it completely sucked out my desire to continue with the show. I haven’t seen anything of it past the S2 finale. (previous liveblog)

The Haunting of Hill House - Watched and enjoyed the whole miniseries. I confess to being uncertain about liveblogging this though, as I feel Doc is doing it so much better than I could hope to do.

The Magicians & The Crown **

The Mandalorian - I KNOW BABY YODA BECAUSE I AM A PERSON WHO EXISTS IN OUR MODERN WORLD (that is all I know)

The Middleman **

The Tick (2016) - I know and enjoyed the cartoon!

The Untamed **

Twilight Zone - Who doesn’t know the Twilight Zone, it’s a fucking classic for a reason.

Twin Peaks - Believe it or not, I have never seen a single second of Twin Peaks. I know it’s weird, I know Laura Palmer is dead, I know functionally nothing else.

Ultraman X **

Westworld - Haven’t seen it, though I believe it’s loosely based on the movie of the same name which I HAVE seen.

What We Do in the Shadows (series) - I’ve seen neither the series nor the movie, but know it’s Taika Waititi and is reportedly hilarious.

Worst Cooks in America - WAIT AM I IN A TV SHOW

Xena: Warrior Princess - My OTHER great love. Adore Xena, adore everything about it (well, mostly), have devoted a not insignificant amount of my heart and brainspace to Xena, if you have me talk about Xena I may never shut up. (previous liveblogs)

Movies

Arrival **

Atomic Blonde **

Barbie's The Princess and The Pauper **

Bedknobs and Broomsticks - Saw it a million years ago, remember functionally nothing.

Best in Show - Also seen a very long time ago, just the once.

Bohemian Rhapsody - I love Queen and Freddie Mercury, and I had exactly zero interest in watching this film.

Brave - A Disney/Pixar movie I actually liked!

Cabaret - I haven’t seen the film, though I did see the stage musical, and it fucked me up pretty hardcore for a while there. (Do not let that dissuade you from voting for it! I’ve been wanting to watch the movie. Trump had just been elected when I saw it performed AND WELL THERE WERE THINGS)

Captain Marvel - Haven’t seen it, but it’s one of the few later stage Disney/Marvel offerings I’ve had any interest in.

Captain Underpants **

Carrie (1976) - ANOTHER SUPER OLDIE I’M SO DELIGHTED. I’ve seen it as well as read the book (both a very long time ago)

Castaway on the Moon **

Cats (1998) - hahahah I SEE YOU YOU ASSHOLES

Chocolat **

Clue (1985) - One of my personal favourite movies, though I did stream it not too long ago for my Patreon.

Coco **

Crank **

Crimson Peak **

Dale and Tucker vs Evil - I’ve never seen this, but have wanted to.

Detective Pikachu - Saw this in the theater, and I’m still not sure if I actually enjoyed it or not.

Equestria Girls Rainbow Rocks - THIS IS A MY LITTLE PONY THING ISN’T IT

EVA **

Fate/Grand Order: First Order **

Flash Gordon - Delicious, cheesy fun.

Frozen 2 - I won’t be able to stream this if it’s not been released when it’s GIFTENING time, so just keep that in mind. Also please note that I have not seen Frozen 1. I only just, a few months ago, heard “Let it Go” for the first time. TRUE STORY.

Godzilla: King of Monsters **

Happy New Year (Bollywood) - I legit love Bollywood films, this sounds delightful.

Here Alone **

Home **

Hoodwinked! **

Hot Fuzz - LOVE HOT FUZZ

How to Train Your Dragon **

Howl's Moving Castle - I haven’t seen it, but I’ve had a few other Miyazaki films voted in for GIFTENING and Patreon, and I haven’t really enjoyed any of them. I’M WILLING TO TRY AGAIN. Just keep in mind, they may not be for me.

Hustlers **

In Her Shoes **

Inside Out **

Interstellar **

It's Such a Beautiful Day **

Jennifer's Body **

Jojo Rabbit - I wasn’t able to see this when it was at our local indy theater, and I regret missing it. I’d love to see it, but I’m not sure with my goyische commentary would be the best delivery method.

Jupiter Ascending - Love this beautiful dumb film, omg. I’ve streamed this for previous GIFTENINGs though, if that’s a thing to care about.

Klaus **

Knives Out - Very keen to see this, but it may not be out on dvd/streaming before THE GIFTENING, so bear that in mind.

Last of the Blonde Bombshells **

Legally Blonde - I’VE ACTUALLY NEVER SEEN THIS. I feel like I have, from all the gifs and shit, but nope!

Love Never Dies - Oh my god is this the Phantom sequel, why do you all hate me.

Mad Max: Fury Road - LOVE IT. I’ve done it for THE GIFTENING before, though, just a note.

Madoka: Rebellion - (copied from Rebellion in Anime) I saw the Madoka series (fairly ambivalent to it), and heard the movie was terrible, but no clue why, specifically.

Man from UNCLE **

Masters of the Universe (He-Man, 1987) - This movie is so fucking bad hahaha

Midsommar **

Monster High: Fright On **

Muppet Christmas Carol - Just watched this during Holligay’s Eight Days! I’m not sure it’s really in my wheelhouse, being relatively lukewarm on both A Christmas Carol and the Muppets, but I’d do my best!

Murder on the Orient Express **

Newsies (1992) **

One Cut of the Dead **

Pacific Rim - I saw it in the theater and actually didn’t care for it over much. I’d be willing to give it another shot though, it might be better second time around.

Pan's Labyrinth - I’ve streamed this film a couple times now, I think, but it’s a good one, so I’m up for another go if you guys want!

Parasite (2019) **

Perfect Blue **

Pleasantville **

Promare **

Redline **

Resident Evil **

Return to Oz - I saw this as a kid and haven’t again since. TAKE THAT INFORMATION AS YOU WILL.

Rock-a-Doodle **

Searching (2018) **

Secret of Nimh - LITTLE JET WOLF LOVED THIS MOVIE. Adult Jet Wolf hasn’t sampled it.

Spaceballs - I’ve watched the shit out of Spaceballs. I love a parody, I’m shameless.

Speed Racer (2008) - I’ve only seen this once,but actually enjoyed it more than I expected to.

Spice World - I legitimately love this movie. I’m not sure it’s GOOD but it’s a thousand times better than it has any right to be.

Spider-Man: Into the Spiderverse - Good movie, lots of fun, I streamed it not too long ago on Patreon.

Star Wars - IT’S STAR WARS

Star Wars Holiday Special - I’ve never watched this, and I’m not sure how excited I am to change that fact.

Street Fighter (1994) - I HAVE ONLY HEARD THE LEGENDS

Summer Wars **

Super Mario Brothers - Oh .. this can’t be good ...

Tale of Tales **

Tangled - I’ve seen it, but didn’t have strong opinions one way or the other.

The Adventures of Tintin **

The Great Muppet Caper - I’m sure I’ve seen this, but fuck if I can remember anything.

The Last Jedi (hatewatch) - WELP

The Living Wake **

The Lost Boys - It’s not a good movie, and I love it.

The Mummy (1999) - Streamed recently on Patreon!

The Rezort **

The Road to El Dorado - I’ve seen it, I want a Sailor Moon AU of it.

The Room - I know it’s considered one of the worst films ever made, but I’ve never had the personal privilege of experience.

Tokyo Godfathers **

Us (2019) - Saw it in the theater, totally down for seeing it again with perspective on the whole movie.

Venom **

Wall-E - Probably my favourite Pixar film!

Wayne's World - Saw it back when! Does it hold up? WHO KNOWS

What We Do in the Shadows (movie) - As mentioned above, I’ve never seen it, but I’ve heard it’s an amazing Taika Waititi joint.

When Marnie Was There **

Wolf Children Ame and Yuki **

X-Men 2 - GOD I LOVED THIS MOVIE. I’m not sure how well it would hold up, but when it came out? One of the few films I’ve paid to see multiple times in the theater.

Your Name **

Games

Ace Attorney (blog) - I’ve tried multiple times with the Ace Attorney games, and I must be honest and say I just don’t like them.

Amnesia: The Dark Descent - I’ve watched a playthrough! The story’s not good. THE IDEA OF PLAYING IT STRESSES ME OUT SO HARD HAHAHAH YOU FUCKS

Among the Sleep (stream) **

Arkham Knight (main story run) (stream) - Very intrigued to play this. I’ve tinkered a bit, but get distracted by all the side stuff. The motivation to just streamline the story very much appeals.

Baba is You (stream) - I’ve heard great things about the game, but in a “It was great!” way, I still know fuck all about it.

Black Closet (blog) **

Borderlands (stream) - Love Borderlands, it’s fun as hell. I’d probably angle for Borderlands 2 over the first, but would have a good time however it went.

Catherine Classic **

Cho Aniki **

Control (stream) - I’ve seen a little bit on Steam, just enough to know I’m interested.

Cthulhu Save Christmas - Never heard of it, but great title.

Cuphead (stream) **

Danganronpa **

Danganronpa: Trigger Happy Havoc (blog) **

Dead by Daylight (stream) **

Death Stranding **

Death Trips **

Detention (stream) **

Disco Elysium (blog) - I’ve heard great things, would be totally okay with a reason to play it.

Doki Doki Lit Club (stream) - I was so intrigued with this from THE GIFTENING a couple years ago that I wanted to work it into the main schedule, but it just didn’t happen. 100% on-board the chance to keep going!

Dragon Age: Origins (stream) - I KEEP STALLING WHENEVER I TRY TO REPLAY THIS GAME SO I CAN MOVE TO DA2 THIS IS MY PERSONAL HELL

Dragon Quest Builders 2 (stream) **

Dream Daddy - I know the premise, and the idea of blogging this is beautiful.

Final Fantasy X (blog) - Have I played X? (asks Hubby) YES I HAVE. It’s one of the few that I finished. Final Fantasy games usually entail so much grinding that I’m not sure it’d be a great liveblog, but I’d do my best!

Firewatch - I’ve been wanting reasons to play this SO MUCH.

Ghost Trick: Phantom Detective (stream) - I’m preeetty sure everyone just wants to hear how many terrible accents we can do. And that’s legit! I’ve since figured out how to play mobile games on my PC so the video quality would be better than last time, but that is the only improvement I could promise. (previous stream)

Gris **

Half Dead 2 (stream) **

Hand of Fate 2 (blog) - I think this is a card game?

Hatoful Boyfriend/Pigeon Fucking (blog) - IS IT EVEN REALLY THE GIFTENING WITHOUT PIGEON FUCKING (previous liveblogs)

Hollow Knight **

House Flipper (blog) - I’ve tentatively had my eye on this on Steam for a while, so seeing this nominated tickled me.

