We're all just stories in the end.

Star Wars: The Last Jedi

2017-12-15T16:59:19Z

Saw the new Star Wars movie. Wanted a place I could talk about my thoughts on it without risking spoilering anyone. Be warned ALL THE SPOILERS EVER behind this cut.

This is gonna be ramble. Just got back from the new Star Wars movie, and I'm still digesting it in my head, but I wanted to put my thoughts down because overall I think I came out of this movie really unhappy with it, and I want preserve my thoughts before I start reading other reviews or whatever. I didn't hate everything, but overall I left feeling unhappy. So, in no particular order:

Too many characters doing too many stupid/unimportant things. Lots of plots kind of everywhere, a lot of which just weren't interesting/felt tedious. Number 1 was the casino detour which was so stupid it hurts, and it amounted to nothing but a big waste of time. It gave Finn something to do, I guess, but it was really dumb. Maybe the betraying dude will come back at some point, but mostly that whole sequence left me twitching in my seat.

The whole movie felt like one of those movies where shit keeps happening just to fuck the situation up a little more so they have to keep running? It's a common theme in some movies and I absolutely hate it. The exit is clear and then suddenly EVENT happens and the exit is moved back five paces, then it happens again and again and again. It's a cheap and unrealistic way of building suspense, and gets absurd when you push it to the scale this movie did with people running from a planet to space ships, to smaller space ships, to another planet, to a door, to a tunnel, etc. It's just exhausting and tedious. It's not exciting, it's frustrating. And the longer everyone important to the plot lives through events like these, the less and less meaningful they are. Not that I want important people to die, but if they don't then there are literally no stakes. I don't care (much) about the secondary/background characters. Obviously I don't want the Rebels to all die, but when 20 ships are being picked off one-by-one and 19 of the ships have faceless background characters on them and one has all the main cast... there's just no fear. It's just tedium to get to the next sequence because I know everyone in the main cast is not about to be blown up.

Kylo Ren is such a fucking baby whiny manchild brat asshole dick. I DO NOT UNDERSTAND THIS CHARACTER. I do not understand his motivations or why anyone likes him. His actor's choices for the role are also often mindboggling. There were a few moments where he had some personality and interesting traits, but overall I just don't understand him. I cannot comprehend what went so terribly bad in his pampered little baby boy life that he got so seduced to the dark side by Snoke that he's totally down with killing his family, and also all these millions of Rebels. I just don't get it. I don't get why he hates Luke with such a fiery passion, either. Hating Luke I get, but the whole scene where he says FIRE EVERYTHING ON THAT MAN.... why? Why do you hate Luke so much? There's one scene where Luke maybe tried to kill him, and I get that was traumatizing for him. But, where did the fiery rage come from? I can make excuses for it, like Snoke convinced him Luke was some crazy asshole, or whatever. But it just doesn't make sense. That's just me making excuses for the movie's bad writing. There's no good explanation for why Kylo was so seduced so thoroughly. When you compare his upbringing to Anakin's, it's like a joke. Anakin makes sense why he went to the Dark Side. We got a real understanding of his descent into the Dark Side and how he was seduced, and how he thought it was his only out/the only way he could protect people he loved/etc. There's none of that with Kylo. Basically the only explanation is that he's a psychopath, and like... that could be okay? Some people are psychopaths. Hux is probably one. But I don't think that's the interpretation we're meant to have for him. We're meant to think he's got light remaining and that he's redeemable, I just don't see how.

As he is he's just an utterly unlikable, nonredeemable character. Because he has no logical motivation for his petulant behavior, he's unsympathetic and since he's unsympathetic I can't root for his redemption. Even if he was turned to the light side, he'd still need to die for all the shit he's done. There's just no coming back from that. He's not a villain with shades of grey to him, he's just all black and that makes him really uninteresting to me.

Did they really need to kill off Luke like that? What an anticlimactic and unnecessary death. The stuff before it was interesting/cool, and the whole projection thing was very neat. I get why it would've exhausted him so much... but so much to the point of death... ehhhh. That seemed unnecessary. I suspect he'll be around as a Force ghost, but. Meh. It was very underwhelming after what was otherwise a cool fight sequence.

I'll never understand why they don't land their ships and things closer to their destination. Like the huge cannon thing, why not land it within immediate firing range? Why land 5 miles away?

Didn't need Rose randomly kissing Finn. Not sure where that was coming from? Was it just to try to drive a wedge into the Finn/Rey romance/relationship that seems way more natural and obvious? If it amounts to nothing then I guess whatever. She's a fangirl and was dying so whatever. But if it turns into a romance I'm gonna be seriously side-eyeing everything.

Overall there was too much happening and not enough down time. When I think about this compared to Empire Strikes Back, there's just no heart to it the way Empire had. This just has too many characters and kept trying to follow them all. They needed to focus on just Rey and Finn, with everyone else pivoting around them as secondary characters. Their reunion should've felt like Leia rescuing Han in RotJ. But instead we're following Poe (who is relevantly unimportant, I'm sorry, he just is) for huge parts of it, and what he's doing is largely uninteresting/tedious/boring because he's fighting in battles we are almost positive he won't die in, and causing trouble that we almost certainly know won't affect the major plot of the show. In fact, I'm almost positive if you removed most of Poe's solo scenes the movie would progress just fine on its own.

And instead of giving Finn something useful to do, they just sent him off on some illogical chase to some other planet to fuck around for a few hours? What? Why not just send everyone with him? Why not at least send as many people as could possibly fit onto that ship to get them to safety? Why not try to do more trips like that to other nearby planets? If they could get to that casino world so easily in that ship why was it taking so long to get the other ships to that old rebel base planet? Also, why didn't they fly the freighter into the Star Destroyer way earlier? Why was that not even a consideration? Why just let the Admiral die pointlessly when they could've planned from the start that after abandoning ship she'd fly it straight into the Star Destroyer? Why couldn't THAT have been the plan she was saving all along to tell Poe? And not wanting to tell him because he'd be angry about it, but it would've proven that she really was a capable, desperate war general and would've made a lot more sense that just having her sitting in her chair piloting (WHY IS SHE EVEN PILOTING??) the ship. How does that thing not have auto pilot? Aughhhh, that was all so stupid.

I don't know why everyone is frothy about the porgs. They were kind of cute when the first showed up, but got real old real fast. Overused. The salt dogs were much more interesting and way less gimmicky feeling.

We should've seen more of Leia's Force abilities prior to her flying through space. Don't get me wrong, that was awesome, but I wanted to see more build up prior to that, or at least a few words somewhere that she'd had some Jedi training.

I did like how Snoke was the one orchestrating the link between Rey and Kylo, but I think it's absolutely moronic that Rey didn't tell Luke that she was having these visions/connections. How did she not think that was a *little* important? I would've also liked to have seen more actual Jedi training for her. Lifting the X-Wing out of the water, running with Luke tied to her back, actually sparring with the lightsaber instead of just swinging it at a rock. I was so excited for her to meet Luke and train from him, but I feel like almost all of their time together was wasted. She wouldn't open up to him, and he wouldn't open up to her, and the training she got was sort of half-assed/stories. Some interesting moments, but just nothing really deep. (I also still think it's really dumb that the rebellion was depending SO MUCH on finding Luke that they based the whole first movie around finding the map to him, but once they finally found a way to him... they sent one random girl they'd just met. And Chewie. Why didn't they at least send a couple of people? Or at least someone Luke knew?)

