Ramblings and Musings of the Insane, Philosophical Ladybug

So last week Dad saw me looking in the Star Wars Insider magazine while doing groceries. Somehow that led to discussing the movies and he decided he wanted to watch some. We convinced him to start at the beginning even though he wanted to watch The Empire Strikes Back first. We're hoping to go through all six films. We've currently done A New Hope and The Empire Strikes Back.

I never saw A New Hope until I was about ten or eleven. For some reason, we only had episodes V and VI recorded. And I was captivated by them from the time I was about 5.

I was also captivated by the figures my brother let me have. I was curious and intrigued about the Boba Fett figure, wondered who he was, and Mom said she thought he was a bounty hunter and suggested we watch the films and see. We did, and I was instantly intrigued by this mysterious character. Who was he? Was he all bad? Was there good in him? (Apparently even at that young age, I was demonstrating my fascination for characters who don't have a lot of screentime.) When I was older and discovered the books and short stories written about him, I found that many explored those questions and depicted him as still having good in him. My love for the character grew and continues growing the more I hear about new stories.

(I don't like, however, that some of the newer stories have decided to depict him as having a vendetta against all the Jedi. Um, no. I'm sure he had a vendetta against Mace Windu, but not everybody. To me, that just doesn't fit the character. I can see him feeling like the Jedi and the Sith aren't that different in some ways, but not him having a vendetta against either group.)

While I enjoyed seeing episode IV again, seeing episode V brought on all this amazing, immense nostalgia and I was overwhelmed by it. I remembered my episode II trading card game, and my Monopoly Star Wars computer game, and dug around to find both. I had thought something had corrupted the game disc because the Gateway wouldn't play it. I was so sad about that; I loved that game! Apparently it was the Gateway's problem; I installed the game on the laptop and have been playing it a little bit this week. It was so exciting to play it again, even though it wasn't quite as enchanting as it was years ago. I started a game with me playing Boba Fett and the computer AI playing Han Solo, and I keep having to save it and pick it up later, because it is going on and on. I remember one time playing Monopoly Jr. with Mom and it lasted two hours. This Star Wars game has, I believe, been going on for over two hours when I add up all the gaming time.

The voices, of course, are not from the movies (except for C-3PO, who is hosting the game) and some don't even sound like the movie voices. But something very curious happened instead.... Boba Fett's voice is deep and has an accent similar to Jango Fett's in episode II. This game was made five years before episode II was released. Certainly they hadn't arranged the episode II cast yet (I don't think, since episode I hadn't even been released). So it's very curious that the voice would be anything reminiscent of episode II!

I hope we are going to get to see all the movies.... I have to admit, as much as I adore the original trilogy, I still think I like the prequel trilogy even more. I love prequels in general, because they set up things in the other films and it's exciting knowing the other things are still coming, whereas in sequels it's sad because those things are all over. I always feel bittersweet watching Return of the Jedi, since that's the last adventure (until episode VII in December, and while I'm hopeful and excited for it, I'm sad that we'll be seeing the characters so old. It's awesome they're all coming back for it, though! I just hope none of them die in it. Or in episodes VIII and IX, if those happen).

I also wonder a bit if I prefer the prequels because they have a different kind of nostalgia.... They were released in my generation and I got to excitedly look forward to them the way older fans looked forward to the first trilogy. There is something very bonding in anticipating films. Episode II was probably the most highly anticipated for me. I was just ecstatic beyond belief that Boba Fett would be in it and we would learn his backstory! Jango Fett was great, too.

Also last week, I discovered the very awkward truth that Dad forgot I love Boba Fett. I thought he would never forget that, since he remembered all through my childhood and surprised me in 2005 by acknowledging that he remembered that. We had several discussions on the character at that time, with me trying to tell of the good in him as depicted in some of the stories and Dad remaining unmoved. But anyway, so I made the mistake of mentioning I liked The Empire Strikes Back the best of the original trilogy and episode II the best of the prequels because of character development, intensity, and ... well, I liked that Boba Fett had screentime. And ooops. I rather wish I hadn't mentioned it, since Dad really had forgotten. I wonder if he remembers at all by now? He briefly brought it up while watching The Empire Strikes Back but let it drop again. I wonder if he would actually not go through the ceiling if I let him see my wonderful big Boba Fett figure?