Just Dance (stream) - Jesus wept, you all DO hate me. IF I HAVE TO DO THIS I WON’T DO IT ALONE

Legend of Heroes: Trails in the Sky (First Chapter) (blog) **

Legend of Zelda (stream) - I AM SO BAD AT THIS GAME WHY

Life is Strange (blog) - See below!

Life is Strange (stream) - I streamed all episodes of Life is Strange a couple years back. While I’m not sure I’d have much to offer on a replay, I’ll happily do it if you guys vote it in. MEANWHILE, here’s a playlist with all the Life is Strange streams.

Life is Strange 2 - My understanding is it’s a separate game from the first with new characters and new story.

Life is Strange: Before the Storm (stream) - And I believe this is a prequel to the first Life is Strange featuring Max and Chloe.

Little Inferno (stream) **

Long Live the Queen (blog) - YOU KNOW PINK PRINCESS (previous liveblogs)

Long Live the Queen (stream) (with walkthrough to not repeat) - I laughed so hard at the nomination specifically giving my ass a walkthrough.

Mass Effect 1 - I’ve played it multiple times! The Mass Effect series is one of my personal favourites.

Monster Prom (w/Hubby, Doc, & Jill) (stream) - AGAIN WITH VOICES I SEE YOU. It can be difficult to get everyone’s schedules all in alignment, so this may be subject to shuffling and delays, just to keep in mind.

Nancy Drew: Ghost Dogs of Moon Lake (stream) **

Overwatch (stream) - I assume this is more group play? But we can talk details if it makes it into further heats.

Oxenfree (stream) - I’ve fully streamed Oxenfree on the Patreon. It’s well outside the exclusivity window at this point, and I’m happy to make those public if you guys were interested and would rather put your votes elsewhere. That said, I really enjoyed the game, and think a second playthrough could add a lot to the overall experience, so feel free.

Pathologic 2 (blog) **

Persona 3 Portable (blog) **

Pillars of Eternity (blog) - I’ve never finished Pillars of Eternity, but I do have a game with some significant progress I could continue. Alternately, I could roll a whole new character, and would play it however you guys chose. We have options if we go this route!

Pokemon Go (stream/videos) - Amazing. Here the link to last year’s Pokemon Go, if you’d like some idea of what the fuck this is about!

Portal (stream) - The Portal series is great, I think it does some really interesting and innovative ideas with gameplay. I’ve played and finished the first two, though remembering the solutions to any of those puzzles is, of course, another thing entirely.

Recettear: An Item Shop Tale (stream) - THIS WAS THE FIRST THING I EVER BOUGHT ON STEAM. I haven’t played it in forever, and I’m not sure how entertaining it would be, but I’m down for finding out!

Resident Evil 2 remake (blog) - IT’S ZOMBIES. That’s about all I know about Resident Evil.

Reventure **

Sara is Missing **

Shovel Knight (stream) **

Slime Rancher (blog) - I have and have played Slime Rancher! I’m a little unsure about blogging it, but would try!

Slime Rancher (stream) - I WASN’T EXPECTING SUCH A RUSH FROM THE SLIME RANCHER FANDOM THIS YEAR

Stanley Parable - I think Hubby’s played this? I seem to recall it has a narrator who comments on what you do, but I don’t know much else.

Stardew Valley (blog) - I’ve never gotten as far in Stardew Valley as I’ve felt I would. Lots to do for me, yet!

Stardew Valley (stream) - Same as above, just in stream form!

Subnautica (stream) - I’ve done several Subnautica streams for Patreon, and if this gets through, I’d release them so everyone (who wants to) can catch up. If I recall, my last play left off with me exploring a big ass ship that crashed.

Superluminal **

Tales from the Borderlands - It’s Borderlands, but Telltale, though!

Tales of Symphonia **

Team SASV (Pokemon X/Y) - TEAM SASSY AND SOMEWHAT VAIN. If this gets in, I’ll need all the intervening time to try and find my fucking DS. (previous liveblogs, via the backup)

The 7th Guest (blog) **

The Beginner's Guide (stream) **

The Long Dark **

The Outer Worlds - I haven’t played this yet but would be extremely delighted for an excuse to pick it up and start.

The Walking Dead game - I watched Hubby play the first two installments, haven’t seen beyond that. Felt the second was weak, LOVED the first. I’ve been hanging on Holligay’s playthrough, so I’m relatively familiar with the story again, save the last episode, which she’s not played yet. I’ve been wanting to before she did, to compare what I think she’ll do to what she actually does, so an excuse to get going on that would be welcome.

The Witcher 3 (stream) - I know @jewishsuperfam loves The Witcher, AND THAT IS ALL I KNOW.

Undertale (blog) - AREN’T I LIKE TWO MINUTES FROM FINISHING THIS. The fight where I left off was frustrating THE PISS out of me, but if this gets in, I’ll get Hubby to read up on what I need to do, and maybe get around that fight before the liveblog, so I don’t spend the whole time getting nowhere and then punching my monitor.

Untitled Goose Game (stream) - I just last month finished this on the Patreon! I need to double check that it would be out of the exclusivity window, but if so, I’d be happy to release it for you guys. I had a great time, but I don’t think there’s much to be regained from playing it again.

VA-11 Hall-A (blog) **

VooDoo Vance: Remastered **

Wattam **

We Happy Few (stream) - I know the basic storyline premise, but little else.

What Remains of Edith Finch (blog) - I watched Holligay’s stream of this and loved the story.

Wild Arms 3 **

Wild ARMs XF (blog) **

Yakuza 0 (stream) **

Zero Escape 999 (blog) **

AND THAT’S THAT. Sailor Moon Day and Miscellaneous don’t require much input from me ahead of time, I don’t feel, but if you have a question on anything there -- or something that’s unclear here, just shoot me an Ask. AND IF YOU FOUND THIS USEFUL PLEASE LET ME KNOW. It took me ... just SO much longer than I was expecting it to. Which I don’t mind, but if it’s not actually helpful to anyone, that’s time better spent elsewhere next year.

#THE GIFTENING 2019 #THE GIFTENING 2019 admin stuff

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hatake-kakashi · 4 years

Note

What are some of your fave animes

OK LET ME PREFACE THIS BY SAYING I HAVEN’T BEEN INTO ANIME SINCE 2014 AND I AM JUST RECENTLY GETTING BACK INTO IT!! BUT

- DEATH NOTE (netflix, crunchyroll, funimation, kisscartoon)

it follows a guy named Light Yagami who discovers that a shinigamai(god of death) dropped a notebook into the human realm and that whoever’s name is written in it will die(and you can specify how, if you’d like). it shows how he becomes sort of a vigilante to put criminals in place. he is then under suspect as the killer by L, a smart and elite person who works with the police and has never lost a case.

seasons: 1 total episodes: 37

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence/murder, major character death but like thats expected, religious themes(i guess), light swearing

fave characters: matsuda and L are high up there...as well as Mello, Mikami, and Gevanni ships: i mean the most common ship is Lawlight(LxLight) but i think my main are lawtsuda(L x matsuda), mikalight (mikami x light), mikanni (mikami x gevanni), and mellodramattic(mello x matt)/nearlymellodramattic(near x mello x matt)!!! remisa is also cute:( notes: i just spent all my money on the manga! i’m so excited to read it!!!

- SIRIUS THE JAEGER (netflix, probably kisscartoon but i havent looked)

the main character, Yuliy Jirov, is the last of his tribe (he is a sirus. so like...sorta like a werewolf) and he is set to revenge his family’s death as a jaeger(hunter. but like. a vampire hunter) but it turns out his brother, Mikhail, is alive and was turned. the main goal of the plot is to find and also somehow protect this thing called Ark Of Sirius , which is sort of like sacred power that was given to Yuliy’s tribe, from falling into vampire hands.

seasons: 1 total episodes: 12

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence, action, major(?) character death

fave characters: Yuliy...i love him so much; Mikhail, Hideomi, Willard ships: so uh i wouldn’t recommend going thru the ao3 tag because its a common thing to ship the brothers(*disgusted emoji*) but i am working on writing something to fill the tag with hideomi/mochizuki, hideomi/willard, and yuliy/phillip

notes: i think the way the creators did the vampires is really interesting. honestly i watched it bc of the pretty vampire man in the cover. i learned that i hate him but he’s still pretty. THIS SHOW IS REALLY SHORT PLEASE WATCH IT I AM BEGGING TO HAVE SOMEONE TO TALK ABOUT IT WITH

- CASTLEVANIA (netflix, ???)

Dracula sends creatures of the night(? literally don’t know another way to describe them. uh. monsters?) to attack the cities of Wallachia because they killed his, albeit human, wife (her name is Lisa)because they thought she practiced witchcraft. It follows Trevor Belmont, the last son of the Belmont family (a family that basically killed these creatures + vampires); Sypha Belnades, a badass speaker magician; and Adrian ‘Alucard’ Tepes, the son of dracula. their goal is to end the war against the human race. It also shows Dracula’s side of things and follows the two humans that are on his court, Hector and Isaac (they both denounced humanity because of their bad upbringings/experiences)

seasons: 3 total episodes: 22

RATING: 10/10!!!

warning: violence/gore, action, death/killing, sex, angst, religous themes, swearing

fave characters: really love the main three of course but like i also love Hector ships: trevor/sypha/alucard, hectorcard, alucard x happiness, hector x happiness

notes: it’s based off the video game. season three fucked me up(it’s AMAZING THOUGH!) i cannot wait for season 4 omg:((((

- NARUTO (netflix, cruncyroll, funimation, probs kisscartoon)

naruto uzumaki wants to gain recognition from his peers and also become the leader of his village(hokage)

seasons: 5 (i didn’t watch shippuden. i’m talking the OG naruto) total episodes: 220

RATING: 10/10 but like tbd bc ive only seen the first 3 seasons so far

warning: violence, action

fave characters: kakashi, iruka, gaara, rock lee ships: uhh kakairu(kakashi x iruka) i don’t really ship a lot of things. kobuto x orochimaru is kinda good too but like LKASDFASD

- B: THE BEGINNING (netflix, ???)

