Welcome to Gaia! ::

So, I finally got some things sorted out. I am graduating this Friday, yay!

Also, I am going to start to transcribe my new fanfic, since I have about two hours to kill anyway. There will be a two-fer; I had a neat idea for a one-shot.

I will get back to doing original work after this, though. With school out, I will have plenty of time between job searching to just sit and work on my own stories.

"Harlequinade"!

Aka the only episode that ends in a heart. "Oh, the irony of it. The stalwart Dark Knight and his greatest female adversary fighting together to save the city!" I also have "Say That We're Sweethearts Again" on my player. <3 And I love the Joker's last line:

"Baby, you're the greatest!"

You know you have an abusive interesting relationship when one party almost kills the other, and the other takes it as an act of love. And that is exactly why I love them. (And if I had never found Crane, these two would be the subjects of my fandom raves. >>)

I like reading fanfics when the fics are good. It helps when I get tired of comics.

Hey, so long as you do not ship Scarecrow/Riddler, we can still get along. What is this, I do not even---! HOW is this a popular ship?! Sure, they are both geniuses, but Riddler would probably piss Johnny off after a while; the man is made of ego, and both men are shown/implied to be straight!

I hate the Simpsons. I do, however, love Futurama.

I study animation.

Also, I posted the first chapter of my new fic. Getting around to transcribing what else I have written.

Edited to add:



Yes, I made that, and I love that panel. XD

Context for those who care: Aside from "Scarecrow," one of Jonathan's schoolyard nicknames was "Ichabod." He avoided reading The Legend of Sleepy Hollow for this reason, finally caved out of curiosity, and actually grew to really like Ichabod, even making him his hero.

Then he got to the end and realized Ichabod had been frightened by a pumpkin. XP

It is still funny in context.

More episodes, you say?

You need to see "Dreams in Darkness" (episode 31, page 4). It is seriously the best Scarecrow episode. "Heart of Ice" (episode 3, page 7) is often regarded as the best episode in the series.

The Riddler is an egotistical costumed maniac whose crimes are (usually) non-violent and involve solving his often complex and complicated riddles. He is an insufferable genius because of his need to prove he is the smartest man on the planet, and feels only Batman is worthy of his intellect (and pairing him with Batman makes more sense for that reason. XP Crane is smart, yes, but not in a "know-it-all" way). Page 3 has two episodes of his: "If You're So Smart, Why Aren't You Rich?" (episode 41; first appearance) and "What is Reality?" (episode 45).

This seems to be a pattern in yaoi fangirls. I often ignore it for the most part, unless one half (or even both) features a character I like, then I get ranty. Luckily, most guys I fan over are genuinely ugly, over 30, or otherwise generally avoid typical "hot." But Rule 34 exists for a reason, so even that cannot save them.

It is also a reason I rarely look up fanart. >> With fanfiction, you can stop reading before you get that far (and it is your own damn fault for going further), but fanart is immediate "What has been seen cannot be unseen!" I still eye-twitch over this very disturbing and detailed (and admittedly good) one of Oogie raping Jack...in my defense, the title on the link was more innocent, so it was like, "OHGODNO!" when I saw what it was. Nonetheless, this is only one of many reasons why fanart makes me wary (and why I do not click fanart links unless I trust the person giving them to me).

I am often told my rant tangents are amusing. I am pleased to see this holds true once more. <3

Futurama is another show created by Matt Groening (who created the Simpsons). It is about a pizza delivery boy named Fry who accidentally ends up cyrogenetically frozen, wakes up in the 30th century, and has to adjust to future life. I like it for its witty, viewers-are-geniuses humor, continuity, and great characters (for example, I usually hate dumb-as-a-rock characters, but Fry is just too funny and holds a kind of charm. XD <3 It helps that his stupidity has plot importance). It is one of the few adult-oriented cartoons that I feel does not insult my intelligence.

Hey, take your time. I need to finish transcribing, and then writing anyway. XP And getting the one-shot I had an idea for done...

And thanks. <3 Though, there is one other panel (pulled from Year One) that I adore:



"Fetish-dressing neurotic" is officially one of the funniest lines he has ever been given (even though given his normally intellectual way of speaking, it is entirely in-character. XD). It always makes me giggle for that reason.

Same comic has a TON of lol-worthy faces from Batman that I will probably make a compilation of.

And for a change of pace, some Joker:



I wish I owned that comic, but sadly, I scanned it from a collection I borrowed from the local library. I might borrow it again just to scan more things. XP

So: two job leads so far. Need to talk to Mom, though, since we only have one working vehicle, and she will likely be chauffeuring if I pursue either one.

I am going to work on my other fic (sick today, sucks, but I also get to hide from the family, so...). This is probably going to be the only other writing I get done until my office is set up. Until then, notes and things.

In random news, while our local media place has a dumb name (Entertainmart? Seriously?), it does not have a dumb selection, or dumb prices. Can we say like-new, used Oingo Boingo CD's for $3-$6 each? I have hardly listened to anything else, honestly. XD I really like "Skin" and "Spider," both songs I had not yet heard before getting these CD's, but have fallen in love with.

