#house of wax meta

[sinclair-wax-fan]

Bo and Vincent would have had their teens through the 80's and their 20's through the 90's.

I don't think the boys watch a ton of TV--I don't think they've ever had cable, so they have to rent everything or pick it up on the antenna--but I think they both like genre and pulp stuff.

Horror is something they both like but other genres are split. Bo likes stuff with intrigue and action--so speculative sci-fi of the harder variety, heist/crime thrillers, war movies. Vincent likes surreal fantasy and art house stuff.

(I noticed Vincent has an interesting split in his own art--with his sculptures being all about realism and classic beauty. His paintings however are very surreal and allegorical--very Dali and Picasso. I guess he feels more comfortable experimenting in painting. It's easier to unfuck mistakes on canvas--you just paint over them.)

Anyway, Alien would have been a favorite for both of them.

Both would hate Star Trek (too moralizing) but enjoy The Twilight Zone. They're okay with Star Wars but it's not something they'd go out of their way to rewatch. Bo loves Indiana Jones and Vincent's enjoys it well enough. Blade Runner gets close to being too abstract for Bo's taste but he likes Harrison Ford so he indulges Vincent. Vincent liked Eraserhead and Twin Peaks but Bo couldn't stand them. Bo loves The Breakfast Club and (relates hard to Bender but would never admit it out loud) but Vincent resents 80's coming of age stories because they're "stupid" alienating.

They wouldn’t be super up to date on many movies/tv shows past the mid-90's but Bo still picks up rentals and discounted tv shows from store from time to time, when he's wanting to indulge in some downtime.

When it comes to books, Vincent is all about the classic "western literary canon." He likes classics from both antiquity and the romantic period. His favorite book is Frankenstein but he would never admit it because he's embarrassed to be so obvious and would claim his favorite is something like Dante's Inferno or Paradise Lost.

Vincent also likes graphic novels like The Crow and The Sandman and Tales from the Crypt but is generally disdainful of superhero comics unless its something really cool like Ghost Rider, then he'll take a little peak and tell Bo to STFU because "I saw you reading it on the couch last week too!"

Bo isn't much of a reader but he's been known to curl up with a detective novel from time to time--partially because he gets a giggle from the irony and partially because he always liked a good thriller, even before he started murdering people. He also picks up some non-fiction from time to time, usually something related to engineering or mechanics.

#bo sinclair #vincent sinclair #house of wax meta

[finalgirlsamwinchester]

sam. sam. sammy. started out as a darling 00s emo boy. pretty lad who could've doubled as a frontman in a warped tour band. spiritual baby of my chemical romance's three cheers for sweet revenge. embodiment of his cultural moment and so perceived as too whiny by the narrative and the audience and hated for it. grew up to become a beautiful exhausted woman protagonist for an A24 psychological horror-thriller film. losing her mind. going through exquisite torment. holding it together by a thread, haunted by horrors you would be able to comprehend if the show was still a horror. or at least a drama. too bad she is now stuck in a superhero sitcom where the moment you express a slightly real complex emotion. the audience will start pelting you with tomatoes. for having hysteria.

#now all im thinking about is HELENA blasting at the end of house of wax #please don't pelt me with tomatoes i am at the of the day. a horror lover at heart #also nobody take me seriously it is 4AM i am currently going thru my own sam in 7.17 trenches #i need to PASS OUT #my meta #j.txt

[crucifiedcastiel]

it went over my head the first time i watched it but that scene in s5e5 fallen idols where dean tells paris hilton that he’s not a fan of hers and he’s “never even seen house of wax” and it immediately cuts to a shot of sam looking mildly offended is actually sooo funny when you know that jared padalecki also starred in house of wax

#spn may be bad at a lot of things but it is occasionally very good at meta humour #spn #sam winchester #dean winchester #house of wax

[quiveringdeer]

Hi!! It's @early20sfailingplenty here to ask if you'd pleaseeee elaborate on your tag "bo is the softest sinclair" ??? I can't stop thinking about it and I wanna askkkk because I'm super curious hasdfghjkl you don't have to if you don't want to!!!🥺🥺🥺

Thanks for this ask, sweets! Also this got waaaay longer than expected. 😅

So in reference to my tags on Bo in this post. Many fanon works paint Bo as the dangerous, aggressive, toxic Sinclair. And while he's a sick bastard (cause like they all are for murdering people for years lmao) after a bunch of rewatches of House of Wax (2005) I don't know where that interpretation comes from.

I read so many fanfics prior to even watching the movie and so I was full on board with Vinny as the uwu soft twin train. Lester has never appealed to me in any way shape or form, but fanfics generally portray him as the really sweet kinda neglected and forgotten brother.

Through my massive hyper fixation in the movie and doing all those rewatches for ridiculous analysis that no one asked for I observed Lester being pretty lecherous with Carly. Both when at the carrion pit when she was changing her shirt and also while they were in the truck (if memory serves.) I also don't find Les attractive, even ignoring his lack of personal hygiene so like there's maybe some of my bias there. Not caring to read more into him cause of the initial creep factor and that he doesn't get much air time. I do appreciate his carving artistry though!

In Vinny I saw waaaay more sadistic and predatory nature than Bo. Also he's officially the more dangerous Sinclair since Bo couldn't even manage to kill Carly and Nick with a freakin shotgun at close range 😂 smdh

I think I've highlighted in other posts some of these instances but please feel free to send another ask for me to talk about them again! I miss talkin about these boys.

