Mel's Inktober 31 - Chernabog

And last but not least, one of my most favorite and Disney's most underrated villains, the one and only Chernabog!

Bet you can't guess what music I listened to while working on this. I've even watched the clip already. Still holds its terrifying charm.

And that's a wrap for another "Inktober" challenge! Happy Halloween, everybody!

BMM 8 - The Good Old Days

Whenever I'm, from time to time, depressed
And a trauma wells and swells within my breast
I find some pride deep inside of me
As I fondly walk the lane of memory 

I see Bonaparte, a mean one
If ever I've seen one
And Nero fiddlin' through that lovely blaze
Antoinette, dainty queen,
With her quaint guillotine
Ha-ha-ha-ha
Those were the good old days! 

I see Indians a-draggin'
An empty covered wagon
When scalping the settlers was the latest craze
And that glorious morn
Jack the Ripper was born
Ha-ha-ha-ha
Those were the good old days! 

I'd sit in my rocking chair
Peacefully rockin' there
Counting my blessings by the score
The rack was in fashion
The plagues were my passion
Each day held a new joy in store
Was anybody happy?

 I see cannibals a-munchin'
A missionary luncheon
The years may have flown but the memory stays
Like the hopes that were dashed
When the stock market crashed
Ha-ha-ha-ha
Those were the good old days! 

I'd walk a million miles or more
For some of the gore
Of those good...
Old...
Days!

I was so contented
When prisons were invented
And the ones with the gallows set my heart ablaze
I was burning with pride
The day Bonnie met Clyde
Ha-ha-ha-ha
Those were the good old days! 

I doze by the fireside
Dreaming of cyanide
Never a worry or a care
And how can one measure
The infinite pleasure
Of dreaming of the electric chair?
Some people found it shocking!
Skip it! 

In any aisle I'd lay 'em
With arson and with mayhem
It's a hammy routine but it always plays
And my favorite encore
Was the Hundred Year War!
Ha-ha-ha-ha
Those were the good old days!

 I'd gladly sail the seven seas
For just one reprise
Of those good...
Old...
Days! 

From Wikipedia: "Those Were The Good Old Days" is from the musical Damn Yankees. It's about Mr. Applegate (who is the Devil disguised as a salesman) recalling some historical events at its cruelest and worst.

My own thoughts: In my last semester of college, I attended my university's rendition of this musical for my theater class. We had to write a critique on it, and our grade depended more on thoroughness than anything else. A relatively simple assignment, but the professor had his way of knowing whether we actually did it.

By far, I found Mr. Applegate the most entertaining. While it was fairly obvious he was the Devil in disguise, the actor provided more than half the entertainment by himself, and it was no surprise that he received some of the most enthusiastic applause at the end. 

2023 Inktober 29 - Chernabog

Naturally, I have to include Chernabog somewhere in my Inktober stuff. Usually I save him for last or next-to-last, but I decided today was close enough.

Next to Frollo and Maleficent, he's my favorite Disney villain. He'd be at the top of the list if his appearance on-screen wasn't so short-lived, but in a way, the brevity of his appearance makes him that much more fascinating and frightening. Sometimes less really is more.

Personally, I feel the first few Disney movies show Disney and his crew at the top of their game. While I'll admit they can be a bit much for young children and even some adults, there's a certain boldness in Snow White, Pinocchio, and even Dumbo and Bambi that we just don't get anymore, least of all these days. When telling my own stories, I usually use these movies as my main inspiration and foundation, especially Pinocchio. Have plenty of sweet, feel-good moments, make everything work out okay in the end, but don't hold back (too much) with the dangerous, scary stuff and give your viewers a good reason to cry. For every laugh, there really should be a tear.

In any case, I can't hear "Night on Bald Mountain" anymore without seeing Chernabog's face, this is my second most favorite segment of Fantasia (it's one of those mandatory Halloween clips for me) and Beowulf will take one look at this big bad guy and immediately run for the hills as fast as he can. Beowulf knows when he's outmatched and he doesn't dare mess with supernatural forces. Sometimes he knows when it's best to just flee for your life.

