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Musings of the Last Raigeki

@thelastraigeki / thelastraigeki.tumblr.com

A simple blog dedicated to the ramblings and thoughts of a man who really has nothing better to do in his spare time as he shares what's on his mind and whatever amuses him.
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Dude, you're back? After TEN years?!

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I briefly returned about half a year ago, but that was super on and off. BUT SHIT it might as well been a decade! Hahahahahahaaa!!!! I don't know if this will be permanent. I'm not the best at juggling schtuff around, but I will try to be more active on here for sure. Plus if you're wondering my love for Dan Hibiki has never died! Have 1 free Dan Hibiki gif!

But how are you doing? It's pretty cool that you're still active on Tumblr.

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I am not necessarily as active as I used to be on Tumblr. The place just lost it's appeal to me when it was super heavy political and then the NSFW ban happened because someone had to be the turd in the punch bowl and Tumblr was losing revenue when Apple removed it from their store.

Roleplaying on Tumblr is a real shit show. Everyone is super selective about who they roleplay with, how they roleplay and it's just not fun on Tumblr anymore.

Strahd’s Consorts by AI

So I was going through a Google Image search to see what kind of different interpretations there are of Strahd Von Zarovich’s consorts and I had come across this neat piece of fanart which seems to invoke some elements of Castlevania as far as the art style goes.

We have Ludmilla at the front, looking at the viewer of the pic here and then she’s followed by Anastrasya, Volenta and of course... Escher, as they’re standing in front of Castle Ravenloft.

Really, this is some good artwork here.

UPDATE: A friend of mine has looked at the artwork and upon closer inspection on the eyes of Ludmilla, there’s distortions and imperfections in the pupils and this is very much done by AI, though whether it’s NovelAI, Stable Diffusion, is unknown at this time.

Curse of Strahd - Rika Mochizuki

She's here! She's finally here! The FINALIZED design of my Dungeons and Dragons character is finally complete and drawn by none other than Jaden Kaiba!

I really like how she turned out and this is how I pretty much visualized her in my head, as her design was inspired by Komi Shouko from Komi Can't Communicate but also draws inspiration from modern and historical interpretations of the Iga and Koga ninja clans.

So, who is Rika Mochizuki? Let's meet her and find out!

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Name: Rika Mochizuki

Species: Human

Age: 18 Years Old

Height: 5'4

Weight: 120 lbs

Eyes: Black

Hair: Black

Class: Monk - Way of the Kensei

Occupation: Kurogame Ninja

-Backstory-

The Kurogame Clan is an organization of ninjas that specialize in the use of weapons and skill rather than mysticism and magic. They prioritize training their physical bodies and the development of their internal Ki flow to empower themselves in combat.

Rika Mochizuki is a young Kunoichi from Kozakura who has been sent on her Musha Shugyo, otherwise known as her warrior's journey. Having completed her training, she now ventures into the realm to see where her training can take her to forge her own path and perhaps even create abilities, techniques, and perhaps weapons of her own.

After having completed the first three adventures with her original group consisting of the Flameheim Sisters, Chili and Pepper, and a slob of a former soldier named Namzamu-- Rika Mochizuki soon finds herself assembled with a new group of adventurers consisting of Celine Whitewolf (Aasimar Druid/Cleric), Free Bird (Kenku Bard), and Shanara Cinderfall (Tabaxi Rogue), after sharing what seems to have been a shared dream involving an old fortune teller telling them to come to the mysterious land of Barovia.

With this motley crew finding themselves caught in a seemingly inescapable nightmarish land, they now must face supernatural threats and work together to survive the machinations of the dark count, Strahd Von Zarovich.

Now Rika must work to find her own inner strength and latent power if she is to survive the dark lands of Barovia and face Strahd alongside her crew.

I didn’t think that Jason David Frank’s death would’ve affected me as much as it did as I outgrew Power Rangers. But it’s hurt me nonetheless. I saw him in person back in Philly Wizard World 2013, but I didn’t get in line to MEET him because it was long… I severely REGRET that I didn’t get in that line to meet a childhood hero of mine. Now… I am on a Power Rangers kick, reliving memories as a child, watching him on screen as the Green and White Ranger. And in honor of him… I bought a Hallmark Green Ranger ornament and put it high on my tree.

It’s not fair that JDF left us… He had so much love in him to give. I thought he would be with us for a long time…

My confession...

I didn’t think that they would publish this since this was submitted sometime around late November to December of 2022, and now I see it-- and it just re-opens some old wounds and a life experience that I denied myself in having the privilege in meeting a childhood hero of mine.