Anywho, outside Bo's outburst at Vinny in the kitchen, he doesn't show that much anger and such. And even then he had a crossbow bolt in his shoulder and had been outwitted by their victims like 3 times at that point. (again he's so bad at his 'job' 😂) Vinny straight up ignores that outburst anyway and Bo immediately starts soothing the situation. Apologizing and trying to reconnect through talkin bout the family legacy.

I'll also say that for almost half the movie Bo is in 'actor' mode. Puttin on the charm to manipulate the group. I was honestly surprised how long he kept it up even when Carly had locked him outta the truck. And while it could be seen as some fucked up sexual and power fantasy thing, after duck taping Carly to the chair he shhhhs her all gentle and keeps his voice soft. Even when gluing her mouth shut.

I also have the hc that Bo is hella susceptible to anyone showing him kindness--usually a trait that people ascribe to Vinny in fanon-- because he was the neglected and abused son. Like fair to say they all are violent (they are murders of many people) but I feel like he's always characterized as this extra broody, mean/grumpy alcoholic, which when I watch the movie he's not really any of that.

So yeah, while I do love the grumpy broody Bo trait, I think he's real touch/attention/love starved and would be hella fuckin soft with someone he loves. I've headcannoned that he doesn't like being that way around his brothers but I think that's fanon too now that I'm typing this all out.

Much of this could be considered conjecture cause they spent way too much time on the college kids when they should've just focused on the brothers and Paige then being the final girl (still bitter) but yep. That's why I think he's a softy. 🥰

#bo sinclair #how meta #house of wax #house of wax (2005) #slashers #vincent sinclair #sinclair bros

[bunnakit]

what shows are you currently watching? (shows that are airing weekly rn, no older shows)

for each one, list two things that you love about them and one thing you would like to see in future episodes!

ohohoo what a treat (finally getting to some of your amazing prompts anon, i assume its the same person but i apologize if im wrong)

Bake Me Please - I absolutely love the aesthetics of this show. They show off some of the most beautiful cakes and pastries and it's just gorgeous. I also love the way each person in the show is broken in one way or another; generational trauma, childhood trauma, dreams that feel out of reach, etc.

After my rant today I think we all know the one thing I want, NEED, to see is Shin apologize to Peach. I cannot stand the idea of Peach bearing all the emotional work for this relationship.

Cherry Magic 30 - So I'm coming at this from a place of knowing nothing about the originals. I'm really enjoying Karan just in general, his thoughtfulness, his care, all of it. He reminds me of a quote from episode 3 of The Last of Us: "Paying attention to things is how we show love." I'm also really enjoying the importance the show is putting on consent as well as Achi's care to make sure he isn't taking advantage.

I'm really going into this right now with no opinions, no theories, I'm just along for the ride. I hope we see some more cat thoughts, I guess.

Cooking Crush - I really wasn't sure if I was going to stick this one out. It's a little too goofy for my tastes but OffGun's chemistry is doing a lot of heavy lifting for me, so that's one of the things I'm enjoying. I'm also enjoying the playfulness of Ten and Prem and this cute courtship they have going on.

I hope Fire's mom explodes.

Last Twilight - You guys have seen my meta posts. I could wax poetic about this show all day long. Thus far I ADORE how they're treating Day's disability and showing how important him maintaining his agency is. I'm also really enjoying Mhok's perspective as a caretaker and the way he adapts and learns every day. I've been both - I'm currently disabled and I was a caretaker for five years. This show is so near and dear to my heart already.

I really hope we see what the hell is going on between Night and Day. Like, we have to, right?

Pit Babe - I'm an omegaverse bitch. I'm sorry, it's my guilty pleasure. One of the first things I do when I get the brainrot for something is go see if there are any good omegaverse fics (I'm very picky, we don't like misogyny or thinly veiled transphobia in this house, no thanks.) I'm enjoying seeing the worldbuilding of this show so far as well as each of the characters and their personalities. Everyone, even North and Sonic, feel like fully fleshed out people and I'm very much enjoying that.

I hope Way explodes - No, I hope we see them build more on the omegaverse aspect of things. I wanna see a man get pregnant. I also want to see a woman, just one woman, just a single one. Where are the women?

Playboyy - BOY HOWDY. Listen, I'm mostly watching this to avoid FOMO. I'm asexual, the sex is doing nothing for me really. The wet noises make me scream and throw my headphones off. I AM enjoying the mystery aspect of the plot a lot, I'm very curious where that is going. I'm also very much enjoying the exploration of different sexualities, like the hints that Soong and Zouey might be demisexual.

Obviously I want to know what the fuck happened to Nant, but I also just want to see more Prom. Also wanna see Aob become soft for Puen.

The Sign - My absolute beloved. I'm obsessed, I'm going to be obsessed forever I fear. The mythology is just fucking superb, the yearning is incredible, the action is great, the friendships phenomenal. I could go on and on about everything I love about this show. It's everything to me and I know I'm going to be a WRECK when it inevitably ends.

I can't wait for Phaya and Tharn to fuck, sure, but I can't wait for them to be in love. I can't wait to see them hold each other gently, look for reassurances in each other, and I hope they each regain at least some memories of their past selves and maybe how much they loved each other.