In fact, that's why he's not a complete villain and why sacred ground wouldn't affect him nearly as much as other werewolves. He knows the difference between good and evil, he doesn't try to excuse himself, and he has no tolerance for those who try to desecrate holy things. He knows God is good, he knows the Church is good, and he knows perfectly well evil is not a toy.

For that matter, this would make all the difference among werewolves. The only reason they can be called "monsters" in the first place is because most of them fully embrace this monstrous form. They actually like to terrorize people and they not only get used to murder but it becomes their twisted idea of fun. They decide, "Then let me be evil!"

If they did none of those things, if they all held themselves in check like Beowulf does, they'd really just be talking wolves who can only venture out at nighttime.

As Beowulf himself says, "Some are evil for evil's sake. Others are evil because the world leaves them no other option."

And whenever anyone dares to call Beowulf a monster to his face, he's far from offended but he silences them with this challenge, "You try living the way I do and see how long you last." Indeed, a lesser soul would have long since cracked like a nut.

That's partly what wins Reid, Malachi, and even Terence over. None of them can understand how Beowulf stands it, but the fact that he's made it this far is an incredible achievement, and there's good in him yet.

You could say, in the end, Beowulf gets the last laugh on the Devil himself. What a fine addition this noble little soul would have made to the Devil's collection, but instead, he gets a very last-minute opportunity to go to heaven after all and he doesn't let that opportunity go. He sometimes tells his victims before killing them, "Tell Satan I said hello. No doubt he'll have heard of me and is waiting for me."

Then the day finally comes when he can tell Satan to his very face, "The joke's on you, sucker!"

2023 Inktober 17 - Vampire

I never liked vampires. I never liked bloody scenes and I especially can't stand the hot, steamy stuff, where evil incarnate is outrageously sexualized and hopeless idiots somehow fall head over heels for a creature who has every intention in the world of killing them. I needn't remind you of my feelings about Twilight, though I'll admit it's good for a laugh if nothing else, and it's definitely showed me the kinds of stories and characters I don't want to create. 

That said, I like to poke fun at vampires every so often, and I've got at least one story in mind in which my Beowulf encounters an actual vampire. With Beowulf being a werewolf and how werewolves and vampires are sworn enemies and all, I suppose such a story was inevitable, sooner or later. I'm kind of looking forward to it.

I'm also planning a standalone modern-day novel in which a girl encounters a vampire, but it's the complete opposite of Twilight. She doesn't develop an unhealthy obsession with him, she's a competent girl who learns to actually stand up for herself, she rescues someone who's worth rescuing, she's personally responsible for the vampire's demise in the end, and the whole story is told in just one book. Like I said, it's pretty much everything Twilight is not, so this ought to be interesting and fun, too.

Like the saying goes, only time will tell. 

2023 Inktober 7 - Tyrell's Disney Moment

With all the fanfare that surrounds Tyrell, "Prince Ali" from Aladdin would suit him best. Everybody claims he's all that, and he seems to actually believe it and revel in it.

 

But the truth is, he feels as much like a fraud as Aladdin does. He knows people don't really care about him, the lonely boy inside the glamorous prince, and he harbors a legitimate fear that his parents are the same way. When the party's over, what's left? What's he actually good for? Who would bother to keep company with him under different circumstances?

 

This is why he's so horrible to Reid, even if it doesn't justify him by any means. While he appears to have it all, Reid's the one who actually has more, who has the very things that Tyrell pines after. I like to compare the two boys to toys. Tyrell would be that rare toy that's kept in pristine condition in its box, while Reid would be that simpler toy that actually gets played with.

 

And it's no wonder Tyrell snaps after he's thrown out, like he's worthless after all. He was so unprepared for the real world, for harsh reality, that he virtually exploded like a stick of dynamite, and everybody was caught in the radius of his blast. He may not be as gigantic as Genie when Jafar gets his hands on the lamp, but people are in for the most unpleasant surprise of their lives when he returns. Not even Tallis and Ann can see the boy they once knew, adored, and pampered so much anymore. He's so frightening that he makes Beowulf cower, and the only reason Reid doesn't run from him is because Reid has also reached the end of his rope and is prepared to fight fire with fire.

