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That's right, it's all done! Well, I'm just waiting for to go over the last few edits and sign it off, but once he's done that, it'll be online for all to read; an expanded and revamped version of "Eve's Story"!
I should explain what brought this about; shortly before Christmas, me and (and ) were discussing random ideas for the series, and I slowly ended up wanting to try and write something set in the past, as a way of exploring some of the new elements that we'd been adding to the series. It wasn't until I had a fresh look at ' reference picture of Ddraig ( ) that I became inspired; taking a second look, I noticed that she had added blue membranes along Ddraig's back, which her mother had, but which she didn't have herself. Since this presented an exciting opportunity for a scene with Ddraig noting how she looked a lot more like her mother, I began discussing ways with to make a scene out of it, and eventually, I wrote a short section that got added to the end of this chapter;
After I did that, I began thinking about another scene I'd talked about with ; rewriting Schakri's death scene in Lost Memories, as the original one was unnecessarily violent; with Ddraig coming across less like a dragon slaying a foul creature, and more like Gregor Clegane beating the snot out of...well, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'd noted a while back that it would work better if his death was accidental, since it would explain how Ddraig escaped major prosecution - and also allow for some interesting scenes in the future, where Ddraig could agonise over being responsible for her father's death, and Schakri's spirit could even use this to torment her if he manages to manifest himself. Since this was such a huge plot point in the series, and one that would likely be referenced again soon, I figured it was crucial to fix this one sooner rather than later - Dragons Unite and Love & Life are already scheduled to be rewritten at some point into two new stories; one which will focus on Ddraig's early rule, and the other which will be Love & Life V2; same basic story, but with some strange characterisations(Nightshade being VERY evil and nothing like the character which appears in all the other stories) and plot holes (Ddraig mentioning his father having passed away, and him MISSING HIM) removed - and so I ended up writing an extended fight scene which also got worked into the old chapter;
While writing that scene, I tried to get a better idea of what made Schakri tick, and why he acted the way he did, and I ended up picturing a very sad dragon indeed; one who'd watched his whole life fall apart around him; who felt that his own family had betrayed him by abandoning him, and who now has to live in a damp cave and work repulsive jobs for humans in order to bring enough food back for his mate and child; both of whom he torments to make him feel better about himself, and also to make them feel like they can't leave, so he won't be on his own. I should note I'm not trying to paint him as a sympathetic character, because he's not; he's a nasty old dragon who's blaming everyone else for how his life went wrong, and never accepting his role in things...but this is how he views it, and to have that in mind helps you shape the way he acts.
Anyway, after doing that, I began musing about my idea to explore Ddraig's past again, since I thought it could be interesting to try and add some more details to Schakri that would come across in Ddraig's memories...and after failing to come up with a plot for a short involving Selena and Ddraig that I was happy with - it was going to be linked to Selena not being much of a fan of meat, and involve a Relgimist Nature Dragon philosophy about only eating meat when it's needed for sustenance, and there's nothing else available, but I was worried it would sound like an attack on vegetarianism or something - I came up with the mad idea to rewrite Eve's Story...which would allow me to add these new scenes, and also ones linked to new elements me and had since added to the series - for instance, Warfang Manor once being the home of Ddraig's mentor, Galen Rifer - and it would also us to bring Eve's Story up to the same writing standard as the newer stories, and thus make it less of a chore for when he returns to the older stories.
Well, that took a bit longer to write than I meant, but still! Have a read of the story, and be sure to tell us what you think! It's the same old story, and large parts of the original text are still there, but they've been restructured somewhat, and a whole lot of extra elements and notes tying the story to the later ones better have been added in!
I should explain what brought this about; shortly before Christmas, me and (and ) were discussing random ideas for the series, and I slowly ended up wanting to try and write something set in the past, as a way of exploring some of the new elements that we'd been adding to the series. It wasn't until I had a fresh look at ' reference picture of Ddraig ( ) that I became inspired; taking a second look, I noticed that she had added blue membranes along Ddraig's back, which her mother had, but which she didn't have herself. Since this presented an exciting opportunity for a scene with Ddraig noting how she looked a lot more like her mother, I began discussing ways with to make a scene out of it, and eventually, I wrote a short section that got added to the end of this chapter;
TLoS: UAA 17: Guardians for Refuge, Part 3Ddraigtanto was in a bad state, but at least he/she was still considerate to call home and let Eve and Cynder know where he/she was. Following this, he/she barely slept that night. The storm, with its random bursts of thunder, lightning and heavy precipitation, rattled violently against the windows of the Temple; occasionally, he/she would notice the lights outside in the hallway, and shadows pass his/her door as one of the guardians handled young students who were frightened by the angriness of the weather. It also didn't help that he/she didn't know what to feel; he/she had grown up in the Dragon Temple, but this wasn't the temple he/she grew up in, not to mention he/she hadn't lived in the temple for years, it just didn't feel right to him/her...
It thus came as no surprise that, when the morning came and the storm passed, and rain poured from the guttering, pattering on the ground below, Ddraig lacked either the energy, nor the drive, to get out of bed...