#anon my beloved #thank you so much for always giving me these delicious treats #bake me please #bake me please the series #cherry magic th #cooking crush #cooking crush the series #last twilight #last twilight the series #playboyy the series #pit babe the series #the sign #the sign the series #bunn asks

[madhogthymaster]

This is Not a Review of In Stars and Time

Let us set the stage.

An entity known as The King has cast a horrible curse upon the land, freezing people in time. It's up to the Chosen One and her friends to save the day. After a long journey, the party arrives at the final town right before the final battle with the final boss. He awaits the heroes at the final castle which was once the house of worship to Change Themselves.

You, the player, are the second to last party member (who joined right before the cute mascot character) and you find yourself "blessed" with the symbolically relevant ability to loop in time - which you discovered after being suddenly crushed to death by a big rock with a sense for dramatic irony. Now, admittedly, the prospect of dealing with Groundhog Day related shenanigans might seem daunting, at first. Dare I say, it might even be emotionally and psychologically taxing, in the long run. However, do not panic! A volunteering social worker has already been sent to "assist" you with your predicament. You can trust them completely.

Now that we have dispensed with the formalities, let's get down to business to defeat The King. Use your newfound powers to help your friends navigate the castle, climb the floors, overcome the obstacles. Be ready to repeat all that several more times. You know the drill. Perhaps, if you do everything right, your buff boyfriend will finally confess his feelings to you.

Wouldn't that be swell?

Wouldn't it?

It would be nice.

It sure would.

...

There will be no additional plot synopsis, at this time.

As I type these few words of appetizing anticipation, I find myself in a predicament of my own: I played In Stars and Time and now I have to talk about it. I have many emotions swirling, dancing incoherently within the very fabric of my being. Feelings that I must convey to you before The Moment passes, you see. I'm not sure I can, though. I'm not sure I can steel my trembling hands for long enough to wax poetically about this being, without hyperbole, one of the best games I played in the past decade. A masterpiece with many juicy layers waiting to be peeled back, one by one. I don't have the energy to write the monstrous essay it deserves for all I want to do is sit in a corner and weep quietly for a few hours, trying to process it all. I'm sad not because it's over but because I can't experience it for the first time ever again. Which is an ironic statement considering the nature of this game, I realize. Allow me to try this again.

Let us set the stage.

In Stars and Time is is a cleverly designed title. The time loop structure works both as a gameplay and thematic device, a means to (purposefully) emphasize the monotonous nature of the RPG grind in relation to the protagonist's deteriorating state, cycle after cycle, play after play. You have your classic meta-textual musings about video games as well as a legitimately gripping tale filled with many twists and turns, good use of symbolism, salient points to make about Trauma and its effect on one's memory, the Fear of Change versus the necessity of it, and Depression. It all comes together by the end in a subjectively satisfying manner and...

...

And...

...

...I have to stop myself.

I'm reducing this deeply personal experience to a mere "review" and that's not what I'm here to do.

I don't know what I'm here to do.

Frankly, there are themes in this game I am not equipped to discuss, such as its intensely felt (and horrifyingly topical) commentary about Diaspora, the shared trauma of cultural displacement, a people fading away from memory like stars in the sky. That kind of analysis would be too much for a simple "review." if this were to be one, I would praise the game for being the best possible version of itself, the best version of a Time Loop story. One that perfectly applies the narrative tropes of the genre to its gameplay, plot, all that jazz. I would also state that it didn't reinvent the wheel of "Indie Gaming" and I could feel inclined to make obligatory comparisons to That One Game because that's the unfair standard by which everything MUST abide! No, I shall not do that. I need to rethink my approach. I am going to take a small break. In the meantime, please enjoy these unrelated GIF files of Christopher Lloyd from Toonstruck that I have lying around on the floor.

I had dinner with the family. It was a small, daily reminder that I am loved unconditionally. That I deserve it. Something that is immensely easy to forget. The meal was tastier than usual.

...

Back to it.

This is the brutally simple truth of the matter: there is a lot to love about In Stars and Time, with its writing, design choices, characters, nuances, big feelings. It has the potential to be a massive crowd pleaser and it would be well-deserved. It's got explicitly gay lore, as well! In case I didn't make it abundantly clear, this game is 100% queer. Every aspect of it, from the characters and the world they inhabit to the culture and its history, is built from the ground up as a queer utopia. You might recall, all the way to the first paragraph of this long-winded, amorphous ramble, I mentioned something about Change with a capital C. That is because the very concept of Change has been deified, becoming the base of a whole religion: an extremely inclusive, open-minded, progressive community that celebrates life in all its multi-faceted forms. A significant portion of its foundation is the magical technique of "Body Craft" which allows the user to literally transform their physical appearance into their preferred shape, one that better reflects who they are. Children are given many names, both male and female, for the purpose of facilitating their own change, should it occur. Literal and figurative transience lies at the heart of this belief system, meaning that about half the population is trans/non-binary, and queerness is normalcy. As a side note, I want to live in this world. Change is viewed as positive, in other words. In light of that, the arrival of a hostile entity with the power to simply stop all of existence from ever progressing by freezing everyone in place might seem like an easy metaphor to read. I assure you, the game is eager for you to make that assumption.

As I mentioned earlier, this story tackles Depression and it doesn't pull its punches when it comes to portray the more "inconvenient" aspects of living with crippling self-esteem issues. That's when the game became a masterpiece to me. I resonated with Siffrin (He/They), the protagonist. That's you!