 

To me, this is what makes Tyrell such a tragic character. He has plenty of potential to be good, but the things he was taught were so erroneous that he was woefully warped out of shape and truly didn't know any other way.

 

Goes to show, like Aladdin, there's a whole lot more to a person than meets the eye. We may not know much of Jafar's backstory, but I'll bet you anything something happened to steer him down that path of darkness and he was the one to maintain that dark path for the rest of his life. 

 

Then again, Aladdin goes through a lot of grief and still manages to be sweet, honorable, and heroic, learning well from his mistakes and becoming more and more polished until he truly shines.

My Inktober 2022 - 31 - A Real Monster

Confiteor deo
Omnipotenti
Beatae Mariae
Semper virgini
Beato Michaeli archangelo
Sanctis apostolis
Omnibus sanctis 

Beata Maria, you know I am a righteous man
Of my virtue I am justly proud
(Et tibit pater)
Beata Maria, you know I'm so much purer than
The common, vulgar, weak, licentious crowd
(Quia peccavi nimis)

Then tell me, Maria, why I see her dancing there?
Why her smoldering eyes still scorch my soul?
(Cogitatione)
I feel her, I see her
The sun caught in her raven hair
Is blazing in me out of all control
(Verb o et opere)

Like fire
Hellfire
This fire in my skin
This burning desire
Is turning me to sin

It's not my fault
(Mea culpa)
I'm not to blame
(Mea culpa)
It is the gypsy girl
The witch who sent this flame
(Mea maxima culpa) 

It's not my fault
(Mea culpa)
If in God's plan
(Mea culpa)
He made the Devil so much stronger
Than a man
(Mea maxima culpa)

Protect me, Maria
Don't let this siren cast her spell
Don't let her fire sear my flesh and bone
Destroy Esmeralda
And let her taste the fires of hell
Or else let her be mine and mine alone

Hellfire
Darkfire
Now gypsy, it's your turn
Choose me or your pyre
Be mine or you will burn!

(Kyrie eleison)
God have mercy on her
(Kyrie eleison)
God have mercy on me
(Kyrie eleison)
But she will be mine
Or she...will...BURN! 

And that's a wrap for another "Inktober" series! Hope you enjoyed it, mates, and a safe and happy Halloween to you all!

Now, onto NaNoWriMo 2022!

(All images property of their respective owners.)

My Inktober 2022 - 30 - Chernabog (Again)

It's become a little tradition to include Disney's Chernabog in my "Inktober" challenge, so I decided to keep the tradition going. 

If he didn't have so little screen time, he'd replace Judge Claude Frollo as my most favorite Disney villain. He'd send Beowulf running in a heartbeat. 

My Inktober 2022 - 22 - Hook and Smee

By far, the best parts of Disney's Peter Pan and Return to Never Land are the scenes featuring Captain Hook and Mr. Smee. Those two absolutely steal the show and never fail to entertain me.

 

My Inktober 2021 #30 - Chernabog

My next-to-last Inktober piece, and what better way to commemorate Halloween Eve than one of my most favorite Disney villains? He would be the most favorite if he had more screen time.

(All images property of their respective owners.)

My Inktober 2021 #26 - Creepy Video Game Memory

As much as I loved playing Donkey Kong 64 (and would love to play it again one of these days), King K.Rool sure freaked me out something awful. 

None of us could bring ourselves to "quit" the game due to his creepy laugh, the way his enormous bloodshot eye stared straight at us while the camera kept moving, and the way the Blast-O-Matic machine took aim at DK Isle while those dreaded words "GAME OVER" flashed over everything. 

As we played the Hideout Helm level, where we learned just how important those blueprints really were, our controllers became notoriously sticky with sweat. 

And whenever we'd had enough of the game as a whole (or Mom and Dad made us turn it off), we just flipped the switch after saving our progress. 

It may be just a game, but man, that was almost too much. 

Now they're able to show us just what happens when the Blast-O-Matic actually fires. Geez...

My Inktober 2021 #25 - Creepy Movie Memory

Maleficent appearing in the fireplace gave me the creeps then, and such an appearance still gives me the creeps today!