5/06/2012

The Price Of A Throne

Everything has a price. Given the chance to rule, what would you give up? The four kings had no choice.

It's back! After an entire month of trying to work out the next chapter, I've finally posted that story again. This particular chapter's only three pages long after all that time, and it feels like a rushed job. Which is a good thing, because it means that in the back of my mind I know that in the future I will be able to add to the action in the scene. I'm evolving!

Half of you know that I've been posting this story for the past nine months, and the rest of you only joined the court after the posting of my interview questions on JandJproductions. Thanks for the support! When the tenth person joins, I'll do a celebration post. (I don't bother celebrating blogoverseries; I've passed two already.) But anyway, back on topic.

If you've seen my interview answers, which JandJ hospitably allowed me to turn into a publicity stunt for my writing blog, you know what the story is about as I can articulate it. In case anyone's still unclear, the setting is a human-exclusive world set in the age of chivalry, swords and fortresses. Powers and abilities beyond the bounds of exceptional human physical skill and/or physique have no place in my writing. Just so no one decides I was trying to misrepresent it, yes, it was inspired by LOTR. Weren't most good fantasy stories in some way?

Everyone, please take another look at the story. I consider it my life's work to this point (superficial as it is) and if no one looks at it, it's being wasted. If I can articulate the further adventures of the kings fast enough, it should be completed by the middle of July. The characters are finally deciding steps on their own, so it should be a bit more interesting in the coming weeks. If any of you suddenly start reading it again, remember not to apologize (just in case you have the slightest suspicion this is a guilt trip post; full admission: it is, partly. I miss my readers...) and just give your thoughts on the results of my work and what you think might be upcoming. When I finally get to the second draft, I will go back to square one and build the world around the names.

Just in case the rest of this post drove you to distraction, please be aware that Price of a Throne is not the only story I have posted on JT's Tales. (For some weird reason, I am particularly proud of my loopy "life on Mars suedo-satire I entitled "The Elevator to Mars...hint, hint. Whoops, there I go again...;D)

Thanks everyone

-JT, on behalf of King Valun's scribe.


4/24/2012

An Outsider's View of The Avengers

First off, I know nothing about the Avengers characters except what I got out of Captain America's movie, Thor's movie, JandJproductions, and the various trailers of the upcoming film. I have not really watched any of the released clips except "Iron Man and Loki", which I muted. I don't look at reviews either. That being said, this post is about my expectations and thoughts regarding the film, taken one character at a time.

Nick Fury: It's apparent that he is the dude with the eye-patch who is presumably also the supers' direct superior for some reason. I don't see a reason why, after chasing down each of them, it's also his job to join in. I guess he likes being a very hands-on boss, which is usually a good thing. When I saw his bazooka, I thought "The man's gone crazy!" ;D Bazooka + eye-patch = alien exterminator for hire... I expect that he'll do his share of blowing things up, but he's mostly just talk. Best trailer quote from this character: "You have made me very desperate." Well, Loki must be more powerful than we thought...

Steve Rogers, aka Captain America: So I saw CA's vehicle film, and I thought "He's a good character and all, but there really isn't that much to the story. I know they said all his good qualities were enhanced, but I'm thinking "Come on, a character needs a bad side, or at least a reason to have a not-so-good side. That's standard storytelling." But as you no doubt know, this guy doesn't have one. I tend to favor characters who, in some form, have to struggle with themselves.   I actually appreciate that he has a temper in this movie, because it humanizes him a bit more. I expect him to assert authority over the others pretty quickly. It appears that his closest friend on the squad will be Thor, which fits for both them, actually. And one last thing. He can't actually die of anything, can he? "Big man in a suit of armor. Take that away, what are you?"