It's interesting how some dreams can stay with you a long time. I don't have recurring dreams, but I do have recurring themes and locations. One of my happiest dreams I had many years ago, when YGO was still in first-run and I was writing my first batch of stories. I seemed to be at some sort of outdoor book sale, even though it was during the holidays and cold. I was utterly delighted because I found a big hardback book of YGO stories, including one with Duke and Tristan. I believe all the stories were holiday-related, but I'm not quite sure on that.

It seems like the booksale was being held on the sidewalk of our old street, right in front of about the fourth house down from us. There was a big lighted wreath on the front door.

The old neighborhood is one of my recurring themes, as is shopping for things. (Although I think at the time I had that dream, we still lived at the old place.) I remember how much I longed for YGO to have some novelizations or even original stories published, like series such as Pokemon had. YGO never even had coloring and activity books, except for, I think, two small ones, and maybe two regular-sized ones, the latter of which were only available online.

Then other recurring themes seem to involve supernatural or other weird occurrences. Sometimes that means dreams of living in a haunted house. I haven't had one of those in a while, actually. They were creepy as heck, but I kind of miss them. They provided the inspiration for two or three haunted house fics I wrote.

Other types of supernatural dreams are like a weird dream I had today, involving Pony characters. I'm not entirely clear on what the heck was going on, but apparently Shining Armor and ... whom I decided was Twilight Velvet had died suddenly and tragically, yet they were still at the house and functioning as though nothing had happened. Twilight Velvet, in the dream, looked more like Twilight Sparkle, her daughter and my favorite, but it couldn't have been her, because she was the main one observing all of this and being really confused as to how the dead could still be there. Although also confusing was that the other one observing this seemed to be Shining Armor, which it couldn't have been since he was one of the deceased. I guess it must have instead been Twilight Sparkle's father. But it really seemed like it was her brother.

Any way you cut it, though, that is a really bizarre dream. Mix that in with one I had when the scene switched and for once I was in my current bedroom (most dreams have me either in the old house or in one of the huge haunted houses) and trying desperately to catch a random blue bug that had flown into the room. I was glad it wasn't a fly, but I didn't want it in there anyway.

Weird, weird dreams.

I've written most of the next chapter of Close Your Eyes, Clear Your Heart now, following the one I just posted. I am going to have them going to Germany, because the only plane they could get will stop there first. They'll encounter the heavy bad guy in white there and there'll be some intense chase scenes before they finally get back to the plane and go to Egypt.

I decided that I would go with the concept that my stories of Duke in L.A. have happened and Snakes was a major player in finally finding a way to get David back. Duke vaguely remembers Snakes even with time being rewound and people forgetting the truth of what happened, but he doesn't know why. Snakes likewise remembers the name Duke, but is very displeased and angry when David drags him with them, saying he doesn't trust Snakes not to crack under pressure and reveal where they're going.

Despite not really remembering things, however, Snakes will grow to be protective of Duke, just as he was when they were working together to bring David back. When the time comes that he could leave and go his own way, probably in Germany, he chooses to stay.

I'm considering an idea of him being hurt in the climax while protecting Duke from a booby-trap, since I want some hurt/comfort but feel like it would not be a good idea to make either Duke or David the victim. Duke would be very distraught over Snakes, and I think by that point he would finally remember things a bit more, either because time is unraveling or because Snakes being hurt shocked some memories back. I have a distinctive image of Duke pleading with Snakes to hang on and not to die, and that he didn't want to lose one friend while trying to save another. Duke would call him by his real name, Sam, and say that while David was his Sam during the events of Lead Me Through the Fire (meaning a Sam to Duke's Frodo), Snakes was Sam after David's death. Snakes would smile a bit, say that was the last thing he ever expected to be for someone, and appear to die. Of course he would make it out okay, but I haven't decided whether he just wasn't dead to begin with or if maybe there would be some supernatural event that would bring him back. Not another wish with a price on the amethyst, but maybe time setting itself right again or maybe just a wish in general, not on the amethyst, by Duke or Serenity.

Of course, I plan that even when time sets itself right, David will be allowed to stay alive. Time going back the way it was will mainly just have the effect of everyone remembering everything (unless it also has the effect of allowing Snakes to live). I'm kind of leaning more towards the idea of Snakes living either because he wasn't dead in the first place or because of a wish made without a price, perhaps granted because the Chamber of Sorrows is falling apart.