Genius investigator Keith Flick rejoins the royal police force, RIS, just as serial killer "B" emerges and commits a double murder. Mysterious youth Koku may be an ally of the group's -- or a target. When the RIS investigates a death that appears to be linked to B, Keith disagrees with the crime being connected to the criminal mastermind. An attack on a member of the RIS leads members of the group to suspect a traitor within their ranks. After being declared a murder suspect, Keith turns himself in. Koku is forced to fight for his survival

i copy and pasted that bc i cannot remember it that well but i do remember liking the show!! i will rewatch and update accordingly w my own summary

RATING: 8/10??? i can’t remember it that well which is why the rating is lower than the others

fave characters: oh dear i cannot remember a lot about this show but it’s good i promise. MINATSUKI was pretty tho ships: idk....

notes: yeah i need to rewatch it but its good i swear

OTHER NOTABLE ONES :::

- tokyo ghoul ( i haven’t seen the new season so i don’t want to review it before that)

- free! (i haven’t seen it in a while aa)

- one punch man (i watched it on a bus w this guy i used to like so it has a place in my heart aa)

- yuri on ice (honestly the fandom sucks but if you ignore that it’s actually pretty cute)

- dramatical murder (uh. this was a bl game and the game was very bad but i think the characters are cute.)

- haikyuu (currently watching)

- bleach (currently watching)

- 7SEEDS (currently watching and like it’s good but it’s kinda slow for me so i might give up on her...)

SHOWS I PLAN ON WATCHING/LOOKING INTO:::

- d.gray man/d.gray man hallow

- psycho pass

- k

- death parade

- darker than black

- devil may cry

- kabaneri of the iron fortress

- hunter x hunter

- kakegurui (?? idk yet but i like the art)

- inuyasha

- god eater

- hero mask

- sailor moon

- fruits basket

- blue exorcist

- no.6

- sword gai: the animation

- wave!! (when it comes out!)

- hellsing (?)

- fullmetal alchemist

- devilman crybaby

- psychic detective yakumo

- 91 days

i have no idea if any of these are problematic and some probably are and if they are and i find out , i will keep that in mind but like sometimes i just like to enjoy things lol

#THANK YOU ANON THIS WAS SO FUN!!!!!!!!!!!!#ASK #ANON #ABT #anime list #anon

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fyrapartnersearch · 5 years

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Calling for dedicated roleplayers with a passion for writing

Hello! My name is Aaliyah or Ally for short, and I will cut right to the chase. I am looking for a mature role-player, preferably 21+ but will also accept 18+ (just to be sure that you are of legal age, otherwise it’ll be very uncomfortable).

  As I am 26 years of age with 12 years of experience, I hope to meet someone who shares my passion in creative writing, as well as formulating interesting plots and characters.   In case you are curious about me as a person, I am a full-time student and a young writer who works at the gym on the side, but also enjoys other creative outlets such as drawing. Usually my schedule is fairly full, including the attendance of friends or family. However I always have ample time for a good roleplay. :)   

I am seeking a literate writer who is committed to a long-term partnership, and by that I truly mean it. Please do not respond if you are uncertain of upholding a stable roleplay. Furthermore, I’ve noticed the “ghosting after the first few messages“ trope is a fairly widespread issue in the roleplaying scene / community. I would like to implore you from refraining it. I’ve grown quite irritated by it lately and rather like to avoid it in the near future. That way we don’t waste anyone’s time. Thank you in advance. If you are hitting a hiatus, that’s completely fine! A simple message of putting things on hold is completely sufficient, but I would like to keep in touch in case the story bears great potential. Now I have a wish, or as other say it, a certain craving for something new and fresh. And that something is quite specific, as my interests are a little unorthodox. Not the typical ‘Marvel, DC, My Hero Academia, etc’ type of stick. (Not to throw shade on them! They are great! Just not my cup of tea at the moment)

 I heavily enjoy video-games, tv-shows, comics, films, books, the list goes on. Hopefully I can attract some kindred spirits.   I do roleplay both Canon and Original!

  So if there’s no luck in finding a fitting Canon based story, we can always switch to original world building. First, I like to list all of my heavy cravings and interests. The ones marked in bold are usually the ones I am very willing to do.

  Books:

Harry Potter Next Gen (original character cast)

True Blood

Vampire Hunter D (or Manga / Anime)

Vampire Chronicles by Anne Rice

Game of Thrones

Videogames:

Dragon Age (from Origins to current instalment)

Castlevania

Devil May Cry

Infamous series

The Darkness

Smite

Star Wars the Old Republic

 Webcomics:

Lore Olympus

Lookism

True Beauty

Comics:

Constantine

Hellboy

Witchblade

The Darkness

X-Men

Films:

Alita Battle Angel

Kingsmen

Vampire Hunter D

TV-Shows live action:

True Blood

The Boys

Vikings

Game of Thrones (Open for discussion. Still haven’t recovered from the season finale however…)

TV-Shows animated:

Hellsing

Castlevania (Netflix adaptation)

Devil May Cry (Anime adaptation)

Demon Slayer (I have only started watching this)

FMA Brotherhood

Jojo’s bizarre adventure

Black lagoon

As for original plots, I am very keen on urban and gothic fantasy, but also mythology as well as horror and crime and action. I have plenty of ideas up my sleeve, some of them quite fleshed out and some of them being concepts in the making. Either way, I would rather have these ideas introduced throughout email or whatever platform we choose to communicate on. Themes for an original story I am most inclined to do are:

Supernatural / Metaphysical (Demons, Angels, Spirits, Monsters, etc.)

Mystery

Crime

Action

Sci-Fi & fantasy (Aliens coming in contact with unsuspecting earthlings during the middle ages / ancient time-periods)

Urban fantasy mixed with high school / college themes (similar to Supernatural with local monsters, creatures, etc)

Now onto the qualities of what my roleplaying partner should have.

What it all entails: What the Partnership should be: I strongly encourage an active roleplayer who is not afraid of sharing 50% of ideas, plotting, length, detail but most important of all, passion. A bird cannot fly with only one wing. Communication: I love making new friends and brainstorming, and communication is the bedrock of it all. It strengthens our compatibility and the story. Should there be anything that might bother you, or if you think you are left out in some type of way (be it a mistake on my part or if we’re both at fault here), simply tell me. It really doesn’t bother me rewriting certain scenes to better fit the narrative. We can always exchange opinions and see what would benefit the story most. The Way of Writing: No one-liners. No text-talk. No half-assed replies. And certainly no ‘quality over quantity’ when you can have both. I don’t expect anyone to write a novel, absolutely not. I don’t either, but if I get the feeling of my partner wavering in their effort and not investing as much as I do, I have to give them the chop, unfortunately. Too often have I encountered partners who showed strong enthusiasm at first, but after a while… they slacked and eventually only put the adequate effort into their side of things whilst completely disregarding my characters. I hope to avoid this in the future. And now to myself and how I write: My writing: Third person perspective usually, although I have made some exceptions in my years of writing. My style is wide-ranging and flexible, which means that frequently, word count will go up 1000+ per reply - though it also depends on the given situation and partner. And yes, I do double, preferably even, most likely in a canon universe. However this again wholly depends on the type of story, partner and cast of characters. I am very open and willing to discuss.

 Rating: So you are writing with some of mature age. I have 12 years of writing under my belt. There will be violence, there will be swearing, gore, intimacy, uncomfortable topics, drama, conflict and other dark themes included when you are writing with me. I have few limits but I will respect the boundaries of my partner. And lastly, I won’t fade to black or skip out on the nitty gritty, unless it doesn’t serve a particular purpose in forwarding the story.

Characters: I write canon as well as OC characters. Faceclaims, GIFs, drawings, mood boards or just a plain physical description is absolutely sufficient. Characters should be written as opulent, flawed, unique, talented, heroic, villainous, spiteful, angry, and everything in-between. In other words, don’t be scared of making them flawed.

Romance: Openly play and accept characters of both genders, preferable m x f pairings, but I am open to m x m and f x f relationships as well. I have more experience with m x f relationships, so I might be more adaptable with this one. If the chemistry of two characters compel me, I’m on board with it! When it comes to sexual scenarios and intimacy (intercourse, foreplay, all that funny business). I encourage eroticism, but always in a tasteful, sensual manner (that goes for romance as well), though it is never the main focus of any of my stories, rather a tool to further the plot. Erotica is welcome but never the focus of any kind of roleplay. Content: Drama, violence, sex, metamorphosis, symbolism, action, romance, pretty much everything is a-okay. I am not explicitly bothered by certain subjects that may be uncomfortable for the general public. Roleplays are fictional stories and we best keep treating them as such. If there are things you are uncomfortable with, name them and I shall respect those boundaries. But don’t be surprised when suddenly one of our characters bites the dust, or gets tortured, etc. It may be difficult to write and read, but it is all part of the story and a tool for furthering the plot. My roleplays imply and involve brutality, mayhem, psychological and physical altercations among other things. But I also endorse beauty, serenity and placid moments for our characters to grow in. I love it when it comes full circle… everyone- and everything has a beautiful and hideous side. Again, this is mature and I am not here to coddle, I am here for a challenge. Should I hit a hiatus myself, I will inform you as soon as possible. :)  

Platforms I usually roleplay on are email and google-docs. I also have Discord in case for plotting and chatting outside of the RP. Though Google Hangouts has proven itself as a sufficient chat-medium for such things, so I rather stay with that one.   

When you message me, please use the given codenames so I know what you like to specify in.

Blue Rose: Canon  

Red Feather: Original  

  I’d be happy to receive a small description of yourself and what your passions are! :) Message me here: EMAIL: [email protected] I am very excited to hear from you! Sincerely yours -Ally

#indie rp #indie roleplay #independent roleplay #oc rp #multiple paragraph #para #long term #email #tumblr #harry potter rp #spn rp #aou rp #submission

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ravenquote · 5 years

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OoC: Favorite Characters

I decided to focus on villains or anti-heroes, it’s hard picking just favorites in a general sense.

1. Harleen Quinzel A.K.A Harley Quin - DC Comic Universe I have been in love with this woman since September 1992 when she first aired in the Batman Animated series, Joker’s favor. Due to her brilliant creators of Paul Dini and Bruce Tim, led with the voice talents of Arleen Sorkin. She was born from her own raw desire to help people in her own best way possible, using her talents of understanding, reading and in many sense controlling people. Sadly, like Alice in wonderland, she fell into a realm of madness and uncertainty. She has been one of the most complex characters in animated history with large backstory and many turns and takes. Extremely popular on various forms and has made many appearances over the years even scoring some of her own comics and shows and now movies. When she was first created, she was merely a fill in and not meant to take and yet here she stands, a triumphant beauty whose overcome Abuse, trauma and degradation.

2. Azula - Avatar the last air bender animated television show + comics What can i say about Azula? In many retrospects she’s fierce, powerful, driven and just intelligent! I think a lot of people forget something pretty important about her: SHE WAS FOURTEEN! This young teenage, overthrew governments, taking whole cities and was the closest to killing the Avatar compared to anyone else. Not to mention her pure intelligence! People compare to playing a game of chess when it comes to moving people or controlling their actions. No, to this woman it was checkers. I truly believe if she didn’t become as over-confident as she did, the war would have ended with her taking the world. With the right nurturing, she would have become the most feared overlord the world would ever see.