Speaking of the previous movie, we got several scenes there that gave the impression that Rey was originally trained as a Jedi and witnessed Kylo's attack on the others. Didn't we? I distinctly remember a scene of her as a small child watching as a shadowy figure with a lightsaber attacked and her being abandoned on Jakku by her family. And I remember her reaction and visions when she touched Luke's lightsaber the first time. I'm TOTALLY FINE with her parents being nobodies (if that's even the truth), but it doesn't explain those visions. I'm totally fine with her naturally being awesome with the Force and I like the idea that as Kylo grew stronger in the Dark Side someone would grow equally strong in the Light Side, but I still feel like Rey needs more explanation for why she can do the things she can do. Maybe that'll be in the third movie, but I suspect we're just supposed to believe she naturally knows how to influence minds, sword fight and lift rocks, and I don't quite buy that.

I'm trying to think of more things I liked. Seeing Leia was wonderful. She's a hardcore badass, but of course it was tinged with a lot of sadness. I wanted a much better reunion between Luke and Leia and it's sad to know that even if she were alive we wouldn't get it because they decided to kill off Luke. I'm not opposed to Luke dying, but it didn't serve a really big purpose. Just bought them a bit of time to escape from a retarded situation they put themselves into... Wait, sorry I'm complaining again.

Ugh, I dunno. Everything I'm thinking about is annoying me. Yoda's scene was weird. Can he just show up whenever? Why then? Why not during a more important moment? The way he talked made it seem like he hadn't seen Luke in a long time, but showing up then just seemed random since he didn't stop Luke from destroying the Jedi books.

A whole host of native nuns living on that tiny island was kind of weird/unnecessary.

Ugh, I dunno. Overall I just wanted a more streamlined story, following the main character, where shit *actually happens*. Other than Kylo killing Snoke, almost nothing happened in this movie. The rebels moved from one location to another taking ridiculously huge casualities and killing some Imperials too, and that's about it. I think the whole movie took less than a week. (Gotta love their magical time travel.)

The visuals were stunning, and it was great to see some characters interacting again, but a much better story would have involved the rebels escaping to a small base, having some quiet down time with just our main cast all together (Rey, Finn and Leia, maybe Poe), and following them as they went as a group together to confront Kylo (or vice versa). Spreading everyone out in varying storylines did no service to the story, and weakened it a lot in Finn and Poe's case because their stories weren't interesting. Rey's was the only interesting storyline and should've been the main/central one, but it felt quite sidelined at times.

The Force Awakens wasn't perfect, but it definitely felt better written, with much better pacing and characterizations than whatever this was. I felt like this was just really jagged and poorly put together, with lots of superfluous/time filling scenes, many of which went on for way too long. I constantly felt bored, thinking, "Get back to the main plot!" while I'm watching yet another pointless space battle.

I'm really sad. I love Star Wars. I was so pumped and ready for this movie, and I just don't think I liked it. I can't see myself settling into excitedly rewatch this the way I could other Star Wars movies. There's just no heart in this one for me. It's almost all empty action.

Ugh. Convince me I'm wrong.

Sales / fundraising post

2013-07-24T23:27:38Z

I am home at last from PlayOnCon, a small summer-camp-themed convention in Birmingham, Alabama. It was quite the experience! I had a lot of fun and got to room with one of my favorite YouTubers, but as I know that almost no one on LJ now cares about that part of my life, I won't go on about it.

My next convention is PAX Prime at the end of August. Prior to now I've been using my funds from magnet sales on Etsy to fund my conventions, but since my Etsy shop has been shut down, money had been tight over the summer. As a result, I thought I'd try to do a little fundraising/selling of fannish things.

Links are to eBay auctions of the same item, NOT MY AUCTIONS.

Doctor Who:
9th Doctor DVD series 1 - $30
9th Doctor MIB figure - $20
Second Doctor "Tomb of the Cyberman" MIB figure (color) - $50
Second Doctor "Tomb of the Cyberman" MIB figure (B&W) - $50
Leela "Face of Evil" MIB figure - $15
Unpersonalized autographed copy of Frazer Hines' "Hines Sight" hardback book - $20

Star Trek:
"Star Trek - Enterprise" action figures of the main cast, all MIB. Regular uniform: Archer, Reed, Trip. EVA Suits: Archer, Hoshi, T'Pol. $10 each for the figures, sans non-EVA Suit Trip who is ultra rare and worth about $50. $20 for each of the Deluxe sets (Archer and Reed)

Blake's 7:
Blake's 7 "Liberator Chronicles" CD radio drama (unopened) - $30

DVD:
9th Doctor Series 1 - $30
~~Star Trek: TOS S1-3 - $70~~
Animaniacs S1 & 2 - $20 each
Robot Chicken S1 & 2 - $15 each
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (old boxed sets) - $150
Dragonball Z complete DVD set S1 - S9 - $190
Dragonball GT DVD set A 1 & 2 - $30
Firefly DVD series - $15 (unopened slim case, 4-disc set) (I originally bought this to give to someone who hadn't seen the series.)

Bluray:
Rome S1 & S2 (unopened) - $20 each
Thor (Bluray + DVD + digital copy) (unopened) - $15
The Dark Knight two-disc special edition (unopened) - $10

Homestar Runner:
Kick the Cheat plushie with original box, still working - $50.

Labyrinth:
~~Cult Classics Jareth action MIB figure - $30~~

Rocky Horror Picture Show:
Frank N Furter MIB figure - $15

I also still have a lot of magnets printed as stock I'd like to clear. They're no longer on a website, but you can see what I've got available.

I've also got a lot of other stuff I'm just not listing here from Lord of the Rings, anime, Star Wars, you name it, so if you're wanting to help out but don't see anything you want, you might mention a fandom and I'll let you know if I have anything from it to sell. XD Feel free as well to make me offers.

Shipping is not included, but shouldn't be too bad. I will ship internationally, and of course will combine shipping and make deals for multiple purchases. I don't expect a lot of activity on this post since LJ is so dead these days, but if you guys want to do a signal boost, feel free. <3 Thanks very much.

Pictures of any actual things I own are available upon request, no problem. :)

Minecraft

2012-05-05T10:18:53Z

Any chance any of you play Minecraft? I've been slowly playing more and more recently, even getting into some of the LPs, and recently bought a small server for my friend and I to play together on. It can hold up to ten people, so I certainly wouldn't mind seeing some more of my friends on from time to time. I'm pretty sure I've never heard any of you talk about Minecraft, which I'd imagine you would if you played, but then again, I'm not sure I've ever mentioned it either, and I've played for months, so.

Anyone play and want to play with me? :D

Harry, Draco and Snape magnet set. :D

2012-03-15T19:58:57Z

Harry, Draco & Snape magnet set. $15 on Etsy.

