I like the house

 I got more art. After a bit of a break. Two new pics. Did them both more or less in one sitting. The first one is a blue-haired girl done in crayons. And yes, I know that the nose and the mouth don't really align as they should. So, either she has a skewed smile or there's something wrong with her. Sue me. It was kinda hard to do it in crayons. I just don't understand how people can layer them so well... I can do that with oil pastels, but with regular crayons... Nope. Most of those I own feel really scratchy when put to the paper. Although, most people I've seen using crayons on youtube were using Crayola crayons.  And they don't offer those where I live. Not at all. So I can't compare them with the ones I own. Maybe when I finally make the trip to a country that sells them, I will be able to do a bit of a test and see how they perform for myself. 

But back to the picture. Like I said, done in crayons. Just a simple portrait. I had no reference for this. The only thing I used was the image on the back of the page. And well, the paper in this sketchbook is really thin. So it was visible and I used it as a little bit of a guideline. And then I used reference for the hair. I am really bad at coming up with hairstyles. I mean, I can imagine them, but without actual reference, if I try to draw my vision, it all ends up looking the same. No creativity whatsoever. So I've started using references for hairstyles. And I'm probably not gonna stop any time soon. 

Playing lots of Skyrim

 Lately, I've been playing a lot of Skyrim. It started with me finally deciding to tackle one of the mods I had installed. It's called Blackland. You can teleport to it from Riverwood's Inn. And only from there. Or you risk crashing your game. So I did, I teleported there. And immediately, I was surprised by something. It put me in a legitimate cutscene. I had absolutely no control over my character. And I'm not talking about having to sit through an unskippable dialogue, like with the Daedra. No, the character de-quipped her weapons and even moved and sat down. And that was definitely something new. 

Yeah, you get scenes in the vanilla Skyrim where you stand and watch something happen, but even with that, your character doesn't move on its own. Or at least not to this extent. I mean, my PC sat down, on a fucking chair. And that was just one of several instances of this throughout the mod. 

Mulan [2020]

 Well, I expected more from it. But I'm biased. I recently watched The Untamed. So yeah. Like, if you've never seen the original Mulan or any Chinese historical drama (made by the Chinese people!), it's not too bad an action flick. But I have! Seen both. Both the original Mulan and recently I've been into watching Chinese drama. So yeah. I'm biased. 

First of. They completely removed Mushu and Shang. As well as changed the name of the main villain. Honestly, Bori Khan sounds nowhere near as epic and badass as ShanYu. Excuse the spelling if it's wrong. I'm too much in the groove to go look it up. But I'm probably correct and if not, I'll edit it later. Back to the stuff they changed - not for the better. 
I could have accepted the switch from Mushu to the Phoenix, sure, why not. But captain Shang was the best character from the whole thing! Him being replaced by an unknown random soldier? Sorry, but I'm not buying it. Honestly, when I hear the words Live-action remake, I kind of expect the plot to stay the fuck the same! At the same time, I understand that some things that are easy to animate might be really hard to do with special effects. Yet! When it comes to Mulan, the only thing that really needs serious special effects is Mushu. And possibly crickee. But that's a different story. 

Next. Why would they even put the Witch in! She brings nothing to the story, only muddles it up. And that stupid redemption sub-plot? Nope. It would have been more interesting if she killed Khan near the end of the movie and turned into the ultimate villain. Also, shapeshifting into a bloody bird?! Again, nope. But again, I'm biased. As right now, I'm watching a Chinese drama - Guardian - and there's a tribe of raven shapeshifters. Yeah, maybe I picked the wrong time to watch Mulan, but I can't help it! I blame The Untamed! 

Cosimo Yap - The Gam3 #3: Sacrificial Pieces

 Well, let me tell you something first. This is a fucking PREQUEL TRILOGY. And I'm not happy about it. Most of all because the author wants to take a break from this universe. Which... Rude! Anyway! This book mostly deals with Alan fixing the Abyss Labyrinth and learning more about the Revenant faction. At least in the first half or so. Then, in Act 2, we get to the good stuff. Not that the Labyrinth isn't interesting, but learning more about the fucking game, well, that's the reason I devoured the book so fast. Even if it took a bit for me to write this. So! Warring factions, Haxlards vs. the Empire, Black Rose Guild stuck in the middle, people having to reveal true allegiances. And more! 