Their struggle to navigate the constant torment of the loop is paralleled with their increasing mental and emotional instability. Intrusive thoughts overpowering their head, saying he will never be loved, that he's toxic and manipulative. There's the all too familiar frustration of not being understood by others despite not having tried to explain how you really feel to them, trapped as you are in your own head. Big issues are equated to "small" issues. I relate with most of this. Through the Time Loop allegory, In Stars and Time captures the Kafkian Horror of existing as a neurodivergent person who gets in the way of their own happiness. It's isolating, drives a barrier between your loved ones, makes you lose touch with reality. Sometimes you have good days, sometimes you have bad days. Everything eventually blends together in a sickening routine until you either drown or you start swimming furiously.

Then the cycle repeats.

It's too much.

You cannot do it alone.

You are not alone.

Let them in.

Let yourself be loved.

That is, in essence, the reason why I think so highly of this title. I related with the story and characters. Yes, it all comes down to the most obvious thesis statement in the universe. Yes, I probably didn't need to write so much about it but, regardless, I'm glad I did. I poured my feelings towards an Object D'Art onto figurative paper as I was processing them, doing away with any pseudo-intellectual vernacular in order to get to the soul of the matter. I expressed my emotions and I feel better for having done so. Now, I can move on. All that is left to do is to recommend the game.

...

Go play In Stars and Time, I recommend it. It's good.

...

That's about it.

...

You're still here.

...

......

..............

Go away, stupid!

---

A/N:

Thank you for reading this rather personal piece. The article was extrapolated from a thread I wrote down on the subject. You can read that here. I also typed about the official prologue to the game, Start Again, which you can view here.

As a reminder, I have a YouTube channel.

In Stars and Time was developed by Adrienne Bazir. Follow them on Twitter, Tumblr and Itch.io.

Tell the people in your life how much they mean to you, and have a good day.

#Madhog thy Master #in stars and time #rpg #time loop #groundhog day #steam #nintendo switch #ps4 #ps5 #itch.io #depression #lgbtq+ #trans #non-binary protagonist #nb #queer #trauma #diaspora #not a review #gaming #indie game #goty #undertale #neurodivergent

[thewitchqueenofharrenhal]

Certain parts of the fandom, you know the stans of what characters I'm talking about lol, getting absolutely torqued over people who want to discourse or make content about 'minor unimportant background characters' is so funny to me. Now, I'm a Lannister and Baratheon fan, so IDEC about the Martells, but if Elia seemingly has more 'fans' than Oberyn and Arianne, it's like, um yes? Welcome to fandom where people have historically been attracted to tragic characters with tragic backstories? Are you new? Discussing a character who was failed by literally everyone and whose house's quest for vengeance is a massive plot point is compelling?

I've been in various fandoms over the past decade, and this has been a thing in every single one, especially those with massive world building that spans decades/centuries. For example, there's a reason why the HP fandom has such a hard on for the Founders or Marauders era because mysterious tragic background characters are compelling. And everything about the MaIn ChArActErS has been discussed ad nauseam.

The books have stagnated and main POV characters have been practically stuck in the same place for 20 years at this point and AFFC and ADWD went basically no where in terms of plot but these KeY FiVe MaIn ChArAcTeR stans expect the fandom to sit here and re-read and re-discuss their fave's POV chapters from 1996, 1998, and 2000, and 2010 that already have 874657 metas and thinkpieces written on them? No thanks, babe. I would rather watch paint dry.

Also, targies complaining about this while stanning the likes of Shiera fucking Seastar or Sereni of Lys because their ugly duckling asses can project and live out their Hot Mean Girl fantasies through those cardboard Hot Girls is hilarious. Look in the mirror lmao.

You spilled 😭😭😭

But seriously it’s the stupidest beef to have because as much as they pretend to be “superior” they’re sitting in corners crying and screaming over Baelon & Aemon. Waxing poetry over Alyssa who just wanted to sit around and give Baelon babies - it’s giving tradwife 😶 or Daella who’s whole shtick is Tragic Princess. (mind you I’m being as surface level as their dumbass takes because I actually like Daella & Alyssa LOL)

And the insistence that stanning Rhaegar or Lyanna just isn’t the same as stanning Elia *cue foot stomp* when it absolutely is. Lmao they’re all pre rebellion minor characters who hold a shade over our main series characters.

Lmao but jokes aside. I love having such a huge cast of characters minor or not and I don’t really get why they hate it so much? the persecution complex from people like the most universally beloved and most cherished mainstream characters will never not be bizarre to me? I think you’re probably right though that it’s been so long since a new book the fandom has lost it. They need to turn their resentment somewhere and since they can’t turn it at George 😭

#anon

[hersweetrevenge]

3 movies, 3 books and 3 songs that changed my life (or that i love)

@slutforstabbings keeps giving me the impossible task of self-reflection lol. i tried to do a similar eras system (child, teen, young adult), but it's not perfect. watch me defend my choices below the cut ✌

i will pass the torch, without any pressure, to my beloved @solivagant-muse 💗 (and anyone else who feels like doing it, of course !!)

films

scooby doo and the witches ghost (1999): one of the movies i had on vhs as a kid. the first appearance of the hex girls? of course it changed the trajectory of my life. every single day i think about how cute it was that luna's dad ( a dentist) made fang implants for the hex girls to wear.

