Chapter 33, Draft 4: COMPLETE!

Hurry, before the way is closed!

Ah, too late; your plan is hosed!

Pick a route; again, it’s time;

Scattered pieces; leave them behind.

Draft 4 changes: In this chapter, I added in extra scenes that involved the characters from the previous chapter. Remember? I decided to bring in some new faces.

I also cut out some gratuitous violence. Kim was getting bored with it, and I really couldn’t justify all of the ‘torture’ that was occurring. This book is already long enough; you can see we’re on chapter 33 at this point.

So let’s keep all of that lean, amazing finale goodness, and dump the fat!

Book Cover Progress: My ex-girlfriend’s daughter had some more questions about the roof of the building depicted on the cover. I left the perspective up to her, and I guess she decided what angle the scene was going to be drawn in. (Sky view? Not sure what it would be called.)

And oh boy, did I know every single thing on top of that building! I even drew a picture mapping it all out. I’d put it up here, but it would spoil too much. Maybe later.

Okay! It’s November in the United States: you know what that means. Yep, elections. Time to talk about everything I voted on in vast detail.

Ha,ha, no, just kidding. Time for November shows/games!

Ranma 1/2 Remake – Yep, that’s right! While my friend Kim has been watching new stuff like Dan-Dan-Dadadan, I’ve been checking out a remake of the oldest classic there is: Ranma 1/2.

And wow, did this remake NEED to be done; the old anime had TONS of filler. I don’t even think it even covered the whole manga. Just petered out somewhere in the middle and then made up the rest of the story. Cool opening songs, though.

So now it’s time to do things right: every episode is animated with love. MANGA-ACCURATE. Well, out of the five or so episodes that are finished, that is. And it’s even in ENGLISH! How did they dub it so fast!? I don’t think I’ve seen this before. Even Dragon Ball Super had months before the dubs were done.

Not that I’m against Japanese subtitles, but this is a comedy show. It’s all about timing and tone! And I can’t get those things with a language I don’t understand! The punchlines don’t hit as hard when I’m reading them all at once at the bottom of the screen before the joke even lands. (Although I do still have to read Genma’s signs. I do kind of wish they’d go the extra mile and edit in English on the signs themselves.)

Supernatural Season 2 – Yep, I’m still trucking along with the Winchesters.

And I knew it was coming: their dad died. I thought it would happen in the first season, though, so having him around for a bit more was nice. But in the first episode of season two, ol’ pops sacrifices himself to ‘the demon’ to save Dean’s life. (Surprise car crash remember?)

He gave up the magical Colt too, so now the brothers are back to wandering around looking for other evil things to kill. Some standout episodes:

• In the House of the Holy: Here we have a Christian story! Random people are being visited by an angel, and this otherworldly being tells them to KILL evildoers.

We get a funny exchange between the brothers about the possibility of angels even existing. Sam believes, but Dean is still bitter that angels didn’t protect Mom from burning to death. Sam counters that there is ten times MORE lore on angles than anything they hunt. 🤣

The brothers then hold a séance to discover who is in the right. It seems that the culprit is the ghost of a priest, and he believes he’s become an angel after his death.

A fellow priest stumbles in on all this, and correctly tells the ghost that people can’t become angels. He then gives the dead priest his last rites, and the ghost vanishes.

In the end, Dean starts to believe, while Sam’s faith is shaken. Cool stuff.

• The Hunter/The Hunted: These two episodes are about another ‘hunter’ of evil. Yes, there are others out there with ‘supernatural-know-how.’ A whole network of roadhouse dives and the vagabonds that come in for tips on where to find ghoulies.

I thought this was a good addition to the series. Why should it just be this ONE family that fights evil? This isn’t Buffy!

Speaking of Buffy, some vampires finally show up. And UNLIKE Buffy, vampires seem to be nearly extinct on this world. We even get to see Amber Benson playing a vampire! I was shocked. Sweet, timid Tara from Buffy was now a bloodsucker. Though, she was a NICE bloodsucker. Wanted to drink from cows. Not because of any moral reason, though. It’s so that the network of hunters doesn’t catch wind of them. Pretty smart. I hope she comes back later.

Even with all that, I wasn’t able to get through the entire second season yet. The story arc of ‘Sam’s powers and the demon’s plan’ hasn’t really taken off. I’m not really sure how this show makes it through fifteen seasons. 🤔

And shoot, Cobra Kai starts up again November 15th. We’ll see what I have time for.

See you next time! 😄