Finally Harry and Draco made to go with my Snape, who I also cleaned up a bit. Offering them as a set, though of course I am happy to sell individually, too. I'm probably going to work on another design first, but then I plan to do Ron, Hermione and Ginny. I'll work on other Potter designs if any of these sell well.

I'm disturbed how well I think Draco came out, since he's not exactly one of my favorites, ahaha.

Baby elephants!

2012-03-09T02:18:37Z

My first basically original magnet set, i.e. not based off characters or people.

Baby elephants!

Also comes with some African birds:

I'm donating $5 from every sale to elephantconservation.org for EEHV, too. Woooooo! Would really like to see these sell. On Etsy here.

I'm sure I'll post about something other than magnets someday...

Carl Sagan magnet set

2012-03-08T03:33:09Z

I don't even think I posted about my Carl Sagan magnets here, but I updated them today, hahaha. Now he'll come with both an apple pie and a small "island universe" in the form of a whirlpool galaxy. Because as you know, "If you wish to create an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." You can also get him in a blue turtleneck or a red one.

Ah, Carl. You died before I really knew who you were, but I miss you.

(On Etsy)

As an aside, I've been polling people on Facebook as to who/what they'd like to see made into magnets and I'd like to pose the question here, as well.

The Beatles (any suggestions as to which outfits?)
Star Trek (TOS, TNG)
Star Wars
Frank-N-Furter / RHPS set
Tudor/Renaissance clothes
Spaceballs cast
Ninja Turtles
Harry Potter cast
Sense and Sensibility cast
Blake's 7
Snoopy and gang

I'll say I'm slightly wary about doing Star Trek because Paramount can be such a giant dick, but I'll proooooobably eventually do TOS Kirk, Spock and McCoy, and maybe Uhura. I'd definitely like to do the Beatles, but I'm undecided on which clothes to put them in. As much as I like Sense and Sensibility I'm not sure there'd be much call for that as a magnet set. Same with Spaceballs. Both Snoopy and TMNT are great suggestions, but I am not quite sure I want to start doing cartoons for various reasons. Not out of the question, but I'm undecided there. I feel like Snoopy especially probably already has a similar official product that I wouldn't want to be competing against.

All the same, I am open to all ideas. My nephew suggested Justin Bieber and Spy vs. Spy, ahahaha. I'm probably going to do a mix of "what I'M inspired to draw" (aka Blake's 7) and a "what will actually sell" (aka Harry Potter). I'd love to cash in on, say, Twilight or Supernatural, but it's difficult to draw stuff I'm not passionate about. It's often obvious if I'm not loving it and it comes out in poor quality artwork...

Nine piece Firefly magnet set

2012-03-06T00:46:49Z

I FINISHED MY MAGNETIC FIREFLY CAST.

You can buy the full set off my Etsy here. It's $45 for these cool, hand drawn, hand cut magnets, and if you use check out code FIREFLYLJ you can get ~free shipping~. They're between 4"-5" tall and should stick to anything metal. I've got mine on my computer tower. :D

LET ME KNOW WHAT YOU GUISE THINK OKAY :D

Stay shiny and keep flying. :D

Go, Go Power magnets~

2012-02-29T21:25:28Z

Hell yeah! I had some trouble starting this set due to a bad art day, but I'm pleased with how it finished off in the end. They're very cute! Much thanks to second_batgirl who purchased my first set of them! Thank you!!

I've got them listed on Etsy, as well as Rangerboard.com, and if they do well enough, I'll definitely at least be going alternates with Aisha, Adam, Rocky and, eventually, White Ranger Tommy. I'd love to do lots more including Zeo, etc., but if they don't sell it's not worth it, so only time will tell.

In any event, I'm very pleased. I've added a few more magnet designs that I haven't posted to LJ, and hope to knock out some more Firefly ones today. I definitely get the impression people want whole sets from most shows and not just one or two of their favorite characters like they do with Doctor Who.

Sales are a bit slow compared to how they were at the convention, but I think that's to be expected. I'm still pleased and hopeful. :D

You wanna come with me?

2012-02-24T04:48:26Z

Did I mention at Gallifrey One they had the original 8th Doctor TARDIS console, recently restored by my friend honorarydoctor, the current owner and another friend? They did, and they brought it to Gally and it was a HUGE hit. I was lucky enough to have run into famiradressed as Jamie while in line wearing my Troughton costume, so I thought we were in for an epic Two and Jamie TARDIS console shot. Sadly, famira wasn't ready and for whatever reason they didn't offer to retake the shot. :/ (Hopefully they'll bring it back next year...)

But, politely cropping her out, I LOOK BADASS.

(You can see the full thing with unprepared Jamie here. It's still pretty awesome.)

More Firefly magnets!

2012-02-23T01:02:12Z

Sorry my friends, I must annoy you a little more with pictures of my magnets because I'm quite pleased with the way these came out, and because posting about them is one of the best (cheapest) ways to drum up interest for them. FIREFLY MAGNETS. Zoe and Wash please me so much, ahahaha. I put them up on my Etsy shop already. I fully intend to make the rest of the cast, but I think my next drawing will be a new series...

Firefly Magnets on Etsy

What do you guys think? :D

If you're able, please consider boosting the signal.

Gallifrey One 2012 - Network 23

2012-02-21T20:40:48Z

Back from Gallifrey One! And I have been since Sunday night, but I'm recovered enough now to write up a little post about it. Phew. Had a great time at the con as ever, though I didn't get to see as many panels/actor-related events as I wanted. I didn't get a single autograph this year! I did manage some photo ops, though. I was just so busy with the art show and cosplay stuff and seeing friends and, yeah. ANYWAY. I uploaded all of my photos to my Facebook here, but I've got a couple beyond the cut, as well.

This was definitely the year of HARTNELL LOVE, despite the fact that Paul McGann was the attending Doctor

My magnets on sale as prints. Didn't do as well as I'd hoped, but still sold a ton of them, so I'm pretty pleased. TARDISes sold out!

Photo ops were the highlight of my con:

Louise Jameson!! She was as lovely and gracious and humble and gorgeous and wonderful as you might ever imagine. She performed her one-woman act "Pulling Faces" on Friday night, which absolutely floored me. She also recognized my Jamie costume, haha.

JOHN DE LANCIE. Apparently he was in the newest Torchwood, which I've never seen, but that explains why he was at a Who con. In an event, he is and always will be Q to me and I was delighted to get the chance of a photo op with him!

And William Russell! Wow! I wish I'd remembered to take my glasses off for this picture, but I was clearly just blinded by his awesome. I am most gutted that I didn't get to see any of his panels. :(

Debut of a new Gallifrey One costume for me--Steven Taylor! With Bob Mitsch as the First Doctor and Teri Samuel's as Dodo Chaplet. We're wearing costumes from "The Celestial Toymaker" and I was genuinely surprised how many people recognized us! (And how many people thought I wasn't in costume, ahaha. Or people who thought my shirt was store-bought vs. made by me. I guess it doesn't suck as bad as I feared.)

A trio of Troughtons. Someone said we look like Paul, George and Ringo. I APPROVE.
(Especially since I've been trying to get the guy on the left to be a Paul to my George Sgt. Pepper costume for years...)

