Over a year ago, I made one of the best music videos I've ever created. Magia is an awesome song, from the best anime I've ever watched, and it fit remarkably well with my favorite fictional character from my favorite sci-fi show.

Needless to say, I was excited when it was complete. I uploaded it to YouTube, painstakingly added captions to translate the Japanese lyrics, and grinned as I hit "Publish"...

Only to watch in horror as Sony instantly blocked the video worldwide.

Can you guess who is NOT among my favorite companies?

Disappointed, I moved on to other projects, fitting video clips to music from less territorial companies. For over a year, my Magia video sat neglected in my computer, inaccessible to anyone but me.

Then, it finally occurred to me: there are several altered versions of Magia sitting unmolested on YouTube, so why not make my own?

It was worth a shot.

A few minutes in Audacity, and a few more in Movie Maker, and voila - a slightly higher-pitched version of my video was ready to be uploaded.

Then came the real test: would Sony allow a video that included a pitch-adjusted version of their carefully guarded song?

I uploaded it and added the captions again, silently praying that my work wouldn't once again be wasted, and wishing that I could know one way or the other before I went to the trouble of adding captions.

I could have just published it caption-free, I guess, but I'd hate for my subscribers' first impression of the video to be a fruitless battle with the caption button.

I published the video, held my breath, and...

SUCCESS!

Magia is published, and as far as I can tell, it hasn't been blocked anywhere! :D

I can't wait to hear what you think of it. This is one of my favorite creations, and I'm happy to finally be able to share it with you.
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Some characters exist to be loved and rooted for.

Others exist to present a challenge for the protagonists to overcome.

And then there are the ones who aren't influential enough to drive the plot, so they can't be major villains... but they're just too obnoxious for you to cheer for them, so they'd make terrible main protagonists.

They're side characters who make you want to smack them with every move they make... and yet, you love watching them, because their universe obligingly smacks them for you.

Jool and Rygel from Farscape, Sawyer from Lost, Anton from Catgirl Roommate... all of these are great examples of characters who -at least at first - seem to exist largely for the story to crap on them for our enjoyment.

And I have to admit, I do enjoy it, because whether through whining, obnoxiousness, picking on my favorite characters, or blatant amoral selfishness, they've made themselves a prime target for poetic justice, and the story delivers.

Some of them manage to grow out of the box in which they originate. They stop whining (or whine less), make friends with the former victims of their bullying, or maybe show a noble streak that can't help but sneak through the selfishness now and then.

Or they find ways to be so entertaining or oddly endearing that they become likable despite their bad traits, even if those traits are still dominant. I'm looking at you, Dominar Rygel.

But even if they redeem themselves somewhat, I still tend to smile a bit when their latest moment of misbehavior backfires on them. Especially when a character like that finds his way into one of my own stories.

A few days ago, the latest addition to the Catgirl Roommate cast invited himself into Sam's house without warning or consent, came swanning through the kitchen, and made himself at home.

Fortunately for Sam, Anton was less sneaky than his fellow side character, Jack, and I was ready for him.

As the obnoxious, cocky, perverted young college student went swaggering through Sam's house, a hilarious series of booby traps lay waiting in the plot, and Sam's long history of coping with this bull in his china shop was avenged by the inevitable results of a jerk encountering a catgirl.

I thoroughly enjoyed writing it, and I think you'll enjoy reading it just as much. If you'd like to get the book for a steep discount, you can pre-order your copy on this page.

In the meantime, I'd love to hear from you.

Do you know a character who tends to bring comical justice down on themselves?

What's the funniest (non-spoilery) thing their story has done to punish them for being whiny/annoying/a jerk?

I look forward to reading and laughing at your comments.

Have you ever had a time when you liked a character, but they just didn't get enough screentime?

I seem to be a bit cursed that way; my favorite characters are almost never in the main cast. They're usually antagonists or ambiguous side characters whose methods look bad, who are powerful and mysterious, and whose motives aren't revealed until well into the series.

As a result, not only do I tend to see my favorites only in relatively small doses, but in some cases I also find myself questioning their status as my favorites due to their morally ambiguous nature, or debating their morality with people who side wholeheartedly with the protagonists regardless of which side is actually in the right.

Today, I'm going to discuss three characters I wish had gotten more screentime, and how they captured their place on my wishlist.

The lower segment of each character's section contains spoilers for their respective series, so if you're new and spoiler-phobic, don't read their sections past the "spoilers ensue" image.