The sun was now sta
After I did that, I began thinking about another scene I'd talked about with ; rewriting Schakri's death scene in Lost Memories, as the original one was unnecessarily violent; with Ddraig coming across less like a dragon slaying a foul creature, and more like Gregor Clegane beating the snot out of...well, you know what I'm talking about. Anyway, I'd noted a while back that it would work better if his death was accidental, since it would explain how Ddraig escaped major prosecution - and also allow for some interesting scenes in the future, where Ddraig could agonise over being responsible for her father's death, and Schakri's spirit could even use this to torment her if he manages to manifest himself. Since this was such a huge plot point in the series, and one that would likely be referenced again soon, I figured it was crucial to fix this one sooner rather than later - Dragons Unite and Love & Life are already scheduled to be rewritten at some point into two new stories; one which will focus on Ddraig's early rule, and the other which will be Love & Life V2; same basic story, but with some strange characterisations(Nightshade being VERY evil and nothing like the character which appears in all the other stories) and plot holes (Ddraig mentioning his father having passed away, and him MISSING HIM) removed - and so I ended up writing an extended fight scene which also got worked into the old chapter;
Mature Content
While writing that scene, I tried to get a better idea of what made Schakri tick, and why he acted the way he did, and I ended up picturing a very sad dragon indeed; one who'd watched his whole life fall apart around him; who felt that his own family had betrayed him by abandoning him, and who now has to live in a damp cave and work repulsive jobs for humans in order to bring enough food back for his mate and child; both of whom he torments to make him feel better about himself, and also to make them feel like they can't leave, so he won't be on his own. I should note I'm not trying to paint him as a sympathetic character, because he's not; he's a nasty old dragon who's blaming everyone else for how his life went wrong, and never accepting his role in things...but this is how he views it, and to have that in mind helps you shape the way he acts.
Anyway, after doing that, I began musing about my idea to explore Ddraig's past again, since I thought it could be interesting to try and add some more details to Schakri that would come across in Ddraig's memories...and after failing to come up with a plot for a short involving Selena and Ddraig that I was happy with - it was going to be linked to Selena not being much of a fan of meat, and involve a Relgimist Nature Dragon philosophy about only eating meat when it's needed for sustenance, and there's nothing else available, but I was worried it would sound like an attack on vegetarianism or something - I came up with the mad idea to rewrite Eve's Story...which would allow me to add these new scenes, and also ones linked to new elements me and had since added to the series - for instance, Warfang Manor once being the home of Ddraig's mentor, Galen Rifer - and it would also us to bring Eve's Story up to the same writing standard as the newer stories, and thus make it less of a chore for when he returns to the older stories.
Well, that took a bit longer to write than I meant, but still! Have a read of the story, and be sure to tell us what you think! It's the same old story, and large parts of the original text are still there, but they've been restructured somewhat, and a whole lot of extra elements and notes tying the story to the later ones better have been added in!
Umbar and the Rings of Power
Hrm, how to begin this one…so just recently I was reminded that Rings of Power existed and that a second season was apparently on the way. I hadn’t bothered to watch the original season as it looked like it was going to be a disappointing mess for a number of reasons (and the post-release discourse confirmed that for me), but the reminder inspired me to look over the source material, and a few wiki binges later…well, I ended up with an idea for an original story that would bridge a gap in the timeline and allow for a diverse cast of characters while exploring some interesting themes… Some context will be needed for this to all make sense, so I’ll start by briefly (hah!) summarising the events that Rings of Power was adapting…loosely. The story properly begins about 1,200 years after the defeat of Sauron’s boss Morgoth, at which point Middle Earth is dominated by Elven realms and a few minor kingdoms of Men, with the only one of note being Numenor; an island paradise that was created
Assassin's Creed: Mirage - Review
Well, here's something I've not been able to do in a while...actually recommend an Assassin's Creed game! I mean, it's not a 'rush out and buy this right now' game (unless you're an old fan of the series), but it's a good return to form after the last few games, and I sort of see it as a proof of concept for what a larger game in the series could be. That's also not to say it's perfect; there are a lot of minor quibbles throughout (story's a bit weak at times, combat's a bit clunky at times, map feels a bit empty at times, etc), but looking back after finishing it, I don't think it deserves a critical savaging and would say it belongs somewhere near the high end of my rating scale, falling somewhere between 'had some really good ideas but was held back by something big going wrong' (this includes ACI, Liberation and Rogue) and 'overall good but with some issues' (this includes the entire Ezio Trilogy, ACIV, and Origins). Alrighty, let's get into it; Assassin's Creed Mirage feels like
Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny - Review
So remember how last week I posted about how Elemental was a film that I thought was okay while my friends disliked it, and also that it was full of ideas and setups that didn't go anywhere? Well, that also applies for this Indiana Jones sequel, except this time I was the one who disliked it while my friends thought it was okay. In the end, I walked away from the film finding myself wanting to revisit the older films, especially Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, which, while flawed, was never as bad as people said it was, and as such I'm curious to compare the two (especially since Kingdom of the Crystal Skull was kind of Patient 0 for the whole nostalgic rebooting of old franchises that should have stayed finished). Our story opens with an extended flashback sequence set during the closing stages of World War II, which also happens to be the best part of the film. Indy and Dobby (no, really, that's his actor) are captured while infiltrating a Nazi base to recover the 'Spear of Longinus'.
Elemental - Review
These last few weeks it feels like I've been making up for years of not having easy access to a cinema...just recently I've gone out with friends and seen Across the Spider-Verse (minor pacing issues but otherwise really good!), a re-screening of Top Gun: Maverick (which I enjoyed despite not having seen the original), the Flash (bit of a mess but still...fascinating enough to sort of recommend), and most recently, Elemental...the weirdly generic looking Pixar film with a super generic looking story. I'll go into more detail about the other films some other time, since Elemental is fresh in my head right now and I think I've got more to say about it anyway. So, the verdict...ehh, not a great film. I liked the worldbuilding (or rather, the attempts at worldbuilding; I could see someone else making a good film out of some of the stuff that was explored) and the character designs grew on me over time, but the story and events were a mess that felt like several different drafts that got
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Hmm, so it is the twelve chapters in that linked folder you will be releasing?