For the masquerade we performed an exhibition skit written by Bob Mitsch called 'The Companion Game' in the style of The Dating Game. On Sunday we were asked to perform it again so The Nerdist could interview and record our performance. Athena Stamos was there at the time too and got some great shots of us.

To give you an idea of what was going on.

And the other side, from the masquerade performance. (Photo by Amanda Shafer.)

After the recording, we went over to Scott Sebring's always awesome photo studio for some great "cast" shots. We took some "straight" ones, but this "goofy" shot is far and away my favorite:

Kevin Coppa as the Jagaroth, Kevin Kittridge as Nine, Van Donovan as Two, Ewan Anderson as Eleven, Angel Anderson as Idris, Teri Samuels as Dodo Chaplet, and skit writer Bob Mitsch (in his Fourth Doctor costume).

There will undoubtedy be better recordings of it popping up later, but for now if you're interested in seeing the masquerade version, kingzgurl recorded this version of it, and let me upload it to YouTube:

(And a link in case the embed doesn't work.)

Fantastic shot Scott Sebring took of me and blueprintblue.

I only wore Jamie briefly, sadly. This one was snapped by urchinmoppet.

I got to sit on two panels. "Cosplaying as a Companion", which had a small turn out, but was on Sunday opposite the main guest autographs, so I get why. (Photo by Alexander Halcyon.)

And Cosplaying as the Doctor, where I was joined with several far more talented people than myself. Left to right is Kevin Coppa, Steve Ricks, myself, Bob Mitsch, Ewan Anderson, and ... some guy whose name I should really know by now! (Photo also by Alexander Halcyon.)

I got to meet some new friends, as well as friends I've known online for ages and never met before, such as alk who I've known since about 2001 and who flew in from Toronto! Very cool.

In the end, other than my photo ops, here's all I bought at the con:

A Leela action figure, and the new Blake's 7 audio drama featuring original actors Paul Darrow, Gareth Thomas and Michael Keating. I don't know that I'll ever actually listen to it (I'm weird like that), but I wanted to support them.

In closing, here is a picture of the Jagaroth dancing.

It was an amazing Gallifrey and I can't wait until next year! 50th anniversary ahoy!!

Magnetic Star Stuff

2012-02-15T22:55:37Z

So, in light of my change in merchandise, I've renamed my Etsy Shop to "Magnetic Star Stuff." I really like the name because I sell magnets and I love space/the cosmos, and everything in existence once was forged in the heart of a star, so we really are all (as Sagan famously said) "made of star-stuff"--including my magnets.

My one concern is that I also sell other non-magnetic things. I've still got some clay figures I'm trying to sell, as well as various other artwork that I've done, and a few vintage things. (Mostly clothing that I've bought for myself that I don't wear or that doesn't fit, etc.)

So, is it weird to name my store "Magnetic Star Stuff" and then also sell non-magnetic things? I've considered also branching out to later selling stickers and laminated print-outs of my designs, which obviously wouldn't be magnetic, either. So that's an additional concern. I could technically open up a second shop to sell non-magnetic things or whatever, but I'd rather not if possible.

Of course I could go with simply "Made of Star Stuff" as a shop name, but they suggest you have a unique name that will be the top Google result and not terribly easily confused with other sites, etc. so I feel like "Magnetic Star Stuff" is far more individual.

HELP ME LJ. What are your thoughts?!

Magnet Pre-Orders Open

2012-02-10T01:38:42Z

Yay! People seem to be digging my magnet idea! I've done a few more designs and am gearing up for a big print-out. I'd really like to try to open up "pre-orders" before Gallifrey, mostly because I want to give my friends dibs on anything they want, and because I think I'll be able to offer them a bit cheaper via LJ than I will via the Gallifrey Art Show. If you're going to Gallifrey One and want magnets, order them now and I can print and package them now to give to you at the con, hassle-free! (And with a bit of a discount, because I am likely going to be charging $7 for each one at Gallifrey, even if you're getting multiples.)

Right now they are 1 for $7, 2 for $12 and 3 for $15. If you want four, it's $15 + $7. If you want five it's $15 + $12. If you want six it's $15 + $15, and so on. Payment will be via paypal to van.donovan AT gmail DOT com. (If I know you well and you're going to Gallifrey One, I can print up your magnets now and you can pay cash at the con--this will be dealt without outside of the Art Show, so don't buy a set from them too!)

Currently I have 19 Doctor Who designs complete and ready to print and three designs (one Doctor Who, one Firefly, one Harry Potter) inked and set to be available at Gallifrey (you can pre-order these, too).

Please note: all of the magnets are slightly washed-out looking in the photographs and there just doesn't seem to be anything I can do about it. Bonus: they look even better in person? Ahahaha.

Doctors:

The Second Doctor

The Fourth Doctor

The Fifth Doctor

The Eighth Doctor
(Completion soon, pre-order available)

The Ninth Doctor

The Tenth Doctor

The Eleventh Doctor

Companions:

Amy Pond

Rory Williams

River Song

Rose Tyler

Martha Jones

Jack Harkness

Leela

Sarah Jane Smith

Jamie McCrimmon

Brigadier Alistair Gordon Lethbridge-Stewart

Seargent Benton

Other:

TARDIS

2005 Dalek

Firefly:

Malcolm Reynolds
(Completion soon, pre-order available!)

Harry Potter:

Severus Snape
(Completion soon, pre-order available!)

All magnets are apprxomimately 4"-5" tall with magnetic backing. (For scale see this picture though please note some of those designs are outdated now.)
---

If you're interested in ordering some magnets, comment here with your purchase and I'll reply with a total, shoot me a PM via LJ, or send me an email at van.donovan AT gmail DOT com. If you'd rather wait until I get the items up on Etsy, you're more than welcome to do that, as well.

For a SHORT TIME ONLY free shipping within the United States! A moderate fee of $2 will be added to international charges. Please let me know if you'd rather pick up locally/at Gallifrey One when you make your order. :D :D :D

I HOPE I COVERED EVERYTHING.

You're so magnetic~

2012-02-05T04:19:21Z

Dear Internet,

I have spent the last few days furiously working on these things to get them ready in time for Gallifrey One in two weeks; now I need your opinion.

Doctor Who magnets!

So, they're hand-drawn by me, then scanned and printed on magnetic paper. They are 4"-5" tall each. They stick well (if you notice Five and Four don't have the white outline it's because I cut them out first, and they don't stick as well as the ones with the outlines do--and I actually think the outlines look better.)

(Please note they're stuck to a cookie sheet here, not a fridge, but they could stick to anything--including computer cases.)

What do you guys think? Would you buy one? How much would you pay for one? I've got a rough estimate, but when I factor in the cost of the magnetic paper and the ink required to print a lot of sheets, the net gain from each magnet is actually less than I'd like, ahahaha. It's certainly not bad and I like that after the initial drawing all it requires is for me to print and cut them (vs. my clay figures which took forever to create and had to be recreated from scratch each time).

Anyway, I'm pleased with them, I'm just not sure how much they should sell for, so I wanted to ask the internet. :D

(I should have more characters by Gallifrey, so feel free to suggest anyone you'd be interested in, but this was my trial run.)

Another shot with a pencil included for scale.

