Thursday, May 17, 2007

Stupid, sexy animals

I was reading the comic Goblins today and came across an old strip where children are calling each other names.

The first calls the second a tit mouse and the second counters with pussycat. Then the first comes back with penis monkey and tries to convince the other that "it's an animal." The absurdity of the statement is itself funny to me but the kicker comes in the next comic when, in the first panel, a goblin shares a story beginning, "so there I was, surrounded by penis monkeys ...".

The missing animal is, of course, the famous ball hog.

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Elven Lies - Possession

I am watching Elfen Lied for the first time. I am about 3-4 minutes into the first episode, so if I happen to create something that is later revealed in the series I am not ripping it off.

The naked girl in the iron mask just backed the lone living guard into a corner and killed him off-camera. His blood ran down the edge of the wall. Then, a bloody handprint with no accompanying limb smeared against the wall and wrapped around a lever to open a door.

My quick idea: A form of possession where the spirit does not inhabit and animate the body but, rather, accompanies it. So, the invisible spirit floats along beside the possessed creature, whispering in its ear and doing its* bidding (perhaps based on telepathy, perhaps based on a combination of observation and great wisdom in reading people).

*This "its" can refer to both the possessed creature and the possessing spirit, depending on the temperment of the spirit. For example, a creature so possessed might find that the spirit does whatever the spirit wants, killing friends and loved ones and allowing all the blame to fall on its haunted host. On the opposite end of the spectrum, the spirit may do whatever the host wants, acting as the host's hands and feet. In such a case, what the host offers the spirit would need to be determined (feeding on his soul; trying to corrupt him by offering the great power the spirit possesses; etc).

Saturday, May 12, 2007

Heartbeat Music

One of my old characters is a superhero I invented while in biology class. His super/mutant power is the ability to take total, conscious control of any of his bodily and cellular functions. His brain differs slightly from the human norm, allowing him to juggle the functions of his entire cellular make-up at once (although it required a lot of practice and plenty of concentration to go that far).

Because of this control, he is as much at the peak of human physical conditioning as Captain America (and maybe even moreso since his is not a simple baseline but a constantly updating, interactive machine).

That is enough for the backstory. Today's creative thought came about, once again, while I was listening to the radio on the way to work. Unlike my last, my current car radio has a dial for adjusting the bass. And songs such as Invisible Touch by Genesis and Rock Star by Nickelback (not sure if that is the real title) sound exceptionally well with the bass at a higher level than normal (but not maximum; I want to hear the music, not be bludgeoned by it).

I noticed how my body involuntarily moved along with the music (swaying, foot-tapping, etc) and I thought about my biological super-soldier having a similar but problematic reaction. While he was still learning to use his powers (he started with controlling entire organs and worked his way to specific intercellular functions), he found that he would subconsciously sync his heartbeat to the rhythm of music.

That would be freaky.

Thursday, May 10, 2007

Backstory: The Tenchiverse

Backstory: I wanted this blog to be for new creations but I realize that most of my creative energies go into further exploring several recurrent characters, worlds, and ideas. Some of these recurrent ideas are personal. Oh well, I will just have to share it anyway. All of these recurrent ideas require me to rehash what I have already created in order for the new creations to make any sense (and I am lazy). Oh well, I will just have to type it. Besides, it may help me figure out something if I see my thought process in type.



Tenchi Muyo is my favorite anime. It was one of the first anime I ever watched and it hooked me immediately. After watching both movies and the OAVs, I started watching the TV show, Tenchi Universe, on DVD and Cartoon Network.

Part of the TV show centered on Tenchi and the gang going through various literary and TV show genres, such as 1920s mob crime or the Old West, and taking over the parts of stereotypical characters. I loved the fact that in each genre, a Tenchi character could play an appropriate part while still remaining wholly his or her own self. My brother and I referred to this as the Tenchiverse effect.

I utilize this effect with my own created characters, albeit in a slightly different manner. Each character remains himself in essence (personality and such) but the rules of the world change (the "real world" Eldric differs in capability from the "magic armor world" Eldric differs in capability from the "City of Dimension" Eldric, etc).

So if you see me reference the same character is seemingly contradictory ways, this may very well be why.

Monday, May 7, 2007

Quotable Quotes

This will be pretty short.

I have a book of quotes called Zingers. It is filled with short, one-line sayings for Christians, especially ministers for using in sermons. I pulled it out of the bookshelf one day a few months ago because my brother was culling quotes to use in D&D from a boardgame he bought (the game is full of quotes from all different cultures). I read Zingers with the same aim in mind. I must have stopped pretty early in the book because my notes from that day (remember how I mentioned I had a pile of scraps with notes?) only have three quotes:

1. "Those who would not walk in the dark are often found strolling in the shade." Light and darkness as metaphors for good and evil are ample in D&D and my campaign world is no exception. I can see a paladin saying this to the party rogue after he suggested a less-than-virtuous course of action.

2. "Glory is the shadow of virtue." Another paladin quote. Of course, as a book written for Christians, the source material is slanted in that direction.

3. "Steel loses its strength when it loses its temper." I believe I slightly rewrote this quote from the one in the book but the meaning remained the same. It is a dwarven warning to remain calm and not let anger get the best of one.


I decided to type this up for two reasons. One, I did not create anything at work today and two, I had a whole sheet of paper sitting around with just the three quotes written on it.

Saturday, May 5, 2007

I am Invincible!

I had this idea months ago but the song played on the way to work so I will type it up now anyway.

I listened to the song Invincible by Pat Benetar and it brought to mind an alien planet torn by war and oppression. One alien race is subjugated to another, stronger race. An individual is trying to inspire a small group of disaffected peers to fight back. They have a legend about a hero called Invincible. No one believes Invincible is real because they ended up in this situation and he never appeared to help. This individual, however, believes he can renew the spirit of the people by fighting as the mythic Invincible.

Such a ploy would likely result in his quick death so the cooperative martyrdom of this group would be required to maintain the image of Invincible. He dies but another takes his place immediately, so Invincible remains so. And so on and so on until the war is won.Unbeknownst to this individual, his group, and his entire race, this exact ploy is how the original legend of Invincible was created long in the past.

Also, just to note, I love Pat Benetar.