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Skinamarink is one of those pieces of media that really has to be engaged with on its terms, if that makes sense. The slow pacing and shots that linger on nothing in particular will understandably be a barrier to those who prefer traditional storytelling. The movie spends a lot of time cultivating its mood, forcing the audience to sit in the uncomfortable atmosphere it's building. For the majority of the movie, I think it's a strategy that works quite well! But there were moments when it was frustrating, too. I can understand why some people have issues with the film. I think it's fair to call it a mood piece, considering how much focus the creators put on emphasizing the tense atmosphere.

Spoilers after this point!

In some ways, it reminded me of Silent Hills PT. Of course, PT and Skinamarink share a lot of the same themes, those being child neglect, marital issues, and the proverbial skeletons that can linger in a family's closet. There's also the parallel of the protagonist being trapped in a time loop and his own personal hell. What really makes Skinamarink unique is its ability to capture the feeling of being a terrified child, especially when there are no adults around to help you. I think just about everyone who's seen the film is able to relate to it in some way because we've all been scared and felt helpless at some point during our childhoods, and the movie does a really good job of conveying that feeling.

The horror of Skinamarink is more psychological, I think, than anything else. The premise on its own is enough to unsettle me, personally. Some malevolent force has removed all exits from the house, trapping the main characters inside so it can torment them. The entity is cruel and clearly derives twisted enjoyment from torturing these children, but it's also very calculated and patient in the way it goes about doing this. The entity knows that it will have plenty of opportunities to inflict suffering on its victims, so it's chosen to begin with psychological pain and work its way up to physical pain. Even when it does finally bring physical harm to Kevin, it does so by forcing Kevin to be the one to stab himself. I'm almost not even fully convinced that Kaylee is truly herself because we know that the entity has the ability to take the form of Kevin's family members.

The most haunting parts of the film, in my opinion, are the moments when it seems like the entity is showing Kevin kindness. It takes the form of Kevin's mother and tells him that she loves him, it tells him it wants to play with him, it gives him reassurance on the phone pretending to be a police officer, it tells him that it will protect him... I somehow get the impression that the entity actually does care about Kevin, almost as much as it enjoys making him suffer. And that's something that gives me goosebumps. I don't think the entity is unaware of the harm it's doing, it knows that what it's doing is upsetting and wrong, but there's something almost gentle about it. I think even the nursery rhyme that is the film's namesake lends some credence to this idea that the entity is showing affection for Kevin in fucked up way.

Both the original 1910 version of the song and the current nursery rhyme version are playful songs about love.

So that kind of leaves the question of "what is this movie actually about?" and I have my own theories, but the two conclusions I've seen most often online are "it's not about anything specifically, just the broad themes it touched on," and "Kevin is either dead or in a coma and the entity is just his own subconscious." I feel like the answer might be somewhere in between.

I think it's important that the entity is never named. It explicitly does not answer Kevin when he asks for its name. This lends some credence to it being Kevin's subconscious. Most people don't give a name to their subconscious. If you factor in my "the entity cares about Kevin despite all the things it's done" theory, that can sort of go either way. It could be that the entity is a manifestation of the neglect and turmoil in his family; it's cruel, and it still loves him (though that isn't an excuse for the cruelty.) It could be that all of what's happening in the movie is happening only in Kevin's mind. Either way, though, I don't think the entity represents just one person in Kevin's life. The entity is a concept. It has no name.

I think the time loop aspect is also overlooked a lot. This is represented via the TV rewinding "Prest-O Change-O" repeatedly and the scene where the blood splatters and un-splatters repeatedly. It seems like this is indicating the entity's ability to rewind time, starting over from the beginning to enjoy a new torture session. I suspect that's probably what the "572 days" is referring to. To be honest, though, I'm not really sure what the 572 days is referring to specifically.

