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Brandi

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Posts posted by Brandi

  1. Re: WWYCD: A Devil No More?

     

    Xian? in the Shaanxi province? Where all the clay soldiers were? What's that got to do with demons?

    Or is there an Anime named that?

    Or is that another form of writing Christian? If so, is it laziness, or spite?

     

    The X is actually supposed to be the capital letter Chi (I don't know if the HTML & entity Χ will look different); it comes from the Roman emperor Constantine's use of a Chi over a rho or ρ to show his Christian affiliation (it's the first two letters of Christos in Greek).

     

    The use of Xian (and Xmas for Christmas) is actually pretty old and not necessarily derogatory though way too many 3DGY anti-theists use it that way (Xmas became so popular with advertisers for space-saving headlines that it's now seen as a bit frivolous to use).

     

    To bring this back to the original topic: lots of religions and mythoi (yes, that's the actual plural!), not just the Judeo-Christian one, speak of otherworldly entities that are inimical to humanity. Russell could as easily be a Unseelie fae, an ifrit, or a particularly nasty oni.

  2. Re: WWYCD: Hostages for the Holidays

     

    Irving is a sui generis being (look it up) and has no family (he does have a circle of fairly close friends)-- but as a creature with a lot of compassion and near-infinite patience, he'd be happy to try and talk the fellow down ("You might be keeping some of *these* people from their families-- you don't want to do that, knowing how awful it is not to be able to go to your own family") and offer, like Starguard, to stay in exchange for everyone else.

  3. Re: Champions Christmas Adventure Seeds!

     

    The one I regret them never making into an episode was the one where the Scarecrow avenges a young girl's rape and assault by trying to frighten her attacker to death. There was a sense of tragedy to that one that was usually missing with the Scarecrow.

     

    Sounds intriguing-- and way, WAY too dark for S&P to allow.

  4. Re: Sky High, the DVD

     

    The DVD was probably pretty sparse on features because the film didn't do so well at the box office, and the company may have felt they didn't want to invest more money in featurettes if the DVD sales do poorly as well.

     

    OTOH, if this becomes a cult hit on DVD in terms of sales, look for a "special anniversary edition" some years down the line on whatever media is in use by then.

  5. Re: Metallic Ages?

     

    This is really stereotypical, but here goes:

     

    Golden Age characters behave like Indiana Jones. They kill nazis, punch out spies, and sweep the woman off her feet.

    Silver Age characters behave like the Adam West Batman. He's true blue, never tells a lie, smokes, and he always drinks his milk. In a more serious Silver Age game, think the Christopher Reeve Superman.

    Bronze Age characters behave like Spider-Man from the recent movies. They may be tempted to kill the bad guy (or may even do it). They struggle with moral decisions.

    Iron Age characters behave like Arnold Schwarzenegger in Predator or the Terminator. They kill people. A lot.

     

    Good summation! I'd also add that Steel/Diamond Age characters are like the animated heroes in Batman: The Animated Series, Superman: The Animated Series, and Justice League America/Unlimited. (Death might be shown more in comics than in the TV shows, though, which tend to restrict onscreen mayhem in a way closer to the Silver Age).

  6. Re: WWYCD: You the Jury

     

    Irving's got a Public ID so it's not applicable here, but I do wonder if even in the wake of the ADA your average courtroom could accomodate a Clydesdale-sized quadruped juror who weighs half a ton....

  7. Re: WWYCD: The Vampire Who Doesn't Want to be a Vampire Anymore

     

    Penumbra: "I think it's a safe bet that being afflicted with a disease that requires you to feed on your "fellow human beings" for any sort of satisfying sustanance' date=' and occasionally subjects you to rages that overwhelm your ability to control your feeding urges to the point where you overfeed - and thus kill the donor - could come under the heading of affecting mental competance."[/quote']

     

    I imagine that it also depends on how one decides if it's a disease or an addiction. A heroin addict (say) who kills in the commission of a robbery when trying to get some money or fencable loot for his next fix doesn't often get to use the diminished capability defense (at least not that I've seen).