This is not my confession at all but I kind of understand what the original poster here is saying-- Disney in it’s own way has become Vought, or at the very least something akin to Weyland-Yutani, if Weyland-Yutani ever dabbled in the entertainment business but... the Vought analogy is more fitting.

Think about it... The Boys goes out of it’s way to lampoon Disney and the MCU, and to a lesser extent-- DC as well. How it lampoons Disney and the MCU is showing us how Vought has invested in creating diners that are themed with the Vought logos and intellectual properties-- the Vought superheroes, and even having streaming services with Vought which use the heroes in their advertisements, and even having Voughtland, a theme park which is entirely dedicated to their superheroes-- just like how Disney has with Avengers Campus in Disneyland Anaheim.

But right now... the MCU fatigue is here, and diminished returns are showing. And it’s about damn time.

I didn’t like PREY.

I have a lot of problems with Twentieth Century Studios PREY installment in the Predator franchise. Having watched the movie via a streaming party, I can say that it’s an OKAY movie, mediocre at worst but it’s certainly overrated, overhyped and blown out of proportion.The movie’s not THAT fucking good, and in my opinion NOT a good PREDATOR movie.

My problems with the movie aren’t with Amber Midthunder’s character as we’ve had a female lead before in the first AVP movie. My problems lay with the creative decisions in the design of the creature which looks so far removed from Stan Winston’s facial design to where it doesn’t even LOOK like a Predator, the writing and lack of exposition to how Amber’s character knows certain skills such as how to hunt and fight, the portrayal of this Predator being inept and incompetent compared to the previous Predators in all the films, and the changing of lore in regards to the Raphael Adolini character and the pistol which he owned that we see at the end of Predator 2.

PREY would’ve been a much better film as an original production completely disconnected from the Predator franchise with an original creature.

This is one hundred percent my confession and I do not hold any regrets  about my feelings towards the movie. While it is a fine movie from a  film making and technical standpoint, in my opinion as a Predator fan,  it’s simply not a very good Predator movie for the reasons which I have  stated in this confession.

And I most certainly didn’t like the erasure and re-writing of lore in  regards to Raphael Adolini’s flintlock. I know, the films take  precedence but I didn’t like Adolini’s cowardly character in the film  and much preferred the heroic Pirate captain from the comic Predator:  1718. It just feels more organic and connects better with Predator 2,  than Prey did.  

Don’t get me wrong, the movie does have it’s good parts such as the Feral Predator fighting that big bastard of a Grizzly Bear and him fighting the Wolf in the plains, and even the three Comanches in that one scene but... for me, the bad outweighed the good in the movie.

I ultimately just did wound up not liking the film for what it is, and I find it to be grossly overrated, grossly overblown, and grossly overhyped. I just don’t think it’s a very good Predator movie.

Shining Moon Tokyo Cast

Sailor Moon: Reona Samejima and Shina Tanaka Sailor Mercury: Cocona and Yui Hayashi Sailor Mars: Mika Taguchi and Kyoko Ninomiya Sailor Jupiter: Mayuka Ida and Ayaka Ozaki Sailor Venus: Nanae Abe and Yu Nakanishi

Shining Moon Tokyo not only included Sailor Mars jewel but also the corresponding pendant Rei wears in the manga!! The Sailor Moon Materials Collection (last pic) is the one to point out the connection between the accessories. It also seems the necklace used to be her mother’s. 
If I remember correctly, the only other adaption that included the jewel was PGSM, but not even that Rei wore a pendant (she did have a unique bracelet related to her mother though)

Agents of Law#6

Who says Yautja can't kill superhumans?

In 1995, Dark Horse Comics was publishing a crossover event titled "Hunting the Heroes: The Predators Attack!" featuring brief crossovers involving the Yautja going up against Dark Horse's cast of superheroes and supervillains. These crossovers pitted the Yautja against Dark Horse's characters such as Ghost, Motorhead, X and Law.

The character of Law is depicted as an individual possessing great cunning, a politically tactile mind and keen intellect. He was also showcased to be a man possessing some degree of enhanced level strength, possessing enough durability to withstand an explosion that destroyed the side and three floors of a high rise building only to come out unscathed aside from torn clothing, and a heightened pain tolerance.

Agents of Law #6 has the distinction of perhaps being the only in-continuity crossover between Agents of Law and the Predator series as it marks the end of publishing for the Dark Horse title. If we look into the editor's column, we see a sketch the original as intended ending sketch of the outcome had the Agents of Law series saw a successful run for Dark Horse.

Instead, the conclusion to the Agents of Law series depicts the battle between an unnamed Yautja and Law, which ultimately... ends up in the demise of Law and the end of the publication, marking this crossover as canonical to the Dark Horse title.

It also marks the first canonical instance of a Yautja existing outside of the Alien-Predator universe.