'Knight' S1 finale - Feb 23

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks. Life is turning out rather for the worse; I really do not want to make it until late spring of 2026, but the odds of me achieving that are quite high. I am so happy – no, really. Real life sucks; I swear an oath upon it. Next?

Well, ‘Knight’ had its’ S1 finale last night, so we are going to talk about it, but in a roundabout way, I suppose. First stop – the A.I. It is not going to take away jobs from humans because humans make it, and does only what humans programmed/designed it to do – make pictures, or stories, or etc. There is a story about how people had A.I. make Brad Pitt fight Tom Cruise, and now Hollywood is huffy – but because the people in question are Chinese… yeah, Hollywood will deflate even more rapidly than how it inflated.

As I wrote before, A.I. has its’ flaws – you often need to be precise with your instructions to it to get exactly what you want, (and sometimes, not even then). Otherwise, you are liable to get something else entirely – it might be bad, it might be good, but it will not be what you wanted, and that is the point. You need to know what you want to get what you want, for otherwise? You do not need to start the process, what you will get will be something else entirely. Of course, you might have no problems in working with the new result, (it’s called a compromise when you’re dealing with other people rather than A.I.), but it doesn’t apply to everything, and, again, when it comes to A.I., it’s either your job, you get paid, and so you don’t really need to get emotionally invested in your A.I. works, or it’s not, and you are emotionally invested, and-

Where were we? Ah yes, RPG. An RPG – especially the 3.5 D&D generation and the like – is not unlike an A.I. – you need to design the characters, the obstacles, the setting, the lair, the traps, etc. You need to be precise and accurate in your designs too, or else you will fail and your ‘tenure’ as a DM is over.

Again, an RPG is a luxury good – it needs to be demanded and desired, or else it is over, done, as Pathfinder (2^nd edition) shows – this franchise is dying, however, slowly – people just aren’t buying enough of its’ products to sustain it, so it cuts down on the released product, but there’s even less of it for people to buy and to spend their money on; Pathfinder’s income diminishes further… you get the gist. Where does it leave the ‘Knight’?

As it was written before, ‘Knight’ is positioned between the other HBO Westeros TV shows… and an RPG. When he was writing the ASOIAF book cycle, Mr. Martin had one agenda… no, wait. In ASOIAF, the end game is the return of the rightful dynasty, the Targaryeans, in the characters of Jon and Dany. GoT did not do that, so it ended badly – though that was only one of the reasons. However, GoT and ASOIAF are two different aspects of the same franchise, and since then both HBO and Mr. Martin himself moved onto the Targaryeans proper – ‘the House of the Dragon’.

…HoD is returning to the screens only in the summer of 2026, so all is still I the air, but the point is that for Mr. Martin, the Targaryeans are just ‘fire and blood’, and HBO does it’ best to do so with its’ TV shows. If that is a good thing is debatable, but the point is that when ‘Knight’ didn’t have any of the Targaryeans, (and Egg was undercover, cough), it was just an RPG – Dunk went here, Dunk went there, Dunk succeeded on Diplomacy checks, Dunk failed on Bluff checks, etc. It is not bad, but it is generic – and then Egg’s adult relatives arrived, and the plot accelerated like a spurred-on horse; suddenly there is death, and drama, and the Blackfyre rebellion – fun. Well, fun for the fans of Mr. Martin, HBO, and Westeros at least – and ‘Knight’ does not ask for more. Ser Dunk, who is still a hedge knight, or rather – a landless knight; legally, he is a noble, sort of, but in reality? He is right there with the proletariat; his status is not higher than that of Bronn (the one and only), who is a man-at-arms instead, (technically). Still, Egg is now his official squire, (I think), the other Targaryeans appear to like him, and Aerion (who right now is not as bad as GoT’s Aeris was), is sent to Essos instead. Overall, it is not a bad place where he is right now.

…Ok, right now he is between yet another Targaryen HBO drama on one hand, and a generic fantasy RPG/TV show on the other. However, hey, ‘Knight’ is not pretending to be more than that either. Its’ first season made it an OK show at least – better than real life, which just sucks.

This is it for now. See you all soon.

Story idea 2 - Feb 18

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, even the weather, so here is another story idea; but first, a shout-out to the ‘Knight’: HBO’s Westeros underdog is coming into its’ own at last.

Why? Because it is finally moving past the bloody tourney and into the greater Westeros: in the penultimate S1 episode, we have to see a bit of a Blackfire rebellion, and, um, we have an active Targaryen killing Targaryen action once more. This time it is Baelor who is dead and Daeron (the Waffle) who did the deed – unintentionally, unlike how it went down in HoD…

What does it mean for Westeros? Strife and war, of course, because those are the only things Mr. Martin makes there; there’s also scheming, of course, but as a rule it leads only to violence and little more. At the beginning of D&E S1, the Targaryens are at peace with each other, Westeros is peaceful, inasmuch as it can be, but now peace is ending again – the heir to the throne is dead, and his siblings, children, and so on will soon be jousting for the Iron Throne because, hey, it’s Westeros. I am no so desperate to research in depth just how many Targaryens there are in Westeros at this point In Westeros’ history, but since we know that the throne will go to Egg in the end game of ‘Knight’, it doesn’t matter anyhow.