I'll figure it out more as I get closer to that point. But in any case, if I really go through with being able to write this fic to the end, I'm afraid it will have to be mostly for my own satisfaction; nearly everyone who was reading to begin with has either moved on by now or likely doesn't have the time to pick it up again. Or is reading silently; I get a lot of those.

It would be nice to have the audience that I had back then, but I know that it is not to be, and I've always longed to write this fic to its conclusion, so maybe I can be happy with that.

My Monk side rises again. Last week we were having house problems and I somehow forgot to record U.N.C.L.E. The week before that, I missed the first fifteen minutes of it. I don't think either episode is one of my special favorites, but I don't even remember what they were about.

The point is, I am seriously ticked off. And having made those screw-ups, it makes me so mad that I feel like buying season 1 or the whole set to make sure I have the episodes I was unable to catch in full or at all. (I wish I could have all of them anyway, since MeTV cuts things out of them.) I do not like setting out to record every episode and then failing at it. I know I'm going to stay upset about it to some degree until I can get hold of at least the episode I missed altogether. I felt the same way when I was unable to catch an episode of The Wild Wild West's season 1 back when MeTV showed it. That time it was worse, as it was one of my special favorites. I also couldn't have any peace with myself until I got hold of another copy of H.M.'s Route 66 episode after I recorded over the TV copy. (That was when I just had a budding interest and it hadn't blossomed into a full-blown crush yet.)

I don't know what causes such OCD behavior, at least when it doesn't concern special favorite episodes, but I definitely have it. I've always had some OCD tendencies, especially regarding organization. I also have a similar problem where if I miss even five minutes, I feel like it's pointless to record the rest, if I'm recording for keeps. I like completeness, if I'm planning to keep it and re-watch it multiple times. (Nevertheless, I recorded the one missing fifteen minutes anyway.)

On U.N.C.L.E., neither buying option is a possibility for me right now. Season 1 on Amazon is currently at $74, and I'm not even sure if that's new or used. Either way, that's PREPOSTEROUS! Especially since one of the releases of the complete series is currently going for $83 new! That's an incredible buy and I really wish I could get it, but that's out of the range of possibility for me right now too.

Why won't they re-release the individual season sets when they're re-releasing the complete set? Why why why....

Sometimes I get way too wrapped up in certain shows. There was a time when I actually wanted to be a Sailor Senshi (of course at the same time knowing they don't exist). It seemed fun and glamorous. I was finally pulled back to Earth by reading a friend's post where he was musing how they had no lives to themselves and had to jump up at a moment's notice to fight horrible monsters and evil people and eventually, realistically, they would likely burn out.

But I'm having the same sort of thing happen again, thinking it would be fun to be in the Batman world and/or if there were really similar things going on in the real world/vigilantes like Batman/etc. Yet at the same time, I know it wouldn't be fun at all; people would live in terror of the next horrific scheme of the Joker's or the next bizarre experiment by Dr. Langstrom or Scarecrow or Hugo Strange.

I watch Batman and Robin and Batgirl swinging on buildings with their Bathooks and it looks fun and exciting, but I know in reality I would be utterly terrified. And in reality, I doubt such feats as theirs could even be performed safely.

I would make a horrible vigilante and it would be absolutely horrifying if supervillains really existed.

But ... I still think it would be fun to visit Gotham, or fun if there was really a Batman, or fun to help him stop at least one crime, etc.

I suppose a lot of kids have fantasized with those types of thoughts. But I'm an adult; I should know better.

I am hopeless.

I am utterly appalled at the trouble I've had trying to post cosplay pictures. It's taken me ages to try getting up some of my Rouge the Bat cosplay pictures, and then when I finally get around to trying, they won't qualify into CosplayLab's strict rules, and Cosplay.com only lets you post an icon of the costume! WTH?! I was sure they used to allow galleries! Or at least, one full-length picture!

I didn't feel like wrestling with DeviantArt after the trouble I had trying to post a picture a couple of weeks ago, so instead in disgust I created a Cosplay album here on LJ. I added a few pictures each of the Rouge the Bat and the Riddler costumes.

http://insaneladybug.livejournal.com/pics/catalog/2622

And I've been writing my Scarecrow fic for The Batman. I have chapter 3 just about ready to post. I'm really excited about this fic. I think it, more than the others I've done, really captures the feel of the series. And it's kind of a season 2/season 3 feeling, with lots of Batman and Alfred interaction, Yin, and the Riddler, while feeling kind of darker the way season 3 does. I bought season 3 and have been watching some of it, and aside from Batgirl setting my teeth on edge, I really like it. It has kind of a more "comic book" feel, for those who felt the show didn't have that, but Alfred is still vitally important to things, instead of fading more into the background like he does in season 4. The stories do take place in season 4, as mentioned, but I prefer capturing the older seasons' feel.