So, on to #1...

Itachi is a semi-major antagonist for the titular protagonist of Naruto, and the primary antagonist for Naruto's teammate, Sasuke.

His portrayal started out as being completely, unambiguously evil.

He slaughtered his entire clan except for his younger brother, Sasuke. Then he deliberately traumatized said brother even further, and purposely steered Sasuke onto a path of isolation and revenge.

All in all, he looked like one of the most despicable monsters in a series where his predecessors set a pretty high bar.

But along the way, hints were dropped that there may have been more to his motives than he'd initially stated, and better reasons for his actions than he chose to let on. It made for a fascinating puzzle, making him one of the most thought-provoking characters in the series even before his true nature was confirmed.

Unfortunately for Itachi fans everywhere, his true nature and motives were only revealed after his death.

A few chapters after Sasuke finally got his revenge, it was revealed that the Uchiha clan had been planning to start a war that could have easily escalated in a world war, with massive casualties all around.

Itachi had revealed their plans to the village leaders, in hopes of preventing the bloodshed. But when the village's attempts to pacify the clan failed, he was given an ultimatum.

He could let the local special ops exterminate the clan, including the children who would otherwise grow up to be embittered enemies of the village.

Or he could perform the massacre himself, making himself the bad guy instead of the village, which would allow him to spare his younger brother while taking the child's hatred on himself.

He chose to become a murderer and a fugitive, in order to protect people who would only hate him for it.

And all that time he spent working for an evil organization, being the protagonist's hunter and enemy? He was still working for the village, preparing to undermine the organization from within.

That kind of selfless nobility and dedication, combined with his intelligence, elegance, and physical and psychological strength, instantly made him my favorite. He continued to be my favorite fictional character for seven years, until he was dethroned by the second on my list:

While nowhere near as pretty or physically powerful as his anime predecessor, Scorpius got a lot more attention in his series, and bore some striking similarities in his portrayal.

Like Itachi, he's elegant, intelligent, powerful, dangerous, complex, and introduced as a villain with hints at a less pure-evil nature than his status as an antagonist would suggest.

He hunts the protagonist for something said protagonist has inside him that was put there without his consent, but often leaves opponents alive when he could have easily killed them.

All in all, it isn't surprising that he became my favorite, especially after...

...I found out that everything he did, he did for the purpose of saving a species that tends to look down on and discriminate against him, would abandon him at the drop of a hat, and in some cases, even tries to kill him.

Partway through the third season, it's revealed that Scorpius was trying to stop his father's species, the powerful and violent Scarrans, from eradicating his mother's species, the human-like Sebaceans.

Needless to say, his decision to hunt and torment the series' hero in hopes of stealing his wormhole technology became a lot more understandable when I realized that, if Scorpius failed, then everyone - including said protagonist - was going to die or be enslaved.

Weirdly enough, he actually did John Crichton a favor in the long run. A galaxy run by Scarrans doesn't sound like a very hospitable place for a human and his Sebacean love interest to live.

Not that John saw it that way; most of the cast, including him, continued to despise Scorpius even after his motives were revealed. Even the Sebaceans with whom he'd worked for years ultimately abandoned and betrayed him, and attempted to execute him.

But that didn't stop him. Even when he had little to work with, and precious few reasons to keep working for the losing side when a spot on the winning side was open to him, Scorpius resolutely continued to try to thwart the impending invasion.

I've gotta say, that kind of selfless dedication endeared him to me no end. Combine it with his elegant but casual demeanour, quirky and affectionate personality, rational intelligence, passion, confidence, maturity, and that lovely accented voice, and it definitely makes for a character who deserved more screentime and development than he got.

As I noted in a recent blog post, Mewtwo is pretty much the only thing that draws me to the Pokemon franchise. It got my attention through an intriguing plot summary of Mewtwo Returns, and after watching both of its movies, I found myself wanting more.

As per the pattern among my favorites, it's powerful, dignified, protective of those it's chosen to guard, and the recipient of relatively little screentime.

Unlike Itachi and Scorpius, Mewtwo's motives were revealed right away, and it didn't have nearly the level of mystery and complexity that the other two did.

Still, the combination of super-powerful, intelligent, persecuted, contemplative and isolated tends to be a fairly reliable key to my heart, and it left me wishing that there were more movies and episodes centered on the only Pokemon I want to see more of.

Do you have a character, or a type of character, you wish you could see more of?