Work art

2012-01-24T07:35:59Z

Today at work I had a very slow day. As a result, I asked my Twitter and Facebook feeds "What should I draw to keep awake while at work?" These are the results.

(Please note, all drawings were taken with my cell phone within 5-20 mins of the request and posted on Twitter/FB in reply to the person requesting, hence the sloppiness and poor quality of the drawings. XD Shockingly not one student noticed me drawing or photographing my drawings during class. Ha.)

@kingzgurl Bananas in pajamas.

@tiptoedbow Batman wearing a fez and drinking Starbucks!

@redcrest [Fanart of her original manga character Rell]

@lilacwire If you're a fan, something My Little Pony! :D

And from Facebook my old high school buddy Kasey, who has been obsessed with Sith as long as I've known him, asked for:

Darth Maul riding the unicorn from Robot Unicorn Attack jumping over a bob-omb from Super Mario Brothers.

Yup! It certainly helped keep me awake! XD Had to share with my frands here. XD What would YOU have requested?

Harry Potter: The Culmination of a Lifetime, (Harry, Snape/Lily unrequited), G.

2012-01-12T02:56:18Z

I don't post fanfic to my personal LJ any more, but I wrote this for a friend and don't belong to any suitable comms to post it. I'd like to have a place to save it to my memories, so please excuse the unexpected fic. :)

Title: The Cumination of a Lifetime
Author: van
Pairing: Snape/Harry if you squint really hard, canon levels of Snape/Lily
Word count: 1,576
Rating: G
Era: Post-Deathly Hallows
Warnings: none beyond spoilers through book seven.
Summary: Eight months after the Battle of Hogwarts, a package arrives for Harry.
Notes: Written for tiptoedtulip for fandom_stocking. Original can be found here, though this has been edited slightly for improved clarity, etc.

It took nearly eight months for the Ministry to sort through Snape's personal belongings; he had lived in the dungeons for years and created his own peculiar method of organization. With the wizarding world still reeling from the second war, progress was additionally slow, and even beyond that, after Snape's death everything he had ever done or owned or worked had become suspect. Things were scrutinized and studied, cataloged and filed. Then they were taken out and examined all over again. It took months for the whole process to complete, and only then did the reformed ministry begin reaching out, contacting those Snape had asked be notified in the event of his death.

It wasn't like it had been with Dumbledore.

No ministry official arrived with a dry letter and a collection of heirlooms to pass out. Just one day there was a flurry of owl wings and a package wrapped in plain brown paper appeared outside Harry's tent in its wake.

Only four months after the battle at Hogwarts, Harry had retreated from the public eye, needing desperately still to lick his wounds in private. His friends knew where he was, for the most part. Sometimes Ron or Hermione sent an owl to check up on him, but overall, they worried in private, respected his wishes and left him alone.

The package was addressed to him, from Severus Snape care of the Ministry of Magic. For three days it sat outside the tent while Harry fished in the ice-cold Icelandic stream that ran outside his tent, or tirelessly honed his shoulder muscles chopping logs into planks to burn in his campfire.

There was no magic here, only manual labor, hard work and sweat. There was no intrusion from the wizarding world, no reminder of the havoc and devastation he'd helped bring about. The little package sitting outside the flap to his tent shattered that illusion.

On the third day the sky opened up and a deluge of water poured forth, swelling the stream and muddying the banks. Helpless at the onslaught, Harry retreated into his small tent and took the paper-wrapped package inside with him to shield it from the elements.

There was no long table in his muggle tent; no rooms that magically branched off. There was a sleeping bag against one side, and enough space on the other for his backpack, a cooker, a muggle radio, and a few other supplies.

For a long while Harry sat in his tent while the rain poured down around him, hugging his knees and staring at that little brown package. Its presence brought the world he had been avoiding far too sharply back into focus; made the deaths and losses he'd felt eight months ago ache all over again. It forced him to reexamine his role in those events; to once again reassess what he could have done differently. How he could have changed things so he didn't have to attend Fred's funeral, or fill eighteen scrolls with testimony of the battle he'd helped lead. How he could have done things differently to prevent this package from arriving for him from a man he had believed the last eight years had hated him.

As the sun sank below the cloud bank outside his rainy tent and eventually below the horizon, darkening the already dim interior, Harry finally fumbled for his torch. It cast stark shadows against the rain-slicked walls of his tent, unsettling enough to goad him into pulling out his kerosene lamp and illuminating the tent with firelight. The shadows the lamp cast flickered and danced, but somehow they felt warmer and less threatening than the garish white-light from the torch.

Without thinking about it, Harry pulled the brown package to him, untied the twine string around it that had served as purchase for an owl's claws, and pulled a small wooden crate free from the brown packing. The metal staples holding the lid shut came loose with only a minimal effort of prying.

Inside, he found a stack of neatly bound letters, yellowed with age, a somewhat faded Gryffindor tie, a jar of tumbled yellow stones, a hand-held mirror wrapped in soft black velvet, three tarnished silver rings, an unlabeled empty bottle that still smelled of scotch, a half-dozen mother-of-pearl buttons, a bundle of brittle lavender, a leather-bound journal full of flowing script that Harry knew wasn't Snape's, two pocket-sized books of poems, a cracked pair of round spectacles, a flat skipping stone, an empty jar of pepper imps, two long white bird feathers, and a very small plastic toy lion.

He knew, without needing confirmation, that the things were his mother's. At least had some relationship to her. Instead of delight, that knowledge settled like iron in the pit of his stomach. They hadn't come to him because Snape wanted to return them. They came because they legally belonged to him as next-of-kin now that their owner—thief?—was gone.

The joy of having some artifacts of his mother's warred at the acute sense of loss he felt at receiving them because of Snape's death. These were Snape's things, not his. And, almost worst, there was nothing from Snape for him. No amulet or talisman with words of wisdom engraved on it to help him through this dark time. No letter to offer condolence or understanding. Not a single word from the man that should have been his mentor and not his antagonist.

Cold and numb with feeling, Harry gently pushed the little wooden crate away. The letters, he imagined, were from his mother to Snape, written in a time before their friendship deteriorated. The little journal he suspected was also hers, perhaps stolen from her by Snape one lazy day, in hopes of finding a glimpse of fond words written inside about him.

Perhaps someday Harry would read them, but it wasn't going to be tonight.

He was about to put out the lamp and make an early night of it when something compelled him to return to the box. He neatly pulled out each item this time, laying them flat on the foot of his sleeping bag instead of rifling through them in the crate. The buttons threatened to roll away so he put them in the pepper imp jar, along with the ends of the feathers.

At the very bottom of the crate, beneath a crumpled bit of padded packing, he found an ivory colored letter, sealed with wax.

The front, in the now-familiar scrawl of the Half-Blood Prince, were the words "For H. Potter."

Heart lively thudding in his chest now in a way that it hadn't for months, Harry slipped his forefinger under the back flap and gently tore the top of the letter open.

Inside was a one-page letter, neither signed nor dated, but undeniably written by Snape.