Thor: While watching Thor's movie, I felt that it was absurdly overdone in some parts and laughed practically all the way through it. Later, though, I decided that if I just been able to keep my mouth shut I would have liked it. As for Thor himself, I like him a lot because he had to learn a lesson, and did a good job at it. I have to say, I didn't understand at the time why he smashed the Bifrost; I was thinking he had gone kind of crazy. Practically everything he said on Earth was downright hilarious to me. I hope he retains his archaic speaking style in the new film; that was his most memorable "thing". He appears to be in Iron Man's camp, but in the fighting, he's actually sticking it out with CA, which is cool. I expect to see a lot of projectile flinging from both of them, since each is carrying what amounts to a high-tech boomerang. It won't surprise me at all if he gets the most face time because of his personal connection to Loki and the Tessaract. If he labels anyone with an unusual name, a la "Son of Coul" I will be gagging in the theater...;D

Bruce Banner/Hulk: I almost saw Huk's film, but threw out the idea because I thought the ratings were too low.As an exception to what I said before, I should say I actually read the synopsis of the film on Wiki. That was as close as I came. Banner's another character with an internal struggle, so I sympathize with him a bit more, especially because he basically had to exile himself  in an effort to ensure that he doesn't lose control of his alter ego. I was also under the impression that hulk gets bigger as his adrenaline pumps faster. In that case, how big can he get?  If "We have a Hulk" is anything to go by, it sounds as if Banner is capable of dealing with the nemesis on his own. But that can't be true, because then it would be just another Hulk movie. What I can take from that scene at the time, Loki apparently isn't aware of Hulk's existence yet, so look for it to turn up soon after Loki appears. "We're not a team. We're a time bomb." or "Are we a team or a time bomb?' Tell me which one is the right wording.

Tony Stark aka Iron Man: Yes, he's down here because he's the one of the big four I'm biased against. I look for character, so a super who behaves like Stark does isn't really that super in my book, though he gets props for being smart enough to literally build his "superpowers". He's obviously CA's opposition as the leadership. Question is which of them is the opposition to the other? He's a big help because the other supers can't actually fly. At the end of an early trailer, you can see him get shot down by the aliens, which prompts Banner to jump from a rooftop/helicopter? to rescue him, so even they get on each others' nerves, I expect after that it will loosen up, or at least I hope so. Stark and Banner will probably be working together to develop new weapons on the fly after Loki reveals the Tesseract. Or else the Avengers will capture the tessaract, harness it, and then Loki will promptly steal it back (cue Thor in cylinder with his face on the glass). "Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist." (oh so close).

Clint Barton aka Hawkeye: Hawkeye's the average guy in this group, and he's only the undisputed best shot in the world, equipped with arrows that can do who knows what (though there's strong indication that they can be explosives). I know nothing about him of course, but I'll be pulling for him just the same simply because he's an archer. He seems to be in the group to contain Hulk, and also get the drop on the aliens. When the time comes for the Avengers to steal the Tessaract, Hawkeye and Black Widow actually should be the ones to do it (though maybe with a bit of diversionary behavior from Thor, just in case Loki's watching.).

Black Widow: Being an outsider, I have to admit my first thought was "I hope this isn't just a marketing ploy." But I'm sure it will be fine, because this is an explosion movie, not a romance. And then I think: It's also cool because a martial arts expert is the only thing this group doesn't have otherwise, right? And, as an added bonus, she can fly spy planes down tower-lined streets... Who knew that would come in handy?

Loki: If they need such a powerful group to stop him, I expect that he'll show powers to rival Darth Vader's. Let's see: Two master spies, a stupid-rich wanna-not-be weapons developer, an accidental mutant, a nearly indestructible resurrected iceman, and his own brother by adoption the cape-wearing beard. If he's as powerful as all that, why does he need what has been described as "his various membered army"? Maybe because various members aren't so good at pushing said weapons mogul out windows or crashing black-tie dinners. Will he be the awesome conflicted villain we saw in Thor, or the stereotype "shoving my ego down your throat" evil boss?

My Questions: Why is Loki in Stark's flat, while Stark is at home, and Stark not care? Who's going to do the honors of getting rid of Loki anyway? (simple questions... but I don't know better ones...)



4/18/2012

Archery

The weather having been unusually good where I live recently, I decided to post pictures of myself doing one of the few things I do. That being target shooting. I have two bows, which you can see in the pictures below:
A two-foot tall, simple compound; my first decent bow and good for distance.

A five-foot standard longbow. Thirty pound pull comes standard. This one is all-around better than the first.

In the photo above, you can see my target on the right side. I am not aiming at any particular spot on the stack; I'm not that good. I usually stand about five yards farther in, but I'm showing off for this shot. And yes, that's my Christmas stocking doing double duty as a quiver, but no, I am not a Cowboys fan. 
And, just for kicks, I have these...