…I do not know if Mr. Martin intended it or not, but a lot of Westeros action ends up being rather pointless, as the throne is kept by the Targaryens no matter what. In the novels, in particular, it is becoming clear that Jon and Dany will eventually occupy the Iron Throne, (i.e., the Targaryens will recover their rightful kingdom and domain), and in the TV series… well, HoD has Targaryens fighting each other while everyone else plays a supporting role, and ‘Knight’ until now it was almost a Medieval RPG, with Dunk trying to find his place in the Westeros society now that his father figure, mentor, and master, is dead and he is anchorless… So now, the choice is the familiar, by now, Targaryen vs. Targaryen violence, or more of the lukewarm and rather shallow Medieval RPG that we had before. Maybe HBO will throw in another CGI-looking robin in for a good measure…. Where were we?

My latest story idea, seeing how real life sucks, thanks to the Donald and his late friend Jeff – but also thanks to the Donald’s opposition, and how they’re handling the situation; spoilers – they don’t. Let us get back to fiction, shall we?

…A world populated primarily by the ‘goblinoid’ races (trolls, orcs and ogres are not a part of them, they are separate). To wit, they are, as follows.

The bugbears. They are the physically biggest of the goblinoids, but also the least numerous. In a big part because they are also anti-social loners – they hate most other sentient beings, including their cousins, as well as each other. A bugbear is quite happy dominating hobgoblins and goblins and never meeting another bugbear in their lifetime – hence the low population numbers. Only now, with more powerful beings, such as evil dragons and the mind flayers being also around, this lifestyle is no longer working, and bugbears need to re-think it, or else they just might go extinct.

The hobgoblins. If the goblins are smaller than the humans are, and the bugbears are bigger, (and stronger, and more formidable and imposing), then the hobgoblins are human-sized and are rather humane in their lifestyles, etc.

Enter the dragons. They are blue dragons, meaning that they exhale lightning (electricity) rather than fire, and are immune to electricity, not fire; they’re also lawful, as in tyrants, and have enslaved the hobgoblins, (not that they resisted much, because hobgoblins themselves are lawful evil). As a result, the hobgoblins became racially diverse, (among other effects).

There are now four races of hobgoblins. There are the ‘ordinary’ hobgoblins, (the ancestral race), the half-dragon hobgoblins (obvious), the draconic hobgoblins, and the ‘sunscorch’ ones. The draconic hobgoblins look like scalier, more feral versions of ordinary hobgoblins, while the sunscorch are really just ordinary hobgoblins, but smarter, and with blue eyes or blue-tinged hair. The hobgoblin society is acutely hierarchical, of course, and plenty of them are trying to rebel – well, trying to figure out how to rebel, not just because they are afraid of dragons, but also because they are not good at rebelling in the first place. (Scope aside, the hobgoblins aren’t that better than the blue dragons are).

The goblins. They are the smallest and the most numerous of the original goblinoids… and are dominated by the mind flayers. (Some of whom are liches, or alhoons, in the mind flayers’ tongue). Therefore, some of the goblins become Dekanter goblins – a mix of goblin and anthropomorphic rhino – and they are more formidable, given their relatively small size…

The Dekanter goblins serve the mind flayers loyally, (moreso than the ancestral goblins), but the mind flayers meddling had unexpected side effects. First, some of the goblins are born with blue skin color, eyes…, and psionic powers of their own; they are smarter than the ancestral goblins are, and are slowly forming their own councils, trying to counteract the mind flayers.

Second, some of the goblins are born as worghests instead – those are the goblin analogues of tieflings, but rather than from demons or devils, they are descended from barghests instead. (The barghests themselves may still be around, but they are not making themselves known in the immediate moment). Those worghests are anarchists instead, spreading chaos, (not that that goblins themselves are bad at it but their worghest kin are even better).

…The blue dragons and the mind flayers are aware of each other, of course, but neither side is ready to be actively hostile – not yet. In addition, their goblinoid pawns are slowly discovering their own free will and initiative as well.

This already heterogeneous mix of related races and conflicted interests develops on the background of a greater conflict – the orcs are going to war against humans, elves, and dwarves. How will the goblinoids (and their puppeteer masters) affect the conflict is an open question…

Therefore, this is my new story idea. I hope that you will like it, too. See you all soon!

Minions and Monsters 1 - Feb 10

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so let us turn to the movies, and… what is that? The seventh ‘Minions’ movie? Why, for the love of God?!