Now that I am deceased, may these items of your mother's return to you. I would consider it a kindness if you did not read the letters. I am afraid your mother would not be pleased with my behavior toward you these past few years. I regret that. I had once thought, after the Dark Lord's final defeat, I might have had the chance to make up for that; perhaps know you better as a man than as the shadow of your father with her eyes that I convinced myself you were. It is too late for that now. Don't live your life as I have, full of regrets. Not even the most powerful wizard can change the past.

~~I wish I had~~ I hope you will never receive this letter; that I feed it to the fire in ten days time, when I suspect this will all be over. Perhaps then I can attempt to make these amends in person. I cannot blindly trust in the hope I will survive all of this anymore and so must commit these thoughts to print. Words are shallow and meaningless, quill to paper like this, but I have regrets. I have this box—the culmination of a lifetime of regrets—and nothing else. If there is anything left I can do in this world it is to take after your mother; to die so that you may live. At least in that I will have no regrets.

Harry's breath came slow and shallow as he read through the letter three more times, his throat catching each time on several passages. He ran his thumb over the smooth, black ink, aching to touch and reassure that lonely mind.

Around him, the cold, damp forest closed in, its silence suddenly loud and oppressive. For the first time he he didn't feel free, hiding in solitude, but alone. Lonely. He had friends—a family—waiting and worrying for him. People—so many people—had sacrificed and died to bring him peace at long last, and here he was ungrateful, squandering it by hiding; miserable and alone in a dark forest in another country.

Somehow it took the letter of a dead man he'd once perceived as an enemy to realize all he had and was wasting. As he began to hurriedly pack his things into his traveling pack, he ached for the ability to thank Snape, after all this time.

He knew, as the rain fell upon him while he broke down his tent, that the only way to do that now was by taking the advice in the letter. He wasn't going to just return to his friends; he was going to live.

Writer's Block: B.Y.O.B. Holidays

2011-12-15T00:35:02Z

Monty Python's Life of Brian is my go-to holiday movie. It's a relatively new tradition for me--this will only be the third year I've done it. I haven't watched it yet this year, but I will on or by the 25th, for sure. It's fantastic. If you haven't seen it, I highly recommend it. ;)

NaNoWriMo 2011!

2011-11-30T07:14:58Z

Woo! I finished NaNoWriMo today, a day early. I did a post about it on van_writing if you're so inclined to read it there.

I did a Wordle for all 50,000 words afterward to post, and I realized that I'd never done Wordles for my completed NaNo attempts before. Usually it's something I do around 25-30,000 words as a form of procrastination. XD So, for fun tonight, I put all of my NaNoWriMo attempts into Wordle, including my failures and my fanfics. XD

2003:
The Long and Winding Road

Approximately 22,000 words, based on a roleplaying game I was in at the time. Never finished and utterly embarrassing to look back on. It was about a Beatles tribute band and the gay bitchy drama that happened in there, mostly between the George look-a-like (Kyle) and the Paul look-a-like (Laurence). It is, however, the only Wordle to have "fucking" show up, because Nathan (the John look-a-like) had a potty mouth. Yup. Also had a character named Lie. So begins my Weird Character Names thing.

2004:
Water

Approximately 50,000 words and my only NaNoWriMo to date that has been a finished story at 50,000. Post-apocalyptic story about two teenage boys and their search for water. I may still go back and some day polish this up, but it's definitely shelved for now. Terry was in the marching band and Whitney was a football jock. Yup. I picked intentionally ambiguous names because I'm Van. Funfact: This originally started out as a screen play. Also the only Wordle to have the title of the book in the Wordle. Helps it's only one word, but. I'm confused as to why George is so much larger than Diego, since they're in all the same scenes together, and both background characters. I guess I just say George more.

2005:
Took the Sky

Approximately 50,000 words. Fanfic for Firefly, obviously. You can read this one here if you're so inclined. It's a post-movie Mal/Jayne story, and I'm still quite fond of it. I technically only wrote half of it for NaNoWriMo, and finished another fanfic for the second half, which is why it's not a complete NaNoWriMo in 50,000 words or less. Mostly, it's about horses. :D (I originally started an original novel tentatively called "The Unicorn and the Peacock" that I got 6,800 words on before abandoning for fanfic. Worth mentioning, I think.) Fun fact: Probably the only Wordle I'll ever have where the word "ain't" appears. (Twice, in fact: once as "ain't" and once as "Ain't"!) Ah, Firefly. ♥

2006:
Reflections

Technically I totally failed NaNoWriMo this year. I wrote approximately 20,000 words on this fic (which you can read here) in November, but that is all I wrote the entire month. I ended up doing my A Month of Tom Baker art challenge in December of that year, but technically failed NaNo. However, I did eventually finish Reflections. I didn't start posting it until June of 2007, and by then it was 87,000 words, but I felt it still deserved a Wordle. XD Their names are so huge the rest of the Wordle is almost illegible in any of the fonts available. AWESOME. The summary for this is uh, Mirrorverse Troughton Era, basically. An alternate timeline where the Doctor sides with the Daleks from "Evil of the Daleks" and then crosses-the-time-streams to get an alternate Jamie to be his puppet. Features 10,000 words of sex in two consecutive chapters. (And then more sex later.) Yup. I miss this fandom.

2007:
A Place in Time

50,000 words and dropped like a stone, sadly. I was really into this for a while, and I still like a lot of the concepts in it, but for various reasons I'll sadly probably never finish it. One of the biggest being that I discovered that "Biggles" is apparently a very famous name for an Ace fighter pilot book series, so using it for my story really doesn't work anymore given how popular the Biggles books are... and yet that's my character's name, so I don't know that I could change it. Anyway. Time travel where a teenaged boy from 1963 falls in love with a man he meets from 2007. It was a great use of my somewhat extensive knowledge of England in the early 1960s from my love of the Beatles.

2008:
The Pursuit of Happiness

Approximately 65,000 words and on going. This is one of my unfinished novels that I think still has a lot of potential. I still plan to finish it someday, polish it up and maybe shop it around, but I don't feel like it's a good debut novel anymore. Futuristic story about a 45-year-old space pirate's mid-life crisis, his search for a magical youth potion, and discovering actual happiness along the way. :) Fun fact: Gaius' name was inspired not from ancient Rome or Battlestar Galactica, but from the physician in Merlin--though they're nothing alike.

2009:
The Coffee War

99,000 words and complete, though it still needs revisions and editing. An ambitious attempt in 2009 where I wrote the whole novel in 30 days, doubling the 50,000 word goal. I succeeded with the help of a very detailed outline and map. I do like this story and think it has potential as a stand alone story, but it's a gay romance and yet I don't really want to ship it to Gay Publishing houses, so it's going to sit on the shelf until the mainstream market is ready for these, or I'm famous enough they'll publish it anyway. If I ever get crazy, I might self-pub this one. Fantasy novel about a coffee merchant from the south who falls in love with a bard from the north and the war they have to fight through to realize their feelings and be reunited. Yup, I have a character named Life. Fun fact: Inspired by a series of Al Stewart songs.

2010:
Whole

Approximately 120,000 words, ongoing. Somehow. Yeah, I wrote Power Rangers fanfic last year. I had approximately 62,000 words on it before NaNo started and just added another 60,000. Or something, yeah. You can read what's posted of this here if you're so inclined. MMPR S1 AU, set in 1999 where Billy becomes leader of the Rangers because Tommy's become a crack whore, and how Billy has to save him--and the world. Yup. Not my proudest moment.

