I was linked the the Magnificent Bastard page by a friend I met on Game Faqs. Roughly five minutes later, I was addicted to TV Tropes, and eventually succumbed to signing up with the site. I've contributed here and there, patching up a few mistakes on various webpages, but haven't started anything from scratch. Yet.
I love video games, although I rarely have time to play. Okami in particular deserves distinction for being one of the most unique gaming experiences I've ever had, and for making me, a die hard cynic, lighten up and hope over to the idealistic side. For a short time. Devil May Cry also gets points for one of my favorite battle systems, and unabashed Narm. Metal Gear Solid could easily be in a league of its own, and while I could extol its virtues forever, I'll just advise those interested and not yet converted to click the link and check out the game.
I am also one of the (seemingly) few people who like Zero Punctuation's reviews and don't care when he rips into games I like. Rule of Funny forgives him a tremendous amount, and even then, he's usually right.
I don't watch many movies, but among my favorites are Memento, Fight Club, and The Dark Knight Trilogy. The Bourne Series was also pretty great, as was the source material.
Unfortunately, I also happen to have a distaste for anime. I recognize it as a perfectly good medium, I just have an aversion to the art style in most anime, and to the fact that too much time is spent talking. Especially during battles. I know anime have to work on a shit budget, and thus have to use stationary shots as much as possible, I just don't care for it. Although there are a select few anime I've given serious consideration to. I dislike Humongous Mecha though, and positively loath Super Robot shows. I can swallow them only in certain settings, but the fact that something has to explicitly break the laws of physics turns me off, since that's what I study. Once physics are subject to being ignored, without sufficient explanation/incentive to ignore, I lose most interest in fight scenes.
I will say this for anime: I like the extensive stories, and the fact that when people talk during battle, they usually explain their powers. I just get sick of hearing it constantly. At very least, the average anime is more appealing than the average western cartoon.
Literature is also good in my book, and am a fan of John Milton's Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, Moby Dick, and the work of Leo Tolstoy. I've yet to make my way through WarAndPeace, but it's one of my ambitions. On a more modern note, Alan Moore has become a recent interest after reading Watchmen, and I hope to find V For Vendetta and League Of Extraordinary Gentlemen.
Good webcomics are golden. Order OF The Stick, Eight Bit Theater, Something Positive...all excellent time wasters, to my dismay. And delightfully entertaining. Gunnerkrigg Court gets a special mention for being a solid blend of magic and technology, and for its consistent updates, as does XKCD for its scientific and mathematical jokes.
I read lots of fanfiction, and while a lot of it is bad, there's lots of good work too. I could list numerous authors that I like, even more singular works that I enjoy, and some truly stellar pieces that deserve to be published. For now, I present only Soldier of Spira
, which is hands down the best fan made work I've ever seen, and beats the stuffing out of more than a few professional pieces. A synopsis can be found in the Fanfic Recommendations for Final Fantasy X. I'm hoping this eventually becomes popular enough to warrant its own page on TV Tropes, because it might kick its writer, rr1963, out of his slump, wherever he may be. But even if it doesn't, it's still a phenomenal piece of fiction and deserves the recognition and praise, which I didn't give enough of when I read it as Some Random Reviewer.
And if nothing ever happens, well, here's to you rr1963: it may be incomplete, but it's still a masterpiece and an inspiration to all.
Tropes I use/like:
- Brutal Honesty: Very few things are as satisfying.
- The Combat Pragmatist: One of my favorite types of fighters.
- Deadpan Snarker: One of the main reasons I joined this site.
- Genre Savvy: Another trait I like in characters.
- Improvised Weapon: Another favorite. Jason Bourne got me hooked, and I've supported the trope ever since.
- Insufferable Genius: Me, occasionally.
- Jerk with a Heart of Gold: Sometimes.
- Knife Nut: Favorite weapon, in fiction and elsewhere. They're very useful tools, and good for self defense in conjecture with martial arts. Plus, in stories, you can many, many more inventive uses for the weapon than, say, another blasted katana.
- Trickster: Sometimes. I dislike lying, but have no problem employing misleading words. Besides, messing with people's minds is one of my hobbies.
- Viewers Are Geniuses: I like having to think about a work of fiction. It shows that the writers have Shown Their Work. As someone who loves an internally consistent universe, with an emphasis on realism, it doesn't get much better than this.
- Will Not Tell a Lie: Odd quirk about me, but true. The Evil Overlord List had it right: Honor is worth its weight in gold. A reputation for honor, on the other hand, might have some practical value. I find the same applies to honesty. I'm honest for the sake of being honest, but I'll be buggered before I disregard the practical values of my nature. However, see Trickster.