I also bought some Nightmare Before Christmas things at Hot Topic. Half off sales? Yes, please. I am officially done shopping until I get a job. I should be getting my deposit back soon, however. Another $300 in my pocket? Yes, please. It will be nice to put towards a new place.

And now for some funny Year One Batman faces:



I found making icons has become a new favorite "I want to kill time" hobby. We will not get into JUST how many I made of Crane from varying sources. >> Or BTAS Joker, for that matter.

The way I figure, if it goes through, I have $5k to put towards something else. It benefits me to try.

Office is not set up, and (if I feel better) I am going to pester my mother again tomorrow to clean out the media center, since the kids are back in school. My home schooled sister can babysit the two youngest if need be.

To be honest, I could have cared less about the ceremony itself, and only walked because my mother insisted. She said I will be glad I did it someday, but as I still have almost no enjoyment from my high school graduation minus the nice meal after...I am not the kind of person who really cares about those sorts of things. Seriously. Then again, it could be that I was so fed up and disillusioned with the school that I was in the "I am FINALLY getting out of here!" mindset...

I love the middle face. XD I can stare at for five minutes and still giggle. I also love the one with the joint. No, I am not giving the context.

Also, I seem to have missed two, so here they are:



Crane does not really have any funny ones (except in the animated series, which I need to finish making...and some lulzier 90's comics that I will scan when I get my office set up...I am just going to say that even though there was a logical in-story reason for it, one comic I got for Christmas that has a panel with Scarecrow and rainbows, sunshine, and unicorns = funniest thing I saw all year).

In any case, these are my favorite ones (in an out of costume) from Year One:



I will make more later. Sean Murphy likes to draw him from behind, and I want to get some to feed my naughtier fangirl tastes. We will not get into the one panel that gives a very nice "from the bottom looking up" angle. This is also my favorite costume of his because it as functional as it is cool-looking. Also, the speech bubble says, "Indeed! Everyone's afraid of something, yes?"

While there are not as many (the memories are brief, and do not have a lot of panels that show him at a good angle), I like his younger self too.



I am going to Hell for those first two. XP If you cannot read the speech bubble on the second one (I will re-do it eventually), he is saying, "Don't do this! Please don't do this again!"

Which...even if she is a crazy old bat, his great-grandmother makes a great subject for icons.



I also like icons with objects or body parts. And yes, I am very partial to that syringe.



And finally, this comic has very nice silhouettes.



[/carried away because N is a show-off]

I guess sitting in a chair and waiting to get a piece of paper is hardly "special" to me. I would have skipped it if I was not pressured to do it. I have never been very frivolous (I honestly get rid of things I never use outside of collections, and am like Crane in that I will buy new [comic] books before I buy new clothes), and never really saw the point to the ceremonies. I remember the celebratory dinners I went to after better than I do the actual ceremonies.

I only also went to my senior prom because my guy pal invited me (no use paying to go to a dance when I could go to one the church was hosting for free every month---and with better music). We went to this hotel for prom, and they played all these crappy rap/hip-hop songs...so my guy pal and I found a lounge where we (faintly) heard nice piano music, danced to that instead, and left early to go the local IHOP. Not to say I did not have a good time, just that I was very disappointed in the music choice and the overall atmosphere.

The art style in this comic is about as close as he gets to "handsome" in the comic verse (he was, after all, based off of Ichabod Crane), though I tend to like most designs of him regardless---minus some of the REALLY old art which was bad overall for all of the characters (and partially to be fair, comic books were a new medium at the time, so no use working too hard if there would be no future audience. My Scarecrow Tales book has a collection of stories from the very first one ever printed, to a recent 2002 story, and it is neat to see how the art improved from the beginning), and, coincidentally enough, the two stories I pretty much disowned from canon because they were seriously just, "What?" anyway. Oddly enough, DC agrees with me, and ignores those two arcs, too, seeing as they almost never get referenced in future works. XD

IloveYoungCranesomuuuuuuuch. >> I just want to snuggle him because you just know his life sucks so badly. It is hard to determine his age, though. He looks maybe twelve-fourteen in the memories, but the only date in the whole comic is one of Mary (his great-grandmother)'s diary entries: September 5, 1976. Based on the context of the entry in question...

"Sleeping very little now...hear strange noises at night. I know it's the boy, prowling the mansion.

He's grown so. Tall, strong. I've come to fear him. Fear some terrible retribution that cunning mind is conjuring for me. Should have left the baby for dead as his grandmother wanted...should never have tried to raise Jonathan alone..."

...It can be presumed this was right before he killed her. Since it is not clear, I figure Crane is seventeen-eighteen by this point (legal adult, or almost legal), as it would leave his school affairs in order, and once he graduates, he can leave for good with no questions asked (and just from a glimpse of how they live, it is easily assumed Mary was a recluse, so who is going to come looking for her?). The memories could have easily been at any point before that night, so the ambiguous age is fine.