natural born killers (1994): i was an edgy teenager. i love the cinematography and the editing and how meta it is and the fucked up romance. and it was one of the films that made me want to study film, so i guess i should send my university bill to oliver stone?

halloween ends (2022): is anyone surprised? anyone at all? i've had other films i've loved in adulthood (looking at you, house of wax), but i've never become to instantly obsessed as i did with ends. i've never developed so many hcs and aus and possibilities for one thing. do i really have to defend this one? just look at my blog lol.

books

withering tights (the misadventures of tallulah casey) by louise rennison: there were so many books i loved as a kid, but this is one i come back to even now. it's about friendship, finding your passions, having a silly teenage romance. i'm glad my tweenie self read this book.

the secret history by donna tartt: another teenage cliché. i was actually recommended this book by my own classics teacher in college. i've re-read this book at least 5 times i think? i love it, it's passionate and dark and funny. you fall exactly into the trap that richard does in romanticising these dysfunctional people. no one can change my mind.

the wasp factory by iain banks: do you wanna read something fucked up? then read the wasp factory. i think about this book a lot, just because some of the images were just so weird and disturbing and visceral. it's blunt and brash and has no frills at all. it'll make you feel weird and i heavily advise reading some content warnings beforehand, but it is an experience.

songs:

the tide is high by blondie: the first song i ever remember liking. when i was a kid my dad would drive me to school and ask what i wanted to listen to on the radio and i would ask for this song (and surprisingly it actually was on the radio a lot in the early 00s?).

maya the psychic by gerard way: this song reminds me of a bright grey day in march with a cold breeze and a new found will to live.

respite on the spitalfields by ghost: my favourite song from the first ghost album i ever listen to (recommended by a friend). respite (the final track) literally makes me feel like my heart is going to explode, and the way the last riff merges back into imperium (the first track)? obsessed. i fell asleep to this album so many times at university, so respite was really the soundtrack to my slumber.

#we can ignore how all of my (non existent) graphic design skills went out the window -- #-- when asked to make nine images the same size and formatted evenly lol #i've had to miss out so many of my favourite things because although i love them they might not have been a foundational moment for me #i'm sorry mcr you just didnt make the cut !! #maya the psychic has a lot of lore for me. but you get the cryptic version. #my beloved friend riri (@eggsandbeer go follow her she knows what shes talking about) introduced me to ghost and i owe her my life lol #when i say read the content warnings for wasp factory. i mean it. #does this explain a lot about me??

[inscrutable-shadow]

thinking about thanatos peforming edgar allan poe's "the raven"

(ieiunusverse/rendezvous with the vampire meta + an imagine under the cut, long post, thanks for reading!)

i already lean pretty heavily on corvid metaphors for thanatos's story in general, you'll often see him described as a "damp raven" rather than a "wet cat" (though he is both) and his 50-year stint as avrae's "Harbinger of Destruction" (which was the least cringe out of the names I tried) during the culling war hammers that home, he develops a reputation as a dark-haired omen of evil to come to the point where even the sight of him will set a vampire who survived the culling war on edge. he carries himself with suave decorum and an easy smile, but he's aware that there's not very much he can do to make people feel comfortable around him at this point, the only thing he can do is pretend he doesn't notice how much everyone hates him

but as a iuventus he's expected to have some sort of performing arts skill, whether that be song or dance or theater or what have you, and i feel like theater is something he's been doing since he was a young man in ancient greece, one of the only places he felt he could be himself (though he often got shoved into female roles because of his face and figure and that didn't help with feeling that no one saw him as a man). he loves standing on a stage and delivering lines, he excels at soliloquy and capturing the attention of an audience (perhaps because his entire life is a performance)

i've been imagining a scene in which he's asked to perform at some house iuventae event, the house has rather strict guidelines about who's allowed to be given their contracts and maybe his sire is under investigation for making poor choices and all of their scions are asked to prove that they really have the spirit of the house

the poem is probably new at that point, it was published in 1845 and around then than's living in england and teaching philosophy at oxford, he probably gets the letter with the house seal, the lute and the pen surrounded by the ouroboros, on it in green wax and sits in his study to read it, looking around the room trying to figure out what he'd even do. his eyes fall on last week's copy of the new york evening mirror and he recalls what he read in it last week, new work from poe, an author he loves. he fishes the paper out of a stack of similar ones from both england and america, and goes over it a few times, internalizing it, finding what it means to him. it's functionally a soliloquy, and he's been playing the role of hamlet almost since it was created, it's almost as if the poem was made for him to perform. he resolves to memorize it.

the day comes. he's alone on the stage with his props: a chair, a velvet ottoman, a book, and a bust of Lord Iuventus, partially for the comedic effect and partially because it was easy to get. he sits in his chair, book hanging listlessly from his fingers. his eyes, unfocused, gaze into the audience, and he begins to speak.

his audience is enraptured. most of them haven't heard the poem before, they don't know how it ends, they hang on his every word. the man on the stage is no longer thanatos, but the tormented protagonist of the poem, red eyes blazing with fury as he rails against the grief within his heart, the cruel universe that separated him from his love, and the raven that represents them both. thanatos spent weeks learning to produce the bird out of Shadow. his magic gives it form in a way that fully convinces the onlooker that it is a foul prophet of evil deeds.