Turns out that the Emperor is a predecessor. The same one that attacked Alan in the tutorial back in book one. And well, at the very end, Alan sacrifices himself in order to kill this guy. And when I say sacrifice, I mean he actually dies. Only for us to learn something game-changing. Literally. Get ready people! The game has several layers. At least five of them! Inception-style! Apparently, Earth has never been anything more than a simulation run by the so-called gods. And now they revealed themselves to Alan. He's a major player now and he (and us!) finally knows something more about the nature of the game. 

And that's where it cuts off. Bummer. I mean, it's a great cliffhanger and everything. An interesting place to cut it off, but damn! I hate cliffhangers. This is also the place that tells you it is a fucking prequel trilogy. I'm still pissed off about that. I almost immediately went to google the next book, but it doesn't exist yet. But I'll be keeping an eye out for it.

The Untamed [2019]

 Well, get ready for a lot of gushing. I love that show. And yes. The Untamed is a show. Normally, I would link to IMDB but when I'm writing about something more Asian, I prefer to link to sites specifically dedicated to those. Most of the time, I'm watching JDramas and Movies, but recently, I discovered that the Chinese might be a bunch of prudes, but hey, they know how to make an awesome historical drama. Well, this would probably be more wuxia/fantasy, but still, I'm gonna go with the historical fantasy genre here. 

So, I should also probably mention that it's BL (Boys Love). Well, at least the book this is based on is, the drama itself, more of an intense bromance. But like I said, that's because the Chinese are a bunch of prudes. Seriously, if nothing else, they could have included at least a single kiss at the very end of the last episode where they reunite. 

Cat-sistant, Box-Kitty and a Shelving Cat

My cat's middle name is Trouble. Even though she doesn't have a last name. Her official name is Ňuffa. Yes, with 'Ň' and double F. At least that's the way I spell it. And not only is she completely dumb, but she is also trouble and doesn't know when to quit. This first photo is more or less normal, I mean, cats love boxes... So this is the 'Box-Kitty'. And yes, it's a DragonFable reference. The thing is, she also likes to bite the boxes. We can't have any cardboard boxes anywhere. Not with her around. The one that has all her toys is all bitten on the rim. 

As for this one, that was a temporary box. Something came in it I think, and we just left it on the floor and this little troglodyte decided to claim it as her own. So there. I took a photo of her in it.

Vacationing at relatives' house

So, today I came back from vacation at my relatives' house. It was nice there. We played lots of games and played some table tennis too. I won at flags and lost when we played Qwirkle. We also visited Ikea and the adjacent shopping center in Ostrava. And my mother and I almost bought new phones - Huawei P40 Lite but backpedaled at the last moment when we learned that they don't support Google Play. And that's something we can't live without. I mean, I have a Huawei now, but it's a P20 Lite. And yes, it has that Huawei app store thingy, and I checked that out. Most of the apps (read games) I'm using are not there. Not even Pokemon Go. So I know that I don't want any more Huawei phones. Not unless they start cooperating with Google again. Guess when I do decide to upgrade my phone, I'll be turning to Samsungs or something. Definitely not something I wanted to do, but right now, it seems like the only viable option if I want something half decent. 

So, that was the visit to the shopping center. We also had some of our other relatives come to visit. And we played more games. And guess what? Do you know what the "other big ape" is? Well, it's obviously Godzilla. And it makes a little more sense in Czech. But it's something that is by now iconic prompt in one of the games we usually play. There's one more. This time related to the movie Planet of Apes (Or even the 12 Apes (or Monkeys)), but I'm not even gonna try to translate it so that it makes sense. Cause this one uses a bastardized version of a Czech word and while the word can be translated, there's no way to translate the bastardized version. So I'm not gonna attempt it. 

Oh, and I played lots of Star Stable Online. Well, lots... I did my daily routine in there and one day, I played it together with Eliška, my cousin's daughter. She has her own account (previously mine) and we play each on our own PC sitting next to each other and debating the game. It's fun. Though we don't do this nearly as much as we used to. But I enjoy it none-the-less. So if the opportunity presents itself, I'm not gonna let it slip by. 

Oh, and while playing one of the games, I don't remember which one, I and Eliška were dying of laughter. I wish I could remember what was so funny, but I don't even remember that... I wish I did, but alas, not happening. Still, we were just laughing so hard! Tears were streaming out of our eyes! I think we were playing iKnow Hit List, but I could be lying... It could have been the game with the other big ape too... 

Heh. So, a nice vacation. Was there from Tuesday till Sunday. The original plan was to travel to Great Britain, London, but fucking COVID crushed that plan... Oh well, this was nice too. So London will maybe happen next year or the year after that. Hopefully. 

~AnnElfwind

Written on the 12th of July, 2020