Let us try again. The DM1 film (I am just numbering them, come on, all know which DM movie is which); the DM1 film was about Gru adopting three orphan girls as his stepdaughters and becoming less despicable and villainous. DM2 introduces Lucy, his love interest; DM3 – his brother, and the trilogy was complete.

The DM4 film explained the origins of the Minions as well as their metaphorical journey to become, well, the Minions. DM5 – showed them becoming, well, minions to Gru when he was a teen or some age like that. DM6 introduced Gru and Lucy’s new baby son, as well as Poppy, a teenage girl that becomes somewhat of a family friend – eventually. It also introduces the Super-Minions, but they do not appear to be in this film, at least – thank God for small mercies. What next?

The DM7 film appears to be a new expansion of the DM-verse, as the Minions are going for the Monsters to have them star in the Minions’ movie. Guess someone watched MCU’s ‘Wonder Man’ series, eh?

Right, Disney/MCU’s ‘Wonder Man’. It is more ambiguous than it looks. Namely, on one hand, it looks to be the culmination of Disney/MCU’s desire to have a mini-series with a P.O.C. in charge; they tried it with RiRi ‘Ironheart’ Williams, and when her own series failed first, and Marvel Zombies cartoon series were almost just as bad, they went with Wonder Man instead. Therefore, on the other hand, WM appears to be more like ‘Agatha All Along’: it is connected to MCU but doesn’t appear to influence it; as Agatha and co. were dismissed after AAA finished, so did the WM – it is done, it is gone, Disney/MCU has its’ feel-good, and it puts WM into the storage, right next to AAA, if it ever will need either of them again. (It will not). What next?

‘Knight of the 7 kingdoms’ continues apace, with even more Targaryens that we ever wanted. The people are continuing to watch it; they like it well enough, but nothing more; the fan support is getting there, of course, but slower than they had with HoD, so there is that. Dunk and Egg are joined by Waffle – I mean, Daeron Targaryen and are about to go against Aerion the Monstrous; say what you will, but Aerys from GoT (ASOIAF) was much worse by far out of the two (for now). Guess we will have to wait to see if he does live up to his moniker, or not.

In addition, it will be curious to see just how Lyonel Baratheon’s friendship with Dunk and Egg will evolve. The Baratheons were Lords Paramount of Stormlands, and as such – just below the Targaryens themselves, but Egg is a Targaryen, (and will become king, cough), while Dunk will become the Lord Commander (and the ancestor of Brienne), so Lyonel’s friendship with them can easily become a Good Thing for the House Baratheon – and maybe it did. Certainly, until the Targaryens did that shit with the Starks the Baratheons were loyal to them well enough; why, everyone was loyal to them until Rhaegar listened to his inner Tarquin, and then almost no one was. (Just look up Shakespeare’s poem ‘The Rape of Lucretia’ would you? It is that Tarquin). What next?

Well, DM7 is going to be a cash-grab; good or bad is another story, but this one? It is going to be a cash-grab. ‘Illumination’ is already sticking Minions wherever, anywhere, regardless of whether people want it or not, and now they are getting their own movie. Again. DM4 was their first movie, and it did lay the groundwork for the second DM trilogy, but you have to admit that the DM6 film has a rather final feel to it, especially the last scenes that just re-introduce all the main characters from all of the six films in one capacity or another; it leaves Gru with his wife, daughters, son, and even brother (and some family friends) on his lawn – clearly, it was supposed to be the series’ finale. Now we are having a new Minions movie, (just when the U.S. movie industry seems to be struggling as it is). Why, for the love of God?! Oh, wait, it’s real life. It sucks. Yay.

Well, this is it for now anyhow. See you all soon, instead.

Clothes make the woman - Feb 5

 Obligatory disclaimer: real life sucks, so here's a drabble to cheer you up!

The empusa was still on the roof, tangled in the net like some sort of a giant moth or bat, her arms, legs and wings tangled in the wire.

Rafael approached the daemon carefully: “Still stuck?” he asked the obvious.

“Yes,” and his interlocutrix did not bother to hide the tears, and not just of frustration. “Can you please leave? If I am to die for real, I do not want an audience-“

Rafael took a deep breath and acting quickly, untangled the net, leaving the empusa on the roof, sitting on her butt without ceremony. “There, you’re free, now hide or whatever-“

“I can’t!” the empusa raced to him, still looking desperate. “I need human clothes, they’re in the apartment, the apartment’s locked and the key is inside. I need human clothing to make it through the day-!”

“I have only masculine clothing, and you’re standing on my leg,” Rafael muttered. “Listen, Lena-“

“You recognized me?”

“Up close – yes,” Rafael muttered as the two moved slowly into the building. “Hah, your hooves are soft-“

“And they need shoes,” Lena muttered, but then they entered Rafael’s apartment and she turned into a blur of motion as she grabbed shoes and clothing and raced with them into another other room, to change, apparently. Rafael just sighed:

“Same old Lena.”

Here you go, enjoy, see you all soon!