3. Loghain Mac Tir - Dragon age book (The Stolen Throne by: David Gaider) and Dragon age Origins the Video game. Yeah, there’s a theme so far i am guessing you are seeing. I can’t help but appreciate sheer intelligence. Loghain is sort of obvious in the video games, it’s clear his intents. At the same time, there is far far more than what is merely on the surface with this man. An obvious villain, almost to the point of it being boring. Yet, why in the games are so many people hesitant and trusting of him? This man had proved himself, over and over, that he had his country in his heart and would do anything to protect it and keep it from the true monsters of the world. People. He was never shy about the routes he’d take, the lengths he’d go, he was brass, courageous, and deceptive. He called things out, forced people to seeing the bigger picture, he didn’t need to control or lie to people about things. He got what he wanted in the most unique ways possible, not his title, not his money, not his charisma but by being true in what had to be done.

4. Sylvanas Windrunner - Blizzard Entertainment Video games I don’t see her as a Villain, an Anti-hero, yes. Look, we all know Blizz can’t seem to understand women or know how to write them on a large scale. I seriously feel bad for both, Piera Coppola and Patty Mattson as they have to watch this poor woman get brutally torn to pieces. I will always, always have a soft spot for her and remember the days where in many respects was like Illidain, and (above) Loghain. A woman who saw the bigger picture and would sacrifice anything to save everything she cared for. I wont drag on for her, simply because i know the most people who are doing this and following are from the Blizzard franchise and i know we have all heard many many layers to this continued argument about this particular character. If ya wanna PM about it or rant at me, bring it. I’m an Alliance player at heart, but i only got into w.o.w because of this woman. Both sides are shit. *drops mic*

5. Aaravos - Dragon Prince, Netflix television animated show. Okay, seriously, if you haven’t seen the show yet: DO IT! Just as with this theme, INTELLIGENCE, INTELLIGENCE, INTELLIGENCE! Tactful, charming, knowledgeable, i mean...look at that face! He is hands down perfect. Sadly, we still know very little of him but goshdamnit! Love! Love! Love! I can not wait to know more of him and see more of him.

6. Maleficent - Fairy Tale story / Disney The jist of her, from stories and movies, is general: She was snubbed or insulted by the royal court and took her revenge on the child they were all celebrating. I’m sorry, but this has always been fantastic to me. What is more painful and hard to deal with then your own child being cursed? Claim petty if you want, but no, oh no my dear friend, this is a brilliant revenge. A normal person would blame the man in charge and curse him, but meh, whatever. Kings wont remember how they snubbed others, this is proven time and time again in many stories. Will this act ever be forgotten? Will the generations always remember not to snub a powerful faerie? You better believe it! She made a ever lasting mark, an impression that has lasted since the 13th century! Throughout the years no one has changed these facts: Maleficent was powerful, she was disrespected and she took her revenge onto a child. Normal stories like these over the years have changed both villains and heroes, or even circumstances. This classic has even seen the beautiful creation, directed by Robert Stromberg from a screenplay by Linda Woolverton, and still they honour the root of what was and with a focus on the villain and her origins. How many villains get this?

7. Narberal Gamma - Overlord Anime/ Manga series Who doesn’t love a maid? Not to mention a Battle maid. Narberal is...mm, i don’t even know how to express her. She’s just generally cool, powerful, intelligent, loyal and honest with everything around her, just a demeanor of a refined perfection. She’s enjoyable to watch. Another thing i enjoy, she’s not the main villain. The show itself has many “villains”, i say in such way because it’s never really clear or obvious what you can count as villain or hero in a lot of ways. Yes, some are obvious but even then in many cases showed within it’s all about circumstances, who you are following, why you are following them. I enjoy the not so cut and dry of “good and evil”. This character also helps continue that ploy, helping and yet also killing people.

8. Carmilla - Castlevania Netflix series I’m a huge vampire fan, been so since middle school. I’m not as quick whipped as i use to be about the lore, history and so on when it comes to many Vampires and their origins. With such said, damn she made me bring out the books again, especially because she was one of my favorites to read about. I mean, Lesbian vampire. Do i need to say more? For now, i’ll only focus on the more recent adaption of her. So, yeah theme? We get it, intelligence. The world truly is a chess board for her, however she does not expect people to just flip the board on her. God, Jaime Murray, thank you so much for that wtf moment cause you expressed her sheer just horror at watching everything fall around her with perfection. Throughout the points we see Carmilla we see her truly be the tact master, stirring the pot and also showing her prowess in form. There is also a lot of restraint i don’t think people will give her credit for. We see how she expresses her emotions in violence, but i also think we are seeing it in a very, very pulled back way. I look forward to seeing how she changes her circumstances and sets things back into her own order in the coming season.

9. Akasha - Book series: The Queen of the Damned by Anne rice and movie: The Queen of the damned. Ah yes, the books that helped start the joys of vampires and how could i not fall in love with someone toying into the very beginning and trying to draw into the beginnings of a creature known throughout the world and time. Why do i choose Akasha considering i already touched base on vampires? Simple, she will always deserve a spot on any favorite list of anything. She gave so little cares about anything and only wanted the world to die and feel her wrath. Not to mention Aaliyah played this part so beautifully well it deserves every recognition it can get. I know she doesn’t seem to quite fit with the rest, but this is partly why she is so low on the list.

10. Callisto - Xena television series Last but certainly not least, we can’t forgot about this one. Good? Bad? Surely just pure chaos! She does what she wants and cares little about the consequences. It’s been ages since i’ve last seen the show i will admit, so my bases on her is a bit rusty. However, i will always remember her out of the many other villainous people we meet in the Xena universe. Fun, witty, combatant, you never knew what she was really going to do. As soon as she popped into a episode, i would recall fondly sitting at the edge of my seat just wondering how or why she did the things she did. There is my list of favorites, i’m sure you can see the themes between them all as many of them have common traits, inspirations and personalities. Hope you all enjoyed! Tagged by: @olivia-lovecraft tagging: *boops* you!

#ooc #top favorite #top ten #villains #t.v. series #books #fairy tales #video games #history #vampires #comics

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thenightling · 6 years

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Dracula The Vampire’s “Origin”

Now that Hotel Transylvania 3 and Castlevania have popularized two very distinctly different incarnations of Dracula there has been some question to what his origin is. Well, there are several answers. This post will discuss some of them, including some favorites and some... not so favorites.

There are many contemporary stories on how Vladislaus Drakulya (archaic: Wladislaus Dragulya) AKA Vlad III (the third) of Wallachia AKA Vlad Țepeș ( Țepeș means The impaler) became the vampire of Bram Stoker’s famous novel.

(Continue reading under the cut.)

First... Vlad the Impaler:

The first implication that Dracula’s backstory is that if Vlad the Impaler comes from the novel itself. “He must indeed be the Voivode Dracula who won his name against the Turk.” - Doctor Abraham Van Helsing in the novel Dracula by Bram Stoker.

Vlad the Impaler never answered to Țepeș as that literally just means ”Impaler.” He called himself Vladislaus Drakulya (Dracula) because of his and his father’s membership to The order of the Dragon. In modern Romanian Dracula means son of the Devil but in the fifteenth century it meant Son of the Dragon or Little Dragon. The root word was the Latin Draco.

This was his chosen surname as a means to distance himself from the cousins whom he blamed for his father and older brother’s deaths.

The first people to call him Vlad The Impaler were The Ottoman Turks, who were his sworn enemy, as they had held him and his brother, Raduk prisoner as children, and later demanded tribute of gold and boy slaves (which Dracula would not abide). The Ottomans called him Kaziklu Bey meaning (Impaler Prince or Impaler Lord). This later evolved to the Romanian Țepeș but only after Vlad’s death.

Though Dracula, the vampire, can grow older or younger (based on how much blood he consumes in the novel) it would seem his “base” (default or youngest) age is about forty-five or forty-six-years-old, the age Vlad the Impaler would have been at the time of his mortal death in late 1476 or early 1477.

Further comment: There is NO lore where the vampiric Dracula’s fangs are “straws.” Often he is described as not only craving blood and needing it to maintain his strength, but also enjoying the taste. This would be exceedingly difficult to savor if he’s slurping up the blood with his teeth-straws. (God, that idea is so stupid...) As far as I know he still uses the human digestive tract but burns all the components of the blood and therefore does not produce waste and this is why he “does not sup” (quote from the novel), as his body probably cannot process human food.

Many people got “bored” with the idea of Count Dracula being the historic Vlad the Impaler so they latched on to the historical inaccuracies of the novel, and the fact that the name was chosen late into the writing of the novel, as proof to argue that the vampire was not him, or they would pretend it was another relation of Vlad the Impaler even though Vlad the Impaler is the only Voivode (General or Warrior Prince) who won his name against the Turks. And he chose his own surname of Dracula because he resented his own cousins, whom he held accountable for his father’s death. Vlad The Impaler’s father answered to Dracul. The “a” at the end is important as it implies “Son of”.

The fictional story by Bram Stoker loosely implies that after his death in 1476 (or early 1477) the historic Dracula rose from his grave as the infamous vampire. There is no specific story in the original Stoker novel explaining how Dracula became the vampire, only a vague reference to his possible attendance of Scholomance (Folkloric school of magic. Think darker Hogwarts.)

Many recent (within the last thirty years) fictions came up with stories to explain how Dracula became a vampire.

Examples of modern origin ideas:

The 1992 film Bram Stoker’s Dracula claims he renounced God after he was told his wife was probably damned for committing suicide. He then... stabbed a giant stone cross that bled and during his tantrum he drank the blood that poured out... I like the movie but I’m not a fan of this origin for the vampire, I tend to ignore that part when watching the movie.

The film Dracula 2000 took another extreme approach and claimed Dracula was Judas. Claiming that this is why he’s repulsed by silver (since he was paid in silver) and why he’s weaker by day (because he hung himself at dusk), and why he is repulsed by crosses. I don’t really like this version because it ignores all the events of Vlad the Impaler’s very obviously human life pre-vampirism. It’s also weird to imply that a Middle Eastern Jewish man somehow became an early renaissance Romanian Eastern (Greek) Orthodox who later converted to Catholicism.

I don’t think this particular origin is clever at all as it’s used far too often. It became a trend to make Dracula or the first vampire into a Biblical figure.

Note: Dracula is NOT the longest lived / oldest vampire in the lore of the Bram Stoker novel. That is never claimed. He’s just a powerful vampire. The idea that he is the king of the vampires was invented in the films and or is a self-given title.