Currently I have Dick away with friends for Halloween (since Halloween was the perfect time for Scarecrow to make his first strike, especially since the fics already take place during autumn) and Batgirl's absence is not explained. She wasn't in about half the episodes after she came in, with no explanation, so I figure I can get away with that. But it will be harder to keep Dick in the background for the whole fic, I think. Although there were episodes of The Animated Series without him, he was older there and it was more understandable for him to be missing from some of the storylines. I ... really kind of don't want the kids in this fic, if at all possible. It's a dark fic, with what Scarecrow's up to, and I already have such a big cast, with Ethan, Penguin, and Joker also along for the ride, that I think the kids would crowd it unnecessarily.

I've also kind of been bouncing an idea around in my head for some future fic, which would be very dark as well. I don't know if I'd really do it, but the basic idea would be that it would be set after Yin and the Riddler have become very close, either platonically or romantically (and I still lean towards platonically). Yin and Batman are trying to stop a crook, and somehow a situation gets set up where Batman has to choose between rescuing Yin and the city, and although he tries not to have to make the choice and find another way to defeat the crook, he isn't able to do that and is finally forced to choose the city. Yin is seriously hurt or even apparently dies (of course I wouldn't really kill her), and the Riddler blames Batman and flips out. He sends Batman a coded message and gets him into one of his riddle obstacle courses. Batman tries to reason with him, initially to no avail, but at the end of the course, as they fight, he finally gets through to the Riddler by telling him that he hates what he had to do but he had to do it anyway and that the Riddler is dishonoring Yin by doing this. Robin would wonder if Batman would have the Riddler arrested and sent back to Arkham, but Batman says No, as the Riddler was only targeting him (as opposed to Robin or Alfred or the whole city), no one was hurt, and he was grief-stricken and angry, as many people would be in the same situation. Yin would be alright at the end and she and the Riddler would reunite. He would probably tell her what he had done and they would have a long talk.

I don't know if I want to do it because it would be so dang depressing and sad. I originally thought of it because while the Riddler is trying to go straight, Yin has observed that there's still a darkness in him, and even though I think he has a greater chance for redemption than some of the others (especially since he regrets being a criminal, unlike most of the rogues' gallery), I think that darkness could flare up if someone he cares deeply about is harmed. And I kind of miss the thought of him never doing any more riddle obstacle courses (although he's probably doing them to catch the crooks he goes after in his consulting/troubleshooting business). The fic would definitely be introspective and soul-searching, exploring the concept of the greater good and how Batman would handle things if he had to make a choice like that, and my intrigue over the idea might win out over how depressing it sounds.

I have such absolutely beyond bizarre dreams. Sometimes they're rather frightening.

So since I finally got to see Rainbow Rocks very early this morning (and it deserves a post all to itself, but I must say I adore Sunset Shimmer much, much more than I even did before and she is such a deep character, unlike what both the series and the movies have done with Trixie), some of that crept into my dream. It started where I was at one of Human Pinkie Pie's sleepovers, although I'm not sure I stayed for the actual sleep part. But I was impressed by the size of the house and the number of bedrooms (Pinkie in the dream was apparently rich).

When I was leaving, Pinkie gave me this backpack with 101 Dalmatians on it. There was also a matching tote bag. I thought that was awesome and I thanked her and started out for home. I was walking, for some reason. Perhaps because I love to walk. But that set the stage for one of my "I'm lost walking and can't find my way back" dreams.

First, for some reason I needed to drop by a school. Cruella de Vil was getting out of a car and getting stuck in some red mud. I decided I didn't want to be seen by her and I ducked through the school and out another door.

Then I decided the perfect thing to do was to get a pizza. I knew there was a pizza place near the cemetery, a little diner-type place called Trixie's. (More Pony influence there, probably.) In the dream, the cemetery is farther away than in real-life, but not so far that I didn't think it conceivable to walk there and to the diner.