"and my soul / from out that shadow that lies floating on the floor / shall be lifted..." he pauses. his eyes turn to the audience, seeking the gaze of his sire. his gaze fixes on them. "nevermore."

the room is silent. the audience is holding their breath. he waits for several charged seconds, allowing the grief of the moment to mature. then, he gets to his feet, picks up his book and his bust, and leaves the stage.

no one questions his sire's choice again.

ieiunusverse taglist: @albatris, @milkshakes-lust-and-chiral-dust, @thethistlegirlwrites and @crash-bump-bring-the-whump for being the only person in the world who actually likes thanatos XD

#ieiunusverse meta #wip:ieiunusverse #wip:rwtv #thanatos iuventus #have some character meta ig #i've been thinking a lot about than lately #(and writing a couple of fics for him) #we'll see when those get posted #ugh i still have a new chapter of trials to write plus ithor #but the culling war/kingslayer arc has me in a chokehold rn #might get to those later lmao

[very-grownup]

Friend NutshellGulag sets up a discord server for horror movies on Halloween and I try to catch some of them. This usually increases awareness of contemporary movies significantly. This year I watched:

HOUSE OF WAX (1953)

I had to leave partway through to take Tir to the vet so this is a movie about a passionate artist who finds a way to continue his art after being disabled by a tragic accident. Inspiring!

HOUSE OF WAX (2005)

I missed the first part of this because of the above-mentioned Tir at the vet. It seems to be a very confusing movie about torturing young WB/UPN/CW stars. Jared Padalecki is here with unfortunate facial hair and gets a chunk of his face peeled off like an orange.

The literal melting house of wax in the climactic scene would make a very good set piece in a videogame.

The wax figures look much worse than Vincent Price's, so I do not look forward to a youtube video essay dork redeeming this film in a few more years because it's actually a meta-commentary on how the quality of art has fallen in correlation to the development of our technology.

DRACULA (1931)

A Reader's Digest version of the novel, there's a reason Lugosi's Dracula became iconic. When Lugosi isn't on screen, everything slows to a crawl, except for when Dwight Frye's amazing Renfield is there, contorting himself with wide-eyed, fragile madness.

Lugosi was 49 at the time and very striking.

BRAM STOKER'S DRACULA (1992)

Incredibly faithful to the source material except when it wildly isn't. Visually distinct and kind of overwhelming. Very horny. The cowboy is there. Gary Oldman's Dracula when he's being a Victorian gentleman seems likely to have inspired something of the character design of the Count in GANKUTSUOU.

Then it was time for Anime Girls' Night and it had been decided I would experience LOST BOYS (1987).

I do not think the '80s and I are meant to be together, movie-wise.

I liked the dog.

Shirley's boy had more lines than he did in MGSV.

If the movie had been made a decade later the Frog brothers would be school shooters.

Why was there a prop child vampire in a confederate soldier jacket?

I liked the bit with Grandpa putting upsetting taxidermied animals in Younger Brother's room.

I also liked the bit where I decided the vampires were all worshiping an evil carnivorous helicopter god.

#halloween movies #house of wax #dracula #bram stoker's dracula #lost boys #2023 movies

[raccoonspooky]

i’ve been reading a bunch of tommy hewitt fics and some of them (older ones mostly) have their oc/reader be like “i’m going to help luda mae around the house and basically slave around for these people because they’ll like me then and basically never say anything rude ever” and then criticise literally any other victim for not behaving well for a family of cannibals and it’s crazy.. IS THIS WHAT THEY MEAN BY PICK MES

Omg I feel you so hard, I really dont like when slasher fanfic has the tone of “everyone else are dumb horrible people but not YOU my special girl!” It just puts such a bad taste in my mouth because it sanitizes these killers it shows that people cannot morally find them attractive or whatever unless they change some key aspect of who these characters are. If they kill only bad, horrible people then clearly they’re not bad to the core! I see this all the time in house of wax works and TCM and there’s something shitty about looking at these like idk people living in fkn squalor and being like “awww its ok! U cant understand morals cause ur not civilized 🥰”

To me, I find stories much more interesting if you take the horror as it is. If you are truly in this disgusting murderous environment and something in you mutates into fucked up affection??? And you can find that even through the blood and violence? Thats hot as hell haha.

Sometimes I think people write these narratives because its sort of the fandom meta or go to, I’m unsure. People are free to write whatever fulfills them but much of it becomes unreadable to me and I wish there was more content that would take things as they are rather than clean it up and somehow make it even worse than the original concept in terms of morals or just completely missing the point of these movies.

It’s gross to me to idk have the mentality that youre BETTER and more deserving of life than other people because ur oh so broken or oh so in need of attention or whatever. I like it much better when “you” are aware that youre no different than others and the reader’s perspective on that.

#at a certain point ppl are playing around with barbie dolls named after these characters but ultimately they have nothing to do with the #character as they were #not saying ppl cant write fluffy nonsense just to write it because i do self fullfilling bs all the time also #im just saying there was less ~im special and everyone else sucks and is a skank or dumb or rude #its a shitty mentality

[sinclair-wax-fan]

Vincent started dying his hair around age 12/13—likely on his own in the sink with cheap dye he got Bo to steal from the town drugstore.

He didn’t ask permission because Vincent rarely if ever asks for permission. While not as impulsive as Bo, he can be equally willful. When he decides to do somethings, he patiently and methodically works towards the goal until it is accomplished. He also rarely telegraphs his plans or intentions to others unless it’s necessary—much to the frustration of his twin.