Anyway, thanks to Dracula 2000 a trend started. DC Comics decided to attempt making Cain the first vampire during New 52, and the 2013 film Dracula: The Dark Prince (2013 film not to be confused with Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula, which is a far superior film, or even the Hammer Dracula: Prince of Darkness.) had it that Dracula was Abel and only a descendant of Cain could kill him... for some reason... Honestly, I got tired of the idea of Dracula being a Biblical figure really quickly as this was just a result of people being “bored” with the idea of him being Vlad the Impaler post-Death. The TV show Dracula (2013) that aired on NBC (not to be confused with the more enjoyable 1990 TV series of the same name), claimed that Dracula was turned into a vampire by The Order of The Dragon after they murdered his wife, to punish him for putting science before religion. As... You know... it totally makes sense to turn your enemy into a powerful immortal who can rip your throats out... (I’m not a fan of this show AT ALL!)

The film Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula (2000) told a slightly loose retelling of the historic Dracula’s life story and implied that he became a vampire because he was murdered as in many old legends someone with unfinished business or whom was murdered (or commited suicide) might return as a vampire.

The film Dracula: Untold (2014) told an even looser (and far less respectful) version of the historic Dracula’s backstory. (I feel Dark Prince: The True Story of Dracula did it better). This one had an ancient vampire hiding out in a cave transform Vlad into his heir by feeding him his blood. A human victim being fed the blood of a vampire is a common method of vampiric transformation in modern fiction. Anne Rice uses it, and in the original Dracula novel by Bram Stoker, Mina had described being forcibly fed Dracula’s blood.

The graphic novel series called Dracula: The Company of Monsters indicated that much like in Stoker’s novel, Dracula practiced Magick during his human life, and that the mixture of honey and herbs used to preserve his head when it was delivered to the Sultan of the Ottoman empire, was actually part of an arcane process (that he orchestrated to bring about his own vampiric immortality.

The manga and anime Hellsing (and Hellsing OVA Ultimate) gives yet another origin and it’s one of the few to remember he had been decapitated during or after his assassination.

The Castlevania video game franchise gave yet another origin to Dracula. Also note that Lords of Shadow is considered an AU (Alternate universe). I’m not a big fan of this origin though I love the current Castlevania animated series on Netflix. Despite what some viewers have theorized, yes, in the franchise he was originally human. He was not born a vampire. Don’t expect any historical accuracy in Castlevania but it does have a great portrayal of Dracula, nevertheless.

Also note: He bites a major artery. No need for illogical and idiotic “straw” (I still can’t get over that there are people on Tumblr who like that idea) teeth. You rupture the carotid artery and there will be a major torrent of blood and probable death. I’m sorry for harping on this but I still can’t grasp that there are people who “Like” the stupid fan idea that vampire teeth are straws. Go home, you anatomically-confused children of mosquitos.

Favorite origin for Dracula:

There are many recent stories invented to tell the origin of Dracula the vampire. But my personal favorite is the one told in Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula book series. Fred Saberhagen’s Dracula books (Sometimes called the New Tales of Dracula or The New Dracula, or The Dracula sequence) retell the novel Dracula from Dracula’s point of view and then tell further adventures. It entails ten novels starting with The Dracula Tape and three short stories. The sixth book in the series is called “A Matter of Taste” and it includes Dracula’s vampiric origin.

The story covers his death in historically accurate and graphic detail but after his death his body (and severed head) are retrieved by loyalists who spirit away his body and severed head (leaving behind a fallen soldier who resembled him). They tend to his body for burial and as they do the candles keep going out and the head seems to be re-attaching to the neck. Growing nervous they hastily bury him at a crossroads with the intention of retrieving him later for a proper burial. The head of the false Dracula corpse was delivered to the Sultan in 1477, matching the historic record.

After some time Dracula heals in this grave and rises as a vampire. Where most vampires are created via a blood exchange in this book series (a human bitten and then drinking the blood of a vampire) Dracula claims to have never been bitten by another vampire, nor did he drink another vampire’s blood, making him unusual to the other vampires of the book series.

He convinces himself it was a transition of will that he refused to die and so became the vampire but the reality is he actually has no idea how it happened and I kind of like that a lot.

It’s an explanation and a non-explanation while being respectful to the history and not undoing or changing any of the events of the human man’s life. It just deals with posthumous unlife.

Also, contrary to popular modern beliefs, Dracula does have a soul in the original Bram Stoker novel and the heroes even became convinced they could save him (spiritually) after Mina scolded them about talking about Hell. She said the better part of him might still be saved and ascend and that he should be pitied. At the end of the novel they were relieved by the look of peace on his face when they destroyed him, implying that yes, despite all that he had done as a vampire, yes, he had been forgiven and had gone on to Heaven.

Fred Saberhagen also had an interesting theory as to why symbols of faith hurt vampires. He believed it was psychosomatic. That a vampire is easily influenced by the beliefs of those around him because his is naturally psychic he’ll pick up on the beliefs of those around him and if a believe is strong enough it can plant a suggestion that has a physical manifestation. This also accounts for why you need faith for the symbol to actually work in such films as Fright Night (original 1985 film).

An interesting thing to note is that in 1931, when they really dug up where Vlad the Impaler was supposed to have been buried, all they found were animal bones.

In the book and documentary (narrated by Christopher Lee) “In Search of Dracula” it was suggested that his body may have been relocated to under the altar of the chapel where he had been buried. This remains unconfirmed.

#Dracula #Castlevania #Hotel Transylvania #Christopher Lee #Gary Oldman #Bram Stoker's Dracula #Bram Stoker #Count Dracula #Vlad the Impaler

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meny-sempai · 6 years

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CASTLEVANIA is so good! Watch it on Netflix!

My art blog is becoming a total mess with these types of posts, but I just can’t control myself! Alucard is such a beautiful child and should be celebrated and hugged like a cute little cat.

Warning: Alucard fangirl is writting this XD

Warning: SPOILERS

I have to say thanks to the creators of the show and everyone who worked on it. Season 1 was a good introduction, season 2 was awesome and impossible to forget. I never played the games, but I knew about the Castlevania series because of the beautiful art and music for the games. Still, you can easily tell the show runners are fans and gamers and that they care so much about the details.

The fight scenes are some of the most imaginatively choreographed sequences I’ve ever seen and are animated and directed masterfully. You can feel the weight of characters when they move, you fill the pull of the swings and the gravity, you can feel and hear when the whip snaps and winds up, you feel the pressure she’s putting on the surroundings when Sypha goes full Avatar, you can see and feel the difference in the way vampires move from the way humans do. Even if the battle defies the laws of physics, even if the characters are over-powered, you don’t care. Not because it’s a cartoon based on a video game, but because the fights are grounded with good animation and sound effects. It also helps when the creators add characters making remarks, showing raw emotion, stumbling, missing the mark or playing “dirty”. It adds to realism.

I hear people say animation is stiff and low budget. I can see where they’re coming from, and I do admit, some scenes are stiff, they do avoid complicated movements and finesse in the “quiet parts” of the show. But, for me, I can let them be “lazy”, because all of these scenes have great lightening, fabulous backgrounds, good sound, fantastic VA work, top-notch quality dialog, good directing. Please, don’t forget how hard and time consuming it is to animate anything. And the creators chose to have a style that imitates Ayami Kojima’s. Animating in a complicated and detailed style is even harder.

Another plus that season 2 has is that they included original music. When I heard the first notes of Bloody Tears I flipped. I hope we’ll get more original music in season 3.

I heard there were some big changes in the characters of Isaac, Hector and Carmilla. As someone who never played the games, I can only say: I liked their characters and their roles in the show. I liked how they were introduced, I enjoyed all three of them and I can’t wait to see how they’ll grow in season 3. (Isaac, I respect you so much, but you scare the hell out of me. Hector, you are so naive and stupid, yet I can’t help but love you and feel like you are such a hurt and lonely person. Carmilla, I get your anger and I like your strength and independence, but you’re a bitch and you need to be stopped.)

Speaking of characters and “quiet parts” I love the fact that the writers decided to make this type of show into a character driven story. I have no clue how any of the main three and Dracula were in the games, but watching the show they feel like real people to me with real virtues and flaws and problems. What makes them so impactful as characters is the constantly evolving dynamics they have with each other. And this dynamics is all shown in seemingly pointless banter and silent looks and touches. Because of these moments the deep and emotional conversations have weight. They don’t come out of the blue, they are not out of character.

My favorite part of the dialog/or lack of it is the way they present the conversation. They care so much about the way the words are said, what expression people make when they say something, what kind of light there is in a frame, what objects are there and how people interact with them while they speak.

All in all, Castlevania has a very simple plot, but it does wonders with it. We are rooting for the good guys, but we’re also rooting for the bad guys. It’s insane.

Another insane thing is that a short show about video game hunters and vampires managed to hurt me on a deep emotional level. I did not see the bloody tears coming, man.

Yes, yes, it’s all Alucard, but you’ve been warned. I’m a woman with needs and I have a type.

I have no idea how the final battle in the game went down, but I think this was one of the best boss fights and the most appropriate way to put Dracula to rest. Everything and everyone was perfect in that final battle - the way the dork trio teamed up using each other’s strengths and protecting each other, the way Dracula was OP as fuck (while starving) and was pissed at everyone because he was tired of life, the words the son an father exchanged, the My boy... Our son... line, the way Dracula begged his son to kill him, the fear, confusion and pain of Alucard, the way Dracula wanted to hug his son, the way Trevor understandably wanted to protect Alucard and sliced Dracula’s head off, the way Alucard moved out of the way for Sypha to incinerate his father, the way those three welcomed the morning together - PERFECTION.

Those three are just perfect, I adore how they show their friendship and respect/trust to one another... and I like how Sypha and Trevor are a thing now... BUT WHY, why did you leave him alone?

He was so not ok, from the beginning of the show, he was way past being ok.

He’s sassy and can laugh, but he is so lonely, detached, cold... angry - just like Sypha said.

He wanted to make a grave for himself (to die), and my best bro Trevor pulled him out of the depression a little by giving him a task and his ultimate love/trust. But, that’s not enough. He’s still alone in the house with all the painful memories and proofs of death he himself had inflicted.

He needs a hug, he can’t be left to cry alone, what are friends for? I hope the power couple comes back quickly. I don’t think Alucard has anyone else.

Guys, watch Castlevania. I recommend the English dub. There is just something special in the English dub that I can’t put my finger on.

If I can make a wish for the season 3, I’d like to see more of this:

And this:

More juicy flashbacks for all our children, new and old, and more of Alucard acting like a vampire. Like... does he feed, how old is he exactly etc? Seriously, though, I want to know more about the vampires and about the Belmonts. They already teased us with Leon! Ooohh boy!

BONUS:

Just some proof how well rounded and real the characters are here.