I would say my headcanon theory is this: the events of the film are mostly metaphorical. Kevin was only metaphorically trapped in the house, and the entity is just his subconscious' way of processing the troubles he faced as a kid before he had the life experience to rationalize them. Either something or several things were traumatic as he was growing up, and that trauma is something he often thinks about now that he's older. The traumatic memories replay in his mind like the TV, and he imagines what might have changed if he had just done things differently. Of course, he was so young, and none of what he experienced was his fault at all. Imagining different scenarios in his head only leads to the same outcome... he would have suffered regardless of how he acted. In the end, he sees the personification of his subconscious in its true form. It isn't taking on the appearance of anyone or anything else now, and it isn't being overtly hostile in this moment. Bravely, Kevin asks it to identify itself, but it doesn't. I interpret this as him accepting that he's been carrying this trauma for years, and he's taking the first steps to recovering from it. Even if he can't put a name to the feelings he's having, he's finally able to confront them.

TL;DR I see Skinamarink as a movie about healing your inner child, and how that really is a much more painful process than some would lead you to believe.

So I watched Skinamarink last night.

#not an imagine

[ash-imagines]

So I watched Skinamarink last night.

#not an imagine

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The Metal Farmsteads of Pentel

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Found an old postcard in my papers, who’s this guy??? (I have sclerosis, it’s Judge’s fault)/j

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#pokemon #pokemonsunandmoon | Guzma!! I love him so much you guys don't understand. /lh /pos

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Ha ha it’s ya sad boi Guzma

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It's webber vs waspinator in the final match before the boss!

Unlike other polls in this tournament, this match will only run for 24 hours.

Tournament Masterpost

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Hello im so sorry that this hellsite is horrible. But if you were to leave tumblr please consider writing on ao3 or qoutev, i love your writing, and want to see more of it on something that won't censor you. Your writing has inspired me to draw and find people who share the same love for the fandom. But if you were to leave, please consider leaving your writing here to inspire future writers and artists. I hope you have a wonderful night/day.❤️

＼(^-^)／

Oh, don't worry, I would never stop writing altogether or anything like that! And I'd definitely leave this blog up so that people can still read what I've written. Right now, I'm just waiting to see what tumblr's next move is and whether they can sort out their nonsense. 😅

I'll go ahead and add a link to my AO3 in my pinned post, as well. 🙂 I'm working on stuff there, although updates have kinda slowed for my main project. That's where you'll find me if things collapse here.

#not an imagine

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[tumblr] continues to be a hellsite (derogatory).

I've been using the site for way too many years now, and it's difficult to find another website that does anywhere close to the same things (almost nowhere else has the level of customization options for your profile or the amount of people with the same niche interests as me). Sadly, it might soon be time to pack up and leave for good. If you've heard about the whole debacle with the CEO, you probably know I'm not best pleased about the gross censorship of people within my community. Putting the rumors of this website's content potentially being used as AI training data on top of that? Amidst all the other problems? I'm starting to feel less and less like this is where I belong.

I'll stick around to see if this truly is the direction that we're heading, but I figured I should warn you all just in case I really do leave.

#not an imagine

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Something feels..... OFF 🤨

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yeah

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Nightmare couples therapy session:

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So why is pregnancy a trigger if you are okay to answer that question? Is it gender dysphoria?

It might partially be gender dysphoria, but to be honest, I really don't know why exactly childbirth and pregnancy make me so viscerally uncomfortable. Just the idea of having an entire person growing inside you, then having to push them out of your body in a painful and bloody ordeal, and then you're responsible for their wellbeing basically until you die? Ugh, thinking about it makes me tear up and gives me anxiety, I just can't imagine anyone going through all that willingly.

Not that I care what anyone else chooses to do with their body, I wouldn't tell anyone to not have a kid just because I would personally never want to, but yeah. For me, the whole thing sounds like actual torture, and that makes it more or less impossible for me to write about in a positive light.

#not an imagine

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a Soft Breeze

(style experiment???)

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🩵

I rly wanna infodump about the little shit of an SCP I've been writing for like... fuck, has it been 7 years??? Anyway, she's fishy.

#ash ocs

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My dashboard is as of yet untainted by the plague that is the new layout. I hope it stays that way.

#not an imagine

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A little shocked I have to say this but please don't feed my work, my writing or my art, to any AI for generative purposes or otherwise. Generative AI is theft, and innocent intentions are not an excuse. I'm not going to explain why generative AI is bad, many artists and writers have already done that much more eloquently than I ever could. Do your own research. I work professionally in art and have been deeply personally impacted by AI, and seeing AI versions of my characters is deeply upsetting.