The panel with the old photograph of Mary and Crane tends to creep me out a little. That picture was found on her dresser. Which means she liked it enough to put it where she is guaranteed to see it every morning and possibly every night. It is unclear why she raised him (Crane himself is unsure---he guesses it was either to spite her daughter, who wanted him dead at birth, or to serve her own dark purposes), but the picture is proof enough that she enjoyed tormenting him. Which makes the whole aviary scene that much creepier (and the fact that she just stands right outside it, directly ignoring his pleas, and singing "Amazing Grace" does not help either).

The second-to-last silhouette is after his first real encounter with Batman (and I edited out a speech bubble to get it. In PAINT. Feel proud of me). I love the whole, "Yippee!" pose. XD And seeing as this encounter is the first time---literally ten pages from the end---we see him smile in the whole comic...he is finally, after all these years, enjoying himself. Shame it does not last, but it is a foregone conclusion that he will be back.

The first one was technically his first encounter with Batman. He was running from him (it was made clear that there was a mysterious "Scarecrow Killer," so presumably, he was fleeing the scene of the crime, but they never directly engage until much later), and gets away. And since this is his first year as the Scarecrow, Batman's half of the comic deals with finding out his identity and capturing him. He also realizes that they have some things in common, which gets played with:

Batman (to Robin): It's not about the killings. Guy dresses up in something horrific, goes out into the night and terrifies his enemies. He's acting out...from deep, visceral trauma...probably childhood...sound like anyone you know?

And later in part two:

Batman: Damn! Why can't we nail this creep? ...Maybe it's me.
Robin: Don't even go there again.
Batman: Why not? You know the drill---want to catch a criminal, learn how to think like he does. Maybe I'm afraid to think like he does...
Robin: 'Cause you're too much like him?
Batman: Is that what you believe?
Robin: No, big guy! That's what you believe! I believe you loved your parents, lost them, and feel a deep, visceral guilt about it. Our guy probably killed his parents, lost his mind, and feels no guilt whatsoever! You're not like him, Bruce!

On the fanfic, I have the parts that were in my notebook transcribed, but hit another roadblock. I thought I had a solution...then I actually wrote it out, and am deciding whether or not to scrap it and try another direction, out try to move forward. My goal is to finish another chapter by the end of the week, and I am going to hold myself to it if it kills me. [/put this off for too long]

Sorry for the wait.

Our internet has just been horrendus- we had to wipe our entire computer clean just to connect. Its not proving to be worth it.

For that reason, this post has to be regretfully short because I have limited time, everywhere.

How's your one-shot going? No writer's block yet, I hope.

So, I hear there's a new Batman movie coming out- how much do you wish they'd use Scarecrow as the main villian? Or, perhaps you hope they never touch that subject because of the chance they'll botch his character?

The next time I'm over at my friend's house (a rarity) I'll have to ask if we can watch some episodes featuring Scarecrow.
The similarities between him and Batman would scare me too. At least Robin is there, like a good little sidekick, to point out the undeniable differences.

Switching gears for the moment for some of the best news I heard all month.

Rumor mills for a sequel to The Nightmare Before Christmas? NOT HAPPENING! <3

Tim Burton never wanted to do a sequel, and I agree with him. The movie is a classic, and if Hot Topic is anything to go by, a big enough cash cow as-is. Plus...it is owned by Disney. While there have been some good sequels, it is a crapshoot with Disney, and it would more likely bomb, seeing as there is really nothing left to add that would enhance the original film. That, and the original film was done in stop-motion animation. How much do you want to bet they would have done the sequel in 3D if they made one?

Not to mention that they already did do a sequel of sorts. The video game, Tim Burton's The Nightmare Before Christmas: Oogie's Revenge takes place a year after the movie (and the Pumpkin King game for the Game Boy Advance is a neat prequel). The actual game play is a little wanting (that stupid camera tends to change at the worst moments and the worst angles...), but the story itself is admittedly not bad.

Basically, Dr. Finklestein, the resident mad scientist, makes this weird green glowing device called a Soul Robber that can change shape. Jack Skellington leaves for a year to test the device out (and in the game, it clings to Jack's wrist and can warp into a grappling hook, a spike ball, and a whip). In that time, Lock, Shock, and Barrel, three troublesome trick-or-treaters, bring Oogie back (they worked for him in the movie, and their actual loyalty to him in-film is debatable, but in the games, it works). Oogie takes over Halloween Town by the time Jack gets back (which is when the game actually starts).

Now a ton of ghost, skeletons, and other monsters that work for Oogie are trying to get rid of Jack, who has to defeat them, the trickster trio, and Oogie himself in order to save not only Halloween Town, but the other Holiday Worlds---Oogie his kidnapped all of the other Holiday Leaders (except Santa Claus, who is last on the list second only to Jack), and intends to become the Seven Holidays King.

And since it is a game, I can have it "not count" as actual canon (along with the fact that to my knowledge, Tim Burton had no involvement with it) and consider it a well-done fanfic. I will admit I like some of the upgrades minor background characters got, like how the Vampire Brothers are protectors of the Pumpkin King, and that the witches are pretty knowledgeable about some of the inner workings around town.