(While Bo is certainly the dominate twin, Vincent can, and will, make his displeasure known if Bo pushes too far—often via extreme passive aggressiveness.

Think:

I waited until you were asleep to completely dismantle the lego castle you spent two days building.

I took the sparkplugs from the engine your were re-building and tossed them in the creek.

I went out of my way to kill the victim you'd been eyeing before you had the pleasure of doing it yourself.

And if the outcome between them is a bad fist fight, a busted lip, a crumbled mask?

Vincent will shrug it off, retreat into the workshop to remake his mask and wait for his brother's lip to heal, wait until Bo's fury cools and he gets bored and lonely enough to visit the workshop under a bullshit pretense--“Mrs. Dobson's jammed up, won't pivot enough to pull open the curtain anymore” or “fucking sinks leaking and I need you to pass me the tools while I fix it”--and then slip his brother a beer while they work side by side.

No apologies required.)

Anyway, I think Vincent likely did an unexpected good job with dying his hair and Trudy was surprisingly chill about it—always indulgent of her favorite son.

(And if your twin gets slapped for stealing the dye while you get praised for doing such a good job on your hair, well it’s not like you made him steal it, is it?)

Shortly after, Trudy begins teaching Vincent to style and cut hair--which he still does for his brothers year later.

#vincent sinclair #bo sinclair #meta #cw: physical abuse #cw: murder #house of wax meta

[oss-punishment]

Chapter 8-A Tale of Abandonment on a Moonlit Night; Scene 6

Original Sin Story: Punishment, pages 166-172

“…”

“…”

“…Hey, hey hey! Wh-what was that, just now…” Nyoze asked.

Meta shook her head, appearing at a loss herself. “That…shouldn’t be possible. Even for Seth that’s extreme…To get interference from a person inside a memory. It’s nonsensical, in theory.”

The two gears lost their light.

--That wasn’t all. The gears, and even Meta holding them, too…began to melt away as though they were made of wax.

“Is this…Seth’s power…having become a ‘Demon of Deadly Sin’…?”

Nyoze cried out to the crumbling Meta, “Meta!”

“I am…a clone of Seth…but more that, right now I’m nothing but a ghost…I can’t go against his power…If you want to know what happened next…you must search. For Seth, and someone who is of equal power to him…”

“…”

“Assuming…such a person…exists.”

Meta could no longer keep up her human form.

But she just barely managed to whisper in the end, with what was left of her mouth, “Pale…it’s alright…I will always…be waiting here—”

“…”

Meta’s body crumbled along with the gear, leaving behind only a small clod of mud.

“Meta…”

Nyoze could only stand there, motionless.

.

--Meta had died a long time ago.

Her children had been raised by Adam and his wife…and Meta had watched over them as a ghost.

That glass bottle…Hänsel had picked it up somewhere.

But glass was a precious valuable even in Levianta. To say nothing of Elphegort; they didn’t even make it there. It was hard to imagine that someone had just dropped something like that in the middle of the forest.

If it didn’t belong to Adam and his wife…then that little bottle must have been a keepsake from Meta.

And that had guided the twins…

.

Nyoze moved a little further into the woods.

And then he dropped his gaze at a certain spot.

…Growing there were small mushrooms.

Nyoze picked one and looked carefully at it.

Their hue, their characteristic specks…They were the same as the mushrooms that the twins had eaten.

“…Poison mushrooms. Eating them wouldn’t kill them, but they are hallucinogenic.”

The house the twins had found.

The witch and henchman that had been there.

…Their real identities were clear.

.

Had Hänsel and Gretel simply not realized, due to the hallucinations--?

Or—

.

…It was all just speculation now.

Adam and his wife were dead, and the twins had disappeared to parts unknown with Seth.

And…he would likely never meet with Meta again.

No one would know the truth, now.

.

“…Well, what should I do from here?...”

He’d lost all of his leads.

Where had the “Twins of God” vanished to?

Had Seth taken them somewhere?

…I thought for sure he’d been killed when he got caught up in the Catastrophe in the first place.

It was…a bit hard to believe that he’d healed his wounds these last two years, participated in yet more gear memories, and then gained enough power to erase Meta’s ghost.

Meta said that Seth has become a “Demon of Deadly Sin”. Gammon told me to stop the “Demons of Deadly Sin” from being unleashed upon the world.

In other words…he really was too late to fix anything?

“Even if that’s the case…I can’t very well go home only knowing half the story like this.”

Hadn’t Meta told him that his only option was to search for “Seth or someone on his level”?

If Seth were some “Demon of Deadly Sin”, then he needed to find someone at the same rank as a “demon”, or even higher…

It was ridiculous

It couldn’t be…That would have to be a “god”, wouldn’t it?

No…Wait.

It was often said that a god outside of LeviaBehemo lived in this forest.

“The great land god, Held…”

He couldn’t. It took him long enough to find human twins, and now he was going after a god?

Should he pray?

Or make a supplication?

It would be all too easy if that was all it took to get a god to appear before you.

Even LeviaBehemo had needed to get a whole country involved to manifest on the ground world.

“Hah…”

Nyoze heaved a great sigh and looked up to the heavens.

A black bird was flying leisurely through the blue sky.

“If only you were a blue bird.”

It was said that a blue bird would take those who saw it to wherever they wished to go…Nyoze remembered that from a fairytale.

The black bird landed on a branch before Nyoze’s eyes.

Then it fixedly stared at his face.