Nope. This whole post was totally not an excuse to watch the show again just so that I can screenshot the fuck out of the golden half vampire bastard.

#castlevania #castlevania netflix #castlevania season 2 #dracula #alucard #adrian tepes #vlad tepes #animation #cartoon #anime

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inquisitivewordsmith · 6 years

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Action/Adventure Streaming Cartoons!

Hey, so Voltron: Legendary Defender recently ended. Want to watch some more animated shows in the similar genre of action and adventure?

The following is a recommendation list of some you can try out. Unlike my last “recommendation list”, (now renamed) this is an actual selected list of shows I either recommend or think look intriguing. So, not as comprehensive as that, but much more personal.

For this list, I’ll be focusing specifically on streaming ORIGINALS, so no shows that aired on TV first. Also, again, I’m specifically focusing on action and adventure cartoons. So, no live action shows or cartoon comedies. There is one example that blurs the line at the end, but I’ll deal with that when we get there. ;)

Let’s begin after the cut!

Hilda (Netflix)

One of the surprise hits of this year (at least for me), Hilda is a series based on Luke Pearson’s series of children’s books of the same name. It follows the adventures of Hilda, a brave little girl who goes on adventures and meets up with magical creatures before having to move to the city of Trolberg. This cartoon is delightful, charming, and has this sense of mystery and mystique without actually setting up a mystery. I had a blast watching it with my younger brother, who was a fan of the books.

Season one is out, with a season two scheduled for 2020.

She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (Netflix)

After Adora finds a mysterious sword in the forest, she begins to question the Horde, the empire she’s been working for in her whole life, and joins the opposing Rebellion as the legendary warrior, She-Ra. I don’t think I really need to recommend this one, considering how big it got. But yes, it lives up to the hype, some minor tonal issues aside. It’s a creative re-imagining of a beloved 80s cartoon classic. It’s very inclusive, has a great cast of likable and memorable characters, and hey, I’m actually a fan of the art style.

Season two is coming out soon, with at least a total of 52 episodes planned.

Castlevania (Netflix)

Again, another cartoon I don’t think I need to recommend. This is an adaptation of the video game series that follows the efforts of Trevor Belmont, Sypha, and Alucard as they try to stop Dracula’s murderous rampage. The plot isn’t something too deep or exciting, but the gorgeous animation and art style, as well as the bloody, gory, fun, make it an exciting watch. I’m actually going to go against the grain and say that the shorter runs are much better. I don’t think this is the kind of show that should deal with a “full” season run, but that’s just me.

Seasons one and two are out now, with a season three of 10 episodes on the way.

Tales of Arcadia: Trollhunters and 3Below (Netflix)

Executive produced by Guillermo del Toro, Trollhunters follows the adventures of Jim Lake Jr. and friends as they are embark in a journey to save mankind, as well as the magical community underneath their town, from evil forces. Trollhunters admittedly starts out as a bit of a cliche storm, but it finds its footing along the way into something more earnest. It probably has one of the best series finales I’ve seen this year. I haven’t seen 3Below yet, but it looks fun. I’ll make some time for it.

Seasons one to three of Trollhunters are out now, season one of 3Below is out now, and another spin-off, Wizards, is scheduled for 2019.

The Dragon Prince (Netflix)

From Aaron Ehasz and Giancarlo Volpe, this series follows Callum, his brother Ezran, and elf assassin Rayla as they protect the egg of the Dragon Prince and try to bring peace between the humans, elves, and dragons. The animation is not everyone’s cup of tea, but it wasn’t an issue with me. The art style and designs are gorgeous and the characters are pretty likable. It does hit some of the tone issues She-Ra does, but that’s an area I think the show may improve on as we get deeper into the story and conflict.

Season one is out now, with season two arriving some time in 2019.

Stretch Armstrong and the Flex Fighters (Netflix)

Three teenagers develop superpowers after accidentally becoming exposed to experimental chemicals. The CEO of Rook Unlimited takes them on as corporated-sponsored superheroes as they fight a conspiracy in their futuristic city. Are you feeling nostalgic for 2000s teen hero cartoons? This show is pretty much a throwback to that. Some of the strengths in this show include the likable protagonists, some creative fight scenes, the occasional plot twist, the best plot pacing I’ve seen in a Netflix series, and the amount of effort put into the world building for what essentially started out as a novelty toy from the 70s. It also assembles one of my favorite voice casts out there, including my favorite of Steven Yeun’s voice roles.

Seasons one and two are out now, with the interactive special, The Breakout, taking place in-between the seasons. I genuinely don’t know if there’s more episodes coming, but I’d like a couple more seasons, at least.

All Hail King Julien: Exiled (Netflix)

This is a weird example because this is season five of what is a largely comedic series. In this special season, after season four’s cliffhanger, King Julien loses his kingdom, and he and his friends go on their own separate quests to put things back to normal. The season takes on a different genre than usual and is more of a big, epic adventure that parodies other adventures like Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones, and The Chronicles of Narnia. It’s ambitious and VERY bizarre towards the end, but it’s a fun ride.

This season is out now, while the main series it comes from has five seasons out as well. This season takes place between seasons four and six.

Kung Fu Panda: The Paws of Destiny (Amazon Prime)

A continuation from the film series, Po must teach four young pandas to harness their newfound powers to fight an evil, ancient master. If you’re a fan of the series, it’s worth checking out. The CGI is pretty good considering it’s for a TV series, the fights are decent, and the kids are actually pretty likable. The show does a good job keeping the tone of the movies, Plus, you get to hear Steve Blum ham it up as the main villain. That’s always fun.

Season one is out now, with a season two heavily hinted to be on the way.

Kulipari (Netflix)

A passion project from NFL player Trevor Pryce and based on his novels, it’s the tale of Darel, a young frog who sets out to rescue his village from an army of warmongering scorpions by recruiting back his idols, the legendary warriors known as the Kulipari. Yeah, the animation is...not great and the pacing and dialogue falter a bit, but I love the art and designs, how much it's inspired by Aboriginal culture, and just the grand ambition of it all. Also, another show that has a pretty great voice cast.

Seasons one (Army of Frogs) and two (Dream Walker) are out now, with season three a strong possibility. There’s also a comic mini-series (Heritage) and an upcoming graphic novel (Warflower) that take place between the seasons.

Niko and the Sword of Light (Amazon Prime)

Niko is a young warrior that is accidentally awakened too early. Despite their young age, he and Princess Lyra must defeat the sorcerer Nar Est and save the kingdom from the darkness that infects it. This Emmy-winning series skews a bit younger, but it’s still pretty entertaining. Niko is endearing as a brave, bold warrior of sorts in the body of a young boy. The art style and Titmouse’s animation look great, and once again, we’ve got Steve Blum as the main villain.

Season one is out now, with season two coming in VERY soon. There is a one-shot comic based on the show.

The Hollow (Netflix)

This is a show I haven’t seen myself, but the little I’ve seen and heard of intrigues me. The show is about three teenagers who wake up inside a shack in the middle of the forest, with no memories of how they got there or of each other. They work together to dig deeper into the mystery and escape their predicament. The premise sounds pretty interesting and I love the art style by Robert Valley.

Season one is out now, with season two on the way for an unknown release date.

Legend Quest (Netflix)

Based on the Mexican animated movies Las Leyendas, this series features Leo, a teenage boy who can communicate with ghosts, and works together with ghosts and other allies to uncover supernatural mysteries and stop the Aztec god Quetzalcoatl from destroying the world in a fit of rage. These past few years have seen Mexican-produced animation become more prominent, and I’m personally happy about that. The show itself is pretty amusing, especially once you get past the first episode that can’t decide if the show is reboot or a continuation from the movies. The myth arc takes place after that, and things gets more interesting from there.

Season one is out now, with season two confirmed for an unknown release date. US Netflix USED to have the Las Leyendas movies it’s based from, but they don’t anymore, which is disappointing. They weren’t great, but they had a unique charm to them. They deal more with Mexican mythology, as opposed to the show’s globetrotting approach.

Young Justice: Outsiders (DC Universe)

Yeah, this is one show that blurs the line. This is the third season of Young Justice, produced and available exclusively for streaming (at this time). However, the previous two seasons were made for cable before Cartoon Network cancelled it (and all action cartoons at the time). This show deals with the sidekicks and students of DC comics’s most famous superheroes, who decide to form their own group and surpass the expectations set by their mentors. This show has the perfect combination of great art, animation, plot, and writing. It manages to be serious without being depressing and is essentially a massive love letter to the DC Comics Universe as a whole.

Seasons one and two, as well as the tie-in comic, are available now, with Outsiders coming out next month (as of writing). There is also a prequel one-shot comic to Outsiders coming out next month to DC Universe as well.

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aion-rsa · 4 years

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Assassin’s Creed: What the Netflix Series Can Learn From Castlevania and The Witcher

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Netflix recently announced its partnership with Ubisoft to develop multiple series based on the Assassin’s Creed franchise. The scope of this deal could eventually include both live-action and animated series, but the partnership will start with the production of a live-action adaptation of the best-selling games.

While there aren’t many official details available at this time regarding what parts of the Assassin’s Creed franchise these shows will cover, expectations are unusually high for these projects. Why? Well, Netflix happens to have produced two of the more notable adaptations with video game ties in recent memory: Castlevania and The Witcher, which was actually based on the books but came on the heels of the games’ success and borrowed elements from the CD Projekt Red titles.

With that in mind, let’s take a look at a few of the most important lessons that the Assassin’s Creed Netflix adaptations can learn from the success that Castlevania and The Witcher have enjoyed thus far.

Assassin’s Creed Shouldn’t Take Things So Seriously

There’s this weird thing that happens with some video game adaptations we’ll call the “respect reach.” Maybe it’s because there’s still this lingering perception that video games aren’t respected by wide audiences, but many video game adaptations just take things too seriously.

One of the first things that jumped out to me about Netflix’s Castlevania is the way that the show quickly established its sense of humor. Even The Witcher’s moments of levity lead to some of its best scenes. By keeping things light when possible, those shows managed to entertain their audiences first while setting up the next dramatic reveal.

There’s a sense of humor in the best Assassin’s Creed games that this upcoming adaptation could very well use to distinguish itself from the Assassin’s Creed movie (and other, lesser adaptations out there) so long as the showrunners aren’t too concerned with needing to be taken seriously.

Assassin’s Creed Shouldn’t Be Afraid of More “Mature” Content

The Assassin’s Creed series typically earns a “Mature” rating from the ESRB, but the game aren’t necessarily known for their violence and sexually explicit content. The rating is more of a technicality necessitated by the nature of the game’s assassination mechanics and bloody combat. For what it’s worth, Castlevania and The Witcher both feature more “mature” content such as language, violence, and even nudity. Those elements don’t inherently make a show good (just as the lack of them doesn’t make a show bad), but it’s interesting that the two adaptations share this quality.