I think the diner was inspired by the location of a 99-cent shop that's over in the old neighborhood. It's the same basic location from our house that the diner was intended to be in the dreams. (Yes, it's a recurring locale.) Also, there are mountains very close, which is the case in the dreams too.

So I set out. And somehow I got on a block one over from the cemetery and got lost, ending up in a business park place that had a creek or something running through it and lakes for wading. And of course, the water from sprinkler systems came on and was getting me wet and I had to run for the building.

Then came some Gotham influence, as the building was owned by a local mobster and I knew it. Yet somehow he managed to convince me to come to work for him watching some scientist or something. I was wondering if I could back out if I ended up not liking the hours. I was also supposed to wear outrageous high heels and I was practicing in them and falling all over. Then I asked for directions back to downtown because I still wanted my pizza. One of his henchmen gave me directions.

For some reason, at one point I ended up in an apartment where someone else working for the mobster lived with her kid. I warned her about the guy and said they should stop working for him. I then left.

I ended up in a shopping center where the diner had moved to, but it had become a tiny little stand called Nick's and I was skeptical about getting anything there and prices were bad. And I was worried about getting back home because it was going to be dark soon.

So I climbed back over the brick wall surrounding the shopping center and went back on my way. I got lost again and ended up back in the business park again. I went back in the building and found that one of the legitimate fronts was an opera company or symphony company or something. The lady and her kid were there and the lady was going to perform. I remembered I had somehow forgotten my boots and asked the kid if I'd left them at the apartment. She thought I had and said they could bring them by later, in an hour, maybe. And I figured I'd have to go back to walking home anyway because it really was going to be dark soon.

I woke up around then and was very disturbed by the thought of actually going to work for a mobster.

Weird, weird dreams. Good grief.

Bleh. Saturday was spent mostly in pain. I hate when that happens, especially when it's so bad I can barely think straight. The only good thing about it is that when it's that harsh, it's usually gone sometime the next day. I'm definitely grateful for that, but I feel bad that I really couldn't converse with people when I was trying to.

This past week I've been amused thinking back to when I first became interested in Boba Fett. I had the figure of my brother's, as mentioned, and I wondered who he was. Mom and I looked on the figure chart and found his name. Then I wanted to see him in action, so we watched the Star Wars films again (or rather, the latter two, since we didn't have a copy of A New Hope back then) and ... well, it was pretty much instant intrigue.

Then I started doing very strange things. I had Kit and Molly from Talespin become Boba Fett's wards. I don't know what happened to Rebecca. I do remember at that time I was on the rocks with Baloo, which was totally unfair to him. I think it started because I didn't like the way he acted in the episode Stormy Weather, which was childish of me since he was only worried about Kit getting in with a creep and doing dangerous things. But so anyway ... Kit and Molly were Boba Fett's wards. And I made up silly posters on some pink paper one of my aunts gave me that said "The Kit and Molly Show! With Boba Fett Too!"

Mom thought it would be nice to give her one of the posters, so she could see I was enjoying the paper. So I did, and she read it aloud and Dad was there and went, "... Hey, isn't that the guy from Star Wars?" and I wanted to sink into the floor.

I also remember that one of my first hurt/comfort adventures involved Kit bringing Boba Fett ... somewhere, and saying he wouldn't wake up, or something (I was six; I don't think I knew a big word like "unconscious" yet). And then after a while I was embarrassed by the whole thing and when I had him wake up, I wasn't sure how to have Kit react and it was all very weird.

I used to occasionally draw Boba Fett, but all that armor was confusing to figure out, so I didn't do it very often. I did draw Kit and Molly a lot, badly. Mom drew better, and I'd have her draw paper dolls of all the characters we used in our stories. So there were the paper doll storylines and the action figure storylines. Later on, since later we mostly played with figures and there weren't existing figures for everyone I wanted in the stories, we developed a verbal-only storyline that we still have ongoing today.

I remember other oddball adventures back in the day like Kit being a brat and pretending he had amnesia and saying his name was Guacamole, because I thought that was a hilarious word. LOL. Poor Kit. I did such weird, weird things when I was a kid. And I had no concept of OOCness.

Leonardo Turtle owned a restaurant with his brothers. Probably a pizza parlor. LOL. Later on he sold it to Rebecca.