“Are you hungry too? Unfortunately I don’t have anything on me I could use as bird feed.”

Naturally, he was only talking to himself.

But—

“—Thank you for the concern. However, I can find enough food for myself on my own,” the bird—replied.

“--!?”

All he could do was stare in shock.

A bird…was talking with human speech?

“I don’t believe it…are you ‘God’?” he asked the bird.

“’God’? What do you mean, ‘god’?”

“I mean, that is…you’re not the great land god, Held?”

“Ah, I see. If that’s what you mean, then no. Though I am something a bit similar, I suppose.”

Come to think of it…he had heard something like this from the people of the forest.

That there were beings known as spirits that served Held.

And that they all took the forms of regular forest animals.

“Then are you a ‘spirit’?”

“A ‘spirit’…I’m not sure, but I suppose that’s good enough. Call me whatever you like. However, I would appreciate it if you could address me by my proper name, if possible.”

“You have a name?”

“Of course. Well then…I shall tell it to you.”

The bird respectfully spread its wings, and then once more closed them again.

.

“My name—is Lich.”

<<prev------directory------next>>

[maggot-monger]

reviews of movies with spn actors that i’ve seen

malignant (jabel): legitimately love this movie and was obsessed with it for months. i watched it because my friend said i should and i did not know jabel was going to be in it, so imagine my surprise when he showed up! extremely fun horror movie, inspired me to write several meta posts and do some fanart. somebody hilariously yeets a chair across a police station. loses points for not having jabel for very long but his character sucks so oh well (i am not assigning points just imagine them)

moving alan (misha collins & mark p): this movie was one of the worst movies i’ve ever seen and it changed my life i think. i watched it in college and was so intensely confused by how such a movie could exist that i wrote an essay about it that i refused to show anyone instead of the essay for class i was supposed to write that week. i wrote fic for it. i bought a book about aestheticized necro because of it. i hated it. i can never watch this movie again in case it’s not as inspirationally weird and awful as i remember it being. i hope you watch it if you’re reading this and tell me what you thought. 

house of wax (jarpad): it’s been several years since i saw this movie but i remember it being fun. he moans and whimpers a lot so that’s great. i think i found it scary at the time which is nice! there’s some good gore too if you’re into that. points for paris hilton and having been referenced in the supernatural episode that also has paris hilton

three blind saints (r sp8 jr): in which sp8 jr plays a vaguely criminal character called sam who has an ego about the classic car he drives. i did not know this was a christian movie going in but it is hard to miss pretty much immediately. it featured a plot point where god told him to crossdress to seduce a guy at a bar, which is also how i live my life so points for relatability. 

the host (also jabel): it’s weird how many movies/shows featuring bodysharing jabel is in. that’s most of what i have to say about that. the glowing eye thing looked cool but sadly jabel’s eyes did not get a chance to do that

friday the 13th (also jarpad): i did not find this movie very interesting but it was a watchable standard horror movie and jarpad looked hot so. sure.

ten inch hero (jackles): i don’t remember this movie at all. i think i thought it was fine? his character was sort of cute according to my 2022 memories of my 2013 opinions 

my bloody valentine (also jackles): i don’t remember this movie at all either but i think i thought it was fine also. i don’t remember finding it as scary as house of wax but who knows. 

i think that’s it

[philcollinsenjoyer]

worst one is jared padalecki in house of wax because it also means the joke dean makes abt it in fallen idols was another meta joke that went completely over my head. "i've never even seen house of wax" and i was like whatever that means🙄

[thelogicalghost]

For the video game ask: 1, 2, 5, 16, 22 :D

^_^ thank you!

1 - technically I guess House Flipper 2 since I finished the missions and got all the achievements but I'm definitely going to keep playing it?

2 - Baldur's Gate 3 FINALLY

5 - Vampire Bloodlines 2, if we ever actually get it

16 - ooh gonna use this as an excuse to talk about my favorite game I can never play again, "Connections." It was apparently based on a TV show I never watched, but I picked up the CDROM in a bargain bin and absolutely fell it love with the game.

Mechanically it was like Myst, in that there was a digitally rendered environment that felt 3D because you were clicking through 2D images in first-person, and the game would stop for FMVs with real people acting. There were all the usual P&C puzzles but very little moon logic.

The best part was that the main theme was forming chains of "connections" linking items and concepts. For example, the one I always remember is when they explained how carbon copy paper and matches both use paraffin wax, and matches and oscilloscopes both use phosphorus, but then the development of the oscilloscope led to the invention of the television, and one of the first major TV broadcasts in the US was the space race-era launches, which were only possible with new metal alloys, the science of which began with steel weapon forging centuries ago...

Not necessarily the most logical connections, but fascinating ones, and the kind of thing that really helps create context and stimulates curiosity, which I really appreciated. It was also where I first learned about Maxwell's Demon which I just thought was amazingly cool.

But the game is now abandonware and I haven't been able to get it to work on ANY kind of virtual machine or other emulation. I keep voting for it on GOG but it's way down the list so likely I'll never see it.

22 - this is a tough one because it's usually not the endings that stick with me. I want to say The Stanley Parable, which feels kind of like cheating because the whole point of the game is that there are a ton of endings none of which are the "real" ending because the whole game is a meta commentary on games and choice in a predetermined narrative. "Stanley Parable is good" not exactly the hottest take of 2024 but it's still true!

#ask meme #video games