Maybe the lesson is that Assassin’s Creed needs to be willing to incorporate that kind of content if it all helps the pacing, storytelling, characters, or other key production elements. This kind of goes hand in hand with keeping things light, as Assassin’s Creed needs to make sure it has the creative freedom needed to ensure its most dramatic moments land as intended.

Assassins’ Creed Needs to Keep Things Simple (At First)

Part of the reason that the first season of Castlevania worked as well as it did was that it offered a relatively short (four episodes) setup of bigger things to come. Conversely, some of The Witcher’s stumbles can be attributed to its complicated multiple timeline structure that often struggled to cleanly introduce a large cast of characters and effectively establish its world’s mythology.

There’s a value to keeping things simple that feels especially relevant to the Assassin’s Creed series. The Assassin’s Creed games feature a complicated mythology that even some people who’ve played every game in the franchise struggle to keep up with, especially when you bring in the present-day sci-fi lore that serves as a gateway to the historical stuff.

Those complicated mythology story beats will come in time, but when Assassin’s Creed debuts, it should focus on its characters, world, and style before trying to dive deeper.

Assassin’s Creed Shouldn’t be Too Worried About Sticking to the Games’ Stories

Speaking of the Assassin’s Creed stories, there’s a strong argument to be made that the upcoming Netflix series shouldn’t be too concerned with sticking close to them.

Not only do the Assassin’s Creed games sometimes get bogged down in the series’ mythology, but they span hundreds of years and incorporate hundreds of characters. One of the great things about the newer games is that they get the chance to do their own thing (to a certain degree) beyond the present-day Desmond Miles story established in the first few games.

As we saw in Castlevania, it’s sometimes valuable for writers to take what they need from a series while ultimately using those aspects as the basis for a tale of their own design. In fact, we wouldn’t even mind if every Assassin’s Creed season told an anthology story set during a different era, unrestricted from a convoluted frame story about the end of the world.

Assassin’s Creed Needs to Feel Like a Big Production

One of the things that immediately separated The Witcher from both other Netflix series and other video game adaptations is the investment that Netflix made in its production quality. Netflix has invested big money in its series before, but The Witcher showed every dollar spent in the quality of its production rather than on the actors and directors attached to it.

It’s hard to imagine how Assassin’s Creed will succeed if it doesn’t walk a similar path. Most of the Assassin’s Creed games benefit from larger budgets that typically go towards crafting a visually stunning recreation of a certain time period. If Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed tries to save a few dollars in the wrong places, it’s immediately going to look like the half-hearted effort some fans fear it could ultimately be.

cnx.cmd.push(function() { cnx({ playerId: "106e33c0-3911-473c-b599-b1426db57530", }).render("0270c398a82f44f49c23c16122516796"); });

A big budget doesn’t guarantee that Netflix’s Assassin’s Creed will be a quality show. However, a big budget does afford the showrunners the space they need to figure out how this adaptation is going to fit into a rapidly evolving media landscape that’s certainly not lacking in competition.

The post Assassin’s Creed: What the Netflix Series Can Learn From Castlevania and The Witcher appeared first on Den of Geek.

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#aion-rsa #Den of Geek

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movietvtechgeeks · 7 years

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Latest story from https://movietvtechgeeks.com/netflix-castlevania-perhaps-best-cinematic-video-game-adaptation/

Netflix 'Castlevania:' Perhaps the Best Cinematic Video Game Adaptation

I’ll say it again, now is a great time to be a geek thanks to all the great cinematic comic book adaptations coming out like Spider-Man: Homecoming, Doctor Strange and Wonder Woman; the return of classic video games and a combination of both in Netflix’s Castlevania TV series. Comic books are now enjoying great adaptations on both the big and small screens, but video games haven’t been so lucky. The new Castlevania TV series from Netflix went out to challenge the game to cinema slump that has plagued the industry. I can name only two western animated series in the past that were somewhat true to their games, and that’s Mega Man and Legend of Zelda. The most successful videogame to film franchise is Resident Evil starring Mila Jovovich, but the series, unfortunately, ended on a low note. Financially, the series was okay but storywise, the series was terrible. Just saw Doom on cable and that didn’t have much luck either. But Castlevania, in animated form, is just amazing and perhaps a live-action adaptation given the same script, visuals and choreography would have been great as well. I’d like to congratulate writer Warren Ellis (Iron Man: Extremis, Astonishing X-Men), producer Adi Shankar (Dredd 2012, Power Rangers Fan Film) and company for re-capturing many gamers’ childhoods and reinvigorating their adulthood. As mentioned before, Castlevania is my favorite action-adventure video game franchise. Well, until the 16-bit era. The current crop of Castlevania games isn’t my cup of tea especially after they screwed up the character design. Devil May Cry I and II would have been great additions. Anyway, I still play Castlevania I to IV whenever I get the chance and would snap up the upcoming SNES Classic Edition if I can. Nintendo, call Tim Cook for supply chain tips if you have to. Unfortunately, I haven’t played through Castlevania III from which the Netflix TV series is based on, as I don’t have much time and is too difficult. The old reflexes aren’t what they used to be. Anyway, the series’ story and characterizations were fascinating. Right off the bat, (no puns intended but might as well have), Dracula is given some character and even a love interest, and thus we’re given his motivation for the entire series. That love interest also explains the origin of his son Alucard who is featured in the games Castlevania III and the acclaimed Castlevania: Symphony of the Night. His love interest humanizes the Lord of the Vampires so imagine what happens upon losing that. It’s like Dracula: Untold and Bram Stoker’s Dracula all over again. Yes, one thing that fascinates me about Castlevania is the Lord of Vampires. Bram Stoker’s Dracula is actually the first paperback I read for an English book report still inspired by the Hammer Horror films I vaguely remember. The series also gives us a fascinating backstory about the Belmont family. That they’re a known family that dealt with the supernatural but later excommunicated by the church and forced into exile resulting in the vagabond character Trevor Belmont featured in the series. Trevor is featured as a drunken wanderer, seemingly wandering without purpose until he finds it after wandering into a city under siege by Dracula’s forces. Trevor Belmont then rescues magician character Sypha Belnades in a quest to rescue a group of Speakers, the equivalent of a modern humanitarian charity group from both the church and Dracula’s final siege. And lastly, they meet Dracula’s vampire son, Alucard in a quest to awaken the town’s supposed legendary savior. The visuals are simply amazing. The series opted for anime style to better convey all the action and violence that the script requires. The animators tried to adapt the NES game’s colors in their character designs for both Sypha and Simon. Dracula looks close to his design in Castlevania: Symphony of the Night and we geeks and gamers appreciate that very much. Loose adaptations sink ships you know. Simon’s design was great, and Sypha was just terribly attractive. Alucard looks wonderful as well. But what about the knife wielding Grant Danasty? He’s not in the current season but maybe in the second which has recently been greenlit given how amazing this first season is. If one has to nitpick, it’s how the Catholic Church was depicted and demonized as the real enemy within the first season. The series may not be historically accurate as to the Vlad Tepes character himself, but it delves much on the bloody history of the Catholic Church during medieval times. God bless their poor ignorant souls for their treatment of learned women and non-conformists in the past that actually drives this whole story. About the whole story, the first season is basically a setup but a great one before the actual castle action begins. This is not a cartoon for young children ladies and gentlemen. It’s for us who don’t mind seeing a lot of blood, guts, severed limbs and entrails. There’s a lot of inappropriate language as well. It’s an R-rated show for language and violence. Someone tells you you’re too old for cartoons; they’re sorely mistaken. Netflix Castlevania is perhaps the best videogame to screen adaptation I’ve seen by far and is a must-see if you love the franchise and video games in general.

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#Castlevania #Featured #Netflix #TV Reviews

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aurimeanswind · 7 years

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Lore to the Nth Degree

So the Castlevania Netflix show premiered today, and I thought it’d be fun to kind of explore what I felt about it. I’ve watched only the first episode, but I think there is a lot of room to go off of what is shaping up to be a really fantastic series.

I can’t remember the last time a video game got turned into a 2D animated series. I mean series, not movie, which there have been plenty of. I mean sure, Tak and the Power of Juju was a whole Nickelodeon show, and it actually wasn’t that bad, but it was a 3D animated show that wasn’t really about the games or trying to be an original thing, it was just a kids show. The one that comes to mind that does fit this criteria is the Zelda cartoon, which I know wasn’t necessarily the last one of these, there was definitely a Mario show and a Sonic show somewhere in the mix. I mean, Sonic gets put into 2D animation every now and again it seems, so that may have strictly been the last one that happened.

But Castlevania has the benefit of a great dream team of animation works, being based on a video game that is very dark in tone, and it is also a video game series that we haven’t seen a real, well received iteration of in a long, long time. I think the last Castlevania game was Lords of Shadow 2, which was not as well received as the first one, and got away from what made those games special. This animated series is harkening back to the original games in a big way, but beyond that, it feels like it lovingly cares about those games.

Anytime you try and make a thing based on an already made work, whether it be a movie on a book or comic book, or a video game based on a show or movie, I think there needs to be a moment of realization that you can’t just make the same thing again. There isn’t a point to that, things don’t just translate from one medium to another. Being Simon Belmont and running through a spoopy castle for no reason and killing a bunch of flying bats and then a big flying bat at the end doesn’t convert one-to-one in TV show form.

That’s not what this is. Instead, it immediately sets up a world, a lore for Dracula. We see him meet a woman and the sparks fly between them, only to have her taken away from the world that she taught him to try and love. It destroys him from the inside, and that rage explodes out, and of course it needs to be stopped. That’s a far more interesting set up for a Castlevania story in general, and it makes Dracula a character, more than a final boss.

But beyond that, the inclusion of towns, of Dracula’s moving castle, of monsters, and of apparently Alucard(??) makes this more than just one Castlevnia story. It takes a bit from multiple stories and rolls them together. It makes you at least feel like the creators took a long look at the lore of Castlevania and all that has happened in that series, and really wanted to create a story around those characters that was brutal, violent, and compelling. Obviously we want to assume this, but more often than not these things have a thrown-together feel that push the viewer away.

But my point here is creating lore in a relatively loreless lineage. There is more Lore in the later games, especially on handhelds, but if we look at the original NES/SNES games, there wasn’t a ton to go off of. Building a history in a world like that is hard, but tying it to time period and the names you recognize makes so much sense. Instead of doing what’s been done in the games, interpret it in your own way. That’s what’s so exciting about this series. That and Castlevania hasn’t been around in gaming to tell cool stories for a minute, so this means we could see more of that if this series does well.