2011:
Between the Stars

Approximately 50,000 words, on going. :D This is the most commercial novel I've yet attempted, and the first real young adult one of the bunch (though "Water" would probably be YA, too, if I were to shop it now). About a boy who discovers a ghostly space unicorn, the adventures they inadvertently go on, and how that all leads to him, and his friends, saving the world. Also, ideally, the first in a series. :D Yeah, her name is Prism. (Also one of the character's is named Soo Min, so I'm amused Wordle put it together as Min Soo randomly--though of course they're used equally.) Fun fact: I used the words "like" and "back" too much.

And I already have ideas for my next novel, which probably won't come out until NaNoWriMo 2012, but we'll see! Any of you attempt NaNo this year or finish? Have a Wordle you want to share? Unrelated to NaNo fics/stories are acceptable, too. I JUST WANNA TALK ABOUT WRITING, GUISE.

Cute & Happy

2011-11-15T02:32:47Z

Here is a post of cute and happiness for everyone, 'cause we all need it or know someone who does. (Lots of big pics!)

And, I think that's enough. For now.

In unrelated news, I've really been wanting a dog recently.

A poll on crying

2011-08-19T07:00:04Z

Based on a conversation I had with a friend last weekend, I bring you a poll on crying. I have set this poll up to be as anonymous as possible, meaning people can't click to see who voted what, so I ask that you vote honestly and not how you think you "should" vote, or whatever. I realize this is not going to be conclusive of anything more than what my friends think, but I wanted to run it anyway. Anonymous commenting also enabled, should you want need that for some reason, but will be screened.

If you don't have an LJ account and wish to vote, simply leave an anonymous comment with your choice.

View Poll: A poll on sobbing

Thank you and have a nice day. :)

Livejournal Etsy sale!

2011-07-23T15:32:18Z

So, I really need a little more money by August 1st than anticipated, and although I plan to throw some stuff up on eBay tonight, what I'd really like is to move some of the stuff in my Etsy shop. To that end, I'm having a ~sale~ via Livejournal. If you buy anything from my shop and enter the promotion code "livejournal" you'll get a 15% discount! This applies to everything in my shop. :D I'm also happy to combine shipping, even though Etsy doesn't make it super easy for you to do that initially! Just send me a note or drop me a line here!

Feel free to boost the signal about the sale, too. I can discontinue the promo code any time, so I'm not at all worried about it getting to too many people. More is better, I'd say! Right now I'd far prefer to sell everything at 15% off than keep it all at full price! Thanks!

Etsy sale! Etsy sale! Etsy sale!

My Etsy shop~

2011-07-03T06:41:00Z

Probably a bad day/time of day to post this, but I thought I'd try anyway. They've cut education funding a lot the last few years, so it's very hard (if not impossible) to get substitute teacher work over the summer. I've got some money saved up to get me through summer, but not as much as I'd like. I thought I'd try selling some artwork on Etsy and see how it goes. I don't have a whole ton listed, but I figured it's a good start. I'm not asking any of you to buy anything, just, if you're so inclined, to give the store a signal boost so people who might be interested will take a look. I'd appreciate it. :D Thanks!

Etsy
vandonovan

How a bunch of elementary school kids saved my day.

2011-05-25T23:44:38Z

So, I had a slightly surreal experience just a bit ago.

I had an appointment at 3:30pm and needed to get gas and run a fast errand before getting to it, so I left my house about 2:50pm, just in time to catch the elementary school by my house letting out. I usually get home from work around exactly the same time, and often see the same groups of kids walking home and enjoy watching them while I wait for the crossing guard, etc. There's an adorable little albino girl in sunglasses I sometimes see who always randomly makes me smile, for instance. Watching all the kids walking home is definitely more fun than bitching in my head about how much longer it takes to get past the school during this time of the day (because of all the kids crossing the street and additional cars). So I try to enjoy the silly antics they do, the way the group together, the way sometimes there are ten kids walking back with a different parent in charge each day, or what funny fashions are in now, etc. Once I got past the school I remember thinking that although I still don't think I'd ever have a kid if I dated someone who didn't want them or remained single all of my life, but that the thought of being with a person who someday wants kids really doesn't scare me the way it used to. It'd lead me on a completely different path than I'm currently on, and it's not one I'm rushing toward or anything, but it's no longer one that completely turns me off. With the absolutely right partner, I could see that being a possibility, and can see myself enjoying having a kid or two. It's a pretty huge thought for me, because not five years ago I was a card carrying member of childfree, and tend to still find most children annoying. (Though I've discovered it's usually the parents not the kids that I dislike.)

Anyway, there's a 7-11 about two blocks from the elementary school, and I pulled in there to get my gas. $40 and a mostly-full tank later, the car in front of me, blocking me in, still hasn't started pumping gas. Since I am on a slightly tight schedule, I decided to back out and go around her, something I've done before at this particular gas station. Today, however, I misjudge the distance to the curb and one of my tires ends up going over the edge. This isn't usually a problem, because most curbs are the same height on either side, so you just give the car a little gas and pop back over. However, at this gas station the curb on the other side is like a ten inch drop into dirt next to the sidewalk, compared to the five inches on my side, and due to the way I was angled, the tires weren't getting enough traction to back up OR pull forward. The tire was just spinning.

After getting out and assessing the situation, trying to turn the steering wheel a different way and having no success, I get back in my car and call my dad. I'm ten minutes from home and have four bars on my cellphone, but for some reason the call won't go through. While I'm waiting for it to start ringing, someone taps on my window and asks what's wrong. I look up to see a kid looking in, and despite the fact that it's a kid, I explain to him that my tire isn't getting traction, I'm stuck, etc. He looks about twelve and has three or four other kids with him, all of whom look about seven to nine years old, clearly walking to the bus stop after getting out of school.

The kid suggests I put the car into neutral and he and one of the nine-year-olds try to push it out. Ignoring my incredulity that this kid even knows what "neutral" is, I attempt it, to no success. I get out and tell him there's no way that a twelve-year-old and a nine-year-old are going to be able to push my car, and try to help them push, also to no avail. Someone says the twelve-year-old is actually fourteen (though there are no junior highs around here, so idk), and the fourteen-year-old finds a large rock and shoves it under my tire. That still doesn't work. He finds a paving stone in the dirt next to the car and sticks that and the rock under. It actually looks like it could help, as it's forming a little ramp up the curb. I try again, forward, neutral and (carefully) reverse, with the kids pushing/helping, but it's still not budging.

I try calling my dad again and, as the phone is ringing, a motorcyclist who stopped to get gas asks if he can help. The kids and I explain the situation quickly, and he thinks we're gonna need a jack to get out of the situation. (Frankly, I'm not sure a jack would even have helped. The tire was already lifted. It needed to be on something.) The motorcyclist sees the rocks the kids have set up and, clearly thinking it also looked like a good plan, suggests I put the car in drive and try again, this time with him AND the kids pushing. My dad picks up about the time I'm giving it gas, and with the added strength of the motorcycle guy, the car manages to get on the rock and then over the curb. Success!