Don Karnage and Mad Dog hung out together. I wasn't crazy about Dumptruck or Gibber, so they weren't there. Over time, Karnage and Mad Dog pretty much became OCs rather than the Talespin characters. Eventually they really only shared the names and a couple of key personality traits (Karnage's conceit, Mad Dog's whining). I even redesigned them as other animals (Karnage as an Alaskan Malamute, Mad Dog as a Siberian Husky). The OC versions became the central characters in the stories I used to write and sell in the old neighborhood to get money. I also created a skunk character, Jackly the Pew, who was originally based on the Tiny Toon Adventures character Jonny Pew. (Jonny ended up being Jackly's brother.)

I created a whole bunch of skunk characters actually. I loved Fifi on Tiny Toons and she entered the storyline, as did Miss Skunky (an orange skunk who cameos with Jonny Pew in the episode), Red-and-White (a blundered version of Miss Skunky when I couldn't remember what she looked like), and a collection of girls either inspired by Fifi or who were early attempts at drawing Fifi when I didn't have a picture to be looked at: Viva, Vivi, Vifa.... Vifa, who started out as a sweet girl, eventually showed her true colors as a femme fatale and became one of my primary antagonists even today (albeit as a human version, not a skunk). I first tried that in my sixth YGO mystery and it continued from there.

Later, Vifa developed a twin sister named Flo. Flo was originally just Vifa in disguise, but then I wanted her to be another actual character. For the longest time, I had trouble giving her a separate personality from Vifa, but recently I differentiated them by having Vifa interested in money and jewels and Florence interested in power. Vifa could be pettily bent on revenge, while Florence didn't usually bother with that. Lately, however, she has gotten so frustrated with Ginger and Lou overturning her plans against them that she has made it a personal goal to defeat them someday.

Meanwhile, Jackly (or Pew, as we started mostly calling him) started out as an antagonist, frustrated by Karnage doing stupid conceited things and Mad Dog being embarrassed and whining and bawling about it. It was only after Karnage enlisted in the Army that Pew started becoming friends with Mad Dog. Eventually, they actually became closer friends than Mad Dog and Karnage had been.

Karnage drove General Stilton (from The Cat From Outer Space movie) utterly mad with his nonsense of wanting to look in mirrors and shiny hubcaps and anything else that resembled a mirror. Karnage eventually made friends with Corporal Klinger from M*A*S*H. Yes, we said "Screw time periods!" and pretty much added anyone we wanted. The setting was the present day, but anyone could wander in from other eras, at the same age they were in the other eras. And characters like Karnage remained anthropomorphic animals, while human characters stayed human. They co-exist together very easily.

Karnage was in the Army for many years, and then left to marry a mirror. LOL. It was a gag based on something from years earlier, when he'd talked about it and Mad Dog talked him out of it because he wouldn't be able to go on dates with anyone and back then, Karnage was a Casanova and loved dates. But this other time, Mad Dog couldn't talk Karnage out of it and Karnage said he regretted listening to Mad Dog that first time. There was a big wedding in New York City, with Lieutenant Schrank from West Side Story very unhappily running security and Ron Updyke from Kolchak: The Night Stalker being abducted by a bunch of rabid Karnage fans that demanded that Karnage be allowed to marry the mirror or they would keep Ron hostage in a hot-air balloon.

Ah, good times.

Currently the main characters are in Los Angeles, where they've mostly been for three years, since Karnage married the mirror and went to L.A., where he burst into court and got on the witness stand and said, "I solemnly swear that I'm glorious." Hamilton Burger's expression was priceless. LOL.

There was a sanity hearing, which dragged on and on because the judge and Karnage's lawyer were crooked (something Karnage was oblivious to), and Mad Dog and Pew and company came out from their main residence to participate in the hearing. Eventually Karnage was put under the observation of some doctors, who are fascinated by him and aren't much help, except for keeping him from doing dangerous stunts like getting on bridges and screaming about being wonderful.

Both Vifa/Vivalene and Florence pretended to be nice girls and talked with Pew, who wanted to give them a chance to start over despite thinking they were both awful in the past. He learned their true colors later and felt deeply betrayed. Then he met Virginia, a mysterious girl who likes to steal things and then pretend she didn't, and generally is a mercenary out for a buck. Her full origins are still unknown, but she causes trouble for the characters every now and then, including Ginger and Lou.