  8. Re: WWYCD: The Vampire Who Doesn't Want to be a Vampire Anymore

     

    Irving: "I suppose it all depends on the legal status of the walking dead. If I, an animated statue, am considered a full citizen under the law [OOC comment: 4th edition Champions Universe had a whole interesting section on the legal status of nonhuman beings, but I don't have a copy on hand], I suspect that unfortunately this woman's undead status would have no bearing on her ability to be tried for murder, unless it could be shown that vampirism somehow affected her mental competence."

  9. Re: WWYCD: The Vampire Who Doesn't Want to be a Vampire Anymore

     

    Irving-- "Well, um, I'm not really a scientist by training-- so we'll need to talk to [campaign's superscientist] and my knowledge of the supernatural and metaphysics isn't bad, but we'll need to talk to [campaign's sorcerous type]...

    but there's another issue."

     

    "I HAVE been studying law-- though I haven't taken the bar exam yet-- and I suspect, based on what I've been reading, that even if we CAN cure you you will have to face trial for a LOT of murders. True, not all of them were first-degree, but there is no statute of limitations on murder... you see the problem? Mind you, death by lethal injection may be less painful than the methods traditionally used to dispatch vampires, and you would be legally entitled to appeals, but... your choice."

  10. Re: Wwycd: They Blew It!!

     

    That law is so vague it would almost de facto be unconsitutional... that said, Irving would see if the NYPL wants to retain him as a non-crimefighting spokescreature. He'd be quite content to help people through literacy classes, encouragement of them to utilize library resources, etc.

  11. Re: Doom Patrol Champions

     

    Was also kind of funny to see the character called "elastigirl" -- I was thinking that they were infringing on the Incredibles IP, so I went and looked up the DP and found out they've been around since the early 60's, predating the X-Men by a few months, and she was on the team.

     

    Yeah-- in fact, while DC gave Disney/Pixar the permission to use the Elastigirl name for the movie, they did not give permission to use it in any merchandising, which is why toys, t-shirts, coffee mugs, etc. refer to Helen Parr or "Mrs. Incredible."

  12. Re: Doom Patrol Champions

     

    Yeah. Teen Titans seems to be paralleling JLU by opening its season with some pulpy/Silver-Age-toned episodes and the idea of "lots of villains banding together to give the heroes maximum grief".

     

    Also, Mento really came off like kind of a dick in that one (more in the first half than the second)...

  13. Re: WWYCD: Omelas

     

    I am outright offended and horrified, that the "voluntary sacrifice thread" had more people arguing for attempted intervention than this one.

     

    Which thread was this one? I don't regularly follow WWYCD threads...

  14. Re: WWYCD: Omelas

     

    Irving tends toward the philosophy of utilitarianism (a la Bentham), but this situation would probably give him fits. The problem for him would be trying to figure out what would happen if he rescued the child. Would Omelas simply cease being a paradise on earth and be a regular city, with all that that implies, or is the child's misery actually holding back a disaster of Katrina proportions, making their rescue the start of something worse? Oh, he'd be in a terrible state of brooding over it...

  15. Re: TV Teen Titans

     

    a bit off topic: I hate hate hate hate that they keep dragging Static Shock into the JLU shows.....

     

    Aw, I like Static, even though the hip-hop tinged dialogue and music are going to date badly.

     

    Besides, Dwayne McDuffie, Static's creator, has been doing a LOT of the JLU writing duties (and quite well, I might add), so I don't mind if he toots his own horn a little.

     

    Also, has Static actually been in more than 2 JLU eps? (The two-part Time Thief story.)

  16. Re: Does Seeker still suck?

     

    Actually, while Seeker was usually shown getting pounded in 4e, at least it was mostly through his own crazy bravado. In the USPDB, Nighthawk gets beaten up by mind-controlled kids, assaulted by diner utensils, set on fire by Mentallo (who barely acknowledges his presence) and, most humiliatingly, has a chunk of building dropped on him by Deus ex Machina Man or whoever the guy was demonstrating that luck power based on an Indirect EB was.

  17. Re: Sky High as a Teen Champions prop

     

    Two words: The Incredibles

     

    I know everyone will say "That was Pixar," but it is proof that not everything Disney touches turns to crap.

     

    Properly speaking, it means that movies Disney *pays for*, but is not directly involved in, aren't crap.

     

    That said, they've had some sporadic good luck with live-action films in the last few years (Pirates of the Caribbean).

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