I'm thanking everyone profusely as my dad is listening confusedly, and explain to him there was a situation, but a bunch of kids saved me with the help of the muscles of a motorcyclist. I check my tires and axel and while I'm not completely convinced they're undamaged, the tire isn't blown and the car runs smoothly to my appointment, errand and back, so I can't complain.

I am seriously impressed! I don't know why that kid had such knowledge about cars, but his quick thinking definitely got me out of that situation. I really thought I was going to have to call Triple A and cancel my appointment and get a tow truck out there or something, but a handful of mostly-elementary school kids saved me with two rocks and the muscles of an adult. If I'd left twenty minutes earlier or twenty minutes later, I undoubtedly would've missed them and it very likely would've ended screwing up my evening.

So, wherever you are tonight kids, thanks very much! I guess you're not all so bad after all.

It's also stuff like this that gives me kind of epic story ideas. Just saying.

Dragonball Z (music video): My Shadow, (Future Gohan, Future Trunks), PG.

2011-04-26T19:23:08Z

Since I do everything so bassackwards these days, I know almost no one will care and those who do I've probably already talked to off LJ, but I finished my lol Dragonball Z music video set to the massively overvidded Green Day song "Boulevard of Broken Dreams." However, since I feel like it's a big accomplishment, and it's my journal, I wanted to post about it here. :D I'm also planning to submit this to the Fanime convention music video contest (deadline May 1st) so I thought I'd do a last call for any updates/changes/improvements people might have for it before then. I doubt such a linear story or overvidded song will win any awards, but it'd be nice if it got accepted into the contest proper. (Only a few make it into the contest; the rest are shown as exhibition because they get too many submissions.)

Anyway, if you're at all interested...

On YouTube
Title: My Shadow
Fandom: Dragonball Z
Song: Boulevard of Broken Dreams
Artist: Green Day
Length: 4:10
Vidder: Van Donovan / van
Notes: Thanks to intrepidy and phantasmrose for help/betas.
Warning: Spoilers for the "History of Trunks" special/bits of the Cell Saga, if you care about that.
Summary: In a world ravaged by killer androids, lone fighter Son Gohan is constantly shadowed by a young boy named Trunks who hopes to someday to become a great fighter like Gohan and put the androids away for good. Things don't go exactly according to plan.

Dragonball Z vs. Doctor Who: Morality

2011-03-30T22:41:41Z

So, I've recently started rewatching parts of the old school anime Dragonball Z, of which I was a huge fan of in the late 1990s. Most of it is pretty much as I remembered (or pretty much as I assumed, since I was watching fansubs at the time and didn't get all of the episodes originally). However, one bit in the Android Saga recently had me pondering stuff in relation to a similar scene that takes place in Doctor Who's "Genesis of the Daleks." It's a minor thing, so I don't really even know why I'm bringing it up, but I wanted to ponder it here with all of you anyway.

Although very different in nature, both of the stories in the Android Saga and "Genesis of the Daleks" are similar. There is a huge threat from a super powerful enemy (DBZ: Cell; DW: Daleks) which can be thwarted via time travel. In the Doctor's case, he goes back in time to a point before the Daleks are created with the intention of destroying them before they can be born. He holds the two wires up to destroy them, thinking about all of the worlds the Daleks have wrecked with their plans of universal domination. It's even more effective to watch if you know New Who, because by then the Daleks are directly responsible for the destruction of the Doctor's people and homeworld as well (which they hadn't done yet, in the Fourth Doctor serial). Ultimately, the Doctor realizes he can't do it. Even though he knows in the future that the Daleks destroy everything, they haven't done it yet. In the end he decides that destroying them would make him no better than the Daleks themselves.

In Dragonball Z time works slightly differently--you can't go back into your own timeline. If you try, you go into an alternate timeline. In one alternte future, artificial humans/cyborgs have wrecked the world. A teenaged-boy named (Future!)Trunks goes back in time before the androids are built in a time machine created by his mother. His plan is not to destroy the androids before they're built, but to warn the strong fighters in the past (who were killed in his timeline) that the androids are coming in three years and how to prepare. (He also brings the strongest fighter some medicine to cure a heart virus that is curable in his time, but not twenty-years in the past.) Anyway, while Future Trunks is twenty-years in the past helping the fighters there to prepare for the arrival of the androids, Cell (another even more powerful artifical human from a THIRD timeline), kills the Trunks in that timeline, steals his time machine and goes twenty-four years back in time (ending up in the canon timeline), where he grows and waits for the Androids to go online so he can absorb them and become his perfect form (he couldn't in his timeline because that Trunks had killed them).

Anyway, when the people in the canon timeline discover Cell and he Reveals His Plan and Origin to them, they realize that the genesis of Cell, so to speak, has already been created in their timeline. Future Trunks tells them that destroying it won't wipe out THIS time-traveling Cell, but it will prevent the little embryo from one day becoming another Cell. So, Future Trunks and Krillin decide to destroy it. They fly to the basement laboratory where they know the baby Cell is growing and set about destroying the place.

In Doctor Who, baby Daleks pretty much look like hideous slimy green ooze and octopuses. In Dragonball Z, baby Cell looks like a green embryo suspended in a large clear tube. The Doctor spares the Daleks. Future Trunks and Krillin do not spare Cell. I kept expecting there to be a moment where one or the other paused and said, "Can we really do this? This collection of cells hasn't even been born yet. Can we really kill it now before it's caused any harm?" I could understand Future Trunks, who comes from an apocalyptic hellworld, not thinking in those terms. Krillin, on the other hand, is That Guy. He's the Xander or Wash of the team; the comedic human sidekick and the weakest of the bunch. (Spoilers: He actually ends up marrying one of the evil androids, so you can see he's forgiving.) You expect him to have doubts or show remorse about this, but he doesn't. They just go shoulder to shoulder and oblierate the baby Cell. The footage is pretty intense too--they blow up the tank and their blast is so intense you even see the little fetus melting into nothingness.

Afterward, they sort of pat themselves on the back at a job well done.

I don't really know what, if any, sort of conclusion I want to draw from the comparison, only that I noticed it and it left me a bit thoughtful. It's an interesting bit of characterization for both Future Trunks and Krillin. As horrible as Cell is (or could've been, if undefeated), his level of destruction is significantly less than that of the Daleks. Given time perhaps Cell could've become as destructive as the Daleks; there's no doubt in my mind that after destroying Earth he'd go into space and cheerfully destroy other planets with a flick of his wrist, but he hadn't. The Daleks have. So the Doctor spares far more devestating killers than Cell. I can't even really argue the genocide line. Although the Doctor killing the Daleks was exterminating an entire speices, the Daleks were created almost exactly the same was as Cell and the Androids--in a laboratory by a mad scientist. Granted there were many more Daleks than Androids, but it's not hard to see if the three androids and Cell had survived that they might've learned to reproduce/build more androids and become an army like the Daleks. Destroying Cell and the androids is just as much genocide as destroying the Daleks.

God, I am rambling here about something NO ONE is going to care about, but it's really got me thinking, ahahaha.

In conclusion: it's often played for laughs, but Dragonball Z can be really fucking dark. :D