Fifi worked for a private-eye character called The Tester, who used to test Pew with mystery scenarios to train him to be a detective. The Tester is the English Cat from Scat Cat's Aristocats band in disguise, albeit I've never conclusively revealed that. Fifi eventually disappeared and they're still not sure what happened to her, but a girl resembling her has surfaced in London. She has amnesia and was found wandering by Simon Templar, who took her in as his secretary. She has adopted the name Patricia Holm, the name of Simon's girlfriend in the books. This is the TV Simon, so there is no real Patricia. And since Fifi is an anthro skunk, there is no romance going on between them. If she has any feelings for Simon, she will keep them to herself.

And as if all this nostalgia isn't enough, today I woke up with an urge to finally write my sequel to my fic for the much-hated TV show The Batman. I honestly really enjoyed the overhaul and found the series very fun and fascinating. About six years ago, I wrote a oneshot examining their version of The Riddler and then did a multi-chapter involving him that ended in a mysterious way. I never abandoned my idea and desire for a sequel, but I've just never got around to it. Now, suddenly, I really want to do it.

I re-read the oneshot tonight and will probably re-read the multi-chapter tomorrow. Maybe I'll re-read the three Riddler comics from The Batman Strikes! tie-in comic series, too. I really only liked the first one of those, though. And I especially detested the last one and felt The Riddler was OOC and the issue didn't live up to the awesomeness of its cover. I remember I planned that my sequel would tell the story that I thought that comic issue would, based on the cover.

I also want to bring in the idea from the main comics where The Riddler eventually at least semi-reformed and became a private detective. The first multi-chapter I did ended with him supposedly dead, but his body missing and a paper left in the freezer chamber that had the first riddle he gave Batman on it. I'm not sure I ever will reveal how he got out of the morgue, since there should always be some mysteries surrounding him, but I'm thinking the sequel involves him turning up as a private detective under his real name and staying in the shadows for a while, only revealing his identity to Batman and Yin later on.

I really hated that they dropped the Yin character from the show after season 2. She was awesome! And she certainly should have at least been in the episode where Ethan comes back to himself, since they were partners.

I don't know when I'll actually get a chance to start writing any sequel, though, or if I really will at all despite the abrupt burst of interest. I've got all the October Writing stuff to work with, and an idea to write a book about season 1 of Mannix, and I've been seriously neglecting my Perry blog lately.

I've continued to have extreme trouble with the 3 Column layout and the sidebars hopping over the entries after comments are added or edits made. I've been looking for other possible themes and I finally found some ready-made header codes to input for certain themes. I chose this one and input the header code.

It's rather busy, and I'd prefer the title to be above the header, I think, but I'm just thrilled that this layout seems to be cooperating. Although I suppose the real test will be the next time someone comments on an entry....

Also, this will sound ridiculous, but ... what did I have in the small box of text about me in the sidebar? I know I didn't remember it right.

I like to steal Ask memes from Tumblr and put them on LJ. And since for me Fall started on September 1st and I'm excitedly planning for Halloween, I had to do this one as soon as I saw it on an Autumn blog.