And do you share my tendency to prefer side characters who don't get much focus?

If so, I'd love to hear about them in the comments!

Cats the size of cats are great. Cats in the bodies of humans would be a hilariously horrible pain in the butt - a fact that the protagonist of my latest book is finding out the hard way.

My sister recently sent me a video depicting life with a human who acted like a cat, and it was so hilarious and well-acted that I had to share it with you.

If you want a good laugh, and a taste of what Sam will have to deal with in Catgirl Roommate, check out the funny video below:

Have you ever had a time when you were intrigued by a movie's plot summary, but took years to actually watch it because you weren't fond of the franchise?

Last weekend, I finally got around to watching a movie I've been curious about since I was less than ten years old, but procrastinated on actually watching: Mewtwo Returns.

Back in the day when renting physical VHSs was still a popular thing - in other words, when I was a kid - I remember reading a movie description at the rental store that instantly caught my eye.

It said Mewtwo would have to submit to the cruel rule of humans, or stand by and watch as its followers were executed.

I was a bit surprised by this, since it seemed rather dark for Pokemon. I was also intrigued, because it looked like it would be a stirring movie, and what little I knew of Mewtwo suggested that it was an interesting character.

There was just one problem: it was a Pokemon film.

To be honest, I was never fond of the show. I didn't watch it as a kid, so it never had a chance to gain a place in my heart before I was old enough to be bothered by the so-so animation, OK-to-terrible voice acting, and damage-as-the-plot-demands (as far as I could tell) battles.

Admittedly, I never really gave it a fair shake. A few pieces of episodes that I happened to catch while other people were watching it, and I was done. So despite my curiosity about Mewtwo Returns, it took me over 15 years to actually watch it.

Ultimately, Mewtwo Returns proved to be a credit to my powers of prediction. Despite my lack of familiarity with the franchise, it was almost exactly what I expected.

Mewtwo itself was the main point of interest. Its contemplations on the nature of a clone's place in the world, and of the moral dilemma of leadership - to force its followers to stay safe against their will, or to honor their freedom even if it endangers their lives? - made it the deepest and most thought-provoking character in the movie, and by far the most interesting one to watch.
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Its quick decision-making, contrasted by its slow, grim movements as it resigned itself to its fate, spoke volumes about its dedication to its cause, even at a cost that it dreaded. It's definitely my favorite Pokemon character, and worth wading through some of the other stuff in order to get to.

I also liked the way it and Pikachutwo played off each other, with its ​dedication to peace and seclusion clashing with the smaller Pokemon's determination to fight for equal rights.

Unfortunately, most of the deep issues that I mentioned were only briefly glanced upon. Forced safety vs. dangerous freedom, peaceful retreat vs. fighting for one's rights... things like that, that could have made for some great character development, were touched upon, but never really explored.

Not that I really expected much depth from a Pokemon story, but I always hate to see potential like that wasted.

Another source of frustration came in the form of James and Jessie, who seem more like caricatures than actual characters. Jessie's brief imaginary romantic fling was fairly entertaining, but James annoys me every time he opens his mouth. His voice actor seems to be bending over backward to make his voice sound soft and mopey, in a way that sounds about as genuine as a 3-dollar bill.

The battles, such as they were, also bothered me. For being powerful fantasy creatures, these Pokemon SUCK at fighting. When the bad guys arrived, much standing around and getting hit ensued.

Of course, standing around is a big feature of the movie's animation style, so that shouldn't surprise me.

The animation, where it existed, was OK, but they seemed to avoid said animation as much as possible. If something could stay perfectly still, or change position relative to other things on the screen without actually moving, they did that in lieu of actually making things move.

In contrast to the carefully static animation, the movie's sole romance moved at a suspension-of-disbelief-breaking pace. I won't name the characters, but I WILL say that they spent a very small amount of time together, and suddenly he's staying with her.

If this kind of love story is what people are being fed as children, it's no wonder that so many people seem to expect relationships to just fall into place in the first few meetings. *Old fogey voice* Pokemon is corrupting our kids. :P

I enjoyed the parts of the movie that focused on Mewtwo, and tolerated the rest. It's an OK film - not great, not terrible - and while I'm glad I watched it, it certainly didn't change my mind about the franchise as a whole.

Now it's your turn to share your opinion.

Do you watch the Pokemon TV series and/or its movies?

What did you think of Mewtwo Returns?

I look forward to reading your comments.