I’m excited to keep watching, and I definitely recommend the show to any fans of the games series out there!

#video games #castlevania #netflix #tv shows #television #lore #unexplored #alucard #dracula #don't break the chain

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thatguysamaniac-blog · 5 years

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Every now and then a conversation sparks up round the water cooler at TGAM Towers that goes along the lines of someone asking "So is gaming mainstream yet?". Hours, insults, fisticuffs and a reminder on policy on worker in the work place later, inevitably the conclusion is a firm not yet. We're not expecting an overnight transformation. But what would it take? We have game inspired video games at the Box Office (okay so they're rarely great), Final Fantasy menus in restaurants, Splatoon and Pokemon collaboration ranges with Uniqlo, LEGO collaborations with Blizzard, Midway and SEGA. Museum exhibitions on video games, design and art. Gaming content seemingly dominates large swathes of the Internet from Youtube through to Youporn. Yet admitting that you choose to spend your time playing video games every now and then still feels, in the UK at least, akin to admitting that you strictly only eat the faces of babies because that's where the softest meat is. When Does This Pre-Amble End? When it comes to the real world, specifically the high street, video games themselves have virtually no presence at all. In fact it's got worse since our budding interest grew in the 1990s. Arcades are all but dead, few cities have a dedicated game retailer (you might be able to find a grotty copy of NBA 2018 in one of those laptop/mobile repair shops), major supermarkets stock perhaps 4.5 games and media stores in general are critically endangered. TV never manged to 'get' gaming and even though Esports is making huge strides it's still not managed to topple the likes of darts, snooker and cricket from their prime time perches (or even get broadcast at all away from the Internet). When we first got into gaming we'd wet our pants even when video games penetrated the mass media in the lamest ways from those Lucozade Tomb Raider ads. to the awful why-can't-anyone-crack-gaming-content-on-TV shows and even feigning support for those Resident Evil films when there was frankly nothing else on the horizon. However, now that Netflix is a national sport we're almost drowning in a rich and diverse soup of game-related content. Most of which is total pants. Some of which is bonkers and dare I say some might even have appeal beyond those who would call themselves a gamer (and cringes at the same time because nobody over the age of 12 unironically calls themselves a gamer). Gaming content is so prevalent on Netflix, it even has it's own category, two in fact! Does this mean gaming is mainstream yet? No you babyface eating monster it doesn't are you mad? Gaming Shit Currently on UK Netflix (Alphabetically) The Adventures of Super Mario Bros. 3 Okay so for all the hype up top, a lot of this stuff is cheesy kid's cartoons. This is a 30 year old cheesy cartoon loosely based on that hot new video game release Super Mario Bros. 3 and although a smidgen better than the Super Mario Bros. Super Show.... it's amazing this franchise didn't just die in the 90s. Remember King Koopa and Princess Toadstool? 13 episodes. 13 episodes too many. Angry Birds Can any lawyers out there help? Is there some EU mandated law that means video game tie-in media has to come out decades after the thing it is based on became culturally irrelevant? Three seasons of this steaming mess and I've not got to the will to work out if this is related to the movie, the sequel movie out THIS YEAR(?), the toons series or how it will fit in with the WHO IS ASKING FOR THIS CONTENT 'long form' cartoon out in 2020. For those of you younger than 10, i.e. the target audience for this stuff, Angry Birds used to be a video game. Black Mirror Sometimes very video game inspired, sometimes not, this series makes us question our relationship with technology makes us feel even worse for prodding a phone screen and writing swears to other 14 year olds online. Recommended watching but not all in one go mind. Castlevania Supposedly a decent anime version of the games. I've not watched all of it because I only played Castlevania 64 and Dawn of Sorrow and if you don't understand who any of the characters are, it's reaaalllly slow and boring. Worth a try if you actually have engaged with the critically acclaimed series unlike us. Digimon Fusion Ergh. Dirty. No. Bad Mega Bloks. No. Dinosaur King Ahhh dinosaur games. Archaeologists have found ancient scrolls that record the Dinosaur King was actually a video game and collectible card game from 2005. This is the series from 2008 that absolutely is not based on Pokemon at all and mixes anime style and really really bad looking CGI. Final Fantasy XIV: Dad of Light Okay, this series is actually brilliant. Remember how Pinball Wizard was a feature movie advert for Super Mario Bros. 3? Well this is a series length advert for Final Fantasy XIV told through the heart warming story of an awkward Japanese man and his awkward relationship with his awkward recently retired Dad and he tries to rebuild that relationship by getting him into Final Fantasy XIV because they used to play Final Fantasy together. Each week is a new challenge as his Dad quits because of a mechanic he doesn't understand that helpfully his son and his guildmates help explain. Passable on it's own but elevated to must watch by a few scenes that use familiar Final Fantasy sounds that get this glorified advert tugging on the heart strings. Halo Shit Includes Halo 4: Forward Until Dawn, Halo Legends and Halo Fall of Reach. The first one is live action and frankly awful. Legends is to Halo what Animatrix was to the Matrix and worth a watch. I've watched Halo: Fall of Reach six or seven times and I can't tell you what happens so try it perhaps? Hi Score Girl Weird anime homage to early arcades told through the relationship of a nerdy arcade kid and an aloof posh girl who is very good at video games but not allowed to play them at home. Watch if you you always wondered about turtling in Street Fighter 2 but didn't actually look it up in the last 30 years. Probably very nostalgic for 30 something Japanese gamers. Which isn't us. Ingress the Animation I've impressed myself that I didn't miss this. Remember Ingress the AR mobile game that nobody had heard of until it got a Pokemon Go reskin? No neither did I. Well apparently someone along the way believed so strongly in the Ingress vision that they commissioned an anime series in 2018. Really slow. Extremely Japanese. If the game was anything like this then we can understand why nobody has heard of it. Kingsglaive: Final Fantasy XV (NO LONGER AVAILABLE) This appears to have been pulled which is a shame as it was alright. Apparently, I'm reliably told the events of this film are really important to the context of the game and only told in this film. Errr tough anyway you missed it here. Minecraft Story Mode Fuck off. Pacman and the Ghostly Adventures Perhaps takes the award for being the least relevant television tie-in ever. We got two seconds in before reaching for the revolver and the sweet release of a bullet kiss to the brain. All the tropes of Saturday morning cartoons with none of the charisma. Remarkably there's also a Halloween and Christmas Merry Berry short to make both of those holidays even more intolerable. Brilliant soundtrack though. Pixels Probably the best worst video game related movie of all time. I'm not sure who the audience was when it came out and with each year gets more and more obscure. It stays the same amount of crap though which is a lot of crap. Pokemon Want to watch only the first and last series of the anime and whatever random films seem to be on Netflix at the time? Knock yourself out. For us this is the UK being shit at commercialising this shit at its worst. Its very worst. The entirety of Pokemon has never been available in the UK at the same time ever. We never got VHS/DVD releases for most series or cinematic releases for some of the films. The Pokemon TV app frustratingly cycles episodes in and out and bizarrely Netflix is missing the middle 91 seasons and the first 38 films. It doesn't fucking matter anyway every episode is the same except the latest season where every episode is the same but set in a school BECAUSE WE'RE ALL CHILDREN AND WE FIND SCHOOL SUPER RELATABLE. There's also a creepy birthday video, hilariously with characters from a season otherwise not available on Netflix. Is it too much to ask to employ one person part-time to curate this shit? Rabbids Invasion File under striking whilst the iron is... you know what, I can't hate on the Rabbids. I really want to but honestly they're brilliant and most of their games are too. Probably brilliant. Strangely only the 4th season is available...? Red Vs Blue The series that built the house of goofing around in games. Early seasons have not aged well at all. How did we put up with the awful sound and even worse 'plot'? 124 seasons of this madness though so if you're in palliative care and want to speed things along... Resident Evil: Afterlife Hysterically, only the middle film is available serving the incredibly niche audience of people who like the Milaverse Resident Evil films but are four films behind. Skylanders Academy Remember the smash hit wallet biting Toys to Life game series that ran itself and all the imitators into the ground from 2011 to 2016 and now fill attics and sheds the world over? Well now you can enjoy the 2018 animated series with all handfuls of your favourite characters. Set in a high school. There's also a weird 1 minute long happy birthday message thing that a lot of the kid's shows have done on Netflix so if you really hate your kid and want to let them know you should show them that on their birthday I guess. Smosh the Movie Is this video games? They look cuntish enough to be Youtubers and this movie is exactly as awkward as you'd expect when Youtubers try to do something proper with make up, production values and nice cameras. Like that *cringes* Game Grumps series. Or when that *mega cringes* green haired kid did that Fortnite dance at that thing. Suggested watching if you're need that extra push to do the right thing and end yourself before it all gets a bit Fallouty round here. Sonic Boom This is the weird one that all the furries like. Tomb Raider I think the rebooted film before the current reboot? Is casting ladies from the North of the UK to be Lara Croft still a thing? In this movie Lara Croft, I kid you not, is a Deliveroo driver and... it does pick up from there but in a very formulaic and inoffensive kinda way. Video Game High School (NO LONGER AVAILABLE) And be fucking thankful. What if instead of lessons at school you played different video games? Live action series with hands down one of the worst cast of actors of all time. Ridiculous premise (which of course later sort of became real with several Universities running esports programmes) glad it got removed to be honest. Yokai Watch The new new Pokemon with 80% less appeal. Not 100% sure the game series is still going. Children's Shows and Toilet Contents So there we have it. No doubt there's a few I missed and some of this may have disappeared by the time you're reading this. A rich smorgasbord of children's cartoons and questionable content that got a pass because it's video games. At the time of writing, there's virtually no adult content and currently no documentaries. Which is a shame. If they wanted, Netflix could become the de facto place for curated traditionally produced gaming related content from Street Fighter live action movie and animated series, the CG Resident Evil Films, Pinball Wizard, King of Kong, Silent Hill one and two, the Dead Space films etc. etc. Instead it seems that they're content to maintain this weird ever changing half complete line up of irrelevant at launch factory manufactured kid's shows and single films from a series. Perhaps they are right though, there's no point competing with YouTube and Twitch which now host infinity hours worth of quality content that gamers are already spending millions of pounds on supporting. Is gaming mainstream yet? Looks like we need to wait until one of the grumpy white middle class hacks at the Guardian produces an op-ed on why they're giving up on Rabbids Invasion despite everyone at dinner parties talking about it or how Smosh the Movie made them bicurious one evening. It's perhaps better to stay in the margins of the old media whilst defining new media (at a ripe young 40), after all REALLY PUNCHY FINISHER. Right?

http://www.thatguys.co.uk/2019/07/gaming-shit-on-netflix.html

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