A:What are you being for Halloween this year? Twilight Sparkle! I'm planning already and I'm so excited to try to find just the right wig in a week or so when the Halloween stuff starts coming out.
B:Favorite costume from past Halloweens? I love the Rouge the Bat costume I've worn and slowly perfected over three Halloweens or so. I'm also pretty proud of my Marik Ishtar costume.
C:Do you still go trick or treating? I wish I could. I don't really want to go alone and Dad would probably be appalled if I said I wanted to go. If I knew someone who was going, I would totally go with them.
D:Top 3 favorite scary movies. ... Good question. You know, it may sound sacreligeous, but I don't tend to watch scary movies. Unless someone I love is in them. So we'll say Curse of the Faceless Man. Old 1950s cheese, but the "monster" seems a lot more sympathetic than some, and Richard Anderson is the main character! Also, I like The Uninvited, but really, it wasn't nearly as scary as people toted it as being. It seems like there's one other movie just on the tip of my mind. I wish I could remember. For now, let's just say The Night Strangler, the second Kolchak movie. Lots of Tony being adorable and lots of creepy stuff going on.
E:Top 3 non-scary Halloween movies. I don't tend to watch Halloween-themed movies in general, actually. But is there really such a thing as a non-scary Halloween movie? It seems like an oxymoron.
F:Do you watch Halloween specials on TV? No. I saw It's the Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown on a friend's DVD last year. I ... honestly didn't like it that much. I found it preposterous that no one would give Charlie any candy. Adults were seriously so mean that they were giving him rocks everywhere? It would have been funny one time, but for him to receive rocks everywhere was just unreal. However, one thing I do like is watching scary episodes of my favorite TV shows, like Perry Mason and The Wild Wild West!
G:What was your first Halloween costume? Gosh, I don't remember. It may have been this superhero costume. I loved her rainbow hair on the wig.
H:Would you ever wear a "sexy" Halloween costume? No. I'm not the type, mentally OR physically. I don't want to attract the kind of guys who would be turned on by that sort of thing and I'd just embarrass myself.
I:Most ridiculous "sexy" costume you've seen? There's so many silly ones. It's hard to narrow it down to just one! I really think it's stupid when fairly innocent costumes are sexed up. Sexy policewomen annoy me a lot. I want to say I even saw a sexy nun once, but I can't remember for sure.
J:Would you rather go to a Halloween party or go trick or treating? Trick or treating.
K:Favorite candy to find in your trick or treat bag? Butterfingers! And Reese's Peanut Butter Cups!
L:Candy or other goodies that make you want to **CENSORED!** when someone gives them to you? I don't like Mary Janes too much. Or candy corn.
M:Any Halloween traditions? Have the fake Jack-O-Lantern lit up. Visit the cemetery. Get in costume and stay in costume all evening.
N:Have you ever been tricked on Halloween? I don't think so, thank God.
O:Costumes: make or buy? Both. Around 1995, I decided that they weren't making the costumes I wanted, so I was going to make my own. And I proceeded to do so every year after that. For several years I just cheaply made and colored masks and tails, if I was playing animals. Then I started mostly playing people and just using make-up if I was playing an animal. But I still have to buy some elements of all costumes. I have a whole box of wigs.
P:Have you ever pulled a Halloween prank? No.
Q:Do you believe in ghosts? Yes.
R:You're in a horror movie. Are you the final girl, the first to die, the comic relief, the skeptic, the smart one, or the killer? Heh, either the first to die or the skeptic.
S:You're in a zombie apocalypse. What's your weapon of choice? A scythe is the first thing that came to mind. Dunno how effective it would be, though.
T:Costumes: scary, sexy, or funny? ... Out of those choices? Scary, I suppose. My favorite costumes are specific character-based, though, so none of the categories really fit.
U:You're a ghost. How do you spend Halloween? Haunting an old house and trying to entice people to visit. And then maybe chilling at a Halloween party.
V:Trick or treating: how old is too old? When you feel too old.
W:Do you pass out candy on Halloween? Yes.
X:Do you go trick or treating even when it's raining? I believe I remember that I used to. These days, if I had a way to go out, I might go if it was just a light rain. I wouldn't go out if it was pounding down.
Y:Top 3 favorite scary stories/books. The Hardy Boys Ghost Stories, Nancy Drew: The Secret of Shady Glen, and any Debi Chestnut books about real ghosts.
Z:Trick or treat? Treats! I'm just too nice to trick people. I expect the same in turn.

Last week I had occasion to see about the mail a couple of times. For me, that entails a ten-minute walk.

The first time was in the evening. It was very pleasant, albeit a bit warmer than I liked. But I was grateful it wasn't terribly hot, either.

The second time was in the morning. That was August 1st. As I walked, I was hit by this immense wave of nostalgia from all directions, thinking about so many happy and seemingly unrelated things: hanging out with friends, The Man from U.N.C.L.E., anime and Sailor Moon, and various happiness and memories that I was unable to fully define. It was a lovely walk and I was thoroughly happy from the experience, even if I couldn't figure out what I was pinpointing in my memories and how I was reminded of all those things at once.

When I got home and pondered on it, though, I realized exactly what I had sensed. There was a feel of late-summer in the air. Fall was just around the corner! And, apparently, fall makes me think of all those assorted subjects.

The arrival of fall is definitely more than enough to excite me. Cooler temperatures, changing leaves, MeTV's fall schedule.... My birthday, my church's general conference, Halloween, Thanksgiving.... So much awesome. And the specific memories/things I was recalling must have had some connection with fall as well.

August is a transitional month. Nights are cooler than in the other summer months. Night also comes on sooner. I'm sitting here enjoying the sunset and anticipating the wonders of fall that will shortly start appearing in full-form. I believe in meteorological seasons, meaning that for me, fall will start September 1st. I'm so excited!